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Of Lies and Style (Meryl)
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Post by Luneth on Dec 5, 2022 3:51:59 GMT
It was a very awkward drive in the Digital World for Luneth the Hackmon and Arlo the Angoramon.
It had been some time since their journey down into an old Digital World Republic mine with Luneth's little brothers, along with a few others like Owen, his granddaughter Omen, his grandson Amper, and Amper's father's human partner Vergil. It was more than what the group was bargaining for, to say the least. But what Luneth had learned during that trip was that Arlo could actually Digivolve into a Digimon known as SymbareAngoramon. The Hackmon was under the impression that Arlo could not evolve or fight at all, and after months of them traveling, that notion had been demolished.
Why would Arlo hide something like that? Was he hiding something else? As far as Luneth was concerned, if you're hiding one thing, you're hiding many things... and Luneth wasn't quite sure how comfortable he felt around the Angoramon anymore.
The drive through the Mainframe Hills was eerily quiet. Arlo was driving the mobile bakery while Luneth sat in the passenger seat, resting his chin on his paw as he looked out the window. Even as a quiet person himself, this silence was eventually starting to get on Arlo's nerves. "Luneth, please talk to me," Arlo said. Still, Luneth was silent. "Are you still upset over seeing me digivolve?"
"...why am I even here, Arlo?" Luneth finally asked. "When you first hired me, you told me you weren't a fighter, that you needed help getting through the Digital World when you clearly do not?"
"It is not just about the protection element. I also needed an assistant to help with prep work and cleanup."
"Yet you decided to go with the teenager Hackmon you randomly met at the mall. Face it, even if you did need help, you don't need the protection like you said you did."
"Y-Yes, that may be the case, but there is much more to it that you do not understand."
"Stop the bakery, please."
"Luneth, don't do this-"
"Arlo."
Although he hesitated, Arlo sighed and did as he was asked, stopping the moving bakery and allowing Luneth to step out. Arlo was hoping that Luneth just needed to use the bathroom, but his fear was confirmed shortly as Luneth opened up a Digiport and put on his holosuit. "I need some time to think, Arlo. I'll be staying with a friend for a bit."
"Luneth, wait, we can discuss this," Arlo pleaded as he too got out of the mobile bakery, but Luneth had already stepped through the Digiport to Shibuya. In a sheer moment of split-second decision making, Arlo shook his head and jumped into the portal himself before it disappeared completely.
By the time Arlo had arrived on the other side of the portal, Luneth was already long gone. He likely knew that Arlo was going to jump in after him and made a break for it, blending in with the rest of the crowd. Oh well, it didn't matter... Arlo knew what Luneth's holosuit looked like, it would be easy to find him. Unfortunately, it was even easier for someone to find him... especially in his current form. At least he was in an alleyway at the moment so no one could spot him that soon. He had some time to plan out his next move.
"If I am going to find Luneth, I shall need a disguise... Angoramon, Evolution! SymbareAngoramon!" Just like that, Arlo evolved to his much more humanoid SymbareAngoramon form and took to the rooftops. Since he didn't have a holosuit, he'd need to find an outfit that would cover up his more animal-like features. After a few minutes of searching and leaping across rooftops, he set his sights on a certain clothing store in the area known as Cat Street...
Mark of Style.
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Meryl
Rookie
Posts: 13
OOC Name: Rythaze
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Post by Meryl on Dec 6, 2022 17:17:24 GMT
Cat Street was bustling, busier than usual due to it being a holiday weekend, a three-day one to be precise, so everyone who worked in office jobs or was in school—anyone who didn’t work in the retail industry— had a nice long weekend to enjoy. To celebrate the long weekend, and also to capitalize on it, many stores had sales for that weekend only. Twenty-five percent prices. Fifty percent off prices. Meryl was in her element, darting from one shop to another, expertly examining their merchandise before deciding if what the store had to offer was good enough for her or not.
Of course, that would be her right now if she didn’t have a shift today.
Family-owned business or not, even her family-owned business store, Mark of Style, would stay open to capitalize off the holiday sales, and rightfully so. Their small store was bustling with shoppers. So much so that there was even a small line forming outside, and that has never happened before! Her mum really must have put a lot of effort into the advertising department if they were getting this many customers. Lucky for her folks, unlucky for her.
The Trinidadian was busy hanging up jackets, hoodies, and overcoats near the front of the store with another co-worker, sorting them all by size so the customers coming in would be able to tell the difference. Her dad was at the register ringing people up and completing their transactions. All of the clothes in the aisle were exotic, stylish, and relatively inexpensive, all shipped from her home county, Trinidad and Tobago. She eyed the clock every so often; her co-worker noticed this.
“You do know looking at the clock every so often won’t make the time go any faster,” she jested.
“Yeah, yuh right,” Meryl sighed, pulling an overcoat off and into the cart. Her tone shifts to that of a spoiled lady “But just, c’mon, someone like me ain’t want to work during dis time of year, especially when prices at stores around dis time are close to half off!”
The co-worker chuckled and patted her on the shoulders. “Yeah, I feel that. But hey, money is money after all, and being the boss’s daughter, you’re getting holiday pay.”
“And what good is dat when everything at dat 104 building in Shibuya’s out?” Meryl arched an eyebrow, crossing her arms while her co-worker laughed.
“Hey now, I’m just speaking facts.” The co-worker explained, grinning. “Why didn’t you tell your old man that you were sick or something?”
Meryl released a tiny, half-hearted laugh, and ran her fingers back through her hair. "That only worked on my Pa for so long until I became ten. You can only fake an upset stomach for so long until he starts asking about your symptoms and eyeing you like a hawk. He’ll send you off to school even when half the day is gone.”
“Huh?! That’s brutal!”
“Uh-huh. Be lucky dat ya didn’t grow up with da Terminator, ya feel me.”
After that, Meryl’s co-worker went off assisting other customers outside of the dressing rooms and Meryl was left to herself, with a carton full of coats ready to be hung up on display. Try as she might, she took another peek at the clock again, displaying 11:12 as the current time.
She groaned. “Why did I look at the time?! It’s not even close to lunchtime yet!”
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Post by Luneth on Dec 7, 2022 3:11:20 GMT
Oh dear... it was very densely packed in this area right now. If Arlo had to guess, it was some form of special event that caused the humans to all gather around to shops such as this one. Still, Arlo had no choice; he did not see any obvious clothing stores anywhere, and a disguise was necessary if he wanted to find Luneth. The SymbareAngoramon believed there was still time to fix everything and for Luneth and Arlo to return to being partners and allies.
Arlo hopped on over to the roof of the clothing shop, waiting for his perfect opportunity to sneak in, unnoticed. And to him, it seemed like no customers had to be entering or leaving the store, and the employees hanging overcoats by the front door cannot be paying attention. A lot of factors were at play here, but Arlo had confidence that he could pull it off. He waited, waiting until his perfect moment. Turns out he didn't have to wait long, as most of the humans in the area were distracted by their cell phones.
It cannot be this easy... Arlo thought before he dropped down to the street below, keeping low so that the two store employees didn't see him. One of them was hanging up overcoats for customers to see as they walked in, and Arlo immediately had a plan in mind. While the lady was talking to her coworker about going to some building called the 104, the SymbareAngoramon noticed one of the beige overcoats would be the perfect for covering his ears and tail. Reaching for the longest size available, Arlo quickly and quietly pulled the coat off its hanger and put it on, speed-walking away from the two employees before they had a chance to realize what happened.
It was that easy... Arlo thought as he sweatdropped. It wasn't perfect yet, but he at least had most of his more animal-like features hidden from the other humans. He looked down at his white, fluffy chest and frowned. Not quite enough yet. I'll need to keep looking around.
Keeping away from the humans, Arlo surveyed the various aisles of admittedly very good-looking clothes. While Arlo was impressed, he was not here to look stylish; he needed to look inconspicuous. His eyes caught onto an orange colored hoodie not long after, the same shade of orange as his gloves. With the hood, he'd be able to hide his ears and face well.
Perfect.
He made sure that no one was watching before he took off his overcoat, before subsequently tying up his ears with putting the orange hoodie on over his ears and tail. No... that wouldn't work. His ears were too long, his tail too bushy. Thankfully, he didn't have to go far to find what he needed: a hair-tie, which he used to tie up his ears together and hold them up; and a belt, which he wrapped around his torso after wrapping his tail around his torso as well, making sure it wouldn't suddenly pop out at an inconvenient time. Arlo then easily put on the orange hoodie and the beige overcoat, topping it all off with a baseball cap which he wore underneath the hood. Once that was finished, he took a look at himself in the nearby mirror.
Okay, this is passable. I look as close to a human as I am going to be. I should be able to blend into the crowds now.
As Arlo was leaving, however, he realized that this was still a store, and he needed to pay for the clothes. Unfortunately, he had a feeling his Bits would not be accepted in the human world... however, these clothes were necessary to keep his Digimon side a secret. Taking a deep breath, Arlo attempted to walk out the door, hoping that no one would notice or out him as a shoplifter...
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Meryl
Rookie
Posts: 13
OOC Name: Rythaze
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Post by Meryl on Dec 10, 2022 18:17:16 GMT
For a few minutes after being left to her own devices Meryl would continue hanging clothes, going to the aisle next to her to hang up the smaller, children-sized coats in a huff. Once that was done, she resumed hanging up the adult coats. But before she could, she noticed that the last coat she hung up, a beige overcoat, disappeared.
Meryl pursed her lips. ‘That’s odd…’ she thought to herself. She could have sworn she had hung a coat right there. Did someone grab it while she was talking to her co-worker without either of them noticing? The young woman was known for being absorbed in a conversation and not paying attention to her surroundings. Usually, she would shrug and return to work, but that overcoat in particular was priced at around ¥68,303. She didn’t know what that was when you convert it to her currency back in Trinidad and Tobago, but anything in the thousandth place was certainly a lot!
While her dad was busy at the register and her co-worker helping customers in the dressing room, Meryl surveyed around the other aisle, seeing if someone either misplaced the coat or just left it in an entirely different aisle. Politely moving through the crowded aisles, she spotted a rather tall figure from behind, carrying the overcoat. She sighed in relief and began to walk away.
“Wait…wut?”
She moved to hide amongst one of the mannequin displays in the corner. Is that a tail she just saw? She poked her head out to see that the mysterious person was wearing not just the coat, but a hoodie underneath, and a cap—all with the tags on them still. Her suspicions began to increase. Seeing them heading towards the door, her suspicions were confirmed: she was dealing with a shoplifter.
She acted swiftly, making her way towards the exit calmly to not arouse the attention of the mysterious tall figure. Approaching the person in question, she raised her hand to stop them in their tracks.
“Excuse me, did you by any chance purchase those clothes dat you’re wearing?” Meryl asked, stepping in front of them. “We usually bag our clothes and don’t encourage customers to wear them immediately to avoid them getting mugged. May I see your receipt, please?”
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Post by Luneth on Dec 11, 2022 2:05:24 GMT
While Arlo was changing, he thought he could feel the presence of someone watching him. He observed his immediate surroundings, but since Meryl was hiding with the mannequin displays, he didn't see her and assumed it was just his imagination. He decided to shrug it off and continue putting on his disguise before he began making his way towards the exit.
Now that I have my disguise, I should be able to go and search for Luneth without much hassle, Arlo optimistically thought to himself as he walked. Of course, that didn't last long, as life always found a way to screw someone over. He was stopped by one of the employees of the store, the woman that was hanging up the coats by the front door when he snuck in. She simply asked if Arlo had bought those clothes already, explaining that they always bagged up purchases so that customers didn't get mugged if they left the store wearing their new expensive clothes.
Damn it.
Arlo truly was stuck between a rock and a hard place in this instance. He couldn't pay the price of the clothes because his currency was from another world entirely, and he also couldn't take off the clothes and leave them because that would reveal that he was actually a tall bunny man with wind-based super powers. The Symbareangoramon didn't have a choice: he'd have to run with these clothes.
"I am merely borrowing these clothes for a very important purpose," Arlo told the young woman in a calm tone of voice, not signifying any ill intent, but as if he truly meant was he was saying. "You have my word that I shall return them by the end of the day." Of course, his word wasn't going to mean much to the woman, so Arlo did what he had to do: he booked it right out of there, running over to the same alleys he had been to when he arrived. He normally wouldn't do this kind of thing, but his hand had been forced, so this was an exception he just simply had to make. Besides, he was confident he could out-run and lose whoever tried to chase after him.
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Meryl
Rookie
Posts: 13
OOC Name: Rythaze
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Post by Meryl on Jan 7, 2023 3:14:46 GMT
As Meryl approached the abnormally tall customer and asked if he had a receipt for his purchase, she noticed the clothing tags that were dangling on the edge of the clothes he was wearing, arousing her suspicions even further.
Now she has seen many girls her age wearing clothes with the store tags still attached, either to boast the authenticity of the item and how lavishly he/she spent it, or to return it back later. From what she sees with the people of Japan so far, they’re not the type of people to show off their wealth; it was labeled as a stereotype. So seeing someone wanting to be flashy like that made her raise her eyebrow.
However, her suspicions soon turned to utter bewilderment with what the soon-to-be shoplifter said. Taken slightly aback, Meryl looked confused. “W-Wut?” Before she could say any further, the tall man quickly ran out, setting off the store alarm as he ran out into the nearby alleyway.
“Hey, stop!” Meryl shouted, only for her words to fall on deaf ears.
Her father, Adéwalé, and her co-worker sprinted to Meryl’s side, eyes widened. “What just happened?!”
Meryl smacked her teeth in anger. “‘Sum tall Ba-John just took off wearing ’sum of the clothes, saying dat he’s ‘borrowing them.’ He took off pretty fast into da alleyway.”
Adéwalé looked outside and grimaced. “Alright then…you two stay right here, I’m gunna call the da authorities...” He sighed, muttering how this was the second time this month as he went into the office in the back, leaving the two still in shock.
“Ugh! I can’t wait until l we get a security guard to knock these thieves down a peg,” the co-worker grunted in aggravation. "I mean seriously, what kind of robber says they’re merely ’borrowing’ something when it’s obvious that they’re freaking stealing? This isn’t a library!”
Meryl began to tune out her co-worker's ramble as she stood with her arms crossed, visibly mad. This was the second time this month someone pulled something off like that. The first time this happened, someone stole a pair of jeans right off the hanger and bolted; the police are still looking for them. So who’s to say this one won’t get away scot-free?
Then, Meryl had an idea.
The Trinidadian woman interrupted her co-worker’s continued rambling, she took off her apron and hat and tossed them to her. She then went into the back of the store and grabbed her coat.
“Hold up…please tell me you aren’t planning to—"
“Chase de bloke and yank da clothes off his ass? Ya damn right.” Meryl finished. “When push comes to shove, ya gotta act before ya start to second guess yourself; dat's the Endesha intuition.”
Her co-worker opened her mouth to say something but closed it. All she did was give a begrudging nod of approval. When Meryl has her eyes set on a goal, it was better to not try and stop her. She sighed. “I’ll tell your dad you clocked out for your lunch break. Just…promise me you’ll run if you see the first signs of danger?"
Meryl gave a short smile back at her co-worker before taking off to where the robber went—into the nearby alleyway. They were probably a good distance away, but that wouldn’t stop her from trying to track him down!
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Post by Luneth on Jan 7, 2023 5:22:02 GMT
Arlo had to admit, he felt really bad about doing this. But from his perspective, he didn't have a choice. He wasn't picking out the clothes because he thought they were fashionable; he was picking them because they would cover up his Digimon features. He didn't even realize that the clothes had price tags, or just how expensive they were to begin with. Arlo knew from the cries coming from behind him as he left the shop that he couldn't turn back.
Arlo immediately dashed towards the nearby alleyway that he arrived to this world in. Thinking quickly, he wall-jumped his way to the rooftops where he would continue running as far away from the shop as possible before stopping on a random building in Cat Street once he believed he was far away enough. He knew that it wouldn't be long before the authorities caught onto his trail, so he needed to find Luneth quick.
He said he was going to visit a friend... Arlo thought to himself, placing his thumb and index finger. He looked around the... admittedly huge city, and he sweatdropped. This may take a while. I know what his holosuit looks like, at the very least. I can ask around and see if anyone has seen someone that looks like him.
Of course, as he was standing there, it would give ample opportunity for Meryl to find him since the SymbareAngoramon wasn't exactly expecting the employee to be running after him the way she just did. Still though, she'd probably be questioning how he got up to the roof of this building so far away from the store so fast...
Meanwhile, not too far away in another part of Shibuya (Miyashita Park, to be precise), a holosuited Luneth would be walking along with the crowd, blending in along with everyone else. In his holosuited form, he had medium-length dark brown hair and blue eyes, and his red winter coat made him stand out somewhat. He had one destination in mind: Kaya Matsui's house, located in the Residential District of Western Shibuya, where he would ask to stay for a couple of days.
As he was walking, he couldn't get what happened out of his mind... Arlo had lied to him. He was a fighter, he could've defended himself, why did he need Luneth to go with him? And when was he planning on telling Luneth about this secret life he had? The Hackmon just needed some time to himself to think things over right now.
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Meryl
Rookie
Posts: 13
OOC Name: Rythaze
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Post by Meryl on Feb 8, 2023 5:17:33 GMT
Meryl internally cursed her footwear; shearling boots were not good shoes for running, especially when the running involved chasing after a no-good thief that stole an entire winter outfit priced reasonably high. Instead of letting the authorities handle this, she decided it was better for her to retrieve the clothes that were stolen, rather than for them to handle it and say they were unable to locate them or the thief.
Still, this wasn’t how she wanted to spend her lunch break. She should be ordering some ramen noodles and gyoza, but instead, she was busy chasing a bloody shoplifter, ready to give them a piece of her mind.
Following the oddly-shaped footprints into one of the nearby side alleys, she stopped for a moment to catch her breath. This was the most she had run since arriving here in Japan. When she looked towards the ground, she was left confused as the tracks she used to follow her mysterious thief suddenly vanished. “What the hell?” Meryl muttered to herself. She surveyed the area; no footprint was left in sight. There was no way that bloke could have escaped without leaving some evidence behind.
She then looked up to find the thief standing on the rooftop, seemingly paused, thinking he had gotten away. Wanting to get his attention, she picked up a baseball and threw it at the man, aimed at his head, hopefully getting his attention one way or another.
“Hey, dickhead!” Meryl shouted “Dunno how ya got up there, but I betcha think ya really decked off for wearin’ clothes that don’t belong to ya, huh? Well lemme tell yuh something: where I come from, God doh sleep, ya fool!”
At Miyashita Park, a commercial park that was connected to Cat Street, a small Digital Gate opened up at the top of the high rise hotel overlooking the park. A small, floating Digimon exited the gateway, before it abruptly closed in a spark of electricity, scorching the individual in the rear.
“Ack! Hot, hot, hot! Just my luck!” They let out a painful yelp, patting down whatever embers burned on their mechanical suit. After the flames were put out, the Digimon then began to survey the area below him. “So this is the human world, huh? Looks a little too crowded and drab for my liking. Not a whole lot of empty space beside the snowy field below…”
Pressing the red button on their waist, the Digimon was then enveloped in camouflage, completely blending themselves into their surroundings. “Now then…Search Mode!” Their eyes began to glow yellow with his pupils being replaced with red crosshairs. He began scanning for every individual human down below, using his jet booster wings to aid in his reconnaissance.
“Vergil Hoskins…where could you possibly be?”
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Post by Luneth on Feb 10, 2023 4:39:07 GMT
As Arlo was watching the streets below for any sign of his Hackmon companion, he couldn't help but notice the few traces of snow that were falling from the grey cloudy sky above. He extended a hand out and watched as a few snowflakes fell onto his orange glove, before instantly melting in the process. It reminded Arlo of those winter nights where he and Renna would just watch the snow fall from their home in Terminus City. It was a pleasant memory for Arlo... one that he wished he had shared with Luneth.
Perhaps I should have been more upfront with him when we first met, Arlo thought, but I still do not understand why he would simply take off like that...
Then, Arlo felt something hit his left arm. It was nothing more than a little tap for him, but he certainly felt it. He looked down below to see that human from the shop, screaming at him for taking the clothes he was currently wearing to disguise himself. Needless to say, Arlo was a bit surprised. Did she chase me all the way here?
The SymbareAngoramon rolled his eyes as she was yelling at him. He figured he'd have to resolve this soon, otherwise she'd be chasing him all the way through Tokyo. So, he simply and casually hopped off of the roof and landed eloquently right in front of Meryl, who would probably just be wondering how the hell he didn't break his legs from such a fall. He walked up to her in a calm manner, but would be able to dodge back if she tried anything.
"Listen, I apologize for breaking the rules of your store, but I simply had no choice. I am not from here, as I am currently chasing after a friend of mine who has run off. Due to a certain... condition of mine, I needed to wear something extra so that I did not create any diversions. I did not want to involve you in this, but considering that you chased me all the way here - in those shoes, no less - it's safe to assume that that's no longer possible. I promise that these clothes will be returned in pristine condition as soon as my friend is found. Instead of chasing me throughout the city, would it be possible for you to assist me instead?"
It was a long shot, but Arlo had to at least try to end this peacefully without extending the chase for too long.
Meanwhile, Luneth was still walking through Miyashita Park on the way to Kaya's house. As he was currently in his holosuit, he was not able to detect the Espimon's presence, so he was just as clueless about the spy's existence as everyone else. However, if the Espimon were to scan Luneth, he'd see what Digimon he really was, his family members and their history, as well as his own current accomplishments.
Luneth simply observed the humans around him as he walked. Some were alone, while others appeared to be with their friends or family. At this point, Luneth was feeling a little guilty about his choice to abandon Arlo, but he chalked it up as being the Angoramon's fault for not telling him the truth.
Is this TRULY why you left?
Luneth's eyes widened at the sudden voice in the back of his head, but he decided to shake it off. It was probably nothing...
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Meryl
Rookie
Posts: 13
OOC Name: Rythaze
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Post by Meryl on Feb 13, 2023 2:29:57 GMT
Grabbing the thief’s attention and proceeding to bad mouth him, Meryl glared angrily, clenching her fists. She was ready for a fight if it came down to it. Then, the thief proceeded to do the unthinkable: he jumped off the roof of the nearby building and landed on the snowy pavement safely. Meryl was left stupefied, jumping in surprise when he landed in front of her. That was a three-story tall building he just jumped off of. How were his legs not bent over backwards and broken like a shish kebab?
He began to approach her, with the young woman backing away a few steps, realizing just how abnormally tall he was. She picked up a nearby broom that was leaning near the dumpster next to her, broke off the head with her boot, and pointed it at his head, daring the would-be assailant to not come any closer.
“Ain’t afraid of you, ya hear me?" Meryl snapped. “Come closer if you want to get ya lights knocked out!”
The nameless thief, in an act to de-escalate the situation, began to apologize and explain why he did what he did—that he was looking for a friend that had run off somewhere. Meryl scoffed at him, her brow furrowing, initially not wanting to believe him. But he reassured her again that once everything was said and done, he would return all of the stolen items to her, but only if she helped him find his missing friend.
The young woman sucked her teeth, pondering in thought as to what to do from here. She can’t go back empty-handed, obviously. And the boots she wore were not designed to walk in a lot of snow, so she’d be chasing him until her feet cramped up. She lowered her makeshift staff down, staring at the thief with uncertainty.
“If what you’re telling me is the truth, why didn’t ya go to the police instead,” she questioned, an eyebrow raised. “Yuh got a smooth brain upstairs or something?”
She sighed, weighing her options before coming to a decision.
“Fine. I’ll help ya out.” Before the thief would even think about thanking her, she pointed the end of her broomstick at him. “But don’t get any funny ideas, ya hear me? Make a move I don’t like, and I’m bashing you upside the head with this.” Meryl said sharply.
On the outskirts of Miyashita Park, the lone Digimon would continue to fly overhead discreetly still in camouflage, searching for the human named ‘Vergil Hoskins’. With his eyes switched to Search Mode, he is able to see people and objects several kilometers away, even when visibility is greatly obscured. It was the perfect reconnaissance tool at his disposal. But there was one problem: this ability allowed him to only immediately identify Digimon, not humans, much to his dismay.
The only information he had on the human in question was that he was unconventional, with brown-hazel eyes that were unwavering in the face of adversity.
After searching for several minutes, his inquisitive outlook toward this new world quickly turned into annoyance. “Baaaa! No luck so far,” he grumbled. “All of these humans look the same; no brown hazel eyes or anything.” He sighed. “They could have at least given me a photo of what the human looked like, but nooooo! This was the only intel the Ops had on the guy.”
His complaints would come to a screeching halt as his vision HUD system picked up something peculiar: a brown-haired, blue-eyed human wearing a red coat walked among a group of humans. The camouflaged Digimon was confused at first before a pop-in readout appeared on his HUD.
“Wait…Luneth the Hackmon?” he said confusingly. “That can’t be right…” he looked at the human, scanning him with his Search Mode again, only for the same results to come up again.
“Hey, hey, hey, hey! Why the heck's a Digimon like him doing here, looking indistinguishable from a human?!” The Digimon yelped. A few humans suddenly looked up, hearing a voice from above. The invisible Digimon covered his mouth, waiting for the humans to lose interest and go about their businesses. He sighed, thankful that his cover wasn’t blown. “I’m so unlucky…” Seeing as this peeped his interest, he decided to put his search on pause for now and to investigate this… “new development”.
Flying down towards the surface, he adjusted the settings of his Divanish so only certain people would see him. Approaching behind the disguised human he’d simply tap lightly on his shoulder to get his attention.
“H-Hey, what are you doing here?” he asked, a bit unsure on how to address him.
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Post by Luneth on Feb 13, 2023 4:38:48 GMT
Arlo was beginning to think it likely would've been best if he didn't walk up to her, considering that he realized here just how tall he was compared to the average human. This girl was likely afraid of him for this reason, considering the way that she broke off the head of a nearby broom and pointed it at him. Arlo stopped walking towards her immediately as well as raised his hands up, indicating that he wasn't going to do anything to her.
The SymbareAngoramon explained his story to the human, though it seemed like she didn't want to believe him, judging by her facial reactions. It was with Arlo's promise that he'd give the stolen clothes back that she began to consider his proposal. Lowering her makeshift staff, she asked Arlo why he didn't simply go to the police, before asking if he "had a smooth brain upstairs," which Arlo was smart enough to immediately figure out that she was asking if he was stupid.
"First of all, I do not appreciate being called stupid," Arlo said to the girl. "Second of all, I already told you that I have a body condition that I am not comfortable with sharing. I needed something to cover myself before I felt comfortable going anywhere in public without causing a scene. The police was never an option for me due to that fact." It was technically the truth... Arlo was just conveniently leaving out the fact that he was a bunny-man from another world made out of ones and zeroes.
After a bit of thinking, the girl did accept the offer to help Arlo, but warned him that she wouldn't hesitate to attack Arlo with the staff if he made a move that she didn't like. "I promise you that that won't happen. I believe introductions are in order. My name is..." Maybe he should be more upfront with what his name is with this one. "...my name is Synn Symbare, but my friends call me Arlo. And you are?"
"Huh? What was that?"
Luneth was one of the few that thought they heard something when Ciel started speaking. He looked up to the sky, thinking he heard a voice coming from somewhere. But like the others, Luneth lost interest and went along his merry way, thinking that it was simply his imagination.
The disguised dragon didn't make it very far before he felt something tap on his shoulder. As he was expecting to see a human behind him, likely to tell him he dropped something or to ask for directions, he turned around, and his eyes widened the moment that he did. What he didn't expect to see was a Digimon; in this case, a floating cyborg hamster-like Digimon, who was asking what Luneth was doing here.
"I could ask you the same thing," Luneth told the floating hamster. His first instinct was to grab him and drag him to an area of the park where no one could see him, but he was quick to notice how no one was even questioning the Digimon in front of him. "I get it... you have an ability, one that lets someone like me see you, but not these humans. How interesting... as for what I'm doing here, I'm visiting a human friend of mine. I had to get away from the Digital World for a while."
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Meryl
Rookie
Posts: 13
OOC Name: Rythaze
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Post by Meryl on Apr 16, 2023 0:33:41 GMT
“Well congratulations, stupid, shoplifting is still shoplifting.” Meryl scolded him, putting her hands on her hips. “I don’t like ‘ta ingeminate, but I’ll make a special case just for you: You, a literal stranger to me, were literally taking clothes in broad daylight from my family’s store, mind you, with nothin’ but a simple ‘yuh, I’ll return them later. Just trust me.’ What did yuh think would happen?”
She began to approach him, with every step radiating confidence. “I want to feel bad for yuh, given whatever condition ya may have, but no... Whole lotta things you could have gone about it besides stealing, but here we are, with you looking like a buffoon."
Meryl walked past him, her little makeshift staff still clutched in her arms stepping out of the alleyway. Alro, huh. She almost didn’t want to respond to him, still trying to prevent herself from going off on him. But since he was so confident in stealing clothes in the middle of the day like that, she decided to respond.
“Endesha, Meryl Endesha. Too late to feel sorry now, now get in front ‘ta me and lead the way.” She gestured with her free hand. "Do yuh have any idea where ‘dis friend of yours is at?”
The invisible Digimon made a noise as the holo-suited Digimon grabbed him, leading him to a secluded area in the park. He was a bit hesitant on wanting to confirm if that was true, seeing as though he did not even know him. But a Digimon in the human world by themselves was such a peculiar thing—especially one looking like a human no less!
“Correct,” he said, nodding to his answer. "It’s an ability of mine known as Divanish. It allows me to apply camouflage to my body by pressing the switch on my stomach. But if I want people I trust to see me, I can make myself partially visible, like you for example. Speaking of which, now that we’re in an unpopulated area…”
He pressed the aforementioned switch to uncloak himself. The Digimon had the appearance of a blue marmot-like creature wearing what appeared to be a blue and gray space-themed mechanical suit with jet booster wings. He had manipulator arms and his legs were simply rocket-propelled nozzles that emitted green exhaust as he floated near the disguised Digimon.
“The name’s Ciel, Ciel the Espimon,” he declared. “I’m a member of the Crack Team.”
The disguised Digimon revealed that he came from the Digital World to visit a human friend. Ciel raised an imaginary eyebrow before his eyes flashed to get a better look at him. So he was a Hackmon, huh? Very interesting disguise he has equipped.
“A Digimon being friends with a human?” asked Ciel. “Now that’s something I haven’t heard before. I was told that humans were icky and full of nasty little secrets and that we should ignore them if they’re not a part of the mission.”
“Can’t imagine why a Digimon would want to escape to a claustrophobic place like this…” he hummed.
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Post by Luneth on Apr 16, 2023 1:58:08 GMT
The fighter in Arlo wanted to punch this girl right in the face into next year. It wasn't his fault he needed something to hide that he was a Digimon, and he needed something right then and there, and he definitely could've gone without this human telling him he was an idiot over and over again. However, nothing of Arlo's facial expressions or body language conveyed this. In fact, it looked like he wasn't even phased by the insults to begin with.
As soon as Meryl was done roasting Arlo a new one, the SymbareAngoramon figured the only way to explain why he did what he had done... was to show her what he looked like. Meryl began to walk past her and onto the street, but Arlo had grabbed onto her arm before she could. He took off his hat and stared down at the human with his amber-colored eyes, is ears falling down to their natural position. If it weren't for the fact that his face was in the shape of a bunny, one would say the man looked absolutely gorgeous.
"This is why I needed a disguise," Arlo said calmly to Meryl. "Do not ask why I look like this, for you are not allowed to know. My travels to this city came out of unwarranted necessity to find my friend. Imagine for a moment what would have happened if I walked out there like this. My currency is no good here, hence why I could not have bought the clothes, yet I still needed them. If there were other options, pray tell me what they would have been."
After that, Arlo would tie his ears back up and put his hat back on, resuming his disguised form. Meryl let him take the lead, asking if he knew where his friend could be at. "He mentioned to me that he was staying at a friend's house before he left. I don't know all of his friends, but I do know a few names."
The invisible Digimon seemed to be leading Luneth to a more secluded area of the park. Luneth rolled his eyes, figuring that he would just go along with the lead of whoever this was. As they walked, the Digimon explained that he was using a technique of his to go invisible, with a mode that lets those he chooses see him as only partially invisible.
"So you are not merely an outline with glowing eyes," Luneth said as a joke. "'Tis good to know."
Once they had some privacy, the Digimon turned off his cloaking ability. The Digimon itself looked like a blue hamster with a mechanical suit, manipulator arms, nozzle-like legs, and booster wings. An Espimon by the name of Ciel, who claimed he was part of something called the Crack Team. Luneth looked... confused by this revelation. "Apologies, but I am not entirely sure what the Crack Team is. Oh, that's right, we're by ourselves here..."
The disguised Digimon would then press a button on the collar of his jacket. Just like that, his form flickered and changed back to his true form. He was a white armor-plated dragon with a black ridged underbelly, a flowing red cloak, and blue eyes. His nose was also in the form of a sharp blade. "My name is Luneth the Hackmon. It is a pleasure to meet you, Ciel."
Ciel seemed surprised by the notion that humans and Digimon could be friends. Apparently, he was taught that humans were, in his words, "icky" and should be ignored if not a part of the mission. "I do not know what kind of misinformation you are being fed, but humans are interesting creatures, with a lot that they can teach us as much as we can teach them. Clearly, you know about the Chosen humans, yes? The ones that are given Digivices and bonded with a Digimon? My father is one such Digimon that has a human partner."
At that last comment made by Ciel, Luneth couldn't help but answer. "I did travel the Digital World with a companion of mine, but I needed space away from him. Somewhere he couldn't find me." It was clear from the Hackmon's tone that there were lingering feelings of betrayal, with a little bit of regret in there for good measure.
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Meryl
Rookie
Posts: 13
OOC Name: Rythaze
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Post by Meryl on Apr 16, 2023 22:54:40 GMT
The Trinidadian woman felt her arm being tugged as she was pulled back into the alleyway. Thinking that this guy was about to do something to her, Meryl instinctively raised up her makeshift broom staff, preparing to whack him on the head. “Hey! What kind of game do ya think ya playing with—w-w--with…”
The sound of the broom dropping onto the pavement rang in her ears as she took a step back, covering her mouth to prevent herself from screaming. "Holy shit..." Her yellow eyes widened as she took in Arlo’s appearance. He was physically imposing, standing roughly 3 feet taller than her, but not in the way she had expected. He had the appearance of an anthropomorphic rabbit, something straight out of a cartoon or anime. She was too shocked and frightened to speak. Now she knew wasn’t seeing things when she saw a tail when she was back at the shop.
When he asked what other options were out there that he could have taken, Meryl merely opened and closed her mouth several times, trying to find a semblance of an answer before finally closing it.
Putting his disguise back on, Arlo took the lead into the sidewalks of Cat Street as Meryl carefully followed behind, darting her eyes into different directions as she processed what she had gotten herself into.
Maybe she should have let him keep the clothes…
“Ehh?!You don't know what the Crack Team is,” Ciel questioned, before crossing his arms in awkward confidence. “G-Good. The Crack Team covert group is only known to high-ranking officials in the Digital World, like the King of Y’s. All you need to know is that we investigate suspicious activity throughout the Digital World using any means necessary.”
The Espimon didn’t comment on the undisguised Hackmon’s opinions on humans since he was neutral about them overall, merely waving at him dismissively. “Yeah, ok. That’s nice and all, but learning about humans isn’t exactly on my to-do list of things."
Luneth responded to his comment by saying he was traveling throughout the Digital World with a companion before ultimately deciding he needed space from him. Ciel raised his imaginary eyebrow again. “Sounds to me as if you’re hiding from him” he responded. “What did he do? Stole some of your food without asking first? We Digimon can get pretty hung up over food, I can admit that.”
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Post by Luneth on Apr 16, 2023 23:31:47 GMT
As Arlo had expected, Meryl was speechless when she had seen his true face for the first time. The human merely stared at him, her eyes widened and her jaw hung open. She even covered her mouth with her hands, seemingly to keep herself from screaming. "I'm... sorry that I frightened you so," Arlo said to her after he put his disguise back on. "But surely, you understand that I did what I did out of pure necessity. I also admit that the whole situation was caused by panic, on my part, and for that I apologize."
And so, the two of them began walking through Cat Street, with Meryl remaining quiet most of the time. Arlo guessed that perhaps she was still trying to process what she had seen. "...the first name I'm investigating is a human by the name of Kaya Matsui," Arlo said to Meryl. "He often talked about her during our travels, so it's likely that he could go and visit her. She lives somewhere in this city, that much I know, but I'm not sure where. Would you happen to know how to find someone in a city as big as this one?"
Despite having revealed himself to be a tall, bunny-like man, Arlo was still making sure to choose his words and tone carefully. He knew that Meryl was already confused as is, and didn't want to make any of this harder on her. Ciel seemed stunned that Luneth didn't know what Crack Team was, until he changed that response for one way more confident, a response change that earned an unimpressed facial reaction from Luneth. Ciel explained that the Crack Team was a covert group known only to high ranking officials in the Digital World, investigating suspicious activity all throughout the world in any way they could.
"Is that so?" Luneth asked, not completely buying Ciel's story. "If that is the case, why are you here on Earth instead of investigating the Digital World like you say you should be doing?"
Luneth's opinion of this Espimon only lowered when he just dismissed what Luneth had to say about humans, saying that learning about them wasn't on his to-do list. "Humans aren't something you can just easily dismiss, you know. They have a place in our world, so you'd best do at least the bare minimum research on them."
Luneth jumped a bit when Ciel plainly said that Luneth was hiding from this companion of his. Ciel asked if they stole food from Luneth. "No, he did nothing as trivial as that," Luneth said to the Espimon, giving the flying spy an angry looking glare. "But he did lie to me. He led me to believe he was one type of person that truly, actually needed me... then it turned out he didn't actually need me at all. I do not know... I figured I merely needed some time away from him to figure out how I actually feel. I was on my way over to my human friend's house to discuss this matter with her."
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