World Tree MUSH

    Vania likes the Cradle a lot.

    It's not solely because it's a massive city beyond imagination with so many sights, smells and sounds that you can stay here months and not get bored.

    It's not solely because amidst the thousands of shops there are countless that offer varied and strange foods from across the World Tree.

    And it's not solely because she blends right in, either, few people pausing to look at her pointed ears or odd head-wings, unlike Earth-like worlds.

    It's, mostly, because she can't be found and dragged back home here. Indeed it would be nearly impossible to locate someone here unless you knew exactly where to look, and even then. That means nobody can try to drag her back home!

    Well, today, it's also a great place for meetups.

    Since Olivia was evidently from the same world as her, Vania'd told her where to find her. It's mid-day in this part of town, the architecture a weird blend of Japanese and futuristic designs with colorful lights everywhere. Vania's particular whereabouts seem to be a public playground, where children and teenagers are partaking in assorted games and tomfoolery.

    The vampire princess, in particular, is standing atop a fortress-shaped plastic playground, mock-swordfighting with a few other children like a siege is ongoing. It's painfully obvious to someone like Olivia that the princess hasn't the first clue how to swing a sword properly, but it's children playing, so oh well. At least nobody's gotten hurt yet.

    Olivia has discovered that she finds significantly crowded and overwhelming places like the Cradle rather... well, overwhelming. Perhaps it's because of the significant culture shock that she experiences compared to the Sky Realms, perhaps it's her desire to absorb every little experience and be curious about every little thing that...

    ...

    Well, she's here today, by the playground. Her wings are missing, since she's able to dispel them with a thought; it helps her to blend in a bit better, as she places a hand by the side of the park gate and peers towards Vania playing with the children.

    There's an unusual pang in her chest as she looks at the scene unfold. Why?

    It's a terrible swordfight, let's be honest.
    It's even more objectively terrible when Vania spots Olivia, asks her fellow swordsmen to hold on a second, and then summons three bats out of thin air. The adorable balls of flying fluff seize wooden blades of their own in their maws, and the children fight the bats instead of Vania as the vampire hops up and gently hovers back down to land in front of Olivia.

    The bats are losing pretty badly, but points for even managing to lift those swords in the first place.

    Vania does a curtsy, and then immediatly asks the most important question: "Where'd your awesome wings go? They were really cool!"

    Olivia stares with a somewhat stern face towards the fluffy bats, but rest assured, inside she's squeeing a little. But she has an image to maintain, you know. 

    Olivia looks towards Vania as she curtseys, brushing a bit of hair as she expresses, "Ah... I simply hid them. It tends to draw too much attention..."

    Fight, bats, fight!

    Vania glances up at Olivia as she answers, puzzled. "But why? Attention's only bad when it slows you down! I don't like when people stare at my ears or wings, because it's usually gonna make them act all weird, but in a place like this it doesn't matter! Plus! PLUS! Attention is fun, you can get praise and compliments that way!"

    She's not the most selfless of people.

    "Well, /I/ wanna see them, can I? Can I can I can I?"
    You should say yes, Vania's a lot better at insisting than her bats are at fending off children with wooden swords.

    Olivia pauses for a moment, before brushing another lock of her hair back and letting out a rich little chuckle. "... I suppose I do owe you for helping me fend that necromancer off."

    She concentrates, and those dusk-coloured wings burst out into existence in a single shimmer of particles, spread out to either side of her. "Though I ought to keep a low profile. There are still those that are after me, from our Realms, and possibly beyond as well..."

    She glances a few times around her, with a quiet frown. Sylvia... where did you go?

    Vania oooohs loudly, and predictably, is very giddy to inspect the wings up close. The colors are just so... well, pretty! They're not like vampire wings, which are typically black and red. Pretty typical, actually. No, these are all feathery, and multi-toned and... almost glowing! 

    "What are you, anyway? I've never seen wings like these before!" She has seen horns before though! Not quite like Olivia's, but those are a BIT less exotic. "And who's after you? Do you need help kicking their butts?"

    Bats status: upper edge gained due to children staring at Olivia and pondering heading over to gawk at the wings too.

    Olivia swallows just for a moment, and looks towards the bats as they encroach on the children. Ganbatte, bats...

    She-- bristles just for a moment, letting her wings shimmer with her ambient power for a moment as Vania moves a little closer to her. There's something so very childlike and innocent about her, which reminds her of... people she's travelled with.

    "It would not be wrong to say I am a primal beast from the Sky Realms... but in truth, I am a fallen angel from the heavenly realms," Olivia expresses, seeing no particular reason to hide the truth from the vampire princess.

    "... there are... demons after me," Olivia frowns very quietly. "I last encountered them before I fell and woke at that place... her sword in my abdomen..."

    "Oh, that explains the sword, yeah!" It's stated matter-of-factly. That sword sure was a thing! "An angel though, wow! I read about them in some books but I don't remember most of it!" The only Primal Beast she knows of off-handedly, though, is Celeste, and only because of a rumor she heard about some kind of zombie-infested island. It didn't strike her as especially interesting because ghouls aren't exactly uncommon on her own turf of land.

    "So what's the heavenly realms like? Is it a lot like the islands and Skydoms? Oh! Oh! No wait, more important, how come demons are after you, were you mean to them?" As good a guess as any.

    Bats status: the children really want to see Olivia's wings! ... their efforts redouble and the bats are defeated! Oh no, incoming children!

    The bats lick each other in defeat.

    Olivia places a hand on her cheek as Vania asks about the heavenly realms. She frowns in thought for a moment--

    A shaded figure cloaked in white robes, with short white hair, stands before her. He speaks, but she can't hear the words...

    --"...mm--" Olivia finds herself spaced out for a moment, before remarking, "... I don't remember." It's... a half-truth, given that so much of her memory has been scrambled in the shock of falling through to the World Tree and out of their Blossom.

    Oh no! The bats are defeated, and children are incoming. She kneels down and smiles quietly towards one of them.

    "I desired a way to the New World, and so did they... ..." a deeper frown. "And they wished for my power to..." she doesn't sound like she's convinced of her own story. "Whatever the case may be, I believe they are out here, and dangerous."

    "That's too bad! We should find a way to jog your memory then!" That, surely, can't end poorly if you let an excitable eternal child take charge of what should probably be entrusted to a professional. "Maybe if you fell from real high again or if you got scared real bad?"

    Children proceed to swarm Olivia and mostly talk about the wings a lot. 'They're pretty!' 'Can I have a feather?' 'Can you fly?' 'How come they're multiple colors?' 'Can you stretch them out so we can see?!' and so on. Poor Olivia, who dislikes being overwhelmed.

    And look at Vania, tapping her chin as she ponders the best way to give Olivia a sudden jumpscare to see if she remembers anything that way. Maybe a lot of bats would do it? Aww, but there's children in the way. Maybe she should wait until Olivia doesn't expect it? This'll require further investigation.

    "So you guys call it the New World? How come? What makes it especially new?"

    Olivia feels the urge to just retreat and disappear into some quiet corner, but tamps it down as she quietly smiles at one child and hands her a feather. Since it molts on a regular basis anyway, it's not really a problem. "It's because it represents dusk. Ask your parent sometime to show you, when the sun is about to set... it's a time to reflect."

    She looks just a little bewildered as Vania suggests she fall from a great height again. "I'm not certain that would help..."

    Poor Olivia doesn't know Vania's planning out a jumpscare for her. Alas!! Bats help her...

    "I am unsure. Perhaps it is because it is unexplored. A realm beyond the horizon..." she closes her eyes.

    "I remember... my Creator did not wish for me to explore beyond such boundaries. And now... have I truly come to where he does not wish me to go?"

    The children ooooh as Olivia parts with a feather. They'll surely cherish it and ask their parents to see the dusk! So that's a pretty good impression made.

    Vania is a less upbeat note, though. Or she is, by certain standards, which might include Olivia's! "Who cares what your Creator thinks though? What kinda meanie has children and tells them not to go out and see the world? Have you see how awesome and big the world is! Not just our world, all of them! I wanna see everything and meet lots of interesting people! You should do the same, it's no good to worry about that kinda stuff!"

    Well, worrying about necromancers is probably fine.
    That guy was something else.

    "Besides!! You're here now, right? Going back wouldn't undo that! Since you already broke the rules you might as well enjoy yourself while at it!"

    It's what she's doing and it's working out.
    Much to her brother's chagrin.

    Olivia has a quiet smile towards Vania, perhaps seeing something of herself in her. "... that does remind me of what I told him. And perhaps that is why I am fallen in the regards of my brethren," she speaks earnestly, though she oversimplifies the story. It's a long and sorry story that involves a lot of grief on a lot of people's part, after all.

    She nods slowly and says, "... Indeed, I want to. To see the new horizon and the worlds within... what have you seen yourself, Vania?"

    The children begin playing again, and it brings a smile to Olivia's face.

    "I thought you were fallen because you fell down?" It'd make sense! Sometimes simple really is better. Probably not one of those times right now.

    "Oh, me? A lot! Did you know most of the worlds out here are on the water instead of in the sky?! They have islands and continents just sitting in huuuuuuuge oceans instead of up in the clouds! They don't even have anything in the sky, it's just clouds!" That IS weird by the New World's standards. "But cities are super noisy, and sometimes the air doesn't smell great. This one time, there was a unicorn going around killing people so I helped beat it up! And this other time there was a lady with a sword made of light and it went all," Vania makes lightsaber noises with her mouth. She wouldn't speak of it so highly if Aily had actually tried hurting her with the sword. All things considered Vania got off easy from encountering a Sith.

    "I don't think it's possible to get bored out here!"

    "... ... perhaps-- perhaps that's another reason why," Olivia can't help but chuckle gently as she pats the head of another child who's moved in for a hug. Waah, Miss Angel...

    She looks towards Vania and responds, "I've... been to one world or another, but yes, that was quite the surprise to me. A unicorn... and a sword of light..." Her eyes widen just for a moment. "I've encountered worlds where mortals ride steel beasts on stone roads, and I was nearly run over by one."

    olivia don't step into traffic

    "Hmm... you may be right there. I don't think there is a limit to the possibilities the world has..."

    "Yeah, they're called cars! They're like airships but for the ground!" They have water airships too, but Vania doesn't feel THAT needs to be stated because it's intuitive enough she didn't question it. Besides, some of the islands have water. Flowing water. Don't ask how.

    Either way, the vampire twirls on the tip of one foot, evidently all psyched up and unable to stand still.

    "So anyway, that's how it is now! You should ignore your meanie Creator and go have fun! I know someone who wants to start this like, paranormal investigation firm thingy, maybe you could meet her and work with her? Her name's... um..." Chintap.

    What was it, again?

    "Ray...lene? Yeah Raylene! ... maybe. Probably! I know where she lives, I can take you sometime!" It was a pretty cool party.

    "Oh yeah! ... what's your power anyway? You said the demons wanted it to cross realms, though maybe they won't need it anymore with the Tree and all..."

    C-cars...

    Olivia looks a little stunned that Vania seems so much more worldly than she is! She must observe this fact down. Ground-ships, but personalised for only a few individuals... the mortals truly have harnessed technology to a whole other level...!

    Olivia places her arms to opposing elbows as Vania suggests she join a paranormal... investigation firm? Well, that doesn't sound like the worst of ideas... "Raylene... I see. I shall see if I can find someone-- or, yes, if you can take me..."

    A blink, as Vania asks about her power.

    "... mine is the power of demons," Olivia sighs. "My Creator somehow saw it fit to grant me a power over darkness, in order to fight the darkness. It has always felt a poor jest to me, but I do not know their intentions...."

    "Oh," says Vania, as Olivia reveals it's no grand, impressive power but rather merely the fact she's some kind of dark angel. And a fallen angel! Unlike her, Vania doesn't grasp how this is an issue or problem in any way.

    "Well, I don't care what you can or can't do! That's a dumb way to judge people, unless what they can do is super cool! In which case you have to become best friends so you can look up close!" Like that laser sword. That miss was nice to lend it to her for a few seconds to mess with.

    It's a miracle Vania didn't slice one of her own hands off.

    "So did you figure out what you wanna do? Are you settled on an awesome path to walk?!" If all this talking ended up pointless she might get mad!

    Olivia blinks a few times, but then chuckles as she remarks, reaching up to pat Vania on the head gently -- if she'll allow her, "I have much to learn from you, Vania. Your forthrightness and earnest nature are both a boon, rather than the second-guessing I can trap myself in..."

    She thinks for a moment longer, then says, "I suppose until something crystalises further, I will continue to explore the worlds and see what I can find."

    Headpats have been achieved.

    Vania squees softly in appreciation. "That's right! That's why I'm a princess, it's because I'm really smart and wise!" If she says so, it must be true.

    "Well, I'm gonna go back to play before it's dark and everyone leaves, but sometime I'm gonna take you to meet Raylene and maybe you two can be friends too! She's very nice!" She also has some sort of horrible, awful invisible horror following her around at all times, but who's Vania to judge?

    "You take care miss Olivia!!"