NPC MINGLE

[retellers]

Comments

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[ swan blows a raspberry to both tiger and wolf, who suck ]

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[ fox just sighs. why are you all children. ] Right. At the very least, let's figure out what we're going to tell them and get an idea of what we'll do in the first week.

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[ she just nods her head, very clearly just wanting to switch the subject to something less terrible. ] We should just tell them it's going to be a contest, right? Ah, but I wonder what's the best way to do it... should we just gather them all together right away?

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Well they'll all come here together, won't they? So let's talk to them together.

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[ fox hums thoughtfully. ] Will all of us be necessary? We don't want too many people speaking over each other. [ which he is absolutely sure will happen if all six of them are in the same area. ]

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[ it doesn't seem like tiger is going to say anything at first, but then she sighs. ] No, we don't need six people to tell one story. Just one of us should be enough to do the job if it wasn't for the fact that there's a chance they might try to stab one of you. Better to have backup. [ yeah she just decided it's not going to be her without asking ]

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[ wolf tilts his head a little, thinking ] So half of us. Even if no one attacks, they'll all have questions. Best to have enough people around to field all of those then let two people get overwhelmed.

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Sounds reasonable. So, who wants to be the lucky three, then? [ who wants to deal with the mob. ] I don't mind being one. [ he is not about to point at a bunch of teenagers and be like, "you do the work instead." ]

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[ there's a short moment of hesitation before she raises a hand. ] I don't mind doing it... [ well. it's less that she doesn't mind and more that swan looks like she might be the youngest from heights, and it doesn't seem like tiger wants to do it... ]

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[ swan opens her mouth like she wants to volunteer, leaning in eagerly before she pauses in thought ] Wait, is this just for the initial meeting? Won't we have to have people around them all the time? We are supposed to lead them.

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Just for the initial meeting. You're right in that we'll have to be available at all times... though it might still be for the better that we don't have everyone constantly around. Don't want the participants to feel like they're being monitored—even if, really, they are. [ he sounds a bit too unashamed of that last point, but eh. ]

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[ there's just a shrug. ] We're doing teams, right? It's not like they're all going to want to talk to all of us... [ hm. ] We should probably focus on our own teams at the start. Bonding... or whatever the hell you want to call it. [ very gross. ]

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Right. It makes sense since we're competing, sort of, but we all have the same goal. So... We should split up the duties equally. [ whatever those are, ]

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[ goat nods. except then he raises his hand. ] ... I have a question, and I am asking because I'm not sure. [a beat. ] But how... does one bond, exactly...?

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[ ... ] Please tell me that you're fucking with us right now?

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[ rabbit, however, is a little more helpful. ] Oh! Um... well, usually you get to know each other? You talk about things, whether it's stuff you like, or hobbies, or... uh. [ there's a pause, and her tone grows more uncertain. ] Normally when you... remember those things...

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[ even though they can't see his eyes, there's the distinct feeling that wolf has closed them and crossed his arms. ] Does that matter? We're here to do a job, not make buddy-buddy.

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"Fucking with you"...? [ ??? ] ... I suppose not. What's important is guiding them properly.

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[ swan laughs, loud and awkward ] Okay, nope, let's not explain fucking to Goat, I'm calling it! Let's get back to subject, maybe? If we get three people to "handle" them the first week, the other three should do the one after that, right? And then we alternate! So Fox and Rabbit already volunteered, which means... [ swan is suddenly struck with the probability that Goat will be left alone with Wolf and Tiger ] Wolf should do the first week with them! And then Tiger, Goat and I can handle the one after that. Equally shared duties. [ there. perfect. nailed it. ]

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[ she glances at swan and goat, like she is considering what it might be like to be stuck working with them. and then nods. ] Yeah, sure. We'll just keep alternating then? [ hm ] And then the first week we just focus on our own team members. I don't want to deal with your people whining to me on top of everything else.

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[ why does no one want to explain things to him.............. children's slang is so confusing these days!! ] But it's part of our task to handle any complaints... Still, I suppose it would be best to pace ourselves.

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[ ... why was he volunteered against his will, here... ] We'll hear more than enough complaints that first week.

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[ rabbit does not seem too confident about this... ] ... why don't we give them something when they show up? Like a gift basket. It can kind of be like a peace offering from us to them.

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I'm sure you can shut them up just by scowling hard enough, Wolf-san. ♪ [ sorry, wolf, you're stuck with volunteer duty. ] ... Haha, I don't know if gifts would appease them, but it wouldn't hurt to try. [ fox says this and then later gives them a suspicious drug for giggles. ]

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[ CAN YOU TELL THAT HE'S SCOWLING, FOX ]