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[sasaeru]

WHO: Ulvida and YOU.
WHERE: Heropa, Nonah, De Chima, your pick.
WHEN: non-specified, but during January.
WHAT: this is an open log + catchall for anything I have planned.
WARNINGS: none for now!

[a; shopping for PET SUPPLIES (any city)]
[Getting a pet cat was not something she exactly planned to do, but it happened, Gran agreed, and they had one very fluffy very large cat that liked to lie across her bed or a resident's lap and leave everything covered in fur. She adored it.

Now that a cat is there, though, the home needs to adjust to it too. You can find Ulvida wandering the aisles of a pet store, small or large, a large cushion held under one arm as she peers at the rows of toys and furrows her eyebrows. She never had pets growing up. The most she had were stray cats that came by the orphanage for a few years. Does she need to keep a lot of toys? Does a cat need that piece of furniture? How big should the carry be? She did her research, but in the end it's hard to be sure of what's right.

Eventually she settles down on a harmless looking toy at the top of a display, but with a cushion under her arm it's difficult to jump high enough to get it. Perhaps you can help her out! Most people are taller than this fifteen year old. Or you could be the cashier that helps her ring up the small collection of cat related supplies she dumps on the counter. Or, while she's still lost in the aisles, you decide to bestow her with some cat-owner know-how?]

[b; at the LUCKY CAT CAFE (Heropa only)]
[Between the morning and early afternoon of some weekdays, there is one blue-haired girl behind the counter of the Lucky Cat Café. She's not very smiley, and she's usually standing back and making the drinks rather than taking orders and ringing up customers, but she's not opposed to talking to you or taking your order if there's a line. The nametag on her apron reads ULVIDA with a few sparkly star shaped stickers stuck around the name. The drinks she makes you are usually very neat-looking, with any and all spills wiped off the outside of the cups before she hands them out. If you order a cake, you bet that cake is standing right side up. Sometimes she'll even smile at you! Sometimes.

Feel free to ask for any drink from the menu or a snack on display. Watch out for the cookies in the bowl priced cheaper than the rest, though, because those are from Wendy Corduroy's this-was-a-mistake batches and sometimes have chili powder on them rather than cinnamon. Ulvida is not going to stop or warn you.]

[c; teaching some kiddies how to play SOCCER (any city)]
[You know that weird collection of middle school kids who kept asking about soccer? Well, she's one of them, although she hasn't talked about the sport on the network like the boys have yet. She was assigned a job making announcements for junior league soccer, but as of late she's been picking up another activity: helping those junior league kids get better at soccer.

You can find her at a park in almost any of the imPort cities, surrounded by a group of kids anywhere from five to ten years old. She isn't running around with them, per se, nor does she ever really kick the ball, but her teaching involves a lot of demonstrating and helping the kids with their form. Kids are easy to talk to.

Sometimes a ball might come rolling your way. Please catch it before it reaches the street! Or are you a kid who also loves soccer and wants to join in? Or maybe you are just curious about what a soccer is.]

[d; WILD CARD]
[Please feel free to pick from any of the above prompts or make up your own if you'd like! If you want to plot something out with me with Ulvida, you can contact me at squigstuff and I'll be happy to discuss and even set something up.]

Comments

for WENDY

[sasaeru]

[You know what's not a bad idea? Skating for the first time. You know what's not a great idea? Skating for the first time with the troll queen of trolls Wendy Corduroy. Sure, she wanted to give the girl a report about her and Gran's development, and she wanted to ask her a few things about American schools, but she wasn't expecting for this day to end up here, at the edge of an ice skating rink, balanced precariously on two metal blades attached to her shoes. Why this. Why Wendy.]

Do you know how to skate?

[If she dies here it's your fault.]

A

[overanalytically]

[ Spock spots her due to her coloring; it stands out, and he also recognizes her from the times he's stopped into the Lucky Cat Cafe. He's not there often since he's mostly in De Chima now, but every so often he stops to get a hot tea, chamomile or some other soothing blend.

Thankfully, Spock is indeed a tall person and he notices her struggling to pick an item off the top shelf. He's not in any hurry today so he steps over to offer to take it down for her. ]

May I provide assistance?

[sasaeru]

[He certainly is tall. The tallness itself is nothing! She does stop in her jumping to make him room, thinking he wanted to get to something she was in the way of, but his question stops her, and she turns to look at him with no small amount of surprise. Kindness like this is still a little foreign.]

Ah-- um, [what to say what to say what to say] are you sure?

[overanalytically]

To offer aid to another is of little burden, [ he says almost without inflection, as if it were just a mere fact of existence. He turns to the top shelf, indicating the thing he thinks she's going for but wanting confirmation. ] Is this the item?

C

[ret2go]

[Soccer does not exist in Sequin Land. It's the crowd of kids that immediately catches Shantae's eye, especially when she realizes they're all gathered around another, older youth. They're playing some sort of... game? Kicking the ball back and forth to each other. She's not exactly sure what the point is other than to kick it, though.

When a ball comes rolling her way, Shantae doesn't even think twice before sending it flying back. Though the fact that she'd done it by giving it a flick with the tip of her nearly five feet of purple hair instead of her foot is a little unusual.] Here you go!

[sasaeru]

[That flick with her hair makes the kids go wild. What is that? That's so cool! But is that handling? It was her hair though. Hairing???

It takes Ulvida a few tries to get them to calm down enough as she fetches the ball, hopping into the air to catch it mid-flight.]

Hairing isn't a real word. [She turns to the girl.] Thank you very much. Is that... do you play? That was very well aimed.

[ret2go]

[Oh wow, the kids going wild over something she's done is... kind of new. Nobody ever cares that much about stuff she does! Shantae actually doesn't know how to react until the older one of the crowd says something to her.]

Do I play? No, I've never even seen this kind of ball before. I'm just good at hitting things with my hair.

Whatcha playing?

[sasaeru]

[She follows his gaze, locating the item that he's correctly identified, and nodding.]

That's the one. Thank you -- it's very kind of you.

[overanalytically]

[ He brings down the toy, holding it out for her. He acknowledges her thanks with a small nod and that curiously flat tone. ]

You were in obvious need and I was available.

[ He eyes the rest of the wares within her arms. ] Will you require further assistance?

[sasaeru]

It's called soccer.

[Unlike some boys she knows, Ulvida isn't very shocked or discouraged by the person's lack of knowledge about soccer. It was only natural for some worlds to be lacking it. As some of the kids start trying to imitate the hair-kick action behind her, Ulvida holds up the ball she just caught.]

It's a sport that's popular on Earth. Players of two opposing teams use their feet to navigate a ball into the opposite team's goals, earning points.

[ret2go]

"Soccer," huh? [Shantae says the unfamiliar word slowly, as if turning it over in her mouth.] That's pretty neat. So all you do is kick it into a goal area? That sounds pretty simple. All these kids know how to play too, I'm guessing?

c

[tacticianing]

[Most of the time, Kidou's noticed that especially in this world, younger kids tend towards a ... distinct approach to soccer. Their standby method is almost geeselike. Although the older ones sometimes remember how to think ahead, most of them have a tendency towards faithfully chasing the ball wherever it goes in a loosely chaotic formation, regardless of what their starting positions were. Seeing that exact 'strategy' play out in a park is mildly entertaining, but far from unusual.

What's unusual is who their little game seems centered around. The vice captain of Genesis herself appears to be acting as a coach, bending over to consult with one kid, waiting for a chance to talk to another one. She doesn't appear to be bad at this, either - slowly, these occasional little conversations are clearly beginning to have a positive effect on the whole group's performance.

It's hard to say how long Kidou's been observing. He seems perfectly content to stand out on the sidewalk and watch this play out as long as it will, smiling secretly to himself. It doesn't seem necessary to interfere.

He'd really thought Ulvida had no further interest in the sport... on rare occasion, it's not a bad thing to be proven wrong.

One of the older kids Ulvida had just been working with gains possession of the ball and manages to send it over the head of one of the younger ones, who's clearly not skilled enough to jump for it. It's fairly impressive; a good, solid kick. Solid enough that it's quickly gone out of reach of anyone who could intercept it. Only the street will catch it now, unless...

That's when Kidou tenses, focus automatically zeroing in on the ball. He knows its trajectory instinctively. He knows exactly how many seconds it'll take to leave the park altogether. He's even aware of how quickly the oncoming truck is arriving. As expected, there's no safe recovery of that ball if it hits the street.

It's a bad plan to simply send it back. Too much risk of it going off at a random angle, or at too much strength for this group to handle. Either of those outcomes is unacceptable. He'll have to stop its current momentum first. Then he can control its power directly.

Kidou quickly jogs to where he would intersect the ball, arriving shortly before the ball does and catching it under his raised foot, stopping it cold. He gives the followup kick only just as much force as it'll take to cross the distance, sending it back into play with minimal power. It's a little hard to estimate how much the littlest ones can take. Better be on the safe side.

Ball successfully saved, he shoves his hands into his pockets. So much for observing unnoticed.]

[sasaeru]

[She looks down at it, too, after taking the toy he holds out toward her. With it she now has a small pile in her arms, precariously balanced on top of the cushion. Not grabbing a basket -- if they had any, she hadn't checked -- or a cart had been a mistake on her part. But...]

... Do you know anything about caring for a cat?

[sasaeru]

They know the rules. They're practicing to get better.

[Which she says with a nod toward the children around her, handing off the ball. The boys take it as a cue to resume practice, pairing off and starting to pass the ball back and forth again.]

It's simple in theory, but the stronger a pair of teams are, the harder it will be to get the ball past each other.

[overanalytically]

[ The pile in her arms is exactly why he's asking, but the question she actually asks surprises him. Not that she could see his surprise, other than in the small movement of a single, slanted eyebrow as is raises higher than the other. ]

I am unfamiliar with the feline species specifically, but most domestic animal companionships require basic essentials such as food, water, safe shelter, and regular veterinary care.

[sasaeru]

[Ulvida is on the move before any of the kids are. She's told them, very strictly -- and a strict order from Ulvida of Aliea is something most kids listen to -- not to chase after rogue balls without checking where they're going first, and especially if one heads for the street she's the one who goes to retrieve it.

But Kidou is faster to get to it, intercepting the ball before it reaches the street and kicking it back with effortless control. It's just enough to reach their group, a pass that she traps easily. She doesn't even need to watch it to catch it. Instead, her eyes are trained on the Raimon player, quickly analyzing the situation. He could've been passing by, just happening to see the ball, or...

She picks up the returned ball and hands it off to one of the children -- the boy who kicked it earlier -- and instructs the group to start some dribble exercises, then turns to approach Kidou.]

Kidou. [No full name this time.] Thank you. I appreciate your help.

B

[nextlevel]

[ She's surely seen Yuuri before, tagging along with Viktor and quietly adding his own order to his fiancé's. But today he's here alone. A bit distracted, with one earbud in as he listens to potential program songs. He takes that one out too when goes to order. ]

Coffee and katsudon, please. [ He leans in to squint at the menu. ] And ... er ... a mystery cookie? What flavor are those?

[sasaeru]

[His list is technical, but technical doesn't overwhelm her one bit. She can run through the inventory that she has easily. Food. Water. Shelter. She can provide those. She'd looked at the cat food. She researched on line, and she chose the best she could afford...]

... I think I have what I need for now, then. Thank you.

[... As she says that, then tries to bow in thanks, one of the food cans rolls off the cushion she's got them balanced on and clatters to the floor.]

[overanalytically]

[ Whoops, that's what he'd been afraid of. He bends down, picking up the fallen item, but he doesn't hand it back. Instead, he gestures to the other items precariously perched in her arms. ]

If you will allow me?

[ret2go]

Oh, right, you said it was a team game. And they're both trying to get the same ball, I'm guessing? That would make it a little more challenging.

[She glances past Ulvida to the kids.] Wouldn't it be a lot easier to just pick it up and throw it?

[sasaeru]

[The moment she saw the man walk in, she knew: He was going to go for the katsudon. That was what she saw him order almost every time he was here, and she remembers what Viktor Nikiforov said about him, too. She's ready to accept the order, to move back to the kitchen and start making him the food, when--]

...

... They're a risky flavor, like a blind box.

[nextlevel]

[ Look. Yuuri is a predictable guy. And he's discovered that katsudon doesn't actually affect his caloric intake, which officially makes this his favorite power ever. Katsudon every day.

As for the cookies, well. He's eaten some weird stuff in America before. Surely this can't be worse? ]

What are the options?

[sasaeru]

[She closes her eyes, shaking her head and saying very neutrally,] I can't say I know.

The boss Wendy Corduroy's of the philosophy that no food should be wasted, even including the ones that she accidentally sprinkled chili powder on.

[nextlevel]

Chili powder ...

[ He looks a bit green. Those calories definitely aren't worth itt. ]

Um, just the coffee and the katsudon then.

[tacticianing]

[The brief debate on whether or not he should keep moving is stopped just as soon as it starts when Ulvida heads over to him. He's glad to go rescue stray balls; he'll do that anytime. Especially if inaction could endanger someone.

At her thanks, Kidou nods, then looks back out to the rest of the kids with that same smile.]

Is this your first time working with them?