(Skyseas of Gensokyo) Nazrin Quest (Part 2)

[DracoOmega]

>Untie Steady, climb aboard, then make for that bridge. Be sweet if we beat Cirno there.

>You untie the horse, then get aboard the cart and head for the bridge. Honeysuckle herself dismounts your back and has a seat beside you, although after some time gets fidgety and pokes around the back of the cart instead. A few moments later, she attempts what seems to be a variant of hopscotch in the back of the roughly moving vehicle. Her balance is better than expected - the wings probably help with that - but a bump in the ground nonetheless sends her careening head-first into the side of the cart with a shrill yelp. She sits rather still after that, save for the occasional remark about the cart being a meanie.
>Fairy notwithstanding, the route is fairly direct and you make good time. Arriving back at the bridge, you see no sign of Cirno.

[Oldmansour]

>I'll be jiggered. Actually did beat Cirno here. Bet we'll have to listen to her grumble about that when she gets here.
>"Looks like we'll have to wait a bit, Honeysuckle. ... Actually, do you mind if I call you Honey?"

[DracoOmega]

>I'll be jiggered. Actually did beat Cirno here. Bet we'll have to listen to her grumble about that when she gets here.
>"Looks like we'll have to wait a bit, Honeysuckle. ... Actually, do you mind if I call you Honey?"

>From what you've seen of her, this wouldn't entirely surprise you.
>"Um, ok," she says.

[Oldmansour]

>"It's something friends do. My name is Nazrin, but most of my friends just call me 'Naz'. You can, too, if you want."

[Kips McKipzerson]

>"Honey I shrunk the mouseys!"
>Let's wait around for Cirno, eh?

[DracoOmega]

>"It's something friends do. My name is Nazrin, but most of my friends just call me 'Naz'. You can, too, if you want."

>Honey nods slowly. "Ok.... Naz. Got it!"

>"Honey I shrunk the mouseys!"
>Let's wait around for Cirno, eh?

>Better than blowing them up, no?

>You sit and wait for Cirno's arrival. Time passes. Then more time. Honey lies around, then flies around, then skips stones off the river and chases after some robins to amuse herself. You begin to wish you had something to amuse yourself with as well. As you start to seriously wonder whether Cirno is actually coming, a larger two-horse cart comes into sight in the far south. A distinctive looking figure is driving it... poorly. It's actually a little awkward to watch.
>Honey's face bursts into a beaming grin. "She's here!"

[Oldmansour]

>Arch an eyebrow.
>"Didn't you say that Cirno had another fairy drive the cart back to the village? Cheery Brook, I think you said."
>Hope she can get that thing back in one piece.

[DracoOmega]

>Arch an eyebrow.
>"Didn't you say that Cirno had another fairy drive the cart back to the village? Cheery Brook, I think you said."
>Hope she can get that thing back in one piece.

>Honey nods. "Yup! Cheery did it. She's good with animals and stuff. Great heroes gotta be good with horses, so they can ride in and save the day. That's how all the stories go." She pauses. "Um... does a sidekick need to be able to ride horses, too?"
>The cart itself seems to be in okay shape, although the horses don't seem inclined to listen to Cirno as well as she'd like, making it both slower and more labor-intensive to drive. Actually, she looks more than a little frustrated with them, as best you can tell from this distance.

[Oldmansour]

>If fairys curse, we may be hearing it soon. But wonder why Cirno decided to take the thing herself this time.
>"Well, if a sidekick can ride a horse, it means that her hero has both hands free to swing her sword at bad guys, if they're riding together."

[DracoOmega]

>If fairys curse, we may be hearing it soon. But wonder why Cirno decided to take the thing herself this time.
>"Well, if a sidekick can ride a horse, it means that her hero has both hands free to swing her sword at bad guys, if they're riding together."

>Given what she said earlier, you might be able to think of a couple reasons...
>Honey's face lights up. "Oh, I see!" Then it droops again. "I, um... I'm not much good at that sort of stuff," she frowns. Then, nearly as quickly, she shakes her head resolutely. "No, I have to get good at it! Cirno's counting on me!"
>She reaches out and grasps your hands tightly in hers. "Teach me how!"

[Oldmansour]

>Why didn't I see that coming? Still, did encourage the girl.
>"Well... I'll teach you what I can, sure."

[DracoOmega]

>Why didn't I see that coming? Still, did encourage the girl.
>"Well... I'll teach you what I can, sure."

>"Yay!" she cries, applying a familiar vice-like squeeze to a different extremity than when you first met. "I'll do it right; I promise!"

>Soon enough, Isato's cart rumbles up to the bridge, Cirno sitting astride it like some sort of conquering hero. Or rather, a grumpy fairy doing her best to play the conquering hero. Honey claps at her arrival. You horse greets hers with the same nonchalance you've seen it give everyone else. Hers seem a little more feisty, although you're not sure whether that's Cirno's fault or not.
>The cart is... not as full as you'd hoped. You have no way of knowing how full it was when it departed, of course, but you're inclined to assume it was filled closer to capacity than it is now. It could probably hold half as much again as it currently carries. Still, there is a great bounty of all sizes and shapes of fruit within it. You actually feel more than a little peckish looking at it.
>"So, ready to try keeping up?" Cirno says.

[Oldmansour]

>Now the bravado I saw coming.
>Deal with nibblies once we're on the road. Sooner we get started, the sooner we get paid.
>Rather than try to get Cirno's goat over beating her here, as we easily could, simply say, "Lead on, fairy hero."

[DracoOmega]

>Now the bravado I saw coming.
>Deal with nibblies once we're on the road. Sooner we get started, the sooner we get paid.
>Rather than try to get Cirno's goat over beating her here, as we easily could, simply say, "Lead on, fairy hero."

>You decide to hold both your tongue and your appetite and hit the road. This has taken long enough as it is. You tell Cirno to lead on.
>She smirks. "Let's get this food to Braston!" And with that, she starts off across the bridge. Or rather, drives past the bridge, tries to halt the horses, fails to get them to stop in time, does an awkward and overly wide loop back around for a second try, and nearly upsets the cart when one of the left wheels slips into a ditch. And then starts off across the bridge.

[Oldmansour]

>Grin, then say to Honey. "Lesson one. Don't do what Cirno just did. It's bad for the fruit."
>Set off after her, showing the ropes to Honey along the way.

[DracoOmega]

>Grin, then say to Honey. "Lesson one. Don't do what Cirno just did. It's bad for the fruit."
>Set off after her, showing the ropes to Honey along the way.

>Honey frowns. "I- I'm sure she had a good reason! Maybe she was just giving the horses a challenge!"
>You set off after Cirno, crossing the bridge in a much less problematic manner. Fortunately, she manages to reach the other side without somehow dunking horse and cargo into the river. After crossing, you settle into a slow pace, a safe distance behind her. While the road is straight, Cirno does okay. Well, mostly okay. But as inexperienced as you are, you're quite sure you could drive the fruit to Braston faster than she is.
>While you're hardly one to be giving equestrian lessons, you decide to pass time by showing Honey the basics of driving a horse. Given the slow pace and even terrain, you even let her drive for a while. She's very obviously nervous when you hand her the reins, but accepts them with a determined nod and does her best... which turns out to surprisingly adequate, although you probably couldn't have picked a more docile animal for her to practice on if you'd had a whole stable to choose from. Her smile when she realizes she navigated a turn without help is absolutely beaming. You elect not to mention that she managed it far better than Cirno did.

[Oldmansour]

>Should have a spot of food along the way as well. And while we're at it, a little reward for Honey, perhaps. Little thing's turning out to be an unexpected bright spot.
>Produce the pie!

[DracoOmega]

>Should have a spot of food along the way as well. And while we're at it, a little reward for Honey, perhaps. Little thing's turning out to be an unexpected bright spot.
>Produce the pie!

>Feeling both hungry and positively disposed towards your companion, you produce what's left of the pie.
>"Ooo... lemon!" Honey says. "I like lemon."

[Oldmansour]

>"I was hoping you'd say that."
>Offer her a portion.
>"A reward. You're a quick learner."

[DracoOmega]

>"I was hoping you'd say that."
>Offer her a portion.
>"A reward. You're a quick learner."

>"Really?" She frowns. "Why?"
>You cut off a slice and offer it to her.
>"Really?" she repeats, rather more enthusiastically this time. "Yay! I'm going to be a sidekick in no time!"
>Honey accepts the piece of pie and digs in.

[Oldmansour]

>After having a bit for ourselves, say, "You know, I've been wondering something for a while. Do fairy's need to eat? I mean, obviously you like to, especially when food is tasty. But do you ever get hungry?"

[DracoOmega]

>After having a bit for ourselves, say, "You know, I've been wondering something for a while. Do fairy's need to eat? I mean, obviously you like to, especially when food is tasty. But do you ever get hungry?"

>You start to munch on some of the pie yourself. It may have lost some of its freshness by this point, but it's still quite good.
>"Hungry?" Honey says between bites. "That's, um, when you really want to eat something, right? I get hungry all the time when I see something tasty."

[Oldmansour]

>Yknow, that's probably about the best answer we're gonna get out her, too. But it serves the purpose.
>"Heh. I imagine most people do."
>Fresh or no, beats plain old trail rations.

[DracoOmega]

>Yknow, that's probably about the best answer we're gonna get out her, too. But it serves the purpose.
>"Heh. I imagine most people do."
>Fresh or no, beats plain old trail rations.

>Honey nods, and takes another bite.
>While traveling rations may take forever to go bad, they're never exactly fresh, either. It's part and parcel of the whole 'dry' bit. Pie is certainly an appetizing treat in contrast, if perhaps not a viable long-term substitute.

[Oldmansour]

>Note to self: Consult with Marissa or Minoriko on the prospect of creating pies with long-lasting freshness for Seekers everywhere.
>Journey on.

Now at this point, I should mention I've discovered a bit of a flaw in my idea. When we get back to the Melon Bowl, and they ask either Cirno or us "Where'd you find the fruit?" the truth would be, "This fairy here stole it." Which might make Cirno think we set her up. Now, to be honest, I don't especially care what she thinks of us, but I also don't want Honey to be sad because Cirno got in trouble because of us. Not entirely sure what's the best way to handle that when we get there.

[Kips McKipzerson]

Or you know we could just say a Youkai stole it, and pray to god Cirno doesnt pipe in. Should we tell cirno not to mention she's the one who took the food?

[Oldmansour]

The question is, would she listen to us? And besides, if she's a warrior, she's not gonna want to lie to someone.
On the other hand.... Saving a shipment of food from a feral youkai is a more heroic story than scaring an old man and stealing his food. That might be worth a shot.

[E-Nazrin]

"... so Isato got scared, and said, 'You're movin' with your auntie and uncle in Bel-Air.' I whistled for a c(ry

[Hello Purvis]

Alternately, we have Cirno hang back a bit while we take care of it.

For instance, let's say we send her to check on a secret base...

[Oldmansour]

Alternately, we have Cirno hang back a bit while we take care of it.

For instance, let's say we send her to check on a secret base...

That's got some merit, as well. Were you thinking the Seeker's guildhall?
And damn you, Mouse, for getting that song stuck in my head.