avalononline | Video; UN: Rubitsune

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Video; UN: Rubitsune

[ The video starts and the girl on the other side of the camera looks... Concerned. ]

Just how many of us are there? [ She starts, almost tripping over her words to elaborate. ] Kids, I mean. Just how many of us here are kids?

Are we all staying at the inns?

[ She pauses, biting her lip for a moment before speaking up again, her voice a little more sure this time. ]

I think we should look out for each other. [ Because adults can't be trusted to. Even the ones who mean well. ] A lot of us are small, I'd bet. And a lot of the other kids I've seen don't really seem like fighters. Those of us that are, we should help them.

Those of us who don't know how to fight can learn from those of us who do know, and those of us who don't want to know how to fight can be taught how to keep a better eye out for themselves and the rest of us.

The more of us that know how to defend ourselves, and the more of us that can keep an eye out for each other, the better chance of survival we have in a situation where we are at a noticeable disadvantage.

[ She wasn't quite suggesting a gang of feral children, but close enough. ]

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Hmm, it's been really rough, honestly. I... really have been doing things by myself and it's quite awkward with everyone else being adults.

Believe me, I understand that. It's weird that all of the adults are practically random strangers to us. There's no signs of who we can or can't trust. A part of my goal is for us kids to be able to have a kinda list of who can be trusted for what sort of stuff, too. There are some trustworthy adults, [ Darin, for one, ] but I know I'd feel a lot better having other kids to compare experiences with.

What are some things that have been hard for you to do by yourself, or that you think would at least be easier with help?

Honestly, I would think that I could use some survival types. Or, rather, fighting tips. On my world, we fight with creatures called Pokemon. Like my Piplup here.

[And she holds up the penguin Pokemon for Ruby to see]

But, he no longer has his abilities and I've never had a need to fight. And magic is so awkward...!

[ She tries very hard not to look super interested in the pokemon. She's never seen a penguin up close! She can't help but wonder what the mind of an aquatic bird is like... That said she manages to put a cork on her curiosity for now! ]

I can help with that. Would your goals in a fight be aligned more with victory or safety? [ She honestly assumes safety, but she feels it fair to give the option. ]

What type of magic do you have? I may not be able to give any advice, my magic works sorta similar to my ability back home, or at least it feels like it, but I'm sure I can think of some fun ways to train so that it's less awkward!

[Please ask her about it sometime. She'd be more than happy to talk in length about him and others!]

A little of both, but I'd rather be more focused on safety rather than victory.

As for magic, it's elemental. I tried this contest awhile back, but I did... poorly at it.

[ Oh she is so going to. ]

That's good. Safety is the primary focus of the group, and sometimes safety means running away. I'll be happy to teach you what I know. If you're not comfortable with weapons I know of ways to get people to let go of you with your bare hands. I'm real small, and even I can do it.

I already have a few ideas of how to make elemental magic fun to learn, depending on how much you can already do. [ Making things into a game almost always works with younger kids, so it should work here too, right? ]

Oh, that'll be wonderful! I'd be happy to learn all I can from you and any others!

Wait, you know how to do elemental magic? I mean, the most I can do right now is water streams...!

If there's anything you feel you might be able to teach, too, please feel free to let me know! I think one thing that may be helpful is that once people have been taught something, they may be able to pass that lesson on to others who need to learn, too.

I don't know how to do elemental magic, but I've watched people do it. It isn't hard to think of games to do with the various magics, and games make everything less of a pain. My magic is animal magic. It's actually weaker right now that my ability to communicate with animals was back in the Forge... [ Grumble grumble... ] But apparently I can eventually learn to turn into an animal. It's just going to take time!

Well, since I'm always traveling, I know quite a few things - cooking food, camping, cleaning, making sure you look your best in a hurry... [Dawn, no...]

Oh, I see! Hmm...! But, it makes sense to handle things that way!

All of those can be helpful. If you could teach me to cook I would be very grateful. I hope to eventually make it so that kids can consistently get a second meal each day, and for that I'm both going to need people who can cook, and to need to learn myself, both so I can pass the skill on and cover for anyone who can't help that day, assuming we get enough people who can learn cooking that I'll be able to focus on other duties, anyway.

Camping and cleaning are both good skills to have in general, too. I know some about camping, and a lot about foraging. So I bet if we work together we can give everyone a really good grounding. Maybe even take over-night foraging missions eventually. If we eventually manage to afford a house we can all live in, then cleaning will come in handy a lot. And a lot of people would be happy to pay children for helping with housework!

Making sure you look your best can be a lot of help, too. People aren't going to want to offer you work moving their things if you're covered in dirt and your clothes have holes... [ On that she speaks from experience. She still needs to get some clothes that are the right size, and aren't worn down in multiple locations... ] I'll probably need your help there...

[ She then smiles. ]

I'll borrow some books on elemental magic basics, too. The more I understand, the more I can help you, and everyone else. I'll see if a nearby carpenter I've worked for will be fine with trading some wooden hoops for some work. Wooden hoops can be used to make a lot of games!

Wow, you have all of this planned out. I'm impressed! I mean, at least with simple basics and all. But I can certainly help you out with cooking and all of that! I've had plenty of time to learn all of that and it really helps out in the meantime!

[And she returns the smile]

That'll be awesome! Oh, is there something I could do, too?

[ Oh how she glows at the compliment! Yes, she likes this. ] I've been thinking about it for a while. Where I'm from the adults are often busy, so we kids have to look after ourselves some, and we have to help around the various buildings. I do a lot to help everyone find things they're good at, since I've done just about every job except cooking and mechanical stuff. [ Helping fix things didn't really count, not really, she just did what she was shown how to do, nothing more - she didn't understand how it worked! ]

If you haven't read any of the books on magic yet, I find understanding the basics of just magic in general can be a lot of help! I don't feel confident enough in my understanding to actually teach it, but I can suggest books that helped me. And if you can find someone willing to give you some thin paper and some thin wire, those will be helpful, too!

Oh, no, mechanical stuff is out of my league, too. I mean, I could tell you about all the ins and outs of various gizmos, but actually fixing them? No way! Not me!

Hmm, maybe I should do some reading before I do anything else. I think brute-forcing my way is kind of a bad idea now...

[ She can't help but laugh a little at that. ] I know a lot about phones and how to use the internet, but I can only follow directions when it comes to fixing things! Normally I'm not asked to do much more than tighten screws or bolts or stuff like that. One of the adults said he'll teach me how to hotwire a car, but I honestly don't understand how mechanical things work. Even if I am interested.

The books I read that helped me understand the basics the most were 'Understanding Magic For Children', which is admittedly very low reading level, but it gives some basic stuff quick and easy. And then 'Casting For Beginners', which admittedly seems to be for magics that locals can do, but I felt it gave me a better understanding of the basics of how things actually work?

Oh, things like that are easy for me as well. Though, hotwiring? Nah, I don't even think I could go that far. I could fix a bike... that isn't charbroiled by electricity.

Hmm, I'm surprised we weren't given those things already. What, did they think we just understand from the word go?

I think that if I was given enough time with a working bike I could figure out how to fix a broken bike? The non-electric ones I mean. I haven't seen a lot of bikes in my life, but they look like pretty simple machines, right?

[ She just assumes charbroiled is a biking term she's not familiar with. ]

Uh... Hm. [ How to put this delicately... ] I think you missed the trainers. They're here to help us with the super-basics. When I said I wanted to know how things worked they told me where the library is. ... Though, they didn't point me to any specific books. [ They probably expected her to ask the librarian... ] They weren't hard to find though!

Oh, very simple! Not that complicated, really.

[Aaaaand, then that bombshell]

I WHAT?! Aw, man, how...?! Uuugh, I must have been dozing off that day! I guess I will go to library after this, then...

[ Ruby can't help but smile a little at her reaction. ]

That's probably a good idea! If you'd like I can introduce you to some of the trainers, too. I think they're a little overwhelmed, but I bet they can get you started at least. That would have to wait until tomorrow afternoon, but I don't mind showing you there at all. I'm going to be talking to people in that area anyway.

That sounds good, honestly. I'll have to go and meet them then, too!

How does meeting up at 2PM at the training fields sound? [ Ruby smiles. ] I figure that's a place we've both been shown to.

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Video; UN: Rubitsune

video: un - coordinated

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