Curse of the Clan Part 30! @brightlotusmoon @scentedcandlecryptid
Renet!” Michelangelo exclaimed with a loud squeal, “It’s you!”
Renet gave a curious hum and pointed at herself. “What’s me?”
Michelangelo couldn’t be mad; he was too excited to be mad! And it wasn’t like he wasted too much time— he still had thirteen days until he had to be back at Bishops!
“You’re the Time Lord! Er— in training! You can give me your blessing!”
Renet’s mouth dropped open. “A-are you sure?!”
“Well… no, not exactly.” Michelangelo admitted, “But we could still try!”
“Gyoji, can I?” Renet spun to look at Gyoji.
“I don’t know…” Gyoji grumbled uncertainly; his eyes searched over Michelangelo and Baron Draxum, scrutinizing their every feature, “A mystic blessing isn’t something you can just take back! You’ve never performed one before!”
“Please? Just let me try?” Renet begged, sticking out her bottom lip and whimpering softly.
“It’s not that hard.” Draxum added slowly, “I could talk her through it.”
Gyoji narrowed his eyes suspiciously and drifted closer to Draxum. “What would a faun know of giving blessings?”
Draxum ground his teeth together, his jaw clenching as the gyoji questioned him. His hands turned to fists at his side, muscles bulging, but then quickly untensed again. He took a deep, slow breath just as Michelangelo had taught him, counting Mississippi under his breath before he answered.
“I may not be able to perform a blessing myself given my ranking, but that does not stop me from being knowledgeable on the subject. I read a lot, you know.”
“I don’t like your tone…” Gyoji whispered softly, leaning so close that his breath tickled Draxum’s fur.
Renet growled and tugged on Gyoji’s robes to force the yokai to pay attention to her and leave the poor faun alone.
“Gyoji.” Renet whined, “Please let me do this for him! You can be here watching us the whole time!”
Gyoji still wasn’t convinced and gave a low groan. Michelangelo took a second to think, then addressed Gyoji with a smug grin.
“It would get us out of here a lot faster~”
Michelangelo didn't have a chance to finish his sentence before Gyoji had grabbed the kursai-fundo out of the box turtle's belt and tossed it over to the eager Renet.
“Alright, you’ve convinced me. But no trickery!” Gyoji waved his finger between Michelangelo and Draxum. “And I’ll be here watching the whole time. Is that understood?”
Michelangelo nodded excitedly and Draxum gave a single nod. Gyoji backed up a short distance to give them enough room, but kept his eyes firmly locked on them, especially whenever they got near Renet. Draxum cleared his throat to get Renet’s full attention; the peri’s eyes shimmered with excitement, her lips pressed tightly together as she gave a gleeful giggle.
“Renet, turn the weapon over so it’s right side is facing upward.”
Renet turned the weapon. Draxum gave it a moment before reaching over and turning it so it was actually on the right side; Renet gave an embarrassed giggle and hid her face in her scarf.
“Now: out loud, say something that Michelangelo has done that inspired you. It can be anything, as long as you end with something along the lines of ‘I give you this blessing’.”
Renet cleared her throat and took a sharp, deep breath, which she quickly exhaled. “Michelangelo. I’ve been living here for… I don’t know how long and… never once has anyone offered to dance with me. You’re such a nice and fun boy and I haven’t really had many friends so I’m really glad to call you mine. So I give you this blessing.”
Draxum nodded his approval of the words. “How well do you know Japanese kanji?”
Renet’s expression lit up. “Gyoji’s been teaching me!”
Gyoji gave a proud smile and nodded.
“Wonderful. Now, using your finger, I want you to trace the kanji anatawa hitorijani.”
Renet gave a low hum and stuck out her tongue in her concentration as she drew the kanji into the blade. She and Michelangelo both gasped as her fingers traced marks into the metal like soft mud.
“Now: I want you to choose three kanji that you feel fit Michelangelo best in the short time you’ve known him. I want you to mark the three kanji on the other side of the weapon.”
Renet turned the weapon over and gave a thoughtful whine as she considered. “Ohhhh there’s so many good ones though! It’s hard to choose. Ummmm.”
“It’s okay, take your time.” Draxum reassured.
Renet took that to heart. For several minutes she was quietly muttering to herself in farsi, long enough for Michelangelo to make a mental note to learn the language for when he would next encounter the lovely Time Lord in training.
“Okay, okay, I think I got it.” Renet took another minute to calm herself, laughing between breaths and, every time she seemed ready to continue with the ceremony, she would fall apart into giggles again. Finally, she said, “Okay, okay. Michelangelo, ahem. For your first kanji I give you Tanoshī, because these last few days have been so fun!”
“Aww— wait, last few days?!”
Renet carved the kanji into the weapon and then moved on to the next one. “For your second kanji, I give you yujin, because you’re my friend!”
“Aww, that’s nice~” Michelangelo cooed, then immediately snapped, “But what you mean few days?!”
“And your last kanji will be odoru, because of our dance!”
The last kanji was carved into the kusari-fundo before it was shoved into Michelangelo’s arms. Before Michelangelo could say a word, his body was seized by a comforting hug that made his insides warm and bubbly like a caffeinated drink. His head danced like he had danced with Renet, and he could practically see and feel the motions happening again. Guiding Renet across the dance floor, the music guiding the beat of his heart and step of his feet. The wonderful nature of unified dance. His heart pumped with the excitable glee of childhood, the most universal instinct of all making his heart sear like it had just grown wings: fun. A sensation shared by animal and human and mystic alike. The one constant. His stomach grew warm with a comforting pressure, like a hug, except deeper— stronger. Engulfing him in his entirety and leaving him with nothing but blissful appreciation.
“Woooaaaahhh.” Michelangelo fell to giggles, giving a soft moan as he wrapped his arms around himself and cradled his shell. “That feels nice. I feel like a poptart you just put in the toaster!”
“That’s the euphemism you went with?” Draxum scoffed.
Michelangelo was enjoying himself too much to care. All other worldly worries faded away, because his task had been completed, and now he could return home with this lovely bubble of bliss that surrounded him.
