A lot sure has changed... (Oki)

The old being spoke its words and then fell silent to let it all sink in. It wasn’t sure how much of an impact it was having on Jack as it walked away from the twisted statute and headed up the stairs. Midway to the top, Oki would pause and look at Jack, challenging him without words to move forward even if his pain was threatening to pull him down. It was quiet as it kept a neutral expression on its face as its green eyes remained on Jack in a calm and serene way as the sun floated through the leaves of the trees and the wind blew tugging at clothing and hair it could grab.

As Oki waited for Jack, it closed its eyes to enjoy the wind as it passed by. The sensation was welcoming and healing. It was a special part of this small stretch of forest that most ignored. A secret that Oki enjoyed keeping from others unless it was necessary to share it. Like now.

Green eyes would open and settle on Jack for a moment as he seemed to stutter and become flustered over something. When he called its name, Oki tilted its head as it gave the other a quizzical look.

“Yes?” it would ask, but when it didn’t get an answer it frown lightly not really understanding what was going on for a few second; however, that frown would soon melt away as Jack began to move up the stairs and towards it. It started with just one step, but then another and another followed. Slowly, but surely Jack made his way up to the stair that Oki was on and stood next to it.

Not minding the closeness of the other, Oki smiled lightly.

“Well done, my friend," it would say before shook its head at Jack's thank you. "There is no need to thank me. I’ve done nothing, but simply stated the truth,” the being said humbly before going up the stairs once more. It would pause at the top of stairs and gesture for Jack to follow.

“Come. Come. I’d like you to meet someone,” Oki said before skipping up the rest of the stairs and disappearing over the rise. If Jack followed, he would find the stairs led up to a wide open area shaded by tall trees. The thick and old stones slightly overgrown with weeds, but still safe to walk upon. A bit further back was a small house that had a staircase leading up to a square porch that wrapped around the house and a door to go in. Oki was standing at the bottom of these stairs waiting for Jack. If he had come, Oki would wave him over before going up the steps and towards the door to the small house.

Jack would gently close his eyes and listen to what Oki had to say to him... Not a few moments ago he was a broken and dead man.... yet now he felt.... calm. Oki had stabilized the flames inside his soul. Jack still felt the pain he was in when he first got to the shop today but.... now he felt it was organized... put in it's proper place. Like it was at peace with the rest of him. Heh... And Oki says she only told the truth... so humble... so kind... Oki truly was a good person.

"Oki.... there's something I wanted to tell you... I ... I have these feelings, for you... I don't quite understand them... b-but... I... I think... I think I might l- EH!?" Jack turned and opened his eyes to gaze deeply into Oki's... buuut she was gone... She-.... didn't hear a word of that did she.... With a sigh, Jack quickly bounded up the steps and stood next to Oki at the top "Meet?.... Uh... I look like shit right now Oki heh... ya know from all the crying?" Jack quickly wiped his face on his scarf"I don't know if I'm presentable heh...."

When Jack had closed his eyes, Oki had given him his moment to collect himself before gesturing for him to come with it further up the hill. As it moved, it thought it heard its name called, but the sound was so soft that the being would shrug it off as the wind. It always heard strange things up here, so its name being whispered on the winds was nothing on usual.

Seeing the whisper as the spirits of the area being pleased, Oki would have no clue of the truth behind the whisper. When Jack finally made it up the stairs and came to a stop next to Oki, the being paused at the door it was before and looked Jack up and down with serious green eyes.

"Let's see. A little red eyed, but still very cute. I think you are very presentable to the one I want you to meet," Oki said with a wink and a nod before opening the door that led into a candle lit room heavy with the scent of light inscents. The place was quiet and cool, but the being didn't seem to mind as it lead the way in before stopping at the middle where a statue of a woman with closed eyes rested with her hands open and held out to either side.

On her lap sat a black fox that sat up instantly when Oki came its tail wagging in delight as its cataract covered eyes gazed into nothing. Grinning and petting the fox, Oki would turn to Jack with a smile.

"Jack this is Magnolia, this place her home. The fox is named Soot and it acts at her guardian," Oki said guesturing with a gloved hand to the statue.

"When you are in pain or lost, Magnolia can show you the way. All you have to do is come here and mediate or pray. The spirits that inhabit this place will help you if the ones along the path cannot ease the burden," Oki said and then dropping its hand it stepped forward with a serious expression.

"This is my secret place, but I share it with you because you remind me of myself at one point in life. I hope she can serve you as well as she served me in your time of need. The only catch is you can't tell anyone else about this place, got it?" Oki said ending its words with a smirk as it stood before the statute with its hands on its hips as looked playfully at Jack.

Jack.exe has encountered a fatal Error and must restart, Do you wish to send a bug report?
[Yes] [No]

Please wait for restart. Do not unplug or reset your computer.

Jack .exe has rebooted. Thank you for waiting.

Did she just wink!? O-Ok! An off handed comment about him being cute he could understand, he had even gotten over his crippling shyness when it came to being called cute. It was fine. He was a Ranger he could handle it... But a wink? That was just unfair! How was he supposed to react to that!? It was...Ju-Just to much! No mortal man should be expected to take being called very cute AND winked at by Oki... it just isn't possible! She must have had some sort of... Mind powers or something..."A-Acha... ok..." Was the most jack could get out as he fallowed Oki into her small house.

However, once he entered he felt a calmness fall over him. As if all the pain and embarrassment of the day had finally washed away. He felt himself become transfixed by the statue... it was... beautiful. Oki called it Magnolia... Jack could certainly feel the magic in this room. It was suffocatingly powerful yet... kind and gentle.

Jack would turn to Oki once she finished her explanation... aaaaaaand he could feel the heat raising to his cheeks again... Damn it! How could she reduce the mighty Red Ranger to such a mess? "R-Right! You don't have to worry about a thing Oki... I'll keep this secret with my life... Thank you for bringing me here. Just standing in this room seems to help. Who... Who is Magnolia exactly?" Jack's eyes would land on the statue...

(Poor Jack. DX I hope the computer issues get better.)

Oki couldn’t help, but to smirk lightly at Jack’s reaction to the wink. Just like the first time it had called him cute, he seemed to get highly flustered by the playful attitude. So much so that he seemingly forgot how to speak for a moment. Huh..what strange behavior. Was this normal for guys? Sure, Hyde did that sometimes too, but then again Shaku had not done the same. Hrmmm…was it age perhaps that caused this? Or was Oki missing the point completely?

…Yeah. Probably the latter of the two. In any case, Oki wouldn’t think too long on this as it went up the stairs into the small home. Jack followed it in and seemed to be calming down from whatever had him flustered in the first place. Things looked like they were going well, but when Oki turned to ask him to promise not to tell anyone else about this place, the being found itself tilting its head lightly as the flustered nature from before came back to the other…What on earth? Was he sick?

A bit concerned, Oki blinked as he said his words and then asked about Magnolia.

“Hm? Magnolia? She be the mother of healing. She is an earth spirit that has lived here for many years. An wandering spirit master told Grandma about it when she bought the shop and Grandma introduced her to me when I too fell in a dark space in life,” Oki said looking at the statue with a smile of pride. It really did enjoy this statue and area. Not so much because of some mystical power it had, but because…it remind it of better days. When life was simple once more.

After a few more moments of observing the beautiful piece of art, Oki’s green eyes would turn to Jack as its expression became serious once more.

“Neh, Jack? Are you sure you are okay? You’ve been acting kind of odd ever since I winked at you. You okay?” Oki asked as it stayed by the statue watching him with a mix of concern and curiosity.

An earth sprite eh?... Jack momentarily wondered if it would be in poor taste to ask it to turn Jack into a real Power Ranger... On one hand he could possibly offend the spirit and Oki. Lose Oki's friendship and get kicked out on his ass, and possibly haunted for the rest of his life by an angry earth goddess... on the other had he might get a real morpher... Hmmmm... Fair trade off to be honest... Wait NO! What is Jack thinking! He can't risk that! It's to horrible! Even if he would get the one thing he wanted even more then saving the world...

"Mother of healing huh?..." Jack would look at the statue and smile"It's nice to meet you... My name is Jack."

He would stand in silence for a moment until Oki asked her question. Jack, to his surprise, didn't freak out at the implications of the question. Jack felt... calm! whether it was this room or the statue it didn't matter... Jack was... calm."Oh uh... It's cus I think I might like you. Not sure yet."

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"...Crap I said that out loud didn't I?"

Oki let the other take in the information it had given about Magnolia, watching as the other went through some thought process before actually speaking to the spirit. The action was sweet and caused Oki to smile as it nodded at Jack approvingly. It was rare that it found people that believed in the spirits and even rarer that someone addressed them in such a fashion these days. While there was no voice from above, a light breeze carrying the scent of flowers blew through the area surrounding the pair before exiting the area.

While some would pass this off as a coincidence, Oki chuckled lightly as it looked over at Jack with a slight tilt of its head.

“She says it’s nice to meet you too. She hopes you enjoy your stay,” Oki told the other before it began to focus on the way Jack was acting. When it asked its question, the being was preparing for a variety of things, but the thing that came out of Jack’s mouth was one thing the being was not prepared for.

He…liked Oki?

Oki was quiet as its posture relaxed and a blank expression came upon its face. It would blink at him for a bit letting out an audible “Mhmmm” in response to his question. The being wasn’t mad or anything, but rather perplexed at this situation.

On one hand it was in a way delighted, but on the other blocked off. Sure it could be Jack’s friend, but….

“Jack says he is unsure if he like Oki or not…Define like Jack,” Oki said as it watched him carefully wondering which version of like the guy was referring to. If he meant like as in just a friend, cool! The feeling was mutual, but if he meant the other like….well….that could be problematic now couldn’t it? Still until some form of confirmation was made, Oki remained blank and calm.

Why... why was Oki talking in the third person?.... Ok... weiiiiiird... But then again compared to the stuff Jack sees and hears, yes he's talking about you Golem, on a daily basis... this wasn't so bad. "Heh... Define like huh? Well... Ah hell I'm already this far in might as well go the full nine yards ya know? Like is... When I'm around you I feel strong, yet frail. Like I could take on all the shadows and angels and whatever else want's us Persona users dead... Yet I feel like I would crumble if you asked me to. When you look my way, I feel warm all over... yet I feel a chill run up my spine. I like you in a way... that I'm almost positive that you can't like me in..."

Jack would smile and let out a laugh... a genuine laugh... probably his first in a very long time... "And ya know what.... I think I'm ok with that..."

Oki stayed where it was for a moment observing Jack carefully as it kept its thoughts hidden and calm as it waited to see just what Jack would say or do. When he began, Oki listened quietly to the other understanding bit by bit what he meant by his poetic words and for two seconds felt like it was going to have to bust his bubble, when he somehow managed to that himself.

When Jack was done, Oki was quiet for a moment as it simply observe him with an unreadable expression.

“Jack be a strange fellow. Not as strange as Oki, but strange nonetheless,” it said in calm tones as it moved down the small staircase until it was once more before Jack. It would stay quiet before him for a while before it looked up at him with an easy smile. “But that is why you are so charming and Oki likes you too. Perhaps if we did not belong to someone already, this might’ve turned out differently; however, I am can remain happy if you remain good friends with Oki, okay?” the being said with a grin and then becoming serious, it dug in its pocket for something.

After a moment it produced a skull ring. As it did this, it looked at the strange item with a thoughtful expression. Mmm..Yes. He could have this one.

“Oki cannot be a ranger, but it would like to help you with your missions or goals, even if they vary. So don’t be afraid to ask us or discuss things with us,” the being said and then grabbed Jack’s hand gently and put the ring in it.

“A reminder…that no matter where you are I am always there to help you even if I am not physically right there. Don’t give up hope. Ever,” the being said before placing a light kiss on Jack’s forehead before brushing pass him and heading towards the door. Jack could follow if he wanted or stay. Either way Oki would go back outside to work on some flowers that rested on the porch of the house for the moment. It would let what it said sink into Jack and let him make out of it what he would like.

Gift for Jack: Skull Ring: A sign of deep loyalty and belief in one friends no matter where they are

Jack would stand there for a moment looking down at the ring in his hand. He let Oki's words flow over him time and time again. Running through them in his head several time until he fully understood her rejection.... but... was it a rejection? She already had someone who made her happy. That brought comfort to Jack. He knew that whoever it was, was probably a better fit for the soft spoken teashop owner then he was. A small smile played on his face as he reflected on all that she said to him about strength and picking one's self up after you fall. He Thought for a moment before something hit him...

"Wait.... I never got my tea.... Hey! Oki! Wait up!" Jack would call as he started down the steps. His new ring shining on his finger.

{Exit}