And onward the walk goes. There's the occasional commentary, and more attempts to convince Niamh being part deer is how she should be. And of course the counter arguments that it is not. The commentary was never mean about it, or too teasing. More just perhaps a bit sad Niamh rejects even the possibility. Still it does help pass the time until the moment that out of the blue Noboru announces, "We're here! Here being ... what feels like the middle of nowhere in this weird cloud-like path and standing before a Torii gate.

"Sacrifices first, of course, " the elder kitsune quips and before Niamh even has a chance to go 'What?' the older fox pushes her right through the gate. The world seems to spin about, things either going upside down, or looking a bit noodly before the world comes back into focus.

Mountain Shrine
The mountain shrine of the tengu is buried deep atop of the mountains of Japan. All around stand ancient and majestic trees that are still dusted in snow. The air here is crisp; downright chilly, really, The shrine itself stands just part the entrance gate. It appears made from mostly stone and wood; far more rustic than the lacquered wood of the shrines closer to human towns. All around the shrine, nested up in the trees, is a true murder of Crows. And they all, stare unblinking, at the visitor(s) at the gates.

Even after the long walk, Niamh has a hard time sorting out her legs after the push. After getting her hooves under her again, Niamh notices the audience in the trees, and is immediately reminded of the Badb Catha 'battle crows' from back home. She then eyes the shrine and wonders what she's supposed to do, so gingerly approaches it.

There's a pause at the gate. She knows gates are important, but isn't certain why. She looks up to see if there's a guardian perched on it, just like Noboru would lounge on the one for the Inari shrine.

The entire top of the gate is covered in crows and they are all staring at her. The look is oddly judgmental, as if waiting to see just what she does. "Don't tell me you have forgotten already," comes Miyuki's voice from behind her. "There are rules on where you walk when you approach a shrine."

What were the rules? Niamh thinks to herself. With all that's happened in such a short amount of time, things seem a bit jumbled. She doubt's she has to say anything. Everytime she passed through the gate at the Inari shrine it was just Noboru teasing her! She looks to the ground again. Does bowing her head even work in a body like this? Her legs actually freeze up in indecision.

Miyuki sighs. "Yes, you forgot. Walk through at the edge, not through the center. The center is reserved for Gods," the kitsune reminds. She even moves to Niamh's side and mushes at her for her to step more to the right and closer to the gate post.

Moving sideways takes all of Niamh's concentration, and then she cross the threshold right next to the post. She's never seen a god enter a shrine, after all.

How would she know if she did, or didn't? Most Gods don't advertise they're Gods, after all. And of course all the crows are still staring at her too. "Just ignore the crows. They are trying to make you nervous," Miyuki comments as she follows, "And succeeding by the look of it." However, when Noboru appears and walks under the gate (on the left this time), all the crows on top scatter and make a ruckus in their wake.

"That seems ominous," Niamh whispers to Miyuki. "Does Noboru chase crows or did he do something else to frighten them?"

"He has a reputation," Miyuki answers just as ominously. Noboru just looks insufferably smug as he joins the pair. "Come on," he says, "Soujoubou will be expecting us."

"Hmm," is Niamh's only comment on Noboru's reputation as she clip-clops behind him.

It's a winding path through the shrine. Why is it always a winding path? Why can't it just be the first building? Well, probably because that's for the humans and the real activities happen elsewhere. Eventually, they come to another large building, and Noboru simply ... walks in. "They are with me," he says oddly. And the reason becomes clear as the other two follow ... there are shadows nearby that seem to be watching them. Up ahead is an incredibly old-looking man ... with red skin? Also one heck of a big nose, and eyebrows that look like they could be braided. "It is an honor to be in your presence again Soujoubou of Kurama," the fox says politely. The man, presumably Soujoubou, snorts a bit at that. "Beware the kitsune approaching with ... manners," he remarks.

Unsure of what to do before being introduced, Niamh just bows as best she can without having to splay her front legs or kneel on them. This one definitely reminds her of a few of the older fey she's encountered.

And that pose earns an actual laugh from the old tengu. "Ah, and you must be the foreign yokai I was told about. I appreciate the attempt, but you do not need to be so formal with me. I know you will not know the traditions and would never hold you to the same expectations I would of these bringers of chaos and discontent," the old man comments as he gestures at Noboru and Miyuki with a fan. This makes Miyuki's ears splay out a bit, but she says nothing. "You are the one called Niamh," he continues on, "And before you look surprised, I have plenty of ears across the land. The yokai in the guise of a human whose parents are having issues with some Inu spirits."

"Thank you," Niamh responds gratefully. "I will try not to be a source of chaos and discontent brought by the kitsune."

"Alas, you are more likely to be the target of it, and not the source. Especially if this one's sister is as bad as he is," Soujoubou comments and gestures towards Miyuki again. "Though, perhaps with that one being damaged, it will limit her ability to cause problems." That makes Moyuki's tail twitch, but she says nothing.

"Lady Miyuki is quite pleasant," Niamh says in her defense. "She has been very helpful to me in ways that really matter."

"Really? A kitsune is often never helpful unless they are getting something out of it," Soujoubou comments. That makes Noboru bristle and opens his mouth to speak. Soujoubou raises his hand, adding, "There are exceptions, of course. Your contributions are recognized, Noboru. It is why I agreed to this meeting, after all. You wish to borrow the sword in our care. I will of course listen to the petition and reason. It is a sacred artifact and is not loaned lightly."

"Why don't you present the request, and why," Noboru asks of Niamh. He even pushes her forward with several of his tails and smiles. Maybe he's hoping her lack of knowledge of protocol means the tengu would go easier on her."

Niamh tries not to stumble again. "My parents have been possessed by the Koma-inu," she says, trembling just a little. "My father has abilities like my own, but my mother is a normal human. In order to save them, we need the use of the zan-paku-to. I had originally hoped to purify the Inu spirits by learning the chinkon ritual from Miyuki, but the Inu moved too quickly and my strength would not be enough. This is all my fault."

"Well, if it is your fault, why should I trust you with a sacred item?" the old Tengu asks, tone neutral. There's no insinuation, insult, or other undertones. It's simply a question. "How is the situation at hand your fault?"

"I led them to where the vault the Inu where imprisoned in," Niamh admits. "I did not think they could get to it so quickly, as it was underneath the roots of a tree. And I did it to show off that I could do something that my father could not, to justify my coming along. And because the Inu were tormenting me, perhaps."

"So you attempted to help your clan and prove yourself since you are young," the older Tengu summarizes. "Such are normal actions for the younger of all. It is no different for Tengu or Kitsune. The next generation always wises to prove they are worth something too. I do not see how the natural order of things is strictly your fault," he observes. "And that you feel remorse for the outcome you could nor predict shows you have learned. I can take from this you are not normally reckless, correct? You surely would not have daydreams about a kitsune seducing you in a bathhouse, correct?"

"I'm used to books in our library and the forests of our home," Niamh admits. "I have been on one other expedition with my parents, and while I have many friendships with the yosei I have never faced such.. interest.. before. It did not occur to me that I would be attractive to anyone or anything in this land."

This actually makes the Tengu laugh. "It seems you have collected yourself a diplomat, Noboru. She already knows how to twist words to tell a tale in her favor," he tells the kitsune. Noboru shrugs a little, and grins, "She's a special sort of pet, yes."

"Proper seduction should not occur in so mundane a location," Niamh chimes in at the 'pet' reference.

"Oh, and where should it occur?" Noboru counters, "In the shrine proper, such as with the visiting envoy of the moon and your seduction of him?"

"I am not seducing anyone," Niamh pleads. "Just standing around and being female is a not a seduction technique in my land. There needs to be romance.. and.. poetry, at least," she claims. "I'm pretty sure poetry is involved."

"Colored bits of string and shiny things are better," Soujoubou opines. "And it is well known the moon folk will try to be with anything or anyone. Not even the furniture is safe."

Niamh doesn't mention that she probably deliberately tried to seduce Miyuki after she was charged up by the forest.

"Now, back to the matter at hand. You wish to borrow the sword we keep. Such requests come with a test," the Tengu explains. Of course they do. "And since it is for your benefit, you must take the test."

"Me?" Niamh yelps. "Will maths be involved?" she then blurts, for whatever reason. Probably fear.

"The test is unknown to me. The sword itself will decide," the Tengu says and finally actually stands up. The amount of creaking and popping sounds like an old building settling more than a person moving, frankly. "Come with me. The kitsune must wait here."

Noboru just grins, lifts a foreleg, and wiggles toes at her. Miyuki just looks, well, horrified. "You know how socially inept she is!" Niamh can just hear her whisper to Noboru as she's leg out of sight and deeper into the shrine. Into a rather empty room, too. All that is in the room is a single candle, a mat to kneel on, and a small rather dull-looking curved sword on a stand, edge up. For something that's supposed to be a great artifact; it looks ... ordinary. Not even as ornate as some knives she's seen used in town. "Well, and it is here I leave you for the test," the Tengu says. It's sort of slow-motion, but he turns and hobbles back the way he came. "Gah, tailfeathers, when did I get this old?" he mutters.

Niamh takes a deep breath, and does the obvious thing which is try try and kneel on the mat, which is awkward since she now has two extra knees. She looks from the candle to the blade, and to any shadows. She wonders if the blade is an actual sword though, or a spirit that takes that shape, or something else. Once she feels settled, she says, "Hello, I am Niamh de Sidhe from the other side of the world, come to seek your aid."

The sword sits there looking dusty and sword-like. It doesn't reply in any way, unfortunately.

The girl waits, and take deep breaths, expecting some sort of spiritual test, but unsure if she's supposed to initiate it, since there's only one way she knows of for properly talking to ancient artifacts, and is a bit wary of trying that approach.

Waiting for a sword to initiate something is probably a bit like waiting for a rock to. It just ... sits there as if expecting something.

So.. Niamh untangles her legs to stand up again, and just approaches directly to examine the sword as best she can in the wan light.

There's nothing written on it that she can actually see. Even if there was, what are the odds she could read it anyway? It just looks, well, old. The silk wrapping on the handle has been worn through in several spots and whatever color it once had, it's sort of a dirty brown now.

Taking a risk, Niamh checks if her breath causes any reaction on the metal of the blade.

If this doesn't work, then maybe this isn't the actual sword, she reasons, and exhales again, but this time with a stream of her ectoplasm to make actual contact with it.

Aand, the result is like licking a salt lick that was simultaneously struck by lightning! Everything around her goes dark! She seem to be floating in nothingness. The silence is so deep she can almost hear her own heartbeat.

This was not outside the bounds of what she might have expected. Although she was hoping to contact the spirit of the blade, not be transported to an inky void. But in case there is something hidden from her sight, she tries the trick of moving ectoplasm to her eyes that let her see hidden spirits before.

And what she sees ... are two people sitting in this odd nothingness at a table. Upon the table appears to be a chess-board and the two, playing a game. "Bad move," one claims. "Bah," the other counters.

So Niamh tries to.. swim.. closer to them while also trying to get a better look.

One of the ghosts seems to look up and at Niamh. "Oh, it's another illusion," it finally says and turns its attention back to the game. "Pay it no mind," it tells its companion.

"I'm not an illusion," Niamh insists. "Unless in this place I am one, because I'm not sure that I'm physically here. My name is Niamh," she says, figuring that even illusions will get treated a bit better if they introduce themselves.

"An obnoxiously loud illusion," the other ghost comments as it makes another move in their game. "Just ignore it and it will go away," claims the first ghost.

"This is supposed to be a test for me," Niamh insists. "But I introduced myself, surely you can do the same. You can never be too careful with phantasms, after all." She also tries to get a look at the game board.

The game itself is blurry. In fact the ghosts themselves are getting blurry. "Can you blame them?" comes a voice in Niamh's left ear. "You're the one going about claiming how you are not you all the time. Why should anyone pay any attention to a not-you?"

"I'm me," Niamh insists to the voice. "Or do you mean the whole yokai thing? Probably that. I was not like this before coming to these shores."

"And because you were not like you are not, this makes this not you? You have limited view of what is or isn't you," the voice claims. "That's like saying just because you put on a new dress, it's not you any more."

"It doesn't feel like me," Niamh explains. "It's the other way around where I am from. The fey may take on the form of an animal to disguise themselves, or trees may take human forms. And I'm mostly human, and mortal. It is just.. too many changes at once! If not for Noboru making changes to me, would I be like this? I am afraid and anxious, and have only felt normal when I was connected to the forest. It is just so much more than I thought I could handle. I have not lost my sense of self though. How can I tell anymore? Which is part of me and what is just a trick being played on me?"

"You're asking the wrong question, you know," the voice says. "The better question is 'why does it matter'? There is almost nothing in 'living' that you can control, so why worry about it at all?"

"Because grasping for control is a human thing," Niamh says. "Even just the illusion of it. I can't make my body not feel stress, or my mind not feel fear. Trying for control is the only way I can counter those feelings. I can't just.. let go. What would that gain me?"

"Peace," the voice claims ... then everything goes dark, leaving Niamh back in this limbo, and now completely alone.

"I can't find peace in letting my parents suffer," Niamh whispers into the dark. "I'm sorry."

"How does what you are relate to your parents suffering?" the voice asks of her. "Unless you can accept yourself, you can't help anyone."

"You make it sound simple," Niamh notes. "It is so much to accept, in so short a time that is at odds with who I was my entire life up until now. I don't understand what acceptance would even mean. I see the yokai around me with regrets, and anger.. I haven't seen peace there. I don't know what it really means? Just.. free from caring?"

"That is because it is simple. You must learn to find peace with moments and things you cannot control, so that you can face those you can with a still and steady heart," the voice says. "Until you can learn to focus on a goal without letting all the small things outside of your control distract you, you will not be ready to wield a weapon intended to sunder spiritual ties. For how will you know the real ties, from the false if you are not still within yourself?"

Niamh blinks. That does sound simple, if peace means ignoring things, but not denying they exist. "I thought it meant.. giving up," she admits. "Letting others define me instead of fighting it. You mean peace as in.. stilling a pond, I think? Sharpening or focusing. I know how to still myself.. I knew how to do it."

"When you are still, it is easier to see the right path before you. When you are not, all appears as a jungle. You need to be calm in the chaos," the voice claims. And then Niamh sees, before her, well ... herself. Selves. There is a human, a deer, something in-between, another dressed as a fay. "Find stillness, then find yourself. If you can answer which of those present is you correctly, you will have started in understanding."

"Well, there's the me that's here right now," Niamh suggests. "And the me that's in the future, or the me that I used to be. The priestess me, the medium, the girl who got dragged into a pond by a kelpie. There are a lot of me other than the four I'm shown."

"Well then," the voice says, and everything goes right back to emptiness and darkness.

So Niamh floats, and thinks of the candle. She's not sure what the voice meant with that comment, after everything goes black again.

"So, are you going to sleep the entire day, or what?" comes Noboru's voice from somewhere in the darkness. It's also muffled. "And is it really necessary to try and eat a pillow?"

Huh, she can just open her eyes. And she sees a pillow ... that is apparently sitting on her face.

There's the usual bit of trying to get her limbs under control to push the pillow aside. "What?" she repeats.

She finds herself in a completely different room than she remembers being led into. It's a small bedroom of a sort. She's laying on a mat while having a fox stare her in the face. It also licks her nose. "You've been asleep for about eight hours," Noboru claims.

"Of course. After you married Soujoubou's son, where else would you be?" Noboru asks.

Niamh narrows her eyes at Noboru. "What about the sword?" she asks, figuring the kitsune is playing another joke on her.

"Dowry," Noboru answers simply. It's about then another pillow slams into his head and he tips over. "Oh stop it," hisses Miyuki. "She's had enough trouble after licking the sword. She's lucky it even accepted her."

"Licking things is how we claim things as our own in the West," Niamh claims, figuring she may as well joke as well. "Does Lord Soujoubou even have a son?"

"We are invited to dinner, then we leave in the morning," Noboru comments from where he lays on his side now, with the pillow resting on his head. "Is there something you would prefer to do?"

Licking her lips to get the pillow-taste out of her mouth, Niamh asks, "Will I need my hands for eating dinner properly?"

"I suppose I should focus on that then," Niamh says, tapping her hooves on the floor. "Unless you want to help?"

"I'm not about to try and learn to eat with hooves with such short notice," Niamh says, so focuses on trying to get her forelegs to be forearms again, by attempting to pull the 'yokai' energy from the limbs.

Well, that just ends up feeling funky and is only slightly successful. She's left with hands, sort of, except it's two finers and a thumb, each tipped with a hard hoof-nail.

Niamh wiggles them to test how dextrous they can be. They certainly feel appropriate to the deer aesthetic though. She tries to pinch Noboru with them.

Well they're reasonably flexible and dextrous. Feels super odd having only two fat fingers, though. When she tries to pinch Noboru with them, though, she suddenly finds half her arm in his throat as he somehow manages to get his entire muzzle around it and swallow. He looks up at her.

She still tries to pinch something, since he can't dodge something that's inside his throat! She will manage a pinch on him yet!

Try as she might, she can't find anything to pinch! And now Noboru has swallowed her arm up to her shoulder.

Still determined, Niamh tries with her other hand to pinch the fox with! She assumes he'll counter with his tails though, so tries to distract him by spreading ectoplasm out from her swallowed limb in an attempt to tickle him, similar to what she did to Miyuki.

That .. doesn't really work. She's unable to do anything with her ectoplasm so long as he apparently has hold of her arm. She does manage to pinch his ear, at least.

"Hah!" she declares and grins. "Got you! Now let go of my arm, and tell me how you're suppressing my ectoplasm!"

Eventually Noboru barfs up Niamh's arm. "I'm over five hundred years old. My toenails are older than you," he points out. "Halting your magic is simple for me."

"It's not magic, it's part of my body and soul," Niamh claims, and checks to see if her arm needs to be dried off. "Magic involves spells and ritual. But I got your ear!"

Her arm is rather slimy now. "It's magic," Noboru says, simply. "What do you think a soul is, anyway? Children."

Niamh focuses on her arm, and sees if she can absorb any energy from the saliva. "Anything you give me is mine to keep," she says, almost like a chant.

It seems ... no. There's something just different about it. The age of the kitsune seemingly actually having meaning and why someone young can't really ... compete. "Anyway, do please get cleaned up, I will return when dinner is ready. I have to speak more with the lord," Noboru comments, yawns, and slinks out of the room.

Turning to Miyuki, Niamh asks, "Can you help me clean up? I don't know how to deal with 500-year-old slobber." She still smiles though. She managed to pinch him! It's a small victory, but one of her first since arriving in this strange land.

Miyuki makes a face. "You were the one that got slobbered on. Why would I?" she starts to ask, then just sighs out. "You really need to pick your battles better," she finishes with. "Just ... let me go find something to clean with..."