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Post by impetuousmale on Apr 4, 2016 13:00:53 GMT
Kaede ambled slowly through the park and enjoyed the warm sun and the rare moment of complete relaxation. Her parents and siblings were all busy with their own affairs and none of them needed her for anything so, without any pressing tasks to attend to, she had decided to take a peaceful walk. She was far from the only person who had decided to take advantage of the good weather to go to the park but Miyashita Park was large enough that it didn't feel crowded and the path she was walking along right now was completely devoid of other people. She took a moment to inhale the scents of the many flowers that lined the paths, eyeing them all with a sense of gentle contentment. The patches of sunny yellow daffodils, the pale pink wisteria flowers growing on the trees, the colourful egg nestled between the roots... wait, what?
Surprised, Kaede looked again but the egg was still there. Taking a step closer, she knelt down and examined it more closely but had no idea what type of egg it was. It was large enough that it would take both hands to lift comfortably and it had overlapping diagonal stripes of dark green and red. Her first guess was that it was fake, some sort of Easter decoration that had been left out here for some reason but when she placed a hand against it, it felt warm to the touch, the warmth of something living inside.
She was startled from her examination by a loud, insistent beeping coming from the ground beneath the egg. Quickly lifting the egg up without thinking and cradling it in one arm, she picked up the small, white and green electronic device that had been concealed by it. The beeping stopped as soon as she picked it up, leaving her holding an egg and a device with no idea what either of them was or where they had come from.
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Post by Elliot and Isaac Sunderland on Apr 4, 2016 14:31:09 GMT
Isaac and Elliot had been so caught up in Digital World adventures that they had completely forgotten about the main point of their vacation. They were here to experience Shibuya, not constantly fling themselves into death defying adventures! A stern lecture from their mother about not returning home last night seemed to be the final nail in that coffin. It seemed like their cover stories had failed, and the duo were sternly reprimanded for their sneaking out. If it wasn't for the duo being on vacation they would have been grounded for sure. Thankfully, though, their mother had mercy on them. She did bring up a good point, though. Elliot had grown tired of constant near death experiences, and so persuaded his brother to just take a day without Digimon.
Unfortunately, Isaac wasn't exactly the type to let things go so easily. They were going to the park? Damnit, Maia had just texted him earlier that week about a giant spider in the park! Knowing some huge Digimon could just slice its way into reality whenever it wanted, could he really sit back and rest? Instead he found himself trying to juggle two pressures, somehow needing to enjoy himself and keep his mind off of the Digital World while also keeping vigilant in the case of danger. It was metaphorically sleeping with one eye open, except while also dealing with a bout of insomnia. Truly this would be the boy's hardest adventure yet.
That's when he noticed someone around his age, nursing a large, vibrantly patterned egg and holding an all too familiar electronic device. So much for that plan. For a while, Isaac weighed whether it would be better to just walk away and leave the new tamer to discover her own destiny, or if once more he'd end up finding himself the digital welcome wagon. In the end, though, his good natured helpfulness won out. Besides, maybe he was worrying too much. Not every new tamer got ambushed by ghosts or giant spiders, right?
"Hey there. Cool egg," he said as he approached. It'd be better now to test the waters of how much she knew about Digimon. No need to explain too much to someone who already knew the ropes, or risk dumping far too much info on a complete newcomer.
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Post by impetuousmale on Apr 6, 2016 20:13:08 GMT
The sudden appearance of another person nearly startled Kaede enough to drop the egg, though she managed to react quickly enough to get both hands on it and prevent it from falling to the ground where it would doubtless shatter. She stood and spun towards the source of the voice and saw a blond boy who looked to be about her age, though he was slightly shorter than her.
"Oh, I just found it here," she told him, continuing to hold the egg tightly in her arms rather than putting it down for reasons that she would have found herself hard pressed to explain, had it occurred to her to wonder. As it was, it simply felt like the most natural thing in the world to keep the egg close to her. The device was likewise gripped tightly in one hand, mostly forgotten but still held on to by instinct. "I'm not even sure what sort of egg it is, to be perfectly honest," she admitted, the words coming out slightly apologetic despite the boy not having expressed any curiosity as to the egg's nature or origin. Her ignorance seemed like a much more dire problem when there was somebody else around, as opposed to when it was merely her own curiosity that was going unsatisfied. |
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Post by Elliot and Isaac Sunderland on Apr 7, 2016 4:50:07 GMT
It seemed like she was incredibly new to the whole Digimon thing, judging by how unsure she seemed about its purpose. Yep, seemed like the brothers would be playing welcome wagon again for sure. "That is okay. Not a lot of people do," he said in response. Maybe it was overly cryptic, but he was trying to ease her into the idea a little bit at a time. Generally, people didn't take well to having all of the information about their new lot in life suddenly dumped on them. It was a really big change to adjust to, but if he was just slow and careful about bringing it up-
"Ooh, that is a Digi-Egg!" Elliot didn't see what Isaac was going for, and ended up running off with the jargon and terminology. "You should take good care of it, because it is gonna hatch into a new best friend for you. A lot of people we know are finding them now, but it is a pretty big secret. So do not tell anyone who does not already know, okay?"
Isaac sighed, appreciating his brother's helpfulness and enthusiasm but not appreciating every other part of that explanation. He was gonna end up shocking the poor kid at this rate! Although this beat the guy who tried to scramble his Digi-Egg. Or poor Susu, who got clocked in the head by hers thanks to a clumsy ghost. Man, Digimon were weird as heck, weren't they? Still, of all the ways to learn about the Digital World, having it babbled by an excitable 13 year old wasn't the worst of fates.
"We can help clear things up if you have any questions. My brother and I love helping people," Elliot proudly boasted. |
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Post by impetuousmale on Apr 7, 2016 14:42:49 GMT
Kaede blinked in surprise at the somewhat cryptic answer. It sounded like he knew something about the egg, more than she did at least. The one who actually elaborated however, looked to be a little younger though about the same height. Unfortunately, his explanation did little beyond confusing her
"A... Digi-Egg?" she repeated uncertainly. Did that mean that something called a Digi would hatch from it? She certainly didn't recognise the term, though perhaps that was explained by his assurance that it was a secret. "I won't tell anybody," she agreed without hesitating, even as she was still puzzling over what exactly she was meant to keep secret. "I'm very sorry, but I'm afraid I don't quite understand. What exactly is a Digi-Egg?" she asked apologetically, baffled by the way the entire conversation was going on. It was only then that she realised she had not yet learned the names of either of them.
"My name is Kaede Mizuho, by the way. It's a pleasure to meet you," she introduced herself with a polite bow. She was already wondering how she could make it up to these two for taking the time to give her whatever information they had on this egg.
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Post by Elliot and Isaac Sunderland on Apr 7, 2016 19:48:01 GMT
"Had a feeling. Do not worry. I do not really understand much either," Isaac admitted. Frankly, whenever he sat down and thought about the Digital World, he only found himself more confused. Recaps of how his day went lead to him doing a double take at the sheer absurdity of it all. For crying out loud, yesterday he was almost fried to death by a prototype robot while his brother wrestled with a giant, deadly teddy bear. The only reason why he didn't dismiss it as a week-long fever dream is because it was honestly too strange to make it up. Even then, half the time he found it hard to believe what he was saying. He took a breath to try and think of what he was going to say. "That was why I tried to bring it up subtly-"
"Isaac, have you seen what most Digimon look like? There is nothing subtle about them."
Crap. He was completely right. Looks like at this point, it was time to just explain what was going on. "Alright, this is going to be a lot. Please bear with me.
There is a second world, the Digital World, connected with ours. This egg will hatch into a Digimon from that world. They come in all types of forms, so I have no idea what yours will look like, but newly hatched ones are small and friendly. They tend to bond a lot with those who hatch them, learning and growing along with them."
"It is like having a roommate, that is a dinosaur. Or a flower. Or a ferret. That talks.
My name is Elliot, by the way. It is very nice to meet you!"
"And I am Isaac." (Sorry, edited! Phoneposted this earlier and missed your last line) |
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Post by impetuousmale on Apr 8, 2016 17:05:04 GMT
Kaede listened to the explanation offered silently but found herself only growing more bewildered. Digimon? Another world? It sounded insane and if not for the fact that the two of them seemed to be in perfect accordance, she may very well have suspected them of being exactly that. As it was, she briefly wondered if it was some sort of joke but neither of them seemed particularly malicious. The younger one seemed so cheerful and straightforward that she had trouble believing he could be speaking anything but the truth, at least as he saw it. That still left the problem that their story seemed... well, impossible.
"I... see. You were right, that is a lot to take in," she admitted, somewhat hesitantly. Between her desire to take them at their word and her awareness of just how ridiculous the story sounded, she wasn't sure how to react or feel. Although she had to admit, it would be nice to have the egg hatch into something that would be her friend as easily as these two seemed to believe it would, at least for a little while. That left her to wonder if they themselves had experienced the same thing. If they had, then it would seem to be a simple matter to prove their story just by showing their Digimon.
"Do you have Digimon of your own, then?" she asked, not wanting to outright demand proof. Hopefully, the question would naturally lead towards them showing her their own Digimon, assuming they did have some. |
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Post by Elliot and Isaac Sunderland on Apr 9, 2016 6:11:25 GMT
It really was a ton to take in. That was half of why Isaac didn't even want to bring it up so fast. Then again, even when brought up slowly, it was still a frankly ridiculous scenario. The brothers didn't blame Kaede at all for her reluctance to accept it, especially when they were still grappling with their own acceptance of the idea. Still, sometimes seeing was believing, and there was a giant egg cradled right in the girl's arms. It was probably the only reason why she hadn't thrown something heavy at them and ran away yet, as far as they could guess.
Then she asked about Digimon of their own. Both Isaac and Elliot started to pale. Oh no, were they going to have to show their little trick off in public? Not only was it dangerous to assume Digimon form in the middle of the human world, but their new forms raised the question of which to show off. Did they risk intimidating Kaede by breaking out Strikedramon and Yasyamon, who were rather tall, well-built, and powerful? Or did they embarrass themselves by turning into the tiny, cute Veemon and Impmon again?
"Well, we don't have any of our own. A lot of our friends do, but we never got one," Isaac responded. He fished in his pocket and took out his Digivice, offering it to her for observing. It looked a little different from hers, on account of being a spirit user instead of a tamer, but hopefully it would be proof enough without having to transform.
"We do have Digivices, though. Although we use them differently from our friends that do have Digimon."
"Once again, it is a lot to explain. Sorry!" |
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Post by impetuousmale on Apr 9, 2016 12:42:57 GMT
Although she had tried to ask in as innocent a manner as possible, Elliot and Isaac seemed to panic slightly when she asked about their Digimon, prompting Kaede to step back slightly in alarm. Was asking about a person's Digimon some sort of taboo? She worried that she might have offended them without meaning to but they seemed to calm down somewhat after a moment and Isaac seemed willing to continue explaining so she likely hadn't said anything too bad.
"A Digivice? That's what this is?" she asked, looking down at the device in her own hands. She could see some differences in the design even with that brief glance but they were very similar and she had never seen anything quite like either of them before. Regardless, the brothers both seemed very confident that what they were saying is true, even if they couldn't provide any concrete evidence. It was possible that the friends with Digimon that they spoke of were pulling an elaborate hoax on them but that seemed almost as much of a stretch as their own story. Since it was also unlikely that they were suffering from a common delusion, Kaede couldn't really see much choice but to accept the truth of their story for the moment.
"I understand, and I appreciate you taking the time to explain everything that you have," she hastened to assure Elliot in response to his apology. "But is there anything else I should know about this? Does the egg need anything to survive?" she asked nervously. She was suddenly struck by the fear that she would somehow manage to break the egg before it could hatch or otherwise fail to care for it. It would be horrible to lose her chance to make such a unique friend because she let the egg get too cold or something like that. |
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Post by Elliot and Isaac Sunderland on Apr 10, 2016 5:03:57 GMT
"Yep! Digivices help you communicate with other tamers, scan Digimon to find out more about them, and turn your Digimon into bigger forms as you two grow closer," Isaac explained. He wasn't sure how much of it was natural and how much of it was spurred on by human love and emotion. They seemed to always start out really tiny and stick to more normally-sized forms, but eventually they seemed to settle on a form and only use the others for intense combat. Would Kaede be stuck jumping into conflicts all the time? It was always a fate Isaac worried about when he saw a new tamer getting their introduction to the world. It was the part of the Digital World that he always hated introducing, but was also the most important thing to explain.
Maybe later, though. For now, excitement and novelty were the names of the day.
"I do not think so," Elliot said in response to the girl's question. "Usually when we first see them, they hatch really quickly after the fact. But that might just be lucky timing." He pondered it a little, trying to think of any risks that had come to a Digi Egg while he was helping out friends. "I do not think they break very easy. We have seen them dropped before and they ended up okay. Still, please do not try that. I doubt the Digimon inside would like it much.
Really, just be kind to it. Digimon seem to respond well to human emotion, so that is probably the best way to make sure it grows up right." Elliot was far from an expert, but the more he thought about it the more sense it made. How else could one explain Kuu Digivolving so easily only after Maia started believing in him more? |
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Post by impetuousmale on Apr 10, 2016 16:54:44 GMT
"I think I can manage that," Kaede said with a small smile in regards to Elliot's advice on Digimon raising. Kindness at least was something that came naturally to her. Not exactly a talent, perhaps, but she wouldn't have traded that for the musical talent, beauty or intelligence of her sisters. It was also something of a relief to find that Digi-Eggs were apparently more durable than those of more mundane species, although she still intended to be careful with it. In truth, the idea of having a Digimon was rapidly becoming more appealing with every piece of information she learned. A unique friend with an innate bond to the one who raised and hatched them and responsive to emotions and kindness? It sounded almost too good to be true, even without taking into account that it was something none of her sisters had.
"So if you don't have Digimon of your own, may I ask how you got involved in all of this?" she asked hesitantly, her curiosity winning out over the fear of offending them. "You don't have to tell me if you don't want to, of course," she hastened to add just in case. "but you've been so helpful and I was just wondering how you learned so much about this," she explained herself, her cheeks flushing slightly at her slightly rushed question and explanation. |
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Post by Elliot and Isaac Sunderland on Apr 11, 2016 4:48:36 GMT
Okay, good. This question was way easier to talk around than the "where are your Digimon" one. Of course, it would also involve bringing up how dangerous the Digital World could be, but now that Kaede seemed eased into the idea of Digimon existing such threats were easier to inform her about. "A bunch of bullies shoved me into the river," Elliot said, Isaac taking great satisfaction in knowing that by now, he'd avenged Elliot twice. "And apparently that was the way to the Digital World.
Oh! Do not worry. There is a much cleaner way also, through the train station here in Shibuya." Elliot didn't want Kaede to think the only way into the Digital World was to go diving into the trash. That'd be horrible of him.
"I am not going to lie, it was not easy," Isaac said. "Digimon come in a lot of forms. Some are big. Some are dangerous. One attacked us when we landed, and we barely slipped away. But there are plenty of helpful humans and Digimon that can help protect you. In part, a Digimon helps keep their human safe," he explained. "If you visit the Digital World, always try bringing a friend and sticking to the city limits. Not much bad stuff happens there, and you will probably meet a lot of cool new people."
The fact that they got spirits to help fight off the big enemy Digimon? That was a lot more hush-hush of a subject. Neither brother had any intention of bringing it up, but if pressed they would have to cover that little hole of their story eventually.
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Post by impetuousmale on Apr 11, 2016 17:55:45 GMT
Kaede frowned deeply as she heard about how Elliot had first entered the Digital World. The Shibuya River, which was a river in name only, was horrible just to be near, the stench of garbage and toxic sludge more than powerful enough to ensure that Kaede generally stayed far away if at all possible. The idea of actually being pushed into it was nauseating and it provoked a strong pang of sympathy for Elliot as well as a brief surge of anger at the sort of people who would think that it was funny to do something like that.
"Oh my, I'm so sorry. That must have been awful," she offered sympathetically. She did feel a momentary surge of relief upon learning that there was another, more sanitary method of entering the Digital World if she needed to but that relief was quickly replaced by worry and more sympathy as Isaac explained how they had been attacked by a less friendly Digimon and warned that there were many others. That sounded less than pleasant, to say the least, and she found herself hoping that she would never have any need to go there, or at least not for a long time. Meeting other tamers there sounded nice but it wasn't worth dying for and if everybody there was a tamer, there was very little reason for any of them to be interested in her anyway.
Kaede's ruminations, however, were disturbed by a sharp, cracking sound from between her arms. Glancing down with a start, she noticed that several large cracks were expanding from a point on top of the Digi-Egg. A moment after that, the egg itself began to faintly glow and shake in her arms as something inside struggled to get out. |
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Post by Elliot and Isaac Sunderland on Apr 12, 2016 3:57:01 GMT
Elliot decided to be as up front about his experience as possible. "Yeah, it was pretty awful. But it was not all bad! We met some really great friends, after all. Right, Isaac?" His voice took a taunting inflection at the last sentence, and Isaac found himself blushing slightly. Why did Elliot always keep bringing her up? They were just friends, jeez!
"It gets easier," Isaac remarked, trying to ignore his brother's comment. "You will be scared as heck the first time you go there, but the more you visit the more you learn about finding the safe spots. Always go with a buddy, though. It is far too dangerous for a human alone." The tone of his voice was warm and understanding, as if he totally understood if Kaede never wanted to set foot inside the Digital World. Frankly, Isaac didn't really want to either many days. He had a duty as a Spirit User, though. What else was he going to use Impmon and Yasyamon for? Chores? Their mom would kill them!
Of course, then the egg glowed and started to hatch. Isaac tired to peer at the egg to see what would end up coming out, while Elliot grinned hugely. He always loved this part the best! |
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Post by impetuousmale on Apr 12, 2016 17:11:40 GMT
Kaede took some small measure of relief from Isaac's reassurances but most of her attention was on the egg, which was shaking increasingly violently as the glow intensified and the cracks spread across the entirety of the egg. Once the surface of the egg was completely covered in cracks and it was uncomfortable to look directly at due to the light, it fell still for a brief moment. Before Kaede could even wonder if something had gone wrong with it, the shell suddenly shattered, fragments starting to fly off in every direction at speed but disintegrating before they could hit Kaede or anything else. The light quickly faded in the absence of the egg shell, leaving Kaede to stare at the Digimon now resting in her hands.
Digimon, plural, for there were two small creatures rather than the one she had expected. Two creatures that shared little in common except for their small size and their lack of any limbs. One was a black creature with glowing yellow eyes, wrapped in a transparent membrane with two small leaves growing from the top of its head. The other was almost completely covered in soft, white fluff like hair, leaving only the blue skin around its eyes and ribbon-like ears bare. Both Digimon were looking straight up at her from her hands, blinking slowly.
"Hello," the furry one said uncertainly in a distinctly feminine voice, sounding confused about her location. Understandable, considering she had apparently just gained consciousness for the first time. The seed-like Digimon remained silent but twisted around in her hands, taking in the surroundings and resting its yellow eyes on Elliot and Isaac for a moment before glancing back at Kaede.
"Oh, um, hello. I'm Kaede. It's nice to meet you," Kaede managed to stammer, mostly by reflex. She hadn't expected the Digimon to speak immediately after hatching. Still, it seemed she now had proof of the boys' story and if the rest of what they had said was true, which she assumed it was, then it looked like she was about to make not one but two new friends.
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