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 Posted: Thu Mar 26, 2009 4:47 pm
Kouyo Who Dwells in Karyasihu began to awaken as light filtered through his dirty windows. He rolled over and stretched a little, opening his eyes - and jumping slightly as he found himself staring at the smiling face of his Porcelain servant. Had she been there the previous day? Either way, she was still sleeping, so he crept out of bed as carefully as he could, so as not to wake her, and neatly arranged the blankets over the woman before going to the bathroom to get ready.
He fell into his usual routine, washing his face and combing his hair. The mirror was dirty, like the surface of his windows, and he could not quite see his face clearly reflected.... No, he had to remember that this was a dream, and he had come here for a reason. He had someone to meet... and that was why he had to look his best.
As he stepped out of the bathroom to get his clothes, he saw that his servant was awake, and milling about the house in a bit of a panic. She had overslept, and was terrified that her master would not be prepared for his outing in time! Kouyo touched her shoulder lightly as he brushed past her to reach for his dress pants, assuring her that she need not worry; she responded by gathering up the remainder of his outfit for him and offering the articles of clothing to him with lowered eyes, quivering lip, and waves of apologies.
... So long as she had his breakfast ready on time.
He returned to the bathroom to change, and worked on trying to remember the details of the person he was meeting and why. His contact was a woman... his wife? No, he lived alone. Something familiar about her face in his memory. He could not recall her name, but also had a strong feeling that he would remember upon seeing her face. And the little servant woman... was he supposed to leave her at home?
When he was dressed, he came out to his table in the kitchen - he had a dining room, as well, but it was far too nice for his everyday meals alone. His breakfast was prepared, but the Porcelain still looked worried as she stood by the doorway, attempting to stay out of sight. Kouyo again tried to assure her that he was not cross with her, and thanked her for the meal as he ate. She was reluctant to converse with him informally, perhaps moreso because the High Priest was using his mindspeech, but she still desired to be helpful and tried to answer what questions she could.
Apparently she had lived with him for as long as she could remember, and the two of them had been alone for the same span of time. The woman lavished praise upon him for his successes in business that had brought them the wealth that allowed them to live in this neighborhood, and that ensured that she was always dressed prettily and well-cared for. She then went off again apologizing for her oversleeping and fell silent... for a few minutes until she inquired why they had never spoken like this before?
He replied by wanting the newspaper at her, and within a few moments, the Dragonlamp greypapers were in Kouyo's hands. For some reason, staring at the pages was like peering through the windows or trying to see his face in the mirror - the letters would not clearly form before the High Priest's eyes, and in the rare moments that they did, they were unfamiliar to him. Struggling to bring the dream into sharper focus on his own only seemed to make things less clear, and so Kouyo finally settled on sitting back and permitting Kouyo Who Dwells in Karyasihu to finish his morning tasks.
There seemed to be nothing in particular to carry with him to his meeting, so after he was eating, he told the Porcelain woman to remain at home. She could busy herself cleaning the bathroom mirror, or something. Kouyo had to assure her again that he would be alright, and could take care of himself for this meeting, and would be home before too long. And so he left her behind as he set out to skirt puddles of dingy water on his way to meet his contact.
The woman seemed displeased when he met her, and he checked his watch in hopes that he was not late. At least he had correctly assumed to leave his Porcelain at home. She then asked if her order was in, and Kouyo realized he had no idea what Tenran was talking about. Perhaps Kouyo Who Dwells in Karyasihu knew, but he could not pass up this opportunity to speak with Tenran to allow his dream-self to just continue on as normal. He had come here, to the dream, not just to this physical spot, to speak to her.
As he encouraged her to remember him - him, Kouyo, the Porcelain High Priest - he edged closer to the brick wall of the nearest building; he had no idea how to fit into this place, only his character did. The priest smiled faintly as Tenran finally began to seem to recognize him ... and gruffly asked him why she seemed to keep running into him.
"I came looking for you," he told her, suddenly feeling a bit nervous at the people milling about in the street nearby. "I was as surprised as you to find you here last time, but I realized this is much better than where we first met." Kouyo glanced again at the people and Porcelain; the collars on the small Sleeping Porcelain scurrying about on errands and such seemed to stand out more now to his eyes.
"Please, Dame Tenran, do you have time to talk?"
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Posted: Thu Mar 26, 2009 5:00 pm
... Tenran slowly closes her eyes, her mouth making an angled line of irritation, and puts her hand to her brow, as if she is developing a headache. "...More questions?" she grumbles under her breath.
After a moment, though, her expression smooths again, and she folds her arms across her chest, assuming a firm and almost-confrontational stance as she stares blankly at him.
"Well, talk. We're here until we wake up."
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Imperial Princess Rika Vice Captain
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Posted: Thu Mar 26, 2009 5:34 pm
The Porcelain projects his thanks, bowing his head to her for a moment. It is distinctly awkward for him, Tenran seeming so bothered by him, because Kouyo really does not want to be a problem... but she also had directed him to talk, so he can only assume that she does not mind too much.
"Do you live here? In Karyasihu, I mean," he asks; many of Kouyo's dreams, when not of the future, were of familiar places - meaning the inside of his tower, generally - and so he figures it is not unreasonable to guess humans are the same way. Kouyo Who Dwells in Karyasihu insists to him that it is a stupid question (of course she lives here, because he does business with her on a regular basis), but the priest just quietly awaits her answer.
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Posted: Thu Mar 26, 2009 5:46 pm
"... ... ... Yes?" Tenran answers, as if she suspects this is some sort of trick question.
"This is probably Karyasihu," she says, looking around the buildings, squinting a bit as if it is blurring for her, as well.
"... So how are you here? You don't live in Karyasihu." She then thinks on it, frowns, and asks suspiciously, "... do you?" Looking him up-and-down -- apparently Kouyo's dream-body is still not his own -- she asks to confirm, "But you're Porcelain?"
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Imperial Princess Rika Vice Captain
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Posted: Thu Mar 26, 2009 6:15 pm
Kouyo closes his eyes for a moment, trying to recall all of the information that he had wanted to be sure to remember from the waking world.
Then he looks up at Tenran again, studying her face as he hestantly edges half a step closer to her. "I am Porcelain," he tells her with a small nod. "I do not live here, but I have met others of my kind who did come from this place."
Not wanting to be rude by staring too long at the woman, the High Priest glances away, and frowns a little at the Porcelain he can see, with their pretty clothes and collars. "My friends from Karyasihu remember little of this place, but I can see the past and future in my dreams... and so I asked to know what this place was like."
Kouyo turns back to Tenran, and forces a faint smile. "That was the last time I saw you here. And tonight, well, I wanted to see if it was possible to speak to you again."
He is quiet for a moment, then, chewing his bottom lip. Then he asks her, "What do you know of my kind?"
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Posted: Thu Mar 26, 2009 6:41 pm
It isn't clear if Kouyo is boring her or if Tenran is finding it hard to remain alert in the dream, but she doesn't seem to hear much of what he says.
When he asks her what she knows of Porcelain, though, she bristles a little. "They live here, so I know what one is," she answers him, almost snapping.
Then, seeming to regain her composure, she continues, "I'm not a scholar. I don't know anything special." She lifts her chin a little. "So I'm not sure why you want to talk to me."
And yet, though her words are spoken cold and dismissing, something in her stance has changed; her body is even more rigid, and one hand has started gripping the hem of her jacket -- not tightly, but the gesture betrays a bit of... anxiety, maybe?
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Imperial Princess Rika Vice Captain
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Posted: Thu Mar 26, 2009 7:23 pm
Kouyo shies away from her a little, hoping he has not made her angry enough to try to hurt him... or to stop answering questions. Knitting his fingers together, he hurriedly tells her, "I wanted to talk to you because I thought it was strange that I met you. I'm here now because I tried to be here, in this dream again. When I met you the first time - on those cliffs, I think, and you were fighting... I had neither asked nor tried to be there."
The movement of her fingers grasping the edge of her jacket catches his eye momentarily, and he tenses a bit himself - is she mad at him? Kouyo's gaze returns to her face, instead, though. The priest starts to ignore the dream of Karyasihu around him as well as he can, figuring that he has little more use for the dream persona that brought him here. He ultimately wishes to ask her about Ranko, but fears the answer, or fears not getting one from her at all....
"How long have there been Porcelain living here?" he asks instead after a moment, working to keep his own anxiety hidden. "If you know?" She really does look so much like his wife.... "I- I want to know more about your home. Whatever you can tell me will help."
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Posted: Thu Mar 26, 2009 7:31 pm
Tenran watches Kouyo warily, keenly, but then... slowly relaxes. She seems particularly satisfied that he wishes to ask about the place, and returns to a sturdy but relaxed position.
"I don't know much about history," she says, somewhat bored and dismissing, but not so angry anymore. "They've been here since at least the Dark Ages. Thousands of years. I don't know exactly when they came.
"... Where are you from?" she asks. Her tone is, by default, demanding, but she suddenly stops, frowning, and clarifies in a gentler tone as if she didn't mean to come across so harshly, "'Don't know what to tell you if I don't know what you know."
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Imperial Princess Rika Vice Captain
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Posted: Fri Mar 27, 2009 12:11 pm
"Thousands of years?" Kouyo repeats, brow furrowing for a moment as he puts a hand to his head. Something about that... a very long time. And he knows some things about Karyasihu already - Ranko had told him - Kouyo just cannot fully recall. He is not sure he has heard anything about Dark Ages, though.
"Right now, I sleep in a place called Gaia," he then tells her, hoping that will be enough of an answer. The High Priest watched her, looking uncertain, then finally ventured to ask, "Do you know of a woman named Ranko?" She had two names, as it seemed all humans did. Kouyo tries to remember her other one; he cannot keep his gaze from Tenran's face as he thinks. "Furuyama Ranko? Anything about her at all?"
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Posted: Fri Mar 27, 2009 1:17 pm
Tenran's face twitches ever so slightly, but she quickly regains control of her expression.
"I've heard the name. Read it," she clarifies, "in some history book somewhere. Years ago, in school."
She ponders a moment, then guesses, "You're some sort of time-traveler?" gazing at Kouyo still imperiously, but with a little bit more curiosity.
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Imperial Princess Rika Vice Captain
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Posted: Fri Mar 27, 2009 2:35 pm
The priest starts to feel dizzy and worried, but does his best to hold onto the dream, to learn whatever he can. "Where is she?" he asks hesitantly after a moment, slowly taking another step closer to Tenran. "When I first met you, on the cliffs, I thought I heard her voice...."
And at her question, he laughs nervously and shakes his head. "Not a time-traveler. This... this little bird just dreams sometimes."
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Posted: Fri Mar 27, 2009 3:09 pm
Emotion suddenly lights up Tenran's face -- confusion and disgust. She recoils from Kouyo's little step forward, raising an arm slightly, as if he had been lunging towards her to fold her in an embrace.
"Don't you think she's probably dead!?" she asks, agitated. "Three thousand years -- don't you think she's decomposed by now?
"Why don't you dream about her instead of bothering me, anyway, Porcelain?" she says, still grimacing at him.
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Imperial Princess Rika Vice Captain
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Posted: Sun Mar 29, 2009 2:51 pm
Kouyo shies away from her as she recoils, projecting worried apologies - he would never hurt her... and besides, this is a dream.... Then he puts a hand over his eyes, trying to hold back tears. The High Priest is starting to feel the pain of his desire for Ranko returning, strongly enough to start to disturb his sleep. He is not sure how much longer he can remain here....
"That place, where I first met you," he asks suddenly, urgently, moving his hand to brush a tear as he looks up at Tenran again. "That cliff. Is that a real place? Where is it?"
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Posted: Sun Mar 29, 2009 2:58 pm
Tenran stares at him like he's an idiot. "That's a dream," she answers. "It's not real."
Then, suddenly, her face fills with the expression of one who has just had a revelation; bright surprise is followed by a furrowed brow, an intense gaze of concentration in Kouyo's direction but not focused on him -- "... Is it?"
As she asks the question, half of the lamps on the street suddenly go out. As her head snaps towards them, more go out, and the signs outside storefronts begin falling from their places. It seems that Tenran is also having trouble sustaining her end of the dream.
"The War of Establishment," she says suddenly, as if she has decided it is important to convey this information to Kouyo before they both awaken. "Furuyama Ranko was involved. Read--"
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Imperial Princess Rika Vice Captain
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Posted: Sun Mar 29, 2009 4:12 pm
Kouyo puts a hand to his chest, peering back into Tenran's eyes even if she is not quite looking at him - she looks just like her.... "Is it a real place?" he repeats. "Do you know where it is?"
When the lights start to go out, the Porcelain looks towards them as well, then glances around, clasping his hands together, as if he half-expects to see things moving about in the shadows. He has to strain to hear her, as the ache in his heart clouds his other dream-senses as it threatens to wake him up.
"The War of Establishment? Read where?" Is she waking up as well? In that case, "Th-thank you!"
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