Subject: puzzling it out [mewt] 354 views

[puzzles]

Getting Puzzles to go anywhere without much pushing and prodding was not what one would call the easiest feat. It would be less of a challenge if he were to face off against some other Digimon, wild or a Tamer's partner, the Tentomon thought. Yet it was more difficult to stay negative toward the young girl, if only for the fact that he felt that she couldn't quite help her nature. That, and she was a bit too innocent for any kind of ill will.

At least he managed to direct her to the park. That was something in his digital book, and much better than nothing at all. While she looked quietly around her, hands clasped behind her back and rocking gently on her heels with a hum in her throat, Jigsaw observed the other player's around them. Boring, boring, boring. If the girl would cooperate more with the whole walking around and getting their bearings thing, maybe they could familiarize themselves - or her that was - with Asuka City and the Central Sector. There was a lot to see after all, from all kinds of shops and other assortments.

The girl wasn't interested in that, though. All that seemed to really go through her mind without floating in and out constantly was something about puzzles. Maybe it would help more if he knew what she was talking about when she referred to puzzles. It left him scratching his head, especially as she frequently questioned him about it, sometimes at the oddest moments. Oh well he figured, as she bent down, an arm wrapped around her legs and the other out to pat him as per usual. Already, something he was accustomed to.

Waggling his yellowish feelers, and in the process tickling her face to make the girl laugh, he asked warily, "So, Puzzles. Anything you particularly feel like doing?"

Face scrunching up as though it were a questioned that demanded quite a bit of brain power to power through, the player finally came to an answer. "Solving some puzzles."

"Of course that's what you want to do," the Tentomon sighed, shuffling his carapace. "But, what is a puzzle anyway?"

"A puzzle's a puzzle," she responded swiftly, and before Jigsaw could query further in heated exasperation she added, "Its got a lotta pieces. You've got to put it together. It forms a pretty picture, and I happen to like them a lot. It's a shame there's none around here, though." And with that, her thoughts seemed to drift and she sat in the grass, holding her legs close to her body and wrapping both arms around them. The Tentomon merely shuffled closer and stood beside her, simply glad to know he finally knew what the heck a puzzle was.

[mewt]

It was utterly confounding how he could continue dealing with this kind of... frustration! Okay, so perhaps she wasn't so much frustrating as an inconvenience sometimes, but Mewt still wasn't sure how he could continue to handle her. All that Mewt could possibly want was for Ritz to understand him a little- just enough to know he needed rest sometimes and her games were much too tiring for him to play every instant he was within the game.

Ah, he hoped he wasn't coming off the wrong way with her. The more time he was left to himself to ponder just why it was they couldn't seem to connect the right way the more he thought it was all some kind of ploy to drive him away from her. Or in this case, for her to get away from him a little more... literally. "I d-don't like hide and go seek," Mewt whimpered to himself as he shuffled through Central Park. One after another the young man eliminated possible hiding spots as not having contained his Digimon, and the options were beginning to look rather bleak.

It wasn't exactly as if there was many places for the little Salamon to hide if she was even still in the area. What would prove extremely troubling was if she ran further out, or even just back into the city. That was large enough that he could spend hours on end looking for Ritz. More hours than he had available- and that was really saying something considering he didn't have much in the way of 'a life' like others his age. Deep breath, Mewt told himself. Still though, his hands were shaking a little and he was getting tired.

"E-Excuse..." the young man started, trying to get the attention of a Tamer who just happened to be passing. They did not pay him any mind as they rushed by towards the city. Damned stuttering. Mewt bit his lip slightly and let his gaze wander over the park once more. The young man's eyes stuck when he caught a particular username-- Puzzles. With a furrowing brow he watched he address her Digimon partner, a Tentomon if he was correct, before she sat in the grass.

Mewt was unsure why he thought this particular user would help him, but his footsteps took him to her and when he was close enough for her to hear he uttered, "S-Sorry to bother you b-but have you seen a S-Salamon around here?"

[puzzles]

Jigsaw wished the young woman would decide to do anything other than...sit around around. There was only so much one Digimon could handle, idling about so much. He wasn't the most restless of digital monsters out there, but nevertheless, there was a limit and his was aptly reached.

Shifting his weight from leg to leg and rustling his wings beneath the protective carapace on his back, the Tentomon sighed and nudged Puzzles gently. "Aren't you bored, Puzzles? Dont you want to go somewhere else, look around and all that?"

"I'm not bored," came the response after a moment's pause. Her stare remained fixed forward, leaving the Tentomon to raise his arms in a soft ire that really couldn't last. At least, it stayed fixed until another user came up and questioned them. Blinking up at Mewt, head cocked, she considered him curiously for a second before answering with a "No."

Bouncing forward, waving her seemingly put-off response, the Tentomon rectified it for her. "Oh, don't mind her! But unfortunately, my answer's the same. At least, I don't think I saw a Salamon around." Touching what could be its chin, the Tentomon shrugged. "Salamon's can be friiisky things. They've got a lot of energy, as I'm sure you know by now."

"Like a puppy?" the girl asked, eyes wide.

"Ah, yes. Exactly like that," the Tentomon nodded. He fluttered his wings almost apologetically at Mewt as if Puzzles's behaviour was unbecoming.

[/size]

[mewt]

Peculiar...

The girl answered Mewt so concisely that he could only be left to assume that there was no need for any kind of further communicating. Disheartened, he prepared to move on when the Tentomon seemed to suddenly make up for it's partner's rather simplistic utterance. A sort of half-pained smile crossed Mewt's face when the other Digimon commented on the 'friskiness' of the Salamon-type. Funny though that apparently his Salamon wasn't the only one with a little too much energy. Didn't make her any less of an eccentric though.

"S-She even looks like a pup," Mewt chuckled a little, "But she's p-peach colored, has a g-gold ring around her neck." The young man wasn't exactly sure why he was explaining what she looked like. It was somewhat unlikely she would spot Ritz after this, but something about how wide her eyes got when she asked if it was like a puppy...

"Something a-about my partner still conf-fuses me a lot. It's u-unlike her to disappear for s-such a long period of t-time though." Mouth wrinkling into a little frown, Mewt wondered again if he somehow offended his partner. If he had then he would have to apologize to her as soon as he was given the opportunity. "O-oh, I apologize. I've b-been rambling and I haven't e-even introduced m-myself," Mewt stuttered, feeling a little awkward for still even being around. He wasn't sure if this girl even wanted to tolerate his presence anymore or not.

With a slight embarrassment coloring his face, the young man added, "I'm Mewt. I-if you see a Salamon named Ritz, m-maybe you could whisper me?" It seemed like with that said he really need not dawdle much longer...

[puzzles]

For now, it looked like his player had lost some interest in the other, though he was quite sure the idea of a puppy Digimon hadn't exactly left her mind just yet. Maybe, now that he really gave it some thought, this was the ticket to getting her to actually go places in the game. It was a push and a shove in the guise of a boy who seemed to have some kind of speech impediment. It didn't really bother the Tentomon, nor did it look like it bothered Puzzles, either. There would be worse to deal with he was sure.

"She sounds pretty," the girl uttered softly to his surprise, looking up to the other. "You lost her?" she continued soon after, sounding almost serious. It was as if it offended her personally. Probably not a good thing, so the Tentomon stepped in.

"Not on purpose I bet! Probably playing a game of hide and seek with you, yeah?" Jigsaw wouldn't put it past a Salamon to make it hell for a player like this, disappearing left and right. Poor guy didn't know what he was up against, truly. Wasn't prepared from what he could tell. He'd get used to the eccentricity of his partner, the Tentomon figured. It just took some time.

Puzzles didn't respond terribly much to the prospect of the Salamon playing hide and go seek unfortunately, and that was a big enough lodge in his plan. Drat - so much for that. "It's alright, Mewt. Puzzles here named me Jigsaw, a pleasure. I'm sure I could get her to whisper you if--"

"Why do you stutter," Puzzles asked abruptly. Though just as staccato a fashion, the girl swiftly changed tack and asked all in the same breath,
"I like games, though! Can I help look for her?" Immediately she sprang up, beaming at this new player and liking the sound of a game. It wasn't a puzzle, but she had played her fair share of hide and go seek in her time and it had positive memories attached. So not a puzzle, no. But the next best thing.

The beetle gave a sigh of relief. Finally.

[/size]

[mewt]

The words stung, but Mewt probably deserved it. It could very well have been that he just lost her, couldn't it...? When the Tentomon stepped in, seemingly to defend Mewt, the young man was already too far into doubting himself to take any solace in it. He managed a pitifully pained smile at the Digimon, attempting to thank it for trying anyway. All he could say in his own defense though was a simple, "Ritz has been a handful like that..." It wasn't even an affirmation that she was the type to try and play hide and seek without warning.

Ready to step away and resume his search even more somberly than before, Mewt was all the more surprised when Puzzles interrupted just to ask... why exactly he stuttered. A little dumbfounded, he opened his mouth to try to respond but failed to find the proper words. Before he could even respond she was jumping up saying she wanted to help look. Confusion didn't even seem a strong enough word for Mewt to describe what he was experiencing. Whatever it was about the girl, he couldn't even bring himself to stop the awkward smile that crossed his face what he caught her expression brightening.

"O-Okay," Mewt nodded, answering her question simply for the shear fact that most of his words were still failing him. It took him a few moments to fully collect himself, but at last he said, "I've ch-checked a lot of the park already, s-so I don't think she's anywhere near the city..." A slight look of concern and Mewt furrowed his brow, looking in the direction of the beach. She very well could have gone that way to hide somewhere... now he only had to wonder how many possible hiding places could have been other there.

Oh, there was something else he probably should have addressed, if she even remembered she asked about it. "U-Um... I stutter bec-cause I'm mute, b-by the way. I mean... i-in the real world, I can't t-talk at all. It's a l-lot harder than p-people make it sound," Mewt stuttered a little extra due to his nerves, chuckling awkwardly at himself. Even though he had told people this a few times by now he was still quite embarrassed when he tried to express it. Hopefully she would not go about pitying him, though he wasn't sure if she was the type or not.

[puzzles]

Poor guy. He looked like the type that could fall apart at any second the Tentomon observed, looking the stuttering player up and down. Didn't appear to be very self-confident or the like - was that a product of his stuttering? Jigsaw shrugged to himself. Unlike most other Digimon of his ilk, he wasn't as keen for analyzing and contemplating. It just wasn't his kind of digital tea.

Looking at Puzzles though, it was like even she was more apt to do that than him despite whatever condition he suspected she had. After all, it wasn't like he had even noticed the stuttering to begin with! Then again, he didn't really care. Either way, she looked deep in thought again, as if she were concentrating on how and where she could find the other tamer's Digimon. He almost doubted she'd be able to find an elusive Salamon with any ease but, she had surprised him before and he was ready to count on her surprising him so more, and possibly more than he was bargaining for.

Catching Mewt's concerned look, the Tentomon dashed to reassure him. "No need to look like that! We'll help you find that rascal of a Salamon," Jigsaw promised. He rustled his wings and looked to Puzzles for support. "Isn't that right, Puzzles?"

It was only after she had curiously looked around her, staring intently at specific places more than others, that she turned to Jigsaw with a smile. "Right!" With that, her attention drifted and she focused on a good swath of trees and bushes, a decent patch within the park that looked like a place a pesky puppy miiight want to hide.

Before heading there though, her eyes returned to Mewt and she blinked. "Oh," she softly said, staring back at her original focal point. "But it must be nice to talk even then," Puzzles said offhandedly before going, "She could be over there!" and without waiting for her Digimon or Mewt, flounced off.

"H-Hey, wait for us!" the Tentomon exclaimed, and after tapping the boy's knee to follow buzzed off after her. "What makes you think she's over there, huh?" he called. This could have been a little more fruitless than he originally thought. It was a Salamon they were looking for after all. Who knew where it was?

The girl shrugged as she reached the brush and trees. "Dunno," she replied, wading into the bushes and ducking under. When she reemerged, it was to hold a very puppylike Digimon in her arms. "Found her!"

[/size]

[mewt]

Mewt tried not to let too much of his confusion show on his face. The girl, Puzzles, seemed so much less talkative than her Digimon partner, which was a baffling concept to him. To think that an array of data or maybe more accurately a program could be more social than a human... the world had come far indeed. The young man sent a few glances towards the Tentomon each time it spoke, still not totally sure how to handle how it was acting. So kind. So automatically on his side despite it appearing the girl thought he made some kind of blunder.

It wasn't often that anyone would so quickly pipe up on his behalf.

There wasn't much time to try and really soak that in though. Mewt almost had trouble keeping track of what was going on, this girl fluttered from thought to thought... But there was something about her he couldn't understand and desperately wanted to. "I-It is... n-nice," the boy muttered, mostly to himself considering Puzzles had just as quickly began her little search.

Following meekly, Mewt found himself somewhat engrossed in his thoughts again. Thoughts of speaking, the capabilities of virtual reality, and what it would be like if it somehow bleed into reality someday. It was... simply too much. "F-Found...?" The boy perked up and when he looked over he caught the sight of that peachy colored pup in the arms of Puzzles.

Ritz looked quite content- in fact the Digimon was sleeping soundly. Surely she had been napping all the time Mewt had been searching for her, and the mere thought of it left him feeling so pitiful and foolish. Walking over he tried to banish all of his doubts. As he hovered over his partner he carefully nudged her head and uttered, "Ritz... U-Um... Wake u-up. I... didn't th-think Digimon needed naps."

"mmmm?" Her ears poked up slowly, and then she opened one eye caaaarefully. The exploration of her gaze was slow, but when she had finally opened both eyes and looked up to the one who was holding her she mumbled, "Why a pretty lady?"

[puzzles]

The pup-like Digimon was warm in her arms, and she found it immensely amusing that the little digital creature had been asleep all this time. In her mind, it was still as if he had managed to lose his friend in the park; however, with this now in light, the girl could forgive his bungle.

"You're cute," she said to the awakening Digimon with a friendly squeeze. Now that she was actually cognizant, Puzzles gently placed her on the ground with a carefulness akin to handling fragile china. Even so, with the Salamon now firmly upon the ground, she crouched down to continue giving Ritz attention. She had always wanted a puppy after all. Or a cat. And with this opportunity, it wasn't about to slip away through her fingertips - and so, she petted Ritz on her head and scratched behind her ears.

With that out of the way, the Tentomon sighed and alighted beside Puzzles, waving a greeting to the Salamon if she were to notice before focusing back to Mewt. It must be something of a relief to the Tamer, finally finding the high-maintenance pup. As much as the Salamon probably mystified the timid looking boy, the same held true for the Tentomon and his Tamer if vice versa. She was a puzzle in and of itself more than not. "Who would have guessed she'd have been there this whole time!" Jigsaw exclaimed, shaking his head. "Must be a relief, huh?" It would have been a relief to him if he had been in his shoes.

"I like her a lot," came the soft speech from Puzzles soon after. Although she looked up from the Salamon to smile benignly at Mewt, she never stopped stroking the Digimon. Her soft peach fuzz was nice to the touch after all. "You're super lucky."

[/size]

[mewt]

Ritz would have purred if she wasn't a dog, so instead she just wagged her nubby little tail and her ears shook a little. The Digimon couldn't care to hear the whys of the situation, all she knew was there was someone willing to give her not only attention and compliments, but scratches and pets! By far, it was the best way to wake up. As she was put down and continued to be bathed in attention, Ritz found herself leaning it to Puzzles' hand. "That nap did wonders, but this is pretty good too," she mumbled.

"What w-were you doing t-taking a n-nap anyway?" Mewt asked, his embarrassment showing rather brilliantly in his even-more-shaky-than-normal voice. All of his fretting and searching and Ritz was contentedly snoozing away in some bushes... The boy frowned and ran a hand through his hair exasperatedly. "I-It is a relief, yes. Thank you f-for the help, I ap-appreciate it," Mewt said at he turned his gaze to Puzzles. If the girl had a Salamon herself she wondered if it would be anything like Ritz and if it was if she would still like them just as much.

The little pup didn't even seem to hear Mewt's question, her eyes closed happily from the attention she was getting. After a few long moments of basking in the comforts the Digimon finally mumbled, "I dunno... I was just comfortable and... y'know." Her little voice quieted considerably and it seemed like she might just fall back to sleep any moment. Just as quickly though her eyes jolted back open and she said, "You loose at hide and seek, boss!"

With a stunned expression Mewt tried to open his mouth to say something, but no words formed at all. The young man should have known she'd pull something like that- attempt an impromptu game of hide and seek only to end up asleep in some bush somewhere. Sighing slightly he considered asking for a Digimon trade before he realized that was kind of a cruel concept. Even through all the frustration Salamon was his partner and he did have a weird almost masochistic fondness for her. Perhaps he could study a little more once he was out of the game to see if there were better ways to manage a frisky partner. "I g-guess so," Mewt mumbled.

Seemingly accepting that answer, Ritz turned her full attention to Puzzles and asked, "Who are you though? I'm Ritz. I'm a Salamon. What's your name mister Tentomon?"

[puzzles]

She couldn't help but be captivated by the doglike Digimon. Every time the Salamon wagged her nub of a tail, or her ears flicked in what she assumed to be contentment, she felt unreasonably happy. Maybe it was for the sole fact that she had never been allowed a dog, and this was a nice exception to that. And if she could, she'd simply pet Ritz until her arm fell off if it really lead to that.

Though now that her attention was slowly but surely beginning to drift, she returned to serenely staring up at Mewt from her perched position, head tilted ever so slightly. "You're welcome," she responded for her Tentomon partner before the beetle-like Digimon could even blink. The embarrassment was as plain as the nose on his face even to her in the waver and stutter of his voice, but for this time around, she did not so much as bat a lash to it, supposedly choosing to pretend she noticed no such thing. What really mattered to the girl priority-wise as of that moment was the feel of Ritz's fur and the idle, spontaneous thought of puzzles and boards, thus leaving most of the talking once more to her Digimon.

Being quite used to it at this point of the game however, the Tentomon was not so much as fazed by it. It was as easy as simply talking. "That's Puzzles," he answered the Salamon for the girl when it became apparent his tamer hadn't really heard the pup's question, seemingly too distracted by her own thoughts. "And the name's Jigsaw. You appear to be giving your tamer a run for his money in more than hide-and-seek," the Tentomon joked, wings buzzing.

Quite done with that, he looked between both tamer and Digimon and asked, "So are you a relatively new player to the game?"

"I am," Puzzles spoke up as if to answer her own companion, and with one last conciliatory pat on the Salamon's head, straightened up and relaxed her hands behind her back. "Started earlier and everything!"

[/size]

[mewt]

Twiddle his thumbs- that's all Mewt felt like he could really do for the moment. It wasn't that his company was bad by any means, but rather just that Ritz seemed more disposed to speak with the two than Mewt himself. The boy was awkward at his best and, to put it bluntly, he was quite obviously not at his best now. But just maybe he wasn't the only one who was a little odd here. Mewt quirked an eyebrow at the girl but felt himself relaxing a little.

It wouldn't be long until he and Ritz would have to be on their way though, surely, and for that he'd have to actually get Ritz's attention. The last thing he needed was to burden the girl who had been kind enough to help him search- even if he had turned out to be a rather simple exploration. "U-Um... Ritz," Mewt started, unsure how exactly to get her attention.

"Shhhh. Only time for pets now," the Salamon whispered in reply, ears still flopping awkwardly from enjoyment.

He really didn't want to be a bother, and that was all Mewt could really think about. Even as Jigsaw introduced himself and Puzzles to Ritz the young man was trying to figure out ways to casually leave without sounding too rude. Mewt needed to talk with his digital partner about a great many things, so that just added to his 'need' to leave. "Oh, y-yes I'm very new to the g-game as well. I-It may also explain w-why I'm no good at speaking yet," the boy replied with a half-hearted smile. That was still a point he felt rather bad about, so his stack of guilt in this particular encounter was more than it should have been.

Ritz, now finding herself devoid of affections, hopped into action and bounded to her partner's side. In her usual contented way she spoke, "It's okay though because the boss and me make a really great team. In no time we'll probably be the champions. He'll be the Tamer King, just you wait."

"W-What?" Just another instance of Ritz not conferring with Mewt about her grand plan, the young man supposed with an incredulous stare.

[puzzles]

If it were to be allowed, the girl would have crouched there to pet and pat the Salamon the whole day. Having pets at home was a big resounding no from her mother, so it wasn't as though she had that petting privilege whenever she wanted. It was nice for a change, even if she wasn't smothering something that wasn't bits of binary code with affection. To her though, the difference was subtle if even noticed to begin with. In all honesty, it didn't matter to her if what she touched was essentially "real" or just some part of a digitalized program.

Even though her attention seemingly refocused on Ritz and little else, she still kept an ear for Mewt. Telltale in the small tilt of her head, she listened offhandedly to the other player's explanation. Sure, she was up and now half-consciously looking about her, at the other tamers and their digi-pals walking around the park and occasionally chattering amongst themselves, yet it did not mean she ignored Mewt completely. So didnt mean quite mean much to her - barely mattered that he stuttered or he wasn't used to being able to talk yet. Looking up from the Salamon from the moment, she looked as if to airily comment on Mewt, but that was shortlived.

"The Tamer King, huh? Shooting beyond the sky and for the stars aren't ya

[/b]?" the Tentomon buzzed, almost amused by the prospect. Not that he should be skeptical, because who was to say that someone would or would not have the ability to become Tamer King. However, that path wasn't exactly a cakewalk, and judging from the eccentric Ritz and her modest, timid tamer, that beaten path would be more beaten than was normal.

Jigsaw shrugged to himself. Regardless, he'd comment very little on it in an attempt to keep humble himself. "Well, not sure about us. Personally, I'd be content just to play about the game! Or well...what about you Puzzles?" He looked up at his tamer, legitimately curious by now. She had never really mentioned anything like that. In fact, from the very start, he had his doubts that he would be doing much battling at all with other tamer's and their digimon, or even the wild ones. Puzzles far from looked the fighter after all.

For a moment, he wasn't sure she had heard him. Apparently, she was still off in some dream world; or at least, paying scant attention to the other two and himself and more of it to the random people around them. But just as he was to repeat the question, she turned to them and and made a thoughtful qesture. "Dunno! I just want to have fun."[/size][/blockquote]

[mewt]

"Don't act like we couldn't do it, cause I know we could! I'll Digivolve to the highest levels and just..." the Salamon started to pace a little, but then just as it seemed like she had completely lost track of what she was saying she threw up her paws in a grand gesture and screamed, "BANG! I'll EXPLODE into the highest level so fast no one will have even seen it coming! And when I'm a god-like Digimon I'll take the Tamer King title for Mewt like it was nothin at all! nothing! at! ALL!

[/i]" Ritz hadn't much cared that Jigsaw didn't press the matter of her plans, she talked about them anyway. In fact she talked about them even if no one was listening, mumbling to herself if need be.

Mewt watched Ritz for a little while then managed to look away when Puzzles replied to her partner. The young man felt utterly exhausted just thinking about what it would take to become the Tamer King, but he couldn't help his interest in Digivolution. Yes, he had read about it... there was still so much to know though. How long did it take to gain the power to Digivolve? Once a Digimon gained a new Digivolution, did it change it's power in it's base form? How exactly did it all work? Mewt frowned a little and told himself he'd have to do a little more studying on matters later.

"Y'know I b-bet there would be some kind of guild you c-could join. Like m-minded people. Maybe even o-ones that liked puzzles," he said. That had been one of many times he spoke of guilds, but when the young man tried to think of the name of a single guild actually in the game he came up with nothing. As he suggested them more frequently he found himself wondering if he should consider joining one as well. Mewt still wasn't quite sure what he actually wanted to do in the game since it was highly unlikely he'd end up Tamer King like Ritz thought.

"Actually..." Mewt started, furrowing his brow a little, "I s-sort of... think I might join o-one sometime. The m-more I try to figure out w-what to do, the more I t-think a guild for helping o-others might be fun to join. Be l-like a... well of inform-mation for others." It hadn't occurred to him that he could be of assistance like that more formally. Mewt had offered to help a player before with his book-knowledge of the game, the first person he had run into in the game at that, but he never gave much thought that such a thing could be more of a constant practice with more people asking for his help. "Someday I c-could be a guild, maybe."

"O-Oh sorry, I was rambling."[/size][/blockquote]