madmewmew | Seasons Inbox un: madlymewing (possible NSFW in threads)

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Seasons Inbox un: madlymewing (possible NSFW in threads)

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[So Mew Mew likes fighting. Really, really likes fighting. Likes the part where she gets hurt, specifically.

Which is fine! Evangeline's the last person to judge on that. But she also doesn't... super know how this is going to go? Obviously she's had a friendly spar before, but not with someone who was Really Into It.

But, still, if that's what Mew Mew's into, Evangeline can at least try to provide?

In the Dayrise arena, Evangeline grips her monstrous red scythe with both hands.]

Are you ready?

[The fact Evangeline is going to indulge in her request? Is amazing to Mew Mew.

So after she's settled in and such, and learned the lay of the land, she is in the arena with Evangeline. Her only weapon is a cat headed magical girl staff, which looks sad in comparison to the scythe the other woman wields.]

Oh yeah, I am so ready?!

[She's never actually, aside from the few times she fought Frisk, sparred where she hits back.]

[Evangeline knows better than to judge a weapon by its looks! That staff could deal some major punishment, she doesn't know.]

Alright then, from three... Three, two, one, here I come!

[Just as she would in any other spar, Evangeline starts with a forceful swing of her scythe at Mew Mew's torso. She's been told her defense is impeccable, let's test that.]

[Mew Mew nods, and narrows her eyes at the count down. As she readies her own magic, which if Evangeline is in touch with her SOUL? She might notice the atmosphere changing as Mew Mew's SOUL effect might just kick in.

Even as her scythe makes contact with Mew Mew's body, the cat girl laughs and lets out a little pleased moan. Even as her head goes a bit askew.]

Oh! Oh! Oh!! This is way better than fighting the human!!!

[Evangeline has taken enough soul damage to at least be aware of effects to it - but it doesn't hurt, at least not yet.

Also uh, wow.]

Just getting started!

[If Mew Mew doesn't counterattack to interrupt her, then Evangeline will take another swing at her.]

[Honestly it won't hurt unless Mew Mew attacks her, and hits her, which it looks like she's not even making an attempt to fight back?

But she does swing her staff down in an effort to block the next swing.]

This is how you do it, yeah?!

[Again, used to just being wailed on here.]

[The staff blocks!]

Good start! [Maybe she should treat this more like a combat lesson than a spar...?] Remember to try to hit me too!

Why? I'm used to being the one hit after all!

[But she will try to move and just attempt to boink her with the staff.]

Well, yeah, but spars are usually two-sided...

[She does get bonked once before her scythe comes up to knock the staff away - she at least wants to judge how hard Mew Mew hits when she does hit.]

[She pouts at having her staff knocked away, as she is going to step back to give herself some space.]

Okay then, be ready!

[And Evangeline is going to get to see some Monster magic, as ~~friendliness pellets~~cat headed shots come out of Mew Mew's staff. Which she's raised up to get a better angle.]

Ooh, those are cool!

[-Evangeline manages to dodge most of them, but a couple clip her shoulder. Those actually do hurt, dang.]

It's not as cool as my magic as a dummy!

[Which was calling on regular dummies, and then robotic dummies and the eventually throwing a knife. So really not that cool at all.]

That must've been extra cool then!

[-also, look alive, she's swinging her scythe at Mew Mew's torso.]

Yeah it wa--

[It connects! And... Sends her head flying, which he body reacts by scrambling to catch the head. It'd be comedic if it wasn't in the middle of a spar, and if she wasn't making a very pleased sound at the same time.]

...Do you need a second before we continue?

[Are there rules about what to do when your opponent's head falls off?]

[The body stops and turns towards Evangeline, flashing a cutesy pose as her head lets out an annoyed huff.]

Normally I'm better at catching it!

I'll take that as a compliment.

[She'll wait patiently for Mew Mew to get her head back on.]

[She picks up her head, and considers... Holding it up and looking right at Evangeline.]

Yanno, even though it falls off normally? Only that human and you have managed to knock it off in a fight.

I have been told I make people lose their minds.

[not sorry]

[She laughs at that, as she puts her head back on properly.]

Yeah, but you haven't done that. You just made me lose my head, totally different!

Guess I have to keep trying!

[As soon as Mew Mew looks ready, she's going in for another powerful slash.]

[She's ready and part of her kind of wants to take the hit, but she moves to block it with her staff once more as best as she can. It does make her stumble a little when she blocks it though.]

I gotta wonder how you'll do it!

[This time she's not letting up, following the first strike with a second, and then a third if that's blocked.]

It'd spoil the surprise!

[She's going to have to stop blocking, since her staff is technically a doll prop, so it's not that sturdy. But she takes the hits she doesn't block, earning Evangeline some more, very obviously, aroused noises from Mew Mew.]

Surprise?! Yes, yes yes!!!!

Edited 2025-06-19 23:30 (UTC)

[-hm, yep, those are moans! They sure are. At least she's not surprised by this.

...She supposes she should keep attacking her? She's just gonna do that.]

I'll do my best not to disappoint.

Mm, mm, mm!!

[With at least one of those strikes? Mew Mew is going to drop her staff and try to grab the scythe by the blade. She's kind of lost to the sauce now.]

Ooooooh~! Make me your pin cushion! Use me!

[Guess??? They're doing this now???]

Well, since you asked so nicely...

[Evangeline hits her as hard as she can manage, which is Pretty Damn Hard.]

[She's ready for the hit this time, bringing both hands up to hold onto her head so it doesn't go flying. But it does send her to the ground, her dress is very much showing damage as well, and she is very much breathing heavily.]

Ah!!! I love it!

[Should she keep going? There's no question that Mew Mew's enjoying this, and it doesn't seem like Evangeline's actually wounded her... just damaged her dress. So, it's, probably fine?]

You're really into this.

[It's a little awkward of an angle to swing her scythe at her now with her on the ground, but she manages.]

[Her body is pretty durable, all things considered.]

It's all I know!!!

[And now she can actually be open about this, at least with the right people. As she's hit again, she lets out a cry and... Yeah, that is very much the sound of her climaxing here. Good job, Evangeline!]

[Oh, yeah, that's a sound she recognizes and it's her cue to stop. No overstimulation today.

After an awkward second of hovering, she sits down on the ground next to her, waiting for Mew Mew to come down from her high.]

[Mew Mew is just laying there, panting with her eyes closed. Because wow, she's enjoyed being a training dummy before but this?

Is a totally different thing. She is a mess in more ways than just the fight made her, perhaps she is more in sync with her body than she thought.]

That... was good.

[Does she mean the fight or her orgasm? Hard to tell.]

I’m glad you enjoyed it.

[That much is easy and genuine. Evangeline always wants her partners to have a good time with her.]

What do you usually do after?

After?

[And just going to answer with what she knows, which is what happens after her time of being a training dummy.]

Usually I just stay where I am, and she goes off to do whatever folks do after they're done training.

Oh. Well, I don’t really like to do things that way, personally?

Ah, well... It's never felt like this before, either?

Makes sense. Hang on.

[Evangeline opens her hammerspace purse and pulls out a large, comfortable blanket.]

Sorry, I don’t have a whole bed in here, but this might be more comfortable?

[And she's recovered enough to try sitting up when Evangeline does that.]

Ah, it's okay? I'm used to just staying in one place for a long time so the ground isn't that bad!

I’d rather cuddle on a blanket than the ground, personally.

[Cuddle?!]

EH?!

………Do you not want to?

No? I mean! I don't know?!

[She's not used to this at all! ~~What is proper aftercare???~~]

We don’t have to! But usually after sex, especially intense sex, I like to cuddle?

[Let her introduce you to aftercare, it’s great.]

... sex? Wait... We had sex?!

[That was just sparring and training! And yet it felt so good and different, and most certainly not what Mew Mew knows about sex.]

I mean I gave you an orgasm so yeah, I think that counts??

[Yeah nobody got naked but she’s still pretty sure that this was sex.]

[...]

That's what that was?

[Behold, someone who never came before today.]

Yeah. That’s what it was.

[At least Evangeline isn’t going to make fun of her for that.]

[That's good, because what she says next might be out of left field.]

... can we do it again? Although. [She brings a hand up to the damage on her dress.] Not like that, I've only got the one dress.

Oh, yeah, of course. I was going to ask if you wanted to do this again anyway.

[Is that what she means?]

[Her tail is twitching in excitement, as she nods.]

I'd love it!

Great!

This is a little backwards, but can I kiss you?

[Ah a kiss? She had had dreams of kissing a certain someone from home, but that will never happen. And Evangeline is nice...]

Sure, I'd like that.

[Evangeline leans in slowly and gives Mew Mew a soft, gentle, tender kiss. It’s pretty much the exact opposite of what they just did, but it might be her first kiss - Evangeline is still going to do it right.]

[It's nice. How soft it is, Mew Mew won't complain about it at all. But she will make an attempt to return the same kind of affection? That Evangeline is showing her.]

[Not immediately shut down for not trying to bite her or something, success! Evangeline lightly plays with Mew Mew’s hair as she draws back, smiling at her.

[She likes being beat up, doesn't mean she'd like being bitten. At Evangeline pulling back and playing with her hair though, she lets out a soft needy mew.]

[Oh, no, cute…. Evangeline keeps playing with her hair, pressing a soft kiss to her cheek as she does so.]

[Another mew from her, and leaning a bit into Evangeline's touch.]

I've... never done this before.

It’s different, but nice, isn’t it? -Can I pet your ears?

Yeah... [And she nods a little.] Sure, only one other person has touched them.

[Not that she wants to think about that person during this kind of situation.]

[Let’s not think about kids right now, thanks.

Evangeline gently brushes her fingertips over Mew Mew’s ears, lightly teasing them, before rub a bit more firmly.]

[Any thoughts are gone, because of my! Her tail fluffs up at the attention to her ears, and once more she mews.]

Ah that's!

[Way too nice?!]

Good? Too much?

[She pauses momentarily to give Mew Mew a chance to tell her to back off if she needs to.]

Mm! Good, yeah!

[No telling her to back off here, but maybe needing that moment to gather herself.]

Great.

[In that case, she starts gently stroking both ears at once. The sweetest two-pronged assault.]

[Poofy tail is thumping against the ground at that two pronged assault, and... She might also be purring??? While she is also trying to decide which hand to lean into, which means she's just sort of tilting her head from side to side.]

[Cute...! Super, super cute. Would pet again.

Smiling, Evangeline leans in to lightly kiss the tip of one of her ears.]

Geh?!

[Yes, she just made that sound at the ear kiss. Because it feels weird, but not in a bad way, and also unexpected!]

Good? Bad?

[It's important to check in with your partner. Evangeline goes back to just stroking them with her fingers as she waits for ear kiss approval.]

Ah, weird?

[Which isn't good or bad, more like she doesn't know???]

Okay. Let me know if you want me to quit it.

[She kisses Mew Mew's ear again, still soft and gentle.]

Okay...

[It's nice, she likes it. But also like maybe she should do something?? She raises her hands up as if she's going to, like, touch Evangeline but she hesitates.]

You can touch me if you want to. I would like that.

[Although she doesn't have extremely pettable ears or a soft tail... Alas.]

Oh.. O-okay!

[Said a bit eagerly, as she will do just that. Bringing her hands up to grope Evangeline's breasts, just getting right to the point.]

[That gets a clearly happy sigh from her.]

Feels good.

[And Mew Mew gets more ear petting in return. ...Not that she's not thinking about groping her chest too, but ears more important.]

[The ear petting will earn Evangeline some clumsy fondling and purring from Mew Mew.]

Good, I'd um. Hate to screw up.

It's honestly pretty hard to mess this part up unless you, like, yank or something. Most stuff feels nice.

[...She'll demonstrate by giving Mew Mew's chest an appropriate squeeze.]

Ah.

[She's kind of surprised by Evangeline doing that, since she's not exactly bountiful or have much give. Her body might have some very human reactions, probably because it's being possessed, it is still a doll.]

[It's fine if she doesn't have a big chest, or isn't very squeezable. She's been with plenty of partners who weren't even mammalian to begin with. The important thing:]

Feels good?

Hm, yes?

[It's a new sensation for Mew Mew, then again not like she goes around feeling herself up. So Evangeline is taking her to new places here.]

Great, I'll keep doing it then.

[Rub rub squeeze. She's taking a lot of Mew Mew's firsts today.]

[She lets out a little pleased sound, which surprises her a little. As she also wriggles a little, feeling something nice with all the things going on?

All while she does her best with giving Evangeline the same attention she's giving Mew Mew.]

( Annie, who's giving herself credit for being Social, has headed down to the entrance foyer of the new arrival's apartment complex dressed in her usual cream-white hoodie and not so dissimilar pants. Her brown boots are knee high. At this rate, with one outfit and nothing useful in her apartment, she really needs to do shopping herself... and possibly find gifts for Reiner, since he's married now.

(She'll learn not too long from now he has not, actually, managed to tie that knot yet.)

She's also holding a pie wrapped in a kitchen towel while she waits for Mew Mew, the Pink. )

[Mew Mew has also been making attempts to be Social, beyond getting beat up that is. So, before the time of the meeting came up? Mew Mew realizes she would probably need money, so the day before and right up to a few hours after noon the day of? She's done what she can to make some spending cash. So it's not from the apartments themselves she shows up, but through the front door into the foyer.

She is, as she said, very pink. Pink hair, pink cat ears and tail, heck her dress? Also pink! Even if it's a bit damaged from her time with Evangeline. Anyway, she does look for anyone in white who also looks like the picture she saw on the app and when she spots Annie?

Waving and a shout as she approaches.]

Annie, right?!

( The pink is very present, and very surprising in the sheer degree. Annie's eyes widen a fraction to take in all the sheer pink, such a vivacious and vivid colour, all things considered. )

Yes, and you're Mew Mew?

( Less a question for who she is, and more a question of if she's saying Mew Mew correctly. )

This is for you.

( Holding out that covered... meat... pie. )

[She did warn Annie, kinda.]

Yes, that's me.

[It sounds alright to her, and oh. She looks at the covered pie and she will take it because it would be rude not to.]

Thank you? I, um, didn't bring you anything, though.

[Also not sure how to explain that she probably can't eat the pie because she's a Ghost in a doll. But the thought! It's the thought that counts here!]

( Feed it to additional friends! Annie has no idea why she arrived to find six pies in her 'starter' apartment, but there it is. Time to give Everyone a pie. )

You didn't need to. ( ... Belatedly, she realises this is also terrible timing. ) ... I don't know if you wanted to leave that here, then we can go?

( Or carry a pie throughout the city, that's fine too. )

[Share the wealth, when the wealth is pie.]

Oh, okay... [And right, walking around with a pie would be awkward so!] Yeah... I'll run this up to my apartment then, since it'd probably get in the way.

[Can't carry pie and shop after all, so she'll take off back into the apartments to go put the pie away.

Surprisingly, she won't be too long doing that!]

( This was not the best plan Annie had, but on a scale of bad plans, setting back a start time with impromptu pie gifts is low on the scale of damaging. When Mew Mew is back on the ground level, Annie lifts a hand in an unnecessary almost-wave, nodding her head toward the door.

She too has been earning Moon Coins, and has a few goals involving both the Underground Mall and the Riki Store place, depending on where they end up making it to. )

There's a node we can take to the nearest entrance. Or we can walk. Just takes longer.

We can take a node, no point wasting time walking when we've got a goal in mind.

[It makes sense in her mind, the point of this is shopping, so wasting time on the travel part is just silly?

Although in her short time here she hasn't exactly gone to any clothing stores, or the underground mall.]

( Annie has a list of things to look for while they're ut, so while shopping isn't something she generally looks forward to, company (... and okay, she's eyeing the ears and tail Mew Mew has from the corner of her vision, and finds herself thinking they're so strangely cute) is a benefit rather than the silence of her own thoughts. )

Nearest one's down that way. ( She says, shoving her hands into her hoodie's pouch and heading the direction she'd indicated. )

If there any particular kind of outfit you're looking for?

[Her ears and tail twitch, as if they know that Annie is thinking about them, as she heads off in the direction staying in step with Annie.]

Hm, what am I looking for? [She... actually hadn't thought about that, mostly because she never needed clothing before!]

I guess something a little less? [As she walks she tugs on the skirt of her dress.] Like what you're wearing, I guess? I've never needed clothing before.

( Oh no, they twitch, and somehow that's... more cute? Annie reflects that she really does like cats if cat girls automatically get a cute notice from her, and sighs internally. The more she knows. )

Pants, hoodies, boots? Between the outworlders and the people who've always been here, it doesn't seem like tails are that strange. We should be able to find you some options.

( Though she can't say all the tails she's glimpsed in passing are attached versus worn for effect. It doesn't occur to her immediately that people ever would just wear one for show.

There's a short line at the nearby node, so Annie gets into line without any fuss. )

Yeah, those! And I guess stuff for warmer weather even though heat doesn't bother me much.

[Since Mew Mew found her body in a lab in the hottest area in the Underground, so she just assumes she can handle the heat.

And wow, short line! She will happily stand in line with Annie.]

Are you looking for anything in particular yourself?

Right, the heat... does your fur make that harder or easier to handle?

( The fur on her tail and ears at least, Annie's not sure what it would do either way. When asked what she's looking for, she offers a curt but not standoffish nod, pulling out her phone. It takes a moment for her to unlock it, and it's very much like watching your least tech savvy auntie gamely do her best.

She's getting better at using the phone, but it's always throwing her for some new loop. Finding the note function was yesterday's discovery, when she was attempting to use the whole Cinder app and somehow was in a different app altogether. But she does find her note app, tapping into it and the only note within. )

A few things for swimming lessons, anything else to wear, clothing to handle the heat or the cold... socks. Can never have enough socks.

( The line moves forward, Annie moving along with it. )

I don't know! I've only been in this body for a little bit.

[Just casually admitting that, as she watches Annie with her phone. Goodness, yeah that is pretty tech unsavvy indeed. But she won't say anything, just letting the other young woman do things herself. But she does lean in a little, tail swishing back and forth.]

Huh, you like to swim then? I've never done it.

[And moving with the line as well.]

( Annie blinks, startled by that statement, looking toward Mew Mew. )

What happened to your prior body?

( Not even a question of can someone be in another body, but more of a why did it happen at all? )

I can swim, but it's not my strong point. So I figured I'd take lessons to make up for it. Someone on that Cinder thing works as a swim instructor.

( She shrugs, still looking a bit caught off guard at the whole "only in this body for a little bit" comment. One person's still ahead of them now, but it'll be their turn soon enough. )

Oh nothing, it just wasn't what I wanted? Although being a training dummy wasn't bad...

[She says that last part a bit wistfully, she will miss being wailed on by Undyne but! So far a few people have offered to beat on her here, so it's not a total wash.]

Huh, that's good. It would probably be hard to get better on your own.

[Look, if Annie asked about it? Mew Mew would totally explain that she's a Ghost and she needs to possess something to be corporeal. But it's their turn once the person in front of them is done and gone.]

( Annie wants to ask what in the world that means when she's being called into the node, and shelves the question for later. Minimally for after they're transported. Maximally for whenever she remembers next, if this ends up being a disorienting trip for either one of them.

Once she's been teleported to the destination node, Annie pushes her hair back off her face and breathes in deeply. Not a draining one, with the distance fairly short and the entrance to the mall not so far away. She turns her attention toward Mew Mea again to check that she came through unscathed. )

Steady?

[Teleporting is not something Mew Mew is used to, quick travel in the Underground was just a dude with a really fast boat! And maybe asking a duckling to carry you over a gap. So once she goes through the node? She's a bit wobbly, and she's holding onto her head because hoo boy. It felt like it was going to pop off?

So when Annie checks on her? She lets out a nervous laugh.]

I'm good! Never done that before though.

[And she flashes a toothy grin and gives a thumbs up.]

( Annie raises a hand to catch Mew Mew in case she stumbles, her hand falling back to her side as she steadies herself. Compared to the speeds she's used to handling in maneuvering gear, this is easier on the body. Most people probably don't have comparable experiences, she realises. )

It gets easier the more you use them.

( Why has Annie already made consistent use of them? Acclimatization, if she's honest. The part of her used to gathering intel about new locations doesn't let her settle down and not figure out how to move through the area. )

We can sit down for a moment to recover?

[Oh the helping hand isn't missed, and maybe it flusters Mew Mew a bit. But she'll hide that quickly.]

Yeah, I've been mostly wandering about on foot? So I know how to get places on my own!

[As to recovering?]

I'm good, I'm good. [She'll even brush her hands down the front of her dress to make her point.]

If you say so.

( Annie's hardly going to question in — Mew Mew knows herself best, or should at least. Instead she nods her head to one side of the sidewalk, setting off at a brisk clip. mew Mew's a little taller than Annie is, so there shouldn't be any problem in stride matching (per Annie's thought process), so she tucks her hands back into her hoodie's pouch, phone nudged up against them. )

Apparently all under this city is a massive mall, which sounds like a place of shops and food and who knows what else. We can get down... up there.

( There's a neatly decorated archway a block or so away from them, with people heading in or out in small groups, conversation increasingly audible as they approach. Annie isn't the chattiest person herself, meaning she hasn't tried to interject much of anything so far that's not related to what they're doing. Once they hit the stairs, she's ready to head on down, feeling the temperature change to a much cooler one as they descend. )

I don't know if there's a list of stores down here... I do have the name of one for swimming gear. That's about it.

[She just nods, as she keeps up with Annie. Not making any attempt to out pace the young woman.]

Huh, a mall? I've never been to one!

[There wasn't anything like one in Waterfall after all, and Mew Mew didn't exactly go to New Home often enough to even know if there was one in the "big" city of the Underground. As to topics to discuss, she's not got much to talk about either. So she is fine in walking in silence with Annie until they hit the stairs.]

Well, we can start with that one and then maybe wander a bit and hopefully not get lost?

My first time was here, too.

( She's not shopped here yet, but she did scout out a few entrances, true to her own impulses and nature. She nods to Mew Mew's suggestion, indicating they should head left once they've finished descending the stairs into the brightly lit interior of The Mall. )

There are faster ways to move once we're down this hall. We can check one of the maps, but the store I was recommended is this way.

( It's not long before they're passing stores with bright lit window displays and people walking past, some carrying various bags or packages, others eating or drinking as they go. A large, flickering sign on a flat screen stands in the middle of the hall, gently flashing a light labeled "You Are Here." Annie gestures to it as they approach. )

That whole screen reacts to touch I learned last time. We can use it to look for this shop, or to see if we can find anything relevant. Non-swimming clothing stores.

( Considering how she was using her phone earlier, it's amusing she understands this map screen apparently better. (It's just harder to mess up.) )

[She follows and listens, like a good friend should do? Although she can't help but turn her attention to everything around them as they walk through the mall. The whole thing is a lot, and she might be walking a little closer to Annie the further in they go.]

Huh, neat. I think that's something common with tech on the surface back home?

[She means, of course, the touch screen map. Since the Underground mostly got tech after humans threw it away so it wasn't that advanced either.]

( Framing that for context... Annie gives a small shrug of her shoulders. )

Maybe? It's nothing familiar to my home.

( She reaches out, tapping over the magnifying glass. She doesn't need to type anything, just says the name of the store she'd been given for the sake of all the swimming equipment. The search bar flashes a pretty blue and green, then a little dotted line starts to make its way across the map to the bright orange halo around their destination. )

... I can get us there now. How are you with crowds?

( She says, turning away from the map and heading down the perpendicular walkway. The mall is multi-story, even while being underground: if they look up, this section has painted the ceilings to be cloudy skies at a particularly beautiful and unfamiliar sunset. Looking down to the lower level, the tiles have an almost speckled pattern to them, like fallen stars strewn on marble. Annie catches a glimpse as she winds through the crowd, checking for Mew Mew over her shoulder every so often. )

I should be fine.

[To answer the question about crowds. But she will do her best to keep up with Annie as she leads the way. Again she does look around at everything she can see though, which slows her down a little. But hey, one good thing is Mew Mew does stand out with how she looks, so Annie can't really lose her?

Unless she ends up surrounded by tall people that is.]

( Which, of course, inevitably happens. Annie stops where she is, one store down from the place with all the swim gear, and grimaces. Herself being short doesn't help when the crowd in this moment errs toward people blessed with the ability to reach clouds.

Annie loops back, elbowing past a crowd of rowdy teenagers who don't know what's good for them, reaching out to try and take hold of Mew Mew's sleeve or arm or something to wind them back out of the mass of people. )

We're almost there. The tall people thin out just ahead anyway.

[Good timing in finding her, Annie. As Mew Mew was getting flustered, and by flustered? It's actually angry, but she is jostled out of snapping at a teenager by having her arm grabbed.]

Ah! R-right. Right... Sorry.

( Annie respects a good fit of anger. It's not as useful here, but it's respectable. )

Don't be. Teenagers are assholes.

( Says Annie, who definitely still looks like she's a teenager. There's some laughter from behind them as they break past into a clear spot in the foot traffic, and then she beelines them right to the swimwear store. It's about then that she lets go, eyes dropping to Mew Mew's arm. )

Sorry. Do you want to look around here? I need to get a few things, then I'm done. Including a swimsuit...

( Annie looks deeper into the store, and some of the less... athletic swim suits on the mannequins. She sighs inwardly. Clearly, a number of these aren't meant for really swimming. )

[Mew Mew just takes a deep breath at Annie's words, since the catgirl doesn't exactly know much about teenagers. Or really about humans, if we want to be technical. As to her arm after being held, no a single mark or sign of it being held.

The joys of having a body that is a doll/animatronic, that and maybe there is a bit of a flush to her cheeks by all this.]

Oh, sure? I don't mind looking. Maybe I'll see if they have anything that catches my eye.

[Not that she thinks she can swim, but hey can't hurt to look right?]

Hmm?

( Mew Mew, welcome to the train of Annie missing expressions of people immediately around her. She at least seems more relaxed again, away from one kind of crowd and now in a neatly organized but still crowded store. )

They might have something to match your pink.

( Probably that's a goal? Annie, whose color scheme is summarized as "shades of creamy white" is likely going to have to aim for actual color herself. She meanders away, winding carefully around the circular racks and short shelves, glancing merchandise over until she spies what she's looking for. The racerback swimsuits, most in simple patterns, most also bright, look like exactly what she needs. )

... I know it's stupid. But why do these feel barely better than running around in undergarments?

( She murmurs more than says, because she doesn't need the employees hearing her. Annie's not even trying to be prudish, she ran around as a fifteen meter tall woman without skin and with very exemplary muscles for too much of her life, but this is just... different? Normal. But different? How do you block the world out when you're wearing a swimsuit?! )

[Don't worry Annie, Mew Mew will just do what she can to stay friends and ignore anything else that could mess with that. So these two are going to be great friends.]

... I think I might want to go with less pink?

[Since her "default" outfit is so much pink already. So while Annie wanders off for her own swimsuit hunt, Mew Mew just putters around. Her attention drawn to the bikinis but she doesn't pick anything out once she notices that Annie has seemed to found what she was looking for? So she wanders back over to the young woman.]

I think because some of it looks like them?

[Yeah she heard that, the cat ears aren't just for show, as she points with a thumb towards the more flashy swimsuits.]

( It's okay, Annie's not good at the social cues aimed her way, but she's fairly easy to stay friends with. Just decide you're still friends! You've got this, Mew Mew! )

... Huh.

( Annie says, leaning to look in the direction Mew Mew indicates. They're definitely flashy, and some are even pretty. Then others... )

I doubt that triangle is big enough to prevent flashing someone your nipples if you move too fast.

( Annie squints from where they're standing. She's not the most endowed person in the world, so she's not exactly worried about these things, but even she would have trouble staying vaguely modest in a few of those triangle-tie-top bikinis.

Shifting her attention back to the racer-back one piece suits, she moves a few of them on the rack, looking at the colors. )

Any recommendations for colors? I usually shop... white.

( As if this isn't obvious, given she's wearing all shades of white. Mew Mew might be all pink, but pink is still more color than white. Right? )

I think that's the point, the risk of it?

[Said in that tone of voice that says "I am totally not sure about this, but it seems right". But enough about racy swimwear, her attention turns back to Annie and her asking about color recommendations.]

White might not be good? I think you could pull off a light blue though?

[Mostly she picks that color because of Annie's eyes, that and she thinks pink probably wouldn't suit her either.]

( Annie grimaces at the idea, but it's not... so far out there, she guesses? It's not what Hitch would complain about, but there were different things that the idiots she dated on and off over the years were prone to. Like the one with the ribbons... what had it been about the ribbons, again?

Mew Mew having a suggestion directs Annie's attention to the light blue in question. She pulls it off the rack, just checking there's nothing surprising about it like holes at her waist or hips. A "one-piece" was probably supposed to be intact. The suit passes her admittedly low bar. She drapes it over one arm, scanning the near wall with its different varieties of swimming gear, including snorkeling gear. )

Looks good to me. Those narrow goggles... really do look like aviation ones. Let me grab a pair of those. And whatever a swim cap is.

( She's probably heard of something like it before, but it wasn't all that relevant to her life, so chances of remembering it... are low. She looks back to Mew Mew, hesitating a moment before asking: )

Do you want to pick out one of the big towels for me?

( Annie would look child sized in the truly "big" towels being sold, but she doesn't think the apartment's few towels are meant to be co-opted for swimming use. )

[Ah, it's nice that Annie even considered her suggestion? Let alone went for it. Mew Mew looks pleased, her tail twitching as her own gaze goes to the wall when Annie looks that way too.

That is a lot of stuff she has no clue about, but she does know towels!]

Oh, um sure? If you want me to.

[It's kinda of weird, but also she doesn't mind doing it? As she goes to pick out a towel for Annie. She might go for coordinating colors with the suit that Annie picked.]

( Is she not supposed to ask? ... Probably? Annie doesn't feel any strong feelings toward towels, but maybe you weren't supposed to ask people to pick them out for you. It's not really been a thing to do before. You just used what was assigned, and that was that.

She considers apologising, but doesn't have the chance before Mew Mew is helpfully walking away, and Annie shrugs internally and heads for the wall. Goggles seem to all come in about one size, so she picks the first ones that don't sparkle, and for swim caps, they're... weird, rubbery things that she also picks one that... is white and light blue. More or less to go with the colors of the swimsuit draped over her arm.

She gave this all of about thirty-seconds worth of thought before she seeks out Mew Mew again, spying part of a bright pink tail before the clothing rack in the way allows her to see the matching pink everything else. )

Didn't take me as long to find the swim cap as I thought.

( She says by way of greeting, holding up the swim cap in all its floppy, rubber glory. This is supposed to go on her head? Fun... )

[Honestly this is all new ground for Mew Mew, so she's just going to go with the flow? So picking through the towels while Annie makes her choices, making casting a quick glance or two her way.

And she totally jumps at Annie talking to her once she was done getting her swim cap and goggles. Her tail fluffing up a little.]

Ah, good?! That's good, I picked a towel for you?!

[Gah, she sounds so unsure as she holds up a beach towel that has a fancy blue and white pattern on it. Kinda artsy and not flashy, in Mew Mew's opinion at least.]

( They're earning their gold star for effort. Considering they both have no particular concept of what friends do, this is going swimmingly! ... No pun intended.

Annie steps back a little to give Mew Mew room, not having intentionally startled her. She figures the best way to show she's not a threat is create a little more space. )

Oh, that's ... really pretty.

( She says, reaching out to touch the beach towel Mew Mew's holding up. )

Thank you. This is nicer than anything I'd have picked out.

( She even smiles a little, holding her hand out for the towel, planning to head to the counter and then free them from the confines of her supply shopping list. )

[The space is welcomed, but also kind of sad? Not that Mew Mew will admit that she kind of feels that way. THIS IS NOT GOING TO BE ANOTHER UNDYNE, dammit. Just friends.

At Annie saying it's pretty and reaching out, Mew Mew will happily hand it over.]

Well, a pretty towel means it'll be easier to spot at the beach, or pool, yeah?

[That is part of her logic, there's also the fact that she kind has this hunch that Annie doesn't actually indulge in having pretty things for herself?]

( She ends up settling the towel over one shoulder to make sure it doesn't drag on the ground. Reflecting back on what the beaches are looking like right now in the Summer district, she admits, it does make sense. Annie might not think her sense of direction would need that kind of landmark, but it did make it easier to say "that's mine" if anyone else got brilliant ideas.

(Mew Mew's hunch is correct. Annie, practical to a fault, due to the life she's lived, and hasn't really thought about buying things for herself just... to be pretty. And not for a disguise to look for intel she doesn't need to hunt down anymore.) )

And makes it less likely I'll leave with someone else's towel. Wouldn't know the difference if it was just white.

( The counter has no one else lined up waiting, so the clerk smiles and handles her purchase efficiently. Annie looks a little dubious at her phone when she holds it out to the payment contact, but it makes the right happy ding, and the clerk looks satisfied, so they're heading back out with her carrying a bag in hand. )

Time to see if we can find pants that leave room for tails?

[Oh this friendship is going to consist of Mew Mew convincing Annie to be pretty for fun, isn't it? And she nods at Annie saying that about the towel, just like yep yep that's why she picked it out.

BUT HEY, once the purchase is made and they're back out into the mall proper? Mew Mew may have forgotten that part.]

Oh, right! Or even just nice pants and then find someone who does like... Clothes adjustments.

[She means a tailor.]

Like a seamstress or a tailor?

( Those are the professions she thinks of, at least. )

There's got to be at least a few of those around. I can't imagine everyone in this city suddenly doesn't like clothing that fits exactly. ( There's probably even magic that can do that much... like the repair spell she'd been learning. Some kind of spin-off variety? ) If we don't find one soon, I can... probably manage that much. It won't look as neat, but it would work.

( Clothing has always had less endurance than she has, even before she was a Warrior - and she supposes now again the same is true. She nods her head to the walkway they're on, where several clothing stores, a chocolate store, and what looks like a gaming store are visible between both sides of the Mall. )

Any of these look good? We can try going down a level too. Or taking the nodes in here to other parts of the mall. It's ridiculously large.

I guess?

[Not like she knows what that means!]

Right, well... I could always ask on the phone too. [Because the offer is nice, but...] I wouldn't want to impose on you, either.

[As to their surroundings, Mew Mew takes in the clothing stores and one catches her eye, and she points at it.]

That one looks good? [It's, thankfully, not a flashy store. Honestly it probably leans more skater style, most certainly not what one would think someone who looks like Mew Mew would wear.]

Right, the phone's useful for things like that too...

( She really needs to get used to that. It's nothing like home, where long distance communication was more for transmitting orders or propaganda than it was for asking after simple needs. This way is nicer, she thinks.

The store pointed out to her seems pretty decent, some of the styles of what clothing is on display curious to her. Matching it to Mew Mew's current style earns a little cant of her head, but shifting her bag up to her shoulder, she nods. )

Everything looks designed to be loose and comfortable. Did something already catch your eye?

( Asked as she heads toward it, and curious what exactly drew Mew Mew this way. Lots of bold single prints on shirts, muted colors for zip-ups, jeans in a variety of colors, some faded, some not, all avoiding the concept of a skinny jean religiously... very relaxed and easy to move in. )

Mmhmm, it so is.

[The internet and such aren't new things to Mew Mew, as it existed back in the Underground. It's just actually accessing it more often that is new to her, beyond her virtual idol start up she was doing on the Surface.

But yeah, the clothing store is very much not what one would expect her to pick considering what she's wearing.]

Not really, but I thought maybe I should wear stuff that's not so flashy?

[Clothes are such a new thing for her after all. Training dummies never needed to wear shirts and pants. As she also heads towards the store, and once in she'll start looking at some of the shirts with their prints.]

That and like, I've never actually needed to wear clothing until recently.

( Annie takes to looking through some of the shirts as well, idly curious at the patterns and designs. She's doing this one handed with her other hand still holding her bag, and looks over to Mew Mew in visible surprise at her statement. )

Why? Are Monsters usually running around without clothing?

( This is how Titans are, but she doesn't know if there's a standard for monstrous beings on any other world. )

Oh no, no, no. Monsters wear clothing, like humans do! Just... You don't really put a dress or a t-shirt on a training dummy?

[Because can you imagine it? Something used to practice fighting all dolled up? She does and it makes her laugh, before she finds a shirt with an interesting design on it... It's a very graffiti styled art of like, it might be a cat on a skateboard?

It's very up to interpretation, it seems, on a black shirt.]

I mean, you do use padding on some of them — wait.

( She blinks, actually looking a touch confused. Her hand rests on the hanger of one shirt, something forest green with a tan deer leaping across the front and a trampled wolf under its feet. )

Why were you a training dummy instead of someone being trained?

Because that's the first body I tried to become corporeal with, like my one cousin tried. They're pretty simple to find and get into too.

[She says this as if it's just, you know, something someone can do. There is a moment of quiet from her before it dawns on her...

She didn't exactly tell Annie that she's a Ghost, did she?]

Ah! I'm a Ghost Monster, and we need to possess a body to become corporeal! And it's not like we can take over one that someone is already using? So dummies, or robots, or a doll in my case now.

[Shit, shit, shit. She's pretty sure that'll weird Annie out? Even though she seemed cool about Monsters, maybe Ghosts are too much?!]

( Annie does pale a touch, and she's already pale so that's more like watching her get pastier, but she reaches out to Mew Mew and says very seriously: )

You didn't die, did you?

( Annie has no idea how Ghost Monsters work, but the concept of "haunted" and "ghosts" back home (not one she really believes in, who the hell wants to hang around after death in that way? the Paths were weirder anyway, and that's literally where all the dead Eldians were) to most of Marley meant a lingering spirit after death.

Are you okay, Mew Mew??? She's aware of several of her dead... friends... here being alive, but this is the first time she's run into a potentially dead... friend? Who is still, technically, not alive??? Hell if she knows how Ghost Monsters work. )

[The somehow going paler does bother her, until Annie asks her that.

That is just... Oh that's kind of adorable? It makes Mew Mew laugh a little.]

No, no, no. Ghost Monsters are like that from birth! No need to fall down first, oh that's um. What we call "dying" back home, for Monsters. Because we're made of magic, so the majority of Monsters when they die turn to dust instead of leaving a body like humans do? Since Ghosts are intangible, they're a lot harder to kill by outside forces... I think most Ghosts tend to go out by old age? Or once they have a corporeal form it getting destroyed.

[This may not be accurate at all, but this is how Mew Mew knows of how things work.]

( She straightens up a little at the small laugh, caught off guard rather than offended. Her hand drops away from Mew Mew's arm, because this is one more weird but not as weird as some of what she's learned. A Born Ghost is a lot better than someone who lingered because of unresolved whatevers.

This time she sighs in relief. A ghost... Ghost Monster, who apparently turns into dust or fades away from old age, and who possessed... an inanimate object. )

I think every world is a little bit crazy. ( ... ) What I mean is, that's probably not worse than the shit I know. You wanted a... you said corporeal form? Is that what possession means? You wanted to be physical in the world, you found a way.

( She pauses for a beat. )

Seems like the you now has an easier time of it than a training dummy would. But you said you're in a doll?

( She lifts her eyebrows. )

Biggest doll I've ever seen.

[Oh Annie, at least Mew Mew's own worries are being eased with how Annie is reacting. As to all the questions being asked of her, she'll do her best to answer.]

Yeah, you've got it. Ghosts can't be corporeal without some help, but also not every Ghost wants to be corporeal either. I have a cousin and they're just fine being themselves.

[Mentioning Napstablook does make her feel a twinge of sadness, though. She won't admit it, but she does kind of miss her family.]

Yeah, I found it in a science-y place. And I have no idea why they had a life-sized girl doll.

[Although Mew Mew calls her body a doll, it's more like an animatronic then a doll. But she also doesn't know what an animatronic is!]

( Sounds like a hard life for a Ghost if they want to be Perceived, but also, sounds like a personal decision. )

Huh. Whatever the reason, it's your gain. Plus you get the ears and a tail. More expressive if you want to be than most humans.

( Annie, who also hasn't heard of or met an animatronic that she knows of, simply shrugs. Then she finally shifts her attention to the shirt that Mew Mew had been looking at earlier. )

Is that a cat?

( It looks like a cat to her. )

Well that and when I found this body I just, knew it was "me". Even more than the training dummy was.

[She's still holding onto the shirt this whole time, so when Annie asks about it, she holds it up to look at better.]

I think it's supposed to be? I don't really get art though.

( She really can't say she understands the feeling of knowing something encountered is "her," but given the context of needing a form to possess to be physically present... it doesn't not make sense either. Training dummy, though... those are so stuck in place in her experience. Sounded pretty boring. )

Are we supposed to? People keep saying art is art, like that's supposed to mean anything. If we think it's a cat, it's a cat. If it's not, it's still a cat.

( She breathes out in a sort of amused way. )

Do we have to 'get' it to like it?

( That said, Annie pulls out one of the shirts from the next rack, which are way too large for her. It was random choice, but three howling wolf heads and a giant moon are present on the shirt she displays to Mew Mew, before she also glances at it and says: )

Or to not know what the hell the artist was even going for?

[Honestly speaking, even if she could explain it? It probably wouldn't make sense to anyone but her anyway. So probably a good thing that Annie doesn't ask.]

I mean I think s-- [That is when Annie pulls out the three wolf moon shirt, and Mew Mew just stops mid-sentence.]

I... Uh, I think that one is just an outlier?

( Annie just stares at it for a moment. Then she snorts. )

I did need something else to sleep in... think this will go with shorts?

( At that, she offers a small, almost sardonic smile. Three wolf moon shirt is a whole other level of why, but she likewise can wonder: why not? She wasn't joking about the sleeping shirt! )

I think it will go with whatever you want?

[Although a sleep shirt sounds good, because Mew Mew cannot imagine someone like Annie would wear that in public. At least from what little she knows of the other woman.]

( She laughs a little at that, sudden and sharp, shaking her head. )

Or whatever I don't want? Now I'm wondering if they have something more useful, like hoodies...

( Three Wolf Moon gets tossed over her shoulder as she casts another glance around the store... sure, there's hoodies. But where's a good cream-white one when a girl has an unreasonably long time collection of them? )

[Her expression shifts slightly at her saying whatever she doesn't want, Mew Mew's mind going places. So she is going to just, look away now as her cheeks pinkens.]

Ah, yeah hoodies! Let's look at them! [And she's putting the cat skateboarder shirt over her own shoulder as she scurries off towards the hoodies. Not even waiting for Annie to follow.]

( Annie, missing that particular entendre despite being the one who said the words, lifts an eyebrow. Huh. She guesses Mew Mew also likes hoodies? Maybe more than Annie does. She might not have the urge to use the hood to block out the world anymore (she's been alone for four years, she doesn't want to be alone for longer), but they're still comfortable.

She follows along at a more sedate pace, finding a pack of socks that look around her size. Nice. Before arriving at the hoodies as well. )

Finding any you like?

( Annie looks to see if any are in her preferred lack of color, what with all the washing they demand... at some point. She's got to go for more than white.

Maybe tomorrow? )

[Just looking at hoodies, not thinking thoughts she shouldn't be thinking! She pulls out a hoodie, in black. In fact it seems that the rack she's at is mostly muted colors in comparison to the rest of the store.]

This one looks good?!

[It's also in a size that is way too big for her.]

If you want to curl up and sleep in it?

( Annie says, raising her eyebrows again. )

Which sure, if you want to.

I guess it would be good for that, if it's cold out?

[Ffffft, but she's putting it back and looking for maybe one that would suit Annie better? But nothing in white here, or even off-white. There are some greys, though.]

( Greys aren't bad! Annie ends up turning to look at the adjacent rack, which has some of the sizes closer to what she thinks might be Mew Mew's... and eventually pulls an olive colored hoodie off, holding it out toward her. )

Something like this? Seems like it'd go with your hair.

( ... Complimentary colors, though it's still muted compared to Bright Pink. A different kind of contrast? )

[Yeah Mew Mew is quickly realizing this rack has the bigger sizes, so when Annie speaks up she turns her attention that way.]

Ah, yeah or at least my eyes?

[Although even those are also a bright shade of green, so maybe not. But she is going to look over the hoodie, reaching out to touch it to see if the fabric is nice.]

( Annie nods, since sure, it does? She studies Mew Mew's eyes to get a sense of their color, since it's not something she does often — stare at people's eyes to figure out color details. More often it's about determining intention or what fake-out they might attempt, or where their focus is. )

Your eyes are brighter, but this might make them stand out more.

( It's at least decently soft? Not roll around on the plush velvet wonderland soft, but pleasant to touch, and soft on the inside. )

And it's not pink.

[Ah, she's trying to not be weirded out by the staring? Not that it's weird, she's just not used to being closely scrutinized like this. But hey, the hoodie feels nice so if Annie will let her?

She will take it off of Annie's hands.]

I like it, but also we have to look for some for you too.

And it's not pink.

( At least the scrutiny appears to be over, Annie easily letting Mew Mew take the hoodie off her hand. When it comes to her own needs, she shrugs, adjusting the shirt as it tries to slide off her shoulder and onto the bag she's carrying. )

I usually just go for white. Lifetime habit.

[Hoodie joins the shirt for now, as to Annie shrugging and saying she just goes for white? Nope, not standing for it.]

But white gets dirty so easily, and you would probably look pretty with some color on you?

White's common for military uniforms where I'm from. We start training young, so you get used to doing the laundering that white needs.

( If it sounds matter of fact, that's because it is. Still, the look around her eyes softens a little. )

I don't mind color. I just... haven't thought about it much before.

Huh... That's different from the Knights back home.

[In fact the only one she knew of who wore white was Papyrus, and he technically wasn't a knight. But hey, at Annie saying she doesn't mind color? Mew Mew claps her hands together.]

Well, you don't really need to think about it too much? If you have a color you like, wear it.

Did the knights go off to war in the Underground?

( She's more curious, but the question about colors is...

... )

Blue?

( ??? Not brown, not green, not yellow on red... uh. Annie really doesn't know that she has strong color preference, but blue? She does like blue. )

No, most of them were around in case a human fell down. And then their job was to uh...

[Wait, to her knowledge, Annie is human. She probably won't like to hear that humans who fall into the Underground were to be escorted to the King, or be killed on sight. So just skipping that in favor of color talk.]

Yeah, blue! Like your swimsuit, it would look very nice on you.

Killed?

( She guesses, because nine times out of ten, that's what happens to outsiders anywhere.

But she doesn't insist on hearing an answer, given her own answers on anything similar are... worse. Instead, she'll go with Blue. Blue is a nice idea, and she lets herself smile a little. )

Next I'll be dressing all in blue. Probably need to look for yet another color for pants, or a skirt. What goes well with blue?

( That said, she does move around the rack and look at the blue hoodies, finding one with only a small, floral design on the back, twinned around a skull. It's pretty and morbid. She enjoys the contrasting combination, given a skull in and of itself is a skull. No sinews, tissues, or muscle to make it look too much like any one Titan from home. )

This one will work.

[She could answer, but Annie is moving on so just going to drop that subject!

Which is honestly for the best, since Mew Mew doesn't know the dirty details for why humans had to see the King. Or die. What with the whole needing seven human SOULs to break the barrier keeping Monsters in the Underground.]

Ha, well it's not a bad color to be all dressed in? And hm, neutral colors go with everything...

[Again, this is all new to Mew Mew so this is very much the blind leading the blind here. But at the hoodie Annie picked out? She nods approvingly.]

It looks cool too!

Not even sure they have skirts in this store. Weed probably have to go somewhere else.

( She considers the available inventory -- maybe there are some in black? Nope, the ones she thinks she saw were in fact just really strangely cut up shorts. Huh.

She returns her attention to her companion and the hoodie in her hand. )

Thanks? Then I think this will be so for me from here.

( An oversized shirt, socks, and a new hoodie. Look at her living big! )

Mm, yeah you're probably right about that.

[Just shorts and pants of various styles in here!

She does let out a short heh at the thanks and nods as well.]

Yeah, I think I'm good too.

[Just a shirt and a hoodie for her, which is honestly better than nothing, as she moves to head to the counter to check out.]

( It's another fairly swift checkout, which suits Annie just fine. Lingering around isn't part of her general plans. Once they're headed back into the mall, she considers where the nearest sign might be. )

Next is finding pants for you. Did you want to wander and see what we find?

[Paid and bagged, item get! But back out into the mall itself as Mew Mew adjust the bag on her arm, her dress isn't really tailored for having bags on the shoulders.]

Ah, right pants. Wandering is good? I mean, it's not like we can get lost, right?

Probably not that lost?

( Annie says, since she has a decent amount of directional sense. She's not dived deep into the Underground Mall, but how bad can it be? )

Maybe we should have used that last teleportation node. How did we end up in whole hallways of stuffed animal stores, stationary shops, and model vehicles?!

( Annie, who has finally given up and stopped at one of the vending machines that offers bottled water, proceeds to press her phone against the tap pad with something like a vengeance, mutter: )

Whoever designed the layout of this place was definitely ready to thwart a potential siege.

[This is ridiculous, even Mew Mew is feeling worn down and her body isn't even organic! Her tail is twitching in the way a cat's that is annoyed or overstimulated would, as she leans on another vending machine that Annie isn't using.]

It's bigger than back home, it's insane?!

[Annie might mutter her complaints, Mew Mew is not the type to do that.]

( Water finally vended, Annie fishes it out, twists the lid off like it's personally offended her and her father and possibly his parents (she really doesn't much care if her biological parents were offended), and takes a swig. Wiping her mouth with the back of her hand, she grunts.

Very eloquently. )

It really is the same damn size as the city and districts above... or at least of Nightwake. Okay. Mission objective: find the nearest teleportation point and get the hell out of here?

( She looks to Mew Mew. Are you in? Or are you in? )

[Mew Mew huffs a little, until Annie makes the suggestion of just getting out of here as fast as possible. So she nods in agreement.]

Goodness, yes. I'm sick of this place.

[She is so in.]

( She takes another swig from the water bottle, screws the cap back on, tosses it in her bag, then nods.

And takes off jogging, bags tossed over her shoulder, a woman on a mission.

Mission: Get the Hell Out of the Mall. She recalls where the next node was supposed to be and doesn't allow herself to hesitate in tracking that bad boy down like it owes her personally for the inconvenience of getting lost in a uber-mall. )

[Mew Mew lets out a soft "geh" at Annie taking off like that, as she does her best to follow. And considering her boots are heeled and most certainly not made for running, she's actually doing a good job of keeping up with the other young woman. She is trusting Annie fully to know where to go too.

Since Mew Mew was not paying that much attention to where the nodes are inside the mall.]

( Annie, the small force of single-woman espionage in enemy territory, ends up being right on the nose, slowing down as they hit the larger area with the node standing at ready. No one's in line here, possibly because they're in Collector's Hell, and she slaps her palm on the activation next to the node, bringing up the destination screen. )

It's a longer distance and a bigger drain to get back where we started. Shorter that gets us above ground plops us in Nightwake. Preference?

( Longer means more drained, shorter means less drained. No time difference as far as they'll note. She looks to Mew Mew for confirmation: Annie knows what she'd pick, but she's also not running solo in Operation: Get the Hell Out of the Mall. )

[Phew, it's a good thing there isn't a line here or else she has a hunch someone would get hurt. The question though gives her some pause before she answers;]

Outside, I might be used to being underground, but this has gotten ridiculous.

[She is done with the mall for today.]

( Annie nods, tapping her finger on the most immediate way out. The node primes itself, and she gestures for both of them to step within its circle, the world flashing away in that peculiar blink and you miss it fashion.

Then they're in the free air above, stepping into a notably different time of day, with a milling group of people walking past on the sidewalk. Nowhere near one of the official gateways down into the whole Underground Mall.

Annie practically leaps away from the node platform and turns her face up toward the sky, so glad there's sky up there to see. So very, very glad. )

I really don't feel like getting stuck underground anymore.

[Freedom! Sure, Mew Mew still isn't used to using the nodes so she's a bit off from it but also... Watching Annie look to the sky like that?

Kind of reminds her of when she first went up to the Surface back home... It's making her blush a little as she looks away to not get caught staring at Annie.]

Y-yeah, once you know what it's like to not be looking at a cave roof? You really don't want to go back to it.

Mmm. Feels similar to when you see nothing at all. Once you open your eyes again, you never want to keep them closed.

( By the time she looks away from the sky, Mew Mew has been given the gift of time to let her blush fade away. Not that Annie would question it hard, given she has a hair-trigger blush for the few times she's really aware of herself and certain things. )

Now we're that much freer. At least for the time being, right?

Mm, yeah. Although I don't think I'll be going back down there anytime soon.

[She means it, if she has to she will find a clothing store outside of the mall or learn to sew herself!]

( Annie grimaces, hoping she can end up saying the same. )

Next time, we'll definitely stay above ground. Let's see about finding an airship or something back to the apartment complex?

[Poor Annie, even though Mew Mew wants to never go back there anytime soon? She's probably going to end up there sooner rather than later.]

... an airship? Like flying?

[As she will admit later to Annie over text, Mew Mew doesn't look up that often and didn't notice the airships.]

( Annie nods, brushing her hair back off her face. )

Yeah. There's a few different types and sizes, but the smallest ones are moving all over Nightwake and out into the other city sections. Then the skies clear up a bit. The longest airship rides take you out into the Segments, from what I understand.

( Also, it saves energy for her personally compared to using another the teleportation nodes to get back to the starting apartments. )

Are you afraid of heights?

[She listens to Annie with rapt attention as she explains everything about the airships.]

I see. [It's all very interesting! As to fear of heights whelp.]

Not really? I mean I don't think so? I've never been up really high before.

( Giving a small shrug of her shoulders, and the bags she's carrying, Annie says: )

One easy way to find out. Shall we?

Right, the worst outcome is I can just walk back myself!

[She means it, she will walk alone back to the apartments just so Annie doesn't have to stick around any longer.]

( Annie takes that at face value, taking another look at the sky before she pulls out her phone and slowly, achingly slowly, pulls up a map. At least she started walking before the whole slow process began, based on her judgments and seeing a few of the consistent angles of the airships in the sky, so sooner rather than later, she guides them to one of the smaller airship docking stations. Then it's a matter of paying mooncoins for a ticket on the short shuttle run toward the general Welcome Center area, climbing the stairs versus the lift (Annie doesn't even ask, she refuses to be in a small enclosed space right now), and achieving the docking level, with its wraparound viewing windows and walkway out into the city.

Not high enough for some portions, with the area they're in right now, there's a semi-decent view. )

Looking out not bothering you?

[Mew Mew follows, not saying anything about map pulling up time. It's not her place, after all. Once they're at the station and she's paid for herself, she stops looking at the lift when Annie goes for the stairs.

But she follows her up the stairs, maybe being cheeky and taking two at a time. Once at the docking level she looks out the windows with awe on her face.]

Nope! And... I didn't think anything could go up this high?

( Annie raises her eyebrows at the two at a time, but her own lack of hurry up the stairs is having to run up and down stairs as part of training. Why do so now?

Annie catches sight of her expression, finding herself with a sort of smile on her face. It's nice to see someone just enjoying something that Annie hadn't so much taken for granted as simply stopped seeing as wondrous, and instead only saw as practical or a problem to surmount. )

Strange to think they go even taller, isn't it? We had forests of trees back where I'm from that stood taller than any building in this part of the city.

( She nods out one of the windows, looking toward some of the not so distant skyscraper-esque buildings. )

Fascinating to see people constructing something so massive on their own... especially with all those windows.

Mmhmm, humans are interesting like that? I mean, we had big buildings in New Home in the Underground? But kind of restricted by the ceiling.

[Her gaze follows the direction that Annie nods in, taking in the sight.]

You'd think all those windows would like, get flown into by birds.

( As if the universe heard Mew Mew, a pigeon flutters past, turns, and bumps with a gentle thud into the window, before falling a few feet, catching itself with its wings, and flapping off again. There's a nice imprint of dusted wings and a impression of a head on the glass in front of her now.

Annie blinks. Then she has a hand at her mouth, and she's laughing. )

[Universe why?! Although Mew Mew is more stunned by what just happened than anything else, and drawn out of it by looking at Annie and... Is she laughing?]

... Ha.

[It's catching, although she might just be laughing because Annie is laughing.]

( Is there really any better time to laugh? Possibly it's also some stress relief, but the sheer absurdity of a pigeon slamming into the window right then just had her that off guard. )

I'm sorry, that was just so stupid.

( She manages to stop laughing, shaking her head and pressing one hand to her stomach. Ouch. She hasn't laughed like that in a long, long time. Over the loudspeakers, the approach of the central airship is announced, and Annie looks up, scanning around for the right "gate" out to the walkway. )

That one should be ours.

( That said, she and her bags will head in the right direction, to where the airship has docked and tied off, some passengers trickling off as they disembark. )

It's fine, sometimes you gotta laugh at the stupid stuff?

[That feels like the right thing to say, as she adjusts her hold on her own bag. Her ear flicks at the announcement of an airship and she follows Annie's gaze with her own.]

Alright.

[And she shall follow, trusting that Annie knows where to go.]

It's that or scream.

( She says, hinting at a smile. (Do both. Just do both.)

Then it's onto the airship, which probably looks like a ship in the air (???) and doesn't have the oblong shape of those from her own world. These are honestly nicer, all things told. Or more scenic. Less liable to explode? )

[Okay that gets a chuckle out of Mew Mew.

But yes, airship. Not that she has any idea what they should or should not look like, she was just getting used to seeing the sun and such things back home when she got here... So things in the sky that aren't birds?

Amazing. She might even be trying to find a spot where they can have the best view while the airship flies.]

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