1690/Surf's Up!

Surf's Up!
Date of Scene:	21 June 2024
Location:	Beach
Synopsis:	Sayaka takes Bow to help him practice surfing and they end up crashing into Katsuko and shooting the bull with Gloria.
Cast of Characters:	Bow, Katsuko Takezaki, Sayaka Miki, Glimmer Brightmoon

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Bow has posed:
Since the summer began, when Bow and Sayaka have had the free time between classes and partols and music practice and everything else that keeps them busy, Sayaka has been working to teach Bow how to properly do one of her favorite things, surf. Having arrived at the beach, Bow rented a surfboard (he's not ready to buy one yet), and stands on the sandy spot that he claimed.

Dressed in a pair of board shorts that has a palm-tree design going around the hem, besides the surfboard, he's got out a blanket, a couple of chairs for later, and a few items to make a day of it on the beach. He's wearing a half-shirt for the moment that reads 'I'm Going Bow-ling' with a a picture of a bowling pin with an arrow sticking out of it.

They had already made a couple of runs for the start of the day, and Bow is showing real improvmenent and promise. The lessons that Sayaka gave him have taken root and he's gotten better since the time when he had a hard time just getting on the board. He does at least have natural grace and balance from his time on Etheria.

But not every run can be perfect, and on this one, as he's working on sharpening his turns when he overcorrects and has to turn to hard not to run into Sayaka. There's a slip and he comes off the board, falling off into the water, while the board comes loose from the ankle strap and heads towards a boat out on the water.

Katsuko Takezaki has posed:
    Katsuko felt like she's been focusing too much on the tonfa of late. They're important to her, of course, but there's so much more to it. So she'd been practicing with the eku, and then she noticed the weather and she realized it may be nice to actually go to the beach. So she carried a cheap plastic rowboat and her eku over to the beach, where she took off her uniform and shoved it into the locker, already having put on her swimming clothes underneath.

    Onto the water, a nice relaxing spot close enough to the beach to not get into trouble, far enough out not to get into most people's ways, and a stack of homework she's behind on. Using her eku to stay more or less in the same kind of spot, when suddenly a thud as a surfboard crashes into her boat and almost knocks it over. It's only experience that gets her to stay afloat. She gently pushes the surfboard back and looks around to see where it came from, she even yells. "Hey I think someone lost their surfboard." To help find them quicker.

Sayaka Miki has posed:
Sayaka had started really slow when teaching Bow how to surf, of course. This wasn't the start of their lessons, not by a long mile. There was first a period of indoor training to familiarise him with a surfboard in a controlled setting, and only then had she allowed him to start paddling at sea, in shallower waters. Bow had successfully cleared that side of the training, and then they went a step further, having him stand upright with the calmest sea they could possibly have as they ventured further out.

Sadly, no matter how much one may be cautious, there are always going to be incidents, and it pays well to always be on guard, no matter what happens. When Bow goes under, Sayaka is quick to disengage from her board as if it wasn't even there, with motions practiced a thousand times that had become second nature for the bluenette.

Instantly diving under after taking a breath, she brings her arms under his own and around his upper body, kicking upwards as she reaches the sea surface once more, letting him hang onto her board once she is sure he does not have any water in his lungs and is able to hold onto it without her help.

Leaving him for those brief moments, she looks around for where his surfboard may have ended up, swimming towards Katsuko where she hears her calling out. "Yes, over here!", she exclaims in a brief floating pause before resuming her swim towards the other bluenette.

Bow has posed:
Bow could have surfaced on his own. He does know how to swim - but he has no complaints when the bluenette swoops in and helps him back to the surface. As they break up to catch their breath together, he releases from her to turn and give her a quick hug and a kiss on the cheek. "Thanks, hon." he says sincerely to Sayaka before looking around to see where his board went.

And once they have confirmation on the direction it went, he joins Sayaka in the swim towards the shore, straightening up as soon as he hits the ground and takes a few steps so that Sayaka can join him. There's a glance at the girl that found the board (rather the board found her), and he ohs, a quick little smile offered. "I remember you - you were meeting new people at lunch a couple of weeks back. Kat... Katsuko, right? It's me, Bow. You know. Violins and archery?" And then a glance to the bluenette at his side. "This is Sayaka Miki. She's in grade 8, really awesome on the piano, best thing that's happened to me since I arrived here, and teaching me to surf." A pause. "She's way better at teaching than I am at learning.'

Katsuko Takezaki has posed:
    "That's right." Katsuko vaguely remembers Bow, rowing towards the pair as she pushes the surfboard ahead of herself. "Hello, Miki-san. I'm Katsuko Takezaki, grade seven. It's nice to meet you, senpai." She greets her upperclassman when she gets close enough, "Surfing sounds real neat." She hasn't touched the board at all otherwise, only gently pushing it with her cheap plastic rowboat. "I only really know how to row because I needed to know all the ways to use an eku." She waves the oar she's holding, "Not just how to beat people up with one."

Sayaka Miki has posed:
Considering that they had been able to find a way to make Bow almost drown on land, you'd forgive her if she was a little overcautious when it came to him and water, especially since she knows he had been tense about that for the first few days, and who could blame him with such a close brush with death?

Nonetheless, she is glad to have him safe and sound at her side and even confident enough to swim without her surfboard, though she goes back out to sea first to make sure her surfboard isn't wandering who knows where. Once she has retrieved it, she joins Bow in talking to Katsuko.

"Hello, Katsuko-san! As Bow told you, I am Miki Sayaka, and was teaching him how to surf. He is actually a much better learner than he would have you believe, he just has very high standards he feels he must meet", Sayaka greets the other student, and clarifying a few matters. "New to Tokyo then, or just RHA?", she inquires with a friendly smile.

Though there is one more guest joining in: it's Kyubey with a sunglasses and his own surfboard! No, he very much is not for the joy of probably both Sayaka and Bow. It's Ula that for one of those precious rare times, she can actually swim instead of floating everywhere. "Oh, a new person?", the mascot smiles excitedly. "Hello, I am Eulalia, but everyone calls me Ula, and I am Sayaka's friend. Hello, Katsuko-san!"

Katsuko Takezaki has posed:
    "Neither. I've been going to RHA since first grade." Katsuko clarifies, and she glances to the other new person. "Hello Eulalia-san. It's nice to meet you." She thinks for a moment before touching her necklace, "And this is Zwillingrute." <GUTEN TAG> the device pings a greeting. She adds next, "I haven't had Zwillingrute for long yet, though, so a lot of this is all still really new to me." She says a little vaguely, just in case she misread things.

Bow has posed:
As the surfboard is pushed back to him, Bow catches it with his foot. And yes, Sayaka has saved Bow - a lot. And he's returned the favor a couple of times. But since the incident to remove Crystal Hope, Sayaka's been doubly watching, and he's fine with that, especially as he feels his way through his new henshin. When Sayaka rejoins them with her surfboard, he offers her a smile.

"Hey hey, I'm okay with what I am." he says in response to her light teasing. "I'm not like Hinoiri levels of perfection, promise."

When there's a new figure joining in, Bow smiles at the koi mermaid, reaching to give her a little pat. "You did great swimming, Ula!" he says to her in encouragement, before his attention returns to Katsuko.

And that's when her device speaks up and he ohs. "Hello, Zwillingrute." he greets. "Have you had a chance to meet Rashmi or Koji yet? They helped me when I first arrived here, after Sayaka and Rashmi rescued me." A small smirk and a wink at Sayaka. "She literally swept me off my feet."

Sayaka Miki has posed:
"Ah, then we have never crossed paths", Sayaka nods in understanding, as she floats there. She is admittedly very surprised at that, but their lives are literally a sequence of weirds events one after another. What's one more? "Hey there, Zwillingrute", Sayaka greets the device too.

"So, a Device Mage then?", she asks back, more to recover the flow of the conversation than to actually asks. "I am a Puella Magi. We don't typically have companions, besides our employer, Kyubey, but he is a real piece of work, and you'd best stay as far away from him as possible. Thankfully, Ula has been filling in on that front ever since we met. Have you met any other like you?"

"It really wasn't such a big deal", she tells Katsuko with a small grin, half-happy, half-nervous. "There were 5 of us who could have helped there, it was just chance that it had happened to me.

Ula doesn't really know what to reply to Bow: complimenting a mermaid for swimming is like complimenting a human for walking, so instead she opts for saying what she had been doing. "I wasn't too far from both of you, I was just enjoying the fresh seawater while your private lesson was going on."

Katsuko Takezaki has posed:
    Katsuko adjusts the motion of her boat gently with her oar to stay in position despite the waves. "I've met Rashmi-san, yes. I don't think I have met a Koji. I've met a few other people with devices, too." She answers the pair, "I wouldn't call myself a mage, though..." Zwillungrute clarifies with <MEISTER IST EINEN RITTER> she nods along with him, "Right, I'm a knight." She flexes the muscles on one of her harms, she's clearly in good shape. "I'm glad to hear you got help when you needed it, Bow-san, and that this all worked out well for the both of you."

Glimmer Brightmoon has posed:
A woman of mystery, a woman of flair. Glimmer had decided to adopt that as her persona. As such? She.... changed her 'name' almost daily. Today?

She was GLORIA MOONHAWK, wild rough and tumble delinquent... who was going to the beach NOT because she saw that Bow was going to be there, but because she was spying on-- err, doing reconnaissance on the competition.

And the fact she had arrived earlier and was sitting with a beach umbrella, and had fallen asleep on the beach, was just entirely unrelated. Good thing there was an umbrella, though, or she'd be buuuuuuurned. She even had a bigger bathing suit that covered most of her back... apparently the teeny tiny itty bitty wings might freak people out. Apparently called a 'one piece', black, because Gloria Hawkmoon was a rough and tumble fighter.

The sparkler woke up with a start and shook her head. "Hmng?" she asked, sitting up and, groggily, reaching for her phone... and lost it. Then, on the third try, found it under the towel. She shook off the sand, opened up to Bow's webpage annnnd... Ugh. He wasn't live?! Where was heeeeee? How was he supposed to...

Entirely unaware that, a good distance behind her... Bow and Sayaka were currently training. And it wasn't until she'd spent a few minutes grouching and browsing the internet that she FINALLY turned around and...

There they were.

She face palmed. "Doh." She hopped to her feet and started to walk over... And it might take a moment for either of the two to recognize her. Except, they'd seen her outside of her henshin. And oh my gosh she did, in fact, have the toothpick in her mouth. "Heyyyyy! Bow! Sayaka! Fancy meeting you here!" she'd at least had the good sense to leave her phone behind, under the beach towel. Her eyes then turned to Katsuko and before Bow could introduce her... "Hey. Gloria Moonhawk. Bow's toughest friend." HA!

"Nice to meet you, kid."

Bow has posed:
Really, Bow was still learning to communicate with mascots and the like. He's way better than the early days when he was gawking at them, though. As Sayaka quizzes Katsuko on her device and she points out she's more of a user than a mage, he ohs. She's more like him than Rashmi, really. Not that Bow is spilling those beans yet. He's letting Sayaka handle that load as he turns his attention to Katsuko's comment. "I promise, by the end of the summer, I'll be close to Sayaka's level!"

And that is when there's a new arrival. "Oh. Hello, Gloria." he offers to Glimmer with a knowing smirk. "I did not realize you would be out here, all majestic and such. It must be a Queen of a day for you, hmm?" Oh no. She's gonna pay right now for that comment about her being his toughest friend. "The swimsuit looks nice on you, Glory." he offers casually. "One could say it is royally fitted to you."

So. So. Innocent. A bright smile that could reflect sunlight, and still shirtless to boot at the moment. "Did you make sure to pack sunscreen? I know you're used to tanning under the moon."

Sayaka Miki has posed:
"You know, I have a knight theme too in my henshin", Sayaka says when she hears Katsuko's preference of addressing her magical kind. She hasn't been told about that part of Belkan etiquette yet, assuming that Katsuko has been referring to herself only. Maybe one day Hannah will explain the distinction to her.

Sayaka raises a hand from the water when she hears Glimmer's call. "Oh, hey, Gloria, it has been a while", the bluenette tells her. "Come in, the water is good. And much better than staying out there in the heat!", she incites her. Three is company, four is a party, one could say.

"Bow, this is not a competition", Sayaka pokes him in the arm when she gives him that reminder. Is she destined to be in love with chronic overachievers? Between Kyousuke, Hinoiri and now Bow, she is going 3 per 3. "Just focus on learning at your pace and everything will be fine", she smiles at him.

Katsuko Takezaki has posed:
    Katsuko looks between Bow and Gloria, confusion writ on her face as it's obvious to her she's missing something, she decides not to ask. Unlike Sayaka and Bow, she's not in the water, only on it. "Nice to meet you, Moonhawk-san. I'm Katsuko Takezaki, seventh grade at Radiant Heart Academy." She pauses before adding, "Or if you'd rather stay dry but want to be closer, I have room for someone else in my boat." Her cheap, plastic rowboat that almost got knocked over from colliding with a stray surfboard. "You're a knight, too, Miki-san?"

Glimmer Brightmoon has posed:
Gloria Moonhawk glared at Bow... but then smirked. Oh, he wanted to play *that* game? Then. Let's. Go.

"Heh, good one, Bow. I'm the girl of a thousand names, today I'm Gloria, tomorrow? Who knows. But a lot of my friends just call me Queen. Probably cause I roll. And thanks, Bow. I got it the other day. My two piece from back home didn't come with me and, well. You know how it can be."

"And yeah, they're not just any knights. They're *royal* knights," Gloria said in a teasing tone. "Sayaka here is pretty sharp and Bow always gets right to the point." She stuck her tongue out at Bow before she ran and LEAPED! Full on cannon balling into the water. It was... likely less than effective. She was used to being able to teleport thirty feet into the air and doing it, but hey. Now she had to be 'normal'.

... Though, when she came up, she glanced right at Bow and... "No? What's sunscreen?"

Then back to Katsuko. "And I'm grade..." Pause. "Whatever grade Bow and Sayaka are." No WAY she was not being his grade. Screw that... She really did need to get properly registered...

Bow has posed:
Oh, it's on, Your Sparkliness.

"I never said I was going to be better than you, Sayaka, that I'll hope to catch up." It's an important distinction. He's not trying to be the best. He just likes being well-learned. Which is just as important as he was back home, where he was the jack of all trades and things. But mainly shooting stuff.

Katsuko and Sayaka invite Gloria into the water, and as she jumps in, there's a splash and he gets drenched again. And he waits. And waits. And finally she pops back up to the surface. "Speaking of 'back home'." he starts off with a casualness. "There's a big festival coming up. Lots of fireworks, lots of cooking. And I was reminded, that back home, that promising young women, in order to show that they are educated and ready to mingle, have a parade, where they ride on the largest bovine they can find. I hope you have yours ready, Gloria~?"

Of course, Sayaka and Katsuko may blow this paticular fake Fourth of July tradition out of the water - but if Bow can pull this off...

Sayaka Miki has posed:
"Totally! Sayaka Miki, paladin of justice, always ready to give a hand to anyone in need", Sayaka grins. She would totally bow here if she could.

When Glimmer cannonballs in, Ula is washed away by the small wave created, leaving her to make her way back after the brief second it took to notice what was happening. "Please be more careful, Gloria", she berates the girl if everchanging names.

"Glimmer, Bow and I aren't in the same grade", Sayaka whispers to her. And that is not the only problem she is causing for her identity. "And are you really sure you want to say we are royal knight out in the open. At this point you might as well announce yourself", she finishes whispering.

Considering Bow is mixing his festivity prank with details about how they do things back home, neither Sayaka nor Ula can call him out, mostly just looking at him with confusion.

Katsuko Takezaki has posed:
    Katsuko looks between Sayaka and Bow, "Wow Bow-san, you look really old if you're in the same grade as Miki-san." She settles on resolving that particular conflict in what Gloria has to say, and she glosses over the rest of those words, not really registering it. "Ooh, they do, Bow?" She asks him instead. "I'll have to come watch when you organize that parade, that sounds cool." Poor Katsuko, drawn in by Bow's lies.

Glimmer Brightmoon has posed:
Gloria Moonhawk was.... shocked, to say the least. Her eyes on Ula now... They were *glimmering*. Actually shimmering. "Oh my gosh... you have a TINY MERMAID?!" she asked. And Bow would likely realize how doomed the little thing was as a moment later, Glimmer snatched her out of the water and hugged her. "Oh my gosh you're just a cute little mermaid! D'awww! I remember hearing about you, there's a whole movie about them, right?"

... Disney, oh dear.

"Wait, you're not? Oh... uhhh. Then I'm... yeah. A grade." She really needed to work that stuff out. She can't just toss that work on Bow forever, right?

... Or can she...

"And... fair, I guess, I'll keep that on the down low. I can play that, wink," she said. Actually winking at Sayaka when she said it.

Poor Ula, still trapped in the hug of the woman, as she was distracted by Bow's challenge. Her eyes lit up. "Ride a giant bull? Oh. It. Is. SO ON! Sayaka, I challenge you!" she said, flicking her toothpick off and it... just disappears. One arm still hugging the little mermaid. "Rider of the biggest bull wins! I'm going to find something absolutely INCREDIBLE! Where's the parade, Bow? Does Adora already have hers?"

... Oh no.

Bow has posed:
Admittedly, Bow has not had to improv a story in a long time, and now he finds himself having to do one here and now. His hand grabs Sayaka's for a moment to squeeze it to give her a warning on what's about to happen. "Gloria's homeschooled." That is Bow's explanation for Glimmer's grade problem. "Her parents won't let her enroll in school because they're involved in the precious stones trade and she would possibly be kidnapped for a very large ransom - the stones that they mine are very particular and very rare. She's practically royalty where she's from, and I've been a friend of hers since we were very young. Sayaka is a recent friend, and she considers us close enough that she has made us her 'royal protectors', though she has her own guards that watch over her from the shadows." he explains.

This will change when Glimmer finally comes to school, but that's not happening until they figure out how to rescue her stone. So most of the story has a basis of truth? And then Gloria is off to hug Ula, and the archer can't help but to feel some sympathy for the small mermaid as he finds himself called out on his story.

And while he has tells - Glimmer would know most of these tells (and Sayaka will learn them in time) - the small twitch of his lips as he tries not to smile. Not meeting the others' eyes when he's spinning a yarn, the small twitch in his hands. "Oh, Sayaka isn't from America, she doesn't count! But I don't know if Adora has but you know who really hasn't? Catra." Yep. Hard lean into it.

There's a nod to Katsuko as he tries not to burst into laughter. "It's part of the 4th of July celebration back in Etheria, Montana. Where we're from. Student exchange program."

Sayaka Miki has posed:
Just after the cannonball, having to deal with being grabbed and hugged out of nowhere as well... Suffice to say thay Ula was decidedly and entirely unamused at Glimmer's antics. "I am glad you are so enthusiastic, but please, think. to. ask." Each word is punctuated by a push and an attempt to get free.

Admittedly she is not sure if her words are falling on deaf ears, especially with Glimmer rushing off. "Really, if you want to meet a mermaid, please go meet those your size! I have heard the princess of the South Pacific is right here! I am sure you royal types will get along very well. Or at least don't hug so hard!"

"Gloria, even if you find one, nobody will give you a bull!" Sayaka shouts after her. "And be more careful with Ula!" She sighs and looks at Bow, the whole mess they are now caught in making her a bit annoyed. "How much of what you just said about your home is true?"

Katsuko Takezaki has posed:
    Katsuko nods to Bow, "I see. Well, I look forward to seeing the parade." Then her phone rings and she looks at it, "Oh. Shoot. I forgot I agreed to sai practice with mom today. It was nice to see you again, Bow-san and nice to meet you, Miki-San, Moonhawk-san, Ula-chan." She offers, and then rows to the coast, going through all the appropriate steps to make it home.

Glimmer Brightmoon has posed:
Gloria Moonhawk waved to the other girl as she ran off, before turning back to the other pair and finally letting Ula go. "Oh! Right, sorry. Heh heh. You're so cute, though. Like a little Mermista that's less snarky."

She then faced Bow again, the grin on her face only growing. "Oh. Yes. I LIKE that. Gloria Moonhawk, daughter of a pair of reclusive jewel traders. Mysterious. Radiant. Shimmering. By day, mild mannered and sweet. But by night? She becomes..." Blink. "I don't know. we'll figure it out later. Dun dun duuuuuun. I'm totally working that into my cover when I come to the school." Pause. "I should probably meet with the HR lady about that."

"Ohhhhh. Getting Catra to ride a bull? That. THAT would be worth just about anything. Can't be much harder than riding the giant bugs back home. I wonder how hard it'll be to find a bull..."

Sayaka's denial of it, however, makes her frown. "Oh, come on. I'll just ask reallllllly nicely. Worse comes to worse, I'll get like. A machine bull. There's an Entrapta back at Obsidian, he can probably build one."

Then she gasped. And Bow KNEW that grin. That 'Oh, I am about to ask Bow something he probably won't want to do but if I sparkle at him enough he'll caaaaaave' smile. "Boooooooow. You're really smart, right? You could get us bulls to ride. Riiiiiiiiight?" Inching over. Biiiiiig wide grin on her face.

Oh dear.

Bow has posed:
Bow glances aside of Sayaka, not quite meeting her eyes. Nope. The sweet bluenette deserves to be spared, right? "Considering that Nurse Meiou set me and Adora for us to be from America, you'd think that Glimmer would have done her research..." So, no, he's probably making a lot of something up. Plus, Sayaka, of all people, knows that the pair aren't from America. "Plus, doesn't she sound like she would have fun?" he asks his girlfriend.

And yes, he can tell that Sayaka is annoyed, so he blows out a sigh as Glimmer retruns to them, and now, with Katsuko gone, they can talk a little more freely. Glimmer is turning on the sparkleworks, and he's finding his tease of his best friend coming home to roost. "Well, we are in Japan now." he finally decides. "It may not be for the best..."

Let her down easy, less likely to get kicked in the shins.

Sayaka Miki has posed:
"Thank you", Ula says as Glimmer relents, glad that is over with. She really hopes not all royals are like this. "Honestly if you are missing your friend, you really could try and see if you would hit it off with the mermaids from around. Other mermaids. More your size", Ula suggests once Mermista is mentioned.

An Entrapta at Obsidian? "Is it La Crima or Riventon you are talking about?" Based on what Bow has told her, a scientist-type is her guess, but neither of them fit perfectly. Then again, she did ambush them with Riventon among others to get the chip removed even if it was too late, so maybe she means him.

"You mean you weren't talking about an Etherian custom?", Sayaka realises, almost shook from the surprise. She dwells on it a second, then actually laughs a bit. "Honestly, it would have been actually funny if you chose something completely innocuous and not bull fighting. Or something Gloria ardently wants, apparently", she says, glancing at her. Playing with her hopes wasn't really a nice joke.

"Glimmer, please don't ask Riventon to make you a bull", Sayaka asks her. "If he actually does it, then we have a resilient youma we can only beat by taming it." She can already feel the future headache just by imagining it.

Glimmer Brightmoon has posed:
Gloria Moonhawk would TOTALLY have fun riding a bull. Had you met her? But worse? Now she wanted to ride a bull. And she wouldn't give it up easily. "Come oooooon. A bull would be AMAZING! We could all take turns riding it. It'd be like... group training! Or something," she said, grinning wide.

"Riventon, actually. He's been helping me out with a bunch of things. He's pretty neat, bit of an idiot, but really good with tech. Kind of like a less charming Bow, to be honest."

Unfortunately for Sayaka? She then said the worst. Possible. Thing. She dashed over, eyes grinning, gripping Sayaka by the shoulders. "Wait. He can DO THAT? Make a bull that you need to train?! OHhhhh! That's a GREAT idea! Sayaka, you're a genius! I'll need to tell Riventon about it immediately. I bet we could get Catra and Adora to both try to ride it, even!"

... Oh dear. Now Glimmer had *ideas*. This. This would not end well.

Bow has posed:
"Oh goodness no, she knows way more about Etherian customs than I... no, that's a lie." Bow knows more, because Bow has to read up on all of them so he can translate them to Glimmer-speak. "But she's not going to the school so I had to mess with her a little." he admits, but everything he was talking about is lost as Glimmer leans in harder to it. "No no. No dark energy bull. And no /you/ making a bull!" he points out to Glimmer, realizing that would be the next idea.

"I'm sure there's a place in town that has a mechanical bull and you can do that?" he suggests to Glimmer hopefully. "And I don't know if Riventon wants to be Entrapta. I mean. All things considered?"

Sayaka Miki has posed:
The first thing Sayaka imagines as she hears Riventon compared to Bow? Her in Mami's place. No. Just. No. Why did she even imagine that? Now she wants to find a way to erase that from her mind. Permanently and radically.

And the fact Glimmer had taken her reproach as a suggestion, she doesn't really want anything like that to happen. Will it be worth it if she sends a text to Riventon and asks him not to do that? Still better than trying nothing, even if she will probably owe him another favour.

"Yes, we really need to go find a fair or somewhere with a mechanical bull", Sayaka promptly agrees with Bow. Anything if it meant the nefarious future Glimmer had laid out in front of them didn't play out.

Apparently, Ula had a similar thought, because she immediately opens her pouch and rummages through it, taking out some gems. "Hey, Glimmer, aren't valuable gems better in the long term than a bull ride? You have these, and we out this story behind us, great?"

Glimmer Brightmoon has posed:
Gloria Moonhawk opened her mouth the moment he said 'no dark energy bull'... only to stop and pout when he said she couldn't make it either. "Come oooooon. It'll be fuuuuun. Just imagine, we could run it through the streets, like some kind of... bullriding people! Whatever those would be called."

"But... I guess if they already have mechanical bulls it'd be a lot easier than bothering Riventon with it. He apparently has a lot on his plate already. His boss is kiiiiiiiind of a jerk, apparently."

And she was allllmost on the verge of forgetting it... when Ula came in with the final strike. "Ohhhh, shiny..." she mumbled, picking one of them up.

Then she blinked. "Wait. Are... are you trying to bribe me? You... you have to know that won't work, right?" she asked, holding up the little pearl to the light. "I'm a queen. I had all kinds of pretty jewels. I have one the size of a bull back in the office and..." She trailed off.

Then shook her head. No. Then... "You know, I wonder how hard it would be to teleport bulls into Obsidian..." she mumbled, looking thoughtful. "How much can a bull pull?"

Bow has posed:
Bow glances over at Sayaka as she thinks about the idea of them being the good guy Riventon and Mami and should probably be thankful he can't read her mind. But at least they seem to be considering his idea that they find a place with a mechanical bull. At least it's a start to making up the harm he caused? "Are there any holidays coming up that would have such a thing, Saya?" he asks he curiously when she brings up the fair with a mechanical bull.

And then the bribery happens, and Bow says nothing, avoiding barely scrubing his hand over his face as he thinks on how wrong this could go. And then Glimmer catches onto it. But then she's picking up the small gems, studying them and...

...there goes the Glimmer trail of thought. There's no train track that could ever hold it in or keep it in check. "Say Glimmer? Have you checked in on Catra or Scropia lately? I... haven't really seen them around." he admits quietly, kinda blaming himself for it. "I feel like they don't want..." He shakes his head. "Nevermind. As long as someone knows they're okay."

Sayaka Miki has posed:
"If you don't want them, then you can simply give them back", Ula says, a bit sad that her idea didn't work, and at least want her hard work back with her. She put her soul in working those jewels and making them that beautiful. She isn't giving them up for no reason!

Now, when Glimmer mentions that she would want to bring bulls into Obsidian, Sayaka admittedly was tempted to let her go aheaf with it if it meant it would delay some of their dangerous plan, but at the same time she doesn't really want to imagine what they would do to Glimmer afterwards. "Glimmer, try not to get some horrific punishment. With the damage bulls would do, I doubt they would just let you go as if nothing happened", the bluenette warns her about her worries.

"I don"t really know", Sayaka confesses to Bow. "But fairs are kinda synonymous with events and games, so that sounds the best place to start looking through. Or we could use the internet first."

Glimmer Brightmoon has posed:
Gloria Moonhawk smiled down at Ula, before leaning down to her. "I didn't say I didn't want them... I just said I'm not really the 'bribing' sort. But fiiiiine. You're such a lil cutie pahooty, I'll let the bull go, okay?" she said, smiling down at the little mermaid. "It probably would have just caused more problems, anyway."

She then glanced back to Bow and Sayaka. "And fiiiiine. For you two as well. I probably wouldn't bring a bull into Obsidian." THAT WAS A LIE! THAT WAS SUCH A LIE! SHE SO WOULD!

"I don't see Scorpia much, but I have a source keeping an eye on her. She's dating her roommate last I checked. And no, I can't give you my source, for the same reason I wouldn't expect you to tell me your sources unless they were okay being outted. Catra... is being Catra. Again. She's mostly just moping around the office from what I've seen. It's nothing like when she was in the Horde. She just doesn't have much authority or any drive. And since Adora hasn't been out and about, I think she's just kind of curling up and pouting a lot. Those two have it sooooooo bad. Could you imagine? Heh... heh heh. Liking someone and then just trying to cause them all this grief because you don't know how to express it well? They're such total dopes, the two of them," Glimmer said innocently. Sooooo innocently.

Sayaka Miki has posed:
"That's all good then", Sayaka says as the bull idea seems to head into a resolution. "I guess I can go change either show you the ropes of surfing as well, or I can go change my swimwear for my clothes, and then we can go look for something to do. Admittedly, I like the idea of continuing to surf more."

Ula nods slowly as her jewels are actually accepted before telling herself it was for the good of everyone, and she can always go make more, once she gets some of them elsewhere. "Please treat them well, Glimmer. I put a lot of work into them", the small mermaid confesses.

Glimmer Brightmoon has posed:
Gloria Moonhawk gave a small nod to the mermaid. She'd only ended up taking one of the pearls, but... it was a nice one. "I will," she said, grinning down at her. "Just take it as a sign of our friendship."

She then turned to the pair of them and hmmed. "Honestly? I'm not realllllly the... surfing? Type? I more come to the beach to relax, lay back, enjoy myself," she said, stretching out a bit. "Mmmnnn... But, I wouldn't mind watching you two keep practicing."

... What? It was her queenly right to watch others toil while she lounged about! "I didn't come here to interfere with your guys plans, just... you know."

"... The pokemon game was getting boring and Riventon is always like 'Rawr, mad science, grrr, tax forms, argh, maniacle cackle!' and it's only something I can watch for so long. I'll just bring my umbrella over here and watch you two surf for a bit, if that's okay?" she asked, grinning at the pair.

Bow has posed:
As Bow gets the updates on the other Etherians about, he nods his head. "I feel like I need to... I dunno, manufacture some disaster to pull Adora out of her room. It's like, if it doesn't involve Catra, she forgot how to hero. And I miss her." he says with a sigh. "I miss both of my friends. I started my whole travelogue because I assumed you were on Etheria and I figured, that you know, someday I'd get home and show it to you. But now you're here and part of it and there's this whole thing where you're on the other side and it kinda sucks, but I guess I have to get it." He blows out a breath. "I'm making new friends and all..." he glances to Sayaka, because she's more than a friend, clearly.

"...but that doesn't mean I don't care for the friends that were mine first. So. You know. Do better at keeping in touch." He sticks out his tongue out sat Glimmer, before his attention returns to Sayaka as he nods. "More surfing's fine with me, if you want to take another swing at the waves with me." A wink.

Sayaka Miki has posed:
"We will find a way to help both Catra and Adora, and have everyone keep in touch", Sayaka promises to Bow. Even if she doesn't know how to get Adora out of the room yet. At least, Glimmer is the outgoing type and getting her involved seems to be as simple as messaging something even slightly interesting.

Ula isn't sure if she can call her relationship with Glimmer a friendship yet, when before today she mostly watched by the sideline and then she was the victim of a cannonball and an abduction. But she can see if it actually ends up becoming that, at the least. "Sure, Glimmer, to our friendship", the little mermaid smiles.

"Alright!", is Sayaka's exclamation as she gets a more secure hold of her surfboard. "Let's go back to improving your balance, Bow. And remember: you get there when you get there, no rush" Sayaka reminds as she swims a bit more off shore. Still, they will make good progress, she is sure of it.