closed;

[shufu]

Who: shufu and deceives and his fellow shinki, Shirogane and Henry if they feel so inclined
What: Someone got lost on the way home...
When: March 20th
Where: Apep's shrine
Warnings: None... yet?


It had taken him a while -- getting stuck in the near shore until he chanced upon a wayward god hadn't exactly helped -- but it seemed he was finally here. Apep's shrine. Horikawa isn't really sure what to make of it but he'll blame that on the memories or lack thereof. He isn't really sure what to make of most of this life. But that doesn't keep him from pushing forward.

The grounds of the shrine are eerily quiet so he steps onto them with care.

"Excuse me?" He calls out, repeating himself as he makes his way into the building. It doesn't matter though. There's no one here.

Horikawa waits briefly, mulling over his options as if there's any precedence for what comes next. There's little to deduce from the antechamber as to the whereabouts of his god or when they might return. That's when he notices a small pile of papers by the entrance, mail from the looks of it -- who knew gods had a need for such a thing? -- and if he's got nothing to do anyway, it's not hurting anything to tidy up a bit.

That's how it starts. Mail turns into shoes which turns into clothes and then laundry and after a couple hours pass every bit of clutter around the shrine has found a place and he's just finishing up on the floors which are practically sparkling. There's something comforting in the menial tasks, a place to divert energy that would otherwise be divested in aimless anxiety.

"Whew..." He sits back on his heels, looking around and wondering to himself, no longer anticipating the other residents any time soon. "What's next?"

Comments

[anachronisticbilliards]

Shirogane hasn't been spending too much time at the shrine. He's a self-proclaimed lone wolf; it's just in his nature to hang out on his own.

...that, and he's really not quite sure how he feels about being the shinki of a chaos god. What's done is done--it's not like he can do much about it. But now, he's returned to see if he's needed for anything, only to find that someone has come through and done quite a bit of cleaning.

Excuse him while he stands there in the doorway and looks around like he has no idea what even happened there, why are the floors so clean?

[shufu]

Fortunately Shirogane won't be left standing there for very long, as Horikawa hurries by on the way back to the storage closet with his arms full of the cleaning supplies.

"Oh! Good morning!" It's after noon. "Are you Apep?"

Without waiting for a reply or any kind of acknowledgement at all, Horikawa makes an impressively quick show of balancing everything on the ground safely before he straightens and presents Shirogane with a deep, respectful bow.

"I'm terribly sorry for the delay. I'm Horikawa Kunihiro. I'll be your shinki starting today. Well... a few days ago actually. I hope I can make up for that."

[anachronisticbilliards]

Shirogane can only stare in bafflement at this display. He is fairly certain he's not worth bowing so deeply to. "No, I'm not Apep!" Thank...some other god he's not. "I'm Shirogane." There's a pause. "The other shinki."

[shufu]

"Ah! So there's more than one of us." If anything, that comes as a relief to the new shinki. So, his god hadn't been left completely without help in his absense. Of course, that wouldn't save the first impressions but there was time to make up for that now.

"In that case, I hope we get along," he says with a smile.

[anachronisticbilliards]

"So it would seem." The idea of working with a team feels like it should stir something in Shirogane...but really, he can't say he's a fan of the idea.

There's a gruff nod in response to that hope. "...I suppose we will."

[shufu]

Horikawa nods, satisfied. So Shirogane didn't seem particularly talkative. That was fine too. He could do enough for the both of the. This is the first he's met anyone that's had real contact with their god and they'd be partners to boot. Somehow, that's something that definitely feels meaningful to Horikawa.

"Have you been here long? I only just arrived recently so I'm still getting used to well... all this." He gestures, but by the looks of the place it seems he'd already settled in just fine, god or no.

[anachronisticbilliards]

"No, I haven't." Shirogane shakes his head. "I'm still getting used to it, as well." There's probably an opportunity for making friends somewhere in there, but that is not Shirogane's strong suit. "It's a lot to take in."

[shufu]

"I see. I guess they can't expect us to get it all right away. So long as we're doing our best." Horikawa wasn't exactly overly trusting himself, but intentions count for something. This guy is a fellow shinki and a kind of partner the way he sees it. It would be best if they could be friendly.

But the feeling of limbo that comes from standing around in the entrance hall asserts itself and maybe this isn't the best place to get to know one another. "Right! You probably want to come in. Do you need anything? I can make some tea if you like."

[anachronisticbilliards]

"Coming in would...probably be good." He can do this. The fact that he doesn't remember any of the reasons he likes to keep to himself is probably helping here, though he doesn't realize it. "But I don't need any tea--that's too much trouble."

[shufu]

"It's no trouble at all! I'm just finishing up here." He looks back down to the supplies, some of them used and in need of a good cleaning themselves. But it'll just have to wait since this is far more important.

"Let me put these things away and I'll meet you in the kitchen okay?" Before Shirogane can protest Horikawa has gathered up his things and scurried off to dispose of them.

[anachronisticbilliards]

"Alright." Shirogane still seems a little befuddled by the sheer friendliness there, but he'll go to the kitchen. He wants to see where this goes, and he should get to know the other shinki here at least a little.

[shufu]

It doesn't take long for Horikawa to return to the kitchen which is a gleaming picture of its former self. Having already organized the pantry he knows exactly where to go to find the pot to boil water, the cups, the tea and a strainer to catch the leaves. He sets everything in its place, precise and efficient. in preparation for the process to follow. Then the burner is switched on and Horikawa approaches the table with a small plate of sweets to enjoy while they wait. Store bought of course as he's hardly had enough time to make anything yet.

"Please have a seat." He gestures to the chair across from him. "Has it been very busy since you arrived?"

[anachronisticbilliards]

There is a definite double-take at that kitchen, because the transformation is pretty amazing at this point. Look at that sparkle! That is an almost ridiculous amount of sparkle! "Ah, no." Shirogane thinks on that. "Though it's not like I have anything to measure it against. But it doesn't seem as though things have been too hectic."

[shufu]

Ah yes. When Horikawa says he's going to do his best he really means it. To the point of going overboard at times...

But he takes a seat himself and folds his hands his front of him. "That's a relief then. A nice change of pace from when we arrived too. I had worried it would be difficult to adjust if things were like that all the time."

[anachronisticbilliards]

"Difficult enough to adjust as it is," Shirogane grumbles, "but I imagine that made it worse, yes."

[shufu]

"Yes that's true," Horikawa agrees somewhat solemnly as he thinks about what it really means to find oneself here as a shinki.

In the intervening silence the water starts to boil and that has him bustling back to the stove to finish with the tea. "I wonder who it's more difficult for. There are times I worry I might be missing something without my memories. Like maybe there's more I can do but. Then I think it's also hard to miss what you don't remember." In short, he's adjusting all the same.

[anachronisticbilliards]

"I have to wonder what I left behind. Who I left behind." Shirogane sighs. "The not knowing...I don't like it."

[shufu]

Maybe it's because he's a sword that he doesn't find that to be such a problem. Not that he has any way of knowing but he does have a feeling that there are worse things than not knowing. If the thing you were trying to remember was painful for example... or if there was simply nothing to remember at all...

But he's already learned not to press such opinions on what was such a sensitive topic for so many. "I'd be surprised if anyone did."

Setting the tea in front of Shirogane, it's a fragrant green that smells strongly of mint. Fitting for a deity of Egypt. "I hope it's to your liking. The options were... limited."

[necrowmantic]

What a tidy-looking shrine! This was somewhat different than what Henry had expected. Not that he'd expected much of anything, come to think of it, but Toudou hadn't given him the impression of a sparkling-clean demon god.

It did, at least, make it easy enough to tell that no gods were currently home, and Henry wanders about, debating whether to stick around on the chance one did turn up, or to shrug and wander back out.

"Who're you?" It's a friendly enough question, as Henry instead comes across Horikawa instead, shuffling over to his side in lieu of leaving. "Seen any monstrous horned gods about?"

[shufu]

From Horikawa's perspective, Henry appears at his side not unlike a specter conjured up from nowhere in particular and he tenses in turn. He has to remind himself that it wasn't difficult for one to come and go as they pleased throughout the far shore -- hadn't he done the very same -- and finally he wills himself to calm down, with his pulse returning to normal.

"Horikawa Kunihiro." Looking at Henry, he seems harmless enough but he can't help wondering if it was his intention to come across so unsettling. What kind of question is that too? At least it doesn't seem like he's the Apep he's looking for. "I haven't seen any gods at all. Does that mean I should expecting one?"

[deceives]

Well this is certainly a surprise. Toudou was actually out when Horikawa arrived at the shrine. Out doing what...we just don't know, but he's going to keep his cover for the meantime while he's here. Having to play pretend is boring but he's good at doing that.

So when he finally runs into the other shinki he'll give a glance.

"And you are?" Because he's pretty sure he only has one true shinki at the moment. Although something about this young man feels vaguely familiar. Don't mind the appearance of him, flaming tail, feathers adorning the sides of his face, and horns in all at least he seems mildly nice?!

[shufu]

Prepare to be mistaken because Horikawa turns and his eyes widen a little at the sight of Toudou. Not because there was anything about him that was particularly alarming -- he doesn't have the capacity to make that kind of judgment -- but his eyes drift to his head and the horns adorning the top. Henry had said something about them didn't he? So that means...

"So you're Apep! I'm your shinki..." And he's still sitting there addressing him from the floor and blotched with dirt and water and floor cleaner. Where are his manners? He can't do anything about his appearance but he still scrambles to his feet to greet the god properly. "Forgive me. I'm Horikawa Kunihiro."