[PRP] HALP. My ball is stuck! (Danny + Tset)

[chiickadee]

Towering above Danny was a giant, dead, ugly tree. It's bark was chipping, revealing worms and the like wriggling beneath the surface. Of course, this was nothing new for a town perpetually set in Halloween. Near the top of the branches, carefully tucked away in a nook was a bright black maceball.

A much more interesting subject was the angry ghoul currently situated beneath the dead tree. She was making a very frustrated face, exemplifying the saying "if looks could kill." She kicked the tree a few times for good measure, but it didn't really help much. The ball was stuck up there good. Her orange hair fluttered in the slight breeze that had picked up. She instinctively covered her tail from the wind, as she had done since birth.

Jackdammit, it was freakin' cold out here and Danny wanted to go inside now. Of course, she had other maceballs. An infinite collection it seemed like. She couldn't just abandon this one though. Danny was far too stubborn.

The ghoul tackle the tree again, gaining a few feet before losing any kind of foothold and falling to her a**. If only her wings were actually useful and not for show. Once again she tackled the tree, and gripped a third branch with her tail. It was pointless though. The branch just snapped, and a loud THUMP was heard as Danny hit the ground. She honestly wished she could burn the entire damn tree down, but somehow she didn't think the grounds staff would like that very much.

Grumpily, she just continued to stare at the ball, as if staring would magically bring it down to her.

It didn't.  

[alpha lyrae]

Today was one of those crisp, blustery days that Tsetsiliya did not like very much. She was a demon who thrived in the noontime sun, and this afternoon chill did not make her very pleased. Still, she stuck to her regime, which included an afternoon walk (although she was doing a nice jog because of the cold). Normally her celestial wolf Casimir would accompany her, as he enjoyed stretching his legs as much as she did, but today it was her fae dragon Lucja that clung to her shoulders. The creature had made quite a show, hissing at any students they had happened to pass and curling protectively around the poludnica's neck.

Tsetsiliya sighed. Leave it to her overprotective minipet to like the cold and scare away anybody who might want to chat. She was still reeling from the recent events (not to mention incredibly embarrassed by them) and was, strangely, feeling a little peer-starved. Lucja was the last pet she had wanted to come along.

Regardless, as they jogged the path, her pace slowed as her eye caught something interesting. A short distance off the path, a firey-looking ghoul was scrambling up one of the dead trees. Tsetsiliya winced as the branch snapped and said ghoul went falling to the ground. What was she after? Immediately she was sidetracking, crossing the grass. Lucja's hissing grew louder as it, too, caught sight of the student. The way that this ghoul's face looked was half-comical, half-pitiful. A glance up into the branches, after a moment of quiet searching, revealed what she was likely after - a ball that was nestled pretty high up. Good Jack, had she really thrown it that far up? Eyes coming back to the ghoul, Tsetsiliya swallowed her nerves and mustered a timid smile as she approached close enough to hold a conversation.

"H-Hello," she ventured, "A-are you needing help getting your ball?" She was really doing better with this, the whole introduction thing. Not that she knew how well she could be of help. Lucja gave a sharp hiss and Tsetsiliya reached up to close its mouth. "Perhaps we can be assisting, yes?"  

[chiickadee]

Danny was this close to just burning the tree down to the ground. Honestly, she would've done it if it weren't for the fact that her parents had severely warned her not to burn anything down at school. At least, not for her first week of school.

G scrambled up her arm and leapt onto the tree. He was too small to do any actual climbing, but he liked being able to watch Danny and laugh at her from afar. He squeaked as if to say "c'mon, you can do this," but all Danny heard was "squeak squeak squeak squeak." It wasn't really helping the situation at hand.

Danny's livid climb was interrupted by a voice asking if she needed help behind her. Normally Danny wasn't one to ask for help, but in this case ... she really was at a loss. Grumpily she said, "Sure if you can grow 60 jillion feet and get my ball down!" She shook her head and then said, "Sorry, I just really want my jackdamn ball!"

Instead of continuing to attack the tree, Danny plopped herself on the ground, whipping her tail back and forth, as though it had a life of it's own. "Any ideas?" She glanced back at the gnarled tree. If only she could just burn it down. It would make things so much simpler. But no, she had made a serious promise to her parents, and she would keep it. For as long as she could remember to anyways. Realizing she had yet to introduce herself, she said, "Oh, name's Danny by the way. You?"

Danny gave a wary eye to the minipet on the girl's shoulder. It didn't seem to like her very much, but then, G was like that with a lot of people too. Still, she would keep an eye on it. Just in case.  

[alpha lyrae]

"T-Tsetsiliya," the poludnica stammered, blinking. "I-It is being nice to meet you, Danny." She mustered a timid smile as the other ghoul sat down firmly on the ground. My my, she certainly was grumpy! But with another glance towards the trees, Tsetsiliya could see why. If her favorite possession had been that far out of her reach, she wouldn't be too happy now either. She lowered her gaze to the ground as she paused in thought. When it came to physical activity, she was always moving, but it was always relatively close to the ground. Going up a tree was a helpless cause, and she didn't trust her own hands not to betray her if she were to start climbing. A fall off her family's manor porch when she was a child had deterred any dreams of upward motion. Lucja emitted a low hiss from her shoulder, and a light went on in her head.

"I am not being much of a climber but.." Tsetsiliya turned her attention towards the dragon and reached up to scratch its neck. Lucja, for her part, leaned into her fingers. "Lucja, up," she said, using the most endearing voice she could muster for the minipet. The fae dragon tilted its head then reared it back again. "Lucja. Up." A little more firmly this time, and for good measure the poludnica pointed towards the ball. "Get." The pet narrowed its eyes at Danny, before spreading its tiny leather-like wings and flapping towards the branches. She landed gingerly among them and took his sweet time in skittering down the limb. "Lucja!" Tsetsiliya called, feeling a little exasperated. Really, there was no time for these games! The poludnica's fear was that Danny might lose her patience and put her fire to some rather devious use. Jack knows the teachers probably would not like that in the least.

With a momentary dramatic upturn of the head, the fae dragon lowered it once again and nudged the ball free. The prize tumbled through the air, back towards its original owner. Tsetsiliya cupped her hand around her smiling mouth and called out, "Good!" As the dragon soared back down onto her shoulders, she turned towards Danny, all smiles. "There, I am hoping that is helping you. What is this ball being for, if I may ask?" Getting a closer look at it only piqued her curiosity.  

[chiickadee]

"You sure talk funny," she said. Danny, queen of suave. She honestly was just pointing out the truth- she didn't mean anything insulting by it. "It is being nice to meet you too, Tsetsi .... Setsu ..." Danny's face twisted up in frustration. "Setty. Setty!" Tsetsiliya had just gained a new nickname.

Danny was surprised when the girl summoned her little minipet to go get the ball. She looked at G and said, "Why couldn't you do that?" The little minipet just gave a bored shrug in response. Stupid G. Why wasn't he useful like Lucja. Lucja. What a funny name.

Huge reddish brown eyes stared at Tsetsiliya with disbelief as Danny caught the ball. "Oh my jack, thank you so much. I can't believe you got it back!" Having no concern for personal space, Danny ran up to the girl and launched her into a giant hug. Looking up at the tree with her hand on her forehead shading her eyes, she shouted "Thank you too little dude!"

What a nice girl. Anyone who did Danny a favor was automatically in the "friends" book for her. "You're the best Setty!" She grinned and continued, "If you ever need anything, let me know!" About five seconds ago, Danny was a big broody mess, and now she was just one giant cuddlefest.

Danny instinctively held the ball to her chest, as if she was offended. "This is the greatest thing ever! Well except for maybe fire. And Lava. And the guitar. Okay, so it's not the best thing ever, but it's way up there!" She smiled to herself as if sharing some hilarious joke with a friend. "This, is a maceball. You use it to play ... well maceball. You hit it with a bat... well it's a mace I guess, but you get the picture." Oh Danny. Worst explanation ever.  

[alpha lyrae]

If it wasn't the comment on her speech that made Tsetsiliya blush, it was the new nickname that did the trick. Setty. She couldn't repress the smile that was tugging at her lips. Another happy nickname to add to the lot she has collected. The sillier sound of this one for some reason made her especially happy. It was.. certainly unique. She was unable to contain the smile when Danny turned on her minipet and chided him - definitely a moment that reminded her of herself and Lucja (in the fae dragon's worst moments).

What completely surprised her, however, was the sudden hug that the ghoul launched at her. She was nearly bowled over and took a step back to steady herself, but as Danny continued to hug her and treat her in such a friendly manner, the poludnica could feel her face growing redder and redder.. but not necessarily in a bad way. "I-I am always being happy to help!" Lucja, for her part, acknowledged Danny's thanks towards her with a nonchalant squeak before settling back down on the branch to watch the two with narrowed eyes.

But now the conversation steered towards the ball in question, or rather the maceball in question. As Danny explained the game, Tsetsiliya's face was the very face of confusion. Hit the ball with a mace, that much she understood, but what was the dynamic of the game? "I am not seeing this before.. maceball." She blinked, but her eyes were wide, curious. "Is it being difficult to play?" She certainly wanted to know more about this game - she really liked games. If it involved running, then all the better!  

[chiickadee]

Danny smiled a toothy grin. "I owe you one Setty!" She punched Tsetsilya on the arm playfully, though Danny's "playful" might've been a bit rough.

Her amazing explanation had obviously confused the girl. Her face was red and bright, so Danny tried to elaborate further, in the way that only Danny could. "Okay well, I have my mace here actually..." She paused and went around to the other side of the tree and picked up her mace.

Coming back around to the other side with Tsetsiliya she held out the mace and exclaimed, "TADAHHHHH~!" She held the mace out gently, but with a firm grip, just in case Tset was secretly a malicious evil creature who wanted to steal her bat.

That was unlikely though. Tset was far too nice sounding.

How to explain maceball. "Well ... you hit the maceball ... and then run around the pumpkin shaped field ... uhm and you try to get there before they can hit you with the maceball," she said. Danny was really trying hard, but it really wasn't working well. How do explain a game that was so complicated without being able to see it? She was a hands on/experience learning. Words? Not so much.

Danny got an idea. "Why don't we hit a few balls? I can toss them, and you can try hitting them?" She clapped her hands together as if that was the best idea ever. Carefully, she held out the the mace for Tsetsiliya to take, with an eager expression on her face.  

[alpha lyrae]

As Danny went to retrieve her mace, Tsetsiliya rubbed the tender spot on her arm from where the ghoul had "playfully" punched her. For a playful punch, it certainly left a nice stinging sensation! Her hand lowered back to her side when her companion returned, holding the mace so reverently. Glancing between the mace and the ball as Danny elaborated again, the poludnica nodded slowly. She had been initially wondering if the ball could take such a beating from a mace like this, but it looked to be a rather tough ball. Judging by how Lucja had strained a little while trying to knock it from the branches, it must have been a little heavier than she thought as well.

Then came the offer to play. Tsetsiliya blinked owlishly as her heart fluttered. Oh, she dearly loved games! Hopefully she wouldn't make too much of a fool of herself.

"O-Okay!" Taking a careful grip on the mace and lifting it, she was surprised momentarily by the weight. Remembering that she had picked a mace as her weapon back during.. that time (she didn't want to use the word "island;" too many bad memories from then), she readjusted her handle on it and gripped it with both hands this time. Much better. She glanced around at the area they were standing in, noticing that aside from the one problematic tree from earlier, there seemed to be plenty of grass space. "Am I backing up a ways? Perhaps we are playing there, as there is being more space, I am thinking.." She pointed over her shoulder to a wider expanse of grass, thankfully tree-free.  

[chiickadee]

Danny picked up G by the collar and placed him on her shoulder, kissing his cute little forehead lightly. Of course, G responded to this with a little "blech!" face and stuck out his tongue. Secretly though, G was loving the attention, and Danny knew it. Quietly, even though he couldn't understand it, she said to G alone, "Careful, this might be bumpy!"

Turning back to the ghoul, she said, "Ah, yeah that'd probably good. Don't want the ball to end up in the tree again, right?" She let out a light cascade of oafish sounding laughter. It was not the prettiest sound to the ears, but at least she meant it in a happy way.

Danny jogged out a bit and then said, "Alrighty uhm ... so I'll just toss it really nice and slowly, and you hit it, okay?" She rotated the ball back and forth in her hand happily. Danny wasn't much of a pitcher- she liked being able to lolligag in the outfield a lot more, but getting to practice her throwing skills was always nice. It was good to have a spare pitcher in a pinch, right?

Playfully, she set G on the ground and gave his his own maceball to play with. He huffed at it like he was too good for it, but the second Danny looked away he began attacking it with a childish fury. Danny looked back over and him and gave a skeptic smile, to which the treat stuck out his tongue. They really were an odd pair to watch.  

[alpha lyrae]

Tsetsiliya nodded eagerly, and raised the bat so it rested over her shoulder. It still took two hands to hold, but if she were to learn this game properly, one had to learn to crawl before they learned to walk, right? She smiled as Danny laughed; an uncertain smile (good Jack, she'd never heard a laugh quite like this ghoul's - while not unnecessarily a bad sound, it was certainly unique), but a smile nonetheless.

"That is sounding good!" As she crossed the small expanse of grass, the poludnica turned and watched Danny interact with her own minipet. It was cute, really, although it called to mind moreso a brother and sister than a minipet and owner (odd as the comparison may have been). She glanced up at the treetops where Lucja watched, tail swaying testily in the branches behind her.

Once at a safe enough distance, Tsetsiliya steadied the bat and called out. "I-I am being ready when you are!" She reconfigured her position, once, twice, three times, before changing her hold on the bat once. She frowned at herself as she finally got into a straight-backed sideways position, holding the bat out in front of her. Was she doing this right?  

[chiickadee]

Now that G was content with his baseball, Danny set her sights back on the ghoul holding the bat. She was holding it a little awkwardly though. Danny tilted her head and tried to figure out how to explain it to her.

"Uhm ... Setty you hafta put the bat behind you, sorta above your shoulder, but not too far otherwise it'll look funny. You hafta hold it with two hands, though I guess if you wanted to show off you could do it with one, but that would be weird," she babbled, displaying things and actions with her hands.

Frowning, she continued saying, "When the ball comes towards you, you hafta hit it right on the center so it makes this WHUSHHHH crack! noise, otherwise it'll just go the wrong direction." She nodded as though she was explaining this to herself, not another person. Which she might as well have been doing, because this explanation probably wouldn't make any sense to another person. She continued on though, saying, "Your feet should be like shoulders length apart, though I guess you could stand wide or narrow depending on how you hit it. My uncle stands kind of funny when he bats, so maybe you can too."

She smiled innocently though, thinking she had done the best job ever explaining. Danny glanced down at G who was still gnawing on his own maceball. Honestly, the treat probably could've explained it better than whatever the hell Danny was doing.  

[alpha lyrae]

Tsetsiliya blinked when Danny called her out on her stance, and lowered the bat slowly as the ghoul tried to explain. All the poludnica could do was nod slowly to what was being explained to her. Two hands on the bat? She could do that. Her hands slid back into position on the mace and heaved it up, trying to find a good balancing point in the air, and.. there.

The next part was where Tsetsiliya found herself lost. A "whoosh crack noise"? Her lips formed a small, puzzled frown. Well, she suppose that meant that she wouldn't know if the hit would be a success until she actually hit the ball, would she? Danny continued her explanation, ending with something relating to stance.

"O-oh!" Tsetsiliya exclaimed, looking down at her own feet, which were standing close together. Oh good Jack, no wonder she was having trouble keeping balance. She readjusted her stance, widening her position before lifting the mace one more time. This time, she wasn't teetering over.. or feeling like she was about to, anyway. "I-Is this being better? I am being ready whenever you are!" As eager as she was to get the position right, she was also eager to start playing.  

[chiickadee]

Danny nodded at the ghoul. She seemed a little slow, but eager to learn. Danny was always happy to help those in need! She was like a damn ghoul scout trapped in a teenager's body.

"Okay!" she shouted, with a glint in her eye, "Here comes the first one!!"

With that, Danny took a natural stance that was very fluid feeling for her. It wasn't the best pitcher's position in the world, not by any means, but it would do for such a casual event like this. Danny winded up and then chucked the maceball straight at the ghoul. It wasn't a fast pitch- Danny wasn't that mean- but it certainly wasn't and underhand volley. It was a test to see just how good Setty was.

The ball went flying through the air in what felt like slow motion. It was too bad she didn't have her glove with her- that would've made the game even more authentic. Danny noticed G off to the side, still gnawing on that maceball. Shoving him off it, Danny said, "I'm going to need that little G, move it!" It was harsh maybe, but she really did need the maceball!  

[alpha lyrae]

( lolol rolling for hit, one is miss, two is hit )

She was ready for this! She was ready, she was ready --

-- and then Danny tossed the ball. With a quick shuffle to ease her stance into something a bit more comfortable, Tsetsiliya gripped the mace and waited. Oh, it seemed as though the ball were taking ages! But closer it crept, until finally she reared the mace back and swung as hard as she could, her eyes squeezing shut as she did so..

There! The "whoosh crack" sound Danny had told her about! Her pale eyes opened and watched the ball arch away and high into the air. She'd hit it! She'd hit it!

"I-I am hitting it!" she cried, but a momentary flutter of panic seized her. What now?! She dropped the mace and glanced quickly around the field. Danny had said to run, right? Well, here goes, she was running! Taking off as fast as she could around the pumpkin field, she couldn't wipe the smile from her face. She'd actually hit the ball! And getting to run again felt so good.. it had really been a while.  

[chiickadee]

Danny's eyes just about exploded out of her head. How in the world did she hit that so hard! It made the WHOOSH-CRACK noise and everything!

Well, she reassured herself, I did lowball that one just a bit. That must've been it. It was such an easy throw that anyone could hit it! She had been so nice with that pitch. Danny applauded herself for how nice she had been to Setty. She was practically a Sally herself!

Danny couldn't help but let out a giggle when Tset started running, seemingly with no direction. Her mischievous side bubbled to the surface when she shouted, "You're doing great Setty! Just keep running!" She laughed as the ghoul continued to run down the field, with a dopey happy expression that Danny wore almost every second of her day.

After a while though, she started to feel a teensy bit bad. She wouldn't just keep running like that, right? Well if Danny was given the instruction, she would've kept going. This realization dawned on Danny, so she shouted an amendment, "Wait come back Setty! You uh... You gotta hit more balls with me!!!" Anyone passing by probably thought they were nutcases.