OPEN ● there's a darkness upon me that's flooded in light

[hightiderising]

WHO: Xion and YOU!
WHERE: All over Heropa
WHEN: The first few weeks of October
WHAT: Xion tries to adjust to this new world and needs lots of help along the way
WARNINGS: None anticipated; will update if this changes

1.
[It's been a few days since Xion's arrival and she's had some time to adjust. Granted, it hasn't been easy - mostly because of all the free time she has. Now, this obviously teenage girl should be in school, but she's very much not. It's not on purpose, mind you - she just doesn't know how school works. What days does she even go in? Who knows.

So, in this "free" time, Xion has decided to try to go to the beach. The beach is one of her favorite places in the world to be, and nothing would make her feel closer to home than a day spent picking sea shells before the weather gets too cold to allow that.

There's one problem, however. Xion doesn't know how to get to the beach. She has her portals, sure, but they only work when she knows where she's going. Saix would typically open a portal for her when she was going to a new world or location. She's going to have to do this the normal way - the human way. She uses her phone to find the closest bus station and works from there.

It's an easy walk... and then a choice between six buses. The route maps on each bus's sign mean almost nothing to her, filled with unfamiliar names of landmarks and streets. When she tries to check her phone for help, the battery is dead. Was she supposed to charge this or something? No one told her that!

Well, she can figure it out on her own. Who needs GPS? She gets right on the first bus without hesitation.

--And ends up dropped off somewhere in the suburbs at the end of the line. That's not right at all. She hadn't even seen any beaches along that route! Defeated, she opens a portal in plain sight and steps back out at the bus station.

Bus #2 takes her past museums of taxidermy, yarn, and historic planes and leaves her at The Alligator Hut, an alligator-shaped two story building dedicated to teaching the public all about the wonders of alligators. Rare fossils and a gift shop were advertised on the sign outside. Interesting, buuuut not what she had in mind. Xion summons a portal and steps back out once again at the bus station.

The next two buses do her even less good and when she portals back to the station the last time, she's exhausted, slumped over, sweating in her heavy leather coat, and looking somewhere inbetween depressed and frustrated and about to scream. She slumps down in a huff on the ground. She just... needs a moment, that's all. She can still do this.]

2.
[Something Xion has learned recently is that humans love coffee. She likes trying new things (cautiously), and if it's this popular, it has to be really good, right? Besides, a hot drink sounds nice on these chilly fall mornings. So one Saturday morning, Xion walks down to the coffee shop closest to Heropa's government housing and waits in line along with a ton of other totally normal people that totally know what they're doing here.

Finally, her turn comes, and she steps up to the counter, looks up into the vast menu and-- blanks.

What is this stuff? There's a coffee, sure, but with a ton of other options. And what's with all the flavorings being offered? What's pumpkin spice? She doesn't think vegetables belong in coffee, right? That doesn't sound good at all. What's an espresso? What's a latte? A macchiato? Mocha?

Someone behind her yells for her to hurry up.]

S-sorry! Just one coffee, please.

[But that doesn't satisfy the barista. "What size? Do you want creamer or milk? Hot or iced?" It's endless.]

U-um--

[Help.]


OOC: Character specific starters in tags. For your own, more specific starter, hit me up on plurk at MahouShoujo!

Comments

locked to poor Jessica Jones

[hightiderising]

[Xion is probably one of the best roomates someone could have. She's quiet, she never has friends over or plays loud music, or stays up late like you'd expect a 15 year old girl to do. Her room is even still bare, save for one tiny seashell on her nightstand.

Mostly, she stays out of everyone's way. But not today.

Nobodies don't need to eat to survive, but she enjoys it sometimes, anyway, and on this particular morning, she's craving pancakes. How hard could making them be? She finds a recipe online, tagged "easy" and "beginner" so she's pretty sure she can handle it. And so begins Xion's trek around the kitchen, climbing up a chair to reach the shelf that houses the flour, gathering the other ingredients: milk, sugar, salt, and an egg. She couldn't find baking powder but she did find baking soda and that seems like the same thing, right?

Measurements are also in "cups" so Xion gets a coffee mug from the cupboard and uses that to scoop the flour into the bowl. One egg goes in whole, shell and all, and is promptly crushed up as she mixes everything together. She spoons her horrible crunchy mistake into a frying pan (ungreased). She doesn't consider that any of this may be wrong until the smoke starts rising from the pan. That's not normal, right?]

oh dear god

[hardedged]

[ to be fair, jessica jones can't criticize anyone else's culinary skills because she lacks them entirely. however, she can bitch about someone nearly burning the house down. after noticing a strange smell and a few peculiar noises coming from the kitchen, she leaves her room to investigate. as she heads down the hall and turns the corner, her eyes widen in alarm. ]

Shit. [ she's frozen only for a few seconds, observing the fire grow, before her body instinctively springs into action. ] Get back!

[ she grabs xion by her shoulders, lifting the young girl up effortlessly and moving her to the side. then, jess charges in, reaching for a damp hand towel by the sink and throwing it over the fire. it takes a minute, but she's able to smother the flames. ]

[hightiderising]

[Xion's lifted up like the doll she technically is and plopped down onto the ground. She stays there, obediently keeping back from the fire. She realizes suddenly she could just use Blizzaga to freeze the fire... and then all the trouble Demyx would get into when he'd use his water magic in the castle. It's probably a bad idea.

Once the fire dies down, Xion sneaks over to peer past Jess's shoulder.]

I'm sorry. I don't know what I did wrong.

[She did Everything wrong.]

[hardedged]

[ she breathes a sigh of relief, trying to calm down and suppress the urge to swear. xion is only a child, and it's difficult to feel too upset when she's already expressed remorse, but damn, is jessica still annoyed. ]

You set the kitchen on fire.

[hightiderising]

I could have fixed it.

[She holds up her hand, and a tiny puff of ice and snowflakes puff out of nowhere.]

But then the kitchen would be frozen.

[hardedged]

[ out of surprise, she blinks at the small display of power. jess is still getting used to the idea of superhuman abilities being commonplace. ]

You've done enough.

[ that deadpan quip sounds harsher than she intends. there's a beat of silence as she wipes her brow and exhales again. ]

What were you trying to make, anyway?

[hightiderising]

[That deadpan quip makes her flinch. She's used to being talked to that way, but she still doesn't like it. Saix would always threaten to get rid of her or turn her into a Dusk every time she messed up back at the castle.]

I was trying to make pancakes. I'll do better next time!

[The frantic tone in her voice gives away her exact feelings.]

[hardedged]

[ jess is surprised yet again, observing xion's reaction with mild concern. her tone softens, and she reaches out to steady the girl with a hand on her shoulder. ]

Hey, relax. It's fine.

[hightiderising]

It's fine...?

[Xion looks over at the smoking ruins of her crunchy, botched pancakes and the mess she left all over the kitchen. Is Jess sure about that?]

[hardedged]

[ her hand drifts back to her side, as she straightens up to look over the kitchen. she snorts dryly. ]

Not as bad as the mess at my old place. We'll clean it up later.

[ she shoves her hands into her pockets, shrugging a bit and tilting her head to glance at xion. an idea starts to form. ]

Still want pancakes?

[hightiderising]

Yes?

[Is this a trick question? At least this lady doesn't seem that angry with her anymore, which relaxes Xion a bit. But she still probably owes her an explanation, doesn't she?]

This is my first time living on my own. I've only ever cooked once, maybe twice before. It looks so easy when other people do it.

[hardedged]

[ jess gives a pointed look, shoving her hands into her pockets. ]

Yeah well, it's not. Leave it to the professionals.

[ ready to abandon the kitchen, she moves for the exit. ]

Come on.

[hightiderising]

[So... She's friendly now? Okay. Xion can go with that... and Jess. She quickly dashes over to catch up with her, leaving the mess of the kitchen for another time.]

By the way... Thank you.

[hardedged]

[ jess pauses, unsure how to accept her gratitude, and opts for not making a comment. soon enough, they leave the house, and she leads the way out. ]

There's a diner around here. Coffee's crap, but they have decent pancakes.