Family Begins With You

by Jmaster49

Arc XXIII Episode II: Festival Games

About ten minutes later, on the other side of the fair…

Aidon arrived wearing an all-black set of Eastern robes, interested in seeing what this festival had to offer as the sun started going down. “...The smell of the food. The entertainment…this is a nice change of pace indeed,” he remarked to himself as he took a look around at the various booths with games and various food stands. Loads of idle chatter could be heard as everyone was busy enjoying themselves.

“Maybe we’ll finally catch a break,” he thought to himself, “Now what should I do first…”

Before he could make a decision, he was shortstopped by a familiar raspy voice.

“Yo, teach!” Vinyl turned around from participating in the cork-shooting game, holding the toy gun in the air. She was wearing a set of short, white robes that didn’t go past her knees. They were patterned with blue, lightning bolt-esque horizontal stripes. “Didn’t expect to see you here!” she shouted.

Octavia turned and grabbed Vinyl’s hand with both of hers, slowly forcing her to put the gun down. “Shhh--Vi, you’re going to attract unnecessary attention.” She sighed and waved at Aidon. “...Hello, professor.”

“...We’re not even in school right now and you girls are set to graduate,” Aidon chuckled as he approached them, “You can call me by my name here. It’s perfectly fine.”

“...Yeah that’d be a bit awkward,” Vinyl admitted, “It’s like that one game where the characters are talking to the protagonist who’s their teacher and they don’t say the player’s name because it’s customizable--it just feels out of place to say it, right Tavey?”

Octavia stared at her girlfriend, dumbfounded for a moment as she tried to process what she had just heard. “...Wot? I mean, I suppose I can comprehend your perspective. We don’t really refer to him as anything other than ‘professor’ normally.”

“I see…” Aidon idly scratched the back of his head. “Well…whatever works best for you is okay with me. What sort of game are you playing there?”

Vinyl quickly adapted to the change of subject and beckoned the professor over to them. “Oh yeahyeahyeah--alright, okay so with this game here, you shoot at whatever prize you want, and if you can knock it down,” she shut one of her eyes with her tongue sticking out of the side of her mouth and…

POP!

Plunk.

“Augh!” she threw her head back and huffed as she placed the toy gun down. “Dammit--no dice on that rice.”

Aidon adjusted his glasses and narrowed his eyes, squinting at the red shelves and the wall of prizes that stood about five feet away from them. “Hm…what were you aiming for, exactly?”

Octavia would answer by pointing it out. “That little electric violin at the top,” she explained, noting the shiny violin made of sleek, black wood, “It’s something we could both get use out of, but nothing she should break her back over.” She put a hand on Vinyl’s shoulder, “Come on, luv. Don’t hurt yourself over--”

“I refuse to lose!” Vinyl protested as she took aim once more.

As they were talking, Aidon was busy observing the area around them. From within his point of view, he could see various numbers and equations line up with each other followed by dotted lines to show the trajectory of the cork bullets fired from those toy guns. Soon enough…

“Hold on,” he commanded, getting the attention of both girls, “You’re not factoring in the wind. Aim a bit to the left.”

“Are you sure about that, teach?” Vinyl questioned him, much to the visual chagrin of Octavia, who was busy pressing her hand against her face in reaction to what the DJ girl had just said.

“He’s our maths professor, Vinyl,” Octavia added as she put her hand down, “I think he knows what he’s talking about.”

It took a moment for Vinyl to realize who she had been talking to. After a pause, all she could say was, “...Oh.”

Aidon simply chuckled in response. “Don’t sweat yourself. Just give it a try--I think you’ll hit it.”

“May as well,” Vinyl shrugged and took aim once more…

POP!

Ding!

“He-hey! I got it!” Vinyl pumped her fist as she was handed the electrical string instrument from the woman running the stand, “Thanks, teach!”

“As expected from our professor,” Octavia added, “Oh and by the way, I believe Luna was looking for you.”

Stunned, Aidon had to re-adjust his glasses upon hearing that. “...S-she is? That’s…interesting.”

Vinyl stared at him with a neutral expression on her face. “...can he really not tell?” she muttered under her breath.

“He’s from another dimension,” Octavia whispered back, “He’s not too keen on human social cues just yet.”

“What was that?” Aidon asked.

“Nothing,” Octavia shook her head, and pointed down one of the paths, “I believe she’s at the fountain in the middle of the festival at the moment.”

“I see…” Aidon cleared his throat as he continued walking, “Well, if I see her, I’ll let you know. Enjoy the rest of your evening you two.”

The girls waved as he left, then Vinyl checked her phone.

“It’s a text from Micro,” she said, catching Octavia’s attention, “He says that Luna is on her way there.”

“Oi--perfect,” Octavia clasped her hands together with a smile on her face, “We’ll finally be able to help them.”

Comments

[Jmaster49]

11285195
LOL! I DON'T THINK YOU WANNA DO THAT!

[Snowdrifter]

11285528
,"Well, if you gotta go, go with a smile!" Joker