February Catch All + Open Log

[queenofminiskirts]

WHO: Kaoru and Others
WHERE: Around Town
WHEN: February
WHAT: Some Sad Stuff...and Quests when they go up.
WARNINGS: Nothing so far...



i: Look, she's been here a year, this was bound to happen at some point

[It wasn't just the fact that Shiho's birthday was coming up and she was struck by the thought that this would be the first birthday they'd spent without Aoi since they were five...and the first without Minamoto since they were ten.

That alone, she could have brushed off. But then, a few people she had become close with have just...gone. She had felt faint pangs of homesickness on and off, but it was easy enough to brush off. To tuck away in some corner so she could keep smiling.

But even she has her limits and everything together combined was...well.

It ended with her with her knees drawn up to her chest as she sat, precariously, on the highest point of the roof of the church.

Feel free to ignore her! She's hoping no one will even notice.]



ii: Her Queen Sense is acting up

[Look, Kaoru is usually the first one to pull some newcomer away from the forest and tell them they shouldn't go in by themselves.

But recently...just sometimes she's felt like...there's something there. Not a nebulous, unknown something either. She hadn't been able to place it at first but then it occurred to her.

Espers. She could sense some in the forest.

So she stood at the edge of the forest, her eyes distant like she's focusing on something in the distance. She was almost sure of it now.

She shook her head and her gaze cleared then, with only the slightest hesitation, she took another step towards the forest.]



iii: One Less Dire Option

[During December, she had went and found a 60ft Christmas tree and set it up in the middle of town, decorated it then.......decided not to clean it up.

But it's been A While and it wasn't like she could just avoid taking responsibility forever.

So here she is, standing in front of what had been a pretty impressive Christmas tree that is now....very much dried out and unattractive in every way a tree could be. She turns when she notices someone nearby.]

...what if we just burn it like this?

[Then she won't have to carry it anywhere!]

Comments

i

[promissum]

[He looks up at the girl on a rooftop. While they've met before, he doesn't think powers were one of the things they discussed.]

You up there. Lass? Can you fly?

[He is definitely yelling, trying to get her attention.]

[queenofminiskirts]

[...ah shit. She takes a deep breath and when she thinks she can, she slaps on a very convincing smile onto her face.

She uncurls a little with a laugh.]

Yeah! [As if to prove it, she actually comes down.] I mean, I could have gotten up there without flying. I've seen people do it before.

[promissum]

[Humans are so strange here.]

As long as you know what you're doing.

I'm sure a dedicated human could climb their way up, even without the power of flight.

ii

[shizun]

What are you doing?

[ For much different reasons, he comes out to look at the forest. There is a foreboding feeling when he looks out into the dark of the woods. He cannot quite name it, yet he does feel like it's getting stronger. And that's not a good sign. Of course, when he says stronger, it is only that he feels outright sick as he draws closer to where Kaoru is.

If I feel this way just getting close to the woods, I don't want to think of what's going on in there to make me feel this way! Which is to say...!! ]

What are you doing? [ He repeats himself with a sterner tone. ]

[queenofminiskirts]

[She stops and turns to him.

Shit.

She smiles sheepishly.]

Would you believe I was just taking a stroll?

[Into the woods!?]

[shizun]

[ His fan snaps shut as he levels his gaze. ]

Try again.

iii:

[allfornothing]

Well, I can help with the burning.

[ She holds a small fireball in her hand, letting it go easily after that, absolutely safely. ]

[queenofminiskirts]

[Her eyes widened in wonder.]

Is that magic? Or is it something else? [Can she get a closer look? Kaoru reaches out to grab her hand.]

[allfornothing]

I can handle some of the elements. Not all, but the ones I'm able to, I'm very good at.

[ Crowe doesn't pull away her hand but arches an eyebrow. ]

It will burn you.

iii.

[spiria]

[ Well, it was an option. And she does have fire she can utilize for this plan. ]

I guess it would work? It might be a good idea to make sure it's not going to catch anything else on fire before we burn it, though.

[ BE RESPONSIBLE WITH OUR PYROMANIA. ]

[queenofminiskirts]

We could set it on fire then launch it into the sea.

[That's doable! Especially since the tree being dried up now means she can throw it a lot farther.]

[spiria]

Oh, that sounds like a plan. I can help with the fire part, but not so much with the throwing into the sea part.

[ She has lots of fire at the ready. ]

Quest 47: Shiho

[queenofminiskirts]

[Honestly, who else would she do this with? Shiho has a flamethrower. What better partner could she ask for, for this? Kaoru is mainly here to prevent the fire from spreading completely out of control.]

Good thing you have so many cartridges.

[good_ideas]

[Shiho has already used up one canister at this point and pulls out another, swapping it out with practiced ease.]

Right? Mr. F finally does something nice for us. For once.

Quest 46: Wei Wuxian

[queenofminiskirts]

[Look. She's actually fine with being buried. She wasn't claustrophobic and she can keep a bubble around her to keep the dirt away and oxygen around her. She could even dig herself out so long as she wasn't buried too deep! Not that she thought anyone would just....bury her and leave her there!

But she stares at what he brought with him and she frowns.]

I'm not getting in that.

[WHY IS THERE A COFFIN????]

Quest 46: Kyrie

[queenofminiskirts]

[...somehow. This sort of quest seems right up Kyrie's alley. Also, even if he insisted on acting like he was So Mean And Awful, Kaoru was sure he's just a softy at heart.

There was only one problem though...]

Can you even dig a hole that big?

[She has doubts about how physically fit you are, scarecrow dad.]

[crowsigliere]

"Aren't you underestimating me?"

Who gave this man a shovel? More importantly, who gave this man permission to bury a child, Mr. F, what!!

But Kyrie seems perfectly happy to treat this is just another everyday occurrence. He strikes the tool into the dirt beside him, placing one hand over his chest in mock offense. Too bad he just looks amused.

"I can do effectively anything, if I choose to. It just so happens that most of the time, someone else is willing to do it in my stead."

Willing is... a relative term. He's just gonna lift the shovel again and stab it more properly into the... cold, stubborn ground. He's definitely able to dig through it, but it's gonna take quite a bit more effort than he would normally put into... well... mostly anything, actually. At least she's small??

Quest 46: Nero

[queenofminiskirts]

[Kaoru's naturally inclined to doing anything a cute girl asks.

And, at any rate, she's pretty sure this cute girl in particular wouldn't bury her and leave her to die. So. What's the harm.]

...I really didn't expect a quest like this this month.

[Since they had that month with all the Christmas quests she expected more...lovey-dovey ones, honestly.]

[neronian]

[ Nero lets out a soft "hm" under her breath as they both stand there, right in front of a clear plot of land. The shovel grip in her hand is stabbed into the dirt. ]

Neither did I. Hm, it is a little morbid. But I suppose that this, too, is a facet of love.

[ Farewells and all that. To be with someone until death does them part. ]

Quest 45: Dex

[queenofminiskirts]

[Getting the ingredients for the chocolate had been..........an adventure. It involved solving a riddle (why was it always riddles! Why can't she just beat something up!) but somehow she managed to get her hands on the last of the chocolate ingredients!

...whether or not she could cook them was another matter.

Which is why Dex gets a message over the computer one day.]

at what point would you consider a chocolate not a chocolate?

[passio]

Does it still look or taste like chocolate?

[ with kaoru, and over the laptops, it’s a little easier to pretend that he’s not still devastated by guren’s disappearance, and the lack of his voice—as if on cue, it disappeared when the quests appeared, and the quests in general have felt pointedly painful.

he should participate all the same, but it’s hard. ]

Quest 44: Shen Qingqiu +Shiho

[queenofminiskirts]

[Serenading someone...? With a yellow?

Clearly there was only ever one way this would have played out. And that was her dragging Shiho along to bother some poor soul.

Which, in this case...

One might wonder how these girls even know that he's home or which room he's in (it was Shiho. Psychometry was very useful for times like this). But there they were, standing under his window and Kaoru is shouting.]

Sensei! Come to the window!

[She'd throw a rock but given that there's a wall still plugged up with a boulder that was all her fault she felt like it'd be in bad taste.]

[good_ideas]

[Shiho isn't about to shout because that's undignified. What she will do though is take a small pebble and throw it with psychometry-fueled accuracy at his window. As it bounces off (harmlessly) it makes a small sound.]

Kaoru-chan, are you sure he isn't just really busy? Maybe he's sleeping? Maybe he's doing something suuuper important and he doesn't want us interrupting?

Quest 44: Akira + Shiho

[queenofminiskirts]

[...she did tell him there would be a next time.

So she's knocking on his door.] Special delivery for Akira Kurusu! There are two cute girls here to delivery a singing telegram!

[good_ideas]

We only take payment in check and cash though.

[But she's definitely all ready to start singing Over the Future (love song ver.)]