Elly Quest - Reaper in Red

[Raikaria]

>Nod. "I get it. It's just kinda brain-twisting to have to deal with two of you boss. Especially when both of you are still pretty much your own person and all. Even if they're also the same...Eh, best not to think too much on it anyhow, I might overload or something."

> "Remind me to make a temporary cutting next time I make you my plaything. Mental Torture is just as good as physical~" Yuuka says.

[Hanzo K.]

>Chuckle a bit. "Me and my big mouth."
>Then sigh a little. "So, next question is though, where do we go from here? Should I gather more folks for the Incident, or what? I mean, it always helps to have advice and all."

[Raikaria]

>Chuckle a bit. "Me and my big mouth."
>Then sigh a little. "So, next question is though, where do we go from here? Should I gather more folks for the Incident, or what? I mean, it always helps to have advice and all."

> "I already made my suggestion, get a brain behind your brawn you may have already acquired. Eirin is possibly the smartest being in Gensokyo, except maybe Yukari, who's like finding a needle in a haystack."

[Hanzo K.]

>Nod. "Hopefully she's up for some shenanigans then."
>Come to think about it, didn't that book we read say something about her?

[Raikaria]

>Nod. "Hopefully she's up for some shenanigans then."
>Come to think about it, didn't that book we read say something about her?

> Yes, it mentioned she was involved in the Imperishable Night Incident, replacing the moon with a 'fake'. You guess doing something on that scale means she's pretty strong as well as smart.

[Hanzo K.]

>Did it say anything about where to find her?

[Raikaria]

>Did it say anything about where to find her?

> A mansion called Eientei, in the Bamboo Forest of the Lost.

[Hanzo K.]

>"Well boss. er, bosses? I'll get goin' now. Seeya 'round!"
>Let's go straight up to get a good view of the area, and make towards any bamboo we see that we know isn't a part of Yuuka's gardens.

[Raikaria]

>"Well boss. er, bosses? I'll get goin' now. Seeya 'round!"
>Let's go straight up to get a good view of the area, and make towards any bamboo we see that we know isn't a part of Yuuka's gardens.

> You recall seeing what appeared to be a mass of bamboo on your way to the Myouren Temple, further in that direction from the Scarlet Mansion. Seeing it from here would be impossible.

[Hanzo K.]

>Okay, let's head for where we saw the bamboo then!

[Raikaria]

>Okay, let's head for where we saw the bamboo then!

> You head back to the Myouren Temple, and upon re-locating the Bamboo Forest's direction, you head there.

> You presume it's easy to get lost here. Being called the Bamboo Forest of the Lost and all.

[Hanzo K.]

>Let's see if there's signs of anyone lingering around the entrance.

[Raikaria]

>Let's see if there's signs of anyone lingering around the entrance.

> You look for signs, but there are none. Except your own footprints.

[Hanzo K.]

>"Well Malus, looks like we may as well go on in and hope we find our way. You know what they say, 'In for a penny, in for a pound'."
>Let's go on in, and keep a careful eye on things. Since that mansion where Yagokoro lives is in here, there's bound to be a way there.

[Raikaria]

>"Well Malus, looks like we may as well go on in and hope we find our way. You know what they say, 'In for a penny, in for a pound'."
>Let's go on in, and keep a careful eye on things. Since that mansion where Yagokoro lives is in here, there's bound to be a way there.

> You enter the forest, and quickly become lost.

> You feel like you are being watched, but cannot see anyone or anything but the bamboo.

[GuyYouMetOnline]

>"Who's there?"

[Raikaria]

>"Who's there?"

> A shy-looking girl emerges from the bamboo. She has, oddly enough, green hair, and is wearing a brown dress, which seems to have swirls and marks on it that remind you of bark. There are small flowers in her hair, pinky-white petals with red for the innermost area, in two bunches, one on each side, about five flowers each side. Her eyes are red. She looks nervous, scared.

> "Where... am I?" she says.

[WARNING: A WILD OC APPEARED]

[Hanzo K.]

>Sigh a bit, in an amused way. "This'd be the Bamboo Forest of The Lost. I've actually got business with a woman who lives somewhere in here, but I don't mind having a tag-a-long if you need a way out or something."

[Raikaria]

>Sigh a bit, in an amused way. "This'd be the Bamboo Forest of The Lost. I've actually got business with a woman who lives somewhere in here, but I don't mind having a tag-a-long if you need a way out or something."

> "That's not what I mean. I mean where am I? I was dragged through some portal with eyes and ended up here..." the youkai says.

> "I'll stick by you, at least until I understand what's going on."

[Hanzo K.]

>"Portal with eyes? Dunno much about that. As for the place in general? Well, s'called Gensokyo. Unless you already know that too."
>Let's keep going along with our little party member.

[Raikaria]

>"Portal with eyes? Dunno much about that. As for the place in general? Well, s'called Gensokyo. Unless you already know that too."
>Let's keep going along with our little party member.

> "Gensokyo? I dunno, never heard of it. We are still on Earth, right?!" the girl says, panicked.

> It is worth noting that you do know how beings are brought to Gensokyo, they are spirited away from the outside world and brought in by Yukari Yakumo. In most cases, anyway. However, it seems pretty cruel to drop someone off in The Bamboo Forest of the Lost.

> You keep moving.

[Hanzo K.]

>"I think so. The story goes that this is just a sealed-off part of it or something. I'm really just here on vacation though, my true residence is the Dream World. I keep it safe usually, that's my job. 'Gatekeeper of Dreams'. Name's Elly, this here's Malus, my partner in doing my job." Indicate Malus.
>Sigh, and keep a-walking. "I gotta say, that was pretty cruel, to drop a kid like you in a place like this. You're lucky I was around."

[Raikaria]

>"I think so. The story goes that this is just a sealed-off part of it or something. I'm really just here on vacation though, my true residence is the Dream World. I keep it safe usually, that's my job. 'Gatekeeper of Dreams'. Name's Elly, this here's Malus, my partner in doing my job." Indicate Malus.
>Sigh, and keep a-walking. "I gotta say, that was pretty cruel, to drop a kid like you in a place like this. You're lucky I was around."

> "Malus? Strange name. Means Apple. I don't have a name. I'm a tree Youkai, however." the girl says.

> "Oh, I'm not a kid. I've been a youkai for about four hundred years, and was a normal tree for a hundred before that. Being uprooted from what you call home and dropped here with no warning is pretty scary though."

> You notice a camp near you. A smouldering fire and a pile of plant material which is clearly some kind of bed.

[Hanzo K.]

>Four-hundred...Wasn't that about the same time Malus went semi-youkai..?
>"Don't suppose you were an apple tree, were you?"

[Raikaria]

>Four-hundred...Wasn't that about the same time Malus went semi-youkai..?
>"Don't suppose you were an apple tree, were you?"

> You're not sure of the time. It took a while for you to figure out what happened, in fact, Yuuka was the one who noticed, after you went to her and basically asked 'Is something wrong with this thing?'. That was about three hundred and fifty years ago, give or take. Yuuka did, however state that it would have taken time for a fragment of a tree to gain the power of a tree that went youkai, and that process wouldn't happen until the tree youkai had figured out it's own powers.

> "... I'm not sure. I've not borne fruit since I went youkai. It's hard... to remember back then. Plants don't have memories of before they became youkai, they don't have minds." the girl says. "Why are you asking?"

> You presume Yuuka would be able to tell what type of tree she is.

[Hanzo K.]

>"Well, Malus here used to be a normal scythe made from the wood of an Apple Tree. After a while he started going all weird about 350 or so years back, so I asked boss what was going on, and she said that the tree the wood came from went Youkai. Making Malus here Semi-Youkai. I bet boss could tell what sort of tree you were too. She's an ace at plant stuff, bein' a plant youkai herself."
>Chuckle a bit. "Flower Master of Four Seasons, Illusory Dream Flower, she's got a lot of titles on account of how strong she is. It's a wonder why she even needs a gatekeeper, but hey. Boss took me in, gave me a home, and kept me safe from the folks who tried making me one of them."
>Grumble. "Buncha free-will hatin' sots...What I do with my life is my choice after all, I like bein' a gatekeeper better than the job they had lined up for me. I mean really, bein' a reaper was too stiff and straight-laced for a girl like me."

[Raikaria]

>"Well, Malus here used to be a normal scythe made from the wood of an Apple Tree. After a while he started going all weird about 350 or so years back, so I asked boss what was going on, and she said that the tree the wood came from went Youkai. Making Malus here Semi-Youkai. I bet boss could tell what sort of tree you were too. She's an ace at plant stuff, bein' a plant youkai herself."
>Chuckle a bit. "Flower Master of Four Seasons, Illusory Dream Flower, she's got a lot of titles on account of how strong she is. It's a wonder why she even needs a gatekeeper, but hey. Boss took me in, gave me a home, and kept me safe from the folks who tried making me one of them."
>Grumble. "Buncha free-will hatin' sots...What I do with my life is my choice after all, I like bein' a gatekeeper better than the job they had lined up for me. I mean really, bein' a reaper was too stiff and straight-laced for a girl like me."

> The tree youkai stays quiet, before muttering. "Interesting."

> "The strong ones always hide. They see themselves as above others. Why fight when you can get someone else to do it for you?"

> "I'm afraid I know nothing of reapers."

[Hanzo K.]

>Chuckle a bit. "Well, boss does love a good fight. She usually finds someone to 'entertain' her. Sometimes when she can't get at anyone, she has to make do with me. Ah well, least she never puts me outta commission."
>"Ah, you'd probably know 'em as Shinigami, death gods. Too tedious a job for little ol' me. All that paperwork, the restrictive lifestyle, don't like it."
>Let's keep going until we find a clearing or something.

[Raikaria]

>Chuckle a bit. "Well, boss does love a good fight. She usually finds someone to 'entertain' her. Sometimes when she can't get at anyone, she has to make do with me. Ah well, least she never puts me outta commission."
>"Ah, you'd probably know 'em as Shinigami, death gods. Too tedious a job for little ol' me. All that paperwork, the restrictive lifestyle, don't like it."
>Let's keep going until we find a clearing or something.

> "Shinigami? Death Gods? I know of them, but I don't know anything about them. I imagine it's not a pleasant job."

> You are already in a clearing of sorts, the campsite is in an artificial clearing.

> You hear footsteps coming towards the camp.

[Hanzo K.]

>Look towards the footsteps. "No it ain't. They generally come in two or three kinds. The Reapers, who go out and find the souls of the dead. The Ferry Guides, who carry them across Higan. But then there's all the bureaucracy, red tape, and paperwork both have to deal with...."
>Sigh in a disgusted way. "I don't like dancing around things, give me a nice and straightforward job like gatekeeping anytime."
>Who's walking towards us anyhow?