The Beach

His royal highness, Prince Rafferty is looking rather puzzled. Before him lies a body of water, but this definitely doesn't resemble a beach.

"I'm sure this was the way they said" he mumbles, running a long fingered hand through his platinum locks.

He steps closer to the lake, peering into the blue water and observing the drab green petals that float upon its cool surface. With an over dramatic sigh, he sits down on the ground beside it, wearing his best petulant pout. If he can't find the beach, then he's gonna miss the party!

There are two things you can count on when running into Soujiro Seta. The first thing is that in some way, shape, or form he is training, fighting (applied training), or finding ways to train or fight. The samurai manages this is warm hearted way that is more 'athlete' than 'psycho agro' fashion. Which leads to the second thing you can count on. There are chicks around him. All. The. Time. No one even knows where they appear from. Sometimes they are cluck clucks or the occasional odd duck. Sorry Michelle, Mallard. An odd mallard.

So to the rest of the world it may be strange to see a man in a samurai's kimono running /across the surface of the lake water/ at full sprint. To Souji, this is a Tuesday. Training Tuesday.

    Little does Rafferty realize that he's had a second shadow following him for nearly fifteen minutes at this point, moving from tree to tree, sometimes flitting light-footedly along the upper branches, sometimes skulking from trunk to trunk, occasionally slinking through the swaying tall grass along the roadsides. It's rather amazing that the kunoichi in question can manage to stay hidden despite the bright scarlet scarves that trail from various parts of the battle-bodysuit that she's wearing, her dragon mask hiding her face from view, but perhaps that's simply a function of the mechanics of Elder Tale Online.

    Even now, the red dragon mask rests nestled amongst the leaves of a bush several yards behind the Prince, green eyes peering through to simply... observe.

    Then, after a couple of moments with no motion, the bush shuffles forward, progressing toward Prince Rafferty as far as the ninja using it as a disguise can manage before dropping back to rest as camouflage for the creeping kunoichi at any sign of detection.

Goldenblade rises from the water. Not quite like a mermaid or venus on the half shell, but more like a redhead in chainmail ascending from the depths and broaching the surface. She appears to be sucking on a small, fist-sized bottle, and continues to do so as she wades ashore, finally plucking the bottle from her lips and sticking it back in her inventory.

There's people here, she notes at long last, having a low score in observation, and she looks at the sky, then back at the people. Rafferty, anyhow, and Seta. "What are you doing here?" she asks, puzzled.

As he breaks off from looking forlornly at the ground, Rafferty notices movement on the water. He stares in silence for a few seconds, to allow his mind to catch up with his vision and then a broad grin breaks out on his beautiful face.

"You've got birds around you, man!" he calls out in delight, as if this is something that Soujiro Seta won't have noticed.

The delightful distraction allows his scarlet wearing stalker to slip ever closer to the boy. He appears oblivious to her antics, keeping his blue-eyed gaze facing forwards as he observes the samurai's show. Then, along comes a mermaid...

As the flame locked creature speaks to him, the 'Prince' rewards her with a sparkling smile "Hey, babe" he beams brightly. "I'm just looking for the beach. I don't suppose you know the way do you?"

"Training!" shouts Souji in a long bellow as he runs, feet slapping against the surface tension until he skids to a stop during the final feet. It causes a jet spray of water away from the group to get launched along with sand and mud. The blue eyes watch for the distance. Its going the distance. Its going for speed. Then the water/dirt/sand mix lands. "Further than last time," the young man with the voice of a damn angel says. That will be a good technique in the future if he ever has to fight near water or a beach front! He shall call it: The Blindslide.

"Birds?" Souji finally asks, turning towards the Prince and then noticing that several of the Cluck Clucks have followed him here and are descending in a way that would make Hyrulian Warriors sweatdrop in terror. They lack the same 'break' system as the samurai, 'accidentally' landing on or near him like avian bullets and clucks. The samurai starts catching his precious chicks and his arms quickly fill up with surprised chickens. "What about you, GB, are you testing out your SCUBA gear?" says the voice from behind the mountain of feathery fluff.

    The bush-ninja continues to observe from a safe-ish distance, its nefarious intent remaining unrevealed, any emotional response on the kunoichi's part to the actions of the Prince illegible behind the multi-layered disguise of shrubbery and draconic visage. The bush starts to shuffle forward again, slowly - only to flatten against the grass as a mermaid and samurai both emerge from the water at the same time to join the Prince. This puts the odds slightly more against her if she were to spring an ambush against the lost royalty at this point. Thus, the bush bides its time, perhaps waiting for the interlopers to depart before it springs its trap on Rafferty...

Goldenblade looks to Prince Rafferty, smirking wryly at his smile, and shen he calls her babe, she laughs. Hard. Old man laughing at kids hard. "Hah!" she says, once she gets her breath. "Hah, that shows what you know. Kids today," she says, still a bit breathless from laughing, and goes to lean on ... well, if she had a cane, she'd be leaning on that. Since she doesn't have one, she stumbles half a step and straightens, knucking her back, or trying to through a layer of chainmail.

"Shows what you know," she repeats, "But the beach is a ways east from here," she explains after her amusement is mostly spent. She hrms, then nods to Seta, "Yeah, still works like a champ. I've got a set of tethered diving armor, but it's not portable. What I was actually doing was a soil analysis," she explains. "I heard that NWA was building a road here, so I thought I'd do a bit of scouting for them." Without actually talking to them, but it's really just looking over the terrain at this point. "They're going to need to clear out the jungle, though," she adds, pointing right at Raiza's bush. And the tree-line behind her, of course. "Closeby, it's OK, but there's some high level areas we wouldn't be able to build through."

The speedy lake skimming samurai is a stunning spectacle to see, but Rafferty doesn't like the fact he's presenting the potential for dirt to land on his silky white shirt. He scurries backwards, just to be on the safe side.

As the mocking 'mermaid' speaks to him, he looks to the east with a hopeful expression. Perhaps the party is still in his reach! He seems as though he may be about to move in that direction, when Goldenblade points at Raiza's bush and he can't resist taking a peek himself!

Soujiro Seta starts putting his cluck clucks down one at a time. Each one gets thier own individual attention so it is no wonder they wont leave him alone. Sparkles. "A road," inquires the samurai, "to where? Do they need any part time help?" Is it because Soujiro is being nice? Yes. He is very invested in making sure people feel heard and seen, including thier ambitions. Is he going to make brick laying into a sort of training game? Yes. Without a doubt. It might be more trouble then it is worth in the longrun. His keen blue eyes look to the bush and the 'unbushing' about to happen. Just as the prophecy has foretold!

    The young ninja player's pulse starts to pound as she realise the amount of attention that's being directed toward her bush. She can't help but feel somehow exposed. In fact, even if she were to remove her red scarf, and red dragon mask, she may well be just as red underneath. It doesn't mean that she herself has been spotted, though - it's the bush that seems to be drawing everyone's attention.

    Everyone, including a rogue Cluck-Cluck, momentarily distracted from Soujiro's sparkling, wandering over toward the bush and tilting its head to either side as it starts to strut around the shrubbery with a keen eye. Clucking, clucking - until it notices something red trailing in the grass behind the bush. Its tiny beak clamps down on the scarf like a vice.

    An 'Urk!' escapes the bush, and a counter-tug is given, startling the Cluck-Cluck, which flaps its wings furiously before letting out a dreaded:

    'B'GAW!'

    Suddenly, the flock's hive mind turns its attention to the bush, descending on it with a flurry of feathers and vicious pecks.

    "Kyyaaaah!" the bush cries out. "Ow. OW!"

    Suddenly the green leaves of the bush explode as the shrubbery's resident Raiza spirals upward and out of it before rolling across the grass, covering her masked head protectively with her arms as she comes to a stop in the fetal position a short range from the Prince and his present entourage.

    Somehow, she's still covered in about a half-dozen of the chicken-like creatures.

    "Get them off! Get them offff!"

Goldenblade follows Rafferty's glance to the bush she's pointing at, and she wonders, "Was that bush here an hour ago?" But as she continues to drip water, she frowns, then mashes a couple buttons on her menu. Menu-wash-and-dry. Suddenly, she's looking more or less normal and not like she was dredged out of a lake. "Who're you, anyhow?" she asks. "I don't think I've seen you aroud?" She will, clumsily, pull up an Inspect on Prince Rafferty. Remembering her manners, she adds, "Er, by the way, call me Goldenblade." Because if he inspects her, he will find her name overflows the box for names, even at the smallest font. "/Just/ Goldenblade."

To Soujiro, she says, "Well, a road to Shibuya, right? I assume they want a road. Why wouldn't they want a road? Risking life and limb to hike down here from Fort Ouph is not a job for lowbies, let me tell you. I guess they can ship everyone in like they've been doing, but that puts them at risk due to other people's shipping schedules, and hurts their mobility. Must be costing them a pretty penny, too. At least Olympus has got a steam warship to ferry people around if we need."

And then Raiza explodes out of the bush, exposed by Soujiro's ninja-detecting cluck-clucks. "What on earth..." she says as she tries to find them off, but when she calls from help, she will go over and matter-of-factly grab each cluck by the neck and pitch them back over to Soujiro. "Who're you?" she asks Raiza, before remembering Inspect afterward. She runs the Inspect, then, as she pitches clucks.

At first, the pretty prince pays little attention to the ultra cute cluck clucks. When they start to investigate the bush though, they become more entertaining!

"That bush is alive!" he shrieks in a shrill fashion, sharply turning to the right to get a better look at the birds on bush action.

As the series of startled sounds are produced by the foliage, he starts to circle it, waving his arms around wildly and looking to Soujiro Seta and Goldenblade for support.

"I'm Prince Rafferty" he announces grandly to the redhead, without taking his eyes from the groaning greenery.

"I mostly keep a low profile" he claims, blue eyes still boring into the bush.

As the enigma emerges from her plant prison, the amazed muse startles.

"What are you doing?" he wonders.

He makes no effort to assist her with the curious chicks.

Soujiro Seta has one of those 'the world is full of sunshine and I happen to be a happy bean' kind of faces. You know the kind. The ones that smile and look like every problem has been solved and they just got off the best roller coaster in the world. Does a rogue bush that GB points out change that? No. He observes it. Perhaps that is why his cluck clucks feels the need to defend their samurai by turning their bird brained hive mind on Raiza. "You found someone," the warrior smiles, praising his cluck clucks while they go clucking insane over there.

The blue haired, kimono wearing, vapid beam of sunshine looks to Goldenblade a moment to the tones of be-gawks and clucks, "That is a good point, Goldenblade! There is a lot to learn from urban development," he says as he claps a fist into an open palm. "They must get really strong having to take the long, tough roads though." No, he isn't praising NWA, he is thinking of a new training method. What if he mapped out a really dangerous path to take. One can see the gears turning.

"A prince?" Soujiro turns his head to Rafferty. "From one of the Kingdoms?" He inspects just to be sure, noticing the Adventurer icons over the Lander ones. "Or like Baroness Wake?" he says as he, yes, is aware of the avian assault. It is after all of this that he finally addresses, "I am Soujiro Seta, and these lovely chicks have take a liking to you. Normally Gail and Abby are shy, but they took to you like birds of a feather." Smile. Sparkles.

    Inspection reveals the identity of the kunoichi to be Raiza, Ninja - who would seem far too high level to be getting pecked into submission by common land fowl. Truly, even the greatest of ninja may be laid low by the fury of massed Cluck-Clucks.

    Or, at least, a particular ninja whose outfit is designed as much to promote vitamin D intake as it is to offer protection and who has an acute aversion to violence against poultry may be laid low by the fury of massed Cluck-Clucks.

    "I'm being assaulted by chickens!" Raiza declares, though it's not clear whether she's answering the question of what she's doing or if that's simply what she considers her current identity.

    Suddenly, with a burst of effort, she manages to place two fingers of one hand in front of her mask and utter two words:

    "Nin... nin!"

    Then, in a puff of darkness, the kunoichi vanishes, leaving the chickens pecking on a straw dummy that's been dropped from her inventory in her place.

    The ninja-ette reappears almost instantaneously just behind Rafferty, upright and holding her fingers in the same pose.

    "I am... Raiza," the dragon-masked woman identifies herself between panting breaths. Mustering a steady tone, she adds, dramatically, "The Dragon Ninja."

Goldenblade gives Prince Rafferty a skeptical look. "A Prince?" she asks. "Where of?" She knows a couple nobles, but no actual princes. Until now, of course. "Fourland's a Dukedom, they don't have Princes. Westelande's princes are Salamanders, and you don't have enough scales to pass that one. I ... don't remember what Eastal has ... some kind of league or council? But it's Imp, Sylph, Gnome, and Pooka, isn't it? So, Ninetails, then? They've got merchant princes of some sort, I'm told."

She continues to shovel clucks back at Soujiro, chiding him, "Keep your clucks to yourself or you'll get into trouble." She understands about being overwhelmed by the clucks, something similar happens with bun-buns. Somehow en masse they turn savage. Then the person she's helping to de-cluck is standing behind Rafferty. Her self-introduction is met with almost as skeptical a look as Rafferty's, but she says, "That was a good move," of the reposition.

The smiling samurai seems to be taking the whole babe in the bush situation in his stride. The platinum 'Prince' offers him a simple nod, before speaking up about his origin.

"I'm from The Holy Empire Westelande" he reveals. "I don't believe I have met this Baroness Wake, but her name is one that's familiar to me."

He doesn't notice when the ninja does her vanishing act, so her appearance behind him takes him totally by surprise!

"You're a fast mover aren't you?" he asks, though it's really more of a statement. "Was there a particular reason a dragon ninja was pretending to be a bush?"

Goldenblade gets his attention with her skeptical sounding questions but he takes a moment to respond to her, seemingly gathering himself to offer a suitable reply.

"It's really more of an attitude than an official title" he says vaguely, waving his hand about in the air.

"Class and status can be about your fruits, not just your roots."

Soujiro Seta would not dare tell his cluck clucks how to behave! They are all his precious chicks! The samurai is a staunch defender of their freedoms to be as silly or serious as they want. None of this is said, but the sparkles, the sparkles speak volumes.

Souji sparkles at Goldenblade.

Side effect of sparkles: The cluck clucks are star struck once more and surround the samurai. It all worked out in the end. "Oh, in that case I am Shogun Soujiro Seta," he says, it is anyone guess if he did the 3S intentionally, "Sword Saint of Scale." Ok, intentional. He smiles to Goldenblade, "What Title do you want for this game?" As for why a bush, "Was it training? Thats a good move all around. Can't get hurt if you are not where the strike is going to land." Sage wisdom from the blue haired space case. How /this/ guy was part of Elder Tale's most infamous raiding guilds before the expansion is its own mystery.

    Covered as her exposed skin is by red peck-marks in the aftermath of the Cluck-Cluck carnage, Raiza quickly uncorks and quaffs a potion from her inventory to alleviate the unsightly blemishes by recuperating the lost hit-points. She somehow manages to do so without removing her mask.

    "Thanks," she says to Goldenblade in regards to the compliment of her evasive maneuver. "Substitution techniques don't work on most enemies, but few things see red like a Cluck-Cluck - hey!"

    The outcry comes as one of the birds hops up to tug at one of the loose red scarves draping from her shoulder again - though she thinks twice this time about putting up too much of a struggle, instead holding the scarf at a tug-of-war standstill as she speaks.

    "Is there a reason a newb is pretending to be a Prince when his title should be 'Lord'? As in, 'Nooblord?'" she deflects Rafferty's inquiry regarding the fact that she was disguising herself as a bush. If one were to wonder how Soujiro was an infamous raider before the expansion, one might similarly question how a bloodthirsty pre-expansion player killer can now be found hiding in bushes and getting battered by Cluck-Clucks.

    "Obviously, I could have destroyed the Cluck-Clucks with a Fireball, but I happen to have a soft spot for Cluck-Clucks. And as for what I was doing -" the kunoichi finally confesses, idly drawing a throwing kunai before suddenly pointing the tip at Prince Rafferty, "I was trying to figure out if YOU were who you claim to be." Her tone is accusatory, giving the sense that she's staring hard at the Prince from behind her mask.

Goldenblade smirks at Rafferty, then, at his Princely self-image. "Okay," she says slowly, clearly skeptical. But she'll let that go. People can imagine themselves as they like, it's not her place to rain on anyone's parade. Seta gets a smirk as he recalls his chicks, but she'd given up on that when Raiza no longer needed rescuing.

She seems, for her part, to be immune to Soujiro's sparkling, and smirks at the question of titles. "This," she points to an odd device she wears, a red dragon's scale, gleaming as though the dragon were still alive, "marks me as a direct subordinate to General Mizufa Trude of the Westelande Army. So that's my title." She's not sure what it would /actually/ be, in the Army. She doesn't actually command troops. Maybe Adjutant? But the respect paid to her by Landers makes it clear they do seem to take her quite seriously.

She peers sidelong at Raiza as she berates Rafferty, but says, "Let him have his fantasy. People throw fireballs and who knows what other nonsense. Wanting to be a prince is probably the mildest form of egotism I've seen around here. But you," she eyes Raiza, "I'll bet you have the ability to learn some pretty advanced moves...." And then she does more or less what Raiza did to get behind Rafferty, placing herself behind Raiza.

Rafferty squints his eyes at the sparkles. He has to admit they provide a rather stunning effect. He seems about to speak to the Shogun about something, when he is greatly insulted by the rather rude Raiza!

"Nooblord?" he questions. "I've been around for years."

The truth is though, he may as well be a newbie for all the progress he has made. Avoiding conflict at all costs, he mostly spends his time meandering around and looking for some stimulating social interaction.

"Who do you think I claim to be?" he asks the scarlet ninja with a haughty sounding tone.

"If you refer to the title of Prince, then I believe I have already addressed this matter."

As yet another female finds her way behind his princely person, he spins around to seek her out.

"You both should teach me these tricks! I believe they may be useful, when I need to make a quick escape."

Soujiro Seta, blinding sparkles. Woodland animals approach in wonder. Cluck Clucks bekaw in unison. It is a sight to behold. Briefly. Because Rafferty hit on topic supreme for Soujiro. "Teaching? We should have a training session, then!" Sparkles are replaced with the endless reserve of energy that Souji has for all things martial. Its not out of egotism, he just loves the combat in Elder Tales. Always has. Probably always will.

    Raiza sniffs disdainfully behind her mask, turning her head as Goldenblade defends Prince Rafferty's right to self-imposed royal status. "Whatever. I think he's as much a Prince as like... someone who names themselves after an anime character is the character from that anime, but I'm not really a roleplayer, anyways."

    Of course, she claims this, but has also decided to dress and behave like a stereotypical anime kunoichi.

    "As for who you claim to be, well, I think you know. You have the exact same name, and even the same face, somehow."

    Raiza pulls her mask to one side of her face, revealing a scar on her cheek, a single green eye, and the girl's lips.

    "And I should know, because -"

    She cuts herself short as Soujiro and Rafferty seem to have decided that it's time to train.

    "Training? Look at his gear! I bet he doesn't even know how to fight. He's probably one of those econ-only players," she says disdainfully.

Goldenblade hrms to Rafferty and his claim to having been around for years. "We all have," she points out. "No one new would join the game at this point, would they?" As far as teaching Rafferty, she says, "Come to the Crescent Academy in Carmina Gadelica Marina, next to the Peko Ranch, and we will see what can be taught." She smirks to Soujiro, and says, "Same for you, though I think I've taught you all you can learn for now." He's been a repeat customer at the Academy. "You also, if you like," she offers to Raiza. "if there's anything you don't know, I suppose. You seem pretty advanced."

To be sure, her judgement is on bearing and demeanor rather than a measure of someone's skillset. As to how princely Rafferty may or may not be, she shrugs. "It's no skin off my nose if he wants to call himself Prince or Gigantor or Bean Bandit. I don't really know any anime, myself, but my boys liked those."

And Raiza thinks she knows something about her because ....? "Huh? The same name as who? The same face? Blame the game for that, I hit randomize. It wasn't supposed to change me, though. I was just looking through some of them when I was in character generation."

There's a rather dubious and doubtful expression on Rafferty's visage, as Soujiro Seta talks of training, but he doesn't make a flat out refusal. After all, it was he that suggested he should learn the technique.

Raiza's scathing sounding tone has not gone unnoticed by the youth and he fixes her with a fierce glare. Fierce in the way that it's used in fashion photography, rather than anything likely to produce any fear!

His fingers find his face and he caresses the chiseled contours on display before smiling softly at the scarred ninja girl.

"Ah, so you're a fan. This explains things. You're not the first one to hide in a bush to get closer to me."

He makes no comment on his simple but stylish clothing, that consists of a white silk shirt and smart looking black pants. There's absolutely no hint of armor or other attire suitable for attack.

Goldenblade has got a point. It's not like the cast in this chaotic world is likely to change any time soon. As for her suggestion of attending the academy. It all sounds far too official for the teen's tastes.

"Well, I am fond of marinas" is his only response.

"There is value in going over what has already been taught," Souji says with a steadfast nod. Muscle memory. Finding tweaks. The body of an Adventurer can do some amazing things like run over water, up walls, and jump obscene heights. Some races can even glide and before the big ole nerf they could fly. "Tian was showing me some tricks recently. There are so many more unique styles that I'll be picking up more at the Academy in no time." With that, he looks up to the sky and over to the lake. "Which it is time to get back to doing," he waves a hand to Goldenblade and the new duo. "If you ever want to train, here is my information." Friend requests get sent out for future chimlinking.

    "Hmmph... I might. I could do with learning a few tricks before my turn in the tournament," Raiza muses aloud after giving some consideration to Goldenblade's offer. She gives a slight shake of her head at the redhead's refutal of her comment about identity. "I didn't mean your face, I mean /his/ -"

    The kunai is pointed at Rafferty again as she's about to clarify, when Rafferty appears to have already taken her meaning - and accuses her of being a fan. The kind of fan who would hide in a bush to get close to him. Her lips purse and her face scrunches up angrily.

    "I am -not- a fan! Or a stalker! I - I know you better than any of them would!"

    Realising that her last comment was rather undermining of her previous two remarks, she huffs and folds her arms beneath her chest, turning her face slightly away to one side.

    Soujiro's friend request and accompanying words pull her out of her huff for a moment, and she turns her head his way. "Oh - yeah. I do like training, I guess... as long as your Cluck-Clucks don't mistake me for a bag of birdseed again."

    The one that's been tugging at her scarf the whole time finally loses interest and flutters back to Soujiro upon realising that her idol is about to be on the move.

Goldenblade's Academy was meant to sound a bit official. The concept was the old 19th century military academies in Europe, though there's been no Landers to teach general sorts of education, and only a trickle of players learning her quite broad array of skills. She really does seem to have grown into a teaching player, for all that she's been active in the game nearly from the beginning. "I was thinking of re-opening in Breg Epona," the capital of Westelande, "but I haven't done anything definite yet, and I like being attached to the Peko Ranch."

She nods to Soujiro as he waves and departs, and says, "I ought to head out, too. The boat schedule at Shibuya's flexible, but I don't want to push it. Training is super important," she agrees. She ohs as Raiza explains her comment was in reference to Rafferty. "Ah." She nods, though, and says, "Come by any time, or drop me a chim." And she'll send friend requests all around also before she gets moving out of there.

Rafferty accepts the friend requests promptly and offers both Soujiro and Goldenblade a wave. Although the cluck cluck loving adventurer is a little too eager to train, both he and the chainmail wearing woman seem friendly enough and it doesn't harm to have fellow players on side.

Raiza's words have him tilting his head towards her.

"Have we met before?" he wonders. racking his brain as to where their paths may have crossed previously.

"I don't think I recognise you."

    "Pekos are pretty great," Raiza comments to the departing Goldenblade as she accepts the friend requests being sent her way.

    With Goldenblade, Souji, and the Cluck-Cluck hit squad on their way toward the edge of drawing distance, Raiza finds herself essentially alone with the so-called Prince with the familiar face. She gives a look over her shoulder, then all around, before pulling the band that holds her mask up down to let the dragon face fall behind her back, leaving her own facial features fully on display below her brown bangs and long ponytail.

    "You don't remember me, then? From high school?"

    She shifts her weight awkwardly onto her other hip as she taps her index finger lightly against the tip of the kunai held between her other fingers, both hands low in front of her waist.

    "I used my own look too - if you're the real 'Rafferty,' that is..."

As the brunette unmasks herself, Rafferty moves closer to her, carefully studying her face. Perhaps his gaze wanders lower than this too, but it's only briefly and he's soon back looking into her eyes.

"You know, I do think I recognise you. Back in San Francisco, yeah? I'm sorry, I don't remember your name or anything, but you do seem familiar."

He offers a smile, his manner softening as he's presented with a reminder of his home city.

"And I am Rafferty. Rafferty Stewart. This is all so weird, right?" he adds, gesturing to the world around him.

"I'm still not really used to it after all this time, but we've got to make the best of it I guess. It's kinda cool to have a California girl around."

    Raiza relaxes her stance a little as Rafferty shows her some recognition - even though he doesn't seem to be able to place her offline name. A faintly mischievous smirk quirks the corner of her lips as she cocks her head at him.

    "Tell you what - if you can remember my name without me telling it to you, I'll give you a prize. If you give up, though, you have to give me one."

    She steps lightly closer again, smiling as she straightens somewhat, hands behind her back.

    "You're right, though - I was from San Fran. I'm surprised you figured that out - didn't you move to Japan too? I thought you might've guessed you knew me from school here... I mean, there, I guess."

    She turns her head to look at the stretching lake.

    "Here seems like a totally different place, even though it's all really like a shared hallucination or something..."

"A prize you say?"

The Prince ponders this prospect.

"Do I get to choose what it is?"

The cogs turning in his brain are almost visible on the face of his avatar, as he tries to recall Raiza's real name.

"Is it Jen...no no! I know it! It's Lisa!" he enthuses, starting to jump up and down on the spot in triumph.

"Wanna know how I know?"

Before waiting for a response, he launches into an explanation.

"So my mom's favourite all time show is Friends. She even named my sister after one of the characters. That character happens to be played by someone called Lisa, so I remember thinking about her when I heard your name."

He's looking pretty proud of himself right about now.

"And I did move to Japan, yeah. I got signed to an agency in Tokyo. It was going pretty well till...well, you know."

    Raiza is about to answer Rafferty's question regarding whether he gets to choose his prize when the Prince suddenly pipes up - and her face is one of shock, mouth agape, when he lands on 'Lisa' as his second guess. She nearly falls over backward as he jumps up and down in one place.

    "Really? You thought of my name because of the blonde one on Friends?"

    She pulls the end of her ponytail around to eye it sidelong before releasing it with a flick to put it back into position.

    "I'm kind of weirded out by that, but - I guess you did know my name, after all, which is more than I thought you did... I figured you'd have to throw out a hundred guesses or more."

    For the first time since she exploded out of a bush, the somewhat scantily-clad kunoichi actually looks a bit shy - her black boot's sole scuffing at the ground as her arms fold behind her back again.

    "I mean, I did sit two seats behind you in home room for a semester, so I guess it wasn't /that/ hard of a guess, really... but, okay. You can name what prize you want, and I'll say if it's fair or not."

Rafferty shoots a Hollywood worthy smile at his fellow San Franciscan as she decides to honour her offered prize.

"Well what I really want is to make it to the beach, because some of my guild members are having a party there and truth be told..."

He leans in closer to Lisa.

"...my map reading skills are almost as bad as my combat exx pee."

He starts to laugh at his own expense before continuing with his request.

"What I really want is for you to come with me to the party. Not just because you can probably find the beach better than I can, but also because it would be good to have your company. I might even share a tropical potion with you."

    Raiza - or Lisa, as she's now been outed as by the fellow foreigner - puts on a smile at the request that Rafferty ultimately puts forward.

    "Really? That's a lot tamer than what I thought you were going to go with, judging by your tone when you asked if you got to choose, and how stoked you seemed to figure it out," she says as her hand sweeps up to push her mask back half-way onto her face, allowing her expression to still be partially seen.

    "Sure, I'll help you find your party. It's too bad I haven't had a chance to find a crafter to try and make some armour out of the crab shell I looted the other day, or I could put on something more beach-y. By the way, 'Tropical Potions?' Isn't that just, like - Pina Coladas or something?"

    As she asks the last question, she starts to slink away from the lakeside toward the south-east, beckoning over her shoulder with her fingers.

    "Hope you can keep up!" she calls back before starting to pick up the pace in a proper ninja run, stretching an arm out aerodynamically behind her while pointing an elbow forward to reduce wind resistance, and physically daring him to keep pace - though she'll make sure to stay in sight of the Prince all the way to the party.