Road Trip: Notice Me Senpai!

The sky his high in the sky, the birds are chirping, and there is a dirty little gnome sitting in front of a pristine Atelier. Borywick Rockborer (Affectionately titled DosBox) has been waiting in this spot for the majority of his time for the last week. He would leave periodically for food or to support fellow adventurers on quests only to return shortly thereafter. He has even taken to sleep against the wall.

This is the state that DosBox is currently in; he is sitting on his legs, hands on his lap, with his tools sitting on a white shop towel in front of him. Further, the rock gnome has his budgy face pressed against the wall, a small amount of drool gathering in his beard. One can only guess as to why he is there, and none of the locals have mustered the courage to ask.

Cloppity cloppity clop.

The slow, regular sound of a grunty trotting away on cobblestone announces the approaching of the traveller's wagon the creature is pulling.

The wagon is pretty much a large wooden barrel, painted white. Its back has a door, a hinged chair that can be pulled up or down depending on wheter one is travelling or camping, and a large hook sticking out, conceivably for hanging a lantern in the evening; its side has a round window, with two crossed round rods in the middle, making it look like an "O" with a plus sign inscribed within.

The Grunty pulling this cart is also kind of unusual: larger than average, dressed in some sort of fashionable yet revealing armor, wearing a purple wig and faux gauzy sylph wings, she spouts sentences like "Hmmm. I'm getting ideas," and "IT'S FASHION TIME!", as Grunties are wont to.

The Spriggan in charge of this whole thing pulls on the reins; "That's it, Gwenty! We've arrived! Next stop, Ateliere Nox!", she says, and as the Grunty comes to a halt, she jumps down from the cart.

And notices Borywick.

Dosbox does very little noticing of anything, as he seems to be well and good sleeping. Oddly enough, he is NOT a loud snorer, despite the horrific angle that his neck is being bent at. His snores are half-second bursts of rattling, followed by a slightly high-pitched "Eh?" noise on the exhale. His wall-side arm now hands limply to his side, his gloved hands resting on the ground beneath him. A steady poke would probably wake him.

Poke. Poke. Poke.

Borywick migh find himself suddenly poked by the bottom metal tip of a magical staff. You know the type, the ones that are white, with a heart-shaped gem at the top.

Except that, in this case, the heart is so anatomically correct it looks like someone magically turned an actual heart into crystal.

"I must tell Haru to fix his garden gnome", mutters the young Spriggan in what is a unholy amalgamation of a nurse's uniform and a martial artist's gi, with an abundant amount of MMORPG aesthetic thrown in. "I think the crafter that produced it skimped on the material. It's making noises, melting in the sun-" at that point, she scrunches her nose, "...and rotting too. Yuck. Fetid."

The Rock Gnome, upon being prodded, startles awake, an activity in which most garden gnomes do not, typically, partake. Groggily, he sits up straight, muttering, "I wasn't sleeping, YOU were sleeping..." He blinks a couple of times before he begins to process Uta, and what she had just said to, and about, him. "I might have skipped showering yesterday... and the day before... So maybe I am a litte smelly, but... Fetid? That's... That's kind of harsh..."

"AH!", exclaims Uta, pulling back. You know the pose: leaning away, one knee raised, arms close to the body, clutching her staff defensively. "It's real!"

Eventually, the Gnome's words sink in, and, after relaxing, she scratches her head. "Uh... er... sorry for having been asleep," she says. "I'll try to be more awake next time." She then focuses, and rotates her index finger in the air, clockwise and counterclockwise, as her lips mouth the words the Gnome just uttered. She's sapparently running them by herself a few times more, for processing purposes.

"Oh," she exclaims, as the lightbulb, as they say, goes off (which is ironic, since it techncially... turns on?). "You haven't showered? Are you in a Strange Mood?" That said, she flicks her menu open, and selects the option for Medical Inspection. "Mind if I check on you just in case? I'm a professional healer. Uta Furore, Aerialist, Musical Kung-Fu Nurse!" She proudly points at a wooden sign hung on her wagon, declaring it "Uta Furore's Mobile Clinic, Wandering Doujou, Traveling Circus, and Itinerant Concert Hall and Culture Center," with a smaller "Professional services! Reasonable prices! Totally legit! Inquire within" carved below.

Perhaps, when you are a Spriggan, you have to drive the last point home particularly hard?

Dosbox squints at the sign, forcing his groggy eyes to focus on the words, "Oh. Uh... That's a lot of things you do. I just... Do the one thing. I cut gems, mostly. And Enchantments. I make enchantments, rather. I don't cut them. How would you even go about cutting an enchantment? Heh." DosBox laughs nervously. He scratches the back of his neck before noting the, 'Totally Legit!' section of the sign, "I don't want to be a bother or anything, but when you put, 'Totally Legit,' on your sign, doesn't make it feel like you are less legit? Like... You are implying that there might be doubt that you're legit, so you feel the need to emphasize that?"

He shrugs, standing up slowly and brushing of his pants. With a flick of his wrist, his small hammer pops into his hand, and he slips it into his tool belt behind his big, bushy beard, "I mean, as your sign saysm, you ARE a professional, so... If you think I need a check up, I guess I should submit to your wisdom...?"

"I... I don't know," Uta admits to Dosbox's comment about cutting enchantments. "As you say, I do a lot of things; Enchanting, alas, is not one of them." She gestures towards the Atelier. "It's my brother Haru who does that."

"I have 'Totally Legit' written on my sign?", Uta asks. She turns to look at her own sign. "Oh. Right. I do. Why would I write such a thing?", she wonders, scratching her head.

A few seconds later, she snaps her fingers. "Oh, right. Now I remember." She returns to look at Dosbox. "People looked at the description, looked at me, and made their doubts about the legitimacy of my business, well, explicit." She smiles wide and, still looking at Dosbox, she gestures at the sign. "That's why I added that line! So they stop asking me!"

Since Dosbox accepts her check-up, she reaches out and performs the medical procedure known as 'booping the snoot'. Aka pushing his nose lightly.

"Uh, funny," she says, as she seems to read flavor text out of thin air -- a well known game effect: one's menus are visible only to the relevant Adventurer. "It says you aren't." She looks down at Dosbox. "Have you been eating of late?"

Dosbox hath had his snoot boopethed. This has the effect of resetting DosBox's brain. It takes a couple seconds of confused blinking before he finally responds with a VERY furrowed brow, "Okay, so... Number one. Those people LOOKED at you and said you weren't legit to your FACE based on your LOOKS? RUDE!" DosBox huffs loudly, steam escaping his nostrils like a bull seeing red.

"Number two. I have mostly been eating bar food after quests. Asuna makes it though, and she assures me that it's... uh... Healthy?" Dosbox turns away for a second, looking a little contemplative, "I should probably be concerned that she says that as if it were a question."

He turns back to Uta, "Number three, and most importantly, You're Haru's sister? I have been trying to speak with him for like... Ever! I mean," DosBox turns away, as if explaining the next part to a rubber duck on the ground, "I met him during a couple of quests, so I could have asked him then, but that was adventurer time. This is business time. TWO SEPARATE BOXES."

DosBox gives his head a shake, turning back to Uta, "What I mean to say is Can you like... Let him know I am waiting out here? I kind of want to learn under him, since I have heard he's like... THE BEST Accessory Forger in the WORLD." He blinks a couple of times and adopts a visage as if he has surprised himself, "OH! By the by, I am DosBox. At least one person has called me the SUPER SUPPORT. My passion is Gems and Gem Enchanting. And I guess, like... Other Enchanting too. I am not too picky when it comes to work. But I do specialize in Gems. Yeah. Gems." He clears his throat, then offers a hand to shake with a smile. "Nice to meet you, " He peeks at the sign, "...Uta!"

"Well, uh, they probably doubted the legitimacy of my business based on the broad and diverse amount of services I offer. I think. Mostly." She doesn't sound convinced. "But the looks might have a part," she concedes. "We Spriggans -are- the Loathed Race. But at least I can take advantage of the Adventurer Privilege." She then proceeds to explain, "Somehow, we Adventurer Spriggans are not -as- loathed as our Lander bretherns. Sure, we do get the odd suspicious look or episode of racism, but we have it nowhere as bad as Landers."

Uta nods. "There's very little I am certain of since the Apocalypse, but if there's one thing I'm certain of, is that I'm Haru's sister. Ask him if you don't believe me."

"Pleased to make your acquaintance, DosBox!", Uta smiles, and bows politely, before sending a friend request. She then gives Dosbox's request some thought, tapping her lips. "Uh... I'd love to introduce you to Haru. I'm sure you'd go along swimmingly. You could talk shop all the time. He loves talking shop. He's particularly fond of the Earth element. However..." Uta scrunches her nose slightly, unsure of how to break the news.

"...however, first impressions count. I think that if you want to start off your introduction on the right foot, you need to... er..." She gestures vageuly. "...clean up a bit, first?"

Dosbox raises his armpit, and gives a quick sniff -- he recoils and gags a little. "That's... That's fair. I guess I should head to a public bath. There is only so much... ah... 'Freshness' that magic can supply you before it just can't mask the funk anymore." DosBox frowns, "Of course, I HAVE already met him. We did a couple of quests together BUT-SEPARATE-BOXES-I-WILL-BE-RIGHT-BACK!!" DosBox dashes off in the direction of the nearest public bath, or barring that, the nearest Fountain.

"Wait!", Uta calls out.

"You can't do -just- that! You need -the works-!"

She begins counting on her fingers, while looking up and away, "You'll need a haircut, beard trimming, proper grooming! Not only you need your clothes washed with Alchemical-grade Enchanted Detergents, you also need them ironed!"

"Sure, there's menu clean...", Uta continues. But then she leans over. "But we're talking QUALITY here. You only get one first impression! You need to go for the REAL DEAL." She leans over even more, and whispers, conspirationally, "Manual, -real- wash."

She straightens up, and in a position similar to keeping her arms crossed, but with one forearm sticking up so her index finger can tap her cheek, she looks up and away. "Now... a bath, you can take anywhere. A public bath should be enough. But for the rest? We'll need a -maid- to take care of all that laundrying and ironing. The question is... -where- to find a maid?"

Dramatic Zoom Out, to reveal the background behind Uta: right next to Atelier Nox there is 'Pelapuff Cafe', Shibuya's iconic maid cafe.

"...a maid... a maid...hmmm..."

Dosbox stops dead in his tracks when Uta tells him to wait; the bottom of his shoes skidding on the ground sounds like a cartoon character trying to stop. He waddles back over while she is talking, listening intently to the items on her list. When she mentions the menu clean, his face goes blank. He murmurs to himself, "Right... Menu clean... Forgot about that..." He presses a few buttons in his menu and FOOSH! There he is, all shiny and chrome... Er... Clean.

When Uta asks where they would find a maid, he joins her in contemplation, also turning in the direction of the Pelapuff Cafe, taking in the atmosphere as he thinks alongside the multi-faceted spriggan. "Hmmm... A maid... Where WOULD we find someone with such a profession? I hear it is quite rare." If one were to look at the two of them, side by side, the casual observer would assume that they were being purposefilly synchronous in their motions. They would be wrong. This is just two individuals who have entered the same state of perplexity at the same time on the same thought, and with the same thought patterns. "I hear cat girl maids were the bees' knees IRL before the Apocalypse. Do you think there are any around here?"

"Oh, catgirl maids. I do know one. Pela Clarpuff." Hmm. Pela Clarpuff. And the 'Pelapuff Cafe' is in the background. Could the two things be related? "Black-Footed Wildcat Cait Sith. Fantastic maid. I wonder where she is now..."

Right then, a group of catgirls, each of them in a maid outfit, walks by, heading for the Pelapuff Cafe.

"A maid...", Uta continues repeating, staring ahead, rubbing her temples as if she was attempting an ESP experiment.

The gaggle of maids meets a -second- gaggle of maids, coming out from the Pelapuff Cafe right now.

"...A maid...", continues Uta. "Where, where to find one!"

The maids exchange pleasantries, and start chatting. "Hi!" "Hi!" "Nice maid outfit!" "Thanks! Yours too!" "So, what's new in maid-land?" "We've posted some job offers on the corkboard at the Pelapuff Cafe!" "Oh, that's great! We were about to post some ourselves!" "It's great that they have a corkboard for maid work classified, isn't it?" "Absolutely! A great way for a maid to find customers!" "It's like the Hunters' Guild, but for maids!" Blah blah blah "maid" blah blah "maid" blah "maid" blah "maid" blah "maid maid maid"

"SHHHHH!", hushes Uta in the general direction of the collided gaggles (which are likely too far to hear her), waving one hand while still staring ahead of herself. "I'm trying to focus here!" She inhales. "Where. To. Find. A. Maid..."

Dosbox blinks a few times when the maids begin to exchange maid correspondence. He has a moment of clarity. This is a maid cafe right in front of them. It's so obvious, Obvious Man came by, hit everyone in the face with the Obvious Mallet, left, came back an hour later, and had a second round of smackings. DosBox felt kind of bad for not noticing... Then he realized that Uta has not noticed. If he were to draw her attention to it, she would feel as bad as he does... And he didn't want to do that to a new friend. "Yes, we will probably NEVER find a maid that is available to do maid work."

    Not noticing Uta or Dosbox, another figure moves into the scene. She actually has stopped to talk to the cat maids. It's Asuna!

    "Hey, you know, I was just in town for something else, but I heard you mention maid service. I don't get my place in Mac Anu as much as I'd like. Would you be available to take care of it for me from time to time?"

    More maid conversation follows. And follows...

    "So you can help me do my hair, too? That's great! I really want to mix it up a bit before I go to dungeons. I kinda do this cosplay thing and it can be really tricky to get everything just right."

    More conversation... more conversation... Asuna is suddenly in a maid outfit, too. "Yeah, I got it to surprise a friend!"

Uta begins to pace around, nervous, increasing the rate of rotation of her fingers around her temples. "A maid... a maid... a maid..."

And just as Dosbox delivers his line about never finding a maid, Uta's eyes lock on the sign of the Pelapuff Cafe.

"Pelapuff Cafe."

"...DUH!", Uta exclaims, finally, slapping her forehead. "Man, am I dumb." She snap-turns to Dosbox, pointing. "Dosbox!", she announces, smile pulled from ear to ear. "I -do- know a maid! The best ever! She's adorable, and she loves cooking, and loves making sure that clothes are all neat, and she loves such things so much that she set up her whole business around them! We're on very good terms with each other, and I'm sure she'll be -delighted- to help a friend I introduce her to!"

Uta reaches to grab Dosbox's hand, and simultaneously rush towards her traveller's wagon.

"Time to travel to Alne and meet Gwen!"

Dosbox is startled as his handholding virginity is lost forever. He has no time to think of that, however, as a strange woman with 'Totally Legit' scribed on the side of her panel van is dragging him inside of it with the promise of a new bike. Inside, he asks himself, 'Should I be worried? Am I being kidnapped? Will I have all of my organs after this?' He is quietly reminded of the bug in Space Station 13 that, when receiving a vended lunch tray, the game would remove your organs and place them on said tray. This distracts him enough to not be paying enough attention, and he is easily guided into the cart. His desire not to make his new friend feel awkward is beaten by the fact that he is not sure if he is safe in private with her, and he proposes, "What about that one? Pelapuff Cafe? The one with all the maids talking in front of it?"

    "So I told him I thought it gave a bonus to all cleaning-based rolls!"

    The other maids break out in laughter around Asuna. "Oh my god, I have to try that line sometime!"  "Wait, did he actually buy that, Asuna?" "Probably, nice guys believe everything!"

    Asuna rather enjoys the attention. It's clear she's used to having all eyes on her like this. Usually praising her for another perfect score on a test, but this works, too.

    "With this skirt, I think he'd have gone along with pretty much anything," Asuna replies playfully. Somehow, being surrounded by other girls dressed every bit as absurdly as she is puts her in an easy-going mood.

With panic abounds, DosBox looks for an exit strategy with frantic eyes. Almost as if it were divine providence, Asuna and DosBox just HAPPEN to lock eyes at that specific moment. He is anxiety-ridden; he is stressed; his eyes say, 'Save me...!' He opens his mouth, takes in a breath to call out to his only... (checks his friends list) his only friend in the whole world, and then, the door to the cart closes....

Uta slams the door closed. If she registered Dosbox's request to check at the Pelapuff Cafe, she doesn't show any signt. Instead, she sits on the front bench, ready to pull the reins and get this traveller's wagon (and associated Grunty, of course) aback on the road. When all of a sudden...

...Uta happens to turn her head, and see Asuna.

"Oh, hey, Asuna!", she exclaims cheerful.

Silence. Serious face.

"Wait, you're a maid?!", she exclaims, excitement returning, more intense than before. That is when Uta realizes that she never really asked Asuna what Profession she had. But given her expertise in cooking, it figures.

Uta jumps off the cart, and rushes off to her. "Thank goodness you're here!" Uta stops, looking at her, up and down, down and up, catching her breath. And probably raising curious and confused looks from all other maids-- whom she doesn't even seem to register. "It's -so- perfect that I've you're dressed like that! And you know why?" Uta shakes her head, "No, no, I won't tell you. I want to hear it from you!" Uta is, of course, giving her friend an opportunity to guess. What else?

So, the Spriggan leans over, hands clasped together, and waggles her eyebrows. "Hint: it involves a guy."

     There was a bit of a commotion outside of the Pelapuff Cafe. Well okay, nearby it. Not a huge commotion, but enough to catch the attention of the owner of the Pelapuff Cafe... Pela Clarpuff. Mind you if you weren't familiar with her, as short as she is, one probably wouldn't assume she was the owner of the cafe as she steps out with a slow streeeeeetch, a bit of cheesecake stuck on her cheek. "Mmmmh! ... ... What's going on? ...It's noisy outside my cafe." Pela mumbles, ear twitching a little towards the various sources. Some maids that were chatting with a woman that Pela didn't really necessarily recognize, Uta, and ... was that struggling from inside of Uta's cart? "Oh. ...Did you catch a new type of slime, Uta?" Pela questions towards her friend.


A second maid to confuse things even further! Dun dun duuuuuun.

    "Oh, hey Uta! I'm... well, sort of I guess?"

    Asuna's comment gets the real maids to laugh. "Hey if you can cook, you are halfway there, girl! And once you don the suit, you are part of the team forever."

    Asuna pauses, considers that, and gives Uta an intense look. "Uta. I am a maid. And with a little bit of help, you will be, too!"

    A pause. Breath in. Breath out.

    "Would you like that, Uta? Would you like to ride... with the Maid Brigade?"

    It's then that she notices Pela has come out of her cafe. She loves it when the door opens cause the smell is so good. "I really have got to learn how to make bread like that," she murmurs to no one in particular.

With a quivering hand, DosBox opens the door to the cart -- QUIETLY -- and gently closes it. There is a loud, ECHOING click sound as the mechanism latches: loud enough to attract the attention of some passers by. DosBox freezes, then turns his head SLOWLY toward Asuna and Uta. "Ah... Hi." Is all he can manage to squeek out of his form, arguably shorter than Pela, though someone would have to make them stand back to back to confirm such a claim.

Clank, clank, clank.

The little cogs in Uta's head start turning. They're well-oiled cogs. So well oiled they keep skidding against each other and sometimes never really go anywhere.

Peak oiling.

So, Uta can temporarily hold onto bits and piece. She's being asked if she would like something. Riding. Riding with someone. Maid Brigade. What's a Maid Brigade?

Uta looks around. There's Maids. There's a bunch of them. And she's asked to ride with them.

Friends! Asuna's asked she wants to be friends with them, of course!

"I'd love to!", Uta finally beams at Asuna, after what must have seemed like an eternity. "What do I get to ride?" Uta loves cool mounts. She's even got a mount-sized Wyvern slime. Named Vern, of course. And a Peko that she totally did not steal, as proven by his name, "Not Stolen". And she's got Gwenty, the cosplaying Grunty who likes fashion.

She then blinks at Pela's question about capturing a slime. "I did what?" -- but then, Uta hears some noises coming from her cart. She turns, and sees it rocking slightly, as if something, or someone, was moving inside. "...Uh. I guess I have?"

     'Once you don the suit, you're part of the team forever'. Pela's eyes trail over towards Asuna. And then towards the other maids. One could almost feel her gaze on Asuna. A slight glow to them, maybe? A glint. Oh? She's a maid? Pela's gaze was sliding up and down Asuna for a moment, as she steps closer towards her, the cat starting to walk around her, checking her stance, the way she stands, her outfit. "Mmmm... you could be part of the team for sure..." Pela taps her chin, reaching here and there to adjust small things on Asuna's outfit without even her usual mild shyness. "This needs to be like this... and that should be tied a little tighter... stand up a little straighter... brag a little less..."

     AND Asuna wants to learn to make bread like that? "Well, to make bread like mine, you'll have to learn a bit of herbalism, since I incorporate my knowledge of herbs into my craft, but if you have even a basic baking skill I could show you how to make a few pastries that are less requiring of herbs than my usual ones?" Pela offers. "And I could even get you a proper outfit for cooking in as a maid, too." She says with a small grin.

     And then the gnome steps out of the cart, and freezes as if he were in trouble. As Pela looks over him, she squints a little. "...This doesn't look like your usual kind of monsters that you tame, Uta." She says thoughtfully. She Inspects him and goes. "Oh! ... Oh that's a player not a gnome monster. ...I'm sorry." She says with a nervous look, rubbing the back of her head. "Uhm... hi. ...I'm Pela Clarpuff, owner of Pelapuff Cafe. And..." She pauses, lifting a hand to wipe that bit of cheesecake off of her cheek, licking it off her finger, though she pulls a bit of a face as a trail of smoke comes out of her mouth.

     "...Apparently that was on my face for about an hour now. ...Fire magic is so temperamental." She mutters. Not that air magic was much better at times. "Are you alright? You seem positively spooked."

     Ah yes. Not Stolen, the definitely not stolen Peko. "Oh, so the slime's in your cart then?" Pela asks towards Uta, peering at the cart as it seems to be making much less noise now. Hm. "...Must have settled down." Pela adds, stepping over towards the cart -- and incidentally Dosbox -- to peek inside of it curiously. It's definitely not just because she's wanted to look inside of Uta's cart for a while now. Nope. Not at all. Now comes the question, is there actually a slime in there?!

    Asuna has to think about that question from Uta. "Oh, I imagine we'll ride whatever.. I mean, Tomoe is waiting in the stab...les which I totally did not forget to put her in. I think?"

    That.. sounds like an odd way to put it. But hey, there's Pela! And she's... fixing Asuna's cosplay. The Flash watches curiously. "Wait, not brag? I don't.. I don't brag!" Much.

    She gasps when certain things are tightened. It happens so fast she really can't react. But in the end, she's looking like a proper maid. That gut sure is sucked in now!

    "I would love to learn how to bake more like you do. But I don't know much about herbalism, no. I'm more of a monster expert than anything else. Oh, and of course I make the best pizza in Yamato!" Crap! More bragging. Dang it!

    She looks to Dosbox and tilts her head. "So, Dossy... what are you up to, anyway? Ohh, and Uta, do you have a new slime in there? You have to show me!"

A Cat Girl Cait Sith is standing RIGHT NEXT to DosBox. The immaculate creature, whose ears and tail are proof that gods do exist in this world and they have orchestrated the world in the manner that cat people can exist, stands up on her tiny tippy-toes to look into the cart. DosBox has been working for months to curb his reaction to Cat Boys and Girls, with great leaps and strides. Still, even now, he must fight with every fiber of his being not to reach over and give Pela headpats.

He clears his throat, and he speaks as a boy having just reaced puberty, "Ah... I didn't see a slime while I was in there. I... Maybe it got out?" DosBox begins to sweat a little bit, his gaze focused on those ears which, to him, are begging to be scritched. But he must not. HOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOLD!!!!!!

     "...You were basically bragging to my maids when I came out." Pela says bemusedly towards Asuna, her tail swaying in a little. Was that a bit of sass in her movements? She has her moments. "Anyway, cosplay maid outfits are great, but proper maid outfits are better for cooking. The longer dress helps protect your legs from any hot splashes or spills getting on your skin directly. And keep your ankles safe from prying noble's eyes." That last bit was said a tiny bit jokingly.

     The best pizza in yamato? Pela's eyes light up a little. "Best pizza in yamato... huh..." Pela's eyes looked thoughtful suddenly. Dosbox and the cart are all but forgotten, as Pela steps back over towards Asuna, and pokes her menu buttons in quick succession. Cheeses start to pop out, some mild cheddar, a soft mozzarella, and other relatively young cheese. She is absolutely dumping those on Asuna. "Experiment. Working on making more types, but maturing times take longer on a lot of them. ...And I haven't mastered ones that require specific molds yet." Like Brie. She doesn't want to kill people, after all.

    Oh. there wasn't a slime in there. Just a gnome. Huh. Pela taps her lip as she glances back towards Dosbox. "Did it get out? Hm. That would be unfortunate if it got out in Shibuya, the poor thing probably wouldn't survive long without Uta to keep it tame and well behaved." Pela muses out loud. She is blissfully ignorant of how close she is to being headpatted by a fan of catgirls. Which is probably for the best. "...What were you doing in there? You seemed as if you were escaping. I thought I saw you hanging out outside the cafe, too..." And she'd seen that her employee, Yura, had gone out and brought him food occasionally, too. "...Uta you know that he's a player and not a monster right?" She asks towards Uta.

"Oh, Okay!", Uta smiles. There's going to be riding. Details to be defined. That's cool. As long as there's going to be riding.

"When do we ride?", Uta asks next. "At dawn?"

Seeing DosBox exit the cart causes Uta to answer the question about the new slime by raising her finger and pointing at him. "...That one." Pause. "Oh, wait, no. It's not a slime. He's a customer. For a maid. To do his laundry and trim his beard. And anything else needed to properly prepare him for a job interview. He needs to leave a good impression."

What Asuna will see in the wagon is-- minimalism. The wagon is pretty much a barrel, and inside, it's -empty-. There's a round window, sure, looking like a plus sign in the middle of a circle, and the 'floor' is sort of like a tatami; there's a desk-like surface that can be swung up and down from the curved wall -- kept in place by a couple chains when it's down (but right now, it's up). And there's a pair of wardrobe door at the far end; likely, in Japanese fashion, all her stuff is stored in there, including a futon. Or perhaps, it's stored -below- the floor, considering how the barrel is round but there's a flat surface, leaving a 'round slice' as storage. A tiny basement of sorts.

    Asuna reaches up to rub the back of her neck, "Well, yeah, but we were just having fun." And now she's getting scolded. Does Pela know her mother?! "Oh, I don't wear this for cooking, anyway. I wear an apron for that. Gwen made this for me, so I don't want to mess it up. I usually just wear it when I'm cleaning a friend's house." With the eye wandering kinda being the entire point, really.

    But that's all cast aside at the sight of new cheese. "Oohhhh, Pela! Those are lovely!" If her eyes could take on a heart shape, they would. "I'm working on finding improved pasta sauces, spices, and noodles. That cheese would take it to the next level!" She pauses, looks at Pela seriously. "You ever think of teaming up with someone in the kitchen? I mean, obviously you are a phenomenol baker. I actually came here because I wanted to visit your cafe. Plus I heard about some kinda fun dance move that is done here. Sounded like it might be useful."

    She finds the inside of Uta's wagon to be... a sign that she needs to help Uta equip it sometime. "Hey, Uta, you know we should ride at dawn. I haven't gone slime hunting for you lately. Is there anything you are looking for? Special colors, sizes, attributes?"

    And then, to Dosbox. "Dossy, what is this about? Trim your own beard, silly. I mean, it can't be that hard. And laundry? Maybe you should go clothes shopping, honestly. Look as dapper as possible." She looks from Dossy to Pela, then back. There's a strong sense of 'BEHAVE' in her glance at the gnome.

Dosbox shoots a pout at Asuna as if to say, 'I am behaving with ALL OF MY MIGHT, thank you very much!' before wiping that pout away with a nervous smile, "I mean, yeah, probably... Uta was just... She is very... Charismatic, so... I was sort of going with the flow." With the proximity to the cuteness now somewhat distant, DosBox relaxes a little. The urge to pet is much less. "I... Could probaly get a better hat. And I don't really NEED the beard, I guess. Do you think I should go without it?"

     When are they riding for what? Uta gets a curious look from Pela, her ears shifting slightly as she looks at her, tail waving slowly behind her. And then Uta mentions that the gnome is a customer for a maid. To do ... his laundry and trim his beard? Pela blinks a few times. "...He shouldn't need his laundry done, the cleaning command should handle that. Unless he needs new clothing, in which case, then I could help some with that, but..." She muses out loud, looking between Dosbox and Uta. And then back to Dosbox again as she seems to be musing a bit. Her attention is brought back to Asuna rather quickly though.

     "Ooh! Gwen made that? That explains the quality! I occasionally go and visit her store, as she's much better at the tailoring side of the Maid profession than I am." Pela responds cheerfully, she wasn't being /particularly/ severe with her comments, more just... passionate about maids. And maid outfits. And really she just likes maids. A lot. "...Have you read through the herb guide I wrote for Yamato? ...There should be one in the Scale Emblem library. ...I can also point you at some other herbs. ...Do you know any farmers by the way? I have some seeds I'd like to cultivate for curry spices but I lack the farming skill to actually grow them and they're an uncommon herb so take farming skill to actually cultivate."

     Dosbox talks about Uta being charismatic, which gets an amused look from Pela. "Charismatic? Hm... yes. I think I agree. And..." Pause. Better hat? No beard? Hm. Pela glances over Dosbox, before reaching into her inventory again. And pulling out... some tailoring supplies! A measuring tape and pair of scissors to be precise. "...I am fairly skilled at making outfits, though Gwen would be the better choice for the actual outfit. Still, I can assist to some degree." And Pela darts towards Dosbox. It's a rather quick motion, almost as if she were dashing past him with an attack that would go off prematurely. Flashes of light as a pair of scissors are brandished, occasional tugs as measurements are taken, and... Dosbox would find himself in a somewhat tidier state. And Pela turns towards him, holding out a small slip of paper. "...Here, take these to Gwen's shop in Alne to get yourself a new outfit." Yes. She's holding out his measurements to him. "...If you're applying for where I think you're applying, I recommend a nice work uniform. Like a butler outfit. Or a nice wizard slash alchemist robe. Or a nice pair of jeans with a nice looking shirt." Pela's good at socialization. Sometimes. Mostly. Kind of.

Uta, from a distance, shouts out, "HATS ARE IMPORTANT!" Wait, what was the context for that?

Dosbox bows deeply to Pela with a, "Thank you for existing. Er... And... For the assistance." He let that one slip out. Don't pet the kitty. Don't pet the kitty. Don't pet the kitty. Don't pet the kitty. Don't pet the kitty. Don't pet the kitty. Don't pet the kitty. Don't pet the kitty. Don't pet the kitty. Don't pet the kitty. Don't pet the kitty. Don't pet the kitty. Don't pet the kitty. Don't pet the kitty. Don't pet the kitty. Don't pet the kitty. Don't pet the kitty.

DosBox pulls it back together. "I am sure this will help me with my... Er... Interview." He clutches the note she gave him to his chest as if it were something precious.

     'Thank you for existing'. Pela blinks a bit at that, tilting her head as her ear flicks a bit. "I mean. You're welcome. I suppose. ...For existing. And also for helping you." The gears in Pela's head are turning. Click. Click. Click. Whirr. "...You must be a fan of maids too, then." She nods simply. "...I'm sure it will, yes, that's why I did it for you. So you can get a new outfit." OKay that part probably went over Pela's head.

     Pela looks towards Asuna. "...You can come visit me whenever you want to to practice baking with me or use my ovens if you need access to one when you're in the area, so long as you clean up afterwards. ...Yura, Shabiru, or Hana can let you into the back, and I'll let them know you're welcome. ...You may be supervised just because I don't know you very much the first couple of times, though." And then Pela's back off into the cafe. Because she has more cheesecake to experiment with.

Dosbox skitters off as well, as it seems everyone else is departing. That was somewhat of a success. Pela didn't think he was a weirdo who was obsessed with Cat people. He's just a weirdo who is obsessed with Maids. That's.... Nope. Still creepy. That's less than half a win. 'That's fine. It's fine. Everything is fine,' DosBox convinces himself as he waddles off in the direction of Gwen's shop in Alne. Hopefully, will go better than this time? Did it go poorly this time? The whole situation was confusing and he couldn't wrap his head around it. Still, one thing is for certain. He should definitely stop camping out in front of Haru's Atelier and actually ask to be his apprentice.

Uta pats (ok... more like 'slaps') her traveller's wagon while sitting at the board that counts as the "driver's seat". It's an invite for DosBox to join. "Get in loser, we're going to Alne!"

She points straight ahead, in a direction that people with Cartography will most definitely recognize as NOT the one for Alne, and declare, ecstatic, "WE RIDE AT DAWN!"

Dosbox stops. He thought he was free, but it was folly to believe so. Trying to mask his dejection, the gnome casts, with a flick of the wrist, as small Earth Pillar to softly heft him up onto the wagon, and he has a seat on the spot that was indicated. He was used to being called a loser, but never was he called by that moniker with such a cheery tone. "S-sure! But we can ride before dawn... Uh... If you'd like..." DosBox didn't know what he was getting into. Well, yes he did. He just got into a wagon. He knew that. What he didn't know was what would happen in between the time he made it to Alne and now. Maybe he didn't NEED to be afraid. But that's not how Anxiety works. It acts up whether it should or not. DosBox let out a sigh.

    Well, everyone.. is going then! But Asuna got access to another place to hang out and bake things. That's cool! If she can get in good with Hifumi maybe she can be the first ever omni guest chef, welcome all across Yamato.

    Asuna's cooking! You never have to leave your favorite culinary institution without it!

    She has some more chat time with the real catgirl maids, who give her all sorts of tips. Like ten ways to get stubborn stains out of tatami or how to ensure nobody can grab your tail. She doesn't think that one will be handy, but you never know!

    Regardless, she has someone else to see. If she can find him... there's dance lessons to be had. Maybe?