Hoshiji Yuugi - Departure for the Red Archipelago [ask first]

"Oh?" Qirin hummed thoughtfully, stroking the chin of his stone mask. "You were aware of what the festivities were? I see, I see."

Qirin folded his arms under his sleeves and nodded thoughtfully.

"I suppose our people tend to be reserved about sharing our customs. Very well, allow me to explain.

"Hoshiji Yuugi also known as the festival of stars. Translated, it means 'Eternal Love Story'. It all begins with a story that's been passed down since the time of our ancestors.

"The rabbit on the moon, Zhi Nu, weaved the garments of the gods and made mochi for Tentei Ma Gahava. She did her duties blissfully and happily, but she was very lonely. As her loneliness grew, she felt a greater emptiness inside. One day, when she looked down to the world, she thought she saw someone like her below. With great excitement, she leapt down to the world to find the one who is like her.

"When she descended to the world, Zhi Nu found herself in the middle of a great lake. She looked but no one was around. She chose to wait there until the one she saw returned. She waited and waited in the middle of that lake, but no one came. For ten days and nights she waited there, but no one came. Then from the forest came a wolf.

"He was Hino Boshi, a wolf who protected the land. He asked Zhi Nu why they were waiting at the lake. The moon rabbit explained they saw someone like the from the moon and are waiting for them to return. The wolf thought of this and asked the rabbit to look down at the lake directly under her feet.

"The rabbit did this for the first time in ten days and nights for they were keeping constant watch of the surroundings of the lake. When she did she saw herself reflected on the lake by the light of the moon.

"Zhi Nu became sadden and wept. As she did so, Hino Boshi stayed silently by her side. He said she may use his fur to dry her face. She did so and it was warm and soft. He gave her food. It was supple and sweet. He carried her on his back which was strong and steady.

"And as the days passed, Zhi Nu became happier and soon she forgot her loneliness. They spent many days together. The days became weeks. The weeks became years. Zhi Nu and Hino Boshi became very happy. But Tentei Ma Gahava was displeased.

"To protect Zhi Nu, Hino Boshi neglected the land and the animals he was to guard. To care for Hino Boshi, Zhi stayed in the world until the gods' garments became ragged. In her anger, Tentei Ma Gahava demanded that Zhi Nu return to the moon. The rabbit had no choice but to obey the mother and left the world. And to make sure they were seperated, Tentei Ma Gahava put a sea of stars between the world and the moon. Zhi Nu returned to making mochi and clothes for the gods and Hino Boshi went back to protecting the land.

"But their sadness was too much. The clothes Zhi Nu made became dull and her mochi tasteless. Hino Boshi, every night when he'd see the moon would stop and howl at it till the night's end.

"Then one night, the magpies flew by as they heard Hino Boshi's miserable howls. At the same time, the moths saw Zhi Nu as tears dripped into the clothes she weaved. Feeling sorry for the lovers, the moths and the magpies  formed a bridge over the sea of stars, allowing them to meet once again. The two crossed and met in the middle, crying in happiness.

"Touched by this, Tentei Ma Gahava permitted the two to meet over the bridge of moths and magpies once a year every year, but only permitted so if they continue their duties diligently.

"And so this time every year, we hold this celebration of love and duty for rabbit of the moon and the wolf of the land. We do this with good food and music and we tie wishes to bamboo trees in the hopes that the lovers will carry them back to the gods and to the land. But most importantly we pray for Qing Tenki, clear weather, for if it rains  and clouds the sky, the magpies and moths cannot form the bridge between the moon and the world and the lovers will not meet."

So it seemed Claes didn't die upon trying the food. Great, it meant she could eat the rest! Thankfully, the subject managed to move the away from the food (if you could call it that) and on to some local traditions and myth. Well at least that what Kiara was getting from the long winded story Qirin gave.

If she was being honest, she really didn't get it. If she was the rabbit, she would've just ignored the calls. If she was happy with the wolf, she should stay with the wolf. Geez, they both ended up being whiny and making a bunch of moths help them out. Kiara knew better than to voice these thoughts. Despite the fact that trampling on tradition is what she did best, it was best not to piss off an entire race of people collectively.

Bright side? While everyone was engaged with the story, she'd been pushing the food from her plate onto Claes'. At this point, she held her plate casually, trying her best to look 'full' as the story came to an end.

Unlike Kiara, Claes appeared to be far more fascinated about the story. So much so, she didn't realize she was absently eating more of the raw fish head.

"What an interesting story," Claes remarked. "And I can see how it relates to the local festivities. I--"

Claes looked down at her plate to see it even fuller than earlier.


!!!!!

Eyes shot at Kiara and Goibniu, the only two people next to her. Though judging from it, it seemed that Kiara was the one who did it.


She glanced back at her plate, a faint whiff of nausea hitting her. At this point it was less that she didn't find the food good, but more of the fact there was too much.

Come on, Claes. You've dealt with worse. You've done stakeouts in bleakest south Eisleyn! What's a little more fish?

Mentally plugging her nose, she continued to eat. Her body was not pleased with the fact she had put more food in her mouth, and as much as she tried to get more down, there was a violent will from it to get her to bring it back out.

No! Claes urged herself.

She decided to distract herself with more chatter.

"I'd definitely like to see the festivities take place up close," she said, brushing the sweat forming alongside her temples. "That reminds me, can you tell us more about what we'll be doing once we reach Sakigake?"

Meanwhile, there was Goibniu, who in a way was somewhere in the middle between Kiara's complete apathy to the story, and Claes' enthralled interest. In a way, his interest are more nostalgic than anything, as he was aware of the story of Hoshiji Yuugi, all thanks to his godfather. By the time Goibniu was training under his tutelage, Tuirbe had already assimilated himself into Esterelf society, and yet he whenever he had a chance to explain Goibniu about certain Sakigake customs, he would sit the boy and have him listen.

This was many years ago, and some of the finer details might have been forgotten by the Expiate officer, which was by having the story retold by Qirin caused Goibniu's memories to be refreshened, all while Tuirbe allowed the monk to explain it, while drinking his tea harmoniously. "Wow... now I remember, it was quite a story." He said, with a facial expression of mild interest. True, he was a man of science in his heart, but he couldn't help but be fascinated by tales like that. Especially for the fact that magic was pretty much real, and you ought to be a fool to jump the gun and believe such fables to be completely fake. Anything was possible, after all!

At a moment, he turned away to look at the girls, noting that Claes seemed to look quite hypnotized by the tale being recounted, even managing to miss Kiara placing the food on her plate. It wouldn't be until she realized it that Goibniu would look down and see her place was more full than before, giving the woman a slightly befuddled look when she turned to him, and then to Kiara. "Mmmh, Officer Alfson, if you need to you could share some of your portions with me. It's quite a delicious dish, and it'd be a shame for it to go to waste if you felt too full to take another bite." Did... did he misinterpret Claes' disgust? Or was it a lie to help her save face? That was a mystery, and only Tuirbe knew for sure thanks to their relationship. Perhaps a hint of the answer would be a very slight shaking of his head once Goibniu made his assertion.

"Mmmm yes, hopefully you will find this an ample chance to learn of our ways," Qirin mused, stroking the beard attached to his stone mask. "Well, once we land, one of the Lord of the Land's retainers will be there to guide you. The first thing will be to greet the Lord at the castle. He's eagerly awaiting you all I believe. I also believe an old friend of your superior Jinn is also waiting at the port. Perhaps you too will form deep friendships in your time there, as brief it is."

Qirin's head turned and looked at Kiara's dish.

"Already full are you? Well that is good. Tonight's desert is a bit, how so say, unique. I was afraid it may not appeal to your Esterelfian palettes. Ah, here it comes."

A burly sailor approached the table, carrying in his hands a spiky shell in each hand. He set one in the middle of the visitors. the shell was hallowed out, made into a dangerous-looking bowl filled with finger-sized brown knobs that smelled of oil. They also set down plates filled with white balls that resembled marshmallows that had a sweet smell.

"This is a fruit from our lands that possesses a hard, spiky shell, but inside it has a pungent, fleshy fruit with a meat-like texture. This dish takes that fruit and fries it in a light batter. It is called fried durian. And the white balls is uncooked dough filled with a sweet bean curd. I believe you westerners do not cook fruits in oil like this and you do not eat raw dough so it may appear odd. We would take no offense if you do not partake. In fact, you all look very full. Let me call someone to take it away."

Qirin raised a thin hand to call someone over.

As Claes' eyes met hers, Kiara couldn't help but give an innocent grin. One her parents always had her practice. No teeth, kind eyes and raised eyebrows. After a second of that though, a snicker broke through and she quickly had to compose herself. She cleared her throat and straightened her back, now looking towards Qirin.

Unfortunately, he decided to offer dessert.

What was brought out made Kiara even less hungry. It looked interesting and the specifics on how it was made FASCINATED her, but she'd honestly rather start eating her arm than even taste oil cooked fruits and raw dough. Her lips were drawn into a thin line as it was placed before them. Luckily, Qirin gave her a way out. She was quick to follow his line of thought. "Ah yeah! I'm pretty small see? Can't really eat a lot I'm afraid. A thousand apologies!"

Hell yeah, another crisis averted.

"Durian, you say?" Claes said weakly. Even Kiara's smile couldn't save Claes at this point. She had managed, with much fortitude, to chew on the fish's head, but she had no idea if she could get past that. "I think I'll be fine sticking to my dish, thank you."

God, Claes hoped dinner would end soon. It had onlu been a few minutes, but it already felt like an eternity for Claes.

Well, at least I'm learning more about their culture, she thought optimistically.

Her stomach seemed to disapprove.

And thus, it was up to Goibniu alone to taste the fine delicacies for Sakigake as Qirin offered them dessert. The man looked rather curious to see what kind of dish they would prepare next, only for the group to be presented with fried Durian. As the girls might expect at this point, Goibniu's eyes sparkled with anticipation, already picking his utensils to dig in, and the only thing keeping him from doing so being listening to the monk's explanation of the dish. "Oh, there will be no need! I used to have these as well under the tutelage of my godfather. He would prepare them the night before a big assignment, to the point it became the 'Certain Victory Durian', right?" The Enkidu exclaimed merrily, as he turned to look at Tuirbe, who seemed... suddenly lost in thought.

The observants among the group would have most likely noticed his expression went from a peaceful one to a rather pensive one when Qirin made mention of the Lord, almost as is something about it left the old man in deep thought, the motives only known by him. And once Goibniu noticed how Tuirbe seemed lost in thought, he verbally prodded the man a bit. "... Godfather? You okay?" He said, causing Tuirbe to be removed from his weird stupor, looking surprised. "What? Oh, oh right, the durian, yeah." He managed to say, trying to recall what little he was able to hear during the talk, beginning to eat the food without much hesitation. The old man's behavior was rather odd, but Goibniu didn't give it much thought, as he was more focused tasting the desert.

"Ohohoho, I see," Qirin chuckled, stroking the long tuft of hair on his mask. "Well then, I hope you will further enjoy the dishes from our land."

Qirin interlocked in finger and hummed thoughtfully.

"If I may inquire," he mused, "What do the each of you hope to receive out of this visit? I am truly curious."

"Mm, thank you for the hospitality!" Kiara gave a forced smile at the mention of more "delicacies. At least it was over for now. She gave Claes a glance, making sure she wasn't dying of food poisoning before turning her attention back to Qirin.

She perked up, her mouth moving faster than her brain could think.

"Knowledge of course! Sakigake is so different from the experiences I've had. The customs, the technology, even the political structure, its all different! I know what I've read, but I wanted to experience it first hand!" She grinned ear to ear as she spoke, then glanced over towards Claes and Goibniu.

"Plus its nice to spend time with my seniors, I've been absolutely buried by books. Don't want to be forgotten among all the other cadets." She let out a laugh, elbowing Claes lightly as she spoke.

A jest of course, but it was true. She didn't get to see either of them as much as she would've liked.