2023.06.25 Sanctimonious Trust
| 2023.06.25 Sanctimonious Trust | |
|---|---|
| Shinju and Levi have a heart-to-unbeating-heart in the shrine and discuss future plans | |
| IC Date | 2023.06.25 |
| IC Time | Night |
| Players | Shinju, Levi |
| Location | Shangye Shinsha |
| Spheres | Mage, Kuei-jin |
After the... interesting time at the bath... Shinju took the opporunity to bring back Levi to the shrine while the others were whisked away for business. Upon slipping into the building, Shinju takes a long swig from her gourd and lets out a looong sigh. `Urgh... I've had just about enough political talk.`
Levi hadn't pressed the priestess once the others left, giving her the space she seemed to prefer to keeping it casual banter, amiable enough when a change of local is suggested. Once the statement on 'politics' is made she just laughs and makes a grabby hands motion. "Thirsty." she states, despite the fact that actual 'thirst' beyond that for Chi was an impossibility for her. "I try not to talk it with Hannah. I'll refrain from it with you, too, if you have no taste for the subject.." she says with a half grin.
`Thirsty.` Shinju repeats, glancing back over her shoulder and holding out the drink to offer it. `If I remember right, you mentioned you didn't like the politics either... now it's about who you're with? I don't blame you for not talking about it with -her-... barbarians this, barbarians that, but who -do- you like talking about it with then?`
"I do not have many.... Political peers..." She says with a thin smirk, taking the offered container and taking a deep swig without even giving it a sniff to see what it was. "Between us? Hannah and I are technically political foes.. Is she understood the truth of my views and 'allegiances' she would almost certainly report me to the Court in LA which she so eagerly serves at the feet of...And I would likely be branded Akuma, outcast, and quite possibly hunted should they take a true interest in establishing a slice of tyranny here in prospect."
`Hm.` The priestess says, turning around to view Levi more fully. `Wonder what it'd take for them to hunt me down too, eh? But I wonder just what it is that'd get you so burned about your 'allegiances and 'views'. Your seeming lack of wanting to go along with the 'we're totally inhuman and gotta hurt people' mentality?`
She shakes her head slowly. "I can trust you, yes? To keep this between us." She says, pausing long enough for a confirmation before she continues. "There are various factions within the various courts... I belong to one who does not respect the authority of the system that has been imposed upon us by molding ancestors and scheaming mandarins. A group that seeks to modernize the antiquated court system, to loosen the reigns of the ancients, to integrate new ideas into our culture.. The Bamboo Princes, is the name given to us. Though 'us' is a hard term. It is more of a loosely aligned cluster of cells and individuals with divergent views that can mostly all agree on one thing....We will never be free in the current system."
<---======##====================[ Dice Roll ]=====================##======---> Shinju rolls Perception(3) + Intuition(5) (8 dice) vs 5 for 5 successes. 1 3 +5 +5 +5 +6 +9 9 <-------------=============++++++++++++++++++++++++=============------------->
Shinju takes the bottle of sake back and sets it on the visitor reception counter. She stays silent, leaning back against the same counter as she listens to Levi's words with narrow eyes. `Now... I can tell from a mile away when someone is bullshitting me or hiding somethin'... and you ain't bullshitting me. That's worth something... so I'll tell you something too. Hannah came to me asking if I could make somwthing for her... something that would restrain her P'o so she could dive heardfirst into yang without going crazy. I humored her, for a bit... restraining demonsisn't something I'd immediately say no to. But, in return, I asked she take her boot-licking attitude to her elders and see if she could find some of the old knowledge they hoard. Of course, she gave a bunch of excuses why she wouldn't... even something small.` Shinju finally gives a grin. `So... guess we're on the same page more than you thought, huh?`
When Shinju speaks of what Hannah asked for Levi looks for just a moment shocked, and then disgusted. "What a vulgar request...To seek such shortcuts.. She'd find herself consumed in her imbalance in a scant decade.." She says shaking her head slowly. "...Besides, I think you're still on back order as far as 'crafts' go, hm?" She says with a thin smirk. "She is a /dog/ of the courts...I try to look past it. She knows better than to talk about it around me, if only by the disgusted looks I give her and the few peeks of my true feelings I've given.." She sighs, shaking her head slowly. "...I also assume it is understood that you not breath a word about anything i've taught you, or may teach you, about our kind, yes? There would certainly be fallout, possibly of the violent kind.
Shinju leans her head back. `Shortcuts... shortcuts are only bad if they teach you nothing. But taking the time to find a way around a path of garbage is just bein' -smart-. In this case... the shortcut's around a path of blood. That's what you've backordered, eh?` Then, she pulls away from her perch, gesturing Levi to follow. `I'm just a priestess who hangs around too many walking corpses. The only thing I appear as is -smart-. Now come on, there's something I gotta... show you.`
"The shortcut she seeks would leave her unable to confront herself if ever the need arose. But it is little of my concern..." She says with a shrug and then gives a little sigh. "I have no illusions that you will be able to produce something to fully sustain me...But every little bit helps. As it stands I have.." She trails off, eyes shifting down and voice dropping slightly. "No one but you. That I can go to, less I resort to hunting the unwitting." She follows after the priestess into the basement, saying no more and keeping her eyes and ears open.
As they come down into the familiar sanctuary, Shinju comes to a stop by the table, turning back to Levi. `You think I'm going through all this effort just to make you a little -snack-? No, you need chi... you're not capable of directly absorbing it from things... so you gotta wallow in blood. I'm cutting out that middleman.` Then, she steps over to the shoji, running her fingers along the paper wall panels. `When I saw you do that ritual... and asked for your help. There was somethin' else I was thinking of. I don't blame you for doubting me being able to sustain you, but... it all ties together. What I'm about to show you should explain all that... and is something that'll definitely equal the trust you gave me to not go blabbin'.`
Levi looks...Skeptical, but curious, head tilting up slightly as she regards the priestess with a narrow but not unfriendly look. "..Alright, consider me interested." She says with a cautious smile as she follows along, hands slipping behind her back to clasp together there as she waits with what would be bated breath if she needed to breath past the facade of the rise and fall of her chest.
`I'd say to sit down, but you gotta walk to get to it.` Shinju says, bringing her fingers behind the seam of one of the panels. With a tug, it slides around... revealing a large set of double doors and the carved earth the room's built into. The doors are made of very old looking wood... faded designs painted onto it covered by many more hanging paper and silk charms that look newer. Shinju pulls a large golden key out of her kimono, unlocking it, and opens it for Levi to go through. `...take it slow now.`
Levi physically winces as she steps through that tunnel. She can feel the power in the air before she can see anything, but once she exits through that sprawling mouth and into the shrine proper she stands in silent awe, emotions raw and naked, easy to read. "Its beautiful." She says softly after a few minutes of just standing and staring. "Its...Its so potent.. I can feel it on my skin. In my bones.."
Shinju walks beside Levi as they move through the passageway... stopping once at the mouth to let Levi take it in in silence for some time. `Good... you should. Means you're not so hopelessly disconnected from the world... this is the true power of the shrine. Go on... take a step in.`
She nods slowly. "I could look further, beyond the wall...But I would rather prepare myself mentally before i do that." She says softly, licking her lips as she takes a slow step in, turning in a slow circle as she does to take the place in. She just drifts around for quite some time if left uninterrupted. Not touching anything, just looking, exploring the space. "How many know about this?" "You asked me, what you would have to do to draw the courts ire....Simply holding this place...Could make you quite the target..."
Shinju loosely follows Levi through as she walks around the cardinal channels of the place. `Heh... that question was half rhetorical. I -know- it puts a target on me... it's why I'm doin everything I'm doin.` As soon as Shinju approaches closer to the tree at the center, there's a sudden golden flash of color as Ryu flies down a leg and onto the ground. Moving along the earth, the golden dragon wraps itself around the tree... immediately appearing much bigger than when it's upon her flesh, looking as if they were the one holding the giant pearl in the middle of it. Their swathing scales reflect the lights of the place just as mesmerizingly as the orb does, golden eyes following Levi as they move around. `Oh uh... don't worry, he always does that.` She comments on the dragon's movement. `But... as for who knows... in the present, just me, you, and Xiu. Of course there's also that mysterious benefactor who saw fit to give me the deed to this place... but they may be long gone, like the owners of it before.`
The dragon gets gawked at with the same stupid slack jawed wonder as everything else. She nods slowly when Shinju speaks, clearing her throat softly. "Good. I'm glad you understand the risk...And I appreciate you trusting me enough to show me." She say, bowing her head slightly. "I...Would be most interesting in learning anything I could about what you and Xiu do, your perspectives on things." She looks around a bit more before venturing. "..The Ancestors. Even some of the younger ones, they could rip the chi right from this place...It is beyond me, however."
`Me and Xiu are very different... she's a guest here... would probably give you a very different perspective than I.` She says, walking up on one of the platforms towards one of the low tables and cushions. `Ancestors eh? Guess who else can absorb chi from this place...` she mutters with a big grin as she sits down.
"i thought as much...I would be most interested in those differences...Its in the space between opinions the truth is often found." She says with a half cocked little grin as she moves to sit down across from Shinju, placing her hands lightly on the table. "I assume the answer is a big ol' smug 'you'." She says with a smirk. "Do you...Use it for your Craft?"
Shinju sets the sake gourd on the table... along with her sword... with a grin. `My craft... I guess you could say that. I didn't have the luxury of having such a... place of power until recently. Usually just did things of my own merit. The being able to directly use chi like this is a new thing... that's why it's taking me a bit. But I'm learning rapidly... Ryu won't suffer giving me direct praise but look at him... you can tell he's impressed~` she says towards the tree-wrapped 2d dragon. '...praise carries no purpose alone, only the walking of the path-' the dragon mutters, though is quickly cut off. `See?! One day you'l make up a riddle about how great I am....`
Levi nods. "I see. Are you implying in a round about way you can...Instruct me how to draw upon the ambient chi of this place?" She asks, then smirks a bit as the dragon speaks. "Praise is like candy for the soul...A little can make motivate you. A lot will make you grow fat." She says smirk turning into a grin. "Well SOMEONE must be impressed if they left you this place.." She adds, nodding slowly. "Its..." She shakes her head slowly. "No, sorry. I won't gush on about it...You already know."
`Ryu'd sooner take candy from a baby and turn it into a wisdom lesson to the now crying baby. Believe me, I have firsthand experience...` Shinju utters with a glare at Ryu before her eyes come back to Levi. `When I... first got the place, felt hte power, explored for days trying to found out what it was... it was a lot different. Like I said in the bathhouse... a Devil Tiger owned this place many years ago. Turned this sacred place into a bloody dungeon... there were cages... stained cages. It's at moments like that I'm glad I don't have the insight into the past Ryu does. But as you can see... the place picked right back up to a healthy state after the moons of work I put into it. Guess it's strong enough to right itself... otherwise I'm afraid I wouldn't have been good enough, but who knows....` she says, taking a big swig of the sake and wiping off her mouth. `But yeah, about what I promised... you -may- be able to learn from me eventually, but for now, what I want to do is make something that can replicate what I do... just for you. An amulet of pearl that, when you wear it here, will transfer the ambient chi into you. There's plenty here... you could easily sustain yourself only taking a fraction of it.`
She nods slowly. "Yes, places like this...The often correct themselves with a little guidance. A light touch. As long as they have not been damaged too far, that is...It is a good thing you came when you did, if the energies remained so dark even after being abandoned in a few decades this place may have been irreversibly damaged.." She nods then, bowing her head. "For that, thank you...And an amulet? That would, well. That would work perfectly....Though it does rather keep me beholden to you, doesn't it priestess? Able to at a whim lock me out of the only place I can feed...But..I suppose I trust you.."
Shinju mmms. `Also helps I threw out and replaced just about everything I could down here. So much garbage... but thankfully that part's over.` Then, she glances up at Levi with a smirk. `You say that like you're not already coming to me for precious priestess blood. And besides... it doesn't render you unable to drink normally, now does it? And thereotically it could work somewher else where the chi is strong... but these places are well guarded, as you know.`
"Fair enough.." She says, nodding slowly. "Well, the sooner the better, I'm already starting to get a Pavlovian hunger response when I see you, Priestess~" she teases in a thiny veiled fashion that might suggest it is a legitimate warning. "But knowing it could work in other Nest, yes, that is good...Very good. You will of course not tell anyone I posses this item, will you? I should like to keep it a secret."
Shinju stares a bit, then rolls her eyes at the hunger comment. `Yeah, yeah, I'm working as fast as I can... drawing chi in is pretty... instinctual, at least when Ryu's with me. Taking it and infusing it into a specific item for a specific purpose... I have to be artful with it... it's like learning how to sew clothing all over again from scratch.` There's a bit of a shoulder roll as Shinju stretches, grabbing her sheathed blade and glancing over at the tree. `And of course... I don't think the others would be too happy if they knew you were circumventing the path the Elders want you going down, 'specially with my help.`
She smirks, shaking her head slowly. "Hannah already calls me an unenlightened prude because I choose to walk our path differently than her." She says, though there is a tone of smug pride. As if she wears the insult with pride. "But she doesn't know anything about me. Not really. Which is well enough by me....And don't mind the prodding. Take your time. Do it right. Do it comfortably. I can wait...I am blessed with time, after all."
Shinju nods along, though her eyes trail somewhere else. `Yeah, doesn't surprise me. But... there's that other thing I mentioned. The shrine up there... where we did that ritual. The barrier between the physical and the not's thin because it's -directly- above this place... and you weakened it so much. If you did that -here-...` she says, glancing around. `I... can't even imagine what would happen. If I could assist you in the casting of it, and put the proper precautions in place... this place could be... I don't even know what to call it. Bridging the worlds is somethin' right out of a legend.`
"i could, maybe.. It would take chi, and I would need to feed after. I am not powerful enough to remove The Wall totally...But I can lower it...Even here, I suspect. If only by a bit." She says with a slow nod. "It should... Actually be easier to do it here. Let me know when you've done whatever it is you need to do to prepare and I will enact the ritual. It doesn't take long."
`You get it part of the way, I get it the rest... but that's for later.` Shinju says, grabbing the sake bottle and standing back up. `Suppose we shouldn't stay -too- long... don't wanna be trapped down here without enough time to go whereever it is you do during the day, hm?`
"Yeah, its not far." She says slowly, hands slipping into her pockets. "But yeah, ok. Lets go." she says and reluctantly turns to start heading back into that gaping entrance and through the tunnel to the shrine outside. "Thank you for showing me this." She says one last time. "Just call when you're ready, i'll be around." She looks around and puffs out her cheeks a bit and shrugs. "What do you call yourself, by the way? Lightning person sounds...Insane. Or is that what you prefer?"
Shinju stands from the table, Ryu leaving the tree once she turns away and quickly slithering up onto her. She flinches a bit, then lets out a sigh. `Would it kill you to do that when I'm looking at you...` she mutters to no reply from the now hidden dragon. `What do I call myself? Shinju. I feel like we're a bit past that level of connection, dontcha think?` she says with a chuckle. `Lightning person is just what Hannah says. Proper way to say it is Chi'n Ta in Chinese, think it's a nickname made to mean 'chi manipulator'.`
Levi nods and gives a little smirk. "Fair enough. But still, enlightening to hear a theorized origin." She says, twitching her nose slightly. "..The Dragon.. Is he a bound spirit? He seems to maintain an advanced level of autonomy...He doesn't seem simply 'awakened' either."
`Hahah... they won't tell me. I can only theorize, but I can certainly say they ain't like the other spirits I've seen... even powerful ones. But they're an old thing... really old... and where my chi manipulation abilities come from.` She says, pulling her kimono back a bit too look at the 'tattoo' under it. `Maybe some other breed of spirit... one of pure chi, and thus can go anywhere they want. Best guess I have.`
