Luna, Hinata, and Riri all walk around Central Square. It's a rather blustery evening and a wintry chill surrounds the three. Past that, it's extremely festive around there, with various christmas tunes and light shows easily noticeable by the group and everyone else out there. It's a week til Christmas after all, no better time than now to shop! Over in the distance, they would notice an electronics shop with a bright LCD signpost that almost seems to pop out at them, like 3D but without glasses. It looks like a roaring fireplace with christmas lights on the mantle. Hinata points towards the store, "hey Riri, do you want a new phone? We can get you a nice one." Luna is mesmerized by the billboard.
"Yes, please." Riri is also drawn to the billboard, having never seen something like it before.
They all walk inside, with Hinata having to physically push Luna inside otherwise she wasn't moving. The lights and stuff inside of the place is somewhat overwhelming, but the clerk at the front desk seems friendly enough. "Hello! How can I help you?" asks the clerk. He has a rather calm smile, a comfortable demeanor, and is kind of short. "Looking for a new phone?"
"Yes, hello. My friend over here is looking for a new phone? She lost hers some time ago and would like a new one." Hinata speaks for the two while Luna is drawn to the video game display over in the corner.
"Yeah, been a tough time without one." Riri smiles awkwardly and nods.
The clerk smiles gently, "Okay, about what kind of a phone would you like?" He shows the group a table of various smart phones, iPhones and Androids of all price points.
"Let's get her that one?" She points to one of the Androids, which seems to include a device that looks like it works with glasses. It's also expensive, but it is fancy! The glasses adapter thingy seems to be an Augmented Reality device so someone can see their phone without having to pull it out.
"A fine choice. Now will that be cash or card?"
Hinata pulls out her Creator's platinum credit card. "Card! And I'm paying it off right now, plus two years of service."
The clerk nods. "Of course." He scans Hinata's credit card and after a signature, the phone is now hers. Or rather Riri's.
"Here ya go! One new sick galaxy x64, plus augmented reality attachment. Lets you see your phone without it out. Just gotta keep it near you. And uh lemme do one more thing... there we go. And it's connected into her mind." Hinata hands it to Riri.
"Thank you!" She accepts the phone and places it in her pocket. She seems surprised at the mention of augmented reality. "Huh, it can do that?"
"Yup yup! Just clip that plastic thing onto your glasses and say 'Open.'" It looks like plastic lens with a small clip that attaches to her glasses rim.
"Oh, okay!" Riri attaches the clip to her large glasses like a nerd and smiles up at Hinata. "Do we want to set this up now or later?"
"Up to you. We have one more thing to do tonight, and that's to get you some shelter. There's a place in the arcade that's like a hotel. I figured I could get you a room there for the time being until you're able to find a place for yourself to live. Does that sound good?" Luna nods in agreement.
"I like that. I honestly forgot all about where I would go at the end of the day." Riri is noticeably nervous as she starts to think about the days ahead of her.
"Alright, let's teleport to the arcade." Luna, Hinata, and Riri all disappear. They reappear at the Central Square Arcade Hotel. It's a rather nice hotel for being in the middle of the arcade. Colors of crimson and purple line the carpets, and the furniture in the area is super pretty. At the front desk, a robot in a tuxedo stands awaiting instructions. On the terminal in front of it are various options.
>RESERVE STAY
>END STAY
Luna presses Reserve Room. When it asks for how many nights, Luna inputs 1 months and pays the robot. It does a ^~^ face to them in emoji as a card appears on the desk. "Alright Riri, we got you a month here."
"I can't thank either of you enough, seriously." Riri tears up as she hugs both Luna and Hinata tightly.
Luna and Hinata group hug Riri. "Just so you know, all the food's included with your stay, so you'll have whatever you want to eat too. But uh we gotta get back to The Gang before they think we got kidnapped."
"Just follow the directions to your room, it's pretty easy going. And if you ever need something from us, we're just a message away. Rain, shine, middle of the night, if you just need someone to chill with. Just let us know." Hinata smiles her usual bright smile.
"I'll remember that. I'll see you again soon, right?" Riri wipes the tears with her hand and nods to them both.
Luna and Hinata both say at the same time, "Absolutey!" It's like an echo in the room. They then release from their hug. "We better get going. We'll see you tomorrow?" Luna asks
Hinata looks sleepy. Luna is still holding out strong, but her eyes suggests exhaustion.
"I like the sound of that. So is this good night?" Riri speaks softly, noticing they're both tired too.
Luna and Hinata both nod. "yeah," Luna responds. "We'll see ya tomorrow."
"I'll be here." Riri waves to them both and smiles.
Luna and Hinata both wave as they disappear. There's a sign directing Riri to her room.
A rather large presidential suite near the top of the hotel. Its colors aesthetic match the rest of the hotel, whites, violets, and crimsons. It's got fancy tiling, various framed pictures of retro video game box covers, and a king sized bed. A large flatscreen tv covers the wall at the foot of the bed. To the left of the bed is a tablet-like device which seems to control many of the functions in the room, like the lights and the TV, also food can be ordered from this device.
Multiple rooms exist in this suite, such as a bathroom, a small laundry room, a kitchenette, and a balcony that faces Central Square.
The balcony faces the Adventurer's Guild directly across the street, though right now it's blocked by a massive Christmas tree, the same one Riri remembers seeing earlier.
Riri steps into the room and closes the door behind her. "It's so comfy in here..." Riri walks through each room before checking the view from the balcony.
On walking into the room, she's greeted by the main bedroom, a large space with the king-sized bed that has crimson and gold colors on its duvet and fluffy pillows by the headboard. The television is around 70" and takes up much of the wall. Next to the TV on the right is a dresser with various drawers, most empty though a book of some kind is in one of them.
Moving past the Main Bedroom is the bathroom. It is extremely white and spotless. A mirror is above the sink and various toiletries are on the sink. The shower and bathtub are pretty nice, with what seems to be a rain shower head and frosted glass doors.
Next to the bathroom is a closet with hangers and an ironing board. It's rather basic compared to the rest of the ritzy hotel stuff.
The kitchenette is next, It houses dark oak cabinets and a tile floor, along with a small stove, a microwave, and a mini-fridge already filled with cans of soda and bottles of water. A sign on the fridge states,
"These are to help you enjoy your stay, if you require more, feel free to call the front desk and a worker will bring you more. We are here to serve YOU! - Management"
The laundry room is rather basic, a washer and dryer exist here, along with a couple of fluffy white bath robes that have the hotel logo on the back.
The room itself has many framed pictures of various retro video game posters, but it's almost as if they clash with the fanciness of the rest of the room.
On reaching the balcony, Riri gets a very nice view of Central Square. The lights, sounds, and general chaos of the city are in full view. Over about 200 feet in front of her is the star on the Christmas Tree in the square, which blocks viewing of the Adventurer's Guild, which would usually be directly across the street. The Christmas Tree has many many lights on it and often has lightshows synchronized to music. What is slightly strange about this tree are the various Sun and Moon ornaments on it, but it doesn't seem to be anymore than a weird detail.
Riri is happy, the many lights of the tree a comforting a sight despite the somewhat strange ornaments. She walks into the bathroom to wash her face and prepare to sleep. She takes a moment to look in the mirror. Riri is still adjusting to her new look, though she seems to prefer it.
Riri leaves the bathroom, picking up a bottle of water from the fridge as well as the book from the dresser. She wants to learn what sort of stuff is written in this world. Riri takes her soft sweater off and sits in bed to check the book out before she sleeps.
The book is known as "The Holy Tome" and seems to be similar to The Bible from her home world. It is somewhat large collection of writings and psalms about a group of entities known as the Many Gods Above. Reading through the book, the various stories seem less real and more fantasy.
It seems as though the Many Gods Above are responsible for everything, from the macro to the very very small, and even some abstract concepts. A couple sections describe The Many Gods of Luck, the Goddesses of Grass and Plantlife, and even stranger concepts like the Many Gods of Interior Design. In a way, it's less about lessons that could be taught, and more about what these gods did directly, and without any allusions. Concrete facts over theory.
The back cover of the book has an advertisement for the Full Moon Church and an invitation for some kind of gift if it is taken there.
"Huh..." Riri is wondering what to do with the book. She guesses that it was left there for a reason, perhaps some sort of recruitment. Riri puts the book down on the side of the bed and tries to go to sleep. "I'll talk to the others about it tomorrow..."