Trees are just fancy wooden monkey bars [Kari and Lance SL]

Cherry has always been a bit of a 'wild child.' After all when you live out in the wild for most of your life and didn't have any of the wonders that a city like this could bring you. You had to find more simple things to do in order to have your fun. Things like finding a rather long and sharp stick and acting like it was some sort of sword or climbing up trees being the highlight of most of her days. And even now that she has given up her nomadic ways, the young girl stilled love to go out and make some fun of her own! Even if she also adopted some of the more common ways to have fun in this day and age. So with the combo of still having plenty of time to kill until the audition and her intense inch to do something physical, she made her way to the park. And she was quite happy that she made the trip.

It was a truely great day to be out and about, the sun was shinning, birds were flying around in the sky, everything was truely picturesque. She wasn't here to enjoy the view though, she had a plan, a goal, a task to overcome. And that was to climb up the largest tree she could find! And after a few minutes of wandering around she found it, a mighty oak tree that streched out into the air higher then all the others. It was truely perfect, plenty of branches to hold on to, plus it seemed pretty sturdy so nothing would break on her. Or it seemed that way at least.

The raven-haired teen wasted no time, the girl begining to scale the large tree with childish glee and surprising skill. There was a little trail right next to the grand tree, so it wouldn't be impossible for somebody to walk past and see Cherry making her way up the mighty oak.

Lance would release a deep sigh as he leaned his head against the steering wheel of the refrigerated truck he’d spent most of his day hauling around in. If there was one thing he hated about the audition festival, it was the pick up in supply requests that would come from literally everywhere. Just today, he’d stopped by at a bakery at the Plaza Mall to deliver a shipment of dairy products, a load of produce to a little vegetarian restaurant located in the Fun Park Plaza, and finally an extensive payload of fresh beef to a fast food joint somewhere on the Commercial Wing. And that was just the beginning of his busy day of orders! And now to make it worse, he was buried neck deep in traffic that he honestly just didn’t want to deal with at all.

“Why couldn’t they’ve just gotten someone else to do this darn delivery gig! I was just fine ridin’ in the fields!” He’d exhale a tired sigh as he tossed his cowboy hat dramatically into the passenger seat. But as his eyes inevitably drifted back to said hat, his eyes would light up at what he’d see outside his passenger window. He hadn’t even realized that where the traffic had halted him was right next to Concerto Park! It was the closest thing the city center had to his ranching lifestyle, and even then it was just a fraction of what he got to enjoy on a daily basis. But at least they had flowers, right? “Surely Ma and Pa wouldn’t mind if their darling son took himself a little break to relax in the shade, right?” He’d ask the question out loud to himself as a sly grin came to his face.

And with a flick of his turn signal, and a rather reckless turn, he’d pull into what he could only assume to be the parking lot for the park. “Now, the 'fridgeration here should last the rest of the day, so I could easily spend a good hour or two nappin’ under a tree somewhere.” And with that, he’d exit the vehicle and start down the entrance trail for the park, adjusting his hat to better block out the sunlight beating down on the entire area. “Yep, definitely gonna need to find myself a tree to take my catnap underneath.” And it was about that mentioning of finding himself a tree that the path would make its way up to a rather large oak. Now, normally this would’ve been Lance’s ideal napping spot, but at this very instant there seemed to be a little rascal climbing her way through the branches, sending acorns and small branches scattering down to the tree’s base, forcing him to lean every now and again to avoid the debris. “Hey, you sure it’s safe for you to be doin’ that, hun?” He’d call out to the young figure above him, raising his left hand towards his eyes to try and catch a better look at them. Though at the moment, all he could really catch from his grounded position was the swaying movement of jet-black hair.

At this point Cherry was decently far up the tree, if she had to guess she'd probably say that she was getting close to the half way mark. Before she could continue her climb, the sound of a man's voice grabbed her interest. She turned around, squatting on a branch and look down upon him like some sort of gargoyle. "Yeah don't worry about it, I am a pro when it comes to stuff like this!" Maybe not a pro, but she as hell wasn't new to this and this wasn't nearly the most dangerous stunt she has pulled off. And this man was not the first to check in on her safety, much to her annoyance those who worked at the orphanage seemed to have a sixth sense for whenever Cherry was about to go have some fun. Although she wasn't quite annoyed at this man as she tends to be at the workers, maybe it was because he was a fresh face or it could have to do with the fact that he never actually told her to stop. Either way instead of actually climbing futher up the tree she would stay squatting on one and try to talk to him more.


"Would you care to join me monsieur? There is plenty of space up here for the both of us and on the off chance I do fall off it would be nice to have somebody to catch me." She said jokingly, well, mostly. The offer itself was serious and while she was pretty sure that she wouldn't be falling anytime soon, she was no mountain goat and his arms seemed like a much better place to fall then the hard ground.

Lance's eyes would squint as he looked upwards at Cherry as she finally stopped moving and perched herself on one of the branches. She looked young to him, a teenager if he had to gauge it. But what surprised him was the patch that seemed to cover one of her eyes, like some kinda pirate. At least, he hoped she was just playing pirate, cause otherwise that'd just be tragic. And when she called down to him that she was a 'pro' at climbing trees, he'd simply scratch at his chin and shrug. "Alright, sorry for the trouble then, hun." And he'd prepare to mosey on his way, until he heard her call out for him to join her.

"Monsieur?" He'd repeat quietly to himself, though due to his deep southern drawl and his ignorance of the French language, it came out sounding more like 'man-sewer' instead. "Well, I ain't climbed a tree since I was your age, so I'd say you'd have better balance than I do." Whether or not that's true or not, Lance would say it anyway as both a way to boost the girl's confidence, and humble himself. "But, I should be able to get my nap up there just as easily as down on the ground so...why not?"

Though Lance wasn't exactly dressed for tree climbing escapades at the moment, since he'd worn his best vest and shirt combo for this delivery run. But that wouldn't stop him as he quickly unbuttoned the vest and draped it gently on one of the tree's roots, and then rolled his sleeves up to his elbow. "Let's hope this goes well." He'd mutter to himself as he reached up for the first branch. And with surprising agility Lance would make his way through the sturdier branches available as he rapidly approached Cherry's position.

Whether this was due to the upper arm strength and agile movements he'd developed living on the ranch, or just due to dumb luck on the cowboy's part, he'd eventually make his way to the one-eyed girl. "Well, now that I'm here…" He'd pant out as he leaned back on the branch he was currently sitting on. "May I ask your name, kiddo? Mine's Lance Edwards." As he reached out his hand, an innocent smile would form onto his sweat-tinted face.

Honestly the girl herself forgot that she switched out her set of glasses for her eyepatch at this point. The latter option felt so natural that she didn't really thought twice about it, it was almost like having earrings in a sense. She took them off before getting too deep into the park wince on the off chance she did fall, she didn't want to break her glasses on the way down. After all those little shards of glass could poke out her one good eye and then she'd be screwed. "Ah it's no problem!" She would quickly reply, not wanting him to get hanged up on something so minor that even Cherry didn't fully understand what he was saying sorry over. She could only assume that it had something to do with asking if she was okay, but she still saw no reason why somebody would feel the need to apologize for something like that. She found it sweet more then anything else. "Oh I am sure you can still pull it off, it's like riding a bike, it's a skill you don't lose!" She egged him on. Using a pretty poor phrase on her part seeing as she didn't actually know how to ride a bike but it was just a saying.

"Oh you were trying to nap?" Sleeping underneath a tree or god-forbid actually sleeping on the tree didn't seem all the comfortable. Sleeping in a bed or a car seemed much better then sleeping on the ground, it just didn't make much sense to her why somebody would choose to sleep on the ground. "Just be careful. Would really suck to be woken up by rolling off of a branch." She did not know about this man but she tended to toss and turn while sleeping. There was no way that she'd be able to soundly sleep on the branch without fear of hitting the ground.

Once he began to scale the tree she would start to clap and cheer for the man. Supporting him verbally as he reached the plane Cherry was sitting on. "Yeah, there you go, I knew you could do it!" She said, giving him a easy, laid back smile as her one good eye would settle on him. Cherry would shake his hand, her squeezing was rather limb and lacked any frimness behind it but it was easy to tell that this had more to do with Cherry's physical strength rather then her not putting any effort into the squeeze. "My name is Cherry Clear. It's nice too meet you monsieur Lance!" She cheerful said before she began to kick her legs in the air, enjoying the view for a moment. "So, do you live here or are you just visiting the central city?"

Lance would chuckle as Cherry mentioned that climbing trees was just like riding a bike, a skill you never lose. “Yeah, I never really learned how to ride a bike. I was riding horses instead.” He’d respond with a huff as he began up the tree. “But I get your sentiment well enough.” And after his rather quick climb up, he’d smile softly as Cherry expressed worry over him trying to nap up in the tree. “I dunno. I’ve got a decent enough balance, and I’ve slept in worse.” His smile would turn into a grin as he recalled the time he slept in the pig’s pen one evening. “Much, much worse…”

Once Cherry had accepted his handshake and introduced herself, he’d quickly noticed just how light her grip was against his own, leading him to soften his own, trying his best not to hurt the eyepatched kid before him. “Well, Cherry, it’s a pleasure to meetcha” He offers her an even wider grin than the one before, even offering her a tip of his hat. “And uh, kinda. I’m from the more rural part of the Central City district, where there’s a lot less sprawling concrete buildings, and more roaming fields. It’s actually where the ranch I work on is located." His smile would once again soften as he pulled his hat from his head, and laid it on his chest as he fully leaned back against the branch he’d perched himself on.

“It’s a family owned business, and we provide a hefty chunk of all the food that’s consumed here in Semibreve. It’s a tough job, for sure. But it’s honest work, and it’s one of them jobs that makes you feel like you’re making some sort of difference. Like without you, things around you would suffer immensely.” He’d turn to Cherry and sigh. “Well, what about you? You look a little young to be working, but you’ve gotta come from somewhere. You got a family here in Central, or are you just visiting from one of them other districts?”

After Lance let out his chuckle and let her in on his lack of ability when it came to riding bikes, she would giggle slightly and nod her head. "Yeaaaah, honestly I can't really ride a bike either. Just thought that never forgetting to ride a bike would be more understandable to never forgetting how to make a tent or touch your toes." Or how to toss a knife up in the air and catch it without cutting yourself, but even she had enough sense not to tell a stranger about her more 'daredevil' actions. She gave a light shrug of her shoulders. "Welp, if you say so. Just know that if you do fall I am not strong enough to pull you back up~" She teased, a light smirk on her face.

"Oh, really!? So you work with animals and stuff?" She asked, clearly liking the sound of his job. "Do you have any of those brown cows? Or like any geese? I have always wanted to see a goose they seem so cute!" She was always a big fan of animals, it was always a little dream of her's to own a pet. Of course the animal she wanted changed every other week, some days she wanted a pig, others she would fancy owning a cat, at the moment? She liked the idea of having a little pet goose. As he started to explain what his job was like, she would softly nod along with him, listening closely to what he had to say. "Well, thank you then! I am quite the big fan of food, so if your the one supplying it, I am sure you and me will get along just fine!" She chirped, before adding. "And I have always wanted a job like that, I don't just wanna be like a, mail woman or anything like that. I wanna help people in a big way!" She declared, before Lance popped her bubble a little with his next question.

Her easy going smile faltered a little as she stuttered. "Oh, u-uh no. No familiy, but I used to live here." She said, leaving it at that unless he would push for more. "I live at the pop district myself and this is the first time I have visited the city since I left. Also, yeah you are right I don't really have a job, but I am hoping I will get one by the end of the day!" Cherry said, her confidence and energy swiftly returning like ot never even left in the first place. "I am hoping that I'll be a pace keeper. That way I can really help people! I also heard that they give you, your own room and that the pay is pretty good so there's that." She wasn't a greedy person, but money to buy the things she wanted never hurt. Plus you could still use money to help people to, she knew of one boy who would be getting a small little allowance in the mail once she got paid.

Shifting her weight a little on the tree, she would let out a little hum. "Are you gonna go to the audition today too, monsieur Lance?"

Lance would let out a soft chuckle in response to Cherry’s excitement over his revelation about working on a ranch. “Yeah, we’ve got brown and black cows. Though, we really don’t keep geese around. They just sort of come and go to the watering holes we’ve got set up for the actual animals.” He’d sit up a bit when she went on to thank him for the ranch’s work providing for the city, just enough to give her a little bow and tip of his hat in acknowledgement. “Well, maybe when you’re a little older, we’d have a spot for you on the ranch. Could always use eager and capable hands.” He’d remark as Cherry mentioned how she always wanted a job like his, though when he mentioned ‘capable hands’ his memory nagged him about how her grip was rather loose earlier. Maybe she wasn’t as capable as he was thinking? But who was he to say that to her face, that’d just be rude.

And speaking of being rude, as soon as he noticed her demeanor change with the mention of her family, his smile would immediately shift into a grimace. “Ah, sorry kiddo. Didn’t mean to dredge up anything from your past.” But luckily she wouldn’t allow herself to stay crestfallen for long before she swelled back up with energy, talking about how she wanted to become a peacekeeper. Now that was a job that Lance wouldn’t have wanted, nor been able to do properly, in a million years. Now, he was certainly physically fit enough to uphold the position, but he didn’t have the drive, or the devotion, to upkeep the peace. As much as he loved the people of Semibreve, he could never see himself working with the same administration that set up the current district system they were separated into.

That’s probably why the grimace remained on his face when Cherry asked him if he’d planned on going to the auditions that were being held later that day. “Uh…” He’d start, before shaking off his stupor. “Yeah, I guess. I kinda forgot it was today, but it’s not like I've got anything better to do.” Now that was a blatant lie, as he literally had a delivery truck full of supplies sitting in the parking lot that he needed to deliver to his customers, but it was often difficult for him to keep himself on task when he was stuck in the city like this.

"That's great! Brown cows make the best milk!" She knew that milk came from cows, so she had naturally assumed that the color of the animal would have a effect on the milk made, with white cows making plain white milk, brown cows of course being the one's to make chocolate milk, sadly she had no clue what in the world a black cow would make. She wasn't aware of any pure black cows, nor did she ever see any pink cows, which she found odd seeing as the city seemed to have plenty of strawberry milk. Her incorrect theory of milk aside though, she would hum and shrug her shoulders at his offer. "Maybe, it does sound fun but I don't really have much training in that field. Well, other then catching animals, I am real good at doing that." She could be a animal catcher, but she was pretty sure that wasn't a actual job, plus they probably had real big gates to put a stop to any of the animals escaping, but she wasn't to torn up about it, after all Cherry's dream job would probably eat the time needed to work on a farm.

She let out a short giggle. Not a real one, rather a forced, awkward social one to try and defuse the sudden tension in the air. "Don't worry about it, you had no way of knowing." She used to get more upset when her family was brought up, but as time pasted the teen learned to deal with it better. Many people asked her questions along the same lines and after awhile the sting lessen, plus, as much as she loved her mother. The girl hasn't seen her for five years now, the wound has long since became a mere scar.

"That's great! Maybe we'll end up meeting each there?" She mused, not picking up on his lie. Unlike Lance, she wielded plenty of drive and devotion, along with being physically fit. Maybe not in terms of strength, but she was still quite young and she wasn't a couch poato by any means. Also, in another inverse of Lance, she had no problem with working for the goverment. Sure she found the district system to be a little strange, but the raven hair gal just chalked it up to a people problem, and the goverment was just doing the best it could to keep the peace and make everybody happy. Sure. She had no problem if somebody liked classical music or heavy metal, but it seemed alot of people did and if keeping they away from one another was the only way to keep things safe? Well, it isn't ideal, but she saw no issue with it. She sure as hell couldn't think of a better way to fix things.

Popping her lips the teen swiftly wrapped the topic back to his job. "So, is it true that you cannot push a cow over on it's side? I've always wanted to do that, but everybody tells me it's impossible."