Re: Trial One: Saving Floaroma Town

[Cedahlia]

"Will it hurt me if I touch it?" Jiro asked. It smelled of strange metal. He didn't much like the way it smelled. But he didn't know what it did.

Had Megumi not fallen asleep in Kuro's arms, she would have been mortified to see them all acting so subtly aggressive at each other.

Yuui bit his lip. He looked like he wanted to laugh. He'd been kind of a bitch to Jihae but he was so good at it that none of them noticed. He enjoyed poking him. Jihae always rose to it.

Jihae was way too classy to roll his eyes at someone. He frowned slightly at Yuui but said nothing to either him nor Kuro. He looked only at Miyuki instead. He should not be allowing her to be on her own with a guy. Again. But... "If that's what you wish," he said.

Miyuki was surprised that Snake had said what he had. And it hurt to see how easily Jihae went along with it. She was hurting him, still being here. She knew he felt guilt for not being there when everything had happened. She didn't want to resent him. She knew why he was doing it but...it was just hurting them both, really. And he couldn't change it. To undo what he'd did, he'd have to kill her himself, and Jihae couldn't ever do that.

[Athy]

"It might, if you don't know how to use it properly it very much can be dangerous. It will hurt what we find to hunt as well. Did you find a scent?" Drake said, because Jiro's nose was far better than his.

"Let's get these princesses tucked into bed." Kuro said, with a forced cheerful tone as he was out of earshot of Jihae. He took them both into the temple and when lead to the rooms for the girls, he tucked in Megumi and waited for Yuui to do the same.

"You were supposed to answer, not stare at him, princess." Snake said then, but his tone had calmed. Only because Jihae's had as well. Though the guy hadn't really responded to him.

[Cedahlia]

"I did!" Jiro exclaimed, excited as he took off in the rest direction. He's found a creature large enough to feed them all. The rest would have to be taken from the packs. There was nothing to gather for miles.

Yuui gently set Hikari down and tucked her in gently. Poor things. They'd worked so hard to fix this land. They deserved a good rest. "You can't really kill the heir," he said quietly to Kurogane. "The gods have plans for him."

Jihae did not know what to say to Snake. He had not imagined Yuui's tone but no one believed the priest to be anything but innocent. "He is not nearly as innocent as he pretends. Don't fall for act as the others have," he told Snake, his voice calm.

Miyuki hadn't realized she was meant to answer her brother. She didn't comment about Yuui. "It is what I wish."

[Athy]

Drake followed, "is it too big for you, or should I do it?" He didn't want to freak anyone out with his gun. It made a lot of noise, after all.

"No, but I can make him ugly." kuro said then, but he knew some of it was just Yuui. "Try not to push him so much."

"You underestimate me if you think I am not that clever." Snake said, then pulled his tent from his bag. "He still agreed with you and you snapped. Think about that."

[Cedahlia]

"I can maybe take it down," Jiro said as he tracked the thing but its scent. He followed it up and down the paths through the surrounding forest. And then when he found it he told Drake so.

"I know, I know," Yuui said. "It's not his fault that I can read him well and push him. He does try." But he sighed softly. "I just can't help it. He's so..." He couldn't explain it.

Jihae just looked at Snake. But he didn't dignify him with an answer. He didn't really trust him, after all. And so he just walked away.

"You think Yuui not innocent?" Miyuki asked when Jihae had walked away.

[Athy]

"No maybe, if you're not confident..." Drake said and lifted the gun to aim at the stantler nearby. "This makes a very loud sound, but don't be scared. Okay? It's not pointed at you." He said softly. Then squeezed the trigger twice, hitting the fiend on its flank. Instantly killing it. The bangs were loud though, even Kuro could hear it.

"Annoying? I know. "kuro said but he was looking towards where the sound hand come from. "was that drakes weapon?"

"Who of us here doesn't have our secrets? Who isn't hiding something?" Snake replied as he put the tent up. "I think it's naive to take anyone at face value."

[Cedahlia]

Jiro still flinched even if he'd been warned. He did not understand what it was that Drake was using and what it had just done to the stantler. But he knew that it was dead. So at least there was that.

"Yes," Yuui commented. "It was indeed." He knew because the wind had whispered it to him. "Jihae is not annoying," he said. "He's just...Ah, it doesn't matter." He gave up. "Let's let them rest," he said about the girls and headed for the temple doors.

"He doesn't seem the type to have much of the way of scandals," Miyuki commented. And Kuro had known Yuui since they were kids. He would have known of anything scandalous, right?

[Athy]

"I'm sorry," Drake said and put the gun away then. He didn't want to scare Jiro. He really didn't. He grabbed the stantler though, glad that he worked out and heaved it back to camp.

"I find him annoying." kuro said, not always. But sometimes. He got rather pretentious and pissy and that just wasn't a fun person.

"He doesn't." Snake replied, he finished putting the tent up and went about making up their beds. He put them closer together this time. Just to be that way. "But neither does Megumi, but she has secrets..."

[Cedahlia]

"It's fine," Jiro said and bounced back to normal quickly. He couldn't pull along something as large as that. But he could maybe try to help. "Do you need my assistance?" he asked.

"You find everyone annoying," Yuui said with a smile. "Oh except the princess," he added. "And even then sometimes."

Miyuki just laughed. "Her secrets aren't really secrets, Snake. She doesn't want to be claimed by Dialga when she's in love but who would? Even He knows that."

[Athy]

"Nope, you're okay." Drake said with a smile. He hoped that someone had gotten a fire going, he wasn't willing to eat this raw.

"Hm." kuro said but he didn't elaborate further. "We should check if the house has a fire pit for cooking and if jihae hasn't lit it, we should."

"You have secrets. I have secrets. Jihae has them. Drake has them Hikari has them. Kuro does, Yuui does. Megumi does. Maybe not just the obvious ones. But we all do." Snake said and then shrugged. "are we eating with the others?"

[Cedahlia]

"Okay!" Jiro said and just trotted along beside him until they reached the village. Then he turned back into a boy and walked beside him.

"He has," Yuui said. "That man does think ahead to a point. At least I can say that for him." But Jihae was young, compared to Yuui. He would learn.

"Maybe," Miyuki said. "If they're not going to start something again." She got so tired of it sometimes.

[Athy]

"How hungry are you?" Drake asked then, he wonders how much of this animal he should give to Jiro. Though he'd been eating a lot of fish too.

"Oh good." kuro said, that was a relief. But he was glad that Yuui could cook. Hikari and megumi being asleep as they were, it was unlikely that they'd get a decent meal otherwise.

"If they do we can take the food and leave. I can't tell fortunes." Snake said with a shrug and stood up he held his hand out to Miyuki.

[Cedahlia]

"I am not terribly hungry," Jiro admitted. "The fish from earlier has kept my belly full. I should like only a little of this animal and I should be fine." He didn't need a to eat a ton. He was not a dragon.

Yuui smiled. "Don't worry. So long as I'm here, no one is going to be eating a poor meal," he said. He didn't honestly expect to survive this journey and he was rather okay if he didn't. But until then he wanted to do as best as he could for those that journeyed.

"They might be inclined to behave for Drake," Miyuki said as she took his hand. "But there's no promise they will with Megumi and Hikari sleeping."

[Athy]

"That's okay then, cooked or raw?" Drake said, he was a boy right now. Perhaps he would prefer a cooked meal for his human form.

"I'm glad. "kuro said, he didn't know what Yuui was thinking. But he wouldn't approve of it regardless. He just wouldn't.

"Perhaps he will curb them if they get too bad." Snake said then and helped miyuki up to stand. He didn't let go either once she was and he lead her back to the house.

[Cedahlia]

"Would it look weird to eat raw food in this form?" Jiro asked. He seemed uncertain. "I'm not as familiar with human customs. I didn't pay much attention to those lessons when Father gave them..."

"Your stomach is, you mean," Yuui said and poked Kuro's stomach with a laugh. But he stayed all smiles as they approached the fire pit. The air was already smelling nicer but once things started growing here it would be better.

"Oh I hope so," Miyuki said. "It would take someone special to do that. If he can, he might just be the Chosen after all." Well, one that could accomplish the task.

[Athy]

"It would, yes." Drake said, because they only really ate things like steak raw and that was a personal choice. It was not common.

"Yes, my stomach, I'm very hungry." Kuro said unapologetically. He was so not sorry. "It's not like I can cook."

"Perhaps, even if he can't he is the chosen." Snake laughed, he though he could understand why she doubted. "he has the mark on his hand, does he not?"

[Cedahlia]

"Oh bother," Jiro said with a little sigh. "I suppose it can't hurt to eat it cooked, yes? If you like it so much then it can't be terrible."

"No, I would be terrified to try your cooking," Yuui said. "You haven't the patience for it.  Though I can't blame you. I wouldn't either after such a fight as you just had. Builds and appetite after all."

"He does," Miyuki said. "But that doesn't mean he'll succeed. I want him to but...I have not much hope for it." Because this had been cake. It had been so easy.  The next few would not be so. And the enemy they weren't discussing...They would surely complicate things.

[Athy]

"It is very nice, when Hikari does it. I haven't tried anyone else's cooking, so I can't promise, okay?" Drake said, he didn't want to get Jiro excited and then Jihae or Kuro cooked something. It would either be burned or underdone, he just knew it.

"You made it look a lot easier than I did." Kuro shrugged, he knew that Yuui would brush him off. But they both knew that Yuui was a good fighter. Of course, when Kuro was challenged, he would not give up unless he died. So obviously, he was just as skilled.

"I think we go in with an open mind, what do you think, princess?" Snake said then looking at Miyuki with a smile, he hoped she would. It wasn't a big deal. But you know, just trying to have fun with the chosen and the rest of them would be a good start.

[Cedahlia]

Jiro thought about that. "You shouldn't let the Prince or the Ninja cook it," he decided from what he saw of the future. "You might get sick." Because they weren't any good at it. At all. "But the Priest is fine." He actually could cook.

Yuui put his hands behind his head again as he walked. "Well, I didn't want them to worry too much," he said, which wasn't actually brushing Kuro off but it wasn't giving him a straight answer either. Still, he knew Kuro would get it.

"I can do that," Miyuki said. She could give her brother and the priest a chance to behave when the other two girls were asleep. She didn't have much hope that it would happen but she was going to try and assume things would go well.

[Athy]

"Yuui looks like he can cook, I'm okay with it then." Drake said, he'd imagine that Kuro would have convinced him to do so as well. So that they didn't go hungry.

"Very kind of you," Kuro said, with a small smile. Because Yuui hadn't shut him out. But he also hadn't given a fully honest answer. "Progress." He said then happily.

"Failing that, maybe we will have fun watching the boy chosen take a pop at them." Snake said with a grin, but then he opened the door for Miyuki.

[Cedahlia]

Jiro knew that Drake was not of this time and so didn't know, probably, how everything worked. "Priests of Mew are always domestically skilled because they care for children," he told Drake. "So when you meet them, you can count of them being able to take care of you."

"Hmmm," was all Yuui said in response. He didn't always shut Kuro out. Though really, it sometimes took quite a lot of alcohol to pry anything out of him willingly. That wasn't happening at the moment, of course.

"I would enjoy that," Miyuki commented and then walked in. Her brother, for the moment, was the only one there.

[Athy]

"Oh that's nifty, I like it." Drake said, he didn't know that. He should, but he just didn't. He had never ended up in a place like that, even without parents. He'd been homeless instead. He smiled and then stopped by the house for a second. His shoulders starting to burn.

Kuro winked at Yuui, but he saw that Drake was having a hard time. "Let me deal with that, it needs gutting quickly." He said and took the stantler, he easily cut open the belly and pulled out all the things you didn't want on the meat while it cooked.

"Same," Snake said and smiled. "No one else is here yet?" He asked Jihae, in a way that meant clearly Jihae was smelly and no one wanted to be alone with him.

[Cedahlia]

"Why don't you go inside?" Yuui said to Drake. "We can handle this for now." Though it would be interesting for him to remove the little metal pellets out of the beast. Such small holes to kill such a large thing.

"No, they're just outside," Jihae said. "Pity you came. I was enjoying the quiet." If Snake could make digs then so could Jihae.

Miyuki just reminded herself to keep an open mind. But no, things were going to happen. Either with her brother and Snake or her brother and Jihae.

[Athy]

"Sure," Drake said then, he'd done the hard bit. He could let Kuro do the dirty work. "Come on Jiro, I am so thirsty. What about you?" He could drink so much water it wasn't even funny.

"Oooh, so harsh." Snake said with a laugh then, but he smiled. "I am impressed you zinged back. Maybe you're not so prissy after all. Did the stick loosen a bit? The one jammed up your ass, I mean?" He said, but he was being very playful and not at all insulting with his tone.

Kuro was looking at the little holes. Then he looked at Yuui. "Weird. I am not sure...where are the projectiles he used?" He said, poking his finger around in the hole.

[Cedahlia]

"Very thirsty," Jiro agreed. And now the water in the lake was safe to drink thanks to Megumi. He ran off away from the ninja and the priest towards the lake to get a drink.

"For now," Jihae said with sass.

Miyuki was honestly surprised. Her brother was usually so composed. He didn't tend to involve himself in these sort of things. She wondered why he was doing it now.

"I don't know..." Yuui said. "They must be rather small." If he were more interested in weapons he'd ask Drake to explain. But he wasn't. So once Kuro had finished prepping the beast, he got to cooking it.

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