Scene #9605: If I take one more step...

Owner	Pose
Skipper	Motel Chainer (part of the Franchiser Group of Motels) location number 45, convenient access to the local warpgate and to the local world's highway system. Free ice, free 'high speed' internet, and a pool (pool is under renovations). Arrivals are pretty sure they're in the right spot when they see the handcart parked between the modern-looking cars. (Then again on the way here they passed a taco restaurant with an unrelated spaceship parked out front, so who can say.) One of the doors is propped open. It's also been plastered with cute little stickers of tiny animals and food, which is probably against hotel policy, but does make it easier to confirm that this is the right room. "Oh! Hello!" The person greeting newcomers is short, at just under four feet counting the ears. "You're a little early, Poppy and Jonquil are still out getting food." They're also some sort of mouse person (no mention was made of this prior). The inside of the motel room isn't anything special, layout-wise... two beds (one of which seems to have a few spikes sticking out of it), a table with chairs, and a big pile of backpacks and travel gear all in one corner. "I'm Skipper - Skipper Whiskersmith, Skipper or just Skip are both fine, I just got here yesterday, and I'm eager to get started with, you know, training!" They make a vague hand gesture. "Whenever I can find it, at least."
Riku Asakura	Riku arrives in his normal outfit. That is a jean jacket with an orange shirt with a space logo on it. Jeans and a pair of tennis shoes below that. Two odd things stand out: a plastic-looking case that sits on his belt, and on the other hip is a device that is red and looks like it fits in a hand, with a trigger on it. Riku walks up to the hotel, looking at it weirdly because he was surprised that the meeting would be happening at such a place, but who knows... sometimes cons happen in hotels! The second thing that catches his attention is the small mouse person behind the desk who directs him. "Oh, no problem, I'm here to meet Skipper?" he says. He walks to the room, and inside, he's not sure why one of the beds has spikes sticking out of it. He looks at Skipper and realizes that the small mouse people thing was the standard in this world. "Nice to meet you in person, Skipper. I'm Riku Asakura. We talked on the radio yesterday, and just before the meet-up." "Well, I don't know much about trainers...but I get a lot of my training from the Paladins, Trideag, and my housemate Lala. There isn't a lot I can teach you though, because my stuff is pretty unique..."
Skipper	Skipper looks a little crestfallen at that. "Ah, okay. I mean, I understand... one of my friends has money, and having money isn't really a skill you can teach." "It's a little... well, I don't know about if I should call it frustrating, because I shouldn't be frustrated, but I got told that there were a ton of heroes out in the multiverse, and a lot of people who could train me, and then..." "... Well, so far, not a lot of heroes, and not a lot of trainers, either." They take a seat in one of the chairs. "But okay, a lead is a lead. Paladins, Trideag, and Lala, you said? What are those like?"
Riku Asakura	Riku moves to sit down across from Skipper, concerned that this person has been given the wrong information, or at least misled. He gices them a long look before speaking carefully and slowly about the Paladins and Trideag first. "Well, the Paladins are a multiversal organization; they are part of the Commonwealth and are a part of their structure. Mostly in the form of disaster relief, prevention, and providing assistance to disaster-stricken places, such as those going through or having gone through a world-destroying event. It's a bit more complicated in places, but they answer to the Commonwealth." "Trideag is an organization in the City led by Lilian Rook. It follows a long set of codes and is mostly there to restore and protect the district it's set in. The city isn't a pleasant place and has a lot of fighting over how things should be run versus how they are run. Honestly, it's as if Capitalism was taken to its worst point and then some. Trideag is looking to change the way the city works, little by little, by working on the inside of the City's workings." "Lala is a friend of mine who lives in my world. We room together at Nebula house, which is a secret underground base that connects everywhere in the city I live in. Sometimes giant monsters attack my home, so I have to fight them off. However, Lala keeps me in shape and teaches me how to use a blade." "Sorry, I can't help more, but my power that helps me fight giant monsters and Kaiju has a very limited time to it, and I have to watch how much I use it. Or else I run the risk of not being able to transform when it's needed."
Skipper	Skipper pulls out a dollar store notepad and takes some notes. "I think I understand most of that?" They tap their pencil against it, thinking. "Kaiju is... big monsters, right? That'd be helpful since we have a lot of those, but... I don't want you to use all of yours up. Because we have a lot." "I think," Skipper starts to say, but then the motel room's door slams open. "We've got food!" calls the chipmunk girl in the poofy dress, after kicking the door open since both hands are absolutely full of bags. "It's really cheap so we got a lot! There's this thing called the dollar menu and-" She cuts off as she sees that Skipper isn't alone. Skipper clears their throat. "Poppy, this is-" "A HERO!" The paper bags of fast food (from multiple different restaurants) are dropped with a crinkling thud, and she focuses on Riku. "We got an actual hero, just like you, Skip! Oh my gosh can you fly? Shoot laser beams? Fire your fists with rocket punch! Show me! Show me show me show me!" There's a hedgehog man peeking in from around the door as well, who hasn't made nearly as explosive (or audible) exit, at least not yet.
Riku Asakura	Riku smiles at Skipper, nodding as they get everything down. "I can't speak for Lala, but she might be interested in helping with another person who is a hero in the making," he says. Hopefully, she is! Though his world might be a lot bigger than he was expecting! He's about to ask what Skipper thinks when the door opens up. He turns towards the chipmunk girl and looks a bit sheepish when she calls him a hero. He sighs a bit, shaking his head and trying to explain what he is. "I wouldn't call myself a hero, though some people do. I'm just a guy who does what he can when he can." "Uh, as for what I can do, some of that. I grow giant and can do a bunch of stuff like fire beams from my fists and arms. I can't show you because it has a time limit... also, it's very destructive, so I try to keep it off when I can." He notices the hedgehog man behind the door. "It's okay to come in. I'm Riku, and you two are..?"
Rita Ma	Rita might well be an ordinary, slightly-upper-class guest passing by en route to her own room, behind the quiet man and the chipper girl with the bags of food. For a moment she stares at the shorter animal-people like a tourist, though she does her best not to. I thought they were all Kale-sized. They make them like that...? "Ah, um," Hm. They're still talking about the dollar menu. She cranes her neck to peek into the room and tries again a moment later: "Um, Skipper, right?" Ah, nope. Maybe she still wasn't heard. "I think we just missed each other the other day, Skipper...!" Hm. Well. She's going to feel very silly if this is the wrong room. Glimpsing Riku around the hedgehog and chipmunk at least makes her feel a bit of relief, in that regard. He probably wouldn't be hanging out with a completely unrelated group of people who weren't making an open radio call.
Skipper	"Oooh - being destructive isn't a problem! You can blow up this whole motel, we can afford it!" "Whether or not we could afford it, I'm going to gently suggest we don't spend more of Dandy's money than we have to," says the hedgehog man with a Team Dad tone indicative of that not actually being a gentle suggestion. "Right," says Skipper. "This is Poppy Whiskersmith, my cousin, Jonquil Stepperson, my tracking and archery teacher, and... oh, I don't know who that is." They pause. "Oh! New person! Hello!" They jump to their feet, and practically bowl over Jonquil to get over to Rita. "Hi! Yes! Come in! I'm Skipper, that's Jonquil, Poppy, Riku. Are you a hero?" Rita gets ushered into the room. "We've got food! We've got - what do we have?" "These things called french fries?" Poppy says, opening a random bag out of the dozen or so on the floor. "French fries! We have french fries, have some!" The open bag of by-now-room-temperature more-oil-and-salt-than-actual-potato french fries is waved under Rita's nose.
Riku Asakura	Riku was looking at the door when Rita came into frame. "Oh! Hello, Ms. Ma," He says to Rita when she reveals herself. There is a hint of anxiousness in his voice, but that's old news. They haven't seen much of each other since the week-long war, though what he feels about it is some regret about his position on it, probably why he joined Trideag. "Yeah, I'm not going to blow up the hotel," Riku says firmly. "Sorry, you'll have to wait on that," he says to Poppy. "Also, showing off would mean that if we needed it, I wouldn't be able to transform. So..." he shrugs. Time limits are a problem for a reason. Riku picks up some of the french fries and eats some. "Huh, they really do taste different than WcDonalds." he says to himself.
Rita Ma	"Are you a hero?" Rita instinctively recoils from the question, tilting her head and averting her eyes in a way that communicates "it's complicated". What actually comes out of her mouth in the rush of activity, though, is-- "Um," and then, "please don't blow up the hotel, yeah." Her eyes dart around to try to see how serious the collective attitude is about that. Not very? Not very. Whew! "I really can't afford to be seen at any more Incidents," she's just managing to laugh while sweeping/being-swept inside, and then confronted with (after the Hero Question) her second aversive stimulus in under ten seconds. It's like she's a vampire being confronted with crosses. Rita puts up both her hands, takes a half-step back, and glances to Riku pleading for rescue. Oh. Right. Still that old tension between them. Her eyes swivel back to the french fries, pupils constricted; suddenly those are the less scary of the two directions to look. "Um, no thanks, I ate already!" she says, which is never technically a lie. "And..." Folding her hands politely, she squishes herself back against the wall near where Riku sits. "Um, I don't, think of myself as a hero really, but I'm related to some. I heard something about looking for mentors...?"
Skipper	> "please don't blow up the hotel, yeah." "Nobody is blowing anything up," says Jonquil firmly, as he goes to take a seat on the bed that has ~~spikes~~ his discarded quills sticking out of it. "We're already not getting our deposit back on this room," he says, as if this was the fault of no one in particular. > "...but I'm related to some. I heard something about looking for mentors...?" "Yes!" says Skipper. "I'm trying to learn... well, anything I can, but how to be a hero most of all." Skipper tries a french fry. "These are... different. Like potato cakes, but... different." Poppy, who has stuffed an entire fistful of french fries into her mouth: "(These are bad!)" She swallows. "They're all salt and grease! Who would want to eat these!" She's already reaching for another fistful of french fries. "Just awful!" she says as she stuffs her face again. "Maybe there's something else here that's better..." mutters Skipper as they root through the bags. "Er, not that French food is bad, we probably just got a batch that... wasn't as good. But... um, yes. Mentors. If you know some I'd love to learn about them."
Riku Asakura	'Er, not that French food is bad,' "This isn't French food, it's American," he says, picking up one of the double cheeseburgers and starting to eat it. "They're called French fries because of the cut. It notices that the spikes sticking out make sense now, the Hedgehog's spikes. He also looks at Poppy, who claims to hate the food, but is shoving French fries into her mouth. Maybe he shouldn't eat the food... he heard American food was addictive. Also, the stuff they have back home in Japan is very different than American. Even the same fast food places. "Also, can I ask who told you that the Multiverse has lots of heroes? It sort of does, but I think they might have also set you up." He hopes they didn't pay anything. 'I really can't afford to be seen at any more Incidents,' "Were there other incidents?" He asks Rita, concerned about her possibly being at blown up places.
Rita Ma	Poppy disconcerts Rita maybe the most of everyone. "You don't have to eat them if you don't like them, you know? They're, um, really cheap...?" she says, a hand halfway raised in concern. "Hamburgers are pretty alright. Have you got any of those?" Wait. Oh no. Where's her cultural sensitivity?? "... Um, it's not weird to eat meat where you're from, is it? Oh, how long have you all been unified for?" "Well, there's my brother Bota sort of, and my... 'older sister' Kana, but I don't know if she's still in the mentor-ing business." Her finger taps her lips now, thoughtfully, since she has a moment. "It's not a very good job, really? I mean, you give away all your secrets, and then the person you're teaching gets all the glory. I've never thought about it before, but I'm not surprised that 'mentors' don't advertise." "Were there other incidents?" "Oh. Um. Lobotomy Corporation," Rita counts off on her fingers uncomfortably, "and the Rawbought stuff before that; and a couple of stations with Ms. Grier; and the 'Letter Agency' things in Ms. Rook's world that I think they got some footage of; and..." "... Not much recent. But, you know, it's sort of a lifetime dose."
Skipper	> Also, can I ask who told you that the Multiverse has lots of heroes? "Dandy." "Dandy!" "It was Lord Dandelion, yes," says Skipper. "I think he tends to be... excitable, and prone to a little bit of exaggeration?" "He's probably still got clouds in his head. Oh, what's this one..." she says as she opens up the generic Mexican fast food bag and roots around in it, pulling things out. >"... Um, it's not weird to eat meat where you're from, is it? "Well we don't have cows, but we do have snails and insects," says Skipper. "Though, um, 'ranching' is a new concept. Usually you just go catch something wild, so raising it to eat it feels..." "Like eating one of Mallow's pets, right?" Poppy eats half of a fast food taco in one bite, and hands the remaining half to Skipper, who nibbles at it. "This one's better," they say. "It's got that sort of crunch like raw crickets." "Mmm... maybe we'll do a taste test. I've still got some of those in my bag." > "Oh, how long have you all been unified for?" "About a month? It's hard to tell when, exactly. I think it happened around the same time I started fighting the Beasts." "The stars were different one night, that's the only major change I can recall," adds Jonquil. "We aren't exactly near any place big enough to get a warpgate. It's still a day's travel to get to one. So it took us a while to realize." > "Well, there's my brother Bota sort of, and my... 'older sister' Kana, but I don't know if she's still in the mentor-ing business." "It's still the best lead I have so far. Would you mind introducing me, Miss Ma?" asks Skipper. "I understand if they say no or are too busy, but it is very important that I get whatever training I can." "I have this feeling that I might be the only hero left in my world."
Riku Asakura	"Dandy? Is it someone who has come from the Multiverse or someone from your world?" Riku asks, trying to get a feel for what this person is doing. Though when Poppy says he has clouds in his head, he wonders if she meant his head in the clouds. Which, either way, would explain what is going on. When they talk about eating slugs and insects, it doesn't faze Riku much. "I hear slugs are part of French cuisine anyway!" he says, trying to help inform the new people of the multiverse. Though he might not be correct in that. 'It's still a day's travel to get to one.' "Wow, you guys must live in the country. I'm a city boy myself, haha." Riku says with a good nature. "My home city has a warp gate in it. It's like a big airport now with the comings and goings of the Multiverse." 'Oh. Um. Lobotomy Corporation,' Riku nods a little somberly at that. L-corp was a huge mess, and he doesn't really want to relive that series of misfortunes again. Though she explains she's been in quite a few incidents, and that it was enough for a lifetime. Riku nods, "I have a feeling I might get into a few of these someday myself. Though I hope not."
Rita Ma	"I'd say 'turn your face away from the cameras', Mr. Riku," Rita half-jokes as her advice, "but I think you're too recognizable for your own good." "like raw crickets." "Oh!! I've had those, once! They were really good! It was called, um... Oaxaca? No, that's where it was from... chapulines! That was it." "Would you mind introducing me, Miss Ma?" "Oh, just Rita, please. And..." She hesitates for a second, looking Skipper (tiny!) up and down again. "... I'll show you to the island, mm--" Uh-oh. Is this a 'miss' or 'mister' situation? She's in too deep now. Well, women are usually less insulted by being taken for men than men are by being taken for women, so-- "mmmister Whiskersmith, but her time is her own. Good luck." "I have this feeling that I might be the only hero left in my world." Her lower lip pushes up slightly, in the precursor to a frown. "That's a very ugly thing to say, isn't it? What are you supposed to mean by that?"
Skipper	"Lord Dandelion is from our world, yes," says Skipper. "He's our financier, and also my hammer teacher." > "mmmister Whiskersmith" There is a very, very practiced non-reaction. It's visible in the same way that a black hole can only be observed by seeing where the stars behind it don't shine through. "Please, just Skipper?" > "That's a very ugly thing to say, isn't it? What are you supposed to mean by that?" Oh no. Oh no. Skipper has done the only thing worse than saying a swear. Skipper has committed a faux pas. Even worse, it's one that they don't fully understand. They curl back from Rita's slight frown as if she'd pulled a knife. "I'm um, I'm sorry miss- I mean Rita. It's more like... how do I say this..." "She is the only hero left, though," says Poppy, inbetween bites. "Nobody else is going out to fight the Beasts." "Plenty of people are fighting against the Beasts," says Skipper, feeling the need to defend against Poppy's defense of themself. "Though... not many are doing more than fighting to defend their own villages. Of the people that are actively going out trying to defend other villages, or stop Beasts before they become a problem, there's... myself, and my friends, and... that's all I know of. Nobody else is doing what we're trying to do." "I'm not even a hero myself, not really! I just... picked up a sword when I heard someone was in trouble, and that's... sort of where the bar is," they say, finishing awkwardly. "I'm sorry if that's ugly."
Riku Asakura	"Hammer teacher? Got it..." Riku says, hearing that for the second time. It seems like he's looking for teachers on certain things like heroism. Is that how it works in his world, that you can get teachers for things like that? That'd make his life less complicated, sometimes, but it might also make things too easy. 'That's a very ugly thing to say, isn't it?' It is, when you think about it. Riku didn't think it was so ugly before, but when Rita brings it out into the light, he kind of sees what she means by it, but Skipper kind of seems like he didn't mean anything egotistical or mean by it. He listens to both Poppy and Skipper about what he meant by that, and frowns. "It's sort of natural for people to do that, right? Protect their own; not many can say they go out to solve the problems, but they try to focus on their own personal status quo." He takes a breath, "Going out and trying to figure out the issue is a step in the right direction, but you can't let it get to your head either," he looks at Poppy for this part.
Rita Ma	"Oh, sure. Just Skipper," Rita says, with a little blinkblink of surprise that she biffed it. Somehow nobody has ever felt like shouldering the duty of explaining, to the Very Cisgendered-Looking Rich* White* Girl, what 'being nonbinary' means. Her ignorance survives another day. She relaxes after that, into a sympathetically-comforting half-smile, when Skipper tenses about 'heroes'. "Well... fighting monsters is definitely 'heroic'. And so is 'helping people in need'," she starts off, slightly carefully. "I don't think that that's 'ugly'." "But, is it worth less if the people you're protecting are the ones close to you? There's definitely something special about being a friend to the friendless, I know..." She tilts her head. Now she's having to think, just a little. "... But someone 'just defending their own village' is still risking themselves to save lives, right? That's all I meant." She finds a place to sit, at last, on top of the AC unit with her back to the window. Her arms spread out wide. "Now, could you tell me a little more about those 'Beasts'? I'd love to hear if we can help you."
Skipper	> "Going out and trying to figure out the issue is a step in the right direction, but you can't let it get to your head either," "Skip is too cool to let it get to their head," declares Poppy confidently. "And it's not just me saying that s- that they're a hero! Lots of other people are. They're saying that they- Skip - is the second coming of the Beast Breakers. They're a big deal! We didn't have to buy our own drinks in that town that has the warpgate!" She waits for the astonished reaction that Rita and Riku are no doubt about to emit, but then continues on regardless of whether this gets the anticipated response. "If that doesn't scream big hero then I don't know what does." "I'd rather they... didn't act like I was... nevermind," says Skipper. > "... But someone 'just defending their own village' is still risking themselves to save lives, right? That's all I meant." "She does have a point," pipes in Jonquil. "Yes, I suppose that's right... I'm just frustrated," says Skipper. "I'm sorry. I wish someone was doing more." "Someone is. You." adds Jonquil as what was probably supposed to be a helpful inspiring statement. > "Now, could you tell me a little more about those 'Beasts'? I'd love to hear if we can help you." "Alright... They're made out of big crystals, like... pieces of a stained glass window. They're not one connected being, they're a bunch of floating parts arranged in sort of a way that resembles an insect body. Like if your arms didn't exist and your hands were just sort of floating there but still behaved like they were connected to your shoulders by invisible arms." "Oh, and they're big. The smallest one I've run into is a little smaller than this motel's main building. The more typical ones are closer to the size of a village..." "They don't really leave bodies behind? When you smash one they sometimes leave behind motes-" ("Bits of magic," explains Jonquil,) "- but nothing else. No hard shells or shards of crystal or anything." Skipper frowns to themself. "I... think that's the basics. And I think it'd be best if I take people to see for themselves, so I'm going to try to do that tomorrow. I'm hoping I can also learn something from watching them." "More like they'll learn something from watching you! The hero of the land, Skipper the Beast Breaker!" Poppy raises her burger in a toast. "Hear, hear. They'll be begging for your help, most likely. You'll have so many requests for help you won't know what to do with yourself," adds Jonquil. "That's... great, thank you," says Skipper, forcing a smile towards their oblivious cheering.
Riku Asakura	'Skip is too cool to let it get to their head,' Skipper wasn't who he was concerned about, still looking at Poppy. He takes his eyes off her to look at Skipper, who seems to be... less than enthused. These two seemed to be pushing their hopes and dreams onto poor Skipper, who seems to be shouldering them, but only just. "It's alright to be frustrated, just be mindful that people fighting for their homes ARE fighting," Riku says lightly, trying to remind the young mouse person that fighting and going out and fighting the source are two different things. 'More like they'll learn something from watching you!' He gives Rita a look after that, one that says 'poor Skipper' more than anything.