(Skyseas of Gensokyo) Nazrin Quest (Part 2)

[DracoOmega]

>Does the guildhall have a stable? Or a hitching post, or something that'll serve the purpose?

>It does not have a stable, but there's a suitable enough spot to hitch the horses to, along the side of the building.

[Hello Purvis]

>Hitch that hoss!

[DracoOmega]

>Hitch that hoss!

>You move your cart along the side of the building and hitch it up. During this time, you see Cirno walk into the guild out of the corner of your eye, simply leaving her own cart behind by the front door.

[Oldmansour]

>Shake head at Cirno. Hope she turns out to be a better hero than driver.
>Retrieve Cirno's cart as well and hitch it up.
>"Try to teach her not to just leave her horses like that, Honey."

[DracoOmega]

>Shake head at Cirno. Hope she turns out to be a better hero than driver.
>Retrieve Cirno's cart as well and hitch it up.
>"Try to teach her not to just leave her horses like that, Honey."

>You shake your head. The thought of her heroics being as blundersome as her driving is more than enough to unsettle someone.
>You dash over and retrieve Cirno's cart, moving it around to the side of the building and hitching it up. It is rather more difficult to manage than your own cart, both due to the horses temperament and the load, but you still manage alright - clearly this handicap can excuse only a small fraction of Cirno's performance.
>"Uh, um, ok," Honey says, watching what you do closely.

[Oldmansour]

>Honeysuckle may not be the ideal traveling companion for long, uneventful journeys, but she listens well. And learns, or at least wants to learn. Hard to believe it was only a few hours ago she was hanging off our arm, afraid we might pummel Cirno some more.
>"Alright, now, with that done, let's see how Cirno fares against Marissa, shall we?"
>Into the guildhall!

[DracoOmega]

>Honeysuckle may not be the ideal traveling companion for long, uneventful journeys, but she listens well. And learns, or at least wants to learn. Hard to believe it was only a few hours ago she was hanging off our arm, afraid we might pummel Cirno some more.
>"Alright, now, with that done, let's see how Cirno fares against Marissa, shall we?"
>Into the guildhall!

>"She's gonna kick her butt!" Honey says. "Just you watch."
>You step into the guildhall. There's no immediate sign of Cirno, but the person manning the counter - not Sashiko this afternoon - gives you an odd look.
>You hear a familiar brash voice cry out from the common room: "So, which one of you's Marisa!"

[Oldmansour]

>All the subtelty of a gang of oni... Well at least the fireworks haven't started yet. Means we can take care of some business first.
>Approach the desk jockey.
>"Afternoon. I take it you met the little ice fairy?"

[Kips McKipzerson]

>The one thats most likely to kick your ass.
>Will the fruit rot before we get it to The Melon Bowl?

[DracoOmega]

>All the subtelty of a gang of oni... Well at least the fireworks haven't started yet. Means we can take care of some business first.
>Approach the desk jockey.
>"Afternoon. I take it you met the little ice fairy?"

>You walk up to the dubious-looking girl at the counter.
>She frowns. "This your doing, somehow?"

>"C'mon," Cirno cries from the other room. "A hero's gotta respond when someone challenges them!"
>"What the hell are you going on about?" another voice from the room says.
>"You know her?" someone else asks, somewhat quieter.

>The one thats most likely to kick your ass.
>Will the fruit rot before we get it to The Melon Bowl?

>That's certainly a safe bet.
>If it's managed to stay in good shape for several days of being outside, another hour isn't going to hurt it.

[Oldmansour]

>This isn't going to improve our guild standing, is it.
>"Well, kind of. She wants to be the biggest hero the world has ever known, so I thought meeting Marissa would be good for her." Pause. "Marissa IS around, isn't she?"

[DracoOmega]

>This isn't going to improve our guild standing, is it.
>"Well, kind of. She wants to be the biggest hero the world has ever known, so I thought meeting Marissa would be good for her." Pause. "Marissa IS around, isn't she?"

>You're probably not going to get in any real trouble for it, but people will have their own opinions...
>She shakes her head. "I tried to tell her..."

>"I heard you're all great and stuff," Cirno continues, "So prove it!"
>You hear Honey's voice come from the room. "She's the best!" Evidently she wandered off to watch.
>"Look," comes the voice of a young man, "I don't know where you got this into your head, but-"
>"Don't try to interfere!" Cirno cries. "I'm only here for her. No point in taking on the small fry."

[Oldmansour]

>I don't like the sound of this.
>"Don't tell me Marissa's not here."

[DracoOmega]

>I don't like the sound of this.
>"Don't tell me Marissa's not here."

>"Afraid not," she says, shaking her head. "Dropped by this morning, but I haven't seen her for hours."

>You hear a couple chuckles issue from the room over the 'small fry' comment.
>"I'll let her know you stopped by," the young man continues, nonchalantly, "So why don't you just-"
>His words are cut short by a surprised yelp, followed swiftly by a thud against the floor. You hear murmuring. Honey cheers.

[Oldmansour]

>Bloody hellfire and brimstone. This can only end badly.
>Make a beeline for the common room.

[Kips McKipzerson]

Worst case scenario hit us: Marisa isnt there, Cirno fights someone else.
>Make a mental note to kick yourself in the ass when this is all over.
>Make another mental note to apologize for however much damage she's going to cause.

[DracoOmega]

>Bloody hellfire and brimstone. This can only end badly.
>Make a beeline for the common room.

>Inwardly cursing, you dash for the common room. It's a little more full than yesterday afternoon, but still light on people. You count 4 apprentices, and one Seeker in the far corner - a bit of a lousy one, if you're frank. Unsurprisingly, all eyes are on Cirno, standing proud near the entrance with Honey a few feet behind her. On the ground in front of Cirno is a male apprentice in his very early 20s, sitting on a small patch of ice in the middle of the floor.

>Make a mental note to kick yourself in the ass when this is all over.
>Make another mental note to apologize for however much damage she's going to cause.

>You make a mental note. Stupid carelessness and stupid ice fairies...

>"Marisa's not here," a female apprentice on the other side of Cirno says.
>"Then where is she, huh?" Cirno replies.
>"Who knows?" another apprentice, a little further away says. "Good luck pinning her down." Cirno scowls.

[Hello Purvis]

>"Cirno, what did you do to him?"

[DracoOmega]

>"Cirno, what did you do to him?"

>"He slipped," she says, just a tint of pride in her voice.
>The apprentice shifts back and pulls himself to his feet, giving Cirno a wary look.
>"You know her, Nazrin?" one of the other apprentices asks. Another in the back sighs.

[Hello Purvis]

So. I say we make another attempt to shame her; because we've invited her in as a guest, and she's made an ass of herself. With luck, this'll get through to her. If not, proper scoldings and possibly a beating. Sour?

[Kips McKipzerson]

I'm all for teaching her a bit of humility. Besides, Worst comes to worst the guild can take her down and she'd be more embarrassed.

[Oldmansour]

Personally, I hold little hope for getting through to this one, but making the attempt wouldn't hurt. And if it doesn't work, then, well, she's in a room full of Seekers. I say we dare her to take us all on at once, and give her the beating she's earned. And if she doesn't go for that, then we'll challenge her ourselves, and we'll give her the beating she's earned.

[Kips McKipzerson]

Let's make a bet to Cirno then. If she loses to Marisa, She'll join the Seekers and will listen to whatever you say. If she wins, By some god forsaken reason, You'll admit she is the greatest hero of all time and will never be topped or something trivial like that. Everyones happy, no?
That is, Of course, when we find Marisa, But I just thought I'd throw out that idea while its fresh in the good old noggin.

[Hanzo K.]

Aye, sometimes the only cure for a fool is either death, or a hefty smack upside the head.
And right now we're dealing with a Frozen Fool, the dimmest kind.
So how about this?

"A real hero doesn't pick fights just because they want to. A real hero fights because they have to. For example, to protect loved ones, and those important to them."

Y'know, play the whole wannabe hero thing against her and all.
Of course, if that don't work, thenwe can get some sense into her the hardFun way.

[Hello Purvis]

I think we're going to have to hit deeper than that.

In particular, if she doesn't give very quickly, we're going to have to lay out that she's nothing more than a brigand, point out that Honeysuckle is more of a hero than she is, and that we're ashamed we ever called her a friend. Then, when the inevitable sword-drawing comes, point out that she just proved the farmer (Isato?) completely right.

Then if she comes at us, beat the snot out of her. Then maybe turn her over to orange depending on things.

SO LET'S START!


>"Cirno. I brought you here because I wanted you to see where the seekers are. To get to meet and know them. And this is the first thing you do, throw ice on the floor and trip people? Are you trying to humiliate me? After everything else? After I even stood up for you with that farmer? Is that all you have to say for yourself?"

[Oldmansour]

Let's make a bet to Cirno then. If she loses to Marisa, She'll join the Seekers and will listen to whatever you say. If she wins, By some god forsaken reason, You'll admit she is the greatest hero of all time and will never be topped or something trivial like that. Everyones happy, no?
That is, Of course, when we find Marisa, But I just thought I'd throw out that idea while its fresh in the good old noggin.

I admire your dedication to getting Cirno into the Seekers, Kips. I admit, I also like the idea of having Cirno 'listen to whatever you say', that'll learn the little twerp. But we'll put it on the back burner for the moment, until this scenario here is resolved, as I doubt we can send Cirno off on a wild Kirisame hunt, and I'm sure we're not anxious to drag her up and down the planet looking for her to challenge her. But write that idea down somewhere, in case the situation arises again.

[DracoOmega]

>"Cirno. I brought you here because I wanted you to see where the seekers are. To get to meet and know them. And this is the first thing you do, throw ice on the floor and trip people? Are you trying to humiliate me? After everything else? After I even stood up for you with that farmer? Is that all you have to say for yourself?"

>"Hey!" Cirno says. "He was tryin' to shove me out the door!"

[Hello Purvis]

>"Then why didn't you get me?"

[DracoOmega]

>"Then why didn't you get me?"

>"Huh?" Cirno throws you a confused look.

[Hello Purvis]

>"I invited you. You could have come to get me. I could have cleared up everything. Instead you chose to make a fool of me Cirno."