The Living Magic Seal

╣A Kishuna who is taking a break for a little bit╠

[gxdsmistake]

rigelsprince‌:

Berkut chuckled softly with surprise, the first break in his stony exterior since finding the stranger.

“Well now, aren’t you polite.” His voice still contained a note of sarcasm, but it had been some time since he had been shown the respect he deserved, and he was glad to have it, even from a trespasser whose face he had not even seen yet. He nodded and pulled the hood of his cloak over his head before leading the way into the storm.

They arrived at the fortress by the time the lightning began to flash more rapidly, and the thunder rumbled so loudly that it shook the earth. The rain had taken its toll on them though, and Berkut made a trail of water to the fireplace in the parlor. Fortunately, a sizable amount of wood had been left over from wyrmstym, and Berkut quickly put together a roaring fire.

“You’re welcome to dry yourself here,” he offered to the stranger, shrugging off his soaked cloak and hanging it over a nearby chair. “And I’d like some answers from you. First, tell me who you are.”

Following silently behind the kind stranger, Kishuna spent most of his time switching his focus between wanting to adore the aesthetically pleasing architecture, and glancing back to see if the man would start a further conversation. As it turned out, he wasn’t going to. At least not until they had already entered into the home and settled down. 

“I will, thank you,” Kishuna accepted the hospitality and knelt before the fire. He listened to the rustle of the stranger, and knew he likewise would need to remove is cloak. So he did. Underneath revealed that there wasn’t much to reveal. His beige garments covered about as much skin as they possible could. 

However, there was a reason he wore a cloak. The wrinkle of his cheeks offset by his youthful eyes. Short, ragged, but healthy white hair seemed to hide strange markings near the roots. And, of course, those strange markings, intricate and simply alike, ran down the back of his neck and disappeared into the collar of his shirt. 

“My name is Kishuna, a simple traveler,” He spoken openly and honestly. After all, he had nothing to hide, “I can’t imagine that answers your question though. Is there anything specific you would like to know?”

[gxdsmistake]

♕|| The hardest part of writing Kishuna so far is deciding if he’s bald or not. It would make sense that he is since it would mean just more tattoos/sigils (except I’m avoiding following the placeholder sprite for Kishuna since it was a fe6 reuse). However, if I gave him hair I could imply that while Nergal was playing god he decided A) to make Kishuna in his own image, giving him the same hair color or B) Nergal made Kishuna to look like his closest friend, and Kishuna has white/gray hair like Athos.

[gxdsmistake]

haikusandstareyes‌:

A hobby. For a hobby, he certainly had interesting sketches. There was enough of a variance in the pictures that it was clear the strange man had gone travelling in the pursuit of his sketchbook.

There was something wonderful about seeing something so foreign. The plants were beautiful even in sketched form. Part of Mitama longed to see what they might look like if they stood before her. That was a thought to work through at a later time.

Her eyes raised to the stranger once more at his sudden question. “Myself? A few.” She answered easily. The book closed in her hands, she held it back to the stranger once more. “I pursue the arts in multiple ways. Mostly in the written word. Shigure is far more accomplished in the visual tasks.”

Accepting back the journal, he placed it on his lap. His hands returning to their natural position: one resting on the cover while the other mindlessly flicked a corner. A habit he had performed many a time. Of course his focus remained solely on the stranger, 

“Written word...” He wasn’t sure who ‘Shigure’ was but he found himself more fascinated in wanting to know about the girl’s hobby. Most of the artists he ran into while traveling were musicians and story tellers. They were all quite unique in their own way, but nothing like the girl before him. That is to say, he wouldn’t imagine those artists would be living in such an affluent household. 

“Would that make you an author?”

[gxdsmistake]

rigelsprince‌:

Berkut contemplated the robes, the voice, and why the figure chose not to drop the hood now that he was in the shelter of the stable, but his own posture relaxed. The storm would be vicious, and that was enough to lean him toward believing the stranger’s explanation.

He gestured with his chin, and while his voice remained hard and commanding, the hostility had dissipated.

“Lift your sleeves.” A completely unarmed traveler was almost unheard of, at least in Rigel, and Berkut merely wanted to be aware of any possible dangers. Knifes didn’t worry him much though.

Thunder rumbled outside and Berkut listened silently until it faded, considering his answer. Would the man simply leave if he didn’t grant permission? His request had been so meek, and Berkut was unaware of how it had softened him.

“Very well.” He took down his lantern and brushed past the stranger to the entrance, then stopped to throw a glance over his shoulder. “Unless you want to weather the storm in here, follow me to the main building.”

As instructed Kishuna raised his sleeves, hands extended in an attempt to further prove his innocence. After a satisfactory moment he dropped his arms to his sides. Kishuna watched silently as the stranger approached him, the air felt tense. If the man wasn’t going to stab him, Kishuna’s heart beating out of chest would do the job first.

However, the moment passed. Instead of perishing on the spot, with a shy nod Kishuna accepted the offer to follow. He found himself watching as the man he had met moments ago began to walk away, his footsteps drowned out by the pouring rain. Instead of moving himself, his brain was mulling over whether or not he should speak or that would overstep his bound. Well, if that was overstepping his bounds, asking to stay was jumping off a cliff. With a deep breath Kishuna spoke,

“Thank you...” he took a step forward, unsure of how the other would respond, “I had forgotten to say thank you.”

[gxdsmistake]

haikusandstareyes‌:

The man seemed near unsteady on his feet as he moved, slow and uncertain. IT was odd, but Mitama commented not on it. It gave some reassurances that if need be…well, if need be.

Book now in her hands, she watched the stranger a moment before slowly opening it. He was right. The earlier pages were messy and the writing a near illegible scrawl. She wondered just how old the book may be to have such a contrast from the page she’d seen at a distance to this. But the shapes sketched in were still vaguely recognizable as shapes, and so she continued on.

The improvement as she flipped through pages was impressive. Soon enough the images were clear and if she squinted, she was able to slowly read her way through the notes scribbled alongside. “Incredible…” She mused quietly. It lacked the depth some scrolls she might’ve found in the library may have had, but there was a draw to this book that they lacked as well. An emotional connection.

“…You have been at this for quite a time.” She mused.

Kishuna didn’t even try to hide his excitement as the stranger made his way through his work. It was invigorating to see someone interested in the journal. He was like a kid showing off a really cool bug. Which probably wasn’t too inaccurate of a statement if you replaced the cool bug with a picture of a cool bug.

“It seems like I have. I only recently finished,” he gestured to the newer journal he had just been working on moments ago, “It’s just a hobby though...” He certainly enjoyed it, but he wasn’t entirely sure what his end goal was. That’s what made it hobby. Finding himself lost in his thoughts yet again, he emerged with a curious look on his face and an equally curious tone to follow,

“Do you have any hobbies?” 

[gxdsmistake]

♕|| Class workload ended up taking me off guard, time to get back into the habit of writing. Also does anyone have the instructions for setting up tumblr rp’ing editing of posts? It’s been like 3 years since I did it on my desktop and I gotta do it on my laptop.

[gxdsmistake]

notcandynevercandy‌:

“You’re perceptive,” Saizo’s grainy throat managed.  Or maybe he was tired. Saizo had been waiting in that tree all night for a monster that didn’t appear. He swung himself down from the branches, locking his legs around the branch to hang upside-down.

“What’s your name, old man?” he asked. It wasn’t unkind. More and more people were coming and going now that the kingdom was at peace, and he was stubborn enough to attempt to find out about every single one. 

“This isn’t a good place to camp,” he added, “I should know. I’ve been here a while.” 

He was used to the idea that life took you fast. However, he was not used to people in trees. Kishuna took several more steps back in quick succession before ramming his heel into an exposed root, sending himself ungracefully onto his bottom. 

“I... Well,” he startled, not entirely sure how to interpret the situation, “Kishuna.” Still on the ground, his eyes locked cautiously on the stranger. All the while Kishuna lightly brushed the dirt off of his cloak, a nervous habit of his.

“The area seems peaceful, what’s the danger?”

[gxdsmistake]

jehannasands liked for a starter

The word on the road spoke of an upcoming festival, and a rather grandiose one at that. It didn’t take much to pique Kishuna’s interest, he had once traveled for half a day to see a tree capable of granting wishes. Unfortunately, no wishes were granted. Instead he simply felt that he had been cheated out of a few coins he had given the stranger for directions. Still, with hope in his heart he decided quickly to change routes and ended up staying loosely behind a caravan.

Eventually the day passed and the sun dipped under the horizon, yet with it came a multitude of campfires and torches as the caravan set up camp. Kishuna was hesitant to simply approach the group but the worry that they weren’t even going the same direction helped him work up the courage. He spotted an individual who seemed to have finished up work, or at least she was taking a break, and drew closer.

“Excuse me,” Kishuna spoke, hoping he hadn’t startled the stranger, “might I ask where you all are headed?”

[gxdsmistake]

♕|| In the process of moving into my dorm so replies will probably continue to be slow as a settle in.

[gxdsmistake]

haikusandstareyes‌:

He pulled out a second book with something MItama couldn’t quite make out imprinted on the cover. For a moment she worried that it maybe a tome, but the stranger remained as peaceable as ever as he offered her a look into the book. Her eyes darted back to it.

She shouldn’t. She really shouldn’t. Uncle would be so mad.

Mitama allowed the hidden knife to move from her hand to its sheath as, slowly, her staff was lowered. The first few steps were slow, hesitant, but soon enough she crossed the garden’s pathway over to the stranger. Though she could see the book clearly now, she still did not recognize the curious word inscribed upon it. She wondered what it meant. She hesitated a moment before holding out her free hand for the book. “May I?”

She seemed hesitant at his decision to pull out his journal. Perhaps it was the magic seal affecting her nerves? Some people turned out to be rather sensitive to it. Regardless, he’d have to do his best to show he didn’t mean harm. Not that he had any way of harming her in the first place, but it wasn’t as though strangers knew that. 

“Of course.” Kishuna replied, trying his best to hide his own excitement of sharing his findings. Slowly, as to not frighten the girl, he used his free hand to push himself slightly off the earthy ground enough to place the book in her hands. 

“Excuse the messy early pages, I hadn’t quite mastered writing yet.” Setting himself back onto the ground where he was sitting, he realized he had knocked onto the ground the quill he had placed on his cloak. While waiting for her initial response, he began to put away the rest of his tools before he knocked over his ink well too.

[gxdsmistake]

haikusandstareyes‌:

Somewhere far away. The lack of certainty in the response she received should have been alarming. At the very least, a reason to call for one of the guards to have them dispatch of the intruder. It was certainly what she should have done. But Mitama found herself hesitating, curious about the strange figure. Certainly had he intended badly, he would have done so by now.

“Most likely from one of the lords or ladies of the castle.” She answered. She knew the Hoshidan royals to be nothing less than generous with what they could, but somehow she doubted their generosity would extend so freely to someone so curious and foreign.

“…Your book.” She nodded towards the one he’d shown her with the sketch of the flower. “You document your travels frequently?”

“Ahh, of course.” He still wasn’t entirely sure how to go about getting an invitation but at least it was a start. Hopefully he’d have a chance to speak to the royals and inquire about it further. Though perhaps he was getting ahead of himself. He had already let his curiosity get the best of him once and now he had surprised the poor girl with his presence...

With a smile Kishuna nodded at her inquiry. Reaching into his bag he grabbed a second brown leather bound journal with the word ‘Kishuna’ etched on to the cover. Compared to the one he had just been drawing in, this one had clearly seen better days. He remembered the past couple seasons of filling out each page with sketches of flora and fauna, buildings, people, paragraphs of information he read, even diagrams of the tattoos that scattered his body. It had taken him a while but his drawings improved as he filled out each page, along with his ability to organize the mess.

“I’d hate to forget something I’ve seen,” He offered out the book to her, “Would you like to see?”

[gxdsmistake]

rigelsprince‌:

The storm had been forecasted since early that morning. A big lightning storm, rare for the area and potentially devastating for those whose homes would be caught in its path. Berkut had heard the rumors in an inn he had stopped in for a meal, and as the men speaking about it looked to be the well-traveled sort, heeded their words as truth. A manor in his family’s name - though now abandoned - sat somewhere in the hills to the southwest, and as he chewed on a heel of bread that was almost stale, he contemplated the map stretched across the table before him.

A few quick measurements told him that it would take half a day’s journey, but he could make it before nightfall if he doubled his pace. Anything to not spend another night in a disgusting, overcrowded inn. He tossed the remnants of his meal to the table alongside a handful of coin and gathered up his belongings. The impending storm afforded him no time to waste.

But as with most journeys, he had encountered a number of setbacks, and by the time he at last saw the roof of his family’s estate in the distance, the clouds had already rolled in heavy and dark. Light pulsed through them and preceded a quiet, near-constant rumbling. Berkut spurred his horse faster to the stables.

A premature darkness rolled over the hills by the time he reached the estate’s grounds, but an old lantern still half full of oil hung on the stable wall. He lit it and set about securing his palfrey in one of the stalls. As he removed the saddle, a wave of fatigue washed over him suddenly that nearly made him drop it. He leaned against the wall and brought a hand up to massage away a dull ache that had started in his forehead. He wasn’t that exhausted. He knew he wasn’t.

When he dropped his hand away, a cloaked figure had appeared in the stable, standing motionless near the entrance, face barely visible beneath the hood. Berkut stood just as still, the memories of old ghost stories floating up to the surface.

No, ghosts weren’t real.

“Identify yourself,” he ordered.

Could he run away? If the stranger meant any harm there wasn’t the slightest chance of outrunning them. Kishuna’s fingernails dug into the palm of his hand as he attempted to calm himself with a deep breath. It was clear who the intruder was in this situation, but he hadn’t meant any harm, perhaps explaining himself would work.

“A traveler.” Kishuna responded as he stretched out his arms to show under his cloak, revealing that he wasn’t armed. He contemplated even dropping his hood but decided against it, people didn’t tend to take kindly to the tattoos. He’d managed to not run into any issues over his recent travels. Hopefully he could keep it that way.

“One who is taking shelter from the rain.” He paused, slightly stuttering before taking his shot in the dark, “...Is that alright?” 

[gxdsmistake]

haikusandstareyes‌:

Mitama stared at the stranger. He simply wandered his way through an open gate. It was a bit of a disarming revelation, that the castle grounds could be so easily penetrated by a stranger. Mitama was certain Uncle Saizo would lose his mind if he were to hear of such an event.

“…People do not commonly wander their way into the royal grounds, no.” She answered weakly. “Not without some form of invitation.”

Though this was a new puzzle of a distressing variety. By all means, the proper action was to report this intruder to the guards, to have them taken for questioning as a potential threat against Hoshido’s peace. But for what it was worth, Mitama sensed no threat from the bizarre stranger. And part of her felt guilt at the thought of interrupting a fellow artist.

“…from where do you hail?” She asked slowly. “That may allow people to wander where ever they may please?”

Royal? The towns was abuzz with gossip pertaining to the royal family ever since he stepped off the boat. He was curious about looking into the countries history, which is what he was doing before he had gotten distracted. Kishuna thought about the possibility of looking around more if this really was royal ground. It was bound to be a good place to learn about the country. However, he would need an invitation first. Before he could ask he was caught off guard by the girls question.

“Where do I hail?” He glanced down to his hands where he was fidgeting with the side of his cloak, the cloak he had been given by his creator. He hadn’t really belonged to that land, and even if he did return to Dread Isle there wouldn’t be anyone there. At this point his worried expression gave way to a perplexed one,

“Somewhere far away. Somewhere without invitations at least. Do you know where I can get one?” The garden was lovely, he wanted to stay for at least a little longer. 

[gxdsmistake]

notcandynevercandy liked for a starter

Kishuna passed by the gate, leaving town as the sun began to drop below the horizon. He cradled a small pouch of coins in one hand, searching through the bag with the other as he tried to give a fair estimate to how long he could make his money last. The answer was not long. He wasn’t a fan of camping outside the town but it wasn’t like he needed to the sleep in the first place, just to place to pass the night. Sighing, he tied the pouch back under his cloak and began his search for a place to rest.

Fortunately the search didn’t take long. There was a small forest to the west of the town with a tree with his name on it. Pulling a tattered (but functional) blanket out he sat with his back to the trunk. With one last sigh he glanced up to the sky when he noticed... a foot? No it couldn’t be. He tucked the blanket to the side as he stood up, stepping back to get a better look at the foliage above him with a perplexed look on his face.

“...”

[gxdsmistake]

tigrisereme‌:

As the swell of the moon cresting over the city, Gerik’s shadow was the only one that stretched down the stone-paved road that stretched through the market district. The merchants have long since emptied their carts, and the civilians hurrying home with their haggled goods; the only movements now came from patrolling guards and the stray dogs that scavenged for scraps and scuffled over territory once most humans had scattered.

It should have been an uneventful walk home… but it wasn’t.

A flash of red in his periphery had Gerik’s hand reaching for his blade, but the strange came at an odd angle, and the frantic scrambling suggested that the encounter hadn’t been intentional. The mercenary caught the stranger instead, just in time to see the scraggly dog nipping at the edges of the robes, ears pinned back and growling.

“Whoa there…” Cautiously, Gerik moved himself between the traveller and the hound. With the other out of sight, the animal seemed to calm slightly, pausing in its unease to sniff at Gerik’s boot before giving a sharp whine and starting to back off. “Not much of a dog person, huh?”

Managing onto his feet at the help of the stranger, several deep breath passed as Kishuna recovered from the panic. All the while his eyes were trained on the mutt who had now already retreated for the time being. That said, he seemed to find himself in a different predicament altogether. Turning to his unlikely hero, Kishuna gave a small but respectful bow before speaking,

“Thank you.” The ‘predicament’ took the form of the rather tough looking man before him. He seemed confident but with the strength to back it up. The kind of guy he had been avoiding in his travels. Still, it was apparent the stranger had just saved him from a wound or two. Something he could ill afford.

“They’re not much of a me... person,” The morph attempted an awkward smile, “Animals that is.” At the mention of the animal he couldn’t help but give one more cautious look to where the dog had been.

[gxdsmistake]

rigelsprince liked for a starter

With a bag shoved under his cloak, tucked tightly under his arm, Kishuna pressed onward with a rather large building in sight. It had been less than a couple hours since the first sign of clouds had come into sight and yet they were all he could see now. With them came pouring rain and the far off sound of thunder, a sound he wasn’t particularly fond of. For now, however, he was focused on reaching shelter from the elements as to protect the various books he had in his bag.

Even at his usual slow pace it didn’t take long to reach the manor, which even despite the oncoming night he could tell was larger than he had first believed. A small climb over the short wall of the parameter and Kishuna made his way to the first open structure he could find: a stable. However, as he turned the corner to enter he noticed a lantern. A lit lantern. Glancing to the owner of that lantern, Kishuna found himself frozen in fear, too scared to even back up.

[gxdsmistake]

haikusandstareyes‌:

The stranger did not immediately lash out in response to her, that boded a good sign. Though their short usage of words was certainly curious. Mitama would expect someone caught wandering where they should not would be eager to jump to their defense rather than use the bare minimum of communication. 

She tensed slightly as the book was flipped towards her, expecting a tome or something of the sort. The surprise of what was really revealed to her was…benign at the same time it was disarming. She stared at the picture he presented, slowly relaxing. “You…sketched the flowers?”

I was not a bad piece of work. Certainly not to Shigure’s standards, but she could tell what it was easily enough, even if she was not close enough to read the words scribbled alongside it. It was bizarre enough that it took a moment to remember herself. Her eyes moved back to the strange figure. “How did you find your way here? A traveler cannot simply wander their way into the castle.”

Giving a shy nod to the initial question, Kishuna waited for the stranger to finish analyzing his work. When the girls attention returned to him, he likewise turned the book towards himself again. Listening to her further inquiry, he took the moment to close and set down the journal on his lap, resting one hand lightly on the cover before responding.

“It was open,” Kishuna glanced over his shoulder to where he had come from, pointing out the garden’s gate with his free hand. Sure enough, there was the unlocked entrance, opened up just enough that someone of Kishuna’s rather small stature could wander in. Returning his focus to the girl, he now displayed a worried expression and spoke in an equally worried tone,

“Should I not have?”