Waking the Dead 2.0 || May 18, 2063 || The Mandatory Hot Springs Episode

[kawaakari]

[The skies are clear, the air is cool, and overall? Conditions are perfect for spending the entire afternoon and maybe even the entire night at the hot springs within Seigi. It's open to Zangyaku operatives and their families, along with any of their guests.

Oh, they're also communal. Surely no one minds? It's just skin, after all.

You're allowed to smoke, drink and eat while you're chilling out in the pools. You can also play cards, have a round (or several) of ping pong, flop around... anything goes, as long as you don't kill anybody!]



OOC Notes:
+ Make your own threads, plot out your own shenanigans and whatever else. Just remember: War Hounds and the rest were probably invited there after lunch, and are more than welcome to spend the rest of the day there. Y'all might want to specify the time. :3
+ NPCs are available on call beyond the threads I set up in here (if I end up setting some up, anyway)! Lemme know if you have questions.

Comments

[sadame]

[Have her chuckling in your head now, Taning. And speaking to you, in your head.

Hope you don't mind.]

I think I will. You're very sweet.

[bladeweaver]

[So many people have spoken to him in his to this point that he isn't even startled anymore. Besides, her voice is soothing in his head. Melodious and calming.]

That's what Tohru-san's kids think, or so Asami-san says. He smiles a wistful smile. I've never had a chance to be a doting big brother, much. I must be really repressed. [He laughs softly.]

[sadame]

[Saying nothing, blinking up at you inquisitively. It's not that she doesn't already know your story. Just...]

You have a chance to now. Isn't that a good thing?

[bladeweaver]

[He's thinking on this. He knows what she's really asking, but he'll answer the obvious question first.]

That's what shisho thinks, I think, when I'm with Hikaru. Or any of his kids, actually. Perhaps I should ask tips from you on how to be a big brother to Hikaru. [He laughs, meaning it.]

I don't know... I'm afraid I might not be the brother my sister needs, when the time comes. It's been so long, and I don't know her at all.

[A pause, then a sigh.]

I don't doubt that I love her, though. That's weird, isn't it? I don't even have a clue who she is now. But I do anyway.

[sadame]

[Listening quietly. Her gaze never moves away.

Now she is bumping her forehead against his hand again. An affectionate gesture.]

You will be everything that she needs when the time comes. Your worry now tells me as much.

[bladeweaver]

[One does not disagree lightly with the Fatespinner. Accordingly, Taning doesn't.

Besides, her faith warms his heart.]

I'm glad you think so.

[Silence, in which Taning is thumb-scratching the fox behind the ears. He is clearly in thought.]

Hey, Setsuna-san? I actually meant it when I asked: how does one take care of Hikaru-san like a big brother? [He fidgets.] He is millennia-old and is powerful beyond anything I can even conceive of; nevertheless, it seems he needs... something, do you know what I mean? I'm asking, well, since shisho I think expects it of me. But I'm also asking because maybe I really can help.

[sadame]

[Ah, this blade.

Somehow, she is not surprised to hear any of that. Making a thoughtful noise now.]

Be watchful, be stubborn, and learn to read his moods. Know when he needs someone, and be there. Know when he needs his space, and wait just around the corner.

[That is how she handles him, anyway.]

My brother loves too easily, and quails when he finds himself getting attached. It is difficult, see, being in positions like ours. We will always end up leaving the ones we care about behind.

[Saying this calmly, even though it kind of absolutely fucking sucks.]

Still, we need company. Companionship. Everyone does, even the most 'god-like' among us.

[bladeweaver]

So basically... Be there, and not be there; be his, and not be his; obey, and don't obey; care, and pretend not to care.

[He shakes his head, a sad smile on his face.]

Not asking for the moon and the stars, are you? [He says that in an obviously joking manner, albeit really sadly now.]

Pardon me if this is taking liberties already, but... what I want to do for your brother, I realize I should be extending to you. I know, I know, you barely know me. But. One cannot be told such a thing without needing to do something about it. [He smiles, warmly, at the fox under his hand.] We Arrows are stupid like that.

[sadame]

[Moving, putting her paws up on his knees. Looking at him.]

Thank you. It would be nice to have a friend that I can try to return to whenever I come around.

[bladeweaver]

[Taning hunches down, with as warm a smile as any he had worn in a while. What is it about this woman that puts him at ease? She's like a long-lost friend.]

No, thank you, for listening to an insecure old mage babble. And for letting me scratch your ears. That was quite soothing!

[He sits Indian-style now, because talking with Setsuna-san wasn't supposed to happen, but it did, and he doesn't mind now that it has.]

If you don't mind me asking, how's it feel like, to be back? Or, [He clears his throat embarrassedly.] being actually visible again. You know what I mean.

[sadame]

It feels...

[Wonderful. Perfect. Fulfilling. Terribly beautiful. Beautifully sad.]

It feels great, actually. It's been too long.

[bladeweaver]

I'm happy for you, then. Hikaru-san has been so much more... calm, since you showed up. It's a refreshing sight, can I just say.

[Might as well.]

What do you see for us, if I may ask? My blade. I've grown quite attached to them, see, and I guess I'd like to know if there are things I can prepare for, for all our sakes.

[sadame]

[Glancing up, ears flattening a little against her head in apology.]

I'm sorry, Taning. I'm afraid that I don't really see possibilities in the way that I used to unless there is something that requires my attention.

[Although, that might be a good sign. Her not seeing anything for them just yet.]

[bladeweaver]

[How can he even begin to be disappointed when Setsuna-san looks like that? Taning gets a discordant thought that that's a pretty potent weapon in her arsenal, except he doesn't really believe she's that kind of person. Or fox. Fox-person? Yeah.]

That's quite alright, Setsuna-san. Maybe we've gotten too used to leaning on you guys after all. Just because you're who you are doesn't mean we can stop being who we can be.