[Closed]

[chalicejoker]

Who: Hajime Aikawa (chalicejoker) and Fred Vandenberg (seriallylucky
What: Hajime and Fred encounter some Vermini. Hijinks ensue.
Where: The park and wherever else an unplanned adventure might take them.
When: Late afternoon, July 15.



Even with the development of sudden freakish super strength, Hajime still found comfort in making sure to work out. He had to be careful if he tried lifting weights, but something like jogging was safe enough. At least, it was safe enough in the sense that he wasn't going to lift far more weight than a man his size should be able to manage, thus attracting unwanted attention from anyone in the area who might have noticed.

Still, Hajime was troubled. Distracted. He had a lot on his mind, most of it dealing with giant bug-monsters with playing card fixations and weird little hairy monsters showing up in the alley behind his restaurant and crazy old hobos in abandoned coal mines...so it was perfectly understandable that he wasn't paying all that much attention to where he was jogging and just might be in the perfect position to run into someone on accident in the most literal sense of the word.

Comments

[seriallylucky]

Fred is also distracted, but by quite different concerns. Oh, he's kind of weirded out by his newfound powers, but they haven't manifested accidentally since he first found out about them in the mine, a month ago now. No, it's the "Sage"'s words that are nagging at him. Stuff about defending the earth, and about a seal - he feels like that should remind him of something, from much longer ago, but nothing comes clear. So he keeps worrying at it, off and on.

Unfortunately, while he's worrying at that, he's not paying much attention to his surroundings. So he doesn't notice the other man - isn't he going too fast? - until he's too close to dodge. They collide, and Fred is knocked flat and out of breath.

[chalicejoker]

There's a huff as Hajime also has the wind knocked out of him. Sloppy. That was sloppy. He should have sensed that guy's proximity with those crazy reflexes of his, but he'd been too distracted. Or maybe going too fast. Or maybe making a good old-fashioned human mistake. He kind of liked that, that he was still human enough to screw up and plow into some poor guy while he was out for a jog.

"Sorry, wasn't watching where I was going...you okay?" Hajime got to his feet pretty quickly and went to offer Fred a hand getting up. A look of mild surprise crossed his face when he realized he'd literally run into someone else from the network. It's not like he knew the guy, but he recognized him.

[seriallylucky]

Oof. It takes Fred a little longer to recover, what with not having enhanced strength and reflexes and such. He does manage to lever himself up to take the hand after a moment.

"Fine," he manages. "I should've been more careful too." He blinks; he wasn't expecting to meet a network person, either. Though maybe he should, since it seems like the effects are pretty much confined to the city.

[chalicejoker]

Well, at least the recognition appears to be mutual. "I don't think I've caught your name before. On the...network." That sounds innocuous enough if he were wrong, doesn't it? "I'm Hajime. I'm...I guess you could say I'm moving along faster than I'm used to these days." He rubs at the back of his neck. So awkward to discuss these things out in public...

[seriallylucky]

Awkward indeed; Fred still worries about his last slip-up, even though it was months ago and nothing seems to have come of it. "I'm Fred," he offers, a bit at a loss for where to take the conversation from that point.

It is perhaps fortunate that a distraction peeks out from a nearby bush, in the form of what appears to be a young cat - except that its face is distorted. The eyes and ears, in particular, look almost human.

[chalicejoker]

The rustling in that bush distracts Hajime from saying anything else. He turns to get a better look, and does a double-take when he realizes what's peeking out at them. "Hey--you see that?"

[seriallylucky]

Fred's eyes are wide. It's really a rather disgusting sight. "Yeah," he says quietly, hoping to... he's not sure. Avoid its notice, maybe? "What is it?"

[chalicejoker]

"Have you seen those little black puffball things? They can infest animals...I think that's what's happened here." Hajime crouches slightly and starts creeping towards the bush, like he's going to try sneaking up on it.

"Maybe we can catch this one."

[seriallylucky]

"Black puffball things?" Nope, not ringing any bells, sorry.

As it happens, Fred has never seriously tried to catch an animal, so he's left standing awkwardly. After a moment he tries to sneak around toward the side opposite where Hajime appears to be headed. He's... not very good at sneaking.

[chalicejoker]

Unfortunately, Hajime is also not very good at sneaking. The cat bolts, but he's ready for it. There's a lunge, and he's flying at the cat in a tackle. His strength and reflexes are serving him well. For one brief, shining moment, he actually manages to grab one of the cat's legs.

The triumph is short-lived. "Hey, this thing has claws!" He's almost immediately forced to let go.

[seriallylucky]

Almost as soon as the cat bolts, Fred starts running. He's not entirely sure what this thing is, or why they're trying to catch it, but he knows that you don't capture something by going slower than it.

Unfortunately, that means that he's not far away when it scratches Hajime. 'Unfortunately' because it then leaps, trying to get away, its trajectory fouled by the remains of his grip. It ends up slamming right into Fred's stomach, claws still out, knocking the wind out of him again before rocketing away. The claws don't do a whole lot of damage through his shirt, but they do hurt.

[chalicejoker]

Hajime's scrambling to his feet and ignoring the green blood starting to bead up at that scrape. He'll try to intercept the runaway cat, but even with his superhuman reflexes, can't quite manage. All he's able to do is to drive the cat back towards Fred.

[seriallylucky]

Fred, as has been noted, has no enhanced reflexes. Cats, by contrast, are noted for their agility. It is thus able to dodge around him. He tries a leap like Hajime's, but he doesn't even make contact as it rushes past. Before he can stand up again the cat is well past him, heading for another bush.