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

[revolutionfalcon]

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.

Comments

[revolutionfalcon]

[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.

[blizzardrock]

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?

[mostsuitable]

[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...

[revolutionfalcon]

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.]

[blizzardrock]

[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...]

[mostsuitable]

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?

[revolutionfalcon]

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.

[blizzardrock]

[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.