[ Open ] With new power comes...

[welcome_home]

Who: Nanako and anyone inclined to be out exploring or who might notice a new mountain looming in the Far Shore.
When: July 12
Where: Nanshe's newly-discovered Temple
What: Nanako has discovered she has god powers after all! Now it's led her to finally discovering she has a temple here and it gives her the perfect place to try out some of the new things she can do.


A; To Find Shelter

[ It's been a little over a week since Nanako had discovered that she did indeed have a god power of her very own. Even if it had taken her awhile to get the hang of it. It was still taking her a while to get the hang of it, but today she's taken a break from practicing in the backyard of Souji's temple to go investigate something for herself.

Because she's felt a pull that's been growing stronger over the past few days, insistent and niggling and new. Since it hadn't faded or gone away, she'd decided this morning to follow it and see what she found.

Which is how she ends up at the base of a mountain not that long a walk away from Souji's temple. A mountain which she's very sure she's never seen before. She thinks? But there's a walled gate around its base that feels vaguely familiar to her, even if she doesn't know why. The gate stands wide open and welcoming, however, so she proceeds inside, heading up a long stone staircase to the shrine she finds at the top, brightly colored with banners waving and surrounded by a hillside full of blooming azalea bushes. The shrine itself is set beside a huge lake full of fat and lazy fish swimming within its depths.

And the more she explores of this place, the more certain she is - she's finally found Nanshe's temple. Her temple. Delighted, she starts poking into every inch of the shrine she can find, exploring all over it and seeing everything hidden within this new place. Eventually, she'll go looking for her brother and Homura, wanting to share with them her newest discovery, but if anyone else happens by in the meantime, she might excitedly show them around as well. ]

B; To Rise

[ The discovery of her very own temple means one thing for certain - it's given her a wide open space to keep practicing her new abilities. And since she now knows how to look for that tiny flicker of power that seems to blossom brighter each time she uses it, it's easy to flit back and forth between normal and the form her god power seems to give her - that of a halo and tiny wings and a bright cheerful glow that surrounds her every time it manifests.

She hasn't figured out yet if her power will allow her to fight evil spirits any better - especially when she doesn't know how to fight in the first place. But there are other uses to this power she's learning about. Like the fact that the tiny feathered wings on her back actually work, and as long as she can keep her focus steady, she can even manage to float for increasingly longer periods of time.

So of course this is what she's practicing, once she finds her own private mountaintop filled with colorful flowers, trees, and banners. Although it's with dubious success at first, she's determined to get better at it.

So, throughout various points of the day - and possibly the next few days - there's a tiny girl with angel wings floating, bobbing, and sometimes zooming around her shrine and occasionally even venturing outside her temple to see how far she can fly and how long she can manage it. Sorry, friends, her control isn't all that great yet... ]

Comments

[welcome_home]

[ Her eyes cross for a moment before she swats his hand away. You can't eat that, Chikusa, stop it. ]

I dunno. It just shows up when I concentrate on it. And yeah, I can fly! But I'm still learning how.

[kokuyoyo]

[A small noise that isn't quite offended. Hey, rude. He wasn't going to eat it!]

It'll be good to know.... And why did you smack me?

[welcome_home]

You were pulling on it!

[ Obviously. ]

[kokuyoyo]

Did it hurt?

[it's not attached so how...]

[welcome_home]

Ummm.

[ She squints thoughtfully. ]

Not really. But it felt weird.

[kokuyoyo]

If you're going to be flying around a lot... You'll want to be mindful of it.

Or else things could happen...

[Yeah, that's totally why he was messing with it, he wasn't trying to steal it or anything for shits and giggles]

[welcome_home]

It's fine. It doesn't get in my way. [ And to prove it, her tiny wings flap and lift her up off the ground do hover over his head as she giggles. ] Does yours?


[ And that's all the warning he gets, because a moment later, she's reaching out to tug his beanie up (and off?) his head from where she floats. ]

[kokuyoyo]

That's just-

[But whatever he's about to point out gets cut off in his throat as she suddenly tugs at his beanie, and an alarmed noise fumbles out instead. It's practically off before his hands snap up to grab onto the edges, and there's actual alarm disrupting the usual dull neutrality of his voice.]

Stop!

[Even with it not quite off, it's still possible to tell two things:

1. This boy has probably never brushed his hair in his god damn afterlife.

2. Past the messy black strands, it's possible to see various scars where hair hasn't managed to grow back yet.]

[welcome_home]

[ The sudden sharpness of his tone has her freezing in surprise because she hadn't expected him to get angry at the play after he'd been tugging at her halo first.

But then she sees what's hidden beneath his hat and while she doesn't let go, she bobs lower, her eyes wide and worried as she takes in the sight of those scars. ]

Chikusa! Are you okay?

[kokuyoyo]

[Just another tug, with a bit more force behind it.]

Give it back...

[He's still obviously aggravated, voice and shoulders tense, and the owl is starting to flap its wings a little too. Perhaps it's just feeling the residue from Chikusa himself.]

[welcome_home]

[ She lets it go immediately, floating around in front of him to bob with an apologetic expression. ]

I'm sorry. I didn't mean to make you mad. Are you okay? Did I hurt you?

[kokuyoyo]

[With it back in his hands, the beanie immediately goes back to its proper place snug over his hair. He tugs on the edges a little bit, making sure they're down far enough with an almost paranoid carefulness.]

....I don't like it when it's off...

[Obviously.]

[welcome_home]

I won't take it off again. I promise. [ She's very sincere about that. but still intently peppering him with questions. ] Did you get hurt there?

[kokuyoyo]

....No? [Still adjusting his hat, he blinks at her.] You just took it off...

[welcome_home]

I know! But before! [ She's not sure how to ask. Does he know? ] You have marks there. Under your hat. It doesn't hurt?

[kokuyoyo]

[He absolutely doesn't know, and it probably shows in how his fidgeting fingers still around the beanie.]

...No. It's never hurt. What kind of marks?

[welcome_home]

Ummmm.... [ She doesn't know how to describe them, so she beckons him instead, pointing across the room. ] There's a mirror. Will that help?

[kokuyoyo]

...I guess it would.

[But he seems reluctant to approach it, instead just staring at it for a few moments with a hard to read expression.]

...If it doesn't hurt, then it doesn't matter, does it?

[welcome_home]

I don't know. Maybe? [ She's not sure, either, but she hovers beside him worriedly all the same. ] You don't have to, if you're worried about it. Maybe it's not important?

[kokuyoyo]

....It's not important enough for a mirror...

[Which is a weird way of phrasing it like the mirror is the real problem here over scarring, but oh well. He takes the owl to hold in his arms and, pretty dang abruptly- ]

How much have you explored?

[-changes the subject. Because what's dealing with your issues?]

[welcome_home]

[ She studies him a moment because she's observant enough to see that for what it is. Which is why she zips in with surprising quickness and wraps her arms around him in a quick, indulgent hug. ]

The mirror will still be there, if you change your mind. It's not going anywhere, so you can use it whenever you're ready.

[ As for his question... ] Not a lot yet! I just found it. I was still exploring it when I heard your owl.

[kokuyoyo]

[Why the hugs. But he.... thinks he's getting used to it, because instead of stiffening up, he just stands there awkwardly while the owl hoots in annoyance.]

You should make sure there's nothing important then....

[welcome_home]

[ You definitely looked like you needed the hug, Chikusa. ]

Important? Like what?

[kokuyoyo]

[He's not sure about that, but ok]

Something to protect.... Or maybe an animal hiding somewhere.... Things like that. The temples for gods can be weird...

[welcome_home]

Mmmm... I didn't find any animals hiding. There's fish in the pond though! And pelicans! And I saw some ducks too, but they were out floating in the water. [ She thinks about it for a long moment. ] It doesn't seem weird. But Nanshe liked to make a home for everyone who needed one, so maybe she didn't want it to be very weird...