Scene #7869: Sacred Tree Sakura

Owner	Pose
Lilian Rook	For once, there is no pressing practical need to be at the as-of-yet unnamed village built over the Dragon's Garden. The infrastructure is all in place and has been working fine for some time, requiring only some minor tune-ups. Training of skilled labour is going about as fast as it realistically can. The first harvest won't be for another couple of months, but already seems to be going well. The displaced people have had a month to settle in here, and are taking to it well; already a certain kind of solidarity is forming between them for their circumstances that could be called 'cozy', if one felt daring. Classes are attended. Machines run flawlessly. The chosen apprentices are making as much progress in their cultivation as could be expected. There is, potentially, a pressing intangible reason to be here. It's not a common occurrence that Tamamo sets up a gathering so specifically and auspiciously, and general interest in that oddball girl from up on the mountain has been kept to 'quaint curiosity' up until now. Up until London. The better meeting place, now that there actually is one, is the mayoral townhouse left abandoned in the valley green, mysteriously furnished by Sakura herself on the down-low as a rather shy and strange gift for everyone's hard work, now more or less a small Japanese mansion in all ways that matter but its outside appearance (being smaller than its inside space). Decorated as richly as it is traditionally, originally left empty mostly in spots where someone could easily put personal effects and 'season to taste', and filled with 'god knows where she actually got them' varieties of plants, most of it somehow always seems to look out on a sunny courtyard that doesn't exist, and the ticking of a very old, water-fed mechanical clock can be heard. Sakura herself arrives 'tastefully exactly on time'. This is not very difficult seeing as her current 'quarters' are ostensibly a twenty minute walk away. Walking almost 'looks strange' on her. She really is five foot nothing even on her sandals, though fewer layers of wear help partly deal with that previously doll-like impression. It seems that the four point phalanx of bodyguards insisted on being present rather than the inverse, as she must have insisted on carrying the cloth-wrapped box herself. Once she gets to the door, and is in the process of removing footwear, she makes her best efforts to politely dismiss them, as cheerfully and harmlessly as possible. It unfortunately involves the phrase "Please don't think of it as a matter of pride. If she wants to hurt me, you really won't be able to stop her. And if she doesn't, then nobody else will be able to.", in about the sunniest and least concerned tone one could possibly imagine. The monks decide to compromise by hanging around outside the building instead, at which point Sakura finally gets to make her way inside, preceded by the light jingling of quasi-religious ornaments with her terribly light footsteps, and introduce herself again to everyone inside, through the most elaborately formal and properly 'courtly' means of a rather outdated past.
Kale Hearthward	Kale takes the opportunity to check in on the various initiatives he's started (the tailoring workshop and community theater) and drop off a few extra things that might not be covered by the regular warpgate imports, taking advantage of his expanded inventory. He gets caught up in all of this and almost misses the meeting time, arriving thirty seconds before Sakura does (and only barely making it via rushing on in) and quickly ducking into a bathroom to change from crafting ear to a formal outfit. He makes his polite and formal introductions - Paladins bonafides are presented, albeit probably unnecessary given that he's in Lilian and Tamamo's company. He just hadn't had a chance to talk to her yet - being busy with other things in the village during the last trip. Kale has also brought a cooler full of sandwiches.
Tamamo	Tamamo is notably less formal than is common for her, at least in dress, on this occasion. It's her usual colors, but someone might recognize from the understated practicality that that's a 'traditional' Japanese maid's outfit, made significantly more clear by the inclusion of a spotlessly white, softly frilled apron. Her enthusiastic greetings -- more a matter of her openly warm expression than raised voices, in her case -- confirm that she is acceptably prepared to welcome guests, like this. "How kind of you to come. Please, come in." She's still bringing things to the table, even now, having insisted on doing quite a lot of things herself that someone else could have, rather than allow help from anyone (Lilian excepted). Tea, of course, is provided. That is a consummately professional affair, to be poured individually, with appropriate ceremony. The rest, however, is starkly foreign. She may have mentioned something like 'cakes.' Cakes aren't really so difficult to make, outside of the precise craftsmanship that can be taken in their decoration, which is, fortunately, a point in which Tamamo excels. But rather than that, what she's actually provided are predominantly muffins. Cinammon muffins, chocolate chip muffins, various berry muffins, with nutmeg or the unmistakeable impression of being muffin-shaped donuts. Few of them adhere to a professional consistency of form, though where she has applied frosting, it's done with maybe too much artistry, like someone with a great fascination with origami might if trying to apply the same motifs to mostly-solid sugar. All of it's still warm.
Ishirou	Ishirou didn't really have a need to leave the manor except when things needed specifically his attention in a more precise way. From one point, it was easier for him to check on the multitude of things at once, including other things that weren't directly connected to his projects. Power consumption, foot patterns, stuff like that where he could also turn around and provide optimized reports for later improvements to the settlements. This also included detailed reports of power consumption to the workshops, up to and including when they drew too much, or when they weren't drawing enough. Ishirou suggests higher capacity batteries to control this draw. Or he's just harassing Kale with bureaucracy for his grim amusement. Ishirou does still enjoy using his favorite weapon: the pen. Metaphorically, real pens were gross and inefficient. His head pops up as holoscreens go down when the guest arrived. They briefly met during the rounds, but Ishirou hadn't really had a chance to greet Sakura or get to know her. Right now he's in a comfy green sweater and a pair of sweat pants. No boy shorts, it was still pretty chilly. He waves from his position. "Hi! I'm Ishirou."
Arthur Lowell	>Arthur: Be polite and formal in your greeting! Arthur can't do either of those! While Tamamo can be slightly less formal, Arthur can only be exactly as formal as he basically always is, which is to say, not at all. His sitting posture is wide-legged, his back in a punkish hunch and watching the chocolate chip muffins with the eye of a predator. At least he removed the shoes, but he can't be stopped from adding a little special someething-something to the tea from a hip flask (it is, once again, just Mountain Dew Code Red). "What's good, flowershop? Like the new digs? Town looks rad." He rambles. "At least, compared to shit being ghost mode." He's gonna snatch up a muffin if they're done being served. "I'mma let Tammy take point on this biz. But I think I know the shape of it. Gotta say, I'm wondering what your wish was, if I followed the thread right. Fuckin' swear, if it's two hard-wishing heiresses, I'mma ignore the basic logic about two data points and just start scanning girls who are doin' some inheriting and some pining, for real."
Trudy Grimm	This is Trudy's first time in this part of this particular world; and her first time in this vague part of the Multiverse where something isn't going or about to go catastrophicly wrong. She has some time to appreciate the way of things, the layout, and how comfortable folks are at least in this particular town. Though she does manage to stand out by her outlandish preference for furs and her steps are accompanied by the faint rattling of beads and charms, the Grimoire hanging at her side by its strap, inert as one should expect a book to be. The arrival of Grimm is 'somewhat late', and she doesn't bother making excuses for it. The witchly thing folds her arms behind her back, eyes closed and wearing a big shark-toothed smile, "Hello! Trudy Grimm, at your service. A humble witch." Her arms shift and she reaches into the shadow one produces against her side as if it were a pocket, pulling forth a basket of goods wrapped in a blanket, "I thought bringing a gift might be appropriate, so I made Klubb." Hot potato dumplings wrapped around cubes of smoked ham. She offers this basket to Tamamo, for lack of any certianty on where to put it, and she seems like the one in charge of foodstuffs today.
Xion	Xion... Is late. Not just a little late. Pretty dang late. She would have you believe that nothing at all occurred, and to her, truly, nothing really did. There was a disagreement, you see, between her and some monks, and then some exchanged words and reasoned arguments, and then, after that delay (which, again, was nothing at all) she had arrived without any greater fanfare. Deep breath. Xion is late, but she's here now, pushing through the door into the house with a bowed head and a little sachet-baggie in her ungloved hands. Instead of a black coat, she wears a blue hoodie with white draws that looks like she had -just- been in a fight. "Ah, um..." Xion finds Trudy Grim and a large smoked ham, tilts her head, and makes a quiet 'huh', before panning her gaze about the room. Something wasn't right... "Oh no. Those guys really weren't." Dropping the sachet - which helpfully teleports itself to the table (it's tea, to you diviners out there) - Xion pelts barefoot back out of the house to call out. "Wait! Come back! I thought you were with the ghost warlord! He's dogged me for years!" Moments later, and with her MP depleted and her shame maxed out, Xion returns. "Wow, I thought those guys were gonna four-punks everyone, and I thought 'golly, are they really gonna take Lilian -and- Tamamo?' but, aaaaas it turns out..." She touches her fingers together and doesn't make eye contact.
Lilian Rook	Lilian has been hanging around in something vaguely proximal to her school attire, the red and black over white look easily mistakable when too far away to really note an absence of insignia. Winter university uniforms are actually pretty decent for their function, and she likes the colours. She has also been hanging around with a distinct lack of patience from her usual, failing to cram in the usual amount of hyper-efficient multi-tasking during the downtime and spending half of it pacing and insisting on helping Tamamo instead. Actually, she sort of just can't stop hovering around Tamamo in general. More than usual. She keeps stealing glances when she has to back away to allow her to bake, too. She seats herself only in advance of tea being served (and kneels, actually, having apparently finally mastered that seemingly uncomfortable way Tamamo does). Sakura, returns many greetings ("Oh my! But where is your hat?" for Trudy, and "Please try to get along with the villagers, Miss Xion. They've had very hard lives.", completely obliviously), and finds just the right spot (intentionally exactly across from Lilian and presumably Tamamo). She stares at Arthur for a moment, and then giggles at 'flowershop'. "Hmm, maybe everything? I have nothing to complain about at all~!" The triple strike combo on Lilian is less well-received. An elbow for the nickname, a death glare for the crimes against tea (again!), and then-- yeah, she just reflexively reached for a gun she doesn't have strapped on at 'Tammy'. That was definitely what that twitch was. Lilian cringes very slightly at Xion's apology, and makes a 'please stop talking and sit down' motion with her hand when Sakura isn't looking. "Get comfortable and help yourself." she says, solely to interrupt her so it doesn't awkwardly continue forever. Sakura does her best to listen to Arthur. It's hard to fault her for the . . . almost unsettling attentiveness in her off-coloured stare, actually. However, despite absorbing his words with the meditative singlemindedness of a guru, she blushes a little bit and apologetically informs him, continuing to use slightly archaic honourifics which will not be named, "I'm sorry, Mister Lowell, but I don't think I understood you at all. Please forgive me for my limited knowledge. Could you please explain what you meant about 'heiresses' and 'hard-wishing' in a more familiar way? Otherwise I think I might not be able to help you."
Kale Hearthward	Kale startles when Lilian mentions tea crimes. "Oh, I'd almost forgot that I prepared this earlier," he says, and goes digging in his inventory - producing a chilled thermos, which he presents to Arthur. "Here - you mentioned gamer tea, right? I wasn't sure when we were having the meeting, so I had to cold brew it - but I think it came out pretty good. I used some spearmint leaves and a bit of honey, I think that undercuts the... dew flavor pretty well."
Ishirou	Ishirou, not even greeted in return, goes back to his holographic screens. He only raises from them the moment 'Gamer Tea' is talked about, and the death threat from Lilian is levered. This causes him to lower his head more...Tea was a serious business and he didn't have enough data on tea. Maybe he should try and look up tea things, that might make sure he doesn't end up like Arthur is going to be in a few minutes, he assumes.
Tamamo	Tamamo accepts Trudy's ham-stuffed potato dumplings with gratitude. "Oh, thank you, Ms. Grimm. I hope everyone has come prepared for a meal, unbalanced though it might be. Once in a while is fine, is it not? It shall not be difficult to find homes for leftovers, I imagine, and so, one need not worry of it. Oh, Mr. Hearthward, please set that down over here, if you would." Muffins in place, Klubb is added to prepared serving platters, as if Tamamo knew they'd be needed. (She did, because Kale had provided advance notice of sandwiches.) Likewise, Tamamo greets Ishirou and 'Mr. Lowell' while busying herself. She politely refrains from accusing Arthur of crimes against tea, extremely guilty though he may be. This is cultural tolerance at work, and world-class, nay, stellar-class restraint. Xion's late arrival is no less welcome, but is interrupted, by her running out again. Tamamo cuts off her 'Is everything alright?' before asking it, deciding, based on Xion's appearance, that the correct move of the moment is to give her a muffin, instead. The frosting over it has been sculpted into a six-petaled lily. The thin, pink lines blended into white are still just sugar. While it's a good-sized crowd, not just anyone could have been invited, tonight. It's as well that Sakura asked her bodyguards to stay outside, as much confusion as that may have caused. This isn't so much for issues with the size of the house (conveniently bigger on the inside) as it is the topic, to which only Arthur alludes, at first. Tamamo leaves it be until people are settled in. It's not like she was just using food as an excuse to gather people for serious conversations under deniable circumstances. She really did want to practice cooking for a diverse but friendly audience, too. A professional in a practiced field, she still isn't, when it comes to anything in the oversized ballpark of 'bread,' but there's no getting there without effort.
Tamamo	Finally, Tamamo comes to the rescue of Sakura's confusion. "He refers to a matter of some sensitivity, for which I concluded it best to gather some others to consider, and about which to speak. It is still something of a mystery, to follow the threads, and to see the place at which they should arrive." Well, no, that may not have dispelled anything, but she's getting there. "Do you recall the visions of the smith, the elder Muramasa? I speak of the visions I shared to see his work, but within these, I wish to speak of his visions, that caused him to take his ink brush and depict demons, first, and then, far stranger monsters. Mists and strange, long shadows. Chasms without an end. Towering buildings, and alien creatures. There is familiarity, now, in that which he depicted, and from this, perhaps we shall find how these threads weave into the tapestry of the present, and thence, how we might pick up again the threads that show our future." Backing up the conversational thread a bit, Tamamo says, "Ah, but some of us may be less familiar with this particular topic. Only a few were present, to witness that particular vision." She nods toward, somehow, Lilian and Sakura, at the same time. "If I omit some crucial detail, please, feel free to correct me." Ahem. "Muramasa was a swordsmith, and one who continued to forge blades even after his death, such was his obsession. He wished to avert some calamity, and to create such a blade as could cut one apart. Forty-four cursed blades were made, possessing both power and danger, even apart from that any who holds precisely four will suffer some ruin. In London, recently, we found a terrible thing, driven into the ground like a stake struck with too great a force, growing like a tree, and hunting for a wish, and we learned that it was one of four." She continues, tea mug warming her hands, "These are not the 'fours' that caught my memory, but the four who were depicted on the walls of Muramasa's workshop, within his attempts to depict the future of his nightmares. Many things changed, including the ways in which these four were drawn, yet the thread of their appearance remained easily identified." Four figures. "One was a young man of princely demeanor, fingers red, as if burned, surrounded by symbols of Sun and Moon. Another was a man of great size, a red scar stretched across his face, shown in fields of fire, yet never burned. One was a woman, tall and of clear definition, with eyes painted red, always holding a sword, and either before or behind her, the Sun. Either around her, or on her, blood. And one was a smaller woman, her hair long and black, shown with a sword near her, yet never wielded by her, surrounded by red cherry petals and white snow." At the end, Tamamo says, "Now, with all of this being said... Sakura, might you reveal the place from which you brought that water clock? I have become quite interested in its history."
Trudy Grimm	"Mm!" Trudy dips briefly in place, "I made them snack-sized, but folks can take as many as they like." With her gift delivered and apparently heartily accepted, Trudy assumes for herself a seat as well, crossing her legs under herself and perking up attentively with her hands on her knees. When the subject of cursed swords is brought up, though, she lets out a thoughtful noise. Her eyes travel downward as the Grimoire drifts up, providing a hand for it to place itself in. The strap unbuckles and the tome flips open, rolling through pages while Tamamo gives the details. She stops the pages, then flips a few back, a thoughtful look on her face when it flips several pages forward again. After a moment, she places the book down face-up to show a scrawl of runes around diagrams and sketches of an intricate sword hilt. "Curses; now you have my attention." Leaning forward, she props her elbow on the countertop and curls that hand up under her chin, "That is my specialty, after all. I've seen my fair share of cursed weapons. Though they may be ultimately different from the kinds of swords crafted by this Muramasa fellow, I'm certain the foundations are similar enough that I can contribute my expertise on dealing with them." To Sakura, Trudy's response is a simple laugh and sharky smile, "I'm far too humble for such headwear~."
Xion	Lilian's need for Xion to sit doesn't take a mindreader to spot, and she drops into her position quickly after, thankful that her dangerous trespasses on the locals with Heat Moves and then healing after had gone, essentially, unchallenged. She got what she wanted, even if Ishirou and Lilian in their own ways did not. Lilian had to deal with Arthur's G A M E R T E A and Ishirou with his feelings of being missed. Pushing forward her sachet of tea with both hands and a bow-slide to do it with, Xion rises sheepishly. "It's, um, ozymanthus tea? It seemed like a very flowery-sounding flower, and they said it was... delicate, and subtle? Well, it smelled very nice." Sitting back, she nicks a small ham from Trudy before she has to banish the ham to the BLACK FOREST DIMENSION and accept the lily-muffin. "Oh, is this one of the sweets you wanted me to try?" Xion asks while deftly unwrapping the muffin, and without waiting to know the answer, immediately bites down confidently to apply a Food Pornography Anime Reaction to it, as is proper.
Tamamo	"Oh, yes, I do recall you mentioning this specialty," Tamamo says to Trudy. "I have some knowledge of the field, as well, and I have a particular interest in whether there is not some unobvious reason for 'four blades, in possession' to be what triggers that particular curse. It causes some difficulty for the clans who have three blades, and wish another. For the blades to be spread across different wielders within the same clan seems insufficient separation for the curse. I do not know that it would aid us to combat this issue, however, it may shine light on aspects that have gone unnoticed. For our own purposes, it would be best that all the blades be returned to the rightful heir." "Oh." As if only just realizing she'd neglected to mention who that is, Tamamo gestures, palm-up and fingers spread, across the table. "By this," with a smile, "I mean Sakura-chan." That's a bit less formal than her usual speech, but not a first. "The matter of ownership is one of contention, in that the clans do not consider a rightful heir to exist. I have declared otherwise. However, to make such a declaration too loudly might not be met with any more understanding. Please keep this in mind, should you happen to be dealing with them. Particularly, keep this in mind, should you be hunting for more of these blades, as would be quite helpful." In a roundabout way, that's also Kale's answer. Xion has provided tea. Tamamo wastes little time in trying it. "Ozymanthus...? Oh, is it Osmanthus? The flower is quite well-known, if perhaps not in this land, in particular. Somewhat different from a green tea, yet the fragrance is still pleasing." No explanation for the meaning of lilies is given. There's more than one, anyway. And sometimes, not reading a message is what the sender expects. Not that there was any message, at all, so far as anyone checking Tamamo's mind could determine, beyond the answer she openly, and with quiet enthusiasm, supplies. "Oh, yes, I did wish to gather a greater variety of opinions. Do you like it? I wondered if there was, perhaps, too much sugar, given also what was mixed within, to decorate it with the same, but this seems to be the tradition of such things, and I have made my attempt to follow. Perhaps try these, as well." There's a large variety of sweets for Tamamo to press on Xion. It's a good thing some girls don't gain weight.
Lilian Rook	Lilian side-eyes Xion getting pushed a lily muffin, and says nothing. Slightly uncharacteristically for her, she actually puts a couple of sandwiches and a meaty pastry on her plate, assorting a couple of choice muffins next to it and the tea on the opposite side. One might outrageously suspect a nervous stomach and restless hands she'd rather occupy with food. Yes, she does, habitually, drink tea pinky up. Come on. Sakura asides to Xion with "Oh, my, that sounds interesting! I've never tried it. Thank you very much, Miss Xion! I'd like to try that next~" It's as warm as can be, and about the most politely one can say 'I've already got tea that Tamamo made and you were late, but I still really appreciate your gift!'. Her eyes gravitate naturally(*) to Trudy's book, fixing on the hilt before they catch any other piece of the page's detail. "Of course, I wouldn't know the sorts of curses that exist beyond the edges of this world, in place or time, Miss Grimm. I might say that the 'curse' upon the Grave Blades is not something that was put there by intention. Sir Muramasa, I think, had no thought toward what would become of the first forty-four of the series. He considered them failures, and discarded them readily, which is how they fell into the hands of the eleven great clans, whilst the whereabouts of his forty-fifth and final blade is still unknown." There's a weird drop to her tone. "Even to me" She listens to Tamamo with polite (and again, somewhat eerie) attention, speaking seldomly, in the gaps. "Mm-mm, I had wondered if it might be something like that." she says. "I know well of your interest with Sir Muramasa. It's no surprise, so, go ahead. If anyone deserves to hear answers, it's you now." she adds, briefly glancing back and forth to Lilian and Arthur for some reason. She simply nods along for a while, politely sipping at her tea while Tamamo speaks, and then visibly freezes up at the mention of London. Compared to Lilian, she's a totally open book. It couldn't be any more obvious that she knows exactly what Tamamo means, and had been far from expecting Tamamo herself to know of it at all. Slowly setting her tea down, Sakura closes her eyes, folds her hands in her lap, breathes out daintily, and then doesn't breathe back in again for a while. When she opens her eyes and breathes in again, though nothing has changed, she suddenly appears completely exhausted. As if she could barely sit up straight. Barely keep her eyes open. All the bright sunny cheer drains out of her voice, leaving only the dregs of warm and faintly sad fatigue. It's like talking to another person. "Ah. You mean 'that'. I hadn't expected this discussion for a long time. You're a little cruel, aren't you? Not letting me have even this long. But it's not your fault. I don't blame you at all."
Arthur Lowell	>Arthur: Endure the barrage in a cool way Nope! Arthur takes the blowback for his bully behavior in comedic excess, clearly clenching teeth and wincing sheepishly during Sakura's response. Tamamo is the one who is taking the lead on this -- Arthur only knows the vague shape, the approximate look. He understands there were visions and associations, but he never really had all the pieces of the puzzle. "Ghhhk!" He rubs his side where Lilian elbowed him, and makes a plaintive gesture of peace: Dropping the hip flask and sipping his tea sulkily, nodding a few times gratefully to Tamamo. And then many more times in vague agreement. "Gonna be real, haven't kept up with all the biz, but I had the idea." And he looks to Sakura. "And I'm figuring, you got a lot more knowledge about this if anyone does. Maybe enough to give us a lead on player three and player four, if this turns out to be the right lead." He sets the tea down, taking a deep breath. "Think this is right?" He also checks Kale's thermos! "Damn, dude! That's some fancy stuff." He says, eyebrows shooting up as he looks it over. He looks to Lilian and gestures at her. "See? This guy appreciates a good gamer tea." He's gonna sip on that too. But also Tamamo's, often.
Lilian Rook	Bracing herself a little bit, a few more steadying breaths and a quarter cup of tea restore just enough energy to her countenance to at least manage a middle tone of voice. "I know of the scrolls you speak of, yes. They were left to me, along with everything else that could be retrieved from his humble workshop. I'm not related to the Muramasa line by blood. But it was decided a very long time ago. The clock included. I hear he had quite an obsession with time, as a restless spirit. I think, perhaps, he thought the years would slip by too easily without it?" "It's a foreign import, of course. Back in that period, it would have been very expensive. It was a gift from a certain courtesan. A woman of divine wisdom, who knew the answer to every question. One who sought his particular talents, and gave him that mission that consumed the end of his life and beyond." "There are many, many variations of those scrolls. If you'd like to know which is the definite article . . . it might be possible for me to tell you. But be warned. That man was cursed with absolute knowledge before his death, but the future is not so set in stone. Especially not for men who would change history as he. Every action undertaken is a ripple that would pass down for hundreds of years. I would not rely too greatly on what he saw from beyond the veil. Unlike the others, he was no prophet himself." She stares, sadly, at Arthur. Did she always have those shadows under the corner of her eyes? "I know them. And I love them. I've loved them since we were born. I could never meet them until now. And even when I first did, I couldn't say anything. I fear for them. And at the same time, I wish I could join them. Is this really it? Are you about to destroy their lives as they are? They could still stay this way for another year, perhaps two."
Xion	"Oh osss-manthus, not ohzz-manthus." Xion nods agreeably. "Kale, do you drink much tea? I feel like tea and incense either must be really -in- or really -out- of your culture. In, right?" She asks over the table politely, and then... Wait, she actually had to process this. "You -made- it? Real? Gamer tea?" Xion leaves a statickey afterimage in her place which takes a whole, real bite of white lily muffin before disappearing into snapping crackle-fx while her real self bounces next to Kale. "Oh my gosh you did. This is high quality stuff, the nose is excellent. Have you tried any? I really like the freshness of the leaf here. Great job. That's a kingly gift..." She snaps back to her position to take a cookie. "For a real gamer. Ooh, biscuit." She monches on that, then looks down at the muffin confused, and up at Tamamo. "Oh, the texture's great, the butter-fat balance is really good so the density's really spot-on, and the cream's really nice. I'm not really a super duper fan of lots of frosting on top of things because it gives me the zoomies but then I'll eat ice cream, so..." She shrugs, before picking the muffin back up to eat more.
Kale Hearthward	Did Kale spend some time a few weeks ago actually brewing the 'gamer tea' primarly just to annoy Lilian via enabling Arthur? Who can say. "Yep! Real gamer tea! I took your recipe and used it as a base - I didn't think just 'replacing water with reduced dew' was really all that elegant..." "It was an interesting exercise, making it- but it also kinda let me know why we use water for tea? It was hard to really get flavors in, because the dew is so prominent - especially when you reduce it overnight. The amount of spearmint I had to use would have made normal tea undrinkable... Still, I'm glad it met with your approval." He smiles at her. He asks a few questions about the Muramasas over the <s>radio</s> abstract parallel side conversation going on, getting the general low-down. It's something he's still thinking about when the topic is discussed further. "Discarded... like, thrown away, or destroyed? And how strong are these clans that hold them?"
Lilian Rook	Sakura tries to look a little more cheerful answering Kale. It's a simple question. Less heavy. It's easier for her to lift. "Ignored. Forgotten. They weren't what he wanted. They didn't change the future that he saw into the form that he wanted. Though each of them is something like a divine miracle in the shape of a sword, the imprint of their maker, and being denied their reason for existence, has made them 'cursed'." "The eleven great clans currently house close to four million souls, and make up the bulk of humanity on the archipelago. Each of them maintains a private army, of course, as well as numerous 'magic-users' of distinction, but only the most noble and skilled, usually of the main family bloodline, are permitted to carry a Muramasa Grave Blade. Securing them for our own purposes has been quite a trial."
Tamamo	"Oh, my," Tamamo says to Xion, a glint in her eye. "Have you much experience with the making of these, after all? I shall keep all of these in mind. Oh, perhaps the frosting should be made with removable decorations? Ah, but then it would seem a waste, and one may be tempted to eat them, regardless." She has to spend a while thinking about, before other things draw her attention. Whether Tamamo's lack of surprise at the change in Sakura is genuine or not is impossible to determine by reading her, though at least plausible to guess. "'Cruel,' am I?" She calmly ponders. "I cannot say I shall never be, for all impartiality is cruelty. Would this be an occasion for kindness, I wonder?" But that's only an aside. A woman of divine wisdom, who knew the answer to every question. ...but the future is not so set in stone. "Let yourself have no fear upon this point. I know well the way of it. Though I have some interest in these scrolls, I hold less anticipation for what it is of his vision had escaped my notice, thus far, than my interest in yourself." The warmth is still there, in her soft smile, and in the whole of her countenance. Though she's a fox, too. And not everyone reacts to a flash of a fox's interest the way Rook girls do. It's good that there aren't many shadows in this well-lit room. Are you about to destroy their lives as they are? They could still stay this way for another year, perhaps two. "There is not quite so much time remaining as for which one might wish. If you believe they would be so changed, to be discovered, then it is so, perhaps, that it must be done. Might you tell me why it is you would believe this?" But that's a 'different topic.' If anything, Tamamo would like to leave it to Arthur, if she could. He's the one who seized on that objective first, as she recalls. What should be done once they find numbers 3 and 4 can, one would hope, be decided after seeing. Tamamo's attention is focused on Sakura. "You need only tell me that which you wish to say, though these circumstances require me to pry at least this much. I shall ask, then, whether you have encountered a 'tree,' and what you might tell me of it, if only whether it is the same, or far different, to the one I have witnessed." She doesn't have to say 'in London.'
Arthur Lowell	>==> Arthur takes a few more swigs from the thermos and gives Kale a highly approving OK-sign in return, winking and grinning. Is he doing this just to antagonize Lilian a little? Yes. Yes he is, and everyone can tell, but he'll never admit to it. "Nice. Got that maximum dew flavor, and a hardcore kick of spearmint." But he keeps sipping on Tamamo's as well, enjoying the traditional sort. And of course, chomps on too many muffins. >Arthur: Are you about to destroy their lives as they are? The chewing stops, after a while, and then he swallows as Sakura asks her question. He pauses for a long time. "Sakura?" He asks, tilting his head as if unsure about what he just said in some way. His eyes narrow slightly, brow furrowing with concern. But he presses on. He lifts tea tp his lips and sips before he answers properly. "Yeah. You got a wish, don't you? I can tell there's some hunger there for some real impossibilities. I bet they got some too. I think, if I'm gonna see what I saw in London go ahead and grant what they want, it's a good idea to get in there and start seeing what I can fulfill too. Gotta soften the blow as far as the unchosen end of things goes." "Besides. They'll understand. Rook did, you did. They will too." He nods a few times and sets the cup back down, then rubs his face with a heavy sigh. "I mean, it's a bad situation. I can already tell this isn't a prophecy for putting together the raddest houseparty in the world, it's gonna be some disaster shit. But we're two for two on people who want to get in on this."
Kale Hearthward	"Four million civs across eleven clans..." Kale does some mental calculations, trying to do some napkin-level math to estimate military strength based on population. It's only accurate in the sense that he's probably not off base by more than a magnitude of ten. "... Not... impossible. Hmm." Then he's brought out of his thoughts. "Got... into what?" He looks over at Arthur.
Xion	Xion squints thoughtfully. "I've eaten a lot of good food near people who knew what they were doing. Like a... passing-knowledge. Proximal understanding?" That word fits, so she nods, her noir bangs bobbing. "So I know that it's the fats and oils that's keeping it 'moist', and, that heavily contribute to how..." Xion looks sheepish again, but this time in a gentle pinkening of her cheeks. "Sorry, you know. It's good because that reason. You're talking about important swords that aren't keys but are hearts, and I can only two-thirds follow it. Could you relate it to light and darkness more?" Xion licks a bit of cream off the side of her hand. "Or, um, feelings?" She looks down at her untouched tea, and anxiously drinks some, and then finds another muffin, this time picking at the frosting in little pinching chunks of white-and-muffin. Licking her fingers after the second, she decides: "Maybe sprinkles? Little discs? Maybe of some compress? Fruit jelly? Ooh, -fruit jelly-."
Trudy Grimm	Trudy is still present; but not adding much to the dialogue yet. While she might be one of the present experts on curses and cursed items, she's not about to start speculating on the nature of items she hasn't had a chance to examine yet. She helps herself to one of Tamamo's muffins, though plucks at it with her fingertips to eat that way rather than shoving the whole thing into her mouth, her eyes wandering between Tamamo and Sakura and Arthur in turn as they speak. The Grimoire remains on the table in front of her, though starts flipping through pages again. Her non-muffin-holding hand eventually drops down, ceasing the page-turning and then lifting enough to allow the book to close itself completely with little more than a thoughtful noise. After a moment, she closes her eyes, "Well, once you sort out getting your hands on them, I'll happily take a look at whatever malice is clinging to them."
Lilian Rook	Sakura smiles her wistful smile at Tamamo again. There is no excitement in, or maybe even recognition of, that instinctive sign of danger. In hoarse tones, she says, "Please. I was really happy, you know, to see that even in another world, another time, you were able to be happy. It saved me, a little, to know that there was a Tamamo no Mae who was given what she really deserved. I wanted it to last as long as possible. You'd forgive me that, right, Lady Tamamo?" Lilian's eyes widen. "You-- What Saeko said--" She's pieced together something alright. Sakura just lowers her gaze to the tabletop, just short of actually looking at Lilian. "Please don't let her know that I told you. But Saeko, when she was young, was a great admirer of Tamamo no Mae. Ours. A close friend. Before what happened, happened. Not as we proudly record. Not in that order. Saeko of Ten Tails has removed her ninth, twice, so that she might stay rooted on Earth, and take care of the business that our Tamamo left us. But I'm not blind. I know there is just as much hatred in her heart for what was done to her. I know her well enough to know that. She practically raised me." She glances back up to Tamamo again. "Yes. What other all-knowing courtesan could I speak of? We can never know what insight that ninth tail grants, but, she knew. Or at least, she knew enough, to do the only thing that she thought could make a difference. And when an emperor would have none of it, she turned to the only man born in her time who could leave us in the present, her gift from the past. I believe . . . I know she shared her nine-tailed insight with him, before he died. And so he kept smithing swords, so that he might change that fate." The exhaustion creeps back deeply as the topic relentlessly swerves back to London. "Yes. You're right. I know where my heart's desire lies, outside of my heart. I've seen it. First in my dreams, and then from my sanctum. Just like how I know where the swords are. Just like how I knew what was becoming of you, Lilian." Lilian clenches her fingers hard enough to crack the porcelain of her cup. ". . . That was you, wasn't it? That letter." Sakura's sad smile becomes tinged with guilt. "Almost. I saw . . . Well, Xion wouldn't remember. But you're right that to make more of them was my idea. I don't go outside. Ever. This is the most I've ever been allowed. But 'seeing the present' really means 'anywhere, presently' if I know where to look. And that's one reason the clans can't be let to know about me." A stiff, gut-dropping pause follows. "I'm sorry. I really am. But I saw what was becoming of you. And I loved you too much to let it happen."
Lilian Rook	"Yeah. You got a wish, don't you?" Lilian stares at Arthur. Sakura stares at Arthur. The two of them could burn little holes in him with their gazes and meet in the middle. "I do. When I was six years old. I remember. When I thought 'how come?', and decided that I wish things hadn't turned out like this. I have some of that power. But the rest of it lies over there." She strangely points at a seemingly arbitrary point through the northeastern wall. "At the Tree of Serenity. I'm so sorry that I wasn't there, wasn't looking, when you found yours, Lilian. You have, haven't you? You know its name. Deep in your heart, you do, don't you? You saw it in your dreams too, haven't you? The--" "--Tree of Crisis. Yeah." Sakura sighs. She seems to shrink even more, somehow. "Even if I were to indulge, to accept what I've longed for so badly, and to forsake everyone who cannot survive without me, there's simply no way I could go there. I can barely travel, and certainly not fight, and Saeko has strictly forbidden it." There's a choked pause. "You were right there, and you came back. You've really been through a lot, haven't you Lilian?" Lilian replies "I could handle it. I'm fine." Her eyes are a little red, when they weren't before. Back to the main questions. "If you're really set on them, the other two, if you'd inflict on them what was inflicted on me years ago, and Miss Rook so recently, I won't stop you. I should take it as a sign of fate. But I warn you. Unlike Lady Saeko and Master Gerart, the guardians of those two are not so understanding and forthright. The children wished for something along a different axis than us." "But you understand now. This is why the forty-fifth blade is more important than just the clans and the balance of power. It was something Sir Muramasa made for me. Left to a girl he didn't know would really exist, tormented by a flash of heavenly wisdom. If I'm meant to have it, then it must be something necessary. Something we can't do without. For what lies ahead of us."
Lilian Rook	Lilian side-mentions to Trudy, a little hoarsely, "We have six of them in total. They're sealed away under considerable security for the good of everyone here. Gathering too many in one place is beyond risky, to say the least. It's recently become our long-term goal to get the rest. Or at least, enough of the set to de-fang the clans and to decipher, from their combined dedications, the location of the forty-fifth. The curse is strongest when the blades are held in fours-- and by that I mean instantly disastrous. But handling them safely on their own is . . . extraordinarily difficult." "I can't say whether you'd be perfectly suited to it, Grimm, or the second worst choice."
Trudy Grimm	The witch bursts out laughing at Lilian's assessment, a true and honest laugh with all her teeth showing and her eyes squeezed shut. Raising a hand, she slaps it down on the Grimoire, then leans forward. That same hand reaches up, wiping a true tear from her eye as she opens those emerald greens again to focus on the Immune directly, "You know what? That's a completely fair determinaton. I couldn't have said it better myself and I won't begruge whichever decision you reach." Straightening herself in her seat, the witch moves her book off the table, looping the strap once more over her shoulder to let it hang, "I'll in fact respect your choices and not pry any further. Consider me a resource, nothing more. Use me as you see fit; or don't." Lifting a hand, she casually gestures to the fox-eared maiden, "After all, I'm not the /only/ expert on curses in this room."
Arthur Lowell	>Arthur: Make them understand "They're adults, and further than that, they're chosen adults." Arthur says. "Which means a lot of shit, but one thing it means is, either they have enough empathy to understand someone who's putting it on the line for what needs doing, or you don't lose too much sleep breaking their nose. If there's heat, there's heat. If there's a fight, there's a fight." He glances to one side, to Lilian. "But I'm locked in and signed on for Rook, and I think she needs a full party. Unless she tells me to fuck right off, I'm making this happen, whatever lumps need taking. Plus, there's two more yearning wishes out there. Gotta get on those." Siiip. "As for the blade... yeah. I'm still signed on about that. Even if I don't know shit about Seer and Time stuff." His hands run along a sine wave as he speaks, awkward but trying his hardest to commit. "I saw the Tree, and the Soldiers, and I know we're gonna need a lot to make this work out without some intense dying." There's that shit-eating grin, too. "Plus, just the kind of heroism that I need to be doing, returning ancient treasures to a girl."
Xion	'Can you make this about blades and hearts and keys' SAKURA: <will blades and hearts and trees work> 'Yes, trees work' Xion has many sweets to consume, but she slows to a thoughtful stop. She lifts her chin to address Sakura, and then Trudy bursts out into laughing, and Arthur steps even farther past where her thoughts are at, all the way to a point she hadn't even considered at all. From her sitting-forward, she sits back instead. "Going there was really violent, and you don't get so close to being without learning something. Without changing a little. Just proximity can be a lot. So... You're both right. A lot. About a lot of things." "I'm sorry I don't remember." Xion speaks, grave and reflexive, like she had to apologize for that one, and then: "But sometimes fear and queasiness is because you really want to. Like hunger is an emptyness because you want to fill up. Sometimes opposites and change are what's gotta happen, because staying one way's gonna mess you up worse." "Well." "Feelings are complicated." Xion drops her head to look at muffins and sweets and tea again. "I'm sure if I just talk about keys for a little bit, there's something at the tip of my tongue, it's right there..."
Tamamo	Earlier, elsewhere: When Candy arrives, standing in the snow, he peers at the house with his fists clenched. He reaches into the longcoat and procures the letter, reading over it again, eyes burning. Dynamic Era holds the letter loosely between his fingers, in his empty hand. Echoes of this past persist in the future, their threads waiting to be followed, once the ends are found. Just now: I was really happy, you know, to see that even in another world, another time, you were able to be happy. . . . That was you, wasn't it? That letter. "Ah, so, this was the way of it. I can see the cause of your concern, and forgive that you took some action against it, though I had not followed quite to this point, at that time. Was it desperation for which you disturbed the flow, not knowing what end might result?" Tamamo's tone is chiding, though still gentle. "And yet, I must allow for what has passed. Little good would be done in reproaching these acts, now." She'll save her ire for those against whom she can more comfortably aim it. It's too difficult to hold Sakura accountable for overstepping, with that kind of motive. ...to know that there was a Tamamo no Mae who was given what she really deserved. ...'seeing the present' really means 'anywhere, presently' if I know where to look. Tamamo makes a mental note to send Sakura a message concerning this, later. Just like how I know where the swords are. "Do you know where each of them is, then?" Lilian replies "I could handle it. I'm fine." Tamamo, already sitting next to Lilian, reaches for her hand, under the table. ...if you'd inflict on them what was inflicted on me years ago, and Miss Rook so recently... "I find it simplest to agree with Saeko-san, that to approach such a thing, a place that tempts one to forsake everyone, is a thing that should not be done. The question, then, is whether this is something against which one may be protected. The second question, then, is whether it is something against which one 'should be' protected. I have not touched these trees and, I expect, I shall not. To follow their threads is beyond my present insight. At most, I shall find 'those two,' and see whither their paths lead, perhaps. And yet, again, you speak curiously. What is it, I wonder, that informs you of that which we shall attempt? If it is certain, then, perhaps, you need not speak of it." "They're adults, and further than that, they're chosen adults." Arthur says. "To become an adult is, perhaps, to accept responsibility for oneself. I cannot yet say whether we shall find these two grown well-developed, to that point of independence. It is against my own nature, perhaps, to... but no, to speak of that is premature, itself. I wish to know them, and to only judge that which I know. I have hardly become one holding the answers to all questions." Tamamo takes a while to try and think of how to phrase all of this in terms of keys, but it hasn't yet come to her. Light may be a big part of her Authority, but not Keys or Darkness.
Lilian Rook	"I'm nothing if not fair." Lilian replies to Trudy, probably intending to sound flippantly facetious, but still just slightly too hoarse to pull it off. "I'd like to at least give it a try. It's been slow and difficult thusfar. And I have a . . . feeling, that the more we get, the harder it'll become. But just . . . be careful. Sometimes going against your nature can give you a lot of strength. Sometimes I can strain your capacity and something can put you over the limit." She smiles, faintly, awkwardly, but sincerely, back to Arthur. "You really like that language, huh? Do you think you're a 'chosen one'? Or the opposite who was handed an opportunity? Ah, that's a little rude to ask. So, I'll just say I appreciate your assistance." Sakura laughs a little roughly. A little queasily. It's still a soft and endearing sound. Despite everything else, she sounds like a girl who has never laughed at someone else in her life. "Desperation, Lady Tamamo? I think, maybe, yes. Because then we'd never be able to grow close. Never be able to speak on our own time. I'd never get to ask all the questions I've been burning to since Lilian became one of us. I'd neither with you either. I'd be very lonely. And I think, in the end, she would have 'gone away', and I would long to follow after. Thank you for keeping her with us. Especially after I naively caused you so much trouble. It means a lot to me." She nods. "Almost all of them. There are a couple that are still lost, like the Blade of Distortions here once was, but . . ." Her eyes glide over to Lilian, who says "I have my own ways of finding things like those. Different, but similar. I understand." She gently squeezes Tamamo's fingers under the table as she's reached out for. Sakura sighs. "I'm relieved. I'd hoped, but . . . haha, even if I could read minds, it wouldn't work on you either way." She looks to Tamamo. "I've learned a lot about how to guess at people's hearts, but I never quite learned that trick. At least, not when things are normal. Not when people are happy and healthy. The most I can do is when things are the way they shouldn't be. I am not the only one who knows of the four. But yourselves excluded, I am the only one who knows that there are four children and four guardians. And I may know the most. As much as I can without feeling what you did." Her shoulders fall slightly. "I understand. It pains me, but I will believe you that it is for the best, and stay here for now. Still, I wish I could . . . it's hard feeling helpless, isn't it?"
Lilian Rook	That exhausted smile favours Xion. "I don't feel that change is always bad. Mono no aware, as they say. I do. I really do want to. Because if I did, I'm sure I could make things better than this. More than I can now. Whatever I have to give up, I'm sure it would be worth it. But if you need me to stay this way for a little while longer . . ." Lilian interjects. "You'll find something. I promise." Sakura, exhales, and it seems oddly like relief. She brightens up a little bit. Enough to contemplate that odd request. "Keys? That's very specific. Well, okay. I can try!" She thinks for a little while longer, overlong sleeve to her chin. "The 'Trees' could be said to be a key that unlocks the things deep within one's heart. But those things aren't always good. So they were jaggedly stripped of their teeth and sent away, and people locked things the way that was best, right? So they can only unlock very uniquely-shaped hearts, with a few teeth in odd places like that. But what's inside a 'unique' heart is never close to being 'more human', so it's scary too. Because all sorts of things have hurt those hearts, their locks are a little damaged, and they leak those wishes anyways." "Sir Muramasa gained divine wisdom from our Tamamo no Mae many centuries ago, but all it did was let him learn of the lock that existed on our happy future. He was left to try forging a key, blindly, on his own. And he failed forty-four times, so those keys now only unlock things that shouldn't really be, but which are advantageous to many wielders. Only the forty-fifth is the right key to the door we really want to open. It is, in all probability, my key." "There is a school of thought that all four of us might be needed, for the door to our happy ending, with four locks. It's not implausible. But I can't see the future. And I don't know if our locked hearts will be enough. It's a very heavy and scary feeling, and once the others know, their lives won't be the same again. They'll probably have to suffer a lot. And I'd like to let them keep being as close to normal as they can be for a little while longer. But if you need to, then I can hope things will go well! Does that help?"
Tamamo	Thank you for keeping her with us. Especially after I naively caused you so much trouble. It means a lot to me. "I could do no less than I have done," Tamamo says to Sakura, in similar manner to 'think nothing of it,' if with more gravity than that would have carried. I have my own ways of finding things like those. "Mr. Hearthward shall not be kept long should he wish to lay eyes upon one, then, after all." It is not clear whether Tamamo realizes the scope of Kale's intentions. The most I can do is when things are the way they shouldn't be. "Ah, I see. It is toward the peaceful path your eyes most easily turn, is it? When upon the path, that is a different matter." . . . it's hard feeling helpless, isn't it? Tamamo nods. "It is ever the denial of the wish, rather than the presence of the wall over which one has no desire to climb, that pains the heart." In response to Sakura's speculation of futures to Xion, Tamamo only says, vaguely, "Perhaps. If it cannot be seen from our present perspective, it remains only that we find another." On that note, "Thank you, Sakura-chan. Though I have some desire to ask the ten-tailed one of this thing you are forbidden to approach, I expect I would learn little by trespassing near it, and feel no desire to contact it. It would not be likely to illuminate more of the path, and so, it is only a curiosity that persists in mind. Instead, shall we consider the clock? It is most convenient that this, too, has been kept, bearing from one set of hands to another. Perhaps her perspective would aid ours."
Lilian Rook	Sakura tilts her head very slowly, by degrees, at Tamamo, in a way that it seems fairly obvious she was probably told to stop doing a long time ago. "Consider it? We spoke of it earlier. Do you need to see it? I can--" Lilian has already fetched it and put it down on the table. Sakura blinks, and makes a little 'oh' noise. The item is clearly very old, despite the superb job done at keeping its brass exterior in shape. Box-shaped and largely sealed, with intricate weights and counterweights sticking out from a central spring axis above (modelled, appropriately, after a tree, though this is likely coincidental), a dial on each face, marked with old kanji, indicates it was probably for the irregular time periods inherent to the feudal era 'perpetual calendar'. "I am told that it was a gift brought to Sir Muramasa. It was one of the few items left alone in his workshop, after he finally passed on to his next life, that was still there when my friends were able to locate it. As such, it is something of an . . . inheritance? But I thought maybe you would enjoy it too."
Arthur Lowell	>Arthur: Are you chosen or unchosen? "Chosen. Not hard to say. Most dudes are." Arthur says, taking a somber sort of sip from the thermos this time. "The shit I wished for got picked. Got that shit coded into the cosmos, for real. Sure, I got some..." He looks away, as if off into the distance and out a window. "Got some wishes the universe don't wanna take into account, but I can't get that stolen valor or nothing." "Maybe I'm a bit too chosen, honestly." He mutters, but refuses to allow the conversation to linger on that. >Arthur: Talk about fours "But," He says, gesturing forward. "It did teach me some shit. Specifically it taught me about the full group. It fuckin' sucks to fuck around with four lives, especially Unchosen lives that deserve a damn break. But if there's a happy ending, it's gonna be through this. I've been through this cosmic shit before. It's always four, it's always rough, and it ends, at the end of all of it, with you getting that wish, if this gets the right hard work. That cosmic machinery has to work, even for Unchosen."
Tamamo	<J-IC-Scene> Tamamo says, "Ah, yes. It has been some time, since then. It was... all those here, who had agreed to bear witness." <J-IC-Scene> Tamamo says, "In this case, it is not to judge a claim. It is only to find a secret of the past, kept by one like myself." <J-IC-Scene> Tamamo says, "Nevertheless, should you wish to join me this time, as well, I shall show it to you." This isn't magecraft. It's something that might be possible by ritual, but only in imitation. Reaching for threads that cannot be seen is something Tamamo can do naturally, because She could do it. For Her, time might as well have flowed in both directions, for all that its current was an obstacle. One need only follow the threads of Fate, far past their rainbow-shimmering snarls, and pull oneself over, to find the only way they could have been. Murmured, "The tapestry is the universe, itself." Reaching for the clock, Tamamo lightly places her fingertips on one face, feeling up to the brass edges. Just like that time, there's no setup of a field. No scattering of talismans. No chant to truly speak of. No warning but her invitation, before those who accept her offer find all color fading but a pair of bright, golden eyes. Only a moment of time from 'now' is needed to experience the entirety of 'then.' Tamamo-no-mae searches the past for the one like herself, to find meaning in the message she'd left in care of a smith.
Lilian Rook	"Stolen valour?" Lilian sniffs at Arthur. She seems to find it terribly amusing. "I'm not sure I'd mind it, as long as they stole the rest. I'm not a girl who can wear that sort of thing with pride." She quiets down just a little. "But I wouldn't have minded it if were just me too. Four people is too much." A frustrated noise, her voice going even lower. "'You've been through a lot'. What about you?" And then, for Tamamo, searching backward for the earliest (and thus latest) time those hands she seeks had been upon the threads of the daimyo clock, is strangely easy. Though fate tangles and snarls, weaves and warps, just as always, this thread runs especially brightly through it, always easy to find once again even as it goes back many centuries. It almost feels as if she were meant to find it. Or at least, as if someone was. Perhaps unexpectedly, the surroundings taken on are nowhere that seems particularly auspicious. All around them --rather, around the clock-- is a springtime forest, dewy leaves and bright flowers crowded around a packed dirt road, leading through some picturesque, but unremarkable, piece of rural countryside. There isn't a sound beyond those of nature, rustling wind and babbling water and carelessly loud insects and birds, along with the distant call of some canine animal, seldom ever encountering humanity. The clock, unwound and still, swings gently underarm from the one carrying it, only otherwise carrying a small satchel. An individual utterly out of place in these deeply rural surroundings, in garb and bearing, and yet strangely at once more at home in them than even a farmer, by some other indefinable quality. She is a Japanese woman of almost unbearable beauty, for whom even modern men would fall for in the blink of an eye. Small and curvy and fair with starkly amber eyes that are nearly yellow and hair of the more reddish brown than black, she'd stand out instantly in this time period even without her dress, outrageously traveling a dirt road alone in white and pink and purple silks of exorbitant costs equal to the jewels and pins and combs in her hair and about her throat. At this moment, with no other soul around, she openly wears the tufted fox ears and swaying silken tails behind her, though there is no reason to do so. And though she looks straight ahead at her path, navigating the rough road flawlessly in her tall geta with the bearing of a princess, she speaks out loud with a voice like sunshine and fresh snow. It takes a moment to realize just whom she is speaking to. "If I have intuited in proper fashion, and if I have truly done everything in its right way, this is the moment in which you will most easily find me. If that is so, then I will say a few words, for your benefit, and my peace of mind, before I am to put into motion my final plans, should the gods be willing. I know not who hears me now, if indeed anyone at all, but if I am right, then I think she must be very brave, and so I offer her first my dearest congratulations on becoming the woman she is now." "History will no doubt remember me unkindly. I have tried too many a time to turn powerful men towards thoughts of the future. But even emperors and kings, no matter the century or the nation, will think nothing of the world that will exist beyond their line, if they would even think beyond their lifetime. The insight I impart upon them drives them only to madness. Their despair only to violence. I am no divine spirit. Perhaps I am a very wicked woman indeed. Protecting this world, and those who will come after me, will not be my achievement; this can only come from the humans who live in those unenviable times."
Lilian Rook	"But still, I sought to leave you something. Some gift, some blessing, some aid at your bleakest, so that you might be proud of us in the past, and not revile us. So that the weight of history will not drag you down, but be a foundation of strength to stand upon above stormy waters. I was in error to think that this could come from 'civilization'. Empires, nations, ways and customs; these things will shape you, but never pass down to you. No mighty ruler will ever convey my wish to leave you an Inheritance worthy of you." "This 'history' that we live in, even before my time, is already 'false', and by the time you in the future hear me, the ripples of its error, its 'correction', will be too small to perceive. If I am to leave a gift, it must be small, and hidden, and crafted by only the most singularly devoted of hands, without thought of worldly concerns. If I am right, then I will leave you but a sword, and a message other than this, and perhaps a measure of peace. But this sword is not a sword, and it will not go to the one who is 'the sword of the future'. That one has been decided already when I was young, in a far away land. I am but the second to realize; perhaps merely the third. This one will bear not so lonely a terrible burden, but all the burdens of others." "I am no goddess, nor servant of one. I will likely not see your age, and I will not be forgiven for what I have done. But let it be known, whoever you are, however many of your loved ones hear me now, I believe that there is hope for you. Though I envy not the lives you have lived, I envy the loves that you will have, and I admire and long for the humans you will meet; the most real, the most human of humans; those who will be everything they choose to be, and nothing but. Be sure of your value, even the one who I imagine has reached out to me first, who has been punished terribly. Be sure of those you love. Be sure of that hope. Hate those who have wronged you, and care for those who have been wronged. Never allow others to choose who you are, and resist the temptation to abandon them for their folly." "This item is of no especial value to you. But it will be of value to 'him'. And you will recognize its importance when it lives to your day when others have been shattered. Most likely, the future will continue to change, and be 'corrected', until the day those special ones are born. So I will rely on no such fickle thing as fate or the gods, but only what lies in human hearts." "Take care of those precious humans. They will triumph where the humans of the past have failed you, o brave one. I wish only that I would be able to see you." At the end of the road, a small, unassuming building of wood, adjoined to one of clay, comes into focus. Built by a stream, charcoal smoke issuing from a workshop chimney, it certainly seems familiar. The woman sighs, runs her spare hand over her head, and her vulpine features vanish. She smiles, to nobody at all, and then marches forward to knock on that door.
Xion	'Please relate this topic in terms of keys.' Xion pauses as many things are explained to her, and the Multiple Mindreaders in the room get a very clear impression. 'Oh no. Now I know exactly what she's talking about. It's that place under the family tree, past the usual staircase.' More explanations wash over her. She moves from mentally sweating to looking mildly queasy. 'Oh no. There were three doors there, in the place at the bottom of the stairs, that were closed, and one open. And Aoibheil. It's just a place we could go.' >Arthur: Talk about fours 'Foor doors. We can just go there. Right now. We can just do it. We can just go. We have to go. We should go right now. We should. Let's go. I have the key. I have every key. I have the specific key too.' Xion, queasy enough to retch, instead gulps and doubles over, holding her stomach. Nope. It's coming out. "If it's just keys and doors, then, I can do it. And maybe there's not a big value in waiting and making sure and waiting and making sure and waiting." She hitches, then sighs, and goes doll-slack. "You should ask your whole heart what it wants. You do have a choice. Oohh," Xion reaches forward to calm the residual stomachache with the air-cooled tea. "Yeah, that was a really keys and trees reference."
Tamamo	Of course, it would be easy. This was a search for a message meant to be found. Not that everyone was meant to realize it was there. Her own not-quite-self impressions first take her attention. "To think that even the origin point of 'another self' might be so different. Or else, perhaps, is this the common way of it? The world requires that a 'Tamamo-no-mae' exists, and declares these things to be true of her, and yet, those things unknown to history, those secrets left untold for centuries, they differ, though they were the foundation over which falsehoods had spread." Tamamo walks alongside Tamamo. She's not really there, and she's not really then, but for this moment, the connection is established. There are limits to reversing the flow of time, but sufficient to allow for this much impossibility. This isn't the memory of a person, nor a ghost, nor a spirit, but a vision of what was. The past can be experienced as much as the present. It could have been a personal vision, but instead, it's a shared one, and shared well enough for Tamamo to see someone suffering. Tamamo, the one aware of her presence, steps over to rub a curative talisman onto Xion's back. "Are you alright?" Clearly, she's not, though it's less clear why. Tamamo hasn't explored those four doors. The same connection isn't possible for her to draw. That Xion has realized 'something' is clear enough, and it's probably not Arthur's voices bothering her, this time. "Would you like a rest? Though, it would only be a subjective one." Time is subjective, as she'd said, before. Returning to the contents of the message, "What, do you suppose," the three-tailed fox says to those who were and are with her, "does she mean by 'corrections' of 'false' 'history'? Were one only to speak of the wearing away of what was written, as even stone becomes unreadable, it would be strange to even need its mention. With great care, only, do words survive ages, when lives do not." Tamamo doesn't ask about 'the sword of the future.' She already knows of a sword that would have already existed, before this time, in another land. It's only for a particular, mysterious reason that she asks Lilian, "Do we resemble one another 'more' or 'less' closely, would you say?" It's for an entirely different reason that she asks Sakura, "Is she as you expected her to be? Oh, but you did not forget I had such a power, did you, now? Once again, I must thank you for the clock. A message may be carried in any 'thing,' but few survive without care for such a time as this, while still remaining secret. It was quite well done."
Arthur Lowell	>Arthur: Examine the oddities of multiple timelines and suchlike Tamamo (True) and Tamamo (False) walk and talk, though the latter more than the former for the latter, and the former more than the latter for the former. "I get the feel we're talking some alpha-timeline shit." He rambles. "Stuff like this, it always is. Can't have doomed timelines or whatever. I think Muramasa, he fucks around trying to nudge things in a good way, but..." Arthur shakes his head. "This is all leading into unchosen influence. The tree says 'no'. It corrects. Maybe. Betcha Lilian gets a better feel for this than I do." He looks to the small residence. "One more message. And the sword we find eventually, right?" He says, wandering verbally and in the vision towards it. "But I'm betting we don't get the sword first. And here's hopin' that message isn't just to take care of the humans, huh? I mean, that was always the plan. C'mon, Tammy False, gimmie just a little more, huh?" Can he get a peek at the projects when the door is cracked?
Lilian Rook	Lilian watches the scene unfold with equally rapt attention to Sakura. Between the respectively 'aesthetically starved 'and bottomlessly attentive' gazes, every little thing 'their' Tamamo no Mae says registers and elicits an emotional reaction, however slight. "Huh?" Lilian replies to Tamamo, uncharacteristically dumbly and surprised. "Hm. She feels more 'earthly', I think. But, also, don't you think you'd be like her, if you were a fox first, and not a goddess? If only the piece of you that had a Question was the whole?" She considers the other part. "Didn't Arthur say something about an 'alpha timeline' thing?" And then he says exactly that, putting the onus right back on her again. She groans slightly. "I don't know what it is that she saw wrong with 'history', but knowing what we know, there must be something incompatible with it, right? And there have been thousands of diviners and prophets through history. For so few to see 'this' coming, wouldn't that be unusual? What if those scrolls we saw kept changing not . . . because he was seeing more clearly, so much, as the vision really did change every time he forged a new blade?" Sakura sniffles at Tamamo's question for her. "Everything I dreamed of, Lady Tamamo." she chokes out. "A-aha. It was rather clever of her, wasn't it? These clocks were so rare and so valuable, for one to end up where it did . . . Ah, and all the others in the country were destroyed at the behest of the Meiji government, so for this one to be hidden; isn't it natural that you would sense its importance. Even in its unusual design, apparent to the right person. And a clock, of all things, too . . ." Sadly, there's no opportunity to look inside, when a young man opens the door and staggers at the sight of his visitor. There's no point anyways. This is long before he crafted any of the swords. Before that hapless smith knew anything. Lilian dry laughs, and adds "I'm sure it's more important than that." When the vision naturally comes to an end, Sakura stares at Xion for an uncomfortably long time, and then lowers her eyes with a weak smile. "I . . . want to. But my whole heart doesn't. Can't. Because a part of my heart wants to be here, with you. I would only go over to that side last. I could never stand to be first. There's so much I still have to do. Still so many people who need me." "But at least, I think I'd like to know more about it. To maybe feel it with my fingers, just a little. To know what things are like. I think I could forgive myself that much. My imagination is only so much, Miss Xion. I am glad I could help you understand, and I am sorry it was an understanding that caused you so much distress." Taking a steadying breath, Sakura looks up to the four, and answers the question that she had been asked before, little fists balled in her lap. "The other two . . . I know not the names of their wishes. I have learned only Crisis today, and know only Serenity for myself. But I know them, and have known them for a long time. They are not so far from places you have been. Oreshnika is her name, of the Ural, though she goes by a more common 'Nika'. She is shy and sensitive, and an older brother is her guardian. She is called the Angel by those people, but a Witch below. Ashley is the other, in the southwest of the United America, though they despise that name, so seek Ash instead. They live a bold and fearsome life, but their guardian is an old spy, who cannot protect them as well as he wishes; they are called 'Jormungandr' by his comrades, who know the location of their Yggdrasil." "Please, be kind to them, as you would be to me. They have already been through enough, and they will be put through much more by this."