It's automatic, you've gotta have it

[roundandaround]

WHO: Rinku, you
WHAT: Playing with animal transformation, research attempts, rolling gacha with touch energy, and watching a Sobble buy groceries.
WHEN: Early March
WHERE: Solarpeak, Amberfall, Nightwake
WARNINGS: Some NSFW discussion in threads

[1) Solarpeak Lake]

[There's a fish in the Solarpeak lake/pool today. A specific fish, and one that seems to be diving into the bottom of the pool and then dragging stuff up to the shore in its mouth. Mostly cool-looking seashells, come to think of it... What's with that?

Anyone who comes to shore to check it out will be greeted by the fish speaking in Rinku's voice when she surfaces.]

Hi! Are you looking for shells too?

[2) Amberfall Library]

[Rinku's last trip in here to try and study didn't go well, mostly because she's really bad at it. But she's trying it anyway, and right now, with a basket full of romance novels (again?), she's wandering the cookbook section with a growing frown.]

There's a lot of books about cake, but I don't see any about blood yet...

[3) Gacha Arcade]

[Hey, remember the Gacha My Heart quest? Because that game store's still going strong, including the machines that run on touch energy, and Rinku is all over it today. This time, she's hit up a machine that advertises gift certificates for restaurants around the city. She pulls a ticket and reads it over.]

Aww, please play again? Okay!

[She looks and waves to the nearest person.]

Oh, hey, can you help? I'll need more touch energy to pull a bunch more!

[4) Grocery Store]

[Rinku is outside a grocery store, peering in from behind a telephone pole. If someone approaches, she'll look over, wave, and whisper to them.]

Shh! I'm following to make sure Mecchan does okay. He's on his first errand!

[Sure enough, when she points toward the shop doors, there's her Sobble, dragging a shopping tote bigger than he is behind him into the store and holding a shopping list in the other hand.]

Comments

[roundandaround]

Yeah! Oh, oh, they were building one the other day!

[Rinku pulls her phone out to show Evangeline a photo of a fortress made of alphabet blocks. ...And a subsequent photo of Hina falling off after perching on it.]

It's okay, she landed on a cushion!

[abnormalizes]

Poor baby! But I'm glad they were having fun.

[roundandaround]

Yeah! Mecchan tries to spell things with the blocks sometimes, but other times they all just try to build stuff.

[abnormalizes]

It'd be interesting to be smaller than Mecchan, for sure... I think he'd be confused.

[roundandaround]

He might. [scratches head] But maybe he'd wanna keep you safe! Remember when he drank the Enlarge potion and got human-sized? Once we got him out of the door and calmed him down, he seemed pretty happy to be big, and less scared.

[abnormalizes]

You think Mecchan wants to protect me? That's sweet.

[A little weird to think about, but sweet!]

[roundandaround]

Yeah! Because if someone were smaller than him, he'd wanna look out for them! He always has for Hina-chan, even though he was scared at first because the first thing she did when she hatched was bite me.

[She rolls up her sleeve and shows four puncture scars on her inner arm.]

[abnormalizes]

Oh, yeah, I can see where that'd be a bad first impression... But Hina's like his little sister now, right?

[roundandaround]

Yeah! He's always looking out for her, and he worries if she flies into things and stuff. And since she can't cry, she snuggles on him if he's scared or sad.

[abnormalizes]

That's good. -They're like us, a little bit.

[roundandaround]

You think so? [headtilt] Hm... I guess you do worry about me a lot. Like with the romance novels. And when I take harder quests. And I think you didn't like me that much at first, and I didn't know what to make of you, but now we get along great.

[abnormalizes]

I don't think I disliked you or anything? Just 'wow, that person's lived a totally different life from me, I don't understand her perspective at all'.

[roundandaround]

I don't get a lot of what you say either, but I promise I'm trying my best. Because it's part of you and it's important to you!

[abnormalizes]

I know you're trying really hard, and I'm grateful. I'm trying to understand you more, too.

[roundandaround]

Thanks. You're the greatest.

[smile smile!!]

Oh, I should probably get stuff for the flower-viewing picnic too, right? Although I was gonna buy most of that since there's some traditional snack shops and stuff, and Mecchan probably doesn't need a homemade cake... but then again, it'd be fair if I made one for him, so I should get normal cake cookbooks here too.

[abnormalizes]

I feel like if you made one for Hina and not for Mecchan, he'd be justified in being a little bit offended. And learning how to make a normal cake will help you make Hina's cake later.

[roundandaround]

Okay! Then it's settled, I'll make him one! A non-blood cake. Yellow cake's good, right? I know lots of kids have that on their birthday.

[abnormalizes]

I think so? But I didn't go to any birthday parties or anything as a kid, so I'm not the best person to ask.

[roundandaround]

Oh, that makes sense... But I'll do my best! I bet you'll have fun there too, Neechan!

[abnormalizes]

I'm sure I will! I like food as much as the next person, and I love looking at plants.

[roundandaround]

Mary-chan's been so excited too! I feel bad for always leaving her for quests, even if she's got lots of other people around who look after her when I'm gone.

[abnormalizes]

I feel you. She's good at taking care of herself, but she shouldn't have to be, you know?

[roundandaround]

Frieda-chan and Albedo-san and the neighbours all love her. And I'm glad she's here. It seems like she was really lonely before.

[abnormalizes]

Yeah. She's dealt with a lot of things I wish she hadn't had to go through.

[Abandonment, betrayal, burning...]

[roundandaround]

Yeah... She told me something important, and she was really worried about it. I dunno why. I thought it was cool. ...I gotta get her something extra good the next time I go questing.