middaeg | Idle Notes in the Air [OTA, with some closed prompts]

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Idle Notes in the Air [OTA, with some closed prompts]

Who: Kaede and you!
When: All of June! Mostly before the 17th unless stated otherwise
Where: Mostly in the city, with a few field trips outside
What: Catch all for June!
Warnings: Language, Kaede in general, violence against fish?? Will update as necessary

I-A. Entertainment District

[Now that Kaede felt less like death, she could better explore this place. Her burns had been quick things to heal, her head hadn't experienced any repeats of that spontaneous horn growth, and she didn't need to stop and sit down after twenty steps. And! The people here didn't seem so prickly about another Monster in their midst. Unlike certain residents across the road from Haven.

The decorations for the next festival were already going up—how many of those did this world have? A half-finished tangle of wreaths and ribbon arched all the way down the street where buskers played and gaming houses had their doors propped open to take advantage of any cooling breezes. The latter Kaede had no interest in and walked past, but sometimes she stopped to look up at an unfinished display or listen to a musician. She wasn't very tall, but her antlers were becoming rather obvious now. Nevermind her usual tendency to stand in the middle of where people wanted to go, not unlike a cat.]

I-B. Breaking and Entering...?

[Of course, she'd found the run-down, closed up theaters soon enough. The "do not enter" signs made them immediately interesting. And she still got tired of bright colors and music and people eventually, even though a number of the latter seemed to be avoiding her and unintentionally giving Kaede all the space she liked.

There seemed to be markedly fewer people in these specific areas, but enough that the horned girl paced casually (suspiciously) in front of one of the gates and chained up doors instead of trying to force her way in. Getting into places with a modicum of discretion represented a bit of a problem now. So Kaede padded about and studied unsuspecting things, like how tall the walls were, how rickety the eaves were, how rusted the chains.]

II-A. Fetch

[Lilies? She liked lilies. The pompous snot who'd written that request, not so much. And there was nothing in that demand saying she couldn't bring any home with her. So Kaede had...acquired a basket on its last legs that was frayed and stained, something that wouldn't mind getting dirt and roots on it.

She was the first to stop when she heard buzzing, though. Kaede liked lilies, but beestings, not so much. Just charging on ahead seemed like a bad idea.]

Do we have to get rid of all the bees first?

[After all, the bees were just minding their own business. They'd be taking away some of the bees' food sources, that seemed rude.]

II-B. I don't have a clever title for the fishing minigame

[She'd heard someone approaching some time ago, but hadn't stopped frowning at the water like its existence was offensive. It was crystal clear, all the way down—showing off all the holes in the banks where the easily-accessed deposits of crystal sand had been scooped out already. There was much more of the stuff shining further down on the lakebed, but the water's clarity also showed just how many fish were down there too.

One, quite dead, lay near her shoes on the bank; clawmarks had torn into its belly, and there was a bite mark on Kaede's bare ankle, completing that bit of environmental storytelling.

Eventually, her horned head turned just a little—still keeping the water's mockingly calm surface in view.]

Can you swim?

Wildcard.

[For things that don't fit into the above, or things we've planned out beforehand! My plurk is

blueraven and Kaede's plotting comment is here!]

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

[She owed that girl, she supposed. For not letting Kaede become a new floor ornament in the Coven for the umpteenth time last month. The world was a shitty, unjust place, but she could be fair, in Kaede's...particular notion of fairness. So, after she had seen Minako around more than twice and was convinced she wasn't going away, Kaede just appeared at her elbow one day and asked her what she wanted in return.

As you do.

Kaede was still as wary of this Bonding business as she was before. It required an awful lot of trust of someone who trusted at a glacial pace. But no one at that class she attended had died, that she knew of. Or got sick, or displayed any symptoms of poisoning—and there weren't any rumors that confirmed such suspicions. But maybe it was a slow poison. Maybe their hosts were quashing such rumors before it reached the ears of their visitors.

Whatever this maybe-poison was, Kaede would find out for herself soon enough. The vial's contents sat in her stomach innocently enough, easy to forget. It was a poison with some manners, and the only symptom she felt was...calmness. Not drowsy tranquility—she still felt a bit on edge out here—but like some clutter in her mind had been cleared out, making it easier to think and easier to focus on the forest's shadows.

Right now, Kaede was engaged in a staring contest with some kind of smallish owl, which was very interested in finding out what these strange new things in its woods were. It made an occasional territorial trilling hoot, in case these things were in fact trespassers. This was private property, didn't you know!

...Kaede was only just keeping herself from calling back to it. That grumble she kept making in response to the owl's trills didn't count, right?]

[While Kaede is resisting the urge to become one with the wildlife, Minako is diligently working on their research notes. It's difficult to write by the dim light of the gas lantern she'd brought for the occasion, but turning it up any brighter might scare the wildlife away. So she's making do by lying on her belly and writing right next to where she's set it on the floor, observing from a low vantage point.]

Ugh, this looks nothing like it...

[she mumbles, as she half-heartedly sketches the owl. Descriptors she can write easily. She got so many As on all of her school science journals back at school. But drawing is a different beast altogether. Speaking of which. She drops her voice to a whisper.]

Hey, Kaede. Do you see those eyes in the bushes on your left, or is it just me?

[Kaede snapped out of her staring contest at the sound of a voice, turning back sharply. She could hear every quiet scratch-scratch of Minako's pen, feel the slightest tug in the other girl's direction like a gentle tether, but it all felt...comfortable. Meditative, in a way.

Still, Kaede hadn't gotten used to that lamp yet. It was turned down, but she still found it so bright to look at it after staring at the shadows for so long. She blinked a few times, eyes reflecting back like green-gold discs before her gaze shifted to the left. There were some shrubs there, some fireflies--

--those weren't fireflies.]

Are there supposed to be four of them?

[...the shadow also seemed to have too many legs for a fox or badger.]

Um...I want to say yes, just because it'll make me feel better, but I'm pretty sure the answer is no.

[She very slowly raises herself up onto her elbows, keeping an eye on their visitor. When it makes no move towards her, she starts bending over her notebook to get to work on sketching what she can see of it.]

Large round body...four legs? Six? I can't tell.

[Kaede's eyes attuned to the dark further now that she wasn't looking at the lantern. She could make out more shadows, and shadows-within-shadows under the reflective eyes.]

I think it's a spider. Maybe one of the jumpy ones. So eight?

[It was busily meticulously cleaning off its mandibles, which would have been kind of cute if it wasn't the size of a dog.

Kaede watched it warily, eyes narrowed. Once it had finished its grooming, the spider walked forwards a few steps in a jarring, quick gait. It seemed more inquisitive than hostile--perhaps the light had caught its attention. A step forward, a step diagonally to get a better idea of what it was looking at.

The chimera quickly decided that she Did Not Like This. The feathery quills in her hair bristled, not unlike a cat's bottlebrushing hackles, and leaned forwards in her crouch until her claws dug into the moss under her palms. And after a moment she pulled herself forwards, closer to Minako. Her reactions were fast, but so was the spider.

There is no food here, go away spider.]

[Minako grimaces and sets her pencil down. Not that she hates spiders normally-- if she finds one she tries her best to catch it and release it outside. But this is a giant spider, and so there's a very real instinct to run instead. She doesn't want to see its mandibles...or its hairy legs...ugh. Ugh. And what about all those alien movies she used to watch with Junpei? The ones where people got caught and cocooned in webs and hung from ceilings to be eaten later?! She doesn't want to end up like that...]

Oh my god, is it coming closer?

[Minako slowly inches closer to Kaede to meet her halfway.]

I don't think it'll attack us, but we shouldn't provoke it, Kaede.

[That noise Kaede made wasn't quite a sound--more like a rumble, and more felt than heard. She didn't particularly like or dislike spiders. But it was distressing the human who'd bothered to drink that tincture with her, so it was something something she kept putting herself between herself and the human.

The rumbling stopped when the other girl touched her side, and Kaede glanced backwards with a blink. Instead of a growl, she just made an 'er' noise.]

I...guess.

[Movement caught her eye, and the chimera's head snapped back to the front. The oversized spider had hopped onto a nearby tree trunk, still peering curiously at them. Could it make that jump over there, perhaps...?]

[Now that the spider is more visible in the light, Minako's suspicions are confirmed. It's huge, it's hairy, and it looks like it's from a horror movie. But it's acting like a normal spider, and somehow that makes it easier for her to deal with this whole situation.

And she still needs to take notes, so she reaches for her paper and pencil again. Can't let this chance to see it up close go to waste, even if she doesn't want to look at it...ughhhh.]

Do you think you can keep it staying in place for a little bit? I need like...five minutes to finish this sketch.

[The spider perked up a little when it saw Minako move, and Kaede made a sound like the hiss of water against hot metal.]

I can tr--

[The spider had made its decision. Raising its forelegs marginally off the tree bark was its only warning--

--before it jumped. The Monster moved before her brain caught up, putting herself squarely between the Witch and it.

Kaede normally wasn't bothered by spiders. That ambivalence ended when they were on her fucking face. With a shout that was bitten off halfway, Kaede recoiled and raised her clawed hands to swat as the spider did its very best not to get itself dislodged from its suddenly very mobile landing pad.]

[This is it, this is the worst timeline. Minako barely manages to suppress a scream as she scrambles away from the writhing tangle of Monster and spider, turning up lantern light on so she can see exactly what's going on.]

Oh crap, hang on, I'll-- I'll um--

[Barrier! Barrier magic! Minako reaches out and clenches her fingers into a fist, and her shimmering red barrier forms in front of it.]

Hang on, I'm gonna try and flick it off!

[She sets the barrier under one of the spider's legs and tries to lever it off of Kaede, hoping to unbalance the overgrown bug.]

[The increase in light blinded her, which was a good and a bad thing. Good, because now Kaede didn't have to deal with the disconcerting image of seeing her own furious scowl reflected back in the spider's eyes inches from her face. Bad, because now Kaede was mostly just blindly flailing now.

She caught a glimmer of something red in the too-bright, eye-watering world. At first, she struck at it too.

But--Minako's voice, shaking and alarmed, stayed her hand. That was Minako's spell? Hopefully?

The spider decided it Did Not Like where it had landed, no sir. It moved far too much and had noisy opinions. But--oh, how convenient, there was something else to stand on! It started clambering onto the barrier instead, halfway onto it and still with some of its feet clinging to Kaede.]

[TOO CLOSE is what Minako's internal screaming is sounding like right now, but this is somewhat objectively good. It means the spider is closer to her, which means it's closer to her legs. And Minako uses these legs for kicking.

With a mighty tug, Minako brings her shield towards her, dragging the spider with it-- and then the shield dematerializes, leaving no barrier between them. With a quick turn to give her momentum, she shoves the spider away from them with her foot. Gently as possible, because she doesn't want to hurt it, but with plenty of force, because it is a huge spider and she wants it to go away, as soon as possible.]

Sorry, Mister Spider!

[The tug pulled Kaede off balance too, and with nothing to catch her anymore she toppled backwards, back curving to soften her landing. A bit. A shock went through her back when she landed, and the rest of her roll turned into more of a graceless flop.

But--but! There were no longer any pointy disconcertingly fuzzy feet trying to grapple onto her face and shoulders. The shove hurled the spider away a considerable distance--it scurried away into the dark as soon as the first of its feet touched the ground. Mission...accomplished?

The owl had stopped calling, and it'd take some time for the forest animals to forget the sounds of the scuffle, though it hadn't been too loud. And Kaede was flat on her back on the moss, eyes pinched shut.]

...is it gone?

Yup.

[Minako sighs out in exhaustion, flopping eagle-spread out onto the grass.]

Definitely gonna have nightmares of that later. Geez. [And they aren't even done with the quest yet...she still needs to finish the drawing, and then they have all the other animals in the area to work on, creepy-crawly or no. But maybe they can take a break first. She turns to Lucy's direction and squints, slightly concerned.]

You okay? It didn't bite you, did it?

No. At least I don't think so.

[Kaede would like to think she'd have noticed if a spider that big bit her. She felt fine and like she had zero puncture wounds, though she still kept her eyes tightly shut.]

Can you turn the light down?

Maybe we can distract 'em?

[ Look, Majima didn't know all that much about bees himself. He didn't want to have a whole hive after him, but this many bees kind of made him nervous. ]

Bees like flowers, right? Pollen? Maybe I could try to grow some nearby and give 'em something else to buzz about.

[ He'd never actually tried this particular kind of spellwork before, but what were their options? ]

Or we could try borrowing one of those goofy-lookin' suits...

What s--oh. Those.

[Kaede wrinkled her brow, recalling a beekeeper's odd uniform. She was small, so there'd be no shortage of the silly things she could wiggle into. But those things didn't come in antler-friendly form. She could punch holes in the hood, sure, but she doubted anyone would lend her things after that.

Also they looked hot and stuffy and Kaede had made the objective decision she wanted nothing to do with them.]

How many flowers can you grow at once?

[Kaede glanced from one end of the patch to the other; it was quite a big one, and there were quite a few bees.]

Only one way to find out.

[ And there he was, making a gesture with one hand as a cluster of close flowering shrubs and stalks practically exploded out of the ground, with huge, sweet-smelling blossoms. Uh. Wow, not what he'd intended?

IT'S G R O W I N G ]

I... huh.

[ But a number of bees was indeed peeling off, making a beeline for the new flowers? As the tallest of the shrubs began to hit 4, then 5 feet. ]

[Well. Uh.

Okay.

Kaede had also been expecting something else, like a big hedge of not-tiger lily flowers. The bees didn't seem at all put off by the flowers' sudden appearance or their abnormal height, at least.]

That...works, I guess?

[As long as the bees in the equation beehave. And the flower stems don't topple on their heads.]

[ The flowers were so sweet-smelling, in fact, that even Majima was given pause. A hummingbird dipped in, looking like a bright scarlet jewel. ]

Right. Yeah.

[ HE MEANT TO DO THAT. ]

Let's get those flowers, huh?

[ He produced a bag: canvas, and well-used, by the look of things. ]

[Kaede nodded, initially, and started forward--diagonally from the newest bee-obsession. The little bird caught her eye, making her pause. And then the scent hit her fully, and she stopped outright. That...that smelled really nice. The sweet scent would have caught her attention even before, but now it overran everything else, even the scent of the forest and the moss within it.

A large bee lit on one of her antlers as she stood there, meticulously cleaning off its fuzzy front legs. Kaede didn't notice.]

[ Not the bees! Majima took hold of one of the lilies and pulled it up, not noticing Kaede's distraction at first. He was the originator of the spell, after all. But as he slipped it into the bag, he caught sight of her. ]

Hey? You alright?

[Majima's voice startled Kaede out of her distracted reverie. She twitched, and the bee on her antler buzzed as its perch jerked around suddenly.]

The flowers smell like honeysuckle.

[She wanted to roll in it.

She also recognized this as a bad idea.

But like most impish bad ideas, it wasn't easy to do away with.]

Oh, uh... yeah, suppose they do.

Careful, there's a bee on one of those antlers.

[ Not that he thought it would sting, bees were nice, bees were our friends... but just in case. Majima had never actually seen Kaede seem so... content? Distracted, maybe? So this was a first. ]

C'mon, we can pick some of those after we get enough lilies.

[L's spent much of his time in the Coven, to the point where he's interacted little with monsters up until recently. Standoffish and aloof as a general rule, he's been slow to establish personal connections with pretty much anyone, but now that his studies in magic have taken him to a point where he's beginning to feel the frustration and drain of failing to cycle his power, it's starting to become clear that there's only so far he can go on his own here. No amount of motivation or determination will change that, and he's making uneasy peace with the notion that he will have to branch out, explore, and inquire. Otherwise, his fate is atrophy or burnout, perhaps in a withering sense, perhaps in an explosive one.

He's not much for crowds, and his discomfort in this environment practically radiates off of him. A shabby thing still wearing the original robes provided by the Coven on that first day, it's not uncommon for people to simply not notice him and jostle him, and finally he's had enough, casting a forcefield that is some effort to maintain, but gets the job done. A bubble approximately the radius of an arm's length surrounds him, and confused bystanders bounce against the outside before they can get too close to him.

Until, of course, he passes by the fledgling chimera. Her antler actually punctures a forcefield that's still fragile, as L is still new to a Witch's studies, and a mild shockwave thrusts outward, enough to knock over anyone standing too close who happens to be on the smaller side.]

[A display of wreaths had caught Kaede's attention; she was looking up at them with quiet interest, picking out what flowers she could identify. She heard fabric rustling and footsteps nearby, but the steps kept moving and whoever it was wasn't trying to talk to her. That was just fine as far as Kaede was concerned. Now, were those really dandelions up there?

--One of her horns touched something. Something that thrummed through the branching antler like sound through a tuning fork and Kaede instantly started to recoil, back going ramrod straight and her clawed fingers splaying out and flexing in front of her. That was weird this was weird and she didn't like it, whatever it was.

Then something smacked into her from head to toe, shoving her off her feet and bowling her straight into the lamppost she'd been looking at. The young woman hit it, bounced off of it, sprawled out in an undignified heap on the cobblestones, and to cap off the entire absurd scenario the wreath toppled off of its fastenings and onto her face.]

[This was one of those ideas that seemed brilliant on paper, but in execution was more than a little bit unwieldy. L's seeing that in action now, shoulders tightening as he cringes inward in his now unprotected state. There's no time, and his magic is too frazzled to create another barrier, and... also, he should probably check in on the person he displaced so roughly and unceremoniously.]

Are you injured?

[The question is delivered with a dull and flat inflection, even as his body language does communicate concern in an uncomfortable and self-conscious way. Leaning forward attentively turns into an all-out crouch as he joins her on her current level.

It makes him less visible. Now people are hazardously close to tripping over him, as well as bumping into the shabby figure.]

I can't really heal you, if you are, but...

[He reaches a finger out, moving the wreath several inches to the left with magic until it falls off her face. Clearly, this has helped.]

[There were petals in her face, a few stems scratching her nose, and Kaede sputtered and sneezed at once. The wreath thankfully moved before she got any more entangled in it, and someone was talking to her. A good and a not so good thing.]

I'm fine.

[Her ribs kind of hurt from hitting the lamppost, and her back stung from hitting the ground. Something would probably bruise later.

It's fine. She was fine, see? She's sitting up, now, still with some stray flowers tangled in her antlers.]

[There's some dissonance at work, in the sense that the scene doesn't quite match the antlered woman's insistence. L's brow furrows, and he shifts his posture, tensing on his haunches as another knee bumps against his curled shoulder.]

I believe you...

[He's not really being honest.]

Can you stand up?

[If she stands up, maybe people will give her, and therefore him, a wider berth. Something he desperately wants at the moment.]

[There were a lot of people she distrusted in this place, and this man hadn't quite left that group in Kaede's mind. But sitting up would benefit herself as much as anyone else. Less dirt, for one. So, up the chimera went--pushing herself up with an arm first.

It was only after she'd sat up already that she spoke, shaking her antlered head like she could clear the disorientation and stray flower petals away from it.]

Guess so.

[Tossing her antlers like that had gotten some attention, at least--the next person who was about to mindlessly blunder into them cursed and recoiled backwards.]

[It's certainly less inconvenient that she doesn't appear to be injured. L tends to be a fairly deliberate person in most matters, and being directly responsible for serious damage visited upon another person is particularly complicated and fraught whether or not he meant to do it.

At least the wreath didn't fall from some vending cart, and no one has to pay for it. L's somewhat strapped for cash, having yet to pin down a job or even decent living arrangements. Spending most of his time at the Coven studying is giving him a leg up on coursework, but not a lot of other things required to survive in Geardagas. Balance is something he's never inherently excelled at.

He takes a step back to give her antlers a little more space as she sits up, resisting the urge to create another forcefield. They don't want a repeat situation, even if the strangers clipping a touch closer to him are making his skin crawl.]

You're not sure? We could go to the Coven if you think you're injured.

[Because when he says he's bad at healing spells, he means that they probably cause more damage than ones that have actual offensive intent.]

[Daylight hurts his eyes now. It's only when the sun's mostly set that he can go outside without the stupid glasses on, when he can shed head-to-toe covering and wear the types of clothes he's accustomed to, or as close as he can get here anyway. The restriction makes him restless, irritable, and most of all reckless.]

[The rules here are different from the ones at home, but he wants to break them just as much, just as peevishly.]

Oh. Can't you pick locks?

[This archly, from behind Kaede as she paces; his too-sharp teeth flash briefly as he pulls a bobby pin from the strange architecture of his hair.]

[Kaede started at the sound of a voice, but she recognized who it belonged to in the time it took to snap her head around. Her gaze flicked to the glint of something in his hand--a pin.]

Not anymore.

[She could pick locks with her brain once.

If no one wanted to use the door again afterwards, anyway.

Who needs doorknobs?]

[Not anymore. Well, that's interesting. There's something to be dug into there, at some point — but he's feeling less nosy and more mischievous tonight, quite possibly to Kaede's benefit, so he lets it go.]

Do you want to learn?

[He offers her the pin, pulling another from his hair with his other hand as he does. No skin off his nose regardless. But he likes her. He thinks so, anyway. He likes her enough to be curious.]

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

Idle Notes in the Air [OTA, with some closed prompts]

Closed to Minako

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II-A. Fetch

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I-A

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