[ We find Our Heroes on the day after the Trial. They are eating a good, nourishing breakfast in preparation for setting out today. This was mostly Kenji's initiative after talking with some of you. Seems something's going around Our Heroes. ] [ So you've packed up your personnal stuff, and soon your horses will be prepared. None of you will have to deal with Thundarr the Barbarian Warhorse; he's keeping Istvan company on the way back to Brighthome. ] [ But, other than all that highly unusual stuff, everything seems normal, peaceful, and even cheerfully quiet. ] [ ...it'll never last. ] [ Session Start! ] * Alcinoe is eating her rice, occasionally glancing around. She's been looking pretty uneasy; maybe she's worried Istvan will jump her or something. * HKenji has long since finished his food and is finishing preparations to leave, especially making sure that everybody has several sets of warm clothing. * Tia is kneeling with all four paws tucked neatly beneath her, and she appears to be eating her rice more tidily than usual. Her skill with chopsticks seems to have improved significantly, even, though her tail, as usual, is cheerfully wagging behind her. * Seylin eats her rice slowly, every so often tapping her chin with a chopstick. Her eyes shift around the room without actually focusing on anything. [ Istvan distinctly fails to jump out from behind a curtain and assail anybody. ] * WillS eats his rice soberly. Nothing seemed to have gone right ever since they've came to this land. Isty is gone now, and he still has nightmares of the man with a very fake smile. * Alcinoe does not die! This is a good prize. * HKenji walks back into the dining room. "Are you all ready to leave?" * Alcinoe swallows. "Yeah." She frowns a little. "Ah think so." Mmm, I think so... * Tia quickly wolfs down the rest of her rice and nods. "Ready!" Tia, you're resistant to cold, correct? Fire only, I think. * HKenji frowns. Well, if the mountains decide to snow on us, we'll figure it out then. I don't think there's enough silk in the castle to keep you warm. * WillS finishes off the last bit of rice in his bowl. "Ready." * Tia nods. "It's okay. I'll do my best!" The roads north are clear right now, and we're not at war with anybody right now, so we should be fine. * Seylin nods absently. * Takara walks in, hands folded in front of her. She takes one look at those assembled and makes a beeline for Seylin. * Seylin notices Takara's approach. "What is it?" * Patrick nods, having been his quiet smiling self for a while now. "Let's rock." * Tia carefully unfolds her paws and gets to her feet. * Takara stops wringing her hands and bites her lip. She catches the other girl's eyes, then instantly looks away. "" she says quietly, before dropping to the floor and pressing her face against it. If Seylin cares to see, Takara's trembling. * Tia catches sight of the interactions between Takara and Seylin, and she approaches cautiously. "What's wrong? Is everything okay?" * Seylin instinctively reaches out for Takara for one second, then pulls her hand back. "Takara-san, what's *wrong*?" She sounds extremely worried. * Tia shivers as she hears Istvan's name, and she casts her eyes downward. "Isty..." * Takara refuses to look up, and her voice raises: "" * Seylin blinks back tears. "No, no, it's not your fault! None of us knew how he was going to react. I didn't... I didn't think he was going to do that. Please get up." Seylin, be silent and accept the apology. * Seylin looks at Kenji, bites her lip, and nods. * Takara sobs. "" * Seylin looks at the prone Takara, then steals another quick glance at Kenji, looking utterly lost. I forgive you. Looks like we'll just have to make sure we return, then. ^^ * Takara sniffs. "" * Takara pulls back and then stands. She really has been crying, and she smiles shakily at Seylin. * Seylin blinks a few times and smiles back at her. * Alcinoe watches the girls, then nods a little and pokes at her rice some more. * Tia fights the strong impulse to hug Takara, but she manages somehow to restrain herself to smiling slightly and not interfering. * WillS takes a sip of his tea and smiles slightly. [ Suddenly, there is the sound of someone running and yelling at the top of their lungs in the hallway. "" ] * Seylin jerks her head towards the entranceway, stray hair bumping into her cheek. * Tia jumps up in surprise, her unfurling wings knocking aside furniture and rice bowls. * HKenji turns and runs for the voice. * Patrick turns to the voice and runs torwards it. * Alcinoe blinks and jumps to her feet, then dashing after Kenji. If he's running, she's going, too. [ Kenji finds the man in the hall. He's one of the older samurai at the castle; it's been some time since Kenji's seen him run this fast. ] * Tia pelts after Kenji as soon as she sees the others move. "Wait for me!" * Seylin gracefully scrambles to her feet (yes, it can be done) and rushes after the others. * WillS jumps, not from the shouting but from Tia's knocking over of stuff, and spills the rest of his tea on himself. :/ [ The tea is hot! But smells good. ] * WillS runs after the rest of the gang. "Hot hot hot...Hey! Wait or me!" * HKenji grabs the man as he runs past. "Explain yourself, immediately!" [ The man skids to an awkward stop, then looks at Kenji. "" ] * Alcinoe 's eyes widen a bit, and she looks to Kenji. * Takara enters the hallway dead last. She walks, thank you. * HKenji stares. * HKenji curses long and loud. Go find my father, and be -quiet- about it. * Tia blinks, not knowing what to make of the situation, but she keeps her mouth shut. [ The man nods, and jogs fairly quietly down the hallway. ] * HKenji waves to the others. "Come along. You may as well meet her now, she'll be insulted if we leave it for later." Is there anything we should do aside from bowing as deep as we can possibly manage and not saying anything? Who is she, Kenji? If she's rude to you, shut up and take it. In theory, she has no power. In practice, she's the second most powerful person in the empire. To us, she is Hantei-sama, or Dowager Empress. Nothing else. * WillS looks at his wet clothings. "Umm. Should I change first?" Don't you have some sort of magic poof to do it? * WillS mutters a quick prayer under his breath after pondering on the intricacies of cloth drying. * WillS takes a look at his clothes. "Hey! It worked!" Ah can't believe ya never did that before. * Tia claps quietly for Will and grins at him. * HKenji sighs and heads for the courtyard. * Tia trots after Kenji. * Seylin follows Kenji. * Alcinoe goes for the courtyard. * Takara trails behind the group, as is somewhat usual. * WillS grins wryly at Alcinoe. "I usually just hang it outside." * WillS follows behind Alci. Me too. Guess Ah'm a mess more 'n' you. [ The courtyard is full primarily of nervous samurai. Chikako is there, and talking to a lovely woman who is slightly taller and curvier than Alcinoe. She has long white hair worn up in a tail, a fan, and is dressed in extravagant silk robes. She is flanked by four petite, cute young ladies who carry a daisho, a polearm, and an imperious look. ] [ Chikako is doing an awful lot of bowing and actually sounds welcoming as she speaks to the other woman. ] * HKenji walks right up to just behind and to the right of his mother and goes to his knees before the Dowager Empress. * Alcinoe hesitates just briefly, then is beside Kenji, also dropping to her knees. [ "" The woman is all smiles, but there is an unmistakably impish look in her eyes. ] * Tia hesitates, the nervousness in the atmosphere infecting her somewhat, then does her best to kneel without knocking anything - or anyone - over. [ Tia manages a pretty good kneel-and-bow. ] [ The woman looks over to the silly gaijin who haven't knelt before her yet with a wry smile and an arched eyebrow. ] * Seylin kneels carefully. * WillS kneels down next to Tia. * Patrick takes a kneel next to Seylin. [ "" says the woman. "" ] [ "" ] * Alcinoe keeps kneeling. "" she says, and then, "" She hesitates. "" [ "" ] * Alcinoe scowls a little and nods. "" [ She smiles and laughs lightly. "" ] * Alcinoe blinks. "" She looks at Kenji. This is good, right? * HKenji tries to hold in a laugh and fails utterly. * Alcinoe smiles some. If it's not good, it's at least amusing. [ The dowager empress politely ignores the laugh as she glides over to Tia next, looking way, WAY up at her. "" ] * Tia smiles and nods in her best attempt to be polite. "Yes, I'm Tia." [ "" Her fan snaps open and she runs some air past her face. "" ] * Tia keeps her hands folded in her lap. "No, not much, I guess." [ She nods. "" ] * Takara watches all of this. She opened her mouth to start translating for Tia, but the empress seems to have it well in hand. * Tia looks down at her clasped hands and stumbles over her words a little in her nervousness. "H-han...tay...sama, I think I should be refusing your gift, shouldn't I?" [ The dowager empress has a good laugh at that, and bows to Tia. "" ] * Tia nods and blushes fiercely, her wingtips quiveringly slightly. [ The dowager empress moves over to Seylin next. "" ] Yes, Hantei-sama. [ "" ] No, Hantei-sama, I'd never heard of these stories. But I think it depends on the nature of the angel. There are some who would sacrifice a bit of their happiness to ease another's soul. [ She nods, just a little solemn. "" She moves on to Will next. "" ] * WillS nods. "Yes, Hantei-sama." [ She nods. "" She holds her fan between herself and Will's ear, and says something quietly. ] [ "" And she turns to Patrick. "" ] * WillS kneels frozen in place. Shocked by the sudden approach of the empress and then confused by the "lesson." I have never heard the old stories, but old stories commonly have some truth to them. I simply hope such a situation never comes to pass, and if so, I will make the best decision I can. * WillS slowly relaxes as he starts to comprehend what he's been told, and smiles thankfully towards Hantei-sama. [ She nods. "" She walks back over to face Kenji. "" ] * HKenji flinches. * Alcinoe looks worried. [ "" she says cheerfully. "" She turns to her honor guard. "" ] [ And then, without further ado, she turns and walks into the castle. No request for escort, or directions, or anything. She just goes, like she owns the place. ] * Alcinoe watches her go, then looks to Kenji. "Do Ah..." She gestures towards where the empress went. [ Once she's out of sight, her honor guard relaxes and lets out a collective breath, seemingly becoming even smaller than they were before. ] * Takara lets out a small breath, too, before rising to her feet. Right. I'll be back in a while. Try not to kill anybody, Alci. * HKenji walks quickly (he does NOT run) after the Dowager Empress. * Alcinoe snerks. "No promisin'." She stands up. * Tia relaxes considerably and jumps to her feet. "Did I do okay, Takara? I didn't mess up, did I?" * Takara smiles. "" * Tia shakes out her wings and legs. She beams. "Oh, good. Thanks, Takara." * Takara gives a little nod and a bow. "" * Tia blushes again. "Aw, thanks, Takara. I'm trying." * WillS stands up too enjoys the cheerful atmosphere. So different compared to a minute before! * Seylin lets out a breath. * Patrick stands up, smiling. He whispers to Seylin. * Alcinoe keeps watching where Kenji and the empress went. She's got a bad feeling about this. * Seylin says something quietly to him in return. [ The four little mousey guards look around. "" says one, "" ] Oh! Down that way! * Tia points toward where they'd come from. [ " says the girl. "" The others odd in nervous agreement. ] Oh, here, I can go with you! Can I take them, Takara? [ The girls all thank Tia and follow her in, leaving the rest of you in their wake! ] Think Tia would be alright on her own? * Takara watches them go. "" Pause. "" I think that's a good idea. * HKenji comes back down, looking pale and relieved. * Takara grins at Seylin. "" * Takara turns and leaves for Tia and the guards, nodding to Kenji as he enters. * Seylin smiles back. "Yes!" She follows Takara. Kenji? What'd ya talk about? ...that is not an easy question to answer. * WillS nods towards Takara, and turns his attention to Kenji. Tia should be ok with both Takara and Sey looking after her. Suffice it to say, you will not be promised in marriage just yet. * Alcinoe nods, looking relieved herself, before she pauses. "'Just yet'?" * WillS raises an eyebrow at that and waits for Kenji to explain. The Dowager Empress considers you an excellent marriage, as do the people with whom she associates. I managed to get her to agree not to simply match you with someone. Anyone who wants your hand will be required to court you, and the final decision will be ours. Oh. * Alcinoe lets out a breath. "That's good. Ah don't wanna be stuck with someone Ah... never met. Didn't even think about it before." * WillS lets out a sigh of relief. I also got her to agree not to send any Scorpions, on grounds that they would mysteriously drop dead upon coming within about thirty feet of you. * Alcinoe snickers. "Only the evil ones." * HKenji quirks one eyebrow. "That's what I said." * Alcinoe laughs. Yeah, that's what Ah figured. So she's gonna be sendin' people after me? Why's she so interested? If she were anyone but the Dowager Empress, I would say that she enjoys the havok, but she IS the Dowager Empress, so I won't say that. * Alcinoe nods, keeping a straight face. It's a very good thing that we are going north before going to the Shadowlands, as well. Apparently the Crab have lost track of the Festering Pit. [ That's bad, BTW. ] Uh... the festerin' what now? The Festering Pit. When the Kami fell from heaven, one of them fell further than the rest. Where he crashed down, the festering pit formed, and from it grew the Shadowlands. ... How do ya lose track of somethin' that big? One of the little quirks of the Shadowlands is that the geography isn't exactly... complacent. It likes to move around. Sometimes while you're standing on it. * WillS blinks at that. "The shadowland is alive?" For values of "alive" equal to "possessed by the spirits of hell", yes, they're alive. Fun. But ain't the Shadowlands south of here? Why'd we haveta go north? Southwest, yes. And as for why we have to go north... it is best to show you. Everybody close your eyes and point in the direction you feel. * Alcinoe looks at Kenji strangely, but she shrugs and closes her eyes. And spins, because spinning in a kimono is *fun*. * WillS closes his eyes too, and uh.. does the feely thingy. * Patrick closes his eyes and points in whichever direction he feels like pointing! RIght. You can open your eyes now. * HKenji holds out his hands. "North. Every one of you. I could do the same, if I cared to. You're all pointing to the same place, in fact. There's only one place in the empire that calls to people like this." [ Indeed, everyone *is* pointing almost due north. Coincidence? ] [ Sure. I mean, hey, in a world rife with magic and deific meddling, coincidence is all over the place. Yeah, right. ^_~ ] * Alcinoe opens her eyes, slowly, and looks at everyone else. "Huh." She drops her hand. "So, what is it?" * WillS looks around at where other people is pointing and blinks. "Creepy." Togashi Mountain, home of Togashi Yokuni, champion of the Dragon clan. Mmm, why's that? There's no telling -why- until we get there. But it's said that the champion of the Dragon has always inherited the ability to see the future, so it's probably important. Yup. The Togashi do not interfere lightly in the affairs of the empire. It is always a good idea to heed their advice. * Alcinoe nods. "So, we're goin' ta the mountain first. Okay." How did you feel them calling us Kenji? I didn't feel anything before that experiment we just did. A friend, before I went to Brighthome, was called to the mountain. He told me what he felt. * WillS nods. "Ahh. Ok." * HKenji frowns. Regardless, we should leave while we can. When we come back from the Shadowlands, the Dowager Empress requests that we stop at Shiro Daidoji. There is someone she wishes Tia to meet. Our mounts, and the road, await. * HKenji heads out the gates. * Alcinoe nods. "Ah'll go let the girls know." She heads off to do that. [ And they set out, with the rising sun at their side! Session End. ]