Chaos is known as the being that never became a star. It is everywhere and yet nowhere at the same time.
Neither good nor evil, the ultimate expression of nothingness. The antithesis of the cosmos, creation itself.
Although Chaos claims to be the very state of existence from which the first entities appeared, it cannot form into the entity it wants most.
So it has been cursed to stay in the form of a dark and shapeless void. Floating between existence and nonexistence.
Longingly watching as stars are constantly born and lives are lived. The seeds of malice had been planted, flourished and transformed Chaos into the purest form of evil.
Ai has been in this beautiful French city for a while but none the less, she is still more or less a stranger in this land. She can order food but none the less, she is stuck with the most basic of French phrases. It was actually a miracle she could keep with classes at all. Good thing cooking is a visual and taste based art. Still that left her weekends confused on what to do. All of this city to wander about but nowhere specific to go. It wasn't like she could ask about the best places to hang out.
So now, here she was, at this large building with a pretty good cafe. The caramel latte was good at least, Ai wasn't sure or if she had the time to try the other stuff. She sat here, by herself. She tried to glance around to see if there was someone she could at least speak Japanese to. Then again, it was awkward to try. Maybe she should've went to one of the language buildings at college? Well, hindsight was always 20/20.
Still, she was here to enjoy herself, and she's going to try! Even if it wasn't in Japanese, fighting games more or less operated the same way they did back home. One doesn't need to read when button mashing! Well...provided if one wants to win or no. Ai sunk a little at her latest loss. Maybe this was why she went to mobile games in the first place...
In all honesty, Erica's intended destination today was the Fruit's Parlor cafe on the second floor of the Royal Crown. She had been spending her free time going around and sampling sweets from the various cafes in the city. Despite how she was, she was rather diligent when it came to things that truly interested her. And she definitely wanted to be personally aware of where one could grab the tastiest desserts and sweets. But before she could get to the Fruit's Parlor, one had to pass through the first floor that housed the Game Center.
Erica had an interesting relationship with games. She actually loved them. But perhaps not in the same sense as your typical gamer. What she was truly fond of was winning, and doing so in a way that gave her opponents a hard time. It was a bad habit of hers, letting someone else feel like they were ahead before snatching victory at the last moment. In any case, most people end up being surprised that a princess like herself was actually very familiar with most games and that catches them off guard. She chuckled at the thought and wondered if she would see something amusing today. The Game Center was a detour on her trip that she didn't mind taking at all.
If she remembered right, the articles on the magazines she had read said that this place boasted of having the latest games. And it appeared that boast was no lie. Already she spotted a couple of titles that were just released in the last week or so.
As she casually strolled around, looking over people's shoulders as they played, she chanced upon a girl who had just taken a hard loss in a fighting game. She caught Erica's eye not just because of her struggle but also because she didn't look French, or even European for that matter. If Erica had to guess, she was someone from East Asia perhaps? Chinese, Japanese, and Koreans were a bit difficult to tell apart. It didn't really matter much since back in America they all spoke English anyway.
She wasn't sure why she did so, but Erica struck a conversation to somewhat console the poor girl who didn't look like she was used to this sort of thing. Perhaps the girl's discouraged expression struck a chord with her. Whether or not that was a good thing remained to be seen.
"This game isn't very beginner-friendly. Back where I'm from, you'd need to have spent countless hours practicing at home before getting confident enough to step into an arcade to play against other people. Or you could play online too I suppose."
"Jubei! Linne!" Ai selected the characters she isn't completely terrible with.
"This game isn't very beginner-friendly. Back where I'm from, you'd need to have spent countless hours practicing at home before getting confident enough to step into an arcade to play against other people. Or you could play online too I suppose." Ai shuddered and turned around to see a blonde girl. Ai took a moment to pause as she processed the English that was being told to her.
"Uh...huh..." Ai slowly nodded. She pondered. She wasn't sure if she had the money for a console plus a game right now. She was going to have to wait on that regard. Not to mention this posses a question. Don't consoles have controllers? Unless they made ones like arcade sticks and buttons..."Still, I want to try!"
True she might not have all the time to practice like other people but it doesn't hurt to try right? Besides, she can just read the labels on the side of the machine! She isn't doing too bad...right? It was then she realized she was thinking too long.
"Ah, sorry! Your turn?" Ai stood up and motioned to the machine.
Based on the girl's response seemed more determined than she appeared. Erica wondered if she misread the girl's down expression earlier after suffering that loss. Erica's words were actually an attempt to console the girl a bit but seeing as how she was only eager to keep trying, Erica suddenly felt that she said something silly and unnecessary.
When the girl stood up asking if Erica wanted a turn, it surprised the blonde a bit. Erica was really only interested in watching people play for now, but maybe she could use this chance to at least look like she knew what she was talking about.
"Oh, sure I guess. One round wouldn't hurt."
She accepted the girl's offer and took a seat in front of the machine. Now this was one of the more recent games to come out this year. But in her last few months back home, she had gotten a chance to try her hand at it. At the very least she was capable of pulling off long combos in practice. But this would be her first time sitting down in an arcade since coming to New Paris.
In the end, the match actually went pretty well. True she had picked more newbie-friendly characters than her opponent, but it was the end result that mattered. She managed to win without losing a single round, though it did come close at one point. She at least rebuilt her confidence that she was still a decently good arcade gamer even until now.
"It's really been a while. There were some combos there that had totally slipped my mind. I'm normally much better at guarding."
She stood up from the machine, feeling a little refreshed at that fun workout. Though she wasn't keen on playing any more than that. It was just a one time thing today. She then gestured to it to the girl if she still wanted to play.
"Sorry for bothering you earlier. Win or lose, games are meant to be enjoyed. Sometimes my perfectionist side just gets the better of me."
"Oh, sure I guess. One round wouldn't hurt." Ai got up off the seat to make room for this one. The match was smooth in the blonde's favor. Ai wasn't sure if she could apply what she was seeing to her own playing but..."It's really been a while. There were some combos there that had totally slipped my mind. I'm normally much better at guarding." Guarding...Ai kind of realized she should maybe do more of that. "Sorry for bothering you earlier. Win or lose, games are meant to be enjoyed. Sometimes my perfectionist side just gets the better of me." Ai quickly checked her wallet if she had any room to make any plays. She smiled as she placed her wallet away and took out a coin.
"It's fine." Ai spoke. She'd be more detailed how she thinks the girl was kind enough to give advice but she struggled how to process it at the moment. "Thank you!" Will have to do for Ai as she sat on down as the game started up again as a person on the other side sat on down to get a round in...
...Ai did...slightly better? Ai still lost but it wasn't a complete loss. She got a win in at the very least. Ai stood up and stretched. That was a good session at the very least, quick as it was. She turned to the blonde.
"Thank you. Ai." Ai motioned to herself. "My name. Good to meet you?" It wouldn't hurt to get to know a possible visitor or local.
Honestly Erica didn't feel like she did anything worth being thanked for. She commented on a whim on the girl's lacking skills with the fighting game. She didn't consider herself an expert with it and wasn't at the level where she could give concrete advise. You could only get better with games through personal experience after all. But still somehow she got a thank you. It was a weird feeling.
She smiled back and watched as the girl tried again. But there were no miracles today. Once more she tasted defeat, but judging from how she did, there was a noticeable improvement in her playing. She took one point at least, which was better than the zero she had earlier. Did people really get better at games through a quick demo and verbal advice? The girl looked satisfied anyway and that was the most important thing. She introduced herself as Ai and Erica couldn't help but notice her somewhat odd speaking. It was English, but a bit awkward.
"I'm Erica. It's a pleasure to meet you too."
"I suppose you're not from around here? I'm the same honestly. I'm an exchange student from America, and I'm just glad this country is accommodating enough to English."
"I'm Erica. It's a pleasure to meet you too." Erika? Ai pondered on the pronunciation for a moment."I suppose you're not from around here? I'm the same honestly. I'm an exchange student from America, and I'm just glad this country is accommodating enough to English." Ai smiled at this. Another one!...even if their language of preference is very different.
"Uh huh." Ai nodded. "Japan." Ai motioned to herself. "Can only really speak with foreign language class takers." It was kind of a sad fact but at the very least people are understanding of her situation. "How long have you been in Paris?" She might as well get to know this one since they're on the same boat so to speak.
So Ai was from Japan. At least her guess was pretty close. Unlike the Japanese-American people Erica knew however, this girl was actually born and grew up there judging from her minimal mastery of English, let alone French. It must have been a challenging experience coming here a long way from home.
"It's been almost three weeks I guess. I've been taking this opportunity to familiarize myself with the city while I've still got the time to do so. My first week here was quite troublesome in a lot of ways."
It wasn't coming to a foreign country that was difficult. Erica had her fair share of traveling around the world and was actually a bit used to it. But New Paris was a little different. Fortunately she met someone who turned all that around. She could only imagine the struggle she would be enduring today if she hadn't.
"I'm thankful for the people I met here. They really helped me out. I'm sure you got a lot of help yourself. There are a lot of kind souls in this city."
From what Erica had seen so far, the Paris folk didn't strike her as unfriendly or unwelcoming.
"It's been almost three weeks I guess. I've been taking this opportunity to familiarize myself with the city while I've still got the time to do so. My first week here was quite troublesome in a lot of ways." Ai nodded in agreement. It took her awhile to get used to this city especially when she knew even less French and English that she does now. "I'm thankful for the people I met here. They really helped me out. I'm sure you got a lot of help yourself. There are a lot of kind souls in this city." Ai nodded once more. So far her peers hasn't pranked her in anyway!...er...that she knows of.
"This city is nice." Was the best response Ai could muster. She stood up from the chair provided by the arcade. Ai quickly scanned the questions she could ask this one in her head. "Your school nearby?" Still awkward but hey better than no communication at all. She motioned to herself. "Cooking school student."
The girl had stood up and Erica guessed she was probably done playing that one. Or perhaps she had other business elsewhere. Speaking of which, Erica herself was supposed to be heading upstairs. Suddenly Ai asked if her school was nearby, further introducing herself as a cooking student.
"I go to St. Elbandia or at least I properly will in the next term. Since I arrived at such an odd time, I've only been sitting in on some classes for now. They told me it was fine to attend whatever classes I liked in the meantime."
Come to think of it, she had not sat in one of the cooking classes yet. Well, it wasn't as though she was that interested in cooking herself. If anything, she would be attending just to have a chance at sampling some student creations.
"I suppose your specialty is Japanese food? Did you come to Paris just to hone your skills or were you thinking of learning other cuisines?"
All that talk about cooking reminded her that it had been quite a while since she last sampled Japanese sweets. She wondered if Ai was any good at making them.
"I was on my way upstairs to check out the cafe by the way. Have you ever been there?
"I go to St. Elbandia or at least I properly will in the next term. Since I arrived at such an odd time, I've only been sitting in on some classes for now. They told me it was fine to attend whatever classes I liked in the meantime." Ai pondered what was the girl's situation if she had to transfer in the middle of the year. She guessed that means that Ai herself was here for only a touch longer. "I suppose your specialty is Japanese food? Did you come to Paris just to hone your skills or were you thinking of learning other cuisines?" Ai nodded.
"Both. Want to improve my Japanese cooking but also learn other types of cooking." The world's growing and more people are moving to other places. People from other countries might visit and while most visitors would want to try the local food, at rare times, they will want something that tastes like home. "A lot I want to explore."
"I was on my way upstairs to check out the cafe by the way. Have you ever been there?
"Mhm. Latte is good!" Granted, Ai only ordered one thing from that cafe before she went on down to try the game. She motioned on upstairs. "Want to try?" They might as well talk over a pleasant cup of coffee.
Erica respected people who wanted to broaden their horizons and not just stick to what they were good at. It takes more than just a bit of courage to go for something like that. Succeed or fail, you would at least come out with experience and be a better person than you were before. Perhaps in a way Erica was looking for a similar experience when she decided to come to New Paris.
"I actually came to look at their dessert menu, but if an aspiring master chef recommends their latte, then I suppose I'll have to give it a try too."
Erica gestured for Ai to lead the way and she followed closely behind the girl. It was certainly a trendy looking cafe. It was no surprise that plenty of the patrons were on young side, likely students as well. Her eyes glanced over at the menu displayed outside if there was any particular item that stood out.
"I actually came to look at their dessert menu, but if an aspiring master chef recommends their latte, then I suppose I'll have to give it a try too." Ai pondered on that as she started to lead the way for Erica. Dessert...she wasn't really in the mood for it so she didn't think too much of it when she skimmed the menu. There was also the awkward fact that Ai is a dinner chef not a dessert one. Though she supposed knowledge of that category would be immensely valuable for her future career."Is there anything else you would recommend?"
"Hmmm..." Ai stared at the outside menu with Erica before she walked on in. "Mille-feuille?" It was a common dessert, even back in her country. "Indicator of quality." Ai commented. How one prepares common ingredients or food after all would be a decent showing of what they're capable of. Granted, Ai knew that with rice because it was a base ingredient in a lot of her home's foods. She wasn't sure how often pastry cream is used in all of France's selection of foods especially when she has the wine industry to consider...
The skin LIGHTS OFF was made by JAWN of WICKED WONDERLAND.
HALATION was created by KOJIHIME. Images belong to their respective artists. All codes and scripts belong to their respective coders. Please DO NOT take anything without the owners' permission.
