Lumikki of Iceberg

"In a calm and chilly breeze the petals dance."

The sun’s arc was lowering in the sky, long gone from its highest point and on the verge of turning into evening. Clouds condensed up above, softening the harsh light and granting relief. Something Lumikki appreciated as she sauntered onto the agreed location. The Demoness wore a long deep blue yukata. White flowers were speckled onto the sleeves and lower-most part. While the sash used to tie it all together was a shiny black with white embroidered detailing.

Lumikki appeared human though her appearance was hardly negligible. Her pale white hair was tied back in a mix of Iceberg braids and Joyan hair sticks. All bunched into a bun where some of her locks hung free and fresh blooming flowers wrapped around them. Her black stain hands could still be seen past the sleeves, coming to the tip of her obsidian like pointed nails. And though she hardly enjoyed wearing shoes anymore, her feet dipped in shadow were tucked within Joyan wooden sandal that gave Lumikki an extra inch or two in stature and small wild flowers bloomed with every step only to fade away. Her lips and twilight eyes painted a black, which stood out from the delicate markings imprinted on her face and neck. One could say they were reminiscent of Kitsune but only the superstitious would know. Meanwhile the hovering beads of her necklace were like hefty tears of jade that rotated around her next like an orbit. While just beside her legs was a small creature born in this country by means of a festival. One in which Lumi was given a chance to make something anew. She clung to Lumikki’s side with every step, her mischievous and cat-like eyes often darting about.

It was both an odd surprise and to be expected, when Lumikki received the message and invitation from her raven. It had been ages since she saw Takao last, but this was his home and he perhaps was being ever vigilant or dutifully hospitable. Either or, Lumikki looked forward to the tea and solace of the tea house and as of this moment, she was just around the corner.

Stepping through the entry and into the dimly lit and empty room, her gaze had no choice but to wander to the fox sitting upon the floor. Dressed in yellow as he always was, she’d stumbled over and took a seat of her own just across from him. Her companion waiting patiently until the moment she could rest her head upon Lumi’s lap. ”It’s been ages haven’t it? Hope the time has treated ye well.” Her lips parted in a smirk just wide enough to show her fangs, but there was no malice there. Just excitement.
 

"A garden of frostflowers."

Lumikki of Iceberg

"In a calm and chilly breeze the petals dance."

  ”The Gods and their kin are a lofty kind….it would be a wonder if ye knew the sound of a ticking clock.” Slightly leaning toward him, a budding smile played on her lips. ”I’d be more surprised if ye managed to stay grounded, but a las, I didn’t think ye’d be spirited away so soon. Ye’ve been missed in the North Takao.” Her voice was melodious and playful. Though not enough to be perceived childish, as the delivery was still smooth, if not somber. Lumikki pulled back, glancing down upon her companion before stroking their head. By then, Takao was pouring her a cup of tea. ”Thank ye lad,” she took the cup without any hesitation, knowing that she could cool it upon touch.

”Ye make us sound so brutish, there are intricacies in our culture ya know. Fighting is but one, and a means to keep the people strong….to some, it’s their very purpose….But a las, whatever major strife we’ve had raging before has cooled now. For sometime at least, yet it feels the embers will come back alive soon enough.” She took a pause to take a long sip, savoring the taste of the tea and its warmth. ”This jasmine tea is soothing. A fine drink to enjoy after the longs days.” Her eyes pointed before her since the slight on her people, but her gaze finally pulled back to the fox beside her. ”Yer mother was fascinating. Truly the embodiment of calm, chilling death. Makes me wonder thought what ye’d grow to become with enough time. Whatever the outcome, I’m curious of that fox-like nature of yers—Oh speaking of!” Lumikki settled her cup back atop the table and pointed at the necklace that hovered around her neck. ”I met a Kitsune ye know. A remnant from before the war but she was exploiting the people within the villages beside the old battle fields. The lass even stole the pearls of her like, stowing ‘em into this very necklace to extend her power and grow more tails. Five other Kitsune, souls consumed to push her own ideals. No matter where ye go, they’re all the same.” For how dreary her point, Lumi spoke as if entertained. There was no need to be hung up on the animosity of the world, this of course is part why she strove for where she was.

 

"A garden of frostflowers."

Lumikki of Iceberg

"In a calm and chilly breeze the petals dance."

Despite the slight flicker in the light, Lumikki did well not to push it further. She was not here to be in a bad mood, nor did she feel it was on her to inform him of her people. If she could take the time to learn the language and their ways of life, then a fellow timeless could do the same. But it did add a bitter taste in her tea she couldn’t enjoy, and so her eyes looked about the table for some honey or sugar to calm the craving.

Lumikki pushed the conversation elsewhere. Somewhere she found more amusing. Why not, after all. He reduced Iceberg to something simple, so in the moment she was compelled to do the same. It was a give or take, and thankfully he’d reward her for it. So with a chuckle, Lumikki relished view of his bubbling scarlet mana pooling atop his skin paired with the blood read eyes that gazed upon her.

”Is that so?….” Her voice reverted to its true sound akin to a boundless tundra. It echoed with a sound like a howling gale whipping upon the snow. Her eyes too came to life as they began to glow, reveling a fuchsia and violet hue. All while the room dropped in temperatures rather rapidly, too soon for one to naturally register, and the lights flickered for a moment. ”I could incur that Demons have their fair share of differences, but as ye eloquently stated, it’s more like a point of different motivations or ideals.” Just as sudden was her stir, did it settle but not before spreading thing black frost along the table. It like a blooming garden of frostflowers, or a pattern on a dress. Yet if one were to touch it, they’d be struck with just how cold it was. ”Lad, I would be for more surprised if he did care. Rare is it that anyone cares for the lesser—Hel, I’ve consumed me fair share whenever they found their way to me realm…though I could only wonder….do all Kitsune taste the same?” With a smile on the fringe of a tad menacing, Lumikki reached for her tea and pulled it back to her lips. Despite her demonstration of shared power, she kept in mind not to turn her drink cold, though it was on the cusp of warm.


 

"A garden of frostflowers."

Lumikki of Iceberg

"In a calm and chilly breeze the petals dance."

Lumikki chuckled, but her would be quite right. There was no arguing that her comments—pardon the pun— were quite distasteful. Of course all things held reason, and chaos did too despite its hectic nature and presentation. Lumikki nodded in response, while holding out her cup to Takao so that he may extend his helpful trick to her as well. ”For what it’s worth, Demons wouldn’t come off as savory to must.” She’d smile slyly and take another sip, sighing deeply with the relief of her tea upon her tongue.

”—Huh…afraid? What for?~ I figured it was simply a passing moment of I’ll show ya mine if ye show me yers. I have no reason to garner fear so pitifully. Reeeeally, those kind of stunts only serve to dilute yer reputation. A joke that needs to seethe at every moment to remind one of their power must often get overlooked every other moment as well. Sides, what does a lad of Death have to fear in that regard when a mother is far more terrifying than and end.” Her eyes sparkled as she spoke because truth, she was enjoying this. It was like the feeling of meeting with an old friend. With how time has been passing, so much has changed for her. Pieces of the world’s puzzle have been slowly falling into place with her elated status now opening barred avenues and new friends. Lumikki wouldn’t detest, despite how limiting her new role was proving to become. But what is the worth of a Demon if they could not overcome something so small to prove their desires. Chaos is but one facet, and it shows in many faces. Breaking exceptions would simply have to prove as one until she could find something earnest to destroy.

”Ye know…I always remember ye to be so serious. Why did I have it in mind ye’d be otherwise when I see ye. I resend me jest, all of which actually. There is no need to offend, and I got me jab back for a prior remark. Tell me Takao, it’s clear I’ve changed. So what have ye? Or, for interesting conversation, tell me more about this acquaintance of yers. Kurama is it? It’s lovely to meet ye.” In truth if the being in Takao was but another Demon, he would only see Lumikki’s fangs and distain. A reaction all Demons face as she was quite territorial. Not wanting to share her realm with the likes of any of them besides perhaps those born here themselves. Even then, she claws to the heavens to situate herself the highest among them, a status that could only be stripped from her by paying a high price. But Kurama was not a part of those sentiments. He was a being of Joya and their culture with Kami. So he only garnered her fascination and curiosity, as many aspects of Joya tend to do.

"A garden of frostflowers."

Lumikki of Iceberg

"In a calm and chilly breeze the petals dance."

 It came as a surprised to the Demoness when Takao extended his hand. What more, the words that followed. Lumikki trusting the Demi-God, extended her own palm out of curiosity. Wondering to where this could likely lead, but when she was spirited away, well it was more than she imagined.

It felt like what she could of sworn Ginnungagap may be like. Endless with its darkness, albeit, missing the cold. Her silent steps still impacting the floor as it rippled with each step. Lumikki looked around with vast wonder, but the trek hardly lasted all that long before Takao turned around and introduced her to the being that occupied this realm. Sadly from the other side of his gate, something she wasn’t quite pleased with. Was it for the reason of compassion, to the empathy of not wanted to be contained? She could not say, and she’d have to contemplate it later.

”Greeting Kurama, God of another realm. I was simply curious of ye, but I couldn’t imagine it would lead me to a conversation like this. Excuse me intrusion, for that, I will also be more transparent.” A sentiment Lumikki meant to express by the shift of her own form. With the plentiful darkness all around them, it’ll swirl and then smother Lumikki’s small frame. Bubbling and twitching as it expanded until it was pushed away by a gale garnered by Lumikki’s very four wings.

Now, standing before Takao, was another large being. A raven Demon with strong blue and purple hue’s amid her black feathers, who stood at fifteen meters. ”It is not often a Demon could encounter a God ye see.”
 

"A garden of frostflowers."

Lumikki of Iceberg

"In a calm and chilly breeze the petals dance."

His voice was callous in tone but drenched in poise. His words washed over her like the rumbles of fresh, dark clouds threatening its bundled storm to burst at any moment. But Lumikki love storms and so it hit like purrs and vibrations on her ears. Even his acknowledgment cooed her temperament, so that all remaining was her amassment.

"And ye'd be right if it were not for their meddlesome nature to weasel things through their bars. Like the power to create vessels and heirs. Of course, I was born here first and its those are the roots that teether me here." As Lumikki spoke, her feathers rippled and all four wings slightly fluttered. Her merriment was high, and it clashed with his languid reaction.  

"I simply want to understand yer like. I find one such as yerself quite enlightening. I stem from the Nordic faith in frigid lands. So the color of what ye have here is bewitching....but I wonder, is there a way to add more color for ye here?"
 

"A garden of frostflowers."

Lumikki of Iceberg

"In a calm and chilly breeze the petals dance."

Kurama was kind enough to tell his story but upon Takoa interjection his temper spurred out of pain, hurt, and the culmination of old wounds allowed to fester. His mana bellowed out of his massive frame like the first gust to displace you in an incoming maelstrom; and while Takoa had to brace himself, Lumikki too would dig her talons into the ground and use her wings and frost to cut into the incoming wind. Only to be met with two red suns soon after and be dazed by its ghastly beauty. A dazzling site that only moved her further in siding with the caged god, amid her appreciation to all the beauty timeless beings tend to harbor. And his bellowing voice now filling this endless realm like thunder churning and crackling with rolling dark clouds.

”What a treacherous God, not like Demons fair any better” Her voice slithered out of her beak rather coldly but not disrespectfully. It was clear that she empathized with this God and the sincerity could be felt by the simmering anger brewing underneath. As her voice strained in certain parts she found particularly distasteful. While Takao was made uneasy from the display, it was like Lumikki fed off the anger. Kurama’s loathing serenaded her with its richness and tapped into a sense of vengeful longing that Lumikki felt a calling to. It was a serenade in which Lumikki chose to dance along in. ”However mine had me for other reasons.” Even Lumikki couldn’t the hide the loathing she felt for her own father in her tone. She may have been birthed from mortals, but it was the Demon that pushed for her to be born at all and sculpted her very nature for his selfish gain. Even now as Lumikki stood as her own Demoness, tethered to no other, her rebirth was still a product of his existence. It was like he became her father in truth despite it leading to his conclusion. She still owed everything to him….and it haunted her.

A peculiar thing about Lumikki that most wouldn’t notice, was her tendency to fall into darkness depending on her company. Should be accompanied by another of darker capacities, then so would she sink to the depth with her Obscura seeping forth as it did now. Bloodlust and destruction coming into the forefront and chaos clouding her mind. In her eyes, God and Demons were hardly different, their origin painted the only difference she could personally infer. And so he felt like a brother in arms, one who longed to rip this world apart should he get the chance and truthfully…Lumikki wanted to witness this.

”Whatever the reason, I see and align with only yer side.” As she spoke, her mana too would surge without her realizing. Chilling the air to frigid temperature and freezing the ground. Lumikki shook herself vigorously, almost violently. Until enough feathers loosened from her Demonic plumage. Little inklings of her power yes, something the Fox before her—of all Gods yes, didn’t need. But it was not meant to provide with what he didn’t have. It was—”Please accept me offering Kurama. I’d become an ally should ye choose to allow it. And if it be the case, I’d leave me personal circle as a form of pact or agreement rather. Let this existence not be dreary anymore when we can pounder what’s to subside the boredom…and perhaps, come to a more promising conclusion to yer folly.”

One could wonder why she’d help. Did she find a deeper mean it? Did she want more power? Something to gain or perhaps she wanted to spread chaos in another’s land? No it was oddly more simple than that. ”I like ye Kurama, and so I’ve chosen to spend some of me excess time to see to it ye get some more entertainment as well.” Lumikki’s raven-head turns over to Takao as she spoke, ”and I suppose that means ye’d be seeing more of me lad….of if I heard it right, rather….step-brother was it? Let’s make this fun for all involved as they’d say.” Her glowing eyes shined rather brightly while their golden pupils added to the piercing gaze. But Lumikki didn’t desire to seem malicious, not did she try to be threatening. Actually she was rather giddy and excited and her intensity was simply evident of that.

 

"A garden of frostflowers."

Lumikki of Iceberg

"In a calm and chilly breeze the petals dance."

“Oop!” Lumikki uttered as the sound simply popped out of her month when she felt rubber-banded back to reality. With Kurama’s words cut short, her cheeks flushed a shade of blue that her human form couldn’t deny and she covered face with the palm of her hand in a modest fashion ”Think he took a liking to me~” The Demoness cooed, her voice echoing like the sound of ice falling onto a glacier. And she had leaned forward toward Takao to drink up his reaction as a frosty mist wafted from her cool brown skin.

“I’m glad he liked the gift,” Lumikki went on. She wasn’t bothered from Takao’s lack of response, instead taking the moment to keep talking. With her voice now better fitting her more passable appearance. Lumi took her cup back into her hand, holing just the edge to her lips and stopping short of taking a sip. “And quite handsome. Those eyes were like celestial bodies just meters from me! The chill of peering into both moon and sun…I wonder….if with more time, would I become as beautiful?” Compared to the others, her last words nearly came out as a whimper. Despite her strength and prestige, the Raven still harbored her fears and gripes. And though she preferred them frozen over and out of sight to the others, Lumi couldn’t shake her Dwarven lineage. Vulnerability should be met with some on her part, at least that was a creed she’s personally made to herself after witnessing the cruelty in the world and the wounded in it. It wasn’t so easy to accept a Demon, but one who weeps still seemed human.

Lumikki however, didn’t want to linger on the thought any longer. Instead, she shook her head, ridding herself of the painful notions while her mind now wandered onto things that were far more pleasing. ”Thanks for entertaining me Takao. It was enlightening….” With utterance of the final word, Lumikki’s face which was just blank a moment ago, now sprung back to life. With a smile that flashed the slightest of her fangs. “I think ye‘ll be seeing more of me and me ravens, Osewa ni natte orimasu.”(“I’m in your care.”) Her grin growing even wider. Lumi twirled her fingers, a gesture that tugged at the shadows cast upon her hand until they twisted into a feather. She held it toward him, her gift for his kindness.

"A garden of frostflowers."

Lumikki of Iceberg

"Beware of the trickery"

”Yer voice is drenched with melancholy Fox God. Why is that?” Lumikki leaned forward, her glowing, piercing eyes with the golden pupils seemed as though they were scrying right through him. Reading deep in the depths of his soul.

In truth, Lumikki could observe so much. It was a blessing afforded to her long ago. But this insight was not where she had tapped into, rather it was the demonic aspect of herself that felt the pull. There was misery wafting before her, and she could gleam it but not quite its reason for being. She’d have to mull that over for herself.

Finally, her eyes soften as her head tilted to the side. Lumi sat back and gave it careful thought. Muttering softly like a whimper as she came to her conclusion. It was obvious the encounter is the point of his vexation, didn’t take a Demon to pull that answer. But to work out the proper flow of his emotions took far more careful attention. It was a growing experience for them both.

”I see…” Lumikki sighed as her hands absentmindedly took up her cup of tea. The mage’s face was oddly somber and serious. It was a Demon’s purpose to sew chaos, however they went about it. Some icily cruel and unbridled, others more poised and meticulous. It was as if that purpose called to those inclined and wove within them the maddening seeds to do so. That they may spread their gifted mayhem to the masses like the blessings of a god.

Is this the reasoning for me ire? Lumikki mulled over to herself. Her mind was at its fringes trying to piece it all together. Is this the reason for me insecurities and fear?Not to stay grounded as a human, but rather, know the intricacies so that I may pull upon and unravel the threads in those I may detect it in. Her face swiftly scrunched up at the revelation, finding repulsion and intrigue by her grim conclusion. How could I be so surprised at being a Demon still…. And now the tea didn’t taste as sweet in her mouth with the realization of how much of an idiot she was, but Lumi couldn’t help but laugh.

Maybe it was finally time she stopped pretending to be what she wasn’t. This facade neither served her nor added to the fun. Of course she couldn’t prove she was a Demon worth slaying, but the out of touch attempt to seem mortal should simply subside here. Especially in the company of her friend.

Lumikki peeled away her human visage, pulling away her disguised so that she may finally appear closer to what she actually was. This need to hide was one of the first things she needed to kill in herself. She wasn’t a weak Demon anymore so the need to blend in didn’t have to be the forefront. ”Takao, we’re both fools,” she said rather flatly. One could even take it as her being cold but in truth, this was her showing genuine love. A moment of real in the needless theatrics. “We are foolish to feel so diminished when we are so grand in nature. How is it that we still find ways to feel pathetic in kind?” Lumikki who had been staring blankly before her just a moment ago, slid her piercing gaze back onto Takao. Her fuchsia and deep violet irises encircling two golden slits. Her frustration was easy to gleam on any who looked upon her.

“But perhaps ye still prove to be the biggest fool is ye forget ya were me friend first. The one I had fear the life for when the murderer claimed ya. Do ye remember that day Takao? For all yer coldness and standoffish nature, I do. Or was I daft to worry for a being like ya?”

 

"When fire burns cold."

Lumikki of Iceberg

"Beware of the trickery"

Lumikki’s eyes widened at the boldness of his words, though they were sincere and welcomed. And so her features soon softened until she appeared rather flusstered. Her posture shrinking ever so slightly as she faced the things he said, acknowledging that within this moment, there was a need for her to confront reality and change her detrimental perspective. Still, it proved to be too much to mull over all at once and the azure of her blood flushed her cheeks into bold hues of royal blue. The left pale wing that adorned her head, now folding and tucked ever so slightly over her face. Just to hide away a little as the Demi God went on.

As sudden as her demeanor changed however, it would shift again when he reminisced about that night. The moment she thought him dead by the carelessness of his plan. It made her wings twitch, her feathers stand on end, her eyes narrow. Yet she held her tongue. He was not done sharing his peace and the harpy would not dare to impede him.

”…Huh..” The conclusion of his words now took her by surprise. Draining the sudden surge of anger and washing over the Demoness with empathy. He was another being lost in the world…of course he was….he’s hardly different than I…yet his parents seem a burden to him when mine are the set stone I’ve build me foundations. I can almost taste it…the ambivalence of his fragmented self…but I now wonder, when did it become me to do so… Lumikki was also lost in her thoughts and conflicts. Taking in his burden like it was her own, yet the inclusion of the weight did not weigh down upon her. Rather it felt like it strengthened her core so that she bother grew in intensity and her love for it. Tucking it away into herself like a new facet of her power…But am I selfish for it…if it becomes me, if I feel more alive, if it resinates, these delicious emotions that disorient him feel so….clear and sure to me. That the fringes of me existence feel more cleanly drown so that I may exist in true.

Lumikki crossed her arms and legs as she thought it through, now sitting leaned back in the seat. Her face was almost vacant despite the storm within her, but she’s peak out of her mind soon enough. ”The funny thing about yer worries and fears…is they are so common so human…Ya know, I’ve seen it done before, I’ve read about it in many stories…but the commonality is the saving grace Fox God. It means yer story has answers and progression should ya choose to make ‘em. And something not many others have in their journey of purpose and self realization.” Lumikki uncrossed her arms and legs, leaning forward onto the table. Her white wings fully pulled back, expanding her small frame in a humorous way and there, a smirk growing along her face. ”Oh but Takao me god, ye got a Demon on yer shoulder to walk along ye on the way!”

"When fire burns cold."

Lumikki of Iceberg

"Beware of the trickery"

”Gee spit it out ‘oh golden born. The radiant child to emerge from death itself!” Her tone was mocking and deeply exaggerated. In hopes that the theatrics grounded the excess drama of his wayward thoughts. And her face scrunched and added to the animated delivery, furthering the point she tried to emphasize.

”As if heirs to thrones and seats of power could not somehow understand the plight of superseding greatness, while battling the weight or ruin and humiliation should they do it wrong. I think ye put to much grandeur in the upbringing ye’ve had, when really, yer scared and lost like all the rest. To be expected too, defining one’s being is a taxing quest but think clearly Fox. What is the inclination of yer existence? And should no answer come, then it would be fair to say that ye’d need to figure the personal motivation of yer existence first.” Harsh in tone, she’d regress into a sweet voice that echoed tension of knowing and the feeling of being lost. The pair of those things ached in her freshly, tearing into wounds only in the process of healing but never successful.

”Glad ye’d have a Demon in yer army, granted, an exception. Suppose nows the time to really dip deep and understand that struggle of yers…” She’d lean in, head tilted slightly. As if some how the gesture would coax out of him a sensible answer. But she’d quick reframe it, jerking back as sudden as the thought came to mind. ”And don’t consider yer parents or godhood for a moment when ya pounder it. Ya know, there is much grace to the simple existence of a witch of the woods. Ye don’t think to often about the deities in the gentle breeze or the Kami of a branching stream along the river. Yet I’ve read about just how much in Joya has a spirit and comes to life. They are just as divine and plentiful as ye while existing so subtly.” Her hands danced about with every word, as if they were the conductor to the stream of thought, and she’d pull back entirely once again with arms and legs crossed. In her paused, she mulled the last of what she felt needed to be said, and extended her left hand to break the cross as she delivered it. Her last emphasis, her gesture to bridge the gap. ”All this is to say, ye can’t excel if ya don’t allow yerself to discover what comes to ye so naturally…”

"When fire burns cold."