Fukusei Crystals -- Logs

Tara wakes with the dawn, as is her custom. She lies in bed a moment, staring sightlessly at the ceiling as she slowly pieces together fleeting bits of the dream she'd been having. It had been about... about... ah! It had been about the Mongol nomads, she remembers now. They were a fiercely proud and honorable people, great respecters of strength.

Tara ponders the dream, trying to tease out meaning. Why had it been so vivid? She remembers mostly the pleasure of physical action: target practice with them, her pistol against their arrows; racing on horseback with them, laughing at the wind in her face; dancing energetically by firelight on the steppes, all their shadows cavorting crazily behind them, with her slightly tipsy from the small amount of kumiss her father would allow her to drink, and the wonderfully familiar-alien music blaring tinnily on the boom box.

Tara smiles in wistful memory... then suddenly remembers what struck her most about the people: barter was critical for maintaining social and economic balance, but it was strength which was most important in developing trust and friendships. Her father had spoken the language fluently, been generous and open-handed, and knew how to barter with the best of them -- but it had been his mastery of horses and weaponry which had really impressed the nomads.

Tara realizes suddenly what the dream was trying to tell her: she'd been so focused on being a proper, polite, diplomatic, demure Nipponese girl! -but from what she can tell, that's not what's truly respected here in the spirit world. Friendship and trust weren't simply granted without reason. If they came at all, they'd come after strength had been demonstrated.

Tara sits up, pushing back her heavy golden mane of hair and giving a silent nod of resolve. She doesn't need to be 'nice' here -- she needs to be bold, to be strong. That, she knows how to do.

Someone else is awake with the dawn. Kibou gets up, rubs the sleep from his eyes, and rolls up his bedding. He puts it away in the corner then goes through the curtain to the outer room. The change from the slap-slap of bare feet to the tock-tock of wooden sandals on rock announces his trip outside.

Daichi stirs a bit in his sleeping bag, though you wouldn't be able to easily spot his face, as it's currently covered, The only thing that shows is a tuft of disheveled black hair and the metal capped end of his staff.

Tara hms -- no Shinsetsu? She grins at Daichi's sleeping with his staff... then decides a hot breakfast would be nice. She rolls quietly out of her bedroll and shoulders her pack, moving silently into the outer room. There was a fire there earlier -- perhaps she can heat up some water.

Tara knows today will be full of exercise, and that some of her compatriots are going to be painfully feeling the previous day's efforts. She'll smear some liquid soap on the outside of her big cooking pot, then fill it with some of the water they carried in. She sets it on the hearth's warm side to heat, then takes a sponge and leaves her pack in that room to step outside the building to look around.

Tara stretches lazily, pushing back her golden mane of hair. It's going to be a lovely day, she hopes. She shivers slightly in the dawn chill, then steps down to where the little stream falls down the mountainside. It'll be icy cold, but she'll feel nicer if she can get a short sponge bath.

Kibou is splitting wood with a chisel and hammer outside. The tools are smaller than usual, just right for the young boy, and he works with a steady, practiced rhythm, creating a regular cycle of wood hitting metal and wood splintering apart in neat little pieces. Shinsetsu is nearby, though the only way to really spot him is because his clothes, being a sort of creamy white, don't blend well with the tree he's snoozing in.

Tara raises an amused eyebrow at Shinsetsu snoozing... in a tree... through the steady noise of wood splitting. Must be a kitsune thing. She carefully gives Kibou plenty of swing room as she skirts around him, then takes a moment to sponge off. Being clean, even if just a little bit and even if she doesn't have all clean clothes... is wonderful.

Tara will finish cleaning up, then watch Kibou for a bit. When he pauses to gather the wood she curiously asks, "So what color is your crystal? Are you the gray one that Shinsetsu-kun mentioned earlier?"

It doesn't take long for Kibou to work his way through several medium-sized logs. He puts away his chisel and hammer in a small cubboard built near the woodpile before looking at Tara. "Good morning," he says, with a little bow. Then he gathers up his wood and heads back for the front room of the building.

Tara looks amused but unsurprised. She shrugs, dismisses Kibou from her mind along with Shinsetsu, and heads back inside. Tea would be nice.

Daichi is finally seen emerging from the 'home', blinking his eyes at the change in light. Currently he's not wearing a shirt, and just has a pair of shorts on, his weapon clutched in his right hand. He grunts and half waves at folks before making his way down the path groggily.

If people glance after him, they can clearly see the dragon tattooed across the lower half of Daichi's shoulderblades.

Kibou blows away some of the ash, being careful not to disturb Tara's pot. He rolls away a few of the coals with a piece of wood and begins to stack the smallest pieces of his morning's labor around them.

Over in the corner where Ken lies there is a quiet rustle as he shifts in his sleeping bag. He opens his eyes and glances around the room. After a deep yawn, he rolls out of the sleeping bag and does a bit of stretching to work out the overnight-sleeping-on-the-cold-hard-ground kinks. He dons his shoes, shakes out his outer-clothes, and dresses for the day with occasional glances to the entrances. He's finished when the banging sounds outside stop.

As Tara and Kibou come in, Ken is going over his gear and preparing for the trek back home.

Tara goes in, reaching over Kibou to pull her pot to the side, out of his way. Then she moves into the inner room, pulling on warmer clothing and then brushing and plaiting her hair into a loose, thick golden braid. She tosses it over her shoulder, and then settles by the fire to check what she has available for a hot breakfast.

Kibou tends the fire for a bit, using a fan that was hung on the wall by the entrance to get air to the coals.

Tara nibbles on an energy bar, waiting for Kibou to finish fanning up the fire.

It's about this time that something large and black flutters out from the back rooms, pausing only long enough to scoot through the curtain before continuing its flight along the path that goes down the mountain.

Tara blinks, watching it with some startlement until she remembers -- tengu, crow people, right!

Daichi glances up as the shadow passes over him, not really quite comprehending it's signifigance until he gets down to the pool.

When Kibou is satisfied with the restored fire, he gets up and heads to the back, returning with a handful of fresh ingredients and a mat that he spreads on the ground before starting his cooking.

Tara finishes her energy bar, then shrugs. She'll come back later once Kibou's done cooking. She rises and ambles out the door again. She can do some stretching out in the lovely morning, while she waits.

The first thing Tara comes across outside is a small greyish fox with two bushy tails, sopping wet. It bounds right over to her and then shakes vigorously.

Tara blinks -- then laughs, throwing up a hand to protect her face, "Good morning to you too! Cut that out, you silly thing, or I'll brush you and tie a bow on your tails!"

Daichi blinks when he gets to the pool, the Tengu having already beaten him there. He grunts and nods to the Hanshi before bracing himself for the cold water. He quickly slips into the pool and works his way to the deepest portion before dunking his head under, but only for a moment before coming up with a gasp and a shiver, blinking his eyes as the shock fully awakens him. He doesn't linger long before making his way out of the pool and slowly back up the path with the aid of his swords, dripping water and shivering in the cool morning air.

Tara grins -- she can't believe she's threatening a kitsune with cutesy-ness!

The kitsune seems unworried, sitting down and rubbing off some of the extra water with its paws.

Tara crouches, still grinning, and uses her hands to help wipe off some of the water. She blinks as Daichi appears, again using his swords to walk.

Kouketsu must be made of impressive stuff, because he lingers in the pool even after Daichi is gone. And yet, he still beats the boy back, heading inside again.

Daichi's hair is plastered to his head, water still dripping off the ends and into his face. His shorts send little rivulets down his legs; he looks much more awake, if not quite a bit chillier by the intermittent shivering.

Tara will shake her hands off, then wipe them on her jeans, once she's finished helping the kitsune shed the excess water from his fur. She smiles, "You're cute as a fox, Shinsetsu, but I don't doubt for a moment you already know that. Come have tea in a bit, if you want." She turns and heads into the house after Daichi, casually stepping over his damp footprints.

Daichi steps out of his sandals and through the curtain, silently heading for his pack and a change of clothes.

It's not too long before the former animals join the others in the front room. Kouketsu is mostly dry. Shinsetsu still has a slightly damp look; he settles down close to the fire and adds more wood, trying to get the fire hotter without upsetting Kibou's cooking.

Tara sits down with her back against one wall, next to her pack, and stretches her long legs out, waiting patiently.

Kibou seems about done, though, and he's soon removing things from the fire and taking them in to the room with the table.

Tara pushes the pot over closer to the fire so it can heat. She intends to start out the day with at least hot tea.

Tara will eventually make tea, then head into the other room with it. She's got a sock wound around the handle so it won't burn her hand, and she'll pour tea for herself and anyone else who'd like some.

Kouketsu waits until Kibou's cleaned up his little cooking area, then follows the boy back into the next room. Shinsetsu just takes a moment to wring a bit more damp out of his hair, then also goes in.

Daichi passes Tara on his way out, a damp t-shirt held in a hand. His hair is still damp but the rest of him looks dry. Settling by the fire he only shivers now and then as he warms himself back up.

Ken finishes the nasty-looking bar of brown goo and specks he's been chewing on and tucks the wrapping in a pocket. As folks begin to gather inside, he steps inside as well. "Anyga..," he croaks. He clears his throat and tries again, "May I have some tea as well?"

Tara smiles and quietly pours tea for all her friends, "Here... it'll help you get warm again."

All the movement has Seiichi up as well, at the table and ready for breakfast, if not seeming quite awake yet.

Tara will sip her tea quietly and meditatively, both hands wrapped around the warm cup.

Daichi seems to be alternately peering intently into his mug of tea or the fire.

Chopsticks seem to be a positive boon to the tengu, who has to deal with having a beak rather than normal lips. Still, he manages to make it look mostly dignified.

Kibou and Shinsetsu seem two of a kind, standing less on dignity and more on trying to get seconds before it's all gone. Politely, of course.

Daichi makes sure to get a full helping of breakfast before it's all devoured by the greedy spirit and younger boy.

It doesn't take too long for most of the eating to die down. Even when polite, it's easy to down a lot of food in a short time. Kouketsu finishes off his soup and stretches. "Ah! I suppose I ought to wait on morning exercises a little today."

Tara smiles lazily, her amber eyes serene as she waits for the tengu to be ready to talk.

Kibou begins to clean up the dishes quietly, leaving the tea cups for those still waking up.

"Well," Kouketsu says, "you didn't climb up the mountain for nothing, and I rather doubt it was to see my pretty face."

Tara smiles, setting her teacup aside at the tengu's words.

Tara says, "Kouketsu-sensei, I've met a tengu and a kitsune, which I would never have believed existed previous to now, so I have not climbed the mountain for nothing. However, if you are willing, I would indeed like to ask you a few questions?"

Ken nods, "I'm sure we all have questions. I certainly do."

The tengu nods. "Well, then, ask."

Tara politely asks the tengu, "Can you please tell us about any suggestions on how we might help our friend? For example, are her bodyguards and handmaids likely to be anywhere near as powerful as the vampire itself? Is she likely to be under a magical glamour? Do you know anything we might do that would help free her from this imprisonment? Is there a way to tell if she's been... changed by the vampire so she can't go through the gates any more?"

Ken blinks, "Unsurprisingly, I have different questions... Do you know anything about these gemstones we've found, or been found by? Why us? Why now? Where did they come from? Have you seen them or their like before?"

Kouketsu starts answering. "I don't know what you're capable of, so most advice I would give would likely be either of little use or something you'd think of yourselves. Karei has handmaidens, but they're mostly just pretty faces. However, she can summon a large cat which will fight for her, and there will be bodyguards, likely a handful of spirits but mostly vampires and other such." He smiles at Ken, an odd look. "That's a longer story. As soon as I get through these other questions, I can answer some of those."

Daichi finds a spot to recline and work on the blisters on his feet.

"As for being controlled, I doubt it," the tengu explains. "Such control is easily broken, and can be unreliable if you're trying for something contrary to the person's nature. Karei seems quite comfortable where she is, so Muteki is most likely simply being charming. Declaring her as his consort was a stroke of genius, really. It gives her all the appearance of power, but she doesn't actually control the army itself."

Tara quietly re-fills everyone's teacups as she listens.

Kouketsu pauses. "The story of the crystals themselves has a good deal to do with our current situation."

Seiichi sips his tea carefully and thoughtfully as he listens; it wasn't quite entirely clear when he went from his usual apparent morning somnambulence to wakeful-eyed. At the mention of the crystals he perks noticably.

Seiichi in fact looks even more awake than usual at the mention of the crystals' story being told.

Kouketsu resettles a bit, getting comfy. "I was alive the last time the crystals were seen, nearly a thousand years ago now. Muteki was also alive, as were quite a few spirits, though we're rather scattered now. At that time, things were a good deal different. All the paths used to be open."

Daichi blinks and looks up from tending his feet. 'I didn't think he was that old.'

Tara blinks, her amber gaze getting far more focused. She remains silent, quietly sipping her tea as she listens.

The tengu laughs, then continues explaining, "The crystals are, in essense, keys. They unlock things, and can also lock them. Noone knows everything about them. They seem to have always been around, at least as long as we have. However, they're very picky keys. Only certain people can use them."

Kouketsu says, "I suspect you've already been told that only humans can use them. And, in a generation, only one human will be able to use each crystal to its fullest. However, for other things, any human that can use one of them can use another one. Such was the case last time. Ten crystals were used to lock this realm away from the human realm."

He goes on, "The reason for this action was in response to Muteki's kind, actually. It is easy for them to dominate humans, and they did so then. Given the opportunity, those who had the crystals, for the most part, decided to do something about it. When the paths were closed, the walking dead could go to either realm, but those in the human realm would be cut off from the bulk of their power. Given such a choice, most of them stayed here. The rest were likely destroyed in their weakness."

The tengu pauses to drink some water.

Tara murmurs thoughtfully, "What sorts of humans do the crystals accept? And... does it appear to be Muteki's plan to open all the gates again, or just to conquer all of this land?"

Seiichi asks softly, "And can he cross between the worlds now, with Murasaki-san's crystal?

"I don't know," Kouketsu admits. "The crystals just seem to turn up to the right person, all about the same time. When one turns up, the only constant is that the others will do so as well soon. As for Muteki, he wants access to the human realm. While spirits may join his ranks, they cannot be turned into his kind."

Tara nods thoughtfully, considering... then asks, "How long has Karei been here? Is the lay of the land here roughly the same as it is in our world? Does time vary at all from here to there?"

Tara adds to Seiichi, "I'd certainly think so, if she could walk through with Shinsetsu."

The tengu sighs. "It is still possible to access the other realm even without a crystal, if one has sufficient power, knowledge, and knows of a place where one of the old doors used to be. There's a few scattered near here. However, the crystals make this much easier. While one crystal will not enable opening all the doors, it may open one door for as long as the wielder wishes it. Thus, Muteki does indeed have access, but only to certain areas."

Kouketsu answers Tara, "Karei has been here only a couple of months, but visited from time to time for several weeks before then. Time seems to stay consistent, though there are some doors that go to other times in a limited fashion. The land is not the same, though. Certain things are constant, like how far apart the doors are, but other things work in their own fashion in each realm."

Seiichi nods a little to Tara. "I was more worried about Muteki himself, since vampires seem... different from spirits, since they're, well... dead." He nods to the tengu thoughtfully.

Tara frowns, worrying about the issue of time... so if they do anything, they're still going to have to manage their affairs in the 'real' world. She sighs internally... she doesn't know about the others, but she'd guess they're going to need at least as much study time as she -- and she suspects she's going to have to study extra hard to catch up for this weekend off.

Tara politely asks the tengu, "Can you please tell us more about the vampire? For example, what strengths does it have that we should avoid? What weaknesses might we exploit? How might we avoid its domination, should we ever meet?"

"The shock of nearly dying or being beaten over the head is a good cure to being controlled," Kouketsu says wryly. "Preventing it is harder. Wards of a spiritual nature may help, but the only other prevention is personal vigilence."

Tara says, "Vigilance against what? Looking at him? Touch? Something else?"

The tengu shrugs. "Neither is needed. He only needs to be able to see you."

Tara mutters, "Joy," under her breath, then sighs. "All right, how about strengths or weaknesses?"

Tara pauses, then makes a mental note to start carrying pepper packets with her if she spends any time in this realm.

"Holy weapons do work wonders with the dead. Silver, wood.. these have spiritual properties that make them effective as well. Of course, if you could import direct sunlight, that would be most effective. However, our own realm only has that in a few small areas since it was locked away." Kouketsu hmms. "And, of course, you can always try to simply purify them directly, if any of you have the power or know somebody who does."

Tara nods, making mental notes, then repeats, "Is there a way to tell if Karei has been changed by the vampire so she can't go through the gates any more?

Daichi says, "Wouldn't she not be able to use her crystal?"

The tengu nods to Daichi. "However, it takes some time for Muteki and his like to accomplish this feat these days."

Tara wonders if a yari thrust through a vampire would have the same effect as a stake. Dryly she smiles to herself -- one sure way to find out.

Tara says, "What feat is that?"

Kouketsu says, "Turning a human into their own kind, of course."

Tara nods thoughtfully, "All right. So how would we tell if it had been done?"

Daichi says dryly, "Pale skin, allergic to sunlight, can't stand holy anytthing, and doesn't like Italian....

Tara laughs!

The venerable hanshi shrugs. "Unless you can read hearts, impossible until it's already been accomplished. I myself wouldn't be able to tell, though there are those who can smell out evil in all its forms."

Tara says, "All right, so if she really doesn't like Daichi's weapon, it's too late for her."

Tara thinks, then politely asks, "What color is Kibou's crystal -- is it the gray one that Shinsetsu-kun mentioned earlier? What can he do? Is he also originally from Nippon?"

Kouketsu nods, then smiles again. "Kibou does indeed have the grey crystal, and is quite precocious in its use. He opened the door to this realm as a child only four years old. That was how I knew the others would soon appear. Unfortunately, the event also alerted Muteki. He has a lot of spies."

He continues, "He's not from Nippon, that I know of. It was an odd, cross-wise path that brought him here. I thought it a good sign that he was someplace Ougon and I happened across while simply travelling together."

Tara nods thoughtfully, listening.

"Incidentally, Muteki and I are not the only ones aware of this," the tengu says. "There are several people who would like control of the crystals for various reasons. One came through here not too long ago and terrorized several villages in his search."

Tara smiles ruefully, unsurprised to hear they're all going to be... very popular merchandise.

Seiichi frowns. "So it's not just a matter of keeping the crystals away from Muteki alone."

Tara says politely, "What sorts of things can Kibou do? Also, would it by any chance be... a crystal which Ougon intended to steal?"

"The grey crystal holds the essense of shadow," Kouketsu answers. "But it would be foolish, with your allegiances undeclared, to tell you more of what he can do." He shakes his head. "Ougon went to spy, not to steal. Or, at least, not to steal unless it was something vital for us to have."

Tara nods, considering, then has a sudden thought, "Kouketsu-sensei, would it be possible for us to take a bit of time after this discussion so that we might experiment a bit with our crystals? Would that be safe here, or endanger you?"

Tara wonders what the essence of a golden crystal is. Sunlight, maybe? That'd be nice.

The tengu laughs, almost like a caw. "Oh, you will be safe here unless Muteki himself came, and even then it'd be an even chance, I think."

Tara raises a thoughtful eyebrow -- interesting. She makes a polite seated bow to the tengu, "Thank you, Kouketsu-sensei, for patiently answering my questions." She turns to face her friends and adds, "Thank you all as well for patiently waiting while I asked my questions. If any of you have further questions, I am quite happy to wait patiently and listen and learn as well."

Daichi shakes his head, "I asked what I wanted to last night."

Seiichi considers quietly, then stands and bows. "Thank you, Kouketsu-sensei. May I ask that you indulge one more question?"

Kouketsu nods. "Ask as much as you like. I can always choose not to answer."

Tara re-fills her teacup, then sips meditatively, her golden-eyed gaze far away.

Seiichi smiles quietly. "True, sir. I thought it best to ask first." Pause. "Why us? The crystals, I mean. Was it random chance? or choice?"

Kouketsu shakes his head. "That, I do not know."

Seiichi makes a quiet sound, then bows to the tengu again. "Thank you." He glances to Ken and Daichi, if they have any questions.

Ken says, "You mentioned "changing" Murasaki-san into a vampire like Muteki. If he's an "odd" vampire, what makes you think he can't use the crystal now, or that Murasaki-san wouldn't, if she became the same kind of creature?"

"It's an interesting question. I'm as certain as I can be, given past experience." Kouketsu scratches under his beak a moment. "I believe it may have something to do with being human. Humans have a lot of potential, but they rarely get to use it. However, almost all spirits live their lives with full access to their power. The living dead seem to have a similar advantage. Perhaps the process of becoming one performs the same function as the crystal would. No longer being needed, it would no longer work at all."

Ken nods, "..but that's speculation. Hm," and continues to make notes on his phone.

Tara listens silently... interesting thought. She fleetingly wonders what the human world would be like if folks could all tap all their potential. She shudders slightly... probably not utopia, considering there's as much potential darkness as light in humans.

Ken says, "Do you know if there is any way to locate these crystals? Can they locate each other? Are there any stories that might give a clue?"

The tengu shrugs again. "I don't know of a way to find them. They seem to just... turn up. However, they also have a tendency to congregate. If one person with a crystal is someplace far from the others, then events tend to work out so that they quickly arrive in the same area."

Tara raises an interested eyebrow. Well now... maybe Karei will come to them! She counts mentally: the four of them, Kibou, Karei... that's only 6, though. She wonders where the other four are.

Probably still in the human realm, she suspects.

"Hmm, actually I tell a lie," says Kouketsu. "It is possible to find them, if they're active and being used. They are wellsprings of spiritual power, and can be sensed if you happen to be looking in the right place at the right time."

Ken grins, "Well, then maybe we should all take a vacation in Tahiti and wait for Murasaki-san to come visit us someplace nice and sunny."

Tara chuckles over her tea.

Daichi smirks, "You want to miss out on the swim season this year, Ryoushin-san? What would the team think?"

Tara grins, "I don't doubt he'd practice in Tahiti, myself."

Daichi says, "But he couldn't compete there, at least not against- Okamura..."

Ken ponders a moment, then says quite seriously, "They would think me very, very lucky to spend the summer on the beach with many lovely ladies around." He rolls his eyes and says, "Oh! The horror!"

Tara laughs!

Ken says, "Okamura-san certainly deserves a chance. He certainly tries hard enough, but he's not quite 'there' yet..."

Daichi says, "Neither are we, Tahiti is a long way off..."

Tara looks curiously at the kitsune, "Shinsetsu-kun, did you have any questions?"

Shinsetsu looks up from where he seems to have been studying the edge of the table. He shakes his head. "I know enough for my needs."

Ken turns back to Kouketsu and says, "Sir, the only question I can think we've not covered is 'Why now?' Muteki wouldn't be a threat unless the crystals appeared, would he? It seems backwards, somehow."

Kouketsu spreads his feathered, taloned hands. "Fate? The heavens' decree? Sheer random chance? It was going to happen sooner or later. It just happened now."

Ken mumbles, '...someone missed their save...'

Tara grins.

Tara says politely to everyone, "In that case, if everyone's questions are answered, perhaps we should thank Kouketsu-sensei, and leave him in peace? I imagine you guys would like to try a bit of experimentation with your crystals too, hai?"

Ken says, "We've seen some of the things these crystals can do, or apparently let us do. What types of things are they known to have done in the past? What should we expect? We have many, many stories where these types of things bring no small amount of power, but misfortune and change (both welcome and unwelcome) as well. I'd very much like to know what happened to the previous owners, and the kinds of things they could do."

Daichi blinks and pulls his brain away from the thought of what Tara would look like in a bikini stretched out on the beach and back to matters at hand.

Kouketsu shakes his head. "Now, to answer that question would take days. I've seen amazing things when those crystals have been about, and it seems the only limit is that of the human using it, though the powers always relate back to the nature of the crystal itself. Having these is no guarantee somebody you meet will be friendly, either. Of all the crystal bearers that were around last time, only eight of them lived when they closed the realms." He gets up. "Feel free to try things out. But, if you need to try them out on something, please do so on the other side of the meadow."

The group around the table breaks up, leaving only tea cups that Kibou collects to wash later.

********

It's a little darker than yesterday. There are clouds in the sky gathered around the peak, hiding it from view, and they stretch over a good bit of the sky. The meadow, viewed by the light of day, is very pretty, with tiny alpine flowers amid the waving grasses. Kibou appears with a pair of staves, and Kouketsu follows him over to the forest of posts on the other side of the house. Only Shinsetsu remains with the humans.

Tara watches curiously, wondering what the tengu and the human are up to. Are they going to help the guys figure out what their crystals do?

Tara glances up at the clouds, then at Shinsetsu, "Which direction is the gate?"

Shinsetsu looks puzzled for a moment, then brightens. "The way we came in? Down the mountain and to the south, just the opposite of yesterday."

Tara looks surprised, "The opposite? Why is that?"

Shinsetsu looks puzzled. "When you go back to something, you don't reverse what you did before?"

Seiichi watches curiously, perched on a rock, his hands folded in front of him and his chin resting on them as he watches Kibou and Kouketsu.

Daichi finds his own patch of ground and starts methodically going through his katas. His movements are systematic and slow at first, slowly speeding up with each repetition.

Tara says, "Oh! I'm sorry, I misunderstood. I thought you mean the opposite side of the mountain." She nods, "Hai, that makes sense."

Ken says, "Didn't Kouketsu-hanshi say using these things might be detected if someone happened to be looking in 'the right place' when they were in use? Do you think it's likely his place is under surveillance? Maybe we should move off a ways before we start ...whatever it is... we're going to do?"

Tara says, "Well, he did ask us to keep it in the meadow if we needed to try them out on something, Ryoushin-san."

Tara pauses, considering, then says firmly, "Guys, while we're here? I think we need to start working together more. To that end, I would like you all to call me Tara in the spirit realm."

Right now, it seems Kouketsu and Kibou are playing 'hit the tengu'. They're both standing on the posts, moving on top of them as Kibou tries to land a blow on his sensei. Kouketsu, instead of blocking or fighting back, just jumps from post to post, dodging and sometimes using his wings to propel him out of reach.

Ken nods, and says, "OK with me, then. If he suggested this, I'm sure he'd have thought of that."

Tara pauses a moment, then smiles and shrugs slightly when no one says anything to her comment. Instead she simply shucks off her shoes and outer shirt, then steps onto the grass in light top and shorts. She might as well do her exercises too. If the guys want to practice crystal use, they will... and the reverse is also true.

Seiichi blinks to Tara, and nods, "Of course, Tara-san. And I agree. Though," he adds, looking at his own crystal, "I'm not entirely sure what we do with them."

Tara has slid gracefully down into the splits, her loose braid a bright gold against the green grass. She smiles over at Seiichi, "Thank you, Seiichi-san. And if it helps any, just concentrate on it for a bit -- that's what worked for me."

Tara lays flat on the grass, then swings one long, tanned leg around to fold herself forward, touching her toes with her slender fingers, "Concentrate on the crystal, I mean."

Daichi does a very good job at continuing with his practice, while still managing to watch Tara go through her routine.

Seiichi, seemingly unperturbed by Tara's exercizes, rests his chin on his knees, holding his hand out in front of him with the crystal cupped in the palm of his chin, starting off by starting intently at it. Over time, though, he gets either tired or distracted from this, and his mind simply gets up and starts wandering.

Tara smiles, watching her friends. They may be valuable merchandise, but they certainly aren't pushovers. Daichi can put out a simply amazing amount of damage. She's a not-inconsiderable warrior herself. She's seen Ken throw lightning from his fingers... and Seiichi, perhaps the most quietly amazing... created life. She feels oddly proud of them all.

The ground in front of Seiichi slowly changes appearance, the meadow turning sandy-looking, with more of it becoming the blue-green of the ocean and washing up against the sand part with the shush of low tide. A bird appears and flies down to peck at the sand where the waves just reach.

Tara swings lithely around again, and up into a handstand, her toes pointed upwards... then her eyes widen. Slowly, silently she lets herself back down to sit cross-legged, watching what Seiichi's doing with amazement.

Behind and to the sides of Seiichi, the meadow remains as it is... and beyond it is still the clouds and peak. But in a small area in front of Seiichi, there's shoreline.

Daichi finishes his unarmed katas and gets his staff. Returning to the same spot he snaps the staff up to his shoulder before his attention is drawn to the... seaside in front of Seeichi.

Tara moves very, very slowly and quietly, trying not to distract Seiichi. She reaches out one arm, trying to lightly touch the sand.

There is the gritty texture of the sand, mostly smoothed by the damp of the water. This close, Tara can even smell the pungent scent of the sea.

Tara blinks again, absolutely amazed... then simply smiles and settles back to watch.

Seiichi's mind is clearly wandering, though he's still looking at the crystal. He's softly humming what seems to be a fishermens' song from the village.

Daichi shakes his head and goes back to his practice, at least that's one thing he can lose his thoughts to.

Tara thinks for a while... then wonders if Seiichi's amazing talent is entirely unguideable or not. She rises quietly, stepping over to stand next to him sitting on the rock, and whispers, "Shouldn't there be seaweed on the beach?"

Tara is trying not to startle him -- just to suggest.

Seiichi's humming pauses, and he makes a quiet sound. "Mmm. Right. Always was seaweed there." It's clear though that he's still kind of wandering-minded. Almost as if he's sleeping with his eyes open.

Tara grins excitedly, watching avidly but silently to see what happens.

The shore gains a decoration of drying seaweed lying twisted at about where high tide would reach, and a mottling of the dark bits of plant matter that tend to show up when you're trying to make a good sandcastle.

Tara's eyes widen again, delightedly this time -- then she prudently withdraws, not wanting to interrupt Seiichi's practice further.

Tara looks around, still with a delighted grin, to see what the others are doing.

As the others begin their peregrinations, Ken begins making a list, mumbling, "OK, what do we know? I light up like Godzilla and I can make some sort of aura appear. Let's start with that..." After picking a good spot on the ground, he brushes the spot clear of debris and places a single stone in the center. Backing a few feet away, he begins staring at the stone. Almost immediately, light and color swirl around him, flowing to the ground and forming a carpet of hissing energy, streamers of lightning streaming into the air and arcing over his head.

Startled, he takes a step back, the edge of the glowing field coming neatly to rest on the marker stone. "Well," he says, "I guess that's right. I guess." He takes a deep breath and turns all the way around, directly facing the seashore scene across the meadow. He blurts, "OK. That wasn't there before." He notices Seiichi and Tara near where the meadow changes to sand, and shakes his head. "That's got to be Seiichi," he thinks, "I'm sure I've seen that bit of beach somewhere..."

Tara blinks, spotting Ken's distinctive aura, and pads over to curiously poke at it. "So... what is this?"

The aura flexes a little under Tara's poking, but it's definitely solid to the touch.

Ken says, "I have no idea. You might not want to touch it, though. I think it vaporized one of the arrows I was shot with.. er, shot at with.. uh, was shot at me. Whatever."

Seiichi blinks and comes fully awake at Ken's exclaimation. "er, what? Where?" Almost as soon as he regains his attention span, the shoreline evaporates as if it was never theree.

Tara looks interested, putting the flat of her palm on it and pushing to see if it moves Ken as well.

The aura absolutely refuses to move under her palm.

Tara says, "It did? Um..." she grins, "Well, it's not vaporizing me now?"

Tara beams interestedly at Ken, "So what else can you do?"

Tara adds happily, "Do the lightning from your fingers thing again -- that was cool looking!"

Tara hms... lightning... "Can you do thunder too? Can you fly? Do you electrocute things? Is it sparkly in there?"

Ken says, "OK. So it doesn't vaproize girls, but they can't push it around," and makes a few notes. "I have no idea what else I can do yet. I've been trying to see if I can reproduce what I saw earlier, and see what they mean."

Tara laughs!

Ken says, "Could I ask you to place a stone at the edge, please? I'm trying to see how big this thing is."

Seiichi looks around for a moment, then looks back at the crystal, then at the ground in front of him. That was disturbing. For a moment he really really felt like he was back at the little cove near the village.

Tara happily collects a handful of pebbles, twigs, and whatnot, and lays them in a circle around the diameter of the aura-thingie. "How's that?"

Ken grins, "Perfect. Thanks!"

Tara looks curiously around to see what the spirits, as well as Seiichi and Daichi, are doing as well.

Kibou and Kouketsu are still on the posts. Shinsetsu is sitting on the edge of the meadow, vaguely keeping an eye on both groups.

Daichi pauses in his practice to watch the rest of the group, resting the staff over his left shoulder.

Tara smiles at Daichi, "So what other things can you do?"

Tara pauses, considering for a moment, then curiously asks, "If Muteki were somehow watching... could you feel it?"

Daichi shrugs, "I'm not really sure... hadn't thought to try..."

Daichi considers for a bit. "Though, I kind of doubt it. He's probably pretty far away and I don't seem to have a very long range when sensing 'things'."

Tara nods, "All right. I knew you'd said you could, um... 'feel' spirits, so I wondered if you could feel vampires too."

Daichi says, "I'll tell you when we meet one..."

Tara remembers the tengu's words about sensing the use of the crystals, and curiously pulls hers out, studying it thoughtfully. Can she feel any of the others using their crystals nearby?

Tara grins at Daichi for a moment, then turns her golden gaze back on the crystal. After a few moments of staring she sighs softly. Doesn't feel like it.

Tara releases the crystal's chain and looks interestedly at Seiichi, wondering what else he's capable of.

Looks like Seiichi's thinking again. Tara's amber-eyed gaze travels thoughtfully over the group, including the spirits... then she gets a puzzled look. To Daichi she murmurs quietly, "So... if it's not human or undead, is it automatically a spirit? Or are there other categories too?"

Daichi regards Tara for a moment. "You're expecting me to be the expert on all of this world's inhabitants?"

Seiichi, through this time, has been attempting little things with his own crystal. Nothing as blatant as the fish or the shoreline, which is just as well since it causes no distractions, however welcome they might be. It's little things: a little flitting bird in brown plumage; the chirp of same bird but without an accompanying image of a bird; the scent of roses... which causes him great distraction, thinking a bit forlornly of Akina such that for several minutes after he can't 'un-focus' enough to dream while awake again. Yet when his attention settles and idles, and he can again go into that weird state where he can dream while awake, it takes some effort but he starts to realize he can make things appear. Not real things -- he finds them as ephemeral as his dreams can be, even when he's dreaming-while-awake. He finds himself wondering, then... what really was that fish, then?

Tara gives Daichi an amused glance, "What, you're claiming your training as a priest gives you no more knowledge than that of the gaijin girl?"

Daichi says, "I know plenty about spirits, that doesn't mean I learned about everything else."

Tara shrugs, then calls, "Hey, Saiichi! Can you make an illusion that makes it look as if I'm about 3 feet to the left of where I really am?"

Seiichi blinks at Tara; unseen, the scent of saffron-roasted fish fades into memory. "Uhm... let me try, Tara-san." he settles himself, facing Tara and looking in her general direction, letting his eyes unfocus as he tries to imagine Tara actually being about a meter to the left. He's starting to guess that what he's making aren't really real since one of the birds he 'conjured' disappeared when he tried to touch it (but then what about O-Sashimi?!) He puts thoughts of Great Snack out of his mind, though. No distractions, no focus, no thought, just... drifitng back into dreaming-while-awake... imagining, no, knowing Tara is not where she's standing....

Tara watches Seiichi, but whispers to Daichi, "In a few moments, try touching me with the staff?"

Daichi nods slowly, noting exactly where Tara is standing before anything odd happens.

Tara gives Daichi a quick, inquiring glance after a few moments of watching Seiichi.

Daichi looks between the fuzzy image of Tara and her 'replacement'. "It's a nice try but I don't think Tara has glasses or brown hair, Seiichi-san."

Tara blinks! then bites her lip to stifle the giggle.

Tara sighs thoughtfully, "Well... at least we tried. Perhaps with practice we'll get better." She looks around, then smiles, "All right. So... shall we pack up and get started? We've got a ways to go today, after all."

Seiichi blinks, startledly, and the amalgram of Akina and Tara evaporates. "Ack! Gomen gomen gomen, Tara-san! I'm so so sorry!" He bshake shis head, rubbing his brow. "Oh, how embarrassing...."

Tara laughs! "Oh, don't worry, Seiichi-kun. It was very interesting."

Daichi chuckles a bit, "That which does not kill us makes us stranger."

Tara grins at Daichi, her eyes sparkling gold in the dim light, then turns to fetch her pack.

One of the clouds rumbles in warning. They seem to have grown while the group practiced.

Tara frowns, glancing up. Slogging through rain is not her idea of a fun hike. "Guys? We should get going soon, I think?"

Seiichi smiles a little. "Thank you. And I hope to get better." He looks up at the gathering stormclouds, and nods. "Yes, we should."

Daichi nods, "Not like I haven't already gotten wet today, but I planned on that one..." He ducks inside to grab his gear.

Kibou and Kouketsu have finished practicing. Kibou is chopping a little extra wood to take inside. Kouketsu is eyeing the clouds.

Tara curiously asks Shinsetsu, "So, considering how early it is still... does it often cloud up so soon in the day? Is it likely to be like this all day, or clear by noon?"

Shinsetsu looks up from where he's leaning against the entrance. "It usually rains up there-" he waves to the mountain's peak- "every morning. It doesn't always reach down here. When it does, though, it's usually short, but it can be very unpleasant."

Tara nods, glancing up herself, "Okay, good. Let's hope it doesn't reach here."

Ken continues to work with his glowing aura after Tara leaves, making notes during his tests. He varies the diameter of the field, brings it in close, and even forming shapes other than simply surrounding himself. After numerous tests, and many repetitions, he seems puzzled, reviewing his list. He gazes off into the sky, tapping his pen on his chin. After a moment he says, "How am I going to test the height of this thing. Bleachers would be best. Hm. Or a playground." He look around, evaluating various locations. "No rocks high enough. Plenty of trees, tho..."

Picking a likely candidate, he begins climbing. A few feet up he stops and brings up the aura. The bottom doesn't quite clear the ground. He mumbles, "Damnation," and climbs a bit more. Balancing on a branch, he tries again, and the bottom of the aura is clearly in view. "Success," he beams. He jumps down, noting the effect on the aura, and repeats the test.

Observers may find his behavior a bit odd, but considering the other strange things to be seen in this meadow today, a young man leaping from trees isn't that out of place.

Climbing a bit higher, Ken is standing on one branch and reaching for another when his foot slips. Cursing just a bit, he grabs the branch and steadies himself. "OK, maybe this is high enough," he says, looking down. His eyes widen, and a silly grin breaks across his face when he notices his feet are firmly placed six inches above the branch he was standing on.

"Outstanding," he says, and promptly bounces down to the branch. Floating slowly away from firm footing and, after several minutes of slow maneuvering away from any handhold, he rises high up above the meadow and brings his hands to his mouth. He whistles sharply and shouts down between cupped hands, "HEY! I CAN SEE YOUR HOUSE FROM HERE!"

Tara says, "Do you want to start immediately, Shinsetsu-ku..." her voice trails off, and she stares in open-mouthed amazement for a few seconds... followed by a delighted ripple of laughter, "Ken-kun, you are very silly!"

Seiichi blinks, looking up at Ken with a bewildered look.

Shinsetsu looks and grouches as he stands up. "Some people have all the luck...."

Daichi looks up at Ken. "What'd you do, shake Shinsetsu for fairy dust?"

Tara grins cheerfully at Shinsetsu... then her eyes brighten with mischief. She calls back, "Hey, Ken-kun! Shinsetsu wants to go flying with you!"

Tara giggles, then gestures to Shinsetsu, "Well? Hold out your hand!"

Ken floats down to the group, and says, "I have no idea how this works. For all I know, we can all do this. I just bumped into it first."

Tara thinks about it, then grins and concentrates on her crystal. Flight! She'd like to fly... can she?

Shinsetsu gives Tara a wry look. "Do you know how annoying it is to watch something laughing at you that insists on staying just out of reach?" He shakes his head. "Nah. Flying on somebody else's power isn't my idea of fun."

Ken says, "From what Kouketsu-hanshi said, we all have the potential. I guess this is ..just the way I think about this. I guess."

Tara grins at Shinsetsu, her eyes still laughing, "Hey, he's not laughing at you, silly. And you're certainly willing to ride with me -- what's wrong with flying with Ken?"

Tara says, "Oh, wait -- did you mean you've had that happen? Ew." She nods, "That would be annoying after a while, hai."

Tara considers for a bit... then smiles. Maybe she can't fly herself -- but she has a lovely type of flight on Gullenfaxi. She's happy with that.

Shinsetsu nods. "And you ride on a very solid horse. Ken doesn't sit on anything."

Ken looks to Shinsetsu, "You can't always win the game by yourself, you know. What's important is that the team win, not me." He shrugs, "I just got here first. It's more important we all finish."

Tara laughs again, still delighted, then grins, "Well, I and my solid horse are ready to leave when everyone else is. Shall we get rolling?"

Daichi nods, stepping a bit more gingerly down the trail today than yesterday.

Tara nods to Ken, "Precisely. We'll be stronger supporting each other than we could ever be alone." She turns and emerges a moment later with her shouldered backpack.

Tara pauses, then goes back in to thank the tengu for his hospitality before they leave.

Shinsetsu trades bows with Kouketsu, but nothing is said between them as Shinsetsu turns to go down the trail with the others. Kouketsu also acknowledges Tara's thanks. "My home is open to you if you need its shelter," he says.

Tara smiles warmly, touched by the offer. She bows politely, then says, "You are too kind, honored o-sensei. Please, should you ever be in the human lands, consider my home to be open to you also."

Tara has no idea if the tengu can look human, or would even ever want to be in the human lands... but she knows she'd feel honored if he stayed at her home.

Tara will trot hastily after the others once she's left the tengu's home, humming happily to herself under her breath, her loose braid bobbing behind her and coming further undone. She tucks a curling golden strand behind one ear, then grins, falling in with the others, "That was actually rather nice! And now homewards. Let's hope we make it with time to spare... homework awaits us!"

Seiichi winces. "Oh, dear. Homework. I'd almost forgotten about that."

Daichi grumbles, "I hadn't..."

Tara grins cheerfully at Seiichi, "It's all right -- we can have dinner and hit the books at my house if you want, or you can all head on to your own houses."

Tara continues humming happily to herself as she strides along, utterly unaware of how irritating cheerful health can appear to the ouchy and aching.

Shinsetsu glances up at the sky through the trees. "We might want to hurry if you want to get back that quickly... if we get caught by this rain we could lose an hour or more recovering."

Tara nods to Shinsetsu, "All right. Let's see..." She looks around thoughtfully at the group, then says to Ken, "Do you think you could carry Seiichi-kun in that flying bubble of yours?"

Seiichi blinks to Tara, then looks up to Ken. "I'm.. not... is that a good idea?

Tara says firmly, "Now is an excellent time for practice, don't you think? No real pressure, and if we need to we can always walk."

Ken ponders a moment, "Well, folks can't push through it, and I seem to be able to keep it up while I'm ..flying.. so, I think I might. Shall we see?"

Tara beams, "Excellent! Hai, let's!"

Ken says, "OK. Let's have you stand... here and I'll bring up my ..aura.. with you inside. How's that?"

Daichi uses his staff to brace on the way down the slope, taking some of the weight off his feet.

Seiichi nods cautiously, and stands as indicated.

Tara glances curiously at Daichi, resisting the urge to ask him where he keeps that thing, little buddy! She giggles at the thought, then resolutely looks back at Ken, still smiling.

Shinsetsu watches the three who are fiddling around, then turns and heads down with Daichi. No point in everybody getting rained on if it doesn't work.

As Ken rises slowly into the air, the field slips around Seiichi until he is completely outside it. "Sorry about that, I guess this isn't going to work."

Tara says, "Try carrying him piggyback?"

Seiichi blinks a bit. not quite sure what to make of the sensation. "Oh. No problem at all, Ken-san."

Tara holds out a hand, "Give me your backpack, Ken-kun, and try."

Ken shrugs, "We can give it a try. It certainly doesn't seem to take much effort. Ready, Seiichi-san?"

Ken bends down, letting Seiichi take hold and lifting him on his back. Ken slowly rises into the air. "Huh! I guess this will work, after all." He grins, and says over his shoulder, "Seiichi-san, one mule or horse joke, and you're on your own. You know that, right?"

Seiichi says comfortably, "Wasn't even going to think of any, Ken-san....."

Tara will cheer happily, then trot after the other two. When she catches up to Daichi she moves in front of him, lightly placing her palm against his chest. She says softly, "Hold on a moment please, Daichi-kun? We can all ride now -- and get you off your feet!"

Tara happily says, "Gullinfaxi, please?"

There is a rainbow-colored ribbon of light which arcs out of the sky, landing by Tara's feet. A brilliant spark of fire shoots down the rainbow, enveloping Tara in a dazzling orb of intensely golden-glowing light. A moment later the vivid light fades slightly -- and Tara can be seen once again, astride the fiery Gullinfaxi, attired in glowing golden armor.

Tara beams down at Daichi, holding out an arm, "Come ride with me?"

Daichi looks up at Tara, then down at his feet. After only a moment he takes the offered hand up. "Porbably better for me than walking.."

Tara smiles, shifting so Daichi's comfortably settled, "Hai... better to spare blisters, and I could tell you weren't happy there." She grins at Shinsetsu a moment later, adding cheerfully, "And I've not forgotten you, fey one!" She holds out her arms, "Shift shape and jump up?"

Shinsetsu sighs. "Unfortunately, I can't stay that way all that long...." He eyes the horse. "A little more than ten minutes, I'd say? But that's probably enough to get us away from the rain."

Tara nods, "That's fine -- ten minutes of cantering can get us a respectable distance, and we can walk in between changes. Um... how long do you have to stay human before you can shift again?"

Tara grins, beckoning, "C'mon! It'll be fun."

Shinsetsu snaps his fingers. "Foxed!" and he turns into the small grey, two-tailed fox from this morning. He hops up. "It's not so much time as rest. This takes effort to do. But I'll be happy getting away from the clouds." He curls up just enough to get comfy, but keeps his eyes on the trail.

Daichi nods to Tara, "Yeah, even with the extra padding around them, they're not perfectly comfortable."

Tara takes a moment to make sure everyone is comfortable -- Daichi's got his arms securely around her waist, and she's got a gloved hand on the little kitsune just in case. She pats Daichi's arm in sympathy, "Been there... no need to watch you hurting, so let's not do it, eh?" Then she clicks to Gullenfaxi and they settle into an easy, ground-covering canter. "On our way in comfort!"

Tara adds over her shoulder to Daichi, "If you're at all worried, feel free to hang my shield behind you. Just let me know to keep Gullenfaxi very steady, then slide the shoulder strap over your torso, all right?"

Tara tilts her head curiously, glancing up at Ken and Seiichi... then gets a mischievous glint in her golden eyes. Alas, no one is looking in the helmet slots at that moment... and Gullenfaxi slowly starts stretching out, his cantering stride lengthening and his speed surreptitiously increasing. Tara grins, watching to see if Ken can keep up.

Daichi holds on perhaps a little tighter than is really necessary and leans in against her back, tucking his head away from the wind. Unfortunately this buries his head squarely against her shoulder blades, her hair brushing over his face. For a while his whole world is nothing but movement, being close to Tara-chan, and her scent. His brain wanders back to the morning, quietly reminding him of the fact she was only wearing a long shirt and a pair of panties while giving herself a sponge bath as he walked past. His arms tighten a bit and he swallows hard, eyes shut very tightly, as a bit of color rises to his cheeks.

Tara is unruffled and unaware of Daichi's thoughts, assuming he's holding on tightly due to nervousness. She'll pat his arm gently (and hopefully reassuringly) again, keeping Gullenfaxi steady.

The little trail quickly runs out, stopping by the pool Daichi is so familiar with. From there, it's a ride through the well-spaced pine trees. There's plenty of room and Gullinfaxi seems utterly confident, but it's not without its nervous moments.

Ken keeps up with Gullenfaxi easily. Along the way, he notices Tara's interest in where he is. He looks puzzled for a moment, grins, and begins edging ever so slightly ahead... that far, and no further.

Tara realizes at some point she's leaning into the hard gallop, making sure both Daichi and Shinsetsu are snug against her -- and Ken's still ahead! For a moment she grrs quietly to herself -- then burst out into delighted peals of laughter! "This is great!"

Daichi is thankful Tara can't see his face, as her pat to his arm only makes him all the more aware of her body. He flushes even redder, pulse starting to quicken. 'Damnit, calm down... try not to think about her... or her hair... or her smell.. or her back... okay... not working...'

Tara giggles, slapping her free hand companionably against Gullenfaxi's shoulder, deeply enjoying the sheer physicality of the moment!

After a bit of this, Shinsetsu decides to stop watching and tuck his head under his two tails. Now to just stop his skin twitching.

Seiichi blinks, looking over at Tara, and swallows, holding on a little tighter and closing his eyes. He hadn't expected a race!

Tara waves cheerfully at Seiichi, still laughing delightedly.

Ken looks embarrassed, and says, "Sorry! Sorry! No time to be silly. Plenty of time for that later..." He slows a bit, and falls in just in front of Tara's horse.

Gullinfaxi seems untiring, keeping up this pace without strain or effort, really.

Tara laughs, cheerfully calling, "Too late!"

Tara deeply enjoys the wild gallop, a manic grin on her face and alight in her brilliant eyes. It's wonderful having a horse so sure-footed, that doesn't tire!

All too soon, the mountain's incline shifts and the trees begin to cluster together again, making what was merely challenging very difficult. Gullinfaxi is forced to slow just to avoid trees, there being no path or road available.

Tara smiles, letting Gullenfaxi have his head. He knows better than she what's safe through here.

Daichi finally manages to get a rein on his thoughts, although they remain fixed on Tara, he doesn't fight them now. He just enjoys them, surprised at all the little things he's already stored about her in his mind, another squeeze to her waist, this one much calmer. He risks raising his head and resting it against her shoulder. "This is much better than walking..."

Tara gently murmurs, "Little foxie, take a look and make sure we're on the right path, please?"

Tara flashes a grin over her shoulder at Daichi, her voice still brimming with delighted laughter, "Thought you might like it!"

Shinsetsu sweeps his tails out of the way and opens one eye to peek. Seeing that trees aren't flying by quite as quickly, he relaxes a bit more and sits up just enough to look around, including up.

"We're more or less on track," he says. "If we keep going downhill and south, we can't miss the ridges or the road."

Daichi nods and smiles, "What's not to like?"

Tara nods, "Excellent!" She grins at Daichi's comment, swaying easily in the saddle as Gullenfaxi continues on downwards and southwards.

Shinsetsu idly wonders if either of these two humans will hear a word he said. Oh, well. The horse is smart.

Tara says, "Oh, that reminds me -- what happens when you change back, Shinsetsu-kun?"

Tara says, "Do you need us to stop, or what?"

"I'm going to want to get down before then," Shinsetsu answers. "What's comfy like this is terribly not comfortable normally."

Tara giggles, remembering his being hauled across the saddlebow as they practiced, "Hai, I can understand that. All right, let me know when you need to stop."

It's only a few more minutes- but a lot of ground- before Shinsetsu says, "Alright.. I'm about done."

Tara nods, easing her weight back so Gullenfaxi slows, then comes to an easy halt. She smiles, shifting so the fox can easily jump down, "There you go!"

Tara adds to Daichi, "Do me a favor? Now we're closer to where the frogs were... hang my shield on your back, just in case, please?"

Shinsetsu jumps down, landing easily, and scoots behind a tree. A moment later, he steps out and leans against the tree. "Whew."

Tara reaches back to tap behind her thigh, so Daichi can tell where the shield is -- hanging under his left leg, against the horse's flank.

Tara reaches up and pulls her helmet off, shaking her head a bit, and her hair cascades down over Daichi's front and her back, "Whew indeed! That was... simply glorious!"

A faint rumble from up the mountain grumbles about the group's escape. It looks like a big, black cloud hanging up there, but it also seems so far away, now.

Tara grins at the kitsune, "So how're you feeling?"

Daichi nods and lets go with his left arm so he can lean down and grab her shield. He does his best to hang it comfortably on his back, and manages to do so without too much hassle, though it does obstruct his range of movement some.

Seiichi glances back at the mountaintop, frowning a little. For some reason, that didn't sound terribly auspicious.

Tara is in an exceedingly good mood -- she grins over her shoulder at the cloud, "Maybe another time!" She'll twist in the saddle to help Daichi get the shield comfortably loosely hanging, then ask, "How's that?"

Shinsetsu looks up at her. "Beat. I sincerely hope we don't get in a fight, because I can't contribute much now." He shoves away from the tree to stand up straight, watching her whirl about to talk to everything. If only he didn't need to use up so much energy for things like that! But he's only a young kitsune....

Tara gives him a sympathetic look, "I'm sorry you feel beat, but... was it worth the effort to travel that far that quickly?"

Daichi is acutely aware of Tara's body against his as she twists. This is his day to blush apparently, a faint hint of crimson coming to his cheeks. "Not bad, so long as I don't have to jump from the horse..."

Shinsetsu looks back up the mountain and grins. "Well, I'm certainly glad to be away from that weather."

Tara smiles, patting Daichi's arm again, "Good! All right, are we all settled again?" She tilts her head at Shinsetsu, pulling her hair forward over one shoulder so Daichi doesn't have it tangle in the shield strap, "Do you want to walk before me and behind Ken-kun?"

Shinsetsu thinks about it for a few moments, then takes a deep breath. "I'll lead. If you try to follow these ridges you'll get lost."

Tara swiftly winds up her hair into a loosely twisted bun, then unceremoniously crams the helmet back on over it. "Okay! Let's get moving again, then. Shinsetsu-kun, if you feel energetic enough to be a fox again, just let me know and we can ride fast again." To Ken she calls, "Follow Shinsetsu-kun closely, please, Ken-kun, at a walking speed now?"

Daichi smiles and sits a upright a bit more, though his arms are still held loosely around her waist. He could get used to this, but, no, shouldn't put Tara through having to deal with his reputation, or his life. 'Just enjoy the ride, Daichi, don't analyze...'

Tara gives Gullenfaxi a loose rein to comfortably pick his own path behind the kitsune. To Daichi she murmurs, "How're you doing? Feeling better?"

Seiichi says, "Maye I should get off Ken-san now?"

Tara says curiously, "Why, Seiichi-kun? Is Ken-kun tired?"

Tara says, "If you stay where you are, we can move very swiftly if necessary."

Shinsetsu takes his time making sure of his position, letting the humans sort out their travel arrangements.

Ken laughs, "This is easy! If you'd like to get down and stretch your legs for a bit, let me know."

Tara grins. If exercising like this is even half as fun for Ken as it is for her, she's not surprised he doesn't mind having a piggyback rider.

Seiichi nods, "This is fine, then! Just didn't want to be in your way in case something happened...."

Tara says, "Actually I think that's the best place for you to be if something happens, Seiichi-kun."

Daichi nods slowly, "Much better, thanks..." He leans in again, resting his chin lightly against Tara's shoulder, an almost inaudible sigh escapes his lips.

Tara tilts her head slightly, carefully not turning her head so she doesn't bonk Daichi in the face with her helmet, "You tired?" Her voice is a little concerned.

Daichi shakes his head, "No, just... thinking."

Tara nods, reassured, "Okay. Let me know if you want to talk." She falls silent, relaxing comfortably into Gullenfaxi's easy, long-limbed walk.

Seeing things sorted, Shinsetsu sets off, picking his way through the trees. He sets a steady pace, but seems disinclined to push himself too much right now.

Daichi ers, "Well, I do... and I don't..."

Tara hms in soft inquiry to Daichi, the heavy thudding of Gullenfaxi's hooves a counterpoint to her voice.

Daichi murmurs softly, "Would like to talk with you, but not really in front of the other guys...." He's not really aware how much noise Gullenfaxi's movements make.

Tara smiles, "Sure. We can talk when we get to the house if you'd like."

Tara adds, "Let me know if you need down too, okay?"

Tara rides easily, looking around but mostly keeping half an eye on Shinsetsu. With his hearing she'll guess he'll notice trouble long before the rest of them.

Daichi nods and squeezes Tara, yet again. "Sounds good, and yeah, I will..."

The kitsune toils ahead, clambering up and down ridges, leading the rest. He's taking more care than he did on the way up, and thus finds and picks easier points to get through.

Tara smiles peacefully and gives Daichi's arm another gentle pat, very comfortable with the moment. A lovely pine forest, a horse -- an amazing horse! -beneath her, good friends to ride with... she could do this. A lot. Definitely.

Daichi's brain finally seems to be able to focus on more than just Tara, taking in their surroundings. "Wish I had my bike done..."

Tara tilts her head curiously, "You have a bike? What kind?"

Daichi says, "Honda Blackbird... it still needs some work..."

Tara looks surprised, "Oh! A motorcycle!" She considers a moment, then grins mischievously, "I'd offer to race you, but that might be a bit much on the highway, eh?" She giggles, then adds, "But I wouldn't mind a ride if you didn't?"

Daichi nods, "Sure, once I get the rest of the parts I need and finish fixing it..."

Tara muses thoughtfully, "I should get some good motorcycle leathers, shouldn't I..."

Daichi grins, "Yeah, I probably should too... Haven't needed them yet since it's not running."

Tara beams happily, "Well, neat! Something to look forward to." She straightens a bit, pleased, and calls, "Shinsetsu-kun? How close are we to the river, can you tell? Do you want to try foxing again?"

Shinsetsu looks back. "Actually, we're almost to the road. It's a little further to the actual river." He looks ahead. "And I'm not really up for that, yet. Save it for an emergency now, I think."

Tara nods, "All right." She pats Gullenfaxi's shoulder encouragingly, then settles comfortably again.

Daichi smiles inwardly, yet another reason to get the motorcycle fixed soon...

********
Episode 6: What's Left Behind
********

As the group reaches the bottom of Yet Another Ridge, this one rather short compared to the others, Shinsetsu stops and holds up a hand. "Wait." Then he vanishes from sight.

Tara brings Gullenfaxi to a halt, her expression a bit concerned.

Seiichi frowns a little, looking around woriedly.

Tara glances down, then grins and takes a moment to brush fox hair off her gloved hands and the saddlebow. She'd not realized foxes blew their coats when startled!

Daichi looks up at the ridge in front of the group. "Hold up... I thought I heard... horses..."

Tara looks up abruptly at that, her hand falling to her sword.

After a few tense moments, Shinsetsu reappears amid the group. "Four... people. Riding some of the biggest horses I've ever seen."

Tara nods quietly, watching Shinsetsu, "Will they be crossing our path, or can we avoid?"

Seiichi blinks, and takes in a deep breath in order to calm himself.

"They're stopped on the road," Shinsetsu answers. "They're not the sort I'd like to tangle with, either. I'd lay odds there are giants among their ancestors."

Tara says, "And we have to take the road? Do they look like they're pausing to adjust their tack, or are settled in for a wait?"

Ken says, "Do they look like they're camped, waiting, or do they look like they're just stopped?"

Shinsetsu thinks it over, then shakes his head. "It'd be impossible to hide us as we are and still get past. Remember, the forest practically disappears, and there's precious little cover out there." He thinks it over a bit, musing out loud, half in answer and half just to himself. "They seem to be waiting for something."

Daichi says, "Or maybe someone..."

Tara considers, looking around a bit, then looks back at the kitsune, "Okay, how far do we have to go without cover?"

Tara says, "I'd rather outrun them if possible, than tangle with them."

Seiichi says uncomfortably, "Could they be waiting for us?"

Tara says, "Of course."

Shinsetsu again thinks about it, considering. "It's pretty wide. There's the road to get past and the river to cross before we can get to trees again. And I'm not up to being a fox again, really."

Tara says, "It's not a given, but it's definitely possible, Seiichi-kun."

Tara says, "Can you be invisible long enough to trot across, Shinsetsu-kun?"

Shinsetsu laughs. "Being invisible is not a problem! I can do that naturally. But you're going to attract an awful lot of attention riding that horse."

Tara smiles slowly. Somehow she thinks she and a flyer can cross the muddy river far, far faster than huge and heavy horses.

Tara nods, "All right. Were they carrying swords and lances, or bows?"

"Spears," Shinsetsu says. "And daggers."

Daichi hmmms, "Close in or range as the situation demands..."

Tara grins, "Excellent." She looks up at Ken, "How would you like to be a distraction? Draw their attention, maybe even get them to follow you a bit, staying well out of spear throwing distance... and Daichi and I will run across on Gullenfaxi?" Her grin gets mischievous as she looks back at the kitsune, "Don't you think 'faxi can cross a nice, thick, muddy river faster than those horses?"

The kitsune looks dubious.

Tara looks inquiring, "You think their horses are water-walkers too?"

Shinsetsu shrugs. "They might be. Both they and their riders have bluish skins, so I wouldn't bet on what they can do."

Tara looks surprised, "Whoa! What does that usually mean? Water-breathers?"

Tara hms. "That puts a different complexion on things..."

Shinsetsu shrugs again. "I've never seen tall, blue-skilled people again. They only have hide for armor though." He wrinkles his nose. "Badly cured hide."

Daichi hmmms, "One moment..." He rummages around in his pack, pulling out a marker and a stack of long, thin pieces of paper.

Tara grins at Shinsetsu's disgust, then glances over her shoulder, "What'cha got, Daichi-kun?"

Daichi places one of the strips of paper on Tara's back. "Face forward, better surface that way." He pulls the cap off the marker with his teeth and starts writing.

Tara nods, turning and offering a steady surface.

Daichi mutters, "'ow 'any?" He's on the second piece of paper now.

Tara says, "Shinsetsu-kun said there were four."

Shinsetsu watches Daichi carefully. "Yes, four."

Daichi nods and makes sixteen of the ofuda, two sets for each person and horse, before capping the marker and stowing the extra supplies. "There..."

Tara sounds curious, although she doesn't shift (not knowing if Daichi needs a surface or not again), "What? Ofuda? How do those work?"

Daichi says, "I throw them, they stick to them, I hope and either distracts them, holds them, or something for long enough that we can get away. "

Tara nods thoughtfully... then says, "All right. Can you do it one-handed?"

Daichi nods, "That's how I throw cards..."

Tara says, "Good... 'cause I'm holding on to your other arm so you can't come off."

The kitsune continues to look dubious.

Tara reaches back for his left arm, then looks curiously at the kitsune, "What do you recommend?"

Daichi blinks and hmmms, "Or not... not getting anything from over the ridge..."

Shinsetsu answers, "In a situation like this, I'd recommend sneaking. It's best if they never knew you were even here."

Tara gives Daichi a puzzled look... then oopses. She'd guess that means they're not spirits.

Daichi looks at the rather large horse. "Stealthy we are not..."

Tara says regretfully, "Shinsetsu-kun, even if I ask Gullenfaxi to go away, I don't know how to sneak across a river invisibly."

Shinsetsu shakes his head. "What about Seiichi?"

Tara looks up at the young man, then back at the kitsune, "Under completely calm conditions he couldn't make me look like I was three feet to the left."

Tara says, "With practice I'm sure he can... but now?"

Seiichi blinks, and considers carefully. "I... can perhaps distract them, though....

Tara gives Seiichi a curious look, "All four of them at once?"

Shinsetsu tilts his head to one side. "Yes... we had that one tried on us."

Tara says, "What one, Shinsetsu-kun?"

"A distraction," he answers. "But it was just a shadow- it didn't make any sound."

Tara says, "Oh! The one before the tengu's home? That was... not one of his?"

Seiichi thinks, then shakes his head. "I cannot garauntee they will all fall for any sort of distraction.

Seiichi says, "But it is a thought. It might buy us time."

Ken looks worried and says, "Do we know enough about how your crytals power work? What happens if they see you?" He shakes his head, "Why don't we wait and rest just a bit, and see if they wander off. Sometimes patience is the best weapon."

Shinsetsu turns thoughtful again. "They look like hired muscle, really...."

Tara sighs worriedly, glancing upwards. She'd prefer not to come home after dark... but balancing that, she definitely prefers being able to come home.

Daichi looks at Ken, "Homework, parents, and chores come to mind... patience is a luxury."

Tara thinks, "All right, let's take this one at a time. First, we must cross an open area without a fight. Second, we're facing hired muscle, but it's really big hired muscle." She looks at Shinsetsu, "Can your invisibility cover another person?"

Ken says, "Another option would be for me to move around them to the other side and lead them off that way. It seems I'm somewhat faster than a horse. In the worst case, I could just go straight up..."

Seiichi considers, then nods, "I'll try a distraction then." He looks to Shinsetsu. "Perhaps you, trying to sneak accross the river about a hundred yards upriver?

Shinsetsu shakes his head at Tara. "Just me, I'm afraid." He hmms at Seiichi. "I'm not terribly remarkable, but they might chase just for fun."

Tara eyes the kitsune, "Can you outrun Gullinfaxi?"

Seiichi nods, "I was thinking that if they're looking for us, then perhaps they know what they're hunting, and so would go for quarry they know."

The kitsune eyes the horse. "Not even on my best day."

Tara says firmly, "Then you don't get to go be bait, Shinsetsu-kun." She looks at Ken, "If we need bait, it should be you. You can, at worst, go straight up."

Tara says, "And you're faster than Gullenfaxi."

Tara says, "Okay, so we're going to try sneaking. Ken-kun can try being bait. Seiichi can distract at least one, should they look towards us while being baited away. How's that?"

Seiichi says, "Will I be trying to distract them while we cross?"

Daichi nods, "Sounds reasonable... I'll save these just in case. They may prove useful after all..."

"About as good as it gets in this situation, I think," Shinsetsu opines. "Are you going to keep the horse? It's like a giant sign saying 'Look here!'"

Tara says, "No, Seiichi-kun -- don't try distracting unless they look our way." She nods to the kitsune, "Hai, Gullinfaxi will go away for the crossing."

Seiichi says, "By then it'll be too late, won't it? If they see us?"

Tara adds, "Daichi-kun and I can flank you, Seiichi-kun, so if you do have to distract we can brace you."

Tara says, "Not if you distract the one that looks." She grins, adding, "Ken-kun is pretty distinctive."

Shinsetsu grins. "Depends on the distraction, doesn't it? Can you come up with a dragon?"

Tara giggles, adding, "Especially if he tells them he can see their house from there!"

Ken says, "So I should start around and see if I can draw them off, and then you'll try to sneak, yes?"

Ken frowns, "How visible is the glowing effect of Gullinfaxi leaving?"

Seiichi nods, a little dubiously. He blinks to Shinsetsu. "I... I think so, yes."

Tara nods to Ken, then adds, "Don't worry, we'll back up into the woods before I send him away, Ken-kun."

Daichi hmmms softly, "Think you might need some inspiration for that, Seiichi-san?"

Tara says, "Okay. Shinsetsu-kun, you should stay invisible the whole time, please? That way we have a hidden card if necessary."

Seiichi says, "Mmm. Possibly, Daichi-san. I've only seen drawings and paintings of dragons, no actual ones. It wouldn't look terribly distracting if it was a giant origami dragon. Then again,maybe it would.."

Tara giggles again in spite of herself at that image.

Daichi chuckles and shakes his head, "Uh, no, I meant my tattoo...."

Shinsetsu nods to Tara and laughs at Seiichi. "Yes, I imagine a giant paper dragon would be pretty startling...."

Seiichi tilts his head to the side. "Ah. Yes, that would be quie helpful, please."

Tara turns, heading Gullenfaxi back into the trees a bit more. "Seiichi-kun, slide off Ken-kun, would you please?"

Seiichi lets go of Ken and onto the ground.

Tara says, "And Daichi-kun, you should slide off Gullenfaxi too, I'm afraid."

Tara adds warningly, "Let your weight down onto your feet slowly."

Daichi nods and unslings the shield from his back and hooks it in place. He nods and dismounts the unique horse, slowly. He unhales and winces when his feet take his weight. His pack gets set aside for a moment so he can pull off his shirt, revealing the dragon tattoo flowing over his back.

Tara waits a moment for everyone to be ready, then dismounts herself as well.

Tara slides off Gullenfaxi in a smooth dismount. For a moment they're both wreathed in a brilliant golden glow -- and then, when it clears, Tara can be seen again, standing alone and in her usual clothing.

Tara tilts her head curiously, studying the dragon herself as well.

Seiichi studies the dragon for a few moments, then nods. "I'll do what I can."

Tara traces a finger lightly along the tattoo... then realizes she's blocking Seiichi's view and hastily removes her hand.

Tara mumbles, "Sorry," softly, wondering why she did that.

It appears to be a typical eastern dragon, curled back on itself, spanning his back. It's a vivid yellow in color, mouth agape and the 'pearl' on it's forehead blazing.

Daichi shivers as Tara traces the design. "It's okay..."

Tara takes a breath, then straightens, her voice carefully firm, "All right! Ken-kun, are you ready to go? Shinsetsu-kun, stay visible to point us in the right direction, then go invisible, hai? Daichi-kun, Seiichi-kun, you ready?"

Daichi grabs his pack and nods, "Yeah, let's go..."

Tara tightens the straps on her pack a bit, carefully not looking at anyone else for a few moments. Her face feels oddly hot.

Shinsetsu nods and then vanishes again. "I'll keep a lookout," his voice says.

Ken nods, "It will take me a minute to get in position. Keep an eye out for them leaving their post. The worst case I foresee is only some of them leaving. Don't wait if that happens. Stay sharp." He rises just a bit off the ground and floats silently into the trees.

Tara grins, "All right, you can lead us invisibly too."

Tara nods to Ken, saying seriously, "Be very careful, Ken-kun, please!"

Seiichi nods to Tara, touching the neck of his shirt where the pendant rests. "Ready."

Tara flanks Seiichi, "Let's go. Just to the edge of the forest, though."

Daichi steps to Seiichi's other side. "Hai, caution is a good thing... for once."

Tara nods a touch grimly to Daichi, then paces along quietly with the three of them.

A tree waves a bit to the left. "Over this way would be better than going straight forward."

Tara smiles, and follows directions.

Daichi smirks and turns to follow his 'guide'. "Why do I feel like I'm looking for El Guapo's hideout..."

Tara stifles a nervous giggle.

The group creeps to the edge of the forest, getting just to where they can see the road, when Seiichi's foot slips on a tangled mess of roots that, unfortunately, has no ground under it. By the time he's grabbed and hauled back up to solid ground, the group has made plenty of noise. Fortunately, they're still screened by the last few trees and bushes.

"Giants" must mean something else to Shinsetsu, because any normal human would call the four guys peering at the trees giants. Each stands a full story tall, and their horses match. If they were astride, they could reach into the second story of a building and rummage around quite easily. To make things worse, they bulge with muscles. To go with the blueish skin that looks as if they've been severely frostbitten, they have strikingly blond hair and beards.

Tara blinks, her golden eyes widening as she stares in astonishment.

Seiichi blinks as he stares at the -- literal! -- giants. "Oh, my," he says. "I'm going to need a bigger illusion."

Tara hastily shushes him.

Shinsetsu appears, holding up a hand in front of Tara. "Don't do that. That and whispering make more noise than talking quietly."

Tara nods.

Silently.

Tara watches, hoping the giants don't turn their way, and crossing her fingers for Ken's safety.

Shinsetsu says, quietly, "Seiichi-san, could you add a few more bushes in front of us? They obviously haven't seen us, yet."

Daichi silently curses, probably a good thing too, some of those phrases just wouldn't translate for Tara.

Tara sighs internally in faint relief -- at least the giants haven't come their way, even though they're looking. Then she looks past them, wondering where Ken is.

Seiichi swallows and nods, and tries to generate the bushes in front of them. Think like a bush... think like a bush... think like a big, thick, fluffy, concealing bush....

Shinsetsu vanishes again.

Making his way around the none-too-small giants in the road, Ken pauses a moment to check his bearings. "Team that way, giants here, road going this way, and our goal over there," he thinks, "..check. No time during flight to reorient. Best to be sure." Selecting a few low bushes, he drops to the ground and begins "making his way past" the giants, rustling the bushes, snapping the odd twig, and pausing to see if they've noticed.

One giant nudges another, and says something. While their voices are clearly audible, their language is mostly unfamiliar. Looking in Ken's direction, they consult with each other, occassionally looking back the other way, too.

Daichi watches the giants, praying to every kami he can think of off hand....

Tara thinks about aikido as she watches... and turning this force elsewhere.

Seiichi wonders what's taking them so long to decide to chuck a spear at them.

One of the giants says something, and they all stop talking and look around suspiciously. They unstrap spears from their horses. Some telephone companies would find a good use for those....

Tara glances around, wondering briefly where Shinsetsu is... then looks back towards the giants. C'mon, c'mon... go away!

Ken nods, and thinks, "Well, this seems to be working, but I don't really seem to have their attention. OK. Wait. Deep breath. Let them stew." He pauses for a moment, seeing them getting ready for something. He shakes his head, "Let's make this easy for them." In a dramatic stage whisper, Ken moves off saying "I told you they'd hear us. You be quiet! You make too much noise," rustling the odd bush again for effect. If they hear their "prey" moving away...

The giants back up to each other, each of them facing out. The horses are tugged into place in front of them and they hold their spears, ready to throw.

Tara watches thoughtfully. So, the horses are expendable... interesting. That suggests to her that they're not battle trained.

Snickering comes from the air just on the other side of Seiichi's illusion. "They really must be hired muscle... too afraid to do anything without the boss around."

Daichi blinks and wonders who 'The Boss' of these guys must be.

Daichi looks at the Giants and hmms, "Maybe we could frighten them off..."

Tara murmurs very softly, avoiding hissing 's' words, "Fey one, they're crouched. Would now be good to try getting by?"

There's a pause before Tara gets an answer. "They're spooked, but wary. That's terrible for sneaking past, but ripe for tricking."

Tara says, "All right. You're the expert on that."

"I'll go try a couple of things. Feel free to add some illusions once the chaos starts."

Tara nods, "Will do."

Daichi nods, "I have a feeling the dragon may be useful..."

Tara smiles, touching Seiichi's arm lightly, "Get ready."

"Well," Ken thinks, "this is about as far as I can go and still be considered 'sneaking away. One last shot, I think." He picks up as big a branch as he can find and floats up about eight feet into the air and drops it. As it hits the ground with a *THUMP* he says in a normal tone of voice, "Mother of God!" and quickly rises into the leaves above.

Seiichi nods quietly, and gets ready to have the dragon come out of the trees, hoping he can maintain the bushes as well.

The giants all look Ken's way, arms back to throw... and one of them suddenly makes a 'uh!' noise and falls over limp, to the consternation of the others. Then, blue fire curls from nowhere to strike one squarely in the chest. This is too much for the horses, which bolt. The giants seem thoroughly distracted now.

Tara grins, "Time to go quietly!"

Seiichi nodnods, and murmurs, "Yes, let's!"

Tara slips quietly out of the trees, making sure the others are with her, then heads swiftly, determinedly, and as quietly as she can for the river.

Daichi nods, "Yeah, you think you can move and keep up a dragon as well, Kazaamora?"

Tara says, "Not unless he has to." She keeps her voice low, adding, "That's why we're here to flank."

Daichi says, "I meant as an added distraction, it may make the giants run away..."

Tara grins, glancing their way, "I think they would if they could, at this point. One's down, one's hurt, no horses."

Tara tugs Seiichi along with her, "Hurry!"

Daichi moves along the other side of Seiichi, keeping a wary eye on the panicked giants.

Seiichi moves quickly with them, casting glances at the giants and trying to get himself into the mindset of bringing about an illusion quickly if one turns to them.

The giants are trying to get the horses back right now, leaving the immobile one behind.

The three humans on the left hurry, for the moment in no danger of being spotted, but who knows how long that will last? The water here is still slow, but it goes up to thigh height which makes for difficult wading.

Tara makes sure Seiichi stays between her and Daichi, and keeps a hand on him. Considering he's stumbled once today already, and is supposed to keep glancing back at the giants, she doesn't want him suddenly tripping and going under!

Ken peers through the leaves, seeing the none-too-stealthy horses running the wrong way to be a threat, being pursued by the none-too-bright giants. "Good enough," he thinks, and floats through the trees to meet his companions.

Daichi splits his attention between his footing and watching Seiichi, the depth of the water making small, discrete movements impractical.

Ken arrives at the agreed upon site before the other humans, to find Shinsetsu there, laughing with his arms over his belly.

Ken looks down at the laughing Shinsetsu, eyes narrowed, "Who are you, and what have you done with Shinsetsu-san. He's the most dour fox-spirit I know, so you certainly can't be him, oh no, no indeed..."

Shinsetsu giggles to a stop, "Oh, the best stooges are the stupid ones," he says. "I wish they were always like that." And then he resumes snickering.

Tara bursts through the underbrush, hauling poor Seiichi after her, just in time to hear the interchange. She comes to a sudden, startled halt -- then laughs delightedly, throwing her arms around Seiichi in an exuberant hug, "We made it! Yay us!"

Daichi shakes his head and grins as he walks up. "And here I thought the best Stooges were Larry, Moe, and Curly."

Seiichi gives a startled, if soft, yelp with the hug, but then relaxes visibly. "Oh, I'm glad we made it."

Tara grins, letting the startled Seiichi go, and sits down on a rock to change socks. Happily she says to Shinsetsu and Ken, "You did great, guys! Thank you."

Daichi drops his pack and pulls his damp shirt back on, the pack getting slung back over his shoulders with a quiet squelch.

Shinsetsu sighs, giggles once more, then manages to come to a stop as he sits down. "Dumb muscle on raw horses," he says.

Tara nods amusedly, "You noticed that too, about the horses?"

Shinsetsu nods. "A trained war horse wouldn't have bolted."

Tara sighs happily, then looks up at her friends as she laces, "So, walk a bit, then call Gullinfaxi back and ride the rest of the way?"

Shinsetsu looks up at Tara. "You don't think sudden paralysis and blue fire come from nowhere, do you?"

Tara stands, wiggling her toes a bit, and grins down at Shinsetsu, "Nope. I think it comes from cute invisible foxies."

Ken says, "I wonder what that means? Command not well informed? Too many fires to put out? Main force engaged? Spread too thin? Poor recruits?"

"Not from around here, I can tell you that much," Shinsetsu says.

Tara grins, "Well, technically that applies to us too."

Daichi nods to Tara, "Seems like a sound plan." He takes a step, getting a squish from his sneakers. "Oh goodie... wet shoes, damp socks, and blisters..."

Ken says, "Have you ever noticed how 'adventure' is always used in the past tense, by survivors, to describe something terrible happening to them?"

Tara grins in rueful sympathy at Daichi, "At least change your socks for your poor feet?"

Seiichi deadpans, "Yes," in response to Ken.

Tara giggles at Ken, then strikes a pose, "No //shit//, there I was, surrounded by the enemy!"

Tara has to switch to English for the swear word, however.

Ken says, "Any reason we shouldn't move on? They won't stay disrupted forever, and if they had some kind of Lieutenant with them, somewhere, they could get reorganized fast."

Tara says, "No reason -- just giving Daichi a moment to change socks."

Tara says, "Otherwise, um..." she gives him a rueful glance, "well, he's not going to be happy if he doesn't."

Shinsetsu thinks it over. "Nervous as they were, I'd say either badly trained scouts in enemy territory, or bodyguards in the same situation." He stands back up. "Yeah, we should get moving as soon as everybody's ready."

Ken nods, "When everyone's ready..."

Daichi thinks for a moment and drops the pack onto a stump. Opening it he rummages inside, pulling out the sheaf of paper, the marker, a brush, a bottle of ink, a calligraphy pen, a small stack of multi-colored square sheets of paper, a ball of cloth that is probably his socks from yesterday, shirt, shorts, chocolate almond pocky, water bottle, left sandal, Yoda pez dispenser, right sandal. He frowns for a moment then digs a little deeper, finally producing a fresh pair of socks. "I knew I had them somewhere..."

Tara watches in startled fascination.

Tara covers a small giggle.

Seiichi rubs his eyes, sinking to the ground, suddenly looking exhausted as the adrenaline of the moment leaves him. "Guess... that took more out of me than I thought."

Daichi hands Seiichi the box of Pocky, "Here... share..."

Tara smiles, bending over to encouragingly touch Seiichi's shoulder, "Don't worry, you can ride again. Ken-kun is fine with that, remember?"

Tara takes advantage of the pause to pull out energy bars and her canteen, and hand them around too.

Seiichi blinks at the Pocky. "Oh... thank you!" He takes one of the snacks delicately, before offering it to the next nerest person. "Thank you, Tara-san. Just very wearying. I didn't realize it wore me down so much....

Tara takes a pocky, sticking it in her mouth, and hands the box to the next person.

Shinsetsu accepts the box and takes out a stick for himself, handing it on. He starts nibbling away.

Daichi sits down and gingerly removes his shoes and socks, waiting for his feet to de-prune. He grumbles as all the extra padding he put around the blisters has now come off...

Daichi says, "That just figures..."

Tara chews contentedly, then notices Daichi's feet. "Oh, dear. Do you need the first aid kit?"

Daichi nods, "Yes, please. At least if you want me to walk anymore."

Tara nods a bit worriedly, kneeling next to him to unshoulder her pack and rummage through it for the first aid kit. She opens it and sets it next to him.

Shinsetsu blinks. "Wait.. this I can help with." He walks over to take a seat next to Daichi.

Tara looks curiously at Shinsetsu, wondering what he's doing.

Daichi looks at Shinsetsu, giving him the same feigned hurt look the Kitsune gives him so often. "You're just now remembering this?"

Tara gives both of them a puzzled look.

Tara blinks... then laughs as she realizes what they're up to. She sits back, comfortably cross-legged, to watch.

The kitsune looks appropriately abashed. "I normally don't even think about it unless I'm about to die, really." He touches Daichi's left foot on the bottom. There's a faint glow along the kitsune's fingers, and Daichi's blisters re-absorb, the skin repairing itself as if it'd healed naturally. He does the same to Daichi's right foot. "There. Much better, I'd think."

Tara finishes her pocky, has a sip of water, and starts on her energy bar. Might as well take advantage of the down time.

Tara blinks interestedly, watching.

Tara smiles ruefully, "Well... at least we kept him off his feet mostly... until now."

Daichi wiggles his toes and feet experimentally. "Ah... much better...."

Daichi puts on the fresh socks anyway, placing everything but the water bottle and pocky back in his pack, before slipping his damp shoes on. "Ah well, at least it's something..."

Tara wonders a bit wistfully if Daichi will still want to ride if his feet don't hurt... then hastily squelches that thought.

Tara bounces lightly to her feet, saying briskly, "Well, are we ready now? Let's get moving if so!"

Daichi considers that he doesn't have an excuse to ride now, hopefully Tara won't tell him not to join her on the mount. He dashes that thought away as he settles the pack on his back.

Tara adds to Shinsetsu, "Let us know when you think it's safe to call Gullinfaxi back, all right?"

Seiichi watches the healing with interest. He's very surprised at it, both that it was done, and also that it was possible.

Tara smiles at Shinsetsu, "I know you're short on energy... so thank you for healing Daichi-kun."

Tara glances at Ken, "Can you carry Seiichi-chan, considering how tired he is?"

Daichi splits the remaining Pocky with Shinsetsu.

Shinsetsu looks up the river. "Let's get to the trail past the part where the frogs live, first. They may not be big players, but they see things, and can be asked." He hmms, head tilted. "I haven't heard them yet, though."

Ken says, "Easily," and help him hop on.

Shinsetsu grins at Tara. "That's just a... talent I have. Like vanishing. It doesn't cost me anything to do but time.

"Ohh, more pocky. Domo." He nibbles.

Tara nods, easily swinging her pack back on, "All right. Let's move, then!" She gives the kitsune a startled look -- then laughs softly, "And you envy us for flight? You're funny."

Tara cheerfully heads along the trail, humming softly to herself, although she'll step aside for Ken to fly past into the lead if he'd like.

Shinsetsu explains, "If I could fly, I wouldn't normally end up close enough to people for them to hurt me, now would I?" He starts walking, eyes and ears alert.

Tara flashes an amused, amber-eyed grin over her shoulder at the kitsune, then continues along in her long-legged, relaxed stride.

Daichi seems in a downright cheerful mood, despite his squelching shoes and damp shirt, snapping a stick of Pocky in his mouth with a smile.

The faint breeze in the woods carries a somewhat disturbing scent- smoke, with a slightly sweet tinge to it. It's a smell that can almost be tasted by those paying attention to it.

Daichi frowns a bit around the pocky, the tang settling into his snack stick with ease.

Tara is softly singing a marching song to herself, the scent currently unnoticed.

Seiichi's nose twitches a little, though it doesnt really register that there's some odd scent.

Shinsetsu frowns as well, slowing in his walk. "We should be close enough to hear them now...."

Tara says, "Hear who, Shinsetsu-kun?"

Daichi sniffs again, "There's something in the air, kind of like... teriyaki..."

Shinsetsu half-crouches and heads off to the right, as if stalking something that could hit back.

Tara blinks at Daichi, "We... should hear someone with... teriyaki?"

Tara blinks again, noticing the kitsune darting off... and stops. That seems the wisest course of action currently. She tries sniffing the air herself.

Tara blinks, "Er... does anyone else smell... wood smoke, I think?"

Tara says, "No... that's not... quite right. What is that?"

Daichi nods, "Yeah, but it has an odd tang to it."

Tara gets an uncomfortable thought... is this what almost raw, cooking meat smells like?

Tara says softly, "Oh... no... the frogs!"

Daichi says, "I've got a bad feeling about this..."

Tara starts pacing very slowly and cautiously up the trail, pausing often to stare ahead and listen.

Seiichi blinks. "What.... what about them?

Tara murmurs, "Seiichi-kun, stay with Ken-kun. It's the smell... it's not quite like the smell of cooking herd beast. Um... close, though."

Daichi pulls the staff out and unsheathes the blades in one smooth, practiced motion. Making his way up the trail towards the source of the smoke.

Shinsetsu meets them coming back. He blinks at their being someplace other than where he left them, then lets himself fall back against a tree. "Had to be somebody's bodyguards...."

Tara pauses by him, her face hard, "They're dead, aren't they."

Tara looks down the trail, then back at the kitsune, "Are you all right?"

The kitsune nods. "Yes... they're dead. I'm okay. I've seen things like this before." He closes his eyes for a moment, going on speaking without opening them. "Very concentrated fire. Gotta be magic. Armies are less descriminate. They usually also end up leaving one or two alive. Very inefficient things, armies."

Tara sighs, gently resting a hand on the kitsune's shoulder. "I'm sorry you had to see it."

He opens his eyes again. "I'd like to know who the bastard was, myself."

Tara says, "Is there any way to find out?"

Shinsetsu shrugs. "Track him; ask if you can find any survivors."

Daichi looks towards where the village once stood. "Ask the village... if anyone has that ability..."

Tara thinks for a while, then looks up at the sky. She shakes her head, "I don't think we can help them, guys. Do any of you know how to track?"

The kitsune turns his head to look at Tara. "You do know how time-consuming tracking is, don't you? You likely wouldn't make it home for several days if you tried it."

Daichi shakes his head, "Uh, no. I use street signs and routes I've taken many times before..."

Tara says grimly, "I'm quite aware of that, Shinsetsu-kun. But dragging everyone off on my sayso will just make for bad feelings. They all have to agree."

Tara nods to him, then looks at Seiichi and Ken.

Ken says, "One vote for going home."

Tara nods to Ken, then raises an eyebrow at Seiichi.

Seiichi bites his lip, then sighs. "We're not ready to spend a long time here. We need to go back, and return when next we can and find out what happened, even though the trail will be cold, then."

Tara nods to Seiichi, then says, "All right. I suggest we go by fast."

Tara says, "I'll call up Gullinfaxi, we'll all mount up, and run by swiftly." She looks at Seiichi and says bluntly, "I suggest we not let our curiosity compel us to take 'just a glance,' Seiichi-chan."

Tara says, "Anyone disagree?"

Daichi closes his eyes for a moment and shakes his head, "It's probably for the best that we not look."

Tara nods once, stepping away a bit, then calls Gullinfaxi.

Tara knees Gullinfaxi over to the others, then leans to offer an arm up to Daichi.

Daichi grabs hold of Tara's wrist, pulling himself up as well as jumping a little to clear the distance.

Tara says to Ken, "Keep us between you and the village, all right? I don't think we want a dreamer making reality out of his nightmares." To Shinsetsu she says, "How tired are you? Ride as a fox, or a short ride as a human on the pommel?"

Tara pats Daichi's thigh lightly with one gloved hand, "Pull on the shield again, because I'm paranoid, please?"

Shinsetsu looks into the woods in the direction of the trail for a long moment, then sighs. "Gonna have to be like this, I'm afraid. It's still about two miles to the grove. Just far enough that I can't do it."

Daichi nods silently, slipping the shield over his shoulders, Tsuin Kizu drawn and held at the ready as well.

Tara nods, leaning to offer him a hand, "Come, then. We're not leaving you to run on foot."

Seiichi has made no comment since saying he felt they should go home, clambering behind Ken as they prepare to move out.

The kitsune takes the hand and makes the tricky mount to end up in front of a seated rider. He settles as best he can in the awkward spot, glad that this horse has gear appropriate for a battle.

Tara shifts back in the saddle as far as she can, putting an arm firmly around the kitsune. She checks Daichi's settled too, then clicks softly to Gullenfaxi. "Take it slow and steady, 'faxi, up to full speed. Keep it even as you can, please -- we don't want to hurt Shinsetsu-kun." The big horse snorts softly, stepping out into a long-striding walk that eases into a gentle, rocking-horse canter... then speeds up little by little until he's flying along, neck stretched out.

Tara murmurs to the kitsune, "Lay as flat along the neck as you can -- put your weight there."

Shinsetsu is already starting to do this as Tara tells him.

Tara is careful, when they flash out of the trees and through the clearing, to keep her gaze rigidly straight ahead of her.

Daichi leans forward, covering Tara's back with his body, the staff held stiff arm behind him.

Ken cruises along behind Gullinfaxi, scanning for trouble.

Seiichi remains quietly piggyback Ken, occasionally glancing behind them to see if he can spot anyone possibly following them.

The crew speeds down the last part of the trail in grim silence, stopping only when they reach the now-familiar aspen grove.

Tara sighs, slowing Gullinfaxi gently so no one is jarred.

Ken says, "Shinsetsu-san, what is the likelyhood this is trapped in some fashion? I think we should check out the area first, don't you?"

Tara brings the big horse to a full stop, then eases the kitsune down, "You all right?"

Seiichi slips off of Ken as he slows upon arrival at the aspens. He glances around at the others as he pulls out his pendant, but pauses as hears Ken's question.

Shinsetsu slides to the ground and nods. "I'll be okay." He listens alertly.

Daichi leaps off Gullenfaxi, dumping the shield and his pack in one swift shrug. His eyes narrow, scanning the grove and it's surroundings for something. Spotting what he's looking for he stalks over to the otherwise inoffensive rotting corpse of a tree. The staff drops to his side with a muffled thud. If his friends look carefully they can spot the little signs of tension, balled fists, deep breathing, and flaring nostrils. He seems focused on the tree for the moment, as if drawing some force together.

Tara sighs again in quiet relief, then straightens, looking around herself to see why Daichi leapt off so abruptly.

Ken nods, but rises into the air and begins circling the area.

Tara nudges Gullenfaxi with a heel, and the big horse paces up behind Daichi, "Daichi-kun? Is... something wrong?"

Seiichi frowns, and begins to focus -- or rather preparing to make sure he doesn't become so startled he can't de-focus himself to bring forth whatever suitable distraction of camoflauge or what-have-you that might be required.

Shinsetsu relaxes a bit. "I don't hear anything... if there's a trap, it's probably on the other side." He frowns.

Tara holds up a hand, although she's still watching Daichi, "Guys? Wait a bit, please?"

Daichi doesn't respond, falling instead into what Tara recognizes as a fighting stance. He draws his fist back, drawing in a deep breath before unleashing it with a resounding, "KI-YAYI!!" His fist hurtles at the stump and splinters it upon impact.

Tara blinks, then backs up the big horse a few steps, drawing her sword.

Tara waits quietly, watching.

Daichi leans against the shattered remains, panting hard, his eyes shut tight. Head shaking faintly, he mutters something very softly into the wood.

Tara continues to silently watch and wait, although she now looks slightly less tense.

Daichi hits the tree again, much less forcefully. "Damnit...."

Tara murmurs quietly, "Want to enlighten us please, Daichi-kun?"

Shinsetsu looks over. "I can sympathize."

Tara sighs, suddenly understanding, and sheathes her sword.

Tara turns Gullinfaxi, giving Daichi some space, and heads back to where he dumped stuff. She leans down, scooping the shield up and sliding her hand into the straps. Then she straightens and looks at Seiichi, "Sure, go ahead and open it, please. Let me go through first." She settles Gullenfaxi in front of the gate, sword drawn again.

Daichi suddenly looks very, very tired, propped against the devastated remains of the tree. "I.. couldn't... do.. anything..."

Seiichi nods quietly to Tara, and concentrates on the crystal to open the portal.

Shinsetsu nods and joins Daichi at the tree, crouching on his toes as he waits.

Tara glances once with sympathy at Daichi -- then turns her full attention to the gate.

Tara murmurs softly, "Take your time, Seiichi-chan. We're in no hurry."

Seiichi grumbles to himself at his utter lack of focus. Instead he takes a breath, inhaling, closing like the gate is closed, yin, bound, awake... then exhaling slowly, opening, yang, unbound, as he wishes the gate to open... dreaming.

Daichi manages to push himself off the tree with a grunt. It takes him a bit longer than one would expect to bend down and recover the holy weapon. He looks utterly bone weary and spent, as if all his reserves went into that one action.

Seiichi's crystal glows a soft blue, and the grove slowly uncurls like an opening leaf.

Tara will, if she sees nothing suspicious yet, nudge Gullinfaxi gently with one heel. The horse and rider pace forward slowly through the gate, both of them looking around with alert wariness.

The forest on the other side looks like it did when they left, except the sun is large, red, and low in the sky. Evening will arrive soon.

Tara rides all the way out of the little aspen grove, then pauses, again looking around warily.

Daichi plods towards the gate, all trace of his jovial mood lost for the time being, using the staff as a walking stick.

Tara sighs softly, turning Gullinfaxi to ride back and stand in the gateway until the others are through, "Come. It appears safe."

Shinsetsu follows Daichi, no hurry here.

Seiichi follows along after Shinsetsu.

Ken hovers toward the gate, touching down just before the entrance, and stepping through.

Tara backs Gullenfaxi out of the gate, still facing it, and murmurs, "Close the gate please, Seiichi-chan."

Seiichi releases his breath, than inhales, letting the act of taking that closing breath also close the gate as well.

And the world returns to normal.

Tara rides back through the grove, being very careful that the gate is indeed closed. Once she's absolutely sure it is, she relaxes a bit more, her sigh softly, and sheathes the sword. As Gullinfaxi turns back towards the others she slides off the shield, then pauses by the others, looking down quietly. "We're almost home, guys. Just a little farther. Do we want to continue riding?"

Daichi's eyes haven't really left the ground since he picked up his staff.

Seiichi shakes his head a little. "It might draw too much attention here.

Tara nods, then swings down from Gullinfaxi, "It didn't before... but perhaps a walk would be a good thing right now."

Tara slides off Gullinfaxi in a smooth dismount. For a moment they're both wreathed in a brilliant golden glow -- and then, when it clears, Tara can be seen again, standing alone and in her usual clothing.

Tara starts walking with the rest down the trail, calling ahead to warn Nanna-san she's bringing company home for dinner again.

Tara paces up to Daichi when she's done, reaching for his punching hand. She murmurs quietly, "May I see?"

Daichi doesn't raise his eyes at all, instead just offering her his hand. The skin over the first joint of his fingers is a deep crimson and very abraded.

Shinsetsu does his casual stroll walk, letting his hands swing slightly since he doesn't have pockets in these clothes, body carefully relaxed.

Tara will quietly use a hankie and some water to clean off Daichi's hand, then leaves him in peace. She wants to get everyone to her house for some hot food.

Tara is focused on getting everyone safely to the house, and watching Daichi with some concern. At one point when he raises his head to look ahead her eyes narrow thoughtfully... then she casually strolls a bit faster so she's next to him for a bit. She gently presses her hankie into his hand.

Seiichi feels his body already drawing him to how he usually handles stressful days: a meal, and then a nap to center himself between the waking and the dreaming. He asks for permission to just take a nap after the meal at Tara's home, and calls home to let his parents know he'll be back late, or more likely on the next day.

Daichi makes the walk back almost mechanically, only looking up to check his footing now and again. His hand closes numbly around the handkerchief, carrying it the rest of the way back to the house. He bows to Nanna-san and thanks her for the meal, afterwards making his way to the shower to soak away the weekend. After the shower he makes apologies to Tara for not continuing the conversation from earlier and then heads off to sleep.

Shinsetsu eats in the same neutral fashion as his casual stroll; neither angry nor sad nor happy, just eating. He thanks Nanna politely afterwards, then goes outside.

Tara wonders puzzledly what conversation Daichi means, but says nothing. To Nanna-san she simply explains that they found some dead things on the trail, and were all much moved. It was very sad.

Tara makes sure all the guys are safely taken care of, then sighs and hugs her Nanna-san very tightly.

Shinsetsu returns much later. He cleans up and goes to bed as well. Maybe the morning will be better.

********

[Previous Log] [Index] [Next Log]

Last modified: 2005-Aug-09 21:48:11

All material on this site is
Copyright © Copyright_Year-2024 Reality Fault
unless specifically indicated on each document.
All Rights Reserved.
Administrated by Reality Fault Webmaster