smash_logs | [Open Log] Spring is floating in the air

[Open Log] Spring is floating in the air

Who: You!
What: Cherry Blossom Festival
When: April 4th - 11th
Where: All over town & campus. Wherever you find a cherry tree.
Rating: Who knows how across the board this'll be <8|

Pink is everywhere. No matter where you look, you're sure to see the signs of soft pink and white blossoms. There's a fresh spark of life filling the air and just beckoning for everyone to come outside and enjoy the sweet scents of spring. Well, except for you, people with springtime allergies. They just want to make you miserable. But for everyone else, it was a wonderful amazing time to be had.

There are wonderful spots for picnicking! Frolic inducing atmosphere and the space to do it! Every so often you will see vendors selling treats for the event! Cosplayers taking advantage of their natural environments for photo ops! Hot date spots! Blossoms! Sparkles! Everywhere! Even when it rains. Even when things might not be as sweet as they might appear. . .

This log is completely open! You can do whatever you'd like with whomever you'd like whenever you'd like. Just start up a thread and go!

Have fun! Don't forget to add your character to the tags! ♥

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

Cress rose a finger to his lips, taking a pondering stance. "Well... since we just got a bite to eat, I suppose the next thing we should try is a game or two." He thought back on some of the ones that caught his eye as he drifted through earlier. "Hmm... What do you think of goldfish scooping? It's a game where you're given a delicate net to try and catch a fish with, and if you're successful, you get to keep the fish as a pet."

"Goldfish scooping?" Chiyo found the name strange and the game a curious thing to do. And being unable to picture what the game would be like, she found herself more drawn to the idea of playing it.

"Okay," she agreed with a smile, "I've never heard of it before, but I'd like to try."

She moved to stand beside Cress, ready to follow his lead.

"Have you ever played it before?"

"Yes, I have. It's more difficult than it seems at first, because the net is paper thin and will dissolve if you keep it submerged in the water for too long," he replied as they walked toward where he remembered the stand to be. "That, and fish are quick swimmers, as I'm sure you know."

Chiyo smiled and nodded. "Yes, they certainly are." And if she wasn't of a modest type, she would've commented that she was quicker than most fish, too. In Pokemon form, of course.

Spotting the stand, she curiously approached it and knelt down by the little pool hosting the fish.

"Hello, everyone," she greeted the fish cheerfully and her ears twitched, signifying that she could hear something that others normally could not. "I hope you're having a nice day."

We are. The cherry blossoms are really pretty, aren't they?

"They truly are," she said to the small fish swimming around in front of her. They seemed to linger towards her and she glanced at them lovingly as she continued conversing with them briefly. She then turned to Cress and looked at him sheepishly. "They say that though it's a bit scary getting scooped up, they're excited to see their new homes and meet their new owners."

She briefly wondered if they could tolerate the water of Kraken Lake. That way, she could swim alongside with them if she brought them back with her.

Her intangible conversation piqued Cress's interest greatly. He observed the immersion of both her hand and her focus with eyes wide, his mouth coming unhinged ever so slightly the longer he understood what he was witnessing. The clear connection she was sharing with them touched him deeply. Were he an artist, he'd love to capture the soul of the moment on canvas.

"You spoke to them just now!" he cried on a hushed breath, plunging his eyes into the pool of fish, fish that seemed to have a natural proclivity for her hand.

Talking to fish was such a normal thing for Chiyo that she hadn't quite picked up on the fact that her actions could appear abnormal to others, so she simply smiled at Cress with a bit of curiosity and confusion mixed in her eyes.

"I like to talk to them everyday if I can, especially at Kraken Lake. I think it'd be fun if I can swim with them there," she said, as if nothing were strangely out of place. "They can understand you, too, if you want to talk to them. But your ears might not be able to pick up on their voices."

She hummed softly as she playfully bopped a couple of the fish in the pool with the tip of her finger.

"Truly?" asked Cress with rising excitement. Now it was his turn to flash shimmery eyes at her. "They will understand? I never would have thought that fish like these even cared for a word I had to say." The zeal in his disposition faded a bit. "But... it's a great shame that I won't be able to understand them back. What a dreadfully one-sided conversation that will be."

"It's rather unfortunate, but since most fish have grown accustomed to being unheard by humans, they stopped paying attention to what humans say," she explained, giving him a smile in understanding to what he said. "So, for them, it's also like a one-sided conversation where they cannot communicate to the other party as well. It's times like these where I really appreciate the humanization skill taught at Smash Academy because now I can easily talk to humans, as opposed to when I am in Pokemon form."

She made a small motion with her hand for him to come closer to the pool.

"For now, if you'd like, I can be your medium and tell you what they're saying. That way, it won't be dreadfully one-sided," she offered merrily. She understood how both species felt, being unable to get their messages across. So now that she was able to be their connecting bridge, she was more than happy to help whenever she could.

"...Thank you, for sharing your gift with me," blurted Cress with a light bow of his head, immediately humbled by what seemed to him an enormously gracious offer. He came to her side, crouched to the level of the pond, and carefully eased his hand into the water. To his great pleasure, they did not scatter in fear. It was as though they were calmly expecting him.

"...Goodness, Cress is at a loss of what to say," he admitted with a sheepish edge to his relaxed composure, laughing at his own inability to come forth with conversation. Pulling together his thoughts, he closed his eyes and sought inside himself what he would have always liked to ask a fish.

"How does it feel to slip through the water so easily like you do? Is it fun?"

Chiyo didn't need to hear the fishes' response to know the answer to that question. She giggled lightly, thinking about the happiness swimming brought to all of them. The feel of the water gently caressing their skin as they traveled expertly through it... the weightlessness of their bodies from the embrace of the water.... these were sensations all aquatic creatures delighted in and treasured.

"It is a splendid feeling," she said with cheer. "The water is like silk upon our skin, as I'm sure it is for you, too, and is always enjoyable. We could never imagine a life where we would not be able to swim. Water is very precious to us. But most of all, it is always best enjoyed when in the company of friends."

His face glowed with a smile touched by the magic of the moment. In response, he added, "Water is precious to all life, even those of us who do not live and breathe it. Cress is slightly jealous that you have the capacity to enjoy it so easily."

Directing his eyes back to Chiyo, he added with bated excitement that threatened to spill, "We should catch as many as we can and bring them to the lake!" The vendor noticed their intent and Cress noticed the vendor's, so fishing around in his pocket, he paid for a pair of scoops and a bowl to land them in. Once the net broke, it would be all over. That is, until the next round. He handed one to Chiyo.

"Good luck!" He couldn't help but wonder if the fish would even try to make an escape when she was the one behind the scoop.

Chiyo nodded and gratefully received the items.

"Thank you! I wish you luck, too." Then she turned towards the fish, eager to see what it would be like to catch them with such a small net as opposed to physically chasing them in the water. It was such a surreal moment, to be the one holding a net to catch fish. If anything, she could at least imagine being on the other end to be caught. It was a strange but exciting first to be in this position.

So, readying her net, she observed the fish intently and... pouted.

"H-Hey..." She stifled a giggle. "I-If you don't move, the game won't be fun!"

Indeed, the fish in front of her were hardly moving at all, defiantly trying to remain still in order to be captured. Admittedly, they all wanted to go home with her, but she wouldn't have that. It simply wouldn't be fair to all the other people who may come here in hopes of bringing one of these darlings home. She tried to think of what to do in order to get them to move and allow Cress and her to play the game fairly (though, to be truthful, she would have liked to take them all to the lake anyway).

"Let's see.... You know, I really like it when I see fish swimming happily, but I guess none of you are like that...? Won't you show some of that happiness for me? I may just have to go elsewhere if-"

They all started swimming. Rather enthusiastically, too, to which Chiyo had to bite back her laugh.

Let the game commence.

And, might I add, she was rather good at considering she was an inhabitant of the water herself and was very much familiar with the movements of fish. She scooped them with ease, giggling as she did so.

"Caught you!"

Cress watched them refuse to swim until prompted, shocked to find that his musings of a minute ago had come true but at the same time not surprised in the slightest. He too felt a laugh creep out of his vocal chords when they finally scrambled in different directions. Never before had he seen a bunch of goldfish intentionally play a game of tag.

"As I expected; you're very good at this game," he commented rapturously. "Cress's turn!" With his one visible eye he peered down at the pool below, readying his net and following their frenetic patterns. Once he felt he had a good grasp on predictability, he dove his net beneath the water in an attempt to catch a fish that was swimming headlong into it, found success, and removed his net from the water...

...only to have the fish jump right out of it and back into the pool.

"Ah! That wasn't fair!" laughed Cress. "Surely that's against the rules!"

"Hmm?" Chiyo caught what happened and watched the culprit swim away knowingly.

"Aw, that wasn't very kind of you," she rebuked lightly with a resigned smile and the fish seemed to slow down in its tracks. "You know, whether you're caught by Cress or me, we'll all still get to be together."

A pause. Chiyo was silently listening to the fish. Then... a pleased smile appeared on her lips.

"The fish... that little one there," Chiyo paused to look at Cress, "he says he's sorry. To have gone against the rules like that. He hopes you'll forgive him."

The fish swam back towards Cress and lingered in front of him, giving the appearance of what a child might look like as he awaits the verdicts of his parents from a prank he's done.

This display of shockingly human characteristics surprised and greatly amused Cress. "Will that mean you'll stay still for me, then?" he bargained as he dipped his quickly deteriorating net inside the pool again, lifting it to bring the fish back up to the surface and swiftly into the water-filled container.

"It looks like my net is done for," he announced, showing it to Chiyo with a smile. "I suppose I'll just have to get another one."

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[Open Log] Spring is floating in the air

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