Subject: Making Acquaintances (Open) 264 views

[scovil]

Scovil leaned back in his chair and sipped at his drink, eyes fixed on the Digimon across from him. Shamanmon. A small, dark green ogre or troll-like creature that had nothing shamanistic about it. No, his partner merely had lots of teeth, pointy ears and a yellow mohawk. Not exactly what he had expected for a partner, but it had been his choice after all. Shamanmon had been the most intimidating one of the bunch, so the young man supposed he had made the right choice. He would need a strong-looking partner to do what he wanted to do in this world.

"What? Do I have food on my face or something?" his Digimon asked, sounding irritated at being stared at so much.

"No, you don't."

Then what is it? If you really hate me, they might let you change partners if you whine enough. Shamanmon sat back and folded his arms, practically glaring at Scovil. The teen sighed, took another swallow of his drink and considered is answer before speaking.

"I don't hate you, and I certainly don't plan on getting another partner. I'm just...trying to absorb everything, and figure out what to call you. Shamanmon is a bit of a mouthful, after all."

"If that's they way you're gonna be, then I get to call you something too," his partner shot back, but Scovil merely shrugged and looked around the small cafe they were in. Due to the late hour, the place was nearly deserted, but there were a few customers around. A conversation might be nice, if they could get this naming issue out of the way.

Shamanmon ended up making the decision for him. Rising from his seat, the Digimon went over to the nearest occupied table had tapped the Tamer there on the shoulder. "Yo. Do you think the name 'Boss' suits that purple-haired statue over there?" he asked, pointing back towards Scovil.

[garuda]

[atrb=valign,top] A FALLING STAR FELL FROM YOUR HEART AND LANDED IN MY EYES (ooc: your profile link isn't working. hope you don't mind me playing here with you!) Her body shuddered as Yoshie entered the pod; it had been a while since she had returned to the Digimon World. In her mind were flashes of the brutal attack, the Gazimon X that tore her shoulder apart and caused her to die in the game. The injury was simulated but the pain was real; the programmers assured her it was the mistake of the owners of the pods -- but was it? She had switched to another shop; hopefully it would never happen again. When she logged in, the EbiBurgermon stood there. She had been waiting for a long while. As Garuda fell to her knees, the Ebiburgermon was already there to hold her. When the tears came, Purawna only whispered, "It's okay, it's okay. I'm here." Garuda heaved a large breath, trying to breathe through all the sobbing, trying to break free of what had happened. Her words to Purawna: "Sorry. Sorry for making you wait, Pu." The Ebiburgermon merely smiled; the smell of fresh prawns wove around her body. It was okay. She wanted to wait, she wanted Garuda to recover. If it meant being away from her partner, it was all okay. Garuda wiped away the tears with the back of her hand and slowly stood up. This time, she would be stronger. If Purawna had no attacks that could serve any serious damage, Garuda would continue to train harder. Garuda gave a small smile, her eyes puffy, and she said, "When we get stronger, you get to choose what you want to digivolve to, okay?" The digimon nodded. With gritted teeth, Garuda stood up; subconsciously, her left hand covered her right shoulder. The last time she had been here, it was there that had been injured -- although she had died and revived, somehow the shoulder never felt the same, at least, not in-game. Eyes were peeled; wild Digimon were always good target practice. Although Pu's attacks had little effect, Hot Cutlet often provided enough heat to damage Digimon and also served as a distraction. A tap on the shoulder and it was Shamanmon -- quickly, Garuda leapt backwards and stared at the vicious Digimon. Asuka City shouldn't have wild Digimon; but in any case, there was little time to think. Her shoulder ached, reminding her to never take down her guard. Purawna jumped forwards, holding a scorching hot piece of chicken; and the Shamanmon asked, "Yo. Do you think the name 'Boss' suits that purple-haired statue over there?" Oh, a tame Digimon. Garuda and Purawna went back to their casual stances, with Garuda embarrassed. She scratched the back of her head and said, "Oh um, sorry for that." She then looked at the boy; purple-haired, with a little smirk on his face. "Well, if you really must know, I don't think it fits him all that much." She shrugged, even though she felt embarrassed. Even though so many things had happened to her, she didn't approve of newbies trying to pretend to be more than they were. MADE BY CYANIDE CANDY ✖

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[scovil]

((Thanks for the heads up! It's all fixed now~))

Shamanmon took a step back at the reactions of the girl and her partner, then crouched into a battle stance and bared his teeth. All he did was ask a simple question, but if it was a fight they wanted, a fight they were going to get!

"Hold it." Scovil's command made him pause for a split-second. If this had been a real battle, the hesitation might have cost him, but luckily the other Tamer and her EbiBurgermon didn't attack. Instead they apologized, and Shamanmon realized there had been a misunderstanding. Nah, I should be the one to apologize - I shouldn't of startled you like that. Uh...yeah. Sorry 'bout all that," the small ogre said, relaxing and rubbing the back of his head in embarrassment.


Scovil just sighed and rolled his eyes, thankful that a fight had been adverted. The last thing he wanted was to end up in jail on his first day here. At least the other Tamer agreed that Boss was a silly choice. "Looks like you're going to have to find a better nickname, pal."

"I wouldn't have this problem if your name was easier to say!" his partner shot back, turning away from the pair to frown at him. "I get that you're tryin' to be all cool and stuff, but at least have a simple name. Unless you wanna be called Sir. Or Chief."

The teen ran a hand through his hair in mild irritation, then replied, "My name is plenty easy to say. Scovil. Sco-vil. Simpler than yours, at least." Knowing they were being rude, Scovil addressed the girl next. "I apologize for him disturbing you. We just met, so he hasn't quite learned to listen to me yet. As you've probably gathered, I am Scovil, and he is Shamanmon."

This girl seemed to be around the same age he was, but that didn't necessarily reflect her age in real life, so Scovil did his best to be polite. Insulting a grandmother was also on his list of things not to do tonight.

[garuda]

[atrb=valign,top] A FALLING STAR FELL FROM YOUR HEART AND LANDED IN MY EYES She listened to their exchange; it sounded as if they were absolutely new at this game. In that case, they wouldn't have been any use to her in her search for Kei. However, in a way, how they spoke -- it reminded her of her first meeting with Pu. Garuda looked at her partner who had supported her through so much; Garuda had died for her partner, and she knew Pu would have done anything to have stopped that from happening. Again, the memories started to come and her fingers tightened around her shoulder. Pu put a hand on her calf and she nodded at the digimon, appreciating her concern. "It's nice to meet you, Scovil. You look like you're brand new to this game," she said, her hand out-stretched in a friendly handshake; but her eyes sharpened as she continued, "It's never good to startle people here. Everywhere's a PvP zone and accidents... happen." Involuntarily, her head snapped to look at her shoulder once again. Purawna cleared her throat; and Garuda's eyes brightened once again and she grinned winningly. It was time to get over it, she thought to herself, It has been a month. Purawna cocked her head to the side; she looked at the grimy Shamanmon, almost an opposite to herself. Despite her having more battle experience, it was clear that the Shamanmon had more advantages in his form. The Digimon said, "You're lucky. You're created with a weapon." She looked at her own paws, the paws that failed her when she tried to save Garuda. Even though she never mentioned it to Garuda, it had resolved her determination to become strong. Once they traveled the Digimon World in search of fun, but now things have changed. Garuda pointed at the top of her head, assuming that that was where her handle would appear. "Garuda. Nice to meet you." Maybe she could spare some time for the boy. It would be good to know that there were people who were nice and normal in the game; although looks could be deceiving. MADE BY CYANIDE CANDY ✖

[atrb=border,0,true][atrb=valign, top][atrb=style, width:300px, btable] ❝ tagged ❞ ❝ 000 words ❞ ◤

[scovil]

Scovil straightened in his seat and allowed a sheepish smile to cross his face. "Yeah, I'm a newbie. I've only been on for a few hours or so." Yes, he had chosen to go on relatively late at night to try and get a feel for the place without being swamped by other players, and his plan seemed to have worked well. The lit-up Halloween decorations were an added bonus as far as he was concerned. Seeing the outstretched hand, he rose and crossed the short distance between their tables to shake it, then remained beside Shamanmon. This girl seemed nice enough, assuming she wasn't hiding her true personality.

"Everywhere is PvP? It thought it was illegal to fight in the cities outside of designated areas." Or so the instruction booklet had said, and for the moment, that was all he had to go on. Shamanmon was no help; the Digimon knew as much or less about the game than he did. "Thanks for the warning, I'll be sure to be more careful." If players could fight anywhere, than that raised some very interesting possibilities...

Shamanmon met Ebiburgermon's gaze and held it, remaining silent while she examined him. At the mention of his club, he hefted it and shrugged. "I dunno what to think of it, really. It's nice to have, but it's a pain to carry around everywhere. I'm sure it'll come in handy, though."

Both Scovil's and Shamanmon's attention focused on Garuda as she pointed to her head, and the teen focused on the spot she was indicating. After a moment the banner displaying her name appeared, and he did the same with her partner before nodding slightly. "Yes, nice to meet you, Garuda. I take it you're a more experienced player than us?"

[garuda]

[atrb=valign,top] A FALLING STAR FELL FROM YOUR HEART AND LANDED IN MY EYES She nodded at him. "Yup, only at arenas in cities." She knew she had contradicted herself; but she had meant that generally, anywhere was a PvP zone. When you were new and just entered the Digimon World, you wouldn't stick to cities just to protect yourself. You traveled. You moved. She made that mistake; instead of battling new cities, she had walked through the cold, took trains and the like in search of him; and the only time she had seen him was when she died in game. It wasn't a good feeling. The Halloween decorations were a nice touch; she noticed that Scovil examined them. They made the place look different, almost enough to make her think she was playing a new game. Garuda touched Pu's head and told her that it was okay, that it seemed that they had enough experience to purchase an Armor Digivolution. Pu grinned; but inside, she felt afraid -- if she picked a form as useless as what she was now, it would be another waste of training. As she opened up the menu to allow Pu to look through all the different Armor Digimon available to her, Garuda grinned in response to the newbie's question. "Well, I can't say I've been here too long; but I've finally trained enough to get an Armor Digivolution." She paused. She never really knew much about Digimon; when she first came, she did not even fathom about training. Instead, she wanted to run all over the place in search of Kei -- but now she knew it was not the way to go. She needed respect, and to get respect, she needed to be strong. Boy, if anyone heard that she had died in the game, they probably would call her a weakling. Garuda's forehead furrowed involuntarily just thinking about it; and then continued with her conversation with the boy. "What's your Crest anyway?" Experience had told her that these Crests meant something about the Tamer -- some tamers were simply incompatible with her. She couldn't stand the Darkness ones; they thought they were so cool and looked down on her own crest. MADE BY CYANIDE CANDY ✖

[atrb=border,0,true][atrb=valign, top][atrb=style, width:300px, btable] ❝ tagged ❞ ❝ 000 words ❞ ◤

[scovil]

"Ah, I understand now," Scovil murmured half to himself as Garuda confirmed that the instruction booklet had been right. As Shamanmon looked up at him in confusion, he explained, "Battles between players can only occur in cities in specific areas, but can happen anywhere outside of the cities."

"Oh. That sounds like fun!" his partner responded with a grin and the teen nodded. Battles were necessary if they were to get stronger, so he would certainly be seeking both Tamers and wild Digimon out as opponents. But only after he got used to the game and decided on what kind of player he would be. He had some ideas already, but his future required some further thinking.

His gaze flicked back to Garuda and her partner as the young woman opened a menu of some sort, curiosity getting to better of him as he watched Ebiburgermon scroll through a list of some sort. At the mention of Armor Digivolution, Scovil's eyes narrowed as he mentally went through all the information he had read over the past two weeks. "Armor Digivolution, huh? That's similar to the Adult level in terms of power, but isn't quite the same...and that's all I can remember reading," he finished sullenly, wishing that the instruction booklet hadn't been quite so vague with some terms. Yes, it was important to explore the game and find things out yourself, but a little information beforehand was always nice.

"Think I'll be able to Armor Digivolve, Sco-chan?" Shamanmon asked innocently, red eyes twinkling with suppressed laughter.

"Don't you dare call me that, you little punk!" Scovil growled back, then composed himself and added more calmly, "I believe all Child level Digimon can armor Digivolve, so I would assume you can too." He frowned at his partner for a moment, then turned back to Garuda.

"My Crest? It's Knowledge." He would have liked Darkness, or perhaps one of those hidden crests that the rumours were full of, but Knowledge did suit him very well, so he wasn't about to complain openly about it. Smiling faintly, he asked, "May I ask what yours is?"

[garuda]

[atrb=valign,top] A FALLING STAR FELL FROM YOUR HEART AND LANDED IN MY EYES "Sco-chan~" Garuda teased, "I think that fits you the best." Purawna giggled, tumbling backwards in her seat. She had picked the Digivolution she wanted -- when she showed it to Garuda, Garuda stayed silent. They were mauled by a Gazimon X; and this was what she picked? Pu whispered, "I think we can handle him if I have this form." Garuda gave a small smile and finished off the transaction. Now EbiBurgermon could become a Lynxmon, a flaming lion that could hopefully do some actual damage. "Well, if you want, we could always try to battle. Don't worry, we could set some ground rules -- for example, I can't use my Armor Digivolution, yeah?" Garuda said. It was just a suggestion; she could use practicing battling with Pu without using her digivolution. However, with the Shamanmon's club, it would be better if Pu would be able to use her techniques. She made no mention of that to Scovil, however. She'd see if they have any other requests. Purawna flexed her little paws, wondering after the month's break if she could fight again and win this time. Garuda continued with the conversation, "Love. I have the Crest of Love." As she mentioned it, she thought about Kei and about all the things she had done so far to get to him. The silly weasel -- he had made it so hard for her. Where could he be? Although she didn't want to recognize it, it seemed like her need for him has faded, just a little. With Pu, she felt almost normal again, even if the Digimon was merely made up of data. MADE BY CYANIDE CANDY ✖

[atrb=border,0,true][atrb=valign, top][atrb=style, width:300px, btable] ❝ tagged ❞ ❝ 000 words ❞ ◤

[scovil]

Scovil's pouted as Garuda teased him - it was a ridiculous nickname, more suited to a little girl than a young man like himself. Hearing a muffled snigger from his partner, his looked down to see Shamanmon with his free hand clapped over his mouth, leaning heavily on his club and practically shaking with suppressed laughter. "Don't get any-"

"HAHAHAHA, I-IT'S PER-PERFECT!" Shamanmon howled, effectively cutting him off. "Sco-chan it is!" Dancing backwards to avoid the swat the teen attempted to give him, he retreated to their table to try and calm down a little, chuckling into his drink all the while.

Realizing that everyone in the cafe was staring at him, Scovil flushed and tried to control his growing anger. It wouldn't do to have the system kick him out over an incident like this, so he grit his teeth, shoved his hands in his pockets and grumbled, "Perhaps I should have chosen Hagrurumon instead!"

Thankfully, Garuda spoke again and gave him a welcome distraction. "A battle?" He had hoped to train a little against some wild Digimon before challenging other players, but a PvP would give him valuable experience even if he lost. Smiling a little as he considered his options, Scovil nodded. "A battle would be great. So...how about anything goes, just as long as both our partners remain in their child forms sound?" He was at a disadvantage what with Shamanmon knowing no special techniques, but if Ebiburgermon couldn't Digivolve he might have a chance to win.

[garuda]

[atrb=valign,top] A FALLING STAR FELL FROM YOUR HEART AND LANDED IN MY EYES She nodded grinningly. He looked like he was up to it; then she remembered the last time she was simply walking on the snow mountain, looking for Kei and then the monster came lumbering out, threatening to crush Pu; and she had stood her ground, fell down as the beast pushed her into the snow -- the cold was almost unbearable -- its saliva dripped all over her face and she pulled upwards, trying to attack the animal; and Pu's attacks were no use, and teeth already sank into the shoulder and she perished -- Garuda shook her head. This was not going to happen again. Sco-chan looked like a decent person, in control of his partner. The Shamanmon wouldn't be able to attack her, not here at least. In the arena though... Quietly, she said, "No attacking the Tamer, got it? Let's go then." Purawna kept quiet when she heard Garuda said that; if things went bad, she had her new Digivolution to protect her Tamer, so if Sco-chan thought of doing winning dirty, he would have a hard time doing it. She had not transformed yet, but seeing how a Lynxmon looked like, remembering how the Gazimon X trampled her tamer, she knew what she was capable of. They walked silently in the direction of the arena, not a word to the Shamanmon and its tamer. Pu whispered, "Are you okay, Ga?" The girl nodded, her head still held high; in her mind, she wondered if she was ready for a proper battle, something she had not managed to do before. Although sure, she had managed to gain enough experience to get an Armor Digivolution, battle-wise, she was new, just like Sco-chan was. "Sco-chan, we're getting there already," she called, smiling again at the name, "You ready?" Pu rubbed its little paws together, hoping to prove to herself that even in this form, she had a chance. MADE BY CYANIDE CANDY ✖

[atrb=border,0,true][atrb=valign, top][atrb=style, width:300px, btable] ❝ tagged ❞ ❝ 000 words ❞ ◤

[scovil]

"No attacking the Tamer?" Scovil echoed, confused as to why Garuda would ask for such an agreement. Yes, he was aware that Tamers could be attacked along with their Digimon, but he had no reason to do so. Did she not trust him? It was a possibility - He hadn't seen any other people with Shamanmon around, so perhaps his partner's species had a bad reputation. Or there could be another reason behind the request, something he wasn't aware of. Part of him wanted to press and ask, but now didn't seem to the time to be rude. "Got it," he agreed with a nod, deciding to leave the issue for now.

It took him only a moment to pay for their bill, then he had Shamanmon followed Garuda towards the arena. As they walked, Scovil examined the other Tamer silently, trying to figure out what her battle strategy might be. Ebiburgermon had access to techniques, so that would be a factor. But how much would her crest play into it? Love...Did that mean she was an advocate of truth and justice, too? The teen sighed in mild irritation, knowing he was going to have to learn to deal with people who stood by such ideals, otherwise he wouldn't last long in this world.

Scovil brushed his thoughts aside as Garuda spoke, smiling with anticipation. His first real battle. Time to see what himself and his partner were made of. For his part, Shamanmon lifted his club a little higher, smirking at the fact that his nickname had caught on.

"Yeah, we're ready," the teen said with a grin. "Give us your best!"

[garuda]

[atrb=valign,top] A FALLING STAR FELL FROM YOUR HEART AND LANDED IN MY EYES "Go, Pu, show him what you're made of," Garuda said. The Ebiburgermon was small, a little squishy and maybe pretty fragile; one of her attacks released a great smell and before she did not know how to use it, but now she knew how to use them properly; the smell somehow managed to entice and paralyze the opponent at the same time. With a little throw of her head, Purawna released the fragrant smell of shrimp; with a little devilish grin, she wondered how the Shamanmon would respond. This was her first line of attack. Leaping backwards swiftly, she knew that Shamanmon had no long distance techniques; he had his club however, and she would not be able to do well if they were in close quarters. Garuda nodded, encouraging her: "Keep that distance between you guys." Once the paralysis set in, maybe Purawna would then begin her second round of attack. For now, however, paralyzing the ogre would be more than enough. The blazing fire within her eyes would not be put down. Garuda bit her lip in hope -- Scovil did not know but this was her first real tamer battle as well. MADE BY CYANIDE CANDY ✖

[atrb=border,0,true][atrb=valign, top][atrb=style, width:300px, btable] ❝ tagged ❞ ❝ 000 words ❞ ◤

[scovil]

"Go." There was no need to be overly dramatic about things, even if it was his first battle, so Scovil settled on one simple word to get things started. His partner started to dash towards Ebiburgermon, clearly intent on getting in a first strike, but then the smell of fried shrimp made both Digimon and human look around. "What...?" the young man muttered, confused by the scent that wafted around him. Did this place have a restaurant, and if so, why was it so close to the battlefield?

"S-Sco-chan!" Shamanmon was still trying to run forward, but his movements were sluggish and getting slower. Scovil gritted his teeth and clenched his hands into fists as it dawned on him that the fried shrimp smell must have been an attack from Garuda's partner. Some kind of movement or speed inhibitor, judging by what it was doing to his Digimon.

"Damn!" he growled to himself, then called, "Keep going and try to get an attack in!" Shamanmon grunted in response, then threw himself forward in an awkward attempt at a headbutt/body tackle. Shoving his hands in his pockets, Scovil scowled and tried to think of how to recover from this unexpected opening round.