Xar Greypetal
Established
Roleplay posts: 11
Age: 967
Physical Description: A well-muscled man looking as if he was in his late twenties or early thirties, he has few scars and a handsome face with aristocratic features from both his parents and silver eyes and hair inherited from his father.
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Clothes and Equipment: He carries a blade smelted down from the same fangs and claws of his pack members who fell in the War of the Blood Moon, and his clothes are woven from their fur. Both are supernaturally durable and have magical properties. When he shifts they shift with him, lending his claws and fangs an even more deadly edge and his pelt a durability unmatched by any but the strongest of enchantments. While bathed in moonlight they glow from within and move with the silence of the light that empowers them.
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Registered: Mar 4, 2019 15:24:56 GMT -8
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Post by Xar Greypetal on Apr 26, 2019 21:27:44 GMT -8
Xar's eyes darted to Shibao's form as he entered the tent, and watched him as he started the fire. He noticed the fear Shibao had of the fire, smell it even.
The temple was an interesting prospect, at least coming from Shibao. Xar's immediate thought was if the other Monks of the temple would also be dog people.
As Shibao lit the fire, Xar scooted a bit closer to it. He began to get up as well, grimacing as he did so but still managing to lean up against the stone wall of the tent to sit up. He carefully set aside Shibao's kimono, seeing no further need for it.
"You mentioned before you were a monk, but... I'm still a bit curious. I've already told you what I am, so I thought it was only fair I ask as well. What are you? Are you human? Did someone cast a spell on you to change your appearance?" Xar asked. He thought for a moment, before coming up with another theory, "Perhaps... you were a normal dog originally, but became this way through some magical means?"
Xar looked at Shibao then, trying to gauge his reaction, but he quickly found that to be pointless as he found Shibao's dog face quite unreadable.
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Shibao Inuyama
Established
Roleplay posts: 18
Age: ?
Physical Description: Shibao, the Jade Guardian of the Dog. When you see Shibao in passing, he appears to be an itinerant Zen monk, playing on a shakuhachi flute and standing by his begging bowl, a straw hat covering his face. But if you look closely, beneath his robe are the paws of a dog, and his hands are very much non-human. When Shibao is alone or feels in a safe place, and the hat is off, he is quite obviously a dog the size of a human, standing upright on his back paws. While his front paws look dog-like, they are fully useful as human hands and have opposable thumbs. ---
Clothes and Equipment: Aside from his monk's garb, Shibao carries a set of swords with the pommel ends shaped like bones. He uses them to defend himself, those who he has given loyalty to, and anyone unable to defend themselves. He also carries a portable shrine with which to pray and give the occasional service to people he meets. Shibao also possesses the Jade Mask of the Dog. He is always wearing the mask, and it has merged into his features. He can take it off, but chooses not to. ---
Registered: Apr 17, 2018 6:48:31 GMT -8
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Post by Shibao Inuyama on May 7, 2019 6:13:20 GMT -8
Shibao was glad to see some strength returning to Xar, though he watched him with concern to make sure he did not over exert himself. “We have some time to spend telling stories I suppose, although you must understand that there are certain people who would be better off not hearing what I am about to tell you. I trust you to keep it to yourself.”
Shibao looked off into the distance, his front paws resting on his knees. “There is a legend, you may have heard it, of the Thirteen Jade Masks. The Jade Emperor long ago carved these masks for thirteen heroes to protect his kingdom from invaders. Each was in the likeness of an animal of the zodiac – the proud rooster, the clever rat, the wise dragon, and so on. Each was said to give the bearer magical powers.
“I don’t have a good sense of time, being a dog,” he said, tipping his head and scratching at the back of one ear, “but it must have been at least a handful of years ago when my master was still alive. He was a great warrior and a hunter from the Kuzuyama Clan and his name was Inuyama Danjiro. He was a good master. Though I was but a small dog and not one of the noble and savage beasts that tribe call Inukuma, he raised me from a pup and loved me well as his close companion. He named me Shibao which means Precious Stone, and as he travelled the islands doing good deeds I was ever at his heel waiting for his every word.”
Shibao took the begging bowl of ice and placed it in the fork of a green stick, setting it over the fire for the heat to melt it. “It so happened that despite being the bearer of the Mask of the Dog, and knowing many powers I could not hope even to explain, my master was one day killed.” Shibao hunched sadly. “Yet the mask remained, and somehow the spirit of the Master called to me… as I sniffed the mask, that smelled of Master and his spilled blood, it leaped up and clove to my face. Many words came then, and pictures I did not understand, but also my master’s voice, telling me within my mind that I was a good boy. A very good boy.”
He sighed. “It is difficult to explain what happened next, Master Xar. But the form of a dog was no longer mine, instead, as you see, the form of Dog. I must have found my way to a temple. The monks took me in and helped me to understand, to begin at least, what it is to be perhaps a little bit human.”
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Xar Greypetal
Established
Roleplay posts: 11
Age: 967
Physical Description: A well-muscled man looking as if he was in his late twenties or early thirties, he has few scars and a handsome face with aristocratic features from both his parents and silver eyes and hair inherited from his father.
----------------------
Clothes and Equipment: He carries a blade smelted down from the same fangs and claws of his pack members who fell in the War of the Blood Moon, and his clothes are woven from their fur. Both are supernaturally durable and have magical properties. When he shifts they shift with him, lending his claws and fangs an even more deadly edge and his pelt a durability unmatched by any but the strongest of enchantments. While bathed in moonlight they glow from within and move with the silence of the light that empowers them.
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Registered: Mar 4, 2019 15:24:56 GMT -8
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Post by Xar Greypetal on May 20, 2019 1:23:26 GMT -8
"I won't tell another soul," Xar said, assuring Shibao his secret was safe with him.
Xar seemed quite interested as Shibao told his story, nodding at certain points as he listened. He even offered his condolences when Shibao mentioned his former master's fate, but that was the only time Xar spoke during the story,
At the last sentence, Xar seemed to smile sadly, "It seems you and I have similar problems in a way. While you strive to learn more about and understand what it means to be human, I am trying to not forget."
"I've been traveling for a long time now on my own. I've distanced myself from other people here and have avoided forming connections with others, and that has left me a bit out of touch, but I was not always this way. The rest of my family, those like me, are not present in Tawakoshi, so naturally I formed connections of my own here over time... and settled down."
Xar shook his head, chuckling lightly, "I was pretty foolish back then. Even my father warned me that these connections would only bring me pain in the end. I didn't listen, though, I simply lived in the moment. As the years went by, however, it got to a point where I couldn't bear seeing any more of my friends withering away over the years anymore, then I left. I thought I learned my lesson, but I didn't."
Xar rubbed his eyes momentarily, sighing softly, "There was one person that lulled me back, my first and only lover. I knew I shouldn't have stayed with her, I knew I would have to see her die one day, but none of that mattered. I was in love and just wanted to spend as much time as possible with her. I offered many times to make her like me, a werewolf, so that we could live together always, but she always refused."
Xar held his head in his hands as he leaned forward, "As the years turn to decades, and decades turn to centuries, I have started forgetting about her. It pains me to say, but I don't remember what she looked like, and it pains me all the more because I did not want to forget anything about her, I never did, but it gets harder and harder every year to remember now."
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Shibao Inuyama
Established
Roleplay posts: 18
Age: ?
Physical Description: Shibao, the Jade Guardian of the Dog. When you see Shibao in passing, he appears to be an itinerant Zen monk, playing on a shakuhachi flute and standing by his begging bowl, a straw hat covering his face. But if you look closely, beneath his robe are the paws of a dog, and his hands are very much non-human. When Shibao is alone or feels in a safe place, and the hat is off, he is quite obviously a dog the size of a human, standing upright on his back paws. While his front paws look dog-like, they are fully useful as human hands and have opposable thumbs. ---
Clothes and Equipment: Aside from his monk's garb, Shibao carries a set of swords with the pommel ends shaped like bones. He uses them to defend himself, those who he has given loyalty to, and anyone unable to defend themselves. He also carries a portable shrine with which to pray and give the occasional service to people he meets. Shibao also possesses the Jade Mask of the Dog. He is always wearing the mask, and it has merged into his features. He can take it off, but chooses not to. ---
Registered: Apr 17, 2018 6:48:31 GMT -8
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Post by Shibao Inuyama on May 22, 2019 12:21:42 GMT -8
Shibao listened to Xar’s story, and couldn’t help but feel moved by it. “The loss of a loved one is always hard. You’ll always bear that pain somehow, but perhaps…” he paused, as he wasn’t sure how Xar would take such advice, “forgetting is not always a bad thing. To live in the moment, to be mindful of what is around you right now, not to chase after the past or strive for the future can bring you closer to enlightenment. But if it is the Buddha’s way, it is also the way of the wild creature – the wolf perhaps.” He stopped, poking the fire with a stick. “I don’t claim to understand it all.”
“It’s possible, Master Xar, that your father was right, but for the wrong reasons. Some monks believe that living free from attachment is the only way to achieve peace. Meditation, solitude and frugality is a path to clear the mind. But avoiding connections because they bring pain is wrong. We are, you and I, dog and wolf, perhaps somewhat human, creatures of pack. Solitude for us is only loneliness, not peace.”
Shibao stood, went to the fire and removed the bowl of now melted ice. The water had boiled, and he removed a pouch from his small portable shrine, sprinkling some herbs into the water and stirring. Once the bowl of tea was a little cooler he passed it to Xar. His patient seemed a little better now, at least physically, even though his memories. He put the bowl into Xar’s hands, making sure he was strong enough to hold it. “Sip it slowly. It will keep you warm and help with the pain.” He watched carefully to make sure Xar wasn’t going to gulp it all down at once.
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Xar Greypetal
Established
Roleplay posts: 11
Age: 967
Physical Description: A well-muscled man looking as if he was in his late twenties or early thirties, he has few scars and a handsome face with aristocratic features from both his parents and silver eyes and hair inherited from his father.
----------------------
Clothes and Equipment: He carries a blade smelted down from the same fangs and claws of his pack members who fell in the War of the Blood Moon, and his clothes are woven from their fur. Both are supernaturally durable and have magical properties. When he shifts they shift with him, lending his claws and fangs an even more deadly edge and his pelt a durability unmatched by any but the strongest of enchantments. While bathed in moonlight they glow from within and move with the silence of the light that empowers them.
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Registered: Mar 4, 2019 15:24:56 GMT -8
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Post by Xar Greypetal on May 29, 2019 0:53:23 GMT -8
Xar took the teacup in both hands, taking a small sip from it. He had fallen silent, as he turned over Shibao's words in his mind.
"Perhaps you are right, I do not know. It feels good to talk about it at least," he said truthfully. He had not spoken of his lover to anyone ever since she died, in fact he barely spoke to anyone since then. Perhaps that is what he missed the most... talking with someone, really talking. He trusted Shibao enough, though, the dog had saved his life.
"I don't know if I could forget her, but perhaps I could try living in the moment for now, and not living in solitude anymore. If it's choosing between the pain of loneliness, and the pain of loss, at least I will be a bit more distracted, and have something more to live for now."
Xar still felt saddened, but he also felt the smallest bit of hope now, for the first time in a long time.
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