his arms swung at his side as he strides down the street , his usual pep in his step . making sure to take note , his gaze makes sure to stop at each person he passed - an attempt to see if any of his friends had made it here as well . it was proving to be a fruitless endeavor until a familiar flash of red is seen in the distance , one he could recognize in heartbeat . 

            jamil . his best friend , the one who he last saw was taken from him and he was useless in getting him back , in protecting him like he did so often for him . there was no hesitation , his pace quickly picking up into a sprint towards the other . 

            “ jamiiiil - !! ” he calls out , a bright cheer to his voice . once close enough , he lunges for his friend to wrap his arms around him . hopefully jamil would catch him , but there was no doubt in kalim’s mind about that . he always did . 

     Without realizing it, or indeed having much of a clue how it happened in the first place, Idia somehow arranged a meeting with Jamil Viper. At an arcade. To play games.

     They’d met at this same arcade in the Golden Ward last time, too, though only for a short time before one or the other had to leave. In that time, after recovering from the initial shock of seeing notorious straight-laced babysitter Jamil at an arcade, Idia learned a few things about him. Number one: Jamil was definitely, definitely a casual. The games he gravitated towards were the basic ones that everyone knew — or Spirale knock-offs of them. But that was fine! Casuals were fine, they could learn.

     Number two, maybe to be expected given the first point, but nonetheless a travesty. Jamil didn’t know what a rhythm game was. At this point, Idia realized. Not only could this casual learn, but as a matter of fact, he needed to. While stalking the online coverage of the VDC post-festival, Idia recalled reading that Jamil’s breakdancing interim was not something taught to him during training, but in fact a skill he already had which NRC’s choreographer decided to incorporate. Jamil was an actual, real breakdancer. No one had ever showed him Star Coaster, no one had ever showed him Ofiuco Project Diva, no one had ever showed him Dance Dance Spiralution. It was a crime.

     —But starting with something like that might be too advanced, right? Best to begin with something familiar and easy.

     Hands shoved in the pockets of the hoodie he bought a few days ago, Idia enters the arcade with Jamil. This place is quickly becoming his favorite single location on Spirale, and even though he’d been trying to push down his nerves ever since leaving the house this morning, it becomes instantly easier once he passed the threshold. This arcade is a sanctuary; simultaneously a zone with PVP disabled and enabled, in a way which suits Idia very well. Still, as they start moving, Idia finds himself automatically deferring to Jamil, looking over at him from beneath the mess of hair.

     “... What... do you want to do first? You choose.”

( Actually it’s all rather friendly, save a particular character taking everyone out for giggles ).

Watch as one snowball arcs perfectly through the air, aimed for an unsuspecting member to the side. Anyone sends someone sprawling. 

( It’s this guy. He’s the culprit. )

“It’s pretty fun, isn’t it?” Oh look, here comes a super fun snowball to the face! Whee!