[RP] The Inn of Peace - IoP (Open to all)

[Astra_Senpai]

Kiran nodded, her words being caught and kept by the motion of his long ears. The description sounded almost recorded, she'd certainly seemed to have it on record. "I-if I m-may wh-what d-d-def-f-in-nes a 'T-t-tal-lent-ted G-Gaian', M-Miss J-J-Jac-cob-bs?"

Kyou was amazed by this. Costumes? Candy? "So it is like the Obon Festival. I have not seen one in many years. Why do they wear costumes? What kind? Children in kabuki would be very comical! What is the purpose of the treats? Do they keep them? What of the ancestors? Perhaps the problems are being cause by disrespect. If they are upsetting the ancestors, they should try leaving oranges. I have heard they enjoy them more than other fruits and treats."

Boy this one was skittish. The pink head tilted to the side, "'Ou transla'e wha' ya wen' t'rough pret'y well fo as ski'tish as 'ou ac'. Ya 'ad a glo' to 'ou fo' a momen'. Ho'e loo's goo' on 'ou." Honey looked back down to the art, "I's a 'ard loo' to pu'l o'f."  

[Azana Brown]

"By current standards?" She said, running through it in her mind. "We've got magi, psychics, geniuses, and people with physical augmentations, mostly. Musicians and artists are appreciated, obviously, but we're not quite as concerned since they cause fewer incidents."

"The original reason for costumes were to trick any malevolent spirits about to leave you alone. Now, they're mostly for fun; people can wear just about anything they'd like. They can dress as a monster, their favorite character, something they aspire to be, you name it. The treats are for fun, as well; they keep most of them, though the parents share at times. The ancestors...there isn't quite so much reverence on Halloween anymore, though I'll keep the orange idea handy." He hadn't really pondered a costume this year...then again, he hadn't had time.

Marilyn saw what he was doing, but she was confident enough in her position to let him have one king. She slid a piece from the back out of the way, gearing up for a jump and defending another piece of her own.

Violet grinned a little. "Old habits," she explained. "It's funny...but I'm still getting used to all this...to putting that behind me." One of her drawings came to mind, and she wondered how that family was doing...the ones that unknowingly led to her rescue, the ones who were able to get out.  

[Gren_Eckener]

He gasped, happily taking the open spot. "King me~! Ooooh! I finally got to say it!"  

[Astra_Senpai]

Kiran smiled, "H-how int-ter-rest-ting. Is i-it op-pen f-for p-p-pub-bl-lic t-tours or a pr-priv-vat-te v-ven-nue?"

"Why would the ancestors try to trick you? They are meant to guide. Perhaps I am wrong. Parents... parents can participate in this." Kyou slipped to the chair from before and touched the screen with pale hand at a 'V'. "This is a bird beak and those are mountains. ."

Honey paused, looking over an image of the demoness, "Do's t'is one kno' she's go' lo'e han'les," she laughed, "i's cha'min' ma'es 'er no' so s'ele'al bu' tha' fa'e- tha's a fa'e 'ou ta'e 'ome ta Mum b'fo'e se'ting the do' on fi'e. I go' a frie'd dres'es li'e tha', she's a 'uge te'se." She continued on to the next page, "Kee' pu'ting 'our fe'rs on pa'er an t'ey'll be ou' a ya so'n 'nough. Wha's tha' pic'ure... 'Better out than in'." The last part was a phenomenal take on Shrek accent.  

[Azana Brown]

"We've been working on more transparency with our new management," Azana answered. "There's a lot of construction going on, but if you want a look around, I'm sure I'd be able to arrange something."

"Oh...That's called a V, and those mountains are an M," Tyler explained. "The spirits they were tricking weren't ancestors, but tricky and mischievous spirits, like goblins and fae and daimon. If you looked like one of them, they wouldn't bother you, or so the folklore goes."

Marilyn placed a captured checker on top, making a lovely crown on his first-ever king. "Congrats. It won't last," she smirked, jumping another piece of his. Would he be able to make it count?

"I'm aware," Violet nodded, giggling at the perfect recreation of the ogre's tone. "The thing is...there's other things I draw. I just get inspired sometimes, and I fill a book with things I've never seen before." She pushed over one with the other symbol. "It kinda interrupts me sometimes..."  

[Gren_Eckener]

He pouted slightly, moving a different piece, letting the king rest a minute. "They can move back, right?"

Remy leaned over, having a look at the notebook.  

[Astra_Senpai]

"Then they are collecting the bad children to allow the good to flourish. If they are all dressed up, however they would not be able to tell. How inconvenient. What of those being who go hungry? Most are needed to maintain balance in the spirit world. If they go unfed, how are numbers kept down then? Normal famine and illness I would think. Or is this no longer a concern?"

Kiran's pale face took on a small tinge of color, "I w-w-woul-ld c-cer-t-t-tainl-ly enj-joy the op-p-port-tun-nity, h-h-how-wev-ver I w-w-would n-not w-wish t-t-to p-p-put y-you out. P-p-perh-haps d-d-dur-rin-ng a sl-slow-wer seas-son?"

Honey hummed, looking through, wrinkling her nose from time to time.  

[Azana Brown]

"Well, certainly!" Azana chuckled. "You wouldn't want to be there right now...everything is humming and busy and a little frantic. After this latest incident settles."

Inside the sketchbook would be strange and bizarre images, some of the subjects familiar but twisted. A design for a spider-leg chair, a melancholic Sosol with the tattered ghost cloak gathered around him, Tyler surrounded with a hodge-podge of books, Gren looking far from pleased in any picture she could find him. The entire body of work carried melancholy paired with grim determination. Of note in the work was the surprisingly small pool of subjects. Violet was nowhere to be seen, for instance.

"Don't take it the wrong way," Marilyn said, nodding as she moved another piece toward his back row. "I can't exactly cheer you on right now. And yes, kings move backward."

Tyler hummed. "You have a very interesting perspective, Kyou. I'm sure there are still people spirited away...with how large the population is, certain people can go missing without much in terms of concern." Hell, he had been one of them, in a way, except he came back.  

[Gren_Eckener]

He nodded, determined, managing to get a double jump on her, dopey smile lightening his face. "Ahhh!"

Remy shuddered, eyes wide. "...Crap."  

[Astra_Senpai]

Honey hummed, looking at faces and details but didn't have much to say for once. She crossed her legs in the chair, she didn't know enough about much to make any more than a very soft, "Wow." She looked at Remy, head tilting to the side in curiosity.

"I would think most were eaten by mushi, gotten in the way of Yakuza or simply lost." Kyou's gaze fell distant, "It is very easy to become one of the lost."A long pause, head shaking as if sweeping away a thought, Kyou would touch the screen once again, "What is this fish mouth with the stick?"

Kiran gave a delighted honk of a laugh, covering his mouth and blushing deeply- his ears drooped, "Th-thank y-you, M-Miss J-Jac-cob-bs."  

[Azana Brown]

"Wow," Marilyn nodded, impressed. "However...look where you landed." She jumped his king, gingerly picking up both checkers. "It's not always a good idea to get greedy."

Violet looked to him, the glance saying it all. They were similar enough to scare him...but what did it mean? What was he so afraid of...? "Th-thanks..." She flinched as a picture of MacPere came up, equally disgruntled and using a cane. She really hated these books, drawing pictures of people she knew in such horrible circumstances.

"That's true..." Tyler nodded. "It doesn't take much to disappear...good if you want to, but if you're taken--" He paused, frowning as he glanced to Violet. It took a psychic and some luck to find her. He didn't want to think of how she would have ended up otherwise.

"That one? That's Q. You know, if you're inclined, I can get you some alphabet cards..."

"Hey, it's no problem," Azana smiled. "Just a perk of being related to the CEO..."  

[Gren_Eckener]

His tail slowly fell to the floor in time his his face. "Oh...gosh, I guess I should have noticed that..." he said, scratching by a horn.

"Vi, may I look at these?"  

[Astra_Senpai]

Honey did not get it at all! She was missing something! Worst of all- it wasn't her business. She set the book on the counter, announcing, "'Ungry," untangled from the chair and went to the kitchen. Pouting, she set about cooking something to eat.

"What? What are... alph..abet cards? I am happy to take whatever is given- however I do not see the use in many things. What is this one like the rabbit nose?" Kyou swallowed and paused... so much for the penny.

He stifled a yawn, removing his glasses and shaking his head, "I h-hav-ve n-no l-l-liv-ving r-r-el-lat-tiv-ves- it m-must b-be n-n-nic-ce." Rubbing his eyes, the dark circles beneath his eyes ached- the pressure relieved them a bit.  

[Azana Brown]

Violet nodded, slightly saddened as Honey left in a hurry. She didn't mean to take away from the conversation, but Remy's reaction was frightening. "Go ahead..." She set out the other book with the same symbol, stacking the Kasdeya series away.

"Heh...she's about all I've got left, except my husband," Azana gave a bittersweet grin. "My uncle raised us both, so it feels more like sisters..."

"Children use them to learn to read and write," Tyler answered her. "I figure you could at least learn enough basic words to get by...you seem to pick up quickly." At the mention of the rabbit nose, Tyler scribbled down a Y and drew a rudimentary rabbit face around it.

"Huh...not bad. It's a Y."

"Don't worry too much about it...you got a king and a double jump all really fast," Marilyn said, noticing she didn't have much of a lead on him at this point. "I wouldn't expect you to suddenly know how to handle them."