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Who: Alex Benedetto and Ryunosuke Akutagawa
When: January 14th, the morning before the volcanic eruption
Where: Oshun's temple
What: Mysterious poems gets two people to meet. Are they kindred spirits, or is this just a causal encounter?

There are fewer people roaming in the early morning, so Akutagawa prefers to wander around during this time. An uncomfortable restlessness makes it a perfect opportunity for him to familiarize himself with the Far Shore. However, he still wants to avoid coming in contact with the other residents of the heavens, and he decides to explore along the off beaten path. Unaware that his aimlessness leads him into another god's territory. He enters the dense forest, weaving in and out of the trees. It doesn't take him long to see the outline of a building. The concrete building clashes with the surrounding flora. The establishment seems abandoned since the greenery covers the facade of it. Almost like life and death is meeting at the same point.

Under closer inspection, he notices something even more strange. Characters begin to appear out of thin air as if an invisible writer with an invisible pen decides to write bold and cursive words along the building. the words compel Akutagawa to read them, the literal writings on the wall.

"No one despairs alone,
Suffering makes people lonely,
but they are not isolated by that pain.

In an unlikely place,
a kindred spirit appears.
Guiding with a quiet and stern presence,
an impending obstacle is resolved.

Those who wallowed in the dark,
will no longer be hindered by the light.
Past agony forms a connection,
which can't be avoided."

Once the words appear, it only takes a moment before they begin to fade, and they leave no evidence behind. Still, his mind recounts the words he reads. Despair, loneliness, the darkness, and agony all of these words echo within him, making his chest feel tight. He doesn't understand where these feelings come from and why these words affect him, but he feels it might be clear soon. The poem mentioning someone appearing before him.

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Sleepless nights were no longer new to Alex, though this time around she found herself ion her kitchen rather than out in the city. Maybe she should have gone, because now it seemed like she was seeing words. Part of her wondered if this was a new kind of hallucination, but the words weren't derogatory or degrading.

"Pain is given,
Wounds are shared,
Nightmares the connections made by those who are scared.

Within that darkness,
reach out into your despair,
and find yet another caught in the monster's snares.

Tears unshed are shed by another
anger contained, released elsewhere
Lonely you may be, but alone you are not
Find the other, the one who also forgot"

No, this couldn't be Barry's doing. After all, all he ever told her was how she was always alone. How she would always be alone. These words, as uncomfortable as they made her, twisting something in her chest, it almost made her feel hopeful. Whether it was the discomfort or the hope, Alex found herself stepping out of the temple once again, unsure where to go, until she heard a high pitched squeal.

Which is how she got here, in some part of the forest, looking at what looks like a piglet that somehow got tangled in some fallen vines. She had never seen pigs in the forest before...a robot goat, sure, but never pigs. Had it gotten lost?

"Shh, shh, it's okay," she says in a hushed tone as she slowly approaches it, not wanting to scare the already stressed animal. "I'm gonna help you out of here.." Although it may take some time consider how heavy the vines were, and she had nothing sharp on her.

Akutagawa hears the squeal from where he stands. It doesn't sound human, but that makes the shinki more incline the investigate. He follows where he believes he hears the squealing. He moves through the forest quietly, since he wants to avoid detection before he properly assesses the situation. Maybe there's no need for his interference, or perhaps it's a trap. It doesn't hurt to be cautious.

However he does spot a woman, and what appears to be a piglet. The squeal must've come from the pig, since it appears to be in distress. Thrashing about as the vines around it, only tangle more and wrap tighten. The woman tries her best to calm the animal down, but it couldn't remain like that, she doesn't appear to have a way to free the piglet.

Akutagawa debates whether he should assist, and his mind only goes back to the poem and how this scenario is very much like the one it foretells. Could it possibly be speaking of this moment? Fate? Coincidence? Both, seem nonsensical. Despite his feelings, he wills the strand of his coat to extend. Even at his distance, the tendrils are able to stretch and reach toward the pair. Akutagawa sharps the tip, and allows the fabric to cut into the vines with one swing. Once severed, the vines become slack and it'll be easier for Alex to free the piglet now. The fabric retracts back toward Akutagawa and if Alex manages to catch a glimpse of it, her eyes will meet his form standing not too far away.

How could she no notice the shadow suddnely slash at the vines? Alex falls back in surprise, landing on her backside. Her first thought was ayakashi—but why would it pull back? She looks to where it had retreated, spotting someone behind the trees. Was it him..? Or a her? But then how did they—

The piglet’s squeals grab her attention again, and she sees it still sturggling to pull itself out. She hesitates a moment between addressing thr stranger and helping it out, but the man doesn’t seem to he a threat just yet. She crawls over, still attempting to calm it down while pulling and lifting vines to help it wriggle it’s way out

The piglet stumbles out in the open, but it seens to have difficulty standing back up.

“I think it’s hurt.” She looks back up at stranger, unsure of whether they still wanted to help. She’s never had to help out a baby pig before. It’s difficult to see them what with the shade from the leaves above and them being somewhat hidden by the trees, even if light was starting to stream down between the gaps.

Akutagawa continues to watch from afar. The woman is able to take the vines off, but once the piglet is free of them, it seems like it can't walk away on its own. The woman calls to him and says the animal could be hurt. This piglet really has come into some misfortune. He couldn't see the piglet's condition from where he stands, so he decides to step closer.

At the moment, he's not really concerned about the woman. She doesn't seem armed, and her focus appears to be on the pig. The swine continues to try to get up and walk but to no avail. His presence seems to agitate the creature a little, maybe because of his black attire. Though Akutagawa believes any person or animal might be wary of anyone who approaches them, especially if they couldn't defend himself.

Akutagawa crouches down to get a better look. Unlike Alex who tries her best to calm the piglet down, the shinki doesn't really bother. Though his touch is gentle enough to inspect the animal for any injury. He does notice a bit of a flinch when his hand moves over one of the legs. Maybe a broken leg.

"Here." He indicates the leg to Alex. "It must've broken it while struggling.It'll die if left out here."

She notices his black coat first, something almost..alive..about it. Her eyes then move up to his face, briefly studying him. He looked young. Not someone she had seen before.

His words weigh heavily on her. Was it all alone? It seemed young, was its mother not around? Somehow she found herself wondering just how scared the poor thing was...

"The temple..it's not far from here." The obvious answer was to not leave it out here then. "There's a first aid kit..I don't know how much help it would be."

But what she can do is place her hand over its nose, releasing just a bit of her power to help it relax. Just a light dose of calming pheromones.

"Could..you help me?" She felt more comfortable not dealing with this alone. Alex didn't want to risk hurting it more.

When she mentions a temple, his first thought goes back to that desolate building. That place? It doesn't seem like a sacred place, but there's something familiar about it. Then again there a lot of other "temples" in the Far shore that has a questionable appearance.

As she asks for assistance, he seems hesitant. Usually, when animals break their leg, it's not salvageable. In the natural order of the world, the wounded are left behind "...You shouldn't waste your time."

Tha absence of their family probably is no mistake. They were abandoned because eventually, this boar will be a burden. "...It's better if we just stop it's suffering."

Her eyes widen at first, her brows furrowing slightly right after, her hold on the small animal a little more protective. She had heard this kind of thinking before, and maybe in a way it almost made sense. How often did people think that was the easier way out? Whether for others, or even themselves? Maybe it was. God knows she's thought of it many times. However, one thought always persisted despite the temptation to just end things:

"But it's still alive."

It was weird that these thoughts would be brought up over a pig. Maybe the words she read earlier struck a chord in her harder than she thought.

"If it still has a chance..we should at least try."

Akutagawa frowns. She's optimistic, but not wrong. The pig is alive, and despite its injury, it was thrashing about in the vines, trying to break free. Maybe because the piglet was fighting for its life, even if the odds were against it. If this woman had never come around, it would die here alone. Though here they are...

He looks down at the piglet, laying on its stomach and somewhat subdued. He looks so small, and frail. Akutagawa knows the logical thing to do is kill the pig, but this woman presses that it's alive and deserves a fighting chance.

After a moment of debating the proper thing to do, he resigns. He places his hand on the pig and starts lifting him up. Its a lot heavier than it looks."Try? We have to succeed if we're going to bother."

She tenses when he reaches out to the pig, but his touch was gentle. His sudden show of confidence is contagious, and she feels a swell of hopefulness.

"Y-yeah!" She gets up, patting off the first from her knees.

"It's this way." Alex leads the way back, crossing the bridge and entering the building.

"Watch your step. There are a lot of vines in here too." They like to move around, so she can never memorize where they're positioned. The other residents of the temple start to peek from where they're perched, curious of the stranger.

She heads up to the second floor, gesturing to the couch or the table. "You can put it down anywhere. I'll go grab the first aid kit."

Akutagawa follows her. He carries the piglet along, but he's not tender enough to hold it to his chest. He allows it to rest against his arm, supporting the swine's back with his other hand. He eyes the bridge as they cross over it. He doesn't remember going over something like this. It makes Akutagawa think that this forest is a lot bigger than he originally thought. There were probably various paths to get to where they were, and given the chance to return to that very spot, he's not sure if he could find it.

Once they enter into the temple, he sees that greenery carries on inside. Vines are hanging from the ceiling, and some are sneakily creeping up in various places along the floor. Though, Akutagawa threads carefully in the unfamiliar place. He's not worried about the vines snagging his clothes because they will certainly nip back. He also looks up to see tiny eyes looking down at him. Birds? They seem docile, so he ignores them.

As Alex goes up to retrieve the first aid kit. He goes over to a table since he's not comfortable sitting. He rests the piglet on it, and the creature is calm, but his little eyes looking around his new surroundings. His ears twitching as if trying to discern the sounds it hears. He doesn't really have any comforting words to say, but something comes to mind. "...don't let our efforts go in vain, find a will to live."

He then pokes the piglet for good measure, just to make sure it sticks.

They were only docile for a moment, gliding down and making their way closer and closer to the strangers. One was even brave enough to fly over to the table, joining in on poking the pig, but with its beak. It looks up at the strange man then, its beady little eyes staring right into his. The other finches start landing on different pieces of furniture or plants, surrounding him.

He looks up from the table to see the finches descend. He supposes his first opinion of them is wrong, they certainly are courageous. Especially for one to fly onto the table and poke at the swine's side. Akutagawa quickly bats it away, and his grey eyes watch the other curious birds, hoping his stare is enough to keep them at bay. He's not above hurting animals, but doing anything to these creatures will not give him any achievements. It's not worth it, and he can obviously handle a bunch of mischievous birds on his own.

Though he wonders what's taking the woman so long to return. Was the first aid kit so difficult to locate? He could only imagine how it must be to live here. The vegetation occupies the room that it almost seems uninhabitable, and the other rooms in the building must be in a similar state. Though this must be this woman's home since she knows her way around. Her temple, he corrects himself. Then is she a god or a shinki?

The bird quickly flies away from the rude man, squawking in offense to the swatting. The others start to join in, but are immediately silenced by his glare. They had gotten so used to getting away with things, that this may very well be the first time someone's felt like an actual threat.

"I'm sorry--I was trying to see if I could find any other things we could use." She apologizes as she makes her way down, a little out of breath from rushing back. "There are bandages in here but I don't know if it'll be enough."

Alex places the kit on the table, the finches catching her eye. "Oh no...Did they try to bother you? I'm sorry they're pretty nosy..." Although, they were oddly quiet right now.

Finally, Alex comes back down, carrying the first aid kit in tow. Neither one of them seems adept at emergency treatment, so he doesn't really know all the supplies they might need, or even if what Alex has is adequate enough. But something is better than none.

He takes the liberty of rummaging through the kit. The piglet has no open wounds, so they didn't need to worry about antiseptics. He does pick out a few tongue suppressors that can act as a splint, some medical tape, and bandages. He believes this should be enough.

He then looks up when Alex mentions her troublesome finches. His eyes shift over to charm for a moment, before returning to her. "They were...but now it's handled."

He doesn't say any more than that. He starts preparing the items on the table. The bandages seem to make him pause for a moment. There's this very tangible feeling that wells up in his chest. He doesn't understand it, but he tries his best to ignore it. He turns his attention to the task at hand.

"Are you able to wrap his leg? Or should I attempt it?" He feels like he knows how to, but he doesn't really understand the basis of that knowledge. How did he learn? Was he any good at it?

Alex watches him as he sifts through, picking up on what he might be trying to go for with the materials he chose. She does notice the pause, and how his thoughts seem to go elsewhere. She recognized that. And then he spoke.

‘Attempt.’ Does that mean he’s never done it then? While Alex was used to injuries, she didn’t get to treat them often. However, simply wrapping didn’t sound too difficult.

“I can try. Could you hold it still just in case?”

Wordlessly, Akutagawa hands reach out to take hold of the piglet. It does initially squirm underneath his hold. Though the creature doesn't thrash about as wildly as Akutagawa would expect. Ever since he cut him away from those vines, the piglet has been calmer.

"...I have it." He tells her, encouraging her to begin. He braces himself, knowing that once Alex touches the swine's injured leg, it will start acting out.

If the effects of her god power hadn't worn off, it might remain calm, but just in case..

She reaches out slowly, the piglet flinching at first before Alex carefully cover its snout with her hand. Just a little bit, just enough to relax it.

"There you go...that's it..." She let's go then, and starts to bandage its leg along with the make shift splints. As she does so, she realizes that she hadn't even asked him for his name, nor had she given hers. But more importantly--

"Thank you, for helping back there. I don't know what I could've done on my own."

He doesn't really know how to be comforting toward the piglet. Though, it seems like Alex is able to do that just fine. Maybe it's a woman's touch. The pig does seem to squirm a little, but it doesn't fight against him or her. Closing its eyes as if there's no need to fight anymore. He feels as if he gets it. Fighting is tiring. Fighting for one's life is even more exhausting. At least, the piglet can feel at ease now.

Once Alex finishes, Akutagawa looks it over and it looks fine. However, to reinforce it, he tears a piece of cloth from his coat. It looks ordinary, like any piece of fabric. Though Alex picks up on the life that his coat seems to have, and as he wraps the cloth over the bandages, it seems to move on its own. Twisting around the small leg and creating a hard hull over it.

He then looks up from the pig's leg to Alex. She's thanking him...for what? He shakes his head. "You did most of it. All I did was cut the vines, I'm sure you could have done that if you had the proper tools."

Did she forget that he wanted to leave the pig out there to die? It was her resolve that made him consider that they could save it, that they must if they were even going to try.

She notices him rip off a piece of his coat, but what really shocked her is the way it wraps around the piglet's leg on its own. And he acts like it's nothing.

"No it's not--wait how did..how did you do that?" She'll get to how he played a big part in this in a bit, but cloth that moves on its own? That's not something you ignore.

"You mean just a moment ago?" He questions, but he already has an idea what Alex means. His hands sink into his coat pockets as he gently shrugs. His gray eyes glance off to the side, before addressing the subject.

"It's my ability. It appears I can manipulate matter."

Though he's limited to using only clothing that he's wearing, which is kind of annoying.

"Do you mean..your god power?" That's a pretty amazing ability then.

Alex glances down at the pig, that seems to have relaxed enough to doze off.

"Oh, I'm sorry. I haven't even introduced myself. I'm Alex..Benedetto." She holds her hand out to him, but she notices that he's already put his in his pockets.

"God power?" Akutagawa looks confused. He supposes it's not really obvious whether he's a shinki or a god.

He shrugs. "I am not a god. I am only a shinki. This ability is something that comes very natural to me, but I don't really understand why."

His mind is totally blank. All he remembers is his name. He doesn't even completely know how to use his power but learning how to wield it has proven easier than casting a borderline.

Akutagawa looks down at the hand she offers to him. She doesn't really understand what she's trying to do. Instead, he bows slightly at the hip, but not low enough to show Alex a great level of respect. "It's nice to meet your acquaintance, Benedetto-san. My name is Ryunosuke Akutagawa. Though I prefer you to address me as Akutagawa."

[ ooc: if you'd like we can say that the volcano starts erupting after this? Unless you'd like to go a little more im fine with that too!]

"Oh!" So then, he was one of those people that had..abilities and such beforehand.

And also more of the bowing type. Right..different culture then.

"Alright, Akutagawa. Um..I'd prefer Alex, actually." It was funny how Benedetto-san sounded more formal than Ms. Benedetto, though supposedly they're somewhat similar.

"I really do appreciate your help in this."

[ooc: It's fine if we have the volcano erupt afterward]

Akutagawa frowned slightly at Alex's insistence to be called by her first name. It seemed much too formal, especially if this woman was a god. However, it was a direct request, so it would be insolent to refuse."Then a compromise. I wish for no one to misunderstand our acquaintance. Allow me to call you, Alex-san."

As for Alex showing her gratitude for his involvement, Akutagawa casually shrugged. He hadn't gone out of his way to help Alex or even the piglet. He just happened to pass through her grounds.

"A shinki's role is to help the gods. That's all I was doing." He dismissed, there was really no need to thank him.

He turned on his heel, looking as if he was about to depart. However, suddenly a tremor shook the whole building. The piglet shrieked and the naughty finches flew around over their heads in a frenzy. Akutagawa's balance was thrown off, and he hurriedly grasped on to a nearby post to stabilize himself. He then glanced back toward Alex, offering a free hand hand to her.

She won't push it if that's what he wants to call her. Close enough, right? She's about to comment on him leaving when the ground suddenly starts to shake. She managed to grab the piglet, but she needed something to hold onto--

Seeing Akutagawa's hand, she immediately reaches out to take hold of it.

"W-what's happening?!"

Once Alex grabs a hold of his hand, he grips it tight as he balances both their weights. Though this proves difficult since the ground shakes violently before it starts dying down to a soft tremor. Then nothing...?

Akutagawa cautiously looks around them. Maybe falling debris or some sort of sign for instability of the structure. Whatever happened, it was momentary. He turns back to Alex, releasing her hand once he feels it's safe to let go.

"No idea. This must not be something normal...?" He asks, since Alex must have been in the Heavens much longer than him.

Some pots fell over, and there were a few a couple of cracks branching through the walls, but they weren't as visible with all the plants covering them.

"N-no, nothing like this has happened before--"

With the open side of the temple, it wasn't difficult to spot the ash and rocks flying through the air.

"What..is that.. ?" Alex had never seen a volcano erupt before, but it was a terrifying sight.

So it was truly an unusual occurrence. It certainly seems out of place for the Heavens to experience seismic tremors, since they were not on Earth. He followed Alex's gaze as she looks toward the exposed side of her temple. The sky darkening as plumes of smokes sail into the air. There are bursts of light that shoot rocks into the air like fireworks. The scene appears to be at a distance, but it still leaves an eerie feeling with Akutagawa. What was happening?

"I don't know...it seems like some sort of explosion." Even at this distance, they couldn't clearly see the cause of the smoke. Though it must be enormous if it's able to reach the sky.

Once he was sure no more tremors would pass, he places his hands into his pockets. He steps forward as if moving to depart."...I'm going to investigate."

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