Mami lets herself relax as the two strange wolves finally begin to settle, both of them clearly charmed by Mrs. Plum’s kindness and cherry cakes, just like she’d hoped. For all she trusts Amaterasu with her life and the lives of all the villagers, it’s clear that the two black-and-cream wolves are… uneasy. On edge. Uncertain in a way that indicates their unfamiliarity with Amaterasu and her rather exuberant ways.
Which probably means that they’re two poor souls swept up in Amaterasu’s current whimsy, without even a by-your-leave from the wolf-formed goddess.
She has her suspicions about who — or rather what — the two wolves are, but she can’t be certain until Issai arrives. Because while animals around Amaterasu do tend to be smarter and more attuned to humans, these two show clear understanding of human words, well beyond what Ammy’s presence tends to produce.
So either they’re also wolf-formed deities — unlikely, based on their confused reactions to Amaterasu — or they’re like the shapeshifting humans in the northern lands that Issai once told her about.
At her side, Ren leans in and brushes a soft kiss just below her ear before whispering, “Bets on how long Snowball stays fascinated by these two?”
Mami hums and slants Ren an amused glance, before tipping her head to kiss Ren’s cheek in return. “Far too long for their comfort, probably,” she murmurs back, knowing exactly how tiring Amaterasu can be when she becomes fascinated by something or someone. She and Ren had faced that attention years ago when they’d first started dating, and it had been the most exhausting and chaotic summer in her life.
(Exciting, but definitely exhausting.)
(She’s just glad that Amaterasu’s attention doesn’t tend to last long.)
Ren chuckles and straightens up, flashing a grin at the slightly larger wolf as they do. “Something catch your eye, Shadow?”
The wolf snorts and tips his muzzle in a rough circle, almost as if mimicking an eye-roll, which is definitely a human gesture, and a practiced one at that.
(Whoever Shadow is, he’s accustomed to miming human motions in order to communicate.)
(Interesting.)
The female wolf at his side makes a soft noise and leans into him affectionately, her ears perked and her tail wagging happily. Moments later, she casts a sly, canine grin at Ren and Mami, tips her muzzle, and licks Shadow’s cheek in the most dramatic way possible.
He harrumphs and turns his head away, ears slanted in a way that reads as embarrassed to Mami.
Of course, this just draws Ammy’s attention away from her empty plate and to the two wolves. She barks in amusement, ears pricked forward and mouth agape, then dips into a play-bow and lunges—
Shadow goes down with a surprised yelp, taking the female with him, and wriggles awkwardly beneath Amaterasu as he tries to bat her away. He bares his teeth and snaps his jaws on empty air, motions a bit more vicious than Mami’s ever seen play-fighting be, and Mami shares a concerned look with Ren, wondering if she needs to figure out a way to break it up.
Before she can decide, the two wolves manage to scramble free and give themselves a quick shake, before dipping into the shallowest play-bows she’s ever seen and lunging at Ammy in return.
They go tumbling towards the door, a tangle of limbs and fur and teeth, and Mami half-rises from her seat, Ren moving with her—
A strong, wizened hand grips her arm. “They’re fine,” Mr. Plum tells her firmly as he tugs her back down. “Whoever our guests are, they are neither malicious nor interested in bloodshed, just on edge and accustomed to playing rough.”
“They’re nice young folk,” Mrs. Plum agrees as she leans over to hand out the last of her sakura mochi, even leaving one on each of the wolves’ plates. “Do you remember when Issai was supposed to arrive?”
“Nearer to sunset, I think,” Ren answers before Mami can. “At least, that’s what the note the sparrow dropped on me said.”
Mrs. Plum turns the last sakura mochi in her hand and then takes a bite, clearly thinking over her next words as she chews. “I should decide what to make for dinner, then,” she decides once she’s finished the treat. “Shadow and Silver look like they could use a few good meals in them.”
Ren brings a hand up to cover their mouth, shoulders shaking with suppressed laughter, and asks, “Silver?”
Mrs. Plum lifts a finger and tsks at them while shaking it. “You need to remember to look with your other senses, Ren-kun,” she chides gently. “Besides, Shadow clearly treasures his mate, so it fits her well.”
Mami blinks at the reminder and turns her attention on the tussling wolves, narrowing her eyes and prying up that odd extra sense of hers; immediately the world is awash in trails of dawn-red and blossom-pink, swirling together but never mixing, just like it always is here inside the village. She knows the source of both — she grew up knowing the source of both — and they’re a comforting, familiar sight that’s just on the edge of too much even here inside the protection of the house guardians.
(Amaterasu has that effect, dragging power with her wherever she goes.)
(Issai explained it to her once, about how Amaterasu brings growth-renewal-strength to the world, which is why her visits are so important, but sometimes Mami wishes it wasn’t so overwhelming.)
It takes her a moment to look past the brilliant streamers of dawn-red and blossom-pink, but when she does—
Shadow glitters with little sparks of forest-green, the power clinging to his fur like dewdrops and washing away the ribbons of dawn-red that try to settle over his body. It’s a losing battle, Mami suspects — no one can resist Ammy for long, after all — but it’s certainly pretty to watch.
Silver on the other hand isn’t precisely ‘silver’ to her other sight, more of a pale, silvery blue akin to satin, but the name is apt enough. She also moves like quicksilver, all smooth, flowing motion and cunning grace, her power trailing from her body like streamers instead of clinging close the way Shadow’s does.
“I like Silver,” Ren declares after a moment. “Think she’d agree to train with me?”
Mami can’t help the noise of amusement that she makes at the idea. “You’ll have to ask her later,” she tells her lover. “Though Ammy might object to one of her current interests being pulled away.”
Ren snorts and shifts position, drawing a leg up so they can prop their arm on it, their attention still focused on the tussling wolves. “Snowball will get over it,” they declare dryly. “She seems more interested in Shadow at the moment anyway.”
Which is an understatement, considering how Amaterasu’s power is continually nudging at poor Shadow, though he seems oddly tolerant of it, almost like a father indulging their child; he’s not letting Ammy’s power cling to him, but he’s also not lashing out or shoving it away, just… brushing it off like a person brushing water from their skin.
It’s honestly cute, and speaks well of his character; it’s clear he doesn’t actually know who he’s tussling with, so he has no reason to react so gently to an unknown being trying to ‘claim’ him.
Silver does the same, whenever Ammy’s powers try to settle over her as well, just brushes the power aside and continues on as if nothing has changed.
It’s also clear that Ammy is becoming more and more fascinated by the two the longer they play, which Mami is unsurprised by.
She just hopes that Shadow and Silver are ready for the chaos Ammy is bound to bring into their lives.
And if not, then she and Ren will have to do their best to support them.
(It’s only polite, after all.)