Having him talk bc it's more fun this way

[blue_plicity]

Where is Tetsuya?

Or the rest of the team?

Did they start practice without me?

Comments

[ibarakasen]

[... Oh gods. Puppy. And she wouldn't notice if he was talking normally or not given she can speak to animals anyway.]

Hello little one. You must be new here. [How does he like Kasen plopping down next to him, turned slightly away, so he knows not to be afraid of her?] I can't tell you anything about a team or starting practice with something... but someone you know should be by eventually.

[blue_plicity]

Hi person! You think so?

[ibarakasen]

Yeah. Well, either it happens eventually or someone else talks to you for a bit and then you find your way back home. Either way, you'll see them soon.

[Time to slowly reach out her hand. Ever had ear-scratches from an oni that specifically works with animals and whose major abilities mostly tie into them? An oni whom befriended a dragon she hatched? Best ear-scratches ever if he lets her.]

[blue_plicity]

[Oh yay! ear-scratches! He'll accept them happily, tail wagging.]

[ibarakasen]

[Perfect~! Have plenty of them.] So, what kind of practice were you talking about?

[blue_plicity]

[ahhh~! He's going to just lay flat on the ground and enjoy the scratching now. He'll answer her question though.]

Oh! Basketball. I'm the mascot.

[ibarakasen]

[She can do this all day, really.]

Basketball... basketball... [Forgive the old lady that lives in a world that's been isolated from human civilization for about 200 years...] I think I may have heard about it, but where I'm from, we don't get much by means of modern traditions in.

[blue_plicity]

Why not?

[ibarakasen]

Well, it exists within a barrier. A barrier that is only rarely crossed and has never really been open in those 200 years.

[blue_plicity]

Is 200 years a long time? [IT'S A PUPPY, OKAY?!]

[ibarakasen]

Well, for a dog, yes it would be. For a human it would be as well. So I suppose, from your perspective, it is a long, long time.

[blue_plicity]

You don't look very old, person.

[ibarakasen]

I... well, I am a hermit. My way of life is to expand my lifespan for as long as possible, without ever looking like I'm aging much. So I have lived... many spans of lives of men, but I don't and probably will never look like it.

[blue_plicity]

I saw a hermit on the beach! I chased it.

[ibarakasen]

Ah -... [Oh. Crab. She knows what this one means.] However, I am not a crab. I mean a real hermit, like someone who lives alone on the side of a mountain.

[blue_plicity]

Don't you get lonely?

[ibarakasen]

I keep a lot of pets, actually. Other dogs, cats, a tiger, a dragon. Giant eagles. Things like that. The dragon, at the very least, will probably live longer than I will. So I will always have a companion.

[blue_plicity]

They must love you!

[ibarakasen]

I like to think they do. I try to take care of them and let them come and go as they please so they don't feel obligated to stay with me.

[blue_plicity]

[Happy bark.] then they must!

[ibarakasen]

Yeah. And I'm sure there's someone you love and that loves you that must be missing you. [She's still giving scratches, though.] It's the same between myself and my pets.

[blue_plicity]

My human is Tetsuya! All the other humans on the team call him Kuroku.

[ibarakasen]

Ahh. And what did your human name you?

[blue_plicity]

I'm Tetsuya two!

[ibarakasen]

... Ahhh. [She laughs.] Well I guess it makes remembering who you are easy.

Well, Tetsuya Two, I am Kasen Ibaraki. Nice to meet you.