genessia | Moping and Magicians [Action[ [Semi-open]

There was a faint presence behind... around Ted. The faint whisper of wind, a soft voice, an almost alien sense of peace. Perhaps some form of creature trying to sneak up on him? Perhaps something trying to take control of his mind? Perhaps he was finally slipping so far into his own numbness that he had finally cracked and was fabricating emotion and sensation.

"Mister Spades!"

Oh, it was just Koishi.

"Mister Spades! Hello! I haven't seen you around much." The little youkai was looking quite well, floating lazily along, her eyes quite bright. "We should go on another adventure sometime. It always helps me burn off some extra nervous energy. And you always seem to have so much fun!"

"Besides, it will help my mood too. I've been reflecting a lot of negativity lately. That mean grump who keeps calling people and insulting them. He was even rude to sis during the elections."

Ted's reaction came delayed. "Ah, hello Koishi. The scarcity is mutual; that is, I haven't seen you much either." Technically he hand't seen much of anyone at all, but details.

He tried to think of reasons for adventuring, which was the first sign something was wrong. Old Ted would hardly have needed them. For fun? To change someone's mood? Vanity, vanity. Without a cause behind it, the prospect seemed bloodless and pointless.
"You? Nervous? I can't imagine."

'Reflecting negativity'...odd way to put it. "I'm afraid I'm not familiar with such a grump. Being Guardian, I figure your sister is used to rudeness by now."

"Well, I'm hard to see." She giggled. "It's part of my aspect now."

She drifted forward in front of Ted, flying backwards at the same pace as his walking. "And you're right. I'm not really nervous nervous. I just get fidgety." That was an understatement. The little youkai seemed to have boundless energy. "You seem kind of..." She was searching for a word. "Blue. Sky blue. Chilly and swirling and unmixing under a layer of thin ice under the tiniest bit of pressure so you can see the fractals."

She cocked her head only slightly. "Noo. He put a video up on the network talking about each candidate. She insulted sis for being female. Which is confusing because sis and I are technically genderless. The spirits used to construct our bodies had a feminine tone and then humans perceived us as female so that's what we became physically. The only difference between physically male and physically female satori is our center of gravity."

He let Koishi's stream-of-consciousness verse wash over him. It was probably accurate, whatever it was. Was this how others felt when he waxed lyrical? When it was over, a few seconds pass before an uttered "ah."

Then youkai were revealed to be yet more bizarre. A more energetic Ted would've dwelt on the theological implications of whatever she was talking about, but again he simply heard without comprehension. "Oh, him." The one who proclaimed him a sodomite. A reasonable conclusion; it's odd for an Earthling man to be perpetually in the company of three women without making any romantic advances. "He... probably didn't know that." Honestly, Ted didn't either, even with the explanation. Was there any aspect of them that made sense? Doubtless a month from now she'd tell him they weren't really sisters, it was just some mystical, oriental turn-of-phrase or association applied to...something.

Edited 2016-01-18 21:14 (UTC)

Koishi was quiet for several moments, drifting a bit longer, moving forward, drifting to one side slightly so he could see in front of him. She was studying Ted, though it seemed innocent enough. Perhaps she was just trying to understand in her own strange way.

"Well it's still rather unkind of him to think that. Gender doesn't matter when various factors cause people to be good or bad leaders. Like how Miss White has had pseudo-military training and follows a strict code. She's a better leader than the average non-warrior."

There was another long pause. "Do you know him? Because you're talking like you know all about him. Or do you just know what he is thinking? Because that would be really really annoying to know all the time. Is he your friend or enemy or something?"

More pausing. "For humans, the masculine and the feminine matter a great deal. It's not skin deep. Almost all our great leaders have been men. I trust for a reason." He could tell it was a sore subject, though he knew not why, so he held off saying more.

Was 'Miss White' a good leader? Too bad Gen didn't see it that way. Her comment about knowing the mind of John confused. He took a moment to count his commentary: seven words. That was enough for mastery? Well, seven is the number of completeness.

"We've never spoken; I don't know him enough to call him friend or enemy. Character is more apt. I've read enough stories to know when certain characters arise and what they're like. Maybe I know his kind, or archetype, and can draw certain conclusions. Then again, they say truth is stranger than fiction...was there something you wanted to...discuss, about him?"

"Oh I understand that. Hormonal and physical and instinctive differences in order to provide a means of reproduction and diversity. There is a great deal that is taught rather than innate though. There have been a great deal of good and bad men who have been good and bad leaders in different shades. Humans are scared of differences and new things because they don't want things to be worse. So when something new comes along they don't give it the same amount of trust they would what they are used to. Which can result in a self-fulfilling prophecy." Even if gender wasn't a big deal to Koishi's species, the concept of being discontent with change was something that was very well-known to youkai. After all, youkai were very static creatures.

She looked a bit thoughtful at Ted's words. "Well, I was just stating my thoughts more than anything else. He is stirring a great deal of unrest. It's less of what he's saying but rather how he's saying it. It's so hostile. If he was doing this back at my home, a youkai would have hunted him down and snapped his neck and torn him apart by now."

"He's showing no respect whatsoever." A frown, crossing her arms. "I'm hard wired to be a predator and even I show respect to the things I regard as just food. He needs to stop or else it will probably happen here at some point. It's only a matter of time before he says something that is over the line for someone. He probably already has."

He shook his head. "That's the half of it. The other half is that humanity is equally afraid of the other thing. We even have a phrase for it: "the same old thing". Much good has been attacked for being merely old or hoary. The word 'stagnant' has proliferated, as though our actions and puddles were comparable...sorry, I'm rambling again."

Another head shake, this time for clarity. He didn't much like the idea of someone getting death for offensive speech, however especially irritating they were. The only exception he could think was making a little one stumble; a particular kind of blasphemy where drowning was counted as a mercy.

"You're a fan of danmaku, aren't you? Are the opponent's sometimes unusually aggressive, or 'hostile'? Do they sometimes play a little caddish or disrespectfully?"

"Well I understand that much. But it puzzles me a little bit. Humans are supposed to be the fickle ones. The ones that always change and adapt to new things. That's the edge you have over youkai since we're stubborn. We stagnate until the will and perception of humans forces us to adapt or die. Quite literally since a shift in perception can cause our very aspects to shift."

Koishi blinked. "Yes. I'm a fan of danmaku. but don't mistake that for a perfect alternate means to lethal combat. It was designed to make fights between youkai and fights between humans and youkai non lethal. Because youkai fighting amonst themselves is unproductive and youkai are going to be youkai no matter what. We came to Gensokyo to be preserved. It wouldn't make sense to encourage lethal combat."

"Besides, a great deal of youkai eat people. It's their purpose since they were born of fears of humans vanishing in the night and that sort of thing. So if they couldn't eat it would deny their purpose which would be against the whole purpose of Gensokyo which exists to preserve us. Sooo..." Koishi just shrugged. "You get the idea."

"We're fickle all right, sometimes to the point of infidelity. How odd you put that like a virtue. The best way I know to describe it is that we like rhythm; the interplay between change and constancy. And it's so terribly easy for music to descend into noise upon the increase or decrease of either.

Anyway, my point is that whoever John is, he is a player, and he's found a game so universal that few speaking creatures manage to refuse. In that light, when he is aggressive, it's because he means to play hard. When he's rude, he's..well, not a good sportsman, true. Or perhaps one not liable to take games that seriously; I've had a few games of Parcheesi where my family could get a bit boastful." Ah, family. He missed them. He took a moment to reflect.

"For instance, you see how he always takes adversarial positions. Games need at least two players, so he'll shore up the other side if need be. Devil's Advocate, it's called. And, of course, the more shocking he is, the likelier it is others will step up to beat him, if nothing else. He wants his playmates. I agree, he makes lots of fun out of people. But that is because making boredom out of them is, for him, a much less appealing prospect.

I really do sound like I know him, huh? Maybe because I have a love of games myself; but manners have taught me not to force the issue on the reluctant. He's rather more brazen than myself. But it's just a guess. He's a serious player; unflippant. Still, I doubt he's worth the worry. Play with him or don't, but being upset is counterproductive. It's like overturning a Scrabble board; he'd probably take it as a loser's tantrum."

That was long-winded, largely because Ted would rather talk about one jerk than many youkai; everything he found out made them seem increasingly awful. Right now he was too tired to watch his words. "I confess I don't get the idea at all. Youkai were meant to be preserved, even if their very existence means fear and death? 'Youkai will be youkai', unless humanity dictates otherwise, whereupon they'll change tout suite?

It all sounds very sad. God made man, and it seems men made youkai." He rummaged for a Psalm. " 'Unless the Lord builds a house, the builders labor in vain.' " The second part of that verse made Ted sad, for reasons relating to his career. Better perk up quick before this conversation turns as gloomy as himself.

"In any case I'm glad you're here, otherwise I'd have thought all youkai were thorns in man's side. But then if you weren't here, I'd never have found out about any of you, so...call it a wash." He tried.

Edited 2016-01-19 03:18 (UTC)

"I see. So best to just ignore him then, I suppose. Or just wait for someone to eventually find him and beat some sense into him." Apparently that's actually how justice was done where Koishi was from. "It's very childish to behave like that. It's lonely and not fun at all."

Koishi was frowning deeply, her eyes dim, deep in thought. "I really dislike humans like that. Humans have a choice as to how they behave. To a degree at least. To make choices to actively cause other humans grief is... I don't really understand it. Isn't there enough turmoil without people going out of their way to make more? It will just lead to more and more suffering and cruelty." A pause. "Though as a youkai I probably shouldn't be talking. We thrive on turmoil."

She looked back up at Ted, pursing her lips and remaining silent for several moments. "Every creature has the right to live. Or try to survive at the very least. The world was changing quickly and no longer needed monsters in the dark. So we retreated from it and made our own little space..." Koishi sounded almost melancholy. "We surrendered the entire world to humanity and their progress. It was not a place we could survive in. And people had stopped believing in us entirely so their perceptions of us could not change meaning we could not be made to adapt to the modern world. We had to make a world of our own. Would you ask every one of us to simply lay down and die simply because we no longer belonged? Would you see us all hunted down and destroyed? Would that be cruelty or mercy? We..."

Koishi trailed off, letting out a slow breath, staring down and to the left, eyes unfocused. Her third eye was swaying back and forth. Her eye was still closed, but there was no tension in it. She looked back up at Ted after a moment. "It's kind of hard to explain this when you don't fully understand what a youkai is and how we work. Honestly, I would love to explain it to you. Luke wants me to start telling stories again. And a human like you should know their enemy. Well, 'enemy' really. You and I aren't at odds but humans and monsters are traditionally at odds."

He gave an empty chuckle. "Driving folly from the fool with a rod to the back, eh? I think he's a little too old for spankings. As for lonely, well, probably. At least he seems to be having fun, even if it's at others' expense. Do you think...ah, I'm talking too much about a stranger. It'd probably be better to just ask than wildly speculate. Still, try not to think too badly of him. I think he just wants to toughen people up. Or at least I hope." Such an optimist.

As for having rights to life..."I disagree. I don't think anything has the right to live. We exist on grace; perhaps on sufferance. It can be removed at any time, for any reason or no reason at all. The world is capricious."

"Explaining your race might clear things up; this piecemeal approach makes me more confused still. I thought you depended on humanity for life. How, then, can you still be about when they cease believing? Wouldn't you simply vanish? As for the fate of youkai, well..." He crossed his arms in thought.

"I echo your own adage: adapt or die. I think if Youkai remained like that; all that stuff about fear and turmoil and killing people, death would be the desert. There's nothing else for it.

Don't misunderstand; humanity is in the same position. We either choose badness or goodness. Those who choose the former get fire and darkness. It's 'change or perish' for us as well. But the way you describe, how bone-deep the sin goes...it's like choosing good would be death for Youkai anyway. Like there's no hope."

Fun conversations all day every day with this guy, I tell you what.

"Let me rephrase then. Youkai have as much right to exist and fight to continue existing as any other sentient creature. To lose youkai is to lose that childlike fear and wonder and awe at a big world that you know nothing about. The looming presence of the unknown. It's something worth preserving, even if the world no longer needs it."

Koishi took a deep breath. "As for what we are... Youkai are not meant to be the allies of humans. In fact, it generally is part of our role to be detested. We are created by human passion, fear, ambition... Any feeling strong enough to awaken the very primal factors of the world and create a conscious being. We are literally monsters, spirits, and demons created from superstition and ignorance to fulfill the role of an imaginary monster that a human dreamed up."

"Because of this we do, indeed depend on humanity. We feed on the aspect that spawned us. Directly or indirectly. For some youkai, this involves mundane things like messing up a room a human just cleaned or jumping out and scaring people. Others must do far darker things. Devour anyone who enters a certain area, kidnap children, or simply kill every human they meet."

"Soon, it becomes a cycle. The youkai acting causes humans to talk and speculate, resulting in more youkai of the same type. Then the humans band together to kill the youkai, their own fear and anger making a new generation, even as they trample the old to dust. The humans advance, kill the old youkai, and create new. The old youkai that escape gain more and more power and properties with time, but are also left further and further behind if they don't continue to make themselves known. If they are forgotten completely or if the concept that they're tied to ceases to be, then they cease to be. Humanity has moved beyond the unknown and, as such, youkai no longer have a place in the world. At least, the old youkai. I'm sure there are new ones that are more subtle."

Koishi shook her head. She was getting off track. "There are hundreds, if not thousands of different types of youkai. And a single group follow an aspect or a handful of aspects, and these define the type of youkai. That's the simple version though. It's hard to explain. We don't just do these things. We embody these things. It's not really a sin because we have no choice in the matter." Koishi frowned a little, looking thoughtful.

"Here, let me give you an example. I am a satori youkai. On the surface my sister and I are mountain-dwelling, carnivorous, humanoid, psychic youkai. We are known for both social and hostile behaviors and tend to actually seek humans out to interact with them. We are intelligent and cunning strategists and clever manipulators. We are an old and complex type of youkai, adapted by humans to take on a multitude of new aspects while retaining the old." Her third eye was open now.

"But more than that. Satori youkai don't just represent things like the wisdom and musings gleaned from meditation upon mountain tops; we are those things. Literally. We are why some mountain travelers vanish without a trace. We are the force that protects mountain villages by causing invaders to get lost and freeze or starve in an unfamiliar landscape. We are stories by the campfire; getting lost in the woods; being chased by wild beasts; a friendly figure on a mountain road; the puppet masters of wandering fools who dare walk the paths of monks and saints. We are the fear of being watched and of having no sanctuary. Even one's own mind. And then, beyond those things, each satori defines themselves by embracing these traits in different amounts."

Ted, surprise surprise, also couldn't agree with her valuing of awe and ignorance. "Suspense is all well and good, up to a point, but one wants to know."

So much for cheering up. This was all pretty damn ghastly for Ted's ears. He could only mutter his understandings.

"A world where dark superstitions are made manifest, from the least to the greatest. No agency. No choice. Manifold curses that will hound humanity without end. Indeed, their presence will only reinforce the folly that gave them existence, ensuring that the circle of evil need never break." Ted was approaching something like despair. If they had no free will; if they were forced to act out whatever depraved role they came from, was there any point in interacting with one whatsoever? You may as well hold a conversation with the wind. They seemed less than animals; animals, at any rate, were entirely real. and would exist independently of humanity if they went away. Some of them could be tamed; many were helpful. But youkai?

On top of that, there was what Satori told him about Koishi's emptiness, which at this point just seemed excessive. One of man's difficulties was his haunting abstractions. Hells of the mind that, thank God, could be escaped from with the material, outside world. But youkai had invaded even that, ensuring that man could never escape the prison of his own psyche into blessed reality. Gensokyo never sounded so much like hell.

And what of his professed love for Koishi? Was it the same as love for an imaginary friend? A worthless indulgence of sentimentality? He wanted some proof that she was real. He had lost one thing he thought for sure was his; not this too.

"Will you tell me this then, Koishi? Why have you done me good since you've known me? Was that just a role of yours too?"

"And when the humans know all things, then the youkai will all cease to be."

Koishi frowned a bit. Ted was growing more and more negative and she really didn't understand why. Her aura grew more potent, trying to gently lift his spirits without forcing him.

"Yes and no." She frowned. "I need to act in accordance with what I am. I have no choice in the matter. However, there's a catch. Not all youkai are civil and sentient. They simply follow what they are on the surface and stand opposed to humanity until they are slain. I am a civil and sentient youkai. The older the youkai, the more intelligent and mellow they become. And I've also become more civil through hard work and abstaining from actively hunting and hurting humans. There reaches a point where a youkai is able to freely interpret their own aspects as well as decide on what aspects to act on and when." She looked a little sheepish. "Though, I'm not entirely sure how ripping the artery from my skull affected my aspects, but they certainly changed. I only know what I do in accordance with my role as a satori. My injury does let me break my own rules from time to time."

"For example, mountains are my home, but since the yama relocated sis and I to the underground, humans' perception changed, and home changed. My flexibility changed. And I call Genessia home now. And those who know me here know this as my home. So even though 'mountains' will always be at the core of my aspect, I can also treat 'home' the same way I treat a mountain."

"I have the choice to go out of my way and spread the aspects I wish to embody. I guide those who are lost. It's why I enjoy staying near the bay and greeting newcomers. Even now, you, yourself, are walking alone here. Traveling a road and perhaps looking for a friendly face?" The little youkai smiled. "Satori protect the villages who live and work on mountains. We keep them safe and the villages provide us with strength from their emotions and by sharing the spoils of their hunting trips. We are youkai that like to see people doing something to help what they consider home. And you've tried a lot to help Genessia. Far more sincerely than others. People like Miss Snow also protect this place. And even do a better job, but your sincerity is what got my attention."

Her face softened. "And there are dozens of other reasons and ways to interpret my spending time with you instead of others. It boils down to the fact that you are my friend, Ted." This was the first time she actually said his name. "I wouldn't have sought to find so many ways to fit your role into what I am if I found your company unpleasant. And that is something I'm free to do. Like you as a person, I mean. And enjoy your company and our conversations."

"I see. Obedience is our salvation. Rebellion is yours. Thank God." He sprung into a hug, clutching her too tightly. He tried with all his might to feel everything.

"...You're not as insubstantial as you made out. I'm glad." Very glad, if her impending strangulation was any indication. He had felt utterly lost for some time. He'd prayed for the Star; a sign of hope in dark times. As recent events proved, he didn't always get what he wanted.

Regardless, he had renewed gratitude for The Moon. Darkness had nearly swallowed him before it chose to make another appearance. Borrowed light, true, but it was enough. He appreciated dramatic, last-minute saves, but they could be so exhausting.

And yet, the sweet was bitter. In heaven, the abstract goal he was aiming towards, it seemed there would be no youkai. There, beyond Judgment, the veil would be lifted. Presumably, all the veil's children would die. What then?

Well, there's no need to think about far off futures. Ted maintained his grip. "For you, I could perhaps resist omniscience. May I never learn what secret keeps you here."

Edited 2016-01-19 09:17 (UTC)

"I suppose you could think of it like tha-" She wasn't expecting the hug. Her third eye dipped out of the way quickly but she took the squeeze with some grace, patting him on the back.

"I am only as substantial as you make me out to be. Reality lies in observation Mister Spades. As long as I don't lose my aspect, my concept will remain. And there will always be like me. But 'Koishi' relies on human perception as much as food and drink to be real." She gave him a small squeeze and let go, drifting back. "That's what it means to be unconscious. For me, at least. And even if I did 'die' I probably wouldn't stay dead. My own aspects as well as the knowledge and legends relating to me as a creature would reconstitute me at some point or another. Though I wouldn't be exactly the same."

Her smile grew a fraction when he spoke next. "Omniscience? Mister Spades, if you ever gained omniscience then you couldn't call yourself a human anymore, could you? Though if you plan on gaining that level of power, don't worry about me. I'd last long enough to find more humans to keep me from vanishing. Eventually." Absolutely all smiles.

A few window wipes later, Ted recovered from his embarrassment at wearing his heart on his sleeve. Again. They really had to stop ending like this. Out of the firm desire to preserve this Hallmark moment, he refrained from chastising her for bringing up something as vulgar as subjective reality.

"It's all right; I was being hyperbolic. Even in heaven there are secrets. Those stones with our names on them, for example. I don't know if there will be a Moon; I hope so. At any rate, don't worry. I'm certain I'll be all right. Just a little more time, is all."

"Well, okay. I'm not sure why you would be hyperbolic about something like that. Reaching some sort of paradise is supposed to grant some sort of peace or knowledge, right? It's quite an appealing prospect for you humans. And you all seem to go about it differently. I hope you find it eventually."

She drifted over, removing her hat and placing it on his head. Instantly her outline sharpened, making it easier to see her. "I'm certain you'll be fine too. You're really smart and clever, if a bit over-dramatic sometimes. But that's just part of what makes you such a fun human." A laugh. "I'd tell you not to change but that would be denying your aspect, wouldn't it?"

"My aspect? Hmm..." He was totally clueless on that one. That goes in the bin with "Mr. Spades" in the "riddles for another day" folder. "Not just peace or knowledge, but an entirely new mode of being. What was sewn in corruption will be raised in incorruption. And yet, not less human, but more. It's...hard to describe. It's a very hush-hush community."

His feelings grounded a little more. "If what I am was enough, the world would be saved by now. Clearly some kind of change is necessary. I just hope it's the right kind."

"Well, that's why you humans are here. You change the world. Even if you don't personally make the right change, at the very least you were able to scratch out a dead end." She didn't mention that dead ends could sometimes do more harm than good. It didn't matter either way, really. Humanity would always bounce back.

"And, don't worry. I understand the concept of a soul and the idea of it changing states while remaining the same. It's what happens to creatures with both a body and a soul. Most youkai aren't like that, but I know humans are. It's the way mortal creatures work."

He chuckled wryly. "So that's my lot in life, eh? Scouting out the failures? How I envy those who find the successes. No wonder I'm so glum, if the story I'm writing is a cautionary tale.

Nothing for it, I suppose. Well, I've got to get back to work penning my woeful screed. Thank you for making an appearance, Moon. My farces don't seem so bad among friends."

"That was your lot in this issue. But not your lot in your whole life. I'm sure things will go better next time."

Her smile brightened a bit, a little ripple of joy passing through her aura. Her third eye gently nudged his shoulder. "You're welcome. Honestly it's not good to see you so creased over felt and rippled. We should go hunting together in Fayren. I know how to start a fire and clean animals and set them up for cooking. You have to mind it though."

"Right away?" His father had taken him hunting a few times. Cried like a baby when they finally bagged one. That and he didn't fancy the idea of Koishi baring her fangs again.

But refusing now would be curmudgeonly. Besides, when a friend offers an outing, you go. That's the rule. His only out was that she meant some future date, instead of the immediate present. But he's ready, mentally checking over his stock of hunting equipment for just such an occasion.

Edited 2016-01-22 01:33 (UTC)

"Yeah! I haven't eaten yet and I'm starved." She was smiling widely now. "I bet it will be lots of fun. I love chasing things through the woods... Though I'm a satori so that's a given!" She giggled, turning around in the air.

"Mister spades! I bet we could catch some rabbits too. If we caught rabbits you could line some boots with their fur. Or maybe make some gloves if we catch enough. But if you rather we could go fishing. I'm hungry now though and fishing takes awhile so..."

Really, so long as Koishi didn't try to eat anything raw it should be a normal trip. Should.

"Hunting it is. Fishing's better for conversations, but I think we've worn out that exercise. Lead the way; Fayren's more your hunting ground." Fingers crossed it doesn't get too bloody.

"Okay! Follow me." Koishi led Ted all the way to Fayren, talking about general things, stopping once to break, and treating him to a hot dog from a street vendor in Genessia city. After all, it was lunchtime and they would be hunting for some time Ted would need to keep his strength up.

When they finally got to Fayren they traveled for nearly an hour before the little youkai stopped. They were pretty far into the forest, Koishi touching down and removing her hat, hanging it on a tree branch. Her sleeves were next, each one getting rolled up past her elbows and tied. Likewise her skirt was pulled up a bit past her knees, the youkai tying a knot in the corner. Faint blue coloration could be seen under her skin just above her knees and elbows as well as one of the points where her tentacles came out. It was more than a little odd but not really monstrous.

"Okay! Mister Spades? Do you have any weapons?" She flexed her hands, fingers shifting a little bit as she hopped up, hooked claws digging into the bark of a tree branch (oh, so that's what they were actually for,) the youkai pulling herself up easily.

Follow he did, chattering as usual and enjoying the hot dog, thank you very much. After a lengthy journey, he had to laugh at that question. Ted had a lot of things. Weapons especially.

"Hah! A few. Let's see." He rummaged around, pretending to be making a careful selection, for removing his rifle from the bag. A long, slender, glossy, wooden thing with a strap and a black scope affixed to the top. He unscrewed a silver attachment at the tip, figuring these aren't undead game they're hunting. "How about this? My bolt-action 22 caliber rifle. I think it will do the trick."

Edited 2016-01-22 03:04 (UTC)

"Umm... That's a gun, right?" She was crouched near the base of the branch before sitting herself down to remove her shoes, tying the laces together, tucking the socks inside, and hanging them next to the hat. She shifted a bit, perching on the balls of her feet with impressive balance.

"Guns work well for a lot of things, especially birds, but you'll scare all the other animals off if you fire it. Do you have anything else? A bow maybe? Or a sling or net? Anything quiet, really."

"Oh, like a silencer." In goes the rifle, out comes the pistol with the appropriate modification. "I used this for more clandestine engagements." While talking he also got out a bow, sling, and net. Ted knew full well that luck favors the prepared. "I've got the others, of course. Which one suits our purpose best?"

Koishi blinked, tilting her head as she examined the options. "Well, if you're a decent shot with that bow then it might be best. Otherwise I suppose the pistol would work. Does the silencer really make it silent? I can't imagine something so small cancelling such a loud noise. We're not really going after anything big. At least, probably not... Though I wouldn't mind a deer." She shrugged.

"Keep the net handy though. That will be useful to keep what we catch still so killing it will be clean."

He shook his head about the silencer. "Not entirely, but we won't need headphones...probably better left for another occasion." He was ready to binge-spend on Nova City toys following a second term, but that never came, and so his money remained timidly in its wallet. "Bow, or sling, it is. I've never used either extensively. First time for everything." Trying new things was nothing new for Ted. He recalled a little about how to nock an arrow, but it was plain to see that this was the clumsy attempt of a first-timer. Slings he knew full well from his play as a child, but for hunting? Fuhgeddaboutit.

Koishi watched him fumble a bit with the arrow before falling forward, turning in the air, and landing in a crouch. Certainly too fluid to be human, but when she approached him her claws were gone and she looked as normal as ever.

She took the bow from him as well as one of his arrows. "Here. The motion is like this." Her third eye moved well out of the way as she nocked an arrow, drawing the bow to full and holding it. Well as full as she could. Her arms were shorter than Ted's, but still. Her form wasn't perfect. She hadn't been trained, after all. But it was decent at least.

"Make sure the arrow head is on this side or the arrow wont fly straight." She relaxed her arms and shoulders, offering it back to him, her third eye drifting back to its usual place.

"Goodness, Koishi. Suppose you live long enough, you begin to be a know-it-all." Not that he was ungrateful for the advice; his form improved much more in an instant. He might even be able to stick it to a woodland creature or two. "All that's left now to is to find where the hares are. Sadly I don't have a pack of beagles with me. Oh, perhaps there?" He pointed to a patch of grass in the distance. "A clover field. Think that's what they eat, if I remember correctly."

"Well I've lived for over four centuries and have had centuries more knowledge imprinted into my mind. So I know a lot of things." She was all smiles again. "It would be stranger if I didn't know how to draw a bow properly."

She hopped back up into the tree again, her claws appearing, keeping her stable. She glanced back at Ted and then followed where he was pointing. "Ohh~ good eye. I stopped here because I smelled rabbits so there are probably some nearby." She took off rather quickly, hopping from tree to tree, swinging a little to get some momentum. It the motion was very natural to her and had an almost inhuman grace to it.

She didn't have to go very far, tensing a little and waving Ted over, pointing. Sure enough in one of the further clover patches was a rabbit nibbling away.

First fairy, now Youkai, then monkey. She really needed to stick to a theme. Ted would run up part of the, then remember to be quiet. Taking aim, fire, and...

(50% chance)

Success! An arrow went straight through the heart of an innocent creature. Ted was elated, though more at his beginner's luck than having slain a cute bunny. His self congratulations likely scared the rest of them, but that was probably for the best. Now they could get to the fun part: cleaning. Joyous day.

A few other rabbits scattered when the arrow hit, but that didn't matter. Koishi shot off like a bullet after one, absolutely flying through the trees. No monkey could move like that. The little rabbit didn't get far, the satori pouncing on it with quite a bit of precision and rolling. She stood quickly, holding the wiggling thing by the scruff.

A single merciful snap was all it took to make it still.

"That was a good shot Mister spades!" she called. She was taking her time walking back over to where he was hiding, taking a small detour to collect the rabbit he shot too, bringing them both back. Fortunately, by this time, she had returned to her normal, non-scary form.

"You hit it just right. See?" She held up the skewered animal. "Right through the upper torso and pinned to the ground. It kicked so hard it broke its own spine and died right away. Even master archers can't always do this and then they have to kill the poor thing with a second shot." Koishi. Don't feed Ted's ego. It's bad for his health.

She shifted the rabbit in her hands, carefully withdrawing the arrow and offering it back to ted feather end first. "It's still cold out. Do you want to catch a fox too maybe? They have wonderful full fur coats right now. Or a raccoon? Or are the rabbits enough?"

He winced at that snap. Koishi plz. He gave a brief thought to what Satori would think about all this, animal lover that she was.

"It killed so thoroughly?" He looked over his bow and hands. Was he becoming...a monster? "Well I'm glad it was quick, at any rate. Of course it'd never have worked without your supervision; you have half my congratulations." Ted was always one to push his luck; the hunt goes on! "Let's get a fox". He remembered Satori's raccoon and its would-be thievery. Might get awkward explaining how you shot one of its fellows. "Their color ought to make them easier to see. Besides, raccoons are difficult without dogs. Unless you have their sense of smell." Wouldn't be the weirdest thing Koishi's done that day. Ted took a quick inventory of his bag...no fox calls. Or calls of any kind. He'd add that to his growing shopping list. "Off we go; the unspeakable in search of the inedible." Unless Koishi had a taste for fox.

"Thoroughly?" She tilted her head. "Well I suppose that's one way to put it. But you shouldn't thank me. That was a very good shot. You should practice lots so you can shoot like that every time. I bet you would make the hunters back home on the mountain very impressed."

Koishi nodded at the suggestion of a fox, looking down at the caught rabbits and tilting her head. "Hmm. After that I'll catch a couple more rabbits to take home. I bet sis will appreciate the meat."

At the comment about her sense of smell, Koishi couldn't help but laugh. "My senses are about average for a youkai. After all, satori are supposed to rely on our sixth sense mostly. I can't follow the scent of something. I can tell, for example, the difference between a human and disguised non-human though. Sometimes even the species of the non human if they have a distinct scent. But just identifying one species from another isn't nearly as impressive as telling individuals apart by smell."

Koishi picked a direction and hopped back into the trees in search of a fox. She was moving far more slowly this time to keep pace with Ted. "Foxes are edible, by the way. They're not as tasty as other creatures but they're still made of meat. You can eat most things that are made of meat. Provided they're not poison."

He laughed. "Well, that goes without saying. I suppose; the sheet given to Peter contained all the creatures of the Earth, however wild. You know men would eat locusts? Nevermind; I doubt there's much of us you don't know." Back in the bag the bow goes. Beginner's luck, he reckoned. Besides, what could contend with the stopping power of a Nova City blaster?

Ted, as could be expected, was a pretty lousy hunter. He's eager enough to take shots at targets Koishi pointed out, but every other aspect of the game was lost on him. The patience, the fine attention necessary for little details, the intimate knowledge of likely habitats, and so on. But even a long stretch with nothing to show for it bothered him not at all; he took it all as a pleasant nature walk, chatting along the way, filling his head with dreamy thoughts which Fayren made so easy to think about. He'd keep an eye open for anything sly and orange. But on the whole, Koishi had the mind of a predator. He had the mind of something else entirely.

Moping and Magicians [Action[ [Semi-open]

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