The Fluffy Fullbringer (Open to 1)

“Crowded. Why did it have to be crowded?” The fluffy haired woman uttered uncomfortably, her brown eyes shifting from left to right as she made her way through the streets. She had hoped that today would simply be a quick trip, one where she could maybe pick up some information and then move on but no, instead the young Fullbringer walked into the middle of a mob of people and was being hustled and bustled down the street. All she could do was remember her training, taking deep breaths as she attempted to control herself, despite the anxiousness that was trying to gnaw away at her.

Eventually though, she simply had to have some space and by manipulating the air around her, the woman would rise into the sky, just high enough for her to use Bringerlight in order to move to the side of the street. Funnily enough though, no one seemed to bat an eyelid, something that Ashaiya was rather happy about quite frankly and with a gentle sigh of relief, she’d slip into a chair nearby, thoroughly happy to be out of harm’s way.

“You can handle Hollows and Arrancars but not a crowd. Pathetic.” She dryly uttered, her distinctive British tone potent.

"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?"

There was a moment of awkwardness on Ashaiya’s part as the woman sat down but she sounded friendly enough, which helped to ease her anxiety. She honestly had no idea how the locals reacted to strangers and having wandered into more than one unpleasant place during her travels, the teenager was inherently wary. Still, she couldn’t help but feel a rather relaxed vibe to the city, which somewhat made her feel comfortable or as much as she could be when surrounded by what seemed to be hundreds of individuals.

“I’m Ashaiya, a Fullbringer from the UK, it’s nice to meet you.” She replied as a means of an introduction, not looking overly proud of her display. “I struggle quite a lot with crowds and they always make me feel anxious whenever I’m in the middle of one, almost as if I’m underwater and fighting for breath. If I hadn’t had my Bringerlight to get me out, I’d probably have broken down just then.”

After a second or two, she added, her honesty rather brutal. “I guess I’m kind of useless with people. Give me an enemy and I can deal with them but put me in a room of small talking strangers and I’m as weak as a kitten.”

"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."

Natasha’s accent was rather strong and Ashaiya was just about able to figure out her nationality before she mentioned it. It was nice to meet someone who was raised from somewhere else though and the fluffy haired woman had no problems with Americans or anyone else in truth. She was as awkward and clumsy with everyone equally, as much as she wished that it was a different story. Honestly, the Fullbringer was a little jealous at just how easily Natasha was able to sit across from someone and strike up a conversation. Ashaiya wished she had that confidence.

“I’m not sure how long I plan on staying but I wouldn’t mind exploring the sights with you for a bit. It does become a little tiring just wandering the land aimlessly as I have been recently.” She replied with a slight sigh, scratching her head. “It's started to wear me down after a while and I suppose it hasn’t helped my anxiety with people either. I wish I had your skills when it comes to making friends. I’ve spooked people in the past just by saying hello and vice versa.”

"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?"

It felt nice to be able to talk quite so openly and there was a friendliness to Natasha that even the awkward Fullbringer couldn’t miss. The blonde woman was kind, something that Ashaiya hadn’t encountered an awful lot in her life and to have it be expressed towards her without any sign of a hidden motive was incredibly odd. Even the woman who’d trained her had been rather stiff and every word she’d said was a riddle. A lot of wise words but lacking any real feeling. Her family? Urgh, just thinking back to her early days was uncomfortable for her.

Her cheeks turned slightly red when she was referred to as adorable, not quite seeing in herself what Natasha seemed to. Fluffy hair and a forehead the size of a planet had led to some rather unpleasant comments in the past and while Ashaiya did her best to turn the other cheek, as she was taught, it would be wrong to say that she hadn’t been affected over time.

“OK.” She finally answered with a nod, standing up as Natasha did, looking forward to actually exploring the city with someone else rather than by herself. There was still a lot of hustle and bustle as people walked the streets but perhaps if she stayed close to Natasha then it would be alright. “Are there a lot of festivals and celebrations that take place here? I’ve heard a bit about this place during my travels but a lot of it was about it being the home of the Quincy or something like that.”

"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?"

“It’s a little strange to hear that this place has become a beacon for all races for sure.” Ashaiya answered truthfully as Natasha spoke a little more about the City Of Lights. “I always thought that Quincy, Shinigami and Arrancar were constantly at each other’s throats but I guess I’m a little behind the times. There’s so much going on right now in the world that it’s hard to know what’s true and what’s not.”

The brunette certainly kept close to the friendly blonde woman, feeling much more at ease about walking among others with Natasha beside her. Thinking back, Ashaiya couldn’t recall ever being in such a large and open place before. She’d always been kind of a loner, whether it be self enforced or because she was shunned. It was oh so embarrassing and the fluffy haired woman hated the fact that she was so…stunted when it came to sociability.

“How about we do some target shooting?” Ashaiya replied, feeling just a touch of competitiveness within her. “I’m not exactly a master when it comes to marksmanship but hopefully I can at least hit a stationary target.” She just hoped it wasn’t the person running it that she hit.

"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"