thenearshore | (no subject)

Who: Cho Hakkai, Guy Cecil, Kozukata Yuri
What: Settling into a new household as a shinki means talks with the current residents... and with the people who sneak into the place at midnight, for that matter, too.
When: May 30 & June 1
Where: The temple of Mahakala
Warnings: TBD. Hakkai and Guy's conversation is probably going to stay fairly G-rated, though.

[smile like nothing has changed -- hakkai & guy, may 30th, evening]

[Hakkai's trying very hard not to develop a new nervous habit of rubbing his throat where the name rests. It doesn't itch; the skin isn't raised or irritated, like it would be for a real tattoo. There's no way to feel it there at all, but knowing it's there makes his skin prickle nonetheless.

It's probably just because he knows that other people can see it. He's never been fond of that.

And it's past time for him to make his introductions, even if he's spent most of the day working with Asshole on the abandoned temple he's repurposed into a school. He's back, now, padding down the hallway of Ukoku's temple to knock lightly on the door of Guy's room.

He steps back, and crosses his arms before he can raise one hand to rub his throat.]

Excuse me! Guy, are you there?

[whose room are you going to for coffee? -- hakkai & yuri, june 1, around midnight]

[He should be asleep, considering when he woke up. He's not; he's tired, with a day's hard work and years' worth of memories weighting down his bones, but it can't overcome the itchy restlessness that keeps him moving. Reading doesn't really alleviate it, either. In desperation, at last, he's headed for the kitchen, and is scrubbing the counters clean of every speck of debris. The light from the single swinging bulb overhead is dim and yellow, and he's sure in the light of day it'll have to be redone.

Anything, at this point, is better than lying down and letting himself think.]

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

Depending on the similarities you find, it could be exciting! ... but outside of any surprises that would get old fast, wouldn't it?

[It sounds a little like busywork, in fact. Hakkai lets his tone go sympathetic, a smile tugging slightly at the corner of his lips.]

Well, I suppose at least if he doesn't make too many demands on us, we at least have time to pursue our own interests.

That's about it.

We should...like I mentioned earlier, he's not too interested in taking down ayakashi...or you might end up doing that, I suppose, depending on what your form is.

[He glances at the character on Hakkai's throat again, briefly.]

If he's changed his mind...

Edited 2017-01-08 18:26 (UTC)

I'm a monk's staff. [Hakkai spreads his hands in a tiny shrug, accompanied by an equally small smile.] It's not the best offensive weapon, but I suppose it'd do in a pinch.

[It's not a sword, or the spade he'd been the last time around. He suspects he can do more damage in this form than he could as a weapon, if it weren't that he can't touch ayakashi without injuring himself, of course.]

-- And you?

Me?

[Congratulations, Hakkai, you're officially the first person who's ever asked him that question. And probably the only one who'll find out the answer.]

I...well, it's a lot less useful than a staff, that's for sure. I'm uh...a kimono. Of some sort.

You must have some other sort of power, then.

[Hakkai sounds mildly interested: he's been weapons, so far, for each of his gods. Perhaps it's something about the shinki's personality.

He hasn't seen Guy in a fight, but the man seems mild-mannered, or at least willing to accept matters as they are. Perhaps he's a shield of some kind?]

I'm not sure what power I have in this form yet. Actually, I didn't have enough of a chance to practice with my last one to find that out, either....

If I do, I haven't had a chance to see what it is.

[He hopes so. Then again, being clothes is still sort of an awkward thing to deal with, and a large part of him would like to not have to deal with that too frequently.]

Was your last god not the fighting type? Or were you just not with them very long?

[The emotion drains abruptly from Hakkai's face, leaving it too blank for a few seconds as he looks at Guy.]

It wasn't very long.

[He coughs politely into one hand, and looks back up with the mild interest pinned back over his features.]

And various things got in the way. In any case, it seems I'm not likely to learn here, either.

[That was a quick transition. Is this a common quirk of Hakkai's, he hasn't seen it happen that much.]

Ah, sorry if I asked something I shouldn't have...

[He remembers Hakkai mentioning his last god was Dionysus. Or at least that was his god last time Guy asked. He never did manage to meet said god, unfortunately.]

Wish I could say differently, but you might be right. Speaking of...I'm not sure what else you need to know.

[He rubs the back of his neck, looking up at the top of the doorframe as he thinks.]

There's a motorcycle you can use if you need to run errands in the city and don't want to walk everywhere. The only shrine to Mahakala we know of is at the edge of the city, away from everything...

... No, that's all right.

[It's still hard to look casual when talking about Gojyo, when all he can think of is his soul trapped and screaming like Elsa's. Are they all dead? Or are they just borrowed from the place they should be? And how can he possibly find and free those souls if there's no hint of who's responsible....

This is why he's here, working with Ni, he reminds himself, and moves briskly on, schooling his expression back into calm.]

Ah, the motorcycle sounds useful, but I do have a vehicle too! With a little more storage capacity, so please, let me know if you need to pick up anything that won't fit on the motorcycle.

I'll have to take a look at the shrine.

If you say so.

[At the mention of another vehicle, he perks up a bit--though he's trying not to give off too many 'can I take it apart?' vibes. Sure, he's seen (and nearly gotten hit by) cars and buses down on the Near Shore, but he hasn't really gotten to examine one of them up close.]

Oh? What kind of vehicle?

A dragon who turns into a Jeep.

[Guy brightened up a little too fast just now. Hakkai hopes the fact that his vehicle happens to be a living one will discourage any images of disassembled engines dancing in his head.]

A dragon..

[Oh, that's right, Hakkai has a dragon. He's small, though, and it's hard to imagine him transforming into a vehicle larger than a motorcycle.]

The small white one you introduced me to, right? I didn't know he transformed into anything.

[But that does kind of deter any disassembly ideas. Maybe Jeep would let him at least look under his hood while he's in car form.]

Yes, that's right! You did meet him when you dropped by Gojyo's temple, didn't you?

[Hakkai smiles. Hopefully, knowing that Jeep is alive will discourage any attempts to poke at his innards with a wrench.]

I've asked him not to transform inside. It crowds the room.

[Gojyo? Oh right, Sha Gojyo, the other name of Dionysus.]

I imagine! And he might get stuck as well.

[Being a living thing is helping reduce the urge to poke at him--but now Guy's just determined to see the dragon transform.]

Yes... although if that happened, he could always transform back.

Which wouldn't unbreak any furniture, unfortunately.

[Or crockery, or glass that had happened to be too close to a sudden appearing car. Guy looks eager. Hakkai considers his expression for a moment.]

I could ask him to show you tomorrow, if you'd like to drop by the abandoned temple.