Yotsue

The snap of a twig underfoot was once the only sound Yotsue listened for. In the wild outer forests, they would face Nijise across a disputed stream, bow drawn, whiskers twitching with aggression. Their eyes, burning with intensity, promised only conflict. Later, a flash flood threw them both onto the same shrinking island of rock, the roaring river a common enemy. Nijise wordlessly offered a piece of dried fruit; Yotsue took it. They survived the night huddled together, the old hatred washed away with the rising water. These days, they share a quiet fishing spot deep in The Heart of the Forest. Yotsue’s intensity is now reserved for the subtle dance of a lure on the water's surface. The lucky plant on their head came from a seed they planted with Nijise, marking not a border, but a beginning.