(open) help out a newbie

[reloves]

🧙 WHO: Minako Aino and you!
⚔️️ WHAT: Minako is new to town, so it's time to explore.
🕒 WHEN: Mid-July
🗺️ WHERE: Camelot
⚠️ WARNINGS: Should be none, will edit if that changes!


(a. at the senshi (and friends!) house)

[ Minako's arrival hadn't exactly been.. pleasant. Somewhere between everything being so chaotic back home right before she showed up here instead, then suddenly being dropped into the water out of nowhere, and then getting covered in gross jelly stuff didn't exactly make it the most fun course of events.

But at least Makoto helped her over to the house, and now Minako has been able to bathe and get all that junk out of her hair, things are starting to look up a little more. Or at least, Minako thinks she looks presentable enough to be seen by others.

Which means she starts wandering the house, peeking her head into all the rooms so she can greet people with a: ]

Hi! [ You know, casual. Just showed up here. No biggie. ]

(b. on the streets of camelot)

[ If you just happen to be calmly walking along the city streets, your moment of relative peace and quiet gets interrupted really, really quickly.

Because you might suddenly feel something jumping on you. It happens so fast that you can't even see what it is, other than that there's a sudden pressure on your head, like something is clinging on for dear life up there. If you try to remove it - which is possible if you put some effort into it - you'll find it's a cat. A kind of.. odd-looking cat, since it's a little too big for your usual cat, but it's still definitely a cat.

Or even if you don't manage to remove it, there's suddenly a blonde girl outright charging at you, yelling out-- ]

Wait!

[ What do you do. Do you run. Do you stay. Do you ponder why your life suddenly turned out like this? ]

(c. outside a bakery)

[ After having managed to recover her familiar, Minako is making sure to tightly hold it to her chest, not wantin to start an entire chase scene all over again.

Which means things are a little bit calmer right now. Instead you might find the blonde girl standing outside a bakery, staring at the delicious goods inside, looking like she's about to drool right over them. ]

Ahh, it looks so good, right? [ She squeezes the cat-like creature a little. ] Maybe you were just hungry too.. Rough is the fate of those who don't have money.. [ Please, Minako. You literally have a house full of friends you're staying with. Cut down on the melodramatics.

Still, her stomach growls. Loudly. That chase must have taken some energy. Do you help out this poor blonde girl. ]

(d. on the streets of camelot, less chaos edition)

[ Or maybe you, very simply, just find the girl walking up to you on the middle of the streets. Do you know her? Probably not! And yet she talks to you so casually, as if you're not total strangers. Welcome to the power of an extreme extrovert. ]

Hey! Sooo.. if someone wanted to practice these new powers everyone's talking about, where do they do that? Won't you help a cute girl out?

[ Look at her batting those doe eyes at you! You're locked into this fate now. It's inescapable. ]

(ooc: as a note for those who have threaded with me on the tdm, i am more than willing to carry those over as in-game canon, so feel free to assume those interactions happened! c: )

Comments

[reloves]

[ Thankfully it seems that the cat isn't trying to eat or bite him. It's just clinging to his head, and even once it's removed, it doesn't try to attack him - though it might be squirming a little bit in his hold. Make sure to hold on tight!

The girl, however, seems to show no signs of slowing down. And she's getting closer and closer now.. ]

You got him!!

[ Now that isn't omnious at all. ]

[flapsin]

[There, nice and snug in his hands! But other than that, it looks like he has a worse situation on his hands. The girl running towards him... sure she seems to just be some young human girl, but the way she pursues him and says that - is she some kind of demon?! Perhaps coming to whisk this cat away? The cat snuggled in his arms, he starts booking it!]

What is going on here?!

[reloves]

[ Now this is just turning into an outright circus act.

Because he starts to run, but Minako just keeps chasing right after him. Maybe she should have grown exhausted from running this much already, but somehow she just keeps going. Like she physically can't give up for some reason.

Maybe it'd help if she would clarify things, but that sure isn't happening. All she's doing is waving her arms in the air wildly while still persuing the duck-cat pair. ]

Give him to me!!

[flapsin]

No way!! I won't let you have him!!

{Drake calls back to the villainous girl as he continues to run! Her pursuit is relentless. He needs to try to shake her! He makes a sharp turn into an alleyway. There's a fence halfway down the alley, perfect for any chase scene! Placing the cat atop his head, he then scales the fence, jumps down to the other side and then pauses to catch his breath.]

[reloves]

[ It's a good idea.

After all, Minako looks like a regular teenage girl in every way. Not exactly the type who's used to these kinds of chases.

But appearances are deceiving. Because Minako charges at the fence without stopping, like her mind doesn't even perceive it as an obstacle worth worrying about. She latches onto it, pulling herself up and scaling the thing incredibly quickly. It's like she's more cat than girl herself in this moment. ]

Don't underestimate the athleticism of people constantly late to school, thief!!

[flapsin]

[Well she's already been pursuing him like some kind of relentless minotaur, so he's not too surprised when she clears the fence so quickly. Drake just... keeps on moving and looking for cover.]

Th-that doesn't sound like something to be proud of, you should go to school on time young lady! Also, I'm no thief! You're one to talk, attempted catnapper!

[reloves]

That's my familiar you're holding!

[ DUDE! PAL! No, even better than all of that-- ]

Old geezer! [ YEAH. Take that! That's what you get for making her run around to chase you when you're the one carrying her familiar!! ]

[flapsin]

Old geezer?! Hey now, I'm only 32 years young!

[He clutches the cat protectively.]

Also, what do you mean that's your familiar?! How I do I know you're telling the truth?

[He glances down at the cat and addresses it-] You know this girl?

[reloves]

[ Please, being 32 makes you older than the dinosaurs in most teenagers' eyes.

But before Minako can even say anything about that, she's interrupted. Not by the duck, no, by the cat. At first it looks at Drake, seeming like it might not say a thing, but then suddenly a very low, lazy male voice comes from the cat: ]

Yeah.

[ Which just makes Minako scream. ]

How come you're admitting that ONLY NOW?!

[flapsin]

[Drake doesn't want to face that, even if he remembers thinking the same at that age...

After the cat speaks, Drake spends a moment continuing his defiance.]

See? This cat wants nothing to do with - wait what. [He halts in his tracks as he realizes what the cat said - and the cat talked.]

You really are - her familiar? Then what has this all been about?!

[reloves]

I was hungry. [ The cat simply says.

You know, as if that was worth all this hassle. It even says it so calmly, casually, like this is totally normal. Its tail is even swishing back and forth a little..

And Minako, in the meantime, is still running until she can catch up with where Drake stopped with the animal. Hang on, she'll be there in a moment. ]

[flapsin]

Hungry, for what? Confusion and a low budget chase sequence?

[As the girl approaches, Drake goes to set the cat down on the ground and slowly back away.]

Here you go. Uh... sorry about that whole... mix-up there...

[reloves]

[ The cat will just calmly sit there. As if it's suddenly done with this entire chase sequence. As if it was entirely innocent in the first place. It's even swishing its tail a little. Look at him, the very icon of innocence.

And when Minako finally catches up with the two, she has to pause for a moment. The girl puts her hands on her knees, trying to catch her breath from that chase. This really is too much on a girl's heart, especially right after showing up here.

And yet she still somehow seems to have enough energy to raise her head and whine: ]

I-- I can't believe you'd mistake a pretty girl like me for a thief! [ It's a true whine. A whine that's childish even for a girl Minako's age. She's so close to just 'waaah'-ing over here. Make it better, Drake! Make up for this mix-up! Give her food! Or something! ]

[flapsin]

[Drake still eyes that cat suspiciously. You might be real adorable, but he's got his eye on you mister!!

But the girl's crying does manage to get to him and grab his attention. He quickly waves his hands in a calming gesture.]

H-hey, I'm sorry! I didn't mean to. A first, you just seemed kinda... intense beyond your years. That's all! ...That- that didn't sound insulting, did it? Okay, how can I make it up to you?

[reloves]

.. r-really?

[ She sniffs, rubbing at her eyes. ]

You really want to make this up to me? [ Be careful, Drake.

You're about to fall into a trap. ]

[flapsin]

[More nervous hand-waving... He'd be more leery of this, but now it's hard to shake off the immediate idea that he's upset this young girl.]

Of- of course I do! It was a big, big misunderstanding that anyone could make, but I still feel bad! So what do you want? Some ice cream? [That's what kids like, right?]

[reloves]

[ Thankfully Minako is one of those people who isn't offended at the idea of being treated like a kid as long as it's netting her something. She'll take it. ]

How about some strawberry shortcake?

[flapsin]

Um, yeah! Sure, that - that's doable. I can get you that right away!

[reloves]

[ Look at that.

She actually managed to get this done.

Minako sniffles for another moment, sucks in a deep breath, and then her water-filled eyes are suddenly replaced by an incredibly sweet smile. ]

Thank you..! I just know I'll feel so cheered up again after having that!

[flapsin]

[Oh, she's happy again so quickly! He... guesses this is what he wanted! He gives an uncertain chuckle.]

You look like you're off to a good start just from the thought of it! [There's no backing out of it now.] Come on, let's find the nearest place that'll have some.

[reloves]

[ Minako is happily following him.

But she's not the only one doing so. Of course the cat - her familiar - is following them too. First on four legs, but then it somehow starts walking on just its hind legs, almost like a human (or, well, like a huge duck can, apparently), when it speaks up to Drake. ]

I'm getting some too, right?

[ Prepare to throw your entire wallet into this, Drake. ]

[flapsin]

[He has almost forgotten about the cat when it spoke up again. And of course it had another demand on top of that! Drake gulps.]

Um, yeah, sure? Is... it okay for cats to have this stuff? [He questions as he approaches the first baked goods seller he finds.] Maybe you could even share one!

[He's just, just putting that out there.]

[reloves]

I want my own!

I want my own!

[ That's said at the very same time, mind you. Almost as if Minako and her familiar are in absolutely perfect sync when it comes to this important matter. ]

[flapsin]

[Oh god they're in stereo! Drake quickly waves his hands as he tries to appease them.]

Okay! Okay, I got it. One for each of you! If- if you insist! [He says as he steps into the place. Sigh... time to place the order.]

[reloves]

[ Drake truly is getting the full 'trying to take care of a minivan full of demanding kids' experience. Except in this case said demanding kids are actually one demanding teenager and a demanding familiar.

At least they do seem easily appeased, since the two of them just smile once they're reassured that they will have their own sweets. ]

Thanks! You're one of the first people I'm meeting here, but you seem pretty nice!