▶ TDM .002

[prismods]

Don't, don't, don't throw it away

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▶ That’s Not a Space Station, It’s a Moon

You awaken amidst the darkness with only a faint light to greet you as you awaken. Your body is hemmed in by shards of crystals, gently sparkling and possibly pricking your skin. The surrounding landscape is dyed in the pinks and purples of the dusk filled with crystals protruding from the ground, some as large as a skyscraper. Even the few shy moon creatures you find in the wild have strange crystal growths on their hides. This is far from home— perhaps a dream? You pinch your skin and slap your cheeks, yet nothing seems to do the trick. Searching for answers yields nothing but an endless expanse of purple dust as far as the eye can see. You have four options: one, panic; two, soil yourself; three, admire it all then soil yourself; or four, go into survival mode. Eventually, you’ll realize that you’re not alone.

After a day or two of living off the crystal wilderness, a group of people find you worse for wear. They are the gallant Moon Knights from the planet of Prismatica. After the strange phenomenon during the third month when scientists observed the sudden appearance of rainbow crystals in the sky, the government has been feverishly combing through the moon for any Moonblessed to be rescued. You’ll eventually be brought into Iris’s moon government center.

You all may have your usual inquiries — Where are we? Who are you? What's going on? Am I paying for all those drugs I took back in the '70s? — and the Prismals are almost too eager to answer. They tell you about their world and about the first appearance of the Moonblessed as the medical staff give you an examination to make sure you’re not carrying any viruses or biological hazards. If you react violently, you may be restrained and nerfed with a specialized neurotransmitting gun that releases a numbing agent through the top of your spine. Once the examinations are over, you’re informed that you will be provided accommodations on their planet during your stay.

While waiting for transport to be prepared, they recommend that you visit the government archives. The collection features a variety of fiction and non-fiction books, including an eclectic romance and erotica section with titles such as: The Moon Knight's Ravishing, Armed and Amorous: A Forbidden Tale between a Dragon and a Moon Knight, and Silk and Satin, Leather and Moonlace. Also notable are informative textbooks such as Delightful Dragons and Where To Do Them and From Argos to Zhavidar: A History of Alchemy. As you read these books, the photos and illustrations come to life on each page, moving within their borders. It seems this is the norm on Prismatica.

A ⬤ Several librarian droids like to move in and around the archives, zapping anyone who dares utter a single word above a whisper. Silence is absolutely crucial for study and concentration, thus these droids have zero tolerance for sound. If you are caught making noise, be prepared to be chased and have your eyebrows singed off by a disgruntled droid.

B ⬤ Within the library, you will find an occult section which contains various low-budget spellbooks. This section houses a variety of cantrips and basic charms that don't seem to work for the Moonblessed except the occasional, odd fluke spell which will shrink you to the size of a thumb or cause odd sound effects such as fog horns or pterodactyl screeches to come out of your mouth. Please use with caution! The librarians aren't responsible for any mishaps that occur as a result of reading spells out loud, but if you ask nicely they might direct you to a book that has a way to immediately reverse it if you don’t want to wait it out. All effects are temporary.

Eventually you’re called to the docks and led onto a large transport vessel. Destination: Prismatica.

▶ She wants to lead the glamorous life

Welcome to Prismatica’s hub, Lunatia, the city of your dreams! A bustling metropolis lush with bright lights, vibrant colors, luxuriant plant life, and all the conveniences of technology absent from your own world… It seems like paradise to all the uninitiated.

Before you can enjoy the surrounding shopping centers, they will be dealing with all the standard security checks from some handsy droids that will feel you up, examine your weapons, possibly even cavity search. Nothing like the loving touch of a cool metallic hand.

A ⬤ There’s a gift shop right outside Crystarium Moonports with a huge, eye-catching poster promoting their 80% clearance sale. A must-have souvenir from Lunatia is a memory stone — special blue stones mined from Cordis that can project a happy memory from your days in the city if you rub them the right way. If you need new clothes, this is the perfect chance to grab a shirt with media sweetheart Maria's lovely bedazzled face on it. You might even hear her hit song playing in the store...

While browsing, you overhear a crisp zap! followed by a group of children jumping for joy. They got just the toy they wanted from the high-tech gacha machines lined up in front of the store. Since you have some chroma to spare, why don’t you give them a go? The Mallow Bunnies is all the rage among all Lunatians. Adults are particularly fond of their sleepy series. On the other end of the spectrum, there are also these... uh... what are these? If you can’t whale get the one you want, don’t worry! You can always trade with your fellow Moonblessed. It might pay off to get some extras, too. You never know when you’ll need to sweeten your deals...

B ⬤ The ads are all over the billboards with their neon colors, energetic beats and seductive billion-polygon assets: you too can be a goddess with a blade in League Match Action Online, Prismatica’s number one VR MOBA game! The next LmaO world championship is later in the year, and the grand prize is rumored to be 15 million demichroma. If you want to get a team together, now’s the perfect time to start. In the meantime, try your luck at the smaller tournaments in the lower Levels. You might meet your future teammates and rivals there.

Or you know, just have fun with it. Relax, it’s just a game!

▶ That Smell is Exactly What You Think It Is

On Level 1, you may encounter construction workers rebuilding damaged properties. When asked they’ll answer, "Oh, it was just a bit of a mishap a while ago. It's all been contained now. Nothing to worry about." A couple of streets are cracked and covered in debris, as if a huge monster had crawled under the pavement. Surrounding walls have gaping holes, and dried up viscous white fluid stains some buildings.

A ⬤ While most of the streets are back to normal, there are several areas that local Swiffy bots have yet to thoroughly clean such as the sewers and the backstreets. If you’re interested in helping, necessary tools and materials will be provided. You may team up with your fellow cohorts to scrub, scrape and sweep the vines’ remains. It is very likely that you will find some decaying roots with a rotting, corpse-like smell that makes your stomach turn. Though these plants have already dried and wilted, there are still a few stubborn vines and dried sap that won’t come off no matter how many times you try. Good thing they let you borrow nifty liquefying rayguns! These guns can turn natural waste into clear, thin and biodegradable slime that rolls off surfaces and into the sewers if not sucked into the vacuums of Lunatia’s trusty Swiffy bots. Careful: the raygun also works on fabrics!

H ⬤ Getting around is another adventure. When you head to the subways, you will be met with the misfortune of train carts stopping abruptly at intervals, making you careen into other passengers. Maybe you’ll accidentally land on someone’s seat or get someone pinned against the wall. The trains aren’t fully functional at the moment due to recent events, so doors might not open and stops might be missed as you circle through the endless track.

Might as well strike up some conversation. The news is seen overhead, detailing the attack of the Vinea vehementi from a few days ago. The reporter warns of increased robbery incidents since the attack. Due to the grief, trauma, and debts accumulated from the damages, some Prismals have resorted to pickpocketing in an attempt to recover their losses. Of much less importance is the uptick in stolen underwear cases in the city after the planet-wide release of the B movie Stalking Panty, in which the main character Knickers gains newfound confidence after discovering his talents as an Iris Moonheld and an undercover panty thief.

Moon Knights and kind neighbors warn you of the dangers, but will that stop you from going out at night? You can start hiding your Midlife Sanguis Ninja Turtle boxers, or you can take justice into your own hands.

▶ Questions

If you have any questions regarding this test drive meme, please ask them in this thread.

Comments

Inuyasha | Inuyasha

[barkonthetree]

A) The Sound of Silence

[There was some grand commotion about thirty minutes ago, yelling and banging around. Several rows away and a floor or two down. The library robots had moved in a swarm to quell the ruckus, and since then they've been patrolling the shelves with unusual fervor. But it's none of your business, right?

Then you turn a corner and see an odd shadow from above. Looking up you see a pair of golden eyes glaring from the dark space between the roof and shelf.

Before you can scream the creature leaps down, slapping a hand over your mouth and shoving you against the tower of tomes. It's a boy — a peevish, feral, rather doggy looking one. He growls low through his teeth, canine ears pressed flat against his head.]

Shut up, idiot! You're going to get us caught!

B) Take a Look, It's in a Book, A Reading Rainbow

[Inuyasha had turned the book upside down. Then tilted his head to the side. There was no way it was written correctly, was it? He was no scholar but he was sure that none of these were real words. Looking around, he snags the sleeve of the nearest person.]

Oi, oi, is this right? It just says a bunch of nonsense here. Tekky-tekky joto...dano miki—

[There's a mighty POOF of smoke from the pages, and suddenly the air is lit with a droning buzz. Wings. A black and yellow mass is reveals as the smoke disappears, which immediately disperses to attack. Someone screams from behind him.

"BEEEEEEEEEEES!!"

The library erupts into chaos. Inuyasha stands prone and gaping in horror, book dangling limply from his hands.]

C) Domo Arigato Mr. Roboto

Eh? You've seen my sword. I ain't hiding anything else, so what do you want? [The metal "people" (he couldn't smell flesh, blood, or even spit on the things) were insistent on a lot of stupid crap. They needed to inspect a cavity or something. He was half certain that was some tooth worm Kagome warned them about, which was a problem he didn't have. And surely they didn't need to check his teeth to let him into the damn market.

He still opened his mouth when asked.] See? No cavity wor—HRKRRRRKK

[Inuyasha ripped away from the probing finger, spluttering like a drowning man. The fucker had reached in so far he could have pulled his soul out. Tears pools at the corners of his eyes as he shook with alarm and mounting rage.] You...ha ha ha, you metal bastards, you think you're funny huh?

[In a flash the sword was out. What was once a ratty katana now swelled into a wickedly curved blade. Inuyasha swung it to the front, battle stance ready.]

I'll show you what happens when you stick your shitty fingers in my mouth!

[Mall security would meet its maker this day.]

D) Heard it Through the Grapevine

Keh! [Yet another swipe, another tug, and not an inch budged. Inuyasha relinquishes his hold on the vine with a huff. They must be cursed. No ordinary plant was so stubborn, and the scent of death was nauseating. He had to tie a strip of cloth over his face to keep the scent at bay. They had warned him the vines were stubborn and given him a tool to clean them up. But as he turns it over in his hands, he finds that it is more mystery than machine to him.

He squints upwards. Someone's passing by.]

Hey! You there! [Inuyasha leaps several yards clear of the back alley to block his quarry on the sidewalk, thrusting the odd weapon in their face.] Show me how to use this! I need it.

E) Wildcard!

[Inuyasha can be found sniffing around the place, at times on all fours. Or perhaps lounging in a tree, or leaping from roof to roof. He'll likely catch and eat a pigeon, whatever, don't worry about it. Surprise me fellas!]

Wildcard! (Derp, sorry.)

[purrrrfection]

[ Yeah, she's not making a secret about the fact that she's been openly staring at him for the past ten minutes. The look on her face is clearly one of absolute consternation. This person- not a native, but not from her world, surely -has been behaving strangely from the moment they arrived.

His clothes remind her of something she might see in Doma, or the streets of Kugane. He even has ears which, alright, immediately remind her of her own, if not for the fact his are clearly more canine in shape. He carries a katana, she recognizes it as a weapon wielded by the samurai. Okay then. None of that is what strikes her as odd.

That he's roaming around on all fours chasing pigeons, however...

Just.











What even.

She brings a hand up, finally, pinching the bridge of her nose and letting out a breath before she approaches, tail moving behind her pensively, ears keenly listening for any warning signs that she should keep her distance, instinct maybe- cats vs dogs and what not. There's a rapier resting at her side as well, not at all similar in shape to his, even sheathed. ]

... If you're that hungry, I'll buy you something to eat. Anything to stop all this. You're unnerving the damn locals. [ She's usually much more friendly on approach, and it's not that she's being aggressive, but she's clearly a bit unsettled herself.

pigeons first thing, i can't believe this

[barkonthetree]

Eh?

[He looks up quizzically. Two birds struggle in his left hand, hoisted up by their feet and tail feathers. The one he'd almost nabbed with his right careens skyward. Inuyasha curses, swiping but fear flies it too high too fast. So much for a full meal.]

Shit! Why'd you go and do that, huh? Who do you think you—

[Then he stops dead still. His eyes settle on her ears. His nose twitches and he frowns.

The pigeons coo in fright as he moves forward, swung down at his side and abruptly forgotten as he pulls in close to the girl. He brings his nose close to her face, which looks youkai but doesn't smell it, then her ears, which look half-breed but aren't. He pulls back with a firm wrinkle between his brows. Not human, not youkai, not anything he knows except a broad wash of cat.]

Hey. Just what the hell are you?


((Hope assuming Miqo'te don't smell like demons is okay!))

lmao I live to serve??

[purrrrfection]

[ Calmly, Ziva raises an eyebrow when he demands to know who she thinks she- is, she's sure he was going to say. She lets him process, seeing the surprise register. It looks like he's as baffled by her as she is by him, and to her credit the only reaction that she has to the sudden invasion of privacy is to narrow her eyes, standing her ground. ]

I could ask the same thing of you. I'm a miqo'te. Like as not you've never heard the word before. I doubt we come from the same world.

[ Her arms fold across her chest, very distinctly aware of the strange scent HE'S giving off as well now. ]

And you?

[ She'll come back to the pigeons in a bit. Not that she's really judging, you hunt what you have to hunt, but he seems to have missed the part where that isn't strictly necessary... unless he simply prefers it, of course. ]

(ooc: 100% fine with me! I think you nailed it. :])

[barkonthetree]

Mi-ko-te? [She's right, of course. The title means squat, and her scent even less. He huffs indignantly and pulls back to stand straight.] All this "world" crap is a pain in the ass. Saying I'm youkai would mean nothing to you too, wouldn't it?

[Perhaps that's a good thing. He'd been wary at first, this world looking so much like Kagome's time that he'd contemplated stealing a hat for his ears. Then he got a look at the weirdos milling around. It was a world gone crazy, but one where no one gave him shit for being a hanyou.

A flurry of flapping reminds him of dinner. He looks down non-plussed and flexes a claw. Right, no point in dragging it out. That's cruel. He raises the birds and grabs one by the neck, ready to wrench it silent.]

[purrrrfection]

[ Actually, recognition DOES flicker across her face for a moment, but not in the way he means. There'd been some "youkai" craze a while back in her world, something about a special watch and catching these special little creatures called youkai. Every now and then she'd see one accompanying someone in the streets of a city somewhere, or a settlement, but those things were TINY, and this guy was- well, NOT. Suffice it to say, she'll assume that the words have different meanings between their two worlds.

Rather than dwell on that her eyes flicker to his hand around the bird's neck, and holds up her hands, abruptly- ]

Hey! I told you, there's no need for that! There's food here. [ Knowing how these people feel about certain animals, and after learning about the fish wife or whatever just a few weeks before it'd be just their luck that he was killing some sacred bird that had a legend behind it about saving a school full of orphans or some such. Not to mention she'd rather keep her last meal in her stomach where it was, and watching him kill and eat pigeons on the street was not exactly conducive to that goal. ]

B

[pantherclaw]

Ah- [gula starts to interrupt the strange-looking boy, because no good comes from mindlessly reciting spells harmless or not, when the bees suddenly appear in a cloud of smoke and buzzing.

and of course the screaming starts up.

he sighs a little before casting a freezing spell that flashes in the air, sending a chill over the room. all at once the bees fall to the ground, little frozen yellow and black balls that clatter to the floor.]

You should be careful not to recite unfamiliar spells so carelessly like that in the future.

Re: B

[barkonthetree]

[If he's the strange looking one then why are you the guy stuck in a mask?

Before the chaos gets beyond control (and it would be, you try getting at a bunch of bugs with just claws and a katana) sparks pop in the air and everything turns chilly. The bees all plummet to the floor.

Inuyasha stoops, gathering one between his thumb and forefinger.] Frozen? [He marvels for a moment.

Just long enough to let the scolding hit his ears. He scowls, rising and flicking the dead bee away. It pings off a stone wall in the far beyond.]

I didn't know it was a fucking spell, that's why I was asking you. You couldn't have warned me? [He clamps the tome shut.] These stupid books are all useless. I should have known.

D

[glitchinthesystem]

[ Now, Glitch didn't expect to have a gun shoved in his face.

Especially by a boy dressed in some old looking clothes....with animal ears. Glitch looks between the clothes, the ears, to the gun and finally on the boy's face with a cocked brow.

In response, he brings his hand up and shoves the gun clear out of his face. ]

Figure it out yourself, I'm busy trying to do my own work here.

[barkonthetree]

[The kid stood about four fingers shorter than him but his attitude stretched four feet higher. The once over is expected. The flat refusal and shove to the gun is not.

Inuyasha's brows tie a knot above his nose.]

Oh yeah, what is that? Practicing to be king of the assholes? [He snags his sleeve and yanks him slightly, angling him to look at the alley. The vines roots are rank and thickly coiled. The smell of corpses extends out of the concrete mouth into the air like a rolling fog.] I need to get rid of these and they said this will do it. Just show me quickly and you can go.

[glitchinthesystem]

[ He was going to leave until this other boy just pulled him back in. Angry eyes lock into angry eyes and Glitch lets a flash of electricity surge through his arm; just to give the other boy a sting. ]

If I'm the king than you're definitely a peon, which means not worth my time. [ He goes to yank his arm away when the smell of corpses catches his nose and he can't help but gag a little. ]

Ugh, what the fuck? [ And when he's turned to it he can't help recoiling a bit. ]

Jesus, what the hell is up with all that shit?

[barkonthetree]

Ow! [What kind of cheap trick was he pulling? Inuyasha's forfeiting the grip on his sleeve, fingers crooked and claws out. He wasn't about to smack a human for no reason but he wasn't putting up with bullshit, either.] Fuck you, I'm nobody's peon!

[Thankfully the little ingrate has the good sense to recognize what the real problem is. Those cruel fingers unfurl to give a wave of disdain at the sight.]

Who knows? It needs to be cleared away. I wouldn't be surprised if the stuff was cursed, or coming out of some bewitched corpse.

[Welcome to CSI: Feudal Japan.]

So are you gonna help me or are you going to be a pain in my ass?

D

[schwarzen]

[ The smell of everything is... quite unpleasant, yes. Siegfried at least has his helmet to shield him from some of the stench, but cleanup is still not a pleasant task. He's currently trying to pry some of the smaller dead roots free when his attention is called, nay, demanded. ]

Hmm? Sure, I'll try, though I have to admit this is my first time using such technology, too.

[ He's used a gun before, at least? He walks over. ]

First, aim it towards where you want to fire.

[barkonthetree]

[The whiff of dragon he gets off the guy has Inuyasha backing up a step or two. There's human in there, but none of the sharp tang of youkai. It's a different undertaste altogether. He nearly forgets the gun altogether as the man draws near, trying to peer closer into the slits of the helmet for a clue as to what lay underneath. How could any human be part dragon and not carry the demonic sharpness that goes with it?]

Seems pretty stupid to give us this stuff without letting us know how to use it. That's a quick way to get killed. [He nods (with one more flick of the eye to peer at what skin he can see: normal and human, so far) and holds the gun up with one hand. The handle is towards one end, so the other side must be the part you aim. Like a blade and hilt.]

Okay. Aim. [He points it at the thickest root, eyes narrowed.] Now what do you think?

[schwarzen]

There's little need to worry. The basics are quite simple. Think of it as a rendition of a crossbow, if you're more familiar with that sort of weapon.

[ Besides, he's seen the gun in action via others, and it doesn't look to be fatal towards humans, just vines and... clothing.

He nods as Inuyasha points it to one of the vines, stepping to the side. ]

Do you see the small lever near the handle, the part that you can easily reach with your index finger? Pull on it when you're ready. There may be a feeling of pushback.

wildcard, the masses have spoken

[byanyother]

[ Sometimes, Lady Luck turns her gentle face away from those that needs her benevolence the most. (Or Qrow Branwen happens to be in the area, his bad luck aura touching anyone in range.)

Case in point: Inuyasha, perched upon upon a tree branch nearby, eyes trained on a nearby flock of pigeons flapping through the air. Or maybe just trained on some particularly intriguing event happening a block away, like the two locals furiously engaged in a contest of who can spit out their bubble tea pearls out the furthest. Either way, there is he, minding his own business, when a loud crack rents the air. Down goes the branch, down goes Inuyasha, and down goes the poor woman walking underneath.

On the bright side, at least Inuyasha will have a nice soft landing waiting for him..... ]

thanks for giving him his first and probably only boob touch in game, you are a kind soul

[barkonthetree]

[Both. It's probably both. Birds are a pain in the ass to catch and these ones don't smell very healthy, so the argument about spitting out balls from tea gives him a brief distraction. You can see clean through the cups they drink from, and so he's got full view of the small stones in the bottom of their drinks. It's so insipid he must get a closer look. Was it a witch's potion, or some other dumbass modern habit?

The snap catches him off guard. Clumsy.

He drops with a flummoxed squawk and hisses as he hits some poor bastard traipsing by below.

Or poor woman, as it were. The sunlight's disappeared around him. Once the shock bleeds out he realizes that he's been plunged into darkness through the deep, deep valley of a bosom too big to fathom.

Inuyasha freezes wholesale.

Then he peels off, shrieking and backpedaling straight into the gnarled trunk of the tree. His face is a livid red bloom that might one day surpass his robes.]

Just—just what the hell do you think you're doing?! Don't walk so close under trees, stupid!

[He wants to die. Or have a well to disappear down. Whatever got him away from this mess the fastest.]

yw, i'm always happy to provide

[byanyother]

[ Fragile though she might look, Rosetta is made of far sturdier stuff than most other women her size, and while the unexpected downward tumble is an annoyance to say the least - what about her carefully combed hair? was that a tear in her dress she heard just now? - perhaps more surprising is the way her accidental assailant zooms the fuck away from her immediately afterwards.

Most males of a certain age prefer staying where they are after faceplanting into an ample bosom, at least out of the ones she knows.

How intriguing.

She peels herself off the sidewalk into a sitting position, eyes wide and guileless. (The pointed insult to her person should probably offend her, but she's about five hundred years too old to let petty namecalling affect her.) ]

Oh? But if I hadn't been walking there, you wouldn't have been cushioned nearly so well when you fell.

[ Give her breasts the thanks they're due, Inuyasha!! ]

Re: yw, i'm always happy to provide

[barkonthetree]

[What

What kind of a response is that?]

Shut up! I don't need a cushion! [It's difficult not to liken the barbs to barks. He looks the part of a kicked dog more than ever, still knocked on his ass and waiting for the inevitable backhand coming his way.] If you keep talking like that people will get the wrong idea!

[byanyother]

[ If she seems at all bothered by his overloud protests, she doesn't show it, wide eyes continuing even after he comes sputtering to a stop. ]

Would that really be so bad?

[ Given the nature of his previous statements, the answer is probably a big fat yes. Granted, he looks about ten years too young for her to take any actual action along more amorous lines, but there's still plenty of room left for (further) teasing. Later, though.

Hoisting herself back up - and revealing, in the process, a nice flash of thigh, thanks thigh-high dress slits - Rosetta dusts herself off before peering back down at Inuyasha. ]

Are you all right though? Does anything hurt?

[ Other than probably his ego. ]

wildcard

[antipathic]

[ The scent he's following is a familiar one. He may not notice Sesshomaru at first; he's been anointed with the nonsense offered by this world, after all. Sesshomaru must, at first, smell like nostalgia, something he's far been accustomed to but perhaps have forgotten. His scent is mixed with something else altogether; like the nature of this world, its chaos and its uncertainty— nothing at all like the Japan they both know.

When Inuyasha finally finds him, Sesshomaru will have had his sword drawn, tip pointed at the tip of his half-brother's sensitive nose. ]

Stand, Inuyasha.

[barkonthetree]

[It's too much like Kagome's era in all the worst ways. The chief being that neither Kagome nor her sweet and endlessly patient family came with it.

Not being able to smell properly was a nightmare, too. There was too much of everything. People stank, and in unusual ways that he'd long given up trying to decipher. They came from this world or that, and so he caught whiffs of creatures and bloodlines that cloyed at his nose with their strangeness. It was like the blind had suddenly been given sight. Too much all at once, wrapped between the metal tang and fumes and deafening cacaphony of the city.

When he gets a whiff of something familiar (sharp, with a singeing thread that might be youkai), it's just muddied enough that he can't cleave it free of the rest of this mess. When it gets more potent, so does the city muck, and so he takes to all fours to find the source.

Which is how he finds himself at the mercy of Tenseiga. The sword was harmless. The frosty shithead attached to it was not.

Inuyasha doesn't rise. He springs away, airborne and angling to land the furthest he can in the quickest time possible. But still close enough to shout a hot expletive or two, which he does the moment his feet meet the earth.]

You fucking bastard! How long were you standing there? Asshole!

[His heart was a war drum in his ears. He could have lost his damn head like that, sniffing around like a cur and never looking up. Idiot!]

[antipathic]

[ Inuyasha has never had a way with insults— at best, they're petty and weightless, no more than a poor attempt to string a couple words together in hopes it lands. Yet, he feels his lid twitch ever so slightly at the notion: fucking bastard, he says. Of the two of them, Inuyasha is a better qualifier for such a term, as a hanyou who has never met the greatness of their shared father.

Tensaiga is indeed a harmless sword; while it won't kill, it will still inflict pain as needed. Right now, Sesshomaru feels a certain desire to do just that, close the gap between them and plunge the weapon right throat his throat if it means he'll remain quiet as he gauges how much he knows about the situation they're in. Fortunately for the both of them, he knows that isn't quite necessary; with his nose glued to the ground for heavens know how long, Sesshomaru doubts he's got any idea how they turned up in this forsaken place.

The tip of his blade follows Inuyasha's movements momentarily, only to be sheathed shortly after. ]

Long enough to witness the heights of your indignity is capable of reaching, little brother. Tell me, was your impaired nose able to pick up anything other than garbage similar to you...?

[barkonthetree]

[Asking for quiet with Inuyasha present is like maintaining the sanctity of Sango's ass within arm's reach of a very special monk. It can't be done.

His shoulders go stiff in the prolongued beats between barbs. His own hand floats over the hilt of his own sword. But there's a flash and a soft, slinking sound, and Tensaiga vanishes from sight. The show of peace doesn't smooth the hairs down on the back of his neck. If they're talking constants then Inuyasha is a cacaphony, Sango suffers lechery, and Sesshomaru is always deadly.]

Sure it did. I found the biggest shit in the pile, didn't I? [His teeth might grind out to nubs if he's forced to endure a whole conversation. But fighting is no option, not here. Inuyasha had harbored a secret fear for a very long time, making his trips to Kagome's "Tokyo". Once or twice a youkai would surface. They were weak, parasitic things, only waking with Kagome's meddling or the aura of her jewel shards calling to them. They were dispatched easily and with minimal loss.

Now take a real youkai. Drop them in the thick of the humans and their swollen buildings and their elbow-to-elbow excess. Inuyasha's pulse was jumping. His head spinning. Their swords are sheathed, but that could change in an instant.]

I never thought I'd see you this far in a human city. Can't you smell either? It's teeming with them. [His knuckles crack.] Get out.

[antipathic]

[ There's the slightest narrow of his eyes at the implication that he is even able to get out. Sesshomaru isn't foolhardy like his inferior half-brother; he knows what battles to fight and what to avoid. His instincts advise him that the force that brought them here— that enabled them to this realm, is not one that demons like he and Inuyasha are capable of going up against. At least not before more they're— no, he himself is able to gather more information on their perpetrators.

Thus, he doesn't have a response to the accusation; it's not like Sesshomaru sought after a sanctuary for half-human, half-beasts. If he could, he'd be far from here long before Inuyasha tears his nose away from the ground. ]

Is that why you're so comfortable here? And why your sword wavers...

[ His eyes fix on the whites of his knuckles. Clearly there is something Sesshomaru is missing, but it's not difficult for him to figure it out. He glances at the strange structures, akin to multiple pagodas built flush against one another. He thinks about how easy it is to destroy them all if they were to get into their... kerfuffles.

And it makes him smirk, if only just a little.

Tensaiga is useless for this. Sesshomaru quickly sheathes it, and in a fluid motion, zips over to his younger brother, claws sharp and aimed straight for his throat. There won't be time to process its crushing grip, but Sesshomaru invites him to try to avoid it anyway, testing his resolve... or to quiet him, if nothing else. ]