| 8 |
Undeterred by a challenge, you ask Tsu-Ko how courting works in Kirinese culture. The small creature deflates a bit at the question, but quickly shrugs it off.
Tsu-Ko: "I figured you'd ask. Oh well... let no one say that I'm not helpful.
So, say you meet a pretty gal, and you're interested in becoming more than friends. Since you're a guy, your first task is to learn what her favourite flower is. You can't ask her directly — unless you're a loser —, so you'll have to ask her family over a cup of tea. You know, integrate yourself.
Once you've done that, you can ask her out on a date of your choice, in the moonlight of Migi, with a gift of her favourite flower. The flower is important because it symbolizes that the date is no longer intended for friends, but for potential lovers — though keep in mind, you're still just friends.
If she agrees to it and the date goes well, she'll give you a perfumed letter before the flower withers. The letter means you can go on a second date together. Bring more flowers, go on a date of her choice this time, in the moonlight of Hidari, and hopefully get another letter.
If you do get one, then you've got a shot at a third date. It's more of the same, flowers and all, but this one you decide on together, and it must take place in the sunlight of Shinzo. If you're lucky enough to get a third letter, then congratulations! They are written proof that you are now officially lovers. Do I need to explain where to go from there?"
You thank Tsu-Ko for the crash course, but admit that it might take a while before you get that far.
Tsu-Ko: "Yes, that's the point."
Moonflower: "Does everypony really gotta do all that stuff jus' to become best friends?"
Tsu-Ko: "They don't have to do anything; it's just common decency."
You figure that you'll have to rely on your trusty cuddlebug for now. Then, circling back to the subject of translation, you decide to try asking Tsu-Ko if she can interpret the language of souls.
Tsu-Ko: "I'm a sprite, not a demon! My magic is elemental, so it only works on spoken or written languages."
You ask if a demon would be able to help.
Tsu-Ko: "Oh, definitely! But I can't recommend it. Demons are selfish creatures, and they'll never agree to help you unless they come out of the deal on top. And that's if they don't cheat you out of it entirely. You should try asking the monks at a temple instead; there's one in every town. I'm sure they can teach you the basics in just a few short months."
Honourshine: "Months...?"
Tsu-Ko: "Hey, don't give me that look — Feathers here can't even cast a simple spell. What am I supposed to make of that?"
Still, you are pleased to hear that you have options, even if none of them sound particularly great. And seeing as Tsu-Ko has been resourceful thus far, you decide to push your luck, and whether she has ever heard of creatures called Elves.
Tsu-Ko: "Elves? Hmm... nope! Doesn't ring a bell."
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Back to our mission then. Let's locate the local authorities whether it be a mayor, priest or law enforcement officer and see if they know anything about Dirt Flaxen's disappearance.
EDIT: WAIT! What if Dirt decided to join a monastery to pursue enlightenment without telling anypony? And he wanted to join so bad he decided to "disappear" to ditch his contract? The locals could be sympathetic and help cover for him in that case. But his bandmates didn't make it seem like he'd be the type of pony to do something drastic like that.
Also him hiding in a monastery is a good theory.
- So we have sprites and demons… any other types of creatures you know about? Is there anything like a demon, but good-natured? I wouldn't mind hearing a bit about how to stay safe around the dangerous flora and fauna here either.
- Who's in charge around here? Do you think they'd try to stop us?
After that, start searching Shui-Ti. I'm split on whether to talk to the authorities first. I wonder where Dirt stayed? Or is there anykirin who remembers him?
Not sure if revealing ourself to Tsu-Ko would change anything but there's no harm in doing so. And she's going to realize it sooner or later anyway .
In most settings making deals with demons is a very bad idea that almost always backfires. Not sure how “bad” demons are in this setting but according to Tsu-Ko they would attempt to rip us off and try to break any deal we make with them.
Tsu-Ko's description of it makes the courtship/dating ritual sound rather normative and commonly adhered to. Speculating how kirin biology might have influenced their culture, I wonder if the kirin have no estrus cycle (i.e. no reaction to the "summer" weather) and no mare's poison equivalent. Or perhaps it aligns with kirin values just because.
Months to learn the "basics" of soul magic, huh? Staying around isn't out of the question if we value it enough and we can timeskip, but we'd potentially have to arrange our own transportation back to Equestria. I do wonder how Azure Spark travels. The Rune of Homecoming is an option, but I'm not sure how it will react under this sky. Also, I'm not sure if it's renewable, and I'd like to keep one in reserve for emergencies.
We learned the names of a few celestial bodies: the moons Migi and Hidari, and the sun Shinzo.
It's a option we could consider in the future if we don't find a better way to learn such a spell. But first we have to find Dirt and afterwards I feel talking to our former matron to learn more about Blazer's and Shine's past is more important than this.