WHO: Viola and Hana WHAT: Meeting and Introductions WHEN: Early August WHERE: Street RATING: Suitable for all audiences
Hana was hunting, vaguely. She had a supply of blood. It was amazing what the internet could provide. It didn't mean hunting didn't have appeal. She was a predator afterall. It was more fun, and at her age, there was something to be said for fun. It wasn't obvious though. She was merely out and about, really, but aware of her surroundings for opportunities. She wasn't even deliberately trolling in 'rough' areas of town.
Viola was bored and so walking seemed to be one way to alleviate that. The heat didn't bother her as much as it did humans, probably largely due to the constant small breeze that surrounded her wherever she went. It was late, but the air hadn't gotten much cooler even with the sun down. She knew it looked a bit strange to be so windblown on a calm day, and yet at this point in her life she didn't really care. She was just looking for something to do, to keep busy for the evening.
The non-human was easy to pick out of the scents. She smelled like a breeze. Philadelphia was proving interesting in a way Hana had not expected. Hana trailed the breeze from the shadows, curious, but not wanting to just walk up to her. Hana hadn't lived more than 400 years by being stupid.
Vi wasn't paying a lot of attention to the people around her, but a strange waft of scent caught on her breeze and she paused to glance around curiously. It smelled of metal, copper really, and she was a bit uncertain about who was nearby at the moment.
Hana could tell when she'd been noticed, though it was subtle. The other creature wasn't running though. Hana passed her, quickly, quicker than a human could 'leading' into the location and giving the other woman the choice to follow or not. Hana wasn't exactly worried about observers or bystanders either for that matter.
It was rare that Vi used her ‘gliding’ skill, but she allowed her breeze to lift and carry her forward, enabling her to catch up to the other woman. It wasn't really that big a deal to her. She doubted she would have much trouble honestly. She could get away easily if she needed to.
Hana hadn't expected the other creature to 'catch' her, not really. She tilted her head curiously as to what the breeze was. Hana nodded her head in greeting. Her motion was a subtle bow, though few modern would recognize it as such. It was cultural, but also polite. She didn't know what this other woman was.
Viola curtsied in reply- very slightly, obviously not as deeply as she would have for someone at court. They weren't at court, and that hadn't been a thing for quite some time for her. One did have to observe courtesy though, and she was not opposed to that most of the time.
Curtsey, Hana noted. "I am no threat while you are no threat." Hana offered in greeting. It was an echo of things she'd heard before. It always struck her as reasonable. It at once indicated her intentions, while also offering subtle warning that she was not a pushover either.
Viola inclined her head slightly and nodded. “I intend no harm.” Because that was fact. She could manage - with effort - to use her skills to harm others, but she had no reason to do that to someone she didn’t even know. “I am Viola Cavendish,” She offered, assuming the other woman would introduce herself in turn.
"Hana Shimizu." Hana offered in turn. The surname had been adopted only before her emigration. She'd never had one before that, not having been of the noble class. "You smell like a fresh breeze." Hana admitted, acknowledging that she knew the other woman was 'other', and admitting she was in turn.
“I can control breezes, to some degree, so I guess that would be a logical scent for me.” A small smile curved Viola’s lips as she looked the other woman over. They were close to being of a height, so she didn’t have to look up. That was nice, honestly. “You smell faintly of copper, I believe?”
"Blood, probably. Unless it is seaweed." Seaweed might have a coppery quality, though not the same way blood did. Either might be possible, though she was a long time from the sea. That had been her mortal life, not her afterlife.
“Blood, I would imagine.” Viola smiled faintly and allowed her arms to cross at her chest, more as a protective motion than anything else. “I don’t believe my taste would have the same savor you are used to with humans, honestly. Fae blood is thin, compared to typical mammals.” It was obvious though she was joking in some way- she didn’t believe the other woman would drink from her, given the earlier statement.
"I've always avoided feeding on other Youkai," Hana admitted with a shrug, noting the posture. "You never know what the powers are, and I'd rather not risk upsetting something more powerful." It just seemed practical to her. "Not all are willing to accept an apology for making a mistake."
“I imagine that would be dangerous, finding something more powerful.” Because vampires had a strength many other beings lacked and so to find something that could defeat one and anger it would only cause problems, she knew.
"I try to assume most things are." Most of the extra-human creatures Hana had met were powerful in different ways. "It seems safer. I was careful with you, assuming you are powerful too. I wasn't hunting you, but your smell made me curious."
“It makes sense. I can't imagine I smell human at all.” She was also much older than humans tended to get, which made her different in other ways. “It is always a positive to make new acquaintances though.”
"You do not, no." Hana agreed. "It's not something I know, but there are so many types of youkai, and different ones in different parts of the world I've learned." Many of the native creatures in Japan were unique to the islands. The United States had others because of different indigenous creatures. It made sense, even if it made her life a little harder.
“I am originally from England. Many of my kind began there.” They had travelled here just like the settlers, though they had not brought death with them. “The humans brought death. We brought art and culture and an interest in the customs of this land.”
"I didn't bring death," Hana objected, misinterpreting Viola's implications. Just because Hana was a vampire and so she was technically death… "I don't go around indiscriminately killing. Especially with modern forensics, that's a bad idea, but even a century ago it wasn't smart."
“I mean the humans did. Disease and slavery came along with them.” A faint shrug. She lived here but she respected the fact that she would not have been able to if they had not pushed the natives from their homes and taken the land that had once been theirs.
"There is a reason Nippon closed its borders for centuries after some reports our people were being sold into slavery by the Portuguese." It was such as her who were at risk - the poor - though she'd at least had a useful skill when she was alive. "Though it did not stop the monster who made me."
“It did not stop many, I should imagine. Those who wish to do harm will find a way.” Viola offered a half smile. “I think most people do not realize how much harm they do in their actions, even in small things. How there are ripples over time. I have been able to watch. Revolutions, government overthrows, all of it. Though there is a lot of beauty too.”
"You are very old then." Hana had met ancient creatures, but most withdrew from humans and the modern life. She was not so old, and moving across the Pacific had given her a new start in many ways. She was only now becoming comfortable in America she thought, but there had been conflict with Japan since she'd been here that made it less welcoming.
“Relatively, though I suppose there are older creatures out there. I was at the court of Queen Elizabeth, so I was able to witness a lot in that time, and I have travelled much as well.” She did not want to mention Bas, since she did not know this woman well yet. Her brother had to be protected.
"There are, though few who venture out from their homes." Hana agreed. Hana didn't know her European history, though it was enough that Viola had served a queen. "It was easy to travel, being noble?"
“It was easy to travel, being skilled at the arts. I am a dancer.” Which meant that she was able to go various places to share her talent. She was grateful for that, since if she had no skill she would have been less of a welcome face at court.
"Those of the arts didn't travel when I was younger… they had their place in their city and that was all… England was different in that then. You are closer to Europe, which perhaps made a difference." It was interesting, how different the world was.
“At court we travelled around the countryside, and once the Queen died...I went to Spain, France, Italy, Russia… Just learning things, exploring.” She shrugged faintly and smiled. “I enjoy travelling a great deal.”
"That is a great many countries." Hana was aware of how small her world had been. It still was, although America was huge, the size of several European countries and several of hers. "You have had many years to travel then."
“1602 until now has been spent in travel. A few years here, a few there, until it is noticed that my aging seems….very slow.” Or nonexistent.
The date gave some indication of the other creature's age, which was at least as old as she was. "I was still alive then." Hana noted, having long ago spent the time necessary to work out the dates in the international calendar.
“I was too.” A tiny smirk curved her lips and she shrugged. She would live for a very long time, unless something happened to end her life. It wasn't likely though and so she didn't worry on it much.
"You are naturally immortal though… you did not have to die to gain your longevity." Hana hazarded a guess. It seemed logical. Most of the youkai in Japan were naturally immortal. There were only a few types that had to undergo a kind of transformation to become part of the spirit world on earth.
“That is true. I have not and likely will not die. Fae are hard to kill.” Not impossible, and they could be easily weakened. Killing was not as easy though, she knew.
"Immortality would be difficult if one was easy to kill." Hana generally took her longevity for granted these days, though she knew there were more powerful creatures and things she needed to be careful about. She tried to keep a lower profile as a result. "Though now that the general populace knows more of us there is some reason to have care."
“There is, and yet most have not been all too troublesome. I imagine it doesn't hurt that we look like humans in a lot of ways. It would be much more difficult if we didn't.” Because being different drew attention, often in negative ways.
"We have had time to perfect the art of passing," Hana acknowledged. She'd personally spent her entire time in Japan learning how to blend. Being Japanese was in fact more difficult to hide than being a vampire was, she'd discovered, once she came to America.
“A lot of it. Enough that I don’t think most of my kind would know me if I went back home. I’m practically American now.” A soft laugh- the London accent had not left her entirely, and neither had the behaviors, but she was able to work with whatever culture she was in, given her lifespan and her time travelling with her brother.
"I think it is easier in a nation such as America that was founded by so many… you would not blend so well in Japan, though you would be seen as any other gaijin and not as other… or mistaken for one of the various local spirits." Hana said using the more generic, translatable term.
“Many European nations would be welcoming as well. I don’t imagine I would fit in if I went to South America or Africa though. My appearance is less common in those places, just as it would be in just about any country in Asia.” Because she did not have a skin tone like those in India, nor the very specific features that defined China and Japan.
"I have not traveled enough to know Europe." She really hadn't traveled beyond Japan and America. Paperwork - it was no harder now to get good forgeries, but there was so much more paperwork now than there used to be. She had so little paperwork she needed to come in the first place.
“If you have money travel is not difficult, and working with various ballet troupes helped greatly in that.” Though she currently was taking a break from that, teaching history and enjoying some time to relax with her brother more than she had in the past.
Hana tilted her head a little. "You dance ballet? It's a beautiful art." One she might have enjoyed if it had been an option in her life. Something like that would certainly aid travel - being with a group rather than alone.
“I have always enjoyed it. It is something I began when the form did, and so I know many different dances that I’ve been lucky enough to perform over the years.” Viola smiled brightly. Dancing had been her life for a very long time, outside of Bas, and so it had developed into a deeper passion.
"I did not mean to interrupt your night - or to keep you," Hana murmured, realizing she was keeping the dancer - that she'd interrupted her. It had been the smell of the breeze though - and needing to know what else was around her.
“It is no trouble. It was good to meet you.” She smiled slightly and offered another curtsey to the woman. She liked meeting new people typically, so the conversation had not been too bad for her. If nothing else she had made a new acquaintance.
Hana pulled a card from her pocket. "My contact." She offered. Viola could do with the information what she would.
Viola smiled as she took the card, tucking it into her wallet. “Thank you. Again, it was lovely to meet you,” Because knowing more immortals in the area could not be a bad thing.