nachetanya | Recollé IC Inbox

It's to have both a grip and to not scuff up the floor.

[ . . . But yes, she does. And they make her feel like that all the time. Still, she does seem to be in good humor about it all, getting her own ball and then ordering - well, Natalia just gets water, but if Cleo wants more than that she can order some other sort of drink. But as they get to their lane...

... she can't help it anymore, holding her ball between both her real and artificial hand. ]

... Do people not notice? Your... appearance, I mean. [ no, that's not quite right. She shakes her head. ] Not your muscles, but the ears and eyes.

[ She goes looks for years because of this arm of hers. And Cleo's is so much worse. ]

[She puts on a wry smile.]

Oh, they notice. I didn't know what a 'furry' was until I'd been called such on the street for having these.

[She looks down. Her face manages to stay neutral, but her ears droop, showing just how much it messes with her.]

... Well, I'm not entirely unused to it. I've always had mismatched eyes, though for most of my life, they were both human. [She gestures to her blue eye.] This one's blind- I'm told there was a violent incident when I was an infant. Combine that with being a mixed-race woman who got into fights a lot, could bench press my own weight, and a fondness for cute animals... I've been stared at ever since I can remember.

[She shakes her head, tail hanging low.]

People notice. They always notice. That psychopath stuck my tail into an industrial crusher. I've been called more cat-related names than I want to admit. Even at the precinct, I get odd looks from those who are not on Retrospec.

[ Maybe that was a poor expectation on her part as well, that if someone was walking around with a cat tail, a gold eye, ears, a sword...? The reaction would be more immediate and insidious than the sort of microaggressions she knew that the woman would get for her other traits and that Natalia experienced now and again for her arm. The woman glances down at her left hand, using her muscles to flex the fingers and then open them again. Well, they move as one, the movement unnatural.

... Honestly, a lot of her aggression before now seems a bit petty.

She exhales lightly, briefly at a loss for how to respond until she decides the only fair way might be to share her own issues...? ]

... Has your tail recovered? I don't know how tails would heal in humans, but if it's still painful for you, we can go get a chair with some hole in the back of it. [ Instead of the booth that is default here. ]

I grew up in a small town. When I was young, I was something like that town's princess? Maybe I don't look it now, but I regularly won little contests to be the Queen or little town fair pageants or the like. But when I was eleven, I was told that - I suppose my parents were told that and they told me, that I had cancerous tumors in the bones of my forearm. It was way too advanced for them to do anything but amputate for fear that it would spread further. The whole process was horrifying, honestly - the process, the recovery, the phantom pains. Some of my relatives actually died around the same time, everyone was thrown off that year.

[ ... ]

Obviously, it's not the same. But I do want to say I - think I understand that a little.

Edited 2017-12-03 20:51 (UTC)

[Cleo listens, and... Now she feels a bit guilty herself. Natalia had been through a lot, too... Her spiteful reaction before was, perhaps, uncalled for. She shouldn't have been so sarcastic.

She shakes her head.]

It's all right. Some friends used some healing magic. It's as good as new, now.

[She flicks it around to demonstrate. But as Natalia keeps talking, Cleo's expression grows more and more sympathetic.]

... No, I believe it from looking at you. And I'm sorry. It's obviously not the same, but... [She gestures at her eye again.] I do sympathize.

Although, I fear this has become a bit more depressing than either of us had hoped.

Oh yes. But... it's important to be sincere sometimes! That's all.

[ Inhale... exhale. Actually, no, one more thing. ]

Would it be fetishy for me to say that I think you look good for all these changes? I can tell you must've been cute before, but you do wear it all well.

[ She says this sincerely? But perhaps with a higher teasing tone as she rolls her ball on the ball chute. She's deliberately not looking at Cleo as she says it, instead focusing on her hand. ]

Eh- I, ah-

[she's immediately flustered, turning red.]

I, ah... No, it's- It's fine. Thank you for saying so. That's... Not something I'm used to hearing, but- I mean- You're very cute as well?

[aaaaAAAAAAAA okay no focus. focus on the game. help?]

S- So, ah, how do you play? [LET'S CHANGE THE TOPIC BEFORE SHE ACTUALLY COMBUSTS]

Oh, I know I am!

[ She says, finally looking back at her with a smirk-like smile. She's... coy looking? But her cheeks are tinged too, though what the source of embarrassment could be is a bit unclear.

But okay, ball in hand, she stands. ]

You really have no idea at all, though?

[cleo is starting to get the feeling she has bitten off more than she can chew.

save her.]

I- I do not. I've never played before, after all. You just... throw it at the pins?

Oh no, not throw! Most people aren't half as strong as you.

[ Still, giggling, the woman steps up the lane. It's her turn so she'll just demonstrate. Her prosthetic is effectively useless for this other than perhaps to brace the ball before she rolls it, so she shows decent finger strength to hold her ball properly in the holes to go up to the end here. ]

The goal is the knock down the pins, yes. You roll the ball though, aiming to get as many as you can down with one toss. Though you do get a second each round if you don't knock them all down. Aaaand! You try to keep them out of those gutters.

[ But okay, inhale - exhale. And then in one movement she lunges forward and her hazel eyes focused, launches the ball off. Perhaps she's a bit too frustrated now under it all though, too tense. She ends up knocking down nine in one precise shot, though one remains standing on the end. ]

[She nods, picking up her ball herself.]

I see... About like that, then...

[She suddenly turns serious, focusing. Her one good eye looks at the ball, the pins, the alley, watching carefully at how Natalia had done it...

She winds up, and rolls the ball. It doesn't travel nearly as well, as she has no practice, so it goes wide, only clipping the side of her own, taking down one or two.]

It's surprisingly difficult.

More than you'd expect! It's about power, control, and spin, for sure.

[ Oh yeah. Let's get onto this, this is just what she needed, to not only bowl, but to win? She's going to win, she decides now as her ball comes back up. ]

I see... Well, it won't be too hard to get the hang of.

[She waits, watching Natalia like a hawk. She's watching very carefully how she does it, getting ready to learn from how the experienced one plays.]

[ In this case, with only one pin left... the options are either to try to shoot straight (harder than you'd expect) or curve it.

She opts to curve it. This time the ball goes at such an angle and with such a spin, flicking her wrist in just the right way to have the ball curve just to the edge of the gutter and then back around to knock down the one errant pin!

Hah! Nice. ]

[She applauds appreciatively. That was impressive!

Cleo, on the other hand, has no such fancy tricks, nor any practice or experience. So all she can do is lob it with enough speed and force that it just doesn't have time to curve, a straight shot right down the center... which still leaves three pins on the side up. Whoops.

She flicks her wrist a bit, thinking about how to take her next shot already.]

You really are strong though! If you don't mind me asking, is that all natural? ... I mean, that is, it's not magic?

[ A lot of people seem to be magic these days. Or well, today. That's. A thing. Now.

... God.

That she needs to ask that. ]

It is.

[She grins, and. Well, fuck it, she flexes her arms. She's fit as fuck and she knows it.]

Before Retrospec, I could bench my own weight.

Does that mean you could lift me?

[ OH THAT SOUNDS FUN... ???

But she might just be teasing because she goes to roll her next ball and-

Bam, strike! Nailed it. ]

Edited 2017-12-03 22:31 (UTC)

Do you want to find out?

[Her tail is twitching back and forth behind her in amusement, as she's starting to get into the competitive spirit.

Her next roll is a beautifully straight shot down the middle... that leaves her with a 7-10 split. whoops.]

Mmm! I'm not sure I'm wearing the right thing for that though?

[ namely, this skirt? It is a long skirt, but.

Okay no, this next one is not a strike. Booo. Oh well, she still got eight pins down, but hers are at least on the same side. ]

Oh, I'm sure I could manage.

[she's princess carried a few girls already ok]

... Is there any way to get both of these pins?

Yes! But it is a little bit difficult. There's actually two major ways to do it. Do you want me to spell it out, or...?

[ Do you want to experiment.

... Oh, how confident though. ]

Please. There's no better way to learn than asking those with experience.

[she has no shame about this.]

Alright! You can either try to knock it down with the ball, or with the other pin.

[ She taps her fingers on the table, bringing the prosthetic arm up to rest on it too. ]

If you hit one pin at a certain angle, you can knock it into the other pin. Or, if you have the ball hit one pin and then hit the wall a certain speed and angle, it can bounce off and hit the other pin. Both of them do require a good deal of control, though.

I see...

[Curving is... well, difficult. Not just in terms of skill, but Cleo's the kind of person who just thinks in straight lines. Straightforward, honest, and that sort of thing.

So she opts to hit it with the other pin- she rolls the ball with as much force as she can muster, sending it into the far edge of one pin, bouncing it into the air, off the back wall, and into the other pin.]

... Was that a bit too strong?

Perhaps a little. [ She confesses, but she's doing as close to clapping as she can really do, clapping her hand on the table. ] But I can't argue with the results! It's still impressive.

[ And let's push up and take her turn again.

At least she's back to giggling. Hehehe. Now she just needs to tire out her arm and it'll be fine. ]

Were you always just strong, or... was it because of those fights?

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