Scene Listing || Scene Schedule || Scene Schedule RSS
Owner Pose
Asellus     After leaving Gozarus's workshop, Asellus is still ghastly pale but not quite as shakey. She wanted to investigate Rootville a little bit more before going back to the castle. Maybe to extend the time she can spend with her new friends. First stop is back at the dress shop, to see how Gina is doing. However, as Asellus leads them inside, the tailor rushes over when they enter again. "Hello. Is something wrong? Was everything in order?" he asks hurriedly.

    Asellus responds, "There was no problem." Seems that coming in here again right now is only going to cause trouble for this man, so she turns right around and ushers everyone else out with her. She hates the way the clearly terrified man sees her as being like one of these mystics and just assumes she'll do terrible things to him. She didn't ask to have this done to her!

    Her mood seems to have grown noticeably worse as she stops to look around the small, claustrophic village. There's an area off to the east they might check out, but her spirit of exploration is dampened.
Marisa Kirisame Donde estas Marisa Kirisame?

Apparently, RIGHT THERE behind Asellus draping an arm around her shoulder and NUDGING BACK against her efforts to avoid a hopelessly awkward conversation. "What miss Asellus wants to say," Marisa helpfully clarifies, leveraging all the strength of a single short, rough-and-tumble blonde girl against the might of a Half-Mystic. "Is that she's very happy with the dress! And would very much like to see the girl who lives here again to thank her properly as well."

"Isn't that right," Marisa beams like a LITTLE RAY OF SUNSHINE, "A-sell-us~<3?"
Rarity As they're lead to the shop and the door only to be hurried back out by an upset Asellus, Rarity leans over a bit to wave a hoof past the girl. "It would seem something has come up though dahlings. We shall return for the tailoring as swift as possible!" It's a valiant attempt to cover for the poor girl's shift in directions before they're back on the street.

At which she simply sits down and cups a hoof to her chin. "Alas, while we have ensured you will be able to take care of yourself it would seem things have... complicated in dealing with the locals." The gears are churning in her head though as she looks Asellus up and down. Hmmmmmmmm.
Josuke Higashikata Josuke has spent much of the trip in the background, just learning from the interactions of the people with Asellus -- and with the various other Mystics that have been accompanying them. Most of which Josuke hasn't liked very much. But he knows how to be quiet. Even if he doesn't like it. He's still plotting something, given that thoughtful looking pout on his face.

But when he suddenly finds himself being ushered out of the tailor shop no sooner than the group entered, he blinks at Asellus, confused. "What's the matter?" he asks. He doesn't seem to get the problem.
Asellus     Asellus just shakes her head at Marisa. "It's fine. I just wanted to talk to Gina a little. I'll come back some other time." she insists as she ducks the arm around her shoulders, not due to disliking the contact but more because she feels the intense urge to get away from those eyes that look upon her with fear. When she's back outside, she explains to Josuke, "It's the way he looked at me. The same way he looked at Ildon. The same way Gozarus looked at him. Like all the humans we've seen here have looked at Mystics. He's scared of me. He thinks I'm a monster."

    Asellus is clearly not a young woman accustomed to being feared.

    She sighs and says, "Hopefully I'll be able to forget all this soon." She looks to White Rose, who smiles back at her encouragingly, perhaps not realizing the reason she'll be forgetting it is because she'll be gone from here and back home among 'normal' people.

    "There is not much to see in Rootville. There is only one other place of note that I can think of. Would you like me to show you all to it?" she asks. The flower-bonnet-wearing Arch-Princess looks around to everyone, and gestures in the same easternly direction Asellus at peered previously.
Rarity "It is a shame. To judge on appearances, even after previous meeting you in person." Rarity turns her gaze up towards the castle in the distance for a moment. She remembers seeing a similar expression upon the Crystal Empire ponies when they first begain to remember King Sombra. "But seeing how they have lived under that... shadow for so long, it is hard to fault them."

The unicorn glances to White Rose and offers a small smile. "Present company excluded, dahling. You have been much more personable." Though she is still being careful of her choice of words in White Rose's presence, just in case.

A soft sigh follows as she gets up. "Yes, let us finish our tour. Little will be accomplished dwelling on this matter right now."
Marisa Kirisame Well, fine! Run away from the fearful eyes of those who don't know any better. It's your own funeral!

Marisa breathes an exaggerated sigh, knitting her fingers behind her head as she follows the others out into Rootville. "You should just get over it and be as aggressively nice to them as possible. Otherwise they're just going to keep being afraid of you, you know? Unless you prove them wrong, you'll never be free of it."

But, they have somewhere to go see right now, don't they?
Josuke Higashikata Josuke pouts at the response from Asellus. This time it's an actual sad pout. "It'll take time for them to understand," he notes. "But your actions will have to speak louder than your words. I bet if you show them you're different, they'll stop being afraid of you! It'll just take time!" Ever hopeful, this one. He seems to agree with Marisa about the situation!

But Rarity brings a point too. Talking about it will only make Asellus sad. And they have a bit of other exploration to do! White Rose indicates that easterly direction that Asellus looked in and offers to show them that way. "Sure! What's down that way?" he asks.
Asellus     Asellus offers a non-commital, "Maybe so." She can be nice, in her own way. But she's not very subtle. Her niceness usually takes the form of protecting those she cares about. Those she loves. Perhaps why she is now so reluctant to protect herself.

    It's not that she wants people to think she's different or 'accept her for who she is'. It's that she wants them to see she's still exactly the same. She wants to go back to before all this happened and be recognized as human. Normal, and not full of weird powers and feelings.

    However, is she REALLY still human? She is partially still in denial about all this, but her crisis of identity is becoming more and more complicated. The support and encouragement from those around her is making it easier, but there's still a lot she has to figure out, and not all of that can come from other people. All this has been happening over the course of a single day. She's beyond overwhelmed and just needs time to process it all.

    But for whatever it's worth, her new body doesn't seem to be getting physically tired. Good thing with all those gosh darn stairs, but it'll mean many sleepless nights going around in circles in her mind.

    White Rose nods amicably to Rarity. "Everyone has their own ways of interacting. I only strive to accommodate such." she says diplomatically, downplaying anything she has done outside her duty. She answers the inquiry about what's over there, with, "A place of great power." Indeed, for those with the ability to feel magic, the air becomes increasingly hyper-saturated with magical energy the closer they get, to the point where the air is practically liquid with it despite the increasing level of heat, adding another layer of shimmer and distortion. Almost like a mirage.

    The large area off to the side of Rootville has a menacing looking giant... Flower? Forge? It's like a great big plant of some kind, but all hard, and thorny, and made of stone, with deep red light shining from its almost mouth-like 'entrance' and a jagged 'petal'-lined protrusion on top. Beyond it seems like some vast dark plane or chasm, almost fully blotted out by the structure. All that can be seen of what lies on the other side of it is that there is a point where the purple sky ends, either as a gap between it and the ground, or because there is no ground beneath it at all.

    Steeling herself, Asellus leads the way inside as White Rose falls into easy step beside her. It seems to be the latter's nature to not be dominant or assertive. If someone else wants to take the lead despite her being the tour guide, so be it.

    The dull roar, almost like the ocean, that had resounded outside, is much louder inside, and is definitely not the ocean. It is flames of purple, pink, and red, that rage and bellow on either side of a thorny, plant-like 'bridge' that leads to a platform overlooking the conflagration. Fireballs of pink mist streak and float upwards slowly from the blaze, perhaps explaining why the purple miasmatic sky is the way it is. Some sort of altar or smelter or something with white crystals glowing in it, and a cluster of black roses alongside of it rests near the balcony on one part of the platform.
Rarity Even Rarity can feel it, and it's more from magic being a natural aspect of being a Unicorn than anything else. That it's enough for her to feel so clearly is a testimate to how powerful it must be.

A shame Twilight Sparkle could not be here, she would probably understand much more than she does.

It only gets more astounding and confusing inside. "Goodness..." Rarity pauses to peek over the edge of the bridge, only to scoot back again when a fireball spews upward much too close for her comfort. "By Faust! What is this place!?"
Josuke Higashikata Josuke still offers the smile to Asellus as they head to the eastern area. It's one of his big, dopey, friendly smiles. Clearly he's not afraid of her, so there's a good start! There's hope for her yet!

The mention of a 'place of power' gets a blink, though. He follows to the place... he's not magically active, no... but even HE feels weird there! Like... like the magical version of high EM energy. Which tends to make a person feel paranoid! Particularly when he sees a place people are going towards that has no ground! Does that even HAVE a bottom to hit if they fall?!

So whether it's an effect of there being so much magical energy in the air or Josuke just being FREAKED THE F**K OUT, Josuke is going to partially have his Stand manifested. Though it's just sort of half-way, the pink-and-blue figure sticking up out of his torso.
Marisa Kirisame This...

Is quite honestly a familiar sight, in some ways. The color is off and there weren't as many crystals, but over the course of Marisa's adventures, she has encountered something of this sort not once but at /least/ twice. It still rankles, the heat nearly scalding her skin when she draws close. The magician purses her lips and leaps up onto her broom, thankful that the instrument has been enchanted to be a little more resilient than your average cleaning tool. "What the heck is this, anyway? Some kind of hellgate?"

Marisa thinks for a moment, then gestures at the flames with a strange, octagonal box. A frigid wind suddenly erupts from the device, blasting the flames with a deluge of freezing magic. Experimentation...?
Asellus     There's something here. Or someone. A presence that can't be seen, but is all around them. Where Ildon 'smelled blue', and perhaps with undertones of other things, like duty, regret, and disdain, when Marisa sniffed him, this presence 'feels' like 'purple'. Like the very blood that Asellus now bleeds. It smells like sacrifice, creation, destruction, and the secrets of magic itself. The presence becomes more pronounced when Marisa blasts cold wind at the flames, like a slumbering creature awakening. Good job, Marisa. Let's hope it's not hostile.

    When Asellus approaches, a voice speaks into all of the minds of those present. Welcome, Lady Asellus.

    "Who is it?" Asellus asks, startled and trying not to show it (first by Marisa shooting off ice magic and then by the voice, respectively). How does everyone know her name when she only just woke up today? Did the news spread that quickly?

    My name is Kurenai. I am the eternal flame that burns in Facinaturu. the flames answer. Well, that explains that, sort of!

    White Rose tacks on some additional information for Rarity and Marisa, since they asked. "This is where Princess Rei died. She threw herself into the flames to escape."

    Apparently being Orlouge's mistress was disagreeable enough to this Rei that she would rather have burned to death than remain here with him. The fact she managed to reincarnate as a human is beside the point, as is whether she knew that would happen or not. Death by fire is the most painful way to die. It's not something someone chooses to do lightly.

    Perhaps, for those affected by Orlouge's charm magic, they don't mind staying here. But for someone like Asellus, and likely Rei as well, who are immune or resistant... There can be no peace for them here as one of the Region's lord's toys to be taken out of a coffin when he wants them and then put back to a deathly sleep when he's done.

    If that's to be her fate...

    Asellus clenches her fists, and what's going through her head is plain to see. But for now, at least, she turns away. There's still other options.

    "I think," she says, "That I would like to go back to my room now."

    "Of course, Lady Asellus." White Rose says as she bows her head. Then she looks curiosly at Josuke and his partially-manifested Stand and how he seems a bit FREAKED OUT. "Are you well, Lord Josuke?"
Rarity So the place in itself was some kind of spirit? Rarity... has seen weirder than self-aware locations in her time in the Multiverse, so that's more unnerving than outright frightening.

She opens her mouth to ask something when White Rose starts to mention Princess Rei escaping here, only for whatever it was to catch in her throat when the how is brought up. In the end she has to gulp it audibly back down. "... How mortifying... To... that... To escape that way," she finally finds words.

Well, that option for escape is out the window faster than one of her sister's failed attempts at cooking.

"I.. agree. I think it is best to head back." As much as she dreads the stairs again. "Something is... unsettling about this place." And what we've learned of happening here.
Marisa Kirisame The flames talk?

...

Well. Still probably not the weirdest thing Marisa's ever run into.

"Soooooo," Marisa lilts, turning towards the others. "This guy's pretty interesting! I'm thinking of sitting and havin' a talk with him for a little while. Isn't every day I run into a literally talking flame."
Josuke Higashikata "H-hey!" Josuke doesn't notice Marisa's about to try to put out the flames until she's already trying it. The 'presence' gets stronger, and Josuke winces, his Stand fully manifesting now -- he expects to have to fight something now. Though whether it's fortunate or not that this 'Kurenai' doesn't want to fight is unknown. Hearing it in his head is still freaky. His eyes go wide at Kurenai's information though. "That... that's horrible! She wanted to get away from that guy THAT bad?!" He makes up his mind pretty quickly that he's not going to let Asellus have to take that way out!

Well, now it's a FULLY manifested Stand, floating a few inches above the ground behind Josuke, with a severe look on its face. White Rose's question gets a startled look, and he jumps a bit. "Wha? Oh. Y-yeah, I'm OK. Just... being in here makes me feel a little weird. I guess it's because I'm not a magic-user, so it just feels... unnatural, I dunno."

Once he sees there's no danger, he dismisses his Stand. Rarity's statement about there being something 'unsettling' about the place. Though Marisa's wanting to stay gets a thoughtful pout. "If I can, I might try to come back," Josuke notes to Marisa. "I want to ask some things myself..." For now, though, he's ready to return with Asellus. He's wanting to stick with her for now.
Asellus     White Rose nods in acceptance of Josuke asserting he's okay. That phantom of his is as interesting as ever, much like the phantasmal beasts that Mystics summon. However, she gently corrects those referring to Kurenai as male. "She, actually. Kurenai is female." Her smile slips a bit for reasons unknown, and then she says, "Unfortunately, I believe you are to be 'excused' for the day. When we get back to the front gates, I can tell there will be carriages waiting to take you home. I don't believe this is optional."

    She folds one arm across herself and rests her elbow upon it to delicately tap-tap at her chin. "I believe there is a bar in Rootville. If you would like to extent your stay a little longer, you could wait there and take the opportunity to recover from all this walking." Her eyes twinkle a little bit as she nods knowingly, "It seems you three have some things to discuss."

    Asellus opens her mouth to say something, then closes it. Then she opens it again. "So they'll be able to come back?"

    White Rose says neutrally, "That is up to Lord Orlouge, but if they are to tutor her, then I would assume they are meant to return at some point."

    Asellus looks thoughtful, then nods her head. "Then hopefully we'll meet again soon. And if not... Thank you." Then she rushes out, heading back towards the castle.
Rarity 'You three have some things to discuss.'

At those words Rarity gives White Rose a look out of the corner of her eye. Does she know they could potentially be intending to... More importantly, did she care? Or care enough to... Stop it Rarity, that sort of thinking is only going to run you into circles until you have a breakdown, and as nice as flopping on the couch with a pint of mint chip ice cream would be now is not the time.

"It is best not to assume what a man like Orlouge may be thinking." Rarity steps up to Asellus before the two can head off to the castle. "So just in case."

Rarity removes one of the bracelets she had worn as part of her fancy dress outfit, using her magic to adjust the side, and then slips it onto Asellus' wrist with it's glittering purple jewel in the center. Followed by going to hug the girl briefly, unbothered by her pale appearances. "Something to remember us by, and to remind you that, despite how low and hapless things might seem, you do have friends out there. Take care, dahling."
Josuke Higashikata "Oops," Josuke mutters, at the correction of Kurenai's gender. "Sorry, Kurenai!" He doesn't really know who to direct it to... he just sort of directs it to the room at large. However, as White Rose indicates they're to be 'excused' and sent back home, Josuke nods. "Sensible. We've served our purpose, best to shuffle us off before we put weird ideas in her head." It's... really hard to tell if he's being sarcastic or not. But there IS a slightly sharp edge to his words.

White Rose's mention of tutoring gets a nod. "If it helps, I can probably try to help her with combat training." Here, he's being completely serious. Sure, he's not really formally trained himself, but being a punk, one picks up on a few non-standard moves. Besides, kicking Orlouge in the dangly bits would probably be something Asellus would enjoy IMMENSELY!

Rarity's generous gesture gets a smile, and he nods to her words. "That's right! Don't forget, you have friends!" And if it came down to it? Josuke WOULD bust through the side of the whole place to get to her! That's just how he is, he wants to protect people who seem like they're getting trod on. And this seems like a pretty clear case of being trod upon. "If you can get a signal out, you can always call us."

But White Rose does have a point. The three of them might need to discuss things, and that bar might be a good place. Even if he doesn't actually drink. And he wants to ask SOMEONE some questions, because he wants to know more about the Mystics.
Marisa Kirisame Kurenai's a she, huh? Marisa taps curiously at her chin. "Say, Kurenai," she says after a moment. "Are you one of Orlouge's brides too?"

What?

Look. A man and a fire can fall in love. It's totally fine. When a daddy and a fire love each other very much, sparks will fly. Their passion will be... heated. It's normal.

Totally normal.

But! Alas, the party is ushered back away from Kurenai before Marisa can validate her most secret of slash fics, and is instead directed to... Leave.

Huh.

That would kind of throw a wrench into things, wouldn't it?

Ah well! At least they're going to get some booze first. As a Gensokyoan, Marisa can't help but approve! "Well, one way or another I can't exactly leave her with magic un-learned," Marisa says with a huff. "That'd just be doing a job half-done, and Marisa Kirisame is nothing if not thorough. And at risk of alcoholism. Where'd you say that bar was, again?"
Asellus     White Rose answers Marisa's question on the way back. "As you have surmised, Princess Kurenai was once an Arch-Princess like myself. Her history is long and complicated, but she lost her old body and now has become a source of great mystic power for the entire Region. I believe she was the Second Princess. She had already ceased to have a physical form at the time that Princess Rei died, obviously. It is said Kurenai had the greatest magical potential out of all the Arch-Princesses."

    White Rose looks up at the castle as they return to Rootville. "Many of our tools were built by Lord Orlouge or our head Mystic craftsmen who once dwelled here in Facinaturu, by using her as a conduit for raw magic energy, to refine it and make will manifest. Eventually, the strain broke her body down and she stopped existing as a person. Aside from Gozarus forging things in her flames, she has no further ability to influence the world outside." There is a sadness in White Rose's voice, for obvious reasons. "During those periods where I am awake, I try to visit her when I can. She isn't always aware, but I think having someone to talk to helps keep her... Anchored. It reminds her she's still a person."

    Asellus grows more and more distraught as she hears this. By the time Rarity is slipping a bracelet on Asellus's wrist and giving her a hug, the latter is more than ready for the embrace. She hugs Rarity back, and says, "Thank you." Then she hugs each of the others in turn. "I'll look forward to it." she says to Josuke's offer of combat training wryly. "Maybe it will be easier than Ildon's."

    She hugs Marisa last, but not least. Squeezing her tight. She has her own magical scent: Roses. "Don't do anything that will get you hurt." she says softly, before letting the magician go. Then, before things can get any more emotional, she turns and heads up the stairs to the front gate.

    White Rose tells them where the bar is, just up the stairs on the west side, bows and thanks them, and then moves to follow after Asellus.

    Whether they linger or set off at once, once they arrive in the bar, they'll find there's an orange-haired man in a bandana sitting at a table. He seems distinctly human, and his demeanor doesn't seem as downtrodden and oppressed and fearful as the other humans in Rootville. An outsider maybe?

    And if there's an outsider here...

    ...Maybe there's another way in and out of Facinaturu.
Rarity Rarity watchs the two head back towards the castle, waiting until they're sure they've actually left. "When the time comes, we'll be able to find her."

A bit of a sly smile cross her features as she turns back to her remaining companions as they go to check out this bar. "While I meant everything I said, that gift does serve another purpose. I posess magic, via my special talent, that can locate gemstones with reasonable accuracy. In case they try to hide her away." She quickly shakes off thinking about all those coffins. Brrr.

"Let's find this bar. After all this even I could use a drink." Though probably not a very strong one.
Josuke Higashikata Josuke is very sharply not happy to hear Princess Kurenai's story. He very much does not like any of this, and the more he hears about this place, the more he doesn't like about it! He DEFINITELY needs to talk to someone about these Mystics!

His return hug is without anything untoward. He likes Asellus, but not like THAT. He admires her for facing all this so bravely, that's all! Though the note of his combat training being easier? "Well. Yeah. I can't bring you back to life if you die." It's a bit of a dark joke, but the grim smirk notes that it IS a joke.

As for that guy at the bar? That's probably who Josuke is going to be asking questions about the Mystics. It might be hard to get in contact with the guy again, but he'll try to get what information he can.

After that, though, he'll probably just go on home. He wouldn't know how long he'd be stuck hiding here if he tried to do that, and he DOES eventually have to go back to school. Besides, his mother would be worried.
Marisa Kirisame Marisa learns two things from the trip to the bar. The first is that the fire really is-- or /was/ a Princess, and might in fact be the source of so much of Fascinaturu's magical power. That gives her a few ideas. The second is that /Asellus smells super pretty./ Like, extremely pretty. Marisa holds the hug for just a little longer than is probably appropriate because of how pretty she smells.

Like flowers.

Not at all like this rough and tumble country bumpkin of a witch who turns mushrooms into potions, explosives and power-ups.

She's almost sad to see her go.

...But there is business to be done. The witch tilts the brim of her hat down over her eyes and gives the others a brief wave, "I'mma go talk to some of the locals. Maybe there's something else we can pick up." Like that guy in the corner there.

...

...Curiously, when it comes time to leave, the Witch is... Nowhere to be found.

Where did she get off to?

.../What/ is she /getting/ up to?

(Hijinks)