012 // action - haruka's misfortunes, union edition

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[ Haruka Tenoh is always learning new things. Today's lesson: don't walk your Rhyhorn when the roads are icy. It will slide out of control, sprain people's ankles, and you'll be responsible for picking up their slack on what would happen to be the busiest day of the year at their workplace.

On a completely unrelated note, this dairy booth in the market district appears to be doing a booming business! It's also completely pink - pink drapes, heart-shaped balloons attached to the poles, Miltank plushies lining the shelves, and a Rhyhorn wearing a pink blanket squatting outside with a basket of chocolate in its mouth. Behind the counter (assisted by a Wooper in a pink bow tie) is the most brilliantly handsome salesman ever to grace the street, advertising in a voice that could rattle a packed theater. (She's also wearing a pink apron and a baker's hat shaped like a Luvdisc. Today has a theme.) Her sales pitch goes something like this: ]

Step right up, ladies and gentlemen! What you see here's available for one day only: Luvdisc-shaped chocolate for the health of your romance! Strawberry Miltank milk for the health of your body! And, with a purchase of just twenty-five dollars or more, we'll throw in a special four-piece chocolate sampler as thanks for being our sweetest customers! How about it?!

[ A middle-aged woman walking her Snubbull approaches the vendor. Could she have some Miltank cheese and a Luvdisc chocolate, please? Haruka graces her with her very best Divine Theater smile. ] But of course, Madam. If that's what you desire...

[ The woman looks about ready to faint back onto her Snubbull. Haruka would also dearly love to lose consciousness right now. Why is she so good at this? It's absurd to think she might be naturally gifted at spouting nonsense!

At least she's only served strangers thus far. ]

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[ Haruka drinks her milk. How does she look this cool even drinking milk. ] What you believe is up to you.

[ Super Beauty the Rhyhorn is getting tired of standing here. She lumbers over to Trainer and makes rumbling noises. They started today by running. Why is there no more running? ]

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Well yeah, but y'could still get my believing. Could get me all sparkling it.

[ ... Or you know, dazzle. Not sure that never does that - okay she always does that. Still, let's look at the Rhyhorn. Sup guy ]

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[ Haruka looks down at Super Beauty, who sits and wiggles her back legs - then notices someone else is over here too. So she gets up and butts against Melaka, lightly, with her horn. Hello. Are you the reason there is no running?

Draining her milk, Haruka keeps grinning, and addresses the Rhyhorn. She reserves quite a different smile, almost a paternal one, for the small walking rock. ] Easy.

[ And Super Beauty lets up further. Hello. Hello. ]

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[ Oh.

Wow. Friendly. You know in fact she's going to observe, ] Friendly, aintit?

[ But just to be sure, she reaches a hand down, to tap the Rhyhorn lightly on it's head, to show that shei s, indeed, acknowledging that Super Beauty is there. Hey there ]

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She's hoping I'll let her race you. [ Well, that and she's generally curious. But everything that moves is something that can be raced in Super Beauty Land.

The tap pleases Super Beauty, who does look expectantly over at Haruka. She found someone nice! What is this person doing here? Why is everyone just standing? ]

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She fast?

[ Melaka - was was proved both in the dreamspace and in that last big racing circuit people were running - is no pokémon racer. She doesn't have the talent for it, not really, because se's far more used to just using her own body and trusting everyone else to do the same. Working close like that doesn't work as well. It's something she might try to overcome, but...

She's intrigued all the same. ]

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[ Apparently this Rhyhorn knows that word: Super Beauty stomps her feet in place when she hears the word "fast" and lowers her head as if preparing to charge. Haruka shrugs. ] As you see.

[ To Super Beauty: ] Don't get carried away....

[ Super Beauty looks over at the humans again. Are they not running, then? She is so confused. New human, should she run??? ]

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Yeah? You confident in her, Sparkles? [ With her milk done, she looks down at it before she waves out the hand which had the glass in it. It's healed by now, but it's still stinging a little bit. Not bad though, either way, it makes her want to move. ]

Willing to give me that chocolate there if I beat her?

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[ "Beat". Super Beauty knows "beat", too. Though she doesn't know why humans make so many different sounds to mean that happy feeling from running faster than other people - they also use "win" for that.

She tosses her head and looks around for the racetrack. Haruka glances about, too - she'll never admit it, but she's here because Super Beauty has a bit of a thing for running. There seems to be a lull in foot traffic right now, though, so they should be fine. Hopefully.

Wooper stands up on his bench to see what's going on as Haruka rummages in a pocket. She comes up with enough change to pay for the indicated chocolate, then flips it in the air. ] Well, I'll cover for you.

Name your track.

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[ Score. Melaka takes this moment to look around here - well they are in a stopping district, and this place loops, right? She nods to herself, looking not only at the street but up at the roofs around here and the overhangs. That's where she excels, and so finally - ]

This road loops around as long as you turn up thataways. How about around it all?

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[ Haruka nods. ] You lose if you hit someone.

[ From the way she flicks her eyes to her Rhyhorn, this rule was for Super Beauty's benefit, not Melaka's. She follows it up with a mental reminder to DODGE, which makes Super Beauty lower her head. She only DODGEs when she's running. This does mean she gets to run!

Haruka peers down the street. ] Sound fair?

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More than. [ That's Melaka's reply, stretching herself a little bit as she gets her muscles primed to use more efficiently. Gong zero to racing (or well, more usually, combat) isn't always easy, but with a smirk over at Super Beauty, she's showing that this'll be a fun sport, right?

They could do this.

On your mark, Haruka ]

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Then... [ Super Beauty doesn't prime herself so much as wiggle, head lowered almost to the ground. Run. She gets to run. Just as soon as Trainer says, she gets to run, she gets to -

Trainer snaps her fingers. And Super Beauty shoots off full steam from the get-go, a small but barreling rock with no regard for the few icy patches on the ground.

It's quite likely Haruka will be reminding her about dodging more than once. ]

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[ And we're off! As things start, Melaka starts on foot, with wide strides which are more leaps than they are steps. She's got a plan here, but she starts off " fair," trying to avoid the icy patches. She doesn't manage to keep pace with Super Beauty then (because how could she?) but when they get to the first turn, she knows-

She can start to leap up the side of the building on various stop and windowsills and whatever. Once he can do that, he gets up to the roofs so he can cut her distance with Parkour shit ]

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[ Melaka's acrobatics are, alas, lost on Super Beauty. Her world has narrowed to the road in front of her, and while she does have this weird funny sense that she's going to be outpaced, causing her to try to move her stubby legs even faster, she doesn't get where it's coming from.

Haruka's eyebrows, however, go up (from what little she can see back at the booth). So that's what had Melaka so confident. She hadn't seen that coming.

She grins. Well played. ]

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[ Damned right it is! Don't worry, she's got this! Melaka is all but laughing as to leaps from this roof to the next, and essentially cuts her turns in half here. She could loop around directly, but she won't backtrack, she's just...

Going a bit of a shorter route.

Yeah! ]

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[ Super Beauty remains undeterred, running the length of the course as originally prescribed. There's a very good chance Melaka will pull ahead of her, and as Super Beauty raises her head to draw breath, she notices something is going fast up there. Ahead of her.

Guess she'd better run really fast for this last part, then!!!! Here she comes! ]

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[ And here at the last stretch... she'll be fair! She leaps off the roof and lands at a roll there, to start with wide strides. She landed ahead of super beauty but... well, she's a rhyhorn. There's a good chance that it'll be a neck and neck thing by the end, and the Rhyhorn might even pull ahead. But she wants to win - no, has to. Rewards, you know! ]

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[ Melaka's longer strides do indeed give her the advantage - she makes it across the "finish line" mere moments before Super Beauty comes skidding to a stop, lest she plow into the booth. Did she...no, she did not win. But that was such a good run!

Sides heaving with pleased exertion, she rumbles on up to Melaka and bumps the human with her horn. You were fast! That was great!

Haruka sighs, but she's grinning. ] Thanks. She was getting antsy.

[ Prize? She's getting to that! ]

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[ One might expect Melaka to play it cool, like she usually does, very stonefaced. But right now, there's actually a giddy sense of accomplishment that's dragged out of her. The young woman whoops to herself, and bursts out into something between labored breaths and a laugh right there, nudging back against Super Beauty ]

Alright! I did it!

[ Seriously! ]

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[ And here's your chocolate, when you're ready to accept it. But Haruka gets wanting to soak up a victory, so take your time. ]

How long have you been practicing that?

[ She has never seen anyone use the buildings in a race before. Discovering a new form of racing....that's kind of exciting in and of itself.

Super Beauty, meanwhile, keeps her horn against Melaka's hand and beams at the Wooper in the booth. He woops back at her. Good try! Great show! Everything is great. ]

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[ The laughing goes a while more, and in the end Melaka's giggle fit keeps up until she claps Haruka on the shoulder. One more time there before she takes the chocolate with the other hand there. Okay. ]

As long as I could walk!

[ Cheekily ] How I get around Union, always have.

[ It saves you a lot of time in this city that builds up. ]

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[ ....Her ignorance must really be funny. It makes sense once Haruka hears the answer, though, so she grins and doesn't even flinch away from the clap(s). ] Saves on traffic.

[ From the way she's looking at the buildings now, she might be wondering exactly how it works....but nah, that's Melaka's thing. Melaka runs on buildings. Haruka collects Rhyhorn. It's what they do.

Wooper, however, has no such qualms. He turns to his new friend Delibird. Can you do that??? Would you teach him? ] Woop woop?

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[ Melaka, for her part, nods. That's the idea! Plus, if you grow up around the furnaces you might as well work out how to not be low to the ground, and they should probably avoid whatever roughness could be on the streets... Either way, grinning, she's going to be inspecting her winnings here. It's also adopted to her ranger training - adapting it to tree hopping.

As for the Delibird he looks at the wooper, and then at Melaka, and shakes his head. No way, he can't pull off that sort of thing! He's tried, but... ]