Stellar Conversation

A Fox and a Fish discuss the stars, amongst other things...

Estelle
Tsushima Shrine

Even with the late hour, Estelle is entirely awake. Little starlight pierces the cloud cover, though, so an artificial one hovers above her shoulder as she seeks out her mark - occasionally pausing to consult what stars she can see, or the environment around her to cheek her path. And keeping an ear out for any Monsters lurking in the night. It wouldn't do to be ambushed, after all.

But, though some providence, she finds who she's looking for amongst the broken buildings. "Good evening, Jazz. I hope the Stars have watched over you, since last we spoke?" Her tails swish behind her, as she clasps her hands in front of her - gaze skimming over the undine who seemed so... distracted, the last two times they met. "And how go the preparations for this weekend's visit?"

She doesn't step into the current ruin being surveyed, just lingering outside for now.
Jazuhanzu
Tsushima Shrine

Atop one of the small stone huts sits Jazz, legs dangling over the edge. She is working on a piece of parchment, tongue sticking out of the corner of her mouth as she scratches at it with quill and ink. She's definitely drawing *something*, and darned if she doesn't look cute while doing it.

Then again, this is Jazz. Her *not* looking cute is next to impossible, right?
Estelle
Tsushima Shrine

There's a shake of the vixen's head, at the lack of response from the undine. But she considers the hut a long moment, plotting out her path, and then starts climbing. There may be a fair deal of huffing and puffing, since the fox isn't the best at it... but up she goes, to take a seat beside the sketch-distracted woman.

She leans in to take a peek, of course, as her tails swish behind her - trying to see what has Jazz so entranced, and about as cute as normal.
Jazuhanzu
Tsushima Shrine

When Esteller arrives and simply starts to scale the building beside her , Jazz arches an eyebrow and scoots over a little to make room. The parchment is, of course, a map of Tsushima that she's explored so far, dotted with caves and more. She has hardly had time to map the whole island, but it's clear she's working on it and her hand is steady and proficient.
Estelle
Tsushima Shrine

"Ah, not as deep in that as I thought, are you?" Estelle asks, her voice teasing. "You didn't respond when I said hello." Still, she considers the other woman's cartography, running through it in her head and giving a light nod. "Scouting out potential observatories and taking notes along the way, or just surveying the isle in general?"

She settles her hands in her lap, leaning back out of Jazz's personal space... and along what remains of the roof, looking towards the heavens despite the heavy clouds drifting darkly above. "I've been doing well, since last we parted. How about you?"
Jazuhanzu
Tsushima Shrine

"Oh, I guess I didn't."

Jazz muses, thoughtfully, on her own lack of response. She dips the quill in the ink and then careuflly resumes her inking of the map.

"I admit, I'm not one hundred percent certain what would make a good site for an observatory but I've been keeping an eye out for you. If I knew where the real observatory was to overlay it on the map of *this* Tsushima, that might be hekpful, but ..." She leans back,shaking her head. "Mostly, just working on learning the ins and outs. The machina should be done recharging soon."
Estelle
Tsushima Shrine

"It was up on one of the hills... here-ish." Estelle offers, producing her wand and using it to gesture. 'Here-ish' is a rough area on the north-eastern part of the island's southern half, but. It is a start. "It mostly just needs somewhere high up that is both accessible for the materials to make the observatory, is a place to lay a good foundation, and is lacking in obstructions that would prevent it from getting a clear view of the sky... when the clouds are clear."

"In this case, the hill wasn't too steep, and the view was excellent bar a few degrees above the horizon. I think." Her tone is more musing that informative, there, as she wracks her memory. "And, good. I look forward to meeting her, and seeing what stories and wisdom she's willing to share.
Jazuhanzu
Tsushima Shrine

"... a lot of it went over my head last time. I'm too new to the game to know all the details, but what she said about the Scrapped Princesses stands out, about them not really being gone."

Jazz lets out a sigh. "I remember hearing about the Scrapped Princess wars in the game lore, so I guess it makes sense they'd 'exist' and eventually come back. That's what always happens in these stories." She seals up her bottle of ink and then carefully flattens the parchment on the roof beside her t4o dry.
Estelle
Tsushima Shrine

"Yes. It's said that the Monsters of the world, today, were made by their dying curse - and it was said to have other effects, as well." Her tone is thoughtful, digging back into her memories of older, fonder days. "The war lasted decades, and they turned friend upon friend, brother upon brother, before and during it. Deceit and corruption were some of their tools."

"... it was written that they all died in the original Elder Tale, but, yes, some of them surviving or having a way to return from death is entirely possible." She closes her eyes, putting her wand away and folding her hands in her lap. "That was long, long ago, and records of the time are doubtlessly fragmented by the chaos of the battle, and missing in its immediate wake for the lingering chaos of their death curse. And not something the devs went into great detail on, before it all became so much more... real."
Jazuhanzu
Tsushima Shrine

"'Real being a matter of perspective, I suppose," says Jazz, face scrunching up.

"Sounds like you paid more attention to the game lore than I did. Then again, I'm not from Japan and I never played the game before the day it all went topsy turvy. New player badge, go." She raises her hand.

"...so there's a lot I don't know."
Estelle
Tsushima Shrine

"I... couldn't get out, much." There's a touch of pain in her tone, and the vixen doesn't elaborate further on the subject. "So I threw myself into VR, when my father brought home a set one day. The original Elder Tale, and later ETO, were... good escapes from it all, amongst other things." Her tails curl in over her legs, settling in her lap, and she gives a low sigh.

"... But. I'm sure you can make up for lost time, now. Plenty of people to ask things of, and the libraries are much /more/, now."
Jazuhanzu
Tsushima Shrine

"Lost time," echoes Jazz. There's a lack of immediate response from her, letting instead Estelle's story hang in the air for a moment before she gives her an understanding nod.

"They did fill up. The astrolabe design came from within the world. Given the brain-scan and mapping technology, though, I sometimes wonder if our collective mapping is responsible for what's filling in the gaps in the game design. Like, the way our brain filters what we see, uses prediction rather than perfect 'clarity'. Maybe we're just not seeing the seams anymore because we can't."

She looks up at the stars, briefly.
Estelle
Tsushima Shrine

"... Mm. That could be it." The fox admits, opening her eyes and looking up at the dark sky above, and the points of light peeking through. "It's just that the world seems so much more /alive/, now. But that, too, could be borrowing the brain power of everyone caught in it, to help simulate people or borrow memories of them."

There's a long, thoughtful hum. "It comes down to us to decide how real we want to treat this. How much we want to hope, one way or the other. Or fear. Do we treat it like the game it was, heedless of how lifelike the Landers are now, because we hope it is? Do we treat them like people, and begin settling into a new life, because we fear it isn't?" A beat. "That seems to be the divide between the alliances, really, though it's a bit more complicated than that..."
Jazuhanzu
Tsushima Shrine

"On that, we ag ree. Who we are going to be is determined by how we'll treat the people that live here. I've seen entirely too many campaigns go astray because the players decided to treat a game world and the NPCS living in it as disposable. Not a mistake we should repeat, especially not when this is far, far more real. Unfortunately, some will do exactly that." Jazz studies Estelle now, more intenselyt.
Estelle
Tsushima Shrine

The fox glances over, at that intense scrutiny, and raises a brow in response to it... but only briefly, before looking towards the sky once more. "They react to us, now. And actions have consequences." Her tone is soft, her fingers sinking into her own tail and brushing long the fur. "It's part of why I've set aside resources and time to help with the Shield School idea. They deserve to be able to defend themselves."

One hand reaches skyward, there. "After all, we are so very small in the scheme of things. But, together, we can make big changes."
Jazuhanzu
Tsushima Shrine

"I hearda about that. A good idea. And they're going to need if the Tower-Busters keep it up. Like or not, they aren't going to have a choice if the waves keep coming. We'll do what we can to help. I want to go home as much as the next person, but I'm not going to burn a place to ashes to do it. No," she shakes her head, tentacles twitching, "I want to be able to be at peace with myself when we're finally able to leave. I used to think it was only a matter of time before the engineers fixed whatever was wrong. Now, I'm not so sure." She looks up again.

"Maybe we're not even us. Maybe we're just copies with continuity. Or maybe not. Chances are, we won't ever know."
Estelle
Tsushima Shrine

"We might not, no." She agrees, softly, even as she flexes her outstretched hand - gaze tracking the smooth motions of it. "We can but live with it, for now, and do the best that we can - a job we won't regret, come what may."

"... but, things have turned gloomy. Any cheerful news on your side of things, or have you just been mapping and keeping an eye on Spatjahr? The summer festival is in full swing, as something to distract yourself with and help you relax. The beach is quite nice... though there has been some leviathan activity near the coasts, washing things up onto shore." Estelle turns her gaze back to Jazz, hand dropping back down to her tails.
Jazuhanzu
Tsushima Shrine

"...they have?" asks Jazz, confused. When did things get gloomy? She didn't notice.

The news of the summer festival just makes her wrinkle her nose up. "Let the rest have their bikini parties or whatever. I'm not terribly interested. The leviathin stuff, though... what happened?" She asks.
Estelle
Tsushima Shrine

There's a little shake of the fox's head at 'they have?', dark hair and the stars visible in it swishing about against stone. "Perhaps 'heavy' would've been a better term, for the phisophical discussion..." She muses.

Still, she has a proper question to answer. "There's a Levitahan - I don't know if they're all the same, or if there's distinct ones - moving rather close to the shores. Nothing like an intentional assault, but just its wake is causing issues; large waves crashing against beach goers, some of them carrying monsters - and fishmen taking advantage to see what they can salvage, perhaps by force, of the areas struck. The giant octo-monster made for good takoyaki, though."
Jazuhanzu
Tsushima Shrine

Jazz's stare at Estelle seems to say 'if you say so' without her actually vocalizing it.

"How many times did you have to randomize your character selection to get that?" she asks, gesturing at Estelle's hair. Then she nods.

"LEviathins seem like individuals, honestly. I don't know much about them. I do know that the crystal we're looking for for Spatjahr should help keep them away from Tsushima. Maybe that will be offer us some broader clues as to how to push them away from the shore. I'll have to get Pela and Akatsuki on board to look for it sooner than I thought..."

She runs her fingers through her long, entirely thick and entirely purple hair and it wiggles and curls ar ound her fingers.
Estelle
Tsushima Shrine

"Oh, I suppose that's a secret I can let you in on." The vixen murmurs, even as she glances left and then right in mock-paranoia, one finger lifting up to her lips. Then she reaches up and back behind her head, fingers sinking into something in her hair there... and a tiny little clip pulls free, to hold up in the air - and all the stars and galaxies in her hair and tails die out, leaving a 'simple' eventide blue, brightening to cyan near the tips. Then she slides it back in, the tiny little thing vanishing back into the mess of dark tresses, and the night sky blossoms once more.

"But! Yes. Spatjahr probably can offer some tips and aid with the current problem, though it may just be a Seasonal Event." Her tails swish and curl, one of them brushing against Jazz's side. "And have them look for what? The Leviathan in question, or something else?"
Jazuhanzu
Tsushima Shrine

"The crystal. We have an idea of where it is but its heavily guarded by Leviathin minions. I'm hoping guile will help us liberate it without the need to get a whole huge group of us out there to draw the maway."

Jazz watches the hairclip do its thing, though, with interest. "Hm. Interesting. That must have taken some work to get it just like you wanted." She startles a bit at the tail's touch, glancing donw towards it.

"And yeah, I suppose it's possiblke, but..."
Estelle
Tsushima Shrine

"Ah, right. You mentioned it last time." The vixen notes of the crystal. It'd just been lost in context, this time. "And, yes, that makes sense. Perhaps find an auspicious time to create a distraction, draw the majority away on a wild chase so that a small team can secure the item itself..."

The tail is just laying there against Jazz's thigh, the trio having spread out from their owner as she resettled, in the wake of the emotionally heavier topics. "Oh, it did. But it was worth it - ties the whole aesthetic together, doesn't it?" Her fingers brush across her like-wise enchanted dress, tugging at the silken fabric. "I can hardly be a proper Astroligian unless I wear my allegiance on my sleeve." There's a playful wink, there, despite the other topic.
Jazuhanzu
Tsushima Shrine

"Does it feel weird?" asks Jazz after a moment, looking down at her tail. "And yeah, I suppose that's true. But I mean... do you hardly notice them, or do you?" She lays a fingfer against oen of the tentacles laying across her shoulder. "I feel these. But I don't really actively *think* about how I interadct with them. They just sort of are."
Estelle
Tsushima Shrine

Pale fingers stroke through one of those tails, the vixen humming thoughtfully. "Have you ever seen an animal surprised by its own tail, before? Acting like they didn't expect it to be where it is?" Her silver eyes turn up, looking into Jazz's. "It's because tails are mostly controlled by the spine. They act on instinct, faster than if they checked with the brain. Oh, an animal can consciously control them - just like you can focus on what you're doing when you're walking - but, for the most part, they just... do."

"But, to answer the question," Estelle continues, after a moment, "yes. I feel them. I don't notice them unless they brush up against something, though. They're just... another limb - or three - at this point, shifting to help me balance, or reacting to emotion or relaxation."
Jazuhanzu
Tsushima Shrine

"Of course, but it's different for us. We just sort of ... acquired these accoutrements to go with our supposed races, adn there's so much variety between us all. I didn't pick this but when the wave happened, I suddenly felt them much ... more but I don't consciously, actively control them much." The tips twitch repeatedly as they're the focus of her attention at the moment. The tails get eyed too.
Estelle
Tsushima Shrine

The result of Jazz eying the tails is quite simple; one swishes up, soft, astral tip gently booping her on the nose. Then it settles back down, its owner smirking. "The Waves seemed to change many things." Estelle agrees, however. "Even more than seem obvious. But my tails are useful for gripping things, if I'm going to lean, or making sure I don't forget something - even if they're not the most dexterous things."

She swishes them on purpose, this time, though the size of the intact roof means they still brush up against the undine a little.
Jazuhanzu
Tsushima Shrine

Jazuhanzu's face scrunches up at the boop and the brushing in general.

She swats idly at them.

"I suppose they have their advantages for you," she agrees, "in addition to being something as recognizable as the Kitsune giving you something ... mythological to hold on to."
Estelle
Tsushima Shrine

There's a little wiggle at the swatting, since Estelle can feel them. But it gives her incentive to pull them back to herself, and she gives a nod at the words that follow. "It does, at that. Something more to work into my mystique." One hand flourishes, and she unfolds a paper fan with Byakko's constellation painted upon, covering her face in a classic gesture.

... Not that Jazz might get it, having admitted she's Not From Around Here.

"Still, you have your own mystique to draw on, if you want to. Your own part to play." Despite how cute she is. "The Sea is an ancient terror, after all, even before it had things like the Leviathans in it."
Jazuhanzu
Tsushima Shrine

"... I am aware. Sea-Witch is apparently the thing," explains Jazz, wiggling her fingers in Estelle's direction. "I call upon the denizens of darkest abyss to rise from the ocean depths and what not. Blackest waves of the ocean touch the sore and shroud us in darkness, etc etc. It's all appropriately dramatic. Benji had a sense of humor about these things. What can you do when someone knows you so well?"

A shrug of her shoulders without much more explanation than that.
Estelle
Tsushima Shrine

The vixen reacts dramatically, at the wiggled fingers in her direction. One hand rising to press against her collar, as she rocks back in place as if struck by a spell! But then she settles back in on the rooftop, smiling softly. "Mmm... Very little, if they truly know you." comes the soft whisper. "Very little." She closes her eyes, hands folding in her lap.

There's a melancholic air around her, the idea apparently having sparked some memory of her own. And she falls silent - though, perhaps, it's a companionable one between them.