[OPEN] Who let the dogs out? Woof.

[taiyoukai]

Characters: Sesshomaru, his bad temper, his worse manners and YOU!
Setting: Room 4-14, Meadow floor and around the Tower.
Format: Action, but I'll match you.
Summary: Having had a few days to adapt - for some values of the word adapt (read: stop feeling homicidal about everything ever), Sesshomaru decides it's time to explore a little and test a few theories.
Warnings: Testy inu daiyoukai with a tendency to melt things that annoy him with his poison claws. Also fluffy, angry dog in the meadow floor.

[Room 4-14]

[He hadn't much noticed the two boxes or the wreath in his trunk, when he first arrived, much more in a hurry to get out of that ridiculous suit - which was thankfully already melted and done for - and to seek out some answers, but today Sesshomaru takes the time to study them, before heading out to inspect the tower more in detail. He'd worked out most of his rage at the monsters in that perpetual night floor, but he hadn't come out with many answers over all.

So now there he is, sitting on his assigned bed - tch - arching an eyebrow at a box of his favorite flavor of pocky and a box, of all things, of dog treats. Sesshomaru did not find the joke very funny at all. It hadn't been funny when Kagome gave him them, and it wasn't funny now.

There's also a dried flower wreath on the bed, but he's not bothering to look or touch or acknowledge it, because something inside hurts a little too much when he tries to think about it.]

[Meadow floor]

[After some cursory exploration of the Tower, he decided this was the best floor on which to attempt this, and thus walked away from the staircase resolutely. A good distance away, he closed his eyes for a moment, before he opened them and began to gather his youki to transform back into his true form.]

[He succeeds, and he certainly doesn't look much like a puppy, but the size alone is infuriating. Barely eight, nine feet at the most, and certainly much smaller than he should be.

How annoying.]

[Anywhere else]

[After he's done with the meadow floor, somewhat disgusted by such a lackluster transformation and deeply infuriated by anyone who'd dare do such a thing to him, Sesshomaru stalks away towards the staircase, intent on exploring the tower more thoroughly this time.]

Comments

[tohko_amano]

I'm not sure how I was being presumptuous..but I wasn't trying to be charming and endearing. I'm merely trying to help you out.

[taiyoukai]

And you have been told your help is inconsequential, yet you presume to know better.

[tohko_amano]

It's because quite a few people-and characters in stories-have a bad habit of turning others away when there is a problem and when they do need help. I've dealt with a few people like that, and I was usually able to help in some way. So, tell me your problem, and I'll do what I can to help. We can't tell whether I'll be useless or not unless you give me all the information.

[taiyoukai]

[...you remind him uncomfortably of his sister-in-law. This is not an entirely pleasant experience.]

Very well, what abilities do you claim as your own?

[tohko_amano]

[Not that Tohko is aware of that. This is just how she always is. However, she will smile as she answered that question.]

I am a book girl, so I have a vast knowledge of books, I know how to work the kitchens and the Network here, I know a little bit about the Tower, I am not a bad fighter, I can solve murder-mysteries, and I'm part of a relationship advice group, if you need help with that. So, tell me, do you need help with?

[taiyoukai]

Then you are of no use to me.

[Exasperated, Sesshomaru turns to leave. Because he's a charming gentleman like that.]

[tohko_amano]

..So you say. However, I also know a bit about the Tower, if you're a newcomer.

[A slight gamble by Tohko. She wasn't sure if he was a new residents, but the timing was right, and she hadn't seen him before either. However, if he wanted to stomp away, Tohko wouldn't stop him.]

[taiyoukai]

[That gives Sesshomaru pause. Slightly. He fixes an inquisitive, suspicious glare on her.]

What will you gain, girl, by offering assistance to one such as this Sesshomaru?

[tohko_amano]

[Have a smile in return, Sesshomaru.]

I'm not expecting to gain anything. I just like helping people out. And you don't seem like a bad person, even if you are a tad cold.

[taiyoukai]

Ridiculous.

[By which he means, the resemblance to his sister-in-law is ridiculous. The world does not need two Kagomes. The world could barely handle one. He could barely handle one.]

Everyone wishes for something, in return for their efforts.

[tohko_amano]

Well, some people may do that, and I may do that too, depending on the situation and who I'm talking to, but in this case, I can say that I don't expect or really want anything in return for helping.

[taiyoukai]

But you may wish for something later on, then.

[tohko_amano]

Maybe..but that all depends upon what happens in the Tower, and if I ask for your help, it will have nothing to do with me giving you information about the Tower.

[taiyoukai]

Miko.

[He sounds frustrated, but slightly resigned as he says that.]

Very well.

[tohko_amano]

[And Tohko will just look a bit puzzled at that.]

..I'm not a shrine maiden. What made you think that?

..As for this Tower, it's called Animus. As far as I know, four people run it: Dax, who's the most humane of the bunch, Jason, who loves to torture and experiment on the residents, Riki, a secretive fellow that manages the records, and Ruana, a childish woman who's lived for thousands of years and has strange powers. They will lie to you, so take everything they say with a grain of salt.

If you haven't been to the cafeteria yet, make sure you eat the oatmeal when you do. I know it tastes terrible, but if you don't eat it first, you'll throw up whatever else you try to eat. However, you can add things to it to improve the taste, and you can eat whatever you want after you finish it.

Monsters roam the halls at night. If you don't know how to fight, you had better start learning. There are quite a few people that wouldn't mind helping you out.

Death here is not permanent. If you die, you will just wake up the next day in your own bed. However, if you die too many times, you'll probably get punished, so please be careful.

Oh, and your universe isn't destroyed! There are several people here who wouldn't be able to exist if their universes were destroyed, so don't worry. Your universe is fine.

[Tohko then nodded to herself.]

And that covers everything I know about the Tower.

[taiyoukai]

You act like one.

[Or rather, she acts like the one miko above all mikos, as far as he's concerned. but he listens to her exposition somewhat patiently. Some of that he'd already figured out. Some of it is new. Most of it simply annoys him.]

I see.

[Excuse him, while he thinks of something, probably unrelated to this conversation.]

[tohko_amano]

[And that just makes Tohko even more puzzled.]

How so? I may be a book girl with some knowledge of monsters, folklore, and religion, but I don't think there's any one set behavior pattern for shrine maidens.

[taiyoukai]

Mmm?

[Sorry, you're still here? Because he wasn't paying attention.]

[tohko_amano]

[Tohko sighed, but she smiled. Absent-mindedness wasn't something you usually saw in the Tower.]

I asked you How my behavior was like a shrine maidens. I may be a book girl with some knowledge of monsters, folklore, and religion, but I don't think there's any one set personality for shrine maidens.

[taiyoukai]

You remind me of one.

[That should be answer enough.]

[tohko_amano]

Ah, I see. Hopefully you were friends with her.

[taiyoukai]

Tch.

[Deja vu.]

We were allies against a common foe.

[And she married his brother, but that's not important.]

[tohko_amano]

I see..what foe were you fighting against?

[taiyoukai]

It is of no consequence, he has been dealt with.

[Thoroughly. Wee, carnage!]

[tohko_amano]

Well, while it's good that you defeated him, I'd still like to know his name, if he has one.