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 Posted: Sun Jul 10, 2011 4:32 pm
[This RP is backdated to the night of Prom!]
"I think we've got to walk from here," Tallulah said apologetically as she put the finishing touches on her parallel parking. It was about two blocks from here to the venue and the weather was mild - she wasn't particularly worried about the walk, just bummed that there wasn't anywhere closer. Such was downtown Destiny City on a weekend night, though.
She hopped out of the driver's seat and hurried around the car to open the door for Andrea. It was sort of fun to behave stupidly chivalrous for a boy two years younger than you who was basically your prom date out of mutual helplessness and not because of any kind of physical attraction. "Disney Channel lied to me," she sniffed, checking the parking meter. (There was thankfully no toll on weekends.) "They said there'd be a red carpet and lens flairs."
She offered Andrea her arm, still with an air of camp and irony that would hopefully eventually morph into genuine fun. "Well," she said, looking him up and down. "I think we make a rather dapper pair."
Said the girl with an octopus in her hair.
"Shall we go?"
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Posted: Sun Jul 10, 2011 5:14 pm
Andrea was trying his hardest not to feel weird, too. But it helped that Tallulah was nice and friendly. Part of him still worried that Rea might get upset at him, or something else like that, but, well, with everything else that had been going on in his life, girl problems might have been delightfully normal.
Not that he was eager to make sure of it, but just in case.
Dressed in all black with a teal tie and pocket square to match his date, he smiled as he clasped her hand and got up out of the car. His other hand held a small plastic clamshell box; once standing, the black-haired boy popped it open and withdrew a flower corsage for his date's wrist.
"Here we go, now that we won't have to worry about seat belts for whatever messing them up." He saw her move for the meter and added, "I can chip in, too, if you want." Regardless of how traditional they were trying to be, Andrea felt he should help somehow since she had driven.
Once the flowers were in place, he shut the car door and tossed the empty plastic box out into a nearby garbage can. "We do look nice, though," Andrea agreed with sincerity and a grin, and took her hand once more.
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Posted: Sun Jul 10, 2011 5:36 pm
"Oh, this is lovely!" gushed Tallulah, holding her am up to admire the flowers. "Don't worry about the meter," she added. "Free on weekends! Thank you, Destiny City Better Business Bureau!" It was hard to argue with free parking, after all! She clicked her keyfob twice, locking the car with a beep, and dropped her keys into her clutch.
They began to stroll, if that was what one might call two equally awkward teenagers who couldn't quite synch their steps trying to walk together. "I'm actually kinda looking forward to this," admitted Tallulah after a few yards. They seemed to be getting the hang of it.
Everything was going well, and she was even starting to feel like a normal teenager. Up to and including the moment when the trashcan on the corner they were approaching wobbled and tipped over with a crash.
"That's...weird," she commented, glancing at Andrea. But already her mind was jumping to desperate pleas that, just this once, a trash can tipping over really was just a trash can tipping over. Tonight was supposed to be her night off! If that was anything besides just a random gust of wind, Tallulah was going to be seriously pissed at the universe.
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Posted: Sun Jul 10, 2011 8:18 pm
"Oh, even better," Andrea exclaimed, not needing to bother to get out his wallet.
Cheerful could cover up the awkward nervousness, but his heart still fluttered when Tallulah spoke. Andrea nodded, then tossed his head a little to get his bleached fringe out of his eyes. He could have gelled his hair into immobility, and suspected that many of his male classmates had for the occasion, but he had ultimately decided not to. He wanted this to go as smoothly and naturally as possible, and turning his hair to concrete did not seem to work with that agenda.
"Yeah," he agreed with a sigh to relax. "I remember being sort of jealous last year, not being able to go as a freshman, but then this year I felt pretty apathetic about the whole thing until you asked me." Andrea hurried to add, "I'm totally glad to come with you and all, I mean, just, having to worry about it all beforehand, you know?" The boy smiled a pleading smile. "Please tell me all the social crap in high school gets easier by senior year? That at least some people finally start caring about school instead of who's dating who?" Not likely, but, well, it could not hurt to ask anyway.
Either way, his attention shifted to the garbage can as it hit the pavement with a metallic clank, so it was not guaranteed that he would pick up Tallulah's answer.
"Yeah," Andrea murmured, brows drawing together as it rolled towards them in a manner that did not quite seem accidental.
And then, as though to confirm his fears, two sets of what looked like sloth claws grasped the metal rim of the can, two pairs of glowing eyes lit up inside it, and, with a speed greater than any sloth in the universe, a black-furred monster launched itself from the can at the dressed-up couple.
"Oh s**t!" Andrea tried to put himself between the monster and his date as the now-unoccupied garbage can clattered noisily off the edge of the sidewalk and into the gutter. Was there a place he could power up without her seeing? And without needing to abandon her? Could Andrea fight it himself, without henshining up? ... Would this turn out better than the last time he tried that?
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Posted: Sun Jul 10, 2011 8:43 pm
Tallulah's heart skipped a beat. That was definitely not a raccoon. "GET DOWN!" she cried, launching herself at Andrea, knocking them both to the pavement. So much for nice clothes, but at least the creature went sailing over their heads. Tallulah rolled over and watched it land a few meters off, spin, and start back towards them. She scrambled to her feet, tugging the boy along behind her. Maybe they could outrun it and get to the prom?
"Why tonight," she groaned under her breath as they ran. The creature was gaining on them, however - outrunning it did not appear to be an option. She was going to have to fight it, and Tallulah Cowden really did not want to have to fight a youma on prom night - especially in the middle of the sidewalk next to her date with nowhere suitable to henshin up.
She glanced at Andrea, calculating the risks. She'd revealed her senshi identity before, but only to people she was certain weren't part of the negaverse and weren't going to sell her out. Andrea didn't seem like the type, but this was a risk she wasn't sure she could take.
Pretty soon, the creature was going to catch up and they would have to make a decision. Tallulah hooked a right at the next intersection, dragging Andrea along behind her, in hopes of throwing the youma off momentarily.
Behind them, the creature banked steeply on its long claws and continued the chase.
"Do you think we can fight it?" she panted. Because it was sort of looking like she might have to do this in her civvies. Leaving Andrea alone with the creature for even a second wasn't an option.
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Posted: Thu Jul 14, 2011 12:12 pm
"I know, right?" Andrea breathed as he hurried along with Tallulah. He was fit and graceful, but being taken by surprise like that had made him wobbly on his feet. Trying not to stumble, he stole a glance over his shoulder at the thing, which was still in pursuit.
He wondered again if he should power up. He barely knew his date, though, really, and while that might be fine for going to prom, the black-haired boy was not sure how he felt about letting her know that he was one of the supposed terrorists. They were both panicking; who knew what she might do or whom she might call if he added fuel to the fire of the situation by pulling out his magical space power suit.
And, though Andrea was hardly old-fashioned, the gender conventions of tradition in dance on top of his natural personality utterly forbid him from turning his back on his date.
"I- I could if-" he stammered, leaving the sentence unfinished as he looked back again as the raccoon-beast pounced closer, teeth bared.
Andrea stopped, tugging his hand free from Tallulah's for a moment. They were not going to be able to outrun this thing. And he was not about to let it hurt her. He threw his arms out to try to keep her behind him, and backed up a few paces. They were in a fairly secluded street, between two shops that were closed for the night anyway. Maybe he would just have to trust her, if it meant that they would both live. The youma snarled and slunk closer, seemingly pleased that its prey had stopped running and now wanted to entertain with a fight.
"Can you keep a secret?" the boy asked urgently, but with sudden surprising calm.
Andrea waited a second for her response, then henshined. "Vindemiatrix power, make up!"
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Posted: Thu Jul 14, 2011 12:57 pm
It was something of a relief to have the choice to reveal her identity taken out of her hands in the best way possible. Tallulah would react to her prom date being one of her favorite senshi later - right now she only had a moment to react to the youma before it was close enough to give them both space-rabies. "Only if you can," she said, flipping her pen into her hand. "Eternal Europa! make up!"
The best description of the ensuing power surge was a flash of dark crackling with bioluminescence, and it only lasted a second or two. "If I'm going to get in trouble on prom night," the senshi of the deep said resolutely, "I can't think of many people I would rather do it with."
She could almost swear the youma looked satisfied to have found a pair of senshi hoping to enjoy a school dance. Like it had had a premonition they might pass that way. Sometimes Europa longed to know whether anything went on in those creatures heads - and the rest of the time she was disgusted by the mere notion.
The creature slunk towards them, snarling under its breath. Even from several feet away, it stank - not only of the garbage it had been eating but something ranker, as well. Decay, perhaps. Rotting flesh.
No longer content to merely slink threateningly, it yowled and launched itself at Vindemiatrix.
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Posted: Thu Jul 14, 2011 9:49 pm
What were the chances! Vin laughed, similarly pleased to find himself with Europa.
"So can Eternal senshi like, smell other senshi or something, and that's why you asked me to prom?" he asked, unable to stop grinning. "And thank you! Hopefully we can be on the giving end of trouble instead of the receiving end tonight, though."
His expression soured slightly as the youma crept within smelling range, though, and he brought his hands up to a defensive stance. "Ugh, speaking of smell," Vin grumbled.
Then the thing leapt at him. Also having no desire to contract space-rabies, the Senshi of Wine took half a step back, brought one leg up, and timed his kick to try to knock the thing away as soon as it was within range. The further he could keep this youma from his face, the better.
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Posted: Fri Jul 15, 2011 5:41 am
Because of the you ma's fairly small size, it was tempting for Europa to half-a** the battle at less than full power. But that was a false sense of complacency talking and all it got you was pain, scratches, and eventually, if you were unlucky emought, dead. "If I could smell it," she called to Vin, snatching a trash can lid and moving to intercept the youma's flight-path as dictated by the younger senshi's foot, "I wouldn't have had to wait for you to transform first."
It would have been a useful skill to have, she supposed very much, but it wasn't one she actually possessed. The youma collided with the trash lid and hit the ground a moment later, snarling and spitting like a soggy bobcat. It launched itself at Europa, and she held up her makeshift shield and yelled, "Europa deep ocean pressure!"
This did not account for conservation of momentum, and the youma collided heavily with her shield, knocking her back enough to set her off balance. Europa fell onto her back, shield pressed between herself and the foul-breathed beast which, under the influence of her own powers, refused to be moved.
"Damn it," she grunted, trying to no avail to flip it away from her.
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Posted: Sun Jul 17, 2011 1:32 pm
She had a point, and Vin nodded, not taking his eyes off the creature. Still, though, the questions she had asked when they had first started talking at the campus cleanup had made him curious. Either way, though, the boy supposed it did not really matter now.
He edged away from Europa to give her space as she picked up the shield. More as she unleashed her attack. But then the youma leapt and crashed into her shield. Was the ocean pressure holding it down on top of her? Vin did not think it looked large enough to be that heavy on its own.
Darting in, the Senshi of Wine aimed a solid kick at the creature to try to knock it off of his ally. At the same time, he called out his own senshi magic: "Standard's Grip of the Grape!" But, not wanting to risk debilitating Europa by hitting her with his wine, too, he held off on throwing the contents of his goblet for the moment.
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Posted: Sun Jul 17, 2011 2:31 pm
The youma went flying through the air, hissing as it soared, before crashing angrily against a dumpster. Europa rolled quickly forward and out of the way, trying to avoid getting splashed by Vindemiatrix's attack as it soaked the youma. "Well, I know now!" she called, getting hastily to her feet as the soaked Youma stumbled back towards them.
It was her turn now. "Gotta warn you," Europa said and she made her way back towards Vin. She placed herself between her ally and the stumbling youma. "I don't totally know what this does."
Europa positioned herself between Vin and the advancing youma and leveled a hand at it. "Europa deep ocean terror!" she cried.
The effect was instantaneous. The youma immediately ceased its approach - in fact, it took a few hasty steps backwards, shuddered, and began to hastily chew its own leg. And Europa still had no idea what her attack had done.
She chucked the trashcan lid at the immobilized monster. "Let's finish it off, Vin!"
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Posted: Thu Jul 21, 2011 6:32 pm
Vin chucked the wine at the creature, then unsummoned the glass with a flourish, and stepped back as Europa moved between him and the presumably intoxicated youma.
"I know how that goes," he told her with a slight laugh as she admitted not knowing what her attack did. "I never know quite how the people and things I get drunk will react, either." Vin watched carefully as the creature stopped its advance, then looked distinctly weirded out as it started to chew on itself. Terror seemed about his best guess for it, like she had called in the name of the attack.
But, as the Senshi of Wine was learning, there would be time to wonder about it once the youma was dead. He ran in after the trashcan lid and brought one heel down firmly on the monster's matted-furry midsection.
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Posted: Thu Jul 21, 2011 7:05 pm
Europa had to admit that hadn't been quite the reaction she'd been hoping for, or even expecting, it did the job well enough. The youma continued to flail in panic as Vindemiatrix dug his foot into its gut, but the terror was short-lived. Between the danger it had already taken, it's growing state of terror, and the senshi bearing down on it, the monster couldn't take it. Just as its hissing and screeching reached a frantic crescendo, it went stiff and suddenly crumbled to dust.
Europa approached Vindemiatrix cautiously. "I'm still not sure what I did to it," she admitted. Scared it half to death, from the looks of it. At any rate, it had been effectively reduced to dust in the wind. She gave Vin a sympathetic look. "Way to ruin a perfectly nice evening, huh?" she asked.
All things considered, she did not much feel like going to prom now. "I hope you didn't have your heart too terribly set on going to the dance." There was no telling what she'd look like when she henshined down, but the battle had probably left some scuffs... As well as the nosedive they'd taken when the youma first attacked.
There was no time like the present to evaluate the damage. In a dark flash, Europa turned back into Tallulah to discover a pair of scraped knees and a dirty dress awaited her. "You wouldn't be terribly bummed if we ditched, would you? I'm not sure I can show up looking like this."
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Posted: Fri Jul 22, 2011 11:10 am
"That will never stop being weird," Vindemiatrix stated as his heel came to rest on pavement through a pile of dust. Within a couple seconds, the last remains of the youma swirled away in the breeze. Then he nodded slowly in response to Europa, and shrugged. "It worked, at least." They had gotten away without any bites from the thing, for which he was infinitely thankful.
But turning back to her, he laughed and shook his head. "No, I totally understand." Vin appraised his date's dressed with a slight sympathetic pout, then powered down himself. His blazer and trousers had afforded his skin a bit more protection from the pavement, but his corsage was sadly missing several petals, the buttons on the cuffs of his jacket looked scuffed, and it looked like something had pulled a thread in his pants.
Wincing, he ran his finger over the stray thread end over his knee. "I so hope that does not turn into a hole."
But he nodded with little hesitation at Tallulah's suggestion. "Yeah, that adrenaline rush kind of took more out of me than I thought, too." Then Andrea quoted, "'My heart could take a chance, but my two feet can't find a way'," and gave his date a furtive glance to see if she recognized the song.
"Since we came out here, though," he went on after a few moments, "Do you want to get ... I dunno, ice cream or something? Or shakes? I think there's an Orange Claudius a block or two away." And Andrea as fully confident that anything else nasty they ran into tonight, they would both be more than able to handle.
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Posted: Fri Jul 22, 2011 1:15 pm
"I know a good dry cleaning place," sighed Tallulah, smoothing out her skirt. "They can probably fix it." Hopefully the scuffs would come out in the wash - otherwise, she'd spent too much on this dress to let it get ruined by some lamefaced youma. Angus would understand, but how would she ever explain this to her mother?
Her corsage had come through slightly less successfully than Andrea's. It was basically squashed, and Tallulah held her wrist up lamely and tried to tease some life back into the flowers. "I'm sorry," she said. It had been really, really pretty while it had lasted. Leave it to the Negaverse to be the reason why you couldn't have nice things. She didn't know the song, but if she had she would have agreed that she did not feel like dancing, so no dancing today.
"Shakes sound brilliant," she said, picking up her clutch and looping her arm tiredly through his. It seemed perfectly unlikely that they'd run into anything else tonight, but at least they'd gotten it out of the way early. Otherwise, knowing their luck, youma would have started coming out of the walls at prom.
She pointed down the street with her handbag. "Lead the way, Sir Andrea."
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