ya gotta wanna be a battering ram

[headandhand]

WHO: The entire dang city.
WHAT: Dualis Days, a week-long summer celebration.
WHERE: Central Square Park and the rest of the city.
WHEN: June 17-23.
WARNINGS: Terrorist violence, likely some blood and injuries. Please warn in individual threads!

June 17; Central Square Park.

Every year for as far back as anyone can remember, the start of summer is heralded by the week-long festival known as Dualis Days. This celebration officially kicks off at midday in the middle of Central Square Park with a commencement speech by the current mayor. This year marks Marcelina Dubanowski's third term as mayor of Dualis; she is an average-sized, middle-aged human-presenting woman with blonde hair styled in a short bob and a plastic, toothy smile that never seems to turn entirely off.

"Welcome, one and all!" she begins, with the practiced cadence of someone who is quite comfortable with public speaking. She invites all citizens, new and old, to spend the next week indulging in festivities in all districts of the city and getting to know their neighbors a little better. This is a joyous time of celebration, and the crowd responds with enthusiastic applause as the mayor finishes her speech and introduces this year's parade marshall, Peshtigo Tengfei.

Tengfei blows a whistle six times to signal the start of the parade - and this is where the celebration goes sideways.

A loud explosion tears through the air, and it's followed by panicked screams and the sharp screech of microphone feedback. A bomb has gone off at the platform where the mayor was standing, collapsing the wood and tearing it to splinters and dust. Chaos erupts in the gathered crowd, and as the people shift in all directions to get clear of any possible additional bombs, a loud siren cuts through the cacophony, calling attention to the sudden crackle of video feed present on all television screens throughout the city, including those set up in the park to broadcast the mayor's speech for those standing far from the stage. The picture is plain, a black background and bold white block letters filling the screen:

WAKE UP
WAKE UP
DON'T BELIEVE THE LIES

The final image is an anatomical graphic of a human heart, displayed for about three seconds, and then the feed goes black again.

Confused murmurs sweep through the crowd as citizens resume tending to the injured and evacuating the area until official first responders arrive.

June 17-23; aftermath around the city.

Dualis Days continues as scheduled, though Mayor Dubanowski is unable to enjoy the festival, as she is spending the week in the hospital recovering from her injuries. A team of Iterations guard her door - no visitors allowed - but the news media frequently report updates on her condition. Nothing to worry about, folks! Return to your celebrations, and don't mind the increased visible presence of the Hand as Iterations are stationed every few blocks throughout the city. It's only for your protection, after all.

Comments

[merged]

It's not at all an unpleasant idea and Heather finds herself nodding in agreement before she can really give it a second thought. She knows if she did, she'd back out, her father's endless warnings echoing off the walls of her skull.

Trust no one. Be wary. Pay attention.

A girl gets tired of being ever vigilant.

"Was there a game type you liked best?" She asks as they begin their search. The options feel overwhelming,"I won't lie, Ice Cream Blaster sounds like it'd be fun."

And while she has no idea what the game may consist of, the inclusion of ice cream is always a plus.

[aguidingkey]

"Well, I had to help play Fruitball when I stopped by," she says. The memories of that town were pretty great, with very little to spoil them. "Ice Cream Blaster was pretty fun, though the first song they had playing really wasn't the best."

Shooting ice cream out to the tune of Small World wasn't her favorite thing. They all could have chosen better.

"It was Scrooge's invention. You had to shoot ice cream at his three nephews to the beat of the song, copying the pattern they showed you. It... was definitely a challenge."

[merged]

Heather lets out a laugh in mild confusion.

"Wait, hold up, you had to shoot a guy's nephews?" She laughs again, the very idea preposterous. All she can imagine is three young boys running around wildly in an attempt to avoid the cold, creamy bullets aimed their way,"That's one hell of rhythm game, then!"

The game sounds far more ridiculous than she could have imagined, largely thanks to her overactive imagination. She doubts Aqua had to shoot actual children with ice cream but she likes that idea better.

As they walk, Heather pays close attention to the stalls, pausing every now and then to see what each game is all about before she spots something that seems fairly unique. A large inflated looking slide with loose, twisty rope ladders leading up to obscenely large stuffed animals. The current people on the game are working desperately to climb the ladder but it keeps twisting beneath them and, barely half way up, it twists and they can't hold on anymore; they slide down with a laugh, no prize in hand but still joyful.

"You wanna try that?"

Not only does it look fun but Heather may or may not want one of those giant stuffed toys.

[aguidingkey]

"Well, you had to shoot scoops of ice cream at them," Aqua explains. "They caught the scoops and if you did well enough, they'd each have really tall ice cream cones."

Honestly, she isn't entirely sure if they ate those cones afterwards or not. She wouldn't be surprised if they did.

As Heather points out an idea, Aqua's gaze follows. Interest slides across her features as she watches a couple of people try and fail to get a prize.

"Sure. This one looks like it's a balance exercise. That could be fun."

[merged]

Heather shoots a sharp, if not mostly joking look Aqua's way, almost as if she were questioning the other woman's sanity; exercise and fun should never be associated with one another, at least not in her opinion. There's a reason she found ways to skip the mandatory physical education class at her last school. The look is gone quickly as the game master calls up the next players: them. The people walking away laugh and grin, happy even without a prize in hand.

"I am going to fall flat on my ass" she lets the other girl know, giddier than she'd expected but not really in a bad way. She steps up to the ladder, right in front and leans forward to grip the first rung, feet still on the soft mat beneath her. Eyes on the prize, da Silva.

Once they're both in place, the game master gives the whistle a blow. It happens quickly for her. She scrambles up, flipping unexpectedly left and right and left again. Up one then the other—she's done this before in a dark place—but it's impossible to keep going. Four rungs away. Three.

And she slips, hitting the bouncy slide with a joyous yell. Down she goes. Prizeless but... happy. Hopefully, Aqua does better than her; she looks like she might be able to.

[aguidingkey]

Aqua feels a bit like a patient master with an apprentice who just doesn't have the experience or training yet to look at an obstacle and see the necessary steps towards overcoming it. Briefly, she wonders if Master Eraqus ever felt this way with her, Terra, or Ven and she swallows down a sudden lump in her throat. Just a step behind Heather, she makes her way to one of the ladders.

Aqua's mind treats this as a training exercise, thinking through the best way to reach the prize. It's all about balance and probably being light enough on her feet that she doesn't tip the ladder one way or the other. Going straight in the middle would be too hard; she's going to have to keep to the outside edges and use her body weight as leverage.

With that in mind, she gets ready, breathes, and then heads up as soon as the game master blows his whistle. Out of the corner of her eye, Aqua can see Heather get up pretty far. The girl has the determination to go far; she just lacks the training. Determined to win something for her new friend, Aqua pushes onward, climbing quickly and lightly. A few seconds behind Heather's fall, Aqua finally makes it to the top. The game master seems honestly surprised that anyone actually won, but does at least honor the game and give her her pick of the prizes.

The one that looks a bit like Experiment 626 catches her eye and she immediately lifts that one up, hopping from the top part of the game to the bottom in one fluid motion. She thinks this will make for a good bridge between them. Experiment 626 was learning about friendship before he was exiled with Doctor Jumba. There's no time like the present to pass that forward again. This isn't as good as a wayfinder, but it's good enough for now.

"Here," she says to Heather, holding out the giant stuffed toy to the girl. "It reminds me of someone I knew. I was teaching him about friendship before he was exiled and he seemed very interested. So maybe you and I could be friends, too?"

[merged]

The gesture stumbles Heather, unexpected, her grin shifting from impressed to quizzical. Hesitant. She takes hold of the large toy with both hands, observing it with bright eyes before her gaze returns to Aqua's. Her brain takes a moment to process it, to recognize it as sincere. She nods, finally, before realizing she should speak, blinking quickly,"Y-Yeah, I think I'd like that."

She feels awkward and uncertain and touched.

"Thanks, Aqua."

It's not such a bad feeling, even in all its strangeness. Her smile returns quickly, much softer now. Her whole demeanor seems to have softened, in fact.

"You'll have to tell me about your friend, sometime," It's unusual for her want to learn more about someone, to have an interest in them beyond the preset, but Aqua's won her over,"But first I have to know how you made it to the top. And that jump!"

"I think the carnie was in shock."

[aguidingkey]

Aqua can tell this isn't something Heather is used to seeing from other people. So she just keeps smiling and nods, motioning off to the side so they can talk without interfering with the game.

"It's like I told you about the ring toss," she explains, lifting one hand as she speaks. "You have the right idea; you just haven't had the training that I have. I've been training for as long as I can remember, as a protector of the worlds and the people who live in them. We had a lot to learn as apprentices, both physically and mentally. That game is all about balance, controlling where and how you lean your weight. It takes a lot of practice."

Aqua has had a lifetime of practice and experience, after all. Heather got up pretty far all on her own and Aqua thinks that deserves recognition of its own.

"You almost made it. Maybe with a little more practice, you could make it to the top, too."

[merged]

A protector of the worlds? That sounds so fantastical, something she'd have snorted at if someone had told her that back home regardless of how nice they'd been. Here, though, it somehow seems entirely possible. Aqua certainly looked a little the part.

"I think I'm happy I made it as far as I did," She admits," I wouldn't have even tried a couple of weeks ago."

The fact she wanted to at all feels like an accomplishment. Maybe she should want to strive to be better than she is but... one step at a time. She adjusts her hold on the plush, suddenly more aware of its heft,"You know, I think I should go drop this boy off at the dorm."

A part of her wants to keep going, learn more about Aqua, but games are hard to play with full hands. Still,"Thanks for this and... My username is Mason, should be really easy to find."

She's never given given anyone a way to contact her before. One day, she'll have to thank the other woman for helping her take these steps.

[aguidingkey]

Aqua smiles warmly and nods. "I'm glad you tried." Even if this ends up being the only time Heather tries, at least she did try and Aqua was there to help guide her. Maybe some of that darkness Aqua can sense is just circumstance. Maybe it's something that can be fought. Maybe... maybe she can do a better job with Heather than she did with Terra.

She reaches over to give the stuffed toy a gentle rub on his head. "I think I'm the only Aqua around," she says lightly. "You're welcome to contact me if you want to. It was really good to meet you, Heather."