01 Without competing with them, and settles...

[waraeyayomae]

[Sunny. A true sky. The young woman shields her eyes. Warm. No scent of something rotting in the wind. She brings her hand down, smoothing out the meaningful right over left folds of her kimono with thin fingers. Different. Not as peaceful, not as funeral. She moves like water. Wandering, flowing, going wherever the next path directs her to move,

Comments

Y HALLO THAR

[crushbutterfly]

[you are being quietly observed]

HELLO THERE TO YOU TOO

[waraeyayomae]

[Ah, she notices you, too. The illusion of difference fades for a moment as something familiar surfaces in her memory. She could almost say she knows you and your story quite well; and she is honored for such a tale. But. Change is ever present, the only constant. She cannot tell if this is the same girl or not, not with her eyes half lidded as they are.

She decides to be the polite one, to give another nod of her head in greeting.]

[crushbutterfly]

Hello.

...What are you?

[waraeyayomae]

[She smiles. What indeed? If they should all have the same form, or no form at all. She decides to reply simply, humbly.] ...Human. [But so very much dead, so very much tainted with grave soil, that it takes her a moment to think of this answer.]

A simple storyteller, that is all.

[crushbutterfly]

You are also no longer alive. Have you been to the land of darkness as well?

[waraeyayomae]

Maa, how perceptive... [The land of darkness. The rivers that lead to judgement. The slope that leads to the four grand torii, where both oblivion and new life awaits. She knows them well. She listens to those that pass.] I reside there, yes.

[Hm. Perhaps she needs to ask questions as well--] Would you know why we are...not there?

[crushbutterfly]

I can see many things now.

This land has both the habit and ability to pull in beings from other worlds. It is one of its many unusual traits.

[waraeyayomae]

[She smiles, accepting this reality readily and graciously. How wonderful. Different worlds, different people. More stories, more truths, more reasons.] How fortunate, I should think... [Still curious, she gambles if this girl will answer or not--] What else is this place capable of?

[crushbutterfly]

Changing its environment drastically. Occasionally forcing mental or physical changes upon the residents here.

It's quite... interesting. And informative.

[the more she knows about someone the easier it is to convince them to crush their 'butterflies']

[waraeyayomae]

[...Change.] Stories to hear, to see, to interact with, no doubt... [Suffering.]

[crushbutterfly]

Yes, and more chances to relieve them of their foolish burdens.

...Do you see them as well?

[waraeyayomae]

[She sees them, but she does not mind them. It is not her place to tell them of them, either.] My own red strings around fingers, wrists, and neck do not connect to any butterflies...

[She thinks, she muses. If there is danger in a world that is primarily for the living, having those butterflies are thought of as helpful, no? But they are not. Yet being here, with people that will stay instead of simply passing by...Why, they just might appear again.]

[crushbutterfly]

I see... Congratulations for freeing yourself. The day I rid myself of mine and joined my new family was a pleasant one.

[waraeyayomae]

This new family...they are not here with you now. [A neutral statement; she only wants her to continue on about her story, but only if the girl wishes to.]

[crushbutterfly]

I will rejoin them eventually. Until that day comes, I shall assist others as I was once assisted.

[waraeyayomae]

[She continues to smile, a little more softly this time, hoping she did not make her uncomfortable.] Have you...assisted any so far? [As for herself, she does not. Truly, she's not sure whether to describe it as assistance, especially if one is not ready to release themselves. She only observes humbly, unfortunately too detached to make any significant interaction. (Or so she thinks. :|)]