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 Posted: Sat May 23, 2009 6:30 pm
The morning was turning out far better than the previous evening had. Kiku had gotten up early, washed her clothes, and they were dry in the morning sun before too long. NOW she felt presentable, and had even managed to get a bath and get her hair washed before going to wake Master Hitsuga. He'd fallen asleep at his workbench, the poor thing, and she'd been loathe to wake him. Still, he'd said he wanted to go to the market, and the morning was almost half over.
He'd been apologetic, as she'd expected, but she'd been more than happy to point out that it had been more than welcome, because she was now CLEAN and felt so much better!
The market had been wonderful, and it was no where near as hectic as shopping the previous day. They had acquired quite a bit of food for breakfast, and by the time they were finished, Kikushou was stuffed. He was a good cook as well! Inwardly, part of her plotted that if he wasn't married by the time she was old enough, he was HERS.
Now that dishes were being done, and she had NO clue how to wash them without breaking a few, she had quietly excused herself to go and see if the Udon-Ya was open yet. After all, she DID need to talk to Lady Rika... and now that she was more coherent, she was wondering if this was the same Rika that SHE knew of.
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Posted: Sat May 23, 2009 6:39 pm
Sofi sat on the steps to the Udon-Ya, fiddling with the hem of her long skirt awkwardly. As it was morning, Sofi knew Setsushi was busy at work at the Jejune June, and as Sofi had the day off, she was free to sit idly on his front steps, not wanting to invade his home (yet). After all, she was here to, outside of the work setting, offer her apologies for the incident the other day.
And the other one.
And then the one with the old lady at table six...
To be quite honest, she wasn't all that sure how he felt about her, but if they were going to be co-workers for the foreseeable future, Sofi would have to make sure they were friends! Or at least not-enemies!
Footsteps approached. A lock of Sofi's hair stood straight on end, and she leaped to her feet, smoothing her skirt quickly. "Oh! You're back early--"
A pause. No, no, this was FAR too short (and female) to be him.
"Oh." With a sigh, she unceremoniously flopped back onto the steps. "He's not here; he's at work."
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Posted: Sat May 23, 2009 6:50 pm
Who wasn't here? Well, Lady Rika wasn't a man, so it had to be someone else that this one was talking about. Kikushou bowed deeply, smiling to the strange lady. This one was definitely not Porcelain, so she would try her best.
While she wasn't sure who the lady was referring to, she was looking for the Lady Rika? Did she know of her?
Kikushou blinked, tilting her head slightly as if waiting for an answer... then realised that the other couldn't hear her at all. Hoo boy.
Sighing slightly, she tried to form her words as best she could. "Lady... Rika?"
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Posted: Sat May 23, 2009 6:53 pm
Sofi tilted her head to the side. "Lady Rika...? OH! You mean Old-Money!" She pursed her lips together in thought.
"She's not here either. I already knocked, and there was no answer. So I guess she's not here!"
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Posted: Sat May 23, 2009 6:59 pm
"Oh." She nodded then in understanding, giving another bow to the lady. Well, she would go back to Hitsuga's place then.
Another figure made her way up the walk then, enjoying the morning. Generally speaking, the udon-ya was becoming one of Omi's favourite hangouts, as she could get food and nice peaceful conversation instead of hearing some braindead teenager talk about who she'd woken up with that morning. She paused for just a second as she saw Sofi on the steps and sighed, giggling inwardly. So much for peaceful. "Morning, Sofi!" she called, waving a hand to the other Fa'e. "And good morning to your friend as well."
Oh dear... Kikushou's hands tensed in front of herself as she saw the other. Another one that wouldn't hear her and she'd have to talk out loud, and she couldn't do it well and what the heck was she going to do NOW??
Omi blinked at the sudden barrage from the girl, then smiled, leaning forward a bit. It was okay, she could hear the girl just fine, and she didn't have to speak out loud if she didn't want to.
Kikushou turned almost white at that. This one COULD hear her?? And she'd just made a rampaging fool of herself. She wanted to melt away now... why hadn't Master Hitsuga TOLD her that some of them could hear??
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Posted: Sat May 23, 2009 7:05 pm
"Miiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii!" Sofi belted out, leaping to her feet. "Mii! Mii! Hi Mii!" Huzzah! Someone she knew! And a friend, at that-- someone to make the waiting less boring! Not that the stranger-girl was boring, but she had the face-makeup to match her cousin Lu, and the lack of a nose like her cousin Bo, which meant that...
That...
Eeeeeyup, it looked like the silent conversation was starting.
Sofi may not have been able to hear such projections (anymore), but she'd grown up around projectional empaths-- not to mention her growing experience with the world of Porcelain, thanks to her cousins and co-worker. So despite her psychic deafness, she COULD tell when there were conversations going on that she simply couldn't hear.
"Are you talking about me? Mii, it's no fair if you are!"
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Posted: Sat May 23, 2009 7:21 pm
Omi chuckled, hugging Sofi tightly. "No, no I'm not talking about you. She's just confused is all."
Sorry for Sofi, she's a bit... exciteable. What is your name?
Kikushou looked between the two, deciding that while the other girl may be older than she was, she acted decidedly younger. Was that normal for this world too? And her name was Kikushou, it was a pleasure to meet... apologies, but she hadn't caught the name?
Omi. Nozomi turned to her, winking at the girl. It was Omi, and the pleasure was all hers. It wasn't often that she saw a child Porcelain out here. Was she waiting for her parents?
Kiku froze for a moment, then slid the walls of her mind down, closing off the part that wanted to cry at the thought that her mother wasn't here. No, no, she wasn't waiting for her mother. She was staying with Master Hitsuga, and was quite alone other than that.
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Posted: Sat May 23, 2009 7:23 pm
"Miiiiiiiiiiiii~" Sofi squealed, squeezing Omi as tightly as she could manage before detaching.
More silence, more silence... This did not a happy Sofi make!
"Hey, hey, Mii, hey, Mii, hey, Mii..." Sofi whined. "What're you guys talking about, huh? This isn't faaaaaaaaaaaair."
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Posted: Sat May 23, 2009 7:27 pm
It was like dealing with Kaeru before he grew up. No, wait, he was like this now too. Omi nodded a bit to Kikushou, then turned back to Sofi. "I was asking her where her parents were, but she's apparently staying with someone named Hitsuga. Her name is Kikushou." She left off the 'Master' part, that making her inwardly cringe a bit. She hadn't heard anyone else use the term, so she didn't THINK it was common for a Porcelain to refer to another that way.
Kiku was watching the two in awe. They were so... so... TOUCHY. The littler one was all over the other one, and it seemed to be normal as well. There was so much to learn about this place....
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Posted: Sat May 23, 2009 7:31 pm
"Hitsuga, huh..." Sofi furrowed her brow in thought. "Don't know him, I don't think. Then again, I don't really know anyone from this neighborhood except Money and Juicy Fruit." A pause as she considered whether or not to include...
"Oh right, and my Cousin Bo, who's got like, adopted grandchildren or something? And his daughter Mello used to live with him, but she moved out to live with her husband since she's gonna have his babies and stuff..."
Finally, she dismissed the thought entirely. "Kikushou is too hard for me to remember. Can I call you Kicky?"
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Posted: Sat May 23, 2009 7:55 pm
"Kiku," the girl whispered, not quite liking the sound of that nickname. Although she didn't mind the shortened form that Souyuu always called her. She bowed to them both then, she really needed to get back to Master Hitsuga now. He was likely finished dressing, and she needed to get her things from his room.
Omi waved to the girl, turning back to Sofi to try and get her to focus, then something else pinged in her mind. WHAT had the girl just said? "Kiku, wait," she said, turning to the girl, who was already at Hitsuga's door and entering the building.
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Posted: Sat May 23, 2009 8:01 pm
Oblivious to the conversation that had transpired outside, Hitsuga had finished with the dishes, gotten them put away, and took advantage of having an empty house once more to quickly change out of the clothes he'd slept in the night before into ones that were clean.
With that pressing business in order, and everything in the workroom properly put away, he had paused in the shopfront to note that a thin layer of dust had settled on what shelves he'd managed to hang thus far. ....which, he supposed, was a telltale enough sign that he really had NOT been working enough. He had been brushing it away with distaste when the door opened suddenly.
Turning to see Kikushou enter, he favored her with a smile. Had she managed to speak with Master Setsushi or Lady Rika?
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Posted: Sat May 23, 2009 8:08 pm
Sofi glanced past Kicky (She'd wear her down on the nickname; this Sofi knew! For "Kicky" was an AWESOME nickname) into the house, and suddenly, something clicked.
Even though she'd only seen the man once, from a distance, in the dark, she was able to easily recognize him. (Probably because he was at a distance, and with it being light outside, the interior was darker than the exterior.)
"Oh hey!" She cried out, pointing. "I DO know that guy! My cousin Bo pointed him out to me the last time I was here!"
She took a deep breath and, with a flourish, let fly with four words that bounced off every building in the vicinity, each echo just as clear as the before it.
"That's the naked guy!"
"That's the naked guy!"
"That's the naked guy!"
"That's the naked guy!"
"That's the naked guy!"
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Posted: Sat May 23, 2009 8:12 pm
Omi froze, staring at Sofi. "That's WHO?" she said, then bolted towards the doorway, scooping up Kiku and hauling her back out with a yelp. She held the girl close, staring at Hitsuga as if he'd suddenly grown horns and a tail.
Kikushou, for her part, was stunned and flailed as she was picked up, then instinctively clung to Omi, as she did when her mother would snatch her back from something that she really shouldn't be near. What was going on?? Why was she picked up, and why was the Lady Omi so upset??
Omi was staying on the porch, one arm wrapped around the girl and the other at her side although she wanted to do something drastically different with it. She reached out to Kiku then, curious. Kiku, honey, what is going on?
Kiku blinked at her, not quite sure what she was asking. If she was wondering about right now, she had been wanting to go and get the rest of her things from Master Hitsuga's room. She had removed her belongings from her pockets the night before, before bed, and had forgotten them.
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Posted: Sat May 23, 2009 8:20 pm
For his part, Hitsuga's expression snapped quickly from one of pleasantry to one of shock at both the intrusion, and at Sofi's bellowed proclamation.
Wh---wha---
He didn't even have time to form a coherent thought on the matter before a woman who looked....vaguely familiar? Had he seen her before? Had snatched up Kikushou and hauled her out of the house.
Wisps of projected confusion and fright from outside.
What in the hells...??
Starting forward briskly, his stomach already a ball of ice within him, he tries to detangle the jumble of anxieties his thoughts have become.
What's going on...? Is Lady Kikushou all right? What IS this?? gonk
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