thenearshore | [closed] to prepare a face to meet the faces that you meet

Who: Nekhbet's ~~flock~~ temple (Shun, Fubuki, Reisi)
When: July 19th, morning
Where: Some nebulous place on the Far Shore
What: Mission 9, tracking a masked ayakashi.
Warnings: Potential mentions/descriptions of Johan's death if the subject comes up.

[As if things haven't been both dangerous and active enough around the Far Shore recently, Shun just had to overhear two of the advisors' shinki squabbling childishly over whether they'd really seen a masked ayakashi. It's not the kind of thing he can ignore, even with several other problems on his mind, and at the very least, he figures it might be a chance to see how his temple residents work together with the addition of Reisi.

So it is they've returned to the location of the argument, Shun heading over to investigate the patch of woodland the arguing shinki had been gesturing at. It's a little old, and not all the prints are clear, but there's definitely some not entirely natural ones marking the ground and heading deeper into the woods. Crouching down to study them, Shun raises his gaze after a few moments to look further into the trees.]

It's a good place for an ambush...and not one from us.

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Right. If I had to guess what the something else was, I'd say backup. [There's a smell lingering around the hole, something very visceral and yet also deep, as if brought up from an abyss. Shun's heard before that this world has a hell, and if there was anything he would ascribe a smell like that to...

With a slight, annoyed shake of the head, he straightens up. By this time, the ayakashi's form has completely disintegrated, but the mask in Shun's hand still remains.]

I'd check it properly, but it doesn't look like it'll be large enough all the way through to admit a person. [And also that's a really bad idea in general for not dying, but Shun doesn't seem too concerned for himself.]

[Please don't jump into the hole, Shun...]

[At their assessment, he takes another look at the vent. He can't quite follow the reasoning, but whatever the case, it...doesn't look that dangerous at the moment. There isn't an indication of anything coming from the direction they came, either. On the other hand, he couldn't spot anything that might have been the controller.]

Are there any marks on the mask?

[If Kurosaki can't fit, then Reisi certainly won't make it through, either. Apparently, he also would have no qualms with investigating it if he could.]

No, it doesn't...

[Reisi still hasn't removed the borderline simply as a precaution.

Taking out his phone,] I'll record our discovery here.

[When Fubuki asks that question, Shun holds the mask out in front of both of them and turns it around slowly - it's unmarked, but for the black lines that draw out the normal eye design of these masks.]

Nothing unusual. [As for Reisi's suggestion, Shun just nods, stepping back from the vent for the moment.]

I'll keep hold of this and see if I can get it to either someone familiar with magic, or one of the more reasonable older gods for more information.

[He noticed the movement out of the corner of his eye, so he doesn't miss it when Shun turns the mask over. So...nothing to identify either the controller or anything the controller might have been using to monitor the situation here. That doesn't rule out something like...Shun's vultures for example...(somehow...). But he really hasn't spotted anything.]

...It's not made of ceramic, is it? [Because, what with having captured an actual mask, he can probably throw out the ceramic pieces he's picked up...]

I haven't seen anything that might be the controller. We...can probably leave safely. [The latter being just a guess on his part.]

[Reisi makes sure to take photographic evidence of their findings and adding notes on the ayakashi that they had encountered.]

Would you mind if I took pictures of the mask as well?

[At Fubuki's question, Shun runs his fingers over the mask, frowning a little.] I don't think so. Doesn't feel right.

[It is very smooth, but it's not cold or heavy, and doesn't seem fragile either. Honestly, he can't actually tell what it's made of.

While he keeps Fubuki's observation in mind, he glances around himself slightly.] If you don't have a problem with it, I'd rather leave switching you back until we're out of the woods. Even if we can't see anyone now, there's plenty of places to hide on the way out.

[With that, he turns his attention to Reisi and his request, holding the mask up a little distance out from himself, his hand right at the bottom and covering as little of it as possible.] Go ahead.

Got it. [He...might prefer it this way for the moment, actually, with the better field of view. He wouldn't say so, though.]

I'll keep an eye out.

[Not ceramic... So the shards had pretty much nothing to do with it, after all. He'll have to remember to throw them out later, since he can't do it right now.]

[He glances at the mask as they fiddle with taking the photo, before returning his attention to their surroundings.]

It doesn't feel...weird, does it? Who's going to carry it?

[He takes pictures of the mask, first the front, then makes a gesture to have it turned around before getting the back as well.

He doesn't know what he'd expected of the mask, but nothing really stands out about it.]

To think something like this can be used to control ayakashi. I wonder how it works, or if it perhaps can be used to control beings other than ayakashi...

Obviously I'm going to. And it's fine for now. [Given Shun has a pretty strict policy of not making his shinki do anything he's not perfectly capable of doing himself, asking one of them to carry the mask just seems like pointless and petty delegation to him.

Turning the mask at Reisi's signal, Shun glances over to it with a rather sharp little frown.]

I'm wondering if it's actually a characteristic of the mask, or if it's something else and the mask is just a mark of the control. That's why I'm interested in getting someone better versed with magical and spiritual things to look at it.

[The idea of it being able to control things other than ayakashi is definitely not a promising one, though.]

[Well...the more it's in their hands, the more nervous it makes him. If Shun had suggested Reisi touch it, Fubuki might actually have protested, based on something a fake-mask-maker may or may not have said once... (Or something he interpreted from something a fake-mask-maker might have said once. Same thing.)]

Shun, if it starts feeling dangerous, please don't try to hang on to it.

[Reisi's taken records of it now, after all; it'd be a loss but not that much of one...]

Understood.

[Having finished taking out the picture, he puts his phone away and takes out a cloth to wrap up the mask. Reisi may not be able to hear Fubuki like this, but it's best to avoid contact with evidence and to preserve its condition as much as possible.

Since Reisi's new, he's curious as to who his god might ask about it.]

Who do you have in mind?

Define "feeling dangerous". [Shun's tone is a little dry, given running into a trigger-happy enough old god in possession of a mask like this would probably be dangerous of itself. Nonetheless, he does have the general idea of what Fubuki means, and he doesn't seem too fussed by Reisi wanting to wrap it up before they leave. He does hold it out rather carefully, though, making sure Reisi doesn't actually have to touch it without the cloth barrier to get it wrapped.]

Suijin if I run into her, or Yukine or Yato since they've apparently encountered some of this sort of thing before. There's one or two newer gods I'll think about, but I don't think any of them specialise in this sort of thing, so it'll be a long shot.

[Despite Shun's dry tone, Fubuki answers seriously.] If it feels like something is trying to press into you. [In other words, he'd meant "hang onto it" literally; giving it to someone hadn't actually crossed his mind, despite what Shun had said about having someone look at it.]

[Speaking of—he is being bad at his appointed task by watching them wrap it up, but he can't help it. Especially not after Reisi had brought up the possibility of the mask being able to control other things. He can't say he's relieved when the mask is covered, but there isn't exactly a way to seal it away or anything right now.]

Path's clear.

[closed] to prepare a face to meet the faces that you meet

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