Soft Serve- Chicken!?

The crowd was buzzing around as everyone was getting ready for Summer splash. People strode around in the beach setting in minimal clothing as a cool breeze capped off a perfect day. Still, there was one who seemed oddly dressed for an occasion that demanded swimsuits and beach towels. Keltainen Arndt had been in the AFW for some time but had yet to have a match of any kind. She'd signed up against her will and in that defiance, she had been doing what she believed to be actual work.

The silver haired girl wore a red military beret, thigh high boots and what appeared to be some sort of one piece top. She had been skulking around the backstage of the AFW and finally had made contact with one of her cousins, Sininen Karl. She had become frustrated with her coz because the pink haired girl seemed more interested in having a good time and messing about than actually performing her duties. Her other cousin, Valkoinen Simo had ended up in the AFW league after a long and bloody stint as a sniper in the Russian special forces. After reasons that no one seemed to know, Val abandoned her life in the military, going on the lamb and becoming an assassin for hire. Now her family wanted her back and had sent Sininen to do it by any means necessary. After some time had passed with little results, Keltainen was chosen to bring back both delinquent Finns.

Now she paced back and forth inthe backstage area. "I knoooooow that Valkoinen is supposed to be here, hm." She said. "But is nooooow a good time to confroooont her, hm?" She thought aloud as some of the girls who had decided to oin the wet t-shirt contest passed by her. She leaned against part of a bench and presseder finger against her lips in thought.

Cassie had taken a few days off from training. It was good to just take some time off and recharge every now and again. She wasn't booked for anything in the Summer Splashy thingy, but she thought she'd show up and just hang out on the beach and watch everyone do their thing. No one really noticed her being there, which was fine. She was happy just to be a wallflower.

She padded along in the sand with bare feet. Over one shoulder she'd slung her orange Converse hi-tops with the shoe laces tied together, socks stuffed into each shoe. She wore a simple yellow sundress that came to just above her knees, with two pockets at the hips, tiny embroidered flowers around the neckline and the hem and a little blue flower she'd found stuck in one of the straps. A white scarf was tied around her waist. She felt pretty. It was nice to take a break from just wearing gym clothes and training and being all athletic all the time. At that moment there was no where else in the world that she felt like she needed to be. The warm sand and the setting sun, surrounded by all kinds of interesting people, it was really awesome.

Once she'd found her way to the stage area she quickly found out what it was that was going on. She wasn't really interested in seeing girls get sprayed with hoses, and wasn't really comfortable with it, so she stuck to the backstage area. One miserable looking soaking wet girl slunk back from the stage and Cassie hurriedly found a towel to give her. Concerned, she watched the girl as she walked away. She found more towels, and brought a small stack of them to a table next to the steps up to the stage, ready to hand them out to the next soaking wet girl to emerge.

She caught a glimpse of blue pigtails as a girl wrapped up in a large bathrobe whizzed past her and up to the stage. She only really saw her from behind, but she was incredibly familiar... and probably wouldn't be in need of a towel with that robe. She let her eyes wander over the rest of the girls, a few of them preening and preparing to go get soaked, the rest just milling around and chatting. Her ears pricked up when she heard a familiar voice.

Not a familiar voice, rather a familiar accent. It was unmistakable. She looked around to find the girl, and when she spotted the little Finn she fit the bill perfectly. Small, cute, weird... and Finnish. Cassie raised an eyebrow while she inspected the funny little girl. She knew she had to talk to her, if for no reason other than to have met all three Finns in Japan. With a smile, she made her way over to the girl and stood in front of her.

She stuck her hands in the pockets of her dress and gave the girl a big grin. "Hi! I was, I was just standing over there and I heard you talking... Are you, are you looking for someone?" She said, in an almost spot on impersonation of Sininen's accent and vocal tick. "I'm Cassie!" She said and stuck out her hand to the Finn.

As Keltainen contemplated her next move, she was suddenly approached by a very lively girl. 'I was noooot talking to myself, hm!" She said and tilted her head. "Heeeeeey." Her slow but high pitched voice sounded like a whine. "Yoooou've been snooping around a looot lately, hm." She said and pressed her face up close to Cassie's. 'Investigation reveals noooooo military or covert affiliations sooooo." She raised a finger and poked the top of Cassie's chest, between her breast and collar bone. Not hard, just enough to make contact. "Whaaaat exaaaactly is your aaangle, hm?"

She titled her head and looked at Cassie's ear, reaching up and tugging at the lobe gently. "Maybe, you're part of a ceeeeeellll, hm? Are you weaaaring a wiiiire, hm?"

Keltainen then pulled back and crossed her arms. "No." She said. "You're toooo upfront to be a spyyyy, hm. unless!" She narrowed her eyes. "Thaaaat's your game all along. She wagged her finger at Cassie. "I'm waaatching you now, hm." She then tilted her head and blushed a bit. "Well.... I have been dooooing that anyway. What do yooooou want with my cousins, hm?" She questioned. "Or... what do theeeey want with yooou?"

Cassie's feet remained planted, and her hands in her pockets, but she leaned back away from Kel as she got up in her personal space. Her eyes widened and she wore a funny smile as she watched the girl. She wondered if all of them spoke... wrongly.

"Oh, you know me tooooo?" Cassie said, unsurprised. She was done being surprised that weird little Finnish militant girls had done their homework on her for... some reason. "Well, I met Simo comma Valkoinen and I met Sinininininin...nin. I don't think they waant anything from me, we just talked and stuff. And... Sin slept in my house. I think. I dunno, I was sleeping. So..." Cassie thought for a moment while she looked over this new unbalanced little one. "Do you want to take a walk and chat a bit too? I've got nothing going on, really."

Keltainen narrowed her eyes at Cassie. Unlike the others who were simply ignorant of other people or didn't care, Keltainen was well aware when people were trying to mock her. "Dooon't you mock me! hm!' She said and turned her hair. "Thaaaat seeeems like them though, hm..." She spun her head back around. "Incompetent! laaaaazy! Gooood for nooothing!" She stated. "Reeeeckless! Hm! Hm! Hm! Hm!" She said tapping her foot with each of the last words. She then reached out for Cassie's hand to grab it and pull on it as she began marching off. "Wheeeeeere are weeeee going, hm?" She asked despite leading with them. "And don't you tryyyy and resist! Hm!" She said, thinking Cassie might have an aversion to her methods. "I'm stilllll quiiite suspicious of you, hm." She then turned and eyed Cassie warily. "And quiiiite armed, hm!" She then turned and continued marching before she looked back and blushed a little bit. "I'm huuuuungry. We're gooooing to eat. hm." She said as though Cassie had no decision in the matter.

"Oh, no, I-" Cassie put a hand to her mouth, surprised. "I didn't mean to mock anyone. I wasn't mocking I just, sometimes... I didn't mean to." Her cheeks reddened just a little bit. Cassie just seemed to soak up people's voices like a sponge, whether she knew it or not.

She didn't resist as Kel led her away. She was by no means a big girl herself, but she felt like... she'd have to pick Kel up to give her a hug. She sort of felt like she was a child, though she had no idea how old she was.

"Oh, you're armed too? What are you armed with? Can I see?" She didn't actually want to see. She was just a little curious. "I like eating." She said more quietly.

"So why haven't you found your cousins yet? I've found em, and I wasn't even trying. Can I see your hat?" She said with a laugh, reaching out and touching Kel's beret.

Keltainen ignored Cassie's feeble attempts at an apology and continued to tug her along. "What kind of fooood do you like, hm?" She asked before sniffing the air. "Weeeeee're going to have chicken, hm." She decided for Cassie. She then stopped and turned around as Cassie grabbed her beret. "It's juuuust a hat, hm!" She said as she looked over Cassie. "You don't seeeem like a wrestler. You don't seeeeem like anything. Juuuust a girl. Hm. hm. hm." She then shook her head and snatched her beret back, adjusting it perfectly on her head. "Nooo. You caaan't see my weapon, either.hm."

She sniffed and licked her lips. "mmmmmmhm." She said as seh went over to one of the food booths. "What are you tryyyyyying to get me to make a sceeeen, hm? Do you waaaaaaant eeeeeeveryone to seeee me waaaaavign around a guuun HM!?" She got some looks for loudly sayign it and her eyes widened.

"SPECIAL AGENT! HM!" She screamed at them and they turned back and whispered. "Gah!" SHe said and snatched some chicken away from the booth. It was a little taiyaki looking chicken on a stick and she shoved it at Cassie. "Yooooou!" She said and grabbed her own and swung around behind Cass and put her nose close to Cassie's ear and sniffed loudly. "Hm." She added. "You don't smeeeeelll like a spy. But I'm waaaatching yoooou, hm."

"Oh, my." Cassie said. She was making a conscious effort not to treat the little Finn like a child, but it was hard. She wanted to play peekaboo with her or something. "Well, I'm definitely nooot-er, I'm not a spy. Who would I spy for? My only job is with Friction. I've done okay, I guess. There's no reason for me to be a spy, I just like you guys is all. I've talked with the other two, it makes sense for me to get to meet you, right?"

Cassie held up her stick of teriyaki in front of her and made a sound. She had a very special relationship with teriyaki of any kind, especially if it was on a stick. She devoured it greedily.

"Awesome! You're such a good leader! Lead on, let's find more good food, eh? And, uh, why is it that you wanna get your cousins back to Finland or wherever? Are you really cousins? How long have you been here? Are you having fuuuun?" Cassie slapped her forehead with her palm. She couldn't stop! "Sorry."

"Whoooo wouldn't you spy for, hm!?" Keltainen declared as she chomped into her food. "If you're a meeeerc then the answer is most certainly the highest bidder, hm. And you're cuuuuuuute and innocent, HM!!" She said and looked down and poked at herself. "Maybe some ooooooother country has fiiiinally learned the secret to our invincible seeeecret seeeeervice, hm!" She said and clenched her fist with determination. "I'm waaaaatching you." She said. "Also." She added. "I thiiiiink that Sininen has a goood idea. Living with you would help to keep an eye on yoooou. Also, it would be a gooood place to keep tabs on Valkoinen so she doesn't get suspiciooooous. hm. hm. hm."

Keltainen had certainly come up with a nice strategy and was patting herself ont he back. Exploiting Sininen and Cassie's friendship and gaining the upper hand on Val. Clearly this was whys he was sent. To take charge int his operation! She took another bite from her chicken and marched on. "We neeeeed something to driiiink, hm." She said and meandered towards a lemonade stand.

Cassie was taken aback. She blinked. "Who's living with me?" Was Sin living with her? "Is... are you... like, you want to... well I haven't said no, but... you'll need to talk to my roommate. She's grumpy and stuff sometimes, but she's really nice. You guys would like her a lot. So..."

Cassie was trying to catch up to what had just happened. She had no reason to say no, really. They both seemed really great, and she was sure that they wouldn't do anything bad. She couldn't think of any reason to say no, that'd be selfish. Except for Ash... they'd have to get by her. "Yeah..." She said, brightening up about it. "That'd be really fun! You guys can stay with me. It'll be fun. But... talk to Ash before you do anything, okay? I don't want her to be mad at me."

Cassie nodded, satisfied. Then she spotted the lemonade stand they were headed for. She squealed in delight and seized Keltainen's wrist and took off running for it, dragging the little Finn with her. With a big grin she held up two fingers to the person running the stand while reaching with her other hand into one of her shoes on her shoulder to find some money.