2171/When in Themyscira...

When in Themyscira...
Date of Scene:	25 August 2017
Location:	Unknown
Synopsis:	Summary needed
Cast of Characters:	Corusca, Wonder Girl, Wonder Woman, Troia

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Corusca has posed:
    When one is invited to Themyscira, one needs to see the sights. Which.. for a dragon.. means flying over the island. But when one has not been formally introduced to the Queen yes.. scaring the natives is not the best idea. So Amarantharial took upon herself the guise of Miranda Madsen once again and opted to tour the market district of Themyscira City. She is wearing the white dress that she arrived in. It's vaguely Grecian in style with draping cloth and a scooping neckline but without any jewelry or even sandals. It would seem that the blonde with radiant golden skin does not worry herself with shoes.

    As she enters the marketplace, she is at once looked upon with suspicion and whispers. She is a stranger in a society where everyone knows everyone.. but then the rumors of her near 'state' arrival with the Princess have sure to have whispered their way across the island by now. So there are no swords. Merely, terse Grecian greetings. Which Miranda returns fluently much to their surprise.

Wonder Girl has posed:
To be fair, it probably takes a bit more than a dragon flying through the air to scare the natives of Themyscira. These people have together stood together to fight Titans, Witches, Gods, and every other sort of threatening figure one might imagine. The island *has* hydras, among other things. On occasion, the Amazons tame them (at least to such a degree that that kind of thing is possible) and send them into battle! But visitors from the outside world are something of a rarity, so there is sure to be a certain buzz about that, as well as one of a more typical, familial sort, of the women greeting their returned sisters. In Cassie's case, an adopted one.

When Diana planned the trip and let Cassie know she was going, the young woman was happy to snag a seat on the invisible jet - it's rather a long way to fly under one's own power. She mostly used the trip to nap, plus maybe a bit of reading for some upcoming class, but once they've arrived, she's eager to see everyone. While the new arrival is taken to Hippolyta, she goes to visit a few friends, some who'd trained her during her early days here, and others who she has gotten to know better in the years since. She also takes the chance to go and change, grabbing some appropriate local attire from small room in the palace. Those drapey Greek dresses really are too fun!

Once all of that's done, she goes out to wander a bit, though it doesn't take long for Miranda's unfamiliar presence to draw attention to herself, or for Cassie to find her. Obviously they'd had a brief chance to say hi on the plane, but not much more, so she hustles up beside the other woman with a friendly smile. "Heya. Settling in OK?"

Corusca has posed:
Miranda smelled her coming. Having ridden in a plane for several hours in close quarters, one tends to get the scent of the occupants. She paused in her walk and turned to face the incoming youth with a smile. "Well hello there." At the question, she takes a moment to give a look around. "That.. well.." She purses her lips and her brow furrows. "About as well as can be expected." She admits after a moment of thought.

She gives a gesture about. "I love the island. Don't get me wrong. I'm simply still waiting for my audience with the Queen and passing the time in the meanwhile. I don't feel comfortable settling in until we've met and settled.. a few things." There's a shrug. "I am a stranger in a beautiful land that wishes to stay beautiful. I will simply have to prove myself to them."

Wonder Girl has posed:
"Oh, believe me, I know how it goes," Cassie tells Miranda, herself of course having gone through a lot of this at one time in the past. "But don't worry about it too much. I don't think Diana would have brought you here in the first place, if she didn't think you had a place here, that you'd fit in."

With that said, she moves to walk a little ahead of the other woman, perhaps to lead the way through the market toward some particular shop or stand that she favors, or just waiting to pass one that catches her eye. And for all that she hardly looked the part in her jeans and t-shirt some hours ago, she now couldn't blend in more easily, seeming so utterly at home. "So tell me a little about how that all happened in the first place, anyhow? How you met Diana and she decided you'd come here?"

Corusca has posed:
"Curiosity." Miranda begins somewhat vaguely. "You see, I'd taken up residence under a guise within New York City and was traveling to Metropolis on business when I passed the Themysciran Embassy." She pauses to eye a fruit stand and pokes at the melon curiously. Shaking her head in a disinterested fashion, she continues onward. "So I did some research. The usual web searching. What I learned was.. intriguing to me." She pauses to regard a statue of a warrior woman. "You see.. I'd grown up on an island.. but one completely different than this. I'd battled within mankinds wars. Been hunted. Seen the vice of mankind.. but everything I'd read about Themyscira was that it was idyllic. A place of women. A place of peace." She looked away and then towards other architecture.

Silence reigned for a few moments before Miranda shook herself out of it. "Anyway, I could hardly believe it so I made an appointment to see the ambassador." She says this like it was easy peasy. Apparently, getting an appointment with heads of state and the like was easy for her? "And I met your Princess." She starts walking again. "We had a few conversations and then I decided to reveal my true nature to her. She.. was remarkably at peace with my true nature. So.. we met a few more times." She glances to Cassie with a smile.

"After a few more meetings, I asked her if I could come live on the island." Miranda adds. "You see.. I have spent my life being hunted. Guarding my.. well.. to put it bluntly.. my hoard.. against predation. My very being for that matter. Themyscira struck me as a place that would not only leave my hoard alone but that didn't care about things like material wealth. That would also not be keen on turning me into dragon stew. I, in turn, thought that I might turn what talents I had.. and my wealth.. to the benefit of a people who absolutely deserved it."

Wonder Girl has posed:
"I guess every since it's become a bit more public knowledge... it's not surprising some people would really be inspired by it, or interested in the idea of what the Amazons have here," Cassie admits. "I came only a little before the proper public coming-out, and it totally blew my mind. I mean, for lots of reasons, not just the fact that it's full of immortal women made by the actual-real Greek Gods and all of that." Then a laugh. "If there's anyone who's seen plenty of things stranger than you, it's definitely Diana. Trouble really follows her, or she follows it maybe, but there's *always* something. Within a day or two of meeting her, I saw a giant bronze statue come to life and fought a - well, nevermind. But it's *always* something like that. My mom hated it. Kept trashing the museum, too!"

"But yeah, I guess that makes sense," she'll admit after listening to more of the story. "This isn't just a haven for a particular sort of people, it's a place out of time, too, and where myth and all of that is perfectly normal. So you'd fit right in!" A grin. "Not that I'm calling you weird or anything. Well, any more than all of us, anyway. And true, we don't really have the obsession with the material that the Man's World does."

Corusca has posed:
Miranda arches a brow. "I'm a dragon, Cassie." Putting it mildly? "I have been called much much worse. So yes, I'm strange by hyuman standards. I plan to live for thousands of years and.. do what within that time? That is the question. Ideally I'd love to find another of my kind and have a family and restore my people to this world. Of course, the problem becomes the avarice which can so often claim us. But then there are good among us even as there is evil. I fight for good."

Wonder Girl has posed:
There is a certain thoughtfulness over all of this from Cassie. She's never met a dragon, as compared to her mentor, she may have the power but not the thousands of years of experience. She's packed a lot in, these last few years, but still! "Mmm, well at least you're not in a rush?" A helpless kind of smile. "How much have you searched for others, or do you know anything about... I don't know, where you might find them, or even why they've all vanished. Was it just... people?" This is worthy of an unhappy frown. "It kind of sucks to learn about so many cool things, living myths and fairy tales, and then find out some of them have gone and nearly vanished before I could see them."

At some point along the way, she finds a stand she likes, and since the dragon-lady turned down the fruit salad, this one has MEAT. Kabobs and that sort of thing. "Wanna try one?" And then she goes on, "You know, it's one thing I'm not sure about... I might, uh, be immortal now? I mean I always thought I was a perfectly normal kid, and I was until pretty recently. But now that's all out the window. So its kind of weird to think about, just *starting* the sort of life, that Diana and the others have already lived."

Corusca has posed:
Ahh now meat.. that has Miranda giving pause and scenting at the air with a lifted nose. "Having a long life is only a workable existence if others around you are equally long lived." She notes dryly. "I have had six husbands. If only for companionship. And.. I can assure you that watching them die of old age is not something I would recommend to anyone. Even if you don't particularly care for them.. you still care." She is silent a moment. "At least I did. I'm not a heartless beast no matter what the storybooks say about us." She reaches out to take a kabob then pauses to look back at Cassie. "So what /do/ you do for payment here?"

Wonder Girl has posed:
Taking a bit from her stick, Cassie may briefly look like she's going to choke with the dragon-lady mentions her long string of husbands. "Well, the Amazons are a good match then, huh?" she then wonders, with another ready grin as soon as she's stopped choking. "Although, not great for husbands, but uh, I'm pretty sure more than a few get around that anyway." She makes a vague wave in the air with the kabob stick and doesn't get into that any further.

The question of payment earns a shrug. "I dunno. No one's ever bothered me about it. I assume you uh... you know, do your part, pull your weight, be a good member of the community in all that. Maybe fight in their wars when they have those, defend the island when some angry Titan or jealous God shows up to stomp around, things like that." Just paying coin starts to sound a lot easier!

Corusca has posed:
Miranda ahhs and smiles to the Amazon providing the kabobs. "Well, thank you then. I will be sure to return the favor. Perhaps help you with your next hunt?" Either way, she's taking the meat on the stick and soon filling her mouth with the savory morsels. She does at least have manners enough to swallow before speaking again. "Truth be told, it all rang a bit hollow no matter how much or little I cared for them. They would never be a mate for me.. so.. it was mostly about not being lonely at the end of the day." She offers that last with a sort of resigned sadness that she shakes off. "But that won't be a problem now, hmm?" She smiles. "Now, as you say, my problem is finding another dragon that I won't want to gouge out his eyes and.. see if I can't go about raising a family. Really.. that's what its all about. Family. And if I can't have that.. well.. then if I'm to go without other dragons in my life I can't imagine a better place to live than here."

Wonder Girl has posed:
Cassie listens to the explanation, her expression perhaps turning toward a little melancholy the more of it she hears. "I'm sorry if you've been lonely. I used to be really angry over my dad not being around, while I was growing up, but... Well, I guess it's hardly the same thing. And once I actually finally met him, ugh," and she makes quite a face, "it's not like it really made everything better just by magic. But I did get a lot of new family along the way." And she turns to make a gesture to sweep around the marketcenter. "And now you do too. I think you'll fit in really well. And I guess, well, you'll have time to worry about those other things? To search if you want to, for more of your kind."

She and Miranda have both changed into local dress since their original journey on Diana's jet, and are standing beside a stand in the market, feasting on kabobs and whatever else might be on hand.

Wonder Woman has posed:
Diana is present in the marketplace as well, though she is down the way some from where MIranda and Cassie currently on. She's sort of being swamped by the natives of the city as there's a friendly challenge going on where two women had asked to impress the princess with displaying one of them were more capable of balancing a stack of cups on their chin than the other. These two women were known for their comedic personalities and their silly antics often entertained people at the marketplace.

Diana was here, observing and laughing/smiling. She is currently dressed in a flowing white dress and a golden breastplate with dark leather straps criss-crossing their way across her chest and up around the back of her neck. Her black hair is tied up in a bone and draping down the back of her neck in two tightly braided strands.

Troia has posed:
Donna Troy had not been back to the island in some time. On the one hand she was very happy to have been reunited with the Amazons, with Diana. But on the other? Too many bad memories still remained of her own personal Groundhog's Day from hell. So many lives of worthless-and-hopeless-ness sometimes made her feel like she shouldn't be on the island at all. Yet overcoming those feelings, she always found returning to truly feel like home. Home. Family.

Dressed casually in a simple white tunic that fell almost to her knees, belted at the waist, and traditional sandals, she walked along, smiling and greeting her sisters and aunts. And then she turned the corner.

"Cassie? I didn't know you were here, too." Her gaze turns to Miranda and she smiles, "Hello." Somehow she feels she should know this woman but has not, yet, met her. That she is aware of.

Corusca has posed:
Miranda Madsen is eating a kabob somewhat indelicately as she listens to Cassie's reply and explication. Which is to say she finishes it quickly as though it were a mere drop in the well of her appetite. "You.. have a different problem. It's been my experience that gods are rather aloof entities. Take Michael for instance. He is a heck of a motivator but doesn't tend to do much or stick around." She laughs. "But yes, I really am thinking I'll enjoy the island. I'm already at ease and.." She leans in conspiratorially. ".. between you and me.. this smile? It's real. Shh. Don't tell anyone." She winks and that's when Donna walks up. The family resemblance is there even if Donna is dressed far more casually. It warrants a pleasant nod of the head to the greeting. "Hello." She offers brightly then there's a pause as if suddenly she's forgotten her name. She laughs. "Amarantharial. Please, call me Amara. The rest is just a hiss and a grumble at the end."

Wonder Girl has posed:
"Mmm, yeah, aloof's a word for it. Also 'arrogant' 'dubiously moral' and 'serial womanizer." Cassie sure has her issues stacked up. "But even if I don't have much more of a dad to count on even now, I got a whole bunch of new aunts and sisters." And speaking of?

"Donna!" Instantly upon spotting her, Cassie launches into a few steps of a run before diving forward and flying the rest of the way. It's her soaring tackle-hug. Once on her feet again, she looks back over her shoulder in the direction of Donna's gaze, and soon reaches a hand out toward the other woman. "We came together. Diana too. This is-" well, the dragon-woman does a better job of introducing herself "-what she said." Grin. "I was just stopping by the embassy to say hi and see if there was anything she needed before my next semester starts up, class sure has a way of getting in the way of things." Although, conversely, superheroing has a way of getting in the way of school in return! "And I saw she had a guest, and they were going to take a trip here. So I figured I'd tag along. I haven't been since I finished my last round of training." And as if to demonstrate physically how she enjoys being back, she takes a deep breath and releases it with an exaggerated 'ahhhh.'

"Diana should be here too," she points out and then peers around. "We were supposed to meet up after she handled something official and Princess-y, I think. Uh... Oh!" All the laughter's a help. Soon, she's heading that way, waving excidedly. At least she probably got her hugging energy out earlier, in this case.

Wonder Woman has posed:
The 'official and princessy' stuff mostly consisted of being a public presence to her people here in the city for the afternoon, making her beloved people feel as though Diana was still one with them all, and not some horrible outsider that had forgotten the island and its ways. It was a never-ending-effort too, Diana came back to Themyscira as many times in the year as she possibly could, but it never felt like it was 'enough' to please many of the island's inhabitants. Not all were like this though, many others were very accepting and understanding of what it was that she was trying to do in the outside world.

Having seperated herself from the sillyness at the market shop she was standing outside of, the Princess was walking southward toward where MIranda, Cassie and Donna were, she had an... entourage following her, however, which was very common when she was back home like this.

Troia has posed:
Donna Troy laughs as Cassie tackle hugs her. She's ready for it - because she's an Amazon. This is standard fare for this family. She hugs Cassie tightly in return. It IS nice when you can bear hug each other without having to worry over breaking a rib or three. She nods. "I must have caught the vibes because I had an urge to come home too. I'm glad I did!" She lets go of Cassie and offers her hand to Amara. "Amarantharial. Amara." She tries them both out, only butchering the full name a little. Or maybe more than she thinks she does. But she gets Amara right. That's easy. She smiles. "Welcome."

She has barely said the words than her gaze is pulled automatically away. "Diana." Her voice is soft. Proud. Her twin. Well.. she was Diana's twin, really. But. They were both here. And that was what mattered. Family. She slipped arms around Cassie and Amara, smiling in elation as they closed up upon Diana and her own throng of Amazons. "If the Queen were here, we would have the whole of the island in this tiny space I think!"

Corusca has posed:
Miranda Madsen has an arm around her. Familial like. She.. sin't sure what to do with this. She.. mostly.. just looks at the approach Diana with a few blinks and a somewhat bewildered and yet.. accepting.. look on her face. Then there's the confusion because.. it's no wonder Donna looked familiar. She does a few double takes between the pair. "I hope not! I was told I had a lot of people to meet yet." But at least she has a sense of humor.

Wonder Girl has posed:
That's certainly among the reasons why her Amazon sisters get the full hug treatment: that kind of genuine and unrestrained affection can be something she has to hold back from elsewhere. Having worked out her need to squeeze, Cassie falls in beside Donna as they construct their happy trio, wandering over toward Diana as a knot. "I'm glad you came too. What have you been up to? Still the photography, right? Any cool shoots? Celebrities and that sort of thing?" Nevermind that the lot of them are potentially celebrities in their own right! At her age, and with her friends from school, Cassie is still wrapped up in a good bit of the 'normal' stuff teenagers are into, or at least, she tries to be. It's something 'normal' to distract her from the difficulties of hero-stuff.

And speaking of celebrity, she's not unused to the sort that Diana commands wherever she goes, but especially here, grinning at the little throng that follows her as they approach. "Oh don't worry, it's just an expression. I think the only time I've ever seen all the Amazons together is when there's a tournament or something." Not like that doesn't happen... alot!

Wonder Woman has posed:
Diana arrived just in time to hear the last bits of what each one of them were saying. She smiled at them all and looked from one face to the other's, giving Donna a grin because she was just thrilled to see her twin back on the island again.

"There is to be a grand dinner tonight, Hippolyta has arranged it in the main dining hall. The entire island may not... be all smooshed in there, but still, there will be many who are eager to see... well, all of us, but especially our newest arrival." She'd say that and nod her head toward Miranda.

"How is the food so far?" Diana asked MIranda with a grin still present on her lips, the Princess seemed to be in great spirits. But then again, coming home always re-invigorated her. "Cassie helped you find some good stuff, it would seem."

Troia has posed:
Donna Troy is very happy. There is nothing like family to raise one's spirits after all. She laughs at Cassie, "Still photography yes. I don't usually do celebrities you goof. I'm not paparazzi. I spent May in Africa travelling around the wildlife preserves and visiting the villages. I hope to have all of the photo editing done soon. If it works as I hope I might be able to publish a coffee table book." She then drops her hands from around Amara and Cassie as they draw near to Diana. She slips over to hug her (older!) twin. "Princess." She smiles playfully, always loving to tease Diana. Since Donna, herself, prefers to forgo any attempts to associate her with the royalty part of being Diana's twin. She's just... Donna. Being twins? Regardless of how it all came about? That's super cool and stuff. The best. But she likes being a few steps back from the main spotlight unless she's needed. Diana is more photogenic. As it were.

Corusca has posed:
"Quite tasty actually." Miranda declares in answer to Diana's interrogative. "One of the melons had me confused for a second. It smelled a bit like chicken vindaloo but.. it was definately a melon. Maybe, I'm just having a hankering for Indian fare." She muses on that moment then shrugs it away. If there was any discomfort from being squeezed, she didn't show any. "Oh.. as a thing.. I'd prefer if no one called me Miranda here." She offers somewhat cryptically to Diana. "It'll get confusing." She's all smiles anyway... but that fades.

"So.. wait.. this 'audience' is now to become a 'grand dinner'?" Miranda seems at a loss now. "I'll grant you I'm not the usual dinner company but really you didn't have to go all out for me."

Wonder Girl has posed:
"I meant, like, you know, for fashion spreads or things? You always see movie stars doing magazine covers and things like that," Cassie explains. Surely, she'd never suggest that Donna was some parasitic limo-chaser. "But that sounds really cool too. Must have been really interesting to see. I can't wait to see 'em when they come out." Not like she probably couldn't come by to visit and spy on the photos as she darkrooms all that stuff, but there's something about actually seeing them published, on newstands and in bookstores and wherever else.

As for Diana and Donna, that's never been anything Cassie questioned, odd as some of it may be. Odd is par for the course, around her life in general these days, and adoptive family is adoptive family, however they're all tied to each other. "A feast?!" That's exciting, for sure, when Diana brings it up. "Oh boy. And all just to welcome our newest member?" She can't help but glance sidelong at said new arrival and give her a grin, in a 'see how cool we are?' kinda way. "Oh don't worry about it. It's nice to have an excuse to do something like this, I'm sure. And really it isn't like we get new Amazons often." Because of you know, the obvious. "I was probably the last before you came?"

Wonder Woman has posed:
Diana would move to intercept Donna and return the hug annd prim and proper-like with her chin over the other's shoulder and their ears near to one another, which was a sight to see since the two of them were a mirror-image of each other. "Donna's pictures from her trip are truly beautiful as well." Their voices were decidedly different though, Diana's accent was native to the island while Donna's was not.

Diana's blue eyes went to Miranda and she smiled faintly and nodded just once. "Amara is the prefered shorthand of your name then?" She would ask the woman. "And... I imagine a grand dinner might sound a little intimidating for a new person here, but I assure you... it is just good food and good company. We will instruct everyone to not assault you with questions or put you 'on the spot' ... as they say."

Diana glanced toward Cassie when she spoke that last question. "There were, well, some between then and now. But its been a bit complicated and not really talked about publicly." Female children found on the beach earlier this year, alone and completely lost. They were in the care of the same Amazonian women who raised Diana now though.

Troia has posed:
Donna Troy smiles and nods to Cassie. "I know. So far, nothing of note. Buf if you want some head shots or anything... Wonder Girl. I'm sure I know someone who would give you a good deal.." she quips and winks. She hugs Diana tightly and then steps away, letting a little circle of conversation form - with the entourage filling in behind Diana as expected. She nods and smiles to the conversation about the feast. "It is always a wonderful time, Amara. Family and friends are important here. It is cause for celebration."

Wonder Girl has posed:
"Oh really?" Cassie's reaction to there being others who've come to the island in the interim, of course, is curiousity more than anything, just because she knows how very much it isn't an every-day kind of thing. But, it's set aside with a vague 'you can tell me later' kind of look. This is really all on Amara/Miranda! "Yeah, it'll be fine. No reason to worry. I mean, people probably WILL ask you a lot of questions, but I'll help run interference and I think they'll catch on if it gets overwhelming. We're not so bad!"

Donna's offer, though, just draws a big ole blink, blink, blink. "Headshots? For me? I dunno what I'd use them for. Between school and Titan stuff, I don't have time for anything else really. Definitely not that kind of work." It isn't as if she hasn't come to grips with having outgrown the tomboyish looks of her youth but Donna's world still seems rather glamorous." She tops and thinks. "Though maybe... I know we want to do some stuff for the Titans, to promote the team. I'll think about it. Anyway, before dinner, how about we all grab a bath or something?" Pampering!