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"I've had some ... strange ... dreams," Kiko comments, lowering her crossbow. "But nothing as strange as what I've experienced so far. Are we sure we're actually awake?" She takes a moment to pinch her own arm and grimaces, disappointed. "Oh, well. That would have made this all a lot easier." She glances back at those they've been tasked with protecting. "We need to make sure they're unharmed."
Rather than loading and firing her crossbow, Kiko moves back away from the direct conflict. Her hope is that the dancing dinnerware will be forced to focus on either Akira or herself, rather than catching both in the slashing cloud. She then casts a spell of healing upon Akira.
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With the kitchen implements battering her left and right, Kiko struggles but still loads her crossbow. Rather than firing at the animated articles, she takes aim at the apron and lets the bolt fly.
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"It really, really doesn't," Kiko agrees. With a quick word she places a minor protection on Usagi before the masked woman moves forward.
She then readies her crossbow. Current Status/Spells:
"I think splitting up would be ... bad," Kiko suggests. "We talked to Old Matsuki first. He should know the bridge is cleared. We can tell Granny Hu after that."
"Your mother was a ... what?" Kiko questions in confusion as she fumbles with her crossbow attempting to reload the heavy weapon.
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"It's a buso!" Kiko calls out. "They eat people!" Any internal moral conflict having been resolved at the remembrance that this drunken being is cannibalistic, the oracle sends some healing energy in Usagi's direction before firing again.
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Kiko frowns as she raises her crossbow. Something about this seemingly intoxicated foe seems ... familiar.
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Finally having ceased to repeatedly apologize to those damaged by her misstep with the trap, Kiko nods in agreement with Usagi. "We ... we need to light the lantern and stop any more of ... any more damage," she offers in a quiet voice.
Pulling herself from under a timber that prevented more serious damage, Kiko looks around in dismay. "No! No, no, no!" she cries out, her hands flying to her mouth. "That wasn't at all how it was supposed to work!" Her eyes squeeze shut and she stretches out her hands, dispersing healing energy all around her.
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"No, wait," Kiko says hesitantly as her eyes follow the various connections. "This isn't too different from some of the mechanisms at the paper mill." Unfortunately, 'too different' is different enough.
Whether Kiko hasn't noticed the red dripping from her clothing, or whether she's choosing to ignore it is not readily apparent. She sits quietly in her wet clothes, staring at the nearest lantern. "I ... I would like to stay here tonight ... and ... and rest." She turns to Akira. "Could we do that?"
Between the unknown voice that could hold any sort of threat imaginable - and Kiko certainly has a expansive imagination - and the rain of blood, the oracle chooses the non-sanguine of the two, moving towards the voice.
Kiko's eyes light up. Not having considered the possibility that the good doctor might have his own shrine, Akira's suggestion helps alleviate the young woman's stress regarding finding other ways to bless the needed coins. "Yes, it would benefit us greatly and help us push all the restless spirits back to the woods," Kiko adds.
Kiko gives a nervous glance at Akira. She's never felt comfortable prevaricating and the woman's slightly misleading statement didn't sit well. She doesn't counter the explanation, though, and waits for Dami's response.
As the others move into melee with the peculiar centipedes, Kiko takes careful aim and fires again.
"Let's start with the centipedes and see where we go from there," Kiko suggests as she swings her crossbow up into play and fires at one of the bloodthirsty bugs.
"Then ... then how are we supposed to get across?" Kiko asks, frowning. "Do we try to make the other bridge?" She gestures vaguely in the direction she remembers the other bridge being. "I don't know anything about boats or fixing boats."
Kiki's seems occupied as her eyes look over the assembled villagers. With no sign of Elizeth, she shakes her head in frustration. "Yes, let's head out," she says in agreement. As they're leaving, she considers the situation for a moment or two before speaking up. "Would it be okay if we checked the cathedral?" she questions. "I'm really worried about Mother Candora."
"It feels like something's angry," Kiko offers as, like Usagi, her eyes move from shadow to shadow as her hands clutch at her large crossbow. She considers reminding Akira of the first practice; 'Don't call a ghost a ghost', but she refrains. Akira probably knows the practices better than she does and that would be rude. "The question is; Is it angry at something specific or just blindly lashing out?"
"We need to go to the temple," Kiko insists. "Elizeth fūrén will know what to do."
Kiko nods in agreement with Usagi's assessment of the bites. She's just about to begin a search for the threatening snakes when they're challenged from the tower. "Uh ... Do not call a ghost a ghost," she begins shakily. Elizeth had drilled into her the practices early on to help her fit in to the village. She'd memorized them and put them into practice, but no one besides the priestess had ever asked her to recite them. "Don't pat people on the head or shoulders," she continues. "Which shouldn't need to be said. That's like telling people not to pee in the well - it's stupid and self-evident. Stay out of the water when ghosts are around. Don't eat food with two sticks in it. Make sure the laundry is inside before nightfall." She ponders and then counts on her fingers. "Oh, and don't turn around if someone calls out your name at night."
"A prophecy?" Kiko questions, turning to Akira. "What is the prophecy?"
"Who would have taken Ugly Cute?" Kiko questions as they examine the vandalized shrine. She looks around them at the thickening mists. "This lamp is out. Is it possible the eternal lamp is also out?" she questions. "Would that explain everything going on?"
Kiko pulls an oversized crossbow from under her cloak and sets her sights on one of the chitinous attackers.
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Looking around the clearing, Kiko feels a familiar disorientation descend upon her. Four years ago she suffered something very similar - waking up in a place that was unknown. Shadows threaten the edge of her vision before she shakes it off. This is different, she reassures herself. Waking up in the village's graveyard carried with it the clouded mind of forgetfulness. She had had no idea how she got there or where she came from and only a vague sense of who she was. This time she knew who she was. She knew where she was previously. The only discontinuity was how did she get here. She looks around and is comforted by the sight of her fellow 'hostages'. Whatever was going on, she wasn't facing it alone. 'You're a part of the village now, Kiko,' Elizeth had told her with a smile. 'It'll be fun and a good bonding exercise. This'll be good for you.' Deciding that this would certainly spawn a conversation over tea when she returned, Kiko checked her belongings before slipping free from the mat and noted again that this wasn't the mat she was originally wrapped in. Shaking her head in confusion as to how she didn't awaken upon being moved from one to the other, she climbs to her feet. "So," she says to the others. "Do we wait any longer for Choe or do we head back ourselves?" |
