jigokulogs | OPEN ➸ Two ⦿ Circles

Entry tags:

OPEN ➸ Two ⦿ Circles

Who ⬤ Matoba Seiji and you! with mixed OTA/limited prompts
What ⬤ The first attack of the Matoba curse, selling charms, and various business™
When ⬤ Between the 2nd and 3rd weeks of April, roughly (more than a week after Night Parade, before the Daitengu's funeral, basically)
Where ⬤ Sutoku territory
Content Warnings ⬤ Violence/blood likely from first prompt, will warn for anything specific in tag headers!

A1 ➸ FIRST STRIKE - limited to the first 3 tag-ins, new CR for now please!
[(OOC; Before tagging in to these prompts, please read through this information and feel free to ask questions there or via PM! I will be NPCing the attacker for these threads.)]

[Despite the Daitengu's untimely demise and the uncertainty surrounding the Alliance, Sutoku territory was back to business as usual for the most part by the week after the Night Parade. The streets are bustling with shoppers and workers like nothing untoward had even occurred, and although everyone remains suspicious behind closed doors, few seem to be on much of a high alert.]

[...Which is likely why none of the youkai around you blink an eye at the stumbling, muttering Kawatengu pushing past people on the sidewalk and menacingly growling. He's probably just had too much to drink- that's the most likely excuse, right? Even though it's the middle of the afternoon, but in big cities like this you learn to keep to yourself and not worry much about weirdos on the street around you.]

[Except that if you look at him closely, his right eye is blotted out as if possessed by something, and if you have any supernatural senses at all you can just barely feel something awful and malicious emanating from him. Too late, it becomes obvious that he's not just shambling about randomly- he has a target, and the black-haired man walking a few paces in front of you both seems to have no idea what's coming when the Tengu lunges forward with a nasty hiss--]

RiGHt...EYe......

A2 ➸ What the hell was THAT - OTA!

[After the sudden scuffle that erupts in the middle of the street, something black and hideous like a huge mass of sludge erupted out from the mouth of a Tengu and lashed itself away through the street, scrambling up the side of a brick building and slithering off to parts unknown. Whatever that thing was, it just attacked a man on the street in broad daylight, and to the spiritually sensitive had an oppressively awful, malicious aura that may be unlike anything you've felt. Youkai are left knocked back on the sidewalk in the wake of its escape, and some were sent scrambling to get away.]

[The man who was attacked, however, seems more calm than anyone. He ignores the panic of the youkai around him, and even the Tengu that's now left knocked out cold on the sidewalk. Instead, he seems to take notice your stare first and simply smiles- wiping away whatever blood was drawn from him in the scuffle with little concern.]

I do apologize for the commotion. It's probably not used to big cities like this.

--

B1 ➸ Souvenir Shop - OTA!

[With great power came great... opportunities. Or so he'd been told by the Tengu Elders upon being granted back both his spiritual senses, and his ability to create protective charms. Opportunities, in this case, meant a job offer to help mass-produce the tacky little souvenir good-luck charms sold at the gates of the Tengu Temple for any desperate enough for luck that they would even buy a trinket for their troubles.]

[Well, far be it for Matoba to judge a good scam. It was excellent business and a good dog and pony show for the weak and Sightless, both in the human realm and this one.]

[Since the Night Parade had just gone by and no-doubt plenty of festival goers had drawn bad to terrible luck in the Hadaka, there was plenty of business, which meant that Matoba had plenty to do as he sat manning a stall, carefully inking charms on strips of paper to go in the bright little pouches lining the counter. When he notices his new customer, he glances up, and flashes you a bright and cheerful smile.]

In need of a bit of luck?

B2 ➸ Protection Racket - Open to Sutoku Alliance and those with Spiritual Senses

[If he recognizes you as an ally, or if you're the spiritually sensitive sort, he might notice that you're unlikely to be tricked by these useless little trinkets- but that just meant that he had an opportunity to do a little... under the table business. His eye will then sharpen on you, and he gestures you away from the pouches.]

Not those ones. I have something else for you.

--
[ooc; questions/plotting/etc! Hit me up via PM or

kitsoru!]

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[ He digests the implications of that. ] You believe the Daitengu's origins lie in something other than what would be expected.

[ He's not going to outright say 'you think they're the mask itself rather than the person wearing it' because that seems kind of dangerous to say out loud?? But he gets where this is going. He's seen the same trick with amulets, and especially with cursed weapons that can override their user's original personality with their own.

Hmm. ]

...It was the Enma's forces who moved first and most decisively. The other factions kept to their own territories until it became clear there was something to gain from moving in underground.

They controlled the investigation, the imprisonment and what information was publicly released. If I were a certain authority figure, it would be easy to contain or destroy anything inconvenient.

[Matoba's chin tucks in a nod, but like Kimmuriel, he senses the danger in musing about this too loudly. At least, not until they were in a place where he could set a ward, where prying eyes and ears wouldn't reach.]

[The observation Kimmuriel makes is one that Matoba had been wary of from the start; he had mentioned it at the meeting here and there, but the dust had hardly yet settled for them to have an awareness of how the lockdown would look in hindsight. Now, it only looked more suspicious with the Enma allowing the territorial war over the now-released underground to spin out of control.]

I'm sure there has been movement to investigate the premises that were under investigation down there, so I'm led to believe, but I haven't heard any word on what of note was discovered. [Granted, he hadn't pressed his contacts on it until recently, with the dust being kicked up by the Tamamo and Shuten interfering...] ...If our leader is feeling generous in their miraculous revival, perhaps they will clue us in to whatever war we are all teetering on the brink of.

We can hope. [ Slight, grouchy inflection in his tone suggests that he is not, in fact, hoping for any explanation at all because anything that straightforward just doesn't seem like the Daitengu's style. He wants one but he's gotta be realistic here. ]

Killing the Kappa's leaders seems as if this extends to more than just the Daitengu's secrets - whatever they may be. [ Or maybe their deaths are faked too?? Who fucking knows at this point. This gives him a headache.

He sighs after a moment, his tone dry. ] Of course demon politics are no less of a tangle than those of the Underdark.

[Mm. Yeah. Matoba's feeling that tone, even if he's keeping it a little more reserved than Kimmuriel is.] Haha, I get the sense that if we are going to receive any such 'clues' at all, they will be in some equally vague format.

It's no 'fun' if they aren't sending us on a merry search, I suppose.

[Drop the breadcrumbs and let the new kids go wild. That was the sense he got from the Daitengu, more and more- that this was, indeed, some sort of test for the newbies. Except maybe it was a test for everyone else, too, considering what dire strain the last month had put on the entire Alliance.]

[Matoba's expression grows graver as he considers that, glancing back towards the scuffling going on on the Temple grounds.] ....The entire clan seems as displeased as we are about all this. It doesn't really matter what the other clans think, but if the Daitengu's attitude only does more harm towards the Alliance member-clans' perception of them...

[ He huffs. ] That sounds right for them.

I would be unsurprised if this was also testing the alliance itself. Pulling together in times of trouble... [ It seems like the kind of thing the Daitengu would find funny. ] Everyone was slow to act, including the superiors of our own faction. So it looked to me.

[ His mouth tightens a bit. Being thrown into a situation he knows so little about displeases him greatly; even more so when some of the responsibility for managing such a situation automatically presses on his shoulders. ]

We are the tribe of information-gatherers. It's only to be expected.

[...Okay, so maybe Matoba could go along with some of the Daitengu's absurd games, here and there. If it was a test, he would ace it; when he was the one in power, he could make the decisions of who had to dance along to his tune when he said so.]

[But Kimmuriel has a point, about the reaction of the tribe. Perhaps the Daitengu was displeased with the state of things all around, and wanted the excuse for a shake-up.] ...I agree. Each hour that passed after the assassination, I thought that surely we would hear something. Even after we all left from Konoha....

That we did not hear until after the Enma's arrest order were issued in the morning- it was rather unacceptable, wasn't it? Perhaps they have become reliant on the Daitengu.

[His voice goes lower again. With a pause, Matoba glances around the streets outside of the Tengu Temple complex.] ...Shall we go somewhere to discuss the details a little more privately? Ah, did you ever try that fizzy drink?

[Matoba knows just the place, if it was to Kimmuriel's liking...]

Being treated like children who require entertainment is not particularly to my tastes. [ He accentuates this with a little eyeroll but like, he gets it, he GUESSES...But for someone who prefers something a bit more professional, it's still annoying.

Rather than share his own thoughts, he nods at Matoba's assertion. If they're going to talk about potential problems(tm) it's better to do it away from places where their own faction has reasons to be watchful. ]

Yes. It was...odd. But the flavour was not entirely objectionable. [ Translation: He liked it enough that he didn't just throw it the fuck out but he's not sure he'd buy it again. ]

Are you not entertained?

[If Matoba could say one thing about all of this, it was that it was keeping him busy. He'd take that over boredom, any day. A boring existence in a city full of ayakashi.... Well, he doesn't think that would be possible, anyway.]

[A small chuckle escapes Matoba.] Well, as long as the flavor was good. So you like melon flavor.... Alright, let's go to the tea shop. My treat?

[He was in possession of a recent promotion; he had a little more to flex amongst his fellows, here and there. As they walk through the Sutoku territory's streets, it seems news of the Daitengu's reappearance is beginning to spread- excited whispers and huddles of information-brokers dot the streets in a noticeable-enough way, and they get a few looks here and there with their obvious funeral wear. But no one seems willing to bother them, so... Matoba will take that as a win.]

I wonder how quickly they will retake command, [Matoba hums in thought as he stops in front of a small drink shop, he steps through the doorway to glance up at the menu.] ...How do you feel about chewy things, Kimmuriel-san?

I have had enough entertainment to tide me over for the last five hundred or so years. [ His voice is dry. ] Yet life continues to hand it to me, so nothing I might say will deter it.

[ He still gets the right to complain, though. Which he will. ] If you are offering, I will have to find something you like in exchange. [ He feels like it's simpler just to get the implicit debt out of the way as they walk, really. ]

Leadership claims are always messy. It might take a week or two, or even the month. [ Wrangling multiple leaders back into line is going to be...something. He's thinking of weeks in the sense of ten days, rather than seven. ]

They're not objectionable. [ He doesn't have a lot of big opinions on food or drink because it tends to slip his mind, though if he sees no logical reason to refuse something he'll just eat (or drink) it. ]

Edited 2022-05-02 05:51 (UTC)

My, that much? I simply couldn't imagine.

[Dripping with sarcasm- typical ayakashi. Well, his own lifespan was hardly a blink in theirs, so it was all a matter of perspective.] Perhaps it is because you have thrill-seeking ways and simply don't know it. Have you considered retiring peacefully as a hermit?

[...It reminds him of someone, in a way. And yet excitement never seemed to escape him, either. Maybe it really was just a matter of being someone who drew 'excitement'.]

[Matoba chuckles at the offer, waving a polite hand.] Oh, I wouldn't need anything to... Well, but if you're offering, I'm always fond of sweets, so... [Brat. He's a brat.]

[Matoba hums as he looks over the menu. In this spring season, he was thinking something light and delicate.] I think lychee would be delightful around this time of year, don't you? I'll have a lychee sparkler, [He says to the mountain troll behind the counter, and then glances to Kimmuriel.] They have sparkling drinks, and jelly drinks, and drinks with tapioca pearls... Have you never had those? They're quite an interesting texture. I really recommend anything.

[Milk coffee, milk tea, brown sugar and many fruits Kimmuriel has likely never heard of... It was a vast menu.] ...But if you need somewhere to start, perhaps it would be simplest to order a basic milk tea with pearls?

I have certainly tried. [ Just the driest possible tone. ] But I am surrounded by people who cannot help but get themselves into trouble, so I must tolerate it still.

[ he says, like he doesn't just hang around with them anyway. He could literally just leave and nobody could stop him And Yet. ]

I have a feeling that if I continue to make your acquaintance, I will learn well what kind of sweets you most prefer. [ He says it in a matter of fact sort of way, as if those details are already set in stone for the future. He doesn't dislike Matoba. He also has plenty of reasons to keep him at arm's length. Those two facts do not in any way contradict his continued interactions with him. ] I will procure something, then.

...I am more used to identifying poison and alcohol than these sorts of drinks. [ He's pretty sure that if these exist in Faerun - which, they probably do somewhere - he's never seen them personally. It's just kind of...something he's never thought about? His admittance is mildly stiff, as if it's just a little embarrassing to admit he doesn't really know something.

He...really does not know where to start and that is obvious, so after a moment he takes Matoba's suggestion. Sure, what could possibly go wrong. ]

[Oh, so you're just that type, Kimmuriel. Matoba's mouth curls in a knowing smile. If he really didn't want to be bothered with such troubles, would he really hang around troublesome people? Good to know. Matoba was very troublesome.]

Ahaha, that might be so! [Shameless.] Shall I simply tell you to make it easier? ...There's quite a few things I like, though. I'm not too picky.

[Milktea it is, then. As they wait for the drinks, Matoba glances out at the street. It seemed the commotion was starting to spill out a little... Or at least, the crowds were dispersing with some aggression....]

Perhaps humans are more the innovators of sweets. Ayakashi seem to stick to sake...

...Poisons, hm? Are you well-versed in them?

[ HE SURE IS. He scowls a little at the smile - it's far too familiar an expression - but he doesn't say anything to it. ]

And here I thought you were the type who would rather play around than give a straight answer. [ He's not gonna say no if Matoba just tells him what he likes, but he was definitely expecting it to be made into a game of figuring things out. ]

You may not be wrong, though every race I've seen, human or not, has some kind of sweet they seem to adore. [ He seems faintly unimpressed by that fact, though. He doesn't particularly like sweets. ]

I am knowledgeable enough. I suspect I will be starting from scratch if I aim to make any myself. Finding suitable substitutes for the ingredients will be a costly journey. [ Still, having some sleep poison on hand wouldn't be a bad idea, especially with his powers so diminished. ]

Ahh.... In this case, doesn't it seem more advantageous if I answer you directly? After all, then I get exactly what I want.

[Beat that logic!!! He also isn't denying that he is that type- but taking the direct path seems like the best way, with Kimmuriel. That's been his gathered instinct, so far.] ...Though, if you wanted to be led on another merry chase, today...

[It's not a serious threat, just observing their absurd state of affairs given events in the last ...hour or so. Matoba watches the youkai behind the counter mix the drinks, always wary- speaking of poisons.] I hear that Tamamo territory has a number of apothecary shops of that nature, and a tradition of poisons to boot. Although I'm sure it wouldn't be easy to get a foot in the door, as an outsider...

It's good to know that we have someone knowledgeable on the subject within our clan, though. [Matoba turns back to smile at him,] In case things got nasty.

I have long since learned that what is straightforwardly advantageous does not always take priority. Much as I would like it to be otherwise. [ He's too used to having to deal with people who like to mess around and He Is Tired.

That scowl becomes a little more pronounced. Absolutely not, he seems to be saying. ]

Money or favours may open a few doors a little wider. I will have to see. [ He's already thinking about it...never hurts to have more resources.

He's also watching the drinks being mixed, half curious, half as wary as Matoba. His expression is impassive again. ]

I can offer a guarantee only when I am certain I have found something just as effective. [ He's too much of a ~~no-fun guy~~ professional to accept even an implied compliment before he can test it himself. ]

Well, I also like to think in the long term...

[Which is why he can't fault that tactic, really. Given all their surmising about tests and resources and all that. Favors were certainly an excellent way to make that happen, and Matoba will take the one offered him; given his relations within Tamamo already, he supposes that they would do fairly well if offered across clan lines for something that could be construed as minor... at first.]

[The cats, anyway, seemed open to negotiations.]

Of course. [It was 'good business' to be sure of oneself before making any promises, right?] I have little experience with mixing them myself, but my clan certainly had stores of information on the poisons carried by certain types of ayakashi, and how to counter them. Ah, it would have been convenient if I could still reference that information...

[Too bad he will never be able to regain the like, 12 manor houses worth of books and scrolls his clan owns, the mad lads. He's pulled out of his musing as the drinks are served up, and cheerily reaches to pop his straw into the top of his drink and take a sip.] Ahh, refreshing on a spring afternoon.

So I continue to hear. [ It's a dry little comment without any bite to it. That's practically a friendly joke coming from him. ]

If you wish to learn, I could instruct you on the basics. Once I have something worth a price. [ All strictly transactional, of course, he's not going to do this out of the goodness of his heart. He doesn't have any of that.

This very serious business talk is comically punctuated by the fact that Kimmuriel has taken some umbrage with even the drinks being packaged, who does this, what the hell.

He figures out he has to poke a hole in the lid so that spares him from that embarrassment, but he's clearly annoyed by it first. He stirs up the...orbs?? In the bottom?? With the straw for a little while.

He's not used to drinks having this kind of inconsistent texture. ]

[Matoba has a good little chuckle at that. Perhaps Kimmuriel-san was the type that liked to surround himself with things he found 'troublesome'...? For him to have ended up in the Alliance with them all, the truth was clear, wasn't it.]

[His eye draws towards the drow with interest in the offer, but the wheels are already turning in his head with what the recompense will be for accepting.] That would be a useful subject to know. Hum. [He draws a big slurp in through his straw, going in circles to try and guess the other shoe before it drops.] I am more interested in them for antidote and identification purposes than for use. I have a great many methods already at my disposal for that sort of thing-- [Murder, he means], but I am more likely to need to mitigate the risk, I suppose.

[All this musing and he's watching Kimmuriel struggle with his straw. Ah. Matoba supposes it's not very straightforward when you're faced with the boba lid for the first time, is it? He thinks to help, but that would probably injure his pride; best to just watch him puzzle it out.]

[Kthunk. There it goes- the face with which Kimmuriel stirs up the tapioca pearls is one of mistrust, Matoba thinks, and it makes him smile. Just a little, a curl at the corner of his mouth.] ...Well, what do you think? Are you going to try them? [He slurps at his own drink again.]

[ He hmphs dismissively. ] It would be a poor drow that had no knowledge of how to counteract poison. [ Identification and treatment go hand in hand with making it. Otherwise, what would be the point? He's no specialist, but he's versed in fundamentals; no psionicist was able to purge such mundane attacks on the strength of the mind alone. ] And what they sell here is likely to be much higher in potency, so gradual immunity would be a poor defense.

[ He looks at Matoba's face and scowls again before taking a few cautious sips. He assumes that the pearls are part of the drink's experience or whatever so he pretty much does have to give them a try.

He taps one finger against his chin after a moment, clearly in thought, before he offers his verdict. ] The flavour is not bad. I see little purpose for the pearls.

Haha, that says a lot about you, doesn't it? [Although Matoba doesn't think that's necessarily a bad outlook to have on an individual level, as a whole tribe? Interesting. Sasuga ayakashi.] Do you think that is because of our location, perhaps? Or due to the ...political influences...

[Kimmuriel's scowl only causes Matoba's smile to brighten, so as he finally sips at the drink, Matoba is staring expectantly.]

You don't like the texture? Personally, I find it pretty fun to suck them up and have a little something to chew on between sips. [What does that say about Matoba-- no, don't think about it.] Perhaps another filling would be more to your liking, next time.

[Matoba sips at his own drink, filled with little pulp and bits of lychee.] Perhaps jelly?

To not excel at the things Menzoberranzan demands is to invite an early death at the hands of another. [ He says it in a neutral and matter-of-fact way, something he's clearly explained before and will likely explain again.

If Matoba was like 'wow, sounds like drow suck' Kimmuriel would just kind of agree, to be honest. ] I would think demons need no prompting to create torments on one another, but if I had to guess, it is a result of territorial dispute. Where brute strength does not suffice, subtler methods may achieve the desired result.

[ He's continuing to take sips and cautiously chew on the pearls while they talk. Concentrating perhaps a little too hard. ]

Is fun a necessary part of drinking? [ There's no sarcasm in this question; it is, at least on some level, genuine. ]

[That basically confirms Matoba's assumption, then. Leave it to ayakashi that the only way they know how to live is by preying on others.]

[But he decides not to say it out loud. His earlier comment sorta said it for him.] It isn't that human disputes do not devolve similarly to underhanded tactics, but the potency of the poisons that catch my attention, [He explains instead, stirring up his drink and sipping again.] I suppose it's all dependent on the ingredients at hand, but I've heard some rather nasty things of ayakashi flora... Good thing we are in a city, where we don't have to worry too much about that.

[Were there ayakashi forests, somewhere in this realm? ...Matoba knew they existed, but who could say where...]

It's not necessary. I just like it. [Simple.]

[ It's something he'd readily agree on, at this point in his life. He'd always found the neverending scrabbling for survival and power to be tedious on some level - he had never been an ambitious person - but the days where he might have once said that someone was drowlike as a compliment are far behind him now.

He taps his finger against his chin again, before lowering his hand. ] That is true. It would be ideal to have samples of the raw ingredients to study whether it is innate or a product of environment, but I imagine that procuring them would be its own battle. [ It's expensive enough just to buy the poison by itself. Black market prices, man. ]

...I cannot argue with that. [ He shrugs, and goes back to sipping his own drink. It's logical enough, even if he doesn't particularly see the point. ]

Perhaps....

[Matoba contemplates that for a moment, all too aware of their surroundings.] ...Perhaps that is something that a bit of digging about and networking can solve. And money, of course.

[He does have a bit more cash flowing in, and his network was ever-growing. If Kimmuriel was offering to pay it forward with know-how, a suitable arrangement could likely be made.]

Do you think you could identify what you need, or will you need to research?

Some of the components I could likely identify just by asking. [ The yokai he'd talked to were eager to talk up their products - it was part of making a sale, after all - and while he's sure the claims were somewhat exaggerated, it probably wasn't all lies. ] But there are only so many things that naturally produce poison, and I have a reasonable grasp of many of them.

I suppose I will need to start saving for tools, if we are to make this an actual venture. [ That's going to be his problem - another reason he needs to take another job - but it's also a goal to work towards, which he much appreciates. He never does well with aimlessness. ]

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worldbent - 2022-05-13 23:04 (UTC) - Expand

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