[Morningstar/C] Hello Magnolia! Enter: Miss Mischief!

"Magnolia Town, huh?"

A cheery yet obviously somewhat confused voice called out as the figure stood beneath the arched entrance to the town she had just reached. Ilaria crossed her arms behind her head after adjusting the straps on her travelling backpack, smiling broadly as she assessed her current location. It sure did look nice here! A delighted laugh left her lips as she crossed the borders into town and started strolling down the main street, her hazel eyes already looking along each line of stores to try and see if there was anything new which she didn't recognise. There was so much stuff! So many people selling different things!

"Ooooh! This is amazing! What does it do?!" She cried out loudly as she stood in front of a small stall, from which an elderly woman was selling magical trinkets that did small amounts of housework around the home. The woman chuckled softly, picking up the item which Ilaria was so mystified by; a small broom no larger than the woman's palm, attached to a miniature figurine. "Here dearie, watch." The woman snapped the fingers in her other hand and started to work the small contraption. The figure sprang to life and started tottering around, dusting things on the wares table with great care. All the while, the young teen watched with wide eyes filled with absolute wonder. "Amaziiiiing!" She breathed in utter delight, watching the magic-powered little figurine do its thing.

She didn't stay too long at each wares table, however, and started darting down the line yelling and pointing at amazing contraptions which were only regular items. She particularly liked and even bought a spork; both a spoon, and a fork at the same time.

What she soon found was that being so excitable really reminded her that she was starving hungry and hadn't eaten for a good number of hours. She groaned as her stomach grumbled, and excused herself from a market table where the seller was peddling magic-powered garden lights. After being pointed in the right direction for cafes and the like, she walked down one of the smaller streets that Magnolia had to offer in search of a place to buy food; anywhere, in all honesty. As she wandered, she stumbled across a little teashop-like cafe, and went barging inside eagerly.

"It smells so good in here!" She claimed loudly immediately upon entering, beaming with delight as she entered the establishment. Aromas of fresh-baked breads and other baked goods, as well as good tea wafted around and excited her senses into overdrive. Her eyes lit up considerably as she was shown to a table near the back of the teashop, getting more and more excited about eating some good food. She hoped the portions were big here... just as that thought crossed her mind, it was too late to realise that she was barely paying attention to where she was putting her feet.

One of her feet hooked around a table leg and in one fell swoop, she was sent to the ground face first with a loud "KYAAAA!" sound leaving her lips. The table toppled over and started an avalanche of sorts, knocking into all the chairs and other furniture arranged around the small shop. Crashes and loud bangs echoed in the air as, one by one, the patrons had their tables sent flying as the domino effect simply continued and got worse. Ilaria groaned as she got to her feet, rubbing her head and slowly assessing the damage she had managed to create with her clumsiness.

"Eheh... sorry... about... the mess..." She said sheepishly, rubbing the back of her head in a manner which befitted the sheepishness she felt.

Image.

For Mari that word meant a little too much. The people of Magnolia, and beyond, had built up an image of her. They respected her in a way that required careful orchestrating on her behalf. They trusted her as if she had the power to bring cities to it's knees. And day by day her influence spread and all it took was her build an image and maintain that image in their eyes. The day that image was broken she feared the worst, although that was likely just her paranoia speaking.

In the quaint little tea shop her image was no different. Every now and then she would drop by the shop and help out. The owner had also received a generous donation from her when he was just starting out. All of that made for a very loyal... ally from the middle age man who ran the place. He trusted her greatly; enough that he had signed the contract. And the two waiters who worked for him trusted him enough to sign along with him. But then there was image.

She came to the shop regularly to help them prepare whatever they wanted. She was good at cooking and liked doing it. But that was all. She would offer them kind gestures, offer fleeting smiles, but other than that she was stern with them to the point of respect. And that's how she needed it to be. She needed them to respect her. For them to treat her kindness as a blessing more so than be expected. Let them know she cared deeply, but that she also demanded their respect and subordination where needed.

Outside the kitchen, she expected no different from those within the small cafe. Not everyone in Magnolia knew her, for she wasn't powerful enough to garner such attention. But the cafe usually had some regulars who knew better than to cause too much of a commotion. Besides, it was a cafe, peace was the norm whether she was present or not.

And so, the sudden crash outside her realm of seclusion as she was just about finish putting more bread inside the oven. She was fearless, but she wasn't above being startled as she quickly stood up and bounced into the male waiter. He gave her a wink and she pushed him away in annoyance muttering swear words at his antics as she left for the door towards the commotion. Maybe she should put no making passes at her on their contract.

She surveyed the scene with calm focus and stern expression. People were muttering in agitation and Mari traced the scene of dishevel and displeased customers to the of one table where a pink haired girl was apologizing. A klutzy teenage girl. Just great. The thought of leaving the other customers to eat the girl alive crossed her mind. Not to be mean, but teach her a early lesson in responsibility. By time she was twelve Mari remember already being more mature than most.

Alas, it wasn't in her and, in spite of herself, she found herself walking pass the commotion towards the pinkette. She wasn't into manipulating children, but her kindness always came with a price and that price was being manipulated. She hated that about herself. When she was finally in front of her lithe girl, her expression was still stern. She studied her without breaking eye contact before her expression softened

"It's okay, darling. You being okay is more important right now. Did you hurt anything?" she asked, reaching out to look her over.

As expected, the numerous patrons gathered in the teashop grumbled and complained about their lovely afternoon tea being ruined. Ilaria winced while she heard the complaints and nasty words being said about her clumsiness, hanging her head in shame. 'Mama was right... I really am like a bull in a china shop when it comes to delicate stuff.' She thought as she hesitantly took a small step backwards.

A sheepish grin was still present on her face as she tried retracing her steps, fully aware of the fact that she really wasn't welcome here anymore after she had made all of this mess and ruined these citizens' afternoon. "M-My apologies, everyone!" She claimed loudly, still hiding her face and the embarrassment plastered across it. Soft whispers and disapproving sounds left the patrons again, and she caught onto the words they were saying this time.

"Such riff-raff... shouldn't be here in the first place..."

"Country bumpkins wouldn't understand..."

She guessed that was true. She kind of was a country bumpkin, and had been called as such before. Being raised in near-isolation from the rest of the world had its way of making her seem ignorant and inherently naive. "U-U-Uh..." She stammered as she floundered for more to say, hoping to appease the angry customers. Perhaps she could pay for their lunches? She fumbled around in the numerous pockets lining her suspenders, blushing a very healthy red as she realised that she didn't have any money left for herself, let alone the peeved customers who were probably wanting replacements for their food and drinks. 'I'm broke! Absolutely broke!' She realised, her heart hammering hard in her chest as this sank in. She had messed up this beautiful little teashop and wasn't able to do anything about it to make these people happy again!

While she panicked and felt increasingly awful for what she had done, her inner thoughts and worries were interrupted by a soft voice which startled her. Not because it was loud. Not because it was harsh or anything horrid like that. But because, for a brief second, it had sounded exactly like her mother.

The stranger appeared concerned, judging by her speech. She asked if Ilaria was okay, and when the teen raised her head, she saw a beautiful woman reaching out to her, possibly to look her over for any damage. "T-Thank you ma'am! But don't worry, I'm okay! Mama always told me that I was sturdy!" Her speech fell out of her mouth at what felt like one thousand miles per hour, and she clapped her hands over her mouth as she realised that she had said 'mama' out loud. How embarrassing! She wasn't some little girl anymore! Her flushed, embarrassed face grew even redder, and she continued to get flustered.

"I-Is this your teashop, ma'am?" She asked as she lowered her hands from her mouth, slowly getting control over herself once more. "I don't have any money left after I bought that really cool spoony fork thing from before... but I can help! I can put everything back together! A-And I'll cook for you! O-Or make tea! Something! Anything! I really am sorry!" She became flustered again as she showed how desperate she was to help out, realising that she was almost forgetting her manners. She bowed lowly in front of the pretty lady, hoping that something she had offered would make up for her clumsiness.