Test Drive Meme (April + May)

[bravenewmods]

TEST DRIVE MEME: APRIL + MAY EDITION

Welcome to bravenewworld's test drive meme! This post is designed to help players test out their characters within the setting, as well as give them an opportunity to collect samples for their future application. The prompts below are all optional, and can be used to get a feel for the game, but we encourage players to get creative and use this post however best suits their needs. Players are welcome to use either prose or brackets for their threads.

When creating a thread, it is advised that players give their prospective thread partners a bit of information in the subject line, such as the characters name and canon, or a possible typing and Enlightened ability (if this is applicable). These are not required, but will make it easier for any prospective players to thread with you. While not required, we also encourage you to take a look at the most recent AU Planning post.

THIS CYCLE'S PROMPTS
#1 A naughty Castform is following people around and causing rain wherever they walk. Talk about spring showers!

#2 The Flower Grove is well-known for its spring blossoms. Your character has gone to visit, only to discover Gloom have moved in to enjoy the pleasant fragrance! And now the pleasant fragrance...isn't.

#3 This baby Pidgey has fallen out of its nest!!! What do you do? Do you get help? It's squawking and flapping like nobody's business. Might be hard to hang onto without somebody else around to spot you...

#4 Glacier is excited for the Big Spring Thaw! They will tell this to anyone who comes to see them at Citadel, and will even lead expeditions up to the Obsidian Flats to show off the lovely warm weather......while it's still snowing.

#5 Union is still repairing itself after Kyurem's attack. Construction workers are needed at this site. Humans and Pokémon are both welcome, but the supervisor is a Machoke. Communication could get tricky.

#6 Wildcard! Come up with your own prompt!

If you have any setting questions, or want to do some reading before posting a thread, you can find the setting directory here! Happy tagging!

Comments

[rainandswallows]

1

Well, Yamamoto loved the rain, so he felt like this was okay. He stood in the rain, letting the luke warm drops fall on his skin with a smile upon his face. 'Pokemon really are wonderful' he thought. And then out the corner of his eye he saw the Castform. He grinned at it. "I see you!" he called after it.

He looked at his Honedge, Kintoki, smiling. "Think we should go after it?"

Kintoki, who wasn't enjoying the rain as much as he was, growled. "Now, now," Yamamoto chided. "Lets make friends instead."

And then he looked at the Castform and took out a poffin. "Want one? They're the blue kind! My favorite."

2.

Well... it was stinky. Worse then the colony of dirty socks that seem to gather under the lockers in the boys' locker room. But hey, not everyday was going to be pleasant smelling one. At least was pretty though.

Yamamoto was trying very hard to breathe through his mouth, as he sat with Kintoki, enjoying the sight, if not the smell.

"Good thing you don't have a nose, huh, Kintoki." He leaned back and watched the Gloom enjoy themselves. They were having so much fun who was he to deny them that.

6.

Is this thing on?

[Yamamoto taps the camera lens] Oh it is! [He beams at the camera]

Hi! I'm Takeshi Yamamoto and I'm here to record the founding the Union Pokemon Baseball team.

[He points the camera to where a bunch of pokemon, young ones mostly, along with their trainers, also very young, look excited.

He turns the camera back on him, grinning, only slightly manically.]

I have no idea what I'm doing! But that's half the fun!

6

[vistapoint]

[Normally, Geo's not one to respond to Warp Band posts like these, but... this one caught his attention.]

... Baseball? [Spica, his Vulpix, pushes her way into the frame--what's all this, she wants to see.]

Cloud Strife | Final Fantasy VII

[notachocobo]

[1]

[To be completely honest, it was becoming more and more difficult not to attack the annoying little pokemon that had decided he clearly needed to be rained on. The Castform had started following him and his companions a mile or so back down the road and had been relentless in the downpour it was creating. So much so that Cloud had opted to stop his trek and settle underneath a tree to try and wait it out.

That had been a half hour ago.

Arms folded as he sat on the ground with his back against the tree, he was doing his best not to pay the annoyance any attention. His cubone, however, was a bristling mess of irritation for him and was brandishing it's bone club threateningly--though it didn't seem to be doing much. And his Honedge...well. He was pretty sure it had fallen asleep. Or something. It was hard to say sometimes.

Whatever the case, he was going to have to make a decision soon because this was ruining his entire day.]


[3]

What are you doing?

[The question was directed at his Cubone as Cloud paused and glanced over his shoulder, his Honedge hovering near him. The smaller of the two pokemon had stopped several feet back and was on all fours, peering underneath a bush with narrowed eyes.

The pokemon didn't respond which prompted a slight frown from Cloud before he turned and walked back over to where it was. Just as he started to kneel down a horrendously shrill sound came from underneath the bush and he jerked backwards just as his Cubone attempted to herd him backwards.]

What--

[And then he saw it. An angry little ball of fluff and feathers was shrieking at him from underneath the bush, the pidgey far too young to be on the ground in the first place.

He glanced up and spotted the nest in the tree above, staring at it for a moment before he looked down at his Cubone.]

...You want to put it back, don't you.

[Figures.]


[6]

[Pokéco wasn't usually the type of place he'd go into willingly but he needed to stock up on some things that he knew, for sure, he could find inside the department store. It was more the crowds of people that he didn't like dealing with more than anything and his pokemon companions seemed to feel the same. His Cubone was perched on his shoulder, bone club resting across it's legs as it glared at everyone that came too close, Cloud lifting a hand at one point to gently touch it's back when it let out a strange little growl.

His Honedge, on the other hand, seemed delighted at everything around them and was drifting about attempting to get it's ribbon-like hand on anything it could. Cloud kept a sharp eye on it, clearing his throat a few times to get it to return to his side before continuing on but, for the most part, it seemed to be behaving.

Cloud had paused in front of a display of food and was debating over whether or not to try it when a few people passed too close. He frowned and started to step out of the way only to freeze as their conversation hit his ears.]

--Oh come on! Don't say that. You aren't a puppet!

I feel like it sometimes, though. Ugh. It's just terrible.

[They continued past but Cloud didn't move, staring at the display as his hands clenched into tight fists. His Cubone seemed to sense that something wasn't right and immediately tugged at his hair, churring softly to get his attention and pull him out of it--even his Honedge had returned promptly to his side and was tugging at his jacket.

But he couldn't hear them. All he could hear was that word--that phrase over and over again in his head and it--

No! No, he needed to get out. He needed to--

Cloud sucked in a breath and turned, accidentally slamming into someone in the process and finding himself unable to make eye contact.]

S-Sorry. Sorry I just--

[He needed to go.]

6

[disasterrific]

--oof!

[Rikku falls down with a thump when the man slams into her. Damn her Flying type and super low weight...

Her Klekfi rattles at the man while her Golett helps her up. Sneaks and Zoey are largely unaffected (and boy is Rikku glad her other two didn't come shopping with them, Misha woulda made a mess)]

Hey! What's the big idea?

[gone_streaking]

3.
There's something to be said for being able to move faster than the blink of an eye. For one thing, moving through a world slower than molasses gave one a chance to see things in a whole different way. Little things that would normally pass by unnoticed, little events that come and go so fast any normal person could hardly say they happened at all.

Take for instance, a tiny baby Pidgey venturing too close to the edge of its nest. Imagine each panicked flutter of wings taking entire seconds to pass, every feather drifting to the ground over the course of what must be hours. Who wouldn't step in and do something about that if they could?

The bird Pokemon makes it about halfway between its roost and the hard ground, when a powerful gust of wind rushes past, following a blur of motion that resolves several yards away into a young man dressed in Gigan clothing, holding the frightened creature in his arms.

"Hey, little guy, that was a close one. You oka-- ow! Hey- okay- pfft-- ow!" And what follows right after the rescue is a little less impressive as this speedster is now trying to juggle an angry, fluttering, pecking Pidgey in his hands.

Little help, maybe?

4.
Cold is bad. Barry had figured it might be a problem as Glacier is so far removed from the hot climate of his home city but this? This sucks. Apparently, the accident that had given him these powers and Typings had stuck him with a few extra drawbacks as well, because the cold is hitting him hard.

There's a weird humming noise filling the air around him, and anybody who looks his way will see the odd sight of a vaguely human-looking blur in the air. Features rendered indistinct and patches of snow melting away around his feet by the sheer energy given off by this crazy vibration.

He's shivering, you see. At superspeed.

6a.
It's lunchtime back in Union, and there's a bit of a crowd forming around one of the many restaurants of the city. People stop and stare through the window and inside, terrified waitstaff hover around the entrance to the kitchen waiting their turn to bring out the next meal or combo to this particular patron.

Barry's sitting at one of the tables, beside a growing stack of plates, bowls, wrappers, everything. He's just polishing off his most recent victim and barely pauses a moment to have a gulp from the mega-sized cup beside him before turning and looking at the nearest table.

"Have you tried this?" He points to the plate that, a few moments ago, had held some Calderan dish or another. "You gotta try this one. It is so good."

6b.
[The Warp Band video comes up, and the newcomer on the other end blinks once and then grins at finally getting the device to work properly, turning his wrist over a few times and watching the video orient itself.]

Cool. [A few more turns and he focuses his attention on the video itself, waving with his free arm.] Hey, everyone. I'm Barry Allen and, um, I just got into town. So, um... yeah, full disclosure I'm from Gigas but, hey, it's cool. I'm just a guy, I'm not around to cause... any... trouble.

[A wince. Quit while you're ahead, Barry.]

Actually... I've kinda got this problem. I was hoping somebody here might know something about it.

3

[rainandswallows]

"You need some help?" Yamamoto and his Honedge were walking by and saw the whole thing. Interesting abilities.

And Gigan clothes. Yamamoto's Union born and bred so he heard a lot of things about Union. But he's not going to let that stop him making friends. Especially friends who help baby pokemon (and can't defend themselves against them).

He walks over to the Gigan man and lifts his hands for the Pidgey. "He's just scared," he told Barry. "Hey little guy," he coos at the Pidgey. "The nice man here didn't mean to scare you."

6b

[shiningrabbit]

Well, with the full disclosure thing up front, you seem pretty on the level to me. [Hibiki rests his chin on his hands, tilting his head to one side.]

What's the problem? I can't guarantee I'd be able to help, but I can at least lend a listening ear.

3

[uminoprincess]

Minami had heard the squeal of the little Pidgey, and instincts kicked in as she whirled around to catch sight of ... not the bitty bird Pokemon plummeting to the ground, but a young man clearly not from around here getting his hands pecked at. There's a brief blink of surprise before she stifles a small laugh, and calmly makes her way over to him.

"It's like you came out of nowhere," she notes, before holding out her hands cupped together. "Here, let me see. I like to think I'm rather good with Pokemon."

6a

[soulofmagus]

Fraaaaa?

[ There's a nudge from Barry's right, at knee level, tusk knocking gently before the pokémon backs up a bit to eye the stranger curiously. He's not likely used to seeing pokémon wandering a city as though they were equal citizens, never mind a Fraxure at that.

After a moment, those jaws part, and a paw motions expectantly. Don't go showing off food (or empty plates) like that and not share with the rest of us. ]

Yui Nanase | Go! Princess Precure | Normal Far from Ordinary Master of Battle

[drawntodream]

[1]
[Ordinarily, she wouldn't mind the rain so much. But the fact that the rain seems to be following her is making Yui a little blue today, her Eevee trotting behind her with a little less enthusiasm than normal herself. Her sketchbook is safe enough in a satchel slung over her shoulder, but her clothes are starting to stick to her, and her bangs are drooping into her eyes. She looks... not quite miserable yet, but she seems like she'll be getting there.

She's rapidly even forgetting why she was out here, walking through the city - her stomach is rumbling slightly, indicating lunch, but she feels like there's something important she's carrying that she was supposed to be delivering. And yet, she can't check, what with the rain she doesn't want getting into her bag... a quandary. Someday she'll learn to carry an umbrella, and Eve will learn not to try and shake the water off when she's still getting rained on. Which in turn makes Yui wish she had another pair of socks. At this point, she kind of wants human contact just so she can stop thinking about how absurd this is, and how much she really wants to be dry right now.]

[2]
Uu... this smell is...

[Yui actually isn't here for the smell so much, though she does like flowers a fair bit. No, she's here to get some sketching in, and up until just after her arrival in the field, she'd had a big smile on her face. Now, however, things are different; the scent from the Gloom is intense and fairly unpleasant, leaving her with a grimace instead. It's enough to make her want to do something... perhaps not decisive, but assertive, at least. Looking to her partners, she briefly considers Eve, before letting her gaze rest on the Taillow perched nearby.]

Holly? Can you blow some of this out? I don't want to hurt the Gloom, but this is kind of extreme.

[The returning look from her companion carries a faint touch of being insulted; as if to say, you had to ask? Still, it's only for a moment, before there's a very strong sense of understanding and acceptance as she flaps off her perch, aiming a precision gust of wind into the clearing... sweeping just a touch high, avoiding actually blasting through the Gloom. The air comes clear almost immediately, and Yui takes a deep breath. One which catches in her throat as she hears the creak of a cracking branch, right in Holly's attack line, and which rapidly falls. Right onto a Gloom.

Slowly, as one, a small group turns to face Holly, and Yui and Eve by extension. Holly seems to shiver for a second, descending back to Yui's side, and Yui herself takes half a step back unconsciously, weighing her options. There's a twitch from the Gloom inadvertently hit, and that makes Yui's choice for her, as she takes a few more slow steps back, before turning on her heel and bolting, the Gloom giving chase, Yui screaming her head off all the way.]

1

[shiningrabbit]

Seems like someone's got their own personal rain cloud.

[Hibiki's wandering over to Yui, hands in pockets. His own Eevee is on his heels, but his Oddish--usually ever-present--is mysteriously missing. Hm.]

Everything alright?

1

[uminoprincess]

[Well, that won't do at all. Yui need not worry too much, because she'll suddenly find an umbrella over her head with a slightly older girl keeping step with her. It all happens in one extremely smooth motion, and leaves a question of just where she came from... but, well. There she is! Minami is nothing if not light and quick on her feet.

Minami smiles gently in greeting.] You should be careful, Yui. You'll catch cold if you let yourself be stuck outside in this mess with no umbrella.

[Although it does strike her as peculiar that the rain is very ... isolated and spotty across the city.]

2

[hananoprincess]

[Haruka is already on her way to the Flower Grove, her Bulbasaur, Blossom, walking at her side. With her, Haruka is carrying a basket she's brought along to take some off the spring blossoms back with her. She's always loved flowers, and she figures that a few would look nice back home.

That's when an ear-piercing shriek rings out, and Haruka's eyes widen. She and Blossom exchange a quick glance, before taking off in a run. Before long, they reach the source of the noise, and-]

Ah! Yui...! What's going on?! Why did you upset those poor Gloom?!

[hananoprincess]

[1]

[Haruka had started the day feeling rather good about herself. The sun was shining, things were starting to look like they were healing from the attack several months ago. There was a great deal for a young girl to feel positive about!

It was only when she stepped out to do errands for her family that the rain began. And what's more, it was like Haruka had her own private little rain cloud, where everything else looked sunny, warm, and dry.

That wasn't the worst part, however. As Haruka tried to find the source of that little predicament, her companion for the day, her Murkrow, Crows, hovered out of the range of the rainfall, laughing derisively at his soggy trainer.

Haruka looked like she might cry.]

C-Come on Crows... we need to sort this out before I catch a cold...!

[The Murkrow only continued laughing.]

[6]

[The image comes up with that of a young girl, with brown hair. She's sitting in what appears to be her room, with a Bulbasaur sitting next to her. Sitting on her head, pecking at her head, is a Murkrow. Haruka seems to be oblivious, or at the very least used to it.]

Ah. Um, hello...! My name is Haruka Haruno! I guess this is my first time speaking here, and um...

[Her face turns red, and the Bulbasaur places a paw on her hand reassuringly. The Murkrow just trills, sounding irritated, however. Haruka nods to the Bulbasaur, before regaining her composure.]

This is my first time communicating with you all, so I wanted to say hello! I live in Union, and I'm Enlightened obviously enough...! Uhm, these are my friends! Blossom and Crows!

["Blossom" lets out a cry of greeting, while "Crows" merely squawks before returning to pecking at Haruka's head. The girl glances up at him, and sighs, before continuing.]

Anyway, I was wondering, maybe, if you all could talk about how you got along with your Pokemon...? I'm still figuring things out, myself, so I wanted to see what other people thought.

1

[actualprincess]

[ So it turns out when one person is walking around with their own personal ecosystem they kind of stand out - whether they look distressed or not. If Haruka hadn't, Towa would gladly just ignore the situation and leave her to her, uh, water, but she really looks troubled.

Granted, there's not a whole lot a girl and her Fletchling can do - ah.

A few minutes later, without ever having gotten her attention, Towa returns with an umbrella to Haruka having apparently moved on, and she starts to move at a jog to try and find her. ]

Aroma, could you please help me find her? She should be obvious...

[ And the little bird spirals up above the crowds. ]

1

[guitar_case_vagabond]

[Ryuko's on duty today, out on patrol, and that means heading around town in the uniform of the Swords of the Savior on the lookout for people to save, wrongs to be righted, that good stuff. ... Man, patrols are boring.

Her usual companion on these patrols, Squawks, wheels high above casting a shadow every now and then as the large Fearow keeps an eye out from above but comes up with nothing. ... Until Ryuko turns a corner and comes face to face with a girl with a rain cloud opening up directly above her head.]

Uh.... [Ryuko stops, staring at the sight in front of her. Looks from the girl to the cloud, to the girl] ... That cloud with you?

SHOW BY ROCK!! / retoree / far from ordinary

[perversecoward]

2

[having a strong sense of smell isn't usually much of a problem for her, really. it's not. as long as the scents are nice, at least.]

[so when the days get longer and warmer, retoree thinks that maybe she'll drop by the gardens to do her reading. she doesn't get out enough, after all! might as well find a vacant bench and watch the people and pokemon come and go. it'll make her feel a little more social.]

[... unless the grove is so choked with the smell of rot that there's practically a fog hanging over it.]

Ugh! What's going on? It smells like somebody died around here. Or... A lot of somebodies.

3

[... oh no. oh no. there's something small and cute, and it's in trouble.]

[pretty much the instant she spots it, retoree darts over to the pidgey fledgeling; but as soon as she's under the tree, she skids to a halt and looks around frantically. should she try to put it back in the nest? if she does, will that make the momma reject it? or was that just an old wives' tale? what is she supposed to do in a situation like this??]

[waving her hands in front of her, she finally decides to risk it. if she doesn't, who knows what could happen to this little chick! retoree crouches down and tries to scoop it up; try being the key word, here. with a frightened squawk, the flying type panics and manages to flap out of her arms and onto the grass again.]

[... well, THAT didn't work. what does she try now?]

6

[tagger's choice! i'm open to anything. ♡ ]

3

[actsmagnificent]

That wasn't a very successful bonding.

[ This rescue attempt has a supervisor now! A very tall, very handsome supervisor. Who is coming out of the woods accompanied by a Leavanny, which hums to itself while stashing various flowers and leaves all over its person. Spring is the best season, really.

The human, however, just looks curious. ] What's wrong, Lillipup?

[ What? Calling you "Skitty" would just be rude. ]

Minami Kaidou | Go! Princess Precure | Fairy/Water | Kindred Soul

[uminoprincess]

[2]

[Ah, spring! Minami would be lying if she said this wasn't one of her most favorite seasons. With nice weather at play, it made it even better - the perfect time to take a stroll and admire the fresh flowers blossoming in the Flower Groves. A Squirtle by the name of Shelly plods along in her wake, happily taking in the scents of coming from the springtime blooms.

Of course, those scents are... rather quickly overwhelmed by the intrusion of another smell entirely. One which sends any number of people nearby fleeing, with Shelly rather looking about ready to take off as well, hands held over her face.]

O- oh my...

[She gives a mild sigh, shaking her head.] This isn't going to do at all. [And thus, she begins to move towards the very smelly creatures, who look completely oblivious to anyone else's discomfort, stopping only to - literally - smell the roses.]

[5]

[The Kaidou family are, by trade, businessmen and women. They have been for quite awhile, and such things have filtered down to their children. At the very least, the skills inherent to that - Minami's elder brother certainly took a strong liking to it. Minami herself, is... well. Good at directing people, at the very least. Her family's trade is water - filtration, irrigation, and so forth - and while one might not initially think about that amid reconstruction, damages from some legendary creature attacking your city can mess up the water lines. Of course, Minami isn't there to do anything important - she's still a teenager.

But... help is stretched a bit thin. As such, she's scoping things out, to report back to her brother.

Which is when she noticed the Machoke supervising the reconstruction in this one area. Or, well. Trying.

Somehow or another, after approaching the Machoke and a few moments of bewildered people staring at them later, Minami has a hard hat on and a whistle attempting to help relay what the Pokemon needs people to do.

Turns out, she could do a little bit more outside taking notes here after all, so... who was she to turn down the opportunity?]

2

[actualprincess]

[ Flowers are something they can all agree on, no? Aroma, her Fletchinder, darts around taking in his namesake, before suddenly doing a very abrupt about face back to Towa's shoulder, away from the scent. Towa, of course, goes exactly where Aroma came from, leaving the flying type flittering from shoulder to shoulder as she catches the scent as well.

Gloom and Vileplume are as precious as any Pokemon, of course, but... but smelly... ]

5

[hananoprincess]

[Haruka is a young girl, so... labor isn't exactly something she's good at. At least, not as she is normally. Her father, however, has volunteered for the work force, and Haruka feels like she has to at least do her part. Which means she'd worked with her mother and sister to prepare snacks for all the tired workers!

She was in the process of doing so, when... she saw a familiar face. Her face lit up - Minami's family had helped Haruka's family in the process of establishing their sweet's shop, so Haruka definitely considered the older girl her friend. But what was she doing out here?

... Was she in a hard hat? Haruka narrowed her eyes and drew nearer, Crows and Blossom following close behind.]

Minami? What are you doing...?

Kanade Amou | Senki Zesshou Symphogear

[usedperishsong]

[ 2 ]

Yeeeeeeeesh!

[ It might be stinky here in the Flower Glove, but at least it was peaceful. Until just now, when this woman chose to vent her frustration, pinching her nose with one hand and waving the other one in front of her face. ]

They do a great job promotin' this place, but they gotta do something about having it live up to the hype....can't relax if you can't breathe...

[ Looking over, she notices your character and brightens. ] Wasn't you, right?

[ 3]

Ahhhh, that's no good.

[ Kanade reaches down to pick up the squalling Pidgey. A larger Pidgey settles down to squat on one of her shoulders, trilling. ] Still too young to spread your wings on your own, huh? That's okay. It's what nests are for.

[ How's she going to get it back up, though? She stands here staring up at the tree with the baby Pidgey going nuts in her hands.

This is not a suspicious scene to walk into at all. ]

[ 5 ]

Like....I.....said...

[ Kanade points to her mouth, then to open areas on the construction site. Behind her, a Miltank with a fancy red ribbon around its neck gasps for breath, attempting to hold up a heavy stone. ]

Left - [ She gestures broadly in that direction with both hands. ]

Or right - [ She gestures broadly to that direction. ]

For the rock? [ She jerks a thumb at the rock and then mimics slamming it to the ground. Her hand whacks a passing worker on its way back up, her gestures have such vehemence. ] Ah, sorry.

[ The Machoke she was talking to scratches its head. Then, looking at Kanade's upper arm muscles, it grunts and flexes its own. Those are okay for a human. But look at these!

Kanade sighs. ] The limits of human communication, huh.

Shizuru Fujino | Mai-HiME

[bubuzuke]

[ 1 ]

What a naughty boy.

[ Shizuru isn't even looking at the Castform. She just opens this umbrella that she happened to have with her, and looks over, noticing there's someone else here. ] The young are so mischievous.

[ She seems mildly interested, but also isn't sharing her umbrella yet. It's not very large. You'll have to pardon her.

It is, however, extremely colorful. As is her clothing. You may have just encountered

the world's only quiet Calderan. ]

[ 4 ]

[ Shizuru is bringing up the rear of this expedition through the Obsidian Flats, bundled up against the cold. She cradles a steaming, handle-less mug of tea in her hands. A Deino by her side carries a teapot in its only (for now) head. ]

Kiyohime.

[ The Deino refills her cup. Above them, however, there's a rustle....and blocks of snow are shaken loose by something higher up in this valley.

They're in danger of falling on her head! ]

[ 6 ]

Pardon me.

[ Shizuru is going through Ninetales Vale one house at a time. ] I'm looking for lodgings. Would you happen to have recommendations?

[ And she smiles. It's a very pleasant, innocent smile. ]

no.1

[closefriend]

[The Castform's antics are positively delightful to Richard. He doesn't get out of the house much. Walking in the rain of all things is something exciting to him. His long hair is positively soaked, water clinging to his face and his elaborately frilled clothing. The long ruffled sleeves of his shirt are hanging limp at his thin wrists. When he encounters Shizuru he doesn't speak with her to request her umbrella (of course, he would never leave a lady in the rain to keep himself dry, no never) but instead to smile whimsically at the young woman.]

Is there not a saying about spring showers? Only good things can come from this one's behavior, don't you think?

[Richard closes his eyes in delight, before looking up to the sky where the clouds are brewing to unleash another spray of rain down over him. He really should be looking out for his health but he feels wonderful at the moment. Any time out in the city is a wonderful thing to him after all.]

Forgive my rudeness. [He nods his head.] My name is Richard.

4

[sexyhitchhiker]

[Natsuki got "volunteered" to go bring the tourists up to the Obsidian Flats. The more personable tour guide is up front, chatting and pointing out the sights (snow, more snow, almost thawing snow!) and Natsuki's bringing up the rear to keep an eye on the stragglers. Apparently, it's a bad thing when tourists get lost in the wilderness.

She's wearing clothes more suited to a brisk fall day than anything, though the Lillipup trotting at her side has a scarf longer than he is.

Natsuki looks up at the sound of the rustling and then sidesteps, avoiding the shadow of the pines completely.]

You should move. [3....2....

...Do tourists complain about the snow too?]