252/Raine's Arrival

Raine's Arrival
Date of Scene:	05 August 2015
Location:	Japan
Synopsis:	An alien Knight arrives, reuniting with her friends! She soon learns that Tokyo will be a place of unimaginable luxuries, and living arrangements far beneath her...
Cast of Characters:	Runealy Waldia, Hinote Kagari, Raine Delacroix

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Runealy Waldia has posed:
When Solomon arrived, Rune was glad to see him... they'll need every bit of help they can get, as there is perhaps six months left - at most - before the Barrier falls. Yet she had sent messages through the tiny portal opening asking for /two/ people and he was only one of them. This raised a question: Where was Raine? He didn't know.

It thus struck the princess as possible that Raine might show up on her own, later on. That meant it would be a good idea to re-set the location, just in case.

And so she arranged some rocks to hold down a hand written note, and several more rocks laid out to 'draw' an arrow pointing to it. They would be the first things anyone saw if they were to walk through the forest portal and arrive on Earth. Or rather, the second thing. The blue energy ball, vaguely transparent enough to allow one a view of either side, would have let Raine see that the Earth side of the portal emerges into a forest as well, several miles south of Tokyo. This part at least isn't too alien; it's natural, normal, quiet enough for what it is and the sun is out on a fairly average day.

The note reads: 'Raine, if you're seeing this then thank you, you've come up at a very important time and we'll need you! We've left some supplies here for you to set up camp, please stay here until one of us arrives... we'll check here once a day for you.'

And sure enough, there was some food, water, a tent, and so on laid out to be used. A mix of local yen and more familiar silver/gold coins bearing the visage of the late queen on one side, Waldia's shield-and-heart symbol on the other, and the usual motto of 'Always Safe' are also included; Raine will have money, even if it's not immediately useful since squirrels and birds aren't going to be selling her things.

The note continues, 'There are also some books to keep you busy. Some of them are just to help pass time. Others are very important, they're letters about what you'll see here on the Unknown World... or as it's called, Earth. You're near Tokyo, Japan, one of this world's many nations.' That's an odd shift, given the one-nation layout back home.

The letters contain very basic primers on what to expect. Things like 'metal wagons' that move without horses. 'Glass candles' that can light the streets even at night. Small boxes that can send one's voice across the city in an instant to just one specific other box. These are things Rune notes will seem impossible, she barely believed them at first either and still only understands a handful of them at best.

Others are moral guidance. Tokyo /does/ have people with sufficient magic to be drained and help replenish the Barrier, Rune explains. Some very basic summaries of some likely targets are included, though the princess' notes are /extremely/ incomplete; she doesn't know much about many, many people they 'hunt.' The most useful letter of these would be an insight on Puella Magi and their artifacts, complete with crude sketches of what soul gems and grief seeds might look like. This summary is vague and has some errors in it, but the most key point explains that Puella Magi are absolutely never to be targeted for draining. Their magic does not heal by resting (they need the seeds instead), and if it runs out they will die; 'if we brought them closer to that, they would be scared in the exact same way we are', is her final comment on this.

Today, Runealy steps out of a limo she has hired to bring her out to the forest. The driver waits some distance away, unaware of the portal, as Rune instead marches further into the wilds. Her last few visits have shown the camp-site undisturbed with no sign of Raine, but she has always checked, once a day, as promised. Being left out here for very long just wouldn't be very comforting, after all.

Raine Delacroix has posed:
Not really /meaning/ to be days late, Raine simply takes a bit longer to get prepared to travel. Especially when not entirely certain what she should be bringing with her. An initially over-stuffed set of saddlebags and additional articles eventually gets painstakingly whittled down to a bundle the young lady can carry on her own, a decision made when confronted with the idle thought of whether or not she should risk taking a horse through the portal.

Having made the trip with her younger brother as a companion, so he can take her horse back home, the purple-haired girl eyes the portal a bit dubiously for a time before stepping through it.

And she's greeted by trees, greenery, and oddly arranged rocks. The note is snagged and then the girl makes her way to the camp area, where she sets to getting things situated after setting down her bundle, which is two dresses, a pouch of her own coins, some bread and cheese, and a waterskin. Thankfully the note says they'll be stopping by every day, so she won't have to camp for long. That'd be horrible.

Having arrived smack in the middle of times between visits, Raine is left with a little under a dozen hours which she spends enthusiastically browsing the letters, and then books. The letters get eyed pretty doubtfully at first, but she can't really think of any reason for the Princess to be making things up. A thrill of curiosity and adventure steadily builds, and then gets doused a bit by the letters more pertinent to what their mission is here. Good to know they can get what they need, but a bit painful to be reminded they're essentially here to hurt people, even if for the best of causes.

And that's how Raine Delacroix is likely found, sitting cross-legged in the tent with all the letters scattered around her, and absorbed in one of the books in her hands. The tall girl is wearing a violet-hued riding dress, black boots, and gem-studded bits of jewelry. All of which amounts to 'woodsy clothes' in her mind.

Runealy Waldia has posed:
"Hm?" Rune comes upon the sight of the tent properly set up. While the framework for it had already been in place to make setup as easy as possible for Raine - Runealy pondered whether her friend knew much about setting them up, given they come from similar backgrounds and the princess herself only barely knows how to do this - , it did need a little work to actually be raised such that it could be useful. "It's up? That means...!"

It means either someone else found it, which would be disastrous, or Raine found it. And so Rune jogs up, tapping a few fingers on the fabric and announcing herself: "Raine? Is that you in here? I'm coming in." She'll give Raine a few seconds to protest, just in case 'right this instant' is a bad time for Rune to enter.

Then she steps in. Raine might notice a mix of familiar and unfamiliar things. Rune's visible mood is low and unhappy, just as it has been since this whole crisis started roughly three months ago. Yet there is a flicker of relief; Raine is a close friend she hasn't seen for about that same amount of time, as caution demanded some of the Knights stay behind to watch for any more demon attacks; it was only when none seemed to be forthcoming even though they should view the nation as nearly defenseless that it became feasible for others to cross over to Earth. And now Raine is here and there is a physical shift in the princess' stance, more relaxed now.

"You're really here... I'm... I'm glad you are!" Unfamiliar words, as most of their previous meetings had been fairly frequent; the time between visits with Raine was usually measured in days or /rarely/ weeks. And they are joined by unfamiliar fashion. While most of Rune's attire is high-society fare from back home, the thick red scarf around her neck isn't. It's possible Raine may have talked her into wearing similar things at one point or another, but they're not part of Runealy's default look; this is different. "I was worried when I heard he didn't know where the letter summoning you had wound up... are you okay?"

Hinote Kagari has posed:
Hinote Kagari was here the other night when Solomon arrived. Runealy said they'd been expecting two. But only one showed up. Hinote figured that maybe she needed more time to get away. Maybe there was something pressing back in Waldia. Regardless, for now he's here. He hasn't walked forward with Rune immediatly. Instead, he's chosen to put his relic on and hang back for a moment to make sure nothing horrible is around and to make sure that no one's followed them. He's been extra worriedly lately. Afterall. If Runealy called for more help... it's gotta mean he isn't pressing things as hard as he could. Quitting his clubs seem more and more like a good mood. Being in the clubs won't exactly matter in a few months when he goes to Waldia with Rune, Gao, Sol, Rai.

He eventually steps away back to Runealy and waits outside the tent.

"Hey Rune, everythings okay out here." he says.

Raine Delacroix has posed:
Despite the fact that Rune just taps against the material of the tent, the temporary structure gives a perilous wobble. Raine blinks as she looks up from the book to the tent's 'door', "Runealy! Yes, come in." Her answer is quickly followed by a cautionary, "Be, ah, careful though. It took me far too long to finally get this to stand upright properly!"

The purple-haired girl scoots a bit inside the tent to make more room for the new arrival, smiling brightly as she steps inside. The cheery expression is accompanied by a sweeping look of grey eyes, the sort of assessment likely to come after a friend has been off in an unknown world for months. "Of course I am. One does not ignore a summons from her Princess without good cause. Particularly not when I had a growing itch to come join you, anyways," the older girl answers with warmth in her words, a hand eagerly beckoning Rune to sit with her.

"Me? I am perfectly fine. I just spent a bit too long fretting over what I should bring. Are -you- well? It has been far too quiet back in Waldia, I have half been wondering if the demons decided to come look for you, instead, to stop your mission!" The teen's excitement and worry is likely obvious in the way her answers and questions all jumble together in a string of chatter. Raine cuts off abruptly when she hears a male voice from outside, looking back to the tent's opening. Her head cocks as she tries to place the voice, "Is that Gaofele?"

Runealy Waldia has posed:
"No, it's fine. It looks like it'll hold until we leave, you did good," Runealy comments on the tent-work. As for the 'itch to join', Rune is somewhat apologetic on this. "Sorry I didn't send for you sooner. I wanted to be sure things were protected back home," This is a quirk of regional language. Rune didn't say 'safe' back home, safe would have meant everything was secure /and/ happy. She imagines only security would be viable in times like these, though. "And we've been trying to figure out where to go and who to target in the first place. It just took a while since Tokyo is completely different from anything we've seen. It's, like... probably a hundred times bigger than the castle town!"

Then Rune actually jolts in surprise when Hinote speaks up, startled. She shouldn't be; he's supposed to be here! Him meeting other Knights is a good thing. "Wh? Oh... good! Thank you!" A quick response to Raine, "No, that's... well, we'll have to explain this one." The confusion is understandable though; Gaofele's visits to the capital were spaced far enough apart that it's possible to not immediately recall his voice.

"Hinote, come in." There's room for that, the tent is certainly big enough with room to spare. "I'd like you to meet Raine. Raine Delacroix. I've known her for a long time, we did all kinds of things together before we came here. She's going to help us." Then a mirror introduction for Raine's benefit: "This is Hinote Kagari. He's from around here, and... he's the only one who knows why we're here. Hopefully it stays that way. But he knows, and he probably saved me from getting killed when I screwed up fighting one of Tokyo's monsters, called..." She hesitates, reminded of just how unpleasant, frightening, and lethal these things can be, "'Witches.' They bring you into a sort of different world that looks twisted and impossible and totally wrong. He wound up in one with me and stood up to the monsters anyway. When we explained ourselves, he wanted to... no, he has been helping."

Herself? Demons coming for her? These questions momentarily chill Rune as she considers the possibility, then a few headshakes follow. "No, I haven't seen any. A few things that are kind of close to demons, but not enough of a match and they didn't seem to really take special notice of me or any Guardian Knight, whether it's Hino," apparently he is one of those, "or Gao. Still, it's our mission. All of us. For our world. Just... haven't seen any demons yet. Maybe they already think they've won?" It's possible. With the Queen dead and the Princess clearly not quite capable of fixing the Barrier on her own... technically all they have to do is wait another several months and they win automatically when the rest of their kind are released from the abyss they're sealed in to. "I'm okay enough, anyway. We're getting through this."

Hinote Kagari has posed:
Hinote Kagari doesn't attempt to open the tent until Runealy says it's okay. He opens the tent and steps in, ducking his head a little and sitting down. He glances over at Raine. He smiles. "Hello!" he shares cheerfully, before his eyes go back to Runealy. "...you give me too much credit." he says. Clearly a teasing tone as he looks back to Raine. He looks between the two as they talk. He looks kind of awkward. Meeting new people is always sometimes weird. It's even weirder when they're from the medevil dimension where it's still 1448 or something. Not that Hino's complaining about that.

"Yeah. We've been doing our best." he says. Raine is dressed rather elaboratly. Hino is literarly just wearing a brown t-shirt and blue pants.

He feels entirely out-classed here. Maybe he should start putting on his theater going clothes for these meetings.

"Regardless of everything Runealy just said. It's nice to meet you Raine." he says.

He pauses. "Does everyone dress really fancy in Waldia?" he asks to an aside.

"....I'm going to need a new wardrobe when I go back with you guys, aren't I?" he asks in a teasing manner.

Raine Delacroix has posed:
"You do not need to apologize," Raine assures the princess with a shake of her head, "Protecting Waldia is almost as important as your work here to save it, even if I was itching to be /doing/ something." The older girl flashes a bright smile at Rune.

As Runealy begins trying to explain and then introduces Hinote, Raine is distracted from the idea of Tokyo being a hundred times the size of their capital. Not a name the girl recalls hearing back home, at least not as one of the Knights or anybody Rune knew. As the boy steps in, Raine blinks a bit at his attire. And then blinks more when her friend introduces him as being around from here, and further as knowing what they're doing. The grey-eyed girl's mouth opens, and then closes. Can't really go asking too many personal questions as soon as they've been introduced, that'd be rude. And she trusts the Princess's judgement, especially since she's the one with experience here in this strange land.

Smiling again, the teen answers the boy's introduction, "It is wonderful to meet you as well, Hinote Kagari. You have my utmost gratitude for helping Princess Runealy." A cheery laugh escapes at his question about how people dress, "Well..." She looks briefly to Rune before continuing, "Not quite as fancy, not everyone, no. But I imagine fashion is quite different between here and there."

The further revelation that Hinote is apparently a Guardian Knight has Raine looking at him again for a moment before she focuses on Runealy again, nodding at the other girl's words, "How has the mission been going, so far? Much progress yet?"

Runealy Waldia has posed:
It might be teasing, but Rune takes it seriously and insists to Hinote, "Sometimes I don't think I give you /enough/ credit. You're a big part of why we have a chance to make any of this work. And... no. Most people I know do, but not everyone dresses like this." She offers an example. "I don't think you could get much farming done wearing this, after all. So they don't dress like this, and that's okay. We need people like that too, everyone needs food. Still, when you get there with us... yes, we'll get you something that fits in better." Shirts about sports teams or pithy one-liners or so on, or even plain unadorned modern designs are all going to look totally out of place."Raine's pretty good with that sort of thing, actually."

"Well, you were doing something," Rune comments back to Raine. "Gao and I couldn't have gone ahead to look at anything if we had to worry about running back home," not that they reliably can, the portal wildly fluctuates in size every so often and its most common size is 'too small to fit a hand through' as it hovers as a tiny blue ball in the air, obscured from view by a few trees. And then the happy event of being reunited with a cherished friend is dimmed by talk of why they're here. It's important talk, but one that nonetheless lowers Rune's head. "Slower than I'd like, but it's going. I've filled two crystals so far. Need more, a lot more. Just... brace yourself. Some people keep asking why we're doing this and keep offering to help, even though we all know why we can't tell anyone."

That had been decided early on at the meeting that caused the new generation of Knights to be sworn in, after all. 'If word gets out about how vulnerable we are, someone from the Unknown World might cross over and ensure disaster does happen. All it would take is one wrong person finding out.' "Others hate us for it. I don't mean they're kind of angry, but they /hate/ us for it. ...They probably should, but... be ready for it. You're going to hear people describe us in ways that pretty much put us in the same camp as demons."

Hinote Kagari has posed:
Hinote Kagari oh thank god, Raine is good with the fashion over there. "Oh, by all means when I get over there then, Please. Take me out to shops or tailors and help me buy all the nicest clothes." he says to Raine. Hino pauses a bit. "I've been... fighting a lot of these Witches. Which brings Puella Magi. Which are non-targets because trying to drain thier energy could kill them. The Princess can tell you more, since I haven't met them personally- but she has. I'm not out to kill people here. I refuse." he says with a frown. "I will fight them until I can take thier energy with the crystal. That's it." he says.

He tries to pick up the mood a little more. "That's why I'm going with you guys back to Waldia. I'm burning bridges. There's nothing really here for me after this. And to be honest...."

"Kind of always been a dream to live in a world like that." he admits with a smile.

"Yeah. I'm. Working things out in my head." he says to Runealy. "I have a plan. It doesn't involve you guys. But does involve me beating the stuffing outta hat-guy, firstly."

Raine Delacroix has posed:
Raine positively beams at the notion of getting to play dress up with somebody, even if it is a boy from this unknown world. Admittedly, he probably wouldn't like to hear it called dress up. "I would love to. After all, the Princess's friend has to be dressed wonderfully." Which is totally a rule that exists nowhere except inside Raine's mind.

"Two crystals..." She repeats in a murmur, struggling to not be the downer who agrees with the fact that it certainly doesn't sound like much. "Hate? Have you had trouble then, outside of these witch things you mentioned?" That question is accompanied by looks from the princess, to Hinote when he mentions a 'hat-guy', and back. She frowns a bit at the mention of being compared to demons, but can't really argue with it. Intellectually, she knows what they're here to do, but emotionally she hasn't had to deal with the stress of actually /doing it/ herself. Yet, anyways.

The girl's purple hair sways as she bobs her head in a nod at the mention of the Puella Magi, "Yes, they were in.." She rummages through the pile of letters briefly, for the one mentioning how they don't regain energy by resting. "Wait, did you say /a hundred times/ as big as castle town?" The older teen segues abruptly in bafflement as her brain backtracks through the stream of information to lock onto that scrap, her grey eyes going wide as she looks at Rune and the letter getting lowered, forgotten.

Runealy Waldia has posed:
"You're going to get it. All of it!" Rune is sharply firm on this point to Hinote. "Best clothes, nice place to live, all of it. I swear you're getting a world, a home to replace this one. I know that doesn't really make up for it, you're giving up your friends and family, but... you're one of us, you will be coming when we go home, and we're not just using you and throwing you out afterward. Though... a plan? 'Hat guy'? Who?" She can think of a few possible matches for that description.

Raine's questions are good ones. "Trouble? Yes, but on top of that, people just don't like being hurt like this. Surprising, I know." Her voice drips with unhappy sarcasm on that point, but it quickly passes. "And getting chances to do it is a problem too. We're usually busy fighting Tokyo's monsters. They look different from demons, they fight differently too, but most of them are just as dangerous and just as eager to kill people. So... we stop them too, then hurt people when we can. We're probably going to start staging fake attacks so that people will stop running away from us. A lot of them really don't want to fight us. The ones who do... they're pretty clear about hating us. Either way, we've got to start making our own opportunities."

Then a single, slow nod. "A hundred times. At least. Tokyo measures its population in the millions. Plural!" This is in sharp contrast to back home, where if your population is tracked in tens of thousands you are a very big deal.

Hinote Kagari has posed:
Hinote Kagari kind of blushes. "Hey...I'm not doing this all for that. I'm helping you guys. You don't owe me anything! But. I know arguing with you on this point is silly." he smiles. "Something tells me even If I said no you'll just pass a royal decree that says 'Hinote is getting his act together right now!'." he insists. His tone is joking and light.

He looks over to Raine. "Tokyo is big. I understand that... Waldia doesn't have big cities. Tokyo is. Loud. I think. That's how Gao and Rune described it." he says.

He's finding Raine nice to talk to. Not like Solomon. Who seemed to infer he was attempting to court the princess and he's still kind of embarassed about that question. Luckily, that's furthest from his mind right now.

"Hat-Guy. Tall. Black hair. White mask. Cape. Tuxedo. That guy, you know. The one that jumps in front of Sailor Moon consistently like he has a deathwish. I don't know his name." he admits.

Hinote would /totally/ be on board with playing 'dress up'. But he grins at Raine. "Excellent. It seems I'm going to do just fine fitting in with people like you helping there, Raine." he laughs a bit.

Raine Delacroix has posed:
"How many people would you say know what you are doing, so far? And how many of them are actually a threat," the teen wonders, considering the matter as she listens to the other two.

"Runealy! How can so many people live in one place? How are there so many people in the first place! By the barrier, that is WONDERFUL!" Raine exclaims aloud, after a brief delay where her brain really tries to wrap around the idea of millions of people being in one place. Her excitement is almost palpable for a moment, inside the tent, and all notion of being here to abuse people by draining their magical energy is forgotten for a brief moment.

"There must be so much going on! How do you even find anyone? What do they all -do-? How do they have enough food to feed so many people? Or places to live? Tokyo must be the size of all of Waldia!" The questions come streaming out on top of each other, no time given to really answer them.

Runealy Waldia has posed:
"Sometimes, I wish I could just make a royal edict to fix everything. The Barrier didn't really listen when I shouted at it that I ordered it to be restored," Runealy comments in a low voice, somewhere between trying to play along with the joke and being kind of stung. "Loud is the word for it, though. Tokyo is huge and everyone's constantly doing things and it took me like two weeks just to not go nuts from all the noise everywhere."

When Tuxedo Kamen is identified, thoughts of her recent encounter with him flash through Rune's mind. She had expected a chance to reach some sort of closure, but instead he ran off. As far as she knows, it was an attempt to lure the princess into an ambush. That likely wasn't it, but it's her guess. "...Him. You know, he kind of reminds me of you. I say that as a good thing, but..." A few headshakes. "Do what you need to. I'll trust you, you've had some good ideas and plans so far, Hinote."

Then there is talk of numbers. Numbers of people. "A few dozen, I think. Probably more I don't know about at that rate, but just the ones we've met already outnumber us, so we kind of have to pick our right times to make any sort of move. Some don't know, but you should presume anyone you meet that can fight monsters already has some idea of what we're up to. And... yeah, millions. I'm not exaggerating, they actually say there are millions, with an s, here! They have all sorts of things for keeping people together and fed... you'll see. We're going to show you one of them soon, you'll be riding with us back to where we live. The ride is really nice," and technically is let out a few blocks away from where they live, so the driver won't know, "but where we stay isn't. It's some store that the merchant just gave up on and left. It's empty, aside from us. But... we'll get to that. Are you ready to go? We'll show you the 'metal wagon'... this particular type is called a limo, and has a private driver just like our carriages would. We've been using one to get around since Tokyo is so big. Well, the limo and a few other methods, but they're /weird./ They cram everyone together in one huge wagon and off it goes. The limo is way better, if you can get it."

Hinote Kagari has posed:
Hinote Kagari woah. question. questions. questions upon other questions. He raises his hands up. And smiles. "Runealy just answered most of you for that in terms you can understand better. I have a hard time explaining things to you guys sometimes. But I think Runealy and Gao know a better deal more than when they first came here. Like to not try to buy things with Silver Coins because that really isn't a currency here."

"But I'm willing to help with questions you have. I'm sure I'll have a LOT of questions for you guys when I'm living with you guys back home." he pauses. "I'm also just glad it's the August break from school. Gives you some time to figure out if you want to attend it or not." he says.

"Really. You're going to stand out if you don't go to a school. You don't want to stand out. Hard questions get asked like. Wheres your parents. Where do you live. All that stuff."

Raine Delacroix has posed:
"You aren't staying somewhere nice? Why not? Do I need to go back and bring more money?" That seems to distract Raine from the notion of millions of people well enough. She might not be a princess, but she is pretty spoiled and used to living in a mansion. "And yes! I'm certainly ready to go. I didn't really bring much, since I wasn't sure if I should bring a horse or not, so I needed to carry it all myself.

"A metal wagon. Is it a wagon, or a carriage?" The girl wonders when Rune mentions it being like the latter, and then she hops up, reaching for her bundle. "Limo," she repeats the strange word before looking to Hinote, "What do you use as money, then?" Apparently she hadn't managed to decipher that the Yen in the bundle left at the camp are money. There's a look at the silver jewelry adorning a wrist, and she inquires, "Is silver not valuable here?"

"I'll be careful if I encounter any monster hunters," Raine assures the princess before looking between the pair and asking, "Runealy, are you going to school here? I wonder what they teach." And then she's moving to slip out of the tent.

Runealy Waldia has posed:
Rune winces as Hinote speaks, a notable reaction to something he said, but gets over it after a few seconds. "Fair's fair... you've helped us figure this out, so we'll make sure you know what home is like and what to do when you get there." Then a nod over to Raine. "You'll be getting paid in both our money and theirs, just to be sure you've got what you need."

...And then Raine wonders why they're living in a derelict property. "People are looking for us. Or for 'The Princess' and her Knights, at least. Somehow, everyone seems to have some sort of secret identity going on." Another contrast from home. "There aren't many places we can go without putting people at risk. We had to find somewhere that people wouldn't find us, was still in Tokyo so we could do what we have to without spending all day walking in to the city, and... if they /do/ find us, will make sure we don't wind up wrecking someone's home. Or the family living in it. So... we live in a pretty lousy place." Her head lowers, ashamed at having to drag Raine into such degrading conditions. "Sorry."

"They use paper money here called 'yen'. You've got some already, and you'll get more. We can sell silver at some kind of 'silver value' to get yen, but most stores here won't accept our money except as a novelty. So... that's how it is. I go to Seishou, and so do Gaofele and Hinote. We'll explain more on the ride... we should be going. Thank you again for being here, Raine...!"

Runealy, once everyone is ready, will lead the way back to the limo. An impossible vehicle of modern design, that will carry the trio to an impossible city with an impossible population full of impossible contraptions that make life very different from back home. It will take them to a very unfulfilling place to live. Raine may be able to access some luxuries here and there from buying them at stores in Tokyo, but the actual living arrangement for the team at this time is very, very far removed from the kind of comfort and warmth she would be used to.

Raine Delacroix has posed:
The purple-haired teen bobs her head at Runealy's explanation for why they're slumming it. She doesn't have much reason to complain or disagree yet, even though she is almost certainly going to complain a bit later. At least it beats camping?

The mention of paper money has her cocking her head, "The little strips of paper with faces and numbers on them? Is paper that valuable here? Maybe I should have brought a couple of books." She looks to Hinote for confirmation there. Outside the tent, Rune's gratitude for her coming is answered with a one-armed hug from the taller teen unless stopped, "You do not need to keep thanking me, Runealy."

The limo gets stared at for a few minutes when they reach it, before the girl can be coaxed into getting into the thing. For the trip back into town, Raine practically has her face glued to the window, staring out and harassing both Hinote and the Princess with questions about the city.