thenearshore | -Overflow- for 015

Sure can.

[Not gonna explain why. Just that he can. He teleports up above the rooftop since now the kids have moved on to hashing out their issues.]

And somewhere near that should be whatever's causing it. Schools are apparently notorious draws for ayakashi. Who knew.

[He knows, of course, because of his interactions with the Demon.]

Give me another chance to take out an ayakashi too.

[It's a fun experience, all of that raw emotion just fading away into nothing.]

[He didn't answer right away. None of the gods he'd been assigned to before were terribly thrilled about running into ayakashi, so Ross had to wonder what the motives behind that last statement were.]

You sound so surprised. [A sigh.] Let's just get this over with.

[Unfortunately (or probably fortunately) he couldn't share his god's enthusiasm on that front.]

That's a good attitude to have. All business with us!

[It's a fine arrangement, as far as he's concerned.

He jumps - actually jumps - from one part of the school's campus to another, until finally there's a screech above them.]

... Well hello there. It's a devilbird.

[The thing is coasting along at a pretty high altitude right now, but he can tell it's definitely an ayakashi.]

...Why a bird?

[Seriously he didn't get it. "How are we going to attack it" was also one of those questions floating around in his head. Ross was pretty sure he could hit it if he had access to his magic, but this form made that difficult, let's say.]

I can't help you if you jump up there and something goes wrong.

I don't know. Maybe it was offended by all the eggs getting thrown around.

[He chuckles a bit. He almost said that it was the egg pun, but that was in Ross's head. Not someplace he's supposed to know about. Yet.]

Either way, this armor is damn heavy. I'm wondering if I can just send it slamming into the pavement. Rend it from there.

[From above, not below. Yay teleporting.]

[Hearing that answer just made him want an omelette, really. "Shame" was not an often-used word in his personal lexicon.]

If you're going to slam into the pavement instead while you're doing that, change me back first so I can tell everyone about your noble sacrifice.

[THAT gets a laugh out of Schuldig. Nice and loud.]

Sacrifice? Me? No way. I'd teleport out of the way before I hit the pavement. Done it plenty of times before.

[Granted he was wearing Jennifer's boots that last time, but hey, details.]

I'm not sure I can believe that without seeing it.

[Yup. This line of conversation was definitely going to go well. To his credit, he was at least keeping an eye on the ayakashi in case it decided to go around to the other end of the school. Or worse.]

Good, because that's the only way I can fly, hover, or otherwise get in the air. And I don't feel like getting blighted by a damn bird.

[He prepares the words to Rend the creature, charging the arm with power before teleporting above the creature by about 30 feet.

Enjoy the view for a split second, Ross. He's about to punch the bird out of the air.]

[Oh geez. He was fortunate enough to have a quick reaction time, although it was only his lack of memories that made it feel like good fortune. When he was doing his own teleporting with his magic at least he knew exactly when to expect it.

The ayakashi let out a horrid screech as the punch connected and sent it into a tailspin down toward the pavement.]

These ones really aren't putting up a fight.

[True to his word, Schuld first uses REND! against it, and then teleports to safety as it skids along the street.]

Haha. Sweets Boy is eager for a fight now, huh?

[He tucks into a crouch and then looks around.]

Maybe next time we'll find one up to the challenge.

[... Ah. Spoke too soon. The bird starts shaking off the impact and standing on its own two huge feet.]

Hmm. Alright, one more Rend it is.

Don't use that nickname again. [C'mon man, you can do better than that.

So, the ones skulking around the school were hardy enough to take more than one Rend to the face. Huh. He wasn't particularly worried, mind you. It was more of an intellectual curiosity. Nevertheless, he took a breath and focused. He wasn't in the mood for playing nice with ayakashi.]

Now we know. Devilbirds are stronger than ducks.

[Even he can admit that. Yeah, he can do better. He's just distracted right now.]

And the bigger they are, the harder they fall -- yeah yeah, spare me.

[Meanwhile he throws that godforsaken heavy arm out to the side and charges it again. He's basically taking power from the both of them to do it when he used to rely more on his shinki to power the spell but...... imaptience is the mother of invention and all.]

REND!

[It's been a while since he'd rended any ayakashi, and he was starting to feel the strain. It wasn't like his mana, when he could just make that stopgap of a tincture whenever he was running low. He had to wonder if there was a tincture he could make that boosted spiritual power, But that could wait.

The bird ayakashi fell to the ground once again at that second Rend, and while it certainly tried to stand up again, instead it just let out a sad little caw and eventually disappeared.]

If there's another one, I'm taking a nap for real this time.

[Schuldig might have pressed him harder... if not for this being the literal first day they'd worked together. The fact was that that was two ayakashi gone and the kid hadn't been... the MOST difficult to work with ever... Mikazuki still took the cake there.

Yeah okay fine he could accept this for what it was. The devilbird ayakashi was gone, he'd - probably, hopefully - gotten another notch on his belt as far as Heaven was concerned. This much closer to God of Fortune for a God of Calamity. Heh.]

Fine, back to the temple it is... unless I need to stop at a corner store first? Ross?

... Revert.

[And hey, there he goes. Out of vessel form as asked.]

[Whew. Having his feet planted on the ground again was more refreshing than he thought it would be.]

Yeah, you do. [Blunt as ever. The corner store was fine now, but he was sure going to treat himself to a parfait or two after taking a break. He deserved it, dammit.]

I'm going back first. [Plus he wanted to take a look around Loki's temple on his own, and this gave him a perfect reason to go back early without looking suspicious.]

[[OOC: Prayer Link here]]

[ Now, Schuldig himself is a late riser. Also being a telepath, that means he can find Ross once he himself is all ready to go. He'd ducked out yesterday to this casino he's supposed to bless and found the ayakashi there. Not like he cares if things get worse after another a day... just means more for him to clean up and get some bonus praise for. It also gives him a chance to abide by Ross's stated goal of only being paid every other day. That meant only working every other day too, as far as he could tell. Maybe if he cared more about his followers, it would bother him more, but it doesn't. He just cares about establishing just enough with his new shinki he'll actually come when he calls without using every ounce of telepathic strength he has to make him do it.

So, the Big Question... that afternoon, where is his shinki after all...? ]

[Ross, on the other hand, was always up around the crack of dawn. For that reason, he was unaware of Schuldig's trip to the casino or whatever else he did to fill his time, really. It was a shinki's duty to make sure that their god was acting morally, but as with his previous gods, he took a largely hands-off approach on that front.

...That policy of his might need to be changed soon.

At any rate, by that afternoon he had made his way back to the temple to work on the project he'd been trying to finish for the best part of a month. In other words, interruptions weren't going to be welcomed.]

[Schuldig tracks him down and calls out as he teleports into the central living area.]

Come out, come out, wherever you are~

[Before he calls his vessel name on purpose just to summon him.]

You want paid again?

[And maybe he'll poke around his shinki's mind for what this little project is he's up to.]

[Damn it.

That was the first thing that came to mind when he heard that singsong voice.

The Mana Maker-kun still wasn't quite ready to take along with him. Not only that, but it would need to be activated too. Sure, he was going to spend a lot of time in his vessel form anyway, but it was the principle of the thing. He couldn't escape being a shinki, but at least he wouldn't have to rely on only his boundary to protect himself anymore.

Eventually he emerged from his room and arrived in the central living area. ...While wearing glasses and a lab coat for some reason.]

Is that a serious question, or am I going along with this whether I like it or not?

[Schuldig shrugs.]

You're going along - but it could be now, it could be later, it could be tomorrow for all I care. Not my fault if the ayakashi eat someone in the meantime, right? Because I need an ayakashi to cast that Rend spell. Like you said, gods need their shinki.

[Blackmail usually works, in his experience. If not, he'll possibly go grab someone off the street and nora them. But this is less risky.]

I mean, I see you're busy. I can wait.

[He was fully aware he was being manipulated into this. However, he still wasn't going to stand by when ayakashi were running wild or refuse in an attempt to preserve his pride, as much as his usual behaviour suggested otherwise. That didn't mean he was happy about it, of course. His posture had only tensed in response to those words, but the anger that was not at all hidden thanks to the god/shinki bond wasn't quite so mild.

Ross removed his glasses and dropped them in one of the pockets of his lab coat.]

Where is it.

[It wasn't so much a question as it was a demand.]

Why do you want to know? So you can go take it out on your own?

[Or possible to gang up on it with another god-shinki pair and keep him out entirely.]

All I have to do is call your name and teleport us both there - done in a flash, right?

[And yes he's delaying the process on purpose just to see if he can get Ross very prepared to solve this quickly once they get to the casino.]

[The grimace on his face grew, and he offered no response to those questions. He could think of some specific reasons why Schuldig wasn't telling him anything, and none of them were particularly kind.]

I can teleport there myself.

[Though even if he couldn't, walking was still preferable to being dragged along according to his god's whims.]

What? How?

[His tone is incredulous. Last he checked inside his shinki's mind, he had no such power, but he supposes it's possible he missed something.

Then again, he thought that Ross didn't know basic geography of Earth either so...]

Can you even get your bearings closer to Germany as opposed to Denmark?

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Prayer 37 go! (1/15)

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15/15 woo!

Prayer #38 - Two days later (1/20)

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