allthenotes | Night 21

He thought for a moment. "The one with the jars of preserved fruit?" Shougo queried. "I'll look into it."

But there was a more interesting matter to address first. His eyes focused on her, curious yet piercing, while he adopted the casual posture of hands tucked into pockets. "First, however, you mentioned knowing how I might expand my natural sight...?"

"The very same. They have pastries and tea there as well."

She dipped her head in a nod, before starting to walk around him. It was very casual, but she kept an eye on him.

"I did. And I thought, too, that it might be fair to give you a few warnings in the interim. Because if you desire to go ahead and do so still, there will be consequences." Her tone was matter of fact. Even tranquil. "There's no promise that it will turn off, or that you will not be overwhelmed. It could be highly distracting, or take time and concentration-or you may take the risk and find yourself with nothing. So I hope this is not an impulsive choice."

He mused over her words for a little while, ignoring her circling.

"It's hard to say how I'll feel until it happens. I'm not one to shy away from new experiences. Anything that allows me to feel alive, I will chase. I would hope that it won't change me permanently, but, well..." He spread his hamds. "If the process itself is not dangerous, I will deal with the results."

The circling was mostly for herself, not for him. She hummed in her throat, her fingers lightly touching on each other.

"Ah, well. I cannot be certain of such a thing. Nothing is certain, especially with the road you desire to walk. I don't know if it would permanently cause any change either of us have not anticipated."

She stopped her pacing, but her gaze was pensive, and focused not on him. "As it is, if this were from my world, this would not bring you closer to life, but to death-and bait for creatures of the other side. It will not be so simple here. So I ask again: are you certain?"

"Yes," he said calmly. There was no reason, the way he saw it, not to venture a try. Shougo had talked before of wishing to see the splendour of the human soul - and now, he had a chance to do so literally.

When he thought about what he could learn from the experience, there was no question about what his answer was going to be.

There was a distant look in her eye, something judging-which vanished in a few moments, before she offered a small, calm smile. It was only her usual mask.

"I see. I make no promises, just an idea and a chance. If you would be so kind as to follow me?"

She waited a moment, before striding off, her arms idle at her sides.

Nodding, he fell in behind her and matched her pace. What had been that look, that hint of expression before she'd turned away?

"Where are we headed?" he asked.

Edited 2017-09-02 09:45 (UTC)

"Not far from here." She didn't turn around; instead he was walking to the former apothecary. "I do not promise that you will get what you want. But who knows? You may get what you need."

"That's fine. If nothing changes then it's no loss to me; merely no gain," Shougo replied.

He peered beyond her at the house they were approaching. Shadows of movement and the promise of chatter met his ears the closer they came. If she could somehow evoke the ability in him, that would be wonderful. However, he was also perfectly happy as he was right now.

Edited 2017-09-11 08:13 (UTC)

"I wouldn't go so far as to say there will be no change. Just not what you desired."

She shrugged, not glancing back as they approached the busy place. But out of courtsey's sake, she knocked soundly on the door, before letting her hand drop. Waiting to see if there would be anyone answering, or if they should let themselves in.

"'Do not spoil what you have by desiring what you have not; remember that what you now have was once among the things you only hoped for,'" Shougo recited, chuckling. "Please don't worry about me."

He, too, waited patiently for her knock to be answered, wondering who it was she wanted him to meet - if indeed it was a 'who'.

Master Of Fates (TC) -
I mean if they just go and kock
Ter comes over to answer the door
looks briefly amused
and says "If you are looking to sell something, we're broke."

Team Mom (Nammah) -
Masaki would laugh and have to assure him no, she has nothing to sell, but she'd like to chat with him or whoever else has knowledge on a certain subject matter

Master Of Fates (TC) -
Ter wrinkles his forehead. "How very vague." He glances between her and shougo and makes a questioning sound.

Team Mom (Nammah) -
"I apologize, it's a little difficult to explain." She motions to Shougo. "This is my companion. I'll let him introduce himself, and to nip it in the bud, no. We're not in a relationship."

Little Thief (Chips) -
Amused by that comment, he bows slightly to Ter. "Wordsmith. I was seeking a way to see the nature of the soul and she led me here."

Master Of Fates (TC) -
Ter pauses, then frowns very slightly. "No man can trod upon that path without a guide."

Team Mom (Nammah) -
Masaki nods. "That's why I thought this might be a good place to start. There's much I don't know on the subject, and the path he was flirting with worried me."

Master Of Fates (TC) -
Ter makes a little face, and steps out onto the stoop with a sigh. "I assume 'flirting' to be literal, as I can think of very few that could guide someone down that path here."

Team Mom (Nammah) -
She sighs, and wrinkles her nose briefly. "In his own way, yes. What I know would lead to confusion. I'm Masaki by the way."

Master Of Fates (TC) -
He gives a slight nod to aknowledge the offering of her name - and does not give his own. "I see."

Little Thief (Chips) -
"One of the men in black did introduce me to the topic. She recommended I seek a different path to it." Shougo gestures at Masaki.

Team Mom (Nammah) -
"Drinking blood from men who don't have eyes you can see seems like a dangerous endeavor." She offered Shougo a glance. "Especially those who have no problem with drugging people."

Little Thief (Chips)
A small shrug. "He offered. I accepted."

Master Of Fates (TC) -
Ter looks very thoughtful at that, his head tilting very slightly.

Team Mom (Nammah) -
She shook her head, sighing softly. "It seems cut and dry when you put it like that. But it's still not safe." She glanced at Ter. "Which is why I was hoping to request assistance. But if there's none-" She shrugged again, wiping some hair from her face.

Master Of Fates
"Why do you want to understand the soul?" Ter asks, after a few moments of silence

Little Thief (Chips) -
"What a broad question. Who doesn't wish to understand it?" Shougo thinks for a few seconds. "'Inside us there is something that has no name, that something is what we are.' I've always wondered how the soul influences human nature - if indeed it does. I thought perhaps being able to see might lead me to more answers. Or more questions."

Master Of Fates (TC) -
"To loss, and darkness."

Team Mom (Nammah) -
Masaki hums under her breath. "To sorrow, to the end?"

Master Of Fates (TC) -
"There is no end." Ter answers simply.

Team Mom (Nammah) -
Only a new path?"

Shougo's eyes flicked between the pair, the man himself quiet and contemplative. The other man hadn't given his name and did not seem particularly enthusiastic about helping them - which was entirely his prerogative, as disappointing as it was. Shougo burned to know the answers to his questions however. At least, he was determined to pursue his enquiries to the furthest that was humanly possible.

"I dislike ignorance," he interjected in a low voice, "and I dislike fear. The majority of the people of my country are content to go about living day to day shepherded by a voice in their ear. They shy away from anything truly adventurous; they shy away from knowledge. I understand why you would try to keep me from danger - to protect yourself and those you care for, if nothing else - and I respect that choice. But if you want to even begin to persuade me to abandon my current course then I have to ask: do you understand that which you ask me to avoid?"

Edited 2017-09-23 02:44 (UTC)

The man before them was silent for a time, long fingers caressing the wood of the door frame, blindly tracing the whirls of the wood, finding a knot and lingering there.

"I understand what the seeking costs, if that persuades you at all. I have seen it task a man to bones, and bloat another to excess. It is a journey with many casualties, littering the road along its way. That is why I advise against it." He inclined his head slightly. "But I am only a maker, no scholar of renown, and few listen to a peddler as he hawks his wares."

"What we need to remember is that we are far from home."

Masaki's voice was gentle as she glanced from man to man, her gaze somber.

"And knowledge does not always mean understanding. I have seen the cost of sight on others, what the cost of power-what knowledge is, if not power-has done to others."

She could feel an ache in her chest, and she pressed a hand briefly against her heart, as if it could make it go away.

"Peddlers hear much, see much more then....whatever I am. I don't know these days." She inclined her head to Ter. "But Wordsmith, I daresay he is a man worthy of consideration and respect. After all, the path of fire does not always have a reward-sometimes it merely burns you and those around you."

Shougo thought of the bodies he had already left in his wake from pursuing the truth behind Sibyl and huffed softly, the beginnings of a smile curving his lips. Ironically, there was no little voice of his own to affirm whether his actions were righteous or not. Nor were there oblivious masses to hide amongst. The people here could and would act upon their impulses.

So he chose his words more carefully than usual as he responded to Masaki. "I'm not discounting his warning. But moments ago, I told you that I was prepared for whatever consequences my choices led to." His gaze shifted back to the peddler. "If the only knowledge I walk away from here with is what not to attempt, then I'll be content for the time being."

Surely, he thought, there must be one road safer than the rest. It was just a matter of finding it.

Ter frowned slightly, and lifted his gaze to look directly at Masaki.

"Then I wish you well on your path." The peddler offered, and stepped back seemingly intent on closing the door.

Masaki gazed back to the peddler, her expression softening. His wishing well did not seem to be for Shougo-or not just for him.

"My thanks. If I may say one last thing before we part?"

She waited a moment before continuing. "If you or yours need healer services, I will do my best." She tipped her head in a nod. "And I will keep silent."

He knew dismissal when he saw it. Eyes sliding aside, looking over or past, words directed anywhere but at him.

Shougo confessed to feeling disappointed. But like every other disappointment in his short life, he swallowed it down with barely a flicker of expression.

With an inward sigh, he turned to the silent rows of houses beyond this dwelling. There was nothing more for him to say.

Masaki watched as the peddler stepped away, the door closing, and sighed, glancing back to Shougo and where he stood.

She wasn't sure if Ter heard him, but at least she tried.

"Best that we get going." She shook her head slightly, tucking a stray bit of hair behind her ear. "That was educational, don't you think?"

He shrugged noncomitally. Every encounter with someone new was a learning experience. One learned more of the other person each time they met. To call it educational, however...

"He warned me of the consequences. It is not the consequence I seek but the journey," Shougo commented as he turned his eyes to the stars. Truly beautiful things. "If he could have told me what those before me had done then perhaps I would have called that educational. As it is, I have to say I learned very little. Fireworks and firearms both use gunpowder yet they display very different results. We do not fear to use the gunpowder for fireworks, do we?"

Edited 2017-09-28 03:59 (UTC)

She watched him quietly, listening without committing. But at the end of it....

Her shoulders shook. But her expression...she was clearly shaking from silent laughter, to the point of her eyes filled with tears of mirth.

"You're very amusing sometimes." She finally managed, and took in a deep breath, wiping her eyes. "No one would aim fireworks at their face either, or handle a live firework with your hands."

Shougo stared at her for a long moment. This was not a reaction he was used to. People had been angry at him before. Scared, yes, wary, confused, and - rarely - appreciative. But they had never laughed the way she was laughing at him now.

Unsure how to react, he shook his head. "No, but that's my point. We don't shy from using such a dangerous substance, do we? That's why I asked him if he understood what he was asking me to avoid. Yet he gave me nothing."

Masaki was, if nothing else, a rather unique woman with at times a strange personality. Then again, maybe that was how they got along so well.

"Are you so certain he gave you nothing? Shougo, Wordsmith...whatever you wish to call yourself..."

She shook her head, but she was still smiling up at him. "This may take some contemplation. If I told you what I heard, I would only cheapen it for you. But I will say one thing."

She held up a finger. "The element of lead is a highly useful, highly poisonous substance. Sometimes, it's better to know what it does, then to find out first hand."

Night 21

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

How the conversation starts part one

How the conversation starts part two

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

(no subject)

(no subject)

(no subject)

(no subject)

(no subject)