Scene #3245: Meeting the Shadow Folk

Owner	Pose
Sachi Yuukizura	When she received the orders to join a group of representatives for the United Guardian Network and head to Njorun Station, Sachi Yuukizura had no idea what to actually expect. Given the practicality that she practices, she was expecting something simple, straightforward, and nondescript despite what thoughts and visuals 'interdimensional stronghold' evoke; hardened buildings and monuments to military precision. Now standing before a window looking out over the vastness of space and the multiverse, the young agent of the UGN's eyes are wide and mouth open to a noticable and appropriate slack-jaw. "Holy fu--" she starts, just when someone drops what they are holding and creates a loud enough clatter. LATER The meetings were exactly what Sachi expected; a few dozen agents of the UGN and a few of the higher-ups in closed-doors meetings while the rest of their team case the base and see what they can learn. Is their recent alliance really to the benefit of their world? How long can they hope to keep the multiverse at large away from the public awareness? Even with all of the resources, media control, and occasional alteration of memories involved, keeping something /this big/ is hard to keep from the public. Given leave to wander around a bit and relax-- Kuroda's orders-- the young soldier has found herself wandering all the way up to the winding paths and through the Skygarden. It would be a lie to say that she knows exactly where she's going, too-- she is admittedly a little lost. It is also fair to say that it is fairly obvious she is 'new,' considering the amount of rubber-necking she's doing.
Yalai the Stave	The Skygarden is a peaceful place, blessed with greenery as far as the eye can see and bodies of water studding the massive limb the garden grows from. Without being near the Axis, one can easily forget that Njorun Station is a single massive tree. The sound of soft wind and lapping water are soothing to the frazzled or overworked subconscious, and overall, it's a place of... A strange cry floats on the wind; a bird's keening, strangely two-toned, and belonging most likely to something very large. High above, the shadow of outstretched wings ripples over the ground, momentarily darkening Sachi Yuukizura as well, blotting out the sun for an instant. The shadow seems to dart off into the distance. A few seconds later, it returns again, larger and lower. It seems to be a very large bird of some kind, broad wings outstretched, finger-like primary feathers splayed and trembling against the wind of its own flight. #-1 FUNCTION (SPCAE) NOT FOUNDIt gives that cry again, louder, and something moves up there-- --and almost faster than the eye can follow, something plummets earthward, though the bird still circles above. It's a humanoid shape, but that much is about all the detail afforded before the shape reaches the ground. Surely a fall from that height would kill a normal person. THUD. Instead, what lands is a very slender, willowy young woman in a three-point crouch, graceful as a cat. She doesn't straighten immediately, likely reorienting herself. The first remarkable thing is her complexion. She isn't just pale; she's /white/. Her skin has almost no colour to it, and her hair really is stark white, long and loose. It contrasts sharply with the black attire she wears; a simple black tunic and leggings and boots, the tunic embroidered in silver thread with some sort of stylised weeping eye. Second is the way she moves -- too liquid and graceful for any human musculature, marked of incredible self-control, and articulated in ways that a human just can't move in. Third, she has long, pointed ears; a thin chain of white-gold is clasped through the right, and it chimes softly when she raises her head, blinking at Sachi. Her eyes are the colour of fresh blood. "Well. This is being different." Her voice is very slightly husky, and strongly accented -- in a place like Sachi's from, it might almost sound Hebrew or Arabic in its cadences. Turning, she folds her arms, surveying the Skygarden -- it looks like she has rolled-up parchment stuck through her belt, and the partial plume of a quill sticks out from a pocket at her belt. She turn turns those blood-red eyes on Sachi. She has a bandolier over her chest, and it's full of needle-slim throwing knives, all honed to a fearsome point; over her shoulder is a leather sling, in which rests a wooden quarterstaff, graven with runes from top to bottom. The eyes narrow, before her slim, stark-white brows quirk in puzzlement. "Excuse me. Where am I being? This is not being where I was wanting to go; and I do not remember being in this place before..."
Sachi Yuukizura	The lighting is enough that Sachi needs to look up and shield her eyes from the light source. Caught up in the appearance of the station and the wonders within the space-tree, the sight-- and thought-- of birds living here suddenly does not feel so alien. Strange, but ... she's dealt with her rather fair share of the strange and unusual. Then, from that circling bird-- wait, that bird is /big/-- then something jumps off of it. Her feet shift position; traction-soled shoes give her a bit of a push back in a small tactical hop. Fingernails into the heel of her hand and pushes in an almost ritualistic manner, though the gesture is a little small and subtle to be seen without close examination. Then... the strange, sylvan woman rises, her skin as white as-- "G-G-G-Ghos--" HOLY CRAP SHE IS AS WHITE AS THE GRUDGE. HOLY CRAP-- pointed ears, what. Sachi's fingers ease out of their tight little fist, though she frowns and scrunches her eyebrows. "I think this is ... the Skygarden? This is my first time here, so I really don't know wh-- wait, /you fell out of the sky/, isn't there some kind of securi... who /are/ you, and--" Despite the small smattering of fresh red in the bandages and band-aids on her hand, Sachi's eyes are as wide as saucers while trying to resist moving her fingers close enough to the strange woman to poke at the angular slope of her ears. "Oh man those are /real/."
Yalai the Stave	That is a very large bird. It looks loosely as though it could be some kind of stork, with a large bill, broad wings, and long legs, but it's too far away to see very clearly. It wheels overhead while the woman who had presumably been riding it conducts her business below. Speaking of which, the red-eared woman frowns, looking almost approving at Sachi's subtle gestures. It may not be that she recognises it as a particularly threatening gesture, but she does know quick reflexes when she sees them. "Ghost? No, I am not being dead." She lifts an arm, rolling her wrist this way and that and studying her own arm bemusedly. "At least, not the last time I was checking, I should be hoping." Letting her arm drop, she looks to Sachi, grinning and showing white, even, mercifully non-pointed teeth. "Oh, so? This is being the Skygarden? Good. I was going where I was wanting to go after all. I was not thinking it was having swamps, though... I have never been seeing anything like it." "Yes?" She pauses, blinking, regarding Sachi somewhat blankly. "Of course I was falling out of the sky, yes? How else would I be getting here?" She points up to the circling bird, high above, the shadow of its wings still occasionally falling over the two. "And of course there is being security, I am thinking this is a Union place, yes?" The arm drops, and she blinks somewhat owlishly, one eye rapidly followed by the other, as one of her ears is prodded at. Her white brows furrow in evident confusion. "They are being my /ears/, of course they are being real." Her eyes flick to Sachi, expression going a little more skeptical. "Were you being struck in the head, perhaps?" Folding her arms, she takes a step back and cocks her head, studying Sachi. "I am being the Stave. And who are /you/ being? You are not being Hylian," she muses, bending at the waist and craning her neck to study Sachi, staring pointedly at her ears, which are definitely not pointed. "But you are not being of the Shadow Folk, either. Hmmm... and you are being of the Union, or I am to be understanding you would not be having entry to this place." She frowns, thoughtful. "Since you are not being of the Shadow Folk, and not of the Hylian, than I suppose I will be giving you my given name, too: You may be calling me Yalai, if that is being your preference."
Sachi Yuukizura	"It is, but-- sorry, I'm... 'new?' I'm not quite sure how to word it for someone in my position..." she says, frowning a little. Sachi is an interesting study-- thin, but not unhealthily so, and from the clothes that she wears, a modern Earth era somewhere in the early 2000s; light and loose enough to move but just heavy enough to keep away a chill. She may be a little on the wiry side, but certainly with a little bit more muscle than someone her age should have. More importantly, the band-aids and gauze that decorates her hand, wrist, and fingers on both hands, as well as the kind of callous one gets from wielding weapons. Was she struck on the head? Her eyes-- brown, yes, but with an oddly pure band of blood red around the irises-- shift to one side, "More than I'd care to admit," she continues out of the corner of her mouth, lips pursed slightly. "Sachi Yuukizura. I'm an agent of the United Guardian Network. We only just recently made an alliance with the Union." She starts to extend her hand, but then looks at her palm and the splotch of red. Pulling it back, she frowns and seems to focus for a few moments. There's an odd shifting sound of liquid, then her hand extends anew-- without any sign of the blood that was once there.
Yalai the Stave	The elfin-seeming woman tilts her head, a very slight and subtle motion, and studies her impromptu company more closely. On second look, there are details that seem at odds with first impressions. This awkward young woman is thin, almost as thin as Yalai herself, but just heavy enough to suggest more strength than initial appearances would suggest. Sachi could overpower her in a direct contest of strength, and any battle fought between them would rely on Yalai fighting dirty. Which, fortunately, is a favourite tactic of the Shadow Folk... but it would be close; very close. She looks strong enough to break Sheikah limbs, and her reflexes suggest someone with at least cursory knowledge of how to fight. In spite of that, Sachi seems stuttery and nervous. What an odd dichotomy. "'United Guardian Network?'" The title is pronounced somewhat awkwardly, and Yalai's accent seems thicker over the unfamiliar words. Likewise, her quip about being struck on the head earns a blank look. "Oh. I am seeing, I... am thinking. Maybe." Okay, not really. The Sheikah woman blinks owlishly again at the sight of the blood, which is then simply wiped clean from existence. Those blood-red eyes narrow. How very strange. Still, she takes the hand, shaking it; despite her rail-thin build, her grip is strong, and sure. "We of the Shadow Folk were only recently allying ourselves with the Union as well." Absently, she smooths her hand over a thigh once she pulls it away from Sachi, before lifting it to fold her arms again. "You might be calling them the Sheikah; the Shadow Folk... we are being servants of Her Grace, the Goddess Hylia." Funny, she looks more like a career assassin. "I am personally being a scout." She taps at the sheaf of parchment and quill. "I am making maps to be bringing back for copying. I suppose I was flying a little too far, to be coming here."
Sachi Yuukizura	Kuroda was something of a laid-back, easygoing guy. Supposedly he tested positive as a Neumann, but there are times when people wonder if his true power was being a disarming troll of a man that got what he wanted rather than any sort of super-intelligence. His response to the gawky, awkward teenager that landed on his doorstep, dressed in government-issue shirts and slacks and thick, heavy glasses? Not salute, but offer his hand. That was the first thing Sachi learned from her 'uncle,' and he seems to have something new to spring on her every day, week, and month. Her grip is firm, and thankfully she does not try to turn this into a hand-crushing contest; her eyes do not look away from the scarlet shine of Yalai's, but she does her best to try to smile. It's a little more natural these days, but sometimes it feels like she's consciously ordering herself to make the gesture. "'UGN' is fine. We're-- a government agency. We handle weird stuff," Sachi says, pulling her hand back and making a vague, open gesture. "We've never had to handle /this/ weird before, but..." "Oh-- oh, okay, I see now... I guess," Sachi says, looking up to the sky-- and the bird-- before lowering her vision. "Still, that sounds pretty important. Sorry for ... you know, freaking out a little." Her fingers slip up through her bangs to lift and adjust the thin black-frame glasses while nodding. "I'm... not ... so much a scout, really, more like ... ah, uhm." Her shoulders shrug, awkwardly. "Soldier. We fight Gjaum," pronouncing the word as 'germ,' "protect people who need our help, and try to learn more about what causes them."
Yalai the Stave	"'UGN.' 'Government agency.'" Yalai repeats the unfamiliar terms thoughtfully, although they still sound foreign and awkward. The rest doesn't garner much recognition, either, but at least she seems to be trying to understand. Never mind that 'weird stuff' is a fairly broad-strokes description, and what's strange to some may be perfectly ordinary to others. Like giant flying birds and landing from what must have been fifty feet up in the air with nary a scratch. The Sheikah rolls one shoulder in a sort of sinuous half-shrug. Important? "Perhaps so. It is being necessary, but it is being more important that we are being made ready to be fighting. The Demon King's armies are not resting. Neither are we." Soldier? She raises her eyes, although the term for whatever it is she fights is unfamiliar. "A soldier? Hm. If you are not being too busy with your own world, perhaps you may be of some help to we of the Shadow Folk, if it is not being too much of an imposition." Yalai shows her teeth in a grin decidedly feral. The expression, combined with her angular features, makes the expression seem almost fox-like. "Although it is being dangerous work." Raising a hand, she shrills a whistle; that strange two-toned cry sounds again, and with a rush of air and a ground-trembling thud, the large bird lands beside her with eerie precision. It tilts its head, fixing one reddish-gold eye on Sachi, then the other. The bird has a definite storkish look about it; although there's something about the intensity and set of its eyes that suggests more of a predatory bird than a stork. Flicking its wings fastidiously, it then settles for curving its head over Yalai, to which she laughs and reaches up to bury her hands in the ruff around its neck, murmuring something in an elegantly bizarre, liquid and incomprehensible language. "This is being Neyir. She is a Loftwing. Every resident of Skyloft and the Shadowed Isle is having one bound to them; a companion, and proof of Her Grace's protection." Yalai gives the bird a final pat. "She is being my greatest ally in scouting, for I could not be travelling as swiftly without her." She gestures to indicate the Skygarden around them. "It is looking like this place, but islands, floating in the sky, yes?"
Sachi Yuukizura	"I wouldn't mind helping, no. We're supposed to be lending a hand, after all-- though I'll have to clear this through Kuroda-- my handler. ... Supervisor. Boss." Thing, she almost says. Sachi tilts her head, thinking about this being a brand new experience, and there's something to her that shows she may be a little more excited about this prospect than she /should be/. After all, she'll get to be the first student in Midoriyama to walk on an alien world!! I mean if a flying space tree doesn't already count... As the massive bird lands, Sachi's eyes widen and she takes a step back-- this time less out of some kind of fear; the shift of her weight and steps suggests that she's more just looking to give the big animal some room. "There's /floating islands/ where you're from, too? Yeah, I-- I really want to see this place, now. I mean if there are walking spirits and fey-folk and stuff, that's-- that'd be an amazing thing to see!!" Also a gigantic, valuable cache of tactical information. Though she tries to look a little more controlled and centered about it this time, Sachi still extends her hand a little, then stops to look at Yalai. The look on her face is very simple: 'can i touch teh birb pls?'
Yalai the Stave	"Good. Be telling him, and I will be telling you when and where you are being needed." Again, that feral grin. It's very possible she looks forward to the prospect of dragging some outsider into Hyrulean internal affairs. Or, you know, right into the thick of a war against the evil creatures of the Demon King Demise. "Your help will be most appreciated, I am thinking, yes?" Floating islands? "There are being floating islands," she confirms, as though it were the most normal thing in the world. "When the Demon King was threatening the people of the surface, Her Grace was raising them up on islands to be keeping them safe, and to be defending... well. It is not being important," she adds, with a sidelong look at Sachi. "In any case, we are having floating islands there still. The Demon King has been sealed, but we are still finding his corrupt creatures on the surface, yes?" "And it is being our task to be clearing them away." The rest, however, earns a blank look. "Walking spirits? There is being the Silent Realm, but they are not waking unless they are being needed to be defending. And I am not knowing what 'fey... folk?' are being..." She blinks again, at that puppy-dog look when Sachi stops in front of the Loftwing. The Loftwing, meanwhile, cocks its head to regard Sachi in what seems curiosity. "You may be touching her if you are wanting." The Sheikah grins. "Her name is being 'Neyir.' Be going on," she adds, beckoning.
Sachi Yuukizura	> pet birbd confirmd The Bram Stoker-user extends her hand, though hesitant at first, to pet Neyir in smooth, careful strokes, curious about the texture and feel of the feathers as well as trying to make a good impression with the creature. There's a certain light in her eyes, like, 'oh my god my friends will never believe this but I can't tell them anyway because then I would have to call my boss and have their memories erased.' Sachi's mouth quirks into a slight downward bend. "Not ... spirit. Um. Sorry-- I ... I know there's some kind of translation thing while we're in these areas, but I can't think of the right word. Still-- yeah. I think so." Helping, she means. "I'll bring it up with him when I see him. He's in a meeting right now, so... I don't think there will be a problem. Is there an easy way to contact you? I was given this thing for a phone that would let me do the contact-through-worlds thing," she says, pulling out a small smartphone and letting her thumbs dance back and forth across the surface of the screen.
Yalai the Stave	Apparently, Loftwings have soft feathers. Very soft, and downy over the white undersides, with just the occasional accent of colour here and there on the chest that matches the second stripe on the flight feathers -- a dark purple, in the case of Yalai's Loftwing. The bird turns its head this way and that, as though relishing the attention, occasionally fixing Sachi with one large a red-gold eye. "I am thinking she is liking you," Yalai points out, wtih that fox-like grin. As to the matter of spirits, she only shakes her head, as though not quite certain of Sachi's meaning. Maybe she means something like the Guardians or Watchers of the Silent Realms? Hopefully not. Even when they're on reasonably neutral terms with the Sheikah, those things are still pretty scary. And they hit pretty hard. She tilts her head slightly, before reaching up and plucking off the tiny earpiece that had apparently been clipped beside the chain in her ear; small and silvery, it could have been mistaken easily for just another bauble. "I will be forwarding my contact information to your device. Or, you can be looking me up; surely there is being a Union -- a Union... what is being the word? Directory? Of some kind, yes?" Again that leering grin, teeth white. "Perhaps we can be sparring some time, yes? So I can be judging where best to be putting you. So sorry, but you are not looking like a soldier..." Oh well. Appearances, and all that. "Perhaps you can be meeting my Skyloft Knight associate, yes? He is being my partner, for many years; normally he and I are not going anywhere without one another, but he was having other duties to be calling him away while I was scouting."
Sachi Yuukizura	Sachi stares at the earring as it is removed and handled carefully-- wait, is she using -- is that some kind of interface for her communications with the Union? That, for sure, will be important information to bring back to her superiors. "Yes, I think there is. Go ahead, I'll wait for you," she says, watching the screen and waiting for Yalai's half of the information-- then, at least, she can hit the button to reciprocate the transfer. In that time, her hand slowly lifts; a few bandages made to slacken loose and slip down her wrist with a tug from her mouth while her thumb dances across the display screen. If Yalai is watching-- while Sachi is not-- there is a small, wet splatter noise as blood seems to physically /push/ out of her free hand, passing up through one of the small cuts once hidden by gauze. As her hand curls and elbow bends, a long lash of blood takes shape into a form not unlike a scimitar or katana-- the blade folding over itself with a few swift twists, a circular hole just above the hilt large enough for a finger to slip into, and hardening into a solid, one-piece metallic blade and grip of a deep crimson color. By the time the blade's weight settles on her shoulder, it is solid. She still has not looked up from the phone. "That's what I need people to think, for me to do my job." Looking up at Yalai with a small grin, the red band around her irises seems to have expanded just slightly, engulfing a bit more of the brown. Then, on cue, she awkwardly nudges her glasses up with the knuckle of her phone-carrying hand.
Yalai the Stave	It only takes a bit of poking and prodding with a fingernail at the little silver earpice, prompting it to transmit and receive the relevant information. Apparently she's gone through some kind of tutorial for this stuff, because it definitely doesn't look like something she might otherwise have. Her level of technology is probably mediaeval, or something close to it. Of course, something about her bearing suggests she knows well how to use those throwing knives, or that quarterstaff. When Sachi lifts her hand, the Sheikah's slanted red eyes settle on her, watching intently; when Sachi forces her own blood into the shape of a weapon, those red eyes snap wide. It's not fearful, though. If anything, she looks /fascinated/. ...she has GOT to learn how to do that. Her eyes are still a little wide as she arches a brow, and when she's grinned at, she reutrns that grin with a feral grin of her own. Oh, that's definitely met with approval. "That is being a convenient trick." She gestures toward the blood blade. "Teach me how to be doing that, and perhaps I will be teaching you stick-fighting, or how to be throwing knives with accurateness, yes...?"
Sachi Yuukizura	The data pings against her phone, the display lighting up across her glasses with a scroll of information. Saving the data, she thumbs a few on-screen keys before sending her data back in return, making the transfer process decidedly quick. She bounces the weight of the blade against her shoulder in that time, too. The look on Yalai's face is slightly unnerving; soldier or no, this woman is still of a culture completely alien to Sachi-- and she can't entirely tell what that face is supposed to mean. At the very least, she makes her intent clear through announcement... and Sachi's face falls a little, slipping her phone back into her pocket and bringing the weapon down a little to tap the flat against her palm. "I'm afraid I can't teach it, it's --" Sachi frowns, looking down at her weapon. "It's a little complicated. It has to do with my world, and ... how others like me..." Risk their lives and sanity on a daily basis. Fight to save others from the same monsters they can turn into. Cut down those that were once human, succumbed to the will of the Renegade. "... it's how... we can do our work. Things like fighting monsters, like the Gjaum."
Yalai the Stave	The Sheikah cants her head to one side at that transfer of data, one of her ears twitching very slightly, just enough to make the chain in her ear chime softly. Her hearing is sharp; there's no mistaking that, though her eyesight seems to be pretty sharp, too. Not as sharp as her Skyloft Knight associate -- she's pretty sure he has no equal for distance vision among the Sheikah -- but sharp at details. Can't teach it? Yalai looks visibly disappointed. That's too bad. It would've made for a handy weapon, one that could by its very nature be concealed. Well, back to the drawing board; it isn't as though she can't use the blades sheathed down her bandolier. Or just crack some demon heads with her staff. Hardwood has a certain satisfying heft and weight to it. "That is being unfortunate. But perhaps I can be teaching you to be throwing knives, anyway. You are being an ally, yes? And we are being in similar positions, I am thinking." Long fingers stroke thoughtfully at her chin, delicately. "There is being no harm in that, I am thinking... and perhaps it may be helping you, yes?" Her eyes suddenly lift, regarding the Loftwing looming over them both, and then she turns to Sachi with that toothsome, wolfish grin. "You have never been flying on the back of a Loftwing, I am thinking." Uh oh.
Sachi Yuukizura	"I've learned how to throw knives, too, considering... well, considering the nature of my abilities. That isn't to say I'm not going to consider it, since... I guess I do have a lot to learn about the rest of all of ..." The nebulous gesture with her free hand again, as though she means 'all of the things including this crazy-ass space tree garden.' The blade of the sword suddenly destabilizes as Sachi turns her palm upward, the weapon standing bolt straight before rippling and surging back down into her hand, the blood bubbling over itself and moving more like a coagulated fluid before the cut in her hand closes again. Sachi hides a flinch rather well, and then sets about fixing the bandage. "No, I can't say I--" Her eyes turn up slowly, seeing the absolutely predatory look in the eyes of both Yalai and her bird-steed. "-- have." oh f--
Yalai the Stave	The Sheikah woman seems on the verge of saying something, but suddenly freezes, head canting further to one side and the chain in her ear chiming at the arrested movement. She stays that way in perfect stillness, as though she were listening to something. A sound? A radio contact? MAGIC?? Considering the earpiece is buzzing, very slightly, it's probably radio contact. Her smile, when she turns back to face Sachi, is almost apologetic. "Then we will be having to go flying, you and I, but... not now, I am thinking." Yalai's expression sobers, and all the predatory amusement seems to fade from her like snow before the sun. The change itself is almost unsettling; the ease with which she slips in and out of her merriment, like a switch flicking. Even the Loftwing seems a touch restless, fidgeting and flicking a wing. Yalai takes hold of the leather collar around the bird's neck and swings herself astride the creature with practised ease, leaning down over the Loftwing's shoulder to wave to Sachi. Not without a grin, but it seems a little wan; forced. "Something is happening that I am being needed for. If you will be excusing me." Seizing the collar with one hand -- it's really too simple to be called a harness -- she raises the other to shrill a whistle, and the Loftwing answers with that strange two-tone cry, spreading its vast white-undersided wings; broad enough to cast a shadow over Sachi. With another of those two-toned cries, the bird pushes off, its downdraft kicking up enough wind to ruffle Sachi's hair and clothing. Soon, with rather disturbing speed, both Sheikah and Loftwing are off. Not without leaving a few very large, soft downy feathers behind, though, and one stiff, almost blade-edged flight feather. It seems one of Yalai's throwing knives has made its way to the ground by where those feathers settle, too. A gift, maybe? It's a simple thing, forged of a single piece of iron, shaped like a needle, and the difference between blade and blunt haft is so minute it could be missed. Yalai's voice echoes from above. "We will be meeting again, I am hoping--!"
Sachi Yuukizura	Looking up as the bird takes off-- way, way up-- Sachi watches Yalai's exit with that same sort of slack-jaw awe that she had on her face when the woman arrived. Then, looking down, she bends forward and plucks the knife up from the ground, giving it a short look over before testing the weight with a couple of light tosses. Looking up high into the sky, the wide, bright-eyed awe suddenly shifts into something a little more like all-knowing terror before she quietly murmurs to herself, "... oh shit, she's going to make me ride the bird."