[OPEN] I'm not lonely at all!

[princessia]

WHO: Elize Lutus (and Teepo)
WHERE: A park in Heropa
WHEN: 3/19 - 3/24 (weekdays only, afternoon/after school)
WHAT: Elize spending time at a park after school. Just an open-log for more people to meet her!
WARNINGS: Teepo Nothing, I guess? I'll change this if something comes up.

A.

[ Elize preferred the atmosphere in Heropa over Maurtia Falls, which is why she decided to spend some time in the park before heading back to her assigned residence. It was a little lonely still, but she found ways to keep herself occupied... like bouncing Teepo.

She crouched down, dribbling Teepo like a basketball. Somehow, this always entertained her whenever she felt bored and lonely. After about a minute, she bounces the doll a little too strongly and he goes flying out from underneath her hand.

With a gasp, she stands up and takes chase after the doll bouncing across the park. ]

Teepo, Teepo! I'm sorry! I'm so sorry!

[ If you aren't careful, the doll might just crash into you or land mouth first on your face. Or hopefully, you might be able to catch him. ]

B.

[ She's carefully walking across a balance beam, arms spread out to the side. Teepo is floating beside her and moving along as she progresses across.

She hums a little tune to herself, something she just made up from the top of her head. Then she starts to sing softly to herself. Her voice is amateurish, obviously showing she hasn't had much training in singing at all. But it's fun making up songs anyway... ]

Heropa is sunny, and bright! It's so nice and warm to bask in the light! ♫

C.

[ Elize found a comfortable spot in the grass, nearby a small patch of flowers. They're quiet, even Teepo. They're mostly trying to relax before they decide to head back off to Maurtia Falls.

She keeps Teepo in her lap, arms wrapped around him as she watches the local children together play in the distance on those strange hover skateboards, bicycles, etc. They look kind of scary and dangerous, to be honest...

After a long silence, Teepo pipes up: ]

I miss our friends!

[ Elize just strokes her hand over the doll's head. ] I know...

Comments

A because ELIZE NO

[oddthings]

[Let's all be lucky Cole has fairly quick reflexes. He hears Elize from his spot in a tree in the park, looks over to see Teepo bouncing away, and manages to flash step over in time to stop Teepo from going headfirst into a trash can.]

Why were you trying to fly, Teepo?

SHE'S SORRY....

[princessia]

Cole! [ Crisis averted! Teepo in the trash would've been a tragedy. Elize slows down to a stop in front of Cole, trying to catch her breath. ] I-I wasn't trying to make him fly... [ Even though she totally can if she wanted to, but she usually does that when she's in battle. ]

Elize was playing with me, then all of a sudden I just slipped out of her hands!

[oddthings]

Maybe you need to tie a string around him. He won't end up in the trash that way.

[Cole hands Teepo back to Elize.]

Or worse.

[princessia]

[ Back to holding Teepo in her arms. She strokes the doll over the head. Worse thing that could have happened is that she'd lose him entirely. It did nearly happen before... ] N-no, that's okay... I'll be more careful next time! Thank you for getting him back for me.

[ The doll's head droops. ] I guess we can't play that game anymore.

[oddthings]

You just need to be careful, that's all. Don't bounce him so hard.

[princessia]

Cole's right, Elize! I know.

[ She shyly kicks her foot at the ground and she can't help but pout too. But after that, she doesn't feel like bouncing him anymore. She'll play a more careful game of Bounce Teepo another time... ]

[oddthings]

Doesn't it hurt him when you bounce him?

[princessia]

Umm... yes...

I wouldn't say it "hurts", but I get all stretched out when people play too rough with me! And Elize doesn't like it very much when I'm all stretched out!

[oddthings]

Does bouncing...unstretch him, then?

C

[hands4healing]

[Winry enjoys the parks in Heropa almost as much as the beaches. Today, she and Zoey are in the park, playing a game of fetch.

Winry has a strong throwing arm, and she sends the ball sailing across the grass, Zoey tearing after it. The ball bounces next to Elize and Teepo, and Zoey charges in to snatch it up, nearly grabbing Teepo by mistake.]

Zoey!

[princessia]

[ Elize loves cute animals, but this one's trying to grab Teepo. She lets out a yelp of surprise as the dog gets close to her, scrambling backwards and covering her doll with her arms. ]

Teepo isn't a dog toy! Bad dog!

[hands4healing]

[Zoey cocks her head, halfway in a play bow, her tail waving.]

Zoey, sit! [Winry shouts and Zoey plops down in a sit. Winry jogs up, stopping to rumple Zoey's ears.] Good girl, Zoey.

[She offers a worried smile.]

I'm sorry, did she hurt you?

[princessia]

[ She releases a sigh of relief. Seeing that the dog is sitting still now, she relaxes and lightens her grip around Teepo. ]

N-no... But that sure surprised us! I thought she was going to chew me up!

[hands4healing]

[Winry blinks her surprise.] Is your doll talking?

[She's still keeping her hand on Zoey's head.]

[princessia]

[ Elize nods and opens her arms to release the doll for a moment. Teepo hovers in between her hands and twirls in a circle. ]

Totally!

[hands4healing]

[Zoey's too well-behaved to make a lunge for Teepo, but her ears flip up and down and she whines. Winry keeps her hand on Zoey's head, though her focus on Teepo is just as intent.]

That's amazing. Are you...sentient?

[princessia]

Thank you. I know I'm amazing. [ This doll is giving such a smug smile. ]

Sentient? [ Blank stare. She doesn't know that word... ]

B.

[hoboagogo]

[He doesn't cut through the park terribly often on the way back to the base, after school lets out-- but damn, it's been nice to walk through the nicer weather down here, before sucking it up and going back up to the frigid cold in De Chima. So, one hand resting at the worn backpack-strap over a shoulder, he's been flipping through his phone as he walks, only glancing up at the sounds of-- singing.

And ordinarily he'd just keep going, but the sight of the patterned-purple doll floating around the little girls head as she crosses the balance beam makes him pause, as though to try and figure out what exactly he's looking at.

(And let's be honest. She reminds him of Miki, too, in a way that pangs in his chest, mixed up in nostalgia.) So after a moment, he approaches, tucking the phone back into a pocket and lifting the same hand in greeting.]

Hey. You write that song?

i'm sorry about teepo, shinji.......

[princessia]

Y-yes...

[ Hearing someone take notice of her, she starts to wobble on the beam, but quickly regains her balance. For a moment, she got distracted. Thankfully, she's near finished walking across it and hops down when she reaches the end. She can feel her cheeks developing a warm pink tinge.

Teepo flits in front of Elize's face to hide her embarrassment, acting like a little guardian. The doll looks at the stranger, his ears sticking straight up in the air and looking alert. ]

Be careful of hobos, Elize!

NEVER BE SORRY teepo is a beautiful wonderous creature

[hoboagogo]

[For a second, he's caught off guard by the talking doll jutting between them and-- well. Talking. But that's quickly replaced by a short scoff as he responds sharply to the plush:]

I ain't a damn hobo!

[Anymore. But- details, right? He's been combing his hair and showering regularly and everything here! Still kind of constantly looks scruffy and shifty like some sort of vagrant, though.

And arguing with the talking doll doesn't help.

So with a sigh he brings up his hand to scratch at the back of his neck, eyes closing for a second as he breathes out a short 'tch' noise.]

...So this thing's your guardian here, I take it. [Eyeing you, Teepo. He was talking to the young lady here, not your harlequin-patterned-ass.]

[princessia]

...He's my friend. [ Guardian might be a suitable word for him too, though. The two always fought side-by-side. But having held onto him since she was an even smaller child, she's far more accustomed to calling the doll a friend. ]

You still look like a hobo.

[ Sorry. But this harlequin-patterned-ass cannot keep his big mouth shut sometimes. The doll's expression changes from looking accusatory to a more grinning, teasing smile. Standing behind the doll, even Elize looks shocked hearing such rude words being thrown at the stranger. Teepo, please stop. It makes her grow more embarrassed, even though most people don't know what Teepo truly is.

Yanking the doll from midair, she holds him in her arms and clasps her hand over his mouth. ]

Bad, Teepo! Don't say mean things, okay?

[hoboagogo]

[A scoff, and he shoves his hands in his pockets- but... he can't argue that. Even if he's ditches the heavy coat in the warm Heropa weather, he's still got a scruffy air of homelessness about him. (Really, he'd probably have it until he day he died [again]. It's just such an ingrained part of how he looks and carries himself.)

But when Elize intervenes, he just shakes his head.]

Nah, don't worry about it. He's got a point.

[At least he can be honest with himself about that. Rolling a shoulder in a shrug, he'll finally introduce himself.]

So- Elize and Teepo? I'm Shinjiro. [A nod.] Guessing you guys are imPorts, too?

[Because if any of the Natives had worked out sassy talking plushies, he's certain he'd be seeing way more kids with them.]

[princessia]

[ Elize lowers her head apologetically. Still, she feels horrible about Teepo blurting out something like that. She might agree with the doll, but there are some things you should just keep to yourself.

Pulling her hands away from Teepo's mouth, he floats by her side and fortunately doesn't blab on about anything else. For now.

She's back to her shy demeanor, kicking at the dirt and pebbles on the ground with her boot and lightly swaying her arms. ]

Yes. [ She nods. Hard to hide the fact that you're an imPort when you have a strange talking doll always by your side. ] We're still kind of new here...

[hoboagogo]

[An eyebrow lifts behind his messy bangs at the way Teepo simply floats up and about her, almost-- creepy with that weird unblinking stare. It wouldn't have been so strange if it hadn't acknowledged him earlier-- but now he can't help but think of this thing as some sort of weird spirit-like companion inside a doll. Or-- something.

He's stopped thinking too hard about other imPorts's situations.]

S'alright. [His fingers fidget in his pockets slightly, glancing down to the ground between them. maybe he should have thought more before just-- weirdly chatting up a small child.]

Most of us are. I think the longest most people've been here is like- a bit over a year? [Though far from their homes for longer than that, to hear some tell of it. But that doesn't matter.] But we don't see a lot around your age. usually it's adults.

[Or... wanna-be adults, as the case may be.]

[princessia]

[ Over a year? That definitely has to be the longest stay she has heard of so far. Someone had already warned her that there's no telling when any of them would return. It did upset her at first. At least there's plenty for her to do to keep her busy until it's her time to leave.

Like learning all sorts of new things and making friends. They can try befriending this Shinjiro guy too.

...Maybe. The pair are still a slightly wary of him, but mostly because he looks intimidating.

His mention of the lack of children around her age has Teepo drooping his ears sadly. The only other children Elize knew of were Mabel, Ken, and the boy at the swear-in auction. ]

That's too bad!

[ Elize shakes her head in disagreement with the doll. Although, she does share a disappointed expression. ] Maybe it's better that they're not here.