The golden afternoon [Open]

[victory_howl]

Characters: Amaterasu, open
Setting: Floor 29, hedge maze
Time: Late afternoon
Format: I'll be prose, you be whichever
Summary: Amaterasu wanders the hedge maze.
Warnings: Probably none. Maybe scary hedge animals?

Ammy padded along through the hedge maze, feeling the relaxing, familiar sensation of grass under her paws. Something wasn't quite right in here, despite the garden being a rather beautiful one by all reasonable standards. But the afternoon sun was warm and as she made her way through the passages, a little yellow butterfly came fluttering over one of the hedges, landing on her nose.

For a little while, she was still, allowing it to sun itself. Then it took flight again, leaving her free to resume her explorations. With all this maze, there had to be some neat treasure buried somewhere, right? Or maybe she should come back and bury some herself.

Comments

[derping]

Actually, Sora had never been on the hedge maze floor before, either. The whole setup had always worried him a bit; what monsters could be hidden in a place where it was easy to get lost?

In a weird roundabout way, though, that was why he was here now. Back on the islands, he had explored every inch of wherever he was allowed to go - he knew his home world like the back of his hand. But he had learned to be extra-cautious very quickly after his arrival to the Tower, and so avoided some places he otherwise would have been curious about.

But he had been here for months, now, and there was still so much he didn't know. Well...that applied to a lot of things, really. His questions about the layout of the Tower, though, were easy to answer. All that required was some snooping.

So that's why he was here now, carefully making his way through the hedge maze. He kind of liked this floor, and the maze would be pretty fun if he didn't have to worry so much about getting stuck at night with monsters. Still, it would be cool if there was someone else around...

...hey, is that a dog over there?

[victory_howl]

Ammy cocked her head at Sora from across the water of a large circular fountain. Whoever had installed it had spared no expense -- it was complete with peeing stone angels using seashells as big as their head for trumpets. Okay, that was weird.

She barked twice at him in greeting, but didn't yet approach.

[derping]

Yup, that sure was a dog. It didn't look quite normal, but...well, it didn't seem like a monster, either. Honestly, as weird as the fountain was, Sora was more distracted by Ammy.

Was she...trying to say hello? Maybe?

Well, if she was, then it was only polite to say so back.

"Hello!" he said, smiling brightly and taking a few steps closer. Sora didn't approach too blindly, though. He wanted to watch and make sure she was friendly, first.

[victory_howl]

Oh, well, that was cool and Ammy was probably just going to charge Sora and try and pounce on him and then lick his face.

Like nowish. DODGE, BUDDY.

[derping]

"Wha-!" Unfortunately, Sora was so surprised by the sudden pouncing that he may have spontaneously forgotten Dodge Roll. There's nothing left for him, then, except to accept his fate and surrender to getting his face licked.

Really, there are worse fates.

He laughs, trying to push himself up a little to get a good look at the strange dog.

"You sure are friendly, aren't you?" he said, automatically reaching to scratch her behind the ears.

[lookmanostrings]

Fado didn't typically come to hedge maze-- in fact he preferred to spend his time in the forest, even if it wasn't anything like those at home. A change of pace was always good every now and then however, so today he had come here.

It didn't take him too long to figure out the hedge maze actually, and now he had settled in the garden, sitting on the grass and playing his violin to a more upbeat and intricate tune, no doubt echoing through most of the floor despite the obstructions.

[victory_howl]

Ammy snuck up to Fado from behind, only her ears visible from above the tips of the tall grass off to the side. It rustled ever so slightly as she moved closer... and closer...

[lookmanostrings]

"--Hm?"

He had pretty keen hearing, and he stops playing when he realizes there's something rustling around the grass? So Fado lowered the instrument and starting looking around curiously. Was something there...?

[victory_howl]

Uh oh -- detected? Ammy crouched down low so that her ears disappeared. But her tail was still wagging slightly, disturbing a small patch of the grass...

[lookmanostrings]

"Hello?"

He was...pretty sure someone, or something was there? He got up from his grassy spot, holding his violin and bow in one hand, and making his way carefully towards the small bit of movement, carefully pushing the grass aside so he could see.

[victory_howl]

Ammy leapt out from the grass, aiming to pounce on Fado and knock him playfully backwards. Dangerous animal incoming!

[lookmanostrings]

"Aaah--!"

He wasn't exactly a fight, so with about half a second to let his violin and bow fall to the ground at his sides, back he went by the large white and...red? wolf.

For a moment there's a bit of concern, given Fado's only small stature, but he could tell that this animal was certainly not dangerous or malicious in her intentions. So with an uneasy chuckle that slowly eased into a laugh, he did his best to sit up slightly under her and give her a pat on the head. "You certainly gave me quite a scare...!"

[victory_howl]

Ammy licked Fado's face, sniffing at him in friendly fashion. He seemed like a good guy, even if he'd been playing an instrument like she'd never seen before.

Anyway, the surprise was part of the fun. Dohoho.

[lookmanostrings]

It was a good thing he was basically a nature hippie, or he would be much more intimidated given his small height. But instead, he simply laughed happily again when she licked him.

"You're a curious creature, aren't you? Strange markings, and much more agreeable than the average wild beast." All of it said with interest and curiosity, rather than any kind of insult, as he gave her a scratch behind her ears.

"My name is Fado, of the Kokiri Tribe. A pleasure to meet you."

[victory_howl]

Ammy pricked her ears up, then glanced over her shoulder at the maze, which had taken on a golden cast in the afternoon sun. Had she heard something?

But the only thing visible over the rows and rows of hedges was a few large sculpted hedge animals, apparently maintained by someone in the tower. A rabbit, a T. Rex, a dog... hmm.

[lookmanostrings]

He followed her gaze to look at the maze as well, though he didn't see anything beyond the grass and the hedges. Still, the dog probably had better senses than him.

"Did you sense something nearby?"