Upon the Shrine
Dec. 10th, 2020 09:10 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
esp_dragonv2Fandom: Noblesse
Summary: Muzaka is a forest god who lost his following a long time ago, his strength diminished because of it - all he can do now is wait until his power fades completely. But one day a blond mortal stumbles across Muzaka's shrine, one that can see and hear him in his weakened form. Curious, Muzaka hopes the mortal will keep returning to talk to him.
Notes: I thought this was going to be short. As usual. 8') Then the outline ended up being 3k and some 15 scenes, hahahahaha. Because of course it did.
This is so far about 10k and will be in 4 parts+epilogue.
Rating: G
Genre: Supernatural
Word count: 1,875
Status: Work in progress
Muzaka looked over when he heard a rustle at the edge of the clearing, sitting up on the branch so he could see better. What was it going to be this time? Couldn't be a deer because they were quieter but maybe...
Muzaka's thoughts trailed off, seeing a human walk into his clearing.
Oh. It had been a very long time since he'd seen a human. This one was an adult with blond hair that brushed past his shoulders. He was also wearing black clothing that had been cut in a style Muzaka had never seen before, huh. Humans did change fast, and so did their clothing along with it as they made new discoveries and preferences.
Muzaka watched the human notice his shrine that stood below the tree he was sitting in. Muzaka smiled when the human wandered closer, though the human's brow was furrowed. Huh, was there something weird about it?
Maybe there was. Muzaka's shrine had used to stand alongside a forest path, but as less and less people passed, nature reclaimed it, hiding the path from view. So now it had to look like a shrine had been built in the middle of a forest, away from everything.
"A dog...?" the human murmured, studying the shrine statue, curled fingers pressed at his lip as he thought. "No, the ruff seems too big. A wolf?"
"Heh, yep."
The human didn't say anything for a little while, continuing to look over Muzaka's statue, before he sighed, crouching down to brush away the leaves that had collected over the base and into some of the crevices of the statue.
Oh. Oh. The human was cleaning his shine? Muzaka sighed, curling an arm around his knee. It had been even longer since anyone had done that too.
Once he was done, the human took a step back, looking over the shrine again. There was still vines and moss covering the statue, but at least the leaves were gone.
"Why'd you do that?" Muzaka asked, not expecting an answer. But it was nice to talk, even if mortals couldn't hear him. Some animals could sense he was there, and he'd gotten to know the local wolf pack pretty well since they liked to pass by as they patrolled their territory.
The human looked up at him, and Muzaka froze. It was almost as if the human could see him, had actually heard him. That couldn't be right. The human must have heard a bird pass by overhead or something.
"Mess bothers me," the human said.
Muzaka stared at the human. That...sounded like the human was replying to him. He looked over his shoulder, just in case, but there wasn't anything obvious there, and no-one else had said anything. Unless the human was just speaking out loud again?
"Hm," the human said, looking at the shrine again. "I guess you're not that talkative."
Muzaka tilted his head, frowning. "I would be...if people could hear me?" It was strange holding a conversation again. If he actually was. If the human could actually hear him. It was doubtful, si-
The human huffed, lifting his gaze towards him again. Staring right at him. "I can hear you."
Wait. "You can?" Muzaka asked, leaning forward, one hand on the branch to keep him in the tree.
The human nodded.
Muzaka saw him open his mouth to speak, but he didn't hear anything as he jumped down, landing next to the human. He reached forward and-
His hand went through the human.
Muzaka sighed, his shoulders slumping as he dropped his hand. "Damn."
He blinked at the dark aura surrounding the human, but in a flash it was gone. Huh.
The human narrowed his eyes at him, his lips pursed. "I hope that you weren't trying to possess me."
"Eh?" Muzaka spluttered. "Of course not! I just wanted to touch ya." If he could be heard, he thought he could be able to touch things again. "Gods don't possess people."
At that, the human raised an eyebrow, but he still considered Muzaka suspiciously. "You're a god?"
He nodded. "Yep."
"Hm." The human crossed his arms. "You don't seem very powerful, if you're see-through and can't even touch me."
Muzaka let out a weak laugh, shrugging. "My strength depends on my followers and, well." He gestured around them, at the lone statue in the small clearing.
The human looked around. "This place hasn't been tended to in a long time."
"Nope." Muzaka peered at the human, taking a step forward, but the human took a step back as a reply, keeping the distance between them. Aw. But maybe the human thought he was going to 'attack' him again? Except how could he do that if he couldn't touch the human at all? "You're sensitive to gods?" Muzaka asked.
A scowl settled across the human's face. "Excuse me?"
Hm, had he said something wrong? "Most people can't see me like this," Muzaka explained, sweeping a hand down himself. "Only those who are connected to gods or me should be able to see me like this."
The human snorted. "I serve no god."
"Yeah, I can see that." Which was why the human's aura was so interesting. Muzaka could see he had no connection to a god, but the mortal had power. One Muzaka wasn't familiar with. Had humans changed since the last time he'd seen them? "I'm Muzaka!" he said with a wave of his hand.
"Are you trying to make me a follower?" the human said instead.
"Nah, just wanted to introduce myself," Muzaka said with a grin. It had been so long since he'd done that.
"Hm." The human didn't say anything for a while, studying him. "Frankenstein."
Muzaka beamed. "Nice ta meet'cha, Frankenstein!"
A small smile seemed to be twitching the corners of Frankenstein's mouth. "You don't seem to talk like most gods do."
Muzaka shrugged. "People talk differently." That wasn't so strange, was it? Every place had their own unique way of talking. "You've met a lot of gods?" Most humans would only see a handful of gods in their lifetime, and some never got to even see the one they chose to worship. Or so Muzaka had heard when he'd travelled around. Maybe things had changed since then.
Frankenstein's smile widened. "Oh, yes, quite a few."
"Huh, and you'd never decided to follow one of 'em?" Usually the first god a human saw was the one they chose to be with. To see multiple gods and not go with any... Muzaka wasn't sure if he'd heard that before.
"Our interests didn't align," Frankenstein said, still smiling.
"Fair enough." It wasn't fun if they didn't like each other.
Frankenstein's expression flickered, the human studying him again. Had he said something weird?
Frankenstein didn't explain though, his gaze going upwards. "This took longer than expected, so I'll take my leave."
"Ah, yeah..." Muzaka said, pushing down his disappointment. Frankenstein had his own life to keep. Still, the conversation had seemed so short...
Muzaka watched him go, rolling back and forth on his feet. The conversation had ended, but there had been a conversation. He'd been seen. Maybe things had changed, and he'd gained just enough power that he wasn't tied to his shrine anymore?
He stared out in the direction Frankenstein had went, his feet already moving. Maybe. Maybe he could leave.
Hope swelled in Muzaka's heart as he approached the edge of the clearing. And he crossed it.
Nothing new. He could do that before. Four steps out of the clearing. That was the limit of how far he could be away from his shrine from this direction.
One.
Everything still felt the same.
Two.
Was he moving slower? No, he was just imagining it, right? Right?
Three.
Muzaka squeezed his eyes shut, the air feeling like he was walking through water.
Four.
Damn. Muzaka stopped, not because he wanted to. He couldn't move past that point, feeling the shine's presence at his back. This was his sphere of influence, and he couldn't move past it.
He sighed, walking back to his shrine.
* * *
Muzaka peered up at the clouds as he sat back against his statue. Looked like it was going to rain soon. Was it time for the seasons to change already? How many had he seen while he'd been here?
Muzaka saw movement out the corner of his eyes, and he perked up, seeing Frankenstein walk out from the treeline. He looked the same as before, but he had a bag slung over his shoulder.
"Yo," Muzaka said, hopping to his feet. "You came back!" He hadn't expected that - he thought that would have been their only meeting, and then Frankenstein would have gone, gone to wherever he'd come from, or travelling to wherever he felt like.
"Yes, I did," Frankenstein said. He looked around, as if he was looking for something that had changed. "What do you do all day?"
Frankenstein wanted to know? Wanted to talk? "Sit here," Muzaka said. "Watch the birds and animals that pass by." The smaller birds tended to come after the rain, and the area seemed to be busiest during the night.
Frankenstein tilted his head. "That's it?"
Muzaka shrugged. "I can't do much else." All he could do was wait for beings to come to him.
Frankenstein looked him up and down. "Not like that, no..."
Muzaka chuckled, glancing down at a hand. Sunlight filtered through it as if he was made of smoke rather than something solid. He had already been losing his form as more of his followers either died or left - it was when he was completely alone that he became translucent.
"What do you do with your followers?"
Huh, Frankenstein really wanted to know a lot about him. Muzaka grinned, memories of his followers flooding back. "I used ta travel with 'em, and I looked after 'em if they needed protection."
Frankenstein hummed, raising an eyebrow. "Used to...?"
Muzaka nodded. "With followers, I could go where they were. Now..." He shrugged. "The shrine's the only connection I've got left in this world."
"You're stuck here?"
Muzaka tilted a small smile at him. "This is the last shrine of mine left, as far as I can feel. I can't move much past the clearing 'cause of that." The only thing tying him to the world was the shrine. It was cleaner now, thanks to Frankenstein, but nature would eventually take it back, and so would time. Even then, it would be a long time until his statue crumbled away to nothing.
"Huh." Frankenstein reached into the bag and pulled out a small journal. "Do you mind if I stay here and draw?"
Muzaka laughed. "Of course not!" Why would he have a problem with it?
If Frankenstein wanted to stay longer with him, Muzaka was happy with that.
Summary: Muzaka is a forest god who lost his following a long time ago, his strength diminished because of it - all he can do now is wait until his power fades completely. But one day a blond mortal stumbles across Muzaka's shrine, one that can see and hear him in his weakened form. Curious, Muzaka hopes the mortal will keep returning to talk to him.
Notes: I thought this was going to be short. As usual. 8') Then the outline ended up being 3k and some 15 scenes, hahahahaha. Because of course it did.
This is so far about 10k and will be in 4 parts+epilogue.
Rating: G
Genre: Supernatural
Word count: 1,875
Status: Work in progress
Muzaka looked over when he heard a rustle at the edge of the clearing, sitting up on the branch so he could see better. What was it going to be this time? Couldn't be a deer because they were quieter but maybe...
Muzaka's thoughts trailed off, seeing a human walk into his clearing.
Oh. It had been a very long time since he'd seen a human. This one was an adult with blond hair that brushed past his shoulders. He was also wearing black clothing that had been cut in a style Muzaka had never seen before, huh. Humans did change fast, and so did their clothing along with it as they made new discoveries and preferences.
Muzaka watched the human notice his shrine that stood below the tree he was sitting in. Muzaka smiled when the human wandered closer, though the human's brow was furrowed. Huh, was there something weird about it?
Maybe there was. Muzaka's shrine had used to stand alongside a forest path, but as less and less people passed, nature reclaimed it, hiding the path from view. So now it had to look like a shrine had been built in the middle of a forest, away from everything.
"A dog...?" the human murmured, studying the shrine statue, curled fingers pressed at his lip as he thought. "No, the ruff seems too big. A wolf?"
"Heh, yep."
The human didn't say anything for a little while, continuing to look over Muzaka's statue, before he sighed, crouching down to brush away the leaves that had collected over the base and into some of the crevices of the statue.
Oh. Oh. The human was cleaning his shine? Muzaka sighed, curling an arm around his knee. It had been even longer since anyone had done that too.
Once he was done, the human took a step back, looking over the shrine again. There was still vines and moss covering the statue, but at least the leaves were gone.
"Why'd you do that?" Muzaka asked, not expecting an answer. But it was nice to talk, even if mortals couldn't hear him. Some animals could sense he was there, and he'd gotten to know the local wolf pack pretty well since they liked to pass by as they patrolled their territory.
The human looked up at him, and Muzaka froze. It was almost as if the human could see him, had actually heard him. That couldn't be right. The human must have heard a bird pass by overhead or something.
"Mess bothers me," the human said.
Muzaka stared at the human. That...sounded like the human was replying to him. He looked over his shoulder, just in case, but there wasn't anything obvious there, and no-one else had said anything. Unless the human was just speaking out loud again?
"Hm," the human said, looking at the shrine again. "I guess you're not that talkative."
Muzaka tilted his head, frowning. "I would be...if people could hear me?" It was strange holding a conversation again. If he actually was. If the human could actually hear him. It was doubtful, si-
The human huffed, lifting his gaze towards him again. Staring right at him. "I can hear you."
Wait. "You can?" Muzaka asked, leaning forward, one hand on the branch to keep him in the tree.
The human nodded.
Muzaka saw him open his mouth to speak, but he didn't hear anything as he jumped down, landing next to the human. He reached forward and-
His hand went through the human.
Muzaka sighed, his shoulders slumping as he dropped his hand. "Damn."
He blinked at the dark aura surrounding the human, but in a flash it was gone. Huh.
The human narrowed his eyes at him, his lips pursed. "I hope that you weren't trying to possess me."
"Eh?" Muzaka spluttered. "Of course not! I just wanted to touch ya." If he could be heard, he thought he could be able to touch things again. "Gods don't possess people."
At that, the human raised an eyebrow, but he still considered Muzaka suspiciously. "You're a god?"
He nodded. "Yep."
"Hm." The human crossed his arms. "You don't seem very powerful, if you're see-through and can't even touch me."
Muzaka let out a weak laugh, shrugging. "My strength depends on my followers and, well." He gestured around them, at the lone statue in the small clearing.
The human looked around. "This place hasn't been tended to in a long time."
"Nope." Muzaka peered at the human, taking a step forward, but the human took a step back as a reply, keeping the distance between them. Aw. But maybe the human thought he was going to 'attack' him again? Except how could he do that if he couldn't touch the human at all? "You're sensitive to gods?" Muzaka asked.
A scowl settled across the human's face. "Excuse me?"
Hm, had he said something wrong? "Most people can't see me like this," Muzaka explained, sweeping a hand down himself. "Only those who are connected to gods or me should be able to see me like this."
The human snorted. "I serve no god."
"Yeah, I can see that." Which was why the human's aura was so interesting. Muzaka could see he had no connection to a god, but the mortal had power. One Muzaka wasn't familiar with. Had humans changed since the last time he'd seen them? "I'm Muzaka!" he said with a wave of his hand.
"Are you trying to make me a follower?" the human said instead.
"Nah, just wanted to introduce myself," Muzaka said with a grin. It had been so long since he'd done that.
"Hm." The human didn't say anything for a while, studying him. "Frankenstein."
Muzaka beamed. "Nice ta meet'cha, Frankenstein!"
A small smile seemed to be twitching the corners of Frankenstein's mouth. "You don't seem to talk like most gods do."
Muzaka shrugged. "People talk differently." That wasn't so strange, was it? Every place had their own unique way of talking. "You've met a lot of gods?" Most humans would only see a handful of gods in their lifetime, and some never got to even see the one they chose to worship. Or so Muzaka had heard when he'd travelled around. Maybe things had changed since then.
Frankenstein's smile widened. "Oh, yes, quite a few."
"Huh, and you'd never decided to follow one of 'em?" Usually the first god a human saw was the one they chose to be with. To see multiple gods and not go with any... Muzaka wasn't sure if he'd heard that before.
"Our interests didn't align," Frankenstein said, still smiling.
"Fair enough." It wasn't fun if they didn't like each other.
Frankenstein's expression flickered, the human studying him again. Had he said something weird?
Frankenstein didn't explain though, his gaze going upwards. "This took longer than expected, so I'll take my leave."
"Ah, yeah..." Muzaka said, pushing down his disappointment. Frankenstein had his own life to keep. Still, the conversation had seemed so short...
Muzaka watched him go, rolling back and forth on his feet. The conversation had ended, but there had been a conversation. He'd been seen. Maybe things had changed, and he'd gained just enough power that he wasn't tied to his shrine anymore?
He stared out in the direction Frankenstein had went, his feet already moving. Maybe. Maybe he could leave.
Hope swelled in Muzaka's heart as he approached the edge of the clearing. And he crossed it.
Nothing new. He could do that before. Four steps out of the clearing. That was the limit of how far he could be away from his shrine from this direction.
One.
Everything still felt the same.
Two.
Was he moving slower? No, he was just imagining it, right? Right?
Three.
Muzaka squeezed his eyes shut, the air feeling like he was walking through water.
Four.
Damn. Muzaka stopped, not because he wanted to. He couldn't move past that point, feeling the shine's presence at his back. This was his sphere of influence, and he couldn't move past it.
He sighed, walking back to his shrine.
Muzaka peered up at the clouds as he sat back against his statue. Looked like it was going to rain soon. Was it time for the seasons to change already? How many had he seen while he'd been here?
Muzaka saw movement out the corner of his eyes, and he perked up, seeing Frankenstein walk out from the treeline. He looked the same as before, but he had a bag slung over his shoulder.
"Yo," Muzaka said, hopping to his feet. "You came back!" He hadn't expected that - he thought that would have been their only meeting, and then Frankenstein would have gone, gone to wherever he'd come from, or travelling to wherever he felt like.
"Yes, I did," Frankenstein said. He looked around, as if he was looking for something that had changed. "What do you do all day?"
Frankenstein wanted to know? Wanted to talk? "Sit here," Muzaka said. "Watch the birds and animals that pass by." The smaller birds tended to come after the rain, and the area seemed to be busiest during the night.
Frankenstein tilted his head. "That's it?"
Muzaka shrugged. "I can't do much else." All he could do was wait for beings to come to him.
Frankenstein looked him up and down. "Not like that, no..."
Muzaka chuckled, glancing down at a hand. Sunlight filtered through it as if he was made of smoke rather than something solid. He had already been losing his form as more of his followers either died or left - it was when he was completely alone that he became translucent.
"What do you do with your followers?"
Huh, Frankenstein really wanted to know a lot about him. Muzaka grinned, memories of his followers flooding back. "I used ta travel with 'em, and I looked after 'em if they needed protection."
Frankenstein hummed, raising an eyebrow. "Used to...?"
Muzaka nodded. "With followers, I could go where they were. Now..." He shrugged. "The shrine's the only connection I've got left in this world."
"You're stuck here?"
Muzaka tilted a small smile at him. "This is the last shrine of mine left, as far as I can feel. I can't move much past the clearing 'cause of that." The only thing tying him to the world was the shrine. It was cleaner now, thanks to Frankenstein, but nature would eventually take it back, and so would time. Even then, it would be a long time until his statue crumbled away to nothing.
"Huh." Frankenstein reached into the bag and pulled out a small journal. "Do you mind if I stay here and draw?"
Muzaka laughed. "Of course not!" Why would he have a problem with it?
If Frankenstein wanted to stay longer with him, Muzaka was happy with that.