yumemigaoka | there's a fork in the road (open)

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illyasviel von einzbern

there's a fork in the road (open)

⭐ Who: Illya and you!
⭐ When: July 1st, before the thunderstorm kicks in!
⭐ Where: Out around Yumemigaoka
⭐ What: Illya's waffling about being an active Dreamer. Maybe help give her advice?

(1. tanabata - in the store)

[ Though the stores may only have started stocking the supplies for Tanabata today, apparently someone already noticed them being there pretty early on. Illya is pretty into the idea of Tanabata, after all, and she does want to make a wish..

.. which is why you may find the girl in the store, staring at the coloured paper and the bamboo. Something seems a little off about her though, like Illya is deep in thought, despite.. just staring at what are basically just crafting supplies.

Whatever she's thinking about, she doesn't seem to be paying too much attention to her surroundings. She turns without looking, bumping right into you when you're either standing next to her or trying to pass her - though she does have the decency to immediately look embarrassed after briefly startling. ]

Oh, sorry..! Um, you-- did you also want to get some stuff for Tanabata..?

[ Is she trying to make some awkward small talk to make up for the bumping-into-you thing? Absolutely. Or maybe she's trying to distract from how out of it she seemed a moment ago. ]

(2. hesitation - near the dreamer union headquarters)

[ Later that day Illya can be seen somewhere else entirely. In fact, maybe you have actually seen her there before, if you go near or into the Dreamer Union headquarters often enough. It hasn't been for too long yet, but for the past few days this girl definitely has been hanging out near the building - seeming to walk closer to it, only to shake her head and walk back.. after which the pattern repeats all over again.

The same thing is happening today. Seems a little weird, huh? Maybe you'd like to go ask her what's up, regardless of whether you know or don't know the girl acting so oddly. ]

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Aah!

[ That's a sound that's definitely the midway point between a yelp and an actual shriek. It's not even that Ai is sounding particularly sinister or saying anything bad, but Illya definitely was just so caught up in her own thoughts here that she didn't think a single moment of how this might look to other people.

Or that, you know, someone might speak up about it.

She turns to look at the other, the young girl's eyes so wide that it looks like she's seeing a ghost, rather than just another person. Most of what Ai is saying definitely didn't register with Illya's brain, leaving the only thing it could latch on to in time as: ]

S-Some people here bite?!

[ That's clearly the most important part of Ai's entire dramatic act, right? ]

[ Oh no. It's so beyond mean to laugh at a girl this small and this worked up, but when she gets a reply like that, Ai can't help it. Her laughter's all sunshine and no malice, at least, as is the smile she beams Illya's way once she composes herself. ]

Sorry, sorry! Just a figure of speech. [ There's still a giggle underlying her words. ] Even if it wasn't, they'd never take a bite out of a newbie doing her best.

[ Not... helping...

Neither is the way that sunshine smile seems to intensify in brightness. ]

You are newbie, am I right?

[ Definitely not helping.

Sure, the person standing in front of her right now looks amazing to Illya. Ai is pretty, and she does seem like she's being sweet, even if some of the things she's saying are a little scary. She's got to be a Dreamer if she's saying all of this, right? Those always seem amazing. No wonder this girl might be one of them.

Illya starts looking more shy with the moment, like the surprise that slowly seeps out of her only leaves that shyness in its wake as she nods just a little bit. ]

I, um..

[ .. it feels weird. She hasn't really admitted this yet to many people. Almost no one.

Can she say it out loud now? It almost seems wrong. ]

I had my awakening.. just a little while ago.

[ At that, Ai's expression finally softens a bit and that glaring sunshine finally eases off into something warmer and a little less blinding. She'd been teasing a little to try and break the tension but it looks like she's gone and had the opposite effect. Maybe it's just the Mom Instincts of it all, but she really can't pick on a girl like this, even if it's all in good fun. Jeez, she's getting soft. ]

I see. Congratulations, then! I bet you're feeling super overwhelmed by it all, huh? It's a really big change.

[ She takes a step towards the DU building and inclines her head towards it, encouraging Illya to follow. ]

Want to come in and have a little look around? You don't have to sign up or do anything official, but we've got a whole bunch of things just for newbies like you.

[ Her smile takes a turn for cheeky again and she gives Illya a wink. ]

And – don't tattle on me – but I just might know where some of the really tasty snacks got hidden this month.

[ Illya nervously shifts her weight between her feet. Even though Ai is being really nice here, she can't help but still feel a little antsy - even if it makes her feel kind of guilty in the face of such kindness.

It's okay, she tells herself. It's like Ai says, probably.. she can just walk in and not have to do anything, right? If it's scary, she can just walk out. M-Maybe sneak out, rather, since she wouldn't want to disappoint someone so nice..

So despite the fact that the apprehension is still visible on her face, clear as day, she cautiously asks: ]

Are there snacks for anyone..?

Sure are! And I was the one who did our little restock last month so I can tell you for sure that there's plenty to go around.

[ In fact, they could probably do with... getting rid of more of them... she kind of went overboard when it came to bringing back souvenirs from the office. ]

We've got some nice teas, too if you like tea – or maybe you'd like a hot chocolate better? It's just instant stuff but it's not bad!

That sounds like so much..

[ It really does. Honestly, it's kind of overwhelming - to a point where any other kid might worry if this is some sort of stranger danger thing. Like being lured into a white van, except here it's being lured into an office building.

But Illya's head is still way too crowded with other thoughts to even consider that one. ]

I-It's not like I have to do anything after having a little bit of hot chocolate or a snack, right? I mean, I.. um, I don't know if I'm ready to be a Dreamer for real..

[ Ah. This girl's even more wary than Ai had initially thought – it stirs something like concern in her chest and she finally sets her sunglasses properly on top of her head and offers Illya what she hopes is a reassuring hand. ]

You don't have to do anything you're not ready to do. If you decide it's not for you, then nobody's going to try and force you. What sort of horrible grown ups would we be if we tried that?

[ Her smile is warm and encouraging – but it's gentle, too. ]

Big changes are scary. All I want to do is try and make it just a little less scary for you. Okay?

[ See, the upside of all of this is at least that Illya has never really had to deal with horrible grown ups before. Talk of those always feels distant - like news stories, like something that wouldn't actually happen in real life. Even though she feels scared about the idea of being a Dreamer, she isn't really considering that Ai as a person might be lying to her here.

So she nods. ]

.. okay.

[ That does sound kind of nice, after all. Being helped. Making it less scary. After all-- ]

I'd.. like for it to be less scary. [ She looks a little flustered as she says it, like she's embarrassed, but she'll take that reassuring hand she's being offered here. ] Um, if that's not a dumb thing to say..

[ Surely most people deal with the entire Dreamer thing a lot better than Illya currently is doing, right? ]

Of course it's not. Making things less scary is my job.

[ She favours Illya with that reassuring smile for a few moments longer before finally leading her along into the DU office. Getting her in here is probably the hardest part - the first step in any journey is the scariest one and from here, the girl should probably have an easier time taking the rest by herself. If Ai can help, then that's what she'll do.

She makes sure to give a cheery 'good morning!' to everyone as she passes through - the friendlier she makes the place seem, the less daunting it'll be. ]

Alright! [ That's directed to Illya. ] There's a lounge upstairs where we can have a little chat. It's a little more private and it won't be as busy. Once we're sat down, we can have a proper talk about what you want to do, okay?

[ Once they enter the building - and especially when they pass by all sorts of people - Illya noticably starts walking even closer to Ai. As far as that's even possible anyway, given the fact that they're holding hands, but the girl sure seems to be giving it a good effort anyway. Like being near Ai will protect her from all these strangers whose intentions she doesn't know.

It's most likely also part of why Illya is so much more quiet than her companion. She doesn't greet any of the people they pass, her gaze instead turned downward at the ground, the only sound coming from her a small: ]

Alright.

[ --when Ai asks her about that last part.

Sorry, Ai. Maybe Illya will get more chatty again when it's just the two of them, but right now she's really trying to convince her own nerves enough to not let her feet turn around and race right out of the building again. S-She's still following Ai! She can make it there..!! ]

[ With more tact than you might have expected considering her high energy cheeriness, Ai makes no comment on Illya's silence and avoids drawing any attention to her as she chatters away to everyone passing by. She skips the elevator – she has a feeling it would be like putting a jittery cat into a carrier to take it to the vet – and directs them up the stairs and over to a quiet lounge just off the hallway. True to her word, there's nobody else around. ]

Right! You can take a seat and I'll get some snacks and drinks ready. Is there anything you'd really like? I can see if we've got it!

[ Illya sits down with all the grace of a duck trying to flee a rapidly approaching human - probably even nervously wiggling back and forth while sitting on the chair, like there's a whole lot of nervous energy within her that she doesn't really have any other outlet for. ]

Um..

[ Her gaze flutters over at Ai, hesitant. Is it really okay to ask, even if Ai is being so nice.. and so radiant.. ]

Hot chocolate, maybe..? I-If it's not too much to ask for! [ Especially while she doesn't even know yet whether or not she'll actually join in the end.

Though - at the very least - she's determined to keep sitting on this chair, rather than rushing out while Ai is busy grabbing everything for them. S-She should at least hear Ai out! ]

Hot chocolate coming right up!

[ There's a fancy little hot drinks maker she'd gotten from some sponsorship or other and donated to the office, so she taps away at a few buttons on that and gets it whirring away with a cup of hot chocolate. While that's in progress, she digs around in the cupboards and fishes out the remains of her Golden Week snack restock – a box of milk cookies – and makes her way back over to Illya, setting the cookies and her drink down before taking a seat herself. ]

Here you go...! It's a little hot right out of the machine so give it a minute, but go ahead and help yourself to cookies while you're waiting. This is your first time at the DU, right?

[ The girl does pull the drink closer, though it seems that she's obedient enough when it comes to instructions that she doesn't drink from it right away. Instead she just blows on it a little, like she's trying to help it cool down.

But even as she's in the middle of doing so, she already nods at Ai - and then pauses her blowing so she can actually answer the other. ]

Yes. I've seen the building before, but this is my first time inside..

[ It's more just that it's hard to ever fully miss the building if you happen to pass by on the street, honestly. ]

I, um.. [ .. she figures she should offer up at least a little bit more information with how kind and welcoming Ai has been so far, so even though she shyly bites her lip for a moment, Illya pushes herself into speaking on. ] I never thought I'd ever be inside.. since I never thought I'd ever be a Dreamer.

I guess it is a little hard to imagine until it happens to you. Kind of like winning the lottery, right? You can daydream about it all you want but having it really happen to you is totally different.

[ Not that Ai would know. The thought had never even entered her mind before she'd Awakened herself and now, so far out from from it and so long into her life as a Dreamer, it's a little hard to remember what that initial apprehension had felt like. But she can guess that it might have been something like this. ]

Are you feeling a little nervous about it? Maybe scared?

.. scared, yes.

[ At least she's admitting to it, even though it sounds like she's doing so reluctantly, something shy about her. It doesn't exactly feel like the greatest thing to admit to, after all. Illya may not have much of a sense of personal pride, being a young and insecure girl and all, but it's not like she wants to look like a total loser in front of a confident Dreamer either.

Still, she knows saying anything but this would be lying, so she tries to gently admit it to Ai.

Ai has been so nice so far - surely this isn't where she would draw the line into judging her, right? ]

Fighting.. seems really scary. I'm not sure if I could face that sort of thing.. I-- I don't feel like I'm as brave as all the other Dreamers must be.

[ They're constantly fighting, after all. Like it's nothing - if not just from Illya's rose-coloured perception of these people. ]

[ Ai's only response is a soft hum and a nod of the head. Her warm smile doesn't budge – if anything, it just gets more gentle. ]

That's totally normal. It's not like living here in the real world prepares you to fight big monsters like that, right? Everybody's scared when they first get started.

[ There's a few outliers of course – a lot of younger kids who've daydreamed about these kind of heroics all their lives. But even then, they usually think twice about their rose tinted glasses once they actually go up against a Torment for the first time... or a Nightmare, if they're particularly unlucky. ]

In fact – I'd say a lot of us are still scared now and then. Even if we've been at this for a while.

[ The girl takes in the information with a little hum, though it seems like a question quickly comes to mind - mostly because it hardly takes her any time at all before she's asking it, wide and curious eyes looking right at Ai. ]

Then how can you fight..?

[ She gets the why, really. The why of it all isn't a problem to Illya. It's what brought her here to this building in the first place, despite her fear.

It's the how. ]

Doesn't that fear make it feel like you'll just freeze right up without being able to do anything?

Oh, of course it does! Way more often than you'd think. Especially when you're heading out somewhere totally new and you have no idea what you're about to find. There's a lot of beautiful things out in the Dream Sphere, but... there's a lot of scary things, too.

[ Even so, her voice is fond. ]

But even when we're scared, we're able to find a way to be brave because we're not going at it alone. There's always other Dreamers who are ready to help if you get in trouble or even if you're just a little scared. We're all on the same side, so we all work together and watch each other's backs. You'll never be alone in a fight, so it's okay if you can't do it all by yourself.

[ She reaches out and takes one of the milk cookies for herself and favors Illya with a dazzling smile. ]

So long as you do your best. That's all anybody would ask.

I..

[ Illya starts, and then momentarily stops again, her hands around her mug like she's warming them up.

Truthfully, it's much more that her brain is just occupied with a whole lot of thoughts right now. Yet, as Illya is staring at the other, it feels really hard to do anything but agree with Ai.. It's something about that charming smile.

If Ai can be this cool about it, then Illya should be too, right? Or she should at least try. ]

I-I guess I can at least try it out then.. [ Joining the Dreamer Union and all. Actually becoming a Dreamer. ] I want to help people.

[ Even if it's scary. It's that fact - okay, and the fact that Ai is very convincing - that are pushing her forward to actually do this, after all. ]

But if I really start working as a Dreamer, then.. do I get help from someone like you..?

[ Look, Ai just seems very cool and experienced from the point of view of someone like Illya. ]

Heehee. Of course you do. I told you that making things less scary is my job, didn't I?

[ Even if it wasn't, there's no way she'd leave a girl like Illya to fend for herself. Maybe it's just years of picking up strays and getting them on the right track or maybe it's just a little empty nest syndrome with Amane having graduated out from her care – either way, she's pretty certain that she'd be extending a helping hand to this girl no matter what. ]

Giving it a try is all we'll ask from you. And even if you decide not to fight, signing up means we can help you with a lot of things once you start getting older – like maybe if you decide you'd like to go to Promised Morning, we'd help you with transferring.

[ If there's anything that helps here, it's all the reassurance. Illya still isn't sure how exactly she'll feel if she has to face a Torment - let alone a Nightmare again, but.. the more Ai says, the more it feels like she at least won't be alone in it. That there will always be someone to rely on, whether it's Ai or someone else.

.. Ai is really nice though, so Illya hopes it'll often be her.

The girl slowly nods. ]

I'll sign up. [ She releases a breath. Some tension disappears at least due to having made the decision, but there's still some antsiness for the future. ] About transferring and all that, I.. um, I'll have to think about it for a little while more first. I'd like to take things step by step, if that's okay..

[ It feels - through her experience so far - that Ai will find it okay, but Illya still can't help but word it this way. It's sheer instinct, habit.

Besides, she knows she has to take this step by step or she will just collapse like a fainting goat, honestly. ]

Of course it's okay. I mean, coming in here and deciding to sign up were already a lot of big steps to take in one day, right? So it's totally fine if you want to take a little bit more time before deciding on your next one.

[ That and Ai's pretty sure that if Illya tries to push herself to make even one more Big Decision today she might explode. ]

What we'll do now is talk a little more about how things are going to go once you've signed up and if that all sounds alright to you, then we'll get things started. We'll have to call your parents to confirm a couple of things – if that won't cause any trouble?

Ah..

[ Maybe it'll cause a bit of trouble. Or at least, that's what the girl's expression seems to indicate. She did seem a little nervous even a moment ago, as she said she was signing up, but it's like something extra sneaks into her expression the moment Ai mentions her parents. ]

I.. um, it's probably better to call my caretakers at home..

[ Illya doesn't even know if either her mom or her dad would pick up if they were to be called now, after all. Not with how they're always travelling all over the world, going to places where they sometimes don't even have reception.

Not to mention-- ]

I haven't.. really.. told my parents. [ She slowly confesses. At least she trusts Ai with this information after everything the other has said today - which is why Illya is admitting it in the first place, rather than trying to shove it under the rug. ]

there's a fork in the road (open)

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this is probably a good place to wrap! c: