"I am, yes." Which meant that he had an irritating green little shard in his left hand, which felt so supremely backward (and yet correct) when Murasame had gone missing from his right. He didn't find the trade off all that acceptable, though he supposed it was exactly why he was unbound and at his actual physical age.

That was kind of nice, just not at the cost of everything else.

"I keep forgetting the whole mage thing. Magic's not really a common human practice where I'm from, as far as I know." It was by and large more often a demonic one, outside of certain cults that practiced their own arts.

... Usually involving (you guessed it) demons and spirits.

The guard is probably squinting at them both from behind his mask, but he doesn't deign to answer until they're closer. "You. What do you want?"

Shino settles a hand on his hip. Woah boy. This man is on the top of his game, isn't he?

"There's a bear passed out in front of a store down that way about a street. Has anyone lost one?"

"..." The guard looks between the two of them, then breathes out in a sharp snort. "I will not have you mock me in my city. A bear? We do not simply have bears running around our city. What nonsense is this?"