Walking Tour

First Hunt- http://pastebin.com/mEVp6rSA
Sleepover- http://pastebin.com/P2rHT0G8
Pep Talk- http://pastebin.com/tU1TBmDx
Early Bird- http://pastebin.com/2knsggFc
Walking Tour- http://pastebin.com/25S4Bm3g
The Keep in the Park- http://pastebin.com/MNTd8tNJ

[23:14] <Jran-Kri> Alexa was, after a little coaxing, convinced to agree to Amelia's compromise regarding the division of labour. After shooing the latter girl over to the table, she set to work in the kitchen. Thanks to the helpful instructions included by the manufacturer of the mix, the whole process goes smoothly, and before long she returns triumphantly, grinning like a loon with two plates loaded with stacks of pancakes in her hands.
[23:16] <@Tangent> "Mmm." Amelia licks her lips. "Those look tasty!" She grins back, and digs in, making various happy noises as she savors each bite. "Yep. Definitely still like pancakes!" She glances up from her plate. "These...they're great."
[23:19] <Jran-Kri> Alexa doesn't eat until Amelia starts, watching for her reaction intently. She looks ready to cheer, her crooked grin stretching from ear to ear. Only then does she begin sawing through her own.
[23:20] <Jran-Kri> "Th-thank you! I, ah, can't take all the credit. There were instructions -- I, um... can't recall doing this very often."
[23:24] <@Tangent> Amelia's happily chewing her way through her pile. She hadn't realized how hungry she was. She lets out a happy sigh and sits back. "Ah...Well, they were tasty anyway!" She looks at her friend, resting her chin on one bony elbow.
[23:26] <Jran-Kri> Alexa takes a little longer, her grin giving way to an amused smirk as she watches Amelia devour her pile.
[23:26] <Jran-Kri> "You wolfed those down," she observes. "Were they really good, or have you just not eaten in a week?"
[23:32] <@Tangent> Amelia burps. "Ah...s'cuse me..." She drops her gaze, embarassed. "Ah...kind of both...Well, it's just..." She shifts uncomfortably. "I was kinda hungry..." She mumbles.
[23:35] <Jran-Kri> Alexa chuckles before chasing down the pancake with a glass of orange juice. Leaning back in her chair, she shakes her head.
[23:36] <Jran-Kri> "Well, we'll have no more of that. Growing girls need food." f
[23:42] <@Tangent> Amelia's blushing even more awkwardly, but finishes her pancakes. "Ah...So, what'd you want to do later?" She asks, shifting in her seat.
[23:46] <Jran-Kri> "Hmmm..." Alexa stops to consider this. The kitchen is one of the few rooms blessed with a window, and she peers out of it in thought. Then she snaps her fingers in realization. "I know! Didn't I say I meant to show you around town? Well, no time like the present!"
[23:49] <@Tangent> "...Sure!" Amelia smiles, then pushes her chair back, picking up her plate. "Can't wait!"
[23:51] <Jran-Kri> "Wonderful, wonderful!" Alexa rises, clapping her hands together. Then she stops, scratching her head. "I'm... not actually sure what to show you, but I'm sure we'll figure it out as we go."
[23:54] <@Tangent> Amelia's stacking the plates in the sink. "Ah, no problem... we're magical tourists right?" She grins, washing them. When she's done, she straightens and looks around to Alexa, her uniform's braids catching the light. "Okay, let's go!" She says brightly.
[23:57] <Jran-Kri> Alexa crosses through the kitchen, nodding -- right up until she brushes against Amelia's epaulet. She glances back, looking her up and down.
[23:57] <Jran-Kri> "... Might want to, ah, dress for the occasion."
[00:01] <@Tangent> "Hmm?" Amelia glances down at her uniform. "What do you..." She blinks, as though the idea of wearing a magical uniform somehow standing out just occured to her. "Oh. Right..." She makes a brushing gesture, there's a flicker of blue flame, and she's back in her...oversized T-shirt, rolled up pants and...sandals?
[00:02] <@Tangent> "Better?" she asks hopefully.
[00:03] <Jran-Kri> Alexa looks down at her feet with some surprise, evidently not having anticipated this particular choice of footwear.
[00:04] <Jran-Kri> "Um. A-alright, I can understand the, ah... reluctance," she admits, bunching up her shoulders. She tugs awkwardly at the neck of her faded pink t-shirt. "Perhaps the first place we should visit is a shoe store."
[00:08] <@Tangent> "I...guess?" Amelia glances down at her shoes. "I mean...I've just been kind of staying in costume since...you know...if I'm hunting anyway..."
[00:10] <Jran-Kri> "Fair, but we aren't hunting today," Alexa says, frowning. "A-at least, ah... not yet. Hm. Perhaps we could crack open a Salvation Army bin... Although that's best done at night."
[00:13] <@Tangent> "Crack open?" Amelia chews her lip. She looks at Alexa. She sounds like she's speaking from experience...
[00:15] <Jran-Kri> "Well, it's -- I don't feel good about doing it!" Alexa leaps to her own defense, bunching up her shoulders and ducking her head. "I-I mean, it's for the needy, I know, but we kind of do have a need, as it happens!"
[00:16] <@Tangent> "No, no, it's okay!" Amelia hastily blurts at seeing Alexa upset. "I mean, I wasn't...I guess..." She shakes her head. "Sorry..."
[00:20] <Jran-Kri> "... Sorry, sorry, that was, um... uncalled for," she turns a vivid shade of red, turning away uncomfortably. "Ah... nevermind. We'll, um... It's unseasonably warm. If you wear socks with those sandals, you'll only be in danger of dying of embarrassment. How's that sound?"
[00:24] <@Tangent> "Ah, yeah..." Amelia shuffles in place. She shouldn't have said anything...Alexa's been nothing but a good friend, even though they've just met...even if she's still not comfortable with some things about her new life...and this is one of them. "Y-yeah, that sounds good..." She shifts. "Sorry."She blurts again, looking to Alexa.
[00:27] <Jran-Kri> Alexa shakes her head.
[00:28] <Jran-Kri> "No, no, don't apologize," she says, leaning against a cabinet. "You're right to be... averse. I was, too, honestly. It felt wrong. Probably because it was."
[00:30] <@Tangent> "I..."She shakes her head, guilt swelling inside her. Some friend she's being. "Like you said...you did need it?? And you...you're protecting the city, right?" She rationalizes. "Didn't mean to make you feel bad..." She chews her lip.
[00:33] <Jran-Kri> She waves a dismissive hand. Pushing herself off from the cabinet, she sighs.
[00:35] <Jran-Kri> "It's fine. Really," she insists, slightly more forcefully this time. "I just... I shouldn't have snapped at you."
[00:36] <Jran-Kri> "Kreimhild says there's no harm in it, that it's my right. But I don't know." Shaking her head, her lip twitches in a bitter smile. "Sorry. Not a great start to the day."
[00:39] <@Tangent> Amelia shakes her head. "It...It's okay." She says. "I shouldn't...shouldn't have said anything." She frowns at the mention of Kreimhild. "I mean, you...you did all this and I..." She bites her lip. "Don't be sorry...it was my fault anyway..." She tries to change the subject. "So, um...where'd you like to go? In Belfast, I mean?" She blurts.
[00:44] <Jran-Kri> Alexa runs her hand through her hair, and for a moment seems like she's about to press the issue. But instead she sighs and turns for the door, shrugging.
[00:45] <Jran-Kri> "Do you like parks?" She asks, trying to return to a semblance of nonchalance. "I recall there being a few pleasant ones here and there. Very pretty."
[00:50] <@Tangent> "Oh, yeah...parks are nice..." She seizes on the change of topic, despite her lingering worries. She walks alongside the younger girl. "So...Belfast's that kind of city, huh?"
[00:52] <Jran-Kri> "Yes, there's this one lovely one near where I used to live that has these rather nice ruins where--" Alexa begins to ramble before realizing that Amelia asked her a question. Blinking owlishly at her as she walks down the hall, she cocks her head. "What do you mean, 'that kind of city?'"
[00:55] <@Tangent> "Ah, nothing, sorry...You know, the buildings, the parks...an old city, like..." Something's on the tip of her tongue for a second. It slips away. "Ah, never mind, sorry...So...um, ruins. Ruins are cool..." She shakes her head, looking to Alexa.
[00:59] <Jran-Kri> "Ruins are very cool," Alexa agrees, smiling earnestly again as she ducks into her room, throwing a pair of thick, if slightly threadbare, socks at Amelia a second later. "There's a lot of history here -- not just the nasty stuff. Hm. Perhaps I could show you one of the museums sometime -- ooh, or even Carrickfergus Castle!"
[01:01] <@Tangent> "Ohh, cool~" Amelia catches the socks hops in place as she tugs them on. "So...I guess you like castles, huh?" She teases, remembering her excitement yesterday in the overcity "I don't blame you, they're pretty cool...Don't think we'll find a dragon there though..."
[01:04] <Jran-Kri> "Castles are the best, I don't know why we stopped building them," she shakes her head in faux-mourning. "Who knows? Perhaps we will! Dragons, dragons are also cool -- although I wouldn't want to get on the wrong side of one."
[01:06] <@Tangent> "Don't mess with dragons, for you are crunchy and taste good with ketchup~" Amelia recites, grinning, then blinks. "...Oh, come on! I remembered THAT?" She grumbles. "Stupid memory...Anyway, yeah, sounds great!"
[01:08] <Jran-Kri> Alexa stares at her in mild astonishment before breaking out into snickering. Stepping out of her room, she makes for the exit of the apartment.
[01:08] <Jran-Kri> "I don't know, I think that's fairly useful. You never know when you'll find yourself blundering into one's hoard."
[01:09] <@Tangent> "Yeah...wait are dragons actually a thing? Like...real?" Amelia blinks. It wouldn't be the strangest thing she's learned in the past week.
[01:11] <Jran-Kri> Alexa shrugs, grinning.
[01:11] <Jran-Kri> "I don't know! Isn't that exciting? Before I would have just said 'no' -- but now, there exists the possibility!"
[01:11] <Jran-Kri> She tears open the door, gesturing grandly.
[01:12] <Jran-Kri> "There's a much wider world out there, now!"
[01:12] <@Tangent> "Yeah, I guess you're right...some things about this are pretty cool." She laughs at Alexa's theatricality. "Yeah. A whole new world...and we're the ones that get to explore it. That's definitely worth something!"
[01:18] <Jran-Kri> "That's the spirit!" Alexa beams at her. Slipping out of the apartment, she continues prattling over her shoulder. "I was thinking the other day I should start keeping a journal -- you know, log everything I learn about magic and the supernatural and such in case I ding my head and lose a whole bunch again."
[01:22] <@Tangent> "Oh...That's a good idea." Amelia follows Alexa out, closing the front door behind her It's still dingy out here in the morning but it's less depressingly so. "The journal I mean...I'm sure you don't need to worry about that. But a journal sounds like a good way to think through things, you know? And you can read back and see how much you've done!" She smiles, catching up to Alexa and walking alongside her friend to the elevator.
[01:23] <@Tangent> "It's like...keeping score, you know? It's nice to know you've made a difference..."
[01:26] <Jran-Kri> "Yes-- Yes, exactly!" Alexa nods eagerly as she calls the elevator. "I-I don't think I've made much of one yet -- but once I do, it'll be nice to look back on. A-and I find my thoughts always flow better on paper, you know? Bit scatterbrained."
[01:31] <@Tangent> "Hey, everyone starts somewhere...and I'm sure you'll have a lot to read back on in no time!" Amelia tugs at her pants leg, which had started to unroll and drag. "Makes sense...and I don't think you're scatterbrained..." She smiles at her friend. "Adventurous, sure."
[01:33] <Jran-Kri> The elevator chimes upon arrival, nearly drowning out Alexa's snickering.
[01:35] <Jran-Kri> "If you say so," she says, trying and failing to avoid looking flattered. "Perhaps that's a better word for it. I still need someone to keep me from tripping into a dungeon looking for shiny things."
[01:36] <@Tangent> "Well, sounds like a job for Paladin Amelia~" She puffs herself up a bit as she steps inside.
[01:41] <Jran-Kri> "My thoughts exactly," Alexa mashes the button for the lobby, though her amused gaze is on Amelia. "Squishy mages need stalwart swords to protect them, after all."
[01:46] <@Tangent> "Ah..." Amelia seems a bit embarassed by the praise, shifting in the elevator. "Yeah, that's right. And I'll do my best. But not today...because today's our day off. Sooo...what's the plan? Park, museum, or castle?"
[01:48] <Jran-Kri> Alexa rocks back and forth on the rears of her feet, contemplating this conundrum.
[01:50] <Jran-Kri> "Hm... Well, I suppose it depends on what you want to do most," she shrugs. "Wherever we go, remind me to take you by the old factories. This used to be an industrial district back in the 19th century, and they've kept a lot of the old buildings standing, and... Well, I think they're pretty."
[01:50] <Jran-Kri> "P-personally, I'm partial to the park," Alexa admits. "But I imagine you have plenty of those back home."
[01:56] <@Tangent> "Old factories, got it..." Amelia nods. "Hmm, well if I do...I don't quite remember them...so sure, park sounds great! I mean, we have all day, right? No reason we can't go somewhere else too!" The elevator comes to a stop and Amelia steps out, looking back to her friend. She can hear the bustle of a city in the morning, not far away. "Up to you. It's all new for me."
[02:00] <@Tangent> Even she isn't quite sure how she means that- did she just mean the city?-but it's pretty true either way.
[02:01] <Jran-Kri> "Well, this situation is a bit new to me," Alexa notes as she hops out after her. "I've never had to show someone around before. Don't quite know where to start."
[02:02] <Jran-Kri> "... But I suppose you're right. There's plenty of time to see everything!" Alexa shakes her head, clapping her hands together and making for the doors. "If not today, then tomorrow, or the day after, or... whenever."
[02:06] <@Tangent> "That's the spirit!" Amelia straightens, stretching her arms out, then follows. "And...don't worry about it. Just...go where you want, and I'll tag along?" She shivers as they step out, feeling the morning chill. Another reason she's spent most of her time transformed...
[02:10] <Jran-Kri> Due to the unseasonable warmth of the year -- and her own much thicker outfit -- Alexa appears to have forgotten it's still December. She shivers, but nonetheless forges on, marching into the street.
[02:11] <Jran-Kri> "I can't quite recall ever going where I want," she remarks over her shoulder. "I... suspect that I spent a lot of time indoors. But we'll manage!"
[02:13] <@Tangent> "Ah...Yeah, we will...Look at it this way- like this, it's like we're both exploring, right?" She catches up to Alexa, not able to resist giving her an anxious look. She's getting better at catching her friend's hestitation some of the time.
[02:16] <Jran-Kri> Alexa snickers under her breath. After a moment's thought, she nods, and picks up the pace, apparently trusting the friction to keep them warm.
[02:17] <Jran-Kri> "Yes! Yes, that's-- An eternal optimist, aren't you?"
[02:21] <@Tangent> "Ah, well... hey! T-there's nothing wrong with that!" She huffs, not very seriously. A half-hearted swipe at Alexa's general direction as she jogs to catch up. "I mean...why not hope everything'll work out? We're fighting to save the world, after all."
[02:24] <Jran-Kri> Alexa steps out of the way of her swipe, giggling. She raises her hands placatingly.
[02:24] <Jran-Kri> "You misunderstand me -- I wasn't criticizing you. It's good to be an optimist; hoper of far-flung hopes, dreamer of improbable dreams and all that. Certainly better than the alternative."
[02:26] <@Tangent> Amelia nods, placated...not that she seemed all that annoyed in the first place. She folds her arms, walking alongside her friend. "Hey, we're magical girls...Improbable went out the window..." She pauses to think. "Around last week."
[02:28] <Jran-Kri> Alexa snickers again, nodding.
[02:29] <Jran-Kri> "The thought's still strange," she agrees with a wistful tone. "Magical girl... I never thought that this sort of thing was... you know. Real. Yet here we are."
[02:31] <@Tangent> "Me neither...I know what you mean." Amelia's looking thoughtful again. "I mean...I definitely never thought I'd be..." She laughs, with much the same tone. "Yeah. Here we are."
[02:34] <Jran-Kri> "Well! We all have to make do with the hand we're dealt," Alexa shrugs, sticking her hands in her pockets. "Could be worse."
[02:41] <@Tangent> "Yeah, definitely..." She nods. "I mean...the whole stopping monster thing, that matters. That's worth it." She shakes her head. "Anyway, enough about that...Do you...um, know what way to go?" She asks, not quite wanting to prod about Alexa's memories...but with their last random stroll still fresh in her mind.
[02:45] <Jran-Kri> "Of course I do!" Alexa announces, turning a corner and striding briskly down the street. As they walk, the housing complexes gradually begin to give way to the same factory skeletons they saw on the way in; in the light of day, the red bricks and smokestacks look slightly romantic. There is the occasional plaque commemorating such and such accident or industrial achievement. "I know this city front and backwards!"
[02:45] <Jran-Kri> "... Mostly!"
[02:49] <@Tangent> Amelia walks alongside her her guide in the street, wide-eyed. "What about sideways?" She jokes. It's almost like an oil painting with the puffs of smoke, the last wisps of dawn fading from the sky...the brick buildings.
[02:51] <Jran-Kri> "Not yet, but I'm working on it," Alexa giggles. She admires the architecture; utilitarian though it was at the time, age has made it look charmingly austere. "Do you know what these were all for?"
[02:52] <@Tangent> "Hmmm..." Amelia taps her chin thoughtfully. "Um...factories...Cars, maybe?" She shrugs.
[02:55] <Jran-Kri> "Nope! Linen!" Alexa perks up, skipping over a crack in the pavement. She seems bizarrely proud of this fact. "In the 19th century, this city produced more linen than anywhere else in the world!"
[03:01] <@Tangent> "Oh? So they did a lot of trading? Exports?" Amelia follows her friend as she gushes about her city. She can't help but smile at her enthusiasm- it's contagious, and she plays along as the student to Alexa's teacher. "Wouldn't they need a lot of people for that? Is that how it grew to...all this?" She gestures vaguely at the city around them.
[03:09] <Jran-Kri> "Oh, yesyesyes," Alexa nods eagerly, relishing the opportunity to elaborate. "You're quite right! Belfast was the pre-eminent destination for the Scots and the English, who came for work -- Belfast linen really exploded in the mid-19th century as a cotton alternative, which is part of the reason it became the capital of Northern Ireland after the partition!"
[03:10] <Jran-Kri> "You see the flourishing economy encouraged immigration to the city, so it grew bigger and bigger -- it was larger than Dublin at one point, don't you know -- so it was the obvious choice!"
[03:13] <@Tangent> "Mmm. Will this be on the test?" Amelia jokes. "We're in the capitol? Um, what about Dublin then?" She has the grace to look sheepish. "I..ah...actually don't know too much about Ireland...I'm sure I never really visited it...before now, I mean. It seems really nice though!" She's quick to add.
[03:16] <Jran-Kri> Alexa giggles at her joke, and continues to skip along the sidewalk until the mention of Dublin. She stumbles there, looking back at Amelia with some surprise and just a little incredulity. However, her gaze softens after only a moment.
[03:17] <@Tangent> <@Tangent> "ehehe..." Amelia laughs nervously, looking decidedly awkward under Alexa's gaze.
[03:17] <Jran-Kri> "Ah yes, your amnesia does seem to be worse than mine..." She muses. Shaking her head, she begins gesticulating vaguely as she explains. "Dublin is the capital of Ireland -- an independent country. Belfast is the capital of Northern Ireland -- a part of the United Kingdom. Ireland is still really angry about that, apparently, even though it was decided by a completely *fair* and *open* referendum and they're just going to have to accept that."
[03:20] <@Tangent> Yeah...Amnesia. She'll go with that. Definitely not her not knowing...Though if she'd forgotten, how should she know the difference? That conundrum distracts her for a moment before she remembers to look back to Alexa, nodding along.
[03:23] <@Tangent> "I guess you can't make everyone happy all the time..." She muses, then nods. "Thanks for explaining, professor!" She grins cheekily as they keep walking through the old district- a pair of young girls in the quiet morning.
[03:23] <Jran-Kri> Alexa looks away distastefully for a moment, but Amelia rouses her from her momentary darkness. She smiles crookedly back at her, blushing.
[03:24] <Jran-Kri> "M-my pleasure. History can be, ah, very fun, really. Interesting stuff."
[03:27] <@Tangent> "Mhmm." Amelia nods. "Hey, who knows...I heard about other worlds from this girl...maybe if you meet her, you can ask her about what kind of history her world has! Or maybe that library'll have history books from other worlds, wouldn't that be cool?" She shakes her head. "Still seems weird. Other earths. Parallel worlds. It's all very...sci fi, you know?"
[03:29] <Jran-Kri> "Oh yesyesyes," Alexa agrees, her head bobbing up and down. "I think it's amazing! It-it's just... crazy how much is out there that I didn't know before! Ooh, I shall have to meet her, I imagine it can't be hard for her to sneak me a history textbook... Remarkable! I knew the city connected to different places, but I didn't know it linked times and timelines! Astounding!"
[03:33] <@Tangent> "I know! So many worlds, so many places to explore! I wonder if we'll see them all..." She walks past Alexa, and turns to face her, stopping for a moment. "Something for after that castle, right?"
[03:35] <Jran-Kri> "Hm? Oh yes, of course," Alexa realizes that her companion has halted a few seconds later, and only then stops and turns to meander back. "Yes, first thing's first. I still want to know what -- or who -- is in there. It looked very well maintained..."
[03:37] <@Tangent> Amelia looks back from a factory, the building no longer holding her interest. "Me too...and if it turns out there's a monster in there, we can do our job too!"
[03:40] <Jran-Kri> "I imagine it would have to be awfully powerful, to keep such prime real-estate..." Alexa seems concerned for a second, but no longer; she grins cheerfully at Amelia. "Of course, it can't be anything we can't handle."
[03:42] <@Tangent> "Yeah. Even so...I guess there's no sense in going in blind...We should plan it out first, yeah?" She puts her hands on her hips in what she fondly imagines is a commanding posture. "It's good to have a battle strategy." She comments sagely, mentally glossing over her usual...tactics as she does so.
[03:46] <Jran-Kri> Alexa tries to sober herself up, but without her uniform Amelia looks significantly less authoritative. Her smile is even more crooked than usual as it wars with serious agreement.
[03:47] <Jran-Kri> "Of course, of course," she agrees with a deep nod. "We'll have to ask around. We can't be the first to see it and want to break in; someone will know something."
[03:50] <@Tangent> "Mhmm." Amelia's slightly built, not much taller than Alexa without her boots, and her oversized T-shirt flaps comically on her, almost seeming like a sundress with the way she's swamped in it. "Sounds like a plan! Who knows, someone else might want to come too! We could form a party! Adventurers raiding the lost castle or something like that." She beams. "Sound good?"
[03:53] <Jran-Kri> Alexa nods enthusiastically, practically bouncing in place.
[03:54] <Jran-Kri> "It sounds fantastic! Ah, I can see it now -- quite the great spirit of adventure. The stuff stories are made of!"
[03:57] <@Tangent> "A mage, a knight, and...um, some other girls...on a quest~" Amelia gestures, looking rather silly. "For justice! For adventure! And loot!" It's probably for the best no one's around to see her. She's been so cheery around Alexa...it's like her first few, painful days were just a bad dream. And you always wake up from those. So maybe this is her waking up.
[04:01] <Jran-Kri> "Justice, adventure and wealth -- all the things an adventurer needs," Alexa agrees, her grin widening. "All we need is a rogue and a ranger and we'll be all set."
[04:04] <@Tangent> Amelia's laugh echoes through the quiet morning streets. She has a friend she's laughing over nonsense with. They're both having fun, making plans, and they're fighting for goals worth doing. Life's good. Right now, she has no regrets.