Touhou - Revolution in Retrospect (IC)

[CecilHoshino]

Meiling grins, and returns the salute. The assistants have to stick together, right? Especially when the higher ups seem to be thinking on another level they can't quite follow. Speaking of, the tea. Meiling follows Koakuma's point, towards the adorable tin. The gardener blinks in surprise, and gently pulls the tin off the shelf, and inspects it. "I...that's a new one. I've never seen this one, before...did Miss Sakuya purchase it? ...Where would you buy something like this? Maybe she made it herself...or, at least, commissioned it..." Maybe there could be a market for this...who wouldn't want to own a tin with her adorable mistress's adorable face on it?

[Mokou-tan]

Mokou kneels in front of the table so she isn't towering over Akyuu and pulls the black stone from her pocket, gently placing it on the table. Akyuu was very knowledgeable after all, she may be able to help here.

"I guess I should start with Reimu's disappearance. After Xianghua visited earlier, I went to the shrine to check up on the shrine maiden for Keine. When I got there, I met up with Marisa and Alice, but Reimu was nowhere to be found. As though she'd vanished... It was in the middle of a snacktime, too. She'd been reading some old scrolls about the Hakurei and something about sages finding a replacement for her. Then some fairies came back from a treasure hunt Reimu had sent them on to find a 'tingly rock' like this one. After I'd grabbed it, it emitted a black light... No, it may be more apt to say it consumed all the light. But, it didn't do anything else... After that I came back here to meet you. So, have you seen anything like this stone before?"

[Merilan]

Team My Mistress' Face is on a Teacup

Koakuma made a catty little face and said, "Oh, we had the idea a while back and Sakuya had one of the neighbouring youkai do a little artistry. Isn't it cute?" She packed up the soybeans and tilted her head. "Do you need any help preparing the tea, Meiling?"

Team My Girlfriend and I Are Only At Handholding

Akyuu made a little face of concern, looking to Keine. "I guess you were right... I'm really concerned now," as she bobbled her head of violet hair to one side.

She squinted and appraised it with a certain look, the look of the Child of Miare, with one whose knowledge spans across all Gensokyo's history. "... it is familiar, yet, unfamiliar," she concluded. "I have definitely seen this stone before, but the best way I could put it is... it's in a different state than I would normally know it. I'm sorry, though -- I don't really think I could tell what it is just from this fragment alone..."

She bit her lip.

"That's right. It's a fragment. I'm certain that this is only one piece of a larger one. If it's dangerous, you should best be on the lookout for others and what it may do to others."

[banthesun]

"Oh no, that won't be nec-" Nitori cut herself off, seeing that Remilia was in too much of a huff to be argued with. She followed after the little vampire, and gave a meek, "Thank you for your hospitality!"

[CecilHoshino]

Meiling grins, as she pops open the tin and has a good sniff of the tea leaves. Very aromatic. "I think I'm good. Wouldn't want to keep you from delivering the beans to Miss Patchouli. ...Except... Let's see, there's you, me, Miss Patchouli, Lady Remilia, and our three other guests, that's seven, so...we should get two pots going to ensure there's enough water for everyone's tea." As Meiling goes to the kitchen to fill some kettles, she looks over her shoulder to Koakuma. "How do you prefer your milk tea, Miss Koakuma; with the milk added to the cup before or after the tea? Can I assume you and Miss Patchouli take it the same way? Hmm, considering Miss Patchouli, I should do the 3 minute boil method for the tea; that extra caffeine kick should wake her up." Old maid habits died hard, although, it wasn't THAT long ago when Sakuya took over as head maid (granted, it most certainly WAS by human standards, but for youkai, not long enough). Or perhaps Meiling had just lived in the Scarlet Devil Mansion for so long, now, that she started to pick up on some of the quirks of its residents.

[Merilan]

(Remilia et al. and Patchouli converge here.)

Team Scarlet Devil's Advocate

Remilia was quick to lead everyone up through the halls of the Scarlet Mansion; true to form, it was a high-walled manor of beauteous splendour, filled with Gothic architecture of an era long gone, kept immaculate from a mixture of Remilia and Patchouli's own powers and the tireless cleaning of the many fairy maids, Sakuya, and Meiling herself. She paused in front of the door that would lead to Voile, the Grand Library... ...

... and sagged again. "U-ugh, but what if she doesn't want to see me?" the vampire complained, unaware the librarian was probably right on the other side of the door, capable of hearing her.

[Ascension]

Patchouli is, indeed, on the other side of the door, though in the time since we last saw her standing in contemplation of the doorknob she's changed pajamas and repacked and re-repacked her seldom-used traveling satchel. She was just beginning to consider re-re-repacking it to drop some weight when she heard her Mistress's... her friend's... voice trickling across the threshold. Despite the insulation of her warmest set of clothes, the words freeze her to the bone.

It hurts to hear Remilia doubt their friendship, then hurts worse when Patchouli realizes that she's right to do so. After all, that's exactly why she's been locked up in the library, isn't it? But now... she has to say something, doesn't she?

Or... maybe she doesn't?

There's still shelves to hide behind, after all.

Books to bury herself in.

She could... she could...

Her chills turn to a flush of heat as her heart begins to race. That's... probably anxiety, but she's hesitant to rule out the possibility that she's suddenly developed an arrhythmia. Wouldn't be the first time. Which is really why she should avoid all sources of unnecessary stress altogether, which is best done by simply never going outside. Right?

...

"...was there someone at the door?" she murmurs at last, deciding to simply pretend not to have heard Remi's moment of vulnerability.

Whew, that invitation to be sincere about her emotions was narrowly avoided!

[Luceid]

Never one to shy away from a potential tea party or an invitation into the library, Marisa has been bobbing along behind Remilia on her broom the entire time. Sitting on it sideways, even, casual-as. "Y'know," she remarks with a rub of her arm. All innocent. "I think Patche'd just be glad t'get any kinda guest taking the front door for once, so y'might as well head on in."

[Stelas]

"Oh, for heavens' sake..." mutters Alice to herself as the vampire continues to dither, her arms folding automatically as an eyebrow twitches in irritation. On any other day she might have simply let it slide, dismissed the antic with a polite chuckle and chalked it up to the whimsy of the Scarlet Devil Mansion, but something in the way her day has gone means that just isn't an option. Maybe it's her frustration at herself bubbling to the surface, maybe it's the mixture of irritation and worry for the shrine maiden, maybe it's just that here, at least, is a problem that can be immediately solved and dealt with. Or at least, the first step of it...

"However are you going to know if you don't even ask? Besides, isn't it your library when you get down to it?" she huffs, suddenly speaking up as she takes a step towards the door. "It's not as if Patchouli is going to come out and meet you herself when there's other things she could distract herself with." It's almost sulky the way she delivers it; she's at least aware she's getting a little carried away, stepping outside the bounds of politeness like this, but something makes her continue her lecture just a little longer. "At the very least, if you're going to act like lovestruck teenagers having a fight, you could at least do it after we've checked for any hints of Reimu and Flandre."

... still, the first step to solving a problem is probably not meant to be a literal one. Not that that stops the dollmaker right at this moment, one leg drawing back before slamming in a rather unladylike fashion against the gigantic doors of the Voile library. She's not expecting to take them off their hinges or anything, especially given their size, and it hardly competes with Marisa's trademark explosive entrances, but the resounding boom it makes is pretty damn hard to miss. After all, when you live right in the middle of a magical forest, you learn to wear some very tough walking boots. And when you value your privacy versus a realm of annoying low-power fairies, you sometimes learn the easiest danmaku fights are the ones that don't get a chance to start in the first place.

"Patchouli! I'm sure you're in there," she huffs loudly, earning the award for Most Obvious Deduction In Recent Gensokyo History. "It's Alice, and Marisa, and-- well, either way, we're coming in!"

[Ascension]

"Besides, isn't it your library when you get down to it?"

Well.

There it is. There. it. is. With Patchouli in her current emotional state, that's really the last thing she needs to hear. If Alice is going to be like that, well, well...

"Patchouli! I'm sure you're in there! It's Alice, and Marisa, and-- well, either way, we're coming in!"

No sooner has Alice made her forceful declaration of intent than Patchouli snaps her fingers, and the great doors of Voile swing open. The yokai magician no longer stands at the very threshold of the library, but hovers in midair some distance from the door, suspended in a dim shaft of sunlight cast by a distant skylight, framed by dancing motes of dust.

"How novel of you to use the door," she says, voice gone bitingly cold, "...perhaps too novel for you. Guests are supposed to knock more softly. Sakuya could teach you to do it properly, were she here..."

She shakes her head. Going off track. Get back on point. Deliver the message.

"...but never mind that. Since you are at the door as guests, and not stealing in as rats, I should bid you welcome. Welcome to my library."

There is a rustling of pages, a creaking of shelves, a groan that ripples through the library. It could just be a coincidentally-timed settling of Voile's massive weight of books, but it gives off the effect that the library itself is like unto a living thing, and respondent to its mistress. Its true mistress.

[Merilan]

Team LovestrucScarlet Devils

It was telling, perhaps a little too telling, that the first thing Remilia protested to was, "I am not a lovestruck teenager!!" She huffed for a moment, a little too puffy and a little too breathless than a vampire really ought to be, putting her hands to her waist. She then balked, "B-besides, it isn't my library--"

But then it all happened, in all too swift a sequence of events! The door swung open, and Patchouli emerged from the door, leaving Remilia a little more pale than usual. Err, she didn't just hear all of what she said, did she--

--she shook her head. Normally, this is where the Scarlet Devil herself would just puff up to fuller height and let herself in, perhaps cozily sit by the centre table, and demand to have something be read to her.

Only... well, right now...

"Oh... Patche," Remilia mumbled again, her little bat-wings flapping up and down. She shuffled on her feet for a moment, awkwardly, and walked nearer to the floating librarian of the Voile. Ooh, the awkward tension in the air is just building.

[banthesun]

Nitori had been tagging along obediently since they'd left Remilia's bedroom (or what she presumed was her bedroom. Don't vampires sleep in crypts, after all), but she was starting to grow impatient as they waited outside the library. She had to go and find info to solve the crisis on the mountain! Or the other crisis, since that's what everyone else seemed focused on doing first. When the library doors slammed open, she jumped aside, though. The frail magician was exuding a frightful aura, so she pushed herself against the wall to stay out of sight. And with that feeling of awkwardness growing from Remilia, there was only one option left...

Optical Camouflage!

[Mokou-tan]

Mokou gives a small nod as she stands up. While this didn't give her much to go off of, she had to meet up with the others and had an idea of where to go next.

"Thank you for your time, Akyuu. If you find anything out about disappearing shrine maidens in the past or something, I would appreciate sending word. For now, I need to go to the lake and maybe stop by and see Byakuren..." Mokou gives Akyuu time to reply before taking off, just to be sure there's nothing more to be said.

[Ascension]

Patchouli's eyes soften at the sight of Remi in such a state, and she sags in the air, drooping until her toes almost brush the floor. Her heart goes out to the Scarlet Devil, of course it does. It always has, for a century or more, for all the uncounted years of their friendship. But that's... that's just it, isn't it?

She's always the one to rush to Remilia's side. That's how it goes, every time the haughty vampire has a moment of vulnerability. But what happens when Patchouli feels low, weak, sick? In her darkest moments, she's always alone, buried deep in her library, deep in her books.

(Never mind that that's what she's always chosen, that she's always shut everyone else out.)

This feeling, this sympathy, this hurt in Patchouli's heart... that's why her friendship with the Scarlet Devil is unequal. And nothing's going to change until she stands up for herself... right?

She stays silent, trying her best to keep her expression unreadable... but her eyes are weak, and still suggest her private pity.

[Merilan]

Team Lovestruck Immortal

Akyuu made a face and tilted her head. Disappearing shrine maidens... "... well, there was the one just before..." she started up, but it was rather clear it wasn't a pleasant memory for anyone in the room -- Mokou included. She shook her head, with a faint and weak sigh. "Still, I wouldn't want it to be Reimu's time already. It's far too early, don't you think?"

Keine made a face in turn, looking towards Mokou. "Byakuren's been focused on healing those injured tengu, it rather sounded like things were heating up up there in the Mountain."

Team, er, the other Lovestruck Immortal

For centuries now, the two have had the oddest relationship. They weren't quite just friends, or confidants, or partners. In their own idiosyncratic ways they've had their shortcomings; Remilia would often, as much as Patchouli would lock herself up in her library, hide anything earnest underneath a veneer of pomp and boastful pride. And that's come back to bite her several times, as even when she wanted to visit when the librarian was laid low, it came across as annoying.

Or at least, that's what Remilia interpreted anyway.

The vampire didn't quite look back to the librarian's eyes, but she did take a breathless breath to say, "It looks like more incidents have been happening outside. And it sounds like Reimu isn't around to resolve them either. These people are here to see you about some... stuff?"

She just realised she didn't quite have an idea of what exactly they came to inquire about. Shoot first, ask questions later, Remilia.

[CecilHoshino]

It was around this moment that Meiling and Koakoma return to the library, Meiling carefully carrying a tray of seven tea cups, making sure none of them spilled. Her tea making skills might not match Sakuya, but the martial artist can most certainly match the head maid in balance and poise in carrying them. Oblivious to the awkward tension in the air between the vampire, and the magi, the gardener calls out to them.

"Lady Remilia!" she calls out, cutting through the tension, or at least giving the tiniest of distractions. "[color]I've brought the tea![/color]" Wait, did she actually ask for tea, or was that just a suggestion Marisa made that Meiling just ran with? "And Miss Koakoma brought the soybeans you requested, Miss Patchouli!" Meiling stops a few steps from the entrance to the library, glancing about. "Where's Miss Nitori gone off to? We were hoping she could talk to you about looking into your..." Huh...it's funny, but, Meiling never considered how exactly Patchouli does her magic. "Miss Patchouli, do you prefer using a crystal ball, or do you have a sort of pool off in the corner of the library you scry into?"

[Ascension]

If Patchouli wasn't trying so hard to look emotionless right now, she'd be facepalming. In fact, she considers doing it anyway. (Really, Meiling's interruption ought to be a welcome distraction from her and Remilia's weightier issues, but she's too busy being annoyed by the gardener's cluelessness to notice.)

"Books. If you have questions, what I have are books. (The pool is for swimming.) (And it wasn't my idea.)"

[Luceid]

"...but never mind that. Since you are at the door as guests, and not stealing in as rats, I should bid you welcome. Welcome to my library."

There is a rustling of pages, a creaking of shelves, a groan that ripples through the library. It could just be a coincidentally-timed settling of Voile's massive weight of books, but it gives off the effect that the library itself is like unto a living thing, and respondent to its mistress. Its true mistress.

"Eh~h..." Marisa squints her eyes in skeptical and good-natured doubt as Patchouli, revealed by the swinging doors, levels the (rather rightful) accusation at her, and mostly her, of being a thieving rat. To her credit, however, the magician says absolutely nothing of the unfolding, awkward romcom before her. Such is the complex nature of the understanding and friendship between the SDM and its... probably #1 visitor, I guess, maybe. Depending on who you ask. "I dunno, I think I fly too much an' too fast to be a rat. Maybe more like a magpie? Look, I've even got the colours!"

All this is said while the black-white folds both arms behind her head and lazily strides on into the library as if it were an old haunt she felt welcome in. Which, uh, well... it's good to have guests, at least, right? "Sorry t'bother ya, but Remi's right on the money! A buncha weird junk is goin' on in Gensokyo and it's startin' to smell like an Incident. Capital-I Incident!" the news is also delivered with oddly good cheer. Is she... trying to help distract Patchouli from difficult feelings? (Yes.)

"The Tengu on the mountain are goin' bonkers, Reimu's fairies found a weird black... crystal shard thingie that spooked us all out with an evil glow... so, uh--that's what we know, anyway. I mean, somethin' really feels up." Marisa admits, both hands going to her hips. Uh-oh, that's not casual and fun-loving at all. "It's not like ... a fun somethin', either."

[Mokou-tan]

Mokou gives a nod to the pair. Both of them were right, of course. While Byakuren's group has someone who is great at finding things, that can wait until later. The mountain has injured Tengu coming from it, which made it a bit more of a priority.

"I'll go grab the others who know and head to the mountains first, then. I figure the shards will still be around for Byakuren's group to help with later... I won't let the past repeat here." With that, Mokou quickly dashes from the building and takes to the air once she is clear enough not to ignite anything by accident. Her destination is the Scarlet Devil Mansion!

[Ascension]

Marisa's initial bluster does lighten Patchouli's heart a bit, or at least fills it with that emotion somewhere between annoyance and affection, the one most commonly known as "tsundere." The last bit gives her pause, however... not so much the news of the Incident itself (though it does sound concerning), but the magician's shift in tone, and that last uncharacteristic admission.

Patchouli would've guessed that Marisa hadn't ever encountered any "somethin'" she wouldn't deem fun.

"Do you still have this... crystal shard with you?" she asks, treating the problem seriously now. She's finished posturing, at least for the moment. "It would be easier to locate any references to it if I could examine its properties myself. As for the Tengu..."

Patchouli wrinkles her nose in frustration. The youkai of the Mountain are frustratingly insular even in the best of times, which makes gathering proper information on them for her library quite troublesome.

"...I've catalogued every issue of that nosy crow's newspaper. We could cross-reference them?"

[Merilan]

Team Mokou on the Go

Keine hurried and grabbed the immortal by her wrist before she could leap up to the skies. She shook her head once to go, "You're always in such a hurry when you want to be. Be careful, all right?" She took a moment so they could lock eyes with each other, to give her assurance. Then, she pulled a small piece of cloth from her dress' pockets, to tie onto the immortal's long head of hair. It was one of the ribbons that had burnt up in her last battle with Kaguya that Keine insisted she could repair.

"... I'm counting on you, and Reimu as well. Protect her, okay?"

(Mokou may rejoin the others on her next post!)

[Stelas]

The dollmistress does hang back a little the moment she spots the affronted librarian, entirely unused to seeing her so upset - though there's a little too much pride surging around the Magician's brain for Alice to actually outright apologize about any of her remarks. She huffs instead, crossing her arms more out of defence than grumpiness for once, and feels an eyebrow lightly twitch as she tries to catch up with herself and figure out what brought her to that sort of extreme. "... haah... somehow, it feels like I'm turning into Marisa, just a little..." she mumbles to herself, before shaking it away with a rueful smile. "But really, you should have seen her, Patchouli."

She's heaved in a breath the next moment, as if trying to underscore and tacitly move on from the brief confrontation. It helps that she has something to explain, and explain in a sombre fashion. "... unfortunately, we don't have it. Mokou took it, and sped off to the village to check with-- ah... I suppose it would have been Keine?" she wonders, before shaking her head a second time. "In any case, whatever it was had already discharged its magic. We all felt it expand outwards with some kind of power - though somehow, whatever it did, the fairies didn't seem to notice a bit of it," she adds. The tone of her voice suggests that, considering the subject matter, this might just be Gensokyo Operating As Intended... but she's well aware of Patchouli's fastidiousness when it comes to details.

She glances across at Marisa for a moment, then lowers her head with another quiet frown. "... I wonder if that's important... Reimu did send them out to search for it, as far as we can tell," she points out as she places a hand on one hip. "I suppose we'd be able to learn more if we could find any other pieces. Watch for any common threads in who can sense it and who can't, perhaps."

[Mokou-tan]

Mokou gives Keine a big confident smile. Even though Mokou is older, Keine is still the one taking care of her after all this time. She stands still as Keine ties the ribbon in and gives her a gentle hug.

"Don't you worry. No matter what happens, I'll be back with Reimu in tow. I promised, after all." Satisfied, Mokou soars through the sky towards the Scarlet Devil Mansion.

After an uneventful fight, the immortal lands in the courtyard, noticing the now patched up hole. With a shrug she opens the front door and just walks in like she belongs, wandering around in search of the others.

[banthesun]

Now that the librarian and the Lady had made up, Nitori returned to the group. She didn't bother deactivating her optic camouflage, though. At this point that would just cause more questions. Old volumes of Aya's papers wouldn't be any fun to read over their shoulders' though. Quite the opposite, most likely! With that in mind Nitori decided to go search for books herself.

"Disappearance of Co-, Disappearance of El-, Oh! Disappearance of Haru- Whaaaaat? None of these books are about if Reimu goes missing!"

[Merilan]

Team Everyone

By the time Mokou arrived at the Scarlet Devil Mansion, she saw a particularly odd sight -- a makeshift platform that was covering the garden on the east side, rather clearly just freshly erected. Perhaps it was the kappa's work?

When she entered through the front door, she was greeted by some fairy maids who looked a little uncertain -- but then a cheerful, red-headed devil popped up at the top of the stairs. "Oh! Hello, are you another guest? Everyone else is at the library!"

Back at the library, Remilia herself wandered in and tilted her head, though staying closer to Patchouli. "I guess you'd want to look at books about magical crystals or gems, from what you've told me... and we'd need that shard to find out more, wouldn't we?"

Voile. The grand library of Patchouli Knowledge, and quite possibly the largest repository of knowledge in all Gensokyo. A splendid, multi-storied space with ornate mezzanines with all the bells and whistles. At the centre was where Patchouli usually spent her time, with a seating table and comfortable reading chair along with other amenities for comfort. Including the kiddie pool on the side. How'd that get there? Bookshelves rise up high and tall above you in all directions from the centre, and the sheer amount of quantity was more than a little daunting.

You know, unless you're the owner, or have made it a casual habit to barge in here and peruse the books.

[Luceid]

Marisa still has those hands on her hips, and is looking towards Patchouli and Alice both. Even as her ears perk at the sound of approaching footsteps, as Nitori skulks close with her optical camoflauge active. "Ah, yeah. That nosy immortal from the village was real quick to grab the shard and jet with it--somethin' about it bein' safer if it blew up in her hands than in mine. I guess it makes sense." she grouses, good-naturedly. That broom of her sweeps into position, too, just in time for her to lean back and sit on it like she would any normal bench.

"I... reckon there's gotta be some important in those fairies bein' able to find a tiny shard like that. Maybe it's got somethin' to do with Gensokyo an' nature? Y'know, that whole relationship..." the longer-haired of the two blondes gives Alice her thoughtful reply. "But... how do I put it? Uh," there comes a brief rubbing of the back of her neck. Marisa frowns again, that's twice! Put a grin on your face, girl, and make Remilia fight for Patchouli's heart anew! "It felt kinda weird... and familiar. Deja voodle, I reckon."

[Mokou-tan]

Mokou smiles to the red-headed devil who greeted her. Other guests meant they were still here, which is good for Mokou. Nobody likes to travel around in search of people!

"Oh, thank you. I've never been before, so do you think you could be my guide? Sakuya has told me how big this place is in our little chats and, while it'd be amusing to get lost here, it is kinda important that I reach the others."

[Stelas]

"Deja vu," Alice smoothly corrects the black-white magician, effortlessly playing the straight man without so much as a bat of her eyelids. "... still... familiar? Do you know what it might have been from? I can't say I felt anything of the sort myself..." she trails off uncertainly, looking towards Patchouli as if for confirmation, never mind that the librarian hasn't seen anything worth a damn at this point. After another moment of thought, she slowly shakes her head. "You know... if we assume that Reimu sent out the fairies for that reason, that would mean she knew roughly what she was looking for. ... honestly, I'm not sure if we're clutching at straws or if her intuition is just that good."

[CecilHoshino]

"I get the feeling her intuition has always been rather spot on. She tends to be the first one to hear about these incidents, at least that's the impression Miss Sakuya's recounts of them have given me." Meiling hands everyone who is interested a cup of the milk tea as they all settle in. "I suppose it comes with her being a Hakurei shrine maiden in particular."

Her train of thought derails a little as she once again stares up at the vast assortment of tomes before her. "I'm impressed you even notice when books go missing, Miss Patchouli. It seems like any random old tome could get lost in the shuffle very easily in here..." Missing. Borrowed. "Borrowed." All the same, really.

[banthesun]

"Awww, this whole library trip was a bust! We fixed up the vampire's room, and now we're no closer to finding an answer? I should go rejoin the others..."

Turning to leave, Nitori gave one last look over the shelf, and this time something caught her eye.

"The Principles of Disappearance? Surely that would have nothing on my optic camo! ...but perhaps there's something I could incorporate from there..."

---

"Kappapapapapaa~♪ Kappapapapapaa~♪ The library full of books~ And I'm gonna read them all~♪"

To anyone who came across Nitori, all they would see is a towering pile of books floating through the air. The mechanical arm carrying them was still tucked under the stealth field of Nitori's optical camouflage, it's owner having forgotten to turn it off. Every so often, it was stop at a shelf, and add another book or two to the pile.

"Human Resources and Efficiency Guidelines? Ooh! I should learn about what resources humans need, I'm sure that'll be exciting!"

Clearly, Nitori had started getting a little carried away...