Sleep comes surprisingly easy, even if she's on a hard floor, in a strange place, and it's as quiet as a tomb. Her sleep is also dreamless, which may be a small mercy for the girl given the past few days. But, that silent and dark rest cannot last forever, and she finds her eyes creaking open slowly. It's still dark, so may still be night-time. But, she does feel a bit better, so she slept a few hours, at least. Of course, now the question is, should she go back to sleep or should she get up? Well, her bladder is waking up now too, so she might want to get up long enough to pee at least.
Stretching before getting up, Niamh takes a moment to orient herself and let her eyes adjust, unsure if she wants to light the candle. In the end, however she decides having some light is necessary, since navigating the interior of the building in the dark may be a bit much to handle. So she takes a few moments to try and light the candle while still on her knees.
It's a moment of fumbling to find everything, but Niamh manages to. A few strikes of a sulfur match and she has the candle lit and the room is bathed in yellowish light. It looks ... well, as barren as it did earlier.
Not bothering to get dressed since she doesn't expect things to take too long, she slides open the door to her room and checks the hallway. It shouldn't be too hard to find her way from memory.
Things look a lot different in the dark. And a lot spookier; it feels like all the shadows somehow have eyes and are watching her. But ... she does manage her way back to the outside eventually. The moon is low in the sky, and there's a sliver of color on the horizon indicating sunrise may be soon coming.
"I missed the moon," she laments to herself, before making her way to where she recalls the privy being.
More effort! And the ground is cold, too. But after about ten minutes of searching, she finds the door to the privy.
She carefully tries opening it, not wanting to be surprised by another Akaname spirit.
The bathroom is thankfully vacant! Well, at least as much as she can see, that is.
After moving the candle as much as she can to check the nooks, crannies and hole, she finally lets out a sigh and tries to relieve herself.
There were a few moments where she almost fell in the hole ... and that moment where she screamed because she mistook a front for a demon ... but after about half an hour she manages to relieve herself without further embarrassment.
She cracks the door back open, figuring dawn is probably just around the corner - and remembering the claims that 'we rise with the sun' - Niamh figures she's not going to be getting more sleep. She checks to see if she'll still need the lit candle or not.
It's bright enough that the candle is probably not needed. She can even spot a set of white fox tails disappearing down the back steps towards the forest.
Blowing out the candle, Niamh wonders what Noboru is up to. After all, Miyuki is supposed to be the forest liaison. So she tries to follow quietly, using her breathing exercise to 'hide' her spirit aura as she was taught.
At least.. she follows as far the steps.
So far, so good, she makes it to the stairs and then down them. She sees those white tails continue to flick about. The fox pauses at the bottom of the stairs for a moment, then sniffs at the air. A moment later, onward Noboru goes, out into the forest. Now the question is, does Niamh follow?
"He sniffed the air, so probably knows I'm here," she thinks. She stops at the last step though, and bites her lip. This could be a test, she reasons. Keeping her focus on hiding her aura, she takes one step out onto the forest floor.. and waits to see if anything notices her.
Does wet moss count? The ground is cool to her feet, and wet with dew. Nothing has yet tried to nibble her, either. If the fox knows she's there, well, he's not slowing down any. The tails flick and are soon disappearing into the denser foliage.
Niamh risks taking another few steps. Maybe she's hidden her 'yokai' presence, but her human one is still apparent. This time she actually whispers, "Noboru, can you hear me?" The kitsune has big ears, after all.
No reply at all. So, does she risk going after him, or waiting at the temple?
Gritting her teeth, Niamh turns back to the stairs and returns to the temple. She can ask Miyuki about it. Noboru said he'd take her into the forest anyway, so she just needs to be patient. It's more important to talk to Inari first.
"You're up early," remarks a yawning Noboru from the other side of the temple where he's perched, as usual, on top of the torii gate. "Couldn't sleep?" he asks, tails dangling down like depressed dandelions.
"Wait.. have you been here this whole time?" Niamh asks, craning her head upwards. "I just saw you going down the steps into the forest.."
"I've been here all night," Noboru says, then yawns widely again. "Are you sure you were not imagining things?"
"I doubt I imagined your tails," Niamh says. "Do either of your parents go into the forest?"
"No, they do not," Noboru says just before jumping down from his perch and sauntering over. "Where did you imagine this..?" he asks.
"The steps going to the forest," Niamh says, and points towards the rear gate of the temple grounds.
Noboru goes by Niamh, and accidentally flicks a tail up under her nightgown as he passes. He heads on towards the back gate.
Niamh doesn't comment on the 'accident', since Noboru would just claim his tails have minds of their own or something. She follows him instead, wondering what could have been trying to lure her out into the woods.
Noboru is sniffing about the ground at the bottom of the stairs now "You are certain you saw me pass through here?" he inquires, absently. "I only scent you."
"I saw.. white kitsune tails.." Niamh admits. "I assumed they were yours. I didn't see what they connected to. But I first saw them going down the stairs, before I followed them. Where they some sort of illusion?"
"I don't know. I don't detect anything unusual. But, a powerful kitsune could mask their trails easily enough. It is probably good that you didn't follow it at least. And, it shows you have some judgment," Noboru notes as he sits on his haunches and frowns a little. "It is concerning that a powerful yokai would come here."
"And.. you're certain it wasn't a kitsune trick? Because.. you wouldn't try to trick me as a test would you?"
"Of course I would, but this wasn't me," Noboru claims. "Perhaps you are just trying to upset me, hmm? Revenge for last night?"
"No.. but, it would have to be someone that knew I might follow the tails into the forest," Niamh points out. "Who knows that and can make an illusion you wouldn't notice?"
"No one here that would try to do such things," Noboru admits. "That is what worries me."
"Could it have been.. the kirin?" Niamh asks in a whisper.
"Highly unlikely. Why would you suspect someone like that?" Noboru has to ask.
"He's the only other one I could think of that has seen the both of us together," Niamh admits. "I don't think Yosei would know to trick me with something like that."
"Could you have imagined it?" Noboru asks again and looks over to Niamh. "I do not sense anything at all here other than you."
The girl frowns. "I really don't think that I imagined it," she says. "I was pretty awake after all. I suppose it doesn't matter, so long as I don't let myself be lured into the forest alone. You're still going to take me, aren't you?"
Blue lights pop into existence a ways into the forest. One ... two ... three ... four ... five ... six. Noboru's ears go straight up and his head spins. He's back on his feet in the blink of an eye and has positioned himself between Niamh and the light, his four tails splayed wide. Rather peacock-like, really. "Anata jishin o kokuchi suru!" he growls.
"Are those kitsune-bi?" Niamh asks, startled by Noboru's sudden change in posture.
"Anata ni mo aete ureshi, Noboru-sama," comes the reply in a feminine-sounding voice ... followed by a flickering in of a gray-furred six-tailed kitsune, with a bi flickering softly on the end of each of its tails.
Naimh can see Noboru flinch, and even take a step back. "Kasumi?" he asks, sounding shocked. At least Niamh thinks he sounds shocked. It's hard to tell. "Naze anata wa koko ni iru nodesu ka?" he asks as his stance softens, just a little.
Watching the changes, Niamh wonders if Noboru had a kitsune wife along with the human one. She smiles slightly and bows her head towards the other kitsune.
"Noboru-sama, riyu ga hitsuyodesu ka," Kasumi replies and smiles just a little too sweetly. "And you must be the uncouth barbarian I have heard about recently," she now addresses Niamh directly. "You are, indeed, as ugly and primitive as I have heard."
"Heard about?" Niamh has to ask. So now there is gossip about her?
"Pfft, you still have no manners, Kasumi," Noboru remarks in English this time, perhaps for Naimh's benefit. "She is a guest, and should be afforded some leeway." This just makes Kasumi laugh. "Manners? Oh, you mean the false niceties you show to those beneath you. That is not my way, Noboru-sama. Especially when humans are involved," she adds, sounding annoyed. "Or those that are mostly human. How can you defend such ugly misshapen monkey rejects?"
"This is not the time, nor the place, to discuss our ... issues, Kasumi," Noboru snaps this time. "Why are you here?"
"Was she trying to lure me into the forest?" Niamh whispers to Noboru. She still doesn't understand why everything seems to either hate her or want to eat her.
"I heard you had a new pet, and I wished to meet it. It's quite disappointing, though," Kasumi remarks, and sniffs, nonplussed. "I don't understand why you even bother."
Noboru sighs, "Please. We do not need to get into this now, Kasumi." Kasumi just looks amused and asks, "Can I borrow it?" "No!" Noboru barks.
"She almost sounds jealous," Niamh mutters under her breath. She wonders if maybe Kasumi is one of those nogitsune, non-divine fox types.
"Aw. I would return it intact. I promise," Kasumi claims as her tails flick about. She even flutters her eyelids at Niamh. "And she can speak, no? Child, do you wish to spend time with me?"
Something feels ... off. Niamh is feeling a little dizzy, with butterflies in her stomach, and sort of warm and giggly. It feels all kinds of wrong.
"I.. feel odd," Niamh admits. "I.. I think your only interest in me is in how you can use me to get back at Noboru as part of some.. game, probably. Why would you want to spend time with an uncouth monkey-reject half-breed foreign Yosei?"
Noboru's tail snaps, and that sensation immediately stops. "Just go, Kasumi. I will find you later and we can talk," he says, sighing. "Please, do not start a fight here." This makes Kasumi laugh again, "Ooooo, yes, I'd be so terrified of a four tail." That last bit is punctuated with the flick of her six tails to make a point.
"Does she serve Inari too?" Niamh asks Noboru.
Now addreessing Niamh, Kasumi notes, coldly, "I am to be called honored one when you address me, child. As for why, come with me and find out."
"No, she does not. She serves none but herself. Just ... do not judge her too harshly," Noboru notes, quietly. To Kasumi, he says while sounding pained, "You know that this close to the temple I can wield more magic than you, even if I am lacking of tails. And I see the centuries have not done anything to calm your heart regarding me. But I ask you again, please go. We can settle the issues between us privately later."
"Forgive me, honored one, but I have to prepare to speak with Inari today," Niamh says and bows again. "I cause Noboru enough annoyance without becoming involved in his relationships. Please understand."
This makes Kasumi back a laugh. "No amount of time could ever make me forgive you. You spared them, you bastard, when they did not spare our children," she snarls at Noboru, eyes narrowed. "They should have burned in our righteous fire for what they took from us ... but no, you forgave them, claiming they did not know. Know, or not know, their actions took from us. It matters not what they knew. But no, not Noboru, faithful Celestial Kitsune of Inari, he could never act in anger or rage against humans ... not even if they burned his children to death. Feh. I do not know what I ever saw in you."
"We are done here. Niamh, return to the temple proper, please," Noboru asks. He sounds surprisingly defeated.
"Coward! You sacrificed one of your tails for your sister, but you refused to punish humans for killing your children" Kasumi yells, all fluff and fire. "Hypocrite! You turned your back on me! Why do you help that thing?"
Niamh turns her back on the confrontation and heads back towards her room. Probably because humans are nicer than you, despite their faults, she thinks to herself. Not that she'd say that to Kasumi.
Noboru turns and follows after Niamh, leaving Kasumi to hurl insults as they leave. "It is good you did not follow her," he notes, quietly.
"So, does she hate humans so that she doesn't have to blame herself for what happened?" Niamh asks Noboru. "Hate is usually easier than guilt for some."
"No. Humans were burning for new fields, and burned our den. It killed our children, but it was not an evil act. It was just a mistake," Noboru notes. "I cannot condemn a mistake, an act not done in evil. She .. would have had us burn their village and kill their children. I wouldn't allow it ... and well, that was that as the saying goes."
"So she hates you now for stopping her?" Niamh asks. "What kept her from doing it anyway, if she has that much power?"
"I am backed by the Gods, she is not," Noboru notes and shrugs a little. "I do not think she hates me, angry with yes, but hate? No, she is not so far gone as that."
"So she still loves you then?" Niamh asks. "She is nogitsune, isn't she? I.. wouldn't expect you to have gotten together."
"Hard to say is she still loves me, but I do not think she hates me," Noboru comments, "As for your question, yes, she is. We were young. This was ... centuries ago. She was of three tails, I was of two. You cannot control whom you love."
"Is she why you haven't had another kitsune mate?" Niamh asks as gently as she can, unsure if it's a sore spot for Noboru.
"It is one of them, yes," Noboru notes, "But this is not your problem or concern. You have an audience with Inari this morning, do you not?"
"If she is willing to see me, yes," Niamh says. "And having Kasumi around probably makes visiting the forest to find Yosei a bit problematic. But.. all the more reason to get Inari's permission for my invocation. Do you have any advice for me? Your kame aren't like the sort I'm used to."
"Advice? Like, don't call her fat and ugly?" Noboru has to ask.
"I wouldn't do that to a mortal, much less a deity," Niamh points out. "I mean.. is there a special protocol?"
"Be reasonably polite, and not too nosy or personal," Noboru notes. "Treat her like you would your grandmother."
"Is it proper for me to wear the miko uniform?" the girl asks, just to be certain given how complicated it is to put on.
"You should dress respectfully ... or go completely nude. Nothing in between," Noboru notes.
"That.. didn't answer my question," Niamh points out. "As a foreign almost-priestess, is it respectful to dress as one of Inari's servants, or should I wear my own vestments? Or.. maybe going nude is the simpler option after all."
"Local dress would be more respectful than foreign," Noboru concedes, "And you should decide and go get dressed soon." This he punctuates by patting her on her backside with one of his tails.
"I'll go find Miyuki to help me into the shrine clothes then," Niamh says. Before she heads back into the temple though, she looks back and says, "I'm sorry that my presence has stirred up old issues for you. I didn't realize my being here would have reached someone like Kasumi."
"Yokai talk; it doesn't surprise me. I don't hold it against you," Noboru claims and heads off in another direction. It's then that Niamh notices ... her butt is itching.
Reaching back to scratch.. Niamh stops short. She'll wait until she's back in her room to see what sort of tail Noboru has given her..