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[ CLOSED : PRINCESS AND THE EEL. ]
Who: Veronica (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
protectthecastle) and Adolf (zitteraal)
When: Backdated to before the carnival event.
Where: In ViViD!
What: Blond(e)s just want to have fun... or something.
Warnings: None atm! Adolf being dour as usual, probably.
[ Once upon a time, Adolf had control over his life.
That's once upon a time, though: that was then and now is now, and he's grown to expect at least a fraction of the irregularities that CERES pelts with him on a weekly basis. Weird glitches? Check. Feeling under the weather for no reason? Double check. ViViD complications?
Triple check.
He could've sworn that he entered this stage as a single player, but the display in front of him says differently: it flashes a warning that his 'partner' is logging in, and he only has a second to look vaguely surprised before he turns to the person in question, furrows his brows over the brim of his wide collar. ]
...Veronica?
[ It seems that he always runs into this girl in the strangest circumstances, but at the very least, he recognizes her. A small comfort. ]
protectthecastle) and Adolf (zitteraal)When: Backdated to before the carnival event.
Where: In ViViD!
What: Blond(e)s just want to have fun... or something.
Warnings: None atm! Adolf being dour as usual, probably.
[ Once upon a time, Adolf had control over his life.
That's once upon a time, though: that was then and now is now, and he's grown to expect at least a fraction of the irregularities that CERES pelts with him on a weekly basis. Weird glitches? Check. Feeling under the weather for no reason? Double check. ViViD complications?
Triple check.
He could've sworn that he entered this stage as a single player, but the display in front of him says differently: it flashes a warning that his 'partner' is logging in, and he only has a second to look vaguely surprised before he turns to the person in question, furrows his brows over the brim of his wide collar. ]
...Veronica?
[ It seems that he always runs into this girl in the strangest circumstances, but at the very least, he recognizes her. A small comfort. ]
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She's more than wiling to give them a chance and also to help them in whatever ways were necessary. Partners worked together and she was good at doing something like that.
Which is why she tilts her head when she sees that the partner in question is someone she already knows.]
Adolf? You are my partner?
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Time to rephrase. ]
...I logged in as a single-player. This might be a bug.
[ Which isn't very heartening, huh... thanks ViViD. ]
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[That doesn't actually bother her too much, and it's obvious in the curious tilt of her head.
Except they don't get the chance because the display shimmers slightly and the words: "Ready?" appear. Ready or not, then game is starting.]
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[ Not that he would've told her to log out— in the event that she did log into his Ludicrously Hardmode Combat Simulation, he would have had a good challenge in protecting her.
Unfortunately (or fortunately), this doesn't seem to be Ludicrous Hardmode Combat Mode: it actually looks kind of like a haunted mansion? Luigi's mansion comes to mind. ]
...Did you pick this stage?
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[She preferred the ones where she could shoot round targets or skeets as she just didn't really see the point of violence for the sake of credits.]
I have not played this stage before, actually. I have seen others play it. Is this not the one with the monsters?
[There's a growl behind them and she turns to see a spined lizard-creature which rears up on its hind legs. Without even thinking, she steps in front of Adolf and draws her gun, her other hand pushing him behind her.]
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—a small canister, the size of an Altoids tin. ]
...Don't be reckless. I can take care of this.
[ He says, but he also does need a second to take his medication. She'd probably be able to dispose of a monster or two in the amount of time it takes him to get ready. ]
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Not that Veronica thinks that for even a moment. If he's taking it out, she thinks it most likely does have a use even though she doesn't know what it is.
But the second he needs is enough for her to dispatch the lizard with a very well-aimed shot to the head.]
I am not being reckless.
[Her tone is calm and neutral as always, even as she turns and shoots another enemy.]
I wish to help.
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It only takes a second, and it only takes another second for him to store that tin away and replace it with a throwing knife. ]
—I can see that. You're a good shot.
[ Which he's a bit surprised by, but then again, everyone has surprised him here. ]
...But stand back.
[ It's the standard coolguy anime thing to say, but the crackle of electricity around his fingers (it might be familiar, from the first time they met) is warning enough. ]
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Just because she's standing back though doesn't mean she can't still help, and she keeps half an eye on what he's doing, keeping her gun drawn.]
Thank you. [For saying that she's a good shot.]
But I do not need to stay behind you.
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[ Proven by another crack of lightning a few feet from where he's standing, one that makes more of the enemies nearby scatter. ]
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But this is Adolf and she trusts him and values his choices.]
Then where would you like me to go?
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[ It's a spot he knows he can keep an eye on, and he nods at Veronica to indicate that he appreciates her compliance. He wouldn't be happy with himself if he hurt her inadvertently, in a game or no. ]
You won't have to stay still for too long. Ten seconds, maximum.
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[With a few steps (and one shot that hits an enemy squarely in the chest, making it burst into coloured lights) she takes her position.]
Now?
[Is he going to count down for her?]
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[ A quiet affirmation, and he pushes forward, reaching inside his jacket to throw a barrage of knives in quick succession. They hit the 6 targets in front of him seamlessly, and with a quick exhale and a point of his index finger, lightning falls and strikes the monsters where the knives have embedded into their chests.
Similarly, they all burst into colored lights before the scene goes quiet. ]
...That should do it.
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That functions similarly to lightning rods?
[Somehow he kind of reminds her of Robert.]
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[ He goes to pick said weapons off of the ground, turns them over in his hand to make sure that they're intact. Not that he thinks they'd stay broken even if they did get damaged in ViViD.
Once that's over with, he moves back towards Veronica and gives her a careful once-over. ]
...You're not hurt?
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[That does make sense...to use his natural advantages, right? She looks down at herself and then smiles with a tilt of her head.]
I am not hurt at all. Are you? You are not tired?
[Because using magic was very tiring and she doesn't exactly know yet how his powers work.]
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But he shakes his head, pats himself down a few times to let the lightning settles around him. ]
I'll be fine for another few hours. [ HOURS... NBD... ] It looks like we're going to have to complete this mission, whatever it turns out to be.
[ Just as he says that, a text box pops up next to the both of them, which reads:
MISSION: PLAY A TUNE ON OUR HAUNTED MANSION'S HAUNTED PIANO! ]
...Well.
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That is amazing.
[That mission though....It could be worse?]
Shall we, then? I wonder where the piano is.
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[ He clarifies, as if he's not thrilled about being called amazing, even when it's a good thing... what a ween.
First things first, though: ] ...Wait. Do you know how to play the piano?
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And no, I do not know how to. [She says this as if it isn't even a problem. Hey, they just said to play a tune. They never said to play it "well".]
Do you?
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He sets that aside for now, to answer her question first: ]
...No. I can't even begin to play anything on the piano.
[ Blunt, honest. He's not afraid to vocalize when he can't do something, at least. ]
And where I was from, knights and squires were obsolete. I'm nothing that grandiose.
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[Though she can't imagine Glen and Bart (or Cotton and the other squires) being obsolete. Maybe it was because she can imagine them so easily fitting as other roles. They were all talented and dedicated and smart. She knows they would have been just as strong and true and good as anything else. Just like she believes it of Adolf.]
What is your occupation, Adolf?
[Also since they should start looking for a piano, her eyes stray to the doorways around the room.]
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[ So, way in the future— or maybe not, depending on Veronica's world and her circumstances. He knows that time is a very malleable concept in this place, so he elects not to be too surprised by the curveballs that timelines throw him.
Adolf's internal electrical radar is useless against pianos, so they're going to have to go through this blind... great. Let's open this door as they converse, surely it's better than nothing... ]
As for my occupation, a representative of my country for an expedition. [ He's pretty sure that that's the tamest way he can phrase that without everything flying right over Veronica's head. ] Before that, nothing significant.
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The door opens onto a hallway that is both dimly lit and long. It's probably meant to be atmospheric though Veronica just finds it difficult to see where they're going.]
And you are an ambassador?
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He even offers her the hem of his jacket, if she wants to hold onto it. ]
The future, yes. An ambassador— no.
[ There's really no good word for what he was tasked to do. ]
More like an exterminator.
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...An exterminator of what?
[Her tone is neutral even as she turns her eyes to him in the gloom, listening to the creaking and sighs of what she supposes is someone's idea of a very drafty old house.]
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After all, Adolf assumes that a more reasonable reaction to being told that your conversation partner is an exterminator is to find an excuse to get the hell away.
He almost laughs; the accompanying exhale borders on disbelief. ]
I could have said 'humans'.
[ Read: "you should probably know better than to ask someone that, just in case". The faint rise of his brow as he turns to knock against a nearby door should speak volumes.
But he presses on, because even he's not terrible enough to let her keep believing that he's an axe-murderer. ]
But, no. My main directive was to destroy mutant lifeforms.
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That isn't an option she had ever thought of. Because she always wanted to believe in the best of people until it had been proven otherwise and even then she sought to understand first and not to judge, even if she didn't ultimately agree.
Besides, she didn't believe it of him. Not of Adolf who had helped her more often than not and who worried he would hurt her. If he had said humans, she would have asked why.
(And more importantly whether or not he knew she was also human.]
I see. ...May I ask why?
[The door opens all on its own with a loud creak and a rustling inside. Veronica tugs lightly on his jacket to make sure he's aware to be careful.
One single scene of combat was apparently not enough because the game gives them another wave of monsters.]
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It's a novel thought, but it rings hollow. ]
Because that was what I was made to do.
[ 'Made'. That sounds cynical, even to himself, but he doesn't have much time to correct or elaborate. A monster comes charging towards the both of them, and he has to reach into his pocket again to spear the thing right in the throat with his knife.
He would have liked not to have made Veronica sit through an entire session of him killing things, but this is life. ]
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But she'd made her decision to play in ViViD and she'd do her best. Veronica takes care of another monster with a well-placed shot to the head, watching it disappear into pixels as she takes a quick look at the room they've opened up for the piano.
There is something covered in a dark sheet in the corner but she can't make out exactly what it is.]
Adolf, do you think that is the piano?
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—It's worth seeing if it is.
[ And since he's a bit busy here, and because he trusts Veronica enough that he can say this: ]
...I'll take care of these two. You can deal with the one by the piano.
[ His tone is level, but his expression leaves a bit of gentleness despite the order, inviting her to refuse if she feels she can't handle it. ]
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All right.
[He was allowing her to stay, to help him and she wouldn't let him down. She knows he'll have her back if she needs it just as she would have his.
Turning away from the other two monsters, Veronica shoots the one near the piano with another accurate shot, running for what she hopes is the piano and pulling off the dark sheet.
And look, it is a piano.]