Only Nothing, Ever Nothing (D11, EA)

[Shoji Haka]

Haka had decided to take a rest on one of the large stone slabs near a half-broken circular gateway... thing. She was fully stretched out on the slab, arms folded underneath her head, eyes closed as she hums softly to herself.

[Nozomi]

She was avoiding camp at this point. She'd managed to calm Matsu down, and was lurking here, waiting for things to happen. She knew that elsewhere, there was a meeting of big-wigs discussing things. She couldn't bring herself to deal with that. Her mind was on other things, and this surreal ruin was a distraction, a distraction that did not involve getting in fights with large spider webs that she'd seen and heard about from a distance.

And then there she was again. That girl. Phi knew she could 'see' with magic, but did she just have a death wish, or was she really that calm and confident all the time? So, for the second time... she snuck up and sat down about a foot away from where Haka was humming, pulled out a stick and gave her stomach a little poke with it, provided the other woman didn't show any sign of being aware of her presence.

"You know... that trick of yours takes preparation. One of these days, something's going to eat you."

[Shoji Haka]

Haka makes a faint sound at the poke. "Probably," she says, eyes still closed.

[Nozomi]

She poked again. "Oh, is the blind girl getting used to my routine a little?" she said, laughing darkly and putting the stick down. "You do like to just wander wherever your feet take you without thought or worry don't you?" It seemed a pretty accurate statement, considering their talks. She'd had ample occasion to recognize that this woman just... didn't care much about the peril. If anything, she dove right on in.

"Why are you here, in the ruins?" As if the same question couldn't be asked of her.

[Shoji Haka]

"This one has to be somewhere," she replies, fidgiting at the pokes. "It was quiet and peaceful."

[Nozomi]

"I suppose that one does have to be somewhere," she said, leaning forward. "This one could go back to lurking quietly where you can't see, making sure nothing comes to gobble you up. But she can only stay here for so long. She has somewhere she needs to be, and she's avoiding the crowds until then." It was true. She needed to be away from them, because there was too much chance they'd pick up something was up.

Haka seemed perceptive... but really more weird. She didn't know how much the girl picked up on anything.

[Shoji Haka]

Haka waves a hand dismissively in the air. "This one will be fine. She does not need watching over. Phi can do what she wants."

[Nozomi]

"And this one wants to avoid the camp for an hour, so she will play at protecting someone who assures her that she can protect herself." Admittedly, as the Dokufu would find out shortly, Haka was absolutely able to take care of herself. Phi did back up a little bit, however, giving her a little bit of space. She'd picked up the strange way that the woman spoke as much out of the fact that she found it funny as she did actually respecting the beliefs behind it. She wasn't 'quite' as superstitious as Haka was.

However...

"You've fed your follower recently, yes?"

[Shoji Haka]

"Hmm.... she should probably do that." Haka sighs as she sits up and draws a knife from her skirt. "Wouldn't want it gobbling up all stuff caught in the spiderwebs, if this talk of infectious evil is true."

[Nozomi]

"I trust the Teacher," she said, though her voice sounded not so much less sure than it should have been. Perhaps more reserved. She was pissed off at him right now. "If he says that it is there, then I believe it is there. A spiritual affliction, a thing hurt by jade. I doubt anyone wants that companion to get tainted by its touch."

[Shoji Haka]

"It might make it less dangerous," she laughs. The knife is drawn across her arm, and she holds it out, letting the blood stream down her hand and fingers. Before the drops can hit the ground, however, a swirling mass of skeletal claws and faces materializes beside her, snatching up every drop in its bony hands and licking them clean with fat, discolored tongues.

[Nozomi]

Fuck me... that thing's real... that thing's real... it's following her around and I can't so much as ... fuck me... that thing, it's with her all the time?

She got her pulse to calm down. Seriously, she needed to get used to seeing monsters. There were too many of them around. A swallow and when it was calm, she breathed more evenly. "That one is a braver woman than most, to live with that thing... choice or no," she said softly. Another swallow. "I call myself a ghost because they don't see me... but that is a real one, isn't it?"

[Shoji Haka]

"How would it be a fake ghost?" The tone of Haka's voice made it clear that she thought it was a silly question. "This one is told that they are more visible when they feed. Maybe now you doubt Haka less?"

[Nozomi]

"Yeah... definitely more visible." Fucking disgusting too. "And I didn't necessarily doubt you." Ok, she doubted a tiny bit. Haka kind of gave off the vibe of someone who was seriously screwing with most people that she talked to, but that might be because nobody ever actually spoke to her about things like this. People didn't talk like she did period, regardless of the situation. So, she liked to think she had a little bit of an excuse under the circumstances.

"But I've never actually seen one drawn into this world... So, seeing is believing."

[Shoji Haka]

"One does not need eyes to see." Haka smirks a bit as she pumps her fist to keep the blood flowing. "But yes, this is what most people become after death. Some become lonely ghosts or quiet ghosts, but most are just... hungry."

[Nozomi]

An ugly existence, but when has death ever been a pleasant thing? Wonder how many of those I've made in my life...

She didn't dwell on the thought. As she said, they weren't usually here. They were usually 'there,' wherever there was truly. Phi relaxed a little, knowing it was both fed and at the same time also no longer visible. It wasn't as bad as the bog hags, but it was enough that she was ... disturbed to say the least. "Does it talk to you, ever?" she said, her tone noticeably calmer now that she'd had a few minutes.

[Shoji Haka]

"Nothing coherent," she replies. "They do not have much of a mind left, the hungry ones. All they care about is eating."

[Nozomi]

...

"So, I'm not going to promise not to tease you, because you do make it kind of easy, and I kind of feel like... you need it a little. To relax. To stop being all about this duty every second of your life... but I will say that I have a lot more respect for you right now." Because having to deal with that sounded like a living hell if you asked her. "You... never seem relaxed, ever. Even by my standards."

She really wasn't one to talk, she really wasn't.

[Shoji Haka]

Haka laughs. "These words from one who sneaks up and pokes this one as she is relaxing? To tell her to relax more?"

[Nozomi]

She laughed at that. "Relax, not rest. You get plenty of rest, though I suppose fair point. You're just... kind of fun to sneak up on, little miss 'always talks about getting eaten and dying horribly,'" She shook her head a little, sighing and scratching at the back of her head. "Look... thank you by the way. This... helped a little, to get my mind off things. Just for a minute. I have to go soon, to deal with ... something. Hopefully I'll be back to poke a blind girl with a stick again."

She might even have figured out Haka's name by then.