29 - Autumn Leaves

[godsoffortune]

Who: Everyone!
What: Uncover the remaining secrets of the mysterious forest.
When: Nov 29 - 30
Where: Chichibu National Park & the Central District
Summary: A heavily forested wilderness area in Chichibu National Park is attracting dangerous numbers of ayakashi, and Heaven's forces suspect that this might be the mortal forest that was connected to the Heavens in order to kidnap gods and shinki a few weeks ago.






Walk in the Woods

On the morning of the 29th, Heaven's messenger doves drop off small folded cards at the doors of every temple. The cards read,


We believe that we have identified the location on the Near Shore where the human accomplices were working. As it is a large area, we offer you this information, in case you are able to assist us in searching for clues to the identity of the culprit. Please investigate with caution: there are reports of ayakashi in the area.


Attached is a map to a large national park in the Kanto region, with a section of the park cross-hatched in red pen. Anyone who goes to investigate the marked area will discover that it is heavily forested and contains about a mountain and a half; the ground is steep, muddy with autumn rain, and slick with dead leaves, though some red and orange colors are still grimly clinging to the branches overhead. Watch your step! The supernatural menace seems to have faded, but the purely natural hazards can do almost as much damage.

Heaven's forces, wearing white short jackets with gold chrysanthemum emblems over much more sensible jeans and hiking boots, can be seen here and there throughout the forest, searching for clues themselves. If somebody gets in a real jam, they might be willing to lend a hand.

Mysterious Trees

Towards the center of the cross-hatched area, investigators may begin to see some familiar signs. Are those bits of torn-down spell papers still fluttering from nails driven into the trees? Vines and tree branches cut and broken by the hostage rescuers breaking through? Footprints, torn bits of black hooded cloaks... there are clues aplenty here.

There's something else, too: a mysterious presence still seems to haunt the forest. The trees might not move when anyone's watching, but it seems like they're in slightly different positions every time you look away and back. And what was that flicker of movement in the underbrush? Is there still someone here?!

Comment on the NPC REQUEST/CLUE SEARCH thread below to request specific details, or to go hunting for that mysterious presence.

Ayakashi Attacks

There's more than one mysterious presence in these trees... and some of them are definitely not friendly. The forest's aura is unsettling and creepy enough to partially mask their approach, but ayakashi of all types and sizes seem to have been drawn here. Some wind along tree branches or soar through the air on fleshy, wide-spread wings. Others crawl or even burrow in the ground.

And all of them are excited at the possibility of a divine meal. Look out!

Autumn Leaf Viewing

An area of the Central District planted with maple along a stone-walled canal has been decorated with hanging lanterns, comfortable spread mats and cushions, and an abundance of delicious food and drink on the afternoon of the 30th. Everyone is invited: new gods and old, those who helped investigate the Near Shore forest and those who didn't. For those who did investigate, though, one or two of the white-robed shinki who are helping with the party preparations and enjoying the food and drink themselves will take the opportunity to pull them aside and ask about their findings.

The party includes games as well as food and drink. Kites, poetry games, tag, hide-and-seek, card games and dice games are going on all over. There's even some determined board game and mahjong players who have brought their favorite game to the outdoor venue and are setting up on mats with immense care.

At one edge of the landscaped area where the party is being held, the ground slopes up, and is planted with a riot of bright gold, white and rust-red chrysanthemums. Like the ones that bloomed everywhere a few months ago, these flowers exude a sense of peace, confidence and security to anyone nearby, and especially those who pick the blooms to wear in their hair or their buttonhole.

In Summary:

• Investigate a wild forest
• Watch out for nasty trees
• Exorcise an ayakashi infestation
• Enjoy some hard-earned relaxation
• Have fun~

Comments

c

[lightninglobster]

[ Well, for one thing, if Shun doesn't want to be bothered, he shouldn't be hogging all of the quiet space in the gathering, now should he? Ryoma's not much fun at parties himself--he's a bit too formal and reserved to really relax around most people, and all the noise and energy gets to be... a bit much. Or overwhelming, depending on how drastic of an adjective you want.

Shun's in a quiet space; Ryoma gives a small smile and raises a hand in greeting as he drifts into the general direction of the dourest part of the room. ]

I think you have the right idea.

[ He's seemingly undecided in his stance, lingering somewhere between sitting down and striking up a conversation or continuing on his way to stake out a piece of quiet for his own, haunting Shun's proverbial doorstep no longer. ]

[revolutionfalcon]

[Shun's shoulders dip a bit in what might be relief when he figures out this isn't an attempt to drag him back into the party, because he's gotten well used to that in his time hovering around the edges of these gatherings. People seem to take personal offense to him not liking the atmosphere or something like that.

While Shun can also see the way Ryoma is hovering, even if he's looking for quiet, he doesn't necessarily object to company. And Ryoma has demonstrated himself both capable and a kindred spirit of a sort, so Shun makes a gesture with one hand to indicate he can stay if he wants.]

I've been doing it just about since I got here, since they hold these things so often. I would've thought people would be used to it by now, but I still get the ones trying to drag me back to the party.

[Beyond just the atmosphere, being in crowds for too long exhausts him anyway with how much he feels like he needs to keep track of, so it's preferable to stay on the side like this and just view the leaves in peace.]

[lightninglobster]

[ Nah, man, nah. If Ryoma remembered himself, he'd be able to fully sympathize with the need to be out of a crowd--being duty-bound and entirely obligated to stand and weather the middle of torrent of energy and noise is exhausting. In another life, he'd made his apologies and stolen time for himself between tight smiles and benevolent participation, but here?

Here he's okay to sneak off and find somewhere quiet to hang out with something who also needs the world to be at a two while it's bound and determined to be a fifteen. ]

Ah. Some people don't understand the need to disconnect from all the commotion, if only for a little while.

[ ... not that Ryoma was in any rush to wade back into the celebrations. He follows the gesture and settles near Shun, leaving a comfortable space for personal bubbles to remain intact. ]

In ways, there's something nice about seeing so many people relaxing and having fun... and that mostly has to do with the 'seeing' part of things. I never know what to do in a full throng of people.

[ 'Fake it 'til you can make it out to the side area' is Plan A. Faking a second death is plan Q. ]

[revolutionfalcon]

[The more distance there is, the less Shun needs to worry about, though his gaze still follows Ryoma as he moves to sit down. Force of habit. He eventually glances out towards the party again, though, considering Ryoma's words.]

Sounds right. I don't have that much of a problem with it happening - unless it's timed stupidly, like when they hold events at training - as long as I don't have to be in the middle of it. Or I can do that on my own terms. Otherwise it's impossible to enjoy any of it because you're being pulled out of your comfort so someone else can feel better.

[Whether that happens to be a particular person dragging you out of your way or a group of people obliging you to be part of a party for status purposes. Shun dislikes it either way, though at least most of his friends are more the types to work with what he can handle.]

It's too much to keep track of staying in a full group for too long. People tell you to relax, but it's not always that easy.

[lightninglobster]

[ No offense taken. Ryoma settles in, hands resting on his lap as Shun preaches to the choir. There's a small, familiar smile on his face as he nods along, his own eyes skimming over the crowd. He lingers here and there on interesting things--but it's much better to be sitting back and watching than up to his neck in it. So, so much better. ]

I empathize with that feeling so very much. Being in a cluster of strangers and only semi-familiar faces always makes me want to put my back to a wall... the only way I can truly relax is if I have a good sense of the situation and a way to disengage should things change beyond my liking. The parties are... nice, but I mislike having so much out of my hands.

[ He's frowning as he thinks, though that may just be a thing his face does for lack of anything better to do. He glances to Shun, and then back to the crowd, resuming his people-watching as his expression smooths. ]

I suppose that makes me a bit of a wet blanket, but I'd rather have a plan for things turning for the unexpected than not.

[revolutionfalcon]

[Shun nods along a little with what Ryoma is saying - he's somewhat more reserved about his relating to the words, but that doesn't mean it's not still clear. It can be a difficult thing to explain, Shun has found, so he figures that's the reason for the frown on Ryoma's face, if it isn't just natural anyway.]

The people that call others "wet blankets" or whatever stupid thing are the ones who care too much how we're participating in things like this. [You can only dampen the mood if someone's around to have their mood dampened, after all.] But I'm the same. I can't do crowds anymore unless they're at a distance, because I'm too alert around people I don't know or don't trust. And people seem to take you being there at all as a sign you want to be dragged further in when you might not want to.

[Or may only want to at a certain pace or to a certain degree.]

[lightninglobster]

[ The frown is born of both serious consideration and Ryoma being a stoic from approximately age five. It's a very weighty frown.

It does lift, somewhat, as Shun continues on and Ryoma nods in time; it's like preaching to another entirely too serious member of the choir. ]

Everyone has their pace and their place in a crowd. It's uncomfortable to be urged deeper into a throng; I prefer to keep a distance so I can keep an eye on proceedings.

[ He's the figurehead on the prow; the one who's used to standing away and apart because he's wearing the mantle of a protector, even if it makes him all the lonelier. Someone has to do it. Shun seems to know it all too well. ]

You'd think they'd learn to leave the wet blanket out to dry while they did something else.

[revolutionfalcon]

Exactly. [Shun sounds something almost approaching relieved to have someone else say it for once, because it's very rare for him to actually find someone who completely agrees with it. He doesn't mind people who keep in mind his barriers when trying to get him involved, but there's altogether too many people who disregard them entirely and just try to effectively shove him into the deep end.] Considering how many of the Heavens' gatherings go wrong in some way, I'd call people who watch over things even more necessary here than they are anywhere else.

[Attacks, spells, interruptions...they've had all kinds of things cut through these parties the Heavens are so fond of, enough times that Shun has learnt to be even more wary when gods gather.]

People like that usually don't learn without a fight. [Thick skulls are hard to penetrate.]

[lightninglobster]

[ There's far too many energetic young heroes trying to create a cornucopia of manic pixie dream friendship in this theoretical space; Ryoma has way too much to do and think about to toss everything to the wind and let fate happen all willy-nilly. ] It's almost suspicious how often things turn sour, though... then the question stands of are we called to gatherings because ill happens, or does havoc happen because it's more convenient to sow chaos within a group?

[ It could really go either way; Ryoma's not quick to jump to conclusions except when the writing dictates he is, but we're going to ignore the antagonist-ball making him dumb. ]

Perhaps one day one person will spread what they learned the hard way to the rest of their peers, and peace can be had by all.

[ And then pigs will invent jetpacks and enslave humanity using air-based porcine supremacy. His tone might be a biiit sarcastic. ]

[revolutionfalcon]

I'd say because it's easier to target a large group. It does mean someone has to know there's going to be a large gathering to target, though. [Shun puts that in the very certain, straightforward tone of someone who's put a lot of thought into this before. The majority of the time, the gatherings go wrong after the fact, and the specific fact that most of them are never solved in terms of who made them go wrong makes him highly suspicious of some kind of insider at work there.

But he sets that aside briefly to give a faint scoff at Ryoma's clearly sardonic remark on the subject.]

As if we'd ever be that lucky.

[lightninglobster]

Something can only be a coincidence twice. [ Any more than that, and we're switching c-words for conspiracy; Ryoma's not given to being paranoid (except when he is, thank you, Conquest), but he's used to looking for patterns and clues so that he can better guess at the way an opponent's going to react. He doesn't have enough evidence to say that there's probably an insider component to the things going wrong in heaven, so he'll say everything but that... and fail at feigning innocence as Shun catches his sarcasm and throws it to the ground, on fire. ]

One can always hope for a golden tomorrow, even while reinforcing the steel lessons of today.

[ Optimism doesn't mean you stop beating people's asses and hoping for the better. You multitask. ]

[revolutionfalcon]

Exactly. But when there's as many gods as there are in this place, narrowing down informants isn't exactly an easy task. [Shun doesn't have evidence of a traitor, per se, but he has eyes and ears and has been here for the several months of things like Amaterasu's temple burning down and the culprit getting off without a hitch or even any kind of evidence trail. There's no way in hell there's not some kind of informant or traitor among the Heavens.

Ryoma definitely has a good way of putting that second thing, though, and Shun nods slightly, though with a somewhat long-suffering look.]

It's surprising how many people think you can't do both of those things.