Andromeda [Oki]

“ Sorry if I’m being a bit of a stinker, I’m just getting a weird vibe about the things that people plant nowadays. They aren’t regular plants; they have strange patterns on them. Which is why they are pretty, but it still means that we should be careful about it. “Hyde took hold of Oki’s hand, though he preferred to feel her actual skin instead of a glove. However, it wasn’t that much of a big deal for him to just outright mention it, it was just a different feeling for him. Either way, Hyde moved forward together with oki, turning off the flashlight momentarily to save battery.

“If there is somewhat of a light, I guess we wouldn’t need the flashlight for a while, right? Maybe I should put it away?” Hyde would say as he contemplated his next course of action. Though, Hyde nuzzled on oki’s neck very breifly and gave her a small kiss on the cheek. “Sorry, I couldn’t help myself. I can be a bit extra affectionate when you are around.

Oki had to hand it to Hyde. The plants were odd in color and pattern, but then again that is exactly why the being had wanted to touch the thing in the first place. It had seen various flowers over its life time, but none quite as colorful as these orange and black roses that were all about. They gave off a faint fragrance, but it didn’t seem toxic, but then again maybe it wasn’t the scent they had to worry about. Maybe it was actual contact with the plants that was the problem. It was a strange riddle, but it was one that Oki left in the back of its mind as it moved forward with Hyde.

“You be not stinker. You just use your head a bit more than us when you act,” Oki said with a light smile and then nodding continued. “Well, I think they may be hybrids, but who know maybe like frogs you are not supposed to touch the colorful flowers,” Oki said as it came to a stop before the vines that blocked the door.

As Hyde turned off the light and contemplated putting it away, Oki was trying to figure out a way to get through the vines without touching them per se, but found itself highly distracted by Hyde’s unexpected show of affection. More pleased than startled by this, it was easy for Oki to lean back into the other and return the love with a snug of its own.

“If you keep doing that Oki will not be able to help as much,” the being teased him with a grin before it looked around the area and found a nice thick stick. Going over to the stick, Oki picked it up and after testing how flimsy it was, it nodded and went back over to the vines.

“It may be light over here, but who knows what is on the other side of the door. Let’s just hope it is open this time,” Oki said before approaching the vines and then moving them back with the stick making a pathway for Hyde.

“After you handsome,” Oki said with a wink as it held the vines up for him to pass under and lead the way perhaps pass the door if it was unlocked.

“Don’t mind if I do Gorgeous. “ So there was a bit of playful banter between the two, but Hyde really couldn’t help himself. He had feelings for her, and it was showing up a lot. Either way, this adventure turned out to be the most fun that he had, even though there was a bit of  danger here and there. “ As hyde led the way, he opened the door ahead of then, the nob surprisingly turned with a click, which led into another part of the house. “This is like a house of tricks, I wonder if andoromeda is in here.  

OOC: i was sleepy and idk whats behind the door XD

((Ah. That is okay and you can always make things up. You are in control of the landscape just as much as I am ^^))

The playful banter between itself and Hyde was something that never got old for the being. It enjoyed the playful touch to their relationship that seemed to bring them closer and closer with each step. While this house and the whole search for Andromeda was big event on its own, it gave Hyde and itself much needed time together to bond in a way that Oki wasn’t sure could’ve happened other wise.

Sure, there was a little danger here and there, but for the most part it was calm and Oki honestly didn’t mind that. It and Hyde were together and that was all that mattered.

In any case, Hyde would go under the vines and towards the door with Oki following close behind. When the door clicked and slid open smoothly, the pair passed into another hallway and ended up in the middle of a cross path. They could go straight, left, or right since behind them was the garden.

Unlike the brightly lit garden this hallway was gloomy once more with the only light being the lanterns that rested on post around the hallway.

“I am not sure anymore,” Oki said in response to Hyde words. “If she is here then she would be deeper in, but I wonder how long you are willing to play a game of chase in this house of tricks,” Oki said looking down the different pathways they could take. Hmmm…Each one lead to a do--.

“Are you two still here? Didn’t I tell ya to get a while ago?” the old man’s rough and agitated voice came from their left causing Oki to automatically turn towards the sound as it instinctively threw an arm out and backed up to protect Hyde. Like a ghost the old man wearing a Japanese mask of anger stood before the closed door giving the pair a heated gaze as he held a lantern loosely in his hand. A sword was strapped to his side.  

“What part of get lost don’t ya get, hmm?”

He didn’t move forward, but he didn’t move from his spot either.
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Old Man in Mask: He is semi-hostile, but why?
Picture: Dresswear and mask

Now hold on just a second there retro man, this isn’t the fudeal area where you are free to cut anyone down with your cool sword moves. We come in peace, and we dont have any weapons to hurt you or anything. “ Hyde was telling the truth and was being honest with the man. “It doesn’t even realistic to live here, why not so much electricity from what I can figure, being stuck in the middle of nowhere on Lunapa island, so how can I figure that you are the actual owner of this house anyway? This place is even further than the tree houses. Why don’t we just calm down and have some tea instead, we can say our prayer to the shrine and then we can go, ok? Why wouldn’t Andromeda want anyone to pray there, doesn’t it defeat the purpose of having people who believe in it? Just knowing it exists isn’t enough, right?

Hyde would then whisper to Oki. “I saw this in an anime once, I think it was the guardians or something. They disappear if not enough people believe in them….i think…””

This was a bit on the insane side, no? On one hand there was the old guy who kept popping in and out like a ghost now armed with a lantern and sword….and then there was Hyde talking to the guy…and Oki standing between the pair. Now on a normal day, this would’ve been fine. You know in familiar territory where you were sure tons of people could hear you if ya screamed?

Being in the middle of nowhere with an armed guy in house he probably knew well….well….that wasn’t exactly good to start off with. Yes, this did all start off with a dragon chess piece and curiosity, but….seriously who knew what this guy was doing here…or even if he was alone? Taunting him didn’t seem like a good idea and what Hyde whispered to Oki didn’t make logic sense either. Anime? What was that? Did he understand that spirits and whatever he was talking about may be on total different levels? Oki was very conflicted and confused on what to do here, but before it could settle on something ,the old man spoke.

“You have a big mouth for someone that knows nothing about nothing. We don’t like that sort stuff from the youth. It is time you were taught a lesson or two,” the old man said as he unsheathed his sword and stabbed it into the ground…causing the floor next to him to sink a bit. Before either could act two things happened at once.

First a strange claw like thing would come from the ceiling with lightning speed yanking Oki upward while at the same time, the floor around Hyde would tilt at angle to make him slid downward. Sure he could jump out of the way or do some other attempt to get around this if he was quick enough.

Whatever happened, these facts would remain.

If Hyde did successfully escape the trap, he would now find himself with the now armed old man in the hallway. He didn’t seem like he could be reasoned with and was prepared for a fight.

If Hyde failed to escape the floor trap, then he would find himself slipping into darkness and down into the lower parts of the house below. When he landed he would be in complete darkness surround by the smell of decay…

In either case, Oki would be nowhere to be found.
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!!!Activated!!!

> Old Masked Man: Angered and has activated trap.

> Oki is successfully captured by claw and is now somewhere in the upper floors of the house.

> Attempts to capture Hyde with floor trap. If successful, Hyde ends up in the catacombs of the mansion. If failed, then the masked man is prepared to take Hyde out.

What to do, little moth?

“Whose “we?” Hyde would question once again, but something would happen all too quick after Hyde tried to figure out what the old man was going on about. He first stuck his sword into something and Hyde’s senses immediately picked up on incoming danger. The door slid and hyde used his athleticism to jumped out of the way, but he was unable to grab oki and reach for her before she was pulled away from him. “Oki!” Hyde would call out to her desperately as she disappeared to the upper floor.  Hyde gave the man an angry glace, now realizing that this wasn’t just some old guy with a sword. “I’m dealing with a crazy old guy with a sword!

“nailed it….”

Hyde looked around to see if there was anything that he can use in order to defend himself from the samurai warrior, but all he could have close to had  at the moment was his  Flashlight. But hey, it was better than nothing. “What did you do with oki?!”

Strength

Spoiler:

“I wouldn’t worry about any of that boy. You have no idea just how mad I really am!” the old man growled as he came across the floor, his footsteps light thuds as he moved forward with speed that belied his age. As he neared Hyde, he would swing his blade upward in an attempt to whack Hyde right in the chest. A good eye would see the blade was dull and did not gleam with sharpness, making one wonder why this guy was attacking at all. Still the blade would indeed hurt if it hit. The move was quick hardly giving the normal person enough time to react; however this boy was quick on his feet no? After all, not just anyone could avoid the floor traps of this house and the boy had certainly just did. Still regardless of this, the man would not be persuaded to bow to the boy’s questions or let him get any further than this. As long as he stood Andromeda would remain safe.

******************

Meanwhile after being ripped from the floor by the claw Oki found itself in quiet the pickle. The stupid claw didn’t release it once it was pulled to some dark space of the upper part of the house! Wiggling, it tried to get lose, but the claw simply did not budge. Sighing, Oki rested its arm on the claw as its free hand moved to support its head. Drumming the thick metal with its gloved fingers, it wonder how Hyde was doing below. That nutsy guy had been left with him after all and he didn’t seem all that friendly.

Why the guy was so agitated in the first place was beyond Oki. Okay, sure they were trespassing, but seriously what was this? A Japanese style mansion hidden in the middle of island that was clearly not orient in nature? And what of these traps? These were definitely not old. In fact, this claw thing felt pretty smooth as if it was new. So what did that mean?

Was this house really what it appeared to be? Or had Oki and Hyde entered something way more fantastical than that? Hmmm…curious house, but also very annoying. Oki wanted to get back to Hyde and slap some sense into the guy that had caused all this. It wanted to know the truth, but if it couldn’t get away from the claw then what?

Growling lightly, Oki began to wiggle again determined not to let a stupid contraption keep it from Hyde or information.
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(Once upon time there was a Deshi. A Deshi with a leaky boat that despite arriving always late got to right place on correct date. Here ya go love. Sorry for the wait. >>)

Old Man: Coming in for an attack!
Oki: Have mechanical issues....literally.
Note: What is with this place and dude anyway?

“Dude, you kidnapped my girlfriend and are attacking me with a sword.  You have no idea how much I’m trying to hold my self-control because you’re an old timer. But you really need to calm down!”  What’s with this guy anyway? It’s not like they were planning something bad to happen to Andromeda. When the old man came at Hyde, Hyde was able to sense that an attack was heading is way from the get-go and brought up the flashlight to block it and roll on the opposite side of the man, bringing him closer to the side that the man appeared  from. “You could really hurt someone with that!”

strength

Spoiler:

“If you didn’t want anything bad to happened you should’ve stayed the hell out!” the old man growl as he moved in with his attack. When the boy reacted quickly and used his flashlight to parry his attack before rolling to the side the old man would stumble forward with his momentum, but caught his balance well enough as he lowered the sword to his side slightly and slowly turned to face Hyde taking another fighting stance.

“You damn kids always underestimate, your elders and always come shoving your way into places to screw up stuff. Well, I tell ya, I’ve had enough of it and thus why I am gonna give you a beating unlike any other, boy!” he said as he raised the sword above him and came charging at Hyde with a war cry; however, he would not make it to Hyde as unexpectedly the a ceiling panel above him swung downward and whapped him in the forehead.

With a groan he backed up cursing as he swayed unsteadily. If Hyde wanted now was his chance to really attack the guy. If not the guy would be stunned for a while longer so wouldn’t be a problem for now. In any case, if Hyde looked upward, he would find Oki still in the claw's grasp its hand holding onto a lever of some sort as it stayed frozen in its position as if it was a deer caught in the headlights of a car. Blinking once or twice, the being would let go of the lever as it grinned and waved at Hyde sheepishly.

“Oh good. You are still as beautiful as ever. We were worried about ya,” the being called down to him acting as if this whole situation was normal.

When in relaty everything had just been a lucky fluke. See, while Hyde was fighting Oki had been pondering in the dark what to do about the claw and so at random leaned as far as it could to see if there was anything it could grab in front of it. When it felt the strange lever, the being automatically grabbed at it and after getting a good grip on it had tried to use said lever to get out of the claw, thinking the thing was a pole or something; however, instead of getting free, the thing had moved and opened the floor panel in front, sending it swinging downward in a dangerous arc. By some miracle it had missed Hyde and hit the crazy guy instead. A most shocking thing, but one that Oki simply rolled with when it saw Hyde safe and sound. No need to question luck, right?
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Old Man: Ceiling panel applied directly to the mask’s forehead. Stunned due to swing trap floor from above.
Oki: The good news is I can see you Hyde. Bad news is Mr. Claw is still holding me. >>
Note:Oops...Wrong lever.

Hyde wasn’t cruel, he wasn’t going to attack an old man. “ Hey, grandpa, do you need any help? I hope you aren’t hurt or anything. I can take you to a hospital if you want?” Hyde sounded pretty genuine, he had no intention to hurt the man whatsoever. It wasn’t who he was.and he had respect for his elders. Briefly looking up, Hyde saw his girl swinging from some claw. She called out to him , Hyde blushed and rubbed his head. “Well, ehhh… I’m in a bit of a pickle here. I think the old timer is a little hurt. Can you get down? I’ll catch you.”

The old man caught his balance as he shook his head, his sword completely lowered as he took a moment to get his bearings once more. When he did, he heard the kid’s question and found himself looking up at the other through the mask. His eyes narrowed at the red head before his eyes flicked upward towards the girl that had spoken.

He was quiet as he watched the interaction between the pair. The girl’s playful words and the boy’s reaction…he had seen a scene similar to that many times in his dreams, but the one he was with was far from the child stuck in the claw. Still between the hit and the interaction, something changed within the old man as he stayed where he was watching the pair.

Meanwhile in response to Hyde’s question, Oki wiggled in the claw, but as usual the darn thing didn’t move. Oki sighed as it leaned casually against the claw as it looked down at Hyde with a pout.

“No. I was hoping that the metal pole could help, but that turned out to be a lever instead,” it said with a light shake of its head and then hearing the other half of what was said, Oki blinked at her blushing boyfriend. “Oh…so that is what that thud was…” it said with a wince and then trying to lean further over the claw to see the old man Oki said.

“Sorry, angry man! I just wanted to get down. Didn’t mean to hurt you,” Oki called to the old man that it wasn’t sure could hear it or not. From its position, it could not see him and he was had been really quiet since the event. It hoped it hadn’t hurt him too much. That floor board was pretty fast…

In any case, the call didn’t get a verbal response from the old man as instead the claw unexpectedly shifted and then released Oki causing it to drop down towards Hyde. If Hyde caught the falling being, it would take a moment to recover from the fall before snuggling into Hyde with a smile quite happy to be down and safe once more. Being in Hyde’s arms would be an added bonus to this perfect security. If he did not catch the being, then Oki would land cat like on the ground before him before standing back up.

In either case, the being would get back down to the bottom floor and eventually look over to the old man, who was pulling his sword from a sunken floor piece before sheathing it with a sigh.

Apparently something had changed for the old man was not as hostile as before as he glanced over at the pair, his hands reaching up to take off his mask to reveal his face.


“You two are an annoying couple. While you maybe on your head to see Andromeda, I can tell you now that she is not something to gawk at. This place,” he looked around the area they were in with a loving and appreciative eye. “Was her playground and once she was older her second home. I worked on it for years getting all the gears and what not just right for her. This mansion was our secret….” he said and then leveling his eyes with the two kids once more he asked.

“How did you find this place that I hid so well?” he asked as he his tone calm as he kept a cautious eye on them.

Hyde caught Oki and snuggled with her happily. Hyde held her in his arms and didn’t necessarily wanted to let go. He hasn’t seen her from a while, and the thought of losing her in this place scared him. “Oki….” Hyde whispered her name to her lovingly, full of affection and glad that she was ok. After she was let down, he was reluctant to hold her hand because they might need to move around if the old man attacked, but the old man didn’t attack anymore. His must of meant that they were in the clear, was the old timer finally ready to listen to reason?

“Well, she had a map. So we followed it, though.. you me it sound like Andromeda was a person or something? But that can’t be right, I thought she was a deity? But if you know Andromeda on a personal scale, wouldn’t that make you a lot older than I think you are? Hyde was a little confused, but stayed close to Oki.

It was easy for Oki to snuggle into Hyde and enjoy his warm embrace. The being liked this feeling of warmth and safety and quite frankly it was all it needed now a days. It didn’t matter how long Hyde held it close. Oki was content and Hyde was happy and that was all that mattered in the moment. When it heard its name come his lips, the being only snugged closer to him.

“I am still here, Hyde. Don’t worry,” Oki whispered back to the other the words gentle and full of love. It allowed itself to be held some more until unfortunately, it had to be placed back on the ground. As this occurred, Oki looked over at the old man as the situation became serious again. They still had potential trouble on their hands, but…the guy didn’t seem aggressive anymore. Whatever changed him seemed to make him more reasonable as he took the mask off and spoke in calmer and more civil tones.

As he heard Hyde speak, the old man let out a rough bark of a laugh as Oki stayed close by the red-head watching.

“I am only 80 years old young man. I think I still have another 20 or so to go before kicking the can thank you,” the old man huffed and as he placed one hand on his hip and shook his head with a light frown. After a few seconds, the frown vanished and he the old man scratched at his long bush of facial hair.

“You had a map, eh? How did you get a map to here?” the old man asked eyeing Oki with suspicion. Oki shifted lightly in its spot as it moved its bag to retrieved the map.

“It was something my grandmother gave me in case I wanted to find Andromeda,” Oki said as it showed the old man the map. Frowning, he took a step forward and took the map before stepping back and unfolding it. As his eyes glanced over it, they widened as his hands shook.

“How did she come to gain this?” he asked in whisper as he studied the map closer.

Oki frowned lightly as it looked at Hyde equally confused before answering.

“Her grandmother passed it to her,” Oki responded before falling silent once more, trying to understand this guy.

“Her grandmother, huh?” the old man whispered before folding the map and handing it back to Oki.

“Andromeda is both a goddess and a personal thing for me. You see my goddess is not a made up being. Since you have that map, I suppose I can introduce you to her. Come,” the old man said as he turned his back to them and began to walk down the hall. He would pause a few steps away to see if they were coming before continuing on ward.

Oki hesitated as it looked up at Hyde.

“What do you think?” Oki asked Hyde as its green eyes moved from him to the direction the old man was going.

“You know, I was going to say 60 so you could be a little happy that I gave you the benefit of the doubt by adding a few years. “ The number of the day was actually 65, but that’s not important. It seems that Andromeda was sounding more and more like a person to Hyde. “To be honest, I’m starting to get the feeling that Andromeda was a girl that you knew that was very nice to people that passed away. But with all of the good she done, you honor her memory by treating her as a goddess?” Hyde looked at Oki with a silly smile on his face. “I’m not much of a detective, but that’s the vibe I’m getting right now. “When oki asked what they should do, Hyde happily grabbed her hand and gestured forward. “We go, we came here to see Andromeda right? Were so close, and we didn’t give up. Aren’t you curious Oki? I am!