It was frightening times like these where she was most grateful for the feline's presence. If it weren't for Setsuna, she would have fallen apart completely long before this moment. Even if there wasn't much the dark cat could do to physically protect her, just knowing that she was there gave the girl enough courage to press forward and not to be so terribly afraid. The strange wolf began to walk away, but stopped for a moment when asked if she came from that horrid place with the skulls. The suggestion to move further away was welcomed and relief came when she confirmed that she did not belong to whatever that place was. When she said that she could never do such a thing, Tsukiko felt a little abashed. It had been rude of her to make such an assumption. "S-sorry," she said lamely. The foreign fey was not feeling at all herself. Quickly she collected the remainder of her scattered possessions in her arms and stood back up to follow the woman, Setsuna keeping apace with her.
The place that they were lead to was a much more serene setting than the one they had come from. Water trickled calmly down the stream bed and the sound helped to restore her composure. The sound of water always reminded her of home and brought peace to her soul. Once there, the woman turned back around to face them and bowed her head. It was a gesture that the Shimazu daughter was used to receiving, but she reminded herself that this was not Japan anymore and she mimicked the action, not wanting to seem ungrateful. "Thank you, Layla-san, for assisting me." It took some effort to pronounce the name, l's not being a sound in her native tongue, but she was becoming better at it. "My name is Tsukiko, and this is Setsuna." She remembered from her lessons that family names were not the most important in this language. It was odd, not to introduce herself as Shimazu, Tsukiko, but that was the way this culture functioned apparently. It didn't much matter though, she guessed. The Shimazu name would mean nothing here.
Layla explained what the place with the skulls was, and another internal shiver ran through the slight girl's body. "It is horrible. Why would they do such a thing?" Even if Layla knew and gave her a reason, Tsukiko doubted she could understand it. Atrocious acts such as that were unforgivable in her mind. The dark woman moved into the water of the stream and Tsukiko knelt down and removed her pack from her back to replace the items that had fallen out of it. She would need to find a new frame for the drawing of her parents, she wouldn't be able to stand it if it were damaged or ruined. "Dahlia de Mai," she repeated slowly. "What is your home like?" She needed to find a place of refuge. Perhaps if Layla's home sounded good, she could go there.
.fujimoon b {font-weight:bold; color:#A4B3EB; letter-spacing:.0px; }
.fujimoon-ooc { font-style:italic; padding:15px; font-family:georgia, serif; font-size:11px; text-align:center; }
.fujimoon p {text-indent:10px; padding:3px 10px; margin:0px;}
.fujimoon {margin:0 auto; width:447px; background-color:#C6C9EA; background-image:url(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v515/ ... jimoon.png); background-position:bottom center; background-repeat:no-repeat; border:1px solid #EDEBF5; padding: 10px 0px 330px 0px; font-family: georgia, serif; font-size:12px; color:#E7E7F2; line-height:15px; letter-spacing:.0px; text-align:justify;}
</style>
[/html]