Facing East

[IamLEAM1983]

Eiji bowed deeply. "Domo, Urakawa-sama. In light of these events, I may have to return to the ski resort to call home. I understand your wife and yourself are both quite capable, but not all of your guests will be able to complement your defenses. If he lies sufficiently close to your cooking fire, mister Holden might be fully recovered by tomorrow morning. Some of his interior mechanisms will have been damaged, however."

He eyed Kurama sharply. "Peak performance is not to be expected. Not on the first day."

The tengu chuckled bitterly. "English brass and centennial wood. Jolly good, as they say."

He stepped a little closer, side-eyeing Crystal the way actual ravens would, his eye sliding down to the now relaxing Clank.

"Nokoribi in the chest should help. Like the fool Iwata, or your Yankee friend..."

Disregarding Eiji's disapproving look, Kurama lightly nudged Archie's right foot. Archie groaned in response. "That yankee fool has a name, you barbarian, and it is Shamus Wallace! He is twice the samurai any local has ever been!"

Kurama looked as though Holden's words had disgusted him or wounded him at his very core. With the edges of his beak down-turned, however, he simply stood up, quite visibly stowing his anger aside.

"I will tell the blacksmith of the pieces to be forged for tomorrow. You are to receive an ember from Lord Urakawa's Hearth, English fool."

There came a tense pause. "Be thankful. You will benefit from the wisdom your Yankee friend inherited when he stole a samurai's shell. If my word were law, I would see you dragged to the borders and left as prey for the Snow Woman. I am to train you, instead."

Kurama eyed Crystal. "I will break your man, werewolf." 

[TennyoCeres84]

"Of course, Katsumoto-san. Do as you need to," Daisuke answered with a nod.

The thought of 'Well, at least he didn't use the word Injun or redskin.' crossed the werewolf's mind in a grousing tone. 'Small miracles.' She looked down at the clank resting in her arms and looked back at the tengu. "Likely so, but as the saying goes, what doesn't kill him will most assuredly make him stronger," Crystal retorted. "I have a name, too. It's Crystal Lowell, Kurama-san."

"Lowell-san is right. Even if he is broken, Holden-sama will be reforged and made anew in the coming weeks," agreed the male nekomata. "As I promised Haskill-sama when I spoke with him."

Lady Urakawa offered Sojubo her subtle version of a Cheshire grin and said to him in the archaic Japanese dialect, "Please do not behave as you did when Hanako became engaged to Matriel-san or when Nami-chan visited here during her school breaks."

Her spouse glanced at his wife and let out a light snort, as though he had done his best to dissolve a chortle.

Seeing the actions between the two Malks, Aspasia didn't entirely understand the older form of the native language, but she could at least guess at what Kasumi had said. At the moment, she thought it best to not add to the tension, but she could only imagine the amusement the Nephilim, the angel, and his wife had previously brought with them with regard to the cranky and ethnocentric tengu. Still, she noticed Kasumi's attempt to curb the tengu's antagonistic behavior.

[IamLEAM1983]

Kasumi managed to bring Kurama out of his morose streak and ripped a half-bitter, half-endeared chuckle out of him. "I make no promises, Milady. This fool does not possess the ability to conform to our race," he said, referring to Holden. "He is most assuredly not Matriel."

Still, he looked back to Crystal. "A name given in vain is a name lost, Crystal Lowell. There are many outside this valley who would kill you for donning it. You are ally to the Fae, and the one you call Mab knows it."

[TennyoCeres84]

Kasumi settled with a half-lidded gaze and a light sigh as a response to Kurama's reply, while her eyes drifted to Holden. She chose to speak in English in order for everyone to hear, "Even so, this fellow bears the same type of mantle as my daughter does, with the difference being that hers was adjusted as part of her marriage vows. The Countess of Rhode Island saw him fit to bear it, along with Aspasia-san. That should count for something."

Crystal sniffed lightly. "I'm well aware of that fact. She made that abundantly clear a few months ago, due to McHae's defection and the following chaos. I serve under the mortal chief of police just as much as I serve under the Viscount of our region. That is why we're here: to help strengthen Archibald so that he's more flexible against the greater threats that are coming."

[IamLEAM1983]

The tengu was no fool; he knew his particular positions weren't popular. The daimyo and his wife could see to their estate and its guests as they pleased, and they could command him as they pleased, as well. To push further would involve disregarding his friend, master and employer's own wishes, something he couldn't consider doing as a samurai. Outsiders would've been free to contradict Daisuke Urakawa, but Kurama wasn't. His word, given earlier at the behest of the Malk, and long before he even saw the visitors, was his bond.

He bowed his head. "Your wisdom, Lady Urakawa, knows no bounds. I shall defer to it."

The raven then looked to the aging Fae. "Katsumoto-san, you will find the road ahead to be difficult. The snows willing, you should return to us promptly. Time, however, has grown swifter here than in your mortal plane.
- I know," sighed the old ninja. "Five minutes in the ski lodge with the front desk's phone could cost me a week here, or it might only set me back a few seconds. I'll only know once I come back. It's advantageous for you," he said, looking to Aspasia and Crystal, "but difficult for most of everyone else here. I'll also stop by the blacksmith and tell mister Inoue which pieces of Archie's need reforging."

Archie grunted. "You'll have to inspect me, first...
- I know. We'll settle you all in and then I'll come back for you with some miso and a few basic tuning tools. I think I remember having to give the Emperor a live rundown on your construction."

Holden chuckled at that, the sound turning into light winces. "Yes, yes you did - and it was quite awkward, to say the least. I'd observed protocol and packed my best frock and gibus, only for the Emperor to decide he needed to compare me against the Machine Men of his rebelling shogunates... Having to go chestbare in front of rows of Westernized liege-lords who pointedly observed my front and back plates wasn't something I'd prepared for."

Eiji smirked. "Sorry about that, by the way. I know I'm over a hundred years too late, but - sorry. The quainter the android, the longer it takes before they're no longer objectified. I've heard tell that Gorobei Iwata popped his own carters off for three Emperors before Meiji, so that's not exactly ethnocentrism at work."

Archie managed a nod. "Anthrocentrism was always more at play with my kind and Shamus'... People wondering how my irises adjusted to light if they were painted on, if removing my plates was painful or if I missed the vagaries of organic life..."

He eyed Crystal. "I haven't missed much of anything, truth be told. I have a girl who reads Agatha Christie, I am no slouch at the stove and oven..."

Eiji smiled at the couple. "That's because you Clanks were never made sacred or culturally elevated; not like the kitaiteki were. No, you just get tacky airport novels written about yourselves."

Archie managed a middle finger. "I think there's something wrong with my tendon rods..."

Katsumoto parted with a brief cackle at that. "Unpack yourselves while you can, I've got an idiot to render fit for a dojo!" he said, standing up.

[TennyoCeres84]

Both Crystal and Aspasia grinned and chuckled at the interactions between Eiji and Archibald. "Be safe," the werewolf said, waving. "Take care," added Aspasia.

In the meantime, Kasumi briefly appraised the two women. "Aspasia-san, I take it you still have the garments we gave you previously?" she asked.

The fauness nodded. "I do. They still fit after twentysomething years, so all I need to do is to change," she replied.

"Very good. Lowell-san, we have some clothes suiting someone of your size and age in one of the storage rooms. If you will follow me, I can help you get changed," the female nekomata addressed. Despite her status, it appeared the daimyo's wife still displayed a Malk's instinct to serve where needed. In her case, it was an extension of the required hospitality that her position mandated. The three of them disappeared as they ventured to the second floor and off to a changing room.

[IamLEAM1983]

Archie wasn't left alone, as Crystal would soon hear some of Lord Urakawa's geishas and servants scuttle into the dining area where they'd left the spy. Holden's protests were muted, but Aspasia would eventually recognize the telltale oohs and aahs of attendants and first aid purveyors working on an uncommon physiology. The walls weren't thick enough to prevent the mention of brass polish from reaching other ears, and Holden was again heard opposing polite refusals as his exterior plates and carters were carefully removed or snapped off. Seeing as there was no blood to mop off or traditional injuries to mend, one geisha seemingly settled with washing the spy's crown of false hair. All told, some forty minutes passed.

As was typical of Faerie, Katsumoto had barely stepped out of the compound that its doors opened again, exposing the same old man as he walked back inside. He'd apparently been lucky: the distance between the planes had turned his phoning home into an absence measurable in barely a second or so. It'd always be more convenient for travel if the planes aligned closely, allowing for one-to-one time scales; but extreme cases of temporal compression still had their uses. No time wasted, in this case. Who knows, maybe Archie's month in Faerie would end up neatly compressed in the span of a single weekend - or even less...

The returning ninja had seemingly cadged an isotherm delivery bag from somewhere near the ski lodge and packed it with big waxed-paper bowls of miso soup. "Well," he said, walking back into the dining room, "it certainly looks like the girls did a number on you, Holden! If I didn't know better, I'd call you emaciated."

Archie was heard tsking. "At least I can assess the damage before anyone pokes or prods at me... My main spring is fine, but my left kinetic transmission pegs are missing a few teeth. I am essentially leaking kinetic energy, which probably explains why my right hand's pinky and ring fingers feel numb. My left calf tingles rather fiercely and my left foot feels weak. I doubt I could remain stable if asked to stand."

Eiji grunted. "I've asked Inoue to stop by with some tools. We can probably manage a temporary patch job for a few days; small filed stones could be glued where the pegs were snapped off - that would do nicely until replacement gears can be forged."

His hands moved downwards. "Your hips seem fine... Nothing frosty down south? Are you sure you don't need a little assistance to check for frost damage there? I could ask one of the geishas..."

Holden laughed humourlessly. "I already checked, you old lizard. Honestly, bar that sense of weakness in my left-sided limbs, I came out of our ordeal rather well... Granted, some of Naughton's best handiwork is now pitted by exposure to ice and sleet, but that can't be helped."

Eiji pouted. "Battle scars, then. That's not too bad, I've heard tell of some werewolves that have a thing for battle scars..."

He winked. "A nicely rugged main spring and thoracic cage like that, hm? Patch that in our of our more venerable mechanical Onna-Bugeisha, and you might rip a wolf whistle out of me. I like women with character."

[TennyoCeres84]

It wasn't long before Aspasia and Crystal joined the others back in the dining area. Gone were the winter clothes, with komon style kimonos in their place. Kasumi had selected garments for them that still looked nice, but they would be easy to transition out of when it would be time for them to sleep. The lady of the house had selected items that fit some aspect of their selves.

Aspasia wore a dark green robe with a repeating stylized sun pattern, obviously hinting at the prehistoric fauns' loyalty to Queen Titania. Her obi was a light gray with stylized trees surrounded by mist. Holden would have been used to seeing the Chimera with her white hair braided or in some form of bun. However, she wore her long hair loose this time, which caught the glint of the Hearth's embers. Crystal had been dressed in a dark blue kimono with a repeating moon pattern, while her brownish-black hair draped over the sleeves. Her black obi featured swirling white clouds against a star-filled sky.

Crystal offered her beau a small smile. "How are you, love?"

[IamLEAM1983]

The currently bedridden Archie made for a fairly odd sight, a mess of discarded external parts and a few spare ones surrounding his stripped frame. Only his pants and spat-covered shoes remained, with the absence of his outer coverings making him look positively skeletal. Most of his chest-based and abdominal mechanisms were exposed, along with most of his right arm's inner workings.

"Well," he said, "as you can see, I'm a little beside myself..."

Eiji snorted. "Always with the bad jokes, eh?"

[TennyoCeres84]

Smirking, Crystal sat down next to him and amusedly nudged him. "I suppose when you have a sense of humor, there's still some hope in the abyss," she mused. "Probably why young AIdan is the resident smartass, much to everybody's chagrin..."

Aspasia chuckled. "At the most inappropriate times, yeah, the few times I've been around him."