Happily ever after with a little flavor

[missrecalled_mods]

Sponsors for the ship? So... Sponsor'ship?

Rare had an hour seemed so long on the Isle, or carried so much hope. The King and Queen spoke to all who wished to speak with them, and to Yen Sid. At one point they even opened the barrier enough to go back to the ship where they conferred inside a silence spell with Sylvando. And once more for the King and Queen to return a few minutes later. Then back on the Isle they pulled a few individuals aside once more. Oddly, not those from the Isle this time. Aqua first. Then Lea. Then Æn'kae.

Finally the hour came to an end and the King and Queen called for everyone's attention. Mal stepped forward to address everyone.

"Alright, so here is how this is going to work," she told them without preamble, once she had their attention. The wind pulled at her purple hair, pulling it like a banner behind her. "Here are the terms by which we will take the people we will name to Auradon. Each person will be assigned a sponsor. If you want to change sponsors you may let us know once we are back in Auradon. Your Sponsor will be watching out for you. You need to check in with him, her, or them, regularly. How often that will be will be between you and your sponsor, but the sponsors will report to King Ben and myself. Behave and you'll get to stay in Auradon, and we will let you know when your probation is over and you no longer need to check in with your sponsor. Break the rules of Auradon, hurt anyone, steal.... depending on how bad the act and how many were harmed, we may, with your sponsor decide to give you a warning... or you may wind up back here. This is a chance to prove that the sorting magic was wrong, that you are good people. Or can become good people given the chance." Mal looked and sounded like she was clearly waiting to make her own judgments.

"As I list each name, please go to your sponsor if he, she, or they is here. If not, come stand with the king and I."

She took a deep breath. "Xion, your sponsor is Lea." she pointed to him, suspecting that she didn't actually have to, but it was good to set a pattern.

"Utau, you are with Sylvando, who is on the ship so come join us." Then a bit of a wicked grin. "He's also keeping an eye on Nadeshiko and Nagihiko, why not let him keep an eye on all three of you," she said, knowing she was throwing fuel on an explosion waiting to happen. But she trusted Sylvando to sort out which of the kids actually belonged on the Isle.

"River you are with Æn'ki. Hope you like animals," she said with a grin that wasn't all that softer than her last as she gestured to him.

"Morgana and Emporio, you are with Aqua," she added nodding to the woman with the blue hair. "Of course we understand if any of you want to stay..."

She turned to the Headmaster. Doctor F.... We're aware of you, and your efforts, I assure you. We'll be speaking with those heading to Auradon. But for now, stay where we can see you while the rest of you, those coming with us? You have ten minutes to get your stuff if you have any and say goodbyes to anyone if you want to. Goodbyes with the headmaster will be supervised so we can make sure he is being as good as he claims these days. Alright. Ten minutes, starting now!"


**************************************************

The gathering of belongings and saying of goodbyes was accomplished in the allotted ten minutes without much trouble. Getting everyone onto the boat, then equipped with lifejackets- thankfully the boat's owner was a bit over prepared so there were enough for everyone, if only just-, and reasonably settled for the trip back took a bit longer, however. The boat was a large catamaran, painted mostly in blue and purple pastels. The life jackets however, were the standard safety orange, and so stood out as sharply as they were meant to. The water was still rough so once everyone was equipped, Sylvando advised those unused to boat travel to settle down somewhere until they were in calmer waters.

Getting back to the mainland took time as well, though not quite as much as getting there had, as the tide was in their favor for the return trip. Still, there would be plenty of time for conversation, awkward silences, or angry glaring during the trip. And Sylvando himself wouldn't be adverse to conversation, provided it didn't interfere with the steering of the vessel. Those without their sea legs would also want to be careful walking around, as the boat-while large for a catamaran- wasn't large enough to prevent it from rocking.

Once they'd reached the harbor and the Bibbity Bobber had been secured in her berth, her passengers and crew disembarked and began the trek back up to the school. There seemed to be an inordinate amount of junk that had once been clearly blocking the road before the path to and from the harbor had been cleared. All of it was the sort of things one might expect to find in a modern city- cars, sign boards, fallen trees and lamp posts, etc- but there seemed to be too much of it for the simple vanishing of the populace to account for it all. Very odd.

Once they arrived at the school, they were led past the pretentious sign and statue of King Beast and directed into the lobby. There, they were issued phones and information sheets. On account of everyone being exhausted, no formal welcoming ceremony was planned for that evening, and those staying were directed to the dorms to get showered and settled in. Since that was sure to be a process in itself, Ben, Mal, Sylvando, the other sponsors, and anyone who still had the energy would likely be around for all that as well until everyone got settled. Thankfully the exhaustion had been anticipated, and it was announced that there was soup in the kitchen's refrigerator that had been premade and portioned out and needed only to be reheated for supper at each person's leisure.

The next morning however, proved that Auradon was still Auradon and couldn't really go without some kind of official welcome, as those who came down to the lobby would find a simple but tasty breakfast of muffins, fruit - provided by Malia-, tea, and coffee waiting for them along with the eternally chipper Sylvando, ready to answer any further questions they might have.


****************


Professor Yen Sid and the Headmaster stood and watched the ship through the barrier until they could no longer see it. Then the headmaster, looking bitter, turned on his heel, stalked back to the school, muttering under his breath about needing to speak with someone. He did not say who, but it did not seem like it was likely to be a pleasant conversation.

Yen Sid, on the other hand, turned to those who chose to remain. “Shall we get these supplies in before the humidity destroys them?” he asked, gathering his things into his bag before grabbing it and one of the boxes.

Comments

[lovebites_sodoi]

So, at least she admitted that "this" side could be abusive as well. Something to keep note of.

"Looks like it's worked so far, at least on the surface."

[seacub]

"Y...yeah. Emporio. And this is..."

Against his wishes, he sniffs. Weather of course, remains ever vigilant. "...This is my..one of my... ....This is Weather Report," he finally stammers out. "...He's a Stand."

[seacub]

"A-AAHHH-!"

Emporio of course, panics. But, he also doesn't want anyone hurt, so what happens next is....honestly a little anticlimactic. The air blows gently against the little angel- slowing her, slowing her more, and ultimately slowing her to a stop near Emporio's face.

She might be about two, three inches away.

"UH....UHHH...."

Well thanks for that Weather.

[misery_called_npcs]

"Then let me reply to that part to begin with. I do not think it is within Ben to lie except possibly to save a life. Perhaps not even then. Mal, for all she grew up in an environment that encouraged her to be as vile and evil s possible, has a good heart. She may deny it, depending on her mood, but she does generally mean well. And in this, they are doing their best in a trying situation."

[aquawayfinder]

She meant more personally, any two people in a conversation, but that was fine. She led towards the welcome desk.

"This was our first successful attempt to make it to the Isle to rescue people," she said. "We're learning as we go along. It is up to people like you and I to make it work, to make it easier for those who might come after."

[aquawayfinder]

"A stand?" she asked, politely.

[utauhoshina]

El blinked, then grinned. "AGAIN!" and flew right at him. That had been fun!

[elvendryad]

That? If true, then that raised all sorts of other questions. One could be being entirely honest, yet say things that weren't actually true.

He frowned more, but took the last items out of that box, setting them onto the shelf with the others, and then carefully set that box, too, aside to dry out again. And the tape came away from the next box easily enough....

Still crouched as he gathered things up from this one, he didn't seem to need to think about it as he fanned his shield out from his forearm, to use its inside to help him hold more items at once. No sense in not trying to be efficient about this, after all. The few remaining packages were on the floor, and he wasn't certain he trusted their stability enough to lift them again while still laden with their cargo, whatever it was.

"And the... 'trying situation' in question... includes what, precisely?" He had guesses as to what was meant, but he wanted to hear it from this person. What did he consider significant enough to qualify as part of the current mess, versus the status quo, here and now?

[misery_called_npcs]

"The vast majority of the population of both Auradon and the Isle being missing, while many people such as yourself have been brought here against your will. You do not consider that trying?"

[elvendryad]

"Not necessarily, no." He looked back to him again as he returned to unloading things onto the shelves. "I, for one, am used to a solitary life. So... it depends. Trying for whom? ...Has magic similarly been sealed on their side?" A small gesture to the last of the boxes, meaning those on the Auradon side. Just because he'd already figured out the answer, didn't mean he wasn't making a point still....

[lovebites_sodoi]

She sighed, half-listening. being able to switch outfits again was great... as much as she enjoyed her villainous heels, they'd been exhausting day after day. For a long trek like this, her usual steel-tipped boots were heavenly.

"A-huh. So what exactly have you been doing over here? I'm guessing not fetch for animal skins or have professors teach you the right way to laugh manically."

[misery_called_npcs]

"Trying for those who feel responsible both for the people who have vanished and those who have just arrived," he said, calmly. "Certainly they have more magic than we do here, but clearly not enough to have solved the problem. And while the difficulties they labor under are different from the ones we endure here, it does not mean that there are none. If I am not mistaken, you had the opportunity to see that for yourself and chose to not to avail you of it. Do you now regret that choice?"

[elvendryad]

He'd picked another bag of something up off of the inside of his shield and had raised it to the shelf to set it with the other things... but paused at that, frowning a bit as he turned halfway to look at the man a little more easily, rather than simply peeking back to him over his shoulder while he focused on being efficient at unloading things.

"No," he said simply. A beat passed as he eyed him. "What they have to say is not necessarily what you may have to say. And here and now, I am asking you. I would like to hear your understanding of the entirety of the situation, what has already and is now happening..." He eyed the man, sighing quietly, dissatisfied. "...And you are being vague and trying to appeal to me for pity and commiseration on behalf of others instead, and asking me about my regrets over trivial things. ...You will find very little of any of those right now, and I request that you speak plainly. I have no interest in playing games or mincing words, and mere discussion of feeling sorry for others who seem to be better off tells me nothing about practical things such as the state of living accommodations or healing supplies for those who may need them."

On the upside, he only seemed a little annoyed. He hadn't raised his voice or anything, and was still plenty relaxed as he resumed setting things down on that shelf after speaking.

[misery_called_npcs]

"I presumed you would rely upon your own observations, had you gone actually. As to speaking more plainly, I have been a teacher of both science and magic for quite some time. I find it rarely to the benefit of my students for the answers to be given plainly, and thus I am little accustomed to speaking that way. As your questions are not of a scientific or inherently magical in nature, I am attempting to be more straight forward, however you are best off trusting in your own observations or speaking to your friend when she visits next, for you know her biases more than my own. As to appealing to pity, I was doing no such thing. You asked, I answered. That is all."

Sorry, not sure how I lost this.

[aquawayfinder]

"A mix of things. Trying to get to the Isle, trying to get to food sources. Trying to help new arrivals settle in. I've also been training myself and any who wish to learn. We've been learning about hub worlds in general. Mallia recently discovered an area over by the museum that got us access to a lot of new businesses. The King and Queen are willing to pay for some things if we need them, and we can earn money if we wish to as well. They're trying to start up an economy so that we can have what we need while we're here, without stealing from the people whose businesses we're discovering."

[lovebites_sodoi]

So they did have money here... there was a flash of greed in her eyes, but reality snuffed that quickly. Like she told Ben and Mal, being a criminal would be pointless here - there was no way to leave with the loot. Never plan a heist if you don't have an escape vehicle.

"I don't suppose any of those businesses have anything to do with music and concerts? The best way for me to earn money is by doing what I always do - playing a hot gig to a loud audience."

[aquawayfinder]

"There is a dance school that Nadeshiko and Nagihiko are working at, they might be interested in collaborating. But I think the King and Queen are open to new business ideas. The school has an auditorium and the Castle might also have a suitable venue if you want to do indoor concerts. And a lot of open space on campus for outdoor concerts. And I know at least one other of the Missrecalled plays music."

[elvendryad]

"The wine fairy would not know everything; her perspective is only one perspective, regardless of how well our interpretations may possibly align. Asking her would not give me a complete understanding of it all, only add to it. And so, I am asking you now. And I will ask others yet. Everyone knows, sees, hears, something another would not. I am certain I will see much of what is, here and now, for myself. But I have no way of seeing what was and has been."

[lovebites_sodoi]

Nadeshiko, Nadhihiko... those names sounded familiar. Didn't one of them have a grudge against Utau - who was probably the 'other Misrecalled musician'.

"I suppose it's a start. I'll need to up my practicing. I'm not really used to working with others... but beggars can't be choosers."

[mist_the_point]

While Chell helped Yen Sid with the first load of boxes, Foulques stayed behind to guard what remained on the beach, lest any of the other so-called teachers get any ideas. And standing there, alone aside from the sound of the waves, he had time to reflect on the events of the day. The young king and his queen, the others from the mainland, those who'd left with them... and those who had not.

Chell had stayed. In spite of all expectations, and despite his ent companion leaving on the boat, Chell had stayed. And Foulques couldn't fathom why. Fortunately, he need only wait for Chell to return for the rest of the supplies to get the answer to his question, so wait he did, leaning against the outer wall of the fishing shack and gazing out over the beach, expression pensive.

[queen_butterfly]

She was quiet another good minute... and then, softly, "How do you do it? ...Keep track of time, I mean? I can count the minutes, the hours... the days. But sooner or later, I always seem to forget. One day, I'll have planted a new sprout. And then before I realize, I'm cutting it back, taking new clippings to sprout them elsewhere. And I remember training it up into its shape... trimming it back for the winter... but it feels like time hasn't passed, except it has."

She peeked back up to her again, frowning a little over this puzzle. "Things I've involved myself with have so often simply... taken as long as they've taken. And I've never been able to keep track of how long that is. Or noticed much, when it passes... and... I think I need it to not do that. At least for a bit, at least while I'm here. Perhaps even when I go back. I understand that the humans have become far busier there; the rate at which things change now is far more swift than the couriers could keep up with before, that I might know by catching up with a guest over dinner... and I don't want to try once more with the goblins, and miss everything while my back is turned again."

[elvendryad]

He didn't take forever to get back; the less time the other boxes spent sitting out in the rain, the better. And when he returned, he returned with that top from the broken classroom desk under one arm, ready to use it.

And, as with every time they'd crossed paths so far, there was that bit of a smile, that tell that he was glad to see him that had been present even from their first meeting. He gave him a nod in greeting, acknowledging his help with the supplies. "Brother...."

He crouched to set the board down, and reached over to pick up a box, putting it on one side of it. It should be able to hold two beside one another; this ought to work quite well indeed.

A glance back up at him, as he reached for a second package. "Is everything all right...?"

[misery_called_npcs]

"Very well. There is much wisdom after all in the gaining of other perspectives. You just must be certain not to allow that to cloud your own or to act as though you do not have to observe as well. So what you wish right now is a history lesson?"

[aquawayfinder]

"Auradon seems to be very interested in teamwork in general. And I for one happen to approve. Working together builds bonds between us, and it is harder to break a stronger bond. We have better protection from outside forces that wish to do us harm, the closer we are to each other."

[aquawayfinder]

"It is hard," she said softly. "Though I think it presents different challenges for me than for you. Æn'Kae or Rren might have a closer perspective, if you wanted to ask them. But for me... I think it is kind of like the way some people manage to keep from getting ill on a spinning ride. They find a few key spots and make sure to see them on every pass. Only in this case, I'd say pick a few key people or places to check in with, and make sure every week you check in with each of them at least once. Calendars also help, if you can find a way to use them that suits your lifestyle. The trick is not to let them lure you into getting so tangled into planning your life that you forget to live it. Journals are also useful."

She sighed gently. "I suspect for you though a big part of your problem in tracking time that a number of the rest of us don't have is that your body doesn't give you the same sort of regular cues we get. Which is why Rren maybe a better choice to ask this of. But we... most of the rest of us that is... we get hungry. Multiple times a day, usually. We need sleep regularly and we feel the effects if we skimp on it or get too much of it. We need the bathroom, we start to smell if we don't shower or bathe. And we're often surrounded by people with these same needs and urges. So even those of us who are good at not noticing our own hunger or sleepiness see when others are eating or sleeping, or we get sent to bed or given food by those who notice we're not caring for ourselves properly. But all of these things keep us from getting as focused as we might otherwise like to. I might want to spend an entire day exercising, but if I don't take a break to eat in the middle I won't make it to the end. And even with that break... I'll feel it the next day. There is no way I'll be able to forget that day how hard I worked the day before."

She gave a small smile. "Being able to ignore all that and focus the way you can... it is neither good nor bad... or rather, it has aspects of both. There are things you can do that had I your powers and experience and knowledge I still could not. But at the same time, the cost of pulling off those wonders is a focus so intense you miss things around you. So since your body doesn't naturally give you those limits to force you to see more than just your own project, you have to find ways to give them to yourself."

"And you're making a good start of it here, it seems. Making breakfast for everyone regularly not only means that you are seeing most of us often, and having a chance to converse and learn how our days have been going, but also that it makes you mindfully aware of the time and of those around you. Continuing things like that will help. Using things like the sun and moon as indicators could also be useful, since I'm pretty sure your world has not yet discovered the alarm clock." She smiled a bit at that.