2026-06-09: Fooling the Fae
- Log: Fooling the Fae
- Cast: Katsuko Yoshinaga, Misato Fushihara
- Where: Sumaru City - Rengedai Ward
- OOC Date: 2026-06-10
- IC Date: Thu Nov 22 2012
- Summary: When Katsuko and Misato come across a group of pixies zealously guarding both secrets and treasure, the two work together to unveil each.
(|============================= Rengedai - Main ==============================|)
-=============================================== Sumaru City/Rengedai Ward ====-
The central ward of Sumaru, built on the Tanabata River that splits the city
like a yin-yang symbol, is called Rengedai, or "Lotus Pedestal," because it
looks like a lotus flower floating on the water. It's a quiet, peaceful place to
live, and though it has undergone modernization over the past decade or two, a
good number of historical sites remain.
Its most standout feature is Mt. Iwato, a small mountain with a significant
network of caverns that spelunkers are advised not to explore casually. Alaya
Shrine is available for worship at its foot. It has never been set on fire.
The prestigious Seven Sisters School stands nearby; according to rumor, the
symbol sewn on the school's uniforms will protect you from the Joker Curse. To
the west is Honmaru Park, built on the site of feudal leader Kiyotada Sumaru's
castle and in his dubious memory, but it's under construction, so you can't go
in there.
Mansions, houses, and apartment complexes dot the riverside banks. The Lotus
Plaza Shopping Mall is right there with them, offering modest shopping in
convenient walking distance.
(|============================================================================|)
<Pose Tracker> Katsuko Yoshinaga has posed.
The Dark Hour teemed with life, if one knew where to look - and if one was quite liberal with its definition. Shadows and Demons of every sort prowled Sumaru, stalking or stomping through its streets as if every stone and slab had been laid for them and them alone. Winged creatures flit through the sickly-green sky, lumbering oafs shook the ground, twisted amalgamations of humanity's darkest thoughts rose up from thin air... It was a veritable menagerie of beasts and monsters. But, in amongst them all, there was one thing that did not fit in with either the Shadows or the Demons.
Dark as night, it streaked between cover like a stroke of black upon a canvas. Silent as oil on water and quick as the wind, the flowing streak of darkness glinted only slightly when the pallid moon's light caught upon the creature's silver trim... or the rictus grin of the half-skull fused against its face. It darted around squabbling pixies and patrolling fae creatures, lingering only for a heartbeat to surmise what they argued about. It stole into the night and ascended to higher ground, the scope of its rifle sweeping across the land to better survey the environs it hunted in. Then, when all seemed well, it fell like a falcon in the dive.
It was mere seconds before the creature revealed itself to be Katsuko - or, as she preferred to be named in that guise, 'Grim.' The gentle wind that meandered through the streets did little to dislodge the black hood obscuring the upper half of her face, and did less to shift the flowing coat that tapered outwards like fanning feathers. As more of her emerged into the light, the glint of silver talons and thin accents across her every feature became apparent, lending her the appearance of some blackened bird of prey.
"Look, look! A mortal!" One of the sentries noted, pointing towards Grim as it flitted about.
"Begone with you!" Another said, getting closer to her face. "We've no time to play!"
"No time?" She said, her voice even, her every word slowed enough to seem cold and calculated. "Isn't that *all* you creatures have time for?"
<Pose Tracker> Misato Fushihara has posed.
It's funny. The yellow moon casts a sickly green light over the city, but she feels more alive than even right now. It's times like this, or when exploring the depths of Mementos, that she feels like she can truly cut loose with nothing to hide.
Misato - no, Magus, patrols the streets, looking for signs of potential trouble, a dark purple hooded cloak about her shoulders and a featureless porcelain mask over the top half of her face concealing her identity.
The whimsical sprites don't bother her as she walks among them - unless she draws too close, they rarely give her more than a brief passing glance.
It's easy, against demons like these, to put on another mask. Let herself be seen as something powerless and beneath notice so that she can walk freely. Walk freely, and gather information.
Typically, there isn't much to be gained - sometimes they have something of interest to say, rumors that have passed around or news of a noteworthy target, but often she can ignore them.
Not tonight. Tonight, she's picked up stirrings - though stirrings of what, she can't quite pinpoint yet.
What she does know is that it's well worth looking into.
...And, judging from what she hears, she isn't the only one who's thought that. She assesses the situation from afar for a moment. An ominous stranger, hm...? Now isn't that a curious sight. How intriguing. The wiser choice would be to, perhaps, observe from a distance...
But it's curiosity that pushes her further.
"Oh, they're not wrong." The voice comes from behind the pixies. It might be difficult for them to pinpoint - but easier for Grim. "Their time is growing shorter by the second - the longer they remain here, that is..."
It's an implicit threat - an attempt at intimidating the two pixies to clear away, so the two of them can talk.
<Pose Tracker> Katsuko Yoshinaga has posed.
Another voice. Another presence. Katsuko's head inclined towards the source, shifting ever so slightly towards it as she began to assess the new variable. The pitch, the volume, the direction - Katsuko absorbed every detail she could about it, and compared it with those voices she knew. She rifled through the archives, attempting to find a match while using the squabbling pixies to stall for time, her presence little more than an ink-dark statue in the night.
"We'll stay here as long as we like!" The first one said, indignant and defiant as it threw its balled fists towards the ground in a huff.
"That's right! This is our land! We'll not be moved by mere mortals!"
"Why not?" Katsuko eventually asked, deciding to play dumb for a little while. She even lent a twinge of curiosity to her normally flat tone, putting out an air of naivete she hoped would lower their guards. It wasn't helped by the fact that she remained as still as a glacier, with all the emotional availability of one, but it was the best that she could - or cared to - manage. "Plenty of places around here to play with your friends. Might even meet some new ones if you're quick."
The pixies seemed to take umbrage with that suggestion.
"We don't need any new friends!"
"We're fine where we are!"
"And we're not moving!"
"So you'd better move instead!"
Katsuko inclined her head again, her curiosity piqued.
"Are you?" She asked, casting a short glance towards the presence. She didn't know who they were or what they wanted, but they didn't seem to be openly hostile towards her. The pixies, maybe, but the little tricksters warranted it. Perhaps it would do to share a little information, albeit a little covertly. "Your friends are pretty far away. Doesn't seem like any game I've heard of."
<Pose Tracker> Misato Fushihara has posed.
So, they won't budge, huh? There was a chance it might've worked, but that does line up with what she's picked up. It's the kind of confidence that can only be carried by weaklings who don't know any better, that have found something to rally behind. An icon, a stronger personality telling them what to do...
Maybe both.
Magus's voice, however, is impossible to pinpoint a match to. They've never met - and even if they had, the Rebellion burning in her heart grants her its comforting anonymity.
"Oh?" Magus remarks as the Pixie declares that they won't be moved, right as Grim elects to play along. Magus spares a glance her way. It seems as if they're taking the same tack... and she listens as the suggestion Grim offers is met with indignation. They're really not interested in friendship, huh...
"Not at all." Magus replies with a shake of her head. She's certainly not going to drop this thread until she's unravelled it to her satisfaction... and certainly not when it's already lead her to another mystery.
And what she says next to them is interesting... Their friends are pretty far away, hm? Magus glances her way for a moment - and even without seeing her face, it's clear the message has been receiving.
"It's strange, isn't it?" She agrees. "I wonder if the High Pixie is even aware of it..."
It's obvious enough from the name alone that she must be referring to a higher rank of Pixie. It's only fair to return the favor - the game is less interesting if she hoards all the cards in her own hand.
<Pose Tracker> Katsuko Yoshinaga has posed.
Grim appeared to remain impassive, but the name was filed away in a blink. It was unlikely that Magus would have been able to see it past the shroud of supernatural black that covered the top half of her face, but she cast a curious gaze over towards her co-conspirator. Not that it would have been particularly clear, even if the hood had been cast back. The face beneath the mask and the hood barely shifted, its movements inscrutable to all but those that knew Katsuko particularly well.
Whatever their endgoal was, they at least seemed to be willing to share the information they'd come across as well. Perhaps, Grim supposed, it could turn out to be quite a fruitful relationship indeed. Or, at the very least, a productive and profitable one.
"Of course they know!" One of the pixies said, before Grim had a chance to intervene.
"And they know we know!"
"And they know we know they know!"
"So don't ask us who knows what! It's our game and you're not allowed to play it!"
Grim spoke up next, electing to make her presence known again. Standing straight and speaking with a voice as clear and cold as ice, she made certain that her presence was not ignored - and that the pixies knew it was her turn to speak.
"Why not? It looks like fun. Better than the games they're playing in Hirasaka."
Again, the pixies were indignant, and even grew closer to outright anger.
"Those boxnapping blunderers wouldn't know fun if it bit them in the bottom!"
"They're thieves! They're sneaks! And they're BORING!"
The mask shifted ever so slightly as Katsuko's expression made another minute shift. It was the closest she cared to stray towards smugness - anyone that knew her well would know that it was a shit-eating grin. She had them now.
"Boring boxnappers. That's a new one. What makes you call them that?"
As if realising they'd said too much, the colour drained from their faces, and the pair stopped to hover in place while they considered what to say next.
<Pose Tracker> Misato Fushihara has posed.
Magus meets Grim's gaze. Magus's own expression is one of confidence - she feels perfectly in control of the current situation. And why wouldn't she feel that way, when the pixies dance so marvelously to the tune they're playing for them?
The pixies pipe up and Magus listens thoughtfully. It's very useful - and leads to another bit of shared information. The fairy gang in Hirasaka, hm...? Seems pertinent - the mere mention of them is enough to drive the pixies to anger. But - ah, there it is. 'Boxnappers', hm...?
She's starting to piece things together. Things are adding up. There's animosity between the two groups... either Grim's done her homework, or it was a lucky shot in the dark.
Either way... that's useful.
"'What'... that's a good question." Magus says with a thoughtful 'hm' and a glance toward Grim. "It must be that, right?"
'That', of course, being a handy little fill-in-the-blank, to let their minds go wild wondering how much they know already. The only thing she needs is for the flustered fairies to spill their own secrets, without catching on.
It's a gambit that doesn't always work... but she call tell their temper's reaching a boiling point.
<Pose Tracker> Katsuko Yoshinaga has posed.
'That' was a vague and noncommital answer that offered little useful information on its own. Thankfully, Grim was sharp enough to pick up on the hints that Magus had put out, and nodded sharply in response.
"Not much else it could be." She agreed, a slight inclination towards confidence in her tone, rather than simple smugness. "I think we've heard enough. If it's this important, we need to bring it to the High Pixie. Better get your excuses ready, they're not going to be pleased."
Predictably, the 'threat' sent the two pixies into what could charitably be described as a frenzy.
"You can't!"
"You mustn't!"
"You shouldn't!"
"You won't!"
They flitted about, equal parts panicked and angered. Grim cast a quick glance over at Magus - the plan had worked. All that was left was to see what exactly had sent the pixies into such a tizzy. It didn't take long for one of them to clear things up, however.
"But we got the box back from those putrid pilferers!"
"It's a crate fit for a king!"
"A box built for the best!"
"We can show you! You don't need to tell anyone about it!"
Without any further prompting, the two parted to reveal a box that hadn't been there before, as far as Grim was aware. Only slightly larger than a shoebox, the thing was assembled from strips of scratched and aged wood. Dull from lack of polish, and damaged from obvious manhandling, it was a solid piece, but rather unimpressive in every other regard.
"And this is where you keep your treasure." Grim prompted, though it was partly a question too.
"No, you ninny! What's inside is inconsequential! It's the box that's brilliant!"
Grim peered at it for a moment longer. Her silence was telling - what she said afterwards only served to cement her sentiments.
"No lock. No polish. No stand. I don't see why anyone would want to take this, much less the High Pixie. What do you think?" Grim looked over at Magus, waiting for them to respond. The pixies' agitated manner and frantic gazes made it clear things had reached fever pitch - any further prodding would most certainly get them to act out.
<Pose Tracker> Misato Fushihara has posed.
"You think so too, huh?" Magus considers, thoughtfully - for the benefit of the pixies, at least. Grim makes the declaration that causes the pixies to panic, and Magus meets her glance. They definitely seem to be getting somewhere now...
One of the pixies explains they got the box back - and the other assures its quality. And the two reveal it. That's... certainly a box, alright. Pretty solid, but nothing outwardly special about it. Magus studies it intently for a moment, leaning in - before looking back up at Grim. What does she think...?
"...Seems a little too easy to me." Magus comments. "You got it back just like that? Smells like a trap. Who knows what they did with it while they had it."
She shakes her head.
"Just think, you think you're safe... and then, bam." Magus shakes her head. Once again, she lets the pixies' own imaginations work against them. "No, I think we'd better take a closer look at it. Just to be sure. You don't want the High Pixie to think it was you playing a prank."
Misato Fushihara has reconnected.
<Pose Tracker> Katsuko Yoshinaga has posed.
While they'd been split between panic and anger before, the pixes were fully dedicated to the former once they heard Magus's summation of things.
"It's not a prank!"
"We'd never play one!"
"Not on them!"
"Never ever!"
Grim stepped forward, interrupting them both by closing the distance, and leaving little more than a half-foot between them.
"Then do as they say. Let us look at it. If it's just a box, you've got nothing to be worried about."
The two nodded, then parted eagerly, babbling something about being innocent, and not playing pranks on the High Pixie - *specifically* the High Pixie, Grim figured, but it was the best reassurance she supposed she could hope for.
Katsuko crouched down onto one knee, and flipped the lid of the box open with an fluid - but unceremonious - movement. A single arch of her hand sent the lid careening backwards on its hinge, and the contents of that container were bared against the darkness for all to see. She peered over slowly, moving cautiously in the event it was a trap she'd not had the foresight to detect. She examined the wooden interior, brushing aside dust and dirt and stray splinters of wood. She reached in, and drew from the depths of that box...
...A scrap of paper.
No larger than her hand, the torn fragment looked to be a corner piece, though which corner remained unclear. Grim didn't recognise the edges of the shapes present on it, and no glyphs - Japanese, English, otherworldly, or otherwise - were present to determine an alignment. It was useless in such a state, yet Grim nevertheless found herself intrigued.
"Hrm. This doesn't look good. We'll have to take this - make sure it's not a trap."
The pixies nodded emphatically at the suggestion, each in unison with the other.
"Take it far!"
"Take it fast!"
"We swear we're innocent!"
"We'd never play a prank on them!"
With that, Grim rose, and slipped the paper into a pocket in her coat. She turned as unceremoniously as she'd knelt, and moved to leave the premises, albeit with a glance back at Magus. One that said to follow her out while the pixies still suspected nothing.
<Pose Tracker> Misato Fushihara has posed.
The pixies insist they'd never do such a thing. ...On the High Pixie, of course. Magus nods, as if she believes them fully.
She doesn't, but they don't need to know that.
While Grim investigates the contents, Magus keeps watch to make sure the pixies don't get too suspicious - and tries to sneak a peek at what's inside, just in case.
They're still strangers. She can't completely trust that Grim isn't going to leave her to deal with the rest of herself, so anything she can use would be helpful.
A fragment of paper, though...? It looks like there's more to it than that, but what they have right now doesn't do them much good.
She nods gravely as Grim issues her verdict.
"Of course you wouldn't. That's why we want to make sure to get this cleared up as soon as we can." Magus assures. "Well, play nicely now, you two."
And with that, meeting Grim's nod, she slips away to follow her. She walks completely casually.
<Pose Tracker> Katsuko Yoshinaga has posed.
Once she was certain that they were clear of any panicking pixies or eavesdropping strangers, Grim turned to face Magus, and gave a curt nod of approval.
"Nice work out there. Last thing we needed was them calling their friends back and making more trouble. Still not sure what this means, though." Katsuko produced the slip of paper, and held it between them. She did so tightly, partly to keep it out of reach of the breeze, but also to keep it from being snatched away by a potential competitor. "Looks like it's part of something bigger. A map, maybe?"
<Pose Tracker> Misato Fushihara has posed.
Grim gives her a nod, and Magus nods back.
"Same to you. It's rare to find people who know what they're doing." She comments, folding her arms in front of her. Her attention turns to the slip of paper, and she takes a moment to study it more closely.
"A map, or some kind of pattern... but it's too early to draw any conclusions." Magus considers thoughtfully. "I think you're right, though - there have to be more of these out there."
She doesn't begrudge her the caution. She'd doing the exact same thing, in her shoes.
<Pose Tracker> Katsuko Yoshinaga has posed.
Grim looked down at the piece, then drew it slowly back to her pocket.
"We'll have to meet up again another time. Look for the rest of them. My guess is there's pixies in Hirasaka that might have some clues - if they weren't just looking for the box as well." Grim wasn't quite sure what the Pixies wanted with the box instead of the paper, but didn't think to question it too deeply. Not yet, at least. "...Hrm. Dark Hour's going to be over pretty soon. Probably best we start moving now. Tell you what - I'll meet you by the station in a week. Might have something for you by then."
<Pose Tracker> Misato Fushihara has posed.
Grim takes the paper back. Magus doesn't complain - she's not about to pick a fight over a piece of paper, even if it might potentially lead to something more in the future.
Grim does suggest, though, meeting up again to look into it further.
"That's a lead, at least." She comments with a shrug. A lead - and something interesting to occupy her mind with. She could always use more distractions.
They don't have much time left, though. Magus nods.
"Very well. A week it is. Take good care of that fragment in the meantime - I'll trust it to you for now." She says. And with that she steps away - the moment Grim's eyes are off of her, she'll be gone.