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Bird in the big city [Unica/OPEN]
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Post by Katsura Ise on Nov 14, 2019 18:11:14 GMT
It was a seemly normal evening in Terminus City. The streets were as busy as they always have been and the stores seems to have no intention of closing anytime soon. It was here that a large portal opened, from the portal one could see sand and seawater but also 2 girls and a cat. Katsura had arrived in Terminus City, in her arms she was carrying Nyao the blackgatomon and she had brought with her a little girl named Unica that she had promised to reunite with her partner.
Katsura stepped out of the portal, as soon as Unica-tan stepped out as well the portal would close itself.
Barely out of the portal Katsura realized the first major flaw in her plan. Finding a bird digimon in Terminus was easy enough, they were soaring in the sky and walking the street after all but finding a specific bird was like searching for a needle in a haystack. Katsura turned her head to a gargantuan building making the famous Terminus Mall, no anywhere but there at least unless things got desperate. For now the important thing was getting Unica-tan to ease up, leaving the beach was not really what Unica-tan wanted.
"So Unica-tan, I guess I owe you an ice cream." Katsura walked towards a Café barely 100 yards away keeping an eye on Unica. Her speed was dependent entirely on making sure Unica could catch up.
"You can have any ice-cream you want" Katsura said while walking
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Post by Unica & Birdie on Nov 18, 2019 19:12:52 GMT
Unica followed Katsura and Nyao through the portal, leaving Yuko, Jokah-sama, and the beachside locale of Waterwater City behind as she did. The moment they emerged in Terminus City, Unica thought she recognized the area. The skyscrapers, bustling streets, and roaming creatures were all a familiar sight. It was here where she had met and left Birdie. She was sure of it! But where had the partners met up, exactly? And would Birdie still be there? If not, where was she now? These were things that Unica told herself not to worry about. Adults were always good with directions, and if anyone could find Birdie then Katsura could... right? Katsura wasn't exactly an adult, so many she didn't have their sense of direction either.
Before Unica had time to really concern herself with such matters, the red-eyed girl suggested they get ice cream. The young tamer perked up and a faint smile dusted her lips at the prospect of getting dessert. It was true that she had been conflicted about leaving the beach and going to the city with this stranger, but sweet treats always made things better, especially since she had accidentally dropped the ice pop that Jokah-sama had given her mere moments prior. There was no reason to think about what had once been, however. Doing so would only make her upset, and she didn't want that.
As the trio made their way to the nearby cafe, Katsura said that Unica could have any ice cream she wanted. "Chocolate!" the blonde girl exclaimed, clapping her hands together with excitement, "With rainbow sprinkles!" There were a few seconds a silence before she hurriedly added, "And white fluff!" With some deduction, one would've realized that the "white fluff" in question was actually whipped cream. "No cherry. I don't like cherry," Unica explained with a disgusted shutter as they continued walking down the street, "I like strawberry but not cherry!" She was rebounding from her previous hysteria quickly. That was no doubt one of the perks of being a child. No grudges, short memory, and an optimistic view of the world. Plus, it didn't hurt that Katsura was going to buy her ice cream.
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Post by Duffer & Kotemon on Nov 18, 2019 23:58:56 GMT
"We still have the digital world." Kotemon reassured the boy. "Your apartment's too small, we can barely move around inside it." The boy complained, shaking his head as the headed to the apartment complex. The large building stood down the street of the ice cream shop where Katsura and her new friend had found themselves.
"We're lucky to have an apartment at all, the rent is crazy and there's more digimon moving into the city every day." "I'm just saying that when I step out of bed, I like to have more than 2 inches to navigate." "We wouldn't have any home to go back to if it weren't for me." Kotemon rambled on for a while, continuing to walk as Duffer paused to look inside the ice cream parlor. "The money and the rent, the work I did for you and everything I've put forward for you should make you realize that you actually have it pretty well." Kotemon waited for a response, but none came, causing the mon to stop and look around, spotting Duffer enter the ice cream shop.
"Oh my gosh, is that you?" The boy asked, approaching the creepy girl and her black cat. "Katsura! As I live and breath, it feels like it's been 2 years since we've last talked!" He smiled. "It's me, Duffer! The comic book nerd! You saved me and my partner from that ghost in the woods, remember?" Duffer was, amongst other things, taller, thinner, and no longer bound to a wheelchair from a head injury. He gave her a big hug, completely forgetting the faux pax it was in Japan out of joy of seeing his old companion. Kotemon quickly found the boy and did its best to pry the girl free.
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Post by Katsura Ise on Nov 19, 2019 21:34:09 GMT
So far so good, Unica-tan was easy to distract, it really didn't come across Katsura why it should be difficult to deal with a child that young. Jokermon knew it and so did Katsura. Katsura heard out Unica-tan's order with occasional nodding and repeating the word "uhm". Except during the mention of fluff.
"That's what I call it too." Katsura sat on a chair outside the Cafe, placing Nyao next to her. There was a a vacant chair intended for Unica-tan between Katsura and Nyao closest to the building. There was some voices mumbling something about rent but since it didn't concerned them Katsura just waited until an not-so-hatched egg arrived.
"Hello Ise-San and Nyao-San I'm digitamamon, I'll be your waiter. What can I get you? The usual." "Yes please and a cup of ice cream, chocolate with sparkly rainbows, white fluff and strawberry. No cherry"
"White fluff?" "Whipped cream and sprinkles." The digitamamon departed after bowing it's head before the table preparing the order. To keep Unica-tan interested Katsura teared off some blank pages from her diary and placed it in front of Unica-tan on the table along with a pen.
Katsura didn't have much chance to rest through, she quickly found herself getting hugged out of the blue. She reflexively froze while adjusting to the situation. Who is that boy? Why does he know me? Katsura thought seemly reading her mind the boy introduced himself properly as Duffer. "Oh Duffer, right? How have you been. I-mean you're out of your chair now oh right uhmm please take a chair."
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Post by Unica & Birdie on Nov 21, 2019 17:59:42 GMT
As the trio approached the cafe, Katsura grabbed a table and sat down without a word. Unica took her lead and did the same, sitting between the red-eyed girl and her digital partner. The chair was definitely intended for adults and Digimon who were about the same side, for Unica was unable to touch the ground with her feet. Her legs dangled off the chair, and she kicked them lightly as she rested her arms on the table which came up to her chest. Large blue eyes studied the area in silence. Over there was a white and red Digimon flying through the sky. Over there were two knights walking through the street, patrolling and looking for danger. Over there was a walking egg. And it was getting closer! Unica glanced at her comrades then back at the egg when Katsura began to make their order.
Unica stretched her neck and lifted off her chair a little in an attempt to peer inside the Digimon's shell. She wanted to know what was hidden inside. As much as she strained, she couldn't see anything but darkness and two glowing yellow eyes. That couldn't be right. He had large scaly green legs sticking out of the bottom. The rest of him must had been green and scaly too, but she just couldn't see it. When he bowed, Unica cocked her head to one side, trying to get a better angle. Then the egg turned and started walking away, and Unica was no closer to finding out what the Digimon looked like within his outer shell. She watched him go for a while before losing interest and turning back to her acquaintances.
As though she had experience babysitting young children before, Katsura handed a scrap of paper and pen to Unica. The blonde tamer didn't even need to complain about being bored for the red-eyed tamer to give her something to entertain herself with. Without a word, Unica began drawing. When she heard Katsura talking to someone, she looked up only long enough to realize that their conversation didn't concern her. That was fine. While she liked meeting new people, but she was more interested in doodling. Through a series of wavy lines and uneven circles, she did her best to draw her family under a sunny sky. Standing beside the little stick figure that was supposed to be Unica was an amorphous blob with a V-shape taking up over half of its face. This was supposed to be Birdie, and the V was supposed to be her beak. Unica smiled at how well her picture was coming along.
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Post by Duffer & Kotemon on Nov 21, 2019 21:43:43 GMT
Duffer let go, smiling at the idea his friend actually remembered him. "Oh, yeah, the wheelchair! That was because of uh... atrophy, muscle atrophy. But you're looking good!" He took her invitation and took a seat as Kotemon entered the room.
"Duffer, why wou- oh, hello Kat." The mon uncharacteristically greeted in a polite manner. "It's been a long time, you and Nyao still together?" Kotemon sat across from Duffer, shaking its head. Until he noticed Utica, and looked her over. The digimon turned back to Kat. "This your little sister?"
"That's really nice of you guys to take your little sister out for ice cream!" The boy said, smiling. "A bit out of character for you to be in a place like this otherwise though. You seem more like the kinda gal who'd stay in the cemetery until an Ice Cream truck came around."
Kotemon rolled its eyes. "She's not actually a ghost, Duffer." "Yeah, I think she's like, a vampire now. They don't usually look this cute but she's got the pale skin and evil eyes and stuff." "What vampire brings a little girl with her to an ice cream shop?" "What vampire saves our lives from ghosts?" He countered. "It doesn't matter if she's a ghost or vampire or zombie or whatever though, she's awesome."
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Post by Katsura Ise on Nov 22, 2019 23:54:15 GMT
It was true, Katsura really did have experience with dealing with little tamers, it was however foreign to her for someone, let alone a child barely out of kindergarten, casually wander around without their partner or supervision. After settling her composure and inadvertently signing up to becoming babysitter, she could just draw from experience, and her observations of Jokermon's behavior towards Unica-tan. Katsura glanced at Unica-tan's drawing, to little surprise Unica-tan's artistic skills wasn't helpful in figuring out anything about her. Sure that stick figure could be Unica but a blob with a beak could be any time of bird. So for now Katsura could spend the spare time while the chef prepared their order on Duffer and his partner.
"Oh uhmm I'm glad it wasn't a forever-thing. That's good."
Having a conversation around the subject of wheelchairs was weird, still it sure counted as smalltalk. Katsura answered Kotemon's bow with a deep nod.
"Of course, I couldn't dream about not being with Nyao all the time. The thought of being away for like a second scares me."
Katsura indicated Nyao who for the occasion had raised a paw in a friendly manner to appear more visible to Kotemon.
"Don't worry, I remembered you. Humans all have a special scent." "Oh right you're a cat." "You forgot that?" "Oh no... should have known... You did seem nice to him before... In that hug." Katsura shrugged, before listening to Kotemon.
"Oh this is Unica-tan, she got away from her best friend for life (partner), whatever Nyao sigh... So I'm trying to find her uhmm bird. Seen any lost digimon around?" For Duffer's comment Katsura had her own order of priorities.
"There's ice cream trucks on graveyards?"
The following argument caused Katsura and Nyao to share looks, both of them was unsure if they should intervene and if so, what should they do? Play along? Tell them that Katsura is a human? Both seemed to have the same lack of ideas right now.
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Post by Unica & Birdie on Nov 26, 2019 18:49:15 GMT
Unica kept doodling in silence, not even looking up to acknowledge the boy who took a seat at the table opposite her. It wasn't until Katsura introduced the young girl by name that she finally tore her gaze from the paper in front of her. Why were they talking about her? What was going on? She hoped to learn more as she glanced between the two older kids as they discussed Birdie and where she might be. But they weren't using Birdie's name. In an attempt to help, Unica chimed in, "Birdie!" There was a smile on her face as she said it. "She's blue and pink and really pretty." The description was vague, but as anyone who was immensely familiar with Digimon species would realize, the elusive Birdie was most likely a Biyomon. While there was a chance she was a different breed, Biyomon fit the "bird" categorization and tended to have a pink-and-blue color palette. "Like this!" Unica added while holding up her drawing and pointing to the oddly shaped blob with the V on its face.
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Post by Duffer & Kotemon on Nov 26, 2019 19:40:39 GMT
"I definitely know I've bathed since then though..." Duffer responded to Nyao's disturbing mention of remembrance, and, unfamiliar with the gesture, shook the paw.
"No, you'd be waiting in the graveyard until the ice cream truck passed by." Duffer elaborated. "See, where I'm from we don't have ice cream trucks or ice cream parlors, I just assume from what I learned from Ice Cream Man, that ice cream trucks have a standard route to maximize customers, and while cemeteries aren't lively, they are large and often built near churches, which are often a good customer base depending on the time of day." There is a long pause. Kotemon looks at Katsura with a face that says 'see what I put up with'. Duffer turns to look at the drawing.
"Hm... Birdy..." He repeats and rolls it around his head, some. "Assuming she's using the right crayons, it's likely a biyomon." Kotemon said, looking at the little girl with its cold, glowing eyes. "Do you know anything about Birdy? Did she say she was going somewhere or looking for something?" "Kotemon, that's no way to speak to a kid." "She's a child, not a child of the corn, boy." Kotemon responded, annoyed. "Utica-" "Unica." "Unica, do you remember anything else about Birdy? Does she like to do anything, you know, like watch movies or go swimming?"
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Post by Katsura Ise on Nov 28, 2019 19:36:02 GMT
Katsura just stared at Duffer rambling about ice cream trucks as if he was some kind of alien. Neither Katsura or Nyao did anything about the awkward silence, as Katsura tilted her head with a puzzled face it was clear Duffer had completely lost her. Katsura thought Duffer was weird but she knew better than to let Duffer know why Kotemon was cringing so hard. Conversely Katsura was suspiciously quick to let Unica change the subject to Birdy, the very moment Unica opened her mouth Katsura shifted her attention along with her eye-contact to Unica.
"Great... A pink and blue bird... Love the name." Katsura had really failed to think this through. Wait did Duffer mention swimming? Oh no not again, Katsura didn't have the chance to let Duffer know about the beach episode. Katsura laughed nervously in a mediocre attempt to convince Unica that everything is okay, but the moment Unica didn't look she sent Duffer a serious glare while making an X with her palms across her chest. Afterwards she started waving to digitamamon like crazy. The poor thing started running around in the kitchen to get Unica's ice cream in a cup out on the table as quick as possible, with a cherry on top.
"Oh is that Birdy?" Nyao said and pointed at a cloud behind Unica, the moment Unica looked Katsura ate the cherry and whispered a "Thank you" to Nyao.
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Post by Unica & Birdie on Dec 2, 2019 19:48:35 GMT
When the strangely dressed creature asked if Unica knew anything about Birdie -- namely, where Birdie was going or what the Biyomon may have been looking for -- the young girl lowered her drawing to the table and considered the question a moment. She was silent as she recalled the first time she met her Digimon, simultaneously ignoring the two strangers as they bickered about something that hardly concerned her. From what she could remember, Birdie was in a hurry to get somewhere or to get away from something. She ran into Unica and the two got sidetracked talking about how they were each others' partners. A pink bunny, a nice older lady, and a puppy-kitty were all there too.
Birdie and the lady argued about whether Unica should stay in the digital world or whether she should go home to reunite with her family. The lady suggested that Birdie go with them back to the human world, but there was a problem with money or something. It didn't make much sense to the seven-year-old. Riding the train was free, so there was no reason why Birdie couldn't have gone with them, but she was as resolute as ever in staying in the digital world. Unica remembered giving Birdie some coloring supplies before she and her friends left for the train station. But what happened after that? Where did Birdie go? Unica strained to remember anything that could've been useful.
As though noticing how hard Unica was struggling to come up with something to help, the stranger boy asked what Birdie liked to do, mentioning that maybe she liked watching movies or going swimming. Unica's entire body perked up upon hearing this and her eyes grew wide with eagerness. Truth be told, she knew virtually nothing about Birdie. The two hadn't been around each other long enough to familiarize themselves with their partners' interests. But she, herself, enjoyed swimming. "Swimming?!" she asked, growing more excited upon remembering how much fun she had at the beach not too long ago. "Maybe birdies like swimming!" she exclaimed with a giggle.
Her gaze shifted to Katsura for a split second and her entire demeanor drooped again before she turned back to the strangers sitting across from her. That's right... She wasn't allowed to go swimming anymore, a fact that she expressed with a sigh and a grumble, "I'm not allowed to go swimming anymore." She was supposed to be looking for Birdie, not having any fun. Plus, she had promised Jokah-sama that she was done swimming for the day, and even though he wasn't here now, she didn't want to break her promise. Ugh, this was so boring.
Just then, Nyao pointed up at the sky and asked if "that" was Birdie. Unica whipped her head around and glanced upward, her blue eyes scanning the skies overhead in search for anything that resembled a Biyomon. A couple of Digimon did zip by on occasion, but none of them looked like the young girl's partner. Unica giggled and shook her head. "Nooo~" She glanced back at the black kitty. "That's a cloud, silly." A split second later, she took notice of the little cup of ice cream in front of her. The whipped topping was stained somewhat with red, but Unica didn't think much about it. It was probably just strawberry juice.
Without waiting for permission or anyone else to get their desserts, she picked up the spoon and began to eat. She didn't smack her lips or talk with her mouth full, but she did struggle to eat her treat without making a mess of herself and the drawing that now served as something of a placemat. A chocolate ring circled her lips, a few light brown droplets dotted her white dress, and the doodle of Unica and her family was now decorated with chocolate ice cream and strawberry juice. A few rainbow sprinkles fell on the table and floor, unable to cling to the whipped topping as the young girl ate it separately from the rest of the ice cream.
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Post by Duffer & Kotemon on Dec 3, 2019 19:46:13 GMT
Duffer looks confused at the sudden aversion to swimming, Katsura and Nyao panicking at the mention while Unica suddenly looks upset. He looks to Kotemon for guidance but the small digimon seems just as puzzled by this as the boy is. For once their thoughts seem to align, and they need to pry deeper on this. "So, uh... I'm gonna go see what flavors they have. Care to join me, Kat? My treat." Free food was a quick and easy way to get someone to follow you, no matter how old or wise one thinks they are, so he hoped the principal was the same for an odd duck like Kat. He began heading to the counter, to actually fulfill that need regardless of if Kat came or not, admittedly. "Yeah, yeah, I'll stay here and watch Unica." Kotemon said, turning to the little girl. "I suppose I can be your digimon until we find Birdie. My name is Kotemon, and that is my friend and faithful student Duffer. How long have you known her, then?" The Kotemon looked at the drawing closer. "Does Birdie wear anything? A silver anklet on her leg? A hat or an extra feather? Some digimon like to dress up to stick out a bit."
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Post by Katsura Ise on Dec 4, 2019 20:31:32 GMT
It wasn't actually Duffer's fault, Katsura hadn't got time to let Duffer know what was going on behind the scenes. Namely that Katsura didn't want Unica to think about swimming. Katsura let out a sigh of relief when Unica-tan herself had accepted that she wasn't going to swim and another one when Katsura managed to cover up the fact Unica had gotten cherry on the rushed ice cream. Though she had to lift an eyebrow at the brutally of eating said ice-cream. Did Unica-tan never eat before in her life or was she really that obsessed with ice cream? Katsura wasn't sure if she should feel impressed or disturbed by the sight, nevertheless that ice cream never stood a chance.
Duffer was offering Katsura free food, not only was that an inherently good offer, it was a chance to fill Duffer in behind Unica's back. And so she nodded and followed after Duffer. Once outside Unica-tan's earshot, Katsura spoke up to Duffer.
"Okay the truth is... Unica-tan wasn't looking for her best friend for life... We found her at the beach alone and liked that... She really loves swimming... A little too much I think... So I kinda made her... She also likes ice cream you knoow. I can't just leave her."
While Katsura was speaking to Duffer the digitamamon had returned carrying a pile of plates on the head. One top was a small pile of Maki and underneath a rather raw salmon. Digitamamon stood there waiting for someone to take the plates.
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Post by Unica & Birdie on Dec 7, 2019 17:28:08 GMT
Unica eyed Katsura and the boy as they got up from the table and walked toward the display case where the ice cream was being kept, but upon realizing that she didn't need to go with them, Unica turned back to her own ice cream and kept eating. Then the strangely dressed Digimon spoke and the seven-year-old looked up, scanning the creature's face mask in an attempt to see his real face through it. When that failed, she settled with staring at his glowing yellow eyes. He was a little scary, in a way. He introduced himself as Kotemon, a name Unica almost instantly forgot, and explained that the boy's name was Duffer. Duffer. That was kind of a silly name. Duffer. Duff. It reminded her of Fluff. Fluffer. She giggled a little and swung her legs as she continued to listen.
Kotemon asked for more information regarding Birdie, such as how long they knew each other or if there was anything distinguishable about her. Unica hadn't been in the digital world long enough to realize that Digimon of the same species tended to look identical, and so it seemed odd that her description of a pink and blue bird wasn't enough to go by. How many talking pink and blue birds could there actually be? Unica opted out of answering the first question, too tired of retelling the story of how she and Birdie first met to share it once again. She instead focused on the second set of questions.
Unica placed the spoon into the bowl and moved it off the drawing so the two could get a better look at it. "She's pink," she explained slowly, as though she was explaining a complex concept to someone who was far less intelligent than herself. As she spoke, she pointed to the amorphous blob's body. "And blue," and pointed to the blob's head. She tore her gaze from the paper in order to look back at Kotemon. "With big, scary claws! Like a monster!" she exclaimed, extending her arms toward the strangely dressed Digimon and curling her fingers to resemble claws. She suddenly lowered her arms and shook her head. "But she's not scary, she's pretty. And fluffy."
There was another pause in the conversation as she tried to think more. She couldn't remember a silver anklet or a hat or an extra feather. In fact, she couldn't remember Birdie wearing any clothes at all. Just then, Unica's eyes widened and she spread her arms out to either side, flapping them as though to replicate wings. "She did her wings like this and there were eyes!" She kept her left arm extended and used her right index finger to point at the empty space just below her left elbow. "Right here! They're purple and really scary." From what she was saying, it sounded like Birdie had an extra set of eyes on the inside of both her wings -- or, at least on the inside of her left wing. Unfortunately for the Digitamamon, Unica was far too invested in her story to realize that he'd approached.
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Post by Duffer & Kotemon on Dec 8, 2019 0:05:01 GMT
Duffer looked at her incredulously. "So... you just took a random little girl you didn't know from where her only contact was to somewhere she doesn't know, and are bribing her with treats to keep her from panicking." He paused. "Katsura," Duffer put his hand on the girl's shoulder. "In America we have a word for that kind of thing... it's not a good word, but I think you already know it. It's called kidnapping." He rubbed his forehead with his other hand, trying to think. "So the digimon we're looking for has no reason to be anywhere near here and does not know who you are or where you went?" He turned to the ice cream choices. "Mint Chocolate Datamine, please. 2 scoops on a waffle cone." He turned back. "Kat, you helped me when I was in trouble, and I feel like I owe you this much to help you get out of an open and shut felony. Please, explain to me every detail that lead to this."
Kotemon took the plates off of the waiter's head, nodding to him. "Thank you." He set them at Nyao's spot, presuming the fresh fish was per the cat's demands. "So, a purple eye on her wing..." Kotemon picked up a purple crayon and began drawing a better detailed version of the wing. "Are you sure it was an eye, not a pattern, like paint?"
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