Though it's not convent. [open]

[shenunigans]

Who| Dave Strider and Feferi Peixes and YOU
What| It's the middle of the Arena and Dave thinks now is a Really Good Time to introduce people to his girlfriend. Sword-fighting and showboating about Celebrus within.
Where| Around the village and the outskirts.
When| Mid Week Two
Warnings/Notes| None yet.

As usual, this Arena is abysmal. It stinks, the costumes are lame and a lot of important people have already kicked the bucket. You gotta keep on keepin' on, though, so Dave and Feferi have done just that. With heatproof gloves and sponsor goodies coming through, it's getting easier to deal with things. Now they both have swords and enough copies of Celebrus to burn while picking apart the articles. Overall, it's pretty hard to be miserable when you're knee-deep in a big ol' teen crush and spending almost all of your time with the object of your affection. It certainly makes time bearable for Dave, perhaps unbearable for some of the people around him. He's eager to introduce her to people, though it may not be the best time. He isn't actively seeking people out, but if he happens by them he'll find a chance to show her off.

For now, they have shit to focus on, like sword-fighting with one another. Dave is trying to teach Feferi the finer details of swordsmanship, so they take to more secluded areas of the village or surrounding places and have a good old time waving their pointy sticks at each other. If Dave happens to knock the sword out of her hand or he's indignant about a loss, he might get caught up in the moment enough to lift her up and maybe even do something horrifically sappy like spinning her. Look, he just doesn't think anyone will see. Anyone but the cameras, anyway, but he doesn't care what they see anymore. They're perfectly alert for an approach, so a rustle of a bush will have them tensing for a fight.

Later in the night, they huddle up in the shitty village houses with copies of Celebrus to burn and to read. Sometimes this means reading the articles in dumb voices, sometimes it means Dave is pitching ideas for new games to sell and admiring the printed version of Tantrum Bingo. They might welcome a friendly guest, but the swords aren't just for stabbing rats in here. It's still a perfectly appropriate time to do introductions.

Through the day, there's foraging, hunting for food and general exploring to do together. There's a perfectly acceptable level of discretion used when doing this, but sometimes Dave gets caught on a topic and can't help babbling in a low voice.

At any point, if Dave is familiar with the person approaching, he'll make sure to introduce her like he's taking a leaf out of Will Smith's book. He knows a lot of people and not enough of them know that his girlfriend is great. Plus it helps to have strong alliances for both of them, he's gunning for her to win this time.

Comments

[wickedgoogly]

If Rose's activity through the arena has proved anything, it's that it's impossible to keep her around indefinitely. She slips off sooner or later to go investigate something, whether telling Dave before or sneaking untold because she doesn't want to deal with what brotherly fussing she might get. But as much as she's gone her own way, it's dumb to expect Dave not to have filled up his own time. Perhaps it's the quirks of time and coincidence that have kept her from finding him with someone else until now.

But that is someone else, unmistakeable with the clash of sword, and it's as she creeps closer through the shadows that she sees who. Or... maybe not who when she doesn't recognize this person, but the troll part is unmistakeable.

She steps out into the open for her approach. Her hands are up and empty, knitting needles hidden where they're tucked up into one of the wide sleeves, and her hood is back to show her face clearly.

"Stay your blades, it's just me."

[fintastic]

This human is smart-- Feferi's been known to be a bit jumpy in the arena, and when she's in the middle of practicing already, it would be easy to use the same momentum on anyone who would try to attack them together. As it is, she's a bit startled but relaxes a little when the approaching human doesn't seem to bear any ill-will.

"Just me who?" Feferi eyes Rose for a good few seconds; there's a bare shred of recognition, but it's not enough on its own. The gears turn, and she takes a wild guess, glancing to Dave first, briefly, before turning back. A sense of familiarity. Not at all nervous to approach a troll. "Are you Rose?"

The words haven't even left her mouth before she lowers her sword, and her fins perk up. She's always excited to meet new humans from her own plane of existence, and any friend of Dave's is a friend of hers, if she's guessed right, anyway.

[shenunigans]

For a while now, Dave has been intending for the wires to cross here. He's not avoiding the introductions, it's just timing and indulgences that keep it from happening. When he's alone with Feferi, he isn't always thinking about his sister and when he's with Rose, he feels like he owes her a little more undivided attention.

Her voice is enough to have him relaxing and he nods when Feferi glances at him so she understands both the lack of threat and the fact that she's right here.

"Yep." He answers for her, clearing his throat before he steps forward and puts a hand on the small of Feferi's back. The gesture alone is probably symbolic of what she is to him, but he might as well explain. "This is my sister of technicality, Rose. Rose, this is my... uh. Gillfrond. Feferi." He knows he picked the word, but damn if he doesn't feel like a huge nerd using it sometimes.

[wickedgoogly]

Rose hangs back on self-identification, and it works out because Feferi guesses and Dave confirms. She figured it would go like that, but she nods anyway to reinforce Dave's yep.

Really, approaching the way she did was just common sense. Don't go startling people with swords even in peaceful circumstances, right?

She catches the way Dave stands with her - it feels too deliberate to miss - then blinks and raises his eyebrows as he turns around the introduction.

"Your 'gillfrond'?" She looks to Feferi, taking in the fins, which really were impossible to miss. She knows about sea dwellers already (thanks Eridan), but it's the first she's seen one in person. "Nautical puns now? Are you doing it for yet another mistaken definition of irony, or have you at last lowered your treasured personal banner to make way for sincere sentiment?"

In any case, she walks over now to offer a hand to his girlfriend.

"It's a pleasure to meet you, Feferi. I don't think I got the chance to chat with you before I was snatched up into this little game, so you'll have to forgive me if there's some critical future conversation with you I've missed out on." She smiles, and it's genuine. It's good to pick up another ally, and she seems much more approachable than the guy she ran into in the catacombs.

[fintastic]

And the fins even move-- Feferi's twitch as she takes Roses's hand, one of the many human customs she's had to pick up on in her time in the Capitol. One of the less weird ones, anyway. You'd never guess she was an alien, if not for the skin and horns and eyes and teeth and... well, everything.

"No, I don't think we have met either. Except for right now!" She knows exactly what Rose means, but she can't help herself, and she giggles. "It's nice to meet you. Dave didn't tell me a lot, just that you were here."

She shoots Dave a pointed look, to let him answer any and all questions regarding his fish punning. It's a look that says to tread carefully, because she will not hesitate to embarrass him as much as humanly or trollishly possible.

[shenunigans]

"I'm doing it to make you wonder why I'm doing it." He answers cryptically as he surveys the wonderful sight of his girls getting along. Not that he imagined they wouldn't, of course, but he's always held the hope that Feferi would be able to meet a Rose who didn't despise her for her genetics. Of course, Rose is burdened with fresh memories of his intense need to be cool. It's still present, and he's aware of it, but it's waned and changed in a way that would probably hitch the ironic boxers of his thirteen year old self.

Good riddance, really.

"Keeps her happy." He adds, as if he's blissfully unaware of the connotations of that look. "Figured you'd find out everything you needed to know by meeting her, anyway. Everyone knows I salt the earth of my summaries with lies and inaccurate assumptions anyway."

[wickedgoogly]

Her eyes catch on the movement, and she wonders how usual that is and if it figures into her regular expression. She never really got to know the trolls in depth; even her conversations with Kanaya were limited on the scale of things. But like this she can learn all the little quirks of body language and culture, and Feferi at least seems nice and sweet.

She does glance to Dave, sending him a raised eyebrow look that says she doesn't buy the initial answer, but her attentions are shifting.

"It's refreshing this way, really. There are enough people here sure to know my future that getting to know someone myself will be nice." Good job, Dave. "Though I think you did miss the opportunity to tell wildly inaccurate lies and watch the resulting fireworks."

Truth be told, she wants to tell someone someday that Zazzerpan was a renowned wizard out of legend in her world.

Then grinning at Feferi, she says, "I suppose we will have to wade into the waters of friendship with nary a compass to guide us. May the wind favor our sails and the currents our progress."

[fintastic]

All these humans, trying to dupe poor, innocent trolls. And then there's Dave, who just tries to dupe everyone, but he hardly counts. She just kind of rolls her eyes and lets him have his way. But if she's reading these human cues correctly, Rose isn't really buying in either, so all is well with the world.

"Speaking of compasses and progress-- nice ones, by the way!-- what now?" She seems genuinely curious, because she has no idea if this means that Dave will want to go talk about human things that she wouldn't understand, or if they should just all band together, or what they should really do. She looks between the two of them for some kind of hint. Feferi isn't a very mindful person, but she's trying more lately. It's not an easy habit to build all on her own, but she thinks she's getting better at it.

[middleversed]

A sword would be nice Kurt can't help but think as he watches the blond boy and grey girl twirl around. With a sword he could have taken down one of those horses and actually gotten something substantial to eat, though he can't complain too much since he'd visited the castle and gotten grub that way. It's practical to have a sword, though, here in the Arena. He could defend himself instead of relying on hiding if anyone should come at him.

Really though, if he were honest with himself, Kurt just wants a sword so he can perfect his Errol Flynn impression. He used to watch those movies all the time at the Institute, staying up beyond late with Kitty and throwing popcorn at the screen and each other. Kurt would use his acrobatic skills to swing from wall fixtures and chandeliers in an approximation of the old swashbuckling movies, sometimes resulting in property damage but more often than not simply making Kitty laugh and making Kurt feel invincible.

He could do with a little bit of that feeling now.

Still, stealing is something else entirely and totally against the Professor's rules. But he'd never really prepared them for being caught in a death game where they couldn't use their powers either so maybe in this case it would be okay? But it would still feel wrong to do something so dishonest and leave these two defenseless. They don't look much older than him, honestly.

Who pulls teenagers into a murder arena anyway?

Plagued by all these thoughts, Kurt heaves a great and audible sigh from his perch on a rooftop, then immediately covers his mouth.

Crap, what if they heard me?!

[fintastic]

Though the fins might not help Feferi hear better, she's learned to stay alert in the arena. As much as she concentrates on what Dave's trying to show her, and improving for it, she's always mindful that someone might be out there. She doesn't want a repeat of the last time she stuck around him too long.

She can't make out what direction the sound comes from, other than vaguely behind her and to the side. Sparing a glance over her shoulder she turns to Dave, fins instantly pinned and ready to go on the defensive.

"Did you hear that?" Already on high alert, she watches behind him, looking for signs of movement. She keeps her sword raised, nowhere near ready to use it against someone, but figuring she can at least do a bit of damage if whoever's out there is unarmed. "Maybe we should go..."

[shenunigans]

Dave's hearing isn't exactly superhuman either, but he's alert enough to hear the sigh despite how faint it had been. He nods slowly, glancing around as he does to try figure out the direction of the sound.

"I sure did. Either we have company or the wind is starting to get hella melancholy."

It's not too hard to see Kurt now that Dave is aware of the presence of someone in their vicinity. He kind of stands out, after all, even if his stealth did him favours until now. Dave thins his eyes when they land on their observer, pointing his sword at him for emphasis when he calls out.

"Hey- this isn't pay-per view, Pal. What's wrong with you?"

[middleversed]

"Nothing! I didn't mean anything!" He waves his hands innocently, trying not to look imposing, though he's aware that his fangs and glowing eyes kind of do that for him... but the girl has fangs too, and she's grey, so maybe it'll work anyway.

"I was just thinking, I'm sorry." Despite his calling his apologies in accented English, Kurt remains on his rooftop. Hey, the guy does still have a sword, after all, and he clearly knows how to use the thing. Kurt doesn't want to be forced into having to teleport away and deal with that beacon proclaiming his position for the whole Arena to see.

"I have some pastries from the castle, if you want. As an apology for spying." And for thinking of stealing your sword. Just please don't try and kill me. Or be able to read minds...

[fintastic]

Feferi turns to spot their stalker, following Dave's gaze. She's not intimidated, just... maybe a little bit insulted. Her fins stay pinned against her neck and she frowns in his general direction as he tries to explain himself away, then shoots Dave a look at the attempted peace offering.

"I don't know, what do you think? Are we going to fall for that? I have never seen this guy before, it sort of sounds like a trap to me..." She doesn't even really try to keep her voice down. She might be a bit hungry, but it's going to take a lot more than pastries to get her off her guard. She'd rather hunt, if it comes down to it. "It is up to you, though."