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

It's constantly dark nga pala. Dang storm.

[atlas_shrugged]

I'm guessing it's one of the reasons they chose you for whatever Project: Deus Ex Machina was? [ and fucked your life over ]

[ Brigade appreciates the simple beauty of the lights ] Your father was the smith, I'm guessing? And your mom?

yup!

[icarusalsoflew]

It's the only reason, really. Can't kill a god if you don't have the right equipment.

[(...)

I love you too, Brother.]

Yes, he was the finest smith in the kingdom. My mother was a former handmaiden of the Storm Queen's court.

[Opening the place up now. It's been restored to its proper state, which is probably something that archaeologists and history buffs would freak the fuck out about. How many times can you find a place like this with all of its equipment intact and in perfect working condition?]

Come in. Sit where you like.

Goddamn face readers. Hikaru should star in "Lie to Me" haha

[atlas_shrugged]

[ Brigade contemplates on this statement but chooses to shelve the conversation since they've arrived in the smithy ]

So Yamatai wasn't the nation of vampires Shin Yamatai is now?

[ He walks over to the anvil, and looks at the tools carefully organized on the walls and tables. It's a beautiful place. He feels at home here around tools made for metal crafting ] I'd be surprised it looks brand new, if I'd seen this months ago before joining Netsach. [ He reaches for a malus and turns it around in his palm, feeling its weight, before returning it in the exact position he'd picked it up from ]

And your sister?

XD

[icarusalsoflew]

No, it was a human kingdom. It just happened to be ruled by a very powerful vampire whom they viewed as a god.

[He had once, a long time ago. Watching Brig, smiling at the way he comments on the smithy.

And then he asks about Setsuna.]

Setsuna came into the world Awakened. The people of Yamatai thought that she was a witch. [A beat.] So did our parents.

[His gaze is straying towards one of the walls, where a set of manacles and chains - silver, engraved with runes - still hang. He never bothered having those destroyed. They were reminders.]

[atlas_shrugged]

[ Brigade catches where he's looking, and something inside him clicks again. He keeps it in check ] I take it those are part of the reason you were reluctant to talk about them? [ He imagines Setsuna Shinta, shackled and ragged ]

[icarusalsoflew]

[He doesn't answer, not directly.]

There's a waterfall close to this house, right? If you go behind it, you'll find a cave. There's a deep hole at the end of it. There are enchanted bars over that hole.

[Taking a drag.]

Mitsuoumi Shinta [And the use of the man's name is deliberate] made that for his daughter. He had Junko Shinta's blessing. She did not want to ruin her reputation in the Storm Queen's Court, even if her time as a courtesan had long passed. She wanted to save face, keep up appearances.

[atlas_shrugged]

[ Brigade doesn't broach the topic anymore. He's heard enough and can tell it's a difficult topic for his brother. ] I'm glad it's 28 life cycles away. You can make new memories here now to cover up the old.

[icarusalsoflew]

Yeah.

[Speaking of...]

I forgot to mention this earlier. An'yu, Tohru and Alistair use this place a lot these days. An'yu especially.

[atlas_shrugged]

[ Brigade looks at the smithy's contents ] Brother Blacksmith practicing his art?

If I have your permission, perhaps I could visit this place as well. Maybe end up training with them as well while soaking in the history of your home.

[icarusalsoflew]

My house is open to any of my hunters as long as they're in Shin Yamatai. Not a lot of them bother coming around, though, unless they need to. We have a base in the city, after all.

[atlas_shrugged]

It's a beautiful base at that [ Brigade thinks of the Great Koi. And Kasumi ] but I guess an old fossil like me really feels at home where there's a lot more history.

[icarusalsoflew]

I get what you mean.

[Pushing himself off from the edge of the table.]

Anyway. Still want to visit the graves?

[atlas_shrugged]

Only if you're comfortable with it. [ Brigade tilts and nods his head as he says so ]

[icarusalsoflew]

Why not?

[Okay fine there were plenty of reasons, but whatever. Moving out now, after tossing a smile over his shoulder at his companion.

He's totally fine with this. Totally.]

[atlas_shrugged]

[ The lack of verbosity is a sure sign that "why not?" was answerable with a battery of reasons, but Brigade follows anyway ] The house is huge really. A gift from the Storm Queen for your father and mother's loyal service?

[icarusalsoflew]

Yes. People in Yamatai had to gain permission from Marrigan in order to build the houses that they wanted for themselves. If you did not have her favor, you lived in places that she chose for you.

[A small shrug.]

She was a fair ruler, though. She wanted everyone to be as equal as they could possibly be.

[atlas_shrugged]

And yet she'd treat those in her favor better, and takes advantage of what she wanted? [ Brigade remembers what Hikaru had told them about how Marrigan treated him. He made light of it with Hikaru earlier only because he knew his brother would be able to tell he wasn't serious. But it was serious time now. ] Sounds partial and hedonistic to me.

[icarusalsoflew]

[Giving Brig a Look now. It's mildly disapproving.]

She kept Yamatai stable while the rest of Japan was too busy fighting itself. She did what she had to. That requires some compromise while you're still trying to figure out how to make things change for the better.

[And he doesn't fault her for it, not in the slightest.]

I wouldn't be the leader that I am today without her, Brigade. She was my first teacher.

[atlas_shrugged]

[ Brigade acknowledges the look of disapproval and bows his head to apologize ] I know little of her history and the good she's done, Brother. So I can only really call it from what I know and what you've told me. I meant no offense.

[ Brigade lights up a cigarette and offers his brother one ] Tell me about her on the way to your parents' graves? Make me understand why you speak of her with such fondness.

[icarusalsoflew]

[Taking that. Easing up now, just a little. Marrigan Crowe is one of the people he holds closest, after all.]

She's been around since the Roman Empire. Her sire was a part of the Camarilla, and wanted someone whom he could trust to establish a foothold for them in Asia. She loved him enough to obey. [A beat.] She loved him enough as well, to obey him again when he told her to stay where she was rather than go back and save him, when the Camarilla started tearing itself apart.

[A smile.]

The centuries between that can be seen in the work that she did in Yamatai. Then she met the Daywalker, and the rest is history.

[atlas_shrugged]

She's been loyal to him ever since? [ Brigade notes the fondness in his brother's voice as he speaks about Marrigan ] She reached Golconda with his help or had she already achieved it before they met?

[ He veers back to the Camarilla, having read what little of it he could find. The largest clan of vampires, with the agreement that unity would allow them to survive. He did not know they tore each other apart from the inside ] I'm so sad to hear her loss, sir. I admit I would have been too stubborn to listen to a beloved friend telling me not to come back and save them. [ He would never leave a man behind, even at the risk of his own life. He'd fight to bring them both back alive. ]

[icarusalsoflew]

She says that she's gotten over it already. I think I believe her.

[She made her own vampire, after all. That's a step.]

And she reached Golconda with Riley's help. The Daywalker had known her sire personally. Might be one of the main reasons why she eventually decided to follow him.

[atlas_shrugged]

[ Brigade makes a mental note to take a walk and talk with Inquisitor Falner in the future, just like he did with Father Aidan Clayce ] It's hard not to follow a man of Riley Falner's mettle.

[ He observes his surroundings as they make their way along the path to Hikaru's parents graves. It's a very beautiful place. But it feels burdened with heavy sadness. ]

[icarusalsoflew]

[Said surroundings would be a forest path at that moment, full of night flowers and fruits that glow like tiny moons in the dark. When they're breaking through, they're stepping out into a clearing.

Two old tombstones stand at the edge. The names on them are written in very, very old Japanese.

Hikaru's stopping some distance away from them, and turning back to Brig.]

Here we are. My parents' graves.

[atlas_shrugged]

[ Brigade looks upon the graves, not really knowing what to do after learning some of the things Hikaru showed him ] Do you still fault them, brother? Or did you make their graves since you've already made some peace with it all?