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Something that Hina was still getting used to was the way that regions of Azuma seemed locked in a season. Every morning, she woke up in Autumn Village to find it painted in orange, yellow, and red, even though the seasons changed. The same was true for Spring Village, one of the first places she and Mallow had arrived while in Azuma. It was always spring, with bright green grass and beautifully pink cherry blossoms. Nothing like what she'd experienced in Adonea. Even now, she still found it surprising.
The gods of Azuma were just as fitting to their seasons. Kurama, for example, never stood out in Autumn Village, and even Kai didn't stand out that badly, despite being the Oni God rather than the Autumn one. But when the other gods visited other villages... well, they stood out, for the most part.
Which meant Fubuki's presence in Autumn Village always stood out. It wasn't like him being there alone was unusual - not at all, the gods visited other villages than their own all the time, and Yachiyo's Izakaya was a popular spot, even for the gods. And it certainly wasn't odd to see them there with the Earthmate - it wasn't odd to see anyone there or at Iroha's Teahouse with the Earthmate.
What was odd, was when Fubuki came to see her. They talked, sometimes - Hina wasn't afraid to occasionally prod them for information on their village's past. But usually, that was her going to see them, not the other way around, and Hina was quickly aware that she was clearly the one who he was walking towards.
"Hina!" Fubuki called out, waving slightly. He seemed a bit nervous, but Fubuki was always a little nervous. For a god, he was surprisingly quiet, at times, and brought to mind what Hina might imagine having a properly younger brother was like (Julian was just a little too close in age to her for it to feel that way). Being a were-person like her, or at least something similar enough, Hina was perfectly familiar with much of Fubuki's physical mannerisms - Uncle Kumo had a lot of similar ones, although he and Fubuki were only alike in their wolfish mannerisms.
Yet she can't imagine why Fubuki might be seeking her out.
Curiously, she tilted her head and asked, "Fubuki, were you looking for me?"
He nodded, "The Earth Dancer was telling me about, um... how fluffy your tail is," She catches sight of a dusting of red over his cheeks before he looked to the side, icy white hair obscuring much of that side of his face. "I was... hoping you could um..." and then he says something a little too quiet for Hina to hear.
"What was that?" She asked.
"Teach me." Fubuki finish.
Unable to help herself, Hina's face scrunched up in confusion, "Teach you how... I get my tail so fluffy?"
Finally, Fubuki looked back at her, nodding. The blush was still present on his face, so obviously he felt a bit self conscious about asking.
Having the fluffiest tail this side of Adonea and Azuma was a point of pride for Hina, the product of years of practice, experimentation, and plenty of work on a daily basis. So while she didn't mind sharing some tips, all of them? That was a different story. That would put her status as having the fluffiest tail in jeopardy.
"But... your tail is already pretty fluffy," Hina said, trying to come up with a polite excuse to decline. Or perhaps she could only give him a few tips and keep the entire effort a secret. She couldn't outright decline, that might be rude, and while Fubuki was quite friendly, for a god, there was still a certain amount of respect that he was owed. The last thing Hina wanted was to offend one of Azuma's gods.
"Well, I suppose it is..." Fubuki began, and this time his face turned even more red. "But the Earth Dancer sounded so... interested in how fluffy your tail is."
Oh. Oh wait, Hina knew what this was about. It was less so about Fubuki wanting his tail to be more fluffy, and more about him wanting to impress the Earthmate.
Back home, in Rigbarth, everyone adored the Earthmate. Hina would have adored them no matter what, they were her hero, after all, but she always wondered if them being an Earthmate had something to do with it. When she was a child, she was only sort of aware of the extent of some of the villagers feelings, but as an adult, she could look back and realize. A lot of people in Rigbarth loved the Earthmate.
She hadn't thought much about it since coming to Azuma and meeting their Earthmate, but maybe just as Earthmates and dragons seemed to find each other... maybe Earthmates just inspired love in certain people. Even gods, it seemed.
Hina wasn't above admitting that she admired the Earthmate greatly, perhaps even more than she'd admired her hero. Thus, realizing that Fubuki also felt so strongly for the Earthmate... some part of her wants to view him as a rival, but another part of her remembered her hero, the Earthmate of Rigbarth, who never seemed to settle with anyone. They spent all their time working with SEED, trying to better not just Rigbarth, but all of Adonea. Hina remembered asking them, once, about it. If they'd ever get married. They'd just told her that they loved everyone, but not the way that a lot of them seemed to love them.
Maybe Azuma's Earthmate was like that, too. Maybe they'd love all of them, but not the way that they did. Not the way that she and likely Fubuki too loved them. If that were the case, Hina thinks she might be sad, but it would be alright. Any love or any kind was enough, she was happy to have simply met them.
Fubuki, being a god, had probably loved before. She wasn't worried about what might happen if the Earthmate didn't love him the same way. And beside, he just wanted the Earthmate's attention, she understood that well.
Instead of viewing him as a rival for the Earthmate's affection, Hina decided she'd rather view him as a fellow fluffy tail enthusiast.
"Well..." She began, "There are many steps to having a fluffy tail, as I'm sure you know."
He nodded, "Like brushing it daily."
"Naturally," She reached back and pulled her own tail forward with one hand, pulling a hand fan out of her pocket with the other. It had been a birthday gift, years ago, from Uncle Kumo, and she'd quickly found that it was very effective for fluffing up her tail. "But the most effective way I've found is to blow some air through the fur!" She waved the fan while she ran her other hand through her tail.
Eyes nearly sparkling, Fubuki replied, "Oh! I'd never thought of that!"
She grinned, "Right? But it totally works!" She lets her tail slip out of her hand, holding her fan out to Fubuki, "Here, give it a try,"
Tentatively, Fubuki takes the fan, pulling his own tail forward. Looking down at it, his brow furrows and his face scrunches up with concentration. He gives the fan a few experimental flaps, trying to get the hang of both using the fan and trying to fluff up his tail. After a few attempts, he seemed to get the hang of it. Now his tail had some extra air in it, allowing it to be even fluffier!
Excitedly, she added, "See? Extra fluffy!"
"It is!" He smiled, handing the fan back to her. "I'll have to remember this. Maybe the Earth Dancer will notice..."
"Even if they don't, you can be happy knowing you have the second fluffiest tail in Azuma!" Hina declared.
"The second?"
"Obviously. It still isn't as fluffy as mine."