thenearshore | [closed] On a day we meet to walk the line

Entry tags:

[closed] On a day we meet to walk the line

Who: Cho Hakkai, D2 (Carl Adler) and Raijin
What: Mission #10 - perhaps Hakkai isn't the best person to mediate anyone's beef with Fuujin, but he's certainly interested in finding out what Raijin's beef is....
When: August 11, 2016
Where: Raijin's temple on the Far Shore
Warnings: None anticipated, will edit if necessary!

[Hakkai glances sidelong at D2 as they approach the front gate of Raijin's temple. He'd prefer to have backup, on the off chance that it becomes necessary -- he's certainly caused some problems in his half-year here, and it's all recent enough that to immortal gods it must seem like yesterday.

Suijin he'd gone to some pains to impress. Fuujin... well. At least it's unlikely that Raijin will judge him simply for the difficulty he's had with Fuujin, if what Suijin had implied about their challenging relationship is correct.]

Have you heard anything about Fuujin and Raijin's fights? I've heard that they happen, but no details, unfortunately.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

[ He tries to remember if he’s heard anything that could be useful, but comes up with nothing, so he shakes his head and frowns up at the temple. ]

I’ve heard just the same, it’s like they’re trying to keep it behind closed doors and failing at covering it up completely.

[ Which would just be another thing that the Heavens fails at. They fail at a lot of things, and it's really unimpressive. ]

Oh, dear. Well, I suppose it's better not to come in with any preconceived notions, isn't it?

[This is not exactly his situation -- he has a few preconceived notions about Fuujin, to begin with -- but he'll wait and see what Raijin has to say about their arguments.

And if he has to smooth things over with Fuujin too... maybe D2 will help with that. Hakkai certainly doesn't think visiting Fuujin's temple himself would end well.]

Then we may as well begin.

[He steps up to the gate and calls loudly.]

Hello! Excuse me -- is anyone in?

Yeah, I guess. That way we won't be completely biased, at least.

[ Though some information would have been pretty useful. Not knowing anything at all means that they're in unfamiliar territory in more than one way. Technically, it's unwise to go in blind, so to speak.

He listens for the sound of footsteps from the other side of the door, but who knows how thick those things are. Is just shouting to ask if anyone is home the way people ask for audiences with the bigger-shots? ]

[It isn't footsteps that can be heard first coming from the other side of the heavy temple doors, but the sound of them creaking open. Whether or not it's the work of soundproofing or not is something of a moot point, as the person who has answered the call seems to be moving without making much noise at all.]

Can I help you?

[If the pair are quick enough to take notice, the red '嵐' visible on the back of this particular individual's hand should mark them pretty obviously as a shinki.]

[Hakkai's glance flicks to the mark on the shinki's hand -- storm, how appropriate -- and back up to their face. He bows deeply.]

Please excuse my intrusion.

[Yelling at the gate usually isn't how you schedule an appointment with one of the more important gods, but then, Hakkai's not sure he'd get one if he'd asked through more proper channels.

This will have to do. He'll talk fast.]

I'm Li Tieguai, one of the newly arrived deities. Lady Suijin asked me to address Lord Raijin on a topic of interest to her.

Would he be able to grant me a few minutes of his time?

[ A straightforward name, even. D2 mimics Hakkai's bow, because he's unsure how one is supposed to act around real gods and their shinki, but being polite couldn't hurt. ]

How do you do, I'm Carl Adler, shinki of Lakshmi, another of the newly arrived deities. [ He's not Forrest's first shinki, so he can't name himself as 'Exemplar', maybe. He should have asked about that beforehand, so he knew. ] I hope you and Lord Raijin don't mind that I came to pay a visit with Mr. Li as well.

[ Calling Hakkai even by part of his god name is so weird, and not adding D2 in his introduction is as well, but what does protocol dictate here? (At least he didn't stutter anywhere, or sound as if he is a little unsure of how this works.) ]

[Something Suijin would send someone else to discuss with Raijin, hm...? That certainly sounds interesting enough, but whether or not Raijin himself would agree to that sentiment is probably a different manner entirely.]

Well, well, that sure sounds like a pressing matter, if the two of you were sent about it. [A quirk of the lips, a borderline mischievous smirk. It's not for the two of them, though, and it becomes more of a genuine smile as the pair are addressed again.] I'm certain he wasn't expecting to entertain an audience today, but if you're here on Suijin-sama's behalf, I'm sure he can make time. Please, come inside.

[Hakkai bows again, smiling innocuously as he straightens up.]

Thank you.

[And he follows directions, stepping forward and inside the temple doors. He glances around the entryway, intrigued. Raijin's temple is unquestionably far more elaborate -- and larger -- than his own, beyond even the size and splendor of Keiun Temple back home.]

Is there somewhere we should wait for Lord Raijin?

[Hakkai doubts his shinki will be willing to casually drop two strangers in on him without warning him of their approach first.]

[ He would imagine there might be an audience chamber somewhere around the place, and those tended to have some waiting room of sorts, didn't they? Even if some people didn't use them. ]

Apologies for not making an appointment beforehand. Perhaps that would have been better.

[ But then who knew if they would be allowed to see Raijin at all. When you don’t know anything about somebody beyond stories - or legends, as it were - it's hard to know for sure that you won't just be completely dismissed. ]

[Honestly, it's probably for the best that these two ended up running into one of his shinki before Raijin himself - as some sort of buffer, a trustworthy messenger... a moral guidepost to get him to Do the Right Thing and meet with the two who have come to visit rather than dismiss them entirely, probably.]

Hm, please don't worry about it too much! He is a bit busy at the moment, but it's nothing so important that he can't put a pause on it for a no doubt important matter.

Please, just inside there's a sitting room. [Just follow his lead!]

[Hakkai'd really rather not pick any fights with Raijin; he seems to see eye to eye with Suijin well enough, and the less said about Fuujin's temper the better, so he's hoping he'll manage to make a slightly less unfortunate impression on Raijin.

Barging into his temple might not be the best of strategies -- that too much isn't going unnoticed -- but Hakkai can play nice while he waits.

If it doesn't go well, he supposes, at least D2 won't be too startled.

He follows, keeping his smile in place and as innocent as he can manage, to the sitting room, and bows again, politely, to the shinki as they arrive.]

We'll be happy to wait here on Lord Raijin's convenience. Certainly, I wouldn't wish to pull him away from anything urgent for this.

[ Tonight everybody are making similarly polite faces.

But D2 would rather not pick any fights with any god, particularly not when he doesn't know said gods powers or strength, or just how much of an upper hand the god would have. At least coming for a sudden visit isn't really picking a fight...unless Raijin has the worst temper ever.

What a nice little sitting room. ]

Of course, our business can wait until he has the time for us.

[ No rush, no rush. ]

[With the guests properly in place, all that's left is the big man himself, right?]

Sit tight, all right? It shouldn't be long!

[And, with a cheery and polite smile, the shinki is off to go through the rest of the temple, quickly tracking down Raijin. Hakkai and D2 are likely going to find themselves treated to some peaceful silence for a few moments in the interim, until the situation is explained and the delivery of the explanation is signaled with a booming,]

You what?

[From deeper in the temple. There's a bit of fussing, and after a couple of minutes, Raijin finally makes his grand entrance into the sitting area, flanked by his shinki who offers up a quick laugh and wave and mouths,] Good luck! [and retreats back outside the room, but staying within ear shot. You know.Just in case.

Now it's Raijin's time to shine.]

I understand you two have some business with me?

[Well, this isn't going to go well. Hakkai rises to his feet immediately, and executes a deep, polite bow. Raijin is one of the higher-ranking gods, after all, and he's hoping that this won't go south.

Straightening back up, he smiles.]

Please, excuse our intrusion! I'm Li Tieguai, and my companion here is D2. Suijin asked me to come speak with you -- I must say, I'm very impressed by your temple. It is magnificent.

[Scattershot flattery, but he's hoping his cheerful smile helps.]

She is hoping to understand the root of your disagreement with Lord Fuujin...?

[ After a bow of his own and a “how do you do” and other niceties it’s best to use in these sort of situations: ]

It's an amazing temple.

[ Because it is. Anyway. ]

And if there is anything we can do to help to clear things up..

[At least they're being polite now, he can give them that much. With some of the behavior of the new gods and the bizarre shinki that have been flooding the heavens recently, it's not like he exactly expects that kind of behavior.

On the other hand, speaking like a feud between gods might be a simple matter to clear up? Hoo boy. A frown tugs at the corner of his mouth at that, a fairly subtle movement as if he's doing his best not to show just how distasteful he finds this turn in the conversation.]

Fuujin... [Is Suijin hoping to turn this situation between them around? Pah.] That's just how it is between us, it's how it's always been. [Spoken firmly, measured, and very deliberately keeping his tone even.] Even if that weren't the case, have you meet him? The guy doesn't exactly make himself easy to get along with.

[Hakkai watches Raijin's face with care, weighing his own options. It's probably ineffective to play the bumbling do-gooder, though it suits his choice to show up at the man's front door with no appointment and leap right into the task. He's bad at that act, and it cuts off too many options for solutions, in any case.

It's clear Raijin doesn't like the topic, and if it's true that they have been feuding that long, Hakkai can understand why.

Perhaps, he thinks, sympathetic but sincere is the way to go here.]

I'm afraid there's a reason I didn't approach him first. He's already formed opinions about me.

[He sighs, all weary understanding.]

Even with so little experience, I can begin to understand how hard he might be to work with... but with so many bizarre events happening here, and Amaterasu still young, division among her advisers seems uniquely dangerous.

Do you think he could be persuaded to agree to at least a temporary truce?

[ Although D2 doesn't glance over at Hakkai in his curiosity, he wonders what exactly happened between him and Fuujin. Unless Raijin asks and gets an answer, D2 needs to ask him about that later.

But Raijin sure doesn't seem to like Fuujin, huh. But if they got along, the two of them wouldn't be here in the first place. ]

If anything, sir, a truce, however temporary, would be a good thing for the Heavens. There is already some trouble brewing, and happening, after all, and if there is less quarrel among the brass, or at least appear to be so, it might keep some of the troublemakers at bay, and could help you to sort out some of the other trouble. It would be to your, and her, benefit.

[ D2 has been critical about the management of the Heavens from the start, but he doesn't let it show just how unimpressed he is by the original gods. But he can't help but mention it, because really, how irresponsible can people get? ]

[Hakkai's comments earn him a slight nod of understanding from Raijin - he knows, oh does he know, trying to reason with Fuujin isn't an easy endeavor by any means. Being someone who's had to tangle with the other god more times than he'd ever like, Raijin leaves the question of what sort of encounter Hakkai may have had unasked.

As for the idea of a truce...]

You think I'm the one instigating things with him? [Another small crack against his attempts to keep this as calm and business-y as he can. He lets out a huff, possibly a short, bitter laugh, before continuing.] Make no mistake, the both of us know full well that Amaterasu's safety and guidance are top priorities, and for that I can work just fine with even an asshole like him.

[Surely a statement like that is super convincing.]

That doesn't mean I'm about to put up with him trying to stir up trouble with me on his own time.

We don't fully understand the situation, unfortunately. Has he been stirring up trouble with you on his own time?

[Hakkai sits forward, frowning more deeply.]

What has he done?

[This seems like exactly the sort of information that Suijin might have been looking for.]

Implying that was not my intention.

[ Though it's not like they don't know if Raijin is partly to blame. He's not going to show or say that he's sure they very well might be equally to blame. ]

What was it that did happen?

[D2's hunch might not be entirely off base, but Raijin's not about to let himself look like he's the one who may have done any wrong in this situation. Maybe it's that whole 'gods can do no wrong' condition the heavens adhere to, or maybe it's just the particularly strong stubborn trait in this one.]

Honestly, take any trouble he gives the newcomers and amplify it. [Though he doesn't have much first-hand observation on how Fuujin actually acts with the new gods and shinki, but he's pretty sure assuming it's 'obnoxious and borderline antagonistic' is a safe bet. Either way, he at least appears to be a touch less defensive in this reply.] Picking fights, throwing insults around, anything to stir up a ruckus. It gets real old real fast.

[Hakkai frowns sympathetically, leaning forward just a little with his hands clasped on his knee.]

Has it been worse than usual lately? I'm sure, with all of us appearing, and the other troubles, it's been a stressful time.

[In other words, it seems, this is a long-running feud, and Fuujin hasn't done anything specifically egregious lately. Perhaps the real solution is keeping some distance between them, if it's a personality conflict Suijin finds herself dealing with; but he's not passing up the chance for an educated perspective on the advisers' behavior around one another.]

[ D2 will be forever impressed with how much 'not wrong' they can do. Which means that he's entirely unimpressed and not about to change his mind.

He stays silent, because it's a question they should get an answer to before anything else. But if it's gotten worse lately, is that because of them or because of something else? Though them popping up all over the place surely isn't helping. ]

[Raijin takes a moment to actually sort out his words before answering - as much as he wants to throw a lot of the blame on the newcomers, it feels... especially tactless to do so right in front of a pair of them. It's not their fault, specifically, and he knows that Amaterasu wants her advisers to be as mindful to them as they can manage.

That much is an obvious effort on his part.]

I can't say that all of this hubbub's made it any easier for us. [There, he's squarely putting the fault on the situation, rather than the people involved. No harm now, right?] He's always been a pain to deal with, but strain of everything that's been going on has made all of us a lot more tense.

[Hakkai nods sympathetically, projecting all the understanding and gentle curiosity that he can muster. It has, of course, been difficult... but Raijin had leaped with almost too much eagerness to agree with the explanation Hakkai had offered.

It makes him think that there's something else here, beyond the tension of newcomers' presence. Gently, he presses:]

I'm sure it has. And beyond our presence... is there anything else going on that's made it difficult?

[ So Raijin can be tactful if he tries. But it's true that it has to be a troublesome situation for the original gods, just as it is a troublesome situation to the newcomers. It's not exactly a simple, easily dealt with situation, or else they wouldn't still be appearing or disappearing whenever. ]

It must have certainly made it complicated in other ways beyond what troubles you might have originally faced, ever since we started appearing.

[ He will not comment on how he thinks that they ought to have gotten a grip on at least the organization of the matter by now, because that will only be counterproductive right now. ]

[So much tact being displayed everywhere, it's pretty amazing, isn't it? Well done, everyone.]

I think we all have our hands pretty full with the situation as it is, even someone like Fuujin can't be a bigger pain in the ass than normal.

[I mean tact being displayed about everything except Fuujin, who deserves anything and everything being thrown his way, clearly. As for problems outside of their ongoing quarrel, who knows? Once the wind god's been brought up, Raijin's going to remain pretty preoccupied with trash-talking him, it seems.]

[It's a sort of tact.

But it also seems that Raijin's going to stick to the explanation that Hakkai had offered him, too. If that's the case, then...

With the same very helpful expression, nodding, Hakkai clasps his hands together on his knee.]

Since our arrival has been such a stress... is there anything we can do to help make things easier? I can't help but feel a sense of obligation, after all.

[ There are some things that they might be able to do, but there are a lot of things to take into consideration all around with these things. ]

Trying to find out the reason might have to be a joint effort at this point, though.

[ Better not voice his doubts about that endeavour, though. ]

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

[closed] On a day we meet to walk the line

no subject

no subject

no subject

My apologies for the lateness of this!

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject