psychedelica | NEW AND IMPROVED STEPH CATCHALL

Ah...

[ she runs after the ball, and then once she grabs it, she'll toss it back over to hikage. ]

You can try again.

It's higher up than it looked.

[ he catches it again, slightly more gracefully this time, and makes another shot -- it bounces off the rim.

he's feeling short... ]

... At this rate, I'm going to get depressed, too. [ but it's said wryly as he goes to fetch the ball himself. can't make her do all the work. ]

It's all about the practice!

[ she sounds like a motivational speaker. ]

Try bending your knees a little and jumping slightly when you shoot. It'll give you more oomph!

[ feeling slightly humiliated, he takes her advice and takes another shot... and it bounces off the rim again. Hikage sighs. ]

This looked easier when you did it.

I have had years of practice, you know.

[ sometimes you are a jock, trying to teach a goth to sport. ]

You have? [ hm. ] ... Well, I guess that makes sense. Clubs and sports... those kinds of things suit you.

[ wandering over to get his ball again. ]

I didn't go to school, but I've seen it in people's memories.

Edited 2020-07-02 04:35 (UTC)

[ hilariously, she definitely was not in any clubs or teams at school, but she does not correct him. ]

Did it seem interesting?

[ he's drawing off the only examples he has....... ]

School, or sports?

[ eyeing that basket again. he's gonna get it right this time, dammit. ]

Either. Both.

[ she just wants to hear what he has to say, really. ]

Hm.

[ thinking. ]

... I was homeschooled. I think. [ his memory is so spotty. ] Dealing with so many people every day sounds like it would be annoying. At the same time... some of them would probably be all right.

[ he doesn't say this out loud, but he would have welcomed a chance to escape from that house, too, even if it was only for a few hours. ]

I was interested. [ a beat. as for the second part: ] I'm not very athletic.

[ as she's probably noticed ]

There's plenty of sports where you don't have to be super athletic to do them, you know. Ping pong is pretty fun.

[ she kind of demonstrates the hand movement of ping pong. ]

I play that one a lot at school.

[ ... ]

Regular school would have gotten on your nerves, yeah. But that's fine.

[ he knows what ping pong is! maybe surprisingly. ]

It is. It's in the past now. [ a shrug. It's not something he's ever really pined for - a regular life would be nice, but he has no desire to revisit his childhood. ] ... You still go to school, then? You must be busy.

[ on top of the crime-fighting? She is young, he supposes... And he feels old. ]

I'm in my first year of college, yeah.

[ not by choice, admittedly, but her mom wanted her to go. ]

Sometimes, your life is not knowing when you manage to do your own homework.

Hmph.

[ a laugh? part of one? maybe. it's hard to tell with him sometimes. ]

When we go back, maybe you can persuade me to help you.

Ah, my own tutor.

Do I have to pay you?

That depends.

[ lining up his shot again... with determination!! ]

[ she watches, amused. ]

Depends on what?

How hard you plan on working me.

[ and how she's going to pay him?? he's not feeling spicy enough to make that comment, though, so it goes unsaid. Instead, he makes his shot, and... it actually goes in!! He blinks in surprise, then puts his hands on his hips, looking triumphant. ]

Finally.

Yayyyy.

[ she claps her hands, laughing.

there's a slight pause, like she's startled that she laughed considering did you know this is the pc after evan died. but then her smile is back. ]

Good job.

Edited 2020-07-17 13:25 (UTC)

[ a big win for Hikage all around! Seeing her laugh and smile makes him feel lighter, too - if he actually helped her for once instead of the other way around, then he doesn't need anything more. ]

... Somehow, I'm feeling refreshed. I think I see the appeal. [ once he's fetched the ball, he passes it back over her way. ]

Uh huh.

[ she knows he's not the sporty type, so it has to be something else. but steph will take the ball and just bounce it a few times. ]

You'll be going pro in no time.

I'll pass. [ pun not intended. ] But maybe this sort of thing isn't so bad once in a while.

There's nothing wrong with doing something out of your comfort zone.

[ she's a pretty firm believer in trying stuff out that you normally wouldn't. ]

... Maybe not.

[ she's certainly got him doing a lot of that... it's worked out well in the end, he supposes. More than well. ]

I'm not fond of change, but... Your advice has been pretty helpful to me.

Mm. Change isn't a bad thing, you know.

[ he wouldn't be friends with her, if it wasn't for change. ]

It's not always good, either, but... everything can't stay the same forever.

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