An exasperated sigh served as her rebuttal as she bit her tongue, smothering her desire to retort that the stupid man with the stupid sticky candy had been the rude one, not her.[break][break]

Then again, drawing attention seemed unwise. So bitterly, she let herself be ferried away to the Dugtrio-Ring-Toss.[break][break]

"They always rig these," she announced, to the mild annoyance of the gamerunner next to her. Despite that, she fished some Pokedollars out of her wallet and purchased the right to compete, tossing her hair.[break][break]

"But if you want to lose to me at something, that's quite fine by me."[break][break]

Gritting her teeth in determination, she tossed a ring towards a moving target of a Dugtrio, aiming to land on one of its three heads.[break][break]

Anyone who had known Elisabeth a year ago might do a double-take to see her in her current state, sporting an official 'Bee's Knees' graphic T complete with a Cutiefly logo as she competed with the journalist to her.[break][break]

A crow of victory signaled her eventual success, one of the three rings circling the Dugtrio before it escaped.[break][break]

"Should we make a bet?" she asked, turning to him with a smug look on her face. "Winner takes all."

[attr="class","ooc"] BARNABY FINCH[break][break]

✔️ Involve or reference a Dugtrio-Ring-Toss Game.

She hummed with pleasure at the absolute totality of her win, the tension that had gripped her on arrival already abating in favor of a cat-like self-satisfaction that buoyed her every step.[break][break]

"If I were cheating," she almost purred, linking her arm with his, "then telling you would defeat the point of it, wouldn't it?"[break][break]

(She was, but no Avatar nonsense was involved. Just good old fashioned bribery, raising her opponent's difficulty while lowering her own.)[break][break]

"Ah, we didn't decide terms of the bet. Hmmmmm." She tapped her chin, giving this substantial thought, before a lightbulb seemed to visibly flicker on above her head. "Oh! I get to pick a prize, don't I?"[break][break]

With an unexpectedly childlike excitement, she let her gaze fall over the enormous stuffed plushies mounted on the wall, debating between several (The Sprigatito? The Smoliv? The Budew?) before the staff calmly explained she hadn't won enough for those big-ticket items.[break][break]

The sunniness of her disposition darkened as quickly as it came, and a brochure was produced listing the possible games that could earn such tickets. Elisabeth sulked at it visibly.[break][break]

"Well, this is decidedly unfair. Seems we'll have to do Tauros Rodeo, Magikarp Fishing, or any one of these games... Arceus, we could just buy a plushie to spare ourselves the trouble, really."[break][break]

The competitive glint in her eyes, however, revealed that was not a possibility. Not in the slightest.

[attr="class","ooc"] BARNABY FINCH[break][break]

✔️ Win at least one carnival game.

"Pfft. Since when have you ever treated me like a lady, Barnaby?" Elisabeth said with a roll of her eyes, already motivated by the way he presumed her inevitable failure. "And I've been riding horses since I was a girl, I'll have you know," she added tartly.[break][break]

Be that as it may, the mechanical Tauros proved far more challenging than the Mudsdales of her youth.[break][break]

If Elisabeth was anything in her life, she was stubborn and willful. The considerable effort it took to maintain herself on the bucking machine was visible in the sweat on her brow and the way she bit her lip so hard, it seemed seconds away from welling blood.[break][break]

However, defeat claimed her first, announced by a loud ring of a bell and the graceless thud of her body against the dusty ground.[break][break]

Elisabeth narrowed her eyes at Barnaby from her place at his feet, dusting herself off as she managed to crawl upright.[break][break]

"Five seconds," she commented on her time, then met his gaze. "I'm willing to bet you'll pass out in three."

[attr="class","ooc"] BARNABY FINCH[break][break]

✔️ involve or reference a tauros-rodeo game

Was it possible to hate someone as much as she hated BARNABY FINCH in this moment?[break][break]

Palpable disdain emanated from her as the crowd gathered around him, seething as each second of his dawning triumph passed. By the time the 10th second passed, her displeasure had reached a boiling point.[break][break]

It was impressive, but she'd rather die than admit it.[break][break]

"No one likes a show-off," she said snippily as she turned on her heel, petulantly turning her attention away from his smug expression. "Let's move on."[break][break]

No one had ever claimed that Elisabeth Fiorelli was a graceful loser.[break][break]

Nor had anyone claimed her to lack a spiteful nature.[break][break]

A devious light sparked to life in her eyes as she discovered her new target, one that proved far more interesting than the Magikarp Fishing she'd almost recommended seconds prior.[break][break]

That wouldn't be punishing enough for his ego.[break][break]

"The game of Tug-of-War looks promising," she said, looking to him for approval. "Shall we?"

[attr="class","ooc"] BARNABY FINCH[break][break]

✔️ lose a carnival game

"You're certainly something," she remarked drily, though she didn't resist the way he slung his arm around her shoulders. Despite how she refused to meet his eye contact, the tiniest shift in her demeanor implied she didn't mind his closeness.[break][break]

She might even prefer it, actually.[break][break]

Though she did mind the Smoliv plushie. Undisguised jealousy aimed itself at the large stuffed Pokemon in his hands, its goofy grin mocking her.[break][break]

His whispered concern made her bark out a laugh.[break][break]

"If I had superhuman strength, I like to think I'd have had a more impressive showing on the Tauros just now." An eyebrow lifted. "Why? Would you prefer something like Magikarp Fishing instead?"[break][break]

"Are you a coward?" was her unspoken taunt.

[attr="class","ooc"] BARNABY FINCH[break][break]

✔️ Involve or reference a Magikarp Fishing Game.

"Something nice?" Doubt settled in her words as she cocked her head at him, an eyebrow decidedly raised. "What a vague ask, indeed."[break][break]

Despite the year they'd known one another, the man remained an enigma in many ways. The things he enjoyed most, to her knowledge, were not things she could voice in public, particularly in the presence of children screaming about cotton candy and Ferris Wheels.[break][break]

Perhaps he'd catch a glimpse of those intrusive thoughts, nonetheless, as they flitted through her mind before being filed away.[break][break]

"Tug-of-War, then," she said, and approached the enormous braided rope being held between two Machamp. At a distance, the center of the attraction had been difficult to see, but up here the draw was apparent: the loser would be dragged into a large pool of water, should they be pulled over the line marking the losers from the winners.[break][break]

"I hope you aren't wearing anything you're particularly emotionally attached to." She took one half of the rope in hand, rooting herself in place as she prepared to pull.

[attr="class","ooc"] BARNABY FINCH[break][break]

✔️ Involve or reference a Tug-of-War contest