Description: What does a Werecat girl, the God of Thunder, and an Apache shaman have in common? They all live in the same house! What sounds like a really bad sitcom is in reality the humble beginnings of the Full Moon Society.
ABANDONED SHRINE
EARLY MORNING
Nightwolf is a wanderer, has always been one. His duty as a Sin Eater had always demanded that he kept moving from place to place, going wherever evil may rear its ugly head to stomp it down. Settlements were temporary at best, as it gave the opportunity to any enemies he might have made to strike where he is least expecting it. Moving was best, to best a fleeting and elusive as the wind itself.
But, this sedentary life style lead to many problems as well. Nightwolf seldom made any acquaintances, he never staid in one place long enough to make any sort of bonding. His introverted nature didn't help this either, as he was a reserved person of very few words. Moving meant not having to worry to defend himself from stalkers, and it also meant he didn't endanger any one that might have become close to him.
However, things were changing in Earthrealm. Nightwolf no longer could no longer afford to distance himself from others, coming only whenever when his aid was needed. Threats of enormous proportions where coming, threats that not only could he not tackle alone, but that it left many others vulnerable if left to their own devices.
Great change was coming, and with it came the need for a change of lifestyle.
Picking up strays might be part of this new lifestyle of Nightwolf. Unable to leave Felicia to fend for herself and be abused in the cruel streets of Southtown, Nightwolf reasoned that the logical step would be to bring her to the temple where he and Raiden were currently living. They had some kind of house now and it would be foolish if they didn't take advantage of their more permanent residence.
Nightwolf leads Felicia through the wilderness until they reach the site and he points to a run down abandoned Shinto Temple. Interestingly, there are some really out of place Native American dreamcatchers set on the branches of the trees near the temple giving a real cultural clash of Easter and Western cultures, but these are dreamcatchers specifically placed there by Nightwolf to ward off minor Darkstalker intruders. Later on he might need to fortify the barrier though.
"Here we are." He gestures to Felicia as they approach and announces his entrance by raising his voice. "Lord Raiden! I have returned! Are you here?"
It's not until now that Nightwolf wonders what will Raiden make of him bringing strange women home.
Lets face it, Felicia was a more urban creature than wild. She had grown up around humans and in civilized areas, she wasn't a beastial or tribal sort, like Nighty there might have been the latter. Lack of people meant lack of food and shelter, for the same reasons that a lot of animals had adapted to living around humans, so had cats, and thus Felicia. Course, the great outdoors weren't too bad for her, least it meant less pavement and broken bottles, or broken crackpipes, or broken lots of things!
"Lord Raiden?" Felicia raised an eyebrow at that and looked over to her Native American traveling partner. Felicia kept her comments to herself for right now though, as she was in entirely new territory here. What kind of individual was so important that Nightwolf would call them 'lord'? Felicia had been raised by a nun, there was only one dude that was called that and she hadn't known him to hang out in Japanese temples.
Nightwolf's call is answered almost immediately. The air suddenly feels charged. Electric. The smell of ozone fills the air quickly, and the much sharper than normal ears of both Felicia and Nightwolf will pick up the crackling long before a human's ears could. And a small bolt of lightning drops down out of a clear sky. It lacks the crash or splitting of earth that might have been expected. Instead, the lightning gathers into a shape-- a human shape. And then a tall man in a monk's outfit and a conical hat takes shape from it, and the lightning disappears.
Well, there's one good thing. Raiden's learned that less is more when making an entrance. There's no lound thundercrack or bright lightning flash. He looks to Nightwolf. "Welcome back. I trust you are well?" And then he looks to Felicia, pausing, blank white eyes narrowing in either suspicion or appraisal. A Darkstalker, that much is certain. But Nightwolf would not have brought anyone to the Shrine that he didn't feel was safe. Ultimately though, he offers a polite nod in her direction. He remains silent for the moment, however, assuming introductions will be made, either by Nightwolf or the feline-human he doesn't know.
Yes, introductions are in order and Nightwolf can tell by glancing at Felicia and Raiden's expressions that they are both equally confused by each other's presence. Something tells the Sin Eater that mediating and cultural bridging is going to be a big part of his job from now on. "Yes, everything went well." The shaman first responds to Raiden with a polite salute, hand over his chest.
Just like Raiden, Nightwolf knows that many times less means more, particularly when it comes to introductions. He turns to Felicia first who is likely the more flighty of the group to assure her that all is well before speaking, hand on her shoulder. "Felicia, this is Lord Raiden, the God of Thunder." No need to sugar coat it or anything, if Felicia does decide to start living here she will need to get acquainted with her roommates ASAP.
"Haokah." He turns to Raiden then, using his more familiar name. "This is Felicia, a Darkstalker in need of our assistance."
"Did someone drop a hairdryer into the bathtub--" Felicia is silenced by what seems like... a presence. With a little shriek Felicia jumps back from the sudden crack and flash of noise and light, though she was aware this wasn't a normal lightning bolt. Not enough force and noise, for one. The man in the white outfit and straw hat cause the catwoman some pause. Aaand... that huge shock of poofy 80s hair of her is frizzed and standing up a fair bit, as is her tail and some of her fur. Static cliiiing.
"I take it you guys know eachother?" she asks, looking between them, noticing they both had the flat, glowing eyes, though in different shades. "I thought you just had some place to crash, I didn't know you were taking me to meet your... sensei, or leader or whatnot!" the cat sounded surprised.
Nightwolf's introduction of the cat-woman draws his gaze back to her, the suspicion leaving his expression as Nightwolf mentions that the cat-woman needs help. "It is a pleasure to make your acquaintence, Felicia," he offers warmly. He's a protector as well, after all.
Though Felicia's words get an odd response. "'Crash'?" An eyebrow is raised. "The Shrine is already in disrepair. It needs repair, not 'crashing'." No, Raiden is not up on the slang of this day and age yet.
Yep, just as he suspected, Nightwolf will need to be the link between the generation gap. His eyes, which Felicia astutely notices are the same blank color as Raiden, narrow slightly when the God of Thunder misunderstands the slang, turning to explain quickly. "Crash is colloquialism for seeking shelter, Lord Raiden." Says Nightwolf softly while squeezing Felicia's shoulder slightly, trying to keep her from becoming to anxious at the presence of the Thunder God. "She is a creature of the city. I found her with no home and being abused by humans who do not understand of her nature as a Darkstalker."
The Apache turns to Raiden giving him a concerned look of his equally blank white eyes. "As protectors of Earthrealm I feel it is our duty to assist in any way we can, no matter how insignificant it may seem. The Darkstalkers are part of Earthrealm just as humans, and many like Felicia have genuine goodness in their hearts. It would be folly to think that we can protect the realms from out threats when we cannot even protect them from their own culture."
"After all, change must first begin from within, do you not think so, Lord Raiden?" Nightwolf turns his eyes to the shrine then giving it a dubious look. "Although you are right that the temple has not been attended to for a long time. I will have to see to it." Looks like Nightwolf is adding carpentry and ward placing to his list of jobs. Although a nice garden around here wouldn't be too bad. Let's add landscaping to that list too then.
He glances at Felicia and peers down at her. "Lord Raiden is not my sensei. He is a protector of Earthrealm just as I am. But I did not bring you here to force you to take this path. This can be you home if you wish it, and you can stay and leave whenever you please. All I ask is that you ask us should you ever feel compelled to bring someone else here."
"That is.. if you are in agreement with this, Haokah." The shaman glances back at Raiden, which is probably short of asking him if they can keep Felicia. Surely promises of Nightwolf feeding her, and bathing her, and taking her for walks aren't necessary.
"A part of Earth? I guess you could say that," Felicia shrugged a little, feeling the indian's hand on her shoulder now. She looked between the two... well, entities. Nightwolf couldn't really be described as anything else. "Hmm... well, I not that rude to refuse someone else's hospitality, and I understand if you needed me to ask for permission if I brought anyone else here," she stood up straight and bowed a little to Raiden, despite having very little familiarity. Hey, her mom didn't raise no alley cat.
"So you have powers like Nightwolf here does?" she seemed curious in addressing Raiden next. The shortish asian man was apparently interesting for the werecat! Who wouldn't be? After all he made her fur and hair stand up like she'd been rubbed against a carpet for a good many minutes.
Nightwolf's explanation of the slang Felicia used gets a nod. "Thank you," he notes to the Sin Eater in response. He does frown a little when Nightwolf mentions the situation he found Felicia in. It really doesn't surprise him. Even in the times Raiden has memories of, he remembers humans being... judgemental. Provincial. It was a failing of humans to despise what they did not understand or believe.
The bow from Felicia actually gets a small smile from Raiden. Manners! Something that's increasingly rare in this world, it seems. Looking between the two again, Raiden nods, this time in answer to Nightwolf's question. "Felicia, you may stay if you wish."
Though he blinks at her question. It might seem a little odd given that he teleported into the space in lightning, but he does answer. "Yes." He's not bragging, just stating a fact. and he doesn't seem to be in any hurry to show them off, either.
Looks like it's settled then! That was surprisingly easy all things considered. With the way that things have been going lately for Nightwolf he half expected something to drop down from the sky and attack them all. Because that's usually what's been going on whenever it looks like the Apache is making progress with something.
"Excellent." Nightwolf seems.. genuinely happy by all this, a little too much in fact. Of course, 'too much happiness' for Nightwolf is him actually cracking a smile. Its a slightly rare form, though the only one that might notice this could be Raiden since he's the one that knows him the longest.
Felicia openly questioning Raiden's abilities even raises a slight chuckle from the shaman as he begins to move away. "Come now, cat-kin. Did you not see him drop down from the sky via lightning. What kind of question is that?" Aah.. who knows? This might even be fun.
As he begins to approach the temple, there is a sudden look of realization on Nightwolf's blank eyes and he glances quickly at Raiden. "Haokah.. have you eaten anything since I left?" He knows that Raiden is in immortal, but isn't he currently in a human body? There are no traces of anything having been prepared since he left the temple. Maybe Raiden forgot?
The catwoman blinks as she looks between the two, tilting her head a little. "Well, thank you for giving my uhm, asylum here, I suppose. The streets get pretty rough at times," she replied with earnest. Hoo boy, and how! "Well, you might have to show me that lightning trick you did," Felicia eemed to have gotten a bit more relaxed, as she walked around the two a little, more or less peering at them in conjunction with the wilderness here. "Hmm, it IS really nice out here too, if a little... rustic," sure, it's no penthouse suite, but it was something, right?
"Well, I'm no Susie Home-maker, or anything, but if you guys want I'll see if I can find a squirrel," Felicia sighed a little, looking around with her arms crossed now. Thiiis was one of the reasons why she tended to prefer urban environments. Sure Southtown had a lot of crime, but it did have a lot of food shops and the like. Ah well, perhaps spit-roasted squirrel would be better than Subways.
Raiden does indeed notice the happiness that the situation seems to have evoked in Nightwolf. It's a rare thing to see, one that Raiden is quite bothered that it doesn't. However, the mention of having eaten gets an almost sheepish look. He was going to, really! However Felicia's words, and her thanks, get his attention first. Besides, he's not really looking forward to having to explain why not.
To the cat-woman, however, he notes, "With you here, our numbers will increase. There is strength in numbers, and it makes a good deal of sense for those of us who have difficulties hiding their differences to band together." As for the squirrel? "Nightwolf have have better options. If you are accustomed to the food prepared in cities, eating wild game may cause harm to you." Upset tummies!
But he will eventually 'fess up to Nightwolf. "I... had planned to prepare something to eat. But before I could do so, I lost consciousness. When I woke, I searched for the cause of it, but found nothing amiss."
Before Nightwolf can begin to decipher what that sheepish look on Raiden's face means, Felicia's suggestion to bringing squirrel for dinner causes the shaman to look over his shoulder towards the werecat. "What? No.. that won't be necessary, Felicia." Nightwolf can catch better game that can probably be prepared a lot better. He nods in agreement to Raiden and tucks his thumbs in his belt as the Thunder God explains their new living options. "Southtown is not very far from here. You will never be far from the city that you love and should you grow weary of eating from the wilds, we can always venture elsewhere for more variety." He takes in a breath and looks around. "Our struggle to protect Earthrealm takes us many places, I doubt we will spend much time actually living within the Shrine. It is simply a place where we can always go back an recover our strength."
This will be a long journey indeed, particularly if they get more people. Although Nightwolf clearly has enough troubles right now already considering what Raiden just told him. "You lost--" He stutters, looking worried for a moment until he realizes something. If he was gone all night and Raiden blacked out with no sign of anyone attacking him, then that can only mean.. "...you fell asleep, Haokah."
He closes his blank eyes for a moment, shutting them tightly. Is he really the most normal from the trio?? "Unshimaalam ye oyate..." He mutters, which Raiden will probably understand as 'goodness gracious'.
Nightwolf opens his eyes again and glances at the two. "I will be taking care of cooking for now." He looks back at the temple. "And the repairs of the temple." A sigh. "For now, I recommend that we gather our strength and recover. We should enjoy these days of peace that we have.. I have the feeling they will not last long."
"Oh I can eat pretty much anything, I'm a werecat," Felicia shook her head a little, though her movements were subtle, that large plume of electric blue hair of hers swishing only gently. "Did you hit your head and pass out?" the catwoman stepped over to Raiden now, a hand held out, as if she was concerned for his health or safety. "Oh, alright, you can go dinosaur hunter on something if you wanna," well, at least this is shaping up to be a more female liberated sort of society out here, she wasn't even being tasked to handle the food. Course, the catwoman could likely burn water if given the chance, but that's not the point, damnit.
"It's not? hmm... guess you're right, as for love? Ehh, I come from a more rural area than that, I just got used to the city life," she pouts just a little. "So, you think something is gonna happen? I have sensed more dark ones around," she brushed her hair back from her head. "They don't seem very interested in me, though."
Raiden nods in agreement to Nightwolf's explanation about the Shrine and being close to Southtown. They've been staying recently, but that's only to get the place in working order. After that it's probably going to be OFF TO ADVENTURE! Who knows? Sadly Raiden doesn't have the ability to see the future most of the time. Takes a lot for him to be able to do that, and even then it's just flashes of horrible things.
Then finally Nightwolf solves the great mystery of Raiden's mysterious loss of consciousness. "...Ah. Of course." He clears his throat a little, looking embarrassed. "My apologies." Nightwolf will know why this wasn't clearer earlier. But still. Kind of embarrassing.
Felicia's concern over his health gets a shake of his head. "No. I am... unaccustomed to mortal life. I have much yet to learn about this state. But I thank you for your concern," he notes politely. He is quick to switch the subject to the latter one Felicia discussed. "I have sensed them as well. I faced a man in battle, a human, who was as dark as any I have ever known. If more such as he exist, there will soon be trouble."
To think that a God would apologize to a mortal. This really is why Raiden is far more than just the God of Thunder. He is a true defender of Earthrealm, and his humble personality reflects that quite clearly. Nightwolf blinks once and gives another soft smile, perhaps Raiden will need his guidance just as the shaman will need his. "Worry not, Haokah. There are many benefits to living life as a mortal. I am sure you will soon see."
Facing them both again as Felicia and Raiden speak of possible dark ones, Nightwolf sadly has to nod in agreement and elaborate. "It is only a matter of time before their interest in all things of Earthrealm grow, Felicia. The dark ones that you have sensed are naught but a few of the flood that is coming. Darkness from far many more sources than I would care to imagine."
The Apache looks at Raiden. "Rugal was just one of the many that threaten these lands, Haokah. I am afraid our journey is far from over." To think that he and Raiden haven't had brushes with the Syndicate, Shadaloo or even Outworld. The best is yet to come, indeed.
"But not all is lost. Just as there are many foes, I am certain we can find just as many allies. In fact... " He frowns slightly. "That is something that we should do while we stay here. Some training could benefit us all, but particularly you, cat-kin." Nightwolf points to Felicia quickly. "It will be better for us knowing that you can roam the streets and are capable of defending yourself."
The shaman's lips tighten in thought. "Perhaps I can contact Azumi and Ayame as well.." Because Raiden is right, there is strength in numbers, and they were going to need all they can get.
"Happens to the best of us, uh, Lord Raiden," Felicia paused for a moment before continuing. "I've gone an entire day without food once, after forgetting to eat," she looked around. "Well, only one time, but yeah, it's happened to me," as if the catwoman could be kept away from food for that long. Ohoho. She raised a brow as she peeeered over to Nightwolf. "I need training, huh?" oh boy, looks like Nighty had found it as ripe time to pay her back for all the gay jokes she about about him and Benimaru.
"Okay, so we're going to fix the place up and congregate here? I still might need to make some runs into town then, here and there," she rubbed her chin. Likely the shrine could use a jacuzzi, and maybe a hotplate.
Raiden's response to Nightwolf's mention of the benefits of a mortal life gets an affirmative grunt. He doesn't look particularly convinced, but he doesn't look particularly disgusted or downcrest by the possibility, either. Things will happen as they happen. As for 'darkness from far many more sources'? Raiden looks to Felicia, and confirms it. "This may be why I took this form-- sensing the darkness, the shifting of the world may have forced my hand, so I took this form to be better able to take action." It's odd, it sounds like he's not quite sure.
He also agrees with the mention of training for Felicia. "I do not know if I could assist with this, but I will if I am able to." It's not that he doesn't have the ability. It's that he's not sure he can without hurting Felicia. As far as fighting is concerned, she seems green as the leaves of the trees. But she must have potential.
Azumi... he knows that name. Ayame? That's a name he doesn't know. But he turns his attention to Felicia's mention of making trips into town. "This location is convenient, if only for that alone. It is far enough from the city to be little-visited, but close enough that a trip into the city will not be inconvenient for normal travel."
He looks between the two once more. "We should go inside, and find a place for Felicia to sleep." And then looking to Nightwolf, "And perhaps you can tell me more of this 'Ayame'. Azumi I have met." He turns to the side, and indicates the Shrine, and that the others should go before him.
Log created on 12:58:00 12/26/2014 by Nightwolf, and last modified on 16:13:37 12/26/2014.