[open] wow i hate thinking up titles so i'm not going to

[suddenlybees]

i. 9/28, castle/shrine
[ Man, he knew that portal was no good— he should've just drawn it himself instead of relying on his team members, and now he's got to go find them, wherever the hell they ended up. Kano had come to inside some battered old castle, but with nobody else around, he takes his time looking around, frowning when he realizes that being in this place somehow nullifies his powers; he isn't surprised, but it's still annoying, him having to roll down his sleeves to hide the cuts and bruises on his arms and hands, and flip the hood over his head because he is also one of those unreasonable people who wears hoodies when it's still hot out. There's a bearded dragon hanging around behind his neck, tail flopped over one shoulder and head poking out the other side.

The blue door to the Velvet Room is the main point of interest here, but he simply makes a note of it and moves along, steps slow and silent, head turning and eyes darting around at the slightest sound. Like this, he eventually makes his way to the shrine, climbing the steps two at a time.

Huh.

He is absolutely that person who sees a box full of shiny stones and tries to fish one out. He's going to stuff these into his infinite pockets if he can get away with it. This should be alright, right? In return, he pulls a couple of ketchup packets out of his pockets and drops it into the box. ]

ii. 9/28, town
[ He really does stand out in town, Kano realizes, seeing all the townspeople and being a little unnerved by the lack of diversity compared to his school back in France, or even Canada. But the nice thing is that they don't even give him a second glance as he walks through town with a baseball cap on with as much hair as he can stuffed under it, hood flipped up to cover the hat and provide more shadow to hide his face, and wearing sunglasses over bright red eyes he can't otherwise hide.

Still, having people's eyes on him is never a comfortable feeling no matter how brief, so he eventually takes refuge on top of one of the buildings in the shopping district, perched at the edge of the gently sloped roof as he surveys the street below and stares pointedly at the signs on the street and storefronts without actually reading them. Just staring. His phone is out, and every few seconds he idly taps the screen, looking around for people who look at least a little out of place like he is. ]

Hey! Hey, pssstt!

[ He waves you closer to the building from where he sits on the roof, legs crossed at the ankles and lightly swinging. The bearded dragon sitting in his lap lifts its head and blinks blearily down at you. Come here. ]

There's a desk mint in it for you if you help me out~ How 'bout it?

iii. 9/29-10/2; lockdown
[ He hasn't slept in days. Not since he got here, and especially not at night when those things come out and Kano's training is to avoid them, watching and learning as much as he can before taking action. The monsters— the Outland Mists— crawl their way inside some of the houses, but they never get up to the rooftops where Kano sits, so it's been a good place to keep watch and see what's going on.

From what he can tell, the Mists appear for one hour a night, when the world is overcome by the Blight and turns dark. The Mists originate from the lake, but there are Tamers who also go into the lake to supposedly eradicate the Mists. If that's the case, they're not doing a very good job, because night after night, the numbers don't decrease in the slightest.

But by watching, he's learned that the little charms the Tamers have contain runes that call their Familiars to them, and it really is a stroke of luck that Kano had founds one abandoned in that castle back there. He's not a Tamer, but he tried it out, holding the charm and focusing on it, but no being suddenly comes out to greet him. Instead of the light that emanates when people summon their Personas, the space around Kano becomes darker, shrouding him in shadow and the faintest hissing noise. Disappointing, but not surprising. Like that, he strolls off towards the lake to intercept the next person about to take the plunge, footsteps light and hard to catch, at odds with his voice, loud and cheery. ]

Heeeeeyy! Wait up, wait up~

[ It's a voice that immediately attracts the attention of every Shadow in the area, and it's a voice that speaks in English instead of Japanese because he assumes this is what most Tamers would speak. ]

I'm looking for the Herald! Do you know? Is it down there?

Comments

iii. 9/29

[overstrain]

[ Terry ditched his glasses at home, since going to the Dungeon would probably be bad with them, but it's not like he's blind. It's fine. Things are just a little blurry. No big deal. He can still see well enough.

So when Kano calls out in a loud voice that attracts all those Shadows in the vicinity, Terry isn't sure which one to comment on first--his seemingly lack of awareness or the fact that he spoke in English. Either way, he gets out Vassago and he's working on trampling those Shadows as Terry goes to approach Kano, even if he's... covered in the shadows... what the heck is this. There's so much he wants to say. ]

< There's nothing like that here. >

[ Of course he'll speak English right back at him, but ??? ]

[suddenlybees]

Huh, really? That's kinda disappointing!

[ He doesn't lower his voice at all, but neither does he react to seeing Vassago come out and lay waste on the Mists, simply stuffing his hands into his pocket and bouncing on the balls of his feet a little. ]

In that case, what are you hunting?

[overstrain]

< Not hunting anything in particular... >

[ Since he's not picky about the loot drops, it passes the truth barrier.

Well, it's fine. This is fine. If Kano's loud voice draws all the attention of Shadows, he won't have to go into the lake this time and he can just kill stuff from where he stands. Good enough for him.

He kicks a Shadow back into the lake though. Begone, you wispy thing. ]

< This isn't really for hunting. Are you new to the whole thing? Haven't seen you around. >

[suddenlybees]

Hm, hm~

[ What can he say? He's been at it for four years now, but he's still a student at the end of all things, still being made to sit through technical classes and learning about the Mists instead of being out there and fighting them off. Being sent out into the Outlands like this is a rare occasion, so the amount of experience Kano has with fighting anything can be counted on one hand. ]

Yep, that's right! It's one of my first missions, so it'd be great if you could lend me a hand~ What sorta tips do you have for me? Come on, come on, spill all your secrets~

[overstrain]

[ Terry's starting to think Kano has an interesting choice of words there. Hunting? Missions? He guesses he probably had a mission from the Attendants or something, but "missions" sound so serious.

...

Well, it's not his place to be picky about wording. ]

< What's your mission then? I need to know that first, don't I? >

[suddenlybees]

[ Everything is serious in Hirajiro, Terry, maybe not taking things seriously is why y'all are dying ]

Nope! No can do~ It's top secret classified information~!!

[ That Terry can just pull out of his head, but Kano doesn't know that. ]

Can't give you any details, but I'm looking for an Outlands creature. If you're not hunting it, that means I'm not sniping your kill from you, right? No competition here! We're on the same side!

[overstrain]

[ ... ... ...

Maybe Kano's a little like Wyatt. Maybe he's LARPing to cope with the new situation? For some reason, he gives off a totally different vibe than when Wyatt did it. Maybe he's just that much into it? Something about immersion. ]

< I guess not...? What does the creature look like? You can find bird-like monsters in the school at midnight and you can find stuff like eels, wolves, slippers with eyes, bipedal deer, bears, horses, and an abomination in the lake. >

[suddenlybees]

[ God, Kano would love Wyatt so much. ]

He~h, so it's like a little zoo down there, huh?

[ Kano crouches down, staring into the lake but positioning himself so that he can see Terry's reflection at all times on the eerily still surface, shifting if Terry ever moves out of his view so he can always keep an eye on him. Anyways. Kano almost got drowned by a kelpie once, so he's not too keen to dive head into this lake. ]

It's something big and scary and evil!! I'm looking for something like that~

[ Give it your best shot, Terry. What's the biggest, scariest, evilest thing out here? That's what Kano's interested in. He goes straight for the boss, no messing around with these small fry out here. ]

[overstrain]

[ He won't fight with the technicalities, but, it feels wrong to send a newbie straight to an Eldritch. Not to mention all the stuff Kano would have to go through to even get to the fourth floor in the first place. ]

You need to get in the lake for that.

[suddenlybees]

Why? Can't flush it out some other way? Boo.

[ You don't go fishing by diving into a lake, you use a fishing pole and bait. And he would rather his body not be used for bait, that sounds painful. ]

[overstrain]

[ I'm giving up on the brackets. Just assume Terry continues to speak in English unless stated otherwise.... ]

Well, the area under the lake is divided into separate floors, so you'd need to swim through the lake portion first to get to the second floor. Then it's like a tundra there. Then you need to fight through a bunch of monsters to get to the next one, beat a landslide, fulfill some weird bear's request, and then you'll finally get to where you're supposed to be. It's a lot of work.

[suddenlybees]

[ Wh... at? Sounds like the sort of bs Kano would say, to be honest, but it takes a lot not to laugh, so he doesn't bother and just laughs. ]

Wow, all that, huh? Sure sounds like a pain getting through all that! Have you been all the way down there before? You look su~per strong, so I bet you and your Familiar can handle it!!

[ So he doesn't have to!! He doesn't want to put in all that effort, god. ]

[overstrain]

Yeah. I already killed one several times.

[ Terry's just brushing off Kano's weird behavior for his "coping mechanisms", so he's not bothered by it.

Also he just hates the Eldritch that much... ]

I can take you there if you're afraid of swimming in the lake. I'll make it quick.

[suddenlybees]

[ Terry's a bro, thanks. Kano hums at the back of his throat, though, not looking too eager or pressured to go underwater, but neither confirming or denying being afraid of swimming either. ]

Huh... You killed the same one several times? Or the same sorts of creatures several times?

[overstrain]

Only one appears on that particular floor at a time, and I can't find another one until the next day.

[ Kinda like how the Shadows never seem to cease no matter how many days pass... ]

So. You wanna go or not?

[suddenlybees]

Hmmmmmmmm...

[ He lets the hum draw out, despite already having his answer. ]

Nope! If it's one that comes back, it's not what I'm looking for. Or maybe you're not doing a good job of killing it?

1/2

[overstrain]

No, I thoroughly kill it for the day so that it doesn't leave anything behind. They just respawn eventually, I guess.

[overstrain]

Anyway, then what you're looking for probably isn't in this place. Unless you wanted to wander the forests and mountains? There's nothing worth over there. Just normal animals.

[ Maybe his trip is finally useful so that he can tell this information to someone. ]

[suddenlybees]

[ Mm, yeah, respawning basically means he's not killing it properly, but okay. ]

Nah, I've been watching for a bit, and it has to be this place. I mean, look at all the Blighted Mists out here!

[ He gestures at one Vassago's probably ripping its head off. The darkness around Kano sways the same direction before moving back, like a flame in a breeze returning to the wick. ]

Normal animals are just no good~ But maybe other people in your team know what I'm talking about? Can't go home until we find the thing, so I'd like to make it quick~

[overstrain]

What team?

[ Terrence "i'm a solo player unless someone worries about me" Nowell stares at Kano for a bit. ]

Those things are Shadows. Though I guess they do kinda look misty.

[suddenlybees]

[ Oh, a solo Tamer. Kano can't say for sure whether that's rare or not, but the only reason he works in groups is because they're all school missions. Supervised and everything, boring. ]

Different terms for the same thing~ But you're not with a team, huh? You sure got your work cut out for you, handling all the Mists by yourself! There's other who come and go, but working by yourself is best, huh? Nobody to get in your way, no need to hold back~

[overstrain]

[ Well, he's right. Maybe it's another thing to note is that he doesn't have to think about anything when he goes to kill all those Shadows by himself without worrying about hurting anyone else in the process. Just some cold, mindless killing.

...

It looks like Vassago's way of using Life Drain had upgraded, because he's sure devouring the Shadows instead of just biting them like a vampire like he did before. Delicious Shadows. :9

It only reminds Terry that he really wants to kill something right now-- ]

Aren't you working by yourself too? Since you're alone.

[suddenlybees]

[ lmfao control your bloodlust, Terry. ]

Nope, no way! I got a real good team, you know? They're all such good kids~ They're around somewhere!! Probably!

[ Anyways, yeah, he's working by himself and he's alone. But he's technically on a team? Yeah. ]

[overstrain]

[ ...

Terry looks at him, not sure how to say this, but he'll say it anyway after a moment of thought. ]

You got ditched, huh...?

[suddenlybees]

Wow! How blunt!!

[ It was his thoughts too, but hearing somebody confirm it... ]

But oh well, that's good for me, isn't it? Like I said, they can all take care of themselves, so all I gotta do it wait around and hope they come back. Lots of free time for myself~