Upon the Shrine [Part 3]
Dec. 24th, 2020 11:20 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.
Rating: G
Genre: Supernatural
Word count: 1,902
Total word count: 5,787
Status: Work in progress
"Muzaka?"
He looked over at the call, and perked up, seeing the collection of flowers Frankenstein had brought with him.
"I was wondering if you could tell me if you knew the names of these plants?" Frankenstein said.
Muzaka beamed. He could help Frankenstein with something? "They might have different names now, but I can try." His smile flickered. "I might not be able to identify them exactly since I can't smell 'em, but you should know if I describe how they should smell." It might be more difficult with Frankenstein bringing different flowers at once, but he was sure Frankenstein would double-check once he left again. "Anythin' else?" Because it was Frankenstein: he always wanted more information.
At that, Frankenstein chuckled softly. "If you could tell me what you remember of its medicinal uses, it would be useful." He laid out a small cloth and started spacing the flowers out one by one.
"Oh? Ya trust my word now?" Muzaka asked as he sat down next to the cloth.
"It's a direction that I can start with, before beginning my own tests."
Muzaka grinned anyway - he didn't hear the terseness Frankenstein used to speak with so he knew Frankenstein was relaxing around him and what he was.
He leaned his chin in his palm as he looked over the flowers, drawing on his memories of them.
* * *
"Yeah, and when Morven had tried ta cross the river to get this flower, she slipped and almost went in headfirst," Muzaka said, smiling wistfully as he looked over the flower Frankenstein was holding, rolling its stem between his fingers. Muzaka hadn't realised so many memories of his followers were tied to flowers, but they had done so much together, spent years together. Every single flower had brought out a surge of stories, so many things that had happened.
"Was she hurt?"
Muzaka shook his head. "Nah, I caught her before she hit anything. I got wet, but that was about it." Or maybe he'd hit a rock? It was hard to know, when his healing had been so strong his injuries were gone as soon as he got them.
Would he be able to protect anyone now? Like this?
"You really cared for your followers..." Frankenstein said, his voice soft as he placed the flower down.
"'Course I did!" Muzaka spluttered. "I was their god and they chose to be with me - why wouldn't I care for them?"
Frankenstein didn't say anything for a few seconds before he closed his eyes and sighed. "Ah, my apologies. I'm still getting used to you being a nice god."
Muzaka's face fell at Frankenstein's defeated tone. "...You don't have a good view of gods, huh." Frankenstein had been wary and standoffish with him when they'd first met, but Muzaka had assumed that was just because they were strangers, not because he was a god.
Frankenstein let out a bitter laugh, one Muzaka hadn't heard before. "The gods I know of spread death and destruction, yet take no responsibility, blaming their followers for losing their minds."
Muzaka frowned. "But if the god was sharing their power and that's what caused their followers to break..." Didn't they care their followers were being hurt because of them?
"Yes, exactly!" Frankenstein spat. "But no, it's only the mortals' fault because they were too weak-" He cut himself off with a hiss, his hands fisted and shaking.
"Oh." Muzaka hadn't interacted with many gods when he'd travelled around. Had gods changed that much as well? Or had he just not realised since he stuck mostly to himself?
"But that is those gods," Frankenstein said, his teeth still clenched. He took a moment to calm himself, his shoulders relaxing. "We still haven't finished covering all the flowers yet."
Muzaka eyed him, and then nodded. Frankenstein didn't want to talk about it so he would let it go.
* * *
Frankenstein looked around the clearing as he leaned back against a tree, his eyes half-lidded. "This place really does feel peaceful," he murmured.
Muzaka smiled. "I'm glad you like it, heh." The peace was nice, though that was also the reason why no-one had come across him for all this time.
He looked over at a small 'thump'. Frankenstein had dozed off, his journal falling off his lap.
Oh.
...Now what could he do? Before, Muzaka would have closed Frankenstein's journal to make sure its papers weren't damaged or exposed, maybe tucking the pen in between its pages; now, he couldn't do that.
Muzaka just watched him, Frankenstein's hair fluttering with the breeze. He sighed. Frankenstein wasn't sitting that great and Muzaka was sure he would feel it when he woke up, but he couldn't do anything about that either.
And Muzaka knew his clearing well and how it changed. Frankenstein was shielded from the sun for now, but soon he would be exposed under its full power. Muzaka had seen what that could do with some of his followers' skin, and Frankenstein had the same pale complexion as them.
Hmm...
Muzaka raised a hand and drew power to it, the wind picking up. The branches above Frankenstein extended, covering him even more. At least he still had enough power to do that.
Hopefully it would be enough.
* * *
Muzaka breathed a sigh of relief when Frankenstein stirred a while later. Holding branches used to be easy, something he could do while focusing on something else. Now it used his entire concentration to hold them in place for any decent amount of time.
"Nn?" Frankenstein's eyes fluttered before they snapped open, his hands moving around, trying to find something.
"Yer journal's next to yer leg," Muzaka said, Frankenstein's hands finding them instantly.
"Thank-" Frankenstein blinked up at him. "What are you doing? Are you all right?"
Muzaka chuckled weakly as he let go of the tree, sagging. "Yeah, fine. That took more outta me than I thought." Though, he hadn't even been sure if he still could do it. He exhaled, sitting back. It was strange feeling tired without a physical body - it was as if his thoughts were muddy instead, everything fuzzy.
Frankenstein grimaced when the branch moved and he was bathed in sunlight. He shielded his eyes with a hand as he sat up. "You could have woken me up instead."
Muzaka stared at him. "You were sleepin'." Why would he disturb him?
Frankenstein sighed as he straightened his clothes. "It would appear that it would take me far less energy to move a few steps across to a new spot than for you to continually use what is left of your power to shield me."
That...made sense. It still didn't sit right with Muzaka to do that though, if Frankenstein had needed the rest. Muzaka knew of some of his followers that, once they woke up, they couldn't get back to sleep again; they would spend the night chatting when that happened.
"But...thank you," Frankenstein said. "I appreciate the thoughtfulness."
Muzaka beamed at him, feeling lighter at Frankenstein's words.
* * *
Muzaka frowned, shaking his head. "No, it wasn't about worshipin' me. My followers were just people who wanted ta spend time with me." They'd given him gifts, left them at his shrines, but that was as far as the worship went.
Frankenstein hummed, stirring whatever he was cooking in his pot. "Like friendship?"
Muzaka nodded. "Yeah!"
"Was a ceremony needed to accept new followers?"
Muzaka grinned at Frankenstein, raising his eyebrows. "Huh, are you askin' cause you wanna-"
Frankenstein grimaced. "Of course not."
Muzaka snickered, leaning back on his hands. He knew what Frankenstein's reaction was going to be, but it was nice teasing him, and Frankenstein didn't appear offended by it.
"It's just that the system you have seems to be vastly different from the one I'm used to seeing," Frankenstein continued, "so I want to know more,"
Muzaka nodded, humming as he thought it over. "No official ceremony needed or anything, just someone wantin' to keep thinkin' 'bout me.'
This time, Frankenstein raised his eyebrows. "Nothing about what you want?"
"Having a following isn't just..." Muzaka shrugged. "I'm not going to - I didn't meet every follower I have." He rubbed the back of his neck with a sigh. "At one point, Sung-ki and Kyung-soo stopped travellin' with me and settled somewhere. They made a shrine and musta been telling stories about me 'cause I started getting followers from where they were soon after." Muzaka dug his fingernails into the base of his skull, where he used to feel the connection with his followers the strongest. Now, it was just hollow.
"I'm a god, but even meeting every one of my followers back then would have been too much for me." And if he did do that, by the time he'd met all of them, he would probably have more followers somewhere else.
Frankenstein stirred his pot a few times, gazing at it. "Yes, that's definitely a different system than what I'm used to."
Just what did the gods do now...?
* * *
Frankenstein was dozing off again. He'd eaten a lot for lunch and Muzaka assumed the warmth of the meal and the embers were helping as well.
Muzaka watched Frankenstein's head bob, frowning. Was Frankenstein getting enough sleep? There were bags under Frankenstein's eyes - were they always there? He was sure they hadn't been.
It was good that Frankenstein would get some rest but... Muzaka tilted his head back to peer at the sky. Frankenstein was going to sleep in the sun again.
Frankenstein had said to wake him up last time...
Muzaka still hesitated, watching him. Did he have to? Frankenstein seemed so peaceful like that.
Muzaka shook his head, exhaling. Yeah, he had to. Frankenstein would burn otherwise if he was left like that.
"Oi, Frankenstein."
No response.
Muzaka's shoulders slumped. His voice didn't reach? He couldn't even do that much?
Muzaka tried to grab Frankenstein's shoulder - his hand went through, like he expected it to.
Closing his eyes, Muzaka took in a deep breath and exhaled, trying to keep the helplessness away. All right. He couldn't touch Frankenstein to wake him up. He knew that. But he knew Frankenstein could hear him.
So maybe he just wasn't loud enough.
"Frankenstein," Muzaka tried again.
This time, Frankenstein stirred, making Muzaka grin. He could wake Frankenstein up!
"Hey," Muzaka said, Frankenstein blinking at him.
"What's wrong?"
Muzaka shook his head. "Nothing. You were just gonna sleep in the sun again."
"Aaah, I see." Frankenstein ran a hand through his hair before he got up. He checked the fire, making sure it was out, before he moved towards a different tree. "Is this one better?"
Muzaka nodded. "Yeah."
"Thank you," Frankenstein said, covering his mouth as he yawned. He dozed off immediately, and Muzaka watched him, warmth filling him.
He had been able to do something to help, and had been thanked!
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.
Rating: G
Genre: Supernatural
Word count: 1,902
Total word count: 5,787
Status: Work in progress
"Muzaka?"
He looked over at the call, and perked up, seeing the collection of flowers Frankenstein had brought with him.
"I was wondering if you could tell me if you knew the names of these plants?" Frankenstein said.
Muzaka beamed. He could help Frankenstein with something? "They might have different names now, but I can try." His smile flickered. "I might not be able to identify them exactly since I can't smell 'em, but you should know if I describe how they should smell." It might be more difficult with Frankenstein bringing different flowers at once, but he was sure Frankenstein would double-check once he left again. "Anythin' else?" Because it was Frankenstein: he always wanted more information.
At that, Frankenstein chuckled softly. "If you could tell me what you remember of its medicinal uses, it would be useful." He laid out a small cloth and started spacing the flowers out one by one.
"Oh? Ya trust my word now?" Muzaka asked as he sat down next to the cloth.
"It's a direction that I can start with, before beginning my own tests."
Muzaka grinned anyway - he didn't hear the terseness Frankenstein used to speak with so he knew Frankenstein was relaxing around him and what he was.
He leaned his chin in his palm as he looked over the flowers, drawing on his memories of them.
"Yeah, and when Morven had tried ta cross the river to get this flower, she slipped and almost went in headfirst," Muzaka said, smiling wistfully as he looked over the flower Frankenstein was holding, rolling its stem between his fingers. Muzaka hadn't realised so many memories of his followers were tied to flowers, but they had done so much together, spent years together. Every single flower had brought out a surge of stories, so many things that had happened.
"Was she hurt?"
Muzaka shook his head. "Nah, I caught her before she hit anything. I got wet, but that was about it." Or maybe he'd hit a rock? It was hard to know, when his healing had been so strong his injuries were gone as soon as he got them.
Would he be able to protect anyone now? Like this?
"You really cared for your followers..." Frankenstein said, his voice soft as he placed the flower down.
"'Course I did!" Muzaka spluttered. "I was their god and they chose to be with me - why wouldn't I care for them?"
Frankenstein didn't say anything for a few seconds before he closed his eyes and sighed. "Ah, my apologies. I'm still getting used to you being a nice god."
Muzaka's face fell at Frankenstein's defeated tone. "...You don't have a good view of gods, huh." Frankenstein had been wary and standoffish with him when they'd first met, but Muzaka had assumed that was just because they were strangers, not because he was a god.
Frankenstein let out a bitter laugh, one Muzaka hadn't heard before. "The gods I know of spread death and destruction, yet take no responsibility, blaming their followers for losing their minds."
Muzaka frowned. "But if the god was sharing their power and that's what caused their followers to break..." Didn't they care their followers were being hurt because of them?
"Yes, exactly!" Frankenstein spat. "But no, it's only the mortals' fault because they were too weak-" He cut himself off with a hiss, his hands fisted and shaking.
"Oh." Muzaka hadn't interacted with many gods when he'd travelled around. Had gods changed that much as well? Or had he just not realised since he stuck mostly to himself?
"But that is those gods," Frankenstein said, his teeth still clenched. He took a moment to calm himself, his shoulders relaxing. "We still haven't finished covering all the flowers yet."
Muzaka eyed him, and then nodded. Frankenstein didn't want to talk about it so he would let it go.
Frankenstein looked around the clearing as he leaned back against a tree, his eyes half-lidded. "This place really does feel peaceful," he murmured.
Muzaka smiled. "I'm glad you like it, heh." The peace was nice, though that was also the reason why no-one had come across him for all this time.
He looked over at a small 'thump'. Frankenstein had dozed off, his journal falling off his lap.
Oh.
...Now what could he do? Before, Muzaka would have closed Frankenstein's journal to make sure its papers weren't damaged or exposed, maybe tucking the pen in between its pages; now, he couldn't do that.
Muzaka just watched him, Frankenstein's hair fluttering with the breeze. He sighed. Frankenstein wasn't sitting that great and Muzaka was sure he would feel it when he woke up, but he couldn't do anything about that either.
And Muzaka knew his clearing well and how it changed. Frankenstein was shielded from the sun for now, but soon he would be exposed under its full power. Muzaka had seen what that could do with some of his followers' skin, and Frankenstein had the same pale complexion as them.
Hmm...
Muzaka raised a hand and drew power to it, the wind picking up. The branches above Frankenstein extended, covering him even more. At least he still had enough power to do that.
Hopefully it would be enough.
Muzaka breathed a sigh of relief when Frankenstein stirred a while later. Holding branches used to be easy, something he could do while focusing on something else. Now it used his entire concentration to hold them in place for any decent amount of time.
"Nn?" Frankenstein's eyes fluttered before they snapped open, his hands moving around, trying to find something.
"Yer journal's next to yer leg," Muzaka said, Frankenstein's hands finding them instantly.
"Thank-" Frankenstein blinked up at him. "What are you doing? Are you all right?"
Muzaka chuckled weakly as he let go of the tree, sagging. "Yeah, fine. That took more outta me than I thought." Though, he hadn't even been sure if he still could do it. He exhaled, sitting back. It was strange feeling tired without a physical body - it was as if his thoughts were muddy instead, everything fuzzy.
Frankenstein grimaced when the branch moved and he was bathed in sunlight. He shielded his eyes with a hand as he sat up. "You could have woken me up instead."
Muzaka stared at him. "You were sleepin'." Why would he disturb him?
Frankenstein sighed as he straightened his clothes. "It would appear that it would take me far less energy to move a few steps across to a new spot than for you to continually use what is left of your power to shield me."
That...made sense. It still didn't sit right with Muzaka to do that though, if Frankenstein had needed the rest. Muzaka knew of some of his followers that, once they woke up, they couldn't get back to sleep again; they would spend the night chatting when that happened.
"But...thank you," Frankenstein said. "I appreciate the thoughtfulness."
Muzaka beamed at him, feeling lighter at Frankenstein's words.
Muzaka frowned, shaking his head. "No, it wasn't about worshipin' me. My followers were just people who wanted ta spend time with me." They'd given him gifts, left them at his shrines, but that was as far as the worship went.
Frankenstein hummed, stirring whatever he was cooking in his pot. "Like friendship?"
Muzaka nodded. "Yeah!"
"Was a ceremony needed to accept new followers?"
Muzaka grinned at Frankenstein, raising his eyebrows. "Huh, are you askin' cause you wanna-"
Frankenstein grimaced. "Of course not."
Muzaka snickered, leaning back on his hands. He knew what Frankenstein's reaction was going to be, but it was nice teasing him, and Frankenstein didn't appear offended by it.
"It's just that the system you have seems to be vastly different from the one I'm used to seeing," Frankenstein continued, "so I want to know more,"
Muzaka nodded, humming as he thought it over. "No official ceremony needed or anything, just someone wantin' to keep thinkin' 'bout me.'
This time, Frankenstein raised his eyebrows. "Nothing about what you want?"
"Having a following isn't just..." Muzaka shrugged. "I'm not going to - I didn't meet every follower I have." He rubbed the back of his neck with a sigh. "At one point, Sung-ki and Kyung-soo stopped travellin' with me and settled somewhere. They made a shrine and musta been telling stories about me 'cause I started getting followers from where they were soon after." Muzaka dug his fingernails into the base of his skull, where he used to feel the connection with his followers the strongest. Now, it was just hollow.
"I'm a god, but even meeting every one of my followers back then would have been too much for me." And if he did do that, by the time he'd met all of them, he would probably have more followers somewhere else.
Frankenstein stirred his pot a few times, gazing at it. "Yes, that's definitely a different system than what I'm used to."
Just what did the gods do now...?
Frankenstein was dozing off again. He'd eaten a lot for lunch and Muzaka assumed the warmth of the meal and the embers were helping as well.
Muzaka watched Frankenstein's head bob, frowning. Was Frankenstein getting enough sleep? There were bags under Frankenstein's eyes - were they always there? He was sure they hadn't been.
It was good that Frankenstein would get some rest but... Muzaka tilted his head back to peer at the sky. Frankenstein was going to sleep in the sun again.
Frankenstein had said to wake him up last time...
Muzaka still hesitated, watching him. Did he have to? Frankenstein seemed so peaceful like that.
Muzaka shook his head, exhaling. Yeah, he had to. Frankenstein would burn otherwise if he was left like that.
"Oi, Frankenstein."
No response.
Muzaka's shoulders slumped. His voice didn't reach? He couldn't even do that much?
Muzaka tried to grab Frankenstein's shoulder - his hand went through, like he expected it to.
Closing his eyes, Muzaka took in a deep breath and exhaled, trying to keep the helplessness away. All right. He couldn't touch Frankenstein to wake him up. He knew that. But he knew Frankenstein could hear him.
So maybe he just wasn't loud enough.
"Frankenstein," Muzaka tried again.
This time, Frankenstein stirred, making Muzaka grin. He could wake Frankenstein up!
"Hey," Muzaka said, Frankenstein blinking at him.
"What's wrong?"
Muzaka shook his head. "Nothing. You were just gonna sleep in the sun again."
"Aaah, I see." Frankenstein ran a hand through his hair before he got up. He checked the fire, making sure it was out, before he moved towards a different tree. "Is this one better?"
Muzaka nodded. "Yeah."
"Thank you," Frankenstein said, covering his mouth as he yawned. He dozed off immediately, and Muzaka watched him, warmth filling him.
He had been able to do something to help, and had been thanked!