25 - Troubled Waters

[godsoffortune]

Who: Everyone!
What: Alleviating the troubles caused by conflict in Heaven
When: October 10
Where: Orihime's meadows in the Far Shore, as well as various places in Japan, China and Ireland
Summary: Orihime has been tasked by the Heavens with resolving the conflict caused in the mortal world by the new gods' struggles against one another. Several gods have been killed recently, and their violent deaths have led to dangerous corruption being released in the mortal world. Help Orihime expunge the corruption and return the human world to a peaceful existence.







Orihime's Meadows

Before traveling to the Far Shore, gods and shinki can meet and make plans near Orihime's modest home at the edge of the Southeastern District. Her dwelling is too small to accommodate even one team of gods and shinki arranging something as serious as this, let alone several. It is obvious she thought about this fact, and has crafted four cloth tents out in the meadows surrounding her home. The sounds of the milky way river are now joined by rustling fabric in the wind, for each tent has a flag mounted atop it and standing in front of it:

• The blue tent belongs to the team for Ksitigarbha. It has a sigil in black on the flag.
  
• The green tent belongs to the team for Li Tieguai. On its flag, a mortar and pestle in white, but the visible part of the pestle resembles a staff crook.
  
• The red tent belongs to the team for Cu Chulainn, with an impressive reproduction of a two-headed dog celtic knot in shining silver.
  
• The brown tent belongs to the team for Loki. Its flag bears a two-headed snake in gold.
All four tents are spread out in cardinal directions. Near each tent, she has a few stacks of wooden prayer tablets related to each of the problems, as well as maps and supplies for those who might need them.

In the center of all four tents is a simple chair and table where Orihime herself is generally sitting, talking to others nearby, or writing notes based on those conversations. She does a lot of listening when people ask her for new supplies she hadn't thought of previously, but has only been supplied with four shinki runners to get those supplies, one per group. Additionally, she cannot teleport down to the Near Shore herself, nor can anyone use her home to teleport down to where each of the troubles are; that is a problem for each group to solve on their own, with Orihime only able to mediate and provide suggestions.

Child's Play

Kshitigarbha, protector of children and of hell beings, is one of the recent casualties. Without his protection, it seems that babies' fears are giving rise to new and awful ayakashi throughout the city of Xi'an. Shadows on the wall above the crib, oversized stuffed animals, monsters hiding in the closet or rattling the windows at night -- all the fears of earliest childhood are taking real, malicious form. Babies are panicking, parents are exhausted, and all this stress is pulling in even more ayakashi! Someone needs to lure out these nursery nightmares and defeat them before the situation gets worse.

As gods and shinki work to rend the ayakashi tormenting children, they may notice a strange shadow passing by in the street outside, or scratching noises at the nursery window. Something more seems to be waiting outside....

Flu Season

With sky-high living costs and limited space, Tokyo has a large homeless population. Li Tieguai, protector of the poor and patron of medicine, was another recent death: now, winter's coming, and without his protection it seems like everyone's getting sick at once. They're suffering from everything ranging from plain old head colds and 'flu to more serious things like pneumonia or infections. Help pass out tea, soup and blankets, make sure they get the right medications, and get the sickest people to the hospital.

Carrion crows crowd close around the sick and croak, watching the gods and shinki helping them.

Wild Hounds

As if honoring the fall of the Hound of Chulainn, stray dogs have begun to form into large, dangerous packs in rural and suburban areas of Ireland, and even well-trained housepets have started breaking their leashes and joining them. They're starting to chase and bite humans, and it's only a matter of time before someone gets killed. Gods need to defeat the ayakashi possessing the "leaders of the pack," and get the pets back to their worried owners.

The groves of trees where the dogs are lairing seem unusually dark and shadowy, and footsteps seem to echo those of the gods and shinki tracking them down.

Prank War

Teenage pranks are turning unusually cruel and dangerous lately: with Loki gone, a few groups of bored kids have coalesced into more serious gangs in Chiba, and they've been seen setting fires, tormenting animals, vandalizing businesses and intimidating or robbing people walking alone at night. Someone needs to stop them from causing trouble, put them on a better path, or turn them in to the police before someone gets badly hurt.

Even as they're working to stop the teenagers' mischief, something seems to whisper to them and encourage them to join in and cause a little trouble. After all, it's just some fun....

Boss Battles

Those who helped to resolve the problems caused by the gods' deaths have one final enemy to face. Four dangerous ayakashi are behind these conflicts. Each character can participate in one boss battle, but it's fine for characters to form multiple different groups (i.e. multiple threads under one boss's comment.) To ensure that the NPC knows when to respond to your characters, please indicate which characters will be in a thread in your first comment.

Kshitigarbha - Child's Play

Li Tieguai - Flu Season

Cu Chulainn - Wild Hounds

Loki - Prank War

In Summary:

• Check in with Orihime and your new teams
• Save scared children
• Help the sick
• Tame stray dogs
• Stop pranks from going too far
• Watch out~

Comments

[futhark]

I've got an idea-

[ The much-needed break is more necessary than he thought. And since he's the god around capable of doing such a thing, he puts his hand on Samus shoulder, the other on Zelda's and teleports them all away- right next to the pond of Metis' temple

Okay, no sorry. That's where they were supposed to land- transporting so many people is not as easy as one could think, and they end in the shallow part of the pond ]

...uh, at least it's safe here. Return, Emiya [ He's not one to keep his shinki in vessel form longer than necessary. Even though the idea to return and continue battling the giant later does skirt his mind. ]

[shutupnail]

Gohan, Raichi, and Piccolo with 10+ comments on a thread.

[boneofsword]

[Archer resists at first, unsure if he can keep his temper in check to not break Caster's nose the moment he returns to his human form. He allows it after a moment, crossing arms on his chest the moment he can feel his body again.]

Hmph.

[trademark_skull]

I can show you a couple more things later!

[Ohhhhh Emizel hears that team up proposal Goten. HE CAN'T SAY ANYTHING NOW OR ELSE TOUSHIROU MIGHT NOTICE, but he's totally up for taking the other soul reaper down! They can do it!!]

[And he's feeling extra-ly excited for the amount of work he's accomplished today. Except...one thing was still nagging on the back of his mind.] But...aren't you supposed to be Aymeric's shinki?

[Why did you transform when Toushirou called for you.... Are you doing bad things behind Aymeric's back?!]

[handle]

[ Sorey watches as the dog steps forward, nudging Tatara's hand upwards. He beams, leaning downwards enough to pat the dogs head. ]

Looks like they want to.

[wadoichimonji]

They're not? I thought they would be all posh and boring, sitting on their thrones, giving orders. Kinda boring really.

[He scratches his head, and laughs.]

I'd love to help! I don't know where else I'd be useful, really.

[wadoichimonji]

[Zoro whistles, impressed. He takes out his swords and smirks, running after her, trying to find anything that he could cut up with his weapons.

Specially something huge.

He tries his hardest to keep sight of the girl, but really, the streets move around too much.]

[wadoichimonji]

Sure thing.

[He runs towards the tent, and asks for the stuff Maria needs, making sure he gets enough in case they find someone else. He puts what he can in his pockets and the rest he carries, running back to the direction he thinks Maria is in.]

Hey, woman, are you here?

[He asks, looking around, frowning. He doesn't really see her in all this mess.]

[doodlebuginette]

[It's a good sign when the little girl decides to come out of hiding, and Marinette finds herself smiling down at her.]

Your house sounds very pretty! Can you tell us anything else about it?

[Sure, it was probably a longshot, but it was still worth a try. Right?

She's glancing over at Adrien when he speaks up and nodding. She hadn't really had many opportunities to do so because she mostly preferred to let things happen as they would, but if there was ever a time when they needed some good fortune, it would be now.]

You're right. That's actually a good idea.

[Her power didn't have any flashy incantations or displays, but it was still pretty impressive as far as she was concerned. But really she was still getting the hang of it, and she was willing to give it a try now. So she focused on trying to tip their fortune to the positive side of things.]

[doodlebuginette]

Nice to meet you Garry. [She's smiling happily.] I don't believe I've met him yet. Is he helping out today too?

[junkyarddog]

[Ken's first instinct is to launch himself bodily at the ayakashi, to scrabble for a hold...but for once, he doesn't listen to his instincts. Or at least not that first one. Ken in a fight is Ken at his smartest, and the impossibility of his being able to keep any grip he could get on the ayakashi is too obvious to miss. He's too small, for one thing; he couldn't get a grip, especially with blunt canine claws and a mouth too small to fit around anything he could possibly bite. (Maybe the base of the wings, if he could reach them, but he might not be able to reach the ayakashi at all before it takes off, much less get all the way up onto its back.) Plus the ayakashi can shapeshift, so it can make itself slick or plate-covered and make it even more difficult for him to hang on.

So what to do instead...? Well, that borderline seemed to annoy it...and they don't want it flying, probably.

So Ken skids to a start, barking angrily, even as he sends out two more borderlines in rapid succession. This time they're aimed more carefully - he's aiming right at the base of the ayakashi's wings. He's not strong enough with borderlines to sever them, not by any stretch of the imagination, but injuring them might still do something. It'll certainly hamper it a little.]

[declamando]

[Maria considers describing what she means, but it's not immediately relevant, so she figures she'll pass it up for the moment. And he's probably right about them being able to get back home on their own.

Still, she doesn't really feel right about leaving them in this area.]

We should probably at least get them back into the town proper. There's still wild dogs in the area that might not take so kindly to them getting lost.

[She does have to ask, though:] Have you seen any signs of what it is causing this, other than the ayakashi possessing the leaders?

[declamando]

[Maria squeezes her hand back, smile becoming that little bit more steely. Kindness is is one thing, but there are others that help in a situation like this too - solidarity, strength, stability. One can't grow only with kindness, as far as she's concerned.

As soon as they open the door, Maria's grip tightens a little, and not in a good way. She does, however, nod firmly at Alex's question.]

Do you want me next to you when you try it, or would you rather I try to pick off those ayakashi? [Both have their advantages, but since it's Alex who's under more pressure here, Maria figures it should be her to make the decision.]

[declamando]

[It's starting to get busy with all the helpers around the place, so Maria keeps an ear out for his voice in case she can't see him in the crowd.

When she hears it, she holds her free hand straight up, waving it from side to side. It's a little shaky, since she's still working on the healing, but definitely visible.]

Over here! [She finally takes her hands off the patient after calling him over - there's still a very faint flush in their cheeks, but it's the image of someone at the tail end of a sickness rather than in the depths of it, and they're already trying to move a little.]

[revolutionfalcon]

Or at least more reckless. [Shun's not exactly a bastion of wise decisions himself, but even he looks a little skeptical of how good an idea lighting a bonfire in a back alley is. It's not very big so far, thankfully - it seems they caught them early.]

We'll have to find something to smother it with after, but let's deal with them first.

[revolutionfalcon]

[Shun keeps a consistent pace, glancing back every so often to check on the status of the dogs. It seems like he's used to baiting like this, which shows in the very little hesitation he has in answering Chinatsu's question.]

Keep a little away from me while we're running, so they can't aim for both of us at once. If you can, when we find another alley, divide the pack with a borderline so they can't all go after one of us while we're getting to higher ground.

[On that note, he notices another alley that seems to have a few houses and shops backing onto it - he can see a light on, and there's at least one balcony visible from here. He turns towards it.] This one should work.

[revolutionfalcon]

[Shun figures just being there is likely to bait them out more easily than flushing them from hiding places, since ayakashi supposedly like the smell of gods and shinki so much. If he hears one, he's prepared to go for the more aggressive method anyway, so all he needs to do is keep his eyes and ears open.

He keeps his pace steady and quiet, making sure they don't pass over anywhere quickly enough that they'd miss the sound of an ayakashi moving in the shadows, but he hasn't heard any by the time they get back to where they started.]

Seems like we've cleared this area. [He glances up at the window one last time, though, before he starts to head off. He's planning to switch Fubuki's form back once they get out of the area of the house, just in case.]

[priforprince]

[ Rrr....rrr...rrgh. Hibiki sighs.

And then affects coolness as best she can. ] I'll grant you a special service.

[ She attempts to tip the patient's chin up with a single finger. She's still stiff, and awkward,

but "shoujo love interest" is the only way she knows how to feed people things. ]

[priforprince]

Servicing an infant somewhere indecent is beyond my idiom!!

[ Hibiki's stupefaction at the task placed before her overrides the emotions she might have experienced upon seeing Chinatsu again. Mostly. She's mad at you, Chinatsu, for reasons she cannot quite elaborate upon but which she's sure must be extremely sound, and not at all a bad case of sour grapes. There's also no way she's also a little bit afraid of you, or strangely hopeful that you chose to speak to her.

No, she is totally absorbed in this baby. That is definitely all that she is aware that is going on. ]

[usedperishsong]

Stomach again!?

[ Kanade tries to somersault forward to avoid that kick, pushing off from their joined hands but trying to wrest hers free. She's not thinking about any of this - her body is just apparently used to Extremely Extra Combat.

She's not going to worry about that. ]

[usedperishsong]

[ Kanade decides it's not fair to give all of humanity the pass for a single group of idiots. She will remain a fan of you, humanity. Breathe easy.

That difficult mental struggle (?) taken care of, she winds up her arms, limbering up. ] You got it.

OI!

[ If they're all distracted by her, nobody can make the fire bigger, right? ]

I reeeelly dropped the ball on this one. orz. Feel free to ignore.

[cuddle_battery]

Yay~! Thank you!

[He accepts that croissant just as gleefully and shamelessly as he asked for it.]

I've been okay. I kiiiinda messed up my first prayer though.... I'll have to try a lot harder next time.

[A large bite of the croissant is accompanied by muffled sounds of delight.]

Mhm mHH! Mfp rmd!

[Whatever that means. Yeah, maybe he should swallow first. That'll help. Then he grins at Adrien.]

Wow, you're right! They're so good! Everyone's gonna love these.

[As for her other question, he answers it with a shrug.]

I dunno know what I'm gonna do yet. I guess I'll go wherever they need help.

[sing_for_me]

[And maybe it would have looked like a romantic scene, if the other party wasn't quite that much older than Hibiki.

Alex waits patiently though, not wanting to ruin her concentration. At least the patient looked like they were enjoying it. Was that a blush she saw?]

[sing_for_me]

[She shakes her head, taking a breath before letting go of her hand.]

You should take care of the ayakashi. My power might slow them down too, so it should be easier.

[If things worked out. She may also end up doing the opposite and agitate them more.]

I'm going to start.

[That was Maria's cue to hold her breath before the scent spread throughout the room. The ayakashi try to resist when something starts to invade their senses, making them lash out in attempt to fight an invisible enemy. The children begin to quiet down, however, their sobs turning into sniffles. They seem confused at the change in their mood, suddenly feeling very tired]

[nopixiedust]

I'm not at all-!

[She must automatically be like a borderline or something this way. Well, why wouldn't she be? Her name was called!]

[Wendy hardly has any time to express this before the ayakashi rush her, and she jerks in surprise. The downside to such a large vessel form is that it's not particularly the most graceful. Without thinking- ]

[A burst of water suddenly rushes out from her, filling up the room in a wave and smacking into the ayakashi dead on. Alex is... holding onto her.... right? Or this might get awkward very quickly.]