[After the battle with the Tengu, you parted with the ninja coon (who was more than happy to grab some shiny junk from the tengu's cave) and returned to the shrine with the priests and priestesses. It's the second night since.] [Party on] (Dude!) * Millie walks down the halls of the shrine, stifling a large yawn. Her hat is off and her hair is unbraided right now, flowing over her shoulders. She also isn't wearing her vest but instead a spare blouse from her pack, with another folded in her arms. Her broach is also off, making it so her top two buttons are undone. Still the front is decently closed. Those mats ain't comfortable at all..I wonder how they stand it... * Millie 's eyes are drooping as she looks from one room to another, trying to be quiet. ( Millie fails and awakens the evil spirits and dies. ) (Oops!) (x.x) * Millie looks as she walks for anyone else who might be awake at this ungodly hour. Someone's gotta be right? [Millie walks through a very, very quiet temple. It is in the middle of the night, you know. Her wanderings eventually take her to the main room, where she sees Kazue gently placing offerings on the altar.] * Millie waits just outside the main room, watching for a while. ( No. They're all sleeping. In the open. 'Cause it's good. ) * Kazue sets the last one down. She then lights the incense and kneels before the altar, bowing her head in prayer. * Millie starts to walk in, then stops as she notices she's praying, running her fingers through her flowing hair softly as she gets a good look at the altar and Kazue. * Kazue stops, stands gracefully, and turns to look directly at Millie. She smiles softly. "Good evening." * Millie nods her head a little, leaning against the entryway to the main room. "Looks like I'm not the only one up. Miss..Kazue, raight?" * Kazue nods. Can't sleep either? * Kazue chuckles. "I tend to the shrine most nights." So I see... * Millie stands up straight and unfolds her blouse. "Well, as long as you're up, ya happen ta have any needle an' thread? Oh, an' some ink an' somethin' ta write with if ya could too...I'll pay or donate for it if it's necessary.." * Kazue blinks, then waves her hands in front of her. "Oh, please don't pay. You saved us. That's more than enough already." * Millie smiles slightly. "Don't get the wrong idea really. I don't know if we woulda come by if Miss Mary hadn't gotten herself kidnapped..." * Millie deflates and sighs, adding. "...again." * Kazue smiles faintly. Then perhaps I should thank your friend for getting kidnapped. But..as long as you're up..I got somethin' ta ask ya. Should I meet ya back in my room or is there some place more private? * Millie blinks at that, then chuckles. "Ya ain't like most Easterners I know." * Kazue gestures vaguely. "Certainly. Ah, actually, you can ask me while I get you your sewing materials. This way." * Kazue starts walking. Really? Have you been here long? Well...I can't say I have...but the fellas I'm workin' with now seem kinda...touchy. * Millie shrugs. "As for askin'..well..it's more show ya somethin'. It's back in my room though. Mind if I get it?" * Kazue shakes her head. Should I meet ya back down here then? Mmm... meet me in the dining room. * Millie nods slightly and waves, heading back towards the room. * Millie goes to her room (presumably without incident) and picks up her pack. She takes a slight glance at Mary as she's in there and shakes her head with a bit of a tssh sound before slinging it over one shoulder and heading for the dining room. * Kazue is kneeling in the dining room (how do Shomurans do that all the time, anyway?) with a low, wooden box on the table before her. She's in the process of opening it. ( It's a long and boring process. ) ( It's because her processer is only a Pentium II ) (It's pretty sad, yeah.) * Millie blinks at Kazue slightly, wondering how Shomurans do that all day and sits down crosslegged next to her, making herself comfortable. * Millie sets down her blouse on her knees. * Kazue finishes opening the box and slides it over to Millie. It's filled with sewing supplies. * Millie smiles and looks at Kazue. "Thanks. Yer alright." She sets her pack off to the side and looks through it. "An' the writing supplies? It has ta do with what I wanted ta ask ya..." * Kazue frowns slightly. I'm sorry, I forgot. I can get those for you now, if you like. I appreciate everythin' you're doin' for me..I doubt most would. I'll be waitin' here. * Kazue laughs. "You don't give humanity much credit, Millie. I'll be right back." * Kazue gets to her feet and walks quickly off. * Millie smirks slightly at that. "Weird. First one ta call me by my first name..." She takes out a few of her maps from her pack and unfolds them to the other side of her, then fishes through the sewing supplies while looking at it. * Kazue returns in short order with some parchment, another, smaller box, and an inkwell. She kneels at the table again before setting them down before Millie. "Here you are." * Millie measures out a length of thread and nips it with her teeth, mmming slightly at Kazue, her eyes focused on the map to her left. * Millie points to the map after measuring out the thread. "Ya recognize this region?" * Kazue takes a look. "That would be the one we're in now, yes." She points out a spot in the western portion of the map. "This temple would be right about here." Ai got a couple of these from the cave...they may jus' be ordinary ol' maps but I wanna make sure..an' I don't really know the area.." * Kazue nods. * Millie nods and follows it south a little. "An' another group...a mixed group like us, Easterners an' Westerners..did they pass by here goin' south? * Kazue frowns. "When?" I don't know..it'd be pretty recently but... I've been held by that... thing... for what felt like weeks. I don't remember anything about a mixed group, but... If they came here during that time, I might have just missed them. Weeks huh? Well, I'm hopin' we're not weeks behind.... * Kazue shrugs. "I wish there was more I could tell you." I dunno..maybe Ryoichi knows ya think? You could ask him. * Kazue grins. "But not now. He's had as much a trial as the rest of us." Well yeah. It's awfully late. * Millie looks down her partially open blouse then back at Kazue and grins. "'Sides, I think I'd give him a heart attack if I came in like this, ya think?" Oh, Ryoichi? * Millie leans over to look at the writing supplies...and frowns. "Wait, I said I wanted ta write, not paint. I don't know how ta paint." * Kazue laughs. "Easily." She blinks. "But that brush isn't for painting." * Millie turns her head towards Kazue and gives her a blank look. "It ain't?" What am I s'posed ta do with it then? No. You write with it. Ya...ya what? Write with it. * Kazue looks at Millie oddly. "You... do write in the west, right?" * Millie mouths that out, as if trying to make sense of it. How in green blazes do ya write with a paint brush? I mean..I was expectin' a pen.. * Kazue blinks a few times. "It's not that difficult." She reaches over to take the brush and ink, grabs herself a piece of parchment, and dips the brush. * Kazue deftly writes a few Shomuran characters and turns the parchment for Millie to see. "Like that." Y'know...sharp little thing..ya dip it in there...then it lets out the ink from the tip. * Millie missed the actual writing but looks at the characters, squinting. "What are those?" ... Words. Nah, they're pictures. I thought ya said ya didn't paint with these things... Lemme see that. * Kazue pushes it over. * Millie takes the brush and writes her name in Teck, awfully awkwardly but she does it. "See, those are words." * Kazue eyes. "They are? It's so... unwieldy." * Millie blinks and looks at Kazue. "Ya ain't sayin' my name is unwieldy, are ya? It's a pretty name." Oh, no. It is a pretty name. I wrote it. * Millie squiiiiints at the characters, putting her nose right near the page. "Wait, that's my name?" * Millie points to the funny squiggle shapes. * Kazue blinks. "Yes? I understand if you can't understand, since you're not from Shomura, but..." * Millie scratches her head. "Huh." Well, maybe ya know this then... * Millie thinks for a moment, then takes a fresh piece of parchment, trying to reproduce the symbol they saw earlier at the entrance to the tunnel passage. (THE EYE?) (Yes :P) () (<(o)>) * Millie finishes and looks it over, twisting it from side to side before setting it before Kazue. "That look familiar?" * Kazue looks down. She blinks. It looks like an eye. Well, yeah. I mean besides that. Have ya seen it before? I think...it was gold painted or somethin' * Kazue thinks, then shakes her head. No, I haven't. * Millie frowns a little, then settles back, looking at her blouse. "It ain't been that good a trip then.." She pokes her hand through the whole and sighs, starting to work stitching. Really? Want to talk about it? * Kazue smiles, almost nervously. "Outside of that... adventure, I don't get out much." * Millie looks up at Kazue rather oddly. "Wait...you WANT to hear 'bout it?" Sure. I have to live vicariously through others, you see. * Millie snickers slightly, covering her mouth delicately with the back of her hand. "You're strange, anyone tell ya that?" * Kazue grins. "About all the excitement I usually get are the stories travelers bring. I can't say I'm sorry, though." * Kazue laughs. The others have, enough times. * Millie grins slightly. "But ya seem pretty good..for a slot-eye." * Kazue blinks. "Slot-eye?" She looks like she's trying to figure out if this is an insult or not. * Millie chuckles slightly. "Nevermind. So ya wanna hear 'bout me, eh? What do ya wanna know?" Oh, I don't know. What do you want to talk about? Well...I could warn ya right now not to look John in the eyes, that's one thing. * Kazue seems a little confused. "Well, I haven't met many people from Teck. I understand most of them travel further south." * Millie grins slightly. "Yeah. The pass. We're a bit crazier than most." Why not? He's not going to turn me to stone, is he? * Millie blinks slightly. "Turn...to stone?" She starts out with a small snicker, then tries (though it's a losing battle) to hold in bursting into laughter. * Kazue blinks at Millie a couple times, then shrugs to herself. * Millie waves her hand off slightly. "No no...he won't turn ya to stone...though he might turn ya insane. He either don't know how ta handle wimmin or he handles 'em TOO well..I haven't figgered which yet." He don't get to me but..eh, he's jus' not my type at all. * Millie gets to sewing as she talks. It's not going to do itself..unfortunately. ;_; ( Few people are ^_- ) I don't know... he does have nice eyes. (Millie's type? ;P) * Millie grins slightly at Kazue. "Not you too." He's got at least 3 girls after him that we know of. An' probably more than you can count on your fingers an' toes that we don't. * Kazue sighs. What 'bout Mikoto? He's a little cute, isn't he? Not much chance for a shrine maiden like myself, then. Too bad. * Millie blinks then stares at Kazue. "Wait...you were serious?" * Kazue grins. "Yeah, he is. Looks to be of mixed heritage, but it's a plus in his case." She raises an eyebrow. Do you think I'm serious? * Millie smirks slightly. "It's hard ta tell. You're either too innocent for your own good, or you're awful good at fakin' it." No fair spoiling my fun. * Kazue keeps grinning. "Anyway, you were saying?" * Millie smirks a little. "Well...hmm..." * Millie frowns. "I don't know 'bout Mikoto actually..." * Kazue nods, but doesn't say anything. What clan would he be from anyhow? Are there a lot that mix like that? I mean...I'm a half-breed mahself, but we both live on the same side o' the Sallies, so it doesn't seem so unusual. Well, it's uncommon, but not unheard of. Particularly closer to the Salamanders. * Millie looks back at the map and draws her finger along the western half. "So one of these ya think..?" He's probably from that area. I don't know his family name, and if I did, I can't say I would be able to identify his clan, unless it's a prominent one. Yeah..it's just.. He's hidin' somethin'. Well, I mean EVERYONE in the group is hidin' somethin'. But he seems ta be hidin' somethin' more major. Like his personality. His... personality? * Kazue folds her hands on the table. She seems more intrigued than anything. Dunno..guess ya could call it a gut feelin'. But...it's jus'...I don't know if he intends to insult people or if it jus' comes out that way...but he's so damned diplomatic when he does it that most people don't catch it. An'...he's overly interested in us AND this tablet. I mean I can understand curiousity..but it seems like he wants ta know all 'bout us an' nothin' from himself..an' THAT bothers me. * Millie suddenly holds up a finger and waggles it towards Kazue. "This is jus' between you an' me, understand? Don't tell anyone I think so...not even Ryoichi." Oh. * Kazue nods. "All right. I'll keep your secret." * Millie hmms a little. "Seems weird. I never thought I'd be over on the Eastern side..." I'm sure we seem like a strange people to you. But I hope you like it here. Strange? I thought ya would..an' some of it is...but... * Kazue shrugs. "For as long as you choose to stay. Until you find this... tablet, right?" Really, people are people no matter where ya go. * Kazue nods. * Millie grins. "But the boys are too busy in me callin' 'em slot-eyes ta really look further than that...I mean..." * Millie loses the grin and frowns a little. "...I know what it's like really." * Millie chuckles. "Though I think I got a little idea ta scare 'em...might be fun...with your help..." A prank? I don't think that would be a good idea. * Millie pouts. "Ah come on..it's nothin' big. It's not even really a prank. I jus' don't think they'd expect ta see me in one o' those dress things..what do ya call 'em?" * Kazue blinks. "A kimono?" * Kazue grins, slowly. "You want to wear a kimono?" * Millie snaps her fingers. "Yeah..that's it..." * Millie smirks. "It'd get a reaction, don't ya think?" Definitely. * Kazue thinks. "I... have a couple, actually. For special occasions." * Millie smiles slightly. "Great...I'll check 'em out...so ya want ta hear 'bout my adventures eh...?" * Millie goes to sewing and telling her story, probably exaggerating a little, but maybe not. Who knows? [And so they talked. End!]