LUPINQUEST 2: REVELATIONS

[heartsteals]

WHO: Lupin and YOU?
WHAT: Stealing gems, stealing unicorn hair, the works.
WHERE: Places where you can steal gems and unicorn hair (and the edge of the woods)
WHEN: July (July 8 for the open prompt)
NOTES: Pre-planned quest prompts will be going in the toplevels, but there is also an open prompt in the body of this post! If you want to do a quest with Lupin, shoot me a PM.



[ Lupin's decided he's recovered enough from being shot three times to get back out there, although his friends may disagree - and that means it's time for him to start doing the jobs Chroma's lined up for him. One of them, of course, is more suited to him than the others. The others, though - or one of the others - are apparently going to be a little more difficult. He'd broken his own rule and gone out into the forest (while injured, no less!) to do a little bit of preliminary investigation, as any good thief should, and now he's come back.

He looks a little disgruntled, in fact. He's at the edge of town, sitting on a bit of rubble and thinking out loud. ]

... Why can't I get anywhere near those unicorns?

[ stealing a hair from a horse should be easy for a thief like him!! ]

Comments

lupin and dex go to unicornland

[heartsteals]

[ His first thought: maybe unicorns don't like him because he isn't "pure" enough. In various senses of the word. Lupin doesn't think he's really much of a bad guy, but he certainly likes to indulge in various vices, some of which unicorns are more traditionally opposed to than others. In that case, he needs to find someone "pure" to partner with. Right?

Dextera comes to mind pretty quickly, probably because Lupin has never seen him eating raw meat off the ground. ]

They're supposed to be friendly, so between the two of us, this should be over in a few minutes.

[ since he scouted out where the unicorns lived beforehand, he's now leading his newly-acquired partner to their location through the woods. ]

[passio]

[ dextera doesn’t know anything about unicorns, really. they’re mentioned in the bible a few times, but most scholars accept that it’s probably a reference to a rhino rather than the fantastical creature of fairy tales… and that’s still not much to go on.

lupin has picked him up for this quest, but he doesn’t know how much help that’s going to be. ]

Have you ever seen a unicorn?

[ what are they even looking for? ]

[heartsteals]

Well, I have now. I was out here earlier on my own to scout ahead. They're a little shy, but they're just as beautiful as the legends say.

[ and also, very hard to catch. Lupin pauses, glancing over at Dextera thoughtfully. Actually, he might not know what a unicorn is, considering what Lupin knows about the place he comes from. ]

They're silver horses with a big horn on their foreheads.

[passio]

[ silver horse… big horn… he can imagine it, he thinks. maybe when he was young, stories were read to him of unicorns and fairies and the things that make up childhood dreams, or maybe he’s just grasping at something he wants to pretend was there.

either way! this will be his first time. ]

Excited. [ look at his pure smile. you definitely absolutely made the right choice, lupin. ]

[heartsteals]

[ he totally did, look at him! Dextera is pretty cute - is he allowed to say a fellow adult man is cute? There's just no other word for it. He smiles back. It reminds him, at least a little bit, that he shouldn't take these things for granted. Unicorns didn't exist back home; this is a magical opportunity he'd never have otherwise. ]

Yeah! We're almost there. You'll get to see one up close.

[ they are, in fact, almost there; a minute or two passes, and they come upon a little clearing in the woods where the trees have thinned out. There's a tiny stream passing through, and the leaf litter is dotted with patches of grass here and there, encouraged to grow thanks to the increased sunlight filtering down. And standing a fairly good distance away from the two of them are not one, but two unicorns, looking similar to how Lupin described them, with dainty hooves and long, lion-like tails. ]

[passio]

[ they are, indeed, beautiful and magical, especially with the sunlight filtering down on them. it looks like a picture from one of the storybooks in the library, and dextera is immediately overwhelmed with the desire to pet one.

they just need to pluck a hair, right? hopefully it doesn’t hurt. ]

I can go first.

[ is he polite or enthusiastic? both! ]

[heartsteals]

[ it really does. Even Lupin is struck silent in awe for a moment or two, despite having seen them earlier.

But he nods at Dextera when he speaks, making a rather apologetic expression. ]

They don't like me much, so I think that's a good idea.

lupin and maya go to unicornland but have a better time

[heartsteals]

[ well, that didn't work

option 2: subdue unicorns by force. Maya can summon a Persona that can freeze one or put one to sleep - either works, right? Lupin doesn't want to kill them, of course - he just needs them to stop moving long enough for him to nick a strand of hair.

So, once again, he's walking through the woods, this time more tiredly - but also with even more determination. Arsène Lupin does not fail, dammit. ]

We're almost there, now. Are you ready?

[scooptimistic]

I am!

[ she's heard that Lupin's had a hard time, and of course she's fully expecting to equally have a rough time (without realizing she won't), but she's still fairly cheerful about this. ]

I gotta say, I'm looking forward to this more than I was with the geese.

[heartsteals]

This won't be as bad. [ beat. ] Hopefully.

[ the unicorns didn't seem mutated, as far as he could tell...?! but maybe they could shoot lasers out of their horns and he just didn't get close enough to try.

Soon enough, they start to approach a clearing in the woods - or, at least, a place where the trees have thinned out more. There's a little stream running through, and some grass has started to poke up through the leaf litter; it's a charming scene. And there by the brook, about fifty feet away, is one of the mythical ponies. It's as shiny and elegant-looking as one would imagine. It's also staring directly at the two of them now. ]

Damn, we were clumsy-- [ Lupin assumes this means it's too late, since they'd run as soon as they saw him last time, but... this one isn't running, for some reason. ] -- or... maybe not?

[scooptimistic]

[ Maya stares, first in awe of the unicorn, but then a little more dubiously up at Lupin. When it doesn't move, she'll take a careful step towards it. ]

Maybe this one's sleepy?

[ Surely that's it, even though she probably knows the myths behind unicorns. ]

[heartsteals]

I guess horses can sleep standing up...?

[ as Maya takes a step towards it and it doesn't move, Lupin follows after her - but as soon as Lupin moves, it takes a few steps back, itself, ears flicking back in distaste. He freezes where he stands. ]

Nope. Uh... Nice pony. We're not going to hurt you.

[scooptimistic]

...

Lupin, stay where you are for a second.

[ As she continues forward, one hand held out as though she's trying to appease it. ]

the great castle caper ft. akira and yusuke

[heartsteals]

[ Now this is more his style. Lupin is assured that he could do this quest all on his own - and possibly even have an easier time of it that way - but he needs two other people to help him out, and who better to call on than his fellow thieves?

Hopefully, Akira is feeling well enough to do this.

He'll meet up with the two of them at the edge of the woods, fully decked out in his thief costume. ]

All ready? Usually, I like to go in with a little more of a plan, but we don't have that luxury. But being able to improvise is in a thief's blood.

[theshowsover]

[Akira is, of course, also here, and also decked out in his thief outfit. Despite the experience of the last few weeks, he seems raring to go, with not a hint of nervousness about him.

Thieving, he can do. He's confident in this.]

That's alright. We don't always plan that much, anyway.

[He can practically hear Makoto screaming from an entire dimension away... but without her here, just him and Yusuke (and now Haru), strategy isn't at the forefront of his mind.]

I'm ready to go. [He looks at Yusuke.]

[bufudyne]

[Yusuke nods when he's glanced to, a silent I'm ready which he affirms with words shortly after:]

Yes. I am certain we shall figure it out as we go.

[He's thoroughly glad he's been keeping in practice. Patrolling or weird things in the night aside, he's kept up his thiefy nyooming around just in case of such an occasion. So his voice is just as certain, confident.]

SORRY I'M LATE

[heartsteals]

Don't plan much, huh? You guys are pretty confident.

[ but Lupin doesn't sound like he disapproves of that. He gives the two of them a nod, then gestures to the cliff face. One hand slips somewhere into his cloak and retrieves something that looks vaguely like a crossbow; a closer look reveals it's definitely some sort of grappling hook that he probably made himself. ]

I say we use the back door. After that, it'll just be a matter of sneaking past the guards. I know you two have those monsters with you, but let's try not to get into any fights, hm? We'll be in and out.

[ a beat. speaking of those monsters... ]

I was going to climb, but if you've got a better way of getting up this cliff, I'm all ears.

[theshowsover]

[Akira shakes his head, glancing at Yusuke.]

Climbing is as good a way as any.

[It'd be good not to tire themselves out, in case a fight does happen. And anyway... he's kind of interested in using this grappling hook.

For research.]

[bufudyne]

[Those monsters? Yusuke mouths and glances back at Akira with a small shrug of one of his shoulders. Not exactly the term he'd use but hey it works.]

No, let us climb.

[He's been practicing for this! He eyes Lupin's implement with interest, inclining his head.] Did you have that when you came here, or did you make it here?

the okay castle caper ft. minato and cairngorm

[heartsteals]

[ doing it a second time to help a few of his friends should be no big deal, right? Right.

He doesn't entirely understand how this castle has so many gems to steal - but he doesn't really care, either, and just passes it off as more magic. It's fun to be able to do this again after so many months. Lupin was worried he might be getting rusty, so really, it's just what the doctor ordered. It wasn't too hard the first time with three thieves on the job.

This time, he thinks, it might be a little more difficult. Particularly the "stealth" part when they have Cairngorm around. They're at the bottom of the rocky hills, looking up at the castle; the sun is setting, casting it in an intimidating silhouette. While Minato's seen it before, he'll be wearing an outfit unfamiliar to Cairn. ]

... Well, normally I'd grapple up there, but that would be a little hard with you.

[ maybe they can jump... ]

[messianic]

[Minato doesn't really know how he ended up here, except that when Lupin talked about actually doing a heist like that, he couldn't resist seeing Lupin in action. Now... that means he's here, and Minato's so curious.

So he's going to roll with it, even if he's not sure how Cairngorm is going to be successful here. It's...probably fine.]

Do we have any other options...?

[unghost]

[ They mostly came because they're interested in seeing the gem that's supposedly inside; it might be similar to someone on the moon, or if it's close enough to their own properties, they could use it as replacement material, which is definitely an opportunity they cannot afford to pass up. Stealth isn't really in their repertoire at home, but for now, they look as aloof as they can be, as well as admittedly a bit smaller given the lack of heels. ]

...I could probably carry both of you and get up there in a few jumps.

[ Minato probably weighs about the same as Lupin, at least by their standards, and even then their combined weight would only just come close to that of another gem. They give a little sigh, giving Lupin's outfit The Look. ]

As long as those clothes don't get in my way.

[heartsteals]

[ it's totally fine! it's all under control!!

Lupin just looks at Cairngorm, mildly offended. ]

They don't get in the way! I always wear these when I'm on a job. [ please?! this outfit is cool?! Minato will back him up?! Maybe. But he sets that aside for the moment. ] How loud would that be...?

[messianic]

[Um....?

He knew Cairngorm wasn't human, but the fact that they're so easily willing to say that they could carry both Lupin and Minato up there just like that...

(Sugoi.)]

We'll probably need Lupin-san's costume when we're inside... it's stealthy. [Obediently backing Lupin up!!

But.

Otherwise he'll leave the mechanics up to Lupin and Cairngorm, he's just along for the ride really.]

[unghost]

[ But is it though.... won't that cape just get in the way and threaten tripping... they guess they can't say anything when it comes to stealth. But still. They just huff dismissively a little at Minato's explanation. ]

It's going to make a sound.

[ Not horribly loud if they land correctly, but doesn't pretty much any movement make some noise? They stretch one of their arms across their chest, thinking about the best way to balance both of their weight to ensure that they won't slip - probably carry one and piggy back the other... ]

But this is the shortest path. Unless you want to spend the rest of daylight climbing.