The Illya-id

And so it began, as the legs of a shaken individual would come across the windswept, rocky masses of Amber Island fresh from a portal leading back home. Illya would have been eager to finally join a legal guild and begin her time of service with her closest companion at her side, but the fates had conspired against such events happening, at least in this timeline. Illya would stand alone on the first stop of her tour through the land which Dies Irae had claimed control over after it was so haphazardly thrown away. While one might assume that the ideal candidate for being among the newest in the guild would be a heroic man or woman, bravely applying for any kind of mission that might have been thought of as possible, Illya was unfortunately most unfit for such comparisons. Instead of a well dressed woman coming in fresh from a recent adventurer, the pink haired woman would waltz onto the brown island in her usual garb from her home in Magnolia where she had worked as a waitress for. A uniform complete with white blouse, navy blue jacket, a tie, black leggings and worn shoes. An adventurer she was not, but a servant ready to field an order for dinner? Illya was rocking that look hard.

"Ah-I can do it...Just like Catty would have done." Her hands trembled near her chest, nerves. Her ever present anxiety was just making the newcomer experience icing on the cake. How she missed Catalina. A part of her prayed that she would looked to her side one day and find that her childhood friend would reappear by her side with that familiar smile on her face. Their hands would lock together and she'd lead the nervous wreck to glory alongside herself, becoming heroes of the world and renown by all whom they'd allow to bask in their glory. But such fantasies held their sway over the girl for now at least. They had come originally to begin as a pair rolling up the ranks, yes, but now Illya had come for help with another issue entirely.

One that she would only entrust to people she knew would believe her.

Even just explaining it was asinine enough to make people classify her as some type of lunatic ready to be put back into an asylum. Few people would even let her go in depth about the topic, let alone keep her welcome in their store or business. A lot of bridges had been burned that way though she didn't want to mull about in that mindset too long. She'd just find help elsewhere. "Right. You can do this, Illy. Just...one step at a time." The woman took a deep breath and would take a step forward from her starting position. A fine start but hardly any of praise. Her journey continued onward while she traveled from Amber Port into the heart of the island, where Dies Irae lied. Once on the footsteps to the guild Illya stepped inside after knocking upon the door and heard it close behind her. "H-Hi. Is this Dies Irae?"

TWC: 520

Her entrance was not to go unnoticed in the halls of this great guild. This realization brought a sense of relief to the quaking woman as she possessed the confidence and sturdiness of a sheet of wet paper. The lavender eyes hidden behind the veil of pink hair gazed out towards the other woman whom had found her standing her with her question. Now if you were to come close, maybe she'd notice the height difference between them, with this newest potential recruit just barely pushing past the 5'1" mark in full. Her neck was craned up to even make eye contact with Illya while that familiar twinging sensation brought forth by stretching her neck so often was brought to life. A hand idly rubbed at the area to relieve some of this stress that was to be pushed against it. Illya confirmed that she had come to the right place to find the legal guild of Dies Irae as the other woman herself would force a pleased smile. One which was hiding a good amount of uncertainty behind it. "Oh, perfect! Ah-I..." she trailed off while the other woman wouldn't even let her get a chance to speak. She babbled on what that bright and cheery smile while all Illya could do was to look on and simply wait for a chance to get a word in edgewise. By the ten second mark, she had begun to worry that Illya's windpipes were an enigma too themselves, never stopping once to breath or even rest.

But it was cute in a sort of way. It reminded her of how Catty used to do the same way when something had taken her interest, mainly historical topics. Once you got that girl rolling about ancient civilizations, she was likely to talk your ear off until you or something else stopped her. Sure, Illya's introduction was long-winded, but the newbie learned some valuable information: this was one of the higher ups here, an Ambassador even. Once might wonder what kind of ambassador would struggle to conserve their words when meeting with people, but it was the kind of office politics which had eluded her. Being such a high rank had to be good for something other than babbling on. So the smaller woman waited her turn patiently without interrupting or calling attention away from whatever the Ambassador would be talking about. Yep, just sitting here...waiting. By the second paragraph itself, her brain had shut itself off while the inner recesses of her mind allowed themselves to run free and escape the confines of her noggin. Just pure white noise all around. A rather intimidated expression painted itself on the girl's face while their eyes intertwined with one another.

By some stroke of mercy, another person would approach them and pull her out of this little daydream. This one was a man, well dressed and sauce as all hell. His silver hair cut short and tidy, it made the girl herself question whether or not he would have been a pretty cool knight here. She hadn't known his rank, or if he was a subordinate to Illya here, but at least he didn't seem like the same type to keep babbling on about every intricate detail about how the floor was here. After he managed to make her stop, the younger girl seemed a bit frazzled at being pulled back to reality under the guise of a chance to speak. She held her hands forward, worried that Illya being forced to stop was somehow because of her. "No, no! It's okay. You remind me somebody I know is all. Pl-Plus, it's kind of cute...So, um, feel free to vent?" she laughed nervously before then moving to more serious matters. "Ah, anyway, I wished to join, being a new recruit all the way from Magnolia. Sorry, I just came from work as a waitress is all. I-I've just always wanted to be a mage with somebody. Oh, and my name is Illya as well. A funny coincidence, yes?" she offered the man, offering the both of them a spirited bow to show her excitement at the opportunity here. If either were keen enough, they might be able to see the blue markings on her cheeks from her magic, peaking out ever so slightly but not obvious.

"It's an honor to meet you, Sir Weiss and Miss Pegasus. I promise that if you give me the chance, I'll go above and beyond of what to do as a part of Does Irae. But there is another reason. One I don't know if you could help me with..."

TWC: 520 + 771 = 1291

The second Illya would allow the first to talk her ear off, occasionally shooting glances towards the only other member who was present that she could seek solace in. Moments of expressions asking about how common this was came with such glances towards von Weiss before the girl's attention returned to the fellow pink haired woman ranting in front of her. Every so often, Illya threw in a response of her own, commonly a "y-yes..." or a "mm..." or one of her other rather lackluster attempts at breaking this woman's record of talking without stopping for a breath. One thing of note that did take her interest was the mention of another person, a Commander West. The importance came in the form of Illya forgetting her title and correcting herself by mistake. It was either a slip of the tongue or something that had repeatedly been drilled into her brain one way or another. While of note, it only made the newcomer ponder if she was as talkative as this version of herself, or if she was as stoic and unflinching as Ambassador Von Weiss. Speaking of which, her eyes traveled over towards the white haired man standing over her and had to remind herself not to scream out loud. Only internally. He spoke more calmly and seemed to take breaths in between every sentence or so like a normal person, though his question was clear as day. Whether or not if she understood the functions and workings of Dies Irae and knowing these, if she still wished to join. Illya nodded her head in agreement, fully aware of the consequences and expectations that her words would give way to.

"Y-Yes, I'm aware, sir. It's been my dream to serve with the be-best mages and fight back against anybody who would threaten the peace of Earthland. S-So I willfully accept what I'm stepping into..."

The second question was pointed at Illya while she remained silent for a moment or so. A look of conflict remained painted on her face. Could she even say such heresy here without receiving any kind of dismissal from it? The situation was rather...fantasy-like to even begin describing, but this would be among the last few places to look for answers. Illya's eyes darted from Ambassador von Weiss to Miss Pegasus for a rotation or three while her hands trembled in anxiety. Would they believe her? It was a pretty vast and strange world that they all lived in, so maybe one of them would give her an inch of plausibility to her tale. The girl's lips trembled in a troubled pout before opening to speak. "B-But about the second thing. I-It's really... I know it'll sound weird, and everybody I've ever gone to has just pushed me away, b-but I swear I'm telling the truth. So please..." A pregnant pause came through the air before the second Illya continued. "I'm n-not Illya. At least, not technically. It's very hard to explain, but my name's actually..." She focused hard on the name that she had kept in her mind for so long, determined to push it through whatever. The word cycled through her head, and she willed it out with a mighty, "Illya." Just like every other time, she had her confidence waiver out and murmured to herself once more, upset at her lack of ability to correctly give her name. "Ah-I can't say it. It always comes out as hers, m-my friend. Illya was...she looked like this." The girl gestured to herself, using her fluid motion to adjust her glasses which sat atop the bridge of her nose without restraint. "We wanted to be mages together. Become the best ones ever and everything. Childish, but we sorta grew up close. It was like our dream job. B-But we went to go on a simple mission and I remember getting really h-hurt. Bed ridden for a long time. I r-remember going to bed one night and then waking up a week later. I wasn't sick anymore, b-but I caught my reflection in the mirror and..." she trailed off, beginning to close off that opening into her life she had let through just partially.

"I know it sounds like I'm crazy, but I swear I'm telling the truth. I've told a lot of people back home, but they just keep calling me Illya. I tried t-to even ask about me without the name, b-but nobody even remembers me. No room at home, no records, i-it's like I've disappeared..."

TWC: 520 + 771 + 751 = 2042

Illya nodded her head in response to the other woman's question. "Y-Yeah. Sorta, I guess. I just sorta...went." she answered before she felt the warm embrace of the just barely taller Illya's arms coil around her in a warm embrace. Ambassador von Weiss would give another brief rundown on Miss Pegasus that was more than enough to get a pretty good picture of the woman, if it wasn't as obvious as an explosion of confetti in a quiet country town. Illya felt her faced be pushed into the second Illya's body as darken fabrics burrowed her face partially. As if to prove a variable point of reference for the rampaging storm of babbling that was Miss Pegasus. With a fanciful twirl of the finger and a flick of the wrist, the taller Illya would pull out a detective looking hat and a magnifying glass to fit the description of one of those mystery novels that were all the rage back home in Magnolia. She blinked in pure surprise, as if the woman had just rambled her ear off about every single digital of the pi equation before her, but would stifle a laugh to herself. After a moment or so, Illya finally would let out a gleeful giggle to her new superior's little act before her. It was somewhat high pitched for her voice but both people present in the meeting hall with her could tell from the look on her face that it had been quite some time since a smile had graced her usually unnaturally anxious face.

The way both had seemed to trust her, finally, after what felt like years of explaining who she was to anybody who would give her the time of day felt like the greatest breath of life into the girl's step. Illya might feel the girl in her hands beginning to quiver a small amount, as she let out a soft whine while her glasses slid down the brink of her nose. "R-Really?" she asked both, as lavender colored eyes glanced back and forth between the man and woman whom had both agreed to assist her in what for all they knew, could just be a farce in itself. Yet they each just simply offered nothing but acceptance and confidence in finding a solution to her issue. To say Illya was overcome with emotional she couldn't contain would be an understatement. Even the woman offered to help her become "the best Illya she could be." Tears would drop onto the floor while the girl reached up to gently wipe her eyes from the tears beginning to flow from them. The smaller Illya would look up at her taller counterpart and hug her again, squeezing with all the might and force of a five foot tall shrimp could manage. "Oh, thank you! Thank you both! It-It's been so long since somebody listened to me. I was actually starting to think I was..." she trailed off but shook her head and turned back to Ambassador von Weiss while her would take out a bottle from his coat pocket. A bottle filled with a dark crimson liquid whose contents stirred around the interior. She had never taken a drink of anything before in her life, being so vanilla that she might as well just come without the tin of ice cream she had been put in. But she didn't wish to insult von Weiss in his own home, and would nod in agreement.

"I agree. Thank you for agreeing to help. I want to be the best I can for Dies Irae, a-and Illya too..."

TWC: 520 + 771 + 751 + 600 = 2642