<div align="center"><span class="bbc_size" style="font-size: 18pt;"><strong>The Fuchsia Fox and an Artifact Absent</strong></span></div><br/><div class="floatleft">(https://i.pinimg.com/564x/3f/cb/51/3fcb513183b094b643a10c74bed38b1e.jpg)</div><strong>NAME:</strong>Date Toshiro<br/><strong>DAY:</strong>December 25th, 2018 | 8:30PM<br/><strong>LOCATION:</strong>The Indigo Lounge<br/><strong>TAGGING:</strong>None | Closed<br/><strong>EXTRA:</strong><br/><strong>WEARING:</strong>An unbuttoned charcoal gray suit jacket, a loose fitting tie black tie with gray stripes, and dress pants with a white button up shirt and a pair of worn running shoes. Carrying around a messenger bag covered with iconography from various bands, cartoons, and video games.<br/><hr/>Staring at the artifact through the half empty lowball glass of dry whiskey did little to further unearth it's impenetrable mystery, but the sight of the unmoving gyroid haniwa bisected by the still brown liquid at least added a measure of visual interest to what the maddeningly unresponsive object. Admittedly the rich blue light that poured heavily over every surface of The Indigo Lounge had made the artifact's mostly clay surface somewhat more tolerable as the mood lighting gave the usual brown surface a somewhat mystical aesthetic quality. Toshiro tried to use this heavy blue glow to convince himself that he'd somehow managed to activate the object at some point during the day's experimentation, but he hadn't yet had enough to drink to manage that level of relieving self-delusion.<br/><br/>Looking past the immaculately polished surface of the dark marble bar top towards the bar keep at the other side, Toshiro rolled the bottom of glass against the counter top before saying suddenly, “Can you keep a secret?” It was difficult for a creature with a no mouth and wide open black eyes to subtlety express playfully exaggerated annoyance regarding what may have been a jab at her inability to vocally communicate. That being said, the pair had known each other long enough to where the scientist was well able to interpret her once alien methods of speaking, and Toshiro raised his hands in apology at the flexing of Tulip's myriad leaves and vines, and the secreted scent of something akin to bitter citrus, “Ah I didn't mean it like that! I just didn't want it ending up in your vlog is all.” Tulip did her best to narrow her eyes in warning before nodding her head slowly in confirmation of her secrecy.<br/><br/>Placing the artifact in the palm of the hand that once held his now empty glass, Toshiro motioned towards it with his free hand as he explained it's presence, “This is A238, it is one of the least understood objects that SOPHE has ever encountered.” Pointing at head sporting three rubies that somehow managed to maintain their vivid red hue regardless of what light struck them, he continued with mounting exasperation, “All of the techniques we have for measuring the presence of magic state that this thing is almost radiating arcane energy, the problem is we have no idea to what end!” Moving his finger down to indicate the sequence of golden symbols pressed into the terracotta statue's chest he explained, “Nobody has any idea what these symbols mean, it doesn't match anything in our database of Osefo, Kama, Zelkova, or even Calder markings.”<br/><br/>In response to the sharp rotation of Tulip's head bulb and the rattling of the large cauldron that contained her roots behind the bar, Toshiro shook his head quickly before attempting to calm his floral friend, “Oh if there was a way for it to hurt anybody, I would have already stumbled on it by now. All day long I've been using every test SOPHE's best minds have come up with, and a few of my own making, and you know what I've learned?” Grabbing the refilled glass that a vine had slid in front of him and downing it rapidly, he slammed his free hand down on the counter for answering his own question, “Absolutely nothing! It hasn't done anything, and I'm starting to doubt it does anything! There's no sign that it's a part of something else, and it's as weird to all of my demon coworkers as it is to the humans!”<br/><br/>For a moment Toshiro just sat in silence as he appreciated the gentle tinkle coming from the grand piano up on the small stage at the other end of the bar, the vines that had long overgrown its ivory keys pressing down with a speed and precision that was largely absent in the motions Tulip used to serve drinks. Toshiro didn't mind though, her music (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NduqttXVKmA) always served to calm him far better than her drinks could manage. Tilting her head slightly at Toshiro, a few  petals with a vibrant pink luminescence that shone against the blue light shook towards the stool sitting empty next to the scientist, her intent clear enough for him as he scratched his chin for a moment before replying with too much effort in making his voice seem nonchalant, “No it has nothing to do with being alone around the holiday, I'd be focusing on it even I did have... I mean if I wanted to I could just go down to the Red Lantern, this is way more important than that. Who knows how dangerous this thing could be if I don't figure out what it does!” The gilded haniwa had absolutely no reaction to emphasize the claimed importance of Toshiro's task, and Tulip simply tilted her head back in a way to convey the idea of raised eyebrows before returning her focus to sweeping the dark wooden plank flooring that ran the entire length of the room.