[Action] 03 - Sopping wet

[souhi_no_arashi]

Growling Kurogane unbundled his cloak and headpiece, wringing one out and shaking the other a little drier, but it didn't do much good. He was still soaked from head to toe and pissed about it to boot.

That river spirit would regret its mischief if he could summon up a proper storm in his ire. He would flood it so completely that it would lose its banks and channel to teach it a lesson...

But given his situation, it really wasn't feasible. So instead all he'd managed was to blow a giant chunk of land out of the middle of the channel and now it was pooling in the new void before continuing on its merry way. Tch. He didn't hear or see sign of the spirit coming to laugh at them, so he figured he'd made his point at the very least. Maybe it would think twice before playing with the next crossers even after he'd been assured safe passage.

Not that he or Mokona had not crossed the narrow point of the river safely. They'd just managed to get soaked doing it due to a convenient surge in the flow of water and rocks along the bed sliding conveniently out from under foot.

Muttering unintelligibly, he tossed the still dripping cloak over a low branch and hung the head piece and his dripping wet bag (containing the lamp still thankfully, nothing had been lost in their little dip) and cask next to it and then proceeded to strip off his top to wring that out next.



(( OOC: Feel free to find them anyone who wants. And, Foxfire, feel free to have saved Mokona from the soaking too, of course. Mokona is resourceful at removing herself from harm's and mischief's way pretty often after all. XD ))

Comments

[blackkirin.livejournal.com]

It had all started out as just another day. Taiki had gotten up and washed, then eaten breakfast, then he'd done some reading until his eyes hurt and the sages had nudged him outside. Then it just hadn't been a good day. First he'd tripped in the maze and somehow fell into a cave, then he'd slid through a bunch of mud and into an underground river while trying to find his way back. And now he'd been washed up in some forest with no idea where he was. The river's spirit had been very contrite when it had finally taken a good look at him to realize he wasn't some thief after it's source, but it had no way of taking him back up the mountain either. And so Taiki had decided to just start walking back upstream until he could find something he recognized.
That was when he heard the man and Taiki froze. Should he hide until the man was gone? Should he ask for directions? The sages had always told him to run away if any strangers came to the mountain without permission, but he wasn't at the temple right then. The sopping boy glanced around frantically for a hiding place and spotted... absolutely nothing except for large tree, and he darted towards it.

[souhi-no-arashi.livejournal.com]

(( OOC: So, did Taiki end up in Axis Mundi due to this trip down a river or was his mountain area always near Axis Mundi and not in the Eastern Kingdoms and I just misunderstood before? ))

[blackkirin.livejournal.com]

((I'm only seeing a mountain range on the western edge of the Eastern territories so I thought that's where it would be. So it's probably near the western border in the mountains, but the trip down the river crossed him over from the Eastern territories into Axis Mundi. Does that make sense? I'm still waking up...))

[souhi-no-arashi.livejournal.com]

(( OOC: That totally works. I just wanted to make sure I understood that he got carried that far, because damn XD; Poor kid. ))

Kurogane stilled after a moment and glanced around silently, crimson eyes scanning the forest around them.

He wasn't one for playing games like hide and seek so he as straight to the point. "Who's out there?"

He didn't bother reaching for Souhi where it was leaning against the tree trunk yet, not threatened, just suspicious.

[blackkirin.livejournal.com]

((OOC: It was pretty much the only way I could see him getting out of the temple sooner rather than much later, other than have some sort of attack happen.))

Taiki grabbed the tree and grabbed the bark tightly. The man didn't seem angry anymore though that might not be exactly right. Maybe he was still angry but now he was suspicious too? He should have just stayed put! Taiki shivered slightly and tried to keep the tree between himself and the other person.

[dormantroyalty.livejournal.com]

A few yards away, Sakura had heard something that she usually was not privy to in the quiet forest - a voice, and one that she could understand at that. And even more amazing, it seemed that there were at least two, maybe more! Excited, but slightly cautious, she carefully made her way over to the voices and strained to hear what they were saying.

Slightly. Her guardians had said to be very wary of any strangers in the forest, as few and far between as they were, but curiosity took over before the thought even registered, and as a result she poked her head out from behind a tree without bothering to hide herself well in the least.

[souhi-no-arashi.livejournal.com]

Kurogane frowned as he heard a rustling at his call out, but no one came out to show themselves. He was about to call out again when he realized yet another person was approaching.

Now he was going to be cautious, being approached from two directions at the same time. His hand reached out slowly for Souhi's hilt when he caught sight of a pale face from the corner of his eye and he turned fully toward the girl who hid far less well than the other mysterious person.

Nothing more than a girl.

Watching her, he still called out to the mysterious presence once more, "Either come out and show yourself or get lost." He then slung his wet shirt over the branch with his cloak, turning his back to the girl. She obviously wasn't a threat after all.

[blackkirin.livejournal.com]

There was another sound of someone coming through the bushes and finally the first person called out in a voice definitely more irritated than angry. Taiki cautiously shifted little by little until he could see just barely around the edge of the tree. The sight of the tall, dripping man pulling his shirt off at least explained why he sounded so... un-nice. Taiki slowly came around the tree though he was ready to run away again at any moment. "Um... I'm sorry..."

[souhi-no-arashi.livejournal.com]

The man turned his head only slightly, catching sight of the boy sidelong.

Another kid, huh?

What the hell was wrong with those townsfolk. Dangerous? This forest was full of kids and weird talking meat buns. He rolled his eyes.

"You two lost or something?" he asked, nodding his head first to Sakura and then to Taiki, assuming they'd been together.

[blackkirin.livejournal.com]

Taiki looked around for a few moments but once again he didn't find anything at all that looked familiar. So he looked back at the rather intimidating man and nodded. "Is the temple close to here?" He asked hesitantly and then sneezed. Small hands reached up to wring the water out of his hair.

[dormantroyalty.livejournal.com]

"No... I live here. And I don't know of any temple." she chirped out easily. Out of all of the things Sakura chose to notice - the cautious stance he took, the dangerous looking sword, and the way he ignored her after he saw her, to name a few - it was the wet clothing she noticed. It hadn't been raining, so the water must have come from the river. Either he decided to take a swim, or he fell in, but either way, the man must have been cold, whoever he was. And it looked like the younger one had decided to do the same

"... Are both of you okay?" she called out. "You must be cold out here like that!"

[soel-ofthe-lamp.livejournal.com]

Mokona could hear not only Kurogane, but two new voices! Both voices sounded like they came from nice people, too. She hopped up onto the cask for a better look.

[souhi-no-arashi.livejournal.com]

Kurogane paused, considering for a moment. The girl didn't seem familiar with the boy, nor the boy with the girl. And so that's where the stupid manjuu went to.

"Far as I know there isn't any temple near here. I haven't seen anything like that since entering these woods," he finally offered, glancing back at the dripping boy. He must have come out of the river as well.

[blackkirin.livejournal.com]

"I'm alright!" Taiki said quickly, not wanting the nice-looking girl to worry about him. It wasn't windy or cold so he'd be fine. He was more worried about the sages finding him missing.

Taiki's face fell a little at the news. He knew he'd been carried for a long time, but he didn't know he'd gone THAT far. Did the river always do that to people who fell into it in the maze? He looked upstream and then at the man and the girl. "I suppose I'll just head back up the river then until..." He was startled mid-sentence as a ball-like rabbit came out of nowhere and he leaned over to look at it with wide eyes.

[dormantroyalty.livejournal.com]

"Up the river? I hope that's not too far..." and like Taiki had, she stopped mid-sentence as her line of vision went to the strange white creature that had jumped into view. Sakura looked at it for a second, not quite sure what kind of animal it was (she'd been privy to a lot of them, seeing as she lived out here).

[souhi-no-arashi.livejournal.com]

Kurogane regarded them both silently as they seemed to be distracted by the bouncing white creature. He could understand the confusion and curiousity at least. He sure as hell wasn't going to try and explain it though, that was for sure. He wasn't even sure what the hell it really was.

As far as he was concerned it was an annoying, bouncing, wish-granting, talking meat bun.

The man looked back to his cloak again and pulled it down again to wring it more thoroughly.


(( OOC: Moko-mun headed offline due to a lightening storm, so she'll probably get back to this tomorrow. ^.^ ))

[soel-ofthe-lamp.livejournal.com]

Mokona beamed and waved to her audience (they looked like nice people!).

"Hello~! Mokona and Kurogane sure are meeting a lot of new people today!"

[blackkirin.livejournal.com]

Taiki's eyes were wide with delight as the bunny spoke to them and waved. With a return smile for the cheerful creature, Taiki introduced himself, "I'm Taiki... Are you Mokona or Kurogane?"
After a slight pause he turned and looked up at the tall man's hair. Then he glanced questioningly at the girl. Kuro...

[souhi-no-arashi.livejournal.com]

"I'm Kurogane," the man said roughly, hanging the cloak back up. He didn't bother giving them his full name, it isn't like it mattered out here and he just didn't want to be mixed up with that white thing.

"What do you two want?" he asked finally, eyes narrowing on the soggy boy and the girl (who seemed to have no sense of danger from strangers). Clearly the boy was lost, but he must be out here for some reason to start with.

[blackkirin.livejournal.com]

Taiki shrank back towards the tree again quickly at the narrowing of the man's eyes. Kurogane had something about him that warned the boy not to get too close and the reddish eyes looked like the man was thinking about having him for his dinner. Taiki gulped slightly and shook his head.
"To go home." He whispered softly to himself before glancing at the rabbit and the girl. "Sorry to bother you..." He started backing away with the intent on leaving.

[souhi-no-arashi.livejournal.com]

Kurogane lifted an eyebrow. Skittish, timid thing. No place being out here alone. What the hell was he thinking? The child didn't really answer his question aloud, but Kurogane heard the soft word 'home' at least and it was fairly obvious what the boy meant.

"And home's the 'temple,' huh? And where is that temple?" he asked, in not quite as gruff a tone. It wasn't like he was pissed at the child. He was just soaked, a bit cold, and thoroughly annoyed in general. But even speaking neutrally, Kurogane didn't really come off as the "friendly" sort either way.

[blackkirin.livejournal.com]

Rough bark tickled his palm as he touched the comforting mass of the tree next to him. It would be rude to leave when he was still in a conversation. He hadn't exactly meant the temple, but either place would be better than being lost and alone.

"The temple?" Taiki thought for awhile but since he didn't exactly know where it was himself other than to know which mountain range it was in, it was rather hard. "It's on a mountain with a huge maze, and there are a few other mountains around it. And there are lots of flowers now." Taiki tried thinking more about how to describe it. "And there are four gates at the bottom of the mountain and a huge wall."

[souhi-no-arashi.livejournal.com]

Hn. Sounded like a sacred mountain of some sort. Which made sense if it had a temple on it. However, it wasn't like he could remember a specific one matching that rather vague description.

"Does it have a name?"

[blackkirin.livejournal.com]

"A name?" Taiki looked startled and shook his head quickly. He'd never heard it called anything specific, they'd just used 'the temple' or 'the pavilion' or 'the upper loon pond' to describe things. He guessed that his description didn't help much so he sighed. He wasn't even able to answer Kurogane's questions right.
"The sages told me they were opening one of the gates soon, so they'll be worried soon." Taiki blinked and looked at Kurogane. "Ah! They're all women, does that help?"

[souhi-no-arashi.livejournal.com]

(( OOC: Ack, gah, sorry! I forgot that they are both on hiatus and *is a spaz* ))

Kurogane considered for a moment then eyed the kid once more. "Aren't you a boy?" he asked slowly. If it was all women, why did they have a lone boy living with them?

[blackkirin.livejournal.com]

((*l* No worries, I was waiting for all/any of you to come back and plotting. Poor Kuro may soon have the urge to pull his hair out though...))

Taiki nodded and looked at Kurogane with open curiosity. His hair was a bit longer than he used to wear it so he wondered... "Do I look like a girl with my hair longer? I didn't think about that..." Taiki trailed off and fiddled with the ties on his tunic. He was starting to dry off a bit thankfully so he wasn't dripping anymore.

[souhi-no-arashi.livejournal.com]

A twitch began to develop as Kurogane shook his head. "Why is a little boy living with a bunch of women on a sacred mountain, huh?" he tried again, much more to the point, even as his hand went to the back of his wet hair, fingers going through shorn close locks.

Besides long hair did NOT make someone look like a woman! he thought in irritation, thinking of the long hair he'd lost when they banished him.

He's going to EAT ME! DX

[blackkirin.livejournal.com]

At the twitch Taiki shrank back a little bit but managed to keep himself from running away. He hadn't dealt with strangers, much less grown men of the irritable persuasion, for over a year. It was harder than he remembered!

"Because they were taking care of me." Taiki answered logically. "They said they'd been searching for me for a long time since I was lost, and about a year ago they found me and took me back. So now we all live together." And he was really starting to miss them and their calm assurance, too.

[souhi-no-arashi.livejournal.com]

Kurogane lifted an eyebrow at him again. Temple women taking care of and searching for a little boy... there must be something special about this kid then. They would definitely notice him missing at some point. Sooner rather than later if he was that important....

But until then, he was out here alone in the woods and seemed rather helpless. He sure didn't look like he could defend himself agaist much of anything if it came down to it.

Tch.

"They'll come looking for you again if you're that important. You should find someplace safe and stay put until they do. Otherwise something's going to just eat you out here," Kurogane explained gruffly. "Or you'll get robbed or something."

[blackkirin.livejournal.com]

Taiki took a few long moments to think that over. True, it might be better to go downstream and find a town rather than try going back upstream. He was supposed to be able to tame monsters, but so far he hadn't had any luck at all with that. He still thought the animals thought he was being silly when he tried. If he was in a town he could at least find out where he was in any case and go from there. Maybe he could even find a messenger bird... Wait, that would require money probably. Taiki suddenly checked his pockets only to find a few acorns, a frog, and a wet feather. He let the disgruntled frog go back into the river gently. So that left him with just his clothing then, but maybe he could a job?

Taiki stood up again with a more determined look and nodded to himself. "I should go to a town then, right? Do you know of one?" Taiki looked up at the man curiously.

[souhi-no-arashi.livejournal.com]

Frowning, Kurogane watched the boy empty his pockets only to find nothing of any value. The next question only furthered his opinion that this kid was fairly helpless out here.

"Supposedly there's two major towns on either side of this forest, further south into this land, but I haven't found either yet. Otherwise, there were a few smaller places I've passed since leaving the Eastern kingdoms..."

He eyed the boy's much shorter legs and figured it would be quite a walk for him on top of that. Not to mention that Kurogane himself had been targetted by bandits. While they had been idiots to try someone like him, this little scrap of a boy would be easy pickings.

...Not that it was his problem.

[blackkirin.livejournal.com]

Taiki closed his eyes for a few moments and listened to the birds chattering and felt the wind on his face. He recalled his human father once telling him that if he ever got lost, find a stream and follow it down rather than up. It took less work, and eventually he'd come to a road or a town. But what if the stream branched off later? He tried remembering the maps he'd seen but all he could remember was random forests and mountains that hadn't gone into much detail. Finally he opened his eyes and nodded slightly. It was better to keep closer to the mountains than to stray too far.
"Thank you, Kurogane-san!" He smiled cheerfully now that he'd made up his mind and turned to start heading back towards the mountains. But first... he unfastened his tunic and tied it around his waist so that his undershirt would dry faster while he walked. Then held in a wave of nausia.

[souhi-no-arashi.livejournal.com]

Not his problem. Not his problem.

He watched the boy walk away, clearly making up his mind to wander away alone.

"...oi."

Damnit. He'd opened his mouth.

"Do you even know what direction you are going?"

Not to mention he was still rather wet. He should at least dry his clothing. Didn't he have any common sense? Tch.

[blackkirin.livejournal.com]

Taiki looked back at Kurogane in startlement at the question. He nodded politely and pointed, "I'm going towards the mountains. If I follow the river up again, maybe I'll find the big gates."

Taiki blinked and then looked at Kurogane curiously while the fact that his choice was pretty illogical for a kid sailed over his short stature. "Are you going to the mountains? Is there a town up there?"

[souhi-no-arashi.livejournal.com]

"I'm not. I'm heading west for now. Eventually we'll come to a town of some sort though...."

Kurogane knew he'd regret his next words and wasn't entirely certain why he even bothered, but maybe this was a test. A sacred temple with a lone important boy... maybe his sister was testing him somehow. If he could prove himself again quickly, maybe that would be the end of this nonsense.

"If you won't be a nuisance and stay out of my way, you could follow us to the next town. There will at least be a map there and you could find your mountain."

[soel-ofthe-lamp.livejournal.com]

Kurogane was actually a nice person under the growling and grumpiness, huh? And maybe if Taiki was with them, his sweet personality would bring out even more of Kurogane's inner niceness! Mokona sang out from the sidelines.

"With more people, we can all have more fun together, right~?"

[blackkirin.livejournal.com]

Taiki looked up at the man with wide, astonished eyes. He hadn't expected the stranger to offer to let them travel together. Then he turned in startlement as the bunny-thing spoke up cheerfully. Finally he nodded and broke out into a smile. "Thank you very much! I'll try not to be any trouble!"
Taiki made it two or three steps before starting to fall forward right on his face though. There was the smell of blood on him from some scratches, and after the long trip down the river and the excitement of finding himself in such an unknown place, there was only so long that a boy could keep himself awake.

((Yeah, couldn't help it! But yeah, Taiki's going to pass out for awhile from exhaustion!))

[souhi-no-arashi.livejournal.com]

Kurogane watched as the various emotions flit over the boy's face quite plainly before he answered him.

...hn. At least this way maybe the white thing would have someone else to babble at.

When the boy began to fall, red eyes turned skyward, rolling as he begrudgingly walked over to the fallen child. Frail little thing, wasn't he... "What happened to not being any trouble? Tch," he grumbled, leaning down and scooping the slight body up easily. He slung the boy over one shoulder and held him in place, glancing at his own clothing still hanging from the tree. It would have to do for now, he guessed. Snatching them down, he glanced sidelong to where the girl had appeared from before, curious if she'd run off or not.

(( OOC: SO, if Sakura likes she can come and say some stuff or we can leave it off assuming she'd skittered off at some point because Kuro's a grumpy-pants XD ))

[souhi-no-arashi.livejournal.com]

(( OOC: So, since Fay sent that letter conveniently enough, can I go on assuming that Kuro could have asked about it and the bird? If so, he's gonna figure he can dump Taiki at this tower-place then since the sages have contacted Fay there already and could find him there easily enough. Want to ask you first though since it's assuming that Taiki would offer up the information upon being asked. ))

[blackkirin.livejournal.com]

((OOC: Sure! That works really well for me, though I'd figured that it would take a day or three for the bird to find Taiki. Should we start a new action post for that, or use this one?))

[souhi-no-arashi.livejournal.com]

(( OOC: Yeah, it would have. And they'll have to follow the bird for a day or two back too, but don't worry about making an action post. Mari offered up Fay to start something and set it up for them to get there. Unless you wanted to RP some of them on their way there, which I'm fine with. If so, go ahead and do an action post and I'll jump in. XD ))

[blackkirin.livejournal.com]

((OOC: *sweatdrops* Sorry about the semi-disappearance, my parents are back in the country for the summer so they kidnap me for family time off and on. Eventually word would probably get around that Taiki's missing, so neer-do-wells are a possibility, but otherwise that sounds great to me!))

[souhi-no-arashi.livejournal.com]

(( OOC: Oooh, I see I see. Well that be fine with me and uh, I already started it, so here ya go. XD ))

[blackkirin.livejournal.com]

((OOC: YAY!!))