thenearshore | [closed] lost and found

Entry tags:

[closed] lost and found

Who: Shun and Fubuki
What: A(n un)happy coincidence leads to a new god/shinki pair.
When: June 11th
Where: Nekhbet's Temple
Warnings: None so far.

[Shun tries not to worry too much about his friends. If they've reached that kind of status with him, chances are he trusts them to take care of themselves if he's not around to help them, and he knows being constantly watched over bothers the hell out of him. Still, he can't completely stop the urge, and as such, when Joker happens to not be in the temple one morning, his first reflex is to focus himself for the few moments it takes to get that gentle marker of what direction he might be in.

The resounding nothing that answers him is enough to snap that focus in a second.

It's a little later in the day, after having checked the list in those phones issued by the Heavens to find a name missing, and even having checked Joker's room to find nothing but a note on caring for the particular vulture he'd been hand-rearing, that Shun ends up out in his garden. With the open border of trees, he's fully visible from his temple's front door, seated in front of the tiny garden shrine with a vulture markedly smaller than most of the rest of them perched on his shoulder. As much as it seems like he's in no mood to be distracted, the sound of his temple door being approached is enough to get him looking over his shoulder, waiting for the visitor to come into view.

Whoever it is, he thinks, had better have a damn good reason for being here.]

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—Am I interrupting something?

[Because if it's feeding time, he can come back another day. A...ha.... Part of him wonders whether he really should wait for a better moment. But no one would seek out someone at their temple for small talk, and Fubuki hadn't been invited over to play. There's obviously a reason for this visit, and the longer he draws it out...it would only get more awkward, or so his gut tells him.]

... I have a favor to ask.

[At least it's someone Shun knows relatively well, or he probably would have booted them out of the garden on principle with the kind of mood he's in. However, Shun stands up and turns towards Fubuki - despite the smaller vulture on his shoulder, his hands are mercifully free of rotted meat or any other feed he might be inclined to give vultures.

There's a deadness to his eyes - more pronounced than it usually is - that says that maybe Fubuki hasn't caught him at the best time, but he feels they've allied themselves often enough that turning him down straight off isn't reasonable, and there's nothing particularly offputting in his tone when he answers.]

So ask it, then.

[Without meaning to, he hesitates—he'd made his way here without thinking too hard about it, but saying it aloud feels like it would just reinforce how weird it still is, how much it bothers him. He feels like he should remember something...but maybe that's just his ego playing tricks.]

It's... Are you alright?

[... Something definitely happened. He steps closer.]

[Unfortunately, Shun still isn't the best at admitting when he's having problems, and as Fubuki steps forward, he grits his teeth and pulls himself back about as far as he can without actually stepping back.]

I'm fine. [Technically, not a lie, but having the chance to mourn isn't common for him.] Don't fuss about nothing. I told you to ask whatever it is you're asking.

[While what's happened may end up coming up anyway, Shun isn't particularly interested in launching into that topic off-hand.]

[Somewhere deep inside, he feels that if he lets the issue lie, he'll regret it later. Like he has to get them back before they're gone. ... Maybe he feels more strongly about his gods' disappearances than he'd thought. Either way, he has to take a gamble now.]

That's...

[... Common courtesy won out.]

That is, my god is gone. I wanted to ask you if I could stay here for the time-being.

[It seems like Fubuki's gamble may have paid off in another sense - as soon as he mentions his god having disappeared, Shun's expression tightens, but it's an easier-to-read, pained look.]

Another one, then. [Turning away slightly to look over the garden, Shun weighs exactly how much he wants to share here.]

My shinki disappeared earlier today. Another god and a shinki I knew both look like they're gone as well. It was only a matter of time until that many got taken out at once, but it doesn't make it any less of a loss. [It's said in a manner that's familiar, almost weary...the tone of someone used to losing people in those numbers.

In lieu of an answer to his request, Shun turns back towards Fubuki and walks past him, back to the mouth of the garden.]

Come with me.

["Only a matter of time" confirms what Fubuki's suspected for a while about Shun, but it might not be a good time to bring that up. Somehow that theory that the disappeared had been sent home doesn't seem convincing at the moment.]

Er, right.

[... Maybe he should have called ahead first, he thinks ruefully as he follows. No helping it now, though.] Where are we going...?

Inside. [It's largely because Shun prefers not to have private discussions outside, and he has at least one thing to ask Fubuki given that revelation of his circumstances. Just before he reaches the door, he stops to let the little vulture on his shoulder hop onto his arm and then off into the sky, where it flutters back towards the garden.

After opening the door, he apparently decides to actually explain his reasoning...though it's still while standing expectantly to one side, as if it shouldn't matter either way.]

I have something to ask you first. And whatever your answer happens to be, if you're staying in this temple you need to know your way around it. [So apparently, that's his way of saying that he's agreed to the initial proposition either way, instead of just a "yes" like a normal person.]

[If he's expected to answer, then it stands to reason that it's something that he might not like...? He'd be lying if he said that that doesn't make him nervous, but he has no idea why; it isn't like Fubuki didn't ask first, anything more than that is pretty much...extracurricular.]

Ah, thanks.

[Despite his initial hesitation, he heads inside without a fuss.]

[Closing the door behind them both, Shun heads down the short hallway inside and to the left, where it opens immediately on to a kitchen on one side and a lounge room on the other. The field outside is visible through the large window, and Shun sits facing it, with his back to the kitchen. Unsurprisingly, he seems to be keeping an eye on movements outside even as he gestures for Fubuki to sit down if he wants.]

So, you're asking me to stay here. That says you don't have much of a plan about what you're doing next, but this place is unpredictable enough that not having a plan could hurt you much more than you think. How long were you planning to go without a god?

[His tone isn't forceful at all (though it is typically blunt), because Shun isn't trying to push him into a decision here, but it might be possible to tell where this line of conversation is going.]

It's not like I planned it...

[He takes a seat, the nervous feeling having disappeared almost as soon as it had popped up. But maybe it's the right feeling to have in a circumstance like this. "A plan"—he didn't have one until he was already halfway over here.]

I don't know how long it takes, but—

[He'd just ended up in Fortuna Temple somehow. And...uhm... Wait.]

So what you're saying is, it's dangerous for a shinki without a god—and for a god without a shinki?

Obviously you didn't plan your last god disappearing, but when circumstances change you have to adapt. [The remark is made as if it's just common sense, something Shun considers to be not just truth, but universal.

Having never actually lost a shinki before, Shun doesn't have any idea how long it takes for the Heavens to decide to pair people again, but whatever amount of time is too long to him. It's a risk that he can't justify taking, especially when there's a solution right in front of them.

When Fubuki seems to reach that solution himself, Shun inclines his head, his focus shifting from the view outside to rest exclusively on the shinki.]

Exactly. And it's your choice where to go from here, but if you didn't have anyone in mind, the Heavens could just as easily put you in the hands of someone who doesn't give a damn about you as anything but a weapon. If you wanted a safer option, then the offer to stay here doesn't have to be a temporary one.

[While Shun's looking at Fubuki, Fubuki's looking at the ground. He's sort of picked up on the dangers that gods themselves pose to shinki, but "weapon" is quite blunt. Confronted with that, there's obviously one right decision to make here. It's just...]

Can I ask you something? Before I came...was something wrong?

[It's not like it's a condition or anything. But after Hinata disappeared, there'd always been something he couldn't name that said he should have done more for her, even if he can't rationalize how that even makes sense. And then afterwards, he'd barely known Ankh.]

[It's an unfortunate truth, but one Shun feels he has to break. When they've gotten to the point of having to exchange ideas for shinki protection groups over the network in hopes that they might be able to keep them away from gods who don't respect them, it's a problem worth knowing.

When Fubuki asks that question, though, Shun's eyes narrow a little. For a moment, the lines around them seem to become harsher, more shadowed.]

That depends on what you mean by something wrong. I'm not the kind of person who lives at ease, but you probably already know that. If you're worried about me disappearing, though, don't be. I have business back home, but I also have people here I want to protect. Nobody's dragging me away from here until this is over, if I can help it.

That's... ["Gratifying" isn't the right word. Fubuki's dead; there's nothing to suggest that there's anywhere for him to go back to in the way that the gods do. "When this is over" means something different to a god than to a shinki...probably.] I...appreciate it.

[And it's not like he considered the possibility that Hinata and Ankh had left of their own volition. He'd always thought it was something that couldn't be helped. That...changes things.]

But is that what was troubling you?

[It's clear enough to Shun that he's likely made an error in putting that forward the way he did, but if Fubuki's not directly raising it, he's not asking it. He's still not sure about the circumstances of the disappearances - though Ankh's, if the bird-bound video he'd received had been any indicator, didn't appear to be voluntary even if he was prepared in a sense - but even if they are by force, whatever force is behind it will have to drag him every step of the way.

When Fubuki asks that question, Shun looks stumped for just a moment, as if confused as to why he'd be that interested. After a moment, though, he just shakes his head.]

Like I said, even if you're used to losing people, it doesn't get easier. I took the chance to mourn when I knew I could get it. Joker was with me long enough that he was a friend as well as a partner in combat, and even if the other two that vanished recently weren't that close, they didn't deserve whatever happened.

[Ah...so it was a private thing.] Sorry, didn't mean to pry. [Sometimes he feels like he should know people more, or that he can't quite trust what he knows about people. And yet, it doesn't feel like he was a distrusting person.] Sometimes...instinct is all I have to go on for things like this.

[And instinct's telling him to just accept already.] ... Okay. As a shinki, I'll work with you.

[At that apology, Shun just shrugs dismissively and makes no comment. Moving on from the subject is enough of a show that he didn't want to pry, so he doesn't see the point in an apology on top.

When Fubuki makes that comment about instinct, though, Shun's eyes on him seem to become that little bit more intense for a moment, some kind of recognition or familiarity sparking in him.]

Sometimes, instinct is all any of us have to go on. The question is how much you trust yours.

[In any case, the agreement gets a slight incline of the head from Shun, as if accepting the arrangement in return.] What was the last vessel name you went by? If you're used to reacting to it and had no problems with it, I don't see the point in changing it.

Well... [if he can't trust his instinct, he can't trust anything at all, and that's a level of self-doubt that he doesn't want to go down. There are a bunch of things he leaves to instinct, reflex, or that he just doesn't think about on the assumption that his personality before he lost his memory would fill it in. He can't really say how that's working for him, though.]

[He shakes his head.] It was...Yamiki... [He turns sheepish.] I don't know about being used to it, though. They didn't use it much.

[As far as Shun's concerned, the name is more Fubuki's business than his own, since he's the one who has to deal with having it. There's a slight shrug at the mention of them not using it much, though in actuality he notes it. If Fubuki hasn't had much practical experience as a shinki, they may need to work on that.]

It's the name you'll have to live with. If you want me to think of something else, I can try, but I can't guarantee it'll be any better.

[Both of Shun's prior shinki came with their names already, and he doesn't consider himself to have much of an imagination.]

Ah, no, it's fine. [Being called by a different name feels kinda weird, but it's something all shinki have to deal with, after all.] Thanks for taking me in.

[So, another god. It'd be a gross exaggeration to say that he's getting used to it, but he almost feels blasé at the thought of looking around the temple. (If he hadn't become Nekhbet's shinki, he wouldn't have intruded, of course.)] Do you mind if I poke around?

If you say so. [Shun's never actually done a naming ceremony before, but he figures it's not much of a deal, so he simply says what he feels would make the bond "official" in the eyes of the Heavens.] Then I name you Yamiki, shinki of the god Nekhbet.

[The way he says the words is somewhat detached, like he doesn't feel much for the ceremony or circumstance, but they seem to work - Shun, at least, has to rest his head in his hand a moment as the expected flash of death cuts through his mind. After Joker's, this one is almost astoundingly mundane, though Shun figures he should be grateful for that more than anything. He's seen enough death for one lifetime.

The question of looking around is what snaps him out of the brief reverie, and he gives a short nod of approval. However, he also points out a few key locations from his place on the chair, first to the corridor that goes on left between the kitchen and lounge and on much further into another hall.]

The bedrooms are up the stairs that way, and there's more than there's ever going to be shinki in this temple so pick whichever. The top one is mine, so don't go in. The one with the door open was Joker's. Bathrooms and whatever else are down where the corridor goes right at the stairs. [And now to point to the right, back towards the door.] That way's mostly the downstairs. More bedrooms if you prefer underground, larger baths which are honestly a waste of space, some rooms full of junk from whoever was here before me. There's a few rooms for sparring or training or whatever else that you're free to use, but I'll be training someone else three times a week so use another room if we're doing that. [Assuming Fubuki even wants to practice fighting, but it's a pretty typical assumption for Shun to make.]

[Large baths...] Thanks.

[Itinerary: pick a bedroom, poke around the baths, uh...wait. "We're"?] What do you train?

[It would probably be a good idea to pick up some skills; if the incident in the forest is anything to go by, Fubuki wouldn't be of any use as he is. Which... Now that he thinks about it, when Shun was talking about that, he'd said that it was dangerous for shinki first. The one who'd made the connection to it being dangerous for gods had been Fubuki. Meaning...

[He glances at Shun even as he remembers that Shun has always been warning him about things. That's... Tsundere?!] And...tell me about Joker sometime?

[~~Congratulations, Fubuki, you discovered his secret.~~

There's no response to the thanks besides a slight huff and a turn of the head. It's hard to tell whether Shun's actively dismissing it or just thinks it's unnecessary.

As for what he trains, that's fairly simple to explain.] Fighting, obviously, but not in the way most people learn it. I learnt through doing and being put through hell, so that's how I teach it. Like I said, there's only one person I train anyway. He should be coming this afternoon, so I suggest you keep yourself busy with something else while that's happening.

[After a moment, he makes a small annendum.] If you don't know what you're doing in a fight, I can at least teach you some basics. I'm not going to make you commit to a painful training regimen, but leaving people defenseless is something I prefer to avoid.

[The mention of Joker makes his mouth twist a bit, his jaw clenching, and he turns his head.] I'll think about it.

[Painful... He gets stuck between wanting to ask about it and feeling like it's not something someone asks about casually. As evidenced by the reaction to Joker's name, just because Shun had said it doesn't mean he wants to talk about it—but then again, he doesn't know if he would want to talk about Hinata either, never mind that, with some time to himself after the fact and if he takes care not to examine it too hard, he has the feeling that she might have reminded him of someone.

[... Quickly moving to a new train of thought, fighting. Fighting, huh. That's...tricky.] I don't think I do. And, well... [Full disclosure...] I don't know my way around being a vessel, either.

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