On The Boundary ~ Illusionary Festival for the Dawn

[Yog-N'yggoth]

Hideaki took a glance at both Youmu and Yuyuko. He didn't think much of Yuyuko either.It seemed from Youmu's lines that she had respect of this person, despite the annoyance her tones gave. There was also the bright pink hair the woman had, which vaguely reminded him of cherry blossoms somehow. But commenting on that would be rude, especially with the two talking.

 When the two had a pause in their conversation, he decided to enter into it. "So...Yuyuko was it? Would you like to join us for a drink? I have more than enough." It seemed to him that his skills with making his own conversation was lacking. He was more used to answering his customers, who tended to talk about themselves to him. But at least this was a good amount of practice.
At the last minute, Hotaru decided she can at least make up a (valid) excuse if the person heading her way noticed her. Jumping into the bush, would've been quick, but it also would've been noisy. With that in mind, she slowly waded her way into a nearby group of bushes, and when she was carefully done being in them, ducked and only made a tiny viewpoint so she could see if the source of the light disappeared.

[Amraphenson]

After a long, confusing, and dead end ridden conversation with this odd girl, Tetsumaru had been through enough. "Excuse me miss, it's time for my break."

He was tired. With quick, practiced motions, he packs up the entirety of his father's wares and heads off deeper into the festival. White knuckled hand grasped around the cap of his shikomizue, he walks and walks. Wandering around and through the crowd, he sighs and samples the food without enjoyment. The apprentice just felt irritable. He didn't like this party, he didn't like having to be a salesman, he didn't like any of this. Immature of him, he knew, but the fact remained that he could not honestly enjoy any of this.

Tetsumaru takes a seat somewhere and sighs, tired. 'I suppose I'll just head home soon...'

[GuyYouMetOnline]

"You're right," Laresa said. "Having a little fun can indeed be harmless. But some people's idea of 'fun' isn't quite so harmless. And remember, I didn't even know who was responsible. Yes, there was no apparent harm done, but I suppose I'm just a paranoid individual. WHich has helped me on numerous occasions."

So apparently the gathering was indeed harmless, but Laresa still didn't know for sure. The did, however, know what to do next. She'd effectively confirmed that Suika was the one responsible, although she didn't get very specific answer as to why she did it. Further evaluation of Suika is necessary. Fortunately, this evaluation was easy, and she could probably learn something about the new shrine maiden while she did it. The only unfortunate part was that it involved doing something she really didn;t like doing.

Laresa handed Suika the bottle of sake. "Sure, go ahead." She took out a glass. "I'd like to try a little of yours, while we're at it."

"I don't know how long it's been since Gensokyo had an event like this," Laresa said. "And it's quite an occasion, too. This shrine's been without a maiden for far too long. Have you met the new maiden? I'd like to know a little about her, but I have no idea where she is. I don't suppose you know anything about her?"

------------------------

The thing Laresa doesn't like doing ismaking small talk, being friendly (of course, she won't let this show). Also, SOnae, do remember that her sake is top-quality. I don't know what quality of stuff Suika's used to, but even if there's none better, Laresa's will still quite clearly be good stuff.

[Sonae]

---Orphea

After a few minutes of silence, Keine began to fidget slightly. She glanced towards the window and out into the darkness of the street.
?W-well, I best get going?? Keine said with a slight stutter. She began to gather up her things and headed over to the door. She slowed to a stop a short distance from the door, and hesitantly turned back to Yumiko.
?If that?s what you truly want to do however, ? She started, her eyes met with Yumiko?s, a reassuring and accepting light reflected in her eyes.
?If you want to go there with all your heart and soul,? A faint smile slowly crept across her face, ?Then there?s nothing I can do to stop you.?
With that, Keine turned and slipped her shoes on, and grasped her hand on the door?s handle. She turned her head slightly, giving Yumiko a glance which resonated with a feeling of faith. The teacher, feeling that she had done what she could, turned her gaze forward, and she slid the door open.
?Good night Yumiko, Take care.? She said, casting one last smile at the girl as she closed the door.
Soon enough, the sound of the teacher?s footsteps vanished, leaving only silence in its place.

---Yog

Hotaru watched silently from a little gap in the bushes, making sure she had not been seen by whatever it was that was coming down the path.
The sounds of a girl humming aloud could be heard clearly. Hotaru held her breath for a moment, hoping that she hadn?t already been seen.
Just then, Hotaru spotted the source of the sound.
Coming down the path was a woman, dressed in all red. Her hair was spring green in color and was tied together below her chin with a red ribbon. Atop her head sat a similar ribbon, but much larger, longer, and more elaborate than the one that tied her hair together. A similar ribbon was wrapped around her left arm. An aquamarine swirl adorned a corner of her dress, tied to it with red thread. She wore black boots, cross laced with red laces. Her eyes, despite being hard to make out in the dark from this distance, appeared to be green in color. A strange aura swirled about her, its eerie blue glow giving Hotaru the chills. This girl is bad news.
The girl spun round and round as if she was dancing to a distant song.
?Hm-hm-hmmmm~ hmhm-hm-hmhmhmhm hm-hm-hmm~ hmhm-hmmmmmmmm~ ??eh?? She voiced as she slowed to a stop. The girl glanced around, as if looking for something she had lost. She frowned, looking in the general direction that Hotaru had hidden in. ?I could have sworn I sensed misfortune in this direction?? she said, holding a finger to her mouth, as if thinking of what to do next. Eventually the woman shrugged, thinking it was just her imagination and continued on down the path, resuming the song she had been humming earlier.

---Inside of the Shrine

Yuyuko looked at the girl as she rose to her feet. She blinked,  looking slightly surprised by the girl?s forward hostility.
?Me?? She said innocently as she pointed towards herself.
?Why, I?m the evil spirit that haunts this shrine? She says, a bright and cheery smile on her face.
Upon hearing Hideaki speak, the ghost princess turned her gaze to him.
?Yes, that would be nice? Yuyuko says with a sweet smile. As the ghost returns her gaze to the child before her. ?If you would excuse me,? She says politely as she floats towards the girl. In a smooth, graceful motion, the ghostly princess floats around the thief, as if she were a dancer that gravity could not affect. Yuyuko gently lands before the pair at the door. After smoothing out the wrinkles that had formed in her kimono during her jump, the Saigyouji mistress turned her eyes to Youmu and Hideaki.
?Shall we?? Yuyuko said, making a faint gesture in the direction of the other room.

---Outside of the Shrine

Suika glanced at the girl as she spoke, but remained silent on the topic. As Laresa handed her the bottle, she smiled and thanked her. As the human retrieved her own glass from her bag and asked for a taste of Suika?s sake, a wide grin spread across the oni?s face.
?This here?s the Ibuki gourd? Suika said proudly as she picked up her gourd and pulled the small cork out of the top. ?It?s a magical oni treasure, capable of producing an infinite amount of sake? She said as she tilted the gourd up. The sake flowed out into the glass Laresa held. Once it had been filled, Suika put the cork back on it and let it rest at her side.
?Well, if you consider seeing her as a form of meeting, then yes we have,? Suika said simply, ?She took off to clean so fast I didn?t even catch her name?? The oni let out a small sigh as she closed her eyes and recalled the events that had transpired earlier.
Without wasting much time, the small oni shook her head, her jolly smile returning to her face. She turned around, and headed into what could be considered the center of the feast.  Once there, she took a deep breath, and held the sake bottle she had received from Laresa up into the air.
?Hey!!? She shouted loud enough to be heard from even the back of the shrine.

---

Remilia gave the human a strange look for a moment, but remained silent. Her crimson eyes gazed at Senri, as if she could feel something strange from him as well.
Sora watched silently, looking over the individual?s features. She had never seen anyone like this around the village before. Sora wondered who this Senri could be. They seemed quite different from most of the other villagers. Was she even from the village? Sora?s daze was cut short by a sudden shout.

---

All eyes quickly shifted onto the little oni who stood in the center of the area. Her face showed a jolly grin as she began to shout again.
?I?ve got sake for everyone! So lets joyously drink to our heart?s content!!!? Suika cheered energetically.
The winged girl was the first to move in.
?Where?d you get this from?? the girl said, doubtful of it?s genuineness.
?A human brought it. She says it?s top quality stuff too!? Suika said proudly as she opened the bottle.
?Hmm, I?ll be the judge of that? The girl said as she took out a cup of her own and held it out.
Suika grinned happily as she poured sake into the girl?s fancy glass. When Suika had finished pouring the sake, the girl brought the cup to her lips and silently took a sip. After a few seconds, she lowered the cup from her mouth and breathed softly. She hesitated for a moment before speaking again.
?It?s not bad? She said, sounding as if she was trying not to show she liked it. Suika raised the bottle into the air again, with even more energy than she had when she had done so before.
?Drinks for everyone!!? The small oni cheered enthusiastically.

?Ah! Sorry we?re late!?
The voice rang out from the shrine?s gate. As the oni and the vampire turned to gaze at the newcomers, they saw four people.
One had long green hair, decorated with a modest hairclip. Her attire was simple as well. To the right of her was a small girl wearing a strange hat with eyes. Her hair was blonde in color, and cut shorter than that of the first woman?s. She wore a purple dress with frogs printed on it. A smile shone on her child-like face. To the left of the woman was another young girl, appearing to be in  her teens. Her hair was a green similar to that of the leader?s, and her eyes appeared to be a similar color as well. She wore a scarf as white as freshly fallen snow, its length longer than she was tall. Behind her stood a taller woman, dressed in all red with deep blue hair. Red leaves were fastened into her hair with shimenawa-like rope. On her chest was a mirror. Unlike her companions, she gave off a sturdy feel, as if all the elements combined could not shake her determination.
?Sanae got us lost? the child-like girl said as she hopped forward.
?I did not?? the green haired woman responded, frowning for a moment as she stepped forward as well.
?Well, we?re here now, isn?t that what matters?? The blue haired woman followed suit. The three of them didn?t seem to mind stepping in as they  had, and casually joined the feast as if they had been there from the start. With the appearance of these newcomers, the feast seemed to liven up, becoming a bit noisier.

[Yog-N'yggoth]

 Hotaru let a breath of relief when she couldn't hear the humming. She stumbled out of the bushes, dusting off any leaves and twigs on her. That woman was definitely a youkai. One that had something to do with luck. She wasn't deterred by the slightest from her comment however. What's life without misfortune? Boring and makes them unable to react against it if they never been in it. Not that she had any really unlucky times.

 She continued on her destination towards the mountain. She had to commit to something.
Wordlessly, Hideaki nodded and went in first, followed by Youmu. "So tell me," he began, motioning to Youmu. "What's the relationship between you and Yuyuko?" He took out his sake and filled his previously empty cup once more.

 "I'm Yuyuko-sama's gardener. Although I do other errands for her as well." she took her own cup and fetched another for Yuyuko.

 "Well since I've been asking all the questions lately, how about you ask one?" he poured some in both of her cups.

 For a moment, Youmu paused, thinking of one. "What's your occupation?"

 "I just own a small food stand."

[trancehime]

Senri noted the commotion going on at the center, due to this recent development of an oni appearing and bringing drinks to everyone, it was definite that his mother was going to try and take some of it for herself. Senri sighed and made his way to the center area, eyeing the sudden increase in liveliness, people definitely were noisier than earlier. Was it the drink? Perhaps it was, but Senri really wasn't willing to find out. He didn't want to come home drunk. Unfortunately, if his mother really were around, it's most likely that he would be coming home drunk. Now, four people had arrived, one of them in white and with green hair, with three companions of her's most likely. He didn't know who they were, but he made a mental note to try and remember their appearance. Suddenly, someone touched his back. Senri squeaked and turned about to see that it was none other than Youko, dressed in the same thing she usually dressed in these occasions, wearing something distinctly Chinese in nature, it was a little weird to see her in that outfit given what everyone else was wearing, but Youko obviously didn't seem to care. Senri's mother trapped him in a headlock and playfully rubbed his head with her knuckle. "That hurts, mother...! Stop that." Senri squirmed about in place as Youko eventually relented, procuring a cup containing some sake. Senri sighed. "Really, mom?" Youko nodded.

"Give it a shot... It's good stuff."

Senri sighed and took a swig of the sake, and tilted his head. It really didn't taste bad at all. "Well... is not so bad." Youko took this opportunity to eventually cram as many drinks into Senri's system as she humanely could without killing her son of alcohol poisoning (even she had her limits) which led to the poor girly-boy ending up being incredibly drunk. Youko began to parade Senri's drunken form around the area at this point. Senri, in his drunk stupor, ended up starting to act uncharacteristically suggestive (perhaps even lewdly to some of the more conservative people around) and showing some actual skin by acting as if he was taking off his bridal furisode. All the while, Youko had been presenting her very own son as her daughter, and trying to play some pranks on people who were interested enough.

"Ehhhh... Mooom, stop it, you're embarraaaaaassing me... What if..."
"Pahaha, you'll be fine! I'm sure they will be 'gentle' with you~"

[GuyYouMetOnline]

Laresa observed Suika for a while. She definitely seems like someone who'd randomly cause people to gather just because she felt like it. There was likely little more she'd learn about Suika during the feast. From Suika herself, that is; others here may know her. But there was no way to know who knew Suika, and Laresa really didn't feel like asking everyone.

Laresa turned her attention to the other issue. There's still something off about all this. First the gathering, and then the new maiden? And Suika's involved with both? Probably not entirely coincidental. But she was unlikely to get anything more out of Suika. FOrtunately, however, there was someone else she could talk to. If anyone knows what's going on with this new shrine maiden, it's the maiden herself. Finding her might be an issue, though; Laresa had yet to see anyone who appeared to have that role. So maybe she's actually in the shrine. Worth a look, certainly.

Laresa let herself slowly drift over to the shrine's entrance in a natural-looking manner, then walked casually into the shrine. Trying to sneak in would have looked suspicious if anyone had noticed her; by simply walking in, she appeared to be nothing more than a curious individual, wanting to just see what the shrine looked like. But her true goal, of course, was that of locating the maiden.

--------------------------------------

OOC: Yes, Sour, I'd like Laresa to meed Kohaku. If you'd rather not do that, though, I'll just have something keep her from entering the shrine.

[CrowCakes]

As the weird lady left, Kisei eyed all the objects in sight. They all looked old, but they looked pretty useless. They're all paper stuff. No one was watching anymore, but the faintest sound echoed everywhere. That wouldn't have been a problem if she had those fancy "quiet shoes," but fur was hard to find, much less a person willing to sow them on to a pair of shoes.

The party outside grew noisier, with a loud "Hey!" catching the midget's attention.

"Grr, they didn't look nice anyway." Kisei tread slowly on her way out of the shrine.

The crowd outside was still easy to slip through, but there were more people gathered around the center of the courtyard. The oni from a while ago, along with some girl with bat wings, was there, holding up a dark glass bottle. Whatever she was doing, she'd better keep it up. More drunk people means more stuff to steal. There was also the option of snatching the glass bottle, since it did look interesting, but MEEEEEEEH. It's probably wine or some watery thing. Useless.

A dangling pouch jumped in the corner of Kisei's vision. Immediately, she made her way to it. Her arm reared.

And then someone hit my arm back down.

Wait. What?

She spun, facing the offender. Staring back at her was her dad.  No way.

In more ways than one, of course. She broke out of her father's grasp- he managed to grab my wrist, apparently- and proceeded to her previous target, a girl (?) looking to snag some lovers. Passing by behind her, Kisei grabbed the sleeve and the back panel of the girl's kimono and pushed them in opposite directions.

Nothing flew out of the sleeve.

Oh crap.

Just keep walking.

OOC: Trance, you have been pinged. Go teach Kisei a lesson.
This is for calling me a midget, Crow.  :flamingv:

[trancehime]

Youko had barely seen someone attempt to steal something from Senri's furisode kimono within her peripheral vision, and noticed it was a little runt who thought she was a pro pickpocket. If Senri were sober he would have recognized that it was the girl from earlier, but he was far too drunk right now. In fact, Senri didn't even seem to feel remotely affected by the girl's sneak attack that in fact failed, and he took another swig of sake. Meanwhile, his mother was far more alert and slinked behind the wannabe thief as she was walking away, and began to creepily stroke her back and started to exude an incredibly demonic aura, though it was entirely an act, the intimidation factor needed to be as big as possible. "Why, what makes you think it's right to steal from my cute little daughter, let alone the fact she has nothing valuable on her and the fact that she's drunk?" Youko whispered into the girl's ear venomously, trailing the thief (and subconsciously leaving the drunk Senri to his own devices, though he seemed mostly to be content sitting on the ground acting a little too uncharacterstically whorish for his own good). Eventually, Youko decided that enough was enough and struck the girl's elbows and the back of her calves with two of her fingers, using her ability to instantly paralyze the localized area with she struck, which would surely make the thief fall down and become unable to move. However, the paralysis itself didn't hurt at all. On the other hand, the paralysis would take many hours to settle down and go away. Maybe a day or two if the person didn't have much magical training.

"Next time, little sweet girl, you'd do better to think about trying to steal! Wait for your pops or your momma to pick ya up!" Youko said this like an indignant parent to the naughty child of somebody else.

[CrowCakes]

Kisei fell onto the pavement like it was rubber. The only part missing was the bouncing back, which she couldn't. Her arms and legs were dead limp. They got hit in the right places. There was barely any time to register what had happened- well, it did anyway- because shivers kept running up her spine. The woman who had tailed her was a freaking youkai. That's the only reason how she could try to make me feel afraid.

"Oh, screw off!" she hissed, "This party needs a little more excitement, don't you think?" It was strange not being able to even flail in place. Good thing she didn't disable my mouth!

Before the situation could escalate further, Tsutomu emerged from the crowd behind them, pulled Kisei to him, and shut her mouth with one hand, muffling the rest of her grumbles. "I am really, really sorry about this," he said to the youkai.

[[Y]oukai [J]esus]

"...Party?" Nanaya mumbled as she strolled through the gathering people. She took note of the shrine, the youkai that seemed to be here, and even some others that didn't have the aura of a Youkai, but more of an elegant figure or something along those lines. She at first, wanted to just talk with that boy that was selling metal items, and swords. It's been a long time since she had the Arasoi checked out, anyway... Even though it showed no sign of wear and tear. Dragging the sword across the ground, Nanaya ventured through around and inside of the shrine. More for the former. There were a few things out of the ordinary, like a pink-haired woman and a sword-wielding girl. Nanaya did see Kanako and Sanae though... However, she avoided them. She didn't really want to see them after what happened earlier today with Amaya.

The more important part was Kase-

Out of the corner of her eye, Nanaya saw a furisode kimono, followed by drunken behavior displayed by the wearer. Oh. Senri.

Wait. Senri?

Senri.

Nanaya cautiously scrolled over, and once in range, poked Senri's cheek.

[trancehime]

"Oh, screw off!" the girl hissed as she fell over due to Youko's paralyzing strikes, and the bakeneko in return glared at her with a deliciously evil smile. However, her expression turned to that of a neutral, concerned parent's one as a man suddenly pulled the girl to him and covered her mouth with a hand. Immediately, Youko could tell that it was someone related to her, someone who took care of her. "I am really, really sorry about this." he said, and Youko merely nodded in response and impatiently tapped the ground with her feet. She shrugged in the end and sighed. "It's fine, nobody was really harmed, but I do expect that you should keep a better eye out on her next time, she might actually be successful in stealing... I could tell that she's not new to this. She'll be fine, just give it a few hours and then she can start to move her limbs again." Youko affirmed this after snapping her fingers a few times.

***

Senri had been sitting around on a bench for a while after realizing (very slowly) that Youko had left him, and he was incredibly drunk at this point. Hiccuping and trying to slur together coherent sentences, he stumbled about in place. Some people were passing by and eyeing him for a moment, but ultimately ignored him - he was too drunk to be really taken seriously by anyone at all. However, a vaguely familiar figured approached him - it was Nanaya! She was either already here for a while or had just arrived. She poked his cheek. In response, Senri looked at her (his eyes were a little red) and took a deep breath before gently putting one of her hands on Nanaya's shoulder. "Haalllooooo, Nanaya-saaaaan. How's... how's you this woooonderful and young night?" he barely slurred out, hiccuping throughout.

[Sonae]

(( OOC NOTE TO EVERYONE::  ))

Old Sour says:
 Then why did you close the discussion thread?
Himiko says:
 No one uses it
 no one discusses things
 no one submits npocs, or events, or mission, or even ideas for their own characters
 All that thread is is me making energetic declarations only to have it met with general indifference

((The following is why I've closed the Discussion Thread. If you guys want it back you only need to ask and I'll happily start a new one. It's likely after things get moving again I'll make a new one too. The last one was closing in on the post count lock anyways. Don't let that deter you from posting though. Things will continue as usual.))

---------

Sora sat silently, glancing around anxiously as her surroundings. The feast had become rowdy, and this fact made her uncomfortable. The small horned girl had offered sake to everyone, and they had gladly indulged. Even her employer sat in front of her daintily sipping her sake from its cup in a refined manner. Sora examined her features. The girl?s blue hair, her red eyes, her child like figure, and not to mention her large demon-like wings, Sora ingrained them all into her mind.
A sudden ruckus drew Sora?s attention from her new master, and to the female that had spoken to the pair earlier. The girl watched closely as the silver haired one stumbled about in a drunken stupor. As Sora watched, she noticed that a youkai companion had joined the girl energetically. Her hair was a similarly brightly colored hue of gray, suggesting a possible relation. Could she?be a youkai?? The newly employed maid wondered, a slight chill sinking in her from a nighttime breeze that had blown across the shrine grounds. Hesitantly, the girl shook the thought from her head, and turned her attention back to the youkai woman. The woman wore a Chinese style dress that accentuated her breasts and diverged to reveal her thighs. Atop the woman?s head was a pair of cat-like ears, confirming that she was a youkai. She appeared to be wise and mature, unlike her own youkai companion. As the human watched the youkai woman, another girl rushed towards the drunken girl and rammed her. The woman was quick to react, using some sort of fearsome sorcery to paralyze the girl. As a result, the girl?s body flopped to the ground, unable to move, however her mouth kept going. She was soon silenced by what appeared to be a parent, who swiftly apologized.
As the human watched the interaction, she almost didn?t notice when a wing had brushed up against her. Startled, she spun around to see that the mistress was holding out a cup.
?You look a little pale,? The girl said as she took another taste of the sake, ?Here, drink some of this? She said as she offered the extra cup to Sora.

[Hanzo K.]

As the festival drew on, things were getting pretty hilarious. Some chick was clearly drunk out of her mind, which brought a grin to Takuma's face.
'She must not be able to hold 'er liquor!' This single fact had him amused to no end. It was clear that watching the rest of this would prove to be worth it in the long run.
Of course, the following events occurring didn't really escape his eye either, as he had one of the best seats in the house for watching the fun.
Where was it you ask? Well, atop the Torii of course! Where else would the best seat in the house be? He certainly had no small measure of difficulty in doing so though.
After all, he can't even fly yet. Though he has been trying to figure that out, things haven't been working out.
Of course, It can't be said that climbing it was one of his brightest ideas though. But hey, he'd had enough sake to blur the boundary between good and bad ideas.
'Why'd I climb up here any- Oh yeah, drunk. Who cares anyways!? I'm havin' a blast! Though that poor sap clearly isn't. Some kinda stunning spell? Hell if I know.'
That poor sap being Kisei, and her 'unfortunate' run-in with someone that was clearly a Youkai. What she did had him mildly interested, though it was hard to tell just how much was actual interest, and how much was just the sake.


OOC: Sheesh...it took so long to get this done. Feel free to regard his prior attempts to climb up as a Funny Background Event, because they essentially are. I have no doubt that some NPC humans were probably just staring while facepalming over it. For one thing, he has no idea how the heck he's gonna get down. But hell if he's gonna let details like that get in his way. Because that's just the kind of guy he is.

[Dorakyura]

Amaya waves back to Sanae and Sowaku and yells back "We're coming.". She turns back to Kanako.  "I'm sorry, I will not ask again..." She say and makes a small bow in front of her. After, she immediately turns herself into the direction of Sanae and Suwako and start walking towards them. She tries to hide her glumness and worries, and puts on a happy face when she came close to Sanae.

They didn't have to walk far and the group finally arrives at the edge of the forest. They find themselfs on a paved road with a lot of lanterns to light everything up.
Amaya looks into one direction of the road. She notices that the road seems to end into a lot of stairs that goes up a hill. The stairs are well lighted up and the moonlight gives a good vision too. "Is this the path to the shrine?"

'That was quite a long march, I never was that far away from our shrine' Amaya thought as they came close to the stairs.
She looks around, it was to dark to see alot but she is thinking about how far they have warked. It becomes more noisy as they walk up the stairway.

The feast seems to have lived up even more, as they arrived. Amaya is looking around 'Uh wow so many people here.' She is quite surprised.

[Oldmansour]

Kohaku took one last look around the room, and exhaled slowly. She didn't always put this much effort into tidying her OWN room. But there's only so many times you can fiddle with the same battered book on the same natty old desk before the time comes, and you have to say,
"Enough's enough."
Gathering up her nerve, and letting the sharpened tip of a chain poke out of her palm, Kohaku looks towards the door. She's heard voices from down the hallway, and a sound like she'd never heard before, but she wasn't sure any of those voices had belonged to that ghost or not.
"Only one way to find out... Come on, Hyozan." The big dog rrrfs quietly and rises to his feet at his friends' call.

The Daidouji heir opens the door to the room quietly, looking down both sides of the hallway. "Clear so far." she says quietly to Hyozan. "I really hope the other people here at this party aren't as crazy as that ghost." This was supposed to be a simple matter. Clear up a misconception, meet new people (and youkai), maybe spread the word about Papa's business. And that ghost and her youkai had been very interesting. Very cool, even. Up until they tried to kill her... Once again, Kohaku devoutly wished her brother was here.

Especially once she saw that blue kimono in the main room down the hall, with the pink hair. An icy chill ran down the length of her spine. She barely even notices the other figures present before finding the nearest door and scooting through it into the room beyond, before Yuyuko can turn and see her. This one is larger than the last, and relatively well maintained and furnished. Kohaku, her heart pounding, sits herself down heavily on one of the wood chairs present, Hyozan padding silently into the room after her.
"You don't.... mind if we wait till she.... till she's gone?" She asks her canine friend, her breath coming in somewhat more shallow than she might have liked.

[GuyYouMetOnline]

None of the people within the shrine had the look of a shrine maiden. But there were still things to be considered. As Laresa entered the shrine, she felt something. And she knew exactly what it was; one of her charms had just activated. It was one of several warning charms she had, charms that activated only when what they warned of was nearby. Activating in a manner such that in most cases, only the one they were placed upon would know they went off (although there were, of course, ways to detect or even fool them), they were very handy to have. Most of them she had taken off temporarily, as she expected many youkai to be at the party and didn't want them all going off the entire time, but she'd kept a coule on. And the one that was active now was one tuned to ghosts. At least one person here is a ghost.

Laresa looked over the people present. Her eyes fell briefly upon a woman in green with two swords. There was a white... thing with her. Connected somehow, perhaps. The other who drew her attention was a pink-haired woman in a blue kimono. Something's off about-what the-?

Someone had emerged into the hall from one of the side rooms. She'd come forward slowly, carefully, as though she wasn't sure she wanted to be seen. Then, suddenly, she froze breifly before ducking into another room. Must have seen something she didn't like. Or someone. But who is she?

Laresa made her way to the room the girl'd gone into and entered. The girl was in a chair, a large dog on the floor next to her. "Hi," Laresa said, closing the door behind her.

---------------------------------

OOC: Given how many random things Laresa will be shown to have over the course of this RP, Sonae, if at any point Laresa has and/or uses some item that for whatever reason it is absolutely not acceptable for her to have, just let me know, and I'll change it.

[Oldmansour]

The poor Daidouji girl's heart jumped again as the door opened without any warning. Seeing a strange girl with purplish hair standing in the doorway (only a shade or two darker than mine, she thinks fleetingly), her hand clenches in a fist and she nearly jumps to her feet to defend herself. But something stops her, despite her surprise. Hyozan didn't warn her. In the years the girl's known the dog, he's always warned her whenever there was a threat coming, especially something she wasn't aware of. If this girl was a threat, Hyozan would have snarled, growled, got his hackles up. Done SOMETHING to give her a sign. Kohaku knew her own nerves and sensibilities had been rattled by her encounter with Yuyuko, but she trusted her canine friend completely.

None of that, however, does Kohaku's heart a tremendous amount of good. She tries to smile for the new arrival, but the sweat on her forehead and her quick breathing probably makes the gesture rather nervous-looking. "Hello." she says haltingly, doing a fairly good job at keeping her voice steady. Hyozan's instincts or no, she still has to ask, "You're, uh.... you're not, by any chance, a friend of that gho... That woman in the blue kimono out there, are you?"

[Amraphenson]

Tetsumaru had perked up when he saw Senri, even if he was accompanied by his absolutely terrifying mother, but noticeably deflated when he saw that strange girl from earlier poke him in the cheek. 'Seems like everyone's enjoying this thing besides me...'

As alone as he was, the apprentice wasn't going to indulge in any alcohol. Bad things had happened last time he'd got inebriated. Bad, bad things. His father and him had agreed never to speak of it again, and so Tetsumaru knew not to even take a sip.

So, logically, the thing to do would be to just leave. There wasn't anything of interest for him here; he had no interest in this 'Hakurei Miko' business. No real desire to interact and sell things to people he didn't know. No real...anything.

"The party has only really just started, you know," comes a voice from behind him, right before he made his way down the stairs.

He doesn't bother looking backwards. "Good, then. It means I won't be missing too much sleep."

"Really now? Not going to stay awake, wondering if you missed anything fun?" The voice takes an amused tone. Somehow, he got the image of a dog of some kind.

Tetsumaru turns to face this person, eyes furrowed. "You...," he begins, then he stops. He was expecteing a human, to be honest. A white wolf tengu, with a sword and shield no less, was definitely not what he was expecting. "...do you have business with me?"

She shrugs, ears twitching a little. She's smiling, just a little. "Nothing really. Noticed another person who wasn't really enjoying all this. Too many bad memories for me. You?"

"Just don't like big gatherings," was his response, even as he gripped his cane a little tighter. He couldn't really tell if this person was actually sincere. To his surprise, she held up her hands.

"Oh, please, don't worry. I'm not planning anything. Birds of a feather, I thought?" He couldn't help but smile at that.

"I guess."

Despite himself, he found himself relaxing. This person seemed reasonable, at least.

[GuyYouMetOnline]

Ah, so that one's the ghost. "I'm not," Laresa said. "I've never even seen her until about half a minute ago." She's scared of this woman. "WHy? Not fond of ghosts?"

[Oldmansour]

A short, choked laugh escapes Kohaku's lips. "Well, I've only ever met the one. One and a half if you count her bodyguard, but, I'm afraid they never explained that all that well. But, that's beside the point. Let's just say..."
She pauses as she sits back down. "I'm not in a hurry to see THAT particular ghost again."

[GuyYouMetOnline]

One and a half? So there's a half-ghost? Is that what that woman with the white thing is? "I see," Laresa said. "Well, perhaps I can help you with that." She reached into her pack and removed a paper charm. "This is a ghost-detection charm. It signals you whenever there's a ghost nearby. Here." She handed the charm to the girl. "To activate it, simply press it against your skin. You might want to choose a spot covered by your clothing, as the design will remain visible. If you want to remove the charm, simply peel it off as though it was still paper, which it will be when you remove it. Don't ask me how that works. I don't make them; I just use them. You can keep that one; I have multiple spares.

"Anyways, my name is Laresa. May I have yours? And if you're willing, could you tell me what that ghost did to you?"

[[Y]oukai [J]esus]

"Sen~ri~. You're drunk." Nanaya looks around, looking out for anyone else she knew. Nope, nope. Okay. Not even the newly-arrived Amaya were in view. "I'm fine. Although you could've at least woke me up before bringing me here, ya know?" Nanaya giggled, setting the Arasoi on the bench, before sitting beside Senri. Her gauntlets dangled in the space under the bench, clanging together sporadically as the wind blew through. Nanaya smiled to herself, before sighing.

"They say a drunk man remembers things that he would forget when he's sober."

"Uwaa?" Senri faces Nanaya, hiccupping and slurring.

"I'll just tell you once more... You're the first booy I've met in a looooong time~"

"...Hic... I sweeeeeeeeeeeeee..."

"And that I'll be with you~ For~ev~er~"

"Naaaanaaayaaa?"

The girl pushes herself forward, placing her index finger on Senri's lips, before kissing his forehead once, and pulling back, smiling softly. Senri blinks, staring at Nanaya, who pulls up the drink in his hand, and begins to gulp it down.

"...Boku ni tsurarete miru?"

[Marokuu]

Sanaya had been in the process of stepping out as a shout rang throught the air, startling her, almost causing her to trip over the threshold on her way out.

Now she was wandering around the shrine grounds holding a dish filled with precariously balancing sake. She was not quite sure of why she had accepted the dish when she had previously thought to herself that she probably should avoid getting swept into the festivities. Still, it seems like it would be a shame to drop it now that she had it so here she was, walking towards the shrine stairs in search of somewhere to sit, occasionally taking a sip from the dish.

Partially because she was so focused on her dish and partially because the occasional sips were starting to reach her head she did not notice the person in front of her.

*splash*

"Oh I'm so sorry!"

During a lapse of attention her arm had bumped into a green haired girl, spilling some of the sake onto the white scarf wrapped around her neck. "I'm sorry I wasn't looking where I was..." her gaze now fell on the women accompanying the girl as a tinge of recognition ran up her spine. "Aren't you from the mountain?" Her mind flashed back to a description she had heard from her teacher a few years ago. "You're Yasaka Kanako and Kochiya Sanae aren't you?"

Her eyes widened when she realized the similarity between the girl she had spilled sake over and the previous shrine maiden.

"Ah. I'm terribly sorry, I wasn't looking where I was going." She tried to bow down in apology but she did not trust her ability to keep the dish upright in that position so she ended up simply lowering her head and leaning slightly forward.

--

OOC: Pinging Dora, I'm bracing for impact.

[Orphea.Russ]

"... Yeah. Good night, teacher." She sighed and took the now-empty cups to the kitchen, washing them before leaving them out to dry. She had other things to do.
Keine knew now, so it was time to go.

The house was still silent as ever while she took each stair step, one by one. She could still remember the times when her mother used to have to help her up this staircase. She enjoyed those times. Sometimes she missed them.

Inside her room, just beside the doorway, her bag waited. She'd packed it not too long ago, intending to take it with her when she went to see Keine, and then leave. Turned out that Keine got to her first. She simply picked up the bag, shouldered it, and walked out the door with a book in hand. She needed -something- to do, after all.

[Oldmansour]

"Ah, yes, excuse me." Remembering her manners (and slightly embarassed at forgetting to introduce herself before now), Kohaku stands and bows to the young woman before her. "I am Kohaku. Kohaku Daidouji, daughter to Hyo Daidouji and heir of Daidouji Jewelers." She straightens and gestures to the big white malamute. "And this is Hyozan." The dog makes no response, but he does keep giving Laresa the eye.

"As for the ghost, she reacted.... badly, to something I said. There was a misunderstanding, a story that seems to have gotten out of hand, that she took to be true. A story regarding me. I tried to set her straight, tell her the truth of the matter, and she.." Kohaku pauses, only for a moment, before getting down the gory details. "She told her bodyguard, the samurai, to kill me. Just like that."
She shakes her head slightly, still at a bit of a loss for words over the event. "The samurai seemed almost as shocked as I was, so I took the opportunity to try and disarm her. I failed. But after that, the ghost changed her mind, went looking for snacks, and her bodyguard followed her."
Kohaku gives Laresa a small shrug. "Don't ask me to explain any of it, but that's what happened, in a nutshell."

[GuyYouMetOnline]

"I see," Laresa said. "Well, that charm should warn you when she's close-although it occurs to me that if there's also a half-ghost, I can't actually be completely certain the charm reacted to the full ghost and not just the half-ghost. The odds are low that it wasn't reacting to her, though; it's the more human-like ones that it usually can't detect, and she was quite clearly otherworldly. There is a chance, though, and I thought I should let you know that.

"Anyways, if I might ask, what 'story' is it that got out of hand?"

[Sonae]

---Yog (Co-op Update)

Wordlessly, Hideaki nodded and went in first, followed by Youmu then Yuyuko.
"So tell me," he began, motioning to Youmu as the two sat at their respective spots around the small table. "What's the relationship between you and Yuyuko?"
"Ah, I'm Yuyuko-sama's gardener.? Youmu said as she picked up the cup nearest to her right hand and poured sake in it. ?Although I do other errands for her as well." She said as she began to raise the cup to her lips.
?Uh, Youmu? Hideaki says.
Youmu lowers the cup a bit, looking slightly surprised. ?Yes??
?That?s my cup?
Youmu blinks, then her face fills with bright red. She nearly drops the cup out of embarrassment. She puts the cup down onto the table and slides it towards Hideaki. Her head is lowered, but the man can tell her face is still deep red.
Yuyuko, who had been silent during the interaction, poured sake into the empty cup that had been sitting on the table, and lifted it off the table.
?How kind of you to prepare me a cup Youmu.? Yuyuko says as she raises the cup to her mouth.
?A-ah! Yuyuko-sama?! That?s my-?
The cup met the ghost?s lips, the sake vanishing from the cup as she drank its contents.
?.....cup?? Youmu breathes, her expression is one of dismay. The Half ghost let out a disheartened sigh, her head lowering for a moment before she reluctantly rises to her feet and goes to get another cup.
As Youmu returned with her new cup, Hideaki spoke up.
 "Well since I've been asking all the questions lately, how about you ask one?" Hideaki said as he poured some sake into her new cup.
Youmu bowed her head politely and nodded in a gesture of thanks.
As Hideaki finished pouring the sake, he placed the bottle back onto the table. Youmu took a sip, and let out a refreshed sigh.
?Well, since you asked,? Youmu started, pausing for a moment to think of what exactly to ask the man. "What's your occupation?"
"I just own a small food stand.? Hideaki answered plainly.
?Do you deliver?? Yuyuko asked suddenly, catching Youmu off guard for a moment.
?What kind of food do you make??? Youmu asked hesitantly, watching the Saigyouji mistress as she reached for the sake bottle and smoothly poured some into her cup.
?Would you happen to have brought any along?? Yuyuko asks after taking a small sip of her sake.

---------

---Yog (Hotaru)

As Hotaru continued on, she could hear the sound of rushing water in the distance ahead. Curious, she kept going forward.
Eventually, the forest cleared, and the river opened into a large pond. The thing that caught Hotaru?s eye however, was the magnificent waterfall that poured down from the mountain. Despite the darkness of the night, the waterfall seemed to sparkle as it fell into the pool. The sound of the waterfall drowns out the silence, as if imposing its superiority on the night. Moonlight shone down on the clearing, creating a dim luminescence around the pool. All seems peaceful, as if the creatures that lived here were already fast asleep. The reflection of the moon in the pool wavered, never staying still, as if caught in a wild dance. Above was a star speckled sky which brought a sense of reassurance and peace to the world, as if it was saying ?everything will be alright?.

---------

---Sonae

Sora looked at the cup for a moment, speechless.
??N-no, I couldn?t?? She said, shaking her head and making exaggerated back and forth movements with her hands.
?Come on! A little bit wont hurt!? cheered the little oni sitting across from the pair.
?But it?s my first day of work?? Sora muttered in protest. The human averted her gaze, changing its focus to the sidelines of the shrine grounds. Geez?Trying to get me drunk while I?m on the j-
It was then that the girl had caught a glimpse of something moving in the bushes.
Sora?s eyes darted to the place where the bushes had rustled. Her vision sharpened, fixating on that sole location, waiting for whatever had disturbed the branches to make another move. Seconds passed in silence. Whatever had been there moments ago had either left, or knew they were being watched. Reluctantly, Sora convinced her mind of the former, and slowly, turned her head back towards the youkai.
?Oh come now, just a taste won?t hurt you? The vampire spoke with a faint air of charisma as she spoke.
Sora began to open her mouth to object, but the vampire had planned for this, pushing the sake toward Sora.
The sake splashed out onto the maid uniform the human adorned. Despite this however, Remilia?s efforts were not in vain. Enough sake had landed in the girl?s mouth to give her a taste of it. Both of them were silent for a moment.
?Well, how is it?? Remilia asks nonchalantly.
Strong.
Sora?s mouth moved into a deep frown as the word echoed in her mind. It was a strange taste, powerful and relentless. The girl glanced over the shrine grounds swiftly, in search of something to dilute the taste. Her search turned up no results. In dismay, she breathed a soft sigh and rose to her feet slowly. For a moment the world span round, as if she had fallen back to the ground, but after a few seconds passed, the human had regained her balance. She turned her head towards the two youkai to see them both staring at her.
?U-um?I?m going to look for some water?? She said softly, keeping her eyes from meeting with the pair. The oni let out a disappointed murmur, while the Vampire; with one eye closed, sipped her sake in a refined manner and nodded faintly at the girl before turning away from her.
Seeing this gesture of approval, Sora gave a slight bow to the girl before turning and heading in the direction of the shrine.

---------

Ch-Chick!
The sound of a camera, muffled by the surrounding foliage, is unheard by the drunken partygoers.
Huhuhuhu~ I knew this would be the perfect opportunity to gather material~
From the darkness, the tengu reporter watched the feast, a wide grin on her face. Through a space in the bushes she would snap pictures occasionally of the shenanigans that were occurring.
For her, sake wasn?t necessary to have a good time.

---------

---Amra

The white wolf tengu smiles. ?The name is Momiji.? She says, extending her open hand towards the boy. ?You are??

((Sorry for the short response, I wanted to give you the chance to answer/shake her hand if you wanted to. I?ve got a bit more planned for her to say though, so I?ll write Momiji?s next response.))

---------

Suwako had been silent since they had joined into the feast. Sanae and Kanako were quick to acquire some sake, and were now talking casually amongst themselves. Amaya was gazing about, visibly surprised at the amount of people that had gathered for this event. The girl had never seen so many people at their own shrine, so it was understandable for her to be in awe.
Suwako, for the most part, had stayed put and carefully examined all the partygoers. She had seen a few familiar faces in the crowd. The white wolf tengu, the oni, the vampire, and the strange girl from earlier were all among the various visitors that had come to welcome the new miko.
The frog goddess however, didn?t pay them much mind. They all seemed to be absorbed in their business. The girl frowned faintly and for a moment, her mind began to wander.

Just then, Suwako caught sight of something in the corner of her eye.
As the goddess turned her gaze upward, she spotted something standing on top of the torii.
It was a human. A human was standing on top of the torii.
Suwako gazed at him, wondering how a human had managed to get up there, let alone without being noticed at all.
Suwako continued to stare, a hint of curiousity in her eyes. She didn?t say anything, but kept her gaze fixated on the boy.
Finally, the frog goddess decided to move.

The girl swings her arm up, her hand outstretched and pointing towards the human. As she does this motion, water spouts forth from the earth, shooting upward like a geyser, aiming straight for the human.
Before the drunken human has a chance to react, or even to see the water gushing towards him, the blast connects, slamming into him with enough force to knock a sober person over. The human stumbles backwards and falters, falling from the top of the torii.

---

Hah..! Finally arrived. I hope I?m not too late for anything?
The woman had just reached the top of the stairs, standing on the other side of the torii, her breathing slight heavier than usual due to the long climb up the shrine?s stairs. Her white and blue hair seemed to glisten faintly in the moonlight. Atop her head was the strange, house-shaped hat she always wore.
With a faint smile, Keine gazed at the feast. It was lively, very lively. The teacher felt a relieved sense of warmth in her heart as she saw the merrymaking of a kind that had vanished from Gensokyo long ago.
That was merrymaking between humans and youkai, each getting along and having a good time. Keine closed her eyes for a moment, allowing a feeling of nostalgia to overcome her. A small smile began to form on her face?

Just then, a sound similar to that of a geyser erupting rang out around the shrine.
Slightly startled, Keine quickly opened her eyes. It didn?t take her long to notice the sudden jet of water that rose above the shrine. Keine gazed at it with empty eyes, not understanding what exactly was going on. Her eyes followed the geyser up to the torii, and as she looked up, a familiar face came crashing down on her.
A loud crash echoed outside of the shrine, drawing the attention of the partygoers and quieting their clamour.

[Oldmansour]

Kohaku nods as Laresa informs her of the limits and abilties of that charm. "Thank you for the advisory."

"As for the story, well... I'll try to make it simple. Last thing I want is someone ELSE thinking the wrong thing of me. I came to this shrine a few hours ago today, to retreive something of mine that had been stolen from me. While I was here, I met a pair of... well, one of them was definately a youaki- a kitsune, I believe- and I assume the other one was as well. After our all-too brief meeting, one, or both of them, starting spreading the story that I was... Well, something I'm not. I don't know why they thought what they thought, I don't know why they felt the need to spread something about me that can't be true."

Kohaku pauses for a moment, glancing at the malamute sitting beside her, before taking a slow breath. Normally, she would have told Laresa the whole story with little hesitation. Normally, she hadn't had a ghost order her execution earlier in the day. She's a bit hesitant about a repeat.

[GuyYouMetOnline]

Wait, is she talking about... "Kohaku," Laresa said, "this thing you're not that they're saying you are. Are you the one they're saying is the new maiden?"