Peacefully, they go. [Tokito, Joski]

Moon Country had treated him well thus far. Certainly, it was cold and there were a fair few amounts of transients among the people of the village but it all seemed to revolve around an effort to unite regions for celebration- or the cruel intentions of gods unknown. In the case of Joski, he might lean towards the former were it not for the company he had managed to find himself with. Half-lid eyes of purple hue would lean to the edge of his vision to spy on the long-haired younger brother that he strode beside, their feet crunching into the powdery snow beneath them as they made their way through the village. Tokito. The youngest of the orphans from the Land of Rivers. Brothers though indeed they were, there was no blood that ran between them that might recognize itself. All the same, blood meant very little when you all came from the same place, raised by the same man and with the same ideals. Still, despite there being no real bond of blood between them, Tokito did fit the profile of a younger brother well; a petulant attitude and an insufferable personality that made Joski want to dunk the boy in the Chiziki river that ran all the way to Rain country. How Joski had managed such poor luck as to be stuck in Moon country with the one siblings that were such a bother to be around, he had no idea. Perhaps he had angered some spirit in his travels and this was to be his punishment.

Tokito had been saying something, but up until this moment, Joski had tuned his thoughts inwards as his shoulders hunched and he bundled his coat around him; given his propensity for travel, it only made sense to keep a heavier coat on him for regions that had an inclement cold. Bundling himself up, the pair of them would come to pause their steps amidst a group of people that had gathered and now blocked the street for one reason or another. At a curious glance, it seemed as though they were all part of some sort of project. Joski had no idea what it was, but likely they would all clear out in a moment once whatever they were talking about had concluded. Until then, the two brothers would stand idly by the group and bide their time. In this instance, Joski would turn more fully to Tokito and bundle his heavy wool jacket a little tighter, the collar covering his chin and mouth from the cold as he spoke. "I'm not sure what the others had planned, but I might be headed back to the Land of River before too long here. Up until I was whisked away here for some work, I had intended to grab a few materials before heading back. You guys came a long way for nothing."

It was easy for Joski to have a sour attitude- he approached most things in the same regard. He wasn't necessarily a sour person, but one could often associate a sort of glumness to his typical attitude and facial expressions. Half-lid eyes spoke of disinterest in most things, and yet held a momentary curiosity that seemed to linger on most things he looked at. Among those things was not his younger brother, though the younger River orphan did indeed hold the older's gaze for the time being. Around them, the crowd began to disperse and Joski spoke up again. "I'll probably have enough time to cross the continent multiple times by the time you guys even make it to Rain country." His brothers often dawdled for one reason or another as he had observed in his days of having followed them before. Granted, it had been some time since he felt the need to hold their hand, yet the trio had come all the way to Haven in search of him.

Joski's attention was pulled askew by the soft padding of tiny feet that approached them. Turning his gaze towards the small girl, Joski blinked a few times. "Who allowed this bundle of holiday joy to get so close to me," he thought to himself. His demeanor didn't change; there was no hostile intention to the young innocence that had just spoken to them, though there was a rather stark contrast to Joski and his dark clothing, dour attitude, and rugged expression. Still, the kid had enough gumption to approach a pair of perfectly fine strangers and seek assistance with...something. Something balloon-related? What was she asking for again?

Noticing for the first time that the crowd had fully dispersed, it seemed as though the River brothers have been volunteered for something. Normally, Joski might just turn on his heels and leave without a second thought, but the big, pink eyes of the holidays dressed adolescent kept him captured for just a moment as he struggled between his normal, cold, unapproachable self and the reasonable part of him that remembered why he had taken to the road in the first place. With a long, drawn-out sigh that puffed steamy air from between his lips in a visible release of steam, Joski would shove both of his hands in his pockets and flick his chin to the youngster. "Alright kid, we'll help. Tokito is good at balloon stuff." Joski still had no idea what they were to be doing, but the sooner he could foist the social interactions with the youth off onto his younger sibling, the better off he would be.

WC - 922

Light snow fell over the gates of the moon, and Tokito watched warily from the lobby window. Sure, it was cold, but the letter hadn’t said anything about snow. It caught the duo entirely by surprise, and he looked out with a frown as a single snowflake drifted down and landed on the windowsill of the lobby.

“Oh!” A familiar voice let out in excitement behind him, but surprisingly this time, it was high-pitched and delighted. “Snow! That’s unexpected, isn’t it?” When he looked back, there was the figure, smiling goofily and looking out the same window as Tokito with narrow purple eyes, seemingly fascinated, almost as if this was the first snow day he’d ever seen. 

Tokito glanced at the sky with disinterest as the city's lights grew bright around them. His brother talking about future destinations after this place, amongst the orphans of the River, Jiro Joski viewed himself as a world-class traveler. The streets were damp and slippery, waiting for the careless and the unwary to trip them up. When he heard the footsteps, Tokito immediately thought that someone was trying to rob them, but when he turned around, he saw a child. Tokito himself was by no means an adult, but that girl was young even in comparison. The way she acted, even younger than she looked. 

“Balloons?” Little one wore a medium-length puffy dress and a coat over it, red and white, the colors of candy, with white stockings and black shoes.

“Why are you both so excited? This is just a much colder rain. We’ll all be a shivering mess by the time this festival is done.” The breath of the boy warrior fogged up as soon as they set up shop, and all-around people were hurrying to wherever it was the festivity they planned to enjoy and escape the snow that was slowly but surely piling up on the sidewalk.

Tokito shivered and buttoned his overcoat up to the last button, lifting the sides of the coat’s collar and glaring at the snowflakes that softly floated down and rested on the black wool before melting and vanishing in between the fibers. The turtleneck uniform he wore underneath it might've been enough for the early morning chill. Still, it was not adequate for the night snow, and he cursed the letter of the elves for giving him a false sense of security.

Distracted as he was, trying to give himself the impression of warmth without outright cuddling Joski—which would be highly unprofessional for a team member of the stand, and just the thought made him recoil in discomfort.

He jumped when a foreign object touched against his nape, then was quickly but carefully wrapped snugly around his neck and draped over his shoulders.

A scarf.

Someone was on his peripheral vision and smiled, a thing almost as soft and warm as Tokito reckoned the scarf was, which he felt was fitting.

WC: 487

Exiting. Sorry we didn't get a chance to finish =[

TWC - 922

Claims:
+9 chakra

-550 to finishing  Imitation White Hole [1,750/1750] previous progress here.
-372 towards Summoning Technique [372/1,000]

Missions Rewards:
+6,000 Ryo
+30 AP

approved

Exiting, no claims.