NEW AND IMPROVED STEPH CATCHALL

[psychedelica]

Comments

[vigilantics]

Either. Both.

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

[psychedelica]

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 ]

[vigilantics]

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.

[psychedelica]

[ 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. ]

[vigilantics]

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.

[psychedelica]

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.

[vigilantics]

Ah, my own tutor.

Do I have to pay you?

[psychedelica]

That depends.

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

[vigilantics]

[ she watches, amused. ]

Depends on what?

[psychedelica]

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.

[vigilantics]

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.

[psychedelica]

[ 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. ]

[vigilantics]

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.

[psychedelica]

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

[vigilantics]

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. ]

[psychedelica]

... 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.

[vigilantics]

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.

[psychedelica]

Hah... That sounds like you.

[ she's always been so alive. how was a 100-year-old king of the dead not supposed to remember what it was like, spending time with her? ]

[vigilantics]

I'll take that as a compliment.

[ she is pretty sure it is.

but she'll bounce the ball again before shooting it. it bounces off the rim. ]

The crowd boos...