Welcome to Gaia! ::

“Not really,” Marissa mannerisms seemed to suggest that there was at least a bit of nervousness lingering there but more so due to the uncertainty of the act than the actual promotion itself. “More curious than anything I suppose.” She accepted the corndog and took a small bite out of the end then handed it back to him with a pleased smile.

The pain in her chest was something she acutely remembered from her awakening. But beyond that… the shock her body went through from plunging into icy waters and the panic that ensued as the weight of her clothes dragged her to the bottom of the lake all but dulled her senses. Her body had gone through physical changes as his did but she had no memory of it even happening as the last breath of air escaped her and she blacked out.

“Sounds like it’s more of just an uncomfortable ache than anything.” LIke getting thrown on the ground hard enough to get the wind knocked out of her.

“Anyway, enough about work for now!” Marissa munched on a few more fries then washed it down with some lemonade. “Why don’t we go head over to the games.” She nodded her head in the direction where sirens were blaring because someone had won a prize at one of the booths.

When he feels I’m ready I’m sure Lopezite will find someone he trusts. Who knows when that might be but perhaps when the time comes for her own promotion he may be a General and could do it himself. Either way, she was a long way away from that happening but at least it was a distant goal for her to aim for at least.

Marissa watched as the metal ball raced up the meter when the next macho man took a swing at the platform. “Almost?” She repeated with a raised brow and an amused smirk. “Ya think?”

Fishing through her bag she pulled out her wallet and handed him a five-dollar bill which would earn him three swings. “Going to show them how it’s done then?”

Based on the sign, the prize would be based on the highest score; anything below forty would receive a blow-up bat, between forty and seventy, would receive a small stuffed animal, a score between seventy and ninety would get a medium stuffed animal and above ninety would garner a huge stuffed animal. Granted, neither of them could comfortably fit such a prize in their dorm rooms but it would be really amazing if he could manage to win one.

“Me?” She pointed to herself as if there had been someone else nearby with the same name. “Uhh, erm okay?”

Marissa walked over and took the mallet from him. The weight of it was a little surprising but not so much so that it couldn’t be lifted. Following the similar motions as Winter, she placed the head of the hammer on the pad then positioned herself in front of it. Feet spread at a shoulder-width apart, she lined herself up and then, with some effort, lifted the mallet overhead. It reached a point where it had nearly brought her over backward but she moved one foot back to steady herself as she brought the hammer down.

There was a chance for her to shop, albeit brief, to reposition herself but by the time she thought about it she was already committed to the swing. The mallet came down in a sweeping arc and while her grip on it was strong the only thing she could do was close her eyes because she knew where it was going to hit- or in this case not hit…

A dark cloud of shame loomed overhead when the metal ball didn’t even jump higher than a bunny hop only reaching the second tick line on the meter. <******** my life… Marissa’s head fell forward and for once she wished her hair wasn’t tied back so she could use it to hide her embarrassed face from view. Of course I’d miss

Lips pursed into a thin line, she carefully set the mallet down on the ground and slowly turned her head away from Winter and the faire employee. “Can you two just pretend you didn’t see that please.” She asked with a bit of a nervous laugh, face as pink as the cotton candy a kid was holding as their parents waited in line for them to move so they could have their turn.

Of course, he wouldn’t let something like that go so easily. Not when she just handed him ammo on a silver platter to tease her with until the end of days or at least the end of hers which actually made her wonder how long her own life expectancy was now that she was half youma.

“Redeem my honor…” Marissa muttered under her breath and let out an undignified snort as she rolled her eyes in a childish fashion. That would assume I had any to begin with . But when he offered her his prize she honestly couldn’t help but smile even if it was a bit of a pity gift.

Looking at the options available her eyes scanned over a bright pink gorilla, blue and yellow python, an orange teddy bear and tucked behind them she spotted two purple triangle ears and for a second she honestly thought it was a cat of some sort until she moved the oversized ape.

A wicked grin spread across her face then, “Well, if you’re going to hold it over my head then at least I’ll have something cute, soft and huggable to help me sleep at night.” She plucked the under stuffed floppy wolf out of the pile and turned around with an overly pleased look on her face. “Isn’t it cute?” Oh, he was totally going to kick her a** for it later, but for now, she was going to enjoy the stuffed animal as this was the first time in her life that she was able to pick one this big.

When they got to the next game Marissa took a seat on the metal stool seat and took aim, “Just like the video game!” but not, definitely not…

Despite her expression looking, for all intents and purposes, like she was actually trying. All she got was a string of mental curses as she epicly missed her first shot. But to be fair, these were moving targets. “Practice shot,” she glanced at Winter with that look that dared him to say something.

Next shot was an actual hit, knocking the duck backward off the shelf, while the two follow up were kind of hits, the targets at least moved but not enough to garner any actual points. The last, however, made her swear out loud “son of a b***h.”

Marissa hung her head in shame and actually felt the urge to take the stuffed animal back from him just so she could bury her face in its faux fur. “I told you I stayed for the games. Said nothing about actually being good at them.”

It’s Queen, Marissa couldn’t help but laugh at the comment. If only she could use her actual abilities rather than a rigged pistol then she would have to agree, but as it stood she was at the mercy of the game mechanics and quirks and couldn’t cheat her way to a big prize like he did.

This time around she did better now that she had her warm up, not perfect but a definite improvement. Three ducks were knocked down while the other two were technically hit but not with enough accuracy to knock them over.

“Quick learner,” the woman standing in the booth area clapped. “Since you did two rounds you can choose both a small and medium size prize.”

Marissa turned to look and Winter then gestured at the wall of toys. “All you, which would you like?”

“Haha, cute.” Marissa just barely stuck her tongue out at him. “Much more cuddly though,” she reached out to poke the plushies little horns. “And hey, you don’t even have to worry about being stabbed.” Three pillows later, Laven had learned to either sleep sitting up or with her back against the wall to keep from rolling over because replacing them was getting both annoying and tedious.

“Why don’t we hold off on more games for a bit otherwise we won’t be able to do any rides. Plus, I’d be very heartbroken if I had to leave my wolf behind.” There was a humorous glint in her eyes as she watched Winter closely. Since they were playing in double meanings Marissa wondered which one he’d assume she meant; him or the stuffed animal he was holding.

“We should probably save that one for last.” Glancing up at the spinning wheel she watched it go in a full circle feeling rather nostalgic at the moment. “It’s a nice slow ride.” Good for easing out of the excitement-filled day before heading home.

Turning her attention back to Winter she reached out to give her plushie a little tug, a small indication that she’d like to be the one to hold it. He looked a bit silly with his arms so full and it felt odd to have someone else carry her things for her. “The line might look long, but the haunted funhouse goes quickly. It’s more like a walk-through, they just try to make sure that groups are spaced out so there isn’t a traffic jam inside.” Marissa motioned with her head for him to follow.

“My guess is there are going to be some things that pop out at us or someone running around in a costume.” Given the theme of it, she wouldn’t be surprised if there was a creepy a** clown wandering about. It’s not that she found them scary just… weird; however the one in Zombieland did elicit a startled scream out of her the first time she watched the movie with a group of friends.

True enough, when they got in line, she could hear that Joker laugh seconds before someone yell ‘Oh my God!’ from inside. Hopefully, it was just one of those animatronic things that sat up quickly

Be brave, be strong, and don’t hit anyone, or thing... No youma-ness, please. The side of herself that seemed to react to perceived threats was what had her more worried than anything. All she had to do was remind herself that nothing inside was going to kill her worst-case scenario she would defend herself with the toy.

"So, why don't you go ahead of me." At least that way if something did make her jump, she wouldn't have to worry about jumping backwards into him.

Had Winter turned fully around he would have seen quite the pathetic sight; Marissa with her eyes squeezed shut and face buried in the plushies head. But when she heard his calm voice she peaked up between a twin set of purple fluffy ears. “So brave,” she commented and continued on after him.

“At least you had the sense to stop yourself from hitting her.” Lord knows she wouldn’t have if she was in front. Clowns she had been prepared for, or monsters even, but zombies. They were the one thing that actually scared her.

Being a half-youma, living in the Dark Kingdom where officers had their own personal youma at their side; seeing monsters really didn’t come as a surprise any more given their various shapes and sizes. But zombies went against all sorts of nature, magical included. What’s dead should stay dead. Then again, she had heard that youma, once dusted, revive in the Rift so where exactly did that place them?

“Although, I think you just made her question career choices.” She teased, wondering how often this sort of thing happened. With how hard he had swung the mallet earlier; Winter, even in his glamoured form, could have done some serious damage.

As the two of them made it past the ghoulish creepy sounds, the soundtrack shifted from a haunted woods to a twisted laugh as the melody of a jack-in-the-box slowly played ‘Pop Goes the Weasel’. Fog from the previous room wafted into the next making the atmosphere feel a bit more chilly despite how vibrant and colorful the next area was. On the walls, there were weather-worn fake posters of the freak show; people with abnormalities that just made her laugh at the irony.

“Welcome to the circus.” Marissa bowed deeply as if she were the ring master, and he a member of the audience. “Here there be monsters and mazes.”