Lamentable Nights: Act 05.1 - "Enjoy the little things"

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AYC
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Lamentable Nights: Act 05.1 - "Enjoy the little things"

Post by AYC »

(There is no turning back now. DEVIATIONS: SHUT DOWN.)

Date: 12 June, Saturday [Festival]
Time: 5:00 am
Weather: Clear
Location: Pebbleton Beach Park
PC: Mirto
================


Her lips are set in a firm line as she pushes the final block into place. She's been working on this entire thing for a week, and as she stands back to look at it, it's really just hard to believe.

The Rozen Queen Company actually asked them to build a castle. Seriously? Even if it is just a pseudo one with just a single big room made out of an oddly irking puzzle of intricately painted blocks.

The other employees stare up at the impressive wooden structure with awe. One of them doesn't even notice that his mouth is hanging open in the most unbecoming, fly-catching way ever.

Mirto eyes it with a numbed sense of pain. She cradles the fingers that nearly got pounded down by stray hammers, pricked silly with nails, roughed down with the extensive sanding.

And then the booths that they have to move inside of it now. Something inside just sighs in resignation as she trails behind the supervisor and grabs hold of the heavy signs and subsequently gets another splinter in the process.

Dammit.

It probably would've been smarter for her to move the boxes instead.

She ends up lugging the heavy thing into the erected chunk of wood anyway, but the early morning, greyish lighting leaves mostly shadows and not much to be seen. They had put up markers earlier to help them expedite the last-minute, set up process, but she can barely make out the small flags tacked on the "stone" walls. It's not like she has anything against demon underworld-styled castles, but maybe they shouldn't have procrastinated until the day of the festival to finish. Or have been so ambitious.

Several trips and painful incidents later, a majority of the stalls and boxes have been dropped off at their rightful places. Mirto in particular stares at the sight of a fancy archway marked "Item World" overhead, and at the intricate details and bits of shaped metal framing it, she really can't help but wonder if her bosses really had gotten too carried away.

Because you have to be carried away and ambitious if you're going to ask all your employees, part time and not, to construct a high-quality, real-life model of a demon overlord's HQ to house all of your food and merchandise, in a week.

Not to mention a real demon overlord yourself.

Honestly, even if you do hire a hundred employees and then some in a single small town... expecting them to single-handedly build not one, not two, not even three, but four demon castles for a festival of this scale is generally unthinkable.

But somehow they did it and now she's feeling the whole brunt of the aftereffects.

This company is either too rich or has too much time on their hands.

Mirto ducks amidst her internal lamentations as an employee in front of her trips over a cable, and upends the contents of his box onto her head. Although it doesn't mix with the packages of octopus balls she's carrying, it does take a few minutes to realizes what that stringy black thing on her shoulder is.

She immediately throws the accursed array of... things off her body like it's some kind of diseased animal. Oh yeah.

Her bosses were definitely serious about the demon overlord image.

There has to be a reason why there's so many black leather miniskirts and... assorted other stringy apparel emblazoned with the Rozen Queen logo after all. And she's knows for a fact that Rozen Queen is most certainly not a kind of brand name.

Which means.

It's a pretty good thing that she's not working at the beach location of activities for the festival later today. Or for the rest of the weekend for the matter, though a part of her really, really hopes that whatever uniform they give her to wear at the park location it's not worse than the set of clothing - or lack of it - that she's just been traumatized by.

With a small grimace of pain, she gathers herself up and offers one last look of dismay at the tight clothing and mix of demon tails before running off to finish her deliveries.

Maybe she should have taken up that shift at the library instead, even if it would've paid less for weekend work.

And as the sun rises overhead, she can't help but sigh in dread.

"Ugh... I hope nothing stupid happens today."
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Pictor
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Re: Lamentable Nights: The RP

Post by Pictor »

Date: 12 June, Saturday [Festival]
Time: 6:30 AM
Weather: Clear/ Sunny
Location: Hailey's Apartment
PC: Hailey
================


The telecom application on a young Panzer girl's MPUD crackles loudly. Through the confounding static, a voice manages to make it through the surrounding chaos.

"... Do you copy?! What are you waiting for?!"

"But, sir! I.... But there are...--"

"-- God smite it, Red Six! Throw damned switch! Hurry!"

Trembling uncontrollably, a hand hovers out over an activation module.

"I... I just can't!! I can't do that, sir! Those are innocent people! They have nothing to do with any of this!"

"Fucking hell! This isn't a pity party, this is the God damned battlefield! You are a soldier, Red Six, and before that and anything else, a Panzer. What would you do? Turn your back on the High Command? Betray your own kin?!"

"I.... I...."

"Do it! Do it now!! That's an order, Geminesca!!"

"Aaaaah.... Aaaaaaaauuuhh!!"

========

"Riiiiiiise and shine, Pebbleton! I'm your beloved George Davidson, and welcome to Seaside Mornings! Weeeelp, today's the big day, isn't it? Just in case you're a visitor 'round these parts..."

As the green, seven-segment displays on a radio-clock struck six-thirty, an obnoxiously enthusiastic voice tore through the serenity of a single-room apartment.

"Unnnngh...."

A creature made of bundled bedsheets stirred from its slumber with a detestable groan. After a few tosses and turns, a hand appeared from beneath its corpulent hide and groped around in the dark.

"... Definitely lots of things to look forward to today! Don't forget to drop by the Feel16 booth at--"

*click*

The hand came to a sloppy and violent rest on the radio clock, shutting the fantastically annoying voice up good.

"Bluuugh...."

With another zombie-like groan, the bedsheet monster retrieved its arm back under its folds. And then, after a few seconds of more shifting around, it suddenly regurgitates the woman named Hailey Geminesca.

"Nnnnnng... God dammit." Hailey reached up and rubbed her sore eyes before cradling her pounding cranium. "Pffffft.... What the hell did I do last night?"

After giving herself a few more minutes to wallow in the wake of her morning migraine, the dark-haired woman kicked off her remaining covers and sluggishly scooted herself to the ledge of the bed. She cast a brief glance back to the mattress behind her.

Hey, would you look at that. No Mysterious Douchebag X. This hangover is already looking better than the usual.

========

"You've gotta be fucking kidding me!" A quick shower later, and with a damp towel draped across her neck, Hailey found herself rummaging in disbelief through her closet. A rather empty one, that is. "Where the hell did all of my clothes go?!"

Turning around in the midst of her irritation, the woman happened to lay her eyes on the ceiling fan. A small piece of triangular black cloth hung loosely from one of the blades.

"Huh. Found one."

How the sacred fuck did that even get there...?

And not even a foot away from that spectacle, there was another piece of her wardrobe. A black tank-top thrown lazily across the back of a chair.

Uh... that one's definitely not clean.

As Hailey began to scan her apartment in earnest, she slowly became aware of the repulsive diorama before her. A shirt lying across her desk. A garden of worn socks strewn across the floor. A bra strung for all to see across the top of the TV. A whole pile of miscellaneous clothing bunched up and stuffed right beside her pillow. Beer cans occupying every conceivable surface, with nearly half of them used as makeshift ashtrays. And... was that...?

Oh Christ, do I not even have the decency to throw THAT kind of shit out?

"Hmmm..." The Panzer gave a hapless frown as she absentmindedly tussled her towel a few times against her still-wet hair. "... I guess I'm due to clean this place up a bit..."

Man... what a fucking drag. And on a Saturday, too.

"Eh? Saturday? Wait a sec. Wasn't there something..."

Hailey paused to think against the lingering pain at her temples.

"Ah, shit! That's right, today's the fuckin' festival!"

And then, upon that realization, a miracle occurred. The dull, soulless eyes of the raven, the jaded abyss that seems to swallow all hints of light, suddenly gleamed brightly. Somehow, against any semblance of sanity and reason, Hailey Geminesca seemed visibly excited.

On the other side of the globe, a paraplegic father of four regained the ability to walk, and a few countries over, the cure to a terrible and fatal disease was discovered.

"Haaa~! Festival's here~! Festival's here~!"

Hailey hummed happily to herself as she waltzed half-naked back to her closet. There still wasn't much in there, but maybe if she reached far back enough...

"Damn."

The woman cursed as she reluctantly drew an article of clothing from the depths; a light, shoulder-less button-up blouse. The kind that girls wear to... look all pretty.

Hailey give a light shudder.

"Tch. It's white, too. Where the hell did I even get this piece of shit?"

But it's the only thing even remotely wearable at the moment. She'll just have to suck it up. If she bothered to keep this thing around, it can't look too bad... right? She can't let something this small upset her day.

After all, it's the festival!

... And when there's a festival in Pebbleton, there's funnel cake. Not just any funnel cake; the Velvet Tea Room's once-per-year celebratory house special. The holy god-king of festival time treats. The pure maiden empress of desserts. Hand made by angels with the tears of phoenixes and concentrated ambrosia.

"Haaaauugh.... hehehe...~"

Just the thought is enough to send Hailey into a heavenly, drooling stupor. Even the blouse is looking prettier by the second, basking in the light of her daydreams.

Yea, to hell with the room! I'll take the mess down to Irma's later. Gotta get morning rounds out of the way so the rest of the day is aaaall to myself! And as for this...

She turned the blouse over a few times in her hands.

"I'll just brutally murder anyone who might even come close to recognizing me."

Hailey hummed cheerfully as she went about digging through her closet for the rest of her attire.

Around the world, unspeakable things continued to happen to the sound of her tune.
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Re: Lamentable Nights: The RP

Post by SavviG »

Date: 12 June, Saturday [Festival]
Time: 7:00 AM
Weather: Clear/ Sunny
Location: 2 Peddington Lane [Graciel's home]
PC: Graciel Flay, Blacky
other PCs: Cassius
----------------------

*Thump thump*
It is pitch black and there is a thumping noise coming ever so close to the mind.
*Thump*
And it got louder.
*THUMP*
A sharp pain hit the temple. Right before him, a blurry figure came into focus, no, it was a large head.

"About time you woke!" Blacky face sticking so close to Graciel.
"Wah!!" Double backing to the other end of the bed. "What are you trying?!"
"Waking you up for work, afterall, you sneaked into hospital last night just to see Cassius right? So you might over sleep."

Indeed, Graciel snucked into hospital dodging the bunny nurses just to see Cassius. Sophia wanted to know how he was the other day...

-------------------------------
The other night flashback
Hospital room
Time: ???
-------------------------------

"Hey Cassius, hows it going?"

"Ah! G-graciel sir!"

He sits up and struggles to get his pillow up, Graciel lends a hand.

"You do know that visiting times are over 2 hours ago right?"

"Don't worry about that, just checking if you are any better. Sophia want to know how well you are too."

"Oh, I'm feeling better. How is she? Oriole."

"She's doing fine, met a new friends I believe. A neighbour of mine who is a Crosser. Keeping two Strays too. One's abit... jumpy."

"I hope I get to meet them too!"

"I guess you can, afterall the Festival is right around the corner."

"Ah! Thats right! Is, .. is everyone going? Is Oriole going?"

"I'm sure she will."

The hour flew by... And Graciel leaves
-------------------------------


Date: 12 June, Saturday [Festival]
Time: 8:30 AM
Weather: Clear/ Sunny
Location: Stray Cats Booth [Materion Square]
-------------------------------
[Graciel is busy serving people now.]

(Wow, look at all those costumes people got going, I swear some are actual Panzers)
Last edited by SavviG on Thu Aug 02, 2012 7:33 pm, edited 2 times in total.
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Pasonia
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Re: Lamentable Nights: The RP

Post by Pasonia »

Date: 12 June, Saturday [Festival]
Time: 7:00 AM
Weather: Clear/ Sunny
Location: White Waters Hotel -> Dawnview Walk -> Dawnview Park
PC: Melvin Jack (DEBUT!)

==============================


"Yo, this be a fine day to walk about the streets, sweet stuff."

Everyone who saw the burly man couldn't help but turn around in awe. Considering that the average Pebbleton citizen is 175cm (5'7") in height, a 210cm (6'9") muscle man would definitely be a rare sight.

"Well, I heard Maeda-dude tellin' me Pebbleton's a run-down shack, but..." Gazing in the direction of Materion Towers, "...he must've been dang high when he said that. You got one heck of a buildin' and a port in the distance, fer sure you can't call this 'run-down'?"

His immediate presence along the footpath made every man within a 10 meter radius a. astounded b. jealous c. self-conscious d. all of the above. To boot, for a short while he wore what seems to be a tail accessory of some sort, sharply dividing the opinions of girls in the area; they either run at him or away from him, but he was only too happy to scoot clear of their

The town's colours, though, was splendid. Granted, their fabled "Festival" is a legend around these parts, but surely, this rivals any Mardi Gras.

"Wahoo, it's a beach! Kick ass!"

He couldn't wait before throwing off his shoes and running straight onto the sand, inexplicably throwing himself onto sand and rolling about it. Just as suddenly, he bounced straight up using only the muscles on his back, and then began running around randomly, kicking the seawater at one point.

Then, just as suddenly, he sprawled himself across the sand again, allowing his eyes to soak in the blue skies above; a biplane flew past carrying the words... whatever they say, really, must be the distance affecting his ability to see the words. But not that he cares anyway.

"Dancing for the festival tonight, stuff with Maeda, go get a few drinks. Life can't get any better than this now, can it... Uhh... Zzz..."

Like a car finally hitting empty, his eyes began to close amid the warm morning glow.

---

"Here, this is for you."
"...huh? Why're you giving me this for, dude?"
"...you're going to that place, aren't you?"
"Does it look like I've a choice, mate? We're talking about me going there to get her back here."
"Just be careful, dude. I know you are kinda rash, but, just... be extra careful. You don't want to end up like that monster, and neither do we want her to end up like that monster."


---

By the time he woke up again, the sun has already risen high enough for the light in the sky to be piercing his sight fiercely. He groaned a little, realised he was still sleeping on the rock by the beach.

And somehow, he had ended up sleeping like a cat, noticing a queer soreness on his left arm which he rested on.

"Unnggghhh... How long was it since I slept? An hour? Two?"

He saw that the crowd's gathering but probably not busy enough yet that he can't sneak in and get out without being recognised.

Then there was a fierce sensation emanating from the stomach cavity, going grrrrrrrl as he held it tenderly with a sheepish grimace.

"Hot daaaaaaaamn. I totally forgot my breakfast and... unnngghhh... I'm hungry, dang it!"

He felt around his pockets for his wallet, satisfied that it was still there while he slept, then walked towards this large sign in the distance that seemed to make out words he couldn't really visualise properly.

Then again, like he ever read words properly at all. With a rocking sway brought on by giddiness, he began to head toward the large signs.

"Hmm. Let's hope those words spell 'food'. Unnnnggghhhh..."
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Re: Lamentable Nights: The RP

Post by AYC »

Date: 12 June, Saturday [Festival]
Time: 8:00 am
Weather: Clear
Location: Gurren Street -> Dawnview Park
PC: M
================


First thing in the morning, M flees.

Not just because he doesn't really want anything to do with that PMS monster passed out in her room, but also because he'd like to check out the festival on his own for once.

It's not like he doesn't like Sophia or anything, the kid's adorable and apparently gives him heart attacks from high blood sugar levels on a regular basis, but M's a man of limited commitment.

He can only be so content being tied down to not just one, but two lovely ladies.

Pssh, it's not like they'll miss me anyway. Much.

The festival is three days anyway. He'll probably catch up with them one of the other days or something. If they don't come after him and his neck later, that is. But what are the chances?

Slim, hopefully.

The morning air is cool and light as he walks through the streets. Not that it means anything to him, but it's awfully crowded with cars and people as he steps onto one of the main roads, with bodies and vehicles heading every which way in dense clusters. If he wasn't an invisible dead guy, he'd probably be having a hard time breathing right now.

A chill goes down his spine when a person walks through him, shoving people out of the way with the heavy box in his arms. A few people turn to give the offending man an angry glare, but the crowd makes it difficult to pick out the specific person.

I guess some procrastinators are still setting themselves up for the festival, huh.

With his tall height, M manages to spot the man hurrying along across the street, and then stuffing the container in his arms into the back of a van with a very large vinyl sticker on it's side. A vinyl sticker that's very colorful and has a very familiar picture on it -

OH SNAP.

OH SNAAAAAAAAAAAP.

Holy shit. Is that what he thinks it -

As it drives by, M realizes, yeah, it definitely is what he thinks it is.

That car has the logo of the new show he's taken to watching on the weekends. Or more specifically, the insignia of the animation studio on one side, and then a colorful, never before seen pinup of the cast on the other side, in all it's flashy glory.

...

It takes M a minute to realize he's been drooling with mouth wide open. But for once, he doesn't really care because he closes it with a snap and dashes like a man with a mission after the vehicle just as it makes a turn at the stoplight. He doesn't even care about how crazy he must look when it he catches up with ease and makes a tremendous leap onto the roof and has to latch onto it to stop himself from rolling off like a not cool idiot.

It's not like anyone can see him anyway.

And he's too focused on how he just managed to jump onto the top of a speeding vehicle, just like the main character did in episode two.

Oh man. This is awesome.

M is so caught up in the moment that he doesn't even realize that he's essentially riding on top of a van through town until the vehicle in question screeches to a stop in front of it's destination. Needless to say, he promptly rolls off and onto the windshield and onto the hard cement of the sidewalk as a result of it, in the most pathetic way possible.

Aw shit.

Despite the blurriness of his vision and the slight pain in his head, the familiar lamp posts and trees around him must mean that he's ended up in Dawnview Park. Albeit a much busier, bustling Dawnview Park than he's normally used to seeing. There's probably a bajillion food and merchandise stalls lining the paths, and he can even see something that looks suspiciously like a castle in the distance. That, and a bunch of people decked out with animal ears and tails amongst the crowd, and even a few with a set of demon wings stuck onto the backs of their jackets.

Great. Since when were festivals synonymous with cosplay cons?

M gets up and works out the kinks in his neck just as the last guy leaves the van with what looks to be a set of heavy camera equipment. In the distance, he can see something that looks like a large stage and lots of staff running around with props and costumes and a large, LCD monitor advertising a -

It's not even a effing question anymore. Between this and mingling with the crowd, he doesn't even have to think about what he's going to do anymore.

Because M's going to go watch a freaking tokusatsu show.

Oh my fucking god. This is going to be the shit.
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AYC
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Re: Lamentable Nights: The RP

Post by AYC »

Date: 12 June, Saturday [Festival]
Time: 8:00 am
Weather: Clear
Location: Materion Square
PC: Leuel (Lazarus)
Other PCs: Hailey
================


Contrary to what one might think, Leuel isn't bad with directions.

There's a difference between wandering without aim and getting lost. There's also a difference between getting lost, and getting lost trying to find someone.

It's been a day since she's last seen Lilia, but it's also been a day since she's last seen Threads. It's not that she doesn't know how to get home, but it's more like she doesn't want to go home until she finds Threads.

She hadn't known exactly where or how she'd ended up at the beach when she'd fled after the encounter with the... child and her friend, but her attempts to find Threads with her Friend Sensor had somehow taken her all over town.

At one point, she had even arrived at this mysterious chunk of highway at night, riddled with weird, human-shaped craters and lots of wear and tear. Upon closer inspection, the human-shaped craters weren't exactly human-shaped at all... but more like a certain-Stray-shaped instead.

It was then that Leuel had realized she must've been picking up a lot of noise and stray signals from her other Stray friend the whole time. It had been terribly traumatizing, realizing she hadn't been able to tell the difference between the signals of her different friends!

She must've sat there for a few hours, trying to sew her broken heart together again amidst the tears.

; AAAAA ;

What's worse was that she could barely pick herself up before falling down again afterwards, imagining all the terrible things that might've happened to her jacket-wearing Stray for him to make so many craters.

W-what if he had fought a huge mob of Blights and they stormed him and horrible things happened? W-w-what if they made him into a gruesome Stray feast and he got eaten and he's gone forever? W-w-what if he... he fought like a dragon demon and got dragged away to its evil lair and is being held hostage or something?!

And then subsequently Leuel had spent the next hours trapped in the terrifying imaginations of her own thoughts, and the few hours after that gathering the crumbled remnants of her broken heart, trying to stitch them back together once again.

By the time she had finished with the last tiny piece, it was morning already. The bright rays of sun reminded her that she hadn't at all gone to check up on Lilia either, and the tears threatened to spill once again.

I-I'm such a terrible friend - !

Somehow she managed to drag her sorry self back to the busier areas of town, but now she's definitely kind of lost.

Not in the directional sense, per se, but more like...

Leuel is lost in that she doesn't know why there's so many people in Materion Square on a weekend this early in the day.

Eh? Eh? What's going on?

She stares long and hard at the masses of people queuing around various stalls throughout the plaza, and at the small gag routine performed on the erected stage. There's too many people though, so Leuel can't hear any of the jokes at all. And judging by how no one seems to care around her, neither does anyone else.

Or maybe the jokes are just really bad...

There are colorful signs everywhere, and a massive banner stretched over the square. It's fluttering and makes it hard to read, but if anything this whole thing seems... a lot like...

A festival?

Something like a lightbulb goes off in her head.

Didn't Lilia mention something about... a festival? Is this... the festival?

She's been to festivals with the kids before, and this pretty much seems like what it should be. Stalls, banners, balloons, lots of people...

Yup, looks like it!

And thusly Leuel gets on her hands and knees and promptly laments.

AAAAAHHHHH, I'LL NEVER FIND MY FRIENDS THIS WAY - !

In her mind's eye, she can see the smiling faces of her friends growing farther in the distance. Even if she's never seen Threads smile at all in the short time she's known him.

Amidst her expression of sorrow, there appears to be a bit of a commotion somewhere to the right of her. Sniffling and gathering her bearings, she pushes herself back onto her feet just as a loud outburst sends a group of people backwards in surprise.

"What do you mean you're out of funnel cake?!"

Leuel doesn't really know what's going on over there, but at the sound of funnel cake, she brightens. She doesn't even really what funnel cake even is, but she remembers that the kids liked it whenever they went to festivals, and that the mere sound of it would have them running towards it.

It must be a miracle, but for the second time in ten minutes, the lightbulb goes off in Leuel's head.

Maybe I can... find my friends with funnel cake!

She can almost imagine it. Plopping herself down next to the funnel cake stall, and staring very, very intently at all the faces in search of Threads, or Lilia, or her jacket-wearing friend!

I-It's a plan! This could totally work!

But no sooner does Leuel make up her mind and get to the queue does another outburst send another batch of people jumping back and through Leuel in surprise. In fact, some of them actually start running away for dear life, much to her great confusion.

"FUCK, MY FUNNEL CAAAAAKE - !!!"

"WHERE'S MY MOTHER FUCKING FUNNEL CAKE?!"

Eh?

T-there's... no more funnel cake?


The tears start soaking through her bear head before she even realizes it. Because no more funnel cake means no more friends!

She has to cradle her chest to catch all parts of her shattering heart so she doesn't have to crawl around and pick them up later.

; AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA ;

The sadness within makes her oblivious to all the chaos going on around her. All she can think about is a plan gone to waste. Even if she didn't even get to start it yet.

Nnn...!

Her vision is terrible groggy and she doesn't even know what's going on until someone roughly runs into her and knocks her and the pieces of her heart to the ground. Leuel has to grab onto her overflowing bear head to keep it from falling off and losing it too.

"Ouch, what the fuck..."

Through the decreased quantity of water, she manages to make out the face of a dark-haired woman, rubbing her shoulder in pain. Staring right at her.

"What the... hell are you?"

Talking to her.

"Uh... what?"

Responding to her.

...

Leuel sits up straight and in an instant, her heart has been magically repaired.

I-it's someone who can see a Stray!

Her fingers twitch at her sides.

Against her better judgement, some habits just die hard.
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Pictor
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Re: Lamentable Nights: The RP

Post by Pictor »

Date: 12 June, Saturday [Festival]
Time: 8:20 AM
Weather: Clear
Location: Materion Square
PC: Hailey
Other PCs: Leuel (Lazarus)
================


"What the... hell are you?"

Hailey stared intently at the strange being she had just accidentally knocked on its ass in her rage. Human, it seemed, at least from the neck down. It was wearing a bright orange jumpsuit, like the kind you see in human prisons. From thereon up it looked like the person was donning a giant fake bear head. A mascot for one of the stalls? But what kinda fucked up business would have something like that as a mascot...?

"Wait a sec..."

The other half of her soul, the raven half, buzzed in the wake of an ethereal presence as the bear-head shakily brought itself to its feet.

A Stray.

"I see... The new one in town, huh? A lightning-type. Bond designation... Louey? Luka? Something like tha-"

"HEEEEELP MEEEEEE~!!!"

"Gah-! Hey!!"

Hailey exclaimed in retaliation as she was almost tackled into a mob of other festival-goers. The ursine Stray had launched itself at fullspeed, latching her arms around the raven panzer's waist.

"UWAAAAAAAAH~!!"

To make matters worse, the Stray seemed to have gained an electromagnetic attraction to her bosom, burying its face into her chest while sobbing incoherently. At least, it was trying its best to. No matter how curvy you got, with a head that size, it just wasn't going to work out.

"Ngh! Right. You... have a tendency to pull this kind of shit."

Hailey strained herself against the brunt of her ethereal attacker's overbearing assault. It wasn't easy, with the large, fuzzy, spherical thing threatening to chafe her face clean off her neck. And although it was hanging limply halfway to its knees, the Stray was easily taller than she was at standing height.

At first Hailey thought about beating it until it either screwed off or got knocked unconscious... but she knew what would probably happen if she tried anything like that.

The festival ain't serving no fried ravens today. Looks like there's only one thing to do.

Twisting herself around in the bear-head's vicegrip, Hailey began to very slowly make her way toward a considerably less populated area on the perimeter of the square. She could swear that each step emitted a sound curiously close to iron scraping against cement.

"I must. Look fucking. Ridiculous. Right now."

It's a good thing people were too busy with the superfluous festivities to notice an adult female miming what seemed to be a monk training in the mountains by dragging boulders around from the waist.

====

Finally, after several excruciatingly long minutes, the connected pair had reached a calmer location with a lot less people. Hailey collapsed onto the ledge of a small concrete garden, gasping for her breath. They should incorporate this into Be-Prepped. Guaranteed death rate of at least 80% of potential recruits. That oughta give those sterile old shits their jollies.

"... Hah.... haah.... Alright, you little..."

Hailey broke off mid-sentence to take another deep breath to sooth her burning lungs.

"Lucas? Lucifer? Shit.... what was your name?"

It was hard to concentrate with so much noise pollution. The bear-head simply wouldn't stop crying, as it had been doing the whole time.

It bawled its eyes out the entire way

God damn.

"LEUEL! Shit, that's it. Hey! Leuel! That's your name, right?"

As if like magic, the very mention of the moniker turned tears into sunshine. Planet Leuel instantly detached herself from orbit against its black sun and hopped onto her own two feet, looking excitedly down at the her former hostage.

"Oh! That's the name Lilia gave me! You know it? How do you know it?"

"Cuz I'm the friggin' boogieman. I watch you while you sleep and eat children in their beds."

Hailey spat without even looking back at the Stray; she was too busy trying to mend herself of the most uncomfortable wedgy in recorded history.

"Nuh uh! Boogiemen don't exist! Lilia told me so!"

"Yea? Then I lied. I'm actually the mother of five of the brattiest little bastards alive. All of 'em are coming to meet me right now."

"Wha-! What do you mean, bratty little...?"

The Stray's voice suddenly trailed off to an anxious whisper. A sadistic smile curled on Hailey's face.

"Kids. Five of 'em. Five nose-picking, hair-pulling, sand-throwing, shit-eating fuckin' kids."

"Nuh..... Nuh...." Leuel's voice grew more louder and more panicked with each stutter, until eventually the atom of fear itself was split. "NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO~~~!!!"

Hailey shifted a few steps back and shielded her eyes as torrents of blinding electric volleys exploded from the Stray's body. Or rather, it went both ways. The Stray seemed to both emit and conduct supercharged electrical currents. How peculiar. Not that anything ethereal ever wasn't.

Looking around, none of the other pedestrians seemed to take any heed to the single-Stray commotion.. No Crossers out and about around here, huh?

"Waaaah! Waaaaaaaaaaah!"

Faint sobs began to become audible again as the deafening rumble and shrieks of lightning bolts faded away. Leuel sat, bear-head hung low on her shoulders, a light haze of smoke sizzled as it rose off her back. It looked as though everything she's been through had tuckered her right out. She didn't even have the energy left to perform her usual panic run.

... Was this inexcusably mean?

Yes it was.

But Hailey wanted to feel as though she had deserved to have a little fun. Even her grumpiness from missing out on the first batch of funnel cake was wearing off.

Still...

"Uuuuuuuu.... *sniff*.... uuuuuuu...."

The raven panzer gave a light sigh, then took a quick glance around to make sure not too many people were watching. Indeed, no one really was, and it wouldn't have mattered in the first place. But... oh, whatever.

Hailey sauntered over to the despairing Stray, knelt to her level, and wrapped one hand around the comically large ursine head, placing in gently against her shoulders.

"Alright, alright. Quit the waterworks. I was just joking. I'm no mother. Especially not to five."

She felt the furry burden slowly shirt in her arms.

"Y-You're n-not?"

"You kidding me? I'd off myself before another living thing came screaming into the world out of my vagina."

Hailey sighed again and rolled her eyes as she pat the bear on the back of the head. What a thing for her of all people to do.

"So don't worry. There's no ankle-biters coming, capiche? None that are mine, anyway."

"... What were you talking about? Va-"

"RIIIGHT. That's enough of that." Busted that one before one before it had a chance to snowball. Hailey Geminesca might not have any children, but no one's ever gonna say she was a bad influence to any.

Hmmm, well too many, anyway.

The black-haired woman stood up and offered the Stray on the ground a hand to do the same.

"C'mon now, pick yourself up already. What the hell are you doing way out here anyway? Your Crosser's not around? Did you get lost or something?"

The bear-head took Hailey's hand and helped herself up, then nodded timidly.

"I-I was looking for a friend but I couldn't find him but then it turns out I was actually looking for another friend because my Friend Sensor was all messed up and then--"

*Squeak*

Hailey stuck a hand out and squashed the bear's muzzle shut before the Stray could accidentally swallow her own tongue through her ramblings.

"Hush. Calm down. One word at a time. So you're looking for a ... friend, now?"

"Yes! At first it was Threads, who wears a hat and a funny scarf and talks all grumbly and serious all the time! But then it turned out to be the jacket-wearing friend who wears a mask because my Friend Sensor got the two confused!"

Hold just a picosecond. What was that?

"... Friend with a mask, you say?"

"Yea! He was tall and buff and pretty scary-looking at first because he looked like a Blight, but then it turned out he was actually kind of cool! Oh, but he grabbed my boob for a second. I dunno why. I think it was an accident."

Hailey raised a brow with a deadpan look, then just decided to pretend she never heard the last bit.

"Say. You wouldn't happen to still be able to find this masked friend with... uh... your 'Friend Sensor', would you?"

"Oh! Uh! T-There were lots of people back there. So I got lost and scared and the signal got all messed up...." The bear head tilted her head and thought for a moment before continuing. "Mmmm... I think I might be able to pick it up again though, since there are less people around. And if I try really, really hard!"

"Reeeally? So you can actually track the masked one down?"

"Uh, I guess so? Why? Is he your friend, too?"

Hailey gave a monotonous shrug.

"Yea, why not. Let's go with that. He's my 'friend', too."
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Re: Lamentable Nights: The RP

Post by AYC »

Date: 12 June, Saturday [Festival]
Time: 8:30 am
Weather: Clear
Location: Dawnview Park
PC: Mirto
Other PCs: Melvin Jack
================


Somewhere along the line Mirto must've done something terrible to receive this kind of punishment.

Twenty minutes ago, a massive, dark-skinned man had stumbled almost literally into her stall, demanding food. Or rather, he had asked as politely as a starving, nearly comatose man could.

Apparently he had been so impressed by the quality and speed of her shaved ice making skills that he had given her twenty times a one dollar price. And had returned fifteen minutes later, with a whole mish-mash of other similarly rambunctious men from what he claimed to be his "dance crew". Or more specifically, "his brothers from other mothers". Whatever the hell that's supposed to mean.

"Hey, lass, I brought some friends around," he greeted, like she was some kind of old buddy or something.

It takes all of her willpower not to openly wince.

"I told them you make snacks really fast. Like it had been thirty seconds or less,"
he continued with a wave of his hand. Mirto really can't recall if that was the case.

"They didn't believe me."

She really can't blame them for thinking so either.

Honestly.

Without so much as an outward sigh, she takes a quick head count and their orders as they joke around about something or another, and rolls up her sleeves as she prepares the right number of plastic containers and spoons.

Red bean, mango, syrup...

"Whoa, she's like a bartender," whispers one of them as she slides completed container after completed container down the counter with a clean movement of the wrist.

"You weren't kidding," mumbles another, as he picks up his shaved ice like it's the most beautiful thing he's ever seen in his life. Mirto barely manages to stifle her scoff.

When she finishes the last one and turns around, it's with her supreme sense and judgement that she doesn't punch the closest one in the head when they all start applauding. It's not like she was putting on a show or something, but with the curious glances from other passerbys, she'd like to stop them before it really does end up becoming one.

The internal turmoil is conveyed more than sufficiently by a glare icy enough that it could probably refreeze the frozen treat in their hands. The whole lot of them promptly shut up.

Except for the massive bossman, who continues on rambling about the series of baskets he must've walked around and picked up to anyone who would listen. Which apparently must mean her now.

Dammit.

She spends the next five minutes inwardly facepalming and awkwardly explaining to the man that he was supposed to purchase the baskets at the stalls he carried them off from. Supposedly the other employees had been too afraid of the giant man to bother enlightening him when they had seen him walking off with his merchandise.

She doesn't completely understand why he would think otherwise, when there's signs everywhere to indicate it. But at least it looks like he's finally got the point with the way his "bros" are snickering and smacking him in the back for his misplaced common sense.

At least he had it in his mind that he had to pay.

Perhaps in thanks for her assistance or again for the speed and quality of her supposed snack-making skills, he hands her a fifty dollar bill and scoots off with his crew before she can even give him change.

"It's fifteen, not fifty..."

The paper feels unusually thick in her hand. A small movement of her fingers reveals that it's actually two bills stuck together.

"... Two fifties..."

Considering he had done the same thing earlier by giving her two tens stuck together, Mirto can't help but wonder if it's intentional. Though it's not of particular interest to her, because she sticks it into the cash box without a second thought anyway. After all, it's all money that'll go to the Company in the long run.

Mirto doesn't really believe in tips.

Just like how she doesn't really believe it when the guy comes bowling back into her line of vision just as she seals the cash box, thrusting some kind of paper into her face.

Ugh, not him again...

At first, she's not really sure what she's supposed to be looking at. It's just a bunch of random squiggles and something that sort of looks like numbers until he pulls it back, looks at it, and laughs.

Mirto raises an eyebrow in disbelief.

"Oh, sorry, lass. I meant to give you this," he says amidst his chuckles, pocketing the document and placing a small photograph in her hand in its stead.

Regardless, she still doesn't really know why she's holding this thing in the first place. The dark-haired woman in the picture looks vaguely familiar, like she's seen her before around town once or twice, but she can't possibly imagine the significance without more context.

"This is the lady I'm lookin' for. Let me know if you see her around,"
he says with a wide smile, and another wave of his hand.

To be honest, Mirto has no idea really what to say,but by the time she manages to gather her bearings, the man has already left, leaving her "But you should be..." to the empty air.

"... be giving this to one of the Festival helper staff instead," she finishes lamely. They would definitely be able to help him find someone more so than a part-time employee at Rozen Queen. The corner of her mouth twitches slightly as she debates between laughing or crying at the pitiful awkwardness she's been left with.

"Ah..."

When it doesn't look like anyone's looking her way, she slumps over onto the counter and muffles her sigh into her arms. The woman in the picture stares back at her, and Mirto briefly wonders what she's going to do with it. It's not like she can ask anyone who comes by if they've seen this lady, and it's not like she can just stick it on the wall of her stall either because of the Company's strict Festival protocols.

What a pain...

Before she can get anywhere further with her thoughts though, something makes her freeze on the inside. Of course, it's not like she's seen the woman in question in the crowd or something ridiculously convenient or silly like that...

Though she might wish it was. Or that she's seeing things.

Because in the very corner of her peripheral vision, there's something dark skirting the floor very quickly. Not like a small cat or, god forbid, a dog, but something... almost inhumanely fast.

Something... like a Blight.
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marcien
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Re: Lamentable Nights: The RP

Post by marcien »




Date: 12 Jun, Saturday
Time: 08:22am
Weather: Clear
Location: Peddington Lane
PCs: Lilia Auen
Other PCs: Leuel (Lazarus)
================


Lilia was concerned for her stray. From how she was behaving the day before, it would appear that Leuel had gone out in search of Threads. She was, definitely, grateful to be able to return home to a quiet house, prepare and eat dinner uninterrupted.

But this time, when she woke up in the middle of the night, she still did not see her stray anywhere.


When morning came and Leuel was still not at home, Lilia decided to go out to search for her. Much activity was going on: the crowds and cars seemed to be headed in the uptown direction: today is the day of the Festival after all.

Where should she start looking? With this many people around, won't Leuel get nervous?

A loud "NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO~~~!!!", followed by "Waaaah! Waaaaaaaaaaah!" was heard from across the river. Ethereal lightning bolts appeared at the area near her workplace.

That answers Lilia's questions.

She applied a yellow overlay on herself and got on the bus headed for Materion.

-- -- -- -- --

Time: 08:45am
Location: Materion Square
Other PCs: Graciel Flay
================


There is a fair at Materion Square. There were many food stores there, and Lilia spied her cat-eared neighbour working at one of them. He does look quite normal, compared to the other costumed people she has seen around. She made a mental note to come back when she has found Leuel.

There were no more ether bolts in the area, so Lilia assumes that Leuel had somehow calmed herself down. Maybe she did find Threads after all?
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Re: Lamentable Nights: The RP

Post by SavviG »

Date: 12 Jun, Saturday [Festival]
Time: 8:30am
Weather: Clear
Location: Dawnview Park
PCs: Alkane
Other PCs: Mirto
--------------


Just outside of Dawnview Park a crowd of people are bunched together with Alkane stuck in the middle of it. Wedged in a sea of people she tried to squirm her way out. Alkane don't usually come all the way out from her comfort zone to get things but since its a festival, who wouldnt?

"Watch out! ITS COMING THIS WAY!!" came a cry further back followed by screams from some girls a few head counts back.

There it goes, the crowd disperse, leaving much more free-to-roam space from a stink bomb attack. Alkane held her breath like many others, making their out of the biohazard zone.

"Curse the culprit who threw the bomb. If I ever get my hands on them ..." mumbled Alkane as she adjusted her visor.

She makes her way into the stalls where she can replace the aweful chemical smells with the eroma of spices and herbs from the food stalls. Maybe here I might bump into some interesting specimens. fufufu

She comes across a group of guys outside a stall all in awe of, some shaved ice. No. It was the girl, within seconds she whips out snowcones like a machine gun.

Alkane kept her pace and walks past the guys enjoying the shaved ice.

Alkane pulls out her MPUD to scan through any messages she may have recieved from the past hour or so (ice). Nothing in particular useful, a message from Cyanate asking where I am. (ice). She too wants to try the shaved ice beverage thing.

She stop walking and a guy behind her almost walks into her (woah lady... I almost walked into you.), Alkane turns around on the spot and marches back to the stall.

"I think I'll have shaved ice too".

=====================
Date: 12 Jun, Saturday [Festival]
Time: 8:25am
Weather: Clear
Location: Materion Square
PCs: Blacky, Graciel
Other PCs:
--------------


"I. want. to. eat. funnel. cake."
And Blacky begins to roll around the floor beneath Graciel.

("Go get yourself some? I think its down Dawnview Park.") Whispering quickly before anyone notice him talking alone.

"I ain't got money."

("Like hell they can see you. Just, take one... - when did Blights eat that stuff anyways?") and Graciel looks down. Nothing, Blacky was already gone to look for food.
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Pasonia
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Re: Lamentable Nights: The RP

Post by Pasonia »

(all my own characters gather. What is this I don't even...?)

Date: 12 June, Saturday [Festival]
Time: 10:30 AM
Weather: Clear/ Sunny
Location: Dawnview Park
PC: Melvin Jack
Other PCs: Sanae, Martin

===============


The mobile rang out in earnest: It was events management for the Festival.

"Mr Jack, this is Melissa."
"Oh, hey, sup Lisa?"
"Um, I'm just calling to remind you that we got a meet-the-locals session down at the fountain area at around 1pm. The D-DANZESTANZE crew will be holding a public mock battle session. Don't forget the cat ears and tail props!"

Melvin laughed a little. "Sure, I'll be there later, Lisa. I'll catch ya later, see ya."

*click*

Meanwhile, the rest of his crew put in 100% of their attention into the women walking past them. To avoid arousing suspicion - even though, really, there was no hiding a bunch of guys whose eyes suggested fishy business - the entire crew started to converse among themselves in Japanese.

"Look over there look over there! Ahh, dammit, there goes another D-cup."
"Dangit, wouldn't you be a little faster with that?"
"I'm trying, you know! I think we're like painting this huge 'I am a real pervert' sign just by being here, you know."
"You think too--- HOLY SMOKES!"


Melvin turned around, noticing an odd sight of yukata and geta-wearing women - something that wouldn't have seemed out of place in Japan, but here?

"Shoot, there goes my nose blood."
"Dammit, aren't you a little too weak?!"
"He's bleeding like a river! Quick, get him an ambulance!"
"No I'm not, idiot!---"


The women noticed the crew staring at them - specifically, everyone of the 35 Reinfield Road women noticed the commotion.

"...is it just me, Mizuno? I could totally swear I heard those perverts speak Japanese. Shoot, that's a scary thought."
"Cool it, cool it, Asuka, I think that's one of the Japanese acts for tonight's festival show. I think they are... dancers? B-boy...?"
"Guests from Japan! Should we go greet them or something, everyone?"
"Sumire-sama! Don't... say weird things like that... they seem a little weird."
"Sanae-chan, don't be shy today, you know..."


The commotion among the ladies only confirmed the crew's suspicions... seconds before Melvin Jack decided he'd had enough of the crew having too much eye candy.

*flick**twack**snap*

"Ouch!"
"Ow!"
"Yeouch!"

The crew needed no reminder: The boss had just flicked everyone on their heads. When they regained their senses, their boss dude had already disappeared in front of them, greeting Sumire with a bow simply because she was actually standing at the fore, flanked by the four other girls.

"I apologise for the rudeness my crew members have displayed, and I would like to excuse my intrusion as well. My name is Melvin Jack, please to meet you."

Sumire was visibly surprised at how... Japanese-like this un-Japanese person was behaving. She wasn't sure whether she should be tickled pink by glee or disturbed by the not-gaijin gaijin, but she was glad nonetheless not to have the need to speak in English the whole time.

"Ah, I am Maeda Sumire, glad to meet you! Ara ara, look here girls, we've got a fine tall dark gentleman here..."

Asuka narrowed her eyes a little. The Japanese diction coming from Melvin Jack was perfect to her, but something still felt off. A sixth sense, perhaps.

"...are you really Japanese?"

Sumire turned around with her mouth agape, as though she couldn't believe what Asuka was asking. In truth, however, she had wanted to ask the exact question.

"Asuka-chan...!? What kind of rude question--"

But Melvin Jack waved it away anyway - there was no rudeness to a question if the offense wasn't taken in the first place.

"I'm not. I stayed in Japan for a very long time, though. For maybe ten years?"
It was actually just three. Not that the details mattered.

Sumire's face was one of a cleared-up understanding, as was Sanae's, who then unwittingly intruded into the conversation.
"Melvin-san, is that the same... for the rest of your crew as well?"
"Yes, that would be so. And your name is...?"
"Sanae... Fujiwara Sanae. Pleased to meet you, Mr Jack."


As Melvin Jack approached Sanae with the intention to bow, his whole world suddenly darkened, as though... something was suppressing his very presence, right in the vicinity...?

No, that's the wrong way to put it. The Ether space had suddenly gone haywire within the immediate area. Call it an innate, animalistic sense, but Melvin Jack couldn't get past this strong, almost screaming-out-loud presence of a Crosser.

His MPUD vibrated within his pocket thrice; that pretty much confirmed his suspicions.

"Pleased to meet you too," he mumbled after a short pause. "Well, my crew has to prepare for a meet-the-locals session at 1pm near the fountain area. Do I have the honor of inviting everyone here to the session?"

Murmuring rose among the crew, but surprisingly it was Mitsuki, the least likely to speak of the five, to jump - quite literally, but comically too - at Melvin Jack, almost in frustration and protest.

"No! We have... an avian show right around the shop... that sells funnel cake!"

"Ah, I see. Well, we will still be on stage during the Japan Hour night show! I would be most honored if you could attend!"


Sanae silently nodded. The rest, though, seems to have had their own plans for the festival already - Asuka for the German All-You-Can-Drink-Festival Beer session at the watering hole, Sumire for some business, and for Chihara, a short night race.

"We will be glad to attend!" Assured Sumire, with a bright smile that both indicated menial courtesy as well as meaning 'we should end this conversation now, Mister'. Melvin picked up both hints, quickly bowing his goodbye before returning to the ever-rambunctious crew he leads, consigned to knowing the girls probably wouldn't attend, after all.

"Funnel cakes, eh... I'll probably go there later, since that girl mentioned cakes." As always, never get Melvin Jack started on sweet foods.

Sanae's smile, almost forced out of herself, quickly faded the moment Melvin Jack disappeared - for reasons unknown, she had unwittingly triggered a summon while speaking to Melvin.

With an exasperated sigh, she requested as softly as she could, "Please dismiss yourselves..."

The crowd dispersed, only for the other Japanese ladies to have suddenly disappeared. Right in front of her, though, was the Go Promotional stall the Community Club had set up to exhibit their presence, and...

...Martin was right there. As he turned around after a quick conversation with one of his students, Martin's eyes widened as Sanae edged closer.

"Ah! Sanae, it's nice to see you---"

Sanae knew he was there, her eyes confirming so as she took a glance at him; yet, she did not speak a word, bumping right past him and trying to catch up to the rest of the women, who (not quite incidentally) had just walked past the Go exhibits.

"...right here..."

The poor goatee, meanwhile, was left completely, utterly and heart-drop silenced, unsure of how exactly he was to respond to Sanae at that point in time.
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Re: Lamentable Nights: The RP

Post by marcien »

combo breaker of the bunch of paso charas!

umm, actually, i suggest making shorter posts now, since we have so many charas gathered, it will be hard to write for everyone. much easier for us to write what we can and allow others to respond. what do you think?


Date: 12 Jun, Saturday
Time: 10:33am
Weather: Clear
Location: Dawnview Park
PCs: Sophia (Oriole)
Other PCs: Martin Chang
================


Sophia remained seated atop the tent of the Go booth. She did want to go to the festival, and at the same time, did not want to join in the crowds.

'... muuuhhhhhh... ...' she muttered to herself. Where is Mister Mad Hooder? Where is Cassius? Despite being on a high spot, she had yet to spot any of them. (Though honestly, with her poor eyesight, Sophia is much better off hoping that someone will spot her sitting there.)


'Eh?' pondered Sophia as her crosser was left calling out to no one. 'Didn't Miss Sanae see you? Why did she pretend not to?'

Martin Chang was sad.

'I'll go and tell her that you're here!'

'Wa-wait! Sophia!!' He stopped her by holding on to one edge of her dress.

Mister Martin is being weird! Sophia thought. He had called out to her aloud, leading to stares from various people around him. One of them whispered that the lady called Sanae might have also been nicknamed "Sophia". Sophia laughed at the notion.

'Are you not friends anymore?' she asked Martin, puzzled.
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Re: Lamentable Nights: The RP

Post by Pictor »

(One of two posts. This one has some more Lanette shenanigans and a little look into Jacket doing... something relatively normal for once. Of course, then he ruins it by doing something absolutely abnormal again. Yes, it's the usual wall of text, but seeing as how I haven't thrown these guys into the fray just yet... it should be fine. The second post will be shorter.)

Date: 12 June, Saturday
Time: 7:00 AM
Weather: Clear
Location: Lanette's Secret Base
PC: Lanette
Other PC(s): Jacket
NPC: Lin
================


"Nnnnn....."

Lin emerged into the den area of the mobile home to find Lanette kneeling over next to the sofa. A shirt-less Jacket was collapsed upon its soft cushions with a bedsheet wrapped haphazardly around him, barely covering him up at all. One of his arms was hanging limply off the edge of the seats, with his hand trailing against the floor. His left foot was propped inelegantly against the back padding, while his right was tucked snugly between an armrest and the adjacent cushion. The Panzer device in his chest pulsated softly, as if mimicking something akin to a heartbeat.

The Stray snoozed like a log, completely unaware of the daylight streaming in between the seams of the curtains above, nor of the presence of the two others in the room. However, upon closer inspection, it became apparent that he bore a scant grimace while he slept, as if something had been torturing him painfully. Lanette, on the other hand, bore an expression of deep intrigue as she examined the unconscious Stray like a scientist studying some sort of a lab specimen. It didn't take a genius to put two and two together.

"Young Miss?"

"Wah! Lin?! How long have you been there??"

Lanette had been so focused on the sleeping Jacket that she hadn't even noticed her caretaker's presence. She threw a hand to her chest to as she caught her breath and recovered from the shock. Lin was not someone who you wanted to be sneaking up on you. The caretaker drew her eyes from the girl back to the Stray on the couch, whose face had returned to that of its regular inanimate state; a neutral, blank expression with both eye sockets dimmed to black.

"I have only just entered the room... What is it that you are doing?"

"Huh? Oh! That. Hehehe, c'mere. I'll show you!"

Lanette lowered her voice to a whisper and gestured the older female over. Skeptical but admittedly somewhat curious, Lin did as she was told and approached the coach, placing her hands on her knees as she bent slightly downward to examine the napping Jacket alongside Lanette.

"Well, first I was just curious about that mask. Or, rather... I guess it's actually his face? Isn't it weird how it reverts to that poker-face look whenever he's unconscious? And his eye just goes completely out, like a light! See?"

Lanette points carefully at Jacket's left eye socket.

"No matter how hard you look, you can't make out anything in there. It's like a an endless hole! Weird, huh? Hehehe, I don't think Nietzsche was talking about this when he said 'the abyss gazes also into you.'"

Lin closed her eyes and gave a light, hapless huff.

"... Really, Young Miss. As much of a simpleton as this one is, it is hardly appropriate to make entertainment out, or at the expense of others."

"Hey, that's not fair! You had fun tossing him around, too!"

As Lanette shot an accusing finger in Lin's direction, the green-haired woman looked abruptly away.

"That is not true. I simply did as you desired."

Lanette took this chance to smirk quietly to herself. Hehehe, you try too hard to be serious, Lin. But that's why you're so easy to poke! Too bad, I know all your weak points!

"Whatever you say. I'm not done, though! Here, look."

Ever-so-gently, Lanette hovered a finger out over Jacket's face. She furrowed her brows, and stuck her tongue out of the side of her taut lips in concentration as she attempted to make contact without waking the Stray.

Steady.... steady.... aaaand...

Touchdown!


The clueless guinea pig made not a sound as Lanette successfully planted an index finger on his cheek. With the next step cleared, Lanette continued her spiel of observations.

"This is another thing that's really weird. I noticed it when I touched his face during yesterday's training session. It's... warm. Like skin!"

Lin raised an eyebrow at the information.

"Is... that so?"

"Yea!" Lanette nodded excitedly in confirmation, as if she were on the precipice of a scientific breakthrough. "And what's even weirder is that it's completely hard and solid, just like what you'd expect a mask should be. But then, if I do this..."

Placing a little more force into her finger, the Hindfell girl pushed down against Jacket's face. Not enough to hurt him, really; just enough to get a reaction. As soon as she did, the Stray's face immediately contorted in discomfort as he let out a hoarse groan.

"Nnnnngh...."

Lanette waited with bated breath as Jacket's frown slowly receded, her finger still placed on his cheek the entire time. After a few seconds, he drifted back into a comfortable slumber. She exhaled, silently, only when she was sure he wouldn't wake.

"Phew! That was close. But you saw, right? How his face changed expression?"

Lin remained puzzled at her Young Miss's demonstration.

"Yes, I suppose... but we have been seeing that for some time now. There is really no need to torture the Stray in his sleep for something such as this. If you wish, I can have him produce a myriad of pained expressions while he is perfectly awake."

"Um, that's... okay, Lin."

Lanette gave an uneasy smile as she dismissed her caretaker's suggestion. Even though she was sure Lin had meant that as a joke, she'll stand in for the poor guy just once.

"Er, anyway. Yea, I know we see him make different expressions all the time, but this is the first time I'm touching a part that moves while he does it! Did you know his face remains all hard even while it changes? It's like... like..."

Lanette struggled for a moment to find an example to articulate her thoughts, fidgeting her hands and fingers in front of her as if trying to grasp the very words out of the air.

"... Like... stop-motion movies! Where they swap out the heads of dolls and stuff and then play it back really fast so it looks like smooth animation! Except this guy does it in real time with his face! It's like the mask re-makes itself repeatedly in order to change expressions. Cool, right??"

"I see. That is... interesting. In a way. Er... is that all then, Young Miss?"

It was obvious that Lin was trying desperately hard to be as interested in Jacket's facial functions as Lanette was. The Hindfell girl gave a pout when she realized she was alone in her enthusiasm, followed up with a shrug and sigh.

Oh well, it's not as if you can expect Lin to have fun with stuff like this to begin with.

Then, her eyes glinted mischievously as she suddenly had another thought.

"Actually, there's just one more thing, but it's kind of lame."

Lanette purposely spoke in an off-handed manner. She moved her finger from Jacket's face downward to one of his long, mule-like ears. They drooped lazily against the armrest of the couch on which he laid his head. Slowly, she drew her hand closer and closer toward the ear until her fingertip barely brushed against the fine hairs on its underside.

*Fwit~ fwit~*

The ear twitched energetically, flipping off its resting place twice before settling down again. Even though she was trying as hard as she could to seem disinterested, Lanette could not help but emit a small giggle. Who knew that someone as outwardly tough as Jacket could have such a delicate reaction?

Lanette threw a glance behind her back, and triumph overtook her as she saw exactly what she had planned to see.

Lin was staring wide-eyed at the spectacle, her thin, slit pupils trained fiercely on the ear that Lanette had just provoked. While she made no further gestures and said not a word, Lanette knew exactly what that expression had meant.

Ha! Hook, line, and sinker! Time for the killing blow..!

"It's actually pretty fuzzy, you know? You can't tell from the usual distance, but it is! The rest of his body doesn't have any fur, but his ears do! Wanna give it a try, Lin? I don't know why, but he doesn't seem to wake up from this."

"I..."

Lin opened her mouth, as if to answer, and lurched forward ever so much. So subtly, in fact, that it was hard to tell she even moved at all. But Lanette caught it clear as day, and that itself was enough of a victory for her. At the last moment, Lin seemed to catch herself in the act and stopped in her tracks. She staunchly lifted herself back up to a stiff, standing posture and cleared her throat a bit louder than necessary.

"*Ahem...!* H-Hardly likely...! Such childish amusements are..." Lin's voice seemed to trail off for a moment as she once again brought her gaze upon Jacket's now-known-to-be-fuzzy ears. Just as before, she shook herself free from wayward thoughts and cleared her throat once more. "*Ahem..!* Th-That aside, Young Miss, have you decided where you would like to go today? It is only the first day of the festival, but there is already much to do and see."

"Oh yea! There's a show I want to go to! Hold on, I'll fetch the brochure!"

Almost immediately, Lanette had forgotten all about trying to coerce her caretaker to perform misdeeds. She leapt to her feet, and made a beeline straight for her room.

Lin waited until she was absolutely... positively left alone in the den with Jacket. Then, slowly and hesitantly, as if struggling against every fiber of her own body and proper judgement, Lin turned her head toward the sleeping Stray, her eyes drawing inevitably upon the two limp flaps protruding out from behind his mask.

"......"

================

Cats.

So many cats.

Hundreds. Thousands. All staring with their dreadful, glaring eyes.


"No.... stop...aaaugh..."

Swarming all over.

Can't move. Too many...! Poking... biting... scratching...!


"Nnnngh... not... the ears...! Aaaaaugh!! Aaaaaauuuuugh--!!"

*Thud.*

"Geeeeeh... nnngh....!"

Jacket coiled up into a fetal position on the floor, clutching his head in pain after unceremoniously tumbling off his sleeping station. After spending some time nursing the pain away, he bolted upright, scanning his surroundings.

Carpeted hall, couch, television...

"N-No cats...?" Jacket meekly stammered aloud as he double, then triple checked all around him. He was alone. "No cats! Oh...! Oh thank God. It was a dream. Holy crap."

Jacket took a moment to celebrate a feline-free reality as he sat on the floor, puffing his chest in relief. After shaking away the lingering thoughts of his nightmare, Jacket got to his feet and made his way lazily to the bathroom of the mobile home.

Strays didn't need to take showers. It was a completely unnecessary thing for a Stray to do, period. For one, it's not like they sweat or smelled. They were completely incorporeal beings. Water would just pass through them anyway. But Jacket was a little bit different. And after spending a day out being trashed again and again at a dust-filled construction site, out in the forest, and in the middle of summer... even a Stray could get a bit grimy.

"Go wash yourself off, geez! We have a shower you know, so use it already!"

Lanette had quite literally kicked him into the bathroom after he'd gotten back the first day, blockaded the door, and refused to let him back out until he'd cleaned himself up. It was a pretty strange ordeal trying to bathe himself. After all, he'd never needed to do it before, and indeed had never done it since awakening as a Stray. If he ever got mussed up in the past... it kind of just took care of itself over time. Even with Mirto it was never really a problem, since he was almost always miniaturized when he had to hang around at her home anyway.

Though, after a few unanswered how-the-hell-do-I-do-this's, the proper steps eventually came to him as naturally as if he'd known how to do it all along. Or rather... it came back to him, as he should say. He must have showered at least once while he was alive as a human, right?

... He hoped so.

Damn, that feels nice.

Jacket soaked happily as hot water rained down upon him from the shower head above. There really wasn't a need to do this if he wasn't messy, but ever since he got into the groove, it simply felt appropriate. And again, it was pretty darn nice. In a way it was like his naps; Strays didn't have a need for sleep either, but he did it anyway because naps are awesome. Although lately, he's been starting to have second opinions after the amount of seriously odd dreams he's been having.

Absentmindedly, his eyes followed the warm droplets as they snaked against his body, then drifted around the device driven firmly into his chest before falling to the floor, swirling down the drain. It's a good thing that it seemed to be waterproof. He took a moment to watch the pulsating green panel. The Stray wasn't at all sure how the device worked, but it did that whenever it had filled itself up with ether. A reassuring sign that it was in good, working condition.

"Hmmm."

Jacket gave a thoughtful hum as he brought his arms out in front of him, gave a good stare, then turned them over once and did the same again.

A dark, matte texture that gave off a blue-ish tint in the light.

He sighed in embarrassment as he realized what he was doing. There was nothing really shameful about taking a look at yourself while in the shower. Actually, it might have been even more excusable for him since he didn't look human. Examining himself was like taking a curious look at a critter at the zoo, or a museum exhibit. But that wasn't really why it agitated him; it was the notion that the more he looked, the more he found himself wandering back into a realm of self-doubt.

There was a lot he still didn't know about himself. Though, he did learn quite a bit during the past few days. It was what he'd wanted, but... maybe he jumped the gun a bit. Some of it was hard to swallow. Like, for example, the fact that his mask was actually an ethereal artifact a lot of people wanted to get their hands on.
"...An ethereal relic? Me?"

"Incorrect. Not you, individually, but rather the artifact you wear as a face. That is the thing they call the Fragment, and the reason why you are being pursued."

"Why, though? I don't get it. What's so special about my face??"

"Your ignorance is truly worrisome, Stray. To the point of being impressive. That body of yours which lingers betwixt ethereal and material. Even you should be able to acknowledge your own exceptional nature. "
Jacket's mind drifted back to the events of the day before. As Miss Lin had promised, she told him everything she knew about the Fragment. That it was an item holding the ability to convert the ethereal to the material. That it was because of its power that his body was the way it was. And that as long as he possessed it, people who also desired that power would be coming after him. Ironically, the reason that he had never been tracked down by those people before was most likely because Lanette had been constantly chasing him from place to place. Pebbleton was the longest he'd ever spent in one location. He probably owed it to her crazy ass that he was still free to run around and be the idiot that he was, and not in the hands of some shady group wanting to dissect him for their own ends.

He'd been owing a lot to her lately. Many others, too. He was surprisingly fine with admitting that, considering how hard he'd tried to do things on his own before. It was thanks to her and Miss Lin that he now possessed new strength.
"...Say what?"

"Look, don't make me repeat it okay? It's weird enough asking as it is. Just go with it."
Jacket had responded in slight confusion after being told to "let her touch his face". He had no room to object, and so a couple of seconds later, he was stooped awkwardly to compensate for their large difference in height, as she held gingerly onto the large, pointed fins on either side of his mask.
"You sure you know what you're doing?"

"Probably! I mean, if it's really an ethereal artifact like Lin said, there's no reason why I wouldn't be able to at least do something with it."
That was the girl's enomena, apparently. The ability to control ethereal artifacts. Go figure. Just swinging around a giant mallet was enough, in his opinion. Both would end up doing the same as what ended up happening. That was, knocking his lights out again.

The last thing he remembered before going dark was seeing Lanette's eyes glowing an intense violet, like it usually does whenever she super-sizes her hammer. Then, he was struck by what felt like a stick of dynamite exploding from inside of his own head. When he finally came to, he was lying face-up on the gravel-covered ground of the construction site, with Lanette gazing apprehensively over him. Judging by her expression, it looked like she had been on the verge of tears.
"You're... you're awake! Quick, how many fingers am I holding up?!"

"Nnngh... I dunno...? Twelve?"

"Oh my gosh, you're okay. Thank goodness!"
Jacket remembered that, even in his dazed state, he had been mildly amused by how much Lanette worried about his well being, considering how many times she'd come close to wiping him off the face of the planet. It made him wonder if she really would have gone through with it, if given the chance. Then, his train of thought had come to a crashing halt when he laid his eyes on the overpass behind them. Or what remained of it.
"Wh-What the hell happened?!"
The entire structure had been smashed clean in two, with both halves tipped over in a rough V-shape. It was as if someone had administered a karate chop to it like one of those martial arts movies Lanette loved to watch so much.

"You."
"... Me? I did that?"
"Yep."
"Wha-? How?! I... I didn't hurt you guys, did I?"
"Not really. You mostly just hurt yourself."
"... Oh, that's good. W-Wait, I don't get it. Just what exactly happened, anyway? I don't remember a thing! "
"Uh... it's probably better if you didn't know."
Suddenly, what felt like a wave of ice hitting against his face snapped him back to reality. He'd been daydreaming for so long that he'd used up all the hot water.

"Gah!"

He quickly shut off the shower, stepped out, grabbed a towel, and got to work at drying off.

*Vrrrrrrrrr-----!!*

The loud sound of a hairdryer in action filled the room as Jacket waved it systematically around his head. He'd come to learn that it took ages for his hair to dry off if he didn't do it manually. He hadn't ever paid attention to how lengthy it was, either. Cutting it wouldn't do, as Lanette had been so eager to try after he complained. The bits they sheared off just dissipated into a familiar black smoke, and it'd all grow back as soon as he recovered enough ether.

Man, being a Stray was weird as heck... though, he wasn't exactly a normal one. Unlike other Strays, his body automatically converts into a solid form. It was material, yet ethereal at the same time. Some sort of a bizarre, in-between substance. Again, he had the Fragment to thank for that... this weird thing that made up his face.

He stared into the mirror as he continued to work the hairdryer. He wasn't fond of mirrors; they always jarred him a bit. Even though he knew very well what he looked like, it always took awhile for him to register that the unusual creature staring back at him with its singular eye was in fact his reflection.

Did that mean his mind was human enough? If that's the case, then how did he even come to look like that? A Stray's appearance is supposed to be based on their most prominent perception of themselves. Why did he look like that if put it him off so much? Was this the Fragment's doing, too?

He momentarily relieved his spare hand from the duty of brushing around his damp hair and raised it below his chin. Carefully, he attempted to wedge his thumb underneath the edge of the rigid, white cast. Try as he might, there was no way to drive apart any space with his finger.

Meh. He wasn't disappointed. It's not as if he hadn't tried it hundreds of times before. There was simply no way to pry the damned thing off; it was keen on sticking to him whether he liked it or not. He briefly wondered what would happen if he actually did manage to remove the mask. Would he be faceless? Would he just disappear? Or would he magically gain a human form? He'd fantasized about the latter possibility a number of times, but in all honestly, it would be a little strange to suddenly look like a human.

Man, talk about an existential crisis.

Though there was one thing he couldn't deny; if the power of the Fragment really was as big of a deal as everyone made it out to be, then it also held the key to making him stronger. As long as he was stuck with it, he might as well make use of it.

He's already learned a few new tricks.

Let's see if I can still do this right...

Jacket shut off the dryer, and set it on the bathroom counter. Then, he brought his hand back and raised it to level before him. He closed his eyes, and slowly attempted to fill his mind with particular thoughts.

Now, don't see yourself as a concrete, static thing. Instead... you're like clay. A massive glob of clay molded into the shape you are now. All it takes is a little creative effort and...

Suddenly, Jacket's right arm burst apart into tiny filaments. It was like his black tendrils, but instead of shooting out of his body, it was his body that had split into countless fibers. The mass undulated slowly around like a viscous liquid ooze, with all of the tiny filaments writhing rhythmically around. Jacket's anticipation turned into mild disturbance as he winced a little at the sight. It wasn't exactly the prettiest thing in the world to look at.

"Ugh... at least I haven't forgotten how to do this."

It was strange. Even though his arm now looked like a mangled mess, it didn't hurt at all. He could also "feel" through every single one of the tiny fibers, just like the sense of touch from his normal fingers. If he wanted, he could even move them around like any part of his body.

So, let's try giving it a better shape.

Jacket furrowed his brows, focusing upon the new sensations in his right hand.

Square.

Immediately, the fibers swirled about, twisting and converging into thicker strands before snapping neatly into a four-sided shape.

"Hahaha, nice! I've still got it!"

The Stray proudly admired the results of his feat. It wasn't anything complex, in fact, it looked like something anyone could have bent out of a coathanger or something. Except, you know, it was made out of what used to be his hand. Simple, yes, but it was something.

Now, let's try... triangle.

*Whoosh!*

The square dismantled itself back into ooze and immediately reassembled into a perfect three sides.

"Yea! Not bad!"

Circle. Crescent moon. Heart. Arrow. Star.

One after another, a series of different shapes formed, broke apart, and re-formed on the end of Jacket's wrist, each a bit more complicated than the last.

"Hmmm, alright then. How about this?"

Jacket reached out and took hold of the hairdryer again in his good hand. Keeping his eye on the device, he tried to articulate its form into his other arm. The star disbanded, but this time instead of transforming into another shape right away, the miniature tentacles shifted about this way and that, as if unsure how to proceed. Jacket focused a bit more intently, biting his rigid lower lip in concentration. Slowly, the fibers melded together into a crude approximation of a hairdryer. Once the last of the tendrils had melted into place, Jacket held both his recreation and the original up side-by-side... and grimaced at the result.

"Eh... Well, close enough." Jacket twisted his wrist, turning the black sculpture around. Indeed the basic shape was there, but that's about it. He wasn't able to reproduce the finer details like the buttons or screws. The end of the blowing unit, where an open funnel should be, was simple a flat surface. Sticking out the end of his arm, it looked more like a sledgehammer than anything. And indeed...

*Tack Tack Tack*

Jacket softly tapped the thing against the edge of the counter. Just as he thought: completely rock solid. He gave a disappointed sigh. He hasn't figured out how to control that aspect of his transformations just yet even though, according to Lanette, it should be possible. His black tendrils were soft and pliable, as were the fibers before they converge into definite shapes. By all reasoning, it should also be possible for him "make" things with varying degrees of hardness. Instead, everything he generated became as tough as when he reinforces his body.

"Tch. Whatever." Having realized he's spent long enough in the bathroom, Jacket decided to suspend his shapeshifting practice and returned to getting dressed. "Alright, and now... release."

The Stray relinquished the focus on his arm and attempted to transform it back into his regular hand... but for some reason it wasn't working.

"... Uh oh... this ain't good. Nnnngh...!!" Jacket shook his blocky appendage around nervously, trying to get it to respond. Finally, it broke apart just like before and settled back down into a familiar five-fingered shape. The Stray huffed in relief. "Damn! That scared me!"

He couldn't imagine what he'd do if his hand became permanently stuck as a rigid brick.

After a few more minutes, Jacket stepped out of the bathroom wearing a tight-fitting black T-Shirt and his usual blue pants. He didn't know where Lanette had picked up the top for him, but she insisted on him wearing that around the mobile home instead of having his precious fur-rimmed jacket on all the time. What was it with people and dressing him up, anyway? Jackets were fine! He happened to be named after those things.

Huh. Come to think of it, the brat isn't around.

Neither was Miss Lin, for that matter. Only then did it dawn on Jacket that he'd been alone all morning. Usually, the trailer would have been filled with rambunctious shouting and green-colored death glares already.

"Hello? Anyone home?"

It was pointless to call out. You could practically see the entirety of the place just by glancing down the hallway. But he did it anyway, and sure enough, nobody responded. Huh. That was weird. They just left him home alone like that? Did something happen?

"Aw, that's right!" Jacket exclaimed as a second revelation hit him like a ton of bricks. "Today's that festival!"

He can't believe he forgot. It's all that Lanette had been able to talk about the whole time. At first, he didn't really care, but after hearing the girl gush on and on about how awesome it was going to be, he started to get a little interested himself. She and Miss Lin must have already gone off to enjoy the festivities.

Alright then, time to have a little fun myself!

Jacket marched excitedly down the hall toward the front door of the mobile home. However, when he arrived, he was stopped dead in his tracks by a note written in bold marker. It was taped right onto the entrance itself, so that there was no way he'd be able to miss it.
Lanette wrote:

We've gone out to play and have tons of fun!
Don't even think about sneaking off to cause trouble.
We'll definitely know about it!
Be a good boy and stay home.

XOXO - Lanette

X = Punches
O = Kicks

P.S. Sorry, there's just too many people out today for you to run around. Don't worry, I'll bring you back something neat!
Jacket stared at the note, which he had taken off the wall and into his hands. Slowly, his fingers began to tremble, digging into his palms and crumpling the paper in the process.

"Gaaaaaaaaah!!!!" Jacket unleashed a cry of frustration, shredded bits of paper flew around like confetti as he did. "WHY?! THAT'S NOT FAAAAAAIR!!!"
Pasonia
Posts: 175
Joined: Wed Jan 13, 2010 12:43 am

Re: Lamentable Nights: The RP

Post by Pasonia »

Date: 12 Jun, Saturday
Time: 10:33am
Weather: Clear
Location: Dawnview Park
PCs: Martin Chang
Other PCs: Sophia
================


"Wa-wait! Sophia!!"

By now, his own students were staring at him with their mouth slightly agape (they weren't the only ones to notice two different girls' names being called out, though) and so were the people going past the stall.

All that, just to stop his own Linked Stray from straying off.

I keep forgetting, don't I? Why'd I even need to yelp? I just have to think.

"Are you not friends anymore?" Trust the little blonde to ask the toughest questions, though she probably won't realise it.

...nah, Sanae is probably still angry from yesterday. You had that too, didn't you, Sophia, ignoring me for days after one remark from me. Aren't we still friends in that sense?

"So, even if a friend is angry and ignores you she is still a friend?"

Martin chortled for a bit, before masking that quickly with a loud cough.
Yea, definitely. Definitely still friends. Don't worry! Besides, if she's around then that hoodie kid might be near her too!

But business at the Go Promo stall has to go on. Even though, the thought of Sanae ignoring him just like that does hurt, even if... just a little. He turned around, already expecting his class of absolutely nosey students staring at his face intently.

Like they'll see anything other than a goatee over his face?

"... my dear students, what are you staring at me for?"
"......" Not one of them made a sound.
"No answer? Good, let's go on with today's plans. Shawn, you'll go distribute flyers with Max. Gina, make sure nobody gets too close to the bags, I don't want any of you to lose your valuables..."

Show must go on, come what may. All I can hope for is it isn't disappointment.
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Pictor
Posts: 557
Joined: Mon Jan 04, 2010 1:50 am
Location: Inside your heart
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Re: Lamentable Nights: The RP

Post by Pictor »

(Remember when I said it'd be short? I lied. Oops.)

Date: 12 June, Saturday
Time: 8:20 AM
Weather: Clear
Location: Dawnview Park
PC: Lanette
Other PC(s): M
NPC: Lin
================


"Ooooh my gosh. Noooo waaay. They have that too?! And that--!! A-And that!!" Lanette had given up containing herself as she darted all over the place, fawning over the various decorative pieces. She looked as if she could cry tears of pure joy at any moment. Either that or explode from all the buildup "No. Way. That's the thing from episode 10, when the rival... NNNNGHH!! SO COOL!"

Lin had no idea what the girl was going endlessly on about, but she was satisfied with hanging back and watching Lanette bounce excitedly between all the different set pieces that had been laid out for display.

The Young Miss really did seem happy. Happier than she'd ever been in a long time.

For a moment, the woman was reminded of a similar scene many years ago, where she had watched as an equally joyous Lanette ran about around a concrete lot. It had been nearing dusk then. The girl's form had been silhouetted against a late afternoon sun, but her smile was clear, even as she pictured it now in her mind. The little girl then had been running toward a man. Her father.

"Master Verdon... if only you could see her."

No one in the Hindfell estate had seen the head of the clan in three years. It was true that his returning visits had been growing less and less common even before, but the man had always attempted to make contact every once in a while. Then, one day, he simply vanished, leaving behind no traces save for a set of instructions for the continuation of the clan's various operations. The most vital of those orders was that his daughter, heir to the head of the family, was not to be notified of his disappearance. For her, he was simply out on an extended business trip, with no predicted return date.

Not even Lin knew the exact whereabouts of Verdon Hindfell, nor if he was even still alive. But she had great faith in her master, so she did as she was instructed, just like all the other servants of the clan. Now she wondered if that had been the right decision. What would the Master think, then, about how things had turned out?

That she was playing a part in the Young Miss' fancies instead of immediately returning her home. That she was helping the girl dabble in machinations far beyond even her own understanding. Would he object? She turned to look at Lanette once more, who was now busy snapping pictures of various things here and there on her cellphone.

If he saw how happy she was now, would Master Verdon have been able to take it all away from her, just to ensure the girl's safety? Watching the girl smiling proudly as she observed the fruits of her labor on her phone, Lin was sure what choice she would make. To have the Young Miss be happy; that was all that mattered. If it meant exposing her to the world beyond the estate, that was fine. As long as she had the girl in her sights, the caretaker would let no harm befall her.

Not again.

From somewhere deep within, a monster howled back in response. They were in agreement. The person in front of them right now was precious to them both, and they would tear apart anyone who would hurt her. With her jade eyes gleaming, Lin continued to watch over her Young Miss from the sidelines.

*Click! Click! Click!*

Lanette's fingers worked like a machine as she wheeled around on the spot, taking pictures in all directions. At first, she had only focused on the set pieces from the show, but somewhere along the lines she had gravitated to snapping up just about anything and everything.

People, animals, buildings, vehicles, tall samurai guys in black capes...

"... Huh?"

Lanette rubbed her eyes and did a double take as she took note of that last one. No, she hadn't been seeing things. Perched atop one of the stalls was a young man wearing a black mantle across his back. He was dressed mostly in white but red bits of what looked like traditional samurai armor hung from his shoulders. His equally crimson eyes were staring keenly toward the stage area of the show's grounds.

Was this... one of the actors?? Wow! But... what's he doing on a stall?

Suddenly aware of how conspicuous she was, Lanette quickly darted behind a nearby display board as she continued to observe the individual like he was some sort of a mythical creature. As if any sudden movements from her could scare him off.

Weird! Was this what they called... "method acting"? Where the actor attempts to become the character in real life in order to immerse themselves into the role? Though... she didn't remember any of the show's characters being a red samurai. One did wear a black cape... but not while wearing white.

"Hmmm..."

Lanette put a finger to her chin as she pondered the mysterious existence of the stranger on the stall. Come to think of it... he did look oddly familiar. Very oddly familiar, in fact. Why? Has she met the guy before? That's impossible... the number of people she knew in Pebbleton could probably be counted on one hand. And she'd definitely remember meeting someone like that! Maybe he wasn't an actor, but a cosplayer? But she wasn't familiar with the character he dressed up as either!

Well, she supposed she could just go and ask the guy. Hehe, why not? She might make a new friend. But as soon as she attempted to move, something inside of her halted her movements.

"It... It'd be weird to just go up and strike a conversation out of the blue, right? Yea, that'd be kind of weird. Should I... maybe, like, make up an excuse to talk to him or something? Play it off casually. Yea... I should. I'll do that."

She took a step out, but then immediately found herself retreating back behind the billboard again.

"Gah... but, what the heck would I even say? 'Hey, nice day to sit around on stalls'?? That'd be so dumb...! And what if he doesn't want to be bothered? I'll just end up being a pest."

Obviously she didn't want that. Then she'd never find out what his deal was.

Several more attempts to come out of hiding later, Lanette hunched, limply defeated. She'd probably come up with a dozen ways to approach him, and then a dozen rebukes to those dozen ways.

"Aaaaahh!!" She pounded her forehead against the side of a pole that the board was affixed to, something which she immediately regretted. "Ouch... what the heck is wrong with me?"

Lanette lamented as she rubbed her head, feeling like quite the Jacket at the moment. Since when did she ever hesitate to talk to strangers? Even though she didn't always say the right things, it never stopped her from chatting it up with people anyway. The girl had encountered a bunch of problems during her four months as a runaway, but social anxiety was never one of them!

She shifted slightly out and peeked at the up at the stall again.

The guy was still there.

Phew! Oh good. He didn't leave yet.

"W-Wait, why am I so relieved??" She gave another agitated grumble and nearly smashed her head into the pole again. "Hah.... oh well..."

So she somehow couldn't manage to work up the courage to talk to some dude in a samurai costume. Whatever... at least she could take a picture. That... wasn't creepy or anything, was it? Taking pictures of people from the shadows. Nah...

"Huhuhu... say cheese!" Lanette muttered to herself as she brought her cellphone up and took aim at the caped samurai. But when she did, she was caught off guard by what she saw. Or rather... what she didn't see. "What the...?!"

The phone's camera was trained perfectly in the person's direction... but he wasn't showing up on the display! The camera was working for sure... the sky was there, the roof of the stall was there... but not the samurai-guy. Lanette lowered her phone to double-check. Sure enough, the boy still hadn't moved.

"He's... a Stray!"

At that moment, a voice came from behind her.

"Young Miss?"

"UWAH!!" Lanette was so startled by Lin's sudden appearance that she jumped forward and smashed her head into the pole a second time. "Hnnnnngh.... ow...."

"Ah! My apologies, I did not mean to startle you!"

"N-No... id fine. I'b okay." Lanette raised a hand to show that she was indeed unhurt, all while clutching a sore nose with the other. That didn't stop Lin from worrying further, but the caretaker seemed to take Lanette's word for it.

"What in heavens are you doing back here, Young Miss? I have been looking all over for you!" The woman had taken a split second to check the time on her watch when Lanette suddenly disappeared from sight. Really, the uncanny nature of the girl to elude her ought to be her true enomena.

"I was ah... uhm..."

Lanette struggled to come up with an excuse, but her attention was more divided toward reclaiming tabs on the rooftop samurai. As soon as she did, though, she saw that the young man had finally just hopped off his perch, his black cape sailing over the other side of the stall before disappearing from view.

"H-Hey!!"

The girl stretched a hand out toward the stall's direction. But it was useless. Obviously the guy wasn't going to hear her or anything.

"Young Miss, what on earth is the matter with you? Are you feeling all right?"

"I-I'm fine! I just..." Lanette twitched her head back and forth between Lin and the roof of the stall, still half distracted. Reluctantly, she gestured in the same direction. "Hey, Lin.... did you... happen to see someone up there?"

"Hmm?" Lin followed the girl's fingers, but the space she was pointing to was completely empty. "No... I did not. Young Miss, what is this about?"

"Oh, n-nothing. Must have been a bird or something."

"A bird? I... see. Are you sure you are well? You appear to be a little pale." Lin pursed her lips as she reached forward and brushed Lanette's hair back with one hand, attempting to gauge if her foreheard was warmer than usual. "You have been exerting yourself a lot lately. Perhaps it was not so wise for you to have gone out into the woods so early yesterday morning."

Lanette flushed red to the ears as she was held and handled like a child in public. But what was she to do? Knowing Lin, she'll never stop nagging!

Darnit! If this keeps up, the guy's gonna get away. Gotta look for something... something...Ah!

A lightbulb flashed in Lanette's head as she laid her eyes on the back of the display board. Plastered on the same pole that she had been bashing her head against was an informational map that also featured an itinerary list of major stalls and events. She randomly picked something from the list to throw as an excuse.

"Lin, I'm fine! I was just looking for... uh... where they sold funnel cake!"

Lanette gently wormed her way out of her caretaker's grasp as she directed the woman's attention to the map.

"Oh? Ah, yes. I have heard about such a celebration-time treat. Apparently, it is quite popular with the locals." Lin walked up to the display and scanned intently for a moment. "The vendor appears to be in Materion Square. Shall we go, then, Young Miss?"

"Er, if it's okay, can you go get it while I wait here?"

"... Why is that?" Lin crossed her arms and raised an eyebrow in suspicion.

"Be...cause.... uh... I wanna see them set up the show!" Lanette blurted out the first thing that popped into her mind. It turned out to make some degree of sense so she just went along with it. "Yea, they have a special pre-show segment for people who show up early! I don't want to miss it, plus, I want to see them install the props and stuff. Hehe, take more pictures!"

Lanette tried to keep her laugh as convincing as possible. But it was hard not to buckle under the weight of Lin's glare. Not even she, the heir to the Hindfell legacy, was immune to the spell contained in those eyes.

She's not gonna buy that. There's no way she would buy that.

Lin furrowed her brows, appearing to be more doubtful every passing second. But just when it seemed like she would object the girl's efforts, the green-haired woman sighed and relaxed her stance.

"All right. I shall go fetch us some cake. But please, Young Miss, try to stay put. It would be most troublesome if we lost each other in the crowd."

"No problem! I won't budge!"

Lin reached out a right hand with an extended pinky.

"Promise?"

Ugh... she just had to pull this one on me, didn't she? Nnnnngh...

Trying her best to hide her hesitation, Lanette reached out and linked her own little finger around Lin's. This was something they used to do all the time at home, back when she was little. The ol' Pinky Swear. The unbreakable vow. More sacred than, perhaps, even a Crosser and Stray bond.

"Promise!"

Lin gave a soft smile and reclaimed her hand.

"Then, I shall be back shortly. Enjoy yourself."

Lanette gave a nod and saw the woman off. She didn't dare move a muscle until she was absolutely, one-hundred-percent sure that Lin was out of sight. Then, she clapped her hands together and begged for mercy.

"Forgive me Lin! I don't deserve you! I'll make it up to you, really! But... I gotta go after that samurai-guy!"

Glancing over the crowd one last time, just to confirm beyond a doubt that she was in the clear, Lanette turned and ran off in the direction the caped samurai had gone. All the while, her heart heavy with guilt.

It'll be real quick! It wouldn't matter if we don't miss each other! I'll be back before she knows I was ever gone!
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AYC
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Re: Lamentable Nights: The RP

Post by AYC »

( Long post is long. Please forgive my prudence. ; A ; )

Date: 12 June, Saturday [Festival]
Time: 8:30 am
Weather: Clear
Location: Dawnview Park
PC: M
Other PCs: Lanette
================


Once he managed to compose himself of the mad foaming of the mouth he had been experiencing due to the aspect that he was not only going to watch a real, live tokusatsu show, but a real, live tokusatsu show of the greatest show on Earth, M somehow decided to perch himself on the top of a stall.

Well, the actual play-by-play is that he had done another spectacular running jump, landed on top of the wooden structure, slipped, and then rolled off again in a ridiculously painful manner, and landed in a pathetically crumbled heap at the bottom. And that was only the first try.

Underestimating his speed and all that.

Somehow he had managed to nail it after a few more attempts, without needing to resort to using his Shadow Mobile at all. It's about as human as it gets, and M can't help but pat himself on the back for managing to pull off the same stunt as the main rival did in episode three.

Man, he's too pumped for this show. The only reason we he wanted to climb onto this rickety chunk of wood in the first place was that it had the best view of the entire stage being set up. Although seeing it up close would've been awesome as well, he's only one guy. It's not like he can see everything happening all at once.

Though the view from this unusually tall stall is pretty damn close. And similarly he's pretty damn high as a result of it.

... Uh, no pun intended.

M hasn't seen anything of the actors yet, but the props they're using and the sound tests he's heard sounds amazing. He can barely keep himself from drooling.

Amidst his fantasies though, a weird sensation sends shivers down his back. It's not something he's felt in a while, but it's like someone or something's... staring at him. And if anything, that only narrows it down to five things.

It's either a Blight, a Crosser, a Stray, a Panzer, or an effing human who's taking the time to check out the sky around his perch on this fine day.

Clenched jaw in check, M chances a glance out of the corner of his eye, but nothing seems particularly out of the ordinary from the crowd below him.

Huh, weird.

The sensation doesn't go away, and on his third scan, he spots a short, teenage girl fiddling with what looks like a cell phone in her hands nervously. He watches with some apprehension when she steps out from behind the billboard like a woman with a mission, takes a deep breath, and immediately whirls around and retreats behind the billboard again.

...

What the hell?

It's like all of M's tension just dropped off the face of the Earth and got replaced with a can of cynicism and facepalm. His curiosity wanes with every attempt she makes to do... whatever she's trying to do until he just stops paying attention and goes back to watching the tokusatsu crew.

What a weirdo.

The sensation of being stared down goes away for a bit, but when he takes a glance back at the girl, M ends up wincing as she hits her head against the pole of the billboard with a loud clang.

Oh fuck. That's gotta hurt.

As if Sophia and Sanae weren't klutzy and airheaded enough. For the sake of his sanity, he reverts his undivided attention to his one and only true love at the moment. He doesn't even turn away when he hears a second, even more painful-sounding clang in the distance moments later.

... Bloody hell.

Before he can overhear any more acts of clumsy bloodshed, M promptly leaves the scene in favor of the tokusatsu show which, from his spiffy vantage point, looks about ready for some sort of early act. Oh man.

He can barely contain himself.

The seats haven't been set up yet, but there seems to be an area partitioned for a standing audience. Even at this time of day it's rather crowded, but most of the audience consists of kids with heights ranging from about his mid chest level to barely his hip, holding hands with a few parents spread out sparsely.

Man. It's good to be tall. The sensation of towering a bunch of midgets is actually kind of refreshing and awesome. He almost feels like a real bad guy.

The wide smirk on his face barely surfaces before someone on stage beats him to it, arms crossed and manical laughter reverbrating throughout the area.

Oh shit. It's his favorite character. In the flesh.

"WAHAHAHAHAHA! GOOD MORNING FOOLISH CITIZENS OF PEBBLETON!"

It's the fucking villain. And also the main rival.

"TODAY YOU ARE ALL MY MINIONS! PROSTRATE YOUR WEAK SELVES BEFORE YOUR MASTER -"

"Not so fast, fiend!"

Oh snap.

In a flash of red, a person falcon kicks the man in the side, sending him sprawling onto the ground in a messy tangle of black fabric and blue.

"Who are you calling your minions, vile scum?" says the new arrival with a flourish, striking pose and a foot on the other guy's head. "Not on my watch they aren't!"

"Good citizens of Pebbleton!" the Hero declares, turning to the audience with another extravagant flourish as the crowd goes wild. M can't even stay still.

"The correct statement is that you are MY minions!"

M is probably the one of the few nonplussed by the Hero's declaration of war upon Pebbleton, but honestly, he doesn't even care. It just means that most of the kids here only came because they heard there was a superhero live-action stage, and didn't watch the actual cartoon.

It's the Hero's famous lines. It's the Hero's villain ancestry acting up. It's the -

"What are you saying you idiot!?"

Half the crowd roars at the awesomeness of not one, not two, but all three of the other Heroes jumping in on the stage and grappling Hero Red into a full body slam tackle. It looks ridiculously painful, but M can't help but marvel in extreme wonder at how closely the actors resemble and play the characters. Whoever casted them must've been a god.

"Someone restrain him!"

"Roger that Hero Yellow!"

"No wait, Hero Pink, what are you - ?!"

"ARGH don't stab me there!"

As if M wasn't pumped enough, a full fight scene breaks out on stage, all characters already bruised from their brief skirmish. M can't hold back his drool at the choreography, but when the first punch makes contact, the crowd comes to life in a wild roar.

OH MY FUCKING GOD THIS IS AWESOME AHKJHUSIFISUG

"NOOOOOOOOOO PUNCH HIM HARDER HERO RED!!!!!!"

"FUCK THAT GO AND GET HIM VILLAIN BLUE!!!"

"AAAAAAAAAAA - "

"YEEESSSSSSSSSS - WHAT NOOOOOO!!!"

"YEAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA TAKE THAT EVIL SCUM!"

"DAMMMMMMMMMMMIIIIIIITTTTTTTTT HERO RED -!"

Most of the parents in the crowd seem a bit torn between amusement and terror at the energy in the both the audience and actors, but most of them seem to be staring alternately in his direction. Not that M knows why or cares, because this show - this isn't even the real thing, holy shit, it's just the pre-show - is all he cares about right now. He's a dead guy on a rampage anyway, and if there's anything to say about dead guys on a rampage is that not only can no one stop them, but nothing can stop them either.

He'd imagine if Sanae or Sophia walked in on him right now they'd think he's some kind of rabid Blight or something.

Whatever. More of the villains started showing up on the stage.

"DARNITTTTTTTTTTT HERO RED - !!"

"HAHAHAHAHA YEAH BRUHHHH!!!!!"

"GANGING UP ON HIM IS SO DIRTY - "

"COME ON HIT HIM HARDER VILLAIN PURPLE!"

"YAAAAAY HERO PINK YOU SHOW THEM!!"

"NOOOOOOOOOO - !"

"YESSSSSSSSS - !"

Amidst M's lack of coherent thought, he feels a sharp jab at his shoulder, as if someone had punched him. He must've been imagining things, but the next moment, a body collides with him from the side and his perfect line of sight of the stage falters for a bit.

What the hell?

Although he immediately rights himself and he missed absolutely nothing, he barely manages to continue cheering before he gets smacked in the same side again by that same body.

"Whoa, sorry - !"

More than infuriated, he turns to his attacker, fully intent on Shadow Mobile-ing whoever it is to the nearest abandoned chunk of rock off the Pebbleton coast. Anyone who interferes with this gets capital punishment in his book -

Except for that fact that M realizes three things:

One, it's someone ether-sensitive.

Two, it's that crazy girl headbanging into billboard poles earlier.

Three, it's that unconscious Crosser girl he rescued from the cliff all those days ago.

"... Huh?"

"... Eh?"
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marcien
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Re: Lamentable Nights: The RP

Post by marcien »

Date: 12 Jun, Saturday
Time: 10:40am
Weather: Clear
Location: Dawnview Park
PCs: Sophia (Oriole)
Other PCs: Martin Chang
NPCs: ???
================


Martin began giving out orders to the other people at the Go booth. It became apparent to Sophia that he was really trying to busy himself to take his mind off his angry friend.

'Mister Martin!' Sophia called out. She floated down to his eye level. 'Should we go and look for Miss Sanae together?'

... All right, Sophia. We can go.

--- --- --- --- ---

Sophia...

'Yes?'

You don't have to hold on to my hair like that. Your hands are warm, you are giving me the perm I never asked for.

'But, Mister Martin walks fast, and I don't want to be lost here!'

Then cool it with the heating curling thongs?

'... I didn't mean it!' It was as Sophia said. The crowds around her made her nervous, and her anxiety transmitted into her ether. With her holding on to Martin's hair floating along with him as he made his way through the crowds, Martin was soon spotting the tussled hair look of a model from a korean conditioner advertisement.

Korean cosmetic effect or not, Martin began to notice the increase in the amount of girls hurrying in his direction. If not for the lack of theme music playing in the background, faces of shock or dismay on the girls' faces and their frantic whispering to their fellow girlfriends, one might have really thought that the korean cosmetic effect was indeed a thing.

What's going on? Why are they...

'I think... Something like they were touched...? Their butts and chest were touched, and they don't know who did that.'
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Re: Lamentable Nights: The RP

Post by Pasonia »

Date: 12 Jun, Saturday
Time: 10:55am
Weather: Clear
Location: Dawnview Park
PCs: Martin Chang
Other PCs: Sophia
================


What's going on? Why are they...

"I think... Something like they were touched...? Their butts and chest were touched, and they don't know who did that."

Martin was afraid something like this might happen. Similar incidents of molest happened during last year's festival too, but the culprit was never caught. Apparently, the mayor's promise of sending in more police and hired minders to safeguard the girls has not materialised at all, Martin having noticed that there were no increase in staff numbers.

...Sanae. Sanae!

More frantic than he had been, Martin began to skip around in swift footsteps, running from stall to stall in record time and narrowly avoiding kids running about while doing so. He could feel Sophia grab onto his hair more tightly than ever, and mused that at the rate she was going with her uncontrollable heat powers, his hair probably wouldn't stop curling up for the next two weeks.

But Sanae, Sanae! That, rather than Go, had become his only priority at this point of time, and he couldn't believe how relaxed he had felt when finally he ran into the five girls from right behind them, they having flocked to what seemed to be the Rozen Company's area.

"Oh, there---!"
Keep it down, Sophia, SHH!

Before Sophia could protest, Martin had dragged her along into a nearby stall, just right beside the large "Item World" sign, forcing the blonde Stray to land.

"Mister Martin, why---"
No, don't! I... don't know how to talk to her yet. We'll just stay behind and talk to her later, alright?
"Didn't you want to look for Miss Sanae? Why are you hiding?" True to a child, Sophia only wants answers that Martin can't answer straight up.
Um, uh... Sophia, I could try explaining to you but it would take too long, so---
"Miss Sanae and her friends, they are leaving..." Because Martin was too focused on keeping Sophia quiet, he had completely forgot to observe Sanae's movements.

Cue completely awkward moment of self-effacing stupidity.

Smacking himself hard in the forehead, the Linked pair moved out again, with Sophia once again riding atop Martin's head.

But just at that moment of time, Martin could feel a strange... thing... swirling about the vicinity outside of Rozen Company's. It wasn't a Blight's - the encounter with the ice Blight thingy wasn't far off from his minds - but it was nonetheless a really weird sense.

A sense... that something's about to happen.

And then...

...I swear, that must've been a portable video camcorder...
"Mister Martin, Miss Sanae is going towards the fountain..."
...Sophia, change of plans. We need to find someone or some group of people with cameras.
"Eh? But---"
I have a gut feeling we've accidentally bumped into the pervert the other girls were talking about earlier. Come on!
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Pictor
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Re: Lamentable Nights: The RP

Post by Pictor »

Date: 12 June, Saturday
Time: 9:20 AM
Weather: Clear
Location: Dawnview Park
PC: Hailey
Other PCs: Leuel (Lazarus)
================

"You've gotta be kidding me."

Hailey's grey eyes narrowed sardonically as she inspected the small creature dangling from her outstretched arm.

An entire hour.

An entire hour of playing mindless follow-the leader with this fan-fucking-tastic dowsing rod of a Stray. They'd gone South, crossed the bridge, ended up downtown, only to make a complete loop all the way back up North, ending up where they were now in the park.

All for what? A cat.

A god damned cat. That's what Lucius, or Louis... or whatever the bear's name was had been "tracking" all along. Why the hell did she even begin to think it would have been a good idea? All the crazies in this town must be dragging her down with them. What a horrifying thought.

"Mew! Mew mew mew~!" The furry animal cried helplessly as Hailey grasped it by the scruff of the neck. The way it's hanging freely, with its legs kicking around in the air, almost made it seem like a prize from one of those doll-catching games.

"Well aren't you just the cutest little waste of my God damned time?" The raven Panzer sighed and turned toward Leuel, who had been hugging a lamp post anxiously the entire time. Alright, so she'd gotten a little ticked and raised her voice at the Stray a little. Can you blame her?

Eh... maybe a little.

Hailey swung her arm around toward Leuel's direction. As she did, the cat was swung about from the momentum, like cargo suspended off a crane.

"You're sure. You're absolutely sure this is what we've been looking for."

"Mmm hmm...!" The muffled voice of the Stray came timidly underneath her large, stuffed head as she gave a form nod. "That kitty feels exactly the same as my jacket friend! I'm sure of it! I don't know why... unless... that's actually him, and he's turned into a cat somehow!"

"Right, right. Him. Turning into a cat. Hah." That'd be a sight worth seeing. She still had a few favors to collect on from the Department of Ethereal Entities Research back at the HQ. She wondered if they'd mind getting a call from her rogue self. Maybe, a few tips on how to cram a Stray into a cat's body.

It'd be good for a few laughs.

Hailey turned her attention back to her tiny hostage. As much as she loved torturing adorable little random animals, she'd spent enough time not working to send herself to the hospital from funnel cake overdose for it to be worthwhile.

"Congratulations, you get off scot-free today. You're a lucky li'l guy. Well... I think you're a guy, anyway."

As if to come full circle with her harassment of the feline, Hailey actually proceeded to lift the cat up and check between its legs. Almost as if it knew what was about to happen, the animal began to struggle more wildly than ever, but the woman's death-grip was simply too mighty to escape from.

A quick glimpse resulted in a raised eyebrow.

"The hell? Where's your junk, pal? You someone's pet? I dunno much about pets since I've eaten every one I owned, but... I'm pretty sure you don't just obliterate everything down there."

Then, a sudden realization came to Hailey. She decided to try one last measure on the poor critter. Reaching out with her other hand, she managed to avoid a torrent of claws long enough to pinch a bit of pitch black fur on the cat's rump.

"Mreeeow!" The cat yelped in surprise as Hailey yanked out some of its hair with a cruel tug.

The Panzer woman rubbed her thumb and index finger together, rolling cat's torn hairs between them. Almost immediately, the furs melted into a small collection of black, liquid ooze before disintegrating into the air.

"Well I'll be properfucked. This thing's a Blight!"

Well, the genderless thing aside, it did seem kind of strange for cats to have red eyes. They... didn't usually have red eyes right?

Eh. Not too sure. Didn't know many cats. Too prissy of a bunch.

She was more of a dog person.

"Why didn't any of my sensors go off?" Hailey wondered aloud. Her MPUD had remained silent the whole time. It was due for a tuneup after how badly she'd been abusing it lately, but was it glitched that badly? Her raven senses didn't tingle, either.

Hmmm...

Hailey brought her left arm forward to check the device, just to make sure. But...

*Schwing!*

"Ow!" The instant she took her attention off the cat, it landed a sneak attack, reaching up and swiping six ragged cuts into Hailey's arm. It didn't cause her to drop it though. "Why you little...!!"

It made her to throw it. Of course, being a cat, the creature simply landed gracefully on all fours. Looking up, it gave the woman a brief, almost mocking glance before darting off again.

"Tch... motherfucker..!!" As Hailey grasped her earned wounds, she realized she had just been played for a fool by a Blight of all things. First the MPUD didn't go off, then it's displaying coherent thought?

"Oh no, Harley, the kitty scratched you! Does it hurt?" Leuel quickly abandoned her hiding spot by the lamp post when she saw things go awry.

"Lucy! You're still here?!" Hailey made no attempt to correct the Stray's mispronunciation of her name. That wasn't important right now. "That cat... it's still emitting the same presence as the guy we're looking for, right?"

It was beyond the normal conventions of everything she was familiar with... but things aren't exactly going to remain nice and comfy when dealing with that guy. His existence itself wasn't anything but normal to begin with. So... throwing up little Blight babies? It's possible.

If that bear really was telling the truth, then there was a lot she could do with that cat.

"Ummm...." At being asked, Leuel turned and stared in the direction the cat had gone off, balling her hands in tight fists in front of her, as if channeling some kind of a strange power. "Yup! Still the same."

"Perfect, thanks! You piece a' shit, just wait 'til I get my hands on you...!!"

Without another word to the bear-head, Hailey dashed off in hot pursuit of the black cat, muttering a string of curses all the way.

"W-Wait, Harley! I don't wanna go there! There's..." Before she could finish her pleas, the black-haired woman had already turned the corner and disappeared into the crowd. "... Too many kids there."

For some reason, a lot of children were in the park today. Leuel had been feeling antsy ever since they arrived. She could hear their yelling and screaming even from here. The Stray wondered what was going on to incur such a dreadful gathering. It must have been something unbelievably evil.

"Uh oh...!"

The Stray gasped as she suddenly came to the realization that, with 'Harley' gone, she was all alone once more. It was back to square one.

At least this part of the park wasn't as crowded as that place with all the shops...

"Oooh... Lilia, I miss you! I wanna go back to your place..."

... Where was that, anyway?
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Pictor
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Re: Lamentable Nights: The RP

Post by Pictor »

Date: 12 June, Saturday
Time: 8:35 am
Weather: Clear
Location: Dawnview Park
PC: Lanette
Other PCs: M
================


"... Huh?"

"... Eh?" Lanette stared blankly at the person she'd accidentally knocked over. She had just been preparing to apologize when she noticed who it was. ".... A-Aaaaah!! Mmmmff....!"

Lanette slapped a hand to her mouth to stifle her surprise. It'd been a habit of her's ever since she was little.

T-The Samurai-Guy!!

The Stray she'd abandoned her promise with Lin to pursue was standing right there, looking entirely peeved. But when the show started, and she got so distracted she'd forgotten all about why she ran off in the first place. What's he doing in the crowd? She thought he ran off somewhere else.

The two exchanged silent looks for a few seconds before M piped up with an annoyed tone.

"... What, you want something? I don't have candy or whatever."

H-He spoke! To her! What was she gonna say back?

"I... I... uhm...." Lanette stuttered awkwardly as she frantically wracked her brain for a response. Something! Anything! "I... your... Y-YOUR AUTOGRAPH!"

"Huh!?" M raised an eyebrow as he was slightly taken aback. He quickly recovered and repeated the girl's request, just to make sure he'd heard right. "You want my autograph."

"Y-Yes."

No!

Why?! Why did she blurt that out without thinking! That probably had to be the worst thing she could have chosen to say! She even confirmed it after he asked! Outwardly Lanette tried to appear as composed as possible, but on the inside she was flushing up so bad, she felt like she was about to start whistling steam out her ears.

The boy with the cape and armor continue to stare at her for a moment, furrowing his brows as if in thought. His bright red eyes bore holes through her, even though his expression wasn't particularly fierce. They kind of reminded Lanette of Lin's eyes... only they were piercing in a different way. Lin was stern, and serious; always paying attention to everything around her and assessing every situation. With this guy, though, it wasn't so much that he was wary... it was more like he was just constantly judging every little thing that you did.

Oh man, he must think I'm absolutely nuts. Someone, just kill me...!

However as she thought this, she saw the boy's expression soften from a irritated look to an uneasy compliance.

"... After."

"... Wha-?"

M gave a sigh and slowly raised an unsteady hand toward the stage, where an epic battle between good versus evil versus good-turned-evil and everything in between had been raging the entire time. The two had already missed a portion of it during their exchange.

"A-After this. The show. Came to watch..."

The corner of the boy's mouth twitched as he replied, as if he couldn't believe what he was saying himself.

H-He agreed! He actually agreed to sign me an autograph?! I... I don't even want it!

But for some reason, the girl felt a huge wave of relief wash over her. At least that meant he didn't think she was a weirdo for what she said! Did he... get autograph requests often? Did Strays have celebrities among themselves...? That was a sort of thing textbooks didn't really teach you.

He certainly looked flashy enough to be a star.

"Oh... sure. Me too. Came to see the show, I mean."

"Yea, that's kind of obvious."

================

Date: 12 June, Saturday
Time: 9:30 am
Weather: Clear
Location: Dawnview Park
================


A full hour-or-so later, two very satisfied tokusatsu fanatics walked out of the performance absolutely gushing at each other.

"... Yea, fine that was awesome. But what about that part when they did the team attack?! That was sweet!"

"It was okay. They messed up the order of the roll calls there, though. But they NAILED the rival's speech at the end!"

"... Really? I didn't even notice."

"Purple comes before Pink, yo. I thought you were a fan of the show!"

"I.. I am! I didn't even catch that, I was too busy being excited!"

"Hahaha, I can't blame ya! That kicked ass!"

"I KNOW, RIGHT?!"

Lanette soon regretted shouting as she did. The crowd had been too worked up the entire time to have noticed a single girl apparently talking to herself, but now that the show's over, her outburst was met with a rather disturbed series of looks from the dispersing audience.

"Uh... right, I forgot. They can't see you. I must've looked like a crazy person."

"Crazy, huh? I dunno, they might be right. Didn't you... want my autograph?"

As if the girl wasn't already embarrassed enough, the very mention of her spur-of-the-moment line caused her to turn bright pink.

"T-That was--" Lanette turned around to object, but the Stray spoke up before she could finish her sentence.

"Uh, that weird as hell. But if you really want it, I guess I could sign something for you. Not that I usually do this type of thing, you know."

The caped boy turned and glanced sideways while rubbing his neck is a matter-of-fact manner.

Argh, what is this? He actually... wants to give me his autograph?

The guy was shrugging and sighing and doing all kinds of "it can't be helped" gestures, but it was rather obvious that he wanted to do the deed. After getting along with him so well, Lanette couldn't bear to tear him down.

"R-Right. Hold on a sec..." Lanette reached around and swung the pack she had been carrying off her shoulders. She set it gently to the ground before unzipping it and rummaging through its contents. It was already filled with various trinkets she'd bought off the vendors. There was the charging unit for her phone, a flashlight, a pen case, snacks, snacks, and more snacks...

No paper...? I have pens but not a single slip of paper?? What am I going to get him to sign, a calorie bar?!

Just when Lanette was about to admit defeat and straight up tell the boy she didn't actually mean to ask him for his autograph, her eyes fell on another possibility, tucked safely away in a corner of the pack's interior. Lanette bit her lower lip apprehensively as she debated whether or not to resort to this as a last measure.

... Should I? For this? Hmmm... it's... okay, I guess. If it helps make a friend. Alright, let's use this then!

scooting the other objects carefully aside, Lanette pulled out the medium for the samurai Stray's much-coveted signature.

"Uhm, is this okay?"

The caped guy gave a brief look of surprise when he saw what the girl had managed to produce from her bag.

"That's a... scarf?"

"Mmm hmm! I've got a marker, too! Uh... can you... even hold one?"

"Yea, no sweat. Pass them here, I guess."

A few seconds and smooth marker strokes later, Lanette became the proud owner of a newly autographed Shadow Buster scarf. She took the pile of cloth back into her hands and curiously studied the handwriting.

"Mad Hooder." She read the easily distinguishable words aloud. The signature was very neat and pretty, not for just a guy, but a dead one too.

"Yeap. It's uh... a name I came up for myself. See?" The Stray pivoted sightly to the side, and gestured at the hood of his pale-orange sweater hanging out over his white jacket. "M's fine though."

Hehehe... I get it. Mad Hooder. That's... cool! Strays get to name themselves whatever they want, huh? But... another one taking after some kind of clothing? Was that a popular thing with them?

Lanette quickly realized that she was actually admiring the thing in her hands like a trophy. What the heck? First the guy actually played along with her nonsense, and now she's actually acting all happy over it.

Folding the scarf into a neat bundle, the girl quickly shoved it back into her bag before she had the chance to make herself feel any more ridiculous.

"Thanks a lot for doing that! I'm Lanette by the way. Lanette Hindfell." She raised a gloved hand gingerly between them. "Nice to meet you, M!"

"Hmm... You know what? Same here, kid." M raised his hand to reciprocate the handshake, but as soon as he did, Lanette pulled away.

"Hold on! This isn't a proper greeting between two fans of H vs. V at all!" She drew her hand into a fist instead. M immediately caught on to what the girl was implying.

"Is that a challenge? I hope you've got this down pat, because I'm not gonna slow down for you."

"Oh yea? Bring it!"

Up! Down! Left! Right! Fight-Bump! Spin! Aaaand arm against arm!

The two rhythmically performed the secret salute between two Rangers. It was a rite of passage for anyone who dared to call themselves a true fan of the show. Naturally, neither of them missed a beat.

"Heh. Not bad."

"Hehehe... told ya I could keep up!"

"Mommy, that girl is talking to herself and acting weird!"

"Shhh, don't stare dear. It's not polite, even if they seem strange!"

From a ways off, a child's voice piped up, and his mother answered.

"Gah!" Lanette froze up. She'd completely forgotten where she was!

M simply returned a hapless grimace. He could nearly feel her awkwardness just looking at her.

"Maybe we ought to move along, huh?"

"... Good idea."

================

"That's weird... I thought for sure I'd be in for it."

Lanette and her new companion and made their way back to the billboard with the map, and less populated area of the park. Lanette had been absolutely sure she'd arrive to crossed arms and a death-glaring set of green eyes. But Lin was nowhere to be seen. There was no way that she would just up and leave, though...

"You looking for someone?"

"Kinda. I promised I'd stay put until she got back but... I sort of snuck off. Hehe..."

Lanette laughed nervously as she explained. M was about to make a smart-aleck quip, but then he remembered that he was no better. The Stray was sort of sneaking off himself. Not that he had any actual obligation to hang out with his "group".

Digging her into the pockets of her shorts, Lanette retrieved her phone and gave it a quick glance.

No missed calls or messages.

That'd probably have been the first thing Lin would do if they became lost from each other. Judging by the time on her phone, it's been more than an hour since they had split up.

Yikes.

Lanette winced at her own irresponsibility. She'd really lost track of time. But even still, Lin would have definitely waited. There weren't any burning corpses or screaming civilians, so it was safe to assume the woman hadn't actually gone off looking for her, either.

"It's been too long. She should be back by now."

"You think something might have happened to her?" M didn't think twice before throwing out the worst possible scenario. If they'd been talking about anyone else, it might have been an insensitive thing to say.

"Who, Lin? Nah. That's impossible. She'd probably be the something that happens to other people."

M could not help but give a cynical chortle. Boy, could he relate with the people that he knew.

"... I think I should still look for her, though. It's not like Lin needs anyone else to worry for her, but there's a pretty big crowd today. Who knows what might have happened."

"Well, I can give you a hand if you want."

"Huh? Really?"

"Yeah, why not. With all the shit I've been through... I'm pretty much an expert on finding lost people." M said as he gave a shrug. More like lost morons. Whatever. People, morons... was there really a difference? "Maybe we can check out the rest of this stupid festival while we're at it. Could be fun."

"Oh-! I-If you're okay with that, then...!" Lanette became slightly fidgety as she was once again made aware of how giddy she was getting around the caped boy. "Sure... that'd be nice."
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