estoria | [ step right up ϟ open ]

Who: Hawke + Merrill + Anyone who comes to visit their balloon booth
When: IC: 6/9
Where: The Cultural Festival
What: Hawke and Merrill try to run a con. It goes just as well as you'd expect.
Rating/Warning: None!

HAWKE AND MERRILL

[ today at the cultural festival, there is a certain booth crammed in amongst all the other booths. it's bright and colorful and very much open to the public. the most noticeable thing about the booth are the stuffed plushes surrounding the edges -- plushes of mosley, bellona, and all kinds of fantastical creatures (dragons, unicorns, three wolves howling at the moon, etc etc). on the wall of the booth and the main attraction of it, is a wall filled with different brightly colored balloons and a sign that reads “BALLOON GAME”. pretty straightforward, huh?

then there are the two manning the booth: hawke and merrill. hawke, just as scruffy as usual with a t-shirt that reads TRUST ME, I'M A DOCTOR and merrill, elfy and pure. as your character approaches, they'll catch a conversation between the two friends. ]

You can't just tell them how to play, Merrill. It's a whole process, you have to convince them! Let them figure it out themselves and say nothing while they do it.

— But Hawke, if we don't tell them how to win, how ever will they— [ merrill's voice lowers to a slightly muffled whisper. nevertheless, she isn't being too discrete. ] Oh, I see. It's a trick, isn't it? You're always thinking ahead, Hawke.

First, thank you, I try. Second, no, no. Not a trick. [ hawke, stop lying. ] A challenge! They have to use their wits. Will the dart pop the balloon? Will they pop enough to win the prize? Will they use all three chances wisely or have to pay to play again? Only the Maker knows, of course.

But we're hoping that the dart doesn't pop the balloon, yes?

[ does this question even require an answer, merrill? unfortunately, hawke's actual answer is drowned out by the buzz of the fair but their booth is open and they're waiting for any sort of customer so, uh...

... step right up? ]

HAWKE

[ as the day goes, hawke decides to give merrill a bit of a break (or told her to go enjoy herself at the festival because she kept BLOWING THE CON -- either one) and hawke takes over the booth completely. hawke is charming and personable to those who approach the booth and encourages multiple attempts to win a prize. surely, you'll get it next time! surely. she even lets a few people win (if only to keep up the integrity of their reputation).

but at one point during the festivities, anyone who comes across hawke will find her at the booth, sitting on the table and leaning against the booth wall, arms crossed over her chest and... asleep? yes, hawke is asleep on the job.

you're welcome to wake her up. or not. you do you, friend. ]

MERRILL

[ with the culture festival wrapping up, merrill found herself levied with the grand, insurmountable task of breaking down the booth. she had to be useful somehow, seeing as how every time she cut in during a transaction, she ended up ruining the con.

this would be easy (easier, at least) if the booth wasn't so— so fancy, but unfortunately, it was way too future-y sci-fi for merrill to figure out. there were hinges in places merrill didn't know hinges could even be, and merrill had forgotten to ask hawke for the instruction manual. she decided, then, to just wing it — she moves to a nearby hinged corner and begins to fold it, when suddenly, it electronically takes over and flips wildly, causing merrill to fall on her back. damn.

when she gets up, everything looks good except... oh, well, it looks like a plush got decapitated. the three wolf moon plush was now a two and a half wolf moon plush. she grasps the head tentatively, wondering what to do now, when she sees someone approaching. she scrambles to her feet, hoping it isn't hawke.

when she sees it isn't, she sighs, holding out the... head. ]

Ah... you wouldn't happen to want a headless wolf for your, um, collection, would you? I'll gladly give it to you if you help me fix — fix this.

[ she waves over to the booth rather sadly. ]

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

[ hawke is definitely a doctor and that is in no way a lie, at all! she jerks away a little when she hears the sharp tone and blinks up at mitsuru.

oh no, she's hot. hawke just lets her mouth hang dumbly open for a moment before clearing her throat and flushing red a little. she sits up properly and slaps her cheeks to wake herself up. back to the con, back to the con! ]

Ah! What can I do for you, Messere? Here to play a little game? Test your skills with a... dart?

[ that seems kind of underwhelming a reply now, huh. ]

[ Hm. Well, at least this woman snaps to when she's prodded, though Mitsuru still feels a sense of disappointment. She doesn't appear to be a student, which is even more reason for her to set a prime example to the younger patrons. Certainly doctors have better sense of decorum than this.

But, to the task at hand. Her gaze shifts to the array of balloons. ]

Ah...so this is "darts"? I imagined the set-up would be a little different.

[ Yeah she has no idea what she's looking at. ]

[ in another life, hawke's a responsible adult figure! but not this one. she shifts to sit up fully, folding her legs under herself and glancing back at the balloons when mitsuru does before back at her. ]

Weeeeell, it's balloon darts! You take one of these darts, [ hawke picks one up for herself. ] And point it at the balloon and --

[ hawke aims the dart for a balloon that she knows will pop, tosses it carefully and POP, the balloon pops and the dart falls to the ground. hawke looks back at mitsuru with a cheery grin. ]

Just like that. Do it three times, win the grand prize! [ a gesture towards the largest stuffed plushes decorating the booth. ] For the low, low price of only thirty credits.

[ and yet, she still overcharges mitsuru. ]

[ Hm. Yes, she believe she understands. The rules are simple enough. ]

So it's a test of skill.

[ Mitsuru says that far too seriously, though, for a balloon game. That's the kind of thing that appeals to her. ]

...Thirty credits? Very well.

[ Her concept of money may be a little skewed as well. She's prepared to pay up. Not that she cares much for the prizes.

HERE YOU GO HAWKE. Darts, please. ]

[ hawke's going to take a moment to thank the maker for all of these gullible saps in cerealia as she charges the thirty credits to mitsuru's account and hands over three darts. three dull darts too, because this is a rigged game full of rigged people. well, not mitsuru but hawke is definitely a rigged person as much as a person can be.

she's still sort of blatantly checking out mitsuru though, even as she leads her through the game. sorry, mitsuru. hawke's a bit of a dog. ]

You do look like a very skilled woman, messere. Someone very experienced. A woman of her years, as they say.

[ hawke, chill. ]

[ step right up ϟ open ]

it's fine with me!! i've been pretty slow myself so o/

you're a doll!

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