Sentou Sanada
Administrator
The sound of hurried footsteps crossed the courtyard before he had even made it past the gates.
A few of the younger monks rushed by him, robes shifting with the wind as they made their way toward the castle proper. Chō said nothing at first, only stepping aside enough to let them pass as his eyes followed after them. There was a feeling in the air that he couldn’t quite place. Not panic. Not exactly fear either. Something quieter than that, but no less heavy.
Anticipation?
His gaze eventually shifted toward the orange-haired man walking off through the courtyard, cigarette hanging from his mouth as smoke trailed after him. Chō had not caught whatever words had been spoken before, if any had been spoken at all. But there was something about him. Like even when no one stood near him, the space around him still felt taken.
Important, maybe. Troubled, definitely.
Still, it was not Chō’s place to pry. Not yet.
Reaching into the sleeve of his robe, he felt the edge of one of his talismans beneath his fingers and exhaled softly through his nose. For a place this quiet, too much felt like it was moving underneath it all. And if the young monks were rushing inside, then maybe the best thing he could do was not get in their way.
So he continued forward at his own pace, eyes drifting over the castle grounds as if searching less for a person, and more for whatever had made the air feel so restless.
A few of the younger monks rushed by him, robes shifting with the wind as they made their way toward the castle proper. Chō said nothing at first, only stepping aside enough to let them pass as his eyes followed after them. There was a feeling in the air that he couldn’t quite place. Not panic. Not exactly fear either. Something quieter than that, but no less heavy.
Anticipation?
His gaze eventually shifted toward the orange-haired man walking off through the courtyard, cigarette hanging from his mouth as smoke trailed after him. Chō had not caught whatever words had been spoken before, if any had been spoken at all. But there was something about him. Like even when no one stood near him, the space around him still felt taken.
Important, maybe. Troubled, definitely.
Still, it was not Chō’s place to pry. Not yet.
Reaching into the sleeve of his robe, he felt the edge of one of his talismans beneath his fingers and exhaled softly through his nose. For a place this quiet, too much felt like it was moving underneath it all. And if the young monks were rushing inside, then maybe the best thing he could do was not get in their way.
So he continued forward at his own pace, eyes drifting over the castle grounds as if searching less for a person, and more for whatever had made the air feel so restless.