[X] Wear something:
- [X] Similar to what Ilya wears.
[X] Suggest Ilya wear:
- [X] The second dress.
[X] Make sure to find Deis.
- [X] Suggest she come on her own a little after you and Ilya go.
"But, if you
do want me to decide …." You trail off until Ilya nods, then smile and have your clones move to flank Ilya so you can look at the dresses and her together. You rule out the third dress almost immediately, and the first dress not long after. Both are more formal, which shouldn't be necessary, but more importantly, they leave her upper arms bare. It won't hide the fact that she's missing an arm, but the jacket won't display the injury itself for everyone to see. Besides, since she can't stand or fly on her own, she's going to want a more comfortable dress since she won't be able to adjust it as easily. Your clones put the other two dresses back in the cabinet as Sella takes your choice.
"Thank you, Flan." You smile at Ilya's quiet voice and lean forward to give her a hug.
"There, there. Remember who you are, and be confident during the party. Now, I'm going to go put on something else for the party, so I'll be back in a bit. Do you need anything else to get ready? Bath, or anything specific that I can get you?" Ilya shakes her head.
"Thank you, but we're fine." You nod and back away, then fly back to your room. What should
you wear? Something elegant? Extravagant? You stick out your tongue in distaste - wearing something extravagant would attract too much attention, and especially since you'll probably be with Ilya, that's not something you want. You're already going to be remarkable, because you're
you and because you'll be with her; breaking out the jewelry and
really fancy clothes is going to make things worse. And you could wear a proper dress, but that might make Ilya uncomfortable, because
you're dressing up more than she is. Well, more uncomfortable …. You open up your wardrobe and run a hand along the hanging outfits. You do want something a little
nice, though, and after a minute of checking, you take one out. It's very similar to your usual outfit, but the cut is a little sharper and not as loose, the shoes aren't quite so heavy, and the color is a little softer - darker carmine and carnelian rather than the brighter scarlet and crimson. You look at yourself in a mirror once you finish changing. It's a noticeable difference to you, but it's not something attention-grabbing. Nicer than what you usually wear, but not something you
couldn't wear on a daily basis. You nod and leave your room, but instead of heading back to Ilya you poke your head into the music room.
"Oh, good, you're still here!" You hurry in when you see that Ershin is still there. Deis appears, lounging on a couch, and smiles at you.
"We're here
again, actually." She sniffs in mock-annoyance and you giggle.
"Oh, my mistake." She flashes you a grin and eyes your new clothes. "Do you like it?" You spin for her and she nods.
"Very nice. Is that what you're wearing for the social event?" You snort.
"It's not a 'social event,' Deis, it's a
party." She shakes her head. "So … did you decide if you wanted to come or not?" She shrugs.
"Well, it would be better to get all the new things out in the open at the same time, instead of a stream of surprises. But I get the impression that Ershin, at least, is going to be a bit underdressed, and I'm …." You sigh and shake your head.
"Well then, how about this? I'll be taking Ilya up so she can meet Alice. We can get Patchouli to let us borrow some sort of scrying tool, and you can keep an eye on things. When you feel ready, you can come up and join us - or move around on your own, if you feel like it. Or … well, I don't know how long Ilya is going to want to stay up there, or how she'll feel when we come back down, but maybe I'll be able to take you up then." She gasps and puts a hand to her chest.
"Oh, Flandre! Double-dating? Naughty, naughty!" She chuckles as you glower at her. "Oh, fine, fine. Sorry, really. But … yes, I think that would work. If nothing else, I can keep an eye on you and if anyone seems a little too interested I can keep track of them."
"That shouldn't be necessary … but thanks. Anyway, come on, let's go back to Ilya, then I'll get that scrying thing so we can make sure you can use it." You take your time heading back, so you don't have too much 'waiting around' to do before the party, and you don't actually go into the lab area when you reach it, instead sending Deis and Ershin ahead while you go look for Patchouli. You actually find Koakuma first, but that's close enough, and after explaining what you want she actually follows you back to the lab area to set something up.
"Miss Deis? Over here, please. I'll get you connected." You leave the magician to the little devil and give Ilya a hug.
"Oh, you look wonderful, Ilya!" She blushes and smiles.
"Thank you, Flan. You look fantastic, too." You giggle, but Sella coughs meaningfully before you can do anything else.
"Lady Illyasviel, we should explain the story." You look back and forth at her and Ilya, and Ilya scowls unhappily.
"I guess." You give her a questioning look. "So people don't know where we're really from. I'm supposed to be the daughter of a historian-magician in the 'outside world' with ties to Hesse-Darmstadt. I was injured by an attacking rival magician, so after looking up your sister and finding some evidence that she 'left' instead of dying, he used a ritual to send me after her with a plea to help me." You frown and tilt your head to the side.
"That's … not bad, I guess, as long as we can remember to keep the story straight. Your 'father' wouldn't have any claim on my sister's aid, though, because unless he was from a family
personally familiar with us, there wouldn't be any binding contract. Technically, we gave up our titles when we left and came here. Of course, he wouldn't necessarily know that …." Sella nods.
"Yes, and it provides us with a rationale for our continued presence once Lady Illyasviel has received assistance, and for your relationship with her. Your family is under no obligation to assist us, and we are unable to formally compensate you for your aid, but we can serve as companions to you in exchange. And, should you wish, you may 'develop a fondness' for Lady Illyasviel." You give her a look and snort, and Ilya giggles at your response.
"Who said that? It couldn't have been Patchouli."
"I did, Miss Flandre." You turn at Koakuma's voice to see her smiling. "Miss Patchouli couldn't find the words to express what she wanted to convey. But, Miss Deis should be able to access the security system, at least partially, so would you like to see if it works?" You nod and wheel Ilya's chair over toward Deis, and the servants follow after. Deis smiles.
"Alright, let's see …." An overhead view of the front lawn appears in the air as she concentrates on something - but the colors are warped and coruscating, and there are lots of places where things seem to bend improperly -
"Oh, hold on!" Koakuma springs forward and does
something, and after a moment the image stabilizes and looks how it's supposed to.
"Ah, thank you. I hadn't realized that was a direct move instead of a translation. Huh … I thought the party wasn't supposed to start for a while?" You frown at the suspiciously-large number of people and give the familiar a look as well.
"We~ell … the official start time
is at two. But people have been allowed to show up since noon." She gives you a nervous grin, and you keep looking at her for a moment before turning back to the image.
"Well, whatever. Let's see, who's here …?" There are all sorts of people you don't recognize - a variety of hair colors and hats and faces that aren't familiar - but there are some you know.
"Would you like me to get the Chronicle, Miss Flandre?" You glare at her and shake your head. She raises her hands in surrender and backs away.
"Alright, so I don't know everyone, but I know some important people. First, those two with my sister are Yukari Yakumo and her familiar, Ran." Your sister is wearing a stainless white dress with no red - a warning sign. She's not in the mood for mercy and is probably going to take things personally. The gap hag is wearing a strictly western dress, compared to her usual eastern or fused styles, but her fox is wearing her normal clothes. "Yukari is something like the overseer of Gensokyo, but her
personal power isn't overwhelming - it's more that since she helps maintain the Border, you can't kill her unless you can
replace her, and her ability is pretty unique. Moreover, she has a lot of political power and connections, so … well, she's annoying and she knows it. Her familiar isn't terribly bright, but is very analytical. Give her a problem and she can work out likelihoods and probabilities and things like that." And you probably shouldn't take Ilya to see her; the fact that she's here
right now and talking with Remilia means she probably knows something anyway, and there's no need for Ilya to meet her - not yet, at least. You point to the pair of green-haired youkai heading toward the gardens.
"That one, with the parasol, is Yuuka Kazami. Very likely the most dangerous youkai in Gensokyo. She really likes flowers, and her gardens are even larger and have more exotic plants than ours. She's … usually at least superficially polite, but she doesn't like my sister much. We stopped our rampage before she could get involved, and I think she's holding that against her." You frown at the ghostly magician beside her. You've
seen her before, but you've never met her and can't recall ever hearing about her. "I don't know who her friend is, but she's probably pretty powerful, too. Youkai don't tend to hang out with people if there's a huge power disparity. Like
that," you say, pointing to the conglomeration of fairies huddled away from everyone else. "Those are fairies, like the maids we have. And those three in the middle seem to actually have some brains that work and are trying to set up a kingdom by the lake." You explain what happened yesterday and what Remilia told you about the three clever fairies. Ilya shouldn't be too uncomfortable around them, although being outside means that you'd be under scrutiny from Yukari, at least, as well as anyone coming in … and hanging around
fairies would be rather surprising behavior. You look around the image, but no one else stands out in your memory.
"Shall I see about looking inside?" You nod at Deis's question and the image twists into the ballroom, again from overhead. You lean forward.
"Hmm …." Well, there are those two rabbit youkai from when Remilia had that rocket-party; are they
guarding that table? How odd … maybe you could take Ilya around to get food first and swing by their table to see what's happening. Leaning against the wall are two more important figures, however. "
Those two are Shrine Maidens; the one in red is Reimu Hakurei, and she's pretty important. Not sure who the blue-white is, but she's probably not a nice person." Unlike meeting Yukari, meeting Reimu
is kind of important, but with that other miko there it's probably something that can wait. "And in the gallery up there, with the camera - that's Aya. She's a tengu reporter, and you'll both probably have to meet her eventually. She'll find out on her own anyway, but she and Remilia are friends, and she's not a bad person." You narrow your eyes at her companion, though.
They don't seem to be getting along, and look like they both wish they could be somewhere else. Kind of strange for two tengu - they're unusually gregarious for youkai. But then you shake yourself and point at an almost-solitary figure sitting at a table, drinking tea by herself - well, by herself with several dolls enforcing her privacy. "
That is Alice Margatroid. Magician, on fairly good terms with Patchouli and with Marisa. User and maker of dolls, and, like most magicians, something of a collector of magical items and books. Someone to talk to, I think." Ilya nods slowly. Well, that's everyone you recognize - now for a plan!
What do you do?
[ ] Take Ilya to meet the fairies.
[ ] Take Ilya to meet Reimu and the other Shrine Maiden.
[ ] Take Ilya to get some food, and swing by the rabbits to see what's going on.
[ ] Take Ilya to meet Aya - she'll have to do it sooner or later.
[ ] Take Ilya to meet Alice.
[ ] Let Ilya decide.
[ ] Other?
DM Note: As mentioned, the party isn't in full swing yet. People will continue to show up … and some may leave. And just because I didn't mention someone doesn't mean they aren't here, only that Flan didn't recognize them. Depending on your actions and choices, people may come to meet
you. One of the default choices can be considered a bad idea, and talking to Remilia (for longer) would have let you know which one it is.
