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 Posted: Thu Aug 06, 2009 10:33 am
 The Black Ox Oslo chuckled softly, mostly at Yoshi. Regardless of whether or not the Ram intended it, his self-reflection and "Captain Obvious" insights always managed to amuse the Ox. "If it's anything," he interjected, "I do believe my opinion might be worth a few seconds of your time before you start swapping fisty-cuffs over my melon." He continued to smile, but the two above wouldn't see it unless they were looking for it. "As for religion, Yoshi, I do imagine it's fair to believe in something. We do exist, after all. Personally, I've always been quite the fan of feng shui, but obviously that does little to help explain our unnatural circumstances." Oslo gave the pair a gentle heft to emphasize his point. "After all, were I only human, I wouldn't be hauling you two around on my shoulders, a la Ox-style." Indeed, carrying them as he was he certainly did have a certain "Ox-like" appearance: his arms were out to either side, like horns, curling as his arms wrapped over their legs.
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Posted: Thu Aug 06, 2009 11:37 am
Ehuang Yue Marr
(Aka - Angie/The Horse)
Angie rested one of her arms across the one that Oslo was holding her with absently, not paying attention. "See, why start a fight when you have an easier solution?" She asked, redundanly of course. Religion. Angie mused on the subject, listening to what was being said about it. "Well, I suppose whatever it is will have to forgive us for not knowing, for how can we know all like it can?" She mused, for it was true, whatever supreme being created them couldn't fault them for not knowing all. "If I were only human, I couldn't see all that was going on around me...I suppose it would be weird for anyone else to see 360, but it's how I've been my whole life." She stated, not having to turn to look beside or behind her. At the moment her attention was roaming, watching behind them at the shadow they made, quite interesting, like a Y almost.
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Posted: Thu Aug 06, 2009 3:34 pm
"Yes and I wouldn't have my impeccable balance and flexibility..", Ari added as she executed a particularly graceful spin in front of the group. "Oslo is strong, which will come in handy for some of the lifts..", She added. There were moves that, depending on the style chosen, had to be done in a participants performance. Arielle would have to pick a style relatively easy for an untrained dancer to adapt to. She dropped speed and walked beside Oslo on the side where he carried Angie and scrutinized his being. Strong, sophisticated, slow, and very patient, ah, she knew which style would fit him rather well. Ari's playful eyes glimmered like pools in the sun as she moved her feet in a complicated pattern down the side walk. "We'll be there before too long, if I had Hide's number I'd just call him and ask him to meet up with us", Ari said as she jumped over a piece of tree branch.
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Posted: Thu Aug 06, 2009 3:45 pm
Armed With A Tuba  *~Hide~*
Hideaki smled a bit. Grabbing Max's hand, he pulled her up into a hug. "Yeah. Apparently he's back. Come on." Hideaki began walking towards the door.
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S n u g g l e The G e e k
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Posted: Thu Aug 06, 2009 8:33 pm
"Ask his opinion? Bah! None of you have any instinct for drama. He'll probably just avoid the question, anyway." Yoshi sat back more comfortably and stared--for abut the thousandth time that afternoon--at the clouds floating up above.
"I have to say, I don't know much about feng shui, but I thought that was all moving tables and chairs and stuff, to correctly align your Qi," he mused to the group at large. "I'm a fan of the Shinto traditions, myself. They have room for everybody--Christianity, Hinduism, Buddhism, Islam--all as the thousands of kami that inhabit this world. Not to inflate our heads too much, but we could be some of those." He grinned. "Not the most powerful, of course, but we could be nature spirits taking human forms and living among the normal people. I think I like that better than us being "cursed" or "monsters," forced to live out some punishment for something we had absolutely no part in." He shifted again, putting his hands behind his head as he felt more confident in Oslo's grip. "Although, either way it has it's benefits. Being able to climb stuff certainly isn't half bad. At least I didn't end up with some sort of "super wool" power." He cringed dramatically at the thought.
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Posted: Thu Aug 06, 2009 8:47 pm
Madeline Anthony Fang  "If it makes you less sad,"Madeline smiled, not expecting his embrace. Of course, she hugged him back, and proceeded to follow him to the door. "Alright, Alright, I'm coming!" She said playfully. Max was wondering what everyone had in mind, when suddenly her stomach growled, and she hoped that food was part of the plans.
"I will die by your hand."
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Posted: Thu Aug 06, 2009 11:41 pm
The Black Ox Oslo smirked, noticing that the conversation had unexpectedly been dragged in a direction he quite enjoyed: toward philosophy. "Feng shui is about creating balance in all aspects of life to promote healthier, much more rewarding life. Yeah, it really caught a buzz with interior decorating, but that was just a media fad, really. It applies to all things from interior design to how you dress to how you think. It's sensible, regardless of any other philosophical beliefs you have unless they explicitly state a desire for chaos and stupidity. The problem I have with Shinto is that it attempts to stick all other religions beneath its umbrella, including religions that explicitly deny any sort of relations with any other metaphysical beings whatsoever: Judaism, Christianity, and Islam chief among them.
"As for your statements, Angie, I'd have to say you're making some pretty big assumptions. For instance, that there is a living, sentient being that knows all, designed this world and had some dealing with how our lives turned out. Quite a few big ones there. Not that they're wrong or right, simply pointing out that you seem to have predetermined beliefs when it comes to the topic. But regardless of what the truth is, we are here, we are a step above the human race, and all we have to explain it at the current is a handful of mythology that stretches back a couple millenia or so. How accurate is the story? I mean, how much of our own lineage do we truly understand?" Some people would take what he had said as arrogant, but in truth Oslo was simply not a person that beat around the bush of truth, and the Zodiac children were indeed better to him. They had abilities that could not be matched by any human, and only a minor setback in their lives that was easily overcome should they choose to try. He for one had never had issues of that nature, aside from when his mother had first laid hands on him; if any girl had ever had feelings for him, none had ever owned the guts to 'fess up. He sighed and shook his head to clear it of the myriad thoughts.
"Forgive me. I'm rambling, and it's much more interesting when I leave that job to Yoshi." Which reminded the Ox of a very specific statement the Ram fellow recently made, so Oslo took the time to answer after a brief pause. "And if I had to choose, Yoshi, I'd pick the young lady. I quite prefer the females, and while you may be teased for your somewhat effeminate nature, I think our colt here definitely takes the cake in that department."
((And I'd just like to clarify that it's OSLO, not OLSO. Seen that mistake around several times, and I just wanted to make sure people were aware.))
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Posted: Fri Aug 07, 2009 9:40 am
Ari hummed gently as they talked, not ignoring them, but thinking deeply on her beliefs. She wasn't sure what she believed in anymore, not since the accident in the UK all those years behind her. It seemed like both forever ago, and just a few weeks had gone by since the human she'd stupidly let herself feel for had stepped in front of a bus to get away from Ari. He hadn't done it on purpose, but the revulsion and terror in his eyes had been a plain enough story, he was sickened by her and feared her. She smiled sadly at Oslo's last words. "At least when you transform, Yoshi, people want to cuddle with you. When I do, people run screaming in the other direction..", Ari said with mock sadness, and winked at him. It was true, she'd been running errands once for her father and a small human boy had been looking for his mother and made the mistake of tapping Ari on her barely exposed wrist to ask for help. Luckily, she wasn't an ordinary tiger and easily hid out until the coast was clear. They thought she'd been a zoo or circus escapee!
It had been on the local news for awhile, she hadn't watched a lot of tv during that period. "I don't know..what I believe in..I wonder if the stories about the old gods and goddesses are true..that perhaps like stars they burned out so long ago, for whatever reason.", Ari said. She was no longer dancing across the pavement, she only walked the regular way. Ari looked beside her at Oslo and the other children of the zodiac riding on his shoulders. He looked like a dad in a weird way, holding a boy and a girl on each shoulder, it made her giggle. Laughing softly again Ari turned her face from him and covered her grin with her hand until the laughter she was holding back subsided. The idea of him being a dad didn't make her laugh, it was purely the way it looked with two full grown people on his shoulders, and the utter comfortableness in his expression. Ari smiled widely, happy that her thoughts had turned away from the past she tried very hard to forget.
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Posted: Sat Aug 08, 2009 1:10 pm
Ehuang Yue Marr
(Aka - Angie/The Horse)
Angie shook her head. "No, I said if there were...not that there was. Besides, If there was some superior being that created us, what created them. Nothing ever comes from nothing...Something had to have come before." She stated in response to Oslo's comments. "And since our existence is related to Mythology, who's to say that all branches of mythology aren't true as well...." She added, thinking of Norse, Egyptian, Greek, and Roman mythology. Angie loved studying Greek and Egyptian mythology in school. It was neat seeing how all of them were different, and yet, alot alike.
Angie listened when Oslo was resolving the whole 'fighting over' him thing. She looked down at him, smiling. "You know, Oslo...I could kiss you for that." She said, blushing slightly. She looked over at Yoshi. "See, I told you it would be easier just to ask him, instead of letting the fur fly. Pun intended."
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Posted: Sat Aug 08, 2009 6:32 pm
Yoshi felt a bit chastened by Oslo's educated response to the Sheep's somewhat less mature contribution to the discussion. "Yeah, I guess you're right," he muttered, "but I just feel like everyone should be able to get along." Thinking it over for a moment, he took heart and added, "whether they like it or not," with a grin. He knew now that his ideals were unreasonable and the "umbrella" of Shinto was not a perfect solution, maybe even a bit presumptuous, but he wanted so badly for it to work.
When Oslo started digging into Angie, Yoshi breathed a sigh of relief and waited for the Ox's lecturing mood to pass. He saw that he was going to have to read up before he got into this discussion with him, again. The amateurs' opinions seemed not to cut the mustard.
And then came another blow: the Sheep's rejection in favor of Angie. "Oh, a cruel man." He mock glared at the girl on Oslo's other shoulder. "You just say that because he picked you," he pronounced with a sniff, but couldn't stop himself from laughing. "I thought my appeal transcended that whole "sexuality" thing."
At Ari, he smiled almost sadly and murmured, "Well, I envy your... power. I think it's beautiful and--" He sensed that he shouldn't get too gushy, but he knew that Arielle's other form was tricky and he wanted to reassure her, wanted to, well, cuddle her like the sheep he was. "Baah! Oslo and I could clearly just talk all night. Where are Hide and Max?"
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Posted: Sat Aug 08, 2009 6:33 pm
The Black Ox "Any time, Yoshi. I enjoy philosophy. Now, aside from Feng Shui, I must say I have an avid intrigue in the theory that there is a second plane of existence in which everything is dictated by the force of will. If that were true, then it would be plausible for all Gods and Goddesses to exist. Will is the source of power and action-- and indeed existence-- in this other plane, and it would be willful belief that created the forces behind Fate, sin, Heaven, and Hell. Only belief in these beings, then, would grant them sway over your being. It works for everyone, and if universally accepted, could certainly quell a lot of conflict in the world." He shrugged, Yoshi and Angie shifting slightly on his shoulders. "But who am I to say?"
Then he smiled, but he was unable to glance up at Ehuang due to the fact that he had two young adults situated on his broadside. So he settled with just an audible response. "Wouldn't that be wool and hair? Not quite as witty, though... And thank you, I suppose, but no kisses are necessary. I daresay, though, I'm not one to refuse gratitude."
Then his gaze landed on Arielle. "And I'm with the Ram on this one: I quite admire your transformation. Elegance and power in one. I'm just a brute built for work." His own sentence made his thoughts pertaining to life, the universe, and everything shift toward himself momentarily as he realized just how oddly accurate his self-reflection was...
And then he tried to shake it off with a gentle movement of his head.
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Posted: Sat Aug 08, 2009 7:10 pm
Ehuang Yue Marr
(Aka - Angie/The Horse)
Angie looked over at Arielle. "Yes, being the tiger also means that you are a strong individual, able to overcome whatever comes your way..." She said with a nod. Arielle was one of the members of the zodiac that she got along with the most. Turning to face Yoshi after his comments. "What? you're just jealous..." She said with a teasing look in her eyes. As she was moved slightly, she looked down as Oslo once again. "You know, I can get down..." She offered. "After all, I am the horse, used to traveling long distances, sometimes with wagons attached." She said with a smile.
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Posted: Sat Aug 08, 2009 8:06 pm
"Hm." Yoshi reflected on oslo's proposal. "That's kind of like a book I read. The people had to save Santa Claus, who only existed because of belief in him, because believing in things like that prepares us for "the big lies" like ultimate truth and justice." He paused on that sobering thought before venturing on. "and gods only existed in that world if people believed in them. Gods with no believers became... no more than ghosts, really. Must be hard, being a god, if that's the case. Really all you're trying to do is capture the imagination of fickle people so that you stay alive. Of course, you'd only be that self-serving if people believed you were, I guess." He shook his head slowly, unconsciously mimicking Oslo's movement below him. "Well, I like a world where everyone can be right, but it opens up worrying possibilities if good people believe bad things will happen to them."
Oslo's comment earned him a soft bop on the head. "Hey, Ox man, if you were only good for work, would we be having this discussion? Don't undervalue yourself: I'll get cranky. And you," he turned to Angie "I'm only a little jealous. It hardly counts." He winked and chuckled. "If you get off, I get off. These stubby little legs can carry me just fine, although the gentleman has been quite gracious."
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Posted: Sat Aug 08, 2009 10:32 pm
The Black Ox He winced slightly at being struck, but it was only due to it being a surprise assault. "I know very well my strengths and weaknesses, Yoshi, but thanks." He smirked. "I suppose I could let you two down, but on one condition: you don't get sluggish again. If you do, I won't be hesitating to haul your asses up here." He didn't really expect them to continue their sloth-like behavior, and Oslo was really only teasing, so he didn't wait for a response from either of them. The Ox-blooded male put them both on the grassy ground in unison. "Behave, children." Konrad usually wasn't one to patronize, but for some reason he felt the urge to tease these two just a tad more. It seemed being around the Zodiac bunch brought out the slightly more lively side of Oslo Konrad.
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Posted: Mon Aug 10, 2009 12:49 am
Ari tilted her head and smiled softly at Oslo. "Thank you, Oslo..it's nice being admired by someone and not feared..", She replied, her tone was warm. There was an interesting mixture of feelings coursing through her, making her feel rather odd. It was something she couldn't figure out as far as it being a good or bad sensation. "I don't think you're just a brute built for work, you're patient and wise, as well as comforting in a unique way. And your strength is internal as well as external", Arielle said. She glanced at their surroundings, they were within sight of Hide's practice. Angie's comment about the wagons made her laugh. "Hahaha...If anyone tried to ride me I'd probably give them a good hard bite..", Ari grinned, but then immediately covered her mouth and stared resolutely ahead of her. Her words had come out all wrong, and unlike certain other zodiac members she was not vulgar.
"I am so sorry..that..it came out wrong..", She moaned.
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