Normally, the Ice Queen was cool as a cucumber. Chilly as a winter night.

But... she had no defense against the hyperactive fox who was just bombarding her with the excitement level that was through the roof. Though she was concerned over who had given him these drugs...

"Uh... well, there's the dance game?" she said, pointing out the cooperative dance game that many couples were trying their hand at. Right now, Hyeon-ju was just caught up in the whirlwind that was HYPERFOX and had forgotten she was there to ask about xenobiology...

"Dancegame?"

Full On Foxeh had obviously not seen it . . . or he would have been all over it. What better than inexpertly stomping along to a popular track from three years ago!

"Let'stryit!"

"Y-yes..."

Somewhere inside her mind, a small voice cried "help me, oh my kami!, but it was quietly supressed for now.

It wasn't hard to spot the dance-machine once you knew to look for it. Its cabinet alit in pretty and alluring colors for the HyperFox.

"It's a cooperative game, from what I understand. You're supposed to be as synchronized as possible with your partner."

"Right. Samespeedaseachother. OK!!!!"

He jumped on to one pad and quickly checked out all the distances between the active parts.

"Let'sdothis!!!!!"

Off they went. Izumi's movement only accentuated more by his size making him have to move further for each combo.


--

D5 LE CAN FOXEH DANCE IN SYNCH???? Dan/Agi: 2#2d10 7 10

The music was selected at random, and it was... fast-paced. Crazily fast-paced... for what Hyeon-ju was used to with her dancing.

Luckily, her pilot-training gave her the edge in finding her partner's rythm, and the two managed to coordinate pretty well!

The game-screen flashed with messages of "Good!" and "Excellent!"


------

D5 LE Cooperative Dancing with Kitsune Izumi: 2#3d10 11 20

11 and 10 match!

Izumi finished with a pose appropriate to the song chosen as he was super HYPER FOX happy at completing another game successfully.

"Ahthisisbestnightofgamingever!!!!"

Then he realised they'd won a pin. Vulpine Excitement has levelled UP!

Oh no.

She didn't think it was possible for hyperness to increase even more.

"Oh... pins?" she blinked in surprise as the machine deposited the prizes. "They are kind of cute... it seems there's one for both of us, Kitsune-sama."

He scooped up his pin and quickly . . . . very quickly started positioning it in various places on his clothing to see what it looked like.

"OhI'veseenpeoplewiththeseon. Didn'tknowwheretheycamefromuntilnow."

"If you want to show it off, Kitsune-sama, I suggest on a lapel or near the neck on a kimono-collar." She herself fastened it on the lapel of her leather jacket.

"Seems like you're a decent dancer. Or at least the machine thought we did well enough. Do you go to Kayama for clubbing too?"

"Beenonce, willgoagainforsure. Gonnadosomekaraokewhilehereaswell."

He grinned. Hyper Fox could be nature fox or city fox, sometimes at the same time.

"Karaoke?" she wondered if the Fox could even slow down enough to match the tempo of a normal song. "Ujina-sama mentioned going to karaoke at some point too... oh right."

Now she remembered why she had been looking for the Kitsune and she reached for her densai.

"I saw a pretty big creature when I was last out in the fungal forest here, I was told you had a good understanding of nature. Wanted to ask you about it, in case I need to be wary of it on future trips."

Holding up the densai for the Fox, she let Izumi see the holovideo of the 9 foot long centipede that was snacking on some small lizards.

Izumi watched the recording through and then asked for it to be played again.

"Looksmuchbiggerthantheonewesawbeforethefungalbloom. Maybethreetimesasbig. Onewesawwasagroundfeeder, mostlyscavengingfallenanddyingfungalmatter. Thisonelooksmuchmoredangerous. Eatinglizardscouldjustmeanacarrionfeeder, butitcouldhavealsohunteddownthatlizarditself. Maymeanithasspeed, probablyinshortburstsasanambushhunter. Oritmayhaveavenomousbite. NormallyI'dexpectinsectstobepurelydefensivebutsomethingthissizemayseehumansassnacks."

Hyeon-ju paid attention as closely as she could.

And still didn't get all that.

"Venomous bite? So it's dangerous? Would it be dangerous to the settlements here?"

"Onit'sowntotallynotdangerousunlessyoupokeitwithastick. Ifsomethinghappenedtotheecologicalbalancetocausethemtomigrateorrunthough . . . a swarm of them would be dangerous. Very dangerous."

Hyper Fox became Serious Fox at the drop of a hat.

"And that's not even counting that a concentration would draw out their predators as well."

Yikes. Note to self, start clear of these things.

"You seem to know a lot about these things, Kitsune-sama. You have an interest in Asakaze's nature?"

If so, the Governor's daughter seemed perfect for him from what she had heard.

"I'maFox. We'resensitivetolocalfloraandfaunawhereverwego. HereonAsakaze . . . "

He returned to Serious Fox.

" . . . I have concerns the ecological balance is not secure."

"Hmmm..." she looked serious too. But Hyeon-ju mostly looked serious.

"Is this a matter you have brought to the Governor, or his advisors? It sounds pretty important."

"StillhavetofigureouthowtodothatwithoutlookinglikeI'minterfering. IhaveameetingwiththeGovernor'sdaughtertomorrow. Maybethen."

"I see... if there's anything I can do to assist, Kitsune-sama, do let me know." She gave a deep bow to the Kitsune.

He smiled back.

"Idon'tneedtotellabushitokeepherweaponsclose."