15[21:09] The storm was so bad that for a day or two it supplants the crew's usual gossip about the lady Garnet or the scandalous liaison between V'Neef Piu and the Chief Petty Officer. Caxi holed up for the better part of a day before she was able to return to work treating the newly injured and tending Cathak Ito Pan in his convalescence. How did Daizo ride out the storm, and, having done so, 15[21:09] to what does he put his efforts after the seas becalm? [21:16] 10It would be rather shameful to admit that at the height of the storm, Daizo was still sleeping off the effects of bending a relic of the ancients to his will. The strain caught up with him shortly after the operation to save Ito Pan's life and manifested as, essentially, Creation's worst hangover. [21:17] 10But, you can't hide that kind of thing from the narrator, so here we are.  [21:18] 10Daizo imagines that there must be special training one needs to go through if one is to use these devices on a regular basis. Either that, or the ancients had some really, really effective painkillers. 15[21:19] Alas, where is he going to find an ancient to ask that kind of question here in the middle of the Western oceans? [21:22] 10Besides that, there's journaling—writing down every detail of the trip into the bowels of the facility, with notes on materials, construction, architecture, inscriptions—the name AKAVADRA is given special prominence. And as much as he can suss out about Caxi's on-the-spot medical miracle.  [21:23] 10And, yeah, that's going on the list of questions to ask Xia Lan. Unfortunately, there's about 972 that are higher priority. [21:27] 10It's about dawn on the second day after the storm that he emerges from his cabin, looking both well-rested and a little guilty for same. 15[21:28] If it helps, none of the crewmembers Daizo passes in the ship look on him with any resentment - just the sort of amiable nervousness they did the day before the storm. [21:35] 10Well, that's good. A little bit of questioning—some poor midshipman's lucky or unlucky day—and he gets the general idea of what transpired in the meantime. [21:38] 14The perks of office. Perhaps unsurprisingly, Piu will slide out of seemingly nowhere and be at Daizo's shoulder -- okay, elbow -- when he's back in the halls. [21:38] "Hey there, big guy. Feeling better?" [21:42] 10Daizo: "Oho! Much better, yes. I, er, I was going to check in on Ito Pan and then Caxi… to apologize to her." [21:43] 14Piu contemplates telling him to stop doing that all the time, but frankly, it's a perfectly valid interpersonal strategy once you've established the character Daizo has. Might work out for him. Has so far. So: "Apologize for what?" 14then. [21:45] 10Daizo: "i've been thinking, and… I've let myself be so stubbornly attached to the idea of beating her at her own game that I've never considered what I could learn from her." [21:46] 10Daizo: "It sounds as though she's pulled off two miracles in as many days, but… I don't think she should have to take it all on herself." [21:47] 14Apologizing for something you did entirely in your own head as a way to export it as a leveraged component of asking for tutoring? Dragons, he's a master. This is next-level apologizing. "Interesting. I think she'd be glad to have you, after seeing what going it alone wrought." [21:50] 10Daizo nods. "You're welcome to come with. Anything else going on that I should know about?" [21:50] "Anyway. I'd like to check in later about Garnet and her...condition. If you want to be alone with Caxi, that is." 14Piu isn't in the mood or mode to make that suggestive. [21:52] 10Daizo: "Mm. That might be best… And yes, there's a few simple experiments I'd like to ask Lady Garnet's assistance with, if she's settled in. Let's meet up again in a little while?" [21:53] 14Piu: "Yep. I'll be on deck if the weather doesn't suck. In the hold if it does." 15[21:53] The weather's still kind of chilly, but the sun is shining, at least. [21:54] 14She'll peel off 4and perk up meeting some sailors coming the other way. This time she'll tell them about Garnet's swashbuckling adventures as a corsair on the South Seas... [21:56] 10Daizo will get halfway down the corridor before remembering that Seiri and Sadako are in Caxi's cabin now. Maybe she's with Ito Pan already. 15[21:59] Daizo passes a pair of sailors coming out of the galley, one of them with her arm in a sling and the other with his head bandaged. They nod politely to the Tepet scion as he enters past them. Within the expanded infirmary, sailors share stew at long trestle tables just behind the area cleared out for sailors getting their poultices changed, their casts cleaned, and at the very rear is 15[21:59] Ito Pan himself, laid out on one of the tables as if in state, propped up, covered in plaster, and seeming at rest. 15[22:00] "14Just a second." comes a hoarse voice from within the little back room where the actual cooking happens, from which steam and spiced smells drift and rise just to Daizo's ceiling-grazing head level. [22:01] 10Whew. Daizo's stumach growls—alarmingly loudly—at the scent of food.  15[22:09] Soon a cart rolls out with two big pots on it. One of them is full of clear water and what looks like surgical instruments, and the other is filled with more steaming seafood stew. Sailors line up for more, but Caxi, who looks like she's sorely missing the sleep Daizo was able to get, acknowledges only him. "14Daizo," she says, her greeting barely audible over the clatter of ladle 15[22:09] on bowl and the chatter of the hungry sailors. [22:11] 10Daizo: "Caxi. Um. Do you have a few minutes?" 10This is way worse than he'd been expecting.  15[22:12] Caxi inclines her head back towards the galley proper. Tight quarters in here, and very warm, but they've got privacy once she shuts the door. [22:17] 10Daizo: "…allow me to speak frankly for a moment. You look like hell. And I've been… criminally negligent." [22:18] "You've absolutely drained yourself dry saving this ship and its crew and I've been lying around insensible." 15[22:19] Caxi's face drops. "14You think I look bad?" But the look of despair lasts only a beat. "14I'm teasing, of course. You had no small exertion yourself at the Maw." [22:22] 10Daizo: "It's nothing a few days of rest couldn't fix. And I've been stupid. Absolutely stupid. I wanted to train in secret and bust out some miracle of my own and impress the hell out of you." 15[22:23] Caxi's expression is quizzical. [22:23] "So I went into the Maw totally blind, wore myself out, and now…" 15[22:25] Caxi: "14Did you learn to see the future while I wasn't looking?" [22:27] 10Daizo: "It's not… I'm… damn it, this isn't coming out right." [22:29] 10Daizo: "I don't have the gift of prophecy. But you're always prepared for anything, it feels like. So I was jealous, when I should have been asking you if there was some way I could help carry the occult burden on this ship." 15[22:31] Caxi: "14You wish to study sorcery?" [22:32] 10Daizo: "Look, I… I haven't told anyone else yet. I did receive some instruction in secret on Abalone. I've brushed the form of the formless with my fingertip. I've learned one spell." [22:33] 10Daizo… actually blushes. "I can be birds." 15[22:33] For a moment it seems as if Caxi has entirely lost what little power of speech she still has. [22:34] "It's a little cramped in here, but I can demonstrate. Later." 15[22:38] Caxi: "14...see that you do!! Oh, this is wonderful. I'm so happy for you." 15[22:39] "14That makes us colleagues, you know. You'll be able to teach me a thing or two, I wager." [22:42] 10Daizo: "Maybe.…? I've only just begun. I've been focusing on internal alchemy, you see." 10He inclines his head back. "Eventually, I want to be able to summon and banish these wings at will. Not because I hate them; I don't anymore. But they get in the way so much." [22:43] "And then I saw the way you were able to crystallize diamond out of Essence… it was incredible." 15[22:46] Caxi reaches out to caress one of Daizo's wings, letting her fingertips glide along the edge contemplatively. "14If you speak the truth - if you have crossed the Emerald Arc - then nothing is beyond you. You realize this, don't you? All that separates you from anything you desire is an unwillingness to take it, or an unwillingness to pay its price." [22:47] 14This is where apologies get you. Fucking right. [22:47] 14Maybe Piu needs to study up. 15[22:49] "14You have surprised me time and time again, Tepet Daizo. Very well. Prove to me you can do what you say, and we will share knowledge and labor, equally, as peers. I ask only one thing in return. A promise." [22:50] 10Daizo: "…umm. You really like those, don't you…" 10He shifts a little uncomfortably, then composes himself. "Name it." 15[22:53] Caxi takes Daizo's hand in her own and brings it up to his own neck, her two first fingers overlaid on his as they press into his carotid. Both of them can feel his pulse, however fast or steady it is right now. "14In your veins runs the blood of dragons, and from it you have drawn greater power still. Call it what you want - a blessing, a gift, a mandate, an accident - but know this: 15[22:53] 14it is your blood, and yours alone." 15[22:55] "14You have beheld a Shape that defies all description. There is something you possess which no one can take away. You stole it from no one. You were handed it by no one. You owe it to no one." 15[22:56] "14Conduct yourself how you will among the others. But if we are to look each other in the eyes, Tepet Daizo, then swear that you will never apologize to me again." [22:56] 10Yeah, his heart's pounding. Daizo wasn't, like, born yesterday, but…  [22:58] 10Daizo: "14Or else what?" [22:59] 10'A beat. "I so swear." 15[23:00] Caxi stands on tiptoe, here face mere ilms from Daizo's. He can feel her breath. "14Or else you'll break my heart." 15[23:01] When he swears, she kisses him gently on the cheek and settles back down. Clears her throat a bit, smooths out her robe. "14I look forward to working with you." [23:05] 10Daizo: "And I, you. Meet me on deck later, and I'll give you that demonstration I promised. And then I'll keep watch over Ito Pan." 15[23:06] Daizo opens the kitchen door to find half a dozen sailors rapidly trying to act natural and like they weren't struggling to eavesdrop. [23:07] 10Daizo: "Shove off, shove off, nothing to see here." [23:08] 10Honestly it's a miracle he doesn't just burst into birds on the spot.  15[23:09] Whew! The air in the dining area and then outside hits him full in the face. It got pretty hot in the kitchen, there. 15[23:10] Now what? [23:11] 10Suuuuure did. Time to check up with Piu. Uh. Keep it together. Keep it together. Piu's going to see right through you but at least make the effort, Tepet Daizo! [23:12] 4She'll be up on deck like promised, though if it's cold she'll have bundled up more than the sailors might have strictly preferred. 15[23:12] Has Piu been up on deck the entire time? It's nice out, though in the distance ahead the once-featureless horizon is marred by dog. 15[23:12] *by fog [23:14] 4She's probably split time. If there was a meal recently she ate with the off-shift crew. [23:14] 4Been up here awhile, though. 15[23:17] Then by now the crew's settled into a stable equilbrium where everyone gets to make eyes at her but everyone stays more or less on task. Daizo can stretch his legs and his wings on deck as desired. [23:18] 10Daizo's keeping a carefully practiced neutral expression as he emerges abovedecks. The breeze is thoroughly refreshing.  [23:21] 10He'll work through one of the classic warmups—as goes the body, so go the mind and the spirit.  [23:24] 4Piu is once again doing her handstand trick, bouncing from hand to hand with the rocking of the boat, lowering her legs down to do a reverse crunch, then repeating. [23:26] 4Can't do weight training on a ship, so you gotta make the world help you out. [23:27] 10After one full cycle of katas, Daizo achieves something close to clarity again, and then he'll wave Piu over.  [23:29] 4She smoothly goes from a one-hand gravity press into a cartwheel, and half-skips out of that into a walk. "Soooooo." [23:29] "How'd it go with Caxi?" [23:31] 10Daizo: "We've arrived at a mutual understanding… on the condition that I never apologize to her again." [23:31] 4Piu: "...Is that mutual understanding what you wanted, though?" [23:34] 10Daizo looks pensive for a minute. "I think so. I hope so." [23:35] "Did you ever get a gift that you didn't realize was exactly what you wanted, until the moment that you saw it?" [23:35] "It's that kind of thing." [23:37] "...Once or twice." [23:37] "Not often." [23:38] 4Piu: "But that's good news!" [23:38] "Of course you'll need to move on from apologizing, but rounding out the social toolkit never hurt!" [23:41] 10Daizo: "I may have to lean on you a bit there." 10It starts as a self-deprecating laugh but moves to an honest one. "I'm so bad at this!" [23:41] 4Piu: "And yet the results say otherwise!" [23:41] "Ready to call on Garnet?" [23:41] "Let's." [23:42] 4Piu towels of quite quickly, and is ready to 14go. 15[23:44] The guards have to squeeze against the walls to admit Daizo and Piu but once they're past, Garnet lets them in. She's alone. There are books open on the desk and a densely shorthanded notebook wedged between two of them. [23:45] 14Piu: "Good afternoon, Garnet." 15[23:46] Garnet: "Lady Piu. Master Daizo." [23:46] 10Daizo offers a formal bow. "Pardon me for not calling on you sooner, Hi—Lady Garnet." 15[23:47] Garnet: "Fear not, I have not gone idle. Sit, please." [23:48] 14Piu does so. 15[23:48] Her High Realm has improved noticeably - the 'thees' and 'thous' are almost entirely gone, and even her accent has flattened a bit. [23:50] 10Daizo sits. "You're speaking well. Did Seiri approach you as I'd asked her to?" [23:52] 10Daizo: "Forgive me for not consulting you beforehand. But I thought the presence of someone who wasn't completely overawed by your presence would be… helpful?10" 15[23:52] Garnet's expression is unreadable behind her shawl, but her voice brightens. "She did! She's very helpful and I enjoy her company greatly. So much so that I've monopolized her attention." [23:53] 14Piu chuckles. "Not entirely." 15[23:53] "Do you know her leannan well? I notice she lacks a House title as Seiri does." 15[23:53] "She's terribly shy." [23:54] 10Daizo: "… what's that word? I didn't quite catch it." 15[23:54] Garnet: "Leannan. More than a friend, less than beloved." 15[23:55] "I don't know what the word..." Garnet glances at Piu for guidance. [23:55] 14Innocently: "Hmmm. Sounds like maybe 'sweetheart?'" 15[23:55] Garnet chuckles at that. "Yes. Yes, I think so. That is a very suitable translation." [23:55] "There's also 'girlfriend,' but that's a bit more casual." [23:55] "Oh. Oh." 10The world snaps into a new configuration. "So that's… huh. I see." [23:56] 10Daizo: "I thought they'd just hit it off quite well as friends." [23:56] 14Piu shakes her head. [23:56] "Sadako's got...her own stuff going on." 15[23:57] Garnet: "Ah. Are you the type of man who can't tell when a woman is seducing you as well?" 15[23:57] "I pass no judgment," she adds hastily. [23:58] 14Piu grins. [23:58] 10Daizo: "… … … …I am one of Creation's foremonst blockheads, it would appear." [23:59] "Sadako, though! Sadako's a very special case." [00:01] "She's neither one of the Blooded nor a mortal. I believe her to be a rare type of Chosen—was the name 'Liminal' known in your time?" 15[00:03] Garnet: "Not by me." 15[00:04] "There are the Old Ones, Chosen of Moon and Sun. There is the Blood, as runs in each of our veins. And there are the Little Chosen. I don't know 'liminal'." [00:06] 14Piu notes Garnet keeps the coda from their last conversation to herself. Excellent instincts, though not entirely necessary here. [00:06] 14If she knows Daizo, he'll gallantly explain them in due course anyway. [00:07] 10Daizo: "It's probably easiest to think of her as one of the Little Chosen, then—aspected towards death." [00:08] "But appearing very much alive. Usually." [00:09] "Some would classify her as Anathema, although among our Hearth we have agreed that she is not." 15[00:09] Garnet: "Is she well? Is she in danger? Is Seiri?" [00:10] 14Piu: "We've seen her die in front of us." [00:10] "She got better." 15[00:10] Garnet: "Truly?" [00:11] "And we're all invested in making sure no one can get to anyone through Seiri, including Seiri." [00:12] 10Daizo: "There's much we don't understand about Sadako's condition, but I don't believe she's a present danger to anyone." 15[00:12] Garnet: "...good. Good. Now, how can I help you?" [00:12] 14Piu: "Not unless she wants to be. Then, she's quite capable. Zhangyu and I seen to that." [00:12] *have seen [00:13] "But it must be very difficult for Seiri at times. As her employer, however, I attempt not to pry." 15[00:14] Garnet: "A noble impulse. But I think misguided. I assure you no one else on this ship hesitates to meddle with them." 15[00:14] "Even I catch myself doing it." [00:15] "Well. If the sailors are getting in on it, I need to have words with the chief petty officer." 15[00:16] Garnet: "I admit my reach extends only so far as the officers' quarters. What happens above or belowdecks is beyond me." [00:16] "Ah. Yes." [00:16] 10Daizo: "Perhaps I should take a more active hand, then. Ratel all but commanded me to make sure no harm came to her, while in my employ." [00:16] "But, yes, that brings us to the matter at hand." [00:17] 14Piu: "Should I have tea sent while you two discuss it? Not really my field, sadly." [00:17] 14She's offering just to go get the tea, not to fuck off entirely. [00:17] "The ideas I have in front of me right now are very practical." [00:17] "Theory comes later, if these don't work." 15[00:18] Garnet: "I'm eager to contribute something that doesn't come in ink." [00:18] "Lady Garnet, have you attempted to lay hands upon the vessel?" [00:20] 10Daizo: "What I propose is a very simple solution, limited though it may be. We know that you can touch and manipulate 'real' objects freely." [00:20] 14Well, she's thirsty, and they're getting right down to it, so she steps out and sends for kitchen service with the guards. 15[00:22] Garnet: "I can touch it... I did so at the behest of... I've forgotten her name. The Commodore's vizier." 15[00:23] "The funny one." [00:24] 10Daizo nods. "So Caxi already tested it that far. Good." [00:25] "Can you pick it up from where it's set?" 15[00:26] The jar sits in the corner. Whatever refreshments Piu sent away for arrive as Garnet squares up and lifts it with her legs. It's clearly a great strain, but she is able to come to a full standing position with it in her arms before she sets it down so hard it clonks. 15[00:27] Seems to be significantly heavier for Garnet than it is for him or Piu. [00:27] "Aha. Most interesting." [00:28] 10Daizo: "Given the exertion required for you to simply lift it, I won't ask you to attempt to walk with it." 15[00:30] Garnet: "I swear I am not normally so weak." [00:32] 10Daizo: "I don't think the fault lies with you. Let me try something else." 10Now it's Daizo's turn to nip out of the cabin for a moment, returning to his own and rummaging through a small chest. [00:33] 10He returns with a handful of small glass vials, with flakes of metal suspended in clear oil. [00:34] "These vials contain about one-thousandth of an onze of each of the Magical Materials. About all I can afford on my stipend, really. Ha." [00:34] "Do any of them seem heavier than the others?" [00:35] 14Damn. 15[00:35] Garnet lifts them each in turn. "Not that I can perceive." Indeed, Daizo also cannot detect any unusual hitch or catch in her movements. [00:35] 14The tea arrives and Piu brings it in and sets it close at hand, efficiently rather than traditionally. 15[00:36] What could be more efficient than doing things exactly as they have always been done?! [00:36] "Interesting. So the jar is composed of a hitherto unknown material, or it carries vast spiritual weight." [00:37] 14Piu tamps down the impulse to say 'duh, we can lift it easily,' because she knows he's applying rigor. [00:37] 10Daizo's out the door again: "Allow me to retrieve one more object." [00:38] 10This time he returns with a small, locked chest. He pauses for a second as he enters the cabin. 15[00:41] Garnet: "What is that?" [00:42] 10Daizo: "This is another sort of spiritual vessel we discovered during our last voyage. Do you feel anything strange with the box closed like this?" 15[00:44] Garnet: "Only the anxious anticipation of what I'll see when you open it." [00:44] 14Piu slides to her feet. Just in case. [00:45] 10Daizo: "Haha. Uh, try lifting the box first." 10He'll set it down before Garnet. 15[00:45] Garnet lifts the box easily. "Is it empty?" 15[00:45] "It feels empty." [00:46] 10Daizo: "It's not empty. Here, let me show you…" 10He'll take it back from Garnet and open the lid slowly. 15[00:47] The vessel is in there, dull gray metal wrought in the shape of a human heart with a puncture wound in it. 15[00:47] Garnet: "What's that sound?" [00:48] 10Daizo: "Sound? What are you hearing?" [00:49] 10He's ready to snap the lid back down at a moment's notice.  15[00:49] Garnet: "Like a whisper..." She gets closer. Does Daizo stop her from reaching out to touch it? [00:52] 10Yes. "I'm not sure we're ready to make this test yet." 15[00:53] When Daizo takes it away, Garnet looks up. "What is that?" 15[00:54] "I heard whispers... speech. But it didn't make any sense." [00:54] 10Daizo: "There's a spirit sealed in there. Almost mindless, but it can spread… get its tendrils into people's minds." [00:55] 10Daizo: "On the island where we found it, two hundred or so people had become its thralls. When we sealed it again, all but one of them dropped dead on the spot." [00:57] "But I don't think it's a coincidence that you couldn't lift your own jar, but this vessel felt empty to you." 15[00:57] "...Thig na sgàinidhean ugh agus an fhìrinn a-mach bhuat. Tha thu dhachaigh. Tha thu a ’cur nar cuimhne an dachaigh." [00:57] "According to Caxi, this vessel is damaged, depleted.…" [00:58] 14Piu's face remains still. [00:59] 10Daizo: "Pardon?" 15[01:01] Garnet: "The voice. The voice in the heart. Voices. Too many to count. They said so much but I can't... hold it in my mind. Like the details of a dream. Thig na sgàinidhean ugh agus an fhìrinn a-mach bhuat. The egg cracks and the truth will emerge out of you. Tha thu dhachaigh. You are home. Tha thu a ’cur nar cuimhne an dachaigh. You remind us of home." [01:03] 10Daizo: "…I'll make sure thsi stays far away from you until I've consulted with Caxi about this." 15[01:03] Garnet: "Can I trust her? What kind of person is she?" [01:06] 10Daizo: "I'm just starting to trust her myself. I had the wrong idea about her for such a long time…" [01:06] 14Piu: "She needs people. We're currently her people. As long as we remain her people, we can trust her." 15[01:09] Garnet: "Very well." 15[01:09] "What else?" [01:14] 10Daizo: "A few more things to try…" 10Essentially, different ways of trying to move the jar. On a cart with wheels, for instance.  [01:14] 10If we don't have a small cart sturdy enough for that, then that too is a lesson learned.  [01:14] 14The tea service should work. 15[01:16] It does! It's the same sturdy make as the serving-cart in the galley. However, Garnet does not. Daizo might be given to make sure he hadn't inadvertently locked the wheels. But he didn't. No matter what mechanical convenience you apply, it takes all of Garnet's strength to move the vessel herself. [01:17] 14Well, we've established the relationship pretty clearly. [01:18] 10Daizo: "Well, that's one line of inquiry we can close off. Thank you for your time, Highness—" 10He doesn't catch himself in time— "is there any other way in which I can assist you today?" 15[01:19] Garnet looks at Daizo for what feels like a long time before she says, "No, thank you. You've been very helpful, and we both have much work to do, I'm sure." [01:20] 14Piu: "Should I leave the tea, Garnet?" 15[01:20] Garnet: "Thank you." [01:20] 14Piu bows slightly. [01:21] 10Daizo nods. "Very well. If you have need of me, then send for me." 15[01:22] "Perhaps I will." [01:22] 14Piu: "But phrase it as a request, please. We have a cover to maintain." 15[01:26] Garnet: "I'm far more likely to phrase what should be an order as a request than the reverse. But I will be careful. Thank you both." [01:27] 14Piu will nod this time instead, and exit with Daizo.