thenearshore | ( closed ) ❀ marigold

Entry tags:

( closed ) ❀ marigold

Who: Sakura, Tsuzuki, Yamanbagiri, Add, Charlotte, Zelda, Hitsugaya... and probably more tbh.
When: 3-6 October
Where: mostly Konohanasakuya's temple
What: After Add ruins everything, the temple is unexpectedly caught up in the aftermath. A new shinki also appears and really, no one at this temple is allowed to rest for awhile.

1 ❀ (3/10) late morning, closed to Tsuzuki ( sweetdeath ) and Yamanbagiri ( replicatedform )

( Sakura has been a mess since she returned home the previous evening. Unable to reach Add and unsure of who else to contact, she'd accepted that she needed to let things play out for a bit. Since returning home, both Tsuzuki and Yamanbagiri will definitely be able to tell something is wrong with their goddess. She's visibly upset and unable to speak at all without crying and easily cries herself to sleep.

When she wakes up on the third, not much has changed. She wakes up late— much later than usual and when she decides to reveal herself to everyone, it's obvious she's still been crying despite her best efforts to hide it. She's made herself some green tea to try to clear her mind but when she reaches for the cup, she's distracted and knocks it over, spilling it on the table's surface. )

O-oh! I'm s-s-so sorry…!

( She can get a cloth to wipe it up. Oh, where is one? In the kitchen? She can go… Her eyes begin to well up with tears all over again and it's less about the tea but more everything else. )

2 ❀ (4/10) Morning, closed to Add ( subtract )

( On the morning of the 4th, she wakes up from another poor night. Having spent the entire previous day a complete wreck, a sense of guilt weighs heavily on her for inconveniencing Tsuzuki and Yamanbagiri. She's probably worried them terribly and that's the last thing she wants to do. So when she wakes up, she takes a moment to collect herself and tries to get it together. Her face is still a little puffy from crying but again, she's tried to cover it up. Does it still look bad? Or is it just in her mind? Maybe a little of both.

But if she can just clean herself up enough and try to go about the day... that might be good. Maybe she'll make everyone breakfast? Or clean up a little. A clean environment can clear the mind, after all. She's careful not to disturb Tsuzuki or Yamanbagiri if they're still around.

The residential part of her temple is open with open air hallways and large windows and doors to make it easy to see into the grounds. As she passes the front gardens, she sees someone. A visitor? It's not uncommon but she really wonders who it could be now of all times... )

3 ❀ (5/10) Morning, closed to Charlotte ( appealingdame )

( Her mind is put to ease a little now that Add's returned, albeit, suffering some sort of effects. It's still stresssful but it's better than it was before. That said, she really isn't prepared to startled awake so early in the morning by a vision of all things. And such a familiar one at that! She'd recognized the uniforms and even some of the faces in the memory. In fact, she was quite certain she'd recognized the person she was dreaming about…

It's difficult waking up but she can't sit back idly when someone needs her. She gets dressed quickly and puts on her shoes, ready to head to… well, Bishamon's temple? That's where everyone meets their shinki these days, right?

But as soon as she steps into the garden, she stops just short. )

—M-miss Charlotte?!

( She's never had someone appear at her temple before?! )

4 ❀ (5/10) afternoon, closed to Zelda ( sageprincess )

( After learning from Add about some of the people involved, Sakura tries to reach who she can. Starting with Princess Zelda since it's a familiar name. It's a blessing that she's able to reach Zelda at all after trying to contact her and Sakura is quick to teleport to her side— focusing on meeting Zelda to do so. )

Princess Zelda! ( Sakura is immediately beginning to fuss over her, ) Are you hurt?

5 ❀ (6/10) morning, closed to Hitsugaya (

freezetheheavens )

( She still doesn't know the entire story but she's managed to learn just enough to know that it's probably for the best that she find better accommodations for Princess Zelda. Something had happened with her and Add and though neither seemed to really… care, she wonders how that will change once the shock and effects of whatever they'd meddled with pass.

She's uncertain who to really call at first, thinking about it carefully for a moment. Who should she call? And who should she even explain too? Given that Zelda will need to be cared for for an uncertain amount of time… a healer of some sort would be best. And perhaps one who could reason with her?

It's a bit of a long shot but she contacts Hitsugaya and requests to see him. If it isn't too much trouble, of course. She gives the location of her temple and waits nervously at the entrance.

She's doing much better than she has in recent days but she still looks tired. Really, she should probably rest but she hasn't had a chance yet. When Hitsugaya arrives, she gives a nervous bow, )

Thank you for coming, Hitsugaya-san.

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["Someone beat me? Is this... a trick?"

Bishamon's temple had been a little too intimidating to enter outside of an open event, so looking for Charlotte there wouldn't have done much good. The night before, finding herself suddenly homeless, she'd considered it though. Stood outside the temple grounds for a moment before retreating. She'd completely failed to make any useful connections at the banquet and the old shinki have a different vibe than the ones she arrived with. Charlotte couldn't quite bring herself to approach them.

Anyway, it's still warm out, really. A night on a park bench isn't the worst hardship. Perhaps she could have contacted one of her acquaintances but the thought of putting on her act at that hour was just... Too much.

Still, she was expecting a rough morning once she woke up. She wasn't expecting a soft futon, blankets, and a peaceful temple.]

... What the fuck?

[Well, at least she kept what memories she had after this kidnapping. Maybe... she'd been rescued? It doesn't quite click how early it is, as she explores the apparently empty temple. Eventually, she ends up outside. Irritation has been building up steadily since she woke, irritation and confusion, and seriously, if someone doesn't show up to explain things right now she's going to turn that stupid wall covered in paper into rubble-

Sakura catches her with a brick in one hand, aimed at the wall of ema. Charlotte freezes, turns to look at her, and drops the brick.]

... Lady Sakura?!

( Was that a brick?! Why did she have a brick?! What was she going to do with-- )

Oh! P-please, don't--! ( She's already dropped it though. Thank goodness. It's too early in the morning and there's entirely too much going on to deal with so much right now. Not that it's her fault, she reminds herself. She isn't one to take things out on others to begin with but she makes a note to herself to not do it now especially. Sakura looks more tired than she had at the banquet but part of that can easily be attributed to the early hour, ) I didn't e-expect to see you so soon...

[Something's wrong and it worries Yamanbagiri. He try to keep his emotions under control, but it's not perfect yet.
Some of them might have spill over for Sakura to feel.

But the next morning, he manages to get a hold of himself for her sake. And watching Sakura carefully until she spills her tea.
And she's... tearing up.]

Sakura—No! It's fine. I'll get a cloth.

[Yamanbagiri stands up from the table and start going to get a cloth.]

It wasn’t any trouble.

[Even if he had to reassure Yoon and Alibaba that no, he isn’t doing anything reckless. Though he can’t help but be curious as to why Sakura had called him. They have worked together before in the clinic but never outside of it.

He eyes her curiously.]

You sounded urgent, however. What’s wrong?

[Add is standing in the middle of the temple grounds, staring up at a cherry tree as petals flutter gently to the ground. He's still wearing the same outfit he wore to the banquet, though the glowing tiara and other decorations are faded and gone now. He holds out a hand to catch the falling petals, his expression blank.

He's not sure why he's here... no, he knows why he came here. The phone in his back pocket exploded with messages as soon as he left the core. The name "Sakura" seems familiar, strangely, and he found his way to the temple with some help from the purple cube that kept following him. He still doesn't understand why he's been brought out here instead of staying in the core, but finding this Sakura person seems... important.

She was looking for him. Worried. Why was she worried? Have they met somewhere before?

He catches movement from the corner of his eye, turning his head to look towards the temple. He stares at the girl standing by the windows.

Is that Sakura? His arm slowly falls back down to his side, but he doesn't move from where he's standing.]

( It's not who she expected to see at all after all of the silence. She gapes for a moment, looking at him almost like she's seeing a ghost and covers her mouth, )

Add...? ( That's definitely Add. He looks almost exactly like she remembered seeing him last, even. She can feel herself starting to shake and there's that feeling in her throat like she's going to start crying again.

She barely manages to get her slippers on as she steps out into the garden, making a dash towards him. ) Is it...? Add!

( Her eyes are starting to water and when she catches up to him, she reaches to start checking on him but stops short. )

W-w-what happened?!

( She's upset all over again. So much for trying to be better today. But what happened? Where did he go? Why couldn't he answer her? )

( He says it wasn't any trouble but she knows she's going to be asking him for quite the favor. )

I... I wish I could say n-nothing was wrong but... the truth is...

( She begins to play with her fingers nervously, )

Are you f-familiar with what happened a few days ago? W-with the tears and the strange a-ayakashi...?

[Add remains silent and unmoving throughout all of this, passively watching as Sakura rushes towards him. She's acting very strangely... his mouth tilts into a slight frown. The tears welling in her eyes bother him for some reason.

"What happened" is an extremely broad question, and he hesitates to give an answer. The "what" could be any number of things. Eventually, he reaches into his pocket to retrieve his cellphone, holding it out to her like it might serve as an explanation.]

You sent me messages. [so... here he is. answering her.]

( She's waiting for an answer that doesn't seem to come. She's beginning to sense that something isn't quite right but it's hard to put her finger on it. He seems fine right now; physically, at least. Perhaps his reaction is a little off but... he isn't very good at emotions, isn't that right? )

That's right. ( She nods, ) After those tears a-appeared, someone posted on the network about how... ( It was your fault. ) You were involved and... i-it wasn't good...

( She can't quite bring herself to say it. Hurt people? Killed someone? She knows she'll have to ask sooner or later but she can't right now. )

I was so worried!

[He still doesn't really understand, but he nods. She said she was worried, so it doesn't seem like she'd lie about that part, at least... but he's not sure what she means about tears appearing, or how he might've been involved. The last thing he remembers is being in the core, drawing out all the power he could reach to...

Ah. Was it because of that?]

Was it because I used the Henir core? [he asks simply, like it should be obvious. He needed a lot of energy, so it's possible he may have overreached and caused something to happen outside his domain. He's still not sure what, but it was enough to make Sakura worry (about him?).]

I don't know what happened out here, but the core is fine. You don't need to worry about me. [he still doesn't know why those people took him from the core, either, but it's fine as long as he can go back. Maybe that's why she's worried?]

Henir...? ( Is that what had caused this? She doesn't understand what that means but... ) I-I-I don't know!

( She'd really expected Add to know more? Sure, he didn't seem like the type to share all of his plans with everyone and he'd said before that she probably wouldn't understand but... now she really wishes she'd pressed him more about what he was doing.

But what was this about him not knowing what happened out here? )

It was terrible! The air... space? Everything w-was tearing apart a-and there were so many ayakashi! People were hurt, Add! ( She'd done what she could to help but she coudln't be everywhere at once. ) And you n-never answered me! Or explained a-a-anything!

What happened, Add? W-what did you do?!

[... She seems really upset. Is it bad that people were hurt or he didn't explain anything? He can imagine now what might've happened—tears from the core grasping for more energy, the ayakashi that got mixed up in his temple must've escaped outside—but he's finding it difficult to care. It's unfortunate if people were hurt, but what does that really have to do with him...?

But he can understand the situation a little better, now. So it was because he used the core. Was he not supposed to go that far?]

I needed to borrow the core's power. I didn't intend to cause outside damage. What did you want me to explain?

( This is really weird. She won't pretend to be closely familiar with Add but even she can tell that he's just... not right. When she'd scolded him at the banquet, he'd been embarrassed and while this is certainly more than something to be embarrassed about, he just... doesn't seem to care? And what does she want him to explain? Everything. She wants him to explain exactly what had happened and what had gone wrong and who was with him--

She can really only stare at him for a moment. What's... )

What's wrong with you? ( Because something is definitely wrong. ) Don't you care at all about w-what happened? That people got hurt...?

Wait- wait, is this your temple?

[Somehow, it seems to suit what she knows of Sakura so far. The vibe is similar. Charlotte doesn't know much about Japan- or, frankly, Hoshido- but she knows all the imagery kind of... fits together. Sakura doesn't look out of place here.]

I wasn't expecting to see you at all! [She's still a little too alarmed and confused to put on her act. That'll come back in a minute. For the moment, she's still openly confused, indignant and ready to fight someone though probably not Sakura. Probably.] Did you bring me here? Why didn't you just wake me up?!

It is! ( So please, calm down... ) I didn't bring you here, though, r-really!

B-but if you're here... ( Wait, let her make sure! ) What happened to your god?

How the hell should I know?! [Like the bitch ever told Charlotte anything-] The temple's just gone and I couldn't find her anywhere.

[She didn't look very hard.]

( What is this language, Charlotte??? )

( Let's try to get her to calm down a bit? She can't blame her for being upset given how things are... )

J-just now before I woke up I-I had a d-dream about you. ( Uhm. ) It was the s-same kind of dream I had before meeting Tsuzuki-san and Yamanbagiri-san so...

I think maybe? you were meant to wake up here.

"Meant" to?

[Does that mean... Oh. Oh, crap. And she's been standing here cursing and ready to throw down right in front of the girl. Sure, Sakura was probably never going to fall for a bit of cleavage and a hair toss, but if Charlotte's going to be living with her-

Flustered, Charlotte's eyes fill with tears.]

Y-you... Do you mean it, my lady?

[She does not want to spend another night in the park.]

( Charlotte seems like she's getting it and Sakura only nods. Yes. It's exactly what she means. )

Y-yes. Like I said, it's the same sort of vision I had before...

( But oh, no. Charlotte looks like she's beginning to cry and Sakura takes a step closer. She... she isn't nearly as prepared as she was at the banquet. )

That is, i-if it's okay with you but please... come inside first.

[The thing is, if Sakura is Charlotte's goddess now, she might have a sense for the kind of emotions Charlotte's feeling right now. Or rather, the lack of them. Oh, yes, she's upset. She's annoyed, worried, nervous, confused... But not distressed to the point of tears. Not completely distraught.

Charlotte sniffles and wipes away one tear before it can fall.]

Y-yes, of course. I think I'd like that, my lady, thank you...

[Sakura will find herself outside Add's temple, now remarkably at peace after the literal chaos that has surrounded it in the past few days. Zelda is seated against the stonework when Sakura appears at her side, still and silent as the grave. She's not dead, fortunately, but the few fallen leaves stuck in her hair and on her lap suggest she hasn't moved from this spot in a while. Dried tear stains streak her cheeks, and she seems to have lost her left glove somewhere along the way, but otherwise there are no visible injuries on her person.

She looks up, slowly - too slowly, considering how quick she was to dodge that magic ram the first time they met in the waking world - when Sakura begins to fuss over her. Her eyes seem... hollow, somehow.]

Princess Sakura. Hello.

[The other princess might find the lack of inflection in Zelda's voice more familiar than she'd like...]

Am I supposed to?

[He doesn't. He doesn't care at all. But isn't this how he's supposed to be? He's always been like this. He feels fine...

And yet, something is bothering him. He knows this Sakura person, and she seems to know him... but why can't he remember anything...? They must've met at some point. When did they meet? Is this not the first time he's been outside the core?

He winces, bringing a hand up to massage his growing headache. Something is wrong.]

How do we... know each other?

( She balks. Is he supposed to? Of course he should! )

Yes!

( Absolutely yes! Something's wrong, something's wrong. Why can't she figure it out? Before she can ask any other questions, Add is reaching for his head and... is he in pain? Her hand shoots out, reaching to touch his forehead, brushing aside stransd of hair. Is he warm? Cold to touch? Did he hurt his head?

And then his second question follows and she freezes. )

How...? ( He doesn't remember? She takes back her hand and takes one step away. ) You...

You really don't remember?

( Not until she names her, at least. Though, Sakura has always been an emphatic person... but right now, she's been experiencing so many of her own emotions, she isn't quite sure how to read Charlotte.

She'll lead the way for Charlotte, taking off her shoes just before stepping onto the veranda and taking her to the common room, )

Uhm... I think the o-others are still sleeping so... ( Please, let's be quiet? It's implied. ) I know it isn't much but make yourself at home, please.

( "it isn't much" she says while walking past large, empty rooms with ink scrolls and flower arrangements and porcelain jars... It's simple and humble but there's a traditional sort of beauty and wealth to it all. )

H-have a seat. ( On the floor. Granted, on rather soft cushions but still on the floor at a rather low table. ) Or... or would you rather have a chair...?

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( closed ) ❀ marigold

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