[action - balamb town]

[nevergetscredit]

[Merlin hadn't visited Balamb Town yet, but it today he'd decided that he was going to walk down and take a look. The town was unlike any place Merlin had ever seen in Albion though, so as he wondered around he felt very much like he'd turned into the village boy who'd stared at everything he saw that he'd been on his first day in Camelot again.

Throughout the day, there were a few places where Merlin could be seen]

1. [On the way to the town, as Merlin walks along the road. If you're on your way to the town too, you might pass him by]

2. [Traffic lights. Merlin's stopped at the corner of an intersection and is now wondering what those flashy light things are for. It's still daylight, so they're obviously not there to help people see...]

3. [A Department Store, where Merlin has found a section full of amazing things: kitchen gadgets. He doesn't know what most of them do, but they're interesting and he's sure that Gwen would like to have some of these.]

4. [A pet store! Which has Merlin looking in the window at a puppy with a rather perplexed expression. Why would you want to keep a dog in a glass box?]

Comments

[action/3]

[vestigiaflammae]

[Lea's poking around one of the candy displays -- after all, he's got some money to spend, and he ought to get something he can afford enough of for all of his friends...

It's the clothing that catches his eye -- Merlin doesn't exactly match the townspeople. He beams as he recognizes the slight figure.]

Merlin! Hi! What are you doing here?

[action/3]

[nevergetscredit]

Have you seen the things they have here? [Merlin it seems is rather engrossed in all of the things he's found. And indeed he holds up one particular item to Lea - some Swiss Measuring Spoons]

Look at this! They're spoons, but they all fit together neatly!

[action/3]

[vestigiaflammae]

Those are for baking, right? [He's, uh. He's watched people bake. He kind of gets the principles involved.]

... actually, you're right, those are kind of cool. [He reaches out to snag the spoons for a closer look.] Are they on a hinge or something?

[action/3]

[nevergetscredit]

Haven't you ever done any cooking? [Merlin pauses, and thinks back to their last conversation where Lea didn't seem to quite know things that he'd expect any peasant to know] ...Lea, you're not a noble are you?

I think so - whoever thought these up was a genius. My mother would love to have something like this!

[Action/1]

[rebellingheart]

[There are any number of reasons why Rinoa is on the road to Balamb today. What the particular reason is, isn't important. What's important is that she's traveling to Balamb and will most certainly pass by one Merlin along the way at some point. Yay.]

[Action/1]

[nevergetscredit]

[Merlin's ahead of her on the road, so she'll see him before he sees her. He's walking along in the middle of the road, not aware that pedestrian's aren't meant to be walking there. Roads, as far as Merlin knows, are for people. Well, people and horses. So of course he walks on the road.

Which means that the driver that comes around the bend sharply isn't expecting him to be there, and Merlin certainly isn't expecting to have a giant metal thing hurtling towards him at impossible speeds. Merlin has no time to think, or get out of the way, or to find a way of stopping the monster by being subtle. And as far as he knows, he doesn't need to be subtle, because he hasn't seen Rinoa coming up behind him.

No, Merlin just flings out his hand as his eyes flash gold and the car suddenly catapaults into the air, flipping backwards and tumbling over several times until it finally came to a stop.]

[rebellingheart]

[It might not be a back she knows super well just yet, but it's certainly a back she recognizes. Rinoa almost calls out to warn him about the dangers of walking in the middle of the road (as well as the usual "Hi!" of course) when suddenly the unthinkable happens.]

[She doesn't even have time to cry out a warning before something happens that leaves her staring with eyes open wide. Did that car really just... how was that possible?! Her training finally kicking in Rinoa runs up to make sure Merlin is okay.]

Merlin! Are you alright? You're not hurt or anything are you?

[Her dark eyes turn to the car and she takes a few steps towards it.]

We should make sure the driver's okay, that had to hurt. Come on.

[nevergetscredit]

[Merlin jerks around at Rinoa's voice - he hadn't known anyone else was around, he was supposed to have been alone. She's seen him; she'd seen him! And this wasn't like telling Rapunzel, who had magic like him; or Gwen, who'd he'd finally found out was open to magic. He didn't know what Rinoa would think of his magic, and more importantly he didn't know what she would tell Arthur. He stares at her, eyes wide and looking more panicked about her than the fact a car nearly killed him]

Rinoa! You...I didn't...

[At that moment, the car door opens and the driver - a middle aged woman - clambers out. She's bleeding, but she's apparently well enough to get out and run madly away from Merlin and Rinoa, screaming in terror as she went

Merlin stares after as she went] There was a person in that monster?! [Another person, someone else who'd seen his magic. He starts backing away, his hands clutching at his head as Merlin breaths in and out short, panicked breaths. This can't be happening, it can't...]

Uh 2?

[seethelanterns]

[Rapunzel doesn't initially notice Merlin, her attention is taken by the lights as she watches them change colours. How do they work? And why are there lights here when it was daylight and the sun was out? She understands lights at night, but hadn't really seen any in the day. But after a while it does seem they have something to do with the metal box things.]

They can stare at the pretty lights together!

[nevergetscredit]

[Merlin was just trying to figure out what the lights were doing himself, when he noticed Rapunzel]

Rapunzel?

They even change colour!

[seethelanterns]

[She blinks, looking to him as she recognizes the voice.] Merlin! Are you exploring too? Do you know what these strange lights are?

It's like magic!

[nevergetscredit]

I was just taking a look around - and no, I've never seen them before.

[Just then the lights switch, and all the cars that are able to go now zoom forward. Merlin steps back, eying them warily. After that car that nearly ran over him earlier, he's going to be very careful to not get in the way of them]

I think they have something to do with the...cars? [That was what Rinoa called them, wasn't it?]

action - 4

[f8tal]

[So maybe it was high time she got Noodles, her cat, some actual cat food. Nepeta was getting on her case about feeding him dead insects and chicken scraps with protein shakes (even if Noodles loved them).

So here she is with a bag of cat food under her arm as she studies a catnip toy through her sunglasses. Most of the other people in the store seem to be avoiding her. Hum.]

[nevergetscredit]

[Merlin spotted Vriska through the glass, and scowled. Her again!

He was inclined to just leave, but he didn't trust the troll to be here around people either. Instead he pretended to still be looking at the puppy, while watching Vriska out of the corner of his eye]

[f8tal]

[She pushes her sunglasses up as she puts down the catnip in hand to pick up a small toy ball (most possibly filled with catnip) and bounces it.

Before she can catch it, it shoots off a little ways away from her and disappears under a table. She huffs in annoyance before noticing Merlin crouching behind the glass. Scrunching up her nose she walks over to him. Behind her glasses she looks slightly pissed.]

What the fuck are you doing?

[nevergetscredit]

[...oh no now she was coming over]

I was looking at this dog. You know, like how when you go to a merchant's stall you look at the things they're selling. Or do trolls just steal everything instead?

[and nope, he wasn't going to admit to keeping an eye on her]

[3]

[distantbird]

[Raven is just browsing the store, and is similarly looking at the kitchen gadgets. They never really had this sort of thing in Sharance... she wonders if they would be useful when she cooked for Gaius?

This thingy here looks like it would be handy, if it weren't for one detail...]

Electricity...

[Sigh.]

[nevergetscredit]

Sorry, what was that? [Merlin looks at the girl, curious. What would electricity have to do with the flashing lights?]

[distantbird]

[Glances over, and just looks at him for a moment. She's trying to figure out if he's another off-worlder or not. Unable to tell, she turns back to the merchandise.]

...I... don't want to use electricity for cooking.

[1]

[platinumheritance]

[Rita loved to fly. As little of a deal as she made of it, she loved being able to do so. She felt at ease when she was leisurely flying, drifting through the sky where there was nothing and no one to bother her. However since she was, apparently, not allowed to fly for fear or causing a fuss among the town, she was invisible whenever she took to the sky.

When she spotted Merlin, though, she decided to walk with him. She hadn't talked with him in a little while. She also decided to spook him. For fun.

She lands, still invisible, throwing up some of the dirt of the road. She becomes visible all at once, her wings flared outward. She's lurching toward Merlin.]

Boo!

[nevergetscredit]

[Merlin tenses when Rita appears, his hand raising up as he instinctively prepared to defend himself with magic if need be. Then he blinked, and realised who it was]

Rita?!

[platinumheritance]

[Rita's wings fold up behind her and she rights herself. She expected something funnier.]

I thought you'd be easier to scare.

action/2

[bratbeyond]

[Day was just on his way back from grabbing more groceries when he notices Merlin--and 'walk' sign, of course.]

... Um, aren't you gonna go to the other side now?

[nevergetscredit]

What? [Merlin blinks, and turns to look at Damian] The other side?

[He looks out at the street, where the cars go. Or, as Merlin likes to think of them, the Giant Metal Moving Things of Doom.] Oh I'm not going out there. Not with those things.

[bratbeyond]

Wait... you mean you've never seen a car before?

[And Damian thought this world was backwards in terms of technology.] It's fine, they stop when the light's red.