It's later in the evening. Jia isn't wearing her qipao this time, instead opting for a pair of dark slacks and a button up blouse. Easier this way and requiring less in the way of drycleaning. She is being respectful, crouched down in front of the shrine, head down with incense burning. Hey, she didn't get to pray last time and she doesn't have talkative company. The ghost in her shadow, the aggressive one is stirring though. Maybe it's bored?
Jia lifts her head and looks over her shoulder at the ghost and says sharply, "Stop that. You can talk to me if you have complaints, or you can go back in the charm for the rest of the night." It stops stirring within her shadow and one gets the distinct feeling it's now sulking. Which if you ask Jia is an improvement. It means it's branching further away from just anger.
Ayana has been grounded since her stunt with the garden. This has mostly meant she is assigned extra chores, since there's not much to take away from the girl except her cell phone (which was indeed taken away).
When the ghost started annoying her, Ayana tried to ignore it. She finished cooking, grumpily, and eating, grumpily, and doing dishes that she shoudln't have had to do (very grumpily) and stalked up to the bedroom (grumpily). But finally, when the ghost remained persistent, she frustratedly dashed out the window without leaving any notes for Ikiko to find.
It's probably going to get her even more grounded. "What do you want?" she asks the Ghost irritatedly. But when it gives her no indication, Ayana grumps angrily and follows anyways.
Being led to the shrine is a surprise, but at least it's not the worst place in the world. On the other hand, maybe it's that fire-priestess and she intends to set Ayana on fire again. Not a fun prospect. So if she's a little skittish when she finally spots Jiaying, it's not too surprising.
Then she realises who the ghost must belong to, and she growls irritatedly and stalks the rest of the distance. She isn't really even dressed for being out in the evening: only a pair of short shorts and a tanktop. She's even got bare feet, but that's not too big a concern for her. "Whyyyyyy?" she asks, foxy ears twitching.
Jiaying Maki stands up and brushes herself off. Noting the irritation, she looks at Meifeng and asks her something in Chinese, gets an answer, to which she replies more firmly. This just gets laughter from the poltergeist, who then waves to Ayana and calls out with that strange echo, "Zaijiaaaan" before fading away. Jia looks vaguely annoyed before asking Ayana, "She didn't leave you a note with the kanji for Shrine, did she." She sounds annoyed rather than apologetic.
Gathering her thoughts and looking extremely tired, she looks at Ayana curiously, up and then down. "I had an interesting trip with Norie recently. Do you remember Shiniko? The one that uses cold fire, worked with Norie? She had a shadow fox with two tails. I remember something you said-about being purified at one point. Is that what you were before?"
Ayana looks even less happy at being told she was supposed to receive information on where she was going. She might have even realised it was Jiaying if she'd gotten that notice. Probably not. She's kinda dumb sometimes.
"She did not," Ayana informs Jiaying with a scowl as she comes into easy talking range. The mention of a twin-tailed shadow fox, though, draws Ayana's ears up alert, and she leans back just a little. "What do you mean 'is that what I was before?'"
Jiaying Maki lets out a long sigh and snaps something in Chinese over her shoulder, which gets more laughter from the ghost. When the choice is between a poltergeist and an angry ghost, she had thought she'd made the smart decision.
"You mentioned you weren't good originally and you were purified by orange. I saw a fox with two tails, it had a weird bark and it was under the... control, or employ? I don't know. It was Shiniko's. I wanted to know if you were made or if you were- an experiment?" She's being more blunt than usual. She really does look rather tired.
"..." Ayana's mouth opens with some sharp retort, but then she bites it back and just glares at Jiaying for a few moments. Then, raising her chin, she notes, "That question is very rude."
But nevertheless, she gives some semblance of an answer, "I was born a fox. I have been a fox all of my life. When my master found me, I was chasing squirrels for my supper. He transformed me into a girl, but I was still a fox. The magical powers were ... new. I don't know. He thinks he is a scientist, so he would probably call me a failed experiment." And that hurts enough to admit that her voice turns a little whiney, and her ears droop to either side. "But it wasn't a failure," she says. "I loved him," she notes. "I think he loved me. I don't think he knows what that means, but ... we were family. He was like my big brother. He tried to protect me, and to make me happy, and ..." she's got a tear in her eye. Ayana reaches up to wipe it away, then scrunches up her face and glares at Jiaying. "What do you want?"
Jiaying Maki shrugs at the accusation that she was rude. "I've been awake for far too long, almost everyone I know is lying to me about something- I want to know what to expect from Shiniko because Norie is convinced she can still be saved and finding out how things are being done means I can find things out to do that. Besides, after the other day, I don't think you'd have been any happier if I hadn't just come out and asked. Sorry to get you out here like-" she gestures, "This. I don't have an easy way to ask for your number."
She listens to the explanation quietly, then scowls, "So this is something else. The yip was wrong, it sounded like it was from a broken radio." Stifling a yawn, she glances around before sitting heavily. Running her fingers through her hair, she gestures to Ayana after, "If you know anything about the stuff Norie is made out of, the dusk zone or anything else, that information would help too." She doesn't immediate address the back story part. Eventually though, she says, "I wasn't trying to dredge up bad memories. Since Norie or Sora won't give me straight answers, I have to take other routes. I should have waited until I could sleep first."
"I know a lot about those things," Ayana says to Jiaying cautiously. She narrows her eyes just a little, still sullen, then notes, "But I still don't know why I should trust you. Are you saying you trust me? Because I haven't ever lied to you about anything. Your girlfriend lying to you doesn't really surprise me, though. And neither does Norie lying to you particularly surprise me. What do you really want to know? I probably know it, if it's related to that place. Or if I don't, then I know people who do. But you won't get a straight answer out of anyone who can still safely go there. It corrupts."
Jiaying Maki rubs her eyes and yawns again. "You don't trust me anyway. If I were going to do something bad though-" She makes a gesture with her left hand, glowing faintly grey-green. There's a flicker in her shadow, then a beastial looking shadow-figure is standing over Jia's shoulders. "I wouldn't have sent what I thought would be the friendlier of my two ghosts currently." She closes her fist, the ghost fading back into her shadow. "I trust Norie and Sora despite both of them lying to me. I'm sure they have a reason." There's hesitation before she asks, "Why the emphasis on girlfriend anyway? Do you think something else is happening?" She sounds honestly curious for a brief moment.
After though, there's the important questions. "Well, I took a trip with Norie- I'm fine by the way, lack of sleep aside. Apparently she can create short term shields. Doesn't do much for the visuals though." She sounds dour about that last one. "I want to know how I can keep Shiniko from escaping into it. I want to know what that shadow fox was, if it's not like you or I and-" She pauses. "Norie's sure she can't be saved. She thinks Shiniko can, but that she's nearing a limit. What would happen if I tried to burn the darkness out?"
Ayana lets out a sigh and hsakes her head. "No, not that," she grumbles. "I just ... she just ..." she trails off, then shakes her head. "Nevermind. I just don't like bullies," she says, "And she's not even the only person who bullies me. She's just ... the only one that lives in the same home as me."
"Keep her from escaping," Ayana repeats, then sighs and shakes her head, "I mean, you can keep her from escaping by knocking her unconscious. Or by, I don't know, creating some kind of barrier maybe? I'm not the one who knows these things. Talk to Saito-senpai. Or maybe, if you dare, talk to my brother. As for purging the darkness ... it depends on what you use. But it will probably hurt her. A lot."
Jiaying Maki looks up from her seated position, her eyes reflecting the light strangely, thanks to the lack of her illusion masking them, "Oh- I don't think I'm going to have a problem with that." Which is to say, she doesn't think she will because she doesn't know who Shiniko is, beyond 'She hurt me badly'. The truth is probably going to change that sentiment.
The bully comment gets her ears pinned back, "I-" she pauses, bites back what she was going to say and with a shake of her head, her ears are back in their normal place. "I don't know either of those people Ayana- would a seal to keep the supernatural locked in work? I use them to trap ghosts (Any myself) when I'm trying to handle a haunting." Norie certainly didn't like the sensation either.
"I don't know," Ayana says with a shake of her head. "Maybe. I can try to introduce you to Saito-senpai. As for my brother ... well, ask Norie to introduce you," she says with a sneer. "Takashi-kun will either kidnap me, or refuse to talk to me, one or the other."
Jiaying Maki stands up, brushing herself off. It looked like she had almost nodded off. "If you're willing to do that, I'll find a way to repay you." The latter suggestion though, that gets a shrug, "I think Norie's mentioned that name. Probably around the same time as she offered to take me there to be healed. I think I made the right choice in dealing with the pain rather than going there."
Ayana watches Jiaying uncertainly, then sighs and shakes her head. "You probably did," she agrees. "And I'm probably goign to be even more grounded now thanks to you," she notes. "Look, here," she says, pulling a small scrap of paper from literally nowhere. She hasn't got any pockets. Yet miraculously it has a phone number on it. "Now you have my number," Ayana notes as she offers the scrap of paper over. "Write it down before you lose this."
Jiaying Maki takes the sheet of paper and says, "I'm sure Meifeng triggered all sorts of alarms going through your house- just tell them you found a poltergeist and managed to take care of it." Well, to be fair, that's not entirely untrue. Meifeng is a poltergeist and had been at the house right? "If it wasn't a risk to her, I'd have her go back and flip things over just for emphasis." Her phone is out and she dials the number in, then texts Ayana. "And you have mine now. If something happens, let me know. I actually do try to help-" Anything else is cut off by a rather wide yawn.
"Sorry if I get you in more trouble- I needed to know so that I can help a friend of two of my friends."
"I can deal with it," Ayan replies with a grumble. "Just ... stop taking her side," Ayana emphasizes frustratedly, as she turns away. She hesitates a moment, then shudders and drops to all fours, diminishing greatly. The little orange fox that crawls out of Ayana's clothes a moment later turns to glare at Jiaying, blue eyes all too obviously Ayana's. Then, she darts into the shadows to run away, leaving the pile of clothes behind.
Jiaying Maki just shakes her head and says, "Despite what you think, I didn't automatically take her side that day Ayana. Just realize that I'm trying to temper her reaction. You have to have noticed that she pushes back if you push too hard." She looks sad as she admits as before, that she's being somewhat manipulative. "I just want to see her smile though, she seems so lonely most of the time."
The transformation trick and the abandoning of clothes gets a very confused look. Carefully nudging the pile, she asks the fox, "Do you want me to bring you these later or are you just leaving them behind in a shrine?"
But the fox is already gone, leaving no indication as to what Jiaying should do with her clothes.