Fandom (Dead) Family and Purpose (DanMachi inspired RP)

[That Lass Over There]

A god's descent is a beautiful thing.

That is what is always said; however, the flippant deities arrive anywhere as they please, once having trampled the very building that held the Dungeon back. Seeing the light descending from Heaven was a matter of luck not afforded to many in their lifetimes, with how the deities happily arrived anywhere and everywhere - including out of sight, to achieve 'better immersion'. So, naturally, today was just another Tuesday in the Labyrinth City of Orario as such a rare beam descended only two streets over from where a distraught girl in garb of the Far East walked the road.

The girl in question was a phenomenon the city was even more used to than the haphazard conduct of deities; wannabees with dreams, arriving without the means, only to be rejected and fleeced for every penny. Unlike some who came here to chase their dream though, she had no escape from the Labyrinth City - nowhere to go back to. Today was day eight, the little coin she possessed had run out - it was the kindness of the innkeeper she was staying with that she still had a bed, even as she made no headway in finding herself a place of work. A group to adventure with, a family to stick with through thick and thin: a Familia.

"Put on some weight, then come back."
"You want to fight monsters? I don't want our Supporters so busy hauling your corpse they can't carry the loot."
"Any past experience? Level 2? No? Then get lost."
"Try the tavern next street over, they're looking for a pretty face."

These were some of the more mild rejections she had received. A shady few had offered her the position of supporter, something the coach driver that had taken her to the city kindly warned her of. 'Slavery with a nice name and fiction of payoff', he called it. Apparently, he had known someone who had willingly taken the position in a party to earn their way into a Familia, and found out they died a year and a half later having never received a blessing. Needless to say, such offers were turned down when she got them.

And now she was here. Hungry, running out of Familia she could locate with the help of locals, and watching a pretty beam of light fall through the clouds like a fairy tale. Just yesterday, she saw an assembly almost like a miniature army outside Babel, the tower that seals the Dungeon, preparing for an expedition into its unexplored depths... In a city of strange and magnificent sights, nobody spared a look her way.

... Well, except this one oddball, standing over her now.

"Hmmmm..."

Golden eyes met crimson, and the lady stroked her chin while staring at the Far Eastern girl with a subtle aura to her presence that made her impossible to ignore. It was a moment before the odd sensation from this lady clicked, something indescribable that the girl had felt so many more times in Orario than ever before; the slightly unnerving presence of a deity.

"... Yeah, you'll do." In a moment, the serious expression of the deity shifted to a lopsided grin, and a hand stretched out between them. "I'm Badb." The deity introduced herself, taking the hand of the girl who had yet to respond as if to shake it, "You want to be an adventurer, right? Then come on, let's get to the Guild, now!" and started walking on towards Babel without a care in the world.

Aron the Aron

 

[Aron the Aron]

This was not how Akemi imagined her new life would start...

When she first set foot inside the walled city of Orario, she had nothing but wonder and hope of a new life burning in her heart; she was supposed to become an adventurer and gain enough fame and fortune to open her own Sword Dojo that she could call a true home.

Instead of adventure and excitement, all the Easterner got was abject misery and cold-shouldered rejection at every turn. The wonder and hope had flickered and sputtered into a destitute emptiness as she found her coin purse emptier by the minute, and soon wandering the streets out of curiosity had become wandering the streets out of desperation. For all the hard work she had put preparing and training, nothing she could do with her sword could sway any Familia into giving her the time of day to prove her worth. "Swords came at a dime a dozen" they would say, shrugging her off as just another waste of time.

Akemi quickly learned that the only reason people even looked at her were for reasons she didn't like. She'd forever hold gratitude to the kindly gentleman who ferried her to Orario; his advice and warnings had averted her from suffering many undignified ends to her dream. But the days dragged on; her yukata's vibrant reds and gleaming gold had faded; her geta and tabi had become caked with dust; her shiny jet-black hair dulled to a lifeless charcoal; and the fire in her eyes threatening to die.

"Hmmmm..."

And that's when fate finally had something in mind for her.

Golden eyes met crimson, and the lady stroked her chin while staring at the Far Eastern girl with a subtle aura to her presence that made her impossible to ignore. It was a moment before the odd sensation from this lady clicked, something indescribable that the girl had felt so many more times in Orario than ever before; the slightly unnerving presence of a deity.

"... Yeah, you'll do." In a moment, the serious expression of the deity shifted to a lopsided grin, and a hand stretched out between them. "I'm Badb." The deity introduced herself, taking the hand of the girl who had yet to respond as if to shake it, "You want to be an adventurer, right? Then come on, let's get to the Guild, now!" and started walking on towards Babel without a care in the world.

Had this happened a few days before, Akemi would've responded with excitement. Instead, an undignified squawk was all she managed out as she was half-pulled, half-dragged towards Babel. The fire that had nearly disappeared sprang back anew, and now Akemi began to hope that this would become her lucky break.

"W-wait! I-!" Her voice sounded more hoarse than she thought, but she dared not give up the white-knuckle grip she had on her sheathed katana...

 

[That Lass Over There]

Had this happened a few days before, Akemi would've responded with excitement. Instead, an undignified squawk was all she managed out as she was half-pulled, half-dragged towards Babel. The fire that had nearly disappeared sprang back anew, and now Akemi began to hope that this would become her lucky break.

"W-wait! I-!" Her voice sounded more hoarse than she thought, but she dared not give up the white-knuckle grip she had on her sheathed katana...

"Seize the moment! Isn't that what an adventurer is all about?" With a smile the raven-haired goddess swept through the streets like a storm, mortals of all races - human, dwarf, prum, and beast races of all shapes ducked to the side and made way for another deity doing as they please. Some waved, others bowed, and most just went back to their business, but Badb waved and said hi to everyone she laid eyes on in her march to the towering spire that Orario was centered around. Babel, gateway and seal of the Dungeon.

Tower of Babel
Ground Floor
10th Hour, 24th of March​

A large, empty space, full of people buzzing about the stairwells at the edge of the massive bottom floor of the spire. Some led up and some down, while a few platforms at the middle of the space hovered up and back down with boxes and people. Armor, weapons, clothes and equipment of fine and hardy make were on display among the adventurers heading down for the day's work or coming up from an overnight stay in the depths. Akemi had not been let inside the tower before by the guards, Babel being strictly for adventurers, the Guild, and the gods who grant them power as the lid on the most dangerous place in the world, this time she had been let by without a glance in Badb's tow.

"Let's catch an elevator, those stairs look like a pain-" Badb had explained that she knew the Guild had a place on the second floor of Babel, somewhere convenient for the adventurers to come and do business after returning exhausted from their delves. Though, she still hadn't explained who exactly she was, or what exactly they were doing.

It didn't take long to secure one of the floating platforms - elevators as the goddess called them - and go up to the second floor, a completely different scene from the wide open, dark ground floor.

Tower of Babel
2nd Floor
​

Lit with magicite lamps - lamps lit by the small magic stones at the center of lesser monsters - was a series of small lobbies, each with places to sit down and rest, a counter, and a board with various requests to adventurers from the Guild and third parties. Badb took her abductee with her to a counter with a member of the Guild behind it - well dressed in a suit to show the status of Orario's de-facto rulers, and smiled sweetly to the human lady behind the counter who managed a smile in return.

"And what might the Goddess need from us today?"

Badb looked back to Akemi, connecting eyes between them once again - confirming whether or not the girl had any protest to this sudden turn of events in her life. "I'd like to register a Familia." She spoke firmly, not breaking the eye contact between them until she was certain.


...

She hadn't expected a scolding, was what the down look of the depressed goddess said.

They sat now on the couches a distance away from the counter, a paper sitting between Akemi and Badb. "You're supposed to do that at the main hall!" Was what the staff member had told her off with, but one of her superiors noticed the commotion and brought over the necessary paperwork to accommodate the deity. What that superior hadn't defended her from, however, was the hail of criticism that came when it was revealed that the girl Badb had been trying to sign up into her Familia had yet to even nod yes, or give her name. Neither of them could speak in front of the overwhelming presence of the Guild staff, and they were sent to the seats to "properly!" discuss the meaning of Badb taking the Far Eastern girl under her wing.

"... Sorry. I got carried away." Badb had a wry smile with a hand rubbing the back of her hair, still looking down about the entire affair. "We'll do it properly this time. Could I get your name, for a start?"

 

[Aron the Aron]

So many thing had happened in the span of minutes that Akemi had trouble just registering what happened. Were she not busy and bewildered being literally dragged around, she could've marvelled at the sight of the tower's interior and the ant-like activity buzzing all around. Several times she had almost dropped her Katana when the Goddess(?) tugged on her arm; thank goodness her free hand had frozen in a death grip around the sheath...

Then from the cavernous space of Babel's ground floor, now Akemi was aware that she was standing a much smaller room; the dreary blues and grays of stone was now warm wooden tones and gentle lantern light. How had she gotten he-

"I'd like to register a Familia."​

She spoke firmly, not breaking the eye contact between them until she was certain.​

...

...

"WHAT?!"

They sat now on the couches a distance away from the counter, a paper sitting between Akemi and Badb.​

"You're supposed to do that at the main hall!"​

Was what the staff member had told her off with, but one of her superiors noticed the commotion and brought over the necessary paperwork to accommodate the deity. What that superior hadn't defended her from, however, was the hail of criticism that came when it was revealed that the girl Badb had been trying to sign up into her Familia had yet to even nod yes, or give her name. Neither of them could speak in front of the overwhelming presence of the Guild staff, and they were sent to the seats to​

"properly!"​

discuss the meaning of Badb taking the Far Eastern girl under her wing.​

Akemi bright crimson eyes stared a hole at the piece of paper sitting within arm's reach of her, quietly wondering how she had gone from aimlessly wandering Orario to sitting across a goddess inside one of the most important buildings of the whole city. Her Katana sat neatly in her lap, blackened steel and gold-plated brass in pristine condition despite the more haggard appearance of its owner (even if she was desperate, she'd never dare neglect the sword that has stuck by her side for so long).

"... Sorry. I got carried away." Badb had a wry smile with a hand rubbing the back of her hair, still looking down about the entire affair. "We'll do it properly this time. Could I get your name, for a start?"

"はい!" Akemi shot up from her seat, her face a comedic mixture of dead seriousness and nervous terror as she began talking as if her life depended on it.

"Kurama Akemi of Tenshin Shōden Katori Shintō-ryū! I am a practitioner of Kenjutsu and Ryōtōjutsu and have come to Orario to open my own Dojo!" Suddenly Akemi folded herself over into a perfect 90-degree now, her babbling turning into a full-on shout as nerves got the better of her.

"Please take care of me!"

Spoiler: Meanwhile, in the deep recesses of Akemi's thoughts...

 

[That Lass Over There]

Akemi's bright crimson eyes stared a hole at the piece of paper sitting within arm's reach of her, quietly wondering how she had gone from aimlessly wandering Orario to sitting across a goddess inside one of the most important buildings of the whole city. Her Katana sat neatly in her lap, blackened steel and gold-plated brass in pristine condition despite the more haggard appearance of its owner (even if she was desperate, she'd never dare neglect the sword that has stuck by her side for so long).

"はい!" Akemi shot up from her seat, her face a comedic mixture of dead seriousness and nervous terror as she began talking as if her life depended on it.

"Kurama Akemi of Tenshin Shōden Katori Shintō-ryū! I am a practitioner of Kenjutsu and Ryōtōjutsu and have come to Orario to open my own Dojo!" Suddenly Akemi folded herself over into a perfect 90-degree now, her babbling turning into a full-on shout as nerves got the better of her.

"Please take care of me!"

"A Dojo?" Badb made no effort to pretend she understood any of the girl's spitfire ramblings, but her wry smile widened as she watched the child in front of her trying so hard to leave a good impression. "Well, I'll be happy to help you with that as we go, but - no rushing forward, right? I think it'd be nice not to get lectured again." Badb took the paperwork from the table and pulled it closer to her, taking a feather pen and inkwell to write with from a cabinet next to her.

"This is all me," She patted the paperwork with her empty hand, "so don't worry about it and let's talk the future. You know what a Familia is, right?" Without any more assumptions, Badb asked and patiently explained everything as the two sat and Badb worked through sheet after sheet of questions.

"There are many kinds of Familia, not just those that delve into the Dungeon... Merchants, craftsmen, and various others that all contribute to the city and are supported by it in different ways. However, I intend to run an exploration Familia. I want to grow the generation that will bring back this city's golden age of adventure." After a pause, she continued on to explain minutia of the Familia process - that, in a way, Akemi might be considered as 'belonging' to Badb, though the goddess displayed a level of disgust at the dehumanizing term. That transfer to another Familia, or leaving, was possible, but that Badb would have full control over the Status given to her, and that 'Conversion' had a mandated time between each transfer of at least a year as agreed upon between the gods when they initially started coming to live with their mortal children.

She went on about how they would have tax exemptions and benefits as a Dungeon exploration focused Familia, but that they would be expected to pay the favors back in other ways - particularly once they grew beyond a certain benchmark of power stipulated by the Guild.

How they would need to find more people to join them, as she did not want to pit Akemi with the impossible task of delving deep into the Dungeon on her own. That it was the most dangerous place in the entire world, and Badb did not want the girl to dive in with false ideas of what adventure means. That the tales of Ancient Times were just that, and that the most impressive thing heroes of the past managed was staying alive to face tomorrow... Something she hoped would be the same of Akemi.

Her left hand moved a bit out of the way on the paper, and a few moments later she wrote something where it had been covering. "I won't deceive you; this is my first day in this city. I'm willing to take you in, if you wish, but we'll be building up from scratch. I have a few friends among the deities in this city I plan to visit after we're done here, but it isn't certain that we'll receive any handouts. We'll have to work hard to make both of our wishes come true." The next page that Badb flipped to was one almost entirely empty, with a small bit of text at the top of it and a large empty box occupying the rest. She got busy with her pen, and stopped talking a moment, concentrating on each line that started forming on the page - a raven... No, a crow, perched on what seemed to be an ornate sword hilt, its beak open to the sky, cawing.

Her handiwork done, Badb showed the drawing to Akemi with a smile, pushing it close to her. "So, what do you think?" Something about her open question made it clear that she wasn't only asking for Akemi's impression of her drawing, though now that it was closer the small text was legible to the Far Eastern girl.

At the top of the page was the prompt, 'Draw an approximation of the symbol of your Familia.'

"If you'll be part of this, you should have a say." The goddess gave no more hints, only a smile as she left it to the child in front of her to decide. It was a mortal's right to decide the path of their own life.

 

[Aron the Aron]

"This is all me," She patted the paperwork with her empty hand, "so don't worry about it and let's talk the future. You know what a Familia is, right?" Without any more assumptions, Badb asked and patiently explained everything as the two sat and Badb worked through sheet after sheet of questions.

"There are many kinds of Familia, not just those that delve into the Dungeon... Merchants, craftsmen, and various others that all contribute to the city and are supported by it in different ways. However, I intend to run an exploration Familia. I want to grow the generation that will bring back this city's golden age of adventure." After a pause, she continued on to explain minutia of the Familia process - that, in a way, Akemi might be considered as 'belonging' to Badb, though the goddess displayed a level of disgust at the dehumanizing term. That transfer to another Familia, or leaving, was possible, but that Badb would have full control over the Status given to her, and that 'Conversion' had a mandated time between each transfer of at least a year as agreed upon between the gods when they initially started coming to live with their mortal children.

Akemi was no stranger to the concept of Familia when Badb began expanding on the topic; no sane person from the Far East was unfamiliar with Amaterasu's Royal Court and its many going-ons. Familia being something smaller than nations did throw a minor curveball for the young ronin, but the idea of there being Familia dedicated to mercantile and artisan paths was... strange. The orphans of the Far East knew few little besides monsters and disease when they lived so far from the capital and its luxiries; Akemi herself was lucky that she found a Ko-ryū that was so willing to take her in as a student...

"Exploration?" She supposed that with the ever-looming presence of Babel there were bound to be groups making regular expeditions to its unknown depths, but... Akemi was lucky to have made it this far without ever needing to draw her Katana on a monster. She had no doubts that whatever techniques she had learned would prove tricky, if not outright useless against anything less than humanoid. "Erm... How do I fit in to all this?"

She went on about how they would have tax exemptions and benefits as a Dungeon exploration focused Familia, but that they would be expected to pay the favors back in other ways - particularly once they grew beyond a certain benchmark of power stipulated by the Guild.

How they would need to find more people to join them, as she did not want to pit Akemi with the impossible task of delving deep into the Dungeon on her own. That it was the most dangerous place in the entire world, and Badb did not want the girl to dive in with false ideas of what adventure means. That the tales of Ancient Times were just that, and that the most impressive thing heroes of the past managed was staying alive to face tomorrow... Something she hoped would be the same of Akemi.

If Akemi was any braver or smarter, she'd have likely pointed out that she hadn't once wetted her blade ever. This being Akemi, she didn't say anything and merely nodded along when Badb brought up how they'd need to find more people if she didn't want to become monster feed and free loot in the Dungeon. Badb wasn't planning on making her go out and recruit, was she? She already had displayed exemplary charisma when half of Orario turned her down in the first place!

Her left hand moved a bit out of the way on the paper, and a few moments later she wrote something where it had been covering. "I won't deceive you; this is my first day in this city. I'm willing to take you in, if you wish, but we'll be building up from scratch. I have a few friends among the deities in this city I plan to visit after we're done here, but it isn't certain that we'll receive any handouts. We'll have to work hard to make both of our wishes come true." The next page that Badb flipped to was one almost entirely empty, with a small bit of text at the top of it and a large empty box occupying the rest. She got busy with her pen, and stopped talking a moment, concentrating on each line that started forming on the page - a raven... No, a crow, perched on what seemed to be an ornate sword hilt, its beak open to the sky, cawing.

Her handiwork done, Badb showed the drawing to Akemi with a smile, pushing it close to her. "So, what do you think?" Something about her open question made it clear that she wasn't only asking for Akemi's impression of her drawing, though now that it was closer the small text was legible to the Far Eastern girl.

At the top of the page was the prompt, 'Draw an approximation of the symbol of your Familia.'

"If you'll be part of this, you should have a say." The goddess gave no more hints, only a smile as she left it to the child in front of her to decide. It was a mortal's right to decide the path of their own life.

"..." Akemi peered down at the emblem inked onto the paper, wondering how the crow and sword related back to the goddess sitting across from her. "M... May I?" She squeaked, hands hesitating to touch the paper and feather in Badb's hands. Once she had gotten permission though, Akemi's face became thoughtful. She was constantly switching gazes from the emblem in her hands and the ravenette, her hands constantly hesitating before she finally grew enough of a spine to put the feather to paper.

Where Badb was quiet with concentration, Akemi was quiet with contemplation. Every swish and stroke of the feather flinched with second thoughts unlike the conviction behind each previous line; each line was delicate and slow with careful thought. Eventually enough, the Far Easterner stopped, and held out what she had done.

Where once stood a sword, a moon with knots and weaves now cradled; the crow that once cawed to the heavens now gazed outwards in silence. Surprising most of all was the final touch to Akemi's changes...

A perfect triquetra, its arcs interweaved with the moon and crow.

If she was being honest with herself: not even Akemi knew where exactly she had gotten the ideas from...

 

[That Lass Over There]

Akemi was no stranger to the concept of Familia when Badb began expanding on the topic; no sane person from the Far East was unfamiliar with Amaterasu's Royal Court and its many going-ons. Familia being something smaller than nations did throw a minor curveball for the young ronin, but the idea of there being Familia dedicated to mercantile and artisan paths was... strange. The orphans of the Far East knew few little besides monsters and disease when they lived so far from the capital and its luxiries; Akemi herself was lucky that she found a Ko-ryū that was so willing to take her in as a student...

"Exploration?" She supposed that with the ever-looming presence of Babel there were bound to be groups making regular expeditions to its unknown depths, but... Akemi was lucky to have made it this far without ever needing to draw her Katana on a monster. She had no doubts that whatever techniques she had learned would prove tricky, if not outright useless against anything less than humanoid. "Erm... How do I fit in to all this?"

If Akemi was any braver or smarter, she'd have likely pointed out that she hadn't once wetted her blade ever. This being Akemi, she didn't say anything and merely nodded along when Badb brought up how they'd need to find more people if she didn't want to become monster feed and free loot in the Dungeon. Badb wasn't planning on making her go out and recruit, was she? She already had displayed exemplary charisma when half of Orario turned her down in the first place!

It wasn't just the paperwork that Badb had eyes for as she spoke to Akemi - every now and then, she would look the girl straight in the eyes, her gold-tinted stare seeming to bore straight through Akemi. For one reason or another, this reminded the girl of a basic reality, interacting with deities: a mortal cannot lie to a god. Whatever Badb seemed to see in her though, whatever deliberation the goddess went over in her head, she did not speak it at that moment and continued with the task at hand. Akemi's questions seemingly were missed among the mostly one-sided conversation, but with how much attention the goddess opposite her seemed to be paying attention, it was impossible that they had been missed. The impression that they had been purposely ignored also did not seem completely right, however.

Where Badb was quiet with concentration, Akemi was quiet with contemplation. Every swish and stroke of the feather flinched with second thoughts unlike the conviction behind each previous line; each line was delicate and slow with careful thought. Eventually enough, the Far Easterner stopped, and held out what she had done.

Where once stood a sword, a moon with knots and weaves now cradled; the crow that once cawed to the heavens now gazed outwards in silence. Surprising most of all was the final touch to Akemi's changes...

A perfect triquetra, its arcs interweaved with the moon and crow.

If she was being honest with herself: not even Akemi knew where exactly she had gotten the ideas from...

Badb watched the drawing with vague interest, nodding approvingly at the finished product. Doubtless, Akemi might make a fine artist were she to choose that direction with her life. Her gaze lingered a bit on the design, but she didn't seem to have any misgivings about it as she traced the triquetra.

"It's very beautiful, and insightful. You did nicely." She looked up from the drawing back to Akemi, again with a small smile and a gaze that seemed to peer straight through the soul. "It's more... Gentle, this way, as well. But I'm afraid, if you say no, we've only wasted paper." Badb held up a hand, as she was still speaking. "You can, and should, say no if you find yourself uncertain. But from what I can tell, you were an aspiring adventure yes? Rejected over and over from Familia. If exploring the dungeon did not at some point intersect with your goals, why were you trying to do exactly that?" Badb finally referenced Akemi's earlier questions indirectly with her own, making the girl think on it.

"Asking something like 'how you fit in something', isn't that rude to you who decided to come here chasing after something in the first place? You believed in yourself, or your dream, enough to journey here at some point. I'm choosing to believe in that and asking you to join me." Leaning over the table, Badb reached out her hand to Akemi. "Won't you?"

 

[Aron the Aron]

"It's very beautiful, and insightful. You did nicely." She looked up from the drawing back to Akemi, again with a small smile and a gaze that seemed to peer straight through the soul. "It's more... Gentle, this way, as well. But I'm afraid, if you say no, we've only wasted paper." Badb held up a hand, as she was still speaking. "You can, and should, say no if you find yourself uncertain. But from what I can tell, you were an aspiring adventurer yes? Rejected over and over from Familia. If exploring the dungeon did not at some point intersect with your goals, why were you trying to do exactly that?" Badb finally referenced Akemi's earlier questions indirectly with her own, making the girl think on it.

"Um... I wasn't?" Akemi's look of utter confusion betrayed a complete lack of understanding, and somewhere in the more intelligent depths of her head she began to get the idea that a misunderstanding had taken place somewhere in the conversation. "I just... Erm... How do I literally fit in all this? I've trained on how to use my Katana on other people, so... Am I supposed to hunt the monsters inside for things, or am I like... Am I searching for any treasure inside somewhere? Maybe I'm supposed to map out the Dungeon?" The more Akemi talked, the less sure and aware of what she was saying; Badb could almost see the question marks orbiting around her head.

"Oh, uh: am I like one of those Ronin who are sometimes hired to do things the noble families back home wouldn't do?" Many legendary swordsmen had their beginnings as humble Ronin, and many great legends carved their tales as Ronin. Akemi could easily imagine starting her Dojo if she had some level of notoriety and fame in Orario, though she wasn't sure if she was cut from the same cloth as most Ronin in the Far East. She certainly didn't share the more rugged and experienced look most Adventurers had, what with her lack of armor and choice of attire...

"Asking something like 'how you fit in something', isn't that rude to you who decided to come here chasing after something in the first place? You believed in yourself, or your dream, enough to journey here at some point. I'm choosing to believe in that and asking you to join me." Leaning over the table, Badb reached out her hand to Akemi.

"Well, er... didn't I already join? Wait, I mean: I look forward to working with you?" Instead of meeting the Goddess' outstretched hand, Akemi stood up from the couch and did another perfect 90 degree bow, her hair whipped back over her face as she awkwardly kept the bow for much longer than she really should've.

"Won't you?"

"... yes? Wait, no? Yesn't?"

 

[That Lass Over There]

"Um... I wasn't?" Akemi's look of utter confusion betrayed a complete lack of understanding, and somewhere in the more intelligent depths of her head she began to get the idea that a misunderstanding had taken place somewhere in the conversation. "I just... Erm... How do I literally fit in all this? I've trained on how to use my Katana on other people, so... Am I supposed to hunt the monsters inside for things, or am I like... Am I searching for any treasure inside somewhere? Maybe I'm supposed to map out the Dungeon?" The more Akemi talked, the less sure and aware of what she was saying; Badb could almost see the question marks orbiting around her head.

"Oh, uh: am I like one of those Ronin who are sometimes hired to do things the noble families back home wouldn't do?" Many legendary swordsmen had their beginnings as humble Ronin, and many great legends carved their tales as Ronin. Akemi could easily imagine starting her Dojo if she had some level of notoriety and fame in Orario, though she wasn't sure if she was cut from the same cloth as most Ronin in the Far East. She certainly didn't share the more rugged and experienced look most Adventurers had, what with her lack of armor and choice of attire...

"Well, er... didn't I already join? Wait, I mean: I look forward to working with you?" Instead of meeting the Goddess' outstretched hand, Akemi stood up from the couch and did another perfect 90 degree bow, her hair whipped back over her face as she awkwardly kept the bow for much longer than she really should've.

"... yes?"

A chuckle progressed into a full-on laugh as Badb watched Akemi fumble her way through the situation, the goddess rolling back some of her assumptions; ‘nobody can understand a plan that doesn’t exist’. If this child had genuinely never considered that the act of coming to Orario itself was binding her fate to the Dungeon, then there was no point in unproductively talking in circles. She’ll figure herself out eventually, and there’s no need to rush that.

"Well, I'll be taking that 'yes' then. Don't worry about things relating to the Dungeon, they'll work out just fine. I picked you because I thought highly of you, after all! Not to mention, I hear the famed Rabbit's Foot started exploring the Dungeon as someone who had never touched a blade before. It's not as if everyone goes in knowing how to arm-wrestle a Lizardman at Level 1." Badb collected the papers as she spoke, and took them up with her to the lady at the counter - this time, with less scolding. The two conversed for a minute, the staff flipping through the pages and skimming their contents, before the human left through a door behind the counter to some staff-only area. Not long after, she came out, presenting a single document to Badb, and promptly shooed the goddess away after everything was confirmed.

Rather than looking downtrodden, this time the goddess came back to Akemi with an amused glint in her eye. "The Guild must be quite confident for one of their employees to treat a goddess so dismissively~" Getting scolded, a deadpan stare in response to her joking invitation to join the newly forming Familia, and the dismissive attitude taken when business was complete; Badb had never imagined getting treated like so by a mortal. It was funny, in a way, now that she wasn't under the magnifying glass.

Shaking off that thought, she showed the receipt in her hands to Akemi. A simple document acknowledging the formation of the Familia, Akemi's membership, its selected specialization of Exploration, and the symbol - the emblem that Akemi had drawn. "Nice, isn't it? There's only one last thing left to do - I need to give you a Falna. The staff told me there was a room down the hall we could use for the few minutes it will take, so let's not waste any time." Badb, back to the energy that had dragged Akemi to this tower in the first place, took the Far Easterner with her to a small room that had a bed and some basic medical equipment nearby. Ordinarily, the room was probably used for first aid on wounded adventurers returning from the Dungeon. Leaving Akemi for a moment, the goddess went to the medical equipment, rifling through a bag for a moment, and took out a thick-looking needle. "This'll do nicely. Alright, just need you to lay down on the bed with your back bare. If it's ticklish... Well, try to bear with it?"

The goddess eyed the needle in her left hand nervously, bringing the point close to the index finger of her right hand, hesitating for a few moments before deeply pricking herself with the pointed object. "Ow~ Gonna have to get used to this." Blood dribbled down her finger, and she set the needle down. Likely to leave Akemi some modesty to expose her back, Badb had yet to turn around to face the girl. "Well, are you ready?"

 

[Aron the Aron]

A chuckle progressed into a full-on laugh as Badb watched Akemi fumble her way through the situation, the goddess rolling back some of her assumptions; ‘nobody can understand a plan that doesn’t exist’. If this child had genuinely never considered that the act of coming to Orario itself was binding her fate to the Dungeon, then there was no point in unproductively talking in circles. She’d figure herself out eventually, and there’s no need to rush that.

"Well, I'll be taking that 'yes' then. Don't worry about things relating to the Dungeon, they'll work out just fine. I picked you because I thought highly of you, after all! Not to mention, I hear the famed Rabbit's Foot started exploring the Dungeon as someone who had never touched a blade before. It's not as if everyone goes in knowing how to arm-wrestle a Lizardman at Level 1." Badb collected the papers as she spoke, and took them up with her to the lady at the counter - this time, with less scolding. The two conversed for a minute, the staff flipping through the pages and skimming their contents, before the human left through a door behind the counter to some staff-only area. Not long after, she came out, presenting a single document to Badb, and promptly shooed the goddess away after everything was confirmed.

Rather than looking downtrodden, this time the goddess came back to Akemi with an amused glint in her eye. "The Guild must be quite confident for one of their employees to treat a goddess so dismissively~" Getting scolded, a deadpan stare in response to her joking invitation to join the newly forming Familia, and the dismissive attitude taken when business was complete; Badb had never imagined getting treated like so by a mortal. It was funny, in a way, now that she wasn't under the magnifying glass.

Shaking off that thought, she showed the receipt in her hands to Akemi. A simple document acknowledging the formation of the Familia, Akemi's membership, its selected specialization of Exploration, and the symbol - the emblem that Akemi had drawn. "Nice, isn't it? There's only one last thing left to do - I need to give you a Falna. The staff told me there was a room down the hall we could use for the few minutes it will take, so let's not waste any time." Badb, back to the energy that had dragged Akemi to this tower in the first place, took the Far Easterner with her to a small room that had a bed and some basic medical equipment nearby. Ordinarily, the room was probably used for first aid on wounded adventurers returning from the Dungeon. Leaving Akemi for a moment, the goddess went to the medical equipment, rifling through a bag for a moment, and took out a thick-looking needle. "This'll do nicely. Alright, just need you to lay down on the bed with your back bare. If it's ticklish... Well, try to bear with it?"

The goddess eyed the needle in her left hand nervously, bringing the point close to the index finger of her right hand, hesitating for a few moments before deeply pricking herself with the pointed object. "Ow~ Gonna have to get used to this." Blood dribbled down her finger, and she set the needle down. Likely to leave Akemi some modesty to expose her back, Badb had yet to turn around to face the girl. "Well, are you ready?"

If Akemi was being honest, the needle alone was enough to inspire a form of ironic dread had Badb not contributed by drawing her own blood onto it's pointed tip...

So many questions still bounced around in her head when she was taken (read: dragged) into a claustrophobic room with every manner of herbs, medicines, and crude instruments of healing that she hoped she'd never have to experience being used on her. She knew enough about Familia that she could understand what Falna were; few from her homeland didn't know Amaterasu's and fellow Kami's many blessings to their most devout followers. What she didn't know, was how exactly people went about receiving them. For all she knew: it could involve getting stabbed in the back with a bloody needle. Literally.

... Well she was already this far. "O-Okay..."

Reverently laying her sheathed Katana on the bed with the blade facing towards her, Akemi then went about the slow process of partially disrobing. First it was carefully untying the obi from around her waist, then it was folding down her yukata enough that most of her back was exposed (the less said about Akemi's glaring lack of sarashi or bra, the better) and making sure the rest of her yukata didn't accidentally slip past her waist...

"Okay um... am I supposed to lay down on the bed, or do I just keep standing?"

 

[That Lass Over There]

If Akemi was being honest, the needle alone was enough to inspire a form of ironic dread had Badb not contributed by drawing her own blood onto it's pointed tip...

So many questions still bounced around in her head when she was taken (read: dragged) into a claustrophobic room with every manner of herbs, medicines, and crude instruments of healing that she hoped she'd never have to experience being used on her. She knew enough about Familia that she could understand what Falna were; few from her homeland didn't know Amaterasu's and fellow Kami's many blessings to their most devout followers. What she didn't know, was how exactly people went about receiving them. For all she knew: it could involve getting stabbed in the back with a bloody needle. Literally.

... Well she was already this far. "O-Okay..."

Badb had been careful to prick her finger and put down the needle where Akemi would see as she was aware the girl likely was unaware of this process and would become nervous, but the girl's trembling voice gave away that she had not understood the subtle hints. "The needle's job is done unless I start scabbing before we're finished, don't worry. None of this is going to hurt you." Badb's tone was gentle, though her back remained towards Akemi until she received the go-ahead.

Reverently laying her sheathed Katana on the bed with the blade facing towards her, Akemi then went about the slow process of partially disrobing. First it was carefully untying the obi from around her waist, then it was folding down her yukata enough that most of her back was exposed (the less said about Akemi's glaring lack of sarashi or bra, the better) and making sure the rest of her yukata didn't accidentally slip past her waist...

"Okay um... am I supposed to lay down on the bed, or do I just keep standing?"

"Laying down is preferable, since it might tickle or have some other funny sensations and I'd rather my hand not slip. That'd mean more blood." She wiggled her pricked finger, a trail of blood having already trailed its way down to the base from the stab wound. "Let me know when you're ready?"

After receiving approval from Akemi Badb turned around and went over to the bed, sitting herself beside Akemi's waist. "I'm going to be... Writing on your back, essentially. It might be odd, but try not to squirm - we only have to do this the once." Badb's left hand, cold to the touch, lightly pressed on Akemi's bare shoulder as a warning before the finger leaking Ichor was pressed to the girl's bare back. Only stopping for a moment to confirm that Akemi was holding still, the goddess's finger started tracing unfamiliar symbols into the flesh of the girl at a dizzying pace. It was almost like she was drawing scribbled lines with how fast and small she 'wrote' in Ichor, especially from the perspective of the girl who could not see what was being done. At first, the touch and the blood left behind were cold and light - ticklish as Badb had warned - but as the Ichor left behind seeped into her flesh and the goddess made more progress in what the wrote it all started to grow hot. Just barely tolerable, a burning sensation that Akemi had never quite felt anything like.

In spite of the rapid pace of the goddess's tracings, after a minute or so the finger had barely made its way a third down Akemi's back, and the dribble of Ichor had dried necessitating Badb to prick her finger again. Returning to beside Akemi, she once again placed a hand on her shoulder partly as forewarning and partly to help hold the girl still as she returned to writing. There had been a few inevitable twitches from Akemi, but so far they had managed to avoid any slip-ups that would demand a redo. "Once this is done, you won't feel anything different, but you'll already be a bit more than you once were. Stronger, faster, slower to tire, a bit more sensitive - a Falna, taking the Ichor of a deity into your flesh, will fundamentally affect everything. It won't be much at first, but as you gain Excelia in the Dungeon... Once you start slaying monsters and gathering experience in combat, before you know it you will have stepped beyond mortal limits." She started talking as she finished her work on the inscription, tracing larger shapes around the bare skin now that most of the writing had been finished. After another minute of finishing touches, Badb's finger lifted, and a faint glow spread in the room from whatever had been written into Akemi's flesh. The unexplainable heat from the symbols surged in Akemi before sizzling out, though in some vague way she felt a connection to the goddess beside her that hadn't been there before.

"Nice and normal, all Stats starting at I0 and no starting Skills. But... Hmm." Badb's fingers traced something at the center of Akemi's back, her happy voice transitioning to something a bit darker as she hummed to herself in thought. "I really liked your pleasant design, so I had hoped the Falna would possess it - but it seems like something different ended up the symbol displayed in the Falna." She didn't leave Akemi to guess morbid thoughts about what had her upset, having already understood that part of the girl's nature well enough. "It's just a bit disappointing is all."

 

[Aron the Aron]

"I'm going to be... Writing on your back, essentially. It might be odd, but try not to squirm - we only have to do this the once."

Badb's left hand, cold to the touch, lightly pressed on Akemi's bare shoulder as a warning before the finger leaking Ichor was pressed to the girl's bare back. Only stopping for a moment to confirm that Akemi was holding still, the goddess's finger started tracing unfamiliar symbols into the flesh of the girl at a dizzying pace. It was almost like she was drawing scribbled lines with how fast and small she 'wrote' in Ichor, especially from the perspective of the girl who could not see what was being done. At first, the touch and the blood left behind were cold and light - ticklish as Badb had warned - but as the Ichor left behind seeped into her flesh and the goddess made more progress in what the wrote it all started to grow hot. Just barely tolerable, a burning sensation that Akemi had never quite felt anything like.

The startling contrast between the cold finger, warm blood, and burning sensations were not pleasant to the inexperienced Akemi, who had to resort to clawing the already-worn bedsheet to prevent herself from moving around, much like a child who really wanted to move but couldn't. Akemi had nothing from her memory to liken what she was feeling across her back, though the image of someone dumping hot coals over her back felt like an apt parallel to describe the discomfort-bordering-on-pain.

In spite of the rapid pace of the goddess's tracings, after a minute or so the finger had barely made its way a third down Akemi's back, and the dribble of Ichor had dried necessitating Badb to prick her finger again. Returning to beside Akemi, she once again placed a hand on her shoulder partly as forewarning and partly to help hold the girl still as she returned to writing. There had been a few inevitable twitches from Akemi, but so far they had managed to avoid any slip-ups that would demand a redo. "Once this is done, you won't feel anything different, but you'll already be a bit more than you once were. Stronger, faster, slower to tire, a bit more sensitive - a Falna, taking the Ichor of a deity into your flesh, will fundamentally affect everything. It won't be much at first, but as you gain Excelia in the Dungeon... Once you start slaying monsters and gathering experience in combat, before you know it you will have stepped beyond mortal limits." She started talking as she finished her work on the inscription, tracing larger shapes around the bare skin now that most of the writing had been finished. After another minute of finishing touches, Badb's finger lifted, and a faint glow spread in the room from whatever had been written into Akemi's flesh. The unexplainable heat from the symbols surged in Akemi before sizzling out, though in some vague way she felt a connection to the goddess beside her that hadn't been there before.

"Nice and normal, all Stats starting at I0 and no starting Skills. But... Hmm." Badb's fingers traced something at the center of Akemi's back, her happy voice transitioning to something a bit darker as she hummed to herself in thought. "I really liked your pleasant design, so I had hoped the Falna would possess it - but it seems like something different ended up the symbol displayed in the Falna." She didn't leave Akemi to guess morbid thoughts about what had her upset, having already understood that part of the girl's nature well enough. "It's just a bit disappointing is all."

It was odd being connected to a goddess Akemi had no clue about; besides her apparent connection to crows and swords she had little to discern what kind of goddess Badb was supposed to be. Little whispers of knowledge and insight had been planted in the back of Akemi's mind, as if unearthing a memory she hadn't had to recall in a long time: minute feelings that made the Far Easterner believe for a moment that she had met Badb somewhere before, but only in brief passing. The near-pain that was crawling all over her back had dissipated to a dull irritation when it was all over, replaced with an indescribable new feeling from deep inside. It felt like shedding an imagined armor off her shoulders, how she didn't physically feel better, but mentally felt that she could.

"Um... C-Can I put on my yukata now?" A bit late since Akemi was already trying to wriggle her yukata back on to regain some modesty...

 

[That Lass Over There]

"Um... C-Can I put on my yukata now?" A bit late since Akemi was already trying to wriggle her yukata back on to regain some modesty...

"Of course." Badb's tracing finger left Akemi's back and she stood up, giving the girl space to put back on her clothes properly. "After this, we're going to head around and visit a few of the deities I know in Orario. They'll be supporting us while we find our feet." Badb did a bit of a stretch as she waited with her back turned for Akemi to finish dressing, black hair spilling over her shoulders every time she moved. "After that, I guess we'll find a nice inn if we can't immediately bunk somewhere."

Once Akemi finished dressing, it was back to the pulling by hand.

Orario, split into eight sections by major roads lined up with the cardinal and ordinal directions, followed general patterns as to where one might find things. The western sections were much more of a civilian and mercantile area, while the eastern sections were for the poor and the working class, home to Daedalus Street. South was for entertainment and 'stress relief', while the north... The north was where many of the bigshot Familia called home or set up shop. Badb had been studying every signpost they passed like she was referencing an invisible map, so they weren't lost... Probably, as the goddess led them confidently through the streets between extravagant shops, Familia homes, restaurants and other locations of interest and wealth. Manors, mansions, towers, storefronts of the finest material and make.

... Needless to say, it was an odd place for the pair of newcomers to be.

"Alright, here!" Suddenly, as they had been passing by a large fenced park on their right side, Badb turned into the wooded area at the first path leading into it. At first, it wasn't clear why, but soon enough a manor grander than many they had passed by showed between the trees - doors closed and lights off, but looking beautiful with wooden columns framing the entrance and the stone foundation peeking out of the ground. Doubtless, the home of a prominent Familia. Badb went up to the doors to knock, passing by a note without care, the gust of her pace blowing it off the column it had been stuck to.

'Temair Hall, after the slaughter of the Lugh Familia and ascension of God Lugh back to Heaven, has been appropriated by the Guild. Unauthorized access of the property is punishable by law.
- Sylvester E. Grendwill, Head of the Guild'

Badb, seemingly dissatisfied with the lack of an answer, knocked on the door a second time with a bit more energy while mumbling to herself, "What, is nobody here?"

 

[Aron the Aron]

Orario, split into eight sections by major roads lined up with the cardinal and ordinal directions, followed general patterns as to where one might find things. The western sections were much more of a civilian and mercantile area, while the eastern sections were for the poor and the working class, home to Daedalus Street. South was for entertainment and 'stress relief', while the north... The north was where many of the bigshot Familia called home or set up shop. Badb had been studying every signpost they passed like she was referencing an invisible map, so they weren't lost... Probably, as the goddess led them confidently through the streets between extravagant shops, Familia homes, restaurants and other locations of interest and wealth. Manors, mansions, towers, storefronts of the finest material and make.

Having only sightseen Orario's more travelled streets, what few locales Akemi found familiar quickly became useless as she was pulled along through what could only be described as an example of ludicrous extravagance and luxury, with the odd hint of godly narcissism bleeding from a few over-embellished emplacements. Badb was infinitely more familiar with Orario than Akemi could ever hope to be, which was one of the reasons she didn't pipe up or curse with the odd stumble or near-trip. Just making sure she didn't drop her Katana by accident was becoming difficult as the goddess marched through.

... Needless to say, it was an odd place for the pair of newcomers to be.

"Alright, here!" Suddenly, as they had been passing by a large fenced park on their right side, Badb turned into the wooded area at the first path leading into it. At first, it wasn't clear why, but soon enough a manor grander than many they had passed by showed between the trees - doors closed and lights off, but looking beautiful with wooden columns framing the entrance and the stone foundation peeking out of the ground. Doubtless, the home of a prominent Familia. Badb went up to the doors to knock, passing by a note without care, the gust of her pace blowing it off the column it had been stuck to.

When Akemi's now-slightly-sore wrist was finally released, the Far Easterner took the reprieve to catch her footing and regain her bearings. Odd that Badb would take them to a place like that when no signs of apparent occupation were present. The trees were starting to become overgrown with their once-trimmed branches now entangling in a mess of leaves; what grass she could see had weeds beginning to crop up; what marks of cleanliness the manor once received were already beginning to erode under days, possibly even weeks of neglect. And of course: Akemi didn't miss the note Badb had blown past, gingerly picking it up and shaking off the traces of dust it had.

'Temair Hall, after the slaughter of the Lugh Familia and ascension of God Lugh back to Heaven, has been appropriated by the Guild. Unauthorized access of the property is punishable by law.
- Sylvester E. Grendwill, Head of the Guild'

Badb, seemingly dissatisfied with the lack of an answer, knocked on the door a second time with a bit more energy while mumbling to herself, "What, is nobody here?"

"Nobody is here..." Akemi piped, waving the small note in her hand as she caught up to Badb at the front of the manor. "I... don't think this place has hosted anybody in awhile..."

 

[That Lass Over There]

When Akemi's now-slightly-sore wrist was finally released, the Far Easterner took the reprieve to catch her footing and regain her bearings. Odd that Badb would take them to a place like that when no signs of apparent occupation were present. The trees were starting to become overgrown with their once-trimmed branches now entangling in a mess of leaves; what grass she could see had weeds beginning to crop up; what marks of cleanliness the manor once received were already beginning to erode under days, possibly even weeks of neglect. And of course: Akemi didn't miss the note Badb had blown past, gingerly picking it up and shaking off the traces of dust it had.

"Nobody is here..." Akemi piped, waving the small note in her hand as she caught up to Badb at the front of the manor. "I... don't think this place has hosted anybody in awhile..."

"Hm? Let me see that." Badb's incessant knocking was interrupted by Akemi, who put forward a note that the goddess had ignored in her march for the doors. Her yellow eyes scraped the paper once, then twice, and finally acknowledged the slightly overgrown nature of their surroundings. "Sylvester, hm? Not done a very good job of taking care of this appropriated property, has he." Badb tossed the slip of paper aside with about as much care and respect as had been shown this abandoned manor, turning back to the door with a distant expression. "I had hoped to see someone here, but I guess nobody is home. Well, that makes this easier I guess?"

Without warning, the skirt of Badb's dress fluttered in the air and a loud crash sounded in the clearing they stood in, echoing off the trees. The doors lay open, the goddess catching her balance with a childish glee as she recovered from the force she put in to the kick. "Hey, whaddya know, it worked! Now, let's see..." As if she owned the place, Badb strode right in, stepping on the note as she looked around the manor's insides like a thief perusing for valuables. The inside, minus a coat of dust at least a fortnight in the making, looked like it had just been lived in yesterday: furniture, paintings, vases and statues... There wasn't a trace of the looting or packing that might be expected of an expensive abandoned property. As they went... As Akemi followed Badb, the goddess kept opening doors they passed by, closing them promptly with dissatisfied clicks of her tongue or looks of dissatisfaction. She didn't once say what they were looking for, but if it were valuables, they had already passed by art and jewels likely worth more Valis than what Akemi had seen in her entire life.

No, instead, Badb finally opened a closet and looked on with a beaming smile, pulling out... A shovel.

"Ready to dig for treasure?"

 

[Aron the Aron]

"Hm? Let me see that." Badb's incessant knocking was interrupted by Akemi, who put forward a note that the goddess had ignored in her march for the doors. Her yellow eyes scraped the paper once, then twice, and finally acknowledged the slightly overgrown nature of their surroundings. "Sylvester, hm? Not done a very good job of taking care of this appropriated property, has he." Badb tossed the slip of paper aside with about as much care and respect as had been shown this abandoned manor, turning back to the door with a distant expression. "I had hoped to see someone here, but I guess nobody is home. Well, that makes this easier I guess?"

Akemi still had no clue what Badb's purpose of dragging her to the manor was, even after listening in on her read the note and mumble to herself. She could easily hazard a guess that Badb was familiar with whatever god had previously owned the manor, judging by how nonchalant she was about marching up and knocking on the door like a merchant who found their next gullible target to rip off.

"Easier?" Akemi had a bad feeling about what the Goddess in front of her was about to pull-

Without warning, the skirt of Badb's dress fluttered in the air and a loud crash sounded in the clearing they stood in, echoing off the trees. The doors lay open, the goddess catching her balance with a childish glee as she recovered from the force she put in to the kick. "Hey, whaddya know, it worked! Now, let's see..." As if she owned the place, Badb strode right in, stepping on the note as she looked around the manor's insides like a thief perusing for valuables. The inside, minus a coat of dust at least a fortnight in the making, looked like it had just been lived in yesterday: furniture, paintings, vases and statues... There wasn't a trace of the looting or packing that might be expected of an expensive abandoned property. As they went... As Akemi followed Badb, the goddess kept opening doors they passed by, closing them promptly with dissatisfied clicks of her tongue or looks of dissatisfaction. She didn't once say what they were looking for, but if it were valuables, they had already passed by art and jewels likely worth more Valis than what Akemi had seen in her entire life.

Well, Akemi should've expected something like that...

The Samurai glanced at the miraculously still-in-one-piece doors Badb had just kicked in, what hinges that hadn't been broken by the kick barely holding up the entranceway as the Goddess strode past with little care. Akemi forced herself to follow after a less-than-successful attempt at pushing the doors back into place, scurrying further inside so that she didn't lose sight of Badb in the unfamiliar manor.

The lack of life was unsettling to the mortal as she tentatively walked through halls and past rooms devoid of other activity. Save for the smatterings of dust everywhere, it really had appeared as if the manor had been frozen in time, with nary a sight of anything having been touched, let alone moved or displaced. The riches on display, likely typical of a deity and their familia, was far more wealth Akemi had seen at once than she had ever seen her whole life, distant sights of the Royal Court back in the Far East not included.

Errant thoughts went to what kind of familia once occupied this manor, and what kind of god this "Lugh" was that Badb apparently knew. The little clues she could glean through the doors Badb threw open told her fragments of what kind of people had once stayed there, small details like the furniture, left-behind belongings, and quirks of the rooms themselves. They inevitably had to be some sort of Familia involved with the Dungeon; maybe some of the displays were trophies and treasure they had looted from their Dungeon-Delving?

No, instead, Badb finally opened a closet and looked on with a beaming smile, pulling out... A shovel.

"Ready to dig for treasure?"

...

"えー?"

---

So it turned out that what Badb meant by "dig for treasure" was Akemi doing most of the digging, thus the situation the samurai found herself in.

There were already two sizeable holes in what once had to be a nice outdoor courtyard, both having been fruitless excavations Akemi went through in their search for whatever "treasure" Badb was talking about. She didn't even know what she was looking for, though since she had yet to find so much as a worm, she presumed that she'd know what she was supposed to be looking for once she accidentally hit it with the shovel. The bright reds and blacks of her Yukata were covered in light layers of dust like the manor she was outside of, and her zōri were thoroughly caked in bits of dirt and mud; it was going to be absolute hell cleaning everything when she had the chance to...

Probably best not to complain and just keep digging wherever Badb thought the treasure was...

 

[That Lass Over There]

When they left the manor, shovel still in Badb's hands, Badb strode right out with oozing confidence into the woods on the left of the path, a confused Akemi taking a moment to catch up. The moment Akemi caught up to her, however, Badb stopped in place with a look of hesitation. After a moment of deliberation, she turned right around, stepped over into the woods on the right, and started to look around with a bit more care. Mumbling things like 'knowing that bastard...', 'somewhere around here?' and 'this looks about right-', Badb gave the shovel to Akemi and told her to dig at places that would have seemed random if not for Badb seriously poking around and examining every detail of the environment, pointing out to herself suspicious little bits of moss or damaged roots... Well, a method to the madness didn't prevent it from being madness. Two holes, and none of Badb's supposed treasure.

The work would have been grueling enough if it was just digging, but Badb had also insisted on filling the holes they made - some nonsense about leaving the lawn in better condition than the current owner cared to. While Akemi busied herself shoveling dirt back into the second hole, Badb was standing to the side watching, scratching her chin over something. Their lack of progress hadn't seemed to bother the goddess much, for how invested she had been in the endeavor.

"And I thought this looked like a place the old man would hide something. Oh well." Same as the first, she shrugged it off, as though the failure had been a foregone conclusion. Coming in from behind Akemi, she swept the yellowish moss that she had pointed out back over the disturbed soil. Badb didn't pay much more attention to the spot, turning around and starting to walk confidently again, though she did stop occasionally to look around. "Come on, Akemi. I know exactly where that old man hid something." Before long, they were crossing the path into the woods on the left side, and without much of the humming, hurring, and comments of before Badb led them to a spot with a slight clearing in the overhead canopy. Several rocks framed the roots of a tree, and as though following an invisible map Badb stopped in a certain space in the area before turning. She stretched her hand out to Akemi with a grabbing motion before spelling it out for the girl, "The shovel? Give it to me. You've done enough, let me do a bit."

Only four scoops, and lacquered wood peeked through the soil. Badb kept at work without a moment's rest or a quippy comment, and a long while later when the lockbox was finally free of dirt she sat at the edge of the hole for an extended moment before pulling it out of the hole, a solemn look on her face. The box made quite the heavy noise as she dropped it to the ground out of the hole, and she rubbed her back while looking at Akemi. "Here it is. Enough money to get us started in Orario." She irreverently kicked the box, whatever expression that had been on her face long gone and replaced with a grin. "Though, I'll need your help- carrying it. A bit... Too heavy for one person." She rubbed her back again for emphasis with a meek smile.

She made no effort to open the box and check its contents, and she left Akemi alone for a moment as she shoveled the dirt back in to fill in what it could of the hole in the ground.

 

[Aron the Aron]

"And I thought this looked like a place the old man would hide something. Oh well." Same as the first, she shrugged it off, as though the failure had been a foregone conclusion. Coming in from behind Akemi, she swept the yellowish moss that she had pointed out back over the disturbed soil. Badb didn't pay much more attention to the spot, turning around and starting to walk confidently again, though she did stop occasionally to look around. "Come on, Akemi. I know exactly where that old man hid something." Before long, they were crossing the path into the woods on the left side, and without much of the humming, hurring, and comments of before Badb led them to a spot with a slight clearing in the overhead canopy. Several rocks framed the roots of a tree, and as though following an invisible map Badb stopped in a certain space in the area before turning. She stretched her hand out to Akemi with a grabbing motion before spelling it out for the girl, "The shovel? Give it to me. You've done enough, let me do a bit."

Only four scoops, and lacquered wood peeked through the soil. Badb kept at work without a moment's rest or a quippy comment, and a long while later when the lockbox was finally free of dirt she sat at the edge of the hole for an extended moment before pulling it out of the hole, a solemn look on her face. The box made quite the heavy noise as she dropped it to the ground out of the hole, and she rubbed her back while looking at Akemi...

Let it be known that the inner machinations of a goddess were increasingly looking like whimsical nonsense to Akemi, who was left standing dumbly to the side with a dirt-marred trunk. Why she was made to dig and fill two holes only for Badb to immediately turn around and say she knew where they had to look was beyond her; maybe she was being tested for her determination or commitment?

The wooden trunk Badb had pulled out was nothing remarkable with an initial glance: a boring old box-shaped mass that was big enough to fit her if she took everything off and curled up like a resting millipede. The golden-brown wood was largely overtaken by ugly yellows and tar-like blacks, and an unholy amount of scratches, scuffs, and dents left very little of the trunk in a half-presentable condition. The lacquer itself was absent in a lot of places, and almost worn to the wood in others; it felt like the chest had seen abuse before it was buried...

"Here it is. Enough money to get us started in Orario." She irreverently kicked the box, whatever expression that had been on her face long gone and replaced with a grin. "Though, I'll need your help- carrying it. A bit... Too heavy for one person." She rubbed her back again for emphasis with a meek smile.

She made no effort to open the box and check its contents, and she left Akemi alone for a moment as she shoveled the dirt back in to fill in what it could of the hole in the ground.

A cursory poke with the end of her sheathed katana returned a heavy thump. If Badb was right in saying that the trunk had money, then there was likely a lot more than Akemi had ever seen before... And Badb was essentially asking Akemi to help carry it... somewhere.

Akemi wouldn't consider herself weak, and she was certain that Badb was likely going to provide most of the muscle (even if she didn't show for it), but... Well, she hoped they didn't have to travel far...

"Um... where are we taking this?"

 

[That Lass Over There]

"Um... where are we taking this?"

"Right down the road, can't miss it." Badb grinned, hoisting the shovel over her shoulder with the work of setting the dirt back in place done. "I'll be right back, going to put this back where it was. Not ours, after all." Seemingly blissfully ignorant of the very apparent hypocrisy at play here, the goddess quickly disappeared from view, and came back in a couple of minutes with one less commandeered shovel. She waved to Akemi and bent down to pick up one of the handles on the case, gesturing for her Far Eastern friend to do the same. Together, they hoisted up what must have been over a hundred pounds of box contents with some effort. Unlike Akemi's prediction, Badb's side sagged as she put her free hand under the box to offer more support, apparently weaker than the girl had thought. Not by much, Akemi was struggling with such an unexpected load herself, but the observation was still interesting. Badb mumbled something about 'damn cheats' and started leading them in the direction she had returned from, the most direct way back to the path that had led them to the abandoned manor. Apparently, while she was making a show of it, the deity still had room to grumble plenty so she was doing fine with the weight for now.

Badb led them to dodge a few trees, avoiding roots and warning Akemi as she did, walking sideways so she could see where they were going. Before long, they came out to the path, and there was a cart sitting there waiting for them. "Another thing we'll be borrowing for a bit." With a wink, Badb worked her way around, dropping the box on the platform of the cart and grabbing the handle. At least she wasn't asking Akemi to pull it? "Alright~ Full speed ahead!"

...

'Right down the road.'

Now in the Western portion of Orario, the two had been taking turns lugging the cart down the roads, and teamed up for the uphill sections that served as a grueling test of endurance. Luckily for them, the citizens of Orario were too desensitized to the antics of deities to bother them about the oddity of their transport, and the few individuals who might have cared to question them either weren't around or had turned a blind eye. Likely, the latter. Regardless, after what felt like forever, they finally arrived at their destination with Badb giving a satisfied huff and opening the door for Akemi to push the cart through... Just barely fitting, thankfully.

Blue Pharmacy
Western Orario
17th Hour, 24th of March​

They came into a relatively small shop for the size of the street that it took, cramped in with shelves of potions on the walls. It was likely that the back was a workshop for the craftsmen who lived here, but that didn't explain what the several stories above were being used for - a thin stairway was placed behind the counter on the side, so presumably they were being used by the staff in some way. Speaking of -

"Hello, what can we do for you?" A dog-eared child - a Chienthrope - peeked at them over the counter, standing on a small stool so they wouldn't have to look so far up. The child's tail started wagging on seeing them, and went haywire when his sparkling eyes landed on Akemi's katana, though he demonstrated self control as he managed to not assault them with whatever ideas and questions were now cramming his young mind. Instead, he patiently waited, watching them to see if they needed guidance through the shop or other forms of assistance. His head tilted a bit seeing the cart that Akemi had pushed in, but again he exercised restraint until the visitors could speak.

"I'm here to visit Miach. Could you let him know Badb has arrived?" Badb smiled sweetly to the boy, and he nodded rapidly, but before the kid could rush off to pass on the message a deity walked down the stairs, long straight blue hair tied loosely behind him, and a gentle smile on his face... Though, it undeniably seemed more hollow than the gentle impression the god gave.

"There's no need, Rod. I'm already here." The deity waved his hand to settle the boy down with a gentle look that suited him much better, before turning that hollow smile of before back to Badb, sparing Akemi an appraising glance. "Badb. I was expecting you, please, come upstairs and join me for tea. Child, you as well - you can leave that case here." He gave a small, indecipherable smile to Akemi and a nod before heading back upstairs. Rod's eyes swam as he mumbled something, watching Badb and Akemi ascend the stairs, before turning back to watch the shop dutifully.

When they reached the top of the stairs, an elf lady was there to greet them, bandages wrapped around her eyes. "Goddess Badb and her companion?" With an affirmation from Badb, the woman turned around and led them down a hallway, saying "This way."

She led them down the hallway to a door next to the stairs leading to the third floor, knocking and waiting for the soft reply of Miach's voice to open the door. She made way for the two to enter the room, and as they were shown to two cushioned seats by Miach as the elf woman made her way to the left and busied herself with a tea set. "No need to worry," Miach said to Akemi with an understanding look, "Adelie brews a wonderful pot of tea, able to see or not." He glanced at Badb, but she seemed to be content with being silent for the moment, so he continued to speak with the Far Eastern child. "What is your name, might I ask? I take it that Badb has taken you under her wing, with how she's dragging you along everywhere." Unlike the dominating Badb who ran amok as she pleased, this gentle giant of a god spoke softly, slowly, and politely, leaving an excellent impression.

 

[Aron the Aron]

"Right down the road, can't miss it." Badb grinned, hoisting the shovel over her shoulder with the work of setting the dirt back in place done. "I'll be right back, going to put this back where it was. Not ours, after all." Seemingly blissfully ignorant of the very apparent hypocrisy at play here, the goddess quickly disappeared from view, and came back in a couple of minutes with one less commandeered shovel. She waved to Akemi and bent down to pick up one of the handles on the case, gesturing for her Far Eastern friend to do the same. Together, they hoisted up what must have been over a hundred pounds of box contents with some effort.

Badb led them to dodge a few trees, avoiding roots and warning Akemi as she did, walking sideways so she could see where they were going. Before long, they came out to the path, and there was a cart sitting there waiting for them. "Another thing we'll be borrowing for a bit." With a wink, Badb worked her way around, dropping the box on the platform of the cart and grabbing the handle. At least she wasn't asking Akemi to pull it? "Alright~ Full speed ahead!"

Akemi let out a sigh as she wrung her hands and shook out the soreness that had plagued her since they set foot on the manor grounds. Carrying the stupidly-heavy box through what had to be the most inconvenient and plant-choked path possible had certainly tested Akemi's ability to keep a steady grip while constantly dancing around every manner of overgrowth that could possibly grow; the motivation to not have her toes crushed by the chest helped ensure that her fingers stubbornly remained glued to the handles bolted onto the sides. By the time they came across the cart, Akemi had small splinters of wood stuck to her yukata to add onto the dirt and dust; she was pretty sure a few ends had gotten frayed just from that misadventure alone...

Hopefully Badb was right in that wherever they were supposed to go wasn't far off...

---

Blue Pharmacy
Western Orario
17th Hour, 24th of March​

So it turned out that either Badb was a dirty liar or her sense of scale and length were incomprehensibly different to Akemi's; whatever the case, the Far Easterner was now even more ragged from having pulled a cart alongside a goddess through half of Orario. Still not an ounce of complaint left her lips however, and maybe a few silent grateful sighs when nobody paid any attention to her and her less-than-dignified appearance. The shop Badb had taken her to was small and easy to miss with its nondescript entranceway, thankfully not too small that Akemi couldn't just push the cart inside (with a lot of difficulty and grunting) when Badb walked in first.

"Hello, what can we do for you?" A dog-eared child - a Chienthrope - peeked at them over the counter, standing on a small stool so they wouldn't have to look so far up. The child's tail started wagging on seeing them, and went haywire when his sparkling eyes landed on Akemi's katana, though he demonstrated self control as he managed to not assault them with whatever ideas and questions were now cramming his young mind. Instead, he patiently waited, watching them to see if they needed guidance through the shop or other forms of assistance. His head tilted a bit seeing the cart that Akemi had pushed in, but again he exercised restraint until the visitors could speak.

"I'm here to visit Miach. Could you let him know Badb has arrived?" Badb smiled sweetly to the boy, and he nodded rapidly, but before the kid could rush off to pass on the message a deity walked down the stairs, long straight blue hair tied loosely behind him, and a gentle smile on his face... Though, it undeniably seemed more hollow than the gentle impression the god gave.

"There's no need, Rod. I'm already here." The deity waved his hand to settle the boy down with a gentle look that suited him much better, before turning that hollow smile of before back to Badb, sparing Akemi an appraising glance. "Badb. I was expecting you, please, come upstairs and join me for tea. Child, you as well - you can leave that case here." He gave a small, indecipherable smile to Akemi and a nod before heading back upstairs.

"はい. I'll be right there." Akemi sighed wearily, seeing Badb already go up before her as she finished pushing the cart out of the entranceway and somewhere where it wouldn't get in anybody's way. By the kami, she looked like a wreck, and despite patting herself down and shaking off as much dust as she could, she couldn't fix the fact that she looked terrible. Even her sash was starting to sag from when Akemi had to tie her katana to it...

... Well it wasn't like she had any changes of clothing on her...

When they reached the top of the stairs, an elf lady was there to greet them, bandages wrapped around her eyes. "Goddess Badb and her companion?" With an affirmation from Badb, the woman turned around and led them down a hallway, saying "This way."

She led them down the hallway to a door next to the stairs leading to the third floor, knocking and waiting for the soft reply of Miach's voice to open the door. She made way for the two to enter the room, and as they were shown to two cushioned seats by Miach as the elf woman made her way to the left and busied herself with a tea set. "No need to worry," Miach said to Akemi with an understanding look, "Adelie brews a wonderful pot of tea, able to see or not." He glanced at Badb, but she seemed to be content with being silent for the moment, so he continued to speak with the Far Eastern child. "What is your name, might I ask? I take it that Badb has taken you under her wing, with how she's dragging you along everywhere." Unlike the dominating Badb who ran amok as she pleased, this gentle giant of a god spoke softly, slowly, and politely, leaving an excellent impression.

"Um..." Akemi glanced over at Badb with a look of apprehension, but when the goddess offered little besides an expectant look, she knew she was basically on her own. Still, she had to give as best of a first-impression as she could given her run-down appearance, so she stood up and bowed her head deeply. "Kurama Akemi of the Tenshin Shōden Katori Shintō-ryū; I was personally trained by Sōjōbō-sensei before joining that Ko-ryū, and I've come to Orario to open my own Ko-ryū Dojo."

Pleasedon'tcommentaboutmyappearancepleasedon'tcommentaboutmyappearancepleasedon'tcommentaboutmyappearancepleasedon'tcommentaboutmyappearance!

 

[That Lass Over There]

"Um..." Akemi glanced over at Badb with a look of apprehension, but when the goddess offered little besides an expectant look, she knew she was basically on her own. Still, she had to give as best of a first-impression as she could given her run-down appearance, so she stood up and bowed her head deeply. "Kurama Akemi of the Tenshin Shōden Katori Shintō-ryū; I was personally trained by Sōjōbō-sama before joining that Ko-ryū, and I've come to Orario to open my own Ko-ryū Dojo."

Pleasedon'tcommentaboutmyappearancepleasedon'tcommentaboutmyappearancepleasedon'tcommentaboutmyappearancepleasedon'tcommentaboutmyappearance!

Thankfully, nobody had seemed to spare even a glance to her deteriorating appearance; not even the white-haired elf, who probably couldn't see through those bandages, maybe.

To Akemi's introduction, slightly more ornate with Far Eastern mannerisms than her introduction to Badb that had been done under duress, Miach nodded appreciatively. "A pleasure to meet you Akemi, please take care of Badb into the future." He bowed his head slightly to the girl, without regard for their respective positions as mortal and deity. "As for you-" Miach's gaze turned to Badb, who held an indecipherable look, "... Apparently I owe you an apology. My idea of you was completely wrong; somehow, you are the most sane of the three. I am sorry for my mistaken assumption." He looked as though he was swallowing a bitter pill, though his misgivings didn't seem to be particularly aimed at the mischievous goddess in front of him.

"Apology accepted?" Badb, for her part, seemed genuinely surprised to be receiving such words out of the blue. While she was lightly swinging in her chair trying to recover from the sudden ball out of left field, Adelie came over and placed cups of tea in front of each of them, an excellent, somewhat sweet scent pervading the table as she bowed and left the room. Miach sipped from his cup, before placing it down and staring at Badb with a serious look.

"I've already been told what you want; the answer is no. You may stay here for a few nights, but I refuse anything more. I might acknowledge your sanity now, but I still think you're being incredibly stupid." Badb sipped from her own cup... Er, swallowed, as there was none of the delicious tea left when she placed it down, while Miach spoke and she didn't look at all surprised by this bit of news. Miach's eyes flicked to her empty cup and then Badb's smiling face, before letting out a wry smile of his own. "... A friend is still a friend. Would you go with Adelie to work out the details of your staying here, for a few minutes?"

"Certainly. Seeya, Akemi, he's sweet as he looks I promise -" Without any additional prompting, before Miach had even suggested so Badb was out of her chair and halfway to the door, moving fast as ever. She left some cryptic reassurance for her ever-anxious Familia member before closing the door behind her, footsteps outside the door leading away.

Miach took another sip from his cup before lifting the teapot that had been left on the desk, checking its weight. "There's still plenty left, so don't be shy. It's a blend that helps me relax." He smiled gently with a warmth to his eyes, leaving the pot a bit to the side between them. "Anything you'd like to talk about? I imagine it's been a long day for you. Badb can be very forceful and energetic, which ends up overwhelming if you don't know her well."

 

[Aron the Aron]

Miach took another sip from his cup before lifting the teapot that had been left on the desk, checking its weight. "There's still plenty left, so don't be shy. It's a blend that helps me relax." He smiled gently with a warmth to his eyes, leaving the pot a bit to the side between them. "Anything you'd like to talk about? I imagine it's been a long day for you. Badb can be very forceful and energetic, which ends up overwhelming if you don't know her well."

With Badb leaving, Akemi felt her shoulders sag ever so slightly at the goddess' departure in a small measure of relief. Her katana sat neatly to her right with its edge facing inward, and the young samurai awkwardly sat back down. First she dealt with one eccentric Goddess, now she was sitting alone with a different God...

This other god Miach seemed mellow enough to let Akemi catch her breath and mentally recuperate, and at the offer of tea Akemi politely brought a steaming teacup up with her hands. At first glance, the brownish hues of the tea vaguely reminded her of a classic Hojicha Tea back in the Far East, but the smell was far removed from the green teas she was more acclimated to, and the color was slightly brighter. She was almost afraid to try, but out of politeness she took tentative sips.

The tea was, as expected, nothing like green tea. The taste was strong and had hints of maltiness, which was a far cry from the warm notes of Hojicha or the smooth, slightly fruity Sencha teas she knew. There was also a slight trace of something else mixed with the tea, maybe milk?

"It's... different." Akemi began when she put the teacup down. "It feels... heavy, like it's meant to go with something. It has a thick texture but it doesn't taste like it's from the tea itself..." Weird way to start a conversation, but Akemi already opened her mouth, so it was too late to go back. "Um... Is there... Is there anything you can tell me about her? T-The goddess I mean. Badb?"

 

[That Lass Over There]

"It's... different." Akemi began when she put the teacup down. "It feels... heavy, like it's meant to go with something. It has a thick texture but it doesn't taste like it's from the tea itself..." Weird way to start a conversation, but Akemi already opened her mouth, so it was too late to go back. "Um... Is there... Is there anything you can tell me about her? T-The goddess I mean. Badb?"

Miach nodded in response to Akemi's observation, swirling the contents of his teacup as he spoke. "It's meant to go with some light cookies, but I'm afraid my previous guests of the day have eaten all that we had prepared today. One of them had a particularly strong sweet-tooth. Normally, Adelie adds a bit more honey as well, but we're also running a bit low on that." He took another sip and set his cup down, considering the question for a moment with closed eyes.

"That is why I sent her away, after all." With a sigh, he seemed to be telling such to himself, though he said it loud enough that it may have been for Akemi's ears as well.

After another moment of thought, Miach leaned forward, putting his chin on a net woven by his hands. "The first thing that I will tell you, is that I can't tell you everything. It is not my place, as a friend or an outsider. I've also not been in Heaven for a long time, so there are some things I won't know. But I'll tell you as much as I can."

"Badb, from general understanding in Heaven, is a goddess of war and death. My perspective... Well, having heard some more personal details that have recontextualized things, I might consider her more as a goddess of prophecy specializing in death, with an unnatural proclivity for war. It seems to have just been her hobby." His eyes were distant as he reminisced and considered the past in a new light - few deities truly missed Heaven in relation to the lives they lead on the mortal realm, but that did not mean there was no value in those memories. "As for what that would mean to you, well -" Miach's eyes sharpened for a moment as he paused, "- consider her to be very informed, though she'll not be very likely to give a straight answer. She's a very deceitful individual, for someone that I've never known to tell an actual 'lie'."

Miach watched for Akemi's reaction before continuing, "That all being said, I consider her one of the nicer deities I know, even before my opinion recently shifted on her. Hardheaded and hot-blooded sure, but she doesn't have much malice in her, and she'll fiercely look after anyone she's decided to protect even if the feeling is not mutual. I don't seem to be the only one with that opinion, either; most deities interact with her on friendly terms in individual meetings, even if the general public opinion of her is as a troublemaker and bad omen. She's also a lot more sincere if you're able to read into her words, since as I said, I've never actually known her to lie." A warm smile had been creeping on his face as he spoke about Badb, apparently more fond of her than he made it sound as he dove deeply into the type of person she was, but his face hardened once again as he shifted to another matter, sitting up straight.

"Well, this is what I had originally wanted to say, more than anything else. This, definitely, is outside my role as a friend to her, but... I dislike what she is up to in the background. I would like nothing more than for you to support her, and for her to help raise the next generations of heroes, but she's going to be playing with fire. It's not my place to tell you, but if it ever becomes more than you want to deal with, you are welcome to come here. Familia members are not slaves to their parent deity, and I think Badb would be more forgiving than most. From what I guess, she's not completely happy with what she's doing, either." Miach closed his eyes, leaning back into his chair to try and relax, or maybe just trying to think more deeply on what he was speaking of. "As for what I'm talking about... It should be far in the future, for you. She'll tell you in time, when it matters. Just don't forget, that you don't have to keep her company if she falls out of line. Family isn't the sort of thing where you should unquestioningly accompany each other."

 

[Aron the Aron]

Akemi silently digested Miach's long-winded spiel, picking apart the many little hints and warnings he planted as she fiddled with the wrappings on her katana. In the end he was warning her of what she had begun to suspect: Badb was a person who liked keeping people in the dark, accidentally or purposefully, and definitely had grand plans despite her seemingly random and spontaneous behavior. It made the Far Easterner wonder if her being picked up by the Goddess was as much coincidence and providence as it first appeared...

"... I don't like being kept in the dark about things, but I've learned that some things I'm never supposed to know..." She muttered aloud, unsheathing a sliver of her katana's distinct black and red edge. "Sōjōbō-sensei told me as much about the kami back home; "the truth is the business of gods and goddesses, even if it involves us mortals." It still doesn't make it right though... I thought it'd be better here than home, the intrigue and backstabbing..."

 

[That Lass Over There]

"... I don't like being kept in the dark about things, but I've learned that some things I'm never supposed to know..." She muttered aloud, unsheathing a sliver of her katana's distinct black and red edge. "Sōjōbō-sensei told me as much about the kami back home; "the truth is the business of gods and goddesses, even if it involves us mortals." It still doesn't make it right though... I thought it'd be better here than home, the intrigue and backstabbing..."

Miach frowned as Akemi voiced her dissatisfaction, before shaking his head and settling back into a sad smile. "Family keeps secrets from each other. It's just the nature of being close to someone; you'll inevitably be keeping a few things to yourself, even on accident." He spun his empty teacup around by its handle, staring at the teapot he had placed between them while silently pondering whether to pour himself another cup. "I don't know why your teacher told you so, but it is true that it can be difficult even for me to tell my children everything. There are things that I'm scared would put them in danger if I told them. And things that I need to keep secret no matter what, but would definitely be found out by a snooping deity if I passed the knowledge out. And there are doubtless things that my children don't tell me about. Many times, I only find out they were having a tough time long after they resolved the issue, because they didn't want to tell me." He closed his eyes for a moment after stating so, his hand ceasing its fiddling with the cup.

After a moment, he opened his eyes, reflective atmosphere gone as he reached for the teapot and poured himself a new cup. "Badb may like to play word games more than most, but if she's really hiding something from you, it's for good reason. Part of family is knowing that, accepting it, and trusting that they'll tell you when they're ready. Or knowing when to push, anyway." He sipped from his refilled cup before looking back up at Akemi with solemn eyes. "Is there anything else you would like to know?"