[attr="class","sbox"] Kwai Tze-keung snuck some water from the fountain into his hands, splashing it on his face so as to freshen up for the day. He scratched at his neck and in doing so warded off the pests that had bothered him during the night.
Taking out a small tin from his rucksack, the halfling produced a few pieces of salted meat. He took one and distributed the remaining pieces to the stray dogs that laid at his feet. He'd yet to give them names but felt he was approaching the point of coming up with some good ones.
Thinking up one name was difficult enough as is, but three was a different matter entirely.
Wiping clean the inside of the tin with a rag and more fountain water, he extended his battle-scarred arm from beneath his fur cloak, shaking the tin so as to attract attention. His deep voice cut through the crisp cold unique to morning air: "Donations for those displaced by the destruction of the slums?"
He'd asked twice if there was a better line to say. The faerie at the kitchen seemed quite busy just serving those in line, let alone suggest punchy phrases. It had worked well enough previously, and those living at the campsite did appreciate what little he had been able to bring to them.
"Donations for those displaced by the destruction of the slums?"
As pedestrians continued attempting to ignore him, Kwai played fetch with the strays, gently tossing a dagger sheath for them to retrieve.
Nice to Meetcha. I'm the Great Ninja, Arisa Amane!
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Arisa took long strides through the park occasionally jumping to see whether or not her mask might fall off. "Sturdy as heck," she noted taking larger and larger jumps on the sidewalk with each step. "That's just Amane technology for you. We just breakin' the game over here." She chuckled to herself, striking a small pose as she whispered. "-the great ninja, Arisa...."
It wasn't before long in her idle roaming in the park she came upon a familiar face. Oh no, it was...Kwai? What we he doing with a little cup up here? Oh no, oh no. She quickly made her way up a tree beside him pretending to be stealthy, but really, she kind of wanted to be seen. Quietly, she hung from the tree behind him. "Pssttt! Kwai! Kwai!" she gestured for him as she surveyed the area carefully.
[attr="class","sbox"] The warrior had sheathed the dagger and was preparing to move to a different location with his canine cadre when he'd heard his name called out by an amicable voice.
Telling the dogs to heel, he turned to the tree nearest to him. A blue kitsune mask-wearing angel had managed to conceal their entire self, minus their head, in the bushy branches. Who could forget the owner of that sprightly voice? He scratched his beard with a smile and pondered if he should play along.
"Good day to you, thine kitsune mask is finely crafted. I'm afraid if you've ambushed me with the intent to take my coins, you'll meet only disappointment." he joked, showing the empty tin.
"I was actually," Kwai paused to pack his bedroll, "I was actually going to move to a different location, so if you want to rob me, you may want to wait until after the lunch rush pedestrians have passed me by." laughed Kwai.
He leaned against the tree and smiled again, heartily saying, "I'm only joking. The lunch rush pedestrians rarely donate. That again is a joke. I figured it could only be you, Arisa, who could sneak up a tree and surprise me, of all people!"
Nice to Meetcha. I'm the Great Ninja, Arisa Amane!
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Arisa held a moment silence before letting out a large sigh. "You're stupid, aren't you?" she flipped herself off the tree landing noiselessly on the ground in a T-pose. She put her hands in her pockets. "That's not my name. It's... Sparrow. Ignore the fox mask. It's Sparrow, Okay?" she whispered as took off the mask before anyone around her could connect her identity. It was perhaps obvious to everyone other than her than a simple mask and a nickname would conceal the fact that she was part of the only ninja clan in all of Pavane.
"Kwai, it's not a good look you know," she tilted her head. "A halfling sneaking into Upper Pavane asking for sympathy funds for the race the Council literally destroyed like, five minutes ago? This is serious! They will-" she stopped herself. "Look, if you wanna talk, I can show you to my suuuper secret base. The Council has eyes and ears everywhere you know. If you don't wanna die, I suggest you come with me. And fast. We won't be out of earshot much longer." She noted the presence of a particular rat bastard for the Council about to make their way here any moment. "
[attr="class","sbox"] Kwai listened with a serious look on his face. He gave a solemn nod and lowered his voice, "Mine apologies, Sparrow. My wits have not been as close to vest as they should be as of late. I perchance thought that pursestrings would be looser here or that hearts would be kinder. The Park used to be open to all, truly open to all, you know."
He fed the last bits of meat to the dogs and pat each one on the head. "I'd be honoured to be shown to your super-secret base, if not just to hide from the prying eyes of the Council. I hope it's animal-friendly. These two ladies and one chap have been very adept at keeping me company, actually." he chuckled.
"As for the slogan, I am still open to suggestions." said Kwai as he packed away the tin can and hoisted his belongings onto his back.
Nice to Meetcha. I'm the Great Ninja, Arisa Amane!
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Noticing his proximity now, Arisa quickly changed her tune. "Yeah, open to anyone but your kind at least," she voice was notably lower and attempted to sound more dismissive. "I am taking you AND your miserable little puppers (let's call them the Tetrad of Destruction. Or was it Triad? I can't remember. Triad of Adorableness? Gah..) I am taking all of you back to Middle Pavane where you belong!" She pulled out a thin string and tied it quickly around Kwai's wrists as she heard his voice. "Arisa. You are here for what purpose?" Genji Amane, her father, spoke approaching the duo as the dogs moved away from him. "I am delivering justice to a halfling who dared step foot in Upper Pavane, Sir," her voice was meek as she gave a deep bow. He rose an eyebrow, appraising the situation. After a moment, he spoke again. "Perhaps your marks will grow after all," he turned away. Arisa dared not raise her head until his footsteps were out of earshot, a formality in the Amane clan for their leader. She tugged Kwai's string whispering, "Alright, let's go. Sorry, not very good at slogans. I steal most of mine anyways." She began moving with the doggos and and Kwai in tow. "
[attr="class","sbox"] Kwai looked at the dogs trailing behind them and clicked his tongue, making sure they followed. He caught a glimpse at the man Arisa had pushed him away from, even going as far as to turn him such that Kwai did not face them as they spoke. "I don't suppose this is out of some concern for the elderly and finding walking difficult, is it?" he joked lightly, gesturing at the string.
His boots clacked on the stony path she led him down. The dogs' paws did similar. "I'll take any help I can get, but it looks like you were awfully distressed by whoever that man was." commented Kwai.
"I don't intend to ask anything uncomfortable, however. Just an observation." The warrior moseyed on to Arisa's tune as the three dogs kept pace adjacent to the two.
Nice to Meetcha. I'm the Great Ninja, Arisa Amane!
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Loosening her grip on string the further away Genji was, she replied, "I wish it was that simple, gramps. Sorry if I hurt you. Those things can give some sick rope burn and it itches like hell, trust me. I don' think I tangled you that badly though." She paused and sighed, "That was my biological dad. Head of the Amane Clan. He has a stick up his ass is all. Less observing and more walking. We are almost there." She recognized her tone and contemplated how much Elizabeth had been rubbing off on her. She reached up to the marking on her right eye, noting its decrease in size in the past few minutes alone.
Soon enough, they reached a large cardboard box overflowing with trash in a cramped alleyway, unpaved and unimproved. Moving the box revealed a small rabbit hole. An illusory measure, the hole was about fifteen times as big as it appeared initially. "Ladies first," she shoved them in without so much as an explanation
Once inside the musty cave, Arisa went to light a few candles before turning to Kwai again, taking off the rest of her disguise. She placed it on one of the three splintering chairs surrounding a table with a broken leg. Lined on the table, maps and diagrams of Upper Pavane, houses therein, and of the Council Building itself - namely the Ankokku Ballroom. "So, how much did you earn?" she asked as she sat down in one of the chairs gesturing for Kwai to do the same. "Sorry, doggies, I ain't got any doggie chairs." "
[attr="class","sbox"] The warrior Kwai clicked his tongue at the dogs, and they sat around him. "Well, today's earnings are nil, unfortunately. But if I wake early, I may be able to recoup lost efforts tomorrow. I don't believe I'm the only one asking for donations on behalf of the refugees so perhaps some others had better luck."
He looked about the quaint cave. "This is a very nice base of operations. I would have put a, uh, a wooden support pillar, yes, just next to that space there. But it seems like you're doing fine without it so," he shrugged and smiled, impressed by the construction prowess displayed. "If I'd known people who could build defensive fortifications such as this, like yourself, I'd have enjoyed a very comfortable advantage back then."
Kwai raised a hand and knocked on the roof a touch harder than he should have, causing the place to tremble for a second. The dogs whined and the warrior was quick to utter an apology, "Oh my. I'm quite sorry for that. I don't, uh, it's getting harder to be more precise with applications of force for me, these days. Wooden support pillar, may actually still be handy for you." said the halfling behind a sheepish laugh.
Nice to Meetcha. I'm the Great Ninja, Arisa Amane!
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Arisa scratched her head as she leaned back in the creaking chair placing a foot on the table before her. "Well because you are so awesome, gramps, you're about to get more than you could ever wish for today. As it turns out, us Amanes carry our weight in gold." she chucked two large pouches full of gold in front of Kwai. "I think I can trust ya's with that money. Most people up here wouldn't dare give you anything though, so just let me know if you need any more." As she spoke, again her markings retreated back to her eye if only by an inch.
Yeah, the place was cool enough during the ghoul uprising, but since all of that was over and done with, she had spent more time there alone than with others. She smirked at his joke. "Of course! This place is just a hint of the genius of the Great Ninja! And don't you forget it. A pillar would have been nice though, you're right. Any support really. I don't use this place all that much anymore though. If you and your little cuties," she reached down to pet one, "find yourself tired and in Upper Pavane (god forbid), you can sneak your way here for a quick nap. If I catch ya nappin', I'll give you some breakfast in bed, how about that? I can give you an old Amane recipe that has been around since the dawn of time! How about that?? Huh?" "
[attr="class","sbox"] Eyeing the pouches warily, Kwai then caught sight of Arisa's marking shift. Being a half-angel himself, he had learned as a child about not only the social importance the markings held but also the profound effect they could have on an angel's physical and mental capacities. "This sort of kindness cannot be repaid, and as such, I would not feel to be myself should I accept. That, and I do believe gold coins to be the accepted form of currency nowadays. These are ingots. Still impressive but rather difficult to, uh, make use of in their present form." said the warrior as he scratched his chin. "In any case," he started with an upbeat tone so as to avoid disappointing the ninja, "I appreciate your offer. I'm between housing at the moment, but I would hate to impose. Though, any breakfast I'm offered, I tend to immediately accept." Kwai laughed.
He thought better of asking about the marking situation, in his limited experience discussing it with others, he came to the conclusion that it really was a personal struggle of conviction, generally. Certain angels, certain angel families seemed to warp the dynamic of the markings, retaining them while going against what Kwai at least considered to be the common moral grain. Amanes, he'd heard that name before. Had he known Arisa to be an Amane prior to this? His recall was not nearly as sharp as it used to be, leaving him guessing. In any case, she had not tried to kill him on sight, nor had the man whom Arisa had greeted as her father. Perhaps Kwai had been all but forgotten about?
"Um, what would the old Amane recipe happen to be? I can't imagine Denji would carry on a recipe, let alone a tradition." he joked. Wait, Denji? That was someone he'd known, right? It wasn't nearly a common enough given name for Kwai to have imagined it, surely?
Nice to Meetcha. I'm the Great Ninja, Arisa Amane!
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Arisa frowned, seeing his reluctance to accept the money. "Okay then. Maybe I can help you with rebuilding efforts more directly then? I may not look like it, but my stamina is something else! I can make houses oror furniture oror read bedtime stories to the kiddos!" she was very excited at the idea.
Even more excited now at his receptiveness, she quickly responded, "breakfast tacos. They are like tacos, but sometime even better because of the egg added in and...Oh wait, you know pops, huh?" she perked up immediately at the idea. "Maybe I can have you over for dinner then sometime too! But..." she contemplated more deeply what that meant for her. If Denji knew Kwai, so too did Genji. "...shit," she muttered frozen in fear. a cold sweat dripped down her face as she began to collect all of the scattered papers on the table. "We have to get out of here, Kwai. It' s been nice having you, but we have to hurry. Gunna have to revoke the offer to stay here too. Shitshitshit," she whispered hastily gathering the rest of her important supplies. "
[attr="class","sbox"] "I understand, I hope I've not caused any sort of offence to your person." The warrior quickly gathered his things together again and wrangled his dogs together, getting them ready to make a hasty exit. He frowned, noticing the expression the angel had taken on. "Well, I hope, uh, to see you again in the future. Will you be quite alright? You seem distressed again." Kwai said, whistling to get the dogs moving out of the base.
The warrior scratched his head. Had it been something he'd said? Denji... How did he know that name?
Nice to Meetcha. I'm the Great Ninja, Arisa Amane!
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"Distressed? Nah, it's fine. Just realized pops will kill me if I'm out late," she laughed nervously, attempting to change her demeanor. "No offense at all! And if you need me ever, don't be afraid to reach out. You're doing the goddesses' work. Catch ya on the flip side, gramps (and doggos too)," she exclaimed practically pushing them back outside.
It was of the utmost importance she keep her meeting with this halfling a secret, but she had an urging suspicion her schemes would not go unpunished... "
Living in a dystopian society, seven mystic races are trapped due to their own selfishness. Tensions rise between the races and the different social classes, leading up to the constant struggle for power, with no end in sight.
News
4/11 - With the Ghoul Purge complete, Pavane's fear shifts from the goddesses towards the Council. Check out the aftermath here to get an understanding of the current situation in the plot.
MYSTICAL SOULS belongs to YUMEKUI, DYLZOE AND LUNARIS. This is an original plot created by staff members.. The skin "Midnight Madness" was created by Dorothia. This includes Board Mod, Mini-Profile Mod and such. Thread list was made by Kagney. User Profile mod was made by Pharaoh Leap. Graphics belong to their rightful owner. Plagiarism is not appreciated and will not be tolerated.
