Fruit Fight

Fruit Fight
Date of Scene:	29 May 2013
Location:	Fruit Village
Synopsis:	Fresh after having completed a rather silly sidequest for the depressed denizens of Fruit Village, Reize and company encounter a few familiar faces and decide to see what they can do to make the place a little livelier. It gets messy.
Cast of Characters:	Ivo Galvan, Reize Seatlan, Nagetta, Royce, Violet

---

Ivo Galvan has posed:
"Well, they seem satisfied..."

Ivo regards one of Fruit Village's hooded denizens with a lopsided grin, leaning casually against a stout carrot as tall as him.

"...I think."

The Apathetics have crowded around the jar of Crystal Nectar set before them, a rare sweetener distilled from blossoms within the nearby Macalania Forest whose petals open only under a full moon. The village had run dangerously low, and the next full moon was not to be in two weeks; without their supply of additional sugar, the depressives who dwell amongst the grapes and berries were sure to plunge into utter despair. Reize and friends had to fight their way into the heart of the woods and devise a way to trick the flowers into opening by a complicated means of refracting the moonlight, which totally didn't work. But it turned out that the giant monster they disturbed had such big moon-like eyes that the luminescence glinting off them did the trick. Cue about an hour of running around luring the monster into looking at the rare flowers scattered amongst the trees.

So it goes.

"I can't identify the uses of this at a glance," the knight-errant says, tossing a small squishy object toward Reize, glimmering the hue of healthy ripe berries, "but it's their treasure, so maybe it's got some use. A 'Gummi', I think one of them said? They don't exactly enunciate well. But apparently it's inedible."

Ivo crosses his arms, his surroundings bemusedly.

"Unlike everything else here."

After a moment, he sighs.

"...not exactly the fruits I was hoping to see."

He does seem to have been glancing around with a less curious and more hopeful tinge than usual. Did he meet someone in the forest on his way here?

Nagetta has posed:
A village made of fruit? It's surprisingly managed to stay intact even with the hungry lamia around. Hopefully she wouldn't attract too much attention.

Of course Nagetta's confused to why the people are so depressed. Maybe they were tired of eating fruit all the time? She can imagines it would get kind of old after a while. She's kind of tempted to stay here but she'll never find her father by doing that. "What's going on?" She got here kind of late it looks like.

Reize Seatlan has posed:
"What kind of fruits did you expect?"

This is coming from Reize, who had been eyeing the gummi for some time. The boy had been poking at the gelatin substance. For the most part, Reize is still recovering from the ordeal of the adventure, having to act as the lure to get the monster with the moon-like eyes to actually FOLLOW him and look at the flowers without mauling him.

...It was a success, except for the mauling part. The mauling part. The mauling part sucked.

Nevertheless, Reize is reaching for the squishy object. "I'll be the judge of that." He brings the squishy object towards his mouth, and then...

*CHOMP!*

...
...

"Pluh!" The boy spits and sputters. He lowers his head in comical tears, "...Not edible." Then, he looks over towards the group of men around. "Well, at least the people in this village are not in total despair."

Over from afar, "OH MY GOD! My life is in ruins! ...First, it's Rhinotaur Ravager, then it's getting beaten up by every single monster like their punching bag! And then everyone beats me up! Now, I am stuck eating this fruit-- with this fruit right here! My life cannot suck any worse!" On nom.

Sweatdrop from Reize. "...Okay, almost not in total despair."

Royce has posed:
Among the countless hooded residents that line the streets and hanging walkways of the Fruit Village a lone figure can be seen wandering. Like the others her face is hidden from view by a deep cowl that casts her features into dark shadow - but that is where the similarities end.

Where the multitude of faceless Apathetics are draped from head to toe in drab brown robes, Royce's ample curves are clear to see beneath her revealing attire. She pays no mind to the moans and lamentations that rise up around her in passing, the melancholic cries of those who have already lost the last vestiges of their hope washing over her with little more effect than a passing breeze.

Beneath the shadows of her hood the young woman's face is a mask of utter neutrality. She does not seem annoyed by the ceaseless din of bemoaned fates nor is there any hint of sympathy to be found. Her own emotions were burned away long ago, there is nothing left for her to feel. No hope. No despair. Just emptiness.

The witch arrived some time ago, long before these errant knights returned with their task completed. Her own purposes for being here are a mystery. She stalks through the expansive stretch of fruit-filled garden. Everything here is made of edible materials it seems. The tree-like carrots, the leafy cabbage shrubs, even the ground upon which they walk seems to be some sort of melon or berry.

Occasionally, she stops to take samples. They are not eaten, however, but tucked neatly into small glass vials as any other specimen might be treated. Perhaps it is wise not to eat the fruit here. It could be the reason for the dour demeanor of those living here which is so completely at odds with the colorful and whimsical terrain.

Violet has posed:
Fruits again? Didn't this topic come up at some time before now or is it just Violet's imagination?

The pale blonde girl frowns softly to herself with apparent confusion as her crystal blue eyes glance between Reize and Ivo. Was this another guy thing? It didn't seem like it. As Reize actually chomps down on the squishy object that was tossed at him (his taste buds in horror), her attention is pulled towards the voice from afar. A hand instinctively resting on the hilt of the blade at her side.

After a pause she exhales a small breath, "So, what do we do with the treasure now. Return it to the village?"

Ivo Galvan has posed:
"The fruits of victory."

Rather than elaborate, Ivo watches poker-faced as Reize declares his intentions and then proceeds to bite into the Gummi, with predictable results. Whereupon even Ivo's vaunted composure cannot endure, and he sputters into his glove, shoulders heaving with choked-back laughter. "Reize, I'm going to call it right now," he says between gasps. "Any time you say 'I'll be the judge of that,' something bad is going to happen."

Although, to be fair, Ivo, when Reize is involved, regardless of the circumstances, there are pretty good odds on 'something bad' happening.

"Well, you can't save them all," the Shard Seeker swordsman says as he recovers, attempting to reassure his younger friend. "Look, some of them seem to have been cheered up a little."

From close to where the first wailing voice came from, "Amongst the fruit, I feel so at peace. It's as though I belong here... as though I am one with the fruit..."

More bemusement from Ivo. "I... think that's cheer, anyway."

He turns with a smile as Nagetta slithers up. "Oh, you heard the call, huh, Nagetta? Thanks for showing up, but we managed to take care of it. Feel free to enjoy the fruit, though." So saying, he plucks a ripe tomato within arm's reach. "I'm not sure they'd notice even if you knocked down a building." He pauses. "...Still, just in case, don't knock down any buildings."

"Well, I /think/ they gave it to us," he replies to Violet, turning to their ally. It /is/ hard to tell exactly what these weird characters want. "If we don't need it, we can give it back. I'm curious about the nature of the material, though. It seems to have strange adhesive qualities. Maybe-- oho!"

His gaze pulled off to the distance, Ivo's eyes brighten and his amiable smile broadens into a livelier grin, lifting a hand still holding a tomato in salute.

"Alicia! Over here!"

He beckons to the voluptuous woman in black, looking quite pleased. Some intuitive part of him, not manifesting in his expression, reacts with a chill to the glimpse he gets of Royce's almost inhuman expression of neutrality, but in his delight he brushes it aside.

"I see you've joined your brethren in sweetness."

Ugh, he's insufferable.

Nagetta has posed:
"Oh, sorry I wasn't able to help..." Nagetta feels a bit bad about that now. Still, she's not going to pass up free food. She'll try not to knock over any buildings though. She doesn't want to hurt any innocent people. "They still sounds kind of down though. And so does Reize." Her sharp hearing can't help but to pick that up. At least the people didn't here don't seem bothered by her presence. "Maybe there's something else we need to do?"

Reize Seatlan has posed:
A glare is shot at Ivo in response to his comment about the boy's judgment capabilities. Reize grumbles as he eyes the gummi before him. he debate trying to take another bite, but he already knows that it won't be successful. Still, determination and stubbornness is pressing him to try. After a few more bites with no success, Reize hangs his head low.

"...I'm hungry now."

He looks at Violet, "I suppose we should see what this thing is used for. Maybe we can find some sort of clue about this. It's not edible, I can tell you that!"

At the other voice, however, Reize blinks, "...That's cheer!" The young boy turns to see the presence of another woman, then he looks over towards Nagetta, "Ooii! Yeah, it looks like you missed out on things." Reize considers Nagetta's words, then he shrugs, "Beats me. For now, we probably will head back to base and look into this gummi that we found."

Royce has posed:
As is always the case, Royce's senses are keyed up to high alert. No matter that this world may not be the one in which she has spent over five hundred years in constant battle for her survival and supremacy among those who still know of the existence of magic, danger can lurk around every corner. She may be ageless but the voice in her head is keen to remind her that she is not immortal.

Upon hearing her name called, or rather, that of one of her many aliases, 'Alicia' slowly swivels her head sideways with almost mechanical precision to regard the source of the interruption to her work. And it just turns out to be that guy she met in the forest. The witch is not capable of feeling annoyed but her eyelids drop slightly in a faint display of irritation. Fortunately, the upper half of her face is still cloaked in shadows so it goes unnoticed.

The woman quickly puts her utensils back into the small satchel at her side and reaches up to free her head from the confines of the loose hood. A sight not unlike that which Ivo witnessed upon their first meeting is presented as her silver hair flows elegantly down around her shoulders and back but it lacks the magical glamour that she was able to wield in the moon-lit forest.

"And I see you've not yet learned I'm immune to your silver tongue, fufufu."

Violet has posed:
Glancing back at Reize as he shoots Ivo a glare before bitting into the Gummi again, Violet blinks her pale eyes lightly with some surprise before she lifts her free hand, trying to cover a smile behind her fingers.

It was funny.

And after a moment of holding in a chuckle she manages to press her lips together to keep it in, her attention pulling away to other matters as more people arrive. And a witch? She's only heard of witches in fairy tales.

Ivo Galvan has posed:
"Men are blessed with boundless optimism," is the swordsman's reply, still grinning, his attention primarily focused on the silver-haired witch, "and I've yet to reveal all my tongue's tricks."

Ivo, the children.

"Everyone, this is Alicia. She's the reason I was able to help us navigate Macalania and find those flowers; we teamed up to gather some rare herbs earlier. Alicia, these are my friends, Reize, Violet, and Nagetta." He jauntily gestures toward each in turn. "Reize is our fearless leader. Just now, he tried to fearlessly eat some sort of building material. It's such courage that inspires our confidence in him."

To be fair, Ivo, all of the building material in this village is, in fact, edible. As if recalling this, he glances down at the tomato in his hand, which he seems to have plucked just out of lack of anything better to do. Now, however, his eyes have narrowed in thought.

"Something else we need to do, huh?" The lamia's question has made Ivo contemplative. "Hungry, huh?" Reize's forlorn comment has-- caused the corners of Ivo's lips to quirk up rather forebodingly.

"Maybe what they need is some sort of diversion. Some sort of entertainment. Like a performance, or a game. Like maybe a..."

And then, with no further warning, he whirls his arm around and HURLS the tomato straight at Reize, now grinning hugely, eyebrows shooting up.

"Fruit fight!!"

Whereupon he dives behind the massive carrot he was previously leaning against for cover, as several of the Apathetics slowly look over, vaguely stirred by the ruckus.

Nagetta has posed:
"Well, there's plenty of fruit here. Unless you're tired of that. I don't know how long you've been here for..." Nagetta suggests to Reize. "Do you want me to go back with you?" She figures they might be tired and need some extra protection.

Her attention turns towards Violet and Alicia. She doesn't believe that's she's met them before. "Hello..." She's interuptted by Ivo throwing the tomato at Reize. She looks a bit confused about what's going on.

Reize Seatlan has posed:
Reize had long given up on the gummi, no longer finding it edible. Instead, Reize focuses on Ivo's friend, offering her a smile, "Oooi! Yeah, I'm the leader of the Shard Seekers. Pleased to meet you!" At Ivo's jive, Reize's antenna hair directs itself at Ivo pointedly.

The boy furrows his eyebrows, trying to figure out what to eat. As he muses for food...

*SPLAT!*

The boy gets a facefull of a tomato. The red splot covers his face as he staggers back. "Oof!" It is then that Reize directs his gaze at Ivo, getting a tomato from the side. "Grrr.. I'll show you!" Reize is winding the pitch.

He flings the tomato towards Ivo.

...Except that it sails past him. Or nowhere near him.

It's destination: Violet's bosom.

Royce has posed:
"Oho... /quite/ optimistic, indeed."

The witch rests her hands on her hips in a mildly chiding fashion as she gives Ivo an amused smirk but her cyclopean gaze is drawn towards his companions upon their introduction. A young boy, a slightly older girl, and... a naga? That last one makes her eyebrows rise slightly. Since when were monsters friendly with humans? How interesting.

"Quite the entourage."

Alicia dips her head in greeting to the others, giving them a warm smile each in turn. She goes quiet for a few moments, pondering something to herself. And then there's fruit flying around. How bizarre. The witch's mind scans through her collected years of experience trying to place such an event outside of foolish children's games but it would seem that Ivo is indeed just that immature.

Her bangs flutter as she exhales in an exasperated fashion. There really isn't time for this sort of a distraction. The secrets she seeks aren't getting any closer while she fools around here. Still she doesn't want to make it obvious she's trying to slip away.

Alicia taps her chin for a moment and then bends down to scoop up some of the gelatinous mass from one of the walls of a nearby hut. It feels much like jello. She hasn't had time to properly analyze the stuff but it doesn't seem to be melting her armor so the woman just shrugs and then turns and flings the stuff towards Ivo, aiming for his face.

If she can blind him for a few moments she'll be home free!

Violet has posed:
Violet blinks her pale eyes blankly as a tomato is suddenly thrown through the air. By Ivo.

And Reize ends up with a face-full of tomato.

tBoth hands snap up to cover her mouth instantly, once more keeping in the laughter that threatens to spill out. Never before has she seen such antics. And Reize was preparing a counter strike!

As he throws, Violet curls her fingers against her chin as she glances towards Ivo, where she expects the tomato will land. Only...

The tomato splats in the precise center in her chest, allowing the girl to blink blankly with surprise for a full moment. Then, she burns a bright a red as that tomato, her hands quietly trying to push off the mushed pieces, but it was already too late. The juices had splattered everywhere.

Ivo Galvan has posed:
With opponents like these, Ivo has nothing to worry about.

The still-grinning knight-errant emerges from behind cover to watch with amusement as Reize's half-blind and wild throw goes just about where you expect it would. "As usual, the fates benefit you in ways you fail to appreciate," the alleged elder of the group says, shrugging and shaking his head in mock resignation before his grin resumes and he turns to where, near him, Royce appears to be examining the wall of a building. "You see that, Alicia? It'd be wisest if you took off your top in adva--"

SPLAT.

A mass of gelantinous goo lands square in Ivo's own face, karma doing what it does best, and stunned, he staggers back at first, but bumps right into the carrot he was hiding behind and ends up slipping in some of the stray goo and stumbling forward instead, arms whirling in an effort to regain his balance. But it is futile, and his critical fumble sends him careening forward, goo-splattered face first--

"Waaahh!"

--straight toward Royce's chest.

Maybe Ivo /has/ been spending too much time around Reize.

Nagetta has posed:
"Why are you wasting food?" Nagetta's puzzled by this. Humans could be so confusing sometimes. Of course she bets they've never had to eat people in order to survive. It seems like she doesn't quite grasp the concept of a food fight.

Reize Seatlan has posed:
"I got you, Ivo!" The boy shakes a fist as he tries to wipe the tomato juice from his face. He is currently blinded a bit by the juices. However, the boy starts wiping his face once more to clear the tomato gunk out.

It is then that the boy finally sees the fruit of his labor.

All on Annalise's chest. "Uhhh..." Reize stares for a moment, "...Oops?"

The boy turns to face Nagetta, "It's not waste of food! It's all for fun!"

Royce has posed:
Direct hit!

Alicia smugly grins as her tactic pays off despite the horrid aim of her shot. As a witch, she knows full well the power of luck and today it has favored her greatly. Now all she has to do is slip away quietly while these buffoons play games...

'Waaahh!'

A sudden muffled outcry comes from nearby and despite her better sense, the woman turns to see what has happened. A look of wild surprise overwhelms her as Ivo's goo-covered face comes sailing towards her with his body rushing desperately to keep up. There isn't any time for her to dodge and her form of magic isn't the sort that is called up on a whim which leaves her only the option to brace and prepare for the worst.

A final stumble causes the tall lanky man to pitch headfirst. The ground here is soft enough that he doesn't have to worry about any permanent damage from taking a spill but something far softer and bouncy catches his face in a crevasse that almost seems custom molded for his face.

*Boing*

Alicia slowly opens her eye to assess the damage. Well that wasn't so bad, she barely even felt...

And the reason for the cushioned impact then becomes quite obvious. The witch stares at him for a moment not quite sure how to react to this. There are several responses that seem appropriate, most of which end up with Ivo in a smouldering heap. But his friends might take offense to that.

Aha! Idea!

Alicia reaches up and wraps her hands around the back of Ivo's head, pressing him further against her ample bossom. "Oh my! Are you alright? You didn't hurt yourself did you?"

Nevermind the fact that he can't breath now. The fruity paste makes for a wonderful sealant on any gaps that might have allowed air down into her cleavage. No one will blame her if he accidentally dies doing what he loved, right?

Violet has posed:
'Oops.' The flush still lingers in her cheeks as Violet gives Reize a mildly flat glance. But he makes a mistake.

The moment he turns away to reply to Nagetta, the girl smoothly swipes a whole tomato and promptly throws it back at him in return.

Retaliation!

Ivo Galvan has posed:
Ivo dies and goes to heaven.

Or so it seems to him, when he emerges from his jelly-induced confusion to find himself enveloped in a pillowy softness and sweet aroma, light-headed and graced with a sense of profound tranquility and satisfaction. Lying there, stunned, it takes the muffled gallant several moments to realize that his air is completely cut off, and several moments more to realize that he is trapped. By that point his daze has intensified, and he hears Alicia's seemingly concerned words from far off, feeling himself drift into slumber.

Little does he realize it would be an eternal slumber, or that it would not be such a peaceful rest once Royce had her way with him. If he did, he would definitely-- probably-- well, regardless, it appears that our hero is on the verge of defeat from the witch's ultimate attack. But the swordsman's twitching arm ends up catching on a vice which had trailed its away about the house next to them, and a sudden tug sends a whole bushel of huge grapes, swollen to the size of oranges, scattering down upon the two, splattering them both with juice and freeing Ivo just in the nick of time. He collapses back, gasping for breath, eyes glazed over.

"I saw a light," he murmurs, stupefied. "And it spoke to me and said, 'What do you think this is, an adventure game from the 90s? This isn't one of your Bad Ends.'" He pauses, and then furrows his brow, mind seeming to clear. "Not sure what that was about, frankly."

Well, you almost had him, Royce. Clearly, it's the most effective technique for killing Ivo. You should probably try again. And again, and again.

One way or another, he's sure to become your zombie slave.

Reize Seatlan has posed:
After the tomato falls over to the girl's chest, Reize is still in the daze. Errr.. Oops. The tomato is splattered all over her chest.

... All over her chest.

All of over. Wait. Wait. Wait.

... Is this what Ivo ends up thinking about? Oh right, Reize is talking to Nagetta about the wonders of the food fight! Nevertheless, Reize is creening his head over towards Violet, "It was a--.."

WHOMP!

Reize gets a face full of tomato. And he trips against the gummi.

GUMMI'S REVENGE!

Reize is rolling down the hill. Rolling... and rolling.

Meanwhile...

The hooded figure snaps at the other hooded figure, "You fruit! You can be all with the fruit that you want! It suits you, you fruit! I am going to go back to being a great fighter and introduce the world to Rhinotaur Ravager to get revenge--..."

Reize slams RIGHT into the hooded figure.

Reize's status: x_x
Hooded figure's status: x_X

Both collectively groan.

Royce has posed:
Yes, just a little bit more. The necromancer smiles darkly as she feels the life ebbing from the fool held helplessly in her grasp like a fly in a spider's web. Her hand presses him down firmly and despite his struggles the strength to fight back has already escaped him by the time he realises what's going on.

As fate would have it, the very same fruit that has glued him to a little slice of heaven is the savior for the unfortunate knight. An onslaught of massive grapes comes tumbling down atop the witch and while her body might be nearly indestructible due to the magic binding it together, she is no more resistant to being pummeled by oversized fruit.

Alicia staggers backwards and lands heavily on her rear. The massive cannon on her back makes a wet splat as it digs into the plaible ground but otherwise she is unharmed - and so is Ivo. She clucks her tongue at this realization but that could easily be miscontrued for annoyance at being knocked down.

"Ooof! Well... that was unfortunate! Are you alright?"

Ivo Galvan has posed:
"Somehow," Ivo replies blearily, tragically unaware of Reize's hilarious fate, half-consciously wiping the remnants of goo from his face. "Actually," he adds in a speculative tone, "I feel really good, for some reason. What exactly..."

Wow, he /must/ be disoriented.

"...oh, you're a mess," he notices at last, clearly unaware that he and his beloved cloak have suffered a similar fate at this point. He retains the self-possession, at least, to manage another grin. "Why don't we take a bath? That pool in Macalania Forest looked like--"

Blessedly, the vines that he destabilized at last tear free of their moorings just at this moment and their thick trunk collides with the back of his head, flooring Ivo and stunning him all over again. It seems like the Shard Seekers are more or less incapacitated for now. At last, Royce has her chance to escape.

Surprisingly, though, the Apathetics look somewhat less apathetic than before. A large crowd of them are staring at where the fruit fight took place, no doubt having not seen such a display of exuberance in quite some time, and look unusually engaged. It probably wouldn't be too wise to try finish anyone off under these circumstances. Still, maybe this means that Ivo's ploy to 'complete the quest' wasn't so bad after all.

It's probably a coincidence.