We're going on a unicorn hunt, we're gonna catch a big one

[continuousgroaning]

WHO: Tina Belcher and YOU
WHERE: Various locations- Heropa, MF, anywhere else?
WHEN: The first few weeks of June
WHAT: Tina moves out, moves back in somewhere else, and goes cryptid hunting. This is going to be an awesome summer.
WARNINGS: None for this darling child. Also, if you'd rather do brackets/actionspam, I will match. Hit me up on Plurk shurimon or Discord at Yedong#9491 if you have questions or want to plot!

1. Heropa #004

The time has come for Tina to leave this house. She doesn't feel 100% good about it, having gotten attached to her housemates in the meantime... but she's going to take the opportunity to go back to what she feels is home while she has it, and home is with Magnus. She's had a decent time in Heropa, but it's still too much of a reminder of her mom, and Lance and Keith, and several other departed friends.

This also means it's time to get rid of most of her mom's things, and there's an air of melancholy as she puts clothes, books, and knicknacks into boxes for 1-800 Have Stuff? to cart away for donations or whatever else. She's saving a few porcelain babies, but otherwise, it's all got to go, and it's one of the hardest things she's ever had to do.


2. Maurtia Falls #001

There's things to do before Tina can fully settle in- making sure her horse is comfortable being a big one- but once she's here, and unpacked, she tries her best to adjust to living in Magnus' house again. It's not the same as when Taako and Merle were here, she thinks, but her heart feels lighter. She spends a lot of time with two overjoyed dogs, and the smells of delicious food waft through the house when she decides to make dinner- burgers, of course, and a chalkboard now hangs next to the kitchen entrance, proudly proclaiming:

Are You Egg-sperienced? (burger topped with a fried egg)

Otherwise, she can be found rearranging her room, finding places for said porcelain babies, reading, studying driving videos on the internet, or watching teen dramas and horse-related shows and movies when she can get control of the television.


3. Unicorn Hunting

A few weeks after moving back, Tina has yet to have an encounter with the mysterious creatures she's heard are popping up everywhere, and she hasn't given it much thought...

... until one day she's let her miniature pony, Jake, out for exercise in the stable yard and swears she catches a glimpse of shining fur and rainbow mane. At first, she thinks she must be seeing things, but the next day, it happens again, and the third time, she manages to catch a grainy video. Of course, all of the adults at the stable think she's just seeing things after the stress of her move and a desire to find something special, but she's sure.

So Tina decides to take several excursions into the woods to find this unicorn, determined to pet it. Will you join her? Perhaps when she decides to dress a very patient Jake up as a unicorn to serve as bait?


4. Wildcard

Anywhere else you'd like to run into her? Hit me up and we can work something out!

Comments

1. Heropa #004

[bad_crowmance]

It didn't take very long for Crow to make himself comfortable in his new home, making his presence felt in small ways-- a deck of cards left in the living room area, the occasional appearance in the kitchen. He's gone fairly often, but it's no question that he lives there.

He's there when Tina's sorting through things to keep-- and what to have taken away. It's a hard task for most people, and it's why he's taken it upon himself to swing by. He leans against the door frame for a moment, watching the melancholy expression on her face as she places another book into a box.

"Need some help?" he asks, his tone light.

[continuousgroaning]

Tina looks up when she hears Crow's voice, a brief smile flashing across her face before she turns pensive again.

"Actually, I was going to ask if you wanted to keep any of these," she says, gesturing toward a stack of paperback romance novels on a shelf. "... I'm trying to get rid of as much as Mom's stuff as possible, but I'd like to know they're going to a good home, at least."

[bad_crowmance]

A smile flickers to life on his face and he gives a small nod. He glances over at the romance novels-- it'll be enough material to keep him busy for a while at least, if they're any good anyway. He's not sure how much his tastes line up with that of a housewife he's never met, but he's certainly willing to give them a try.

"Yeah, I'll take 'em," he says, folding his hands behind his head as he talks. "They'll be in good hands with ol' Crow. So... decided to move away, huh?"

[continuousgroaning]

"Thank you," Tina smiles, but then she looks down awkwardly, wringing her hands.

"I feel like a bit of a jerk for doing so," she admits. "But a place opened up with Magnus- he's my guardian, I guess. I lived with him before Mom got here, then Mom and I moved away to have a bit of a fresh start for ourselves. Now that she's gone... I feel like it's a bit unfair to ask the adults in this house to have to watch out for a kid like me when they weren't expecting to."

[bad_crowmance]

"Hey, you've gotta do what's right for you."

He steps into the room, careful not to knock into anything she's got ready to pack up. "If moving in with this Magnus guy is what you really want then there's no harm in that," he continues as he makes his way towards the stack of books. "Though now that you mention it... how old are you, anyway? I don't think I ever asked."

unicorns!!!

[fursleuth]

So none of this is ideal. Just on the cusp of finally solving his amnesia problem and saving Ryme City, he's here in this world where there's not enough Pokemon, but plenty of humans who act like they've never seen a Pikachu before in the worst way.

He's having a hard time is the thing.

After the Torterra garden, forests are NOT his favored terrain no matter what a Pokedex has to say about it, but he's here, because there seems to be a mystery, and dammit, he's a softie at heart.

He is, however, not a softie with unlimited patience. As Tina seeks her elusive unicorn, a one-sided conversation seems to be occurring just behind a large tree.

"Look, buddy, you gotta give me something to work with here." He's answered with a growl. "Now see, that's just rude and unproductive, and I don't think we're getting a meaningful dialogue going. D'you wanna stay in this forest? 'Cause that's how you end up staying in this forest."

So it turns out there's a Pikachu having an intense discussion with a Jackalope. That's happening.

[continuousgroaning]

Tina's startled when she hears a voice speaking nearby- she didn't think anybody else would be curious enough to explore the forest hunting for unicorns, since most of the adults she's told so far seem skeptical. So she stops, wondering if there's a friend or foe nearby, then takes a few cautious steps forward, peeking out at the scene...

... and her jaw drops. There's a Pikachu there, but no visible humans, and the only person she's known to have a Pikachu was definitely not a big talker, Red having favored using sign language and gestures.

"... OK, I've got to be hearing things," she replies with a groan.

[fursleuth]

Pikachu whirls at the groan and the Jackalope bolts, leaving him torn between stammering at it to stay put and trying to address the kid at the same time. "No, no, no- No, you're not hearing things. We'll unpack that in a mo'. And- hey, you! Get back here, you coward. I am not finished with my interrogation." Nope. It's still going. Bye, Jackalope.

"...Annnd he's gone." It is impossible for a Pikachu to facepalm and it not be adorable. His hands are just so tiny and precious. Curse them. "Great."

[continuousgroaning]

"... Oh, uh, sorry," Tina replies, taking a few moments to find her voice. "I was looking for a unicorn myself, but I can't find him, so... we can go hunting together, if you want. Maybe we'll find something entirely different and not scary."

She does squat down so she's more on Pikachu's level, smiling.

"I do have some questions for you, though. I've never met a Pokemon who can talk like a human."

SORRY FOR THE DELAY. I was on vacation but i am back now!!

[fursleuth]

"That'll keep the lights on at least." He thinks. Are they getting paid for this? Did he even check? Probably not. He felt justice in his jellies and followed the sweet, sweet siren call, and now any cryptid is a good cryptid.

He's in the process of scratching an itch behind his left ear as she stoops down to his level and just freezes. "Wait. Wait wait wait. Rewind. Pause. You've met Pokemon before?" He heaves a relieved sigh. "Oh god, that makes, like... Three people? Maybe? D'you know how hard it is to avoid getting stuck in a net when nobody realizes you're not a displaced creature?"

3. Unicorn Hunting

[by_candlelight]

Ruby has no idea how it ended up like this. At first she'd just been talking to Tina, about to weasel her way out of coming to the stable, and then the girl mentioned going unicorn hunting in the forest. At first it seemed like a great idea - Ruby loved forests! Forests were great, and it was fun to climb trees, run around like a dumbass because no one was watching, and occasionally get to chat with a bear.

It was then that common sense reminded her that Tina could not communicate with bears, and that thanks to this it was likely a bad idea for the non-combative, city-born girl to go trekking around in the woods.

And that was how Ruby ended up here, wearing her old clothes, enough supplies for two people for three days in her patched backpack, and keeping a respectable distance from what somehow managed to be both terrifying despite its size and relatively simple internally and thus hard to fear as an individual. (It was a miniature pony. Tina's miniature pony.)

Ruby was keeping her senses open to their surroundings as they walked, even while they spoke in hushed whispers. Every so often she would stop and commune with the local wildlife, reporting back to Tina.

This was one of such moments.

After having gotten the interest of enough squirrels that they were weighing down a tree branch noticeably she turned her attention to Tina.

"They say there's a couple of new creatures around here. They're not really good at explaining or understanding what a unicorn is, but I can say that at least three of the things they reported are not cats this time." Songbirds were hell to talk with sometimes. "Well. Unless it's a mountain lion or something like that. But not housecats."

[continuousgroaning]

Jake, thankfully, is oblivious to Ruby's distress. The small pony had cheap hair extensions woven into his mane to make it colorful and sparkly, wore hand-crafted rainbow legwarmers, and sported a foam horn on his head. He picks his way among the trees and uneven ground carefully, head held high.

Tina, meanwhile, feels a pang of jealousy as she watches Ruby communicate with the forest animals. She wishes she could do the same, or at least speak with her horse.

"That's an improvement," Tina grins. "Not that I don't like cats, but there are so many of them around here. Not so many unicorns. And I want to prove that they exist- I know what I saw." She pounds a fist into her other hand, eager to keep going. "I'll show everyone at the stable."

[by_candlelight]

"They'll be totally shocked," she says with a laugh. "The largest of the things they mentioned seems to be in that direction," she points ahead and to the left. "There was also mention of the ground getting a little more uneven, so we'll have to be careful and make sure we look out for Jake."

Ruby knew she wasn't technically the leader in this situation, but also she was going to try to gently lead from behind, because that was just how she was as a person when she felt herself the most experienced person involved. That was also how she was as a person when she was just plain concerned about the person(s) she was with.

[continuousgroaning]

"I might leave him tied up, then," Tina muses, grabbing Jake's lead. "If he gets hurt..."

She trails off, even the mere thought of her beloved horse getting hurt making her stomach drop. This world had healers who could help him, but even so... it was hard to come back from injuries. She secures Jake's lead to a tree then shucks off her backpack, pulling out a cloth bag full of oats, securing it to his face.

"There. That way he'll be occupied, and we won't be gone for too long. You'll be OK, won't you, buddy?"

Jake, of course, does not respond, merely swishing his tail and chomping greedily on the oats.

"Alright. If it's anything dangerous, I can make myself intangible, so don't worry about me. But if it's something magical, I've got my camera ready."

[by_candlelight]

She nods. "I'll keep that in mind."

And she will, but she's still going to try to make sure Tina doesn't get hurt.

Ruby looks between Tina and Jake for a moment, then back to Tina. "Would you like me to ask the squirrels to keep an eye on him? They can send one of them after us and find me if Jake ends up in any sort of danger. I don't think he will be, of course, but if it will give you some peace of mind I'd be more than happy to help out."

2

[prayercycles]

Fortunato has certainly seen some of Tina since she moved in, but he hasn't quite been sure what to make of her, yet. She seems...normal, but he's thought that about plenty of people he met who later had secrets. And what is normal in this place? At this point, though trust doesn't come easily to him, he trusts Magnus, and Magnus likes Tina. He supposes that's enough for him.

That said, he doesn't exactly know what's going on when he sees the chalkboard in the entranceway, and strains to read it. Is that just something she does? She does seem to like to cook...

"...Is- is someone visiting?", he asks, coming into the kitchen.

[continuousgroaning]

Tina gives a wave with her spatula at the voice, then shows off by flipping the patty on her griddle.

"No... think of this as kind of a 'hello' present from me," she replies. "My power is that anything I cook tastes amazing, and I grew up working in my dad's burger restaurant, so... what better than making burgers?"

[prayercycles]

That's kind of her. Fortunato feels a bit bad- he's sure Magnus would have thrown together a gigantic welcome dinner, being Magnus- but he's also fairly sure Magnus will adore burgers of any sort, with an egg or otherwise. Not a recipe he's tried before, but he's not going to say no.

He feels the need to say what he's thinking anyway. "You did not have to. But- thank you."

[continuousgroaning]

"You're welcome," Tina replies. "Honestly, it's no trouble... and it's kinda nice to be able to cook for fun instead of for customers. Do you eat meat? I've got a meat substitute if not."

[prayercycles]

“Oh- I do. Yes.”

He sits down, a bit awkward, but they’re going to eat soon, then. He feels somewhat bad- is anyone else here to notice yet? Tina’s putting in a good bit of effort for them.

“Do the others know? About dinner.” After a pause, he continues- “I can call.”

( 2 )

[melodramagic]

Sabrina is made aware of Tina's presence thanks to Magnus, but she still isn't sure what to expect from the new housemate. She's never spoken to her directly and only seen her around the Network; a young girl with a fascination for horses or something akin to that. Seems relatively harmless.

The chalkboard in the kitchen that wasn't there before catches her interest as she steps toward it, reading the words on it and then tilting her head curiously, as if trying to imagine what this burger should taste like.

"I didn't know people put eggs in their burgers."

[continuousgroaning]

Tina hears the voice and turns to give a small wave in reply, then turns back to her cooking and flips the burger currently on her griddle, showing off a bit.

"It's surprisingly good," she replies. "My dad owns a burger restaurant and comes up with a different special every day; eggs are a common ingredient. They're easy to cook and add to a burger."

[melodramagic]

"Wow," Sabrina whistles at the little display Tina puts on, beaming with delight. "You're good at that."

She slides over into a chair, elbows on the table as soon as she's left her cross-body bag on the side. Then she glances over at Tina, watching her work her way around the kitchen like it's second nature.

"Did you get to eat burgers everyday for free?"

[continuousgroaning]

"Thanks," Tina beams. "I've had a lot of practice, to be fair... but it's harder than it looks." The many burgers she and her dad had wasted due to missed flips were a testament to that.

"Sometimes, but we preferred making our own meals separate from the burgers," she replies. "The burgers were what we served our customers, so it was more like work and not like making dinner for ourselves."

[melodramagic]

"I'll bet. I've never really had to flip a burger before; I just head down to a burger joint if I want one."

The Spellmans don't cook food like that at home, if rarely. They like their steaks medium rare, if they aren't cannibalizing other witches apparently, and fresh fruits and vegetables. Baked goods made from scratch. Sabrina only gets to enjoy burgers and the like when she's out with her friends in town.

"So your whole family helps out?"