Hard-headed people always get into trouble because they can't back down

[sekimorinashi]

CHARACTERS: Tsukuyo, a giant dog and YOU
DATE: Like one of the first days of this mess.
WARNINGS: Great stupidity??
SUMMARY: Tsukuyo said that she'd investigate the volcano. The problem is you can't just hop over to Nalalona just like that. Not that it stops her from trying.

[ They have brainstormed, Tsukuyo has pondered, and there really ought to be something to be found in that damn volcano. Everything seems to come back to the volcano, it seems, from the very short time she's been here. So she'd check it out, she said.

The problem is this island seems to be the eye of the storm, and the water separating her from the volcano is a bit more temperamental than would be ideal. She'd hoped it might calm down after a day or two, but that doesn't seem to be happening.

So perhaps she should try jumping into the fray.

She'd take a boat, if she trusted those to hold at all. If there even are any boats. This seems like a terrible idea without adding debris into the equation. It definitely is a terrible idea, isn't it?

And yet, she stands at the shore, takes off her boots and kimono, and takes a deep breath.

She'll just check how bad these waters really are. If they are at all as bad as they look.

She turns to Sadaharu, and pats his head. ]

Stay here, okay?

[ Sadaharu tilts his head with a sound she can't quite decipher, but she doesn't linger any longer and wades into the water.

Catch her before she gets too far and convince her to come back to the shore? Or save her when the wild sea is about to take her with it? Maybe Sadaharu gets worried when she seems to be struggling and runs to fetch the nearest person he can find that might be able to help.

Either way, she really does need to get out of there. ]

Comments

[winces]

[ for the past few days, olivia has made it something of a habit to wander along the shoreline of the island. call it wishful thinking, hoping that perhaps one day she'll happen upon one of the missing people; call it a desperate need for routine — whatever the reason, it has her wandering through the sand on this particular day, just as tsukuyo gets deep enough into the waters that olivia doesn't even notice her at first.

then again, it's hard to notice much of anything else when there's a giant white dog sitting in the sand. ]

...Sadaharu?

[ both olivia and her lion cub wander close, heads tilted curiously and, perhaps, also in worry. ]

What are you doing here—

[ a soft gasp escapes her. before she even knows it, she's looking around wildly, feeling her heart jump into her throat at the thought, the hope, the possibility that—

but she doesn't see him. no matter how hard she looked, there is no sight or sound of him.

what she does see, however, makes her heart leap into her throat for another reason entirely. ]

M-Ms. Tsukuyo...! What are you doing—?!

[unoradinary]

[Admittedly, the very first thing she catches sight of is the large dog...because she hasn't met Sadaharu yet but she really loves dogs. It's only once she realises his distress over Tsukuyo's behaviour that Ranmaru really picks up the pace to approach, only she stops short of the water because she's terrified enough of it as she is. She isn't testing her luck in these conditions.

Even so, she yells with all the determination her Shounen Voice can muster.]

OI, OI!! DON'T GO ANY FURTHER! I'M SURE YOU'VE GOT PLENTY TO LIVE FOR...!!

[blacksilk]

[Chrollo's voice came up, curious, as he was led towards the water by what seemed to be a very large, adorable dog. He looked from the dog to where the beast had been gesturing, lifting his brows when he saw Tsukuyo walking into the water.

She seemed to be going forward as if intending to keep her feet on the ground even as she got deeper and deeper.]

Miss? [He raised his voice, following her. Human beings were always very strange and acted unpredictably as times. Chrollo recognized her in that instant, trying to decipher what meaning could have come from her chosen method of suicide--]

I didn't take you for the type! What changed things to drive you from your survival instincts?

[sekimorinashi]

[ Oh--

A person.

She pauses, turning to glance over her shoulder as the water pushes against her. Damn, it really is rough. She probably shouldn't try to go any further but ... ]

Checkin' if I can get to the volcano.

[ She says it like that's obvious, and no big deal at all. So what if the waters are still stormy? ]

[sekimorinashi]

[ Well, that's quite a loud voice.

Tsukuyo's been doing well keeping on her feet - but it's getting too deep for her to keep her head above the waves - but when someone suddenly shouts like that, she loses her footing and down under water her head goes. Beauty and grace.

Thanks, Ranmaru. ]

[sekimorinashi]

[ Why does everyone think that's what she's trying to do here? Sure, she's walking forward with a lot of determination but, well, she's very determined to get across this channel to the other island.

At least Chrollo asks that in a roundabout enough way (and doesn't shout at the top of his lungs like a certain someone else) that she ends up stopping and slowly turning enough to look at him.

It's a good thing she's too focused on the task at hand, or she'd be panicking about the fact that a man has now seen her in just her underwear. ]

I ain't been driven from anythin'.

[winces]

[ olivia doesn't even answer right away, she just sort of... stares at the other woman... dumb-founded.

and then, finally, in a shriek so high, birds have begun to respond to it, she asks, ]

Are you crazy?! It's too dangerous for that right now, Ms. Tsukuyo! You shouldn't be in the waters!!

[sekimorinashi]

[ She makes a face like well, and shrugs. tbh, Olivia ain't wrong. She might be a little crazy. ]

I know it's dangerous. But ya never know until ya try.

How 'bout you make yourself useful instead and find a rope or somethin', in case I lose my footing.

this is like the first time ive gotten to use this since i asked for it months ago in the ac bank

[unoradinary]

[NO THIS IS THE OPPOSITE OF WHAT SHE WANTED!!!

Ranmaru rushes forward towards the water, only...once it starts getting high enough to go above her knees, she freezes. There's absolutely no way she's going any further...no way at all.......

But she does have another option. Admittedly it's also something she's been keeping secret from everyone else, but...she might not know who this woman is, but she definitely doesn't wanna see her drown. Fortunately she's practiced enough that she can just-]

Okay...okay, she was like...there! So I just have to...!!

[Whether or not she was fine getting out herself, Tsukuyo is still getting a hand around her arm that drags her out of the water for a rescue.

Only it's not a human looking figure who's rescued her. Star platinum remains floating above the water, hoisting its catch above the surface. Ranmaru's nearby and looking very pleased with herself.]

A-alright! Hey, are you okay??

Happy to be of service. o7

[sekimorinashi]

[ It's a good thing that it's more than just a strong current, or Tsukuyo would probably be long gone from that spot. As is, though, she's just getting tossed around as she tries to work out where the way up is, but she can't even seem to find the ground again. And her lungs are yelling at her to cough, because of course she accidentally got some water stuck in a wrong pipe somewhere.

Kind of hurts like hell.

And then suddenly something grips her arm, and before she has the time to react to it (she doesn't much appreciate being grabbed without warning), she can suddenly breathe and, thank the lord, cough too. That takes priority for a few moments until her airways are clear.

Ranmaru may be talking, but Tsukuyo gets distracted by the thing that grabbed her. She's just hanging there, staring at it ...

Then she shouts, and aims a kick at its chin.

Shame she doesn't have her heels on. ]

[unoradinary]

[She ends up bracing herself at first because she's read enough jojos to know where this is going...stands always reflected damage they took into their user too, and she doesn't want to spook Tsukuyo more by having it stop her. It's just that when her foot does reach its chin...it passes right through it, somehow intangible despite still holding onto her. It doesn't seem to react to it either, staring at Tsukuyo still unflinching.

Now that that's settled though Ranmaru's quick to start yelling again.]

Don't worry, he's not gonna hurt you! I promise! I used him to save you!

[sekimorinashi]

[ That

is not what she expected. She stops then, tense in its grip but still simply letting her leg fall as she keeps staring. Why did it just pass straight through?

Also why is she just hanging in the air? She just realised. ]

--oi, let me go!

[unoradinary]

[It (mostly) lacks sentience, so the fact that it complies to what she asked and floats back to the shore and places her down is on Ranmaru, really, but that's neither here nor there. With Tsukuyo safe, Star Platinum fades away and instead she's left with this delinquent looking teenager instead.]

Sorry if I scared you, but this all happened sorta fast...

[sekimorinashi]

[ Oh, ground.

That's ... kind of nice. Even if there's now sand - actually, probably just ash - stuck on her wet feet, she'll take it. Much better than the idea of drowning.

Maybe she really should give up on the idea of investigating Nalalona until the waters calm down.

She sighs, and shakes her head. ]

's all right.

[ She'll just grab her kimono and wrap it around herself because, wow, it got cold. ]

Thanks for the save.

[blacksilk]

...Are you sure? [It seemed like a good time to ask stupid questions. The gigantic dog had pointed him her way. He wasn't a proper hunter by many standards, but he still got along well with animals easily. He had a nature that could unnerve many of them, save for those with predatory instincts. He was at home with them. Chrollo smiled, managing to ignore her state of dress.

The prospect of suicide and unmentionables didn't have to fight very much for the more important aspect of their current situation. He could remind her later.]

Even if you try to swim, the waters and the coral beneath won't treat you well--

[He added for good measure.]

The sharks would have even less of a sense of hospitality and good will towards you.

[sekimorinashi]

There are sharks here? Thought they'd usually stayed in deeper waters.

[ Still ... taking a few more steps though.

She knows it's not the best idea, but she's never gotten very far by being cautious. ]

[winces]

[ useful?

useful?

if olivia had ever had a trigger word in her life, it would be that.

already riddled with a number of emotions, olivia finds herself overflowing with the added frustration of the situation, of tsukuyo's words that sting far too much than she would have liked.

but rather than take it all out on the woman herself, olivia spins towards sadaharu, who perks up the moment he realizes he's being addressed. ]

Sadaharu!! [ she jabs a finger in the air towards the blonde. ]

Fetch!

[sekimorinashi]

--eh?

[ That's a very strong reaction for something she meant to be entirely facetious. An attempt to make light of the whole situation. But she doesn't really have the time to consider exactly why that might have been.

It also seems to be all the encouragement Sadaharu needs to take matters into his own hands, and with a bark he bounds towards Tsukuyo, wading into the waves.

As much as Tsukuyo is tempted to keep going out of principle or something equally ridiculous, she'd feel really, really bad if Gintoki's dog drowned because she decided to do something stupid. So instead she opts to be a little less stupid and turn to meet Sadaharu halfway (or one third of the way and he two thirds), holding out her arms to halt him in the approach. ]

Hey, hey, slow down. 's okay.

[blacksilk]

It isn't weird for sharks to be in shallow water. It's fairly common.

[He would have said that it was normal for them to be found in rivers close to the sea, but Tsukuyo would probably find out if she hung around too long. There was a reason why the Nalawi preferred spear-fishing from boats rather than at the shore.]

So, you don't mind that?

[winces]

[ there are few things to get in between a dog and his stick.

—the "stick", in this case, being you, tsukki. sadly, you yourself are not one of those things.

with an elated bark, sadaharu meets the woman's placating gestures with a hop in place, punctuated by a pounce towards her — though i'll leave it to your discretion how you'd like for him to carry her back: in his mouth, on his back, whathaveyou.

but carry her back he does! back towards the shoreline where olivia waits, lips pursed into a tight frown, and at her feet does the dutiful giant dog deposit his boon. he plops himself back down, large tail swishing happily, chest puffed out like the proud dog that he is. ]

Thank you, Sadaharu, [ sighs the pink-haired woman, reaching out to give him a few pats along his head. ] Good dog.

[ when she turns to the blonde, her expression looks conflicted. ]

Sorry about that. [ and she truly does sound apologetic about it. ] But I think it would be in everyone's best interset if we didn't lose any more people.

[sekimorinashi]

It ain't about mindin' or not mindin'. Sometimes, there're things ya just gotta do. Rather than bein' driven away from anything, I'm bein' driven towards something. Don'tcha get that kinda thing?

[ Just as she says that, however, a wave crashes into her and topples her right over, effectively ruining whatever that was. An attempt at being cool? Something like that.

Bye bye, Tsukuyo. ]

[sekimorinashi]

[ She ... really doesn't much appreciate suddenly being flung into the air to land quite disgracefully on the back of a dog. As Sadaharu quickly makes his way back to the shore, she has little choice but to hold onto his fur best she can. ]

O-oi, Sadaharu! I told ya t'stay! Why're ya listenin' ta her over me??

[ When Sadaharu sits, she slides off him and stumbles back a little, all red in the face with indignation. How dare.

As she brushes his fur off herself, too, she realises how very not dressed she is, and immediately hurries to fetch her clothes. Because obviously Olivia has no intention of letting her go further into that water.

She wraps her kimono around herself, and meets Olivia's gaze, lips pursed in annoyance. ]

... I ain't used t'sitting on my behind doin' nothin'.

[winces]

I know, [ the dancer replies quietly, voice thick with empathy. in contrast, olivia is actually quite used to not being able to do anything. but the desire to be useful, and the frustration she feels whenever she can't be — those are feelings olivia can definitely understand. ]

But we'd be of no use to anyone drowned, either.

[ slowly, she lowers herself to a crouch just beside tsukuyo. ]

It's still too stormy out there, so the water isn't safe. We can think of something else to do.

[sekimorinashi]

[ She crouches down too, so that the kimono covers her completely. It's a bit cold, especially because her skin is wet. She'll just stay like that for a while.

Sadaharu pads over and presses his nose against the side of her head, and she throws him a suspicious glance. ]

Wasn't gonna drown. I was about to give up on that idea anyway.

[ Being told to get out made her want to be contrary, but she doesn't say that. It's childish, after all. ]

[blacksilk]

[Chrollo opened his mouth to give Tsukuyo affirmation. She sounded as if she had come to a rather profound life decision, but it was all undercut rather efficiently by the relenting tide. Chrollo went silent, watching her get flung down by the weight that crashed into her.

For once, his smile was somewhat genuine. There was no way to avoid smiling at something like that, really.

He didn't say anything else aloud--instead, wandering out to the water to wade in after her. Under his breath, he spoke to himself since Tsukuyo wouldn't benefit from it.]

I don't think the sea cares all that much for philosophy.