Spring days were perfect for meditation only in that the air felt cleaner, the skies brighter. Otherwise, it was terrible seasoning early on, what with the sounds of chirping critters attending to newborns, people at play, and such that is normally encouraged. Takashi growled at the nest made near his favorite perch in a tree, scaring the motherbird off with his size to leave her eggs behind. Always had to go near his place of course . . . He huffed a sigh and slid down to a lower branch, leaning against the trunk casually as he considered what best to do today. Things seemed to quiet down after the initial shocks with The Facility, but never did Takashi think it was done with the cats . . . There were still traps out there to disarm and destroy. But his superiors said nothing of them, and thus he was left with no reason to go near and be captured himself – well, not that Taka thought he would ever get caught.
The Korat plucked an apple from the tree, pulled a small knife from his hidden belt, and began to peel it. If nothing else, he could enjoy the fruits of spring.
As the Sun blazed brightly against the sky, a mysterious Ragdoll who had never been seen before around this parts appeared, making a stroll across the park. To the human eye, she was a beautiful regal looking cat, begging to be petted with her amazing fluffy pelt. But to other cats, she had a rather distinct look, one that could be mistaken as a elf, or a strange warrior in a dress. As a breeze rolled on by, her gold chains began to rattle as her cloak started to fly from behind her. Stopping in her tracks, she smiled gently and took in this moment to remember why she was here. She was looking for her long lost sister who was taken away from her so many years ago. It was a long shot to even find her, but the Ragdoll would not give in because this was the only family she had left. "What a strange foreign place..." she thought to herself, as went to rest by a near by tree. "Crunch crunch", was the sound that could be heard as she sat down. "Hmmm...." she pondered wondering if it was just the leaves making noises, or if there was a small critter nearby snacking on delicious food.
He moved slowly out of habit when knowing someone was there – a sudden action could grab attention he otherwise would not want. Now this was a strange specimen indeed with a grace he not often saw, and to take refuge beneath this very tree . . . He wondered if the woman had looked up at some point or intuited that he was there. Not that Takashi was very much hidden in this very public area, but still. He was not a cat who liked to prod others, but a foreigner was certainly interesting – and it wasn’t like his day would get much better, he thought.
But Takashi wasn’t a very conventional cat with introductions unless during more serious circumstances. Rather than announcing his presence, he allowed some of the apple peels to fall towards her, none aimed for her head but rather the area about where she sat. For all appearances, however, Takashi looked as though he hadn’t noticed her at all and was merely slipping apple pieces behind his veil, unbeknownst to the woman below.
With small apple peels raining down towards her, she smiled. "What a strange land indeed...." she said out loud this time. "In most places, flower petals, leaves and even water fall down towards the land... but in this one, it is apple peels." Holding her sides in order to appear friendly, she looked up, noticing there was someone lurking in the branches above. "Why hello young one...." she said softly with a warm smile. "Not exactly the young one I was looking for, but a nice surprise nevertheless" she added wondering if Korat would come down to meet her, or stay up there since it would be absurd for her to try and climb the tree with the long black dress she was wearing. That had always been her drawback... she could never face an opponent who had the ability to climb or scale in elevation using their surroundings. Thus her specialty layed in close range combat.
Takashi took his time to make it look like he had just noticed her, one bright green eye eventually finding her down below – the other, as ever, was hidden behind the thick curtain of hair. He looked to be safe here from that sword at her hip, and since it appeared she had no intention of climbing up . . . yes, stay in the tree it was. His knife was hardly sharp enough to be considered a weapon. “Same here. Rains, flowers, th’like,” he said from behind the black veil, voice gruff and muffled but intelligible. Young one? Eh, he forgot that he was but a teen sometimes. Takashi sat up straighter against the trunk, slipping another slice of the apple behind his veil. “New? Y’look like a traveler.”
As she heard the Korat speak, she was amazed at the tone and diction of his voice. For one so young, he had a deep strong voice that seemed different from all the other youngings she has ever known. "Yes young one.... I would be a traveler indeed. Where I am from, it is much more quieter, except in times of war...." she said as her sword began to buzz. "Q'ui here tells me one as young as you already appears to be a warrior. Is there a reason for this?" Wondering much about this land, she hoped it was not a heavily warring zone, because then it is possible that she might be too late in finding her sister. "Oh! You'll have to forgive me, I forgot to introduce myself. My name is Kitana, and the reason I am here is to find someone special to me.... I suspect it will be a while before I leave though.... so I might as well as learn as much as I can about this land." Sighing, she slowly shooked her head, since her journey here was very unwise and spontaneous.
The Korat’s ears picked up the gentle sounds of vibration, and he blinked; not a bee’s buzz, but . . . coming from the sword? This “Q’ui”? He had never before heard of an instrument that could do such a thing, and immediately his interest was piqued. Was it living metal? Was that even possible? How could it even tell that . . . Stars, he’d have to be extra careful, lest the sword next tell her he was part of ANBU with its intrinsic magics. “Special? Name and appearance?” Takashi asked, ignoring her first question. He wasn’t quite a warrior yet, though he hoped to live up to his name’s meaning one day. For now, he was more of a scout than anything else, and as such he had seen many cats about; perhaps the one this Kitana was looking for?
As the Korat skillfully ignored her first question, she decided not to dig further into his occupation because it was probably something she didn't really need to know nor be apart of. Smiling, she nodded gently, "Yes.... special, for she is my blood sister as well as my spirit twin. As for her name, I would not know since she was taken away when she was very young. And by then, I was already on my way with the world. However her appearance might be easier to note. She is a Ragdoll like me, but she carries the opposite of my mark" she stated while brushing away at her bangs, revealing a ruby crescent shaped mark on her forehead. "Her's will be the same mark, but flipped. I also believe her affinity is water, thus making her mark blue" she added, hoping that maybe this Korat knew her, or if not, would one day bump into her sister.
Twins? “Spirit” twins? ‘Am I getting into something I shouldn’t?’ Takashi pondered with a slight frown. First a sword with strange properties, now spirits and blood and affinities with elements? It sounded like this was straying definitely into the realm of magic, of which he wanted no part of. “I have seen no-one of the description,” Takashi said after a pause in thought. “But Ikebokuro is a large place. Perhaps she is somewhere else.” He gestured to the city that laid all about them, paused again, and then asked, “You have an . . . affinity? What is that?”
Turning her head towards the direction of the city, she nodded, "Yes... maybe she is somewhere else...." she said quietly with sadness in her heart. Breathing steadily she smirked at the Korat, "Yes, affinity, which means I have the ability to control a certain element should I choose to do so. It's not really all that magical since I do need to have the source already there and it would be rediculous of I carried fire with me everywhere...." she discreetly added in. "Do I scare you young one? Because if so, you could always just view me as a crazy old lady who speaks of strange magic from the tales of old."
Well, he supposed, this was what you got for interacting with foreigners: of course he had to pick the one that claimed she could control fire, had a vibrating sword, and spoke of blood twins. Yes, his day just seemed to be getting more interesting by the second! Takashi snorted quietly at the mention of being scared, another slice of apple falling behind his veil for him to chew. “No,” he replied after swallowing, hefting the half-eaten fruit. “But I am wary of strangers who say they know secrets of the elements. Nature cannot be controlled so, but a warrior who knows who to manipulate it is most formidable.” Especially one who mentions fire in a park. “These ‘tales’ you speak of, they taught you how to use fire?”
Shaking her head, she laughed, "Oh no no no.... tales are just tales. Just listening these tales won't teach you anything. Sometimes it's more about your past, and ancestors.... Such things tend to pass on their descendants." As Q'ui her sword began to vibrate yet again, she ignored it and quickly stood back up. "Don't worry young one, I only share such things just because you will not fall into any harm because of it. I am different and I admit that." she spoke softly while looking back up. "Why don't you show yourself to me? It would be nice to know what you at least look like young one." she asked of the Korat, hoping he would at least give her that since it appeared she would never know his name.
“. . .” Well, there was no point in keeping up and away now, he supposed. Kitana didn’t sound like a woman out for his blood at least, and if things turned bad, he would simply high-tail it out of there. He might be wearing sandals, but Takashi was quite the runner. Gripping the apple, he tucked the knife away out of sight, tossed the fruit into the trashcan set beside the tree, and hopped down from the tree, landing squarely on the balls of his feet and letting his bent knees absorb most of the shock. “So can you use fire or can’t you?” he prompted as he stood, and then gestured towards her belt. “And why name your weapon? Does it too have special properties?”
Watching the Korat leap down from the tree, she looked at him carefully. He seemed like the typical ninja, or at least a ninja in training since he was rather young. His clothes were meant for comfort while fighting or traveling long distance. While his sandals were questionable, she didn't think too much about it since after all, she fought in a dress. It was actually the scarf like accessory that made her wonder about all the secrecy that seemed to surround him. Patting her sword she smiled, "I suppose I can.... with the help of Q'ui....." she replied, indicating she herself cannot use fire without help, at least not at this time. "And I didn't name Q'ui, it gave itself the name..... Mainly due to its "special properties" Q'ui means whom.... and Q'ui is able to read the outer soul of any being. Which can be useful or useless depending on how you look at it. I won't know any deep dark secrets about a person, but I can infer a life style or parts of their emotions..... Not bad for a sword I suppose...." she said with a light smile on her face. "And what of you?" she asked in return, "Is there reason to why you put off such a mysterious aura?"
Takashi’s eyes (or eye, rather, from what she saw) narrowed at this answer. A sword that could read the “outer soul” and name itself? “Nani? I haven’t heard of such a thing,” he replied with a frown. A foreigner indeed! “Japan has its own mysteries, but none of this sort, Kitana-san. Are you sure it is not of magical properties? How does it help you with this . . . affinity?” He eyed the sheathed thing curiously. “I am no-one of importance, but my name is Takashi. Weapons of all sorts intrigue me, and I haven’t yet investigated those that lie outside of Japan’s normal span.”
Tilting her head slightly, she stared at Takeshi and wondered why he dubbed himself of no importance, "Everyone is important young one, it just takes time to see it I suppose" she said with a lack of expression since he was a persistant little one. "Well.... I suppose I could show you the sword itself.... So fear not Takashi, I'm not going to fight you..... But...... this might be one of the strangest weapons you shall ever see...." Tucking away her bangs behind her ears, she looked down at Q'ui who was humming softly with all the chattering going on between her and Takashi. Placing her hand on the blood red ruby hilted sword, she unsheathed her sword, only to reveal that the blood red color was not just apart of the handle, but was the actual color of the blade itself. "Q'ui's affinity is also fire, but since it is not human but rather an object can control the fire that forged its existence. Since we share this affinity and I being of the Al'Rein bloodline, only I can control this sword. To everyone else, minus my sister, it is just a heavy red colored rock." As she revealed much about herself, she stared at Takashi and smiled, "Although this weapon is rather strange.... I do believe Japan carries strange secrets of its own.... That I can easily sense....."
Takashi said nothing out of respect, but it was out of habit that he tensed a little despite Kitana’s words as she drew the sword. He was not as of yet capable of hiding that much of himself, nor able to fully relax around people at the time. But this Q’ui was something to be admired, certainly . . . Such red metal! He murmured something under his breath in surprise. This was the stuff of the very old tales Kitana spoke of! And, to guess at her words further, being of this Al’Rein bloodline made her unique in wielding it, though what that had to do with the sword itself was beyond him. Nonetheless, it didn’t take a genius to figure out that this was no ordinary traveler, nor an ordinary story behind her. “An enchanted weapon to be sure,” he commented after a time of viewing the strange sword. “Your people have intriguing methods of blacksmithing, Kitana-san, to have something that can hold fire.” If he could just learn the possibilities open to metalworking, maybe that would help establish his place in the ANBU.
Smiling gently, Kitana nodded in turn before sheathing back her sword. "Interesting blacksmithing indeed young one.... Sadly I don't know too much about how such weapons are born.... There are folklores and legends about it, but many of the stories end in great sadness" she commentated as she let out a brief sigh. Breathing in deeply, she eyed Takashi a little closer, and pondered about his thoughts for a bit. "You're very observant for one so young. I can see you will grow on to learn many things... Q'ui has even taken a liking to you!" Turning to look at the humming sword, she lifted up the sheathed sword towards Takashi and asked, "Would you like to feel its aura? Maybe you might be able to figure out one of our legends... All you have to do is place your hand on it."
Oh even better! Now the sword liked him; whatever that meant. Takashi blinked, confused by her offer before reaching out slowly to take hold of the sheath (that was what she meant by “feeling it’s aura” right?), though as he did so not once did his eyes leave Kitana’s. If this proved to be some sort of foreigner’s trick, he would be ready. Perhaps the sword would explode if it indeed held firepower, or perhaps it didn’t and she would simply strike at his extended arm after a swift unsheathing – the mere thought of this had those particular muscles tensing, ready to spring back if needed. Kind words or not, he was not the trusting sort. “And how would touching it let me know?” Takashi asked skeptically as he felt the need to, despite evidence that this was hardly an ordinary situation bound by ordinary rules. “Does it speak as well as hold fire?”
Tilting her head slightly, she shook her head, "Well young one.... from what I told you, this sword can hum, speak to me, control an element, and our folklore states the making of these swords more than likely have an origin of sadness. So what do you think? Is this object more than just a sword or refined blacksmithing.... or can an object hold a spirit, soul, emotions...." Sliding her hand across the sword once, she looked back at Takashi, and wondered if he would now place his hand on the sword. What may happen could range from a foresight of a future, events of a past long ago, or bringing up emotions that are buried in a person's heart. Overall, a truth or a possible truth may be revealed.
His hand hovered over the sheath – such an innocent looking thing now turned suspicious. Again, Takashi didn’t like to believe in magic, nor did he like to associate with its so-called practitioners or any of the sort; diviners, fortune tellers, tarot card readers, the whole empty lot of them (as he believed). This, however, was strangely different in that. How odd that she spoke words he could agree with, that a cat could easily be defined by his weapon, that the weapon itself spoke a lot without ever uttering a word. And that yes, even a simple sword could be filled with emotions and memories, a soul of its own wrought in iron or steel . . . A being that was more understandable to him than any living creature. Takashi’s ears twitched as if hearing the distant sounds of battle, of two metal objects clanging over and over in a desperate echo of a bell, the scent of their iron strikingly similar to blood – and his fingers twitched before he laid them at last upon the sheath, bracing himself for what may come.
Eying the Korat most interestingly, she slowly took away her sheathed sword, and stepped back a bit. "Alright young one... I think you've had enough of my strange tales for one day..." she said quietly, not truly knowing how Takashi was feeling with his meeting of destiny. "I hope the sword didn't startle you too much... it's never Q'ui's intent..." Moving her head sideways, small popping sounds could be heard as she stretched, feeling pretty at home, despite the Korat being near her. Whether he still was weary about her or not, she was feeling fond of him as he was young, and a curious being, a trait she always liked seeing in the younger generation.
If anything else, moving the sword away from him startled him a bit more – as if he was expecting the weapon’s hidden liveliness would manifest itself fully. He blinked slowly once, then straightened his startled features once more into the smooth expression he always wore, turning his bright green gaze back to Kitana. “Not at all,” he replied, dropping his hand. “I am unused to thinking of a weapon being capable of thought. Forgive my hesitation.” He bowed his head. “As well as for interrupting your musings previously. When I am focused upon something, the world around me melts away, and I grow less aware of the disruptions I cause for others. If you must be on your way, do not let me hold you.”
Holding her hand up, she shook her head, "Oh not to worries young one, you have been a joy to my day. An unexpected joy, but lovely nevertheless" she said smiling at him calmly. "As sad as farewells may be for me, I should be on my way as a day does not last forever." Bowing in return, she figured Takeshi was not one for close parameter hugs or physical good byes. Maybe one day, should they meet again. Flashing a wink at Takeshi, she fixed her cloak to conceal her precious Q'ui, and tossed a playful peace sign at him. "May the light always be with you. Until we meet again young one! " she said formerly, before being on her way yet again.
A . . . joy? So she was content to watch him renew his bafflement and suspicion of magic? What a strange woman. As Kitana turned, he lifted his hand up again, copying the peace sign with a curious frown as he glanced at his own fingers. “Wakarimasen,” he mumbled to himself before turning to see Kitana already leaving. Forgoing the bow since she was not watching, Takashi merely called to her in return, “Sayōnara, Kitana-san, and may you find Ikebokuro pleasurable.” With that, he clambered back up into his tree with great dexterity, still making the peace sign gesture several times to try and decipher its meaning.
Free Collars Kingdom Guild
