yumemigaoka | 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. ]

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

[ 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. ]

[ Ai doesn't let her expression so much as twitch, even if seeing Illya's stumble makes something catch in her chest. She'd guessed there might be something like this just for the fact that Illya had been here alone to begin with, but her hesitation and the worried look on her face just confirms it. ... At least she's just nervous and not afraid, though. Nervous is probably fine. Nervous she can work with. ]

That's fine! It's just so somebody can sign some of the official stuff for you until you're old enough to do it yourself. Sort of like a permission slip for a field trip, or something like that. [ She keeps her tone bright and breezy, like this isn't even a topic notable enough to linger on – too much focus will probably make her withdraw even more. ] Especially since – if you do decide to start fighting on the other side – we might have to start talking about money for you and that's something your guardians would have to check over.

[ It's then that her tone softens a little bit, as does her smile. ]

And if you ever do decide that you want to tell your parents, then we'll help you with that as well. But it'll be up to you when and if it happens.

[ Illya is quiet for a moment, considering this. Getting Liz or Sella's signatures should definitely be enough for something like this, especially since they're her official caretakrs while her mother and father are out traveling the world, but.. Illya worries a little about even them knowing. They'd probably allow her to do this, but would they insist on telling her parents?

She isn't too sure about that part. Maybe she'll just have to hope they won't, or try to explain the situation to them. They might listen if she says it's just so her parents won't worry..

It leaves the girl quiet for a moment as she overthinks it, but then she turns her gaze back to Ai. ]

Do most people tell their parents right away..? [ Or, well, the Dreamers who are young enough to the point that it's even applicable, anyway..

It's why she doesn't ask Ai if Ai told her parents, even though she's very curious. She probably never had to, unless she's been a Dreamer for a really long while now. ]

Some people do, some people don't. [ which is a slightly less damning sounding response than the truth which is. 'yes'. She keeps her tone casual and almost a little distracted – like the topic is so mundane that Illya shouldn't worry about it for even a second. ] If someone's been really been wanting to become a Dreamer, they might tell them right away just because they're excited. Or if they're not sure they want to pursue it, they might hold off until they've made their mind up – like you, Illya-chan.

[ Or maybe you're like Ai and you don't have anyone to tell.

Well. It'd all worked out in the end, hadn't it? ]

So we'll take this at your pace. If you like, we can go and check over some of the things you can fill out by yourself, then you can take some of the other things home to talk about with your guardians. Would that be okay?

.. yes, that's alright.

[ The entire parental situation is something Illya will have to chew on in her own mind for sure.

But for now.. she can just do as Ai is saying. Looking at the things she can fill in by herself, and then thinking about how she's going to tell Liz and Sella later.

She'll figure it out. It's not something Illya can truly believe yet, not wholeheartedly, but..

It feels a little bit more possible, at least, thanks to Ai's sweet reassurance. ]

there's a fork in the road (open)

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this is probably a good place to wrap! c: