Scene #7703: Talking over Tea and Offerings

Owner	Pose
Muramasa	The metallic door slides open with a hiss; though, the technological advancements of such commodities had long since stopped phasing him. The room is fairly barren, given he had not put in the effort towards renovating it from the state it was issued to him in. The only real change was that the coffee table that had sat in the center of the room had been disposed of, due to Ioanna having driven his head through it near the end of her previous visit. The memory of having to sit down and eat her at best, average beef broth with mushroom soup, brought a mild cringe to his lips. He still found splinters from the occasion every now and then, and the stains on the carpet had been particularly difficult to clean. The facility he'd been left at to bide his time until it came time to fulfill the obligation he was given was, if nothing else, a quiet one. It was above average in size and sat on an artifical isle dedicated wholly to itself, located in a post-industrial world out in the vastness of the multiverse's expanse. It seemed fairly contemporary to Earth, he supposed. Rather than dirt and stone, the floating fortress was constructed of some kind of space age alloy and a cement-like carbon filament. Fake, plastic grass was plastered over many swathes along the road to give people something to look at, to try and give the place some appearance of life. From a distance, it could even look majestic, the sun glinting off of the many brightly polished surfaces, but -- I really can't say I care much for it. With a second hiss, the door shuts behind him as he appraises the slate toned walls and the uniformly dull white furnishings before loosening the top button of his shirt and approaching the kitchen to begin washing his hands, lazily brushing his thumb over the sensor on the wall to turn the lights on. "..now that I think of it, since she was able to get here so easily before, I'd bet just about anyone in the Paladins could, huh. ... not that there's much to see around here, even so." he voices his thoughts aloud.
Tamamo	In regards to tracking people down, Tamamo no Mae does possess a certain set of skills, but the easiest method is sometimes the most useful, and that's to find someone who knows someone who knows the answer, and simply ask them. People are often willing to talk to her, for some number of reasons, Paladins business included. Not that anyone could tell what she's up to just by looking. Some mystic ritual, possibly, that requires the presence of foxy shrine maidens. A little trick of hers obviates the need to carry anything with her, which removes what would be a more telling hint. She knocks, then waits, hands folded before her, preparing a beaming smile, and a, "Please pardon the intrusion." The trick is strategically revealed. From within her sleeves, she withdraws a pair of thermoses. And now that her hands are full, of course, she simply must come in and set them down.
Muramasa	Wiping his hands off with a plain, clean towl hanging from a nearby rack, he pauses as a knock comes at his door. It says much to the current state of affairs that were was a not insignificant part of him that suggested he simply let the person knock until they gave up, given how his previous altercation had gone. Yet, somehow, he found himself placing his thumb against the touchpad to make the automatic door slide open with a third hissing noise, saggy golden eyes squinting at his elegant jackal-eared -- no, saying that would just get him cursed -- fox-eared, he corrects, visitor. Please pardon the intrusion. Muramasa steps back and to the side so that she had ample room to enter, more confused at her prescence here than anything. The door closes itself behind her with a fourth, penultimate hiss. He finds himself shuffling furniture around to give Tamamo a suitable place to deposit her thermoses; the end result is a nightstand being dragged out to where his unfortunately obliterated coffee table had originally been. "...sorry." he apologizes, presumably for the makeshift nature of their seating and drinking arrangements. "I wasn't expecting to be hosting anyone, here. I take it there's something you need?"
Tamamo	The thermoses seem like the sort with lids one could use as mugs, but that's unecessary, as Tamamo sets out some small bowls. Whatever she needs is hidden on her person, within the limits of preparation, and at least in some respects, she intends to be well prepared. Tamamo looks about the sparsely -- in fact, unusually sparsely -- furnished room. "I would have said, 'there is that old offer that we should exchange recipes,' or else I would have said, 'there was that offer we should have tea,' or else I would mention any of a number of very good reasons, though now I must wonder if you are not suffering from some lately malady as removes your interest in such things." Greater kitchens have been commandeered by Tamamo, though in this instance she only takes over the counter space to set out tea. It's a complete and finely appointed set, though the pot is without hot water, as that might qualify, on its own, as too difficult to carry. While placing these, "Even if you expected no guests, surely you must have space to prepare a meal, yourself, and then to take it. Oh, it was a most uncertain sign that I did follow, and now I must still wonder as to that which it does signify." Even a barely functional kitchen can provide hot water. Tea will shortly follow. "There are certain things I would call 'needs,' and others that are truly otherwise, though I desire them, but let us set that aside, for just a moment. Is there not something you need, Muramasa-san? I am well disposed to answering prayers, if asked today."
Muramasa	A malady, huh ... but. I have no need to learn recipes, nor to partake in tea or other pleasantries. " . . . . " Tamamo is of course, free to use his meager kitchen as she sees fit, though perhaps calling it such is a tad too flattering. There is a mini-fridge, a single counter built into the sink, and a conventional oven bolted to the wall as well as a handful of cupboards to store perishables and dinery in. These were largely empty, besides the disposable paper plates, forks, knives, bowls, and cups left sitting largely unused in one of them and the meager pickings otherwise. His eyes trail further and further off kilter as she continues to speak, the implications hitting home. But, being as polite as she was; a quirk of her sensibilities as a Japanese, perhaps, as much as her own natural sense of grace and dignity, she saved him the difficulties of shoving it quite so plainly in his face as Ioanna had. "There's nothing I require at this time. I will not starve, nor die of thirst, nor of filth. If there is concern over my ability to perform my duties, then it is not worth worrying about, Tamamo no Mae. Or is Lilian Rook still unsatisfied with this arrangement?" Though there is tea, and he minds his manners to nurse it, he does not drink. It's the kind of by-the-motions politeness that if nothing else must be afforded for the inconvenience of hosting her in this substandard living space.
Tamamo	Tamamo doesn't require much. She can make sitting on the floor perfectly graceful, and not just for having the experience of old Japan in her memories. That's something more like an inhuman cheat, a part of having Divinity, even if it's her usual style to try and pass for, at least, something terrestrial. "If you have put aside such interests, I suppose I cannot ask you which of these two," she gestures lightly to the thermoses, "is the better. I had thought one left too long, but perhaps the flavor is better that way." She lets a little time pass after that statement of disappointed resignation, noting the personal inconvenience. "There was that matter, now seven weeks ago, that concerned yourself and Lilian, and so, I would think, 'of course, one must expect I would come to ask of related matters, and so, of course, her name should be mentioned.' But that is not the matter of which you speak, is it? You guess, correctly, that I am concerned for her. 'Do you not understand why I worry for you, Lilian?' These were your words, and in them I found comraderie, for I had thought, 'ah, another who may share my own worries, and together may we find what my perspective lacked.' I do know, myself, that there are many things outside my knowledge, you know?" Tamamo does sip her tea. It's calming. "'Ignorance' is my reason for existing, it is so." Even the fragrance is perfect. In this, at least, her skills are very good. "Perhaps you shall tell me, then. What arrangements have you made with Lilian Rook?" The shift in naming carries with it a shift in tone.
Muramasa	"It isn't for me to say, but I'm sure they're both more than acceptable." he, conservatively, appraises the drinks while refraining from commenting further on his loss of interest towards the culinary arts, or seemingly, any other non-essential pursuit. It went without saying, so naturally, putting it words would have been an exercise in futility. Silence briefly pervades the air between the two before Tamamo takes initiative again, the redheaded man all too willing to yield the proverbial court to her favor; as if it no longer had anything to do with him, or perhaps, that there were no longer any stakes he would be concerned with involved in such affairs. .. the tea if nothing else, he supposes, has a calming aroma. "It was foolish of me to say that in the first place, you know. A Servant such as myself had no business worrying about matters like that." What arrangements have you made with Lilian Rook? There's a brief moment where the tension imparted on the cup in his hands tightens to a dangerous degree, his whole body seeming to seize up involuntarily the moment he tried to open his mouth. The subtle, yet odd display is gone within moments as he closes it again and sets his jaw. " . . . . " The silence lasts a touch longer as he seems to contemplate his words, and when he opens his mouth next, there is no seizing as if his whole body had protested against him, " ... to fulfill my obligations to Sakura, and to do nothing that would infringe on her own obligations otherwise. It's a simple affair, really. But it seems I misunderstood why you came here." " ... I'm sorry to say that you've wasted both your time and your culinary talents. There's absolutely no insight I could possibly offer you."
Tamamo	And now she's carefully watching, well on the side of rude staring, not to miss the smallest moment of his response. It is likewise obvious, unhidden in her own reaction, that she's seen it. "Shall I recount for you the proofs of your own worth, that you agree to measure it as I have done? But no, you have not such trust in me, I see. If it is only beneath cruel manipulation that you will provide me answers in full honesty, then I shall admit defeat, for I am unwilling." She sets down her cup. The saucer clinks, the only noise in the room. "My time has not been wasted, for you are not so skilled a liar as you might wish to be. Indeed, 'an honest man, admirably forthright,' I would have called you. A 'reckless hero,' perhaps, though my own fondness is most for 'knights,' of late. Well, pay that no mind. If you have been convinced to give up your heroism, and even to sacrifice the belief that you have the right to make the attempt, and if you believe you cannot reveal your reasons for such a change, then what can I, foolish woman that I am, say against you?" Tamamo is leaving the tea set here. Even the thermoses. Muramasa has plenty of empty space for them, anyway, and it could be reasonably assumed that Tamamo has more than one set. "But as to Lilian, I would you understand this, if you may. I will not let go such as I believe threatens her, no matter who casts the veil, nor whether that threat is within her own person, as you did voice it may be, when you spoke of your power of discernment on that day. I am not so small, nor my feelings so meager, that I would overlook this, and remain satisfied. To allow such a thing is to sacrifice the--" Uncharacteristically, Tamamo swallows what she was about to say, and isn't quite able to pretend it's a smooth save, "--a person. To say that it was because they wished to be left alone, or that some such dangers must be allowed, or that they did not believe the threat real, even if it were truly nothing, in the end, and even if they believed they could save themselves, for what reason must I allow it? I will not."
Muramasa	Though she speaks highly and kindly of him -- things that a short few weeks ago he may have come to begrudgingly accept; to hear it now is more like poison flowing into one ear canal and out the other. There is one note however, that he must concede to her for he has no choice. He is a poor liar; its a trait he more often than not, did not mind having even if some could qualify it as a character flaw. His forefinger raises from his cup and taps once, twice, before stopping in the middle of motioning the third. I feel like I should say something to right this. I've been rude and offensive on various levels in this conversation, but ... there's nothing I really feel like I can say. It's better this way, perhaps. Muramasa remains where he is, even with her intention to leave her things here. That graciousness felt more like an incessant gnawing, he realizes. " . . . she already understands, you know?" He lurches, whatever he was going to say forcibly given pause. He takes several more moments to reconsider what he should say. Would saying that have been an obstruction? These stipulations are -- I may as well just not open my mouth on the topic. What's the point? In the end, he simply concludes with, "If you feel like you're able, then you should. She's someone you hold close to your heart, divine and departed from humans it may be, you still wish to bring yourself and your perceptions to a level where you can understand people and be understood by them." "I don't believe you understand what is in her heart, yet." "But, perhaps you will .." He recalls something Xion said. Putting it to use himself wasn't something a mere tool was capable of, but maybe it'd be better off in Tamamo's mind to turn over, " -- come to understand what hurts her, what scares her, and just what it is that makes her feel the way she does." It's not like I want to drive them apart. Maybe that's why I was allowed to say these things? "A horse cannot be made to drink. The purpose of this idiom was never to say that you should not water your companion, naturally." But were this problem so light it could be solved as easily as figuring out why your horse does not drink. I feel as though I'm already tiptoe'ing the boundaries set before me, so I should probably leave it at that. Muramasa's sagging, hard stare reflects at him through the tea's surface as it grows cold.
Tamamo	'I don't believe you understand what is in her heart, yet.' "Perhaps not," Tamamo agrees, "for matters of the heart are... ah, but I need not tell you of the grandness of this mystery. You are human, yourself, where I may be only ever a student." That rings of either genuine humility, or an unusual understanding of humanity. "Good day to you, then, and please pardon me, once more." With that, Tamamo leaves, letting the door shut behind her.