The Fox and His Lady (Mature; Reserved)

Hot. Dry. Arid. The scent of spices undercut with jasmine, camels, and goats. These were the scents that ran through the nose of a lovely, alert female student. She followed her professor and the rest of her class through the marketplace today, receiving lecture, taking notes, and asking questions about various degrees of broken pottery.
It was Cairo, the heart of Egypt, and today this small band of students from the local private university trod under the heat of late morning.
The unusual female who was with them was taking particularly detailed notes; and her sketches of the ancient pieces were hauntingly accurate, detailed and in-depth. The oddest part about her, though, was that she wasn’t even paying attention to the professor. There once was a time when she had seen many of these antiquities in their glory—and she knew the false pieces from the far more tattered real ones.
She stood out from her Egyptian companions, wearing a length of lovely tuscan red hair, with the most alert green eyes one could ever hope to have. Her skin was much paler than her classmates’, but still showed the lovely tanning of one who’d definitely spent much time in these blessed sands. She lifted her head, pretending to watch her teacher, but in all reality sniffing the air for any signs of abnormality. She liked to be alert to her surroundings. This was her territory after all, and she was the only one left to defend the people that resided in it. If she did not, then who would?

(( no one touchy, mine mine))

Shuichi stood there at one of the stalls that held some small pieces of pottery, which also had larger nearly complete pots on the stand as well most looked really well restored, others so old he was sure they would fall apart the moment anyone picked them up. he had spotted fakes as well as authentic pieces but being a teacher and in the middle of a class session he was not about to stir up any trouble at all.

His gaze danced around on each and every one of his students, including the lovely redheaded one in the back, making sure they where taking notes and not just standing there looking bored or not paying attention at all. He went silent for a moment to give them a chance to finish writting down their notes and or finishing up the final touches of their sketches before speaking again.''Lets move along now then. Still have a few more places to see before the end of this session of the day.do not forget to be very detailed in your notes due to that these will be on your final exams. '' while he spoke he effectively moved around to each student to check their sketchings, every now and then he had to stop and point out something that they had to fix or left out. Moving through the group also allowed him to get a good sniff of the air to make sure no danger lurked, he was responsible for his students safety after all.

Reaching the last three in the end , two of whom went bright red and possibly a little sheepish as his gaze went over them.'' doing alright back here ladies?" He didn't have a large class, but it wasn't small either, so he made sure he gave each of his students the chance to ask him any questions or for help if they so needed it.

She was no fool; she knew something was offbeat concerning her instructor--something her human classmates couldn't quite detect. The only thing they knew was that he wasn't from around here.
She had only recently enrolled in the college, but was already an exemplary student in most of her classes. Studying art history as well as 'mythology' and national history, she intended herself to become an instructor at this human establishment; teach humans their real history here, which she knew from first handedly experiencing it.
Also, she wanted to keep an eye on this newcomer into her territory, should he start any trouble. And goddesses have mercy on him if he did.
She didn’t blush like the other silly girls and mess up her notes from shaky hands, nor her sketches.
“Doing just fine, sir.” she said curtly. “But one thing I noticed… that Azjrehd piece… Its cross section looks a little… off, to me.”

Hearing her words he glanced over to the piece she spoke of before giving a slight smile, '' you have a good eye on you. it is a little off, in fact, that one right there i do believe is not the real thing, its a replica. '' turning his gaze back to her he shrugged, '' some of these merchants can't really sell the real thing, let alone display it, only the museums can really do that. '' he wasn't all too surprised that she managed to catch something as small as that. he was wondering how many more students would catch it.

he gave the other two girls a little attention as well before turning back to the one that didn't seem to really care about being girly.. '' makes me wonder if we should have you doing a little bit more of an advance work.. have you even picked out your topic for your essay project?"

"Aye," ...Yet another indication that she wasn't from around here, using the Gaelic affirmative--"I have."

Masterfully juggling her notebook--really a sketchbook to produce untainted sketches--and her textbook, she flipped the reference to the back few chapters, something they hadn't even itched on.
"The rise and fall of Iso-Egyptian art and the encroachign Greek and Roman influences; a rather painful part of the nation's history, I think. The death of a culture."

he watched her juggling her things a little before stating her topic, both his brows raised this time, clearly impressed'' not even a topic we have gotten too, nor will we for a few weeks.. i am definitely looking forward to reading and grading your piece, though i have no doubts it will be as pristine and perfect as the rest of your work... '' glancing at the rest of the class who had apparently stopped what they where doing to listen to him and her debate on a certain piece as well as her topic.

'' the lot of you can learn from her, pay close attention, plus i am sure if you have a question to ask about something you don't understand you can ask either me or her so it seems.. '' he slid a glance towards her once more, '' starting to th ink there are two teachers in this class instead of one, ''

She smirked--and the inner canine showed through then. "Oh, I would never think of steling the floor from you, Maestro. Only fill in the gaps."

She put her textbook away then, and established the foundries of a new sketch, a silent dismissal of her classmates' curious eyes. When they started looking away, she began scratching out a very different sketch on the corner of her page, eyes flicking up every now and then to be sure that the lecture was proceeding. She wanted to get her instructor alone for a few seconds. Time to figure out more about him.

Even after the clear dismissal of her class mates, he easily picked up the sense that she wanted to ask him something, what, he had no clue on ,and it definitely perked his interest, flicking his wrist to the other students he smiled'' move along, here is your assignment today, i want you to visit every stall in this market, pay very close attention to the artwork, don't forget the sketching as well. your work will be closely graded. you can work in pairs or alone if you it suites you. your task is to try and figure out which is a real authentic piece of work or what is a meager replica..'' he thought for a moment before speaking again '' and no harassing the merchants. don't even ask if they are real or not. you can ask them anything else other then that. '' he had to be sure his students practice a bit of discretion and politeness to the merchants.

Once the students began to break away from one another, some in pairs and others solely on their own he moved his hands behind his back to clasp them together as he looked over to his companion. '' i sense there is something you may need or want to know. feel free to ask. ''

she looked at him with sly eyes, and she spoke low. "I know you're not what you pretend to be, fox. And I'm sure you know by now I am not, either. So...."
She ripped out the corner of the page, and with it the sketch she'd done. It was a temple cut into a bluff at sunset. Handing it to him discretely, she said. "Too many eyes watching, too many ears listening. If you want to talk, then come to this place tonight at sundown. It's three miles off the southwest face of the pyramids. No humans there to hide from."

And with that, and an icey touch to his hand--literally, the kind that almost burned--she winked at him and then quickened her pace to catch up with the main body of the group, distracting herself from his exotic scent by analyzing the work of a silversmith.

(( gah sorry , step dad just came home today so its been a little hectic. i will get to this one asap))

(taggy taggy

Taking the paper from her just as discretely as she had given it, he simple raised a single brow at her. clever little thing, wonder what else she has up her sleeve. He felt the icy touch,a slight burning sensation , he was sure it would have been worse if he had not had a high tolerance for pain.

Watching her wonder off now he slowly allowed his breath out. all the while looking around the area again, he didn't relax until he was sure that no one saw anything, tucking the piece of paper into his pocket he followed his students once more,

Few hours later he already dismissed them from class he went back to his hotel room, cleaned up , graded a few papers before setting out to the meeting place just before sun down, he was good at not being seen, stealth was his special area. It didn't take long for him to get to the place, and by his senses he seemed to have been early, no matter he had no problem with waiting a bit. stretching slowly he leaned against one of the walls, his keen eyes taking in his surroundings and keeping on guard, he would know the moment she came..

"...Good, you did come." came her voice, and from the wall above him, there dropped down a large canine. It appeared very wolflike, in fur and feature, but a much closer inspection would betray much more.
A leaner muzzle, larger ears, a longer and fluffier tail. In the dark cape-coloring that ran along the canine's back, a wide dorsal stripe of rusty red could be seen. This color was evident in a few other places, but not featured as prominantly. there were a few lighter hairs in the tip of its single tail, its legs were sheathed in stockings of darker fur, and its muzzle bore markings distinctive to a fox.
The pretty thing stepped a few steps away, then shifted back into the student, her sparkling green eyes looking him over.
She took a moment to tie her hair back, then leaned against a boulder.
"I was almost thinking that you wouldn't show." She indicated the temple behind them. "You're looking at the place that has been my home since the days of the Old Kingdom."

Hearing her voice he looked up before watching as the lithe creature lept down into the dim moonlight. though he needed very little light to see , the moonlight just gave a little bit of extra so he could study every color on the furr of the fox like creature. he was shocked, but gave himself some points for not showing it. Though he couldn't help the slide widening of his eyes from the first sight of her.

Looking her over slowly , from noise to tip of the tail and down to her paws. '' told you i would. '' he mumbled slightly , almost as an after thought as he watched her change to her human form, tie back her hair and then lean against one of the boulders.. . glancing to where she indicated before his gaze jumped right back to her.. '' really now? why not live in a normal place?"

"Beacause hidden within that temple are some of the most priceless and dangerous artifacts to ever be crafted by the hands of man. I am bound by principal to keep them from falling into the wrong hands." she said. She sat in the sand and studied him.
She got a rather distant look after a while, then told him a little story. "As you can guess I'm not from around here. I was born in Scandanavia, the daughter of a wolf mother and a father who was not only a red fox but among the greatest thieves of his time, by the name of Scylothire. of course, I'm named after him. Through a series of unfortunate events, i found myself living here in the Egyptian sands at the height of the Pharaohs' power."
She chuckled then. "They believed me the daughter of Anubis."
She took her shoes off and buried her toes in the sand. "I worked my way up and into favor, and found myself appointed as a royal tactician, not that they ever listened to me. Rather amusing, considering how reckless i tend to be. Anyway, when Khufu came into power, he started to build this temple behind us for his tomb, before he abandoned it to build his pyramids. Instead he filled this one with the treasures of his dynasty, and appointed me its guardian.
"Even after these many thousands of years, I linger, the last supernatural heart beating in this old country. You may be wondering why I haven't left, but to save you from asking the question i will tell you that, as lonely as it is, i can't leave these items to chance. There are objects here that i wouldn't even trust to King Yama's vault. Especially after hearing about how it got raided a few years ago."

(( i will post to this one in a little bit. i have to run to wally mart real quick.))

He arched a brow slightly before giving a grunt. '' well i believe that.. i myself have seen valuables like that, that could be used badly in the wrong hands. '' he slid a glance at the temple again before looking back over to her. '' tell me something though, when was the last time someone actually had tried to go after those artifacts? i am not stupid , the temple itself is a trap to unwanted visitors. Pharoah's of that time really where smart ass's when it came to booby trapping their tombs''.

She chuckled. "Aye, indeed. And the booby trap happens to be me. I've kept this place isolated by proliferating rumors that it's haunted."

She looked up to her temple home. "It's been a hundred years since the last time someone tried to get in there without permission. He met a very unsight;y end in my jaws."

He arched a brow slightly '' uh huh. but how many in total? considering it sounds like not a single soul has tried to get in there within a hundred years. my guess would be that others don't think its no longer valuable any more.and why don't you just move them? replace them with replica's or something? '' it was something he was highly curious over it. and wondered what they could do to get her from not having to guard it any more.

"Replacing it with replicas would only solve half the problem." she said, moving to stand beside him. "I'd still need to be able to hide the originals somewhere, Shuichi. And they'd still need to be protected." She sighed. "If I could find someone or something to help relieve me of the chore, then that would be different. I could come and go, and maybe go home... I miss the trees."

he frowned slightly thinking it over. '' what about an unbreakable safe? . '' he had a large enough safe like that. after all he had to have somewhere to hide all the crap he stole when he had been in his demon form. '' that way you won't have to worry about them so much. considering the safe i am talking bout is err.. not able to be reached by any normal people.''

If she had had ears, she would have flicked one. It was her turn to arch a brow at him. "I see. But if King yama's vault isn't safe, how is this one any safer?" she asked him, looking him over.

(( switching to this account for a bit. XD ))

He gave a slight grin.'' trust me, not even king yama can get into my vault little fox. '' which was true considering where his vault was at it always changed area's every day , and only he would know where it was at. '' i am merely trying to help you. that is all. ''

She couldn't help but laugh. "There's fox in my blood, definately, but I never learned how to tap into it. I was raised by a widowed wolf mother after all. And as for the safe, how do I know I can trust you?" she said, then got ahold of his chin to scrutinize him.