2022-09-29: A Kindness I Don't Recognize
- Cast: Ako Furuma, Ujico Issa
- Where: Tsutsujidai Park
- Date: U.C. 0096 09 29
- Summary: Ako rescues a cat from a tree with the help of a kind new friend.
<Pose Tracker> Ako Furuma has posed.
Ako Furuma was on the way home, when there was a problem, at a park not far from the local Tsutsujidai junk shop Aya.
An emergency that has a teenaged girl crouching next to a tall tree. It looks like she might be in pain, but she's not. She's trying to shake the tree. It is doing Nothing, because she is WAY too noodly to make a tree shake, and also crouching removes all your leverage.
Blonde hair with a blue undercurrent. A 'garish' purple and yellow jacket that screams 'yankee' to those who judge on first impressions. A skirt and colorful sneakers.
"Come on...ugh, what a pain."
<Pose Tracker> Ujico Issa has posed.
Ujico has been hearing a lot about Tsutsujidai lately. Apparently it's a really weird place...? But Ujico likes weird things, so that's fine.
There's a slip of paper in her hand as she wanders the streets, and she consults it occasionally. There's a cool-sounding junk shop, and a Chinese place if she gets hungry later and feels adventurious, and a bookstore or two... But there's a park as well, and Ujico decides she'd better try that too, because the weather is nice and she's gotten interested lately in the kinds of plants found in other PLANTs.
A pair of sneakers stop a few feet away from Ako, attached to a girl a couple of years older than her. Tan skin, pink hair up in buns, a t-shirt and jeans... and a pair of shiny black horns splitting her bangs into three sections. Ujico is staring a bit, but she mostly looks curious, because she is.
"Hey," she begins, leaning forward to rest her hands on her knees (and get a better look). "What're you doing? Are you okay?"
<Pose Tracker> Ako Furuma has posed.
Oh, god, Ako got noticed. Curse! Curse! But, maybe this is what she needs. As Ujico leans forward on her knees, Ako looks up at her. Subconsciously, she figures her as some weird person based on her horns, but she tries to shake off thinking anything about it - known problem, judges by cover despite hating that.
"Up." Ako points.
A pure black cat is stuck in the tree, looking straight down like a void of fluff amidst the leaves.
"I tried shaking it standing up, but it made my legs hurt, so I tried crouching. But that was dumb. And there's no way I can climb that tree." Or, more accurately, she doesn't really want to, even if she wants to save the cat.
<Pose Tracker> Ujico Issa has posed.
Well, it's not like Ako is wrong...
Ujico looks up as directed. It takes her a moment to spot the problem, but it's an adorable one. "A cat," she says, as if it needed saying. "I think if it gets shaken, it'll dig in with its claws. You'd have to shake it really, really hard to get it out then." And the girl with the cool jacket doesn't really look strong enough to do that. Ujico very tactfully does not point that out. Good job, Uji!
"We could try luring it down with food, or... call the fire department?" Do they still rescue cats in trees? Come to think of it, when was the last time Ujico had to deal with a problem like this?
She looks around for anything they could drag over... a trash can or a bench not bolted down.
<Pose Tracker> Ako Furuma has posed.
A trash can sits nearby - it's less likely to be bolted than a bench, around here.
Ako, meanwhile, answers the question. "I don't have any food. And the fire department will want me to wait, and then I have to interact with them, and it's just a pain." She's venting to this stranger because she'll probably never see her again!
If Ujico moves for the trashcan, Ako keeps an eye on the cat. "It's not mine, by the way. But people were just passing it by, so I couldn't leave it up there. No clue how long it's been there, might be starving."
<Pose Tracker> Ujico Issa has posed.
"It's hard to talk to people sometimes," Ujico nods, and spies the trash can. She goes to get it - it takes her a little while, because while she's in pretty good shape it's really heavy - and manages to drag it back over to the tree. The sound it makes while being dragged makes her wish she temporarily did not have ears, but cats are a good thing and worth some discomfort.
She wedges it in against the trunk as securely as she can. Ujico has never done this before.
"It's probably really hungry by now, if it's been stuck for a while. You must be a kind person." Or just a cat lover. "Can you hold this in place? ...Try not to get landed on, if I fall off."
At least they're not on Earth, Ujico thinks as she clambers up onto the rim of the garbage can. Then she'd be fighting gravity too.
<Pose Tracker> Ako Furuma has posed.
"Yeah." It is hard to talk to people, yet they're both doing it. Weird. Ako covers her ears as the trashcan is dragged, but once it's there, she holds it in place.
"I'm nobody special. I just...thought it was something I could do."
If Ujico moves to fall. Ako will probably get landed on. She's not super quick in the reflex sphere, even if she's not necessarily slow.
"You haven't done this before, have you?"
<Pose Tracker> Ujico Issa has posed.
Some people are harder to talk to than others. Some conversations are more stressful. It helps that they'll probably never see each other again, so the stakes are low. It's not like this will be the foundation of an entire relationship or anything! It's just two weird teenagers trying to unstick a cat from a tree.
She moves thoughtfully, carefully - because Uji is kind of clumsy, and has to work at not running into stuff.
"Here, kitty kitty kitty," Ujico calls softly, stretching her arm up as far as she can - the other is attached as firmly as possible, via her fingernails and sheer willpower, to the treebark.
She streeeeetches up onto her toes. "Uh... I haven't," she admits, turning her head to look back at Ako. "So it's okay if I'm bad at it."
<Pose Tracker> Ako Furuma has posed.
The cat does not immediately come to Ujico. Because it does not know Ujico! It's clearly matted, so it's been up there for a while. It's a black cat...did people judge it as bad luck? It will probably come with another try, if Ujico can hold on long enough.
Ako keeps the can steady, clicking her tongue rhythmically as a fidget. When she speaks, it's out of curiositty towards Ujico. "That's...interesting. I've never really heard that at this age, just that...you need to do your best and try as hard as you can and if you fail, that's not good..."
"Are you local? I haven't seen you before, so you're probably not a student at the high school..." Not that Ako knows every student, she just would probably have heard about This One.
<Pose Tracker> Ujico Issa has posed.
Poor thing. It must be so uncomfortable...
A drop of sweat tickles her cheekbone. It's not comfortable, standing like this. Her calves are already starting to burn. Having a meat body is so inconvenient. "Come on, kitty," Ujico calls again, waggling her fingers.
It's not something Ujico heard very often, herself. Just like Ako, it was 'try your best, don't give up, and absolutely do not fail'.
And so of course, Ujico couldn't seem to do anything but fail.
"I'm not from here. I live in December 02," she tells the other girl. "I'm just here because I wanted to sightsee. I heard there were nice shops here--" Her foot slips a mere centimeter. Ujico clings harder to the tree and tries not to think about anything but keeping her balance.
<Pose Tracker> Ako Furuma has posed.
The kitty starts to come, but if Ujico grabs it, she'll probably lose her balance. A dilemma! But if she falls or leaps down, it's sure to retreat, so...
But that's why there's two of them. You can be bad at something, as long as you have a friend who is equally bad to make you both mediocre together.
Or something. Ako was never good at this.
As Ujico's foot slips, Ako warns her. "I'm about to adjust the can to give you more leverage...if you stopped to help me, you must be...a kind person, huh?"
An echo of what Ujico said earlier, as Ako tries to give the can stability. She does NOT want Ujico to fall. They just need to last long enough to get the kitty!
<Pose Tracker> Ujico Issa has posed.
Just a little more. Just a little more, whether it's patience or time or, or height.
"Uh? Oh, okay--" This would be easier if they had a ladder. More parks should have ladders in case of cats in trees. Ujico will forget to write a helpful letter to the park authorities, but it's a nice thought--
She must be a kind person? "...I want to be a kind person," Ujico explains. Even if she can't be a 'real' human, Ujico can be a type of person that she likes. "So I'll do kind things."
The can rocks a little under her feet as Ako steadies it. The cat is close. So close!
The tips of her fingers touch fur. It's soft in the places where it's not matted. "Just a little... closerr-rrrr...!"
She takes a deep breath and hops, grabbing for the cat's scruff. Please don't hurt the cat, please don't break her neck, she needs that-- Uji's fingers close around fur, the pink-haired girl dragging the cat out of the tree and against her chest as she teeters--
Her sneaker slips off of the rim, Ujico tucks her body around the cat's, and falls backwards.
But at least she's not heading for Ako! Miracles never cease!
THUD! "...Ow."
<Pose Tracker> Ako Furuma has posed.
As Ujico remarks, Ako thinks on it. She thinks on it for a second too long, because she can't try and help Ujico as she falls. Ujico thuds into the ground, and Ako winces. "Sorry!"
Moving over, Ako hesitates for a second, before extending a hand to help Ujico and the cat up. Luckily, the cat doesn't claw TOO bad on fall. "Well, you're doing a good job at it. You shielded the cat first. Even if that was our goal...that kinda instinct..."
"Ako Furuma. I live here. You said you were looking for shops? As we take this cat to...wherever the cats go, park services? I can give you directions if you give me an idea of where you're trying to go."
Ako doesn't like new people. New experiences. New sensations.
But you have to appreciate those who try to do good, but aren't egotistical about it. And she's one step away from a revelation, anyways, and something Ujico said is resounding with her. Just one more push by someone else, and...
<Pose Tracker> Ujico Issa has posed.
All in all, this is damage that Ujico can live with. A few scratches, a couple of bloody spots on her t-shirt (sorry, kitty), but no broken bones. "I don't know if it counts as instinct, since all I was thinking about was 'I want to save the cat'," Ujico muses, reaching up to help Ako pull her to her feet. In her arms, the cat squirms, but it's really too hungry and weak to put up too much of a fight.
"I'm Ujico Issa. I'm glad to meet you, Ako." Because she is! Ujico rearranges the cat a little more comfortably in her arms, supporting its body with her hands the way she saw on internet videos. "We did it."
Park services... "I was hoping to find the junk shop I heard about, and there was a book store. Either one of those would be good! Thank you for offering to show me the way," she beams. Ujico likes a good day, and a happy ending.