this is the camel situation all over again. (CLOSED.)

[verging]

Who: Bolin (sediments) & Guren (verging)
When: After Snowball Event. (26th works for me...)
Where: Docks
What: When board jobs go wrong...
Rating: None

---

[ The month of Viola is clearly not a good time of the year to be going for a swim in Blanc. It could be worse, but it also could be far far better.

Guren had not exactly intended to involve himself in any of the city's fanfare for the day, but of course that is going to change.

Why shouldn't it? Good Samaritan status is always the best way to approach new people and show respect to the elderly or younger generations should they need assistance. ]

Damn it, get out of the water, old man!!!

[ This is exactly what Guren is doing. Supposedly.

The lieutenant colonel can be found at the docks, currently trying to get an elder citizen out of the water. The citizen is flailing oddly, somewhere along the lines of thinking he's going to drown and thus reaching for everything and anything. At the same time, though, he doesn't exactly seem to be sinking in the water or swallowing any other than what he's splashing around. What is being splashed also happens to hit Guren right in the face just as he's going to repeat himself.

Closer inspection reveals that Guren is also soaked head to toe, more so than any amount of splashing short of a tidal wave could achieve. Was he in the water, then?

Yes. Yes he was. In fact, he just dragged this senile old coot out of the water twice. He's just happened to jump back in and Guren's not quite willing to follow for a third time. As for why the old man is not drowning urging all of this (and why his yowlings of 'help help I'm gonna drown but I need me things--!! Save me things first, sonny—' are only pauses by the man's need to breathe is because he seems to have some sort of half-submerged raft he's on that's keeping him above the water but not out of it.

...Oh, wait. That is not a raft, just a giant mechanical ant (maybe ??) taking a snooze while being a designated life raft floatee to this poor citizen. Guren is actually not okay with permanently lending his carrier as the lifeguard on duty, so he's very direct in trying to get through to the elder. ]

For the last time, your stuff is not in the water. Stop being loud and crazy, it's unhealthy and a bad example to your grandkids!

[ who are, hanging out not far from this scene, eating and watching with interest the exchange between their grandfather and one of the city's heroes. They look around eight. They also are way better behaved than their senior family member. ]

Comments

[sediments]

Stop! Thief!

[ It's a mighty fine coincidence that not too far from Guren, Bolin is been caught up in the same whirlwind of job requests, chasing after a thief that had apparently snagged an incredibly expensive cat collar. He hadn't known it was a thief at first, just when he'd complimented the woman on her cat collar (and how weird it was for her to admiring it in the middle of the street), the lady had answered that she'd actually swiped it from a monkey that had stolen it from her neighbour, and that it would make her some good cash in a pawn shop.

Then, there had been silence, while the two just looked at one another.

The silence had finally been shattered by the thief suddenly taking off, leaving Bolin to chase after her on instinct, though he's not even sure how much he cares about getting back some obviously rich citizen's ridiculously expensive pet accessory. Luckily, the thief knows her way around the town, and she makes her way straight to the canals, intending to swim her way to safety, or at least expecting that Bolin wouldn't put in such effort.

The only thing she didn't expected however, as she leapt off the sidewalk into the canal, is to dive headfirst into an elderly man. ]

Oh my god!

[ Stopping at the water's edge, Bolin, for his part, is absolutely scandalized, hearing the old man's pained cry followed by the thief's shout of frustration. Without thinking, the earthbender jumps in after the thief, not sure if he intends to save the man he now thinks is drowning, or continue pursuing his wily thief. ]

[verging]

[ Boy, did that woman make a mistake underestimating effort when it comes to Bolin.

Of the now four individuals in the water, one of them is probably drowning now (the liferaft!ant), although it's hard to tell because the poor thing has just gotten dog piled on by two extra newcomers. Guren had opened his mouth to say something only to hearing the cry of a thief and look in that direction for the hell of it—just in time to watch the woman dive off the edge with such determination and grace it's truly unfortunate that it's all foiled by an old fogey and mechanical ant hanging out in her escape route.

The old man, after his painful decree, is now yelling about the war and the spies coming to take him back but he'll never go quietly, he knows got a knife and knows how to use it! (The knife is probably the thing that got stolen, though, as Guren definitely doesn't look concerned after hearing this and dragging the guy out of the water twice already.) He's still conscious, that's impressive alone and all that counts here. ]

Hey, lady—

[ —And another fish joins the sea. Guren's mouth quirks awkwardly to one side, sucking on the inner part of his cheek as he observes the one he assumes was chasing the thief to begin with now in there with the other two. Crunchy's eyes are no longer blue, which means it's not taking a nap, and are now a bright yellow color as it uses its antenna to splash as if try to communicate but really it's just looking at its master with the most pathetic 'can i get out of the water now, please, i didn't do anything wrong' expression.

A heavy heavy sigh. ]

...Crunchy, punt them and get up here.

[ the carrier's eyes turn pink before it starts to move around like a dog in the water before it just headbutts the lady over in Bolin's like its playing some game of ball. Crunchy is being helpful!!! Or so it would like to be. A mechanical giant ant really probably can't assist like this as much as it would like. Take your escaped thief cargo, newly arrived sir! ]

[sediments]

[ Apparently they're now playing some rp-version of blitzball with the woman now, and Bolin watches helplessly as the woman is punted in his direction by a mechanical ant. There's a lot of things running through his head right: the fact that the water is cold, and that the man he'd thought was on his deathbed is in fact, still quite spritely and energetic. He means to check on the man, paranoid yelling or no, once he's got some sense of his surroundings, but there's really no time before the woman shoves against his chest.

And she doesn't seem to enjoy their proximity.

Quite suddenly, Bolin finds himself getting slapped in the face, cheek stinging and mind barely registering the sudden turn of events before another slap connects, along with a far too loud declaration about him being a pervert. (He's not even touching her?? She just bumped into him?) It must be some method of distraction however, because the next he knows she's kicking away from him, and he's reaching out to grab her arm in response. ]

Hey, stop! [ His own shouts drowned out by the increasing loud hollering of pervert!!

If Guren is having a good time, stationed above all of this, then he surely needs to be wary. Because Bolin's Carrier hates everything.

Bolin's Carrier, a fluffy pastel sheep by the name of Yun, has a bone to pick with the world, and while she'd taken a brief separation from Bolin after he'd set out to chase the thief in order to pick a fight with a random passerby, she soon caught up with her owner. Guren will likely only hear the most angry and thunderous of BAAAAAs coming from behind him before the Carrier, riding the highway to hell in its unstoppability, smashes right into his legs. ]

cw: carrier bullying... i'm sorry...

[verging]

[ Guren is, actually, not having a good time. He's a bit of a stick in the mud and that old man has absolutely tried and succeeded to wear his patience very thin. In fact, he almost winces sympathetically towards Bolin's beating and the accusations being thrown at him. Don't worry, Bolin, he'll testify for you and clear your name if it comes to that.

Enough about that, though. Let's move on to this angry-at-the-world carrier of Bolin's.

( Sadly may have been the more appropriate word to have started this sentence with, alas-- ) Yun's shenanigans are something Guren deals with all the time. In fact, even if she hadn't announced her raging presence (which, he is beginning to wonder about in terms of gaining popularity because Yuu just loves doing the same thing ), he would have been able to sense that kind of heavy aura ( along with the sound of her hooves ). This is it, then. This is where he has to join the rest of the unfortunate souls, huh?

Man, his patience for all this chaos, though? It makes him swing around— ]

KNOCK IT OFF, ALREADY!

[ —and bring a roundabout swinging kick of his leg as hard as he can to kick the sheep and send her flying off the dock into the water, instead. What does everyone think this is, an open invitation to start an impromptu pool party?!

Everyone's in trouble with the lieutenant commander, now. Regardless of them having nothing to do with the Japanese Imperial Army. This stupidity has hit its limit.

( —or, you know, not, because— )

Unfortunately, a raging sheep that's basically ready to run you over for her cause of revenge on the entire world is not the same as a stupid human kid trying to drop kick you from behind. There's quite a bit more force, so, at the very least, Guren's not going to manage avoiding getting butted off the dock from the force of her alone, even if he does successfully manage to send her off the dock, too.

No one can say Guren merely accepted his fate here. Or that he has a soft spot for animals. Maybe both he and Yun should consider taking anger management together.

Between the thief assaulting Bolin and now Yun, he's just about already had it with the women in this city. His patience level has sure taken a beating today, it seems. ]

[sediments]

Yunyun!!

[ Bolin watches with dismay as Guren punts his sheep off to the side while taking a rather spectacular dive off the dock to join the rest of them now. The thief has, thankfully, also stopped her struggle to watch with bemused horror at Guren's unadulterated rage causing the demise of the poor fluffy animal. It's a pretty sorry sight, though Bolin knows the Carrier to be fairly resilient, and sure enough it plops peacefully into the water further down the canal before resurfacing, bobbing along in the water with buoyancy that it surely shouldn't have with all that wool.

Anyway. The elderly man is now howling about a great harvest (he thinks Bolin is going to let him eat his Carrier??), and the thief restarts her struggles, Bolin tightening his hold on her while also trying to crane his heck to see how Guren is doing. ]

Hey!! Hey there! You okay?

[verging]

[ Before anything else happens, this needs to be cleared for reasons the record: There is absolutely nothing 'poor' about a sheep that has an insatiable bloodlust and an aggression problem to go along with it.

Guren resurfaces, a bit quicker than Yun, but in a less graceful fashion and with not nearly as much buoyancy. Coughing a bit of water, he lets out a groan as his carrier floats on over to begin circling around him, the old man now on its back and declaring his majestic steed to continue forward for successful capture of what will create this 'great harvest'. ]

Yeah. [ Shifting, Guren actually takes a moment to look at Bolin (really look at him) and the disagreeable thief. God, really? ] Yo, you want help shutting her up?

[ He actually (probably) wouldn't give her a boot like he did the sheep, but, well, how does she know that? Pick your choices of action wisely, collar-fetish-lady. ]

[sediments]

Yeah, I'd really appreciate it!

[ Because the woman has now taken to kicking him, and one swipe of her legs winds up being just too close to aiming between his legs. Turning himself around in the water, he shoves the thief in Guren's direction, which is apparently not a gesture that the woman appreciates, yelling something about the proper etiquette in handling a lady and—

She shuts up when her shoulder bumps into Guren, sending a scathing look toward the Hero before her expression melts into something considerably more surprised. Pleasantly surprised.

The cold water of the canal is certainly the best place for a first date as she cozies up to the older man, murmuring something lewd while Bolin just gapes.

The audacity of some people. ]

Sure, I'm a pervert, when you're the one feeling up innocent guys!

7 weeks later... /sweat

[verging]

[ The other man has a really really good point, in his defense. This woman is definitely way more of a sexual menace to society than Bolin will ever be.

Guren himself doesn't seem particularly bothered (closer inspection would reveal he actually doesn't even seem to be paying attention to her or otherwise noticing her presence at all), simply taking her by the arm with one hand and moving to grab onto Crunchy to halt his circle laps. The carrier seems to get what it's supposed to do in this case, immediately moving to the dock to climb up and help him get up onto the dock with thief latched onto him more than he is to her. ]

Upsy-daisy, kid. [ he calls back to Bolin. Time for you to get out of the water, too.

The mechanical ant collapse with a flop on the dock, the old man too much weight for its spindly legs now that it's not floating in the water. The old man does not seem to notice his transportation has passed out, however, and his grandchildren at least finally come to interfere and assist Crunchy.

With Guren finally going to stand up, completely drenched and weighed down even more by the equally soaked collar-thief than his clothing contributes, looking less amused with the creepy lewd individual that clearly has some strange priorities. ]

You gonna turn her in or what? [ He's not sure what the other hero's intentions are-- he could just want whatever she stole (he still doesn't know any better on what that actually is) --but he'll give him the option, at least.

...Not to mention, the opportunity by specifically not allowing himself to simply... knock her back into the water and leave like nothing happened. ]