thefarshore | Many Questions To Be Had

Entry tags:

Many Questions To Be Had

Who: Xehanort, Open
What: bothering people, and other things
When: June 13thish to maybe the 20th or so
Where:Other temples, his own after dark.
Warnings: None so far.

A

[Although it would be best if he saw to some of his prayers, instead Xehanort has picked up his notebook, a bit of tape and phone, shifted to the jackal-headed form most associate with the god Anubis, and gone looking for other temples nearby. He could have stayed in human form, but if he's intending to speak to gods and shinki both, isn't it best to be easily identified?

Once a temple is found, however, it's just a matter of looking for a door to knock on or a proper place to call out a greeting .. or even approach someone who happens to be standing outside.

He's really not that picky. God, shinki, it's all the same.]

B

[So someone wasn't home when Xehanort ventured to visit their temple. That's alright, there are a million things to do in a day. But at any temple that seemed occupied but nobody home, he's left a note.]

Greetings. I am Anubis; I visited your temple today but nobody was home.

I'd like to ask some questions about your experiences here (God or Shinki!), but since it seems I've missed you, perhaps you'd like to visit me instead, or leave me a message? I should be back at my own temple after sunset, but I can also be reached at [number] easily.

Thank you for your time.

[Visiting Anubis' temple, on the other hand, is visiting a desert. It's dry, even with the bits of oasis-like pools here and there, but it's not completely uninviting.. if it's after sunset he'll be there.]

Temple Description can be found here.

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[After walking under the torii and walking across the bridges, Xehanort will find himself in front of a traditional Shinto temple, the brilliant vermilion painting the pristine waters below the same vibrant color.

The doors are open and lead to an open courtyard, where he'll find Lu Meng busy sweeping some loose leaves into a neat pile. A small set of stone stairs lies to the left, and a kitten can be seen napping peacefully on a step...until Xehanort steps over the threshold. Ears perk up, eyes snap open, and immediately the claws are out. Hissing and spitting, with all its hairs standing on edge, the kitten's raising a little bit of a racket at the sight of the jackal-headed god.

That certainly grabs Lu Meng's attention, and when his gaze falls upon the source of the cat's ire, he draws a sharp, startled breath before his eyes narrow with suspicion, hands gripping the broom tight. Forgive him, the last time he saw an animal-human person, it was a spider lady trying to kill him.]

Good day to you. [A cordial and careful greeting.] May I know your business here?

[It's a peaceful location and building. Old Japanese architecture seemed to be designed that way, and he takes his time picking his way towards it, looking around with interest. A person is just what he's looking for, not a kitten .. but it's the kitten that's more obvious about its displeasure.

As the tiny thing fluffs up in its best effort to look frightening, Xehanort glances at it .. and very deliberately turns his attention elsewhere. Cats, like dogs, didn't seem to enjoy being stared at, maybe the little puffball will relax a bit if it's being 'ignored'.

The person's reaction isn't much better, honestly, and he raises both hands, palms-out. No weapons except for short claws.]

Good day. I am looking for the shinki and god of this temple, to ask a small number of questions on a matter of no serious importance. I do not come to do harm, to you or anyone else here, including your little friend.

[Well.. at least he sounds peaceable enough, tone moderated to politeness quite purposefully.]

[Sounds peaceable enough for Lu Meng to relax a smidge, though that wariness keeps the grip on his broom firm.] I have no objections to that, but I'd like to know who I'm speaking to first.

Anubis. And yourself? Are you lord of this temple?

[He's going to stay polite for now, being rude never really gets ANYTHING accomplished except aggravation, and that won't get him any answers.]

Anubis...[That name rings a bell, actually. He's been reading up on all the different gods from various pantheon...come to think of it, wasn't there one which identified with a jackal?

Recognition finally flashes in his eyes and he finally relaxes completely, setting his broom down to the side to properly greet the god. A respectful gesture in the form of two hands brought to his front, one clasped over the other.] Well met then. My name is Lu Meng. I'm not the god of this temple, only a shinki.

[A small bow.] My lady has matters to attend today, but I will be glad to answer your questions. A courtyard is no place to hold a conversation though. Please, follow me.

[And Lu Meng will begin to lead "Anubis" past the temple, to the strangely modern house behind the shrine. Along the way, he does have a question for the other god:]

Were you brought here to take up the role of a god? Or are you one of the original gods of this Heaven?

[It's his name as much as Xehanort is these days, perhaps moreso given he'd guessed at a name and this one has been assigned to him by far more powerful gods. Learning to answer to it was going to take longer, however.. probably just in time for him to up and disappear.]

As I understand it there's little 'only' about shinki, you do yourself a disservice.

[But it's good to know what NOT to ask after and bring up.. some things are acceptable, other things end in MONSTERS. That would be a horribly rude way to begin a visit. He follows as bidden however with no hesitation, taking only a moment to look for that kitten and make sure he's not suddenly going to have it latched onto his ankle in passing.

The addition of a very different style of building is a little out of place with the rest. Were there others as well and he'd just missed them because of the more fascinating temple?]

I was brought here, as far as I know. I don't think I've met any of the native gods. How long have you been here for, sir? You seem comfortable with this place.

[In fairness it's a very nice place.]

[The kitten gives out one last hiss before she bounds away. Lu Meng glances at her and sighs.] Sorry. She doesn't like newcomers. [Or anyone but her owner, if he could be honest. His own arms are covered with faint scratch marks, a testimony to that cat's grumpy disposition.

Anyway. Where were they? Right, how long he's been here.]

To answer your question, I have been here two months. [Though honestly it feels so much longer than that. Time in Heaven seems to flow strangely.] A short amount of time, but life in the Far Shore has treated me well.

[After holding the door for Anubis, Lu Meng follows the god inside. The living room isn't too far from the main door; furnished with comfortable sofas, with an open glass door to allow plenty of sunlight and fresh air in, it's certainly a nice room to entertain guests in.

Should Xehanort look around further, he'll see a mantlepiece with a couple of photo frames on display; Lu Meng is in some of the photos, along with a young, cheery woman with green hair.]

Please, have a seat. I shall fetch some tea. Would you prefer western or eastern teas, sir?

[There's something like a smile, but on a jackal's face it isn't exactly the nicest expression; some things simply don't translate well to nonhuman faces.]

I can't imagine seeing a giant two-legged dog is good for any cat..

[He's not going to take it personally, it seems. There's a murmured 'thank you' when the door is held open, the interior far more what he'd come to expect of the city than any old temples. Comfortable and pleasant.

He's going to have to prepare a similar place in his own temple..]

With such a peaceful setting as this, I think I can envy that time a little. This is a beautiful location. Do you tend to all of its upkeep yourself?

[There had been that pile of leaves earlier..

Although he had a further question, he pauses as he passes the photos, stopping to look at them. Something like amusement crosses his features - and that almost displays itself exactly as it might on a dog. If he had a tail, it might have wagged.]

Ah, is this the temple of the Goddess of Miracles? She was very kind to me not so long ago!

[And she'd declared herself his friend, though Xehanort still had trouble reciprocating such things. He's not completely distracted at least, turning back to Lu Meng quickly.]

I'm afraid I don't know the difference. I'll trust your judgment, sir.

The upkeep is shared between my lady and myself, though--

[--huh. Lu Meng stops in surprise when Xehanort comments on the photos.]

Oh, you've met Lady Kochiya? [What a small world. He looks at the photos, a slight smile cracking his serious demeanor.] I'm glad to hear that she's been kind to you. She's always trying to help as many people as she can. [Something like pride creeps into his voice. Eventhough it's just been two months, it's clear he's fond and proud of his goddess. But he's quick to reel in any sentimentality, and that stoic, formal tone returns. Perhaps a tinge warmer though.]

If my lady has helped you, then surely I must match her efforts. I will answer as many of your questions as I can.

A moment while I fetch the tea.

[And within five minutes he returns with two cups and a pot of green tea. Pouring a cup for Xehanort, he hands it to the god before taking a sit himself.]

Now, what would you like to ask?

Edited 2017-02-08 04:05 (UTC)

[The list of people Xehanort views favorably with few negatives is very, very short. Sanae happens to be on it. She hadn't hesitated to try to help, even though it hadn't worked she'd tried.

He picks a place to sit and settles there carefully. Sooner or later he would have had to run into her temple, it was rather nice that it was so soon. A pity she wasn't here though..

When Lu Meng returns with tea, he accepts a cup with one of those canine not-smiles. Whatever else might have happened today, at least this was going to be a pleasant visit.]

She certainly didn't hesitate to try to help me, a stranger at the time. I won't soon forget her kindness. Or yours, for that matter.

[Hospitality is also valuable!]

Happily my questions are not particularly invasive.. I think. It came to my attention during the beach party and later on that when we arrive here, shinki and god alike, there's much we wish or need to know that simply isn't told to us right away or easily discovered without doing a lot of asking around. I intend to remedy this, and write a small guidebook for the newly arrived. Being new myself, I know the sorts of troubles I ran into.. but other perspectives on what confused them, or they wished to know upon waking here, would also be invaluable. So here I am, to find out.

[He gestures a bit with his free hand before wrapping it around the cup again. It smelled good, not unlike one of the teas Master Ansem favored..]

A worthy and noble endeavour. [And he says and means that sincerely.] I spent my first week occupying myself with the bulletin board system reading old notices, but while there is plenty of information in them, it is incomplete and the information unorganized.

I've been working my way through the notifications myself, some has been helpful, most of it seems to be chatter.

[Good to get to know someone with, not so much gaining knowledge of how a world works. Observe as he works on figuring out how to drink tea with a canine snoot.

... This is going to take some practice.]

What sort of information did you find most needful, that wasn't readily available?

Information about this particular Heaven, and the current situation with gods and shinki being drawn from different worlds. You could argue that the bulletin board system would explain most of that, but as you've noted it can be tedious to sort through all the notifications.

Information about the role of a shinki and how we are to fulfil that role would be helpful as well. There is an expectation from the Heavens that our gods are supposed to bring us up to scratch on our new existence as shinki, but not everyone has a god that does so.

[From somewhere on his person is drawn an ubiquitous cellphone - which he doesn't seem to be using as one at all in favor of taking notes on it, using the barest tips of thumb-claws to type away as quickly as he can.

Taking notes is ALWAYS important.]

I imagine if the god is also new, getting that knowledge would be very difficult as well. They wouldn't know it in order to pass it on.

[He's oging to need a protective case for that thing, his claws are leaving faint scratches.]

... Did your lady provide the information you needed, if she was aware of it? I can't imagine she'd hold back if she did know something useful.

My lady told me everything she knew, and everything else that she's discovered since she's been here. But you've outlined the second part of the problem as well.

I've been told that new gods receive a briefing from Amaterasu's shinki when they arrive but I'm inclined to think those shinki don't cover everything, or it doesn't occur to them to offer more information than the bare bones.

As an example, a shinki has borderlines and spells to protect themselves in the absence of their gods. My lady was told of them, but on the matter of learning to cast them or who I could turn to for guidance, I had to look through the older entries on the Bulletin Board System for further information.

[There's an almost absent nod.]

You're right, not everything is covered.. not even most of it, for that matter. I was not told how or where to find my shinki, only that I would know her when I found her. Borderlines I learned about from someone else's shinki, it was never even mentioned.

[But education on basic powers seemed like it was going to be very important to make note of. It could prove vital very quickly, especially if problems crop up soon after arrival.]

In my case however, and that of other newest arrivals, I think their desire was to push us as quickly as possible to the beach gathering so that we might meet and learn from our fellows swiftly. ... I'm not certain I could describe the process of borderlines well enough to put it in a booklet however, I've only seen it done once.

[But it would be awfully useful. He was going to need further assistance.]

[Well, Xehanort's in luck then.]

I've described and taught the process to another shinki before. Allow me to be of assistance with you on that. [Heavens know he practices his borderline religiously. A shinki's borderline is his greatest defense against ayakashi.]

Would you like me to go into the details now, or after we have finished the rest of your questions?

[Those oversized ears perk right up.]

I am deeply appreciative of your assistance.

[And he REALLY IS, even if it's a bit understated. Not having to wander all over the place to find out what he wants is inevitably good, and from someone so polite about it too, it's about as good as it gets!

There's a bit of fiddling on his phone, and a frown that shows the barest tips of sharp teeth.]

I think I need something like this device, but a little bigger and easier to write on. Now works alright, I believe I have another page ready. So long as I keep things organized, it should be alright.

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Many Questions To Be Had

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