[The time: less than a week after Patrick's big revelation. The place: The Flying Couches common room. Most of the crew is stuck in Remedial Asswhooping, save for Istvan who pulled detention for beating up a freshie, and Ariake who pulled item creation duty. Again.] [Mini... START!] * Tia is sitting on her pile of cushions, grinning and wagging her tail as usual. Notably, though, her cloak is fastened with a handsome jade brooch in the shape of a dragon. * HKenji is meditating in the place that has been reserved for him, in spite of his not being an actual Flying Coucher. There is an ashtray on his head. ( Strike that. :P ) ( That was _yesterday's_ intro. ) ( Hehe! :) ) * Patrick is at the portion of his lab in the commons room, fiddling with some alchemical ingredients. He takes an ordinary rock and throws it backwards, the stone causing an loud, but not quite ear-shattering sonic vibration when it hits the floor.' * Tia jumps when the rock hits the floor, landing on all four paws. "Whatcha doin', Patrick?" * Patrick winces after the shock, but just grins back. "Making thunderstones." ^_^ What are thunderstones? They make *really* loud noises when they hit the ground. ^_^ * Tia trots over and gazes down with curiosity at the rock. Oh...is that all? * HKenji steps in the front door of FC just as the massive bang sounds. Well... That was a weak one. Strong ones will deafen just about anyone. ^_^ * Tia bends over and picks up the rock. She studies it a moment, then grins. "Can I try?" * HKenji winces. Huh, can I, Patrick? Please? * Patrick pauses. "Sure! That one should still have some juice left in it." ^_^ * Tia dances on her paws, wings fluttering. "Yay!" * Patrick looks over at Kenji and grins. "Hey, what's up man?" * HKenji spots Tia's new ornament and smiles a little smile. Good morning, Patrick. * Tia 's face takes on a mischievous expression as she raises her hand above her head and dashes it forcefully to the ground by Patrick's feet. * HKenji looks around. "Where is everybody?" * Patrick manages to cover his ears in time to keep from being deafened. "What'd ya say again?" ^_^ * Tia jumps again from the loud sound and covers her ringing ears. "Owwww..." * HKenji jumps about six feet in the air as the blast sounds. * Tia turns as she notices Patrick speaking to someone, and she raises her hand in greeting. "Heya, Kenji!" She grins broadly. "Looklooklook! I found the thingie inside the box! And I wore it just like the paper told me to!" * Patrick looks back and forth from Tia to Kenji, and grins. "Get down from the ceiling Kenji!" * Tia points at the jade brooch and grins wider. * HKenji smiles at Tia. * HKenji drops back to the floor. I'm glad you remembered. Hee! It's really pretty! * Tia prances in a circle around Kenji, obviously pleased. * Patrick clears his ears, turning to Kenji. "So, what were you asking when you came in?" Calm down, Tia. I was wondering where everybody was. Or is, in this case. * Tia comes to a stop somewhere by Patrick and Kenji. "Oh, sorry." She grins. I was hoping to find something to do here. I've not the patience lately for meditation or practice. Nothing to be sorry about, Tia. You just need to learn a little restraint. Oh. Restraint. Right! * Tia grins. You can help me an' Patrick test out the thunderstones! They're really loud, though. Heh, let's see... Istvan's in detention for kicking a freshie's ass, Ariake's working her mojo on the weapons, and Will'n'Seylin are off retaking a course to keep them in fighting condition. ^_^ Ah, good. They could use it. I passed! * Tia beams proudly. Really? How'd you manage that? * Patrick smirks. "Certainly could. Anyways, I was thinking of tipping arrows with Thunderstone. What's your opinion?" Well, they asked me questions, and sometimes I said, "Do what Kenji says." and sometimes I said, "Go hit it!" * HKenji cracks up. * Patrick laughs. "And that." * Tia grins toothily. "Those are good answers, right? The professor said I did good!" Those are excellent answers, Tia. Thanks, Kenji! * HKenji reaches WAY up and ruffles Tia's hair. * Tia blushes and looks bashful. As for these thunderstones, Patrick, I imagine arrows are a much better delivery system than simply throwing them. But why not combine them with flashpellets? What are flashpellets? They're like thunderstones, but instead of making a sound, they make a bright light. Oh. I like bright light! * Patrick nods. "Excellent against Drow and the like." ^_^ Drow don't like bright light? That was my thinking, yes. * Patrick smiles. "I could, but the compounds are very unstable when applied." What are compounds? They may go off while I'm applying them, and the arrow wouldn't be nearly as good at dealing damage. Well, you're the alchemist. I'm just the strategist. * Patrick smirks. "That is true. Maybe you should see what else I can do with these arrows though..." ^_^ It would be nice to know. * Tia tugs on Patrick's sleeve. "Can I help you, Patrick? I want to help!" * Patrick shrugs. "Won't hurt to tell ya. I know you won't tell anyone else. You too, Tia." He winks at them and pulls over his quiver... "If you really want to. We have any clay pidgeons around here?" ^_^ No, but we've got plenty of couches, or so I'm told. These are adimantium. Had to have them made of the stuff so Tia wouldn't break them so easily. ^_^; Oh. Makes sense. * Tia grins sheepishly. S'okay, I don't need a target to shoot at. You already know I'm a good shot. You really should consider using your... smaller form more often, Tia. Smaller form? Oh! You mean with this? * Tia takes out the ring on a chain. * Patrick pulls out a series of arrows from various components of the quiver, each one with something unique about it. All-in-all, nine different arrows. Yes. * Tia studies the ring thoughtfully. "I guess I would knock things down less..." Quite a bit less. * Patrick sits down on a couch, laying the arrows out on the table. "So, which one should I explain first?" Among those arrows are the alchemists and masterwork arrows he uses most, as well as a silvered arrow. * Tia carefully undoes the chain, removes the ring, and slips it onto her finger. * HKenji shrugs. "May as well start on the left. [ Suddenly the room fills with light! Pink light! ] * Patrick picks up a flash arrow. "Flash pellet on a ar-hey I didn't strike it yet!" * HKenji blinks and looks over at Tia. [ Dramatic music plays, and multicolor flashes conceal Tia while she spins, nekkid, and then suddenly turns human, also-nekkid! Not that you can tell 'cause she's just a silhouette at this point. Then clothes form around her from nowhere, and the music and lights stop, and Pretty Magical Soldier Tia-Chan is there! ] (...) (She has fuggin' stock footage.) (Gyoro.) ( ... ) [ That's all, tho. ] ( d00d. At least it's not as horribly overblown as Sailor Venus' transformation. ) (I've no idea. o.o What was Sailor Venus' transformation?) * HKenji blinks and gapes a little as Tia appears. * Patrick raises an eyebrow at Tia and smirks. "Ooookay. Well, at least the maker was considerate enough to give you clothes when you transform." ( You don't want to know. I'm talking about the one from the new live action series. ) * Tia stands where she was before, in human form. She looks basically the same, except, in place of her usual adamantine breastplate, she is now garbed in a simple white dress. She is roughly a foot shorter than usual. [ The adamantine breastplate, meanwhile, falls to the side with a loud CLANK. ] * HKenji gapes. * Patrick blinks and looks over at Kenji. "Snap out of it man!" * Tia turns to face the other two, and she grins. "Is this better?" * HKenji shakes. Er... yes. Better. * Patrick laughs. Yup, better! * Tia grins and looks pleased. I'll know not to look next time. * Patrick chuckles. Oh, do I look really horrible when I first put on the ring? I've never seen it myself. N-n-not exactly. * Patrick snickers. "Not... quite." [ Tia is, of course, hawt in her 'normal' look. ] * Tia looks confused, but she grins anyway. "It's okay. I probably do." You most certainly do not. * HKenji coughs. * Patrick can't stop laughing at Kenji's reaction. Well, thanks, Kenji. You're nice. [ The GM laughs at Kenji also. So does Daphne, who's watching through an open window. ] * Tia 's cheeks are slightly pink, but she just grins. Ahem. * HKenji turns back to the arrows. "The arrows, Patrick?" * Tia also turns her attention back to Patrick. "Oh, yeah! Can I help?" * Yu-Mei is now known as YuBGon * Patrick chuckles and grins at Kenji, clearing his throat. "Yeah, so... Flash-pellets. They're applied to these arrows already." He points at two arrows with strange areo-dynamic bumps in the shafts. "Sleeping gas, and normal gas." * Tia inspects the arrows with great interest. "Normal gas?" What, you mean poisonous? Smoke, actually. Just obscures vision, like a smokestick. ^_^ Ooh, can I try that? * Tia grins. Useful. * Tia picks up one of the arrows and plays with it. * Patrick has one arrow that's very weighted at the end. Two small iron balls trail behind it, and it has very very slanted fletching. "Bolas arrows. The physics are tricky, bu-" He hands Tia one of the arrows that aren't loaded with alchemist's fire. "But it should trip someone when fired at them." * Tia hands Patrick the one she was playing with and takes the other arrow from him. "I want to learn how to shoot these too!" Definitely odd. * Patrick blinks. "Don't they teach you how to fire arrows from a bow in class?" ^_^ I guess so...but I can't shoot a bow like you can. * Patrick smiles. "Um, heh... I could teach you a few things if you want to learn. But most of it is practice." ^_^; It is necessary to practice often. * Tia nods. "I'll practice!" Good! * Patrick holds up a very heavy arrow, this one with a grappeling hook and a place to tie a rope. "I'm pretty sure you can guess what this is for." Um, fishing? I haven't ever seen a fish that big, though... Mmm, that *is* a good guess, but no. * HKenji pokes Patrick in the shoulder. * Patrick smiles at Kenji. "Yeah?" ^_^ Just checking to make sure you really exist. * Patrick grins. "Don't make me noogie you to make sure you exist." * Tia grins. "You guys are silly." Hey, I had to make sure. We've always been silly! Couldn't you tell? ^_^ * Tia laughs. But I can use this to get up to normally inaccessable areas. Pretty cool, huh? ^_^ Quite. * Patrick rolls the other arrows. "Alchemist's Arrow, Silvered Arrow, and just a normal arrow." No magical arrows? * Patrick laughs. "Do I look like a wizard to you?" [ You could be a cleverly concealed wizard. ] Well, maybe. What are wizards supposed to look like? * Patrick snerks. "Ariake's a wizard. So is my mother, as a matter of fact." Oh really? Mine too! * Tia grins. I think your mother would _have_ to be, Tia. * Patrick snickers. * Tia grins again. I wanted to be one when I was little, but I didn't get it... And yes, my mother is a wizard. She's out of town almost all the time, though, as she's a bounty hunter. Not a usual occupation. That sounds fun! Does she catch a lot of bad men? * Will walks into the living room. He's a bit quiet right now (like always), but especially so since he just failed another exam. Ooooh, yes. She's actually one of the founders of the school. ^_^; Doesn't take any part in running it, though. * Tia sees Will and waves cheerfully. "Hiya, Will!" Interesting. Ah, Will. I see they let out out of remedial tactics. * Patrick looks over at Will. "Hey Will!" * Will looks up gloomily, "Hi guys." How was remedial class? Why so... sad? * Will shakes his head, "Failed again..." * Tia pats Will on the back. Luckily, she's human at the moment, so it doesn't quite hurt as much as usual. "That's okay, Will. I fail things all the time!" * Will glances sideways at Tia, "You passed this one." I was lucky! * Tia looks proud of herself, nonetheless. * Patrick smiles. "Well, ya can't win them all... usually." ~_^ You most certainly can. It's just not easy. I just don't get tactics at all. * Patrick packs up his arrows and stowes them away in the quiver that shouldn't hold them all. Then you have not played enough go. We will remedy this. * Patrick shakes his head. "You got him started again." Was that the game Vall's bird was playing? Yes. Oddly enough, Vall's bird played it better than he did. * Patrick laughs. "That doesn't surprise me." I remember that game now. I seemed to recall beating that bird on a regular basis. I didn't get to play last time. I think I fell asleep, accidentally. Are you sure it's gonna help with tactics class? In any case, "that game" is an excellent method of teaching tactics. Tactics is all about placement and knowing your opponent. But... tonight is not the night for a game of go. I agree. ^_^ Well I certainly don't want to think about tactics today. One class and one test is more than enough. That's good. How did Seylin do? It's not like her to fail. ^_^; * Will waves goodbye, "I'm going back into my room to rest now. This has been a tiring day." Bye, Will! See ya Will. ^_^ * Seylin walks in. "Hi, guys!" She smiles at the group, then sets her haversack down and sits on the nearest chair. * HKenji frowns and has a seat on the couch. This is... very unusual for him. * Tia jumps up and waves. "Hi, Seylin!" * Patrick blinks and smiles at Seylin. "Heya Sey!" Whew, I'm tired. But I passed this time, so it's all good. Didja see my new brooch, Sey? * Tia proudly displays her jade dragon brooch to Seylin. Oooh, pretty! Where'd you get that? * Patrick points at Kenji. Good morning, Seylin. * HKenji doesn't notice Patrick pointing, luckily for him. Kenji gave it to me! It was inside the dragon puzzle box. * Tia beams. * Seylin giggles. "Wow, that was really nice of him." She smiles at Kenji. * HKenji smiles back. * Seylin stretches. "So, what have you guys been up to?" * Tia 's brooch is fastened on the cloak she got from the dragon hoard. Besides that, she's wearing a white, human-sized dress instead of her usual adamantine breastplate, which is lying somewhere on the floor. I tested Patrick's thunderstone! And helped him with arrows! Yup. ^_^ Sounds fun. ^_^ It was! But it was really loud. I think my ears still feel a little funny. * Istvan walks past, dressed in his usual casual wear (t-shirt and shorts), muttering darkly in what sounds like Dwarven. Hi, Istvan! Problem, Istvan? What'd they have you doing in detention? * Istvan stops, turns, and blinks, as if just realizing the others were there. Spaced out, he was. "Hey..." * Tia waves to Istvan. "Istvan!" Heya Istvan! What's up? ^_^ Hiya! How was detention? Wasn't really detention... more like a long chat with the school counseler. Oh. What'd you talk about? * Patrick snerks. ... mostly the reason why I tried to toss that little bastard out a window. What happened? * Tia looks more curious than anything else. Yeah, what's wrong? Made some... remarks. Asked some questions. Didn't stop when asked. * HKenji quirks an eyebrow. Did so while standing too close to an open window. Questions about... what? * Patrick laughs. * Tia cocks her head questioningly. * Istvan furrows his brow. "Questions I don't like answering." Like what? * Tia looks at Istvan expectantly. Leave off, Tia. Oh. Okay. Sorry. * HKenji stands up. "We need something to do." * Tia turns to Kenji. "Like what?" * Istvan quirks a small grin at the corner of his mouth. "Like these. Except since I know you guys, I'll just kinda grunt and change the subject, rather than threaten bodily harm." We could go... somewhere. I don't know what. * Seylin laughs softly at Istvan's answer. "That's fair." And I don't see why you'd hesitate to threaten me with bodily harm, Istvan. You've been quick to do it in the past. * Tia throws a playful grin at Istvan. * Patrick grins mischeviously. Eh, I've only threatened to kick your ass... erm... *starts counting on fingers; quickly runs out of fingers* ... okay, point. Heehee! * Seylin laughs again. "So, things to do..." * Patrick smiles. "The more times you threaten, the less meaning they have." ^_^ * Istvan sliiiiides up to Tia, and stage whispers. "Hey, Tia. Have you ever eaten a freshmen?" * Tia turns to Istvan. "Mm...no, I don't think so. Do they taste good?" * Patrick snickers. As long as it doesn't involve that abomination you refer to as pizza, I care not what we do. Um, say, Istvan, what exactly are freshmen? I think so. If you ever get the munchies, I've got one I could suggest. *grins widely* * Seylin looks at Istvan and giggles. "I don't think that's a good idea." First year students, Tia. Oh. I guess that means I used to be one. I shouldn't eat students. Not even Stonefisters. Probably not. But it's a funny thought. * Seylin makes a face at the mention of the Stonefisters. I bit a Stonefister last year, and I got in a lot of trouble. * Patrick snickers. * Tia looks a little regretful. * HKenji twitches. * Patrick whistles at the mention of hurting Stonefisters, though. Anyhow. We have the whole afternoon ahead of us. So let's do something! * Tia nods. "Yeah!" Liiiike? ^__^ Go... out? Somewhere? Yeah! I don't know. I just got back and I wasn't really thinking ahead. But it's too nice a day to spend inside! ... count me out. I got some work to do at the forge. Aww, Istvan, you're not going to play with us? Awww. Okay! Good luck on your work! Well, okay. Have fun, then! * Tia grins and waves. * Istvan rubs his neck. "Sorry. Promised someone I'd fix their armor. Damn idiot left it out in the rain for a week." What kind of fool... That's silly. * Tia laughs. "Even I know not to do that..." * Istvan shrugs, and replies "Elf", as if that explains everything. * Patrick laughs. * Istvan walks away, muttering. "Probably thought it'd imbue it with nature's power... damn elves don't respect good armorsmithing..." * Tia giggles. * HKenji shrugs and hops easily out the door after Istvan. Come along, people. * Seylin looks at Patrick. "Shall we?" * Tia trots after Kenji like a puppy. We're going out, I don't know where. I guess we'll know when we get there. * Patrick nods and smiles. That's as good a place as any! * Seylin reaches out and takes Patrick's hand. Where're we goin', Kenji? Dunno, Tia. I'd suggest a game of Follow Me, but I don't think Patrick could keep up. I'll follow you! Sorry man, I don't play 'Follow Me'. ^_^ * HKenji heads off in exactly the direction that isn't into town. * Tia skips along, humming. * Seylin heads along with Patrick, being Too Damn Cute (tm). * HKenji leads the way out into what passes for countryside round these here parts. [ Well, you've got the school scenery? ] * HKenji keeps walking at a sedate pace, completely ignoring the evil glances from the occasional ranger or druid. * Seylin either smiles at or is oblivious to the rangers and druids. Her attention's kinda focused on one particular quasi-ranger. ^_~ [ The rangers are fine with Kenji's presence. Druids, however, are often uptight jerks, so they glare. ] * Patrick is spending most of his time paying attention to a half- celestial in his midst. The rangers and druids should be familiar with his presence here, actually. * Tia waves to the rangers and druids and grins in a friendly manner. [ Tia is in her human form, so the druids don't scream bloody murder about her wholly unnatural appearance. ] * HKenji continues on into a grove of trees, still walking at a nice, sedate pace, and saying nothing. he doesn't even really look around. * Tia continues to follow Kenji. * Patrick continues to walk along. Where are we going? Dunno, but it's a nice day. I don't know. I'm just walking until I find a place that feels right. * HKenji continues through the grove and out the other side. * Tia follows along, still grinning. * Seylin keeps on walking. It's fun! * Patrick chuckles. "Sure thing chief." ^_^ * HKenji comes to a small stream and kneels on the bank, on the grass. * HKenji closes his eyes. "We're here." * Seylin stops. * Tia sits down by Kenji and dips her hands into the water. She splashes her face and giggles. * Patrick stops as well and looks around. "We're where?" Water! I'm not sure exactly where we are. It just feels right, you know? * Tia nods. "I like water." * Seylin looks around. "Yeah, I see what you mean." She sits on the grass, temporarily letting go of Patrick's hand to settle herself. * Patrick sits his ass down right next to Seylin, looking up at the sky (or trees, as the case may be). * Tia lets her legs dangle into the water. * Seylin takes Patrick's hand again. She smiles at him, then looks at the scenery. She closes her eyes and lets out a contented sigh. * Patrick smiles warmly back (as he's always smiling) and just looks around. * HKenji moves over and sits back against a tree, katana propped up against his shoulder. "Where did we go wrong?" * Tia looks over at Kenji, surprised. "Wrong? What do you mean?" * Seylin blinks. "Wrong?" 'bout what? ^_^ What else? Tia died. Vall died. We were... thoroughly defeated. Worse. We were routed, and even that is an inadequate description. Oh... * Tia 's expression darkens. * Seylin looks down. "I don't know. Was there any way we *could* have stopped that priestess?" There has to be. And Vall... I honestly didn't think he'd do a thing like that. I know he was eager to check out the drow city... but I didn't think he wouldn't, well, think. * Patrick shrugs and smiles. "Hey, he did something that wasn't the best idea. We've all done similar things before, I'm sure of it." ^_^ * Tia nods. "Why did he sneak off by himself?" Yeah, but it didn't end in us getting killed and being tracked by a crazed evil priestess. * Tia sighs and looks gloomy. ...Vall's not coming back, is he? No, Tia. He's not. * Tia is teary-eyed. W-Why not? Well, some people want to come back, some people don't. It's just one of the ways of things. ^_^ So, back to where we went wrong... I think trouble just looked for us. ^_^ She did seem to know a lot about us... She was waiting for us, yes. Who was she? But... we should have been ready for what she did. How do you prepare for something like that? * Patrick grins. "Shoot them in the eye while they cast." We need... we need to anticipate things like this. * Seylin nods. "We can train harder. And plan better." Okay, next time we run into an obvious trap, let's split up a bit more and have some people scout it out first. ^_^ * Tia nods emphatically. "Next time I won't die!" * Tia looks down ruefully. "I thought maybe she'd be nice. Why did she have to hurt us?" Anyone with your dead friend usually isn't nice. ^_^; I didn't know... We didn't know he was dead. S'okay. We're still here, right? ^_^ Maybe she was trying to help him. * Tia nods. "She won't get us next time, right?" No, next time we'll be prepared. We'll be prepared for a lot of things. Adventuring can be fun, but I don't think I was taking it seriously enough. Me neither. Was it supposed to be serious? Most quests are. ^_^ Oh...Oops. * HKenji smiles a little. I thought it was like a game...like a scavenger hunt. We are alive because our enemy wants us alive. We'll make her regret it. I've been thinking, actually. About studying fighting more than being sneaky. To help balance things, you know? * Tia nods. "I get to hit her next time, right?" * Tia grins at Seylin. "Does that mean you'll be in more of my classes?" * Seylin grins back at Tia. "I just might." Yay! A good scout is a difficult thing to find, Seylin. Oh, I'm not going to give up being sneaky, believe me. But I should be able to defend myself a lot better. And it helps if I can hit things when it does come to a fight. * Patrick grins. "Hey, you say that like I can't be sneaky." That's why I suggested the lightning for your... whatever it is that weapon is called. Halberd. Ari's going to work on it soon. Good, good. My toes are wrinkly. * Seylin can't help but giggle at that. Why do they get like that? My paws never do that. * Patrick chuckles. I don't know. It's because you have skin instead of scales. What's the difference? But I forget why water does that to skin. Do your toes get wrinkly? If I leave them in water long enough, sure! * Tia grins and looks less concerned. "Oh, okay." * Tia takes her feet out of the water and goes to sit by Kenji under the tree. Anyhow. We've got a lot of varying skills in our group. We really ought to coordinate ourselves better. * Tia nods. Professor Flubnatch asked me about that. I told him I would do what Kenji says. * Tia nods sagely. * Seylin laughs. "Not a bad idea." Kenji's probably the best tactical planner we have. * Tia grins. * Patrick chuckles. "That he is. It'd be easier if he knew what we all can do, though." It would. I can hit things! I'm really good at that! * Patrick smiles. "Don't forget that you can fly and are very strong, too." Oh, oh, yeah. If you are to be my weapons, I must know what you can do. * Tia smiles at Patrick. If I use you in the wrong way, you will break. And I cannot accept that. I won't break! You will if I try to use you as a scout, Tia. Oh, I guess that's true. We all have a role to play. I can do some things like Will, although not as much as he can. * Patrick gives a thumbs-up and grins. "Give me a good position and I'll rain so many arrows on our enemies they will never know what hit them." Like what? * Seylin looks up at the sky for a second. "Guess it's in my blood." Did you say your papa was from the Astral Plane? * Patrick looks over at Sey and smiles, taking her hand with a reaffirming grip. * Seylin squeezes Patrick's hand. "I think so. One of the Celestial Planes, anyway." Oh. My papa's from there. Maybe they were friends! Maybe they were. * Tia grins. Perhaps. Ya never know. ^_^ * Tia looks at Patrick and Seylin's joined hands. "Papa says he only came here 'cause Mama lives here." * Seylin smiles, but it's a little sad. "That's sweet." I wish I had someone like that... * Tia finds herself glancing toward Kenji, but she averts her eyes as she blushes slightly. * Patrick glances over at Kenji and grins, quickly turning back to Sey before anyone notices. * Seylin laughs quietly. "I bet you can find someone." She pointedly does not look at Kenji. "I'm sure he's out there right now." * HKenji shakes his head a little. "There's someone out there for you. If you're lucky, you'll find him." * Tia nods, still looking away out of self-consciouness. You'll find him. Know ya will. ^_^ * Seylin looks at Patrick and smiles. "Sometimes it's so close that you almost miss it, though." * Tia smiles to herself a little bashfully. * HKenji gives Patrick a warning look. * Patrick grins back. "So close... Just look, you'll find it." ^_^ * Tia abruptly turns to face Kenji, her cheeks somewhat red. "Um. Kenji?" Mm? Will you go with me to the Winter Formal? * Tia looks quite flushed by now. * HKenji nods. "Yeah." * Patrick smiles and nudges Seylin, whispering. * Tia blinks, bewildered. "R-Really?" * Seylin blinks. "Isn't that not for a couple of months?" * Seylin smiles and whispers back. * Tia turns to Seylin sheepishly. "Yeah...but I've been thinking about it." She looks embarrassed. * Seylin giggles. "No, no, there's nothing wrong with it. It's just... really nice." * Tia then smiles, reassured. Why wouldn't I? Well, I wasn't sure...especially...well, nothing. * Patrick gets up, helping Seylin up if she wants help. "We have some things we need to talk about. We'll see you in a little." ^_^ I'm not particularly good at this dancing of yours, but it would be... dishonorable to not attempt it. * HKenji quirks an eyebrow at Patrick. You were good at it last time. * Tia smiles. * Seylin is helped up. "Yeah, we'll see you two in a bit." She smiles and waves. * Tia waves to Seylin and Patrick. "See you later, guys." Good enough, I suppose. A-and... * Patrick walks into the underbrush, Seylin with him and both of them going into stealthy mode. ^_^; Well... * Tia stops talking and looks unsure of herself. What's wrong, Tia? Um. I really like you, Kenji. That's all. * Tia looks down at her hands. * HKenji thinks for a little while, then finally responds. "I like you, too, Tia." * HKenji sighs a little. * Tia looks up. "You do?" Yeah. * HKenji doesn't sound particularly happy. Just resigned. * Tia doesn't seem to notice, but her face cracks into a bright smile, and she hugs Kenji. "Wow, Kenji! I'm so happy." * HKenji is hugged. @)@ * Tia laughs in relief. "Does that mean we can do what Sey and Pat do now?" Like what, Tia? * Tia blushes again. "Well, like..." She takes Kenji's hand tentatively. * HKenji sits there, holding Tia's hand. "If you like. Such things are not done where I come from. I'm not entirely sure I see the point." Oh. I'm not sure either, but it feels nice... * Tia moves a little closer. "What do you do where you come from, Kenji?" We... do small things, that are not noticable. Like what? Like hiding one's likeness in a painting, or a poem. How do you do that? By painting a picture of one thing, but hiding a reference to another in it, somewhere. Perhaps if I were to paint a picture of this stream, with birds flying overhead, hiding in one of the bushes would be your face. * Tia takes awhile to process Kenji's description. "That sounds neat! Do you paint, Kenji?" Occasionally. It is not my art, but a samurai must be prepared to attempt anything. * Tia grins. "Could you paint me something someday, Kenji? Maybe?" * Seylin appears behind Tia, still holding hands with Patrick. She smiles. * Patrick smiles as well. See? Smile. ^__________^ I could certainly make the attempt. I am a much better poet than a painter, however. * HKenji shoots Patrick a pleading glance. * Patrick grins evilly. * Seylin giggles. * Tia grins again. "Thanks, Kenji! I really liked the poem you wrote me. About the brooch." * Tia takes the folded piece of paper from her pocket and shows him. * Seylin tilts her head and watches. Guys? * Tia turns, then grins when she sees Seylin. "Hi, Seylin! Where'd you guys go?" * HKenji shoots Seylin a pleading glance, too. .oO(Help!) Oh, off for a while. But it's starting to get a bit late. And we didn't bring any food with us. You think we should head back for dinner? I am... pleased that you enjoyed the poem, Tia. Yeah! I'm hungry! * Tia grins at Kenji as she re-pockets the poem. * Patrick nods and smiles. He whispers to Seylin. Let’s go eat! Yes. Food sounds... quite good. * Seylin whispers back. Even cafeteria food. * Tia tugs on Kenji's hand and starts walking back to school. * Patrick nods and smiles. "I even have an expirement I'd like you to try after we're done eating." ^_^ Experiment? I like experiments! * Seylin giggles and starts heading back with Patrick. "That should be interesting." Oh, you'll all like this one... ^_^ What kind of experiment is it, Patrick? * HKenji is tugged back home. Even in her alternate form, Tia is MUCH bigger than Kenji. * Patrick hmmms, and grins. "A tasty one." So long as it doesn't involve hot sauce, sounds good to me! I like tasty things! Quite the opposite. ^_^ You'd better not be feeding her that instant snow stuff, Patrick. Instant snow? * Patrick mmms... "She could metabolise it, actually. But no." So what is it? If I told you, it wouldn't be a secret. ^_^ Well, you didn't say it was a secret first. * HKenji rolls his eyes. "Enough, you two." Seylin, let Patrick have his little secrets. I suspect before long you'll know all his others. Your words wound me! I thro- * Patrick laughs. "Geeze, it's not that big of a secret. It's just a surprise." Well, surprises are good. Some surprises are good. * HKenji gives Patrick a LOOK. I'll bet this one's a good one. I hope so! One can never be too sure with Patrick. * Patrick just smiles. * Tia skips along with Kenji in tow. [ Session End! ] [ ....that's it. It's over. It's really over. HAHHAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHA! HAHA! HA! Ooooh, man. ]