(no subject)

[angry_friendship_wolf]

Yamato is clean! Gloriously clean, and Bar has provided him with new clothes (which are functionally the same as his old clothes except a) Not covered in half a mountain pass and/or the remains of demonic entities, and b) Possibly a slightly different shade of blue), so he's quite happy.

Not that it shows. He still seems kind of cold and grumpy, at least from a distance.

With his sword resting next to him, propped up so that the carved wolf's head can look out over the bar, he sits on a table with one leg crossed and the other dangling, and starts playing a rather slow, quiet shamisen song.

[Quickly throwing this in to get the most out of AU week before it ends. AU backstory here.]

Comments

[feminine_menace]

"Burf."

Yamato has drawn an appreciative audience! An audience of one spiny saucer-eyed dog-lizard.

[angry_friendship_wolf]

Yamato cracks one eye open, and keeps playing. It doesn't look hostile, at least.

His sword, meanwhile, focuses all his attention on the dog lizard. "Who's a good boy? Is it you? Yes, it is!"

[feminine_menace]

The dog-lizard turns its attention to the sword. It seems uncertain. It licks its chops with a long, flexible tongue. "Yarp?"

[angry_friendship_wolf]

"Yarp!" The sword replies happily, eyes flickering with light a little.

[feminine_menace]

The dog-lizard lowers its nose to the ground and snuffles, inching closer and closer to the sword.

[angry_friendship_wolf]

"Don't touch my sword," Yamato says without looking up.

"It's okay! You're a good lizard!"

[feminine_menace]

The dog-lizard jumps back. "Yarp!"

Then there's a girl standing there. She's about Yamato's age, with orange-and-blue light armor and a small but impressive arsenal of weaponry. "Fido! Sorry, is he messing with your shit?" she asks.

[angry_friendship_wolf]

"He is not."

Half a year ago, Yamato would probably have batted several eyelids at that arsenal, but two of the Five Swords are women, and that does rather force him to take a more enlightened attitude.

Also, he's not convinced that Mimi won't transcend the boundaries of time and space to come get him if he makes a comment.

"He's yours?"

[feminine_menace]

YT kneels by Fido and scratches him on the head, behind his first set of spines. "Yep. This scaly drooling dumbass is my associate."

Fido does not seem to mind being called a scaly drooling dumbass, as long as he's getting skritches.

[heatherandsteel]

Quentin's trying to make his hair stay down, its now almost fully bronze but still fluffier than he likes. When he spots Yamato, he comes over slowly, the music is lovely and the outfit's nice but odd.

Also he's never seen Yamato with a sword before. He waits until the music stops and asks, "Is it a holiday?"

[angry_friendship_wolf]

Yamato puts the shamisen carefully onto the table, standing up and tilting his head a little.

"A holiday? Maybe by this place's calendar, but not for me."

[heatherandsteel]

He's never heard Yamato talk that formally and carefully tastes the air for magic, "But you're all dressed up."

[angry_friendship_wolf]

He's very nearly surrounded by magic. Cold, wintery magic, that emanates from him and suffuses the air around him.

"Dressed up?" He glances at himself. "This is my regular wear. Have we met before? I do not recall your face. I think I rather would, if we were acquainted."

[heatherandsteel]

The bite of the magic stops Quentin for a moment, that's not normal for Yamato, this must be some Milliways spell.

Probably it would be safest to play along then search too much for a connection, he's had that end badly, "Maybe we haven't. My name's Quentin and you look a lot like a friend of mine."

[angry_friendship_wolf]

"Oh? I didn't know there was anyone here who resembled me," Yamato says, and pushes off the table, walking over to Quentin with purpose and bowing. "My name is Yamato, lord of the Ishida Clan. This is Garurumon."

[heatherandsteel]

Its strange to see Yamato bow like that but Quentin answers with a bow of exactly the same depth and great elegance. Bowing gives him chance to hide his confusion at hearing Yamato's name, court training is useful and deeply ingrained.

As he rises, he asks politely, "Your sword? Its a pleasure to meet you as well, Garurumon. I serve in the Duchy of Shadowed Hills in the Kingdom of Mists as squire to Sir October Daye."

[angry_friendship_wolf]

"Nice to meet you!" Garurumon chirps.

Yamato cocks his head to the side a little. He doesn't recognise a lot of that, but it's still, at least, somewhat more familiar than most of the things he encounters in-bar.

"Will you share a drink with me, -- Sir Quentin? I don't know if that's the right way to address you," he says, and grins a little shyly. "The Bar seems reluctant to serve me sake, but I've managed to talk her around."

[herr_bookman]

"What instrument is that?" Autor asks as he approaches, tilting his head at the strange stringed thing. "Is it Japanese?"

[OOC: Up to you if they've met or not!]

[angry_friendship_wolf]

"A shamisen. I'm no good with it, in all truth, but it was the only art my tutors had the patience to hammer into me," Yamato says, cracking one eye open.

"Hi, Autor!"

[ooc: \o/ I'll go with them having met, but I can always change it if you'd prefer they hadn't.]

[herr_bookman]

"Hi, Gabumon," Autor says, raising a hand to the sword, and feeling a little weird doing so, as usual. "How are you, Yamato? Has the Ishida clan made any progress against the demons?"

[OOC: This is fine.]

[angry_friendship_wolf]

"We took a mountain pass," Yamato says, standing up. "A tiny little thing where nothing grows, but we need it if we're to take the nearest port city."

[herr_bookman]

"I see," Autor says, inclining his head. "Good job. Are you on track to take the port city, then? Or is that just a dream for now?"

[angry_friendship_wolf]

"It'll be our next stop. Lord Taichi will want to commit all of his forces to the siege, I'm sure," Yamato says, giving a quick, eager nod. "It would make things easier if there were some kind of back way or secret passage or weak spot, but there isn't, so we'll have no choice but to tear down the gate. We might have to linger there a while to repair it afterwards."

[herr_bookman]

"Good luck. Hopefully the gate doesn't sustain too much damage in the siege," Autor says, folding his arms. "Have the demons held this city long?"

[angry_friendship_wolf]

"How much damage it sustains depends entirely on which of us takes it down," Yamato says wryly. Then his expression goes a little somber. "Some six months? We should make sure to take it as soon as possible, for the sake of those living there."