The woman-fearing swordsman appears.

[gynephobia]

Who: Lon'qu and ANYONE! Please, come bother him.
What: He's avoiding people (especially women), but that won't last long.
Where: Mallowhallow
When: 3/14
Warnings: none

[Upon receiving his instructions, Lon'qu sets out to his assigned region, hand resting on the hilt of his sword as he wanders the puffy streets of Mallowhallow with a brooding expression. Though he notices others wandering about as well, he does not try to approach anyone. In fact, if anyone is observing Lon'qu, they will soon notice that he goes out of the way to avoid certain people. Specifically, whenever it appears that a woman is going to wander close to him, he deliberately crosses the street to avoid getting near her. So far, his strange strategy is working, as he has avoided being approached by anyone. So far.]

Comments

[coruskate]

[ Lon'qu may avoid women, but would he avoid a giant hedgehog about to forcefully enter his vicinity? There was only one way to find out, now that a nearby pillow structure was about to fall right on that swordsman's head. Whether or not he'd noticed, someone was clearly about to get him out of the way. ]

Watch out--!

[ In came Shadow, using his hover skates to bolt upwards and push at his back with a mighty shove. Those pillows were ready to collapse, and they were either going to bury Shadow or both of them.

Well, uh...

At least it wasn't a collapsing concrete pillar, right? ]

[crimson_flash]

[He is doing such a good job of avoiding women. But watch out, there's a scary one with a sword staring at him with a cold expression.

She might even be following him. Staying on the opposite side of the road from him, as well.

Since she can't really work up the courage to straight-up approach him, Marisa is just going to hover nearby. Because surely that's going to be great for the gynophobe .]

[springskies]

[He can avoid people and women all he wants, but can he avoid this slightly reckless young Trainer? May and her Mightyena are out for their usual walk and have no intention to cause trouble, but see, Mightyena are pretty strong and pretty fast Pokemon so a casual walk just wont do it for them for long.

So they are both running down the streets of Mallowhallow, doing their best to avoid people too but. You know. Mightyena swerves to the right to dodge Lon'qu but that distracts May and--]

Hey, Lulu! Where are you going! Aaa --

[INCOMING: THREE, TWO, ONE.]

[gynephobia]

Guhh!!

[Lon'qu moves to pull out his sword, but it never leaves its sheath thanks to being tackled from behind.]

[It takes him a moment to recover his balance and realize that he's actually not injured by whatever attack was coming-- speaking of which... pillows. Just pillows? Really? Regardless, his fearless rescuer must be at the bottom of the pile.]

...Don't move, or you might get stabbed.

[He thrusts his blade straight into the largest pillow and flips it away with a cloud of feather down. He repeats with a couple more, and finally unearths the hedgehog buried below them.]

[Lon'qu doesn't look shocked. There's a few animal-people in his world, after all. They never bothered him.]

I suppose I owe you a debt for that.

[gynephobia]

[It doesn't take long for Lon'qu to notice that he's failing to expand distance between himself and one of the women out today. It's certainly giving him the creeps, and when he can't stand it any longer he turns to face her while drawing another few steps backwards.]

Stay back, woman!

[gynephobia]

What--

[Distracted by the dog-like animal sprinting past him, Lon'qu suddenly finds himself face-down on the ground. ...Which isn't at all painful, considering that the ground is made of pillows. The real concern is that something-- someone? hit him from behind. Rather shameful for a proud swordsman.]

[He tries to say something along the lines of "get off", but having his face smothered by the pillow-ground muffles out the coherency.]

[coruskate]

[ Dang, he could have just moved the blasted things with his hands, but apparently, safety isn't what he was going for. Whatever. At least he hadn't been reckless enough to shishkabob him. ]

Hmph. Hardly.

[ Shadow lifts himself to one knee, then to both feet, dusting himself off and making a note to pluck a feather out of his fur. Goose feather pillows? Really? ]

That was nothing. If you'd nearly been crushed by concrete, then we'd talk about a debt, but this was child's play.

[ Although, hm... he's a swordsman, isn't he? Wouldn't be too bad to be in good cahoots with someone like that. He must have been at least decent with his blade, given he freed him with it without landing a single scratch. ]

[springskies]

[May gasps upon impact and then scrambles to get off the poor man.] Oh my gosh, I'm so sorry!!

[When she's crawled off him, she calls her Pokemon back to its Pokeball and stays on the ground next to him. Yeah the grounds made of pillows, but running into another person still stings.] That was totally my fault. Are you okay?

[amplify]

[ Despite being in Highcrest more often than not these days, she did have her obligations with Mallow Hallow -- not knowing that it was possible to, well, move. Or rather, she hadn't wanted to burden anyone.

She'd been on her way home from there, up until she spots a way too familiar figure. It was one she knew about as clearly as the back of her own hand, so there's almost -- no hesitation for her to call out where she was, louder than usual. ]

... Ah! Lon'qu! I-Is that you?!

[ Maybe it had been a hidden blessing after all, to have been put in Mallow Hallow. ]

[gynephobia]

You clearly believed you were saving my life. Why did you do it?

[Yeah, grabbing them would have been less messy. But hey, stabbing is what he does.]

[gynephobia]

Olivia...

[Finally, a woman who doesn't terrify him... as much. He approaches her cautiously, not so much out of fear, but he looks ashamed.]

I'm sorry. I let you out of my sight.

[gynephobia]

[With the initial shock passed, Lon'qu can make sense of what just happened. Horrified, he quickly realizes that the person who struck him is a girl. And she touched him. And she is still nearby. Seized by panic, he can't do anything but stay there on the ground, trembling.]

N-no... I... too close...

[coruskate]

[ Why did he? Good question. Shadow hums and taps his foot a little as he thinks, only finding one possible answer as a result. ]

Instinct, I suppose. I'm used to fighting for lives other than my own. [ He fought for those on the ARK. He fought for Earth itself. He fought for those residing on the ARK at the time of its descent. Miles, Knuckles, Amy, Dr. Robotnik, Rouge... Sonic...

Yeah. Instinct is as good an answer as he can give. ]

[plegiancurses]

[ Tharja, stalking about as usual, noticed Lon'qu from afar. She watches him intently, noticing how he avoids women. She always knew that her fellow Shepherd had an issue with women, and she can't help but smile as she watches him. Eventually, as he waits for people to cross in front of him, Tharja appears behind him, touching him in the small of the back with her finger. ]

I've used a temporary leg paralysis curse on you, it would be best not to try to fight it. [ Of course, Tharja's curses seem to not even work half the time, she it's impossible for her to tell if it worked until he actually tries to move. ]

Do you recognize me?

[gynephobia]

[He wouldn't fight it anyway, because a touch is enough to freeze him in place out of pure fear. Though who's to say that isn't an effect of the "curse"? He flinches at that touch as if scratched by a claw, and starts to shake.]

Y-yes... ugh...

[plegiancurses]

[ Tharja stays where she is, behind the man, thinking it best not to overload his fear so quickly. ]

You could sound a little more happy to an ally in a strange, wouldn't you think? [ Tharja seems to almost enjoy toying with the man. ]

[gynephobia]

It's... just your nearness...

[He's starting to look quite pale, but at least he isn't passing out. Not yet, anyway.]

b-baby, im so sorry omg

[springskies]

[What was too close? May looks around but there's nothing around that could be considered 'too close.' Except her.]

What, me? [Uh, maybe he wanted some air. Or.. something. Was he shaking? Either way, May backs up away from Lon'qu.]

Sorry, again. Is that better?

[crimson_flash]

[Her brow creases for a moment, not comprehending what the problem is. Actually, glancing over her shoulder to make sure he's talking to her. But she does at least stop when it's clear.]

. . . What? Don't act crazy.

[plegiancurses]

[ That's right, he really is afraid of women. Tharja just touches the back of his elbow to remind him she is still standing behind him. ]

You know, I could fix that for you, ifI had the right ingredients. It must be difficult to be so afraid of us, isn't it?

[gynephobia]

[When he backs up a certain distance from her (...about twenty paces or so), he seems to calm slightly, though he's still visibly tense.]

[...And he realizes this is probably looking pretty bad.]

...I'm not trying to offend you.

[gynephobia]

...Impossibly difficult.

[He gasps and shudders when he feels her touch his elbow, but is still unable to do anything else.]

Please move away.

[crimson_flash]

[Marisa's watching and frowning, because this is strange. Why are people so weird?]

Okay. I hadn't thought of that.

...I'm not here to kill you.

[That's a normal thing to say, right? She's pretty sure that should defuse some tension.]

poor guy has a phobia :D;

[gynephobia]

...Yes. It's better.

[Well, he can move now that she's some distance away, though it's not far enough for him to be at ease. He sits up, looking somewhat ashamed of himself.]

[gynephobia]

I see.

[Lon'qu's reasons for fighting are usually not so noble or selfless, but he can respect that.]

Even if my life were not truly endangered, I owe you for wanting to save it. If you have a need of anything, let me know soon so we can settle my debt quickly.

[obfuskate]

Tch...

[ Shadow turns his head away, silent for a moment until he realizes that he could get something out of this. Hmmm... ]

All I can ask of you is information. What do you know about this place?

[amplify]

[ Her mouth thins out into a line at that, and as if contemplating -- she pauses, for a moment, before closing their distance even more herself. ]

. . . There's hardly anything you need to apologize for, Lon'qu.

[ As if to prove her point, she beams him the biggest smile she can muster (though, there's no hiding the hints of shyness still present--) before reaching over to pull him into a hug. ]

What matters is that you're here now, isn't it...?

[gynephobia]

Ghh--

[Even with her, hugging is still hard. He blushes deep-red in the effort to return it, weakly bringing his arms up behind her back.]

I broke my promise to protect you. It's inexcusable. ...But I am glad to see you're safe.

[plegiancurses]

[ Not wanting to make the poor soul pass out or worse, Tharja walks around him in a wide arc, until she's in front of him, but far enough at he should be okay. ]

Is this far enough to negate my dark feminine energies?

[taktikos]

[ Robin had been planning to check on Noire, and to get a general layout of the 'districts' as it were, but the overabundance of pillows seems to have stunned his brain.

There is no way he is seeing who he is seeing, after all. ]

Lon'qu?

[amplify]

[ Olivia's squeeze is a little tighter, momentarily, before she loosens it to get a better view of his expression. ]

By the same token. . . That would mean I broke my promise to you as well, didn't I? [ ... ] Let's not play double standards. I'm -- equally at fault.

i didnt realize just how severe ; w ;

[springskies]

Okay. [She backs up a little more, though she's more feeling guilty because she thinks she hurt the guy despite how big he is. And pillows.]

Are you hurt or anything? I don't think I ran into you that hard but um ... I'm sorry again! I swear I only looked away for a second...

[MAY, JUST LEAVE.]