Difference between revisions of "Artisanquest: Interlude"

Revision as of 01:09, 7 May 2013

Shiki Misaki has posed:
Today we're going to do something very special.

We are journeying through the wilds on a quest, past monsters and terrible dangers, to retrieve a strange and unusual plant that can be made into a magical potion.

This is so JRPG it is making Shiki skip and click her heels together. Kumoto even let us take time off training for it!

Yes, as can be expected the libraries of Daguerreo held interesting information for everyone and we're going questing for something we found in one of those books. Supposedly, it is called the 'dragon watercress'! Or is it dragon watercrest? It can be found elsewhere on the island, in any case!

And maybe we will even find an adamantoise too.

Lenn has posed:
Lenn has fallen back on her staff, not confident with her swordskills yet. She's also keeping an eye on the ground through the water... Semi-precious stones can be found here, after all. "Any idea what this potion would do?

Evja has posed:
Indeed. Evja had found a book in his searching of the Library for random things to find amusing to read, among those was a 'Childrens Storybook' regarding Chocobos! Amused at the concept, Evja had begun to read, and found himself surprised.

~Boco the Chocobo wanted to journey around the worlds, and in the end find a way to the Chocobos Paradise~

That was how the book began, anyways. It was an interesting book for a Childrens book, and it had pictures. Lots of pictures. Maps, clippings of things, and in truth it seemed more like a journal, a first-hand journey that was documented more to amaze children. But... the further Evja got into the book, the more he began to realize. Things seemed strangely familiar.

The first chapters journey stated things that reminded him of Daguerreo. And the map on the next page pointing to a location therein caused him to laugh. "Ah... how amusing. This story has gone so far as to use locations in this world to make it seem more truthful. Hm, what is supposed to be there? Watercress? Well then, might as well try to give the ladies a break from training and propose this as a treasure hunt. They'll like that, probably."

02:09, 7 May 2013 (CDT)

And that's how this little adventure began. The Judge sneakily slipping Shiki the map from the book that pointed to the spot in Daguerreo, acting like he had found a hidden treasure map. He had no hopes of actually finding anything, but figured none the less it'd be fun for everyone. So he came along too. "It's supposed to be a magical potion to Chocobos." he answered. "As for what effect it may have on us... perhaps we should leave the potion itself to the Chocobos and simply enjoy anything we find that is otherwise edible? Watercress is quite tasty." He was just playing the part at this point, though. He'd read the storybook and knew the supposed 'eventual thing' it was supposed to do. But he had no faith that it was real, let alone that there was truly anything at this supposed location.

Leida has posed:
Despite being kind of a third wheel on this odd training journey, Leida has been keeping herself amused ever since they found the massive library. While not particularly interested in learning about ancient secrets or mystical knowledge, she's never been one to pass up a good story, especially one with detailed illustrations.

Intrigued by the dragon god of Daguerreo, she has been devoting herself to learning more about it and the library has had little trouble accomodating. The gemstone granted to her by the altar now rests against her chest, tied up as neatly as she can manage into a necklace of twine. The recipe for the magical potion was not her own discovery but anything to do with dragons has the young princess' attention for the time being.

Leida trails along at the back of the group, as usual, her hood up to protect her from the sunlight. One of the libraries thick books is clutched in her arms, the massive tome so large she has to hug it to her body to keep a hold on it and it could probably double as a shield. She deflates a bit at Evja's explanation of the potion's properties, quickly losing interest, but having come all this way she might as well stick it out now.

Shiki Misaki has posed:
You know, it's funny, Shiki thought. Ramza's chocobo is named Boco, too. Maybe it's a common name for them? Like Spot or Fido for dogs.

Of course, seeing as Shiki has no experience with chocobos, paradises for them or otherwise, she just jumped at the chance to go on a treasure hunt. Or, perhaps, to get a break from the training(!). She's been taking to it pretty well, but you need a change of scenery after a while! And she wanted to explore a little more of the island, too.

It's such a nice island, too, what with all the running water, but she only brought one pair of shoes and she's gotten tired of training barefoot because she has to leave them out to dry. Why is so much of the floor covered in ankle-deep water, anyway?

"C'mon, Leida!" she says, nudging her in the ribs. "Don't look like that. At least we got to explore all of this, huh? I've never seen anything like it! How about you?"

And there are indeed rivers to cross! Lots of stones to step on, and we don't know how deep the water is so, make use of them. Shiki is treading as lightly as she does when dodging monster attacks. Skipping stones!

Evja has posed:
Since today was more about having fun and relaxing, Evja, despite having his Chocobo with him, was walking. This wasn't work after all, it was just a relaxing spot of walking around to see things and hopefully get everyone having a fun time. The Chocobo looked fairly interested in the surroundins as well. Here and there he sniffed and seemed intrigued by it, almost like it was a large playground of sorts. Occasionally trotted off to peck at something but never far enough to get lost or separated from the group.

"I am sure you all needed a break anyways, yes? You have all put quite a bit of effort into training, taking a while to hunt something fun should be stress relief. Could not be near as hard as weapons training or research, yes?"

Or at least so he hoped anyways. When it came to the river and stepping stones, Evja had an advantage in being able to simply enough leap up and across, dragoon and all. Senra took running leaps as well, hopping from stones after the group made it across.

Leida has posed:
The princess winces at the friendly nudge, glancing away from the energetic Player as she hugs the book more tightly to her chest. She really has no interest in being here, especially after their very rude welcome. Her eyes remain fixed on the ground as she walks, occasionally glancing up to take in their surroundings but her consciousness remains embedded in the shadows all around them, watching for any further signs of unwanted visitors.

"O-oh... sorry," she mutters back. The scenery doesn't seem all that special to her as she comes from a world long before industrialization began to carve away at the untamed wilderness of the planet. It's just another lush forest, pretty to be sure, but nothing to get excited over. Still, she puts on a timid smile for Shiki's enthusiasm and nods back at her.

When they come to the river, Leida hesitates. Grace and agility are not things she's particularly gifted with and the idea of hopping across slick stones is not an appealing one. Wading through the water is even less enticing, who knows what kinds of things live in there? Eventually, the small girl gathers up her courage and begins to take the stones one at a time with great (for her) leaps. The weight of the book makes balancing even more tricky but after a minute or two Leida manages to make it across without mishap, though the small party is treated to a few bouts of girlish squeals and panicked flailing as she slips about.

Shiki Misaki has posed:
"You can say that again!" Shiki replies. She's beaming.

"I love this place! I love all sorts of places like this, actually," she says, stepping daintily. "I mean, I'm not glad I left Shibuya... not exactly..."

"But there's nothing like this in there. Nature... water... rocks..."

"I mean just look at it!"

She pauses and stoops down to look at the moss on a rock. Then a crab on the edge of the water. Then, some flowers by the edge of the water. Then, she gets splashed in the face.

"D-do you need a hand?" she asks Leida, stifling giggles. "Oh, I shouldn't laugh, I'm sorry. I'm doing it again, sorry."

Evja has posed:
The Viera was trying to play the role of Knight a bit less today, letting them have their fun, or in the case of Leida, not-fun. The sudden squeaking and panicking that came about at times as she tried to cross did get Evja to laugh as well, softly, hidden behind a hand. "The lot of you never cease to amuse me. It is always something." Suddenly, the Chocobo looked up and around, sniffing at the air before /bolting/ off in a direction.
"H-hey! Wait up!" Evja requested softly before whining out and sighing. "Meh. Must have smelled some greens or something. I swear ever since I started training him for racing he's been addicted to those things."

Or maybe it was something else? Perhaps even this mythical Dragon Watercress thing?

Leida has posed:
The leap from the final rock carries Leida safely to the other shore of the river but her clumsiness refuses to be defeated completely and she lands flat on her face, arms still wrapped protectively about the book. The princess' eyes go wide as she falls but there is little she can do to stop herself and so she ends up eating the grass. Fortunately, it's pretty thick and soft so there isn't too much damage done but she rolls over sputtering bits of grass and what little scraps of pride she still clings to.

The princess sits up and wipes at her face with a sigh. "It is alright, Shiki-san... I am used to it..."

Shiki Misaki has posed:
"I'm really sorry, Leida, I mean it," Shiki says. "I mean--"

She winces a little, realising on reflection that if Leida's 'used to it' then people have... been laughing at her a bit. "I..."

"Evja said to me when we were still in Fluorgis about why I didn't just learn from her if I wanted to get better at fighting. But..."

"Even though Shibuya was so huge and so full of people, it was still kind of a tiny place. And..."

"Well. It's kind of the same for you, right? We're both seeing all these new things in different ways... and we get to know more about each other at the same time by watching, right?"

"Just like--"

Cue her staring at the blank spot where Boco was.

"AHHHHH THEY WENT WITHOUT US"

omg run

Evja has posed:
"Hah... do not bother giving chase. He is quite fast. We could not catch him if we wished to. But perhaps heading that way is best though. I do have faith in that Chocobo, but there /are/ monsters on this island. There is always the chance that there is an Adamantoise around and I am... not wanting to chance him getting hurt." That said, Evja starts to trot towards where Senra took off towards with that large white Judges Cloak flapping behind him.

Leida has posed:
Leida pushes back to her feet and casually dusts herself off then does the same for the tome, picking bits of grass from the outer edge of its pages. She doesn't respond to Shiki's sudden awkwardness having already withdrawn into her protective emotional shell and when they take off after the wayward chocobo she just follows behind them quietly. Normally this is where she'd turn and head off on her own but as they are currently deep in unfamiliar and possibly hostile territory, the princess has little choice but to follow.

Shiki Misaki has posed:
"Right!"

Shiki balls her fists up and puffs her cheeks out. "We've gotta watch out for Boco!"

Point. "I'll do it, even if I get my socks soaking wet! Shiki charge!"

Mr. Mew just gives her this look, as if to say 'don't I get any say in how soaking wet I get?' but Shiki, unsympathetic to the fact that some people are filled with fluff, just goes for the gusto.

Well, eventually, anyway. She remains frozen in position for a second, looking at Leida, her face having this 'come on! come on!' expression, body straining against the head's decision to stand there and wait much longer and eventually winning.

WOOOOSH and away we go!

After all, you gotta live a little.

We don't come up against too many problems! There are some ugly-looking crabs and, for some reason a freshwater Gigan-Octopus, but they just observe. Not every monster is immediately hostile, after all, and it looks as if there are no Heartless here either.

Leida will be sad to hear that there is rock climbing to do. No sheer surfaces, but...

Evja has posed:
"Did he really get up there?"
That was all the Viera had to say when they finally got to the rocks. Sigh. "If... any of you need help up, I could offer it. Unless you had the desire to do such yourself. I /am/ used to wearing that armor after all."
Still, instead of beginning to climb ora nything like that, Evja simply pauses her to look around, trying to figure out what about this area had attraction to the Chocobo. There was nothing here that even remotely looked fun for one. Monsters, even if relatively peaceful. It was relatively wooded though. Maybe there was just something in the air that appealed to Chocobos. He'd hopefully find out in the end when he caught his Chocobo. Not that he couldn't just whistle for it.
"How close do you think we are to where this Watercress stuff is supposed to be?" he asks towards Shiki, since she was handling the map. He did look towards Leida too, trying to think of something that might interest her. "I can cook us some of it as well, perhaps make us all a nice salad out of it? Well earned of course after all this journeying."

Leida has posed:
"A-ah...! Wait...!"

Leida gives a start when she realizes the others are pulling ahead of her by a significant margin. Hugging the book tightly against her body she scampers quickly after them but her short legs and extra burden make it difficult to catch up to the sporty Shibuya girl and the tall Viera.

The strange water-life that meanders about the river's edge causes her to swing wide to avoid coming anywhere remotely close to the nasty looking things and in doing so falls even further behind. When she finally reaches the rocks, Leida is completely out of breath and she collapses onto her knees upon arriving. She spends the next couple minutes gasping for breath while staring up at the rocks with wide eyes.

"I... I cannot go... any further..."

Shiki Misaki has posed:
Shiki, who feels bad for Leida quite a bit, probably lags behind every few seconds so that Leida doesn't feel quite as awful about herself.

"I can dig it," Shiki says, when offered salad. "I love salad!" It increases her sync rate.

Presuming it won't cause her to grow feathers or anything, you know. She thinks for a minute when Evja wonders how close we're getting, and pulls out the map. "According to the map, it grows a little higher up! Higher elevation! I don't think it's at the tallest part of the island, but higher than we are right now!"

She looks at Leida. Pout. "I bet Evja would carry you. I bet the view up there is great, too! And we can have salad! And there won't be any adamantoises up there."

Puppy dog eyes. "Please come?"

Evja has posed:
"I could, yes. And of course... higher." A pity it was higher, but oh well. Wait, why was he even getting into the thought of enjoying this watercress? It probably didn't even exist! Hmph. Evja sighed and grumbled in thought of such before mentally shrugging and looking towards Leida, turning a bit and extending a hand towards her. "I could either hold you in my arms, or if you rather... you could try and hold around my shoulders on my back? Unless you had another idea."

Leida has posed:
The princess looks back and forth between Shiki and Evja then down at the ground. She did agree to come with them so wimping out now wouldn't really be fair to either of them. That and they might just go on without her and leave her all alone so it's not really much of a choice either way.

"Very well..."

Getting to her feet, she walks over to the Viera and then up at her outstretched hand. "Um... I promised I would take care of this book... so I cannot hold onto you."

Shiki Misaki has posed:
Of course it exists! IT'S IN THE MAP. WHICH WAS IN THE BOOK! Which was in a hermit's library, hidden far from society! If all of it wasn't true, then WHAT AM I LIVING FOR. Next thing you'll be telling me that Gimme Cat over there is a fraud.

"Meow."

Pay no attention to the Gimme Cat. It just slinks off and leaps up the rocks like a cat.

Yep, no problem at all.

"Hmm. Libraries usually get pretty upset if you don't return your books. Looks like you're gonna have to hold on to it!"

Mr. Mew climbs onto Shiki's head. She can climb the rocks! Badly, but still. Oh, the scraped knees she will have...

Evja has posed:
Taking Leida's hand softly in his own, Evja pulls her close without picking her up yet and leans down as he reaches to scoop his other arm beneath her legs, the arm that tugged her close going towards her lower back. "I shall not let you fall." Comes his soft reassurance before lifting her with relative ease. That slender frame hides a decent strength it would seem. Then again, Viera always have been claimed to be rather powerful in those lithe bodies in comparison to normal humes.

This did leave her pressed up against the Viera's front as he stood there, eyes wandering the slope of the rockface as he searched with them the best path to take. He'd have to take a hoppier route of course, but he knew such and that's why he was looking. The Gimmie Cat caused him to glance at it briefly before elected to rather deftly hop back and forth at points between the nearby trees and the rockfacing. He'd land on a limb and bounce away onto the rock side before jumping off and doing it again. Soon enough the two were atop the tree and had quite a look over the island itself. "Quite pretty up here." Evja said softly, mostly to himself though given Leida was right there she could easily hear and respond to such as well. "Would you like to look? Or would you prefer I simply hurry to set you down?" He looked down at the held girl, smiling faintly behind the veil not that it could be seen. Perhaps it showed in 'her' eyes.

Leida has posed:
Leida allows herself to be picked up without any fuss. Her size and weight are comparable to that of a much younger girl so even without massive strength Evja would have little issue with lifting her. She instinctively curls up around the book and rests in the crook of the judge's arms, closing her eyes as she feels the first lurch that sends them bouncing up the rock face.

When she feels their journey come to a sudden stop Leida allows her eyes to slide open and she peers around - only to find the ground is several feet below them. She immediately winches her eyes shut once more and nods her head vigorously at her carrier. "Y-yes, please... down..."

Shiki Misaki has posed:
Shiki takes a picture on her phone.

And no-one will ever know.

Especially because she can pass it off as taking pictures of the landscape! Which she does shortly afterwards. Click. Click, click! Ever wonder why phone cameras make a click when there's nothing /to/ click? It's because people wanted it that way. People are just so used to cameras going click!

Shiki hopes she doesn't have to explain this. Also, I lied.

A short distance away, there is indeed a field of aquamarine plants, just all over the place. There's sparkling motes of magic in the air, the most astounding flowers, a clear blue sky, a view of Cleyra, Boco probably somewhere over there, the ocean all around, most of the island visible...

And the Gimme Cat, sitting there on a rock.

"This is my spot, meow!"

Evja has posed:
"Haha... poor thing. Okay then." It wasn't hard to tell Leida was scared and he hadn't intended to leave her that way. Hugging her to himself a little tighter in hopes that the 'safety' of being held tighter would lessen that worry, Evja bean leaping again and after several more hops, including two that seemingly were on the air itself, Evja landed and looked over the edge towards Shiki, who was still climbing, steadily, though she had some device.

"Huh."

At that point Evja knelt down a little and slowly let Leida regain her feet, adding in, "My apologies for scaring you. I always forget others may sometimes be afraid of heights."
Then the cat speaks and Evja peers towards it. "..."

~And when Boco got there, a cat upon a rock sat and declared the Watercrest his.~

The story did speak of... "...coincidence." Evja mumbled softly to himself before looking around and spotting the Chocobo in the distance, his, just rounding a different path that a Chocobo could make that others could not. He spotted them and warked happily, running towards Evja and Leida at a lazy pace.

Leida has posed:
Clearly quite glad to be back on the ground, Leida hops out of the Viera's arms and stumbles forward a few feet, turning to offer her a bow in gratitude a moment later. Atleast getting back down would be easier.

The sparkly flowers quickly draw the girl's attention away from her short aeriel jaunt and she heads towards the field. And then there's a talking cat on a rock. Leida stares at the Gimme Cat for a few seconds but such things aren't particularly surprising at this point. She gives him a bow as well.

"Your field is very pretty, neko-san."

Shiki Misaki has posed:
There are no coincidences! Not in storybooks!

Wait, no, there are all the time. Well, this isn't... a storybook! Excellent recovery, narrator.

Shiki points her camera phone at it, then decides that... she doesn't want to take a picture of this one. He's not as nice a cat as hers.

Mr. Mew pokes his head out from under Shiki's hat, then climbs down. This is not a field of catnip, is it?

So she just pops it back in her tote bag. The Cat looks at her for a minute.

"You have some shiny things."
"That we do," Shiki replies quite plainly.

"...gimme a diamond!"
"...why?"
"...gimme! For, uh, coming up here! Yeah! Place looks pretty? Gimme a diamond! Pictures ain't free! Two diamonds! Three! Lemme confiscate that!"

"What."

Evja has posed:
"..."

Evja's expression and response is much the same as Shiki's at the cat attempting to hold them at ransom. Though for different reasons. Then the Viera begins to laugh softly as if something quite funny happened. Just what caused Evja to laugh isn't made readily apparent though he does say, "I... only have one diamond at the moment and it is for a dear friend of mine. I would prefer not to have to give such to you. Is there nothing else you would like to pass into your lands?"
Besides, Diamonds were expensive! Oh, wait, that beaded brooch Evja got out of that Malboro. It had a diamond set into it! It was kind of small though. Fishing around beneath the cloak the Viera offered out the brooch. "Is... this enough?" It was /tiny/ though, albeit real.

Leida has posed:
Leida's cordial expression shifts into one of surprise as the strange cat begins demanding things; very expensive things too! She did say the field was pretty but a diamond? This is extortion!

However, Evja seems to be quite willing to deal with the questionable feline so she just looks at her for a moment then shrugs. If she wants to cough up the fee that's her choice. The princess just goes to inspect the strange magical flowers.

Shiki Misaki has posed:
The Gimme Cat considers this slowly, sat, as it is, on the rock.

Meanwhile, Shiki is mirroring its pose. There's something not quite right about this.

"Hmm."
"Hmm."

The Gimme Cat's though bubble superimposes a picture of a diamond over the brooch. Big red x.
Shiki's thought bubble superimposes a Shadow Heartless over the Gimme Cat.

Shiki gasps!

Then the Gimme Cat makes a horrible screeching noise.

"Wait! Evja! I think it's evil!"

/Then/ the Gimme Cat starts casting Comet, hurtling small blasts of energy down from the sky!

"Now I know it's evil! Save Boco! Protect the Watercrest! I mean watercress!"

Maybe Shiki's acting weird because she has less oxygen.

Evja has posed:
THAT WAS NOT IN THE BOOK!

"Senra, grab Leida!" And that said, the Chocobo darts towards Leida right past the Gimmiecat, despite attempting to land a kick on it in passing. Leida would be given a moment to hop onto the Chocobo before it took liberties if she didn't and would grab her by the scruff of her outfit near the neck to yoink her up and dart to a safer area, unless she directly ignored the Chocobo in favor of fighting. Evja, meanwhile, shouted towards the cat, "Hey! There's no need for that! I tried to give you a diamond, it simply wasn't that big! Now stop this before we have to act against you!"
Even now the Viera was attempting to give the cat a chance to call it off, spears coming into his hands as he launched them upwards at the comets that were streaking down, trying to knock them away from those here. He didn't care about the stray ones, just the ones that looked like they might be of danger. Of course, even without his armor, Evja would still throw himself in the way of a comet if it came to protecting one of the others here.

Leida has posed:
Suddenly there is lots of shouting. The princess turns to peer back at the others with a quizzical expression on her face just as the speedy bird rockets over to her side and squawks at her expectantly. Leida, not exactly being quick on the uptake, stares at the chocobo until it finally gets tired of waiting and snags her by the collar.

"E-eh...?!"

Leida hugs her book tightly to her body as she's carted off like a young puppy, still not quite sure what's going on.

Shiki Misaki has posed:
Shiki is hiding behind a rock.

"Evja! Quick! How did this go in the book?!"

Evja has posed:
"The Chocobo had a diamond studded into their harness! It wanted that! But I tried to give it a diamond and it attacked us for it! Besides, it's just a silly book, I hadn't expected any of this to be real! I just thought it might be a fun excuse for you all to get out and have fun searching!" And so the truth is there! Still, Evja did have another diamond, and that one was a fair bit larger than the other. "Here, take this and begone!" Evja grumbled and dug into his cloak to pull out another diamond, one that looks like it might have fit perfectly with a ring or necklace of some kind before throwing it towards the cat angrily. That was meant for someone else...

Leida has posed:
Leida, meanwhile, is still dangling from the chocobo's beak some distance away while it waits for the situation to clear up or receives some signal from it's master. She doesn't look particularly pleased but she's in no reason position to argue.

Shiki Misaki has posed:
"Heyyy!"

Shiki, again, has her cheeks puffed and fists balled. "Evja! No!"

The Gimme Cat has a diamond! It's distracted!

"You can't just give it up like that! That's your diamond! And he's a jerk! We came here to get stuff, not lose it!"

Steely eye glint! Shiki points at the Gimme Cat. "Come on, Leida! Let's get that diamond back!"

Snap cut over to Leida hanging from Senra's beak.

"Come on, Senra! Let's get that diamond back!" Charge!

This is just going to be so bad for her.

Evja has posed:
The Chocobo finally sets Leida down instead of holding onto her, looking between the lot seemingly confused before shaking his head a bit in a 'sigh' manner and charging towards the cat. "Shiki, it is fine! I would rather lose a diamond than have someone get hurt! It's just a stone, it's not more important than someone else being safe!" Besides, if this cat wanted a diamond... surely it was doing something with them! Watch it run off to its' den and there'll probably be a lot of diamonds.

Not that he says that, however, because then the cat, who could speak, would know his plans! This was just a monsters after all and he had no problem whacking a monster upside the head for being a butt.

Leida has posed:
The princess gives an indignant look to the feathery knave as it rushes off to battle the greedy cat. Even though it was just following orders, she ill enjoys being treated like a sack of rice. Smoothing out her clothes, Leida turns to watch the event unfold from relative safety though if the cat has magic at its disposal even a bit of distance doesn't guarantee that.

Shiki Misaki has posed:
Shiki pouts. Lenn is probably pouting too. Mr. Mew is just over there quietly picking dragon watercress, like any sane person should do since it's what we actually came here to collect. Meanwhile, Senra- a bird- gets in a fight with the Gimme Cat- a... cat.

After no small degree of flailing, rolling, hissing, spitting, feathers and fur, the Gimme Cat runs off, blowing razzberries at everyone.

Mr. Mew gives Leida a flower, both because she's had such a hard time of it and because Mr. Mew is a smooth operator.

Evja has posed:
The Viera simply stands there at this point, palm on his forehead as he tries to think of what to do or say at this point. With the beast running off, however, and everyone seemingly in good shape - including his Chocobo who looks rather ruffled at the moment, like a giant yellow featherball - Evja lets it go and decides against chasing after the cat to get his diamond back. He can always get her another diamond later, a better one.
"So... to think that the book was seemingly real and not just a story. I wonder if... the effects that stuff has on Chocobos is to be real as well."

Leida has posed:
The princess accepts the flower with a faint smile, offering Mr. Mew an appreciative bow in return before tucking it into her hair behind her ear. It kind of clashes with the girl's demonic appearance and plain attire but she doesn't seem to care much.

Leida makes her way back to the others with a bored expression on her face, though she doesn't make eye contact with either of them, instead staring off to the side. "Are we done here?"

Shiki Misaki has posed:
"I have mixed feelings about all this. On the one hand, we got the thing, and we found out the book was real, and we got some exercise, and we got to see some really nice stuff, and I took pictures, and I scraped my knees up for the first time in years, and we found some more monsters that didn't attack us on sight, and Leida didn't lose her book, and... wait, no, this was awesome! I'm almost completely happy!"

"Shame about that jerk cat, though."

SOME TIME IN THE FUTURE

The Gimme Cat sits in a cave with about five diamonds, pawing it and snickering about how clever it is and how stupid people are.

Several humanoid shadows loom over it. Gimme cat gulps.