destinystrings | (no subject)

Entry tags:

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Who: Hoshi Takeda and open.
Where: All over the place.
Summary: Yet another arrival log; Hoshi is lost and confused and also sad. 8c
Warnings: None at the moment. Feel free to tag with action brackets rather than prose, if you'd prefer!

The concept of loneliness is not a foreign one to Hoshi; for nine years, she has always been alone, in some fashion. But even then, she'd always had Hotaru, the strange purple wolf that appeared on her doorstep the night her mother was killed, by her side. Ever since then, Hotaru had always been there and now, suddenly, she is not. Her friends, too: the first people she has been able to open up to in almost a decade are worlds away as well.

"I'm alone," she says softly, and it's a painful realization.

She unhooks a key from her belt and clenches her fist around it, squeezing so tightly her knuckles turn white. Moping about her friends accomplishes nothing. She must fend for herself now, just as she did before she met any of them. And as long as she has that key, she can survive. Maybe she can even defend this city, too, just as she did for Sugikishi. This could be another twist of fate; just as she was destined to become a Magical Hunter, perhaps coming to this place on her own was meant to be as well.

With this in mind, she tucks her hands in her pockets and walks forward - wanders, more like, looking all around with the quiet wonder that can only be found on the face of someone new to the city. She notes places of interest to herself as she passes them - shops, schools, anything that seems useful or bizarre - though she doesn't enter any buildings. She only peers in the windows.

She quickly finds that all this wandering around, however aimless it might be, puts her at ease, if just a little bit. If she can't find her friends, she'll find a purpose eventually. Or at least some answers.

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So this was what it looked like when you arrived! What luck, Lash had just been in a building nearby to purchase materials when the system went off, warning her of a nearby arrival. Nothing too far, just a few blocks away. She could afford the detour.

Besides, she was bored.

As she ran, pushing some of the populace (polite as ever), there would be a flash of hair as she jumped to see if she could get a better look. She was, after all, barely five feet tall. Even here, others could be tall giants compared to her.

"HEY!" her voice was childlike, piercing. Lash was ignoring the stares of the populace. "HEY YOU'RE NEW HUH? YEAH! YOU OVER THERE! I'M TALKING TO YOU!" she was still a far bit away, but that didn't stop her from screaming it all out. Hope Hoshi wasn't planning on doing this quietly.

Of course Hoshi had planned for a quiet day. She always does. But if there's anything that she learned from her friends, it's that nothing ever turns out quite the way you plan them. Even so, the sound of Lash's voice came as a surprise to her, interrupting her thoughts, and she whirled around to see who was yelling at her.

A small young girl, yelling much louder than was necessary, and heading straight for her.
People were starting to stare, making her feel more than a little uncomfortable. She took a few steps back, slowly inching away from the crowds of people, as though that would make her fall back under the radar. But with the way this person was acting, there was no getting away without being noticed now.

She raised a curious eyebrow at the girl as she approached. "What do you want?"

Pffft who cares if they got noticed or not! Lash didn't really care. Instead she waved here hand up and down, showing her the watch.

"Nothing really!" She'd just screamed a lot because she could. "But you're new here, aren't you? Come on, you can tell me! I already know anyway, tee hee hee!" Before the other could ask, she flashed the watch again, then tapped at her ear as some glasses popped up.

"I can tell you 'cause of these! There's a program installed by the government for whenever newcomers show up. Something about us giving off an energy signature or whatever."

Hoshi furrowed her eyebrows, thinking on whether or not she should be annoyed with the girl or just plain confused. For the time being, she settled on the latter, and did her best to ignore the staring.

"Yes, I'm new." Her voice was flat as she peered curiously at the other girl's watch. An odd device, unlike any of the gadgets one would find back home, but it seemed to be a useful tool. "Your watch told you that?"

With Lash it could be from both columns, truthfully. With a grin, she nodded.

"Yeap! I just explained why!" Geeze, had she not been listening?! "You'll get one too! Along with these!" She tapped the side of her ear and the comp system formed into the pair of side glasses.

"We look really stupid with 'em, but they're free! This place is pretty get! You get a weird thing coming out of your body called a Persona, then they give you an apartment and they just expect us to protect the city! Tee hee hee, they crack me up."

Yeah, it was a laugh a minute this city saving business, let me tell you.

How could anyone find this funny? The more she spoke, the more this girl baffled Hoshi.

"We are expected to protect this place?" she asked, surprised. Well, that had sort of been her intention anyway - Hoshi was no stranger to defending the defenseless and all that heroic business, after all. But the fact that she had been brought here for exactly that purpose was unexpected. "Persona... coming out of my body?"

What on earth had she been dragged into this time?

[Perhaps it was a twist of fate that another girl with an important key should stumble upon Hoshi mere minutes after her arrival in Hinoto-Ri. A very different sort of key, to be sure, but a key nonetheless.

The key's owner has learned by now how to recognize newcomers to the city. Being the conscientious sort and remembering what it was like when she came here herself, Nano decides to slowly approach the girl.]

Excuse me... um, are you new in town?

[Hoshi slowly turns from whatever landmark she was inspecting to face the girl. The first thing she notices, of course, is the key in her back - very different, indeed, from the one she holds in her hand. She tries not to stare, so as not to be rude, which is difficult, all things considered. This city is even stranger than she thought.

But whoever or whatever she is, it doesn't matter right now.

She answers the girl's question with a nod:] I suppose you could say that, yes. Do you know anything about this place?

[It's all right, Nano's more or less used to staring at this point. She does shuffle back and forth briefly while she's waiting for Hoshi's answer, though.]

Um... yes. It's called Hinoto-Ri. We were all brought here by a man named Philemon and given the power of Persona to help save this world.

Save the world? From... what, exactly?

[Unease flickers across her face for a brief moment. Saving the world was her intention, more or less, but if there are Devouring to be found here as well, that's more than a little alarming.

She almost wonders if this kid is a magical girl, too, except--]

What, exactly, is this "Persona"?

Um... well...

[She honestly isn't completely sure.]

There are demons that come out at night, so probably those.

[But she's more confident about the other question.]

Do you remember having a dream before you woke up here? With a man in a mask? Did he tell you about them?

I see. They only come out at night?

[She'll have to look into the demon issue later on, see if they are the same as the Devouring, or a whole new threat altogether. Either way, it sounds like she has her work cut out for her. If only the others were here...

When Nano mentions a dream and a man in a mask, though, her eyes widen as the memory returns to her.]

Ah...! Yes, that does sound familiar. [She frowns.] It was not a dream?

Um... the bad ones do. There are nice ones that just live around the city and help people out, too.

[It's confusing and contradictory, perhaps purposely so. Nano shakes her head at the other question.]

No, it was real. The man in the mask's name is Philemon, and he gives everyone who comes here a Persona, but you have to wake it up yourself.

[Nice demons? Contradictory indeed, but Hoshi will roll with it for now. The whole Persona thing has her intrigued. She's fairly certain she could get by without, but even so, it's difficult to turn down more help.]

Who is this Philemon, who has the power to appear in our dreams and give us such a thing?

[Yeah, she doesn't get it either.]

I... don't know. I've never seen him besides that one time.

And no one else has either, I assume? Strange. [And suspicious, but it doesn't seem like there's anything she can do about that at the moment.

Might as well worry about things that she can do, anyway. MOVING RIGHT ALONG:]

How does one awaken their Persona?

I don't think so, no.

Oh, I can help you with that, though! Mine awakened when I was being attacked by monsters. I think that's how everyone gets theirs.

[Attacked by monsters? Well, it makes sense, if this Persona business is meant for combat. And it's easy enough, for her; she's sure she'll be getting into a fight sooner or later.]

So I will have to wait until nightfall. Very well, then. [She bows her head politely.] Thank you very much, for answering my questions...

[And then she sort of falters and trails off. This is where a normal girl who understands social cues would ask for the other person's name. Hoshi is not that girl. HERP A DERP.]

Are you going to be all right by yourself? I can help back you up, if you'd like.

[Because Nano is nothing if not conscientious.]

Oh! I'm sorry. My name is Nano. Nano Shinonome.

[She bows her head politely, hands folded in front of her.]

[Aw, Nano. Her offer makes Hoshi feel... flattered, almost, if a bit confused. Why would anyone want to help her, when they've only just met? She's not used to this.]

Shinonome-san. [She bows again, because wow these two are polite as fuck aren't they.] I am Hoshi Takeda. Thank you, again, but I will be all right on my own.

[Because demons ain't shit to a Magical Hunter.]

[Nano likes to help people!]

It's nice to meet you, Takeda-san.

[She'll move to a first name basis once they know each other better.]

Well, if you're sure...

Nikolai's out having a smoke break at work, which would be outside the Ichiban Market in Virgo Ward. He notices Hoshi wander up and peer into the windows of the store, so he speaks up.

"Looking for anything in particular?"

Hoshi blinks when Nikolai speaks, glancing around to make sure it's actually her that he's speaking to. After so many years of keeping to herself, bringing as little attention to herself as possible, it's a little jarring to have people approaching her like this.

But that's what happens when you wander around gaping at everything, she supposes.

"Not... really," she replies. "Getting my bearings. Learning where things are." There's a pause, and she sort of struggles to find something else to say, before finishing lamely: "I'm new."

She's gotten better over the past few months, but social interaction still is not her strongest suit.

"I see. This town is bigger than it looks, so it's a lot to take in. It took a few weeks for me to not get lost. A lot of shops are here in Virgo, though, if that helps."

He pauses to take a drag on his cigarette. He seemed like a quiet person himself, with a flat voice and matching expression. "I don't know if I can be of help, but I have been here for five months, so I'm aware of things happen here, if you have any questions."

He wasn't sure of how much help he could be, but he knew how he felt when he first got here. Five months later and he still had a lot of questions.

Hoshi nods along respectfully as Nikolai speaks, keeping her expression neutral as she takes note of what he says. Shops are found in the Virgo Ward; helpful, indeed. That expression changes just slightly, however, when she raises her eyebrows at the mention of how long he's been here. Five months... She hadn't expected hear that anyone had been stuck here much longer than her.

"You have been here that long?" she asks, her surprise just barely evident in her voice. "That is a long time to be away from home."

Io, going about her everyday business, notices this girl just... stopping to look at things. That weird old castle that had turned up, and the JP's headquarters, and more ordinary places as well.

And she grew curious...

"Excuse me, but... why are you looking at buildings so closely?"

Hoshi looks up, somewhat surprised by the other girl's question. She didn't think she'd been acting too strangely, but she'd had a feeling she would attract attention, wandering around like this. After spending her whole life in one city, being "new in town" was a strange concept to her.

"No reason," she replies. In truth, looking around the city had been a fine distraction from everything that had been weighing on her mind. "Just getting a feel for this place."

"Oh, so you're new then."

Interesting. Usually new Visitors all come in at around the beginning of the month, but now it was mid-April...

"Has the city government given you your apartment yet?"

"Correct. I arrived here in the city only recently." If it had been up to her, she would have shown up at the usual time, alongside others in the same situation as her. It would have made blending in easier.

"Apartment...?" She shakes her head. Government-issued housing is news to her. "No, I have not."

"They're headquartered in Leo ward; you'll get your room assignment and key when you stop by. I'm pretty sure a few people have moved out of them later, so that is an option if you want to take it."

No matter how much she thinks the government is being really shifty they are still doing a public service, and she at least respects them for that.

"The Leo Ward... I see." The fact that such housing is even available is both a relief and a frustration for her. It's nice to know that she has a place to stay, should she need it, but it also confirms that she'll likely be sticking around for a while.

"Thank you," she adds, bowing her head. "Is it safe to assume that I am not able to return home, then...?"

"I've heard you can, but also that it usually doesn't stick. I'm not sure how you would try that, though..."

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I suck forever the story the anime. Also Lash is rude.

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I am the slowest of the slow sob

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