Merciless Medic
Walking Pokemon Dictionary
Noah & Dani & Nadia
Location: Death City Apartments -> Mechanical Bull Ride -> Elephant Ear Vendor -> Stone Vendor, Fool’s Festival
April 1, 2067
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Alright, now that Noah was goofed up to high heaven, he was ready. He wondered if Dani would attempt to dress up in something nice or absurdly. Eh, oh well. Looking like something a jester barfed up on a good day, he made his way to the apartment Dani and Nadia lived.
Making her way down and out one of the main doors, it seemed Nadia was first to join up, as she looked at Noah she scoffed, of course, for a Death Damned fools festival they would play the part. All the more reason to just sit up in her room, but it was too late now. “Tch. Figures this wouldn’t be an actual dance so much as holiday stupidity… I should have just stayed with the Record player. I’ll stay here and see if Dani wants to change into something more casual however..” Eyeing the other over, she did want to just turn around, but she had said she would stay here.
Dani was soon to appear after Nadia, pausing after she exited the front doors in a red dress. As her eyes cast against Noah, her face portrayed her thoughts pretty blatantly. Processing, then holding it back, and finally…
“Pft-HahahaHoly shit! What the fuck happened?” She managed through stifled laughter.
Noah snickered as Nadia came out, knowing she really wasn’t going to enjoy this whole party shindig, but that was fine. It was Dani’s expression that had him genuinely laughing and he shrugged. “Ah, I had Gauss ‘n’ our new partner dress me up. It’s completely idiotic but I never felt better for it. Which… ‘s odd.” He stared off into space for a moment, as if contemplating all of his life choices and why he didn’t feel so gross with himself, disappointed, or whatever other emotion there was. He then shrugged and looked at what they were wearing. “I can’t tell if I’m underdressed ‘r overdressed though. Ya wanna go walkin’ around in dresses?”
“I made the mistake of thinking this holiday was remotely serious, though I guess to be in the spirit of things I can get Dani and I some sort of masquerade mask.” Nadia says in response, looking at him and sighing. “I may have a couple, or a shop on the way may sell them.”
“Well, it’s either this or some casual shit… I don’t got a clown costume and I wouldn’t wear it if I did,” Dani remarked, glancing over to Nadia with a deadpan. “And why would you have masquerade masks? …Either way, think I’ll just buy a mask there. It’s not like my dress is one of those stuffy, uncomfortable ones.”
Noah - having been forced to wear the lamp leg dress with a brazier, fishnets, a wig, with a Guy Fawkes mask on his head - felt absolutely ridiculous and he loved it. It seemed they were contemplating on just going to buy it, even though Nadia thought about going back. Noah shrugged, stuffing his hands in whatever pocket he could find and walked towards the direction of the festival. “This’s the festival of fools after all. What they’re serious ‘bout is havin’ fun.” He stretched his arms up and looked over his shoulder at them. “Pretty sure they got plenty of stalls for literally anythin’ you want. We’ll find masks ‘n’ more for ya.”
“Fun.” A snort of contempt from Nadia as she walked along, finding a pair of masks that she felt suited them. Both from some sort of barbarians themed store, for Dani she got a mask that was the upper half of a bear’s head and for herself a Valkyrie helmet.
“Fun enough I guess, now what, why are both of us here?” Nadia asks.
"Maybe you should dress up more often if it's so fun," Dani teased with a chuckle, one that showed she was more amused than Nadia was. As they came upon the stalls and Nadia picked out masks, the pink-haired girl looked up at her with a smirk. "Medved… looks like you found a way to have some fun," She said, referring to the other's choice. "Not really sure… haven't been to this thing in years."
Should he dress up more often? He shrugged at Dani’s tease. “Eh, I’m too lazy to do it pretty much ever.” Noah watched them grab something to wear, trying not to laugh at how ridiculous they both look with such proper dresses and then silly masks. At the question of what they are supposed to be doing, Noah shrugged. “Well, there’s game stands.” He pointed to some stands. One of them in particular could win them a stuffed animal of their choice if they threw rings around bottle necks, among other carnival booth games. “Buy somethin’.” There were tons of those around, and he didn’t need to gesture towards any one of them. Many of these booths had freelance tailors, charm makers, and artists selling their creations. Others just had food. “‘N’ some simple rides.” Noah pointed to a couple of distant rides. Merry-go-rounds, ferris wheels, and some other more interesting rides that weren’t as big as a roller coaster (as there weren’t any), but they still had some thrill in being ridden. The Hurricane being one of them, two hammer-shaped rides swinging themselves around in opposite rotations.
“But tha’s all here. If ya want to potentially prank others, there’s always the DWMA area. Sara would always drag me to these events ‘n’ I had brought two cartons of eggs to egg people one time.” He sighed, chuckling as he reminisced. “Anyway, I think they got some new magitech ‘n’ magical toys in the DWMA area, as well as a stand-up comedy stand, ‘n’ Joker Joustin’. So,” He turned to see the two in full, his eyes looking tired, yet he seemed to have quite the energy. “What’re ya willin’ to do?”
“I’ll just leave Dani to answer that, I’m just a third wheel, though the less the better, heh.” Nadia says, throwing the matter over to Dani, before pausing. “I’m not going to go egging people. Rides may be okay, games, eh.”
"Games are probably a bust unless you want her to start cursing in Russian for the game being rigged," Dani remarked, nudging the other woman. Though, she was probably the worst with anger. "No roller coaster, but a couple of the rides could be cool. Then food, then maybe the nerd stuff I guess?"
Noah first spoke to Nadia, peering at her from over his shoulder. “I don’t mind hearin’ colorful Russian words. Besides, yer with us, not jus’ a third wheel, Nadia. I did ask Dani, but I wasn’t gonna keep ya from joinin’, let alone not have anythin’ to do either.” He then looked over to Dani. “‘N’ Dani, ya lucky. There’re no roller coasters to be unwillingly dragged in.” He grinned mischievously, as if he would actually do that to one of them if they were available. Man, Sara had been rubbing off on him. “I heard there’s some retro game stands if ya interested. Pretty sure ya two’d be fun to watch doin’ Joker Joustin’ though. Basically get on a horse, dress up in a jester outfit, ‘n’ use a lance with a pie at the end to hit yer opponent as ya both charge at each other. Quite strangely entertainin’. Though, when we do get on DWMA grounds, be ready to get pranked on. Be amusin’ seein’ ya crack skulls over it though.” Noah chuckled, grinning like he’s scheming something.
The trio passed by a couple calmer rides, but one Noah did find interesting was a bull riding machine. Due to some of its users being trained meisters, weapons, and monsters, it had a couple settings all made to throw you off into a moat of water with some apples floating around. The bull was dressed up in a silly jester outfit that barely fit its proportions, as if the very fabric was straining to keep on the base body form of a bull. What was a bit sillier was a face drawn on its head: eyes with an angry, challenging furrow of its brow and sharp teeth in a smile.
“How ‘bout that one?” He gestured to it.
“I ain’t afraid of rollercoasters!” Dani retorted with a huff. It wasn’t as if they would have the chance to prove her wrong this day either. The joust didn’t sound particularly amusing to her, and she couldn’t ride a horse. Inside the DWMA was a warzone it sounded like. The other rides were probably the best bet.
She watched Noah eye the mechanical bull, and Dani raised a brow. “What, you wanna try that? Shouldn’t be that difficult, given we’re all trained,” She commented, not thinking the machine would have any enhancements.
“Hmm.. Very well, I’ll try and find something to do then.” Nadia said in response to what Noah had to say as she looked at Dani to see how she would respond to his words, it seemed he was interested in the bull, as Dani seemed somewhat accepting of the idea. “I am not keen on getting drenched, plus it looks like it was made for us more than not. Though, I could do it if that is what we decide on.”
Seeing as Dani was into it but Nadia was on the fence, he realized they were wearing dresses… Riding a bull with a dress regardless of they were going to be thrown off was probably not a good idea. “Well, ya guys got anythin’ coverin’ ya under yer dresses? Realized it might be a bit too improper for ya two to try it out.” He sighed then shrugged. “Guess I can go then.” He looked at the prizes they were handing out for those who can in a set amount of time. Lasting for longer than five minutes gave the contestant a free ride pass. Lasting between four and five minutes gave the contestant a sort of toy. Lasting between three and four minutes gave the contestant a plushie selected from a bin. Lasting under three minutes got the contestant candy. And a helping of whipped cream pie being splashed in their face as someone around Noah’s age had tried, failed in under that amount of time, and got splashed with a whipped cream pie while also having been drenched in water with floating apples.
Great.
Noah looked back at either of the girls, wondering if he should honestly win something for himself or for them. “Want me to win ya anythin’ if ya don’t wanna try?” Despite looking a bit bored with the idea, he wasn’t going to lose out on being a gentleman anyway.
“Heh. Thanks for the offer, but win something for yourself, then do with it what you like. Victories for others aren’t the same as those for themself. Plus I don’t want to get disappointed.” Nadia said in a manner that insinuated he was going to fail, judging from her smile. “As to what I have on, I came expecting a dance, not common stupidity.”
“Yeah, just try ‘n survive for a few minutes. Then we’ll see,” Dani replied with a cocky smirk, looking over to Nadia’s comment about common stupidity. “I did. It’s a holiday revolving around fuckin’ pranks. Dance or not, I don’t trust half the people here not to pull something,” She added, though she didn’t want the dress to get soaked. Of course, that was only a problem if she lost. “You spar in a skirt though, so not all that different.”
“Well, enjoy yourself, I’m just going to go look around, call me when you’re done Dani.” Nadia says before giving a wave of her hand as she went off to nearby stalls. “Or I’ll just find you.” She says with a shrug.
“Should have stuck to policy and just stayed home.”
Watching Nadia walk away, Noah shrugged and looked back at Dani. “Well, let’s see if I can’t get that plush for ya.” He walked up to the person running the game and asked him. “Hey, what’s the rule on weapon transformations?”
“Ahh, that’s a no-go, mah dude. Maybe if there was a bull ride that was specialized for that up in the DWMA grounds, maybe, but not here, mah man. If ya wanna use a bit of that ol’ wavelength ability though, knock yerself out. That bull will scale to whatever ya throw at it.”
Huh, that was cool. He gave the ginger ride handler some money and walked onto the matted area. The perimeter holding a moat of water with apples floating along had him a bit nervous. He looked above them and realized people were watching him. Great. It wasn’t just Dani he was showing off to, it was the rest of the Death-damned City.
He sighed, hopping onto the bull and making sure his accessories didn’t get caught as he held onto the piece of rope they used, and he wrapped his hand around it. He then squeezed his legs around the bull’s torso and looked up at Dani, giving her a cocky grin.
As if this wasn’t going to go horribly wrong…
All he had to do was last for at least three minutes and not any longer than four, right?
Well, each second felt torturously long. As the bull “woke up” - eyes glowing green - and made a terrifying, angry bull noise, it began bucking back and forth, spinning around, going slow after going fast, but Noah’s legs were channeling with a bit of his wavelength amplification. Huh, this was good exercise. However, with the level he was using - which wasn’t much to begin with - the bull got harsher in its movements, its eyes going from green to red. Noah was nearly bucked off forward, then nearly fell off the side, but he managed to hold on, using his legs to either catch on the horns and keep him seated, or pull himself back up to the bull’s seat. Along with the bull’s angry noises and the silly carnival music playing, there were the glorious sounds of a distressed Noah, breaking the conventions of a male voice as he practically begged the bull not to throw him too hard.
So much for looking cool…
After what felt like hours, his bum and legs sore, hand rubbed raw from the rope, he was finally swung off with a sudden turn, and he fell onto the mats, and bounced into the moat. Groaning, he got up, shaking his arms and hands as he looked up at the time.
3:01
“HELL YEAH!” Noah yelled, pumping his fist into the air. Noah didn’t think he’d be so excited to get third place, but he did. He got off the mats, walking a bit funny from how sore his legs were, and he looked at the plushie toy bin. “So uh… What do ya want?”
“Huh? Sure…” Dani replied as a less-than-amused Nadia walked off. Shrugging, the Demon Weapon thought that if any of the attractions would have entertained her, it’d be this one, short of a drunken brawl.
Turning her attention back to Noah, he seemed confident as he mounted the bull, and Dani stifled a chuckle as she predicted how poorly this was going to go. It didn’t take long for his facade to break and be hanging on for dear life, nor did it take long for Dani to break out into laughter in response. At some point, though, she stopped laughing so much actually cheering him on, even if he probably couldn’t hear her over everyone else and his own terror. “Come on! Ya’ got 20 seconds!” She called out, though it didn’t look as though he heard her. Too focused on survival, she presumed.
After Noah was tossed, Dani stifled another laugh as she made her way over to meet him with a smirk of her own. “You looked like you enjoyed that. Sure you don’t wanna go again?” She teased before glancing in the bin. She pointed to a small, blue bear plush for the operator to retrieve. “I’ll stick with the theme I have goin’ here… but thank you. I feel like I should win you something, walkin’ like you just got mugged.”
The operator grabbed her the blue plush, giving it to Dani directly as Noah chuckled, his costume definitely feeling a few pounds heavier. “Well, I had to summon all the thigh strength I had to stay on. Pretty sure they’ll be sore for a few days. And n-no.” He chuckled, shaking his head. “I don’t wanna go again, thank ya very much.” He was about to walk along, until he realized something and stopped. “Were ya just cheerin’ for me back there?” His smirk came up like a mischievous little grin, wondering if she was going to deny that. He swore he heard the unmistakable voice of her cheering for him back there, but he was screaming a lot, so he wasn’t sure.
Taking the plushie, Dani clutched it tightly, taken aback by the accusation. “Psh… N-No… Laughing my ass off, maybe…” She played it off, giving him a terse nudge with her elbow as she passed him. “But uh… Nadia said she’d meet us later, so we got time. Anything specific at this place you wanted to do? …I ain’t jumping in that pie joust though.”
Noah raised an eyebrow as he stared at Dani with a creeping grin. “Oh? You weren’t? I heard you laughin’, but cheerin’... Nah, I swore I heard ya cheerin’- Ow.” She elbowed him and he chuckled, rubbing his arm from it. Noah just shrugged at what they could be doing now. “Well, the pie joustin’ is on DWMA grounds, not Death City grounds. Buuuuut~...” He grinned, standing in front of her and his eyes staring at her with a sort of smug expression. “You bein’ a tsundere? I mean, it does suit you. And no, I won’t let this go.”
“Noooo. I was definitely laughing!” Dani retorted with a pout, narrowing her eyes at his smug expression. “And I haven’t beaten you to death to be a tsundere… yet.” Grumbling a bit at that, the mask at least hid her becoming flustered. “How could you even hear anything over all your screaming?”
Noah continued smugly grinning, especially as she pouted. He chuckled at the ‘yet’, crossing his arms. “How ‘bout ya try ‘n’ scream on that ride and we’ll see if ya can hear anythin’.” He countered, eyes leering at her. “Unless yer afraid of a little water.” He challenged her, knowing exactly what he was doing. Bullying the mad pinkie to do the mechanical bull ride? Absolutely.
Dani scowled under the mask, staring challenging at him before she shoved the plush bear in his arms. "Fine, hold'im."
Marching up to the operator, it seemed like Noah’s goad worked as the girl mounted the mechanical bull. She didn't seem particularly worried about the dress given she had expected the worst and was wearing spats underneath. Coiling the rope around one fist, her other hand rested against the rear of the back. Dani seemed determined at first as the bull began to kick and buck. She didn't look like she was trying to adapt and counter the machine's movements so much as she was strangling it with the rope and rooting herself in position. Of course, however, she appeared less established as the difficulty increased. With a roar it jumped and spun furiously, causing the Demon sword to lurch forward and wrap her unconstraIned arm around the faux horn. She let out a few terse yelps at sudden shifts in demeanor, but quickly transitioned to grumbles and cursings after the initial shock was gone.
She glanced up at the clock that read 2:50. "Ten seconds, ten seconds, tennnNNN-" with another roar the bull kicked up the ferocity of its mechanics again, swinging and churning, causing Dani to rock forward and back, side to side, but she held, hanging by the side stubbornly. Looking up at the clock again, it just passed 3:01.
"HA! Eaeeet-!" About to say something probably not very family friendly, the distraction in her focus was enough for the bull to throw her off. Her confidence quickly shrank as she desperately clung to the padding that preempted the moat, stopping herself just shy of falling in. "Fuck, fuck--nope!" And with renewed vigor, stumbled up and exited the arena to rendezvous with Noah, pointing at him accusingly. "I know what you did, and fuck you. But I still didn't get dunked!" She said with a smirk, referring to his goading of her. As she stole the plush back, she nodded toward the stand. "Now we're even too."
Noah grabbed the bear and held it in the cradle of his arms, feeling so smug that he finally got her to do this. Those few yelps were music to his ears, and he couldn’t help his laughter from bubbling up to the surface. As the bull rocked even harsher, he actually started feeling a little bad, so he cheered for her. “Ya got this, Dani!! Come on!!”
Then she was thrown off as she was trying to say something about eating. Eating what?
Oh, that reminded him he was hungry.
As Dani angrily came up to him, he just took it and smiled. He was about to give the plush back when it was snatched from his hand, but he took it well as he laughed. “Heyy, ya did well. Come on now, you knew what I did, yet you did it what I wanted anyway? Goofball. Though, now, I get a plush.” He looked at the options and started feeling nostalgic.
Uh… There’s a wolf one.
Apparently, his eyes had lingered on it for too long because the operator grabbed it and gave it to him, ushering him out of the way of a new competitor. Noah grabbed it and glared at the operator for being politely moved out of the way before returning to Dani. “While we get ourselves some elephant ears, ya heard me, right?” He asked, eager to prove his point that he did hear Dani. And also hoping Dani didn’t mention anything about the damn wolf plushie.
Dani let out a bemused scoff as he took consolation in the fact he got his choice of a plush now. "Right, I'm the goofball," She remarked before tilting her head in confusion. "Elephant ears?" She questioned, before looking further puzzled, then a look of understanding. "Oh, yo-" Then, she seemingly caught herself and tried to play it off again. "I dunno what you mean. The bull was pretty loud… Either way, if you wanna exchange the wolf, you probably could."
Noah completely ignored the wolf comment, though his cheeks did turn pink. Instead, he pointed at a nearby stall. “Oh, look, elephant ears.” He then walked towards it pretty swiftly, only pausing to make sure Dani was following him as he made it to the stall.
The sound of oils sizzling dough, and the smell of cooking oil and cinnamon-sugar filled the air as they got near. On a display tray were huge, flat, fried dough pieces, all blanketed with cinnamon-sugar and glazed with butter to make sure the cinnamon-sugar stayed on, but there was always too much cinnamon-sugar for the glaze to work properly. Noah beamed when he saw one and looked back at Dani. “Want one?”
Dani narrowed her eyes at that. "Suspicious…" She mused aloud, following next to him with an accusing stare. "Why's your face getting red now?" She pursued, briefly turning her attention to the treat in front of them. "...Oh… Now I get it," She commented to no one in particular. "Sure, but don't that gives you an escape."
Noah looked at her in mock surprise, then pouted. “I dunno what yer talkin’ about.” He then ordered two elephant ears, paid for them, and each ear was set upon a large paper napkin. He gave one to Dani. “Here, it’s kinda greasy, but it beats all other carnival food by far.” He held his as if it were a saucer and he were a maid, his fingers splayed out. His other arm held the wolf plushie in the nook of his arm.
“You being a tsundere now? And no, I won’t let this go,” Dani remarking, mocking his smug tone of voice from earlier as she took the treat, examining a bit. “It just looks like a floppy donut,” she concluded before taking a bite, though her face instantly lit up. “Oh! It is! It’s like one of those fried ones!” She said through hums of satisfaction.
Luckily for Noah, her phone pinged, causing her to pull it from an unseen pocket in the dress. It looked like a location ping from Adrian, as well as an unread text. She must not have noticed it during the bull riding fiasco. “Hey, it okay if we go meet up with a friend? I think he came here with Sara, too, so you can show her your wolf plush.” It was a tease without thought, however after saying it aloud, it began processing in her head. “...Wait…”
Noah tried ignoring Dani’s remarks to the best of his ability, but they were really getting to him. At least she was enjoying the elephant ear he got her. He looked on curiously to hear that Adrian had texted her. Then Dani connected the dots on what Noah didn’t want her to find out.
“Yeah, yeah, let’s just go then.” He grumbled, eating his elephant ear as he walked towards whatever direction, only to realize he had no idea where he was going. “Where is he?”
“Wait, what?” Dani hummed in confusion before looking back at her phone as she followed. “Ah… he’s at some stand over here it looks like.”
Making her way down and out one of the main doors, it seemed Nadia was first to join up, as she looked at Noah she scoffed, of course, for a Death Damned fools festival they would play the part. All the more reason to just sit up in her room, but it was too late now. “Tch. Figures this wouldn’t be an actual dance so much as holiday stupidity… I should have just stayed with the Record player. I’ll stay here and see if Dani wants to change into something more casual however..” Eyeing the other over, she did want to just turn around, but she had said she would stay here.
Dani was soon to appear after Nadia, pausing after she exited the front doors in a red dress. As her eyes cast against Noah, her face portrayed her thoughts pretty blatantly. Processing, then holding it back, and finally…
“Pft-HahahaHoly shit! What the fuck happened?” She managed through stifled laughter.
Noah snickered as Nadia came out, knowing she really wasn’t going to enjoy this whole party shindig, but that was fine. It was Dani’s expression that had him genuinely laughing and he shrugged. “Ah, I had Gauss ‘n’ our new partner dress me up. It’s completely idiotic but I never felt better for it. Which… ‘s odd.” He stared off into space for a moment, as if contemplating all of his life choices and why he didn’t feel so gross with himself, disappointed, or whatever other emotion there was. He then shrugged and looked at what they were wearing. “I can’t tell if I’m underdressed ‘r overdressed though. Ya wanna go walkin’ around in dresses?”
“I made the mistake of thinking this holiday was remotely serious, though I guess to be in the spirit of things I can get Dani and I some sort of masquerade mask.” Nadia says in response, looking at him and sighing. “I may have a couple, or a shop on the way may sell them.”
“Well, it’s either this or some casual shit… I don’t got a clown costume and I wouldn’t wear it if I did,” Dani remarked, glancing over to Nadia with a deadpan. “And why would you have masquerade masks? …Either way, think I’ll just buy a mask there. It’s not like my dress is one of those stuffy, uncomfortable ones.”
Noah - having been forced to wear the lamp leg dress with a brazier, fishnets, a wig, with a Guy Fawkes mask on his head - felt absolutely ridiculous and he loved it. It seemed they were contemplating on just going to buy it, even though Nadia thought about going back. Noah shrugged, stuffing his hands in whatever pocket he could find and walked towards the direction of the festival. “This’s the festival of fools after all. What they’re serious ‘bout is havin’ fun.” He stretched his arms up and looked over his shoulder at them. “Pretty sure they got plenty of stalls for literally anythin’ you want. We’ll find masks ‘n’ more for ya.”
“Fun.” A snort of contempt from Nadia as she walked along, finding a pair of masks that she felt suited them. Both from some sort of barbarians themed store, for Dani she got a mask that was the upper half of a bear’s head and for herself a Valkyrie helmet.
“Fun enough I guess, now what, why are both of us here?” Nadia asks.
"Maybe you should dress up more often if it's so fun," Dani teased with a chuckle, one that showed she was more amused than Nadia was. As they came upon the stalls and Nadia picked out masks, the pink-haired girl looked up at her with a smirk. "Medved… looks like you found a way to have some fun," She said, referring to the other's choice. "Not really sure… haven't been to this thing in years."
Should he dress up more often? He shrugged at Dani’s tease. “Eh, I’m too lazy to do it pretty much ever.” Noah watched them grab something to wear, trying not to laugh at how ridiculous they both look with such proper dresses and then silly masks. At the question of what they are supposed to be doing, Noah shrugged. “Well, there’s game stands.” He pointed to some stands. One of them in particular could win them a stuffed animal of their choice if they threw rings around bottle necks, among other carnival booth games. “Buy somethin’.” There were tons of those around, and he didn’t need to gesture towards any one of them. Many of these booths had freelance tailors, charm makers, and artists selling their creations. Others just had food. “‘N’ some simple rides.” Noah pointed to a couple of distant rides. Merry-go-rounds, ferris wheels, and some other more interesting rides that weren’t as big as a roller coaster (as there weren’t any), but they still had some thrill in being ridden. The Hurricane being one of them, two hammer-shaped rides swinging themselves around in opposite rotations.
“But tha’s all here. If ya want to potentially prank others, there’s always the DWMA area. Sara would always drag me to these events ‘n’ I had brought two cartons of eggs to egg people one time.” He sighed, chuckling as he reminisced. “Anyway, I think they got some new magitech ‘n’ magical toys in the DWMA area, as well as a stand-up comedy stand, ‘n’ Joker Joustin’. So,” He turned to see the two in full, his eyes looking tired, yet he seemed to have quite the energy. “What’re ya willin’ to do?”
“I’ll just leave Dani to answer that, I’m just a third wheel, though the less the better, heh.” Nadia says, throwing the matter over to Dani, before pausing. “I’m not going to go egging people. Rides may be okay, games, eh.”
"Games are probably a bust unless you want her to start cursing in Russian for the game being rigged," Dani remarked, nudging the other woman. Though, she was probably the worst with anger. "No roller coaster, but a couple of the rides could be cool. Then food, then maybe the nerd stuff I guess?"
Noah first spoke to Nadia, peering at her from over his shoulder. “I don’t mind hearin’ colorful Russian words. Besides, yer with us, not jus’ a third wheel, Nadia. I did ask Dani, but I wasn’t gonna keep ya from joinin’, let alone not have anythin’ to do either.” He then looked over to Dani. “‘N’ Dani, ya lucky. There’re no roller coasters to be unwillingly dragged in.” He grinned mischievously, as if he would actually do that to one of them if they were available. Man, Sara had been rubbing off on him. “I heard there’s some retro game stands if ya interested. Pretty sure ya two’d be fun to watch doin’ Joker Joustin’ though. Basically get on a horse, dress up in a jester outfit, ‘n’ use a lance with a pie at the end to hit yer opponent as ya both charge at each other. Quite strangely entertainin’. Though, when we do get on DWMA grounds, be ready to get pranked on. Be amusin’ seein’ ya crack skulls over it though.” Noah chuckled, grinning like he’s scheming something.
The trio passed by a couple calmer rides, but one Noah did find interesting was a bull riding machine. Due to some of its users being trained meisters, weapons, and monsters, it had a couple settings all made to throw you off into a moat of water with some apples floating around. The bull was dressed up in a silly jester outfit that barely fit its proportions, as if the very fabric was straining to keep on the base body form of a bull. What was a bit sillier was a face drawn on its head: eyes with an angry, challenging furrow of its brow and sharp teeth in a smile.
“How ‘bout that one?” He gestured to it.
“I ain’t afraid of rollercoasters!” Dani retorted with a huff. It wasn’t as if they would have the chance to prove her wrong this day either. The joust didn’t sound particularly amusing to her, and she couldn’t ride a horse. Inside the DWMA was a warzone it sounded like. The other rides were probably the best bet.
She watched Noah eye the mechanical bull, and Dani raised a brow. “What, you wanna try that? Shouldn’t be that difficult, given we’re all trained,” She commented, not thinking the machine would have any enhancements.
“Hmm.. Very well, I’ll try and find something to do then.” Nadia said in response to what Noah had to say as she looked at Dani to see how she would respond to his words, it seemed he was interested in the bull, as Dani seemed somewhat accepting of the idea. “I am not keen on getting drenched, plus it looks like it was made for us more than not. Though, I could do it if that is what we decide on.”
Seeing as Dani was into it but Nadia was on the fence, he realized they were wearing dresses… Riding a bull with a dress regardless of they were going to be thrown off was probably not a good idea. “Well, ya guys got anythin’ coverin’ ya under yer dresses? Realized it might be a bit too improper for ya two to try it out.” He sighed then shrugged. “Guess I can go then.” He looked at the prizes they were handing out for those who can in a set amount of time. Lasting for longer than five minutes gave the contestant a free ride pass. Lasting between four and five minutes gave the contestant a sort of toy. Lasting between three and four minutes gave the contestant a plushie selected from a bin. Lasting under three minutes got the contestant candy. And a helping of whipped cream pie being splashed in their face as someone around Noah’s age had tried, failed in under that amount of time, and got splashed with a whipped cream pie while also having been drenched in water with floating apples.
Great.
Noah looked back at either of the girls, wondering if he should honestly win something for himself or for them. “Want me to win ya anythin’ if ya don’t wanna try?” Despite looking a bit bored with the idea, he wasn’t going to lose out on being a gentleman anyway.
“Heh. Thanks for the offer, but win something for yourself, then do with it what you like. Victories for others aren’t the same as those for themself. Plus I don’t want to get disappointed.” Nadia said in a manner that insinuated he was going to fail, judging from her smile. “As to what I have on, I came expecting a dance, not common stupidity.”
“Yeah, just try ‘n survive for a few minutes. Then we’ll see,” Dani replied with a cocky smirk, looking over to Nadia’s comment about common stupidity. “I did. It’s a holiday revolving around fuckin’ pranks. Dance or not, I don’t trust half the people here not to pull something,” She added, though she didn’t want the dress to get soaked. Of course, that was only a problem if she lost. “You spar in a skirt though, so not all that different.”
“Well, enjoy yourself, I’m just going to go look around, call me when you’re done Dani.” Nadia says before giving a wave of her hand as she went off to nearby stalls. “Or I’ll just find you.” She says with a shrug.
“Should have stuck to policy and just stayed home.”
Watching Nadia walk away, Noah shrugged and looked back at Dani. “Well, let’s see if I can’t get that plush for ya.” He walked up to the person running the game and asked him. “Hey, what’s the rule on weapon transformations?”
“Ahh, that’s a no-go, mah dude. Maybe if there was a bull ride that was specialized for that up in the DWMA grounds, maybe, but not here, mah man. If ya wanna use a bit of that ol’ wavelength ability though, knock yerself out. That bull will scale to whatever ya throw at it.”
Huh, that was cool. He gave the ginger ride handler some money and walked onto the matted area. The perimeter holding a moat of water with apples floating along had him a bit nervous. He looked above them and realized people were watching him. Great. It wasn’t just Dani he was showing off to, it was the rest of the Death-damned City.
He sighed, hopping onto the bull and making sure his accessories didn’t get caught as he held onto the piece of rope they used, and he wrapped his hand around it. He then squeezed his legs around the bull’s torso and looked up at Dani, giving her a cocky grin.
As if this wasn’t going to go horribly wrong…
All he had to do was last for at least three minutes and not any longer than four, right?
Well, each second felt torturously long. As the bull “woke up” - eyes glowing green - and made a terrifying, angry bull noise, it began bucking back and forth, spinning around, going slow after going fast, but Noah’s legs were channeling with a bit of his wavelength amplification. Huh, this was good exercise. However, with the level he was using - which wasn’t much to begin with - the bull got harsher in its movements, its eyes going from green to red. Noah was nearly bucked off forward, then nearly fell off the side, but he managed to hold on, using his legs to either catch on the horns and keep him seated, or pull himself back up to the bull’s seat. Along with the bull’s angry noises and the silly carnival music playing, there were the glorious sounds of a distressed Noah, breaking the conventions of a male voice as he practically begged the bull not to throw him too hard.
So much for looking cool…
After what felt like hours, his bum and legs sore, hand rubbed raw from the rope, he was finally swung off with a sudden turn, and he fell onto the mats, and bounced into the moat. Groaning, he got up, shaking his arms and hands as he looked up at the time.
3:01
“HELL YEAH!” Noah yelled, pumping his fist into the air. Noah didn’t think he’d be so excited to get third place, but he did. He got off the mats, walking a bit funny from how sore his legs were, and he looked at the plushie toy bin. “So uh… What do ya want?”
“Huh? Sure…” Dani replied as a less-than-amused Nadia walked off. Shrugging, the Demon Weapon thought that if any of the attractions would have entertained her, it’d be this one, short of a drunken brawl.
Turning her attention back to Noah, he seemed confident as he mounted the bull, and Dani stifled a chuckle as she predicted how poorly this was going to go. It didn’t take long for his facade to break and be hanging on for dear life, nor did it take long for Dani to break out into laughter in response. At some point, though, she stopped laughing so much actually cheering him on, even if he probably couldn’t hear her over everyone else and his own terror. “Come on! Ya’ got 20 seconds!” She called out, though it didn’t look as though he heard her. Too focused on survival, she presumed.
After Noah was tossed, Dani stifled another laugh as she made her way over to meet him with a smirk of her own. “You looked like you enjoyed that. Sure you don’t wanna go again?” She teased before glancing in the bin. She pointed to a small, blue bear plush for the operator to retrieve. “I’ll stick with the theme I have goin’ here… but thank you. I feel like I should win you something, walkin’ like you just got mugged.”
The operator grabbed her the blue plush, giving it to Dani directly as Noah chuckled, his costume definitely feeling a few pounds heavier. “Well, I had to summon all the thigh strength I had to stay on. Pretty sure they’ll be sore for a few days. And n-no.” He chuckled, shaking his head. “I don’t wanna go again, thank ya very much.” He was about to walk along, until he realized something and stopped. “Were ya just cheerin’ for me back there?” His smirk came up like a mischievous little grin, wondering if she was going to deny that. He swore he heard the unmistakable voice of her cheering for him back there, but he was screaming a lot, so he wasn’t sure.
Taking the plushie, Dani clutched it tightly, taken aback by the accusation. “Psh… N-No… Laughing my ass off, maybe…” She played it off, giving him a terse nudge with her elbow as she passed him. “But uh… Nadia said she’d meet us later, so we got time. Anything specific at this place you wanted to do? …I ain’t jumping in that pie joust though.”
Noah raised an eyebrow as he stared at Dani with a creeping grin. “Oh? You weren’t? I heard you laughin’, but cheerin’... Nah, I swore I heard ya cheerin’- Ow.” She elbowed him and he chuckled, rubbing his arm from it. Noah just shrugged at what they could be doing now. “Well, the pie joustin’ is on DWMA grounds, not Death City grounds. Buuuuut~...” He grinned, standing in front of her and his eyes staring at her with a sort of smug expression. “You bein’ a tsundere? I mean, it does suit you. And no, I won’t let this go.”
“Noooo. I was definitely laughing!” Dani retorted with a pout, narrowing her eyes at his smug expression. “And I haven’t beaten you to death to be a tsundere… yet.” Grumbling a bit at that, the mask at least hid her becoming flustered. “How could you even hear anything over all your screaming?”
Noah continued smugly grinning, especially as she pouted. He chuckled at the ‘yet’, crossing his arms. “How ‘bout ya try ‘n’ scream on that ride and we’ll see if ya can hear anythin’.” He countered, eyes leering at her. “Unless yer afraid of a little water.” He challenged her, knowing exactly what he was doing. Bullying the mad pinkie to do the mechanical bull ride? Absolutely.
Dani scowled under the mask, staring challenging at him before she shoved the plush bear in his arms. "Fine, hold'im."
Marching up to the operator, it seemed like Noah’s goad worked as the girl mounted the mechanical bull. She didn't seem particularly worried about the dress given she had expected the worst and was wearing spats underneath. Coiling the rope around one fist, her other hand rested against the rear of the back. Dani seemed determined at first as the bull began to kick and buck. She didn't look like she was trying to adapt and counter the machine's movements so much as she was strangling it with the rope and rooting herself in position. Of course, however, she appeared less established as the difficulty increased. With a roar it jumped and spun furiously, causing the Demon sword to lurch forward and wrap her unconstraIned arm around the faux horn. She let out a few terse yelps at sudden shifts in demeanor, but quickly transitioned to grumbles and cursings after the initial shock was gone.
She glanced up at the clock that read 2:50. "Ten seconds, ten seconds, tennnNNN-" with another roar the bull kicked up the ferocity of its mechanics again, swinging and churning, causing Dani to rock forward and back, side to side, but she held, hanging by the side stubbornly. Looking up at the clock again, it just passed 3:01.
"HA! Eaeeet-!" About to say something probably not very family friendly, the distraction in her focus was enough for the bull to throw her off. Her confidence quickly shrank as she desperately clung to the padding that preempted the moat, stopping herself just shy of falling in. "Fuck, fuck--nope!" And with renewed vigor, stumbled up and exited the arena to rendezvous with Noah, pointing at him accusingly. "I know what you did, and fuck you. But I still didn't get dunked!" She said with a smirk, referring to his goading of her. As she stole the plush back, she nodded toward the stand. "Now we're even too."
Noah grabbed the bear and held it in the cradle of his arms, feeling so smug that he finally got her to do this. Those few yelps were music to his ears, and he couldn’t help his laughter from bubbling up to the surface. As the bull rocked even harsher, he actually started feeling a little bad, so he cheered for her. “Ya got this, Dani!! Come on!!”
Then she was thrown off as she was trying to say something about eating. Eating what?
Oh, that reminded him he was hungry.
As Dani angrily came up to him, he just took it and smiled. He was about to give the plush back when it was snatched from his hand, but he took it well as he laughed. “Heyy, ya did well. Come on now, you knew what I did, yet you did it what I wanted anyway? Goofball. Though, now, I get a plush.” He looked at the options and started feeling nostalgic.
Uh… There’s a wolf one.
Apparently, his eyes had lingered on it for too long because the operator grabbed it and gave it to him, ushering him out of the way of a new competitor. Noah grabbed it and glared at the operator for being politely moved out of the way before returning to Dani. “While we get ourselves some elephant ears, ya heard me, right?” He asked, eager to prove his point that he did hear Dani. And also hoping Dani didn’t mention anything about the damn wolf plushie.
Dani let out a bemused scoff as he took consolation in the fact he got his choice of a plush now. "Right, I'm the goofball," She remarked before tilting her head in confusion. "Elephant ears?" She questioned, before looking further puzzled, then a look of understanding. "Oh, yo-" Then, she seemingly caught herself and tried to play it off again. "I dunno what you mean. The bull was pretty loud… Either way, if you wanna exchange the wolf, you probably could."
Noah completely ignored the wolf comment, though his cheeks did turn pink. Instead, he pointed at a nearby stall. “Oh, look, elephant ears.” He then walked towards it pretty swiftly, only pausing to make sure Dani was following him as he made it to the stall.
The sound of oils sizzling dough, and the smell of cooking oil and cinnamon-sugar filled the air as they got near. On a display tray were huge, flat, fried dough pieces, all blanketed with cinnamon-sugar and glazed with butter to make sure the cinnamon-sugar stayed on, but there was always too much cinnamon-sugar for the glaze to work properly. Noah beamed when he saw one and looked back at Dani. “Want one?”
Dani narrowed her eyes at that. "Suspicious…" She mused aloud, following next to him with an accusing stare. "Why's your face getting red now?" She pursued, briefly turning her attention to the treat in front of them. "...Oh… Now I get it," She commented to no one in particular. "Sure, but don't that gives you an escape."
Noah looked at her in mock surprise, then pouted. “I dunno what yer talkin’ about.” He then ordered two elephant ears, paid for them, and each ear was set upon a large paper napkin. He gave one to Dani. “Here, it’s kinda greasy, but it beats all other carnival food by far.” He held his as if it were a saucer and he were a maid, his fingers splayed out. His other arm held the wolf plushie in the nook of his arm.
“You being a tsundere now? And no, I won’t let this go,” Dani remarking, mocking his smug tone of voice from earlier as she took the treat, examining a bit. “It just looks like a floppy donut,” she concluded before taking a bite, though her face instantly lit up. “Oh! It is! It’s like one of those fried ones!” She said through hums of satisfaction.
Luckily for Noah, her phone pinged, causing her to pull it from an unseen pocket in the dress. It looked like a location ping from Adrian, as well as an unread text. She must not have noticed it during the bull riding fiasco. “Hey, it okay if we go meet up with a friend? I think he came here with Sara, too, so you can show her your wolf plush.” It was a tease without thought, however after saying it aloud, it began processing in her head. “...Wait…”
Noah tried ignoring Dani’s remarks to the best of his ability, but they were really getting to him. At least she was enjoying the elephant ear he got her. He looked on curiously to hear that Adrian had texted her. Then Dani connected the dots on what Noah didn’t want her to find out.
“Yeah, yeah, let’s just go then.” He grumbled, eating his elephant ear as he walked towards whatever direction, only to realize he had no idea where he was going. “Where is he?”
“Wait, what?” Dani hummed in confusion before looking back at her phone as she followed. “Ah… he’s at some stand over here it looks like.”
