[ closed ] Open Up Your Mind

[cleanmemory]

Who: Jade Curtiss and Watanuki Kimihiro
What: God and Shinki meeting!
When: April 14th, Morning
Where: Far Shore / Guanyin's Temple
Warnings: TBD


The first thing he noticed, once he got the run down of what was going on, was that his temple (his temple!) was incredibly huge. Impossibly huge. Big, big, big. And he...

...Was going to have to be in charge of cleaning it all, eventually. At the moment, it wasn't bad. A little more dusty in some places than others, but manageable, once he got down to it. But for now...

He decided he needed to do a bit of exploring of his new property. Watanuki started walking around the courtyard, past the intricate fountain that streamed out Holy Water, towards the front. He just had to see how big this place was. He was still in his yukata from when he was visiting with Yuuko. He didn't remember seeing any more clothes. He was going to have to do something about that, eventually.

"This is all way over my head..." It sounded like some crazy scheme Yuuko planned... but something inside of him told him that wasn't the case. And furthermore...

He had been told he had been assigned someone. Something? A shinki, but to as where or who or what it was, he had no idea. So exploring became something that would hopefully kill two birds with one stone: know the layout, find the shinki. Easy. Right?

Sure.

Comments

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Watanuki looked startled by the growl of his stomach. What the...

"...Hungry?" But he was dead! "...That's..." Well, he still got hungry, so... he supposed there was no reason for his shinki to not get hungry as well.

"I guess we'd better take care of that." He had a little food... but they were going to have to start working in order to get a steady flow of offering money, that was for sure.

[commoncurtissy]

He hadn't experienced hunger when he was just a lost soul, but now it was in full force. He could really go for something hearty.

"Lead the way" he said with a gesture. He was going to have to explore the vast temple sometime on his own. But for now, he'd follow his new master around.

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Watanuki nodded, before turning away, heading towards the perimeter of the temple. He entered through a circular doorway, into an open foyer. The high ceiling was intricately decorative, with angular designs in red and gold. A lantern light fixture hung down from it in the center. There were stairs on the sides leading up to a second floor. The floor was stone, with choice slabs decorated to match the ceiling's design.

He was walking through it, familiar with the inside already, leading Jade through hallways and past other rooms and to the back, where servants would be, in the kitchens.

Once they were there, he gestured to a space off to the side with a chair. "Sit down. I'll make you some tea to tide you over first."

[commoncurtissy]

Jade looked around the ornate temple, familiarizing himself with his surroundings as best he could so he could at least have a few reference points when exploring on his own later. It was a beautiful temple. There were elaborate details in the decoration and the colors were pleasing to the eye. He could get used to living here quite easily.

He went into the space and took a seat. He crossed one leg over the other and remained silent, drifting off into his own thoughts.

[cleanmemory]

The silence was fine with Watanuki. He was getting to work cooking, pulling out the few ingredients he had managed to get for making bulk meals for himself. Only now... he was going to have to find a way to feed another mouth. This was going to get interesting.

Rice, potatoes, spices... he rummaged through the cabinets, wondering what to make, before a flash of inspiration came in he form of Jade's memories. Curry. He had enough things to make it.

He took out all the ingredients before starting on the tea. Oolong might be all right here. There was boiling water, simmering leaves, and then finally...

Watanuki set the heavy cup and pot in front of Jade.

"Here you go. I don't have much in the way of snacks right now, so you'll have to hold off on food until it's ready."

[commoncurtissy]

Jade was pulled out of his thoughts as the tea cup and pot were put into his line of sight. He looked up at Watanuki and nodded.

"That's fine."

He poured his own tea and sipped on it carefully. It was brewed deliciously. He was rather impressed even if it was just a simple cup of tea. It was obviously made with care and knowledge of tea. And if this level of skill was apparent in tea, then he was really looking forward to his meal.

"This is delicious" he complimented.

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"Thank you." The god seemed to beam at the compliment. He was already getting to work on food, not wasting a second as he methodically moved around the kitchen.

"You probably haven't eaten in awhile. I'll make something hearty enough to tide you over until evening."

[commoncurtissy]

Jade just nodded, acknowledging the statement. He watched as Watanuki bustled about the kitchen. It was fitting that a god of Mercy could cook. That way, they could take care of the hungry.

He continued to sip on his tea and think.

[cleanmemory]

It didn't take long for Watanuki to set down a meal in front of Jade. A steaming bowl of rice topped with warm, thick curry ladled on top now stood temptingly before the newly-appointed shinki. Thick, plump, soft potatoes and fine-sliced carrots sat in a hefty stew.

With utensils and napkins supplied, Watanuki glanced over his handiwork. He nodded his head.

"All right. It's done. Make sure not to eat it too fast. And blow on it! It's still hot."

[commoncurtissy]

The food placed in front of him looked and smelled amazing. His stomach let out an aching groan to hurry him up and consume it.

His eyebrows raised a bit at all of the fussing as if he were a child and didn't know how to eat properly. Well then.

He sounded like...like....

"Don't you sound like a hen?" He commented as he spooned up some curry and rice and blew on it.

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"Like a--"

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What.

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"HEN?!" He spat out, and his eyes went wide, practically dilating in shock, anger--instantaneous response. "I AM NOT A HEN!

"I JUST COOKED YOU DINNER, SHOW SOME RESPECT!

"JUST SHUT YOUR MOUTH AND EAT!"

[commoncurtissy]

The spoon paused right before Jade parted his lips to take the first bite. That was...very unexpected. What a set of lungs on this one. What a temper.

A smile curled on his lips. The first smile he's shown his god until this very moment.

Oh he was going to have fun with this.

"Please excuse me if I don't understand. I'm not fluent in clucking" With that, he placed the spoon in his mouth--

It was delicious. Just like the tea, it was prepared to perfection. The combination of spices, the soft but not too soft potatoes, the thickness of the roux was all perfect. If he was going to be eating like this every day, then that could make up for the fact that his god couldn't even wield him.

[cleanmemory]

He was sputtering when Jade took his bite of food, but he managed to calm himself down enough to let the poor man eat. But he couldn't help but jeer at him.

"Then I guess I don't need to bother asking what you'd like for dinner."

[commoncurtissy]

"I'm sure I'll be satisfied with whatever you make" Because really, this was fantastic. He was already scooping up a decent sized spoonful of food right after swallowing his last bite. Sure, he was hungry and that might have enhanced the taste, but he was enjoying every bite of his meal.

[cleanmemory]

"Hmph." He made his displeasure audible. He turned his head away, going back to the kitchen to clean up.

"We'll need to find a room for you to sleep, too. Somewhere close so I can keep an eye on you."

[commoncurtissy]

"And why is that? Do you think I'm a troublemaker already?" he said. He took another bite and chewed it carefully. It was so wonderful. No wonder this boy was a god. His cooking was heavenly.

"And what about clothing?"

[cleanmemory]

"Yes." There was no hesitation to the answer. How dare he call him a hen. It reminded him of--

No. No. He wouldn't think of blasphemous names. He was a god now. "Also, I don't want to have to run across the whole temple if I need to summon you." Not that he knew what he'd be using him for, but...

"As for clothing..." His eyes swept over the long-haired shinki. Right now, the other was just in a white robe, and...

Oh.

He lifted his hand slowly. He reached out, towards Jade's chest to move the fabric away there with his hand.

"There's something..." Were there scratches or something on his chest? All he saw were red stripes...

[commoncurtissy]

Okay, well, he couldn't deny either of those reasonings. They were both true. One was more logical than the other, but both true.

Jade looked down to where Watanuki was about to touch and parted his robes slightly himself. There, Jihiki was tattooed right down the center of his sternum like a brand.

"This is the name you've given me" he said, just knowing what it was.

[cleanmemory]

It was in his writing too: precise and elegant. His mismatched eyes stared at it with open intensity. Right there. Dark, blood red. Jihiki. The hand that reached out continued it's course, but this time his fingertips faintly pressed against the characters on Jade's chest, the man's skin pliable underneath.

He'd named him. His actions branded him. This man...

This wasn't some strange joke. This man was really...

...His. A weapon of Guanyin--of Kimihiro.

[commoncurtissy]

Jade stiffened up slightly. It wasn't like he was completely adverse to being touched to the point to have a knee jerk reaction, but he wasn't comfortable with it either. He had a sort of bond with this boy now, so it wasn't a strange feeling to be touched so carefully, but he didn't like it.

He gently took his hand and moved it from his chest.

"You should finish eating. A hen has to keep up her strength, too. How else can she nest efficiently?"

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The calm look on Watanuki's face switched into one of irritation quicker than a lit match. "You little...

"...I'll eat later." Eating wasn't one of his big things. Maybe that was why he was so skinny. "Worry about yourself!"

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