Kajika frowned as he watched her motions. She seemed to have heard him, but he did notice the subtle, very lack of a reaction of her ears. No swivel, no twitch. He tilted his head curiously. His father was deaf, so such reaction was not lost on him, but Jinan was the speaking sort. Then again, his father was older and more learned. This girl was likely blissfully unaware if she was deaf. Or maybe she was merely a mute? No... There still would have been some acknowledgement of his words other than a pause to stare.

Here this girl was hopping back wanting to play in the middle of the forest. She wanted to play. A soft sigh escaped him. Maybe he could at least herd her back towards Asteraia to the east. She had some smell of the place, so it was worth a shot. With that, Kajika followed a similar suit. The brindle and white boy assumed a play bow with a grin and a wave of his tail. When she dashed forward, he hopped to the left, just out of reach.

With the failed nip, he faced her fully again, assuming a partial play bow. He tilted his head, raising a paw to brush over his own tattered ear before gesturing towards her own with the same paw. If the game was to continue, he needed to know for sure. "Where do you belong, little one?" The question was as much to her as to himself. Not that he was any bigger than she was a year ago. He might have been twice her size now, but that was due to age difference, and Kajika wouldn't be getting much bigger. All the same, she was the little one currently.