Research Field Trip [Closed]

[noli_oblivisci]

Who: Psyche+D2
Where: Kolhapur, India
When: August
What: Researching Holidays and Getting to Know Each Other/Mission 23
Warnings: N/A (will add if applicable)

The last time Psyche had been in India, it'd been the day everyone had gone to visit the locations of their predecessors and the day Amaterasu's temple had been torched. A lot had happened since then but there was one thing that stuck out, even now: it was really hot. 

Standing in the crowded market, she let out a slow shallow and shucked off her long coat, draping it around her arm. It was tempting to unbutton her blouse a bit too, but she supposed it didn't matter once they got to work.

She looked over at her companion, and asked, a bit awkwardly, "You doing all right?"

She wasn't sure if he'd been anywhere like that before, with Forrest or with another god.

 

Comments

[smilingbullet]

Though D2 doesn't know if he has ever been to India, he learned some time ago that he knows Hindi, and can read sanskrit, and he's not wearing too warm clothing and he's not too uncomfortable in the heat. Though a Hawaiian shirt might or might be suitable for temples. Plus, he always bring (holy) water along.

He searches his bag as he nods. "Yeah, I am. Are you?" He finds two fans, one folding and one round in one piece, and holds them out to her, so she can choose one to use, if she ends up needing it.

[noli_oblivisci]

"Oh-um-not too bad? It's just a bit hotter than I remember." It was enough to make the fans he held out very tempting, too. After a moment, she allowed herself to take the folding one and she nodded gratefully. "Thanks, really...I'll be better once we're inside."

While the streets were crowded, making the market place feel even muggier, it made it easier for them to blend in - shinki or not. Psyche stood out enough but she had a feeling that D2's shirt was...unique, even here. She frowned a little, thoughtfully,

"The temple should be here somewhere. It was a pretty big one, actually. It was Ma...Mahar...? Oh, Maha-lakshimi or something like that."

[smilingbullet]

"It is pretty hot. But it's also summer, and monsoon season, so maybe we'll encounter rain too." Once he's short one fan, he flips the one he still holds in his hand so he can use it.

It's like he's just another out-of-place tourist. Which they both are, more or less.

"A mandir should probably stand out, so it shouldn't be that hard to find." Even if the architectures varies, mandir to mandir. "Have you been to Mahalakshmi Temple before?"

[noli_oblivisci]

"Yeah, last time me and Forrest were here." She perked up a little, hearing the name properly. "It was one of the first places we came to, actually. Apparently, it's a popular spot, since it's one of the places you can pray for salvation from desires or have them fulfilled, so worst comes to worse we can probably find a guidebook somewhere."

It made some sense, then, there'd been so many offerings when they'd been there, even discounting the 'gifts' from the local gods.

Looking around, she took a few leading steps towards one of the vaguely familiar looking buildings, before commenting, "You seem pretty familiar with the terminology."

'Mandir' she didn't know for sure, but she could infer the general meaning from context.

[smilingbullet]

“That’s cool. If it’s that busy and popular, it must be possible to pick up a couple of pieces of information that can be useful.”

And if it’s a temple dedicated to Lakshmi, even more so, particularly for their research.

His eyes darts across the busy part of town they’re in, reading signs and catching parts of conversations as they passed people.

“Apparently I speak Hindi for some reason.” He shrugs, partially focused on the crowd and partially on his fellow shinki. “And the word for temple is pretty staple, I guess. Maybe, I dunno.” He speaks a lot of languages, but it’s really pretty useful to know at least the main language of the country your god belongs to. At least if something goes weird with the translation things, they’ll still be able to get information and directions and whatnot.

[noli_oblivisci]

"Oh-that's great, then. We should be about to make a lot of progress, then," she said, nodding. "I know 'English' but that's mostly good for the tourist spots and signs."

And in Japan in general, really. As they reached a familiar looking slope, she picked up the pace. As they left the market area, the crowds began to thin, and it was easier to hear herself speak.

"Technically, I guess we could've just looked online but...it's probably better to actually experience how some of it works rather than a quick summary."

Among other things.

[smilingbullet]

He lengthens his steps to keep up with her increased pace. There were more locals than tourists here, it seemed.

"English is good too, there should be tour guides and the like who knows it, and they could be useful to ask."

And if they find out a little they can ask where they can learn more in-depth things, too.

"You're right. Not to mention that it's also more fun to learn on location."

[noli_oblivisci]

"Yeah. Our last visit was cut kinda short, too, so it's still mostly new to me." Provided another batch of demons didn't decide to follow them again - Psyche absently glanced towards one of the alleyways they passed, seeing only shadow, as she continued, a bit thoughtfully, "We probably could just sneak in with a tour group or something...I mean, it's not like they'd notice anyway."

As long as they paid their own way, that seemed fair?

[smilingbullet]

“Because of ayakashi?” It’s a natural assumption. Unless they heard about what happened at Amaterasu’s and rushed back to try to help. But he’ll be vigilant. They can’t do anything proper against them by themselves, but that didn’t mean they should just ignore any presence they noticed. “Ah, yeah, that sounds good. They’d only notice us if we asked any questions.” Which they might need to do if the guide didn’t mention the things that they were looking for, or if they didn’t mention enough of it.

[noli_oblivisci]

"Sort of, I don't quite think it's the same thing," Psyche replied. "I think this place, and maybe others, have their own versions of spiritual predators, kinda like how there's different myths depending on where you go. Just...if you see something that looks like an emaciated person don't go towards it without help."

Forrest and her hadn't gotten rid of them, either. They'd been able to report them but that they could still be around.

"Yeah. And if we have to ask questions, I doubt they'll remember us long enough to wonder if we were there from the get go or not. And we look touristy enough anyway?" Her mouth quirked with a trace of humor - between his shirt and her general appearance.

Then, her stride briefly paused as, in the distance, white spires could be seen. "Oh-it should just be up there!"

[smilingbullet]

“Asura, maybe...? Though they’re also demigods, so maybe they’re not the same.” Though the description is also wrong, when it comes to Asura, so maybe not exactly it. He feels like he knows, or like he at least should know, but he’ll have to read up on Hinduism and their demons, spirits and demis later on. “I’ll keep it in mind, and an eye out for it.”

“Oh, that does stand out.” It’s very clean, standing out against even the clouds, at least from this distance.

“We do look like we’ll blend right in!” He grins, and does a spin before his next step. Mostly to take in more of their surroundings, to be honest. To see if any emaciated person was around.

[noli_oblivisci]

Psyche let out a short laugh at his manner. "Let's see if we can find a group or something, then."

She scanned the crowds of patrons coming in and out temple. There were locals and, she recognized, the temple's caretakers. There was the entrance and signs written in sanskrit, along with the rare English one stating rules and times of the temple's routine. And, just entering the temple, was a decent sized group of people led by a local guide, who repeated the guidelines on the signs.

"C'mon. Looks like they're just starting."

She stepped quickly, unconsciously avoiding physical contact as much as possible in the crowd.

As for their surroundings, as someone in the crowd talked about distributing the Mahaprasad later, D2 might've spotted a flicker of something vaguely anthropomorphic in the shadows.

[smilingbullet]

It’s always fun to add some antics to what you’re doing. Though sometimes it seems as if he doesn’t take things seriously, even when he does, because of these manners. “Yeah.”

“Great timing~” But they don’t need to be in the thick of the crowd, just on the edge where they can hear what the guide says.

He catches sight of something, but he can’t tell what it is. As he said before, he would have to keep his eyes open, and have some attention to the corner of his eye.