[NEXIS] The Dancing Fox Inn IX: No Longer Symmetrical

[Mee]

Ah. There's a lot of variants around here, I assume?
I have to ask: has anyone made a Twilight vampire?

Naku shrugs. "I really can't say. Haven't exactly gotten out much." She says, smiling at him slightly.

Don't think so. Hope no one ever does.

Naku's comment about the process baffles Leo, and he says as much. "It might have seemed that way if had never experienced it first-hand, but I doubt that to be the case. Not every being is privy to the workings of spiritual power," he elaborates. "It stands to reason that, if you did - as you claim - clearly see and hear the procedure I just performed, you may possess some spiritual ability of your own. What nature of potential it might be, I can't say, but it is an interesting discovery, regardless..."

Upon her request, Leo nods to Naku and crosses to the sink, rolling up his sleeves before turning on the tap and soaping up a sponge to wash the soiled dishes. Just before he begins, he notices a heavily-armored man with serpentine features enter the tavern and order a drink. The spiritualist has no ill affinity toward this individual, but his appearance is rather intimidating, so he busies himself with washing the stack of plates, bowls, and cutlery.

Leo does overhear some of his conversation with Naku, though, and the explanation of an Esiriae's nature does unsettle him slightly; where he comes from, all varieties of undead are an unnatural phenomenon, born of exploitation of a restless soul or of a defiled body or mind. In order to return them to their proper place in All Creation, a spiritualist is obligated to perform a swift exorcism on any such being upon discovery. Leo is given pause, however, by two crucial factors: firstly, the man claims that he only possesses undead attributes, not that he is undead by nature; and, secondly, the separation of his world and that of the Esiriae could include a critical difference in the definition of an undead.

((I'll wait to conclude the dish-washing until either the conversation is done or Mist gives Leo a different task. Please don't let me interrupt the current conversation, though; Leo won't be doing anything stupid, especially considering it'd be a poorly-armed human against a well-equipped part-undead.))

Naku . . . Naku truly wants to discuss that. Just as soon as she's done talking with the newcomer.

Well, Leo might need to check his facts a bit if that's the case, since Naku herself is a very obvious vampire and does very little to conceal the fact. Considering how often she smiles, she actually does the opposite.

Mist himself will not be giving him any new assignments, instead sitting on the stage in his downtime playing a few holiday songs he ripped straight from a Jethro Tull CD on his flute.

Naku is, very obviously, a vampire. Though her fang-teeth are much larger, thicker, and much scarierer than pretty much any other type of vampire ever.

Naku has also never heard any of this music, but decides she quite likes it.

[Arkhosia]

Naku shrugs. "I really can't say. Haven't exactly gotten out much." She says, smiling at him slightly.

Don't think so. Hope no one ever does.



Naku . . . Naku truly wants to discuss that. Just as soon as she's done talking with the newcomer.



Naku is, very obviously, a vampire. Though her fang-teeth are much larger, thicker, and much scarierer than pretty much any other type of vampire ever.

Naku has also never heard any of this music, but decides she quite likes it.

Thank god!
Ah.
He looks at the clock.
I gotta go. Bye!
Talons walks out of the tavern.

[Mee]

Thank god!
Ah.
He looks at the clock.
I gotta go. Bye!
Talons walks out of the tavern.

Naku blinks at him as he leaves.
That was odd.

But that was okay. Instead, she turns to Leo!
"Okay. Leo, would you be willing to talk about that? What you said, that is?"

[Arkhosia]

Naku blinks at him as he leaves.
That was odd.

But that was okay. Instead, she turns to Leo!
"Okay. Leo, would you be willing to talk about that? What you said, that is?"

I scheduled a meeting with another clan member tpthat'll take place in about ten minutes!
Talons tells Naka as he leaves

[Devixer]

As Talons leaves the inn, Aiden enters. He looks like he's taken a bit more time than usual taking care of his appearance - he shaved this morning, his clothes have been pressed, and people might be able to smell a dash of cologne on him.

[ImpSyndrome]

Naku is, very obviously, a vampire. Though her fang-teeth are much larger, thicker, and much scarierer than pretty much any other type of vampire ever.

((Bwuh?! Note to self: Read the character profiles. ALL of them. Anyway, I'll address the whole Naku-is-the-most-obvious-vampire-ever issue later on.))

"Okay. Leo, would you be willing to talk about that? What you said, that is?"

Thankfully, Leo is almost finished with the dishes; his hands are getting pruned from being saturated with hot, soapy water, and the topic at hand would likely demand his full attention. Once he finishes and puts everything in its proper place, he dries his hands and asks, "What exactly was it that you wanted to discuss?"

[Mee]

((Bwuh?! Note to self: Read the character profiles. ALL of them. Anyway, I'll address the whole Naku-is-the-most-obvious-vampire-ever issue later on.))

Thankfully, Leo is almost finished with the dishes; his hands are getting pruned from being saturated with hot, soapy water, and the topic at hand would likely demand his full attention. Once he finishes and puts everything in its proper place, he dries his hands and asks, "What exactly was it that you wanted to discuss?"

"I have no idea." Naku admits, grinning at him again her very, very toothy grin.
At this point, since she finally doesn't have to clean her own dishes, Naku hops up to be sitting on the bar, and rests her chin on her hand to talk to Leo some more. "This is a brand new field for me. So let's start waaay beginning. What did you mean by it was odd that I could whatever it was that you said was odd?"

Naku also waves to Aiden! Noting hus appearance, and nodding her approval.

[ImpSyndrome]

"I have no idea." Naku admits, grinning at him again her very, very toothy grin.
At this point, since she finally doesn't have to clean her own dishes, Naku hops up to be sitting on the bar, and rests her chin on her hand to talk to Leo some more. "This is a brand new field for me. So let's start waaay beginning. What did you mean by it was odd that I could whatever it was that you said was odd?"

((Cripes, I forgot about this, didn't I? Terribly sorry about the wait.))

Leo twitches visibly at the sight of Naku's fangs, wondering how he could have neglected them until now. Even without seeing them, his spiritual senses should have alerted him to her vampiric nature as soon as he entered the inn; that he overlooked such a crucial detail worries him that his senses have grown dull. Still, he reminds himself that the same reasons he gave himself for tolerating the Esiriae should hold just as true for the innkeeper, so he takes a moment to calm himself before turning his attention to the topic at hand.

"In my home world," he begins slowly, still trying to settle his nerves, "very few people are capable of interacting with spirits the way I can; it's a gift that's been passed down since the earliest human civilizations, bestowed upon a select few by All Creation to uphold the natural laws of the universe. Your ability to see the spirit energy that I utilized in forming my Pact with Vetur could mean that you can use some kind of spirit power as well. Now, I don't know if that holds true for you as well, being from a different world and such, not to mention your being...umm...being a v...vampire...but I think it's definitely worth looking into."

[Devixer]

Aiden smiles at Naku, and moves to sit at a table. He's willing to wait until this conversation with Leo is done.

[Mee]

((Cripes, I forgot about this, didn't I? Terribly sorry about the wait.))

Leo twitches visibly at the sight of Naku's fangs, wondering how he could have neglected them until now. Even without seeing them, his spiritual senses should have alerted him to her vampiric nature as soon as he entered the inn; that he overlooked such a crucial detail worries him that his senses have grown dull. Still, he reminds himself that the same reasons he gave himself for tolerating the Esiriae should hold just as true for the innkeeper, so he takes a moment to calm himself before turning his attention to the topic at hand.

"In my home world," he begins slowly, still trying to settle his nerves, "very few people are capable of interacting with spirits the way I can; it's a gift that's been passed down since the earliest human civilizations, bestowed upon a select few by All Creation to uphold the natural laws of the universe. Your ability to see the spirit energy that I utilized in forming my Pact with Vetur could mean that you can use some kind of spirit power as well. Now, I don't know if that holds true for you as well, being from a different world and such, not to mention your being...umm...being a v...vampire...but I think it's definitely worth looking into."

"Could just mean that I-" It was at this point that Naku noticed that Leo had been perfectly fine and articulate until he said the magical vampire word. ". . . does it really bother you?" Naku asks, tilting her head slightly, her fairly thick hair shifting sides as she did. "That I'm . . . not . . . exactly human?" Sounds like even she doesn't want to say the magically vampire word.

[ImpSyndrome]

"Could just mean that I-" It was at this point that Naku noticed that Leo had been perfectly fine and articulate until he said the magical vampire word. ". . . does it really bother you?" Naku asks, tilting her head slightly, her fairly thick hair shifting sides as she did. "That I'm . . . not . . . exactly human?" Sounds like even she doesn't want to say the magically vampire word.

Leo suddenly feels horrible; he hadn't considered how Naku might feel about his reaction, and now things have taken a turn for the awkward. The most sensible thing he can think to do now is explain the truth, even if it takes a bit of explaining.

"Honestly, it is a bit outside my comfort zone," Leo starts with a sigh. "Spiritualists consider zombies, vampires, revenants, and what-have-you to be unnatural, and...one of our chief duties is to exorcise such beings, to return them to their proper place in All Creation." He looks away, as if staring off into the distance, and continues, "But the Nexus is different...There's no such thing as All Creation here, and the rules and laws of my own world don't necessarily apply. I guess it's kind of like culture shock; I'm trying to be impartial, but I'd be lying if I said that I wasn't kind of conflicted..."

[Mee]

Leo suddenly feels horrible; he hadn't considered how Naku might feel about his reaction, and now things have taken a turn for the awkward. The most sensible thing he can think to do now is explain the truth, even if it takes a bit of explaining.

"Honestly, it is a bit outside my comfort zone," Leo starts with a sigh. "Spiritualists consider zombies, vampires, revenants, and what-have-you to be unnatural, and...one of our chief duties is to exorcise such beings, to return them to their proper place in All Creation." He looks away, as if staring off into the distance, and continues, "But the Nexus is different...There's no such thing as All Creation here, and the rules and laws of my own world don't necessarily apply. I guess it's kind of like culture shock; I'm trying to be impartial, but I'd be lying if I said that I wasn't kind of conflicted..."

"So," Naku says, starting to smile slightly, her posture becoming much more relaxed. She's quite happy that Leo is actually willing to share. This gives her a chance to explain. "the problem would be that they're the reanimated dead, correct? Which, I'll concede, is unnatural and not supposed to be a thing. Right?"

[ImpSyndrome]

"So," Naku says, starting to smile slightly, her posture becoming much more relaxed. She's quite happy that Leo is actually willing to share. This gives her a chance to explain. "the problem would be that they're the reanimated dead, correct? Which, I'll concede, is unnatural and not supposed to be a thing. Right?"

"Well...sort of, yes," Leo answers, apparently still choosing the right words to explain himself. "It's not just about breaking the cycle of life. It's also about the separation of a being's natural union of body, mind, and spirit...But, again, being from a different world means that my definitions of 'natural' don't necessarily mean much; for all I know, my being a spiritualist is even more unnatural here than your being a vampire." It should be obvious that he's trying his hardest to explain himself while remaining objective, but it's difficult for him to remain detached.

[Mee]

"Well...sort of, yes," Leo answers, apparently still choosing the right words to explain himself. "It's not just about breaking the cycle of life. It's also about the separation of a being's natural union of body, mind, and spirit...But, again, being from a different world means that my definitions of 'natural' don't necessarily mean much; for all I know, my being a spiritualist is even more unnatural here than your being a vampire." It should be obvious that he's trying his hardest to explain himself while remaining objective, but it's difficult for him to remain detached.

Naku nods a few times, still smiling. "Then let me assure you," she says, after she let Leo finish, "I am still fully in possession of my body, mind, and spirit. Which is just the way the vampire work back where I'm from; as they . . . we . . . feed, we slowly lose more and more of ourselves. Which is why I've been starving myself for the entire duration I've been here. Nothing to worry about from me."

[Recaiden]

There's a brief no announcement whatsoever as a customer enters. Uncharacteristically walking along the actual, physical ground, Anchor makes her way up to the bar.
"Could I get a drink-thing? Something bland?"
Always quiet, the slight young woman's voice is nearly inaudible here; she speaks with a great weight on her mind, or a great deal of tiredness and apathy. She's already slumped over on the bar, actually. It must be to feel dramatic about her malaise, because she's an inhuman monster who doesn't need to and in fact can't sleep.

[Deathkeeper]

Mist perks up.
"Hi Anchor! Sure, here you go!"
He passes her a nice generic glass of wine. It's fancier than beer, but still quite generic.
"What's up?"

[Recaiden]

"Hello Mist."
For the tiniest instant she brightens up. Some part of her reminds about the name thing, but she ignores it. You can't stop a nickname once it's started without really drastic measures.
"Everyone* at the Good League of Good is awful** and a friend*** of mine is gone forever and-"
She reaches out to take the wine glass and drops her head to the counter again with a small cry.
"-I'm an idiot! I can't drink things! What was I thinking? Mist, please drink that wine for me. "
She does pay for the drink, or try to. Look, there's a few coins fumbled onto the bar.

* Four of the six people she saw most recently
** Kinda insensitive, maybe. It's the small things that drive a girl to villainy.
*** Reciprocity of the friendship never established. May be closer to a one-sided obsession.

[Deathkeeper]

Admittedly, Mist did say he preferred her real name, but she did tell him at the time it didn't matter much and his player has forgotten what exactly it was.
"I'm sorry, I forgot too. Hey, I know how you feel. Anything I can do?"

[Recaiden]

Well it wasn't totally reasonable of that part of her to correct him to 'Leah', given that Mist could be bad with names, or be being playful, or any number of things.
Leah straightens up a bit and looks at the bartender.
"You could drink it or give it to someone so it's not a waste."
She pauses and forces her eyes to stop glancing around. There's a request that she's avoiding saying.
"I just don't know what to do anymore. It's like if I went home and my house was just vanished was gone, or the sun stopped shining or something."
This is even worse than the thing with the scythe, or getting amnesia.

[Deathkeeper]

Mist sticks the glass under the bar.
"I'll give it to someone else. I'm a minor.
And really, I get it. I lost everyone I've ever known when I came here, and in the literal sense my humanity, too. You can't let it break you down like that."

[Arkhosia]

Oh look! Aurelia walks into the tavern and takes 1d10 damage!
Oh, Hi Anchor!
... What's wrong?
She asks, concern in her voice.

[Recaiden]

There, the glass is safe. That's all okay then.
Leah looks back down, a bunch of conflicting emotions running over her face. Relief, he didn't ask. Sadness, he didn't ask. Hunger, stupid inhumanity why can't I just drink wine. Shame, Mist is so much worse off than me and I'm complaining. She flickers into incorporeality and sinks a little way down into her seat.
"Yes. I should be stronger."
If only it were as easy as saying that. She would ask about the age; there's something odd about a bartender being too young to drink the things he serves, and she's fairly certain Mist is older than her but she got a drink anyway. Too embarrassed to actually speak up.
She groans softly. Somewhere near the bottom of the list of things she wants to happen is for her friend/nemesis to show up and make her look even more foolish. Aurelia is probably going to show her up by being a nice forgiving person. Typical.
Anchor makes a rather obvious show of sitting up, solidifying, and turning to Aurelia, a patently fake smile on her face.
"Hey Aurelia. Call me 'Leah'. People can be really awful, is most of it, and Rein is gone. You seem better."

[Deathkeeper]

Mist is 18. According to New York law, anyone that old can take the test to get a bartender's license. I know because a friend of mine did right after high school. And so did my physics teacher from high school. So it's not that weird. Regardless, Mist sits back and lets the two talk to each other.

[Arkhosia]

There, the glass is safe. That's all okay then.
Leah looks back down, a bunch of conflicting emotions running over her face. Relief, he didn't ask. Sadness, he didn't ask. Hunger, stupid inhumanity why can't I just drink wine. Shame, Mist is so much worse off than me and I'm complaining. She flickers into incorporeality and sinks a little way down into her seat.
"Yes. I should be stronger."
If only it were as easy as saying that. She would ask about the age; there's something odd about a bartender being too young to drink the things he serves, and she's fairly certain Mist is older than her but she got a drink anyway. Too embarrassed to actually speak up.
She groans softly. Somewhere near the bottom of the list of things she wants to happen is for her friend/nemesis to show up and make her look even more foolish. Aurelia is probably going to show her up by being a nice forgiving person. Typical.
Anchor makes a rather obvious show of sitting up, solidifying, and turning to Aurelia, a patently fake smile on her face.
"Hey Aurelia. Call me 'Leah'. People can be really awful, is most of it, and Rein is gone. You seem better."

Okay. That is true, sadly. People are the best and the worst beings in the multiverse.
Really? First I heard of it. That's sad. Rein was kinda nice.
Thanks.
Aurelia sits in the seat next to Leah.

[Recaiden]

It being a legal thing that happens does not make it not weird. I too have a friend who got a bartending license when she was 18, but it remains odd and confusing and the main point was shouldn't he check peoples' ages if he's going to refuses service to himself based on age?

"Best and worst? We really are, aren't we?"
And clearly, since Leah isn't one of the worst people (she's sure of this because she didn't actually try to kill anyone at GLoG), she must be one of the best ones.
"I'm afraid so. I'll miss him but, at least I'm not alone."
Especially since she was taught one of the secrets of creation. Difficult to be truly or even figuratively alone after that, except by your own choice.
"You're welcome. What have you been doing?"
A generic question to be sure, but Aurelia is distracting Leah by being so delicious-looking and nearby and winning at their competition(which I'm fairly sure exists only in Anchor's mind) by her obvious composure and whimsy.

[ImpSyndrome]

Naku nods a few times, still smiling. "Then let me assure you," she says, after she let Leo finish, "I am still fully in possession of my body, mind, and spirit. Which is just the way the vampire work back where I'm from; as they . . . we . . . feed, we slowly lose more and more of ourselves. Which is why I've been starving myself for the entire duration I've been here. Nothing to worry about from me."

Leo doesn't generally take the undead at their word, as the ones to which he's most accustomed are often deceptive and conniving. It's obvious to him, though, that Naku is far and above his typical zombie con, and he owes her some measure of trust for taking him in on nothing but his assumed work ethic. Besides, now that he has an opportunity to look, he notes that she does, in fact, radiate the presence of a spirit of her own, proving the validity of her claim.

"Well, it'll take some getting used to, I confess," Leo admits apologetically. "Still, I think I owe you that much at least. After all, I'm going to be working here, so I'd better not do anything to cause trouble."

Soon after this, he'll remember the original tone of their conversation and, unless Naku persists on the subject of vampires, continue, "Anyway, about spirit powers...Most of the time, it's up to each individual to discover their abilities for themselves, but a practiced spiritualist can occasionally get a sneak peek that could help to unlock it. I've never tried it before, but it's not invasive or dangerous, so I think it'd be worth a shot, if you're up for it."

[Arkhosia]

It being a legal thing that happens does not make it not weird. I too have a friend who got a bartending license when she was 18, but it remains odd and confusing and the main point was shouldn't he check peoples' ages if he's going to refuses service to himself based on age?

"Best and worst? We really are, aren't we?"
And clearly, since Leah isn't one of the worst people (she's sure of this because she didn't actually try to kill anyone at GLoG), she must be one of the best ones.
"I'm afraid so. I'll miss him but, at least I'm not alone."
Especially since she was taught one of the secrets of creation. Difficult to be truly or even figuratively alone after that, except by your own choice.
"You're welcome. What have you been doing?"
A generic question to be sure, but Aurelia is distracting Leah by being so delicious-looking and nearby and winning at their competition(which I'm fairly sure exists only in Anchor's mind) by her obvious composure and whimsy.

Nothing of note, as of late. I deadtimed for a bit, nothing unusual around here.
Aurelia replies.

[Recaiden]

"Aurelia, you can't just mention that! It bothers people who have a metrically linear conception of time."
Leah gives an exasperated sigh, but now she's curious. Can Aurelia see the fourth wall too?
"At least there's nothing bad. Say, how do you feel about animals?"

[Arkhosia]

"Aurelia, you can't just mention that! It bothers people who have a metrically linear conception of time."
Leah gives an exasperated sigh, but now she's curious. Can Aurelia see the fourth wall too?
"At least there's nothing bad. Say, how do you feel about animals?"

Animals are the best things ever!
Aurelia replies.

[Deathkeeper]

(Mist silently makes note to stay in his humanoid shape for a while to avoid risk of being squeezed.)