heart game - MK, rinku

[wroughtandtempered]

I’m sorry. I tried— I tried, but I can’t keep going—

I don’t think I can do this alone, so— Please. Please—

I need help.

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[noodleboi]

"Wah!" MK mimicked Rinku's noise and voice without thinking as she tumbled into him. He caught her and managed to keep them both standing with his tail.

"Rinku?! What are you doing here?" Okay. So they were both in some weird new place. ...Oh.

"Oooooh shit. Do you remember how we got here because I don't."

[roundandaround]

Rinku fluffed up and shook snow out of her wings.

"I dunno!" She said in MK's voice, albeit more... chirpy. Maybe it's just her personality. "I know I was really cold, but I couldn't stop it. Not even with magic. The Pokémon and Leon-kun all looked really worried. And then I think I passed out, and then I heard..."

Her voice changed to Eve's.

"Eve-chan? I think it was Eve-chan."

She shivered and drew her wings in, then turned her head to the house.

"Do you think it'll be warmer in there?"

[noodleboi]

MK cleared his throat. Hearing his own voice, even if chirpy, coming out of Rinku was weird. He finally spoke up in his own voice.

"I think I heard Eve too. She needs our help. Which means this might be a cursed game or uh something else. We need to be careful. Of like everything. What we say, what we do, what we touch or break. Let's head for the house, yeah. It should be warmer in there and maybe we can find a clue what we can do to help."

[roundandaround]

Rinku shivered. Her fur and feathers fluffed up. She ran through the snow towards the house and leaned up against the wall for warmth, ears swivelling to try and hear anything.

"So this kind of thing happens too?" She was speaking in her own voice, but stammering from the shivering. "Careful of everything? Okay! Then it's fine if we just don't break stuff, right? I can..."

She tried to scan the house for curses. Nothing. She blinked and held up a paw. When electricity cracked instead of a flame appearing, she tilted her head.

"Huh... Okay. So we don't just not look like us, we have different magic too?" She shot a tiny testing bolt at a snow-covered rock. "This is kinda fun!"

[wroughtandtempered]

The house is in the western style, and hardly more than a cottage. You can just barely hear footsteps inside, and the sound of someone humming to themself. ...It doesn't seem particularly warmer, though.

[noodleboi]

MK followed and listened with his floppy ears. He swallowed seeing the little bolt of lighting zapping the snow-covered rock. He flinched. Please don't be some important rock. He walked over to the door and knocked on it. Might as well just start with being polite.

"We'll be okay. We stick together and don't rush into stuff. I did that and...it didn't go well."

[roundandaround]

"Eh? Okay!"

Rinku followed and mimicked the door-knocking sound. She giggled and did it again for good measure. This was fun!

"Stay with you, don't rush into stuff... That sounds kinda hard, but I'm sure it'll be fine. We're helping Eve-chan, after all! I think."

She started looking around again, humming to herself.

[nuts_and_volts]

MK hardly has a chance to knock before the door swings open, revealing a short, slim individual with platinum-blonde hair and bright blue eyes. They blink at the both of you, then blurt out a startled “oh!”

“Goodness, we weren’t expecting visitors— but come in, please come in, you must be freezing!” they say, hurrying to hold the door open.

[noodleboi]

MK couldn't respond to Rinku with the person with that blond hair and blue eyes suddenly there. He smiled wide and stepped inside, pulling Rinku with him.

"Thank you so much. We're both a little lost. How are you tonight? I'm MK and this is Rinku."

[roundandaround]

"Hi! I mean, hi!"

Rinku chipped in in MK's voice and then her own. Quickly, she shifted back to her human form, still in her bar waitress uniform, and waved. She looked around the house in awe.

"Yeah, it's really cold! I don't know what's going on, but can we help? I think that's what we're here for."

Smile smile.

[nuts_and_volts]

The air is hardly any warmer as you step into the house (...and oddly smells strongly of smoke), but as the full moon disappears from sight something in you eases. Instincts new and old wane enough to dismiss with only a little effort, now.

You can now shift between your current shape and a human one, if you so wish; you instinctively know how to in the same way you know your current body. (Good timing, Rinku.)

"I'm doing well, thank you. My name is Reika— I'm Eve-chan's mother. ...I'm sorry it's not much warmer in here; I'm afraid our usual heating's gone out."

[noodleboi]

MK felt the instincts fade a little. He chooses to stay in this form for now. He was put in it for a reason, right? And he kinda likes the floppy ears. They're cute.

"Thank you, Reika," MK breathes in through his nose, trying to find the source of smoke. He looks around.

"Maybe I can help. Where is the heating thingy?"

[roundandaround]

"Yeah! Thanks, Reika-san!" Rinku smiled wide. "Yeah, is your fireplace clogged up or something? I bet we can clean it."

[nuts_and_volts]

It's impossible to tell where exactly the smoke is coming from; the smell is fairly pervasive, though at least aside from the smell the air seems to be clear.

"Well— I'm not sure what they'd look like to you, actually. But there is one in each room. ...It's less a matter of a clog and more that they've run out of fuel, dear. You might be able to restart them, but without something new to burn they'll likely go right back out."

[noodleboi]

One in each room and they needed something to burn. Okay. MK looked at his hand. Could he make fire that didn't go out with his powers?

"Let me try one thing. If not, we can find more fuel. Uh. What do they burn? Wood?"

[roundandaround]

"There's wood outside, and probably dry grass too! I dunno about coal or other things, though." Rinku hummed and looked out the window, trying entirely too hard to resist drawing happy faces and shapes in the condensation on the glass.

[nuts_and_volts]

"Ah— well. I'm not really sure, but I don't think that kind of fuel will work... Eve-chan uses them to burn things she thinks she doesn't need, but I think it depends on which fire you're working with."

[noodleboi]

"Burns things she thinks she doesn't need..." One in each house. Okay. MK holds out his hand and lights a small fire in the palm of his hands.

"I could try this. But I don't know if it would work then. We might have to go into the forest, I think. Find things in there to use..."

[roundandaround]

"Stuff Eve-chan doesn't need..." Rinku hummed and then sighed. "I don't get it at all. That's okay! We'll figure it out! Where's your heater thingy?"

[nuts_and_volts]

"Oh— the forest is a metaphor, dear. There shouldn't be anything out there. ...You should be able to touch the fires without being burned; they'll tell you what they need. You might also find other ways to stay warm, though."

They step aside, letting the two look down the hallway. It has with four doors: two on the left, one on the right, and one at the end of the hallway (which is simply an open doorframe). The one on the right and the furthest door on the left are unmarked, but the door closest to you has a small decorated wooden sign on it that says:

Eve’s room

"I'm afraid I can't accompany you further than this, but if you get stuck, head to the kitchen— that's at the end of the hall. Yuuka-sama should be in there, and she can help you out."

[noodleboi]

MK nodded to Reika as they led them to the hallway. MK's eyes look over the doors and lands on Eve's room.

"Okay. We're going to do our best. Thank you, Reika. Wish us luck," MK moved to the door to Eve's room and tried the knob.

[roundandaround]

"Thanks, Reika-san! We're gonna do our best!"

Rinku bowed and followed MK, trying to look around him to see what was inside. She started humming again.

"We're coming in, Eve-chan! ...I mean, if we're in her head, I assume she can hear us, anyway. I could when you guys were in my head, but that was kinda different."

[nuts_and_volts]

They chuckle. "You'll do just fine, dears. Eve-chan's stubborn about change, and soft-hearted; you'll know if there's something she doesn't want touched, and she wouldn't leave anything too sharp lying around."

...Case in point, perhaps: the doorknob starts to turn, then jams. Seems like it’s locked— but there’s no keyhole…?

[noodleboi]

"Guess we're not going in there, yet. Okay, Eve. We'll try the other door," MK wasn't going to force anything. He turned and walked to the door on the other side of the hall and tried that one.

[roundandaround]

"Really? Aww."

Rinku looked around fruitlessly for a hidden key, completely missing that there was nothing to put it in. Once MK tried the other door, she stood up and followed, waving at the locked door.