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Mm! [ He's meeting him out of nowhere, pretty much a stranger, so he can handle waiting for the guy to be free. ]

Should I meet you here? Or I can wait at the park, near the entrance. [ The closest entrance, from the way here. ] What's better for you? It won't be a long talk.

[ He can't imagine why it would be, anyway. ]

[Shizuo thinks for a moment before answering.]

Park's fine. Probably would be easier and quieter.

[Plus he always passes it, anyway, so it's not like he'd be going out of his way, either. Though now he's really curious as to what Red wants to ask him.]

Okay. Thank you very much!

[ Sparkle sparkle sparkle-- not physically, but he looks cheerful at that. Also, it's literally something he could have taken the time to ask then, but oh well. He's definitely going to get to this tea he ordered...!

Is it time for a time skip?!!?! ]

[Service done, Shizuo is going to head back to work and be the "cool, quiet waiter" that for some reason people like. Oh well.

Anyway, TIME SKIP. He'll be running a few minutes late, but he'll be making his way toward the arranged meeting place. Seeing Red, he'll just wave a hand in greeting.]

[ Unlike some animes, Red didn't eat all the pastries he ordered right then and there; that wouldn't be appreciating them as well (plus, it'd be too sickly). So when Shizuo sees him again, he'll be there with a small plastic tub that he packed three of them away in, as well as ordering at the time a few extras.

...or, actually, what might stand out more are three pink porrings dozed away on the bench with him, gelatin bodies somewhat drooping inbetween the gaps of the wood, and a bunch of squirrels, apparently not doing the hibernation thing, have decided to pack up on lunch and dinner with the nuts Red's offering them. A whooole bunch of them.

Gotta find our own relaxing activities somehow. The squirrels don't seem too bothered either when Red's head perks up at the sight of Shizuo, giving a "Hey!" and a wave of his own, standing onto his feet to meet him halfway.

Probably because he left the bag of nuts with them. ]

Thanks for meeting me.

[...Well. That's...an assortment of creatures he wasn't expecting.]

No problem... [He really can't help but look past the boy and at all the animals.] ...They all yours?

[He knows this isn't the point of the visit, but. HE HAS TO ASK.]

Oh-- not all of them. [ He looks back as he answers, turning just enough. ] The grey ones are wild. The pink ones were a friend's who left.

[ Pooointing. ] Xing, Xiong, and Tong. --Oh! [ Quickly, he looks back. ] They were Lu Meng's!

[ Right! Lu Meng had been there that day too, so he should know him--? ]

[There's a small look of recognition at Lu Meng, and when he looks at the porrings again, he now finds some familiarity.]

Aaah, I remember them now. Mochi's met 'em once, too. [.....And caused problems.] So you took 'em in... [And. Now he kind of feels bad that he didn't think about the porrings after Lu Meng left. Granted he didn't know the guy all that well, but... Given how he had been thinking about what would happen if he left Mochi alone, he feels a bit guilty now.]

They seem nice, at least. Not causing any problems for you?

Mm. [ That's a negative, and he gives a headshake as he makes it, his voice softening after. ] They weren't happy when Lu Meng left, and it took a while for them to get used to me... but I've been living at a friend's place who helps me look after them when I'm not around. That's the biggest trouble with them, really.

[ He's always on the move and can't just stick them in a bunch of balls. ]

Mochi's a porring too? [ The question comes after a short pause. ]

Yeah, a green one. She's pretty energetic and can be a handful if I don't get onto her.

Can I ask what kind of things you do with her after this? I don't want to get distracted from why I asked you out here, but I never got to talk to Lu Meng much about the porrings before he left, and I never found more than one person who really knew how to take care of them.

Yeah sure. [And he nods as well in agreement.

But right, the question.]

So what's up?

Well, I remembered you were with Lu Meng when he went to see Sosyne, and you were there too when she showed up at Lake Niras... I don't know what your relationship is like with her, but me and a small group are going to visit some lands we're sure are connected to her, and I wanted to know if you wanted to come too.

[.......Aaaah. Sosyne. Something like a small frown forms, but he's not angry. Just. Deep in thought.]

We don't really get along that well... [SHE DESTROYED GOOD CUPCAKES. Although let's face it, of course they wouldn't get along.] But I can understand her a bit. Or at least be one of the few willing to punch her in the face when she needs it.

[And he says it in such a normal, calm voice it may sound as if he was going to shake her flipper instead. But yeah, he means it.]

Who else are you taking along?

[ 'Punch her in the face' might be a weird thing to hear, but it makes Red curious more than anything, mouth pulling briefly in his own thought, but not settling enough to turn into a frown. ]

Rei, Usagi, and... Eikichi. Do you know them?

[..................Thinks.]

Not really, no. I think I've heard of Usagi [Because of all those various announcements and she talks a lot.] and was Eikichi the guy who did that friendship thing?

Friendship thing? [ Uhhh.... ] He works at the spa outside the city. Usagi runs a wedding business, and Rei...she doesn't do anything like that, but she's a priestess. We've worked a couple time on trips.

...That's an interesting group.

[Like the start of a bad joke—]

[ Is it? Red looks to the side, but then he's smiling with the more he thinks about it. Sure, it must sound strange. ]

Usagi wants to help the Arehtei and I know her and Rei pretty well, and I need non-aligned to come along as well for some checks I wanna make. But Rei knows how to keep her cool and use dunamis, Eikichi's some kind of trainer like me with creatures he can summon, and Usagi's been on the surface a few times and had successful trips.

[ Cheerfully: ] You can't know everything about a person just by their job, right?

[ You're getting invited to a potentially hazardous location by a kid anyway, Shizuo-- ]

[Of all the aligned to invite, Shizuo is like the worst pick.]

Hm. Yeah, guess that's true. [And another small pause, that frown returning.] And I am curious to see what her place was like...

[But he's frowning a bit because he's questioning if he'd really be good for this. For many reasons.]

You said you visit it? What for? [Like. Just VISIT or...dungeon diving or what he has no idea what to expect for these things, really.]

I haven't visit it yet, but the main reason I want to go is to see what the land is like. I went to Elios's last month with a group, and we saw plants were growing there, yet nothing grows in the land outside Shaarnath.

I want to compare all the lands connected to the Arehtei and see just how different they are. [ ... ] If you did come, it would help out if you took park in a small test I want to do, just to see how easy it is to make things grow emotionally, but if we find anything where we end up, I'm okay with checking it out!

[ He'd be more than okay, heck yeah he wants to explore. ]

[Hm...

...Hmmmm....]

Well... If you think it would really be okay for me to join. Since—you know. [Half shoulder shrug.] I'm gettin' better at it, but I do get pissed off easily. So if her place is bad then... I might be dangerous.

[At least he has the foresight to think about this.]

[ He's silent a moment, head tilting and his arms folding. Hmm. ]

To be honest...I wonder if her lands aren't some of the worst out there. Or close to it. [ Truthfully, he's been thinking about it a lot. ] But I want to go there anyway. If it's too bad, then we'll only stay for as long as we can, then leave.

But... [ His arms unfold. ] Thras knows what I'm doing. I can ask him if he can help with protection, and then Rei and me know how to use dunamis to keep off emotional effects for a good amount of time. We all just have to watch where we step or what we touch, and not go off on our own.

[ Especially what they touch, after everything in Thera. Oh boy. Red looks back behind his shoulder, speaking again. ]

I'm worried for my own reasons... but I won't let anyone be at risk on this trip, and I expect everyone to say if they don't feel they can stick around any longer than keep it to themselves. [ By now, he's looking straight at Shizuo. ]

If you promise to be honest about how you're feeling and if you need help, I'm fine with you coming. [ A beat. ] We're leaving on [ this day ], so you can think about it if you need to.

[...Whoa. This kid has really thought a lot about this. And that is definitely a determined look. A look that Shizuo can't help but feel some admiration and respect for, and that in turns actually helps him think less of his insecurities and more determined himself.

His expression becoming more resolute, he gives a nod.]

All right.

[That's. That's all he says. Is he saying "all right" to needing to think? "All right" that he's going?? "All right" to give himself his own reassurance!?]

--Eh? [ Well there goes that determined face, blinked away in a moment. ]

All right?

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