IC Contact

[koishi_komeiji]

^{Art by: Gorakujin}

Mary? Is that you? Just leave a message for now, okay?

*BEEP*

(OOC: Do specify which game, if any, the call is from)

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[koishi_komeiji]

A deep breath, Koishi closing her left eye. She didn't start speaking right away, tapping her heels on the floor in rhythm. Her lips moved subtly to an inaudible song or poem. She removed her hat, setting it down next to her, the white of her scar visible in the firelight.

She took a deep breath, the rhythm of her speech coupling with the little youkai's mental presence seizing Rose's mind and warming it with emotion.

"It was many centuries ago, in the mountains far from the coast, a pair of flesh eaters grew conscious. The siblings were violent; strong beyond measure in mind and body, lingering sense of war and blood from years before had soaked deep in the earth. It sharpened their fangs and claws and senses. For many years they hunted and killed as they saw fit, satiating their hungers for both meat and suffering, but as the land forgot their roaming slowed, allowing them to become more than they once were. Called 'enlightened' by the humans who met them, they settled in the dip between two giants of stone where the sun was late to rise and early to set, hiding their faces behind masks of shell, bone, and skin. They learned to feed on sorrow, joy, and shame... And stories."

"Over the seasons, food grew scarce. Inventions brought by seafarers, weapons of fire and thunder, made the hunt difficult and dangerous. Natural hazards were eliminated as trees were cut and beasts were hunted down. Both animal and spirit. But the land was still a paradise. There would always be food available for those who looked. And so, hunger drove the flesh eaters to hunt further and further from their home, braving new and unexplored areas for the smallest scraps of meat. And now it was the elder's turn to bring home human flesh from populated areas while the younger sought the meat of deer and birds."

"A day before the older's return, the younger found a boy returning home through the mountain. Snow-blind and freezing, his distress was rousing hungry spirits and monsters. Claws already soaked in the blood of a serow, the younger approached the boy and asked if he was afraid. The boy, in return, showed great relief and gratitude. The beast was puzzled, its interest piqued. To the boy, her monstrous nature meant nothing. He only cared that he had been found."

Koishi shifted where she sat, putting another hot dog on the skewer and holding it over the fire.

"Succumbing to its vice, the beast picked up the serow and guided the boy out of the failing light and into its home but this hospitality was not free. It wanted him to tell a story. Using a salve given by a river child, the younger soothed the snow-burned flesh around his eyes. It offered him boiled meat cut from the flank of its earlier prey, and settled down to listen. The boy had much to tell. He spoke at length of his home and his family; of his work and his life. His ambitions; his loves, and the essence of humanity poured from him."

"The younger one feasted on his words without truly listening. The boy had earned his keep, the younger making a false promise to guide the boy home come morning, intending to kill him for his meat. As the sun rose, the last embers died, and so did the boy, succumbing to the elements before claw or fang ever reached him. The older returned to find the younger kneeling by his body, emboldened and nourished and haunted by the clarity its dreams had brought to his words. The younger defied its nature, dressed in white, and kept its promise to guide the boy back to his home."

"The village was small and easily frightened. Even with its forehead pressed to the ground they refused to approach the groveling beast till the sun rose high and the beast began to shiver. But when they saw his lips blue with cold and and his body without wound, they accepted the beast's claim that it did not harm him, and took the body to be buried. Wrapped in sticky sweet emotion and gifted a bag of rice, the younger chose to carry them both home, the spoils of the experience warming and strengthening the siblings through the worst of the season. Be it blessing or curse, this act of kindness bound the younger to the grieving family as they would soon find out."

"Through sorrow of lost life became gratitude and love for the beast. But they praised it for its good deed and built shrines shrines and offered gifts in selflessness. The siblings felt this and both were afraid. No good would come if the word spread. The more humans worshiped, the more distant the siblings grew until the younger began to shine."

"The older grew increasingly distressed and began to terrorize the village. As it could harm to those who worked and lived on the mountain in their own homes it attacked the animals. Those used for meat and fur, though there were so few to chase. Finally it turned to pleading with them."

"'Please, stop your worship. Burn your shrines.'"

"The older's plea was earnest and daily and many of the humans listened. But some did not. They were greedy and held the little one by their side for protection. But the beast struggled against them and remained out of sight, finding limited success in scarcity. Even still it was bound to hear the ceaseless whines and pleas of unsatisfied mortals who took pleasure trying to force it to act as a kami would."

"But humans are as fickle as a youkai is stubborn, and the grip slowed and stopped with time. Save for one. Sibling to the dead boy, she prayed daily without a shrine, not for reward, but for companionship. She prayed with compassion, teaching the little one more of human nature and never asking for anything in return. Thus the beast chose only to protect this one. For it was the only one worth protecting. It would follow in her shadow, its presence fending off dumb beasts and other spirits, keeping companionship until the end of her days, just out of sight."

By the end there was no mistaking Koishi's appearance. She was a monster with claws and fangs. The nerve damage around her left eye and the scar were visible and the eye itself was completely out. She flinched and closed it once more, reaching up to rub her eyelid with her wrist. Likewise the grip on Rose's mind lessened and vanished entirely.

"Sorry. I haven't' told a story properly in a long time."

[bigbadrose]

The story was a bit terrifying, even for Rose who adored Koishi completely and without question, but by the end of it as the terrifying grip was released, Rose just tugged Koishi close and hugged her, closing her eyes.

"I'll tell you the stories of daleks later. I promise. But I'm glad you shared your story with me, Koishi. Thank you. Stay while I sleep? Do youkai sleep???"

[koishi_komeiji]

"If that's what you would like I will stay." Koishi nibbled on another hot dog. "It's good to sleep after a story. It reminds me of home."

She scooted closer to Rose, patting the blanket she was wrapped in and smiling. She still looked like a monster. And those sharp teeth weren't really helping her case...

"I sleep. But not every day. Only sometimes. You can sleep. I might sleep too. But I'll for sure stay, okay?"

[bigbadrose]

"Good!" Rose beamed. The teeth didn't scare her though. The Doctor was more terrifying when he looked completely calm. No second chances.

She pulled Koishi close like a stuffed toy, despite the monstrous youkai mode. She remembered Margaret the Slitheen, Blon Fel-Fotch, but this was inside the TARDIS. And even when the world ended around her, Rose was always safe in the TARDIS. And she truted Koishi, even if that was reckless. "Promise~" And she snuggled up to sleep.