New Years Tradition

[grantuseyes]

Micolash is back in the Nexus again after a long period away, though that part's understandable, given the state he was in that time. He's no longer in a wheelchair nor hooked up to an IV, but his eyes are still bandaged tight behind his cage. He at least looks a little healthier in general and curiously well-dressed today. Clean pinstripe trousers, polished (but still untied) shoes, a fitted waistcoat, a new light blue ribbon tied at his throat, a clean white button-up with the sleeves rolled up to the elbows.

He has two things of note with him: a table with a lot of writing supplies and a cat. The cat is a handsome, plush creature, mostly white with patches of tabby orange. One such patch on its forehead looks a lot like an eye. Another on its back looks a lot like a skull. Markings are funny like that, huh? Said cat is always close to where Micolash is seated, curling around his ankles, napping under his chair, hopping up onto the table to lazily peruse. Sometimes it even perches on the top of Micolash's cage for an even BETTER vantage.

The table, meanwhile, looks to be loaded up with pencils, strips of paper and gilded envelopes. On the far end, opposite of where the scholar is seated, is a wax sealing kit as well.

"Ahem. Soooo," Micolash starts in that nasal drone of his. "This past weekend marked the celebration of a new year back in Yharnam. And while I am very much not there at this time? I thought it would be. Interesting to still observe at least one tradition we have. Namely, writing down a wish. Or wishes! You have for the coming year and seal them away, only to be read at the start of the next year. To see what did and did not come true. To see how much you've changed from one New Year celebration to the next."

He pauses, almost looking to be lost in thought for a time, staring sightlessly somewhere into the middle distance. Eventually, he adds, "...Do you have any taboos for these sorts of celebrations? Where you are from? Things that you avoid to not have the new year sullied? Or set into an...unfortunate pattern?"

Comments

[plagueofdeception]

Ah, yes. Lunar new year... Not too sure what that's all about, but as far as Dr. White understood, it had something to do with a bunch of animals going to a party?

But hey, seeing Micolash looking almost like a normal human being is almost as suprising as seeing him well at all. He turns to smile at the man... Wait. His eyes are still bandaged. Is he still blind, or...?

Actually, let's test that. Chatting up old friends wasn't the first thing he had in mind when he visited the plaza today; he kind of had to return that coffee pot the messengers gave him during that translator SNAFU last month... He'll just go on and do that real quick, then come back to Micolash's table.

Hopefully, the man didn't see anything.

[grantuseyes]

Micolash, for the record, remains oblivious to whatever machinations the doctor is up to. He remains in his seat, humming tunelessly to himself, tapping his long fingers together.

The cat however, watches Dr. White with a lazy but persistent gaze from its crouched position underneath the caged man's chair. Said feline doesn't look too concerned with the other man's going-ons, but watches regardless. Cats are just like that, y'know. They follow whatever's moving.

Only when Dr. White is back near the table does Micolash seem to notice that someone's close by. Sound is the first clue. The second is scent. Micolash takes a small, sharp inhale through his nose, perhaps mistakable at first as just an errant sniff. But then his bandaged face turns to look in Dr. White's general direction, smiling.

"Ahh, hello, Doctor. Are you...looking to observe an old Yharnam tradition, perhaps?"

[plagueofdeception]

Eh, this is nothing. The cat can stare all it wants...

Huh. At first Dr. White thought Micolash was somehow seeing through the bandages... But then again, he did notice the sniffing. God, he didn't smell that terrible, did he?

"Maybe!" He does sound happy, not awkward at all. "Also glad to see you out in the plaza again. Looks like you're doing better?"

[delphicbooksandbaubles]

Aal/Ash perks up instantly at the sound of the familiar voice. And wiggles excitedly as she puts on some speed to follow and find the owner thereof.

Her face breaks into a large grin at the sight. Especially happy that he was looking a great deal better. "Micolash! Henry! Hullo hullo! " She states ecstatically. Her eyes big and bright as she pads over, trying not to rush them and scare them on accident. but her right leg jiggles hyper like.

"Oooh, ya'll have a lunar one-two?" She asks intrigued. "Like China and elsewhere?" She asks warmly, she'd heard of and been to lunar celebrations before. Most of them were fun. Though she'd heard stories of places you did not want to be an outsider etc. in during such a phase or feast.


She eyes the table with a gleam and ponders over which of the items she might like to use. "ooh that sounds fun." She states warmly, and interesting too.


She blinks and looks thoughtful. " We'll starting fights and brawling in most places is one of them. " She replies automatically and rubs her chin. "Not disturbing certain places..or forgetting to put out something for the less fortunate folks or the Fae and other higher beings is a big no no." She adds after a moment. "least for my Mother's people."

[grantuseyes]

Henry, at the moment, is curled around one of Micolash's ankles. But upon recognizing this particular person, he makes a soft 'mah' and blinks once, slowly. Micolash, also happy to hear a familiar voice, perks up and smiles as he looks towards the general direction the sound came from.

"Ashlynn! Hello hello. Yes, Yharnam has always measured time and months by the moon. It is one of the many reasons I named our college Mensis." And not the one everyone here keeps thinking. Well, that one too, but it's not the ONLY one! "Although I'm not familiar with...China? Oh, but I am glad to hear it is not just my culture. It was so strange to hear everyone celebrating the turning of the year when I knew it to be another two months or so away!"

At the mention of the traditions Ashlynn knows, Micolash makes a surprised scoff at the first one. "Starting fights? Good heavens. During our new years, we go out of our way to avoid conflict! We fear it will colour the rest of the year if we do."

[delphicbooksandbaubles]

She giggles softly, adorable kitty.

She hums at that, "yes, well lots of places tended to go over to the Georgian style calendar at some point in their history. for various reasons tis why." She gently informs him. Though which was more accurate scholars tended to still debate over.

"Aye, it's one of the larger countries and continents on the earth I've been too. " She informs him with a nod. "they have wishes ya hang up with string and parades and lovely dances." She states with a slight dreamy eyed look on her face. "oh and invented fireworks. " She adds with a nod.

"hmmmh, so does mine but usually I have to break things and patch people up..course..things always go a mite sideways when people indulge more then they should." She states with a soft huff. "though I do like one tradition when people kiss upon the stroke of midnight. That's a much nicer way to start a year or anything really." She states with a soft chuckle.

[fiveofnone]

Caspar is on his way out of the Plaza when he spots Micolash out of the corner of his eye and stifles a groan. Come the frak on. Like his day hasn't been bad enough already. No, scratch that. His week. Everything since Valentine's Day has been one giant snowball rolling downhill, with him getting stuck in it at the bottom.

Two silver linings to the situation: Adia isn't here, and Micolash is still blind, which means he can continue to walk right past.

But... there's a cat.

And maybe it's worth checking out what sort of state the caged scholar is in. For Adia's sake.

"We already celebrated the New Year. It's tied to a solar calendar," he explains, approaching the table. "It used to be tradition to write down resolutions for the upcoming year, but now it's considered bad luck. They only get broken after a month or two, or they're too unreasonable to attempt in the first place." He pauses to breathe, slow and even. "How're you doing, Micolash? No one's tried to swipe your cage again, I hope."

[grantuseyes]

Micolash tilts his head first towards Caspar, taking a quick sniff. Then turns his head again to face his ear towards the man instead. He makes a small, concerned sound at the initial explanation.

"Ah, yes. I recall the prior celebration. It left me terribly confused! All this talk of the new yearand it was still two moons away as far as I knew it. A keen demonstration that I am a stranger to the Dream, isn't it? The solar new year was a prodigious display. But the lunar is...well." He looks around, just one weird guy, a cat, and a table full of writing materials.

The question about his cage also gets him to almost reflexively reach up to grab onto the handle with both hands. Micolash giggles nervously at the same time. "I should hope not! A terrible thing for all involved. I would. Hate for it to happen again. I do not wish to be shunned for an...unfortunate event I had little control over."

[fiveofnone]

Caspar smells like a nice cologne. If Henry cares at all, he might pick up the smell of another cat on Caspar's clothes. No fur, though. His maroon suit is immaculate.

"It's an arbitrary date, anyway," he says with a casualness that doesn't match the intense way he's looking over the other man. Scrutinizing him. "You can start a new year on whatever day you want. So long as everybody agrees with you."

The clutching of his cage is oddly reassuring. The nervous giggling? Not so much, God, this guy is weird. Caspar grabs a nearby chair and drags it over so that he can sit across from the caged scholar, his gaze never once leaving that pale, blindfolded face. "Trust me, you could do a lot worse around here and not get shunned. The Nexus loves giving people a second chance." He reaches out and taps the table thoughtfully. Lets Micolash know how close he's sitting. "Where's Abysa? Or are you being a good enough boy to visit the Nexus by yourself?"

[mudblood_andproud]

"Did you wish for joy and prosperity?" Hermione ask him, as she approaches where Micholash and the cat sit. A small yellowish kitten is following her, with a spring in his step. And he does a little twirl at the sight of another cat in the Nexus.

For CJ, it is a good sign for so many cats to be in the Nexus, during the Year of the Dog.

"I think it is important to always be reflecting on ways that you have changed... no matter if it is once a year, or once a month. Or more often."

"In my world, there are many magical rituals and traditions marked by the Lunar Year."

[grantuseyes]

Henry spots the younger cat and gradually sits himself up to watch it cavort. He looks calm about there being another feline nearby, so THAT'S good. No one wants a screaming cat fight in the middle of the Nexus. (Even if they can't hurt one another due to the AVF, that's still a lot of yowling and spitting and menacing paws.)

Micolash replies with a brief laugh and bringing his hands together in front of him. "You're not supposed to tell! You have to write it down, then seal it, and hide it in a special place until next year! Just like wishing upon stars. If you tell, then that negates the magic!" Or so he's always been told. He'd never thought to apply any research to these supposed spells once he reached adulthood.

[mudblood_andproud]

CJ is curious, but stays a respectful distance away. The other cat will indicate if he wants company. Right now, CJ sits by his witch.

"You would not want to negate the magic." Hermione smiles.

[gorogorogoro_chan]

Majima's eye is still very much on the mend, but he can make out the strange cut of Micolash's silhouette and cautiously ventures closer. Getting a better look at the man does nothing but introduce more questions. Rather than focus on the massive cage-shaped elephant in the room, he considers Micolash's offer. "Huh. Reminds me of ema where I come from. Little wood plaques with wishes and prayers. Get hung on shrines for the new year. Nothin' secret about 'em, though. At least 'til they get burned."

He plucks up a gilded envelope and turns it over in the light. Fancy. "That was more'n a month back, though. We got koshōgatsu 'round now. Lunar New Year. Nothin' special -- mostly just eatin' some fuckin' bean soup and pretendin' rice gruel can tell us our future."

[grantuseyes]

It's a messed-up eye club! Majima's approach is heard and Micolash turns his head that direction and once he's closer, takes a few short sniffs. When you lose one sense, you tend to rely heavier on another, but what an odd choice for a human.

"Ooh, burning?" he replies after hearing the first explanation. "What is the meaning of that? I assume there is symbolic meaning in the act? Fire is often cleansing, or warding. It is notable in Yharnam for how afraid beasts are to the flame." And all that can be extrapolated from that fact, apparently, as he does not elaborate.

Majima's ongoing thoughts and explanations makes Micolash wrinkle his nose slightly, even while still smiling vacantly. Language, mister! What a guttermouth on this one. "Kosh...Oh. Gatsu," he repeats carefully, plucking at each syllable in his low, nasal voice and odd pauses and emphasis. "Oh, but you measure the year by the moon as well! How lovely; I'd nearly begun to think I was the only one. What with how resplendent the celebration for the solar new year was. Oh, but do tell me: why those foods? What is their respective meaning? Or significance? In Yharnam, we traditionally make a certain sort of, ahhh. Roll? Sweetcakes made to look as the moon does. And red jam for other aspects of the moon. But I am not...terribly. Interested. In the food side of things." He's wrinkling his nose again. Eating? Gross.

[gorogorogoro_chan]

"The burnin' part ain't nothin' like that. They say it's supposed to release the wish to the gods or whatever woo-woo bullshit."

Majima crosses his arms and shrugs emphatically when he's asked for more detail. He's already having serious regrets about talking to this goofball. "Do I look like a walkin' encyclopedia, pal? I dunno. Somethin' about bringin' in a good harvest. All that crap that doesn't matter anymore 'cause we eat trash from vending machines instead."

He tilts his head and frowns deeply. "So ... is wearin' a birdcage on yer head part of the whole celebration, too? Bet it's hard to get food in your cakehole with that in the way."

[rosco_coltrane]

Rosco hears the question and is interested, thinking it over for a minute, before replying.

"Well, we don't so much avoid stuff as do stuff to try and make the next year a good one. Most folks like to make a resolution or two...stuff they know they need to work on or do better at. Also, you're supposed to eat black eyed peas the night before, for luck with money. Oh, and it's a tradition to kiss someone at midnight, just as the new year starts."

[grantuseyes]

Micolash raises his brows in interest as he tilts his ear towards the man now speaking to him, to better concentrate on his words. No reason to look him in the face when you can't see, after all.

"Traditional foods seem to be a recurring theme. How interesting. What an odd choice as well! Black-eyed peas..." He trails off as he mulls this over with a distracted, dreamy smile. But he's soon back to the present as he recalls the last thing said. The scholar moves to rest one elbow in the other hand, the raised on resting on the underside of his cage's collar. His head tilts playfully to one side behind those bars. "And this is the second mention of these kissing traditions! How positively ribald."

[youmeandpokemon]

Professor Madrone has never been one to answer the questions of strangers, rarely stepping foot into the question areas of the Nexus. But today is his lucky (?) day, as he's walking by Micolash's table while drinking a cup of Chamomile tea while reading a book about Nexus gateways.

It takes him a moment to stop and stare at the large Mensis Cage, before his eyes rest on Micolash and his cat companion. The question is an intersting one, worth answering, in the professor's opinion. "The celebration my world partakes in starts on January first. There is a tradition where people takes slips of paper and write their wishes on them. The paper is tied to a large board, where supposedly a legendary creature takes those wishes and tries to help grant them."

[grantuseyes]

Micolash seems distantly aware that another is close, head raised and sniffing lightly but sharply every few seconds. Always something new and interesting to smell in the Nexus and you only grow aware of even MORE when you've been deprived of your sight. But there's never any certainty that this is a person just passing by until they speak.

And when the professor does, Micolash lights up into a queasy smile and laces his fingers together. "Ah, so you were among those who celebrated the New Year a few months back? And legendary creature you say! What sort? Have you seen it? Why is it concerned with the wishes of mortal man?" THIS is a tradition that sounds PROMISING!

[turningcolors]

"Humans attach all kinds of benefit and stigma to their rituals surrounding the new year no matter when they choose to celebrate it. Whether it honors the sun or the moon it is no different to the planet they call home."

It is good to see Sir Micolash out and about in the Nexus again. Hazel hasn't had the opportunity to speak to either he nor his keeper since first being introduced to the pair nearly a whole season ago now.

"Please tell me what your people believe about the New Year. I would love to learn about another culture I've yet to walk among."

[grantuseyes]

He recognizes the voice (and the scent, so strangely crisp and light, like September sunsets) and he hurries to stand. The cage throws off his center of balance more than it normally would, having to catch himself briefly with one hand on the table next to him before he pulls himself fully upright. Well, mostly. He's somewhat stooped, shoulders slouched and hands wringing together in front of him.

"Lady Kin! Oh, I'm terribly honoured to hear from you once again." His face is pulled into an uncertain but hopeful(?) smile. "Are you certain you want to hear something so silly as human custom, though? I don't care to bore you."

Henry is twining around Hazel's ankles in a figure 8 loop, purring.

[shardofwinter]

The cat gets more of a look than Micolash does. A blind, half-caged man doesn't alarm him as much as it should after Halloween. A cat, on the other hand, he knows they are strange and tricky creatures. When he meanders over his steps are silent but the air grows noticeably colder. He picks up one of the slips of paper and considers it quietly for a moment before he speaks.

"Not everyone looks forward when faced with another year," he says eventually. "Some people look back. A start must always mean an end, after all, and that is the time to turn your thoughts to the past."

[grantuseyes]

Henry is a perfectly normal, reasonable, dull and predictable cat. He might have been bred in Hell, sure, and has a nice pedigree based on that, sure. And those marking shapes are just spooky coincidences, of course. So is the way Henry is watching Rey just as close as he's BEING watched. Green eyes open, alert, following the spirits movements as he approaches. Even as he moves from table to hopping up on top of Micolash's cage to glower from a better vantage. Perfectly normal, entirely plain Henry.

Micolash, meanwhile, remains relatively oblivious, humming faintly to himself, tapping his fingertips together. He doesn't hear Rey's steps but he does feel the cold, making the thin man shiver and soon tuck both hands between his thighs to try and warm them. What a curious and sudden arrival of chilliness! When the other man finally speaks, the scholar startles and makes a small sound of alarm.

"Ah!" Then he laughs nervously. "Oohoo, you're a quiet one! My, but you'd given me an awful start." Micolash pulls his hands to just rest in his lap instead now that he knows he has company. "Reflection is wise. Agreed entirely. But hopefully one does not grow myopic about it. Paralyzed by, say, past mistakes. Missteps. Times when you gambled and lost, or perhaps even. Outright failed. But one must review to avoid them going forward! The next time around will be better for it, don't you think?"

[poetwarrior]

The scent and sight of the caged man is, perhaps unfortunately, familiar to Faris. The K’da observes the bandages now wrapped around the man’s eyes, a new addition to Micolash’s many oddities, as is the cat accompanying him. Many of those who were taken into the Nightmare have spoken little of their ordeals, and though the K’da has little affection for this one in particular, it is nevertheless good to see that even Micolash is healing.

He pads closer, fairly confident that no curious hands will prod at his scales today. “My peoples do not believe that luck can be controlled. As plants grow from seeds planted long before, so too are the consequences of our behaviors. And just as a storm or drought may bring unforeseen misfortune, we also cannot always predict our outcomes.”

[grantuseyes]

Henry, ever the brave one, leans out from where he's perched on the corner of the nearby table to try and get a sniff at Faris. Hmm, what's this guy. Doesn't smell like a demon, does he?

Henry also isn't the only one to sniff at the air. Micolash, oddly, seems to make a furtive habit of the same. Perhaps one could attribute it to winter sniffles, how he only does it at irregular intervals, once and sharp every few moments. Usually when he can hear or feel someone approaching. But he's already smiling in recognition before the K'da has even spoken.

"Oh! Beast! Parasite! Oh...bother." Micolash, for once, looks abashed as he stumbles for a name or title for the being, recalling that those are no-gos only after he's said them. "W-Wise words all the same. Very wise. Though would you conflate fate as the same? One can certainly rail against what destiny has in store, should he try hard enough..."