2014-06-13 - Westar Can't Have Nice Things (Part One Of Infinity)
| Title: Westar Can't Have Nice Things (Part One Of Infinity) | |
|---|---|
| Summary: Westar has returned to make his report! Soular and Eas steal his coffee. | |
| Who: | |
| Where: Desolate Mansion | |
| OOC - IC Date: 28 January 2014 - 6/13/2014 | |
<Pose Tracker> Westar [None] has posed.
The quiet peace of Labyrinth's manor is broken by a door banging open in one hall. Then, another. Finally, the door to the sitting room flies open to slam into, then bounce off the wall. There is only one denizen of Labyrinth this unsubtle, and both the yellow diamond on his belt and his mint green hair serve to confirm his identity. Westar has arrived.
Westar is also carrying, in one hand, a disposable paper tray with four sealed coffee cups. All of them are full, and the steamy drink within extends tendrils of mist into the otherwise-chilly sitting room. With more care than he opened the door, Westar sets the tray on the nearest table, and looks to confirm that Soular and Eas are both here.
"Guys, I'm back! And my Nakewameke ran into a problem - how many Pretty Cures are there, anyway? I thought it was supposed to be just the two!" He puts his hands on his hips, leaving the hot drinks unguarded.
<Pose Tracker> Eas [None] has posed.
Indeed, Eas is here. Eas is here right now, in fact, having earlier been watching the events ongoing outside the mansion, and now, sitting in a chair reading a book. ...She is still reading a book, in fact, when Westar comes in, apparently content at first to ignore his outbursts entirely.
At first, anyway.
"Do you have to be so loud?"
Pause. Eas's demeanor is unpleasant, of course, but she does deign to actually answer. She stands first, however, crossing her arms, book held closed in one hand. "At least five. Cure Black and Cure White," which of course they were warned about, a vague use maybe of this overall alliance, "And then Cure Peach, Cure Berry, and Cure Pine, who seem to have no relation to the first two. ...You didn't really go out without a plan to deal with interference, did you?"
<Pose Tracker> Soular [None] has posed.
Tromp tromp /tromp tromp/ TROMP *SLAM*. Soular doesn't so much as bat an eyelash as he pores over, of all things, a fashion magazine featuring the latest, hottest trends. (Thus far he finds its contents utterly incomprehensible.) Like Eas, his initial reaction is to not have one at all; Westar announces his arrival home, and Soular turns a page.
Talk of Pretty Cures does draw his attention, but he doesn't actually express that by, say, looking up. "Hmmm," he murmurs, indicating that he is nonetheless listening. "There are more than just Pretty Cures on top of that, too. Who did you encounter?"
Because he already knows the answer to Eas' question.
<Pose Tracker> Westar [None] has posed.
"Of course I had a plan!" Westar is indignant, if a little defensive. He folds his thick arms, and huffs at Eas. "I had my Nakewameke create powerful limbs, so it could punch harder than them! And it worked! It was just...outnumbered." He sulks, pulling a chair away from the table, and sits heavily enough to make it groan ominously. His arms hang over the back.
Westar looks over to Soular at the question, and leans over the chair's back. "It was four on one - are you sure you got those names right, Eas? There was Cure Peach, yeah, but the other two were 'Beauty' and 'Peace'. Wearing blue and yellow, using ice and lightning." The chair rocks back and forth once, legs clacking against the floor. "And there was some flying girl - didn't say who she was, except that she wasn't Cure Black. Had a glowing sword thing."
The coffees rest on the table, steaming. One of the few products of Westar's day, and he looks over to them. "Anyway, I picked up a few more of this 'coffee' drink on the way back. Wanted to give it a try, after the rest of the day."
<Pose Tracker> Eas [None] has posed.
Eas has avoided sharing what her book is. It's none of anyone's business!
...The plan isn't terrible, as combat goes of course. She doesn't comment on it, accordingly. Instead, she frowns as Westar questions her command of Pretty Cure lore. Rather than looking at Soular, who is of course correct about the extras, "Then you found some we haven't encountered yet. Do you think I'd miss something as obvious as their names?"
Hmph. "At least you remembered to keep note of their fighting styles."
"...Coffee? You wasted your time bringing some human drink back to us?"
<Pose Tracker> Soular [None] has posed.
'I had my Nakewameke create powerful limbs, so it could punch harder than them!'
Soular looks up, just so he can direct his look of 'seriously?' to the correct target. With a faint, near-soundless sigh, he sets down his magazine, uncrosses his legs, and stands up. "So it sounds like there was a mix," he observes indifferently, walking on over to the table. Just as Eas doesn't follow up on his comment, he doesn't follow up on hers, though he's not surprised that she's irritated. She did, after all, take it upon herself to handle Pretty Cure.
"Yes, that information will actually be useful," Soular adds, removing one of the thermal cups of coffee from the cardboard tray and taking a sip of the hot liquid. Having steeled himself thanks to his experiences with tea, his expression doesn't change, but he mentally takes stock and compares it to the other beverage:
- - both taste terrible
- - no really this is terrible
- - how can these humans put this in their mouths
- - it's incomprehensible
"Hnh," he murmurs aloud, taking another sip and returning to his seat, settling in and picking up his magazine anew. He completely fails to acknowledge the fact that Eas sneered at the coffee... or that Westar is the reason it's here, and free.
<Pose Tracker> Westar [None] has posed.
Westar pushes hard on the groaning chair to stand up again. If there's anything he does know, it's combat. The things he doesn't know, on the other hand, are countless. Still, when Eas comments on what he did pay attention to, there's a faint smile on his face which doesn't vanish even in the face of the time-wasting comment. "Well, that flying one never gave her name. Also, I think the Peace one had some fluffy fairy helping her - and be careful of her, the lightning worked well against the metal parts."
Westar's footsteps can be heard again as he starts pacing around, explaining what he did learn. "Cure Peace uses lightning a lot - either from afar or up close. Cure Beauty uses ice, but she likes to form it into a sword and close in. Cure Peach is kind of like you, Eas - punches and kicks with a good bit of power. She does have one magical attack, though, and it was what finished off my Nakewameke. And the nameless-"
He stops upon noticing that one of the coffees has gone missing, double-checks the count, and whirls around to face Soular. "Soular! I was explaining, the coffee was for when I was done!"
<Pose Tracker> Eas [None] has posed.
A mix; something they can generally be prepared to deal with. Having agreed that the information will be useful, she leaves it at that. ..Westar smiles but she just scowls again. ...Since this is Eas, however, this probably doesn't come off as terribly unusual.
"A fairy," Eas replies, and this seems to mean something to her. More research will be required. But then--
Cure Peach is kind of like her, huh? Eas narrows her eyes at Westar. "Are you suggesting I'm as foolish as that girl?"
By this point, she has already moved over from her position, of course; she is now standing near the table, having taken a cup of the coffee despite her earlier complaint. She sips at it.
It tastes angry. ...Good.
So, unseen by Westar, she turns back around herself, though not because she's actually trying to hide her drink. No, she's just annoyed. "Whatever. Now, you know. Just stay out of my way when I'm dealing with them."
<Pose Tracker> Soular [None] has posed.
There is that. While Westar may be hopelessly straightforward, there's no denying that he's very good at what he does. You'd hardly think he hadn't been trained as a warrior--though Mobius-sama of course had more fitting plans for his strength. Mobius-sama always knows best, after all.
He continues to listen to Westar's rundown of his opponents. Cure Peach, Cure Peace, Cure Beauty, and an unnamed flying magical girl... He memorizes the names, but raises an eyebrow when Westar is bold enough to directly compare Eas to Cure Peach. And there is, of course, the fairy...
But then Westar stares down at his serving plate, then rounds on the silver-haired man. Soular's expression goes deadpan.
"Oh, was it? My apologies."
And then, looking directly at Westar, he takes another long /sip/, which conveniently hides his smirk as he watches Eas steal her own coffee cup and walk away with it.
<Pose Tracker> Westar [None] has posed.
Westar's attention was on Soular's drink-theft - enough that he didn't notice Eas's growing anger until she calls him out. He's about to respond, then pauses, thinking it over carefully - well, carefully for him. Prone to getting angry for her cause, determined to fight even when she should nurse her injuries, tougher than she looks?
Westar does the smart thing for once. "What - no! I just meant in how she fights!" He turns to face Eas, and continue his explanation. "Anyway, nameless black-haired girl. Flies, has a sword with an energy blade that I think was talking, mixes up ranged and close-up-"
There were four coffees when he came in. Now there are two. He looks from the tray to Eas. "Eas! You and Soular both - I would have given you some if you'd just asked!" He storms over to his usual seat, and starts lifting weights in frustration, not looking at either of the two of them.
"Okay. So, not even counting Black and White - who I still haven't seen - there's Peach, Berry, Pine, Peace, and Beauty. Plus unnamed flying sword-girl." There's a heavy clank as he sets down the dumbbell fully before lifting it again. "At least six of them, against three of us. They have a numerical advantage - the outnumber us two to one!" Westar sets the dumbbell down again. "So, make sure the Nakewameke are ready to fight overwhelming odds, even when we're teaming up against them. Eas, I'm fighting whoever tries to stop me, but I'll follow your lead on taking the fight to them, and-"
Westar stops, and looks up from his weights to the table. How many coffees are left, now?
<Pose Tracker> Eas [None] has posed.
Of course Mobius-sama's directives are wise.
...It ends up being for the best that Westar holds his tongue, very, very much for the best. He insists it's just about their combat style, and... At length, Eas turns back around, seeming to accept this for now. "Fine," she allows. They do, after all, both fight in hand-to-hand combat. That just makes her well-suited to fight against her, that's all. Listening to the rundown, she--
She doesn't even bother to answer his note about the coffee. There is just zero acknowledgement that it is a thing that exists, even as she continues to sip at it.
Somehow, her book has been moved to under her arm. "Why should we care about numbers? We're easily a match for multiple, each. And they can't all be present for everything. Remember, we aren't the only ones with goals here." A shrug of her shoulders. "Regardless, I'm working on a plan."
Beat, "I wouldn't tell you to do otherwise, Westar," about fighting them. "But, good."
Eas is walking for the door. There are now two coffees in her hands.
<Pose Tracker> Soular [None] has posed.
"Are you really trying to say you would have drunk all four of those by yourself?" Soular points out, tilting his cup slightly to one side as he files the details of the unnamed magical girl away. "You were going to give them to us anyway."
Which of course justifies Eas and him taking them all, somehow. Actually, it does beg the question of why there were *four* drinks; who was that fourth one supposed to be for? ...Not that it matters. "Superior numbers mean little in the face of superior tactics," Soular adds to Eas' dismissal of Westar's numeric disadvantage concerns, sounding just as unconcerned. Funny, given that he hasn't actually fought any of the magical girls directly yet. All in due time, though...
As Eas heads for the door, Soular stands up. "And I have my own work to concentrate on," he adds, heading in the opposite direction from the youngest executive.
There are no coffee cups left in the cardboard container. After all, Soular thinks as he sips at the vile concoction, he can't allow Eas to get ahead of him. Westar just happened to be in the way.
(Later that evening, when an undrunk and cold coffee cup appears in Westar's personal room, Soular will disavow any knowledge of how it got there. In the end, just one serving of this foul liquid was enough, so he may as well dump the rest on Westar.)
<Pose Tracker> Westar [None] has posed.
There are things Westar could ask. Like: how do Berry and Pine fight? Or, is there anything you need for your plan? Or, do you really think there's a tactic that will overcome a six-to-one disadvantage? Or, haven't you noticed that they seem to get more powerful in a pinch?
Westar says none of these things, because his fellow executives have taken the remaining two coffees, and all thoughts of things actually relevant to the mission fly out of his head. "Couldn't you two have left me at least one of them?!"
And in moments, Westar is alone. "I just wanted to try it too..." He sulks. After a time, the soft clank of weights being lifted can be heard once more.
