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Post by CY_Definitive on Oct 2, 2009 5:53:11 GMT -7
No...I'm not los-...crap, yes I am, there's the town...
Dauntless as ever, JP kicked off the ground and into the late evening sky. Though he had been informed that finding the border here would be impossible, he was trying to make an attempt to at least find some landmarks that could be used to identify his route. No way he was lost, of course. He could simply look towards the moon if he lost his way.
That said, flying didn't seem to be helping much either. The forest and town seemed to be every which way he looked, though he could have sworn he saw the shrine earlier. But that was a pointless discovery: the rumor stated that certain Youkai were hunting humans across the border, and he highly doubted that they would do so at the shrine, which seemed more like a reststop for people to get together and such.
His ability to scan in the different spectrum didn't seem to help either. Other than being able to spot creatures and foreign objects (who seemed uninterested in him), he couldn't locate any spot in which a natural disturbance would indicate a border. Doing so from the human side was of no use either: it just looked the same.
Unfortunatly, that was the best way he could look too. Sure, he could travel to each side of the border by himself, but he needed to go to the moon first, and that was an indirect route from which he couldn't see the supposed border location anyway.
Maybe I should stop off in the town and see if I can't help some lost individuals. Or get some food he thought, landing in a small clearing and watching the sunset paint the sky.
Of course, he had all the time in the world, so why rush?
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Post by Schala on Oct 2, 2009 13:00:07 GMT -7
Mmmph. All these books were so heavy, so Kitria was quite grateful for the satchel Akyu had given her, and just about every book of legend was in there. She had been reading about the Lunarians and wondered if she could see the moon. Perhaps when she met Caedir again they could go there...
Lately, she had just been wandering, looking for something interersting, so she thought the first step might be the Great Hakurei Border. This was where the Hakurei Shrine was.
She sat down and began to read, not even noticing the boy nearby.
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Post by CY_Definitive on Oct 2, 2009 18:44:22 GMT -7
The sunset, as nice as it was, proved to be a small distraction, and JP set about to walking back in forth, deep in thought.
I must be overlooking something he thought as he paced to and fro, unaware of the approaching creature.
If these Youkai in question were seeking humans to attack and eat, then maybe they'd only appear when they find the opprotunity. But wait, how come he remained unaccosted so far? Sure, he looked equal part human and lunarian, but he didn't think that would dissuade anyone from contact.
JP paused, looked around, and continued walking until he finally saw the creature. Well, sorta saw. He knew something was there when he noticed an increased infrared (heat) signature nearby. A bright smile lit his features as he trotted on over to the person, behind them.
As he approached, he noticed several things of interest. First off, this was a female Youkai. A part of him said to be on guard, but that didn't make sense after he noticed the second thing: this Youkai wasn't attacking him, or anyone who looked human. In fact, she wasn't even moving. She was just sitting there, reading.
His face scrunched up, and he turned around, deep in thought once more. The main topic up for discussion now was on how to make contact. If the Youkai didn't know he was here, he might startle her, and that would make a bad first contact if she attacked out of surprise. Turning to face her back once more, he tried to think of a way to alert her to his presence.
Smiling, he found it.
JP raised his right hand up, and pointed it to her back. His eyes focused on the point between her shoulder blades as his hand began to glow very very slightly red. Seconds after, he gently began to wave his hand.
He was sending infared waves toward her back. Not much, but just enough. If this worked, she would feel a soft, warm sensation (like sitting a distance away from a heat source like a fire) on her back. Hopefully, this would cause her to turn around and spot him.
Of course, he thought he should probably bend the visible light around him to minimize his visibility to her, but he didn't know how she would respond to seeing some kind of humanoid sillhouette standing there.
Softly, he spoke, once he figured the heat waves would reach her.
"What are you reading?"
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Post by Schala on Oct 2, 2009 19:25:41 GMT -7
Kitria was so immersed in her book that she didn't bother to look up until she felt...warmth? Hm?
She looked up and saw a boy. He looked human, but Kitira couldn't be sure. He had asked what she was reading.
"It's legend of Gensokyo," she replied. "This one is the second one written. It's called The Story of Eastern Wonderland. Apparently there was a youkai invasion at the Hakurei Shrine."
Kitria was happy. This boy was the first person she had talked to since Keine and Akyu.
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Post by CY_Definitive on Oct 2, 2009 20:57:58 GMT -7
Slowly, and smiling, he stopped the heat and put his hand down, happy that he didn't startle her.
"A Youkai invasion of the Shrine?!" he said, surprised entirely. That threw his whole theory out the window about the human hunting taking place in a somewhat clandestine fashion. But wait, she said she was reading about a legend. Does that mean it happened for real?
"That's interesting, because I came here to find some sort of landmark for this "border" that we're currently treading. Or, at least, I imagine we are," he said, looking down at the ground beneath his feet with an unsure expression. "Apparently, there's a rumor that some Youkai are crossing the border to fins humans to beat and eat, and I came to see if that's true" he said, sounding more curious than accusatory.
Feeling safe, he moved over to where she was sitting and sat himself, looking at her books curiously before looking at her.
"Say, aren't you a Youkai?"
He spotted the tail, which didn't look like anything he'd seen before. She must be a unique Youkai. Good fortune must have been his today, discovering something new.
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Post by Schala on Oct 3, 2009 13:11:32 GMT -7
Youkai were trying to cross the border to do what?
"Yes, I'm a platypus youkai," Kitria said. "But I don't eat humans. And I must say I'm not pleased with youkai who do and are trying to cross the border. Humans are innocent. I don't know why anyone attacks them, who in their right mind--"
She quickly stopped herself when she realized she wasn't letting the boy say a word.
"I'm sorry," she said. "You can say something now. I'm Kitria, by the way."
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Post by CY_Definitive on Oct 3, 2009 18:02:31 GMT -7
JP felt extremely pleased AND dissapointed at the same time.
The dissapointment part concerned the fact that she herself was not out to get humans, and had no idea about who would do so. The trail on that rumor, sad as he was to admit it, had just gone cold. The sun did nothing but retreat behind the horizon, and pretty soon, it would take a large effort to keep up the search, much less continue to maneuver around what he figured might be the border.
On the other hand, he'd never met a Platypus Youkai. He made sure to remember every detail about her race. Of course, not wanting to sound like he regarded her as some kind of scientific discovery:
"I must not've met enough platypus Youkai then" he said, sounding resigned to a fact. "Because you're a very pretty youkai. Is it just you, or are all platypus Youkai good-looking?"
As cheesy as he may sound, it was, in all honesty, a truthful observation on his part. He was more curious about her race than anything else.
"Oh, and it's fine. I'm Junpei, but you can call me JP" he said, taking a slight, respectful bow. "I'm half human, half lunarian. Do you come here to read, or did you get lost as well?"
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Post by Schala on Oct 3, 2009 18:16:16 GMT -7
Wow. JP seemed interested.
"It's nice to meet you," Kitria said. "And I haven't really met any other platypus youkai. I have met a Lunarian and a seal youkai and one other human, but really no other of my kind.
"And I'm not lost. I was just wandering looking for someone to talk to. That's why I'm glad I met you. I haven't talked to anyone in so long."
He was a Lunarian human? Well, she had heard that Lunarians and humans could get together, but this was the first Lunarian human she had met.
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Post by CY_Definitive on Oct 4, 2009 4:16:19 GMT -7
Yep, he was definitely gonna have to get out more. The more he thought about it, the more he realized his knowledge of Youkai was rather limited, compared to the compendium he carried on other species (mostly human, lunarian, and oni, the party animals).
"Oh, well then I've appeared at a fortunate time then" he said happily as she revealed she was looking for someone to chat with. JP supposed he was a good talker, but honestly, he just followed with what he could.
Moving to find a new seat, he thought better of it and simply hovered some feet off the ground, crossing his legs and taking a quick look around before his eyes found hers again.
"Since we have all the time in the world, I suppose, tell me, what are your abilities?" he asked, curiously.
"And if you feel cold, lemme know" he added, noticing the sun had completed its retreat, the moon moving to take over the heavens above completely.
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Post by Schala on Oct 4, 2009 14:05:56 GMT -7
"Well," Kitria said, "I am very good with my katana. I have a couple spells but they're mainly just creating water magic with my katana. That's pretty much it. I'm sorry if I'm being boring."
Really, what was there to say?
"And no, I'll be fine. Don't worry about the cold. I've swam in cooler waters. It's a platypus thing, I guess."
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Post by CY_Definitive on Oct 4, 2009 19:59:43 GMT -7
The whole "it's a platypus thing" comment sent JP into a chuckle. The context of the situation was what made it funny. He'd heard things like "it's a guy thing" in the human world and such, but never "it's a platypus thing". Good thing he had such a long life ahead of him. He should really get out even more.
"Oh, you're not boring. How come you keep apologizing?" he asked, noticing the trend. It wasn't like she sounded nervous or anything. Did she have a bad past experience with conversation?
Either way, JP was still interested, and set himself on both feet, his hands in his pockets.
"You don't need to, you know" he said, walking to the side a little. "Say, can you get your katana and show me some of your water abilities? I bet it's a sight to see" he asked, sounding hopeful.
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Post by Schala on Oct 4, 2009 20:13:47 GMT -7
Show him her abilites?
"Well, okay, if you insist," Kitria said, standing up.
She moved out of the way of JP so as not to hurt him. Then she drew her katana.
"Water Spin!" she called out.
She was doing a spin attack with her katana while water, or more precisely water magic, spun along with the katana. She stopped after a few seconds.
"They're not really that exciting," she said. "Want to see my other one?"
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Post by CY_Definitive on Oct 4, 2009 20:44:37 GMT -7
If he could say only one thing about the way she performed her attack, it would be that she was very, very graceful. A good thing, he figured, since she looked like she could combat someone in an un-wasteful manner. By that, he meant that she could fight precisely, without losing control, dealing JUST ENOUGH damage to get the job done or to achieve her goal, if not both.
Plus, that Katana looked like something he didn't wanna mess with.
"Oh, please do! That was awesome!" he said excitedly. Maybe he could spar with her. Unless she used the sword. That was something he'd have trouble against.
"What's the next one?" he asked.
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Post by Schala on Oct 5, 2009 8:29:56 GMT -7
Kitria smiled.
"Okay," she said.
She pointed her katana away from JP. Then she called out, "Stream!"
This time, there was a flow of water magic coming from the tip of the katana. It was out in a straight line that ended in...well...a waterfall of water magic.
She stopped this one too after a few seconds. She turned to face JP again.
"So those are my abilities," she said. "If you want to learn more about youkai you are welcome to look at my books. I particularly like the one about a vampire releasing a scarlet mist."
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Post by CY_Definitive on Oct 5, 2009 18:46:52 GMT -7
JP found her powers entertaining, especially. His own, average as they might be, didn't seem interesting in the slightest, or so he thought. Or maybe that was because he used them all the time. Maybe he should invest in a weapon, like the sword this girl owned.
"Really?" he asked, picking up the book and immediately looking for the table of contents so he could look for Youkai, or possibly find the story about the vampire.
"Thank you. Scarlet mist? Sounds like some sort of blood-related attack...which I guess would make sense, since it is a Vampire. I haven't met any" he admitted. In truth, he probably had met some, he just either didn't notice what they were or he didn't remember.
"Do you know any vampires personally?" he asked, scanning the pages for something about Youkai.
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