RP Between Degu and AJ/AJ and Yam
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AJ — 08/16/2020
The sun sent rays at an angle through the trees, denoting some early hour of the morning as they headed out of the town. The physician wasn’t ‘outdoorsy’ by any innate personal connection with nature, but traveling with Jaxamir and being... Well, dirt poor—they did what they could. Foraging for extra food and picking herbs for personal use, or to sell. They still wore a men’s suit, slim pants and a Nehru vest over a short kurta; but their hair down. Jutti weren’t practical for underbrush, and so they slipped them off before entering the forest, stuffing the fabric shoes into their satchel and shouldering it.
The Vaidya had already made one trip out here... Hopefully this one was less eventful. Several of the trees were already familiar, and as they walked deeper they fished out that library book again, crouching down with their own notes to scribble and draw little diagrams. They picked a few mushrooms, tying them together into a bundle to hang upside-down from their bag.
Degu — 08/16/2020
Distant scraping noises would signify that something was not too far away and gouging into bark. One's first assumption might be a stag, an elk, something... but instead Ganu was enjoying his private time among the trees. His time in this forest was spiritual, his element. He stood gouging his huge tusks into the bark of a tree as nature intended. He did not see it as harming nature but instead simply doing what another beast would, creating new niches for the insects and beetles...the trees here were old and magic, they would survive a little marking.
Only when his path drew him closer to The Vaidya would he feel them through his bare feet. He wore the armour of bark and leaves gifted to him by the earth plane, his toes in the soil felt every vibration within range like that of a spiders web. Someone was nearby... picking mushrooms, he felt each mushroom disconnect from his view as it was plucked away from its 'root' to the earth.
The troll, curious to find someone else lingering out here where so many were too nervous to tread, turned and headed in their direction. He did not try to be quiet, his heavy footsteps snapped twigs and rustled fauna. In the dark shade of the trees, they might see a giant coming their way, a soft orange glow from his eyes and markings making him stand out. The sound of earth-spirit bird song followed him to those who could hear it, tiny elemental creatures fluttered from branch to branch, disappearing in and out of the mortal realm so freely they made it seem easy.
Ganu? if one looked hard enough had the aura of something ... improved, an elementalist mage that had worked hard to improve himself over time and succeeded through heavy trials and still so young. The aura surrounding him was not unlike that of a large anthropomorphic stag built of golden light, tall antlers like branches and roots into the earth that disappeared and reformed with his every step, he was blindingly golden with magic, but down the centre of his aura's chest was a scar, a mark that he had once died and been revived through unnatural means, this was a scar that would never leave.
AJ — 08/16/2020
The Vaidya could have been some barefooted maiden picking daisies in a field. Some summer witch. If not for their stocky physique, heavy, decisive footfalls, their stance a conscious choice from years of travelling in Jaxamir’s company, attempting to avoid derisive comments aimed at a ‘fairer sex’.
After clearing out the mature mushrooms from one tree, careful to leave the younger fungi so they could return, they stood again and continued on. They checked a moss growing on an old nurse log, deemed it not worth their time and climbed over it. A patch of tall wild grain got documented, but not picked, and they settled into a cross-legged sit on the other side of the old log, picking at a low flowering plant. Sniffing this, they flipped through the library book to confirm their find, and even plucked at a petal to chew on. Deeming it worth something, they rolled a few of the flower heads between the palms of their hands, and packed them—still fresh—into the bowl of their smoking pipe as a reminder to dry the flower and try it later. The pipe was left idly clutched between their teeth to free their hands as they hunched over to scrawl in their notes.
They were still distracted when the light of something passing through the overhead trees caught their attention and they looked up. Birdsong and golden animal spirits passing through leaves. Something to do with the faeries? Ganu’s heavy footfalls were at least partially muffled by the forest floor, and they easily mistook it for a heavy prey animal. They just about stood to peer over the log, but as they twisted to do so there was the troll standing amongst the trees and looking their way.
The bride froze, pipe still hanging from their lips, and stared. As if the reds, oranges and creams of their outfit didn’t stand out against the green and brown of the forest around them. Their stare was a thousand-yard look, slightly unfocused on the aura around him and then immediately drawn to the scare with interest. Well, if he was here to take issue with their presence (as they assumed he might, given the strong Earthian inclination he seemed to give off), they would not hold back the naked intrigue. They hadn’t even managed to get to their feet yet. Did he get a hello? No, but maybe a mumbled word in Hindustani.
Degu — 08/16/2020
Ganu's head tilted as he locked onto this tiny Indian, smiling and reaching out for the patch of desecrated mushrooms and they regenerated as if they'd never been harvested in the first place. The trees seemed to lean towards him. Nature gravitated to him like he were a magnet ...thus were the fruits of years of hard work.
"It is refreshing that you didn't run. I've heard tell of trolls in these forests giving the towns people reason to fear them. I've not met them..." it was hard to tell if it were hopeful. He thought he might be disappointed when he finally did, but it'd be nice not to feel like the only one.
He stepped forwards to offer a large hand to help the stranger to their feet "I won't give you any trouble.. especially not when we've got the same shoes" he grinned a big tusky grin and wiggled soil-clad toes "I felt that you might have been studying the flora, I hope my curiosity isn't intrusive."
AJ — 08/16/2020
To be fair, they were stuck between a troll and a log. They didn’t expect they’d get very far, and if they had to guess (something about all the Glowing and Nature Bending—the little bride’s sleepy eyes staring up and around in curiosity), Ganu would have a natural affinity to chasing people down in forested terrain. Still, one hand was already grasping the hilt of their shamshir as he spoke, ready to go out with a pitiful fight if need be. They really needed to get into the habit of telling Jaxamir where they were going. One would think after a decade of causing trouble, that would be a given.
They started to interject with some quip about his own intentions, but shut up when he continued, reaching up with their other hand to take the pipe from their teeth. “The same shoes?--oh.” They got his meaning when they looked down (the rest of him had been much more distracting). They finally unfolded their legs, gathering up their things and slowly standing, eyes briefly downcast on their own naked feet. Sometimes out of nostalgia they adorned them with stains, but they’d felt no need today. They could not fathom why Ganu had pointed it out. “...Yes. For... medical use.” The physician started to close their book and notebook, juggling them under one arm. “No.” He’d said he wasn’t planning to give him trouble, so they released the hilt of their sword, but discomfort kept that hand free. “Who are you?” There were a few more intrusive questions stuck behind that one in the back of their throat.
Degu — 08/16/2020
Ganu smiled at the question, not minding their somewhat standoffish behaviour...he was a stranger in otherwise dangerous woods. "I am Ganu'bit, but you can call me Ganu." he knew that wasn't quite the extent of what they'd meant but he was reluctant to tell a stranger exactly who he was. "I am a gardener" it was the truth, just not the whole truth. Here in Thornmouth, or rather...a gardener looking for work" he chuckled "A little harder when I'm not hiding who I am, wouldn't you think? But everything takes time." everything he said seemed to have a spiritual meaning to him personally, he was, after all, in his element.
"There are good herbs in the swamp, and fungi...it's quite a way to the west from here and past Oberon's rest... full of creatures, though...quite a risk. There are wild fae out there, I learned that the hard way" he chuckled "I've yet to explore it properly...unmolested anyway." he chuckled, a pleasant rumble that filled the air as he turned to Vaidya properly.
"And you? ...are you an alchemist?" he asked with deeply rooted curiosity.
AJ — 08/16/2020
It certainly wasn’t, and their questions might get more intrusive without a filter. His explanation got a hard stare and a wandering look around the forest as if to say ‘what are you gardening out here?’ It was clearly a joke. He was much more than that. They weren’t entirely sure what to make of him, and his surreptitious statements only served to confuse them further. Was he making a jab at them hiding who they were? The physician pursed their lips at this. “What do you mean by that?” Everything about them was a little off, a little out of sync, a little touched with shadow, and further damaged for it. Mundane but pulled apart and put back together.
“Where?” They nearly interrupted him, and he answered anyway; immediately the little doctor looked to the west, as if fully intending to cut this conversation short and pursue it. They paused at that warning. “Hm.” Maybe they could convince Jaxamir to come with them. He wasn’t particularly interested in picking flowers. They hugged their books and pipe to their chest, looking back to the troll. “But you are familiar with the local flora?” Their answers had remained relatively short and clipped, but slowly they drew out. More of that quiet Hindi accent. He apparently wasn’t local, either, but had an understanding.
“A physician.” Short, clipped again. But they paused, looking around them and then at their books. “...I make use of... Multiple disciplines.” They may have just sidestepped giving a name.(edited)
Degu — 08/16/2020
Ganu on the other hand had no idea all the right (or wrong, rather) notes he was hitting with Vaidya. "I wouldn't recommend heading out there without preparation, best not to do it at night either... not that night and day are terribly different in a swamp like that"
The troll's eyes lingered on the books, nodding "I am, but I'm no expert...I'm still new to this land. The court guard north of here might answer of a few questions about their more magical flora if you are polite...perhaps if you take an offering." he had the scars to prove his time spent around Fae. He was both experienced with them and yet still knew so little...
"A physician!" he said with delight "I was adopted by a physician for a time, I lived for quite some time in an infirmary..I learned a thing or two." Ganu decided he was here to stay. He wasn't going to make The Vaidya stay if they didn't want to but he sat at the base of a tree between two hefty roots and leaned back.
He pulled from his satchel something wrapped in cloth and opened it out. Bread, cheese and butter with a knife. Simple food but he busied himself cutting the bread.
"Multiple disciplines? any magic?" he asked boldly "I didn't quite catch your name?" he asked again with a fond smile.
A pause.
"Hungry? there's more than enough" he asked and took a bite out of a slice of bread and some strong cheddar.
AJ — 08/16/2020
They nearly took that as a challenge, and chewed on the inside of their cheek in thought. Well, they knew better than to go in the dead of night. ...If their last encounter was any indication. Still, they had a look of longing. Anywhere different to explore. “Ah. I see.” They thought as much. They looked down at the book in their arms. “What would they take as an offering?” Bread? Honey? The soul of your firstborn? They could easily promise any of those.
His enthusiasm startled them, and they watched him take a seat, their sienna features twisting in confusion. He was... Everything they expected from someone clearly tied into the nature around him, temperament-wise. “Oh?” Slowly, they followed his lead and sat back down in the moss, adjusting their shamshir as they sat and settling their books back into their lap.
They regretted it almost immediately, his questions putting them on the spot. Their hesitation came with a side-eye. “Yes, somewhat. ...And tinctures, surgery, the ah—schools of Unani and Ayurveda...” Vaguely putting off that second question, they finally addressed it. “Just. The physician,” they muttered tightly. “Doctor. Healer. Vaidya...” That last one felt like a name—but in truth it was merely the Sanskrit word for Doctor. They had met so few other Hindustani speakers that it had worked well enough as a placeholder. They were human, that much was apparent, but either held no emotional ties to their ‘real’ name or else never received one.
They stared at his food, chin tilted up. “Yes.” Hungry enough to accept a stranger’s food, at least. And then immediately followed up his charity with a rather bold: “What is that scar? On your chest.” Medical Inquiry.
Degu — 08/17/2020
Ganu shrugged "The fae are fickle, who knows what they might accept. You can only try but the more unique the gift the more likely they are to accept it."
"Which of those do you prefer?" he didn't pry for an actual name, they obviously didn't want to give one and if any group could understand a need for anonymity it was Clan Eleos after a couple of years or so of living in hiding. "Vaidya is nice...I assume it is your title in another language" he just put two and two together given the sequence he'd been presented.
He set to work cutting up the fresh bread into thick slices and then laid them out, motioning that they should help themselves to butter and cheese "If you are very hungry, eat as much as you want. I won't go without.... do you have a favourite fruit perhaps?" he asked, magic visibly stretching out and shooting away from them. Golden roots spread like a web so far that they went beyond view, reaching up into trees, feeling around for fruits nearby without the Troll so much as missing a beat.
The question of his scar made his heart lurch, hand quickly going to his chest in a way that indicated there might have been a physical scar to match. "Oh." he realised his clothes covered that.
"You can see... that scar? ...are you a truth-seer?"
AJ — 08/17/2020
"I have no preference. They all accomplish the same task. Vaidya is the most often used." They watched him cut the bread, uneasy but clearly hungry. "It is." They didn't need to be told twice, reaching out at his offer to take a thick slice of each. They rummaged around in their own satchel for a knife to spread with.
"I am not familiar with the native fruits yet," the doctor admitted mildly, taking a large bite out of a hunk of bread. They didn't expect to find kothu or kokum in this locale. They watched the threads of gold stretch out beyond the limits of their sight, their chewing slowing as they piped in with a thoughtful hum, touching the ground at their feet. They seemed to sway between stoic, reserved doctor and wonderstruck, sullen child with relative ease.
Intent on their food and the display of magic, they seemed disconnected from the unease their question had caused. Nibbling on cheese, sleepy eyes looked back to him and nodded, reaching out with a hand to trace the outline of the scar in the air between them. "Yes. Perhaps." They weren't sure what their gift meant in this world. If truth-seers pertained to some cult. But it seemed to describe their ability well enough. "Something beyond healing." And that intrigued them.
Degu — 08/17/2020
"Lots of citrus" he chuckled and held out a hand, calling something to him. It took a while but the trees shook subtly in the distance and if they looked they'd see branches and vines tossing two oranges along bit by bit until they flung them at last into Ganu's waiting hand. He caught them and smiled, offering one to Vaidya to peel.
He used magic to peel his own if only because it was less wasteful "I can do yours too if you'd like." he still seemed...bothered by the mention of the scar.
"I died." he finally answered after some deliberation "I was young, fighting an embodiment of war. An embodiment of death did not permit my death on their plane of existence and returned my soul to my 'comrades' who sought the help of someone to mend my broken body and someone to return my soul to its rightful place. I was 'lucky'" he removed the seeds of the orange with a similar method and shot them far into the forest so that they might have a chance of thriving, then he ate.
"I am not undead, though. The methods used ensured that I would not be classed as such... the last thing I need in my life is to be controllable by necromancers" he laughed stiffly.
AJ — 08/17/2020
They couldn’t tell if he was showing off, but watched the oranges approach anyway, biting down on another chunk of bread. The doctor’s voice dipped low as he caught the citruses. “Handy.” The closest to jest they had gotten thus far, and they reached out long thin fingers to accept the fruit, shrugging off his offer. Instead, they cut into it with a pocket knife, ripping flesh from skin and eating small chunks as they listened intently.
“I see.” It was a very nonchalant answer for someone currently stuffing their face with orange wedges, their stare verging on unblinking. They pulled a few seeds from their lips, making holes in the peaty soil with their fingers to discard them. They leaned in none too subtly. “How was that done? Avoiding undeath, I mean.” They echoed the laugh in a much quieter, hoarse chuckle, sucking on another wedge of orange.
August 18, 2020
Degu — 08/18/2020
Ganu might've seen like a show off, but these things were just second nature to him... no different to him now than breathing, walking, seeing. He didn't think anything of what he'd done, just happy to have an orange.
"Soul gem. It was trapped in there, then inside a golem for a time. There was a time when I didn't quite know who I was...I was an emotionless elemental being, no mind, just a soul, it was a confusing time." he frowned softly at the memory, he could remember being that creature but the creature had struggled to remember being him.
"It was not the first time I came close to death, it was the only time i met it. I do not regret it." he admitted thoughtfully as he pushed three segments of orange into his huge mouth and chewed pensively.
"Do you work in the city? I saw the infirmary there...it is bigger than any i've seen before."(edited)
AJ — 08/18/2020
Ganu had the doctor’s undivided attention on the subject, leaning in with an ear as they nibbled on the final few slices of orange. "Oh? I see." He'd wanted to converse to a fellow shoeless nature lover, instead he was getting cornered on the uncomfortable subject of his death and resurrection. At least the doctor seemed to be warming up to him and the conversation, their posture having slowly shifted from angled and standoffish to a quiet, attentive lean in his direction.
"And it is still inside you? The soul gem?" This time they did reach out and touch him, jabbing the centre if his chest with their index finger. If it was still in place, he might feel the gentlest tug, like an out-of-place heart palpatation. Looking up again, they stuffed the final piece of orange in their own mouth.
"No. ...Yes, but I have not approached the infirmary. There was nothing so large where I came from. I work alone. Research alone." Jaxamir was supportive (enough; in his own way) but not keen.(edited)
Degu — 08/18/2020
Ganu leaned back abruptly as he felt it, eyes widening. He seemed ready to defend himself, his aura became volatile for a moment and the roots shot out through the ground only for him to relax slowly as he realised no harm had been meant. He was a little iffy about anything near his chest. "No...I was removed from the soul gem. It's just me." he said as he patted his chest.
"What was that?" he asked "You can soul touch as well? or...what was that?" he asked and let out a deep breath.
AJ — 08/18/2020
This one apparently had the survival instincts of a gnat. They slowly (too slowly) withdrew their hand at the turbulent shift of his aura, bringing their long fingers up to lightly cover their mouth. “Hm.” Oh, perhaps they’d misstepped. They were tempted to reach out and poke him again, but thought better of it.
“Yes. Ah...” They reached out their hand again, index finger pointed, followed by a slow waggle of their fingers as if to demonstrate. Without actually... demonstrating, as he hadn’t seemed to particularly like it the first time. “I can interact, in a sense. Pull and direct them. More so when they are... Untethered.” They weren’t quite at a strength where they could outright rip an occupying soul from someone’s body. “It was... Hm.” Not likely a gift they should share the nature of, and they furrowed their brows at his chest, returning their hand to their mouth. “...Well.”
Degu — 08/18/2020
Ganu rose up a little taller where he sat. As a troll he was the opposite, a surging storm of testosterone and survival instincts...there was a reason his kind were feared, but he? he wasn't like that but he still could be reactive if he felt his life was in danger, especially after how often it had almost ended and the one time it had.
"Such a gift requires consent unless one is in battle and even then the moral compass of ones actions should be kept close in mind" he rumbled, trying not to sound like he was lecturing but yet he knew he was a little. "All magic has its place, the only thing that matters is the conduct of the caster... you just touched my soul without so much as a warning" his tail thudded grumpily against the soil behind him.
"Please do not do that again without request."
AJ — 08/19/2020
They were still teasing their lip with a thoughtful stare when he decided to drop his virtuous Monologue of Moral Rectitude on them. The physician’s deep features contorted with a scowl, unappreciative of being talked down to like a child. They refrained from interrupting, but punctuated their sleepy frown (slowly growing distant as if losing interest in the conversation) with a faint, haughty tilt of their chin.
“I fail to see a situation where I would be asking consent to nudge a person’s soul in battle.” They clearly didn’t perceive it as a very combat-useful power. Never mind that their initial touch had been an accidental show as they felt out for a stone—they refused to stoop and admit that, given his reaction. Too much misplaced pride in this tiny human, who stood suddenly and dusted the crumbs from their tunic.
“I have overstayed my welcome.” Turning abruptly, satchel swinging on their shoulder, they made to climb the horizontal nurse log they had previously leaned against, barefooted toes finding easy perch. They liked the sensation, for someone with such a stunted range of emotional stimuli. Heck your ‘please’!
Degu — 08/19/2020
Ganu sighed as they stood and he rose as well, packing away the picnic cloth into a seemingly bottomless satchel. "I visited you. I have overstayed my welcome." well, at least this stranger was fed.
"It was good to meet you Vaidya. Be safe." he rumbled and turned away from them to head off back the way he came without another word, if they didn't want him here he wasn't going to infringe upon their gathering a moment longer.
AJ — 08/19/2020
Wait, was he apologizing to them? The Vaidya side-eyed him a moment, unsure what to make of it and still straddling the log. Since he seemed intent on leaving, they climbed the rest of the way over and left in the opposite direction, although their gathering trip wasn't over yet. They may even find a comfortable place to read for a turn.
yam — 08/19/2020
It was only natural for the Onnushi to be about, in the woods. Definitely a common place to find one of those, just ask it's 'friends'. Today, it was looking more man than beast (probably for the best), dressed in one of those signature robes with the tattered, stained hems and nothing more. No shoes nor socks, just a wrap of thin off-white linens.
On his lonesome, he sat by himself on a patch of soft moss, cross-legged and meditative with his eyes closed and his body lax. Pooled about him on the ground was that dark hair of his with the subtly sanguine-tinged tips, near as long as he was tall. Quiet. A nice little streak or two of sun shown down through the trees and illuminated those long, dark eyelashes, making them almost glow a mahogany.
He... appeared to have been there for a while. It was easily seen in how he seemed to have dust settled on him, and a few odd leaves that had fallen and landed. He was terribly still... he didn't even appear to be breathing.
AJ — 08/19/2020
At least a man would be more expected in a forest. ...Or would it? They weren’t sure with this forest. A man in a tattered stained robe on the other hand, brought a kind of weird nostalgia to the bride’s own past.
After hopping the log with a vexed huff to themself, the little physician continued on, barefoot and alone in the woods once more. They admitted to themself that they did prefer to be barefoot. At least in this setting. After they’d calmed from the irrational anger that had driven them to stomp off from Ganu, they paced quietly in a deep dream rather than return to picking herbs.
Bare steps faltered to a stop in the mossy clearing, a second’s pause given to scrutinize the man sitting in the centre, his back to them, before stepping again carefully in a quick wide arc around him. A faery? They couldn’t even begin to entertain that idea, so vast and beyond that or anything they could comprehend. They almost backed out of the clearing again, almost uncertain for once and taken aback. Rather than leave the clearing altogether, they stood and cocked their head in place, standing still, expression blank and detached. They didn’t manage to hold back that gentle ‘hm’, before making a split decision and striding forward to crouch in front of him (if he hadn’t reacted already). Careful not to step on the deep pools of hair.
He could have been a statue, but he was clearly not. A construct? Something utterly incongruous, separate. They didn’t quite reach out and touch him.
yam — 08/19/2020
Onnushi did not react. Very much so he was like a statue or construct. It wasn't until a hand motioned but did not quite touch him did he speak, his voice soft and steady. "I would not make it a habit to so intimately investigate strangers in an unfamiliar wood. I do not mind it, but not everyone is friendly." And yet, he was a 'stranger'. One could not simply claim friendliness when their demeanor was a mystery. He could be lying! He wasn't, but still.
"Hello. I see you walk bare of foot; do you lack shoes, or are you like myself and simple prefer to feel the earth beneath you?" he hadn't even opened his eyes, how could he have-- wait. Did his hair just twitch? The Vaidya may have missed it, but if they hadn't, an eye had been in his hair... An unhuman one that, from the sclera, iris and pupil to the surrounding 'skin', had all been the exact colour of his hair...
wat
AJ — 08/20/2020
The Vaidya's hand paused at the utterance, the little doctor's lips still pursed and curiously twitching. They sat back, balanced on the balls of their feet a moment, put putting a knee down for support. "Oh?" They avoided pinching their face, apparently heeding his advice… Temporarily.
"Both. I suppose." Their shoes were not made to last in forested terrain. They could not fathom--between Ganu and this one--people's fixation on their shoelessness. Must be a trait shared by forest dwellers. With their drifting thoughts, they failed entirely to spot the odd appendage, wondering instead if he had some form of magically projected sight. "Are you meditating?"
yam — 08/20/2020
"I see." but he didn't. His eyes weren't open. But then they were, and Onnushi was looking in the Vaidya's direction, those fox-like blood-red eyes settling on them like they were the only thing in the world to look at: it was rather intense, yet the facial expression on that too-human of a face was so calm and kind.
"I suppose you could call it that. When I find time, I take rests. Some times they last a long time." one time he sat through an entire season in one spot without budging once. "This one was one of the shorter ones. It's simply a way I conserve energy." almost mechanically he would look away, staring ahead at nothing at all.
"What are you doing?"
AJ — 08/21/2020
There was an uncanny valley likeness that the little doctor recognized, obviously coupled with the... More-than looming presence beyond the simple person. They locked eyes and stared back, eventually dropping down and sitting properly. "I see. What are you? I have not encountered something like you." Amalgamations of souls, sure. This felt a little different, and the physician's mind went in little circles trying to work it out. Something pieced together, perhaps--perhaps... Unbothered by niceties, they leaned in a little to study him. Look for... What? Seems in his existence? It was all very perfect.
"Sitting." Not studying him like some science project, certainly. They had fallen into crossed legs, their long hands settling to rest on their knees.
yam — 08/21/2020
"I do not know, truthfully. If I did I would not likely tell you. Not because I did not want to, but because I couldn't." what a curious thing to say. Yet, he elaborated: "There are things I cannot do. Actions, yet if I could, I would. It is a conflict; a battle between instinct and reason. My instinct holds me back, yet my reason questions why. In the end I suppose you could say I am a simple creature. Instinct always rules over reason."
As the Vaidya assumed their seated and studious position, Onnushi seemed to gradually mirror it, perhaps unintentionally, while he in turn studied them. It was a kind of silent study where both stared so intently they may forget the world moved onward around them. The creature seemed not to mind being studied. Oft he was the one doing the studying. It was a different kind of studying: picking up pheromones, feeling for threads of DNA that might stray from the body of whomever might sit across from him. Analyzing, processing, banking for later.
The souls within were not content, nor were they fully dormant. It was a sort of agonizing imprisonment, a limbo if you will, ever waiting for... a distribution, of sorts. Yet for as much as one craved it, they dreaded it, for they were condemned to a form fragile and lesser than. As if...
"I am parasitic in nature, yet ever changing and adapting. I turn the lovely ugly, yet can just as readily make the ugly lovely. I can sculpt new forms and consume old ones, mend damage and inflict it. I am driven by a need to survive, and to thrive." Onnushi's ever present, sleepy smile did not falter, nor did his voice change in tone. Everything was consistent.
"Yet I believe I am flawed. If I weren't, I would have accomplished so much more than I have. I would have initiated the weaving of my magnum opus."
AJ — 08/21/2020
His answer didn’t please them. But his explanation gave them pause. “I suppose I do not understand your reasoning. Instincts tell me to go forward, ‘reasoning’ attempts to dissuade me.” Usually after the fact, if it made it in at all. The amalgamation of souls made him look artificial, created—to be perfect? But obviously they had seen grouped souls before. Collected... The physician had a way of losing themself in things—a project, an item, a book, a person. So that it was an apt description; they could lose track of the world’s movements.
Parasitic... “You consist of many, I assume? Do you add to this? Do you sculpt others, or yourself?” The difference was important to them. It determined whether he was someone to study or study under. Endlessly interesting, this one. The human, in contrast, was not so—their voice, though monotone, was naturally so; a gentle sway of their accent. A suspicious void of... Flare, aura or conspicuous magic—more interesting in what they lacked. “What do you believe holds you back? What do you lack?”
August 22, 2020
yam — 08/22/2020
It was an accurate way to describe the Onnushi— created to be perfect, or at least appear perfect. A flaw in the design as well. He very well may be the only of his kind, a prototype for something far more refined, more... imperfect, yet so realistically imperfect it made camouflage perfectly possible.
"An example perhaps is in order. Only a few short years ago I was victim of a penetrative wound. The projectile responsible became lodged within me, yet I could not remove it. My instinct dictates I cannot harm myself. My reason says that it will be for good, as it will allow healing. I could not, though, so I had someone else remove it." Strange. "...Ah. Perhaps a more simple one. I cannot cut my own hair. Something in me simply won't allow it." Sleepy eyes would blink. They did not blink in unison, though it was close. Blinking was unnecessary for Onnushi. It was a practiced behaviour.
"I will clarify. My hair is not truly hair. It is a part of me as much as your lips are your mouth." He did not invite the doctor to touch it, however he did gesture to it with a perfectly unblemished, very human seeming hand. "I cannot cut it because to do so would be harming myself. I cannot inflict harm unto my being deliberately." He had been harmed incidentally while partaking knowingly in a potentially harmful activity, but that was different.
As for the questions regarding his abilities, the smile almost grew, but not quite. The pale hand that had just gestured to dark hair was now extended, palm-up in the doctor's direction. The skin began to blister slowly, trembling and becoming riddled in veins as the skin darkened and became more raw, from deeper dermis layers to muscle, then to organ tissue, all the while a fleshy mass growing from the hand's center. Visceral flakes of deep hue fell as it piled and overflowed, odorous and slick with a dirty, oily substance. What touched the moss rapidly killed it, the verdance fading to a burnt and sickly yellow as it dried. >
The flakes would gently pulsate as if alive, moving like a slug, trail and all, away. Onnushi watched closely. "My children, I call them. They cannot survive for long without a proper environment to establish themselves in. It must be within another, or with me and their kin."
The pile in his hand began to warp, stretch and rise, making a fleshy rope riddled in dark veins and fine polyps. It moved like an octopus, boneless, alien and ever reaching for a surface to cling to.
"I have replaced organs and eaten cancers. I have resculpted bodies to better suit the minds they house." As he spoke his voice distorted ever so slightly in such a way it was difficult to describe. Next he spoke, it had returned to 'normal.
"It is not what I lack. It is what I have. If I did not interact with sentient life forms, get attached, even befriend them, I likely would have destroyed and rebuilt by now."
AJ — 08/23/2020
This was... A lot. The creature was like a walking(? yet to be confirmed) talking encyclopedia of... Some resource. His words were fantastical and difficult to take at face value, but his otherworldly manner did make it easier to swallow. The planeness at which he lay all of this out to a complete stranger had them untrusting and on edge, however. “How very... Artificial. You appear as if you are made up of countless other... ah... entities. But your consciousness was constructed? Deliberately, to follow ‘instincts’ meant to parallel nature, but without the finesse to deviate, or give you...” They looked for a term. “ ‘Free will’.” It was an interesting thought experiment—to construct a being from nothing, no existing soul to dictate their personality—still. There was no invite, but they immediately turned their body to inspect the closest lock of long hair that trailed the forest floor.
His hand...! Had them immediately grab the man’s wrist, other hand reaching up to almost touch his splayed fingers, but stopping short as the mass of ichor fell in a dried and flaky mess onto the detritus beneath them. Despite their curiosity, they had sense enough to make sure their legs were clear, as it clearly had a lethal effect on the vegetation. “...I see. You are rather forthcoming for a stranger in the woods.” One who really shouldn’t be touching a self-professed ‘parasite’, ‘resculptor of bodies’.
“Ah. So your ‘fatal flaw’ is empathy and comradery. How unfortunate.”
yam — 08/23/2020
Another of Onnushi's flaws was an inability to lie. He was capable of deceit, but not outright lying. He seldom found a reason to be misleading, additionally, as he felt he had nothing to hide. He was an old existence, and had seen many reactions over the years to 'it', as a thing, and to 'his' abilities. He had driven some to madness when his true form was revealed. He had lost respect. He had been attacked, wounded. He however also had been... revered. That alone, the act of a mere human holding not the man facade but the thing facading on a pedestal had been an experience that that left Onnushi oddly troubled yet unable to express it. He simply let them do what they wanted.
"The way I see it, so to speak, is that I am a host as well. By hosting these entities I provide a safe vessel to wait within until their time of deliverance. Then, they can repeat the cycle from within a proper host." He opted not to elaborate what that meant. It wasn't dishonesty after all, simply withholding the truth. Onnushi offered a slight dip of the head, eyes closing briefly. "Free will is perhaps the best way to describe it. For in a sense I appear at a glance to have it, but everything I do is with purpose." He had deviated. Once. Twice. But it had always resulted in his being maimed, harmed, or damaged. The last time he had done something significant that had harmed him, he had unofficially died. He returned, of course, but was not the same. He was missing fragments of information he had collected between the time he had made deposits of himself and the time he had 'died.'
Onnushi did not flinch or retract when touched. It was uncanny how true to life he felt. Veins, hair, pores, subtle wrinkles and indentations where fingers folded and a bony knob on the outer exterior wrist. A warmth in some places and a coolness in others. Subtle textural and colour differences, and yet... no scars. No moles. No freckles. No enlarged pores or calloused spots. It was too perfect.
"And why not? Honesty earns trust in most cases. I mean you no harm and should you mean me it, I would not harbour ill will toward you for it. It is your right to chose what you think of me."
Onnushi's subtle smirl did not falter, though a sign of intelligence beyond that of a simple organic computer flitted across those sanguine eyes, in the way they narrowed almost wryly. "Yes. I think without empathy especially I would be far more dangerous. But that can be said about Man just as easily."<
AJ — 08/23/2020
“I see. Have you ever released any of these souls to their next lives?” They did suspect him of being untrue, perhaps convincing himself that he was taking the souls to assist them but never truly letting them go. Or... Creating that next form himself.
“The illusion of honesty earns trust. Painful truths break it. If you think that, then you have not, perhaps, existed long enough.” Harsh. His easy forgiveness of actions the doctor had not even performed yet got a pinched expression, still examining his hand in theirs. They deviated. “Who created you? You speak as if it is someone on this plane.”
“Man is crippled by empathy.”
yam — 08/23/2020
"Yes. Many times." Many ended up killing each other, however he opted not to say it. He, in his simple way of 'thinking', felt it impertinent. It was true though. They were released, but never truly free. It could take months, years, maybe a century, but the souls would always return to him. He did not know why, nor did he question it, for questioning his existence in depth was outside of his ability. He was a creature, a thing, and although he seemed intelligent it was not in the same sense that man was, that truly sentient beings were.
"I suppose that is true. I have not become involved in the personal affairs of men until recently— in the last two or three decades. This is a short time for me." Time was strange for him, for he seemed able to exist in any Era and Period, and even just about any alternative universe. He did not think about it though. It was not important to him, and so it was not even a passing 'thought'.
As the hand was examined, the flesh would begin to retreat until it was but a small mound in the creature's palm. From there, his fingertips began to blister, redden and elongate, each phalange from distal to proximal and suggested non-visible metacarpals warping into glistening, ever shifting meat. Yet it did not move freely as if without control, each 'finger' remained semi-rigid and in fact, each tip became sharp and bony, jagged at the underside as if lined in bestial toothy protrusions.
"I do not know who created me. I chose not to believe all suggestions made to me by passersby." He looked amused. "One such suggestion being that I am a child of Lucifer." Perhaps the most human he seemed, he appeared to find the idea stupid.
AJ — 08/24/2020
"Hm." Not the answer they were expecting, although they wondered if they could believe it. His very nature, to them at least, suggested someone who hoarded souls. But perhaps they shouldn’t pass judgement.
They cupped his hand, their face unemotive but sleepy eyes glued and fascinated by the shifting, blistering skin. Altogether too touchy, they held their opposite hand out over his as if to measure how his fingers changed, metamorphosed and stretched; their own fingers, long surgeon’s digits stained with a henna dip, in leu of actual mehndi designs. The dark colouring just barely hiding a second, greying discoloration of their fingertips, like frostbite or some ominous progressive disease. “Your growth is like a cancer. I once removed a tumor similar to this, from a horse. It contained bits of teeth. ...But where are your bones?” It peeled away like dermis, then subcutaneous tissues, but the connective tissues almost went nowhere.
“Ah. I see. I suppose that scares them.” The way the doctor’s face shifted and grimaced, it wasn’t obvious whether they found the suggestion hilarious or similarly stupid. Perhaps they didn’t know themself. “But you were created. You are able to sculpt people? Your abilities, can they be learned or passed on in this manner?” Perhaps the ability to mold individuals to their will would be of use to the physician.
yam — 08/25/2020
"Teratoma." Onnushi stated almost robotically. He did not explain what it was, because the doctor already knew: they had dealt with it before. "...I do not have any bones. No true bones, anyways." he could make bones, mend bones, alter existing bones if he had access to the very makeup of which they were made of, but he did not have any of his own.
"I am not able to create new people, but yes. I can sculpt existing life forms. Alter them." He had removed a demon once... it had been what had killed him. It was why, although he was old in 'spirit', this body was technically infantile despite it's adult appearance. "...Ah." The dip in the creature's voice suggested oncoming disappointment.
"I do not think so. I have... 'worked' as a healer, of sorts, and have offered guidance in surgery, but... what I do, it is not magic. It is part of me. What I make, what I do, it comes from my being. If I gave and only gave, I would gradually cease to be." which ominously suggested there was taking involved, however he did not mention it.
The fingers began to redden, shorten and soften, veins rising to the surface of his exposed arm. The skin began to look damp and grow raw and textured, and from the elbow up, it began to look less like an arm and more like a tentacle. "One can become more resilient. Stronger. They can develop the ability to heal quickly and readily from non-fatal injuries, the process halved from that of the norm. They can become physically more durable. However."
An almost penetrating, bordering on predatory feeling crept up into those blood-hued eyes. It was comparable to a fierce gaze, yet... it was not human. It was animal. "It involves becoming a Host." but? "...and not all bodies are meant to Host. But they cannot create. They cannot paint the world and resculpt it's inhabitants."
AJ — 08/26/2020
The doctor stared, evidently surprised he knew the word. They had learned to avoid succinct terminology; they didn’t often encounter others with an interest or knowledge in anatomy and medicine. At his explanation, they frowned, suddenly reaching up with their other hand to take his forearm between both hands and apply pressure, to bend it in half if able and confirm for themself whether or not they could feel the outlines of true bones. No prompt for consent on the matter.
“you cannot build these souls new forms from nothing, then.” They hadn’t really expected he could--their dalliances into magic, there was always a take. Something consumed, even if not readily apparently, at least as far as they had seen. “Hm. I expected as much.” It felt like an innate ability. They should be so lucky. “That is of more use to a warrior than to me.” Like Jafar wanting to become a genie, they were more interested in that ability to sculpt others. Still. “And what does becoming a Host entail?” Did they have any interest in accepting? They had played Host to too much, already. And nothing.
yam — 08/27/2020
Onnushi knew many words. Some words, in this time, had not yet been fabricated. He knew much- too much, really, and some of it was from book and text learning and some of it was from more... traditional means, one could say. The creature was capable of learning volumes from a small amount of blood, some hair, a tooth.
The arm in question did not give. It behaved just as an arm with a bone would. There was slack of skin over firm but yielding muscle, hard knobs suggesting bone and taut threads suggesting tendons. It was remarkable how a boneless body could so perfectly replicate how bones present should feel.
His hand and arm began to retract and lose it's carmine hue, returning to that of an unblemished, frankly beautiful human hand. Onnushi seemed unbothered by the touching and did not seem bothered by the lack of permission. No, it seemed to not phase him in the slightest. He very well may have been poked and prodded in the past. If so, this was very vanilla for him.
"I apologize if you find this disappointing." he didn't sound troubled by the fact. But it very much was innate in nature: it was not magic, nor a learned skill: it was something that simply developed and advanced over time as his form matured and gained 'mass'. As for the comment, he did not respond. The question, however, was met with an answer. "Taking into the body my flesh."
Oh, how pleasant. It wasn't cannibalism, but it certainly looked and very likely felt that way. "...It is more common to host male fragments than female fragments." oh, the fragments had sexes, did they? "Opposite of the male, the host of a female fragment is fragile. They often become anaemic, they bruise more easily, they take longer to heal. They pose risk of becoming the object of obsession to male hosts and sensitive men, due to a concentrated pheromone output to 'beckon' male hosting individuals."
Whenever Onnushi went into explaining something in depth, the humanity in his voice would dip significantly rendering it near robotic in tone, as if he were a computer reading off a file. It was odd.
AJ — 08/28/2020
"It would not be the first time and I doubt it will be the last. I am unfortunately only human." But even that felt like a lie, and anyone with the ability to see 'beyond' could see how thin the strand of 'technicality' was.
"Ah. I see." His description of female fragments brought a twinge of distaste to the corner of their lip. Well, none of that sounded appealing either. "Neither of those are of use to a physician.” But they were sure he could still be of use.
The Vaidya looked up at the sky, denoting some hour of early evening. They had been out at least half the day, with nothing to eat. ...Jaxamir would likely come tromping through the forest if they didn’t return. “Do you intend to stay in this clearing? ...Meditating.” Or whatever he was or wasn’t doing.
yam — 08/28/2020
Onnushi dipped his head. "I know. It is of little use to most. Frankly only fanatics seem to be interested." fanatics? Oh dear. "It is not something I offer lightly. Besides, the risk of complications resulting in agonizing mutation and even death are present and I do not wish that sort of suffering on anyone." the fact he spoke of it so casually could make one wonder, though.
"I did. I may move on, though. I have been sitting here for long enough I think. There is little learning done in staying in one place, seeing nothing new." at least in his case. He could learn about the wildlife, the way the weather affected the plants, the change of seasons, but people, his true interest, they did not pass by often. The Vaidya was a treat unexpected.
"Where might you be going when you leave? I suspect you are hungry. Do you reside in the settlement beyond the forest, or are you a newcomer like me?"
AJ — 08/28/2020
The doctor was a little bit unhinged, but hardly fanatical. “Have you noticed any patterns in who seem predisposed to mutations as a result?” Oh, yes. Of course. One shouldn’t wish that suffering on anyone... But derived data from past observations was hardly the same as putting together a new pool to test on. Even if inferior. ...What if they were all willing?
They nodded with some understanding. They’d never stayed in one town very long with Jaxamir. ...A combination of wonderlust and getting chased out by pitchfork. “I am not from here. But am currently residing in Thornmouth. ...We will see if I stay.” They were hungry though, he was right about that, and they started to climb to their feet. “Then I will not find you again if I return here?”
yam — 08/29/2020
"Yes. Human women have never been able to become one with the Flesh. I suspect something involving the reproductive organs interferes, as the Flesh establishes in the abdomen." But? "As for men... it seems random." There was a bordering on human hint of sadness in his voice. Disappointment, perhaps. "It is... disheartening to watch a failure. The pain is beyond my comprehension. Especially for those who must go on to live. It is far more kind a fate to die than to survive the process."
He moved on easily despite it.
"That is how I am. In the past I have never stayed for long. It is how I earned a title, 'タンポポの預言者', simply a Dandelion Prophet. Like the silver tufted fruit that follows the flower, I go where the wind blows with with no knowledge of where I'm headed." The question prompted a twitch at the corners of his mouth, raising them into less a smirk and more a calm, kind smile. "If you would like to find me again, I will remain. I have enjoyed our time spent together." It sounded perhaps bordering on narcissistic since he spoke only of himself, but it was genuine. He liked speaking with logical minded and inquisitive individuals who valued knowledge and did not hesitate to ask questions.
AJ — 08/30/2020
The little doctor gave no discernable reaction as to whether or not that would effect them. Whether they had or lacked the necessary requirements to 'join'. But neither power-set interested them, so what did it matter? "What happens to one that survives a failed joining?"
They silently mouthed out the words he'd used, recognizing it as something spoken to the east of their birthplace, but unable to place more than that. " 'Dandelion Prophet'. Hm." The hum was amused. "I would like that." The compliment didn't quite elicit a smile, but did bring a thoughtful head-tilt. "I think perhaps I could learn something." Even if it wasn't the powers he possessed innately. He was... Intriguing. Leaning down to gather up their bag again, the Vaidya stood, turning in a semi-circle to regain their baring in the forest before preparing to retrace their steps. Unsure if that troll would be where they left him last.
yam — 08/30/2020
"They suffer. It manifests differently in different individuals. Often the Flesh seeks escape to a more suitable host, but the process of fusion has already taken place, and so for the Flesh to escape the host would be killed. Because the Flesh itself cannot live without a host, it must remain. It gradually takes over the entire body until it no longer has anything it can replace within, and it eventually dies." What a strange behaviour. It didn't seem to have a life cycle-- or if it did, it could not carry through with it if the 'fusion' failed.
"Likewise." given he had been the one to suggest he remain, Onnushi likely referred to the learning aspect. Everything was a learning experience for him. It was what mattered that remained with him. As the Vaidya gathered and rose, the Onnushi offered a polite albeit rigid bow of his head and uppermost body. He did not stand, nor offer any parting commentary. He simply closed his eyes and slowly grew rigid again, just as he had been when the doctor happened upon him originally.
AJ — 08/30/2020
"I see." It was something they wished to witness--however morbid and painful for the failed host. But they refrained from saying as much.
Perhaps because his bearing had already been rather otherworldly and odd, or maybe in part because they were already awkward and detached, his rigid nod was taken in stride, and they offered a little dip of their chin in kind before turning and striding off barefoot.
The sun sent rays at an angle through the trees, denoting some early hour of the morning as they headed out of the town. The physician wasn’t ‘outdoorsy’ by any innate personal connection with nature, but traveling with Jaxamir and being... Well, dirt poor—they did what they could. Foraging for extra food and picking herbs for personal use, or to sell. They still wore a men’s suit, slim pants and a Nehru vest over a short kurta; but their hair down. Jutti weren’t practical for underbrush, and so they slipped them off before entering the forest, stuffing the fabric shoes into their satchel and shouldering it.
The Vaidya had already made one trip out here... Hopefully this one was less eventful. Several of the trees were already familiar, and as they walked deeper they fished out that library book again, crouching down with their own notes to scribble and draw little diagrams. They picked a few mushrooms, tying them together into a bundle to hang upside-down from their bag.
Degu — 08/16/2020
Distant scraping noises would signify that something was not too far away and gouging into bark. One's first assumption might be a stag, an elk, something... but instead Ganu was enjoying his private time among the trees. His time in this forest was spiritual, his element. He stood gouging his huge tusks into the bark of a tree as nature intended. He did not see it as harming nature but instead simply doing what another beast would, creating new niches for the insects and beetles...the trees here were old and magic, they would survive a little marking.
Only when his path drew him closer to The Vaidya would he feel them through his bare feet. He wore the armour of bark and leaves gifted to him by the earth plane, his toes in the soil felt every vibration within range like that of a spiders web. Someone was nearby... picking mushrooms, he felt each mushroom disconnect from his view as it was plucked away from its 'root' to the earth.
The troll, curious to find someone else lingering out here where so many were too nervous to tread, turned and headed in their direction. He did not try to be quiet, his heavy footsteps snapped twigs and rustled fauna. In the dark shade of the trees, they might see a giant coming their way, a soft orange glow from his eyes and markings making him stand out. The sound of earth-spirit bird song followed him to those who could hear it, tiny elemental creatures fluttered from branch to branch, disappearing in and out of the mortal realm so freely they made it seem easy.
Ganu? if one looked hard enough had the aura of something ... improved, an elementalist mage that had worked hard to improve himself over time and succeeded through heavy trials and still so young. The aura surrounding him was not unlike that of a large anthropomorphic stag built of golden light, tall antlers like branches and roots into the earth that disappeared and reformed with his every step, he was blindingly golden with magic, but down the centre of his aura's chest was a scar, a mark that he had once died and been revived through unnatural means, this was a scar that would never leave.
AJ — 08/16/2020
The Vaidya could have been some barefooted maiden picking daisies in a field. Some summer witch. If not for their stocky physique, heavy, decisive footfalls, their stance a conscious choice from years of travelling in Jaxamir’s company, attempting to avoid derisive comments aimed at a ‘fairer sex’.
After clearing out the mature mushrooms from one tree, careful to leave the younger fungi so they could return, they stood again and continued on. They checked a moss growing on an old nurse log, deemed it not worth their time and climbed over it. A patch of tall wild grain got documented, but not picked, and they settled into a cross-legged sit on the other side of the old log, picking at a low flowering plant. Sniffing this, they flipped through the library book to confirm their find, and even plucked at a petal to chew on. Deeming it worth something, they rolled a few of the flower heads between the palms of their hands, and packed them—still fresh—into the bowl of their smoking pipe as a reminder to dry the flower and try it later. The pipe was left idly clutched between their teeth to free their hands as they hunched over to scrawl in their notes.
They were still distracted when the light of something passing through the overhead trees caught their attention and they looked up. Birdsong and golden animal spirits passing through leaves. Something to do with the faeries? Ganu’s heavy footfalls were at least partially muffled by the forest floor, and they easily mistook it for a heavy prey animal. They just about stood to peer over the log, but as they twisted to do so there was the troll standing amongst the trees and looking their way.
The bride froze, pipe still hanging from their lips, and stared. As if the reds, oranges and creams of their outfit didn’t stand out against the green and brown of the forest around them. Their stare was a thousand-yard look, slightly unfocused on the aura around him and then immediately drawn to the scare with interest. Well, if he was here to take issue with their presence (as they assumed he might, given the strong Earthian inclination he seemed to give off), they would not hold back the naked intrigue. They hadn’t even managed to get to their feet yet. Did he get a hello? No, but maybe a mumbled word in Hindustani.
Degu — 08/16/2020
Ganu's head tilted as he locked onto this tiny Indian, smiling and reaching out for the patch of desecrated mushrooms and they regenerated as if they'd never been harvested in the first place. The trees seemed to lean towards him. Nature gravitated to him like he were a magnet ...thus were the fruits of years of hard work.
"It is refreshing that you didn't run. I've heard tell of trolls in these forests giving the towns people reason to fear them. I've not met them..." it was hard to tell if it were hopeful. He thought he might be disappointed when he finally did, but it'd be nice not to feel like the only one.
He stepped forwards to offer a large hand to help the stranger to their feet "I won't give you any trouble.. especially not when we've got the same shoes" he grinned a big tusky grin and wiggled soil-clad toes "I felt that you might have been studying the flora, I hope my curiosity isn't intrusive."
AJ — 08/16/2020
To be fair, they were stuck between a troll and a log. They didn’t expect they’d get very far, and if they had to guess (something about all the Glowing and Nature Bending—the little bride’s sleepy eyes staring up and around in curiosity), Ganu would have a natural affinity to chasing people down in forested terrain. Still, one hand was already grasping the hilt of their shamshir as he spoke, ready to go out with a pitiful fight if need be. They really needed to get into the habit of telling Jaxamir where they were going. One would think after a decade of causing trouble, that would be a given.
They started to interject with some quip about his own intentions, but shut up when he continued, reaching up with their other hand to take the pipe from their teeth. “The same shoes?--oh.” They got his meaning when they looked down (the rest of him had been much more distracting). They finally unfolded their legs, gathering up their things and slowly standing, eyes briefly downcast on their own naked feet. Sometimes out of nostalgia they adorned them with stains, but they’d felt no need today. They could not fathom why Ganu had pointed it out. “...Yes. For... medical use.” The physician started to close their book and notebook, juggling them under one arm. “No.” He’d said he wasn’t planning to give him trouble, so they released the hilt of their sword, but discomfort kept that hand free. “Who are you?” There were a few more intrusive questions stuck behind that one in the back of their throat.
Degu — 08/16/2020
Ganu smiled at the question, not minding their somewhat standoffish behaviour...he was a stranger in otherwise dangerous woods. "I am Ganu'bit, but you can call me Ganu." he knew that wasn't quite the extent of what they'd meant but he was reluctant to tell a stranger exactly who he was. "I am a gardener" it was the truth, just not the whole truth. Here in Thornmouth, or rather...a gardener looking for work" he chuckled "A little harder when I'm not hiding who I am, wouldn't you think? But everything takes time." everything he said seemed to have a spiritual meaning to him personally, he was, after all, in his element.
"There are good herbs in the swamp, and fungi...it's quite a way to the west from here and past Oberon's rest... full of creatures, though...quite a risk. There are wild fae out there, I learned that the hard way" he chuckled "I've yet to explore it properly...unmolested anyway." he chuckled, a pleasant rumble that filled the air as he turned to Vaidya properly.
"And you? ...are you an alchemist?" he asked with deeply rooted curiosity.
AJ — 08/16/2020
It certainly wasn’t, and their questions might get more intrusive without a filter. His explanation got a hard stare and a wandering look around the forest as if to say ‘what are you gardening out here?’ It was clearly a joke. He was much more than that. They weren’t entirely sure what to make of him, and his surreptitious statements only served to confuse them further. Was he making a jab at them hiding who they were? The physician pursed their lips at this. “What do you mean by that?” Everything about them was a little off, a little out of sync, a little touched with shadow, and further damaged for it. Mundane but pulled apart and put back together.
“Where?” They nearly interrupted him, and he answered anyway; immediately the little doctor looked to the west, as if fully intending to cut this conversation short and pursue it. They paused at that warning. “Hm.” Maybe they could convince Jaxamir to come with them. He wasn’t particularly interested in picking flowers. They hugged their books and pipe to their chest, looking back to the troll. “But you are familiar with the local flora?” Their answers had remained relatively short and clipped, but slowly they drew out. More of that quiet Hindi accent. He apparently wasn’t local, either, but had an understanding.
“A physician.” Short, clipped again. But they paused, looking around them and then at their books. “...I make use of... Multiple disciplines.” They may have just sidestepped giving a name.(edited)
Degu — 08/16/2020
Ganu on the other hand had no idea all the right (or wrong, rather) notes he was hitting with Vaidya. "I wouldn't recommend heading out there without preparation, best not to do it at night either... not that night and day are terribly different in a swamp like that"
The troll's eyes lingered on the books, nodding "I am, but I'm no expert...I'm still new to this land. The court guard north of here might answer of a few questions about their more magical flora if you are polite...perhaps if you take an offering." he had the scars to prove his time spent around Fae. He was both experienced with them and yet still knew so little...
"A physician!" he said with delight "I was adopted by a physician for a time, I lived for quite some time in an infirmary..I learned a thing or two." Ganu decided he was here to stay. He wasn't going to make The Vaidya stay if they didn't want to but he sat at the base of a tree between two hefty roots and leaned back.
He pulled from his satchel something wrapped in cloth and opened it out. Bread, cheese and butter with a knife. Simple food but he busied himself cutting the bread.
"Multiple disciplines? any magic?" he asked boldly "I didn't quite catch your name?" he asked again with a fond smile.
A pause.
"Hungry? there's more than enough" he asked and took a bite out of a slice of bread and some strong cheddar.
AJ — 08/16/2020
They nearly took that as a challenge, and chewed on the inside of their cheek in thought. Well, they knew better than to go in the dead of night. ...If their last encounter was any indication. Still, they had a look of longing. Anywhere different to explore. “Ah. I see.” They thought as much. They looked down at the book in their arms. “What would they take as an offering?” Bread? Honey? The soul of your firstborn? They could easily promise any of those.
His enthusiasm startled them, and they watched him take a seat, their sienna features twisting in confusion. He was... Everything they expected from someone clearly tied into the nature around him, temperament-wise. “Oh?” Slowly, they followed his lead and sat back down in the moss, adjusting their shamshir as they sat and settling their books back into their lap.
They regretted it almost immediately, his questions putting them on the spot. Their hesitation came with a side-eye. “Yes, somewhat. ...And tinctures, surgery, the ah—schools of Unani and Ayurveda...” Vaguely putting off that second question, they finally addressed it. “Just. The physician,” they muttered tightly. “Doctor. Healer. Vaidya...” That last one felt like a name—but in truth it was merely the Sanskrit word for Doctor. They had met so few other Hindustani speakers that it had worked well enough as a placeholder. They were human, that much was apparent, but either held no emotional ties to their ‘real’ name or else never received one.
They stared at his food, chin tilted up. “Yes.” Hungry enough to accept a stranger’s food, at least. And then immediately followed up his charity with a rather bold: “What is that scar? On your chest.” Medical Inquiry.
Degu — 08/17/2020
Ganu shrugged "The fae are fickle, who knows what they might accept. You can only try but the more unique the gift the more likely they are to accept it."
"Which of those do you prefer?" he didn't pry for an actual name, they obviously didn't want to give one and if any group could understand a need for anonymity it was Clan Eleos after a couple of years or so of living in hiding. "Vaidya is nice...I assume it is your title in another language" he just put two and two together given the sequence he'd been presented.
He set to work cutting up the fresh bread into thick slices and then laid them out, motioning that they should help themselves to butter and cheese "If you are very hungry, eat as much as you want. I won't go without.... do you have a favourite fruit perhaps?" he asked, magic visibly stretching out and shooting away from them. Golden roots spread like a web so far that they went beyond view, reaching up into trees, feeling around for fruits nearby without the Troll so much as missing a beat.
The question of his scar made his heart lurch, hand quickly going to his chest in a way that indicated there might have been a physical scar to match. "Oh." he realised his clothes covered that.
"You can see... that scar? ...are you a truth-seer?"
AJ — 08/17/2020
"I have no preference. They all accomplish the same task. Vaidya is the most often used." They watched him cut the bread, uneasy but clearly hungry. "It is." They didn't need to be told twice, reaching out at his offer to take a thick slice of each. They rummaged around in their own satchel for a knife to spread with.
"I am not familiar with the native fruits yet," the doctor admitted mildly, taking a large bite out of a hunk of bread. They didn't expect to find kothu or kokum in this locale. They watched the threads of gold stretch out beyond the limits of their sight, their chewing slowing as they piped in with a thoughtful hum, touching the ground at their feet. They seemed to sway between stoic, reserved doctor and wonderstruck, sullen child with relative ease.
Intent on their food and the display of magic, they seemed disconnected from the unease their question had caused. Nibbling on cheese, sleepy eyes looked back to him and nodded, reaching out with a hand to trace the outline of the scar in the air between them. "Yes. Perhaps." They weren't sure what their gift meant in this world. If truth-seers pertained to some cult. But it seemed to describe their ability well enough. "Something beyond healing." And that intrigued them.
Degu — 08/17/2020
"Lots of citrus" he chuckled and held out a hand, calling something to him. It took a while but the trees shook subtly in the distance and if they looked they'd see branches and vines tossing two oranges along bit by bit until they flung them at last into Ganu's waiting hand. He caught them and smiled, offering one to Vaidya to peel.
He used magic to peel his own if only because it was less wasteful "I can do yours too if you'd like." he still seemed...bothered by the mention of the scar.
"I died." he finally answered after some deliberation "I was young, fighting an embodiment of war. An embodiment of death did not permit my death on their plane of existence and returned my soul to my 'comrades' who sought the help of someone to mend my broken body and someone to return my soul to its rightful place. I was 'lucky'" he removed the seeds of the orange with a similar method and shot them far into the forest so that they might have a chance of thriving, then he ate.
"I am not undead, though. The methods used ensured that I would not be classed as such... the last thing I need in my life is to be controllable by necromancers" he laughed stiffly.
AJ — 08/17/2020
They couldn’t tell if he was showing off, but watched the oranges approach anyway, biting down on another chunk of bread. The doctor’s voice dipped low as he caught the citruses. “Handy.” The closest to jest they had gotten thus far, and they reached out long thin fingers to accept the fruit, shrugging off his offer. Instead, they cut into it with a pocket knife, ripping flesh from skin and eating small chunks as they listened intently.
“I see.” It was a very nonchalant answer for someone currently stuffing their face with orange wedges, their stare verging on unblinking. They pulled a few seeds from their lips, making holes in the peaty soil with their fingers to discard them. They leaned in none too subtly. “How was that done? Avoiding undeath, I mean.” They echoed the laugh in a much quieter, hoarse chuckle, sucking on another wedge of orange.
August 18, 2020
Degu — 08/18/2020
Ganu might've seen like a show off, but these things were just second nature to him... no different to him now than breathing, walking, seeing. He didn't think anything of what he'd done, just happy to have an orange.
"Soul gem. It was trapped in there, then inside a golem for a time. There was a time when I didn't quite know who I was...I was an emotionless elemental being, no mind, just a soul, it was a confusing time." he frowned softly at the memory, he could remember being that creature but the creature had struggled to remember being him.
"It was not the first time I came close to death, it was the only time i met it. I do not regret it." he admitted thoughtfully as he pushed three segments of orange into his huge mouth and chewed pensively.
"Do you work in the city? I saw the infirmary there...it is bigger than any i've seen before."(edited)
AJ — 08/18/2020
Ganu had the doctor’s undivided attention on the subject, leaning in with an ear as they nibbled on the final few slices of orange. "Oh? I see." He'd wanted to converse to a fellow shoeless nature lover, instead he was getting cornered on the uncomfortable subject of his death and resurrection. At least the doctor seemed to be warming up to him and the conversation, their posture having slowly shifted from angled and standoffish to a quiet, attentive lean in his direction.
"And it is still inside you? The soul gem?" This time they did reach out and touch him, jabbing the centre if his chest with their index finger. If it was still in place, he might feel the gentlest tug, like an out-of-place heart palpatation. Looking up again, they stuffed the final piece of orange in their own mouth.
"No. ...Yes, but I have not approached the infirmary. There was nothing so large where I came from. I work alone. Research alone." Jaxamir was supportive (enough; in his own way) but not keen.(edited)
Degu — 08/18/2020
Ganu leaned back abruptly as he felt it, eyes widening. He seemed ready to defend himself, his aura became volatile for a moment and the roots shot out through the ground only for him to relax slowly as he realised no harm had been meant. He was a little iffy about anything near his chest. "No...I was removed from the soul gem. It's just me." he said as he patted his chest.
"What was that?" he asked "You can soul touch as well? or...what was that?" he asked and let out a deep breath.
AJ — 08/18/2020
This one apparently had the survival instincts of a gnat. They slowly (too slowly) withdrew their hand at the turbulent shift of his aura, bringing their long fingers up to lightly cover their mouth. “Hm.” Oh, perhaps they’d misstepped. They were tempted to reach out and poke him again, but thought better of it.
“Yes. Ah...” They reached out their hand again, index finger pointed, followed by a slow waggle of their fingers as if to demonstrate. Without actually... demonstrating, as he hadn’t seemed to particularly like it the first time. “I can interact, in a sense. Pull and direct them. More so when they are... Untethered.” They weren’t quite at a strength where they could outright rip an occupying soul from someone’s body. “It was... Hm.” Not likely a gift they should share the nature of, and they furrowed their brows at his chest, returning their hand to their mouth. “...Well.”
Degu — 08/18/2020
Ganu rose up a little taller where he sat. As a troll he was the opposite, a surging storm of testosterone and survival instincts...there was a reason his kind were feared, but he? he wasn't like that but he still could be reactive if he felt his life was in danger, especially after how often it had almost ended and the one time it had.
"Such a gift requires consent unless one is in battle and even then the moral compass of ones actions should be kept close in mind" he rumbled, trying not to sound like he was lecturing but yet he knew he was a little. "All magic has its place, the only thing that matters is the conduct of the caster... you just touched my soul without so much as a warning" his tail thudded grumpily against the soil behind him.
"Please do not do that again without request."
AJ — 08/19/2020
They were still teasing their lip with a thoughtful stare when he decided to drop his virtuous Monologue of Moral Rectitude on them. The physician’s deep features contorted with a scowl, unappreciative of being talked down to like a child. They refrained from interrupting, but punctuated their sleepy frown (slowly growing distant as if losing interest in the conversation) with a faint, haughty tilt of their chin.
“I fail to see a situation where I would be asking consent to nudge a person’s soul in battle.” They clearly didn’t perceive it as a very combat-useful power. Never mind that their initial touch had been an accidental show as they felt out for a stone—they refused to stoop and admit that, given his reaction. Too much misplaced pride in this tiny human, who stood suddenly and dusted the crumbs from their tunic.
“I have overstayed my welcome.” Turning abruptly, satchel swinging on their shoulder, they made to climb the horizontal nurse log they had previously leaned against, barefooted toes finding easy perch. They liked the sensation, for someone with such a stunted range of emotional stimuli. Heck your ‘please’!
Degu — 08/19/2020
Ganu sighed as they stood and he rose as well, packing away the picnic cloth into a seemingly bottomless satchel. "I visited you. I have overstayed my welcome." well, at least this stranger was fed.
"It was good to meet you Vaidya. Be safe." he rumbled and turned away from them to head off back the way he came without another word, if they didn't want him here he wasn't going to infringe upon their gathering a moment longer.
AJ — 08/19/2020
Wait, was he apologizing to them? The Vaidya side-eyed him a moment, unsure what to make of it and still straddling the log. Since he seemed intent on leaving, they climbed the rest of the way over and left in the opposite direction, although their gathering trip wasn't over yet. They may even find a comfortable place to read for a turn.
yam — 08/19/2020
It was only natural for the Onnushi to be about, in the woods. Definitely a common place to find one of those, just ask it's 'friends'. Today, it was looking more man than beast (probably for the best), dressed in one of those signature robes with the tattered, stained hems and nothing more. No shoes nor socks, just a wrap of thin off-white linens.
On his lonesome, he sat by himself on a patch of soft moss, cross-legged and meditative with his eyes closed and his body lax. Pooled about him on the ground was that dark hair of his with the subtly sanguine-tinged tips, near as long as he was tall. Quiet. A nice little streak or two of sun shown down through the trees and illuminated those long, dark eyelashes, making them almost glow a mahogany.
He... appeared to have been there for a while. It was easily seen in how he seemed to have dust settled on him, and a few odd leaves that had fallen and landed. He was terribly still... he didn't even appear to be breathing.
AJ — 08/19/2020
At least a man would be more expected in a forest. ...Or would it? They weren’t sure with this forest. A man in a tattered stained robe on the other hand, brought a kind of weird nostalgia to the bride’s own past.
After hopping the log with a vexed huff to themself, the little physician continued on, barefoot and alone in the woods once more. They admitted to themself that they did prefer to be barefoot. At least in this setting. After they’d calmed from the irrational anger that had driven them to stomp off from Ganu, they paced quietly in a deep dream rather than return to picking herbs.
Bare steps faltered to a stop in the mossy clearing, a second’s pause given to scrutinize the man sitting in the centre, his back to them, before stepping again carefully in a quick wide arc around him. A faery? They couldn’t even begin to entertain that idea, so vast and beyond that or anything they could comprehend. They almost backed out of the clearing again, almost uncertain for once and taken aback. Rather than leave the clearing altogether, they stood and cocked their head in place, standing still, expression blank and detached. They didn’t manage to hold back that gentle ‘hm’, before making a split decision and striding forward to crouch in front of him (if he hadn’t reacted already). Careful not to step on the deep pools of hair.
He could have been a statue, but he was clearly not. A construct? Something utterly incongruous, separate. They didn’t quite reach out and touch him.
yam — 08/19/2020
Onnushi did not react. Very much so he was like a statue or construct. It wasn't until a hand motioned but did not quite touch him did he speak, his voice soft and steady. "I would not make it a habit to so intimately investigate strangers in an unfamiliar wood. I do not mind it, but not everyone is friendly." And yet, he was a 'stranger'. One could not simply claim friendliness when their demeanor was a mystery. He could be lying! He wasn't, but still.
"Hello. I see you walk bare of foot; do you lack shoes, or are you like myself and simple prefer to feel the earth beneath you?" he hadn't even opened his eyes, how could he have-- wait. Did his hair just twitch? The Vaidya may have missed it, but if they hadn't, an eye had been in his hair... An unhuman one that, from the sclera, iris and pupil to the surrounding 'skin', had all been the exact colour of his hair...
wat
AJ — 08/20/2020
The Vaidya's hand paused at the utterance, the little doctor's lips still pursed and curiously twitching. They sat back, balanced on the balls of their feet a moment, put putting a knee down for support. "Oh?" They avoided pinching their face, apparently heeding his advice… Temporarily.
"Both. I suppose." Their shoes were not made to last in forested terrain. They could not fathom--between Ganu and this one--people's fixation on their shoelessness. Must be a trait shared by forest dwellers. With their drifting thoughts, they failed entirely to spot the odd appendage, wondering instead if he had some form of magically projected sight. "Are you meditating?"
yam — 08/20/2020
"I see." but he didn't. His eyes weren't open. But then they were, and Onnushi was looking in the Vaidya's direction, those fox-like blood-red eyes settling on them like they were the only thing in the world to look at: it was rather intense, yet the facial expression on that too-human of a face was so calm and kind.
"I suppose you could call it that. When I find time, I take rests. Some times they last a long time." one time he sat through an entire season in one spot without budging once. "This one was one of the shorter ones. It's simply a way I conserve energy." almost mechanically he would look away, staring ahead at nothing at all.
"What are you doing?"
AJ — 08/21/2020
There was an uncanny valley likeness that the little doctor recognized, obviously coupled with the... More-than looming presence beyond the simple person. They locked eyes and stared back, eventually dropping down and sitting properly. "I see. What are you? I have not encountered something like you." Amalgamations of souls, sure. This felt a little different, and the physician's mind went in little circles trying to work it out. Something pieced together, perhaps--perhaps... Unbothered by niceties, they leaned in a little to study him. Look for... What? Seems in his existence? It was all very perfect.
"Sitting." Not studying him like some science project, certainly. They had fallen into crossed legs, their long hands settling to rest on their knees.
yam — 08/21/2020
"I do not know, truthfully. If I did I would not likely tell you. Not because I did not want to, but because I couldn't." what a curious thing to say. Yet, he elaborated: "There are things I cannot do. Actions, yet if I could, I would. It is a conflict; a battle between instinct and reason. My instinct holds me back, yet my reason questions why. In the end I suppose you could say I am a simple creature. Instinct always rules over reason."
As the Vaidya assumed their seated and studious position, Onnushi seemed to gradually mirror it, perhaps unintentionally, while he in turn studied them. It was a kind of silent study where both stared so intently they may forget the world moved onward around them. The creature seemed not to mind being studied. Oft he was the one doing the studying. It was a different kind of studying: picking up pheromones, feeling for threads of DNA that might stray from the body of whomever might sit across from him. Analyzing, processing, banking for later.
The souls within were not content, nor were they fully dormant. It was a sort of agonizing imprisonment, a limbo if you will, ever waiting for... a distribution, of sorts. Yet for as much as one craved it, they dreaded it, for they were condemned to a form fragile and lesser than. As if...
"I am parasitic in nature, yet ever changing and adapting. I turn the lovely ugly, yet can just as readily make the ugly lovely. I can sculpt new forms and consume old ones, mend damage and inflict it. I am driven by a need to survive, and to thrive." Onnushi's ever present, sleepy smile did not falter, nor did his voice change in tone. Everything was consistent.
"Yet I believe I am flawed. If I weren't, I would have accomplished so much more than I have. I would have initiated the weaving of my magnum opus."
AJ — 08/21/2020
His answer didn’t please them. But his explanation gave them pause. “I suppose I do not understand your reasoning. Instincts tell me to go forward, ‘reasoning’ attempts to dissuade me.” Usually after the fact, if it made it in at all. The amalgamation of souls made him look artificial, created—to be perfect? But obviously they had seen grouped souls before. Collected... The physician had a way of losing themself in things—a project, an item, a book, a person. So that it was an apt description; they could lose track of the world’s movements.
Parasitic... “You consist of many, I assume? Do you add to this? Do you sculpt others, or yourself?” The difference was important to them. It determined whether he was someone to study or study under. Endlessly interesting, this one. The human, in contrast, was not so—their voice, though monotone, was naturally so; a gentle sway of their accent. A suspicious void of... Flare, aura or conspicuous magic—more interesting in what they lacked. “What do you believe holds you back? What do you lack?”
August 22, 2020
yam — 08/22/2020
It was an accurate way to describe the Onnushi— created to be perfect, or at least appear perfect. A flaw in the design as well. He very well may be the only of his kind, a prototype for something far more refined, more... imperfect, yet so realistically imperfect it made camouflage perfectly possible.
"An example perhaps is in order. Only a few short years ago I was victim of a penetrative wound. The projectile responsible became lodged within me, yet I could not remove it. My instinct dictates I cannot harm myself. My reason says that it will be for good, as it will allow healing. I could not, though, so I had someone else remove it." Strange. "...Ah. Perhaps a more simple one. I cannot cut my own hair. Something in me simply won't allow it." Sleepy eyes would blink. They did not blink in unison, though it was close. Blinking was unnecessary for Onnushi. It was a practiced behaviour.
"I will clarify. My hair is not truly hair. It is a part of me as much as your lips are your mouth." He did not invite the doctor to touch it, however he did gesture to it with a perfectly unblemished, very human seeming hand. "I cannot cut it because to do so would be harming myself. I cannot inflict harm unto my being deliberately." He had been harmed incidentally while partaking knowingly in a potentially harmful activity, but that was different.
As for the questions regarding his abilities, the smile almost grew, but not quite. The pale hand that had just gestured to dark hair was now extended, palm-up in the doctor's direction. The skin began to blister slowly, trembling and becoming riddled in veins as the skin darkened and became more raw, from deeper dermis layers to muscle, then to organ tissue, all the while a fleshy mass growing from the hand's center. Visceral flakes of deep hue fell as it piled and overflowed, odorous and slick with a dirty, oily substance. What touched the moss rapidly killed it, the verdance fading to a burnt and sickly yellow as it dried. >
The flakes would gently pulsate as if alive, moving like a slug, trail and all, away. Onnushi watched closely. "My children, I call them. They cannot survive for long without a proper environment to establish themselves in. It must be within another, or with me and their kin."
The pile in his hand began to warp, stretch and rise, making a fleshy rope riddled in dark veins and fine polyps. It moved like an octopus, boneless, alien and ever reaching for a surface to cling to.
"I have replaced organs and eaten cancers. I have resculpted bodies to better suit the minds they house." As he spoke his voice distorted ever so slightly in such a way it was difficult to describe. Next he spoke, it had returned to 'normal.
"It is not what I lack. It is what I have. If I did not interact with sentient life forms, get attached, even befriend them, I likely would have destroyed and rebuilt by now."
AJ — 08/23/2020
This was... A lot. The creature was like a walking(? yet to be confirmed) talking encyclopedia of... Some resource. His words were fantastical and difficult to take at face value, but his otherworldly manner did make it easier to swallow. The planeness at which he lay all of this out to a complete stranger had them untrusting and on edge, however. “How very... Artificial. You appear as if you are made up of countless other... ah... entities. But your consciousness was constructed? Deliberately, to follow ‘instincts’ meant to parallel nature, but without the finesse to deviate, or give you...” They looked for a term. “ ‘Free will’.” It was an interesting thought experiment—to construct a being from nothing, no existing soul to dictate their personality—still. There was no invite, but they immediately turned their body to inspect the closest lock of long hair that trailed the forest floor.
His hand...! Had them immediately grab the man’s wrist, other hand reaching up to almost touch his splayed fingers, but stopping short as the mass of ichor fell in a dried and flaky mess onto the detritus beneath them. Despite their curiosity, they had sense enough to make sure their legs were clear, as it clearly had a lethal effect on the vegetation. “...I see. You are rather forthcoming for a stranger in the woods.” One who really shouldn’t be touching a self-professed ‘parasite’, ‘resculptor of bodies’.
“Ah. So your ‘fatal flaw’ is empathy and comradery. How unfortunate.”
yam — 08/23/2020
Another of Onnushi's flaws was an inability to lie. He was capable of deceit, but not outright lying. He seldom found a reason to be misleading, additionally, as he felt he had nothing to hide. He was an old existence, and had seen many reactions over the years to 'it', as a thing, and to 'his' abilities. He had driven some to madness when his true form was revealed. He had lost respect. He had been attacked, wounded. He however also had been... revered. That alone, the act of a mere human holding not the man facade but the thing facading on a pedestal had been an experience that that left Onnushi oddly troubled yet unable to express it. He simply let them do what they wanted.
"The way I see it, so to speak, is that I am a host as well. By hosting these entities I provide a safe vessel to wait within until their time of deliverance. Then, they can repeat the cycle from within a proper host." He opted not to elaborate what that meant. It wasn't dishonesty after all, simply withholding the truth. Onnushi offered a slight dip of the head, eyes closing briefly. "Free will is perhaps the best way to describe it. For in a sense I appear at a glance to have it, but everything I do is with purpose." He had deviated. Once. Twice. But it had always resulted in his being maimed, harmed, or damaged. The last time he had done something significant that had harmed him, he had unofficially died. He returned, of course, but was not the same. He was missing fragments of information he had collected between the time he had made deposits of himself and the time he had 'died.'
Onnushi did not flinch or retract when touched. It was uncanny how true to life he felt. Veins, hair, pores, subtle wrinkles and indentations where fingers folded and a bony knob on the outer exterior wrist. A warmth in some places and a coolness in others. Subtle textural and colour differences, and yet... no scars. No moles. No freckles. No enlarged pores or calloused spots. It was too perfect.
"And why not? Honesty earns trust in most cases. I mean you no harm and should you mean me it, I would not harbour ill will toward you for it. It is your right to chose what you think of me."
Onnushi's subtle smirl did not falter, though a sign of intelligence beyond that of a simple organic computer flitted across those sanguine eyes, in the way they narrowed almost wryly. "Yes. I think without empathy especially I would be far more dangerous. But that can be said about Man just as easily."<
AJ — 08/23/2020
“I see. Have you ever released any of these souls to their next lives?” They did suspect him of being untrue, perhaps convincing himself that he was taking the souls to assist them but never truly letting them go. Or... Creating that next form himself.
“The illusion of honesty earns trust. Painful truths break it. If you think that, then you have not, perhaps, existed long enough.” Harsh. His easy forgiveness of actions the doctor had not even performed yet got a pinched expression, still examining his hand in theirs. They deviated. “Who created you? You speak as if it is someone on this plane.”
“Man is crippled by empathy.”
yam — 08/23/2020
"Yes. Many times." Many ended up killing each other, however he opted not to say it. He, in his simple way of 'thinking', felt it impertinent. It was true though. They were released, but never truly free. It could take months, years, maybe a century, but the souls would always return to him. He did not know why, nor did he question it, for questioning his existence in depth was outside of his ability. He was a creature, a thing, and although he seemed intelligent it was not in the same sense that man was, that truly sentient beings were.
"I suppose that is true. I have not become involved in the personal affairs of men until recently— in the last two or three decades. This is a short time for me." Time was strange for him, for he seemed able to exist in any Era and Period, and even just about any alternative universe. He did not think about it though. It was not important to him, and so it was not even a passing 'thought'.
As the hand was examined, the flesh would begin to retreat until it was but a small mound in the creature's palm. From there, his fingertips began to blister, redden and elongate, each phalange from distal to proximal and suggested non-visible metacarpals warping into glistening, ever shifting meat. Yet it did not move freely as if without control, each 'finger' remained semi-rigid and in fact, each tip became sharp and bony, jagged at the underside as if lined in bestial toothy protrusions.
"I do not know who created me. I chose not to believe all suggestions made to me by passersby." He looked amused. "One such suggestion being that I am a child of Lucifer." Perhaps the most human he seemed, he appeared to find the idea stupid.
AJ — 08/24/2020
"Hm." Not the answer they were expecting, although they wondered if they could believe it. His very nature, to them at least, suggested someone who hoarded souls. But perhaps they shouldn’t pass judgement.
They cupped his hand, their face unemotive but sleepy eyes glued and fascinated by the shifting, blistering skin. Altogether too touchy, they held their opposite hand out over his as if to measure how his fingers changed, metamorphosed and stretched; their own fingers, long surgeon’s digits stained with a henna dip, in leu of actual mehndi designs. The dark colouring just barely hiding a second, greying discoloration of their fingertips, like frostbite or some ominous progressive disease. “Your growth is like a cancer. I once removed a tumor similar to this, from a horse. It contained bits of teeth. ...But where are your bones?” It peeled away like dermis, then subcutaneous tissues, but the connective tissues almost went nowhere.
“Ah. I see. I suppose that scares them.” The way the doctor’s face shifted and grimaced, it wasn’t obvious whether they found the suggestion hilarious or similarly stupid. Perhaps they didn’t know themself. “But you were created. You are able to sculpt people? Your abilities, can they be learned or passed on in this manner?” Perhaps the ability to mold individuals to their will would be of use to the physician.
yam — 08/25/2020
"Teratoma." Onnushi stated almost robotically. He did not explain what it was, because the doctor already knew: they had dealt with it before. "...I do not have any bones. No true bones, anyways." he could make bones, mend bones, alter existing bones if he had access to the very makeup of which they were made of, but he did not have any of his own.
"I am not able to create new people, but yes. I can sculpt existing life forms. Alter them." He had removed a demon once... it had been what had killed him. It was why, although he was old in 'spirit', this body was technically infantile despite it's adult appearance. "...Ah." The dip in the creature's voice suggested oncoming disappointment.
"I do not think so. I have... 'worked' as a healer, of sorts, and have offered guidance in surgery, but... what I do, it is not magic. It is part of me. What I make, what I do, it comes from my being. If I gave and only gave, I would gradually cease to be." which ominously suggested there was taking involved, however he did not mention it.
The fingers began to redden, shorten and soften, veins rising to the surface of his exposed arm. The skin began to look damp and grow raw and textured, and from the elbow up, it began to look less like an arm and more like a tentacle. "One can become more resilient. Stronger. They can develop the ability to heal quickly and readily from non-fatal injuries, the process halved from that of the norm. They can become physically more durable. However."
An almost penetrating, bordering on predatory feeling crept up into those blood-hued eyes. It was comparable to a fierce gaze, yet... it was not human. It was animal. "It involves becoming a Host." but? "...and not all bodies are meant to Host. But they cannot create. They cannot paint the world and resculpt it's inhabitants."
AJ — 08/26/2020
The doctor stared, evidently surprised he knew the word. They had learned to avoid succinct terminology; they didn’t often encounter others with an interest or knowledge in anatomy and medicine. At his explanation, they frowned, suddenly reaching up with their other hand to take his forearm between both hands and apply pressure, to bend it in half if able and confirm for themself whether or not they could feel the outlines of true bones. No prompt for consent on the matter.
“you cannot build these souls new forms from nothing, then.” They hadn’t really expected he could--their dalliances into magic, there was always a take. Something consumed, even if not readily apparently, at least as far as they had seen. “Hm. I expected as much.” It felt like an innate ability. They should be so lucky. “That is of more use to a warrior than to me.” Like Jafar wanting to become a genie, they were more interested in that ability to sculpt others. Still. “And what does becoming a Host entail?” Did they have any interest in accepting? They had played Host to too much, already. And nothing.
yam — 08/27/2020
Onnushi knew many words. Some words, in this time, had not yet been fabricated. He knew much- too much, really, and some of it was from book and text learning and some of it was from more... traditional means, one could say. The creature was capable of learning volumes from a small amount of blood, some hair, a tooth.
The arm in question did not give. It behaved just as an arm with a bone would. There was slack of skin over firm but yielding muscle, hard knobs suggesting bone and taut threads suggesting tendons. It was remarkable how a boneless body could so perfectly replicate how bones present should feel.
His hand and arm began to retract and lose it's carmine hue, returning to that of an unblemished, frankly beautiful human hand. Onnushi seemed unbothered by the touching and did not seem bothered by the lack of permission. No, it seemed to not phase him in the slightest. He very well may have been poked and prodded in the past. If so, this was very vanilla for him.
"I apologize if you find this disappointing." he didn't sound troubled by the fact. But it very much was innate in nature: it was not magic, nor a learned skill: it was something that simply developed and advanced over time as his form matured and gained 'mass'. As for the comment, he did not respond. The question, however, was met with an answer. "Taking into the body my flesh."
Oh, how pleasant. It wasn't cannibalism, but it certainly looked and very likely felt that way. "...It is more common to host male fragments than female fragments." oh, the fragments had sexes, did they? "Opposite of the male, the host of a female fragment is fragile. They often become anaemic, they bruise more easily, they take longer to heal. They pose risk of becoming the object of obsession to male hosts and sensitive men, due to a concentrated pheromone output to 'beckon' male hosting individuals."
Whenever Onnushi went into explaining something in depth, the humanity in his voice would dip significantly rendering it near robotic in tone, as if he were a computer reading off a file. It was odd.
AJ — 08/28/2020
"It would not be the first time and I doubt it will be the last. I am unfortunately only human." But even that felt like a lie, and anyone with the ability to see 'beyond' could see how thin the strand of 'technicality' was.
"Ah. I see." His description of female fragments brought a twinge of distaste to the corner of their lip. Well, none of that sounded appealing either. "Neither of those are of use to a physician.” But they were sure he could still be of use.
The Vaidya looked up at the sky, denoting some hour of early evening. They had been out at least half the day, with nothing to eat. ...Jaxamir would likely come tromping through the forest if they didn’t return. “Do you intend to stay in this clearing? ...Meditating.” Or whatever he was or wasn’t doing.
yam — 08/28/2020
Onnushi dipped his head. "I know. It is of little use to most. Frankly only fanatics seem to be interested." fanatics? Oh dear. "It is not something I offer lightly. Besides, the risk of complications resulting in agonizing mutation and even death are present and I do not wish that sort of suffering on anyone." the fact he spoke of it so casually could make one wonder, though.
"I did. I may move on, though. I have been sitting here for long enough I think. There is little learning done in staying in one place, seeing nothing new." at least in his case. He could learn about the wildlife, the way the weather affected the plants, the change of seasons, but people, his true interest, they did not pass by often. The Vaidya was a treat unexpected.
"Where might you be going when you leave? I suspect you are hungry. Do you reside in the settlement beyond the forest, or are you a newcomer like me?"
AJ — 08/28/2020
The doctor was a little bit unhinged, but hardly fanatical. “Have you noticed any patterns in who seem predisposed to mutations as a result?” Oh, yes. Of course. One shouldn’t wish that suffering on anyone... But derived data from past observations was hardly the same as putting together a new pool to test on. Even if inferior. ...What if they were all willing?
They nodded with some understanding. They’d never stayed in one town very long with Jaxamir. ...A combination of wonderlust and getting chased out by pitchfork. “I am not from here. But am currently residing in Thornmouth. ...We will see if I stay.” They were hungry though, he was right about that, and they started to climb to their feet. “Then I will not find you again if I return here?”
yam — 08/29/2020
"Yes. Human women have never been able to become one with the Flesh. I suspect something involving the reproductive organs interferes, as the Flesh establishes in the abdomen." But? "As for men... it seems random." There was a bordering on human hint of sadness in his voice. Disappointment, perhaps. "It is... disheartening to watch a failure. The pain is beyond my comprehension. Especially for those who must go on to live. It is far more kind a fate to die than to survive the process."
He moved on easily despite it.
"That is how I am. In the past I have never stayed for long. It is how I earned a title, 'タンポポの預言者', simply a Dandelion Prophet. Like the silver tufted fruit that follows the flower, I go where the wind blows with with no knowledge of where I'm headed." The question prompted a twitch at the corners of his mouth, raising them into less a smirk and more a calm, kind smile. "If you would like to find me again, I will remain. I have enjoyed our time spent together." It sounded perhaps bordering on narcissistic since he spoke only of himself, but it was genuine. He liked speaking with logical minded and inquisitive individuals who valued knowledge and did not hesitate to ask questions.
AJ — 08/30/2020
The little doctor gave no discernable reaction as to whether or not that would effect them. Whether they had or lacked the necessary requirements to 'join'. But neither power-set interested them, so what did it matter? "What happens to one that survives a failed joining?"
They silently mouthed out the words he'd used, recognizing it as something spoken to the east of their birthplace, but unable to place more than that. " 'Dandelion Prophet'. Hm." The hum was amused. "I would like that." The compliment didn't quite elicit a smile, but did bring a thoughtful head-tilt. "I think perhaps I could learn something." Even if it wasn't the powers he possessed innately. He was... Intriguing. Leaning down to gather up their bag again, the Vaidya stood, turning in a semi-circle to regain their baring in the forest before preparing to retrace their steps. Unsure if that troll would be where they left him last.
yam — 08/30/2020
"They suffer. It manifests differently in different individuals. Often the Flesh seeks escape to a more suitable host, but the process of fusion has already taken place, and so for the Flesh to escape the host would be killed. Because the Flesh itself cannot live without a host, it must remain. It gradually takes over the entire body until it no longer has anything it can replace within, and it eventually dies." What a strange behaviour. It didn't seem to have a life cycle-- or if it did, it could not carry through with it if the 'fusion' failed.
"Likewise." given he had been the one to suggest he remain, Onnushi likely referred to the learning aspect. Everything was a learning experience for him. It was what mattered that remained with him. As the Vaidya gathered and rose, the Onnushi offered a polite albeit rigid bow of his head and uppermost body. He did not stand, nor offer any parting commentary. He simply closed his eyes and slowly grew rigid again, just as he had been when the doctor happened upon him originally.
AJ — 08/30/2020
"I see." It was something they wished to witness--however morbid and painful for the failed host. But they refrained from saying as much.
Perhaps because his bearing had already been rather otherworldly and odd, or maybe in part because they were already awkward and detached, his rigid nod was taken in stride, and they offered a little dip of their chin in kind before turning and striding off barefoot.
