thenearshore | i'm useless! but not for long... the future is comin' on

Entry tags:

i'm useless! but not for long... the future is comin' on

Who: Zeno + Open (Most prompts)
What: Do you prefer your Yellow Dragon Original or Extra-Crispy? Or shopping?
When: Initially September 20 (post-event, late night), Sept. 21
Where: Yona's temple + other places, too!
Summary: Zeno's been canon updated. He also needs new clothes.

i. 9/20: Closed to Yoon & people who happen to be in or at Yona's temple.

[Zeno staggered. Steam and smoke rose from his body, charred fabric streamed down from his limbs, and nearly invisible in the darkness of night, he stumbled. His skin was black with ash and he cried out when his badly-burned hands touched the ground.

He looked up, and beneath the moon, here before him... some structure...

There shouldn't be any building still left standing, he thought; he held up the foundation until the foundation was all that was left. The flames had only just died down enough for him to pass through them, and the searing sharpness of the pain was clouding his thoughts more than he was accustomed to. It wasn't passing and healing the way he'd come to rely on. The distance... the distance from Hiryuu Palace... it slowed the healing down, and with the fire re-burning him before his body could fully heal the damage, yet still healing fast enough that he couldn't lose consciousness from smoke inhalation or go into shock to block his mind from perceiving or remembering the true extent of the pain...

Yet here he is, on his knees, wincing in pain, looking up at...]

Hiryuu Palace... grant me strength.

[The sight was entirely wrong... too far... and yet perfectly right, because he knows he was welcome here, too, in the recent past...

He collapses, then, a loud THUMP resounding from the impact... even as the burned-black skin starts to give way to the brilliant gold of the dragon's scales.]

ii. 9/21: Open

[...not really enjoying wearing borrowed clothes, since his all burned to ash, Zeno tugs and ruffles at his hair restlessly. Nothing to hold it back, and nothing to hang his pendant on, it dangles and glimmers from around his neck, catching all the light and clearly visible even looking him dead (ha) in the face.

He pulls a pair of flipflops off an outside display in front of a department store, and sighs.]

Zeno never liked the sort of sandals that led to cold feet, but beggars and choosers and such things...

[Back down they go. He isn't begging today!]

The year's going to turn soon! Maybe there's furs inside! And wool! Cashmere, from the far lands...! Aaaah, the warm things!

iii. 9/21: Open

[...but warmer still! There's a nice cafe, and Zeno has taken to handing hot drinks out to anyone passing by. He's really enthusiastic about this one! It's the chocolate! With fresh mint!

But some of those crows, man! With all the self-preservational skills of someone who has never once cared about self-preservation, Zeno steps on a briny, prickly chesnut, and tosses his last two cups of hot chocolate in the air.

He glances up right before they begin to fall back down--]

Not another bur--

[--and spill over his head, causing him to yell out in pain and try to get his long clothes off before the hot liquid soaks them and burns his skin.]

iv. 9/21: Open

[Pursuing the crow ayakashi, Zeno is teetering on the edge of a one-story building. He's not especially coordinated, but he's doing better than some of the non-athletic humans trying to climb up and join their inky feathered overlords.]

Don't you want to go inside where it's warm~?

[He ruffles the edges of his new scarf down at them, in a shooing motion.]

There's nothing up here but cold wind and colder hearts...!

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ZENO-SAN! Be careful!

[Standing toward the bottom of the building appears Kobato, peering up at him worriedly from beneath her hat below. There's.... a number of burrs stuck in her hair which she's tried to work on a bit, but it's mostly managed to tangle her long hair further. More important is the god standing along the edge of a building]

D-Don't do anything dangerous! [Those are ayakashi crows up there, right?] I'll come up and help you!!!

[This should be something...]

[Zeno waves... hi! He's all smiles to reassure Kobato.]

Zeno isn't doing anything! Zeno is only using words for now!

[He grips the edge of the roof in one hand and offers Kobato the other.]

If you will, then...

[Kobato is not exactly athletic. But she manages to get up places better than perhaps she would have been able to in life. So she takes his hand, and jumping up, using her feet tries to pull herself up after him along the building.

It's still a little awkward for someone who's never been building climbing before.

Is he capable of helping hoist her up...]

You-- [Nng...! Come on Kobato, you can make it up there!] don't... have a shinki-- [ALMOST THERE] up here right now, right?

[He has to be careful not to make the crows angry because otherwise they might target him!]

Zeno has no shinki except... a soulless one, but...

[You know, at least Kaya could reassure him he didn't ask her for anything she wouldn't give. At least a dog could bite or a cat could scratch or a horse could rear or a cow could kick.

It's a strain, enough that he almost wishes she was heavy enough to sever a tendon and trigger a regeneration, but that's a big ALMOST. Not quite.

He has to use both hands and rely on inertia to keep him in place!]

[The persistence pays off! Eventually she manages to grasp onto the ledge, and with his help can stand up. She glances down below.]

Somehow when you're up here it feels higher than it looks when you're on the ground...

[More importantly however...! She makes a determined fist and turns to Zeno]

I'll make sure to help keep the people down and the ayakashi at bay! [They aren't partners, but that doesn't mean they can't work together, right?]

[Absently, Zeno leans out over the ledge, and winces. He's fallen from higher heights, BUT...]

Don't look down, maybe. You might forget!

[He offers Kobato his hand.]

Focus on the people, first of all. So we don't get distracted!

[He can shield her from the ayakashi if it comes to that...! He heals from the blight ~~eventually~~.]

If there's no people around, the ayakashi will be that much easier to defeat, since we won't be concerned with saving people.

Edited (whoops pronouns ) 2017-12-12 06:37 (UTC)

It's all right. I like doing things like this.

[Climbing and running around. She wears out easily but it excites her, getting to do all kinds of different things. She might not be all that good at fighting, but they can surely help the people here.]

Do you think...they could be distracted by something else? [Thoughtfully lifting a finger up to her chin] Like... food maybe? [She smiles at him, a little sheepish] That distracts me!

[Though she's felt low key hungry since she arrived, even after she's eaten plenty.]

Edited 2017-12-12 06:50 (UTC)

[Zeno laughs.]

It works on Zeno, too!

[And he doesn't even need to eat...!]

But what? [And Zeno manages to produce a pomegranate from somewhere in the recesses of his coat, but...]

We might not have time to fetch more. [He tosses the fruit up idly and catches it. It catches someone's eye, at least...?]

Ah... but only having the one... otherwise Zeno would throw it and hope they climb down in pursuit.

I don't even know what it is...

[The fruit that he holds in his hand.]

An apple colored orange?

[It may be the only distraction they have, but Zeno begins searching his coat for a knife anyway.]

Fruit from another land. The goddess that Zeno is here should rightly be serving drinks, but this is good, too! You slice it open and eat the seeds. It gets mentioned in some of the old gods' stories.

Supposedly, if you eat one from the underworld, you have to stay there. So let's not feed it to the people, but only make it look something they want!

[Well, that's...something.

Toushirou looks somewhat bemused as he takes in the sight, unsure if he should actually offer his help.]

Are you sure you should be up here?

[The younger god himself is standing in midair as if it's completely normal for him.]

[...Zeno swipes his scarf under Toushirou's feet, just to check there's nothing supporting him. So Goten isn't the only one who knows that trick...!]

Probably Zeno should... it's people the crows are attracting who shouldn't be.

[Definitely nothing under his feet.

He lifts his head to look at the crows, though.]

Might work better if you had your shinki with you to help.

[Not that...he knows if Zeno has a shinki or not. Sorry if that dampens your mood.]

No, she's vanished without a trace!

[He... isn't happy about it, but he's resigned to living like she'd want him to live. The same cheer as he usually shows.]

Don't suppose you yourself would lend a hand...? Zeno has met young flying shinki before!!

....I'm assuming you mean Goten by that.

[But he does unsheathe his sword, anyway.]

You're just aiming to get the crows away from the people, right?

How smart you are, young man!

[He shrugs at the second part.]

Or the people away from the crows. Truly, Zeno will do whichever is easier or more efficient... The people shouldn't be up here like this, but the crows have more ability to move through the air!!

Not unless we can manage to cut their movement.

[As he says that, a bit of his reiatsu leaks out enough, causing a small drop in temperature. Either way, it does seem to attract the ayakashi's attention, the crows turning their attention to him.]

[Zeno wraps his scarf around his neck once more, before putting his hands together.]

Hard to want to hurt them, when they look like poor innocents birds.

Sooo...! Should Zeno run, and hope they give chase??

If you don't mind being bait.

[Sorry, Zeno. He's not really against you being ayakashi bait in this situation.]

[Zeno smiles brightly. It's not that he wants to be bait; it's more like he appreciates someone appreciating his ability to be so. Not that he knows just how well-suited Zeno is for bait... but it's nice, nice all the same.

Without another word, Zeno inches closer to the nearest of the crow ayakashi, and does something he expects the ayakashi don't often experience.

He reaches out and just tries to touch them, never mind any blight risk. He has no shinki to inconvenience right now, after all. Just a princess, a mother hen, and the other dragons, but he can hide from them ~~maybe...~~ for a little while.]

Nice crow! What pretty feathers! How warm are they? Maybe you'll try Zeno's scarf?

[He's not sure whether or not he should even facepalm at the guy's way of drawing the ayakashi's attention. It makes him watch, somewhat bemused and a bit uncertain if he should do this. From what he knows, the other god doesn't have an ayakashi and this could be dangerous for them both.

Either way--

The crows finally notice Zeno and immediately sets to going after him.]

[And, inside the shop, Zeno will find Shin-Ah trying on multiple heavy scarves at once in a ploy to find something that would keep him warm in the coming winter months. The cold was not his friend, even now, and the clothes he had come with stood out far too much on the city streets.

He wanted something warm, but he wanted to blend in too.

....Multiple scarves weren't going to help with that.]

[No... no, but... you know what would?

Zeno takes an indirect route to Shin-Ah. First he stops by a rack that has a colorful shawl and grabs it. This is the sort of drapy thing he likes! And he's seen some fashionable young people wearing them around.

Still indirect, and idly wondering if Shin-Ah will sense him, he wanders around to the jackets with the hoods attached... and selects the cutest and the warmest.

As much as Zeno loved scarves... well...]

Hiiiii...! [He tosses the warm panda hoodie over Shin-Ah's shoulders.] Try it, try it!

[He did sense something when Zeno entered the building-- a sense of something vibrant and distinctly yellow, like a late autumn flower or the shine of the midday sun itself. Shin-Ah looked around, curious about what this 'yellow' presence was-- and was too distracted by it to notice Zeno's approach...

And was startled by the fluffy panda that was shoved into his arms.

Awestruck by the sheer fluff of it, Shin-Ah squeezed it tight against his chest in simple delight, taking comfort in the warmth of it, and cast a shy look at Zeno.]

so soft....

[He wanted to cuddle it forever.]

[Looking at that shy face! Zeno could cuddle him forever, and as it stands, is having a hard time not ruffling his hair or pinching his cheeks. Lucky thing Shin-Ah is taller than him, maybe.]

Happy birthday!

[Is it Shin-Ah's birthday? Who knows? Who cares! It seems less disturbing than 'Happy deathday,' which was obviously more recent, but whatever.

Zeno's picked up a new, long scarf, machine-knitted but with some metallic gold threads threaded throughout that catch the light and glint just like his pendant when they swing or tilt.]

There's a table over there, where we'll tell the storekeepers we'd like to take all of our stuff [Zeno gestures at a trail of garments he's picked up, all loose ponchos and shoulder capes and perhaps a belted bathrobe] and then we can test it out! In the real cold! And see how it holds up!

[Ruffle his hair and pinch his cheeks anyway-- there was nothing to stop anyone from doing so, and already Shin-Ah could tell that Zeno was the sort of person who would want nothing more than to cuddle all day long. They were united on that front, for Shin-Ah wanted to squeeze Zeno against his chest like he was doing with the fluffy garment. The smile and the fluff of his hair, coupled with the fascinating sense of Yellow he got from Zeno, made Shin-Ah want to spend more time with him.

And, perhaps, he could.]

Birthday?

[He asked, bemused by this exclamation but accepting it regardless. Birthdays could be any day that your friends called important as well, not just the formal anniversary of someone's birth.

Shin-Ah listened closely, and nodded his understanding. Hopefully the kind people at the table would let them have these items... and if not, they could cuddle eachother in the cold.

He continued squeezing the garment as a small smile ghosted across his face.]

That sounds nice.

Mm, Zeno just wants an excuse for you to have some new things! Tomorrow, Zeno won't bother with one, but today! Today we'll use an excuse!

[If he will be led, than Zeno will lead him!

And probably also throw a few blankets on top as they make their way cashier-ward. So much fluff here! So much warmth!]

Because you wear white fur all the time, all these blankets and coats will match with it! So smart!

[Such kindness-- Shin-Ah didn't know what to do, so he didn't fight it when Zeno started piling the blankets into his arms. He watched Zeno with the rapt curiosity of a child, staring wide-eyed in awe.]

So smart.. and so warm!

[ It's the thump she hears outside that has Yona hurrying to the door in mild alarm, peering out and spotting... the charred, still form in the courtyard outside her temple. Frozen, she can only stare in horror for a moment, unsure what it even is, before rushing out to check what has happened, her heart in her throat.

It's only once she gets close that she spots golden scales glinting beneath the burned black and that's enough to horrify her further, because while she knows - in theory - what Zeno can do, and is, seeing it firsthand, like this...

She freezes, her stomach churning sickly at the sight, before dropping to her knees beside him, hands hovering in the air over him, afraid to touch him when he looks hurt so very badly. ]

Oh, Zeno!

[Yoon is just out walking around when he hears Yona calling Zeno's name. The last time they'd spoken at length about the connection between Zeno and Yona, Zeno hadn't fully remembered everything that Yoon did. It had been something he could just put out of his mind - it was strange, but then so was Zeno himself.

Then he catches sight - even from a distance - of that familiar silhouette charred black. And he remembers it instantly. He remembered everything about Zeno already - this was just one part of Zeno's abilities and he'd been more than happy to keep it buried. There's no comfort knowing that Zeno can recover from it. Yoon knows he feels the pain all the same.

So he starts to rush down but then thinks better of it, racing for his medical bag - thanks to Shizuo and Izumo's recent stint of injuries, he'd fully replenished it - and a skin of holy water from Yona's pools. And eventually he manages to sprint back towards Yona and Zeno again.]

[Even as it all goes on, the Yellow Dragon sheds the burned-up skin like a snake. The sound of Yona's voice is enough to stir him almost back to consciousness, but the sound of Yoon's sprinting is what makes him open his eyes and the sight of the water skin makes his eyes widen in alarm.]

Don't... waste that...

[Even as he speaks, the gold scales have spread up his arms and across his face and chest, and most of the charring is gone. He's breathing hard, but has to prove that he's fine, not useless, can protect his princess-king, finally.]

Just a... a five more minutes. A single five more minutes...

[The glimmering gold finally finishes its creeping climb all across Zeno's body, giving him an inhuman shine in the moonlight. With it, he sighs in contentment, as the pain finally recedes.]

Better! All better, do you see? Nothing... nothing can hurt Zeno now.

[He starts to push himself into a sitting position, but, uh--

Uh, he has to heavily reconsider the placement of his everything-below-the-hips, once he realizes how much of nothing he's wearing and also there is a lady present.]

...is it getting cold? Anybody other than Zeno would be getting sick, going from hot to cold like this, so suddenly!

[ She waits, because she's not entirely certain what's happening, but the gleam of gold beneath the black had been hard to miss, so she settles back on her heels, hands clutched to her chest in worry as she waits. The gold spreads, the black fading away as scales renew what had been burned beyond recognition, but she's still not sure how anyone could survive what he'd been through and her stomach is clenching sickly, her chest tight and making it hard to breathe.

It's not until he picks his head up and starts to move, all gleaming gold and none of the charred flesh left that she finally makes a low sound and flings herself at him, tears spilling from her eyes. Uncaring that he's got nothing on (and it's not like she can see anything through her tears at the moment anyway) she holds him tightly, fear still thick in her throat. ]

It's not a waste!

[ He dumps some on Zeno's head - avoiding Yona - out of sheer frustrated, angry relief. ]

You just survived a fire, didn't you? You had to walk into a whole burning building to get that bad!

[ This is Yoon's way. Unlike Yona. ]

Dragon scales or not, I'm going to make sure you don't have any blight on you with Yona hugging you like that! AND THAT'S THAT!

[ THEN he joins Yona for the Zeno sandwich hug. ]

[It's a waste now, since he's no longer hurt... but Zeno isn't the sort to be contrary, and honestly, he looks so cute and rosy-faced when he's frustrated, Zeno could just melt.]

No, no, Zeno heals from that, too! Kaya had to keep blighting and re-blighting Zeno for a week before it was too noticeable!

[...she's still gone, isn't she? Maybe he'll just stay inside this hug a while longer. They've got him so boxed in, he can't quite move enough to hug back... though that's probably best for whoever has any modesty left.]

[ Yona makes a strangled sound at Zeno's denial, because she hadn't realized that was happening at all either and what else has she missed?

But she's relieved that Yoon had taken the measures he had, for Zeno's sake at least. her arms remain wrapped tightly around him. ]

Just because you can doesn't mean we can't try to make it easier for you! What happened, Zeno? How did this...?

[Yoon is likewise afraid to ask. He can imagine all kinds of scenarios where Zeno just came from a prayer that involved a fire, or Amaterasu's temple got burned again. Anything like that. But he wants Zeno to answer before he goes voicing all of those thoughts. Instead he just focuses on holding one of Zeno's hands - ostensibly so that he can look at the scales up close instead of in a memory. This way, at least he knows what to expect next time.]

The kid has the right of it... there was a grand house, and it caught fire, and the foundation would have failed and crushed all the people and kitties inside, if someone didn't keep it standing.

[He forces himself to breathe. With the pain gone, he feels exultant. Yes, his powers are grotesque and discomfiting, but this, finally, is the way they were meant to be used. It is as if he's been asleep for 2,000 years and didn't wake up until those Kai Empire soldiers cut him apart. He has to force himself to slow down and explain coherently--]

It's not so bad as it looks, promise, promise! The dragon gods' blessings are strongest at Hiryuu Palace, so our powers slow down the further away we get. If this happened inside Kouka's borders, even, the regeneration would be faster.

[ She listens to him, still holding tightly, although she does shift back just a little so he can breathe. And then remembers he's still got nothing on, so quickly sheds her outermost garment to drape it over his shoulders and grant him at least some cover. ]

So you... you held up a burning house?! [ There's something incredulous in her voice as that and she takes a moment to rub at her temples, upset and still a little frightened. ] I'm relieved that you could save everyone to get them out, Zeno. [ Just in case he'd ever doubt she would be grateful for his actions. ] But you... You can still get hurt. Yes, you can heal, but this... This is...

[ How could she put it into words, when he was still smiling there so happily, pleased and smiling that familiar smile.

She looks to Yoon for help, although she was uncertain how to convey what she felt right now. ]

[Yoon spares a sympathetic look to Yona before going back to glaring at Zeno.]

Just because you've done it before doesn't mean you should try it again, you damn gold beast.

[He lets Zeno's hand go and stats to put his medical supplies back into his pack.]

If your powers get weaker the farther away you are from something, you should just assume they don't work and get pleasantly surprised when they do. That would be safer.

[He hasn't caught the fact that 1) Yona's temple looks like the palace that he's referring to and 2) that Zeno's experience with the burning house is the same one he already remembered.]

[This is...? Yona doesn't finish her statement and Zeno can't exactly fill it in for her, leading to a look of confusion passing over him.

For his own part, Zeno can complete the thought: This is the reason he was made. This is the reason he's still alive. To be a shield. To have the luxury of throwing his life away. To absorb the harm and the danger that others were in, to let them live their lives without fear, with peace and joy. It is a gruesome fate, to be so overflowing with life that his life becomes essentially worthless, but if it means that the more meaningful lives, the short ones, the fragile ones, the ones vulnerable to weapons and sickness and natural disasters... if it means they're happier or safer or something, isn't that worth the trade off?]

[But he shakes it off.]

Aahaha...! That doesn't work for old grandpas like Zeno. Zeno knows better!

[ Yona lifts a hand to her face, needing a moment to re-gather her shredded composure over seeing all this firsthand. But she thinks over something else Zeno had said and looks up in surprise again a moment later. ]

Hiryuu's Palace... Does that work the same way here as well?

[ Or not, because this is a duplicate, of sorts? At least, she thinks it is. She's not actually sure how that works.

Although if it was the real one, she imagines there are some people back home very upset that she's stolen it away... ]

[ Yoon looks up at Yona's temple. ]

Hiryuu's Palace? I thought this was a temple to Áine?

[ They're edging closer and closer to things that Yoon doesn't remember, but he does recall that term being spoken by Zeno in his memories before. Just not any further significance or what it looked like. ]

[ If Obi had been close enough, he could have caught those cups for him. As it is though, he isn't entirely in time, and pulls his hands back after grasping air. ]

If you want to juggle, Mister, maybe you should do it when the cups are empty.

[ He sounds way too cheerful. But he does offer Zeno his jacket to wear which...doesn't help all that much because it's not a coat, but at least it's something. ]

[Zeno laughs uproariously at that, shaking his head and probably spraying his new friend with some now-cold cocoa. SORRY.

Zeno uses his own sleeves to mop up the liquid, and is thankful to see that the burns are limited to bright red skin, nothing shiny or bloody or scary-looking, thanking all the gods.

In token of that sentiment, he bows to Obi, who might himself be a god.]

Thaaaank you!

Zeno is usually wise enough to stick to bean bags, but sometimes, there's hubris... pride... and people need to have more of this stuff!

[ Nah, it's fine, he can handle getting sprayed in drinks.

And oh, he's talking in third person, isn't he? Then Obi knows his name already. ]

So basically, you toss hot drinks on you on purpose to entertain people, Mister Zeno?

[Zeno winks.]

Would that be entertaining...?

[He smiles slightly.]

No, it was Zeno trying to be different! Instead of offerings to gods, an offering from a god...!

I think some people might think things like that re entertainment. A lot of people find amusement in other peoples misfortune, and all that.

[ That's why something like schadenfreude is a thing. ]

An offering god..? That sounds pretty nice.

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i'm useless! but not for long... the future is comin' on

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i. because you are a terrible person

Jumps on here??

taking responsibility BECAUSE I HAVE NEVER DENIED I AM TERRIBLE

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