You don't see that everyday (Bjorn)

The night before...

There was no forewarning of its occurrence. Just a slight tremor that only sensitive animals would notice. And even then it only lasted for a few seconds. What followed was a brief flash of light and the sound of branches shaking violently. Where there used to be a patch of trees indistinguishable from the rest of the forest, there was now what looked like a small section of a mountain carved out and planted on that same area. On this slightly elevated piece of land one would, after some effort, spot what looked like a mountain trail. Stone steps could be seen leading deeper within until one arrived at a flat spacious ground with a torii marking the entrance. A shrine similar to what one would find in traditional Japan could be seen from the gate. Peculiarly, even though they weren't in season, cherry blossoms in full bloom littered the grounds of the seemingly empty temple. Seemingly empty, because there was in fact a resident sound asleep in the main shrine itself. It would be another few hours before she woke up.

The following morning...

Of course with the light of the sun, such a noticeable new landmark would not be missed by anyone who happened to pass nearby. The first visitors to the shrine would be a group of trekkers who chanced upon the trail and stone steps while they were walking through the forest. The view of the cherry blossoms was breathtaking and they could not help but wander around and take pictures. Little did they know, the shrine's resident had begun to stir, with the morning sunlight peeking through the window and illuminating her calm, sleeping face. Her ears unconsciously twitched at the sound of idle chatter and the footsteps on the stone path outside. It was then that the resting Kami woke up with a start. Sitting up and trying to make sense of where she was, she blinked a few times. By now she could clearly hear the talking and smell the familiar scent of humans. They certainly didn't sound like they were there to pray or make an offering.

A gentle breeze blew past as the shrine doors suddenly slid open. The cheerful noises were replaced by silence as all eyes in the group focused on the figure stepping out into the morning sun. The Kami's ears twitched again. She could slightly sense sources of electricity on their persons. This struck her as unusual. If humans had somehow found the means to tame lightning, she would be one of the first to know. It was then that it clicked that she was no longer in the same world she knew. This realization caused her to unintentionally smile. It wasn't a kind or gentle one. It was that mischievous grin she normally had when amusing ideas came to her mind and it gave a clear view of her fangs. She quickly put her hand over her mouth. She must have been losing her touch if she could easily lose her poker face like that. But the damage was done. The people who were looking at her grew wary. One of them nodded to the rest before slowly approaching and addressing her.

"H-hello! Are you the owner of this place? S-sorry for walking in uninvited. We're just a group of trekkers passing by. If we're being a bother, we'll be going now."

There was an unmistakable hint of nervousness in his voice. Being feared was amusing in its own way. She responded by ominously tilting her head to the side without saying a word. The man who had spoken slowly took a step back. As he did so, the mischievous Kami lightly tapped her foot on the ground causing a burst of electricity to erupt from that spot, the sparks flying dangerously close to the group of people. Their reaction was as expected. With a few screams here and there, the group turned tail and ran for their lives, down the stone steps and away from the trail, putting as much distance between them and the Kami as they could. Once she was sure they were out of earshot, she giggled with laughter. She may have arrived at a different world but the humans were still quite the same. Show them a little power and they either feared you or worshiped you.

Her first thought was that she probably shouldn't have let them go. After all she needed some information as to where she was now. Whenever she tried to recall what happened back in her world, her memories seemed to turn up blank. That was a problem. To make matters more inconvenient, she felt considerably weaker. The sparks she had set off earlier, though they did the trick, were a lot more reserved than she had envisioned. Once she had calmed down a bit, she realized that if her shrine drew curious onlookers that easily, then all she had to do was to have a little patience. Someone else was bound to turn up and she could ask them all her questions. Though truth be told, patience was not one of her strong points.

It was early, he knew that. Mal glanced over at the clock. "3 am... Jemmy why do you have to cause chaos this late... early?... anyway just why? Can't we just take a rest sometimes... I'll deal with it in the morning." He rolled over and pulled his pillow over his head.

The following morning.

Malan'tai had gotten dressed pulling on clothes and heading out of the house. He decided to walk since it wasn't far. The man still wore his black suit and a tie, after all gotta look professional at all times. He strode up the path as the hikers ran by talking about a meta human up there. He shook his head and kept walking like he had anything to worry about from a meta human.

Malan'tai walked up the steps, odd for someone of chaos to create something this symetrical, that eliminated Jemmy probably. He looked to see a woman standing there. "Are you the trouble maker I've been warned about?" he asked as he continued up the path. Mal cracked his neck showing the jagged tattoo that encircled his throat. His eyes were black with red irises. He was in his opinion not human in the least, something he had worked hard to maintain the appearance of. "I should tell you that there are rules and laws about behavior if you're new." He smiled it was disarming a clear gesture of kindness. He approached and offered a hand and a name. "People call me Malan'tai."

It had only been an hour. Maybe two. Maybe three. In that time the dog goddess had been testing the limits of her physical abilities. Like the rest of her powers, they seemed to have diminished quite a bit. At least she was still a cut above humans. That was a given. That way she could still have a bit of fun with them. As she landed gracefully after attempting to see how high she could jump, her ears twitched, sensing the approach of a new visitor. That didn't take too long. Human curiosity was a wonderfully reliable thing, is what she thought.

Her first opinion was that he was a rather sharp-looking man. There was a clear difference in his bearing compared to the other people who had wandered into her shrine earlier. In fact, once she got a closer look, he had a few distinguishing features that made her think he probably wasn't human or at least not an ordinary one. Most noticeable would be his eyes. She wasn't surprised. She herself came from a place where all sorts of beings existed alongside humans. There was no reason to think this world wasn't much different.

He called her a trouble-maker. How charming. But he won't be getting points for flattery just yet. She raised her eyebrow at the mention of laws and behavior. Quite direct. He wasn't wasting any time. It was kind of him to state his business right away as part of his introduction. The dog goddess figured it was only right that she returned the favor. But what was her business? To find a way to return to her world? Sure. But that was rather cliche and boring. And she would like to think that she was by no means boring. She was a Kami of mischief. Amusement in misfortune and trickery was what she lived for. And while she was in this world, she didn't mind giving it a taste of her talents.

She extended her hand to take his and smiled. "I'm known as Inugami Raiko. Pleasure to meet you." As soon as she made contact, without changing her expression, a surge of electricity flowed from her fingertips. It was a shock that would bring an elephant to its knees and definitely knockout an ordinary person.

Malan'tai would smile at the greeting and shook her hand, the thin layer of psychic energy surrounding him keeping out the electricity. He raised an eyebrow and looked up at her. "Should I take this as an initiation of combat? I don't like fighting, it goes against the ways of unity, my way." The man just stared at her his features having drawn from a smile into more of an iritated scowl.

Mal withdrew his hand and studied her for a moment. She was different from the normal entities he dealt with, not a lord of chaos or order, nor metahuman. Something to look into, he'd have to do some research later unless she just spilled the story. And did he like a story, he'd review legends and myths for beings fitting her appearance later.

Although he had asked if she was starting combat, he hadn't made any move to attack himself. Clearly he had a shield of course but there was no fighting positioning, no charging up an attack. Either he was very good, very confident, or very foolish. Considering the burst of electricity hadn't reached him the answer should have been very obvious.

Raiko's eyes widened with surprise upon seeing her electric shock seemed to have no effect. On the contrary, the one called Malan'tai wasn't even fazed in the slightest. Well, perhaps he did look slightly annoyed but she wasn't one to bother with such small details.

"Ara, ara. This is quite unexpected. I meant to knock you out, tie you up, and then ask you a hundred questions when you woke up. But it seems I can't even get past step one."

She chuckled. Few people could escape her greetings unscathed. Fewer still would keep their cool afterward. In her eyes that was worth acknowledging.

"Fine, this is my loss. I'll pay attention to what you have to say. You are correct. I am very much new to this place. And I wouldn't mind being told how things work around here."

Malan'tai sighed and rubbed his forehead when she told him what her plan had been. He then laughed and walked over taking a seat on one of the steps. "Come sit, we'll talk all day if need be. I am the lord of order representing the aspect of unity. Few are as forgiving as I am. You don't know how things work." The man rubbed his chin trying to think of where to start.

He figured being honest with her would be best. "This isn't your home world any more, things undoubtedly are different. How about we start with you asking questions then I'll show you around. That is after you tell me what you are." He glanced over at her with a smile, he'd just done so to make it an equal trade of information.

A lord of order. He made it sound like he was someone important. And all that served to do was put him up higher in her bucket list of beings to prank. But that time for that was not now. Considering who he claimed to be, while it may have had no meaning to him to choose to sit on the steps rather than invite himself further into her shrine, Raiko considered this an act of respect to her territory. She sat down on the steps as well.

"A different world huh. I figured out that much. For one, the fashion is a little different."

He seemed keen on learning more about her as much as she wanted to know more about this world. She was never one to be secretive about her identity anyway. If anything, her current situation demanded she make a name for herself, assuming her guess about her current state was correct.

"I'm a kami, specifically an inugami." Her ears and tail moved in a noticeable manner as though to emphasize this.

"I suppose I would also count as a tochigami." She tilted her head to indicate the shrine on the grounds behind them. "But because of the kind of kami I am, I'm not as bound to the land as the usual tochigami would be."

Mal nodded at her comment about the fashion being different and gave a light chuckle. "Yeah just a bit." He glanced over at her and began taking mental notes about her, a kami, this was interesting to him. He'd not met a kami yet not that he'd ever tried but the point remained he hadn't. He reached in his jacket and pulled out a flask taking a drink with a sigh.

"I'm not sure why or how you are here but the rules of this world are pretty simple. Don't kill, steal, cheat. If someone is bothering you in that way you can defend yourself, it's sometimes good to hide the fact that you have powers..." Mal thought on that last one, he'd lain low for over six thousand years. "Umm so yeah any questions you have?"

Raiko listened intently. His rules sounded awfully like the kind humans set for themselves. She wondered if he was one of those "good" gods.

"We can agree on kill. It's a waste. I could be showering them with misfortune instead. But as for cheat and steal... I don't think I can promise that." She responded playfully but honestly.

"As a kami of mischief, I do as I please and take what I want. Whenever I see someone on a high horse, I get this unquenchable desire to knock them off it. Where I come from, I've received many such requests and frankly, I look forward to living the same lifestyle for as long as I'm here."

He asked if she had questions. Of course she had lots. But his summary of the world's rules was so simple that it made it a little hard to decide what to ask first.

"You didn't seem that surprised. I take it there are similar beings as myself in this world too? If so, where might I need to look to find them?"

Malan'tai chuckled and said. "No I don't know any other Kami. I knew about your kind though, I was the prince of the planet prior to its previous destruction. It's just that I'm older and was around for the creation of the Kami."

Mal smiled at her and said. "I don't enforce rules, I was just telling you what they are. The humans who call themselves titans will handle enforcing the rules." He stood and popped his back leaning back slightly to do so.

"Oh but you might not want to call yourself a god, there are some rather shallow beings who get upset with people who do. I don't care I'm just making sure you understand." Mal started back toward the path and called back. "Oh please get your temple off my land, otherwise I'll need to call a crew to get rid of it."

So he was like some really ancient being. That was rare, even on her world. You could consider Raiko's curiosity piqued. But that also meant he was quite serious about getting rid of her temple. And that was not something she would stand for, whoever he was.

"I certainly didn't ask to have my shrine and myself moved here. For one reason or another, I seem to be missing most of my power. So it looks like my visit in this world will be quite an extended one until I can get it back."

"But... if you DO have a way of moving it without damaging anything, then I'll owe you one."

To think she'd offer to put herself in debt on her first day in a new world. Truly the situation must be desperate. On the other hand, getting even just a little bit closer to someone higher up would be very useful for any future exploits she might have during her stay.

Malan'tai waved a hand and said. "I'll get it moved to that mountain over there." he said indicating one a few miles away. "Don't get yourself killed." He laughed and left down the path chuckling things would get interesting now.