Plushathon (Karalie)

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Anthony had always enjoyed the community field day. It got kid out of the house, out in the outdoors and playing under the sun. For a small town such as Pilot Ridge, it really was a community fair, where everybody who knew everybody could get out and enjoy everybody’s presence. Since coming to Pilot Ridge, Anthony had volunteered for it every year. And as long as he was in Pilot Ridge, he would probably continue to volunteer for it.

This year, Anthony was working with the Climbing Wall, a nifty device where one could simulate the experience of rock climbing right in their own backyard(or in this case, in the fields next to the lake) and one which was donated by the ROTC crew at the local university. He wasn’t the only one working it(because regulations or something like that), but he was able to help out acting as a spotter, working the grips, and advertising the “product” to the crowds.

If asked what his favorite part was, well…he honestly wouldn’t be able to say, because Anthony enjoyed all of it. A better question was, what did he like about working at this station. Well, obviously, that would be interacting with all sorts of new and interesting people. And by “people”, he really meant “girls”.

In fact, there was one right now.

“Hey there pretty lady!” he called out to a pretty girl, probably no older than Anthony was, if not just a bit younger. “Would you like to try your hand at being a real mountaineer?” He flashed a bright smile, giving a quick blink of his eyes that could have been mistaken for a wink. “If you reach the top, you win a free plushie of anything you like.” This wasn’t the standard offer. Anthony only offered it to the girls. Because the guys didn’t have to know he could produce them out of thin air.

[Karalie Heise]

Community Field Day.  It wasn't something Karalie was exactly interested in considering her age, but it's something she usually checked out.  There was usually fun things to do, and Lucas mentioned he was thinking about going.  Knowing him, he would probably sleep through the first half and she would end up waiting there for him, wandering around, not really doing much because Karalie was simply too cool for that.  Still, she aimed to be a good girlfriend and Penny and Lucy were being louder than usual, so she simply needed to get out.

There were a lot of kids there, both younger ones from the school and plenty of folks around her age, so she didn't exactly feel out of place, except for the fact that she wasn't dressed to do any sort of "field events".  Her denim shorts were a little too short, and her flowy floral tank top wasn't practical for running around.  Neither were the bejeweled flip flops adorning her tiny feet.  Her aim was to look nice after all, not run around.  She was simply people watching until Lucas showed up.

Suddenly a boys voice caught her attention, calling out to.. her? She looked over her shoulder to see if the guy was calling her the pretty lady or someone else, and when she saw no one else in the vicinity she knew he was referring to her.  When he asked if she wanted to be a real mountaineer she had to scoff at him before rolling her eyes playfully.  Clearly he was teasing considering she looked nothing like a mountain girl, or like she had any real interest in being one.

"Do I look like uh mountaineer?" She drawled, tipping her head to the side with a snooty sort of smirk.  She clasped her hands tight into fists and slipped them into her pocket before approaching the boy slowly, looking up at the rock climbing wall.  She couldn't risk touching him and grabbing a memory, so it was easier to simply take that possibility off the table.  The thought of ever climbing one of those rock walls freaked her out.  The memories would be too much for her to handle.  All she would likely need is one good one of someone freaking out and falling to make her do just that, and the last thing she wanted to do was publicly humiliate herself. Especially in front of a cute guy.

"I don't climb." She offered, "An' I doubt ya'll got somethin' I'd want if I made it tuh th'top anyways." She grinned looking up at the wall again, internally curious about it though she would never get the nerve to actually try.  It looked like fun.. maybe one day when she had a better grasp of her ability she could give it a shot.  "Can you reach the top?" She asked coyly, cocking a brow.

[Deleted]

Anthony had no reason to think that the girl had any reason to not want to join in on the fun outside of her having the inappropriate footwear, but Anthony had honestly seen people brave the thing in worse. The retrocognition bit was heavy, and he would never force someone into that situation. Nope, not Anthony, because he was a good guy.

So that’s why he was still urging her to give it a try. Heck, he’d loan her a pair of boots if need be, he was sure they had some around here…somewhere.

“Do I? Does that kid?” Anthony pointed to one side of the wall where a 10 year old kid was scaling it, slowly. At that pace, the kid was probably going to fall before he reached halfway. Someone else was there to keep him from breaking his neck.

“Well…what is it you want? I’ll see what I can do.” There was a reason why the offer was plushies. He only had a set number of them he could make, but Anthony was sure that not many would actually reach the top.

He nodded. “Actually, yes, yes I can. But it’s no fun when you know you can do it. It’s when you don’t know and you’re forced to challenge yourself that makes it a rush!” Anthony provided his best cheesy salesman smile.

[Karalie Heise]

Karalie looked up at the lid scaling the wall and cocked a brow up at him.  He certainly didn't know how to climb.  Her eyes landed back on the boy as he asked what she wanted and then explained that he could easily do the wall, but it was more fun and challenging if you'd never done it, a ploy to get her to climb no doubt.  Of course she wasn't going to go for it.  She had real reasons to not want to climb, not that this kid knew that, and not even his adorable cheesing would sway her otherwise.  

"Forced tuh challenge yerself?" She repeated with an amused smirk, almost challenging his choice of words.  She wasn't forced to challenge herself to do anything, she wouldn't.  "I'll tell yuh what." She started, her mind racing through the different types of stuffed animals he probably had, trying to figure out what kind wouldn't be there.  "If ya'll got uh panda bear bear back there, with pink, not black patches, I'll give it uh shot.  No sense tryin' somethin' if the reward isn't whatcha want."  Of course she knew it wasn't really a out the plushie, it was about getting up there and having fun, but there was nothing fun about this, not to her.  

She seriously hoped he didn't have that type of bear, though.. What were the odds? Slim, she was sure.  If he did, though.. if he did she was screwed.

[Deleted]

The girl would have been right. Anthony was mostly talking right out his ass. It was a sales pitch, after all. He’s been told that he was really good at BSing like that. Well, Anthony had a lot of practice, but he didn’t think of it so much as BSing as he did “eloquenting”. Or something like that, anyway!

“A panda bear?” he repeated thoughtfully. With pink patches? Yeah…yeah, he could probably do that, it was pretty simple and specific at the same time. Anthony held up a finger. “Hold on just one second,” he instructed her as he stepped back and behind the wall, as if he was going to rifle through a prize bag that they had back there. Anthony took a moment to concentrate, picturing the idea he had in his mind and pulling his power out to materialize this new creation. About a minute later, Anthony reappeared from behind the wall with a very nicely crafted panda-bear plushie with pink patches.

“Like this,” he said with a very hopeful smile, pointing at the thing.

[Karalie Heise]

Karalie practically snorted when he said he'd be right back to check. There was no way there was a bear like that in his pile. What were the chances? Still, it was cute he was going to pretend to look, prolonging the inevitable.

It took the guy a minute or so to reappear, and when he did Karalie was looking at her phone, texting Luke back. When the guy asked if the bear he was holding would do, she let her eyes lift to look at a panda bear with pink patches, her face falling a little, the color in her cheeks draining. Seriously!? But.. How?! What were the chances! Her lips pursed and she narrowed her eyes a little at him. Was this a trick? Could she still get out of this? She could just walk away, she owed this guy nothing. But Karalie wasn't like that. Her word was her bond.

"I don' know how ya'll happened tuh have that, but alright. I guess.. do I have tuh climb then?" Her nose wrinkled cutely, trying to get innocent and flirty. Maybe he'd go easy on her, let her off the hook. "Cause I'm just gonna fall, an' look like an idiot." She was trying to plead, but truth be told if he pushed, she'd slip the harness on. Ugh.. that would be the worst!

[Deleted]

He felt a little bad for tricking the girl and not being up front about his power. Indeed it was a horrible con, but it got her attention, didn’t it? Maybe he’ll come clean after chatting for a bit. And then give her the panda anyway.

Anthony was completely prepared to make her climb, though. That is, until she started putting on the cute act. Geeze, Anthony apparently did have a weakness for pretty, flirty girls, what was wrong with him!? His resolve wavered and it was obvious in his expression. “Well….”

What to do? He’d already made the plushie, and he couldn’t take it back, and he couldn’t just give it to her for free, even if he wanted to. What to do, what do do?

An idea struck him. “How about…instead of climbing,” he started, his dorky little boy smile surfacing as he spoke. “You let me buy you a drink or something. I’m due for a break and I’d love to spend it with someone as pretty as you.” That was smooth, right? He was being studly, right? Hopefully she would accept.

[Karalie Heise]

Her heart lifted a little when the seemed like he was starting to cave.Maybe, just maybe... Then he asked to buy her a drink instead. And just like that she felt the disappointment again. Her first fear was that he'd touch her hand. The second fear was Lucas. Was that cheating? It wasn't a date or anything.. It wasn't as if she was being dishonest with anyone. They could be.. well, friends! She and Lucas started as friends after all. Why couldn't girls and guys be friends? Even if he was super cute, and older and thought she was pretty.

She decided to play it off, for her pride's sake. Lucas wouldn't care.He lived with a girl, after all! Suddenly she wondered if drink meant a drink. She wasn't old enough for that sort of drinking, not that it would stop her, but it wasn't like she could go to a bar. Then again, what car could they go to now? He was only on a break. It should be fine..

"Uh drink sounds much better than climbin'some wall." She gave that sweet smile again, tilting her head ever so slightly to the side. "But ya'll should never go get uh drink with someone yah don't know." She gave a serious sort of nod before the playful grin came back. "What's yer name?"

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Anthony stood there with that hopeful, pathetic bambi look on his face as he awaited her answer. She was going to accept, right? He wasn’t just going to be shot down after getting this far, right? He felt like throwing his hand in the air and pumping his fists in victory when she accepted. He didn’t, of course, that would be a completely douchey thing to do, but he could do it silently, in his mind.

His face definitely brightened though, like a puppy who was about to get his favorite treat. “Awesome!” he said with enthusiasm. Anthony nodded, completely agreeing with her. “Yeah, true fact, actually.” He extended his hand to shake. “I’m Anthony. And you are?”

[Karalie Heise]

Karalie didn't take Anthony's extended hand, though she knew it was rude not to.  She didn't want to accidentally grab a memory from him and she wasn't entirely sure she had enough control yet not to.  She was getting better and if she concentrated hard enough she could force herself not to grab one, but this boy was cute and she was feeling pretty and giddy and girly, and it was probably best not to touch a boy right now.  "Karalie." She replied, holding her hands in front of her and trying to play coy and shy, like shaking his hand would be weird. Or maybe she was just coming off bitchy.. who knew.

"Nice tuh meetchu." She smiled sweetly and turned, beginning to walk off.  "So where d'we get drinks?" She asked, and then looked up over at the boy who was still climbing.  "An' is someone gonna take over for yah tuh help that kid down?"

[Deleted]

Weeelllllll, this was awkward. Was there something on his face? Did his hand smell? Or maybe she thought it was dirty and she was a germaphobe? The thought that she might be a touch-meta only vaguely crossed his mind, but it was still an option. Either way, Anthony stood there awkwardly with his hand extended until he had made a complete fool of himself and finally decided to retract it with an easygoing laugh that was meant to cover up his confusion. “Karalie? Wow, that’s really pretty. I don’t think I’ve ever met someone with that name before!” Smooth recovery! Though it was completely true.

Anthony pointed off in the direction of the food stands. “They have these amazing slushes over there! I think one of them is actually half my size! It’s huge!” Anthony extended his hands descriptively. He blinked as Karalie mentioned the boy who was still on the wall…

“Oh! Shoot! Uh…” He started to trot back to the attraction, turning around to hop backwards real quick to address the girl, Karalie. “Just..uh, wait right there! It’ll be just a minute!” Then he spun again and went to go work things out with the organizer. After a bit of pleading, they finally agreed to let Anthony go and another volunteer took over for him at the wall. “Sorry about that!” he called as he jogged back, hopefully where the girl still stood. “So, uh…drinks?” Anthony grinned hopefully.