[Closed] All I have is a picture in my mind...

[welcome_home]

Who: Nanako, Allen and Lux
When: June 28th
Where: The Near Shore.
What: Prayer #30: A prayer for a home. Which isn't going at all as planned.


A Prayer for home:
A few scattered ayakashi around the world with the appearance of would-be parents have been preying on orphans longing for someplace to belong.
They are looking for easy targets - don't let them look you in the eye while taking them down.

[ Nanako has been handling some small prayers she's been getting for her goddess for a while now but every so often she gets one that looks a little more complicated than what she can manage by herself. In most cases she goes to Souji for help, but today he's off answering a prayer of his own with Homura. Sumio is likewise occupied somewhere so Nanako wanders out, lost in thought on what she should do when she finds herself standing in front of the temple she knows Lux lives at. What started as a visit to ask the older girl for advice ends up with Nanako accompanying Allen and Lux to the Near Shore to check in on the number of prayers she's been getting from lonely orphans searching for a home.

The prayer itself would have been something to quickly get Nanako's attention anyway, as the number of prayers, all from different orphans, was notable in itself, but she'd also been noticing a strange pattern lately before the prayers stopped entirely. And it was a pattern she was seeing start to repeat once again. Apparently all those days playing detective and putting together clues like her big brother and Naoto had taught her was finally paying off.

Which was how they'd found themselves outside a little orphanage in a small town today. Nanako stares up at the simple building with a frown on her face, because she can feel... something strange about this place, even if she can't put her finger on what. There's something about this location that calls to her anyway, with a strong longing that almost feels like an ache, but it's not that, it's something else. Maybe it's her imagination? ]

This is the place, I think. This is where the prayer is coming from.

Comments

[rememberher]

[ When Lux found Nanako at the gates of their church, she was pleasantly surprised, assuming that the young goddess was looking for someone to play with. However, when she presented Lux with the prayer, penned by the hand of a young child, the shinki stopped, inviting Nanako in and showing her a number more that she and Allen had received as well (all written on what appeared to be cards, how curious). So it would seem only appropriate to join forces, if they were both being requested.

Holding the young girl's hand as they teleported to the tiny orphanage, Lux was strangely quiet, a hovering sense of something sinister beginning to assault her senses. Not letting go of Nanako's hand, she nodded to her in agreement, offering down a smile that didn't quite reach her eyes. ]

I think you're right. Stay with us, all right Nanako?

[ Letting go of her hand, she looked to the Exorcist at her other side, trying to keep as neutral an expression as she could. Was he able to see anything here, or...? ]

[likethelight]

[ It isn't something either of them are imagining; Allen feels it too, and as soon as they step foot on the grounds he looks around, quietly on the alert, but... There's nothing his eye reacts to. Not right away at least, and he glances back to meet Lux's gaze, giving her a quiet shake of his head.

No. Nothing right now.

Just a quick glance on response though, before he turns to Nanako with a smile, giving her a nod and a small pat on the shoulder. ]

It's definitely where they're coming from. [ Which causes him to look up at the sign hanging above them in more sober pause.

Not "Hearst", no, but.... ]

An atmosphere like this.. I'd be ill at ease, too.

[welcome_home]

[ Nanako's half paying attention to what they're saying, but most of her focus is on the building in front of them, a troubled frown on her lips as she tries to sort through what she's feeling. Maybe it's because she's been getting so many prayers from this place, but it feels like there's a deep well of emotions here that she can barely scrape the surface of. ]

It's sad and lonely here. [ She wraps small arms around herself and takes an uncertain step forward, as if drawn in by it. ] it shouldn't be like this.

[rememberher]

[ Catching his gaze and the head shake, Lux frowned deeply. She knew this feeling well, that sinking, muck-thick feeling of dread that clung and made everything feel dark.

Suddenly she was glad that Nanako called on them, but at the same time...

Chin dipping subtly as she locked eyes with him over the young goddess's head, her expression was resolute. If anything happened, she would get her out and return to his side. To destroy whatever ayakashi had decided to take roost in this place.

(She would not let the same thing happen to him again. Not here, not under her watch.)

But just as quickly as her frown settled, it was gone, the blond shinki bending slightly to look down at her with a smile, a few strands of blond hair spilling over her shoulder. ]

You're right, it is and it shouldn't. But that's why we're here, isn't it? To make sure nothing bad happens. Right?

[ Standing upright again, she instinctively shifted slightly, making sure that Nanako was between the two of them. A smile still on her face, it was much less luminous, and didn't quite reach her eyes. ]

Shall we, then? We should try to find the ones who have been sending those prayers.