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Description

June 8th
Evening
Northern Mentensia, in the beach / coastal area, near a forest path.

There was a dance party going on in the beaches… though at this point in the summer, it was not uncommon to start seeing such events going on even just for sport. Though there was something special about this one… it was attracting more then a few bub-chi to the party, but less to just dance… but to watch the start of the show. For here, a tiger-skinned bub-chi, dressed in an elegant hawaiian style tribal dress with a seashell necklace and dreadlocks that flowed seamlessly as she danced and spun atop the quickly constructed stage on the beach, elegance in every step as she charmed her audience with every move.

A little ways away… Opal was taking part in her own activities. Though they were… less fun to say the least. She was running through the forests, but with a rather large log in tow, with total abandon for her bubble. The log being of one of the heavier varieties in Chigon as well as about 3/4th of the Ca-chi’s size, it was exceedingly heavy. But despite this, the cursed child kept it carried by her person while running at a quite reasonable speed. She would occasionally take a unusual path and be forced to jump and scale over branches, roots, and gaps in the terrain, but otherwise, she maintain her speed even as her fur grew sodden with sweat…. Though she had to admit, her stamina was being taxed. But she didn’t want to let this be her limit. So she pushed herself and kept going, only stopping to readjust the log so she didn’t drop it due to it slipping before right away breaking back into her run.

Before long, she found herself on the beach once again, doing a quick spin in the sand as she laughed briefly before glancing at and tossing the giant log someplace safe where she can get it back later while planting her hands at her hips, letting out a happy huff as she hummed “Whew, what was… what?” She looked up at the sky for a moment to locate the sun’s position “2 hours? Yup, sounds about right.” She then looked about… and realized what she had walked into, but surprisingly didn’t disturb. This confused her for a moment, for she initially thought she interrupted something, but then she saw what was going on… and her tone changed entirely….

She was admittedly moved. She was never really once for dancing, so the accurate and unfailing motions the main dancer made entanced her even more than the usual onlooker. The dance put on for the show was enhanced by the environment the stage provided, with the tiki torches providing additional light, the coastal decorations adorned with the icons of the gods, and the pristine seashells that lined the sides of the stage providing the needed aesthetic to suit the theme the dancer was going for. Everything seemed perfect…

...Except for that one moment where the ground depleted for one of her leaping motions in the dance, and the islander noticed this too late, and found herself barraling away from the stage. There was some mercy in this however, for this was where Opal happened to be standing, and wasting no time at all, the Ca-chi repositioned herself and grabbed the tiger chi by her own hands and was able to make a single fluid spin with the dancer with the aid of her strength before letting her go, throwing her up back onto the stage. The event allowed the tiger-chi to land back onto the dance floor on her own two feet. The brief humming to the song was interrupted during the time out of sight by a “Ohhhh!” as though they expected her to be hurt… but then they cheered and resumed singing as, after a moment of a daze, the dancer rose her hands up as though to improvise that she was fine and it was all intentional. Though she shot a quick wondering glance at the Ca-chi before resuming her dance, now more careful with her moves as she resumed the journey to the end of her routine.

With that, the cursed child nodded. She was glad she was able to divert and avert the situation quickly, and she moved to join the rest of the audience, a smile on her face as she decided to spend the next few minutes recuperating from her workout while admiring the sight before her.

---
20 minutes later

The routine ended with a round of applause as the dancer bowed to her audience, the show ending with seemingly no hitch, the accident having successfully been disguised as a part of the act. And now people were dispersing due to the fact that the sun was setting and it was time for the bub-chi to get ready to rest for the night.

Seeing this, Opal nodded with a smile. She didn’t say a word, but she was gleeful for the chance to see the entire musical in action. She started to head off to retrieve the log she discarded earlier, with the intent to stake into the ground to pratice balancing herself when… after jumping onto the secured log, she heard someone speak to her.

“Excuse me…” Opal turned around, and saw it was the dancer from earlier. Her posture now was calm and peaceful, looking up at Opal in a prim and proper and respectful posture “I wanted to thank you for earlier… You saved that entire dance routine. I don’t think I would have finished it if I had crashed into the sand.”

Opal pretended to be confused as she rotated on the log and balanced herself on one leg, entering a more meditative posture “What are you talking about? I was just in the crowd. You made that recovery you--”

“Don’t try that with me, I saw you with my own two eyes.” The tiger chi countered and interupted the Traceuse “You’re not fooling anyone, which is why I maintain my thanks.”

Opal was clearly not a fan of that… but she silently accepted the thanks as she looked altered her pose and put both hands behind her back, still standing on the log on one leg “Very well then, you got me… Though I’ll be honest, I am not exactly familiar with the world… or here at all. Any chance I may ask you your name?”

“Oh! I had no idea.” The bub-chi then placed her hand to her heart to introduce “My name is Onika. I come from and live at one of the islands around here.” She then tilted her head “And what may your name be?”

Opal then pushed her distaste for the acknowledged task aside, and introduced herself with much more confidence “Opal is the name! Black Opal! Aspiring adventurer, Traceuse, and explorer!” She then hopped down from her perch “ “It’s a pleasure to meet you ma’am.” she then held out her hand to shake Onika’s hand.

The tiger chi took a moment to look at it before shaking the cursed child’s hand and asking “I’m curious… have you ever danced yourself?”

This proved to be a bit of a brick wall for Opal… a she paused for a while before responding nervously “Uhh… I’ll admit, I never have… heck, as much as I’ve focused on the whole idea of being extremely agile and balanced and such, I… never danced before.”

The tiger-chi blinked for a few moments, before recovering her smile “I see… a surprising lot of people have never danced before. Do you mind if I see you at least give it a try?”

Opal hesitated for a moment… then nodded, and she let go of Onika’s hand and got in what she thought was a good dancing posture… then she began a rather… awful… tap dance, along with a few other bad dance moves. It was admittedly cringy to watch, and after about 20 seconds of this, it ended when in her attempt to not look like a dimwit, she tripped over her own feet, and face planted into the silky sand. This won a laugh from the natural dancer as Opal pulled her head out of the ground, shaking the grains free from her fur before forcing herself back onto her two feet.

“I can tell you never have before now.” The orange chi could not help but giggle “I still give a A for effort however.”

“Ya think?” The Ca-Chi was somewhat dazed by her smack into the ground, but she quickly recovered. “They never taught it where I came from.”

Onika thought upon this revelation for a few moments, before standing more upright and approaching “Then what do you say if I taught you a few things about it?”

Opal found herself raising a brow before looking the way of the sun on the horizon. “This late? Are you sure?” Her concern prompted her to return to facing the dancer “I don’t want to keep you up or let you get caught out here.”

Onika laughed for a bit before calming herself down and replying “Oh I didn’t mean right now. I’m not one to stay out in the night. I meant later… as much as a dance out while the sun sets seems appealing to me, I don’t exactly have the stamina to do so at the moment… But would you be willing to accept the offer for later?”

It took the cursed child a few moments to decide on what to say, but eventually she smiled and replied “Well… if you are willing to do so, then hey, it may also help with me as well. I’ll gladly take up your offer. Did you want to try tomorrow afternoon? Assuming you’re not busy then?”

With that, the dancer bowed with a smile “That, I am happy to do. And otherwise tomorrow was going to be a very bland day. So tomorrow it is then.”

Opal nodded and dusted herself off again “Then it’s settled. Guess I’ll see you around here sometime then!”

The tiger-chi nodded as her silent reply… before looking to the quickly setting sun and uttering “I need to head to the inn now. Best not be caught out here.” She then began her walk back to the city “I hope you have a safe trip back home, Opal, my friend. Have a pleasant night!”

The Ca-chi waved back with her crystal hand and cheered “Have a good night! Sweet dreams!” Though on the inside… she felt herself sink a bit… She… she didn’t have a home. She found his awkward to admit. So she didn’t say anything. But this fact was quickly shrugged off; she was fine with lacking a roof over her own head….

In fact… she continued to think as she climbed back onto the log and balanced herself again, realizing how out of balance she has been for a long time, and putting even more effort to steady herself… but back on subject, she remembered how long ago she vowed to not settle down until she has ventured to her fill. And now… every passing day nowadays, she has more and more realized that there may be far more than just adventuring around the world… and somehow… this made her realize that she…

...Should not just settle down. Perhaps she is best this way. Continuing on with her journey until the moment where time essentially denied her that right. And it was not a right she will be losing anytime soon…

...Not even to the V-chi a hour later… who crept from the darkness of the jungle on the Ca-Chi as he saw her still balancing on that log in the dark night…, his orange yet dark eyes hungry for his prey. And he rose from the brush, attempting to use the night as cover before he jumped for the bite.

...Except… Opal’s night vision struck once again. And she slowly turned her head to the otherwise perfectly concealed vampire, and she let a smile come over her face, before hopping back to grab the log. Before the V-chi could react, he found himself with a log being hurled at his head, sending him onto his back and dazing him. Before he could lift the log off his head and get back up and check if he still had all of his teeth, Opal was already making a mad sprint away.

“Sorry, buddy!” The Ca-Chi exclaimed with a laugh “You’ve got to try better than that!” She then did yet another eyelid pull taunt, and was already so far away that the V-chi lost her scent and sight.

The vampire sat there for a few moments as a light drizzle of rain started to fall from the sky before taking his hood off, revealing his navy blue face and unkempt and slowly being soaked black hair, all of which were fully camouflaged in the hood when it was up. He simply snarled and exposed his fangs for a moment “One of these days, I promise you Opal…. I will catch you…” He then stood up before putting his hood back on, what could be seen of his face turning back into a shadow with a pair of eyes “And I will make sure you suffer… And I will assure you…” He then let out a soft laugh that seemed slightly maniacial. “...I will enjoy every bit of it.”

Then, with a flash of lighting and the sound of thunder, the V-chi was gone, with a chuckle as he plotted and sought out a different target, unable to wait for what he perceived as that fateful moment.

Description

June 8th
Evening
Northern Mentensia, in the beach / coastal area, near a forest path.

There was a dance party going on in the beaches… though at this point in the summer, it was not uncommon to start seeing such events going on even just for sport. Though there was something special about this one… it was attracting more then a few bub-chi to the party, but less to just dance… but to watch the start of the show. For here, a tiger-skinned bub-chi, dressed in an elegant hawaiian style tribal dress with a seashell necklace and dreadlocks that flowed seamlessly as she danced and spun atop the quickly constructed stage on the beach, elegance in every step as she charmed her audience with every move.

A little ways away… Opal was taking part in her own activities. Though they were… less fun to say the least. She was running through the forests, but with a rather large log in tow, with total abandon for her bubble. The log being of one of the heavier varieties in Chigon as well as about 3/4th of the Ca-chi’s size, it was exceedingly heavy. But despite this, the cursed child kept it carried by her person while running at a quite reasonable speed. She would occasionally take a unusual path and be forced to jump and scale over branches, roots, and gaps in the terrain, but otherwise, she maintain her speed even as her fur grew sodden with sweat…. Though she had to admit, her stamina was being taxed. But she didn’t want to let this be her limit. So she pushed herself and kept going, only stopping to readjust the log so she didn’t drop it due to it slipping before right away breaking back into her run.

Before long, she found herself on the beach once again, doing a quick spin in the sand as she laughed briefly before glancing at and tossing the giant log someplace safe where she can get it back later while planting her hands at her hips, letting out a happy huff as she hummed “Whew, what was… what?” She looked up at the sky for a moment to locate the sun’s position “2 hours? Yup, sounds about right.” She then looked about… and realized what she had walked into, but surprisingly didn’t disturb. This confused her for a moment, for she initially thought she interrupted something, but then she saw what was going on… and her tone changed entirely….

She was admittedly moved. She was never really once for dancing, so the accurate and unfailing motions the main dancer made entanced her even more than the usual onlooker. The dance put on for the show was enhanced by the environment the stage provided, with the tiki torches providing additional light, the coastal decorations adorned with the icons of the gods, and the pristine seashells that lined the sides of the stage providing the needed aesthetic to suit the theme the dancer was going for. Everything seemed perfect…

...Except for that one moment where the ground depleted for one of her leaping motions in the dance, and the islander noticed this too late, and found herself barraling away from the stage. There was some mercy in this however, for this was where Opal happened to be standing, and wasting no time at all, the Ca-chi repositioned herself and grabbed the tiger chi by her own hands and was able to make a single fluid spin with the dancer with the aid of her strength before letting her go, throwing her up back onto the stage. The event allowed the tiger-chi to land back onto the dance floor on her own two feet. The brief humming to the song was interrupted during the time out of sight by a “Ohhhh!” as though they expected her to be hurt… but then they cheered and resumed singing as, after a moment of a daze, the dancer rose her hands up as though to improvise that she was fine and it was all intentional. Though she shot a quick wondering glance at the Ca-chi before resuming her dance, now more careful with her moves as she resumed the journey to the end of her routine.

With that, the cursed child nodded. She was glad she was able to divert and avert the situation quickly, and she moved to join the rest of the audience, a smile on her face as she decided to spend the next few minutes recuperating from her workout while admiring the sight before her.

---
20 minutes later

The routine ended with a round of applause as the dancer bowed to her audience, the show ending with seemingly no hitch, the accident having successfully been disguised as a part of the act. And now people were dispersing due to the fact that the sun was setting and it was time for the bub-chi to get ready to rest for the night.

Seeing this, Opal nodded with a smile. She didn’t say a word, but she was gleeful for the chance to see the entire musical in action. She started to head off to retrieve the log she discarded earlier, with the intent to stake into the ground to pratice balancing herself when… after jumping onto the secured log, she heard someone speak to her.

“Excuse me…” Opal turned around, and saw it was the dancer from earlier. Her posture now was calm and peaceful, looking up at Opal in a prim and proper and respectful posture “I wanted to thank you for earlier… You saved that entire dance routine. I don’t think I would have finished it if I had crashed into the sand.”

Opal pretended to be confused as she rotated on the log and balanced herself on one leg, entering a more meditative posture “What are you talking about? I was just in the crowd. You made that recovery you--”

“Don’t try that with me, I saw you with my own two eyes.” The tiger chi countered and interupted the Traceuse “You’re not fooling anyone, which is why I maintain my thanks.”

Opal was clearly not a fan of that… but she silently accepted the thanks as she looked altered her pose and put both hands behind her back, still standing on the log on one leg “Very well then, you got me… Though I’ll be honest, I am not exactly familiar with the world… or here at all. Any chance I may ask you your name?”

“Oh! I had no idea.” The bub-chi then placed her hand to her heart to introduce “My name is Onika. I come from and live at one of the islands around here.” She then tilted her head “And what may your name be?”

Opal then pushed her distaste for the acknowledged task aside, and introduced herself with much more confidence “Opal is the name! Black Opal! Aspiring adventurer, Traceuse, and explorer!” She then hopped down from her perch “ “It’s a pleasure to meet you ma’am.” she then held out her hand to shake Onika’s hand.

The tiger chi took a moment to look at it before shaking the cursed child’s hand and asking “I’m curious… have you ever danced yourself?”

This proved to be a bit of a brick wall for Opal… a she paused for a while before responding nervously “Uhh… I’ll admit, I never have… heck, as much as I’ve focused on the whole idea of being extremely agile and balanced and such, I… never danced before.”

The tiger-chi blinked for a few moments, before recovering her smile “I see… a surprising lot of people have never danced before. Do you mind if I see you at least give it a try?”

Opal hesitated for a moment… then nodded, and she let go of Onika’s hand and got in what she thought was a good dancing posture… then she began a rather… awful… tap dance, along with a few other bad dance moves. It was admittedly cringy to watch, and after about 20 seconds of this, it ended when in her attempt to not look like a dimwit, she tripped over her own feet, and face planted into the silky sand. This won a laugh from the natural dancer as Opal pulled her head out of the ground, shaking the grains free from her fur before forcing herself back onto her two feet.

“I can tell you never have before now.” The orange chi could not help but giggle “I still give a A for effort however.”

“Ya think?” The Ca-Chi was somewhat dazed by her smack into the ground, but she quickly recovered. “They never taught it where I came from.”

Onika thought upon this revelation for a few moments, before standing more upright and approaching “Then what do you say if I taught you a few things about it?”

Opal found herself raising a brow before looking the way of the sun on the horizon. “This late? Are you sure?” Her concern prompted her to return to facing the dancer “I don’t want to keep you up or let you get caught out here.”

Onika laughed for a bit before calming herself down and replying “Oh I didn’t mean right now. I’m not one to stay out in the night. I meant later… as much as a dance out while the sun sets seems appealing to me, I don’t exactly have the stamina to do so at the moment… But would you be willing to accept the offer for later?”

It took the cursed child a few moments to decide on what to say, but eventually she smiled and replied “Well… if you are willing to do so, then hey, it may also help with me as well. I’ll gladly take up your offer. Did you want to try tomorrow afternoon? Assuming you’re not busy then?”

With that, the dancer bowed with a smile “That, I am happy to do. And otherwise tomorrow was going to be a very bland day. So tomorrow it is then.”

Opal nodded and dusted herself off again “Then it’s settled. Guess I’ll see you around here sometime then!”

The tiger-chi nodded as her silent reply… before looking to the quickly setting sun and uttering “I need to head to the inn now. Best not be caught out here.” She then began her walk back to the city “I hope you have a safe trip back home, Opal, my friend. Have a pleasant night!”

The Ca-chi waved back with her crystal hand and cheered “Have a good night! Sweet dreams!” Though on the inside… she felt herself sink a bit… She… she didn’t have a home. She found his awkward to admit. So she didn’t say anything. But this fact was quickly shrugged off; she was fine with lacking a roof over her own head….

In fact… she continued to think as she climbed back onto the log and balanced herself again, realizing how out of balance she has been for a long time, and putting even more effort to steady herself… but back on subject, she remembered how long ago she vowed to not settle down until she has ventured to her fill. And now… every passing day nowadays, she has more and more realized that there may be far more than just adventuring around the world… and somehow… this made her realize that she…

...Should not just settle down. Perhaps she is best this way. Continuing on with her journey until the moment where time essentially denied her that right. And it was not a right she will be losing anytime soon…

...Not even to the V-chi a hour later… who crept from the darkness of the jungle on the Ca-Chi as he saw her still balancing on that log in the dark night…, his orange yet dark eyes hungry for his prey. And he rose from the brush, attempting to use the night as cover before he jumped for the bite.

...Except… Opal’s night vision struck once again. And she slowly turned her head to the otherwise perfectly concealed vampire, and she let a smile come over her face, before hopping back to grab the log. Before the V-chi could react, he found himself with a log being hurled at his head, sending him onto his back and dazing him. Before he could lift the log off his head and get back up and check if he still had all of his teeth, Opal was already making a mad sprint away.

“Sorry, buddy!” The Ca-Chi exclaimed with a laugh “You’ve got to try better than that!” She then did yet another eyelid pull taunt, and was already so far away that the V-chi lost her scent and sight.

The vampire sat there for a few moments as a light drizzle of rain started to fall from the sky before taking his hood off, revealing his navy blue face and unkempt and slowly being soaked black hair, all of which were fully camouflaged in the hood when it was up. He simply snarled and exposed his fangs for a moment “One of these days, I promise you Opal…. I will catch you…” He then stood up before putting his hood back on, what could be seen of his face turning back into a shadow with a pair of eyes “And I will make sure you suffer… And I will assure you…” He then let out a soft laugh that seemed slightly maniacial. “...I will enjoy every bit of it.”

Then, with a flash of lighting and the sound of thunder, the V-chi was gone, with a chuckle as he plotted and sought out a different target, unable to wait for what he perceived as that fateful moment.