kaisou | SeeD 8 - raindrops in the sand

Entry tags:

SeeD 8 - raindrops in the sand

WHO: Vash + Jaime, Vash + Venti
WHERE: Kaisou, and Kanto stable gate!
WHEN: Sometime mid-june
WHAT: Late-Posted sidequests!
WARNINGS: None really, if that changes, I'll update!

[ 1. that one scene of howl jenkins' bedroom is a nightmare ] - for venti

[ 'wanna come help me clean out a magic woman's old house', he'd asked venti, as if it was like talking about the weather. magic was a frustration for vash, and he's been trying to learn to understand it better since he woke up one morning able to sprout actual for-real flowers out of his body, so he had the thought of hey, do a favor for a magic lady, maybe learn some things.

and a new bonding exercise for him and his new buddy venti, right? cleaning could be boring, but it could be made fun if you brought along a chaos-loving friend. that was Vash's logic.

But now here he and Venti stood. Not inside a magic bookshop. But a purse that had become a literal new dimension that's filled with so much clutter--vash has no idea where to even start.

a book flutters by, like an old moth, using its pages and covers as wings.

Vash stares at Venti. ]

...Okay, so this is absolutely not what I had in mind when she said 'help me clean out my shop.'

[ is this sort of thing normal, good god why ]

--------------

[ 2. rainbow probably doesn't have a set flavor ] - for jaime

Have you been to the Kanto gate before?

[ it's the first time he's gone out anywhere with his water-magic wielding buddy since the incident back in the zodiac building. the guy had been busy with exams and he hadn't wanted to bother him, but--

consider his glee and surprise when Jaime said he had a free day coming up, and accepted a trip out to what's becoming his favorite stable gate to date. Maybe he'd make a new friend for Fritter and Rabbit while he was out here... ]

The animals in there are strange and honestly, kind of wonderful.
Remember those dogs that chased us back during the Zodiac incident?

Turns out they come from this gate. And they're not actually evil, they were just being used as guard animals.
They're actually kind'a sweet if you can manage to tame one...

Even if berries are our focus, today.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

[Venti's happy to lend a helping hand for his newest friend, though he's not too happy about the cleaning part of it. At least Vash, his partner in chaos, will make this a lot more interesting (and it's surprisingly difficult to say no to the guy). It'll be fine! Probably!

Going inside a purse to do the cleaning is... definitely a new experience, but only specifically because it's a purse with extradimensional space inside it. He looks over at Vash, and then giggles.]

Hehe, nobody expects the purse! Gotta say, I kinda wish I thought of that for myself. It would've saved me so many headaches while moving to have something like this.

[According to Venti's reaction, this is perfectly normal, everyday magic.]

I can take care of the shelves while you start wrangling books, I guess? We can save the floor cleaning for the end. Just, uh, maybe don't read them! You never know if they're cursed!

[ vash is a master of psychological manipulation, what with his whiny voice and good intentions and babyblue eyes and all that. sorry venti.
given you're both immortals, it's probably best to accept this might be your life for a while, man.

He turns his head to look at his new buddy when he giggles--a wide grin bursting out over his face. ]

Who WOULD expect it? My mom used to tell stories about people who had houses that were 'bigger on the inside', but this is straight up fantasy...

[ he's a science man, not a magic man, this is insane.

He's gonna lift the broom he's holding and start trying to whack a few of the flying books out of the air... ]

Between you and me?
I've been cursed enough since arriving here, I'd rather avoid more--! Haha!!

(with finals behind him and actually managing to pass them despite the last few months being so shaky on him, Jamie is finally free to get some stuff done with Vash and the berry quest should be the great thing to do for the two of them. This will be the first time he has set foot on a stable gate in the months he has been on the Libra app and, ho boy, school does take a big priority too.)

Um no, I haven’t been to the Kanto realm before. Not even once after I got the app. And there are so many unique and beautiful animals? That is pretty neat, I would like to see some as well.

(It is one thing that he might manifest his monster curses once he steps into the Spirit Realm or a realm gate but the dogs from the Zodiac building? The mention of these strange dogs did send him chills back to when he and Vash got chased by them out of the Zodiac building.)

Wait, those weird dogs came from that gate as well? Ah okay. I guess that they actually don’t mean any harm as long as we try to tame and befriend them of try not to get on their nerves.

Not once? I guess visiting other realms can be pretty scary, if you're not ready for them, so not visiting this one makes sense.
Apparently it's always open? And there are. Look--

[ from the deep, wide collar of his coat, a little apple pops up, with little green eyes that almost look like leaves... ]

This is one. This is my buddy fritter.

We're going here to find berries, but.
They make pretty good pets and companions, so if we find one that you like, you can take it home if you're willing to take care of it.

[ and maybe get one that isnt scary like those damn Houndoom were--vash is still having uncomfortable flashbacks to that... ]

Most of them are pretty friendly. There are some scary ones, but we'll avoid them. I'll protect you, no worries!

Yeah, I should have come into these stable gates more often. I was so busy with school that I didn’t seem to take notice of them.

(Jamie wishes that he could visit the gates in more frequently. He feels like he seems to be way behind some things compared to everyone else on the app and life seems to always throw a wrench into his plans often. A bit of envy that he could have the time to go visit these gates so often but Fritter poking out of Vash’s coat does manage to lighten things up a bit.)

Oh hi there Fritter, it is really nice to meet you. Right, finding the berries: that should not be this hard. Me and my family would often go out to pick apples and berries when me and my siblings were younger. So I am quite familiar with the idea of gathering berries.

Good idea. I could use some company that is not a pet rock, I technically have a pet Birman cat recently but another animal companion wouldn’t hurt. I will try to see if there is one that I can find and bring home with me.

Hey, school is important, right? [ Vash has never had any sort of formal education--so while he can't understand the importance of it, he's never really had to deal with the feeling of crunch time or having to focus on something like studying. ] If you're busy with education, getting out to these sorts of things can get difficult, right. Time spent studying and all that...

[ humans had it hard. ]

Berry hunting isn't hard, nah. it's just a matter of covering enough ground or... making sure you find enough berries to suit your needs. Oftentimes the berry bushes'll be cleared out by wild pokemon...

{ he laughs a little. ]

But it looks like you'll have more experience than me, given I come from a place where there aren't any bushes or fruit hanging around at all.

[ A pet rock... he laughs again as they arrive, the big open gate like a tear in the air that clearly shows another world on the other side. It's always kind of breathtaking. ]

Alright, you ready?

Yeah, school does come first for sure. Takes up a lot of my time for the most part even before I got wounded up in the Zodiac stuff.

Yeah I was expecting to hear something along those lines. Finding enough places to get berries from. The last time I went on a similar quest, I had to deal with berry munching mini bulb dinosaurs: it honestly did not went well for both me and the person I was partners with at the time.

(Dang, those Bulbasaurs were really that stubborn and terrifying. Jamie can’t get over how angry they were at him and Katsuki when they went on their berry gathering quest and how it became a disaster for them. Since then he has learned never to underestimate them.)

I hope so. If family camping trips taught me anything, finding edible berries should not be hard to find and discern from non edible berries. And yeah, I’m also as ready as you are.

Berry munching dinosaurs... Why is it always dinosaurs...

[ vash is gonna weakly do his best not to sound too put out by that--remembering his OWN most recent visit and how he and Varian were chased by BEARS... very large bears... ] Did you manage to get it done, at least?

This time I think I have something of an idea if we get into danger, we can use the berries we pick as a distraction, maybe.

[ they've already proved they can hustle when in danger, so...

Onwards they go, into the portal. A flock of pidgey already flitting past them as they cross over into a grassy knoll that overlooks a forest to the south-east, and a town to the west. ]

If you're good at that sort of thing, then I'll put my faith in you to be good with navigating the woods, too. I'm not really used to so much greenery yet, you know?

No, that one was a disaster. We didn’t got any berries for the quest request in the end. And got a chewed up gum as the result.

(Jamie still can’t get over his bad luck with anything dino shaped besides the plushie he got from destroying a museum artifact. It is a miracle that he doesn’t have a fear of dinosaurs in general otherwise it is another story.)

Oh yeah that could definitely work. I can grab some of the berries to throw at them so they won’t try to attack us if we go near them. Let’s see how much ground we can cover as we go look for the berries.

What a pain. Hopefully we'll have better luck than that, this time, huh??

[ he's already making a headway towards the forest in the short distance, the little apple worm hiding in the wide brim of his coat shuffling down a little as a flock of rookidee flit and dance overhead, flying into the forest, likely looking for food. ]

Sounds like we got ourselves a plan, then.
Probably best to stay together while searching, too.
Would hate to see you get into danger just 'cause I airheadedly wandered off...

Oh a vote of confidence, I see? I hope that we can get this done with very little trouble too.

Good idea, staying close to each other is a sound plan to me too: nobody likes to get lost in a place like this and we can’t be able to find each other easily.

An absolute vote of confidence. No need for hope, I've got determination in droves.

[ says one of the most unlucky people in the world. But alongside bad luck, he's got tons of optimism. it all balances out. ]

At the very least, our phones still work here, though. I once got separated during the last time I was here. And we found each other because we could still text.

Thank god for that, huh?

[ and into the trees they go--out and into the forest, where the first few hints of hiding pokemon peek out from behind trees, inside bushes--they're definitely being watched, now. ]

Yeah agree: the phones still manage to work well even if we’re in the middle of a very forest dense Gate like this.

(He then looks at the list of berries that they need to get in the forest and tries to find the first thing that they can try to find among the trees and bushes. Which berry will they get to first?)

Okay. Which of the berries do we need to get first? It appears that the berries do look like they come in a variety of colors.

They need some sort of rainbow arrangement for what they're doing. So I guess the ones we should start with are red ones?

[ he holds up a little booklet of doodles that he'd gotten from the quest-giver. the drawings aren't great, but the colours are hard to miss. ]

I've seen berries like this before-- [ he points at a spiky looking one. ] They were somewhat spicy, and they kind'a look like tomatoes.

Kinda like the rainbow, right? That sounds pretty easy to follow its color pattern. What a clever way to do it.

(He takes a look at the drawing to see the berry in questions and it is not hard to spot its color at all. The young man is impressed of the quest giver for being able to capture the look of berries.)

Spiky, spicy and tomato like? I know that a lot of people tend to argue if tomatoes are fruits or vegetables but this berry sure looks appetizing, even if it looks very prickly. Anyway let’s get to it and find them.

I'm not sure what making a rainbow does for making a fertilizer powerful, but. It's not as if I'm some great expert with gardening, as much as I like plants. It's all new to me.

Part of why I took this quest was because it was a learning oppertunity.

[ he gives his friend a bright smile. ]

Maybe if you can peel the pricklies away it'd taste a little like a spicy tomato...?
I'm honestly gonna' be awful curious.

[ and away they go, sorting through several bushes. Vash might find a few different colours while looking for the red ones... ]

Same here. I would love to see the amazing biodiversity of some of the spirit gates and how they differ from the ones in Kaisou. The more knowledge the better, as a lot of my teachers would say.

I think that it could be possible to remove the pricklies from the berries and the taste is that of a spicy tomato, a well seasoned spicy tomato. Like the ones you can use for pizzas and pastas.

(Jamie chuckles as he goes to check for the prickly red berries on the bushes. He could imagine the spicy tomato berries being something his Italian neighbors would use in their meals every time he visits them. What a fun thought indeed.)

Knowledge is power; your teachers are absolutely right. That's what my sensei says too, even if it sounds a little cheesy when he says it...

[ he laughs a little hollowly, thinking of the tiny old man. hoping that he's okay. ]

--A seasoned spicy tomato, but as a berry...

Man, now I'm just getting hungry...

Hey, do you---
Do you think if we kept some of the berries, we could grow them back on Earth...?

[ now his efforts to find this prickly little guy is redoubled... ]

Hmm, probably. The quest giver didn’t said that we can keep some of the berries but maybe keeping a few of them wouldn’t hurt much.

(As he continues to find them, Jamie stumbles upon one bush full of the fabled spicy prickly red berries. Relieved to have found one, he proceeds to gather a couple of them for the quest although he does keep some for Vash for this.)

Hey look! I found a bush full of our spicy prickly red berries. And I got some for you as well. Here, catch!

(Jamie eagerly throws some at Vash’s direction, hoping that his Plant friend can catch them quick enough.)

Hmm... you're right.
I was mostly thinking of it 'cause I've got a few of these creatures back home in my garden, so... I could grow some to feed them...

[ or learn to cook eat them himself...

Anyway, he's busying himself trying to pluck up a few yellow berries himself, when Jaime suddenly finds a bounty. The grin on Vash's face is huge--but then there's a handful of prickly berries headed right for him.

He flails his limbs a bit with a dramatic cry of oh crap!!!, before maybe putting on a bit of a production about catching them. Purposefully fumbling them for a moment just to try to get a laugh, maybe, before actually managing to catch them all, even if just barely. ]

Ouch, these things really are prickly, huh. Note to self, wash well... Amazing job, Jaime.

[ they go into his bag. ]

(The young man couldn’t hold his laughter upon seeing Vash making a good spectacle in catching the red prickly berries. Jamie didn’t knw how prickly the red berries can be this prickly but it is not as bad as it looks. And he can’t honestly remember the last time he had laughed so hard in his life that he almost forgets about the berries he is gathering at the moment.)

Oh gee, I didn’t expect them to be just as pretty prickly like cactus. But thanks, it was a miracle that I was able to find them in such short notice.

[ jaime's bright laughter is, at least, a comfort to vash. that's what he'd wanted to hear--and it even becomes infectious as vash lets free a bubbling chuckle himself as he straightens up. He grins flashily at the other. ]

You didn't get poked with them, did you?

Fortunately, I usually wear pretty thick gloves, but...

[ he wiggles his only hand that has visible skin showing--one having an exposed trigger and ring finger, where he'd absolutely caught one of the stinging tomato berries. ]

I'm gonna' get revenge by making a spicy berry soup from some of these, watch me.

I was very mindful on where I was holding onto the berries, being careful as not to hurt my hands. Although I could have brought along gloves for this in case.

Ah yes, revenge of making them into soup. That would make for a fine spicy berry soup indeed.

Heheheh. A good revenge, right?

I can come bring you some, too, once it's done. I'm a pretty good cook, all things considered.
I don't eat a lot of meat, though.

[ he brings up the scroll of paper, again. ]

Okay, so next would be orange, then yellow. While looking for the red ones I found some of these-- [ he picks up a round, lumpy looking one--it looks like a lemon, almost. ]

So we already got that.

(He look at the lumpy lemon like yellow berry in awe. This must be the next set of berries they will get and it looks like they’re all on the roll with these berry gathering.)

Oh cool. You got one of the lemon like berries. Maybe there is more out there that we can gather.

(Jamie turns around to find another bush full of these yellow berries and proceeds to gather several of them for the quest giver.)

[ he's alredy packing away a few into his bag, already on the lookout for more colors... ]

Hm, for the most part, I think that's all the colours that we'll find here.

We should probably move on, huh?

[ ...half because there's no new berries here, and uh

vash has a few very small bugs starting to crawl up his leg...

that he hasn't noticed. ]

Well it does seem like we got the necessary berries we need for the quest giver. Now I am starting to feel the weight of the basket of berries.

(Jamie jokingly exclaims as he pretends to use his basket of berries like he is using exercise weights in the gym at Kaisou Uni. But then he notices tiny yellow furry spider like creatures crawling up on Vash’s leg and he is starting to worry for his friend’s safety.

What are these little spiders capable of? He can only hope that they don’t take things too drastically terrifying.)

Um hey Vash. I think that there are little spiders crawling up on your leg right now.

Heheh. Seems like it.

Think we could go back to town and turn in, then--

[ ah.

...and that's when he absolutely does notice that he's got at least four, five of these little yellow creatures racing up his leg.

He's no stranger to insects, so while it's not a great feeling to have them racing around--

He's gonna start shaking his leg and making a few very unimpressive yelping noises as he tries to swat the little things away.

...there are more coming out from under the bush. ]

--hey, Jaime, I think we've overstayed our welcome--!!!

Oh no. There are plenty of insects in this forest and what we should do next before they try to follow us back to the city.

(He attempts to slow them down by freezing some in ice, his mind frantically races as he tries to comprehend the awkward situation he and Vash have gotten into. One can assume that these insects like the berries they were gathering a lot that they must have thought that a cursed selkie and a Plant are unwelcome intruders.)

Oh wait, maybe I can try to throw some of the berries as we had talked to keep them away from us while we make our escape.

--The berries!!

[ Vash gives an awkward little squawk as Jaime brings up the exact thing that they should have done earlier--and while the ice was certainly making some of the little pokemon think twice, there's still a few hanging onto vash's long coat, and shaking them off is only being half-effective. ]

You're a genius! Toss some of the berries, that'll definitely--maybe??? Maybe definitely help!!

Right on! Let’s toss some at them so they would be preoccupied with something while we make our getaway.

(Jamie quickly tosses a couple of berries at the insect like Pokémon for them to feast on. The insect Pokémon, noticing food within their line of sight, proceed to scramble for them as they proceed to munch on the berries he had tossed for them.

Meanwhile he does to get to pick up a random Pokéball and proceeds to keep it as a souvenir for his first trip to the Kanto gate, while a pair of red eyes poke out from a tree out of curiosity.)

[ it's effective!! the pokemon who had been trying to wiggle their way into Vash's bag are taking notice of the food being just--thrown wantonly in their direction, and they're taking the bait.

Vash gives a little whoop under his breath and he's gonna' take the chance to make sure none are still hiding in his coat--pausing as he sees that flash of eyes up in the tree.
....the ball gets his attention too. Didn't Wolfwood have something like that? ]

--I think that thing can capture pokemon if you throw it properly.

I don't have a pokeball for Applin, he just follows me on his own free will...

Oh so that’s their function? How fascinating. It appears that this thing hasn’t been used or touched for so many years. Oh, so some Pokémon just prefers to stay out of the balls or go by their own will? Pretty interesting behavior…

Hoothoot, Hoothoot!

Hey, where that hooting come from?

(Soon a spherical owl with red eyes and brows resembling hour arms of a clock comes flying out of the tree and lands on Jamie’s shoulder. The owl hoots back at him in a cheery tone.)

An owl? An owl with clock elements?

[ ....it's so round. Vash almost finds himself slowing his pace in running just to get a good look at the ... poe-clock looking thing, his eyebrows going up and over his glasses as a grin moves across his face. ]

--Heh. He kind of does look like a clock, doesn't he?

[ and he seems keen to just... sit on Jaime, too. What's up, little buddy? ]

Either he's real interested in your glasses, or it looks to me like you've made a buddy.

Oh yeah, he certainly looks like one indeed. I don’t see a lot of owls that look like him in Kaisou.

(Jamie lets out a good chuckle as the owl continues to hoot a lot to his heart’s content. Should he really need other pets especially when he has a cat and a rock for pets? The urge to keep him is pretty strong.)

Maybe it is a combination of the two things. Both does seem to be very good reasons to me.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

SeeD 8 - raindrops in the sand

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

i did not get notified for thissssss why dreamwidth

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject