thenearshore | [closed] the instant the pain you held tight spills out

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[closed] the instant the pain you held tight spills out

Who: Lilka and Lunafreya
When: July 18
Where: Out and about!
What: Introductions and prayer 43

[Lilka was nervous. Getting to know her new god was a fair bit of pressure, and the fact that Lunafreya would be her third god didn’t do much for her comfort levels. Not only had she never fought any ayakashi before, but she hadn’t done many prayers either. With her current self-esteem levels, it was all too easy to start thinking that there wasn’t anything outstanding about herself as a shinki.

She let those thoughts swirl around in her head for longer than she probably should have before she smacked her cheeks with her palms. Hiding her anxiety wasn’t going to keep her god from figuring out how she was feeling, but trying to keep those feelings in check would at least help her feel better.

Okay! Time to try her best! And hopefully not get blighted by any ayakashi any time soon! (Or ever, hopefully.) That would be a terrible first impression, after all.]

Um... Hi! Nice to meet you! I don’t know what kind of person you were expecting to be a shinki of yours, but here I am anyway!

[That was a passable first introduction, right?]

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[Thankfully, Luna's pretty friendly as goddesses go, and she's looking forward to meeting her new shinki. Raphael's cathedral is much larger than she knows what to do with - even with the shinki she already has living there with her - so more company is a good thing in her mind. She smiles at Lilka's introduction, inclining her head briefly in greeting.]

It's nice to meet you too. My name is Lunafreya Nox Fleuret, but feel free to call me Luna.

[She was pretty clearly taken aback by Luna's name. And the cathedral. There were a few other things really, but those were the important ones by far.]

You've got a fancy name! It almost feels like a waste to just call you Luna... [She tilted her head in thought before piping up again.] But I'll do it that's what you want!

[There were slightly more important things to think of right then, but she was definitely welcoming the distraction.]

Well, Lunafreya is fine too if you prefer.

[She laughs a little - most people want the easy version.]

And you're Lilka, is that right?

[She got the word ahead of time when she was assigned to her.]

Y-yeah! But my name isn't as impressive, really...

[And that wasn't the only thing that made her feel like she didn't quite fit in this situation.]

There's lots of stuff I don't know about being a shinki yet, but I'll try hard!

It's all right, I don't mind.

[Luna's had enough of impressive names for a literal lifetime, really.]

Well, if you'd like to accompany me, I received a prayer just this morning. I'll need to name you first, but I'd be happy to have you along.

[A new name? Her eyes fell for a moment. Now that she thought about it, she hadn't been called by her vessel name very often at all, but the thought of getting a new one felt strange. There wasn't really anything she could do about that, though. It was either this, or no name at all.]

I'll go! But, um... Are we going to have to fight some ayakashi?

It doesn't have to be right away.

[Luna frowns in sympathy. This girl seems like she's been through a lot.]

And no, not this time. We've been asked to feed some stray cats, that's all. I can't imagine an ayakashi would be involved with that.

Really? We just have to feed some cats? [That was significantly less scary than fighting ayakashi, even though she was more of a dog person.]

Okay! That doesn't sound too hard! Feeding some cats is definitely something I can do. [nodnod.]

That's all. I thought it would be a good first prayer to do together.

[Luna smiles, glad she seems more at ease with that.]

We can get to know each other along the way.

[Her smile broadened. She had never felt fully comfortable around her previous god, so the effort to accommodate her meant a lot.]

Where are we going anyway? Is it far away? [More importantly, how many stray cats could she bring back to the temple.]

The streets of Venice. I'm sure you'll love it there - it's very beautiful.

[Luna enjoys going back herself every so often.]

Take my hand and I'll take us there.

[And she extends it slowly, smiling softly.]

[She stared at that hand for a moment. From her point of view at least, there was something very big sister-y about Lunafreya. Maybe that was why she didn't hesitate once she did reach out to take that hand.]

Let's go!

[She's good at giving off that kind of vibe. Luna smiles and nods as Lilka takes her hand, and with a flash they're suddenly standing in the middle of Venice.]

Ah... here we are. The stray cats should be nearby.

Whoa! [She practically jumped out of her skin. That sudden teleportation made her feel anxious for some reason, but even if she wanted to think about why that was, there wasn't anything to remember. And that was without even mentioning that she had never seen Venice before.]

R-right! I don't have anything to draw them over here, but I'll go look for them! [Lilka no, don't run off on your own--]

Lilka, don't get too far ahead!

[Luna runs after her. The streets of Venice should be safe enough, but she doesn't want to lose track of her shinki.]

Don't worry! I'll be okay as long as I don't run into any ayakashi!

[Given that her exposure to ayakashi was very limited, it was entirely possible that she didn't realize how dangerous those words were. At least she wasn't running out of sight.]

That's what I'm worried about! You don't have a name yet!

[Thankfully, though, today's mission does not feature any such thing. Simply a cardboard box full of cats in a nearby alleyway.]

[She slowed to a stop at those words. Oh right. A new name. She'd managed to hold on to the one Tsuzuki gave her for this long already, so she wasn't quite sure how to feel about it. Fortunately, her coming to a stop meant it was a lot easier to spot those cats in the alleyway.]

What's that...?

[Though to any onlookers, it might have just looked like she was wandering into an alleyway.]

[There are three kittens in the box, meowing hungrily. One of them ventures out slowly to sit in front of Lilka, tail swishing curiously as the other two look on. That's about when Luna catches up.]

Oh, you found them! Good work, Lilka.

[Lilka crouched down and stared at the approaching kitten, though she didn't reach out to pet it. How cute! Now that the kittens had made their appearance, the question she really wanted to ask but didn't was now incredibly obvious. Though to be fair, being praised also contributed to that bright look on her face.

But then she remembered something.]

I didn't bring anything to feed them with!

[The brave kitten sniffs at Lilka for a moment before rubbing up against her, prompting the other two to slowly venture out. Luna can't help but simply stand there and smile - the scene in front of her couldn't be much more adorable than this.]

I'll go and buy them a nice fresh fish. Keep them company until I get back, all right?

Okay!

[She was not complaining about taking care of the kittens in the meantime. That aside, she was still a Crest Sorceress despite not remembering that, and that made this situation at least somewhat close to a witch with her cat familiars.

...Though maybe it wasn't like that at all, considering that by the time Lunafreya came back, she was at the point where she couldn't even get up without giving the kittens a rude awakening. Welp.]

I've got the-

[Luna's halfway through the sentence when she rounds the corner and sees the kittens napping in Lilka's lap.]

-fish.

[She was wrong. It did get more adorable.]

[She turned her head at Lunafreya's still unfamiliar voice, and a sheepish look soon followed. She hadn't expected to be buried in kittens either.]

I tried to stand up before, but it's hard to move kittens without waking them up!

Well, maybe the smell of food will wake them.

[Luna smiles, approaching quietly and setting the fish down near them.]

[One of the kittens practically leaped on the fish once it seemed safe enough, while the others were more cautious. The last one seemed to be more interested in curling up and napping some more, but Lilka couldn't be certain that wasn't weakness from hunger or something. Luckily the loud meowing from the other kittens was enough to get it to abandon the idea of napping any longer.]

I wonder if they'll really be okay...

[Plus she still did kind of want to take them home to the temple.]

We can come back to check on them until the person who made the prayer arrives again. I wouldn't want to take them anywhere and have them worry when they get back.

[She does smile a bit, though.]

...Though perhaps we can ask about bringing one or two of them home after.

[She simply nodded at first. How long would that take? The thought of leaving them alone didn't sit well. That latter statement though...]

Really? [Her face lit up on instinct, and while she tried to rein that in, it was much too late to hide it completely.] ..But if they don't want to leave with us, that's okay too.

[It seemed a bit mean to separate a few from the group, now that she thought about it.]

Well, it never hurts to ask.

[Luna can't help but smile too as she nods back.]

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[closed] the instant the pain you held tight spills out

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