Mistral Durand has taken to the modern amenities of the new world with zeal and by that, she's found herself a change of clothes, more 'modern' and is currently sitting on a couch, cross-legged and poking at the remote control. Sure the big red button turned it on, but the volume is at full blast, there's a menu on the screen that won't go away and she's not exactly trying to get rid of either problem. Instead, she's poking at random buttons, changing the channel and probably making something of a racket.
Eventually she accidentally closes the menu though, leaving it on some random action movie. She watches it for a moment, then slowly climbs off of the couch and walks towards the TV, reaching out to touch it, fiddle with the frame, peek around the side, under it. If it's not secured tight enough she might even try moving it away from the wall to peer behind it.
Fate T. Waldia has been off with Nanoha for a few days. In those days, a new arrival from Waldia seems to have appeared. She'd heard as such but only through the phone and she arrives, through the front door, with a tote bag. "...Hello?" she asks silently, in the quiet manner she is accusomted to around people she doesn't know well.
She walks and places her bag down by the couch as she leans back up. "Are you... Mistral-san?" she asks. "I am Fate... do you ... need help with that?" she asks as she tilts her head up as if pointing to the TV with it. There would had been declarations in Waldia about Fate! And her adoption by the kind. Runealy's sister, by all rights. She won't be surprise if Mistral doesn't know the name.
"Be careful moving it. Flat screen TVs are easily damaged." she says. "Did you drop something back there?"
Mistral Durand finds the wiring with the little bit of leeway she finds with the TV and begins to try and follow them. Her thoughts are interrupted by someone entering the home though. She starts to try and set the TV back in place and feels it slip. There's an internal moment of panic and she starts trying to reset the TV back on the wall. "I'm okay. It's fine. The picture thing will be fine." It's fine. After a few moments of fiddling, she gets the TV back in place. Claps her hands proudly and says, "Nothing broken."
It's only then that she gives the woman a curious look, "You're like the other guy." She eventually says, trying to remember his name. "Hinote?"
The introduction and comments though, that gets her mind running and she says finally, "I've heard the name, nice to meet you." Pause. Pause. "I'm Mistral Durand." That's it right?
"Flatscreen?" She turns to the TV in question, probably repeating the name to herself repeatedly. "It's loud. Are they all like that?"
Fate T. Waldia lifts her head. "What about Hino-kun? Is something wrong?" she asks with a softer frown. When it doesn't appear anything is wrong she realxes. She's glad Mistral isn't using any sort of regal terms with her. She's still been debating how to handle that. She's been meaning to ask Runealy, but Runealy's grown up being called 'Princess' all her life. She hasn't.
"Flatscreen TV. TV is the name of the device. This one is flat. Older TVs are ... fatter. Wider." she says. "So it helps differentiate the two." she says with a curt nod.
"It's nice to meet you, Mistral-san." she takes the remote and starts going about fixing anything wrong with it. Getting the channels back and all that as she sits down on the couch.
"Earth can be a little weird." she says quietly. "I'm not from Earth. But not Waldia, either." she says. "....It is complicated." she says. She leans back.
"...So... have you been settling in well?" she asks. "Do you need help?" she asks. "With anything...?" she asks more awkwardly.
Mistral Durand watches the TV get itself put back in working order. Nothing was broken at least. "No no, nothing was wrong. I meant you were from here, but that's not right." She comes across as informal at the best of times really. "Hino-kun? Is that a better name for him?" She finally asks, seeming surprised.
The TV gets her focus again and asks, "Wouldn't the bigger ones be better then? More room for whatever makes them tick, harder to nick off the wall, that sort of thing." There's an awkward moment as she resists the urge to blanch.
"It is nice to meet you as well. Though if you're not from here and you're not from home, where are you from? Just how many worlds are there? Is there more technology to look at?"
She reigns it in, though seeming excited at the idea of more things to learn about. "I don't think I need help yet, I've only been here since last night. I woke up, found soft comfy clothes and tried to figure out the TV thing."
Fate T. Waldia ahs... "... Honorifics. -kun is short for. 'A boy I like a lot. But only as a friend'." she says. "So... Hinote-kun. Hino-kun. For short." she says quietly. "I'll... give you the same text my...." pause. "I will give you the same texts I learned from in a bit." she says quietly.
"...As I said. It is complicated." she says quietly. "I am not from Earth. I consider Waldia my homeworld know. That is what's important." she says.
"Bigger TVs would sit on a table. Flat screens are bigger, and the picture is more crisp." she offers. "Not to mention the big ones are outdated nowadays." she says.
"There are many worlds. But. Not many are reachable from here. There is interference. The same reason the portal to Waldia fluctates I'd believe." she says as she taps her bottom lip in thought.
She shrugs, the twintail blonde nodding. "If you... need help shopping. Let me know? I can take you out. I can introduce you to some non-Waldians I know... but that's not a huge list."
SUDDENLY, a puppy comes running down the stairs. AND THEN also starts talking. "Fate-chan Fate-chan! You're back!" she wags and hops into Fate's lap. "Hi Arf-chan." she says with a small smile. She looks to Arf. Then back to Mistral. Then back to Fate. "Mistral-san. This is Arf-chan. She is my familiar."
"Hello!" says Arf with a waggy tail.
Mistral Durand listens, a happy little student on the cultural norms. Which she promptly throws out with a simple, "It sounds like it's overly complicated. We just called eachother by name. Or boss... Yeah forget about that." Her voice trails again, suddenly looking contemplative.
"I get complicated" She offers, "Everything is really, life-wise I mean. Even something that seems so simple can go sideways. Stolen right out from under you."
Once more, she listens until the end on a brief lesson, adding in a simple, "Yeah it fluctuates, gets bigger and smaller." She punctuates it with hand gestures indicating as much.
Then there's a puppy. She doesn't immediately jump away from it. "Technolo-" familiar. Beat. "Magic right?" She then leans forward and looks the dog over curiously, leaning forward to get a better look while adding, "Shopping sounds nice. I hear I get paid well even by this world's standards, so I should have the money for it."
Fate T. Waldia gives Arf eskimo kisses and she rubs back, rub rub rub! "Arf ... is a wolf I encountered on my arrival here. She was hurt. Dying. I... used my magic. To make her a familiar. A Smarter animal. I wanted her to live. Didn't want her to follow me... but she did anyways."
"Of course I did!" says Arf with surprise. "Mistress saved me." she says with a puppy blush. Fate sighs and shakes her head. "I am... what one calls an 'Intelligent Device Mage'." she says. "I use an Intelligent Device to access my magic. My Intelligent device is named Bardiche. He's in sleep mode though." she says with a nod.
"Yeah, you get paid. I guess." she shifts. "I mean I'm willing to buy you some clothes in the meantime too..." she trails off. "I mean. I'm technically a Princess of Waldia. It's my duty to make sure that... you're comfortable here. Right?" she asks. "I'm not a crown princess but..."
"Well..." she blushes.
"C..could you let me anyways?" she asks sheepishly. "Do that?" she asks.
Arf wags her tail. "Fate-chan wants to do some Princessly duties!" interjects. "Okay!?" she asks as she leans forward and sniffs at Mistral's nose when she leans in to examine her.
Fate looks down. "Something. Like that. Is that okay?" she asks. "I mean."
"You can say no." she nods once.
Mistral Durand tilts her head and asks, "You'd question why someone or something you saved would want to follow and help you?" Seeming surprised. Though to be fair, there's at least two cases of that in her own past. Pointing to Arf she says, "You can hear it, you've got a follower there right? You shouldn't abuse that trust though."
There is a pause though as she asks, "How does she speak though? I had thought an animal's mouth wrong to speak so... clearly." She leans in suddenly, wanting to get a better look. Almost hoping she finds a normal set of teeth, people teeth, horrifying as that would be mental image-wise.
She pauses her idle musing though, tilting her head to get a better look at the princess. "Oops." Is all she can offer, suddenly remembering why the name was familiar. Eventually though, she nods and says, "I'll do that. Go shopping I mean. If it's a thing you have to do, you have to do it." Sitting up straight, she continues after realizing it was kind of an awkward point to stop, "I'd appreciate it."
Fate smiles. She places Arf down. "It's magic. Also... Arf, go ahead and poof up." Arf nods and with a poof of magic mist, turns into a tall, redhair woman in a modest blouse and a skirt, and with pronounced wolfears on her head, and a tail. "Here." she says. "This is better, right?" asks Arf. Fate nods. "She's my familiar. She has part of my... magical soul in her. It's why she knew what I wanted just now." she says. "A mage and a familiar share a... bond that is..." she sighs. "It's hard to explain. But it's family." she says with a soft nod.
Arf smiles and nods. "Yes." she says. "I've been with Fate for a long while. Though that whole ordeal with..." she takes a deep breath. "That woman." she says crpytically.
Fate nods. "I won't abuse Arf-chan. Do not worry." she says. She smiles at Mistral. "...Thank you." she says softly. "I mean. Runealy. Has been a princess. Over in Waldia for a while. I haven't had that luxry. Yet I am a supposed to be a princess and..." she says.
"I want to help. You. You'e from home. I want to help you fit in. I mean, I'm sure we all do?" she says.
"But extra double for me." she smiles.
"Um."
"There may be a tiny tin soldier that... moves around the house. Like when you're not looking. That's Jin. He's my Guardian Knight. In a sense." she smiles. "He'll probably be curious of you. Just tell him who you are. And what you're about and he'll probably go back to my dresser. He um."
"He won't answer back. Not verbally. And please don't mistreat him just because he looks like an older, slightly rusty 'toy'." she says a little sadly.
"He... used to look like a young man. Protected me. When... I didn't..." she says, trailing off.
"Complicated." says Arf with a nod.
"Just a warning." she says.
Mistral Durand drums her fingers againster her chin, having resumed her earlier cross-legged seat. The wolf's transformation is given a curious look. She points to the ears and asks, "Is that always like that? Hats can't be comfortable." Then there's a thought and she sloooowly leans to the side to look for a tail. "I bet it's a pain if you have to tailor everything to fit. Worse if you're like me and skirts just... don't feel right anymore." Hard to run in, hard to look imposing in, that sort of thing.
She does offer a brief smile though, "I didn't think you'd abuse her, just... if you're new to the boss thing, you shouldn't abuse that trust of your ga-aaang of soldiers." Smooth.
"Did the princess tell you why I'm here? If not, I should probably mention I'm here as a... healer. Not a doctor yet. I'll fix that soon though." There's a word she learned fast. "I'll be attempting to become a knight as well. I have tricks I can bring to a team I feel."
At the mention of a tin soldier, she says, "So I shouldn't try to take it apart to see what makes it tick. I'm glad you said so-" she hesitates and adds, "Though if it was clear he was um, alive? I'd have stopped too. To be fair."
Fate T. Waldia takes a deep breath. "Arf can hide the ears and tail but around here there's no point. Also. People see that and thinks she's just in a costume." Arf nods a bit. She then walks to the kitchen and pulls out a three decker dagwood sandwich filled with ham and roast beef and starts eating it at the table in the kitchen now. Fate blinks and looks back to Mistral.
"A Healer would be useful. I don't know any healing spells. Not my forte." she says quietly.
She nods. "He doesn't... animate. Or talk. He'll just sort of... teleport when you're not looking if he's concerned. He's usually content to stand guard on my dresser." she insists.
"He can't hurt you. So no worry. I'll tell him about you before I go to bed." she smiles. "Speaking of..." she says as she grabs her tote. "I should get to bed. I was staying at my Girlfriend's place for a few days-- erm. Her mother was training me to work part time at her family's bakery." she nods. "And they already have a bed for me there." she smiles.
"Also. I'm tired." she says with a yawn. "Arf... come to bed when you're done eating that abomination of a sandwich."
"But it's so good!" insists Arf with a full mouth.
Mistral Durand leans forward to look at the ears for a moment longer. Maybe she should pet the ears. That's for later though. Especially after the sandwich. Which, to be fair sounds like a spectacular idea. Making a sandwich that is, not necessarily one that would require dislocating her jaw to devour.
"I can do the traditional kind of healing, though I think I'll be out of luck going out and harvesting my own herbs and barks for it. Lizards too." Pause. "Uh. I do the magic thing too now though." She wriggles her fingers back and forth, "Maybe more soon too. I hope."
Continuing on the comment about the tin soldier, she says, "I'll try not to-... I'll make sure I'm not too jumpy. I'm trying to relax I mean."
Gesturing upstairs she says, "If it gets too loud, you might need to come turn the flat TV down." She would do it, but she's afraid she'll forget. Or just pass out if she stops moving/thinking for too long.
Finally she says, "Wait" at the comment about her girlfriend. She suddenly looks confused, "You do baking?" ... "I need to learn how to cook I think- Also good night."
Fate T. Waldia stops on the stairs and turns around. "I can teach you a little. Hinote and I do most of the cooking. Yes..."
"When I was living with Nanoha's parents, they taught me how to bake. I..."
"Fate... is a fabrication." she says. "Myself I mean." she says walking back down a few steps and sitting on the steps. "My... mother. Who Arf calls 'That Woman'.." she says. "Created a clone... I guess you might understand the word.. 'Homonculous' of her deceased daughter. And implanted her with her memories. That is me." she says quietly. "But... I was. Mistreated. Because my mother became very ill... in the head."
Arf stops eating and looks over concerned. She frowns. "That Woman. Precia. Would beat Fate with a whip. While she held me back. Unable to do anything." Arf says a little shamefully. "Make Fate do things she didn't want to in her quest to bring back her 'daughter'>" she says quietly.
Fate shakes her head. "I am. Better now. And... 'that woman'. Is dead." she says with a deep breath. "So after. I had to.. to figure out who... 'Fate' is. Since. All my memories, we're not my own. Up until a certain point. I decided that..." she says with a deep breath.
"Fate like baking... staring at the full moon... and playing video games. And that she loved her adopted sister, and Nanoha-chan." she says quieter.
"So. I want to become the best baker I can, yes." she says softly. "Sorry if. That answer got... to a not nice place." she says. "But. It took me a while. To figure out who I was." she smiles. "And the baking is a major part of that."
Mistral Durand pushes the big red button on the remote as she listens to the story she's told. She considers that serious enough to actually make sure she's paying attention. "I don't really understand either of those terms, but I think I get the idea you're talking about." She can at least imagine it, she thinks of it more of being a living doll though. Sort of.
"Memories... they're yours. They're in your head, you remember them. They're an immortality of sorts." she taps herself and continues, "I will make sure I never forget my mistakes. The things I've done, they make me who I am, even as I know I've forgotten details, changed them in my head. Tried to make myself look less... a bandit."
"If you enjoy those same things, it's still you. I look forward to learning how to bake." She doesn't touch on the other part of the explanation, not wanting to try and downplay it or even approach her own hardships. Willfully sidestepping all of that.