[OPEN] + 2 Closed Prompts

[nachetanya]

WHO: Natalia Fairweather and anyone else! (plus Cleo and Astin closed prompts)
WHERE: Around the city (specific prompts for her apartment
WHEN: Primarily the 15th/16th but to people staying in the city one prompt can go for the rest of the month and one prompt meant for them in the aftermath
WHAT: Natalia has a busy 15th and 16th for belated valentines and then begins on a journey of self-discovery for the rest of the month
WARNINGS: None I don't think?

1) This is where I stock up [Some convenience store/on RU campus]
[ The morning of the 15th. She's been texted/called/etc by at least some people that the people on the missions are going to be back for a day. Noon on the 15th until noon on the 16. That's... not a a lot of time, honestly. It's both not a lot of time and in no way fits into either her campus or work schedule so she's... just going to ditch both, honestly. So early in the day, the earliest possible office hours you'll find her coming to or from a professor's office to get some notes from today and then sighing profusely before she bunkers down on some bench.

And then later at a store buying a... large... amount of Five Hour Energy or other such stimulants. Someone is just intending to not sleep because who needs that shit??? She has friends and family to see, dates to have, and generally just needs to make the most of the day. ]

2) The day in question [the 15th/early 16th anywhere]
[ Are you one of Natalia's friends or family? Some people she's talked to before? While she does have a large stretch of the afternoon and evening of the 15th spoken for, she is going to track down you and try to see you in person, just so she can say she saw you at least one last time? Given the time constraints involved this may or may not involve a text or meet up at like six AM or whatever other shenanigans? The longer this goes though the most obvious it is that she's running on empty by the noon point of the day.

... This is a vague prompt to allow for anything in terms of tag ins here but if you want me to make a custom thing just contact me. ]

3) When the clock strikes noon + 1 minute [Some cafe or diner]
[ So it's the last moment, people have gone back to work and she's...

Burnt out. Tired, but ultimately satisfied. The end result is that Natalia, holed up in some familiar diner or cafe (maybe one you're at, maybe one you can see her in the window of) ends up setting her head down on the table, intending to just rest is there and then...

Falls asleep. ... Sorry everyone. She might need to be woken and/or escorted home. ]

4) As I consider this sword [Some gym/dojo, the outskirts of town, or a park at night]
[ So Natalia got a small sword the other month. And then she got a surprise change to her physiology earlier in the month: her body more toned and muscular. Tight and refined but... barely noticeable unless you're looking for it but she's increasingly found incredibly potent.

... And so.

She ends up practicing with this sword. she's got no idea where to do it though so she just kind of walks/drives out to some likely looking place or uses a part of some dojo or gym where she's not going to get too many weird looks and starts trying out sword thrusts with it. Or... conducting? What the hell is she doing with that sword, working it like a conductor's baton? ]

Comments

[nachetanya]

[ Pffthahaha, that actually makes he laugh and, ]

Not really! I woke up like this.

[ Which is... decidedly untrue of how she's dolled up but ironically actually true of her new muscles. She can't help but be amused at the comparison between those two facts. ]

[cattack]

[... okay, she gets it, and it actually makes her laugh.]

Of course, I should have guessed. You always look that good.

[... she's not actually trying to flirt, she just. is trying to play along. u kno.]

[nachetanya]

For your eyes? Always.

[ Still giggling, she reaches out her right (biological) hand and makes to take one of Cleo's. ]

Did you eat lunch yet?

[cattack]

[She takes that hand, and shakes her head.]

I haven't, yet. I've been running around almost nonstop since I got back.

[nachetanya]

Good! That's why I took us here.

[ So she gets to try seaweed noodles, they're fucking great. But into the noodlery now... ]

[cattack]

Seaweed... noodles?

[yeah, she's looking at this once she enters... Her tail is standing up straight in confusion.]

I can't say I've had that before. Do they just taste like normal noodles?

[nachetanya]

They're a little more bitter, actually! It's a pretty amazing taste.

[ And you can't get it anywhere other than here. She discovered this place months and months ago before she was even on the app, and given all the vegetarian and vegan options here? It became something of a favorite of hers. But yes, they're mostly like regular noodles just a bit more ... smooth. The texture of it is closer to udon or rice noodles, but even then a little different still. ]

[cattack]

Well, let it never be said that I won't try something new.

[she's gonna at least follow natalia's lead to wherever they're supposed to sit...]

How did you find this place? Is it on Retrospec?

[nachetanya]

I don't think so? I found it a few months ago, before I was even on the app. It's sometimes hard to find places with reliable and tasty vegetarian options, you know! So I stumbled across this thinking the same thing you did - "what's a seaweed noodle?"

[ she laughs and ... now she thinks about it, she's genuinely unsure how that works. How do you make seaweed into a noodle form? She didn't think about it before getting on the app, huh... ]

[cattack]

Oh, you're vegetarian?

[... you're vegetarian with muscles???]

But that makes sense... I suppose a novelty like this would attract people.

[nachetanya]

... Oh wow, that really hasn't come up before now?

[ Yes, yes she is. That's something most people sort of hear about first ]

[cattack]

[She shrugs a bit...]

I imagine the topic was a bit derailed by our losing taste outright around the time we met.

[nachetanya]

Oh that was awful

[ Sigh. ]

But no, I've been vegetarian for years now!

[cattack]

I see...

[On one hand, she's curious, but on the other, she doesn't know if it's rude to ask...

...

wait a minute.]

Are noodles normally not vegetarian?

[nachetanya]

Oh no, they are, they are, don't worry. About he only reason they might not be would be if I followed a vegan diet and got strict about some of the components of it. [ Eggs, animal by-products, etc. ] The only real concern with normal noodles is what if any oil is involved or what else is mixed in with them.

[ She laughs, ] So you're right, I could have picked another noodle place, but the novelty here appealed to me and... I guess I'm a bit of a strange girl. My most beloved flavors are sour and bitter.

[cattack]

[She shrugs again.

Some interesting trivia about Cleo is that, while she has what can generally be generously described as 'severe resting bitch face', she has not at all gotten the hang of not showing her emotions through other ways. The practical upshot of this is that her tail tends to show more emotion than her face.

Her tail, for the record, is lowered, with its tip twitching back and forth, so she's interested in all of this.]

My favorite foods are fish and strawberries, and I'm not fond of sweet things. Particular food tastes aren't that strange, are they?

[nachetanya]

Oh, now I'm sad I didn't send you chocolate covered strawberries! Maybe we can found them at a discount and I'll feed you later today.

[ ... Of course she goes there first, her red eyes beaming a little at it. The trivia about Cleo is filed away as well, and she resists the urge to giggle at the fact that the cat likes fish. Because... well. It's something more to know about the girl, perhaps even something she can bare in mind in future. ]

But no, I suppose they aren't that odd.

[ She shrugs herself. ] I don't find many other young people that agree. But other than apples, I'm not the most fond of sweet things either.

[cattack]

[The part about 'feeding her' goes right over her head, and she just assumes Natalia means she'll treat her.]

That sounds lovely... I'll hold out hope for that.

[She's... incredibly easy to bribe with strawberries, it's kind of sad.]

Young people have bad taste, anyway.

[... cleo you are a young people.

but the small smile when she says it means she's probably joking, right.]

[nachetanya]

It's true, we're the worst.

[ He... hehehe.

Holding out hope for it, that is... that's honestly just Cleo missing the point, and she has this strange sensation where part of her wants be embarrassed for her, but the rest of her just wants to smirk at it. ]

[cattack]

Right?

[She laughs.

But it doesn't take much longer for their food to arrive, and Cleo is looking down at her noodles with... Somewhere between excitement and trepidation.]

[nachetanya]

[ Something something avocado toast.

... But mostly she's waiting with her noodles on Cleo. There's spice at the table if one wants to mix in salt, pepper, or some red pepper flakes, but as Natalia said she likes her bitter so she just goes for it straight with what they come with. But sure is a bowl of seaweed noodles (and thus green) with a little bit of root vegetables and such mixed in.

... She's looking expectantly at Cleo, her own chop-sticks mixing her bowl ]

[cattack]

[Let it never be said she won't try anything new.

She watches Natalia, and then just... goes for it.]

-- Bitter!

[nachetanya]

Not a fan?

[ Most people cut it with some salt or pepper or spice... she likes it though. Sluuuurp. ]

[cattack]

It was unexpected...

[that said, she's going to start putting in some salt to try that...]

I don't know why I didn't expect it, though.

[nachetanya]

I mean I did warn you.

[ Sluuuurrrpp with a smile. ]