(open) help out a newbie

[reloves]

🧙 WHO: Minako Aino and you!
⚔️️ WHAT: Minako is new to town, so it's time to explore.
🕒 WHEN: Mid-July
🗺️ WHERE: Camelot
⚠️ WARNINGS: Should be none, will edit if that changes!


(a. at the senshi (and friends!) house)

[ Minako's arrival hadn't exactly been.. pleasant. Somewhere between everything being so chaotic back home right before she showed up here instead, then suddenly being dropped into the water out of nowhere, and then getting covered in gross jelly stuff didn't exactly make it the most fun course of events.

But at least Makoto helped her over to the house, and now Minako has been able to bathe and get all that junk out of her hair, things are starting to look up a little more. Or at least, Minako thinks she looks presentable enough to be seen by others.

Which means she starts wandering the house, peeking her head into all the rooms so she can greet people with a: ]

Hi! [ You know, casual. Just showed up here. No biggie. ]

(b. on the streets of camelot)

[ If you just happen to be calmly walking along the city streets, your moment of relative peace and quiet gets interrupted really, really quickly.

Because you might suddenly feel something jumping on you. It happens so fast that you can't even see what it is, other than that there's a sudden pressure on your head, like something is clinging on for dear life up there. If you try to remove it - which is possible if you put some effort into it - you'll find it's a cat. A kind of.. odd-looking cat, since it's a little too big for your usual cat, but it's still definitely a cat.

Or even if you don't manage to remove it, there's suddenly a blonde girl outright charging at you, yelling out-- ]

Wait!

[ What do you do. Do you run. Do you stay. Do you ponder why your life suddenly turned out like this? ]

(c. outside a bakery)

[ After having managed to recover her familiar, Minako is making sure to tightly hold it to her chest, not wantin to start an entire chase scene all over again.

Which means things are a little bit calmer right now. Instead you might find the blonde girl standing outside a bakery, staring at the delicious goods inside, looking like she's about to drool right over them. ]

Ahh, it looks so good, right? [ She squeezes the cat-like creature a little. ] Maybe you were just hungry too.. Rough is the fate of those who don't have money.. [ Please, Minako. You literally have a house full of friends you're staying with. Cut down on the melodramatics.

Still, her stomach growls. Loudly. That chase must have taken some energy. Do you help out this poor blonde girl. ]

(d. on the streets of camelot, less chaos edition)

[ Or maybe you, very simply, just find the girl walking up to you on the middle of the streets. Do you know her? Probably not! And yet she talks to you so casually, as if you're not total strangers. Welcome to the power of an extreme extrovert. ]

Hey! Sooo.. if someone wanted to practice these new powers everyone's talking about, where do they do that? Won't you help a cute girl out?

[ Look at her batting those doe eyes at you! You're locked into this fate now. It's inescapable. ]

(ooc: as a note for those who have threaded with me on the tdm, i am more than willing to carry those over as in-game canon, so feel free to assume those interactions happened! c: )

Comments

[beautyrest]

Worry not, I believe you. [She looked in the direction that Minako's familiar went, knowing Vivek was keeping a tab on him.]

But it does make one wonder what he's doing and why. Perhaps he is attempting to lead you somewhere?

[reloves]

...

[ Minako supposes that makes more sense than many other things she could think of.

She glances over at Aurora, looking a bit unsure. ]

Do you think we should see where those two have gone then..?

[beautyrest]

It cannot hurt. Shall we?

[She gestured in the direction the cat and Vivek went.]

My friends will show us the way they went. But we needn't rush, you have been running enough today.

[reloves]

Oh.. Thank you.

[ She starts walking together with the other, making sure to keep her eyes out while they're walking to spot them. It seems like they got quite a bit away though, since Minako can't see them right away..

So instead she glances over at the other while she walks. ]

You're.. um, very nice. You know, to suddenly do all this for me! [ Even though they only just ran into each other for the first time. ]

[beautyrest]

Not at all.

[She called out to a songbird who twirled around their heads before flying in the direction her owl and Minako's cat went, turning down an alley.]

And I am happy to help. Would you rather I not have?

[reloves]

[ Minako quickly shakes her head.

(Look, she's definitely noticing the way that Aurora seems to have asked a bird to help them out, but she's trying to ignore that right now, or they'll never get anywhere in a conversation.) ]

Oh, no, no, of course I'm glad you're helping me! [ That's not what she was trying to say! ] It's just that.. you know! Not everyone is so totally eager to help out a total stranger!

[beautyrest]

Well, I was taught not to speak to strangers, it's true. But I was also taught not to just abandon someone who needed help, and it seemed as though you needed help.

[reloves]

I think everyone gets told that at least once in their life.

[ The whole 'don't talk to strangers' thing, she means. ]

Though I threw that advice to the wind soon enough. I mean.. we're smart girls! Surely we can decide by ourselves whether someone seems like we can trust them or not, right? [ Minako nods. ] Just like you're doing right now!

[beautyrest]

I was frequently instructed to do it by my aunts.

But, they just meant well, even if they still treated me like a child. [And she was unaware she was essentially in the magical witness protection program.]

And I would like to hope that trust can extend into friendship with time, Minako.

[reloves]

[ .. By her aunts? For a moment Minako wonders if the other was actually raised by her aunts, but then again.. maybe she just had the kind of aunts who visit a lot and get all fussy. Minako knows some families have those.

So she instead focuses on the last thing the other says, which is something that makes her smile. Easily, and widely. ]

Oh, of course! What reason would there not be for us two to become friends, huh? [ Maybe it's a little overly friendly, but then again, 'shameless' is Minako's middle name. ] We're both cute, beautiful girls! Types like that need to band together against the cruelties of the world!

[beautyrest]

[Makoto will fill Minako in if she remembers to ask. And the mention of being cute and beautiful, Aurora giggled.]

Well, you are very kind... and correct. [She giggled again.] You are very lovely, Minako. And currently, we are banding together to figure out why your familiar is playing cat and mouse with well, the cat playing mouse.

[reloves]

Right.

[ There's only a slight moment, a slight pause, before she's already adding: ]

.. well, speak of the devil. [ Because it seems that they have found Minako's familiar! And Aurora's familiar, still watching over it. Currently Minako's familiar, the slightly odd cat, is sitting in the windowsill of a store that sells candy, staring inside. And - which they may notice when they get closer - drooling all over the store window. ]

[beautyrest]

Well, I think we have our answer. He did want to show you something. [She sang a tuneless melody to call out to her owl, who circled once in the air before moving to land on Aurora's shoulder.]

Ah, I think I better understand, now. [Aurora gestured to the sign near the front door: "No non-human creatures allowed inside store."]

[reloves]

Don't tell me.. [ Minako sighs as the pieces in her mind are starting to slowly click together.

The cat running away from her without any specific reason. The cat now sitting there, drooling all over the store window. ]

All this time, he just wanted candy?!

[beautyrest]

Only one to find out, hmm? Why don't you ask him what he'd like, Minako?

[She gave a gentle nudge to the small of Minako's back towards her cat.]

[reloves]

Wha-- O-Okay!

[ She figures that the other probably knows more about how this familiar business is supposed to work than her, after all, so Minako goes along with it. Still, she can't quite stop some awkwardness from slipping into her tone as she tries to speak up to the cat. ]

S-Sooo.. what.. were you looking at, huh?

[ Such a smooth operator, Minako.

But at least it seems to work! The cat removes his face from where it's squished up against the window, glancing back at Minako instead. ]

.. that cake. [ It says, slowly. ] I want that cake.

[ It's true that there is a huge, bright pink cake on display in the storefront. ]

[beautyrest]

[Aurora came beside Minako as she heard the cat mention he wanted the cake and smiled.]

You know, I'm sure a certain lovely blonde wearing a red ribbon in her hair would be happy to get you a slice if asked nicely and promised you won't keep running away from her.

[reloves]

[ Minako gives Aurora a surprised look when the other says that. There's a moment where it looks like Minako is trying really, really hard to mime something at Aurora, but it's totally impossible to understand it..

.. and after a moment the cat already turned around to look at them, making Minako instantly stop. ]

A-- A-Ahaha! Yes, totally! As long as you're nice, I'll get you that cake!

[ The cat seems to consider this for a moment, but then just lazily nods. Sounds like a deal to him!

But.. for some reason Minako over here is still looking very, very awkward about something. ]

[beautyrest]

[Once they're inside, Aurora lifted a brow and smiled, good-naturedly.]

Minako, shall I take a guess that you do not have the current funds for such a decadent baked good? Was that what all that miming was about?

Or is there something else I should know?

[reloves]

[ She gives a glance at the cat when Aurora asks her that, but thankfully the familiar seems very much distracted by all the food still to really go anywhere else. So it's just sitting out there, waiting for them.

But that's when Minako finally does look over at the other girl, her smile still a little awkward. ]

Uh.. Yeah. I mean, I'm living with some friends here, so at least I've got a roof over my head.. but it's not exaclty like I already have my own money here, you know? I actually can't buy anything for him right now.

[beautyrest]

I will take care of it, then. It was at my insistence, and you should not have to take responsibility when I spoke out of turn regarding your financial situation.

Forgive me for putting you in such a conundrum.

[reloves]

Ah--!

[ Minako's facial expression turns into one of surprise, and she quickly shakes her head. The last thing she wants is this other girl feeling guilty over her..! ]

I-It's fine! It's not like you did anything bad! [ Nothing that offends Minako, anyway. ] I think what you were assuming is pretty normal, you know? You should only buy it if you're sure you can, otherwise I'll.. um, I'll think of some other solution!

[ She waves one hand. ]

Don't worry about it!

[beautyrest]

I do not mind, especially if it will help you and your familiar bond faster. Think of it as a welcoming gift to Camelot, considering the drop in the lake is not even a little bit welcoming.

[reloves]

...

[ That makes her slowly smile again. ]

Thanks. That's.. actually a pretty great welcome gift. [ Especially since, as the other pointed out, the rest of her welcome hasn't exactly been amazing. ]

[beautyrest]

Then I insist. [She smiled at Minako before glancing at the window. She pulled out a small pouch of money and placed it in Minako's hand.]

That said, since we want your familiar to build his bond with you, you'll have to be the one seen doing it.