3370/Tourist's Guide to Alberichstadt

Tourist's Guide to Alberichstadt
Date of Scene:	11 November 2015
Location:	Alberichstadt <P:WTWM>
Synopsis:	Hoshi shows Ren around the town. And then she shows him around the Mirror Forest, and interesting things happen.
Cast of Characters:	165, 901

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Ren Tanaka (165) has posed:
    Do you know, Ren Tanaka's never actually really visited germany very much?

    Well, when you're the kind of guy who doesn't settle down you generally tend to go all over the place, but typically he goes to European-style locations a lot less often than say, american or asian ones. So it's time to enjoy some german culture.

    He doesn't really stand out- (does he ever?-) and will probably just have the ping on his Union radio to make him obvious to Hoshi as he sits around near a fountain in town.

    And it's an interesting town, he supposes? He's already managed to pick out the students, and he can see new urban development when he sees it, but it's all a mystery to him.

    That's where Hoshi comes in, he supposes. He's looking forward to meeting her.

Hoshi Amakasu (901) has posed:
    Hoshi had been a little surprised when she'd gotten the call from Ren, telling her that he was going to pay a visit. Admittedly she'd told him that it was fine, as long as he didn't try to fiddle with the mirors, but she hadn't been expecting him so soon. Once school was over for the day, Hoshi made her way downtown as quickly as she could, until the bus she was taking deposited her at the fountain's side. This shopping centre was one of the places Hoshi liked to hang out most, in her off time.

    Ren would probably catch sight of Hoshi about as fast as she did. She was wearing what looked like her old Japanese school uniform, of all things--though it might've been better than being in her gi. As soon as Hoshi spots him, she jogs over, smiling a bit more openly than usual. The events of the day before seem to have taken a load of pressure off of her head. "Good evening, Tanaka. Welcome to Alberichstadt. Sorry I took so long, I wasn't really expecting you to come so soon. Did you read about what happened yesterday?"

Ren Tanaka (165) has posed:
Ren Tanaka fingerwiggle-waves when he spots Hoshi! "You're looking much better. And I... see school uniforms aren't too different in east or west these days."

    Stowing his radio back in his jacket pocket, he stands up and walks over a little to meet her. "Well, better to do it when I had some free time. That, and I suppose yes... hearing about yesterday may have enticed me a little more to come here."

    "I haven't really looked around here very much yet," he says, pointing over at a bus stop some distance away. "Just came straight here and just chatted to a couple of other people. I think they were all students as well."

    "So why don't you tell me a little about this place?" he asks, casting his head this way and that as he looks at things he hasn't yet. "The place seems quite eclectic."

Hoshi Amakasu (901) has posed:
    Glancing down to her uniform, Hoshi blushes a bit and rubs her forehead with her hand. "We don't actually have to wear uniforms in Germany, I guess. Still, I ended up coming here on the first day with it, and... It reminds me of home, so I kept wearing it." As he approached she bowed from her waist respectfully, taking that moment to clear her face of the heat and redness that touched it.

    She smiles a bit when she straightens and motions for Ren to follow her. "A few of them are from Drachenblatt... Have you eaten? I don't know how often you run around with magical fish, after all." She starts to lead him ove to a bakery while they talk. "You want to know about this place? Uh... Well. I moved here about two months ago, so I can't say I really know everything about this place yet, but... Depending on where you go, you'll end up seeing a lot of money around here. There's a lot of rich people who want to send their kids to Drachenblatt, after all. There's also the quieter, old village areas in the southwestern half of the city--that's where the library is--but it's probably not going to last much longer than a couple years. They've got construction going on regularly to modernize the city--whether or not anyone actually wants it. What else do you want to know?"

Ren Tanaka (165) has posed:
    "That would explain a few things. I'd been wondering for ages if there was a dress code for students, nothing seemed to match up." Hence the radio, one supposes. And the talking to other people. He blinks blankly at Hoshi's embarrassment, though, perhaps not entirely understanding why. I mean, he's worn the same pair of boots for a very long time, Ren wouldn't understand fashion.

    Nevertheless. It's time to go somewhere! And so he's happy to follow along. "Not really, no. I went to a currency exchange in the city I originally left the warpgate in, but I only got notes and all of the vending machines only accepted change."

    Two months isn't a very long time at all, Ren thinks to himself. Especially if you think about it in the context of 'two months ago, this all started'. To his credit, he's resisted asking anyone else around about suspicious things like mirrors or disappearences, because he didn't want to seem strange. "That seems kind of interesting. The new money, that is. I wonder what it is about this place that's making it a boom town? It looks like there's been a lot of recent development, you can tell the new buildings from the old ones easily."

    He sees the bakery up ahead. "I wonder if this is a new place, or an old one?"

Hoshi Amakasu (901) has posed:
    A quick laugh escapes Hoshi's throat, and she grinned wryly at Ren as they went along. "I know, it's so weird, isn't it? At first I thought they'd forgotten to send my uniform, or that it'd been lost. That's why I wore this instead." She reaches down to smooth her skirt with a small, comfortable smile, then glances back up to Ren. "That's fine. Just tell me what you want and I'll get it for you. I owe you for saving me from the Rookery."

    Asking her about why the town was booming... Hoshi shrugs helplessly. "I don't knnow much. My family came here because my dad got put in charge of the local branch of his company. Drachenblatt was an added side benefit. If I had to guess... This place might have been a quiet little tourist trap at one point, and there are always people willing to retire to places like that." She frowns in thought. "Or maybe it was Drachenblatt Academy being made? After all, when a big fancy school goes up, there are always people who want to make their kids better."

    The bakery they came up to was one of those that hadn't been touched by modernization just yet, a simple brick building with a wooden door, a sign hanging out over the sidewalk loudly proclaiming it's roll with a pretzel slogan. The windows are covered with various loafs of bread, and as soon as Hoshi opens the door, heat and the smell of baking bread hits the two of them. It's enough for Hoshi to take a nice, long inhale and smile hungrilly. "Perfect. We're just in time to get fresh from the oven!"

Ren Tanaka (165) has posed:
    "Let's see what there is. Don't worry, I'm a cheap date," Ren says teasingly.

    It's close to Christmas- well, no, it's a month and a half away, but in retail it's christmas as soon as they've sold off most of the halloween product- and there's a fairly large assortment of gingerbread and holiday cookies. Nonetheless, Ren goes for a marbled slice of chocolate-and-cherry donauwelle- which, coincidentally or not, is also known as Snow White cake.

    "Ah, fantastic! Hot chocolate and hot cherries. You come to this one often?"

    Definitely best to eat this before it gets cold. But there's still time to talk inbetween bits of cake. He also has a capri-sun pouch, which if we're being honest you can get anywhere, but they're probably better in their home country right?

    "So, you got here rather recently, the school opened rather recently..." And, the unspoken third part of the sentence, 'Personas probably happened rather recently as well'. "A lot has changed in a short amount of time. I can see why you're so careful about how you handle things with regards to your parents."

Hoshi Amakasu (901) has posed:
    Stepping inside, the bakery was as simple inside as it was outside, with a few well-worn and polished tables and benches that likely came from the forest near the city, many years ago. As Ren picks his treat, Hoshi looks around at a loss, until she picks something out--a slice of carrot cake. Judging from her hesitation, it doesn't seem like she was here very often. "No, not really. If I eat out, it's usually at the French place that's a bit further downtown."

    Sitting down, Hoshi gingerly takes up some of the carrot cake and takes a bite. The flavor is... strange, but it makes Hoshi make some thoughtful noises, and take another bite. "Hmm.. So this is carrot cake..." Her attention gets caught by Ren, and she shrugs. "The school was here before I was, though. And nothing really happened until a month after I moved, when school actually started. At least... For me, anyway. Who knows how long it's been there?..." She sighs. "I hate lying to them. Lying in general, actually. But after all we've seen, there's no doubt the place is actively dangerous. And... I don't really want them to know why I first went in, either."

Ren Tanaka (165) has posed:
    "I've never understood carrot cake. I mean, objectively, yes, but..."

    Ren shrugs helplessly.

    He smiles a bit at the idea of mostly eating french while living in Germany, but he supposes he can hardly critique given his sometimes survivalist eating habits. Or the times he often limited himself to 'no portions bigger than anything I could hide in my jacket'.

    "The last time I was in Germany at christmas, their bakeries really exploded with seasonal stuff. Elephant cookies, baked apples, heart-shaped honey cakes... this place'll probably be very popular."

    "I wonder if there's anything on the history of the school in that library."

    He sucks on his teeth as Hoshi talks about her concerns. "There is merit, I suppose, you could argue, in just asking for the Union's help in handling these problems close to home and not stepping out into the multiverse. It might make things easier to spin to your family."

Hoshi Amakasu (901) has posed:
    In truth, Hoshi still mostly eats Japanese food at home, and doesn't eat out that often. Taking another testing bite of her cake, she shrugs a big. "It's not bad. I kind of like it, actually. It's sweet, but not too sweet. Some of the things that people eat here have way too much sugar in them." She was a fan of green tea flavors, actually....

    The idea of spending Christmas in Germany gives Hoshi pause. "Do they go all out in Germany then? Like America? I never really got the preoccupation with it. Though I guess it's different if you have a boyfriend or girlfriend. If you want history of the town, the library is probably the best place to go. Just stay away from the back room, okay?" After all, the mirror was there, the one that they used to enter the Forest the past two times. Even someone who hadn't had their Personas had entered...

    Ren's idea is shot down promptly by Hoshi's frowning face. "There's no way I could just stay here, after everything. Besides, the Union is the only one stepping up to help. I'm not going to just sit here quietly while all sorts of other bad crap happens. I told the Union I'd help, so that's what I'm going to do."

Ren Tanaka (165) has posed:
"Ahh, ehh, you might... you might not like some of those things, then. I mean you probably wouldn't like marizipan, because that's mostly just almonds and sugar..." Ren points out a sort of white, squiggly cookie made out of balled-up, pale ribbons of dough, and covered in tons of white dust. "You wouldn't like that, that's covered in confectioner's sugar..."

    "Well, I was only there for one season, but I know... well, St Nikolaus /is/ German, so it's a little more important to them, I suppose? There were huge christmas markets everywhere. Lots of bakery things being sold."

    Ren appears a little... well, not disappointed, when Hoshi speaks again- or if he is, it's only in himself. "Sorry. A little part of me... felt very bad about how scared for your life you were when you stepped out for... what was that, the first time? I suppose I had to try."

    He finishes up his cake. "Would you mind taking me to the library later, or last, actually?"

Hoshi Amakasu (901) has posed:
    Hoshi turns her head to get a look at what Ren pointed out on the counter, and all the sugar on the things he described and showed caused her mouth to twist a bit. Too much! Waaaay too much. "Thanks for warning me," she says with a small chuckle. "Maybe they'll let me have really small pieces?"

    Remembering Jeanne and Kohler and the church that wasn't too far from her house, Hoshi gets an image of what the town might be like, come Christmas. "Hm. If there's going to be a festival, then maybe we should have a Union party here, too. Have everyone hanging out at the festival and relaxing with food. Maybe some beer? I'm told it's actually legal to drink pretty early, here." A wide grin comes to her face at the idea. She'd never actually tried beer before.

    Stepped out...? Oh. He means the Rookery. Hoshi twitches a bit, pressing her hand against her abdomen. The hole was gone, but... "It was the second time. My first was when I went to Njorun Station to sign up." She understands where he's coming from, though, and her voice loses some of it's heat. "Thank you, Tanaka. I understand. But I need to do this." A grin comes to her face, and she pulls out her cell phone and taps through it, until she pulls up a picture and shows it to him. THe picture is of an incredibly huge cityscape--Anor Londo drenched in sunlight, with the lands below cleansed and beautiful. "Besides, where else could I /get/ pictures like this? The Multiverse is too awesome to stay away from."

    Not long after Ren finishes his cake, Hoshi does the same, and flags down one of the workers for their check. Hoshi off-handedly sets her debit card inside as she glanced over to Ren. "You want to see the library? That's fine, but where do you want to go next?"

Ren Tanaka (165) has posed:
Ren Tanaka shrugs. "Could work."

    "I understand mulled wine is pretty popular at the time of year. They call it glow-wine here, which I thought was a pretty charming name. Tastes a lot better, too. I'd personally try that over beer first, if it was me."

    And a lot of it's also non-alcoholic, so while Ren puts on a poker face he /may/ be quietly looking out a bit for Hoshi? Maybe? In his somewhat unasked-for way?

    He shuffles over to look at the picture... and he can't help but just nod. If there's one thing that will win Ren over right away in in an instant, it's a picture of a beautiful vista.

    "Oh yes. Oh, yes. Now, that sentiment, I can absolutely agree with."

    "Where /do/ I want to go next?"

With what is probably less than an hour before sunset, considering the usual time in the afternoon high school classes end, Ren asks Hoshi to just give him as much of a tour of the town's places of young adult interest- shopping, cultural interest, transport- as they can fit in. And he might keep an eye out for a CVJM while he's at it.

    But eventually, they will arrive at the library, yes.

Hoshi Amakasu (901) has posed:
    Hoshi tilts her head slightly, curious. "Glow-wine? I think I've heard people talk about it, but I've never tried it. What is it? Something related to wine, I assume." Being completely ignorant of the subject in the first place, Hoshi has no reason to doubt him. The wine was in the title, right?

    Hoshi grins at Ren's excitement as the waiter brings back her card. "I asked Ms. Priscilla. Union members are allowed to go whenever we want, if you want to visit." She'd probably end up doing the same, soon.

    After leaving the bakery, Hoshi took Ren to all the places she knew to show him. The Market Street downtown, dominated by the large, expensive mall and some chain stores. The train station at the far north of the town that could take them out to the larger cities in Germany. If asked, Hoshi shrugs helplessly about the CVJM. She'd never heard of it before.

    At last, they arrived at the library, with Hoshi glacing up at the sky with some concern. "It gets dark really quickly here." Which might be a little concerning, considering the library looked like a ruined, shambling old place even from the outside. Fearlessly, Hoshi opens the door and holds it for Ren to pass. There's light inside, blessedly, but there's not much of it, and the multitudes of dusty books and shelves don't do much to improve the shabbiness here. "Welcome to the library," Hoshi says quietly. "THere's someone at the front, but they never really pay attention. Just don't take any books without permission and you're good."

    She takes Ren back to see the back room mirror. The giant thing goes from floor to ceiling--thankfully allowing multiple people to enter at once. As soon as they approach, Hoshi squints a bit, trying to see if there was anything weird showing up--but their reflections were all that was there. "This is our entrance. Kohler and I can go in any way we want, really, but... This seems to be the safest place, and it's where we met the pig who helped us."

Ren Tanaka (165) has posed:
"It's hot wine and it has a lot of spices and orange and things mixed in," Ren explains.
    "If you're wondering how I know about all of this when I only spent the one time in the country, just remember: guys who spend a lot of time living on the streets tend to remember the food and drink for a place the best."

    It certainly is a spooooooky old library, but if anything that just seems to make Ren more excited to explore it, judging by the big smile on his face as he gets closer. To someone who has a lot more experience taking pictures with his eyes instead of a camera, heading to a place like this as the sun sets is a more perfect memory than going there in the middle of the day, surely. Peeking inside makes him feel for sure like he's absolutely at the start of his next big adventure.

    And sure enough, as soon as he's inside Ren is practically running around. "Ah, what a wonderful place!"

    Whispered, obviously. A smile is flashed to the librarian at the counter, "I love libraries with this sort of atmosphere. I think I'll find something about the history of the academy here to read. I wonder if they still use cards to do all their filing?"

        And eventually, they get to the mirror.

    Ren looks at it appreciatively, and ever since they entered the back room almost all of the enthusiasm he did show when he was prancing around has been seemingly left back in the library.

    "The entrance to the mirror forest," he says. "I was talking to the other people who were awake this morning after the report went up. I'd want to go inside, but I don't feel as if it's as tourism-friendly as the rest of town."

Hoshi Amakasu (901) has posed:
    That /did/ sound really good. Hoshi makes sure she stores a mental note of that--she'd have to remember for when Christmas came around. She did have to wonder how Ren knew all of this, but had to concede to his logic.

    Spooky indeed. Hoshi remembers running by this place a few times during her early morning runs, before she'd gotten her Persona. It hadn't been anywhere near as inviting, then. Now, though, it had become a sort of headquarters by necessity, and though Hoshi's nose still twitches at all the dust in the air, she finds herself growing a little more comfortable at least. "I guess so. Although, if I mak ask, why are you so curious about Drachenblatt?... And all the other stuff..." It takes a second, but slowly it starts to click. "Are you planning on moving here or something?"

    Hoshi steps aside to let Ren get a better look at the mirror, folding her arms as she leans lightly against the wall opposite. "Really? What were you guys talking about?... You're right, though. It's dangerous, plus there's the fact that something in there is actively kidnapping people. I can show you just inside if you want, but we shouldn't go any further."

Ren Tanaka (165) has posed:
    Is there a chair to sit down on in the back room? If there is, Ren will sit on it- if not, he will probably just sit on the floor.

    "Up until very recently..." he replies, putting his hands on his chin. "Up until very recently, the way I lived was often that I would just roam from town to town, place to place, getting involved in adventures and helping people out. But the way it always went is, when I left, I'd never go back. Would never see any of the people again, no matter what friends I made."

    "I've decided that I'm not going to do that any more. Well... not the leaving people behind part, anyway. But I could definitely see myself spending time living in this town's auspices. So yeah, I suppose you could say I might well be moving here. I mean, I'll move here... then I'll move back... move here... move back to Tomoeda for a week... move back here for a few days..." He spins his hand around in a circle in a 'etc' gesture.

    "Mostly I wanted to know what it was like, and other people just said I should go see for myself... and I said back to them, well, it seemed dangerous overall, and then someone said they were confident I could get out again, so I said well you and August seem very protective of it and I didn't want to break your trust and go without you..." and he makes the same hand gesture, this time with the other hand.

    "In any case... after you I suppose?"

Hoshi Amakasu (901) has posed:
     There are chairs!... Of course, they're absolutely filthy, and Hoshi opens her mouth to mention this before he sat down. Slowly, she pushed off from the wall and stood beside him facing the mirror ith her arms still folded. She listens to his explaination of intent, and finds herself nodding. She had to ask, though... "So, why didn't you go back? Did you just want them to forget about you, or something?" That's what it sounded like. He seems intent on stopping the practice, though, and Hoshi is willing to be understanding. "That's fine, but I'm hoping you won't just be on a street somewhere in the middle of winter.

    Back to the mirror. Hoshi shrugs slightly. "As far as I could tell before, only people with Personas could enter or leave the place. That's why Kohler and I have to guide. Though considering that really weird woman last time, that might not be the case. Still, it's not that we're protective of it. We just want to keep people safe."

    Taking Ren by the wrist, Hoshi nods and leads him towards the mirror. As soon as she touches it it parts like water, the surface shimmering brightly as it roiled around their forms, pulling them in...

    The place Ren found himself was a small clearing and a pond of water behind him, leading back to the library. Inside, the sky is caught between dawn and dusk, but the trees of gleaming mirrors provide some light to the gloom. Bare as it was, a breeze flitted through the forest, setting the branches to lightly tap and jingle together quietly. Hoshi takes a few steps forward, glancing around--the pig was nowhere to be seen. Reaching up to her hair, she slowly pulls out her hairtie and immediately transforms it to her sword when it's free. She doesn't draw it, though. "Just in case something notices us," she says quietly. "What do you think?"

Ren Tanaka (165) has posed:
Ren Tanaka sits down in one of the filthy chairs. It probably puffs up a huge cloud of dust just from sitting in it. Nice, Tanaka! Nice.

    Ren pauses after Hoshi asks him this, and an oddly perplexed expression crosses over his face for a moment.

    "If you'd have asked me that a while ago, I don't think I would have been able to give you an answer. To a certain degree, I still can't, and that makes me wonder why I always just thought leaving was natural. I think there's a reason for it I don't understand, either because I made myself forget or because I was never able to understand what was unusual about it until someone pointed it out to me. I'd like to know what the reason is, myself."

        Mysterious.

    "I can understand, though. I suppose a better way of putting it would be that you're protecting other people from it."

And with good cause. Ren puts his hands behind his back, looking- at the sky, the trees, everything. He steps forward, carefully- as if he was paying intense attention just to the way his feet fell on the ground. So too, does he touch a tree, does he look at his hand as he flexes it, and as he peers into the darkness between the trees.

    "It's not like what I expected. It feels cold, but not lifeless. Mysterious but not threatening..."

Hoshi Amakasu (901) has posed:
    A little too late. As she goes to stand beside Ren, she tries to blow some of the dust away. It's an effort to not sneeze, though.

    So Ren had no idea why he was doing what he did, either. Wasn't that... weird? Was it like a compulsion, then? Doing something because it was simply what had done before. A daily ritual that one fell into. That doesn't sound right, though, and Ren didn't seem to believe it could be that simple, either. "W-well... maybe there's a clue somewhere? In a place that you never went back to." It might be that he would find nothing, but it's the best she could offer.

    Protecting people from it was right. As Ren does his examination of the Forest, Hoshi is going towards the edge of the path that leads deeper into the forest, peering through the dim glass groves with her hand firmly gripping the hilt of her sword. "What does that mean, though? I guess we're not really in danger right now, but the Wolf and the Shadows... can't you feel them?"

Ren Tanaka (165) has posed:
Ren Tanaka nods slowly. "I would like to hope that, as much as it weighs poorly on me, that it was just me taking the easy way out. Never having to worry about commitments, always trusting that people could work things out for themselves after I'd given them a push in the right direction... I'd hate to think that there was something more to it than just me being a bad person, strange as that might seem." Because if someone hexed him, let's say, who? And when?

    "I can see shadows, but I can't feel them. Why? Is there something I'm missing?" he asks. "Perhaps it's because I'm trying to understand what this place is..."

    Even though he's running a finger down the bark of one of the mirror trees, he's not exactly looking at a reflection as he does so.

Hoshi Amakasu (901) has posed:
    Hoshi can't stop the small snort that came from her lips. "You, taking the easy way? The guy who ran into an angry dragon infested valley to rescue a random girl he didn't know." Admittedly she didn't know him amazingly well, but she somehow rather doubted he was the type of person that he described his wish to be. A blush comes to her face, though, and she coughs a bit. "Sorry. That was probably rude. Still, I don't know if I could see that being the case."

    Ah. He wasn't sure what it meant. "Igor... Somebody I met called them that. Monsters, like the one that took Alexis, and tried to kill me before the Wolf did. I don't really know what they are, but..."

    She came closer to Ren and his tree, letting her reflection show against the glass. Her voice goes quietly hoarse. "The Persona Game shows you everything that you are. No lies, nothing hidden. The complete, utter truth. Then a hand reaches through to pull you into the Forest. I saw it, there. Something wearing my face like a mask. She had my voice. 'I'll beat everyone in that fucking school. All of those liars! I will win, no matter the cost. Friends, strangers, dad--I will trample them all on the way to my victory!'" She shudders, wrapping her arms tightly around herself. "And that was before the Wolf found me."

    Her voice is barely a whisper when she finally turns away from her reflection. "The worst thing is?... My reflection, the Shadow. All of it was true."

Ren Tanaka (165) has posed:
    "Rude? Perish the thought," Ren replies with a shrug. "I'm a man who's rediscovering himself, Hoshi. What can I say? Maybe that's why I wanted to come to a forest full of mirrors."

    He snaps his fingers when Hoshi explains a little better. "Ah. Now, monsters named Shadows, that I can understand. You never get anywhere good with monsters named shadows. That's a double barrel of bad things."

    He listens to Hoshi explain- looking at her reflection, looking at her.

    There is a long, long silence, even though it probably only lasts a moment.

    A long, short silence.

        "That's interesting," Ren finally says.

"I have a few things to think about. Perhaps that book that's calling my name back in the library will help spark some ideas for me."

Hoshi Amakasu (901) has posed:
    ... Is that really a wise decision? Somehow, Hoshi suddenly has a bad feeling. Maybe seeking this place out wasn't really the best idea either...

    Regardless, once she's done spilling about her sob story, she has to take a moment to wipe her eyes and berate herself inwardly for letting herself go off like that. She takes a few deep, calming breaths before she even lets herself face Ren again--and he's... "... Oh, I'm--... I'm really sorry. It was wrong of me to dump that on you like that. I guess it must've been really uncomfortable... Let's go. I should probably be heading home by now, anyway..."

    Thus, she let her sword go back to it's hairtie form and puts it back in her hair, before quickly going for the exit, her face furiously red.

Ren Tanaka (165) has posed:
Ren Tanaka reaches out to grab her wrist again.

    If Hoshi turns around-

    She will see him standing there, framed by the trees, eyes as hard and dark as jasper in the nonetheless dismal light.

    "Not you," he says, simply enough, but with a voice that's... different, somehow. Similar to when he was trying to speak about her relative safety here, rather than in the big outside. "Don't think for a minute that I would treat something like what you just told me anything less than the way it deserves."

    "I just don't know if I'm ready enough to be as brave as I know you are."

    And yet, when they pass back through the mirror and back into the library, it's clear by the almost-skip as he steps away and the two-handed scoop that he grabs the book with that Ren is clearly ready to move on to acting cheerful again.

    "So! There we have it. You've got a lovely place here, Hoshi, I look forward to spending some time in it. Christmas festivals, too. Yes! I had a wonderful evening."

Hoshi Amakasu (901) has posed:
    At first, Hoshi nearly yanks free when Ren catches her wrist, but slowly she brings herself to turn around and look at him, though her eyes are downcast awkwardly. "Deserves? What does it deserve? What do you even do with this kind of stuff, man?" Calling her brave... she shook her head slowly, but a tiny smile is on her lips. "I was pretty brave. Until the wolf, at least. Still, even if you 'win'... it seems like it's a stain that won't ever come out."

    When they pass through the mirror again, Hoshi takes a thankful breath of reality's air, dusty as it was. She's somewhat surprised by Ren's sudden energy, but she smiles a little and bows her head. "I did too. Thanks for listening, earlier. I know I don't have to tell you--but please be careful around the mirrors here, or if you see someone acting really strangely. I'd rather we didn't have to save any more people from that place." She bows from her waist, then, and starts making her way outside, offering a small smile to the librarian before she steps out into Alberichstadt's chilly night air.