24 - Autumn Reception

[godsoffortune]

Who: Everyone!
What: Autumn Reception
When: September 30, 6 PM
Where: The Gods' Meeting Hall
Summary: The Heavens are throwing a formal party! Old and new gods alike are invited, so put on your nicest outfits and some good dancing shoes, and come see what this shindig is all about.







Front Door

The door of the Meeting Hall is wide open, warm golden light spilling out from the well-lit corridor inside. Shinki in white robes with golden chrysanthemums -- a fancier, heavier version of the usual robes -- stand to either side of the door, ready to check invitations. Each invitation is taken, the name carefully noted on a scroll held by one of the door attendants, and the invitation returned.

Since the invitations were delivered to gods, shinki are being allowed in as part of a god's entourage, but unaccompanied shinki will be questioned, and any god who forgot to bring their invitation will be turned away to go find it. Better make sure you have a last-minute date to the ball!

Reception

Once past the vigilant door guards, attendees will be escorted to a truly massive room, the floor polished hardwood and the roof far overhead supported by wooden columns so big that it would take four people holding hands to reach around one. White-robed shinki, in the same more-formal garments as the gate guards, are circulating throughout the room holding trays stacked with exquisitely crafted hors d'oeuvres, bottles of soda, or glasses of sake and sparkling wines.

The room is about half full, and soft music is playing from an unseen source. It's clear that several of the old gods have arrived, too, although they're largely keeping to themselves among small groups of their shinki, whose formal dress seems to be some variety of uniform -- color, cut and style vary wildly between different gods, but within a group, they all match.

Banquet

Two hours after the doors open, it's finally time to eat! Food is served in an adjoining room, where long tables are set to accommodate all the guests. Platters of sashimi, sushi, vegetables and deep-fried tidbits are brought around, as well as individual plates of the main courses; most of the food is Japanese, but not all, and the white-robed shinki serving take special requests.

As the banquet begins to wind to a close, the peal of a bell rings through the room, and Amaterasu steps out onto a raised dais towards the front of the room. She's accompanied by four of the white-robed shinki, all of whom are wearing swords, and although she looks like a girl of no more than twelve, her expression is grave and worried.

"Thank you all for coming here tonight, and for your efforts to support peace in the Heavens and in the mortal world. We are grateful for your hard work.

"Over the past several months, we have faced many challenges. Ayakashi have intruded into these lands more than once, and I myself came under attack when my temple was set on fire. We are making every effort to discover the responsible parties, and once we do, they will face Heaven's justice. For now, I have an important request for all of you.

"Please be watchful and alert. Be careful what you bring with you to the Heavens and watch for strangers in your temples and shrines. But even in a time like this, remember that we must remain in harmony with each other. Conflict in Heaven brings conflict on earth. If you think you have seen anything suspicious, bring that information to the nearest guards. I hope we can all work together, our new colleagues as well as the old..." She hesitates, drawing herself up, and then says quickly, "Thank you. Please enjoy yourself tonight," before turning to leave the room, guards close behind her.

Dancing

After Amaterasu's speech, the dinner dishes are cleared, and the guests are welcome to return to the previous room. The music is louder, enough to cover quiet conversation or to be danced to; it's a selection of Western ballroom dance tunes and classical Japanese music, and the center of the room is clear for would-be dancers.

The circulating servers are offering little sweets on their trays now, along with the same drink selection.

In Summary:

• Don't forget your invitation
• Enjoy the party
• Dinner and a speech
• Try some dancing
• Have fun~

Comments

B! Hello boys!

[welcome_home]

[ Although Nanako is a little oblivious to some of what's been going on, she does spot the pair across the room and notice them acting a little strangely. But happy to see both of them, she slips across the room to come say hello anyway, bouncing up in front of them with a warm smile, dressed in a black and pink dress with bright bows in her hair. ]

Hi, Ken! Hi, Chikusa! [ Although now that she was closer, it was a little more obvious that something was... a little off? ] ...Are you okay?

[kokuyoyo]

[The sight of someone suddenly approaching seems to have Chikusa shifts, shoulders hunching up... but Nanako is more recognizable than many other people in the Far Shore by virtue of being a child. Whatever movement he was preparing to do, he aborts halfway through and abruptly stops.]

[....Give him a second, although Ken will no doubt react before then.]

...Hey...

[At least he's being verbal at people. Nanako may notice that, even for Chikusa's usual measure of slowness, this is different. It's the kind of tone people use when they're only half awake, although different.]

[junkyarddog]

[Ken perks up when he sees Nanako, and - almost without seeming to think about it, or even be aware of it - bumps his shoulder into Chikusa's when Chikusa starts to tense up. It seems to be a form of physical reassurance, one without words.] Hey, Nanako. [It's low-key, because Ken tries not to be too openly exuberant in the general public, but he seems very happy to see her in a 'badly pretending to be chill' sort of way. If he were channeling, his tail would probably be wagging.]

Kakipi's messed up 'cause we remembered some stuff, byon. [Ken himself is glued so much to Chikusa's side that it's almost less companionship, and more seeing eye dog. Literally touching...and figuratively so, too.]

[welcome_home]

[ Her mouth rounds into a small 'o' of surprise and understanding as she glances back and forth between them. ]

You did? Both of you? Was it... bad?

[ At least Ken seems more like his normal self, but Chikusa gets a worried look from the little girl. ]

[kokuyoyo]

[As he always seems to do when he's "absent" and Ken is himself, Chikusa wobbles from the force of even a simple shoulder bump. At least that has him blinking a couple of times, lost in his own head.]

You.

[Sorry, Nanako, he's... Yeah, his stare is on Ken this time.]

[Is it a correction, or a sentence that lost most of its other words? Who knows.]

[junkyarddog]

It wasn't bad, exactly... [Ken frowns, not sure how to explain it.] We remembered that we grew up together, byon. We spent our whole lives together, right up until dumbass Kakipi got himself killed...that's as far as either of us remember, though.

[welcome_home]

[ Nanako glances between them with a small frown before moving to Chikusa and wrapping her arms around his waist. ]

Well, it's good you're still together then, right? But Chikusa... You look like you're half asleep. Is it because you remembered things? Can I help? What's wrong?

[kokuyoyo]

[Even as the conversation carries onwards without him, Chikusa stays silent and lost wherever it is that his mind has wandered off to. It seems like it might stay that way, too, up until Nanako suddenly presses in around his waist.]

[Up until now, Ken has done a very good job of keeping most other people away from Chikusa. Save for when Hakkai lightly guided him through the front doors, his personal bubble hasn't really been breached. Well, Ken has been breaching it, but that's nothing new. Even on good days, Chikusa and Ken's bubbles intersect and merge so much that they might as well be one.]

[So a sudden burst of contact is unexpected, to say the least. So unexpected that Chikusa actually seems to react in the moment instead of on a delayed timer, his hand rising up only to pause awkwardly in the air. He blinks down at her, fingers curling slightly in uncertainty. He knows what to do with Ken, he knows what to do with enemies or people he doesn't know. That middle area... hasn't been so defined in his head yet.]

[Considering that, from what he can recall of his life, there wasn't a middle area, that isn't really surprising.]

[After a moment that's a little too long, he lowers his hand to rest on her head.]

...Ken's here. [An actual sentence, and one that isn't disjointed. Chikusa's still slow and distant, but it's better than he has been for a while now.] It's fine.

[The world still doesn't seem right, and he's felt leery of his own reflection since this morning, and time has been disjointed... but it's fine. He'll be fine, as he always ends up, so long as Ken is there with him to snap him out of it.]

[junkyarddog]

[Ken blinks in surprise when Nanako hugs Chikusa, but he doesn't make any move to stop her. He doesn't think it's going to hurt Chikusa any, and it's just...nice. Weird, but nice, that even a little girl would want to make Chikusa feel better enough that she'd hug someone made up of nothing but string beans and elbows.

Maybe it'll even help. It's definitely not a thing that's been tried before.]

I'm always here, byon. [Ken says this in a way that's sort of a joint answer to both Nanako and Chikusa.] We're always gonna be together.