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 Posted: Fri Sep 03, 2010 12:09 pm
This is where stores are located. Like grocery stores, clothing stores, bookstores, etc.
Small noodle shops are open here. All of the stores are small, and open to the public, so they have no doors, but a sliding door, similar to a garage door, to close when it's late at night.
There are small hotels located here, many are for men who work over night, and can't catch trains to get home, but a few are co-ed.
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Posted: Mon Nov 15, 2010 4:03 pm
{Gilly enters from Dorm Rooftops.}
The two made a strange pair: a too-short girl with bright lavender hair and plum eyes, with a signature purple beret on her head, no school bag, yet fully dressed in her Mahora Academy uniform, arms swinging slightly at her sides, occasionally, one hand would reach down, and stroke her companion's fur.
The second organism that strode along side the odd girl was no less odd than she. A silver-white fox, with curious mercury eyes, a face that was adorable, yet mature and experienced at the same time. A long bushy tail swished from side to side as he padded along with his female companion.
In reality, both should not have been in this place. Gilly, being a student, should have been closer to the Academy buildings, although it was lunch time. Masato, being a fox, should have been in the woods, or in a zoo. It was rare that a student and a non-domesticated animal be seen in such a public place at this time. Yet, both were there, and both seemed confident in their quest for fun and spontaneity.
"Masa-kun, Masa-kun!" Gilly pointed excitedly to a food display. It was Japanese street food, takoyaki* and nikuman*, both affordable and easy to eat street food. Both were staples of Japanese snacks, and very popular, regardless of whether it was holiday time or not.
In a quick exchange of money for goods, Gilly purchased two takoyaki sticks and two nikuman buns. She loved both foods, but she wanted to save room for other food items. Carrying the takoyaki in one hand, and the nikuman in one hand, Gilly held them out for the fox. To the casual observer, it would seem odd that a human was holding out food, as if the fox was supposed to choose which he liked.
[*Note: takoyaki - Japanese dumpling often made with octopus, batter, tempura scraps, pickled ginger, and green onion, accompanied with an assortment of dipping sauces and toppings.
nikuman - made from flour dough, and filled with cooked ground pork or other ingredients. In Chinese, it is baozi, basically, pork buns. The inside can be filled with a various assortment of fillings, such as pork, beef, red beans, or sweet filling.
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C h o t t o C h o c o Crew
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Posted: Mon Nov 15, 2010 6:29 pm
(Enters from the Dorm Rooftops)
A curious yet adorable sight they were...a lavender-haired student out of class and a silver-white fox traveling as a pair in the middle of the Mahora shopping district. He went where Gilly went, he stopped when she stopped, and overall acted like a perfectly-trained pet without any need for a collar or a leash. It was a welcome change of pace for both of them as well. For now, Gilly didn't have to worry about her demon subconscious and for once, Masato could walk the streets without being chased by the men in greyish-white coats with nets and restraining poles.
The smell of food wafted through the air as they went. The lunch-hour rush would start soon, but the fact that they were already there before all the other students and the vast majority of faculty and staff members gave him and Gilly the opportunity to get first pick on the goods. It really didn't take Gilly long to find something she liked and Masato's eyes lit up as she trotted close to her and looked at what she was holding, sniffing the air while the muscles behind his tiny whiskers contracted involuntarily to help take in additional sensory information. Takoyaki and nikuman. Two of his favorites and choosing what to eat first would be tough.
Masato's head moved back and forth as he looked at what Gilly had before he took a step forward and gently took one of the nikuman after sinking his fangs into it and carrying it in his mouth, taking special care not to bite Gilly's fingers. Masato's tail swished happily in thanks as he looked back up at Gilly before leading her over to a park bench nearby where they could eat. He then pinned the nikuman to the ground with his paws and ate the freshly-cooked bun and its contents happily. The food that they got would just be the first meal of the day. They missed breakfast, so they had had plenty of grub to pack away once Gilly was ready to move again. And he knew just the right place to go afterward. He stole food from the place once and really thought Gilly might like what they offered there. The prices weren't bad either, so they wouldn't burn a hole through his beloved owner's pocket.
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Posted: Tue Nov 16, 2010 3:50 pm
Sitting down on the bench, Gilly grabbed one of the tako balls off of the skewer with her teeth, and let it crumble in her mouth as she chewed on the rather large ball. It was naturally juicy, and although it came in condiments, Gilly was a firm believer in tasting the plain product first, and then adding condiments. After all, there were 5 balls on a skewer: plenty of room for experimentation.
With the other takoyaki stick, Gilly gently tapped Masato's head as he was chowing down on his plunder. "Masa-kun, don't forget, you need to eat this yaki!" Gilly grinned, and took another ball from her own skewer, and dipped it into some of the provided dipping sauce. "You're way too skinny! How do you expect to survive winter if you're nothing but a coat and bones!"
A natural eating monster, Gilly had gobbled down the rest of her octopus balls, and had been three-fourths finished with her nikuman. Eating hot dogs back in NYC had helped her experience all the food a country had to provide. "Where do you want to go next? We can keep shopping around for some more food, pick out some outfits for you, buy dubious and foul smelling items to throw into Ian's room..." Gilly listed off the endless possibilities the two had, a smile creeping up on her last suggestion. Then again, he had roommates, so it obviously wasn't the best solution.
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C h o t t o C h o c o Crew
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Posted: Tue Nov 16, 2010 7:23 pm
Masato was halfway through his nikuman before Gilly told him he should also eat some of the takoyaki as well, saying he was too thin and needed to put on weight for the winter. Thin? That was strange...from what he read, he was just the right weight for a fox, maybe even a little heavier after the meal he, Gilly, and Axel fixed the night before, but foxes had high metabolisms so he saw Gilly's point. He'd get thin again in no time if he didn't eat like she told him to. Masato then snapped up the takoyaki ball from her hand without nipping her fingers.
"Mmmm....good," Masato said as he chewed it up and swallowed. "You sure know how to pick food," he spoke again as he licked his teeth and lips and began finishing off the nikuman he had. "However, I know just the right place for us to go next. Have you ever been to Yggdrasil? The restaurant near the base of the World Tree? They have the best steak, apple cobbler, and strudel there; not to mention the jager schnitzel* goes well with those things, too. The prices aren't bad either since they still have a couple days going on their fall promo. Perfect place to grab some lunch. I think you'd love it there." And he'd bet money Gilly would.
Masato knew what Yggdrasil had to offer since he stole food from there once without being chased out or detected and they had the best German food he had eaten for a very long time. German food was hearty and filling and considering how Gilly ate, it would be perfect for her. "Shall we go?" Masato then asked Gilly after she finished eating while sitting and smiling with his eyes closed and his tail swishing on the ground.
*Jager schnitzel is a type of veal cutlet topped with burgundy mushrooms and a creamy mushroom sauce. It goes very well with salad, steak, potatoes, pasta, or sausages.
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Posted: Tue Nov 16, 2010 9:30 pm
But what is this!? some large guy that seems to be in a very elaborate cosplay and some teenager are fighting and chasing eachother through the shopping district!!
Ian was in no mood to mess around. He wanted Grex out of comission, all while making it look like something mundane. Grex was really keeping a bit of distance after breaking out into a sprint, and even started to bowl over some unlucky shoppers and random people as he went. Though Ian started to catch up after a good while, and after getting close enough he went all out and lunged at Grex, grabbing the back of his shirt and yanking him to the ground with a ton of effort.
Grex seemed a bit winded, but retaliated nonetheless, and kicked Ian away as he was still on his back. He quickly jumped back to his feet and ran once again, but it was barely a few seconds before he bumped into Gilly and Masato. Well, more like totally plowing right through and knockign her over and nearly kicking Masato aside.
Ian scowled and got back up this time discreetly using a bit of magic to boost his speed and very very quickly caught up and managed to get Grex down again this time pinning him.
"You better stay away from my freinds, punk! I mean it!!" he shouted, faking some kind of quarrel that a teeagner would have with a bully or something along those lines.
Ian really wanted to gave Grex a swift fist full of magic to the face for bringing harm to Gilly and Masato, but he had to make things seem mundane for now. Though he still wanted to speak with her on why she hadnt shown up to class... that would be for later...
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Posted: Wed Nov 17, 2010 6:52 am
Masato had barely finished speaking to Gilly before a demon followed by Ian bowled right past them out of nowhere like a freight train. The demon knocked Gilly over while Masato jumped back out of reflex before swiftly turning his attention over to Ian mauling the demon from behind and pinning it to the ground. What the hell were demons doing in broad daylight?!
This was bad. This was very bad and he wasn't going to let this get out of hand or ruin his and Gilly's day out. Perhaps Ian could join them after they got this sorted out. Masato politely handed any items Gilly dropped back to her and made sure she got back on her feet before producing a long black needle of shadow between his teeth and trotting over to Ian who had the demon pinned firmly to the ground. Ian seemed to have this under control, but the demon had to be put down or temporarily neutralized before they could do anything else.
"My apologies, Ian-san..." Masato said as he walked lightly over Ian's back and his paws padded through his hair before Masato jumped on the demon's back and moved up to its neck. Masato then twisted the needle in his mouth and stuck it into the base of the demon's neck, pushing it down with his mouth and then his right paw until he felt it penetrate into the demon's brain and an elaborate pattern of black runes, radiating from the base of the demon's neck up to the top of its head and all the way down its limbs quickly formed before lighting up with a bright purple light and dying back down, looking like five separate strings of runic tattoos with the needle at its epicenter. The demon was paralyzed until the needle was removed and all its mental functions were frozen until then as well. Masato had used a powerful restraining spell very similar to what the Koga hunter-nins used on him when they captured him years ago, except it wasn't made for humans. It was made for youkai, but figured it might also work on a western demon.
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Posted: Wed Nov 17, 2010 3:56 pm
Gilly thought that any creature that wasn't bowled over on his or her's side, and stuffed to the brim was thin. But Masato's interpretation of what Gilly meant was just fine, as long as he just ate the dang octopus ball.
"Of course." Gilly commented nonchalantly, no sign of modesty there. Gilly hadn't really tried German food in New York, settling more for Irish food, and American stables and classics, and occasionally heading down to Chinatown and the Italian district for some Chinese street food and flavorful Italian dishes.
"You had me at steak. And cobbler. And strudel." Gilly grinned, her eyes filled with adventure and eagerness to try these foods. Nothing said delicious like meat and dessert. Vegetables weren't exactly a favorite of Gilly's, as she didn't think they were hearty, and they were just fillers that added color to the plate. She did like them, but only because her mother and father didn't let her leave the table until she finished them in her childhood.
Going to leave with Masato, Gilly paused.. 'That presence...it feels familiar! Like mine, but more pungent. It can't be...' Gilly swiveled around, but not quick enough, as Grex bowled over her, knocking her shoulder with enough force to knock a baby tree down. Hitting the ground on her other shoulder, Gilly recovered quickly, and stood, a little hunched over, one hand clutching her wounded shoulder. It wasn't bleeding, nor broken, but it stung a little from the hard gravel she fell on, and the force Grex used to plow through Masato and herself.
"Masa-kun!" Gilly shouted in concern for the fox, as he was almost kicked, but he seemed to have recovered fine, and raced towards Grex. Looking around, Gilly noticed a crowd seemed to pile up, a few murmuring if this was some sort of movie being filmed or something. Whatever their belief was, this event was starting to gain an audience.
From what she observed, Ian seemed to be keeping things relatively mundane, although he most definitely knew, along with Gilly and Masato, that this was a demon. 'He's right.' Gilly thought, referring to Ian's mundane acts. 'There's too many people here...! We can't expose magic here and now! Not with this many people...we can't erase all of their memories!'
Striding over to where Masato and Ian were, Gilly clamped a hand over Masato's muzzle. "Shh. Masa-kun, Ian. We've got to make up some excuse for these people." Gilly gestured with her eyes to the crowd. "Headmaster Konoe won't be happy about this, and he'll be even more upset if the secret of magic is revealed here. What's more important, it'll be even worse if we get a magic association involved." Gilly pointed out in a whisper, and looked at Masato, as if to infer that if a magical association gets involved, chances are, they'd all be examined closely, and Masato would most likely be sent away, Ian's training as a demon hunter terminated, and Gilly stripped of her demon powers, to live as a human with an erased memory. The magical associations were merciless.
"We've got to move this.." Gilly grimaced at the sight of Grex, partly out of disgust for his appearance, and disgust for his recklessness of running out into the open. And of course, bowling over herself. "...Sack of idiocy."
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C h o t t o C h o c o Crew
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Posted: Wed Nov 17, 2010 6:20 pm
Ian relaxed his grip, but kept Grex pinned once Masato immobilized him. He kept an angry look and glared at Gre'x paralyzed body. "Are you gonna answer me or not!?" he shouted again, still trying to fake a quarrel. There wasn't much he could do, but then a quick idea came to mind...
He quickly murmured a spell under his breath, and in seconds, what seemed to be a camaera man and a director came by.
"Cut!! cut! cut!! There's too many people gathering!" shouted the director, looking a bit peeved.
So far the little illusion spell worked, though it wouldn't last long.
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Posted: Thu Nov 18, 2010 4:24 pm
Going along with the act, Gilly let go of Masato, and placed her hands on her hips, a pissed look coming over the girl. "Well, what are you doing just standing there?! Get them out of here!" Flipping her lavender hair over her shoulder, Gilly glared at the civilians. "Director-san, we clearly can't work under these conditions. We are top rate actors. Top. Rate. And here, you have civilians interfering with our genius!" Gilly scoffed, and pretended to check out her nails. "I know of one cop in particular who's infatuated with my work. I'm sure he wouldn't mind putting a few civilians in jail because they're constantly a nuisance in our filming!" At the last bit, Gilly looked up at the civilians, a smirk on her face, and with her hand, made a gesture to shoo.
The crowd, annoyed and peeved at Gilly's snotty behavior, began to dissipate, muttering about how arrogant child actors were getting to be, and saying how child actors grew up, thinking they were more important than they were. Much like Lindsey Lohan.
Satisfied, but still worried, Gilly turned back to Ian and Masato. "Now what? Where are we going to put this thing!" She said in a hushed whisper.
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C h o t t o C h o c o Crew
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Posted: Thu Nov 18, 2010 4:34 pm
Ian really was a bit surprized at Gilly's little act. That was pretty good. Though he had to play along with it as well. "Yeah, its kinda hard to keep in character when there's too much unwatned attention." he added, sounding a little peeved.
It didn;t take long forn the corwd to dissapate, once there was few enough people, Ian took a look at Grex, and pulled out a farcaster. "I could use this, but we'd have to make sure noone's looking."
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Posted: Thu Nov 18, 2010 5:41 pm
An illusory filming crew. How brilliantly clever. Masato played along with the act, walking over to the illusory animal trainer who put a collar and a leash on him before the illusory director started leading everyone elsewhere after receiving word of a better place to film the scene. Fewer people and better background according to his fictitious source over the "phone." Gilly and Ian played along perfectly as well and the crowd started to disperse, some of the grumbling before Masato decided to set up a clever illusion of his own to help Ian with the farcasting.
Masato pawed a the ground for several minutes, looking like little more than a fox walking in circles and trying to paw at an insect to a normal person at a distance, but was actually scrawling a magical circle with one of his claws before it was complete and he gave a silent command word. A small nondescript truck with the "film company's" logo came down the road shortly after and several illusory crew members loaded the demon into the back with the back facing Ian so he could board and use the farcaster after they closed the back up. Masato then walked over to Ian and pawed at his leg before whispering at him: "That's my truck. It will take you to the new "filming location" near the church. You can use the farcaster to get rid of this "thing" on the way there. The clergy already know about magic and will turn a blind eye to your activities if they spot you."
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C h o t t o C h o c o Crew
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Posted: Fri Nov 19, 2010 2:55 pm
The illusions certainly looked real, but there was a trace of magical influence in their presence. A well-trained mage could completely mask that magical "scent" and to magic users and non-magic users alike, it would seem as if these were real people. But to Gilly, there was that trace. Otherwise, she would have protested that these "film crew" people were taking away the demon.
Naturally, Mahora had a ridiculous amount of people who knew about magic. Essentially, Mahora was a big magical sanctuary, stationed in the Old World. Part of the reason Gilly's grandfather sent her here; he had a theory that all the magical elements in Mahora would work towards giving her a stronger mental barrier and strength to hold off her inner demon. Of course, that theory hasn't proved to be true yet, but her grandpa had his hopes.
"We'll meet up sometime later." Gilly whispered, ruffling the fur on Masato's head, her sign that she was proud of Masato for helping out. It certainly meant the three had the same objective: protect the secret of magic. In that battle, the three were allies. "Have a good trip, yeah?" Gilly added, before giving Ian a quick peck. "You still owe us a good story later, about how that sack ended up here, of all places." Gilly reminded, a spark in her eye. She was certainly not going to let Ian off the hook on how a full-fledged demon ended up in the shopping district. Even worse, with such a large, powerful demon, did that mean a certain someone was back? Library Island never had demons in there before William's arrival, especially not giant, flashy ones like Grex.
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Posted: Fri Nov 19, 2010 3:42 pm
Ian nodded, trying not to blush with being kissed by Gilly once again. Boy that was close. Grex was very bold... or stupid to try and reveal magic to mundanes in a haphazardly manner.
He quickly got onto the 'truck' and was soon taken over to the church. From there he grabbed onto Grex's paralyzed body an used his farcaster to take them back to Library Island. That would be a far better place to get rid of him.
(( extis to Library Island ))
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Posted: Sat Nov 20, 2010 8:05 am
Masato smiled as Gilly petted him and waved goodbye with a paw as the illusory animal trainer gave her the leash hooked up to his collar before boarding the truck with the rest of the crew. Now, they had the complete look of a pet and its owner and they'd let them into Yggdrasil. "I guess that takes care of that...for now at least," Masato told Gilly once he was sure all the people from earlier were gone and they were out of earshot. "Shall we?"
Masato walked and led Gilly through the shopping district on his leash, sniffing the air and looking up at the signs as he went before he paused for a second and made a left turn. The large numbers of people and the aroma of myriad foods far and near, plus the presence of other pets, mostly dogs, which he didn't like since they had a tendency to try to chase him or fight with him on occasion (which never ended well for them) made navigating a bit bewildering but he finally found his way and led Gilly to Yggdrasil's. The place had a nice fall motif and a looked like an old German tavern or inn, complete with a full restaurant and bar (which only operated at night) along with chairs and tables outside. Masato pawed at Gilly's leg and swished his tail while looking up at Gilly as he showed her the sign. The place looked warm and inviting and it didn't take long for a waiter to greet them either, asking if they wanted a table outside since Gilly had a pet with her or if they wanted one inside, in case her pet was trained and wouldn't cause a disturbance or make a mess.
Yggdrasil was one of the few restaurants in Mahora to allow pets other than seeing-eye dogs inside, which was strange since most others would either have pet owners eat outside or shoo their pets away. Humans might not be able to sense it, but the place had a strangely calming effect on animals, which Masato himself could feel...something very similar to a gentle dog trainer or a wise sage's hand getting an angry guard dog to stop barking...it was just as strong but much more subtle. Perhaps it was a bi-product of its proximity to and actually being built partially from one of the large surface roots of the World Tree. Regardless, the place practically hummed and glowed warmly with magic, which was only amplified to Masato by his innate magical sense. He liked it there and wondered if Gilly could sense the place's aura as well.
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