kaisou | Intro Log

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Intro Log

WHO: Luisa and you
WHERE: The Labyrinth, then the city
WHEN: Feb. 12
WHAT: A new arrival, and she happens to be a Madrigal!
WARNINGS: Possibly some anxiety

Labyrinth

[ Luisa had no idea what was going on.

She didn't remember ever falling asleep, but when she woke she suddenly found herself in this strange place. It kind of reminded her of a Roman coliseum, like the ones she'd read about in a few books she'd picked up before. There didn't seem to be any obvious way out, though, and after wandering around while trying to find an exit, she'd come across some kind of strange creature that tried to attack her.

It wasn't like she'd never had this dream before, of encountering some monster that she needed to fight, so she wasn't entirely surprised to find a sword and shield nearby as well. But she knew something was wrong as soon as she picked them up - while they weren't necessarily heavy, she could definitely feel the weight of them. And as she blocked a blow from the monster with the shield, she felt the strain in her muscles, just trying to keep from being crushed under it.

And yeah, she's had this dream before too - even before all the trouble with the magic, she'd have nightmares of losing her strength, of not being able to do what she needed to. But while dodging another of the monster's attacks, she felt the sharp sting of its claws as it grazed her arm, leaving dark red lines on her skin.

This wasn't a dream. It was all real, and she was actually fighting a monster without her usual strength. But if all this was real, then did that mean her family could also be here somewhere?

She wasn't entirely sure how she managed to beat the monster, but it probably had something to do with the sudden rush of adrenaline with the need to find her family. She called out for each of them, searching through the twists and turns of the maze while encountering more beasts. Some where animals that she'd heard about, some were creatures of myth she'd read about, but all were tough and difficult to beat.

She somehow manages to push on, even though the fights wear down on her. She isn't sure how long she can keep this up, but she has to keep trying. If her family was here, she needed to find them. ]

The City

[ After eventually getting out of the labyrinth, and with some explanation later, Luisa takes a little time to explore this strange new city. It's a weird feeling; she'd never even left the Encanto before, and suddenly in some huge city in who-knows-where. Even with the mountains surrounding their home, she had never felt quite as...small as she does now.

She tries not to dwell on that too much, though, as she takes in all the stores and shops along the street. And she can't help a puzzled frown. ]

Why is everything so...red?

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[ She spins around at the voice. ]

Tío Bruno! [ Her expression is a mix of relief and confusion. She's happy to see a familiar face, but she's beginning to wonder how much of their family was here.

She doesn't get a chance to ask, though, when he explains the colorful decorations for the store they stood in front of. ] Holiday? What kind of holiday?

[The answer is so many of them. So very many. ]

A romantic one. [His tone really does suggest how deeply uninterested in it he is.] Apparently couples buy each other things? To show how much they love each other. [Another pause, then lighter:] Your Papá would have loved this.

[Agustín is such a big dork with a lot of love for his wife. He turns to look her over, worried.]

Are you okay? Did you get here safe? That uh...maze is pretty bad, right?

[ She couldn't help a small smile at that. ] Yeah...Papi would probably enjoy all this.

[ Then again, without her mother here, probably not.

His follow-up question has her hesitating, as she gripped her arm and braced it against her body. ]

Yeah that maze was...something. I'm okay, though.

[ The scrapes along her skin might suggest otherwise, though. ]

I'm honestly surprised he didn't fall down whatever...portal hole is back home that's sucking us all in here.

[It's said fondly because you know, Agustín is a goddamn pro at getting himself into dangerous situations.

Bruno might not be super great at reading body language, but he picks up on that, and his brow furrows worriedly, catching those scrapes. ]

Are you sure? It's- it's okay if you're not, remember?

[He'll just be here to reinforce that message because he definitely doesn't want Luisa going back down any self-destructive spirals. Not at all.]

Oh...yeah, I know. [ She really does, even if it will still take some time to fully get used to it.

She self-consciously runs her hand down one of the scrapes on her arm. ] It's not as bad as it looks. There were, uh...some monsters in the maze I was in. It was...tough. Especially without my full strength.

But I am okay though. Mirabel helped me get out, and I feel better after I got some rest.

Monsters? That's...definitely a new one. I just had a lot of stairs.

[Because it's SYMBOLIC, Bruno]

But good! Good. Glad you uh...beat them. [He's trying his best, he really is, he'll even give her a wet-rag fist-bump to her arm. Is he doing it? Is he uncle-ing good?] Well, you'll be glad? Probably glad. To know that there's a few of us here already. And we have Casita, in case Mirabel didn't mention it, which is...nice. Better than where we were.

[ That does get a smile from her, because he is trying. And it's not like she'll be any less awkward about this either.

It's also probably good that she doesn't mention how scary some of the monsters in her maze had been. Mirabel had seen one of them, but that hadn't been the worst one. She didn't want to worry them all though. ]

Yeah, uh...Mirabel did mention that.

But your maze had stairs? [ Though she had still been young when he'd disappeared, she had some vague memories about his room and she did remember stairs.

That just seemed...mean. ]

[He's definitely doing his very best here. And he would have been very worried about all the monsters in there. He doesn't want his family getting hurt, not for a second. ]

Hmmm- that's what it's like back home, too. Lots of stairs. [He grimaces a little.] I did not miss all the stairs, but my Vision Cave is back to normal so I guess there's...that.

[Not that he's super thrilled to be doing that again. He'd honestly rather put his gift down in a hole somewhere and pretend it doesn't exist at all.]

But hey! More comfortable for us all, right? Big kitchen and everything.

[ She has a lot of questions that she wants to ask, but isn't sure whether she should. She doesn't want to make it all about their gifts - weren't they supposed to be moving past that? - especially since he still did seem uncomfortable about his.

So instead she manages a smile and nods. ] Yeah. At least that means there's plenty of room. [ Though if it's Casita, it might be a bit too much room with those of them that were here.

The mention of the kitchen does hit her with a sudden bit of homesickness, though, thinking about the kitchen without her mother in it. ]

I've, uh...never really cooked before, though. [ She's helped Julieta before, sure, but she's never actually learned to cook in the kitchen proper. ]

[They were definitely supposed to be moving past that. Bruno's struggling with it a bit, old habits and all that.]

There is! When I first got here I had this tiny little...apartment that had like, two bedrooms. I really don't think we would have all fitted in there, oof.

[That is a good point though, he scratches his cheek.]

Me either. I have a... [friend?? are he and August friends??] well someone I know doesn't mind dropping food off a lot. But Mirabel's been trying her hand at it and she's pretty good! I think we can get by. Not as good as your mom, but, you know. We'll figure it out.

[ She is not at all surprised that Mirabel had stepped up in their mother's absence, clever and creative as she is. ]

Yeah, we can probably get by. [ She can't help glancing around the city a bit, though. ] But it feels like things cost a lot around here.

[ Then again, money wasn't really a problem back in the Encanto, so maybe it just felt like a lot in comparison. Still, that is something they would have to think about as well, especially if more of their family started arriving.

And Luisa can't help it, as her brain already starts thinking about work she could do, how to earn money, ways to help support the family. Because she also still struggles with overcoming old habits. ]

[Mirabel is so much better at adapting than the rest of them. Growing up without a Gift has made he much more...resilient. He hopes she sees that more nowadays- that growing up without a Gift was a blessing as much as theirs were. It made her who she is. Enough.]

Yeah, Zodiac sends people off to do work and at least we don't have to worry about rent with Casita here.

[Because that had been A Concern looming on the horizon before their home showed up.]

We'll...figure it out. It's just a different way of living now. I mean, bonus? We don't have an entire town looking up to us anymore?

[ She manages a faint laugh, rubbing the back of her neck. ] Haha...yeah, I guess so.

[ It really should have been a good thing. A part of Luisa had longed for a break from the many chores and tasks that were asked of her. But now that she was here - in a world that didn't need her, and had even weakened her gift when bringing her here - she wasn't sure how to feel about it.

If people didn't need her...what was she supposed to do?

Well...then again, there were some people that needed her. Or at least, she hoped so. Even if she was just another person amongst the rest of the city, she had her family. She could help them. ]

Maybe I could find a job too...earn a bit to help out and stuff.

[ It's the least she could do, since her being here meant that they would have to be buying more food anyway. ]

[Hmmmm, Bruno's not sure how he feels about that. He's aware enough to know that this is a slippery slope. They've only just got Luisa to a point where she'll accept she can relax sometimes. He doesn't want her taking on too much, but oh boy does he understand that drive to be useful too.

He's had a lot more practise with avoiding responsibility after all. ]

Okay, but only a little one- not too much, okay? You- you should still be able to get out there and make friends. Do some things Luisa wants to do?

[ H'boy, that is the question, isn't it? It's hard to say what Luisa wants to do because she's...never really explored what she's wanted before. Her days had always been so busy, there hadn't been much time to pursue many interests. She would've been lucky to get to read a page from a book, never mind anything else.

Now, though? Now she had so much free time, especially in a place that didn't need them like the Encanto had. Where does she even start to look for filling in all that time? ]

...I mean...I want to help the family?

[ And she knows that's not really the answer, but...it is still true. ]

[This is, at least, something Bruno has...well, minimal experience in. He never really got to do what he wanted, most of his time was spent in crushing loneliness as he tried to patch the growing cracks in the house as the family splintered internally more and more.

But at least he didn't have to look into anyone's future. Or do anything directly asked of him. He's probably had the closest experience to any Madrigal of doing his own thing...depressing as it was. ]

I know you do, but there's- well, there's things you can do as well as helping the family, y'know? It doesn't have to be an either-or situation. You can do both.

...Y-Yeah. Yeah, I guess so. I just... [ She hesitates, then shrugs a little. ] I'm still figuring that out, you know? Finding things I'd like.

B-But I'll...I'll work on it.

[ It's kind of sad, having to work to find things you'd might like. But it's really the best she can do right now. ]

...Yeah, Kid, I do know. I get it. It can be...uh, rough, right? Figuring out who you are beyond...what you are.

[What was expected of them. It almost feels too self-indulgent, stretching their wings and doing something for themselves. His tone gentles. ]

Then that's all you need to do. Step at a time, right?

Yeah. It's...a weird feeling. [ Trying to find that line between still wanting to do things for others, and letting her do things for herself. ] But you're right...one step at a time.

[ It definitely wouldn't be a smooth journey. But it'll be easier with her family to help her along the way. ]

...Thanks, Tío Bruno.

You'll get there! Just give it time.

[He has the utmost faith that she can make it. He offers her a smile and a little thumbs up.]

Hey, anytime, mi sobrina.

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Intro Log

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