crankycave | [mingle post!]

[Us? Hm, interesting. The enthusiasm is nice; it's always positive not to deal with hostile semi-natives. You smile, keeping your hands in your pockets where other people might extend a palm in greeting, but after a moment you incline your head to make up for it.]

I'm Ginko. Nice to meet you, John. No one's... had problems leaving yet, have they? Or had anything else happen to them while they've been here?

[Oh, things sure have happened alright You can feel your face heat up and you duck your head, hiding in your hoodie.]

Uhm, well, I mean, I don't think anyone has tried to leave yet! It's really not that bad a place! I mean, I was kind of in the middle of something important back home that I kind of need to get back but I guess there are worse places I could have landed besides here!

[Wow, quite a reaction. Your smile widens a bit in sympathy; you're guessing it's something personal enough that you shouldn't pry. Instead, you nod along with the explanation, and run it mentally past the list of Things That Will Eat You, Things That Might Nibble, and Things That Just Drool. The 'no one has tried yet' is a strike in the danger column, but you're not passing judgement this early.]

You're right, it's not bad scenery. [laugh] Of all the places to get caught in, I suppose we both could have been trapped by something worse. Is there anything you think I should keep an eye out for?

I've heard there are creatures around but I haven't see any yet!

[There's something a little weird about this guy. Not bad weird! You can feel a tug at your fingertips, like the Windy Thing is itching to happen.

That sure would be awkward though, so you briefly clench your hands into fists before shaking them out.]

But I bet if you run into anything, you'll be able to take care of it!

[Creatures, hm? Mysterious creatures in a mysterious cave with mysterious people in hoodies?.... Oh good, everything's completely back to normal, then. It's a good day after all.]

[At John's declaration though, you break out into an honest laugh, glancing away briefly in sheepish self-awareness.]

Probably not. But... I'll be sure to keep an eye out for them. Come to think of it, I'm not keeping you from anything, am I? I hope I didn't intrude on your privacy out here.

Oh!

[you kind of laugh.]

Not really. Just regular old teenage angst that I don't really want to wallow in anyway!

[Ahhh. Teenage -- actually, since this guy is in a fairly questionable cave, it's possibly similar angst to what you went through.]

[Grinning, you start to reach reflexively for a cigarette before you stop, patting your pocket in a half-rueful motion.] It's kind of funny, how that sort of thing can follow you to the strangest places. You'd think that if you ended up in the middle of the wilderness, there'd be other things happening, right?

[After a minute, since your shoulders have begun to complain, you finally unsling the medicine cabinet and set the container down with a soft thunk. The drawers inside make a muted rattle. You retaliate by sitting on top of it.]

Did you ever hear the story about how echoes in caves actually started because people used to go there to unburden themselves of their complaints?

[Wow. This guy is sure is cool! He's sitting on a medicine cabinet he carries on his back. It's like a pharmacy and a turtle had a baby.]

Yeah. I kind of wish one of the monsters hanging around would take a swing at me. I think I'd rather worry about that than this!

I've never heard that! Maybe I should just shout it all out.

[Out of habit, you let your gaze start to wander, searching the cave in case there's anything else lingering about. As you do, you lean back on the tansu cabinet carefully, bracing more of your weight on your feet; the poor thing is pretty battered already.]

Mmmhm. A long time ago, caves didn't have echoes. The spirits that lived there would consume any noise that came inside, giving back only silence. People would go to caves whenever they were upset, because then they could say whatever they wanted, without it returning home.

But after a while, some of the mushi -- the spirits -- became curious, and wanted to communicate back. The only words they had were the sounds that humans gave them. But when they tried to repeat those sounds, the people became afraid, and stopped visiting the caves. The mushi became lonely, and left to try and find where they had gone, burrowing into tunnels and gorges, mountains and wells.

And that's why you hear echoes everywhere now: the mushi have spread across the world, looking for more sounds.

[You flex your feet briefly, testing the deep ache in your heels before you end up just eyeing them in resignation.]

So don't feel bad about talking to a cave if you ever have something on your mind! Something else might be happy to hear it, whatever it might be.

[You glance up at John again, and grin.]

Then again, it might just be a story. What do you think?

[something else is indeed lingering about, or exploring, perhaps: if you're watching the floor of the cave, you'll see a little brushwork drawing of a mouse come skittering up close enough to listen to you.]

[The motion draws your attention right as you're mid-question to John. So there are local mushi after all. No, wait -- something about that mouse looks familiar. Your brow knits as you drop your gaze to stare at the entity. Is that... ink? Could it be Shinra -- no, his grandmother wouldn't have allowed it. Maybe.]

[Normally, you wouldn't stick your hand out towards an unfamiliar mushi, but this one looks like a type you've seen before, and might even be from the same person. As you wait for John's answer, you lean down and extend a few fingers towards the mouse, curious if it will promptly abscond with your knuckles.]

[the mouse examines your fingers for a moment, sniffing or at least appearing to sniff them. then it skitters onto your hand and tries to climb your arm.]

[This particular creature is looking more familiar by the minute. Though if it really is from Shinra, he's been taking lessons. You tilt your arm more horizontal to help the mouse up if it looks like it's having trouble with your sleeve.]

[under your breath] So who did you come from?

[mouse sniffs at you, and does a little thing with its front paws as if it's groomimg imaginary whiskers. then it hops down to study your medicine cabinet for a moment before it runs off into the shadows.]

[and a few minutes later, a young man in black comes out of the darker parts of the cave, watching you.]

Hello. You're new here.

[...that isn't Shinra.]

[Unless Shinra's been working out and wearing very short shirts while he does. The thought instantly sends a chill down your spine as you realize that Renzu would probably bring the Wrath of the Grandmother down upon your head just for being in proximity. Which means: you give the newcomer a slightly perplexed look before promptly glancing around the cave with an expression like you're ready to duck at any moment.]

[But when nothing out of the ordinary appears to backhand you, you focus back on the newcomer, and relax.]

I'm guessing you're not Shinra. Was that drawing yours?

Right on both counts, which makes you more perceptive than most of the people I've met here.

You seem wary -- are you expecting some kind of trouble?

[Now that you have confirmation that there's just a remarkable parallel, you're already back at ease, hands loose on your knees. At the word, 'trouble,' you chuckle.]

Just that if you were him, I was expecting you to have some company, that's all. I've only met one other person with that kind of a gift. I never thought I'd find a second.

[Of course, this assumes that this new person is human at all. One thing at a time, though. He said, 'met', so that implies...]

My name's Ginko. You're a traveler here as well?

Ah, I see. You can call me Sai. And yes -- I came here fairly recently.

Could you tell me about this other person? I haven't met anyone else with this skill myself.

A pleasure to meet you, Sai.

[Now that you've established that this new person probably is human, you're going to give in to habit and reach for one of your herbal cigarettes.]

The ability to create life from drawing is a very rare one, from what I know. A 'god-like hand,' it's been called. The boy I met who had the gift ended up having to live far away from other villages, to keep him from being bothered by people who wanted to use his powers, or study him.

[Or by mushi masters such as yourself. But, moving on...]

But, he also was able to live in tranquility that way. So, I guess it worked out for the best.

It seems like it would be hard to protect yourself, living alone like that. Did nobody know where to look for him, then?

My technique may be slightly different, if what he was doing actually created life. My ink clones are not truly alive.

[A good exhalation of smoke gets directed towards the ceiling of the cave, where it can be lost among the shadows. Hopefully nothing will fall down on your head as a result.]

Not many people knew where he was, nor did they know about his gift. His grandmother had taken many early precautions to keep any attention from coming his way. And as for the rest.. well, let's say he had some other influences watching out for him.

I'm not sure if I would call it life the same way that you or I might appear alive. Your mouse was close enough that I mistook it for one of his. Can you paint anything, and have it take on qualities such as movement or action? Something you can touch, off the page?

[mingle post!]

Re: [in the cave, where sunlight filters down]

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