Hinote Kagari eventually, went home, found a good hiding space for the braclet, put it there, and went to bed. When he woke back up- and one weird dream later about the stuff he's experienced over the past few days, he finds it as he gets dressed, examines it carefully and puts it into his pocket. He's hoping that he doesn't have to explain a very valuable looking braclet to his parents. It may happen one day. He has a variety of excuses planned. Regardless, He goes to school, attends, and on the way back decides to stop by the store. He kicks the right bottom side of the door, as always, and just says. "Don't worry, it's me!" he says.
He peeks around, seeing if anyone is actually here. Sometimes, no one's here! Sometimes it's just been Rune recently. He's kind of hoping Gao is around for a change!
And for a change, Gao /is/ around! He had gone on a few errands that morning, including checking on the portal (which was still closed, thankfully), but otherwise had spent the day cleaning the place up a bit more.
The kick of the door is answered with the jangle of the bell-line, and Gao answers Hinote's call with one of his own. "Good afternoon, Hinote!" the forester responds. "How are you feeling today?"
Hinote Kagari watches as he notices he caught Gao in the middle of cleaning. He ohs! "Oh, um.. here. Lemme help out." he says as he helps Gao clean up! Picking up more stuff off the floor and pushing things out of the way. "Hey um..." he asks as he pushes stuff out of the way. "I had some... silly questions I guess. I mean... well. There's no mannerisms I should be using towards you or.. Runealy, right?" he asks. "Like titles?" he asks as he pushes a shelfing unit against the wall, thereby, making more open room!
"I don't want to.. be rude. Or anything." he asks.
With an extra set of hands, the cleaning goes noticeably faster. "Thanks!" smiles Gao. Being able to sweep under the furniture without having to stop to move it is pretty handy, and has the added benefit of making it easier to clean the bottom parts of them, too!
"I'm not royalty, or even nobility, so there's no mannerisms there," Gao explains. "And Rune... well, as you've probably noticed, she's not one to stand on formality, especially not among friends. Formal occasions are one thing, but everyday life?" He shakes his head. "Just speak as one friend to another, and you'll be fine."
Hinote Kagari thinks. "That's my next question. What.. did you do? I mean, over in Waldia." he asks. "I mean, if you weren't nobility or something like that... how did you end up in this whole affair?" he asks. He thinks for a long few moments- not making any assumptions. He dusts off his hands and sits down on the futon for a moment. "Looking a little better in here!" he smiles. "At least a lot better than before." he says.
He looks at Gao and thinks for a bit. "If you wanna take a break, we can go out back and practice a little more." he says with wide eyes. "I feel like I need all I can get." he laughs a little bit.
"Sparring's good practice," Gao agrees. "But it works better when you're not trying to carry a conversation at the same time." Instead, he sits on one of the chairs and stretches for a moment.
"I come from a clan of foresters, tasked with taking care of the Barrier Woods and guarding the Barrier Shrine," he explains. "Or at least, that's what most people think are our only tasks. In truth, the Barrier Woods are named that not for the Shrine, but for the hidden portal, sealed by the First Queen so long ago and kept secret by the royal family and the Doiru clan ever since."
He nods, forestalling the logical question. "And yes, that's the portal between Waldia and Earth. Even with the seal removed, it generally stays closed -- much like a door that swings shut after you open it."
"As for how I got involved... well, Rune and I have been friends for a very long time. It's a bit of a long story, but we've known each other for about half of our lives. Suffice to say, when the plans were made to come to this world, I wasn't going to let my best friend go into danger alone."
Hinote Kagari thinks. "Well that sounds very important, regardless!" he says. "I've only known you guys for a week, but everything is so dreadfully intresting." he admits. "Lots of things I never thought possible, are." he admits. "I mean. Your world looks like our world did maybe... 500 years ago. But then we learned more, built large buildings and invented more advanced technology. I'd always dreamed of such places, and it turns out one exists!" he says. "I want to see your world, and I hope I get the chance to." he smiles.
He thinks a bit. "That takes a lot of dedication. I'm glad Runealy isn't here alone she seems... lost sometimes--No not lost. Overwhelmed." he says with a soft nod. "That's a good word for it.." he says.
Gao nods. "'Overwhelmed' is a good word. She's had a lot of trouble dumped on her in a short period of time sooner than she expected, and castle living doesn't exactly train you for how to react on the fly."
He leans forward, his eyes sparkling. "And your world! All of these mind-boggling inventions, the size of the buildings, the raw /scale/ of the city!" He shakes his head. "I hate to admit, but the biggest reason why I'm not just as overwhelemed as Rune is because I'm treating this city like a jungle -- an enormous, man-made jungle, filled with marvels that should be carefully watched to determine if they're safe or not."
A weak chuckle escapes his mouth. "As long as I can treat this like some sort of bizarre wilderness, I can rely on my skills as a forester to bolster my confidence -- and as long as I can remain confident, I can help support Rune's confidence, and reassure her."
Hinote Kagari thinks. "I don't know much about living in a castle. Well. If it's like my plays- or the ones I've seen, I guess I do." he admits. "I mean, there's lots of stories of princesses escaping overprotective fathers, or wanting a change of pace so they sneak out and away..." he laughs. "I guess, Tokyo is kind of a Jungle. Just not made of plants." he thinks, having never thought that way about it. "Huh..." he strokes his chin.
"I'm kind of hoping I never run into one of those.... 'demons' Me and Runealy encountered. It was horrid." he admits. "but I have a feeling we'll encounter such a thing again." he says. "Can't assume it's a one time thing now...." he admits.
"The fact that magic seems much more... /noticeable/ here, is both a good thing and a bad thing," Gao notes. He was tempted to say 'common', but while there were more magical people here than he and Rune were expecting, it didn't seem like magic was more of an everyday thing. "It's good in that there's more available to gather, but that surplus also means more things that seek it out as well. Like predators and prey, actually, or herbivores and plants: where there is food, there will be those who will eat it."
He does give Hinote an encouraging smile. "On the bright side, at least now you'll be in better shape to fight any demons that you happen to encounter!" he poitns out.
Hinote Kagari nods. "Yeah, I guess..." he says, taking the braclet out of his pocket and rubbing a finger over the gem. "I had a weird dream last night, I felt dizzy all night, before bed. Mom wondered if the 'fall down the steps' was still making me dizzy. He looks up. "Did that happen to you, too?" he asks. "I have dreams all the time I guess." he shrugs. "Active imagination." he grins and smirks.
He shrugs. "I've never noticed magic all my life, and a few days ago, I'd had told you it doesn't really exist." he says meekly. "But... I guess I know that's not true now." he smiles. "Are there.. others out there?" he asks. "I mean. Magical Heroes, I guess...." he asks.
"I did feel more settled after a good night's sleep, yes," chuckles Gao. "Not completely settled, but that /was/ while we were preparing for this expedition -- there was a general sense of unease already present."
A nod for the other question. "From what I've heard from Rune... yes, there are other magical heroes," he confirms. "Lots of them, if the incident at the concert was anything to go by."
Gao shrugs. "I've mostly been focused on scouting, observing things while doing my best to be unobserved. Haven't encountered any magical heroes doing magically heroic things, nor any demons in action, but that seems more like chance than anything else."
Hinote Kagari thinks. "Concert incident?" he asks curiously, leaning forward. "What happened at the concert?" he asks curiously. "Did a dragon attack?" he asks with wide eyes curiously, imagining this buncha knights battling a dragon, his mental image is /awesome/.
He shakes out of his glorious mental imagine and ehs. "Eh, you can tell me about it over practice." he says as he walks towards the broomsticks. "Come on. Let's go spar some more. I need to be ready for next week's performance~" he says contently.
"Rune could tell you more about it than I could," Gao shrugs. "But it showed us that there is plenty of magic to gather... and others who are trying to gather it, as well." He catches the offered broomstick, then heads out the ajar door, stretching and warming up as he goes.