Endeared was the face he presented as the toast went up. Of course — what else ought he to show on such a joyous occasion? He felt neither one way or the other about the prince, in all honesty. Or his new husband. But this surely boded well for the state of the nation, and the economic run-off could do the family some good. Whatever maneuvering Lady Blue had in mind, he’d be told the bare minimum soon enough. It wasn’t his job to worry much beyond the numbers, of course.
“To the glory of Kalsazi!” Perhaps not as sincere as it ought to be. Which — didn’t matter. The glory of Kalsazi was the monetary benefit or downfall of the family, and really that was all subjective at best. He sought his mother in the crowd, her own glass lifted in toast. Sky, even, holding her drinking flute up with the eagerness of a child allowed her first drink (which is most definitely wasn’t, but she’d always found the joy in little things).
He lifted his glass to his lips, prepared to take a draining gulp from the glass when something above the din of the reception caught his attention. A droning sound that moved toward them quickly. The hairs on the back of his neck stood as his ears flicked, eyes once more looking for his family as the first rounds were fired.
Now, Mino, had been exposed to gunfire before. Part of his training, part of the risk of the job. The crack of a gun going off was nothing. Several at once? Manageable, really. But it was the thunderous boom that broke the shields that had his ears ringing. His more sensitive hearing disorienting him for the moment. His glass dropped, shattering much like the shield that had protected the reception. Situations of high stimuli had also been prepared for, but in the moment — his vision swam and his first reaction was caught between fight or flight. Immediate reliance on a baser animal instinct that nearly had him striking out at Yumeko, until his brain caught up with the rest of his body.
An apology might have been uttered if the situation weren’t so dire.
And — well, he might have looked for Lady Blue and Sky if he weren’t sure they would have made immediate attempts to flee or find safety. His ears flattened toward his head, still a buzz from the earlier explosion of sound. Yumeko seemed to make quick work of nearby assailants, the rathari ducking and dipping out of the way. A smooth slide out of the woman’s way to unsuspected attackers. No words exchanged as they moved.
Not until — “Please, forgive the indecency for a moment.” The outer jacket was dropped to the ground as they moved, his own steps slowed to allow for him to at least deposit them in an area he might be able to collect them again. Jewels cast off, the hunching of his form as he was forced from bipedal movement to increasingly closer to quadripedal. Fur sprouting from under skin, skeleton shifting under that still. The rearrangement of internal systems taking no longer than a minute. Where once had been a mostly elven creature sprung a caracal. Noticeably larger than peers of its species, if ever any of the guests had seen one.
A shake of his head as, a light shedding of a suspicious crimson covering coming off of him as he leaped at an attacker. Caught their arm between his teeth and the weight of him bringing them down. Just enough to disorient before reaching for the gap in their protective gear for the throat. A redden maw lifted as his paws thudded almost silently against the ground, a growl rumbling from his throat as mismatched eyes cast their gaze to Korvaelis rushing an attacker. Then, to Hikami who seemed perfectly capable of defending the two strangers he’d first come to the aid of with Yumeko.
A split-second decision, before he was pushing off once more after Korvaelis, dipping between legs and over felled bodies.
