Scene Listing || Scene Schedule || Scene Schedule RSS
Owner Pose
Shadowed Aesthetic     Shadowed Aesthetic of Quicksilver has been touring the Multiverse on his way to find Bitter Medicine. But all this GREEN STUFF is distracting him! Except now that he's in Fall instead of Summer, he's seen very little that's actually green. Instead the leaves have been falling off of trees, grass is brown and wilted, and only the hardiest flowers are still in bloom. It seems like a place where all things are perpetually dying. Yet people are still celebrating? That seems odd.

    He walks close to a field where people are harvesting crops, singing while they work. He's disguised himself this time; instead of looking like man made of moonsilver, he looks... human. Pale skin, dark hair, purple eyes. He wears a blue and white robe that looks half like a kimono and half like a military uniform. And he looks confused too!
Hitoshura Hito was picking apples from a nearby tree, while Rakhsasa holding a basket of various fruits. They were with the happy singing folks looking to enjoy the fruits that were so abundant here.

"You brought a sword fighter to pick flowers with you, Hito?" Rocky asked.

"We're in peace time, Rocky. You must enjoy other things than combat, if you're to be balanced. And when we get these processed, you'll have some treats to take back to Ai,"

Rocky hmphed. They both looked toward Shadowed Aesthetic. He looked pretty out of place here. Still, Hito never met a stranger. The move out from the crowd harvesting things.

"Welcome to the Eternal Autumn, stranger. I'm Hitoshura, or Hito for short, and this is my partner, Rakhasa, or Rocky for short. Of course, I don't recommend you call him Rocky at first. He's a little touchy about that," Hito says with a smile. He extends his hand to Aesth. The youth is a bit odd looking himself. Human, mostly, but with glowing eyes and strange black tattoos all over his hands and face.

Rocky manages a stiff bow.

"You want some apples? We've got a lot extra. The mana from this place must be excellent to produce such a crop," Hito offers.
Shadowed Aesthetic     A gem on the odd tiara-looking thing that Shadowed Aesthetic is wearing gleams as Hitoshura and Rocky part from the crowd; by some coincidence it's the one that has line-of-sight with the other two. The Alchemical Exalted looks towards the pair as they approach, offering a friendly smile. "Hello," he offers, in a voice that does little more to help in determining gender than looks.

    Introductions are made! The Alchemical chuckles a bit at the mention of not calling Hitoshura's companion 'Rocky'. Though when they're done introducing themselves, he bows, offering in return, "I am Shadowed Aesthetic of Quicksilver. I'm very pleased to meet you."

    As for the apples? "Oh, I've nothing to give in return, I'm afraid," he replies. Even for surplus, something should be given in return, otherwise one merely loses the goods in question. That's what he's used to anyway. "I fear I'm rather new to the Multiverse."
Hitoshura Hito isn't too worried about the gender thing. "Shadowed Aesthetic? Of Quicksilver? Do you have a nickname? Like Shadow, or Aesth? It's nice to meet you too,"
Hito also bows.

"Oh, these are free to everyone here. I picked them, but there's plenty more, and don't worry about being new. We were all new once. I Unified with my world a few years ago, but there's always new arrivals. Weird is the norm here. I bet you'll fit in better than you would expect,"

Hito puts the apples back in his basket, except for one that he bites into. "Hmm, I've never had this one before," It's a green 'ol Granny Smith. "Kind of sharp, sour. I guess that's why it's green. Anyway, we were just about to go to a candy shop and pick up some treats. Rocky's not one for sweets, but I really like them. Do you.. eat?" He asks.

"You could come with us," Hito suggests.
Shadowed Aesthetic     "Any of those are fine," Shadowed Aesthetic replies. "I don't really have a... nickname, so far as I know." Though he blinks at the notion of something free. "Why would someone give away something that took so much effort to obtain?" This does seem like a fairly foreign concept to him, given the confused look.

    He also nods at the mention of new arrivals all the time. "That's what I've heard," he agrees. "It's a very odd phenomenon." And as for the candy shop? "Oh, I'd love to, if you wouldn't mind having me along." A nod, too, at the question of whether he ate or not. "Yes, I do. That's a good question, though-- I'm finding that assuming things that are normal to oneself, one might find they're very much not normal elsewhere." He chuckles.
Hitoshura Hito nods. No nickname, that's cool. "Oh, well, it's no effort on our part. The land and the sun and rain do all the work. The miracle of life is that the dirt, the least valuable thing around, produces food and everything we need. It's rather beautiful if a bit odd to think about,"

Rakhsasa seems cool with Shadowed Aesthetic. What Rocky's actually thinking not even Hito really knows.

"Yeah, my world is filled with spirits, legends, earth deities, and every kind of myth imaginable. I called them demons, but they're more like spirits. Some are friendly, some are not. Most demons on other worlds are either nonsentient, or incredibly sadistic or evil. Not so the spirits in my world. I'm half-human, half-spirit, a demi-fiend. That's what my name means. Hito-shura, Demi-fiend. My real name is Nago, but almost no one uses it." Hito chuckles also, feeling comfortable.

He leads the way to the candy shop, taste buds watering on the inside.

"Hito, can we deposit this basket first? Not that it's heavy or anything," Rakhasa says.

"Oh yeah, that's a good idea. Let me carry it for a while," Hito says. It really is getting heavy for Rocky, but he's too proud to say that. Hito takes the basket from Rocky as they continue walking.
Shadowed Aesthetic     "That's very strange," Shadowed Aesthetic replies. "Food in my world comes from factories. We have no... dirt, or sun, or rain." A pause. "Well, we do have rain... but it will strip the flesh from anyone who stands in it. Very little it does is beneficial." As for Hitoshura's name, Shadowed Aesthetic asks, "Which would you prefer I use, Hitoshura or Nago?"

    He chuckles slightly when Rakhsasa mentions the basket. "Oh that might be a good idea, yes. The people who grow them will want those... apples, you said they were called?" He must not have ever seen them before.
Hitoshura Hito listens intently. He's a bit surprised, but takes it pretty well. Each world is so different. Was there an original for all these permutations? "Hmm. So where did your factory get its resources? Mining? Oh, Hito, probably. Nago's more of my old life. After the Conception, when my world was destroyed, and replaced with the Vortex World, most of that life was gone. Now that I'm an ambassador to Ai, I'm getting some of that back. Still, it's not the same."

"Oh no, we get to keep these. Although, for the higher quality ones, you can pay for them. The forest produces enough for everyone, and then some. Now if everyone in the Multiverse picked them, then there might not be enough, but most people don't spend a lot of time here. It's not very exciting."

"Yes, apples. You sure you don't want to taste one?"

They've reached the outside of the candy shop. A long nosed crone in brightly colored clothes greets them as they enter. "Oh, those look so good," she says, looking at Hito's basket.

"I'll give you some money for them," she offers.

"Oh no, just take some. We didn't pay for these, but we will buy some of your candy, or trade if you insist," Hito says. After a bit of bartering, they get a few small bags of candy for a decent part of the basket. Hito seems pretty good at negotiating. It's clear he's trying to be fair, and give her the better part of the deal. She gives them some caramels, candied apples, a few other treats, and the store's signature feature: mocha maple marshmallows.

"These are the latest recipe for candy. Since there's such an abundance of ingredients, the candy makers and cooks are always trying new combinations," Hito says. He pops one of the candies into his mouth. Rocky looks at the candy apple questioningly, and then bites into it. He then devours it quickly, and says," It's all right,"

Hito offers Aesthetic Shadow a small bag of the treats, too, about a third of them.
Shadowed Aesthetic     Shadowed Aesthetic nods. "Mining, recycling, salvage-- depending on where each nation was. Locations change a lot." Hitoshura explains about his world having been destroyed and Shadowed Aesthetic frowns. "I'm sorry to hear that," he offers. "Hito, then, if you'd prefer?" Regarding the name he'd prefer to use.

    The Alchemical also blinks. "It's not exciting? I find it so. The concept of something growing from the very ground producing food... that's amazing to think about." He seems surprised at the offer. "Don't they need to be processed first? To have the impurities taken out before they can be eaten?"

    He is, however, quiet as Hitoshura speaks to the woman. Though he bows politely to her. He observes how the transaction goes rather than putting in his two cents-- metaphorically speaking. And once they exit, he asks, "I noticed you gave her quite a bit of your crop for relatively little of hers." Candy's not a 'crop', but he doesn't know that. "That seems the opposite of what many do during negotiations. Was there a reason?" He just seems confused about it.

    When handed the bag of candy, he blinks. He samples one of the maple marshmallows. "Oh goodness," he notes, putting a hand over his mouth so as not to be rude. "They're very sweet, aren't they?" He doesn't sound displeased, no. In fact, he notes, "They're quite good. What is the nutritional value?" He does not understand the purpose of candy, you see.
Hitoshura "Yeah, Hito works," Hito says with a smile.

"You know, I guess no matter how exciting something is, one can always get used to it. What's exciting or boring probably depends on the person," Hito says.

"No, no impurities. You can cook them into various things, but the apples don't have anything harmful to humans in general, although I guess one could be allergic to apples," Hito says thoughtfully.

"Negotiation? Yes, sometimes you give someone a better deal to improve their opinion of you. If you want them to like you, you can be more generous, to a point. If you overdo it though, they'll be suspicious or upset. I didn't do it strictly for business, though. I guess it might be hard to explain.. altruism? Where you do something that doesn't seem to benefit you, on behalf of someone else. I guess it's the basis of friendship," Hito says. "I've never really thought about it before," he says, scratching his chin.

Hito chuckles," Yeah, they're pretty sweet, but that comes with a price. Most of these candies have very little nutritional value. They just taste good. Which is why we didn't trade all of our basket. We've still got enough apples and produce to eat. If you only eat candies, you'll get sick. So it's about balance."

"Well, Rakshasa and I are due back at Ai soon. It was nice to meet you, Aesthetic Shadow. Maybe we can do this again sometime. I'd love to visit your world sometime," Hito says with a smile.

Rakshasa speaks up,"It was.. nice. Thank you," and manages another stiff bow. One might notice that his bag is now filled with candied apples. Is that the only treat he got?
Shadowed Aesthetic     Shadowed Aesthetic nods. "It all depends on one's perspective," he replies. "I'm fairly certain that if someone from a place like this went to my home, they would be impressed, awed or excited-- everything is mechanical and the 'oceans' are oil. But to me, all of that is perfectly normal." He considers the apples, before accepting one. He will definitely eat it later. "I doubt allergies will be a problem, but thank you for the warning," he says with a grateful smile.

    "Altruism, that's a concept I know. But it rarely pays off where I'm from," Shadowed Aesthetic replies. "Unless one gives to get something later. But then one is suspected of doing exactly that. It can be a slippery slope." And then the truth of the candies is revealed! "Oh, I see. These are consumed for pleasure, not for nutrition." That made sense-- small luxury items were often given to workers for particularly productive shifts.

    Shadowed Aesthetic chuckles at the name, and corrects gently, "Shadowed Aesthetic." He offers a polite bow. "It was nice to meet you both as well. Do take care, both of you." Though he also smirks at the bag of candied apples. Just 'all right', hm? Perhaps that one has the gift of understatement...