prismatica | text | un: konoha

[Oh, not shoes first! Socks! She knows this shape of them from Lunatia at least, even if she’s used to far different fabric and separation of the toes in what she calls “socks”. At least they’re easy to get on, comparatively... though she has to suppress a weird, ticklish giggle as she slides the fabric over her soles.]

R- right... feet get cold really easy... I mean- My hooves got cold too, but... not the same way... even the wood floors here feel cold now...

[Such sensitive things, feet!!! But she now has two to present to him now bundled in their socks, toes curling curiously as she watches him work the shoe laces.]

Oh yes... and it's even worse when you're sleeping with someone with icy feet.

[She did such a good job putting them on! He takes a hold of one of her ankles, hopping down to kneel in front of her.]

I'll put the first one on, then you try the second. Okay? [He can't resist tweaking one of her toes through the socks. He's usually not so... bold and... impulsive with someone, but something about Konoha's country attitude and the fact that their first meeting hasn't just broken ice but obliterated it makes him act much more familiar with her.
Hadn't he done something so similar after he'd spent four nights with Royal in that cavern? And he had been an absolute introvert of a man, more a feral cat than anything.]

[Oh, it was a good thing Gonta wasn’t human shaped, his hooves wouldn’t be cold... but oh no, how are they going to sleep together if she’s like this, what if he rolled over on her? How are they going to sleep together when she’s like this, it was almost Iris and that certainly wasn’t a smart idea- !

Thankfully she’s saved from her risqué thoughts by the need to pay attention to the novelty that was shoes. That, and the tweak of her toe, which actually makes her hands slap over her mouth a moment to muffle a weird squeak of surprise as she almost pulls her foot away before surrendering it back with a wriggle. (What? She’s never had toes to tweak and now that she has them it’s her first tweaking, it feels funny- !)

No, she has to be serious!!!]

Th- That’s fair! I can do that!

[She thinks.]

Okay--so here. You fit your foot in like this...

[He pulls the tongue and laces loose a little, the easier to put it on for her. He slips it on.]

Make sure this part--the tongue--doesn't get folded or bunched up against your foot, yes? [Tugging it straight emphatically, before moving to pull at the laces.]

Now these... you want to make sure they're tight. It's what holds the shoes onto your foot...no nails here, ah?

[For all that Konoha did struggle with more academic learning such as calligraphy and history, practical learning... she’s got this.

She leans forward to watch him carefully put on and lace the first boot so that she’ll be able to mimic it on the second-

But she’s distracted by his comment about nails. Nails? Until she remembers that oh... those “horse shoe” things (that she missed the popularity of by a century or two). Which. Makes her frown a bit even if it was probably a joke. Just in case...]

No nails on me, either... I’m not a horse.

[Just a bit sensitive about being compared to one. Plus, she took great care of her hooves, unshod though they were! She files them and oils them and picks them out proper!!]

Ah.

[He looks up at her, and then utters a longer one:

Aaah. My apologies. That was rude of me, of course you're not. And I'm glad! Ghastly manner of business, that. [From the man who would like to try out thumbscrews, sure...

But no, he really doesn't want to offend, so he's clearly remorseful. Forgive him?]

[Thankfully for Ianchus, Konoha has a generous three-strikes policy on being compared to a horse. Only one man had broken it so far... and Hank Anderson had been a bit of an asshole, even if he did have a cute dog. So.]

I'd say... if we're worried about the terrain or slipping in the snow we just use straw sandals like everyone else...

[Waraji could be woven for hooves just as well as human feet, so!!! She'll pass on nails, thanks... At least now she feels confident enough to stick her foot in the second boot, moving to fix the tongue and tie the strings like he had.]

Straw sandals? Aren't those cold--ah, be sure it's tight enough to stay on, but be careful of cutting off circulation too--

[He finishes the tie off with a bow and sits back, watching her work on the shoe.]

I always wore big heavy boots in the snow. Did you know, humans can become so cold they lose toes?

Well, snow is cold... but my hooves don't really feel the temperature like human feet do...

[Though straw sandals and layers of socks or hides were all the humans had in her village, too...]

One of the hunters in my village got frostbite pretty bad last year... I know lots of stuff like that. My parents were human, and there were no other jinba in my village but me.

[So honestly... She felt like she knew more about humans than her own kind most days. It's why she's so annoyed at herself for being so bad at walking- hadn't she seen humans walking all the time? Why was it so different when it was her own feet?]

Your parents...

[He says it slowly, before--] Ah! [Oh, adopted, right? It's common, sure, but it's not something that he thinks of immediately.]

yes...when we went to cold places, there was always at least one or two who lost a toe, or even a finger...

[He shifts to sit next to her, done with the left shoe, leaning over and watching her.]

How are you managing?

[There's a moment when he trails off that Konoha gives him a look that definitely says... she's very used to people either weirdly or intentionally misinterpreting that sort of statement from her to then ask her very awkward questions (and sometimes very rude ones, like if her mother had fucked a horse), and she's very prepared to answer in kind...

But. Phew. He didn't. So he had a brain, that was good!!

Which means she can finish the shoe, sticking out her legs and propping her heels on the dirt to examine them. They looked basically the same...]

Is this right?

[She wriggles her feet a little, testing out how they felt enclosed in the leather. Huh... Another new feeling.]

It looks good! Let me just...

[He starts working on his own boots, much faster, even with the larger volume of clasps.]

They fit right, yes? They don't hurt? No pinching anywhere?

[That's a professional for you... ! So fast... At the question, she wriggles her feet a bit more, practicing flexing them.]

Hmm... I don't think they hurt?

[They feel tight, but... Konoha has the presence of mind to think that's probably just because she's not used to... leather tied to her hooves. Feet. Ends of her limbs.]

You'll know better once you stand up and get their weight on them. Now...

[He moves to her front, reaching for her hands.]

Let's have you put them about shoulder width apart, ah? Then you can brace on me as you shift your weight to them.

Shoulder-width apart...

[That sounded right... Even though she’d figured she’d be able to master this easily based just off growing up among humans, she hadn’t spent as much time as she’d thought really observing how they walked.

She grips his hands strongly to brace herself, blushing momentarily as she recalls some other times their skin had touched, but she does manage to focus enough to stutter up into a stand, wobbling a moment as she puts her weight too far forward on her toes, then too far back on the heel, then- okay, that’s good.]

Okay... I’m up... and the shoes feel...

[Weird! So weird!!]

Not painful?

Oop!

[He lets her hold his hands, but he shifts a little to help her balance on her feet rather than leaning entirely on him.]

Not painful is a good start. Really, shoes are such a fussy thing! It must be nice for cen--jinba to have them built in in a way, ah? [Nothing about how he finds them creepy and how horses could at least have the sense to have cloven hooves rather than those fused monstrosities! Though that's far from his mind thankfully as he assesses her.]

Okay. Now try practicing getting up on the balls of your feet and then down again. Like this...

[He demonstrates, looking down as he lifts himself up slightly, then brings his heels back down.]

I guess... ?

[She likes her hooves precisely because they were hers, more than actually thinking them better or worse than human feet... (Though if she had to say which was better...)

Still holding him tight for fear she might fall and crack her head (again) on the wood floor behind her or the packed earth in front of her... actually maybe front is fine, he’d catch her, Konoha mimics his weird movements, making a bit of a face as she does so and the stretching of the sole of her food just feels so strange when you aren’t used to having muscles down there.]

Like this?

[She’s doing it right, at least, even if her face looks a bit scrunched up.]

Like that!

[He hardly has any sense of shame, so even if it's awkward to her...he's not going to let up! She has to get around, right?]

And now... try taking a step. I'll keep holding your hand, but...like this.

[And he sticks his foot out in a mirror image, as if he's teaching her to dance more than walk.] Heel first. Dig in, get a good plant, and then...roll it forward 'til it's flat. Press your toes down and dig them in if you need balance, ah?

Okay...

[To his credit, his instruction isn’t flawed. She mimics the movement of his feet pretty well, she might have done it decently... except just like a lot of the last times she’s messed this, Konoha accidentally fills in the gaps of her knowledge with her usual instincts... that don’t really match up well with this body.

Like how far forward a single step should carry you.

Which, now that she’s as petite a human as she is... is a confident leap of faith stride... smack into Ianchus’s chest with her face.]

[Which, lucky for her, is nice and soft!]
Oop!

[He catches her easily enough, and then, in a flight of fancy...wraps his arms around her waist and sets her up straight again.]

Now then...what did you do wrong there, ah?

[Thank goodness for big titties...

Oh. At least he catches her... ! And. Wraps his arms around her. Which definitely takes her into a very lewd flashback if the color of her cheeks and the shiver is any indication, but.

Focus, Konoha... ! She grabs onto his forearms for balance as he sets her back straight again, stuttering into an answer.]

S- Stepped too... far?

Stepped too far! [It's an agreement, an affirmation.]

Now. Try to step a little shorter. Perhaps only a foot-length of a pace. And try not to keep them too close together--you've got much less of a stable base to work with.

[He takes a step back, and holds his hands out again]

Now, try one more time.

Hnngh-

[Okay, so she's made her usual mistake of accidentally trying to move like she did as a jinba... but this has now set her up for the over-compensatory opposite... thinking too much about moving like a human.

This at least keeps her from colliding with his chest, but. It's a very awkward duck walk as she caaaaarefully lifts her knee, puts her heel down, comically over-exaggerates the slide onto the ball of her foot...

Well, it's getting her there, arms outstretched for a wobbly balance as she stares straight downward.]

Okay... okay... at least this feels... more protected on the bottom...

[Thanks, boots.]

Right, right! I know you may not be used to them, but they'll keep your ankles from rolling...I assume the ankles are different too, I read somewhere that hor--that hooves are actually different bones than what one might think, and so...!!

[THEY WALK ON THEIR TOENAILS, IT'S WEIRD BUT HE'S NOT GONNA SAY THAT]

And the soles are thick enough...I know some people think it's preferable to be able to feel what's underneath, but I didn't want you to get hurt, ah?

You're doing good! Come, a little closer.

[He takes another step back, arms still out. This is a little like teaching a child how to walk, isn't it...]

[As long as he keeps correcting himself, she will forgive the almost "horse" comparisons... Suddenly, she realizes... is this what Sha Gozen had felt about the word "short" or "small"? Oh, no... She feels bad not for any time she even thought it- !]

No, it's... It's good I think... every time I tried before it always felt so weird and squishy down there...

[Which had ended up making her mince about as if any step might have been onto a needle... But actually, he's not the only one thinking what he is in this moment, and Konoha finds herself still blushing ruddy-cheeked, if not for a less lewd reason, as she continues awkwardly stepping towards him.]

I feel like a filly...

[Wobbling towards... daddy? Nope, nope, nope.]

text | un: konoha

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