bewilding | 02 º text / action ; violet city

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02 º text / action ; violet city

[ suddenly, on your pokégear screen... there is just one question of vital importance: ]

Hello. I hope you don't mind answering a bit of a question for me.

What do you think of maid outfits? If it helps, you can give me a ranking from 1-10. One being the worst, of course.

[ those looking for judith might find her at the pokécenter, sitting close to the window and sipping on a hot drink. there's a wailmer rolling around at her heels. she's petting it occasionally, flipping through an article of... outfits. feel free to talk to her. ]

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[ unfortunately, judith isn't quite so advanced that she can catch up to SAMURAI SPIRIT. of course, she is trying, but she is just a smidgen behind. ]

Impressive-- [ she manages to say while jumping, while she's an inch away from being side-by-side with ieyasu. ]

[... Judith is very good at making Ieyasu second-guess himself and he's sadly learning that the hard way. He could keep his lead and win and be able to claim that he was able to best Judith in a roof-hopping race, but he doesn't seem to see much point in it now that he really thinks about it.

So he hesitates for a fraction of a second in his next step, letting her catch up that inch and settling for a neck in neck race-

or in his head, running alongside her with a laugh.]

Experience!

That helps.

[ ah, ieyasu, that small moment of hesitation will cost you the race. judith is one to seize opportunities, and she'll take it by maybe nudging the slightest millimetre extra when she's catching up that inch... until she sprints forward suddenly!

experience this, you samurai. o9 ]

Ah--

[... suppose this is what his sentimentality gets him. Her sudden burst of speed leaves him surprised for a moment before he laughs and follows after and though he starts catching up slowly but surely, that doesn't do much for a race.

So even as they eventually come to arrive by sprout tower, Judith has firmly claimed the lead.]

I suppose I was asking for that.

[ and she'll stop with that, jumping off the final rooftop and unto the floor. the impact is a little harder than she's used to, but it's still nothing she can't handle. she's brushing some imaginary dust off her clothes before turning to look at him. ]

Sorry. We can call it a tie, this time. [ she did pull a trick, after all, but it was just a friendly race. even if her competitive nature said otherwise. ] Next time, no handicaps. [ which is her way of saying she'd like you to take her seriously, ieyasu. ]

[He follows after and lands similarly, wondering why it is exactly that this world has weakened him so. He's slightly irritated for just a moment before she captures his attention again.

In the end, he grins.]

Ah, well- it wasn't really meant to be a handicap... I'm sorry if you took it that way! But for certain, we'll race for real next time.

[a sheepish rub of the back of his neck. Is it really so odd that he just likes the idea of 'running alongside each other in a friendly way' more than a race?]

[ she chuckles. ]

I'm just teasing. [ and then a nod. ] Next time. Or we can just run. [ hopefully they won't fall off, but she doesn't think that was a problem. with a final reassuring smile to him, she looks up at the big, scary sprout tower. now... ]

Hm. Should we go inside? Or . . . [ should they try climbing it from the outside. ]

[... excellent question. He tilts his head.]

Well, we've already gone through with my suggestion! It's your choice now, Judith.

It is a bit tall . . . [ could they even make that far, she wonders. looking up at it sure isn't making it shrink. ] We could always try.

There's certainly no harm in trying!

[guess who still hasn't really accepted the fact that he's not half as powerful as he used to be]

My thoughts exactly. [ this one's kind of being testing limits too. well, this won't end badly at all. she walks around the tower for a bit before walking to a tree near one of the available ledges.

a long, long climb was ahead of them. ]

Will this work? [ a gesture towards the tree. ]

[he looks up to it and nods!]

I certainly don't see why it wouldn't. Ladies first, as they say!

I suppose I did let you go first last time. [ so she'll be going up that tree now, and onto the first ledge of the sprout tower with a little bit more difficulty. yep, this is more awkward than climbing simple rooftops.

her heels aren't very good on the older shingles, but she manages to catch some sort of footing before glancing down at ieyasu. this might be a bad idea.

aw, hell, bad ideas are the best ideas. ]

[all geniuses are slightly insane, as they say. climbing sprout tower from the outside sounds insane enough.

He's a bit worried admittedly and half the reason he'd rather she go first is that he's able to catch her in case of a misstep, but she when she seems to catch her balance, he breathes a sigh of relief.

It takes him a moment to think about it... but then he realizes thinking doesn't do much in this situation and instead he just acts. Climbing the tree is simple, catching that first ledge is a bit harder... but he manages it and swings up.]

... oddly enough, this is actually one of the few things in this town that reminds me of home.

[ and of course he doesn't disappoint her. she walks carefully on the ledge to find a way to get to the second one, tossing an interested glance in ieyasu's direction. ]

Does your world have buildings like this one? [ it isn't like anything she's seen before in terms of design. ]

[he follows after shortly, back to his little quiet goal of making sure that Judith doesn't fall.

but at the question he smiles]

Yes! Similar in structure and the way it was built. It's a lot more familiar than those strange floors and lighted ceilings in town.

Your home sounds very beautiful. [ truth be told, judith did like the design of the sprout tower more than the design of the building in town. higher up, less... modern-looking. everything had a tendency to get less and less visually appealing as they got more advanced.

oh, look, there is a little bit of footing they could use to get to the next ledge... time to try that out. ]

Well... when it's not being affected by war?

It's beauty is unrivaled, if I may say so.

[a bit of a chuckle, coupled with a goofy grin. He loves his home and everything and everyone in it.

But as that footing becomes clear... well, he still waits for Judith to have the first try at it. He's set to catch her if need be.]

I wouldn't mind seeing it someday.

[ oh, war. always ruining things. she says this without facing him, and right after opts to try out that footing. she leaps up and catches her foot there, using it as a bit of a midpoint to try to get to the next ledge.

. . . this is harder than it should be. ]

I'd love to show it to you!

[and as she does that, he blinks. and tentatively calling up-]

Are you alright, Judith?

[ she pauses mid-reach to look down towards him and nod. with a big, big push she is going to leap up towards the next ledge.

this somehow works! except she's only managed to grab onto its edge and hasn't actually climbed up yet, but she's not exactly panicking. ]

[... well guess who is?

Though admittedly he's not saying anything for the moment, not seeking to break her concentration but best get up there soon Judith or else he's going to successfully have a heart attack from concern alone.]

[ still climb, climb, climbing, and somehow she finally pulls herself up onto the ledge. look, totally okay! ]

This one's a little more difficult.

[he breathes a major sigh of relief either way]

It would seem so...! But are you alright, Judith?

[and he looks genuinely concerned. His expression just reads 'no scrapes, no cuts? not tired?']

I hope you won't be asking that every ledge we go up. [ not that she doesn't mind it, but she'll need to condition him to worry less, punch more. ] But I'm okay.