Magical Lotus, Mahou Shoujou Byakuren - Episode 2

[Oldmansour]

>Nod, and return the smile. "Thank you."

>At the conclusion of this exchange, Hol brings the bus to a halt. Checking your surroundings, you have reached what's generally referred to as the outskirts of the west side of town, where the residential sections end before the short wooded road leading to the temple of the Tiger. The big machine doesn't brake as smoothly as Aya's Ferrari, obviously, so you lurch sideways slightly. The Eagle lurches even more, almost falling over before catching herself and straightening. She scowls momentarily, then banishes the look from her face. The young woman sitting on the young man's lap seems to sneeze.
>Once the doors open, one of the women towards the back of the bus departs. A grown man and two children, boys, embark at the front, the little boys embroiled in a very spirited discussion about something or other, then man wearing a somewhat bedraggled expression as he deposits his fare, maneuvering his children towards a seat before the bus sets off again. You note Eagle look almost as unsettled by the launch as by the landing, again scowling briefly.

[Hello Purvis]

>"You don't have problems with motion sickness, do you?"

[Oldmansour]

>"You don't have problems with motion sickness, do you?"

>She exhales with some force. "Motion sickness? No."

[Hello Purvis]

>"Well good, it would be adding injury to insult at this point. Are you alright?"

[Oldmansour]

>"Well good, it would be adding injury to insult at this point. Are you alright?"

>She sucks in a breath though clenched teeth. "More or less." she says evasively.

[Hello Purvis]

>"Let's assume it's less. What's wrong?"

[Oldmansour]

>"Let's assume it's less. What's wrong?"

>"Well... If you MUST know, there some parts- Well, first things first. I'm gonna assume YOU assumed that I was an ascended animal, a youkai in the same vein as Chie back there, or your Rin?"

[nolrai2]

Manari?
What other possibilities do we know of?
> "I had honestly not thought of it. I take it your origin lies elsewhere?"

[Oldmansour]

> "I had honestly not thought of it. I take it your origin lies elsewhere?"

>"No, I am- Was, a bird. Most people assume, but, you ain't like most people, so, I wanted to make sure we were on the same page. But yeah, that's how I started life, as an animal, and then I turned into this. And I've had this body for a lot of years. But there's some things this body of mine just can't get used to. Vehicle acceleration and deceleration among them. Moving without actually moving.... It just throws me off."

[Hello Purvis]

>"I imagine that would make a carnival ride much less fun for you. Pity, that."

[Oldmansour]

>"I imagine that would make a carnival ride much less fun for you. Pity, that."

>"Aw, don't get me started! Found that out the damn hard way...." With little care to public etiquette, she makes a spitting motion, albeit with a lack of a visible projectile. "A sharp dive from a couple thousand feet, that's fine, that's fun! 50 foot drop on one of those damn cars, that's another story. Consequences of a new life, I suppose." She looks down at her open palm, almost perfectly masking her distaste for the sight of flesh. It passes quickly.

[nolrai2]

Hmm seems like she misses her old body.
Can animal Youkai shape shift into their old forms?

[Oldmansour]

Hmm seems like she misses her old body.
Can animal Youkai shape shift into their old forms?

>In your experience, this depends on the individual. You know Rin has the ability to return to her original feline form, but she seems to be among the minority. Of the ascended animals you know of around town and at school, you've only ever seen one that had the ability to return to his original body, and that was a bear youkai who graduated last year. His name escapes you at the moment, but he was in the drama club. It is possible that others retain this ability, but you couldn't say for certain. It certainly seems to be very rare, but you've never actually given the issue a great deal of thought, outside of one or two conversations with Marissa.
>You've also never really heard ascended animals complain about their new lives, either, apart from one or two complaining about the cold of winter and missing their fur. You expect Rin would have some insight on the issue, but you've never broached the subject with her before.

[nolrai2]

Try to feel if the Eagle wants to keep talking about this or shift to another topic.

[Oldmansour]

Try to feel if the Eagle wants to keep talking about this or shift to another topic.

>Her expression now reveals no further sense of discomfort or distaste. That does not mean, however, this is an easy subject to discuss for her. It's rather hard to say. Her tone of voice a  moment ago seemed to indicate that she might not be entirely unwilling to discuss the matter further, but again, you couldn't say for certain. She's certainly not throwing off any obvious signs of "Leave off the matter."

[Hello Purvis]

>"You sound almost as though you regret it."
>Have we ever met a beast youkai that regrets it?

[Oldmansour]

>"You sound almost as though you regret it."
>Have we ever met a beast youkai that regrets it?

>She takes a moment before answering, that mocking smile returning to her face. "Regret? No, not regret, there's no point in regret. It's a useless emotion. I am what I am now."
>None that would admit to it. In fact, the majority of beast youkai you've known personally seem very happy with their lives, or at the very least, content. Seem no different, really, than a human of that age, just with with wings, or odd ears.

[Hello Purvis]

>She takes a moment before answering, that mocking smile returning to her face. "Regret? No, not regret, there's no point in regret. It's a useless emotion. I am what I am now."
>None that would admit to it. In fact, the majority of beast youkai you've known personally seem very happy with their lives, or at the very least, content. Seem no different, really, than a human of that age, just with with wings, or odd ears.

>"Perhaps not regret, but one doesn't have to look very hard to see you're pretty fundamentally unhappy about something and that seems to be related."
>If we haven't already, let's keep our voice low so this won't carry.

[Oldmansour]

>"Perhaps not regret, but one doesn't have to look very hard to see you're pretty fundamentally unhappy about something and that seems to be related."
>If we haven't already, let's keep our voice low so this won't carry.

>Taking care not to let what may be a sensitive conversation float across the ears of the humans around you, you carry on, prompting a small chuckle from Eagle. "That's a bold assumption for someone that's known me half an hour."

[Hello Purvis]

>"Am I wrong, then?"

[nolrai2]

"And regret doesn't have to be useless..its only when it turns to melancholy that it becomes..hmm.. entrapping?"

[Oldmansour]

"And regret doesn't have to be useless..its only when it turns to melancholy that it becomes..hmm.. entrapping?"

>"If that's how you fly."

>"Am I wrong, then?"

>"Does it matter?"

[nolrai2]

"Do you _want_ it to matter?"

[Oldmansour]

"Do you _want_ it to matter?"

>"What's that supposed to mean?"

[Hello Purvis]

This is a hard one. Let's not rush headlong into it. We're obviously digging into very personal stuff, and there's a thin line between being respectful and prying. Moreso if we're coming off as challenging or dismissive. This may well have to be something we defer for a bit. For now, let's recoup, we might be able to get something else to work with.

>"It's...nothing. I'm being argumentative now. I'm sorry."

[Oldmansour]

>"It's...nothing. I'm being argumentative now. I'm sorry."

>"It's alright. I don't think you could understand, anyway. No offense."

[Hello Purvis]

>"I'm certainly open to trying, but there's no need to force the issue. But it's pretty obvious that it would take a fairly strong person to cope, given you deal with mistrust based on who you are, and your old instincts are still giving you problems. So if it means anything, I think you'll be alright in the end."

[Oldmansour]

>"I'm certainly open to trying, but there's no need to force the issue. But it's pretty obvious that it would take a fairly strong person to cope, given you deal with mistrust based on who you are, and your old instincts are still giving you problems. So if it means anything, I think you'll be alright in the end."

>The Eagle is quiet then, her face showing a kind of confusion. When she responds, it is in a voice almost too quiet to hear, but you're pretty sure she said, "Why do you care?"

[GuyYouMetOnline]

>"Is there a reason I shouldn't?"

[Oldmansour]

>"Is there a reason I shouldn't?"

>"I don't understand."