Quest buds. Mobile edition.

[ifionlyhadthecourage]

WHO: Caramia and some other quest people
WHERE: The forest mostly. Ruga too. Just. Places.
WHEN: April. Ish. Dates are in the posts.
WHAT: So many quests so little time.
WARNINGS: Trauma probably.

Hey. My threads are below. Y’all will have to add your tags to this post. I’m mobile and doing things is hard.

Comments

4/6 for Kyrie and Minato

[ifionlyhadthecourage]

[ It’s always a great idea to go out hunting. Especially when it’s not raining. Considering it’s been gross and wet these past few days, it was nice to finally get a bit of sun. Even if there were the occasionally cloudy patches in between, one couldn’t really complain, right?

While Caramia knew Minato said he’d get into contact with him first, this lion man was far too excited to get something done today, eagerly leaving him a vague “meet me in Ruga!!” message before waiting outside. Hunting!! Yeah!!!!!! This was going to be great and totally not ruined by anything or anyone! Especially not a certain consigliere of yours. Nope nope. ]

[messianic]

[It's never a bad time to learn something new, at least. Minato's still not so sure about this whole hunting thing in general, but... Caramia seems very certain that he'll be able to teach him, and admittedly he was a very gentle and kind teacher with the guitar, so...

It's fine. Minato will trust him in this.

So he obeys, heading on over to Ruga, wandering with one hand in his pocket, one with his sword, to look for Caramia.

Aha--! He lifts a hand to wave]

Caramia-san.

[crowsigliere]

What a wonderful day to ruin everything--!

Rather, his intention had been to go out and pester a certain idiot. It was just a bonus that, when Kyrie arrived in Ruga, he got to see not just one, but two idiots. This really must be a damn good day.

"Caramia," he calls, practically overlapping Minato's voice with his own. "What in heaven's name are you doing, meeting up with my student in secret? Are you trying to win him over?"

And, of course, Minato gets a sharp look of his own--as well as a pointed glare at his sword, as Kyrie nears from behind. He'll stop short of the boy, but it won't save him the scathing look he has to offer.

"And you. Are you taking lessons behind my back? Do you prefer this idiot's teaching to mine?" Harsh. "He could hardly fight his way out of a paper bag without leaving the poor thing in shreds--you're better off waving your sword around blindly than learning from him."

[ifionlyhadthecourage]

[ Thanks, Kyrie.

Caramia had completely readied himself to greet Minato with a smile and some encouraging words to boot. Why? Because every hunting trip needed a bit of encouragement, especially if this was Minato’s first time. He had a whole speech about how he’d be helping the people in town and hunting was like teaching a man to fish only not really that was just how the saying went and... and then there was Kyrie. Imagine that said with much disdain. That’s about the usual feeling right there.

The cheerful expression he bore died instantly, sporting a more annoyed and pouty one. ]

Your student?? What the hell are you talking about? [ There’s a short confused glance at Minato. Kyrie? Teaching?? Only teaching he’s ever done was for Caramia and that. That was... No. He wouldn’t subject a child to that. Right? ]

Oi!!! Hold on, we’re just going hunting, you presumptuous— [ A pause. He doesn’t really want to insult Kyrie in front of people. He was supposed to be making friends. Even if “jerk” wasn’t the worst thing to say. ] —... you. [ Nice one. ] We’re actually going to see about those wolves. Feels kind of like home, doesn’t it? You’re welcome to join us.

[messianic]

[Whoa, hello there. Minato can't even say he's surprised that Kyrie suddenly, abruptly showed up to berate him. That kind of seems like that's how this works...?

"Win him over"...?

Ah well.

Of greater interest is how he's really never seen Caramia look anything but cheerful, but right now he looks so grumpy.]

Ah...

[Unfortunately, he's a quiet child, so he's pretty okay with taking a back seat to the majority of their speaking at each other. All he really ends up saying when Caramia is done is:]

Caramia-san was kind enough to offer to come with me hunting, since I've never done it before. But... it would be great if you could come too.

[crowsigliere]

"Have you gone deaf as well as dumb?" Yes, Caramia, his student. He wouldn't exactly blame Minato if he had taken more of a liking to him--he's well aware of his position as the less effective role model, here--but that doesn't mean he'll condone it.

His eye narrows at the mention of hunting, however. With so little information to go off of, to call it 'like home' is beyond a stretch...

"If the two of you intend to wander off into the forest to get yourselves mauled by wolves, I won't be assisting you." He's got better things to do, clearly. "But seeing as I intend to join you regardless, and you're both able-bodied enough to climb... I'm sure you won't mind a slight change in plans."

Just gonna... casually steer them to the more rational option. They don't know enough about the forest just yet. This way, they can at least scope it out, first.

[ifionlyhadthecourage]

[ Here come the insults instead of an actual explanation! Come on, Kyrie, couldn't you throw him a bone this once? Guess he'll just need to ask Minato on his own terms later. ]

Mauled? At least have just a little faith in me. Hunting comes naturally to me, you know. [ Now that he had his courage, anyway.

These wolves might have been different from home, but Caramia could still handle them all the same, he was sure of it. Lions win every time, right? ]

O-oi!! Hold on, I do mind. I told Minato I'd be showing him how to hunt, you can't just change that...!

[messianic]

[Yeah... Minato will explain it later, when he's sure about how to explain it. Right now, the vague implication that Kyrie actually does want Minato to remain as his student in some way, even if just in the sense that he doesn't want Minato to get stolen away by someone else, is kind of nice to hear.

So he'd rather not bring it up now and ruin it.

Instead:]

Climb...? [?? Minato glances from Kyrie to Caramia in some bemusement.] Would that be for one of the quests too, Kyrie-san?

[... Uh. On the other hand, stepping between Caramia and Kyrie in their bickering right now doesn't seem wise.]

[crowsigliere]

Kyrie would tell Minato not to read too far into it, but given that it is essentially as close as he's likely to get to a compliment for the foreseeable future, he definitely should.

In any case, Caramia gets ignored, in favor of the real favorite, here. Look, Minato even gets a cheery grin!! How many of those can you say you've gotten, Caramia?

"Yes, that's correct!" He spins on a heel, reaching over to place one hand surely between the boy's shoulderblades; without missing a beat, he pushes him insistently along with just enough force to say 'play along' without outright making him stumble.

If he resists, Kyrie will just sort of smile menacingly pleasantly until... he stops doing that.

"Rather than risk life and limb playing with a brainless beast--" Is he talking about the wolf or the lion here...? "--you'll be acting as an extension of myself, to collect a golden leaf. Surely you don't expect me to reach them myself?"

Bye, Caramia! He's taking Minato away now! Better catch up!!

4/5 for Kyrie/Kyle

[ifionlyhadthecourage]

[ Well, this wasn’t going as planned. These quests seemed simple enough once it has gotten down to the core of things, but it felt a little... disgusting to do these odd things for a mysterious quest giver that wasn’t giving them answers. He hated this, but at least they weren’t... difficult. And, hey, he wasn’t the only one unhappy with things. Even Kyrie seemed a bit put off from it. Or maybe he was just frustrated that the last time they tried this, it didn’t work?

Whatever the case, it meant that now they had to linger around the edge of the Bluo district and hope someone would happen across them. Caramia certainly wasn’t going too far in if he didn’t have to. Sure, the town wasn’t falling apart nearly as bad as it had before, but one could never be too careful. Honestly, who even wanted to deal with the water in that area?? Disgusting.

He was mid thought with Kyrie— what they were talking about he couldn’t say, as it was cast from his mind immediately— as soon as he spotted a familiar green capped boy. ]

Oi, bambino! Are you doing well?? [ Cue a warm smile. ] I don’t suppose you’re too busy to share a few stories with my friend and I, are you?

[crowsigliere]

'Frustrated' was an understatement, though not for the reason Caramia thought.

The quest should have been simple. "Restore the written word. Understand the worth of a story." Once he had understood it wasn't about writing itself, but rather storytelling, he had the answer within his reach, and yet... He had gone wrong somewhere--and he knew exactly where.

The 'worth' of a story, or more accurately, a story worth sharing. It wasn't a matter of him picking and choosing any story to share; the magic that was behind this quest intended fully on being particular in its requirements.

...But he was determined to play along, for now. Even if it meant betting a bit more than he normally would.

Fortunately, he didn't have to pretend to uphold whatever meaningless conversation the pair were having any longer, as Caramia's attention wandered off to another individual. This time, he recognized them straightaway.

"By all means, dash his hopes," he chimed in. "He's been droning on all night, my ears could surely use the rest."

[dreidels]

[Typically speaking, Kyle is an optimistic person. He's a small, redheaded child with a wicked temper to match, but he's a good person. Hopes for the best for (almost) everyone, always willing to help when it's needed, wants to do the right thing--and while that's still true, there's a certain sort of unease that's hung over him ever since he's arrived here.

Perfectly understandable, probably. More things are in color now, so it's not quite as dreary as it has been. But the cost for that? Being far from home, having to endure the awful things the furniture said to him-- it's a lot. And then there's the cryptic riddles. In a normal situation, he'd love dissecting all of them, but when they're from some faceless person--entity, something he doesn't know, it's more unsettling than anything.

He's still not convinced that any of them are here for any good reason. He's caught up in his thoughts until he hears Caramia, and the familiarity is enough to pull him from his thoughts. Kyle's always been easy to read, but he does his best to look a lot happier than he is, offering both Caramia and Kyrie a small smile.]

I don't have anywhere I'm supposed to be. [Does anyone?] What kind of story do you want to hear? This is for that quest, isn't it? [He decides right then that he'll do whatever he can to help, even if it means sharing the worst sorts of stories.] I've got all sorts of stories.

[ifionlyhadthecourage]

[ There's a quick glare at Kyrie, though it didn't really hold much feeling behind it. It was hard not to notice something a little more dismal behind Kyle's smile. Caramia wondered briefly if he was mad at him. After all, he had always been so confident and sure that they would be out of this place in no time at all, and yet, here they were, stuck in this abysmal place still.

But, he wasn't going to let that get him down. Not yet, anyway! He was jumping to conclusions and that was never a good thing. Things were going to be okay. ]

We've already tried it once and didn't find a reward, so I'm under the assumption we did something wrong. I think the story is supposed to be... important to us? Are there any stories like that for you, bambino? Maybe a story that makes you happy?

[ He offered a hand out to Kyle, gesturing back out towards the center of town with his other. ]

Come, come, we'll find somewhere to seat ourselves.

[ ...Admittedly, he just wanted to get away from the water. ]

[crowsigliere]

There's that dreaded 'we'... If Kyrie were any less composed than he was, he might have flinched at the quick flash of not-quite-guilt that hit him.

As it were, he managed to maintain an easy smile, as if he weren't the one responsible for their failure. If completing the quests meant a potential way to get back home, even if a slow one, then he'd learned his lesson.

"There are plenty of places to sit by the water's edge, Caramia. There's nothing quite like reminiscing over the dull, colorless harbor, don't you agree?"

He paused though, sparing another glance Kyle's way. Despite his prior, uninterested tone, he does sound a bit more engaged as he adds: "If you've got one about your greatest failure, by all means lead with that. I might just manage to die of boredom if both of you choose something too horrendously sappy."

i'm so sorry for the delay guys ;;

[dreidels]

[Kyle glances toward the water. It's eerie water, sure, but so far no monsters have tried to leap out and drag him in any time he's gone near--so he figures it's fine to sit over there.]

By the water works for me. Unless you really don't want to sit over there, Caramia? [Look. He's a smart kid but he doesn't know why Caramia isn't keen on the water. As it is, he's a little preoccupied by trying to decide whether to share a happy story or a not-so-happy one.

As it is, the latter are always easier to remember, especially when it's fresh.]

I've got one of those. [A biggest failure story, he means.] If I share it, you might think differently of me. Actually, you definitely will. But maybe one of you might have an idea on how to fix it or something. That sound okay?

[He's about to start talking for a billion years.]

Don't worry!!

[ifionlyhadthecourage]

I'm not especially keen on it, but I'm not opposed, I guess...

[ He's a little opposed, but he'll suck it up. Still, he took Kyle's hand (because he apparently just really wants to collect all these children and hold their hands in a very dad-esque manner, apparently) to start pulling him towards the harbor. He wasn't about to go dangling his feet over the edge or anything, in slightly caution of Kyrie doing something like shoving him in, but he'll do his best to find an intact bridge with a railing for them to gather around.

As for Kyrie? Well, he's free to follow, of course! Caramia's not going to hold his hand, not after a suggestion like this. ]

Hm...? I doubt I'll think much differently of you than I do now, bambino. You're just a kid, after all. You're at the point in your life where you make mistakes to learn. [ He flashed his usual warm, fanged grin. ] I'd be glad to help where I can, though.

Kyrie might give some advice, too. Though, "good" advice might be debatable.

Yeah no rush!! Take it easy

[crowsigliere]

Smart lion. Kyrie would have absolutely considered pushing him in, otherwise.

But he does follow, opting to lightly perch along the side of whatever bridge they end up on with no real complaints of his own. Turns out you act pretty obediently when your main hope is for something to go relatively quickly--and with little impact, too.

It's not until Caramia finishes that he whips back to attention by way of a sharp glare. Is he really going to complain about his advice?? Really?? Sure, he might not intend to advise a child, but damn Caramia, that's low.

"You had best hold your tongue before I cut it loose." To his credit, he does sound mildly offended. Unfortunately, he continues, words quickening to a near tangent and holding all the malice of one as well. Sorry, Kyle. "Is that worthless head of yours completely empty? It must be, if you intend to call the quality of my advice into question--I ought to put in my resignation to avoid being so unapologetically taken for granted, you selfish, ungrateful lion."

But hey. At least that's out of his system, right? Kyrie tsks softly, giving the moron one last, disgusted look before he fixes Kyle with a frown.

"I don't intend to promise anything, if that's what you're after. It's pointless to try and fix the past, anyway." Does he sound sort of bitter...? ...Nahhh, it's probably nothing. It's gone in an instant anyway, replaced by a lighter, breezier tone. "But I can't say I think particularly high of you even now, so by all means, go on."

4/13 for Shouto

[ifionlyhadthecourage]

[ There were a lot of things that sucked about this place. Could write a book on it, honestly, but in the moment, the first thing that would come to Caramia's head was the fact there was just so much damn rain. He was ready to go out and try to actually do something productive, but there was just... so much water. So much rain. Thanks, weather. You bitch.

Today seemed to be clear... or... clearer, anyway. It was still cloudy, but nothing had threatened more rain just yet, so he figured it was safe to come out. He did make an effort to avoid all the puddles, however, making his way towards the Bluo district. He wasn't all too fond of actually going through the canals or bridges of this place, so he just waited along the outskirts, hoping maybe someone was going to come along. It was not raining, after all, so hopefully that meant some people would be raring to get outside?

Plus, those quests might've been insulting as all hell, but they were the only things actually giving them any sorts of clues to what the hell was happening-- who's to say that they couldn't get some other things done along the way? Like, maybe, nab a few harpies? Whatever those were...

He almost lost himself entirely in his thoughts before a movement managed to knock him out of it. Eagerly, he waved down this... admittedly, he wasn't sure who it was. They looked young, though! And most of the kids he's met here have been pretty pleasant. ]

Oi! Signore! Pardon, do you think I could borrow some of your time? [ It didn't seem Caramia was going to let Shouto answer, opting to grab his hand instead and give one of his usual big smiles. ] Would you like to hunt with me? You're blue, right?? I figure today's the best day, since it looks like the weather's finally clearing up.

[glaciers]

[Shouto turns when he hears somebody ask for help. And feels vaguely out of place when his hand is taken by somebody he doesn't exactly recognize. He's seen plenty of people out and about, especially during their first few days out here.

He doesn't think he knows his name though. Is that rude to ask?

...]

How could you tell?

[ifionlyhadthecourage]

Just a hunch. [ And totally not because he's come out of the blue district. Not that that was all too telling of a sign.

Not to worry, though, he's got you covered-- He shook his hand enthusiastically in a greeting. ]

I'm Caramia! It's nice to meet you, signore. I probably should have lead with that, in all honesty. I'm no good with meetings. Haven't had to worry about them back home. [ Everyone just sort of... knew who he was. It's probably why he's so comfortable around all these strangers here. And... why he's so ready to be all hand-holdy with everyone. Sorry, Shouto. ]

[glaciers]

Shouto.

... Does everybody know you or something?

[Well. He supposes the established pro heroes are just like that too. All Might has probably never had to introduce himself as All Might except for when he debuted.]

[ifionlyhadthecourage]

Ah, yeah. I'm sort of a leader back in my town. [ Just, you know, a mafia don. No big deal or anything like that. Haha. ]

Anyway, you're not busy, right? I was hoping to find a resident of Bluo to go hunting with me! You know, for those mysterious quests we were given?

[glaciers]

That's the hunt the harpies quest.

... Sure. I'm not busy right now.

[ifionlyhadthecourage]

That one! [ Not that he had actually any idea what those were. How should he put that delicately? ] I uh. I don't suppose you'd know those if you saw them, would you?

[glaciers]

Aren't they... large birds who can talk? I don't know, I've never seen one before either.