( ᴠɪᴅᴇᴏ ) ɢᴏᴏᴅ ᴛɪᴅɪɴɢs | ( ɴᴘᴄ ᴘᴏsᴛ )

[acatastoria]

[ there is a sudden sparking that emits from your magical watches and a hologram appears, showing a petit woman with dark hair. her eyes seem to hold a certain amount of mischief and light, and when she speaks, you listen. it's something about her; you are captivated by her presence, and you can't help but give her your attention. ]

Hello, hello, hello~! ♥

[ it's a trill of a voice, light and airy. ]

I know you've all just arrived~♥ but I wanted to introduce myself! To those who haven't met me, my name is Astoria! I know many of you are likely unhappy with being found here, and I understand. But the need is urgent, and dire, and I am in desperate need of your help, as is the universe in which we reside. There is much darkness, in this universe . . . plenty of worlds on the brink of collapse, or at the precipice of something great. It is my job -- our job -- to help where needed. Like superheroes, but a little less flashy!

[ she pauses. ]

No offense to the superheroes. -- but anyway! I want to let you know were we're going to go first.

[ she takes in a D E E P breath!! ]

There is a city, by the name of El Minha. It's beautiful, an oasis in the desert. There are many shops and stalls and the entire city is bustling, but El Minha is facing a difficult path. Transitions of power are hard, you know? And they have a new King, who is . . . probably nice, but the people there are suffering. Crime is at an all-time high, and King Kathashun can only do so much . . . if he's doing anything at all.

[ she brushes a loose piece of hair behind her ear, and astoria smiles a little. it is obvious, by now, that she's definitely bubbly and full of spirit, but she is deadly serious about her mission. ]

I truly believe that we have the ability to help those who need it most, and those people are in desperate need. So we're going to go there, explore, and talk to them! And maybe, just maybe, we can affect some good in this world, and change the tide for the better for these poor people.

[ she pauses. ]

So that's where we're going first! But before that, I'm here to greet you, to support you, and welcome you to my beautiful Temple. Please, please, please make yourselves at home! I'll be here if you have any questions. ♥

[ astoria pauses before lifting up a single finger, as if she's forgotten something important. ]

Oh, and please let me know if you find anything interesting or important or otherwise peculiar in the Temple! The Forest of the Fey is a magical place, and I'm keeping a careful eye on all of you explorers to make sure you don't get too lost, but my dear friends within the forest may like playing with you all, so be respectful of the wildlife! It may fight back. ♥

[ is she serious? the world may never know. ]

Comments

[byherself]

[ That... was honestly, surprising to hear. She'd heard so much that there were only a few ways to change someone's mind, so doing something through an actual honest to goodness pacifist way was such a breath of fresh air.

Is that really all it would take? ]

It just sounds kind of dangerous, that's all. I'm... not necessarily scared for myself, but if there are others who aren't used to this, it'll seem like a lot.

[ Gah, she's suddenly not a fan of how she's sounding. ]

Um... sorry, I'm not really meaning to come off as ungrateful or anything. This all sounds really wonderful and nice, but... I can't help but feel a bit uneasy.

[acatastoria]

It's fine, Ryoko. I probably wouldn't be very happy if I wound up in this position, either.

[ gently enough. there's no judgment or defensiveness, from astoria. ]

I think that uneasiness is a good thing, truth be told. You have a good gut feeling. If something doesn't feel right in El Minha, then you should trust that feeling, and go with it. Don't ignore how you feel -- for a lot of people, that usually points them in the right direction.

[ and astoria shrugs, with a laugh. ]

Or, at least, that's what I do! I try to take my own advice, anyway.

[byherself]

[ She's quiet momentarily-- it was hard to determine if she was happy or not like this. She wasn't exactly upset, but to be so far away from everyone when something dangerous could be happening bothered her to no end.

Still, Ryoko couldn't keep from relaxing from Astoria's words. ]

I can try to do that enough. I'm not really one to look for trouble anyway, so you won't have to worry about me getting into brawls or going to jail for anything.

[ A pause. ] If anything like that happens, we'll be saved, right?

[acatastoria]

I'd bring you back here as soon as I felt something amiss.

[ very resolutely ]

I'm going to be keeping an eye on you all from here, as much as I can.

[byherself]

--You don't have to answer this, but are all witches around here like you? I didn't expect you to be so... uh, nice?

[ Heck, she didn't even consider that a witch could be... well, more like a person. ]

[acatastoria]

I'm not sure, really; I'm the only one.

[ astoria shrugs a bit. ]

I've never met someone else like me before. I tend to do my job on my own.

[byherself]

Seriously?

[ That's... that's messed up! ]

Didn't... didn't you get lonely before then?

[acatastoria]

A bit, but it's a lot less now that you're all here.

[ she tucks a loose piece of hair behind her ear, as she says it. ]

But before I got stuck here, I was able to go to worlds, like you're about to! So I talked to people, and I met a lot of people. I've just never met anyone like me.