World Tree MUSH

    It's a regular day in the Mushroom Kingdom.

    By which I mean they're holding some sort of sports tournament or exhibition match. These mushroom people are kinda obsessed with sports, after all! The sports stadium near Toad Town is packed with spectators watching a tennis match. A rather... impressively ridiculous tennis match, with a lot of acrobatics, sudden anime auras, volleys that literally set the ball on fire... Jesus Christ these people are monsters.

    Peach isn't playing! Right now, at least - she had a match earlier and is currently standing just outside the stadium, dressed in her pink tennis outfit and with a towel around her neck, drinking from a water bottle. She's not wearing her crown right now, so to any onlookers she could just be a... well, a remarkably beautiful young woman, but by no means -royalty-.

    A rather strange sight appears at the stadium. A reptilian creature slinks through the Mushroom Kingdom and to the sporting event, and finds Princess Peach standing there outside the stadium. Scraps is a Deathclaw, but one could be excused for misidentifying her as some kind of cousin of a royal Koopa. She stops to stare at the distant spectacle of the natives playing tennis, eyes barely blinking. The reptile goes still, her head the only thing moving while she observes the bizarre spectacle over there.
    She looks dumbfounded, even through the stoic appearance of her monstrous features.

>> SUMMARY[Scraps] >> "what"

Anna isn't really the sort of person who cares much about royalty.

At the moment, she's wearing a backpack and jogging along at high speeds towards the stadium, and there's a blue glow around her legs; one hand is held over the golden-furred catlike figure of Spiral, keeping her balanced on her shoulder. They slow down to normal human speeds as they draw near the stadium where Peach happens to be standing. "... not sure if I feel like going through the trouble of finding a money-changer and then trying to get into the stadium before the games are over," Anna is saying; her voice is a bit androgynous.

"Well, I mean, the view from here is just fine!" says Spiral, too-pointy ears twitching.

"Yeah ..." Anna lets go of Spiral and gives Peach a wave, a faint blush on her cheeks. Yep, that is a gorgeous woman over there, all right!

Spiral nods to Peach, and eyes Anna. "... I don't even need to say anything."

     Off to one side of the court stands an incredibly well dressed man in a very expensive looking pinstripe suit. He's on his own with a small toad who'd been playing a few sporting matches prior counting out coins in his hand. "Great show out there little buddy." As Bontade sets down the stack of coins into a bag, weighing them for a quick moment. "Here's your take as promised." A friendly smile across his face, a cigar stuck out from the corner of his mouth. That hat of his holds a brim so wide his entire face is hidden in shadows only his smile and a bit of nose visable in the orange glow of his cigar. 

     "You were a super star out there kiddo." He assures as the toad weighs the bag of coins in his hand. The two are off to one side out of the way of the spectators and the game in progress. "Keep it up and I'll make sure you go places."

    Peach is not nearly as surprised by Scraps's appearance as Scraps likely is from the downright superhuman levels of athleticism happening within the stadium. The stadium is of an open design, so it's fairly easy to see the action from outside - although some of the audience does get in the way at certain angles. Still, if you want a perfectly unobstructed view, you should probably pay the ten coin ticket price!

    It's not as if ten coins is even that much. This tournament is being sponsored by the royal family, like.. most of them.

    Well. It's not a high price to natives, anyway. Ten solid gold coins might seem like a lot of money to someone unfamiliar with the exchange rate... or someone who intends to take the money and spend it in other worlds unfamiliar with the exchange rate, too.

    Scraps is thus given a cheerful wave from Peach and gets a cheery call of "Hello!" She sounds slightly out of breath, but is clearly still full of energy.

    Peach turns her wave towards Anna as well. "Oh! Are you a visitor from another world? That creature you're carrying is quite unfamiliar~" She beams. "Welcome to the Mushroom Kingdom, if so! I'm Peach~" She doesn't assume Scraps is from somewhere else. She seems to just think she's a well-built koopa!

    She hasn't even spotted Benito yet.

    "How are they doing that?"

    Scraps directs this question to Peach, and lifts a claw to point toward the tennis court. "That player lit the ball on fire with their racket. That is physically impossible. Explain." The reptile leeeeans in with its big lizard face toward Peach, androgynous, deep monster voice turning into a rumble.

>> SUMMARY[Scraps] >> EXPLAIN, HYOO-MAN

The blush says more about Anna than it does about Peach, really. "Oh! Um, yes, I'm from ... one of the many worlds named Earth," she says. "... it's just, very few of them have a Brighton, Massachusetts. Anyway, I'm Anna, and this is Spiral!"

Spiral nods. "I'm a Starbringer, by the way," she says. "I help out people with magical powers, who ... Wait, 'Peach'? You're the princess here?" Seems Spiral's fairly well-informed.

Anna's face just goes blank in response to that guess, and her blush deepends, but for a different reason this time. There's at least three different conflicting things going on in her head right now. She almost becomes relieved when Scraps interjects, and quickly turns to the oversized Koopa(?) and says, "Um, magic, probably?"

     "Gee Mr.Bontade you really think so?" The toad looking up with a glimmer in his eye at the very idea of being a big time sports star. "I always wanted to be a super star!" A bright cheer as the toads voice cracks slightly a quick yipee from him as he jumps up a bit into the air tucking the coins away. "I've gotta tell all my friends I'm gonna be a big star." 

     Bontade smirks quietly as smoke rolls up from his cigar a light chuckle letting out small puffs like those of a dragon to roll along. He turns back to the court. "Always warms the old heart to see folks chasing dreams." The smirk not fading for a moment as the coin purse of his takes from the round of betting weighs heavy in the back pocket of his fancy pinstripe. 

     He walks away from that corner making his way back to his bookie, unfortunately it's going to take him right by the princess. All he needs to do is keep cool.

    Peach tilts her head to one side at Scraps's apparent confusion over perfectly normal - if high-level - tennis! "You're not from around here either are you? Ummm..." She glances over her shoulder at the current match. "Magic? Qi? Sport spirit? I used to think this was totally normal before I found out other worlds existed, heh... Maybe it's just a weird quirk of physics." Or the fact that magic literally suffuses every single thing, living or not, in this entire world.

    Peach beams at Spiral, holding her hands behind her back and swaying side-to-side slightly. "The very same!" She then bobs a curtsey. Despite wearing shorts. "Very pleased to make your acquaintances~" She then finger-guns to Anna when she suggests the ridiculousness going on may be magic. "See? This girl gets it~"

    And then Benito is passing by. The princess smiles at him, giving him a little finger-wave. "Oh, hello! Are you a visitor from New Donk City? Are you enoying the exhibition?"

    Scraps puffs a slooow hissing noise out at the word 'magic,' and then Peach says something along the same lines. The reptile stares for a few seconds too long, and then states, "Magic isn't real," and looks off toward Spiral, and resumes staring in mild confusion, tail swishing side to side in agitation. The poor reptile really isn't used to this.

Anna looks like she might burst any second now. "Deep breaths, Anna," murmurs Spiral.

Anna does, indeed, take a deep breath. "Well, okay, yeah," she says. "Princesses are awesome, and that's all there is to say on the matter!"

Spiral stares back at Scraps for a few seconds. Then she shrugs and says, "In your world, maybe, but it's different here!" In a burst of sparkles, she transforms into a gray, starfish-like creature, before transforming back. "This Mushroom Kingdom is full of magic, Anna here is gonna be a magical girl ..."

"Still working on that, though," Anna adds, before giving Benito a wave.

     Benito returns the offered wave as he comes up to the group a friendly smile. His face is hidden by shadows right up to the moment he tilts his head up slightly as a show of respect. There's a friendly face underneath all that darkness. "I'm from a slight bit farther then that, but I admit, new donk city made me fill a little more at home." A light chuckle escaping his lips. "I'm from Italy, but I live in Chicago. Nice little place, wonderful winters tell you that much." Puffing away on the cigar. "I like to come this way every so often to see the sporting events, real legendary setup you have round these parts."

    Peach frowns just a tad at Scraps. "...Ah, I see. Would you happen to be a scientist, mister...?" she trails off into a questioning lilt, clearly intending for Scraps to give her name in response. "Well, in any case, welcome to the Mushroom Kingdom, where, as the adorable little Starbringer indicated, everything is suffused with magic. Everything! The people, the plants, the SOIL..." She smiles. "I'm afraid in this world you'll find that magic is an inescapable part of life."

    She claps when Spiral transforms. "Ooh! Magical girls? That sounds like something that chameleon would be into..." She hmmms a little bit... and then gives Benito a flourishing bow. "We do try! Sport fosters community spirit and health and all that~"

    Scraps starts to rumble more and more as the word 'magic' is repeated. The reptile has a hard time with this concept, though the reasons aren't entirely clear.
    "'Magic' is a word used by savages to explain phenomena that they do not comprehend, and is a dangerous notion that runs in conflict with civilization's tenuous progress. It promotes ignorance and gives undue advantage to those with access and understanding to the supposed 'magic.' It is a tactic used by tyrants to oppress the weak and the undereducated. This is not magic," Scraps stubbornly replies, with a dismissive wave around her at the Mushroom Kingdom in general, though she manages a pretty neutral affect regardless of her feelings on the subject. Despite what she's seen so far, she really doesn't budge on the subject.
    In fact, Scraps turns away, stepping away from the group, clearly upset about this particular subject. Her eyes close and she shuts out the conversation for a minute here.

>> SUMMARY[Scraps] >> MAGIC. ISN'T. REAL. :(

Anna frowns at a bit at Scraps, but she isn't really sure how to deal with that. Shrugging inwardly, she turns back and nods to Peach. "I don't know any chameleon, but yeah. I have a magical ability called 'Windrunner', which is basically ... I can run really fast. And I've been training since yesterday to become a Heart Mage."

Spiral nods. "We've got monsters in our world, and ... well, let's just say the magical warriors defend against 'em."

Anna smiles to Benito. "Well, it's always nice to meet another Earthling, even if it's not the same Earth," she says dryly. "... Out of curiosity, *does* your world have a city in Massachusetts named Brighton?"

     "Yet to see technology that can explain demons raising from the pits of hell throwing fireballs and casting spells to summon bats the size of cars." Benito says with a bit of a smirk taking a long drag from his cigar. "Call that magic personally." Chuckling lightly to himself. "Don't know every city in America, I mostly focus on knowing the big ones: Los Angeles, New York, Cicago, Dalas. Though there's probably a place round there somewhere called that." Benito is calm enough as he adjusts himself the jingling of a good many coins ringing out as he moves. "I'm a man of business more so then a geographer." 

     He takes a light bow towards the princess. "Well gotta say it's a lovely job you do of it. Never seen quite the variety you have round these parts."

    Peach's demeanor does an almost complete 180. She holds up one finger towards Benito - a 'just a minute' gesture - before striding towards Scraps. "...So. While I may be INCREDIBLY insulted, I believe in giving people - especially newcomers - the benefit of the doubt. I will assume you did not INTEND when you woke up this morning to walk up to the head of state of a foreign nation, loudly demand an explanation for some exotic cultural minutiae, angrily dismiss a native's explanation, and then go on to call her a tyrant and all of her people uneducated savages."

    She passes next to Scraps, attempting to stand within her line of view. Her arms are crossed. "Now. I'll admit to not being an authority in all of the thaumatological sciences - although I would consider myself an authority in sidereal thaumatology - I will say that the study of thaumaturgy is a respectable science that, in its modern form, dates back at least three hundred and fifty-two years, potentially earlier depending on exactly where you draw the line, and many cultures of our world have been making remarkable discoveries in the field for millenia. At first it was somewhat difficult to differentiate thaumatological effects from purely physical or chemical processes but, well, with the invention of the thaumameter..." she trails off. "I don't need to give you a history lesson. Look, my wildly meandering point is that magic, in my home country and in most other countries on this planet, IS a well-examined scientific field that thousands of our most brilliant minds have given centuries of thought to. We. Are not. Uneducated."

    She then turns and heads back on over to Anna and Benito. "Dreadfully sorry! What were we talking about?"

    If Peach intended to convince Scraps they were wrong, that was not the correct way to do it. The reptile makes an alligator-like hissing noise, a sound that slowly builds. The aggressive approach makes the reptile more unhappy. Scraps had separated herself from the conversation to stop arguing about it. And then she turns and points at Peach, a claw an inch from her nose.

    "MAGIC. IS NOT. REAL. DREAMS DO NOT AFFECT REALITY. HOPE IS A CONVENIENT ILLUSION. STOP! IT!"

    And then she swipes her claw through the air, clacks her jaws, and turns to stomp away, extremely upset about this entire conversation, but the phrasing hints that perhaps it isn't the idea of magic that is upsetting her, exactly...

>> SUMMARY[Scraps] >> Scraps has some unresolved issues that different worlds don't make better.

Anna waves as Peach walks off after Scraps, and nods to Benito. "Yeah, one thing's definitely for sure, the Mushroom Kingdom has the most *fabulous* sports!"

And then, as Scraps' outburst mentions hope, she blinks at her in sudden understanding. "Ohhhhhhhh," she says. "I think I get what's going on over there." And then she frowns. "... I don't know exactly how to deal with it or how to try to persuade them, but ..."

Spiral frowns. "Yeah ..." She turns to Benito. "One of the things that seems to define the Blossom that Anna and I are from is that hope seems to win more often than it does in other worlds. It's not exactly sunshine and bubbles or whatever, but ..." She looks back over at Scraps and Peach. "... well, it's kind of obvious that the opposite is true in the world where that person is from."

    Peach frowns a little bit. She seems to... not be that intimidated by Scraps's body language or claw-swiping. After all, she's personal frenemies with a person with basically the same build as Scraps... who is ALSO the most powerful koopa sorcerer to ever live. Mostly Peach is just upset that Scraps is upset.

    "...I hope they decide to stay here for a while. Dreams coming true is, uh... something of a law of nature around here."

Anna sighs and nods to Peach. "Sounds like my kinda place," she says. "... hmm ..."

"Please don't get any bad ideas about staying here," says Spiral. "You still have college to think about. And the Curse Phantoms, once you become a full-fledged Heart Mage."

Anna smiles. "Yeah, I know, I know ..."

    Peach giggles a little bit. She seems to have brightened up considerably! "Oh, you could always take correspondence courses. Or attend college here! We have plenty." She gives a playful wink. "And you DO happen to have met a person who can just... give you a visa."

    She then turns around. "Not that I would ever abuse my authority like that."

Anna grins. Peach's good humor is infectious. "Mostly I was just thinking of ... a specific thing magic might be able to do ..." Her voice becomes slightly more androgynous for just a few seconds, but she quickly brings it back to normal. "... but, like, it's kind of a personal thing, I can also get a good approximation in my own world, and I've got more important stuff to work towards right now." She smiles. "Like the training to become a Heart Mage like I mentioned! It's a little more ... involved than becoming a Star Paladin."

Spiral nods, and relaxes at the change of subject in a way that only now calls attention to the fact that she'd been tense. "Star Paladins, you get a Star Gem that does most of the work for you, and you can transform pretty much in an instant," she says. "Heart Mages ... it depends on what powers you've got already. It'll probably take Anna a few days before she's ready to transform for the first time."

    Peach tilts her head to one side at the subtle change in Anna's voice. "...Hm. I'm sure there's something somewhere in the world that can help with... well, whatever it is you need help with." She doesn't want to assume! "If all else fails the Star Rod literally grants wishes, although, uh, obviously we wouldn't just hand that to any random offworlder... even if we knew where it WAS..."

    She rubs the back of her head. "Star Paladins? Are those these... magical girl things you were-" There's a sudden beeping from Peach's pocket. "Oh, shoot! Uh, I have a match in..." She digs out a smart phone. "Five minutes oh man I should get ready - look it was wonderful to meet you we should absolutely get together again some time maybe stop by the castle later GOTTA GO!"

    And she swiftly grabs her bag and runs back into the stadium.