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[Heading into town this afternoon to get away from the worst of the chaos around Garden? You wouldn't be the only person with that idea. Yosuke likes to think he's built up a decent tolerance for weird by now, but this morning he happened to reach under his bed and found nothing there except a hot dog that promptly skittered out the window on spindly legs, which was the last straw.

But when he steps out of a shop and happens to spot a rotund white chicken pecking at the pavement opposite, a different idea starts to form. Actually, it's more like a recollection. When he first overheard something about people wanting to repopulate the Training Centre, he hadn't really thought it was relevant to him, but... come to think, did they ever specify what qualified as a monster? This chicken sure looks out of place as far as he can tell, so it could have been zapped in from who knows where five minutes ago, and a quick fumble tells him he can Scan it, although he doesn't yet - is there anything stopping him from bringing in something like this, which has to be less dangerous than the honest-to-god dinosaurs they used to have in there? As a public service, it's worth a try.

Dropping the bag in his hand, he edges closer, flattening himself against the wall with exaggerated stealth. He keeps a close eye on his quarry all the while - and on nothing else, which might not be the wisest decision while he's standing in the middle of what is after all a high street. But hey, it's a mission! Of course he's serious about it!]

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[With a sigh, Nate picks up the bag, and then gives an awkward nod of acknowledgment to a passerby. How did he end up on lookout duty when the Balamb Town council already have it in for him?]

I'm pretty sure that's just a chicken. [He's speaking at normal volume. He is not going to whisper for Yosuke's chicken hunt.]

[Oh, come on, the least he could do is play along. Now Yosuke feels all self-conscious about lowering his voice in the first place.

So he raises it again.] Yeah, okay, but do you want them filling the place back up with dinosaurs!?

[At any rate, it doesn't make much difference to the chicken, which continues to peck contentedly at the paving.]

Well, it's for training, right? Pretty sure that doesn't mean beating up on your lunch.

[A sigh, as he eyes the chicken. Poor bird's not going to find anything there. He knows that feeling.]

Besides, attacking something so harmless just doesn't feel right. [Perhaps that's oddly sentimental coming from him, but it was only a year ago he was getting chased by grownups with guns. The chicken doesn't even seem like it'd be smart enough to run far if he and Yosuke start swinging at it.]

Edited (fixing my code) 2014-02-10 10:17 (UTC)

[Yosuke is mildly surprised, to say the least - who knew this kid had a heart? - but he can see Nate's point.] Hey, it was just an idea... [He might not have been about to follow through! Anyway, that's all the more reason to forget about it as quickly as possible. He relaxes, leaning back against the wall instead. How awkward.

Across the street - actually, why is the chicken crossing the street? It might have something to do with the passerby from a minute ago having just carelessly dropped a half-eaten sandwich next to the nearest bin. Still, Yosuke doesn't give it more than a passing glance.]

Well, back to Plan A, I guess. Let's just see what we run into when -

[The next fraction of a second blurs into an eternity. Or maybe it's the other way around.

Then it's over, and Yosuke can breathe again, if a little shallowly. He feels like someone just tried to yank his heart out of his chest - what just...?]

Did you... hear something just now?

[The chicken seems to have stopped in its tracks as well. The look on its face doesn't appear to be anything more than the blank, crazed look of most birds, but from the way it's turning its head from side to side, it might be a little disoriented...]

[One second everything's fine and Yosuke's going on about his monster catcher plan, the next second he's acting weird. Forgetting everything he learned in REC 101 and thus mistaking this for an asthma attack or something, Nate gives Yosuke a thump on the shoulder because he can't reach his back.] No, nothing. Why, what happened?

[Genuine concern? Hey, it's not like many other people put up with him. And he did kind of ruin the beauty pageant for Yosuke.]

Oww, hey! I'm not choking! [...And he wouldn't want to be hit on the shoulder if he was! He pulls away, a bit unsteady on his feet, and rubs at his forehead.] I just thought I heard a voice...

[For that matter, he's not sure if he stopped hearing it. It's a weird feeling. Still, with everything going crazy lately, a random headache seems pretty minor. He sighs and starts to walk away.] It's probably nothing. Come on, let's go.

[But before he can make it too far, the side of his foot bumps against something round and feathery. The chicken, too dazed to notice him in time, lets out a loud squawk of panic.

And then the sound of shattering glass. And then a burst of piercing blue light, illuminating a large, roughly bird-shaped silhouette that wasn't in front of him a second ago.]

... You gotta be kidding m-

[And then a ferocious street-wide tornado.]

Edited (phone induced typos woo) 2014-02-17 14:30 (UTC)

[As soon as the light bursts forth, Nate blurts out:] What the hell?!

[He promptly gets blown off of his feet. As he starts flying down the street, he grabs onto a lamp post, sticking out a hand to catch Yosuke if needed. Not that it would probably help much, considering it feels like the lamp post is going to get ripped from the pavement any second.

[No matter where Yosuke ends up, Nate yells to make himself heard over the howling wind:] Now we can take it to the training center!

[Much to his own surprise, and despite being caught right in the middle of the buffeting winds, Yosuke manages to stay on his feet...]

Are you insane!? Of course we can't!

[It still isn't a comfortable place to stand, though. The whirlwind dies down after only a few seconds, but by then the lamppost next to Nate is leaning alarmingly, the bin just down the street is rolling gently towards him, and the whole street is covered with paper, damp leaves, trash - even some scattered bits of brick and concrete, chipped away from aging walls. It's a wonder that all the windows nearby seem to be intact.

Clucking softly to itself, the chicken putters away from the stricken-looking Yosuke and starts to peck around the debris.]

I gotta be dreaming... Th-That freakin' bird didn't just use a Persona...

[He looks down, and practically jumps in renewed surprise. Half-buried in the litter around his feet, there's a brightly gleaming blue card...

(No, not that kind of blue card!)]

Damn thing's obviously a monster!

[Once he feels stable again, Nate climbs down from the lamppost and unsheaths his gunblade, because holding a naked vibrosword in the middle of a town that's already arrested him before is a great idea. As he inches back in Yosuke and the bird's direction, he has eyes only for the chicken. Well, and for anything he might trip over, but mostly for the chicken.

[So naturally, he misses Yosuke's second shock completely. Today is thus like any other day on which Nathan Drake does not become a Digimon Tamer.]

Use a what? [Is the chicken capable of even more than the hurricane it just unleasehd? Nate glares at it, gunblade at the ready. He will take you down if need be, fluffy chicken. He will take you down.]

A - [He glances up, blanches, and scrambles out of the way, holding the oddly shiny tarot card gingerly between two of his fingers. The chicken is left wide open, but it seems less concerned by that than by the crumpled paper bag just found.] Dude, don't point that thing at me! Anyway, that's not what you were saying a second ago!

[Excuse you Yosuke, he's clearly pointing that thing at the chicken.] That was before it attacked us! We've gotta be ready in case it attacks again. [So why isn't Yosuke arming himself, seems to be the underlying question.]

How strong is whatever you think it used?

[And how is that birdbrain big enough to know how to fight back with some mysterious windy power? Geeze. He had trusted this chicken and it betrayed him.]

[In all its base treachery, the chicken doesn't appear to be paying much attention to the weapon pointed its way. It settles down on the paper bag and starts to preen.]

How strong? Um... [Yosuke gives it a nervous look, which is clearly a more productive use of his time than reaching for his own weapons.] Well, it's... probably not going to do it on accident...? [Sheesh, does he look like he knows what's going on here!?

Then again, if one of them doesn't find out soon, he'll just wonder about it forever... Sticking the card between his teeth without really thinking about it, he starts to fumble for a Scan spell.]

[Half-recognizing the shift from classes and the odd training session together, half just guessing, Nate figures Yosuke's casting, and he nods approvingly.] Good idea. I've been craving grilled chicken. [But he'd kind of thrown most of his randomly increased sponsorship money at clothing, books, and a new notebook (his old one had been getting kind of full) this trimester before he remembered that non-cafeteria food was a thing that he liked once in a while.

[It's just a one-liner, of course. He knows just burning the chook wouldn't actually taste that nice, and his days of eating whatever comes to hand are blessedly behind him.]

What? Wait, no, I'm just - [Ah ha. Damn, even without a large spell stock, these things take way too long to flick through for his liking.] Okay, here! [With that, he flings it the entirely oblivious chicken's way.

Scan data:
Domestic chicken x Suparna
Scientific name: Gallus gallus domesticus. Flightless and docile, it is farmed around the world. Its potential was awakened by time compression, guarding it from life's hardships.
Low stats all round. Resists wind. Weak to lightning.
Draw list: Silence, Aero, Tornado.

Yosuke doesn't even finish reading off the name before facepalming hard enough to leave a mark.]

Domestic chicken and what?! [From that reaction, Yosuke has to know something about whatever's going on with this thing.

[Rather than waste time looking for a Scan spell of his own (he can't remember if he stocked any today, actually), Nate goes for Draw instead to check what the chicken's toting. And oh, what it's toting.] What the hell...?

[He could wonder how exactly a domestic chicken came across such a strong draw list, or he could put it to use and try to draw-cast Silence on the chicken before it casts another Tornado on them. Nate chooses the latter, but with low Magic ability, he somewhat expects to fail.]

[The chicken glances up from its preening, fixes Nate with one beady eye and lets out a soft but definitely audible cluck of disapproval. What are you doing, no-feathers?

Meanwhile, somehow, Yosuke musters the willpower to pry his hand away from his head.] I was right... Jeez, this is too much for one day. I'm seriously getting a headache for real...

[Not that he would've recalled the exact name off the top of his head, or remembered whether that silhouette right before the entire street got blown to hell and back matched any he's seen in the past - but putting two and two together, it's hard to deny. Hard to deny how stupid it all is, at any rate.

Belatedly, he remembers the card clamped between his teeth. He pulls it out and gives it a reluctant look. Yeah, even if it means what he thinks it means, he really doubts using it would accomplish anything besides startling both of the birdbrains in front of him again... Between his fingers, the card dissolves into a few scattered points of blue light and fades away.]

... H-How about we just leave it alone, yeah? If we hang around, someone's gonna think we made this mess.

[Wait, why does this situation suddenly seem familiar...?]

[Nate glares at the chicken as it clucks and his Draw fails. He's gotta junction something better to his magic.

[But at that suggestion, he finally takes his eyes off the chicken to look at Yosuke and nod.] Yeah, good idea. [It is infinitely familiar because it is the story of their lives. We didn't do it.] But hang on, I wanna see if I can get Tornado off it before we go.

[He plants his feet firmly, stance solid, and starts Drawing.]

[At first, it just seems like the stars aren't aligned favourably for Nate's Draw command today. The chicken picks itself up - Yosuke hurriedly backs away a few more steps, to be on the safe side - and potters forward, curious as to whether Nate's shoes are edible.

But then, from behind them, there's a loud, metallic bang.

And then another alarmed squawk. It's not as if the chicken is tall enough to see that the sound was only the bin that was set rolling by the earlier windstorm rebounding off a wall some distance behind Nate, but it did spot his glaring; insofar as it's capable of any higher reasoning, something inside its tiny brain clicks. Again, the air glows blue. Bursting from the unearthly light with another loud shattering noise, the same silhouette of an enormous, helmeted bird looms inches away from Nate's face, claws gleaming -]

Oh, for the love of... Get it somewhere else, dumbass! [- and there's an answering shattering sound, pretty close by.] Tentarafoo! Now!

[The slender, scarfed figure it accompanies may or may not be one Nate has briefly seen before, because Yosuke tends to summon GFs often regardless of whether it makes tactical sense, but right now it's behaving a little differently... Which is to say, it's bearing down on the giant bird wrapped in what looks like a cloud of sparkling green dust. Possibly on Nate, too - whoops, aiming is hard.

And what do you mean, throwing a wide-range panic-inducing spell at an animal that only seems lethal when badly startled might not be the soundest tactical decision either?]

[Nate blanches, and barely gets his gunblade higher up between himself and the bird before a spell hits and someone tall and thin joins them. He has just enough warning to throw his arm to the side rather than impale himself on his gunblade as he gets knocked to the ground, and as soon as he's able, he scrambles to his feet.

[That spell left him disoriented. He lashes out, slashing wildly at that scarfed figure. It feels like he's seen it somewhere before, but it's not coming to mind right now, and that makes him more worried.

[He didn't even get one Tornado spell.]

Edited (Tentarafoo clarified!) 2014-03-14 11:15 (UTC)

[The scarfed figure was already about to swoop away, but it's not quite fast enough to escape unscathed. The flat of the gunblade catches the underside of the creature's white-clad arm with a surprisingly solid thud. Contriving to look taken aback despite its lack of real facial expression, Yosuke's Persona reels in mid-air, its trailing feet scraping on the debris below.

At the exact same moment, so does Yosuke. Except with less floating, and more pain.]

Ow, shit...!

[Did he hear a crack? No, he must have imagined it, he thinks, gingerly cradling his wrist. But man, that's going to leave a bruise. Actually, when he glances down, it already has.

So he glares back up.] What the hell, Drake!? I'm trying to drive it off!

[And doing such a great job of it that he doesn't even notice the other Persona fading away into the air again, nor the chicken now hurling itself away from the dispersing dust cloud in a clatter of feathers and terror - towards the flung-open door of the nearest shop.]

[Utterly Confused, Nate whirls around at the sound of Yosuke's voice. The words don't quite make sense to him but the angry tone gets through. He reaches into his bag, pulls out the hardbound history of Esthar he's been reading, and hurls it at Yosuke.

[In another world, Professor Oak finds himself wanting to tell someone off for trying to use something at the wrong time.]

What are you -

[Wham. A textbook isn't the most aerodynamic of projectiles, but it had to land somewhere. Yosuke immediately doubles over. Winded, he staggers sidelong into the nearest wall, where he stays for now. His Persona, motionless behind Nate, melts away in turn.

Eventually, he musters slightly more than a wordless groan:] Y-You idiot... Snap out of it...

[His own fault? How could it possibly be his fault!?

Meanwhile, the book has fallen away from his stomach and crunched onto the detritus-littered ground, where an idle and completely non-magical breeze starts to flick through about ten years of background to the city's cloaking system.]

[He can't stop spinning; it is a miracle he's been keeping his balance. As he turns, partially because he can't help it and partially to keep Yosuke in his line of sight, Nate slashes his gunblade Yosuke's way, but it's the directional motion he sometimes uses as a crutch for spellcasting rather than a physical attack.

[Luckily, it's just Scan. Huh: Yosuke resists fire.]

[Yosuke flinches back, which mostly serves to bounce him off the wall behind him, and flings his arms up to brace himself. Seeing the real reason Nate was brandishing that gunblade isn't as much of a relief as it could be: it sure as hell doesn't tell Yosuke what he's going to pull out next.

But if yelling is out, then two can play at the irresponsible weapon-waving in the middle of town game. In Yosuke's case, this means finally grabbing one of his kunai and swinging it in a wide, sweeping arc - one that meets the glittering outline of another floating card just as it materialises in front of him, shattering it with the same noise of breaking glass that might be getting a little old by now.]

Sorry, but this is for your own good...! Get his arms, Jiraiya!

[Just like before, the tall, jumpsuited figure of Yosuke's Persona shimmers into being, and promptly bears down on Nate with the force of a gale.]

[Nate spins right into the Persona's clutches, dropping his gunblade as his arms are held back. He struggles in its grip for a moment -

[Only for the Confusion to fade away, leaving him not only dizzy but puzzled. Nate wobbles, and looks around to take stock of the current situation: He's being restrained, he's lost his weapon, his nice new book on Esthar is on the ground, he can't see the chicken - ah, there's Yosuke, the one familiar factor in this mess.] Yosuke? What's going on?

You're asking what's going on!? Drake, you threw a book at me! [Which neatly absolves Yosuke of all responsibility for siccing a frog on him twice, of course.

But maybe the second time was going a bit far. With a sigh, he stows his weapon away and rubs surreptitiously at his twinging arm again; in front of him, Jiraiya and the bearhug of pressure around Nate's shoulders silently evaporate.] Well, enough of that... If you're back with us now, we should probably just go. [And then maybe he'll have some space to figure out why -

On cue, a furious gust of wind blasts the door of the nearest shop wide open. Oh yeah, that's where the chicken went.]

[Nate holsters his gunblade then picks up the book, dusting off what dirt he can see.] Why would I do that to a book? [He's so sorry, book. You were new and beautiful. If it was second hand he wouldn't have minded throwing it around, but this is new and even a year on, getting new things is a novelty.

[The gust draws his attention as he's putting the book back in his bag, and for a long moment, he stares into the shop. Leaving sounds good. Leaving sounds great, in fact.]

... you think they're okay in there?

[Yes, sure, they'll be fine, it's not like a crazed animal could wreak havoc in a store without summoning Personas all over it, forget the stupid book and let's just run -

- is something Yosuke can't quite bring himself to say. Running a hand through his hair, he lets out a small, hollow laugh.] Probably not... But what can we do about it? If we try and capture it for reals, it'll flip out at us again...

[At least the people inside seem to be hanging in there, if the yells of "Monster!", "Sorceress!" and various muffled expletives coming from the door are anything to go by.]

[Nate scrunches up his face, thinking. Yes, capturing is out, and they did so well at fighting it the first time that beating it is probably also out, but... maybe they don't need to bring it all the way from Garden.] If we can at least lure it out of town, the only people who'll run into it should be prepared. [Or it might get beaten up by another monster. Either or.

[He digs into his pocket for the last of his allowance, and shoves a handful of small change at Yosuke.] Go buy some bread. [Because even though it's been a while, he imagines the bakery still wouldn't be pleased to see him.] I'll keep an eye on things here.

... Isn't that for ducks?

[Sorry, his city kid is showing. Not that it matters - after the book to the stomach, Yosuke still finds this plan a lot more appealing than just chasing the chicken down for a second round. Casting one wary look back at the shop, which seems to have fallen quiet except for one frustrated woman inside wondering aloud how in the world this damn Sorceress got into the shelf behind there, he darts away.

He reappears about five minutes later, having calmed down enough to swing the paper bag clutched in his hand from side to side as he walks up.]

[Nate looks at him like he's crazy, but as Yosuke leaves, he turns and cautiously enters the shop.

[It's an interesting five minutes. He flashes his student ID, announces he's from Balamb Garden and SeeD is on its way to "contain the Sorceress", and miraculously (possibly aided by all the wind) convinces the people to evacuate out a back door. (Thank god he hasn't robbed anyone in here.) Without as many people around and Nate trying not to make any sudden moves, the store isn't a complete shambles, should Yosuke enter the still open door.]

[Spotting nowhere else Nate could obviously have gone - the street they're on is pretty exposed, debris aside - Yosuke indeed sticks his head through the door without much delay.]

Whoa, where did everyone go? [Some of the smaller stands near the counter at the front remain knocked over, but apart from that, there's a lot less wreckage than he was expecting.] ...Where did it go?

[Nate, looking a little worse for wear (he took a jar of paste to the face and some paintbrushes to the arms earlier), lifts a hand and deliberately lowers it: Let's slow things down here. His voice is quieter than usual to go with it.] I told everyone to evacuate. Didn't think the chicken was listening; there was still stuff being thrown around for a while after everyone left...

[He steps carefully into the next aisle, peering around the shelf.] Got the bread?

[On his part, Yosuke isn't sure whether he should imitate Nate and get his head down while things seem quiet. For now, he continues to hover in the doorway. He does throw a couple of furtive glances from side to side before holding up the paper bag of bread rolls, though; they were surprised last time, and look how well that went.] Right here. So we want to bait it out?

[Nate nods, and takes a roll. Tearing half of it into tiny pieces, he throws out some of the bits into the aisle and clicks his tongue like he's seen on a few farms he's crashed at overnight.] Here, little chicken...

[He doesn't even see it in this aisle, but that doesn't mean it couldn't be behind a shelf or something. It's a start, at least. For good measure, he tosses some around another shelf to the next aisle.]

[It takes a minute or so, but a telltale wattle and beak emerge - from under a shelf, out of a gap that a bird of its fluffiness probably has no right to fit inside. The rest of the chicken follows, clucking softly, trailing a few white feathers; for now, at least, it appears to have calmed down again. It steps daintily out into the aisle and begins to peck at the nearest crumbs.]

Oh, hey! I see it! What now? [Yosuke gives the bag a little shake, reluctant to make any other sudden movements just in case.] Do we really have enough bread in here to lead it all the way out of town?

[Nate's used up half a roll already, and they haven't even baited it to the door yet. ...Also, Yosuke might have been hoping to sneak one of them for himself if they had any left over, but that's beside the point.]

[Good, it didn't escape in the evacuation. Slowly, Nate backs away, still crushing some of the bits he hadn't thrown into more crumbs.] If we're careful... [Because there's a word that describes both of them perfectly.

[He clicks his tongue some more. He's not even sure if it really did anything the first time or if it was more just the crumbs, but the coincidence is enough for him. And now that he knows where the chicken is, he starts trailing crumbs towards the door.]

[The chicken may just be Nate's kindred spirit in another sense, the sense that its birthday has come early. It follows the trail with gusto, picking its way over to the end of the aisle.

At that point, it loses interest and meanders out the back door instead.

Still clutching the bag of bread, Yosuke watches their quarry move away, then looks pointedly back at Nate without another word - though maybe with an elbow in the ribs, if he's standing close enough.]

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4 // [action]

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this is now an art shop.

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