Curiosity Strikes(Open)

[takiyoma]

The many birds felled the skies, the air was blowing very comfortably, and the birds were singing heavenly. It was a beautiful day in...the Bamboo Forest? So many bamboos around, they were tall!It was scary, but then it was relaxing. Was it the birds? Maybe it was. Besides, the place was comfortable.

Maria has never been to place like this before, it was so interesting and new to her. The birds made her very excited. She didn't even care if she was lost or not because of the birds. Maria just hummed a song as she was walking swaying slightly from the left to right. Her golden/blond hair just followed after her as she swayed. Even the white ribbon that was tied on her head swayed along.

Maria was floaty at the time. She knew she wasn't suppose to be here at this interesting forest, but nothing was stopping her. She was very curious to see how it would look. And now that she's seen it, the only thoughts that ran through her mind was ~This place is awesome!~.

Maria didn't mean to disobey the orders that she was given. However she just couldn't help it. Her eyes were closed at the time while she was humming. She was to relax to notice anything. All she heard was the birds and her voice. Maria stood 4'8, and was wearing a orange dress with black strips on her arms. Her sleeves doesn't connect because her top is shoulder less.Her dress ties up in the back and around her neck making a crossroad. She has a large golden/tan bow that is tied in the front of her waistline. And there are simple symbols on her dress(or should I say Kimono) that is simply the color white. Her dress is rather short, the bottom part of it is black. It is as short as a skirt. Her sleeves are long and the ends of them look as though it were tared. She also wore long white boots with black strip wrapped around her leg that was above the boots. (See Maria's profile for more description).

Maria spun around a fews times as she hummed a song:

"La lala, Hmm....la la la"

She spun around again just once and tripped over a whole that was in the ground.

"Eek!"

She screamed before hitting the ground. She opened her hazel eyes and shifted them back. Wondering what made her fall, and how did she fall. She didn't feel anything on the ground that seemed dangerous. As she turned back and looked at her foot, she noticed she was stuck in a ditch.

"Oh no, where did this come from?"

She asked herself surprisingly. Maria began to try and pull her foot out of the whole that was underground near a Bamboo tree. However, even that didn't work. It took her sometime to realize that she was stuck, but she continued to try and pull herself out the ditch.

[recon5]

Hoshigaru looked up and took a deep breath of the cool air. Rays of sunlight streamed through gaps between the bamboo leaves. To either side of him, the groves of the Bamboo Forest loomed tall. He thought they grew taller still as he looked, but he dismissed it as a trick of sight as the rabbits liked to inflict on unsuspecting visitors. He would probably be unable to find his way out on foot now that he was so far in, but that didn't bother him too much.

The sound of struggling caught Hoshigaru's attention and he decided to investigate. After walking for a while he came across a small girl in an orange kimono. She lay in a ditch with her foot jammed in a small hole, and while she was obviously trying her best to escape she was clearly getting nowhere fast. While a bit disappointed that it wasn't something that he could fight, Hoshigaru thought that he might as well free the girl as he had nothing more important to do at the moment- well, not that he ever had that much to do.

Without saying anything, he went over to where the girl lay and knelt beside her. There didn't seem to be any way to make the girl's foot smaller so Hoshigaru decided to make the hole bigger. He gripped the edge of the hole with his left hand and ripped out a large chunk of earth and rock, clearing more than enough space for the girl to free her foot.

[takiyoma]

Maria was so focused on getting her foot out of the ditch, she didn't even notice the man walking to her. She was so deep into thought. Her foot wouldn't budge ~OK now, one, two~ She gave it a count to three before pausing in her thoughts noticing the stranger who knelled beside her. She was slightly shocked, she didn't know the man was there, her hazel eyes widen slightly as she heard the ground rumble and break. She shifted her eyes toward the hole then up at the guy as he ripped out a large chunk of earth and rock. She was surprised, very surprised.

Maria has never seen strength like that before, it was shocking. Noticing that her foot was free, and that there was enough space for her to move and stand. Maria lifted her foot from the large hole and looked up at the man, blinking twice.

"Um...thank you."

Was all she could say. The fear was rushing through her vanes, she just had the instinct to just run and scream. But she didn't want to. Even though it was sort of creepy how this stranger came up like that. She didn't think the people of this planet actually cared about others. She was taught that humans were selfish and dirty creatures. They're not really important to us Lunarians. Their cruel minded, and are cursed with rage. Was that really true? Maria just sat there on the ground thinking as she was looking up at the man. ~Wow, this guy is super muscular and uber tall!~ She thought with excitement. She's never seen anything like this guy. So maybe he isn't human?

Maria closed her eyes and made a big but yet an embarrassing smile.

"TeeHee"

[recon5]

Well, the girl certainly was a sweet little thing. Hoshigaru let himself fall back into a sitting position, giving the girl a huge grin as he did so. He crossed his legs and placed his axe across them, all the while observing the girl and her actions.

She looked human enough, but then again so did most of the stronger Youkai. It seemed to be a natural law of Gensokyo that as a being's power increased its form would become closer and closer to that of a human if it wasn't some type of human or former human already. Probably more of Yukari's meddling. From what Hoshigaru could sense of the girl's aura, however, she wasn't any kind of Youkai that he had previously encountered and he'd met many kinds indeed.

Then he remembered that humans from the moon had come to Gensokyo in recent years, and that they were far more powerful than those native to Gensokyo. Could the girl be one of them? The only way to find out was to ask, but a little small talk before that wouldn't hurt especially as the girl seemed like she would be good company.

"No need to thank me. I was passing through anyway." He bent forward a little and looked the girl in the eye. "So, what's a nice lady like you doing all the way out here?"

[takiyoma]

Maria was still smiling at him, her smile didn't even fade. Until he asked her a question. As soon as Maria opened her eyes, her and his eyes connected. She didn't notice he bent forward toward her, she didn't even notice he was trying to make eye contact with her. How could she have not been paying any attention at all? How silly of her. Maria just paused starring at the man, before shifting her eyes slowly away from his and to the right.

"Well..."

Were the only words that came from her mouth. She didn't know what to say, why was she even there in the first place? Oh yeah...to be noisy and look around. Maria had almost forgotten that she had disobeyed the orders she was given. She couldn't just sporadicly tell this guy what she was doing, that wouldn't really be the wise thing to do. Besides, she doesn't really know this man. The first thought that came to mind was to lie. Lying was something Maria was very bad at. She didn't want to, but it wouldn't hurt to try. Maria smiled nervously at the man.

"Well....I....umm....and then!...ugh"

Maria couldn't think of a lie for crap. She tried but nothing came out. She shook her head slightly from left to right. Before sighing heavily.

"I was traveling around. I've never been to a place like this before! And then I fell into a hole. I'm not from this planet."

She said simply with no hesitation. Maria wasn't planning on lying anymore. Instead of lying, she told the truth. Maria knowns a saying that was said long ago. 'One who lies to begin with, will be surrounded by lies through their whole life'. Maria wasn't planning on being a liar. So she didn't even start.

[recon5]

Hoshigaru let his grin widen. So the girl was indeed from the Moon. A... Lunarian, as he believed most people called them. He'd heard that they were as far ahead of Youkai in the field of magic as Youkai were ahead of humans, and that they had technology that surpassed at least what was common in Gensokyo. How much of this was truth and how much was awe-inspired exaggeration he did not know and he'd never felt the need to find out. The small group of Moon-people who lived somewhere in this forest weren't exactly the sociable type either.

A long time ago the Old Lady of Gensokyo had taken an army of Youkai to the Moon in an attempted takeover but had been driven back with incredible losses. The Youkai of that day were bloodthirsty maniacs longing for action and Hoshigaru had suspected that the 'invasion' was a ploy to wipe out the more powerful but less intelligent individuals who were a threat because they didn't bother to control their powers properly. This weakness cost them dearly and those who survived were reduced to shadows of their former selves. Perhaps Yukari was the only one who returned with anything close to her original power.

On the whole, though, the Moon didn't usually take any action against Gensokyo and the people on the ground paid it little heed in return, aside from the occasional veneration or festival. Besides the little incident of the Imperishable Night nothing had happened that even slightly involved the Moon-folk.

That might be changing if the girl's presence was any indication and change was always a good thing. Hoshigaru decided to probe a little deeper. "Since you're from the Moon, I presume you've heard of the Princess who lives in this forest."

[takiyoma]

This guy was smart! She didn't really think he would catch on so quickly. Even though it was a little obvious, if she isn't from this planet there where else she would be from? Of course the moon. Maria shifted her eyes toward the Youkai's eyes before standing up straightly. ~So, this guy seems to be trying to a get a little more information from me. I wonder who he is to ask such a question.~ Maria thought. By this time, she knew she had to be a little more focus then she was, there's was a strange feeling she was getting from this guy. It was a little obvious that he was a Youkai now. It took her awhile to catch on, but noticing the facial features and the body movements made her realize.

Maria gave out a simple smile at the question he had asked. The smile she made, made her eyes slightly small. If anyone were to read and understand body language the smile would be as if she were saying "Interesting of you to ask".

Maria started to get a little curious. Why would he ask of the princess who lives in this forest? Does he know her? Or does he have some business with her he hasn't yet accomplished. Lifting her right hand toward her right hip, she leaned slightly to the right side, as she rested her right hand on her hip.

"So, who are you anyway?"

Maria asked curiously. It was almost as if she just forgot the question he asked her, and pushed it to the side. This man had her thinking. If he's asking so much questions to her, why not ask him a few? She kept the smile on her face as she stood there and waited patiently for a response.

[recon5]

The girl was getting evasive. Hoshigaru could understand why, though. If she was indeed on some mission it would not be good for her to reveal too much without knowing if the Youkai before her was a friend or a foe. He had ample time to work out the answers he wanted, though, so he decided to play along for as long as he needed.

"I'm a Youkai, my little Lunar lass, and my name is Hoshigaru. I used to be one of the big shots, but that was a long time ago."

He leaned back a little. "Nowadays I'm not really important here in Gensokyo. I don't control anything anymore and I don't own any land or servants. I just drift from place to place looking for the best food, beds, fights and sake that I can get my hands on. Nothing really interesting."

As he talked, Hoshigaru shifted his axe and placed it on the ground beside him. He didn't normally feel comfortable letting the weapon go but the discomfort was worth it if it would help the girl to open up a little more. "Alright. That's enough about me. I asked you about the Princess because she owns this forest and has her Rabbits keeping an eye on anyone who gets in. People normally don't come here unless she calls for them and the Rabbits don't go easy on any strangers they catch."

He grinned at his own words. "Of course, if you can keep yourself from getting caught you might as well make yourself at home like I'm doing."

[takiyoma]

Maria just listened carefully as the Youkai spoken. She thought carefully to herself as she watched his movements in motion. Noticing him shifting his Axe and placing it next to him, Maria just focused her eyes back on the man. She nodded her head lightly to show that she was listening Hoshigaru speak. ~So...he wants to know about the Princess Hm? But why? I just don't get it.~


"I see."

She said simply with a silly smile. Maria shifted her eyes away from the man before thinking once more. She didn't quite get why he wanted to know if she have heard of the Princess who lived in the forest. Well it was an old story her older sister and the elders of the mood had told her long ago. About the moon Princess who lives in the Bamboo Forest. Maria remembered only the name of the Princess, however she did not remember the way her sister explained how she look, nor did she remember where she lived. Maria began to think as she stood there.

"Yes, I have heard of the Princess"

She said to Hoshigaru simply, her voice soft and a little low. She shifted her eyes toward the man as her smile faded slowly.

"Why? Is there a meeting of some sort you have with her?"

She asked with a confused expression on her face. Maria grew a little more curious of this Youkai. She wanted to know a little more about him. So many questions flown in her head as she stood there.

[recon5]

Hoshigaru leaned back a little. "A meeting with the Moon Princess? No, not now anyway. As I said, nowadays I just wander wherever my legs choose to take me and it so happens they decided to take me here, to the Bamboo Forest." He sighed lightly, not out of dismay or regret but just because he felt like doing so. "Besides, why should she have anything to do with a scruffy beast like me? I'm not much better than the old bamboo cutter."

He looked at the girl again and this time he wasn't smiling. "The reason I'm asking is that the Earth Rabbits aren't too fond of strangers wandering around in this place and even if you are a Lunarian you have no business being here unless you wish to meet with the Princess. I want to know if that is the case because if it isn't, you at least need to have some protection. You can take your time to explain but I won't leave you alone until I'm sure that you'll be safe, especially after what happened to you a while ago."

[takiyoma]

Maria just listened to Hoshigaru as he spoken. Her facial expression was pretty much blank. Even though she has heard of the Princess, she didn't know the Earth Rabbits were so violent, blinking twice she shivered slightly and shook her head at the though of being attacked by one of those rabbits, It was hard for Maria to imagine anything like that. As she continued to listen, she closed her right eye and tilted her head toward the right just a little. ~Protection HM?~ She thought. Well, Maria thought she would be like the rest of her family, independent... unfortunately she wasn't' the strongest sibling. It was her older sister who was the strongest. Maria wanted to be like her sister so bad, but her will power just couldn't match up to hers.

Maria stood there for 20 seconds before actually replying back to the man. She didn't know what to say to the Youkai, her first impression to this man was This man is tall and scary!, but now in her eyes she sees him as an interesting fellow... and kind too. ~Well...I am clumsy sometimes.~ Even though the stranger seemed nice, she still didn't know about him. Then! excitement rushed through her vanes. Maria closed both of her eyes and stood straightly, she giggled and spun around once in a circle before raising her arm over her head and pointing her index finger directly toward the sky as if she had won a large prize from a simple carnival game.

"OK then! So you'll be my protector guy, that's awesome!"

She said with excitement. Ah the smell of adventure, Maria just couldn't let go of the taste of traveling, that was just one thing she couldn't let go of for a long time. Maria kept a smile on her face, she was extra happy for some strange reason. CRICK, CRACK was the sounds of bushes moving and sticks being stepped on. Maria opened her eyes, stood straightly and faced her direction towards her left.

"What was that?"

She asked simply, before narrowing her eyes.