A Decision (Hangout Event)

A Decision is a quest in .
==Steps==
# Go to the area near Hotel Debord
# Talk to Lynette
==Dialogue==
===A Chance meeting===
;(Approach Lynette)
:: (Is that... Lynette? With a little kitty?)
:???: Meow~
: Lynette: ...Meow.
:???: Meow~
: What are you up to?
: (Approach stealthily...)
::???: Meow!
: Lynette: Wha...
: Lynette: ...Oh, it's you. One second — now activating chat mode...
: Lynette: You made me jump there. I thought they'd finally caught me.
: Made you jump? Barely. I didn't notice.
:: Lynette: Well, my heart rate did. Jumped up a little, I mean.
:: ...So uh, what kind of trouble are you in, exactly?
: Is someone out to kidnap you?
: Lynette: ...Objectively speaking, the trouble is entirely of my own making.
: Lynette: Half an hour ago, I was at Hotel Debord for a drinks reception — it was to celebrate the successful opening of a show, but it was draining my energy... So, I waited for the right moment, then snuck away so I could switch to standby mode.
: I see... So they sent someone to find you and bring you back? But why?
: Lynette: Um... Probably because I'm playing the lead role in the show.
: ...
: The lead role!?
: Lynette: Is that so surprising? I'm always getting invitations to do solo performances... I just usually get Lyney to write back and turn them down. But then came the Fontinalia Film Festival...
: Lynette: We took all the kids from the House of the Hearth out to see a film, and after it finished, they all started clamoring for me to try out acting for some reason. Even Lyney was chanting along with them.
: Lynette: Anyway, it just so happened that a director called Merieux had sent me an invitation right around then... I'll spare you the details, but basically, I ended up accepting it.
: So this is the dramatic debut of the magician's puppet, huh...
: Lynette: Yup, you nailed it. I'm playing the role of a puppet.
: Lynette: In fact, the show's called The Lost Puppet, and it's a masked mime show. So I don't have to do any facial expressions, or say any lines — literally just a series of physical movements. The director says it's a very "avant-garde" art form.
: That does sound pretty avant-garde... But can people understand the plot?
: Lynette: Art is not comprehended by the mind, but felt in the heart... At least, that's what the director says. Anyway, if nothing else, the opening performance seemed to go down well.
: Lynette: At the drinks reception, everyone was crowding around me saying... "triumphant character portrayal," "faithful adaptation of the original work," "unequivocally, quintessentially avant-garde"... and stuff like that.
: Lynette: ...But being the center of attention is draining. So the moment they left me to go harass the director instead, I was out of there.
: (For once, you weren't able to use Lyney as a human shield...)
: Lynette: The other thing is... Some weird things happened while I was on the stage...
:???: Meow!
: Lynette: Oh... Sorry, Bonnie, I didn't mean to leave you out of the conversation. My bad.
: I take it Bonnie's your pet cat?
: Lynette: No, we just met. We bumped into each other right after I slipped away.
: ...And you've already named her!?
: Lynette: Well, it'd be kind of difficult for us to communicate otherwise... Besides, I think she's taken a liking to the name. Haven't you, Bonnie?
:Bonnie: Meow!
: Lynette: Yeah, that's right, good kitty. We'll go find your owner soon, I promise.
: Owner? Not a stray cat, then?
: Lynette: Nope — she's wearing a collar, and for the most part she's pretty well-groomed. If she is a stray, she hasn't been for long.
: Lynette: Her stomach's been growling a lot... I guess she must've been missing for a few days now. As much as I'd love to hang out with her for a while longer, her owner's probably worried sick about her... assuming she has an owner, that is.
: Lynette: ...Ugh, but the reception... I should probably show my face there again at some point, even if it's just to make excuses and leave again... Ugh, decision time...
:Bonnie: Meow...
: Is this a tough decision for you?
: Lynette: Well... I just find it exhausting, thinking through all the different ramifications of difference choices and so on — that's more Lyney's area than mine. So, unless it's something really important, I usually just leave the decision-making to him.
: But for once, he's not here when you need him... Bet that doesn't happen often.
: Lynette: It's fine. He got Freminet to make me a little something for just this situation:
: Lynette: Poof — a "Fateometer."
: ...What's this?
: Lynette: It looks pretty over-the-top, I know, but it's essentially just a box of cards... He kept the design simple so it'd be harder to break.
: Lynette: The way it works is: I pick a card at random, then look at the number on the card.
: And how does that help you make a decision?
: Lynette: Well, for example... If the number on the card is 5 or higher, I help Bonnie find her owner. If it's less than 5, I go back to the reception.
: Simple and straightforward!
: Lynette: I just have to believe in the bond between me and my cards, and my fate will reveal itself to me in numerical form... at least that's what Lyney said. Anyway, I guess I'll give you a demonstration.
:Bonnie: Meow!
===A Decision===
:
: Lynette: Huh, it didn't like that... Was I using it wrong? Hmm. Maybe if I just...
:
: Lynette: ...Clearly, there's some design flaws to iron out. I'll have to let Freminet know.
: I feel like maybe this wasn't a design issue...
: Lynette: Let's see, which card did I get...
: Lynette: ...4.
: Less than 5... So that means, no helping Bonnie...
: Lynette: Well... The cards fell on the ground though, so I don't think it counts as fate.
: Lynette: If you wanna get the right answer, you have to let fate decide... Also something Lyney said.
: Lynette: So to put it another way, if picking a card up off the ground is how to NOT leave it to fate... then that means, it must be the wrong answer!
: (I think what Lyney really meant is, sometimes you have to accept the answer you didn't want...)
: Lynette: Um... Or... Why don't you pick a card? Since I ran into you here, that means, uh... our fates are, like... interfering with each other...
: You should leave the razzle-dazzling to Lyney...
: Alright, I'll pick another card for you...
: Lynette: Thank you... This one is final, I promise...
: Lynette: Here, take the fateometer. If it's 5 or above, that means "fate successfully changed," anything lower than 5 is a fail.
: Lynette: Also... If you have your own thoughts about what I should do, feel free to share it. Now that I've got a good problem-solver here to help, I don't need to run every little thing by fate...
:
:: Lynette: Huh... Back to the drinks reception...
:: I mean... clearly you don't want to go... You could just—
:: Lynette: Nope, I said it was your decision. I'm not gonna waste any more energy dragging my feet.
:: Lynette: Besides, the drinks reception is technically part of the job as an official publicity event. So if I bail on it...
:: You'll feel guilty inside?
:: Lynette: ...I might get sued for breach of contract, and that would be a huge pain in the butt.
:: Lynette: One other thing... Do you wanna come with me? If you're free, I mean.
:: Sure. Then you'll have at least one friend there.
:: Hopefully that will make it more bearable?
:: Lynette: ...Mm-hmm. Thanks.
::;(Continues to Mask)
:
:: Lynette: ...So we're looking for Bonnie's owner?
::Bonnie: Meow!
:: So, how do you plan to find Bonnie's owner?
:: Lynette: Umm... I think I'll go to The Steambird and see about putting an ad in the paper. You wanna come along? ...I think Bonnie wants you to come with.
::Bonnie: Meow...
:: Sure, if it means I get to hang out with you for a bit longer.
::Bonnie: Meow, meow~!
::;(Continues to Detectives)
:
:: Lynette: Alright... Then let's see where fate will lead me.
::
::: Lynette: Huh... Back to the drinks reception...
::: I have to ask about this deck of cards...
::: Lynette: There's twenty cards in total, numbered 1 to 20. So there's only a one-in-five chance of drawing less than a 5.
::: Lynette: I should also mention — this time the cutoff was 5, but I just set that to whatever I feel like.
::: I mean... clearly you don't want to go... You could just—
::: Lynette: Nope, I said it was your decision. I'm not gonna waste any more energy dragging my feet.
::: Lynette: Besides, the drinks reception is technically part of the job as an official publicity event. So if I bail on it...
::: You'll feel guilty inside?
::: Lynette: ...I might get sued for breach of contract, and that would be a huge pain in the butt.
::: Lynette: One other thing... Do you wanna come with me? If you're free, I mean.
::: Sure. Then you'll have at least one friend there.
::: Hopefully that will make it more bearable?
::: Lynette: ...Mm-hmm. Thanks.
:::;(Continues to Mask)
::
::: Lynette: ...So we're looking for Bonnie's owner?
::: I have to ask about this deck of cards...
::: Lynette: There's twenty cards in total, numbered 1 to 20. So there's only a one-in-five chance of drawing less than a 5.
::: Lynette: I should also mention — this time the cutoff was 5, but I just set that to whatever I feel like.
::: Wow, you REALLY don't want to go back to that reception party...
::: Lynette: To put it in perspective, I said I'd only do the show if I drew a 1... Fate can be pretty sneaky sometimes.
:::Bonnie: Meow!
::: So, how do you plan to find Bonnie's owner?
::: Lynette: Umm... I think I'll go to The Steambird and see about putting an ad in the paper. You wanna come along? ...I think Bonnie wants you to come with.
:::Bonnie: Meow...
::: Sure, if it means I get to hang out with you for a bit longer.
:::Bonnie: Meow, meow~!
:::;(Continues to Detectives)
:
:: Lynette: ...Huh?
:: If it was that urgent, someone would have come looking by now.
:: That applies both to your troupe, and to Bonnie's owner.
:: Lynette: What you're saying is... since nobody's come looking... I can just keep hanging out with Bonnie for a bit longer?
:: Lynette: ...Is that really okay...?
::Bonnie: Meow!
:: [Persuasion] Well, Bonnie sure seems to like that idea!
::
::: Lynette: Hmmmmm... Maybe not... As much as I don't want to, I really should be getting back...
::: Lynette: Besides, if someone does come looking for me or Bonnie, and finds me just chilling out with a cat... I feel like I'd have a lot of explaining to do.
:::Bonnie: Meow...
:::;(Dialogue returns to option selection)
::
::: Lynette: You make a good point!
::: We can just stick around here for a while...
::: So if anyone does come looking for you, they'll find you.
::: Lynette: Okay, well... Assuming Bonnie hasn't strayed too far from where she went missing, there's a chance we might bump into her owner in either The Steambird offices or the restaurant...
::: Lynette: ...So, stick around here in standby mode? Yeah, that suits me.
::: If you're going into standby mode...
::: Shall we find some cat food?
::: Lynette: Oh, good idea! Bonnie's definitely hungry.
::: If we're getting cat food...
::: Shall we get some snacks for us, too?
::: Lynette: May as well, we could be here a while.
::: Well, since we've got cat food and snacks...
::: Let's find a place to chill.
::: Lynette: ...When I was trying to find somewhere I could space out earlier... Uh, I mean, collect my thoughts — I figured the cafe might be a good shot.
:::Bonnie: Meow!
::: Lynette: Alright then. Plan of action: Spend the whole day spacing out— I mean, in standby mode.
===Ending: "Standby Mode"===
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