007 | Clean Up Your Act

[godsoffortune]

Who: Everyone!
What: Spring cleaning
When: All day April 15
Where: All around the Heavens
Summary: The Heavens don't like things being cluttered, so it's time to clean up a little bit.







Main Hall

While the main hall of the Heavens seems spotlessly clean at all times, that's not the case at all. In fact, it's been at least a decade since the last time they actually cleaned everything out properly. There are a lot of hidden closets and back rooms that have layers of dust and dozens of boxes filled with nothing but junk. Who knows, though! You might find something interesting and useful in there along with all the garbage.

Suprises

Unfortunately, some of the older temples on the Far Shore seem to have some interesting surprises tucked away, ranging from cursed artifacts all the way to magical creatures locked up in long-forgotten rooms. You are free to be creative with this as a way to get your characters into trouble while cleaning.

Complimentary Dinner

After all of your hard work, you deserve to have some tasty food and refreshing beverages. So the Heavens have provided that for you, so that you can wind down after a long day. It's not as fancy as the banquets they often put on, but there is a nice array of food and drinks for everyone to enjoy.

Counselling

As usual, there is a white-robed shinki bearing the gold chrysanthemum of Amaterasu sitting at a table in the Main Hall. There is a small sign that denotes her as the counselling shinki. Anyone is welcome to approach her, and she will smile serenely at anyone passing by as well.



In Summary:

• Clean up your home
• Help clean others' homes
• Get the main hall clean too!
• Hope no hidden magic jumps out
• Seek counselling if you need it
• Enjoy your complimentary dinner
• Have fun~

Comments

[galactically]

[Being the curious person that Sheryl is, of course she's going to immediately latch on to the prospect of Ayumu having a potential boyfriend. She deserves good things in life, both in the romantic department and in everywhere else. Even love can bloom in Takamagahara, after all.

A small chortle ensues as Sheryl keeps her gaze locked on to Ayumu, humming melodically.]

I wonder who your mystery man is. [ufufufufu] Tell me more about this friend of yours!

[kagenonadeshiko]

Ah, well, it's...

[Ayumu trails off a moment. Should she tell her the truth? That Axel's her shinki? She hasn't exactly told anyone yet he serves her, too. He hasn't exactly asked her to keep quiet about their arrangement but it doesn't seem like something she should necessarily advertise without consulting him first. But then again, he does tend to seek new allies so maybe she could be up front about it?]

It's someone I've been working with since I first arrived here. A friend.

[There's that word again 'friend'. But is he really? Ayumu doesn't really know. Her cheeks are faintly pink; it's clear she's flustered.]

He's very nice. Do you know Axel-kun?

[Why are matters of the heart so embarrassing to talk about?]

1/2

[galactically]

Axel?

[That name strikes Sheryl as familiar, somehow, repeating his name a few times under her breath as she taps her chin with her index finger. Didn't she spoke to him before?

Oh.]

[galactically]

That's the annoying guy I talked to at the BBS once! I remember him teasing me about something once.

[She proclaims, curling her lips into a pout like she accidentally ate a super sour candy piece. Not exactly the most adequate reaction, however... so she clears her throat. Ayumu must have discovered something positive about Axel to have a crush on him, of course. Love is unpredictable like that.

As soon as she remembers one more thing, her expression shifts into confusion, furrowing her lips.]

But wait a second, I thought he was Pippa's shinki. Did something happen?

[kagenonadeshiko]

[Oh. Right. Pippa.

That might be an issue for other people. Maybe she should keep quiet about the shinki part until she has a chance to talk to Axel again. Ayumu might know about his other gods but how many of his other gods know about her? He's never mentioned it and it's never really occurred to her to ask.]

Oh, he's still Pippa-san's shinki. That hasn't changed. But sometimes we help each other out when we need it.

[There. It's a vague version of the truth but it's the truth, nonetheless.]

He's been a good friend to me since we arrived. A very good friend.

[There's a slightly uncertain air to the way she says 'friend' though, as if it's a foreign word she's not quite sure she's using correctly.]

[galactically]

[Her brows furrow, a thoughtful expression settling across her features. It doesn't take long for Sheryl to figure out the hidden meaning: Axel is a nora, a shinki with multiple gods. According to Kazuma, if a god finds out that a shinki is a nora, they can be exiled or have their name revoked if desired.

This is the second time she has seen a goddess fall for a shinki, only it's someone else's. And that shinki is a nora.

Time to rub it in Slaine's face for later, but for now, she puts her focus on Ayumu.]

It sounds to me like he's a lot more than a "very good friend".

[She laces her fingers together and leans her chin on top of them, keeping her gaze riveted on the fellow goddess.]

Have you told this man about how you feel?

[kagenonadeshiko]

[Ayumu's the one who initiated this conversation but even so, it's hard to curb the impulse to withdraw. She's never been one to talk about her feelings or even acknowledge she had them. But she turned to Sheryl because this matter is out of her area of experience. Of course, she's well acquainted with the physical aspects of what goes on between a man and a woman but the emotional side of things has always been a mystery.

And so Ayumu pushes on regardless, as she would with any other challenge.]

In a way. I kissed him and he kissed me back. But we haven't seen each other or spoken with each other since. A new shinki came to me recently and there's been complications with him. I've been busy.

[Mostly getting stung and making sure Yamato doesn't just sit and stare at the wall.]

[galactically]

Just one kiss and that's it?

[She hikes her eyebrow at that, disbelief in her glimpse. If they haven't seen each other since then... that sounds like an awkward sign to Sheryl. Maybe they both needed a break to sort their feelings out, but with another shinki to the mix, more complications are to be expected.

There's no way Sheryl plans to leave things as they are, not when romance is right within Ayumu's grasp.]

You know what I think? [Certainty slips through in her tone.] That you should make more time with Axel when you can. It's only fair!

[kagenonadeshiko]

Really?

[It makes perfect sense to her. Of course, Ayumu doesn't know what those kisses to either. How could she? She's not even quite sure what they mean to herself, just that they meant something. Ayumu's been with many men in her life and gone much further than just kissing with them but it'd always been work-related. Maybe that's why this time felt different and why she's still thinking about it a week later.]

He hasn't called me or stopped by to visit... I didn't expect him to. He knows that things are awkward with my new shinki but...

[Still, she values Sheryl's input. She seems to know what she's talking about more than Ayumu does. She sits there a moment, briefly collecting her thoughts.]

I'll try. We should talk about it. Or do something together.

[Ayumu's skeptical about whether a couple of kisses and some mutual touching constitutes a relationship but she's also wise enough to know her past experiences aren't exactly normal either.]

[galactically]

What? Then make him come! That idiot needs to know what he's about to miss out on if you don't!

[While it's nice of him to know what transpired between Ayumu and this mystery shinki, Sheryl admits, she thinks he could spend a little more time with Ayumu for a change.

After a moment she nods in acknowledgment.]

Communication is as important as spending time with each other. [And then a pause, a melodramatic sigh:] Only then can romance truly bloom, like a rose with outstretched petals after being watered.

[kagenonadeshiko]

[It's all so interesting and a little humbling. Sheryl seems so much more knowledgeable than herself about things are supposed to work with real suitors. If Ayumu had her eye on a man from her own country and time period, she's confident in her charms. However, Axel's nothing anyone she's known before. Now that she's thinking about it more, it's part of what makes him attractive.]

You're right.

[There's a pause.]

How do I make him come? He's different from the men I know.

[She's never had much experience with real suitors, only targets.]

[galactically]

[Oh, the irony. Despite Sheryl's vast knowledge in romance, she even has trouble dealing with her own feelings towards Alto. With one failed relationship in the past, she doesn't want a repeat to happen between herself and him. Experiences have taught her that much.

Her head cants to one side a bit, leaning on one of her propped hands.]

Use your feminine charm to have him wrapped around your finger. [She lifts up a hand, curling a finger and waving it to mimic a thread.] Grab him by the collar of his shirt if he's one of those stubborn types!

[kagenonadeshiko]

Hmm. That sounds easy enough.

[Is Axel one of those types? Well, it's lucky that Ayumu's specialty happens to be gathering information, isn't it? And she's been using feminine charm to her advantage since she was a girl. It's a comfortable concept, much easier to think about than softer emotions.]

I suppose I could try a few different things and study his responses.

[Gathering information and seduction are her specialties, after all. Perhaps she should approach this like she would a target. Her motivations are different this time but what she knows should apply reasonable well to practice.]

OOC

[galactically]

(OOC: Continued here!)