Hatate Quest Kolme

[Hello Purvis]

>"Not yet."

[Oldmansour]

>"Not yet."

>"Well, it really started growing up after the Harmony I told you about before." she explains as she pours you a dollop of the stronger smelling mead. "Lotta the humans down below liked what Kanako was selling, or they liked her, or they liked Sanae, or all the above. So they got it into their heads to move closer to be nearer their choice God." She chuckles as she hands you the glass. "Gotta love how you can do that in Gensokyo."

[Hello Purvis]

>"Gods'll local anyways,  so it makes sense to move near the ones you like."
>Drink!

[Oldmansour]

>"Gods'll local anyways,  so it makes sense to move near the ones you like."
>Drink!

>"It's not a huge village yet, but it's been growing pretty steady for the past few years." your counterpart explains as you take a sip of your new drink. This one has a shock of vanilla blended throughout the honeyed brew, as well a cooling dash of mint. Shock is the right word, as the calming chill surges through your mouth and down your throat, tasting like a warm winter's afternoon distilled from a honeycomb. It's just lovely. "And yeah, there's been an issue or two, some of the other local gods haven't been all that happy about Kanako getting so many new followers, but nothing she and Suwako and Sanae haven't been able to solve. I keep an eye on things myself, of course. A little dust up between divinities always makes for good news."

[Hello Purvis]

>"Sounds like a gold mine! How're they doing with food and things? Living on the mountain is a lot different than the fields they know and stuff."
>Sip some more. "This stuff is amazing. What's the horrible secret behind it?"

[Oldmansour]

>"Sounds like a gold mine! How're they doing with food and things? Living on the mountain is a lot different than the fields they know and stuff."
>Sip some more. "This stuff is amazing. What's the horrible secret behind it?"

>"They've built their place on a little plateau up there. It's not entirely flat, and it's not as fertile as the plains down below, but they're getting by. I think Suwako's cheating a bit, but I haven't been able to catch her yet. She's a slippery little toad."
>"Plus they get regular shipments from the human village. There's some trading going on between the two towns, and it keeps the local fighters in work."

>"You like it?" Hatatwin asks, eying her glass with a somewhat disdainful eye. "I've never been too fond of it myself. Always thought it was the kind of thing rich folk spend a lot of money on and tell themselves they like it to impress the neighbors."

[Hello Purvis]

>"It's powerful, anyways. Maybe I just need it?"
>Have some more, then grin.
>"So, who're we seeing these days?"

[Oldmansour]

>"It's powerful, anyways. Maybe I just need it?"
>Have some more, then grin.
>"So, who're we seeing these days?"

>"Have at it, Sis." your counterpart invites, content to merely sip upon her glass. Though she stops long enough to choke a little when you inquire into her love life. "'kay, I wasn't expecting that." she admits.

[Hello Purvis]

>Giggle a bit. "C'mon, who else can you tell?"

[Oldmansour]

>Giggle a bit. "C'mon, who else can you tell?"

>Your counterpart chuckles quietly, leaning back in her seat a little. "You may be disappointed." she says in a faint sing-song.

[Hello Purvis]

>Drink.
>"Nothing, then?"

[Oldmansour]

>Drink.
>"Nothing, then?"

>"Nothing serious." she corrects. "It hasn't been a desert, don't worry 'bout that, but there hasn't been anyone steady either." She smiles, almost a little defensively. "I've been focused on my work. Ever since Aya dialed back on her own work, I've become at least as big as the Bunbunmaru. Kind of takes up a lot of time."

[Hello Purvis]

>"Nothing serious." she corrects. "It hasn't been a desert, don't worry 'bout that, but there hasn't been anyone steady either." She smiles, almost a little defensively. "I've been focused on my work. Ever since Aya dialed back on her own work, I've become at least as big as the Bunbunmaru. Kind of takes up a lot of time."

>"Oh, I understand. Just this is the first time I've gotten to see myself outside of myself for awhile, and got to wondering, is all."

>_

[Oldmansour]

>"Oh, I understand. Just this is the first time I've gotten to see myself outside of myself for awhile, and got to wondering, is all."

>_

>"Which of course means it's time to turn the question around." she says with a small grin.

[Hello Purvis]

>"Haven't even been bothering too much! Well, aside from maybe Ranka, but it's kind of cooled a little..."

[Oldmansour]

>"Haven't even been bothering too much! Well, aside from maybe Ranka, but it's kind of cooled a little..."

>She laughs. "Now Ranka, now, that, we can ALL make a bit of time for. Take heart, my self. I had my turn with her, so there's a lotta hope for me." She laughs again at her own quip.

[Hello Purvis]

>"Maybe so. But I'll figure that out once I get back. But you, I'm surprised! But not that surprised, I guess, since I can understand getting lost in the job. Surprising you don't have a few folks after you, though, if we're kind of better known now."

[Oldmansour]

>"Maybe so. But I'll figure that out once I get back. But you, I'm surprised! But not that surprised, I guess, since I can understand getting lost in the job. Surprising you don't have a few folks after you, though, if we're kind of better known now."

>"Ohhh, I never I didn't." she retorts. "Like I said, it ain't been a desert. Though, maybe I could've used a better word there."

[Hello Purvis]

>"Now you're just being coy."
>Finish drink, hold out cup for a refill.

[Oldmansour]

>"Now you're just being coy."
>Finish drink, hold out cup for a refill.

>"Would I do that?" she asks more than a little coyly as she tops off your glass. "You're right, though, I have gotten a lot more attention than I did when I was your age. Even followed through on some of it. I just haven't been able to find the time for anything more than a few nights long. Probably not anyone you'd know, though, I don't think. Except for-" She pauses, then takes a rather long drink. "Well, except two. One you might like, the other.... Will probably surprise you."

[Hello Purvis]

>Have a drink. "Then surprise me!"

[Oldmansour]

>Have a drink. "Then surprise me!"

>"Well...." she drawls, almost hesitantly. Then, instead of finishing her thought, she merely turns her eyes to one of the pictures on the wall. The one of Aya.

[Hello Purvis]

>"You know, I should be surprised by that, but I'm not as much as I should be given the way you were talking earlier."

[Oldmansour]

>"You know, I should be surprised by that, but I'm not as much as I should be given the way you were talking earlier."

>"Where you come from, she's still the big dog in the news world, right? Still tangling up your wings whenever you try to get a scoop?"

[Hello Purvis]

>"No! ...Yes."

[Oldmansour]

>"No! ...Yes."

>"Yeah, I remember that feeling, believe you me. But after the Harmony, she and I had a little... heart to heart. I didn't think much of it at the time, but a day or two after, I started to think. Like, maybe she got to be as good as she is for a reason. And maybe she really WAS better than me." She offers up a short chuckle. "And yeah, that one really choked me. Think I almost made myself sick when I said it out loud, and I damn sure couldn't say it to her for.... Lord, months after I admitted it myself. But that was part of the problem, too. I didn't realize just how old she was compared to me. And that she picked up a lot of wisdom to go with it. And that I, for all my skill and promise and cuter backside, really was still just a kid next to her."
>You are slightly glad you have a drink in hand as your counterpart speaks. There's a lot of what she's saying that doesn't sound all that good in your ears. Though there is a part of you, however small, that grudgingly admits, she may have a point.

[Hello Purvis]

>Drink.
>"I...guess she's not a hack. The restof that is just bunk, though. Except for the cuter backside part, that one just got proven yet again today."

[Oldmansour]

>Drink.
>"I...guess she's not a hack. The restof that is just bunk, though. Except for the cuter backside part, that one just got proven yet again today."

>She smiles. "I'll be honest, I was actually expecting a more... loud objection there."

[Hello Purvis]

>"Eh, it's one thing to admit she's a worthy opponent."
>Smirk then have a sip.
>"But if it makes you feel better, just tell yourself I'm distracted by the cuter backside part. Might even be the case!"

[Oldmansour]

>"Eh, it's one thing to admit she's a worthy opponent."
>Smirk then have a sip.
>"But if it makes you feel better, just tell yourself I'm distracted by the cuter backside part. Might even be the case!"

>She gives you a chuckle as you take another level out of your glass. That's really good stuff. And not too strong, either. Certainly not for a virile youth like yourself.
>"You've got all the promise in the world ahead of you, kiddo, and the tools to get there. Take it from me. But I wouldn't be the reporter I am if it wasn't for her. She may not have the same assets we do," she adds a cheeky little shake of her hips to her words, "But she's got a lot to teach. And a lot of it worth learning."