[Open Log] I came in like a shooting star

[ladyoftheshootingstars]

Who: Rosalina and Anyone
What: The Lady of the Shooting Stars is here to find out what's what.
Where: Out and about
When: December 18

Rosalina stood on top of a hill, fingers tapping on her wand as Lumas hovered around her, staring at the sight before them with a mixture of fear and awe. The moon hung dangerously low in the sky. And Rosalina could tell it was getting closer. She was nervous, but she could not show that, not to the Lumas who looked to her for strength. If only she knew what to tell them.

She had never seen something like this before. A force that could draw her, her home, and her children to this place, to face a danger such as this, was something to fear. She had faced dangers far more disastrous than this, and in the face of that fact, whatever disaster this foretold could not compare. She was nervous for the immediate future, yes, but her hope did not diminish.

"We haven't much time to lose," Rosalina informed the star children. "We must find out all we can about this calamity, and do what we can to stop it."

"I'm scared, Mama," a red Luma squeaked, shivering.

Rosalina gave the Luma a smile, reaching out to take it into her arms and give it a hug. "Everything will be fine, my child," she told it. "The stars will watch over us, even now. I will protect you. But I need you to be brave for me. Can you do that?" The Luma sniffed, but nodded quickly in affirmation. Rosalind's resolve did not waver. She didn't lie about things like this. She spoke only the truth to her children as she said, "Take care, all of you. And hurry."

As the Lumas floated away on their tasks, one remained behind. A black Luma floated next to Rosalina. "My lady, are you sure about this?" Polari asked her. "We would be safe in the Observatory..."

Rosalina shook her head. "This planet is in danger... It is where we should be, old friend. We will find a way to save it."

The Lumas took off into the Academy and nearby city, hoping to find something, anything, they could bring back to their Mama to help her. Would you find one of them? Or would you run into Rosalina herself on her own walkabout?

Comments

[trustycrowbar]

Gordon had met Rosalina exactly once before during her tea party up on the hill, and he was so shocked by the utter reversal of physics as he knew it, that very little actually registered in his mind.

He wasn't even sure if it was actually real, in fact, until he saw one of the little baby star-things looking through his box of optics lenses all the way down in his lab. Then the whole thing comes back to him in a flash, and he finds himself following it all the way up out of his patched-up lab and out into the courtyard.

"...Rosalina? Are you out here?"

[ladyoftheshootingstars]

And sure enough, the Luma led Gordon right to its mama, as it reported on what little it had managed to find. Rosalina held it in her arms, smiling at Gordon as he approached. "Doctor Freeman... It's a pleasure to see you again," she told him. "Although I wish it were under more pleasant circumstances."

[trustycrowbar]

"So do I." He adds, watching a green luma flit by. "I hope you don't take this the wrong way, but I was actually hoping you and your children wouldn't have to stick around here."

[ladyoftheshootingstars]

"I appreciate the sentiment," Rosalina replied solemnly, gazing up at the sky, and the ominous shape overhead. "Although at this time... I cannot leave your orbit, and the threat here seems so dire... I do not want to abandon you all."

[trustycrowbar]

"You don't want to abandon us?"

He's a little puzzled by the phrase. She isn't obligated to protect them. In fact, in a weird way the impending cosmic violence might send a bad message to the kids. Yet she's down here anyway, willing to help.

"...I appreciate that. Everyone here does too, I'm sure."

[monotreme_101]

Knuckles was walking around out near what was left of the woods when he saw a little pointed blue head sticking out of the bushes.

"Hey, a Chao!" he exclaimed, walking towards it."....wait, where's it's little topknot blob....?"

Had some wild animal eaten it? What would a Chao do without it? Was it like a balance thing or....?

He scooped it up. "Woah. You're a chubby little guy. And the wrong shape. Huh... you ain't a Chao at all. That's kinda a relief.... what even are you?"

It grabbed at Knuckles' glove and started pulling him towards a nearby hill. Despite being strong, Knuckles was always exceedingly gentle when it came to little critters like this, so, he let it lead him on a merry dance. It was something to do that didn't involve stressing over the Moon, so, why not?

He almost didn't notice that the little thing was leading him towards a woman on top of the hill.

[ladyoftheshootingstars]

Rosalina turned when she heard the squeaking of one of her Lumas returning to her. She did not expect it to bring company, and she looked in surprise at Knuckles.

"I see you've found one of my children," she said simply, holding her wand. "Greetings. I am Rosalina, mother of the Lumas."

[monotreme_101]

"One of your children....?"

Geeze. What did the DAD look like!?

"Oh, uh, yeah. I found him. It. Her? Uh.... it lead me here. Hope I ain't disturbing you."

She had kind of a serene air to her that made him wonder if he ought to just make his goodbyes and leave her be. How did she wind up here in the first place? With a little star critter? Did it have something to do with the moon, maybe? Moon and stars.... it kind of fit.

"And, uh, my name is Knuckles. Knuckles the Echidna."

At least he was getting better at remembering to introduce himself to new girls.

[ladyoftheshootingstars]

See Knuckles, when a woman loves a pulsar very much...

"Yes," she said, as the Luma bounded away from Knuckles and into Rosalina's arms. "These Lumas are my children." She didn't feel the need to elaborate on it any more than that.

"It's no trouble at all, Knuckles," she greeted him with a smile. "It's a pleasure to meet you. Though I wish the circumstances were more ideal."

[monotreme_101]

"Yeah. You sure picked a bad time to show up here." Knuckles replied, turning to glare up at the moon.

"That thing's been gettin' bigger for weeks, now. City is gettin' flooded at high tide. We only got a few people with plans on how to take care of it but no-one's really got a surefire solution."

[punchtheflute]

There was a man standing behind you, Rosalina.

A man behind you on the hill.

He was a man.

With Pie.

"Hello!" he said cheerfully. "I saw you standing up here and thought maybe you would want something to eat?"

It's Pecan.

[ladyoftheshootingstars]

To say that Rosalina was not used to people sneaking up on her was an understatement. She turned quickly when she heard Sonny's voice behind her, and she felt her heart skip a beat momentarily. "Oh! Hello... I was not expecting company. Is that... pie?"

[punchtheflute]

Sonny was a master of stealth.

Stealth and baking.

"It is! It's a Pecan Pie! I was making some for Christmas! It's still warm from the oven - are you new to the school?"

[ladyoftheshootingstars]

"I see," she replied, smiling. "Well then. If you're offering, I would be happy to accept a slice of your pie. It smells delicious. My name is Rosalina. What's yours?"

[punchtheflute]

Sonny held the dish out to her.

"You can have the whole thing! Call it a welcome gift!" He said with a grin. "And my name is Sonny Moe! It's really nice to meet you, Rosalina! Welcome to... um. Welcome to what's left of our school!"

That last part was said a little sheepishly. What with the moon covering a massive portion of the sky, and the areas of the school that were still nothing but rubble, it really wasn't a place to be proud of welcoming a person to.

[ihateplumbers]

There's a luma, off in the distance, squealing in pain and fright, oh starry queen.

A pain and terror it knows entirely too intimately.

Can you feel it writing in horror as it's grasped between two pointed claws? Or do you leave it to its inevitable fate?

[ladyoftheshootingstars]

Rosalina was not going to stand idly by while her child was abused. Not at all.

Bowser's grip on the Luma soon loosened, as Rosalina waved her wand, causing a bubble to form around the frightened Luma and float it back towards its mama's side. She cast a dark glare at Bowser. With her child safe, Rosalina stood before Bowser, wand at her side, and a dark look on her face.

"You will not touch my children again," she told him. sternly.

[ihateplumbers]

"Blah blah blah," said Bowser dismissively. "Like I'm supposed to be scared of Ms. 'I can't be bothered to put a lock on my front door.'"

[ladyoftheshootingstars]

"In millennia, you are the first who has ever given me cause to," she told him. "My observatory is a sanctuary. You defiled it for your petty ego trip."

[ihateplumbers]

"Yeah well, you'd think that after the first time, you'd at least try to beef security up a little bit more. But, then again, I'm basically the most powerful guy I know. You probably can't handle the Bowser."

[will_be_god]

Cyrus had his notebook out again, as usual, and to anyone who had experience with him around the school he would seem as though he was back to normal.

Except he wasn't writing anything down. He wasn't talking under his breath, to himself or whatever he usually directed things to. He only stared at the paper, and occasionally at the moon above.

Of course, anybody new would think that he was doing exactly what he usually did. And that it couldn't be considered "usual".

[ladyoftheshootingstars]

Cyrus again... What a curious man. She wasn't sure what information he could offer her, but she would not be rude.

"I see you're lost in thought again," Rosalina told him as he approached.

[will_be_god]

The voice was familiar, and as he rested the pen against the notepad, he pondered who it could be.

Oh, her, the celestial woman. "I see. So you have fallen here as well. There is no leaving, not through any means we have yet found."

His gaze fell back down to his blank notepad, though he didn't pick up the pen again.

[ladyoftheshootingstars]

"So I've learned," she replied. "But be that as it may, there is no reason to lose hope."

She glanced down at the blank notepad, and back up at him curiously. "Your mind seems to be on something other than the current dilemma."

[will_be_god]

He couldn't lose hope but that was more to do with the fact that he was incapable of having any at all at the moment.

"I am...distracted. I have recently undergone a severe change to my brain chemistry and have yet to adjust to the side effects."