Participants:
| Scene Title | Mikaboshi |
|---|---|
| Synopsis | Mikaboshi visits Maia with a gift. |
It's early in the morning. It's not even sunset yet, but Maia wakes up next to her Viking who is still snoring away and snoozing. Then there's the Viking pup all curled up in their makeshift tent and she chuckles softly as she eases on up. She peers outside,the sky just starting to become red, purple and other bright colors as the sun has yet to completely rise. It's gorgeous and she hrms, stretching her arms out in the air as she walks a good distance from the mini tent slash cottages she made to go to the bathroom. She wants her privacy afterall.
She does not have it, of course. Is Mikaboshi always there when she goes to the bathroom? How weird a thought! He is this time though, a familiar chill of night air and darkness crossing her flesh and the shadows of trees reforming themselves into a speaking face, "You arrive and at once take down two with such ties to me? Not subtle.. Not elegant or graceful. You truly are growing less and less like your mother by the day."
It's true then! Mikaboshi is a perv! There's a squeak as she pulls up her panties, as she fortunately finished and turns around, shivering as she feels the chill of the night air and the darkness swirling around her. "They're yours, they don't belong here in Takamagahara. Sometimes a brute force approach is necessary, even my mother knows that."
That shadowy face gives a rich laugh, "Come now. You are learning better than that. The more you learn of how things here really occur, the more you must know how untrue those words are. You speak of balance, yet where is the balance in the shadows having no place? Where is their balance in only being the sun. No.. things are closer to being balanced now than they have been for a very long time. The crimes commited by your mothers unceasing arrogance are slowly being corrected."
There's a bit of hesitation on her end as she wrinkles her nose and swallows more than a bit nervously. "Uncle Tsuki-yomi rules the night here. We both know that. Sun and moon. Balance. And my mother, I believe whatever happened to her, she has learned humility. The most powerful goddess in Takamagahara is missing and I fear what has happened to her. There will be a better Takamagahara when she comes back."
"The moon has it's own share of light" The shadows says, "And is not nearly balanced enough. The balance is illusionary, it has always been about her pride and her glory. There has been no room for anything else to take root." Another cold chuckle, "When she is returned to you. If she is returned to you. Shadows must maintain their place in the west. You must argue for it, for she will never allow such herself but as her savior, and her daughter, your voice may hold sway enough for such to come to pass."
"Why would I let the oni have free reign of the west? This is the land of my people. The oni would threaten my people as well as the safety of other denizens in Takamagahara. You are suggesting that there needs to be constant dangers here?" she asks with furrowed brows, not seeming to take kindly to that idea.
"Because you realize that your mother will not change her nature. She is about control. She is about light. She is rigid and unyielding and insular" The shadowy face murmurs and then asks, "Do you not see this reflected also in your people? Has this served them well or does it hold them back. You speak of your uncle, yet how free is he under your mother's thumb? Yes.. my oni will pose a threat. Yes.. they will be violent, disruptive, chaotic. They will be something your mother does not control, something out of the perfect frozen order. They will be something.. necessary."
Part of her admits that he is right, and that's what pisses her off about the whole thing. "Takamagahara has stagnated. Change is required, but I do not think change has to be achieved through constant violence between your oni and the denizens of this realm." facepalming once more.
"And you as your mother's daughter seek the perfect, clean, elegant solution" The shadow taunts, "Recognize that there may not be one. Recognize that your own desire from that stems from your blood and may not even be for the best. That perhaps the ugliness of the solution is just part of what makes it all the more necessary."
"There is always an elegant solution." she says firmly and resolutely, wrinkling her nose once more as she runs her fingers through her hair. She hrmms for a few moments as she crosses her arms over her chest as she hrmms for a few moments. "This isn't as black and white as you make it out to be, Mikaboshi.."
The shadows laugh once more. The shadows are laughing a lot. "Of course not, but that does not mean I am wrong." The shadows swirl for a moment and then says, "I know what you must be planning. By now you will have heard word. Do not head west. Do not come into those lands."
"The oni needs to be removed from these lands.." she says matter of factly as she lets out a soft chuckle under her breath as she wrinkles her nose once more. "So what exactly am I planning?"
"You are not so much a fool as to really believe that" The shadows answer, "Unless I have greatly overestimated you. The oni are this lands salvation. And you have heard of fire and light. You will seek it. Do not. I have too many plans for you, for you to destroy yourself."
"Do you honestly think that we'll lose against whoever is out there?" she says rather incredulously as she hrmms and chews on her bottom lip. She hrmms for a few moments as she raises her brows.
"I don't know that you will not" The shadows respond, "What is in that palace is not of my doing or of my making, although it thrives from the shelter my oni have provided. There is power there, a great deal of power. A great deal of danger."
"Well, thank you for your concern, I guess, though I honestly do not know why you have taken such an interest in me. Getting bored with Aya already?" she asks curiously.
"Do you truly not know?" The shadows ask, spinning around her form. "Do you truly have no idea of the connection you and your sister have? She is one piece, and you are another. You are not interchangable but together.. together under my tutelage the things you will be capable of accomplishing."
"You want me with her?" she asks curiously, shuddering as she facepalms once more and hrmms. At least her suspicions were confirmed as she rolls her eyes once more. "What is my connection with Aya then? Or at least your perceived connection."
"Oh no" The shadows chuckle, "If you don't know the truth it will not be revealead that easily. I'll pick a proper time to make it all clear. For now.. remember what I say about the need for shadows in the west, and avoid the fire and the light. It would pain me to lose you before you've reached your full potential." Then the shadows are breaking apart. Spiraling away back into their natural configurations once again.
Maia hrmms for a few moments, wrinkling her nose once as she crosses her arms over her chest. This was weird and she sighs once more, heading back to base camp.
Several hours later..
Once again, there's base camp. Once again, Maia creeps out from the tent. She's feeling restless. Something about storming a castle of fire and light just excites her to where she can't exactly get any sleep. And so, she slips out of her tent slash hut and starts to wander around the surrounding darkness, with a light on her ring glowing softly, not wanting to wake anyone else up.
She looks up towards the night sky, with the moon glowing brightly in the sky. There's a few falling stars and she sighs, watching a meteor shower in the Heavenly Plains as she eases on down perhaps a football field's length away from her makeshift tree-hut.
There is no play of shadows this time, no dancing form of a face. Here in the night darkness is at home and at peace and so no such special effects are required. Rather there is the whispering by now increasingly familiar voice of Mikaboshi making itself heard, "You no longer fear the darkness as you once did, do you? You are coming to accept it.. use it.. accept what I have to offer as piece and parcel of yourself. I was very proud of you for working to plunge one into eternal darkness. You've come far."
"It wasn't eternal darkness. I only sealed one eye so that it's depth perception would be messed up.." Maia says defensively as she does seem more at ease in the darkness now. Maybe she's growing up? She can't be afraid of the dark forever afterall. "It was trying to eat me afterall. But perhaps I am coming to accept it. There is darkness is everyone, but there is also light. You think Aya is yours, but I'll make her see the light.."
"You could only reach the one eye" The shadows say with conviction as the feeling of chill darkness grows heavier in the air. "I think Aya chooses her own path. I think you will choose your own path. I think you will choose the right one." Things go totally silent in the night but for the sounds of distant birds for a moment, "But it is good you are coming to accept it. You intend to go into a place of fire and light. You will need the darkness to survive. Do not fear it."
The air is getting heavier. Maia hrmms for a few moments as she chews on her bottom lip as she mulls over the advice given to her. "Darkness cannot completely shut out light. Just like water can't take all the heat away from fire. There is always a balance in the end. There will be rage against the dying of the light,that much I know.." she says with a sage nod as she curls up into a little Maiaball while listenin to the sounds of the distant birds.
"I still do not understand something. Of all of my mother's children, why have you taken an interest in Aya and I? Surely there are others out there who would be more willing to follow your path. Do you just like chasing after the ones who play hard to get?"
"Do you think yourself hard to get?" That voice asks, a trace of taunting amusement to it. "Your pride would lead me to my door if I did nothing at all to encourage it. One so proud in the end will always resent living in t heir mother's shadow. One shadow will always lead to others. No.. no my interest is for far different reasons and now is not the time to discuss such. Soon enough you'll find the answers you seek."
"I'm very hard to get, though I have to admit, I probably do have a slight Aesir fetish considering my ex boyfriend and current boyfriend. Don't tell me you're a hunky studly Viking too. You're just a mask. A shadow. Nothing. No substance or form whatsoever, so yes, I do consider myself hard to get with you.." she quips, snickering softly, snarking back to a Titan Avatar. She's not scared of him, oh no no.
"Snide words bely an awareness of the truth" The shadows say as they continue to swirl about and condense in her surroundings finally forming a cloak of pure darkness near her feet. "Light has always been your ally. The watchful eye of the sun holding fondness for you. You are about to go where it is not, the sun is now your enemy and wishes you ill. Take this, a gift, and a promise of things to come."
"…"
Why is Mikaboshi giving her stuff? This is definitely odd and weird. And at his words, there's a happy little giggle. She knew she was her mother's favorite. Or something like that. She hrmms as she looks at it, trying to pick it up as her brows furrow.
"What does it do?"
"It shall offer you and your companions the protection of the shadows within the palace" The voice offers explains, "You do not know the numbers within those walls. The mad horrors that woman has collected. Where there is light her sight now holds sway and if you enter you will not be safe from her servants quick reaction. At least with this you might get to the source of the power untouched."
"Invisibility cloak. How Harry Potter.."
Still Maia is chirpy about the whole thing. Maybe it's to bring some levity into the situation. She did just accept a gift from the Titan of Darkness that threatens to consume light afterall. She hrmms for a few moments and looks wearily towards the dark massless form of the Titan.
"And so I'm just suppose to go, hey guys look! Invisibility cloak from Uncle Mikaboshi!"
"Lie about it, if you wish" The shadows say blithely, "Keep your deeds in the shadows. You'd not be surprised in the least how little I mind such things. Use it well. I wish you would listen to my advice and avoid that place, but if you must go in, this shall at least give you a chance." Then the hcill is fading from the air. That sense of presence fading. Mikaboshi is such a toss presents and run kind of guy.
