[Open] I see what's mine and take it

[showsnopiety]

Who: Caren and you!
When: After the Adra housewarming, throughout June
Where: Lasker, Halls of Glory, Caissa
What: Caren ranked up
Rating: None yet, but will be updated if it does!


A: Have a drink

If you don't mind I-

[She didn't get to finish her sentence. She had just wanted to get over to the merchants so she could tend the fires. Instead, her politeness was answered with water to the face. Now, she would have been fine if it was fresh water. She might have even been fine if it was just her first shot. But this was around her fifth, or twentieth, maybe even the hundredth time. And this water smelled funny.

...heck it might not have been that, but they were in her way and thought they could get away with it. She offered a grim little smile, baring her teeth.]

Oh. You wanted me to tag you back? All you had to do was ask.

[This citizen likely thought it was good fun to drench the tiny hero. Really, it was a good thing that she was a rook, otherwise she might have had bruises on her face from all the shots she had taken.

But with a flicked hand upwards, she summoned water from one of the geysers. It came around, hovering like a ball; then another flick of her wrist, and it started spinning, right over her hand. Her smile turned into a snarl.]

I suggest you run while you can.


B: Five mornings at Dunya's

[The costume was awful. There was really no two ways about it, it was awful. It was made for someone taller than Caren, that was for certain, and she had to go around like some sort of idiot, attracting attention. Well sure she could attract attention, but it wasn't...quite like this. Not in a suit that smelt funny, flopped around like the suit was possessed, and...really, she didn't have any ideas.

....was that a screaming fox? That might have been someone in a costume who was running around screaming. Sounded like they couldn't take it anymore. She understood the feeling.]

God help me with this. I don't know what to do.

[Because well, being violent, while fun, wasn't actually very productive. And it didn't earn her money, which could be important in the future. Particularly if she wanted to make sure that she had it when she needed it.]


C: Training with wires

[A rank up, and she had new weapons. It was...a funny set actually, and one that tickled her sense of humour a bit. Wires, razor sharp, that could extend far further then her shawl. She could conduct spells through these gloves, through the wires, she thought-it was perfect. But...like all things, there were problems getting from one point to another.

She brought her hand up. A single wire, thick as a man's index finger, rose from one of the steel rings at the end of her knuckles. She aimed it towards the practice dummy, her face grim with determination. Sweat trickled down one temple as it moved closer, closer....and flopped to the ground, so close but so far.

There was a wordless little growl, and she was able to retract it, rapid and frustrated, nearly hitting herself, or someone standing too close in the process.

Doesn't matter. She's going to try again.]

D: General training/studying

[It wasn't just the wires that Caren was studying. There were the general lessons that she was using with her shawl, trying to get a better feel for it; the spells, which she tried to manage and do very carefully. Sometimes she could be seen, with various weapons-mostly whips and shields-trying to go through drills. There was general practice with gymnastics, jogging, and other things too.

She also sought others out to practice, with one form of weapon or another. Maybe with a jerk of the chin, a narrowing of the eyes and a quiet, but confident, challenge.

Still others, she could be found in the library, taking in all sorts of books. Books on sound waves, on magic, on tactics and war. Though...she was more then likely to nod off in the library then anywhere else, mostly by accident.

Though heaven help you if you tried to take the book away. She was a surprisingly light sleeper when it came to taking things in her possession.]

E: Exploring Lasker

[It was surprisingly beautiful here. Then again...Caren always did like the fog. There was the whistle of the ocean. She didn't have to wear her hat here, and hide from the sun. That made things easier, after she did the jobs.

There was a lot to see. There were beautiful items of clothing to look at and try on; cafes where she could watch people, and drink a cup of coffee. (She didn't know what to think of the themed ones though. Most of those got a weird look before she moved on.) The food was interesting, and she resolved to pack some with her for the ride back to Caissa. She was heavily amused though at the churches. The haven for the god of friendship...

what a crock. At least the other parts of the city were far more honest, even if a little obsessed with a weird card game.]

F:Wildcard
Hit me up with something else, I'm up for it!

Comments

CCCCcc let us do the thing

[houndumb]

Ugh, what the hell?!

[When you have razor wires the size of an index finger snapping around, it's kind of a traffic hazard, particularly in the high-traffic areas where other people might be training?! Or spectating, or just passing through; Nora's somewhere in the middle of all of the above. And he's regretting it. He's really regretting it.

This isn't the first time he's seen Caren training, of course -- everybody runs into everybody now and again if they happen to be training in the Hall at all. It's just that every other time, he'd been wise enough (somehow) to turn right back around and find someplace else to be. Like hell he wants her to see him training, anyway.

This time, though... this time, it's not like he could have predicted the sudden extended reach; but Nora reacts on a dime anyway, the whipping attack of the stray wire pinging a familiar sense. He drops as soon as it flies into the corner of his eye, bringing the spear he'd been carrying up in a defensive arc--]

Watch where you're aiming whatever that is-- [PING, the wire likely leaves a very visible score on the completely unmagical spear] --I only got one of these, you know!!

[Seriously, he needs this thing until he ranks up, he has like no other weapons?!]

fufufufu

[showsnopiety]

[A bit of a traffic hazard, a bit. And, well, she really didn't care. She had tried to make sure that she was in her own corner of the yard but, things happened. That's how it was, one way or the other. But hey, that completely perked her up, seeing that Nora was coming around with a completely normal spear.

She could use the practice dummy to practice on any way.]

You could always get another one. I'm sure it's cheap.

[She retracts the wire, all the way, back into her gloves. Dang, these things are harder to control then she thought they'd be. Where's Irisviel when you needed her.]

Or do you not like to work? I didn't take you as lazy. It's disappointing.

[houndumb]

[The thing about claiming your own corner of the yard is, it's only your own corner of the yard till the next territorial not-currently-canine wanders over looking for his own corner of the yard and tries to park his ass on your stuff. Or in this case, present his ass for dummy whipping, I guess. That transition came out completely wrong and I'm not even sorry.

Nora watches with narrowed eyes as Caren puts her wires away, head and shoulders both following the motion just in case she gets any more bright ideas; he hasn't missed the suddenly pleasant expression on her face, which even in their relatively brief acquaintance never bodes well.

It's only once the wires are gone that he registers her words.]

Who the hell are you calling lazy?! [OK, so he is sometimes lazy, and bratty, and extremely spoiled, but he is working; his snarl at her is reflexive, though.] You got any idea how bad it is in dungeons, no matter how much I work I'm not getting enough to go through two of these every couple of weeks!!

[He also points his spear emphatically at her, because why not.]

B ecause why not

[interchained]

[Since Gil walked into Lasker, he had met at least a dozen people wearing weird costumes and as he walked further, it wasn't getting any better, really. What is going on in this city, he wondered as he was passing a screaming fox, which apparently had enough of this. He couldn't really blame them, though. The requesters had the weirdest ideas sometimes.

Looking over his shoulder at the person who was definitely losing it and trying to get out of the costume, he bumped into another mascot and groaned.]

No, I'm not going to visit—

[He stopped middle sentence, blinking at Caren. Because...it was her, right?]

[showsnopiety]

[At least there wasn't any fan art of him littering the ground? Or at least, no more than usual.

She ended up bumped into, and she nearly fell over, with a small noise of dismay. Then again, that wouldn't be hard-this suit was all flop for her, and she might have made some kids cry by accident.]

I'm not going to give you the spiel Gilbert.

[Yup, that's Caren. Sounding, somehow, more grouchy then usual.]

[interchained]

[What happens in Caissa, stays in Caissa...!!

He kept blinking for a longer while like he couldn't believe what he had just seen. Well, the truth was...he really couldn't believe it. Who was powerful enough to make her wear this...this.]

Did you mess with the wrong person? Do you need help?

[Someone, somehow had made her parade in this costume, there was no other explanation. He just hadn't met the booth guy yet.

But it seemed that he was genuinely worried.]

B

[convictionary]

[Midway through his bathroom break (unsuited, half hour) and lunch before he got to strap on the Leviathan costume and dance about some more (the things he'd do to get access to the park's fudge) he saw the screaming fox. And, more importantly, what caused the fox to bolt and run.

And basically all of this led to suddenly, from Caren's left - please don't punch him - in the dire tones of a dire warning.]

North. Pack of kids. They tore apart that fox and they're going after another one. They'll be here soon.

[Suddenly a horror movie.]

[showsnopiety]

You can't be serious.

[No punching, because she was trying to figure out what to do with the suit in the first place. Or how to even entice people in without resorting to magic.

And this is the most urgent she's seen Gauis-even when they were punching holes through a floor-so she'll just. Do the smart thing, and start hurrying away. She does not want to become the screaming matargot. Cat. Thing. Whatever. It didn't have any dignity.]

Come on then. We'll find somewhere where they can't reach us.

[convictionary]

I'll run a distraction if need be. This way.

[They're going that way. Wherever that way is. (Restaurant? Alleyway?)] Schoolkids is my wager. I counted fifteen. They were brutal enough with the fox, gods- imagine if they knew we were...you know. [Heroes.]

a wildcard dennys prompt

[yaoihand]

[ Caren has three guesses who might be in the silly dragon's costume and is waddling his way up to her (waddling because these things were so HARD to walk in). Three guesses because there are .... three dragon homies in Blanc ... ok nevermind this is dumb. ANYWAY, a person in a dragon suit has just waddled up to her and in their arms is a wailing child, who wants nothing more than to be out of the scary dragon's grasp. This dragon doesn't seem to be aware of that. He has no idea that holding on to the kid like this might be making them cry louder. He thinks he's helping.

Kija only wants to stop the child from crying, but with his limited experience nurturing anything (he's usually the one being nurtured, in many cases), he has no idea how to do just that. That was why he opted to pick the child up and go looking for help. ]

Are you ... good with children? Do you know what I should do?!

welp this is a trip

[showsnopiety]

[He's wearing a floopy dragon costume to her matargot. It isn't hard to figure it out; Jae-ha has a certain way of walking, and Shin-Ah would be avoiding her entirely. But here Kija has a wailing child who looks like they're ready to run far, far away.

Kija you are the most maternal of dragons. Where's Yoon, he'd be good for this.]

"Good" with children...mostly they find my stories amusing, if I tell them right.

[They're the worst though, they're mostly horror stories and that of ghosts, told in the most chilling manner. But as she watches the little one cry, she has to ask him.]

If you wanted a family, I don't think this is the way to go about it. Kidnapping is illegal, I'm certain.

[yaoihand]

Kidnapping?! [ It's then that Kija realises his actions could be read in that way.... In fact, the child in his arms is probably reading it that way. He doesn't even have time to react to the fact that it's Caren in the other mascot (He hadn't known!!). ]

I was not trying to kidnap anyone! [ Immediately, he sets the bawling child down. Unfortunately, that isn't enough to stop the waterworks and screaming. ]

He will not stop! Please, tell one of your stories!

D!

[likethelight]

[ Take the book away? No, that'd be rude. But, when he sees the girl sleeping on her book—and he's come and gone a couple times now, looking rather unsuccessfully for something himself as he's not really a library or book learning person, and noticed her there each time—well...

This time he takes his coat off and will at least try to  v e r y   g e n t l y  drape it around her shoulders so as not to wake her. After all, it's a little chill in here and he's going to be here for a while anyway...

In Allen's defense, she seems innocent enough. ]

[showsnopiety]

[Allen is being nice. It's even sweet, how he's looking out for a stranger he doesn't know. But...the problem is, she's not a sweet innocent thing who would appreciate his kindness.

Not his fault that she sleeps very lightly these days. Her hand snaps right up, and clamps onto his wrist, even before her eyes open.

And she slowly raises to a sitting position. Oh hey. She's not being a creep fest or anything at all.]

Who. Are you?

[Hey fellow white hair.]

[likethelight]

[ SCREAM...

To his credit, Allen doesn't. Although some of the color from his already incredibly pale complexion does drain away. ]

O-oh... [ This feels... bad. Danger, Will Robinson, Danger. ]

...I'm Allen. [ And also to his credit at least, he doesn't flinch or even glance at the deathgrip she seems to have on his wrist. His left one is pretty tough, after all. And not altogether human looking. (Far from it.) ]

Allen Walker.

D

[avantguard]

[ This looks familiar: A girl fast asleep at a table in the library. It's probably what she looked like when she used to fall asleep at the library too, isn't it? SIGH.

Asuna doesn't wake Caren up IMMEDIATELY. Nah, she leaves for a moment to find a cup of tea. Two of them. She sets one down in front of Caren, away from where she'll smack it as accidentally and then sits across from her quietly, sipping.

WAITING. For her to wake up. ]

[showsnopiety]

[See, Asuna is smart. Or just has realized a few things about Caren that are best to be followed. Who knows, maybe Yata told her about how Caren freaked him out by waking up when touched.

This is a gentler way of waking her. The scent of tea causes her to stir, and she slowly sits up, blinking owlishly. Her hair is just a mess.

Ah well.]

Mm?

[Her voice is a sleepy murmur, and she spots the tea before she sees Asuna. Why...does it feel like she's being judged a bit?]

I wasn't aware we were allowed to drink in the library.

[Makes sense though. For those days of late night studying.]

[avantguard]

[ She just knows about PERSONAL SPACE. Besides, if Caren is sleeping at the table she must be tired. It would be rude to wake her up when she's finally getting some rest.

But that can't be comfortable. She knows.

The sight of sleepy-eyed, mussed Caren though... that's kind of cute, actually. Behind the rim of her cup, Asuna smiles wryly. ]

As long as you're quiet, it's okay. [ SINCE IT'S A LIBRARY.

Okay, she's not JUDGING but she doesn't entirely approve of Caren sleeping here. ]

Good morning.

a

[baka_jyanai]

-The others ran, but one rather familiar person stood their ground, crystaline wings flickering and arms crossed over her chest, as if daring Caren to do anything. It was notable that, despite the day's events, Cirno was remarkably dry, but her proud grin never seemed to change regardless, anyways.

Of course she was still a pawn, but that was a matter for another day. Water was still, adjacently, her element. She felt at home here. And while she was never exactly afraid of Caren, she was particularly confident now, all evidenced in her eyes.-

Oh I've been waiting for this...

[showsnopiety]

[Oh. It's her. She should have realized that any sort of contest of this kind would have attracted the fairy's attention. But...well. She'll just have to make the best of it. Maybe she'll even enjoy herself today.]

Oh look. A bug.

[Yeah, who's talking smack? They're talkin smack.]

Shoo, shoo. I'm not here to play with you.

[baka_jyanai]

-Cirno actually looked around, a bit confused, as if Caren hadn't been talking to her at all...-

Hey, there aren't any bugs here, are you trying to make me look dumb?!

D

[carptricks]

[Caren wasn't the only person still hitting the library, even after a rank promotion. Kaito, although confident on his acquisition of knowledge as it pertained to Blanc history and Enprise magic, still spent a good portion of his evenings pouring over book after book after book. the subject this time?]

[alchemy]

[today, he sits at a table flanking one of the windows, shoulders slumped and legs extended in front of him as he leafs through one book with obvious boredom. his eyes-- now a deep violet in color-- flicker across each page, though he only lingers on them for a second at most before moving on. in his other hand he holds what looks like a glass vial with a thick gold liquid inside. he swirls said liquid around in its container, and Caren-- if she's paying attention-- might be able to hear him mumbling irately underneath his breath]

I don't get it. I did everything right according to this stupid recipe book! It's s'posed to be lemon flavored, isn't it? Sheesh. . .

[hasn't anyone ever told Kaito it's rude to talk while in a library]

[showsnopiety]

[There's still so much to learn, after all. Just because one wasn't a pawn, didn't mean they couldn't stop learning. Only specialize, and learn further in what they knew.

But this was interesting. She hadn't realized that there was a way for a man's eyes to change into such a color due to magic-or that someone could and would attempt alchemy within the library.

Though to her, it was not the best place to do it, especially if and when there would be some sort of chemical explosion being risked. She recalled how her hair had turned cerise in their attempts to dissolve the barrier.]

There is always something that the book won't tell you.

[She spoke up. She had a naturally quiet voice, dead pan even, and she reached to gently place her fingers against the pages of his book. How did he do that trick with his eyes? More, what did it mean?]

Including the way that your mana will interact with whatever you're creating.

E

[stagewhirl]

What do you think it is, Caren?

[Sitting with her at one of these cafes, Arashi asks from across from their little table. They've had what looks like a whole orange placed before them in a dish, but it doesn't shine quite right... such is what happens when you say "surprise me" at this place, apparently.]

[showsnopiety]

I'm...not entirely certain.

[She thought it might be an amusing idea to take a break from the jobs and exploring to sit here. The locals seemed to like the cafe, but whatever this orange thing was...she had no idea.

Was it jello? She wasn't certain. She prodded it lightly with a spoon, before looking back to her companion.]

I'm familiar with certain dishes, and most seem to be similar to those from my world. However this...may be beyond me.

[Which smarted her pride. She didn't like admitting she didn't know something.]