A sea of dancing lights [Open]

[always_flow]

Characters:  Ginko and open~
Content:  There's more to the Norton Cloud then most people know, something Ginko wants to see for himself.
Setting:  All over the festival
Time:  Very very late night, sometime after the fighting tournament
Warnings:  Probably none
Notes: While Ginko is starting this log, feel free to do seperate threads. Just mark them so

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[the_blue_beast]

Lee was walking through the festival, holding his newest purchases lovingly against his chest. Because his weights were starting to feel a bit too light, he had gone to get new ones that were slightly heavier. It had taken him several hours to decide which weight to go with, the owner of the shop insisting that Lee should consider lighter weights as he tested the 1,900 kilogram weight against the 2,000 kilogram weight

[thegoodtouch]

Very late night was the only time Optimus felt he could risk leaving the ship alone. Intending to explore the festival grounds and experience the falling flowers for himself, he'd slipped out of the ship in vehicle mode, and was rolling quietly along a city street, motor low, when he noticed a change.

It was...beautiful. Optimus had never seen anything like it, not even on Cybertron. His optic sensors took in everything they could, recording in his memory banks to watch again later.

Still driving slowly through the festival, he saw the young man in green a short distance away and overheard his voice. Prime recognized it as one of his crew; a newer addition, but an enthusiastic one from what he'd seen on the Network. That meant that approaching Lee was all right. He'd have to introduce himself sooner or later, and Optimus had questions about this organic phenomenon.

The car-with-no-driver pulled up next to Lee. "That's quite a sight," he said through speakers inside the old model-T style car. "Do you know what it is?"

[the_blue_beast]

Lee, enthralled as he was with the display, was not paying any attention to what was going on around him. It was a really bad habit he had always had, that years of training had not gotten rid of, but it always seemed to disappear when he was in any real danger, so it had never been a real issue for him. He sighed up at the display, the sound of gravel crunching near, and then a deep voice next to him.

"It is beautiful," Lee agreed, eyes still locked on the phenomenon. "I do not know what it is though. I have never seen anything like it before. It could be magic, perhaps."

[thegoodtouch]

"Neither have I. Never, in all my cycles have I seen a sight like this." He was awed, as well. "I don't know. Maybe. I don't know enough magic to say for sure."

Prime was content to watch it, as well. The quiet rumbling of his engine was the only thing breaking the quiet.

[dealing_dreams]

"My, my," murmured Lau, exhaling a small cloud of bittersweet smoke as the pipe fell from his lips. "This is interesting." He set his opium pipe beside a small brazier that contained a sticky, simmering paste of the drug, and languidly rose to a sitting position. Beside him, Ran Mao still slept. Her hair spilled over the makeshift pillow of her arms like a cut of fine black silk. They'd chosen the secluded roof of a local boarding house to enjoy the falling flowers and to sample the newly acquired shipment of opium Lau planned to traffic aboard the Amestris, more concerned by overzealous local police than by the slight hint of autumn in the late summer air. After all, it wouldn't do for Kropmork-Nahk's diplomatic envoy to be caught drugged and in a compromising position with his sister. People from the mainland tended to be dreadfully conservative about such things.

But now, whether it was the moonlight or the lingering effects of opium that made his senses seem sharper, Lau could see that something was different about the

[always_flow]

Ginko wasn't far away from where Lau landed, and looked up from the flower in his palm to watch. The other man seemed very curious about the mushi escaping all around him, and the Mushishi couldn't help a thin smile. It was always a sight when people found the strange creatures fascinating rather then a danger, after all.

"Quite a sight, huh?"

[dealing_dreams]

"Like nothing I've ever seen before," Lau agreed, plucking another thread from the air for closer inspection. His vision was poor at night, but the strange, wriggling filament seemed to glow from within. "It almost moves as if it's alive."

Magical things had always fascinated Lau, although he had no talent for the art. His only way of touching the world of miracles was through opium. Of course, there was probably a depressingly prosaic explanation for what he was seeing, some footnote in the "Flower Festival Tourist's Guide" that he'd failed to notice. "This is some sort of pollen, I assume?" he asked. "I occasionally deal with exotic plants in my business, but I'm not familiar with this phenomenon."

[always_flow]

"You were closer with the first guess, but they're really a bit of both." He replied as one of the mushi landed lightly in his hair. "They escape the flowers to return to the clouds and breed. They're really pretty harmless. But very beautiful. Usually they can't be seen by normal eyes, but the moonlight makes it easier..."

He brushed the mushi from his hair, watching as it fluttered around then continued his way skywards.

[zagakuto]

More than the Hanami Festival, the Norton Cloud itself was quite something on its own. Something that appeared somehow only once every seven years... it was almost like something straight out of a fairy tale, really, but here it was, right here as clear as the sky itself. So many times the chance to see such a sight had passed him, but tonight, for once free of any of his duties, Gumshoe was free to do whatever he wanted for the night

[always_flow]

"They're harmless, you know." A voice piped in behind Gumshoe, sounding amused and also a little awed. Ginko always had a bad habit of poking his nose into other peoples business, and Gumshoe looked so honestly enraptured by the sight that it made Ginko want to talk to him.

He reached out as he walked over into view, carefully snagging one of the mushi from the air, cupping it almost lovingly in his palms.

[zagakuto]

Gumshoe turned around to look behind him when the voice came, and he had to blink a little when the silver-haired other came into view. Really - it wasn't everyday when you saw someone with silver hair around; the only person he knew was Edgeworth, and the maybe that cousin of his he remembered somewhere...

The words took a bit to sink into him, and the officer simply managed to splutter out a lost-sounding "Harmless? You mean they hurt people, pal?" before his brain could properly sink in the information.

[always_flow]

"Not these type, no." he answered, looking slightly amused at Gumshoe's reaction, but otherwise perfectly calm. "You could even eat the flowers with them inside and you'd be fine. Not so fine for the mushi though, of course."

[windsofdaytime]

Kaoru walked the streets, one hand on her blue necklace, the other at her side. Her heels clicked on the cobblestones until she stopped to look around at the glowing strings and the falling flowers. She slowly picked one off when it landed on her head.

"Why?"

[always_flow]

"It's part of their lifecycle." Ginko answered, even though he was pretty sure the girl wasn't addressing him specifically. "They can't live in flowers on the ground, so they fly back up into a new cloud and start over. It's just nature at work."

[windsofdaytime]

Kaoru looked up at the man and then at the glowing strings. "So they're... animals?"

[always_flow]

"Almost. The same way a mushroom is a plant, I suppose. It's not exactly right, but closer then most other things." His voice was soft, like a understanding parent of teacher talking to someone young and innocent.

[miraclehymn]

Oh what a sight it was.

Paula had been out and about the festival so late for some reason, but it hardly seemed to matter in these moments. In fact breathing did not seem to be high up on the list either, as Paula barely registered that she had started to hold her breath as if she was afraid that her soft exhalations would ruin the sight around her. The sky was alive with delicate threads of light. The spectral threads seemed to weave amongst each other and the stars effortlessly. Paula stood perfectly still, completely entranced and not wishing to miss a single moment of it.

It was so simple. It was in moments like these that Paula felt deep in her heart that all she believed in was absolute.

Life was truly beautiful.

Carefully, oh so carefully, she reached up a hand as if to reach out and touch. Her fingers faltered just slightly, hesitating.

[always_flow]

"It's safe. They can't hurt you." Ginko said from nearby, watching the girl falter for just a moment. He smiled warmly, showing her his own hand, where a pair of the mushi were loosely coiled around one of his fingers. They tickled slightly, like having a very small insect walking on his skin.

It was a strange and wonderful sight, these creatures moving on to the next part of their lives. He was... warmed by so many people being able to see it so up close.

[miraclehymn]

She hadn't quiet expected anyone to speak to her. Paula blinked out of her reverie, looking towards the voice in surprise. Ah, his hand... Paula looked on in a bit of awe. "I was more afraid of hurting them," she admitted gently.

Paula reached out again, with more confidence this time. Her fingertips brushed lightly across one thread and it began to curve slightly in the air. She smiled.

"Do you know what they are?"

[always_flow]

"They're a type of mushi, living things most people can't see. My theory is the moonlight is making them visible for tonight only. In the morning it'll be like they never were."

He paused, shaking his hand slightly so the mushi could come loose and float away. He didn't want to keep them from their journey longer then necessary.