RP:The Black Lotus Revisited, Day 0
Summary: After being exiled from Vailkrin and self-exiling herself from the Necromancer's Guild, Kanna sets out to Chartsend to follow up on a completed Necromancer's Guild quest after learning that the poisonous flower is about to become a serious problem. There, she crosses paths with Tetsu, who saves her from having to eat lunch with a drunken group of guardsmen, and offers him a job as her bodyguard while she prepares to uncover the matter in the coming days.
Sea-La-Vie
If you want to meet local people this is the place to be. Everyone from the lowest field hand to the e Tenebris themselves frequent the inn. Smoked eels hang from the ceiling, their preparation a closely guarded local secret, something to do with the dark, warm places they are cured. You are most likely to find friendly wenches serving drinks, keen to earn the extra gold. There's a jovial air to the inn apart from the darkest corner where a group of men, who look like smugglers, talk quietly, heads together. Two off-duty guardsmen occasionally glance at them from their seats at the bar. A door lies at the back of the inn. This leads to a large square with buildings running off it and a sandy track winding South. A battered board gives some messages posted about the local area.
Chartsend was an unusual place, even to someone as accustomed to port cities as Kanna was. The city could easily be divided down by the vacation homes of the wealthy, and the humble homes of the workers who kept the city’s tourism industry alive. It is here in Sea-La-Vie that the bardess watches all people come together regardless of wealth or status, and here she hopes she will overhear a clue towards what she is searching for, or find a comrade that can protect her should things go south in her quest. The restaurant part of the area is at capacity, and so Kanna sits at one of the few spots at the bar. A plain white dress with a leather bustier to match her leather heels adorns her form as she swirls a unique mixed drink of coffee, rum, and vanilla bean cream. A large hand brushes against the small of her back, and the woman stiffens as a young man wearing the uniform of the guards leans over her. “Did your boyfriend stand you up, miss?” Kanna’s eyes dart left and right, but the barista and serving team are nowhere to be seen. She taps the glass twice with a polished painted nail and shoots a dazzling smile up at the man. “He’s actually coming to meet me right now.” The guard leans in close to her face, causing her smile to falter. He reeks like liquor. “Why don’t you come have a drink with me and my friends while you wait, then?”
Tetsu arrives at the Sea-La-Vie with perfect timing, just in time to catch the guard rudely leering at Kanna and making suggestions to join him despite her telling him she wasn’t interested. The foxkin sighs, pulling his bamboo kasa down over his green eyes as he slowly approaches, trying to figure out the best way to solve this woman’s issue. “Hey, Satsuki! Sorry I’m late!” Tetsu uses the first name he can think of, suddenly rushing over to Kanna to create a barrier between her and the drunken guard that pesters her, pretending to be this boyfriend she mentioned. He feins being out of breath, as if he ran all this way. The guard tries to interject but each time he speaks Tetsu cuts him off, filling the gaps with boring small talk like, “I got caught up.” “I hope you didn’t have to wait long.” “Did you order for us already?” Eventually the guard loses interest and walks back to his group, shooting a glare into the back of the foxkin’s head. With him gone, Tetsu sits down next to her and lowers his voice so that only she would hear him. “Sorry Miss,” he whispers, fishing around inside of his gray haori kimono for his wooden pipe. “I’ll only sit here until your partner arrives,” He glances back at the group who are now whispering amongst themselves as well, a disapproving ‘hmm’ in response to what he sees. “Or until they leave.”
Kanna looks at the stranger that calls her by another islanders’ name, and takes the shot. “Ryuya!” She beams, squirming out from the drunkard and wrapping both arms around one of Tetsu. “Silly, this is early by your standards.” The bard makes sure to press her cleavage against the stranger’s arm for good measure so the guard takes the hint. Kanna continues the small talk until she breaks the semi-embrace and takes a seat next to him at the bar. “No, thank you very much for stepping in when you did, I’m the one that should be sorry. I can ward one off by myself, but not while their friends are watching.” She whispers back. She leans in slightly, trying to get a look at his face underneath the kasa. The bartender arrives with a light for Tetsu’s pipe and an order for a drink. In a normal voice, she adds, “Are you from the old Rynvale colonies, or do you just like their style of dress? There’s nothing wrong with either of those, I’m just curious.”
Tetsu buys himself time to answer by leaning forward to accept the light from the bartender after ordering a plum wine for himself. Deep green eyes peer out from under his wide bamboo hat to examine Kanna’s own expression. He blows the rich, fruity smelling smoke away from both of them before he answers her question simply. “I am.” This is all the information Tetsu was willing to tell about himself to a stranger, though the more he looks at Kanna the more familiar she appears. Perhaps he knew her parents or something long ago… The foxkin shifts his kasa back, careful to keep his ears concealed as he brushes stray silver hairs from his face and scratches the out of control stubble on his chin. “You’re an islander too, aren’t you?”
The bard gives a smile this time, a genuine one this time. “I am. I was born on the Castle Isle of Ikari.” She leaves it at that, averting her eyes to take a look at the group of guards, the disgruntled one of which is still glaring in their direction. Kanna knows she’s lying by omission by implying that she is one of the merchants or servant houses, and not of the royal house itself, but surely this man would not know the specifics of such a small isle that was just one of hundreds out in the Selenian Sea. “Isn’t it nice that so many people are wearing the Old Rynvale style of clothing now? It wasn’t like that at all just a few years ago, so I got acclimated to the Lithrydelian style to blend in.” It strikes her then. These two islanders look like a perfectly ordinary couple just sitting here at the bar. If she was looking for a bodyguard, who better than someone who would blend in perfectly alongside her? Kanna turns her head back to Tetsu, giving the sly kind of smile of someone who has an idea. “Say, what do you do for a living, my dear Ryuya? Are you open to side gigs?”
Tetsu doesn’t particularly care one way or another if Kanna was from a noble or lowborn family, it was interestly enough that she was from Ikari. The plum wine comes with two small wooden cups next to it, and the foxkin drops the last few coins from his coin purse to pay for it. “Well, my dear Satsuki, it looks like I -am- in need of work.” He pours them both a cup. “Depending on what you need done. I’m not gonna kill anyone for you are anything…” At least not if he could help it. Sometimes these things couldn’t be avoided however. Tetsu glances over his shoulder to check on the group of guards before reaching forward to grab his cup. “Are you traveling alone or something? I can’t imagine what you’d need a swordsman for…”
The bardess glances down at the very lightly clinking pouch and gives an inquisitive hum. “I am traveling alone. Have been for quite a while, but that was fine when I wasn’t looking into certain disturbances.” Kanna accepts the cup of plum wine, pushing her finished cup of the mixed drink towards the bartender to dispose of. Her voice lowers so that the people around cannot eavesdrop without being obvious. “I am in need of a bodyguard in the event that my investigation gets me into more trouble that I can get myself out of, as my skills are not useful in all situations. There is--” A hand like a bear paw lands on Kanna’s shoulder, brushing against the bare skin of her neck. The woman gasps and spins around to assess the surroundings. The table of guardsmen has paid their bill and cleared out, save for the lone drunkard, and the few other patrons of the bar keep their back turned in a silent admission of their unwillingness to intervene. “Hey. If you need a -real- man, lemme give you my quarter number.” The drunkard slurs, politeness be damned. The hand he’s grabbed her with has a wedding ring on it. Kanna has decidedly had enough and grips his hand, her nails digging into the back of his hand while her eyes bore into his, her smile now gone. A wave of bardic magic pulsates from her plump form while she puts a charm on the old fool. “When I let go of your hand, you are going to leave this place and go home. You will beg for your wife to forgive you for being a lecherous, unfaithful man.” And then, she lets go.
Tetsu brings his cup to his lips about the same time the guard came back to disturb Kanna, letting her know what bunk was his in the barracks, and the swordsman was getting ready to think of a way to deal with him when Kanna solves the issue herself. He watches as the guard stumbles back, turns, and leaves the bar as if possessed by a spirit, his brow rising slightly at the display. A long, neutral ‘hmm’ vibrates in his throat as he faces forward once more. “Are you certain you need my help, Miss? You seem pretty formidable by yourself…” A low grumble in his stomach reminds him that he still needs money, so he figures he should accept her offer either way. “Well, if you are doing some kind of investigation I should help you out then. Watch your back.” He chuckles, setting his cup down to replace it with his pipe. “You seem to attract trouble if the last five minutes have shown me anything about you.”
While the guard moves out, Kanna remarks, “You could say I have an unlucky streak.” And if the past week had revealed anything, it both was and was not of her own making. She takes a sip of the plum wine once the guard has taken his leave, and reaches into a satchel at her side. “I have fifty gold coins on me right now. Consider it your down payment.” And with that, she hands him a small bag the size of his palm marked with the Bank of Chartsend’s emblem on it. Kanna waits for the bartender to leave for another patron's refill and lowers her voice again. "I have reason to believe that very dangerous weapons are being produced or shipped en masse through these ports. The Guilds will not investigate the matter, and the local authorities will not either without solid evidence. I have heard rumors that led me to believe that anti-mages are within the system's hierarchy, and well…" Kanna places a hand on her bosom. "I can't quite rely on my cute face and bardic magic to get me out of that if I'm caught where I'm not supposed to be."
Tetsu holds out his hand to take the bag and opens it up to check inside. “Seems reasonable…” He says around his pipe, smoke starting to gather like a sweet-smelling cloud around his head. He pockets the gold and leans closer when she whispers. “Dangerous weapons, huh?” He whispers back. Kanna had his curiosity, now she has his attention. “Corrupt authorities too… No I don’t reckon magic gets you out of every tight spot. Luckily for you that’s somewhat of a specialty of mine.” He doesn’t offer an explanation. “So what’s the plan? Someone in this port has to know what ship is carrying the contraband.” He places his pipe down to switch it for the cup of wine. “You have any leads or are we just gonna start snooping around?” He finishes off the cup. “Doesn’t matter to me much either way; You already paid me.”
Kanna rolls her head to fend off a shiver when Tetsu leans in. Strange. She brings the plum wine to her lips and whispers, “Have you ever heard of the black lotus? The highly toxic flower’s discovery had been all over the papers last year, and had caused a temporary curfew in the castle town of Venturil when it was suspected that there was a serial killer utilizing it. As quickly as the spree of deaths had started, they had stopped and people assumed that the killer had used up their stock. Now it's old news.” She takes a slow sip. “Except for the fact that the suspected killer was let go and disappeared from the castle town, and now a port worker was found dead in his home with black lotuses blooming from his eyes a few days ago." Setting the empty cup aside, she adds, "You will be safe from it as long as you are with me." Like he has done to her before, she doesn't clarify. "You can still keep the deposit if this sounds like too much risk. It's just…" The bardess twirls a lock of silver-white hair between her fingers. "I don't know if I would ever meet another islander like you that would look natural walking with me."
If Tetsu noticed Kanna’s shiver when he leaned closer, he didn’t show it, he merely continued to puff on his pipe as she explained the situation to him. “Serial killer?” The foxkin raises an eyebrow disapprovingly before he leans back and strokes his chin with another ‘hmm’. “Miss, I have to admit, this is not the kind of thing I imagined getting caught up with today…” He taps his pipe on the bar top to empty his ashes to the floor before he returns it to his pocket. “Having said that, the right thing to do in this situation is to stop them.” Viridescent eyes slowly shift to meet Kanna in time to watch her twirl her hair, his brow raising at her again. “...And I’d hate to ruin such a good cover.”
The bard looks up at Tetsu, and cannot help herself from smiling at his bemused, quirked eyebrow. “I don’t believe anyone wakes up in the morning wondering if they’ll encounter something like that. The offer to walk away with your deposit still stands, of course.” Kanna sets a few silver coins on the counter to pay for her drinks. “Oh, should I continue to call you Ryuya, or is there another name you’d like to go by? My name is Kanna. No surname worth mentioning unless you’d like to give me yours.” She smiles, watching his excellent poker face for some kind of reaction.
“My name is Hiroto Tetsu, it’s nice to meet you Kanna. I’ve accepted your gold so I’m not backing out now.” He stands from his seat and turns for the door, gesturing for Kanna to lead the way. “Come, take a walk with me along the seawall.” The ronin and bardess slowly meander along the coastline, not quite out of sight but at least out of earshot of anyone that might be trying to spy on them. Green eyes watch as the waves move in and out, flotsam and jetsam carried along in the endless rhythm to be abandoned upon the beaches. “Black lotus…” He frowns but continues to stare at the sea as he speaks to Kanna, “That is an ill omen, you know that right? If you are really going to get involved in something like this then I have no choice but to see it through to the end. I can’t just let crazy killers run around uncontested, so tell me everything you know about them so I can help you stop this.”
Kanna follows Tetsu out into the pleasantly warm summer afternoon. The wind picks up and tussles her hair as they pause at the seawall to look out at the ocean. As she holds down a lock of curls behind her ear, she says, “Maybe it's an ill omen, but bad luck has never stopped me before.” Down below, a group of kids on the beach kick around a ball made of scrap leather, its inside rattling so noisily with seashells that the pair can hear it from above. In the far distance, a cargo ship approaches the shore to dock. Kanna turns her back to the ocean and leans back on the wall, telling Tetsu all that he asks for and more. She tells him of how she was a member of the Necromancer’s Guild for complicated reasons she would rather not get into, and studied the applications of several poisons and their antidotes. As they continue to rest against the seawall, she speaks of how her guild was commissioned to secure the seeds of the black lotus from the morgues of Venturil so that it could be studied in-depth. When they move out of the sunlight and into the shaded alleyways to make their way to the ports, as only Tetsu has a hat to protect him from the sun, Kanna tells him of the curious brother and sister that ran the morgue, and how she suspected that the sister might be the Black Lotus Killer. As they make their way through the market square, Kanna speaks in broader and vaguer terms and hopes that Tetsu is perceptive enough to fill in the blanks himself. The Necromancer’s Guild were not vigilantes, though, nor would they ever endorse such actions, so once they completed the main objective, her superior at the time ordered them to retreat, and hoped that the castle town’s guards would act on the anonymous tip received. Only, they did not act on it, and the pair had moved out of Venturil, leaving them all in the situation they find themselves in now. After a while, they reach the edges of the public gardens, which are thankfully vacant while most of the city’s denizens are at work. “That’s why I’m getting involved now. I should have stopped it when I had the chance, when I still thought they would only be used to satisfy a personal vendetta, and now even more dangerous people are going to weaponize it.” Kanna sighs and takes a swig of water from an embroidered metal bottle on her hip. “You’ve been awfully quiet. Is it a lot to take in?”
Tetsu raises a single brow in Kanna’s direction when she admits to ignoring bad omens and he can’t help himself from smirking to himself and chuckling, an introspective musing as to what exactly he’d gotten himself into made before Kanna continues to explain. When she speaks of being a necromancer, or once being a member of their guild, his brow furrows in thought about the information, but he only continues to listen in silence, giving her a nod in response. “Just thinking about it all…” He mutters in response as he bends over to pluck a piece of long grass from the ground and twirls it between his fingertips. “Well, you’ve been forthright about yourself so I suppose I should do the same.” He gestures to the katana and wakizashi combo at his side. “As you can probably guess, I’m a swordsman. I studied at a dojo that functioned as a temple to Arkhen where I learned most of my skills, so between the two of us, I don’t think this Black Lotus Killer stands a chance.” He brings the piece of grass up to rest between his lips, his tongue gently flicking at it every once in a while as he continues. “The way I see it, you gave them a chance to change their ways after you caught them and instead they fled and doubled down on their evil behavior.” Green eyes finally drift from the ocean to fall upon the white-haired bardess. “So where are they hiding? Have you figured it out yet or is that our first step?”
As Kanna stays facing away from Tetsu to examine their surroundings, she winces at his use of the term ‘evil.’ She turns back to him with a smile. “I do in fact, know.” Her smile falters slightly as an elderly couple passes by in hearing range. Deflecting for a moment, she returns back to the previous topic. “The one in the Moegara Mountains? I remember hearing once that the imperial guards had to pass a test there to prove they were worthy of protecting the queen.” She motions her head backwards to indicate that they should keep moving. Lowering her voice slightly, she gets back to the topic at hand. “To grow a large quantity of these flowers, you would need a large tract of land that would not be visible from the outside, or several bodies that could go unnoticed. There is a covered greenhouse in the University of Chartsend that is kept dark by the new head of horticulture and his assistant.” For emphasis, she points at the cathedral-like spire just ahead that houses a large bell, once copper, but long since turned green by the ocean winds. “If I’m right about what I’ve heard, they sell other illicit things already.” Kanna looks back at him. “I have other leads too, but to get into this one, I would need someone to come with me.”
Tetsu doesn’t respond when Kanna mentions the sacred temple in the Moegara Mountains, but the slight shift of his jaw relaxing in surprise indicates that she’s probably correct about her guess. When the elderly couple move on away from them the foxkin speaks in a much more hushed tone than before, choosing not to speak about his past at all and staying on the topic at hand. “I’ll assist you however you need,” his eyes flicker upwards towards the spire and the copper bell colored green with oxidation before he continues. “But I’m no actor. They might become suspicious of me if they ask too many questions.” He looks back down at her, then back to the ocean, chewing on the end of the piece of grass for a moment as he thinks. “Well… Are you ready now or do you need more time?” His gaze briefly looks for the sun to gadge how much more daylight they had before night fell. “It might be better to rent a couple of rooms and start this bright and early tomorrow morning.”
Kanna bites her lip. “Hopefully, you won’t need to act and I can do all the talking. I honestly was not ready to go so soon; I need to prepare better. I heard the best chance of meeting the head or the assistant is in the morning anyways.” As the streets begin to fill with people leaving their workplaces and heading home, she mumbles in her native tongue. “The antidotes in case they use them on us are still in my room back at the inn…” The bard turns to the ocean and holds out her hand, holding out four fingers, then three, so that they fill the gap between the sun and the water. Not enough time to go back for her things and come back before the university cleared out and the chances of finding them drops to zero. She nods and gives a resigned sigh with a smile. Speaking in Common again, she says, “Let’s go back for now, then.” As they exit the gardens and make their way back to the inns, the town takes on a golden hue that contrasts the elongating shadows on the ground. Unlike before, when Kanna spoke the entire time they walked to the gardens, it is silent on their way back. “Did you ever get to meet the queen?”
Tetsu welcomed the silence between them when they made their way back to the inn though he doesn’t seem bothered when Kanna speaks up again and asks about their homeland. He spits the piece of grass from his mouth and shakes his head. “Of course I didn’t meet the queen.” His hand is back in his pocket, searching for his pipe and leaf as he speaks idly about the past. “When I was a younger man the mountain was controlled by a shogunate. I… left before any queen took power.” Back inside the tavern his voice grows softer and quieter, reluctant to speak with so many other people around to listen until he addresses the innkeeper at the desk. “Excuse me, I need-” Before Tetsu can finish, the manager cuts him off. “If it's a room you need I’m afraid we’re all out.” The innkeeper gestures to a ‘no vacancy’ sign and the foxkin visibly deflates. “Hmm. I see…” He turns back around to inform Kanna. “I suppose I need to find some other place to sleep. Will you manage alright, Miss?”
Kanna looks up at Tetsu, her big eyes wide in surprise as he says so casually that he lived during a time when there was not a monarchy. Her mind spins until the innkeeper’s voice cuts Tetsu off. “Oh. If you need, my room came with a chaise that you can rest on.” Turning her attention to the innkeeper, she asks for the second key to her room, only to be met with a confused look. With a dismissive sniff, the innkeeper adds, “Your boyfriend already came to collect the second key. Strange, he usually wears a ring when he eats here with the rest of the garrison.” Kanna’s jaw sets so as to not show her alarm, and her hand reaches out to find Tetsu’s sleeve. “Tetsu, why don’t we hang out a little while longer? Maybe you should meet him.” Her hand is shaking.
Tetsu’s mouth falls into a straight, serious line as the innkeeper’s words immediately spell out what the garrison guard had planned for Kanna tonight, even if the innkeeper seemed oblivious to it. The ronin’s left hand casually moves to rest on the hilt of his katana as if it were his hip and for a moment, Tetsu wonders if he’s going to have to kill someone tonight. He hopes he doesn’t. For the time being the foxkin doesn’t even realize Kanna has casually referred to him as ‘Tetsu’ and not ‘Hiroto’ like he would prefer. “Yes,” He agrees, his tone as cold as the Frostmaw winds, “I can’t wait to meet him, in fact. Please, show me the way.”
Kanna’s complexion is pale as they make their way down the halls of the inn. The muffled sounds of drunken laughter from some rooms and children arguing over who gets the better bed from another only serves to amplify the tenseness of the situation as they approach the door at the end of the hall. “The innkeeper saw him come into my room; if we kill him, there’s no way we’ll be able to come back to this region.” She whispers, only releasing her grip on his robe’s sleeve once they approach the door. Tentatively, Kanna unlocks the door and swings the door inwards. The room’s curtains have been drawn, rendering it almost pitch dark. A hand reaches out and yanks Kanna inside. Kanna can only give a short cry like a wounded small animal as her arm is twisted behind her back by the guardsman from earlier. Anti-magic bracers are now being worn, rendering him immune to any of her bardic magic. “You stuck-up bitch!” The man kicks the door with his foot, trying to slam it in Tetsu’s face and keep him out.
As they creep down the hallway and Kanna warns about the backlash of killing this man, even justifiably, Tetsu pulls his sword still encased by the scabbard out of his kimono’s sash to use as a non-lethal club and he nods silently in agreement. Peering inside the dark room the foxkin struggles to see, only relying on instinct when the hand reaches out to violently pull Kanna into the room. In a quick, simple motion, Tetsu raises his sheath and blocks the door from being closed as it slams into the lacquered wooden scabbard. Unable to close and latch, it easily comes open when Tetsu rams his shoulder into it and enters the room right behind them. With two quick exhaled puffs of air, Tetsu creates two orbs of blue foxfire that rotate gently above them, illuminating the room in pale light. “You’re making a mistake, Sir.” Tetsu points the end of his sheath in the guards direction, not yet taking a formal combat stance. “You’ve already lost your wife and your honor. You really want to lose your dignity too by getting your ass kicked by someone like me?” His free hand casts aside his bamboo hat, exposing the pair of large silver fox ears on his head. “It’s not too late to walk away.”
The man screams at Tetsu to mind his own business as the door is swung open again, and Kanna attempts to swing her leg backwards into her attacker’s groin while his eyes are off of her. Unfortunately for Kanna, her dexterity is practically non-existent against a trained soldier, even an inebriated one, and she is easily forced onto her knees. Kanna tries to move her hands to will the outside plantlife to her side, but cannot make them move fast enough to breach the room with her limited range of movement. As Tetsu’s threat rings out, the furious human glares at the foxkin and the pale orbs hovering over him. “Are you insane? Honor and dignity don’t mean goblin dung here. My wife was the one coordinating a big project, so this stupid siren cost me my retirement too! She should have just kept her mouth shut like a good Rynvalian girl and just let me--” A curse rips through the air as Kanna whips her head around and bites down into his inner thigh, forcing the soldier to take his eyes off of Tetsu and punch Kanna in the back of the head to get her off of him.
Tetsu doesn’t bother wasting any more words on this man; He had been offered an out and refused it. When the guard spits out a rebuttal, the foxfin stoically stares on, unblinking, waiting for an opportunity to strike. He cannot protect Kanna from taking the first blow to the back of the head but he can at least make sure her sacrifice was not wasted as he closes the distance in an instant. Not a second after his fist connects so too does Tetsu’s scabbard with the guard’s jaw, a loud ‘crack’ echoing throughout the dim room. Teeth are knocked loose, his jaw dislocated. The man is stunned and sees stars as the former samurai steps behind him, pivots around, and sends another powerful swing right into the back of his head, sending whatever teeth broken off before flying across the room in a spray of blood and saliva. “You make very poor choices, friend.” He scolds the guardsman, raising his sheath up in preparation to strike again.
Kanna falls limp after getting struck full-force, her entire body coursing with adrenaline to make sure she at least stays conscious. Her arms, throbbing from nearly being ripped from her shoulder sockets, raise up to try to focus herself as the two men duke it out. Even with the pain of having his jaw cracked, the man’s blind rage overtakes, and he draws his own sword, blade and all. A strike from Tetsu’s sheathed sword is parried, and the man steps back. Moving quickly, he overturns a nearby table and kicks it Tetsu’s way. The guard then dips low and moves to impale Tetsu through the stomach while he is distracted, but instead jerks and falls forward. Kanna’s arm is outstretched from her prone position on the floor, and sweat beads down her flushed face from the forced exertion of making her ability manifest in such an impossible location. Two thin woody tree trunks, no wider than their arms, have forced themselves through the layers of foundation and cobblestones, and have wound themselves around the guard’s legs to render him immobile. “Ah… ow…” Kanna holds her throbbing arms close to her body and lowers her aching head. The guard strikes at the trees instead of Tetsu, attempting to free himself, but it is clear that there is no chance of him winning this fight.
Tetsu calmly engages the guardsman, a simple stance with both hands on his sword as they test one another for openings- then the guard kicks a table in Tetsu’s direction as a distraction. As it sails through the air Tetsu’s four tails, previously hidden by an illusion, manifest behind him as they cast an illusion, creating a false Tetsu that falls to the guard’s ruse while the real Tetsu slips away to flank him. Before he gets a chance to follow this plan through, however, Kanna trips the guard and leaves him prone on the ground, his weapon striking uselessly against the thick roots that twist around his ankles. The Twin Tetsu’s close in, one clapping his scabbard against his empty palm to intimidate the trapped man on the ground. He has no idea which one is real so when they strike both will hurt. The twins pummel the garrison guard until he is unconscious, only then do they finally relent as Tetsu dismisses his illusionary clone and moves to check on Kanna. “Miss?” Tetsu lowers to his knees beside her, his sword falling to the floor as he begins to check her with his hands. “How badly are you hurt?”
Kanna recoils from his touch, her face wet with sweat and tears. “Don’t touch me!” She cries out, scooting back until her back is up against a chest of drawers. Her whole body is shaking, and her wrists are visibly red and show the first signs of bruising from how hard they were gripped before. Her arms remain wrapped around her chest and her fingers dig into her arms as if to hug herself. “Don’t touch me…!” She pleads in her shaken state. Kanna averts her eyes from Tetsu, instead looking at her belongings that have been scattered all over the floor from the scuffle. The man is lifted up from the ground by the trees. One branch opens the curtains and window, and the other throws him out, where he will then roll down the sloped dunes of the inn towards the beach. Her breathing starts to even out, and she speaks again, though she makes no move to get up from the floor. “I’m sorry. I don’t think anything’s broken, just sore... Did he hurt you? I have a few basic potions if you need…”
Tetsu is surprised when she recoils from his touch but he obeys her commands, his hands moving away from her to show he was not a threat. With the man gone, the foxkin rises and begins to clean up the room, slowly turning the table back over and putting it back in place. “I’m not hurt.” He says as he places things upon the table neatly. “I mentioned the Temple of Arkhen before…” His green eyes finally search for Kanna again, but the intensity they once held has softened. “They taught me how to heal wounds. With your permission I can help you with those bruises.”
Kanna watches the foxkin as he moves away from her and starts cleaning up. After a few breaths, she forces herself to her feet, and wipes her face with the backs of her sleeves. From the space in front of the bed, Kanna’s koto lies, the hinge holding the folding pieces shut for transport now damaged and hanging uselessly. Gingerly, Kanna picks it up and sits on the edge of the chaise lounge, holding it to her chest. When Tetsu speaks, Kanna looks up at him, summer sky eyes matching his forested ones. The edges of her eyes are red from the stress and fatigue of the encounter, and she gingerly feels the lump forming on the back of her skull. “I used to be able to do something similar, but I lost that ability… Come, you have my permission.” While he does, she brings the two trees up to her level so that she may bestow kisses upon their leaves. “Thank you.” She whispers, motioning her hand to will them back into the ground and take the torn cobblestones with them to at least make an attempt to hide the damage to the floors.
Tetsu approaches Kanna only once she gives him permission and he sits beside her on the chaise, giving them both a moment to prepare themselves for the simple healing ritual. “I’m sorry I wasn’t quick enough to protect you from the punch. Next time I’ll enter the room first.” He shifts to face her, bending her neck to check if he can see the lump without having to handle it too much. “I’m going to touch your head,” warns her, “And then I will recite a simple mantra to inspire a blessing.” Again, he gives Kanna a moment to take it in before he continues, his left hand moving up to graze the bump on her head that was already hot to the touch. “Hifumi yo imunaya koto mochi rorane.” He closes his eyes as he mutters these words softly, channeling the sacred energies gifted to the foxkin specifically with the intent to aid others with. Holy healing magics wash over the lump on her head, soothing the injury slowly as Tetsu continues to pray. “Shikiru yui tsuwa…” Starting from her cranium, his magic would flow through the bard’s entire body, seeking out any source of physical pain caused by the encounter.
Kanna is tense each time Tetsu touches her, though she does not push him away. She utters a quiet thanks each time he warns her. As the swelling begins to go down, her body starts to relax, though her hands still tremble and cling tightly to the dragon zither. Without realizing it at first, Kanna leans into his hand as she watches the bruising fade away with the divine blessing. “Thank you for agreeing to come with me today… I feel like I’ve often been a magnet for bad luck, but today must have been a good day because I got to meet you.” Kanna smiles up at him, resting her hand on the one cradling her head for a moment before pulling away. She stands and sets the broken koto on the table and returns the discarded bamboo hat to him, her eyes flickering up to his ears, then back to his face. “You’re not human? I suppose I should have known when you mentioned the mountains weren’t under our rule.” Kanna bites her tongue. ‘Our rule.’ In an attempt to hide the slip, she adds, “I thought only humans and elves lived there?” She moves away to light the lamps of the room.
Tetsu tries to remain focused on the ritual as Kanna speaks to him, a single eye opening to peek at her. “You’re welcome,” he says with some hesitation, bringing his other hand up to help spread the magic around. “I’m glad too. Something terrible might have happened if we hadn’t met today, so perhaps it was fated.” With the spell completed he relaxes and watches lift his hat from the floor, his vulpine ears twitching slightly. “Ah yes,” He takes the hat and runs the rim through his fingers. “I’m foxkin. We have always lived among the humans on the Isle but we stay out of their affairs. Hidden.” He sighs, looking down at his hat. “But I suppose now you know my secret. I’d appreciate it if you kept that to yourself.”
Kanna nods at his request. “Of course, it's the least I can do for all your help.” She glances at his ears one more time before looking away to lift the rest of the mess from the fight. One of the things she finds is a small folded parchment. “Is this yours…?” She asks, unfolding it before he can answer. Dropped by the guardsman is a crude drawing of a lotus and a date and time for two days from now. “Oh my gods. The retirement plan that guard was upset about, I think it's related.” She says, holding it out for Tetsu to see. “Even if tomorrow doesn’t pan out, we have at least another lead.”
Tetsu places his hat next to him and stands to view the note Kanna had discovered, his brow furrowing at the crude image scrawled thereon. A long, dissatisfied ‘hmm’ reberiates through his chest at what he finds. “This entire port is a hive of scum and villainy… Well, I suppose it makes our job easier if all the rats are hiding in the same hole. We should finish this and leave this city behind us as soon as possible.” He lifts his katana from the floor and brings it over to join his hat on the chaise. “But for now we should rest and pray that he doesn’t bring his friends back up here in the middle of the night.”
Kanna nods and sets the note on the table, giving it another glance before moving away. It seems too much of a coincidence to be legitimate. Were they going to walk into a trap if they went to the docks at that time, or would they see Oleander and Herbert in the flesh? There is little that ruminating over it now would accomplish, though, so instead, Kanna agrees with Tetsu and the two prepare for the night so that they can set out in the morning.