@Sparrow | Video

[arcadedragon]

[The video opens with a view of a bright blue sky with some white puffy clouds floating by before Genji picks up the comm from where it had been laying on the ground. He's kneeling in a meditative pose and behind him is what appears to be a Japanese temple with many trees in full bloom. A riot of pink sakura blossoms swirl in the wind in a scene that is absolutely tranquil.]

I do not think this is real, but there is a part of me that wishes it were. This is Hanamura, it was once my home.

[He reaches out to catch one of the flowers before it floats to the ground, rubbing the petals between metal plated fingers.]

Is this happening to others as well?

Comments

[arcadedragon]

[While Genji doesn't feel so much like they're stealing, these are his fish afterall, he does feel slightly ridiculous as he and Reynir cart a cooler full of very unhappy fish across the compound. Armor and visor back in place, he's very aware that this looks incredibly suspicious: a completely armored ninja and Reynir with his long braid, slowly and awkwardly each carrying one side of a heavy cooler.

He freezes when Reynir does, because he has no idea what to say here. His standard mode of operation is to go silent and not explain himself but that's making the situation even more awkward.]

We are simply...

[Moving fish? Reynir is carrying a whole tree branch as well, pink blossoms occasionally falling off and leaving a trail where they've been.]

Going to the agriculture level.

[Nailed it. No one will suspect a thing.]

[braidmage]

[ Reynir is torn between feeling intensely awkward and being tempted to explain the whole thing and how heavy that cooler is, not to mention balancing the cutting from the cherry tree. In the end, the trembling of his arms wins out, and he starts moving again, more rapidly still than before, glancing between Genji and the person who spotted them and just keeping silent.

Except that moving quickly while carrying a cooler that is heavy and needs not to be jostled too much is a really ungainly and inelegant operation. That weird feeling of guilt and trespass don't go away, and as soon as they're far enough away not to be overheard, Reynir says, in a small but serious voice. ]

...we look like giant weirdos up to no good, don't we?

[ AS IF THERE WERE ANY QUESTION OF THAT.

At least they don't encounter anyone else, before they have reached the agriculture level. A little investigating leads them to the hatchery, which Reynir finds in good order. A lot of it is being used, but there is one pool that is empty of other fish, but seems to be set up to receive them soon. He looks to Genji, shrugs, a kind of question in it. It certainly will keep them safe, until he can make another pond for them. The only question is, does he feel good about the idea of putting them there? They are his fish, after all. ]

[arcadedragon]

[Just two guys with a cooler full of fish. Happens all the time.]

We very much do.

[At least he's used to being stared at, but generally he can dart away or keep completely silent and he's never been carrying something so heavy he couldn't take it with him. He's just going to resign himself to being the weird fish ninja from now on. It's fine.

Nodding at Reynir he hoists the cooler up as far as it can go so the fish don't have to drop very far into their temporary home. They're not exactly thrilled about this either, but hey, it's not a cooler. As for the branch...

He leads them to a quiet and out of the way area of the agriculture level where they can dig a little hole and plant it. Once it's in the ground he'll retrieve the tea and cups that Reynir had, pouring a little leftover tea into a cup and bowing his head before pouring it near the base of the stick as an offering to the baby tree.]

Thank you for helping me to do this.

[braidmage]

[ Reynir doesn't ask whether the little offering of tea is traditional or something Genji had made up, himself; either way it's a touching gesture, and makes him smile softly as he watches Genji do it. He waits until Genji is done before he pulls something from his pocket. It is a small square of cloth - just a scrap, taken from some tattered ruined sheets Reynir had found during his explorations of the Anchor. He has taken to carrying cloth, with him, because it makes it easier to do things precisely like this.

He has a small stub of charcoal in another pocket, and carefully draws out a rune, all arcs and soft spirals and fractals inside a circle. Once he is done, Reynir ties that scrap of cloth so that it hangs loose from a little fork in the branch. ]

To help it settle into its new home.

[ Reynir remembers how skeptical Genji was of his magic, when they had first met. He doesn't know if that attitude has changed at all, but even if it hasn't, he's okay with that. It had taken a while for his friends on the expedition to believe that he really was a mage and really could protect them with runes. They'd come around in time, and so will Genji. And in the meantime, the little cutting will benefit, whether or not Genji believes.

When Genji thanks him, Reynir looks over at him. The mask may be back on, but he remembers what Genji's face had looked like underneath it. Scarred, yes, but still handsome in its way, and animated, likable. Reynir smiles shrugging his narrow shoulders. ]

It was seriously my pleasure.