Prelude (Cherry & ????)

The Park was a great place to relax in the central area, At the moment travel to Central was allowed due to the Coming Festival this would allow other people to come look around get used to navigating the area, and allow those that wished to set up shops, to get the paperwork squared away and approved and gave them time to set up and prepare for the festival.

One thing that was quite the common sight in central, the Presence of a Waddle-dee, these little Creatures seemed to be absolutely everywhere, running little errands and cleaning and preparing the place for the Festival along with people who where doing the same. In the Park however The Waddle-dee's seemed to be taking their time off, likely being told to go rest or go play as normally the little spirits would work till they were quite tired and told to rest by a Waddle-doo. But in the Park groups of them  could be seen sitting in the grass with others, napping under trees and tending to flowers or simply running around playing with other Waddle-dee's.

And among the Multitudes of Waddle-dee's wandering about, there were a few Waddle-doo's keeping a protective eye over them, to make sure the people that showed up to play with the Waddle-dee's were not being mean to them.


It would be in the middle of the park that an old man was sitting petting a Waddle-dee and giving food to a few others and gently humming a tune to them.

By this point Cherry had already finished messing around in the park, the teen messing around like a monkey scaling the trees for a decent length of time and had her fill of the activity, but this didn't mean that she was in any hurry to leave the park. Oh no, not at all. Even if she wasn't playing, being in a place with so much nature was still more then enough to plaster a smile on her face. So instead of heading deeper into the city, she took some time out of her time to walk around the park. Her hood pulled up and hiding her long black hair and her eyepatch covering her nasty scar. It was also just so nice and peaceful............ Or it would be at least if it wasn't for all these waddle dee's roaming about.

Not many people knew about the scorn she held for spirits. She had learned a long time ago that her option wasn't shared by anyone who lived here. While no spirits have ever harmed her, she still just couldn't bring herself to trust them. A demon was a demon in her eyes, didn't matter what act they put up. She just knew that one day, one of those little round things was going to snap and scar some innocent person, after that, those dee's won't be so cute. Still though, until she actually got hard proof that this was just a act, the teen was forced to bite her tongue, and bite it she did. Kari did not make any comments and really reacted to the dee's or doo's that she crossed or crossed her path, the most they would get is a quick cold gaze of her good piercing brown eye, before walking off.

As she wandered towards the middle of the park, her eye would be drawned to the elderly man, seemingly taking care of the various dee's as he sat peacefully. His choice of clothes was what really caught her eye, he looked like some old wizard! Like that one nerdy game she heard about, she was pretty sure it was called Dungeons and Dragons, but the name and game did not matter so much as the man himself. The girl curious would walk a little closer to him, making sure never to get close to any if the dee's as she smiled and waved at the man. "Bonjour monsieur!" She called out, using the hand she used to wave to pull the pink hood back. "Lovely day we're having today, isn't it?"

The Waddle-dee's that Cherry had seen warmly smiled and waved to her, seemingly oblivious to the glares she gave them, and a few had offered her little flowers as they ran around playing, though when ignored they simply assumed she hadn't seen them and followed after her quietly.

the Waddle-doo's watched carefully, or rather one did, and as it noted the glare it started to follow to keep an eye on Cherry as she walked into the park where all the Waddle-dee's were.

As she got to the man he hummed a nice gentle tune to the Waddle-dee's and he smiled gently petting one, and as she drew closer he gave another Waddle-dee a bit of a sandwich and the little Waddle-dee happily sat there nomming away on it. As she spoke the man slowly stopped Humming and as she gently moved the Waddle-dee from his lap he picked up another as if making sure each Waddle-dee got some attention "Hello there young one" his Wizen voice came from him with out looking at the girl "The day is indeed quite enjoyable, and the presence of our little allies does much to life some people's Moral all the more.." he said as he pets the Waddle-dee he had just picked up, the little creature relaxing and looking very content.

"Are you excited for the Festival young one?" he asked as he continued to pet the Waddle-dee a gentle tone on his Wizen voice.

The flowers were pretty and a nice touch, but she wasn't going to lower her guard. Surely those flowers had some sort of curse casted on them by the demonic round spirits. Maybe it would brainwash her, or make her skin go all purple and fall off, maybe it would just make her cough! She wasn't sure what it was, but Cherry was sure that something was up with it. The fact that she found out by briefly glancing behind her that there was a small group of them following did nothing to ease her fears.

The man seemed kind enough. He was feeding and taking care of other living things after all, even if those things were waddle dee's, was a nice thing to do. She just hoped that he wouldn't get burned by his helpful nature by these fiends in hiding. When he brought up his 'little allies' she would look down at a few of the spirits around him and nod slightly. Keeping her comments to herself and only letting out a polite. "Mhmm." Before a awkard air had the chance to settle in, Cherry would latch on to his next question, a smirk settling on her lips as she nodded. "Oh yeah, it's my first one so I am trying to take in all the sights before I go to the audition. I am going to try and become a pacekeeper!" She stated proudly, answering his question and then some.

The man nodded "Ahh a Pacekeeper, Someone that protects all the people of the city, and the Spirits as well, maybe if you are lucky you will have a few of these little guys aiding you? They are very dedicated, I remember when I was younger seeing many of them attack a large Demon that was on a rampage.." he said gently putting the one he was petting down and gently picking up another and petting it next "The demon was trying to get to me.. but these little ones, now matter how many of them Perished to the Demon that was so much stronger and larger then them.. they continued to rush to my aid.. Even when I tried to ask them to leave me to save themselves, they continued to defend me... I think it is fair to say I owe my life to these spirits, for their aid to me in that time... I do hope you manage to get to work with them, you will find no more Steadfast in your defense and protection then one of their kind, I can assure you" he said as a smile could be seen on his lips, a kind smile. even the Waddle-doo's seemed at peace around the man.

"Tell me child... What do you think of the city? I do love to hear the opinions of the Young... a look at something with fresh eyes can always teach one even as old as I am, something new"

Kari listened tp the man tell his tale. Her eye trained on him the whole time as it sunk in. Would those little things really do something like that? Give up their own lives just to fend off a demonic beast? It was respectable, noble, a truely amazing story. Yet at the same time Cherry couldn't find it in herself to give them another shot, one little story wouldn't change her feelings. There had to be another reason. "Maybe, I am training in pop music but to be honest I think I may have one of those Persona thingy's in me!" It was odd, paradoxical even. But she just couldn't help but think that she would earn herself a persona in the end. Sure she knew pop music more then the other genre's and enjoyed it more too, she also knew that pacekeepers mugic powers takes the form of commanding demons. But surely she wasn't special, right?

After all, while making demons fight for her didn't sound like the worst thing in the world. She still didn't like the idea of having to work with those fiends in order to do her job, even if she was in control of them. No, a persona would be much more her style. A cool mugical ghost at her beck and call, that sounded just right. She wondered what her's would be. Maybe a giant demon killing robot or a wizard ninja? Both?

"The city? You mean the central city or all of Semibreve?" She asked as she placed a hand on her hip and another to her chin as she delved into deep thought. Those two questions would have two different answers and she was going to give them both. "If you are talking this city, then I think it's very nice. I've only lived here briefly and I didn't really have any time to enjoy or explore the place. But I really enjoy it! It has a ton of fun things to do and it is just so full of this, special........ Energy! I just can't put it into words!" It was hard to put her deeper feelings into words, even more so when it came to putting it into english words.

She soon let her arms fall to her side as she would give her other answer. "If you mean Semibreve, then, well it is like my feelings towards this city just, bigger!" Cherry chirped with glee. "There's so many people living here and nobody here has to really worry, everybody can live their life without being sacred of being hurt by a demon or like, get eating by a bear. They don't have to hunt or hide under tree's when it rains, this place is amazing!" It truely was the safe haven her mom told her that it was, she only wished that she could see it with her.

The man nodded slowly "Ah yes, do not worry.. you are likely to awaken to the Mugic that best will aid you" he said with a smile as he gently tickled the Waddle-dee in his arms making it flail around and let out a happy little sound "If you are selected at the Auditions anyway, if not well I suppose you can always try again next year correct?" he finished as she gently put the waddle-dee down and picked up a waddle-doo that looked a little confused at being picked up, but as he pet it it relaxed in his arms and seemed to enjoy the attention.

he listened to Cherry answer the question and smiled nodding slowly "I see... I see.. yes many have said they feel this way, that energy, that safety is truly a rare thing in a world like this, all the worries of living out beyond the city edge is a dangerous place, there are no Mugicians out there from what I understand... and so no way to protect from Demons.. it's a sad state of affairs... but here? we have everything we need, and for the ones that come here they are welcomed they are given a home.. a place to be safe..." he gently pets the Waddle-doo a bit longer.

a smile grew on his lips "In a way... I suppose you can see the Mugicians and the people who are without the gift.. as the same as these Waddle-dee's and Waddle-doo's... though they are a more pure form... the Waddle-dee's help each other and others the best they can... those I suppose would be the people who do not have the Gift of Mugic... Then their are their protectors... the Waddle-doo's, they are watchful, they stand guard over the Waddle-dee's ready to leap in to help them if they see a threat to them.." he gently put the Waddle-doo down and picked up a waddle-dee next.

"But there is a difference...... the Waddle-doo's if they are in trouble and becoming overwhelmed.. will often be helped by the same Waddle-dee's they tried to protect... I have seen Waddle-doo's morn the loss of even a single Waddle-dee, even if that loss is only temporary... as.. well I am not sure if you know... but both Dee's and Doo's are technically immortal... would you like to hear about it?" he said with a smile.

A confident smirk would cover the raven hair teen's face as he fed into her belief. She was more deadset now, she wouldn't awaken to any type of mugic that she would hate, surely she would gain the persona she so craved. It would be wonderful she just knew it, although she did wonder what it would feel like. Being able to summon something like that. Would it always rest inside of her head or would it just phase into existence? In the end, she would just have to wait and see. The elder did kill her buzz when he brought up the possibility of her failing and not getting picked, but she avoided actually trying to think on that dreadful future by simply replying with "I am sure that I will get picked." The right mindset could get you far in life, she just had to stay confident. Even if there was some worry burried deep inside.

Just like how the old man seemed to enjoy hearing about what she had to say about Semibreve, Cherry also found the way she spoke about the 'outside world' to be very interesting. Sure, he didn't really say anything new, anything that hasn't been said before ot anything that she herself didn't have to see and face first hand. But it was still nice to hear somebody else talking about something she had to go through with some gravity to it. "I wonder if more people from the outside will come in." She pondered as her mother found a way to creep right back into her mind again, Cherry's smirk fading away into a more somber smile as her eye drifted to the sky a little. She really was lucky, lucky to survive long enough to get here. Other people probably's weren't. How many people outside this city was alive at this point? She only knew of her mother, that man, and a few rare groups, pairs, or just on drifter all looking for the city. Still though, not including the people she went with before traveling alone, alongside her mom, she could probably count the amount of people she met on the outside with both of her hands.

His talking brought her eye to focus back on him once more, it seems he was talking about those spirits again. "You're fond of them, aren't you monsieur?" If they saved his life it made sense why he would like them so much, still it was rather odd how he would keep tying the topics back to these little things. But hey, maybe this is the first time in awhile that this guy has gotten the chance to talk to somebody about this kinda stuff? Cherry was much more willing to listen to stories and take time to chat with strangers then the average person after all. If that was really the case then Cherry was not about to burst his bubble. Letting him ramble about these little devils wouldn't kill her. As he talked about how the dee's would lay down there live for a doo when compared to a human to a pace keeper, Cherry felt the need to give a retort. "Well, I mean that's a little different. Spirit or not, a dee is still a demon. It can fight, maybe not well, but like better then normal people." She started, giving the first half of her view point.

"If normal people tired to protect a Mugician it would end up in a slaughter. I am sure many people would love to help a pace keeper in trouble, they just can't safely do so." She said, not wanting him to take to much credit away from the common man, before her eye widden. "Immortal?" She asked, taken aback. How in the hell are those things immortal? This she just had to hear! "Yeah, I would love to hear about that!"

The man smiled a bit as he pets the Waddle-dee and gently puts the Waddle-dee back down and picks up a different one, "Oh don't take my example at such face value, I am well aware of the fact that those without the gift are unable to even harm demons and the lesser shadows... I have seen it myself... experienced it myself... Trust me I am aware... What I am saying is.. the Waddle-doo have that safety.. though they often wish they didn't as it means the ones they wish to protect will so willingly charge into danger to protect their own protectors, sometimes... the protection one receives is unwanted and only brings sadness is what I am saying, like a child not being allowed into a certain room because it's dangerous... they don't know why it is, they are just told it is.. and that need to explore.. to wonder... that curiosity.. it makes them not want that protection, that limit.. do you see what I mean?" he said as she placed that waddle-dee down and picked up another.

By this point a waddle-dee with a box had walked up and joined the others by the old man and he smiled as Cherry asked about the immortality of the Dee's and Doo's "Ah yes.. you see when one of these little creatures takes enough damage that it would normally kill them.. instead they simply... poof away.. their body fades in that moment, but their spirit lives on.. and I don't mean in some spiritual manner mind you.." he explained as he gently put the Waddle-dee down and the Waddle-dee carrying the small box gently passed it to the old man.

"you see their spirits need a new container while they remake their body... and so they find one... where they can reform their body after some time and then emerge fully healthy once more, come on little guy... show her..." he said chuckling as he gently poked the box and a Wapod poked out of the lid of the box and looked around as if checking if it was safe, then it rose up and gave a little wave.

"This is a Wapod... what Waddle-dee turn into during this time... the Waddle-doo turn into ones called Wadoo's.. once their body reforms... they leave the container so that another Wapod that happens upon it can use it later.. and so the cycle Continues... but even knowing this.. Waddle-doo take their duty to protect the Waddle-dee's as seriously as any Mugician takes the task of Guarding the city and it's people... Perhaps it's this likeness that causes them to look after us as well? the fact that when given the power to protect others many will answer the call and protect those that can't protect themselves?" he said as the Wapod popped back into the little box and he handed it back to a Waddle-dee.

"So.. take the time to think of that the next time you look at these little guys... and know that even if you are in a situation where you are in great danger... if they are around.. they will come to your aid.. because trust me... trying to stop them from doing so is near impossible once they have decided to help..." he chuckled as he took a sandwich out of the bag at his side "Now enough of my little lecture on the Waddle's would you like a sandwich young one? and perhaps tell me of your day?" he asked with a kind tone.

She listened closely to his futher musings on the matter. As he talked more, she came to understand his point a little bit better. She could understand the feeling of letting her own wonder and curiousity get the best of her. But she still didn't really grasp why he was telling her this, did this have any meaning or was he simply talking just to talk? Not really wanting to be rude and directly ask him what he means or give him a half hearted 'sort of.' She nodded and let out a simple. "Yeah, I think so." Before that one dee who came over carrying a box caught her eye. Why did it have a box? What was in there? "So, it's kinda like when a lizard will cut off their tail to save themselves if they have to?" The dee's method of saaving itself from death was much more extreme then the lizard's, but that was the only thing she could compare it to, seeing as she has seen it with her own eye. Gosh, so many innocenet lizards have had their tails pulled off, simply because her mom had a strange taste for them.

Cherry's eye widen as he poked the box, was there really the spirit of a waddle dee in that thing? Seems there was, a pretty damn cute one too, not that Cherry would be saying that out loud anytime soon. She looked at the pod, she did not give the thing any glare but she also did not wave back at it. Only looking for a few seconds before turning her gaze back on him. She placed her hands in her hoodie's pockets before asking. "What happens if they don't have anywere to hide? Do they just lay around or will they just keep looking?" Her personal feelings aside, this was some pretty cool facts and she wanted to go into the topic with just a tiny bit more depth. "That is good though, people with power have a duty to keep everybody else safe after all. I am happy to hear that even the waddle dee's think like this!" Or at least they act like they do. Trusting them was still far fetched, even if this man seemed deadset on making her okay with them.

"I will." She dryly replied. Not all that moved from his speech, even if some parts of it was nice to know. When he would pull out a sandwich she would softly shake her head and offer a smile, pulling one her hands out to also shake. "Oh, thank you very much for the offer monsieur, but I already ate a few hours ago. That should hold me over for a while, plus I don't wanna get a belly ache when I am trying out after all!" She snickered. "But if you want to hear about my day, I would be willing to tell you, what is it that you wanna know?"

The man smiled as the Waddle-dee's were looking at his sandwich the whole time he was offering it to the girl, following it with their eyes, and as she refused it he nodded as he started to take little pieces of the sandwich and handing them to the Waddle-dee's none of them eating right away, as he was handing out little pieces "If they cannot find a container, they continue to look, usually they will simply hang around Waddle-doo's for protection and it will help them find containers, in fact some Waddle-doo collect unused containers for Wapods and Wadoo's to inhabit to allow them to reform, they really are dedicated little guys"

The Waddle-doo among the Waddle-dee nodded at that comment on their dedication looking very proud before it hugged the little box that held the Wapod and looking around suspiciously as if expecting someone to try to take it if it was left untended before relaxing with then Wapod popped back out and gently pats it on the head.

As he shared the sandwich he looked back over to Cherry "Well... why not tell me about your day thus far? Maybe any Vocal Exercises to prepare for the Audition? Or perhaps are you a instrumentalist? Or.. Perhaps did you get lost in the park and have no clue where to go now? you wouldn't be the first if so, many people new to the Central District tend to get lost in the park when they first visit" he finished with a smile as he finished handing out the remains of the Sandwich, and the Waddle-dee's all with a piece started to take little bits off and passing them around, after a bit it became obvious that they were making sure that they each had the exact same amount, and then all at once they nodded and happily ate the bits of Sandwich, making happy little sounds as they did so.

Cherry looked over the orange creature, watching the doo closely. They all seemed quite kind to their weaker kin, a bit to kind honestly, Cherry held her doubts. How in the world can all of them be so willing to throw away their lives, even if they can come back after death, for these waddle dee's? Sure it seemed like a noble act and maybe, just maybe a select few of these things were actual good natured spirits. But she found it more likely that there was something a bit more sinster going on, maybe all of these doo's were cursed by the dee's to protect them? Like many of her theories about them, she had no way to actual prove this, but she felt confident in her gut feeling. Shifting her eye off of the waddle doo and back once again to the man, she would give a blank look before a look of nervousness took over her. She never actually warmed up before this. She probably should have done that.

"Well, I actually do a bit of both actually! I play the bass and I also sing!" It was hard at first, but being able to pull it off well is a impressive skill. She hoped that it would dazzle everybody at the audition. "Me? Lost? Oh, no way! Trust me I am really good at finding my way around places, old or new." Had to be if you were going out into the forest to try and hunt, couldn't be caught dragging along a kill after all. "Now for what I did today, um, well I slept in a lottle bit so I kinda had to rush over to the train so I could get here really early and check out ALL of the sights. That's were I met two guys, they seemed cool, then after that I went to go get some food at thos little place and I ended up eating and talking with another guy. His name was monsieur Rex, then I went to go climb a really big tree right here in this park and I met a cowboy!" She finished her long winded story with a pop of her lips. "And yeaaaah, that's pretty much it for me. Still pretty early after all, plenty of more stuff to do, ay?"

The man listened to the girl smiling gently as he kindly pet a Waddle-dee as he listened, not interrupting her, and once Cherry finished he nodded "I see, and yes it's true the day is still young, and the festival isn't for a bit longer.. so perhaps you have time to go warm up? Want to be your best for the Audition after all don't you?" he said in a kind tone, the Waddle-dee in his arms slowly nodding off to sleep as he pets it.

"Well for the Audition I wish you luck, perhaps ask one of the Waddle-dee to go with you? They are little spirits of Luck after all. Well.. More they are considered as such by many in the city, and they are quite helpful. But other then that it sounds like your time in Central has been very fulfilling, I only hope you can come to gain everything you need from this experience" he nodded sagely as he gently handed the now sleeping Waddle-dee to the one Waddle-doo present who took the Waddle-dee and gently carried it so it wouldn't wake up, and put it with a group of Waddle-dee sleeping peacefully under a nearby tree.

"it would seem you have quite the day ahead of you, what with warming up yet to do if you haven't, and perhaps more new people to meet, after all, this will be the first time you will get to meet people from other Districts of the city.. maybe get to know some of them, expand your Horizons.. go... have Fun I will likely go once I am done tending to these little ones" he said simply gently petting another waddle-dee.

Cherry sheepishly rubbed the back of her neck. "Yeah, that probably wouldn't be that bad of a idea, heheh." She let out a forced giggle, slightly embarrassed before she swiftly shot down his suggestion. "Thank you, but I'd rather pass the test due to my own skill, rather then......... A good luck charm." That was the only polite way she could put it. She was okay with putting up with these things when walkibg around, but she could not deal with one of them stalking her on the most important day of her life. Giving a respectful bow of her head, she would smile. "I'll do just that, I had a lovely chat with you, stay safe!" She said, going back to walking around the park before moving right back into the city, looking for more stuff to do and maybe a spot to warm up at.....

The Man smiled as the girl walked away "Very well, but I think you may find, you shouldn't Judge others on a few bad Experiences Kari.. Or you may find yourself in a world surrounded by those you assume mean you harm... An open mind is something one should have where Mugic is concerned" the Voice would carry, it was gentle, and it wasn't shouted, almost like she never left the mans side but... it also said her name... and she never introduced herself.. if she looked back to the Park Bench, it would be empty and only the Waddle-dee's and Waddle-doo's wandering around remained, with no sign of the old man anywhere, other then a few bits of Sandwich that some Waddle-dee's were still enjoying.