Subject: tried to find the sound [open] 496 views

[garuda]

[atrb=valign,top] A FALLING STAR FELL FROM YOUR HEART AND LANDED IN MY EYES "It's nice to meet you and everything," Garuda began, "But now we've met, we can talk on the way." She started to walk briskly through the crowd, pushing her way through swiftly. The EbiBurgermon bounced behind her carefully, trying to keep up with the throng of people that filled the area. In its little squeak, it tried to call Garuda to slow down -- but she had already seemingly disappeared. The EbiBurgermon looked around, hands on its head, as it tried to search for its partner. Where could she have gone? What a disastrous first meeting -- and to think it was so excited to meet its partner. She looked like a nice one; but appearances were always deceiving... "There you are!" Garuda yelled, promptly picking the Digimon up. "Can't keep up, can you?" Again, she swam through the crowd expertly, like all of them practically didn't exist. EbiBurgermon looked at her in amazement, mouth wide open. She grinned at her partner, then lifted her head back up to concentrate to getting out of it. All these noobs around were wasting her time. She knew she was a noob too but whatever. "There." She put her partner down and crouched down to speak to it. "I'm here to find a friend. It'll be good if you could help me along with that. His name is Kei." She said his name slowly, letting her tongue roll over the single syllable. The EbiBurgermon scratched its head. This was moving so fast -- they barely knew each other, and they were talking about... quests? It cocked its head again and looked at Garuda confusedly. "Gah, you look like you're a little slow." Garuda smacked her head and sat down on an empty bench. The creature jumped right up beside her and also sat down. She sighed, taking a breather. It was unlikely that he would be here in Asuka City -- this was where all new players were. If he had been playing since that advertisement was aired... "Could you give me a name?" EbiBurgermon asked. "Wha?" Garuda turned to stare at the Digimon. She scratched her chin. MADE BY CYANIDE CANDY ✖

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

[anodyne]

First time logging in and he was a little worried about getting lost. "Uh... hello? Is that... the right thing to say here? Just hi orrrr...?" Kouki scratched his forehead lightly and laughed as he looked down on his new partner. It was a pretty cute little Digimon, which he kind of wasn't expecting. Digital Monsters meant they were supposed to be like... monsterous... weren't they? Regardless, this one was pretty adorable and seemed like it was gonna be pretty reliable.

"Hello new friend! It's nice to meet you!" Lopmon threw up it's arms and waggled them back and forth as if it was expecting a hug or something. Kou fell to his knee and opened his arms awkwardly for a hug. When he felt the little creature wrap it's arms around his neck he marveled at how real it all felt. How real his new partner felt.

"Nice to meet you too. Uhhh I'm Ko-- Anodyne. But well you can call me whatever you want actually."

"Anononono!! I'm Lopmon and you can give me a nickname if you like!"

"A nickname? Maybe I'll just call you Lo. I'm really dreadful at being creative you know."

"That works for me, friend. Can we go on an adventure now?! We gotta get out there and-- whoaa."

Lopmon stopped and glanced over to a specific woman who seemed in quite the rush. The digimon appeared a little put off by how the woman didn't look like she even wanted to be playing the game at all. Not really.

Kou's eyes followed the path of his partner's and fell on her as well. From what he could tell there was something important on her mind, or at least she appeared as if that was what was going on. It was much harder to tell in the Digital World, he knew that already.

Something brought the young man closer to her, motioning for Lo to follow him. She had come to rest on a bench with her Digimon and Kou caught the little creature asking if she could nickname it. Immediately Kou laughed a little to himself and once he was close enough he said, "I've never played before, but I guess Digimon like having individual names. It's kind of cool if you think about it. Doesn't seem like a game if you just let your guard down a little."

Smiling the young man held out his hand and uttered, "I'm Anodyne."

[garuda]

[atrb=valign,top] A FALLING STAR FELL FROM YOUR HEART AND LANDED IN MY EYES She scrunched up her nose, looking at the teenage boy who just spoke to her. Hmmm, she scruntinized him -- the hair color, the eyes -- nah, he was too young. There was no way Kei would've designed an avatar like that. She opened her mouth, wanting to ask him if he had met a player named Kei; but as he went on, she realized that he was a noob as well and immediately, all his other words just went out the other ear. Garuda stood up, folded her arms and said, "Well then, if you've never played this game before, you've no right to judge me." Sniffing a little, the EbiBurgermon waddled down the bench and patted the female player on the thigh. She turned and looked down at her partner. It was a cute little thing, she had to admit. But all this was made of code, she didn't forget that. The sunlight that warmed her skin, the softness of the Digimon when she carried it -- all of this wasn't real. She didn't have time to just waste here, giving names to lines of code. Kei was real though. She sighed, relented and patted the little thing on its head. She crouched down to its level and the EbiBurgermon smiled brightly. "Let's see... How about Purawna?" She said, tapping her finger on her cheek. It was a name that just sprouted out in her mind, no specific meaning apart from the fact it sounded like 'prawn'. However, the Digimon leap and swirled around like it had been giving a new life. "Pu--rawwwwwww-na! I like it. Thanks Garuda!" Purawna started to dance a little on the spot. Garuda giggled, stood up and shrugged: it's no big deal. She then turned her eyes on the boy and said, "Well, I guess it's no problem making a few acquaintances here and there." If he still had his hand out for such a long period of time, she would take it, pump it once and let go; and if not, she would simply just say carelessly, "My name is Garuda. What are you playing this game for?" MADE BY CYANIDE CANDY ✖

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

[anodyne]

Well that was pretty sudden.

Kou tried not to be offended by how curt she was since it was obvious upon first sight that she wasn't exactly in a leisurely mood, but he did find it a bit rude. The woman said he had no right to judge her and he was nearly positive he didn't say anything that could even be perceived as judgement. People could be confusing as hell though, so he supposed he should get used to the weird encounters. Friends did warn him not everyone was exactly pleasant in the game.

Regardless of what was shoved at him, Kouki was on something of a mission. The name he had chosen for himself in this world was a name he desperately wanted to live by, even if he had to step through prickly territory for that sake. Kou could shrug off rudeness at the end of the day. Lo looked up at the man and gave him a funny expression when the woman completely turned her attention away.

Only after she looked back to him did he realize he had held his hand out awkwardly all the while. A chuckle escaped him as she gave him a quick handshake and got around to introducing herself. "Garuda, nice name. It's too bad I don't have a really great answer for you though. I'm kind of just playing the game because some friends told me it was entertaining."

His smile turned a little wry and he glanced down at his Digimon adding, "I'm already liking it, I gotta admit. Lo is an impressive little thing." The Digimon beamed and flopped it's ears up and down. Kou was curious about this woman though so he quirked an eyebrow and decided to just ask about things. Beating around the bush would probably only get him some more sharp remarks he was sure.

"You have a good reason though, don't you? If you're not too busy, mind telling me about it?"

Anyone else might not have been so kind, Kouki imagined.

[garuda]

[atrb=valign,top] A FALLING STAR FELL FROM YOUR HEART AND LANDED IN MY EYES As he answered her question, Garuda just shrugged once again, her voice saying matter-of-factly, "Well, I know of people who play this game aimlessly. It's fine." She opened and closed her hand, just looking at how the muscles flexed -- she wondered if her body back in the pod was doing exactly the same thing, or if this was all purely brain-work. His Digimon seemed cute though, with long floppy ears and big round eyes -- maybe he was impressed, but it also meant he was easily impressed. Then he asked her this question. She didn't really have an answer prepared. Biting her bottom lip, she kind of dawdled around the topic, "Well... I'm looking for a friend," and her little Digimon partner chirped up loudly, "For Kei!" In a way, Garuda's heart jumped -- she knew it wouldn't be an easy thing to do. If the police couldn't find him and believed he was dead, how could she have such certainty that she would find him? How could she know that he was here? It was self-doubt that attacked her once in a while, but something inside her, something deeper, told her to fuck whatever everyone else said. She knew he was here; she will find him. How the Digimon said it though made it sound like a gaming question of some sort. It hurt her, just a little bit, because she realized maybe that was how she sounded. It sounded like a quest that meant almost nothing, like it was a game. Even though her partner was AI, nothing more than data, somehow she wanted it to understand that it was more than just a game. So much more than a game. Snapping back to reality, Garuda just nodded, face a little more stern than before. Thinking about Kei made her sad and she didn't want to think about him -- she just wanted to find him. Continuing on with what she had said, "So do tell me if you meet someone that has that real name. People go by handles here but on the off-chance..." she trailed off, her eyes following some other person in the crowd. Was that Kei? Could it be that easy? "Give me a moment, Ano," Garuda said and she started running away to approach the player she had spotted again. (ooc: do let me know if this isn't enough to go on with; I could skip to the ending of the meeting <3 PM me or something heehee) MADE BY CYANIDE CANDY ✖

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

[anodyne]

Kouki quirked his eyebrow a little more and tried to understand what was even up with this girl. Things didn't seem to warm any no matter how much Kou tried to put himself out there and he couldn't fathom what the reason was. It would have made some more sense to him at least if the girl would just be outright rude and brush him off, but she certainly wasn't doing that... Not that he could tell.

Instead the woman said things in a certain way that left Kouki nothing but questions. Playing aimlessly. Almost sounded like she was looking down on him. "I thought pretty much everybody played games aimlessly..." Kou mused aloud, scratching his head a little. He still wanted to be positive about things- this girl really wasn't making it easy though.

She informed him she was looking for someone and he supposed he understood her behavior with that being the case. It obviously wasn't just casual. Whomever she was searching for so furiously was someone she had not seen in some time, and someone she cared for rather deeply he would assume. Kei. "Well if I ever encounter someone like that I'll be sure to whisper... you?"

By the time Kou was almost done speaking the girl's attention had shifted completely and he watched her run off with only a short few words about the matter. A little dazed, Kouki looked down to his Digimon and frowned a little. "Do you have any idea how to handle that girl? Or... should we even wait for her to get done there?"

"Hey don't look at me Anono! You humans are weird, so you'd understand her way better than I ever could. I don't even understand you yet!" Lopmon shrugged a little and turned it's attention back to the bustle of the city.

"Guess we just wait for her to be done then..."

[garuda]

[atrb=valign,top] A FALLING STAR FELL FROM YOUR HEART AND LANDED IN MY EYES It wasn't him. It wouldn't have been so easy. Garuda walked back, her head bent down -- she thought maybe that could have been him. Purawna didn't know what to say to her to make her feel better. They were partners but only for a few minutes; it was natural to be awkward with each other still, wasn't it? It looked at the other pair that they have met; and it was like they already knew each other for a long time. But they were new. What made it and Garuda so different? It looked up again at Garuda's face. The disappointment was plainly there. Purawna decided that it wouldn't be the one to disappoint her. It flexed its little hands and wondered how it would be like when Garuda actually counted on her. Could it defend itself? Could it defend her? She lifted up her head at Anodyne and sighed. She said, already sounding defeated and tired, "That wasn't him. Sorry, didn't mean to rush off like that?" When she came into this place, she thought she could go blazing around, grabbing boys and asking them for their names. That boy she had just grabbed was a new player as well -- and he told her that if she dared to do something like that to someone stronger, they could just... attack her and Purawna. Garuda looked at her partner discreetly; Purawna did not seem like it could pose any threat. "We need to get stronger. Do you remember how we could do that?" She tapped her chin, trying to remember what it said in the manual. MADE BY CYANIDE CANDY ✖

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

[anodyne]

"Don't worry about it! Kou responded immediately. There was a certain kind of tire in the other woman's voice that made him feel a little bad. It couldn't have been easy trying to find someone in this game when all you had was a name they wouldn't even be likely to go by. For a second Kouki wondered if he was pitying her.

Whatever he was feeling dissolved quickly enough when he felt like he was just being ignored again. Well, maybe he wasn't being ignored per say. Kouki couldn't help but wonder if her question was even something she wanted him to answer. "If you want to get strong you can train against wild Digimon I think. I mean that's one of the things I read about. Other than that I hear you can do player vs player?"

He paused a moment, thoughtful expression on his face. "Maybe I'm not the most reliable about that stuff, but I do remember being curious how to improve. If you train enough you can get your partner to a point of Digivolution so they'll be plenty stronger."

"We can be pretty awe-inspiring creatures with a little effort put in!" Lopmon added quickly. It didn't seem to know everything about the game surprisingly enough, but it had a fascination with Digivolution. "I wonder what form I'll be able to take after this one..."

[garuda]

[atrb=valign,top] A FALLING STAR FELL FROM YOUR HEART AND LANDED IN MY EYES The boy explained it to her. She nodded thoughtfully, biting her lower lip. To be honest, since she had entered this game, she hadn't been on her good behavior. She wondered why as well; was it that she thought she could pop in here, grab him and leave? Garuda looked at Anodyne, nodded and said, "Thank you." The first person she had met here, she seemed to have antagonized. Her partner at least, seemed to still treat her with some kind of liking. She scratched her head a little blankly. "Digivolution? What does that mean?" She propped her partner back on her shoulder. The Ebiburgermon giggled and said, "You didn't read anything, did you?" Garuda stuck her tongue at the little creature. She came in thinking she didn't need help, that she would push through this entire world until she found him. That seemed like an impossible case now. She had to grow stronger, maybe make more friends and become more resourceful. She had seen a guild on the forum -- maybe posting on that would be a good idea. She licked her lips and asked Anodyne, "Sorry, it seems like I'm clueless. Do you mind if I tag along with you for a bit?" He hadn't left her yet, despite everything -- maybe now she could learn something from him, instead of just running around aimlessly. "Apart from training, what could we do here?" MADE BY CYANIDE CANDY ✖

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

[anodyne]

As much as Kouki wanted to read her expression, which he realized he had been trying to do since first opening his eyes in the Digital World, he knew it was pretty pointless. Some people were never the type that he could read at all, and in a world like this where you could put across whatever you really wanted to with the right effort... well it just didn't make it worth trying more often that not. But then something mysterious happened. She thanked him?

The expression that crossed his face was unfiltered, laced with surprise. Garuda had actually thanked him and he didn't detect a trace of sarcasm. It wasn't even begrudging from what he could tell! Kou smiled gently at her and in the blink of an eye all of those concerns about her disliking him or looking down on him just faded away.

"You don't know?" Kou repeated, a little surprised. Digimon were the main allure of the game for most, so it was natural to assume everyone knew the basics of the Digimon themselves, but Garuda wasn't quite like everyone else. Since she was playing to find someone it was only to be expected that there were things she didn't bother learning about. "I don't mind the company and I'm sure Lo doesn't either!"

"Nope I don't mind."

Kouki patted the Digimon on the head and grinned readily. "Then it's settled. As for what we can do here, I'm actually not totally sure. I know in the city is where you can get whatever you need. They've got an inn to rest at, shops to get supplies at, and a lot of other things I don't actually know much about. Maybe some guilds even have headquarters around here." For a moment he let his gaze sweep out towards the city. There were so many players out there and so many things going on it was almost overwhelming.

There was a pause and an awkward chuckle before Kou muttered, "I'm probably not as much help as you would like though, sorry!"

[garuda]

[atrb=valign,top] A FALLING STAR FELL FROM YOUR HEART AND LANDED IN MY EYES He stared at her in surprise. Garuda kept her silence; she knew she had behaved badly. She wasn't usually like that -- but she had been eager to get to the end: save the prince and bring him back home. Was it so surprising that she thanked him? She was brought up well by her parents; it was only polite to do so. She touched the ends of her hair -- it felt much better than what she had in real life. Sneaking a smile while thinking of this, she listened to what the boy had to say. He was smiling slightly, before showing another look of surprise. Now she felt a little annoyed; not only with him, mostly with herself. She should've been better prepared when she dove into a game like this. If she was going to find anyone, she should be able to take care of herself. Not knowing the basics could endanger her. Her partner didn't seem to be able to take care of itself in any case. Garuda stared at the little burger Digimon before turning her head back to the boy. He said he could let her accompany him, at least for a while. She grinned brightly at the boy and said, "Excellent! Thanks, I appreciate it," before sighing and continuing with, "I can't believe I know almost nothing about this world. I clicked through all the introductions." She touched her chest though, remembering how it was like to enter the game in the first place, to feel her heart beating and yet being in somewhere so foreign. He pointed out the various places to her. She thought for a while; and she heard him chuckle, saying quietly, "I'm probably not as much help as you would like though, sorry!" She scratched her head confusedly and muttered, "You're all I've got though." Garuda then wondered if she was meant to reassure him that she was glad to have him for company -- but she wasn't good at things like that. The words were said and she couldn't take them back. Instead, she clasped her hands together and said, "Why don't we go to the inn and get a drink?" MADE BY CYANIDE CANDY ✖

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

[anodyne]

"You look a lot better when you're smiling, you know!"

Kou blurted it out quicker than he registered what he was really saying, then once the words really processed he laughed awkwardly. It wasn't as if he was trying to hit on her or anything, especially not after hearing she was looking for someone named Kei. The young man just assumed that the guy was someone pretty special to her and he didn't want to even remotely get in the way of that.

"I'm sorry, that didn't... I mean I wasn't trying to... y'know?" His words tumbled out awkwardly and he tried to stifle some more of his awkward chuckles to no avail. Scratching his head, light blush tinting his cheeks, Kouki looked away again. Anodyne. The word flashed in his mind vibrantly and he remembered what a passion he felt for it. It was his goal to be an anodyne to someone, and here was Garuda struggling with her quest.

More than anything else, he just wanted to be helpful to her. Ease her worries even just a bit. That was why seeing her lighten even a little was so pleasant. But then the more he tried to explain it to himself the more he felt like a complete weirdo who was thinking too much. "Let's go get that drink then, that's a brilliant plan!" Kou shouted a little louder than he intended and started the walk to the inn without any further confirmation. A hint of a blush stuck around.

"To the inn! Follow Anono!!" Lopmon chirped, pumping it's fist in the 'charge!' motion. If the little Digimon knew something was up with it's partner it did a spectacular job of hiding it. It jumped it's first few steps and sent a glance back to the other player. "I think Ano is a lot more help than he gives himself credit for. He seems like the type to not give up, so if he doesn't know he'll prolly figure out." The Digimon said quietly enough for Kou not to hear.

[garuda]

[atrb=valign,top] A FALLING STAR FELL FROM YOUR HEART AND LANDED IN MY EYES "Whuh?" A burning kind of feeling rushed from the base of her neck up to her cheeks; it itched and she pulled at her collar gently. Before she could bite back her words, she said sharply, "What are you trying to say?" Garuda was older than him; he couldn't be possibly -- and then he apologized awkwardly, cheeks tinted pink. She bit her lip; he's so cute --, and she mentally slapped herself hard. Shutting her eyes tightly, she took a deep breath before looking at the boy again. He looked away; she couldn't help but exhale while wondering why her heart had started to pound harder. Without warning, at a volume louder than Garuda expected, Anodyne agreed to going to get a drink and stalked off ahead. She looked at Purawna awkwardly and decided to pick it up. Purawna whispered into Garuda's ear, "He's a nice boy; let's just go along for now." Garuda nodded -- it wasn't like she would've done otherwise, but it was good to hear the opinions of her partner. Her partner. She wasn't used to it yet, calling the lines of code her partner. It used to be Kei -- but things had to change. In his absence, she needed someone to help her along; Garuda guessed that the EbiBurgermon would probably have to be it -- it couldn't leave her in any case. Anodyne... If he was willing, only if he was, he could be a friend to her... Garuda looked at the boy's back as he walked further away. Anodyne's partner though skipped ahead and rattled on excitedly, calling the boy Anono (what an adorable nickname) and then suddenly telling Garuda about what it thought of Anodyne. Garuda continued following behind the boy, but quietly to the Lopmon, she said, "He's been helpful so far," then pausing for a while, "but how do you know what kind of person he is? You just met him." MADE BY CYANIDE CANDY ✖

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

[anodyne]

For a little while he felt like he couldn't quite breath right, as if he was too embarrassed. Kouki still couldn't get over what a bumbling fool he could be sometimes. That filter most people had great control over, the one that helped you figure out what you can say and what you can just think, was something that the young man didn't fully have control of. How shameful. Then he quickly thought this was way too realistic for a game. Kou wanted to have better control over himself, but just as quickly as he would grin or blush in real life it seemed to happen for him here. Maybe... he would have to ask people how to manage that better in the future.

Whatever may happen, Kou knew he couldn't really look Garuda in the eye for now. Once he got over that embarrassment maybe.

As he led the way towards the inn, Lopmon continued to hang back. Something in the Digimon urged it to look out for it's new partner and it felt like it could do that by talking with the woman for a bit. Lopmon listened to Garuda when she spoke and couldn't help but get a slight warm smile on it's face. "How? I'm his partner, I'm supposed to know how he's like."

It paused for a few seconds then decided to go on since Garuda probably wouldn't like that answer so much. "I guess it's hard not to see with Anono. Can't you tell just by looking at him he's trying really hard?" Lo stole a glance back towards Kou, wrinkling it's nose a little. "Anodyne is a good name for him. Anono must have put a lot of thought into it when he picked it. Are you familiar with the word, miss Garuda?"

Kouki realized he had been getting pretty ahead of the others and casually peeked over his shoulder. Seeing Lo smiling and chattering at Garuda gave him a warm feeling and he knew instantly he had the perfect partner in the game. Already he felt a great attachment to Lopmon- it wasn't just data, it was going to be a very good friend. "Don't get too friendly back there, Lo! You're still my partner you know and there's no tradsies!" The young man called back with a light chuckle.

[garuda]

[atrb=valign,top] A FALLING STAR FELL FROM YOUR HEART AND LANDED IN MY EYES The boy's ears were still red. She could see them burning away; and Garuda self-consciously touched her own, unsure if they were too were burning. This world wasn't real, was it? Could she will her heart to beat slower, her ears to return to their original shade? She wasn't sure but at this moment, Garuda really wanted it to be so. The brown rabbit-like Digimon explained, "How? I'm his partner, I'm supposed to know how he's like." Garuda stared at the creature and then turned to look at the burger Digimon who was still in her arms. Quietly, she hissed, "Then why don't you know me as well, Pu?" Purawna waved its fist, whining, "I haven't gotten to know you that well yet!" Garuda grinned at the little thing and thought about it. Maybe different people had different Digimon -- they weren't blank slates from the beginning. Somehow, the pods had access to their minds. That was what she thought; quietly, she remembered how she met her partner. A strange crest had shone from her chest: the Crest of Love. What did Anodyne have, she wondered. She whispered back to the digimon, "I expect us to know each other very well soon." The Digimon gave a small smile and replied, "We will. I had been waiting for you -- I won't give up on you so easily." That was surprising -- waiting? But before Garuda could think too much about that, the Lopmon continued speaking, knowing that the answer wasn't enough for her. She stayed silent, listening to the brown Digimon's words. It was true -- Garuda had been difficult; he must have been trying hard. Why else did he wait for her when she disappeared into the crowd to grab someone else? He could've left -- he didn't know if she would've returned. He didn't leave though. He waited for her. Kei didn't. "Um, it sounds like English. I can speak the language but no, I'm not familiar with what it means," she spoke haltingly to the Lopmon, wondering what the Digimon was driving at. When the boy turned his head back, Garuda didn't dare to meet his eyes. Instead, she concentrated looking at Purawna, her partner. Quietly, she asked the Digimon, "Hmm, is there a way to contact people here?" The burger Digimon scratched its head before saying, "Maybe you could ask for his PM..?" She nodded firmly; that would be her next step. Call it intuition or whatever -- she had a feeling she could depend on him. MADE BY CYANIDE CANDY ✖

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