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Koni took note of how... relaxed he seemed now that the summoner wasn't always watching him and he smirked, watching him shift to allow Onion onto his back like he hadn't a thing to worry about. Mainly because he knew that he had won, in a weird, twisted way of thinking. Aversham, on his own, showed Reika what he had been warning her to be careful about. If he was honest about things, he had been grateful to the bird for befriending his shy little girl, but her natural forwardness and the way he responded to it had set his alarm bells ringing and he wasn't sure how to handle it. Reika was dear to him, important to him. He wanted to keep her safe as much as possible, so he had told her to be very careful of anyone and everyone outside their family, which included Akiya and his clan. Because some people may seem nice at first, but they really aren't always.

Standing up silently, he placed Reika onto his shoulder before he went to pick up her pack and one of his own bags. Akiya had already taken down the rest of their bags to slung them easily over his shoulders. He didn't like how Reika was now silent and her discontent was deeper than she was trying to show. All he could do for her now was stay closer to her, try to get her to smile again. The entire time of her depression, she had been unable to dance, not for lack of trying. But each step she tried made her fall, her natural balance was completely off centered and he knew where it stemmed from. That stupid bird. But now.. his gaze shifted to where his little girl sat at his shoulder, her eyes duller than normal and kicking her feet lightly back and forth. They weren't as dull as they had been before.. maybe she was understanding something on her own...

Akiya placed her moomba, Kanjiru, on Koni's shoulder next to his mistress so they could travel together and the girl settled him into her lap and stroked his back lightly, but didn't say anything. The only thought she had was how amazed she was, about how Aversham could be happy and acting like nothing was wrong so quickly. Maybe their friendship hadn't mattered to him at all. If that was the case... then she should start enjoying this trip. After all, it was the farthest away she had ever gone. And no matter how dangerous it was, she did wish to see the city of Shoichi and the even more dangerous Range beyond them. They were sure to have yummy food and maybe some pretty cloth to look at! There were things to be excited about here! Giving her head a rough shake, she firmed her resolve. She would become happy.. would take a bit to do, but she would go back to being happy! So she wouldn't worry her dear uncle and father. Clearing her throat, she leaned over to Koni's ear and whispered a question, making the summoner's step pause for a bit as they headed off the train.

"I'm sure they have some somewhere, little one. We can always look." It had been worth it to ask to see the lines of worry disappear from around his eyes. She should make the effort of talking more to him, even if it's in a whisper. as the group got off the train, the trio got a good look around. The shadow of the Range was already evident to sight, but so was the huge, towering Gates! And sooo many people! Akiya and Koni, naturally, stuck out but they didn't care. Reika and Kanjiru were rather stuck dumb by just the gates alone and when they tried to crane their necks higher in order to see more, Reika lost balance and fell off Koni's shoulder but into the wide safety of the hood on his cloak. Whoa! Where all places big like that?! Koni was pleased they had made it this far. But the angel was watching Hayaharu for a bit. "If you don't mind, would you like me to carry your bags? I don't mind carrying them for you if you don't wish to.."

"Didn't ye have a maid with ye last time I saw you..? Or the second to last time?" It was entirely too simple now to ignore the bird, since he no longer saw him as any sort of threat to his Reika.

Both the angel and the summoner's brows jacked up upon hearing she had been removed from service and though they glanced at each other, they didn't ask any further questions. "I see..." Was all that was needed to be said and let it drop. At Onion's comment, the girl's head popped out for a moment, her hair was rather mussed. There was a strange expression on her face before she shifted a bit more and shifed up to Koni's ear and seemed to whisper something for a long while. When she was done, she slightly smoothed her hair and then ducked back down to get her familiar as Koni relayed her message.

"She says thank ye for yer concern, Sir Onion, yet this is of no importance to her. Since she is nay out to impress anyone, there is no reason to fuss over something like messy hair." His smile was faint, but it was there. Typically, Reika hated to look bad in front of Aversham, something that had been strange to him. But now she didn't really seem to care anymore. Now the two did reappear to the correct spot a bit later, her hair braided messily so that hung down her shoulder and her front but she seemed more comfortable this way. Her headdress was firmly in place and the dullness was gone from her expression. She didn't really pay attention to Aversham really, she looked at Onion for a moment before she whispered something else to Koni. "But she says that she can nay be in fouls spirits upon seeing something as amazing as this. She wants to see all she can see, so she says."

Reika knew that she just needed to move on and get over her supposed 'friendship' with Aversham. Being alone wasn't that bad, she was used to a solitude of sorts, and in all truths, she had never been alone. She had her summoner, her three familiars and Akiya and his wonderful family. What did she really need Aversham for anyway? .. Right? Nevermind that he's the same kind as her, there were others around somewhere. Maybe, since Koni-papa seemed to be less tense, maybe cause of this fight between Aversham and herself, she could ask if she could try to go out more. If and when the trio made it back home. Shifting so she was standing on his shoulder and holding onto his ear for proper support, she looked up towards where she could slightly see the dark shadow. Now that she was closer, the sharp tug that had been strangely silent happened again, making her wince a bit and place a hand over her heart. Ah well... she was getting closer to her goal... and that was most important to her. Well... that and finding a place that may serve some mochi cakes...

Akiya made a face at the long line of people waiting to get inside. He wasn't one who was good with lines but there was little choice in the matter. Looking over at Koni, he asked where their papers were, which the summoner brought brought with a flourish. "Like i would forget something so important."

Normally, Reika liked to talk.. quite a lot, as Akiya and Koni knew quite well. Usually the only way to get her to stay quiet would be to give her mochi, which had quickly become her favorite snack, nevermind the fact that it made her fingers sticky. But Hayaharu's words caused both her and Koni to look at her, the summoner's eyes narrowing darkly at her while Reika stared at her blinkingly, her eyes rather wide on her pale face.

Her tiny head tilted a bit, shifting her huge braid off her shoulder as she listened to her. She wasn't sure if she should feel upset or ashamed by her words. After all, Lady Hayaharu was the first real lady that she met, since females were extremely rare in Akiya's Homegrounds. however, she did take down the messy braid and slowly work it into a much smoother one.. well doing the best she could without her brush. But she felt she should explain the reason for her lack of speaking loudly, so she cleared her throat a few times and tried to speak. Her voice was still recovering from her crying fit, so it cracked a bit. "I am sorry for any rudeness, however, I dinnae wish to inflict this voice onto anyone at the moment. When my voice returned to not sounding like a cheese grater, I would have returned to speaking...." Watching how Hayaharu caused that guard to do a doubletake, she wondered what that had to do with her. After all, she was extremely tiny and it wasn't like she was going to impress someone that was Lady Hayaharu's size.

Koni's eyes narrowed further about the 'men are rarely worth so much trouble' comment, since he knew it was directly pointed at him. But to that, he only snorted and looked away. Honestly, like he cared what she thought of how he took care of Reika. And he made it no secret how much he had hated Aversham, so there was nothing to be ashamed of there either. Females. Thinking they knew everything. But Reika was speaking again, and he wanted to hear her out. Nevermind the fact her fingers were digging into his ear tightly.

"Tis all right, Lady Hayaharu... I am more interested in the sights of this amazing place ye hail from than anything else right now. There are no more tears to shed... I wish to enjoy my first outing to this place. Um.. is there a place that sells mochi around here, mayhap?" As the group moved up in the line a bit, she looked up at the huge gate again. Maybe she should have brought all her familiars with her.. it was such a shame to leave those two behind all the time...

Akiya, at the moment, just didn't say much of anything. He wasn't going to say that Koni's way of raising her was right. But what happened now was for Reika and Aversham to decide in their own ways. If they wished to play this 'we are always alone so therefore we'll be fine' act, twas up to them.

Now, Akiya did have the ability to read minds, just he didn't like to use it unless needed. Good thing for Aversham, for if he had heard that thought, he would have said something he shouldn't have. He considered Aversham a friend, but his behavior wasn't acceptable either, in his thoughts. But for now, he was more interested in watching what Hayaharu was doing. Sometimes it was good to have another woman explain things to the girl, since there was only so much he could really say to try to be helpful to Reika. He was, after all, still a man.

Reika looked rather nervous at the moment and when the geisha turned around and faced her completely, she realized she wasn't going to let it slide like that and let it be. Nor did she like the feeling of Aversham looking at her for any reason right then, so she did everything she could to not look in his direction. Was it bad that she wished they could just not be near each other for awhile? He didn't wish to look at her nor she upon him. What was wrong with wishing a bit of space? Maybe she was thinking too much like Koni, heh. "They.. should listen? But why? There is no one who wishes my attentions.. as far as I know..." When the fan was waved, she shifted a bit to try not to get hit by it but could feel Koni's mood darken considerably when it hit his nose.

That woman... was really starting to get on his nerves again. "I am already listening to ye, Lady Hayaharu. Am I supposed to be doing something else for ye? Bowing or something?" His voice was rather displeased to be dragged into this conversation. "And yer sense of humor, as ye call it, is... interesting at the verra least."

Hayaharu's warmer smile helped the Elysian relax a bit more, because she had been afraid that she was really mad at her. Her words caused her eyes to shift downwards, not seeing the duo fall off the geisha's shoulder, but knowing that they were not there anymore. "I am tired of crying though, Lady Hayaharu.. makes me feel like I'm suffocating on the droplets and hurts my head... yet.. I still feel the tears continue to arrive, no matter how hard I try to make them go away..."

The whispered words were heard by Reika and she watched her for a long moment to nod gently. "Yes, Lady Hayaharu..." was all she said to that.

"Space is a good thing, aye, I agree..." Her voice was quiet, to say the least. It wasn't hard to see that Aversham was hitting Onion, the motions kept catching the corner of her vision so she had to pay some sort of attention to it. If he was irritated, it was of no concern to her.. right now. But she watched how her father and Hayaharu interacted with a worried expression. Why did Koni get more angry than usual around her? Did she irritated him that much, the geisha?

"The desire for me to do something as low and base as that is slim to non-existant, so there be nay worries of tear marks staining yer facny cloth." His nose twitche before he snorted from having his nose tapped again. Stupid woman! He didn't want Reika to be taken away from him at the moment so his look to her was less than kind before he looekd at her bags and rolled his eyes. But he didn't stop her from taking little Reika's hand. If she wished to go, then she could go.

"Clothing?" She perked at the thought of getting to look at clothing! "I would like verra much to look at some fabrics, please!"

"I'll watch yer bags, Lady. Have no worries of such nonsense..." He wanted her gone, and the way his ears were flicking back and forth showed he was keeping a tight reign on his temper.

It was only after Hayaharu had left that his demeanor changed. The twitching stopped and a slow, but completely evil, smile crossed his lips. Reika was out of earshot now and so was that annoying woman. Carry her bags? Sure. There was no problem in that. Carelessly lifting the bags, he looked down at Aversham and his grin widened. "Trust me, dinner, touching ye comes very low on me lists of things that are important. But I thank ye for doing what ye did. Now I don't have to keep that annoying promise Reika made me swear to anymore. And I can say as I wish with ye for she won't say anything to stop me.

"So I'll share some honesty with ye." Shifting through the crowd as it moved forward quickly, he shrugged a bit. "I honestly didn't care if ye were friends with Reika. I want her to see others of her kind. The only thing I disapprove of is the way ye two act around each other. And I do not wish her first crush to be something that would only fall through at the last moment. But, I have no idea what was said and that's just dandy to me." Akiya was following behind them, wishing Koni wasn't like this but the ex-god was extremely edgy right now.. though he couldn't help but wonder what was upsetting him so much. "Ye stay away from Reika now. She has nay desire to deal with you and yer high handed logic she doesn't understand. So do as ye please, just keep yer beak and colorful feathers away from her." He then looked away from him and focused on the guards, lifting his papers to be examined. He'd take these bags to the room, dump the bird and Onion there, and most likely Akiya to shower, and wander about the city. A lot of old worries were no longer there.. and he felt a lot better now, oddly enough.

"At the moment, her unease is more than easy to feel. She had gone with Akiya to speak with you out of her desprate need to understand why ye were angry with her. For some way to merge whatever was said to cause this rift between the two of you. My request for her to stay away from ye are something she already knows rather well. I make all plain to the child. She has been quite cross with me for making such a statement." He looked thoughtful as he tried to recall what she said, glancing over at Akiya, who shook his head and spoke.

"She said he had no right to tell her to send Aversham away. Since she wanted to keep him, I mean you, aversham, close, she would do nothing that would cause problems between you and her. However, she does not understand everything and though I myself have tried to teach her along with my youngest son, I know there are things she must learn for herself." The overly tall man uncomfortably rolled his shoulders a few times. BUt all it meant was that he didn't like this tone or the dense feelings at all. "I saw how she was while speaking with you on the train. Her eyes speak loudly. She thinks that you feel your friendship is not important since you don't wish to help her understand."

Koni was silent as he was finally given back his papers and allowed to move forward. "Ye already are trying to avoid her as it is, bird, so where's the difference if ye avoid her because I say not to or because of yer own violition? A bird who exists on wallowing in his own self pity has no right to judge me." But he looked down at her for a moment, his face rather guarded. "But make no mistake, bird. The blame is nay completely mine. I do admit that I have no skills with people nor how to raise a being. That is something I see nay reason to hide. I know my faults, yet I do what I can for the girl. Why do ye think Akiya is here? He teaches her more than I can about things I know nothing about. Ahahaha. I know she is nay me nor do I wish her to be. A being away from his home, forced to be exiled in this world he knows nothing about... why would I wish to impose something like that on her?" The city was rather loud, but he found it amusing for the most part. "But I do not wish for her to turn out like ye either... I don't know if she wishes to fix yer rift. Right now, she needs space away from ye, and perhaps from meself, in order to figure what she needs. So shopping right now is best for her."


***

Elsewhere, Reika was looking back over her shoulder constantly, trying to find where the others were. It was strange to leave Akiya and Koni behind. But how could she tolerate being around them with Aversham there? A heavy sigh left her as she finally faced forward and buried her head onto Kanjiru's neck. She muttered something but it was too low to hear.