thenearshore | [Closed] The only thing that's black and white / Is that you don't have to walk alone this time

Entry tags:

yoon | akatsuki no yona

[Closed] The only thing that's black and white / Is that you don't have to walk alone this time

Who: Yoon and friends
When: Various
Where: Various
What: Two prayers and a lunch chat

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Prayer #53 with Hitsugaya and Alibaba:

I used to dream of being up in the clouds, high above everything... not anymore, since my accident.
-- Drive off or defeat the flying ayakashi that is causing accidents in dreamers
-- 20 comments

Prayer #43 with Keith:

They say that nora are like stray animals - cats, dogs, monkeys, etc. I'm going away for a few days and I don't know if these poor stray cats will get fed while I'm gone. I'd feel better knowing someone was watching over them...
-- Care for some stray animals in a metro area
-- 10 comments

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

[He isn't necessarily expecting a stranger to take them up on the offer. Whether or not she's interested, if they know where to go, they can swing by and leave something for them to eat, right? But Yoon seems really set on convincing her, so maybe he can offer some extra assurances,]

We come by here often enough, it wouldn't be a problem. [That is... not exactly true, but an extra outing or two is something they definitely can manage.]

[Yoon has no problem with white lies like that either. Maybe one day he'll remember why.]

'I... well, thank you!'

[She's silently thinking that another friend may be able to swing by and at least tell her whether or not these strangers are making good on their promise. On the other hand, if they only manage to feed the cats once it would be better than the poor things starving the whole time she's gone.]

'These cats thankfully aren't too picky about the kind of food they get--'

It'll be good food, though. [Yoon interrupts to insist this.] Healthy with meat and fish, at least a little. [Anything else he should include he's gonna look up later. Much cheaper to make it himself than buy the giant bags he saw once.]

[By this point, Keith is really unable to help himself, and crouches down in order to beckon one of the strays over. If they really are going to offer to keep them fed, might as well try and stake their place as a friendly pair for them, right?]

We'll make sure they're treated well. [Yoon enthusiasm for care-taking alone would make sure of that.] Is there anything in particular we should be keeping in mind?

[She points at the one responding to Keith's beckoning.]

'A few of them, like that one, bully the other cats and try to hoard all the food for themselves.'

[But she smiles fondly. She understands they're all hungry.]

So bringing several smaller dishes would help with that. [Yoon notes.] That way they don't have to share.

[The lady nods.]

And then hopefully you won't have to stay around long enough to shoo one of them away if they do start to bully one of the others.

[She says 'bully' but the one coming to Keith is certainly friendly and sweet. And just a little more filled out than the other strays.]

[Being receptive to affection doesn't mean that one or some of them won't be competitive when food's involved. It's a little funny to think about, but not totally strange.]

That all sounds easy enough. [Feeding cats, how hard could it really be? The cat that's come up to him is going to be getting a few gentle scritches around the ears and chin.] How long are you going to be gone for?

[Not like he necessarily minds the idea of coming out here often, but it'll be nice to know regardless.]

[She holds up her hand, splaying her fingers.]

'Five days. Big vacation plans.'

[Yoon waves her on at that point, because he thinks he sees something strange at the end of the alleyway - stooped like Keith was, playing with the cats, but she clearly hasn't noticed. Yoon has figured out what that sort of thing means - Far Shore things.]

We can handle it no problem. You should go take care of those plans now.

[Keith doesn't notice it right away, though glancing up when Yoon gently insists on the woman taking her leave sooner rather than later does end up with his attention snagged on something that's clearly a little out of place here. Huh...]

Yeah, I'm sure you've got plenty to take care of with a trip like that.

[Idly, he keeps dishing out some attention to the cat in front of him, but he's definitely wary of whatever might be going on at the end of the alley.]

[Yoon turns to Keith to whisper as the lady finally heads off.]

She didn't notice that other person in the alley. Do you think they're from the Far Shore too?

[Keith's more knowledgeable about this sort of stuff, Yoon's pretty sure, since he's been around longer.]

Probably.

[It's possible that she's just not likely to pay attention to someone petting a stray cat, like a bunch of people passing by might be tempted to do, but it does feel kind of fishy either way.]

Wanna go check it out?

Y-yeah I do.

[Yoon for his part is nervous. He's not normally the type that investigates strange people in alleys, likelihood of them being 'normal' there or not.]

Alright, we'll just have to be careful...

[And he starts to sneak towards the random person.

Slowly... quietly...

Until there's a rowdy laughter from a balcony above them. A teen boy with a smirk is staring down at them.]

'You two are a riot. You must not get out of the Far Shore much.'

Edited 2018-01-12 04:48 (UTC)

[Stealth is one of those things Keith finds comes very naturally to him, so once Yoon starts taking a sneaky approach, he follows suit with ease.

They just have to be quiet, careful, not to provoke or frighten the figure...

But then they're laughed at?!]

Who's there?

[After only barely managing to stop himself from jumping in surprise, Keith spins to look up and over to where the laughter is coming from. He... kind of looks ready to fight, or at the very least cover Yoon should it be something malicious. But, no, it's just some smarmy teen? Ugh.]

[The regular human leaves through the other side of the alley, not noticing the trio at all.]

'Hold up there, because you're in my backyard now.'

[Yoon does take the cue from Keith and hang behind him though.]

This is just some alley, what do you care?

'I care because this is where I live, idiot. I'd rather all these cats cleared out too, but that lady keeps coming back to feed them and I can't get her to cut it out.'

You live back here.

[All right, this is definitely fishier than the figure at the end of the alley was just a few moments ago. Through any suspicion or offense he's holding at the kid's attitude, Keith can't help but feel a little... sympathetic? Not enough to stop himself from being blunt in return, but still.]

Don't have anywhere better to hang out?

Yeah, like the Far Shore.

[That gets some grit teeth and an angry posture from the other guy, as he jumps down towards the two of them.]

'Idiots. You can't live there without a god.'

[Yoon turns to Keith then.]

How long have you been in the Far Shore without a god? They haven't kicked you out yet.

[Blunt but... Yoon went through a similar phase. There was the Soulless Shinki temple for one thing and his god friends' temples for another. So what was this guy going on about?]

Long enough.

[He's not sure what kind of record keeping goes on in heaven as far as unnamed shinki, but he figures if it's such a big deal, someone would have noticed and he would have been either kicked out or forced into someone else's temple by now. It just sounds ridiculous, but... is this kid's claim coming from experience, or just nowhere?]

Are you saying that you got booted out for not having a god?

'They didn't have to. They just didn't have anywhere for me to stay without a god.'

[Of course, then he levels his eyes at Ketih - jealous and angry. Yoon wasn't happy about it.]

'You're saying you don't have a god but you do have somewhere to stay? Must be a god of pity up there now.'

[He practically spits the words out. That's when Yoon jumps in.]

Things have changed since you left, obviously! There are lots of new gods, actually - lots! And they don't let shinki who lose their gods just sleep on the concrete like the poor!

[The other shinki looks incredulous at Yoon's claim.]

[It's probably a good thing that Yoon jumped in like that - it gives Keith a moment to keep himself from snapping right back and escalating the situation further. He exhales sharply, a short and tense huff, before retorting back.]

Whatever they used to do isn't exactly normal anymore, there are plenty of gods who are more than happy to take anyone in, even if they don't end up being partners. If you checked it out now, you'd be able to see for yourself.

The new gods don't even care about noras! They're willing to talk to any shinki about their specific circumstances.

[Speaking from experience gives them both an edge of sincerity that shakes the other shinki visibly. He seems to weigh what they're saying, looking to the side as he goes deep in thought.]

Any one of my three gods would be willing to talk to you, if you're not the kind of person who wants to take charity, but rather earn your keep.

[Again... Yoon may be projecting a little, but the shinki looks back up after Yoon continues speaking.]

Yona is a goddess with the Irish pantheon as Ainé. Her portfolio is summer, wealth and sovereignty. She has a large temple and was used to having a lot of shinki around, although now it's just two of us. She's a cultured young woman, but she's strong and kind.

Aymeric is a god with the Norse pantheon as Forseti. His portfolio is justice and reconciliation. He has a large network of acquaintances he's built up over time in the Far Shore and they all come and go at his temple, and he has a Soulless Shinki too. He is honorable in his treatment of anyone he meets.

Hitsugaya is a god with the Shinto pantheon as Kuraokami. His portfolio is rain and snow. He hasn't been around as long as the other two, but he's serious about his work and helping his shinki get the training they need to excel.

You don't have to serve any of them - but you could come back to the Far Shore with us and meet with any of them if you don't believe me.

[The bold proclamation of nora status, accompanied by such proud sounding rundowns of each of the gods Yoon's worked his way into serving is certainly something that would likely get at least something of a rise from the older, established shinki in the heavens. Even if you aren't opposed to noras, it seems, keeping your status as one on the down-low seems to be the norm.

Though, as if to cement the idea that things have changed with the arrival of all the unusual new gods and shinki, Keith doesn't so much as flinch as Yoon goes off. If anything, it's honestly a lot more impressive that he's managed to find so many people he works well with in such a short time since Lance's disappearance, but now's not really the time to discuss it. Still, good job kiddo.]

Even if you don't get on with any of them, there are plenty of other gods. [With that, he puts a hand on Yoon's shoulder.] You can trust this guy's judgement, though. If he says it'd be worth meeting with them, then it probably is.

[The young appears to be considering their words, but then might need some more time after all. He opens his mouth to speak, thinks better of it, and then smirks like someone who is clearly losing the battle of persuason.]

'You're both pretty ballsy aren'tcha?'

[Yoon shakes his head simply.]

Bravery and courage and pride don't have anything to do with. The new gods understand that we didn't ask to become shinki anymore than they asked to become gods. So it's up to each of us what we want to do. Like Keith said, you can choose to meet them or not, or you can come back and at least have a roof over your head.

[He looks over at Keith knowingly, then turns back to the young man.]

There's no merit in starving on the streets to prove a point. If you're hungry, I can get you something to eat. If you're tired, a place to sleep. No questions asked.

[There's some part of Keith that can't help but feel just a little silly in insisting that this stray spirit give up the stubborn act, considering his own personality and circumstances driving him to similar measures... but at least he's made sure to find a roof over his head, first, gosh.

When it looks like the two of them have gotten their point across, however, Keith does seem to relax a little bit.]

It'd probably be a lot nicer than sticking around here and having your space constantly invaded by well meaning mortals attracting a bunch of stray cats, don't you think? [~persuasion~] Give it some thought, it wouldn't be a big deal for either of us to show you around.

[ The young man appears to be considering their words and scratches his chin, letting the back of his arm appear to them for the first time. That's where they can see the blight appearing - an eye blinking back at them.

Yoon blanches. ]

Keith... is that...

[ His chest feels tight and memories are flooding back to him - phantom pain too. ]

[Blight... That’s unexpected, and Keith’s eyes widen a little in shock. This might be a little less simple than they imagined...

He places his hand on Yoon’s shoulder and leans down toward him, trying to be discreet.]

We can’t take care of that on our own, can we? [He keeps his voice down out of earshot of the wandering spirit. Settling the situation with as little hubbub as possible had been ideal, but they might need some back up for this, he assumes.] Do you think one of your gods could help?

[ It's only Keith shifting to speak to him in that way that shakes Yoon out of his daze of sour reverie. ]

We'd... That is he'd have to... come with us- Yona's temple has a pool, and he could bathe in it.

[ Yoon's speech is still fractured, but he hopes Keith gets the general idea. Yoon's genuinely not sure if that will even work, but it's the only thing he can think of. He knows for sure a little water-bottle full of holy water isn't going to do it. Not if it's that bad. ]

'Ha? What's that you're talking about?

Okay, we can make that happen.

[It's a better plan than 'abandon the situation entirely', and in all honesty, Keith would feel pretty bad if they just left something like this to fester and grow unchecked. The kid may have been snarky and impudent, but it's not like he deserves to be consumed by blight or any ayakashi it might attract.

Keeping his one hand on Yoon's shoulder, he turns his attention back to the spirit.]

How long has that been there?

[With his free hand, he points to the spot on the boy's arm. So much for discretion.]

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7/10 woo

Aw yeah aw yeah

nyawww

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Prayer #44 start

Let's go let's go!!

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I completely lost this thread, orz | Prayer #45

These things happen, but now we’re back in action! \o7

<3333

❤⃛ヾ(๑❛ ▿ ◠๑ )