Dumb mutt, sticking his nose into where it didn't belong -- just like his owner -- and being none the wiser about it... The angle of the mask shifts to suggest that he's giving the dog a look over, a brief acknowledgment before he leans back on his heel, half-twirling the kite. It feels unnatural. He can't imagine that joining Li Lianhua on the bench would feel any better, as awkward as it is to be out in the open, not fully covered or with a mask over his feelings. He doesn't want to drop any bit of guard he found by getting all friendly with that Huli Jing, either, even if he can't know what the reason for that might be.

It's hard not to scoff at the question, but the fox on the kite weighs heavily on his mind, and seems to shake its head with the idle twiddling he's doing. 'Now, Brother, he's given you a gift. And that's clearly a good head on his shoulders,' it seems to chide. He wants to bite back that the shoulders in question are weak, as little as that has to do with anything. 'Your friend is going think you don't appreciate these things.'

It is so rare for the clever to be kind. Cat clears his throat, wishing that was enough to drown it out.

"Never had the opportunity to use one," he admits, failing to come off as casual and uncaring. After another moment of hesitating, the boy slowly takes a knee and reaches out to rest a hand on Huli Jing's head. No pets, pats, scritches, or rubs. Sorry, pup. "My mother wasn't real concerned with fun, when she was around, and there was no such thing as friends." The brief wonder of whether Fox ever did crosses his mind. It doesn't fit the image of the Volfe family he made up for himself, or what she'd told him when they got to sharing. "Heh, doubt any of them would have had kites either, if they did exist..."

Only a sucker would take their eyes off their pockets long enough to watch it soar. The slums couldn't accommodate that kind of person for long.