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 Posted: Wed May 02, 2007 8:05 pm
"Hey, Shizuka," Manta says, "We're getting ready to go... do you have all your things? Pack lightly, Faust is pretty adamant that we do this the old-fashioned way and hike most of the way to the Asakura camping ground."
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Posted: Wed May 02, 2007 8:08 pm
Shizuka nodded quickly, rushing to get her stuff together. She had no choice but to pack light because she didn't bring many things to begin with. She could pack everything she brought here and still be packing pretty lightly.
Why do I put things off like this?! I hate it! Shizuka critisized herself in her head.
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Posted: Wed May 02, 2007 8:13 pm
Faust, despite the events of the night before, is euphoric. Animated and high-strung, he rushes around preparing for the trip.
"Faust," says Anna harshly, "I'd prefer if you left Eliza here on this trip."
"Miss Anna," Faust answers calmly, "I'm afraid that would be impossible. I don't know how powerful Shizuka is as a Shaman, and Manta...."
"She's probably stronger than you, the way you've been letting yourself go lately," Anna says, rolling her eyes.
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Posted: Wed May 02, 2007 8:16 pm
Shizuka finally stuffed her tonfas into her bag and rushed out of the room, barely avoiding bumping into Anna.
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Posted: Wed May 02, 2007 8:20 pm
Faust slings his backpack over his shoulder. "Eliza comes," he says simply. "I can't leave her behind and risk being caught without a spirit partner if something transpires. Oh, hi Shizuka!" he says brightly, noticing her. Opening the trunk of his VW, his face breaks into an ecstatic grin. "Get in the car, kids!" he exclaims, looking happy beyond words.
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Posted: Wed May 02, 2007 8:24 pm
Shizuka hapilly obeyed, quickly placing her bag in the trunk. This would be the first time she went camping in about 6 years, so she was excited. The self-directed anger of procrastination had already faded away.
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Posted: Wed May 02, 2007 8:28 pm
Manta chuckles. "He's probably always wanted to say that," he whispers to Shizuka, referring to Faust's words. "I haven't been camping in forever.... I think this is going to be fun!"
Faust is busy propping Eliza's skeleton into the front seat, fastening the safety belt and letting his hand linger on her skull before he starts the car. "It's been a while since I've driven," he admits.
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Posted: Wed May 02, 2007 8:33 pm
Crap... Shizuka now felt uncomfortable with Faust driving. If he hadn't done it in a while like he claimed, she prayed that it would come back to him quick.
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Posted: Wed May 02, 2007 8:37 pm
"Ach... natuerlich!" he says as the engine purrs to life. "Thank God for German engineering... Just like riding a bike! So... we're heading up the mountain a ways. I'll park the car about four miles from our destination, and then we'll BACKPACK! Used to always do that when it was summer in the Alps," he says reminiscently. "I like Izumo... the mountains and forests remind me a lot of home."
As they pull onto the dirt road, Manta says, "By the way, Shizuka... where are you originally from?"
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Posted: Thu May 03, 2007 4:38 am
"We're both from the northwest of the Hyogo Prefecture" Amaya told him, and Shizuka nodded in agreement.
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Posted: Thu May 03, 2007 9:21 am
Faust sighs. "Right. You look Japanese, so I kind of figured. I'm totally unfamiliar with Japan... I only learned the language for the Shaman Fight. Can I ask what Amaya's story is?"
"Faust, you don't have to pass every car on the road," Manta warns.
"I know... but if someone passes ME.... I'll never be able to live it down!"
"It's not the Autobahn!" Manta cries. "It's not a crime to be passed by another vehicle!"
"It's shameful," Faust insists.
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Posted: Thu May 03, 2007 10:50 am
"Well, I was a shaman myself while I was alive. A miko shrine priestess." Amaya told the others.
"But how I died isn't too clear. I was trying to channel a spirit, and everything blacked out. When I finally regained consiousness, people around me were dying or long dead. Blood had dried up on the grass. And I myself had been stabbed. Then everything blacked out again and I wake up a spirit. For some reason, I've gained extremely useful shamanic knowledge, but it wasn't much good by then." Shizuka said something to Amaya telepathically.
"I was just about to get there. I believe you still need to work on patience." Amaya told her. (Shizuka = sweatdrop )
"So as I was saying, I've been teaching Shizuka those techniques I learned from experience and from that strange incident since she was about 4."
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Posted: Thu May 03, 2007 4:29 pm
Faust curses in German as a car speeds past him and swerves into his lane. “He!” he shouts angrily, rolling down his window. “Damischer Bulle! Warum bist du so Depp, huh?!”
*what he’s saying is, “hey! Stupid bull! Why are you such an idiot, huh?!”*
“Faust!” Manta wails. “Sheesh... he’s German,” he explains to Shizuka. “All Germans are crazy drivers.”
“I resent that,” Faust says coldly, jerking the steering wheel and speeding even faster past the car ahead of him. “That’s a stereotype, Manta.”
“You’re kind of enforcing it,” cries Manta. “You’re going 80 miles per hour, Faust!”
“Mein Gott!” Faust pales, squinting at the speedometer. “You’re right... how terrible. Please forgive me; at this rate, we’ll never reach the mountain!” he floors the gas pedal, and the speedometer shoots up to 100 miles per hour.
“So,” Faust says calmly, as the three of them hurtle down the road at Autobahn speed, “Amaya was a Shaman. Do you think that her death resulted from her attempted integration with said spirit, or from an outside influence? And I’d like to hear more about this incident that occured when Shizuka was four,” he adds, briefly making eye contact with her in the rearview mirror.
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Posted: Thu May 03, 2007 4:50 pm
"Well, that's when I began training her." Amaya explained.
"That led to some unwanted reactions from others who weren't shamans. Like..." Shizuka didn't like thinking about the certain person who had rejected her, leaving her without support and inspiring her current ambition.
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Posted: Thu May 03, 2007 4:59 pm
Faust nods sympathetically, which is impressive considering the fact that he's also flipping off another driver who dares to impede his progress. "I'm sorry about that, Shizuka. I'm amazed at the attitudes people still take towards Shamans, in this enlightened day and age... one of my ancestors is STILL paraded as an evil Shaman... Germany is a little superstitious. I saw ghosts when I was little, and reanimated a few biology projects for gags, but I didn't get into Necromancy until I was in my twenties. By then, I was completely alone. I'm not sure which is worse, being alone, or being discouraged by others."
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