The Day of Thunder

[Saru Shang]

Shang would nod quietly regarding the origins of the water. At first, she assumed the worst, like there was a curse placed on the water after a tragic event. Perhaps the drowning of two lovers or some battlefield massacre. However, due to the questionable nature of this place, the water running through a certain cave might have been just as bad.

She would look between the Otomo and Tae-soo for his response on the baku. The Scorpion might have more spiritual insight on the matter.

[Otomo Akutou]

Snap

Snip

Akutou has no reservations about divulging the information, and says first, "Yeah, that cave's a solid lode o' dreamstone. Can't run water through it without expectin' there'll be trouble."

He goes on. "But I ain't no priest or nothin'. I don't think Goju'r Kai're priestly types, though, and I know I damn sure ain't one. Ain't bright 'nough f'r it. Still ain't sure it were a baku, neither. Still ain't rightly sure what a baku is."

[Haka Tae-soo]

Snip

Tae-soo wasn't sure what a Baku was either. But then there were many things he'd seen and called by other names, so it might be something he'd seen before? Talking animals, though, that sounded like a Spirit Caller thing...

"Huh. So... you'd never spoken to an animal before then, ne?" Furrowed brows. "And it's not an animal from this region..." He shakes his head. "With all the dreams spilling over into this place... could you and the others have been dreaming, maybe?"

[Saru Shang]

"It wouldn't be the first time we've found ourselves in a strange place after waking up," she murmured as she thought back as her eyes found themselves being drawn to the sight of the water rippling by. "But if you're saying that has implications after we've really woken up or think we've woken up...that's going to be saying a lot."

[Haka Tae-soo]

Snip

He takes his hand to his chin for a while, then unwittingly finds himself following her gaze and focusing on the ripples along the river.

"I... can't say I'm sure. But the things some have mentioned would suggest things some overlap between the waking world and the not waking world here. And even..."

The needle-fingered image from a few days back came immediately to his mind.

"Have any of you seen anything strange during the nights here? Not the strange dreams, but after waking up, as Saru Shang-nim says" He looks back at them. "Maybe this baku could be something of the kind? Walking out from dreams into the forest? Or... maybe an animal affected by dreams, and now able to talk?"

He seemed rather unsure as well, but he'd seen and heard all kinds of stories...

[Otomo Akutou]

"I don't b'lieve we was dreamin' at that point, no," Akutou says. "Though it mighta been somethin' as crept out fr'm one o' th' less happy dreams folks've been havin', recently.

"But I've talked to animals, yeah. Just ain't had any answer back at me in words I c'ld un'erstan'. Fig'red anythin' as could answer back ain't somethin' I wanna eat."

Then Akutou considers Tae-soo's follow-up.

"It ain't like what all I saw. That was some millstone-lookin' body. But it might be th' case f'r somebody else's dreams."

He shrugs.

"Eludes me."

[Saru Shang]

"This sounds rather too outlandish to be true but we're already acknowledging that our dreams aren't exactly normal and baku may walk freely among us. I don't know how the barriers between worlds work but it seems to make sense that something would end up crossing over from the otherwise with things being muddled up," she shrugged, speaking as someone who had no knowledge of the realms. She didn't know if it was likely or possible but it didn't sound wrong either.

"Just the other day, I was visiting the headwoman's home with Reiko Ohta where we uncovered," she frowned momentarily as she thought back, "...not a lot of details. Ultimately, there were heterodoxy members of the Isawa Family who were intending to find something in the realm of dreams."

[Otomo Akutou]

Akutou shakes his head.

"This's why I stick t' huntin'," he says. "Much simpler. Also puts food on th' table."