H A K U R Y U U
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xxxxxxMoonlight shuddered as it streamed past the rustle of leaves overhead, illuminating the leaf strewn path in quivering swathes of feeble light. Such a path remained unknown to most; yet it parted gladly for the silver-haired youkai as he made his approach, the stillness of the forest soon giving way to the soft crunch of foliage underfoot and the gentle sway of fabric against the biting nighttime breeze. Though Hakuryuu seldom traversed the hidden route, it promised the quickest way from the foot of the mountain to the grand temple high above: Kurama Shrine, home to a certain purple-eyed daitengu, and Hakuryuu's oldest—perhaps even dearest—friend.
xxxxxxIt painted a rare sight, seeing the dragon beyond the threshold of his—or rather, the water god Suijin's—shrine, but something compelled him to leave the relative safety of his domain. Something in the air, perhaps. A constant, foreboding feeling that something was off.
xxxxxxPerhaps it was his connection with the gods that prompted it, but it began the moment he awoke from his post-supper, mid-evening slumber. Just the oddest feeling making its home in the back of his mind, instantly setting him on edge. While he thought nothing of it at first, it eventually grew—coming to settle behind his eyes, in the spaces between his ribs. It was as if the world had shifted, and the forest's silence gave the impression that he was the only one who knew.
xxxxxxIt unsettled him.
xxxxxxHe needed to tell someone.
xxxxxxAnd who better to confide in than the appointed Lord of the Mountains himself?
xxxxxxThe trees thinned as Hakuryuu drew closer towards the mountain's peak, his mouth set in the thin line of a man determined. And yet, upon nearing the threshold of the temple, his lips found themselves slowly easing into that of a smile, expecting Sanja's solemn visage—and, hopefully, a few of those umeboshi riceballs he so loved—welcoming him upon entering.
xxxxxxInstead, what greeted him was this: Sanja—calm, ethereal Sanja—looming menacingly (fangs, demonic illusions and all) over the poor crumpled form of what appeared to be another youkai. The other man's rage was palpable, echoing amid the vast expanse of shrine's interior. Lesser beings might cower instantly at the face of such fury; but the dragon was no stranger to such outbursts, having already been the recipient of a few of them over the centuries. As such, he merely stepped past the doorway with a sigh, shifting his gaze from the daitengu before him to the figure on the floor.
xxxxxx"Ah, Sanja-kun. Must you be so harsh?" He asked, his main concern temporarily forgotten as he moved to get a closer look at the poor being on the receiving end of Sanja's wrath. The first thing he took into account was the bright pink hair; the second, a pair of similarly-coloured cat ears twitching atop its head.
xxxxxxRika.
xxxxxxOf course.
xxxxxxWith a shake of the head, he dropped to a crouch beside her, waving half-heartedly at some of Sanja's illusions as he did so. "Oi. What'd you do this time eh, Rika-chan?" The query was accompanied by a firm flick of a finger at the side of the neko's head. Though she was prone to causing all sorts of trouble, he didn't think she would go so far as to cross Sanja, of all people. And based on Sanja's not-so-genial reaction, her latest scheme had definitely succeeded in hitting more than a few sore points for the usually placid daitengu.
xxxxxxWith a cock of the head, Hakuryuu swept his eyes across the rest of the room, noting the normally pristine shrine's abject state of disarray. And then he came upon the brown sack lying in a heap in the middle of the bamboo flooring, what appeared to be random items pilfered from all over the shrine spilling haphazardly from its frayed mouth. It wasn't difficult to put two and two together after that, especially after seeing the troubled expression on Ki's face—speaking of whom, Haku gave her a tiny wave upon noticing her presence, vowing to greet her properly once the issue with a certain bakaneko was resolved.
xxxxxxSo the idiot tried to steal from Sanja. Typical coming from the likes of her, but woefully ill-devised. Hakuryuu rolled his eyes. No one steals from Sanja and gets away with it.
xxxxxx"I knew you were thick, but I didn't think you would d be this phenomenally stupid." He sighed, the sentiment accompanied by a minute shake of the head. "Now be a good kitty and do what your Sanja-sama told you, yeah? Put them back." Wrapping a hand around Rika's arm, he easily hauled her up with him as he stood; making a show of dusting the neko off before giving her a light shove towards the sack. "Go on, before I dump you in the deep end of the river." Though the threat didn't hold much weight, spoken as it was through Hakuryuu's usual apathetic monotone, the dragon fully intended to go through with it if the neko refused. Nekos loathed the water, after all.
xxxxxxWith the neko out of the way, Hakuryuu directed his attention to Sanja—and, finally, to the matter at hand.
xxxxxx"Sanja..." Uncertainly flashed briefly across Hakuryuu's eyes as he regarded the other man, the gesture a clear departure from the 'bored' expression the dragon normally wore. "Earlier this evening, I just—I had the strangest feeling." He paused, considering his next words, before continuing, "I know not what it is that I felt, but it feels...off. As if something has shifted. Do you not feel it too?" He kept his voice low as his spoke, preferring the other occupants of the room not hear so much of what was being said. It was a rather sensitive topic after all, and worrying them for potentially no reason was definitely far outside Hakuryuu's agenda.
xxxxxxIt painted a rare sight, seeing the dragon beyond the threshold of his—or rather, the water god Suijin's—shrine, but something compelled him to leave the relative safety of his domain. Something in the air, perhaps. A constant, foreboding feeling that something was off.
xxxxxxPerhaps it was his connection with the gods that prompted it, but it began the moment he awoke from his post-supper, mid-evening slumber. Just the oddest feeling making its home in the back of his mind, instantly setting him on edge. While he thought nothing of it at first, it eventually grew—coming to settle behind his eyes, in the spaces between his ribs. It was as if the world had shifted, and the forest's silence gave the impression that he was the only one who knew.
xxxxxxIt unsettled him.
xxxxxxHe needed to tell someone.
xxxxxxAnd who better to confide in than the appointed Lord of the Mountains himself?
xxxxxxThe trees thinned as Hakuryuu drew closer towards the mountain's peak, his mouth set in the thin line of a man determined. And yet, upon nearing the threshold of the temple, his lips found themselves slowly easing into that of a smile, expecting Sanja's solemn visage—and, hopefully, a few of those umeboshi riceballs he so loved—welcoming him upon entering.
xxxxxxInstead, what greeted him was this: Sanja—calm, ethereal Sanja—looming menacingly (fangs, demonic illusions and all) over the poor crumpled form of what appeared to be another youkai. The other man's rage was palpable, echoing amid the vast expanse of shrine's interior. Lesser beings might cower instantly at the face of such fury; but the dragon was no stranger to such outbursts, having already been the recipient of a few of them over the centuries. As such, he merely stepped past the doorway with a sigh, shifting his gaze from the daitengu before him to the figure on the floor.
xxxxxx"Ah, Sanja-kun. Must you be so harsh?" He asked, his main concern temporarily forgotten as he moved to get a closer look at the poor being on the receiving end of Sanja's wrath. The first thing he took into account was the bright pink hair; the second, a pair of similarly-coloured cat ears twitching atop its head.
xxxxxxRika.
xxxxxxOf course.
xxxxxxWith a shake of the head, he dropped to a crouch beside her, waving half-heartedly at some of Sanja's illusions as he did so. "Oi. What'd you do this time eh, Rika-chan?" The query was accompanied by a firm flick of a finger at the side of the neko's head. Though she was prone to causing all sorts of trouble, he didn't think she would go so far as to cross Sanja, of all people. And based on Sanja's not-so-genial reaction, her latest scheme had definitely succeeded in hitting more than a few sore points for the usually placid daitengu.
xxxxxxWith a cock of the head, Hakuryuu swept his eyes across the rest of the room, noting the normally pristine shrine's abject state of disarray. And then he came upon the brown sack lying in a heap in the middle of the bamboo flooring, what appeared to be random items pilfered from all over the shrine spilling haphazardly from its frayed mouth. It wasn't difficult to put two and two together after that, especially after seeing the troubled expression on Ki's face—speaking of whom, Haku gave her a tiny wave upon noticing her presence, vowing to greet her properly once the issue with a certain bakaneko was resolved.
xxxxxxSo the idiot tried to steal from Sanja. Typical coming from the likes of her, but woefully ill-devised. Hakuryuu rolled his eyes. No one steals from Sanja and gets away with it.
xxxxxx"I knew you were thick, but I didn't think you would d be this phenomenally stupid." He sighed, the sentiment accompanied by a minute shake of the head. "Now be a good kitty and do what your Sanja-sama told you, yeah? Put them back." Wrapping a hand around Rika's arm, he easily hauled her up with him as he stood; making a show of dusting the neko off before giving her a light shove towards the sack. "Go on, before I dump you in the deep end of the river." Though the threat didn't hold much weight, spoken as it was through Hakuryuu's usual apathetic monotone, the dragon fully intended to go through with it if the neko refused. Nekos loathed the water, after all.
xxxxxxWith the neko out of the way, Hakuryuu directed his attention to Sanja—and, finally, to the matter at hand.
xxxxxx"Sanja..." Uncertainly flashed briefly across Hakuryuu's eyes as he regarded the other man, the gesture a clear departure from the 'bored' expression the dragon normally wore. "Earlier this evening, I just—I had the strangest feeling." He paused, considering his next words, before continuing, "I know not what it is that I felt, but it feels...off. As if something has shifted. Do you not feel it too?" He kept his voice low as his spoke, preferring the other occupants of the room not hear so much of what was being said. It was a rather sensitive topic after all, and worrying them for potentially no reason was definitely far outside Hakuryuu's agenda.