OMG VD!

[cavedwellers]

[Gosh you guys, there must be a holiday on! One of the bigger, more well-lit caves has been decked out for a PARTY, with heart-shaped BALLOONS and also red and white STREAMERS decking the stalactites and shit. There are BUCKETS filled with LITTLE CANDY HEARTS, and there is a FOUNTAIN featuring a rosy-cheeked CUPID who is PEEING PINK LEMONADE into a basin. Also ther are CUPS in case you couldn't tell the LEMONADE was for DRINKING.

Also, everything is HEAVILY SPIKED WITH APHRODISIACS. Eating or drinking the party favors will make you want to MAKE OUT with anyone who gets IN STRIKING DISTANCE. Have fun with that!]

Comments

[onlyhonournow]

Mm. But I know you aren't one to turn down a challenge.

[is that a cheeky grin? that's a cheeky grin.]

[ice_and_steel]

[oh he did not just throw a gauntlet at her feet. Well fine. Two can play that game.]

Of course not. I'm still here, aren't I?

[onlyhonournow]

[rubbing the back of his neck with his free hand and has a look like he knows he just walked himself into mischief]

Will you go for a ride with me?

[ice_and_steel]

[they have Chocobos here?]

Sure. Where to?

[onlyhonournow]

[chuckling and setting her down again, backing up a few paces...]

Who knows?

[onlyhonournow]

[and suddenly--chkka chkka chkkk--he's s car.]

[ice_and_steel]

[eyes. like. saucers]

Wh--how did you--where did Drift go?!

[onlyhonournow]

[. . . his headlights flash, and a voice that sounds suspiciously like Drift--well, since it is Drift, laughs heartily]

Celes, it's all right. I suppose I should have offered some sort of warning.

[ice_and_steel]

[slow blink]

That--wow. How did you do that?

[if Cid were still alive he might keel over in sheer glee at the kinds of things that are here! robot legs! robots that turn into cars. I'm so sorry, Grandpa.]

[onlyhonournow]

[the passenger door clicks open]

... you could say I was born with it, in a way. This is what my species does: we adapt for the situation. I suppose we have yet another commonality of sorts.

[ice_and_steel]

[she leans forward curiously and looks; that seat looks much more comfortable than the one built into the Magi-Tek armour. However, it is also lower and requires an interesting sideways angle. She manages not to hit her head, though mostly through luck, and settles down cautiously.]

This is a much more interesting adaptation than mine, I think.

[onlyhonournow]

Perhaps, but I'll argue that the principle is the same.

[why does that voice sound displaced? and more concentrated, somehow? If she turns her head she'll find that the voice that was speaking just now is coming from a male figure with bright blue eyes and silver-white hair done up in a topknot in his mid-twenties, wearing what appears to be way too many layers of folded cloth, seated in the car seat with both hands draped over the steering wheel. The grin he has on his face, if nothing, should give away his identity.]

[ice_and_steel]

[huge eyes]

...h-have you been in here all this time?

[there are still drugs in her system from the lemonade. she reaches out to put a hand on his arm]

[onlyhonournow]

[unfortunately, her hand goes right through him, and he tosses her a resigned, lopsided smile.]

Sort of. It's only an illusion. It's something I picked up when... well, let's just say there are some places where an unmanned vehicle isn't exactly welcome.

[so clearly a holographic samurai driver was less suspicious? Yes.]

[ice_and_steel]

[she is a soldier and she will not show disappointment at this. but she's not as good at it as she thinks she is.]

I...see. The illusion looks so real, though.

[her hand stays where it is, even though she can't touch him really]

[onlyhonournow]

[well, he's sharper than that, at least]

Forgive me, I did not consider... the situation.

If it makes you uncomfortable...

[HOLOGRAM FLICKERS?]

[ice_and_steel]

[oh fuck this is what happens when you leave the army and drink drugged punch.]

it...doesn't bother me. [she tilts her head and is silent for a moment, then almost smiles] It's sort of strange to have two faces for you.

[onlyhonournow]

[well, the projection of the human face looks concerned, still, which is probably a remarkable throw-back to his usual metallic one.]

... Strange is something I'm good at, I've been told.

[turning and smiling again, nodding at the seatbelt above her] Shall we get going?

[ice_and_steel]

[she looks up, confused as to what he's looking for] I...that seems up to you?

[onlyhonournow]

[the hologram reaches over after a moment of recognition, brushing slightly through her and grabs a hold of the seatbelt, pulling it snugly over here]

It's a safety precaution.

[ice_and_steel]

[oh gosh that is weird watching his hand go through her.]

A safety precaution? What does it accomplish?

[onlyhonournow]

I don't intend to endanger you, but motion tends to displace objects moving at a high speed unless countered by some sort of force.

[ice_and_steel]

[very wide eyes]

H-how fast can you go? I mean with MagiTek armour the most you risk is getting crushed if you fall out and leave the levers stuck...

[onlyhonournow]

[oh wait I was trying to be reassuring oops, time to furrow that convenient forehead I have right now]

... Only as fast as you'd like me to.

[ice_and_steel]

[there is a very irresponsible part of her, that the army tried very hard to quash, that wants to say "as fast as possible." she remembers just in time that that would be a very bad idea without knowledge of the potential parameters.]

I don't know. This is new territory. [the corners of her lips curl up just a little, impishly] Perhaps reconnaissance is in order.