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On the lantern-lit streets of Kugane, shouting is not uncommon, though it is frowned upon. A white haired, fur wearing Xaela cares about no frowns thrown her way, as she engages in a heated argument with a pink haired masked Xaela in front of her. The argument started off small enough, one of those everyday decisions the two couldn't come to an agreement on, which then escalated into a contest of wide gestures and furrowed brows.
In the heat of the moment, Dorgono insulted not only Baatar, but her family as well, dragging them into the metaphorical mud. Baataar's squinted eyes opened wide, and her hands flew over her heart. With a half a step back, she looked into her companion's eyes, which were still just as frustrated as before, no change in them. Baatar's hands lowered to her sides, curling up into fists. Her fingers trembled, and her eyes squeezed shut. Dorgono lowered her stance, sure that Baatar was about to take a swing at her, when she turned around with a swish of his tail, and ran off. Dorgono watched her friend disappear into the dark streets of Kugane, and slowly relaxed her pose. "I swear..." she mumbled, but the venom her tone had possessed earlier was dissipating. Not only the tone, but her whole body released the tension it had held throughout the argument, and Dorgono sat down where she stood. "It's not my fault she... I mean, I'm still right, but..." Doubt began gnawing at her. She was convinced she had been in the right, but her friend had taken that last bit a bit too personally. What had she been thinking anyways? Baatar's parents had nothing to do with their argument, in fact they were very pleasant people - Dorgono would know, she had met them more than once throughout their friendship. And she knew Baatar missed them. Just last night Baatar had asked for gift ideas for them while they were at the market, even though the two had no plans to return anytime soon. She suspected it was more for her than it was for her parents. Dorgono looked at the night sky. It had been a low blow. And now Baatar was... somewhere.
"Damn it Baatar, wait for me!" Dorgono jumped up and started a light jog in the direction her friend had disappeared.
Back at the Steppe, Dorgono was known as a good hunter, and none too shabby tracker. But tracking a dzo in the grasslands was a wholly different thing from trying to find one person in a strange complex of streets one could see only a few of at a time. Cities were truly frustrating. Bataar's footsteps got mixed up with others' quickly enough, and Dorgono had only seen the initial direction her friend had taken to. Who knew how many and which corners she had turned since. So, after a moment's hesitation, Dorgono mustered up her best Hingan, and asked around if anyone had seen a Xaela dressed wholly in pink, about ye high, wearing a mask with these intricate patterns on it. Some brushed her aside, claiming to be too busy but still walking along at a leisurely pace Dorgono couldn't help but sneer at, but some were willing to tell her of the Au Ra that had run past with his head down. Dorgono thanked them and continued her pursuit. She reached streets that were clearly not well kept, and were lit only by a scant few lanterns, some of which were threatening to blow out at any moment, if the dimness of the light was anything to go by. With no one to ask for directions, Dorgono took to yelling out her friend's name. She wasn't sure Baatar would follow the call or not.
Mid shout, a pink blob stuck out to her on a small street. "Baatar?" She approached the figure. The pink figure was a Xaela quite a bit taller than her, curled up by a house's wall, head facing his legs that he was hugging close to his chest. He sniffled. It was hard to see in the dark, but his eyes looked redder than usual. Shit. Dorgono really had fucked up.
"Hey, Baatar..." She started out, not sure where to take the sentence. Baatar didn't raise his head, but his eyes glanced in her direction for the briefest of moments. Listening, but not really wanting to. "Listen, I... I didn't really mean that stuff about your parents. You know I didn't! I got a bit heated back there, and just... took what I could to win." Baatar sniffled. "What a shitty victory." Dorgono plopped herself down next to Baatar. He shuffled away, still not looking at her. "You know I like your parents, and I don't exactly hate you either!" Persuasion skills had never been Dorgono's strong suit. Baatar gave her the cold shoulder, her words barely weighing anything to him. Right. Of course they wouldn't. The Qestir put no weight on any words, they might as well be air from a horse's backside to them. But despite that, Dorgono's had hurt Baatar.
Dorgono shifted closer to Baatar, who gave her a warning glare. 'Come closer and see what happens,' it seemed to say. Dorgono paid it no mind, and flung her arm across Baatar's shoulders, leaning closer to her. Baatar slapped her hand, but it was a weak slap, one Dorgono knew from experience had no heart in it. She had put her foot in her mouth more than once, and gone through a similar dance before. "Listen. I know I'm an ass at times, but it doesn't mean what I said was okay. I know you and your folks think of words a bit differently, but to us... to me, sometimes you use the wrong ones, and though you want to take them back, you can't. Not really. Even if you say sorry, you still said what you said. But isn't it the same thing with actions?" Baatar wasn't fully looking at her, but his head was angled in her direction. "I bet you're not always acting as you think you ought to. Or don't you remember the time you stole Geser's buuz when you thought he wasn't looking, and then got caught red handed? Or when you didn't see that Orbei was trying to flirt with you, and you-" Dorgono didn't get to finish her sentence when Baatar shifted, swatting her hand in front of Dorgono's face frantically, his own face turning red, holding eye contact. Dorgono bursted into a laugh, and ruffled up her friend's hair. Baatar shook her head and combed her fingers through her own hair, trying to get it back to where it was. But he was smiling.
"Finally got you to look at me." Dorgono grinned. "If you're still not satisfied, I'll let you punch me tomorrow, as hard as you can. How does that sound?" She gave a few slaps to her chest armour, making a dull thud sound. Baatar looked at her grinning friend, and flicked her right in the forehead. Satisfied, he leaned back against Dorgono's shoulder as Dorgono rubbed her forehead. "Yeah, I deserved that," she muttered as she put her hand again across Baatar's shoulders, and the two simply sat there in content silence.