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[closed] Pry loose old walls

WHO: Yato, Petyr Baelish
WHERE: Maurtia Falls Mayoral Office
WHEN: Early June
WHAT: Yato has been charged with finding some real estate, and what better place to get a lead than the local mayor?
WARNINGS: TBD

It was about a month later before Yato could follow up with his conversation with Merle regarding finding some empty land on which Merle could build his proposed temple. Although he'd kept an ear out for any potential leads, the ones that had come up had all resulted in dead ends.

So, not wanting to disappoint, he decided to speak with someone in charge who would certainly have more access - and influence - into such things. Luckily for him, this position in Maurtia Falls was filled by an imPort; hopefully that would improve his chances. Yato had put called some days ago and requested a meeting, and now arrived at the scheduled time.

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Once his secretary led Yato to his office, Baelish stood to greet the young man at the door with a smile and an extended hand. "Yato. A pleasure to meet you. Have a seat...can I get you some tea, coffee, water?"

His secretary hung around to hear Yato's answer since she would be the one retrieving the beverage. In the meantime, Baelish studied Yato. He seemed rather young. One might assume he was still in high school upon first glance. But either way, he could barely be far into his twenties.

Although if there was one thing this place taught Petyr, looks could be deceiving when it came to imPort age.

"Tea would be great," Yato grins, nodding in appreciation and gripping Baelish's hand in response; he's still more used to formal bows, but he's been trying to adapt. His eyes are luminously blue, too much so to be human. "Green if you have it, but any kind will work."

One thing he's realized he'd been taking for granted: unlimited tea while crashing at Kofuku and Daikoku's place (and nearly unlimited food). Now he's been seeking it out when the opportunities present for it.

"Thanks for seeing me. I imagine you're pretty busy, with being both an imPort and the mayor."

"Of course. I find myself preferring tea over coffee, so I've been certain to stock the office with all varieties." He nodded to his secretary who went off to retrieve the tea. And now, for a few moments they were alone. Baelish's smile was warm, friendly. He waved his hand dismissively at the comment of him being busy.

"Really, I will always find time to squeeze in one of my fellow imPorts. If there's one thing I want to be, it's accessible. I might represent the city, but I also stand for my own personal community. Ah -- your tea."

The secretary handed Yato his preferred green tea before heading on her way and sealing the door behind her. And now the meeting could truly begin.

"So, I understand you are looking to purchase land. Are you looking to own something within Maurtia Falls or something more rural on the outskirts?"

Yato murmured his thanks to the secretary and accepted the cup of tea, listening attentively to Baelish.

"It's not for me personally," he clarified. "Have you met Merle Highchurch? He's working on building a 'multi-faith temple' here in the city, but he's been having some trouble getting the land he needs to build it on. It's a project that kind of falls close to home, you know? So I said I'd look into what's involved in getting some land and permits, and you seemed like the best person to ask about it. So for something like that, I'd think the more central that's available, the better."

"I have, actually." It was an odd encounter. But who was Baelish to judge a man and his odd fetishes? He made a career of catering to odd fetishes back home for several years. His lips set together in thought and he reached forward to open a manila folder, grabbing a pair of reading glasses and slipping them on.

"Maurtia Falls does tend to cater to people of all different backgrounds, but might I inquire more about this 'multi-faith' temple? What sort of things will they be doing with their space?" Baelish just needed to be assured this wasn't a murder cult in the making....because yes. He had dealt with that here a surprisingly large amount of times. Although perhaps it wasn't all that surprising here in Maurtia Falls...

"The way Merle explained it, was that since people come from all different worlds and a lot of those people are used to worshiping their gods in specific ways," Yato elaborated.

"He wants to give people somewhere that they can do that. But he's got quality control or something going on, because he had questions for me to make sure I wasn't going to demand blood sacrifices or something gross and weird," he laughed, not aware that he was actually addressing one of the unspoken concerns.

"Well, that is relieving. That was, of course, a main concern of mine. I know most religions are benign, but some to have a variety of practices that would not be considered legal by this world's standards. Blood sacrifices being one..." He deliberately used Yato's words to avoid saying murder. Although something else interesting was confessed.

"So this temple would also be a place you would utilize to build your own religion? And what precisely do you worship?" Petyr stared at those captivating blue eyes, and he thought to himself how nearly inhuman they seemed.

"Understandable," Yato agreed readily. "Actually I thought it was great that Merle had already thought of it as a potential problem, just because... well, like you said. Believers who'd do dangerous things like that don't help anyone."

He traced his fingers around the edge of the cup before taking a sip, then another longer one in appreciation for the high quality tea. He glanced back up at Baelish's questions. "Right now I'm trying to make a name for myself as a God of Fortune," he answered. "So... I'm definitely hoping that people who are going to come to this temple might be interested in that. Me."

It wasn't a purely altruistic desire to help Merle, Yato would admit.

"But even if it doesn't, I mean, the idea is still a good one," he added after a moment. "The other gods here -- the singing ones -- or at least most of them, they're all from the same world, and they seem to have found their footing here a lot easier. I tried the whole idol thing back in the 80s but it didn't take. Besides, I can do a lot more good as a God of Fortune."

Then he cleared his throat, a bit awkwardly. "Sorry, that got off topic. My point was, I asked Merle if there was some way I could help with this, and he said he was having trouble finding somewhere in the city that will let him build. So I came to ask if you'd have any lead on that, and if so, what would it cost?"

"No, no. Not at all." Because really, Baelish loved to hear this sort of stuff. God of Fortune. Well, he had never been the religious sort, but if he chose a deity to bow to, it would likely be someone who represented fortune. "But you'll have to forgive my curiosity on the matter. Before this world, I found myself to be a nonbeliever in all things divine. Before I give you the names of some of my best contacts -- mind if I ask a few questions concerning your particular religion?"

Hopefully Yato was keen because Baelish was going for it regardless. "When you say fortune -- do you mean fortune as in luck? Or fortune as in prosperity? I would imagine if it was the latter, you would have no shortage of people praying to you. The former as well when it comes to a city like Maurtia Falls."

Yato had been meeting a lot of people who weren't big believers in gods since arriving here, which was strange even though academically he knew that was actually quite common in other places. Belief in gods and ancestors was so interwoven into Japanese life that it didn't even register with most people as religion, just like breathing didn't register as a conscious act. It just was.

(He did, however, preen a bit when Baelish called it his religion, even though he knew it wasn't directed at him. It still felt good. Yatoism for all!)

"Fortune covers a lot of things," he expanded obligingly. "And there's definitely some overlap between gods, just because there's so many of us. But there's also a group that's sort of... head of things in that area of things? The Seven Gods of Fortune, they're the most well-known and most revered."

"So for example, Jurōjin and Fukurokuju are both gods of longevity, but Fukurokuju is also a god of happiness and monetary wealth. Ōkuninushi is a god of wealth, but also of commerce and trade along with - Ebisu, who then also blesses merchants and fisherman." There's something not quite neutral in his tone when he describes them; something between envy and, oddly, remorse. A scant hesitation before he says Ebisu's name, but he covers it with listing off the rest of them. "Hotei takes care of abundance, Benzaiten is the goddess of knowledge, beauty, arts and music, and Bishamon for victory in battle and warriors."

"I see." All of these names tossed at him, and Baelish did his best to recall them. He would have to jot them down somewhere once Yato left, just to preserve that knowledge. But perhaps more than the names was the way Yato spoke them, his tone giving away what he felt about them. Ebisu was a particularly interesting case, and Baelish filed that one away to bring up later -- whether later in this conversation or at another point.

"And where do you fall into this? You've brought up these Seven Gods of Fortune, but I do notice your name was not included among their numbers. Do you, perhaps, work with them?"

Or against them -- trying to take over their empire. Because if it is something along those lines, then Baelish could definitely work to see Yato thrive within the city. There was definite power in someone who strived to take down such well known gods.

"Heh," Yato shrugged, though his smile was steady. "Like I said, I'm sort of up-and-coming in the Fortune field still. We've all got to start somewhere, right? And they're just the big named ones, there's lots of gods that attend Fortune-related things, just on smaller scales. Gods are born from wishes, sometimes those are broad and sometimes they're specific."

He did note that Baelish seemed far more interested in him than he'd have expected, given the original request for a lead on real estate. Merely curiosity from someone who wasn't familiar with the concept of gods as tangible beings? Baelish had said he'd considered himself a non-believer. Still, it seemed somehow more shrewd than that.

"As far as I'm aware, I'm the only god of 'my type' that's here right now," he said, sipping his tea. "Lady Persephone, and the others from her world, aren't quite the... same. Different versions, I guess. I just... want to find my own place. Until we figure out how to get back home."

A beat. "So, uh, about that request on Merle's behalf...?"

"Of course, of course." Baelish supposed that would be all he would find out about Yato for now. He didn't want to come across as prying. But inviting him into a place of worship in his city would give Baelish all the more opportunities to learn more about this 'up-and-coming' god.

He reached into his folder and plucked out the appropriate paperwork, sliding it in Yato's direction. "There are some listings for properties available within the city as well as some contractors who are highly skilled in their field -- if you wish to design your own temple. There are also a few abandoned churches you could purchase and renovate, if that would be more cost efficient. Do not worry about all the nonsense of city approval. Just call me and tell me which place you've decided to go with and I can handle the appropriate permits."

A sunny grin speaks to both Yato's appreciation of the offer, both for the sake of Merle's upcoming temple and for the relative ease at which this has now been accomplished. "That's great! I can't wait to tell Merle that he's going to have somewhere he can start with."

He drains the rest of the tea in the cup, when a thought strikes him. "Wait though, isn't doing something like that going to cost you money? Even as Mayor?"

Baelish shook his head with a wave of his hand and a slightly mysterious smile. "It's an investment I'm comfortable with making." Because it meant potentially getting to call a favor from an 'up and coming god.' But Baelish elaborated, so as to not make it seem like he's doing this as a power move.

"I believe it will only benefit the community -- and Maurtia Falls is a city that could do with all the benefits it can get. Religion will provide people an outlet, something higher than themselves to believe in and with luck -- may deter a few from criminal paths. Such is my hope, at the very least."

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[closed] Pry loose old walls

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