Waking the Dead 2.0 || May 16, Shin Yamatai || Coming Home.

[icarusalsoflew]

[He had been... vague, whenever they had asked him exactly where they were going. Lenneth had known the moment he had oh-so-casually mentioned a detour now that the Hounds were done with their route. It had been in her eyes.

At least she is loyal. At least she respected him enough to say nothing.

He leads the War Hounds through a forest in the far reaches of the island, and they end up stepping out to a waterfall. A little further down, along the river, there's a beautiful house there. It's been restored to its former glory, properly furnished, renovated and modernized wherever it had to be. There's a garage, for one.

He takes just one moment out take the sight of it in, and try not to think of the ghosts. It never gets easier, coming back here, and yet...

Turning to them with a smile now.]

So. This was my old house. I think we can take a break here for now.




[OOC Notes:
+ The Shinta House is your typical traditional Japanese home from like, centuries back - furniture is all old and traditional. Yes, there are photos from lots of different life times here and there; if you want deets, lemme know. There's a garden out back, a small training hall, and a path into the forest that actually leads to the graves of his parents.
+ Feel free to make your own threads if you guys want to explore on your own and talk to each other! You're also welcome to tag Hikaru's thread, which I've put down there just because.]

Comments

short tag is short sorry ;;

[larue]

[ Curious now. ]

Who?

ishokay! this is what action tags are for. =w=

[sadame]

Her sire, one of the originals of the Camarilla.

[Moving closer now, and plopping her head on Josh's knee, ears twitching just so.]

He was the one who had sent her to Yamatai in the first place.

[larue]

[ Hand moving over to scratch behind those ears, occasionally stroking the path of fur down her back because... fox. ]

What happened to him?

[sadame]

He suffered the Final Death when the Camarilla finally collapsed. Those World of Darkness events mirrored the chaos that Europe was in at the time.

[And he had not been the only one. It had not been a pretty thing to witness.]

[larue]

[ His hand stills at that. ]

I'm sorry.

[ He doesn't known why he says it, just that it feels like the right thing to say. He doesn't know Marrigan, not beyond seeing her in that throne room, watching her as she interacted with Riley Falner and Hikaru. But a loss is a loss. ]

[sadame]

[In turn, she simply cocks her head up at him, and cranes just enough to give him a lick right under his jaw.]

It happened a long time ago, but... thank you.

[Keepers of the Vigil were always brothers and sisters in arms until proven otherwise. That was, at least, how Setsuna saw it.]

[larue]

[ That gesture coaxes a smile out of Josh, and he strokes a hand down her fur again, eyes travelling back to the tombstones. ]

What was he like, [ the question is hesitant, but his curiosity wins out. ] Back then?

Hikaru, I mean.

[ He's remembering the files, you see. The ones he and his blademates had been sent to view as "homework". ]

[sadame]

Very, very different in many ways. Still the same where it counted.

[Hunkering down on Josh now.]

He was... happier, though. If one had to compare.

[larue]

[ He doesn't say anything at first, just continues to stroke Setsuna's fur as he lets his gaze follow the angles of the characters etched into stone. ]

He has us look up his history, back when we weren't the War Hounds yet. [ He sounds thoughtful, and maybe a touch sad. Kaz had been reacting enough for all of them at the time, so Josh had decided to keep his peace, to let the kid rant and feel hurt while Yulia looked on with shuttered eyes and Stanley had opted to stage an intervention. ]

It was just me, Yulia, Stanley and Kaz back then. We spent hours in the Arcanum going through all those documents. I got where Kaz was coming from, and in hindsight it made sense that he reacted the way that he did. The kid has a big heart, he just doesn't take well to being pushed away because the bigger the heart, the larger the are you can get bruised.

I guess... [ he sighs and looks down at Setsuna then. His hands have stilled. ] I guess I'm still trying to figure out why -- and no disrespect meant, really -- why your brother entrusted Makoto to me.

[ And then, softly, because he knows the geist is probably listening in: ] Sorry, man. Had to be said.

and then i never got the notif for this lol ONE MONTH LATER...

[sadame]

[She stays quiet, respectful, as she is, of giving others their time to speak. Listening is something she's very good at.

When he's done, Makoto is merely doing the equivalent of a mental shrug in his head; it's the kind of shrug that may show Josh that he doesn't mind. Setsuna, on the other hand, makes a thoughtful noise.]

Perhaps it is because you, like the other Hounds, decided to stay. A few months may not seem like very long, but my brother... he's difficult on purpose, sometimes. Not everyone realizes that.

[Looking up at him now.]

Yet, as I've stayed, you have stayed. You have tried to understand. That is more than what many on this earth choose to do.

[And in staying, the lot of you may actually get through to him.]

[larue]

[ A small smile touches Josh's face at that. ]

He saved our lives.

[ He's not sure if Setsuna knows, and he's not going to assume even if there is a likelihood that she does; so he'll elaborate. ]

Stan had been sent to pick me and Yulia up and to take us to Falner. We hadn't known at the time, and he'd only really told Yulia -- but a Grendal agent had piloted the plane. God only knows what would have happened if he hadn't intervened.

[sadame]

[She doesn't respond immediately because she's peering up at you, and looking through your memories. She doesn't just see what you remember, though: she sees everything that led up to that point. The subtle details. The words and intent between everything else.]

I see.

[She tilts her head at that point, ears twitching.]

It is likely that all of you would have died. He must have seen something that the rest could not act on fast enough, and moved accordingly.

[Just because he could.]

[larue]

[ Ducking his head now, and scratching behind those ears again.

He's recalling those files he'd sifted through, what little he'd found before Lorenzo Reyes had elaborated further.

Quietly now, because he's also remembering something else: the Great Hall, shortly after the South Korea engagement, that ban. The patterns that had led up to the urge to seek out the Blade King and get some answers for himself. ]

He does a lot of saving, doesn't he?

[sadame]

[The extra passenger in your head is letting out an amused snort, as if what Josh had just said had been the most obvious thing in the world. Setsuna, in turn, is briefly staring right at your forehead, Josh, as if she heard Makoto do that.

(She did.)]

It is something that the two of us were keenly interested in doing together in the past. You could call it our way of sibling bonding.

[larue]

[ A quiet smile then, both at what you said and how you reacted to the other voice in his head. ]

That's a pretty nice way to bond.

[ Yes, he knows it might sound a little naive. But it really is a pretty cool way to spend time with your sibling, especially given that you are both two really powerful beings. ]

[sadame]

[Chuckles.]

I am glad you think so. We did meet a lot of wonderful people because of it.

[Members of the three blades included.]

[larue]

[ He's falling quiet again, and gently stroking the fur down your back. It's a nice kind of quiet though, peaceful. ]

[sadame]

[This one, on the other hand, is completely at home with the attention. And it IS nice here, all things considered.]

Thank you, by the way.

[larue]

[ Blinking at that. ]

What... for?

[sadame]

For walking with my brother. For giving him a chance.

[Looking up at you now.]

Few people dare to do that.

[larue]

[ Scratching you a little shyly behind the ears at that. ]

I'm just glad he lets us. [ That confession is soft. Kaz had called Hikaru a friend and the other man had lifted an eyebrow at that. ] He's a pretty great guy.

[ His eyes fall to those ring again. ]

[sadame]

[She's following your gaze down, then looking back up at you.]

If Makoto-san has not said anything, perhaps you need to give him more time.

[He is probably reeling from being abandoned. Being left in a state where he could not move freely, could not follow the one he cared about.

She knows the feeling.]

[larue]

[ There's a long pause before Josh finally lets out a breath. ]

Thank you.

[ He was wondering about the silence. He's used to it where it concerns Coach, but he doesn't know much about Makoto just yet.

He's going to shift now; get his legs back under him. ]

Would you like to head back to the house?