The Day of Thunder

As the talk moved towards the thunders, another set of footsteps began to pad their way towards the two. There was a woman in monastic robes, simple and plain, finishing off a small rice ball as she walked. She hadn't overheard anything, but as she saw the two of them, her eyes briefly widened and s...

She nodded. "No rest for the wicked," she muttered, not adding anything about Mayumi. It was a sore spot, even if she refused to admit it. But, knowing that Crow would be with helped. "It was good chatting and catching up. You know how to find me." Giving him a nod, she lifted up from the tree and m...

snip snip She snorted and then chuckled. "When people let fool notions like romance and love get into their head, they'll get themselves up to all sorts of craziness. They'll find a path soon enough, don't worry. Most folks do eventually." She didn't even bother to give Sora the warning look. Oh sh...

"Does anything? Starvation, potential murder, nightmare creatures, literally," he said, waving a hand. "Nothing stops that kid when he gets an idea in his head." He got up and stretched. "By the way... That kid probably already told you where she's going. Once we're out of here, I'll be off to look...

snip She gave him a knowing grin and winked at both he and Reo. "I'll have you know my joints aren't creaking or popping quite yet." There might have been the slightest of fibs in that statement. "But I think everyone here's bound to have a few dangerous hobbies. We don't end up waiting on a man wh...

She smirked a little. "He actually made me behave a bit more in the end. One of us had to." The truth of that statement was perhaps the most terrifying part of things, given that she'd been basically an assassin in the old days. Still, she played nice these days, right up until she had to pull the t...

snip "Of course you count, you went South with us, after all! Far as becoming obsolete goes, I doubt that any of your students would agree with you on that. Everything they know is built on what you taught 'em." Another monk padded her way into the assemblage of her betters, her eyes locking with S...

She grunted. "Yeah, they're going to walk their own path. I know better than to force that." It never ended well, and she'd had enough experience to know that there was no point in trying to do that. It could definitely have really bad endings. She just wasn't naturally a trusting sort, even with th...

"And chief among those will probably be a certain bodyguard turned librarian. I'm going to have to watch that old man to make sure he's still around to annoy his grandchildren afterwards." She wasn't actually saying it, but she didn't know that Sora needed to be charging into the mouth of hell a sec...

The cogs were starting to turn in her head. Purification rituals and the fact that this was all very small-scale compared to the rest of the empire. There was something about this that Shinsei was wanting to duplicate, or to tap into. Perhaps there was something about this place that held power or a...

She snickered. "And that? Is why I don't come up with the pithy little sayings. You're right, of course." About the lions anyway. She should have said something about tigers and stripes, but ah well. "Oh well. That's not my strong point, and we know it." She rumbled and reached up to scratch her chi...

"Everyone's got a place." She didn't have to like it, but that was her place. Mentor and teacher to the heir and the thunders. She was accepting of it, but she hated feeling useless in the face of the coming darkness. But that line? Well that made her snort again, made her wonder. Was he being circu...

"I miss his laughs." She sounded a little sad, the edges of the emotion there. It was almost present. "Bah. My daughter once said my attachments would be the end of me. With any luck, he'll be laughing again one day. After this is over. I don't know if there's such a thing as better or worse. Either...

"What? When did he stop being a skinny hobo?" She laughed a little, sighing as she did. She could never say something like that with almost anyone else. She might not even risk it with Sora around. But right here and now? No, she knew he'd understand. Her gaze turned in the same direction. "You're r...

She considered that for a moment. Matsu was probably here, which gave her both a momentary thought of pride and pleasure at seeing an old friend. It also came with a quake, knowing the risk. But it also brought another thought to her mind. "The last time a person who could be the thunder was known, ...

"You know that if he's keeping it from both of us? It's almost certainly bad." The last time that he'd been keeping this many secrets, they had gone to hell. Actually, this was worse than then. "I would probably do something incredibly foolish if I knew what he intended. Part of me wants to do somet...

She chuckled a little bit. "Oh, that one. I think I saw him while we traveled north," she admitted. "Give him time. Humility is the hardest lesson of all to learn." At least it was for some. But, it could be the most enjoyable to watch as someone experienced it, as long as you weren't the one who ha...

"..." She snorted out a laugh and turned to lean against the tree, sighing a little. "Well, yes. I think if you were to land on my shoulder, we might just have ourselves a little accident. So a tree branch certainly seems like a sensible choice." Her demeanor started to relax visibly and she looked ...

"Mmmm?" she rumbled out curiously, starting to walk towards the tree where the rustling of leaves could be seen. "Maybe it has been. Time starts to blend together after a while." The voice was ... tickling her mind, which always made the surly part of her want to come out. Old memories could be good...

Her head turned in the direction of the ringing sound, eyebrow raising. That could have been an exorcist's staff couldn't it? Well, it could have been a lot of things. Letting herself release a little bit of a cough and clearing of her throat, she made the sound to get their attention, rather than s...