thenearshore | [closed] through the night i plow, still my heart, calculate and pray

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[closed] through the night i plow, still my heart, calculate and pray

Who: Shun and Kanade
When: October 23rd
Where: Far Shore > North-Eastern coast of Iceland
What: Mission 02

[It's been a while since Shun's gotten one of these letters, but he still recognises it - and breathes a sigh of relief that it's not from Fuujin this time. Particularly, the fact that they seem to have actually made some progress about what might be going on with the new gods piques his interest, but it's a large area she's sending him to cover, and he figures he might as well learn what he can to narrow the search down before he goes.

He's weaving back through the Western District, through a few temples he doesn't know the owners of, reading something very intently off the screen of his phone as he does. It seems like there's a few cities down that part of the coast, but it's the one close to where the coast peaks outwards the most that seems to be the most likely point to him - there's been some small oddities in the area, it looks like - so he figures that's probably the best point to start.

Courtesy of the information-gathering, he's somewhat more preoccupied than usual, though that doesn't mean he's not going to notice someone approaching at all.]

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I thought ya didn't go in for health hazards.

[ Kanade has absolutely no business prying into whatever's got Shun glued to his phone. Which is exactly why she's going to, popping out from behind a tree she'd been resting against. Judging from the towel slung around her shoulders, this had been a run, until it had turned into something else.

And now it's open season on Shun. ]

Starin' at their phones is a major problem among the kids these days.

[Shun glances up as soon as Kanade speaks, though it's clear he's somewhat reluctant to hang around and talk, keeping right on walking even if he does at least end up replying to her remarks.]

I'm researching. [And he still has more focus on his surroundings than most people do normally while he's staring at his phone, as far as he's concerned.] The higher-ups asked me to investigate something. Apparently it might be connected to the newcomers, and I'll take any information I can get about why we're here.

[If with considerably more complaining if he'd been asked by someone like Fuujin. He certainly doesn't trust Suijin, but she's competent and easier to deal with than the other two advisors.]

So you can play nice with the other kids.

[ This sounds more interesting than heading back to the temple just yet. Kanade falls in step alongside Shun as if she were always a part of this expedition, now also trying to peer at the phone. ] What's up?

When they're not being idiots. [As far as Shun's concerned, that's his primary issue with working with others here.

While Shun glances aside at her apparent decision to join him, he figures it can't be that bad an idea. He was planning to pick Kotori up on his way back through his temple, but if it's an investigation kind of mission, more eyes can only help.

He turns the phone screen slightly towards her - right now, it's on a few news stories from a very tiny town called Þórshöfn, and the peninsula it's on, Langanes.]

The letter just mentioned the north-eastern coast of Iceland, but there's more strange stories from this area recently than I would expect from a place with so few people. So that seems like a good one to start in, at least.

And if that strikes out, onto the next one, right?

[ She's onto you. You are one of those methodical types. So plodding. So dutiful.

But the logic as a starting spot makes sense. ]

Basically. There's four towns in that area, so if it's not that one it'll probably be around one of the others. [He definitely doesn't seem perturbed by the possibility of having to search around four small towns, and as he keeps walking, he switches over to a map to see if he can get any good images of the place. He can't teleport there reliably unless he has a visual.

They're coming to the bridge that joins Western District to the middle districts, which Shun crosses without hesitation, still looking for maps and images.]

It doesn't look like there's going to be all that much area to cover, but it's enough to take a few hours. [Especially if they go up the peninsula. They might need to find a way to speed that up.]

[ Kanade follows Shun over the bridge. One of them should probably watch where they're going, but, eh. Map is more interesting. ]

We could split up an' report to each other. A free phone's part of the gig, so we might as well use 'em.

[Shun is, at least, glancing up every so often to make sure he's not about to walk into anything or anyone, especially as he comes to the other side of the bridge and keeps walking straight into Central District.]

I figured I'd bring Kotori as well, and she doesn't have one, since she's from here. So she'll have to stay alongside one or other of us anyway.

Still covers twice the ground in half the time.

[ Kanade is going to table the phrase "from here" as being a little thing she probably shouldn't be worrying about right now.

Pulling out her own phone, she tries to bring up a map of the same area Shun was looking at. ] Here, let's split it. Dibs on this little fiddly bit.

[Thankfully, Shun doesn't push the topic - he sees so many people talk about going home on the BBS that he figures it's common knowledge the shinki here aren't from this world either.

Shun glances over to the area she's talking about, and assumes she means the very tip of the peninsula for the fiddly bit.] That's far enough from the town that we'll probably have to find a better way to get up there than walking. Kotori should know how to drive, at least.

[He could drive too if he really wanted, but he'd rather not dust off his rusty desperation-taught driving skills for something like this.]

Is this Kotori your shinki or somethin'? [ NOW she has to ask. Now that she is getting in a car with this Mysterious Individual.

Ugh, she should have just told him he can do all the logistics. They make her impatient. ]

One of them. [He could try rounding up one of his other three, but Kotori's the one most reliably around the temple area at any given time. Not to mention she and Reisi are the only ones he'd be sure could drive, and Reisi's not an option right now.

Once they get a little way into Central District, the top of a large hill becomes visible among the temples. Shun heads in that direction, and eventually they reach the street in front of it, which reveals it's...a temple ground. With the only indication of a temple's presence being the just-visible windows and door at the base of the hill.]

[ ....Honestly, she wishes she could be more surprised about this. She really does. And yet.

Kanade chuckles to herself. ] Friendly joint.

Better than some ridiculous gaudy eyesore. [Like a certain other temple in the neighbourhood he could mention. Nonetheless, he sets out across the grass without hesitation.

At the very least, it looks nicer as they get closer - one of the windows at the base is a large and lengthy one, though it can't really be seen into, and there's a very big garden a little way to one side of the temple. That image is somewhat ruined by the some two dozen suspicious-looking vultures hanging around in the branches of the bordering trees, though.

And Shun heads straight for the garden entrance.] Ignore the vultures.

[ Congratulations, Shun. The sight of vultures just, like, hanging at your place is enough to do something unusual:

Shut Kanade up. For a few seconds. When she recovers, it's with a nervous, disbelieving grin. ]

....Do people usually succeed when you tell them that......?

[That is actually unusual for her, though Shun is hardly unused to people being uncomfortable with the vultures. Though the birds' eyes follow Kanade as they enter the garden, they don't move.]

I don't usually tell them that. But they won't attack you if you're with me. [And even then, they usually only attack to injure if he orders them to or if there's someone malicious on the property.

Once they pass the wall of the garden, the first area of it becomes visible, largely taken up by a short path flanked by two pools and surrounded by flowers growing out of the hedge wall. There's two small openings to a further area, but they don't need to go further than this, because there's a slightly dishevelled looking woman in a yukata tending the flowers near the other end of the path.]

Kotori. [Shun heads over, and Kotori straightens up, tucking some loose hair behind her ear with a slight, amused smile.]

You're back early, Kurosaki-sama. [She glances over to Kanade.] Who's this?

Oh, I clung on and now he can't get ridda me.

[ Kanade waves. She had made it past the vultures without seeming intimidated, though - she should probably just not get surprised about what folks have at their temples and leave things at that.

Either way, this must be their driver. ] Nice t' meetya. You his usual babysitter?

[Shun just gives a faint sound of annoyance at the remark, and Kotori's smile tweaks a bit.] I'm not the exemplar, so not really. And there's two shinki other than the guy who is as well. I like to think we split duty.

[Figuring he'll just move them on from the topic himself, Shun addresses Kotori again, handing her the letter.] Suijin apparently found something worth investigating.

[As she takes the letter, Kotori's expression hardens slightly.] Is that so.

[There's something almost wary about the tone. Kotori isn't the most fond of the old gods, but she opens the paper and starts to read it anyway.]

[ Exemplar. That sounds like a lotta work. It also sounds like something Kanade technically might be by default, so, nah, let's not go there. Focus on the letter. ]

We were hoping you could give us a ride. I mean, we could hoof it, but that's a lotta landscape....

[ Don't underestimate her willingness to wander an entire coastline if it means helping sort this place out, though. Someone's got to. Might as well be the dead folks. ]

[Kotori takes Shun's phone first to check the map of where they're going, nodding a little bit as the stiffness at seeing the letter drains out of her.] If we can get a car, I should be able to drive it. Probably.

[It's not the most reassuring statement, but apparently it's good enough for Shun, who shrugs slightly as he takes his phone back.]

There's so few people there we're probably not putting anyone else at risk, and the road doesn't look like it's cliffside. [So they're probably safe enough from going off-road if they keep to a reasonable speed.]

So now we just need the wheels, huh.

[ She knows someone who's Down For Car Theft, but considering she barely prevented that next time, let's not voluntell Mordred. ]

Do gods drive rentals?

It's a quiet place. Someone will take the offer to borrow a car for money. [On that note, Shun turns back towards the mouth of the garden.] Give me a minute.

[One advantage of having as many followers as he does is that he gets offerings in a variety of currencies. He doesn't get a lot from that area of the world, admittedly, but he's pretty sure he's got some somewhere.

Kotori watches him go before shrugging slightly.] For what it's worth, it doesn't make a difference to me as long as it goes.

So you're the flexible one and he's the stiff stick.

[ She sees how this partnership works. What does that make her and Pigtails? The loud, angry one, and.....the loud one who doesn't see the point in staying as angry as she can feel, sometimes?

That is not nearly as catchy. Drat. ]

Must be rough.

[That makes Kotori laugh and wave a hand.] Like I said, he's got four shinki, so it's not that simple. He's definitely the stick, but Fubuki-kun is probably the flexible one. And then Munakata-kun is a more reasonable stick, and Chinatsu-kun is is the fiery one. [Apparently everyone in the temple is "-kun" except for Shun.] And I'm the mysterious advisor, I guess.

[Kotori looks faintly amused at the thought, even as she reaches into her yukata for a ribbon to start tying up her sleeves with. If she's going to be driving...

It does bring a series of what appear to be clean knife scars up her left arm into view, though.] But Kurosaki-sama works hard, and he's kinder than he likes to admit. So I don't mind.

People are funny like that, huh?

[ Scars are noted but not commented upon. Everybody has their stories, and who knows if Kotori even remembers hers. ] Sounds like a good group, though. He's lucky.

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