[ajforpresident]

Takashi

Noel Kalamarei

Bell

"Wow...." said a Noel Kalamarei gazing at the surroundings around her in awe. "Come on, Bell." said the Candle Shinzo, accompanying the Kalamarei. "We can go sight-seeing later. We need to look for someone."
"Oh, Takashi." Bell said, still looking around. "You never want to have fun. It's always, 'We need to be somewhere' or 'Stop messing around'. You're boring like that." Takashi gave an exasperated sigh. "You always get yourself in some form of trouble, so that's why I have to keep an eye on you. Really, I don't know why I hang out with you anyway. You act so hard-headed sometimes."
Bell giggled, "I can answer that question easily." She walked up to him and looked him in the eye. She just stared, then said with a smile, "Because you like me and I like you! And plus, we have a lot in common. So, that's why we're friends." Bell then turned away from Takashi and said, "Well, come on. You said you wanted to go look for someone, so let's get going!" She then started to run off with Takashi screaming, "Wait up, Bell!" and chasing after her.
[Bell: Level 2; 9] [Takashi: Level 2; 9]

[Indigo]

"Hey! Look where you're going!"

"Huh?" Mintri looked up from her novel and surveyed the area around her. Finally, focusing on an irate Garudor, she held up one hand. "Sorry about that. Hey, have you ever read..." She trailed off as the Garudor harrumphed and began picking up the things he'd dropped, which she wasn't particularly interested in. She was just getting to the good part.

Something tugged at the back of her mind. There was something she had to do, wasn't there? Someone she'd been asked to meet? Maybe? A Candle Shinzo with a bell, or something like that. Funny thing to carry around, a bell. Speaking of which, what was that dinging sound?

Oh. She'd walked right into her bookstore, Lost Era. Supposedly it was closed for the holidays, but since she was here, why not open it? Maybe this Shinzo would see it and decide to come inside. She turned the sign around and sat down on a stool by the door.

{22}

[ajforpresident]

"Oooh! Look, Takashi!" Bell pointed over to store that had the sign, Lost Era. "It's a bookstore! Let's go inside!"
"No, Bell. We can't be distracted by this." Takashi said. "We have someone to meet, so let's hurry before we miss them."
"Aww..." Bell's head went down in disappointment. "...you're no fun." "Bell, please don't start complaining." Takashi rolled his eyes. God, she acts like such a kid at times... he thought, growing tired of Bell not focusing on the task at hand.
"But, maybe they're in the store! Perhaps, they're in there checking out a new book or reading a novel. They could be doing something in there and we might miss them!" Bell said, looking at Takashi with big eyes.
She has a point...Takashi thought. *Sigh* I have no choice then...
"Alright. We'll go in the bookstore. But, only to see if the person is in there. If not, we're leaving right away."
"Yay!" Bell went over to Takashi and gave him a hug. Takashi blushed, shocked at Bell's sudden form of affection.
Bell grabbed Takashi's hand-er-claw, and said, "Come on! Into the the bookstore!"

[Bell: Level 3; 10] [Takashi: Level 3; 10]

[Indigo]

Mintri looked up as the bell jingled, halfway through turning a page, and examined the newcomers. One was a Candle Shinzo, sure, but there was a Kalamarei with him. And he didn't seem to have a bell. Hmm. Perhaps she'd made a mistake. Was it really a Candle Shinzo with a bell? She tried to remember the conversation.

Look, I know, it's hard going without Kar, but you'll have to deal. I'm sure these two are very nice. One's a Candle Shinzo, Takashi, I think, and the other one's a ... named Bell. Now go out there and have fun. Hmm. Okay, she didn't remember what Bell was...perhaps he or she was this Kalamarei? Weren't Kalamarei supposed to be water creatures? She pulled a book about sea life in general off a nearby shelf as she stood up and headed over to them.

"Hello," she said hesitantly. "Um, I'm Mintri. This is my bookstore. Are you Takashi and Bell? Because I think I'm supposed to meet you."

{23}

[ajforpresident]

"Hmm?" Takashi turned around to the person talking to him and Bell and saw a Mint Teigu with a book. "Yes, I'm Takashi. And this is Bell." Bell bounded over and smiled. "Hiya! Nice to meet you!"
Takashi then asked, "Might you be Mintri? If so, we were to meet you." "And," Bell added in a matter-of-fact kind of tone. "If you are Mintri, then that means I was right in you being here and Takashi owes me an apology." She looked over at the Candle Shinzo with a look. Takashi just rolled his eyes.

((Sorry about the late response. I was with my family for the holidays.))
[Bell: Level 3; 11] [Takashi: Levl 3; 11]

[Indigo]

"Yes, I'm Mintri," Mintri replied. "I think I might have said that, but I could be wrong. I do that all the time. Sometimes I think someone else has said something they haven't, so I answer them, and they get confused. Like the banana thing. Um." She held up her book--not the sea life one, the other one. "This is a good book. Sorry, should I stop talking now?"

She absently flipped through the sea life book until she found a page about Kalamarei. After about two sentences, she glanced at the cover. Ah, yes, that author. That explained it. But if Kalamarei were, you know, sea creatures, then...what? Although Bludwin could walk on land...but he had problems with it sometimes...

"Pardon me for asking, but--" She paused and fought back a movie quote. "--how is it that you're, you know, here? I mean, I thought Kalamarei were sea...dwellers. So, uh...yeah..." She blinked vaguely and wondered if she was coherent enough for them, then allowed the quote to say itself. In her head, of course. If she'd said it aloud, people would have stared. Had there been any people around, anyway.

{24}

[ajforpresident]

"SEE?!!" Bell said pointing at Takashi. "Now who owes me an apology?" "Bell could we do this later?" Takashi said, obviously getting annoyed.

Takashi turned to Mintri. "You've said that you're Mintri already? Sorry about that, we weren't really paying attention.And no, you're not talking a lot. It's actually a lot less than when she talks." He pointed over at Bell.  She stuck her tongue out at him. Then there was the comment about the "Banana thing". "Banana?" Takashi asked, a bit confused at the comment. "What thing about a banana?" Bell asked. "Is it funny?"
Takashi sighed. Always wanting something to laugh about. He thought, a bit exhasperated. Bell looked at the book Mintri was holding. "A good book, you say? What is it?"

Bell got out of the book's cover and said to Mintri's question, "Oh, that's alright to ask, I don't mind telling you." Bell said with a smile. "I get asked that a lot nowadays and get a lot of weird looks 'cause of it. But, I'm used to it. You see a while ago, I used to be cooped up in the house, and kept in a pool area that my owner, Aj, made for me and other future sea creatures. I was okay for while. But, then I got bored and asked her if there was something she could do so that I could go places and not get dehydrated. So one day, she managed to make this weird collar that finds nearby oxygen and converts it into water. The water then goes into my pores and then I'm not dehydrated. But, when we put it on to see if it would work, we found it was too heavy and I would have had trouble walking. Plus, it looked like a lot like a neckbrace."
Takashi gave a little snort, obviously trying to hide a laugh. Bell gave him a quick glare.
"What? It was funny at the time."
"Meanie. But anyway," Bell continued, as she told Mintri her story. "Aj then thought of something else. She thought that a small little chip could do the same thing in keeping me hydrated. We thought that it wouldn't work, but after many trials and errors, we managed to make a chip, that was waterproof, to keep me from getting dried up." Bell then turned around and made a gesture to her shoulder. "The chip's right here in between my fur. If you look, you might be able to see it."

((Whoa....long post.....my fingers hurt now. XD))
[Bell: Level 3; 12] [Takashi: Level: 3; 12]

[Indigo]

Mintri smiled. "The banana thing...I was in the middle of some book or other, and my friend Kartossa came into the room. I thought she'd said something about my book, I think, so I said, 'Well, they seem to be using a lot of bananas. How much fruit do you need to power a train?'" She laughed. "She had no idea what I was talking about. Honestly, I don't even remember what book it was. As for this book...I lost the jacket thing, so I don't know the title."

She listened with interest to Bell's explanation. It sounded sort of like something Kartossa might invent, when she wasn't fixing all the computers of Evelon. Examining Bell's shoulder, Mintri soon noticed the chip. For some reason, this reminded her of potato chips, which made her hungry. Her stomach growled. She ignored it. "That's amazing. It must have been a marvelous feat of engineering. Do you know how it's put together? If you could tell me that, Kartossa might be able to make one for Bludwin." Perhaps this required some explanation. "He's the Kalamarei that lives in our house. It would be great if he could walk on land. Not that I'm pressuring you or anything...we can probably figure something out if you don't know how to build it. At least now I know it's possible." Maybe she should stop talking. That was a normal-person thing, right?

{25}

[ajforpresident]

"Yeah, I know how that feels to say something and no one knows what it is you're talking about." Bell said, nodding her head. "But, that's just how it sometimes. Sometimes people think you're weird because of it, but it just shows how much your brain is going. You know what I mean?"
Bell just shrugged her shoulders when Mintri told her that the jacket for the book was missing. "Oh well. Those things just happen. In fact, that happens with me and Takashi a lot when we're reading a book. Especially when we really like the book, the jacket just suddenly disappears." She gave a little giggle at a quick flashback she had in her mind when Takashi had been reading something, lost the book jacket and started to freak out since it belonged to the library.
Takashi smiled at the two talking together so well and thought, Mintri and Bell really get along. They're almost alike in a lot of ways. I feel like I'm meeting her twin or something...

"No, you're not pressuring us. But, to tell the truth, I have no idea how the heck Aj made a thing like that." Bell said with a small frown. "But..." She added, her frown slowly turning into a smile. "...I bet Takashi would know since he helped her a bit." She turned and looked at Takashi with a huge grin.

Takashi blushed and looked down at his feet. "W-well..." he stammered sheepishly. "I did help with finding the parts and making it waterproof.....a little...."
"Oh c'mon, Takashi! You know you did more than 'a little'." Bell said, encouraging her friend to help out Mintri and one of her penmates.

[Bell: Level 3; 13] [Takashi: Level 3; 13]

[Indigo]

"So you do know how it's built, then?" Mintri asked. "If you don't know all of it I'm sure Kartossa can improvise something, but more information would probably be better." A commercial she'd seen once suddenly played in her head. It had been something about a library, but all she'd really retained from it was the pleasant female voice saying "For more information, please call". She didn't remember the phone number.

"Hey, um, do you want to sit down or something?" She gestured vaguely toward the cafe part of Lost Era, separated from the bookstore only by the fact that the floor was about a foot lower there, with a step down from the book section. At the back, beyond the many bookshelves, was a long wooden counter that went along the bookstore, had a small gate at the step, and then continued into the cafe with a door to the kitchen behind it. A menu board was attached to the front of the counter. "I mean, this is also a cafe, and so there's tables. And food. Yeah."

{23}

[ajforpresident]

"Yeah. I guess we could give you the blueprints and all the other information. We can send you a copy of it and mail it to your owner. I'm sure Aj wouldn't mind." Takashi said. Bell then jumped in and said, "Well it's settled then! We'll give the stuff when we go home. But first, let's relax and have fun for a while now!"

At Mintri's mention about a cafe and food, Bell's stomach growled. She blushed, "Hehehe....I am a bit hungry."
Takashi shook his head. He then said to Mintri, "Thank you for inviting us. We'd love to take a seat and relax." Bell then added, "Do they have cake? I looooove sweets!"
Takashi grumbled, "God...you're worse than Cakey....."

[Bell: Level 3; 14] [Takashi: Level 3; 14]