thenearshore | Once again, Senri does not cope well with change...

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Once again, Senri does not cope well with change...

Who: Senri and Open (Hitsugaya has dibs on picking him up, but anyone who wants to comfort sad!bear is very welcome.)
When: After Roxas disappears
Where: The site of the former temple of Artemis
What: Senri's god is gone.

[Roxas is gone. Senri knows that instinctively, even without the Temple or his Name vanishing. There's a sense of.... emptiness. Loss. It's.... hard to take. What he doesn't know is what he's supposed to do about it. He's a shinki. Meant to serve a god and help them defeat ayakashi, right? He understands that.

Without a god, what is he? And why did Roxas leave? Was Senri not doing his job? Did he do something wrong? Did something bad happen to him?

Complicating matters is the sudden strange rush of memories that return to him on that very morning. The first flower pressed into his book has meaning to him again. Crystala. She was his master before Roxas. She gave him the book. And the eye patch. In a way, this knowledge is what saves him from complete despair. If there was someone before Roxas, there can be someone after. He just has to wait. Either Roxas will return or someone else will come by and tell him what to do.

He's made a little campsite on the empty lot where the temple used to be. There's a campfire, a small tent made of a tarp and some branches, and a little kitten curled up on his lap. Senri is watching the fire crackle away, a slightly lost look in his eyes.]

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[Making his rounds, it doesn't take long for Toushirou to notice the shinki.

It makes his eyebrows furrowed, slightly at a loss as to why the shinki would be there before he makes his way over. He makes sure to make enough noise to alert the other of his presence.]

What happened?

[Why are you sitting out here?]

[Senri furrows his own brow in reponse. That is an excellent question. And also a painful one. What did happen to Roxas? What happens to any of the gods that suddenly leave?

But in a more immediate sense, there is a simple answer he can give.]

He's... gone.

Who?

[Because he's heard of people leaving before, but nothing like this.

He looks around before he looks back at Senri.]

Roxas.

[And then, because he does understand that gods have two names, he adds.]

Artemis.

[The name doesn't mean anything to him, but it does give him enough of a connection to put together that this person might have been Artemis' shinki.

....

He frowns a bit.]

Do you have anywhere you can stay? Staying out here like this is dangerous.

[He considers this question. Maybe a different field somewhere? But he's fairly sure that isn't what this guy means. Finally he shakes his head. Roxas never told him what to do if something like this happened. So no, he has nowhere else to go.]

In that case, do you want to stay at my temple for the time being?

[Might as well, right? Besides, he'd rather the other doesn't end up being food for any ayakashi.]

[The offer surprises him, but it's not as if he has anywhere else to go.

Oh. Wait a second. Before he agrees Senri has to bring up a very important matter. He lifts the small yellow kitten from his lap and holds it up with a hopeful expression.]

Honey too?

[Upon seeing the kitten coupled with the hopeful expression, his own expression softens.]

It can come, too.

[Oh good. He nods with a relieved smile. In that case, yes. They'll go with him. He stands up, setting the kitten on his shoulder.]

Hope you don't mind mountains.

[A hand on Senri's shoulder before he teleports them to his temple.]

[ ...well, this is hardly the grandeur Hibiki expected to find upon examining Roxas's temple grounds today. The "thank you for the bow" note her horse Maxie had been chewing when she found him in, of all places, her kitchen had tipped her off something worth investigating personally might have occurred, but this....

At first she doesn't think she recognizes the person choosing to, of all things, camp out where there should be someone's temple, but then the resemblance and the wildness click into place. ] You?

[ Behold. A deep-voiced Prince on a mighty....purple....steed. ]

[Head tiiiiiilt?

Senri doesn't recognize her right away, doesn't connect her with the pretty sparkle girl he met on that day. And he's not sure how to respond to that question anyway.

Also he didn't know horses came in purple.

When tilting his head the other way fails to produce an epiphany, he cautiously nods. Yes. He is... himself?]

[ This isn't adding up. Well, his reticence might. He'd hardly seemed...

But still. There should be a building here. And this campsite can hardly be coincidentally-placed, so. It seems the Prince must interrogate a subject. ]

Artemis's temple is absent. Explain.

[ Maxie sniffs at Senri experimentally. But discreetly. Hibiki likes it when he only listens to her. ]

[Unfortunately the younger version that she met had yet to live through the trauma of losing his eye, his father, and his home all in rapid succession. His psyche never quite healed from that. As he is now, Senri finds communication a lot more difficult.

But he'll try anyway.]

He's gone.

[It's the only explanation he can give. Why should the temple stay without a god to inhabit it?]

He's gone?!

[ For a moment, she's confused.

Then, for a moment, she's terrified. What if - what if -

No, that wouldn't happen! Surely not! ]

Vanished or otherwise?!

[ She can't say it. She can't say

she can't say

what happened to Venus. But she sounds a little panicked. ]

[Luna never knew Roxas, but she does recognize the older form of the bright eyed young boy who came to her temple during the age shenanigans. And she can't help but notice both the glaring absence of a temple where it seems one should be, and also the thoughtful and despondent look on his face.]

Senri...?

Grandmother?

[Senri actually perks up a little at the sight of her. She's younger than when he last saw her, but this is definitely the kindly cookie Grandmother.

Which is good. Grandmothers are wise and clever and she can definitely advise him in his time of need. And.... once a grandmother always a grandmother, right?]

Yes, that's right.

[Luna smiles, nodding without even skipping a beat. Of course that's how he'd remember her.]

Tell Grandma Luna what's wrong.

He left. I didn't.

[Those two things sum up all of his current problems. Roxas left, and didn't take Senri with him, so now he has no idea what he's supposed to do.]

A friend of yours?

[She's patient enough to spend some time figuring this out.]

My god...

[Roxas was more important than a friend. He was the one who told Senri what to do. Now he might have to make decisions for himself. It's a scary thought.]

...I see. Did he leave you behind?

[She's smart enough to put this one together.]

Viktor had been wandering, after making sure that Yuuri was all right on his own. He'd been assured that he was, though, and it was obvious his fellow shinki had needed some space. So he'd set out to see what he could find amidst the temples. Probably not much, Yuri was gone. He'd known that from the second he'd woken up the day he'd disappeared, but he couldn't think of anything else to do.

Seeing Senri in the lot made him pause. They hadn't met, but Viktor could easily piece together what had happened from the tent and the fact that the lot looked like a place a temple would have stood, had a god for it been present.

He walked over slowly, not wanting to startle him. "Everything all right?"

Obviously it wasn't, but it seemed more polite than asking outright about what was wrong.

[He shakes his head. Everything is not alright.

The little kitten sleeping on his lap opens it's eyes to have a look at the newcomer, but then yawns and curls back up. Senri pats the kitty lightly.]

He's gone.

[That seems to sum up what is wrong pretty nicely.]

"I'm so very sorry."

He was, too. This guy looked absolutely miserable, and it was all Viktor could do to keep from hugging him.

"Your god?"

It was very soft, so as not to upset him more than he already was. But juding from the reaction it made sense.

"Mine just left as well."

[As it turns out, Ken comes by, drawn by the smell of the fire and his natural curiosity about it. He's no good for giving directions, but he's at least likely to fully empathize with Senri on this - not to mention may be passable at offering comfort.]

Oi, Senri. What's wrong? [He can tell his animal friend is upset, but he doesn't have context; he's never visited Roxas' temple before, or - if he has - didn't know who the temple belonged to, or what shinki lived there. (He did, admittedly, visit a lot of temples while he was reduced to child age, although he doesn't necessarily remember them all.)]

[Senri is relieved to see a friend. Maybe Ken can give him some advice about what to do since waiting seems to... not be doing anything really. As for what's wrong... he makes a vague gesture at the place where Roxas's temple once stood.]

Left behind...

[Wherever Roxas went, he didn't take Senri with him. And without him, Senri has no idea what to do.]

[Ken doesn't actually know that a god's temple disappears with them; the only god he knows who's disappeared is Chrome, and he never got to find out where her temple was. So he looks around at the empty space blankly, then back at Senri.] Left behind by who?

[But he crouches down at Senri's side anyway, even without understanding. His friend seems upset; Ken would swear he can even smell it, though he couldn't tell anyone what it smells like. He just knows. And it doesn't matter who left Senri behind, or why he's upset; Ken wants to help him feel better.]

...you hungry? I can get food. [Unfortunately, the ways in which Ken knows how to express concern and comfort are rather limited. Still, he means well.]

Roxas...

[And he really doesn't know what to do without his god. Is there really a point to a shinki's existence once their god is gone?

The mention of food gets a surprised little blink. He hasn't thought of food all day. Too much else on his mind. But now he realizes that yes, he is hungry. He nods gratefully. This actually one of the most meaningful ways Senri knows of to comfort people, so he's glad he has such a good friend.]

Okay! Wait here, I'll be right back! [Ken has a mission now, a clear goal he knows how to achieve for making his friend feel better, and that gives him a burst of energy. He snaps in his Cheetah cartridge, and off he tears at high speed.

When he said he'd be right back, he was being surprisingly literal.

It is a couple minutes, to be fair, but not many at all before Ken comes skidding back to a stop in front of him. His jacket's off, and appears to be tied around his neck by the sleeves, shaped into an impromptu - and, to be honest, creatively rigged - backpack. This he unties and promptly dumps a small avalanche of packaged foods and snacks onto Senri's lap. Chips, pretzels, cookies, crackers, dried squid, anchovies...the only definite theme seems to be 'foods that can be preserved indefinitely until opened'. There's also a can of beans and a can of ravioli, although how Ken expects Senri to open or heat them is up for debate. Whether he's even considered the question is up for debate, in fact.]

I brought food, byon! [The announcement is...really not necessary, but Ken seems proud of himself.]

[ Though Jakob tries not to visit the only person he’d consider a friend too often, he does still drop by from time to time, and today is no different. Save, of course, for the fact that the temple is no longer in sight, and a cold feeling of dread grips his heart as he charges into what used to be the temple grounds, making a beeline for the fire and quickly grabbing Senri by the shoulders in a fit of panic. ]

You…you’re his shinki, aren’t you? What has happened to Lord Roxas?!

[The kitten that had been sleeping in Senri's lap scurries away to hide behind him. Senri himself just looks up at Jakob with a sad sort of confusion and shake his head.]

Gone...

[There's just no other word for it. Roxas is... gone.]

[ He barely even notices the kitten, at any rate. Senri has all of his undivided attention, unfortunately for him, and Jakob has never been more exasperated with his penchant for one-word responses as he is now. ]

What do you mean by “gone”? [ In his heart of hearts he knows what Senri truly means by it; he’s been through this before. Data-Roxas’s temple had vanished only a few months ago, after all. He feels his throat tightening at the memory of it. ]

Surely he’s…he’s gone on a trip? Perhaps to relocate his temple?

[That would be nice, but....]

Name is gone.

[Senri knows that the mark a shinki has means you belong to a god. And his is gone. So Roxas is gone.]

It can’t be. [ he says weakly, finally relenting on his grip on Senri and staring downward, at nothing in particular, as he tries to process all this. ]

If—If only I had been here sooner. [ Not that he could have done anything about it, but at least it’s something. ]

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Once again, Senri does not cope well with change...

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yikes, im so sorry i missed this! feel free not to respond, this is so ancient xD

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