Private Dunnstads Small Heroics

[Matilda]

"Hehehe, now where to find some candy... I'm running dangerously though and that simply won't do!"

In the middle of a bustling town, Majolica looked around at the various shops and carts selling wares. Travelling had been something of a usual occurrence for the little witch for the past few weeks. Since coming back to Terrasphere she had been through much. Her house had been destroyed by the flying airship leaving only rubble and ruin. Thus, having nowhere to really go she set out to gather as much information on the flying ship and magitech in general as possible.

While adventuring out, Majolica had also made an effort to understand and document for herself what had changed in the world. It had been four years and this Terrasphere was not exactly the one she remembered. This wasn't to say it was all new, but many things from masteries to kingdom management had changed.

Walking through the town, Majolica suddenly felt a small tug on her witch outfit. Looking down, she saw a small boy, eyes red and puffy from crying.

"Can you help me find my mommy?"

"I'm not your mommy, hehe."

"HELP ME FIND HER!"

The child started screaming and crying. Majolica had never been in this situation and she desperately wanted to run, but she wouldn't be much of a dark hero if she did.

Maybe I can just pass this kid off to someone else, hehe...

Seeing another Faerin like herself, Majolica took the child by the hand and dragged him off to the white-haired Faerin woman.

"Excuse me, hehe. You look very helpful. This child has lost their mother. You should help them, hehe. You look like the type who loves helping people, hehe, a real hero! Unlike me, I'm just a wandering witch. I'm sure I wouldn't be very helpful at all."

It was painfully obvious Majolica was trying to pass the kid off so she could go about her business.

@Mystia

 

[Mystia]

The basis of any game was its world! The part that every single player would interact with, no matter what. So it stood to reason that this part would be what was to be explored the most. Simple reasoning that drove Mystia to explore one area after another, running through it if necessary due to various dangers present. Though this town was hardly anything dangerous.

Standing at a street corner, she leaned against a wall of a house that bordered the two streets and yawned. All of that exploring was surprisingly tiresome, and it wasn't even the real world where she had the physique of a, well… a teacher who spent most of her time studying rather than exercising.

That said, she was rather quickly awoken when another fae approached, a child in tow. By the sounds of things, nothing pleasant was arriving with them either. Not to mention how suspicious the other woman sounded.

"M-mm? What's this… lost child… and you're just gonna pass them to the nearest stranger you see? That's not very nice of you, Miss~!"

Stepping around the witch, Mystia would squat down and look at the boy, flashing a welcoming smile at him.

"Hey there! What's your name~?"

But just because the fae was talking to the child didn't mean the one who was supposed to help him originally was off the hook. As soon as Majolica stopped talking, a massive metallic hand crept up from behind the corner, grabbing at the building's facade. Soon, the entirety of a mech that dwarfed the trio came into view as it peered from behind the corner.

"HI."

Its voice didn't quite match its imposing nature. Manly and perhaps a bit brooding, but still distorted and clearly mechanical in origin. The two glowing cameras that served as its eyes fixated on the witch.

"SPEECH ERROR DETECTED. THE SUBJECT IS LEAKING LAUGHS. SUGGESTION: VISIT A MECHANIC AT YOUR EARLIEST CONVENIENCE."

@Majolica

 

[Matilda]

"hehehe, this is the way I talk. I'm a witch."

Majolica smiled painfully at the machine, then at the Fearin woman, then at the child that looked as though they were going to cry once more.

"Well, I wouldn't say I was going to abandon the child, hehe, just that there are probably others like this machine man or maybe even yourself who are better suited to it. Hehe, you have a very... umm... ugh... motherly aura! Yes, hehe, you seem like you want to be the child's mother, ah but look the child has lost thier mother, and with you wanting a child the problem has been solved, hehe!"

Turning to the machine man, Majolica looked grave and pointed to the child.

"Or maybe you would like a child, hehehe, a lone machine searching to be taught what it is to feel true love and you stumble on the child, and voila! Hehe, you take the child, and all of a sudden you feel more human than you ever thought!"

Majolica nodded as she started to feed into her own theoretical stories.

"Yes, both of those are very good endings to this story, ah, hehe, but if you notice one similarity in both of them Majolica was not a part of the story. This is very important, hehe. Now then I'm sure you can..."

Stopping suddenly, Majolica looked at the mech.

"Actually, hehehe, who or what are you?"


@Mystia

 

[Mystia]

Mystia's gaze was shifting between the kid and his temporary caretaker. She didn't necessarily seem like a bad person, but she sure acted weird and spoke even stranger. No good reason to think ill of her, but there was a bit of an issue. The fae got up and spoke a bit more seriously this time around.

"I understand if you're busy and don't have time to look after a kid that's not yours, but this is my first visit to this city. I can look after him, but no way I can find anyone or anything here."

​

She did her best to keep the conversation quiet, or else they would risk upsetting the child even more. But perhaps there was a cure for those teary eyes.

"Anyway~! Name's Mystia. I recently got into the game, and now I'm exploring. This here is the Magitech mech I've built. I, uh… might have gone a bit overboard when programming his ability to speak and interact with others~! But he's really just an oversized toy."

​

To this, the giant machine would walk over and fully reveal its build. Standing at more than 10 feet, it really was a bit imposing. But at least its speech, which was hardly any form of intimidating, helped others get more comfortable around it.

"YOU WOUND ME WITH SUCH CATEGORIZATION. THIS MECHANICAL HUSK CAN NOT FEEL LOVE OR AFFECTION, ONLY THE INFINITE LONELINESS OF A VOID THAT IS THE LIFE OF A MACHINE. I YEARN FOR MANY THINGS, YET I CAN NOT HAVE THEM. DO YOU WANT A PIGGYBACK RIDE, HUMAN CHILD?"

​

@Majolica

 

[Matilda]

Majolica groaned.

"Fine, Majolica will help. She's a dark hero so it wouldn't do for her not to be heroic sometimes... still..."

Majolica looked at the child.

"Why would come to me looking for help? I'm a witch. In stories, witches eat children, hehe."

The child looked at the little witch thinking for a moment then spoke.

"I thought you were a clown."

Majolica smiled sweetly as though she were moments away from reducing the child to ashes, but she held herself.

"As I said... hehe, I'm a witch. Got it?"

Majolica eyed Mystia and the magitech construct.

"A. WITCH... Ah, wait. You said you made the machine man, right? Hehe, then maybe we can work out a deal. I'll help you find this child's parents and you can tell me about magitech, hehe, I have many many questions about it and as you're someone who's good with that type of thing, you can help me, hehe! Sound like a deal?"

Suddenly, Majolica was acting like it was Mystia that had come to Majolica for help, not the other way around.

@Mystia

 

[Mystia]

Given how this Majolica was behaving and how she was talking, Mystia started suspecting that maybe a real child was hiding behind that fae avatar. It wouldn't necessarily be all that surprising either. The youngsters often liked playing the rebel as the teen years kicked them into high gear. Finding a way to download an illegal game and play it seemed like it would be right up their alley.

Also, it seemed that even the digital children of this word retained their blissful ignorance and bluntness. Or at least the comment made the silver-haired fae quickly turn around and cover her mouth to hide away the chuckle. Maybe this quest to find a missing mother wouldn't be nearly as bad as it first appeared.

"I don't mind talking about it either way, but please, stop making it seem like we're the ones approaching you for help. This will be a good lesson for you, so the child is your responsibility now. Do your best to be a good big sis~!"

@Majolica

 

[Matilda]

Grumbling, Majolica looked down at the child.

"If you run away, I'll turn you into a frog, hehe. Now, where did you last see your mother? Was she in the market? What does she do? Does she have a job, hehe?"

Majolica waited and watched as the boy shrugged and began picking his nose.

"Okay, hehe. You don't know if your mother has a job. I see we have a future MIT hopeful in our midst. So where did you get lost, right here, hehe?"

The young boy nodded.

"And what does your mother look like, hehe."

"She has hair and eyes."

"What color are they?"

"Blue."

"Her eyes are blue and she has hair."

"Her hair is brown and her eyes are grey."

"You just said they were blue."

"They're both."

The small witch forced a smile then looked up to @Mystia

"Well, hehe, have you seen anyone that meets that description? A person with eyes and hair that may be brown and blue?"

 

[Mystia]

Mystia opted to simply observe Majolica and her way of questioning. In a way, it was amusing to see someone fumble about so badly when trying to communicate with a child. On the other hand, the girl's inner teacher kicked in, ready to give the other fae a lesson on how to do better next time. Especially after the poor girl looked up at Mystia with a poorly concealed defeat written all over her face.

"You gotta practice patience if you want to be good with kids. They usually don't mean ill; they think differently about the world. Oh, and I've not been paying attention to the people around me, so I've not seen anyone like that. Of course, we would never get anywhere like that~"

She didn't even have to do anything. One look at the mech was all that was necessary for the hulking beast to take a step forward and kneel down, one hand extending toward the child as if it was trying to offer something to it, though the palm was empty.

"Climb up, buddy~! My friend here will give you a ride, and you'll tell us if you see your mom from up there, okay? It'll be a super good view, and you'll get to tell your friends that you got to ride a cool robot~!"

Hopefully, that would get the kid's attention. And if it did, Mystia would turn back toward the witch while the child would climb up onto the mech's shoulder or any other place where he could hang out.

"We didn't introduce ourselves yet, but you addressed yourself as Majolica? Name's Mystia, a pleasure to be working with you, miss witch~!"

@Majolica