Umeko
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Post by Umeko on Jan 5, 2013 4:09:27 GMT -5
Technically, she wasn't lost. She didn't know where she was, true, but she also didn't have any real destination in mind, so she couldn't really be lost. The fact that she was starting to suspect she'd been wandering in circles was a minor setback at worst.
Grumbling to herself, the hag glared up at the sky, trying to make out any stars to navigate by through the leaves and clouds. This part of the forest was far too thick for that, though, and she wasn't entirely sure if Gensokyo even had "real" stars.
It was kind of atmospheric, though. She'd never thought of herself as much of a forest-dweller, but the vertical shadows and ever-present looming sensation here were... pleasantly ominous. Quiet, too, and -- if she remembered right -- not too far away from the human village. It might make a decent lair, if there was a nice hill or cave around here. A nice little place to brood. Maybe she could figure out how to install a lake.
Occupying herself with idle thoughts, she didn't notice the gloomy silhouette in front of her until she almost bumped into it. Some kind of hut of wood and straw, just sitting in the middle of the forest. Perplexed, the spirit circled around slowly, looking for signs of occupation and finding none. No firewood or food stock, at least. And the place looked rather dilapidated and weather-worn. Abandoned, even.
An unclaimed dwelling like this seemed unlikely, but then, so did a hut this far into the middle of nowhere in the first place. Maybe whoever built it had died, or been eaten, or moved on to somewhere less miserable-looking. That made sense. And if they weren't using it anymore, she might as well at least take a look. Waste not, want not, right?
Almost cheery as she imagined how it might look with a few renovations -- a footpath made of bones, perhaps, or a bloody moat -- the youkai casually opened the door and squinted into the dim room.
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Post by cogwheel on Jan 6, 2013 13:49:25 GMT -5
Technically, in the broadest sense of the term, Umeko was not wrong. The owner of the house had, indeed, died. In fact, one might say she had died a great deal more than most would. She had even died in this disused - in a fairly literal sense, given that she barely did more than sleep here every now and then - shack.
Once.
Twice.
She'd lost count, really.
The inside of the cabin, a generous description to be sure, is dim, almost black when Umeko opens the door, at least until the light from outside flows in. A gruff voice calls out from the gloom, somewhat inquisitive, a voice painted with tobacco and drink, besides centuries of hidden age, but most of all, impatience.
Keine warned her about those habits, of course, but there was no real point to it. What was it going to do, kill her?
"That you, Keine?" The voice turns quiet after this, muttering, counting up slowly; one, two, three. At the mark of three, a hand darts down through the gloom, grabbing something from below.
"Guess not. Shame."
Moments later, a small wooden clock sails through the air, directly past Umeko's head, letting out a few forlorn ticks before meeting an untimely end, impacting with a tree a good way behind her and shattering.
It was cheap anyway. And then there was the constant ticking. Couldn't abide that sort of thing.
"Meant to do that. Warning shot," the voice grumbles. With a sigh, something in the house rises, slowly walking over to the door, all but shambling, with a slight dragging and dripping sound, shoving the door fully open to let the afternoon sun in.
What stands before Umeko is, frankly, an apparition. Covered in long, ribbon-filled, matted silver hair, with sooty, scruffy white and red clothing covered in odds and ends of grass, bark and what looked like scraps of bone. Her eyes were ringed and weary, as if they were not only tired in the normal sense, but had seen far more than most eyes ever would, in sheer quantity alone.
The most striking feature, of course, is the fact that her left arm is currently missing. Completely and utterly, severed midway between the shoulder and elbow, roughly and partially cauterized, the rest still bleeding here and there, with a piece of bone jutting out from the arm. Despite wincing slightly when rising, and the muttered oath or three, she seems shockingly unconcerned by this.
"You," she announces with abundant irritation, "have reached the abode of Miss burn your damned face off if you don't explain yourself right now. Or you could leave, I'd take that too. In fact, don't let me keep you if you've got anywhere else to be."
She glances downwards, shaking her head in irritation, before all but smashing a rag against the bleeding wound, more to keep it in line than with any treatment in mind.
"Pardon the maiming. Lost that this morning, been regenerating - thought I'd give this not-dying a go for once, try resting in peace instead - when someone got it in their bright little head to barge in. Youkai, so I'd guess you wanted an easy meal, but I'll do you a favour and assume you're not as dumb as a sack of bricks for now. Oughta know better than to try that. Now what do you want, lady?"
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Umeko
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Posts: 16
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Post by Umeko on Jan 7, 2013 3:45:39 GMT -5
So far, this entire encounter was like one big warning bell. She'd been insulted, assaulted, and generally harangued already, and it hadn't been ten seconds. But judging by the odd, slightly vacant expression on her face, the hag was too distracted to be properly offended.
Specifically, distracted by how delicious all that blood smelled. Unquestionably human, and young.
Unconsciously moistening her dry lips with a flick of her tongue, Umeko tried to focus. Right. House is occupied by strange shouting girl. Decide course of action. Attack? Tempting, but risky. Surely a one-armed human couldn't do much to even a moderately-powerful youkai, right? But then again, she'd been surprised by harmless-looking people before, and almost everything around Gensoyko so far was more dangerous than it looked.
Glowering -- and trying not to visibly salivate -- she planted her hands crossly on her hips. "I thought this place was empty, actually, since it's such a wreck. It's a shame to see such a waste. But whatever."
She almost stepped back out the door, but something (oh god she was so damn hungry) made her hesitate. Instead, talking more to kill time than anything else, she gave the injury an appraising look and managed a relatively casual tone.
"That looks pretty painful. Busy morning, I take it?"
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Post by cogwheel on Jan 10, 2013 2:51:29 GMT -5
Run down, was it? A waste? A wreck?
Well, alright. There was just no arguing with some things. Still, there was no need to put it that way.
"'S as good as I need it to be," she mutters. "Hard to care after the first couple of centuries."
The phoenix shakes her head in disbelief, letting out a sigh of irritation. "It's run down, I'll give you that, but that's why I'd expect you to know better. Little house out in the middle of the bamboo forest, just who did you think you'd find inside?" Anyone would know, of course. Now, finding the house was a small miracle, to be sure, but a human would know who to call for help, and a youkai exactly which house to avoid.
Which meant, obviously, that whoever this was, she hadn't been in Gensokyo long.
The question catches her somewhat off-guard, anything so much as approximating concern surprising her, as usual, especially in the wake of the first impression she had made. Why, for anyone else, it would almost be embarrassing. They didn't know better, of course.
"Right. Busy morning. Something like that. 'Nother scrap with... ah, you've probably never heard of Kaguya anyway. Whatever. Took my arm off after a few tries, is what I'm getting at." A rare grin from Mokou, as she adds "killed me a good half a dozen times, too, but it takes more than that to keep me down."
It was a rare treat, really, getting to spring that on someone who didn't have the first clue about her.
"Not too bad, really. Burn the worst bits closed, shove it in the snow after and it just sort of stings a bit. You get used to this kind of thing eventually. But never mind that, it's not what you meant, is it?"
It wasn't hard to see, really, the starved look in the youkai's eyes. Not like it was anything new, after all. She had seen it countless times before and, nine times out of ten, immolated the little troublemakers on the spot.
Not like it was any trouble.
"You don't hide it half as well as you think. There's staring at a gaping wound, and then there's looking at it like the first meal you've seen in years. I'd, uh... hand the leftovers to you or whatever, but I have no idea where the old thing went. Fight was a bit of a mess, you know? Got a couple persimmons and some fish drying, though. Some of it off the roof, even - really should've noticed that. Help yourself if you need, I s'pose. Not like I really need the stuff."
There were, of course, other things that needed to be done, under the circumstances. Not that she wanted to, but sometimes, you just couldn't help but act responsibly. A shame, but some things had to be done.
People. Funny how Keine had nothing but praise for that particular bad habit. It was a wonder they got along so well, different as they were.
"...Might as well come in. New here, aren't you? You're only going to cause trouble and get yourself hurt if you roam about without anyone explaining thing for you. Name's Mokou. Fujiwara no Mokou. Come on in, a little company won't kill me. Or it might, but that's nothing I haven't dealt with before."
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Umeko
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Posts: 16
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Post by Umeko on Jan 10, 2013 3:38:36 GMT -5
The sheer amount of baffling nonsense coming from the maimed girl actually distracted Umeko from her stomach for a minute. Her brow furrowed as she tried to piece this together.
"...My name is Umeko."
Tentatively, she accepted the invitation and stepped inside, easing the door shut behind her and letting her eyes adjust to the gloom. It was thicker here -- layered among many less-pleasant smells was the heady aroma of blood and flesh and life from its occupant. Downright addictive, that smell was.
"I... don't eat. Anymore."
Pushing her mind off that subject, she glanced around for somewhere to sit and, failing that, settled for leaning against a dusty wall and giving her temporary host an appraising glance. The girl still looked entirely human, but if she was telling the truth, that seemed unlikely. And if she was lying, well, it was with an impressive poker face.
Idly -- and certainly not because staring at that wound was doing unpleasant things to her stomach -- she let her gaze wander around the hut's sparse contents.
"So how did you come back to life? You're not undead, I can smell that much. And you don't look like a reincarnating yogi, so I'm clueless."
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Post by cogwheel on Jan 16, 2013 3:41:50 GMT -5
The inside of the hut is, surprisingly, quite tidy. There is a strange feel about it, a promise of chaos, littered floors and endless clutter, hindered by the almost complete lack of anything to clutter it with. Not being one for worldly possessions - in hindsight, she realizes, one would not have much trouble mistaking her for an ascetic hermit at a glance - there is little within the house's walls.
Instead, the odd bottle of alcohol or packet of cigarettes from Kourindou can be seen here and there, the odd bit of sawdust, knives and whatever half-finished woodcarving project, no doubt doomed to be abandoned before completion, scattered about the cottage. And then, of course, there were the medical supplies around her chair, likely a good bit less of them than were needed.
And then there were the bloodstains, of course. A rag is quickly tossed on the floor to cover those up, and nothing more. It wasn't important, after all. These things could wait. Forever, if it wasn't for people coming in.
This, as Umeko had surmised, was not a house anyone lived in.
This was a house in which someone existed. Indefinitely.
"No? Alright then, suit yourself." Paying no mind to the youkai's rather curious statement - they were an odd bunch, after all, and if she inquired about every little strange thing they would be here all day - she conjures a small ember in each hand, flinging them at separate ends of the room. One lights a lantern on the wall, while another strikes the fireplace, igniting the logs there.
Her aim wasn't perfect, as a few scorch marks on the walls showed, but it was good enough. That was what mattered, in the end. Even with an eternity, there wasn't enough time in the world to be picky about things like that.
Umeko's assessment gets a rare chuckle out of Mokou as the phoenix slowly shakes her head. "Yogi? Meditation? No, I'm not... not the type, you're right. It's a long story, so let's just say the short version is that I drank some things I shouldn't have, and now I revive every time I die. Sticking around till after the sun dies, as far as I know."
She gestures towards one of the seats by the fireside - the house was rather drafty, after all, and not especially comfortable without some warmth - while crudely piling bandages on to her wound once again, in her struggle to stop it from staining more of the floor and furniture.
"So when'd you trip and fall through the barrier, anyway? Last week? Yesterday? An hour ago?"
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Umeko
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Posts: 16
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Post by Umeko on Jan 23, 2013 17:04:55 GMT -5
Umeko complied with the suggestion to take a seat, trying not to be too rudely obvious in her attempt to look around the now-illuminated room. It occurred to her that she'd never actually been inside a human dwelling... unless you counted that one attempt to do the boogeyman thing and steal sleeping children out of their beds, but that was rather different, and it only happened once or twice anyway.
The cold didn't particularly bother her, but the fire was... nice. Pretty. It wasn't something she saw a lot of, anyway. She warmed her hands by it, enjoying the sharp difference in temperature.
"About three days now. I've been... exploring, I guess, trying to get a feel for the area. I don't suppose there's any kind of sea around here anywhere? Everything's so dry."
Seeing new places was interesting for now, anyway, but it had been long enough that she was starting to miss the sea spray and swaying waves again. Not that she was particularly keen on isolation either, but maybe there would be more water spirits around here.
"What do people even do around here, besides sit around waiting to die - present company excluded, I guess..."
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Post by cogwheel on Jan 26, 2013 5:51:01 GMT -5
"Three days. Right. Explains a lot, that. Exploring... well. Could be worse, could be worse. Not much time to do any damage, at least."
She glances around, before picking up a glass bottle - water, this time. Keine left it around, in the hope that she would eventually go for it instead of her usual fare if it stayed in the house long enough. It only took a few days for the gambit to pay off.
Draining it in one go, she scratches her head a few times before looking back to the visitor, mulling her thoughts over.
"No sea around here, I know that much. You from around there, then? Doesn't matter, if you want water... well, I suppose there's Misty Lake. Full of fairies, last I heard, but it's an easy enough place to spot, and the best you're going to get. Could give you directions if you need them."
With no bottle left to occupy her hands, she fishes around in one pocket for a half-crumpled cigarette, about to light it, before glancing towards Umeko and thinking better of the plan. It could wait for now, until the house was unoccupied.
"Couldn't tell you. I'm not exactly the average person around here, see. Still, from what I can tell... starting fights, starting trouble, and starting to drink - sake or tea, take your pick. You'll see duels, harmless ones, whenever people get bored. Or the moon gets stolen, or the sky gets blocked up with mist. 'Least, that's what the bored youkai do. Humans don't cause as much trouble, I think. Less time on their hands. And that brings us to the next thing, really."
The phoenix leans back in her chair, a few small trails of flame curling and coiling about her right hand. A lazy flick of the wrist sends a couple embers tumbling through the air, falling to the ground but burning out moments before connecting with the floor. After a few repetitions of tossing a ball of fire into the air, then catching it, she speaks up again.
"Now, here's the bad news. You picked the wrong house to walk into, I'll say that much. Or maybe the right one. Point is, in my free time - whenever anyone asks me to, I'm a youkai exterminator. 'Course, I don't kill them or anything, but... nine times out of ten, they don't try anything again. Still, someone like you? Reckon there just might be a point in getting you started right. "
A few more tosses of the fireball, before Mokou snuffs it out, watching the lost youkai carefully, curiously, for any reaction.
"There's a temple, over in the human village, name of Myouren. Now, I'm not the religious type, and I doubt most youkai are, but the crowd at the temple, they're the sorts that think humans and youkai ought to be able to get along just fine. Crazy talk, of course, even if some people buy it. Barmy like you wouldn't believe. Still, they're... they're good people, I'll give 'em that. Couldn't hurt, for a place for someone like you to get started. You'd be safe there, I know that much."
And there would be some people to keep an eye on her, of course, but that didn't need to be said. The more of these types she dealt with beforehand, the less hassle they would be later.
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Umeko
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Posts: 16
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Post by Umeko on Feb 9, 2013 19:32:11 GMT -5
Umeko's eyes followed the lazy arc of the embers, unable to wrench her gaze from the glowing lure. She shook her head and blinked rapidly as it dissipated, trying to clear the lingering spots from her vision. She should be concentrating, listening to what the human was telling her. All she could focus on was flickering light, and the smell of smoke, the itch of her dry skin, the tang of blood.
A lake. She could do that, sure. Fairies, though... she'd only met a few of those. They were pretty, vapid, temperamental, and tended to prefer the company of their own kind. A temple was more interesting. One where humans and youkai could be together was a hilariously doomed idea, but it tugged on something painfully nostalgic in her chest.
She was vaguely aware that there was a threat there, barely veiled in the human's words. Couldn't help wondering how well Mokou could back it up. Even immortal, a human couldn't be that tough, not without some kind of god or sorcery. Maybe calling her out on that would be cathartic. Painting the walls a nice red...
...But then, that kind of thinking was what got her in this mess to begin with. This didn't need to turn messy. It could stay a nice, peaceful interaction. Practice for later. God she was hungry.
"I... yeah. That could work. I'm not the religious type, but the temple sounds like an interesting place."
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Post by cogwheel on Feb 26, 2013 0:10:39 GMT -5
I'm not the religious type. The implication gets a second chuckle out of the phoenix, no doubt exhausting her supply for a few years to come. As near-intruders went, Umeko was amusing enough, at least.
"Do I look like I am? Dropping dead every other day or my luck, either would do away with that sort of thing pretty quickly, I'd say. That sort of thing's not really for you and me, anyway. Stick around here long enough and you'll meet a couple goddesses, in fact, but don't get too excited about that. Not a whole lot of them are worth talking to, much less trusting."
Of course, the number of people she considered 'worth talking to' could be counted on the fingers of her left hand. All things considered, the assessment might have meant a good deal more coming from another.
"No, it's nothing to do with that, really. More that it's a good, safe place to be, and if that doesn't catch you up on the way things are here nowadays, nothing will. Doesn't hurt to encourage them a bit now and then, either. Keeps them from remembering it's a lost cause, you know?"
She shifts in her seat for a few seconds, then brings up what remains of her left arm - bleeding again, the sheer nerve of the thing - and pulling the bandages away, applying a brief gout of fire from her intact palm to close the wound for good. Certainly, the pain was unbelievable. Why, if it wasn't for centuries of building up tolerance, it might have even bothered her a little.
It would also, of course, smell reasonably close to cooking meat to a youkai, but then, that was another little source of amusement for her and nothing more.
"That, and each one going to them is less trouble for me to deal with. Good of you to play along, really; most are a whole lot more stubborn than you. Wish they'd do the same, but it lets me practice my torching arm, so I suppose everyone walks away happy enough either way."
A few moments pass quietly, with Mokou busily reconstructing the shroud of cigarette smoke around herself. A thought occurs to her before long, however, and she speaks up once again.
"You going to need someone to show you there, or can you find your own way?"
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