Deep Reflections

Roy would toss a string of the quote-food-unquote for the ducks that would scramble away for the competing morsels of food. He would follow his female companion onto the pier and tossing part of the food into the water.

The ducks of course crowded the dock behind the two of them, Roy didn't sit like his friend, "I kinda feel sorry for them, ya know?" Roy admitted looking back at all the ducks with the clipped wings and all the fish that'd never know anything more than this little pond. "Ya know. If you love animals can you really love this sort of life they have? It is an indignant living." Roy asked honestly, since she didn't seem to get his sarcasm.

"I dunno," Haruko answered with a lazy shrug of her shoulders as she looked down at her reflection mirrored in the water, suddenly looking introverted and thoughtful. With the chaotic swimming of fish to and fro to snap up whatever was left of the food floating on the surface it was mostly difficult to actually make out the reflection amidst all the ripples and waves and fish bodies swimming about. "You could reason that they've got it pretty good. Their only worry in life is when the next person will come along to give them food, ya know? ...Fish are kind of all about being trapped in small spaces anyways though... unless they're ocean-going fish, I guess."

She reached up to scratch her head in contemplative thought, but forgot that she still had some of the duck-fish food in her hand, incidentally spilling the rest of the food in her hair just as the ducks were returning from their frantic scouting mission to beg for more. Immediately she was besieged by a wave of hungry ducks, yelping as she was rolled over by a horde of quacking down pillows.

"Maybe I'm just over thinking it." Roy responded to her practical dismissal of the animals conditions versus how they desired to live. It was quite a thought as he looked out across the pond and tossed most of his handful into the water for the fish to practically swarm it in a fur-ball of silvery scales and bluish fins. His eyes lost focus for a second as he'd let his head clear of such thoughts, losing focus just long enough for Haruko to be swarmed by the ducks!

It was her yelp that brought Roy back from his serene moment, staring at the water. Causing his head to snap around as his newest friend was a flock of feathers and webbed feet all trying to get an easy meal, literally off the girl.

"Uh..." Roy was stunned at the sight of it, before stamping his feet to try to scare the ducks off... which didn't work. They were far to used to humans as food sources to be afraid of them, which was why they were on redhead in the first place.

Food.

Oh right! Roy tossed the last of his duck food near Haruko in hopes to draw the ducks trying to dog pile her away, to a nearby prize! Then he would try to remove the remainder with his hands picking them up gingerly and tossing them, some into the water and some away at other ducks.

"You gonna be okay?" The white haired boy asked his companion hiding a little amused smile.

Once all the ducks were cleared, Haruko lay on her back on the dock looking incredibly dizzy and beat up, feathers stuck in and laying on her clothing and hair.

"I think so..." she replied with a cracked voice. "Just need a little rest..." She'd just been handily defeated by a bunch of birds!

Her rest time was roughly five minutes, give or take a minute, before she instantly appeared to regain her composure, jumping back up and onto her feet while brushing and shaking out all the feathers that were covering her person from head to toe and then some.

"Well, that was a trip!" Haruko commented with an amused chuckle. "This place got an arcade or you wanna ride something ...or something?" she asked with a shrug. She was letting Roy steer them to their next destination so long as he adhered to her somewhat limiting suggestions.

Roy watched bewildered as Haruko simply lay there and recover. It was an... odd sight. The wildfire redhead seemed so energetic before and now she was just embers. It was almost mystifying how quickly she'd bee molested by the ducks and then just wallowed in her defeat.

"Uhh... Okay." He was unsure how to respond to her request to just lay there for a moment. Sometimes people needed time, and since the food was now gone the ducks would leave Haruko alone. Roy plopping down beside her didn't make the little quackers any more confident to approach again.

When Haruko shot up to his feet Roy followed. She didn't seem at all phased now that she'd had the moment to adjust to the ducking crazy situation. "I know the best rides here." Roy would take his companion by the wrist and take off with her, tired of waiting around, though he'd enjoyed the quiet broken by the occasional quack.

"The best Coaster is King of the Hill!" He explained running through the park practically dragging Haruko along behind him. It was perhaps the most intense roller coaster in the northern hemisphere. If the amusement park sign for it was any indication it showed a caricature of a big man with a crown on a little sandy lump tossing aside people in roller coaster seats!

"Oh yeah!" Haruko called out in recognition as she stumbled up beside Roy with her wrist still in his iron grip, speaking about the roller coaster now laid out before them. "I rode this back when I first got here! It's pretty crazy, right?!" She broke away from his dragging grip, freeing her wrist in order to jovially slap him on the back. "Betcha can't ride the entire thing with your hands up!"

Oh so now Haruko was issuing challenges!? Alright. He was game! "You're on!" He agreed enthusiastically moving into the line and swiping his VIP pass so that they could get to the front of the line faster. King of the Hill wasn't simply fast, but it's tight high initial drop and tight corners made it one of the most aggressive and jarring coasters in the world let alone the norther hemisphere.

The Attendant would fasten the two next to each other in the seats The absolute front of the hanging coaster. "Don't be scared. It'll all be over soon." Roy playfully teased flashing his redheaded friend a smirk and raising his hands in the air after they were successfully locked into place. "If your hands come down for whatever reason you lose!" Roy would clarify the rules just so there were no excuses!

There was no hesitation as Haruko reached out to punch Roy in the shoulder as he attempted to tease her. Once they were locked into place, Haruko took a moment to reach over and playfully rattle Roy's harness.

"As if!" Haruko shot back, raising her arms up high right after she'd given his harness a good couple of yanks. "Best you can hope for is to break even! Best not start slippin', Slim! Nyaha!" And she stuck her tongue out at him as the coaster jerked suddenly to a start. It was time to test their mettle!

Roy only recoiled slightly as she slugged him in the shoulder, he could tell that it was playful and she was holding back, but Roy couldn't tell how much. Though from her stature he could tell that she was strong. He loved the thought of being challenged, the competition got Roy's fire going as the metal monstrosity lurched forward and off a small drop, giving it enough energy to round the first bend and reach the initial ladder.

Roy kept his hands up, not even flinching at the first little drop, as he gave a sideways smile to Haruko. "No turning back now." Roy chided playfully, looking at the top as the chain clanked its way to the top of the ride.

"Woo!" Haruko shouted out as her stomach dropped only slightly with the quick plunge into the first big hill. "I'm pretty sure we reached that point when they strapped us in!" Haruko laughed as they climbed the hill. Her hands hadn't budged from their position high-fiving the air. "You ready for this?!"

It felt like forever to reach the top of the climb. It was a big one, after all, but eventually they were peaking at the top and looking over the edge all the way down nearly to the ground it seemed. And then they were over! Haruko howled like a wolf at the moon the entire way down as they roared at top speed down the railed mountain and into several more hills and loops with the speed they required reached.

"Damn Strait!" Roy responded, unlike Haruko's air high five, he was going to go with his fists loosely balled in an ongoing fist pump. He wasn't going to lose!

At the top Roy looked down, he could feel his body shake a little from the adrenaline of being suspended from such a high place. It made his heart beat in his ears and his mouth dry. He wasn't afraid of heights but this was still some suspenseful suspended sensations.

As the pair crested the top of the ride Roy let out a battle cry. "Bring I~t~!" As the coaster shot down the big drop. The suspended seats worked its way through tight turns sudden drops and corkscrews. Roy could feel the downward pull on his arms grunting in sheer effort to keep them raised. He was an athlete after all, but the intense g-forces were almost too much! His arms would sag on some of the tighter turns, keeping his fists barely above his head! If he could keep this up he might just win! But there was still much of the course left. This wasn't simply a question of strength but endurance!

Haruko was far from lacking in any of the required field for keeping her arms up. She was certainly brave enough, kind of an adrenaline junky in her own right, to keep her arms straight up in the air the entire time without panicking and bringing them down. Thanks to her ability to regulate her body in perfect sync with her needs there wasn't a single moment where her endurance or strength failed her, though as the ride came to an end and she climbed out she stumbled a bit before catching her balance. She'd sort of neglected the rest of her body that wasn't entirely necessary in the couple of minutes that the ride lasted and her feet were practically asleep.

"Woo! That was a rush!" she shouted as they departed out the exit side of the coaster, suddenly grabbing Roy under her arm in a playful headlock before quickly letting him go. "Good show, yeah! I guess we'll have to call that a tie!"

Wow. As the cars hit the brakes and pulled into the loading station Roy could feel his arms burning. They were shaking from all of the exertions of each corner and each twirl and loop. His arms shook and he could feel the tingling of the skin as his arms began to quickly fall asleep. But soon the entire ride shuddered to a halt, and the harnesses came up, Roy's hands fell flacid at his sides like limp noodles, giving an exhausted gasp Roy nodded in return to Haruko's acclaim that the ride was a rush.

"Yeah no kidding." Though he'd ridden it a few times this was the first time he'd taken on the king with his arms up, and how he felt like he wouldn't be able to raise them above his shoulders for the rest of the day. Unlike Haruko his arms had built up lactic acid and burned profusely.

Then came the headlock. Roy struggled playfully and tried to back out before she released him. "Yeah. No kidding!" Roy replied enthusiastically. "I guess we'll have to have a tie breaker some time."

"Hmm..." Haruko paused to think hard on the matter before a smirk crossed her lips and she raised a challenging brow. "We could always go again for the tie breaker... like right now. If you're not up for it then I'll just call myself the winner!" She smiled wide at that, having backed Roy into a corner, so to speak.

"Lets hold off and give it our all when we're at our best. I wouldn't be a tie breaker if we didn't come at it with all our strength." Roy responded, of course he was trying to be sly, he couldn't do that again. "But if you wanna call it your victory you better be ready for a rematch!" Roy shot back with a grin of his own.

Feeling like he'd made a new friend of Haruko, Roy spun on his heels. "Come on, lets grab a bite to eat and catch more rides." He was of course being dismissive of his 'loss' and would move on. There was a lot more to do in the park, and they were going to make an afternoon of it.