"Speech"

Romeo waddled forward, his ears curiously perked and his violet eyes bright with curiosity. It was quiet here, far too quiet for his liking. He enjoyed the sound of voices, of others, of... himself! For now, there was only the sound of his little claws on stone. The little one looked around for some other to talk to, but found no-one. He thoroughly disliked this melancholy eeriness and decided to try liven up the place a little. He raised his chin and a low vibration began deep in his throat. The raccoon dog started humming quietly, to a little tune he made up himself as he went. He liked it. It made the world around feel a lot more friendly.

Having been wandering haphazardly wayward for a while, Romeo had somewhat missed the welcoming sounds of Eridanus. The quiet rustling of the undergrowth, the pfff as his paws sank into the moss. The little splashes he could make in the Eyes. But no matter! Part of him wanted to explore, whilst the other part of him was lured away from his hatching place by the sound of unknown voices leading him out into the unknown. As far as he'd followed them, those voices seemed to have faded away. It was a little sad but Romeo wasn't that fussed. He figured there was plenty of other voices out there to find too.

Romeo lifted his head and looked around. The ball of fluff's little legs paused for a second as he beheld these awe-inspiring ruins. Hmmm... He didn't seem so impressed thus far, and lowered his head as he scurried around, snuffling.

Surely there was something around here which would make some noise...

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((OOC: All welcome, but friendlier characters preferred!))

She'd absconded from the humid, freezing cold tunnel of her birth as soon as possible, limping out with the elegance of a soaking-wet duckling. Honestly, she just wanted to be free of all the filth! It had taken her hours to groom it from her fur, grimacing at the taste, but now the plush pink strands were back to their usual luster, and she trotted along loudly, her gemstone's position making it impossible to be any kind of stealthy. Twisting in and out of different caverns, only a short thought spent in concern for the 'roo who'd been born only minutes before her, Harper finally trailed to a slow shuffle when the mouth of the tunnel she'd been walking opened up into space.

Or, well, as close to the concept of "space" anyone underground could get.

Mouth dropping open in wonder, the little kit trotted through the dusty ruins of Orion, ice-blue eyes stuck on the stars above - or at least they were, until a soft hum shot through the air. Qu'est-ce que dans le monde...? Whatever it was, the source wasn't in sight. The pink pearl that stiffened the toes of her right paw sparked, and Harper's gaze turned to stare at it, confusion overpowered by instinct.

As soon as her eyes slipped shut, the stars blinked out, moved, focused like a laser-point on a body a good thirty feet away. A mischievous grin tilted her lips up, canine teeth poking out as she lowered to the ground, tail rising to wag - and took off towards the shape, eyes still shut.

It was only when the shine became almost blinding that she opened them back up, grinning - and tumbling head-over-heels (quite literally) over the poor tanuki, landing on his other side with an oof, upside down and peering at him with a giggle. "Salut!"

@Romeo

"Speech"

Perhaps he hadn't been paying enough attention, but the first thing he noticed was a soft new noise, of another soul moving forward- and all too suddenly it was louder. Then there was a soft poomph as Romeo's hind end dropped involuntarily to the ground because the approaching creature was getting too close.

Then she tripped over him, a rather confusing and frightening thing for Romeo as the newcomer wasn't that much bigger than he was. Their soft, downy furs brushed against one another and the raccoon dog trembled before he flattened himself down to the ground. His gem hit the ground with a clank and a piercing yelp. He didn't like that noise he'd made; Rome's ears flattened undignified against his skull.

As they'd toppled over him, Romeo had the chance to turn and look, confused, towards the newcomer.

He opened his mouth and was about to reprimand them, but he paused in his action for a second as she spoke. A voice! Romeo's heart softened a little as he slowly sat up, pondering the curious word and voice of the fox. Was that another way of saying hello? He decided to test it. "Hullo...?" he mumbled, rather simply he felt. His heart beat fast, plainly visible through his gem out of embarrassment. "My name is Romeo."

He left it at that, and waited patiently to see if her voice would prove more extravagant than his.

Of all the curiosities in the world, Romeo found that voices were his favourite.

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@Harper

Blinking up at the fluffy stranger curiously, the kit's tail began to wag, peering at what a strange upside-down picture their gem made. With a grin, Harper twisted into a roll, popping back up on all fours with a cheerful laugh, plopping back down on her haunches in a mirror of Romeo's pose.

A neon-pink mirror, anyway.

"Ah, Romeo! Comme c'est romantique," she sighed dreamily, front paws raising to touch paw pads in a dramatic swoon. "Je suis Harper," she added with a not-so-dramatic wink, straightening back up, only to huff. "Oh, but you speak like this, oui? Pardon, monsieur!" Blinking, gaze still irrevocably wandering to the tanuki's barely-protected chest cavity, she let out a soft, melodic hum at the sight of his heart, ears twitching back.

"You are hurt, non? Ah, but I was so looking forward to a good tussle," Harper whined. It was a ladylike, dignified whine, of course. "A good fight is like a good meal, yes? Satisfying," she explained with a sharp grin, pointed ears flopping forward again. At worst, at least she'd met someone knew - and hey, maybe they sung instead of wrestling. That could work.

@Romeo

"Speech"

Sitting opposite the newcomer, Romeo began to twitch his tail softly from side to side, and they mirrored one another, just sitting and looking at each other. Romeo had never seen anyone like this before. He examined her head to gem-studded toes and responded her cheerful laugh with a mild chuckle, silken to his ears.

Romantic...? Oh my.

Is this getting dicey, or is it just me?

He seemed amused by her proclamation and odd gesture, but he understood the implication. In response, Romeo hovered a paw over his exposed heart in what he hoped was an oh-so charming way. He felt the rough crystal against his paw pad and bowed so elegantly... though what he didn't realise was, the fact he was a chubby pup somewhat ruined the effect. What a voice, though! Romeo's ears twitched and flickered more than they had before and his violet eyes gleamed bright. "H-Harper? That's your name, yes?" he strained slightly to understand. He wasn't sure whether he preffered the theory that he was simply struck by this new voice or the idea that he just didn't understand it.


"Ah, yes! I-indeed I do." Suddenly his fur flushed with relief and the little one let out a small sigh, heart quickening.

"Hurt? I... I don't think so." Romeo looked down at himself, shaking his limbs, seeing if they hurt. But nothing did. He opened his mouth to agree with her, but he'd never been in a fight before. It was a little embarrassing, but at least he stayed in one piece because of it. It wasn't that he avoided tussles, but... Of course, he didn't actively seek them out. Was it satisfying? Was it good? Romeo let out a melodious hum as he pondered.

Well, only one way to find out.

"I don't believe I've ever had the pleasure," he said lightly, looking her right in the eye. He didn't say anything more, but the hint was there.

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@Harper

Harper stifled a giggle at the cub's bow, returning it with one of her own, waving her tail in an elegant display - or, well, as elegant as any child could be. "Oui, monsieur! Madame Harper," she explained with a pleased smile, twisting to stand, shaking off the dust that had collected on her hocks. "Ah, you are unharmed? Your chest, it is... ah... good?" Befuddlement furrowed her brow for a moment, the quest for the correct word coming up dry, but she let it go just as quickly, prancing in a circle around Romeo, tail swishing lazily. "Oh, but this is wonderful! We can have a spar, yes? I will demonstrate," the kit yipped, plopping back down and slowly, carefully raising her gemstone-laden paw, moving it towards Romeo to boop him on the snoot.

Instead, she misjudged the tap entirely, unbalanced by the weight, and ended up swinging the heavy fist up and back. With a heavy, dull thunk, it smacked her in the forehead. A sharp yipe later, and the foot fell to the floor, Harper pouting, eyes cloudy with annoyed tears, embarrassment making her voice thick as she tried to groom away the little speckles of blood that had begun to breach the skin of her face. "...not like that. Do as I say, not as I do, yes?" She tried for another grin, but it was partially ruined by the tiny rivulet of blood that trickled down to stain her teeth orange. "Ah. Here. Let me try again..."

Slowly getting up, she shook herself like a wet dog, making a face at the taste of iron in her mouth. "That's going to stain," the fox muttered, eyes rolled up to peer at the injury curiously. After a moment, she focused back on Romeo, dropping down in a fighting stance with a yip, slapping her front paws on the ground. "First! A proper stance! Otherwise, your opponent will knock you off your feet! You will look like a idiot géant, yes?"

@Romeo

"Speech"

As Harper confirmed his question, Romeo nodded his head, pleased with himself for picking that up and at the same time still fascinated by her voice. A few moments passed and Romeo followed her gaze down to his chest where his gem lay. At first he didn't quite understand, then he realized quickly and abruptly what she meant. With so much fuzz and baby chub, it was difficult to see his crystal but he could just about make out the red veins snaking through its surface. "Oh, of course! Yes, I'm totally fine! I, ah, just have a bit of a funny gem, is all. See?" To prove his point, Romeo drummed his claws on the crystal and as well as letting out a pleasing clinking sound, he felt it reverberate right through his heart.

Nodding quite curiously, Romeo felt his heartbeat pick up; he'd really never sparred before. It was such an... odd concept. "'Course, m'lady," he said, bowing his head quizzically. He then looked up and waited, ears pricked, watching for the demonstration. She reached out for him with her paw as vaguely expected... and then it boomeranged back. Right into her face. Romeo flinched visibly, jumping up onto all four paws with his fur fluffed in all directions. "Oh... Well, makes sense to me!" He was unable to stop his gaze from wandering to that little trickle of blood that stained her teeth.

He shivered again visibly, although he tried his best to force down the hair along his spine. He wondered what he'd gotten himself into as he wordlessly tried to copy her stance, legs placed squarely apart from one another and his head lowered. His fluffy tail twitched from side to side. "Ah! Yes yes! Of course." he hummed, vaguely understanding. He didn't want to be knocked down, nor did he want to look like an, uhm, idiot géant...?

He just assumed that was a bad thing.

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@Harper

"Funny..?" Harper let out an experimental, faked laugh, still peering curiously at the tanuki's gem. "Ha... ha?" It seemed the intricacies of the English dialect were a bit too strange for her as of yet. Regardless, the pink vixen grinned at the sound the gem gave off when tapped, wondering what it would produce from a hit with her own gemstone. Then again, a lot of important squishy parts seemed to be behind that thin wall of clear stone, which was more than a little worrying.

"Ah - no matter! Here, we begin - we fight... real-like, yes? No magicks," Harper added, sticking her tongue out at the thought of what she considered the ultimate form of cheating. "It is not honorable! We spar... now!" With a short, elated yip, she darted forward, circling her newfound friend and feinting a punch towards his face, encouraging him to dodge - after all, everyone should know how to fight! In the fox's little world, anyway... which was obviously correct, because baby logic.

In fact, most of Harper's thoughts, emotions, and morals revolved around fighting. A punch was, after all, much easier to deliver than some heartfelt speech; a bite faster than a shouting match. Considering the gross simplicity of this placebo, it probably wouldn't work for long - but for now she regarded Romeo with fire in her eyes, waiting for him to fight back, play along, and win her admiration.

ROUND: 1 / 3
ATTACK: Feinting to show him the ropes!
DEFENSE: None
INJURIES:
- Whacked self in face

@Romeo

Nodding slightly even at the completely faked laugh, Romeo watched her patiently, warily, and expectantly from where he stood in his best (yet likely still rather humourous) battle stance.

No magic, eh? Romeo felt a little bit of disappintment but quickly realized it was misplaced. He didn't have any spells that would come in handy anyway; or at least, he didn't think he did. This magic business was all very mysterious. She began to circle, and Romeo moved to follow her, lost deep in concentration. Suddenly she was coming closer... Romeo prepared himself for anything. It was by automatic reaction that he flinched in the end, her paw just missing a collision with the end of his nose. Had she meant to miss? Romeo felt his usually-calm fur bristling automatically.

Okay, his turn... Romeo breathed in deep, breathed out deeper, and then scurried forward. He threw himself up into the air as high as he could to bring his entire weight upon her in one motion.

ROUND: 1 / 3
ATTACK: Jumps on Harper
DEFENSE: None
INJURIES:
None