[b]Chen![/b]

+...+ 

Just because Jessic isn't thinking words at you doesn't mean she's not thinking. Her thoughts expand outwards, inhuman and complex, weaving in and out of each other in lines of strange structure as she visualizes everything you have said, the maze of words you have woven for her and seeking some way through. The thoughts flash beige and black and then - vibrant pink.

+... Princess Chen,+ the thoughts eventually resolved into something directed, +There is a point that I want to make here but it's too complicated to express in words alone. I'm going to have to introduce you to something even more powerful than myself.+

She got to her feet and offered her foreclaw to help you stand too. Her eyes are bright with utmost sincerity.

+I am going to have to introduce you to [i]anime[/i].+

[b]Rose![/b]

You are cleaning; you are dancing. The two should be the same! It takes all of your attention to be so oblivious, all of your focus to be so empty, falling down the well of a deeper meditation than your martial masters ever taught you until -

"Psst! Rose!"

The voice of a fox cuts through it all.

"I didn't recognize you at first!" said Cyanis, pulling down her veil immodestly so she can give you a smile and wink ass he wraps her arm around your bare shoulders. "You're looking great! Anyway, so, the [i]thing[/i] is, I have some totally legitimate fox business around here and I thought, 'Who is a girl good enough to help a pure-hearted fox move some money around so she doesn't get robbed by corrupt city guards?' and your name came immediately to mind! So how about it, cutie? Ready to help protect a poor, innocent vixen from those cold-hearted fiends who want to imprison her in a harem?"

[b]Yue![/b]

"So, good news and bad news!" said Hyra over dinner. She cooks in the style of the Western Plains; thick, earthy food with potatoes and peas and eggplant and African spices; the flavours of the savannah and red soil. "The good news is that I'm three days away from having a spell that I think might help with this curse!" 

She flourishes with her chopsticks, swish-swish-clack! She's honestly showing off a bit with how she can weave them through, but one can't hold that against her given how long she spent without fingers. 

"The bad news is that your first arena duel is in [i]two[/i] days," she said. "So I figure, one more day of intense training and then one day of total rest and relaxation. You ready to give me your best one more time, Yue?"

When time for training begins, Hyra's style has totally changed. It's so startling that the only possibility is that she's learned a bit about your upcoming opponent and is doing her best to imitate that style. Now she's not flowing, teasing, tricking - she's set her feet solidly and only takes a step when she knows it can't be interfered with. It's nowhere near as powerful as her normal style, at least in her hands, but it does mean you're starting again from scratch when it comes to figuring her out.