[img]https://i.ibb.co/rtvdswm/divider-line-02.png[/img] [center][img]https://i.imgur.com/cECl3Rx.jpg[/img][/center] [img]https://i.ibb.co/rtvdswm/divider-line-02.png[/img] [color=f3ccbb]"Oh? But that... means.."[/color] Da-Xia is deep in thought at the Envoy's words. She ponders, her eyes gaze back and forth. She rises and strides over to the Envoy. And then, she goes for a hug. [color=f3ccbb]"HAPPY BIRTHDAY! It is not everyday you achieve your big Zero!"[/color] After the hug, whether successful or not, she will begin clapping. [color=f3ccbb]"Ooooh oooh, what's the equivalent of the happy birthday song in Japanese?"[/color] [color=f3ccbb]"Can you make cakes too?"[/color] Da-Xia asks Shika, overflowing with enthusiasm. It seemed that now that Da-Xia had jumped to the conclusion that "newly born" meant "today", nothing could stop Da-Xia for wanting to throw them a proper birthday. [color=gold]"Tragic? You think so? I never really thought of it that way,"[/color] said the Envoy to Hanako. She crossed her legs and propped her cheek into her knuckles with some expression of amusement or reflection. [color=gold]"I am but two hours old, so stuff like that's never crossed my mind, let alone those I speak for-ooof."[/color] And just like that she was grabbed, hugged by the Devil Hunter's living enthusiasm before Da-Xia settled back into some form of civilry. [color=gold]"Well, well, please take these treats from Shika as a toast then, for both our new member and my arrival,"[/color] she mused, taking the one offered to her and "eating". Held in her hand, the tomato rapidly tore down into smaller and smaller pieces at an unnatural speed, as if it was being rewinded on an old tape. The Envoy didn't open her mouth at all, but did hum when the tomato sped itself into nothingness. [color=gold]"The black rocks are the beginnings of a new demon,"[/color] the Envoy said to the ghost girl. [color=gold]"In Japan I think you call it a...Youkai? The ones I speak for are frail and weak. It will take some time for them to manifest. They called out to you because you are the same, something not quite right with this world of humans. We're all strange, aren't we? I guess you can say, the ones I speak for called you all here because it wanted to reach out to those like them."[/color] The Envoy smiled and shrugged. [color=gold]"There are many of them, many rocks scattered in this city. Personally, I'd rather they be found by us then destroyed by someone like the DHA."[/color] "Well," Shika laughed, "Making a cake from scratch would take a while, especially if it was a big one. Really though, Envoy, you should have told us ahead of time that you were having a baby." That probably was not the case though. The curly-haired human leaned against the counter of the bar, sipping at their definitely-not-alcohol again as they toyed with the latest bits of news coming from the eyepatch-wearing devil. "So, these black rocks, are they like eggs that would burst into a bunch of little critters? Or do you need to collect them together to make a god-demon of obliteration?" The delightful broth and noodles Limen had been treated to earlier — courtesy of Da-Xia — were still churning in his stomach. As such, the sight and scent of what was surely a delicious homemade dish did not quite cause hunger pangs from him. But it was still good manners to try some, so he took one or two tomatoes and plopped them in his mouth. Sweet and savoury; not bad. Having fulfilled his obligation to the chef, Limen turned his attention back to the Envoy’s discussion. [color=ffbf69]“Ah, that reminds me. I brought some of the rocks along. Doesn’t count as kidnapping, I hope? They’ve been a lot more docile now than back in the warehouse, so I think they’ve taken a liking to me.”[/color] A wave and a tug of his hand swiftly manoeuvred his backpack, still enclosed in its protective shielding, through the doorway. Setting it on the floor and at last doing away with the (perhaps excessive but still totally justifiable) barriers, he carefully slid out the chunk of demonic rock onto the bar top. [color=ffbf69]“I saw a DHA fellow make off with some too, so they’re probably vivisecting it without anaesthesia as we speak.”[/color] The bartender had the good grace to turn aside and cough, swallowing his resentment towards the rocks with the advent of their new residency in this lower dimension. Far be it from him not to empathize with the growing pains of struggling to this...confining, plane of existence. A subtle manipulation had the jars emptying their murky liquids into the bar's nearest sink, the faucet directly replacing hobo piss with cleaner water. If he added the contents of an entire bottle of soap and overtly did a little flourish behind the bar to shake the concealed worried anyone, well, he was just giving the kids a bubble bath. Kids loved baths! [color=royalblue]"Yeah, I've got some my own left over. Squeaky clean at no extra charge, as any good barman should."[/color] He nodded his congratulations to the Envoy, smirk broadening at Da-Xia's antics and a feigned attempt at Sleight of Hand seeing the rocks emerge from his sleeve and be tossed in an arc to land on the Envoy's couch. His other hand pocketed a tomato, keen to save a snack for later when he was alone with naight but the cold and corpses for company, and munched the other with a verbal pur of relish. [color=gold]"Ahah, well, something like that. If that's the correct term for birth, then yes, I guess it would be the case,"[/color] the Envoy said happily to Shika's question. [color=gold]"But it's the latter, not the former. For now, the rocks will just reside where they are so long as no one interacts with them. They seem to attract others of your kind though, so it's best to take them out of sight and out of mind."[/color] No doubt thoughts of the ghost-infested warehouse came to mind as well as the rocks' influence on supernatural creatures. Speaking of which, the Envoy was given such rocks by Limen and Rufus. [color=gold]"Nice~"[/color] Scooping up the ones Rufus tossed at her, she noted, as anyone else could, the glinted glow sheening the rocks as two of their kind were close now, the ones in her hand and the ones Limen deposited on the bar top. [color=f3ccbb]"Well, I'm glad everything worked out. I got to joust a tree and it's somebody's birthday."[/color] Da-Xia seems fine with the situation. Hanako wondered briefly what 'tragedy' was to a Demon if not Demon babies being hunted down and potentially killed in infancy, but it seemed a futile effort. Demons simply worked differently than Humans, physically, mentally, and emotionally. She wasn’t certain a demon was capable of empathizing as fully as she could. Or, for that matter, [i]hating[/i] as thoroughly as she could hate. She reached a short tangent about if Demons were philosophically even [i]capable[/i] of being as monstrous as Humans due entirely to the fact that demons generally killed Humans out of necessity whereas Humans would kill other Humans for more disgusting and base reasons. This, however, was a dangerous line of thought because Hanako’s dual nature made her essentially the worst of both. Fueled by flesh, blood, hate, and fear. Was [i]she[/i] the most disgusting monster in the whole room? What, if not man itself, was- “Oh! Japanese birthday songs,” Hanako piped up, looking to Da-Xia, “yeah, it’s the exact same as the one they sing in America except you have to use broken English. It sounds like ‘happi basudei to yuu’. It’s not super traditional, but it’s what everyone does so…” Hanako shrugged before looking back to the Envoy. “I guess it makes sense if they’re basically a baby demon. When a Human baby cries, their mother goes to help them. That’s how their brain is wired. Although nowadays, that ends up pretty counter-intuitive. In the information age, there can’t be a gathering of demons without [i]someone[/i] finding out about it and investigating. They’re just lucky the DHA didn’t know what they were or how to handle them, otherwise that congregation would have been a straight death sentence.” Hanako watched curiously as the rocks were gathered together. She always [i]was[/i] curious about what went into a demon. Or at least, a non-ghost kind of demon. Basically what it amounted to was… “You get enough stones together for a pull, and hope it’s a 5-star super rare,” Hanako concluded, nodding sagely, “gotcha. Or rather, Gacha.” Her wisdom imparted, Hanako floated over to the bar to retrieve her Piano Woman, which was a fake drink from a video game. She just wanted to see what the bartender would do. [color=f3ccbb]"Mmm, thank you for the hospitality, Bartender! I think that's all for me, I'd better head home before temptation takes me and I can't drive safely."[/color] Da-Xia was an unsafe enough driver when not drunk, what with driving through doors an all that, so her being even less safe probably wasn't good for anyone, mortal or devil. She sent her glass sliding back across the bar back to Rufus before making for the exit. She paused in the threshold to look back, [color=f3ccbb]"Do you two need a lift or do you have your own ways home?"[/color] She asked to Hana and Limen. The older demon gave his hunter friend a parting wave. [color=ffbf69]"I'll be all right. Thank you for the meal. See you tomorrow, and try not to run anyone over."[/color] Tomorrow? Limen wasn't really sure that would be the case. But Siracha wasn't exactly a sprawling city, and the DHA was sure to be out and about as soon as daybreak came. Perhaps they would indeed see her again soon. "Hm." Shika’s eyes settled on the Envoy, before sweeping around to the rest of the demons present. Whether by natural intuition or [i]something else[/i], Da Xia had avoided eating a single tomato despite being eager enough to accept drinks. Curious little hunter. A bit unfortunate too. "So," they said, their customer service smile stretching their facsimile of a face apart. "Not one of us after all, huh." [color=gold]"Seems like it,"[/color] the Envoy said smoothly, catching Shika's eye. An empty glass was placed on the couch arm where she sat while she herself leaned forward now, resting her chin on her hands. [color=gold]"That's fine though. Better to root out anyone not fully committed now instead of later, you know? But man can it be a real bummer sometimes...."[/color] The Envoy slid her one-eyed gaze over to Shika, who seemed to be the most competent of the bunch. [color=gold]"Shame indeed. Not one of us." [/color] Hanako looked over her shoulder at her new hunter friend, a little saddened that she wouldn’t be continuing the party. Hanako stretched out, let out a fake yawn, and replied. “Sure, I could use a lift. As interested as I am in what’s going on here, I can hang with demons any time. Hunters, on the other hand…” Hanako’s curiosity was what saved her from becoming a real monster. With enough distractions, undeath could remain interesting enough to occupy her time without going into the darker places in her psyche. In this case, learning about how the hunters operated was a once in a deathtime opportunity that she just couldn’t pass up! She hoped it would be fun enough to occupy her for a few months at least, like when she was a hardboiled detective in Kabukicho in the ‘60s. Good times. “Just lemme use the facilities and I’ll be right out.” Hanako quickly tagged the bathroom so that she could come to more of these weird meetings in the future, and floated outside with Da-Xia. She got on the woman’s motorcycle, and smiled. “I’m a helpless, homeless little ghost. Could you take me home with you, brave hunter? I’ve always wanted to see what the DHA looked like on the inside~” Shika blinked at the declaration of the ghost, then placed their hand on the countertop. That complicated things, for sure. They tracked the movements of the incorporeal being to the bathroom, before letting their senses spread further, slipping through the wood, past the foundations, into the dirt, and finally outside. A dandelion cracked open on the sidewalk, its fluffy seeds dispersing moments later. Back in the bar, Shika waited for the human and their ghost-pet to leave, before turning their smile to the others. "So, just to clarify real fast, but that was an incredibly atypical encounter with a Hunter, yes? The rest of you would usually, under most circumstances, put in an effort to kill them? Like, everybody here’s not a pacifist vegetarian soyboy, right?" They let out a baffled chuckle. "Cause damn, that was fucking weird." [color=gold]"Ahah, no less weirder than the usual antics of humans,"[/color] the Envoy commented once Da-Xia and Hanako finally left them in peace. By choice or chance, only those who truly responded to the rocks' call remained in their abode. [color=gold]"I think it's pretty obvious what needs to be done. Or rather, what's being asked of you all tonight. If it [i]is[/i] still night. I'd appreciate it if you helped bring the ones I speak for back to a complete state. Speed up the birthing process, yeah? I'm sure I don't need to elaborate what's in it for you."[/color] The Envoy smirked softly at each and every one of them. [color=gold]"But just in case~ The DHA. Those kinds of people...well, they've not left a good impression on my employers, especially if that Da-Xia is a template. I'm sure we can all agree we'd be much happier without them breathing down your necks, yeah? Help my employers and bring back more of the black rocks, and we can find the answer to exterminating them together~ Well, that might be too harsh of a term, but I think we can settle on linguistics as we go along."[/color] The Envoy settled back in her couch, splaying her arms out to with a recline. [color=gold]"I can hear them, sense them, and I know you can too. Screaming out for you to find them. Follow that instinct and you'll find our target~ Some in a lakeside trail of an old park, and some in a shrine just uphill from that park. Let's work together to make these streets a happier place for us Youkai~"[/color] She suddenly paused. [color=gold]"Oh, and if anyone gets in your way...yeah, do what Shika said. Kill them. Especially the ones who've witnessed us tonight."[/color] [img]https://i.ibb.co/rtvdswm/divider-line-02.png[/img]