There's weird and then there's WEIRD.

[jinmenken]

There's a dog in the Nexus.

It's small, a breed of toy poodle by the looks of it, and is nosing around various garbage bins, sometimes overturning them to paw through the contents. It looks pretty lean and is probably hungry!

One might be tempted to approach it and check it for tags or offer some scraps. Right up until it turns around and you get a look at its face. Its clearly human, likely middle-aged man's face. Y I K E S. It's even wearing glasses.

Still, the thing acts as skittish and furtive as any stray dog would. And there's no denying that it's clearly malnourished, going on how thin it looks. After another bin is tipped over and yields no edibles, it looks towards the forum with trepidation. He won't compromise his presumed safety of staying near an alleyway in the event he needs a quick escape, but asks:

"Does anyone have any food?"

Comments

[westfallcorndog]

"Scared?" Oh no, this poor thing. Any shred of sympathy it didn't have before it has now. This little spirit is kindred. Harrow shakes his head and smiles without showing any teeth.

"I'm not scared. I'm like you. I got a human face, but I got a dog's body. Sometimes. Not right now."

He shifts so that he's laying on his side with one arm propping up his head and the other on his hip. Being on the dirty ground is a Cool and Good Thing.

"So what's your name? What world do you come from?"

[jinmenken]

"Like me? I don't know what that means. Dog body?" He looks Harrow up and down, uncertain of that claim. He looks pretty human to him. But...

"You DO smell sorta like a dog." And skunk weed or something. Smoke and plants. But still! Dog! "I'm, uh. I'm Manjimutt. I don't know what you mean by world? I come from the Yokai World. But I live mainly in the human world." It's more familiar.

[westfallcorndog]

"Yokai world, huh? And there's other folks there like you?" This sounds like a good (if slightly unsettling) world.

"And yeah! Dog body! When I want. When I'm here in the Nexus, I use my human body. The hands are more convenient. I can bake pies with 'em. Did... Did you like the pie? Tell me if it's good? If you like it, I could always make more! Or... If you don't... I could try harder next time?"

[jinmenken]

"Yeah, some other mutts like me. There's all kinds of Yokai? Yokai are spirits and those come in all kinds of shapes. Big, small, even bigger, all kinds of animals and objects and people. It's a pretty broad population down there in our world." A pause. "I don't spend a lot of time there."

"And yeah, the pie was great." He paws at the now-empty tin, his little dog claws rattling against it. "You did a good job, don't worry about it." Manjimutt 's the opposite of sorry that he ate the whole thing.

What an amazing icon

[westfallcorndog]

"Spirits! We talkin' ghosts of the departed kinda spirits? Tell me everything!" Could Manjimutt truly be this similar to Harrow? His, dare I say... Spirit animal? He army crawls a little closer, rolls over onto his stomach, and puts his chin in his hands. He is so super ready to listen.

[jinmenken]

"Oh, yeah. Some of us are departed spirits of humans or animals. Some of us are spirits who manifested cuz something existed long enough to earn one. And others are just kinda...always been there. There's all kinda rules about what makes a yokai."

This probably means he has to explain where he came from. A hind leg kicks at one ear nervously for a few moments. "I used to be a human, but there was an accident. A car accident. And I turned into what I am now. Apparently, that happens when someone dies on the road like that. Like I said: rules."

[westfallcorndog]

"Car accident," Harrow repeats quietly, thoughtfully. He hadn't considered how deadly cars could be. Those pictures of New York that Verity showed him, they were full of cars! Living on Earth cities must be a deadly game. He nods sympathetically for Manjimutt.

"So if there's rules for what makes a yokai, then... Do you exist for a reason? Sometimes spirits on my world have business they have to finish before they move on. Is that what a yokai is like? Or is this the new you, forever, and it's just another way to be?"