TDM + GAME OPENING 🎉

[beleos]

Who: Shard-Bearers, new and old
What: Seeds take root
Where: The Tree of Life, Highstorm, Springstar
When: October 14th and onwards
Warnings: Potential for (mild) body horror, death, dismemberment

I. BEARING FRUIT (new characters only)

It starts out as a pleasant dream. You’re in your favorite place, with your favorite people. It’s a moment of idyllic comfort.

And then, it goes wrong.

The sky turns dark above, and as you look up, you see the black expanse of space spotted with faraway pinprick lights of stars. Yet, they’re not stars. You’re certain. They’re watching you. A billion eyes all looking down, and they spill forth as if sky itself was a dam holding back those dark waters. You reach back to the people you’re with, but they’re frozen in place. Their eyes are black, reflecting only the expanse of dark eyes.

So you run, even though you know you won’t escape it. You glance back and see it not overtaking, but consuming. The landscape around you is being devoured, and you can see it cracking apart. The world itself is breaking, and it cracks under your feet. You fall, and the billion eyes chase after you until the darkness swallows you whole. There’s agony as if you’re being ripped apart, and then—

You cannot see. You cannot feel. You simply are. Yet even so, impossibly, a woman’s voice speaks gently.

I’m sorry it couldn’t be saved. But, come, it’s time to wake.

You wake with a start, cradled by soft, velvety plants, and sticky with a sap that smells faintly of honey and iron. You can see the veins of the leaves that hold you, lit warmly and gently by what looks like a crystal embedded above you. Yet, it’s odd, because that crystal calls to you. When you reach out to touch it, it’s warm. Familiar. Important. You don’t know why, but you know you must hold onto this, because now it feels wrong for it to be suspended in these leaves. So, you pull it out.

The light starts to fade, but only in time to see as the leaves cradling you immediately start to soften and crumble, and with it comes a torrent of dirt. Soft, loamy soil starts to fill the space around you in the dark as you’re buried. Or, rather, you already were. You reach out through the dirt desperately, and your hands finds a root, so you pull while you clutch that precious crystal so close that it almost feels like it sinks into you (in your panic, you don’t notice that it does). You reach out again, and this time, your hand hits open air and plenty of sturdy roots around to grab.

From a seed you’re born, and like a sprout, you make your way out of the ground.

And once you’ve clawed your way out of the soft earth and the roots, nearby, you see the soil shift. Another hand comes up to grasp desperately for something, anything, just as you had been.

II. MORAL HAZARD

There are new Shard-Bearers at the Tree of Life, and Yima has asked that the earlier arrivals go to greet them and help them. These aren’t people from Horos, after all, so they’ll have many, many questions. As Yima explains, the roots of the tree rise up to create caverns underneath, and it’s there you’ll find the new Shard-Bearers. And indeed, with careful steps to not slip on the mossy roots, down you go. Perhaps Communion will help you find the new Shard-Bearers, but it might be a confusing process for them.

The roots all start to look the same, to the point that you’re sure that you’ve already been through this passage. You turn around, and most of the people you had come here with are gone, if not all of them. It’s confusing and unsettling, and strangest of all.. You’re starting to feel ill, even if that wasn’t something normally possible for you. But continuing forward, you do eventually find an unfamiliar face of a new Shard-Bearer. They look no better than you feel.

Before introductions, however, roots around you shift suddenly until you’re enclosed in a room together. From the roots, a face forms in the wall. It speaks in a creaking, uneven tone, as if it weren’t used to speaking at all.

Give to take. A sacrifice. To live.

---

LET'S PLAY A GAME...

As the Dryad will explain, characters are now trapped in a room and have been poisoned by the spores that the lichens underfoot release. An antidote lays beyond the roots the dryad has curled around you, but to access it, you must make a sacrifice.

Characters can pick one of the following options, but the decision must be made unanimously. If one character takes a drastic action (such as murdering another), it’s counted as a failure for the group.

• Each of you must offer up a personal/treasured memory. The memory will be shared in Communion with all characters assembled, and then will be destroyed. No character will retain the memory or memory of its Communion.
• Each of you must offer up something physical. A finger, a toe, an ear, it’s your choice. The dryad will offer a knife if this is chosen that will sever the body part of choice cleanly and immediately stop any bleeding.
• Offer up another. Kill one person in the room.
• Refusing is also a valid option. Characters will get more ill as they debate until they start to find it difficult to breathe, and they’ll die quickly after.

The following is OOC knowledge that will not be known IC: The consequences of this game are about intent, and thus are not real. When characters are freed from the tree’s thrall, they’ll have their memories/body parts/life intact.

This can be done in groups of 2 to 4 players, and Loremasters recommend three if you can swing it! It’s more fun when you get in philosophical debates, right? Regardless, when your group comes to a decision, please record it here. These don’t have to be fully threaded out to be recorded, so the conclusion can be discussed OOC if you prefer. Actions can be submitted until October 21st, after which groups will be informed of what comes of their choice…

When a group receives the antidote, they'll be released from the tree's thrall... But will have a hard time waking up. It feels like something has grabbed onto their spine.

III. DREAMING OF HOME

You may wake with a start from your deliberations (or arguments) with a jolt of pain from the base of your spine as something is pulled away rapidly. A dark-haired man who looks to be in his thirties or so holds you carefully, but as soon as you start to regain your senses, he sets you back and holds up his hands.

Woah— Woah there, it’s fine! The tree was, uh, trying to take you back is all. You’re fine now.

As long as you’re not going to attack him, he offers a friendly smile and a hand to shake.

Name’s Cyrus. Sorry about the rude awakening. Let’s get your friend here unhooked too.

And indeed, glancing over, you can see the person you met in that room laying nearby, and it looks like a vine has snaked underneath them to exactly where something had just been pulled from you… Best not to think about it, maybe. Or if you've been unlucky enough to be one of the last people rescued, you might find vines and roots starting to grow into your skin. It's fine!

---

CYRUS, THE TRIBUNE

Cyrus is the NPC heading up the Meridian Faction, and is available to thread with under this header. Cyrus has come to the Tree of Life to help rescue the Shard-Bearer’s from the Tree, so he’s not going to be inclined to explain too much right away, since he’s on a mission, but he’ll stick around once everyone is successfully freed from Prompt 2 to speak with anyone that wants to. The following is just an OOC summary of information in case you do not need to thread with Cyrus:

Cyrus will gladly introduce himself to everyone, and will further explain his position in Meridian and Springstar (see the NPC Page) and the goals of Meridian itself (see the Faction Page, save for the italicized section). But most importantly, he’ll explain that he knows it sounds like something overly optimistic. It’s fair to be skeptical. He’ll produce a small glass bead from a bag he’s carrying. It looks like the necklace he wears, though not lit up. He’ll explain that the force of Meridian is a gift and can be a tether to your home, if you let it. As his fingertips light up, the energy is infused into the bead, which he’ll hand to you.

Taking the bead into your hands, you’ll take a bird’s eye view of your home world as if your consciousness is split, since you’ll still perceive standing in front of Cyrus at the tree. Rather than a vision, the view of your world is absolutely real, you’re certain. It’s a glimpse at the world that you thought destroyed, and if you focus on a particular place or a particular person, you’ll find the view shifting rapidly to it. No one you watch is aware of your presence, but simply continues about their daily life, whatever that is. But after about a minute, the view will fade as the light in the bead also fades.

That’s an iliachtida, a sunbeam, and when infused with Meridian’s light, allows someone Harmonized to it to check in on their world, he explains. It also acts as an anchor that tethers their soul to their world in the Timestream. With it, their world can’t entirely disappear, so eventually, they can go home. It’s a gift he’ll allow anyone that wants it to keep it, but indeed, they’ll be unable to use it again without first Harmonizing to Meridian.

To help manage threadload for the Loremasters playing Cyrus, we ask that you only tag him with the character you are most likely to app. Similarly, new tag-ins will not be accepted after Monday, October 17th.

III. SPRINGSTAR, αιώνιος ήλιος

After your ordeals at the Tree of Life, perhaps you’re drawn to Springstar, the city of eternal sun and the seat of Meridian.

It’s currently (and fittingly) Spring in Springstar, and the bustling city is coming back to life after finishing up winter. It’s not as if the winters are especially harsh here, but you’ll quickly get the sense that the people of Springstar are vivacious and happy to celebrate. You’ll find the Entertainment District to be the liveliest, whether it’s at a rowdy bar or a brothel, but no matter what, you’re welcome with open arms and without question.

Of course, if you’d just like to use the chance to explore the city alongside your fellow Shard-Bearers, that’s fine too. It’s easy to get lost in the crowds of Springstar and see all the city has to offer.

IV. HIGHSTORM, луны-близнецы

Or maybe Highstorm, the city of twin moons and the seat of Zenith is more to your liking. It’s certainly the quieter of the two cities and is a relaxing, meditative place if that’s what you prefer. The chill in the air is constant, since it’s Autumn in Highstorm and the eternal night doesn’t help keep things warm, exactly. Snow isn’t out of the question at this time of the year, but it’s beautiful in the moonlight.

Because of the cooler weather than Highstorm is prone to, you’ll find many of its delights inside rather than outside. Libraries and museums are popular in the more introspective city, though it’s easy enough to find something that might please you. For example, the indoor hot baths are popular at this time of the year too. You’ll find the people are kind, if cool-tempered, though if you mention the fact that you’re a Shard-Bearer or allied with Zenith, they’re more likely to warm up.

Though much like Springstar, it may just be more interesting to explore the city with a fellow Shard-Bearer. And as a resident may warn you, it’s best to stay in the city. Wandering out into the marshes and forests isn’t advised. Of course, if you do, just contact a Loremaster to find out why. ♥

NOTES

Welcome to Kenos! As a reminder, all players are required to fill out an application, which are now open. This does include characters/players from Aion Teleos, so please don’t forget to fill one out! Any character/player that does not submit an application will be swept from the communities and the Discord after applications close.

Activity Check is optional this month, but is highly recommend so Christy can check her fancy program so that you can earn Activity Reward Tokens! Activity will be able to be submitted shortly after applications close. You can find more about how we do AC here.

This log is Game Canon. Any characters who are not apped to the game will disappear. If Cyrus or Yima are asked, they’ll explain that this happens sometimes, since not every soul has a strong tether to Kenos and sometimes return to the Timestream. They’re fine and may even return to Kenos one day, but for now weren’t able to make the full journey.

As a reminder, your character has a Shard somewhere on their body that encompasses their soul, so keep note of where you're sticking it on their person for reference! Additionally, they have a tattoo of their Aspect somewhere on their body. Please be mindful this Aspect will be assigned to you upon approval and whatever you choose for the TDM may be temporary (for new characters)!

For the Highstorm and Springstar prompts, both cities will be fully open and accessible to all characters once they are saved from their rather harrowing ordeal at the Tree of Life. For prompt ideas and any general information about the cities and what you can find there, please see the Navigation page and check out the locations!

FOR NEW PLAYERS:

New players are welcome to join our Discord Server if you haven't already!

When they emerge from their cocoon/the ground, characters may be wearing their normal clothes, or they might be nude. Up to you!

At some point in the days after leaving the Tree of Life, new Shard-Bearers will have a dream, even if they're usually not capable of sleeping. All new players should read this post, since this details how they'll learn about both factions and their goals and should help them make a decision in which Faction they'd be drawn to.

New characters will not have access to any canon abilities on the TDM.

Your character will be offered temporary housing either at the Heliopolis district or Yima's manor for the first few weeks after their arrival. They will also be given a stipend for basic supplies like clothing and personal effects, and food is served in the cantina (Heliopolis) and at regular meal times in the Dining Room (Yima's manor). Once they Harmonize, they will get personal permanent chambers and a fancy retainer in their Faction's city. Wow! 🌈

FOR OLD PLAYERS:

Characters may be Harmonized to their Faction (if that makes sense for the character, of course!) by the time of this log. This is more for IC reference, and just wait until application acceptance to do the OOC paperwork!

General reminder that your character won't have access to their powers until they have Harmonized.

CODING

Comments

[warmare]

[Is she serious? Maybe.

She has encountered several members of the Kenoma since she woke up in yet another foreign world, yet again without being asked her opinion on the matter. If she could have chosen death in her own world over life in Horos, she would have. If she could have chosen death in Horos over life in Kenos, she probably would have.

But now she’s here, both of her stomachs rumblings and only one eye left to glare with across the restaurant’s outdoor seating at a man she had tried to kill three times, forever interrupted. She’d had two eyes when they’d clashed in Achamoth. She’d ripped the throat out of the man who had ripped her eye out in the roots beneath the tree of life. She’d had to listen to another Kenoma tell her none of that matters here.

None of… that. But it is not as easy for her to forgive nor forget as it seems to her many others are far too foolishly happy to. As she continues glaring (more at… what he represents, than at him, really), the waitress finally takes her chance and slinks away, praying lunch hour would end before the woman had a chance to be seated.

Hayame’s tail twitches when he orders more fish as if to taunt her. Her lips thin into a tighter frown when he orders dishes for the other side of the table, empty. Was it an invitation, or was it mockery? She cannot tell.

… It smells good in there.

To her dubious credit, Hayame holds off a few more minutes. It wouldn’t do to appear weak-willed, no matter how hungry she was both for nostalgia and just for food. But eventually the unlucky waitress is flagged down, the seven foot some tall centaur leans down just enough to speak in low terms to the two-legged woman…

Who then, looking very confused, makes her way deftly around the tables until she can pop down to a squat near Gen, one hand on the table and her expression… yes, very confused as she asks,

Sir, I’m not sure… Ah, the missus over there is asking whether you “intend to invite her or insult her”…

She’s so sorry, she just works here…]

[epiprocta]

[ He's still been eating with steady movements the entire time Hayame's been watching him -- because he sure as hell isn't going to let a good meal go cold? and this saury is good -- and Gen looks over with a full mouth when the server squats next to him. Her words, of course, do nothing to impress him. But at least the poor employee might be relieved to note that Gen doesn't direct any irritation towards her.

He does, of course, glance back Hayame's way to give her incredulous squint.

Then he chews, swallows, and says something to the server that's lost over the din of the rest of the restaurant patrons. It's only once the server wearily comes plodding back her way that Hayame will receive her answer:

Ah, he said ... Well, he said he doesn't care what you take his actions as, as long as he can eat his meal in peace. Though in a somewhat more vulgar fashion.

No doubt Gen's exact words had contained at least one or two more profanities. Though at least his sentiment seems to have been accurately delivered to Hayame, because when she looks over from the poor server-cum-messenger and back to his table, she might spot another server bringing him his requested extra dishes. Three plates of freshly-grilled saury, piping-hot and gleaming white rice piled high in a small bowl, sides of colorful pickles.

Gen takes two plates of saury for himself. But the third, he places across from himself, in that empty spot, alongside the bowl of rice. Accompanied by the fresh side of pickles, it's the perfect setup for someone to sit down for a nice meal -- namely Hayame, if she'd like to accept this ambiguous invitation(?) extended her way.

She'll have to take that initiative though, because Gen simply returns to tending to his own meal, licking his lips as he sets aside the plate of saury he's done with. The bones have been picked respectably clean, and Gen barely hesitates before moving onto one of the other servings he'd requested, making it clear he hadn't been lying when he'd asked the server to deliver his words to Hayame.

He really is just here for a meal. No funny business. ]

[warmare]

[He squints, he chews, he apparently… says something foul to the serving woman. Once she has delivered the message, the waitress tries to leave this strange interaction behind, but Hayame bids her stay with a raised hand while she considers her options for a moment.

A moment in which more food arrives at that… man’s… table. Some of which is set out on the opposite side, as if for someone who is not there. Someone who could be her, if she just-

Missus, I really- The Zenite tries to excuse herself while still maintaining service industry standards of hospitality, but Hayame’s withering glare keeps her in place. I have work… And in Hayame’s defense, that glare is directed more inward and just manifesting outwardly, she’s not mad at the woman, she just… Finally,]

… I will sit.

[She had already promised service (ugh) to the restaurant to eat, but if they ran out of the food she longed to taste again… With the impermanence of everything that surrounded them since the first moment she woke up on Horos, Hayame had lost the ability to tell herself “I’ll just come back tomorrow”. She might be dead tomorrow. This whole world might be “destroyed” tomorrow.

And with that inspiring thought… Hayame’s large form is navigated somewhat clumsily through the crowded seating, the free chair at Gen’s table is removed… and a centaur plops her rump down onto the stone in its place, adopting a slightly awkward stance with her equine half arranged more like a dog would sit than anyone would imagine a horse would.

… There is no way she could stop herself, now. The food looks so familiar, so appetizing, and it’s hot and ready and right under her nose… and even if her entire body is tense as if guarding against potential attack and she looks a bit like a food-aggressive pit bull…

Her palms press together and her head dips downward in a brief gesture of thanks… before she picks up the bowl, and just the first bite makes her long tail suddenly whip out behind her, her shoulders round, and her fingers clench tight on the chopsticks.

… It’s delicious.]

[epiprocta]

[ He does tense when Hayame approaches the table, the thud of her hooves sending tiny tremors through the flooring. Not because he's about to start any shit, but because he can't fully discount the possibility of Hayame, say, flipping the table right up into his face. Or just, like breaking a bowl over his head or something. Who knows what to expect from a barbaric-ass centaur who'd been willing to shoot before talking?

But she simply sits at the table across from him.

Picks up her chopsticks.

And even seems to say (silent) thanks before starting to eat. Normally.

He'd kept his gaze trained warily at the food, only watching Hayame out of the fringes of his field of vision, but Gen does look up once Hayame starts digging in. He's already making good progress on his own second serving of saury, and he slowly chews at a large mouthful as he studies her for a long moment. Given his missing left hand he's been forced to tweak his eating habits, unable to hold his rice bowl up, and he awkwardly keeps his chopsticks balanced across the lip of his bowl of miso soup as he lifts it up to take a big sip.

Then -- ]

So you're capable of at least pretending to be normal sometimes. [ It's a low mutter, partially muffled into his bowl, punctuated by the soft thunk as Gen places it back onto the table. His chopsticks click neatly as he picks off another big chunk of the saury to pop into his mouth, and he speaks while still chewing: ] Was wondering if you were just always a psycho bitch.

[ Despite his unsavory word choice, his delivery is low and almost mild, tired rather than incendiary. There's a pause as Gen picks at his saury for a moment longer before adding plainly, ]

If you're still that determined to kill me, save it for next time. S'been way too long since I got to have some normal food -- and looks like it's the same for you, too. Don't go fucking it up.

[warmare]

[Hayame might have been content to just eat in begrudging silence. The first few bites are slow, savored, because she hasn't had anything that was quite right in months. Even something as simple as grilled fish didn't taste the same in Horos. It wasn't the right fish, the right salt, the right sauce... and there certainly hadn't been miso, nor this sort of rice...

Gradually, it began to show how overwhelmingly hungry she actually was, though. Even wanting to enjoy it as long as possible, she can't help beginning to speed up getting the food into her mouth, down into her first stomach so it can move to fill her second. With just minutes to go before they stopped taking orders, she brusquely hails a different waitress and asks for two more servings of everything. If she's going to debase herself doing service for her meal, she will have it be a decent sized one. But after that she sets herself to just chewing, swallowing, chewing, swallowing, just barely kept from a rude level of speed or improper manners--

Until the man across the table calls her a "psycho bitch". (Sort of.)

She only has the one eye left to glare at him, but in this sort of instance... the lack makes the expression fiercer rather than weaker, the slight indent and stain in the thin cloth made into a makeshift eyepatch twitching grotesquely. There might not be vitriol in his voice when he says it, but that doesn't change the insult in his words. Capable of pretending to be normal?

She was normal. That was practically the whole source of her rage and confusion in Horos, and now this place. She was normal, and yet so many looked upon her as if she was not. It was normal to view those who served your enemies as enemies themselves. It was normal to take the heads of those enemies. It was normal to attack an enemy on sight. And yet she was the one in the wrong? She was the one who was psychotic?

The flimsy, disposable chopsticks in her hand don't snap until he tells her-]

Don't go fucking it up?

[He might sound tired, but she can muster the anger for what seems to be grave offense over him thinking he can tell her what to do, or assuming how important it was to her that she taste something of the home she'd been ripped from. (Rather, how true it was, what he said. She's fucked up everything, every god damn thing, but how dare someone like him say it to her face-)]

I don't have to pretend to be normal.

[She was, she was the only one who was. Her hand spasms on the snapped wood in her fingers, then put them back on the table too hard to pass off as unbothered as she snatches another set from the container on the table.]

And don't flatter yourself.

[Her sharp canines glint as her lip peels back, breaking her new set of chopsticks in two unevenly.]

You were only an honorable kill because you served the Regent.

[So unless he swore that same loyalty now? What? She's going to slaughter a one-armed man in a restaurant for nothing but his foul mouth? That was a beating at most. But this time... She just stuffs more grilled saury into her mouth, even if it's done with a twitch in her remaining eye and an insulted stiffness to her body and tail.]

[epiprocta]

[ He'd been wearily chewing on a big mouthful of rice as she spoke, meeting her ferocious glare with a flat, dead-eyed stare. Not that the snap of chopsticks isn't impressive -- it is, and he'd be a lot more on-guard if they were on a battlefield, both holding weapons -- but he's also not in the mood to be dealing with that kind of bullshit at the moment, not when he's just wanting some lunch. It's obvious he's deemed the food a much more worthy recipient of his attention than Hayame, and it's not until he hears that last bit that one of his eyebrows shoots up. Gen at least is aware enough of his manners in public to swallow before opening his mouth. ]

... honorable?

[ He repeats the word incredulously before laughing. Not maliciously, not mockingly, not derisively. Mostly just in disbelief, highlighted by the way he gives a small shake of the head; even as he goes back to picking at his saury, his lips are curved in a crooked smile to himself. ]

The hell're you even talking about. Like there's anything honorable about killing.

[ Is killing necessary? Yes, certainly. Do some people deserve to die? Definitely. Had he been prepared to dirty his hands as much as necessary to keep himself alive, back there? ... probably. But he's still not sure he'd ever call killing honorable. Not to mention -- the thought of any honor being associated with his own death is kind of hilarious. And here, she's telling him not to flatter himself.

Gen laughs again to himself as he pops a piece of saury in his mouth, washing it down with another gulp of the soup -- it's good, really warms him up -- and puts the bowl back down before looking back to Hayame. ]

Look, onee-san. I'm not the one who was standing around shooting death glares instead of just taking a fucking seat and eating. Or, what. Were you so smitten with me you got all shy? [ It's pretty half-hearted as far as provocations go, with barely any effort put into presentation; he can't quite muster the same level of obnoxious shittiness he usually manages, his words coming out more wan than sarcastic. Ugh, whatever. Gen sighs before dumping the last pieces of takuan onto his rice and setting the empty plate aside. ] There's no Regent here. So if you were only trying to rip my head off 'cause of that -- drop it. I'm not particularly interested in starting shit with you just yet, either.

[ With that said, he casually reaches across the invisible line dividing the table in half, because the seaweed dish is sitting just barely on her side of the table.

Truce? ]

[warmare]

[As far as Hayame was concerned, she was invited to sit where she was right now, as much as she's almost starting to regret it more than she is enjoying the meal. And since he was the one who'd had the right to refuse her and then had not... He is the one who should be gracious about the guest he ought to have known.

And no matter how calm and tired he's acting... Hayame has enough fire for the both of them. For three of them, or four. Nothing honorable about killing? If there wasn't honor to be found in one's actions, if there wasn't things that were dishonorable to govern actions in combat...]

Spoken like a brute instead of a warrior. Don't confuse honor with something else.

[Hayame didn't enjoy killing. Beyond surges of satisfaction that came from revenge, which were different... Killing was necessary, it had a purpose, but it wasn't fun and it wasn't glorious, even when it was honorable. She had striven to live her life honorably since the moment she knew that the path of the warrior was the only one that would lead her away from the fate of a broodmare or an Armless, and even though she'd been shaken... She can't let go of it. If she didn't have it-

She'd have nothing. Hayame actually opens her mouth to continue to pontificate on the nature of honor, but then-

Then he says that. He's said similar things in the heat of battle, she remembered a comment or two that seemed designed to shame her or remind her of her gender, but this time... They aren't in the middle of a war. They're at a restaurant. There is no bow in her hand, just chopsticks. A moment after the word "smitten" registers her face grows flush with something like anger, something like embarrassment, and even though a part of her knows he must just be trying to goad her-

When Gen's hand quests across the table for a dish a chopstick slams down on the table with enough force to punch through flesh and muscle and pin that hand to the wood beneath. Thankfully for her tablemate... it lands right by his hand and not on it. Whether Hayame intended only to threaten or if she'd actually meant to injure him, stopped only because of her missing eye and the new depth perception she hadn't yet accustomed to... There's absolutely no telling. But she leans over the table with her superior height, close enough to hiss quietly through clenched, sharp teeth.]

I would rather bite my tongue off and bleed to death than let a human fuck me. Do not talk to me about being smitten unless you want to find out what being an Armless jinba feels like.

[He'd already lost one arm, somehow, between the battle they'd fought in Venera and the showdown in Achamoth. She'd gladly show him to a flensing post if he insinuated further what attractions she might have for the species that had enslaved hers. - Where would she find a flensing post, outside of her former master's breeding stable? ... Whether he knew why that topic was so offensive to her or not meant almost nothing to her.

After a too-long moment, a glare almost past him with one eye and one empty socket, Hayame swallows the surge of memories she never asked for or wanted and sits back down, knowing already that she'd reacted too strongly to play off, but not willing to admit it or take it back. He's not interested in starting shit? It didn't seem like that to her.

But strangely (?) enough... She shoves the seaweed dish over to his side of the table where it would be easier for him to grab with his remaining hand.

Is that... accepting the truce???]

[epiprocta]

[ So much for that weary attempt at a truce.

Gen reacts automatically the moment he spots that movement aimed at his hand, flinching sharply as he jerks it back out of stabbing range. Whether that chopstick would have hit its mark in the first place or not is almost a non-factor; all he can glean from this situation is that, had he not reacted quickly enough, Hayame really would have crippled the one hand he has left. Over ... what? Some trivial fucking bullshit he said? That after all her posing and prancing about, acting like she's some hyper-civilized warrior? And she thinks she can consider herself honorable in any way?

His breaths are coming a little fast, his pulse thudding in his ears as he tries not to think about how devastating it would have been, had he been left to fend for himself in these strange lands with his one hand damaged, and he barely registers the scrape of ceramic against the table's surface. The rest of the restaurant has fallen quieter, eyes drawn to the sound of wood crunching into wood and the harsh grate of Hayame's words, and Gen himself is silent for a moment before he manages to tear his gaze away from the table's punctured surface to fix a vicious glare back at Hayame. ]

... and you think I'm flattering myself?

[ His next breath comes as a low scoff. If Hayame had doubted Gen's statement that he wasn't looking for a fight, maybe the drastic shift in his tone of voice will make it retroactively clear. His words had been spoken wearily before, languid and almost apathetic, but now they're spat acrid and sharp at the edges. Even if he speaks quietly now, there's no mistaking the sheer venom in the scornful curl of his lip, the lowered shadow of his brow, and the look of pure disdain he gives her. ]

'Cause it'd be an honor for any man to have to fuck a frigid, stuck-up, psychotic bitch like you, yeah?

[ Gen doesn't wait for an answer before simply rising to his feet, the movement sudden and rough enough to jolt the table where it stands. The noise feels terribly loud, given the silence that's overtaken the rest of the eatery; all eyes are fixed on their table. And when a pair of the store's employees come stumbling nervously forward, clearly worried that a fight's about to break out, Gen simply turns to the closest one and grits, ]

I'm leaving. [ He drops his utensils as he rises to his feet, fishing a fistful of money from his pocket to shove into the nearest employee's hands. It should be enough to cover only what he'd ordered for himself. As for the rest -- ] She'll pay for any damages.

[ She's the one who'd escalated, after all. That's the only honorable course of action, right?

Gen simply leaves afterward, not bothering to spare Hayame a backwards glance. And if Hayame wants to follow ... she'll first have to deal with the troubled employees giving her fearful glances, the tense atmosphere in the eatery, the murmur of low voices daring to speak again. Some even about her. ]

cw: sa, slavery 1/2

[warmare]

[Even Hayame does not know if she intended to stab that chopstick through his hand or if it was supposed to be just a threat nearby. No matter which one, it had been ruined by the hole where her left eye had been, made into either a miss or mistakenly too close. Later, she will waste several minutes attempting to figure it out, but even then... She doesn't know. Her temper has been on a hair trigger for months, she hasn't felt in control of herself since she woke up in Horos, a world she didn't belong to and didn't want to survive in, and now for it to happen again... any semblance of footing or understanding is just gone. Just gone again, and she's so gods damned tired and angry (and hurt, and lonely, and-)

She glares back at him when his voice dips low, when his eyes grow colder, prepared to shove the seaweed even more aggressively and obviously at him if he was going to act that way, but he stands- And she stands, immediately, because she's a warrior at heart and he's still a potential enemy in her eyes, she isn't about to be caught of guard by anything.

- But she is caught off guard by what he says.

In her mind, her meaning was clear, because she... She knew what she meant, and every human she'd ever talked to for two decades of life hadn't needed her to explain it. Humans knew what jinba were, they were the ones who'd made them into it, and any human should know why a jinba would take offense at the insinuation of any "romantic" relationship between their races, because-]

No-

[She responds to "right?" before she even finishes thinking, that familiar rage over being misunderstand swelling up in an instant. The only affection she knew of humans to jinba was that of an owner with a prized possession, the only sex she knew of was use, sick and filthy and all about power, about forcing pathetic Armless to lift their tails for the more perverse or making them service potential buyers with their more human-like mouths. She'd seen it, every year on Exhibition Day before the auctions. She knew it might be her own fate, if she wasn't perfect, loyal, strong, obedient-

It had nothing to do with thinking she was too good for anyone. It had nothing to do with thinking it would be an honor for someone to be with her. It had-]

Why do all of you insist on misunderstanding every damned word I-

[The snarl of a protest tears out of her, her hand slams onto the table and nearly disrupts a dish, but he's already announced his intent and turned away, and she will not- She refuses to look like some pathetic woman calling out after a man leaving her behind. To apologize, when he was the one who didn't understand and had twisted what she'd said... ?]

[warmare]

[Shaking with anger, Hayame sits back down.

She doesn't react to to his last dig, beyond waving a hand dismissively at a woman who looks anxiously between the two of them as if to ask "will she pay for it"? Fine. She will do the honorable thing, she will handle the shame of everyone's eyes and the whispers of other diners wondering what had just happened, what the relationship between those two was, if they should even stay near such a volatile person...

Hayame becomes stone. She eats the rest of her meal in silence, and then takes the meal Gen had left behind, finishing every bit of that, too. Her own additional order arrives, and she brings chopsticks to her lips until there isn't a single grain of rice or scale of fish or ounce of miso soup left. By then, most of the other lunch patrons have fled. She arranges with the owner to return the next day to disgrace herself by becoming a pack horse, assisting them with loading and unloading ingredients and stock before the restaurant opens. She works there for several days, but she does not return to eat there.

If Gen does, though... He will be informed that his meal was already paid for, by "that horse woman you ate with before". They can only offer a shrug as to why.]