RP:Dreams of the Beazu-Gawa
Summary: After their chance meeting in Chartsend, Kanna and Tetsu have tea in a watercolor rendition of a place in the Mortal Realm that can only be found now in the Realm of Dreams.
The late summer breeze whistles through the trees that cover the Western Moegara Mountain Range, their swaying and rustling joining the discordant melody of the cicadas singing out from deep within the ancient forest that dotted it. Higher up the mountains on a peak that overlooked the Temple of Arhken and the Beazu-gawa that flowed beneath it laid a small, flattened outcropping, one that had been cleared and turned into a lookout point eons ago. Like most of Tetsu’s dreams, it was placid and unremarkable here, the bright hues painted across the sky like watercolors, a perfectly normal occurrence in the realm of dreams. There, in this flat outcropping, Tetsu relaxes in a hammock, the smoke from a small campfire rising to twist into impossible geometric patterns in the sky as he stares upwards after it. There was no sun and there were no moons, just an ever-changing wash of colors that was as mesmerizing as it was disorienting, impossible to determine night from day despite the level of light always being stable. “Hmmm,” the foxkin grumbles about it, but he pays it no mind, his green eyes drifting away to gaze westward across the horizon to see what else could be spotted, a simple wooden pipe brought up to rest between his lips.
Opposite the starless horizon that Tetsu faces, there is a shift in the rocky cliff face of the mountains. It is a subtle change, like the changing of air currents when a nearby door drifts open. As silently as a theatre’s curtain lifts to start a play, charcoal shale transforms into thick rose stems, with thorns as large as one’s hand protruding outwards. Kanna’s hands tentatively grip the bars of the rose-thorn cage built into the mountains and watches the relaxing ronin curiously. “Aren’t you afraid? It's not safe out there.” Kanna asks from her distance. Inside the cage, the bardess wears a gown of pale pink rose petals, with a headpiece of the same petals decorating the crown of her head. In the curious light, the inside of the cage aside from the woman’s visage are not visible, but it is clear that the gate of thorns also faces inwards. The sharp edges of the thorns press against Kanna’s stomach as she looks out at Tetsu. “You can bring your hammock in here, if you’d like.”
Tetsu does his best not to seem surprised as his gaze shifts to stare at the woman in the thorny prison, the foxkin blowing a cloud of purple and green hued smoke into the air about his head. Slowly he shifts and places his feet on the ground, hitting his pipe once more before he answers her. “Life in the cage might be safer,” he says, viridescent eyes scanning over the pink roses of her gown for a moment before he continues, “But that’s no life at all. Instead, how about you come out and join me? I promise to keep you safe from any wolves roaming the mountainside.” He exhales again, this time the smoke turning bright pink and blue like cotton candy as it floats up into the air to become melded with the vast watercolor painting above. "Do you need help getting out?"
Kanna’s brows furrow in confusion at his words. “The world outside the thorns is dangerous. There are always those who want to tear the petals from my gown for their own gain, without regard for what I want. Have you not been hurt as well?” The thorns expand, and Kanna cries out in pain as they force her into only one standing position. The lights of the watercolor skies shift, illuminating the inside of her cage. The thorns not only peirce those who attempt to break through, but pierce those who try to get out. On the opposite end of the cage, there are dozens of bodies outside of the gates, with bloodied arms that have fallen limp from trying to get inside, some of which have torn rose petals in their lifeless clutches. If they were once human, they no longer look it, as their faces have distorted into lupine maws that hang open in silent screams. All around her, the thorns of her enclosure dig into her skin, where rose petals fall out from her wounds in lieu of blood. If she notices the injuries, she does not show it, instead seeming more fearful of Tetsu. “How do I know you are not a wolf as well?”
Tetsu was about to respond to Kanna’s question, but her cries of pain quickly evaporated the air of calm he had tried to preserve here, disrupting the serenity. “No, no… this won’t do…” The foxkin rises, lifting a censor filled with holy incense, leaving his pipe behind in its place. “Nakunatta Bakemono… Nakunatta Bakemono…” Between his chants Tetsu blows into the censor, a tiny orange flame igniting the incense held within, creating a heavy, golden fog that slowly grew and billowed around him, smelling of lemongrass and citrus fruit. The fog flows through the vines, purifying energies trying to push back against the tide of darkness. “A wolf, Miss? I’ll have you know I’m a fox, not a wolf.” He stops just short of the living cage, out of reach of the thorns. “People may try to hurt you out here, it's true, but the pain and isolation you will feel trapped in there will be greater. Just look.” Tetsu gestures at the monstrous, bloody arms that reached out for her. “That’s all you have to look forward to- but the choice has to be yours. I can’t force you out of a cage of your own making.”
Kanna’s shoulders droop as the golden fog envelops her from the cage. “You smell like summertime… The wolves always smell like the rotting leaves of autumn…” She says softly, leaning her head against the woody stems of the roses. With a silent command from her subconscious, the thorns retract until they are a reasonable size once again, then twist in on themselves until they have transformed into roses. They bloom fully as Kanna gives a wary glass at the deceased wolves again and steps away from them. When her back presses against the cage, the thorny brambles part to allow her passage out. “I wonder if that makes me someone of the spring or the wintertime.” She steps out towards the cliff, where Tetsu’s empty hammock sways in an unfelt wind. Turning to face the ronin, Kanna tilts her head to one side. “Though, don’t foxes eat flowers too?” Looking back out at the watercolor skies, the strange woman in the rose petal dress adds with a sad smile, “I suppose I wouldn’t mind being killed now that I’ve gotten to see such a beautiful sky and felt the summertime again, though.”
“The summertime is not over just yet.” Tetsu muses as he follows after, the golden haze covering the ground like a vision from Praemia, swirling around them as they walk through the area, “But soon the slow decay of autumn will give way for the wolves… Then I will even have to prepare a shelter for the winter.” Tetsu moves to the small campfire he has made and stokes it with a small stick, setting his incense off to the side to smolder on its own. Soon the warm, orange glow of the fire enchants the golden fog, transforming it into a bronze color instead. Deep, green eyes flicker back over his shoulder, a single eyebrow raised when Kanna suggests she wouldn’t mind being killed. “Miss…” No, nevermind, not touching that one. “Are -you- hungry?” He gestures to his iron rice kettle, which sits next to the fire. “I don’t have much, but I’ll always share my rice and tea with anyone.”
The bard watches the forests below the mountain range. A family of bears wades into the rivers beneath the trees, and the bright red birds resting atop their backs seem to be thankful for the ride to the watering hole. In the world of dreams, they move like fluid watercolors across a canvas, their forms blurred at the edges the more she tries to focus on them. There are no humans and no wolves, though, and for that, the bardess is thankful. “If you will protect me, then I will repay you by giving you shelter from the winter.” Kanna turns and smiles at Tetsu, floating over to his campfire. She hovers around him, looking up at his viridian eyes like a curious rabbit examines an unusual plant; the way her eyes light up when he touches the iron rice kettle looks like an enthusiastic silent yes to his offer. “What kind of teas do foxes like, I wonder?” She asks, taking a seat near the safety of the incense burner.
Tetsu finds himself hesitating for just a moment when Kanna hints at sheltering him from the winter, the idea of living under her roof lingering as the cicadas sing in the placid summer sky. The watercolors have deepened and turned a warm red, imitating an evening twilight with pinks and purples creating a mock sunset. “I…” He stares into Kanna’s eyes for a long moment, lost in her influence, but finally he pulls out of it and looks down at his tea set. Two simple wooden cups are placed upon a small stump the foxkin has been using as a table, and he pours them each a cup of the green tea. “I like calming jasmine tea. You can never go wrong with it.” After they were poured, steam rising from the surface, he fixed them each a bowl of white rice and provided them both with chopsticks. “Sharing tea with a fascinating stranger is one of life’s true delights.” He says, but as he does he seems to recognize something about Kanna. Were they truly strangers or had they met before? Again, Tetsu finds himself entranced by the bard’s mystery, his hand hovering just over his cup of tea.
Kanna takes the wooden cup with a smile and a soft thanks. The warmth from the hot tea pours into her hands and down her arms as if to warm her heart. Her heart feels fuller as she drinks the tea. It is by far the sweetest thing she has ever tasted, with its floral tones making the dryad’s heart nestled within her own flutter with a happiness Kanna has never felt before. “Wow…” She breathes out as she sets the cup down, her face flushed from the warmth. The woman gives a small shiver as the wind picks up. As she does, the rose petals of her dress seem to shiver too, their soft pink hues shedding like pixie dust to reveal a deep violet-red that covers her shoulders and arms to protect them from the cold mountain evenings. “A fascinating stranger you are indeed. I wish I could drink this tea forever.” She smiles, seeming oblivious to the hesitation in Tetsu’s motions. “Ahaha, maybe if we could serve everyone a cup of tea, there wouldn’t need to be a need to fear others. Then, we wouldn’t need to fear the winter and the wolves.”
Tetsu finds himself smiling at Kanna’s reaction, a curious glimmer in his green eyes. It was nice to finally have someone to share a cup of tea with so he doesn’t deny himself the moment, slowly sipping his own drink as she speaks, his previous hesitation seemingly unnoticed by the bard. The foxkin chuckles at Kanna’s words, setting his cup down in unison with her. “I’m afraid tea won’t satisfy their hunger,” he starts, referring to the wolves as he watches the twilight turn to evening, deep purple and blues dominating the watercolor skies now. As the dream dims and the air chills, Tetsu adds another log to the fire. “I could offer them a bowl of my rice,” he jokes. “Of course I can’t stop their hunger all by myself. You cannot bring peace to the entire island but you can at least not relish in their hunger. Anything we can do, no matter how small, will contribute to the bigger picture.” The fire grows between them, his eyes reflecting the fire as he watches Kanna’s reactions. “But not all wolves live in the wild, do they?” He pauses for a moment, leading Kanna into his clarifying question. “Some are wolves of the heart and mind.” He sips his tea again. “What sort of wolves hunt for you?”
The bardess looks up at Tetsu as his innocuous metaphor leads Kanna into his true question. “What sort, I wonder…” Kanna muses. The fire before them grows and shifts as though reacting to her wondering. In it, there are flashes of highly disturbing imagery as the flames crackle and turn inwards on themselves. The sunset watercolors create vague visions of bodies strewn across ballroom floors, of bloated faces hanging from nooses, and of hands with insectoid claws reaching towards the eye. "No...!" Kanna says, dropping the wooden teacup as she looks on in horror. An unfelt wind distorts the watercolor flames, and a young girl who looks rather like the woman that sits next to Tetsu now looks at her bruised and swollen face in a cracked mirror as she uses river water to scrub the dirt from the petals covering her arms. When the vision of the person in the fire looks up to the mirror again, the face has transformed into that of a wolf as well. Each vision lasts for but a heartbeat, but are unnerving enough should Tetsu continue to stare at the fire’s betrayal. Kanna turns away from the visages flashing across the fire and stands, holding her hand out. “Stop!” A blizzard of petals pours from the skies to conceal the visions, creating a three-way divide between Tetsu, Kanna, and the fire. “Wolves live in the wilds and cities alike, disguised as persons with good intentions.” Silver-white hair blows around Kanna’s face with the rain of petals returning to her form to create thorns on her body that are more imposing than those that defended her in the cage, leaving only her sky blue eyes visible from between the curls. Her eyes stay trained on Tetsu, but fear is betrayed from behind their glare. “And if you’re not careful, they will turn your heart to rot so that you become one of them.”
Tetsu feels the changing of the tides, a shift of ephemeral darkness powerful enough to shatter his placid paradise. The watercolor skies stain red like blood and the beautiful clouds shift into baleful storms as the incetoid claws rip their filaments to shreds. Tetsu’s dream sanctum has finally been violated and to announce such a catastrophe, a predatory howl echoes throughout the mountainside. The wolves that lurk there have taken notice and are closing in fast. The foxkin’s gaze breaks away from the vision in the flames only as they encircle them, snapping and snarling, and the samurai rises to draw his blade. The steel of Tetsu’s katana glows a bright white, pushing back against the rising darkness and keeping the wolves, some of whom walked on two legs, at bay. Turning the tip of the blade up into the air, the pious swordsman takes a holy pose and the radius of the divine light slowly expands, pushing the wolves back away from them. “No,” Tetsu argues, “Allowing your heart to rot is a conscious decision. We choose to walk the path of the wolf but that is not a decision we are locked into.” A second burst of light magic pushes against the creatures just beyond, wolves and bandits that have transformed into unrecognizable monstrosities as Kanna’s flower petals dance in the billowing wind around them. Then Tetsu turns to face her, dark green eyes locked onto the sky blue gaze that peeks out from behind her thorns. In this moment he finally recognizes her as the woman he met in Chartsend. “Kanna!” The foxkin calls out to her, “No matter how much your heart succumbs to the rot of evil we are never too far from redemption so long as we never lose hope.” A third burst of divine radiation pulses against the encroaching murk before he continues. “That is the real power of Arkhen’s Light; Hope. When I look into your eyes I do not see hatred and hunger- I see that you are filled with kindness. Hold onto this kindness wherever you go and Arkhen’s Light will never fade from you. You will never become one of them.”
Kanna draws her arms around herself as the cacophony of the song of the end tears through the dream. “It’s not…?” The words are so faint that Kanna cannot hear herself say them aloud. They are but murmurs compared to the sound of her pulse drowning out the screams of the monstrosities forming around their campfire. The ground buckles beneath her feet, and only then does she realize that she is going to die here. Tetsu’s voice calls out through the nightmare as the bardess feels herself fall slowly, ever so slowly towards the Beazugawa River below. As he turns to see her fall, Kanna’s eyes lock onto his, and she sees him truly. “Tetsu...” Kanna calls for him, clutching her hands to her chest as though she were clutching his words to her heart. Then, the world spins, and the river rises up to welcome her into the watery grave. She feels the thorns that protect her wither and slog off, and watches Tetsu fight above as the fire in her lungs grows. Kanna was going to die here.
Tetsu watches as Kanna sinks into the dark waves. He wants to help her, to save her from her watery fate but he is powerless to stop it. He grits his teeth, cursing himself for his weakness as the darkness swells up in one last attempt, one last assault against him. When the foxkin looks up the wolves and bandits are gone, replaced by the ghoulish apparitions of defeated samurai, some full of cuts and gashes. One steps forward and Tetsu recognizes him as the former master of the dojo he once studied under. The sight unnerves him, the grim face of his former teacher twisting and distorting, growing with the mounting evil that flows around him and swallows him up like the ocean had to Kanna moments before…
Then her eyes open, and Kanna takes a deep, gasping breath. There was no river here, just cheaply stuffed pillows in the Chartsendian inn. The feathers of one of the pillows had escaped and was preventing her from breathing. With a cranky hum, Kanna plucks the feather from her nose and looks out. The twin moonlight seeps through the wooden blinds, barely illuminating the room enough that she can see the outline of the bodyguard she met today. Kanna watches Tetsu’s figure rise and fall in the deep rhythm that sleep provides for a moment. ‘When I look into your eyes I do not see hatred and hunger- I see that you are filled with kindness.’ The words replay in her mind as she watches him. “What a strange dream.” She whispers aloud. Tetsu’s figure starts, and Kanna gasps and lays back down to feign sleep until it truly comes back to her. No matter, she reasons, the dream means nothing, and neither does their contract.