This far-flung corner of the Valley of the Temples is clearly not frequented by tourists - in fact, it looks like it's been untouched for hundreds of years. A Torii gate stands here guarding the passage between sacred and profane, clearly all but abandoned to nature where it's shrouded in vines and foliage. The traditional red Shinto gate is faded and cracked, but a pathway has been cleared between the two pillars topped by two crossbeams that give the "bird abode" its literal name.
Just beyond is a small shrine with tattered rice paper walls and a small pool of water with a several wooden ladles in it, just before the entrance. The jungle here is practically an enclosing dome, but the gardens around the shrine, while overgrown with weeds, are clear enough to walk through and were obviously designed with care. A lovingly built terrace surrounds the shrine, just beyond a narrow but deep flowing stream that stretches around the perimeter. The entrance to the shrine is accessible via a small, red, rounded bridge.
This is a perfect spot to be alone with your thoughts. Not too far from the shrine in question, Kirk is settled. He has his duffle with him, laid to the side. His hat re moved, sitting on the ground before him. His head lowered slightly, hands clasped lightly before him. His eyes aren't closed, but his attention isn't focused on the moment. The stillness works for him and for the moment he's content to bask in the simplicity of a moment away from everything.
Robin quietly walks through the Valley, admiring the various structures and the well groomed vegetation. The ... less cared for foliage of the tattered temple catches his attention, as it sticks out in the eyes of this gardener. He glances at the Gate, and admires it styling, and notes with some disappointment it's fading paint.
"I have half a mind to believe that this disrepair is intentional. But for what purpose I cannot discern.", the young man says to himself. He reaches out to touch one of the pillars, but pulls his hand back before making contact. "Why are you crooked?", he asks aloud.
He carefully steps through the opening provided by the red pillars, and begins navigating the garden, eyeing the overgrown parts, and marveling at the overall design. "GAH!", he says, recoiling from something in one of the larger weeds. "Someone has a rather macabre sense of humour, it seems." Robin comes to a stop before the rounded bridge, and moves to one side, glancing underneath the span curiously.
It's a nice day for a walk and while Muri isn't terribly religious or fond of quiet, spiritual places, however even she needs some alone time once in a while. Especially lately with her recent problems. So perhaps it's no wonder that she wanders off into strange territory, too caught up in her thoughts and to pay attention much to her surroundings. Dressed in a simple green cotton dress, she has her harp strapped to her back, keen on soothing her troubled soul with gentle music perhaps. She notices Kirk first and smiles a bit, moving towards him before catching sight of Robin as well. Hmm this day may yet get interesting! She does a few odd flowers here and there perhaps but oats them little mind, focused mostly on Kirk and Robin, "Well, aloha my pretties!" she calls and waves out to them in her musical voice, a wry smile on her face as she intercepts Robin first. "Ah, it has been a while, did ye miss me?" blue-grey eyes gleam impishly.
A rather tired looking Isaac is out for a stroll today, his usual energetic gait replaced with a mobile slouch that conserves energy. Sunglasses cover his eyes, a rather nice designer set that are being worn for purely cosmetic reasons at this point. He's wearing a fairly rugged looking hiking outfit, the jacket a colourful windproof item that is light but warm, his trousers are khakis and look like they could deal with most brambles. He's remembered to do up his boot laces but that was probably a happy accident, the young man clearly not sure why he is out this early but doing his best to make the most of it. He has a backpack on over one shoulder and a cup in his hand, from the top of a thermos by the looks of things and contained within can only be coffee given the smell and the faint trace of emotion that crosses his face everytime he takes a sip.
The commotion from Robin briefly gets Isaac's attention, drawing his focus away from his cup of coffee with glacial speed. "Hmm?" Tilting his head to one side he seems to focus on a section of the undergrowth and then just shakes his head, apparently not seeing what the concern is. Hearing a familiar voice, his head swivels round until he spots Muriel, Isaac nodding at that and then returning to his coffee.
Speaking of the perfect spot to be alone...Lio has arrived, and also brought a friend. "...king tourists don't usually hang out over here," he's saying to Fiona as they walk through the jungle in the direction of the shrine, and he holds some vines out of the way so that they both can pass. "Too lazy." He grins as he turns toward it to start forward again, only to see Kirk, and Robin. And then Muriel. And also Isaac. He stops, his eyebrows raising, and after a second, adds, "Well. Never mind." He sighs, glancing back to the shrine. "Place is going to shit, too. Guess no one's bothering to pull the weeds anymore."
The mountain of a man know as Akhlut held his arms out as they were draped with white flowers and green leafed leis as he followed Nala. His path was altered to the side as they neared an archway by Nala's beckoning. The man was dressed in a pair of khaki shorts, a black and white Hawaiian shirt, and actually sandals. "I have seen funerals before, but here, it would not to seem to be meaningful to have the men with their heads buried to the north, and the women to the south. It is warm here for both. So perhaps facing the east and the west as there is beauty in sunrises and sunsets."
"Shit," says Fiona, walking with Lio when she sees the number of people near the gate. Lio knows she's trying to avoid people, in general, though she does have to work near many of them. Unfortunately, it's hard to bartend without people. "You want to turn back?" she asks, glancing over her shoulder and lifting her water bottle to take a quick sip. She's dressed for a hike in the way casual hikers dress for a hike -- tennis shoes, shorts, tank top, small backpack with nothing overly useful in it. Her hair's pulled back into a pony tail, but the shorter pieces fall around her face.
She moves closer to the shrine, despite her question, peering with a frown at the weeds. "What's that?" she says, pointing it out to the Lio. That's when she sees Akhlut and Nala. "Small island. Hi," she says to the couple she just met the other day. There are others she recognizes but can't quite place, but she gives them a nod of acknowledgment, should they glance her way, in that 'Hi, I recognize you' polite manner that isn't too intrusive. She hopes anyway.
Nala moved through the burial grounds at the Valley of the Temples with a quiet sort of reverence about her. Everything spoke of respect, love, and a sweet, kind way as she moved, her feet exceedingly careful as she picked her way along the lines and irregular resting places of the dead. She seemed to be moving with intent and purpose, as every so often she'd stop with Akhlut and carefully pull one of the open ended Maile Leis from his arms, and lay them over the headstone of a gravesite. "This, is loa kupuna kane, the stories say that he and ke kupunawahine nui were in love for 90 years without forgetting the sound of one another's breath, and never left one another for more than the day it took to get the work done." She chuckled and gave Akhlut a beaming smile, her vivid blue-green eyes shimmering with happiness. "After this, we're getting into ancestors that are more a common one shared with many of the people of Oahu."
Nala had dressed in a simple, ankle length sheath of white that fit tight across her chest so it could stay up without straps. The rest of the garment flowed gently, the silky fabric loose enough to allow for easy movement but heavy enough to lay over her figure like a spill of shimmery water as she stood still. Her long, waving, dark hair was pulled back and held back from her face with abalone shell combs and a simple, tiny flowered lei rested around her neck done with white flowers. As they passed through the archway, close to the side as if she and Akhlut were avoiding the center line highly on purpose, a shiver went up her spine and she lifted her head.
"Akhlut. Something's wrong." Nala's words were filled with worry as she scanned the people there, eyebrows knitting tightly together as the shimmer in her eyes grew to be more the hardness of diamonds, less the softness of respect. "Someone might be doing something terrible. There's bad magic here." The visible skin along her arms and shoulders broke out into goosebumps as she stared at each person in turn, assessing them to see if they were obviously making bad things happen.
A cloud shrouds the sun, and the flares of light piercing the canopy of trees are snuffed out for the span of two heartbeats. When the sun returns, the early morning sun is replaced by evening lantern-light, paper orbs swinging from the corners of the shrine in a gentle, but cold breeze. The gardens around the shrine are pristine, without a weed in sight, the pathways are gently raked pebbles, and the babbling creek kisses the hems of dozens of tiny white kimonos on dozens of nearly-identical dolls, all lined up like little guardians staring vacantly out of black glass eyes. Each doll is two feet tall, with a white kimono, red obi, and black silky hair. Their porcelain faces are lovingly painted with identical red lips, but the other features are slightly different on each. Individuals.
Through the pristine, vibrant red Torii gate, the Valley of the Temples is replaced by a shadowy mountainside pathway, that leads into, at first glance...blackness.
Kirk comes back to the moment as something catches his attention. The man looking over towards the stream.. and past it. But before he can consider it too long, Muriel's voice catches his attention. He turns his attention towards her, offering a slight nod and a small smile. "Good day," he offers her. Picking up his hat, he gets himself up, a hand out to casually snag his duffle before he straightens. He doesn't seem bothered that people's paths are crossing. Though, as he's putting his hat on, he takes note of Nala's words, glancing towards her with a furrowed brow. Then the sudden scene change. Morning for evening. His head turns and his eyes sweep. He takes note of the small dolls that are suddenly there. His attention doesn't stop there. His eyes seeking out clues ravenously. Slowly his attention comes to center on the shrine. "It feels like.. something is focused there."
Robin seems surprised, almost startled, by Muriel's voice, and he nearly falls over but recovers at the last moment. "Ah, aloha Muriel. Yes, my apologies for my lack of social activity of late. I had some pressing family business that I had to return to Guangzhou to deal with. Ah, erm, Canton I mean." The young man smiles to Kirk then, offering him a polite tip of his bowler hat. "Nice to see you again, Kirk. How are things?" The other folks who have gathered are finally noticed, and Robin collectively offers them a tip of his hat.
And then the world seems to go topsy-turvy for a moment.
"What was that?", he wonders. "Hmm. I saw those dolls earlier, covered in weeds. And the Torii gate there... its paint was definitely not so vibrant or fresh. And the pillars were crooked." He turns around in place, taking in all of his surroundings once more. "And look. The path... the Valley of the Temples itself. It's gone."
Muriel blinks slowly, glancing around with a slight smirk. "Well. hmph, so much for a quiet...Night? What's going on?" she scratches her head, peering around. "I be overworking meself for sure.." she frowns softly, moving a little nearer to Kirk as she eyes the changing scenery warily. "Lovely light show, I really must stop working long hours, it be messing with me head.." she laughs nervously but tries to enjoy the pretty lanterns and dolls. "Ahh, aloha, Nala and Akhlut, what be this story ye speak of? Is it the history of this place?" she does frown as she peers back at the gate, scratching her head. "No worries, still waiting for me Bonsai, Robin dear.." she grins and winks at him impishly, only somewhat distracted by weirdness. "Yea, definitely lack of sleep." Isaac is also given a distracted nod. "Aloha again, Isaac. How ye be? Thanks for believing me last time."
"Yep," Lio confirms, and he starts to turn, just in time for that cloud to go over the sun. He squints, and then turns back...and comes face to face with those dolls. Or at least, face to shin. Something like that. "Oh fuck no," he says, shaking his head. "Nope. Let's go." He gestures to Fiona and turns away again, but then there's nothing else to turn //to//. Just that black. "Seriously?" His eyes narrow as he looks down the mountain path, staring into the dark, before he turns back to Fiona again. "Damn. You //are// cursed," he says. "Remind me not to hang out with you anymore."
Isaac watches as more and more people arrive, offering a friendly wave to those he knows. Lio is watched with some interest, Isaac looking between him and Akhlut and then down at himself for a moment. "Feeling down right tiny." He shakes his head and then continues to look around. Raising his sunglasses, he squints over at Akhlut and Nala and notes their concern. "Aloha guys." His voice is a little muted, the young man not wanting to shout in this setting. "Is uh, is everything okay?" Looking upwards, he frowns. "Okay, it got dark real quick." Perching his sunglasses on top of his head, he looks around, his eyes showing the rings and bags that would suggest that he hasn't been sleeping well lately. "Hey Muriel." He turns and waves as he is addressed, seeming to finally notice the missing temple now that it has been pointed out. "Oh, this isn't good." He waves to Fiona as well, watching as people start look up the path.
If it wasn't her words, the aura of unease from Nala was enough to draw a short groan from Akhlut. His eyes narrowed as his vision moving from one form to the next until they returned to Nala. "I am in your world here. Is it better to show remembrance and love to your ancestors, or to deal with the source of this twisting feeling? I do not feel allowing the leis to fall to ground before they are given, otherwise you not have entrusted me to hold them." The man offered a nod to Muriel, "Aloha!" He frowned, but immediately quieted him as he gestured to a nearby grave with his finger. "I am to use a respectful volume rather than bellow. My family tends to sing to the dead."
When the sun goes out and that scene shifts, Fiona backs up away from the shrine, her eyes widening. "No, this feels different," she says to Lio, voice low, as if she's afraid of waking some sleeping entity. "This isn't just crazy mongoose or overgrown vines. Time change? What's with the freaky dolls?" she murmurs, her curiosity getting the better of her and she moves closer to them, crouching to peer at one, though she doesn't touch. "Everything feels wrong," she says, wiping her hands on her knees as if to wipe something off of them. "The stream feels clean, but everything else is... gross. Wrong." She looks up, to see if he or anyone else gets the same feeling. She sees Isaac wave and smiles a little weakly at him. "Hey. Need stronger caffeine for this shit, right?"
Nala offered Fiona a slight smile, though her concern was still quite obvious. "Aloha." Her words were a welcome, but the shift in time or at least in light quality had her glancing up at the sky with an obvious confusion about her features. She looked at Isaac then a Muriel, nodding to them too, with a faint smile still on her lips as best as she can keep it there. "Any of you that know how to be respectful to the dead and have respect and love in your hearts, come with me." She was decisive about it, looking at Akhlut and motioning to him.
"We need to wash our hands in the basin and then make our offering of respect and love to the stream over there. Or we'll be feeding this.. terribleness." She shuddered softly, Nala clearly not pleased with the situation. "Come, ko'u aloha." And then she walked over to the little Shinto basin and ladle that accompanied most classical Buddhist shrines and crouched down, ladling water over her hands to cleanse them. "I'll hold the leis while you clean your hands, Ak." She wasn't trying to hurry, but more to be thorough about rinsing all sides, and every finger. As she stood up, she held her arms out flat so Akhlut could place the leis into her arms.
The night is starting to get colder fast, with that unmistakeable scent of snow in the air. It's going to be freezing soon. A soft glow emanates from inside the shrine, and with it, the only warmth in the air. All at once, the dolls turn to stare at the new arrivals. A child's laugher floats through on the breeze, and then continues in a laughing melody, "Cold and dark, you all will freeze, but one of my dolls has the keys. Ask her nicely, do say please, or beg for mercy, on your knees. Which one, which one, ones, twos, threes? The right doll whispers to the trees. The rest might give you their disease!"
Kirk is distracted, his mind working as he takes in everything around him. But he's listening and hears what Nala suggests. Looking towards her after a moment. "I can't be sure of my heart. But I prefer to be respectful.." He pauses, hearing the rhyme, even if he can't see the speaker. His attention moving back to the dolls. Respect. "It's worth a try," he says, half to himself, half towards Muriel before he shoulders his bag and steps towards the dolls. Moving slowly, but deliberately. Studying them as he moves closer. Still thinking. Always thinking.
Robin moves to the basin that Nala and Akhlut stand before, and while Akhlut burdens Nala with his leis, the young man carefully cleanses his hands in the basin. "A good idea, that. Respectful.", he says to the mountain of a man and his demure lady. He walks back to Muriel and smiles, "A bonsai takes time, my dear. But you can come and visit and see it, yes?" The laughter causes him to pause, and look around. He then moves to consider the different dolls. "Obviously, they aren't whispering to the trees, not literally."
The young man walks around, much like Kirk, but a little faster. "The dancing one, the one with a garland, the fanning lady, and the flute player... and that one with the twirling flower. They are not whispering." He points to one of the dolls who appears to be praying. "But her. She is whispering."
Haleakala dropped Haleaspects.
Muriel scratches her head as she peers around. And laughs. "Aye, it be the insomnia perhaps. Or the booze. Definitely need to cut down on the booze!" Yes, that must be it! And then the dolls start to talk and she stares at them. And laughs some more, albeit nervously as they make a auntie threat. "Ooh, dolls be threatening me?! How..Quaint." And it gets colder and she smiles all the more. "Mmm, feels good.." she murmurs. But hey this illusion isn't so bad, perhaps she should drink more! "So, a game then? How lovely!" and she turns to the dolls, peering at them intently, pondering. But when Kirk makes a suggestion and looks to her, she shrugs and sighs. "Tch. Fine, have it your way.." she rolls her eyes but follows after him, clearly respecting him enough at least to trust he knows to do the right thing to get them out of here!
Muriel flashes a smile at Robin and shrugs as she washes hands in the basin. "Sounds delightful. Let's get to it soon, hmm?" she grins and winks at him, quite enjoying the game.
"I saw that shit before. When I was working at that party. The dolls. Except the dolls were us. Like fucked-up versions of us. Creepy as hell." As to the feeling of weirdness or wrongness, Lio shakes his head, looking around at the others that have stumbled into this whole thing with them, his eyes settling on each one. He ends up watching Nala Nala as she goes to wash her hands. He tips his head, raising an eyebrow, but eventually he shrugs. "Love in your heart, huh?" he repeats, and while his voice is a little dry and doesn't particularly sound loving, he does at least go toward the basin. "Come give me some love to help me out," he says to Fiona with a little smirk, despite the rather dire situation. Whistling in the dark, perhaps. Literal dark. "Otherwise I might not make it." But he does nod to Nala when he gets to the bowl, and Akhlut gets a nod, too. He washes his hands whenever there's space, and once he's done, he turns to Nala again, presumably waiting to see what he's supposed to do to assist. Anything to get out of here, apparently. The laughter does make him let out a little displeased sound, though. "See? Creepy as hell."
Isaac looks around as the voices can be heard, looking from person to person for a reaction that would tell him that he's not hallucinating. "Why'd it have to be dolls? So creepy with their dead little eyes" Taking a deep breath, he downs the rest of his coffee and then sets the cup back in his backpack, looking around as he does so. "Ah ha, I'm an idiot!" Grinning to himself, he heads over to one of the larger trees in the area, resting a hand on its trunk and then closing his eyes. After a few moments, Isaac begins to change, the tiredness seeming to leave his body and his ears take on a decidedly pointy aspect. "Dear old one, I am a child of the Nymphs, will you speak to me? We who care for you and live with you, honor you. Voices speak of a doll that whispers to one of your number, could you please tell me where they are?"
Akhlut offered the slightest of nods to Nala, and was almost in perfect stride with her on the way to the basil. The man waited and watched as Nala washed her hand and waited for her to stand to offer her arms. The exchange of leis was a careful arrangement, Akhlut allowing the open ends of the leis fall over her forearms as he turned hands outward, not touching her or the leis until the weight was transferred. The man drew in a deep breath, "I refuse to think the cold or snow is evil, but I trust in you." The man turned and knelt by the stream, meticulously scrubbing and washing his hands. The man took the water in his cupped hands before he splash his own face with it. Arching his eyebrow, he stared back to Nala with his face dippiing, "I was loud, but I also miss the ice forming on my beard." He broke his gaze from her and stood carefully, holding to 'clean' hands out. When Lio spoke about needing love, a broad smile appeared, stepping up to the other mountain of man. "Here is the love." With a wide reach, Akhlut wrapped his arms around 'The Rock', lifting him a few inches from the ground as he leaned back, laughing happily all the while. "Now, you have love!"
When Nala moves people toward the basin, Fiona doesn't go, not at first. Her brows knit together and she looks uncertain and wary. When that voice suddenly speaks, she grows a touch pale, and she suddenly stands up and backs away from the doll she's crouching a few inches from. "Disease?" she echoes.
Lio's words draw her focus that way, and she's only too happy to let Robin examine their faces as she moves to the basin to do as the others do, wash her hands. "Dolls that looked like you?" she echoes, standing a bit closer to him more out of fear, it seems, than anything else. She turns to Isaac and tips her head as he speaks. "Huh," she says, when he declares himself a changeling, brows lifting.
She turns back just in time to see Akhlut bromancing Lio, and despite all her worry and fear, she laughs aloud. "Oh, my God. Lio, don't kill him, he's a good one," she says. "That, and it's kinda hot." Yeah, she went there. "Right?" she asks Nala, before she looks around, a bit wide-eyed, remembering she's supposed to be respecting the dead. "What else should we do?" she asks, more seriously.
Nala accepted the leis from Akhlut and gave him a warm smile, despite the chill running up her back. "Mahalo, hoa." She offered the thanks to Akhlut, Lio, Robin, and Fiona as they came to wash their hands, then she nodded toward the stream of water. As Akhlut wrapped the other very large man in a hug, Nala's smile actually broadened and grew in warmth, appreciation and respect. That same smile was given to everyone around the basin, glowing from her and making her vivid eyes almost luminous. "Oh I agree, hotter than I would have expected. Might not need a blanket with the cold." Nala chuckled softly as she agreed with Fiona, then cleared her throat to let them know what she'd intended with the leis. "Take a lei and offer it to the flowing stream, with the kind thoughts of love and respect for the dead that might travel along it. Or for the dead that might be fed by it." She glanced over at the others, then raised her voice a touch, holding the leis out for everyone who was preparing their hands to take one.
Nala's voice wasn't quiet, but more projected and calm. "They could mean that one of them is whispering to the trees, or praying to the Gods for help with cutting them down. The trees have a history of begging people not to cut them, not to take them for fire. There was a man that went out to cut trees and they begged for their lives, dodged his axe, avoided the blade. So he had to pray to Akua, and Akua maade the trees stand still. The trees still whispered behind his back, and still do to this day behind the back of all humans. But the prayers are what kept them still enough for our axes to chop them down." She eyed the little dolls, then the surrounding area. "I wonder if we're in trouble if she stops praying, or supposed to use her prayers to achieve what we need?"
The little praying doll doesn't move. None of them do. They just stare out of empty black marbles. The trees rustle, whether from an errant breeze or some other cause, but the shrine is still save for that babbling brook. The stream accepts the leis, which sink down, down, down - this stream seems to spring from the center of the Earth...or wherever this is. The babbling brook seems to echo, for the briefest moment, the words of the child, "Ask her nicely, do say please, or beg for mercy on your knees." And then the strange, babbling echo is lost to the wind, which picks up and brings with it a sharp icy bite.
Kirk pauses as he nears the dolls, but doesn't get too close. Not yet. Studying them thoughtfully. But it's Robin's words that draw his attention and narrow his focus. He zeros in on the doll that is praying. Studying it for a long moment before he moves closer to it. He dips to a knee, his hat doffed neatly. He studies the doll for a few moments more before he murmurs, "Please, do you have the key?" And as he asks this, he studies the doll closely. Waiting, patient but curious.
A sharp, shrill scream tears out of the praying doll, who shatters into dust and silk. An old iron key with a jade inlayed handle peeks out of the white kimono and obi. Near the doll, there is a sudden sharp drop in temperature. The lei floats back up to the surface of the stream, one end elevated into the center of the cold spot.
Robin accepts one of the leis to offer to the stream, and gives a start when the doll screams and then shatters. He raises an eyebrow, his face growing serious. "I can only imagine what would have happened if we chose poorly.", he quips. As the lei floats back up, Robin considers it. "What might this mean, I wonder?" He glances to Nala then. "Any idea? It's getting a bit cold here, too." The young man pats Kirk on the shoulder, "The hat was a good gesture, sir. Well done." Robin tips his own hat to Kirk once more.
Muriel peers around as she is asked to offer some show of love and respect. "Respect?" she chuckles, "Sure, I can do that one.." she rests a hand on Kirk's shoulder, following him towards the praying doll. "Kirk.." she murmurs. As a scream is heard and a key drops and - ooh a lei? she takes the lei and rests it about Kirk's neck, nodding to him almost solemly "For you, dear friend..And this key be yours yes?" she hands him the key too. As for love? Not so easy! And easily mistaken for flirtations. She grins at Robin, spinning around to face him and reaches up to cup his face, an impish gleam in her eyes as she suddenly plants a kiss on his lips - albeit briefly, with a laugh. "I do like a challenge if it get us out of here!" she grins and winks to him, "I suppose these silly flirtations be what ye humans call 'love?'" she really doesn't seem to understand the concept, sadly. As for Isaac and his talking to trees, she just stares at him, "Isaac? What ye be doing?"
Lio does not have time to do anything else before he's ambushed by the other huge man. "What the fuck, brah?!" he exclaims as he literally gets picked up off his feet, and there's a second or two of his arms straining against the hold, before he glances at Fiona when she speaks. Perhaps her assurances are good enough for him, or perhaps he really did just want a hug, because after that moment, he stops resisting, and then gives Akhlut a couple of pats on the back. Super manly style. "Okay," he says, "great. Thanks. I got all the love I need now." He hugs him back for a second before he releases, and clearly expects -- hopes? -- the other man will release him, too. "Don't let me forget to get your number after we get the hell out of here." Though this is said dryly.
He steps away once he can, and does whatever Nala instructs him to do, the slightly amused look fading as the temperature drops. The doll shrieking has his head jerking toward it, too, but he says nothing else for the moment, letting Isaac and Kirk take care of that.
That is, until Muriel picks up the lei. "Wait!" he yells, and he starts to reach for it to get it from her, but it's too late -- it's already around Kirk's neck. "Do you know what that is?! That's for honoring the fucking dead! Shit!" And while he'd certainly looked a little weirded out before, now he looks actually pissed -- and really freaked out. "You don't just put stuff on...Jesus!" He looks torn between wanting to take it off of Kirk, and not at all wanting to touch it any more. "Well, we're fucked now."
Letting out a sigh, Isaac leans forward so that his forehead is resting on the bark of the tree. "Thank you." "It was that one..." Isaac says, nodding towards the doll that exploded. "But I guess that much is obvious. The trees were really angry about the dolls, that and an axe wound that is around here somewhere." Frowning, he starts to move from tree to tree, stopping at each one and leaning in before moving off again. "Oh man, this must be it." Isaac winces as he notices the old wound, looking up to the tree and then shaking his head. "The ache..." Patting the trunk gingerly, he slowly sinks to his feet. Blinking, he looks over to Muriel. "I was asking for help." He shrugs and grins to her, his tiredness at the back of his mind for the moment. Resting his back against the tree, he looks up into the branches. "Any idea who put the dolls here?"
The happily grinning Akhlut offered a couple of pats on Lio's back in response. "It is all good, brah. Respect and love for the dead starts with the respect and love of people." Setting Lio back down, he gave the man a clap on the shoulder. "It is good when I meet another that has the same love of food as I do." Sighing happily, stepping over to Nala to take one of the leis from Nala, placing a kiss on her cheek. "Now you are wet. This should be shared as well." The man looked to Isaac, then back to Muriel and Kirk, his brow going up. "I feel the correction of the transgression would be a very unloving act." There was a groan from the man as he closed his eyes, exhaling slowly. His eyes reopened and he strode up to Kirk wrapping him up in an arm, nodding to Lio then back to Kirk, "In his words, what the fuck, brah. But I will love you even when you foolishly pretend to be a grave."
After chuckling at Lio's reaction to Akhlut, Fiona moves away with her lei to the stream, kneeling and quiet for a long moment, her head bowed. She then lets the lei go free into the water. When she looks up, there's a salty tear stain along each cheek, her long dark lashes and dark eyes wet with the fresh tears. It's a somber moment -- that's interrupted by that shriek that makes her jump.
"Jesus," she murmurs, before frowning again at her lack of propriety.
She gets up again -- she's spending a lot of time on the ground, it seems! -- and turns to look at the shattered doll and then Isaac. "The trees... are pissed about the dolls?" she says, though it's not in a way that suggests she thinks he's crazy. After all, they're in a time warp with evil creepy dolls. Lio's outburst draws her eyes that way, and she bites her lip, glancing from him to Muriel to Kirk wearing the lei, to Nala then Akhlut.
"This part might be the curse..." she asides to Lio, backing up a little. Whether she's kidding or not, it's hard to say. "If any mongeese show up, it's definitely me." It's said wryly, but with a little truth to it.
Nala's face went from being almost serenely happy, filled with complete love and almost devotion as Akhlut gave her his kind words, to a look of sheer horror as she turned her head and stared at Muriel. "What have you DONE? You inconsiderate haole! I TOLD YOU EXACTLY WHAT TO DO!" She hissed the words at Muriel through clenched teeth. "CAN YOU NOT EVEN LISTEN?!" Whether Nala was shaking with fury or with cold would be hard to tell, considering the temperature dropping rather significantly. "You may be cold enough in your heart to ignore the fact that you just pissed off the spirits, but the fact that you don't listen and don't know any better just makes you a horrendously ignorant person!"
Nala shook a little harder, holding her handful of leis over toward Fiona, stepping forward after the retreating woman. "Please, put them in the water. My heart is full of rage and it's not how you honor the dead, that's how you add to those buried in the ground." Distraught was an understatement as she gave up her burden and then turned to Muriel, then looked at Kirk and Akhlut. "I don't know if we can save this, but the rest of the leis going into the water might help. We might have to put him in the water as well, to wash the lei off of him and down the stream. To wash the death that Muriel wished off of him away, so it doesn't settle into his heart and leave him to die."
The half-sunken lei abruptly drops as the funerary lei is draped over a living person's neck. The cold spot slowly begins to manifest into a hazy, white figure, a woman with bulging eyes, water-logged, distended features, and ribbons of blood floating out of her back. With an agonizing shriek that echoes off of every tree and blade of grass, the spirit begins to weep and claw through the air. One by one the other dolls begin to shatter, until the screaming is almost deafening. The temperature drops dramatically with every destroyed doll.
Kirk starts at the scream and the breaking of the doll. But.. it has revealed a key. A bit more literal than he expected, but not everything can be a metaphor. Kirk glances up towards Robin and smiles faintly. "It's one reason I wear the hat," he says. "And thank you for your sharp eyes," he adds, nodding his head slightly. But then Muriel is draping a lei over him. He stiffens, having pid attention to what was going on to some degree, even while focused on his own explorations. His expression speaks to this not being.. good. But when Muriel offers him the key, he takes it. However, he doesn't get a change to try and use it, being snagged up by Akhlut despite an instinctive lean away from his approach. He grunts, growing more and more bemused as moments pass. "I don't think.." Then the.. spirit? That comes. And that draws Kirk's attention and its cry prompts a deep shiver from him. "L-let me go, this is no time for this.." His voice halting as he firmly shakes off the chilling presence of this creature. Only just.
Robin starts at the kiss Muriel plants on his lips, and he grins, but then people begin to get upset. He nods to Kirk, and smiles, "That's one of the reasons I wear a hat also. But it also keeps the sun from burning my head." He taps his nose. "Sharp eyes keep you alive." Then Akhlut is by to deliver hugs for everyone. "It is admirable that you are free with your love, sir.", Robin says to Akhlut.
When the spirits start to go mad, and the dolls begin to shatter, he looks around, eyes darting here and there. "Well, I'm not sure what can be done about this chill, but the spirits seem to be stuck on that side of the water. And I think they're scared of the troll under the bridge." Robin drops then to his knees, his hat casually discarded at his side as he prostrates himself. "Please do not kill us!", he says, loudly against the mayhem. "We beg of you."
Muriel just stares at Nala then back at the key and the lei. When the ghost screeches she married her eyes stepping protectively I front of Kirk, not even phased, just cold, stony. Wow, she must really be drunk tonight, nothing is making sense, this ghost us never phasing her. "No. You will not harm him. Please take this lei and my apology in his place." she bows to the ghost, taking off Kirk's lei and adding it to her own she adds both to the water before turning away, offering Kirk her hand. "Come with me if you wish to flee this accursed place." she's already heading for an exit she had found, waiting only briefly to see if he will follow, eyes still a bit glazed but knowing enough of this wintry atmosphere to find her way out at least.
That ghostly figure, followed by the shriek, is unnerving. To say the least. Lio shudders, but manages to keep his head -- at least in terms of his own fear. But then he takes in a deep breath, and turns. Toward Kirk.
It's hard to tell in the dark, but his eyes seem to dilate, and his nostrils flare. He tenses a little bit, too -- it may not be noticeable unless one is standing very near him, but maybe it is. He doesn't move toward him, or really move anywhere, but it's taking a little bit of effort. "Shit," he murmurs, though this time it's not meant to be heard.
Opening his eyes, Isaac nods to Fiona. "Very angry, almost angrier than they are about wood cutters." He frowns at the sudden burst of activity and shouting that seems to erupt, lost in his own world it takes him a moment to understand what is going on. "Oh no" Getting to his feet, his is about to move away from the tree when the spectre appears, the screaming seeming to cause him physical pain given how he reacts.
Starting to move, he stops and looks up at the tree, confusion showing clearly on his face. "What? With what?" He turns and points towards the doorway and then to the river. "You mean that right? Oh?" There is another pause and he reaches forward to lightly tap the tree. "Lower?" He taps his feet until he nudges against one of the tree's roots. "Okay.. I think" His gaze follows the roots and then rests on the stream. "Light touched? Blessed, holy? Roots, drinking? Portal, deluge? Right. Ah! I think I get it." Reaching forward with a hand, he rests it on the tree's trunk. "Thank you friend."
Stepping away, he turns and sticking two fingers in his mouth, lets out a shrill whistle. "Guys? We really have to get out of here before we get felledkilled even. Through the door but we need to erm." He looks to the river and then over to Nala and Akhlut. "I think we need to bless the door first?" He turns then and looks to Lio and Fiona. "Anyone got a bucket? Something about light water washing the door, I think." Finally, he looks over to Robin and Kirk. "Hey, the key? I think we need it for the door? We need to leave." Trying to emphasise the point, Isaac heads over to the portal. "Everyone not wanting to die, needs to go through this!"
With a screaming Kirk under his arm and a lei in the other, Akhlut's long legs covered the ground toward the stream. "I am Akhlut Uglu of the Waves, those who fallen by my hand, beside me, and before, I have held on malice towards... My mate... My very upset mate, Nala, is of you. I know that she is here before of all you before her, and through, that I understand the debt I owe to you and with love and respect, I offer this lei made in memory of you." From his outreached arm, he let the lei fall to the steam. "This one in my arm. People can be fools. And they can be made to look fools through no fault of their own... Please, take the death from the living." Pouring Kirk forward, Akhlut transfered his own grip to the man's ankles and dunking the poor man into the steam down to his shoulder. When the bubbles came up, Akhlut inclined his head to the steam, "We cool?" And with that he hauled Kirk from the water, turned and lowering him the shore with a wide smile, "I was hoping to see your head still on, brah." He released the man and offered a hand up.
When Nala passes the leis off to Fiona, Fi nods without an argument, taking them and moving toward the stream to do as asked. But she doesn't get far before the spirit appears, streaming blood-ribbons and shrieking, its malevolence palpable. The screaming and shattering of the dolls is just too much. The leis tumble to the ground, their destination unreached.
Fiona falls to her knees, her hands raking through her hair and covering her ears. She bows her head, nearly to the ground and squeezes her eyes tight. If her body language spoke, it too would be screaming: shut it out, shut it out, shut it out. Tears stream down her face through her tightly-shut lids, and she is trembling visibly.
Nala gasped in shock, staring at Muriel still. "ARE YOU KIDDING ME?! You can't... oh for the sake of all the things you don't understand right now, just STOP FUCKING TOUCHING THINGS!" For those that knew her, the extreme rarity of cussing and even raised voice coming from Nala might have been quite the shock, like hearing a Nun mention her favorite size of pecker mid-way through an evening meal. At the scream, a force almost as strong as gravity caused Nala to stare at the white specter and then, the color washed from her face, leaving her pale and wan under the layer of tanned skin. She shook, gripping her dress hard in her fists at thigh level.
"The... Oh my Akua. I'll.. I'll get the water, Isaac!" Nala managed to speak and raised her voice just loud enough to call to Isaac and be heard, the rage she'd been feeling dampened by the fact that she knew full well what that spirit could do to them now that it was invited. Crouching down at the basin, Nala lifted the ladle full of water from it and started toward Isaac and his discovered door. "Here, the light water, blessed. Clean!" Her teeth were chattering as she looked over and saw Fiona. "Help her! Bring her over!" She looked directly at Lio when she called out, as it didn't seem as though the woman would be coming over on her own power. Nala looked to Akhlut and let out a sharp sigh of relief after he dunked Kirk. "YES! Mahalo Akhlut, now get back over here!" She cried out loudly to both Kirk and Akhlut to beat feet toward herself and Isaac near his special door.
Now that the shrine door has been blessed, the spirits scream in frustration and claw through the air towards the sliding rice paper door, unleashing an unearthly cry of agony. But the energy of the stream keeps the at bay, and once more the funerary leis begin to slowly sink down into the stream, drawing the spirits, one by one, down into the cleansing holy waters. It will take some time for all of them to be drawn to rest, but as the dust and ash blows away from the broken dolls that imprisoned them, the spirits too begin to fade. A soft light through the keyhole of the shrine door projects an image on the curved red bridge that leads to it.
Robin slowly lifts his head up and looks around, and then gets to his feet. He looks to Kirk first and walks over. "Are you alright?", he wonders. "Looks like your key unlocks the door of the shrine. And uh, did you see where Muriel went?" He looks to the others, and then the bridge. "Any guesses as to what is inside the shrine?" The young man looks to Nala. "Is there anything we should be doing before setting foot inside? Let's get that clear first, yes?" He spends a few moments going to help others up, Fiona being one.
Lio's head swings over toward Nala then, and he takes in another sharp breath, almost as though he's getting some scent or other from the air. Whatever he's gotten before is nothing, though, compared to what he gets from Fiona. When she drops down onto the ground, he jerks forward her, and his lips part. The look on his face is definitely not fear now. It is hunger.
He groans, and takes just a moment to take one deep breath. He helps Fiona up with Robin, and then gets an arm under hers, half-assisting, half-carrying her toward the door as well. Or whatever ratio is needed.
Isaac was doing really well until the second wave of fear hit him. The young man just crumples to the ground as if his strings have been cut, all energy leaving his body and the fatigue from the previous weeks seeming to hit him all at once. Hugging his knees close to his body, he shivers uncontrollably, his eyes closed tightly shut as he tries to fend off the fear. "Cold.Winter" Scents of Summer days and a faint warmth start to emanate from Isaac, the Changeling leaning on his heritage in this place of trees as the panic threatens to overwhelm him.
Akhlut frowned as he stared at Kirk, the offered hand moved to poke at the man. "Please breathe." He patted the man's chest, "Please my pasty friend." He eyed Robin for a moment, then the key. "Is this important? I'm going to handle my mate... And that." Taking the key, Akhlut strode back to the shire. The cold seemed to invigorate the man, his smile shining. "Alright, just do this." Akhlut slipped the key into the hole, not turning it. "Nala... You seem stressed. I cannot allow that to be the case." Without another word, he straight up grabbed her and tossed over a shoulder, immediately stroking the back of her legs and rearend. He arched an eyebrow as he looked to Isaac. "You should find someone to do the same."
Let's be honest, Lio's doing more of the heavy lifting in this friendship at this moment, since Fiona's, well, pretty much not moving. When he and Robin go to help her up, she doesn't seem to want to rise -- like the lower she gets herself, the safer she'll be. Lio's well equipped to carry her, built like a linebacker as he is. Her hands have moved from her ears to cover her face, which she turns inward toward his shoulder, to keep from looking at any terrible things on their way out.
Nala certainly wasn't in a great place. No one really is when they've just had their traditions completely spat on, or their entire selves scared nearly shitless by the vengeful spirits of the dead. At least she'd managed to get the water onto the door. She only had a few moments before Akhlut picked her up and flopped her over his shoulder like a Fireman, but luckily she managed to toss the ladle back into the basin within that time. Because once she was staring at Ak's ass and lower back, she likedly wouldn't have been so coordinated. "Ak!" She cried out in some surprise, but ended up relaxing there, because really... she was well used to this by now. Heaven knows he carried her around that way often enough. Nala even managed to keep herself still so that the silky fabric of her long dress didn't make her slide right off his shoulder. For the next bit, as she had no choice as to where she was going, she just waited, and didn't fight, because naturally she trusted Akhlut to have her safety and well being in mind.
The inside of the shrine is simple, wooden floor with a niche at the far wall displaying a bell and an offering box. The scent of incense rises skyward, and the lingering screams of angry ghosts are muffled by a serene calm and the distant sound of plucked strings in a pentatonic scale. The shrine, and its bell, is barricaded off by 8 intersecting stone pillars emerging from the wall, the floor, and the ceiling. The gaps are too small for any human, or even a small mammal, to get through.
There are 8 smooth, black wood tiles in the floor, each emblazoned with a different symbol, and 8 niches in the walls. Each contains a small figure - a doll, about 2 feet tall, with impeccably painted porcelain features and silk clothing.
Kirk isn't screaming, but he's trying to.. get away from the man. Because, as some have expressed, getting out of this place is a good idea. But Kirk is not a strong man. Fit, but not strong. "What are you.." Then the man is dunking him in the water. It takes a great deal for Kirk to not react in the way most would. Panic. Some manner of flailing. He does try to reassert himself, but his actions are focused, if fervent, right up to when he goes into the water. Fortunately he keeps one hand closed, not losing the key he's holding in the water. Good for everyone. He sputters when he's drawn back out, not having been entirely ready for this. His hat is drifting way in the water, not attached to his head in a way to keep it from getting lost. Being set down, he staggers slightly, taking a moment to collect himself. Perhaps a bit too long. A hand lifting to ward off the large man's assistance, though without too much force. More a firm push. "Not now," he murmurs, voice rough and firm. "We have to leave." He turns immediately, shelving whatever he might think of Akhlut and what he's done. Priorities.
"Uh. Does anyone have anything for the offering box?", Robin asks. He pats his pants pocket, and cants his head, "Something appropriate, I mean?" He blinks and steps forward, glancing at one of the dolls. The young man lifts his hat off his head, and looks at it curiously, and then squints at the doll again. "This... this one is me. That one there... is obviously Mr. Mountain there. H... how?"
Lio just holds Fiona up, and though he still seems quite tense, he doesn't seem to be having trouble doing it. His eyes narrow as he surveys the scene, and he sticks his free hand into his pocket as though he's fishing for something to offer. "Good luck getting it in there," he says, his tone a little curt. "I saw those before. At the Iolani Palace. Or something like it. Don't mess with 'em. When you do, it's like fucking voodoo or some shit. Whatever we did to our doll happened to us, too."
Moving with all the grace of a ninety year old arthritic ballet dancer, Isaac slowly gets to hit feet. It takes him some time but he eventually works out where the others have gone, the door being the biggest hint for even his addled senses. Making his way through the portal, he does little more than blink when he gets inside, it taking some time for his to adjust to the surroundings.
Akhlut looked at the tiles, the pillars, the dolls, his eyes narrowed and moved to Rogar. The man nodded, reaching into his pocket to get out a few waded bills. "I worked for this money and gave it to my mate. She gave me some back and told me to buy something I wanted. It was to be breadfruit and coconut milk. It was going to be delicious." And with a heavy sigh, the man put the money in the box. "I would have offered the shirt off my back, but this is not my favorite shirt." When Nala started wiggling, Akhlut lowered her to the floor carefully. He nodded to Lio, "It would be rude to break dolls that are not my own."
Now that they're away from those shrieks and screams and terrible spirit, Fiona's a little less, well, catatonic. She slides out of Lio's grasp, squeezing his arm in thanks as she moves closer to the tiles, then to the dolls as Robin points out they look like... well, them. "There's one for each of us. And a tile." She points to each as she speaks, her voice a little flat, not a whisper but not fully bodied. "Yin. That's me, I think. Yang." She glances at Robin, with a brow raised. No offense, but there's some racial profiling that has to be done. "Fear." She looks to Lio. "Summer..." she glances at Isaac. "Winter?" that one is more of a query, but aimed at Akhlut. "Ocean and Art or Craft." She glances from Nala to Kirk, a little uncertainly.
"Don't break the dolls. I think... we maybe put the dolls on the tiles they match?"
Nala seemed to move quickly and followed Akhlut with much intention the moment her feet hit the ground. She smiled gratefully up to Akhlut, then moved to stand on her tiptoes while she kissed him softly after he made his own offering, even when it couldn't quite make it into the box. "Don't worry ko'aloha, we'll put it into the box when we can reach it better." She turned around and looked at Fiona, listening to her, and peered at the symbols on the floor. "Oh, there's one for Shore, too! Ok... so. Akhlut is the Ocean, I'm the shore. I don't know what the girl Muriel was other than Winter. She is cold." Peering over at Kirk, Nala smiled softly. "Though you, poor soul, might feel Wintery after Akhlut rid you of your curse. I don't believe that's your heart." Without further ado, Nala went over to take her doll, very carefully lifting it up, then walking it over to the symbol for Shore to set it down lovingly. "Only one of two homes, but those homes cover the world."
Of note, it takes REAL effort for Nala to move the doll. All of the rather built muscles in her shoulders and arms stand out very noticeably against her skin, like the doll weighed FAR more than it ought to, but she did manage to move it and laid it to the floor.
Kirk studies the interior quietly for a few moments, ignoring his wet state for the problem before them. "Something is different about this place." He takes a slow breath and releases it. "The air is clearer. Some other energy.. holds back what is inside the dolls." He steps closer to the one that looks like him. "The.. energy out there is inside of these dolls. But something else is.. holding it in." He glances towards the slots and adds, "Art." After seeing Nala have trouble, he wonders, "Shall we attempt to move these together?"
Robin eyes Fiona as she seems to solve the riddle of the dolls. He cants his head to one side as she names herself Yin, and him Yang. One eyebrow arches upwards ever so slightly. And he begins to laugh. "Well done, then. You and I have something to discuss afterwards, if you are so inclined?" He reaches for the doll representing him. For a brief moment, he hovers off the ground and then drops down again. He drags his doll carefully, but with effort, to the space indicated by Fiona. "Hah! I got it. I have it! This doll doesn't just look like me. It IS me." He looks to Fiona and then Nala. "Think anything untoward would happen if someone else moved hers?" The young man points to Fiona. "It might end up being easier, if we're careful."
As soon as Fiona has laid out the plan, Lio is moving to grab the doll that looks like him. "Fucking dolls," he mutters as he lifts it up, and he gets lifted up, too, but he grits his teeth and sinks to the ground again after a few seconds. He gets it out of its little niche and carries it over to the Fear symbol. "Someone's got way too much damn time on their hands." He sets it down then, though carefully. No need to break himself. Then he shakes himself, starting toward Fiona. "Should be fine if someone else gets it," he says. "It was the other time. It's just gonna be her that gets lifted up." He reaches for her then, but stops right before he touches her. "I got you," he says, though it does, at least, seem like a question. If she acquiesces, he'll take hold of her around the waist to help hold her down. If she does not, then, well...he won't.
"Muriel is Winter." Isaac says after a moments thought, looking to Fiona and Nala. "I'll move it." Heading over to the alcove, Isaac wraps his arms around the aforementioned doll and starts to lift. "Jesus H Corbet this thing is heavy!" Grunting with effort, Isaac manages to half carry, half drag the idol over to the designated tile, the young man almost creaking by the end of it.
Akhlut sighed heavily, "It is sad that the dolls did not take the money when I offered it." Going over to the doll that was apparently his. "You did not take my money, nor am I that small." His humour returned as he floated off the ground, his rumbling laughter echoing. "There should be more place like this." The laughter settled when he made it but to the ground, carrying himself to the ocean tile. "You understand the value of it, you should be there."
"So maybe it's your curse this time," says Fiona to Lio with a smirk, since he's the one running into dolls of himself more than once. Robin's words make her look his way, frowning a little as he laughs. She lifts a shoulder, a vague, almost defensive gesture in response to his invitation to chat, but when he suggests moving her doll for her, she shakes her head. She looks up at Lio and shakes her head at him too. "I'm not hurt," she says, moving to the doll that has her visage. She lifts it, her heels pulling off the floor but her toes staying grounded, before those heels come back down and she manages not to levitate herself. She drags the thing across the ground to get to the tile that has the yin marked on it.
Nala watched as dolls were carried, her eyes keen for a bit before she notes Isaac taking the Muriel doll, a little glimmer in those bright, blue-greens before she looks away and checks the wall. "I'll take yours Isaac, hold on to something.. or someone." She moved over to the doll and picked it up gingerly, though as the weight fell forward and she nearly lost her grip on the little thing, she moved her feet shoulder width apart to get a good base under her. "Well... hold on tight, I suppose. And eat lighter breakfasts!" She chuckled darkly and positioned the doll more securely in her arms, walking it over with effort until she laid Isaac's recreation on the floor, gently, over the Summer icon.
One by one, as the dolls are matched to their tiles, the tiles depress into the floor, and the sound of mechanical clicking is heard from behind the shrine's walls. A single pillar retracts for each tile pressed, until only one remains. The bell and offering box await, behind the last pillar. Curiously, the money Akhlut offered at the pillar wall has disappeared, and the sound of jingling comes from the offering box. A large, leather-wrapped baton sits next to the bell, but the last pillar prevents it from being moved.
Kirk sighs and looks at the heavy object with some concern. But he tries nonetheless. Sadly, he's not really built for this sort of thing. He tries to budge it, but he doesn't make much headway at all. Not that he looks embarrassed. Annoyed, surely. But he seems a bit too.. pragmatic to really take it personally. He steps back after a few moments of trying and shakes his head. "I suppose I'll need some assistance," he says, looking towards the others.
Robin looks to the last doll still in it's original niche. "Oh, I would be honoured, sir. Hang on to something heavy. No. Wait, that would be counter productive. Think happy thoughts. Like a gentle hug from the man mountain." Grinning cheekily, he lifts the Kirk doll a little, and carefully drags it to the last tile. "There we go." The young man glances at the bell. "Would someone like to bang a gong?"
Lio lifts his hands when Fiona shakes her head, and takes a few steps back. It's probably for the best anyway, and actually she does better than him at bringing it over there. "Nice," he says, giving her a thumbs up, and he doesn't try to help her again. Instead, as soon as the last pillar has retracted, he goes to the bell, picking up the baton and striking it neatly.
Isaac lets out a yelp as he starts to move, his eyes going wide and his head turning towards Nala. "Hands, HANDS!" Patting himself down once he at last stops moving, he lifts his chin and looks over at Nala as if over a pair of spectacles. "I had toast and honey for breakfast, thank you!" Watching as the bell is struck, he makes his way over to one of the statues. "Does anyone have a lighter?" He says as he looks down on it.
The sound of the bell is soft, but powerful, like a distant thunderstorm when you're snug in bed. It fills the shrine and the ear canal and is briefly as enormous as the crashing ocean. By the time the pleasant tone has diminished, the morning sun is streaming into the windows of the shrine, and the sound of tourists and visitors is heard outside. Eight small porcelain dolls lay in a circle on the wooden floor.
Akhlut watches as the last statue was put into place, reaching out to hold Isaac down. The sound of the ring caused the man's eyes to roll back in his head until the very end. When his eyes refocused, he took a deep breath. "The sun is out, but the world is going to be ringing for... Well, forever."
"I'm not sure we should burn them -- would it hurt us? They're somehow tied to us," Fiona says to Isaac when he mentions the lighter.
When the bell dings and everything goes back to normal, she heaves a sigh of relief. She still looks pale and her cheeks still bear the marks of her tear stains. She looks at the dolls a bit warily, then over to Lio. "What'd you do with them the last time?" she asks.
Nala stiffened entirely, from toes to the tips of her ears, her eyes squeezing shut as she shuddered in response to the sound of the gong. "Oh... akua...." She took a deep breath and opened one eye, then the other, looking at the sun. Reaching out for Akhlut, she blew her breath out slowly. "Can you hear me?" Her voice was overly loud, like she was partially deaf. "I think... we should get somewhere less filled with dolls." She glanced at the dolls, then at the others in the shrine. Isaac's voice came like a distant echo and she looked at him with wide eyes "Please don't set me on fire! That sounds... like it would be really, really terrible. And I don't want to burn." She shook her head. "I just want to get out of here."
"Cheating...YOU CHEATED!" comes a furious, distant child's voice from somewhere beyond the shrine. "Next time, we're gonna play by my rules..." But with the warm sunshine streaming into the shrine and the soft lingering bell chases away the remnants of the shrill voice. Outside the shrine's open door, the warped, vine covered Torii gate is casting long shadows as the day creeps closer to noon in the Valley of the Temples.
Kirk is a bit unsteady as he rises due to the facsimile of himself being moved. He lands a tad unsteady for a moment, but the ungainly drop doesn't end in him falling over. Then the bell, his hands lifting to his ears when the tolling of it ends up being stronger than expected. He grimaces as he lowers his hands once the sound fades. His attention returns to the dolls. Now smaller and more.. stable? "Interesting.." His curiosity rises as he approaches them. Locating the one that looks like him, he studies it, then crouches down to gingerly pick it up. "Locked inside," he muses to himself. "Stable.. in so much as this sort of thing can be."
Robin hisses at the sound of the bell, and rubs at his temples. "Well, quite the ringing endorsement. We should probably go." And he makes to do just that. He pauses though, at the mention of a lighter. "If you recall, we were lifting ourselves up by the bootstraps to move those dolls. What might happen if you burn them? Burning is a horrible way to go, I watched a monk immolate himself, once. I won't mention what burning people smells like, it would put you off your dinner." The young man turns and heads out of the door. "I'll catch up with you all some other day. For now, be well." Robin follows the path out of the lesser visited place, and back to the Valley proper.
Lio relaxes just a bit when things return -- mostly -- to normal. "Took it with me," he says, and he bends down to grab the one on the floor. "Now I got two. Not gonna leave it for someone else to find. That's just weird." He straightens up then, just in time for the voice to be heard. "Fuck you, you little shit!" he yells back. "Where's your fucking parents?! They oughta pop you good!" Though he doesn't seem to be expecting an answer. Instead, he tips his head toward Fiona. "Let's get out of here, yeah?" And as soon as she agrees, he's heading back down into the valley.
Isaac claps his hands over his ears as the bell rings, gritting his teeth as he waits for the noise to subside. "I'm all for getting out of here. This has just been a bit too much." As he shifts to move, there is a delicate crunching noise, Isaac portraying the face of innocence as he makes for the door. "Oops!" Turning at the portal, he waves to those still there. "I need to go see a friend, thank you all for your help. Nice to meet you Lio and a pleasure as always Fi." Turning, he claps Akhlut on the back as he heads past and offers a wink to Nala.
Akhlut listened to the voice for a moment, and shook his head. "I do not understand why your world seems to break so often. It would seem that the world would be sand." Looking back to Nala, he again picking up the woman to lay over his shoulder and heading to the portal.
Fiona picks up her own when Lio picks up his. "Creepy fucking thing," she mutters, putting it in the little drawstring backpack she carries on her back. She glances around at the strangers or near-strangers, a sort of half and forced smile on her face. "Yeah, it really does," she says to Akhlut, regarding the world breaking. This from the woman who thinks she's cursed, of course. She waves, and follows Lio out.
Nala smiled softly at Akhlut and patted his arm, giving him a wink. Moving over to the dolls laid out on the floor, she plucked up her own, Akhluts, and Isaac's. She seemed to look at them for a moment and sighed. "I'll have to take you to someone to see if we can't completely close this off before you do more harm, little things." She tucked all three into her arms like a trio of very long stemmed roses, and came back to Akhlut. Slipping her free arm around his waist, she tucked herself up against his side and nodded to the door. "Let's get out of here and go home, ko'aloha." And she proceeded out through the exit with him, shaking her head as if attempting to get the ringing out of her ears.
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