thenearshore | Party Hard

Entry tags:

Party Hard

Who: Forrest, Kairi, D2, Natsuru, and Nephenee
What: Mission 11
When: July 4, evening
Where: Far Shore

[Forrest would have liked to spend some more time resting and recovering after nearly a week straight of party prep, but it seems his services are needed once again. He wasn't asked for specifically, but he's heard the goddess Orihime is setting things up for Tanabata and Obon, and he just can't stay away from this sort of thing. He got a bit of a late start today and slept in later than he'd usually prefer, so he'd asked Kairi if she would mind helping out. And in true Kairi fashion, she overachieved and found a few more friends to share the work. Once Forrest is finished with his usual daily beauty regimen and getting together his supplies, he goes to meet the others on their way to Orihime's temple. He arrives with another friend - Nephenee - in tow when he arrives to greet the others, having run into her along the way. To his credit, he's managed to look a lot less exhausted than he actually feels.]

Ah... thank you all for coming, everyone.

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[Kairi's in almost the same boat as Forrest. She just wasn't also making clothes the whole time they were party-prepping. She was working on decorations and hunting down games and movies in the Near Shore and trying to find pictures. So a lot of running around... but not on her feet, thanks to Goten letting her borrow his cloud.

That said, since she already visited Orihime once herself, she reassured Forrest that helping with Tanabata and Obon decorations would almost assuredly be welcomed. And she even knows where Orihime lives, which she didn't know the first time.

But... yeah, still worn out. Still living by the phrase 'many hands make light work' so thank goodness D2 and Natsuru were willing to help. They hadn't been involved in the party prep for Leo and Roxas, but they HAD both come to Forrest's Sleepover Party, so they both knew him... and it just seemed like she should probably spread out her requests for help with how exhausted she and Forrest were. Need a few fresh bodies for something like Party Prep Round 2... or Round 3 really if she and Forrest counted his Sleepover too.]

Not a problem - it's D2 and Natsuru I should really thank for agreeing on short notice. And you even found another pair of hands to help out, huh Forrest?

[As if she's surprised at Forrest's own natural charisma to make friends - because she's not - it's just that she doesn't know Nephenee.]

[Forrest nods back at Kairi with a smile, gesturing to Nephenee.]

That's right. Kairi, D2, Natsuru... this is Nephenee. She'll be helping us too tonight.

[ Since D2 always was up to helping people out, and (unfortunately) couldn't train every hour of the day, getting out and doing something useful in other ways seems good, so when he was asked if he would like to help, he instantly said yes. ]

It's nice to meet you, Natsuru, Nephenee. And it's nice to see you again, Forrest.

[ It's always fun to meet new people, even if he did see one of them in attendance at the sleepover. ]

I look forward to working with you all. I'm a novice at this though, I think, so please tell me if I end up doing something the wrong way.

[Nephenee's not so much tired as she is a bit overwhelmed at the two festivals coming up. See, she may be the god of hospitality, and she might have opened up a bit on her travels, but these two things do not an experienced party planner make.

Still, she's always willing to pitch in and help a friend, and the festivals sounded really nice. So, time to be useful!

Wearing a nice long summer dress Forrest helped her pick out awhile back, she self-consciously tugs her hat down a little, even as she sticks out a hand to shake with a bit of foster in her cheeks.]

H-hiya. Mighty nice to meet ya...

[We promise she means it, she's just nervous. It's pretty obvious...]

'Salright...Ah'm new to party stuff...but Ah can help with attire easy nuff....

Edited 2017-04-13 04:22 (UTC)

[It didn't take much convincing at all to get Natsuru to come along. Especially since it was Kairi who asked, and on behalf of Forrest... they're both people she's felt an instant connection with since the sleepover.

As for the other two... Natsuru smiles and politely greets D2, who she's pretty sure she's seen around before. Nephenee also seems familiar, although Natsuru's not sure what to make of her shy, nervous behavior. Is she someone that's just not good with groups of strangers?

Whatever it is, she's being brave enough to offer her hand to shake, so Natsuru is more than willing to accept the gesture. She offers a gentle, slightly shy smile of her own. She knows what it feels like to be nervous in situations like this, after all.]

Yeah... it's nice to meet you both too.

[The mention of 'attire' reminds her of one of the reasons she agreed to do this. She's increasingly curious about clothing of all kinds, the more time she spends here. But she's a little concerned about whether she has the actual skill to help out.]

I don't think I've ever done anything like this before! But I'd like to help as much as I can.

It's nice to meet you Nephenee. [ And she notices that there's some nerves there. ] Maybe we can one on one some time and get to know each other better.

[ Kairi waves a dismissive hand. ]

Don't worry about it too much, everyone! I met Orihime once already. I know where she lives and if she's planning the whole festival, then there's got to be a dozen things aside from actually making outfits that she needs help with. A couple of people offered to fold paper cranes that time, for example. Or we can probably carry stuff...

[ She makes several suggestions as they walk towards the Amanogawa, which she remembers from the sound alone. ]

Hear that? The sound of rapids? That means we're getting close to the river, and she lives on the banks of it. It's probably too late to find people coming and going from there to take care of festival stuff, but maybe...

[ And then one of the attendants walks past in the opposite direction, carrying a box of (probably) supplies. But maybe Forrest can see Orihime's house around the same time Kairi ends up seeing it too. ]

Yes, I'm sure there will be plenty of things to help with. Not just clothing, but also food and decorations.

[Forrest hears the sound of the water as Kairi points it out, and when he looks at where the attendants are coming from, he spies the house in the distance.]

Oh, that must be Lady Orihime's house up ahead! It looks so elegant.

[Orihime's house would normally be made more elegant by the wrap-around porch being fully visible from their distance. However, in front of all of it are people clamoring for her attention, some with sketchpads and some with fabric swatches and some with boxes in their hands. One after another they push to get directly in front of her and shout their request. At last, she raises her hand and the din ceases.]

Those with boxes - the location for the festival this year is down the river... sir, you were part of my crew last year. Please escort everyone that way.

Those with fabric swatches, write your name on a tag and leave them here on the porch. I will call for each of you in turn when I have finished the next bolt that you are requesting.

Sketchers, I can see your designs from here, and they look lovely. Please proceed.

[That last one doesn't sound terribly genuine, but everyone lets out some breath they were holding and begins to do as she told them.]

[ Because they're sort of swept up by everything, D2 doesn't get a chance to instantly shake hands with Nephenee, so instead he sends another friendly smile her way.

Then his ears catches the sound of a stream and he looks over what he can of the house as they approach, reflexively searching for any hazards but also trying to figure out where he might be of more use. ]

Splitting into pairs could be a good idea. And it would probably be pretty crowded if everyone tried to do the same thing, anyway. [ It's already pretty crowded as it is, but will Nephenee be alright with that? She seems shy. ] Seems like things are pretty busy.

[Natsuru is fascinated by both the scenery and the crowds. It's hard to get a good look at first, but Orihime's house is more simple and traditional than she would have expected. There's so many people doing so many things, though...]

I didn't realize there'd be so much to do...

[She seems to pause in thought for a moment after D2's suggestion.]

Would that really be okay? There's only five of us.

[And Nephenee seems like she might end up the odd girl out in the group, if they did split up.]

[ Right, they're an uneven number. He forgot for a brief moment. He didn't forget about anyone, just about the number of them. ]

Right, so more of a group off, then?

[ Two and three? ]

[Nephenee's mostly quiet as they talk, kind of staring at all the people, but she nods.]

Ah'd..prefer a small group, yeah.

[Nephenee, you're a muscle-y woman in armor with a giant polearm on your back, why are you a shrinking violet...]

...If it's anythin' like some o'Melior's festivals, there's a whole bunch to do when ya got a large gatherin'.

Well she already knows who I am, so whoever's not shy can come with me and I'll do the first round of introductions.

[She pushes her way to the front as Orihime's attendants disperse.]

Lady Orihime! Hi again, it's Kairi! We met the other day when my friends and I came to cheer you up.

[She gestures backwards.]

A friend of mine wanted to meet you and thought we could help you out a little while we were over here. This is Forrest, and that's Natsuru, and Carl - sorry, D2 - and Nephenee.

[Kairi's good enough with names to remember that even if they only just met.]

It's a pleasure to meet you, Lady Orihime.

[He's heard so much about her, and he's excited to work with a goddess who's known for weaving beautiful clothing.]

We've come to help with the preparations. If there's anything we can do to help, please let us know.

Edited 2017-04-21 20:53 (UTC)

[Orihime looks to all five of them. She has a very serious business-like mood about her just now.]

Very well. Some of you, follow that group down the river with the boxes - or, moves as the old gods can, if you're able. The rest of you come here to the porch - I have one last batch of paper cranes to make. And then...

[Her shoulders lower and she pulls her head back, trying to compose herself.]

Tomorrow is the festival, after all.

The possibility of an all-nighter if things doesn't look like they'll be ready on time might happen, then.

[ Not a problem on this end with that, as long as his god doesn't end up needing him. He doesn't know about the others though. ]

So carrying stuff and putting up whatever's in them, or origami? Is folding cranes difficult?

[ Carrying things is not a problem, he can do that. But origami sounds like fun, doesn't it? There are different difficult to different things to fold. Finding learning new things fun aside, if cranes are hard to fold he doesn't want to interfere with the preparations and delay them by doing something he can't get right. ]

[Natsuru looks a little lost and unsure of where to volunteer her services. She could probably handle festival preparations, but she doesn't know what exactly is in those boxes. She's also not sure if she's ever folded paper cranes before. It seems familiar, at least, in a detached sort of way.]

Ah, folding the cranes sounds kind of fun. But it sounds like the festival preparations might need more people...

[It doesn't sound like those two tasks are the end of it, either. She'll look to the rest of the group to see whose preferences fall where, though. She doesn't mind doing either job.]

I'll carry boxes then! I don't mind.

[She flexes her arm muscles which are really not that impressive, but also not noodle arms either.]

And I'll take multiple trips if I have to.

[She looks over at Forrest and Nephenee.]

I don't know if paper cranes are hard to make but if you want to carry some boxes...

[Looking primarily at Nephenee, who she doesn't know is a god, but wonders if maybe Forrest can just make it easy on himself by teleporting as Lady Orihime had suggested.]

... Come on over with me.

[And she heads to the boxes area to find a light-ish one, or maybe two smaller ones.]

Ah... I think I may be better suited to making paper cranes.

[Not that he doesn't want to help Kairi, but Forrest's physique isn't exactly up to carrying lots of heavy loads. He tends to do better with artistic things in general.]

If you wouldn't mind showing me the folds, Lady Orihime?

Oh, Ah can help with boxes!

[Despite her awkwardness, she perks up when she hears something she -knows- she can do.]

Ah'll handle the heavier if ya want. Don't want ya to get hurt, Miss Kairi.

[Orihime allows the two to take care of boxes while she works with the remaining three on origami. Thankfully teaching just one time and getting three sets of hands helping does improve her mood greatly. She slowly calms down, even if one or two pieces of paper are expended on mistakes. The point is the number of cranes created.

And after all, while she's focused on that, she doesn't have to focus on the boxes being hauled. At one point, when all of the paper is used and an attendant comes to knock on her screen, she rises.]

Lady Orihime... it's done. All of the boxes...

[He looks utterly baffled.]

All of them?

[And then she looks behind her, realizing all of the paper cranes have been made too.]

But, it's not even that late and...

[She clears her throat, having realized her slip in speech, then turning to the three who have been working on the origami before then turning to the duo of box-carriers.]

My work for the festival is complete.

Tell me if you want any additional help, Kairi, Nephenee.

[ Maybe he comes off as overly friendly, by using the name of a person he's just met without adding any honorifics, but he's a friendly person. And he doesn't doubt their abilities, he just wants to be helpful wherever he can be and if they want the help he's open to it at any time.

Folding cranes turns out to be very fun, and when it's for practicing, the same paper can be used more than once if only for the sake of getting the creases down. He's clearly far from an expert, but he's not as horrible as he thought he might be, and he doesn't ruin all that many sheets of papers. Time passes by surprisingly quickly, too. ]

That was fast.

[ And there looked like there was a lot of boxes around, too. ]

Ah, me too, Kairi-chan!

[Natsuru jumps in on D2's offer, partially because she feels guilty about Kairi ending up with the moving boxes job. Natsuru knows she's stronger than a lot of girls, and it probably would have been easier for her. But Nephenee seems pretty strong too, so maybe they'll be okay together?

She still has no idea if she's folded paper cranes before, and yet she seems to take to it quite naturally. Time flies, as they say, and she's surprised to see there's no more paper left to fold.]

Eh? It's all done already?

[Kairi meanwhile leans over to whisper in Natsuru's ear after she returns from the heavy box-lifting. She sits down for a well-deserved break while she speaks.]

When I came by the other day, there were a lot of other people helping... maybe it's like when I was helping with Roxas and Leo's birthday party, where you plan it for a really long time and then in the last little bit before the event, that's when you put everything into place... but if you've been planning for awhile, that part can go really fast in the end!

[She's perhaps the only one not surprised that their small contribution to the bigger project happened to cross at the same time that some other people's contributions wrapped up as well.]

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Party Hard

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Mission Goal Achieved

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