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 Posted: Thu Nov 27, 2008 9:56 pm
Setsushi attends to Kumoru's words, nodding slightly, but then becomes nervous when Kumoru asks the question. "I do not know," he admits truthfully. In fact, perhaps it would be entirely useless to ask Setsushi, as Setsushi is a poor mage whose spells have little utility outside the kitchen.
... He pauses, and sends a private questioning note towards Kouyo -- will Kouyo volunteer?
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Posted: Fri Nov 28, 2008 12:44 am
... Kouyo supposes he can talk to Kumoru. Does Setsushi want to look at the gardening books, then? He stands, looking visibly nervous, and offers the book he had been paging through to his friend.
"You were writing magic, then?" he asks, his voice soft. "Your magic is... words?"
"Yes," Kumoru replies. "A whole language, really. It's... the language the gods of my homeland used to create the world." The necromancer laughs a little. That was the only explanation people dared to have for it, as it had been accepted as so for such a long time that attempting to define magic as anything else was heretical and therefore suppressed.
"I guess if you or... your friends-" he nods to Setsushi "-are really interested and would not mind spending a lot of time at it, I could attempt to teach you how to read some spells. I have never taught before, however, and so I am not sure I would make the best instructor...."
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Posted: Fri Nov 28, 2008 12:48 am
Setsushi nods to Kouyo and takes the book from him, though he does not look at it at all; instead, he stares at Kumoru while casting his shadow over Kouyo. If his brow were a little more angled, he might look intimidating.
Setsushi does not answer right away, but mentally prods Kouyo; he tells him privately that if Kouyo wishes to learn, Setsushi will say so, too, so that Kouyo won't have to face the stranger alone.
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Posted: Fri Nov 28, 2008 1:09 am
"I do not believe in your gods," the High Priest tells Kumoru, taking some comfort in the feeling of Setsushi standing behind him.
The necromancer shrugs. "Nor do I, really." Then he adds, "From what Xiao Huo - the young one who is Jilan's brother now - has told me, I may be like one of your Sorcerers."
Perhaps if he took one or both of them on as students, even briefly, he could scour their language in an attempt to locate magic words there. They appeared in so many other human languages, so perhaps it would be worth a try to search the Porcelains' as well.
Kouyo hesitates for a long moment, then finally nods. "I shall learn, then."
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Posted: Fri Nov 28, 2008 1:17 am
Setsushi nods, sending a comforting feeling towards Kouyo as he says, "I shall as well."
... He resists the urge to drop his tough persona and begin pre-emptively apologizing for being an idiot student, and looks back down at the book.
Though he nudges Kouyo gently with his elbow and privately notes that they... may have to talk about some intelligence from the Empire before they go to see this mage as students-- Oooh.
Look at that, he coos, pointing to an illustration of a Bourbon rose. Isn't it fancy?
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Posted: Fri Nov 28, 2008 5:22 am
Kouyo leans closer to Setsushi, slipping back into shy verbal silence. Keeping his thoughts hidden from the human, he asks the Knight for assurance that this is not a bad idea. What sort of intelligence from the Empire ._.? He had heard some things about human magic users and what they had done in the Porcelain world; was this Kumoru somehow dangerous?
Oh, hey, rose. Kouyo smiles slightly and studies the flower Setsushi had pointed out. Can they get this book? It has very nice photographs, if nothing else. And maybe he can find one more to buy, if that would not be too much trouble?
Figuring that the two of them were talking privately to each other again, Kumoru decides to let them alone for now. The two of them seem to have an interesting relationship from what he can tell, and Setsushi seems almost not to trust him around Kouyo. But it is probably not the necromancer's place to speculate.
"I'll be up front if you need any more help, then," he tells the two Porcelain, studying them for another moment before turning away. "I can check my hours for next week and write them down for you so you will know when I am available." Flicking his long hair back over his shoulder, Kumoru heads back to the counter.
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Posted: Fri Nov 28, 2008 4:09 pm
Setsushi smiles at Kouyo. Kouyo can buy two books, certainly. Any more than that, though, and he'll have to start earning his keep at the restaurant, he jokes, prodding Kouyo gently in the shoulder.
... Their conversation grows serious and private again, and reassures Kouyo that he doesn't think Kumoru is necessarily dangerous; after all, the mage supposedly raised Jilan all the way through his past life, or something. But there are just some issues he thinks they should discuss before performing any sort of information exchange with outsiders. In fact he kind of wants to discuss that information to ask Kouyo's advice, not for Setsushi to give Kouyo advice.
"... Complicated," he mumbles, and hands the book back to Kouyo. Kouyo can look for his other book while Setsushi goes to make an appointment, all right?
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Posted: Fri Nov 28, 2008 5:23 pm
... Maybe they can also get a cooking book, so Kouyo can work on that. He sighs a little and settles down on the floor again. He probably should be trying to earn his keep already but he has been so broken recently that he is no help at all.
And, uh, alright. Kouyo will offer what advice he can. He takes the book when Setsushi returns it to him and sets it on the carpet beside where he is sitting. Then he nods to Setsushi, telling him to go ahead, and turns his attention back to the gardening books.
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Posted: Fri Nov 28, 2008 5:30 pm
A cooking book might be a good choice. Setsushi already has a few at home, but if he recalls correctly most of those are devoted to fried foods; perhaps Kouyo could choose something on sweet dishes?
As he projects these things, he hovers near Kumoru, and tries to sneak a casual glance at the mage's book as well -- though even if he succeeds, it probably won't mean anything to him.
Oh, Setsushi just remembered. "Do you have puzzles?" he asks Kumoru. Manual ones, or perhaps a book of riddles?
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Posted: Fri Nov 28, 2008 6:15 pm
If Setsushi has been reading the dictionary lately, he might recognize the script as IPA or something close to it. A few of the letters look like normal Gaian letters, at least.
The necromancer peers at Setsushi over his reading glasses, then glances upwards as he tries to remember if they do have any puzzle books. After a moment, he turns to the smallish old-looking computer beside him and searches, settling back in the chair while the CPU rattles audibly.
"I think we might have some puzzle books, but the ones we tend to get here are usually partway filled out, since they're used." Kumoru watches the computer screen, tapping his slender fingers impatiently on the desk. Then, after a moment, he adds, "Looks like we may have some jigsaw puzzles, though, if that would work?"
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Posted: Fri Nov 28, 2008 6:37 pm
Setsushi ponders the letters, but does not ask. If they do decide to study under him for a time, he will surely explain in more detail.
"What is a 'jigsaw puzzle'?" he inquires. Though whatever they are, they must be quite extensive and challenging, he explains to Kumoru. Setsushi and Kouyo are looking for... more adults' rainy-day amusement than, say, children's logic games.
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Posted: Fri Nov 28, 2008 6:50 pm
Kumoru gets up and walks over to another bookcase with several large, beaten-up cardboard boxes on the bottom shelf. He drags one of them out and picks up one of the smaller boxes out of it, which features a nice, if slightly faded, photograph of a barn and a bunch of blooming flowers, with mountains in the background. He opens that up and shows the contents to Setsushi - small pieces, each with a bit of picture on one side.
"This is a jigsaw puzzle," he tells the Porcelain. "All of these pieces make up the picture on the front. They're a good way to occupy time." He hands that particular jigsaw to Setsushi, then scans one of the adjacent shelves.
"I'll see if I can find any puzzle books that are more or less blank inside for you, too. There's this number puzzle game that several people I know are hooked on, and I think we have a few books of those lying around here...." Kumoru trails off, grabbing a few books off of the shelf and flipping through them to see how many of the puzzles are already done.
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Posted: Fri Nov 28, 2008 6:55 pm
Ah, Setsushi understands. Setsushi tilts the box towards Kouyo to show him.
...Are there any in three dimensions? he wonders towards Kumoru, as he crouches by the pile of boxes and begins poking through them. Something that takes a while to do and exercises the mind...
Oh, a number game would be quite nice. Lingual games? Something to help the new arrivals from the Golden World expand their knowledge of Gaian?
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Posted: Fri Nov 28, 2008 7:01 pm
"I don't have any three dimensional ones, although if I did, I think I would do them myself before I sold them," Kumoru says with a slight laugh. He leans over to glance into the box again, and points out a shiny blue foil sealed bag that looks like it is full of pretzels. "The one that looks like pretzels is actually a puzzle, too. It has no edge pieces and the picture is just... lots of pretzels. That's probably the most difficult one of those we have."
He puts two of the books back on the shelf, offers one to Setsushi, and sets the other one on the floor at his feet. "That one is mostly empty," he murmurs, then takes a few other books off the shelves. "Some of these are crosswords and some of these are just word puzzles. I think you'd probably want puzzles of the second variety, since crosswords tend to ask about movies and actors and things like that." He glances up at Setsushi with a small shrug. "Unless you want some random Gaian pop culture?"
"... What is the Golden World by the way? Xiao Huo has mentioned it a few times."
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Posted: Fri Nov 28, 2008 7:09 pm
Setsushi puts away the box into which he had been peering dubiously and looks even more dubiously at the bag of pretzels. ...Setsushi's not sure he can even hope to visualize what Kumoru is describing, but perhaps Kouyo would like it.
He looks down the book handed to him while he thinks of how to answer Kumoru's question. "The land of the living," he answers; that is what Setsushi was taught. Indeed, he would have called Gaia part of the Golden World if it were not for Jilan, Tsubei, and Setsushi himself discovering a duplicate of the Porcelain homeland calling itself the "Silver World." So perhaps the Golden World is just the earth and stars of the Porcelain...
He rubs his forehead with his free hand. "I do not understand well," he apologizes. Setsushi is no Sorcerer or priest.
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