[Open] My head down low

[tantailizing]

🧙 Who: Zidane Tribal and You!
⚔️️ Which: Open
🕒 Where: Around Reverein
🗺️ What: Love is in the air and work is on the ground! A February catch-all!
⚠️ Warnings: Bleeding Heart infected. Emotions may become radical which, in turn, actually affects his powers.

I. Road Repair

[Unfamiliar with this route himself, Zidane took one look at the cobblestone to incline and had to agree with whoever posted the Quest: yeah, it needed to be fixed. Simple enough for someone just on foot or a mount to traverse, but this would be hell on anyone trying to drag a cart, or they didn't have sure footing.]

[It long days' work, but he would be found there working to help demolish, terraform, and rebuild the road. There's no monetary reward, he knows, but there's the assurance in knowing that no one would be at risk using it once done.]

Huh, I wonder if we could theme the road to the installation somehow...

[He's just thinking out loud, don't mind it too much.]

II. Spider Thread Traps

[Well, didn't someone get overzealous setting these traps. It's almost like they learned how and just wanted to keep doing it. That's almost a waste of pretty good spider thread, and that's not even mentioning how things kept getting trapped that probably wasn't intended to.]

[Like a spice noodle that already didn't like being out in this weather.]

I'll have you out. Take it easy, bud...

[Though he's occupied, he wouldn't deny help.]

III. High Tide for Crime

[Reverein wasn't Treno and he rather liked it that way. The uptick in crime does not go unnoticed by the ex-thief either. This place was not a rich one, or divisible by class. Everyone was making due with what they had, abilities and otherwise; which meant, it was only fair to help people out with his own abilities, dusty though some of them may be.]

[Besides, would someone really raise a fuss over thief-on-thief crimes? He's only stealing to return what's taken to their rightful owners. Maybe catch him in the act of returning said stolen goods, or even suspect he took them in the first place. He does seem rather pleased with whatever he's up to.]

IV. Bleeding Heart (feat. Dreamscape)

[Valentine's Day... first time he's hearing about it, but it looked like everyone in Reverein was gearing up to celebrate it. And why not? It's a day to share love and there's plenty of people around to share it with, platonic and romantic. In fact, Zidane's a little into the mood of making sure some couples were taking time to get ready and enjoy themselves.]

[It was just watching from a distance, really because getting too close, it was making his chest hurt. People look so happy, and he's happy for them! Really! But he placed his hand over his chest, trying to smother the red light glowing beneath. It felt like it wanted to burst out and latch onto someone else - maybe he wanted to reach out to them himself? - but he couldn't let it do that. Just smile and wave, smile and wave...]

Hey, I think there's a deal on chocolate if you need it.

[His dreamcrystal shifted.]


[Darkness...

There, but a single chair - a throne of stone adorned with a crown of spikes.

It is quiet, empty, and Zidane just sits, unmoving.

Alone...


... alone...


All... alone.


And the red bleeds too bright...]

V. Wildcard

[OOC: Wanna do something unlisted from the prompts? Hit me up at demidemonLove or PM so we can plot! Also, these prompts can have Zidane already infected with the Bleeding Heart, just note in the subject if you want that!]

Comments

iii

[mwehehe]

[...

Okay, so, did Sun Wukong over here just take something off that cart?! She's pretty sure he did, but...

...

Time to follow him to see if he really is swiping things like he shouldn't be!! If he is, she'll... well, she can't really talk, she's a Phantom Thief, but you know!!!]

[tantailizing]

[Maybe he did, maybe he didn't, but he'll walk along like he didn't.]

[Though, she might want to avoid walking past the cart itself since it takes a moment for the owner of the cart to realize the item's gone and begin frantically searching. It even includes suspiciously eyeing anyone that comes too close.]

[Meanwhile, 'Sun' keeps on moving on~ Causing a commotion is for a bigger target.]

[mwehehe]

[She's definitely getting the brunt of the owner yelling at her, even if she's a few steps away and was nowhere near the thing when Zidane snatched... whatever he grabbed.]

H-hey! Why are you even yelling at me!

[Uuuuugh. She's going to jog her way past, Dreambucks in hand, while she's being told "you probably took your coffee too!"

Zidane will hear a very angry "They don't even take payment for it!!" in response because boy that's gonna bug her if she doesn't say something to it.

Now where did Wukong go, because if she's going to get in trouble for things she's not taking, she has to know if he took stuff!!!]

[tantailizing]

[Oh yeah, he hears that and cringes slightly. Oooh, sounds like he's yelling at someone younger than expected. Now, he could just dip and leave it alone, or he could hide and double check on the aftermath.]

[Eh, he'll go with option B.]

[Slinking around a corner and hiding, he intends on waiting a minute before doubling back. Though, before that, a girl with orange hair jogs past his hiding spot looking around?]

[... Well, if this is what he thinks it might be, he's going to follow her instead.]

[mwehehe]

[Once she shakes off the cart owner and she finally jogs past Zidane, she looks around with a frown.]

Where did that monkey guy go? He was just here! Ugh, that guy stopping me made me lose him...

[Futaba huffs, and walks forward slowly, looking for any sort of clues on where Zidane might have gone.]

[tantailizing]

[Aha, so she had been trying to tail him. He snickers to himself and follows after her still.]

[She might turn around... eventually. How about some help?]

A monkey guy, huh? He could've climbed up and away.

[mwehehe]

[She's on the way to turn around to look around as he says something, making her jump and drop her drink.

:( That's a sad sight.]

WOAH! Don't just sneak up on someone like that— aw, my drink! I wasn't done with that...

[Sob. Guess she'll be going back and begging the coffee fairy to have mercy on her and her poor drink.]

And yes a monkey guy, like Sun Wukong! [...] I don't think this direction's west so he's not going on a journey to the west or something. But he took something, I think!

[tantailizing]

Whoops, sorry about that.

[Not so much the scare, but the drink. RIP.]

Sun Wukong? [He's never heard that name before, but it sounds cool! He might borrow it as a disguise in the future.] He did? That's no good. We have enough thieves out and about right now.

[mwehehe]

Yeah! He's got a monkey tail like a monkey but I don't know who he is—

[...there was something behind him that she could have sworn she saw, and she's gonna take a peek and]

AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH! It's you! Sun Wukong, the monkey king!

[tantailizing]

[Yup, that sure is a monkey tail swaying about. He grins widely.]

Aha! Looks like I've been discovered!

[Not that he seems to be... hiding anything.]

The name's actually Zidane by the way.

[mwehehe]

You took something, though! Where'd you hide it, you thief!

[...wait, what if he's like Hooded Sparrow, the guy who took from the rich though? And really, she's a Phantom Thief, she has no right to really talk about stealing and thievery here!]

Er... well... th-that is... i-if you stole something!

[People anxiety rising...]

[tantailizing]

Woaaah, don't tell me that's how you greet everyone.

[He shakes his head, but neither confirms or denies that he's taken anything. And now, he has to bring a hand to his chin and tilt his head.]

Wait, you're not sure and you followed me?

[mwehehe]

Wh— n-no! I-it's not! Oh man did I make a mistake...

A-and y-yeah, i-i-it looked like you d-did s-so...

[Aaah. Futaba squats down and puts her hands on her head, trying to make this not worse for herself here, what a time for her to lose confidence and not follow up on what was needed!]

I-I wanted t-to see i-if you d-did...

[tantailizing]

[... Awe, now she's just making him feel bad. He was kinda hoping she'd be more charged to - well - charge him. And looking back the way they came, he'll place his hands on his hips.]

Well, whether I did or not, that guy back there isn't a good guy anyway. Most of the stuff he has was stolen. Now, if he's the thief, or a peddler for them, that's the big question.

[mwehehe]

H-he was a bad g-guy...?!

[She also looks back down the alley from where they came, and back up to Zidane (though he's just going to be Wukong from now on, sorrynotsorry!)]

S-so you were j-just like Hooded Sparrow... urgh... s-sorry...

[FUTABA IS NOT THAT BRAVE TO JUST CHARGE SOMEONE, she doesn't fight here! Just... likes to think she's brave. She can be. Sometimes. Just not now.]

W-were you trying t-to figure out if he's the th-thief?

[tantailizing]

[He nods (and he's not going to complain!).]

... Who's 'Hooded Sparrow'?

[First time he's hearing that. Were they a thief of some kind?]

Yup. I ran into some individuals today talking about they were missing several items he's attempting to sell. Of course, had to take a closer look, but it sounds like something happened after I left.

[mwehehe]

Y-you know, guy who t-takes from the r-rich, gives t-to the poor?

[...though he probably doesn't know that story... hm.]

A-anyway! W-was that something me? I walked by a-and he started yelling at me. O-or was it something e-else?

[But boy this guy sounds like a jerk, stealing from people and trying to sell them himself!]

I-I can help, probably!

[tantailizing]

... Can't say I've heard of that guy before. Sounds cool.

[They might have something like that, but different name.]

Huh, maybe. He sounded pretty mad... maybe already knows what he's up to.

[Which means it's a good time to get him.]

Oh yeah? Got any suggestions to reclaim all the stolen goods?