[Open] Various

[dreamtamer]

Who: Takato and Guilmon and Anyone
What: Thinking about home, playing games, card games
Where: Various
When: Late May
Warning: None

Just outside their apartment:

Takato had been spending a lot of time recently working on a project. Today he'd decided to move outside, where he had spread out a large sheet of paper. Pulling out some crayons, he was putting the finishing touches onto it.

Guilmon sniffs curiously at the edge of the paper. "Takato! Is that a flag like before?"

Takato nods and grins at his friend as he looks up.

"That's right! Its been a while since we arrived here, right? I thought maybe if we could find somewhere to put this up it would help our friends find us."


Access Park:

Takato looks around the park, where they'd invited some of their new friends to come and play.

"Well, it looks like no one else is here yet. Should we go ahead and start?"

Guilmon cheers and nods. "Guilmon will go hide first! Don't forget to count, Takato!"


Access Park, Later

Taking a break from games, Takato had headed over to a picnic table, where he spread out his collection of cards. He busies himself trying to decide which cards he should keep in his deck for fighting. But he eventually glances up when someone comes by.

"This? This is the Digimon card game. Have you ever played?"

Comments

Cards

[steelfanged]

Kouga stops and looks down at the cards, then up at the boy again.

"... I've played poker."

That... seems to be about it, as he pauses for a long while before he speaks again.

"I don't... play games." Dodomon bounces along behind him, grumbling.

"He really doesn't! It's so weird!"

[dreamtamer]

"Why not?" Takato wonders. "Games are lots of fun! At home I met a lot of my friends because of this card game."

[steelfanged]

"... I prefer training to games."

"What he means is 'I don't know how to relax'."

Kouga turns and frowns at Dodomon, who just huffs.

[dreamtamer]

"But playing games can be training too." Takato smiles. "That's what I'm going right now. I'm trying to figure out which cards would be most useful to keep with me for fights."

Guilmon sniffs at the table.

"Takato! Did you keep a wings card? Guilmon likes flying."

Takato nods. "Sure! Those are really useful. Would you rather have white wings or aero wings?"

[steelfanged]

"... How are cards useful in fights?" For most people - he knows that he can throw a card hard enough to injure, but that's unusual.

[dreamtamer]

"Because I can use them to give Guilmon extra abilities. As long as I believe in the cards and I believe in Guilmon, the card effects can be real."

Takato says this with complete conviction.

[steelfanged]

"... As long as you believe in them..." It's not as if he hasn't experienced something similar, but those were once in a lifetime sorts of events, not... regular use.

"How does that even work?"

[dreamtamer]

"I don't really know? Because of the D-Arc, I guess." Takato glances over at Guilmon for an answer.

Guilmon pauses to think.

"Guilmon doesn't know either. But sometimes good things just happen if you wish hard enough. And Takato is really good at wishing!"

[steelfanged]

"Is there anything you wish for, Kouga?"

The man twitches. "... None of your business."

"Man, forget I even asked..."

He sighs and shakes his head. "What is a 'D-Arc'?"

[dreamtamer]

Takato pulls a white digivice out of his pocket. It was shaped a little differently from the others that Kouga might have seen. A gold circle with strange angular markings wrapped around the screen, and there was a large slot in the side.

"This is my D-Arc. It connects us together," he says with a fond smile.

[steelfanged]

To be honest, it looks like a child's toy to Kouga - but he's not going to say that.

"Your bond connects you together! It's more than just a fancy Digivice!" Kouga looks down at Dodomon, raising an eyebrow. He's still not convinced about this 'bond' thing.

[dreamtamer]

Takato shakes his head with a laugh.

"Well, maybe you can say more that it represents the bond, but that it is also part of it."

[steelfanged]

Wanyamon huffs a little and bounces. "Maybe. At least you two understand bonds." He eyes his Tamer a little suspiciously. "Some people think they're 'nonsense'."

"Because I'm correct."

"And this is why I haven't been able to evolve! At least you two seem to get along well."

[dreamtamer]

Takato rubs the back of his head a little awkwardly.

"Well, I think we've known each other for a little longer than most of the other teams here. Guilmon and me... we're partners and best friends." He turns to look at Kouga.

"But bonds... they're real things. They make both of us stronger."

"Yeah!" Guilmon adds. "Guilmon can evolve because Takato shares his strength. We're always strongest when we're together."

[steelfanged]

"... It's... different." He's no good at explaining these things mostly because he never does. Normal humans aren't supposed to know what Knights do - and even having been here a few months, it's hard to break the habit.

"Doesn't it give your enemies something to target to hurt you?"

[dreamtamer]

Takato shakes his head.

"It isn't like that at all. For us... I decided a long time ago that I would fight at Guilmon's side. Even when we're fighting as two people, we fight together." Takato's smile falters slightly with remembered pain. "And... an enemy wouldn't have to target one of us. When we fight, I feel everything that Guilmon does."

[steelfanged]

"... Does that still hold true here?" He's not sure. This isn't something he's used to. But he can tell this boy's been through... something. He's gotten used to watching people for Horrors, so he at least knows what facial expressions mean.

"I don't feel what he feels." He's pretty sure, at least. "But we've only had a real fight here once." "That's when I digivolved!"

[dreamtamer]

"I don't know if it will be the same for everyone here. The digital world I knew before this... I think it had different rules for some things."

Guilmon nods. "Like the night! And there are a lot more digimon here. And less fighting."

"Mmm, and some other things too. But even if it does happen for you. I think our bond wasn't that strong until Guilmon reached his perfect level for the first time. That was the first time I felt what he felt when we were fighting."

[steelfanged]

"I see... so your Digital World was a harsher place." It makes sense that people would come from different Digital Worlds - he himself doesn't really know anything about anything digital in general.

"Where I'm from... Knights work alone, or paired with a helper. But there isn't always a bond between them other than 'follow orders'."

[dreamtamer]

"In some ways, I guess." Takato frowns, remembering. "There weren't any big cities or parks like there are here. Most of the digimon we met lived in small villages or they lived by themselves. The digimon we met there fought with each other a lot more too."

Guilmon tilts his head with interest too. "Guilmon and Takato are a knight sometimes too! But does it count as working alone when we're one person?"

[steelfanged]

"I see."

"I don't know! Probably!" Wanyamon bounces up and down. Kouga feels his eye twitch slightly. He's aware this boy means a different kind of knight, but it still chafes slightly.

"How are you a knight?"

[dreamtamer]

"Guilmon means our highest evolution," Takato explains. "We evolve together into Dukemon. And when we're like that, we're a knight digimon."

[steelfanged]

"A knight digimon... but you have no formal training, correct?" He's just trying to make sure that he can fit everything into his frame of reference.

[dreamtamer]

Takato shakes his head.

"We've never stayed like that for very long. Actually we've never had any kind of training at all."

It was more like... When they were Dukemon there was some part of them that knew how to act and speak and fight.

[steelfanged]

"I see. Knights are trained from a very young age where I am from... and we continue training as we get older."

"And apparently do nothing else. Like have fun."

[dreamtamer]

"That sounds like a lot of work. Does it take a long time to become a knight?"

Guilmon looks upset at this. "Knights can't have fun?"

[steelfanged]

"It does. And..." Well. Kaoru's always on him about how serious he is, but...

"We're too busy to 'have fun'. We train during the day and fight Horrors at night. We can't afford to rest or engage in frivolous activities."

[dreamtamer]

"You don't rest or have fun at all? That's awful!" Takato immediately starts worrying about him. "What do you do if you need to rest? Everyone needs to take some time off sometimes."

[steelfanged]

"I do take sufficient rest. But we always have to be ready to help defend people - they don't even know about what's so dangerous, but we defend them regardless."

Those that do know about Horrors... don't tend to last too long.

Access Park

[changingtheflavor]

Tohru was happy to wonder the park when not working, taking care of her Digimon friend or shopping for food. Her friend in question was happy floating behind her in their new form of Ghostmon. Tohru had never honestly expected that form, but she was about about it regardless.

When she had seen the familiar face she waved slightly.

"Playing games today?"

Re: Access Park

[dreamtamer]

"We're going to play hide and seek!" Guilmon explains happily. "Do you want to play?"

Re: Access Park

[changingtheflavor]

"I am sure Ghostmon would love to do that, but I wonder would it be a unfair advantage being a ghost?" Tohru didn't know if that was the case but her partner was at least quick to be reassuring.

"Even if I did I would make sure it was fair."

Tohru was still unsure about digimon in general so that was at least reassuring. Not that she thought her friend would do anything mean, she was just trying to learn.

Re: Access Park

[dreamtamer]

Takato shakes his head with a smile.

"I'm sure its fine. Ghostmon being a ghost isn't any different from Guilmon being a dragon." A pause. "Or maybe a dinosaur. This is all about having fun."

Re: Access Park

[changingtheflavor]

"Its more about the fact ghosts can probably hide in actual items." She didn't know if that was the case with Digimon, but that would mean there was a lot more hiding spaces that one might not look in and such. At least that was where her mind went to based on stories relating to ghosts.

"I guess that might make it more fun, I guess."