#itsuki is so precious and so cheeky AND I'M LIVING FOR THIS

[balladccr]

Again, he was given pause.

One heel had barely grazed the beaten path before freezing mid-step, and Scaramouche’s balance swayed unsteadily for a bare breath before he found himself—nearly against his will—peering back. His head cocked only just enough to locate the meddlesome girl’s face out of the corner of his eye, but he needn’t focus on that expression to know what, precisely, she meant by her queries. Her tone gave it away. Just as much as it had proven her lack of childish naivety (she had giggled at him, after all: further evidence of her knowing full well what she was doing).

“Heh. Figures,” The Balladeer scoffed, and this time, it was him smiling to combat the sudden severity that had warped her expression. “I give you advice to stay away from trouble, and here you are behaving like you plan on running straight to it.” In a few trailing seconds, he continued to face away from her—as if she couldn’t possibly be less of an interest to him. But eventually, and with the poise of one who had all the time in the world and no rush to grant any of it to those unworthy, Scaramouche pivoted.

He swung his weight sideways, crossed his arms, and met the determined fire in her gaze with a passive curiosity. That same look reminded him of a certain Traveler… Perhaps that was what made it so amusing.

“Don’t tell me you’re about to go play ‘hero,’” he trilled pathetically, that earlier smirk on his face twitching into something reminiscent of disgust. “A ragtag group of imbeciles obsessed with treasure is hardly worth the time.”

❄️ SCARA BRO ❄️

The “purdiest”? His outfit was… Excuse me—?

What was perhaps a rarity—at least for those who dared to test just how sharp his tongue could be—was The Balladeer’s rendered silence after the fact, pinning this silly girl with nothing more than a look that painted his response for him: his utter stupefaction at what could only be described as yet another ridiculous observation that came unfiltered through her quirked lips. In any other case, he would’ve assumed she was making fun of him. But in the way she held herself—the undeterred cheer, as if she was wholly unbothered by his poisonous remarks—proved it wasn’t quite the case.

She threw him off because he couldn’t read her. Oddly enough, it wasn’t naivety—obliviousness—that guided her here, made her at all unaware of his insults and desire to be left alone. (Supposedly…? But then why hadn’t he just walked away by now?) She wasn’t that entirely dimwitted, loath as Scaramouche was to admit, but then simultaneously, he failed to discern if her chipper attitude was meant to be grating, or… simply the kind of sunshine-y person she was. (Ugh.)

What an annoying puzzle. And one Scaramouche shouldn’t be wasting his time on.

“Whatever.” He didn’t entertain her ideas further, talk of where exactly rabbits stood in the grand scheme of things a hill on which he didn’t plan on dying. (He would’ve won the argument, though; just to be clear.) In the middle of a light sigh, The Balladeer adjusted his hat one more time, then moved to walk past her. “If you’re satisfied, I’d suggest you hurry on home. It’s not exactly safe out here for little critters, and something tells me the treasure hoarders I passed earlier don’t really care whether you’re helpless or not.”

   UNABLE TO HOLD BACK HER GIGGLES THEN, a single mitten would raise itself in a half-hearted attempt to muffle them back. Tightly clamped lips but still wriggling into a wavy little line, with each titter that would still manage to sound itself past them. 

   That utterly BEFUDDLED expression that would befall upon those normally unimpressed features of his was just too funny for Itsuki to try and politely bypass then! Gosh, it was almost as if he had hardly ever received a GENUINE COMPLIMENT in his life, and that couldn’t possibly be true! And… if that was actually the case… it was just too sad to think about… Something Itsuki didn’t want to linger about for long– especially now that she was here to change that!

   Lightly rolling her eyes then, Itsuki had already seen that response coming from a mile away. Still, she had tried! “Sure, ya say dat now. But ah bet yer gonna ‘ave second thoughts, da next time ya see one of ‘em, though!” With a final wag of her finger, the little one will then leave it at that. Especially upon hearing what was said next by the other. Something that would make that once playful smile of hers finally fall from her face.

   “… Wait– did’ja jus’ say TREASURE HOARDERS?” With a sudden switch in her demeanour, it would seem that this friendly little exchange between the two of them would have to come to an end. “Where are they, bro? Where did’ja pass them by?”