duologs | ( semi-open ) 🌼 may catchall

1 / ON / quest: amex black card

a. auction mingling
[ In a manner that may be surprising to most, Juniper cleans up decently enough for the party in a green dress that matches her eyes, with her hair pulled up and adorned with flowers. She also manages to act well enough on her part, which is only possible because she’s already so damned earnestly nice and polite most of the time that all she really has to do is keep herself from asking stupid questions (90 percent of her brain power is going towards making sure of this)…

Easy enough, at least, when there are plenty of fancy little snacks to occupy herself with. Indeed, Juniper can be found hovering around a caterer with a tray or a table stocked with various finger foods most of the time, or otherwise making smalltalk and enjoying the various musical performances of the evening.

…And sneaking in flutes of champagne here and there. It’s fine, right? It’s for the sake of blending in for the mission! ]

b. quest investigation
[ wait… what mission? She’s so devoted to playing her part that she’s all but forgotten that the part-playing is in service to an actual investigation, and actual goal.

It takes another partygoer mentioning the Frog Maiden for something to seemingly shift in Juniper’s brain, and at its mention she tilts her head and cups her chin with a hand contemplatively as she thinks out loud… ]

The Frog Maiden, hm…? There was something about the Frog Maiden… Ah, what am I forgetting?

[ Someone please step in before she blows her own cover. ]

2 / OFF / girl help

[ It’s been a few weeks, now, since Juniper arrived and decided to earnestly live up to the life laid out by her fake memories. It’s its own adventure in a way, right? She’d been so excited to go to university, when she’d never been to any sort of formal institution for learning up until now—

Even though there’s so… much… homework? That she doesn’t know if she even really understands? What in the Nine Hells is calculus, anyway, and why does it need a pre- in front of it? Is there a post-calculus, too?

Anyway, studying in the library and hoping its atmosphere would somehow make her smarter hasn’t been working, so instead she’s taken her textbooks and sprawled her work out anywhere and everywhere in Dodo, whether it’s on a table in the Banquet Hall, on the floor at the Training Hall where she’s attempting to solve problems in between training exercises, or all over the common room coffee table in the Warbler Suite.

If one inspects Juniper’s work, it’s easy enough to tell that, spoiler alert: she has no idea what’s going on in any of her classes except for like. English. ]

[ Time to make the most horrendous cookies in existence!

Though, not just yet. Juniper had of course volunteered herself to take part in the Love Love Matchmaking quest. A month’s supply of chocolate sounds great, and it’s for the greater good (?) after all! She can go on a few dates for the sake of publicity and helping a local business!

Even though… She’s never really gone on dates before? Real or fake. Her fake memories are telling her that she’s gone on a few in her “offline” life, but she’s finding more and more as of late that she can’t really be relying on those fake memories for much more than putting names to people’s faces. If even that!

Case in point: as she stands waiting outside the designated date spot, Juniper is staring down at her phone, wondering why the name “Kaede” sounds so familiar… Though when her fellow ambassador makes her appearance, she offers a winning smile and a friendly wave of her hand. ]

Kaede! Over here!

[ You know what’s better than one adventurer? Two adventurers!

It’s why Juniper is ecstatic to have Lumine along for this quest, especially as it’s such a departure from their first little adventure together! No dangerous vines or electrocution here, just… Ten cats in a house with only one caretaker, who’s doing his best. Still, variety is truly the spice of life, and she’s looking forward to working with Lumine again in very different circumstances.

They’re walking up to the front door of the quaint man’s house when Juniper pipes up. ]

I think it’s sweet that Mister… [ Oh, goodness. One second. She checks her phone. ] Mister Abe is looking after his wife’s cats even after she’s passed… So let’s do our best so he can breathe a little easier, Lumine!

[ Who better to take on a quest involving ten cats with than someone who has the big kitty familiar? Even without that consideration, though, Juniper already knows that she and V work well in a team together, and if they managed to take on that golem, then surely ten cats would be just fine…

Right…?

As it turns out, ten cats is. So many cats. And it’s especially so many when at least half of them see Juniper’s rabbit ears and think she would make a far better toy than any of their existing toys.

It’s some time after they’ve arrived that Juniper walks into a room in search of V, with three cats latched onto her. ]

Umm, V…? I-I’m wondering if maybe I should stick to cleaning up around the house.

[ fucking help

well, tsurumaru will just walk next to her casually, like they're best friends. thank you mods for giving us an excuse to dress up. but he takes a sip out of his own champagne glass. ]

Hm? Frog Maiden? It's suspected to be auctioned off for a high price, right? I'm sure it's going to steal the show.

[ he winks. please catch on before he starts trying to think of more puns. ]

[You would think he'd be capable, wouldn't you? If he could deal with a large cat-demon-familiar like Shadow, V can clearly handle ten housecats.

Except ten cats is a lot of cats. Ten small cats are a lot of little furry bodies that like to get underfoot, that mewl for attention all at once. Shdaow is large, yes, but it is only one entity, stoic and calm and listening easily to V's commands. This will be something wholly different, he thinks.

The moment Juniper walks into one of the room, where V is trying to scoop up a litter box that hasn't been cleaned properly in... who knows how long, he knows this to be true.]

You...

[Okay, that's a somewhat humorous sight, though he manages to hold in his amusement, turning around with his lips twisting to scoop up more cat poop.]

But they like you so much.

[HELPFUL, V]

[ why is this person wINKING at her—

she rolled a whole 3 in intelligence to pick up on the hint, so... rip. ]

Right, right! The highly sought-after Frog Maiden statue! But I feel like there was something else that was important about it, hmmm...

[ at least now she's shoving another deviled egg into her mouth before she spills any beans. maybe the extra protein will help her think more gooder! ]

[ fucking help. what did he do wrong...

well. tsuru will proceed to just wink his other eye, as if the only reason juni didn't catch on was because of that choice and nothing else. yes, it'll go better this time. ]

Oh, you know. How people may just want to run away with it due to its beauty.

[ this is fine. ]

I-Is this the love of cats!?

[ Wow!?!? You know what's just as humorous? The veritable, dramatic, edgy V!! Scooping up cat poop!!! ]

Do you think... that they think that I'm a real rabbit!? Like a giant rabbit!

[ Said as one (of ten cats) is very much just. Full on gnawing on her hand. ]

[ another wink? Is she being flirted with??? ]

Yes, yes, its beauty! If it was a real frog maiden so many frog suitors would be wanting to run... away... with...

[ please hold. She's staring at Tsurumaru very, very intently. Something is surfacing in her brain. It's very close, almost there.

She leans in, pulling out a little fan and opening it so she can whisper at him... ]

...Don't I know you from that bakery?! Are you under cover, too!?

[ you know what's the worst thing about this? he is going to assume that winking with the other eye is what did this.

but the recognition makes him nod his head, and tsuru leans in a little so he can whisper back. at the very least, they just look like gossiping rich people like this... or a couple, but he is personally thinking of the former option because it's funnier to him. ]

Yes, yes. Here to prevent a robbery?

[ they deserve to fail this with how long it took to get to this point. ]

[It's dirty work, but someone's got to do it. V will just make it look cool and edgy the entire time. (He won't. No one can make this task look very dignified; thankfully, V's pride doesn't get in the way of such a thing, especially since he was the one who offered to help with this task. Scoop, scoop, scoop.)]

That depends. Are they trying to pounce on you? Eat you?

[When he's done, he takes a moment to clean up (AND MAYBE WASH HIS HANDS SOMEWHERE) but at some point, he's sauntering back over to Juni and, holding his cane under one arm, tries to gently pry one off of her. How hard is this cat latching on?]

Otherwise, maybe they just like you that much. It would make sense. Shadow's taken a liking to you, after all.

[hikari walks into the training hall for his daily sword exercises, but then pauses when he sees juniper on the floor with her textbooks and

he glances around the hall in confusion like? did HE enter the wrong room by accident?]

[ help, their braincells... it sure has taken them this long to get to this point, and perhaps even longer still, because what Tsurumaru says makes Juniper finally, finally remember what they're under cover for. ]

Oh... Right! Yes - of the Frog Maiden!

[ everything is slotting together now. yay... ]

You and I should team up, then! I'm Juni, by the way, but I've been telling people here to call me Lady Diana.

[ she considered Princess as her title but it just didn't have the same ring to it... ]

[ In the time that it takes V to finish with his task and then go wash his hands, yet another cat has latched onto Juniper. That's basically half of the cats on her (she's bad at math).

The one that V attempts to pry off of her, at least, gives easily and is thusly removed, although it does leave a nice little parting gift of claw marks on Juniper's arm. Her love of sleeveless crop tops is truly being weaponized against her... ]

Well, at least one of them pounced on me... Does Shadow really like me?! Did it tell you that?

[ She wants to know what Shadow said about her!! ]

Oh, of course. It likes your fighting spirit. It shares it in spades.

[The cat has left a mark on her arm, alas. He blinks at it, even as he shuffles the feline to settle in his arms. It immediately tries to clamber up to his shoulders, instead.]

...It would never pounce on you, though. Not unless we were in the middle of a spar. I wonder if your appearance is activating all of these cats' prey drive.

[He gently tries to remove yet one more cat from her, though its claws extend in token resistance, catching on her clothing. Which makes his next statement sound contradictory, but he's more referring to the scratch she's already been given:]

Should we find you... sleeves?

We should!

[ there's a pause, and he will admit a little guiltily, ]

I have been using my actual name...?

[ it did not once occur to him to use a fake one, despite the fact that he is actually extremely used to doing missions of this nature back home. ]

[ No, he's absolutely in the right place, she is just the embodiment of chaos. Because the sight of the textbooks and notes strewn about is also coupled with her absolutely substantially large axe just on the floor near her. Like. Should it just be on the floor like that?? What if someone trips? ]

Ahhh... Why do I have to learn this stuff...!

[ She'd heard Hikari walk in, but she's too caught up in her confusion that she doesn't think to greet him. Instead, she just... faceplants into her open textbook. ]

[ Juniper can't help but chuckle as the cat attempts to perch onto V's shoulders. Somehow, it's a sight that just... fits? It's a void cat, too. Void recognizes void, perhaps. But the moment of amusement soon passes when a cat's claws snag on her clothing; Juniper does what she can to loose her shirt from the cat's clutches before she glances down at he scratch...es. On on her arm. ]

Sleeves...? Ahh, no, it's fine! I've gotten a lot worse than this from giant constrictor snakes!

[ ??? ]

...B-But yeah, that's what I was thinking. Well, at least Shadow wouldn't betray me like this. Please tell it I admire its fighting spirit, too!

Oh. That's bold!

[ It doesn't occur to her that it never occurred to him. She just thinks he's brave and hasn't got anything to lose. Admirable! ]

That means I can keep calling you Bakery Guy!

[Void senses void. It suits him, just one more black cat to his collection of them, apparently.]

Giant constrictor snakes? I think that's comparing apples and oranges.

[He smirks a little.]

Shadow might can hear you now, actually.

[cautiously, he steps towards her. and around the axe on the floor, which he is vaguely aware of as a safety hazard.]

Are you... all right?

Yes! Or Tsurumaru, as Bakery Guy isn't actually my legal name!

[ he takes a sip of champagne, considering. ]

Although I wonder what the process of changing it to that would be here, or--

[ whoops, he takes a step back and his hand will carefully grab onto her shoulder to make her go with him. a few people hurriedly walk by a little too quickly. hmmm. ]

It can?!

[ Juniper, of course, has to take that to mean that Shadow is actually here, and has gone undetected. So she whirls around, cats still latched on and all, to glance around the room as if she'll suddenly find Shadow lurking... in the shadows... ]

Is it being shy? Hehe.

[The cats latched onto her meow and swish their tails in excitement. Juniper, this is not how you calm them down.

He reaches out with a hand to both steady her and to stop her twirling about.]

No. Just dormant. As we all know, the OFF world bars access to our abilities unless we're in Dodo, but that doesn't mean I can't still feel it present on my skin.

[And he motions to the dark markings that peek past the cuff of his long sleeve on the opposite hand.]

These are my familiars.

[Literally, the markings are not just proof of his pact with them, but actually them, too.]

( semi-open ) 🌼 may catchall

🌼 open prompts;

🌼 kaede

🌼 lumine

🌼 v

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