live_ringer | ☆017-Get your motor running. Head out on the highway!

[D'awww.]

That you do.

[He walks around to the other side and climbs in... and it becomes clear why he wasn't entirely thrilled about this in the beginning. His legs are long enough that his knees are sticking up a bit on either side of the steering wheel. It looks a touch silly and a bit uncomfortable.]

Be sure to strap yourself in with that belt that's attached to the seat. That way you won't slide around or fall out.

[He fastens his own as a demonstration.]

[She laughs at the sight of him fitting quite badly into the car..]

You look so silly! Can you really drive like that?

[...this is probably not too different than what she'd say anyhow. After a bit of fumbling she manages to buckle up.]

Okay! I'm ready. [...and then she realizes something and pats the top of her head.] My hat! Wait... oh. It's here.

[Apparently it is now on her lap... which is odd, but after this long in the Sphere it doesn't even register, and she puts it firmly on her head.]

Now I'm ready.

[Raises a sardonic brow at her.]

I can, but let's just say it takes a bit of finesse.

[He waits until she situates her self with the seat belt and chapeaux.]

Hold on to your hat.

[Aaand they're off! The bumper car goes about as quickly as a go-cart would. Slow going compared to a normal vehicle, but probably enjoyable to someone not used to this mode of travel. He takes a few tight curves around branches to make things a little more exciting.]

Pick something for us to run into and I'll show you why they put the rubber bumpers on dodgems.

[She grips the hat brim with one hand and grins widely as they set off. Not fast, no, but the shakiness of the car and the novelty of it are quite enough for her.]

Whee!

[When she turns back into her normal self, she is going to be severely embarrassed about that one.]

Um... oh! Run into that house! But are you sure it'll be safe?

[It is a TOTALLY viable option.]

[Her exclamation elicited a grin, though he paused a bit at her suggestion.]

Ah... sure, it looks sturdy enough. Let's just hope they're not home.

[Heading for the house, Lyle turned the wheel so that the car swung around and banged against the house on Krile's side so that she would get the full experience.

...And theeeen he booked it, because from the sounds of disgruntled shouting, it seemed like the owner was, in fact, home.]

Edited 2011-02-05 08:12 (UTC)

[She yelps in delight as the car swings into the house with a satisfying crash, even though she's also thinking about how silly this is and it was probably a bad idea to suggest the house.

...nooooo, not "probably." She sinks lower in her seat at the yelling, then straightens up to look back as Lyle hits the gas, or whatever randomly materialized bumper Lancias have to fuel them.]

Oops. But nothing looks dented or anything! Except that man's temper. [She watches as he shakes his fist out the window at them and resists the urge to wave.] So this thing is just specific'lly for running into stuff?

[She sounds both amused and disbelieving at the prospect.]

Eh, he'll get over it. Like you said, nothing damaged.

[A glance in the side-mirror showed the man was feeling less-than-forgiving, but ah well.]

That's the idea. Generally, you're only supposed to run them into other dodgems or the occasional guarding wall, but we've got a distinct lack of those around.

[He gave a sidelong look to Krile.] And with that lack of targets in mind, do you have anyone you'd like to chase around a bit? No running into them, of course. Just a bit of a start.

[Whoops. She'll just have to hope she doesn't have to awkwardly avoid him too much.]

That's too bad. Maybe you'll meet someone else with a dodgem though!

[She has to give his question some serious consideration.]

If Lix was ever in his house I'd say him. And Neil's prob'ly at work. [FROWN. because they'd both be good chase targets.] ...Chasing Mr. Vimes might be fun but I think he'd get too mad at you. Do you wanna chase someone?

Mm, could be. A lot of these little happenings seem to be repeating themselves, though not as often as they usually do.

Neil would be a pretty perfect target, wouldn't he? Too bad. And yeah, I'd rather not get in trouble with the watch. [His brows drew together thoughtfully as Lyle contemplated his options.] Genius is wee like you, so that's out. Maybe someone with a patrol oriented job. I'd say Gai, but I think he's got things keeping him occupied.

[That, and he would be meeting the ninja to talk about other matters later in the day.]

What about Sniper?

That is weird. Like last year...

[She grins at his suggestion, though, her thoughts going along a similar path.]

[She raises herself up as much as the seatbelt will allow her, looking for a stringbean with a long nose. Because, you know, she'll totally be able to see something the six-foot-one man next to her can't.] Gai would be fun, but Sniper would be great too! I bet he'd be really funny about it.

Uh huh. Though let's hope this time around isn't as chaotic as the last one. [What with the violent duplicates of people that were running around.]

Oh, I'm sure he would be. [Sniper really was a world-class flailer. If they got him at the right moment the reaction would be priceless.] Willing to take a trip down to the Scavenger's Yard in this thing to seek him out?

Yeah. [Only half-thinking, she wraps her arms around her stomach where Paladin's evil twin cut her. She would really like that not to happen again.]

[But she brightens up at the thought of chasing Sniper. ~~She's a wonderful friend, really.~~] Yeah! Let's go!

[Plus she kind of loves riding in the bumper Lancia. YAY.]

[The uncomfortable look doesn't escape his notice, but he doesn't harp on it, either. He remembers she was among those who were hit hard last time.]

Alright, then. Off we go. [~~They're both spectacular people to know, clearly.~~]

[Once they get into the elevator things are... just this side of awkward, at least for the other patrons who are giving the tiny car and it's occupants sidelong looks, as if wondering what they should say, if anything.

His dignity is already compromised by having to drive the little car everywhere, so Lyle decides to make the most of things by leaning back and propping his legs up on top of the dash as they descend; as if this is the most natural thing in the world and it is the other patrons of the elevator that had the problem.]

Edited 2011-02-08 04:10 (UTC)

[Krile thoroughly approves of Lyle's attitude about the car. She's still quite delighted with this whole jaunt, even though there's part of her that's saying she wouldn't be so much if she wasn't so small right now.

She dismisses that opinion. Right now, she can either be happy or she can fret. She can't seem to pull off the constant background worrying right now, and it's suiting her just fine. So Krile can't help but grin at Lyle's devil-may-care pose and the awkwardness of the other passengers. She waves cheerfully at them.]

Hello! Isn't it nice out today?

[The woman she singled out hastily stares at the buttons and then mumbles some agreement before studying the lights in the ceiling.]

[Lyle snickers at how effortlessly Krile slips into the role of making people feel uncomfortable, and all through simply using her sunny disposition. At this size she makes a perfect, blameless little partner in crime and he can't resist the urge to reach out and ruffle her hair for the second time that day.

It isn't long before their fellow elevator riders have emptied out (and prospective boarders have taken one look at the car inside the lift, deciding it was better to wait for the next trip). Once they reach the fifth floor Lyle sits up straight, wedging his legs back into their rightful place and pushing the gas to propel them forward.]

[Krile waves merrily at the prospective boarders, not at all abashed. If they want to be awkward and perplexed, that's obviously not her and Lyle's problem. And it is pretty funny.

She giggles again as Lyle gets back into driving position as the elevator doors open. Once they're in the Yard, though, she starts looking around serious. Not just for Sniper, but for any sign of trash golems. That's still important.]

Okay, time to keep our eyes peeled.

[The look of seriousness was almost comical on her currently cherubic face, but he couldn't blame her. The Scavenger's Yard wasn't the best of places to let down your guard.]

Right, then.

[After a while of driving around they had not found Sniper, but Lyle did see someone not far off. He didn't recognize the sturdy older man, but that didn't mean he might not know whom they were looking for. Lyle leaned on the horn to get his attention before shouting.]

Oi! Have you seen a skinny guy with a long nose anywhere around here?

[Sniper finds it... difficult to get used to this body, but he's doing his best. As cool as he thinks he looks right now, he finds it more than a little troublesome that this body shares some of his traits but looks about as familiar as anyone else in this place. Nevertheless, he shows up to work as usual, only to be startled by someone leaning on the horn.

He jumps a little and turns around, bits of scrap metal still in his hands. His eyes widen when he sees the, well... the cute looking car, but he frowns at Gene's words.]

Oi, oi, oi, oi! Who're you calling skinny? I'm very muscular under the surface, you know! [He gives a little wave.] It's me. Sniper.

[Their lack of success in finding Sniper is only a little disappointing. Krile still quite likes the driving around for its own sake. And the car horn. She likes that a lot too.]

[She yelps in surprise when the huge, burly guy proclaims himself to be Sniper and nearly jumps up to run over and verify this, but the seatbelt stops her.]

But you're huge! [shut up she's three foot six right now.] I mean, um. Wow! Your new body looks so different!

[She knows she is not making the most intelligent observations here but somehow, translating her thoughts into words isn't working right.]

...What?

[Blink, blink. Well, that was unexpected. ...And ruined any chances of surprising Sniper into a chase but that's secondary to the fact that Sniper isn't quite himself at the moment.]

Your certainly not skinny now, I'll give you that much.

[They've come to a stop at this point and Lyle climbs out of the car to get a better look at their comrade.]

How long've you been like this.

You've got that right! Though I think my being huge might be because you're so tiny, Krile. Look! [He jabs one finger at his arm.] Bam. Bicep.

[He leans on the car, admiring it.] I've been like this for two days now. Why were you guys looking for me?

I'm not that tiny. I'm taller than a yardstick. [She knows while she's saying it that this is a ridiculous argument.] And it's just temper'y.

[At his question, Krile looks up at Lyle uncertainly. He may want to revise his opinion that she is a perfect partner-in-crime, because her very poor lying skills are completely nonexistant when she's miniaturized like this. At the least, she needs more notice than Sniper gave her to come up with some kind of excuse.]

Ummmm... it's a secret?

You are pretty small, kiddo. But it doesn't change the fact that Mr. Macho here only highlighted the issue by getting bigger. [He looks decidedly amused at Sniper's pride in his bicep.]

[Ah well, it looks like Lyle will have to lie for the both of them, a talent that he's glad he hasn't lost grasp of.] Oh, you shouldn't be so modest, kid. You see, Sniper, two days were too long to go without seeing how long you were doing without seeing how you were. It's chaos out there, what with all the different Tree... things happening.

[That was probably laying it on a little thick. But if it was more than Sniper was willing to try, Lyle wasn't opposed to telling him the real truth.]

[Sniper grins knowingly at Gene as he says his piece.] You are such a liar. But you're right about all the tree stuff going nuts.

[He taps the dodge 'em.] Can I try this cart thing out?

[Krile nods vigorously in agreement with Gene. Buuut she's not surprised that Sniper doesn't quite buy it. At least he doesn't press for details.] We just care, really.

[She doesn't try to hide the fact that she's gawking at Sniper's newfound MANRINESS. It is so strange to see him acting like his springy Sniper self in that kind of body.]

Do you think you could fit in here?

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