[RP]Obake Blade

[Rogue Nine]

Carwyn had just traipsed up the stairwell, flying higher than a kite, when his keen ranger ears heard a dull thump reverberate in the walls. It seemed to emanate downstairs, from the hallway he'd just exited. He frowned as he turned around and descended, trying to decide if he did actually see the wall shudder or if he'd only imagined it...

 

Skidding around the corner, Carwyn spotted Kyo sticking his head into the common room. Arching an eyebrow, he strode over to the swordsman just as Kyo said, "And for worrying you; it was rude of me. I'll probably be in the library for a few hours longer if you'd like to talk, Aya. If not, then I bid the both of you goodnight."

 

As Kyo shut the door again, Carwyn strode up and leaned against the wall in front of him. Crossing his arms, the ranger gave Kyo an amused smirk and said, "Eavesdroppin', are we?"

[Quist]

"Stoic indeed," Maggie commented as she sat back down again, referring to Kyo and his unexpected appearance. "He really is quite nice, though. Extremely polite and well-mannered. Not too bad on the eyes either." She gave Aya another wink before clasping her hands together in thought.

 

"As for Father Abbott, I wouldn't worry too much about him. He really does deserve his title sometimes." She grinned. "Every time a male traveler comes around, he usually makes me stay in the kitchen. And I mean every male traveler, even the grizzled old ones. I don't mind often, but there are those rare occasions when handsome young men do stop by where the Abbott's fatherly actions do become most annoying." Her eyes brightened. "Fortunately, your group has brought in more than a few of them, so he has no recourse but to leave me be."

 

Maggie leaned in a bit closer to her friend. "And as for your father," she continued, her voice a bit more subdued, "I'm not one to speculate on what he thought, since you and I both know he was sometimes even more protective than Father Abbott. Even of me." She smiled warmly as she remembered old Sam S'Ornaku, whom she had long considered to be her surrogate uncle of sorts. He would always make time on his busy visits to sit down with her and Aya and regale them with tales of adventure and excitement. Sometimes he would even bring presents for her from his many travels. She reached a hand to the front of her tunic and felt the small pendant he had given her for her 18th birthday. Pulling it out and staring at it for a few moments, she looked back into Aya's eyes. "He was protective, yes," she started again. "But somehow, I'd like to think that he would approve of Carwyn. Especially if he's all of what you've described him as. He seems to genuinely care for you." She cast another glance over at the door. "And from what I've seen, he seems to be the perfect gentleman. I would definitely have to agree with the 'lovely' comment as well." She reached over and put an arm around her friend's shoulders. "Looks like you've found yourself a keeper, Aya." She sighed wistfully.

[ForceFightWMe12]

Kyo frowned slightly at Carwyn's remark, surprise at the ranger's sudden appearance only lasting a second as it flitted across the swordsman's face. He shook his head.

 

"Nothing of the sort," he said, stepping away from the door and around Carwyn, moving back towards the stairs, "I was simply shutting the door so that no such thing would happen."

[Rogue Nine]

Carwyn grinned at Kyo and clapped him over the shoulder as he passed. "I know, I was being facetious." He glanced back at the common room door as they made their way down the hall and a sudden inspiration came upon him. "Kyo," he called out as he matched the swordsman's strides. "Can I ask you something?"

 

Kyo looked at him with a curious eye. "Sure. What is it?"

 

Carwyn hesistated for a moment, looking a little unsure, then shook his head. "Hey, what do you think of Aya?"

[ForceFightWMe12]

Kyo blinked a few times, pausing in his step for a moment as he looked at Carwyn with blank eyes. The question had caught him entirely off guard - he wasn't expecting anything along those lines.

 

"Er...much the same as anyone else, I suppose." he said, still seeming confused, "Why do you ask?"

[Rogue Nine]

"'Same as anyone else?'" Carwyn repeated. "C'mon now, Kyo. Weren't you the person who convinced her that she was indeed a miko? That she's more than a simple merchant girl?" He ran a hand through his hair and sighed. "I ask because...I like her, Kyo. I like her a lot." He looked down at his feet, then back up at Kyo. "That's what I think of her and... I guess I just needed some advice from another man. Y'know, to be sure I'm doing the right thing."

[ForceFightWMe12]

Kyo looked down at the steps as they continued to move up the staircase, a mirthless smile coming to his lips and his green eyes darkening.

 

"Yes...so I've seen." he murmured when Carwyn 'professed' his fancy for the young woman. "Perhaps she isn't much like other women that I have come across in my travels. There are not many mikos left, and rarely have I seen anyone - man or woman alike - that draws people to themselves like Aya does."

 

After a few silent moments - in which the men reached the landing that opened out into the great library - the swordsman looked up to meet his companion's eyes.

 

"In all honesty, Carwyn..." he said, "I don't know that I'm the best person to ask on...relation topics."

[Rogue Nine]

Carwyn answered Kyo's mirthless grin with a rueful grin of his own. "Kyo, you're the closest thing to a buddy I've got here. I mean, look at my alternatives." He held up his hand and started ticking off fingers. "There's Akira, who doesn't speak much and when he does, usually doesn't make any sense at all. There's Xan, and you know how I feel about that buckethead." He grimaced. "Then there's Toa, but I probably couldn't get five words out before he decides to keel over and take a power nap. Kai is probably off directing wildlife traffic with his eye and Katsuro is just a kid. A precocious one, to be sure, but still too young."

 

He sighed and gripped the handle to the great wooden doors of the library. "So yes, Obi-Wan Ruroni, you're my only hope." At the swordsman's dubious look, Carwyn grinned and waved it off. "Never mind, that was an obscure reference. Anyway..." He paused, collecting his thoughts. "I guess what I'm really asking for is...approval." He looked sheepishly at Kyo. "We are following you after all, so I think it's only right for you to know what's happening." He gave the swordsman a small shrug. "Pretty lame, I know."

[ForceFightWMe12]

Kyo was silent for a few, long moments as he strode into the library, his hands folded behind his back. Glancing over towards the windows, he saw that his books and scrolls were undisturbed, sitting exactly as he had left them on the low table between the two arm chairs that sat beneath the large window.

 

"Approval?" he finally said, looking back to Carwyn. The word was smooth, his voice calm and normal, his eyes blank. "Carwyn, I'm not really..."

 

With a sigh, Kyo looked at the floor again. "I don't really know what to say, I suppose is what I mean. I have seen such situations come about, but I never stuck around to see how they turned out. I do know, however, that a relationship during turbulant times - times that I'm sure our journey will bring at one point or another - does not always end well. The last thing that I need is for the two of you to end up hating each other."

 

Turning his eyes back to the Ranger, Kyo was about to continue when another thought struck him. Who was he to discourage? He had virtually no power in their lives - he was not a relative, or even a particularly good friend, regardless of what Carwyn had said. Just from looking in his eyes, the swordsman could tell just how much Carwyn cared for Aya, and he had heard from Aya's own lips how happy the man before him made her. Knowing that he couldn't - he just simply couldn't - get in their way, despite what he felt, he shook his head, waving off his own comments with a hand.

 

"Oh, don't listen to me." he said, smiling faintly, "I'm a pessimist - I always have been. I can't get in the way of you two; it's obvious that you share a bond with Miss Aya. I won't get in the way of it."

[Rogue Nine]

"Thanks Kyo," Carwyn said, smiling warmly. "For your candor. I think it's something I needed to get my mind right." They stopped in front of the table that Kyo had been working at, which was littered with books and scrolls of all sorts. "I know we'll face dangers going after this Blade of yours. Hell, we haven't actually even started looking and already we've been accosted three times." He locked eyes with the swordsman. "But this is how I know now that I have to be with Aya. And with you. To protect her and to fight by your side." He put a hand on Kyo's shoulder and they nodded at each other.

 

Abruptly, Carwyn stood back and stretched his arms over his head. "Whew, glad we got that out of the way. Being serious outside of battle does not suit me at all, don't you agree?" Without waiting for a response, Carwyn reached out and grabbed the nearest railing and swung himself over it and down to the first floor of the library. Landing on his feet with barely a thud, he stood up and waved jauntily to Kyo, then made for the exit.

[ForceFightWMe12]

Kyo couldn't help but grin at the ranger's abrupt change in personality, and even more sudden and unusual departure. He watched as he jumped to the level below, landing perfectly fine, and smiling as he walked off. Shaking his head in wonderment, the swordsman allowed himself to watch him leave the library before turning around again.

 

The hall was empty now, no one around but him. From what he could tell, the monks had either retired for the night, or were about some other chore. The silence was comforting, and at the same time...pressing.

 

Given a few moments to himself, Kyo's cheery mood soon evaporated as he went over what he had just done. He had just given Carwyn permission to be with Aya.

 

The thought tore something in him, and a sudden loose of rage came upon him. Grabbing a small book from the table, he hurled it several feet away, the cover opening and pages flapping in every direction as it flew through the air.

 

Watching it go, Kyo frowned deeply before turning to slump down in the chair, his pointer finger and thumb extending in an 'L' to prop up his head as he leaned it against his head, his eyes glaring darkly out the window into the darkening sky.

 

Idiot.

[JasraLantill]

"Looks like you've found yourself a keeper, Aya." Maggie sighed wistfully.

 

Aya smiled at her friend. “Yeah…,” she said slowly. “Carwyn’s a keeper alright.” She paused for a moment, thinking. “And yeah, I suppose you’re right about Kyo. He’s not your typical warrior type, is he? In fact, he seems more monk than warrior to me sometimes. Always quiet, and thinking, and reflecting, and polite. Well,” she reconsidered under her breath, “polite to the point when he gets stubborn and frustrated and throws you over his shoulder and carries you off to someplace you don’t want to go like a sack of flour…. But, yeah. He’s nice.” She grinned then. “Hey, maybe that’s why Father Abbot didn’t seem overly concerned about him being here. He saw a kindred spirit in Kyo.”

 

Aya stifled a yawn. “Well, I think I should turn in, Mags. It’s been a long day and with all that’s happened today, I’m just beat.” She snorted with amusement. “You know, two weeks ago, if someone would have told me that I’d be sitting here talking to you about men and ancient artefacts and a quest to find the Obake Blade, I would have thought them as crazy as a loon.”

 

She rose then and picked up her clothes, now dry from hanging in front of the fire. “Maybe we can catch up more tomorrow morning? Everyone will be up early for prayers and such….” She smiled conspiratorially. “You want to meet me in the pantry over some sweet cream and raisin bread like we used to?”

[Quist]

Maggie nodded, quite keen on the prospect of early morning snacking, something they hadn't done since they were younger. "If you remember where it is, I'll be there," she said, standing a bit awkwardly. She offered a hand to Aya and helped her up. "I'll walk you back to your room." As they made their way towards the door, Maggie cast another glance at her friend. "And I'm letting you off tonight, but know that we're going to have one of our late night gossipy sessions before you leave again." She sighed, then smiled tiredly. "It's good to have you back, Aya."

[JasraLantill]

"It's good to be back, Mags." Aya gave her friend a hug. "It's nice to be someplace where I feel safe."

 

Just then a breeze blew through the common room, making the fire flare and the candles and oil lamps spit. Aya bit her lip. "Well, almost safe," she said. "I can't help feeling that there's danger on the horizon, Mags. Like...like I'm standing on the edge of a cliff, looking down and knowing that one more step forward could be the one that makes me fall. You know?" She sighed and gave Maggie a faint smile. "Then again, maybe I'm just tired and need some rest."

 

She linked her arm with Maggie's and the two of them started up the stairs. "And, yes, I promise we'll have an uninterrupted girly gossip session before I go," she told her friend. "You can bet on it."

[Quist]

"I don't think you'll find any danger here," Maggie said, standing at the top of the staircase and looking down the dormitory hallway. "Nothing exciting ever happens around here," she told Aya with a rueful look. "But we'll talk more in the morning. Good night."

 

As Aya made her way down the hall, Maggie glanced over at one of the doors to her left. Remembering something, she padded over quietly and knocked on the door, hoping it was the right one.

[Master_Archon]

Xan had been sitting on his bed all afternoon, and evening, he was in a slumped over position, as if he had fallen asleep, or had suffered from an injury, or unconciousness. But infact, he had ben awake and alert all those long hours, his thoughts taking him over as he pondered, remembered, and planned for the trip ahead, he didn't have much of a voice or even respect in the group, but he was still a very tactical person, and he was always preparing.

 

He jerked up as he thought he heard something, looking around, he found nothing there, only Akkan, asleep on the floor, on his back, his little stomach rising and falling as he breathed slowly in his slumber.

 

Xan got up, stretching, he moved over to the window, arriving in only a few strides. He gazed outside, the stars winking and twinkling at him, the moon at it's peak, or near it, or falling from it, it as hard to tell, aspecially without his helmet. But what he could tell, was it was nearly time for most of everyone to be asleep, now he could move around the monestary with his thoughts, doing what he wished without disturbance or scrutiny.

 

He turned towards the door, arriving in another few steps, he reached out, opening it up, he attempted to step out into the hall.

[Quist]

Maggie had her hand raised to knock again, thinking she might just be calling on an empty room by accident, when the door swung open and a burly figure stepped out. She couldn't get out of the way in time as she was knocked backwards to the floor by the force of the exiting person. Uttering a small yelp, she landed on her rear and right elbow. She squinted as her body coped with the sudden shock and pain. She turned to look at the figure who had just exited the doorway. It was the soldier from before, still clad in his armor. No wonder it hurt so much....

 

Painfully, she tried to get to her feet. "My apologies for intruding, m'lord."

[Grace]

After almost an hour of sparring, Takara and Kaori were sufficiently tired and the fight ended. They went together back to the monestary. No conversation took place until they reached Takara's room. Then, Kaori turned to her daughter.

 

"I know you want me to come with you," she said softly. "But I can't do that."

 

"You're every bit the aeromancer I am," Takara objected stubbornly.

 

"No, you are much stronger," her mother replied. "And I am getting old. Besides, I haven't seen my husband in eleven years. It's time I went back to him. My journey of the winds is over."

 

Takara bit her lip. "I can respect that," she said slowly. "And I can give you help in finding dad. We ran into him at Ryuu-Tokai. He said he was going away from civilization. I watched him leave, the day we left. He headed west."

 

"Thank you," Kaori said softly. "If anyone can manage alone, it's your father... but traveling alone is so... lonely..." she smiled faintly. "I don't think he'll mind my company."

 

"After eleven years, you've both changed," Takara cautioned. "Just... get to know him again. Please."

 

Kaori laughed softly. "Seems to be a habit in this family, doesn't it? The children boss the parents."

 

Takara laughed. "Yes, I guess so. Goodnight, mother."

 

"Goodnight, Takara," Kaori answered. With a slight bow, she retreated to her room.

[Master_Archon]

Xan was caught by shear surprise at the sudden appearance of someone infront of him, as he barreled right into her by accident.

 

"My apologies for intruding, m'lord." Came a soft femanine voice.

 

He looked down, very far down, until he could see her figure attempting to get up. He bent down reaching out he snatched her up by her elbow, surprisingly gently, and aided her in getting up.

 

After she was up he looked around to see if anyone were around, wondering why she had come, and whether one in the group had sent her for some reason.

 

But, then again, she had come by earlier, so it mustn't have been the one of the group's doings.

 

He looked down at her face, blurred as it was, he could make out the definite female face and other features.

 

"No apologies, I should be the one saying sorry, so, I sincerely apologise, I did not see you," he exclaimed in response after his brief examining of the girl.

[JasraLantill]

Aya had left Maggie and gone off down the corridor to her room, but not before she put an ear to Toa's door. She didn't want to disturb him or Brother Kitanga who had been tending to him, but was still curious if the mancer was okay. The sound of rhythmic breathing from within the room put her at ease and she went inside her room across the hall.

 

Still wearing the sleeping shift, she dropped the clothes that had been drying by the fire on the chair near the door, then laid down on her bed. She stared at the ceiling for a long while. It had been a very busy day--the climbing up the canyon cliff, the battle with the Rock Snake, scattering her father's ashes, waking up here, seeing Maggie again, dinner with Father Abbot, kissing Carwyn by the reflection pool, getting soaked by Takara at said reflecting pool, drying off by the fire, kissing Carwyn again on the stairs, discovering that some evil magic had been inflicted upon Toa, chatting with Maggie....

 

Her head was spinning. So many things had happened in the short time. Every day seemed to bring with it new discoveries and new evils--did that mean that they were getting closer to finding the Obake Blade? Aya didn't think so. As safe a place as the monastery was, she never heard or read any stories that mentioned Obakanare stashing her sacred blade here. And the only real 'shrine' the monks kept to Obakanare was the reflection pool in the garden. With Aya's unintentional dip into the pool today, she hadn't seen anything that remotely looked like a blade hidden in it. It was probably in a cave guarded by a magic dog or something, she reckoned. Still, Kyo's puzzle had told them to 'Go North.' So, north they had gone and here they were.

 

She frowned then. Obakanare was reputed to be a formidable woman. She never did anything someone had 'told' her to do. In fact, in some stories, she had done exactly the opposite.

 

Ay heard an owl cry out in the night, and she sat up and looked out her window. It looked over the garden, where the reflecting pool was. The pool was still now, glowing with the reflection of the moon as if it were a window to another world altogether. Aya could see why the area around the shallow pool was so revered by the monks here. It was beautiful.

 

She sighed. She couldn't sleep, so she might as well go and do something else.

 

Bright moonlight streamed through the windows, giving an ethereal air to the darkened corridors as well as lighting the way as she wandered quietly through the silent monastery. She soon found herself in the library of all places. And, there was still an oil lamp burning up on the second floor. "Hullo?" she called out softly, padding quietly up the stairs in the direction of the light. "Is someone there?"

[ForceFightWMe12]

After Carwyn had left the library, Kyo set to work again. Having skimmed through several of the books already, he had as of yet found nothing useful. None of the authors or their notes seemed to want to even touch the idea of Obakenare's hidden blade - a habit that frustrated the swordsman to no end.

 

He had found one or two hints - rumors of strange caves with a powerful spiritual aura, dejected temples that had been forgotten to man and reclaimed by wilderness - but he knew most of them to be fake and unreliable. This was the first time he had had a breakthrough of this sort - but it was not the first time he had gone chasing the blade.

 

Most of the books either dealt with the history of the demonic wars or Obakenare herself; obscure stories of her early life and the battles that she had fought...things that didn't particularly interest the swordsman. He was far more concerned with the last years of her life, in which she sealed the demons and ghosts away in the Kuro Realm and hid her legendary blade.

 

The candles in the wall sconces had begun to burn down in their holders, his main source of light now the oil lamp that sat on the table before him. The moon outside was rising ever faster, now only about an hour away from reaching its zenith. All signs that Kyo ignored - he would be able to last a bit longer. If only he could find something...

 

"Hullo...? Is someone there?"

 

The swordsman started slightly at the sound of the voice. He hadn't heard or noticed anyone enter the library - but now that he was listening, he could pick out the soft, hesitant steps of the young merchant that was approaching.

 

His eyes returned to the thick volume as he called to her in return, "It's just me, Miss Aya."

[JasraLantill]

Aya peeked around the corner of one of the bookshelves, finding Kyo sitting at a table near the window at the far end of the room.

 

"Kyo? You're still reading?" she asked in amazement. She walked over to where he was and stood near him, looking over his shoulder at the oversized tome he was studying. It was not a book that she would ever have had the patience to even leaf through, but then again, she wasn't Kyo. "Find anything interesting?"

[Quist]

"I did not want to disturb you if you were sleeping," Maggie said, still rubbing her elbow. "I just came by to make sure everything was all right, m'lord." A thought flickered into her mind. "And if you have eaten anything for dinner, since we've already had our repast."

 

Truth be told, the tall, imposing warrior scared her a little bit. Soldiers who came by the monastery were either extremely standoffish or way too friendly. This man seemed to be more of the former, but that still didn't excuse her from being a proper hostess.

[ForceFightWMe12]

He shook his head, his eyes scanning the last line of the page.

 

"Nothing yet," he answered, "Well...at least, nothing pertinent to our cause. I find that there's quite a bit of Obakenare's past that I didn't have the foggiest idea about. But I digress."

 

Looking up at her, he smiled faintly. "Having trouble sleeping?"

[Rogue Nine]

After he'd left the library, Carwyn was planning on heading up back to his room to get a good night's rest, but halfway up the stairs, his stomach grumbled. I guess you say otherwise, then. Traipsing back down into the main hallway, he oriented himself in the direction he thought the kitchen would be in, hoping that the monks kept something in the way of snacks. Then again, knowing monks and how they were, Carwyn wasn't really all that hopeful, but at least he could probably find something to tide him over until breakfast.

 

Pushing open a heavy oak door, he was surprised to see Tellis and Abbott Carlisle sitting at a table, a lit lamp casting a glow on what looked to be cards between them. Arching an eyebrow, he called out, "Am I interrupting something?"