vagabond queen with a stolen crown.

He slid into the drivers seat and started the car, patting it fondly when it roared to life easily. They sped off toward the cliffs on the coast of the island and he was just as excited as she was. “It’s none of those things but all of those things are pretty sweet. I’m sure Aunty Sesh probably already found like, all the relics on this island. She loves old stuff like that. Nope. No curses today even if that would be sick as hell. What I found I’d consider more of a natural wonder.” 

As they neared the coastline Jinseok pulled off the main road and onto a smaller less paved one. They started going high and higher up, the sea and the shoreline becoming more and more visible as they gained altitude. He eventually stopped the car, grinning from ear to ear. “Ok we have to walk from here but it’s not far. Shouldn’t be more than like, ten or so minutes.”

To say that Rina enjoyed the weird and the awful was a vast understatement. One of her favorite movies in her younger days was Battle Royale, and her parents wouldn’t let her get the book no matter how much she begged. They didn’t even know how she’d managed to watch it! (an interesting sleepover with a friend). As a result, she’d done the only sensible thing to do for a girl her age: sneak out to buy the book anyway using her saved up allowance. This fascination with the macabre extended to her adulthood, and she really wanted to link up with this “Aunty Sesh” person. “Dude. Contact info when you get the chance? I need to see some of this stuff. For, uh, art.” Well, she wasn’t lying.

[...]

she rounds a clearing of stumped trees, huffing and puffing as she uses what little moonlight is able to guide her through. there’s not even the sounds of animals nearby, and while that alone causes a shiver to course up her spine, she also finds herself thankful. without any other sounds, the snapping of branches underneath her feet catches the attention of the deity, and she wastes no time in quickly signing to them once they squint through the darkness, ‘it’s dangerous here. you need to go back.’

As much as Rina enjoys exploring the city at night, there comes a time when the spirits that constantly vy for her attention pull her away from society. The night holds a certain appeal to her that many others don’t know. It’s a secret world, but not a quiet one. The dead are always speaking, and tonight, she moves through the trees after their spectral call. They rush past her in all forms: spirits of animals, spirits of people, all weaving through the trees in flickers faster than the average eye can process.

Having grown up near the forests of Japan, her feet find the right pathways in the dark. As she travels, the spirits brush by her, and the soul of a child grips her hand to walk alongside her. Rina gives a genuine smile, feeling at genuine peace for the first time in a long time. Death doesn’t register to her like it does to some others; Rina knows that there can be joy in the end, if one only looks. It isn’t an end, it’s just the start of something else. Being a child of Izanami has taught her many things and has brought her appreciation for the misunderstood. 

Deeper into the forest she and her troupe of spirit friends go, bringing with them a hush among the living. The forest wildlife falls silent to herald their passing.There’s no destination in mind, with Rina just deciding to take a walk in the forest and explore anything of interest. She comes upon a clearing, and the ghost child’s hand slips from hers. The spirits disperse among the trees, but she remains. All around her she can hear their whispers, a quiet hush at first until they all begin to say a resounding sentence. “Someone approaches...someone is coming.” 

Rina turns her head to see a stranger approaching, her eyes straining in the darkness. A girl, making some sort of gestures. She cocks her head and studies the girl, unsure how to respond. The stranger seems urgent, as if trying to warn her of something. Completely forgetful that she must appear just as out of place and odd in the dark forest, Rina shrugs. “Uh...hello? You lost or something?”

[...]

She stood up and he all but ran to the door. “Not caves, cliffs. Though I wouldn’t be surprised if there are caves. We’ll save that for next time!” If there were caves he was totally down to explore them but that was not what he hand in mind this time. “Also aliens would be pretty dope but nope. I got something else.” They reached the car and he walked to the passenger side door, holding it open for her. He would have just flown them there but he was going to need his strength for this one. 

[...]

She asked what they were doing and he blinked, confused. Did he forget to say? He must have by the way she was looking at him. Oops. “Ok so you remember that one place we went cliff diving that one time with those other guys who’s names I can’t remember right now? They had a big bon fire and a few of us went up to the cliffs to do something more fun? Yeah anyway I was out there the other day and found out something super awesome about those cliffs. But you’ll have to wait till we get there to see.” How he managed to get all that out without taking a breath he didn’t know but he was practically bouncing with excitement. 

“I guess you’re right, but they also get to live forever. I mean, basically.” Rina didn’t even know what her mother did for a “living”, honestly, but it was probably something either really cool or disappointing and boring. She sat down on the floor to pull on some boots, raising an eyebrow as she looked up at Jinseok. “And when did you become such a know-it-all?” she chuckled, lacing the boots up and popping back up to her feet. 

[...]

He wondered around looking at her art while she got ready and he was instantly drawn to her medusa sculpture. He whistled in admiration of the fine detail she had put into it. “Damn Rina this is looking good. Why a gorgon though? Aren’t you suppose to do something from your own pantheon?”

“Ah, shit. Thanks.” Rina wiped at her cheek, only succeeding in spreading it further down her cheek. She disappeared into her bathroom for a bit, re-emerging a few minutes later in an outfit better suited for climbing or whatever other silly, senseless things the two of them were going to get up to. The streak of paint was gone now, though she’d had to rub at it and her skin was pink from the process. Finding Jinseok looking at her statue, she rolled her eyes at him as she ran a brush through her unruly hair. She was used to Jinseok saying silly things, but this was pretty up there.

@mpxrina

Wandering around Gotanda, Tokyo.

shakespeare inspired starters: still accepting

“What kind of question is that? Awake? As in are we in a simulation or something? Rina, it’s too damn early in the morning for an existential crisis. From me or you.” The demigod had stopped into a cafe to get his morning coffee before heading to the station. He remembered her name from when they’d spoken in passing previously, still slightly unnerved by their previous conversation. 

“You’re not on drugs or anything right? As an EMT I strongly advise against that this early in the morning, or really at all.” Lucas couldn’t help the soft laugh that bubbled up at that.

  [...]

Ruyi unhooks one carabiner and she drops again, near enough that Apollo is a few inches from her face. Well, aren’t you pretty? He gives her polite smile as he waits for her to answer and reaches up to work the hair that was tangled up too free so it doesn’t rip right out of her head.

As she hangs there, Rina suddenly becomes aware of hands on her, pulling. Her initial reaction is to jump, trying to get out enough to batter the hands back with no success. “Get off! Get-“ she pauses when she sees that the hands belong to people trying to free her. Well, that’s a relief. “Er…sorry.” She waits patiently as the strangers work in the cords, lowering her gradually until she’s looking down at who appears to be the ringleader. When he reaches to touch her nose, her eyes follow his finger. “That was a really bad dad jok-aaaah!” 

Her sudden plummet, although short, startles her. It isn’t the height that concerns Rina. She’s never feared such things. She is, however, really disliking how vulnerable and out of her own control she is. Climbing is one thing; she knows she’s the boss when she climbs. Hanging suspended is a completely different ballgame, and besides that, she’s pretty sure her t shirt is riding up more with every shift. Thankfully, nobody seems to be paying it any mind, not even the boy below her with sunshine in his eyes. They’re very close now, close enough for Rina to see that the overhead lighting hits his face in ways that are too flattering to be normal. Looking at him makes her almost angry at how perfect he appears. 

Rina wants to ask how he knows her name, but then remembers that she wears a tag.