Welcome to Gaia! ::

It was late evening and the moon hung high in the sky. Tamotsu lay just inside the shrine entrance, past the torii and stone steps that led up to the grassy meadow where the inner buildings lay behind him. He felt good sprawled out on the cool grass that swayed in the night breeze. After a long days work of trying his best to fix the place up and continue his ceremonial duties he had almost given up. He had grown oh-so-very lonely taking care of the place, but it was his special, sacred duty. He had to do it, whether he liked it or not. Though that wasn’t to say he didn’t enjoy it, because he did. It was just growing harder with no human hands to aid him. With all the other priests that had once cared for him, deceased, and no on stopping by, there was little he could do. But one day, Celebi would surely come and visit him. He prayed every day to at least see the Legendary, if even for a moment. Perhaps Celebi would know what to do.

Quietly he walked over and re-lit a stone lantern that was about to go out. They lined the pathway to the first building. Sighing, he gazed up at the stars and wished once again for a visitor. Perhaps he should head inside and pray. He didn’t care who the visitor would be anymore. As long as they had no ill will, he would be fine with that. He just simply wanted someone to talk to.

He nodded to himself as he walked back toward his home. He'd crawl into his futon and curl up for another night of dreams of the good old days. At least that gave him a glimmer of warmth and hope in his heart. As he turned to leave, he paused for just a moment though. His ears flicked in the direction of the shrine entrance. Had he heard something? Or was his mind playing tricks on him?

As if Arceus had answered Tamo’s call, a voice permeated the silence. It asked if anyone was there. And then suddenly a human had appeared. Or that’s what Tamo thought at first. But upon taking a second, and then third look he realized he was looking at something all together different. Was that a pokemon in human form. It gave off the similar essence of a being that Tamotsu had met long long ago when he was just a baby vulpix and the shrine had just been built. It was most definitely a Celebi. Just like the celebi that had visited so often long ago. Tamo had often wondered what had happened to the Celebi from long ago, but it seemed no one knew for sure. Perhaps they were simply caught up traveling through time? Either way, Tamo was overjoyed to finally have companionship. And on top of that, his new companion had brought food! Something Tamo saw rarely. He left the Shrine on rare occasions to gather berries when the offerings and food stuffs had run out. But he didn’t like to leave the shrine unattended so he never left for very long. His stomach rumbled, and he licked his lips hungrily. But he did not want to embarrass himself in front of such a special guest. He had to honor Celebi of course, that had to come first!

Finally Tamotsu opened his mouth to speak, “Oh you’ve finally come! I’m so glad!” He had tears of joy in his eyes. “You seem human, but you’re a celebi are you not?” he questioned, trying his best to still be polite. “You seem like one that is. Er…what I meant was…” but he trailed off when his stomach growled again. “Oh dear. Well I…..I am hungry though.” His tails waged happily in the air. “I would be pleased to except your offering of cookies.”

Tamo was overjoyed. Celebi didn’t really need to make an offering to the Shrine, as the shrine was to him. But Tamo wouldn’t turn him down. He was being so generous and Tamo hadn’t received a donation in ages. Plus it was cookies. The priests had occasionally given Tamo cookies as treats. He recalled them as being very delicious. Kurou’s cookies were especially delicious. Oh how Tamotsu missed that priest; probably the most of all the priests as they had grown the closest, and on top of htat Kurou had given Tamo his firestone to evolve just before his passing.

Tamo shook that thought from his mind though. What mattered now was entertaining his guest, and being a good host. “Oh, my name it Tamotsu, but you may call my Tamo or anything else really. I’m just so ecstatic that you would finally come to my Shrine.” He smiled and offered a friendly paw to the Celebi boy. “What might your name be, oh traveler of time?”

Tamotsu wondered why this celebi looked human, but he wouldn’t question him. He was just overjoyed at having a new friend. When Brenny said Tamo looked thin, he gave a little sigh though. He’d been living off berries for far too long it seemed. He needed real food, and he was fighting the urge to just scarf up all the cookies. But then he was embraced by Brenny and he felt a calm, soothing feeling. Brenny stroked his back and Tamo nearly purred like a content kitten. He blushed at this, and couldn’t believe that the Celebi didn’t know this Shrine was in fact for him.

Brenny seemed so happy that ‘Tammy’ was expecting him as well. He even scattered the cookies in glee, and Tamotsu felt obligated then to inform him of what this shrine was all about. So he would try to explain while politely nibbling cookies. “Well this is a Shrine for Celebis,” Tamo began, blushing again, thinking about his new nickname. “It’s in honor of you of course. So I was very surprised that you came to visit this evening. It’s been awhile since I’ve had visitors…..” he trailed off, looking sad. “This place is……well to put it simply, it’s falling apart. No one comes to visit anymore. So it makes me really happy that you would come and drop-in on me.”

He was seriously thankful. He just didn’t know how to thank Brenny. “Is there……anything I can do for you?” He questioned, nibbling more on the delicious cookies. “Mmmm these are wonderful. Thank you so much.” He beamed and bowed again, his hat nearly falling off. “I would love it if there was something I could do to please my new friend in return.”

What was the Shrine’s purpose? “Well it’s to honor the time-traveling pokemon, er you, of course. You are special. Every pokemon and even every human is special. Everyone has unique dreams and desires in their hearts. It’s not always about what we have or what we don’t have. So don’t let that worry you.” He patted Brenny on the back with his paw and curled his long tails around the celebi protectively.

But at the mention of Brenny’s family not approving of the shrine being to him, Tamo was a little concerned. He didn’t want Brenny’s family and friends to worry about him, so he decided he would keep the shrine’s true purpose a secret. “I promise. I won’t tell. You are my new best friend after all. And we can still work on rebuilding it together." Tamo would keep it a secret forever if it meant making Brenny happy.

Tamo was very happy that Brenny had a lot of friends though. Perhaps the shrine would soon be visited by more and more people and pokemon alike. Tonight was like a dream come true for Tamotsu. He couldn’t be happier.

"It's getting late though..." Tamo said, gazing up at the sky. "Are you tired at all? I can make a bed for you if you wish to stay the night."

Tamo was delighted that they agreed that pokemon and humans were special! That was wonderful! Tammy liked Brenny and wanted his father and friends to approve of him. “Don’t worry,” he replied. “I think I understand. And more than anything I want my new friend to be happy! That is my wish!”

He beamed back at the celebi and listened to what else he had to say. “It’s a shame you can’t stay, but I don’t want your father to be worried,” he added. “But do you have to leave right away? Or can I show you around first?” he questioned, nervously pawing at the ground, wondering if his new friend was about to go so soon. He wanted to keep talking, but he didn’t want Brenny to get in trouble.

“If you have to leave, you promised to come back tomorrow. I can show you around more then as well, so don’t feel pressured to stay now,” He began, tails blowing in the soft breeze, tickling Brenny. He wondered if the celebi would stay just a bit longer….

Tamo was excited that his new friend would stay just a bit longer. Surely Brenny’s family would be understanding and he wouldn’t get in trouble for being out late. "Yup, this was all made in honor of celebi. And...of course we can share," he added.

“Sure I can tell you about the Shrine." First Tamo would tell him about the Shrine's origin. "There are lots of stories,” Tamo added, leading Brenny over to the pond where the ninetails often fed his fishy friends

”Let’s see, a long long time ago,” he began, “…when I was just a vulpix, a celebi used to come and play with me in the forest. We became very good friends. And then one day humans arrived! It was a bit scary at first, but it turns out they were very nice. They came and built a house. They befriended us.” Tamo smiled, tails wagging at the happy thoughts. “The human children would come and play and bring treats. But one day…..”

Tammy’s happiness slowly seemed to dissolve as he remembered what had happened.

One day we were playing in the leaves and celebi waved a leaf in in front of my face. My nose itched and itched, and it caused me to sneeze and out came a flame. The house… it… it…” Tamo sniffled, tearing up. “It was ……my fault…” He sighed. But he didn’t end his story there. It would be too sad a tale if that's how it ended.

“There is a happy ending to my tale though…” Tamo replied, shaking his head free of depressing thoughts. “You see, Celebi wanted to help me. She was so sad seeing me upset like that. She decided she would go back in time and prevent me from sneezing. Which is exactly what she did,” Tamo said with a smile.

“And when she returned, the house had magically changed right before my eyes. It was back to normal! I was so happy! And when the humans realized what celebi had done for them, they wanted to thank her. And so they added on to the house and made it a shrine. And priests came to live here. They are the ones who named me.”

“And that’s how this place became a shrine.” He gave a sage nod, and grinned at Brenny. “If it weren’t for celebi, I’d have been in a real pickle. So I’ve always been extremely grateful. Though after some years she seemed to vanish. I’ve always wondered.... what ever could have happened to her. “

Tamo had thought about it over and over again, and he wasn’t entirely sure. He dipped a paw in the pond and swirled the water around. Some fish came to nibble at Tamo and he shook his head once more as if clearing his thoughts. “I’m sure she’s fine though. Probably off exploring time. Hmm,” he paused.

“Now that I’ve told you a little about me, would you like to tell me a little more about you? I’m curious about your life and family. It sounds nice.”

Tammy smiled, “This is true. And I’m sure she’s fine.” He wrapped his tails around Brenny as the child hugged him.

A look of concern passed across the ninetails' face as Brenny mentioned being abandoned. Tammy pulled Brenny closer with his tails and 'hugged' him. Though Brenny seemed happy with his new family, so Tammy decided not to press the issue too much. As long as Brenny was happy, that's what mattered.

Tammy’s smile grew even wider as he listened to the celebi boy tell him about his family. “They all sound simply wonderful!”

He blushed when Brenny added that Tammy was now part of his family too. “R-really?” he asked. This made him very happy! “Thank you!” The look on Tammy’s face was one of joy and enthusiasm. He finally had a family again! His tails wagged with joy.

“I want to properly thank you. So when you return I’ll have a special gift for you.” He had heard Brenny say he liked berries, and that was one thing that Tammy could get a hold of. Perhaps Brenny would like a basket of freshly picked berries as his present. It was the least Tammy could do.

“M-maybe even, one day, I could take a trip with you to meet your relatives?” he asked. He hoped he wasn’t being too forward “The more the merrier, they say.” And he'd never left the forested area outside the shrine in ages. Surely they would have a good time.

“Amazing!” Tammy said in awe, his tails wagging. Families were such wonderful things. Knowing this, he truthfully was slightly disappointed that he could not stay with Brenny. But he knew that there was limited space in smaller homes than his. Plus, Brenny had promised to return. He nodded, simply happy with the idea that he would seeing Brenny again.

“Oh it’s no trouble at all,” he replied when the celebi stated that a gift was unnecessary. Tammy had a feeling that berries would make Brenny happy. So he would do his best to gather some before the next day. He was even more delighted when his new friend mentioned bringing something for him in return. "Oh why thank you! You're very kind!"

He was a little worried though. It was getting later by the minute. Soon Brenny would have to leave, and he thought it might be unsafe for Brenny to be walking around unaccompanied. He glanced around as if trying to make a decision. He really didn’t want to come off as clingy, but he wanted to at least have someone walk Brenny part of the way home that evening if possible.

“Um Brenny, is there someone you can call to walk you home tonight? I don’t want you wandering around alone.” He frowned, acting like a protective mother.

((meep! I wasn't sure what else should happen next. xD orz; We can probably end this rp soon and start a new one maybe? Brenny can bring friends to the shrine if he wants. xD Or whatever you like really? Or if you want Tammy to visit Brenny's home sometime. xD Or maybe Tammy will try and hold a festival at some point *tries to think of ideas*. ouo ))