Come Dreamwalk With Me 6 (Open Log. WIDE OPEN)

[curious_copycat]

Who: Polly (curious_copycat )
What: Nocturnal Telepathic Shenanigans, Random CR, Drama, Exposition, Crack, Surreal Shite, Whatever You Want.
Where: In Your Head
When: Tonight. (But latecomers and backtagging are always welcome.)
Warnings: They're dreams. Anything--absolutely anything--can happen. Not even the laws of physics apply.
Notes: Dreamers start the threads

Comments

FFF wittle ickle Genkaku

[cookiecastle]

[There's slight shift in the surroundings as Genkaku sits there. Suddenly the steps the boy is sitting on are facing an absurdly long and steep stairway cut into a thickly forested mountainside. Humid air reverberates here and there with the buzzing of late cicadas hidden their trees. Whishiwhishwhishwhisssssshhhhhhhzzzzzzzz... and then their call fizzles out as if they are too tired to bother singing in this oppressive heat.]

[At first is sounds like cicadas, then perhaps leaves? But no wind is stirring the trees, so that can't be it. No, it's softer... the beating of hundreds of pairs of slick wings. Sure enough, there's an impact of spiritual pressure from somewhere below, and a murder of crows rushes up the mountain towards Genkaku, seeing the safety of the temple's eaves.]

[Not far behind is a fifteen-year old stripped to the waist, running as hard as he can to catch up with those birds, and strangely enough he's able to do a decent job of it too.]

[fuckingslivers]

[ there's a fall of feathers around him that he doesn't look at, the soft edges dripping down into ink that stains his bandages and soaks the already black of his robes even darker and rubs into the fresh, broken callouses of his hands ]

[ his mouth is a tight line as he frowns down, not greeting the stranger when he rises, but doing his best to look as small and unseen as possible ]

[ he's adorned in familiar clothing, the disciple realizes, but he hasn't seen him around - his shrine doesn't house any children but himself ]

[cookiecastle]

KEEEEEEEEEEEEETSU!

[Not seeing Genkaku yet as he's focused on his task, Yoshimori leaps from near-invisible box to near-invisible box up the mountain. He flings a mudra around, and more boxes appear at his finger flicks. Box-box-box-box, rapid-fire kekkai sprout in the air as he tries to catch all of those birds.]

[But crows being what they are, they craftily dodge from side to side, speeding up and slowing down, avoiding the kekkai as it forms.]

[And now they've nearly reached the temple, and Yoshimori snags just a few! His kekkai closes around them and they stay there, as if caught in a floating cubical glass birdcage. The rest of the birds are safely hiding above Genkaku's head, and cawing away about it as if amused.]

[Yoshimori himself hops down from high in the sky to the dirt below like it was nothing, leaning over to wheeze for his breath.]

Gah!!! I'll get you guys eventually, you just wait!

[cookiecastle]

[It's then that Yoshimori visibly notices the other boy, and he blinks, equal parts embarrassed and surprised.]

Uh.... hey....

The uh. I thought there wasn't nobody back here.

[fuckingslivers]

[ he hadn't done a well enough job of hiding himself, then -- he looks uncomfortable under being spoken to, the native foreigner's presence almost seeming downright scary to him ]

[ one of the ravens is in his hands, unafraid of the demure boy and the approaching captor, claws sprawling over the bandaged wounds on his arms ]

[ he says nothing at first, and then there's the quiet ramble of an apology; ]

I'm sorry, I probably shouldn't be while you're... training.

[cookiecastle]

[Yoshimori blushes and rubs his hair, letting out a rueful chuckle]

Nah, it's okay! Just kinda 'mbarrssing. I'm all yellin' an' stuff all retarded-like.

[He notices the way the other boy is looking away and cringing a little in on himself, and adds quickly] Er..... did I bother you?

[fuckingslivers]

[ he shakes his head demurely, but it doesn't really answer the question: to be 'bothered' one must be doing something, after all ]

[ Genkaku was just sitting, staring, bleeding ]

[ he looks down at the path the newcomer to the dream had displayed, and down there looks so green and vibrant compared to his desolate, dilapidated shrine, cold grey and trimmed in gold statues that smile no life in their carved faces ]

What's down there?

[cookiecastle]

Houses. My family's house's right there...

[He points to a too-heavy formal black roof topping an otherwise pretty white house, with a big back garden. The sound of a few children playing tag floats up to them on the breeze, and a dog barking merrily.]

Other kids. School. Lots of stuff.

What's up here? [Yoshimori nods at the ominous shrine, his eyes scanning the premises for signs of life.]

[fuckingslivers]

[ it looks nice. it sounds nice, even smells nice, as if happiness had a scent that could just waft up towards him and leave him with pangs in the gut that have nothing to do with hunger ]

[ his vision jerks away uncertainly at the portrait of The Below, mouth quivering tightly ]

[ that fanatical world looks so fantastical ]

Worship.

[ a snake slithers over Yoshimori's foot, as if searching for the eggs the crows may have lain ]

...The Old Priest is in, if you need to see him.

[cookiecastle]

That sounds pretty boring-- nah, I don't need to see him, I'd rather talk to you. Oh wow, there's snakes here?!

[Yoshimori backs up a little to give the creature space to do its thing, and gets down on his knees to watch it, with obvious interest. He lowers his voice to a soft whisper so as not to scare the snake away.]

That is soooo cool. It it your pet? I wonder what it eats!

[fuckingslivers]

[ he definitely slips into a shell-shocked silence; no one's ever wanted to just "talk" to him, and no one's certainly ever not wanted to kill the creature he saw harming no one ]

[ slipping off the steps and dropping to his knees, he reaches out to stroke the snake's long skin as it slithers by ]

...Other animals. Small ones, like mice.

[ but not cats -- for that, Genkaku is grateful ]

It's not mine. You can't own something like this...

[cookiecastle]

Would he eat chicken? I bet we have some raw chicken in the fridge at home.

[He tilts his head to the side, watching the other boy pet the snake with a wistful smile.]

Aww, I wanna pet him! He looks so sleek. Or, wait-- is he only cool with you doing that.

[fuckingslivers]

[ truthfully, he doesn't know. Genkaku's plate only consists of the smallest portions of the offering bowls, and that certainly never means the main course ]

I don't think it would mind.

[ the placement of the pronoun remains firm; he tries with an abstract desperation to keep himself distant, should the old priest catch him ]

[ in picking the serpent up by the belly, he lays the creature across Yoshimori's knees ]

[cookiecastle]

[In rapt silence, Yoshimori tries touching the snake with one finger, very, very lightly.]

[Wooooooooooooow this is amazing! the excited glint in his eyes and the bright flash of his teeth are clearly saying. He talks very softly]

Hey there li'l fella. Hi... wow, you're so smooth.

[fuckingslivers]

[ Genkaku pulls away and sits solemnly on the steps, watching ]

[ after a long draw of silence, he murmurs; ]

Can you take him back with you?

[ he doesn't want to have to kill him, and for that reason alone he will indulge in this mundane selfishness ]

[cookiecastle]

A' course I can, but. Why, you don't wanna keep him here?

[Yoshimori eyes the boy's wounds, but somehow gets the impression that drawing attention to them would scare him away. He looks frail, and his tiny nose and chin make him seem flighty. It reminds Yoshimori of a baby bird he stopped a neighbor's cat from tormenting once. Bare skin, delicate limbs, and needy eyes.]