World Tree MUSH

Raven was in the library, of course. She was always in the library. The biggest problem was she had come here sortly after breakfast and it was almost midnight now. Long after others had gone to sleep, she was still researching, studying, ignoring everything. The fact she was tired. The fact she was hungry. The fact that she was alone. In fact, the darkness was kind of... nice. Being alone was nice. 

This was how she spent so many of her days. the idea of her reading everything the mushroom kingdom had may have seemed silly at first but... Well... Maybe not so much, now.

 So when she stood up and stressed, glancing out the windows... She blinked. "Huh? What time is it?" she asked with a small yawn, before picking up the book she had finished, planning to put away. ".... Just one more and I'll go to bed," she mumbled to herself.

    The library should have closed hours ago, but, well... Raven is a Special Guest with Special Privileges. She may not even realise she has them, but the locals have been treating her with a lot more respect and tolerance than one would expect random townsfolk to treat a bratty goth teenager.

    Well maybe they're just super nice, who knows?

    In any event, someone seems to have called the princess to the scene - maybe to try to get Raven to please go to bed. Peach wanders in, yawning and rubbing at her eyes. She's wearing a very simple dress - possibly even a night dress - and isn't even wearing her crown, instead opting for a poofy sleeping cap. She has a teddy bear held loosely in one arm. How OLD is this girl? "Raven?" she asks, sleepily.

Raven was already in the midst of getting her next book. A short one, only 400-500 pages. However... When she heard a voice, she turned around and... Stared. "What are you doing up?" she asked softly. "Did you have a nightmare?" IT JUST CAME OUT, OKAY?! It took her a moment to remember, wait. She's in the library. And this was the princess, not a tired child. She stared for a moment and...

"Err... Shouldn't... you be in bed, your highness?" she asked just a hint more timidly, hugging the book to her chest a lot tighter than that bear was held to the princess. "... You look exhausted." Well, to be fair Raven had bags under her eyes but... Goth. That was normal.

    Peach yaaawns and rubs her eye again. "No, I'm fine..." she responds to the first part of Raven's quesiton. Apparently she doesn't find it weird or even insulting. She then takes a deep breath and composes herself! "I should say the same to you!" she says in her sudden Mild Authority Voice(TM). "It's well past your bedtime, young lady." And then her expression softens again. "Are you doing okay? I haven't seen much of you in the last few days. Partially my fault, but..."

Raven blinked and then glanced out the window at the night sky. "I... don't have a bed time? Does the mushroom kingdom have a curfew? And it's only... Like... eight or nine, right? I mean, the library is still open."

She failed to notice the librarian not... being... there...

"And I'm doing fine. I am truly thankful for all the generosity you have shown me in allowing me to stay. I am happy to say I will be out of your hair soon. I think I've almost studied everything I need in your library. Your magic is truly... unique. Not something i would want to use in a combative setting but... unique," she said with a small smile. "I'll just read this last book and go to bed, okay?"

    Peach sighs a little bit. "It's..." she pulls out a pocket watch. It's brass, and has a mushroom wearing a crown etched onto the back of it - not the star symbol the Toadstool Dynasty actually uses for its heraldry. "Seven minutes past midnight," she announces, snapping the watch shut. "There isn't a curfew as SUCH, but... it's not good for you, to stay up so late. A growing girl needs her beauty rest!" She tilts her head to one side and gives a little beaming smile. "Come along to the castle. You can read that book in the morning." Peach holds out one hand to take Raven's.

    Then there's a faint sigh, and she looks seriously at Raven. "Honey, do you actually have anywhere else to go?"

Raven sighed and... Gingerly took the hand. The princess was calm enough it wasn't a painful process like SOME PEOPLE. She sighed. "I... trust me. Beauty rest is not something someone like me needs..." she mumbled. "Also, I'm not that young, I'm an adult." She was SIXTEEN! She was a teenager! At best! "And fine, if it means that much to you I'll come and get some sleep. I just need to check this out and..." Blink. Blink blink. "Where's the librarian?" she asked softly.

Then Peach asked that and she nodded. "Of course. I still plan to head to Hyrule and investigate more of their runes. Their magic is... interesting. And then there's that world of monsters, I want to find out more about their disk sealing magic, then there's..." A hundred different worlds, a hundred different avenues of research....

    "We can tell the librarian in the morning. He won't mind. ... Well, as long as we tell him before he opens and takes inventory. If we forget, he might mind a little~" Peach you are a terrible princess.

    She just giggles as Raven declares herself an adult, gently leading her out of the library - insistently, but not roughly. Once they're outside, Peach produces a key from her pocket and locks the door behind them.

    "I didn't mean that, Raven. I meant somewhere to sleep. Someone to eat, somewhere to feel safe and to have as an.. anchor in your new life. You're separated from your real home, aren't you? So you need another one."

Raven nodded. "I can tell him first thing i nthe morning." Oh please, the girl would sleep until noon. At least. She followed the princess' outside and waited patiently for her to lock up, before walking with her. She was silent as the princess talked, her eyes lowered. Then... she let out a sigh.

"I left because it was too dangerous for me to stay there. For them. The pain and suffering I wrought if... I stayed would be..." Seh shivered. "I wasn't forced out, princess. I left willingly because it was the only way to keep them safe." .... That was... new information.

"I can survive without sustenance or sleep. I am not afraid for my own safety, only everyone else's," she said firmly. Survive without sustenance or sleep, yes... But Peach had seen how hungry and tired the girl could get. And how wonton and dismissive she was of her own needs.

"I don't need a new home. I need to find a place where there is nothing, no one, so everyone will be safe from me," she said softly. MAybe it was because the girl was tired, weakening her defenses....

    "...No, I think I'll tell him, dear," Peach responds with a little giggle. Yeah, she remembers what being a teenager is like. Twelve hours of sleep a day... 

    Peach listens thoughtfully, not interjecting at all as Raven goes on her little explanation. She shakes her head and sighs. "Don't be silly. You're only the fifth-most scary thing in the Mushroom Kingdom~" she teases with a playful lilt to her tone. "Wanting to sacrifice your own happiness for the sake of others is noble. And stupid. Don't do that. Your happiness is just as important as anyone else's!"

Raven nodded. "If you prefer." Welp, tomorrow she'd definitely be sleeping late. Growing bodies and all that. It was a.... relaxing experience. Sleeping somewhere you felt truly safe. On a warm bed. With people who... wanted you there. She stopped for a moment as the girl went on.

"You... really don't understand, your highness. You're kind. And sweet. But trust me. There is nothing more terrifying in this land than I. I've seen your great 'enemy's' kingdom, his forces. I've read all of your books. I've looked into all your fables. Your world is a fairy tale land. Beautiful, and wonderful. But hardly anything threatening. I appreciate your... words. I really do. But this is my problem. My fault. And i have to be the one to deal with it. Alone."

    Peach blinks. "My 'great enemy'? You mean BOWSER? Honey I go go-karting with him, he's a big softie. Most of the time. Even if he is the most powerful Koopa sorcerer on the planet, and that's no mean feat. No, look... I can accept the appelation of 'fairy tale', I suppose, but have you READ one of those lately? They're full of witches and evil demons and all sorts of horrible fates for the poor little children to serve as lessons."

    There's a soft sigh. "Several years ago I was possessed by an entity called the Shadow Queen. It was... unpleasant. I could feel my soul being shredded to pieces the more control she gained. I can only thank the Stars that Mario managed to defeat her before I was..." she trails off, then shakes her head. "...Doesn't matter. No, sweetie, my real point here is that we WANT to help you, and we know you won't hurt us. Because we've seen this before. You might... you might lose control ocassionally. That's okay! It's not like you'll kill anyone." She says this with absolute certainty. Does she know something Raven doesn't, or is she just an absurd optimist?

    Why not both?

Raven blinked a few times. And stared. And then... Hugged her. "T-that's... just... it..." she whispered. "I... I..." am the evil demon. If I stay here I WILL kill everyone. You. Your people. Your world. It will burn.' She wanted to say that. She so desperately wanted to warn her. But she couldn't. She couldn't tell this... beautiful, kind soul what she was. But... the way she held her. The fact she'd actually dropped the book.

"I don't want to hurt any of you..." she whispered, all she could say for now. She wanted to make them see. Make them understand. But... 

Alas, all she likely did was make herself seem like more of a weak, vulnerable child scared of her own powers... "I want to help people... to be like... you people. Kinda. And sweet. And caring... Like Azar..."

    Peach returns the hug, drawing Raven close to her and patting her head gently. "Shhh. There there. You CAN be a kind, sweet and caring person, Raven. You have that side to you already. Being around other people who care about you will help to bring it out to its fullest potential~"

    She keeps the hug up for as long as Raven is willing to let her, and then bends down to pick up the dropped book. "You're always welcome here, and I do wish you can consider this kingdom your home from now on." Smiiiile~

Raven just reveled in... just that moment of enjoyment. Of love. Of... just... Being wanted. Actually being wanted. The monks hadn't wanted her. Her own mother hadn't wanted her. Trigon only wanted to use her... But... This....

 She eventually let go and... Took. the book back. "Thank you... But... I..." I have to leave. I have to go. I... "... Would you teach me how to make cheese cake?" she finally asked.

Wait, what?'

    Peach gives a beaming smile at Raven, her head tilted to one side, hands held behind her back. "I would be delighted to, darling~" She then reaches out to boop Raven on the nose. "Tomorrow. You need to get to bed~" And so Peach takes Raven by the hand and begins leading her up the path towards the castle again, to put her to bed.

Raven nodded, following the other woman. It felt... Odd. Almost motherly. Weird, too. She really wasn't used to being... Wanted. But then.... She had friends now. She had people who cared about her. People who wanted her.

People who lo--

No. That was a dangerous thought. People who were fond of her. And so.... For peach's sake, she let the other woman put her into bed. Even tuck her in. She even pretended to not mind the colorful, mushroomy room she was in. And a bed that was brighter than she was pale. "Goodnight pe..."

... She actually fell asleep mid sentence. She really was tired....

    Peach smiles as she puts Raven to bed. She smiles... a lot of the time, really. Is her life really so blessed that she's just happy all the time? Or does she just try to keep everyone else happy selflessly?

    Who knows.

    "Goodnight, Raven," she whispers, before turning off the light - but leaving on a night light - and leaving the room to go back to bed herself. Yaaaawn.