[OPEN] There, by the Waterside

[givesalittlewhistle]

Who: givesalittlewhistle & OPEN
When: Mid-June IC/Beginning of April OOC
Where: Around the City
What: Part One: Hikari has her new Camera and wants to try it out | Part Two: weapons training (sort of)
Rating/Warning: (possible talks of fighting involving children)


I.

[If there was one positive thing about that last ViViD game she'd entered...it was that, combined with her school allowance and other savings, it put her at more than enough credits to buy the camera she wanted.]

[It was small. Easy enough to hold in her young hands, and light enough to carry around her neck on a string. Right next to her whistle, and atop the crest of light she kept beneath her shirt. It was also stylish, with a silver casing and even a little view screen in the back so that she could see the image she'd just captured without having to print it out first. Even better, thanks to the small card she was able to insert to add memory, she could take hundreds of pictures before having to delete any and make room for new ones!]

[It also meant she had plenty of leeway to experiment! Which is precisely why, for most of that particular morning, anyone might come across the eight-year-old girl wandering aimlessly around the city looking for things to shoot. She took pictures of the trees. The school. The shrine. The shops.]

[But...what she found she enjoyed most were taking pictures of the people. Especially when they barely had time to pose.]

Smile!

[Click]


II.

[The camera wasn't her only purchase, though this one had been a little more...spontaneous.]

[A glimpse in a window that inspired something she'd been wondering in the back of her mind for some time. Ever since that awful fighting game. She had come away from it mostly unscathed, yes, in no small part due to the fact that she'd reached for a weapon. Not a sword or bow and arrow or anything she could have hurt herself with, though. No, Hikari had reached for a long staff. And wielded it quite well for a novice.]

[Which was to say, she didn't smack herself in the face with it once. Success?]

[So, when she found a rubber training version of the same weapon with foam ends, it was like a sign. It didn't cost much, and when she first held it in her hands, it was even lighter than she remembered the wooden version being.]

[She took it to the park. Tailmon hovered as always, although this time on the ground. More than once, she swatted a little at the staff edges as they came near her, and it was only because of how soft they felt compared to most weapons that she wasn't more concerned. In fact, if anything, the little digimon looked proud of her partner for wanting to better defend herself though slight put out she hadn't opted for the bow and arrow.]

I just wish I knew more so that I could teach you myself.

[Hikari was currently practicing spinning it in her hands, getting used to the way the weight shifted and the center of balance followed its movement. She didn't dare turn her head until it stopped, and called out to Tailmon without taking her eyes away from her current task.]

It's okay. I can...probably...figure this out...by myself...

[Or until somebody else came along to help her.]

Comments

[givesalittlewhistle]

[It was then that Hikari stepped forward. She lightly shook her head at Tailmon, and that actually seemed to be enough to momentarily calm the little digimon down.]

[When she looked up at the older boy, her eyes were...sad. Not the kind of sad that one might normally see from a girl her age, though. This wasn't about yelling or confusion or even hurt feelings. No, this was the kind of sad that came from bad, bad memories.]

Nobody wants to fight. Not really.

I just...I know it's something I might have to do here. So I am learning. But I don't want to hurt anybody any more than I ever have to. That's why I chose the staff, and not a sword or anything like that.

[sayonaradumbass]

[breaking the glare he's got aimed at Tailmon, Kaneda's gaze flickers to Hikari, gauging her.]

It might not hurt to have something a little sharper. But it's a good idea, at least gettin' a little training in.

[will he admit to being embarrassed at arguing with a talking cat? no]

[givesalittlewhistle]

[Hikari shook her head straight away. She was easily as stubborn at Tailmon, if not moreso. Hers was just a more...passive stubbornness.]

It will hurt. Or worse. That's the whole point.

I can deal with hitting somebody with this if I have to. [Her fingers gripped the staff a little tighter.] But no more.

[sayonaradumbass]

[he looks at her, looks back at the cat, and sighs. loudly]

Just hit 'em in the balls after your second move, okay?

[givesalittlewhistle]

[Tailmon bristled.]

Don't teach her things like that!

[sayonaradumbass]

[he just can't win

Kaneda throws his hands up]

Why the hell not?! She's gotta protect herself any way she can.

[givesalittlewhistle]

Because she's still just a--

Tailmon.

[Once more, it was Hikari's gentle hand that silenced the little digimon. A quiet shake of the head. Young as she was, she still recognized the phrase the older boy had already used. And, while she didn't really like it either, she also couldn't argue with it's...potential effectiveness.]

You don't have to worry about me. I know how to take care of myself.

And if I don't...then Tailmon and Oniichan and Takeru-kun will protect me. None of the monsters we've seen here have come close to the evil digimon we've all fought together back home. So it'll be okay.

[And then...she smiled. Warm and bright. Hoping that it would ease some of the heavy tension in the air.]

[sayonaradumbass]

[now he holds up his hands, scoffing]

Whoa, whoa, no one said anything about worried! Just makin' sure you ain't coming into this with no idea. And you've got your brother here? Feel better about that, at least...

[still, its one thing to be evil and another to just...do this shit for shits and giggles. He finds himself fumbling, looking away from that smile]

Yeah, well, whatever. I dunno who'd wanna mess with your cat, either.

[givesalittlewhistle]

[Never underestimate the power of a Yagami smile.]

I wouldn't.

And you haven't even seen her evolve.

[sayonaradumbass]

Me neither. [he admits it]

Into another...cat? A bigger cat.

[givesalittlewhistle]

Nope!

[More giggles. It was an understandable guess, but--]

She evolves into an angel! Angewomon!

[sayonaradumbass]

This cat turns into an angel.

[looks from the cat to the girl and back again]

Alright I dunno a lot about the Guy upstairs but I didn't think that was the animal pyramid.

[givesalittlewhistle]

[Oh, it gets better; when she de-evolves, it's into a dog.]

[...]

[...look, just go with it, okay?]

It's true, though. She can't do it right now, but when she evolves, it's to an Angel! Just like Patamon.

[sayonaradumbass]

[god don't tell him that he might freak out and start accusing animal planet of shit

He squints
hard]

Whats a Patamon, another cat? This ain't makin' any sense but...I've seen worse. The guys here won't let her evolve to this thing?

[givesalittlewhistle]

No, Patamon's a... [batpig] ...well, he's a little smaller than Tailmon, but not much, and he's orange and has wings so he can fly. He's just another kind of digimon.

[At the mentioning of why Tailmon couldn't evolve, however, Hikari gave a small frown.]

I don't know, actually.

She's done it before. Maybe it's because she hasn't needed to? I told you she was strong. She's already an Adult level.

[sayonaradumbass]

Wings. A digimon with wings.

[how is this

and they can all talk too huh]

How come you haven't taken her on a like, show or something? You'd make a hell of a lot of cash. [Sideeyes Tailmon] Sure acts like an adult.

[givesalittlewhistle]

Lots of digimon have wings. It's not that uncommon.

[And of course Tailmon was an adult. You couldn't tell just by looking at her attitude?]

...I would never try to make money off of her or the others. It would be wrong.

[Besides that, the Chosen were all just kids. For all they knew, mean grownups would try to take their digimon away from them!]

[sayonaradumbass]

[alright, alright, just wing it, Kaneda. Get it? Wi--

he sighs a little]

I'm not sayin' exploit 'em or anything. If anything I mean exploit dumbasses who would go to shows like that.

[givesalittlewhistle]

I don't want to exploit anybody.

[Yeah...this is not a battle he's going to win.]

[sayonaradumbass]

[he sighs a lot]

You're killing me, kid.

[givesalittlewhistle]

[Her whole expression falls even more.]

I'm sorry. I didn't mean to.

[sayonaradumbass]

[ah fuck, way to go, Kaneda]

Ah, hey, I didn't mean it like literally-- you're pretty powerful but I doubt your powers would work that way. Don't worry about that, kay?

[givesalittlewhistle]

...I know you didn't meant it literally.

[She was eight. Not four.]

But you still look a little upset, and I'm sorry about that.

[sayonaradumbass]

You can never tell with you wide-eyed types.

[whatever the fuck that means]

Not upset, nah! And it ain't on account of you, either.

[givesalittlewhistle]

[Wide-eyed types? Does he mean...kids?]

Are you sure?