World Tree MUSH

And so, in a flair of dark energy, Raven and Damian would appear just outside the mushroom kingdom castle town. And uhhh... Whatever he expected? Likely not this. She'd called it 'bright'.

It looked like a cartoon. For children. He could see homes made of wood... homes shaped like mushrooms, or cars, or.... just... Wow. And all the mushroom PEOPLE. "So... I... have been staying here for now," the goth mumbled, staring up at the castle. "Well... I stay... there," she said, pointing a finger at the castle.

".... I... could show you... the library if you like? There's... also... ummm..." What other than that was there? ".... There's go carts... or tennis..." she mumbled. Her hood was up and she couldn't help sighing.

At least she doubted Peach was around.

"There's apparently a giant.... turtle dragon thing that invades every so often... I haven't met him yet." Pause. "When I do I am going to destroy him." Pause. "Peach said I shouldn't do that though..." she mumbled. "I probably shouldn't..." she said idly.

She was nervous, if not obvious. She was ACTUALLY rambling. And kept looking off to the side.

     As the two of them appear in the Mushroom Kingdom, Damian can't help but immediately cover his eyes, letting out a squeak of discomfort. "Ack! Why is it so /bright/?" he hisses, though as his eyes adjust to the sunlight and colors, he moves his hand out of the way to give a look around.

"Well, I don't know what I was expecting. This is definitely a kingdom of mushrooms though." he says, floating toward the castle and looking around. "Huh, wonder what would happen if you ate one of them. Would you get high, or would it just be like eating a person? Not that I have personal experience with either." Obviously. >.> <.<

At the suggestion of activities, he hovers back over to Raven and offers a mimed comforting shoulderpat, his hand patting the air a few inches away from her due to the whole 'touch' thing. "Hey, hey, it's okay, you don't have to push yourself. If this is too exciting, we can go check out your library, let you calm down a little... and /then/ go for the go-karts. That sounds like a ton of fun~"

The mention of a turtle dragon just gets a shrug, though. "Sounds weird. Must not be much of a threat though, if this place is still in the shape it's in."

Raven shrugs. "It's always bright. And people here are always..." As she walked, she glanced around at the people. "Nice, I suppose. Friendly. Happy. It feels... good. Though the architecture leaves much to be desired," she said flatly and...

And they were friendly. The two barely made it three feet before the two were accosted by a pizza stand and DEMANDED they take some pizza. She, grudgingly, accepted. And... once escaped... "They are also... nice. Without desire for.... payback. They're just... nice," she said with a shake of her head.

"Please walk, here. There is a lot of strange things and I do not wish for any of them to slam into you. I am... fond... of this place. In a way I am not of most places.

She'd walk through the town. People would give her bright and cheerful greetings. She'd mostly nod and wave back. The people here at least seemed to know her. Even the guards were super friendly as she walked up and....

"The castle has a..." Pause. "I think... everything. Baseball, tennis, soccer, go karts... everything," she finally said. She led him to the library. Which, to his possible disappointment?

Was just a library. There was a really old librarian there, sleeping at the desk. An there were brown tables. Rows of books. Hundreds. Thousands, even... "I think I've read most of them. At least the ones that interest me, at least...."

"And I have no idea. Apparently he is powerful. But... he sounds... they play games with him and invite him to go-kart with them. I... don't even know with these people sometimes."

     "Huh. Weird. Seems pretty idyllic, even." Damian says as Raven tries to explain how NICE this place is- oh, and he happily takes some pizza too, chowing down on it while walking (yes, WALKING, he has heeded Raven's request) next to his friend. "Mrf... Not bad, heh. Think they'd get mad if I asked for mushrooms on the next one?"

As the two of them come upon the library, the demon prince (now having finished his pizza and wiped the grease from his hands and mouth with a napkin he summoned) gives another glance around and lets out an exaggerated yawn. "Man, just a regular library? Booooring. These guys need to learn how to decorate."

Nevertheless, he still darts over to a shelf and pulls out a book, flipping through the pages. "Huh, never knew you could do that with a vacuum cleaner..." he mumbles, before setting the book back where he found it and going for another one. As Raven continues to talk, he speaks up over his shoulder, "Now that's weird. Maybe they're not actually enemies? This guy's probably just bored or something and they indulge him so he doesn't get lonely."

Raven shook her head. "No. There's magic mushrooms. They.... make you big, or something. I don't know. Place here is weird," she said with a shrug. "Anything you desire they.... will try to give you. Try to ensure you have access to it. And it's... I don't know," she mumbled, shaking her head. "People here are just... nice." It seemed to make her uncomfortable.

She blinked a few times. "It's... not boring. It's calming," she mumbled. Yes, she liked the sanctuary library more, but... this was nice, too.

"And I guess. It would be something they'd do. PEach is..." she sighed ad rested an elbow on the table, eying over the book she brought, resting her chin in her palm. "she's... unique. Special. Like I imagine a..." she trailed off. She shook her head. "Come on. Let's go see the go-karts. You'll like it."

     Damian puts his book back and nods. "It's hard to accept a place as nice as this, huh? It's okay, I get it. Hell's pretty nasty outside the palace, so I wasn't ready for how nice Safe Haven would be by comparison. It's one of those things you get used to after a while." he says, thinking huggy thoughts at Raven. She's an empath, she'll probably pick up on the fact he's trying to comfort her.

At the mention of go-karts though, all bets are off. With a huge toothy grin, Damian zooms out of the library, tail wagging energetically behind him. "Yes! Show me show me show me show me!"

Raven gave a small smile at his 'comfort'. "Yeah. It's... Safe haven is easier, I think. It's not as... idellic as this. It just... They're all -so happy-. It's almost... it feels nice. And they're not scared of me, which is nice. And I like it, which is... nice." But sometimes she didn't feel she deserved nice things. "At least at safe haven, I can still feel people being... nasty to each other. Gossip, all that. But this place heals me, I guess, in a way. It's like... living in a spa, I suppose."

She walked with him, shaking her head and following behind him, her face stony neutral again. "Very well. But do try to behave, please." She led him there, showed him the rules... Got him a healmet, and... "Do you know HOW to move one of these? Are you able to be careful? and DON'T! Crash!" She let him go in one and drive, yay!

     "Yeah, but like a spa, you can't stay in it too long or you'll get all pruny and stuff." Damian responds wisely, nodding his head. Well, 'wisely' might be pushing it, but he's trying at least. As the two of them reach the go-kart track, the jackal boy giddily dances from one footpaw to the other, rubbing his hands together in childish glee. "We never had these in Safe Haven, and dad never let me drive any in Hell. Ooooh this is gonna be fun!"

After impatiently reading the rules and haphazardly strapping the helmet on, he almost gives Raven a full-on hug before remembering it might be a bad idea to overload her with JOY. He does however flash her a huge grin of pure happiness before hopping into the driver's seat of one of the karts and turning it on, slamming his foot down on the gas pedal to take off down the track. Somehow, amazingly, he doesn't crash, skidding around corners and bends like someone who's probably played a lot of driving games in arcades- oh, yeah, that's probably it. Sure, you'd think driving a real go-kart would be different, but these... not so much, for some reason.

Raven paused for a long, long moment, eying him and then.... "Wet... dog. I imagine I would very much like it if you didn't linger in the spa. Especially near me." She then blinked. "... I don't think I've ever actually been to a spa, though... I wonder if I should try it sometime..." she mumbled idly. She'd ask Peach but... well... Peach had enough problems.

She cocked an eye at that. "I am not certain I like the idea of go-karts in hell. It sounds dangerous. And these make me nervous enough, as it is," she mumbled. She wasn't one for... sports.

She straightened his helmet. Because NO. "Safety first," she said firmly. she floated up to the nearby roof to watch him. She didn't like it but... his happiness felt good. It was... relaxing. Enjoyable. That simple, giddy pleasure. He was just such a simple creature. and she couldn't help but... enjoy that about him. He was her mirror, in many ways. Furry to her not. Boy to her girl. Extroverted to her introverted. Emotional to her suppression. Wild to her studious... Heck. Right now he was playing go karts and she was actually finishing up some homework... that wasn't due for three more weeks.

     Damian goes around the track like a daredevil with wild abandon, going up ramps and hitting every boost pad he can reach (why do they /have/ those anyway?). He's having the time of his life, but after a few minutes he pulls up to the parking area and leaves his kart and helmet to go fly up to where Raven's sitting.

"Whew! That was fun, but I think it'd be more fun if I had some people to race against. Or maybe someone to drive with~?" he suggests, giving Raven a sly grin. A moment later he leans back though, supporting himself on his elbows. "I gotta admit, this place is pretty crazy. Either they have some big skeletons hiding in their closet, or... I dunno. I didn't think it was /possible/ for a world to be this perfect. What do you think made it this way?"

Raven glanced over from her book and stared at him for a long, long time. Then... "I don't. Drive." She was definitely NOT scared of it or anything. Or nervous. Or didn't know how. Or was any of that. It was just... not.

It was totally she didn't know how and thought going that fast under the power of something else was scary.

Then... "Wait. Drive with? How would that even work? You can't fit two people in one of those tiny things." She glanced over at them. "And... I don't... know. Apparently there's a green one, Luigi. He has a haunted mansion. He'll be taking me to see it. I can't wait... though I suspect their ghosts are quite tame...."

     Damian just gives Raven the most mischievous little smile, like he's trying to hold back a laugh yet she can still hear him cracking up. "You're scaaaared~" he teases, then pats his thigh. "Anyway, I'm pretty small you know. I could probably sit in your lap. Or you could sit in mine! It'd be fun."

The mention of Luigi's haunted mansion makes him "ooooh" in awe however. "Real ghosts and everything, huh? I mean, I know I deal with dead people all the time in Hell, but... ghosts! They're totally different! Spooky and cool and stuff! I hope he doesn't mind if I come along too, hee~"

Raven flushes at being called scared. "I-I am not scared, I merely have more important things to do than idle around in a fast death machine," she said with a hmph. And then he said THAT and her cheeks went red. "I have no intention of sitting in your lap, nor of allowing you to sit in mine," she said flatly. "Dog or no."

She blinked a few times. "I... don't see why he would," she said before shaking her head. "Perhaps. And if you desire to see ghosts, I could always perform a seonce. I am familiar with over eight different kinds. But NO summoning santa," she said quickly. That ended poorly, last time.

     "Well you're not supposed to /idle/ in them, silly." Damian says, rolling his eyes. Her blush has him grinning again though- no, laughing now, rolling onto his back and kicking his legs in the air as he guffaws about her embarrassment. After a bit, he wipes a tear from his cheek and sits back up again, letting out a small sigh. "Hoo... I love it when your face gets all red like that, haha!"

Sliding off the edge of the roof, the demon prince rolls over in the air to 'lay' on his belly, resting his hands on his cheeks and wagging his tail slowly back and forth. "Seances, huh? Some of our guys in Hell got called away on those a few times. My dad even showed up to one, once! I didn't realize Santa could be summoned with one though, that's kinda neat. Wonder if he gives presents when you do that."

Raven shook her head. "I-it's a waste of time, that's all. And I have no desire to be in it..." She then glared at him. "My face is NOT red," she snapped. Oh, it definitely was. She glared at him. "Do you want me to pluck the hair from your tail?" she threatened him, eyes narrowed to slits.

Though going back to the seances she sighed. "I... don't know. I tried to summon Santa. But... I accidentally summoned one of my brothers instead. Someone could have died, so I didn't do it again. After that... I met Merlin. He said... I could find help. If I looked, I could... avertm y destiny, so to speak. So I've been looking for that ever since," she mumbled, glancing out over the track. And...

"How did you do the loop without hitting the ground?"

     "Suuuuure it is. It's okay, I understand." Damian says with a wink, his tail wagging a bit faster for a moment. The threat of plucking it clean is met with him sticking out his tongue though, a childish gesture, but it gets the idea across. As she explains about what happened when she tried to summon Santa, he nods. "Oh, yeah, that'd be a problem, if what you've told me about them is anything to go by. Glad things worked out though."

The last question is responded to with a wink and a smile. "Very, very carefully~"

Raven glared at him, trying to keep her anger... before sighing. At least he gave up. And he's just so... She glanced out over the track. "Yeah. They're... not quite as fond of me as yours is of you..." she mumbled. "I can't help but wonder sometimes, why, though. I've went over it a thousand times. Our fathers, they're the same.... yet so different. It's... frustrating. Like a puzzle I can't solve. I wonder if it's our world."

"... I sometimes find it funny. You're more different from your father than I am from mine. But you two still get along well..." She then smiled. "After all, I suspect your father would have finished his homework on time... and not needed to look at mine," she teased with a very small smile. Not that she seemed to ever mind. After all... he was a friend. And... that was what friends did for each other. Right?

     Damian 'paddles' lazily around in the air for a bit as he thinks it over, but ultimately it doesn't seem like he can think of anything, his ears twitching slightly as he shrugs and says, "You got me there. I have no idea what the differences between us are that lead to that."

But then she brings up the homework, just as the jackal is glancing at Raven's! "Oof, ya caught me. Alright alright, I admit it, I've been cheating by looking at your homework. Can you really blame me though? Math is so boooooooring. All those numbers and stuff, ugh." This is followed up with a snicker though, as he floats a little closer. "Do they give you private tutoring here?"

Raven nodded, watching him paddling. "You're very... open. And... out there, I suppose. It's... interesting," she said. "And you've had no qualms about inviting me into your world. Were our roles reversed... our roles were reversed... and I was extremely cautious. I didn't let you see my... this place until I had seen all I could. And you trusted me. It... is entirely different..." she mumbled.

"And yet both our parents are terrible monsters. And we both want to do good... don't we?"

The question made her shrug. "No. I suppose they would if I requested it. But I've always preferred to learn on my own. Azar taught me a lot, but in general knowledge... it was mostly just an interest in the material and a lot of reading. Then again, I have a pretty good memory..." She glanced to her assignment... and nudged it towards him. If he wanted to... she didn't mind so much. "And I don't mind. Math has been easy to me... then again, so much of magic is math..."

     "Nah, I'm just... Well I guess I'm pretty open to a lot of people, yeah. I like having friends, y'know? And having friends means I gotta put myself out there." Damian says with a shrug, then 'rolls' onto his back. "I dunno about doing good, it just gets kinda boring in Hell with all that evil stuff. There's lots more exciting stuff out there."

As Raven offers her homework for him to peruse, he floats up above her head for a better look, hovering just a few inches above her. "I guess that makes sense. You seem like the kind of person who's more comfortable being independent, or alone I guess." He tilts his head, trying to make sense of what he's reading. "Hmm... Ugh, I just don't get it. What's that squiggly line for, anyway?"

Raven nodded and shrugged. "Yeah... but you don't want to hurt people. You'd rather they be happy. Well... and doing what you want," she mumbled. "Though maybe my idea of what constitutes as 'good' is a little... off..." She watched him as he floated. Heh. He seemed to enjoy flying more than her.

She nodded. "Generally... yes. I'm getting used to people... though. They exhaust me, I think. Being around them too long. Too much. But they also... energize me, when done right. I'm finding class to be... nice. After the initial burst of 'she's new!', it has calmed down enough, I barely notice," she said gently. "Though I don't think people there really grasp that I am a human who turns into a bird, and not a bird who turns into a human. A raven is just my soul form, that's all... Nothing more, nothing less." She stretched out and then shrugged. "Would you like to see the kitchen? Anything you desire, they'll make..." She paused. "They like making cakes... and they are quite good. If a bit sweet."

     The shrug is met with another shrug from Damian, just two shruggers shrugging it up. "No permanent harm anyway. A little pain can be hilarious! Lots of classic jokes and skits are based around it, you know. I don't want anybody to actually /die/ or get /seriously/ hurt though." He also dismissively waves a hand at the bird thing. "Pfah, it's all the same to them. If the raven is the shape of your soul, then that means deep down you really /are/ a bird at heart, right?"

Then the mention of cakes! Bolting upright with ears pointing skyward and tail wagging furiously, the demon prince starts flying back toward the castle again, caught up in another bout of excitement. "Ooh, cakes! I can't wait to try 'em out!"

Raven snorted. "I am no more a bird than I am a jackal," she said with a snicker. "It is merely the form of my soul, the animal I have the most affinity with. It is why I have the name Raven." she was silent for a long moment... "Though, usually, a Raven isn't considered the most... noble of signs." She shook her head. "... I don't find a little pain funny. Little pain builds up, bit by bit..." she mumbled. "Until it's not so little any more..."

She lifted a hand and... "Well then. Shall we?" Darkness would envelop them, as the raven's cry tore out... Taking them to the kitchen. Where he could devour cakes to his hearts content...