4560/Persona:WTWM FA1 - A Bunch of Fools

Persona:WTWM FA1 - A Bunch of Fools
Date of Scene:	16 September 2016
Location:	Alberichstadt <P:WTWM>
Synopsis:	Day 1 of the School Festival Arc! Pasta, teriyaki, and fortune telling!
Cast of Characters:	August Kohler, 920, 151, Janine Liberi, 1039, 385, 1040, 999
Tinyplot:	Persona: Were the World Mine-1

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August Kohler has posed:
DAYTIME, ALBERICHSTADT, GERMANY. Friday, September 16th, 2016.

The Drachenblatt School Festival has begun. A four-day rendition of Der Ring des Nibelungen, plus a cultural festival. Classes for the day are incredibly light due to the festival, and the first opera, Das Rheingold, does not start for a few hours.

Outside in the school's spacious courtyard, the pristine fountain and clear grass has been co-opted by a hustling bustling festival, tarps set up, booths placed around, and signs everywhere to lead people where they want to go. Dozens of people sample different cultural cuisines, play some festival games, and attend a festival worth way more than any other school festival. Like, seriously, one of the Japanese food booths is being served by a world-famous sushi chef.

August Kohler, meanwhile, calls in some friends over the radio. He's sitting on a bench in front of the marble school fountain, waiting to see who shows up as he eats some licorice. He's noticable because he's all alone. Poor guy.

Kazimir Volkov (920) has posed:
Kazimir doesn't have time for this.

But he needs to be here. Having missed a great deal of effort that the other classmates have been undergoing, he is mostly running back and forth, hauling boxes back and forth while munching on a sandwich. Looks like he's helping the various groups at the festival, likely in exchange for food and favors. As he passes Kohler, he pauses, stepping over towards him with the box over one shoulder. "Kohler." He addresses the head of their clandestine organization. "What are you doing?"

Ainsley (151) has posed:
Someone in a black coat with a hood and a thick scarf with goggles shows up. She has her hands in her pockets and it is hard to tell whether she's just short or younger than any of the students here. She looks like she's dressed for a winter storm. She glances aside at Kazimir as she approaches, her boots doing a little tromping as she walks.

"Hi!" she greets merrily, to Kazimir. It's easy to identify her by voice, because you'd never identify her just by appearance. She HAS to dress that heavily or she'll reveal that she's an anthropomorphic reptile from another dimension. "Should I just look around on my own?" she wonders over at August, gesturing vaguely in the direction of the festival itself. "Or do you want me to stick around...?" She looks around, her leading question suggesting she noticed he isn't sitting with any of his many supposed school friends.

Janine Liberi has posed:
    One of many booths is run by the Italian students of the academy. Delicious scents waft from it, as they sell pasta in cardboard cones and pizza by the slice, cooked in an actual woodfire oven. Apparently Drachenblatt doesn't mess around if you're a rich student. They even have wines, paired with the food, under the watchful gaze of a staff member to make sure the students aren't drinking it all.

    The friendly students up-front are selling spaghetti, topped with one of three sauces. A rich tomato sauce, swimming with beef meatballs, a creamy chicken and mushroom alfredo, and a zesty spinach and tuna sauce. The pizza is cheesy and herby, topped with slices of pepperoni, mushroom and green pepper.

    But while things are fine up front, a voice is giving orders in the back. "Soren, don't you dare let that shit burn! Louise, you add a single more grain of salt to that sauce and I'll drown you in it!" Yup, somehow Janine became the head of the kitchen. She marches around, barking orders with a knife clutched in her right hand. This may explain why the others are following her orders without complaint.

    Marching up to a cutting board covered in vegetable residue, she shouts, "Left Hand!" A young girl (those who were present at the late-night Drachenblatt investigation might recognize her as one of the girls being beaten in the basement), comes up next to her and takes firm hold on the onion Janine is glaring it. With deft slashes, she starts cutting it up, the girl manipulating it with practiced ease. And to her credit, she doesn't flinch once, even as Janine's knife is mere millimetres from her fingers.

    And in the end, she's left behind a diced onion, with each bit evenly proportioned for cooking. She then moves on to a different board, and does the same for a chicken breast with a different knife. Don't cross-contaminate your utensils kids!

Hikaru Kurosawa (1039) has posed:
    One of the Japanese food booths is being served by a world-famous sushi chef.

    Another is being served by Drachenblatt's own Hikaru Kurosawa and Ran Itoh!

    "I feel outclassed," Hikaru whispers to her after a pair of students leave their booth with bowls of delicious sizzling teriyaki. "Do you feel outclassed? Totally being outclassed right now -" and his expression and tone brighten up and return to normal as another student approaches. "Hi there! Do you want to try some teriyaki salmon?"

    "Uh, sure," she says, giving the food a skeptical look. "So what's teriyaki?"

    "Why, it's only the most delicious dish in all of Japan! Grilled fish with a glaze of soy sauce and mirin!"

    "Mirin?"

    "It's like sake," Hikaru explains, serving up a bowl, "but for cooking. Sorry, it's not alcoholic or anything." He grins sympathetically, because she's certainly at the age where she'd be interested. She nods, and he passes over the bowl, waving to her as she leaves.

    "Man," he remarks to Ran once she's gone, "it's nice to be able to share this with these kids. Can you believe how few of them have had proper fish teriyaki?"

Yuna Kagurazaka (385) has posed:
School festivals are still relatively familiar territory for Yuna; she has a lot of reasonably fond memories from the schools she went to while she was growing up pre-Unification. Granted, those were in Japan, not Germany, but school festivals are still school festivals ... even if she's half expecting to take a 'wrong' turn (or a right one) and wind up looking at a takoyaki stand or a meido cafe or something.

On the other hand, the teriyaki smells good, and Yuna has some local cash this time, so the blonde idol strolls on up to Hikaru's and Ran's booth. "Good afternoon! Salmon teriyaki, huh ... one order please? Not too big, though." Trying different foods is part of the fun of a school festival like this, right?

Ran Itoh (1040) has posed:
    It's been years since Ran got to attend a cultural festival! Seven Sisters put on a pretty good one back in the day, but the difference in budget is clear. Even with things like 'an entirely different culture' accounted for... this place may as well be full of aliens.

    Like the young men in thousand-dollar suits! She's been assured that they exist and are wandering around here right this minute!

    But she's got more important things to think about than expensive suits, such aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaas... "It's fine! It's not about being outclassed, it's about being the only teriyaki booth here. How will anybody that's never had it before know if ours is world-class or not?"

    Except, of course, for "Yuna-san! Hiii~" Ran beams at the idol. "Sure, sure. Gotta save room to try all the other food, right?" The school nurse is mostly manning the cash box and handing over canned drinks, as Hikaru is by far the better cook. "Glad you could make it!"

August Kohler has posed:
Kohler is eating licorice, isn't it obvious? "Waiting for some friends. What are you doing, Volkov?" He munches on the licorice. Obviously he's friends with a football player, or a super model, or-

"Ainsley!" August calls out to her as she arrives, before puzzling at her sense of dress. "You know, I think you stand out more than a lizard person would. Just a hunch." He tears off a piece of licorice from his bag and offers it to her, before leaping off the bench. "Hey Volkov, you check out the booths yet? I was going to take some of the outsiders around the Festival. We should catch up a bit." As he says this, August glances at Ainsley. "What you interested in? I saw Janine at an Italian food booth, and Nurse Itoh and Mr. Kurosawa doing teriyaki. They're totally outclassed by the sushi chef, but it smelled good. You guys want to get some? Maybe drop by and bug Janine?"

Ainsley (151) has posed:
Ainsley takes the licorice and manages to stuff the licorice somewhere in that scarf in there and eat it. She doesn't comment on the taste or anything involving her outfit, instead just shrugging her shoulders at August and turning to take agency into her own hands. Easiest to answer a question by taking action! She wanders over in no real hurry toward the teriyaki booth that Ran and Hikaru have set up, clasping her gloved hands in front of her and trying not to drool into her scarf too much. It would get all damp and gross if she did that.

"Really wish I could buy some of this," she murmurs, a little sad that she could get seen as a weirdo lizard thing if she took her disguise off. "Hello, you two~ Hello, Yuna!" She then adds, "Thanks again for helping out the other day."

"Getting a lot of business?" She glances aside meaningfully at the sushi booth over there, and then back to them. They might see the sympathetic look in her blue eyes through those goggles. "It smells really good." Echoing what August said, in fact.

Kazimir Volkov (920) has posed:
Kazimir, to his credit, just takes the overdressed booklizard more or less at face value as she arrives. He takes a bite out of his sandwich, and rolls the crate on his shoulder. "If you want to come along, feel free. I am helping to deliver things. Don't have time to sit around much, though." But then, when has Kaz ever had time for anything?

He looks back to August, and shakes his head. "Most of my looking at the booths has been from the back. Students are very disorganized, so I am making profit from that." He chuckles for a moment, taking another bite of his sandwich. "Do not need to pay for food today!"

He sideglances. "Crate is for Liberi." He mentions. "Anyone else coming, Kohler, or is everyone doing other things?" Poor guy.

Emily Branford (999) has posed:
    There are rumors going around of some well-dressed terror haunting the food stalls. Well, sort of. Any of the students who are honestly just there to have a good time and serve people food are exempt from the woman's scorn. But anyone being particularly /haughty/ about their work - anyone acting as if people should be honored to taste their 'fine cuisine' - is going to be told in fine, exacting detail, everything that is wrong with their dish. In front of everyone.

    It's like a wandering lady Gordon Ramsay, except with less explosiveness and vulgarity.

    And of course, as wandering disasters do, this particular disaster appears to have wandered right up to the teriyaki stand. It might be slightly odd seeing Emily Branford without her tailcoat (as that's the only way Yuna, Ran and Hikaru will have seen her thus far), but she's still in the rest of her uniform sans gloves; vest, dress shirt with sleeve garters, slacks, shoes, the whole nine yards. "Goodness. It seems like ages since I've had good teriyaki. And how are you this afternoon, Mr. Kurosawa, Ms. Itoh, Ms. Kagurazaka?"

Hikaru Kurosawa (1039) has posed:
    "Yuna-san," Hikaru smiles, using honorifics because here's another Japanese girl. "Absolutely! One small teriyaki salmon, coming right up." He dishes up the fish, making sure there's a nice dose of sauce too, and hands it over. "You should definitely try the Italian booth, too!"

    And then someone else - definitely not a lizard girl in a clever costume - rocks up to the booth. Hikaru tilts his head, and grins as he hears her voice. "Hello, Ainsley! Ah," he pauses as she glances over to the sushi booth, "well, we might not have as much hype, but I think people are enjoying the teriyaki! You're welcome to try some, certainly!"

    Emily, too, rolls up to their stand, metaphorical broken dreams of haughty chefs trailing behind her. "Emily! It's been a blast so far. How are you enjoying the festival - oh, and do you want some teriyaki too?" He doesn't talk it up as The Best Teriyaki, because it probably isn't, objectively, the best teriyaki. But it's made with /heart/, and people seem to be enjoying it so far.

August Kohler has posed:
"You really need to get out more, Volkov. Do you have a hobby yet?" August ribs at his friend, before turning to talk to Ainsley...who has vanished. Welp, forever alone. The German resigns himself to his fate as he turns to Kaz. "Yeah, I'll help you. Janine, right? I heard she's working in a booth. I /have/ to see this." And with that, August will move to help Kaz with crate if he needs it, or otherwise just be his sidekick as they head off to Janine. When they reach the italian food, he'll look over the menu, before speaking. "I'll take a small plate of...penne marinara? Also, a Janine Liberi, if you have one."

Ran Itoh (1040) has posed:
    B-but it's not supposed to be a competition, is it?

    Ran hands out bottled water, because the sauce is sticky and everybody should drink more water anyway. It doesn't matter if their food is the best! Only that it's enjoyable, and that anyone who comes up hungry goes away with a tasty snack.

    Honestly~ What would anybody do without her around to keep the perspective?

    "Hi! Thanks for coming~" Ran greets Emily and Ainsley in turn. "I'm having a lot of fun! It's been a long time since I've been to a school festival. Have you all gotten to enjoy other stuff yet too?"

Janine Liberi has posed:
    The cheery girl behind the counter of the Italian booth greets August with a chemically-whitened smile. "Hi! Penne mariana and..." Her face falls and she shakes her head. "First time I've ever heard someone wanting her..." She calls to the kitchen in a rapid babble of Italian, summoning the girl herself. Thankfully, she left her knife back there.

    "Oh. You," she grunts, scratching her head, her hair held back with a bandanna. Her apron is a mess of sauce mixed with scraps of meat and vegetables, but her right sleeve is impeccably clean. She looks to the serving girl. "These two are broke-ass idiots. Give 'em what they want, I'll cover it."

    Judging by the look on the girl's face, this is a stunning display of charity right here.

Yuna Kagurazaka (385) has posed:
Even when the Multiverse is so kind as to translate everyone else's spoken languages for you, it's still nice on some deep, nigh-unidentifiable level to hear somebody else speaking the same language you grew up with, isn't it? Just hearing the '-san' attached to her name is enough for Yuna's normal bright, warm smile to pick up by a notch or so, and the singer bows politely to Hikaru and Ran as she accepts her teriyaki. "Thank you very much! It smells delicious, I'm sure it'll taste just as wonderful ... and I'll definitely check out the Italian booth after I've eaten!"

And before she can go off in search of August and company, *he* (and company) come to her instead. "Hello August, Ainsley, Emily," she greets them in turn. "How's the festival so far? Have I missed any of the opera?"

Ainsley (151) has posed:
"I'll have some, then!" Ainsley decides, despite her apparent despairing over her disguise needing to be disturbed in order to eat something more complex than a bit of candy. She'll just hope no one looks at her too closely. She digs in her pockets and realizes... she doesn't have this world's local currency. She murmurs, "I can't buy any," a little playfully bashful about it, turning out her empty pockets and everything. "Can I help your booth with anything in exchange for some food?" Immediately suggesting work for food, she just doesn't want to be a freeloader.

"Oh! I have a new design for a pamphlet in here, too..." She pulls out a hastily scrawled folded piece of paper. 'Hastily scrawled' is not being kind, actually, she spends a lot of time drawing illustrations in her journals and drawing magic circles just right and has significant skill in art, but for her it's a quick sketch. She hands it toward Hikaru, and she tries VERY HARD not to let her tail wiggle with excitement like it did while they were making the other pamphlet prototypes. She fidgets in place instead, making her seem almost manic with excitement.

Ainsley really likes festivals.

Emily Branford (999) has posed:
    Ainsley should be proud of herself; Emily's managed to miss her entirely, and she looks genuinely surprised when she glances over and realizes who she's seeing. "Ah! Hello, there, I had missed you in the crowd. You're not too hot in that, are you?" Meanwhile, Yuna, Ran and Hikaru are asking similar questions, and Emily decides to answer them both in one swoop. "It's been wonderful, really. I don't take many days off, so it's nice just to see everyone out doing something fun for once. Though I dare say one or two of the food service booths have been a bit... overly prideful of their work." Hmph. "But yours smells absolutely delightful," she adds to the Teriyaki Twosome. "I'd love a serving. Did you make the sauce yourselves? I could swear I smell proper mirin."

Hikaru Kurosawa (1039) has posed:
    It's not supposed to be a competition, but everything turns into a competition at Drachenblatt, doesn't it? While Ran handles handing out water, Hikaru handles dishing out teriyaki. "I don't think you've missed the opera yet," he mentions to Yuna. "At least, I'm pretty sure - hey Ran, the opera's not started yet, right?" The buddy system makes remembering everything easy!

    Ainsley doesn't have money for teriyaki, but she offers to work, and Hikaru nods with a smile. "Sure thing, we'd love some help - but only after you've had your salmon!" A plate is made up for her, and somehow Hikaru makes passing the plate over with one hand and taking the pamphlet with the other look easy. "Wow," he says, his smile growing wider, "this is really good! Hey, Ran, look at this, isn't this great?" He passes the pamphlet over to her so he can get to Emily's order.

    "Thank you," he chirps to the butler, honestly quite pleased with the compliment. "It is real mirin! It was a bit hard to track down, but it's worth it to have proper teriyaki sauce." A serving goes onto a plate for her, as well, and he hands it over. "Yeah, we made it ourselves - it's Ran's father's recipe!" And Hikaru sounds as proud about that as Ran herself ought to be.

Ran Itoh (1040) has posed:
    "I hope you like it!" Ran's smile becomes just a hair more satisfied at the way Yuna lights up from the simple honorific. Language is such a funny thing, but just hearing familiar words can make someone happy. 'Keikaku doori', as the kids say~ <3

    "It's not for a couple of hours - the opera, that is." She lets Hikaru do all the talking about the food until he tries to include her in the cooking part. "Don't let him give me any credit, it's all Hikky's hard work!" She means it, too. "My kitcheny talents stop at really awesome sandwiches. /You/ got all of Dad's cooking skills, remember?" But she takes the pamphlet when he hands it to her, skimming over the information with a practiced eye. "Hey, this /is/ good! How many versions does this make now...? They get better every time~"

Yuna Kagurazaka (385) has posed:
"How much did it cost to get the ingredients shipped in?" Yuna wonders. "And I wouldn't worry about the sushi chef - there's no budget big enough to replace a cook's love in the recipe." She takes a bite of her teriyaki salmon, her eyes drifting closed as she savors the taste of it. "Mmmmmmm ..."

Ah, bliss. It has to be kind of short-lived, though - there are other matters at hand to discuss. Such as fashion.

"Ainsley, are you sure you aren't going to get overheated, all bundled up like that?" Yuna wonders, opening her eyes again. She does nod to Ran in reply to the opera answer - that's the highlight of the festival, it wouldn't be proper not to at least make an *attempt* to attend. She also nods to Hikaru; the teriyaki being a family recipe does fit with how good it tastes.

Ainsley (151) has posed:
    "Fifteen, with that one~" Ainsley replies to Ran as if that's not a completely absurd number, as she tries to gather a seat and sit at an angle where she can move her scarf out of the way and properly eat the salmon without drawing attention to herself. She glances aside at Emily, replying at a delay because she wanted to stuff some food in her maw before more conversation. "Aww. Flattery~" she says, clearly appreciating the comment for whatever reason, "I think I stick out like a sore thumb among all these fancy kids." She gestures around vaguely at the students bound to be wandering around today. "I'm cold-blooded," she reminds, to assauge concerns about her overheating in her heavy outfit. She waves insistently at Emily and Yuna. "I could sit in a sauna for hours," she adds, "I'll be okay."

In between bites, she imagines being in a sauna, thinking aloud, "That would be lovely... So sore after all this work..." Food is a good distraction.

Emily Branford (999) has posed:
    "Oh, absolutely worth it, yes," Emily agrees after her first bite. "After the first time I tried properly-made teriyaki, I haven't been able to stomach anything off the shelf. The both of you should be quite proud, I think." Now that she's had the first taste, the butler starts in on her serving in earnest. "Ordinarily I'd pester you for the recipe, but family secret recipes are sacred. You hold onto this little secret with everything you've got, do you hear me?" Someone takes her food seriously, and the salmon seems to have passed muster with the high-end chef. And Ainsley seems to be doing quite well too, so that's not a concern either. "I do have to concur with Kagurazaka, here. There's a good deal of students and staff here who know how to handle themselves in a kitchen, but I don't think half the booths have shown a proper enthusiasm for their work, and it shows in the end product. You've got most of them beat here, I should think."

August Kohler has posed:
August retorts to Janine like second nature. "Man, you must know us pretty well to know we're brokeass idiots. I guess Janine Liberi hangs out with poor people!" He grins briefly, but nods in thanks. "Kaz has something here for you. How's the rush here?" He waits for his penne marinara, before taking a chance to look around the campus...and noticing a new, weird booth that just got set up.

A blue fortune teller's tent, sitting in the middle of the yard. Standing in front of a table with a deck of tarot cards is an older woman with gray hair, dressed in blue, with captivating golden eyes. To the Persona users, and some others, she should be /very/ familiar.

Ainsley (151) has posed:
Ainsley gets up from her seat promptly when she notices the fortune teller booth. She takes her dish with her as she goes, holding it in one hand while using her eating utensil with the other. She makes sure people don't spot her overly easily as she shimmies her way over.

Then she just stands nearby and eats her food daintily, happy to observe unless she's called up for some reason. There are reasons why she would choose to abort interacting with other people to go to this lady. She did recently gain the power to summon a Persona, and her curiosity demands that she see if the lady will notice as much.

Janine Liberi has posed:
    "Yeah, but I get to go home and eat my lobsters and you'll still be poor," Janine retorts, equally quickly. Looking to Kaz, she says "Long time no see. What have you got?"

Hikaru Kurosawa (1039) has posed:
    "That's just because I stayed still long enough to listen," Hikaru teases Ran, but it's all with a good-natured grin. They both know they were /both/ energetic menaces back then. And right now, come to think of it. "Besides, you totally helped. You kept me organised!"

    Everyone is enjoying the teriyaki salmon, and Hikaru is /so happy/ about it. "Oh, geez," he grimaces briefly when Yuna asks how much the import cost, shaking his head. (His glorious hair does /not/ go everywhere, because it's safely contained in a fishnet.) "Like, twenty euro on top of what it normally cost?" He probably got ripped off because he went for the first good thing he found.

    When Ainsley mentions how many iterations of the pamphlet she's gone through, Hikaru is surprised. "Fifteen?! You're really dedicated to this, I'm impressed! Thanks for all the effort!" Her reassurances to everyone are a bit surprising, but he has to remind himself that sometimes people are lizards and have cold blood. That's cool, it's just what makes Ainsley unique.

    Emily speaks about sacrosanct recipes and compliments his cooking, and Hikaru beams. "Oh, don't worry, I'm guarding them with my life! I'm real glad you like it so much, I'm quite proud of it. If I can show people what real teriyaki is like, then I'm happy! You're totally right, the proper stuff is so much better than what's on the supermarket shelves."

    And because Hikaru is a Persona-user, he notices the strange blue tent that gets set up, too. He elbows Ran gently to bring her attention to it. "Hey, Ran, do you wanna go check that out for us? I'll hold down the fort here." Someone has to attend to the stall!

Yuna Kagurazaka (385) has posed:
It's really, REALLY good teriyaki, so Yuna is understandably somewhat distracted and not saying a whole lot at the moment. She's listening to as much as she can while she eats, though - and Ainsley gets a sheepish grin and a nod of acknowledgement. (Honestly, Yuna wasn't sure whether Ainsley was warm-blooded or cold-blooded, and just coming out and asking seemed rude ... this was a better way to find out. Probably.)

She does also notice the fortune-teller's booth and the tarot readings being done, but for now, she's still eating - she can let somebody else go ahead of her and see what they say about it.

Kazimir Volkov (920) has posed:
Meanwhile, Volkov comes out from the back, having dropped off the crate of what is presumably cooking supplies for the booth. He pulls out his silver watch, opens it up, and checks the time... Then closes it back up. Click click.

"Everything here is stupid expensive." He comments off hand. "Also, most of these booths are ridiculous. Especially that one. Why is it even here? But eh. It all works out, I guess." He shrugs, tilting his head towards the fortune telling booth.

August Kohler has posed:
The gray haired woman is indeed Agatha, Igor's assistant in the Velvet Room. The booth feels comforting...and also familiar, if you've been in the Velvet Room before. As Ainsley approaches, Agatha looks up to her and smiles. "Ah, young one. Would you like your fortune told?" Her smile is warm and motherly, as she adds another line before shuffling the cards. "You are a foreigner, are you not? It is good to make memories everywhere, even that which is not home."

Agatha takes three cards from the deck, placing them side to side. She points to each one in a row as she speaks. "These cards will tell your fortune. Past, present, and future will be laid out in front of you. Shall we begin?" Agatha waits for confirmation, before she pulls over the first card.

The High Priestess.

Taking a moment to glance at the card, and then meet Ainsley's eyes, she smiles once more. "In the past, you found yourself with a question that others could not answer. You answered this question not by looking just to the world, but looking to yourself, and asking yourself this question. This reflects intimately into your present..." Agatha flips the next card.

The Hierophant.

"The present. You have taken the knowledge you gained from the Past," Agatha taps the High Priestess, "And used it to shape your present. You spread this knowledge to others, aiding them with what you found inside yourself, though you never forget the questions you asked yourself or the struggles they gave you." Agatha gives Ainsley a moment to think on this, before moving to the final card.

The Fool.

Agatha smiles at this one even more. "Your future. It has no definition. No boundaries. Your future is what you make of it, Ainsley. Always believe in yourself." Agatha finishes reading the cards, pointedly calling Ainsley by name, as she turns to her. "I hope you enjoyed this reading. Please, tell your friends."

Ran Itoh (1040) has posed:
    Even if Ainsley is a cold-blooded lizard person, she makes a good pamphlet and likes good food, so that's all Ran needs to know. "I don't think Dad would be too mad if you shared the recipe, you know," she nudges Hikaru with her elbow. She doesn't even know if it's a secret or not! ...Because Hikaru is correct, she never did sit still and pay attention.

    Ran also doesn't think there's that much wrong with store-bought teriyaki anything, because she has no class.

    "Huh?" Elbow'd! She leeeeans out of the booth to peer down the way at the strange new booth. "Isn't that the same...?" Of course it is, because Germany has it out for Persona-Users. "Okay. Do your best~" she encourages him - not that Hikaru needs it - before taking off her apron and bandanna and sneaking out of the tent.

August Kohler has posed:
"Damn it, now I want lobster." Is all August can retort, as he takes his pasta when it's served. He then heads off to the booth with Kaz, though spends most of his time eating than talking.

Emily Branford (999) has posed:
    At some point or other, when people weren't paying attention, Emily disappeared.

    First of all, there's now a serving of teriyaki at the Italian booth, tagged with Janine's name. (And money on Hikaru and Ran's counter for the extra.)

    Second, there is now an off-duty butler in line for a fortune.

Ainsley (151) has posed:
Ainsley is happy to watch Agatha with a curious silence after nodding to confirm she should do a reading. The High Priestess doesn't seem to draw a reaction out of her. After all, she has lived it and then replayed it in her head countless times. The Heirophant card is where she makes a soft intake through her nose, remembering what that symbol looked like, plastered all over that place the Shadow was manifested in. She puts more food in her face already knowing what Agatha is saying to her in her heart. After all, that is the nature of who she is. She knows herself more than anyone ever could. That last fact, her unknown future, makes her smile behind the scarf.

    "Thank you," she murmurs in soft reply. She turns to tell Ran as she approaches with expert timing, "You should ask to have your fortune read. She's quite good at it."

August Kohler has posed:
As Ainsley praises her, Agatha smiles proudly. "Oh, thank you dear, I am just glad I could give you such a wonderful service." She turns to Ran, speaking softly. "Oh, dear, would you like one? Allow me, free of charge, moon child. All of you, please wait, I'll get to everyone who wants one." Agatha shuffles the deck, and spreads the cards again, Past-Present-Future. When Ran is ready and attentive, she turns over the first card.

The Lovers.

"In the past, you had, or still have, a very strong bond. You may have even met your soulmate. It was the starting point for your life, and is a bond that changed you. Speaking of changes..." Agatha smiles briefly as she moves to the next card.

The Wheel of Fortune.

"Your present. Things have changed, and will continue to change. However, you fight to take control of your destiny. You are in charge of yourself, and if you can take hold of the wheel, the Future is up to you. And your future is..."

The Fool.

Agatha smiles deeply. "Once again, undefined. Your future is what you make of it, Ran Itoh." Agatha takes a minute to shuffle the deck again, before looking over the line. "Ah, who will be next?"

Yuna Kagurazaka (385) has posed:
While she's debating whether to join the line for a tarot reading, Yuna migrates over to the booth which has been selling Italian food. She may as well eat some more while she's trying to make up her mind - although she doubts that pasta or whatever will *QUITE* live up to good, homemade-style teriyaki ...

Ran Itoh (1040) has posed:
    It's not hard for Ran to figure out just /what/ relationship Agatha's speaking about. (Honestly, anybody that's seen Ran and Hikaru within twenty feet of each other would get it, too.) Kinda funny to see the card show up as the Lovers, even though Ran knows perfectly well that it's about /relationships/, not just, well, love!

    But her present as Fortune? ...Well, Ran can kind of see that, too. She came to Germany for something new, for a chance to meet the world on her own terms, didn't she? To no longer be a halfbreed, but to be a person?

    "Thank you," she says to Agatha, and bows to the older woman - an unusual custom to show up in Germany, but Ran is sincerely grateful for her help in the past.

    ...Does she smell spaghetti??

August Kohler has posed:
Agatha bows back from her chair to Ran. Next up in line is Emily Branford! "Ah, miss. Allow me to read your fortune, especially for one who has worked so hard for her fellow man." She shuffles the deck, and then makes the P-P-F spread. First flip...

The Tower.

Agatha frowns. "Your past was full of calamitous change. Like a storm, everything in your life changed rapidly, and not for the better. I am sorry that you had to go through that. But you fought through it..." Agatha draws the Present card.

The Hierophant.

"With your belief. You believe in something so strongly that it affects your entire way of mind. Do take care to not allow it to cloud your judgement, however." Finally, Agatha moves to the Future card, and once again...

The Fool.

Another, soft smile from the old lady. "Like your comrades around you, Miss Branford, your future is undefined. Shape it however you wish."

Ran Itoh (1040) has posed:
    Well, it seems like the Velvet Tent is better news than it could have been. Ran rather likes Agatha, too~ She stops by the Italian booth long enough to pick up two pizza slices (both cheese) and brings them back to Hikaru at the teriyaki booth.

    "It's Agatha! From the carriage, with the book." She hands over a slice on a paper plate. "She's reading fortunes... they're really accurate. You should go get yours read!" She will BRAVELY WATCH THE BOOTH while he's gone.*

    *hide behind the counter and eat pizza

Emily Branford (999) has posed:
    Emily's smile is faint, but not unkind. "I can at the very least say that you have a talent. Perhaps not the most guiding of fortunes, but it's valuable insight, if nothing else." She folds her arm in front of herself, and gives a polite bow. "Thank you for your time, miss. Until next we meet." And that's where she takes her leave. Though curiously, she doesn't seem terribly surprised at any accuracy the reading might have had.

Hikaru Kurosawa (1039) has posed:
    Ran returns, with mighty tales of tarot and pizza! Hikaru immediately takes a big bite of delicious Italian food, only to have to swallow quickly when he hears who's heading up the fortune-teller booth. "Agatha, really? Well, I guess I'd better go say hello!" Brightly, he lays down his tools and sidles out from the booth. "Take care of things while I'm gone, okay~!"

    She's totally gonna hide behind the counter and eat pizza, let's all be real here.

    Hikaru finishes eating his slice of pizza while he waits for Emily to have her fortune read. And when the line clears up, he steps up to the table. "Agatha! It's great to see you out here. Have you been enjoying the festival, too?" He grins. "I'd better get my fortune read, because Ran's really excited about your readings, and she must be right."

August Kohler has posed:
Agatha tips her head to Emily as she parts, before smiling warmly as Hikaru comes up. "Ah, young man, I would love to read your fortune. For you, things can only get up from here, after all." Her smile becomes more sympathetic, as she shuffles and deals the cards. She frowns before she even pulls the Past card.

The Devil.

"I am so sorry. In the past, you were a prisoner to the world around you. Outside of your own choice, your own will, you were chained by fate and environment, and faced hardships, just because of who you were. You got through it, but no one should suffer under such chains." Agatha moves to the next card, and before she flips that one, her frown becomes a more sympathetic smile.

The Chariot.

"But despite that, you didn't give up. /Because/ of those experiences, you pushed yourself forward. You do not allow your past to define you, but instead propel past it. But you must remember, you cannot forget it. It is part of you, and while it will never define you, it will always matter." And then, the last card, you guessed it...

The Fool.

Agatha goes back to her usualy, motherly smile, as she flips over this card. "Whatever happens is /your/ choice. Nothing will define you. The future belongs to you, Hikaru Kurosawa."

Hikaru Kurosawa (1039) has posed:
    The Devil, the Chariot, the Fool. One of those cards is familiar to him - the Chariot was the card he was given, after all - but the other two are a surprise. "Aw, geez," Hikaru scratches at his chin, with a rueful grin. "You've really got my number, huh? But you're right, after all. Don't worry, I'm gonna take the future by storm. Thanks for the reading, Agatha." Like Ran, Hikaru bows before he turns to leave the booth. Best friends think alike, after all.

    Now, to go tell Ran exactly how freakily accurate those results were.

August Kohler has posed:
And so, the day comes to an end with that sad, if hopeful fortunes. People continue to go around the festival, indulging and enjoying, and Agatha continues to tell fortunes, though eventually, her booth just vanishes as quickly as it came. Teenagers frolick, make messes that need to be cleaned, and live their life.

And off in the distance, one Drachenblatt maid, only a teenager, struggles to clean up all this mess by her lonesome, longing for a chance to be with the others. But this isn't her moment to shine.

Not yet.