Trails in bloom

[Chambers]

The two river trail had been an not infrequent spot for the Moros between fishing and occasion cycling just enough to stop him getting further out of shape, it had become something of his go to out of familiarity when he found the time. That he had planned to go down the trail today was then either a bizarre coincidence or some small working of fate, he suspects the former, as he has arrived on the trail during Trails in bloom event the crowds and stands and vendors and shows should necessitate him pushing his bike through the area but that had been catered for the event itself was a bike ride! and all that it had to offer spread along the route, making rather like a strange pop up street.

[Thirteen]

Thirteen was not much for nature. Camping, hiking, bikes that weren't motorcycles? Not her bag. But an occasional walk by the river, or strolling through a public event like this? Sure.

She came dressed for it, anyway. Denim shorts, a white tee with a rainbow stripe on the front, black sneakers and a pair of sunglasses. A backpack strapped to her shoulders.



Currently, the Enchantress was looking over some artists making paintings at one of the trail stops, while she ate some sort of vendor food. In one hand, a small cardboard basket filled with some sort of batter-covered balls with a toothpick in each one. Takoyaki, if you're familiar. An appropriate snack, given the celebration of Japanese culture at this event.

Somewhere in the trees over this bike trail, a innocuous crow watched the proceedings... and probably scanned for any dropped or unguarded food or shiny objects.

[Chambers]

Stopping to catch his breath, no one could accuse the Moros of being athletic, he was not he leans a little over his handle bares and coughs, the habit of regular smoking surely does nothing to help him in this regard. Looking up as he takes a swig from a bottle of water he had brought from home his glance happens to fall upon a eye catching and familiar individual. His free hand is used to offer a short but polite wave, it would be rude to ignore her after all.

[Thirteen]

Looking away from the very pretty Japanese artwork, the Acanthus glanced about, wary of passing bikes. Nobody would be speeding along this trail today, but she was being careful nonetheless. And, of course, she spotted the wave from a certain Moros.

Unused to seeing the Heirarch in such an athletic situation, red eyebrows rose up in momentary shock. After a moment of hesitation, she strolled over and proffered her little cardboard hand basket. "Takoyaki? It's minced octopus in batter. Tasty."

Somewhere in the overhead foliage there echoed a jealous-sounding, "Caw!"

Thirteen ignored it.

[Chambers]

Speeding no, and in the case of the Moros at a dead halt certainly not, but plenty of traffic on the cycle trail did justify a degree of situational awareness without a doubt. As Thirteen approaches he puts his bottle away, the better to converse. And then it's his turn to look surprised, at the offer. "That's very kind of you, and it does sound good, but I really should not." Not for the first time Thirteen's fate aware senses would detect a minor fluctuation around the hierarch, and as is true of most of this occurrences it seems to food related. He looks up briefly at the caw, he is not an idiot, but well crows are rather common. "I would imagine the local wildlife will add some credence to how tasty it." Be it the familiar lurking near by or an actual crow the creature would probably do well from today. Turning his attention back to the enchantress. "I didn't know you had an interest in Japanese culture?" A politely inquisitive question, open to as much or little response as was wanted to be given.

[Thirteen]

She shrugged and retracted the food offer. The flux in the Necromancer's fate was noted, but this was, obviously, no place to comment on it. Curious, though.

"More for my pet parrot, then," the Libertine responded in snide amusement. As crows were illegal to have as pets in the U.S., this was about as close to the truth as she could admit in public. There was no comment from the trees. Perhaps the assurance that there would be leftovers later had mollified him.

Her eyes glanced back towards the artwork in progress, "No more so than any other culture, I suppose. Unless you count my parrot watching anime all day." What show was Jinx binging this week? Who knows. "I like some of the foods, and the art is gorgeous. I just thought this would be a nice day out. You big into cycling?" she asked, gestured at the bike.

[Chambers]

The Moros takes a few heartbeats to pick up on parlance, what, who the parrot refers to. "I hear complaints that stuff rots the brain, no idea if it's true or not, but I can safely say I have never heard of parrot watching any kind of tv with interest before." But as birds go it was good cover, a way for them to pick up words to mimic.

Glancing around nearby stalls. "I can't say I have much experience with the food, I might need to pick up some recipes to try." He does swallow comments about comparisons to graffiti, they had hashed that out in plenty last they spoke of it. "The imagery is certifiably striking I will give it that. And quite intentional." As his bike is mentioned a rather sheepish look comes over him. "Well not as into it as much as I should be. It's been rather something of an on off attempt to keep, well not keep fit that would be over selling it, but something closer to that." He did not get out enough to say he was anything of avid keep fit enthusiast.

[Thirteen]

"There's some that have pretty deep, emotional stories, but a lot of it is just silly action shows," she shrugged. "The featherduster likes the latter, and likes echoing the catchphrases." Her sigh followed, and from the trees came another "Caw!" and this one almost sounding like a laugh.

"Strikin's probably the right word. It's got a clear identity you can recognize when you see it," the Acanthus nodded.

Her eyes studied the Moros' bike curiously, "Well, some effort is better than none, I suppose. Best not let yourself go entirely. Been bikin' long?"

[Chambers]

A slight reaction at the caw, they were seeming suitably timed that he is fairly confident it is the familiar somewhere in the trees. "I remember cartoons that were written around a message, a lesson or even skill building back when I was a kid. But No this era of it seems to have passed me by." Although with that in mind. "I don't many of the shows are the same story retold in a new guise, or slight variation on that anyway." The myth getting ever more distorted with each new retelling.

As for the art, and the many mediums it covered in Japanese culture. "Anything in particular stand out to you?" The enchantress had after all been looking more then he had. A nod of his own other to a stall selling trinkets and blessings. Well selling was the wrong word, the sign read donations welcome. "You know much about that?" One of many areas his own education was sorely lacking.

On that he had to disagree, occasional effort just made it harder given the lack of maintenance. "On and off for a while yes, I've never managed the kind of consistency I wanted. I was better before I spent a year studying in a few spots around the world, but couldn't take the bike with me and well since I got back." A pause to emphasize something. "I've gotten increasingly busy." Not a lot of guesswork required to figure out what with.

[Thirteen]

"Oh, for certain," the Acanthus nodded, "A lot of cartoons have to have some morality lesson included. Parents want to feel their kids are learnin' somethin'. Lot of these animes are about never givin' up, or the power of friendship or some such nonsense."

"I don't know what it's called in Japanese, but there's some style of art that uses woodblocks prints? It's the same method they'd use for printin' books, but they'd make art from it, too. Pretty impressive. I haven't seen any of that here yet. Maybe at the next trail stop." Brown eyes shifted over to the stall the Mystagogue gestured towards. She looked it over a moment before nodding. "Hm, I believe they're lucky protection amulets. I forget the name. Oma... somethin'? Anyway, you donate to the Shinto shrine or Buddhist temple and get a lucky blessin' you can keep or give to a loved one. They're usually for tourists, I think." As an Acanthus who was versed in superstitions, this was probably the most she knew about Japanese culture. "There's different types of amulets. Some for general luck, others for more specific things. Forunate in business dealin's, for instance. Or passin' exams, if you're a student. And so on."

"I jog on a regular basis. Keepin' to a schedule is best, it's true." The Libertine shrugged. "Too much paperwork?"