The Temple of Inari 57: Life goes on

[Deathkeeper]

Khannie Turns Thirteen

"Did you pick up something suspicious lately? Say something rude to someone who might be magic? Put on any potentially magic clothes?" Nick asks of Arthfael, glancing over at the chair.

"It's impolite to accuse directly." Jace says with rolled eyes, stepping in front of Braeg.
"It seems my daughter doesn't like you, and given the nature of day I'm going to have to ask you to leave." he says calmly (but firmly).

[Recaiden]

Easy enough: she was here first - she predates them by about eight years. Besides, their specialties lie in lentils, chilis, and various gourds and melons. There just wasn't much pasture in the deep desert... probably still isn't since Home is on the wrong side of the mountains.

Celeste nods

Oh my, yes! Much better this way: busy isn't nice.

Then she looks a little sad

I don't know... when I woke up in the morning, I was by myself. I had assumed she just went out for various reasons, but I never found her. I assume she's back home still...

Oh, that's a perfect reason. Get the right gardener for the plant.

Fay nods, a bit slowly at first, then frowns.
"I'm sorry for your parting. I've long been apart from my sisters as well."

She flourishes a wing towards the stage.
"The music seems to be coming to a close, so I should go."
"Fare well."

[Rebonack]

[Khannie Turns Thirteen]

Khannie isn't going to engage in this talk of curses and why Arthfael may or may not be getting chased by misfortune at the moment.

No...

She has something much more important to attend to.

Namely?

Glaring at Braeg.

Gosh she dislikes that guy so much.

His name is exactly what he does.

Brag brag brag.

What a braggart.

Eventually she sends one last glare Braeg's way, snorts, and then turns back to her friends.

"So! Do you think we can eat some cake without it coming to life and rolling away?" she asks of the other two.

[Ironsmith]

Khannie Turns Thirteen

"Did you pick up something suspicious lately? Say something rude to someone who might be magic? Put on any potentially magic clothes?" Nick asks of Arthfael, glancing over at the chair.

"It's impolite to accuse directly." Jace says with rolled eyes, stepping in front of Braeg.
"It seems my daughter doesn't like you, and given the nature of day I'm going to have to ask you to leave." he says calmly (but firmly).

[Khannie Turns Thirteen]

Khannie isn't going to engage in this talk of curses and why Arthfael may or may not be getting chased by misfortune at the moment.

No...

She has something much more important to attend to.

Namely?

Glaring at Braeg.

Gosh she dislikes that guy so much.

His name is exactly what he does.

Brag brag brag.

What a braggart.

Eventually she sends one last glare Braeg's way, snorts, and then turns back to her friends.

"So! Do you think we can eat some cake without it coming to life and rolling away?" she asks of the other two.

[Khannie Turns Thirteen]

Braeg throws up his hands defensively. "Whoa! Okay, then. I'll go. I'd really hate to annoy you, it might be bad for my health." He chortles, smirking and making his way toward the door. Of course, he passes by Khannie and company in the process.

"Oh, here, you dropped this." Braeg tosses Khannie the illusionary orange, in a gentle underhand throw that can't be in any way construed as an attempt to pelt her with fruit. "Khannie. Snake. Boy." He greets, giving them each a little nod as he passes by... except for Arthfael, whom he helps to his feet, mumbling something into the boy's ear before he leaves. "Just be yourself, kid. Don't worry so much about what everyone else is going to think."

Arthfael blinks and starts to stammer out a reply, but the fiendling Lord is already gone. Instead, he's left trying to explain things ro Khannie and Nick.

"Right. So. Um... sorry about all of that." Arthfael says, dusting his shirt off nervously. "I think we're good now. So... yeah. Cake. Sure."

[Deathkeeper]

Khannie Turns Thirteen

”Dragon.” hisses Nick in response, but the man is gone swiftly.
”What was that about? He your uncle or something?” he asks Arthfael, who definitely seems to know the guy.

Jace doesn’t seem pleased with this turn of events but goes back to what he was doing.

[Rebonack]

[Khannie Turns Thirteen]

The tossed orange comes unwound a few inches from Braeg's hand, allowing Khannie to continue glaring death at him until he leaves. Once he's gone she provides her own input to Nick's question.

"He's some jerk who was here when I was doing magic lessons with Keiko. He messed up the lesson AND said my teachers sucked AND made fun of my magic," Khannie says, watching the man depart with scarcely refrained fury. "Then he had the nerve to ask me to be his student, so I told him to get lost."

Khannie has always had something of a temper.

But since the whole Magical Girl thing?

It has definitely gotten worse.

Probably has to do with the soul gem amplifying all her negative emotions.

That's why she's gotta beat up Witches regularly.

She takes a few deep breaths and then heads for the cake.

[Ironsmith]

[Khannie Turns Thirteen]

Arthfael cringes as he listens to Khannie's description of the fiendling. Yeesh. This would definitely be a bad time to mention how they knew each other, and hopefully Khannie wouldn't figure out on her own. So, when she goes off to get some cake, he follows along, grateful for the subject change. "So... what kind did you get? Strawberry? Marble? Red velvet?" He asks, trying to get the conversation firmly fixed on the confection.

[Deathkeeper]

Khannie Turns Thirteen

Zebes has been trying to make sure Khannie keeps up with her search because of that. It's been a little hard to look at. Khannie appears to be taking the threat seriously but not working very quickly. She mentioned that the fox priests had some advice on the matter but she hadn't wanted to jump into it.

Nick for his part decides to not dwell on the subject that makes Khannie look ready to deck someone.
"Is it cannoli cake? Carrot?" he asks, remembering it being something Khannie's dad likes.

[Rebonack]

[Khannie Turns Thirteen]

Cake is a safe topic of conversation.

Cake doesn't make Khannie mad.

And while Khannie's ability to deck someone while out of Magical Girl form has drastically diminished that doesn't mean she wouldn't punch a jerk still.

She focuses on breathing a few seconds more. She doesn't have to be mad. That jerk left everything is fine.

"I decided to try something different this time and got one of those chocolate cakes with the coconut frosting," she says, turning to smile at her friends. "It would be boring to always get the same kind of birthday cake, right?"

Sure enough, the German chocolate sheet cake with thirteen candles on it is waiting. What a fantastic looking cake.

Maridia very nearly leaps off Khannie's should to try face-planting directly into the cake but Khannie manages to grab the fairy dragon before she escapes arm's reach. The girl's familiar wriggles importantly.

"You can wait two minutes Maridia we've gotta cut the cake first."

And Khannie has been talking to the foxes!

There are ways to fix the problem but none of them are easy and most of them require her to be dead. That's something of a problem.

[Ironsmith]

Khannie Turns Thirteen

Zebes has been trying to make sure Khannie keeps up with her search because of that. It's been a little hard to look at. Khannie appears to be taking the threat seriously but not working very quickly. She mentioned that the fox priests had some advice on the matter but she hadn't wanted to jump into it.

Nick for his part decides to not dwell on the subject that makes Khannie look ready to deck someone.
"Is it cannoli cake? Carrot?" he asks, remembering it being something Khannie's dad likes.

[Khannie Turns Thirteen]

Cake is a safe topic of conversation.

Cake doesn't make Khannie mad.

And while Khannie's ability to deck someone while out of Magical Girl form has drastically diminished that doesn't mean she wouldn't punch a jerk still.

She focuses on breathing a few seconds more. She doesn't have to be mad. That jerk left everything is fine.

"I decided to try something different this time and got one of those chocolate cakes with the coconut frosting," she says, turning to smile at her friends. "It would be boring to always get the same kind of birthday cake, right?"

Sure enough, the German chocolate sheet cake with thirteen candles on it is waiting. What a fantastic looking cake.

Maridia very nearly leaps off Khannie's should to try face-planting directly into the cake but Khannie manages to grab the fairy dragon before she escapes arm's reach. The girl's familiar wriggles importantly.

"You can wait two minutes Maridia we've gotta cut the cake first."

And Khannie has been talking to the foxes!

There are ways to fix the problem but none of them are easy and most of them require her to be dead. That's something of a problem.

[Khannie Turns Thirteen]

Arthfael smirks and rolls his eyes. There was always someone at a party like this who just couldn't wait for the cake to be c-

...Wait a minute. The cake was cut. As in, there was a network of lines running back and forth over it, dividing it into square slices, slightly off-scale with each other. He hadn't actually seen anyone do that, though. And it didn't sound like Khannie had, either.

Oh, well. Hopefully that isn't too disruptive.

"Er... isn't there supposed to be a whole thing with blowing out the candles, too?" Arthfael asks. He was pretty sure that was a thing.

[Deathkeeper]

Khannie Turns Thirteen

Jace and Zebes come over to inspect Khannie and the cake. Zebes frowns at the slices and mutters one of Jace's favorite cantrips, causing the weird, uneven cuts to slowly seal themselves back up. He's so glad he checked to see if Repair worked on pastries.
"We can do that if Khannie wants." Jace says simply.
He's sang to her before. But who knows if she still wants them to do that?

[Fenric]

Celeste nods

Yes, it does seem that way. It was nice meeting you!

[Rebonack]

[Khannie Turns Thirteen]

Huh.

That's weird.

Maybe her dad cut the cake while she wasn't watching?

Also?

She's starts laughing when her uncle repairs a cake. You've got to admit that's pretty silly. She really does need to try to learn Mending, doesn't she? She already figured out one wizard cantrip so she can probably figure out another, right?

"Yeah! Like's light the candles and get them blown out so we can eat this cake before Maridia starts frothing," Khannie says, still holding onto the wriggling fairy dragon.

"But I neeeed it!" Maridia wails.

[Ironsmith]

Khannie Turns Thirteen

Jace and Zebes come over to inspect Khannie and the cake. Zebes frowns at the slices and mutters one of Jace's favorite cantrips, causing the weird, uneven cuts to slowly seal themselves back up. He's so glad he checked to see if Repair worked on pastries.
"We can do that if Khannie wants." Jace says simply.
He's sang to her before. But who knows if she still wants them to do that?

[Khannie Turns Thirteen]

Huh.

That's weird.

Maybe her dad cut the cake while she wasn't watching?

Also?

She's starts laughing when her uncle repairs a cake. You've got to admit that's pretty silly. She really does need to try to learn Mending, doesn't she? She already figured out one wizard cantrip so she can probably figure out another, right?

"Yeah! Like's light the candles and get them blown out so we can eat this cake before Maridia starts frothing," Khannie says, still holding onto the wriggling fairy dragon.

"But I neeeed it!" Maridia wails.

[Khannie Turns Thirteen]

So... they were going to put candles on the cake, light them, and promptly have Khannie blow them out, thereby defeating whatever purpose they were supposed to serve?

Arthfael chuckles to himself and shakes his head. What a weird tradition.

Then a realization hits him, regarding the proximity of open flame (albeit tiny ones) to him and his magical disaster area. In the interest of not having Khannie's birthday ruined by the candles turning into firecrackers or something, he quietly takes a step back, hoping that's enough distance.

[Deathkeeper]

Khannie Turns Thirteen

Zebes proceeds to put candles onto the cake. Nick always has mixed feelings about this tradition. They didn't really have cakes out in the Wasteland. But coming here he's a dragon now so he can't really do this because when he blows really hard actual fire comes out. A vexing problem but he's not too mad about missing out on this one thing.

Jace steps towards the cake, his eyes glowing blue. Khannie knows what that means. He snaps his fingers, causing a flame to appear in his hand. He tosses it, whereupon it splits. He repeats this with the smaller flames which also split, until he it juggling a growing supply of tiny flames. After a few rotations he tosses them all into the air and they form into a single tight wheel, landing perfectly horizontal over the cake. There's a short pause for dramatic effect before Jace snaps his fingers, and each little flame zips perfectly onto the tip of its respective candle.

[Rebonack]

[Khannie Turns Thirteen]

Being unable to blow out candles because you breath fire is arguably the only (albeit very minor) downside to breathing fire on account of the fact that breathing fire is friggin' awesome.

Hopefully the magical unluck surrounding Arthfael doesn't turn this party into a disaster. That would be tragic and also probably hilarious.

Maridia wouldn't mind at all.

Everyone would probably be so distracted she would have an opportunity to lick the cake.

And then comes the fire-wheel trick!

Khannie would clap, given that she's delighted, but her hands are still full of fairy dragon. She loves her dad's magic powers, they're fantastic. She really wishes she could do actual elemental magic instead of something lame like illusions, but for whatever reason her natural magical talents ended up being pretty different from her father's.

Khannie opens her mouth to say something but-

"Hurry and sing the song I need cake!" Maridia complains.

[Ironsmith]

[Khannie Turns Thirteen]

Right. Candles lit, in a neat way, now all that would need to happen is-

...Song?

There was a song?!

Arthfael swallows nervously. That was both the best and just the worst possible news. If he were given an opportunity to sing, he'd be able to impress Khannie for sure. Except for the small detail that he didn't know what song they were talking about! This was going to be a disaster!

As if sensing his apprehension, the candles on the cake start shaking nervously, slowly tilting themselves out of position. They had probably better proceed quickly.

[Fenric]

NPC priests bustle about their daily business, just as glad the unpredictable Keiko is once again absent.

Out in the garden as well, something resembling normal life carries on. The koi swim lazily except when a child comes up with food, a cool and gentle breeze stirs the sleepy ferns, and the maples rustle softly. A family of fenethi are having a picnic of their favorite hot-chili-lentils and melons out on the small island, and a dour looking first-rank priest scrubs the trout pond for offenses unknown.

[Deathkeeper]

Khannie Turns Thirteen

Jace and Zebes begin the slow song for Khannie's birthday, doing the WHOLE thing and not cutting off any part for Maridia's impatience or Khannie's possible embarrassment.
Hopefully she can survive both long enough to blow out her candles.

[Ironsmith]

NPC priests bustle about their daily business, just as glad the unpredictable Keiko is once again absent.

Out in the garden as well, something resembling normal life carries on. The koi swim lazily except when a child comes up with food, a cool and gentle breeze stirs the sleepy ferns, and the maples rustle softly. A family of fenethi are having a picnic of their favorite hot-chili-lentils and melons out on the small island, and a dour looking first-rank priest scrubs the trout pond for offenses unknown.

[Sanctuary]

Having been thrown out of Khannie's party, Braeg eventually finds his way here, settling in near the koi pond and producing a lute, which he then proceeds to strum idly. He had a lot of irons in the proverbial fire right now; enchanting lessons for a certain young strigoi, a hand in the Maesdan restoration effort, and of course, courting Inari... but for the moment, those all aligned in such a way that he would have a little time to himself. So here he was, doing something fun to relax himself. He was playing a jaunty, wordless tune, the kind anybody who was listening might feel compelled to dance to, or possibly sing. Cheerful and energetic; hopefully, enough to lift some spirits around here and keep them raised.

[Fenric]

The blessings on the temple make it really difficult to compell anyone to do much of anything, but Braeg will notice the fennethi kits start dancing and scampering around - it doesn't take much to get children to play along.

What Braeg might not have expected is a considerable amount of more coordinated movement breaking out among the koi. Watching them, they are very clearly dancing... Should Braeg inspect the water, he will get the very distinct impression that there is a very great deal more to the pond than meets the eye, though the water is fully and perfectly mundane in and of itself.

[Ironsmith]

The blessings on the temple make it really difficult to compell anyone to do much of anything, but Braeg will notice the fennethi kits start dancing and scampering around - it doesn't take much to get children to play along.

What Braeg might not have expected is a considerable amount of more coordinated movement breaking out among the koi. Watching them, they are very clearly dancing... Should Braeg inspect the water, he will get the very distinct impression that there is a very great deal more to the pond than meets the eye, though the water is fully and perfectly mundane in and of itself.

Now that was interesting. Dancing koi. Braeg had seen things like this before. Heck, he made things like this happen before. He had to wonder about these fish...

He smiles and clears his throat, strumming out a slower, more plaintive tune.

See me now, a ray of light in the moondance
See me now, I can not leave this place
Hear me now, a strain of song in the forest
Don't ask me to follow where you lead

The chorus from a song he heard a while back, "The Willow Maid". Maybe it would resonate with these fish.

[Fenric]

The koi's dance changes to a somber, measured pace. Those with flowing fins let them billow and flare like the sleeves of a kimono, while others bob and twist as a group of gossips off to the side. An impromptu ballet of the fish: this is not random swimming by any means.

[Ironsmith]

Braeg smiles. "Well, well. You understand this, don't you?" He croons, strumming idly. "Interesting."

Very interesting. There was magic afoot here. But were these koi who had been gifted wirh a greater understanding of the world around them, or higher beings brought down to the bodies of koi?

Braeg reaches for the nearest one, but stops just before his fingers reach the surface of the pond. If it was the latter, touching the water may be a good way to end up a koi, likely permanently.

Well, it would be for a mortal, at any rate. But he's a Lord. Surely he can handle whatever effects might be on the pond.

He swirls his fingers in the water idly, watching the fish intently.

[Fenric]

No so much turned into a koi...

The world begins to shift around Braeg as he touches the water. It's not so much that he moves as the world begins to flow around him and the veil of the water vanishes to show the koi as a group of young and beautiful women and men dancing to his music. Off to one side, a much more somber young man in teal hakima is watching Braeg with guarded curiousity, and in the distance the unmistakable sense of a being of enormous power who like all things in this place doesn't really quite fit the traditional roles of good and evil.

Braeg will sense that he only has a moment to withdraw his hand before he is in the watery world, though his native plane-shifting abilities mean he would be by no means trapped.

[Ironsmith]

Well, that was a league more grandiose than he was expecting. Not a transformation, but a portal into a whole other world, represented on the material plane as a koi pond? That's interesting.

Braeg smiles and allows himself to be pulled in completely, idly wondering what the bystanders in the temple were seeing. Did it just look like he fell in? He had a few interesting prank ideas if that was the case.

"Hello there." He greets the room full of "koi", still strumming on his lute (though the sound would likely be muffled now). "Who are you all, then?"

He also gets the distinct impression that the enormous being he felt was going to notice his presence sooner rather than later. Unless this place routinely entrapped gods, Braeg was going to stick out like a whale in... well, a koi pond.

[Fenric]

Outside, Braeg just vanishes. It's surprisingly uneventful and devoid of special effects.

Inside...

Oh, Grandfather has noticed Braeg's arrival to be sure, but a multiple millenia old dragon-koi can be quite patient.
More immediately, Kenji stands stands up and walks over.

Nice playing: they haven't had anyone entertain them in quite a while. But, um... don't expect them to be too much brighter here than what they appear from above: the Koi are pretty and all but...

They keep dancing, looking very happy and content and completely incurious as to Braeg's arrival.

Anyway, welcome to the Koi World. I'm Kenji: guardian of this little pond which doesn't usually take much guarding to be honest.

[Ironsmith]

Implying it has a purpose. Random ponds don't normally get guardians.

"Lord Braeg, of the Lesser Wood clan." Braeg returns the greeting, switching back to a more lively tune; a shanty, to be precise. He looks over Kenji, then the other koi, taking in every detail he could see. He was here on a mission of curiousity, after all. It was only fair he satisfy it. "Tell me, what exactly is this place's reason for being?" He asks abruptly.

[Fenric]

There are a number of cues in Kenji's appearance that show he is not a Koi at all, though his present hunan guise makes it difficult to tell exactly what he is. His dress is loose while well-fitting, speaking of someone reaonsably well trained at the use of the sword at his side.

The koi are entirely dressed in Meiji-era Japan court formalwear: utterly impractical though beautiful. Just watching them makes it clear that they really are a bit on the dim side. Pleasant, polite, friendly, cheerful... but seriously lacking in the brain department.

Kenji grins

Oooh, a question on so many levels!

At the simplest, this particular little pond is here because Myobi wanted it to be: she designed the layout and oversaw the construction.

This place is here because... well... remember, the Nexus is a place where all things meet: our little slice of the universe originates in ancient Taoist China, where many worlds overlap and it is only the limitations of your spirit the keeps you from seeing the others. The five elements are really not at all like what you may be used to, and the names are more symbolic than literal... but this is the world of Water. It has no purpose, it just is!

But why does this particular bit of the Koi World overlap with Myobi's pond? Ah, that is because of Grandfather Koi, who came here to be a stabilizing influence due to the chaos and power-leakage from the world above. Particularly after a certain resident arrived...

Kenji glances over to a rocky outcrop, where an indistinctly aged person sits brooding and silent away from everyone else. He's dressed in bluish silver and while he has the overall look of one of the koi there's no doubting at all that he is anything but.

That's Ruin: he's a dreadful interdimensional ... thing ... that has destroyed multiple entire realities. I don't honestly know how much he's a prisoner and how much he is sulking after the heroes defeated him, but he rarely ever talks and from the stories I've heard it's just as well. (( Note: and he's Rebo's character, so I won't respond for him ))

Kenji turns back to Braeg with a shrug

Mom came along with Grandfather to be the pond Guardian, and fell in love with Ilias. They moved on to other places and I stayed to take up her position.

Now: if Braeg has any knowledge at all of Oriental lore, Kenji has quite solidly given away that he's a dragon, albeit a really young one.

[Ironsmith]

Unfortunately, Braeg doesn't really have much of a grasp of Oriental mythology; his roots are more pan-European, maybe ever-so-slightly Slavic. His idea of a dragon is more of a fearsome beast than anything else. It certainly didn't help that there were dragons where he came from, of the western variety, a few of which he personally sought an end to.

So as it is, Kenji just gives him the vague vibe of not being what he appears... but then, were there many things in the Nexus that were?

"I see." Braeg smiles. "Well, then. That strikes me as a reasonably thorough explanation. I had best be on my way, then." He turns to leave, but stops and smirks. "Well... perhaps just one song first. We seem to have a plethora of music lovers down here."