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Okami is just trying to visit a village and pick up some clothes that she doesn’t have to make for herself. That's it. That's all she wants.
She meets a merchant caravan on the road, but they aren't the clothes merchant kind of caravan--with the war going on, there's not many people willing to leave the relative safety of home, and this caravan hadn't been able to entice any clothiers to come with them. As such, Okami agrees to join them just until they reach the next village. It's supposedly not that far up the road from where she met them.
That village is also, unfortunately, overgrown by the time she arrives. The caravan she’s with react with horror.
Okami doesn’t.
Instead, she beams with delight.
“Oh, you guys should get out of here before Willow-and-spider-lilies decides to eat you,” she told them, all too cheerful.
“You’re right, we should leave,” one of the caravan workers said. “Everyone, back in the carts! You too, girlie.”
“Oh, I’m not going anywhere. I’m a hanyou, I can take this one. Just, maybe not while there are other lives on the line.”
They gave her a look like they thought she was crazy. Okami ignored them. She took off at a dead run, racing down the road towards the overgrown village.
As she approached, Okami threw herself up and into the air.
Lightning snapped through the air, and she grabbed it. Using it like a rope swing, she swung herself at the nearest roof.
The willow branches decorating the rooftops reared up to grab her.
“Hey, you!” She called, beaming. “Bring your puppet body up here, I want to give you a hug!”
Willow-and-spider-lilies’ humanoid puppet body didn’t appear, but their branches caught her and lowered her gently to the ground. The spider lilies covering the various branches withered away, until the only blossoms remaining marked out a scarlet trail towards their humanoid body.
As Okami’s feet hit the ground, she reached up and stroked one of the branches. “Thanks,” she cooed.
The branch wound itself around her fingers, gripping her hand gently. Then, in a surprising move, they didn’t let go and began leading her along the trail.
She raised an eyebrow. “Oh? We’re holding hands now? What brought this on?”
“I’m testing out a gesture I saw in this town,” Willow-and-spider-lilies said, and Okami turned in surprise to see a girl with spider lily eyes and a crown of willow branches emerge from a house.
She beamed and waved hello with her free hand. “Well, hello, there!”
Then she realized what she was looking at, and her eyebrows went up in surprise. The girl was clad in a white shiromuku.
“Did you just eat a bride on her wedding day?” Okami asked incredulously.
Willow-and-spider-lilies nodded, before their branches gave her a gentle push and she stumbled straight into Willow-and-spider-lilies’ arms. Almost immediately, a small, lopsided smile appeared on their face.
They still had the dimples.
Okami melted a little at the sight.
“Oh, you,” she sighed, trying to cover for the surge of warmth in her chest. “That’s a bit rude, eating a bride on her wedding day.”
“I have no idea what that means,” Willow-and-spider-lilies said serenely. “I only recognize the words because someone asked me what I thought I was doing, barging in on a wedding.”
Okami grinned at them. “And you barged in anyway? For shame.”
“Well,” Willow-and-spider-lilies said, and though their tone never changed, Okami couldn’t help but think that they were being mischievous. “You always let me ask questions when you use a new term, so I paused to ask that person what that meant. You also always say to look people I’m speaking to in the face, so I turned this body to face that person. And then, I presume, they got a good look at my eyes, started screaming, and things just devolved from there.”
They leaned into Okami’s face, smile widening a little with what was unmistakably glee. “Really, Okami-chan, I had no other option if I wanted to eat my fill today.”
Okami swallowed hard, face suddenly flushed. “Oh?” She said breathlessly. “Does that mean you don’t have any room for me?”
The smile fell away, leaving Okami wrong footed. Hurt started to well up in her chest.
Willow-and-spider-lilies tilted their head. “I always have room in my life for you,” they said slowly, “though I don’t see what space has to do with this.”
Okami paused, and the hurt faded.
“I upset you,” Willow-and-spider-lilies stated. A frown twisted over their face. “My apologies. I did not mean to. How can I make it up to you?”
Okami couldn’t help it. She beamed again. “It’s a turn of phrase, bud. I was asking you if you were too full to try eating me. And it’s fine, I was just a little surprised when you abruptly stopped smiling. I thought I upset you.”
Willow-and-spider-lilies smiled again, sweet and warm, and the tense line of their shoulders relaxed. “I wasn’t mad. I was just confused. You’re sure that you’re not upset?”
Okami kept her smile, though she felt it soften with affection. “I’m not mad at all. See, I’m smiling.” She reached down and tugged one of their hands away from her waist. She raised his hand to her face and let Willow-and-spider-lilies drag bark-rough fingers across her face. Those fingers lingered, tracing the curve of her smile, resting on her lip.
“Good,” Willow-and-spider-lilies murmured. “You deserve to be happy.” There was another slight pause, before Willow-and-spider-lilies asked, “Bud?”
Okami’s grin widened, turning wicked. “It’s a pet name, a term of endearment. I figured we were close enough to use them now. And, best of all, it’s a pun. I thought you’d appreciate it.”
“A…term of endearment,” Willow-and-spider-lilies echoed, before smiling again. “I like the sound of that. But what’s a pun?”
“A play on words. Buddy is a common pet name for a friend—I’ve called you my plant buddy before, remember?” A nod. “And bud is both a short version of buddy, and term for a flower that hasn’t bloomed yet. I thought it was clever.”
Willow-and-spider-lilies’ face didn’t change, but more flowers bloomed in their hair and the whole town suddenly flourished with their delight. “A pun,” they repeated. “I like that word now. I’ll remember it.”