therewerefifty

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[Makie has had the facts of this place explained to her already, by a gentleman in a... fairly awkward situation.

It doesn't prepare her for the reality of a village with occupants like none she's ever seen before. Some of you aren't even human, Luceti. The hell. She wanders the path of the village from Community Building #1 down toward the plaza still in her New Feather dress, just like a gawking tourist, and spends some time staring at the fountain and plaza itself. Uh.

...right. Okay. Time to begin glancing through various shops in her attempts to find the places she was told her things would be. She finds her clothes with a measure of relief, and her shamisen at the item store-- and after she picks it up, she frowns. It's too light. She doesn't need to open it to know she's missing something.

Eventually, she'll find her way into the forge to pick up the last of her things, pays a visit to the Welcome Centre-- and then finally fetches up at the tea shop, which is the most familiar-looking thing here.

...sort of. Never really loses that dazed and confused look.]

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One of these, if it would be all right. [She indicates the Japanese-style seating. She's not entirely comfortable with the idea that everything's free, but pragmatically some things come first.] And green tea, please. Do you have... [Searching for something reasonably common.] ...rice cakes? Some other kind of food?

Sure, that's just fine.

[He'll just lead the way over to one of them and place a menu on the table for her to look over if she'd like.]

We can do rice cakes-- we pretty much only have traditional food here, but given your outfit, something tells me that won't be a problem.

I'm Emil, by the way... what's your name?

[Traditional, huh. If he recognises what she's wearing, though... Makie feels a small curl of relief.]

I am Makie Otono-Tachibana. [She bows slightly.] Two rice cakes and some green tea, then. Thank you.

[Little does she know that when he says "traditional," what he actually means is "traditional for Mizuho." But hey, it should be similar enough to make her feel more at home, at least.]

It's nice to meet you, Makie. I'll be right out with those in just a few minutes.

[And off he goes to the kitchen!]

[It's close enough!

She nods as he leaves, and then takes a seat with some relief on a cushion, still cradling her shamisen, and takes a moment to glance over the tea house. Not quite what she's used to, but...yes. Close enough.]

[Emil returns several minutes later bearing a tray with a small pot of green tea, a cup, and a plate with her requested rice crackers, which he sets down on the table in front of her and then takes the teapot to pour her some of the tea.]

So are you new here? I don't think I've seen you around town before.

I arrived just this morning. [It's amazing how many people have asked her this. Luceti seems so friendly. Makie smiles at him.] I've heard a lot about the village, though.

[And Emil smiles back, because these days it's rare that he ISN'T smiling.]

That's good. That means I don't have to try to explain things to you. I've been here for nearly five years and I'm still not very good at explaining this place and not ending up making things even more confusing in the process.

Five years...?

People really stay here that long?

[That's...a very long time. Maybe too long, even with all her patience.]

Not most of the time! I mean, there are a few people who have been here as long as I have, but most people end up being sent back home a lot sooner than that.

[A little more reassuring. She shifts focus] Still, that's a very long time. Do you miss home?

Sometimes I do. I miss my friends more than I miss my home itself. I... didn't exactly like where I lived that much.

[...]

Homes can be... difficult, sometimes.

I'm sorry. I didn't mean to bring up any awkward memories.

[Emil immediately shakes his head with a soft little smile.]

No, it's okay. Even if I didn't like my town, I got to travel to all sorts of great places there. I'm glad I got the chance to do that.

I suppose that's a good way of looking at it. [Though her answering smile is warm. It's a good attitude, though she still feels a little bad.] So has the tea shop been here all this time?

[He brightens up instantly at the subject change.]

Actually, it's only about two years old. The whole thing was Sheena's idea-- I guess they have places like this in Mizuho. That's the village she comes from.

Mizuho? [Almost sounds like it comes from Japan. She should find out, later. ~~In another thread.~~] It's the most familiar thing I've seen here. Well... [Her eyes drift to the less traditional side of the teahouse.] ...a little.

So... you aren't from Aselia, then?

[You know, just checking to be sure.]

[She shakes her head.] I'm from Japan.

Well... one of them. [Unsure.]

Oh, then you're from Earth.

[See, he knows things!]

I've read a lot about it in books, although I guess they're all kind of different, huh?

So I've been told... [She smiles wanly.] The Japanese that I've met so far have barely been recognisable.

Now that you mention it, there do seem to be a lot of people here from different versions of Earth. I wonder why that is? I haven't met anyone here from a different version of my world yet.

Aselia, is it...?

That's right. Have you heard of it before?

No, I'm afraid not. But... perhaps Aselia is a special place, for some reason.

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