Day 48: Courtyard

[thatdamnedninja]

"I could tell you some stories," Yuffie suggested brightly, "of unquestionable legality." Illegality, that was. Petty little things like the law didn't usually mean very much to her, except for the times when she had to uphold it. Always fun for the breaking, though, the law, and messy for the clean-up. Just the way she liked it

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[laguz_decoy]

Breakfast had been interesting, to say the least. Ranulf found that he enjoyed "sausages" (though they weren't as good as fish) and meeting Ritsu had been an interesting experience in itself. Before he'd gotten too in depth with him, however, a strange voice came from everywhere at once. The voice belonged to a man who seemed to be directing the days activities and if Ranulf hadn't known better he'd have thought it was the work of the goddess Ashera.

Before he could think much on this though, the same nurse as before had walked briskly over to him with what looked like more clothing. He supposed this meant he was going outside, which he had no objections over. He preferred the outdoors anyway.

Now he found himself in a courtyard, head tilted upward and eyes closed, tiny droplets of moisture cooling his skin. He'd taken the shoes, but had refused the sweatshirt and coat, wanting to surround himself by means of the cool air. He couldn't quite explain the feeling, it just felt... realAfter doing this for a moment, he gazed around the

[laguz_decoy]

Still gasping a bit from excitement, he started to pull his shoes on. Momo's comment made him laugh even more. She was humorous too!

"Well trust me, it would've been a lot more impressive if I had my tail." He said as he turned to her, displaying a sort of embarrassed smile. Once his shoes were on, he set his feet on the grass and and peered at her sketchpad.

"You drew me? This is... extraordinary." he said as his face lit up in amusement. It was just a sketch, but it captured his form very well. "I'm glad I was a subject for your inspiration!"

He shook his head at her last comment, still smiling, brow arched upward as he looked at her. "I should be ok. I was trained to experience extreme conditions where I come from." The wet clothing did make him feel uncomfortable but he doubted illness would result from it.

[hajike_tobiume]

The shinigami blinked. "Tail?"

It wasn't as if Momo had any problems with that - she was aware of what Komamura-taichou was - it was just she'd not met anyone other than Toboe that claimed to have once been an animal. Odd, though, Ranulf seemed much more... adjusted than Toboe had been.

"What kind of tail? I can add it into my drawing if you'd like."

[laguz_decoy]

"N-No, you don't have to add it."

He closed his eyes, not quite frowning but not smiling either. He'd forgotten how much he missed his tail. Not wanting to show it, he turned away from her and bent his head between his knees running his fingers vigorously across his scalp and through his hair in order to remove the pond water.

After getting a better hold of himself he turned back to Momo, his turquoise hair spiked in all different directions. He was smiling, but his eyes couldn't hide how he felt.

"I- I wasn't originally beor-... human before I came here." He said, letting out a sad laugh at the word "human". It seemed so informal. "I belonged to a race called the "laguz". I suppose my tail could be best be described as a panther's tail, if you have seen panthers in your world."

Smiling a little more, he continued.

"Our tails are essential for balance, and as you've seen I'm clumsy as an oaf without mine! Heh heh."

[hajike_tobiume]

"Alright, if you'd rather I not, that's fine," Momo replied.

She listened to Ranulf's story and wondered if the way he felt without his tail was similar to how the shinigami felt without their zanpakutou. Similar, she was sure, though one was more physical and the other spiritual. Perhaps it wasn't fair to compare them.

"I am sorry for your loss," she replied. a tone of understanding in her voice. "I am missing a part of myself, too."

[laguz_decoy]

Ranulf's eyes widened, a curious look appearing on his face. She was missing something too? He realized he hadn't investigated much on who Momo really was. She couldn't be laguz or she would have jumped at the word, but who or what was she?

"You're missing a part too? Did you also have a tail before coming here?"

[hajike_tobiume]

At the question, Momo laughed, the sound light as a bell. Her with a tail? Tobiume was not like some of the other zanpakutou, so there was no tail for her when her beloved sword was released.

"No, not a tail, but you could say I've lost my wings," she replied. After a moment of giggling, she calmed herself down. "In actuality, I am missing my zanpakutou which is a fancy name for the other half of my soul." She paused. "I am what's called shinigami. I am a death god, Ranulf-san."

She wondered what the afterlife was like for laguz. "It's alright if you don't believe me."

[laguz_decoy]

When she'd first said "wings", he felt himself jump at the thought that she may be a bird-laguz from his world. As a result of this, he frowned a bit when she stated her true species. He didn't know what a zanpakutou was, or a shinigami for that matter but he still gave her a quiet smile.

"I believe you Momo. Anything is possible here, is it not?"

It was funny, because he wouldn't have been so open-minded had he not spent the night in a futuristic facility talking to a weapon-shapeshifter.

[hajike_tobiume]

Ranulf's belief, despite the fact that he had no real reason to, made Momo feel a lot better than she thought it would. She'd gotten so used to people instantly not believing her, that it was almost a shock for someone to readily accept. It made her wonder if Ranulf was familiar with gods at all.

"You're quite right. This place is a menagerie of the unusual and unique," she said, flipping back a page in her sketchpad to an earlier one of a majestic fire bird soaring through the sky.

"This is what my wings look like. His name is Tobiume."

[laguz_decoy]

Ranulf peered down at the drawing, an expression of awe appearing on his face. The illustration was beautiful, but that wasn't what had made him so alarmed. It was more-so the fact that the goddess, Ashera, was a bird laguz herself. Did Momo know of her? Surely in the realm of gods and goddesses, worlds didn't apply... right?

"This... this drawing is wonderful." He turned to her, little drops of water falling from his bangs and onto the bench. "As a death god, would you happen to know of a goddess named Ashera?"

[hajike_tobiume]

The shinigami searched her mind for any fellow reapers that went by the name Ashera and the names of the zanpakutou she knew. Unfortunately, she came up blank.

"I'm sorry, Ranulf-san, but I do not. It is possible that she does not exist in ym world as laguz do not exist in my world. Though I am a death god, there is no divinity associated with me. No one worships us, we just make sure the balance between the living world and the dead world stays intact, defending the living world against any spiritual attack."

She canted her head. "Will you tell me about Ashera?"

[laguz_decoy]

Ranulf listened intently to what Momo was saying and was thoroughly intrigued. It seemed even places like her world could be affected by this place. "Landel's" was far more than a formidable opponent and Ranulf smiled inwardly that his friends were at least, for now, safe from this place.

Lost in thought, he almost missed Momo's next question, but snapped back as if coming out of a dream.

"O-Oh yes, Ashera... she is-"

But whatever he was about to say was cut off by the nurse who'd escorted him outdoors earlier, a sort of wild look in her eyes. She must have spotted his sweatpants...

"Alex... come. It's lunch time."

He gave her a sappy smile as he stood up and then turned to Momo, giving her a genuine one.

"It seems it's time for me to leave. I'd be glad to tell you of Ashera another time though?"

[hajike_tobiume]

"I'd love to hear about her. Take care, Ranulf-san," Momo replied, gathering her items as the laguz was escorted away.