On The Boundary ~ Illusionary Festival for the Dawn

[Sonae]

On The Boundary

The Dawn of this Illusionary Festival.
This Dream-like Paradise,
How long will it last?

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Year 160. Early Spring. 28^th of March. Morning. 8:00 A.M
As the Sun climbs higher into the clear morning sky, the world begins to open up.
Life begins to stir.
The crisp morning breeze gently flows through all of Gensokyo.
The remnants of snow banks now dwindle in the shadows, slowly shrinking in the arriving springtime warmth.
Soon, the dormant flowers will wake and bask in the spring sun.
And at that time, Gensokyo will be blanketed in the magnificent color of the Cherry Blossoms.
Yes, Spring is Definitely the time when all of Gensokyo awakes to have fun and enjoy the flowerviewing.

---

8:03 A.M. Location, Hakurei Shrine.
Yukari Yakumo sits atop the Shrine?s grand gate, a smile on her face.
As the seconds pass a light breeze blows past her, ruffling her extravagant clothing gently.
As the breeze comes to a slow stop, she closes her eyes.
Time seems to come to a halt, as if everything had frozen. Not even the leaves make the slightest of sounds.
Then, as if on cue, sound resumes as she speaks.
?Suika?
She says aloud, to the open air. For a moment, nothing happens. But within seconds, a thin mist begins to gather beside the youkai of boundaries.
As the mist becomes thicker, a small girl appears from it. On her head is a pair of large horns. In her hand is a large gourd, one she?s never seen without.
?Oh Yukari, what?s up?? She asks as she takes a drink from her gourd.
Yukari shrugs somewhat, as if avoiding the question. Her eyes gaze out over Gensokyo. Her violet eyes seem somewhat troubled.
Suika glances at her as she takes another drink from her gourd. She lets out a gasp of air as she lowers it from her mouth.
?It?s odd to see you here this early in the year? Suika says as she looks out over Gensokyo without a care in the world.
Yukari shifts slightly, moving into a more relaxed position.
?I?ve got some business to attend to? Yukari says.
?Eeh~ Something that can?t wait till Spring?? Suika asks as she moves into a more comfortable position.
Yukari seemingly doesn?t hear Suika?s question, as if she hadn?t spoken at all.
Then the youkai?s eyes light up faintly.
?Oh that?s right? She says as she sits up and turns her head towards her companion. ?Suika, I?ve got a favor to ask of you?
Suika yawns slightly and stretches as she sits up. ?And that?d be?? The oni asks, taking another drink from her gourd.
?Would you mind gathering the humans of the village at its center??
?Eeh?That?s a new one? Suika says, pondering the request. ??But I s?pose I can do it? She says as she pushes her self off the ground and into a standing position. She takes yet another mouthful from her gourd.
Yukari smiles, reassured by her old friend.
?Well, Is that all ya need?? Suika asks as places the gourd at her side.
?Yes that should be fine? Yukari says looking somewhat bored. She lets out a silent sigh before speaking again.
?I?m feeling tired now, So I?ll be heading back to sleep now? She says. Without waiting for Suika?s response a gap starts to open below her.
?E-eh!? Hey that?s no fair! Leaving all the work to me!? Suika says as Yukari drops into the gap too quick to respond.
Suika frowns slightly and grumbles to herself before taking one last swig of sake and vanishing into a puff of air. From where the small oni disappeared, a thin transparent mist begins to head in the direction of the village, spreading out thinner and thinner as it goes, making it barely noticeable.

[GuyYouMetOnline]

Glass beads... very, very, very large shirt... five-pound weight... slingshot... rotten oarnge... and the 'traffic cone', as rinnosuke called it. Everything's present.
 
Laresa closed her pack. Ready to go. She had just gone through its contents, something she did frequently. Not every day, though, simply because of how long it took. She did, after all, have quite a lot of stuff in that bag. It contained not only items from all over Gensokyo, but quite a few things from the outside world, most aquired from Rinnosuke's shop. She was quite possibly his best customer; she visited the shop quite frequently, as the items one could find there were of quite a variety. Which is to be expected when the stuff you have available is 'whatever I find'.
 
Laresa felt it as she stood up and put her pack on, resting it over the bladed staff strapped across her back. She knew that sensation well. An ability had just been used within her range, and its essence had been copied to her, allowing her to mimic it. And that ability is... gathering? An odd power. And none of my neighbors can do that. I don't know of anyone in the village who can do anything like that. Which could only mean one thing. But when Laresa exited her home and looked around, there were no unfamiliar faces. There were, however, plenty of familiar faces, of people exiting their own homes. And they're heading towards the village center. It's humans that are being gathered, and we're being gathered at the village center. This could be bad. But it wasn't necessarily a problem. There are plenty of non-malevolent reasons one might want us to gather. There was just know way of knowing what the reason was without going.
 
Laresa set off towards the village center, but she did so slowly and carefully. And she wasn't going to join everyone else in the center itself. She was going to hang back a ways. Close enough to see and hear, but far enough to do so covertly. And if anyone tried to cause trouble, she would just have to deal with them.
 
-------------------------
 
OOC: Yeah, so given Laresa's tendency to obtain random items, it seemed natural that's she'd be a regular customer of Rinnosuke's. I hope that's all right.

[Amraphenson]

Rrrrrfff. Rrrrrffff. Rrrrrrfff.

He huffs and puffs in exertion as he pumps air into the filled forge; cinders and sparks fly out as he does so. 

"You done with that yet, Tetsumaru?" a voice calls from the distance. He wipes his forehead with a sleeve and calls back with a cupped hand.

"Yes! The forge is ready!" he shouts clearly. It's early morning and his day has just begun. The first task of the day is to get the forge going; there's an order for a new set of cooking utensils that needs to be done soon.

"Right then, I'll be there in a sec," replies the voice. The teen lets out a huff and looks out the open double doors.

"Huh...," he blinks, noticing a congragation of people all filing towards the center of town. "...Otou-sama, is there something going on-..."

His question is cut short when he feels the first of the siren call. Gather, gather, gather. A distant whisper, almost too quiet to hear, and almost too strong to resist. Then he sees it, a thin mist, almost too thin to notice, and yet almost too thick to ignore completely. It wafts through the nose and flutters away, dragging the enchanted with it to one location. The town's center. He narrows his eyes, not liking this one bit. 'Some kind of...spell? Youkai?

"Something wrong, kid?" says the voice once more, having finally arrived in the forge proper. It is none other but Jin, Tetsumaru's surrogate father, in his usual attire of worksman's clothing. "Say...do you smell that?" the wizened smith blinks and sniffs at the air. "No...nothing. Nevermind. Anyways, what's wrong?"

The boy looks at his father with a strained smile. "Everyone seems to be gathering in the center of town," Tetsumaru states. 'Otou-sama doesn't seem to notice it... "Some kind of...mist."

Jin blinks, then rubs his chin in thought. "Gathering...mist, huh?" he muses.

"...Otou-sama?" he chimes in, noting the somewhat famliar tone.

"...Boy, go check it out for me. Sounds like an old youkai that started an incident a bunch of years ago," Jin says finally, pulling out his son's shikomizue all the while.

"...eh?" the teenager replies dumbly. Before he knows it, Jin has pushed the cane sword into his hand and pushed him out the door.

"Be careful out there, kiddo! That old youkai is nothing but bad news!" the Smith calls, right before he slams the doors to the forge shut.

"Eh?" he says one last time. Slowly, he turns his head to the town's center. Without the fumes of the forge fogging up the air, the mist is a lot more enticing...

"Eh...."

[trancehime]

Shuffle, shuffle, shuffle. Every morning, there is quite the pond out by the Yamagishi residence, walled off, naturally, by fences. The pond itself is reminiscent of some ghetto onsen, maintained solely by Senri's mother Youko's sorcery, or at least that is what she wants most people to believe. In the pond this morning is Senri, bathing, this is where the family does their... "rites of cleansing," at least that is what they want most people to believe (it's just legalese for 'taking a bath') and also the fact that Youko herself is crazy about hygiene, believing that Senri should be all squeaky clean before he saunters off to work. Today, he hears a shuffling coming from the house, and he blushes immensely when he spots Aika, his older sister, idly walking in on him without a care in the world. She yawns and rubs her dreary, bleary eyes and points outside. Youko was heard yammering in the background somewhere. "What is that hag's problem? Having someone make people congregate over there like that this early in the morning!" Aika yawned and turned away from Senri and promptly proceeded to walk out the residence like a zombie, as if she were drawn to something. He idly yawns and inadvertedly took in some strange mist that he did not notice, and almost fell into the water. He washed his face thereafter and left, taking a towel and drying himself off, thereby getting himself dressed and ready to set out. Well, where? Well, where else? The place everybody else was going, of course. Youko sighed. "Oh, that's just hopeless."

Senri idly slipped on his geta and for some reason, after stepping out of the mansion after a more dead and blank than usual "Bye bye and I'll be back before dinner," he promptly stared at the tea house he usually worked at for an inordinately long amount of time. "Uh..."

"Hmm..."

"What was I supposed to be doing again?" Senri scratched his head.

[Marokuu]

Sanaya sits with her eyes closed in a secluded corner of her own yard dressed in only a nightgown. Her mind is distant, deeply submerged in a meditative state.

If one was able to look into her body one would find it in a state opposite of the apparent calm on the surface, with her pulse massively accelerated and impressions rushing through her mind faster than crow tengu through the air.

She persists in this state for a few more minutes, processing everything going on around her before breaking her focus and opening her eyes. Her body returns to its normal rythm as she stands up and stretches, a content sigh escaping her throat.

"Haah, that felt longer than usual." She glanced at the sun in an attempt to determine how long she had been meditating. The sun had barely moved, she had not been sitting there for more than fifteen to twenty minutes. "That might be the longest yet."

"I'm probably just being optimistic though." She picked up a piece of red string and begun tying up her hair as she walked inside.

"Now, what was on the schedule today?" She wasn't speaking to anyone in particular but voicing her thoughts felt helpful in keeping track of them.

"Ah right, I was heading in to the village to..." She paused and furrowed her brow. "No, no I wasn't, I went there yesterday."

Making mistakes in her schedule was uncharacteristic for her. She glanced around and noticed a thin stream of mist flowing out of her house off towards the nearby village.

"Strange." She scratched the back of her head. "I guess I didn't actually have any plans today anyway."

She went into her bedroom and changed into her casual kimono, briefly considering if she should wear her combat dress. Showing up dressed for combat would seem overzealous if nothing was going on.

"No,  just bringing the naginata should be good, if something happens in the village there would be plenty of other people there."

She made sure that the blade was properly covered up and then swung its harness over one shoulder as she started walking down the small path toward the village, keeping a calm mind in an attempt to once again speed up her figure and get there more rapidly.

[Sonae]

The bright morning sun shone through the small gaps in the blinds, faintly illuminating the dimly lit house.
Haruka slept peacefully in her futon, unaware of her daughter who was watching over her, her eyes full of sadness.
The pale girl gazed at her mother silently, as waiting for something extraordinary to occur.
As the seconds slowly passed without the slightest thing happening, Sora sighed to herself. She gently closed her oddly colored eyes, as if resigning herself to an oath. As she reopened her eyes she rested her face on her hands, making a slightly troubled expression.
Minutes dragged on and on, each second feeling like and eternity. Finally, she let out a sigh, lowering her head slightly as she rose from her seat and walked towards the window of her mother's room. She gazed out it for a moment before covering the tiny gaps that had been allowing light to slip through.
After doing so she turned and looked at her mother who was sleeping peacefully, unaware of her daughter's presence, or the decision she was making.
Without saying anything, Sora carefully moved toward the door and exited the room. After making sure she hadn't woken her mother, she headed for the kitchen.
Sora turned on the tap, allowing the water to flow freely from it. She then proceeded to make herself a lunch to take with her on the road.
She had made her decision. She would travel to the Scarlet Devil Mansion and apply for a job there.
Sora was a little nervous. She had never been to the devil's home before, so she wasn't quite sure what to expect.
The girl took a deep breath, trying to relax her slightly panicked mind. She was determined to do this. And when one has enough determination, nothing can stop them.
As Sora finished preparing for her trip, she packed her lunch into a large bag that sat on the counter. After making sure she had everything, she slings the bag over her shoulder and heads for the door.
As she reaches to open it she stops. Slowly she turns around and rushes back to the counter, putting her bag down, and rushing down the hall to her room.
After nearly a minute, Sora returned. Atop her head rested a hat, and in her hands was a parasol.
She let out a sigh and mumbled aloud her checklist, making sure she had every item on it.
After determining she had all she needed, she smiled faintly and slung the bag over her shoulder once more. This time, she didn't stop before the door.
Carefully, she exited the house, silently closing the door behind her and embarking on her valiant journey.

[Yog-N'yggoth]

Hotaru finished packing. She had woken up early to prepare. Leaving her family to explore Gensokyo was something she had on her mind for a while. Done with with the pack, she carried it on her back and exited her room. She slowly walked through the house, feeling a bit melancholic about leaving a home that took care of her for so long. However, she was also happy that she can go on her own wishes but...

 Hotaru stopped. In front of her was a large bundle of blankets. Crouching, she peeled off one layer, which quickly pulled itself back. Her brother was sleeping yet again, like he did always. Although her parents were more surprised at her gradual improvement of herself, she always felt that her younger brother, always sleeping in the most oddest of places, was more surprising with how he still manages a profit with his small food stand. Eventually, she just concluded that he was more charming when at work. Knowing her sibling can take care of himself, she hugged the blankets (which struggled to get out of the embrace and continued outside.

 The sun was shining bright, and Hotaru shielded her eyes from its light. She didn't have a true destination, just pick a direction and go she thought. She walked, unsure of where she would go.


((Hmm, forgot to add a bit about her family. Well I guess her brother could be the only living family member she has perhaps.))

[CrowCakes]

Knock knock knock knock knock

"Why do they even bother staying open in the morning...?"

Knock knock knock knock knock knock knock

"...there's no one here..."

Knock knock knock knock knock knock knock knock knock knock

Kisei had been sitting on a stool behind the counter, keeping her eyes peeled at the curtain door in front. The windows were latched shut, and only the shadows of people peeked from under the curtain. None of them pointed to her or the shop.

She had been here since sunrise, and, so far, no one had come. She didn't care about getting anything off the shelves. That wasn't going to be her job. No, it was her parents'. She was only obliged to sit here because they asked, and there was no escape from those pesky morals that had somehow stayed in her mind. It was no fun living with guilt.

The rapping of metal against wood drew no attention from the outside.

If there was one thing to describe the shop, it was a general store. Food, mostly snacks; clothes, but nothing eye-catching; and many other things that weren't supposed to be found side-by-side.

The red-hair swiped at a whetstone on a shelf behind her. Pushing a kimono sleeve back, she began rubbing it against the edges of a knuckle duster that was concealed by the cloth. Sure, I'd be getting shouted at, but no one's buying it anyway. The edge of the weapon was never meant to be sharp, but blunt weapons weren't easy to use in swordfights.

Not long after, she pocketed the stone in a small brown purse that hung from her neck down beneath her clothes. Her red kimono was big enough to hide the bulge that it would have made.

She looked back. No one.

I should be sleeping. I've been awake since sunset. That would leave her with eight hours of sleep. She was fine with it, but she liked to stay in bed for a little longer.

Yaaaaaawwwwwwnnnnn-

KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK

Fwip

Kisei sat erect, immediately falling silent. It was just someone brushing past the curtain. Everyone can see the signboard. No one's going to look in.







That's it, I'm going out.

She looked back. Still no one.

She smiled mischievously. Hopefully, there was going to be someone worth stealing from.

EDIT: OOC: "Crow, you suck, so I'll be replacing some of your lines with my thoughts."

[Oldmansour]

Hyo Daidouji yawns mightily as he pulls the curtains open, letting the sunlight into the room he shares with his wife Yumei. He'd slept in a bit longer than he'd intended, admittedly a little reluctant to get out of his nice warm bed. He doesn't take to winter as easily as his daughter. Neither does her mother, he thinks wryly, grinning beneath his bushy blonde mustache. He wonders where little Kohaku gets that from. The aging man then shakes his head slightly.
You did it again, Hyo. he chides himself, as he knows his wife would. His little girl is hardly that any more. All of 20 years, and even more mature than that, Hyo almost expected her to have the shop opened for him, rather than wake her father. Indulging his curiousity, he opens his window just a crack, and grins again. The sound of an ocarina greeting him from the back yard seems to go along with that. Taking a few moments to dress himself (quietly, so as not to wake his wife), he heads downstairs and heads towards the kitchen. It's his turn to cook, and Mrs. Daisouji gets a little miffed if she has to wait too long for breakfast.

>

This time of year always make Kohaku Daidouji feel a little melancholy. Winter is her favourite season; she was born on a cold, stormy night in the dead of winter, and some say that she'dve been happier staying in that day. While this is not entirely true, although Kohaku does enjoy the sight and feel of a blizzard, she much prefers cool mornings, gently falling snow, glistening of new snow in the daylight, and the clear, clear nights of winter, when all the stars in the sky shine a little brighter...
But those days are fading for another year. Winter must always yield to the onslaught of spring. Kohaku has accepted this; it is the way of the world. But this is not the only reason why she plays a melancholy tune upon her ocarina, as she sits upon a tree stump in her back yard, her faithful malamute Hyozan sitting by her side. It was a day like this-nearly three years to the day, Kohaku reminds herself- that the youkai that called herself Haine blew out of town, almost as suddenly as she'd came, leaving a hole in Kohaku's heart nearly the size of Youkai mountain. After three years, that hole's been patched and filled in, and Kohaku never lingers on the bad, just remembers the good, and Haine brought a lot of good into Kohaku's life.
Kohaku, however, is still only human. And she, as all her kind do from time to time, has her moments. And days like this bring out some of hers.

She pauses her playing, and reaches down to give her large companion a friendly ruffle on the head, smiling bittersweetly.
"We'll find her one day, Hyozan. Both of them."
The dog makes no response, but his companionship is response enough for the young woman, and her bittersweet smiles loses at least some of the bitter part of it. All things in due time... she thinks to herself. Her father will be awake soon (assuming Mother doesn't kick him out of bed first, she thinks with a quiet laugh) and he'll have breakfast prepared in relatively short order, as his meals are always more simple affairs than Mothers'. Time enough for one more song, she thinks, and raises her ocarina to her lips once again.

[Hanzo K.]

It was just another average day at the old, ramshackle-looking hut out on the farther outskirts of the Human Village, where Youkai tend to prowl.
Or at least, that's what you'd think but...The story of the hut's sole resident was only just starting once more....That is, if he bothered to wake up much further than his current haze.


The sun was poking though even the gaps in the walls...
The place was always somewhat chilly in winter, even with the use of Thurisaz, Which could be attributed to why the hut looked to be in slight disrepair.
Too hot in Summer, too wet in Spring, and too leaf-strewn in Fall.
And on a reed mat could be found sitting, a young man trying to pull himself together. With various articles of clothing, and various other objects, strewn around haphazardly, as if a typhoon had been through. And if one were to see him on the job, you'd be inclined to believe that a typhoon had been through. Or a horde of Oni.
"Blegh....Every morning..it's the same ol' same ol'...get up, dig out breakfast from the icebox, get in a few fights, do some odd jobs, go back to dig out dinner, sleep, and do it all again the next day.."
So he gets up off the mat, and staggers over to a pair of beat-up looking overalls hanging on the wall, and puts them on.
'There...now to find something to eat...I'll have to go into town for anything past breakfast, since I ran out of beef and noodles last night.'
"The marketplace should be open by the time I get there, So I'll pick up lunch there."
So he then sets about his next task of finding something to eat. So he staggers over to a strange object that looks like a trunk, and begins to rummage around in it for a few moments until pulling out what seems to be a roll of bread. "Man...I'll have to get more bread too...Ah well, I'll get more at the market."
'This is such a pain....maybe I'll go pick a fight with some Youkai to let off some steam..'
And with that, he departs the hut, munching on the last of his food. He does feel something urging him to go to the village, but he could care less as he was going there anyways.



OOC: Man, this took a while to get out.

[Dorakyura]

The morning sun rises early, high up on the Youkai Mountain. And as the sun rises over the Moriya Shrine, a new day beginns for the new shrine maiden aswell.
Amaya, awakened by the first rays of dawn, still lying in her futon. "It's quite bright this morning." She mumbles to herself.
It's usual that she gets up early, to make breakfast and to get ready for the first visitors, that might come to the shrine. Amaya doesn't want to let her duty as the shrine maiden slide.
She rubs her eyes and trys to get up but something seems to bother her. Her hands search for the reason. She pulls out a black thing from under her cloths and futon. It was the tail of Vin, Amaya's small pet-snake.
Vin didn't hibernate this winter and is always sleeping in Amaya's futon or under her cloths. 'This snake is getting more weird with every year.' Amaya can't really figure out what is wrong with Vin, but the snake seems happy. Amaya puts Vin aside and stands up. Vin directly wriggles back under the warm futon.
Amaya is dress in a simply coloured kimono, that she always wears at night. Her first step goes to windows. She checks her clothes if everything is in place, opens the window and takes a deep breath of the fresh morning air. The morning sun shines in her face and she shouts "Rise and shine!" towards the sun.
Amaya is very pleased about the sunny weather and hopes the the last snow, even that here on the mountain, will disappear soon.

She leaves the windows open to let some of the fresh air into her room. She searches for Vin under the futon once more, who is obviously unpleased to leave the warm futon."Come on Vin, you get something to eat too, so don't bristle so much."
Amaya leaves her room, still holding Vin in her hand and takes the way to the room next door. ?Good morning.? She yells while opening the door with her free hand. She look into an empty room. Even the futon is tidy.
?Mmh? Mom's up already?? She leaves the room again and goes straight into the kitchen. ?No one's there either. Seems like she left already. Anyway.? She picks up a glass with dead insects in it, some bread and butter and walks into the living room.

She places Vin and all the other stuff on the table and opens the door in front of the living room to let the sun come in, then she sits down at the table and opens the box with the insects.
Vin waiting impatient for the meal. ?Here, enjoy your meal.? Amaya says and holds an insect to infront of Vin.

[Yog-N'yggoth]

Why am I still here? Hotaru thought, still walking around the village. She didn't feel reluctant at all about leaving her home, but there's was just this nagging feeling in the back of her head, telling her to stay a little bit more. Did I forget to say any good-byes? Of course she didn't, she kept talking about travelling to her friends for several weeks already, and her brother probably mentioned it to his customers. Did I forget anything in my pack? She quickly made a check on her belongings. She had everything prepared, enough supplies to last a couple days with rationing.  She already had her breakfast while packing, so it couldn't have been that, so what was it?

 Hotaru scratched her head. This wasn't exactly how she planned this. She wanted to leave quickly, while daylight was still strong. She sighed, and closed her eyes.  Maybe she just needs to follow this nagging thought without actually think about it. It does work for protagonists and other helpful characters to go into some kind of coincidence, so why not?

 With her eyes still closed, she carefully took random steps, opened her eyes, and continued on that path, which was towards the village center.

[Sonae]

8:17 A.M. Location, The far outskirts of the Human village.
As time passed, things began to bustle more and more with each minute.
However, there was but a single being wandering about in the desolate outskirts of the village that even the most foolish of humans wouldn?t play around in.
Here, there was a relaxing silence. Ran Yakumo, shikigami of the Youkai of Boundaries, is doing her routine check of the borders near the Human Village.

?All clear around the village?? The youkai says to herself. Her magnificent tails shine under the light of the morning sun as she slowly strolls further away from the Human village. In her right hand she holds a bag full of various food items.
As she lifts her gaze towards the sky she lets out a sigh. She raises her hand to shade her eyes from the bright sun.
??Well, I better head back before Chen wakes up. She?ll be grumpy if there?s nothing to eat?? She mumbles aloud as she turns her attention to the path in front of her. With another small sigh, the fox starts for home.

---

8:20 A.M. Location, The Village?s center.
By now the center of the village is crowded with people. Neighbours and Friends chat up a storm of words that becomes incessant noise. The crowd spreads across the central plaza of the village, filling it so thickly that it would be near impossible to make your way to the center on foot.
Despite the overcrowded court, people still continue to gather, being drawn in like moths to a flame.

---------

---SourFang

As the ocarina?s soothing melody slowly drifts away, Kohaku?s father, Hyo, shouts from the inside of the house.
?Kohaku! Can you run an errand for me?!?  He shouts.
Kohaku stops playing, lowering the ocarina from her lips, and looks towards the house. With a slight pause, she gets up and heads inside, ocarina in hand.
As the dog realizes its master was leaving, it also perked up and followed her over to the house, stopping at the door and taking a seat.
?Ah there you are? Her father says as he sets the table. ?We?re out of eggs, would you be able to run into town and get some for me?? He asks as he sets bowls at three places on the table.

---------

---Dorakyura

Vin happily snaps onto the insects, swallowing them faster than Amaya could deal them out. Despite being a snake of his size, his appetite was sure huge.
As Amaya finishes feeding Vin, she turns her attention to her own breakfast. She spreads the butter across the bread and prepares to eat.
?Ah, Good Morning Amaya? A voice speaks from the direction of the open door. As Amaya turns around she sees the speaker.
A small girl with a large, nerve-racking hat stands outside the room. Her shoulder length blonde hair borders her face, tied with a red string on each side. She?s wearing a short purple dress with frogs printed on it. Her knee-high socks are white and her shoes a black. Sun shines on all but her face, the oversized hat acting as a sun guard of sorts Upon her face is a simple and small smile.

---------

---Hanzo

Takuma strolls along the beaten path, a terribly bored expression across his face. As he grumbles undecipherable complaints about his boring life, he comes to the wide clearing before the village. A place with little foliage to hide behind.
Not really caring for the change of scenery, he dismisses it and continues forward. As his gaze shift back to center he sees something that makes him come to a halt.
There in front of him a little ways ahead is a woman. She wears an oddly shaped hat and clothes that vaguely resemble a nightgown. On her back are nine large golden tails.

As Takuma is busy gazing at the fox?s features, she notices his presence, turning her golden eyes towards the young man.
?Oh, there was a human wandering around way out here?? She says, sounding like she was talking to herself rather than to the person in front of her. Her expression is plain, neither excited nor aggressive.

[Amraphenson]

Tetsumaru walks slowly towards the town's center, contemplating the situation. Like him, many were coming out of their houses. Many were going to the same destination. But as far as he could tell, none were as worried as him.

'Aaaah...could this be an incident? Otou-sama told me about them...they're scary and dangerous and youkai come out of nowhere to eat everyone at the same time during a full moon...wait, maybe he was messing with me. Maybe it's not as scary as he says...but Keine-sensei told me to beware incidents too...but that was a joke...aaaaah, what do I do?'

His grip on the shikomizue was a little shaky as his reverie continued.

'Eeeeh...but if something happens, would I have to solve it? No, no, I don't even have an ability, let alone danmaku or flight...aaah, what a stupid thought. A kid like me solving an incident? That's ridiculous...'

By the time it was over, he was already at the edge of the crowd, trying to peer over the heads at what was at the center...

[Yog-N'yggoth]

"Excuse me, but what's happening?"


Hotaru kept asking this question to nearby people at the edge of the crowd. Responses were generally drowned out by the words of gossip and other things, but what she could hear were generally like hers: No particular reason to be there. After several similar responses, she stopped asking, and attempting to go near the center, but it was too packed.



 Whatever is happening, a lot of characters are here for that... Hotaru thought, attempting to see something past the huge crowd. Again, the huge crowd made it difficult to see what was going on. Among trying to see the center, she saw a boy also trying to see what was going on. Giving up on trying to see for herself, she reluctantly tapped him on the shoulder to catch his attention.

"Excuse me, but I and I presume you can't see, so would you mind if I gave you a boost so at least one of us can see?" Hotaru said, trying to sound helpful, and not as awkward.


Attempting to player interact is a go-go

[trancehime]

Senri was staring into space when he remembered he needed to go somewhere; he needed to go to the village center, because something was up. He knew that he was being drawn to that particular location for a reason, and he recognized vaguely that he was under some sort of spell. It must have been the influence of his mother Youko and training under his father that taught him to vaguely sense it, yet he lacked the power to break free of the influence of whatever it was that was making him go to the particular area. Sighing, Senri shambled his way to the village center, just like all the other humans who were crowding around there at that point, like cows to the slaughter... It would be a sordid sight for Youko, who was peeking out the door and looking at the travesty that was occurring before her eyes.

Senri made his way over to the center and saw some chick by a familiar face... oh, it's that tetsumaru-san, with some girl i do not know... did they get drawn here by the power of the spell too? oh, it's a bit much for me to think... Senri sighed and stood by the boy at the crowd's edge trying a bit too hard to see what was going on, and a girl had approached him to ask if he needed a bit of help with that. Senri yawned and turned to face the two of them.

"don't you two feel weird? you know, like there's some sort of spell that's making everyone come here. but heck if i know if it's really some sort of sorcery! that's just what my mama tells me, eh?"

[Marokuu]

The outskirts of the village seemed almost completely empty when Sanaya arrived.

"Okay, not good." She raised her hand to bring out her weapon but halted herself when she heard a distant chattering coming from the center of the village.

"What's going on? Is something happening at the village square?" She wondered aloud to herself as the broke into a slow jog down the streets. Moments later she rounded a corner and came face to face with the source of the chattering, a huge crowd of people. She felt like the entire village was here.

She slowed down and cautiously approached the edge off the crowd, scanning it with her eyes in an attempt to find out why everyone was there. No one seemed to be holding a speech and there was no conspicuous gap in the crowd where something of interest could be located.

Unable to come up with any idea about what could be going on she decided to simply ask someone nearby.

"Excuse me, may I ask why everyone have gathered here?" She tapped the shoulder of an elderly woman standing in front of her.

"Hmm?" The woman turned around to face her. "Oh, Sanaya-chan isn't it?" She smiled, Sanaya had a tendency to be liked by the older generation in the village. "I'm not quite sure, I just felt like I should be here and that seems to be what everyone else are saying too."

"Okay, thank you." Sanaya bowed. "I think I'll try to find Keine-Sensei, maybe she can tell me what's happening, good day."

She straightened her back again and started walking along the edge of the crowd, keeping her eyes open for a sign of the village's resident teacher. "Maybe that hat of hers will serve some sort of function for once." She thought as she kept walking around the gathering, her weapon still protruding a fair bit above her head.

[GuyYouMetOnline]

Laresa held back from the center and watched as people arrived. Before long, she picked her first mark.

The woman turned as Laresa approached. "Oh, hello. You're... it's Laresa, right? I know I said this before, but thank you for-"

"I was doing my job," Laresa said. "I am right now, too. This gathering is the result of a mystical influence. You're under a magical compulsion."

"Under a... wait, so someone's making us all come here?"

"'Influencing' would be a better word," Laresa said. "It is possible to resist a compulsion such as this, especially if you know it's from an outside source."

"But why?"

"I don't know, which is why I haven't taken any steps to break it up. In fact, you're the first person I've told, although there are likely others who've realized it on their own."

"Do you want me to leave?"

"I'm just informing you," Laresa said as she walked away. "You decide what you want to do."

Laresa went back to watching. She picked people she recognized from her work, people who she knew had reasons to trust her, and told them what she knew. Some left, and some stayed. This garunteed that there would be people outside the gathering who knew, and that others within it would know. Which would help if she had to act. They'll react faster and can help lead others to safety.

As the flow of people slowed, Laresa backed off. She remained seperate from the gathering, but close enough to see and hear what was going on. And I'm ready to act if I need to.

[Hanzo K.]

Well this was a surprise. He'd never seen a woman like that before. Nine golden tails?
'Nine tails? Golden ones at that. She's gotta be trouble, and even I'm not stupid enough to pick a fight with someone like that. I've learned from that time ten years ago..'
She was probably a Youkai on a level beyond the common Youkai he sometimes brawled with while on the job.
'She feels like she's on a whole 'nother level anyhow, I'd better be careful. A damn radiant beauty, but like the saying goes, "Even a beautiful Rose has Thorns".'
Either that or someone playing at being one. Whichever the case may have been, he knew better than to get mixed up with a woman like that.
Because, in his eyes, women can only mean trouble, especially in Gensokyo.
'There's no way I'm getting mixed up in anything now, not when all I've had to eat is a lousy roll of bread. Damn thing was halfway moldy anyhow. Wasn't even tasty either.'
When he hears her comment about there being a human way out here, that solidifies it in his mind that she's a Youkai, and can't help but quirk an eyebrow.
'Yep, definitely a Youkai, Better be careful. I haven't even had much for breakfast, so the last thing I need today is to end up as some other sap's breakfast.'
He then resumes his grumbling and continues on, offering a somewhat polite nod accompanied by a wordless grunt of acknowledgement when he passes by the woman.
'Man...if I'd had more for breakfast, and could use danmaku beyond just the blasts Thurisaz makes- which can hardly be called danmaku anyhow- she might've been a fun opponent. But it looks like it's just not in the cards today.'
After it seems she's gotten out of sight, he slumps a bit, before letting out a small shout of frustration, then launching into a rant aimed at nothing in particular.
"Gaaah! Today's just been one thing after another. First I find that the only food I've got in the house is a halfway moldy roll of bread, then a potentially powerful opponent gets away because of my lack of both a proper breakfast and spellcards!" He then slumps again. "Man...today's just not my day...Maybe I'll just get into a fight with some other person later to let off some steam, that should improve things."
He lets out one more wordless shout of frustration* before going back to making his way to the village.




*The best way I can transcribe this would be "Fnzaahrghraghleghnl!", a shout I myself am prone to uttering in moments of extreme frustration.
(Well, this is the closest transcription of it I can make with letters, and delving into symbols would just be silly. Though a potentiality if Takuma's sufficiently angered.)
OOC: Yes, his day's been utter shit, and the fact that he's got a hair-trigger temper right now means that he could end up fighting with just about anyone over something as trivial as the last slice of cake. (But then again, when does he ever have a solid reason for picking a fight? Don't answer that, he never has.) Anyhow, it took me all day to get this post to my satisfaction, here's hoping you can use it.

[Sonae]

As Sora walks on, heading for the village's exit, her mind begins to go astray. Various streams of thoughts flow through her head, distracting her from reality. Where was this manor? Who lived there? What were they like? So many questions she didn;t know the answers to. Anxiety plagued her mind. So much so she couldn;t hear the blur of voices as she approached the town's center.
"Ah...! What's going on?" Sora whispers softly to herself as she looks at the crowd in awe. There's so many people...
The girl glances around in an attempt to find a way past them.
After confirming there was no path leading around them she lets out a quiet sigh and decides to wait for them to clear.
As she stands still a short distance from the crowd, she begins to feel a strong warmth seeping into her clothes.
Realizing the Sun's power is awakening from it's winter slumber, Sora glances around, soon setting her eyes on a small shady spot that devoid of presence. She quickly dashes over to the shade. As she feels the strong heat dissipate, she lets out a relieved sigh.
Sora gazes out at the crowd, waiting for them to disperse.

[CrowCakes]

"Oh wow, everyone's fair game. Haven't seen that in a while."

Everyone seemed to be moving towards the heart of the village. Very few were still sitting down, and even fewer were watching the whole thing. Kisei followed the crowd, eyeing anyone for any valuables or weapons. Weapons were expensive, too, and an X-marks-the-spot for hidden goodies.

There was also this sharp urge to go to the exact center of the village. What the hell? Where is it coming from? It kept fading in and out of her mind, drowning out like buzzing.

She snapped out of her musing to see her first targets. On the edges of the crowd, there was a boy holding a cane. His arm seemed to be stretched full as he held it, and his shoulder seemed to sag a little. Either something was wrong with his shoulder, or the cane was really heavy. Of course, canes were never heavy.

Another one was a girl with a naginata latched on her back. Obviously, the spear was worth stealing, although Kisei didn't know where it would fit in her room.

One woman had a bag slung over her back. Hooray! Those, by far, were the easiest things to steal, since slipping it off shoulders was a very quick process, if a bit messy.

Yet another, wearing a dark-green kimono, was standing by the boy with the cane. Kisei only noticed her because wow she's big, as well as some other girl (or was it a guy).

Looking back, her exits were getting blocked off by more approaching people. She could slip past them, sure, but she didn't like having to do that unless she was on the run. More cloth pouches entered her sight; it was like a buffet. Pushing her knuckle dusters back, she stretched her fingers.

While there was still space, she walked over to the girl with the naginata, keeping distance. Maybe I'll just look past all these people in front, so she doesn't suspect anything, and- oh, nevermind.

[Amraphenson]

Tetsumaru blinks at the newcomer. "Ah, yes. Alright." He doesn't think twice about climbing on to the cupped hands to peer over the crowd. It was to his annoyance that he still couldn't really see what was going on; there were that many people. As far as he could tell, people weren't really gathering for any real purpose; they just were.

It was in this position that his old friend Senri popped by, asking about the strange gathering. The apprentice shrugged awkwardly, still trying to keep himself above the crowd. "I'm not sure, Senri, but I don't like this one bit..."

[Yog-N'yggoth]

Hotaru kept the boy steady, although he wasn't as heavy as the things she often carried back and forth. "Anything?" she asked. More people appeared to be coming to this one spot, for whatever reason.

 At this point, another person came up to them, asking about this gathering. She didn't know this person as well, but he seemed friendly. Hotaru closed her eyes, trying not to raise her hand into her thinking gesture. "Well, this does seem like some sort of plot..." she said slowly. "...But for what I'm not really sure."

[Dorakyura]

(Posting for YJ because he's on probation)
"Grasp the phrase I happen to be humming."

The girl lifts her hand into the sky, picturing herself grasp the sun in her hands. Grass surrounds her, waving in the gentle breeze that comes from the north. Smiling to herself, she begins to hum and move her head side to side, her eyes closed. Red ribbons wave in the winds in sync with the blades of grass.

"Spread secret words of the heart into the sky..."

The girl pulls her hand back slowly, before dropping it to her side, her body shaped like a cross. Her eyes open, revealing pupils that don't really fit a human's. With a black, circular center and gold surrounding it, her eyes are beautiful in it's own way. She hums, moving her arms on the grass up and down. If it was snowing, she would be making an angel on the white bellow. Once more, she reaches out to cup the sun in her hands. Her smile widens as she thinks of a thousand scenarios that would happen simultaneously. Her hands soon meet with the soft grass once more.

"I want to tell you... I want to give you..."

The girl pushes herself up, brushing any dirt or rogue blades of grass off her clothes, before looking up to the sky once more.

"Nodes of feelings form a link. Connecting everything. Connecting to everywhere..."

Her head glances once upwards, waving to the sun.
-

Picking up her blade, she makes her way down towards the Human Village from the direction of the mountains. To be exact, Youkai Mountain. Glancing to her right, she can see Moriya Shrine.

[trancehime]

"Yeah. Me neither, Tetsumaru-san," Senri nodded off as he could not resist a snicker at his childhood friend doing what he did, letting himself get propped up so he could get a better view at things. Well, it's not like Senri was much taller either, but he wasn't particularly interested in what was going on, he was only here by the power of the spell which he could not break, something was forcing him here, regardless of whether he wanted it or not. Fortunately, Senri had not forgotten his weapon, it was wrapped in big white bandages and he had hefted it around his shoulder, it looked a tad awkward to anyone looking at it. Such a petite figure wielding such a weapon. It was most likely unbecoming. But Senri didn't really care. "There's gotta be a reason why we're all gathered here. Once I find out, I'll leave. I have no reason to stay here apart from that."

[Oldmansour]

Kohaku nods brielfly. "Certainly, father."
Taking a moment to consider the ambient temperature, she decides to forgo a jacket. It should only be a brief trip between here and there.
Checking to ensure her purse is safely tucked in her pocket, she steps outside again, placing her ocarina around her neck, and looking down at Hyozan with a small smile. "Coming, boy?" The dog gives a quick whuuf and stands up. Kohaku shakes her head briefly as she set off towards the market. The big white dog seemed more intelligent, sometimes, than your average canine. Almost humanoid in its recognition. But then again, he's a strange mutt all around.

The Daidouji heir ruminates on her first meeting with the big white dog. It was a cold winter night two years ago, while Haine and her brother were still here, and although there was no snow falling, a blizzard the day before had left the ground covered with snow, and the high, bitter winds that night had resulting in almost whiteout conditions. Still, Koryu had wanted to venture out, said he wanted to 'hone his powers when he couldn't see well.' Of course this was just an excuse, for Koryu loved those kind of conditions even more than his sister, so the three of them had set out together for a little winter romp.
When they got to the village limits, however, they had a bit of a surprise encounter. A quartet of fairies were harassing a big white dog, either uncaring or oblivious of the fact that the dog was bleeding, wounded on his right foreleg. Kohaku and Haine reacted rather predictibly, and dispersed the fairies with a minimum of effort, largely due to the youkai Haine, who, as Koryu once said, can be "Friggin' scary when she wants to be." and the trio took the dog back to the Daidouji home, where his wounds were tended. None of them knew where he'd come from, but Kohaku's mother assumed he was a wild dog. They weren't unknown in this part of the world, but she didn't want this one lingering for longer than necessary.
If he WAS a wild dog, he didn't return to his old life after his wounds were healed. After realizing the big malamute was determined to stay, Kohaku named him Hyozan, meaning 'iceberg'. Despite his size, and his assumed feral nature, he proved to be a quiet, well behaved dog, snarling only at the presence of fairies. Although it did take him a while learn that 'inside' was a bad place to 'mark territory'.
To this day, Kohaku's not entirely certain why the dog stayed with her. He was just as fond of Haine as he was of Kohaku, she thinks, and seemed even more attached to Koryu. The dog seemed almost as sad as she was after her brother left town. But Hyozan stayed, and even if Kohaku doesn't entirely know why, she loves him all the more for it.

[Dorakyura]

"Suwako-chan!" Amaya drops her bread into the table and jumps up into Suwako's direction to give her a big hug.
"Come in. I'm not done with breakfast. Do you want something too? I can bring you something?"
Amaya gets back in. "Oh I should also switch into my miko clothes, please give me minute."
She takes the glass with the insects and brings it back into the kitchen.
Vin, left alone with Suwako, doesn't seem comfortable with his situation. He tries to sneak into safety, but Amaya comes back into the room and takes him with her, before he was able to do so. She also get takes the bread from the table.
She takes an edge of the bread. "Don't worry Vin, I won't leave you alone with Suwako-chan, I know that she doesn't like you." She mumbles to Vin with full mouth, after she left the room again.
Amaya walks back into her room, leaves Vin on the dresser and closes the windows in her room.
She takes of her kimono and put it into an empty case in the dresser. Amaya opens another case of the dress where she can find her miko clothes and her long white scarf.
She takes a bandage out of the case and covers her chest with it. Then she takes a long skirt out of the dresser. It is blue on the top and bottom and white in the middle part. Her shirt and the sleeves are similar colored but the shirt leaves her back and shoulders open.
Last but not least she takes the scarf and sways it around her neck. The scarf is so long that it's close to touch the ground when Amaya is standing.
?Done already :-)? She makes a small twist. ?Come Vin we shouldn't let Suwako-chan wait for too long.? Fully dressed and with Vin hidden under sleeves she comes back into the living room.

-_-

[Sonae]

8:22 A.M. Location, Village?s Center.
Eventually, the stream of oncoming people slows to a trickle, until no more join the oversized crowd.
People chatter with each other, while others seem to be anxious to leave.
Indeed, this wasn?t normal, but with no cause in site, there was nothing they could do but wait patiently.

As the seconds passed, a crow perched itself on a near by building. It glanced around the way crows do, and quietly observed. Maybe it was looking for some scraps to eat?

---------

---Marou

Sanaya stood as tall as she could to see far over the crowd. She carefully scanned the heads of the villagers, looking for that distinctive house-shaped hat. After a minute of searching, she sighed and gave up her efforts. Keine?s hat was nowhere to be seen amongst the crowd.

---

?Huh?you?d swear everyone in the whole village was here?? The girl spoke with awe.
She was average height for her age of 19. Her build was that of the average female as well. This did well to hide her true strength. Her hair was short and cut straight, colored a dark brown,  while her eyes were a light brown with a tint of gold. She wore a pink kimono and a purplish blue hakama. In her hair was a flower ornament tied there with red string. At her side was a sheath for a Katana.
However, there was no sword in it.

The girl wandered closer, trying to see what was going on.
She crossed her arms and frowned. Can?t see anything huh?
With a reluctant sigh, she gave up her search and turned to head back to the Dojo.
Just then, she caught a glimpse of a familiar face.
She turned and looked at the woman she had spotted.
?Isn?t that?? She mumbled to herself. Without finishing her self dialogue, she decided to greet her. She lowered her arms and walked in her direction, a smile forming on her smooth face.
As she got close enough for the girl to hear her, she called out to her.
?Sanaya!?

---------

---Hanzo

The fox watches for a short time as the grumbling human continues on his journey. Soon enough she turns her gaze forward and begins walking again, soon vanishing into the forest.

---------

---Dorakyura and Kat

Suwako jumps slightly at Amaya?s sudden shout. Though she?s always like this, it?s a little hard not to jump in the quiet morning when someone shouts.
?Sanae is out shopping and Kanako is sleeping? Suwako informs Amaya before she can ask her questions.
?Hm?I guess I can have something with you.? She says with an adorable smile.
As Amaya takes the insects back into the kitchen, Suwako?s gaze moves to the little snake on the table. When the snake notices and looks at Suwako, she smiles at Vin, causing discomfort in the little guy.
Soon enough Amaya returns, scooping up Vin and taking him with her into her room, leaving Suwako alone in the room.
?Aauu?? Suwako mutters to herself as the girl leaves.

Eventually girl returns wearing her miko attire. Suwako smiles.
?Welcome back Ama-? Suwako stops mid-sentence, her gaze falling to a wall. She remains silent for a moment, then her eyes light up.
?Someone?s here?!? She whispers just loud enough for Amaya to hear.
Before Amaya can respond however, Suwako turns and jumps outside.
Instead of landing on the ground though, she goes right into it. Only her hat remains, lying on the ground.
Within less than a second though, the hat takes off, heading around to the front of the shrine, its eyes facing forward.

---

As the girl begins her journey away from the shrine, she hears a voice.
?Oh oh! A new face!?
She looks around in an attempt to locate the voice.
Nothing. No one is standing nearby.
Thinking it was just her mind playing tricks on her, she takes another step forward.
As her foot goes down, she feels something unlike normal ground.
?Owie!?
As the girl looks down, she sees a strange hat with eyes on it.
Oh my, This is new.

---------

---Sourfang

Soon enough, Kohaku comes to an extremely large road block.
There in the center of the village is a massive crowd of people, their chatter a garbled mess. It doesn?t look like you can go straight through the crowd either.

---

The crow, still perched on the building, looked around the crowd, as if looking for something, or someone.
It saw many sorts of people. One with long black hair, and one with short brown hair, one who was short, and one who was tall, one that was male, and one that was also male but didn?t look it in the least, and finally, one with flowing violet hair, and one with hair as white as pure snow.
As the crow eyed the crowd, something caught its eye, prompting a sudden turn of the head from the little bird. There it saw a girl with long lavender hair and a dog by her side. Around her neck was an ocarina.



As the bird locks onto its target, it takes flight, unnoticed by the village inhabitants.

---

Then Laresa can feel it. Her imprinting reacts, shifting slightly, revealing the true nature of the ability, Why it was able to gather the humans so easily.
It was the Manipulation of Density.

---

As Kohaku looks around for a path around the crowd, she also feels the slightest of shifts in her mind.
But before she has time to contemplate it, the Crow dives in.

With one swift and strong swoop, it grabs hold of the Ocarina, snapping the string which ties it to it?s owner?s neck, and takes off down the streets, flying low enough to keep track of it, making pursuit possible.

---

Within everyone?s mind, the constant nagging that plagued your thoughts halts, disappearing without leaving a single trace.

[Hanzo K.]

For a brief moment, he felt something flicker out. This being enough to break him from his irate grumbling for the moment.
"..Eh? Feels like something went out."
He stops for a moment to contemplate this occurrence.
'Wonder what it was..? Can't have been my hunger, that's still as strong as ever. Wasn't my anger either, that's still there too....Ah! It must have been that weird feeling that was telling me to go to the village. But why?'
He brushes this off and resumes walking on his way to the village, though he wasn't in a much better mood before that feeling went out.
'Just what the hell was it for anyways? I hardly know anyone there anymore, 'cept maybe the teach, but there's no way she'd be able to do something like that.'
Of course, his grumbling eventually gives way to humming, and that eventually gives way to occasional snatches of song, which eventually gives way to full-on, hotblooded singing*.

*Song has been omitted due to how long it would take to type, but it's basically a lot like this.

[CrowCakes]

The buzzing in Kisei's mind disappeared, like it had never been there in the first place. Her eyes were still trained on the spear girl, looking for anything to snatch besides the spear. Great, she has nothing. Bleh!

Looking back, she found the boy with the cane hoisted up. The path to him was still clear, but she was on his left, where the cane was obscured from her sight. She'd need to get to his right, because his cane was probably there.

Fine, I'll go with that.

Kisei ran past several people who stood by the edge, deliberately bumping forcefully onto some. This drew their short-lived attention, and they thought nothing of the small girl. Nothing turned up; they didn't have anything hidden under their arms.

Her hands were itching to just take the cane already, 'cause I'm right beside them! And there are two things to steal now! The one who was standing by had a sword- it's pretty much obvious. Look at the shape. It's even wrapped with cloth.

It was tempting, but the risk of being too slow was also evident. The cane was in full view, and she could knock it right off and get lost in the crowd.

Screw that! Who's thinking of all that stuff for me, anyway?

Bracing herself, she smashed one knuckle duster straight on the boy's arm. Then I catch the cane and run like hell, or I bump the other guy's sword off and take it on the way out.