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[therewerefifty]

[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.]

Comments

[therewerefifty]

It's possible. I've never heard of Hikarizaka City, but I haven't travelled much.

I'm from Edo... of... no particular district. [Not anymore, anyway.]

[etudes]

.. I haven't travelled much either.. [ Heck, she's hardly even left her house, how could she be expected to leave the city. ]

Maybe we just lived near each other all this time and never realised. Wouldn't that be weird..?

[therewerefifty]

Perhaps we might have met each other one day, then. [It's an amusing thought.] But in the meantime, I suppose we both now hail from Luceti. How long have you been here?

[etudes]

.. Hmm.. how long, I wonder.. [ Since she's always so out of it she actually has to think about this for a while.. she has no clue how long it's been since all the days are the same to her, but if she puts a little thought into it she can figure it out. ]

Maybe.. one and a half years..? Something like that.

[therewerefifty]

...that's quite a long time. Is your family here?

[etudes]

[ Ah. Awkward topic. Her blank expression actually changes a little because of it as she shakes her head. ]

They're.. dead.

[therewerefifty]

[Ah. Good one, Makie. She glances down.]

I'm sorry. I shouldn't have asked.

[etudes]

N.. no, it's okay. [ She still looks a little sad, but at least she's not freaking out about it.. the time here has helped her at least a little bit. .. A really tiny bit. ]

They've been gone for a really, really long time already.

[therewerefifty]

[...]

Do you have friends here?

[etudes]

Ah.. I do. [ At least she can say that. And the thought of it cheers her up a little. ]

I have a lot of precious friends here. I'm really, really grateful for all of them. And I'm even Ikki-kun's precious treasure.

[therewerefifty]

That's good. As long as you have others who can look out for you.

[etudes]

.. Uh-huh. I think it's much better than being alone.. after all, being alone is very, very sad.

[therewerefifty]

Mm. [She's not sure what to say to that. Makie thinks she's right, but all the same it's not something she worries about herself.]

I wonder if others from my... well. Others that I know. I wonder if they might arrive.

[etudes]

Probably..

[ Maybe she's trying to reassure the other person a little, but.. well, it's true there's a chance. Kotomi's not the type to lie. ]

I mean.. people from my world have been here a lot before too. So I'm sure people from Makie-chan's world will be here too.

[therewerefifty]

Well... I think I'd be fine if many of them didn't come. But there's one or two I'll most definitely miss.

[etudes]

.. Were those two your friends and the rest weren't.. something like that..?

[therewerefifty]

No, I just didn't know anyone very well. But there was a woman I worked with who...

...well, she'd like it here. [...it's more free.]

[etudes]

[ Didn't know anyone well? .. Huh, Kotomi can't help but think that just sounds really, really sad.. ]

Then I'll hope for her to turn up here along with you. If both Makie-chan and I are hoping, there's already more hope for it. So the chance is bigger.

[therewerefifty]

...that's right. [She doesn't really believe it, but it's still a nice thought.] Her name is Omatsu, so... if you ever meet a woman by that name, you can tell her I'm here.

[etudes]

Omatsu.. [ She's memorizing it already! This task is now really important to her, since one of her friends asked her, so she'll definitely try her best..! ]

I'll tell her. And then maybe when the three of us are all here, we can do something fun.. like have a tea party. Isn't that what people do to have fun?

[therewerefifty]

[What is this fun concept you speak of :|a

--no seriously, she looks a little taken aback by that. For a moment. A tea...party? Is that like a tea ceremony or--

--well, she can grasp the general concept.]

I think that would be lovely, Kotomi-chan.

[etudes]

[ Don't worry, Kotomi only learned recently too. And tea parties are fun to her since that's what she did with her parents.. she hardly knows about actual friend activities. ]

.. Really..? [ Her face lights up. Quite a bit - it's a blank smile, but still pretty big.. ] I'm so glad..! I've never had a tea party before here..

[therewerefifty]

Neither have I. It'll be quite an interesting experiment.

[etudes]

Then let's make sure to learn very carefully together, Makie-chan. So we can make sure to have the best tea party ever. [ You could sound more enthusiastic instead of blank, Kotomi.. ]

[therewerefifty]

[It's enough that Makie wonders about the blankness. But given what the girl said about her family...]

The best one we've ever had. [That's possibly a joke.]