[b]Schwarzes and Such[/b]

[color=ffcf40]"A[/color][color=00aeef]h,"[/color] they say in stereo after a short pause, carrying the somewhat worrisome implication that they hadn't considered the idea of people not being able to figure out on their own, or were mislead to believe that such things would otherwise be outside of their jurisdiction of responsibility.

Whichever of such fears arose in their audience, however, they were quickly allayed by their follow-up exchange.

[color=ffcf40]"See,"[/color] April said, nudging a grimacing Dawn with her elbow. [color=ffcf40]"I told you he was overselling the whole 'Beacon people have a hair obsession' thing."[/color]

[color=00aeef]"Don't rub it in, nee-san."[/color] came the reply out of the shorter sister's half-pouting mouth. Fishing a couple of 25-lien notes out of her wallet, safely contained within the obi sash of her traditional dress, she grumbled out a half-hearted defense. [color=00aeef]"I thought it was one of those things where it was too stupid to be made up."[/color]

[color=ffcf40]"You and I both know that we should never underestimate Luke."[/color] the fighter reminded the archer, gleefully accepting her payout on the wager.

[color=00aeef]"Anyways, yeah, we're Luke's little sisters, if you know him."[/color]

[color=ffcf40]"Oh, don't [i]gripe[/i]."[/color]

[color=00aeef]"M'not griping."[/color] Dawn griped, staring a hole through a nearby bush.

Tanner was a veteran Hunter, and knew not to mistake his surrogate niece glaring off at the world as him being caught. His camouflage skills are superb for a man who wears a garish Aloha shirt on a daily basis.

Or perhaps, they are so [i]because[/i] of it.

---

[b]"Likewise, Teàrlag,"[/b]

I made sure not to forget the pronunciation on that A in there. While I'm not the most worldly guy by any means, the combination of that name and the burr to her words told me that this girl was from the Valic Highlands. It's not as ridiculously overplayed as it was on pop culture pieces like Samurai Jack, or Limmy's Show, but it was distinct enough for me to recognize.

Hopefully her dialect didn't involve a lot of slang, though. That was where I checked out on regionalisms...

[b]"Your parents making the trip up here, today?"[/b]

It was an innocent enough question. Just so long as I could keep the conversation flowing while I worked, it would probably make both easier. The human brain is strange like that sometimes.