2/ Establishment of Routine II

[syncingdoll]

Characters: Kohaku, Urotsuki, and prospective measuring sticks you.
Setting: Anywhere not obviously dangerous.
Format: Starting action, either's cool.
Summary: After deciding to enter into a 'settling in' competition, they need to find people to compare so that they'll know what being accustomed to the tower is and isn't. Any volunteers~?
Warnings: t-two threads in a row combo?!

Good.. I'm guessing it's evening! Would you mind telling me how long you've been in this place?

[Variations on that question will be flung at anyone Kohaku can capture the attention of, in a serial string of interviews across the tower - she has an accomplice (chainsawn ), as well, the circumstances behind their team-up as mysterious as what the purpose of their question might be.]

Comments

[syncingdoll]

I'm not sure.. it might make a good intermediary example, though. You never know, if we pass up 6 months, everyone else we find might only be 3!

_{[Compared to the newbie, this lady had obviously startled.. maybe a 'settled in' indicator is antsy-ness at being approached?]}

Thanks for telling. Could you help out with something else, too?

[guiltapalooza]

[Willow's eyebrows are raised. What exactly are they up to? It mostly seems kind of silly, so she's willing to play along. Even if she is a harassed over here.]

Um... sure? I like to help. What are you guys trying to do?

[chainsawn]

We're having a bet. [ A slightly determined nod. Apparently this bet is very much serious business to this girl. ]

And we need some people as examples of that. You are one of them now, congratulations.

[syncingdoll]

We're comparing the length of someone's stay here to their, ah.. attitude, I suppose. Your role will be as simple as standing within a small group. Nothing that'll take all day.

_{[Kohaku's trying to make it sound like something like and simple. C'mon, you got time, right~?]}

[guiltapalooza]

That's... interesting. [But probably harmless, so she continues cheerfully enough.] Hey, I'm always up for frivolous distractions and amusing interludes. Lead the way.

Oh, and, my name's Willow. Why exactly do you have a bet about this?

[chainsawn]

Urotsuki. [ She's pointing to herself, so she probably means that's her name. Her expression is still a little on the blank side though. ]

Would this be an 'amusing interlude'..? I haven't thought of it that way yet.

[syncingdoll]

And I'm Kohaku. Maybe it'd be an amusing prelude for you and me, Urotsuki?

<sub>[Couldn't really escape that exchange without giving a name herself, sooo~.

Kohaku indeed starts leading the way as asked, giving a bit of an offhanded explanation -]</sub>

This is actually the first part of a bigger bet. It's "Who can settle in to the tower first?"

[guiltapalooza]

[That surprises her into a short giggle, which she tries to hide behind her hand.]

It's an amusing something, that's for sure. I guess that's one way to entertain yourselves. What are you going to be using as the criteria for settling in? [It's such a vague concept, they'd have to pin it down in the concrete somehow, right? Otherwise it'd be an impossible to judge contest.]

[chainsawn]

An amusing prelude, hmm.. [ she seems to ponder it to herself (even humming a little) as more talking happens, but near the end she seems to return to herself and the conversation at hand. ]

We're trying to figure that out now. We're both new, so we don't know what settled people are like compared to us. We thought we might be able to see like this..

[syncingdoll]

That's right! There's some things that you can discern about people from a glance, and we thought the criteria could be derived that way. Ah, that's also why we've tried to gather a few extra from just one newbie and one veteran. Control groups, you know.

[guiltapalooza]

Very scientific, [she agrees, mock-serious.] You'll need something objective. We don't use subjectivity in real science.

How about... Knowing which floors have hidden dangers? That's a pretty sure thing to know if you've gotten settled, but not if you're new.

[chainsawn]

.. There's floors with hidden dangers? [ see, this whole fact is already new to her.. which makes her realise she might be behind in the race already!! ]

I mean-.. I knew that, of course. [ a small nod. ] I'll hurry up and find all of them if that's what it takes.

[syncingdoll]

That seems like the sort of thing you'd learn best by trial-and-error.. _{[Welp, walking face first into near-certain hidden danger. Sounds like a great way to spend a weekend.]}

[guiltapalooza]

[Willow instantly switches to concerned exposition, like flipping a switch. She's always ready to advise on safety.]

A ton of them have hidden dangers. Like if you get lost in the art gallery, there's some pretty horrifying stuff back there, or-- sharks in the aquarium one. It goes on.

I seriously don't recommend trying to find them all yourself. It's not a fun family outing, that's for sure.

[chainsawn]

[ .. Wait. Ignore everything else said by the other two, at the words 'art gallery' the girl's eyes grow wide as if in surprise, and she almost seems like an animal perking its ears. ]

There's an art gallery here..? [ The same as the one she always saw in her dreams, with-- ] Where is it?

[ She looks almost ready to run off, regardless of her whole attempt to find people with Kohaku here. ]