Gusai's steps take him to the gardens, and he considers his surroundings as he takes a bit of air.

There is a sense that some anticipated meeting will yet take him unawares.

Jiyo Phi crept stealthily through the gardens.

Hsieh-Hsieh was off-limits for the time being, but she could still practice... on the other foxes.

And thus, she moved as sneakily as she could through the gardens, her every sense alert for a potential target, her reflexes at-

She quite literally bumped into Gusai with an undignified yelp.

Her expression of initial shock deepened into horror when she realized she'd blundered into one of the guests.

Her father';s entire colorful vocabulary flew through her mind in an instant as she assessed the situation.

"Ah.... my most abject apologies, Otomo-sama, I was... quite distracted. Utterly inexcusable..."

Gusai, who is pushed forward by the bump, has a similar flash of vocabulary; sailors are as they are, after all. But he still it, knowing he is not on his decks, and he turns to face...a child. His eye blinks for a moment, and he recognizes Phi.

"You're Jiyo Sora's daughter, right?" he says. "Saw you at the brunch.

"What are you up to, young lady?"

"This one is Jiyo Phi, yes."

She paused.

"I am... chasing foxes, Otmo-sama."

"Dare I ask why?" Gusai says. "Will I regret knowing the answer?"

She's a kid, he thinks. Let her have her games, sea-rat.

"I'm not privy to yoru regrets, Otomo-sama, but... it's practice. For a bit of... contest my sister and I wage with Hseih-Hsieh."

"Oh? Must be quite the contest, to involve the Lord Consort's pet," Gusai replies.

A thought occurs to him. "How well do you climb?"

"Well, it's... ours."

At the question, she blinked.

"Not as well as Shirayuki, but I manage. What do you have in mind?"

"I'm guessing your contest is who can catch the Lord Consort's fox, yes?" Gusai asks. "If so, I might note that not a lot of people look up. The number of times I've seen a hand run into something hanging from the rigging, or knock their head on a timber below deck...getting aloft might give you an advantage.

"If I have the right of it, of course."

"Well.... we cooperate more than we compete, actually. Helps to have an outflanker... Hm. Could put Shirayuki up a tree, and try to her him toward it..."

"Maybe," Gusai allows, nodding. "I've seen similar tactics work at sea. Not with the elevation, of course," although the depths hide too much, "but with the flanking.

"If I might, why do you try to catch the fox?"

"It's fun. And he likes to try to steal our breakfasts."

Oh?" Gusai's eyebrows rise. "Just yours, or breakfasts, generally?"

"Well, generally, but 'Yuki and I do something about it..."

She trailed off, then shook her head.

"He's never seen an egg he didn't want."

Eggs, then, Gusai thinks, to bribe the fox with.

"I'll have to be careful with mine, then," he says. "He hasn't gotten yours today, has he?"

"Oh, no, he's far too busy, since Uncle Yuzuru is in such demand..."

Gusai nods. "I can see that," he says.

"So," he continues, "what do you think of all this hubbub going on?"

"Well, it's certainly interesting. I'm enjoying getting to see all of the... well. Stuff?"

She looked around, as if making sure her father wasn't nearby.

"Dad's going a bit crazy, I think. He'd planned on just spending the winter with us until the next baby came, but now he has all of these... people to juggle. But I like it. New people, new things to learn..."

Gusai nods.

"Well, here's a question for you, then: How're you with knots?"

"Not very good."

Her delivery was deadpan. Since it was a joke. Right?