Day 163 // Every plan is a tiny prayer to father time

[fuckthemancers]

Who: Zulf and you
Open: Open
When: Day 163
Where: Throughout the Bastion
What: Well, someone has to take up the kitchen work, and prepare Night's funeral, and write down the history and culture of two different cities...
Format: Anything
Warnings: Nothing immediately comes to mind, although it should be noted that Zulf is in a bad state mentally/emotionally so depending on the conversations, things could be described. Lemme know where you want to run into him!

As soon as he's able, Zulf leaves the hospital. It's not like he deserves to be there, after all, not with the dead, not with the injured. He's fine, isn't he? Besides... There's too much to do. So on the 163rd day of the Bastion's existence, feel free to run into him just about anywhere looking exhausted in nearly every way imaginable.

...Unless your name is Raile, Zia, Rucks, Colin, Rin, Zayna, Zahi, Nathaniel, or Rosethorn. In which case, seeing any of those individuals makes the man startle before immediately trying to find a way to leave the area before conversation can happen. Seriously, he will bolt if he has to, don't make him change from a quick walk.

Periodically throughout the day, Zulf can be found in the kitchens...

With Rin out of commission and Mireille still taking care of her baby, someone has to keep the kitchen up and running. Zulf still remembers the offer he made to her, so of course he's going to keep to what he said. Breakfast, lunch, dinner... He's not in the kitchen the entire day, but he's there often enough. His sleeves are rolled up and he's hard at work like maybe enough cooking will help things. Feel free to interrupt him at any time.

Sometime in the morning after breakfast, it's off to the the Hitachiin-Abe home.

It's something he's been meaning to get to for ages now, really. Seimei had asked about the Tazal Terminals and Caelondia. It's just proper that he finally get to writing all the large amount of answers. He's already holding some things in his arms when he gets there, a thick heavy photo album stacked with papers and crude writing tools- things he's scavenged here and there particularly from the Mancer Observatory. He's passed by the home before, but it's only now that he takes a moment to admire it. Any of the residents can find him waiting awkwardly by the front, not sure how to make his presence known.

Come night, well, that is traditionally the Lorn Mother's time. Anyone still awake... Well, there's a light on at the Shrine.

Honestly, he doesn't know the state of the Gods for all these other worlds that have fallen apart. All he knows it that the Pantheon still has its eye on the scattered fragments that once made up Caelondia, the Terminals, the Wild Unknown... So at least there's that. If she doesn't have anywhere to go or where she's going is worse than that, the Lorn Mother can keep her safe. If there is somewhere for her... Mother guide her home.

Either way, they need to have a funeral. Both to help her soul be free of its ties to the physical, and to help those still alive mourn.

So he gets hard at work, cleaning the shrine with an almost single minded dedication. There won't be any rest until it's spotless... Although he won't lie, he's doing his best to avoid any kind of rest as much as he can. So maybe someone will walk in on him doing that.

When he isn't cleaning, however, he's settled to the side. There's a small pile of salvaged clothing besides him and a sorry excuse for a sewing kit that he makes do with. Red seems to be a theme with the clothes he's picked out...

Comments

Shrine

[aprettyred]

Anna spots him easily enough, and while she starts out with her new Most Important Possession raised, the camera goes down and off after a moment. Zulf's mood - something she doesn't need to try to pick up - is not one to record.

But she still has it with her when she stops next to him on one of those sewing breaks.

"... Who are those for?" She can think of two groups - the one who she can't feel anymore, and everyone else.

[fuckthemancers]

He's so out of it, lack of proper sleep not helping matters at all, that he doesn't even notice someone else has entered the Shrine along with him. It takes her speaking for him to finally come to, shoulders jerking sharply a bit and his eyes rapidly blinking in an effort to drag himself out of his strange mental limbo.

Manners ingrained into him have him try to smile at her, polite but obviously worn down. Manners also say he should properly explain to her. It's just.. The words still won't come even when he wants them to. It's reaching for something that doesn't seem to be there. So instead, he simply gestures to himself and then towards the rest of the Bastion outside.

[earthandpine]

Rosethorn sees the pile of clothing and sits down next to Zulf. "Do you need a hand with the sewing?" She hasn't had to do her own except when traveling in a very long time. Her lover is a stitch witch, after all. Still, Rosethorn knows how to spin and how to sew.

A hand reaches out to brush over the clothing. "Red for blood and for mourning," she says softly. The echo of Trader customs makes her think of Daja, a foster daughter who isn't here in the Bastion.

[fuckthemancers]

Rosethorn's voice makes him jerk violently in surprise. There's a wide eyed glance to her before he ducks his head, making as if to quickly pack all his things away to leave. It's not really her... It's that just seeing her reminds him of what happened to Raile, of his own mistakes. There's just been too much weighing down on him and he's at a loss at how to deal with it. In the end, it all comes down to basic human instinct. There's no way to fight against his problems... So 'flight' seems to be a good a plan as any to his current state of mind.

In his haste, however he ends up pricking himself with the needle- rather badly at that. He gives a hiss, jerking his hand back. As he pulls it out and sucks at the little puncture, he gives a nod to her observation. Any other time, he'd be interested and impressed that she knows the mourning colors of the Ura and want to know who shares that custom. Right now... Well. Now isn't that time.

[aprettyred]

Anna thinks on that for a moment. The red is for the Bastion?

"... Because of Night." It isn't a question. "Here, you wear red instead of black?"

[fuckthemancers]

That's right... Rin had mentioned wearing black for mourning, hadn't she. Zulf gives a nod. He can't imagine black as a funerary color, honestly. Something seems off about it... The night sky is where the Lorn Mother came from, after all. Where, in a way, they all did.

How to explain... He places down the needle and holds out one of his hands. Earlier in the kitchens, he'd nicked himself on a knife. It's nothing serious, but the small bandage on his finger is still there and still stained a little red.

[evacuate]

[Zia has already had the experience of walking into the kitchen—she's usually in there helping out anyway—only to have Zulf sprint away from her like a frightened deer before she can even say hello.

Chasing him down didn't work any of the times she tried it, so she'll leave things be for now. But the next time Zulf comes to the kitchen, he'll find a little bowl of stew sitting on one of the counters beside a note card reading "Zulf ♥" in cutesy curlicue cursive, and "Boil for one minute if cold" below it in print. In the bottom corner, she's signed her name in cursive again.

She'll go back to running after him later.]

[fuckthemancers]

[Zia...]

[Of course Zulf has to come back to the kitchen sooner or later- he was in the middle of making food you know. It's just that he's not expecting that little bowl waiting for him. There's an unusual amount of time spent just staring at it, rest of the world forgotten.]

[If Zia's at her little apartment, she'll hear a knock on her door. If she's not, well, that doesn't take away that blue flowers are left by her door. There's a note there, too.]

[Just "I'm sorry for everything" in fine penmanship (because oh wasn't he raised ever the gentleman) and sighed with Zulf's name.]

[earthandpine]

"Sit back down and let me see your finger." She speaks very gently, the tone she usually reserves for skittish children or animals and scared patients. Zulf needs to see a mind-healer. Many people do after traumatic events. It's glaringly obvious, and if she were home she'd already be trying to herd him in the right direction. Rosethorn has no idea whether anyone here in the Bastion qualifies, though. She certainly doesn't. Rosethorn can only put medicine on things and hope that works. She'll be no help to Zulf, except with that small puncture wound.

Her hand is already at her belt pouch to grab something to clean and help heal it. Finger pricks aren't usually worth worrying about, but he has a lot left to do and that was worse than the kind of prick he'd get sewing. Besides, who knows how clean the needle is. "It's an awfully big pile of work to get through in a short amount of time," she continues quietly, "and I'm not bad with a needle."

traveling between places?

[amphibian]

[Guess who's on a sports binge! ...Okay, well, more than usual, anyway.

Aoi's jogging up and down the Bastion, passing a soccer ball between her feet and occasionally stopping to bounce it up between her knees and back to her feet. Sometimes she tries to kick it up and bump it with her head, but she's not a soccer player, and keeps missing entirely. That's when it gets away from her and rolls over in Zulf's direction as he walks by.

It takes her a moment to see where it's gone, but she beams when she sees Zulf.] Hey! Hey, over here!

[fuckthemancers]

Using a gentle kind of tone seems to be doing the trick. Zulf doesn't immediately respond, but he also doesn't continue with making a run for it. He just stands there for a moment, body trembling from adrenaline and indecision. It's difficult. Still, in the end, he very tentatively starts to lower himself again. Perhaps it helps that Rosethorn is still a relative stranger and one of those who kept herself in charge during the whole situation with Raile. There's not quite as much to twist, although there's a worry all its own.

There's no answer to the question about if she can help. He just halfway offers her his hand.

[fuckthemancers]

[He's already on the move back towards the kitchen and hoping that Zia isn't waiting there he hears the sound of the ball coming towards him. He gives a small jump of surprise, although he's been that way for a little while now after everything, but still slows down enough. He lifts ups his skirts a bit and kicks back after looking up to make sure where Aoi is.]

[aprettyred]

Anna tilts her head, staring at his hand for a moment. Red... oh.

"It can also be fire, the way people are warm, as well as ... being alive?" Did she make the right connection? Fire is what Anna thinks of red as first, honestly. But living with the Red Clan did that.

[fuckthemancers]

Well, those are all valid interpretations, really, but it's that last one that has Zulf give another nod and an approving smile. Tired and sort of broken, but still approving so he's trying at least. Something seems to come to him, and he digs through the many pieces of clothing. Finally he pulls out a strip of red and points to her hair.

Hitachiin-Abe Estate

[yinyangfox]

Things have changed, his environment is increasingly more complicated and lately Seimei hasn't been seen wandering the Bastion either. Spending his time in his house, hermit that he is, means that he's neglected to involve himself in the recent drama. He has no desire to be part of it and judges far less than others do so unless someone went to him for advice, the onmyoji has been about as easy to see as a unicorn.

When Zulf arrives at the home, Seimei is busy napping on the deck, surrounded by the soothing rush of the river beneath it. As such, it is the onmyoji's red-headed shikigami that comes to stand in the open doorway, arms crossed over his chest and expression less than welcoming in his fiery blue eyes.

"Are you just going to stand out there all day? The door is open. Take your shoes off and come in. Tch," he muttered, jerking his head to one side over his shoulder, indicating the Ura should come in already. It was the first time since Hikaru's arrival in the Bastion that Taisan had physically shown himself, the summons going entirely intangible after the blow-up.

[fuckthemancers]

At least Zulf doesn't seem to be much offended at the greeting or the look on the other man's face. In the current state of his mind, Zulf figures he deserves whatever comes to him. So there's just a simple nod and a bit of shuffling in place. He doesn't want to bother putting down his small pile just in case it's more of a bother to gather it all up again. It's as neat as he could make it, but, well, it still might topple over or get blown away by a passing breeze. After a moment, he finally takes a step forward and behind him coming out from behind his skirts are a pair of discarded shoes.

He makes sure to give the redhead plenty of room as he passes by to stop inside the home. There's a glance about as he tries to figure out on his own where to go.

Hitachiin-Abe home

[superdrowningskills]

...Be sure to remove your shoes if you intend to go inside.

[Don't be too startled by the sudden voice behind you, Zulf. It's just Alucard coming back from his daily wanderings on the Skyway.]

[fuckthemancers]

[Too late, he's startled as shit.]

[He gives a surprised jerk, and there goes everything he was carrying... There's a surprised glance to Alucard before he crouches down and immediately starts to gather everything that he possibly can.]

Shrine

[hellpyre]

... she liked red.

[That's going to be a familiar voice, Zulf. And one you can't get away from, because there really isn't where else in the shrine for you to run to, and Rin in all her tiny, still bandaged form is effectively blocking the doorway.

Not hiding this time, buddy.]

Yoru-- ... Night. Her flames were red, too.

[superdrowningskills]

[Alucard's eyebrows raise the slightest bit at Zulf's somewhat unexpected reaction before shrugging it off and assisting. It was the polite thing to do after startling him so badly after all.]

[fuckthemancers]

[There's a startled jerk at the sound of her voice, Zulf nearly stabbing himself with the needle. He immediately gives a glance around as if there's a way out he simply hasn't thought of, but no, cornering him the shrine was a good move. He shrinks into himself, shoulders hunching up almost defensively.]

[Just a nod at her statement.]

[aprettyred]

Anna takes it and stares at it for a moment.

"Because this is for Night, and not just because its my favorite color?" She sort of already wears lots of red, Zulf.

But this isn't quite like her normal hat-and-hairbands, so she struggles a little at getting it around her head.

[fuckthemancers]

[Oh jeez, now he's getting help. Zulf looks a little... unsure... about it, but it's not like he can say anything about it. So he just sheepishly holds a hand out to take anything Alucard has picked up.]

[fuckthemancers]

Hey, you never know, maybe you could always use more red. It's a sort of legitimate life choice.

Zulf watches her struggle with the ribbon for a little bit. Eventually, he taps her shoulder and then points to himself. Need help with that?

[hellpyre]

[God Zulf, you look like a kicked puppy.

Rin stares at him for a long moment, cast-covered hand resting against the elbow of the arm that had been so badly torn up. The slings were gone as she was on her way to recovering, but the bandage on the shoulder remained, keeping the still-mending wound clean.

Her lips press together, tight in to a frown as she leans against the door frame.

She knows what you've been doing, Zulf.]

... I don't get it. Call me crazy, but... your friend is still alive. Whatever the fuck happened between you two, he's still here. And so is Zia. Hell, even that guy you keep claimin' you don't like yet never seem to leave alone is still. here.

So what the hell is it... that you're actin' like this? Shouldn't you be grateful for the fact that they're still here, instead'a actin' like the sorriest sad sack I've ever seen?