[Closed]

[welcome_home]

Who: The Izanagi Household
When: backdated to waaaay back at the end of June >.>
Where: Izanagi Jingu
What: Nanako's had a Day...


[ It's late evening when Nanako gets back to her brother's Temple after a full day out trying to answer a Prayer. She lets herself in the front door and toes off her shoes before stepping up into the hall and crossing into the big open room that takes up most of the first floor of Souji's home.

Except her normal exuberance is missing and she looks drained and exhausted and after casting a tired look at the stairs, she decides that looks like too much work and goes to curl up on the couch in the living room instead, wrapping herself snugly about a pillow and clinging to it as if it was one of her stuffed animals.

She even forgets to call out that she's home, but as she's not sure who else is here at the moment, it doesn't really occur to her as she goes to huddle on the couch for a while instead. ]

Comments

[timeshields]

[Homura is out on the porch, looking over the hoard of cats that Souji's collected when she hears the door sliding open. She pads quietly over to the couch, looking over a... tired...(?) Nanako.

It doesn't take her long to leave and come back with a blanket, settling it over her.]

[welcome_home]

[ Her eyes open with a start when she feels the blanket settle around her and for a moment there's a start of fear in her eyes, but then she remembers she's home, she's in Souji's home, and the sight of Homura standing over her is more reassuring than anything else.

She wriggles down under the blanket a little more, half hiding under it as she blinks up at the other girl and tries to hide how jumpy she's feeling. ]

Oh! I didn't hear you come in.

[timeshields]

[She's quiet and concerned in her own sort of way. Her eyes are still sharp, watching how jumpy Nanako is.

She doesn't know where she went for the day.]

What happened?

[welcome_home]

[ Nanako's fingers clutch at the edge of the blanket for a moment as she averts her gaze. ]

I... I tried to go answer a prayer.

[timeshields]

[Ah.

She can guess what this is about.]

It didn't go well...?

[welcome_home]

[ A hesitation before Nanako shakes her head. ]

No. I mean... it was just supposed to be an easy one. But when we got there, the place felt weird. And there was a big scary ayakashi there.

[timeshields]

[There's a flash of irritation.]

Who did you go with? Are you okay? Where was it?

[welcome_home]

Some friends. And yeah, I'm okay. It was at an orphanage. I was getting lots of prayers from the orphans there, so I went to check. I thought maybe they were just lonely or sad, but there was an ayakashi... I think it was pretending to be a parent or someone looking to give them a home, but it wasn't helping any of them, it just made everything sadder.

[ And she's maybe crying a little now, lifting a hand to rub at her eyes, because the emotions in that place had been so strong. ]

[timeshields]

[She has this very serious intent look on her face, but honestly she doesn't understand the problem here.

Nanako is okay, what does it matter what happens to the orphans? They don't matter to Homura.]

... I'm glad you're okay.

[welcome_home]

I am. [ She sniffles as she rubs her eyes, still clutching her pillow tightly. ] But we couldn't stop it. And the boy I was there to help got hurt. All we could do was scare it away, so it's still out there somewhere.

[timeshields]

["You matter far more than any random boy out there ever could." Is what she wants to say, but Nanako wouldn't want to hear something like that.]

You managed to make it leave them alone for a little while. That's something.

[welcome_home]

Yeah, but what if it comes back? Or what if it hurts someone else?

[ Nanako's still upset about that, especially on top of how scared she'd been herself. ]

[timeshields]

You are not responsible for everyone in the world. No one can stop everything.

[welcome_home]

But we're gods! Isn't that what we're supposed to do?

[ The protest is surprisingly vehement, but perhaps more surprising is the sudden surge of bright light that seems to come from the little girl. Nanako looks just as startled by it and quickly claps her hands over her eyes with a distressed cry until she could make the sudden bright light dim again. ]

Oh no!

[timeshields]

I'm not a god.

[Which is probably why she gives so little care about people who are not Nanako or Souji.

For now, her attention is diverted.]

What was that?

[welcome_home]

[ Nanako still has her hands clapped over her eyes, although she might shift her fingers just enough to peer out from behind them with one eye. ]

That.... It was how I scared the ayakashi away. It just... happened.

[timeshields]

You were glowing.

[Worry starts to gnaw in her stomach.]

... Do you know how to control it?

[welcome_home]

No. Not yet. I don't even know what I did. It was just really bright - before, too. It scared me.

[timeshields]

Then you've learned something about yourself.

[welcome_home]

But I don't know what I learned though. [ It's enough to have Nanako pulling her hands down from her face a little to blink at Homura in confusion. And maybe a hint of uncertainty. ]

[timeshields]

You've learned you can emit bright light. It seems like it's related to your feelings.

[welcome_home]

Yeah, I guess... [ She stares down at her hands, unsure of how she'd actually done that still. ] And it scared away the ayakashi, even though I couldn't stop it by myself.

[timeshields]

It's a start.

Now you can train it so you can use it at will.

[welcome_home]

Yeah... [ She thinks that over for a moment before her expression slowly - hesitantly - begins to brighten. ] I guess this means I really do have a power after all?

[timeshields]

Yes. Now it's a matter of learning and training it.