Re: In the Desert, On a Horse With a Name [Murasaki, Micaiah]

Wed Feb 24, 2021 1:53 am

In the Desert, On a Horse With a Name [Murasaki, Micaiah] - Page 2 NsOqTkn

KAGAYAKU NO MURASAKI

Well, Murasaki was honestly impressed by Micaiah's time. That'd been a pretty good distance to cross for most people, and even she ususally would've taken a horse if she was going further than a few miles. At least before she got good at shunpo and stuff.

"You all good there? You need some water or something? I've got sake and stuff too if you want that, but you probably oughta drink some water first. I've got snacks and stuff 'til the rabbit is cooked, too."

Pouring herself a cup of sake, Murasaki kept herself from giggling at Micaiah's plight. It was impressive that she'd even run this far, after all, and 20 minutes really was a super good time for that distance. She'd let her be proud of that time.

"So, what brings ya to this part of the world?"

END POST | THE WAY OF THE SWORD

Mon Mar 01, 2021 9:53 pm

The North God

Water sounded good right about now. Sake sounded better, to be honest, and her bros back in Vicara would tell her that good booze was a better hydrator because you could enjoy it more. Man, demons are dumb.

She rested for a few minutes before moving towards Murasaki, starting with a crawl and building up speed to an eventual walk. She took the offered water, drank more water than it seemed her body could actually hold, and laid down with her eyes closed. For a moment it looked like she was napping, but the reality was she was meditating. Specifically, contemplating her mistakes, her life, and how it all led up to this terrible feeling.

Given a few more minutes, the self-contained complaining was over. She picked herself and was relatively restored, at least enough to get to the cooking and respond in conversation.

"To the Americas? I came with a couple friends, we swam across the Atlantic--saw some CRAZY stuff, actually. You ever hear of the legend of Atlantis before? Well, believe it or not, there's something down there. Shit's crazy, man."

While taking out the rabbits from her gourd, Micaiah started the process of cleaning the meat while recounting a few stories from her Atlantic Odyssey. The more she spoke, the more she forgot about the actual reason for her coming to this camp. Micaiah got lost in the memories with a whole range of expressions on her face while her hands were busy, but somewhere in her eyes always reflected a sort of listlessness. It was pretty well hidden behind her tangential storytelling, though.

"You know, that's probably the best part of going on these adventures. You always have a bunch of stories to tell when you meet new friends, and a great big shelf's worth of memories. I swear, it's half the reason I go on them sometimes, hahaha! Anyways, what about you--what brings a shinigami all the way here in America?"

In all honesty, Micaiah forgot about the whole Gotei occupying America thing and shinigami doing patrols on Earth. She kinda lapsed in remembering the Gotei at all, to be honest.

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Wed Mar 03, 2021 8:38 am

KAGAYAKU NO MURASAKI

There was something about listening to Micaiah speak, her youthful energy and that wanderlust, that really reminded Murasaki of herself maybe a hundred years prior. It was almost depressing, really, but naturally she wouldn't let any degree of melancholy come over her. She just wasn't the kind of girl to let her own problems bring down the night, after all.

"That's true. You hang onto any keepsakes? I always try to have at least a picture or two somewhere to remember things by, though most of the time it's usually something like a little memento instead. That's kinda better though, honestly. A picture just helps me remember people, but a thing always has the whole moment in it."

Sipping a bit more of her sake, Murasaki looked up at the stars for a bit, definitely more relaxed than she usually would have been. After all, even if she was here on patrol, it was that time in the night when nothing ever really seemed to happen. Not that time when something unexpected came, just...that brief little window of a few hours, where the whole universe seemed like it wanted a break.

"The usual patrols, I guess. There's still a lot of Hollows prowling around from the war, and honestly even from before it. Not to mention there are a lot that have probably gone feral since Las Vegas..."

Ah, right, that'd gone poorly, hadn't it? The reminder that Murasaki hadn't really been able to save that city was something akin to a bucket of ice water being poured over her head, but she'd already dealt with those feelings once before. She wouldn't be sad about it again.

END POST | THE WAY OF THE SWORD

Wed Mar 03, 2021 9:28 am

The North God

"Nah, I just got this."

Micaiah pointed to her head but made sure not to touch it. Wouldn't wanna get any of this rabbit blood and oils in her hair; what a disaster that'd be. For as much as she ventured around haphazardly like a vagrant, she did well to take care of the precious assets. A girl's gotta do at least that much.

"Can't get hung up in the past and stuff, you know? If I didn't remember it, I probably didn't care enough too--or it wasn't that important. Worst come to worst, I got this old man to remind me."

She patted the sword with a presence to it, clearly not as cautious with it as she was with her hair.

By now, she finished all the clean-up. The stories were pretty detailed and long, after all. Micaiah, as to not interrupt the conversation, used her hands and body to gesture around and signal that she was ready to start grilling this stuff up.

"Vegas? What happened there? I heard of some stuff here and there, but I'm not from around these parts, or this continent for that matter, so I'm not familiar with the nitty gritty. Were you there?"

In fairness, Micaiah's senses were occupied with the food preparation, so she didn't catch any wind of any lapse in the mood coming from Murasaki's end.

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Fri Mar 05, 2021 11:08 pm

KAGAYAKU NO MURASAKI

"That's fair. Maybe it's just because I'm gettin' old, I've got a lot to remember. Need a little help for some of it when you've traveled so much."

Murasaki's gaze turned once more to the sword by Micaiah's side, reminded once more that she'd wanted to ask a little more about it. Well, thankfully she didn't seem too unwilling to talk about it or anything. Some people were weird about stuff like that.

"Vegas was pretty much terrible. Some Arrancar showed up, wanted to prove what big guys they were. City's gone now, so I guess they proved it."

Shrugging her grief off, Murasaki cleared her head, refusing to ruminate on it further.

"So, what's up with that sword ya got there? Definitely not just any old sword, I can tell right away."

END POST | THE WAY OF THE SWORD

Sat Mar 06, 2021 12:05 am

The North God

"Damn, that sucks. What an unruly bunch, them arrancar are. I've encountered a few on my travels; they're always trying to size me up for no reason. Bop them and shoo them off, but they still keep coming until you gotta put them down."

She still didn't really recognise the unpleasant tone to the subject matter, but Micaiah didn't press it any further. Her hands moved swiftly between her gourd and the campfire, setting up a flat and wide skillet in a raised apparatus that fixed it above the flames; right next to it, a pot hanging down for a fragrant veggie-filled soup, and next to it a separate pot with rice in it. At Murasaki's words, she used her foot that was free from labour to point over at Beni-asi-hashi.

"Oh, the sword over there? Nah, that really is just an old sword, with an old bastard in it. Some washed up demon king that put a part of himself into a sword to hide away for a million years or something. Whispered sweet nothing into my ear about my 'fascinating' past and because I took the bait I'm stuck with him now. In fact, why I am I explaining it, why don't you talk to her yourself, dude?"

A voice reached out to Murasaki and Micaiah alike, the same one as before.

"I didn't want to be rude and interrupt. But, yes, what Micaiah said is roughly correct. I am Maujuda, previously the king of Vicara Planes in Demon World from many eons ago. Ask away, and I'll do my best to give an appropriate answer."

There was a lightness to the voice's tone, not quite to the point of excitement, but Maujuda was clearly engaged in the conversation. Truth of the matter was, Micaiah wasn't the most pleasant conversationalist towards Maujuda when it came to serious discussions beyond lighthearted small talk. As he was once the Danava of Thought, Maujuda earnestly enjoyed deeper topics, and from his impression Murasaki was able to hold one. At the very least, surely she was more serious than Micaiah.

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Sat Mar 06, 2021 4:33 am

KAGAYAKU NO MURASAKI

"They're pretty awful, yeah. There's a reason we always try to just get rid of 'em when they pop up, though there's a few here and there that aren't so bad."

Murasaki watched Micaiah's multitasking with some degree of interest, honestly pretty impressed by how well she managed to balance the whole thing. Of course, her gaze turned over to the sword once more, Micaiah's words catching her attention in a way that wasn't strictly positive or negative.

"A demon king, huh? Well, that'd explain a few things, I guess. Was wondering how he caught my attention so easy, but it makes sense now."

This sure was pretty weird, wasn't it? She didn't generally interact with demons, mostly because she never had any good reason to. Honestly, Murasaki hadn't been expecting such an open-ended question, so she needed to think about that hor a while.

"What made ya pick a sword? Just figured someone would pick it up one day?"

END POST | THE WAY OF THE SWORD

Sat Mar 06, 2021 5:50 am

The North God

"Hohoho, see that, Micaiah? You could learn more than just swordsmanship from this lass~"

You could practically see Beni-asi-hashi blushing in pride at the mention of how he caught attention so easily, but on closer look it was Micaiah pointing her fingers at the sword and shooting little sparks of fire at it.

"Why a sword? Well, what a fine question. I've partaken in a many wars, seen many weapons of all shapes and sizes, but I find myself seeing that some of the greatest warriors I've ever had the pleasure of knowing were those who placed their efforts in mastering the sword. It isn't as long as the spear; it isn't as strong as the axe, and it isn't as steady as a great hammer. However, it is versatile, it is brave, and personally I find swords to be some of the most elegant things I've seen. No sword I've come across has made me ever think otherwise, you included."

If Maujuda had a body, he'd probably wink. To the side, Micaiah nearly groaned and rolled her eyes, but she kept on cooking. This was about to be a bitching meal.;

"Thus, I trusted that the one who would inherit my will and legacy would be one that could wield a sword. Certainly, a mastery of many forms and weapons is ideal, and I do my best to guide Micaiah in learning as much as she can, but knowing their way around a sword is of utmost importance."

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Sun Mar 07, 2021 12:11 pm

KAGAYAKU NO MURASAKI

Murasaki hadn't exactly meant for this demon king to take what she said that way. It had more just been impressive for him to notice her and reach out from that far. Well, if he wanted to take it as that sort of compliment, that was fine, too.

"Oh, you're a real flatterer, huh? Well, I do agree swords are pretty nice, but obviously I'm a little biased about that one. I am mighty fine though, so maybe it's just an eye for good craftsmanship."

She laughed quietly at her own joke, always willing to go for a little bit of lighthearted self-aggrandizement. It wasn't anything super big, after all, but the little things tended to be the most amusing ones, at least as far as Murasaki was concerned.

"That so... Ya know, most of the stories about demon-possessed swords I've heard tend to be about them tempting their owners to some gruesome death, or just drivin' 'em insane. You wouldn't do somethin' like that though, right? Be mighty rude."

END POST | THE WAY OF THE SWORD

Mon Mar 08, 2021 11:47 pm

The North God

The conversation was getting... weird, man. Micaiah went from rolling her eyes at the talk to not really wanting to listen to it at all. Just sounded like a geezer hitting on someone, and the someone being nice about it. She stated tuning it out and focusing up on the rabbit. The timing on these flips were the important part, and the soup had to be stirred constantly to prevent any oil from settling.

"Well, I can't say my eyes and intuition have ever failed me, on either crafts or people."

Except for that one time you died. Wait, no, she was supposed to be tuning it out. Micaiah was just about to tune back out, but Murasaki started mentioning demon possessed swords, temptation, gruesome deaths, being driven insane and all that.

"Of course not, those actions are the work of sava--" "Yes! They really are exactly like that. Telling you "HeY, SoMEtHinG CoOl iS OvEr tHErE, gO ChEcK iT OuT", and you'll let them know politely, "nah, that's okay, I'm good," and then they'll just push you straight into a portal with no regards for where they're dropping you. I nearly broke my pelvic bone one time, 'cause this idiot dropped me on a stone post right between my legs! Fucking ridiculous."

"Please. This child has no sense of discipline. If I hadn't guided her, she wouldn't have half the experiences, knowledge, and relationships she's developed thus far."

"That's probably because you force me to do so many things I don't have time to do any of that on my own, of my own volition!"

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