[▣] one random fact about the mun
[▤] one way the mun is like the muse
[▥] one way the mun is nothing like the muse
[▦] one of the mun’s guilty pleasures
[▩] one thing the mun loves about themselves
[◘] the muns morning ritual
[◙] the muns bedtime ritual
[◈] one of the muns favorite songs – and lyrics from it
[◇] one of the muns favorite movies – and a quote from it
[◆] one of the muns favorite books – and a quote from it
[▣] one random fact about the mun
[▤] one way the mun is like the muse
[▥] one way the mun is nothing like the muse
[▦] one of the mun’s guilty pleasures
[▩] one thing the mun loves about themselves
[◘] the muns morning ritual
[◙] the muns bedtime ritual
[◈] one of the muns favorite songs – and lyrics from it
[◇] one of the muns favorite movies – and a quote from it
[◆] one of the muns favorite books – and a quote from it
This was probably one of the more relaxing quests that the boy undertook; at least that was what he thought. Wilder Valley was a stunning place, filled with untouched beauty. It supposedly was also home to many “Wilders”, but the boy hadn’t encountered any on his way here. Besides, he’d dealt with them before on a previous quest. Those sneaky creatures had nothing on him now! He bent down to caress a family of flowers, boney fingers gliding gently across the velvety surface of lightly hued petals. He might as well go picking flowers while he went to search for the items. What were they again? Maybe flowers were on that list, along with the other odd pieces. Did the merchant lady request Wilder skins as well? Looked like he was going to have to exert his body today, not that he didn’t enjoy a little sparring. Eh, he’ll do it whenever they came out. There was no need to look for prey that was stupid enough to seek its predator.
Upon relaxing on a small hill, the craftsman thought he spotted someone else in the valley. He got up and strolled to where the person stood. And then he blinked. In recognition.
“Ah’v seen y’ somewhere…” He studied her face for a moment before leaning in close, his forehead almost touching hers. “Aren’t y’ in my guild?”
Upon inspection, Eiji hadn’t lost any of his possessions. The medal, tomorrow’s underwear, a small amount of money. The only problem with tomorrow’s underwear, he thought, was that you couldn’t eat it. And he didn’t know if any place here would accept the mishmash of foreign money he had on him. Well, it would be good to familiarize himself with the location of grocery stores and the like, anyways.
Unfortunately, he’d found himself a bit lost in his wandering. Where on earth was he? The only thing for it was to ask someone, he guessed. A hand playing with the edge of his scarf, he looked around, a faint frown on his face. Perhaps that stranger over there…
“Ah… Excuse me, do you happen to know where a grocery store might be?”
shirokunin
Over the past week he’d been here, the craftsman had gotten to know the town a bit more. It was much different from where he came from, almost as if someone had plucked him from his era and placed him elsewhere on the timeline. The main dissimilarity, however, was how safe it felt. During the time he’d been here, Shiro felt no inkling of the organization or his cruel blood brother. No strange murders or occurrences in sight either. And…no sign of the officer. Honestly, he was a bit sad. He’d grown quite fond of the upstanding man and his righteous ways: the officer was practically his opposite. He closed the shop for the day, feeling more nostalgic than usual, and took his thoughts to a bench where he lounged, limbs spread in a comfortably open position. Of course, he was without underwear, but no one would be able to tell with how the fabric of his kimono fell on his body.
Then a man approached him. His string of thoughts now broken, he gazed at the stranger before him. Only just realizing how long it'd been since he last ate, Shiro figured maybe he could get the guy to feed him. Maybe.
He nonchalantly rolled his head to the side. “Mmm depends…y’ willing t’ share a meal?” Oh the things he’d do to avoid cooking his own food.
Cooking was the necessary evil that always came back to haunt Shiro. So far he had survived mostly on food received from other people and his handmade candies (which didn’t fill his stomach up much for that matter). If only the officer were here…the teen never really quite understood how much he depended on his friend. He shouldn’t, but he couldn’t help it. The man was a blessing. He was so kind and gentle (except when it came to putting underwear on him; he was rough). The officer was a type of person Shiro had lived his whole life up until this point without: a good person. And he was so grateful for that.
But being grateful meant making sacrifices and moving away from Genta was for the best. The Organization was gaining speed on him and it was time to move. But he didn’t want the officer getting hurt any more than he’d already had. So, without a word, he left. But, oh, was life a new challenge without him! His struggles with cooking were unbearable and, at last, he left the inn for the streets. He was going out to hunt...
For a bakery? Bread could keep him sustained for a while and he didn’t have to put much work into it. He just had to buy it. Upon entering the store, however, Shiro was greeted with a somewhat chaotic scene. A woman, clothed in odd white garb, was gesturing angrily, talking madly to herself. The craftsman couldn’t help but want to aid her and so approached her cautiously while sniffing the air curiously.
“Miss? What seems t’ be the problem?”
“It’s my fault that I fell asleep but the foxes stole my brand new tools!” she replied, half of her still seeming to be talking to herself.
Another chance for a reward? He’ll take it. After only a few moments of talking, the boy agreed to retrieve the frustrated baker’s new tools from the Wilder Foxes, as they were named. He left the store and headed towards the edge of Holly Town.
He could feel the straps of knives on his arms and legs as he walked; he was confident in his abilities. Whatever these ‘Wilder Foxes’ were, he’d handle them and get those tools for sure. As he neared the edge of the town, he slipped a hand into his kimono and reached for the handles of a few knives. Then he sprinted forward. Halfway through his walk, he had already smelled their scent and pinpointed their location. The bakery had been filled with a weird smell that was not in any way reminiscent of bread. From the baker’s accounts, that scent had to have belonged to those mischievous foxes.
One of them emerged from their hiding place and rushed toward Shiro. Though the teen saw it coming, it was incredibly fast and tackled him to the ground, disappearing before he could even defend himself. He briskly rolled onto his side, waiting for another to pounce on him. As expected, the same one jumped out into the open again and towards the boy on the ground. However, Shiro had his knives out already and swiped at the creature, slicing its throat and side. With a yelp, it landed ungracefully onto its back, allowing the boy to grab the tool attached to it.
Panty was leaning on the railings to look at the view below her. She can see the waters glistening upon the reflection of the sun and just watching people pass by on boats. It was really a replica of Italy.
She was going to tie her hair up, until she caught sight of someone staring at her from the corner of her eyes.
She smirked putting her arms down ❝Or is there something you like?❞ The person looked rather girly like, but she has a gut feeling that this is just a girly looking boy.
Finally was Shiro able to take some time to appreciate Koi. It was unlike any of the other villages he’d stayed in. There weren’t many wood-based buildings, if any at all, and water flowed in veins all throughout the entirety of the city. After a couple hours of wandering, he’d found himself on a bridge overlooking one of the many canals that stretched into the city. A pale cheek snuggled into a delicate hand, his elbow providing support. Upon looking into the water, he spotted a bright shade of feathered gold and shifted his focus onto a person instead. He dared to think her locks were even more brilliant than niiya’s.
“Your hair.” A smile played on his lips. “It’s beautiful, like ‘n angel’s.”
That’s pretty strange. She had been in this Koi City for a while but, seeing someone is working with a framework of umbrella is something new for Isla.
“I think, rain is not going to fall soon…” She said, based from the weather prediction. “So, why are you making those?”
He was delighted to have the honor of enlightening this young girl on the multiple functions of his craft. Well, only two.
“These can be used for rainy ‘r sunny days, miss.” He demonstrated by unfurling one of the many parasols he carried on his back and holding it above. A gentle shade cast over him as the ribbons hanging off the edge of the umbrella swayed helplessly in the breeze. Who didn’t like a little shade on a hot day? Along with a beautifully crafted piece of art. Sadly, that was the extent of his advertising strategy.
Shiro had a penchant for residing in the edge of danger. High up on a tree branch somewhere near the boundaries of Gloomy Forest he lounged, kimono barely covering his thin body. A group of slimes were bouncing about when they took notice of him and gathered near the base of the tree. Not one to panic, the boy took his time taking out the butter knives hidden beneath his clothes and throwing them at the slimes. The knives themselves weren’t sharp, but with how high the boy was above the ground, in addition to the force of his throws, they pierced the slimes and broke their blob-like structure into pools of goo. He would have to be careful avoiding those when he got down, if he was able to get down. They seemed to be never-ending. He killed five and ten more would flock in their place. Pale digits settled on rosy lips as he breathed a luxurious yawn. Splash! Another easy kill. He lazily threw a butter knife at another branch to see where it would bounce. Tap, tap, tap! It hit a few other branches that skewed its direction before it collided with someone’s head. Oops.
“Y’ want me to find yer’ dog?” A thin eyebrow shifted upward at the request, but the reward was tempting enough for him to accept. “Alright.” He needed the money to update his shop anyhow as it was very much lacking in decor, money that, at the moment, he did not have. He wanted fabric, paper, beads, anything, to make the umbrella shop alive, filled to the brim with his crafts. He would create his niche in this strange new world and hopefully live out his life in peace. Well, in whatever world he’d end up in.
That morning, he had woken up in, yet again, another place of unfamiliarity. He thought it strange that the bed he went to sleep in the night before had hardened by the time he awoke. The room had changed as well. Although it was different, Shiro felt more at home in the inn. The apartment room was bleak, sharp, and atmospherically a completely differing time period while the wooden inn room was cozy and reminded him (a little) of the houses in Gento. The change in venue didn’t strike him very prominently as he hadn’t felt much attachment to his initial place of rest and it didn’t seem like something he wanted to greatly concern himself with. The world would figure it out by itself. He had his own burdens to bear.
He ventured out into town. “Waldo-saaaan?” It wasn’t a very effective method, but the boy had to start somewhere. A pleasant breeze ruffled his kimono and he heard the sound of bells. Only a few steps away lied a fabric shop. On display were beautifully patterned fabrics, very different from those Shiro normally used. He forgot about the quest and glided over to the store.
It wasn’t very big inside, but all types of fabrics were packed to the ceiling. Some were intricate brocades while others sported thousands of hand-sewn beads. Patterned ones hung from the ceiling and an array of patched fabrics lined the back. It was a wonderland for Shiro as he traveled up and down the aisles. Delicate fingers caressed a bright red silk, one of his favorites. Next to it was a deep blue with elegantly painted dragonflies. He held a bit of both in his hands and imagined decorating the entrance to his store with perhaps a small curtain-like overhang, red and blue intertwining in streams. Closing his eyes, he could see the beautiful craft in his mind, how the wind would blow when someone entered and the ribbons would fly above in chaotic flaps. He could even add some fish ornaments and attach some chimes. It would be splendid and--
“Ah?”
Something wet lapped at his ankle. “N-No! Stop!” His foot fidgeted as he tried to pull away from whoever or whatever was licking at his leg. He let go of the fabrics and pulled the side of his kimono to reveal his foot. The culprit? A dog. He knelt down and saw that a red and white striped swatch was caught on the bottom of his geta. Striped...ah, right! The man mentioned that his dog was fond of stripes. This must be Waldo. He had forgotten about the quest but here it was, lapping at his ankle, practically asking Shiro to complete it. He picked up Waldo and the striped swatch, put the piece of fabric in the dog’s mouth, and carried it like a baby out of the fabric shop. “Yer a high maintenance dog, aren’t ya?”
The craftsman returned the dog to his owner and promptly received his reward, after which he proceeded to make his way straight back to the fabric shop.