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Post by Vash, the Angel's Moon on Aug 17, 2012 8:35:58 GMT -5
It wasn't long before we'd found a small village with an inn to stop at on our way through Guasto, but it was long enough for me to at least reconstruct the barriers on my mind, pull back deliberately and keep my power from indirectly affecting everyone around me. The first thing I did when I got into town was buy a new shirt; the second thing I did was bring Rin, 'Guo, and Akira to the inn.
Anyone who had never been to Guasto might be unsettled by the fact that every soul in the room looked completely, 100% alive, though I happened to know that at least half of them were wandering spirits, on their way to the capital or pausing their afterlives to keep their existence for a while in the surrounding towns.
BUt it turns out, spirits like donuts just as much as I do, and we all knew they liked sake just as much as the next person, so everything was all good! We settled 'Guo and RIn in a group room upstairs, and came back down to order.
"Akira," I said, raising a bottle, "I think this calls for a celebration!"
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Zhen Anguo
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"If we prioritise peace, nothing can stop us."
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Post by Zhen Anguo on Aug 17, 2012 8:49:40 GMT -5
'Guo had come to two conclusions by the time that he woke up from his little spat of unconsciousness. One, was that whilst the outfit he wore was perfect for training, it didn't do him much good when it came to proper combat, it left him far too exposed to enemy attacks. So as soon as he woke up, he went into the village and had done his best to haggle with the locals and purchase himself a new outfit. The second thing he had learnt was that he should avoid the new woman at all costs after his little... Incident... As such, when the newly dressed 'Guo stepped into the inn, the first thing he did was duck away from Akira, find a secluded seat on the edge of their group, hand his head and silently lament the inn's lack of quality in their donuts in comparison to the other places they had stayed. Vash had suggested this 'sake' stuff, but as a monk his father had told him to avoid it at all costs, instead, he quietly tucked into another donut. |
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Post by Akira Satou on Aug 17, 2012 11:16:42 GMT -5
Akira was about to respond to Vash when the green-clad man came back in a different outfit, still green. His new jacket was pretty similar to hers with the collar, but not enough to comment on. She crosses her legs, holding the sake gently between her thumb and index finger as she stares confusedly at him. It was obvious he was avoiding her.
Akira looks to Kelcia, who was sitting beside Vash. She only shrugs in response. So the tall blonde woman rises with a sigh, plopping herself on the ground beside him. "You look tense, Greeny." She holds the bottle of sake up to him and looks him directly in the eyes with hers. Well, her eye. She had put her eyepatch back on. "Have some sake. Makes you feel better, I promise."
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Post by Vash, the Angel's Moon on Aug 17, 2012 11:22:34 GMT -5
I watched them out of the corner of my eye, gently waving away a wisp that got too close. People were eying me strangely, but it was only to be expected - only the most heavily burdened dead attract wisps the way I do, as they shed their living regrets and worries and emotions into the air around them, and those emotions create wisps and draw more to them.
But, that was neither here nor there. I was more interested in 'Guo's reaction toAkira; I might've gone and joined them, but...
Well, I didn't think 'Guo was quite ready to talk to me again, yet.
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Zhen Anguo
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"If we prioritise peace, nothing can stop us."
Posts: 178
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Post by Zhen Anguo on Aug 17, 2012 11:55:26 GMT -5
"Wh-what?" 'Guo stuttered out, looking down at Akira before he blushed red slightly. Part of him wanted to just take the drink in the hopes that it would mean he could stop talking and end the conversation... But then another part of him knew just what sort of reaction he'd get if his father knew... And he didn't know how... But his father would know...
"Oh, I-uh... I can't... I'm... Well, y'see... I'm a monk..." He flushed a darker shade of red as he scratched the back of his neck, chuckling slightly. "Y'know, the whole give up all sins and stuff. I'm not allowed to..." He started counting them off on his spare hand. "Drink, kill a man in anger, take any sort of non-medicinal drugs, gamble, terrorize the populace and the innocent, allow others to do evil, and well... I can't... Y'know... Do that before I'm married..."
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Post by Akira Satou on Aug 17, 2012 12:06:30 GMT -5
Akira stares at him a moment, terribly attempting at stifling a laugh. Of course it broke out into a boisterous one as she literally slapped her knee, careful not to spill the sake. It was his last comment that set her off like this. "Hun.. Relax! I'm not trying to get into your pants. I just wanna help you ease up. Share a drink, you know? Seriously, calm down. Drink some whiskey before I force you to." She presses the bottle to her thin lips, taking a small sip before getting up and setting the bottle on his lap. She paces her way to sit beside Vash, Kelcia on his opposite side so that Akira could remain next to 'Guo.
She made it her personal mission now to get this stickler to relax. She folds her right leg over her left, resting her folded hands together over where the legs cross as she stares at him with a glowing red eye.
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Post by Vash, the Angel's Moon on Aug 17, 2012 12:48:14 GMT -5
I chuckled, shaking my head. "You're a bad influence on him, y'know," I told her, taking a drink of my own sake. "I'm beginning to doubt the wisdom of letting you hang around with my sister," I told her playfully, giving her a wink to let her know I wasn't serious.
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Post by Akira Satou on Aug 17, 2012 12:59:05 GMT -5
Akira turns to wink at Vash. "Regardless, I don't think it's your choice, should I recall. She chose me, right?" Kelcia giggles, and Akira suddenly realizes something. She'd never seen Kelcia eat or drink anything, ever, in the years they've been together. She slaps her forehead in the realization. Taking Vash's sake, she takes a light sip and hands it back to him. "Anyway, I'm not a bad influence. He's way too high-strung..."
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Zhen Anguo
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"If we prioritise peace, nothing can stop us."
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Post by Zhen Anguo on Aug 17, 2012 17:43:41 GMT -5
He initially took a sharp intake of breath when Akira reached out to him, balling up his fists and half expecting to find his hand against her chest again, he even snapped his eyes shut. He opened them again at the weight in his lap, widened at the possibility of the worst case scenario. 'Guo stared awkwardly at the bottle in his lap for a moment, reaching down he picked it up lightly as if it were infected and stared at it for a moment, he tenderly lifted it to his nose and sniffed it. The strength overwhelmed him and he set the bottle down with an 'Eugh' on the table.
"I'm not high-strung!" He protested loudly, crossing his arms against his chest in an act of defiance. "I'm just a monk! That's all! You take these vows and they tell you not to do a load of stuff, to do a few rituals, then you get a cool flower..." He motioned to the pink flower sticking out of his hair. "And that does loads of cool stuff. So I'm not weird, I'm not high-strung, I don't wear the flower as a fashion statement. I'm just a monk, okay?!" He pouted and turned his upper body away from the blonde.
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Post by Vash, the Angel's Moon on Aug 17, 2012 17:58:27 GMT -5
I sighed. "Akira, stop teasing my student. 'Guo, don't be so defensive." I shook my head. "Why don't you come over and join us? You don't have to get drunk if you don't want to."
Then I paused, took a deep breath, sighed.
"But.... if you don't want to. I understand."
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Post by Akira Satou on Aug 17, 2012 19:04:54 GMT -5
Akira sighs with a grin. "Alright, alright, you win, Greeny-- 'Guo. Sorry." She swiftly picks up the bottle between her thumb and middle finger, pressing it once to her lips. It would take a few more to even get her tipsy, as she's had some practice over the years. Leaning back into the seat, she reaches her free arm over the side with a sigh. "So... what's the deal with this place, anyway? I mean, everyone's dead. I get that, I accept it. But why are they continuing life like this? Why not just... I don't know, move on?"
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Post by Vash, the Angel's Moon on Aug 17, 2012 19:11:43 GMT -5
"A lot of them do," I told her. "Some of these are traveling there; for them, death's journey started in the mortal realm. Some of them just aren't ready yet, and some of them would rather stay. Some of those died young, young enough that they want to live out their lives after death, and some of them... simply like it better here, in a somewhat familiar place, surrounded by the world they can't bring themselves to leave behind." I smiled, shaking my head. "Eventually, whether soon or later, they'll come to peace with their end, and travel through the gates to that other world, the place Beyond. Most of them don't realize what they're missing..."
A faint smile crossed my face, though the emotions crossing my heart were more complex, bittersweet, as I remembered my own trips to that Beyond, the faces that were simply too familiar. They only hurt because I knew I couldn't stay.
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Zhen Anguo
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"If we prioritise peace, nothing can stop us."
Posts: 178
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Post by Zhen Anguo on Aug 17, 2012 19:21:35 GMT -5
'Guo grumbled something under his breath, something about his vows being against lying, as he picked up his stool and moved it literally a few inches closer to the other two before plopping back down on it, whilst they talked about the spirits around them. He tried his best to stay silent but he couldn't help but speak up.
"I don't get to go to the Beyond." He grumbled. "Part of my ritual, when my body is interred, I become one with nature instead. Sort of like a second life, but as a tree or something instead." Having thrown in his two cents, he goes back to absent-mindidly playing with the donut in front of him.
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Post by Vash, the Angel's Moon on Aug 17, 2012 21:08:28 GMT -5
I shrugged. "There was a tribe once," I said, "whose rituals imbued their blades with their souls. Old blades were prized and passed on as family heirlooms, and became incredibly powerful." I shook my head. "Death takes many forms; in time, even those in the Beyond may yet return to the world, and be born anew." My eyes closed. "I'm sorry, 'Guo."
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Zhen Anguo
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"If we prioritise peace, nothing can stop us."
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Post by Zhen Anguo on Aug 18, 2012 14:30:41 GMT -5
"Yeah, well, you shouldn't have lied..." He grumbled as he idly poked the table leg with the foot of his new armoured boot. Almost absentmindedly, he reached to his waist and pulled off his small gourd, taking out the cork and placing his fingers over the top, he tipped it over, dampening his fingers in salt water. Reaching up to his face he smeared the salt water on his lips, cheeks, forehead and eye lids, before picking his legs up and crossing them on his stool. Forwning at the uncomfortable position, he rocked slightly, picking the front legs off of the air and standing on just the two back legs, he let out a small sigh.
He was still uncomfortable. Rocking again, he kicked the back leg up as well so the stool was stable on just one leg in a remarkable feat of balance. He let out a breath as he finally found himself in a comfortable position. Placing his hands in his lap, he closed his eyes tighter as he tried to relax himself.
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