thenearshore | [closed] a tale as old as time

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ω davesprite | homestuck

[closed] a tale as old as time

Who: Davesprite and Hikoboshi
When: July 5th
Where: The "Far Far Shore"
What: Davesprite opens up his sporadic courier service once again for a romantic mission from Orihime.

[In all seriousness, Davesprite hadn't been entirely sure how well trying to cross the river was going to go, even while flying. After having watched the bridge on and off for half the night and seen group after group get turned around without even realising, Davesprite just kind of figured the other side of the river was off-limits.

That was until Orihime asked him to deliver a letter, though. Now that opposite river bank had better be getting a whole lot less off-limits as soon as possible. Thankfully, all evidence suggests that they didn't quite prepare for the eventuality of someone with wings making the trip, because while it's a way longer journey than any river should be allowed to be, Davesprite eventually makes it to the other shore.

Orihime had mentioned what sounded like a farm on the other side, so as soon as he catches sight of something that looks close enough to that, he curves his trajectory towards it, skimming close to the tops of the plants as he tries to pick out any signs of life that aren't some now somewhat startled-looking cows.

After that initial pass, he corkscrews off to one side and circles back, calling out over the farm area.]

Yo, I don't know if you're in or out or what the fuck, but I've got a special delivery with Hikoboshi's name on it.

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[At first, Davesprite might have thought he was flying over a bunch of giant puddles, but they are in fact rice paddy fields. They stretch on along some terraces for a ways as well, with some outbuildings dotting the wide swaths of green.

Leaving one of the outbuildings to walk along the narrows between two paddies, with a cow at his side that has some satchels hanging off it, is a young man with a wide brimmed hat on.

He tilts it up, looking up at the bird-man and gaping slightly. Perhaps it looks like he's shocked at the bird-ghost combination or the strange orange color, but primarily he's shocked to see anyone at all on this side of the river.]

[It's a pretty striking farm, as farms go, and that's probably why it takes Davesprite a few moments to notice the guy with his cow. Once Hikoboshi looks up, though, the movement catches his eye, and he flips backwards to glide back in that direction upside-down. He's not trying to show off, he's just doing what feels natural.

Once he gets nearer, he pulls up, rights himself, and gives a lazy, two-fingered salute before reaching around the sword sticking out of his stomach and into his shirt.]

I'm guessing you're the man of the hour, considering you and that cow are the only signs of life I've seen so far on this side of the river. [He pulls out the letter Orihime gave him, holding it delicately in his talons.] Hikoboshi, right. Orihime thought you might need some good thoughts or romantic whispers or whatever to tide you over the last few days.

[Or, you know, just a reassurance it would only be that last few days. Same difference.]

How did you...?

[He pulls his hat down to hang across his back with cord across his neck, staring back in the direction before looking to Davesprite himself.]

My Orihime sent you? They're letting her send letters with... Messengers now?

[This is highly irregular.]

[Davesprite's pretty sure he knows what the end of that trailed off question was going to be, and he points a talon back in the direction of the river.]

I'm pretty sure they didn't prepare for the eventuality of some asshole with wings cheesing it over the river instead of playing fair and crossing the bridge. [As for his other question, he waves a taloned hand non-committally.] She kind of let herself, dude. She saw the chance to get you a message and she took it, because I am nothing if not the very fucking model of a modern shinki messenger.

[He hasn't spoken to anyone on that side of the river except for Orihime in...... a very long time, leaving it at that, but all he can think is "Wow the culture sure has changed."]

But she's not allowed to have shinki - or answer prayers. Did that change too?

[Because there only a few parts of those sentences he really grasped and one of them was that this guy is a shinki. somehow.]

It must be as I feared then... another year of rain? Or she didn't get her work done this year? Why else would she send you with a letter? I was preparing to approach the bridge shortly.

I'm a shinki, not her shinki - my god wasn't involved, Orihime just asked me for a favour and I figured I wasn't enough of a dick to turn her down, you know.

[While he is still kind of a dick, it takes a special kind of dick to turn down sending a message for a worried, lovesick goddess who seemed to have a raw deal in general.

As soon as Hikoboshi starts getting into the pessimism, Davesprite waves his hands as if to dismiss it.] Okay, no, no doomsaying, they just held the festival a couple of days early and she wanted to make sure you know it wasn't actual for reals Tanabata yet. Just...read the fucking letter, okay dude. [Davesprite offers it over properly at this point.]

... May I ask which god you serve then?

[Because he is rather taken aback by someone like this speaking to him in that fashion, but he does take the letter and opens it to read, listening for an answer anyway.]

[On one hand, the issue of his rude speech goes right over Davesprite's head, because he talks to everyone like that. On the other, he raises his hands a little defensively at the request anyway.]

No offense, but I don't really know you and on the off chance the fact I took up a mission to circumvent some ancient rule tradition thing for Orihime gets out, I don't really want my god tangled up in it when she wasn't involved with this in the first place. She doesn't deserve that sort of shit dumped on her doorstep.

[That actually makes him smile.]

A loyal one, then.

[He respects that answer and finishes reading.]

Her concern is worthwhile, unfortunately. I have a hard time keeping track of days here. Usually, the only signal I have that our joyous day has arrived is the bright festivities on the other side of the river. This... ancient rule you speak of is that we are not meant to have any contact at all across the river except on the day of Tanabata.

[His smile gets fonder - mostly thinking about Orihime.]

She must think very highly of you to keep her letter a secret. I see her trust was well placed.

[Davesprite shrugs a bit at the mention of loyalty.] Hey, she deserves it.

[It's kind of sad to hear how things usually are on this side of the river, though, and Davesprite listens with an appropriately grave look arranged on his face. It slips quite noticeably at the implication that Orihime thinks highly of him, though, momentarily sliding into something more doubtful before he recovers it to neutral.]

It sounded like it was a pretty shit deal for both of you, so I just did what felt right to do. I'm not so sure one conversation with a cool mythological lady is enough for her to be forming any high opinions of a random background character in this story like myself.

Just one conversation?

[He's quite surprised by that.]

At least tell me your name so that I may ask her at length about you?

[Sure, he could describe him and probably jog her memory just fine, but it only seems polite at this point.]

Yeah. We met at the festival just now, started talking about the finer points of trying to tailor around wings.

[It had been a decent conversation, at least, but not one Davesprite really figures she could have formed that strong an opinion of him from.

Giving Hikoboshi his own name is much less of a concern, and he offers a somewhat lazy salute as he does.]

Davesprite. Though "that orange feathery guy" probably works just as well.

Davesprite, then.

[An usual name as far as he's concerned, but he can't in good conscience say so to someone doing him such a service.]

It does not surprise me that she would have offered such a thing to you. Was there nothing else? I hope she has offered you just compensation upon your return. If not...

[Hikoboshi turns like he's about to go find some sort of 'compensation' otherwise.]

[Davesprite would probably be with him on the unusual name boat, since he doesn't even have the context for why he's half named after his species, given he doesn't remember anything about said species other than the name.

At the mention of compensation, Davesprite runs his talons through his hair a little awkwardly.]

It's cool, seriously. She said she was in my debt and already offered to tailor for me if I ever needed it, and looking like this I'm pretty sure that's more than due compensation for delivering a letter.

[That gets a fond chuckle out of him.]

She offered? My, she hasn't been so eager to weave any garments in decades - a hundred years, perhaps.

[He gestures to his own clothing.]

My own clothing has become quite threadbare, in fact. I haven't been able to bear the thought of asking her to replace any of my shirts or pants out of respect for her situation- [To say nothing of his own.] So I've been doing my best to patch them...

[But by the looks of things, Hikoboshi is far, FAR less skilled than his beloved.]

I don't suppose you think she's in a better mood that I could ask her now...?

[[OOC: Davesprite's optional follow-up mission!

* Relay this information to Orihime and assist with suggestions / keep her company / etc. while she makes new clothing for Hikoboshi to take with her on this visit.
* 300 followers or 30 exp reward for any of Davesprite's selected participants with at least 3 comments in the log
* A custom accessory item made by Orihime upon her return to the Far Shore, of the Blessed variety - so gloves/boots that fit his talons, a hat, scarf, etc. that have a minor magical property.

As before, if these terms are acceptable and you do choose to respond to the Prayer page with helpers, you can write in "Personalized" for the Prayer/Mission number. ]]

[This, at least, is firmer ground, and Davesprite nods with enough certainty that it can probably be guessed he isn't just trying to make nice about it.]

She seemed really happy about some of the new gods and shinki helping her, so yeah, I'm pretty sure she's in way more of a tailoring mood right now. She pretty much gave out an open invitation for people to ask her to make stuff for this whole festival, so if it was you asking she'd do it for sure.

[Because come on, if she's making clothes for just about everyone else here when she doesn't even know most of them, not doing it for her lover would be a bit cold.]

[[OOC: Will sign up for that prayer once I fill the requirements for this one!]]

[He smiles and it's genuine appreciation. He doesn't know if Davesprite will shake his hand - like foreigners used to do, from what he remembers - so he bows at the waist in a show of gratitude.]

Thank you for telling me. I will be more than content now, to ask when I next see her. Waiting another year will be nothing if I know she is happier doing the work she used to love while I can't be with her.

[He would've shaken hands if offered, but his hand is a bit weird and it's not really a thing he does for appreciation so much as introductions, so he doesn't offer it himself. Hikoboshi's statement makes Davesprite give him a long look, though, as if thinking on it.]

It's cool. You're both getting a pretty shit deal out of this, so it seems unmannerly in the extreme not to mention something that might lighten things.

Ah, well...

[He gestures to the fields.]

I'm kept busy just as she is. The only difference is I don't have to please a customer to their face, as she does.

[Basically, they both hate what's going on, and each are convinced the other has it worse.]

Perhaps one day she will appease all of the gods in a sufficient manner to have her debt to them paid.

[That aspect of Orihime's job hadn't fully occurred to Davesprite before now, and the shadow of a grimace pulls at the side of his mouth.]

Yeah, I can see how that's pretty fucked up for her to have to deal with, even if you're both dealing with similar shit.

[He'd hate what's going on as well - he already does, honestly, and he's only seeing it from the outside, during one year of what must have been a countless timeline of them.]

Honestly, at this point I'm hoping both of you worm your respective ways out of this somehow. But hey, if you ever need any more sneaking under the radar happening, I'm here for it.

[Casual salute. Sure, he'll pin his feathers to this particular cause.]

Thank you for your kind words.

[And he waves as the shinki leaves.

Davesprite will find no trouble returning over the wide gap of the Milky Way river, leaving Hikoboshi's fields behind and returning to the more brightly lit side of the Far Shore.]

[Waving back as he takes off, Davesprite starts heading back over the river. He feels kind of bad leaving the guy that isolated, but there's nothing he can really do about it, or at least not without bringing the wrath of the Heavens down on his unfortunate feathery ass, and probably those of the two lovers as well.

As it is, he'll be keeping a lookout for Orihime as he starts approaching the festival area, scanning the shoreline first to see if she's still there.]

[Orihime didn't go far. Well, she did at first, but she only made it a few paces before circling back. She's barely managed to keep her eyes on the ground instead of focusing on the air in the hopes of seeing Davesprite returning.

She can't sit down either, though - not in her kimono without a tatami mat. Someone would notice her just kneeling on the ground.

Eventually, she leans on the posts at their side of the Bridge, staring at the Milk Way river. It's his reflection in the sky that catches her attention - but she resists the urge to look up.]

Edited 2017-07-07 04:53 (UTC)

[Since Orihime is trying to be low-key about it, Davesprite does so as well, overshooting the river by a good margin and landing somewhere he can lose himself a bit in the crowd. After maybe a minute, he comes back to the river's edge from the direction of the festival, and at ground level this time, as if he'd totally never been crossing the river at all.

As surreptitiously as is possible for a bright orange half-bird, Davesprite skims up to the post opposite her.]

Message received. And he asked me to pass one back.

[She appreciates his efforts so very much. It takes a lot of effort, but she does smile first before looking at him.]

I cannot believe how- well, no, I suppose I can believe how easy that was for you, Mr. Davesprite. It seems to be the easiest thing in the world, crossing that river... for everyone else who has ever lived in the Far Shore, anyway.

[Then she folds her hands in front of her, trying to seem patient - until her excitement gets the better of her.]

But a message in return...?

Easy for everyone except the people they're going out of their way to fuck over, right. [Davesprite sounds pretty sympathetic by this point, given what he's heard from both sides of the river.]

Yeah. It wasn't much, he said waiting was nothing now that he knows you're enjoying your work again...and he also asked me to ask you if you'd be willing to tailor some new clothes for him. He said he felt bad asking before because of your situation, but I said you seemed pretty happy with making stuff for the newer gods since they'd been helping you out.

[There's something a bit tentative about that last statement, as if he's not sure if he overstepped, but it's a bit late to worry about that now.]

[She goes quiet, bowing her head. She's thinking, wondering, how long he might he have 'felt bad asking'? They are immortal after all, it could have been a decade. All he needed to do was not ask her each time they were together, and mull over it for the remainder of the year. Just 10 times of meeting and never wanting to disturb their joy with a request like that.]

And he asked this of you... unable to beseech me to my face.

[She blames herself.]

[Being exactly the kind of person to blame himself for everything he possibly can, Davesprite immediately gets the undertone of that reaction. And also proceeds to inwardly start blaming himself for wording it the way he did, but that's angst for later.]

I mean...in both of your defense, you'd want to just talk about what you know would make your partner happy if you only see each other once a year, right.

[He thinks. Romantic experience with which to form a foundation for this argument is few and far between for him.]

I should have perceived what would have made him happy.

[She pulls at the sleeves of her kimono.]

I must make him something... spectacular. Even on short notice. For my Hikoboshi, nothing is impossible.

[She looks around like she's contemplating leaving the party this very instant to begin drafting something up.]

[Davesprite would argue that point, but he's pretty sure that it's not going to get them anywhere except upsetting Orihime more. So instead, since she seems so antsy about it, Davesprite takes a different tack.]

If you need anything - supplies, sounding board, whatever - I'm down for it. Making something that good on short notice is going to be way harder without help.

[Not only does he feel obliged now for bringing her the message, but he feels like they both deserve something good. Orihime to feel satisfied with the work, and Hikoboshi to receive something made with care.]

[She shrugs slightly.]

I am afraid you cannot carry me, however. The company would be appreciated. The opinion of a man with regards to clothing for a man is also never unwelcome. Thirdly, you saw him, so I would be remiss in not considering your advice as to his current preferences.

[She hopes he'll follow her, but she does start to walk along the river back to her abode.]

Yeah, I can do the second opinion bit. [Davesprite starts gliding alongside her as she starts walking back along the river.] I don't exactly have a lot of clothes myself, but if you had to know how to dress yourself to judge other people then the entire Near Shore fashion industry would be fucked.

[Trend clothing. It's a thing.]

[She actually smiles at that and even fails to suppress a soft noise of amusement.]

I appreciate that.

[Mercifully, her house isn't that far.]

I suppose that sturdy pants and a shirt would be the most sensible thing for all of his work... but perhaps nightclothes as well?

['Second opinion' at least can be started now, while she's walking.]

[Davesprite at least takes some solace in the fact that he managed to get amusement out of her, and once the actual second opinion part comes up, he gets a little more serious about it.]

Yeah, that's the sort of thing that can wear out pretty quickly because you have to use them all the time. And if he didn't have a shitload of spare time and material to patch with, he might've prioritised his work clothes.

[Since holes in your work outfit would be a bit more pressing than holes in sleeping clothes.]

[She approaches her house and gets onto the porch, opening the door excitedly and leaving it open for Davesprite to join her. Once inside, she waves both hands dramatically - well, for her it's just kind of raising her hands up but with her long kimono sleeves it looks pretty dramatic. The basic cloth for working hakama start to separate with scissors moving across them. Then she starts pulling apart lighter-weight white fabric to form a night-time yukata.]

I can imagine work clothes being important for someone who does so much physical labor as he does... but I also hope he will be well-rested each morning to return to the fields.

[She's actually smiling as she fondly thinks of her beloved, while the two attires start to take shape.]

[Davesprite glides through the door after her, watching the dramatic motion and the tools leap into life with a remarkably deadpan look. It's definitely a power that makes sense for someone like her, he'll say that much.]

Then yeah, add some sleeping clothes to that. Whatever he's got for winter especially might be pretty threadbare by now. [He'll keep up the train of conversation as long as he needs to, since it seems like it's gotten Orihime into a much better mood for the moment.]

[In no time at all, she has two outfits ready to go and is folding them neatly on top of a large cloth, which ties itself up in a neat fold at the top.]

Oh but I have time to make some winter clothes yet, surely... if I can trouble you again in a few weeks, perhaps.

[She looks sheepish but if it were for anyone else other than Hikoboshi she might have held back a bit more. Now that they're in her small sanctuary in all of the Far Shore, she can think ahead more.]

At least this wrap should make it easier to carry back...

[And then she's at a loss for words again, trying to decide how to thank him.]

Hey, trouble me whenever you like, I'm here for it. [He doesn't really do all that much prayer-wise with Hajime, and he figures Orihime and her shitty situation is a worthy enough cause. Besides, she seems kind of awkward about asking, so it just feels right to roll with it.

The lengthy pause pings Davesprite to the fact that she's kind of missing something here, though, and he takes his focus off the clothing shenanigans to look over at her.]

Is there something up still, or are we good to go.

No, no...

[She hands it over and tries to see if she can't touch one of his hands as she gives the parcel over to her delivery bird-boy. She smiles once he has it.]

Please do come see me when you've completed it, though. I'll have a present for you.

[She can certainly touch one of his hands as she gives the parcel to him - though there's light down on the backs of his hands, the main surface of them is made up of skin somewhere between human and that of a bird talon, thicker and rougher.

Though Davesprite takes the parcel without issue, he does look a bit perturbed by the mention of a present. Still, it'd be rude as hell to turn her down, so he just nods as he heads back towards the door.]

Sure, shouldn't take me long anyway to go make his night. [With that, he slips outside, setting out to head back over the river.]

[And when he returns, she'll have designed and made the gloves that will fit his hands - more specifically, a little large that she'll be able to fit once he returns. She's concerned that he'll be able to slip them on and off with the different physical characteristics of his hands. She makes sure that the ends of the gloves near the wrist do that modern thing - the elastic - so that the fingers can be a little looser to handle the talons.]

[As promised, it doesn't take very long for Davesprite to make the round. Once he drops off the clothes, he comes straight back so he doesn't leave her waiting. Even if she's apparently decided it's worth giving him a present, he can make it as painless as possible for her.

Landing at the door, he knocks a little awkwardly on it.] Spritely delivery service, stopping by to confirm a successful delivery.

[Orihime smiles in delight - and not because she doubted he would be successful. He'd already proven more than capable.

Instead, she is delighted to slide the door open with one hand while holding a traditionally cloth-wrapped gift by its knot in the other.]

I may never be able to thank you enough for your services tonight, Davesprite... but I hope this will be of some small help to you in your further journeys.

Okay, yeah, I'm guessing this is a way bigger deal to you than it feels like to me, so I'm just cool with having made your evening less shitty.

[Since her situation seems pretty bad in general. Davesprite may have to try looking into this at a later date. And while he still looks a bit stumped at the present, he does take it when it's offered.]

Uh, thanks. You didn't have to.

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[closed] a tale as old as time

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Your next comment = Mission Goal Achieved!

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Next Mission count starts ^ there

o7

Sorry for my stupid hiatus augh

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^ Comment #7 woo

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Mission Success

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Sorry I lost this tag :(

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