Not a Roadside Barbeque [Maia]

"Oh... when I get the chance, sure! I play in the snow!" My, Kuu was just off in his own little world, wasn't he? The non-sequitur caught the bunny off-guard, a bit of a stunned and embarrassed look on her face at that over-toned answer. Perhaps unfortunately for her, Ami was too caught up in her now-serious conversation with Maia to bail her out.

Because, after all, Maia looked like she needed help. "I really wish it would be just as simple as giving an answer, Maia." Ami sighed, shaking her head. "Nor do I know just how much you know Kuu to begin with. He's actually pretty average for how a Digimon of his age acts. I definitely had at least a few weeks where Valeria acted like nothing but a ball of sugar." Even so?

For this girl to be here for so long, Maia couldn't be as far off as she thought. Even now, Kuu was trying to assure her that this was the right path. He even praised her for acting as she did during a fight. Ami didn't know the details, so she wouldn't dwell on it too much... but perhaps there was a different way to go about this.

"Hey, Kuu?" Looking down at the fox on Maia's lap, Ami gave a smile, a tone of a question in her voice. "You like hanging around Maia, right? Tell me, what is it about her that you find interesting?" Maia's frustrations were well known, but had she even asked this sort of question to the pipe-fox before? "Let's make it simpler: two things. Tell me the biggest two things you like about her." Ami's voice was kind, and not too forceful, but was straight to the point.

A few feet away, Valeria gave a shrug. "Where's she goin' with this..."

"Hm... I see..."

Well. That was a little bit away from what Ami expected. As Kuu seemed confused, and Valeria and Maia more-or-less shrugging off Ami's attempt to help, it would seem that the matter was absolutely hopeless between this dysfunctional tamer and partner. If they had been together for this long and were still in this stage, then they would be late-bloomers at best. Perhaps there was some merit in leaving well-enough alone.

"Ya see, Ami, you just drove the conversation into the ground again. Sheesh, you gotta-"

"You two haven't actually talked to each-other at all. Have you?" Ami cut off her partner, as if she had been so lost in thought that she hadn't even realized that Valeria was speaking. No, Ami's focus was definitely on the other two: giving a smile, a sigh, and a shrug, Ami shook her head. "That's it, isn't it? No 'what do you want to do today', no jawing over any old thing... Kuu's been dragging you around, and you're here because... well, maybe you feel you have to be?" Ami didn't wait for an answer, just planting those little seeds of thought into Maia's head. Instead, she reached into her bag, pulling out a piece of paper and a pen.

"Ami, isn't that a little... harsh, for someone you've just met?" With a nervous chuckle, still seeing that same, stoic smile on Ami's face, the bunny gave a small step back. Ami still seemed to pay no mind, folding the paper, handing it off to Maia. "What you need to do for the stew. Ingredients, instructions. And a little online search wouldn't hurt, either." What, she just changed the topic so jarringly?

"A... Ami?"

"Oh, don't worry, Valeria. I'm fine." Ami gave a smile to the rabbit, and kept her kind look, holding the paper towards Maia. "I just can't help someone who hasn't even given this a real try, yet."

Wow.

Not even subtle.

Of course, Ami's words would have struck a nerve with any Digimon pair, near-regardless of context. It was what made Valeria nervous, Maia flustered, and Kuu outright defensive. But Ami would listen to it all: perhaps she had read it wrong, and this was just how they liked to be? Somehow, the older tamer doubted it, especially hearing the uncertainty in Maia's voice.

'It wasn't the case.'

'What do you mean?'

No solid examples, just deflection, just avoiding the question... at least, as far as Ami could tell. She kept her smile, as Maia took the paper, asking her questions to Ami. "What do I mean about giving it a try... mmm... well, have you ever given it a thought what you wanted to be in this world? Or, if you prefer, what this world means to you?" It was an honest question, perhaps more level-headed than Ami's previous points, but it still earned a nervous chuckle from the bunny.

Oh, thank god for Kuu! If there was anything good enough to break up the tension, it was this silly, cute fox that Ami had met all of perhaps fifteen minutes ago. He went from trying to defend Maia, to losing his own train of thought and asking about cactus and socks. It was even enough to bring a giggle to Ami: it was cute! And cute was a good way to get on this girl's good side! "Phew." Smiling, glad to have at least a bit of the tension behind her, Valeria's ear twitched. Hearing Maia's newest question, she shook her head with a sigh. "Really..."

"Hm... well, I don't feel I have to be here. Actually, if you want to know? I'm looking for... well, work!" Ami felt a little silly saying that, but went on to explain: "I mean, this world isn't bad, and its a big opportunity opened to us. So I figured, why not try to use what I have, for this world and myself? Right now I'm on-and-off with the mission's guild, and work with a Gatomon doctor to find odd-jobs."

"Yeah... this world's pretty peaceful, as it is right now. No need for huge fighters or anything like that. So it might just be better to try and get by!" Ami's answer was more calm than the bunny expected, so she rolled with it, a surprised, happy tone in her voice!

"Just a matter of looking for it, ya'know? I'm sure something will come to you eventually, Maia."

Maia's curious question had brought a smile to Ami's face: "Yeah, mission guild! It's nothing too organized, just a number of job postings and requests in Terminus, Whitewater... pretty much anywhere major. I think it started as just a post-board and developed into this whole... 'thing', I guess."

The bunny cut in on that, all-too-eager to keep the conversation above Ami's previous tone: "Yeah, with how crazy things are over here, you see odd-jobs all the time. Gather some herbs from this particular forest, escort a merchant, ward off monsters... its ranked by how hard it is and stuff. And tamers are in quite high demand!" Mysterious pairs from another world who could create super-powerful Digimon? How could that not draw an eye! But, soon, Maia drove the conversation to a more sensitive point.

School.

"Eheh... well..." Wow, how could she even respond? "Just finished my first year, so I'm kind of on break. But, I figured I'd try things on this end for a while. Not that my grades are all that high with all this Digital World stuff, and cram school's been killing me lately. So, if this all works on this end?"

A pause. "... I'd drop out." These words weren't happy ones, nor any that Ami would take lightly. "I mean, its not like its easy to balance these two lives as it is. If fate's going to afford me a Digivice and all that, maybe I'm meant to take this sort of leap? It's not like I'd cut ties completely with the other world, or anything..."

"Sheesh, you have more thought put into this than most, don't ya? We'll take it as it comes!" Well, that was a bit of a personal tangent! And as to Maia's following question, the rabbit tilted her head: "Isn't it?"

"Think about it, Maia. The cities are mostly peaceful; the wilds and trails are dangerous places where Digimon and humans quickly find themselves in danger. That's pretty much how our world works, too." That much was true, at least! Standing up, stretching, Ami took a quick look up at the sky, checking the time. "Hm... well, I don't want to hold you too long so that you'd miss the next Trailmon. Though you're welcome to stay and camp out if you'd like, or have anything else you want to talk over."

"Ami, I think they might want to just have some time to think, ya'know?"

"Yeah, maybe..."