prismatica | video

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And now that all of the sprouting ears and tails business is over with...

[Among many other effects but whatever. She's adjusting and perhaps at a pace far more speedily than she really ought to be in all the wrong aspects. Ears and tails? That's okay. Thinking about not seeing Toby again for a long while? That's harder. The video tilts and moves a bit as Sarah settles her device a good enough distance away that she can more or less talk to it somewhat casually.

Once she's finally happy with that she leans back in her chair, bearing a mug between her hands. Steam rises off of it just a little and she completely looks like she's settling in for a nice chat with a friend here.]

So I'm not exactly well versed in video over networks and things like that but if I'm going to be here a while, might as well jump straight in. So in an effort to just get to know some of you and maybe satiate my curiosity at the same time, why don't you share a story with me?

[She pauses a moment to blow across the top of her mug, scattering the steam out of view of the camera for a second or so before she elaborates further.]

It can be anything you like. A personal story, a fairy tale, something you heard here or elsewhere, whatever. I'm not picky here.

[Maybe she will be in the future but for now she's feeling somewhat lonesome and stories have always been a way for her to outrun that particular emotion.]

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So they are like youkai. Or they're the same thing with a different name.

[Like how mortals changed hair and eye colors once you crossed the sea, and their bones shifted angles in their faces.]

I've never heard of Ireland or any of those things, but in Japan lots of spirits live in the same realm as humans. Mostly because they like to eat them, but there's some that don't, or are peaceful. Or just don't care enough to bother with humans. Youkai can come in almost any shape. Sometimes they're born from dead spirits, sometimes just from families like mortals and animals. I'm —

[He takes a pause. Remembering how quick Sesshomaru was to butt in the second he claimed he was youkai. Could his brother be watching this conversation now? Why was this allowed to happen? Anyone could eavesdrop and catch their fill of gossip without leaving their bed.]

—dog hanyou. [There. The whole truth, but using a word foreigners don't know and his asshole brother can't protest. It rankles him to announce that he's half of anything. It's never done him favours.] And there's kitsune — uh, fox — cat, crow, wolf, spider, centipede, dragon...Nearly every animal. Lots aren't animals at all but are like, um...cursed objects, or sometimes they come from... [Hm. Inuyasha scratches at his mouth. How would you classify anything so broad?] Stuff like "nothingness", or "motherhood." Some look enough like humans to trick them, hiding among them or luring them away. The Yuki Onna are real bitches like that.

Ah, from concepts? Sometimes gods in other cultures come from those too. The Greeks and Romans have gods devoted to things like memory, wisdom, fertility, motherhood and more. They even have a god just for the enjoyment of drinking.

[There's a twinge of amusement at the end there. She's not sure the connotations behind the word 'hanyou' but by the pause she thinks it's wise enough to say it's not something to dwell on. She gets the idea he isn't human and that's more or less all she really needs to know.]

The fairies do that sometimes. Actually that's one of the trickiest parts of dealing with fairies. They love to lure children in particular away and sometimes enjoy replacing them outright with children of their own.

[She pauses there herself and considers a moment. He'd shared something personal so...]

At home I was writing a story about one such incident with a fairy. How about I tell you that story instead since you're so interested in them?

[Ahem. She settles back in her chair. She's told Ned the story in a very roundabout and loose way but she'll put more of the details she left out here. It's easier in the guise of her book and not totally untrue.]

Once there was a girl who drew the attention of a particular fairy. He called himself a King.

[He purses his lips.]

Well I've got nothing better to do, so...

[Far be it from him to express an honest curiosity in something. Though he was curious. Deathly so. It was a strange comfort to imagine the monsters could share so much in common. So many people from so many different lands, and there wasn't much to connect any of them. That there could be echoes of the same things across realms, fairies for Ireland and youkai for Japan...

It's a nice thought. It made these distant lands look a little closer on the horizon.]

Was he actually a king or just the biggest asshole in the place?

[It was really easy to call yourself whatever and then just beat the crap out of whoever denied it.]

What'd she do?

[Sarah does her best not to just snort up her tea at the question. This kid.]

Well the goblins he ruled over certainly called him King. They seemed to like him too for whatever reason.

[Her voice lowers just a touch, like she's telling a secret.]

If you ask me though, he was probably the biggest asshole in the place too.

[She huffs out an amused breath.]

This girl was all of fifteen and of course made the one mistake you don't want to make with a fairy. Or probably your youkai either. She made a wish for the King to take away her baby brother one night when he was annoying her.

[And now Sarah leans forward a little, all serious expression.]

And the King did just that.

[He gives a long-suffering sigh.]

I think I know a guy that could beat him.

[He has a moon on his forehead and a mound of shit for brains. Once again he wonders if his brother is watching. He must have better things to do with his time than monitor every conversation on this damn glass bangle.

If he shows up sword at the ready he'll know he was being watched.

The story takes an unpleasant turn. As most do, when dealing with forces beyond the mortal realm. Inuyasha narrows his eyes.]

Did he kill him?

[It would be par for the course.]

Not at all. The King gave the girl a choice - she could forget her brother or she could solve a puzzle for the King. And if she solved it, she would get her baby brother back. If she didn't then the baby would become one of his people.

[That's the basic gist of it, a little shaved away here and there to avoid specifics.]

Wow. That's getting off lucky. Usually youkai just eat them right away or weaken them to eat later. [It sounds like this guy was more just fucking around than trying to commit evil deeds. Which admittedly, is almost worse. Who makes a game out of mortal lives like that?] So what happened then? Did she win or lose?

In the end? She won. Sort of. She did get her brother back but you know how it goes with these things. Once you experience something supernatural or even just dabble in magic somehow, you're never really the same again.

[He wears an odd look now, peering through the camera as if there were nothing but air between them.

Truth be told that's a fear he holds for Kagome. He knows, deep down, that she belongs in her own era. But if she should get hurt in his own time, or take something back with her? Or find herself changed when she returns, unable to settle again? What if she were called back later on, and he wasn't there to take care of her?

He has many reasons to lose sleep for his own hide's sake, yet it's things like this that rob him of rest the most.]

That's true. [He says finally.] I'm glad she got her brother back. A lot of the time they're lost for good.

[Her words seemed to have hit a nerve. She doesn't outright watch him but when he states that he's glad, Sarah smile brightens.]

She was pretty glad too, to be honest with you. You don't really realize how important someone is to you until you nearly lose them - or until you do lose them.

[He nods.]

Nobody knows anything until it's too late.

[This whole tale comes through with a real passion. She feels for the girl and her brother she's invented. There's probably kernels of truth in there: a fight, or a sickness striking. People regret things pretty quickly once the threat of death comes knocking.]

I guess that's a good enough story. ["Thank you for sharing," he could say, but will not.] So I owe you one? That's the deal, huh?

[Sarah huffs out a breath at him proclaiming it 'good enough'. She can't help the light smirk curving the edge of her lips.]

Sure, if you want. You better have a 'good enough' one though.

Ha! Of course I will!

[Nevermind that he wasn't exactly a born entertainer. He has enough stories, he supposes. There's a lot he's done since waking that might suit the purpose. It didn't even have to be his alone. He'd given Sango's story to Matthias, but that one was too easily seen as a hopeless tragedy.

Okay then.]

There's a man I know. A Buddhist monk. A long time ago, his grandfather encountered an evil youkai, and vowed to chase him down and destroy him. They were always at odds and fought many times over the years, but the final time they met, the youkai put a curse on him.

[Inuyasha holds up his palm to the camera, fingers splayed out.]

He put a hole in his hand. A void. When it was uncovered, powerful winds would suck everything in its path into the void. But it would grow over time, and eventually consume him alive.

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