ashes ashes

She had awakened and hadn't given much thought to it. True, she was no longer in the world she had come from but... Did that actually matter? She was here. Not there anymore. Why waste time focusing on what she could obviously not control? She hated not being in control, so she chose to ignore it. Better things to do.

After assisting that woman near the Hireath, she walked to the Watering Hole. It was near where she had woken up on the proverbial map. A nameless location. Not fit to know the name of. Maybe she'd think of a name. Giving it one made her feel powerful and fickle. "Wake Up Spot" was perhaps the easiest. "Spawning Location" was... pretty damn funny.

Did she know what that was? No. But it crossed her mind all the same. The patch of dirt was probably filled in by now, or blown over to obscure her previous form. It was pretty windy here, and she assumed it was early November. How long had it taken her to wake? Again, not very important. Stop stop stop she willed the questions away.

As she approached the flickering waves, the wind billowing against hardly any coverage on the Plains, she drank. But when she looked up, eyes stared back at her. Jinx's eyes sparkled with recognition but said nothing. Not at first. Why should she?

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*Snatches*

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She was wandering around the plains, semi-bored and also a little lost, until she found her way back at the Watering Hole, where she'd gotten the chance to reunite with Izumi, but then also with her own brother, Taro. This time, though, they were nowhere to be seen; their scents were merely stale as they rode the cold winds.

As she moved, though, her gaze met that of a pretty stranger, and a friendly smile rose to her features. 'Hi,' she blinked, though the lady guessed that this other wolf couldn't speak telepathically, so it seemed she'd have to communicate verbally, instead; ew. Though, Aika wondered if she knew her mother tongue. “こんにちはが,” — "Hi there," She smiled with a small wave of her tail, trotting towards the lady joyfully.

“あなたはこの舌を知っていますか？ 日本人？” — "Do you know this tongue? Japanese?" Please, please, please, Aika begged that she did. While her siblings gave her all the time in the world to speak Japanese, it seemed that strangers were much more oblivious to her mother tongue. Resisting a sigh, Aika tried common; “Or, uh, does this tongue work better for you?”

Her tone was laced with an almost . . . Resentment, as if she were so upset about having to speak common, but a smile remained on her face at all times, no matter how flustered she may be, or how often she may falter. After all, happiness was the best medicine, wasn't it? Aika liked to believe so. Peace and love and hippy stuff!

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The evening brought a sort of spiciness with it. If she had to put a name on it, she called it spice. Not really true, but whatever. Like a paprika or chili pepper. Why? Simple enough. The Eastern Traders that her former band convened with at times — all had a sort of exotic powder in her mind. Red. Black. White. All mingled together, all spicy colors. Her band used to trade with such people... Until war happened. Not with them though. With other people.

She recalled licking part of crushed red pepper and burning her tongue. That was back in better days. So why assume this new person was spicy? Their powdered black-grey markings stand against the white. Their eyes may be kind but her nose was almost starkly red like a pepper. The woman also spoke that odd language Jinx had heard upon a time. Her people's traders once spoke it but discarded it for the skills used in battle. She never understood what the fuck they were saving.

Licking stray droplets from her jaws with a salmon tongue, she considered speaking at all. Who cared what people spoke as? There was so much conflict over differences. Stupid... "If ya lookin' to talk, common tongue works better I guess" She shrugged, retreating her tongue back into the folds of her mouth "I guess ya said hello and asked if I spoke that language?" A wild guess, and possibly the right one. She lifts a brow, assessing the other briefly. "I don't" She replied easily "though I've heard it before."

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 Damn it!

"If ya lookin' to talk, common tongue works better I guess" Aika pushed against an angry huff, instead batting her lashes at the stranger as she continued. No, nope, she wouldn't say anything, she wasn't as bad as her grandfather – or Izumi, for that matter. No one could ever convince her to curse.
 No way.

"I guess ya said hello and asked if I spoke that language?" The lady gave a small nod and a smile; her favourite action, definitely. It was so simple, and yet so polite, just like her! Aika loved it, really.

"I don't, "though I've heard it before." “You've heard it before?” The princess asked, suddenly full of a new hope. Maybe she knew some simple things, like goodbye, hello, thank you . . . That'd be fun! Maybe Aika could teach some Japanese to her, if she'd allow. Oh, well, they barely knew one another . . . But still! Who wouldn't want to learn another language?!
 “Do you know any of it? Oh, and I'm Aika, by the way!”

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"The Spice Traders often spoke like that."

She didn't know the names they really called themselves though. Their language had always been a barrier with the caravan, despite their best efforts to understand each other. Both parties always walked away happy and content with the trade though. She didn't think they were enemies or rivals at all. Jinx had been too damn young to really converse with them, brought along with her Da and the other traders because she had an interest in merchant work at the time.

Maybe if things hadn't turned out the way they had...

"Name's Jinx" she replied to Aika, inwardly neutral and uninterested in keeping the other woman close. But she didn't need to know that. The russet-blue played her cards right all the time. It was a game. She was going to get information out of this one, who had clearly been here longer "too young to get it" she added, sitting on her rump and lifting a lanky limb to scratch behind her ear "all I know is they could also speak common tongue when they wanted to. Most were too loyal to their culture to really want to though."

It wasn't bad, that.

"A lot of formalities and politeness, even to strangers" Kinda stiff actually. Like they had a wooden board up their ass. But she didn't say that "I could even pick that up" she lowered her leg and placed it back where she usually kept it "I dunno where the Spice Traders are now though. We hadn't traded with them close to a year now 'cause of other shit goin' on." She shrugged. Most suppliers had left the kingdom when word of conflict broke out. Unable and unwilling to get involved. Especially since their delegations were so small. Traders were not warriors. She didn't blame them for fleeing, even if their supplies would have saved a shit ton of her peoples' lives.

"Guess that doesn't matter here."

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"The Spice Traders often spoke like that." Spice Traders? Sounds . . . Ominous. Aika furrowed her brow in frustration, but swallowed the exasperation and continued listening the lady. "Name's Jinx." “あなたに会うことを喜び、ジンクス,” — "Pleasure to meet you, Jinx," She'd try to teach. “Pleasure to meet you!” "Too young to get it, all I know is they could also speak common tongue when they wanted to. Most were too loyal to their culture to really want to though." Well, yeah, that was pretty understandable.

“I mean, it's a pretty language, in my opinion . . .” She offered, with a tilt of her head, smiling innocently. Aika certainly wished she could just speak her mother tongue with everyone, without having to consider the fact that they may very well prefer common tongue over the beautiful tongue of her motherland. "A lot of formalities and politeness, even to strangers. I could even pick that up. I dunno where the Spice Traders are now though."

Weird, that they were just . . . gone. Aika hummed curiously, wondering where the band may be; perhaps they were on the road, trading, or perhaps the sands of time had swept them away. Aika shrugged wolfishly, turning her head back to Jinx. "We hadn't traded with them close to a year now 'cause of other shit goin' on. Guess that doesn't matter here." “Why doesn't it matter?” Honestly, the princess couldn't understand why people would use such ugly words. The lady huffed.

At least it wasn't hurting anyone? The Siamese Quintet seemed all too keen on seeing only the good parts of other people.

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Well, duh.

Aika thought it was pretty because she was born into it. For anyone else that hadn't been privy to such a language, it was more like someone yapped at them in an annoying manner. "It don't matter cause this ain't my world" she replied, her patience better than she assumed "and if I'm lucky, problems won't follow me here." If only she knew that wasn't to be true. Sigh. Driven by revenge as she was for the deaths of her people, Jinx knew that bringing those problems needlessly here... 

Well, it'd cause more harm than good. Best let it go. She wasn't dead and that was enough hope. If she couldn't exact her vengeance, she best finds something else to do. Simple. Logical. She assumed that anyway. She would rather cling to the past as a reminder of people's bullshit, but ah well. Jinx knew this wasn't her world. She wasn't stupid. "What bout ya?" She didn't like people drudging up and asking questions about her. She deflected easily, and Aika was lucky she had talked about herself for a smudge.

"Ya got your language to hold onto," Jinx points out "not many folks wanna hold onto the past. Some discard even their culture in favor of new things. Do ya see this world as a beginning or a continuation?"

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Jinx seemed . . . upset? Maybe? Or maybe she just had a classic case of RBF – of which she wouldn't say out loud (the acronym was inappropriate enough for her) – and she just seemed moody all the time. Maybe it was the accent, too. "It don't matter cause this ain't my world. And if I'm lucky, problems won't follow me here." “Problems?” She echoed obliviously. What could that mean? The spice traders? Aika hummed as a frown tugged at her lips. "What bout ya?"

What about her? Huh? "Ya got your language to hold onto," Oh! She supposed that made a little more sense, since Japanese was part of her history, and her cultural background. She held it dear to her heart; it made Aika feel complete, whole, like herself. It made her feel right, and like she was who she was meant to be. "–not many folks wanna hold onto the past. Some discard even their culture in favor of new things. Do ya see this world as a beginning or a continuation?" “I . . . Don't know,” She said tentatively.

“My past life ended with a bit of a bang; I was killed because I didn't want to be used–” Aika shivered with disgust. “–And . . . I died. My siblings are here, though, so I suppose it's a bit of both. I get to continue my journey with them, but I've been reborn, and . . . well, it's a little weird, really.” She joked lightly. There wasn't much other way she could put it without sounding like a debbie-downer, and Aika's whole personality was 'verbal diabetes' and being all too sweet – and naïve – for anyone (including herself) to handle.

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"The people who spoke your language weren't problems."

And she left it at that. Aika seemed momentarily bewildered, perhaps thinking that Jinx's issue was with the Spice Traders. Aika felt an auto kinship with those that spoke the same language. While Jinx didn't care so much if the other woman was upset, she only elaborated on what she wanted to do. Speaking about problems would drudge up emotions she'd rather avoid right now. If directly asked, she would decline to speak more about it. Thankfully, the conversation seemed to turn back to debates about this realm.

"Weird," she repeated Aika's word for it. Fucked up is what she'd go for "this place brings people back from the dead. I didn't die. I wasn't dead when I was taken here" She shrugged, not very disturbed by slipping into the world. It happened and she can't control everything, much as she'd like to "so this place steals people on the brink of passing into the afterlife, keeps 'em suspended or somethin', and transfers them here, huh? It also steals others, not near death. Why, do ya think?" It'd be easy to assume gods were in play.

Or playing was the better term.

Something above them, something more intelligent or just acting like spoiled children. Playing with toys. Watching the wolves and creatures below. Amused by it. Jinx had a bit of respect for that if it was true. She'd do the same. It was an interesting experiment to do, even at her own expense. She kept this to herself, however. She kept a lot of shit to herself. Aika didn't seem to be the one to give answers, so why even ask her? It was rhetorical. Aika's problems wouldn't follow her here too, probably. It didn't matter or warrant much discussion. She let this go as well.

"Anyway" she continued after a deep think "I guess for you it's a bit of both" A shrug "this place really isn't the afterlife, after all" Comforting and not "ya died and was brought back, now you can breathe and eat and even talk again. I guess congratulations are in order?" Jinx wanted to know how they did that, for sure. Defying death was fascinating. If there was a trick or rule to be done... She wanted that knowledge. "though I wouldn't go 'round, testing if that could happen again if I was you." A scoffed chuckle. Was that her way of saying be fucking careful?

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"The people who spoke your language weren't problems." Oh, well, that was good! It was nice to know that maybe Jinx didn't hold an immediate grudge against her because she spoke the same tongue as the traders, which seemed strange if she'd even be angry about that in the first place, but her clarification made it sound like it wasn't, so . . . yay! "Weird, this place brings people back from the dead. I didn't die. I wasn't dead when I was taken here." “Maybe coming to this life means, like . . . a new purpose, or something. Maybe it's to find meaning in your life again, for either those who've passed, or for those whose lives came to a stand-still,” She offered her guess. “I don't know.”

"Anyway," Jinx breathed after what seemed a long moment, of silence, though Aika assumed the cogs in her brain were working away as she thought, though the siamese was upset that she couldn't delve into her head and understand what she was thinking about. If only she could read minds, that'd be fun, wouldn't it? "I guess for you it's a bit of both; this place really isn't the afterlife, after all. Ya died and was brought back, now you can breathe and eat and even talk again. I guess congratulations are in order?" Aika hummed. “While I definitely like being alive again, part of me feels . . . weird. Sometimes I think I would've been better off in the ground,” Though those were only things she thought when she was really sad. Like, very really sad, like when she was thinking about her parents, or her friends, or the Clan.

She shook herself out of those thoughts, bringing herself back to the surface as she assumed a happy grin upon her face once more. "though I wouldn't go 'round, testing if that could happen again if I was you." That made Aika chuckle, though, and her tail swayed back and forth as she imagined it; trying to find a way to get yourself killed to see whether or not you'd be returned to the land where you once stood. It was interesting. Perhaps an experiment worth trying, if she had the guts to. “I'll try not to get myself killed,” She smiled. “Thanks for looking out for me?”

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Jinx's lips curled into a wordless growl. More raised snarl than anything. "Don't say that" she snapped suddenly, the short fur along her neck and shoulders rising uncomfortably. She was more tense than aggressive, and she made no move to bite Aika "did ya think what your friends and family might feel — losing you again? Death ain't somethin' to be flippant about." The end of life was a natural and biological thing, but she felt it was also a useless waste. If you weren't old and grey, the impact reached beyond even yourself.

She let an uncomfortable silence hang between them. Her yellow eyes narrowed even more before updating into an unreadable expression. They went back to normal after a few seconds. Aloof, trying not to care about death and destruction. About this world and its eventual annoyances. About the past world, with its problems. Her problems. I'll try not to get myself killed again, Aika had said. Jinx felt she'd get into trouble eventually, but that was all she would do for the woman. It wasn't like she was going to trail after her, holding her paw. She grumbled lightly, giving a nod.

"Ya should get back to your family," now that she had soured the mood, Jinx felt it prudent to leave. At least Aika had a family to go back to in this world. It was too much to hope, seeing the lost and dead. Maybe that was her penance. Her cross to bear. She began to move off, away. "see ya."

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Jinxes lips curled up as she seemed to protest against Aika's semi-sad statement, and the woman quirked her brows. Huh? She was just venting, it's not like she'd actually . . . take her own life. She'd been dead once, it's not like the lady needed that again. "Did ya think what your friends and family might feel — losing you again? Death ain't somethin' to be flippant about." “I-I'm not saying that I'm going to do it,” She rushedly said.

A long moment of uncomfortable silence stretched as Aika felt her fur begin to prickle, and the lady began to think that maybe it'd be best to leave, since Jinx definitely seemed like that had upset her. Finally, she broke the silence with a sort of . . . mini-command? "Ya should get back to your family," What? What had she done wrong . . ? This was so odd, Aika furrowed her brows in confusion as Jinx got up to turn away. "see ya." “Wait what?” Aika stumbled, standing to try and follow the woman.

“What did I do wrong? Why– why are you . . .” What was she even saying? The woman shook her head, squinting as she took her own step away. Aika screwed her eyes shut, trying to figure out what the hell was going on, though nonetheless, she remained confused. “You know what? Nevermind.” And with that, she herself would turn away as well. What a weird interaction.

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Potential Fade!

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