(open + some closed prompts)

[recklessbelief]

Who: Akko Kagari + you! (+ Ursula; + Diana)
When: On Fleek whenever this month; Litha...during Litha, duh
Where: Farm for On Fleek and around for Litha
What: Akko works on some Puca magic and gets into the festival
Warnings: None! Will update if needed.


of all sheeps and sizes (on fleece)

(open)

[The sheep that wasn't aggressing, that seemed the easiest to frighten for this fact ends up actually being the easiest to scare. The trouble is that rather than stiffening and flopping to the ground much like nearby sheep do, this particular sheep yells. She yells in that sort of shriek one would associate more with a teenage girl than a sheep, which is really why the nearby livestock manage to faint than anything else. The black sheep in question leaps high into the air and with a puff of smoke, down comes a Puca that lands squarely on her bottom.]

[Akko leans back as she tries to catch her breath, ignoring how much it smarts landing on the ground like that. Eventually, she lifts her head and frowns a little.]

Warn me before you go and do something like that!

(closed - ursula)

[In truth, Akko is a little hesitant about wrangling with sheep with teeth. Well, not so much teeth because she's pretty sure sheep have teeth, but these are really sharp teeth. And these sheep seem real sick of being spooked year after year to get their wool shorn judging from the glances spared in their direction. Neither Chariot nor Akko are close to the herd yet, but they already seem ready take a bite out of them.]

[But despite the livestock's ill-temper, when she overheard some Witches at the Coven lamenting the potential fate of these guys, Akko knew that something needed to be done. They can mean mug Akko and Chariot all they want! It's not gonna deter her, no sir! Akko stands with her back straight (definitely not stiff with a little apprehension), chin raised, and sleeves rolled up ready to tussle with some sheep.]

[Or as ready as she's ever going to be. Her ear twitches a little. Maybe the Puca instincts will help and keep her from getting bitten. Would she still be able to run as fast if she was transformed? No, don't think about that!]

I should probably do it over here, right? [She looks up at Chariot.] I don't think they'll let me get close.

hedge your bets (litha)

(open)

[Akko sits on a bench with a fairly large pile of flowers beside her, her tongue slightly stuck out as she weaves the stems of different flowers together. The pile is in fact so large, it looks like she raided someone's garden to gather them all. Certianly far more flowers than she'll ever need, right?]

[Or. Well. She attempts to weave them together. As it turns out, making flower crowns is something that happens to be a little easier said than done, which wasn't something she was entirely anticipating. Her reasoning, regardless of how accurate or inaccurate it might be, is that little kids make these all the time. So, she should be able to figure them out. It'll just take a little trial and error.]

[...]

[And maybe a gigantic stack of flowers.]

[Regardless, she is kind enough to offer her duds. There's a growing pile of flower crowns that didn't come out quite right that she doesn't feel she can actually give to anyone. So, when someone walks by, she doesn't look up from what she's doing but offers,]

You can help yourself if you like any of them! I won't charge you anything for them and you can totally take credit for making them.

[...Why you would want to is anybody's guess.]

(closed - diana)

Oh no, that wall! [Akko points accusatorily for emphasis to the wall directly in front of them.] Was not there before! This place is definitely changing while we're in here, this is just proves it!

[It doesn't really...prove much of anything. While it's true that the pair of them have likely been going in very long, convoluted circles since they entered the maze, it's just as likely that Akko is fishing for any and all excuses as to how or why they haven't been able to find the exit. That being said, it also isn't exactly above the people in charge of this particular hedge maze to throw something like that. Before they entered, there was talk of how the hedges were often enchanted to create extra challenge or prevent cheating.]

[But there's no guarantee that's what's happening here and Akko isn't just completely and utterly lost.]

[She turns to Diana, hands on her hips.]

You got any ideas because I'm fresh out.

Comments

[beariot]

[ Chariot in all her life had never been intimidated by sheep. Getting a chance to pet one was one of the first real simple joys she had when she moved to England back when she first enrolled in Luna Nova.

There's a first time for everything, one supposes.

When she'd agreed to help train Akko's transformation magic, to become something that would successfully startle the sheep into obedience, she hadn't realized the sheep themselves would be well more startling. She really ought to stop underestimating what Aefenglom could throw at her. ]

W-well... Honestly, I think if they see you transform, they'll realize it's a trick, so... maybe somewhere out of sight is best.

[ Away from the sharp sheep. ]

[recklessbelief]

[Akko normally would question if the sheep were really that smart to put that much together, but... She looks over at the aforementioned sheep and concludes if they can shoot Chariot and Akko those kinds of looks, they'd probably take offense at any sort of assumptions they couldn't figure it out.]

That's a good idea, [she agrees with a slow nod. One of the sheep raises its head and Akko swears if it had the ability to run a finger over its throat and point at her, it would.] Um... maybe on the other side of, uh, the barn...

[She grabs onto Chariot's sleeve. It's not like she'd throw her beloved professor in sacrifice to the sheep, but... Listen, she has really strong legs built for running. She'd definitely think to do that first.]

[beariot]

[ Hopefully there wouldn't need to be any running... At least not that sort of running. With her cane, running wasn't exactly the easiest thing for her any longer.

Once they were out of the eyeline of the sheep, Chariot pulled a book from her purse, cracking it open to a marked page and setting it down to where both she and Akko could read it. ]

Okay, according to this, the magic for the transformation can be augmented and enhanced through the use of a broad leaf placed upon the head...

[recklessbelief]

[Akko looks down at the book, not so much reading it as scanning the pages and letting whatever jumps out at her jump out at her. Which is... Well, this is where not being the best student kinda bites Akko in the butt a little. It's hard to know what to scan for.]

[But that's part of why Chariot is here! She can do that stuff for Akko and help translate the book to application.]

[One of her ears unconsciously swivels toward some distant sound as she looks up at Chariot.]

Like a tanuki's magical leaf? Or can it just be any old leaf?

[beariot]

The leaf needs to hold a mana charge of some kind within it, yes. I can provide that much, but you also need to be able to focus on the image you're creating, too.

So we're going to have to work together on this. [ Chariot fishes from her satchel the required leaf, already ready to put some of her own cosmic-fueled magic into it, but... ]

Do you have a form in mind, already?

[recklessbelief]

[A form in mind? Akko blinks. Oh!]

Weeeeell, I was thinkin' it should probably be an animal of some kind! If it's too out there, they probably won't even let me get close enough to spook them, right?

[So, Akko has put more into this than zero thought at all, but there could probably stand to be a little more thought than that before she tries this.]

[beariot]

[ Well, that was to be expected. And thankfully, Chariot anticipated it. ]

Let's try a form you're familiar with, then. How about a giant hippo?

[ Because, legit, cute as Akko's hippo form was back home, hippos were terrifying. ]

[murowa]

[Whereas Akko insisted she knew where she was going the whole time, Diana quite frankly could tell that they had been making absolutely zero progress from the moment they first began. But honestly? she wasn't even mad.

A little annoyed, maybe.

But it was pretty much their whole dynamic, at this point.]

We could try marking where we've already been, but I have to think they've already prepared for that.

[No good, there. But then she got another idea.]

If they're using magic to constantly throw us off, why don't we try to dispel that magic?

[recklessbelief]

[Akko manages to settle a little bit upon Diana suggesting dispelling the magic. Or more accurately, her energy and offense toward the hedge maze is paused for just a moment to take it in and entertain the possibility. Her cheeks turn a light shade of pink as Diana states the obvious next step. Had she managed to not get so worked up, Akko would have thought of that, honest!]

[She clears her throat.]

I was just testing to see. If it was gonna be a bad idea, I didn't want to be the one to say it first.

[...Duh.]

[murowa]

[In all honesty, her behavior is so... predictable that Diana hardly misses a beat. Of course, Akko.

Of course.]

Ah, and here I would've thought you'd jump at the opportunity to challenge authority.

[That, too, was her thing, right?]

[recklessbelief]

[Akko's ears fold and move back to point behind her. Just in case the way her expression pinches into a frown wasn't enough to express her annoyance.]

I don't just break all the rules all the time for the sake of it, Diana!

[She's not Amanda, jeez!]

[murowa]

And yet you still just admitted to breaking all the rules, all the time.

[A sigh. What are we going to do about you, Akko.]

Honestly...

It's a miracle that you're still standing.

[recklessbelief]

Yeah, well...

[...]

[...]

[We're waiting, Akko??]

Well! You just had the same idea as me, so what now?

[Wow, she sure showed Diana what for.]

hedge your bets

[long_live_the_queen]

[The slightly unsteady footsteps didn't resume, and long feathers hissed against each other as a tail swished slowly one way and then another.

The voice that rumbled down at Akko was a bit sluggish, but at its usual pitch this time for Kaede.

The Chimera looked down at the Puca not with hostility or annoyance (those weren't flowers from Maria's garden, her hyenas would have had a fit loud enough for her to hear at someone strange being on the grounds), just an idle, placid lilt to her thoughts. The wine buzzing in her veins hadn't completely robbed her wits, just blunted the sharp edges of the worst of her prickle. The presence and noise of people nearby didn't bother her terribly much, even if it was someone she was on...complicated, footing with.

Kaede's tail swished back the other way, and she finally came to a decision of sorts.]

...any honeysuckle ones in there?

[She could smell something like that somewhere in the pile; her own head was unadorned now, though a few errant petals in her hair told of flower crowns past, either fallen off or snagged on something.]

[recklessbelief]

[Akko finally looks up at the sound of Kaede's voice. She's not exactly panic-stricken to see or hear Kaede around her, but she is immediately wary. It's not as though they have the best record for getting along, and there always seems to be some sort of bite to Kaede whether she means for it to be there or not.]

[Just... maybe not right now? For some reason?]

[After staring up at Kaede for a moment or two, Akko looks over at her pile.]

I think so... [Setting her current project down in her lap, Akko moves the flower crowns around a bit until she finds one that has what she believes is the aforementioned flower. It looks like it anyway. She points to the flowers in the crown that match.] I think these ones are honeysuckle. Or at least this world's equivalent.

[long_live_the_queen]

[The Chimera meets that look with a steady, unblinking stare of her own--broken only when some flower petals fell and brushed her ear. They flicked, she shook her head, and finally blinked.

When Akko held up the flowers she'd asked for, the Monster's pupils dilated a little. And she immediately started reaching for that crown, claws and all.]

I like honeysuckle. Like the pink ones.

[recklessbelief]

[Akko's ears pin themselves backward as she slouches a little lower in her seat, leaning away from Kaede as she reaches for and takes the crown. The rational part of her brain knows that Kaede's just reaching for the crown to take it, but there's something instinctive in Akko that can't help but react like a prey creature seeing the reaction of her pupils and those claws moving toward her at the same time.]

Um. Kaede...? [Akko forces herself to sit up a little better, putting a hand underneath herself on a free spot on the bench to leverage herself into improved posture. Slowly, she raises her ears again.] Are you okay? You don't seem...right.

[long_live_the_queen]

[Flower crown: obtained! And--a flicker of motion caught her eye, and she glanced up at the top of Akko's head where she saw the ears. The other Monster drew her hand and the crown back, brows creasing a little. What was the problem?]

Huh? [A blink, as her eyes returned somewhat to normal.] Oh. 'M drunk.

[Two glasses of sweet wine and the festival's atmosphere drunk, but that still counted as far as Kaede was concerned. She wasn't stumbling about, but she had stopped caring that other people existed in her space.

The Chimera scuffed a foot in the dust as she threaded the crown clumsily over an antler, giving up on the other one. She settled it between them, and for the moment it seemed secure--but it started to slide forward the moment she nodded to herself.]

There room on the bench?

[recklessbelief]

[Well, that would explain it. Akko doesn't really know what to do when someone's drunk let alone someone like Kaede. But when she asked for a place to sit, what else could she do but make some room for Kaede? Leaning over her pile, Akko pulls it over to take up less room, leaving Kaede one end to sit herself down.]

There you go... Do you want help with the...crown?

[Akko asks the question, pointing to the top of her own head.]

flower crowns!!!

[cardtrick]

[ That's a lot of flowers. And she thinks she pile is growing. ]

Um... [ They smell good, and they don't really look terrible, and isn't flower crown making all about the heart in it anyway? ] Alright, thank you!

[ It's a gift!

And... is that a dandelion? It looks... tasty.

— nOM. ]

[recklessbelief]

No problem.

[Akko smiles down at the crown she's making at the moment upon hearing the thanks. And that should be that.]

[But that is not that.]

[That is followed quite shortly by the snap of a stem.]

[Akko looks up from the crown she's currently weaving and blinks up at Trucy.]

Um. Did you just...?

[cardtrick]

Mmph?

[ Yeah, she still has a mouthful of flowers as she looks up, wide-eyed and puffy cheeked, petals dropping from her lips.

... Oops. ]

[recklessbelief]

[Akko's ears move straight up as she tries to figure out what to say, her mouth working a little with no discernible sound escaping her.]

You're not supposed to eat it?

[Why does she sound so uncertain? Akko doesn't know because she knows you're not supposed to eat a flower crown. You're supposed to wear it. That's the whole point of a crown! It goes on someone's head!]

[cardtrick]

[ But it looks so yummy! ... Ugh, these cravings are getting really, really weird now. ]

I— mmpf [ Nom nom nom. Okay. Let a girl swallow. ] It was pretty tasty, though! [ As a budding puca, she'd pay for a flower salad with this combination. ]

[recklessbelief]

[Akko laughs a little.]

I mean, as long as you enjoyed it, I guess that's okay.

[Looking down at the flower crown in her hands that she's been working on for the past few minutes, she's now wondering if she'll start getting like that. She already likes gnawing on wood a lot more lately...]

[Akko shakes her head a little and looks back up at Trucy.]

If there are other ones you want, you can have 'em.