Meeting of the Minds - Ninube's Tent (D9 EE)

[Ninube]

Ninube had some supper set up as she waited for her guest.

[Agasha]

The young woman arrived at the tent, glancing at the surrounding area. "Um. Hello."

[Ninube]

"Hey, come in. You're Agasha, right?" Ninube's tent was large enough that the two could fit and eat if slightly cramped. "I'm Ninube. I wanted to talk to you about some stuff. I got supper for both of us."

[Agasha]

"Yeah. Um," she said, then seemed to remember something and bowed. "Pleased to meet you, Ninube-san."

She settled herself down. "What did you want to talk about?"

[Ninube]

Ninube bowed back and spoke as she dished out the rations. "Well, I hear you are really smart. I was hoping to teach me how you got so smart. So, I can get smart." Ninube shook her head. She knew one thing and it was she was not sounding smart. Breathe in. Breathe out. "I talked to Reiko about creating a library, like the Nezumi had, but with scrolls instead of chewed on sticks. I thought maybe you could teach me how to become smarter. And when the library is done, you can come see it anytime. I also hope this little exchange brings our Clans closer together since Reiko and Mai seemed interested in that."

[Agasha]

"I'm not... I don't really... I'm just... interested in things?" She suggested. "I just think about my interests a lot and ask questions. I don't know if that's smart."

"The library sounds like a good idea, though. It would be nice to have a place to really dig into things."

[Ninube]

Ninube chuckles to herself. "Well, I suppose I was too much to hope for that there was some secret. Sorry if I'm coming off as strange. My life until now hasn't really left me time to learn a lot. And sure, now may not be the best time for it, but I feel like I should start planning for after we save Fu Leng. So, I've been talking to different people trying to learn... how to learn if that makes sense."

She looks down at her food and then back to Agasha. "Well, I do want to thank you for coming. I hope you don't mind if I ask some more questions. I guess learning is my interest, you could say."

[Agasha]

"I'm sorry... I wish I could help more on being... Smarter. I just pay attention to stuff I'm interested in..." She shifted uncomfortably.

"You can ask more questions."

[Ninube]

Ninube notices the uncomfortablness and stops herself. "I'm sorry. I don't mean to pressure you. So, let's just forget about all I asked. So, let's talk about our other interests."

She holds up a piece of jade. "What do you think of the stones? I mean not just jade. I think crystal might be special too. Though I'm not sure why either of them is." Ninube hoped the girl would relax. Maybe next time get to know the person before putting her life story on them. Wu was a big help, but he knew her from before.....

[Agasha]

"Oh! I have been very curious about that. I know from dealing with Meido and Ryoshun-san and seeing Ningen-do's effect on the Kami that all realms seem to have an effect on the people who set foot in them. Unless you're meant to set foot in them, like when you're dreaming. Actually, the dream realm is resistant to a lot of the effects of other realms and doesn't seem to affect natives of those realms easily..."

She paused. "I'm getting off-topic."

"Jade, jade and crystal are curious. If I had to guess, I would say it would have something to do with purity. It's like a filter between us and things that would affect us from outside of the world. It damages things heavily infected with particularly heavy doses of... influence from the realm of Jigoku. I know it starts to blacken the closer it gets to the Crater - I spent a lot of time talking to the rats in their library, their method of recording is fascinating and so is their language, I'd really like to take the time to learn it - so that suggests that perhaps its something of the opposite realm. I'm curious, though, if it would prevent the effects of other realms on a traveler from Ningen-do? I want to experiment with Jade and the influence of Meido someday since it's the most handy realm that isn't... well, horribly evil."

[Ninube]

Well, Agasha didn't seem uncomfortable anymore. That was good. And it was an interesting subject....

"One thing I'm curious about is do the creatures from the Realm know of it instinctively? Or do they have to be taught? I came across something today that looked like a human child. But it lied and manipulated and did whatever it could not to touch the jade I offered it. Thanks to Nanzi showing up and letting us know about the other infiltrators, we figured it out. But was that knowledge instinctual? I mean, I'm a scout. Will they be able to sense me as I go do my duties?"

After a second Ninube went cold. "Could Jigoku have it's own version of jade? The creature had a something that looked similar to jade, but was off somewhat. I had thought it was just a different color green rock to fool people, but if realms have things that affect the opposite realm, maybe it was some sort of not-jade?" Ninube shrugged. "Or maybe it was just a fake?"

Ninube looked thoughtful for a moment. "I wonder if we could harness the realms. Like you said the Realm of Dreams is hard to infect. If we could give ourselves some of that essence, could we stop the touch of Jigoku?" She shrugged. "I know nothing of magic though."

[Agasha]

"Hmm... Honestly, I'm not sure. That would be something to study. If base essence of Jade is that of Tengoku, if it's infused with its energy - or, as the rats would put it, if it carries its Name as part of its essence - then they may well instinctively shy away from it the way a wild animal instinctively shies away from fire. Ningen-do doesn't really have an opposite realm, so there's nothing we particularly sense about it, I would imagine," she mused.

"It's entirely possible, even probable, that as the opposite of Tengoku, Jigoku would have an opposing stone. But a green stone is probably just a fake. I've heard about Reiko-san's speaking to Fu Leng at night. She's probably already harnessing the protection of the Realm of Dreams in that way. The Ratlings seem connected to the Dream Realm, and they said they can't be infected with the essence of Jigoku. Maybe that's why? It's certainly something that deserves dedicated research."

[Ninube]

"Oh. I would have thought Meido was the opposite of Ningen-do..... Though I am less worried about them shying away from it than them being able track us."

She ponders. "Could their Name magic be something of the Realm of Dreams? Maybe that is why Jigoku isn't seeming to protect them?"

[Agasha]

She looked confused. "Why would Jigoku protect the rats?"

[Ninube]

Ninube looked at Agasha blankly then put her palm to her forehead. "Sorry. I meant to say Maybe that is why Jigoku isn't affecting them?"

[Agasha]

"Oh. Perhaps. I think it's something related to the Realm of Dreams, certainly," she replied with a nod.