[20:11] 14Piu is still doing some form work with Zhangyu -- this consists of him basically chasing her all over the gym, trying to break her arm -- but flips easily out of reach for good once Daizo arrives. [20:11] 4Piu: "Daizo!!" [20:11] 6She did a lot better than Zhangyu did, his first spar. ...this is probably not helpful, if he were to say it, so he doesn't. [20:14] 10It takes Daizo a minute to process the whole scene. "Uwa- You've all been busy, I see." [20:14] "Yep!" [20:14] 6Zhangyu just makes a face. [20:15] 6Zhangyu just makes a face. [20:15] 4Cheerfully: "Your cousin doesn't know how to teach without trying to kill people, but Seiri's fine! Mostly!" 15[20:15] Seiri drags herself upright when Daizo announces himself. "Master Daizo! How was your day?" 15[20:16] "Oh, I'm fine. I'm just done for the day. And probably tomorrow." [20:16] 6Defensively: "I just - did a lesser version of what I was taught." [20:17] 4Piu: "You were taught~ by a shitty old man~~" [20:17] 6Zhangyu: "He was great." 6He almost sounds sure. [20:17] "Here, Cousin, scoot over." Daizo sits on the floor and—this is absolutely the first time either Piu or Zhangyu have seen this—folds his wings neatly around himself. [20:18] "Here, Cousin, scoot over." 10Daizo sits on the floor and—this is absolutely the first time either Piu or Zhangyu have seen this—folds his wings neatly around himself.  [20:18] 4Ooh. [20:18] 6Zhangyu listens. [20:20] "The first time I set foot in a dojo was before my Second Breath. I was at least a good three fulms shorter and a hundred and fifty ponze lighter. No one laid a finger on me and I *still* didn't want to go back." [20:21] "So you're doing pretty well, Seiri." 10Daizo grins. The others might not have seen him look this generally… happy… either. [20:22] "I apologize for not having had the free time to teach you." [20:22] "But!" [20:23] 4It's the wings! He's come to term with his extreme cool wings. [20:23] 10Daizo: "I've made a breakthrough. I need to consult with our new acquaintance again, but I've finally laid a hand on the secret I was searching for." [20:24] *4extremely 15[20:24] Seiri grins and claps her hands. "I'd be honored to learn anything you have to teach me, sir. And don't worry, I know you've had a lot on your mind lately. I'm glad you and your friend have made a breakthrough." [20:26] 10Daizo: "I need to set up our next meeting… I wonder what she'll think…" 10This does absolutely nothing to disabuse Seiri of any notions she might have. [20:26] 07Thud! "...Here it comes, here it comes, here it comes!" [20:26] 4What the [20:27] "A-hem. I also met the new—" 15[20:27] Sadako's head snaps up, nostrils flaring. [20:28] 07A moment later, Dryas appears in the door! "Ta-da!" 07A pair of strapping young porters two footsteps behind her lug in the Preservèd Ocelot. It is, most assuredly, magnificent. They look around, confused, for guidance on where it should go. [20:29] 4...Probably down to the Garden. Just have them leave it wherever, Piu and Zhangyu can take it from here. [20:31] 10Daizo's annoyed for a moment at being interrupted, but it seems like it was for a good reason. "I don't recall it looking that fierce when it was alive." [20:32] "Wait, where is everyone? Get up here! Look at it!" 07A pair of fearsome, snarling, conjoined heads - the larger is nearly big enough for Seiri or Sadako to sit in it - are mounted on a heavy duty cherry-wood frame with a blank brass placard. 15[20:32] Seiri: "Gosh!" [20:32] 4Piu: "It didn't, Daizo! It was instead saying very weird shit!" [20:33] 6They really can. But Zhangyu will still be mildly unhappy that Seiri is dodging training. [20:34] 07Dryas: "They did a magnificent job with it! We should keep it here for now, maybe put it aboard the Defiance as a surprise?" [20:34] 14Seiri is letting her body heal, which is necessary when you're not built like a small house or in possession of the Blood. [20:36] 10Seriously, that's enough for one day.  15[20:36] Seiri: "You said you met someone, Master Daizo?" [20:37] 10Daizo clears his throat. "As I was saying, I met the new god of Hamoji." [20:38] 07Dryas procures her coinpurse and hands one of them a string of cowrie shells. "Thank you, gentlemen. Go on, Daizo?" 15[20:38] Seiri's eyes widen. "!! What're they like? Are they kind? Are the scary? Do they demand human sacrifices?" [20:39] 4Piu, as one does when a friend scores with a hot guy out her league, basso profundo: "Nice." [20:40] 6Zhangyu: "Should we cover the windows at the dojo?" [20:41] 4I regret to inform our beautiful big boy that the dojo is below ground. [20:41] 6Look - okay I've got nothing. [20:42] 10It's just us in here, right? Zhangyu's other students have left? If not, we're going to have to shoo them all out. 15[20:43] Zhangyu hasn't recruited anyone else yet! It's on the to-do list. [20:43] 10Oh. Carry on, then. 15[20:43] Once the porters are gone it's just the hearth, Seiri, and Sadako. [20:44] 10Daizo: "This doesn't leave this room." [20:44] 07Dryas: "You had my interest. Now you have my attention." [20:46] 6Zhangyu looks around, shrugs, and... okay, cuz. [20:46] 10Daizo: "And no matter what I say after this I insist that we show Honored Tsunome Dori the appropriate respect due to a being of his station, to his face." 15[20:46] Seiri nods piously. Sadako has her default facial expression. [20:46] 6Losing me but I did promise... [20:47] 4Piu: "Yeah, sure! What's the scoop!!" [20:48] 10Daizo: "He's a tiny little bird with a foul mouth who just got the equivalent of being promoted from a country magistrate to Governor." [20:48] "I feel a little sorry for him, to be honest." [20:49] 4Piu: "ADORABLE" 15[20:49] Sadako: "Wait, what? They can do that?" 15[20:49] "Just move gods around like they're bureaucrats?" [20:49] 4Piu: "Now you're getting it!" 15[20:49] Seiri: "I wonder who stamps that letter..." [20:50] 07Dryas: "Is he ambitious? If not, who put him up to it?" [20:51] 10Daizo: "It's known to happen. For instance… there's been at least several other Northern Gods of Cattle and Northern Gods of War before Ahlat cooupied both offices." [20:51] *occupied [20:52] 4Piu: "tiny little foul-mouthed bird god" [20:53] "Haha. 'Fowl' mouthed!" 15[20:54] Seiri: "Do you think he'll be a good god for the island?" [20:55] 10Daizo: "If you read the Roll of Glorious Divinities, I mean, really read an unexpurgated copy, there's dozens of Heavenly gods devoted to promotions, demotions, transfers… half of them have an epithet like 'Keep[er of Seals', something like that." [20:56] 10Daizo: "As to whether he's fit for the office, ti remains to be seen. He doesn't seem malicious or cruel, though." [20:57] "Um. Also I've promised to help him find a way to cool off his sanctum, because he is not used to living in a volcano." 15[20:57] Seiri: "What kind of bird is he?" [20:59] "A puffin! You wouldn't see many of them in this part of the seas, but they're all over the northern seas." 15[21:00] Sadako finally breaks down and laughs. "Pfffahahahahaha~" [21:00] 4Piu: "eeeeeeeeeeee" 4She knows what a puffin looks like. [21:00] "Mmm, let me see if I can do his voice…" [21:02] 10Daizo: "Ey wo are you tryna give me shit, Tepet Daizo? I don't deserve dis!" [21:02] "This doesn't leave this room!" 15[21:02] Now Seiri loses it too. "Oh my gods he's a Nexus Guildie" [21:03] 4Piu, seriously: "We must protect this creature at all costs." [21:04] 10Daizo: "It'd be good to have him as an ally, that much is certain. Even a minor god is still a god, after all." [21:06] "Maybe he'll grow into it." [21:07] 6Zhangyu grunts disapprovingly. Also he definitely has a "Heyyyyy, I'm walking here" routine that is never going to be used now and he's upset about that. 15[21:08] Daizo may have a chance to see for himself - he, his translator, and Dryas start up the mountain to find the the caves partway up the volcano where the ali-ki keep their shrines and cloisters. 15[21:09] Meanwhile, Zhangyu can take his mind off his wasted comic genius by setting out with Piu in the broad, progressively more Wyld-tainted farmlands and fishing villages that extend beyond Abalone and run through the unwilded island. [21:09] 10So you just develop another character, right? If you ask Daizo he can demonstrate to Zhangyu an authentic rural Juche accent, as made famous by any number of comedians. [21:10] 6You have to tell me what is on second. It's a matter of security [21:12] 10Daizo: "Oh, I never answered your question earlier, Dryas, about whether he was ambitious. You don't see a lot of Earthly gods that are satisfied with the ideals of the Perfected Hierarchy, but Tsunome Dori is." [21:13] 07Dryas nods, her cheeks flushed after laughing uproariously at Daizo's impersonation.  15[21:15] Luckily, Lord Meteor's directions were good, and before long Zhangyu and Piu have found a bit of land with rough, handmade fences. The fields are well-tilled with rainy season plantings, and beyond the fence a keen eye can spot a person plowing the deeper fields, pulling an oxen-sized plow lashed behind them. [21:15] 10Daizo: "But it really is beneficial for the, hm, working-class deities? You receive guaranteed prayer as part of the calendar, a measure of honor… " 15[21:16] Daizo and Dryas are halted at the base of the path leading up to the caves. Two spear-wielding warrior-shamans bar their path, and heads and weapons poke out from the tunnels above. [21:16] 4Ah, the rustic life! Always seems like it sucks. [21:16] 4Probably good for training though! [21:17] 6Zhangyu: "...better than Lord Meteor." 6Recluse drunkard that he was. 15[21:17] It's a living. [21:18] 6Is it, though? [21:20] 4Piu: "I wonder if she's gonna demand we send trainees to tend her farm to, you know, 'work on their discipline'." [21:20] 6Zhangyu will make his way towards the person plowing the fields, assuming it's Jungle Empress. Frankly, if it isn't, they still deserve something better than towing an oxen-plow. [21:20] 6Zhangyu blinks. "It would keep them humble." [21:21] "A moment, please." 10Daizo whispers to Seiri, "Is there a formal protocol for requesting an audience?" 15[21:22] Seiri whispers back: "Ordinarily the custom would be you bring an offering for Hamoji... I don't know how that works now. I doubt they'd take it as an insult." [21:22] 07Dryas just stares up at the side of the mountain. [21:23] 10What kind of offerings did Hamoji accept, other than live human sacrifice? [21:25] 4Piu: "You can do a lot of things to keep people humble! Many of them appear as the acts of direction-historical villains, in hero scrolls for horny teenagers." [21:26] "And some are just a mild abuse of power, like that would be." [21:26] "We have the arrow that slew Hamoji, the extinguished Hakkai's Rebuttal," 07Dryas points out. [21:26] "Cleaning the dojo is one thing. Hiring the students out as your own private labor force? Comes kinda close to Guild stuff!" [21:26] *Having them clean the [21:27] 07Dryas: "...And we have the head - so to speak - of Hamoji's murderer." [21:30] 07Dryas: "Surely that's worth something to these fana... pious and devoted shamans?" 15[21:30] Hamoji's traditional offerings are basically all things flammable - local and exotic herbs, humans and human effigies, etc. 15[21:30] Were, I should say. 15[21:33] As the two fighters cross the field, the woman pulling the plow comes into sharper focus. Jungle Empress is actually quite short, but solid and very strongly built - reminds Piu a bit of V'Neef. She's sweating, her face red and taut with focus, and she doesn't even acknowledge Piu or Zhangyu until she's done cutting this row, at which point they can feel the scowl she directs at them 15[21:33] through the towel she's using to wipe off her face and shoulders. [21:34] 4Nice! [21:34] 6Zhangyu: "Hello." 6He will actually bow, which is... a first as far as Piu knows. [21:34] 4She'll blink and hastily follow suit. [21:35] 10Daizo: "Indeed we do. It might be better received from you, Seiri—tell them that we've come to burn incense for Hamoji, and to bring our tale of justice before the ali-ki." 10It turns out Daizo had several sachets of incense on him the entire time, through the power of retroactive continuity. 15[21:36] The woman who must be Jungle Empress eyes both of them for a moment and tosses the towel over the plow. She says only one word. "Assassins?" [21:37] 6He doesn't seem to notice Piu. "Would be pretty poor form to announce ourselves, if so. But no." [21:38] "I am Tepet Zhangyu. I'm... I hope to create a dojo." [21:38] 4Innocently, looking around: "Where?" [21:38] 6Zhangyu restrains himself from staring at Piu and saying 'It's You.' 15[21:38] Seiri translates, and the guards confer in turn between themselves... and one of them blows on a polished bone horn from their belt. All the heads and weapons dart back inside and the guards part to allow the trio to enter. 15[21:41] The farming woman narrows her eyes. "What's stopping you?" [21:41] 10Daizo: "Our thanks." 10He still had his wings neatly folded, but spreads them a bit as they pass. [21:41] 6Dryly: "Lack of instructors." [21:42] 07Dryas says nothing but follows along. 15[21:43] Daizo and Dryas enter the mountain, and on crossing the threshold are doubly stunned - first by the wave of heat so sudden and intense it's like walking through a wall of fire, and second by the dazzling, scintillating light that sparkles from every wall and ceiling, twinkling so fast and so widely that it might drive lesser beings snowblind. [21:46] 07Dryas fumbles at the pouch on her side before producing the large, crimson, Chiaroscuro-glass eyeshades she sometimes wears on the deck of the Defiance at sea, sliding them up her nose to observe the lights without squinting. 15[21:47] As their eyes and bodies adjust, they find themselves in a cavernous, glorious hall of multicolored crystal, throbbing with all the colors Hamoji stains the sky above. In some places it's polished smooth as mirrors, in some places it's jagged and exposed and, you're sure, sharp enough to cut. Children with painted faces run along railed walkways that are higher up in the large chamber, 15[21:47] and priests tend the great obsidian shrine at the heart of the chamber, of a towering long-necked bird with glittering stone wings, protectively shrouding a sculpture of a nest containing a sculpture of a single cracking egg. 15[21:48] Jungle Empress: "Why do you want to run a school if you can't teach?" [21:48] 10Daizo blinks once, twice—counterintuitively, as his vision sharpens, the dazzling light abates. [21:48] 4In other settings, that'd be a koan. [21:49] 6Zhangyu: "I think I can. But there's something more than martial-arts-limited sparring, here - I want them to know what it's like to face something they couldn't prepare for." [21:49] 07Dryas leans in to her hearth-brother. "Rather large, for a puffin?" 07she asks, drily. [21:50] "Lord Meteor is a good start. The first time someone tries to do a perfect mantis-block against his fist is going to be incredible. I won't warn them." 15[21:50] Jungle Empress spits at her feet. "Lord Meteor is a fat, whoremongering slob." [21:51] 10Daizo: "I believe that is a graven image of Hamoji as he once was." [21:52] 4Piu: "Sure can jump, though!" [21:52] "The egg?" 07she quietly inquires of both her companions. It's rather magnificent. [21:52] 6Mildly: "Did you know he had his secretaries tell me he was unavailable? I didn't take that for an answer." 6He clears his throat. "I think he can do better. I think he will do better. And the trainees will learn from him." [21:52] 10Daizo: "The ali-ki must have fought desperately to be allowed to keep it…" [21:53] 6He can jump. Fucked up for such a huge dude. 15[21:53] Jungle Empress: "So why?" 15[21:53] "Why start a dojo?" 15[21:55] Seiri is only now able to stem the flow of tears from her eyes and focus her vision on the shrine, and promptly gasps as she takes it in. 15[21:57] At Dryas's words, her attention is drawn to the statue and the egg. "Actually..." she says, kneeling down. "This is Hamoji." [21:58] "Excuse me?" 07Dryas asks, incredulous. "And, by the way, would you rather use these yourself?" 07she asks, offering the mortal her shade-glasses. [22:00] 6Zhangyu: "I'm going to teach them how to fall. And after that, they're going to learn how to get up again." [22:01] 10Daizo approaches the statue, not kneeling, but respectfully nonetheless. He'll offer Seiri one of the packets of incense.  [22:02] 6Zhangyu: "...I can't promise them that they'll never fall again. But they're going to be prepared, next time it happens." 15[22:03] Seiri waves off the glasses with unusual vehemence. "I can see fine." She blinks rapidly, remembering herself. "This is - the legend goes that Hamoji, the mountain, was the nest that Niten Suriya made for the egg he laid. Niten Suriya is - was a sky god. One of the Incarna, as the Hierarchy names them." 15[22:04] "Niten Suriya was the sun, and consort of the moon. When they split apart, day and night became separate." 15[22:05] Jungle Empress: "Baby bitch bullshit." [22:06] 6He raises an eyebrow. [22:08] 4Piu grins. 15[22:10] Jungle Empress: "Nobody goes to a dojo to learn how to fall. They want to know how to knock people down." 15[22:10] "You sound like you're running a creche." [22:10] 4Yeah that line probably worked better on the Falcon stylist for a reason. [22:10] 10Niten Suriya, an Incarna? Associated with sky and flame? It's not much of a stretch for Daizo to guess whose alias that might be. [22:12] 10And then Seiri says it out loud. [22:13] 10Daizo: "I see. The mountain is the nest, and the egg… What hatched from it? The great fiery bird?" 15[22:15] Seiri nods. "When the mountain first erupted, Hamoji was born and the lava that spilled from the nest spread to form the island. Hundreds of years ago, before the Realm came, they called this place Ama-tuea - Empty Nest." 15[22:16] "That's what the Witch of the Far Side called it." [22:19] 6Zhangyu: "Hnh. They should pick that up too, but..." 6He's got his arms crossed and is tapping one of his biceps. "They'll need a graduation test. Someone who's going to show them what a real fight is." [22:20] 10Daizo nods. "Yes, I remember now. So this was the Empty Nest, but Hamoji eventually returned to it." [22:20] "So... we're in the Wyld, here?" 07Dryas asks, her hand at her throat. 15[22:21] Seiri nods. "It's stronger the deeper you go. There are legends that say that if you go deep enough you come out in an upside-down world, and above you is the sea of chaos all the world floats on." 15[22:22] At the rear of the chamber, drums begin to beat, and people stream out of a red-glowing passage leading deeper into the mountain. These are the robed and painted high priests of Hamoji, and at the center of the approaching rank, looking dour but healthy, is the Feathered One. [22:22] 6Zhangyu, genuinely curious: "You ever fought a Mantis stylist?" 6That's directed to the Jungle Empress. 15[22:23] Jungle Empress: "Real fights don't happen in dojos. They happen when you get jumped in an alley and you're fighting for your last breath." 15[22:23] At his question: "Sure. That other pretty dipshit from the Isle." [22:24] 10Daizo: "An upside-down world. I don't believe I've heard that tale before… But that's not why we're here." [22:29] 07Dryas folds her arms across her chest and leans back as the Ali-Ki and his entourage approach. [22:30] 6Zhangyu: "Son-of-Sabers?" 6He does NOT sound eager. Shut up. "Irrelevant. That's what I want the trainees to learn. Awareness of surroundings, and also that some people can just beat the fuck out of you." [22:31] 10The ali-ki is the term for the priesthood as a whole. If The Feathered One or other high priests have a specific title, Daizo doesn't know them.  [22:32] 4Innocently: "Is that why you're out here on a farm? Avoiding the alleys, where the real fights are." 15[22:33] Jungle Empress: "That's right. I left that shit behind. I'm not hearing a reason to go back." 15[22:37] As far as Daizo knows the inner circle of the ali-ki have no special title or rank. Judging by the ages of the inner circle as compared to the other priests and priestesses, he'd guess it's a function of seniority. The Feathered One speaks once they've pulled even with the statue. Seiri translates. "Thank you for coming in peace and respect. These things are precious and scarce. 15[22:37] Offerings in their own right." [22:39] 4Lightly: "Yeah, I get it. You know, Bruiser Khang has been quite the champion. Even beat me in our fight. And he fucks!" [22:39] 6Zhangyu: "Cowardice." [22:40] 4Piu shrugs with the 'well I didn't wanna SAY it' face. 15[22:42] Jungle Empress's eyes flash. "You come to my house, ask me for my help, and then spit in my face. If you want a lesson, come and get it." [22:42] 10Daizo appraises The Feathered One. "I am glad to see you up and about." [22:43] 4Lady, I've followed your career for awhile. The heel challenge seems like something you're into. [22:43] 4She'll back off, though. For this to work Zhangyu has to win straight-up, no fooling. 15[22:46] The Feathered One, via Seiri: "Thank you. You wear your blessing well." 15[22:52] Daizo studies the high priest with some care - he seems to have recuperated fully, physically, but something about his demeanor - circles beneath his eyes indicate a lack of sleep, and his affect is far subdued from Daizo's previous encounters with the man - are visible signs of exhaustion, vexation, or depression. [22:54] 10It can't be easy to be a Chosen of a deity who has passed away. Much less when the timetable for the integration of your holy places has just gone from "eventually" to "Right Now". [22:55] 10Daizo: "I was… furious, at first. I despaired, wept, laughed… but I believe now that you have opened a door for me that I would not have seen otherwise." [22:58] 10Daizo: "We can never return what was lost to you, but we bear news that you should hear. Dryas?" 15[22:59] The Feathered One looks from Daizo to Dryas. He has no special greeting for her, but his expression is far more neutral than the other Hamoji cultists she's caught looking at her. [23:04] 07Dryas is still looking at Daizo with a quizzical eye when she realizes the Feathered One is looking expectantly at her. She presents to the Feathered One the spent Rebuttal, the dull moonsilver arrow which slew the god Hamoji and set in motion the Hearth-Oath. "This is the arrow that slew Hamoji. Its energy is now extinguished, as is the archer who fired it." 15[23:06] The Feathered one takes the arrow gently and holds it in his arms. It looks heavier in his hands than it did in Dryas's. He speaks a single word. 15[23:06] Seiri: "Why?" [23:11] 07Dryas's lips move for a moment but no sound comes out. Forty-Nine and Sixty-Six had given their own, hollow, explanations. But what could she say of it, now? [23:16] 10Daizo: "We… are not sure. It seems that there are powers in Heaven that are meddling with the politics of the Realm." 15[23:16] Seiri looks up at Daizo. [23:17] 10Daizo sighs. "As heretical as that sounds. As much of a violation of everything I ever believed in that is." 15[23:18] But she translates what he says, and the Feathered One's response: "My god was no jade prince. Your answer only leaves me with more questions." 15[23:18] "Perhaps that is how it must be." [23:18] 10Daizo: "It has left us with many as well." 15[23:20] Seiri: "Please, lay down your offerings and pray with me." [23:21] 10Daizo: "… … … …I shall." [23:22] 07Dryas: "Wait -- I don't understand. You were prepared to... forgive... us, before we could explain what happened?" 15[23:25] Seiri: "My predecessor said that two acts exist beyond vengeance, beyond remorse, and beyond resolution. The birth of a nation and the death of a god." [23:27] 10There are joss sticks and a long-burning coil. Myrrh, juniper, clove, rose. Daphne, fig, iris, maackia. 15[23:29] "My god died before my eyes, but it wasn't this arrow that killed him. The fatal blow was struck when the prows of your people's ships first touched our shores. You weren't there that day and neither was I. I can't demand satisfaction - there is none to be had. I am the last guardian of a fatherless people. When I am gone, the embers go cold." [23:30] 10Daizo kneels. If there were other Chosen before The Feathered One… Hamoji must have been a mighty god indeed. Perhaps truly of the family of the Sun. 15[23:31] Seiri kneels too. [23:31] 07Dryas has turned pale, and kneels with the others. [23:34] 10This is… Unauthorized worship. Abetting a mortal in improper conduct. You don't get sent to the Nail for this, but you can be fined, censured… He lights the coil. Does it count if no one is there to hear? 15[23:35] The Feathered One speaks, but Seiri doesn't translate. Her eyes are wedged shut and tears stream down her cheeks. 15[23:36] The coil ignites like the fuse of a great firedust cannon, flaring every color of the Wyld energy trapped in the mountain's heart. The sparks snake along the coil faster and faster, different ritual herbs igniting in different colors of flame, blending and flowing together. 15[23:37] Light pours up from the crack in the sculpted egg. After light comes pressure, and heat. And the sound: 15[23:38] "98waaaaaaaaaaaaaAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAATTHEFUCK--" [23:38] 10!!!!!!!!!!!!!! [23:39] 10Someone heard after all., it seems. 15[23:41] Have the Dynasts here ever seen one of those oil lanterns that have big round globs drifting up and down inside an enclosed, glowing chamber? The effect here is similar: an oblong dark shape issues fluidly from the crack in the egg, swelling to the size of a large housecat. Featherless limbs stretch out in all directions, and wheat and beak grow from the top of the shape as if each 15[23:41] sprouted from a seed. 15[23:43] Tsunome Dori flaps like a wet hen before he seems to get his bearings, looking from the people kneeling at the altar (and the ali-ki who kneeled behind them to join in) down to the egg he rode in on, and up to the sweeping limbs of the statue above him. [23:45] It's not what you think! 10Daizo wants to cry out, but doesn't. 15[23:46] "Ah... shit," is all the god of Hamoji manages to say. [23:47] 07Dryas is unsure of the protocol. She'll follow Daizo's lead. "Puffin?" 07she asks him, quietly. [23:48] "Don't say it!" 10Daizo hisses. "I don't know, maybe it's his first time trying to assume a new form?" 15[23:49] The ali-ki lift their heads one by one to regard the deity. Murmurs begin to spread from the back of the chamber. [23:50] 10Daizo, still whispering: "He was just a big booming voice to me before I went into his sanctum—" 15[23:52] Dryas meets the god's eyes, and the medallion thrums against her chest. 15[23:52] Tsunome Dori: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZqjXZIYkb1s - There's no whiskey, there's no wine, just the concrete and a worried mind. 15[23:54] Tsunome Dori: "Listen. I'm gonna be honest: I don't know what to say. I don't know what I'd want to hear in your position. Maybe nothing." 15[23:54] "But you called me. And here I am. You can do that." 15[23:55] "You shouldn't, cause it's illegal. But you can." 15[23:57] The Feathered One can't bring himself to look on the gruff little bird at first, but eventually he manages to lift his head and nod solemnly. [23:58] 07Dryas starts to rise to her feet, but she looks to see what Daizo does first, just to be sure. 15[23:58] Tsunome Dori rubs the back of his head with a wing. "I, uh... I'll be around, you know?" [23:58] 10Daizo: "…wasn't intentional. Didn't realize you would receive it."10 It's a small voice, like he's just been caught by a rector. Come on, Daizo, you know better than that.  15[23:59] Tsunome Dori: "Far as I'm concerned, this was a harmless accident. Hopefully now you know to stick to the prescribed forms." [00:02] 10Daizo: "Of course." 10He looks up to the elongated form and mouths a silent "sorry, I fucked up." [00:03] 07Oh. This guy really is a country magistrate elevated to Governor. Dryas knows a thing or two about dealing with people like this. She stands up. [00:04] 10Daizo: "Seiri. Dryas. We should g—please don't do anything silly, Dryas." 15[00:05] Tsunome Dori looks abruptly at Seiri. 15[00:06] Seiri, whether out of reverence for the solemnity of the moment, being in the presence of a god, or commitment to her promise not to laugh, does not look up. [00:06] 07Dryas isn't going to do anything silly. Quite the opposite. She stands respectfully, but quietly, for the moment. 15[00:07] One by one everyone stands. They were already taller than the puffin-god, but now he's about level with their knees. 15[00:09] Tsunome Dori: "My feast day is 11 Resplendent Air. Until then, no offerings, no sacrifices, a firm no on the three A's - adoration, adulation, and adjuration. But if you ever just wanna talk, or know that I'm here... you know where to find me." [00:11] 10By now, Daizo's risen as well. Phew. [00:12] 10Then he crouches down next to Seiri again. "He's looking at you pretty intently. Was there something you wanted to say?" 15[00:13] Seiri looks up. "No. You said he was looking at me?" [00:13] 10Daizo nods. "Mmhmm." 15[00:15] Seiri opens her mouth, closes it, and then shakes her head, saying, "I already know too much. I don't want to know what he saw in me." 15[00:15] NEXT TIME: Schism