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 Posted: Sun Dec 14, 2008 7:34 pm
Kouyo sat out in front of Whitestone Used Books, leaning back against storefront just below the window. He was a bit out of breath, as he had just hauled out several bags of garbage from the storage room. Except for the occasional heavy lifting, the project had been going relatively well, he thought. Coming home dirty only made showers that much more enjoyable, and beyond that, the High Priest found some childish amusement in letting himself get absolutely filthy.
No one had to look at him when he was back in the storage room.
Smiling a little to himself, Kouyo got to his knees and turned so he could see his reflection in the glass of the storefront window. Then he licked one finger and attempted to write "肮" in the dust that had settled on his pale forehead.
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Posted: Sun Dec 14, 2008 7:59 pm
A little ways down the road from where the High Priest sat, Yousei was alternately peering at a street sign and frowning at a slip of paper on which was written:
Follett's Bookstore
Subterranean Books
Whitestone Used Books
Rare Books Emporium
She begins to walk in the opposite direction of the store, looks around again, and then changes her mind. As she approaches the book shop, her eyes are focused on each passing storefront, taking care not to miss her intended destination. It is Kouyo's long, red hair that catches her attention first. She breaks into a little jog until she reaches him.
Ah! Oh. Hello? Yousei remembers him. Does he remember her? The last time she saw him, the High Priest wasn't looking quite well. Yousei stops, with sudden mortification. No--ah, what she means is that he's looking better now?
She trails off awkwardly.
And, well, does he know that he's got a bit of dirt on his face, just there? She gestures at her own forehead with a small smile.
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Posted: Sun Dec 14, 2008 8:35 pm
Kouyo sinks back to a seated position on the pavement as the lady greets him, and gives off a sheepish embarrassed feeling. He half-raises one hand to hide his face, but figures he cannot really do so effectively since he is dressed in Gaian clothes that lack the flowy sleeves of his usual robes.
He does remember Lady Yousei, and quickly apologizes to her that she has to see him so dirty and unpainted - he has a job at this bookstore now for which he must deal with lots of dust. He also assures her that he is feeling better than when they last met, though.
Fidgeting, Kouyo gives off a similarly awkward feeling. He tells the Lady Yousei that he knows he is quite dirty, but thanks her anyway. If he cleaned up now, though, it would not do any good; once he goes back to his storage room, he will just get filthy again, next time he takes a box off of a high shelf and it decides to dump more dust on him.
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Posted: Sun Dec 14, 2008 9:05 pm
Seeing Kouyo's attempt to obscure his face, Yousei begins to stare at other things, her eyes flicking from one to the next in succession -- a patch of dirt, her own feet, that very strange book in the shop window.
And the High Priest need not apologize. (Flower.) Sometimes being dirty is a sign of having accomplished something. Yousei is not terribly averse to dirt. (Dragonfly gliding past.) Did he say he works here at this book store? Setsushi must be so proud of him!
She smiles, but the effect is perhaps somewhat lessened by the fact that it is technically directed at the sidewalk. Since he works here, perhaps there is something he can help her with, if he has the time to spare? She is looking for a particular book...
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Posted: Sun Dec 14, 2008 9:38 pm
The High Priest climbs to his feet and turns away for a moment to sneeze into his hand. He then explains to the Lady Yousei that he is not too familiar with the main selection of books because he works in the back room. The majority of the books that this fledgling has been dealing with are older and dirty, and he just discovered several boxes of them that appear to have been water damaged....
Kumoru is working today as well, though. He is... a human friend of Kouyo's. He would be better able to help her find what she needs.
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Posted: Wed Dec 17, 2008 6:48 pm
If that's the case, then perhaps she will go in and ask this Kumoru in a little while. First, though, she wonders if it would be all right to just talk to Kou--ah, mm, the High Priest for a bit.
Yousei struggles a little as she attempts to keep in the front of her mind that propriety is of great importance in the world from which Setsushi and the High Priest come.
Is he on a break right now? If he needs to get back to work, she doesn't want to keep him, but it is a nice day for a chat outside. Actually, Yousei is curious about this Golden World. Yousei is from "Dragonlamp," she says aloud, but Setsushi mentioned that there was a place by the same name from his world. Even from this one word, Kouyo can probably discern that Yousei speaks with an accent, but not one that is Porcelain in nature.
And now, Yousei's friend Tsubei says that she has been to another world -- the Silver World -- that appears similar and yet not.
What is the High Priest's home like? Yousei's projections are innocent and curious, and she seems unaware that the topic might be an unhappy one for the other Porcelain.
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Posted: Fri Dec 19, 2008 12:43 am
Kouyo can chat now. He is more or less free to work at his own pace, and he has decided that now would be a good time for a break. He stands again, rubbing a little at the dust smudged on his face, and tries to shake the embarrassed feeling at how terrible he looks.
He gives off a small feeling of very careful interest when she mentions Dragonlamp, and tells her that he has heard a little of the place; there are several among the Porcelain who came to Gaia from there, no?
Kouyo has also heard about the Silver World, both as the realm of spirits all his life in the Golden World, but now as a real place, also. He has not yet visited it, but he is deeply curious.
As for Kouyo's home.... Well, the High Priest lives in a tower outside of the capital city. It is quiet and safe, so that Kouyo can meditate there with ease and receive his visions of the past, present, and future from the Name. Sometimes visitors come, like when the Porcelain Empress has a specific inquiry and dispatches a messenger to seek an answer through Kouyo. He also has a small garden there, on the roof of the building; there is a nice view from the top of the tower.
Inside, there are rooms where he can receive guests, and rooms filled with books, and rooms for meditation, and some other public rooms, and then all of Kouyo's various private chambers. He half-offers to share with her the exact dimensions of every room in the place, but stops himself and apologizes - the Lady Yousei probably does not need to know in such great detail.
He speaks fairly easily of the place, though Kouyo's projections also carry little actual emotion from him.
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