2023-05-22: Changing Itinerary

• Log: 2023-05-22- Changing Itinerary
• Cast: Akane Shinjo, Rikka Takarada
• Where: Britannian Mainland - Jacksonville Vehicle Rental Business
• OOC - IC Date: 0097-05-23
• Summary: Akane and Rikka manage to get their road trip off to a start. It's not a good start, after six hours of lost time at the rental lot arguing over everything... but it's a start. It is, however, only a start, because something happens while they're making up the lost time.
• Note: This log continues into 2023-05-23: 0097 Sect 0: Test Array - REDACTED, FOR FOUNDATION STAFF REVIEW ONLY.

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<Pose Tracker> Akane Shinjo has posed.

"Gggh... at least we left early so this isn't a total writeoff, but this still sucks," Akane mutters, loading an extra energy filler into the MR-1's freshly-attached cargo container. "Kinda naive to think we'd be able to do a road trip in Britannia easily, I guess, but wow, after all that I'm surprised they didn't just call the Man Hunters."

Wrong vehicle with worse mileage to the energy filler and a cockpit they're gonna have to squeeze in... upcharged for the cargo container... six hour time loss checking for 'inconsistencies' in their papers.

(That's to say nothing of the things that have been said by people thinking they're out of earshot, of course. Britannia is... not a terribly progressive environment, it turns out.)

Akane texts Leina their updated itinerary -- always smart to have someone know where you are when you're traveling in a kind of messy part of the world. Awkwardly shoving her last bag into the cargo container, she slumps against the leg of the MR-1, sulking.

Her eyes sweep across the rental lot. "Feels like we should've just stuck to Japan..." Her hand comes up to her hair, twisting in it a little and gradually sliding out. "Guess I was a liiiiiiiittle too enthusiastic about the idea the world's not as bad as I thought it was. I should've known this would suck."

<Pose Tracker> Rikka Takarada has posed.

It's been... an Ordeal, to say the least. Rikka's frustration reads clear in her body language. She's kept her mouth shut and her temper in check because she knew making a fuss was just going to make things worse, but for the past six hours or so she's done nothing but want to yell at people. The rental agency, the people behind the desk, those people who think they're being far more clever than they actually are...

The only person she hasn't wanted to yell at is, of course, the very person she came here with. Now that she's alone with Akane, she's finally leveling off a little.

"...Yeah. It really sucks. But it could've been worse." Rikka agrees. While Akane loads up the MR-1, Rikka is seated in the cockpit, going over a few last minute checks. She's already sent off the relevant texts, too, letting her mother and her friends know what's up. With the final check complete Rikka exhales, letting some of the built-up tension out along with her breath. She exits, then, stepping back onto the rental lot just as Akane slumps against the vehicle's leg. She approaches her, leaning against the vehicle along with her as she sulks.

"...Maybe." Rikka admits, watching Akane run her hand through her hair. They were both intrigued by the idea of seeing something familiar, but somewhere New. She doesn't necessarily think it was a bad idea to follow that urge... but it's true that so far it's given them nothing but grief. "...Yeah. This is pretty bad. But... we're here now, right? And together. We can still try to make the most of it."

<Pose Tracker> Akane Shinjo has posed.

"Definitely could have been worse, especially if Sayla hadn't given me such a big budget cushion," Akane reflects to herself, though it's just a passing thought. Once it's said, she's not dwelling on it that much. Spotting the tension in Rikka's shoulders, Akane scoots a bit closer and leans as much into Rikka as the vehicle. Her hand runs along Rikka's thigh for a moment, then comes to rest on her knee as she forces herself to let go of a little tension.

"We're gonna kinda have to book it..." Akane swipes around the map. "I think we can get the time back if we skip Atlanta and just head straight up past Augusta, but that was kinda just sightseeing anyway." It's obvious she's already talking herself into lowered expectations, but she's also not wrong.

With a small 'hff' that blows a stray hair out from in front of her eyes, Akane looks to Rikka. "Maybe this'll be the worst part of it. Not a lot of places to go but up, right?" Her expression turns a little playful, if at strain, as she adds, "Marusan said she's gonna get people together to review bomb the rental place." ... There's that mischievous grin. "I peeked over the desk and pulled his employee number too, so some of that review bomb is gonna be pretty specific." She wonders for a moment if it's too much, if it's a backslide...

... but then, maybe the problem with her impulses was their proportionality rather than their base nature.

Her gaze turns toward the sky. "Already it's kinda different," she says. "This sucks, but at the same time... it's not super stifling. Not like when something would go wrong the last couple years." Her fingertips move inward just slightly. Then -- something clicks, and her expression brightens.

"Guess we made an impression back there, at least," she offers. It's still sulkier than she'd hoped, but... she's making the effort.

<Pose Tracker> Rikka Takarada has posed.

That's true. Sayla's always coming through for them. Rikka nods quietly, staring at the lot for a moment. And then Akane scoots closer. She feels her hand along her thigh, resting on her knee. The touch helps - Rikka's eyes shut and she starts to relax a little, leaning into Akane in turn.

They open again when Akane brings up the map. She watches her indicate the path, frowning slightly as she lists it out. She can see what she's doing... but at the same time, she's right.

"...Yeah, I think we're going to have to." Rikka agrees reluctantly. She meets her eyes, then. Maybe this is the worst part... "Yeah... you're right."

And then Akane's expression turns playful, and soon after, mischievous. Rikka blinks as what she says registers, and then she laughs.

"...Oh my god, she would, wouldn't she?" Rikka replies with a shake of her head. Akane got his employee number, too. "Oh, good catch. Honestly? Couldn't happen to a nicer company."

She's distracted by Akane's eyes for a moment as she looks upward, but soon she follows her gaze up as well.

"...Yeah. It's good." Rikka agrees... and then she laughs, just a little, at Akane's comment. It may be sulky, but Rikka can feel the effort there and appreciate it. "It's true. We did."

<Pose Tracker> Akane Shinjo has posed.

"I'm gonna be a little nasty on To-witter about it once we get on the road, if I can get signal," she says, absently opening the app on her phone. She's still mostly oriented toward Rikka, but she can prep a couple of sassy To-wits and a complaint about an employee.

... she's not sending them until they're on the road for at least an hour, though. She knows better than that.

"I think not having commitments all over town left her with a little too much free time," Akane muses. "Kinda nice to have someone who'll go to bat for you like that though."

Akane spots a couple of onlookers, and the hand holding her phone starts to twitch a bit; her thumb starts tapping at the back of it in obvious agitation. ... she catches herself, though. "Probably better for us to get a move on. At least they found us a two-seat cockpit, even if this one's gonna be real cramped..."

She forces herself to stand up, and then to climb up toward the passenger seat.

<Pose Tracker> Rikka Takarada has posed.

"Oh, I've got to see this." Rikka comments with interest. The idea gives her a little catharsis, too. Maybe she shouldn't indulge it, but! She's fine with this. She chuckles a little as Akane comments on Marusan's free time.

"Maybe just a little. But if anyone deserves it, it's her." Rikka replies, and then smiles. "...Yeah. It really is."

And if anyone deserves someone like that it's Akane, in Rikka's mind. She can see the agitation starting to build up, though, as they catch the eyes of others nearby.

"Yeah, that's probably a good idea." Rikka says. She stands up, reaching a hand down to help Akane if she needs it, and nods. "I would've liked a little more room, but..." She smiles, just a bit mischievously. "I can think of worse ways to spend a trip. I'm just glad to have you up there with me at all."

Akane goes for the passenger seat and Rikka makes for the driver's side, climbing up and settling herself in.

"Alright, one last check before we go... Do we have everything we need?" Rikka asks, pulling out her phone and navigating to a checklist.

<Pose Tracker> Akane Shinjo has posed.

Akane tilts her phone toward Rikka. ... She's a little nasty online. No, scratch that -- Akane Shinjo is even better at Getting Mad On Here(tm) than she is at sculpting.

"I think the second one might be too much now that I've shown it to someone else..." Akane concedes, with a slight grimace.

"I definitely don't mind getting cozy with you either," she adds. This might be a little too cozy -- they're airplane levels of bunched-up in there -- but it's not always bad.

Akane nods. "I was going through the checklist when I was loading the cargo container up, too. Gonna be pretty sad to have to get out to get at the food, though..." ... it really would've been nice to have a full-size trainer cockpit module instead of the 'VIP' arrangement. "We can definitely make it to Augusta before we need to actually stop and refill an energy filler, we've got food, we've got our luggage... first aid kit..."

After a pause to poke around in her own bag, Akane checks for a few things without narrating. She tilts her phone toward Rikka again, this time showing her her list. "If we match, let's get going."

<Pose Tracker> Rikka Takarada has posed.

Akane tilts her phone over, and Rikka takes a look. It's no surprise to her that Akane can get nasty online - in this case, though, it gets a smirk out of her. Though when she admits that the second one might be too much...

"...Maybe a little." Rikka agrees with a slight nod. There's no judgment there, though. She smiles, though, when Akane agrees with her.

"Good thinking. And, yeah, that'll be rough..." She admits, going over her list. She makes a few mental calculations in her head and nods. Augusta... yeah, they should be able to make it that far with what they have. Akane shows her her list and Rikka looks it over, and then nods. "...Yup, looks like we've got everything. Great!"

Knowing for sure is definitely a relief. Rikka doesn't want to have to come back here until they absolutely have to - especially if it'd mean turning around. With all the necessary checks taken care of Rikka puts away her phone, secures herself, and then... gets them on the road.

<Pose Tracker> ????? has posed.

The energy fillers are enough to make it to Augusta... but that's when things start going wrong.

Preliminary reports of a kaiju attack to the northeast funnel Akane and Rikka's road trip to the northwest, instead. (Mercifully, they're ahead of the evacuation by a fair bit, by that point. Likewise, not knowing what kind of kaiju it is helps a lot; Akane does her best to avoid getting too anxious.)

It's not long before they hit a checkpoint... which is reasonable, given the kaiju situation...

... and then end up surrounded by unidentified soldiers in Ankshas, in their poor road-spec MR-1.

It looks like maybe they would have been better off with the Man Hunters after all.