The Fluffy Fullbringer (Open to 1)

"Howdy there, miss."

A playfully pleasant voice called to the woman. The owner of said voice had been making her daily round through the city herself, and although there were plenty of people in the city she could've pinpointed. Most of them looked like they knew where they were going. They seemed to know which direction they were going. More than that, while most didn't bat an eye, Natasha certainly couldn't miss her moving from one side to another with that nifty little ability of hers.

It was amusing enough to draw her attention, and since she was doing nothing but boring ol' grocery shopping, why not take the opportunity to greet her? Was she a resident of the town or a traveler looking to enjoy a nice vacation? All of that was up for her to find out now, wasn't it? Approaching her as she assumed a seat across from her, setting her bags down, she playfully waved in the fluffy-haired lady's direction.

"Neat lil' trick ya got there. Name's Natasha. Not a fan of big crowds, I take it?"

"Pleasure to meet you, too, sweetheart! Already introduced myself, but I'll match yer energy for this one. Natasha Miller from the Lone Star State of Texas."

Natasha could definitely read the bashfulness in Ashaiya's body language, but that was to be expected. Even as a traveler passing by, the City of Lights could be pretty intimidating to those who weren't particularly a fan of huge crowds. So many folks had been pouring in as of late, especially the survivors from all the turmoil taking place in Africa.

Continuing to listen to her honest explanation, Natasha clearly understood how difficult it was for her to engage with others. Did it matter, though? Of course not. After all, she was sitting across from the social butterfly that reigned supreme among all the social butterflies. Further interaction with this lass could potentially work in her favor... but they were still just at the conversation phase. Baby steps. Gotta endear herself first and all that jazz.

"Truthfully, I ain't much for large crowds either, but I just love socializin' and makin' friends with others. Put me in a small room of strangers, and most'll tell ya I got a smile that can light up a whole room. 'Course, I'd say dependin' on how long ya want to stay, I'll gladly be your friend and show you around. There are plenty of fun places to hang out I can show ya without havin' to navigate in a sea of people."

"Some people just struggle around company sometimes. Ain't hardly nothin' wrong with that, sugar. Course, a little repetition and some practice won't hurt. Ya seem like a pleasant girl to speak to from my look of things. Adorable, too. Definitely not spooky to me."

Natasha chortled softly as she reached over to pat Ashaiya's hand, nostalgic about a few friends of her past who struggled to step out of their comfort zone, and feared the mere thought of socialization. Nope, no sir! She wouldn't let this fluffy-haired lady suffer any longer. Where to go first? She wondered. They weren't in swimsuits. As such, the beach was the first to be cut from the menu.

Where to next, then? Hm... what about a small festival? Season of summer hadn't passed just yet, and there were plenty of things they could engage in. Some quiet, some loud. Turning to a soldat in the area, Natasha handed her groceries over, requested they be delivered to her house, and rose from her chair. Motioning for Ashaiya to follow, she quickly made a trip toward a nearby festival.

"Let's go have fun at a festival! I see one nearby that looks like it'll be a real hoot. Whaddya say, Ash?"

"I mean, it is the home where most of the Quincy gravitated toward, but... lately it's grown beyond that. Heck, not sure if you've seen it yet, but we even end up takin' in the occasional Shinigami or arrancar. Crazy, right?"

Natasha chortled happily as she quickly settled into guiding the woman through the city. Good guide and good company. What else could a newcomer ask for, right? Natasha made sure Ashaiya remained relatively close, well aware of her anxiety in a social setting. Remembering how she avoided it, the last thing she needed was to see her new friend fly off and leave her in the dust. Now, then, what would they do first once they got there? Play one of those games where you hit targets and win prizes? Face painting? Fishing? There were so many options, but Natasha turned around to venture into what she might want to do first.

"To answer your question, though, like any well-meaning city, we enjoy our fair share of festivities when the opportunity presents itself. I even offer to help with some of em'. I view it as a nice way to boost morale, ya know? Anyhoot, what we doin' first, sugar? Want to go hit a target and win a prize? Paint each other's faces? Or do something nice and quiet like fish near the sea?"

"I reckon that was much of my thought on the matter too, based on our collective history. Lately, I've seen Shinigami and Arrancar pickin' this place as their choice of location. So far, most I've met in passing seem cordial and welcoming enough. Guess all of that can be chalked up to this current era we live in... or maybe they like livin' someplace cozy."

Natasha nodded her head after responding to Ash's words. Her point of view was not incorrect. History had always seen any of those three races at odds with one another. Shinigami and Hollow. Quincy and Hollow. Quincy and Shinigami. Bright and upbeat as she was, she was well aware of the pulse between all of them. And although she trusted those who entered her city, she wasn't so foolish as to assume it couldn't change at the drop of a hat.

After all, that little seaside event was no longer a thing, and she couldn't quite trust every member of the Gotei as a whole, least of all that murderous wench who gloated about how much she reveled in killing and torturing Quincykind during the genocide. Of course, those thoughts were far too glum for her tastes, so she simply shook her head to brush them all away. After that, she turned to Ashaiya with a radiant smile, pleased by her lightly competitive tone. Target shooting, eh? That was music to her ears! She knew just the right place.

"Fine by me, sweetheart. Just don't be too disappointed when ya lose, ya hear? They don't call me the gunslinging extraordinaire for nothin'!"

With that, she firmly motioned for her to follow her to the target shooting range. There were multiple types of targets for a bold marksman to try their hand. Stationary targets. Moving targets. And one aptly called "maniac targets", where they moved so fast and unpredictably that it was difficult to nail them all at once. Turning to Ashaiya, she formed a reishi pistol from the ambient reishi in the air, a competitive grin playing across her features.

"Alright, so here's how it goes. This game goes off of a point system. You hit as many as you reasonably can until you call for a break or a certain amount of time has passed. You get 2 points per target for stationary. 4 points per target for moving, and 10 per target for maniac. Sounds pretty fun, right? Since yer the newcomer here, I'll let you go first and see what ya got"