2024.01.03 Foxy Lady!

Foxy Lady!
Sark meets a fox. No, a REAL fox!
IC Date	2024.01.03
IC Time	Late Evening
Players	Kaori, Sark
Location	Multiple locations - Starts at Prospect Roasters
Spheres	Shifter, Bygone

It might be late, but Roasters is the kind of place that might be open any hours as long as someone's buying drinks and snacks. Sark is currently in a very casual tshirt and jeans and sandals, camped out at the little Ms. Pac Man table, where he's acquired a large mug of cinnamon tea and a half destroyed chocolate chip muffin. At the moment hes munching on a piece of that muffin while idly watching out the door for the few people still out this late.

The door opens, and a moderately new arrival to Prospect enters. Kaori stretches as she moves for the counter, scanning the menu and ordering a chai tea and a chicken sandwich. While waiting, she looks around and nods at Sark.

Sark's smile brightens a bit when Kaori steps in, lifting his unoccupied hand to wiggle the fingers at her in a return greeting. He doesn't try to call across the shop, cause that would be rude, instead just mouths a 'hello' and takes a long sip of his tea.

Kaori smiles and, after receiving her food and tea, walks over. "May I?" She motions at one of the seats at the table.

Sark sits up a little when she approaches the game table and nods, guesturing at the three empty chairs, "By all means. I just like watching the screen. I've tried playing a couple of times, and as it turns out, apparently Im horrible at it."

Kaori smiles and sits. "I've never been good at these sorts of games, either. Glad to know I'm not the only one who likes late night tea and coffee." She grins a bit, sipping her tea.

Sark grins at that and rolls a shoulder, "I like coming out and watching people. Late at night it seems like it's a different type. During the day, its lots of people in their own little worlds, following their phones around or busy talking to someone on the other line. Sometimes not even watching where they are going..."

"That is unpleasant, especially when they aren't watching where they're going. Then they run into you and it's suddenly your fault and..." Kaori grumbles, a very slight growl under her breath.

He rumbles and nods, "Its more exciting during the day. I've seen three people now almost walk out in front of a bus because they didnt pay attention to the walk signal going red, and they tried to cross the street anyway. Each time, there was someone else paying more attention that stopped them. Fun stuff." He waggles his brows at that and takes a long sip from his mug. Whenhe puts it down, he offers a hand and murmurs, "Sarkesian. But just Sark is fine. I know its a mouthful."

"Satou Kaori." She shakes the offered hand, then sighs. "It's like they're trying to remove themselves from the world, almost." She shakes her head in exasperation.

He nods once at that and takes in a deep breath, glancing at the front door, "I wonder sometimes. People do not pay attention to their surroundings, especially in the city. And then people who want to do bad things end up being able to easily get what they want. Its hard to get people to pay attention, though."

Kaori sighs and nods. "Signs of the age, it seems. But things will improve, in time." She smiles, then takes a bite of her sandwich.

Sark smiles a little strangely at that and tilts his head, "You have more hope for that than I do. From where I sit, it feels like I am in the theater with a bag of popcorn watching humanity drive the truck off of the cliff." He tears another piece off of his muffin and tosses it into his mouth to chew on it

"Ah, well... life and time works on a cycle." Kaori grins a bit. "We may be entering into a low point in that cycle, but it will improve once it has passed that nadir." Another bite.

Sark tilts his head a little more curiously at that and props his elbows on the table to look her over again, "Will it? Lots of things have cycles, but since humans stood up on two legs here, things seem to have gone just one way. How do you know it will come back, as you say?"

Kaori coughs a bit mid-bite. Taking a moment, before swallowing. "... Interesting choice of words in that question. And... well, that's just how the world works."

Taking another sip of his tea, he sets the mug down, this time leaving his hands around it to warm his fingers up, "Well, just an observation that there doesnt seem to be anything cyclical about humanity. There just keeps being more and more and more of them. Enough that they aren't even really subject to the survival of the fittest rule of thumb the rest of the sentient kingdoms are. If you know they will come back into balance, that is definitely a good thing to hear, so forgive my curiosity."

<---======##====================[ Dice Roll ]=====================##======---> Kaori rolls Perception + Awareness vs 7 for 1 successes. 3 3 +10 <-------------=============++++++++++++++++++++++++=============------------->

Kaori blinks a few times, then her eyes go wide for a moment. "... I see. You seem to be a rather... interesting being. Sarkesian, you said your name was?"

Sark makes a curious sound when she calls him interesting and murmurs, "Most of the time, people see me, roll their eyes and mutter something about lazy teenagers. So finding that interesting is a refreshing response. Sarkesian. Sarkesian Goldstein. But really, just Sark is fine."

"Mmm... I have a feeling you're wise beyond your apparent years. Would you be one of the children of the Dragon Kings, perhaps?" Kaori idly asks as she sips her tea.

THAT is enough for Sark to pause and lift his mug up, taking a long drink from it while he watches her eyes. When he sets the mug back down, he at least looks amused, "Well, if that were true, that would make you a very observant young lady. And most humans can never hope to be THAT observant. Though that 'king' part shouldnt apply. That's just arrogance."

Kaori raises a brow. "Huh... but that's... hm. Are you part of a court, perhaps?"

He keeps that curious brow up at that question, "Court? No. I mean, not unless someone's forgotten to tell me." he pauses and grins bright enough to show his teeth, "Now that WOULD suck, wouldnt it? You live this long and a relative comes up and says 'oh, by the way...."

"... perhaps it would be prudent to continue this conversation in another place? One with less ears?" Kaori hms.

A small chuckle escapes him at that comment. He looks down at his mug, eyes it for a moment before upending it, then picks up the rest of his muffin to take with him, "Maybe is a good idea? While I am less...tight lipped about things, most of the other groups I have met in the city...are. And I dont want to get anyone in trouble for just having a conversation." With that said, he guestures to the door, "Now, the closest safe haven I could offer is an hour away by ferry, so perhaps you know of something closer?"

"I know of a place, yes." Kaori stands, and leads Sark away. Taking her sandwich to go.

Kaori will lead Sark into Chinatown, quickly escorting them to the Obok Suites. There, she has a quick conversation with another Japanese woman, who steps out and allows the pair to use her apartment. Kaori makes sure the windows and doors are closed and curtained before looking to Sark.

Sark offers a little wave of his hand to the woman leaving, watching her go before looking back at Kaori and murmuring, "Aww. We aren't kicking her out of her house, are we?"

"Chiaka was happy to let us use her apartment for a time. She's getting some sushi, on me, in recompense." Kaori hms. "So... you are not one of the Zhong Lung?"

He seems to accept that for the time being, but frowns a little at the phrasing used, "Zhong Lung? Never hear....oh waaaaaait. Okay, no. Im more Desolation of Smaug, not Raya and the Last Dragon. If that helps? Great Western Wyrm. not Eastern Drake."

Kaori's eyes go wide. "You... claim to be an ACTUAL dragon, then? Forgive me, but that is an extreme claim."

A small laugh escapes him at that and he considers for a moment, "Well, yes. I mean, you're the one that saw something you didnt like. So tell me. What did you see? I can NEVER get my form perfect enough for special people to get fooled by it. Which makes me wonder just what YOU are, young lady."

"... Scales." Kaori frowns a bit, her nose flaring slightly as she sniffs.

<---======##====================[ Dice Roll ]=====================##======---> Kaori rolls Perception + Primal Urge vs 6 for 1 successes. 1 2 4 +7 9 <-------------=============++++++++++++++++++++++++=============------------->

Kaori continues to frown. "... Are you willing to provide proof of your good intentions, or of your claim? If so, I can reciprocate with that knowledge."

She says scales and he frowns for a moment and looks down at his arms, and then sounds like a kid who is amused he got busted at hide and seek, "Damnit. Its always the skin. I get comfortable, I stop focusing on it as hard as I should and poof. Scaly skin. Damn, damn damn."

Kaori raises a brow. "So you... hm. I would anticipate most wouldn't notice, except you started talking about humans as an 'other', as in you were not such."

He rumbles a little at that, "Most of the time, people just glaze right over that and assume Im some prissy little liberal student trying to be all philosophical. So I suppose Im not quite as careful about that as I could be, but then...what is a normal going to think? They certainly arent going to jump to 'YOU ARE AN ANCIENT MONSTER!"

When she asks for PROOF, he pauses and looks up and around at the room and sounds unsure, "Uh, well, Im a little big. I think I might wreck your friend's furniture....oh! But!" He takes a moment to pull off a chain that's been around his neck under his shirt, to which is attached a small cellular phone. He hands that to her and murmurs, "I can show you a smaller version of me. I made it so I could hang out with my other special friends and not be the literal elephant in the room..."

"You could try to pass it off as body art." Kaori quips lightly. Then she examines the phone. "Is this a fetish? Or is there a picture on it you were meaning to show me?"

He looks confused for a moment at that and then grins and shakes his head, "Nono. Just hold onto it. Its one thing I dont like having on me when I change..." With that said, he holds up a finger in the universal 'wait a moment' sign and allows his body to...unravel, melting into a golden cloud that reforms itself into a rather small, cat-sized creature that finds a chair back to come to light on, shaking his wings out.

Kaori blinks slowly. "... Well. As I promised..." She stretches, as orange and white fur ripples over her form, her clothes melting away into nothingness, a bushy fox tail waving behind her and a foxlike face staring down at Sark. Now in her Koto form, she gives a foxy smile. "I have to say, meeting a literal dragon was not on my day's agenda."

The little dragon watches the form change and oooos softly, lifting his foreclaws up to actually clap, "And I havent ever met an actual fox before! But then Im not that old so I guess there's a lot I havent met yet. I thought kitsune we all on the other side of the oce...oh, THATS why you were asking about Zhong Lung. Right. Okay, okay, that makes sense now." His voice sounds REMARKABLY like the one he was using as the teenager, just to add a little strangeness to it.

"Well, you're likely much older than I am." Kaori gives a chuffing laugh. "And obviously we aren't all in the Middle Kingdoms now." She motions a clawed hand at herself, smirking.

He chirps at that and bobs his head, "Well, maybe so, but I slept for a lot of it. I came out here fleeing from the Europeans when they invaded, and I found the Spanish already here, and they almost killed me. So I found an island off the coast I could bury myself in and I slept for four hundred years."

"Quite a beauty sleep. And I can see how that might affect your view on humanity." Kaori nods. "The Centipede has had its claws in humanity for some time."

He mmmms softly at that, "Im not quite sure what that means, but I am having to learn a lot of things that I hadnt dealt with before I went to sleep. Perhaps fortunately in this year, humans think they control everything so there are no monsters to be afraid of. It means I can sit in a coffee shop all day and watch them while I try to figure out the best ways to help them avoid the doom they all seem to be heading towards."

"Ah, well, luckily things aren't quite as bad as the Sunset People seem to think." Kaori grins. "The Emerald Mother created the world to be cyclical, like I said. True, things are bad now, but once they reach the worst... they will inevitably improve, until things return to the world she created originally."

He listens intently to this, that little tail flicking around behind him to maintain his balance on his perch, "I have not been told about this Emerald Mother before, only about the Celestials that hold down the four corners of reality, but NOONE sees them anymore until its all over." He tilts his head, "I mean, I dont want to ask you a million questions and give your friend a heart attack when she comes back from sushi, but...if you use my phone and text yourself, maybe I can convince you to come out to the island some time and we can talk more? Do you like big horses?"

Kaori laughs. "To be fully honest... She won't be returning until I text her to say she can. At worst, she'll go stay with another of my clan. So that isn't a risk. But I'm quite willing to answer questions, if you're willing to do the same. You'll understand that some things I can't say, though. Technically, my showing you this" she motions at herself "is already risky enough..." She raises a brow. "Horses? An odd question, but yes?"

He bobs his head, "Nono. I get it. Some groups have Rules which means they are not allowed to talk to others that are not them about things. Which I understand, but it makes me sad that I cant learn. And yes, horses. I own a ranch out on the island that has Friesians and Shetland Ponies, and llamas and chickens. And lots and lots of open space. I just have to be careful since its wide open space to not let my scales out for too long - Stella's informed me of things like Landsat taht could take pictures from space and I dont need to give the military a good shot of my scaly ass..."

"Actually, the Beast Courts don't have a Mandate about that. That's a thing for the Sunset People. Granted, it's generally common sense, especially in this Age, but it's not a Rule for us as you say." Kaori grins, tail twitching behind her. "But there are still secrets." She laughs a bit. "I suppose that's a benefit of being smaller in my beast form, I doubt a fox would stand out on spy sat."

Kaori looks mildly hungry when you mention chickens.

The little dragon grins a bit at that and bobs his head again, "Well, to be formal then I guess, I am Sarkesian the Gilded. Goldstein is just a name that goes with the identity Stella created for me, because otherwise I would not be able to 'own' the property. but still...Sark is just fine. Normally I look exactly like this, just maybe around nine or ten feet at the shoulder, and unfortunately there arent many of us around anymore. When humans started taking over, a lot of my relatives fled to the other Realms and did not come back..."

"Our legends of the Great Dragons say similar, though they say they'll return once the wheel begins to turn upwards again." Kaori smiles. "A formal greeting from me, then. I am Satou Kaori, rited Blade-Biter, Shinju Eji Kitsune, Wood Fist of the Beast Courts of the Emerald Mother." She gives a deep bow to the dragon.

Again, he listens intently and ooos softly when she finishes, "That's a very long name. You sound like one of my elders when they feel like Im not listening to them. 'You know who you're talking to, whelpling??'" and then grins for a moment and adds, "I am very happy to meet you, though I suppose I shoud be using 'Kaori' in public so I dont get anyone in trouble. However, if there IS something I can help you with, I am always happy to try and help out. There are enough bad influences in this city that I feel like every little nudge is worth it."

Kaori grins wider. "I think we have similar experience with our Elders. Yes, Satou Kaori is my name among humans. I'm surprised you didn't ask me to define some of the things I said, every time I've introduced myself to someone here, they have about thirty questions afterwards."

He grins again and chirps, "I understand what a rite name is. The name you earned from something you did when you were younger. The rest...I have heard of the Beast Courts in passing but never had a chance to sit down with someone and ask them to tell me all about them. When we sleep, the rest of us are loosely connected with our blood and I catch bits and pieces of what are on other drakes' minds. Its not always clear and not always complete. Its more like having a chat channel on all the time which you can only glance at and catch snippets of. If that makes sense?"

"Huh... that's interesting. I suppose it does make sense, though I've not heard of such a thing before..." Kaori considers. "Heh... yes, the rite name is something we earn in our Rite of Passage. In my case, I wanted to learn how to use a katana in my fox form, so often was seen biting a blade, in a literal sense. No, it did not work very well." She chuckles.

Sark trills a little, might be what passes for a laugh when you're tiny with a long neck, "I bet it did not! So what is a 'Wood Fist'? THAT one, I have not heard before. And OOOO! OOO, do you really get multiple tails? Ive heard StOriEs!" His voice does vibrate a bit with the last, like a kit getting excited that Santa might be coming.

Kaori grins more and finds a seat. "Well. Wood is my rank, it's the first rank of recognition. Fist is my auspice. It means I am a warrior at heart. And yes, as we become stronger, we do gain more tails. My mother, before she returned to the Emerald Mother's embrace, had four."

When she talks about really getting extra tails, he cranes his head around to look at his own butt and wiggles that bladed tip around, while chirping contemplatively, "I'm not even sure how that would work..." then looks back at her, "But then yours would be fluffy and petable, I suppose. So much cuter."

Kaori grins and wags her tail. "Thank you. Most beings likely would look odd with multiple tails, I think the reason we don't is that like most of the hengeyokai, we are both physical and spiritual beings at once. So the biological is somewhat... fuzzy." She smirks at her pun.

He ohhhhs softly and nods, "I guess that would do it, right? I dont think we have anything like that. I know when we die, the Wheel brings us back as another dragon and we remember all of our previous trips, until the Wheel decides we have learned everything we can...and takes all of that knowledge and sends it back to the world, while we get to go be something else. Unfortunately I think this is my first time around because I dont remember any of my past lives."

Kaori perks as the Wheel is mentioned. "Huh... So, you do have a wheel, but it's not for the world as a whole, but for your own existance?"

Slowly he bobs his head, "That is what it was explained to me. The Wheel controls the flow to and from the world. When your time is over, you return to it, and it reshapes you into what you become next. It could be the same Wheel you speak of? Sometimes stories are told in certain ways to certain people because that is what they will understand better."

Kaori adjusts her sitting to be a bit more comfortable. "Well, the Wheel that I was talking about is the Wheel of Ages. A set of twelve Ages that move in a cycle, from the Age of Dawning when the the world was in a perfect, harmonious state, before the Emerald Mother created the San Yuan. After this, the cycle continued, and we are in the Fifth Age, the Age of Shadows currently." She glances towards the curtained windows. "Close to the lowest point in the cycle, we sit at the verge of the next Age, the Age of Sorrow. When the perfection of the harmonious state has been broken completely. The Sunset People call this the Apocalypse, from what I have been told."

That little brow of scales furrows as he listens to her then slowly shakes his head, "Okay, no, so not the same Wheel at all. And yeah, the apocalypse thing is what I feel like everyone is heading for, but the rest of my relatives believe that when that happens, it will break this realm. But the others that stayed like me feel that if this realm IS damages or destroyed, the damage will spill into the realms it connects to directly, like the Umbra and the Astral plane, and the damage might not be stoppable. The REAL end to reality. So we stay and we try to nudge them to something less...destructive."

Kaori shakes her head. "To say that things would break that completely... that implies that the creation of the Emerald Mother is flawed, when it is, in truth, perfect. Just fractured. When it reaches the lowest point, the Wheel will continue to turn, and things will heal. But it must reach that point, otherwise things will not have the opportunity to improve. That isn't to say that working to make things better is pointless, as there is always room for compassion and warmth to other beings, but... on a cosmic scale, it is inevitable that the world will reach the low point- and pass into a better time."

At that, he rumbles again and bounces just a little on his perch, "One one claw, I hope you are right, because that is a better ending than what I see coming. On the other hand, I dont think any of my relatives would agree with you. BUT...regardless who might be right, it isnt a bad thing to try to help people be good HERE. And if you..." He stops when the phone he gave her starts chiming, and he continues, "Well, crap. I have to get back to the island, BUT...text me? I would invite you out and can have some food delivered or made up if you let me know what you like? Normally I just grab a shark out of the ocean, but not everyone is into REALLY fresh seafood."