thenearshore | I'll take you back to your place

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I'll take you back to your place

Who: Pyrrha and Keith
When: January 10th
Where: A lovely park on the Near Shore.
What: Prayer #49, breaking up a bad date.

"This date is creepy! I need an excuse to leave early... please help me!"

[Upon hearing the plea from one of Serapis' followers, the two shinki under his watch decide to take up the task of sorting out the problem themselves. It seems easy enough of a prayer to answer, find the problem couple and split them up. If it does turn out to be as simple as the request makes it sound, then there's really no need to worry about things getting complicated.

Of course, what kind of prayer would this be to answer if it were so easy? The spot the two of them are led to is a park, a pretty popular meeting spot, and there are plenty of couples to try and sort through. It shouldn't be too hard to find the people they're looking for, if the date is really going so poorly, but it might take quite a while.]

Think we should split up for this one?

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[ there are a lot of couples. pyrrha honestly wasn't expecting there to be so many, and she honestly may have underestimated the difficulty level of this prayer. just a tad. but she's up for the task, and hopefully it'll go okay, considering it's her first time being on the job.

she nods at keith's suggestion. ]

That might be for the best, given how many people are in the park today. I can go right?

Sure thing, I’ll head left.

[Really, it should still be a pretty easy task, all things considered.]

I’ll call out to you if I find something, you do the same. [And, you know what, this is probably a good moment for teaching, too:] Don’t be afraid to get nosy, either. Normal people on the Near Shore have a hard time noticing when gods and shinki are around, so unless you’re purposefully bothering them or trying to get their attention, they probably won’t pay any attention to you.

[With exceptions, of course, but he’s pretty sure there’s no real chance of this particular plan being foiled by the ‘children and animals’ caveat.]

I'll keep that in mind. [ pyrrha can be distracting if the situation calls for it, but she'll feel really bad for bothering them. this might be a bit of a problem.

but she'll do her best. ]

I'll listen in on their conversations to find the right couple. I wouldn't want to bother anyone if they're having a good date.

[He’d expect it to be pretty obvious if someone’s having a bad time on their date, but that’s really not always the case. They’ll just have to be vigilant, but he knows that that the two of them can do that much at the very least.]

Don’t worry, we’ve got this.

[A little extra confidence can’t hurt. Pyrrha’s shown herself to be a capable person, there’s no reason not to trust her for this.]

[ ah. she appreciates the vote of confidence. pyrrha gives him a grin and a firm nod. ]

Yes, we do. ...Thank you, Keith. Give me a call or a text if you need anything.

[ she turns in the opposite direction and heads off, keeping her eyes and ears peeled for anyone who seems to be in trouble. ]

[As the two of them part ways, Keith glances over the various couples in his designated half of the park, hoping to find the problem pair on sight. No such luck there, unfortunately for him, so it seems like he'll just have to be a little more patient and thorough with tracking this terrible date down. Time to focus up, Keith!

As he makes his way through the park, he lingers a little longer at any couples who don't immediately look like they're having a mutually good time together, hoping that hearing pieces of conversations could lead him to the right pair. Most of them seem to have just hit a lull in their time together, nothing uncomfortable or malicious about that, but after a few minutes of measured strolling, he catches something decidedly troubling,]

"Haha, I still really can't believe it, I must be super lucky to have gotten set up with someone as totally hot as you!"

"A-ahah, yeah, it sure is... something, isn't it?"

"Oh, we have to hit up a dance club or something after this - find some place warm where we can get you out of those heavy winter clothes so I can see how your body matches up to your face, you know?"

[Yikes.

He pulls out his phone pretty much immediately, calling Pyrrha up in a matter of a couple quick button presses before gluing his eyes on the pair, in case something worse than a few creepy comments getting thrown about happens.]

[ pyrrha's not exactly an expert when it comes to dating, but she can spot a bad date when she sees one. hears one, even. it seems as though all the couples she stumbles across in the park seem to be enjoying themselves, all in their own ways. picnics. cuddling on park benches. it's all really sweet, and she's glad that she's going unnoticed (boy would it look weird if someone could see her right now).

she's about to tell keith that she's not having any luck, when her phone starts ringing. ah. there it is. ]

Keith? Did you find something?

Yeah, I think I found our couple.

[Or, at the very least, a couple in need of splitting up. Either way, some intervention is needed, even if it happens to be a different bad date. He's keeping his voice down, just a little bit, on the off-chance that it might catch the pair's attention.]

If you follow the walkway the direction I went, there's a fountain back here with some benches around it, they're sitting together there. I can try and lure the guy away when you get close, if you think you can come in and convince her to bail on him.

Okay. Give me a few minutes, I'll be there shortly. Good work, Keith.

[ she hangs up and backtracks, tracing her steps all the way to their meeting place. she then follows the pathway he mentioned, peering over at the fountain. she sees him standing at the bench--the scar makes him more recognizable--and she waves at him before running over to him. the couple don't notice either of them (thanks rng), so it seems like they're in the clear for now to do some snooping. ]

Sorry, I hope I didn't keep you waiting too long! [ she looks over at the couple, and...ah. it looks like an awkward date indeed. ] Do you know what's going on exactly?

[There isn't a lot of snooping he thinks needs to be done at this point, honestly, but getting her up to speed might be good.]

Pretty standard 'creepy' stuff. [He gestures to their pair, giving a distasteful look at the guy who now has his arm wrapped around the shoulders of the girl. She looks... very uncomfortable about this development, and every tiny bit she scoots away to try and give him the message to back off simply ends with him leaning back in that much.] I think they may have been set up by a dating site, or something. The way he's talking, you'd think he's never even had a date before this, though.

[And, here, he gives a short huff of a sigh.]

Should be easy to take care of, though. If I get him to get up and leave for a bit, can I leave the rest to you?

[ oh no. oh no, this is bad. ick. what a creep. pyrrha moves over to the girl and looks over at keith, giving him a firm nod. ]

I hate to admit it, but I agree. She looks...very uncomfortable.

[ and rightfully so. with how she's scooting away... ] Go ahead, Keith. I'll try to talk to her once he's gone.

[Excellent, and with that, he moves in front of the pair, completely unnoticed until he heavily rests a hand on the man's shoulder.]

Hey.

[The man, for his part, looks fairly startled at the sudden contact, and apparently sudden appearance of someone in front of him. However, he quickly shifts his expression to skeptical, like... what's this guy's problem?]

I need you to come with me for a minute.

"Um, I'm kind of busy right now?"

[How to approach this without causing a scene...] You came here on a motor scooter, right? [Something he picked up on the guy bragging about earlier.] I think I saw someone messing with it. [And here he points back to, hopefully, where it could be parked.

The man blanches a tiny bit at the notion, though seems a little reluctant to believe Keith. After a second of thought, he turns back to his date,] "Hang on a second, babe, I'm gonna go check this out."

[And Keith gives Pyrrha a thumbs up, following their target to make sure he gets far away enough to let the girls make an escape.]

[ good job, keith. pyrrha eyes the man warily as he gets up, and once keith gives her the okay, she turns to the young lady. ]

Miss, I think we should leave as soon as possible.

[ the woman breathes out a sigh of relief and grabs pyrrha's hand, shaking it while bowing in thanks. it really seems like a weight's been taken off of her shoulder. pyrrha gives her a small smile, gently tugging her off of the bench, urging her to rise to her feet. ]

He's been giving you a hard time, right?

"Oh, you don't even know the half of it!"

[ pyrrha puts a hand on her shoulder. ] I'll lead you out of the park. My partner will take care of the rest.

[ a few moments later, keith will get a text. ] Mission accomplished? Or do you need some help?

[Keith's half of the mission ends with him employing a... less than subtle touch to the situation. Once he's out of sight and out of earshot of anyone who may have seen them at the park, he grips the man's shoulder once more, leaning in a little to look him straight in the eyes.]

I think you need to take some time and figure out how to talk to people - even I could tell your date was having a miserable time.

"I - what?!" The man puffs up a little in indignation. "Hey, were you stalking us or something?!"

[Keith looks back to where they came from - they can't really see the spot in the park anymore, and he thinks that's probably given Pyrrha enough time to execute her end of the mission. If he can disengage now, that should be good.]

Just saying, I don't think you'll be getting any second dates with your attitude the way it is. [At that point, his phone alerts him to Pyrrha's text. He sends one back to her, 'No problems here. Meet me back at the entrance of the park if you're all finished up.'] Might not even finish your first dates.

[Like right now. With that, Keith turns to take his leave, leaving the man flustered behind him.]

Be a little more aware of yourself in the future.

[ it's a good think keith was the one who led the man off, because pyrrha wouldn't have given it to him so straight. instead, she's walking the woman to the exit opposite of where keith and the horrible date are, and once the woman's safely gotten into a taxi, she takes out her phone.

she breathes a sigh of relief. at least keith is unharmed. probably. still, now that she's back to going unnoticed, she makes a beeline straight for the entrance of the park to meet up with keith.

she sees the man storming off, and there's a smile on her face. ]

It looks like everything went smoothly. Mission success?

['Smoothly' is one way to put it. He managed to end it without escalating the situation too much, anyway, so that's probably as smoothly as they could have hoped for. Good work, team!]

Mission successful. [And with that, he flashes her a thumbs-up. It was an easy enough task for sure, but still, having that success under her belt should give Pyrrha a little extra confidence for taking on more challenging prayers.] Let's get out of here.

[But. Hm. It'd be a waste to just pop back to the Far Shore after making the trip not that long ago.]

You wanna grab some food before we head back to the temple? My treat.

[ she gives him a nod in response to the thumbs-up. first prayer? success. she's glad that it went okay.

keith's offer takes her by surprise. she hadn't been expecting it at all. but...her stomach is grumbling, and she's not going to say no to spending more time with her friend. so she smiles at him and nods. ]

That sounds wonderful, Keith. It'll be on me next time, alright?

[He had a feeling she'd like the idea...! Okay, good. Now, where to go?]

I don't really know this area too well, so if we just walk around a while, I'm sure something good will turn up. [Let's ~investigate~] You'll have to let me know if anything in particular looks good to you, okay?

Sure thing, though... I'm not really picky. I'm more than willing to go anywhere you'd like.

[ that's not helpful pyrrha but okay ]

[Nah, it's fine, he understands.]

We'll see what's around, then. [Something's bound to strike them as a good option sooner or later, especially if they're already hungry.] Let's start... down this way. [Looking off out of the park, in the opposite direction of they way they'd need to take to get back to the temple.]

Sounds perfect.

[ pyrrha starts walking in that direction, and there's an alleyway of shops and restaurants across the street. perfect. she can't read japanese, so she doesn't know what some of these storefronts say. still, she can smell broth being brewed, meat being grilled. ]

Any of these tickle your fancy, Keith?

[Really, based on smell alone, all of it seems appealing. Something hot's probably best for the weather, but there's still a part of him that's hoping to get to know Pyrrha a little better with this - figure out something that she likes.

Maybe if he helps narrow it down a little bit...]

Noodles might be good, there's a place grilling meat over here, too, if you'd rather have something like that. [And... one more thing? One more thing.] I think the line of people over there is for a crepe shop. [If sweets are more her thing.]

[ aw, keith. well, if there's one thing that hasn't changed about pyrrha since her last life on remnant, it's that she loves noodles. ]

We can try a noodle shop, if that's okay with you? And how about we go for crepes afterwards?

[Oho, make a whole meal out of it...! He can foot that, no sweat.]

Sounds like a very good plan to me.

[Let's go get some noodles!!]

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I'll take you back to your place

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rng says keith will get the bad date if that's cool!

Works for me! \o/

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pumpkin petes icon because food

Truly incredible...!

a blessing

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