Spiritual Pathways (Nilo, Closed)

He looked up at Akumu and smiled lightly, genuinely glad he came today. He looked down at his book, thinking about what would happen if he wished Akumu to be his teacher in this subject. He looked down at the notes he already took, tracing a few of them with his finger as he continues to hum along with her. He looked up after a while, looking towards Akumu.

"I couldn't tell you how much I want you to be my teacher in this subject... I'm afraid to do this alone... The people who saved me are nice and all... But... They don't seem to be to knowledgeable of these subjects..." he said with a sigh, twirling his pencil in his hand. "Could you... Please be my teacher?" he said with a light sigh, not thinking Akumu would accept the task of teaching him.

He returned to his humming absent mindedly, not noticing he was actually humming aloud. The tune was aery to say the least... But it reigned out an undenying hope. It was the tune that Miss Muffet hummed to the spider she controlled, the one that killed her in the tales. It wasn't until Akumu asked his question that Nilo noticed his humming, looking a little startled before nodding.

"She hums it all the time... I try asking her but she doesn't ever respond in kind..." he said after a while, returning to the humming out of habit.

Akumu made his offer and got a smile in return. Remaining open and patient, the attendant watched the child take his time to think on what had been said. He traced notes and after a while spoke. When he spoke, Akumu nodded in understanding. Mmm. The Aawakened, while special, often did not know the true nature of the matter without a guide of some sort. Nilo had mentioned that some with awakened power had saved him, but it would seem that the ones he spoke of did not have a guide or perhaps simply had not passed enough time with the child to inform him of such things. There was much speculation around the two awakened, but in a matter of seconds Akumu would leave the thought alone. Whether or not they had a guide or not, it was comforting knowing that there were at least some that seemed to care enough for Nilo to help him in a jam.

In any case, when the child asked him to be his teacher, the old attendant gave the other a pleased smile.

“I’d be honored to do so. In fact, here,” Akumu would hold one hand out as a small ball of bluish color light floated above his hand for a second before forming into an odd oriental key. This key would then float to Nilo. “This key will allow you to find me wherever you are. The hidden doors will bow to you as long as you hold the key and allow you into my territory any time you feel like you need guidance. I will stay by your side to the end, if you allow it that is,” Akumu told the other before falling silent after he had given the other option to accept or decline the key.

In any case, after business was done and the contract made should the other accept the key to the Velvet Room and Akumu’s territory, the subject would eventually change to the humming the boy performed. When Akumu asked about the song, the boy seemed startled at first, but then calming he answered the question.

“Mmm. Maybe that is her way of asking you to simply trust her. Her song is quite lovely despite what others might say. A true sign of hope in this world. I am certain she will serves you well,” Akumu said as he tucked the pen into the old spine of the book he had and closed it, revealing the cover to be that of ancient Japanese folklore.

The boy hummed and the spirits whispered. It seemed that time was slowly running out for the attendant; however, he had a few more moments to spare to wrap up any lose ties.
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Note: Nilo has been offered the Velvet Key. Accept it?

Nilo tilted his head at the orb and gasped in silent awe as it formed into a key and floated in front of him. He looked up at Akumu on the explanation of the key and nodded, smiling happily as he went and grabbed it. He held the oriental key in his hand for a moment before either putting it within his jacket's pocket or allowing it to dissapear if it so chooses to do so. (Like the tarot cards, I don't know how the keys work, sorry.) He then looked up at Akumu, smiling lightly.

"Thank you, this means a lot to me." he said with a smile and nod of respect to Akumu. "I'll be the best student I can, promise." he said, a determined look on his face. He was fond of studies, that much can be determined from his writings. He tried his best to do what he could and the matters of Persona and Shadow would take priority.

He listened to what Akumu had to say on the song. It was odd; did she play the song out of trust? He didn't know, it didn't seem like it'd make sense... All she did was hum... Nilo sighed but smiled past it, coming to a thought that surprised him.

"One last question for today... Um... How do I summon her?" he asked, utterly bewildered that he never thought to ask the question.

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Note: Nilo has accepted the Velvet Key.

The child was curious about the orb and reacted accordingly when it revealed itself to be a key, which Akumu explained. After, explaining the key and what it did, the child nodded and accepted the gift much to Akumu’s pleasure. Even if another chain had been added him, he was at least glad to be able to perform his duty as a guide easily enough. As the key accepted the boy’s touch and disappeared into a energy that settled within the boy, Akumu heard the thanks given and gave a nod to the other.

“Anytime,” he would say simply before giving the other the slightest of smirks. “I will hold you to your word, Nilo. I look forward to working with you further.” The words were true and genuine. He would indeed enjoy walking this path with the child that seemed like he would be just fine in the end.

When the subject came around to the song that the boy hummed, the attendant didn’t get much of a response outside of a sigh and a smile. The boy was still trying to figure his gift out and while Akumu had given a possibility of why such a hum was performed, he knew for a fact that only Nilo could find the true meaning of the song in time.

A tilt of the head and a question later, Akumu chuckled lightly at the boy as he asked a basic question.

“There are many ways in which a persona can be summon, each unique to their masters and situations. You said yours became a card in your retelling of your awakening, no? Then perhaps all you need to do is summon that card and break it in some fashion to unleash the power within; however, without something to actually test this out, I can only give this guess to you.”

Nilo listened and wrote down what Akumu said as he seemed to grow accustomed to doing so. He didn't even bother trying to resist his humming, looking over his note with a critical eye before nodding and smiling, looking back up at Akumu. His head was swarming with the information he had accumulated throughout the day, a dazzled look in his eyes.

"Okay... I think that quenches all of my current curiosity... Thank you very much, Teacher Akumu." he said with a light smile, a light laugh escaping his lips. "Is it okay if I call you that? I think it's only fitting after today's events." he said with his still light smile.

The child wrote, hummed, and reviewed his notes. It seemed that the boy was handling all the information he was given quite well. An impressive feat considering how confusing it all could be. When the boy seemed satisfied with what he had gained, he looked up at Akumu with that smile of his as some emotion that Akumu couldn’t quite understand flicker in his eyes; however, Akumu did not question what he saw as he instead focused on what the child was saying.

To the words, Akumu gave a light nod as he felt for a second that he had done his job rather well; however, light pride would turn to mild amusement and shock at what the boy’s last bit of words. Teacher Akumu? Well now. That was something he was not used to being called.

As the child asked for permission to call him by this title, Akumu thought on it for a moment. Was he allowed to have such a title? There was nothing in the rules that said he couldn’t be addressed as such and it was not like he was laying claim on the child, so surely the name change would be fine…right? Besides…Akumu kind of liked it despite how odd it sounded at the moment.

“I…suppose that will be just fine,” Akumu said as he settled on a decision and looked at the boy returning the smile as the agreement was made. In any case, Akumu allowed a few more minutes to pass by before he placed his book back in his sleeve and stood up just as the church bells began to ring signaling the time.

“My door is always open to you, Nilo, so feel free to stop by anytime,” the attendant said before pausing and bowing to the young man. “Until next time, young master.”

With that, Akumu would give one last smile before he turned away and began to walk down the aisle towards the exit of the church before seemingly disappearing into thin air; however, to those with eyes that could see into the other side, the door that Akumu used to make his exit could be seen opening and closing as the attendant returned to his own plain of existence for the time being.

Akumu has exited the thread.

Nilo nodded and smiled at the approval of being allowed to call Akumu his teacher. He wanted to show the elven-like man that he respected him for what he was doing with him. He closed his book with the pencil still in it, returning to holding it closely to his body. He slowly stood after Akumu and watched him leave with awe. He looked down at his hand, remembering the key. He smiled and made his departure, wondering what it would look like within Akumu's world. He smiled at the thought and left the church slowly, humming his song all the way.

He had gained a teacher and ally in the confusion that came within Persona, it was amazing. He wasn't sure if everything he heard stuck but he forced himself to understand it. Shadows where dangerous, and these other worlds... Why did they exist? He didn't know but he needed to do what he could. Jack came to mind after a while... Did the enigmatic boy know of Persona himself?

Nilo shook his head lightly, exiting the chapel and walking down its steps. He would have to ask his friend later, right now, he needed to go home and study the information. He wondered if any questions where left unanswered outside of Shadow Selves... He had a plan and he was going to see it through as he headed home.

(Nilo has left the thread)
(All participants have left, thread closed)