songerein | Peace was never an option

Who: Asura and OPEN
Which: Open catchall log for Feb + Interactive dream
Where: the Plaza, the Wild Harvest, Asura's farmstead
What: One very surly swan and a dream of war
Warnings: None for the Swansura prompts, canon-typical violence in the interactive dream.

1. Foul-tempered fowl.

A.

[ As planned, Asura had been killed a week ago when his Shards went berserk and his power threatened to overtake the dream world. A handful of brave heroes had challenged him and won, and the champion Link had dealt the final fatal blow. Asura--the Mara--was dead, and as his body vanished, so too did the accumulated destructive power with it. Yet Asura is still a Celestial, and Celestials are notoriously hard to kill permanently. For so long as their Spiritual Entity--their souls in physical form--survives intact, a Celestial may revive over and over again. ]

Honk! [ A week after Asura's demise, there's an apparent newcomer in Reverein. It's a large black swan with a distinctive blaze of red feathers on his chest, and even if he's not actively menacing anyone at the moment, he's still big enough to be intimidating. At the moment, he's simply hanging out in the fountain in the plaza all by himself, just paddling around on the surface and minding his own business. Attempting to approach the swan, however, will result in some very painful wing-shaped bruises. ]

B.

[ The swan has made his way over to the garden area of the Wild Harvest, and can be found either busying himself with poking around and plucking bugs off the plants, or paddling around the lotus koi pond. He appears to be slightly more tolerant of people getting close to him here than he was in the plaza, but he'll still get nippy if anyone tries to touch him. ]

C.

[ Alternatively, the swan may be found at Asura's farmstead, picking up residual debris from the explosion a week ago. While he is considerably stronger than your average swan, his capacity to lift broken branches or repair structural damage is limited by what he can hold in his beak, so the cleanup effort is slow going. ]

2. Lotus Crown (Interactive Dream)

A. A chance encounter.

[ The remains of a battle stretch out across a field streaked in red. Drawn by the scent of the dead, crows feast on the bodies of fallen demons and men alike. Even so, there is still life in this grim landscape, and as the dreamer takes their first steps away from their starting position, one of the demon bodies stirs nearby. It notices the dreamer, and with a loud war cry, it hoists its weapon into the air and charges for them with the intent to take at least one more head before it dies. ]

B. The Wings.

[ A grand city of gold and alabaster with towers stretching skyward stands out like a sore thumb upon a backdrop of forest and farmland, like a piece of the Heavenly realm dropped onto the earth. High walls separate the pristine inner city from the poor slums that surround it, leaving those born into misfortune to weather the hostile conditions on their own.

The main gate opens to allow a large group of armed men to leave the city. They are led by Asura, with another man walking beside him. Both of them have grim expressions on their faces, and Asura regards the poverty just outside the gates with visible frustration, but the man beside him gently touches his shoulder and they continue walking.

The scene shifts then to a military encampment at night. The camp is hidden well in the forest, and the soldiers are busy preparing for battle. Before the dreamer can take a step, Asura calls out to them from beside the bonfire. ]

You look a bit out of place. [ He comments, waving a hand to invite them to join him beside the fire. ]

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

[ It's business as usual for today, and Susato is in the Harvest's kitchen, struggling to keep up with her many tasks. When the large swan finds its way into their garden, however, there will be many animals there to greet him, including many snakes, who wonder about the sudden newcomer.

Most of the snakes are sporting little neckerchiefs or sweaters, though most of them are shy about engaging, and so long as the swan leaves them alone on its way to the pond, they seem to go about their merry way.

Word eventually reaches the staff, however, or at least Susato, who blinks when Aura the snake finds her way into the kitchen. Why is she not with Kazuma?

There is hissing that probably translates into something like: Are you aware that there is a large bird in the pond? ]

Hm? ...What do you mean?

[ She's got an order to deliver out in the garden anyway, so after a moment, she'll head out there with a tray in hand, following Aura. When she sees the large black fowl, she gasps. Her instinct is to step back, though she notes it does not seem to be as aggressive this time as she might be expecting. ]

Ah! Aren't you...?

[ The swan has been leaving the residents alone, preferring only to pick at pest insects or fae critters that might do harm to the plants in the garden. He's content to stay near the lotus koi as if calmed by their presence. He certainly doesn't react to Susato with aggression, either, and simply looks up in her direction when she speaks up, answering with a single squeaking honk. ]

[ She flinches slightly at the honk, but otherwise does not seem deterred. There's a pause, and she continues her approach with curiosity. ]

Um, hello. How... did you get here? Do you understand me? [ She holds a hand out tenatively, as one might do for a dog or cat. ]

[ Why yes, he can understand her, but his own methods of communication are a bit limited in this form. What he will do is look around from where he floats as if trying to visually locate something. When he finally spots what he's looking for, he climbs out of the pond and waddles over to a potted pepper plant as if that answers her questions at all. ]

[ Susato can't do much but watch warily. Her gaze follows his, trying to find whatever it is before he does, but when he waddles out of the water, she is quick to follow. ]

Ah. Those are the devil's peppers we've been growing ever since we had the spicy food eating contest... I didn't know swans were a fan of these.

Or maybe it's just you. [ She grins teasingly. She still doesn't quite have the full story, but she pluck a pepper off the plant and offer it to him. Could it be...? ]

[ Close but not quite. Oh well, it's fine--life as a bird isn't so bad anyway, and Asura doesn't care enough to worry about frustrating himself trying to explain things in this form.

The swan gives the offered pepper a considering look, but ultimately declines it in favor of sitting itself down beside the plant with its feet tucked under its body like a large goose loaf. It's fine if she doesn't understand, this should all be temporary anyway. ]

[ How temporary...?

Susato pulls back the rejected pepper and watches as he turns into a loaf. She tilts her head, confused for a moment as to what else she can do before she closes the distance to stroke his feathers affectionately, tossing aside the rejected pepper for the moment. ]

I'm in need of a Japanese-goose translator I'm afraid... though you sure look as though you've made yourself at home.

[ His feathers... Asura gave her some of those, too. This can't be the same aggressive swan, can it? ]

Peace was never an option

1B

Re: 1B

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Sorry for the wait!

sorry on my end too!