Echoes [Spirit Hunt] [Asher]

    Smile grew to a smirk at the false offended act. Now that he had seen it more than once, the teen could pick up on it pretty easily. Not that he assumed Amelie was trying to actually look offended! "Hey, I don't know what you like," he chuckled. "Maybe I will like it. I haven't actually tried wasabi before," he admitted. Asher was fully aware that he was probably in for an awful surprise, but at least it would be interesting! And, hey, some people actually liked wasabi!

    Asher also had to admit that he didn't think about how weird the internet could be. "You have a really good point," he hummed, thinking about the strange things that he had found online. There was a reason he didn't wander around chatty webpages too much. They were full of strange things! Gorilla deities seemed plenty plausible for weird people to decide to worship online. Just like monsters made of pasta that could fly.

    "It's not too bad!" The spirit user thought a little, picking a partial truth. "Just don't leave your house much!" That was a terrible solution! But, honestly one of the best ones that Asher had concluded on. "Or just ignore all the magazine racks when you do." He wasn't going to get into any subject that he considered worse than people posting ridiculous rumors in magazines about him. "Paparazzi aside, I think you'd make a good actress." After all, she had managed to trick him for a few seconds with her act earlier! That had to mean something, right?

    Oh, he had forgotten to mention the part where spirit users had more than one of these things! Oops! "First one!" the teen repeated, in an overly happy and confirming tone. Trying to recall how many Karin had mentioned before, Asher began counting on his fingers, while mumbling aloud, "sprite, human, beast, something, and Hyper? No, that doesn't sound right," he grumbled to himself, raising an open hand. "There are at least five. And I found a fraction of the beast, so I'm betting there's a fraction of the human, too." What did that make, total? "Which means seven. You might have to do this six or seven times." Or more, if only Asher knew that secondary lines existed! "I don't know if that number changes from person to person. But, nobody mentioned there being more." That didn't feel like a very promising consolation.

    At least Asher actually had semi-decent logic behind not revealing his cat's full identity until he knew that Amy wasn't going to flip out! "I get that seeing is believing and all, but I'd rather not throw my cat under the bus if you panicked and went to the police, or something." Who knew what would happen to Whiskers if word was out that she was an 'alien'! "If you wanted to see a Digimon that badly, and we hadn't been in a cafe, I would have just turned into one." It wasn't like he had a little brother to keep him in line like Isaac did, with his digivolutions in the human world! But, rather than stomaching it, it really could make someone throw up from stress, couldn't it? Police were less likely to believe 'hey, this guy who used to be an actor can turn into yellow fox monsters' than the physical proof of an X-eyed cat. "I think she looks cute," the redhead murmured, a little sheepish. Was Whiskers really that weird looking?

    Shoving his phone back into his pocket, the next words caused every muscle in the young man's body to tense. Yellow eyes widened, some form of terror flashing across them. "Interes-- Romanti--?" Stutters interrupted words, as the spirit user attempted to grasp for logic. How hadn't Asher expected Amelie to find this an easy subject to prod at? "I swear it was not that. I haven't even gone on a date since I moved here!" Though, it really sounded like Elliot was attempting to change that statement drastically! Wait, backtrack. He'd just said all of that aloud. Blush began across his face, while he looked away from the girl in some attempt to avoid the embarrassment being too obvious.

    Except, with a reaction like that, it was only rational to be embarrassed!

    At least talking about collars could change the topic of distress to one far more easy for Asher to explain. "A, uh, cat collar? With a button for the release," he described, while still running his index finger under the collar of his shirt. Just the thought made him feel like he was suffocating. Poor guy could barely tolerate how tight neck ties were! Let alone a legitimate collar! "I swear that dog-angel is actually the devil." It was the best logic behind why Jeanne would ever even consider a trick like that! But, Asher tried to brush it off and sound as nonchalant about the entire ordeal as possible. "My fault. Didn't like the lack of clothing my spirit had. Angel offered terrible solutions, then slapped a collar on me after she swore she found something 'suiting' for me. I really should have seen it coming." Why would Asher ever assume that someone was actually intending on being friendly? He should have known better. "I get this feeling she doesn't like me!" What, ever, would have given him that idea?

    Isaac and Elliot had, at the least, proven a little more on the friendly side of the helpful spectrum. "A lot of people know about them, actually. It's like a secret club that you don't realize is huge until you join it." Maybe it only seemed huge because there was an entire alternate world full of the monsters! It was hard to say. "I mean, it's unlucky that he didn't tell me that my cat was a Digimon when he met her. I get the feeling it would have been a lot nicer of a way to learn about them." Even if Isaac was a little insufferable at times! At least he didn't kick Asher or take horrible advantage of how new he had been at all of this. In a way, how new he still was at this. When did it stop being an unfamiliar subject?

    Did Amelie know that she sounded like a Lewis Carroll book right now? "Should he have things that he can drink, so he can grow and shrink?" Oh, Asher hadn't meant to rhyme. Whatever. Amelie probably wouldn't realize that the teen was making a reference to the bottles and foods in Alice in Wonderland, anyway.

    All mimsy were the borogoves...

    Returning focus to their surroundings, or those that were soon to come, the actor finally looked back to examine the brunette's face. There couldn't be anything good to come out of something that sought haven in a destroyed area, could there? "I agree. I'd hate for this to be what puts us on one of those gossip magazines." he joked, in some attempt to lighten the mood. Luckily, Asher had disappeared from most interest before moving to Japan, so it really wouldn't be an issue! He couldn't even remember the last time anything with a semblance of effort had appeared in 'media' about him! Not that he was trying to recall.

    Was this even a good idea? The Entertainment District seemed like a terrible place for a first spirit. Shifting a little closer to Amy, Asher found himself making a conscious effort to avoid brushing against her. "We are," he confirmed, curiosity lacing over concern. "Are you sure you want to do this? There might be no turning back once we enter." It only felt right to give a warning along those lines, didn't it? Who knew what would be beyond the yellow tape?

    With any luck, there would be nothing, aside from a neatly placed totem without any traps attached.

    Hearing a tone change, yellow eyes flickered to focus on azure ones. She wasn't going to call it quits, was she? Admirable. Half-smile tugged at the teen's lips, Asher made a small open-handed gesture toward the destroyed site. "Of course." What did Asher have to lose out of all of this? Absolutely nothing. "Make sure to watch your step."

    The more he thought about it, the more interesting wasabi beer sounded. After all, Asher had no idea what he was getting himself into! It would probably be absolutely awful, but with any luck, a few laughs could be had over it all. "I like spicy things," the actor hummed. Spicy wasn't bad. Neither was sour, sweet, or bitter. Was there really any taste that he could blatantly say that he didn't like, as a whole? "Not usually a fan of mustard, though." Okay, so the beer was going to be gross. But it would be a new experience, to say the least!

    Fingers tapped in his pocket, lightly clicking the digivice within. It really was a good thing that the buttons didn't do a whole lot, from what he could tell. After all, it had taken some intense button-mashing to find a way to digivolve that involved some sort of menu in the device! Or, it actually hadn't, and Asher was just really unlucky. It was hard to say. Eyes shifted, hearing something mumbled after the thanks. What was that? "Hm?" Did Amelie sound sad about something? Maybe, Asher shouldn't press on whatever he had just missed. Some people didn't take kindly to prying, after all!

    At least she seemed pretty accepting of a ridiculous amount of monster hunts. "Probably!" The teen nodded, with a smile. "I've heard it can take a while to find them, sometimes," he added, uncertainty wavering in his tone. As far as Asher was concerned, it really didn't take that long to obtain spirits. But, maybe he was just a special case? Or, maybe, the source that told him that was just really bad at finding spirits. Thinking, and speaking, of... How many had Asher collected so far?

    A small click emitted from the teen's mouth, before running his tongue against one of his canine teeth. It was kind of sharp. Just enough to keep him from losing focus, at the least. "I've found," he paused, mulling over his response. How specific did he really want to be? "Three? I think." That didn't sound so certain! Maybe, Asher was just bad at math! Does the first one count, if she came pre-installed?" That seemed like a valid question! It also gave a gender to his sprite.

    Was it really that hard to understand the logic behind preferring to risk his own safety, over an 'innocent' cat's? "I was more thinking that you'd tell someone, and they might try to take her. I'm still waiting for the day where my sister's going to walk in the kitchen and see Whiskers making herself a tuna sandwich!" It didn't seem to be an entirely irrelevant fear, either! "She's got attachments on her neck that are like extra hands. It's kind of weird, and definitely not something normal cats can do." Then again, would the Meicoomon even bother with bread? If she could figure out how to open a can, Asher would only imagine the tuna would never make it to another surface before being eaten. Either way! "The monsters change, from person to person, and spirit to spirit," he shrugged. "I'd rather re-roll the dice on the ones I've got." Maybe to something a little more masculine? Or a lot more quiet.

    With a shrug, the young man smiled, "as long as you don't say it to her face, I'm sure she won't care." Normally, Asher would comment on how he'd heard 'never trust a person that doesn't like cats', but after the cat-obsessed girl that he had met before, it was actually a breath of fresh air! "I like cats. They just don't like me," he added, lightly. It had taken forever to get Whiskers to stop hissing at him when he entered the room, even! Then again, maybe she was just annoyed with pretending to be a cat.

    While laughter was good, the embarrassment kept Asher far too preoccupied to enjoy it. Managing to catch his breath after a moment of panic, the teen managed an awkward, "I know!" Now he knew, at least! But, it was knowing, nonetheless! "W--ell, uh, I mean." Blush didn't show any intent on fading as long as this topic was in progress, but the teen still managed to humor the topic. "Okay! Follow what I'm saying." As if that would be easy to do, with a mind like Asher's! Altering his steps slightly, he continued to walk while turned to better see his walking companion's expressions. "Say some random guy just comes up to you on the street," he started, trying to create a proper example, "and says, "hey! You're really pretty. I've been watching you for years,
and I love the way you talk and walk and wow, your eyes are amazing up close," " he began, clearly gushing over the situation. "Then, they follow up with, "I'd like to show you the doll that I made that looks exactly like you, too!" and then they invite you for coffee, ask you to go back to their place, or something that wasn't in your plans for leaving your house." Was Amelie even still following at this point? "Would you go on a date with a fan, then?"

    It wasn't like fangirls were really a huge priority to Asher, anyway. If he wanted attention, he'd just ask for more hours at work. "And," he added, looking around at the scenery. "Er," with a small groan, the teen shook his head. "Nevermind!" He didn't need to ramble too much about the awkwardness of dating, did he? It would just make him stutter more, or panic, surely.

    On the bright side, Amelie didn't find the collar situation as hilarious as the participants in the actual event did. "The worst sense of humor!" Asher agreed, looking back to the brunette. And, another agreement at just how awkward it was, though this was only in the form of a smile and nod of the head. "I've still got all my limbs, so I guess it couldn't be that bad!" Well, that was one way of looking at it! Probably an awful way, but if it helped Asher cope with everything, it was fine.

    The Digital World really could make a great children's story though, couldn't it? "Give it time, I'm sure it would happen." Among other things. Were there mouse Digimon? Rabbits, were already determined. Mice, not quite. Surely, they existed in digital form, though. So far, Asher was pretty certain that everything could be made into a monster.

    Placing one hand under the tape, the teen lifted it slightly to help Amelie avoid catching herself on it. Not that she needed any assistance, surely! Then, after taking a moment to glance around for anyone that might be watching, Asher was quick to follow. Why was this place just left to be a rotting dump, anyway? It didn't really make sense. Was there really no value to the land? Or, were people just too lazy to clean up the mess?

    Perhaps, it was just too dangerous to fix up the area.

    "Curiosity killed the cat, but satisfaction brought it back," the spirit user hummed, trying to lighten the statement. "You'll be alright," he insisted, while eyes continued to scan the destruction for any sign of something that would try to prove him wrong. So far, they were pretty lucky.

    Maybe this place was actually blocked off because it was an environmental hazard. Was it healthy to even breathe this air? "The box smelled like musty, old wood. This is," he paused while scrunching his nose slightly, "something else." Certainly not a good place for a woman's spirit! That was for sure!

    Asher was a little less cautious with his steps, despite being the one to give the warning about where to stand. What was the worst that would happen? Just proof that the teen was going to value someone else's safety over his own, it seemed. Unless he found something that looked like a bear trap, he wasn't too concerned about slipping on the rubble. "Well, the smell certainly takes my breath away," the actor couldn't help but joke, while stepping over an unidentifiable object of some sort. The Entertainment District really looked like something that belonged in a post-apocalyptic game, didn't it? "It is interesting to see, though." Maybe interesting was the best word choice. To call it amazing would be to imply destruction was great, wouldn't it? Nobody wanted a misinterpretation like that.

    But now, they seemed to find their destination. "Under it?" What, was there a hole that this concrete was hiding? Spirits chose weird hiding places. "How'd it even get there?" Why would Asher ever assume that these things would make sense? "No chance the concrete is the spirit, huh?" There was no way things would be that easy, and Asher didn't want to know what a Digimon pretending to be a giant block of rock would actually look like once loaded.

    Once more, the redhead glanced around the area to make sure there weren't any bodies to witness. Pulling his hand from his pocket, the teen shrugged while raising one of his hands. Coding circled Asher's palm, visibly giving off a pulse as if it were casting its own shadow. "I kind of have an idea?" It was hard to sound nonchalant about this kind of thing, when Asher wasn't even sure if it was smart to digivolve into anything that could move concrete. Or break it?

    No, breaking it could break the sprite, knowing his luck. But Yatagaramon could probably lift the piece pretty easily. "Unless, you have a better plan." After all, if the fractal code didn't make Amelie panic, turning into a literal monster might be too much of a wake-up call for her to be willing to witness at the time. The redhead certainly didn't want to be what truly scared the girl away from Digimon.

    Lips parted, slowly, while staring at Amelie from the corner of his eyes. There was a missing piece in this metaphorical puzzle, and part of it drove the redhead insane. Some days, it was a pain to only take note of the words unsaid. Ignorance was bliss. Keep it as such. Asher barely knew the girl! It wasn't his place to press. And, more quickly, his mouth closed without a word.

    If they had known each other better, perhaps some sort of trust would have broken through. Or, Asher would have acted on a more physical level. Heck, if it was Piper that was sad, he'd at least pat her on the shoulder or something! But, again, the actor reminded himself that he was a stranger, and touching a woman almost always came off the wrong way. Swallowing curiosity and a hint of sorrow, he finally hummed a soft, "if that's what you want," before dropping the subject. Really, it was for the best.

    At least the mood couldn't sink for long. "Oh, crap, I forgot that part," he mumbled, mentally kicking himself for the fumble. "In my defense! I've met someone who didn't have a spirit already in their D-Scanner! You can't just assume anything with Digimon!" Then again, the owner of that particular spirit was a little unique, anyway. Even by Asher's standards.

    The teen had no idea how someone could laugh about this, though. "How's this funny?" Thank goodness she found a joke in all of this. "Give me credit! I'm trying!" Even when trying to sound offended, the redhead found the laughter contagious, and struggled to suppress a grin. "I've only had to explain this stuff, like, twice before! And one of them already kind of knew what was going on!" And he wasn't slightly terrified of the concept of breaking either of them. In fact, now that he was recalling, he threatened one of them in the process of calming them down. Asher really needed to work on his tactics.

    "Maybe I should have tried writing everything down." Words were easier when placed on paper, weren't they? An eraser could catch what a mouth couldn't, before it became a horribly garbled mess. Too late now! Walking and rain did not make writing things down easy!

    Oh, and then there was another reason to tease the spirit user. Yellow eyes rolled, as a slight groan caught in the man's throat. "Yes. Just so happens, all of my spirits are." Couldn't they understand that a guy would really just prefer to stay a guy? Asher had no secret desires to be a woman! Still, he had to question, "what? Suddenly turning into the opposite gender?" Awkward, and kind of embarrassing? Check. "The ones with, uh," wording. Use it carefully! "Any sort of shape," nailed it? "make me want to wear a lot of clothes." It seemed that, while some men would be very excited about investigating the alterations, Asher really just wanted to pretend they didn't exist! "The actual difference in what I can do as me and as them, though?" There was a pause, debating word choices again. Addicting. But, he couldn't say that. "It's kind of... exhilarating?" Who else could rob a poorly shaded store with as much ease as his Renamon form, for instance? Not, of course, that Asher would ever actually do something like that! That would just be terrible. He at least attempted to not be a horrible person.

    Cats were pretty sneaky, though. Just like how Whiskers had managed to not draw enough attention to be outed as a weird monster to anyone that didn't know about it. "I've never actually seen her fight," he admitted. Hadn't the feline mentioned not even being as strong as his Sprite, though? It really didn't make sense to him.
Then again, nothing involving Digimon did. "So you might be right." Give Amelie the benefit of the doubt on this subject! Even if she knew absolutely nothing on the topic, something to make the situation more cheerful was always welcome!

    Just like the random jump in topic to return to his spirits. "They all look really different. Some are alright," he commented, while trying to imagine each of them. "The main problem is with the human looking one. She's like some weird Amazon. Wears a cape, golden gauntlets, and," the teen paused to make a sour face, "a bikini? I don't know. She has terrible taste in fashion." A small chuckle managed from barely parted lips, imagining that the spirit wouldn't be too thrilled with Asher's fashion advice. "The first one's a yellow fox. Wouldn't be so bad if nobody pointed out the bust." At least crows were a lot less obvious. ...And rabbits were just a bit terrifying and nobody needed to think about those right now. Or, ever.

    Cats, though. Asher could get back to the cat subject. "Technically, I don't think so," Asher shrugged, trying to think about the feline's act of being a cat. And how she really looked like she was trying to be a cat. "I mean,
she's called a Meicoomon, which I think is a pun on Maine Coon cats? But I can't really understand anything she says through all of her own cat puns." Anything cat-brained had to be weird. Just like a certain cat hat wearing girl.

    "I love dogs, too, though," he added, with a smile. It was a shame his family hadn't discussed getting a dog after moving here! "They're loyal, sometimes big, and kind of dumb." Just like you, Asher. "Or maybe that's just how Piper's dog was. I've heard some are smart." And, maybe, some dogs didn't break a coffee table by deciding to sit on it! Who knew! "Not all cats are snobs. Some are just as weird as dogs." Then again, any pet that spent time with Asher probably ended up the same. "Maybe it's just how they're brought up?" Then, there was a pause as it clicked into place that Amelie very well may have raised some demon of a cat. "Or! It's just their personality! Probably that." That was an awful save. This place needed checkpoints before Asher could say or do anything too stupid.

    Like rambling about dating and crazy fans. That was really stupid! "It's definitely the same," he contested, with a wide smile. Amelie seemed to be understanding the weirdness of it all, though. Nobody wanted unwanted attention. Still, the blush burned across his face, trying not to think too heavily on something that made him squirm. Then again 'the other hand' was what was keeping the red tint in its place. She was doing this on purpose, wasn't she?

    Pulling his hands from his pockets, the redhead let them fall to his sides. "I guess, uh." Asher reminded himself to breathe, "I'm not uninterested." Just insanely wary! Money and time were definitely things to put into consideration. Were all women like that? "Not that I'd know how to try, if I wanted to," he admitted, with a small laugh. At least he wasn't stumbling over his words quite as badly now! But, it was time to push back on the subject, now that he had regained some footing. "So, you said your brother's views on it. What's your perspective on relationships?" He couldn't be the only one giving terrible input on their views on this!

    It was really a good thing that at least a bad experience like the collar incident was in the past. "Yeah, pretty much. Thought it'd be a great joke, or something. I don't know if they wanted to talk much more, since I was a little-" extremely "-focused on getting the thing off and leaving." For good reason, too! What would have happened if he stayed and chatted? He didn't really want to know.

    Asher didn't think much on the symbolism behind talking about children's stories while preparing to break laws. Would they actually get in trouble, if caught? Hm. That would certainly be hard to explain. Hopefully, if they were, Amelie would be great at either impromptu lies or going along with one, because 'my map-thingy told me I can get a fun, new monsters to turn into' wouldn't get them anything beyond laughed at! On the bright side, the brunette didn't seem nervous about anything except for the odor! That had to be a good sign! Or a red flag.

    "I'm pretty sure if anything's going to kill either of us, it's going to be this smell," he snickered, only giving a pause to add, "you don't think this smell is going to stick to us, right?" It would really suck to have to explain to his family why he smelled like trash. Or to smell it on his clothes until he could get everything washed, for that matter! "While I really love new experiences, let's remember who owns the spirit that decided that this was a great place to live," the teen grinned, making a small pointing gesture toward the only one with their digivice out. Yup. For once, it wasn't him!

    It was kind of disappointing that the concrete couldn't just be the spirit, though. Sure, he didn't want to know what it could turn into, but he also didn't really want to deal with moving it! Ah well. At least Amelie wouldn't turn into a literal wall or something. That would make for a really boring Digimon, wouldn't it? Wallmon. Yes. Absolutely terrifying thought. "Oh, what, now I'm the expert?" Asher found himself needing to joke again. "Weren't you just calling me terrible at this stuff, like, five minutes ago?" Or ten. Or two minutes ago. He didn't really know. Asher was terrible with time!

    Taking a few steps away from the girl, the coding gave another pulse of impatience. Spirits hated to be kept waiting, didn't they? Or, maybe it was just Asher's. "Expert advice," the redhead clicked, playfully sticking his tongue out, "nothing about Digimon is safe!" That was the worst advice! Not that Asher seemed to mind dropping advice that he had found to be alarmingly accurate.

    With a deep breath, the strange text swirled from his hand, to create a wide circle around his body. Make sure to pick the right spirit. Could others try to emerge, on accident? That would be awful. Stay confident!

    Exhale. "Yatagaramon" With a small hiss of air from his lips, the world was blocked off by a wall of black feathers, whirling, and only giving way as the crow's wings opened from its body. Standing notably taller, and overall larger, the beast fraction tilted his head and lowered it to an easier attempt at eye-level with Amelie. "What do you think?" The voice hummed from barely parted beak, lacing Asher's usual voice with a more regal, feminine one.

    Was he really that concerned about startling a girl that had already come this far with him? Then again, seeing in person was far easier to believe than a photo.

    Taking a moment to allow for a reaction, the crow slowly hooked claws from one of its feet underneath the concrete piece, ignoring the awful texture of nails dragging on pavement. Of all the things he could complain about, would that really be one of them? Nah, that'd just be whiny! "Now, you need to be careful," he continued to attempt some joking tone about the entire situation. But, curiosity was really beginning to grow. They were literally seconds away from seeing what this thing was hiding!

    Using two feet to balance himself, he used the third to lift back the concrete, bringing a wing alongside it to keep any of the pieces from crumbling and hurting anything. Or anyone. After all, the only potentially damageable things were Amy and her spirit. Both were a lot more valuable than a few scuffs that the Digimon would get from the same debris falling onto himself! Digimon were way more resilient than people! And, who really knew with spirit totems? He didn't want to find out they were like glass!

    Thinking of... Now that it was being revealed to the world, the spirit user was interested to see what it would bring to the world. Or, uh, Amy, really. For all Asher knew, Wallmon could be a real thing!

    Learning bit by bit seemed like the best way to go about things, really. Even if Amelie probably wanted way better explanations, and to already know everything. Wouldn't that just be an overload of nonsense, though? She really should have gotten a better teacher for this stuff. "Yeah, I think so," the spirit user hummed, without taking out his own digivice to check. "But, it may take some random button clicking," he admitted. It was difficult when not everything on these devices were in human languages! "You seem the lucky type. I bet you already have one." Be the optimist! Especially when things could always be way worse!

    Maybe his attempts at teaching shouldn't earn any credits, though. It was certainly a good thing they weren't for a class. He'd surely fail! "I'll accept quirky. Been called way worse," Asher snickered, with a small shake of the head. "It's easier to know the things, than to explain them. You're going to feel like a crazy person, trying to explain that there might literally be monsters under a kid's bed." Now that he thought about it, that seemed entirely logical. Did some children actually see Digimon and mistake them for monsters in their rooms? Curious!

    Focus on the conversation, Asher. Not on things that go bump in the night. "One was attacked by something, and wanted to learn how to evolve at-will, because I guess he couldn't before." How was that guy doing, anyway? "Sounded like he wanted to get revenge, or something, and asked about getting stronger. Then, he just kind of ran off. Never saw him again." That hadn't been too long ago, right? Why was Asher so bad with time? "I hope he's alright, now that I think about it." What was the worst that could happen, anyway? There was a pause, as a memory clicked into place. "Actually. You met him when I did! Remember the guy from the park, that kissed you?" Of course she did. It would be hard to forget something like that. "He found me like two days later, digivice in hand." What a strange guy. In a completely different way than most people.

    "Second time, a guy got on the wrong train, just to tell me that I'm pretty." Grinning, Asher tilted his head slightly. "He took it really well when he found out that we were going to an entirely different world." Then, there was a pause, before dismissively waving. "Don't worry, though! Turned out he was a spirit user, anyway. It just took a lot longer than I would have liked for him to find out." An entire train ride, for a great example of how long was too long. "He was the unfortunate one that had to find his first spirit. Would have been way easier if he could have started the trip with it." Then again, what would be the point in the adventure, if he already had what he needed? "That one was kind of fun, after the panic of a totally normal stalker getting eaten by Digimon had passed."

    At least Asher didn't have to give further definition to 'shape.' That would have been kind of unpleasant to explain to a woman. Definitely not classy. "It is very awkward." It was better not to provide any examples of just how awkward it felt. After all, a guy completely transforming into a different body was an odd experience, at the least. And not one that Asher particularly cared to place much thought into.

    Amelie always seemed to be the optimist, didn't she? "I don't think any clothes fit her," he commented, dully. If they did, why wear a bikini and cape? "It's not like I'm going to turn into her and go clothes shopping. That would be weird!" Though the thought of Kinkakumon carrying around a dainty, sparkly purse was a hilarious image. If only his forms were that public-friendly. It certainly would be convenient. But Amazons and furries definitely didn't fit the norm. "Yeah. She looks like someone's fursuit character." Fursona, Asher. There's a word for that! "I don't get it, either. They're fuzzy and animal-shaped. It's not," for a moment, Asher trailed off to think of a good word, "appealing? Not to me, at least." Poor Asher, doomed to forever turn into things that made him awfully uncomfortable.

    Fur could be itchy, too. Just adding to the list of reasons why his 'outfits' were unpleasant.

    "Purrobably not," the teen answered, matching Amelie's thought on the subject. There was a slight cringe, while Asher immediately regretted matching the cat's words. "That sounded awful. I don't know how she does that all the time." Was it on purpose, or just some strange dialect? If it wasn't insensitive, he'd probably ask his pet later on. For now, he'd focus on the topic of dogs and their intelligence, though! "That's definitely the best kind of smart! Self-sufficient!" Or, uh, something like that. "It'd only be better if it learned how to close the fridge door afterward." At least Amelie didn't have to worry about her non-existent pets racking up the electricity bill. "Good thing you're not a tamer, then, huh? Then, you'd have a pet that probably could eat all your food."

    But, wait. Another part of that had finally caught up with Asher's mind. "You don't live alone, do you?" That thought hadn't even crossed the young man's mind until now! Then again, it never really had a reason to.

    It was definitely interesting to see tables turned, on the subject of relationships, though. At least he wasn't the only one that wasn't entirely comfortable with the topic! "What do you consider 'casual stuff'?" Asher found himself inquiring, after a little thought. There were a few different ways that one could interpret casual, depending on the personality, after all! The teen couldn't say that he disagreed with the long distance relationship perspective, however. Sure, his dad had made one work, but a six or seven hour drive wasn't that long of distance in comparison to, say, continents. It was kind of nice to hear that someone else was in a similar boat, as far as relationship searching went, though. Or, lack thereof. "Well, I'm sure anyone you end up with will be lucky," the redhead commented, lightly. Sure, Asher had only met the brunette twice, but she seemed like a pretty entertaining person! There couldn't be that many skeletons in her closet, could there?

    Yellow eyes shifted to the side, letting out a wavering, "well." Don't make it sound weird. "I met with them two or three days later. Less collars, more whips." Okay, no, that sounded really weird! Backtrack! "Supposedly helping to prepare me for this Digimon stuff. Definitely taught me something." Like to lock his bedroom door before going to bed, lest a strange girl wake him up with violence. "But, no, probably not in a hurry to spend any more quality time with her," he agreed, while rubbing one of his forearms, "if I do, I'll have to thank her for the bruises I woke up to the next day." Sarcasm at it's finest!

    But, bruises weren't really his concern in an off-limit area. Police were far more intimidating than a girl in a cat hat! "What, you mean you don't want to turn into a Garbagemon?" Surely, those things smelled terrible. But Asher had only heard of them from stories that his cat had told. "--Seriously though, there is one called a Garbagemon. But it really doesn't suit you." Then again, busty women didn't really suit Asher!

    Not that he really knew what made each spirit pick their host. If one could call it picking, at all. Asher was too uninformed to be a teacher! "Nah. Only a little," he joked, briefly sticking out his tongue. Not for long, of course, considering he didn't want to taste the foul-smelling air. It was bad enough without his mouth open! "Give it a few days, and you'll be the teacher," the redhead hummed.

    The beast that took his place, however, could make for a wonderful teacher. For a second, the crow held its tongue, in concern for the reaction that would follow. But, no panicking ever came from it. If Asher could smile, he certainly would. "Only pretty good, huh?" Teasing, the crow shifted its wings slightly, "I guess I'll have to work on looking great some other time." No time for jokes, Asher. There was a reason you turned into a giant monster in the human world!

    And, after unearthing the totem, the creature debated on returning to a less conspicuous form. Shrugging his wings to remove some of the dirt, the bird waited to see what may come, first. Unless he was requested to shrink, of course. "That looks," shiny? No, Yatagaramon, you're not allowed to have input on Asher's words. "Really cool." Okay, the beast fraction approved. Though, it felt the word choice could be a little better. Bright side: the totem certainly didn't look like it belonged to the imaginary Wallmon.

    Now, it had to be acquired. And Asher wasn't too keen on touching someone else's totem. Surely, it couldn't be stolen that easily, but he didn't want to test it! "I've always tapped my digivice on them, and it kind of downloads it? Again, yours could be different, if you just point the map thingy at it." Either way, the crow placed one of its feet out, to help Amelie get closer to the damaged car and its treasure. "Just," he hesitated for a second, taking another glance at the spirit, "be careful." Words of a true hypocrite, huh? Asher was never careful when it to came acquiring his own spirits!

    It was definitely a good sign that someone hunting spirits felt lucky. Then again, Asher had to admit that it felt like an overall lucky day. How many people would actually accept his rambling of monsters as truth? Most strangers would have brushed him off without a second thought! "Would you call yourself quirky, then?" Asher found himself thinking about the subject of uniqueness and quirks. Yeah, Amelie definitely had to have some level of unique. But, from what the teen had seen, it was nothing bad! "I was glad, actually," he admitted, only casting a glance at the girl. "Otherwise, you'd think I was crazy, I'd probably owe you a new phone, and that map-thingy beeps at you if you won't follow it. So you'd probably be mad that you got a new alarm clock." Especially one that couldn't be set for specific hours, and had replaced what was probably a much more expensive phone!

    ...Then again, nobody had said that Amelie didn't think Asher was crazy.

    "That's what he was saying. I haven't seen anything like that happen around Shibuya, though. He said it was purple and had wings," the redhead shrugged. That really didn't help anyone much, when they put into consideration that Digimon could take up just about any shape. Purple and wings could probably encompass a large sum of monsters! Still, Asher couldn't help but grin at Amelie's reaction to knowing the person. "Yeah, that's the one," he snickered. At least it was even more clear that the brunette had not been a huge fan of Lugh. "I wish I'd known then about him being a spirit user," the young man commented, while tapping fingers inside of his jacket pocket. Then again, maybe it was for the best that Asher hadn't known! "But, what," he began on the teasing tone, "you're not interested in monsters liking you?" Don't hate him for taking the opportunity! It was better than asking if that meant there would be no 'second date' with Lugh! "I promise, I won't let any monsters try to kiss you, at least." That didn't make matters much better, but hey! It was more than he did last time!

    But, it was surprising to hear that someone didn't want to immediately go to this other world. "There's no hurry for you to go there," the teen reassured. "The guy who went with me, on accident, ended up liking it. But, if that's not your thing, there's no reason to." Asher didn't want to sound like he was trying to pressure the girl! After all, Amy could do whatever she wanted!

    Asher also had to remind himself that she didn't know people to go with her to the Digital World. Before he could make any suggestions of going along with her whenever she was ready, they had already shifted onto the topic of clothing stores in that odd world. "I've," he paused, "never thought about her clothes ripping before." The teen paled slightly at the thought of Kinkakumon getting a single scratch on her skimpy outfit. That would be terrible! Then again, could the outfit get that damaged? Or was it just magically stuck on the Amazon's body? It was definitely best not to think about how weird Digimon were.

    Especially with the fact that Amelie had just offered to enter the same exact world that she was hesitant about. All for the sake of clothes! "Did you just volunteer to go shopping in a weird monster world for me?" Oh, he was smiling too much again. "I could definitely use your 'top-notch' taste in fashion, after all." Sure, Asher had seen clothing stores in the Digital World, but it really seemed like most monsters came with a pre-set outfit. Maybe he'd need to see if Whiskers wanted a hat, or something, while he was at it. Cats in hats were kind of cute, weren't they?

    He had to admit that he couldn't blame the brunette for wanting to be something a lot more cute, though. "No offense taken!" Asher didn't want to turn into an anthro creature, either! "They come in tiny imp-demon things, too," the spirit user added. "I wonder, what kind of animal you would be?" Unfortunately, all Asher could think of were cats and puppies. Maybe a Corgi? Corgis were cute.

    Could a Corgi open a fridge? That would be a skilled dog! "Fair enough," he agreed, thinking about any animal's priorities once a refrigerator was invaded. He really couldn't blame them for not focusing on closing the door afterward. It wasn't like a dog would be worried about spoiled milk! Maybe Digimon partners were more considerate. Not that Amelie would know. "There's nothing wrong with it," the spirit user shook his head, "but, don't you get lonely?" Asher knew that he would.

    The thought of Amelie even trying a no-strings-attached relationship surprised Asher a little. "So, kind of a friends-with-benefits thing?" Yeah, the teen still couldn't really imagine that being much of a thing that Amy would be interested in. But, what did he know? He certainly didn't know her very well! Images did not equate to personality! Not that it seemed too far off the mark, this time, if she hadn't particularly enjoyed the experience. "I don't think those are really my type of thing, either," he hummed, after a few moments of consideration. The varying types of relationships with other people could get really complicated. Why risk an attachment to someone that didn't want to actually commit to something? Not that anyone would-- "It actually sounds kind of boring, too," he admitted, forcing himself from thinking too heavily on the subject. It was a little easier to pull from the thoughts, hearing Amelie's reciprocation of encouragement. While Asher couldn't necessarily tell if it was just to be polite, or some actual endearment, he decided to take the statement at face value.

    It was especially easy to avoid overthinking that, when he was busy defending his wording! "Hey! It wasn't my choice for it to be whips!" He should have just stopped complaining before the wooden swords, and just accepted that as his fate, rather than whining until they changed weapons. "You're the one thinking it, anyway!" Perfect defense! Or, uh, not really.

    Just like, "pffft," wasn't the right sound to make when trying to make someone not get mad at him. Putting a hand over his mouth to cover the smile and snickers, the teen looked over Amelie's expression. "You'd have to be more unlucky than I am, to become garbage," he pointed out, while trying to contain his snickering. Do. Not. Laugh. "I'm sure you'll be something cool!" And not trashy! Still thinking about the face that she had made while thinking about becoming trash, Asher found himself only shaking his head at the question about intensive courses. If there were, he'd have had a much easier time explaining all of this to the girl!

    At least the 'pretty good' looking bird was good at revealing a spirit totem to its new owner! That was a decent step toward teaching anyone about Digimon. After the first attempt at collecting the spirit had failed, Asher took care to be gentle with the human using his foot as a form of transportation to her treasure.

    Turning his head slightly, the Yatagaramon watched the collection of the spirit. It was weird seeing someone else do this, for once! "Good job," the crow chirped. This was going really well! But, the spirit user couldn't help from feeling like he was making a mistake. This was too easy.

    Which was confirmed only moments later. Feathers dissipated as soon as Asher noticed that something wasn't quite right. In the place of the beast fraction, Renamon dropped into the pit, far more graceful than a large bird could have even hoped to attempt. While Asher certainly didn't want the car to crumble under anyone's weight, he had to trust that the Renamon wasn't a heavy-lander, as his focus was entirely on catching the girl before her head could hit the ground. With any luck, he wouldn't be too late. "Amelie!" Was she alright?

    Of course she wasn't! Stupid question!

    Regardless of whether or not he had succeeded in catching Amelie, blue eyes found themselves scanning over strange text that had formed in place of the totem. 'You h--' Ugh. It gave him a headache to even look at. While his spirits may know the language, Asher certainly didn't, and he didn't care what it said unless it involved someone dying right now. He should have known it was too easy before it got to this point. "Can you hear me?"

    Smile grew slightly at Amelie's admission of quirkiness. At least she didn't try to deny it! Not that Asher expected the girl to. There was no shame in the answer, after all. But, there was also no shame in admitting that there was no way that he was going to buy the brunette a new phone! "Way too late to change your mind!" Asher snickered, shaking his head, "it would have done that anyway, even if I didn't touch it." Even Asher knew enough to be aware of that fact! "Unless I'm cursed to turn phones into weird monster-granting toys." What an awful superpower, if so!

    "What, worried about him now?" Trying to recall the meeting with Lugh, Asher's eyes wandered to look at the scenery. "I think it left a burn on him. Aside from that, just wounded his pride," he shrugged. What other reason was there to want revenge? There wasn't much point in it! With any luck, a failed attempt at revenge wasn't the reason why Lugh had gone unseen for some time. "Of course you did, but," the teen began, playful tone, "belle might just be a way to describe you. Maybe monsters just can't resist you." Or, maybe Asher was the monster here, with jokes like that. In his defense, it was Beauty And The Beast. He had to take advantage about the 'convenient' name translation there! But, what would Amelie do if Lugh attempted that stunt again, as a ridiculous red dinosaur? Hopefully hit him in the snout. Luckily, any risk of that seemed highly unlikely!

    Her reasoning for having nerves about the Digital World sounded plenty justified, though! "Makes sense to me. There are actually a lot of humans there, too, though," he added, trying to emphasize that the world didn't only consist of strange monsters. "Self defense is probably a good idea. Sometimes it's hard to get a handle on how the different bodies work." After all, some of those bodies involved extra limbs! "If you're worried about it, though," the teen started, "I could always go with you." Of course, he didn't want to place too much pressure on the idea! The redhead didn't want to make Amelie feel like she had to do anything with him that she didn't feel like. For all he knew, the girl would actively avoid him after all the monster business today!

    Then again, that couldn't be the intent, if she was offering to go shopping with him. "It could be fun. I've never really checked out the shops there," the young man commented, while thinking about what weird things they would surely find. Japan already had an interesting sense of fashion in some cases. What would Digimon bring to the table? "I guess it's settled. I may need you to help me shop for clothes. Otherwise, the fashion police will find me." In a gaudy, yellow bikini, at that. Nobody wanted that! Given, Asher was completely lost when it came to shopping for women's clothing. He was probably going to require a lot of advice.

    Which felt like a fair trade, considering Asher really was trying his best to give some sort of advice on the whole Digimon-adventure-introduction thing! "I mean, I wouldn't say they're ugly. I bet some people find them cute." Then again, there was always some person that would find anything cute. There could probably be a Digimon made of mayonnaise and someone would find it adorable and goopy. Not that Asher wanted to consider that as a possibility. "Oh, I took one of those tests before," the teen hummed, not thinking too much on how ridiculous that was. "I got a coyote, I think." Given, that wasn't a huge jump from coyote to fox, it couldn't necessarily mean much in the way of beginner spirits.

    Looking over Amelie, Asher could see some sort of connection between her and a deer. "I could see that working," he nodded, while trying to think through if he had even heard of any deer-like digimon. None were coming to mind. But, that wasn't saying much. "Wispy and spirity looking deer, maybe? And entirely not anthropomorphic?" Of course, Asher was mostly imagining something that belonged in a certain book about Wizards, but with a more Digital flair. Then again, wizards existed in the Digital World. Why not ghostly looking deer?

    Maybe asking about loneliness had been a bad idea. Amy looked kind of confused! But, once she explained her reasoning, it made sense. "I get that," he commented, after a second. "It's really considerate," was an addition, while trying to think of something to say on the subject, "a lot of people don't look at things that way." Which was probably why a lot of animals ended up at shelters, really. Asher was probably lucky that his cat was a lot more intelligent than a normal feline, with his daily routines in consideration. Then again, even Whiskers had Asher's sister to play with, on occasion, when he wasn't home.

    It was a lot easier to discuss the relationship side of things when Asher was the one asking questions, though! Much less stuttering, too! "At least you tried it, to know how you feel about them," the teen hummed. Surely, there were people out there that would judge someone for trying out a relationship that lacked proper commitment, but Asher wasn't the type. He barely had room to talk, when it came to the subject!

    Even when the subject had been about his very distressing days learning the [potentially literal] ropes with Karin and Jeanne, Asher found himself smiling at the laughter than it brought. Maybe this was why it was so impossible to contain his own, when joking about turning into a trash monster. "I'm sure there's worse than garbage monsters, too," he chimed, only making the situation worse. Oh, come on now, don't be mean! "You said you were feeling lucky, though. So, I'm betting on a deer." Or something else that was way cuter than trash or furres.

   Lucky might be the wrong term. Regardless of what creature resided within the totem, Asher couldn't say that he anticipated the events that had begun to unfold. Without receiving any response from the girl, the Renamon wrapped its arms around her and hopped off of the car in an attempt to prevent it from suddenly deciding to crumble and actually cause harm to either of them. Once off of the vehicle, the Nightmare Soldier would leap from the pit, minding that it needed to keep Amelie as safe as possible throughout 'transit.' Surely, it wasn't smart to stay down there, right? They'd already gotten the spirit, after all. And the weird text didn't say anything about staying put next to destroyed cars.

    Shadows dispersed from the spirit user, as he returned to his human form. Nobody wanted to wake up to a weird, yellow fox in their face. Okay. Some people wanted to wake up to a weird, yellow fox in their face. But Amelie wasn't one of them.

    "C'mon, Ams," he mumbled, adjusting his hold to properly carry the girl after shifting back to his human body. Should have expected it. This was too easy. Whenever something was easy, it should be a red flag! What was Asher supposed to do, if she remained unconscious for more than a few minutes? At least it didn't look painful. But, Asher couldn't tell what was going on inside of the brunette's head! "I really need you to wake up right now." If this were a movie, it would be the perfect time for a dramatic downpour of rain.

    Debating on what to do, the teen remained just outside of the hole in the ground, occasionally glancing at the vehicle that the totem had been on. He couldn't just stay here all day, but Asher certainly didn't want to be seen carrying a girl out of the Entertainment District. Let alone to... where ever he would take her! The hospital? That would be hard to explain. 'Yes, my friend just absorbed a monster's spirit and fainted. Do you know what to do?' wouldn't go over very well, he suspected. And, the spirit user had absolutely no idea where Amelie actually lived!

    Shifting one of his hands, Asher tried to check to see if Amelie was still holding her Digivice. It probably wasn't smart that he hadn't thought to look before de-digivolving, but the redhead had priorities! Such as not standing on something that might collapse!

    Could this get any worse?