[closed] Nothing's what it seems to be, I'm a replica, I'm a replica.

[amberdrake]

Who: Amberdrake, Genjo Sanzo
What: Stuff and things.
Where: Drake and Sanzo's current place in Ludmead.
When: Today.
Notes: --
Warnings: --

Braving the trains and then giving massage all day every day one right after the next like he's some kind of massage factory is taking its toll on Drake. He hasn't been sleeping well, despite his excellent company at night, and his reaction time has slowed down juuuust a hair.

Just enough for him to be home during the late afternoon, for once, sitting at the tiny dining table with his head in his hand and an ice pack held against his eye.

Comments

[sanzo]

"Of course not." Sanzo is using his poker face, but it isn't his style of messing with people: he's a lot more subtle.

The sutra just keeps looking innocent.

"I don't have to."

[amberdrake]

Amberdrake eyes him with a little suspicion for a moment, then shakes his head. "I should probably try to get over it, all things considered. If something terrible comes bursting in while we're asleep, it's good to have that thing close."

So he understands why it hasn't been getting tucked up a sleeve or otherwise put out of sight like on Haven. It's no different than a soldier sleeping with a knife under the pillow (and thankfully, the sutra is less likely to cut a particularly tangle-prone bed-mate)...

"Is it even possible for it to go off without you triggering it?"

[sanzo]

"No." Sanzo suddenly sounds a lot more serious. "Only I, or a Sanzo priest trained in how to use it, can trigger it. It can't be harmed by ordinary things, but that's not the same kind of thing."

He refills his teacup, and poises the pot over Amberdrake's, too. "I understand that you were around very dangerous artifacts, and this is a very dangerous artifact, but it's not something that someone can accidentally use. There are so many morons on my world that any other setup would probably see half the world destroyed on any given Monday."

[amberdrake]

"The things that were set off on Velgarth were triggered by other powerful artifacts going off," Amberdrake obligingly pushes his cup a little closer, "Like a crate of fireworks being lit on fire, except obviously much worse."

Two thousand years later his world is still going to be majorly fucked over by it, worse.

[sanzo]

Sanzo pours. "That won't happen with this." He sounds as confident as he feels, though he's not attempting to project that, even though, like Amberdrake, he can.

"...Unless, of course... well, no, that probably would never happen here."

[amberdrake]

Drake just eyeballs him dubiously. "What?"

[sanzo]

"Oh, well, when more than one Sutra is unleashed at the same time, it can... well, the combined power can produce unpredictable results. Mostly," and Sanzo looks quite thoughtful, "Because it hasn't really been tested yet."

Of course, he is supposed to own two. Fortunately or un, the other one is still missing.

[amberdrake]

"That would still mean more than one going off at once, presumably triggered by their owners, yes?" Which would mean either Sanzo was already firing his or there would be at least two others on Baedal before that would happen.

Amberdrake is still eyeing the sutra now and then through this, but learning about it can't hurt. The less of a mysterious and mysteriously dangerous thing it is, the better.

[sanzo]

Sanzo nods. "Aaa. And I haven't heard of any other Sanzos being here."

That he wishes that a certain one would be is probably not well-concealed, but there's no way that he couldn't want to retrieve his predecessor's sutra.

"Look, it's... my sacred duty to watch over this thing. It's not something that will hurt you." He might be a slacker, but he takes some things deadly serious, and this is one of them. Even his words are somewhat more formal.

[amberdrake]

Amberdrake thinks about this for a moment, and then sets his tea aside and stands up. He steps around the small table and for once, actually deliberately reaches to touch the damn thing.

It seems so normal and mundane, to him. But he remembers how Skandranon described it, how it looked to his Mage-Sight like an eternally-collapsing permanent Gate. And he's seen what that looks like with his own eyes, before, at least from afar. The Jerlag Gate being imploded had lit up the entire horizon in the dead of night, brighter than the sun, with the sensation of the world dropping out from underneath him.

And that had been from very, very, very far away.

[sanzo]

Sanzo gazes calmly up at him.

The Sutra, upon his shoulders, is inert: cool, tough paper, the tibetan scrawled upon it jet black and unfading.

Its power is unmistakable, a dangerous, intense force, but it's completely controlled-- for now.

"The gods," and Sanzo speaks very softly and precisely, "Took the Sutra that created the world, and split it into five pieces. These, they placed in the hands of my brethren. We were created to be the protectors of the Sutras, but also to protect the world from them." He's repeating mostly what Amberdrake knows, but also to reinforce his assurances-- and his authority regarding it.

"Our gods are crazy, but not so crazy to leave them unsealed for anyone to use. They didn't need to lock them underground. As long as it rests on my shoulders, it won't be used like that. That's the understanding -- usually -- between a Sanzo and his successor."

[amberdrake]

"Why do you wear it like this?" Amberdrake asks, because it seems very deliberate. Like that breastplate that isn't actually legitimate armor. (And real armor is something Drake is familiar with.)

He doesn't try to move it or anything, just lifts one end in his fingers and eyes it intently. He's seen it go off before, albeit during a lot of chaos. And of course he knows it rolls up into a scroll when Sanzo isn't wearing it. So why doesn't it just stay in scroll form?

[sanzo]

"A Sanzo," replies Sanzo quietly, "Wears his burden upon his shoulders. Also, only a weak Sanzo would hide what he protects."

As always, showing weakness is simply unacceptable on his world.

[amberdrake]

"That's right," Drake muses aloud, rubbing the bit of sutra between his fingers thoughtfully, "your name's Genjo, isn't it?"

A Sanzo. It's a reminder that it's just a title, although Drake hasn't actually called Sanzo anything except various endearments since he arrived.

And now, that name.

[sanzo]

One sharp brow arches upwards. "Don't wear it out."

Sanzo doesn't make it sound disagreeable, just very, very dry.

And honestly, he's not really used to that name being used, either!

[amberdrake]

"Oh? You think I could wear it out?" Amberdrake smiles, because yes, he's totally distracting himself from the sutra while he's touching it. "Does it mean anything in particular?"