The Radiance of the night sky... [OPEN (max three more peeps)]

Sharaku Rikei. Akumu marked the name in his mind as he took in the light nod as he straightened once more from his bowed position. The name was an interesting one and for Akumu perhaps more than just a label for a body. Akumu did not think it was a coincidence that he had wound up here nor did he think that the older of the trio interacting with him was just chance. Fate always had a way to how she lined up her pieces and while this man before him had an odd aura, they were now connected through acquaintance and this small connection could always lead to foes, allies, or nothing at all. Akumu would simply have to wait to see which cards Fate would reveal to him. For now though he would simply play by the rules of this world.

Introductions aside, Akumu would hesitate in speaking once more unsure if the other wanted to say anything first; however, before the man or himself could come to a silent agreement of whether to speak to one another or not, an excited call from the white haired boy drew blue eyes towards the source of the sound. Glancing briefly at the white haired girl that was looking up silently at the sky hypnotized, Akumu’s eyes would drift towards the sky that both children were so fascinated in. Even without the call, he had noticed the light, but feeling no threat the old resident didn’t see a need to jump or react quite as quickly to it as the boy did.

Still when his eyes met the sky, the velvet room attendant tilted his head slightly at the sight, a bit more perplexed than scared of what he was seeing. So the white dots that were now bright burst of light were stars moving across the sky and this event was called a meteor shower? Huh. It was quite lovely and something definitely worth sharing with his siblings; however, outside of the strangeness of stars moving to create such a beautiful picture, Akumu was not very sure what it was that made the children so fascinated with it. Was he missing something vital here? Or was there something children understood better than the likes of something as ancient as himself? Curious…

Akumu would ponder the moving stars for a moment longer before something small and white drifted down and landed on his cheek quickly becoming cold and wet. A bit taken back by the sensation, Akumu blinked as his hand automatically went to his face to wipe at the spot that was indeed slightly wet. A bit confused at first, Akumu took note that there were many more of these white things falling from the sky. Holding out his hand, he let a few of these white objects hit his hand watching as they quickly turned to liquid upon landing on his pale skin. What was this? Shards of the stars moving above? Or was this something else?

Pondering the new phenomenon for a few moments longer, Akumu would eventually clench the open hand into a light fist as his eyes closed and a light smile appeared on his face as he fell into thought about the situation. While there were many things that he could not explain happening at this moment, he could tell that fate had definitely brought him here for a reason. He was supposed to meet with these people gathered here, even if it was for a short time. The strange events of the day was enough proof of that.

Opening his eyes after a while, Akumu would let his hand drop as the smile faded from his face as he noticed first the standing male looking about and then the white haired boy looking at him. A bit startled about not noticing he was being stared at the velvet room attendant tilted his head at the boy debating if he should question him or maybe he should question the older male looking about. They were both acting strange, but how did one address two oddnesses at once without seeming out of place? Akumu was quiet for a moment and then deciding on a general question, he spoke.

“Something wrong?” he asked addressing the boy and the man as he looked between the pair. He didn’t exactly know how to get the girl involved in this. She was still looking at the sky seeming content to be in her own little world, so maybe leaving her be was wiser. Besides why drag another mystery into the game when he already had two deal with as it was?

Nilo looked over to Rita as she scolded him, biting his lip and lowering his head. He was ashamed in his antics and realized how annoying he must of been during his sudden outburst. He thought his apology out carefully, really not wanting to cause further annoyance.

"Please f-forgive my outburst. It was u-uncalled for and I realize it must have d-disturbed you three." he said, bowing to the three in turn. He looked up after his apologizing and thought for a moment, "You've given your n-names already... M-My name is Nilo Lockwood, forgive my... R-Rudeness." he said after a moment of thinking, realizing he would have to talk now that he apologized and shouted. He smiled politely though, keeping his emotions hidden behind his polite exterior.

He looked to Akumu after a while, realizing his stare might have disturbed him. He inwardly sighed, realizing how unbelievably 'un-him' he was being right now and when the shooting stars began. He glanced to Rita, wondering if him talking would annoy the quiet girl. He shook his head and thought out his words carefully.

"Sorry... I d-didn't mean to stare... But um... This is your first t-time seeing a meteor shower, r-right? I just w-wanted to see how y-you would react... F-Forgive my rudeness." he said with a careful tone, not wanting to have offended him at all. He then blinked though, a snow flake having found itself on his nose. He looked up at the meteor shower again, realizing the light sprinkle of snow.

"Snow..." he said quietly, utterly amazed by the whole scene. He took out his small notebook again and quickly wrote a few things down before returning it back to his jacket's pocket. He was so uncharacteristically happy alright that being near the three other strangers didn't faze him. He knew he should probably be more careful, realizing that one poorly placed word could end up ending in catastrophe. He thought carefully about his words and the way he presented himself as he watched the meteor shower, awaiting the others reply to his sorries.

As Akumu was awaiting his answer from either of the males he had addressed, the old being found his attention being drawn to the girl as she suddenly became alive once more….and not in a good way it seemed. The boy who had exclaimed when he had saw the stars begin to move had seemed to annoyed the child in some way. No sooner had the other exclaimed than the girl had turned around to speak to him in a not so friendly manner. She was telling him to be quiet and giving him a similar attitude she had given to him when he had first arrived. While Akumu was no judge, he did have his limits when it came to respect or being open to others.

He was not one to beat around bushes or sugar coat anything. He’d tell the truth and preferred if the world was equally as honest; however, humans no matter what time they were from were…complex beings. Instead of being direct, they choose to do other things like lash out at things that weren’t really that much of a problem to begin with. The girl’s action did indeed put a damper on the mood, but it only got worse as the boy decided he need to apologize for doing nothing at all. From the apology, he bowed and gave his name to them and apologized again.

To his words, Akumu shook his head lightly allowing the older male speak first before following up what he said.

“You have not disturbed me either,” he said with a light nod before he was falling quiet and observing the boy for a moment as he decided to answer his question.

“Ah,” Akumu said as a light smile appeared on his face. “Yes. This is the first time of seeing such a sight,” the attendant said looking back at the sky for a moment watching a few stars before he was leveling his eyes again with the boy. “I apologize for not being more reactive to such a sight, but I find myself wondering why the stars do that. I always thought they were stationary objects,” he finished with a light chuckle. He was quite amused with the whole ordeal; however, that amusement would end as new curiosity filled him as the boy mentioned a word.

“Snow?” Akumu repeated before he held out his hand and let a few of the white objects fall on his hand once more. “You mean these small white objects that quickly turn to water upon the skin? Is that what snow is? Or is it perhaps something else?” Akumu asked truly curious about the answer.

The old attendant would be silent for a while to allow any clarification to be spoken; however, his attention would shift from the curiosity of snow and moving stars to the older gentleman who seemed to be scolding the girl for her behavior in some fashion.

While Akumu had mostly forgotten about the incident thanks to other curiosities, he couldn’t deny how pleased he was to hear the words come out of the other's mouth. Heh. He guessed some humans had some hope of being saved after all, but on the other hand he wondered if this would start chaos. The girl after all had not been very friendly to anyone thus far….Would she change for this one? Or would she become more aggressive?

Lady Fate what cards will you reveal this time?

Nilo smiled to Akumu with a very happy and friendly demeanor. It would be an almost unnerving sight to people who knew him well to see him so happy, but right now that didn't bother him. He looked up at the snow and stars, thinking carefully about what to say. He didn't quite understand how Akumu didn't know about snow, but maybe he was from the dessert? People in the dessert don't get snow... But is that an excuse to not be taught about it? Nilo thought these things carefully, along with his response and answers to Akumu's questions.

"Shooting stars are actually meteors... They're giant rocks shooting through the sky really fast. When they get close to earth, they look like shooting stars, like these." he said, pointing up at the shooting stars, then at a snow flake. "And snow is fluffy, frozen water that falls when its cold... But I think these might be special... Like the shooting star's tears..." he became quiet after that and upon hearing the semi-fight between Rita and the specter-man.

He listened carefully to Rita's apology beforehand, of course, but didn't choose to respond, simply giving her a light nod and polite smile. He chose to omit himself entirely from the semi-fight, wishing to avoid all conflict if at all possible. Even if he hated being pitied, it made it to where getting into fights or being bullied at school almost impossible for him. He was always the mystery in class, the super pale kid who went to the nurse's office almost every other minute of the day. It was this that caused him to fear fights, finding it hard to understand them and to only let his imagination roam in how terrible one could end in.

It seemed that Lady Fate had left him with Lady Luck.

Instead of getting direct answers, he would have to contend with the what Luck threw at him…something that was always a mixed batch of good and bad. Take this situation for example. While it was true that he had been brought to this place for something, he actually began to wonder exactly what that something was. When the door had first opened and he had spotted the trio on the hill, the old resident thought that he would find his answer by approaching the group; however, the more time he spent around the group the more he began to question this approach to the problem at hand.

It seemed that the Hanged Man was Lady Luck’s card of choice in this game today. A very odd card, but one that could have good turn outs….if it could make up its mind what it wanted to do. On one hand this situation was a mess.

Rita and the one called Sharaku were at a disagreement causing the air to churn with a tension that Akumu wasn’t sure was a good or bad thing. It didn’t appear man and girl were going to strike out physically at each other, but it did not change the fact that Akumu was highly cautious of both as words and counters were exchanged. It appeared the calmer man was ruffled a bit and the girl didn’t really care at all. The two energies did not meld well together, but as long as nothing serious happened Akumu had no need to be concerned with the disagreements here and there.

In any case, his attention would shift to the only thing on the beach that seemed to be in a more or less good mood. The white haired boy named Nilo. As he asked his questions, the boy answered causing the cautious gaze the attendant had on the heated pair to melt into one of curiosity.

Shooting stars were really meteors…which were giant rocks that could fly through the sky at fast speeds? And when they got close to the Earth they became stars?

Akumu looked back up at the lights in the sky with a blank expression upon his face for a moment and then looking back at Nilo, he frowned thoroughly confused.

“So these..rocks. Where do they come from and what makes them move and transform into stars?” he asked as he tried to understand this phenomena. Akumu was quiet for moment to allow an answer if the boy wanted to answer, but shortly he would move onto the concept of snow.

As the boy explained this occurrence, Akumu would look back at the snow he allowed to fall on his hand watching as it went from the fluffy object and back into water. Mmm. This one made more sense than the rock star transformation deal from earlier. At least this transformation could be seen up close…and the explanation was easy enough to swallow…or was until the last bit.

“Stars cry? Why?” Akumu asked unable to contain that question as he blinked a few times in surprise. This news was completely new to him and in his head was worth examining more as he allowed his hand to fall back to his side and he looked to the boy for answers.

He let some silence pass between them before his eyes turned to Sharaku as he decided to speak once more. Not exactly caring for the tone he was hearing, Akumu would remain polite nonetheless as he gave the other a small smile and a light nod.

“Mmm. I will take the suggestion into considerations and see if I am allowed more such adventures as this one,” the old attendant said carefully as he watched the other male for a second more before his eyes would narrow with some unreadable emotion and then just like that he was looking away from the male and back to the beach lit by the lights above.

Such a lovely and mysterious scene. What secrets did it hide?
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Akumu is unsure of Rita and Sharaku, but is becoming comfortable with Nilo.

Nilo smiled lightly at Rita, he felt happier towards her now that talking to her didn't feel so cold. But as for her quite words... He didn't know how to properly respond to them. He didn't want to offend her by saying something wrong, but he didn't want to just leave the silent words to be left unheard. He silently decided to try and talk to her when the other two would eventually leave, and or if she tried to leave earlier. He turned his attention towards Rita explanation, grateful she was able to explain the phenomenon better than he could.

"... Think about it... What if these shooting stars are looking for a home, and this may be the perfect home for them... But, they were so impatient they decided to go super fast, and now that they found the perfect home... They can't slow down to come and live here... So they're crying because of their mistake... They were to impatient to wait for something magnificent." he said in a mystical and fantasizing tone of voice. He loved the idea so much; the thought of the shooting stars living made him happy some how... Even if they were crying.

He turned his gaze towards the others, smiling lightly, "Sorry if I rambled... This is just... Such an amazing thing to happen..." he said politely, the fearful and sorry tone he had before now replaced with a kind one.

It would appear the Hanged Man was indeed in play. The situation on the beach was constantly changing. What appeared to be a small disagreement between Sharaku and Rita that could’ve gotten out of hand was changing its form after the man had decided to leave the idea of pursuing such arguments alone. The girl had mumbled something before she had fallen quiet, the air around her churning in a way that Akumu did not quite understand. He could tell something was wrong, but being not completely attuned with human emotions Akumu was having difficulty determining if this emotion flowing through her was good or bad...and if the latter what he should do about it.

In any case, he wouldn’t have time to try and figure this out as the girl decided to speak and turn to face him. She began to explain this concept of rocks transforming into stars. She said they didn’t transform at all. It was just the light around them that made them seem like stars and the rate at which they moved gave the name shooting stars.

Akumu tilted his head at the girl as he pondered what had been said.

“Well, then why do the rocks have light that make them appear that way? Is that natural or caused by their movement?” he would ask her in his usual calm tones curious about any more information that can be gained about this. He would be silent for a moment before blinking as the other mentioned something called a figure of speech and told him that stars do not cry. Such things were fairytales, but still kind of sweet….

“Huh…I see,” Akumu said as he bowed his head slightly thinking more about what was said. Did he really see or did he not see? It was hard to tell if the man truly was grasping the concepts as he looked back up at the girl that had decided to give him an odd smile that Akumu couldn’t help returning with a light “hmph” as he nodded at her appreciative.

Perhaps this one wasn’t as ill mannered as first assumed. Maybe she simply needed time to warm up to people. Whatever the case was, the change was nice, but would appear to last for only a short while before the girl was looking back at the sky and becoming silent again. The strange air around her began to grow again as she turned to face away from the group. Akumu wanted to ask her what was wrong, but instead was distracted by Nilo as he spoke up once more. As blue eyes landed on the boy, Akumu would listen to his take on the stars and why they cried. This one said they cried because they couldn’t not stop fast enough to land on their new home after leaving their old one. As he listened to this tale, Akumu would glance up at the stars as the snow continued to fall.

“I suppose that is understandable then,” he would say as he observed the stars again. His mind was quite confused as to what was true or not about the stars, but instead of trying to unconfused himself, he instead simply accepted the words as they were as he observed the show from a different point of view.

“Too impatient to wait for something magnificent, yet in being impatient they become magnificent,” he would say softly before becoming quiet once more to study the moving stars. His observation would come to an end when Nilo spoke again, apologizing for his rambling.

To this, Akumu smiled lightly as he shook his head.

“I find your rambling fascinating. Thank you both for keeping me informed,” Akumu said giving a light nod to the girl and boy, who had answered his questions.

As for the last of the group, the man had remained quiet up until the apologize from the boy, but much like Akumu he was not bothered by the boy’s rambling or excitement. Sharaku seemed to be more or less content that the boy was enjoying himself, but Akumu had to wonder….was the man himself enjoying the situation? Hmmm…

Blue eyes would close slightly as he kept eye on the man from the corner of his eye. The old attendant wouldn’t turn to the other until the suggestion was made about getting out more. Akumu would respond to such words carefully before becoming quiet and listening to what was said back. To what the attendant heard, he would blink as his smile grew slightly.

“If what you say is true, then I would like to see these other things very much,” Akumu said his voice remaining as polite and calm as ever as he watched the other for a second before blinking and turning his attention elsewhere for a second before turning to look back to the man as he decided to speak to the girl that was turned away from them.

Sharaku seemed to be apologizing for his earlier action and trying to get the girl to come out of that strange air that she had surrounded herself with. Hmm…so when someone was swallowed up in strange airs you were suppose to try and save them from it?

Akumu wondered this as he watched the strange event play out, trying to learn something from observing that he had never tried before, but maybe in the future could apply should someone need saving from strange airs.
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Note: Akumu is fine with Nilo and is slowly relaxing around Sharaku and Rita now that things are seemingly trying to calm. He is still a bit unsure of them though since their moods and behaviors are confusing to him.

Nilo looked up and smiled at the others responses. He was happy that they didn't find him annoying, despite it all. He was about to respond to Akumu again before his attention was now completely on Sharaku and Rita. It was true, Nilo deffinatley saw something off about Rita and of course, he heard her quiet words... He felt bad that he didn't speak up earlier but he knew that if someone exposed one of his facades he would be left in a terrible state.

His thoughts held true as Rita broke down into tears and shouts. This caused Nilo to wince and take a step back, instantly triggering him to seem scared. He didn't know how to respond to the break down, in fact, when was the last time he had one? He shook his head, now wasn't the time to focus on something so irrelevant. He listened to Rita's sobbed words with a frown; what would have happened if he had stood up to her and not Sharaku?

"... Rita... I-It's okay, honestly... You... You don't need to cry..." he said with a weak, but reassuring smile. He felt terrible for not noticing how much strain he has put on her and really only wanted to alleviate any pain she felt towards the situation. "... I'll do whatever you want me to do, Rita." he said with a determined look, prepared to do whatever would make her the happiest.