( open. ) someone kneels and prays / amongst the wisteria / silence tells of pain.

[skirm]

WHO: Wanderer and YOU.
WHAT: Urban Legend number ▊▊▊ "The Ghost of a Kabuki Dancer", friendly but perhaps aggressive sparring, among others.
WHERE: Akasaka's Hikawa Shrine, Greenhouse, Simulation Arena, Brimstone Hallway.
WHEN: Throughout the month of December.
WARNINGS: None as of now!



000 — 『藤娘』 FUJIMUSUME
TAKES PLACE SOMETIME AT NIGHT BETWEEN THE HOURS OF 00:00 TO 6:00 AT AKASAKA'S HIKAWA SHRINE

( hearsay has it that between midnight and sunrise, the faint sound of shamisen can be heard coming from a shrine far, far from lilith's base. no one knows when it starts or when it ends, for the time always varies, as though a performance not meant to be heard or seen. if one catches sight of it —

for the month of december, hikawa shrine is decorated with artificial wisteria. the vocals, shamisen and percussion seem almost pre-recorded, for they are; there's no ensemble or choir to be seen, and the only attraction is a performer at the center of a worn-out stage. adorned in a purple kimono equally decorated with wisteria, their face is slightly obscured by a silky, and just as purple katsugi that sits atop their head. the performance itself is breathtaking, almost as though done by something inhuman. a doll, or even a puppet, with its delicate and precise movements, yet with unfocused eyes, as though this performance, too, is automated.

if he catches sight of you watching him dance, however, the performance will come to a halt, together with the music. maybe he recognizes you from lilith's base, maybe you're even in the same team — whatever the reason, the mysterious performer looks none too pleased, angry almost. as though his privacy had been infringed upon. )

You shouldn't be here. Leave.

( ... or, if he does not, in fact, catch you watching his performance, you'll be one of the lucky few to have watched it in full. the performer bows to no one in particular, and begins to collect the few props used to bring them inside the shrine's storehouse. you may help him, if you wish, or approach him to speak of his performance. you may even simply sit back and watch him from afar, but whatever you decide to do — he will notice, eventually, and be none too happy about your presence there. )

001 — Chorus of Desert and Wood
MAIN BASE: GREENHOUSE — VARYING TIMES OF THE DAY

( sumeru's rainforests became something ever-similar to home, if he were to have one. calming, soothing, comforting. inazuma's have always been too gloomy for his taste, the suffocating air of electro a reminder of his origins. snezhnaya's, too frigid, lacking in foliage most of the time. sumeru's have spoiled him, for when wanderer visits the greenhouse for the first time, he finds the air... unsatisfying.

as though it's not real, as man-made as he is. his eyes narrow in dissatisfaction.

there are many plants he does not recognize, and in spite of the warnings not to touch them, wanderer does hold the leaves between his fingers. it would be fine, probably, immune to poison as he is, artificial as they are. the texture, too, isn't half as soft and moist as the trees and plants of sumeru. the homesickness this all provides him is exhausting. what's the point of missing something that isn't his, anyways?

wanderer clicks his tongue at his own annoyance, making way for one of the caretaker robots to walk past him. he spots, then, you, visiting the greenhouse for whatever reason. though it is not like wanderer to make small talk — )

Being here is pointless. What's the point of a greenhouse if none of these are real? How meaningless.

( ... can you tell he's in a bad mood. )

002 — (shouki no kami voice) Bow before me, worm!
MAIN BASE: SIMULATION ARENA

( though not much interests wanderer around lilith's main base or neo-tokyo in general, the simulation arena, at the very least, had caught his eye. he had used it once, before, on their first briefing and simulation trial. it had felt real enough, and though he does not speak much of how he decided to approach the situation, it stayed in the back of his mind.

he could use it for training, probably. to kill time. the other recruits should have strengths, abilities, skills and powers of their own, from different places, different worlds. though wanderer is hardly as obsessed with fighting and challenging others as a certain someone he knows... he's not against it, the thrill of a fight well fought.

the hows, whys and whens aren't necessary. what matters is that seok had granted him and his sparring mate entry into the simulation arena, and standing ways before his opponent, wanderer couldn't help but wield a grin all familiar to times of old, when he had a rank within a certain group, and a name to call himself. though he has changed considerably in certain areas, he is, unfortunately, still as arrogant as they come. )

There's still time to turn back and give up, you know. It'd be understandable if you did, and foolish if not. No worries, I won't tell anyone.

( the tone of his voice is clearly mocking. does wanderer look like he's any trustworthy like this? )

note: since fighting threads aren't everyone's cup of tea, we can try and handwave most if not all of it. i don't mind writing it out, and mind even less having wan-chan's ass be kicked!

003 — JUST MEOW MEOW
MAIN BASE: BRIMSTONE HALLWAY — VARYING TIMES OF THE DAY

( it hasn't taken too long for wanderer to adapt to the abrupt change from his daily life to... this. whatever this is. it's an overall different atmosphere, from the green life that embraced sumeru to a technology-packed city that reeked, for the most part, of something ever-similar to inazuma.

it has, however, been taking him a considerate amount of time to adapt to this: a room filled with cats that have been following him for what feels like days now. he has tried to scare them off - it didn't work. he has tried to give them bowls of food somewhere far - they found him, still. he has even flown high and far, to no avail. over and over the cats find him, and it'd be fine, really, it would. if they didn't yell so much. therefore, cue the situation:

wanderer, annoyed at their incessant yapping, locks them outside of his door. they scratch at it, five cats trying to fit next to each other as they meow meow meow. eventually he opens it, throws some cat food at the middle of the hallway, and closes his door. a couple of minutes later they return, and resume their yelling.

he only has so much patience for this much noise - cue, again, the way his door is thrown open. )

I'm not going to let you back in until you all shut up with your crying! Go elsewhere and leave me alone, dammit!

( ... yes, the 500ish years old puppet is arguing with five cats. what about it. )

004 — WILDCARD

feel free to write me a prompt if we've discussed anything, or even if not! this will be a general catch-all for december shenanigans, so anything goes!

Comments

[cleansewithfire]

[ Sunrise can't tell whether this guy is actually unhappy that the cats seem insistent on sticking to him. If only because for all the yelling, it doesn't look like anything decisive has been done to try and get rid of them.

She looks at Wanderer for a moment, her expression still blank, then to the cats hiding behind him. Even though she's stepped back, they don't particularly seem to want to move from their current hiding place behind him. ]

I do, but animals do not like me. [ Read: They're afraid of her. ]

[skirm]

( stupid, then, he thinks. the one they shouldn't like is him, not her. he has so much blood on his hands, so many sins on his back. what reason is there for them to cling to him but denounce a seemingly innocent girl's presence?

so - wanderer sighs, and picks up one of the cats. it clings to him for dear life, clearly scared and needy both. though the claws sink on his skin, wanderer shows no sighs of pain.

he rolls his eyes at the clear display of fear at something that doesn't deserve it, and walks closer to sunrise. he turns around, so the cat climbing on his shoulder is facing her. )

There. Pet it. Cats are dumb ( ... simple ) creatures. If you're nice to them, they'll like you.

( ... like a certain someone... )

[cleansewithfire]

[ If anyone asked Sunrise, she would say it it reasonable, understandable, even, for animals to be afraid of her. It could even be a good thing, because fearing the dead meant they still had survival instincts, in her opinion. The ones that aren't tend to be inextricably tied to death themselves (which is not a circumstance that she would wish on anything), or...well, she can say she's had carrion eaters try to make a meal of her more than once. Very troublesome.

She watches Wanderer offer the cat for her to pet, and she tentatively reaches a hand out. She's still hesitant because it's afraid, but it would be a lie to say she didn't want to pet it. ]

...Is it really alright?

[skirm]

( his first response is to sigh, which is always telling by itself as a being that needs not to breathe. )

I'm already doing it, aren't I? Then of course it's fine.

( even if the cat isn't very happy about this predicament, but never that he would do something that would bring it harm. he brings a hand to its back, gently rubbing it to try and ease that weird sense of fear it has towards a girl who hardly seems like she would kill a fly. why be so attached to him, and denounce an innocent person?

how is this the second time this has happened, even? how are these cats so stupid? at least it seems to relax under his touch, and its claws aren't sinking into his skin anymore. )

There, it's no longer scared. Just pet it.

[cleansewithfire]

[ ...Since he's gone through all this trouble, she figures she should at least try. Sunrise finally reaches to pet it on its head gently. At first the cat bristles, but after a while it starts to relax because there's only so much resistance it can put up when someone's rubbing its ears. ]

It's soft...

[ Despite not emoting it very well, there's this distinct aura of joy from her. ]

[skirm]

( there we go. he can feel the cat purr at the petting, so easily giving in to what feels good. really, simple creatures. humans are much of the same - gullible, he'd call them, and naive to boost -, but cats aren't nearly as rational, and that's why he's fine with them. )

Duh. That's what fur feels like. ( because he's allergic to being nice, ) Do you want to try holding it?

[cleansewithfire]

I do not often get to pet fur. [ She says simply, like it's an explanation. ] It seems quite attached to you, though...

[ Which isn't a no. She would want to try holding it but she also knows it might be pushing her luck. ]

[skirm]

Only because I'm holding it. ( SOMEWHERE... IN THE BACK OF HIS MIND... he remembers a certain next next-door neighbor telling him cats will relax once they're picked up. sighs.

he holds the cat under its front legs, and it dingles in the air while he holds it to her. long cat style, you know... )

Take it.