[Mari]

(( TheSpatialWeeg ))

The princess meandered her way into the Busy Bee Lobby, a popular stopping point in between missions for residents of the Life Sphere to socialize. The tall woman looked about, but found herself a tad... alone? No familiar faces here, it seemed--other than the toads, of course. They were always nice for reminding yourself you weren't lost. Perhaps someone would recognize her, though? There was always the potential to make new friends.

[TheSpatialWeeg]

Rider stopped by the Busy Bee Lobby for...no real reason, apparently. She hadn't any missions to participate in just yet, and Amitie was currently off doing her own things. Well, she found no point in staying at her apartment for now, so...there she was. 

She was rather absentminded that day, funnily enough. So absentminded, in fact, that she wasn't aware of a certain pink-dressed princess that was kinda-sorta on her front. She didn't react in time and bumped into her, which prompted the little girl to look up and realize what she did. Thankfully, Rider was walking slowly when it happened, so there was no one who was going to fall down or anything like that.

"A-aah! I-I'm very sorry...! I wasn't paying attention...!" She apologized profoundly. She was getting a little bit panicked at that moment.

[Mari]

Boink! The princess was startled from her idle thoughts by the sensation of something small running right into her ... presence. Was that a horn she felt? "Oh!" Peach blurted out in shock. Oh, if this was some sort of prank by one of Bowser's horned minions she was going to give them such a scolding... A girl's voice interrupted her train of thought however and she turned to find.

... Oh! Rather than one of Bowser's armored minions, or at least any minion she'd ever seen, she found a very young girl wandering about! ...Probably exploring absent-mindedly. Kids never liked sitting still for extended periods of time. Peach offered Rider a smile, quickly forgetting the embarrassing run in. "That's alright. I believe you. Are you lost..?" Peach asked in concern. She seemed too young to be one of the heroes fighting for the world, but then again... Paula was a thing.

[TheSpatialWeeg]

Thankfully for Rider, the princess was a sweet figure and believed her. Phew, what a relief. She almost thought she'd get on her bad side with that move. Rider's little panic subsided after that. Then again, she hadn't much problem into getting back into her natural self at this particular moment. The person she bumped into gave out this...weird vibe that made her more comfortable.

"A-ah, n-no, miss...This is...actually the second time I'm here...o-or was it the third...?" Rider replied before pondering a bit. She kind of forgot how many times she was here. How embarrassing! "I-I'm not lost, b-but...I appreciate the thought...!" Rider added. 

"U-Um...my name is Rider...p-pleased to meet you..!" she introduced herself, doing a little bow. Hey, it was necessary to be polite next to what seemed to be a royal figure. Rider wasn't the one to question authority, though, so she wouldn't bother Peach with that question.

[Mari]

Peach couldn't help but appreciate Rider's modesty. Not everyone in the Life Sphere had the best attitude, what with it being a giant melting pot of people who didn't necessarily like each other to begin with. "The pleasure is mine, Rider~ My name is Princess Peach of the Mushroom Kingdom" the princess replied. She had a way of speaking, steady and easy to understand. How befitting of a princess. "Are your parents around..?" Peach went on to ask, lolling her head slightly at the other. There wasn't really an easy way to ask someone if they had parents. Many, many people had lost their parents before or during their arrival on Li, herself included. Honestly, she'd be surprised if Rider did. She still had to ask, though.

[TheSpatialWeeg]

"P-Princess...?!"

Rider was shocked at how she was upholding such a casual conversation with royalty. More importantly, Peach didn't seem to mind talking to a simple commoner. Then again, manners come first! "U-um...t-thank you...Your Majesty...!" Rider said, blushing a tidbit.

Peach then asked of her parents, which...incited Rider to think for a while. How as she going to break this down...? Truly, it was a mystery on how to break it down to her. And what of Ms.Accord? She was her teacher at a first glance, but...she did a lot more to her than just being a teacher...it was hard...very hard, but...Peach asked, and there was no way she'd left her hanging.

"...I...don't have any parents." Rider said. "...They were...apparently long gone...t-the closest I had to a parent was my teacher, Ms. Accord..." 

[Mari]

Peach chuckled slightly at Rider's choice of title. Majesty? It was awfully prestigious. "You're very welcome, Rider--but you can call me Peach if you'd like~!" she replied. Children weren't usually big on such formalities. What Rider said next, however, startled Peach. No parents..? A tragically common answer on Li. She nodded slowly in understanding. "I'm sorry... Would you like to join me for some tea, and we can talk some more?" Peach would go on to ask, gesturing to one of the tables scattered around. The implication was that she wanted to talk more about this subject in particular, though why wasn't clear.

[TheSpatialWeeg]

"R-really..?" Rider quietly asked. She didn't expect Peach to simply want her to be called by name, considering her high status. "W-would it be fine if I called you...Ms. Peach, then...?" Rider went on to ask, sort of relenting to her wishes...sort of. Formalities weren't something that would be easily be dropped when you were Rider, since she's been using them for...basically her entire life.

Then Peach offered her condolences about her parents dying and offering some tea. While she would love some tea, she kind of felt the necessity to address something she felt Peach needed to know. Though, the other seemed interested in keeping this conversation a bit more...should she reveal it later...?

"U-Um...n-no need to be sorry, Ms. Peach. A-also, thanks for the offer...I'd like a bit of tea, please...!"

[Mari]

Peach chuckled slightly at this, displaying a bright smile in response to Rider's question. "You may call me anything your heart desires, Rider~" Peach replied light-heartedly, guiding the other over to a table and producing set of teacups complete with filled teapot. Tea, on demand? ...Where it came from and where it would go was anyone's guess. Perhaps magic. She began pouring them cups, shifting the china to opposite ends of the table.

"It's just... I lost my own parents when I came to Li. It seems most people's families don't survive the trip intact." Peach lamented as she finally found the time to sit down after helping Rider with her tea. Someone so small... They didn't need to be orphaned on Li. "How're you holding up in spite of that..?" Peach asked, just a tad concerned about the other's well-being.

[TheSpatialWeeg]

Rider sat down quietly as she watched a teapot and a couple of cups came out of nowhere. It may have been magic at the end of it. It was something rather weird, seeing rather simple tasks being done by magic. The little girl heard Peach talk about her missing parents. "O-oh...I'm sorry to hear that..." Rider said. "D-do you know if they are alive, at least...?" She tried to ask. She didn't know how Peach would react to that question.

She knew even less so how would Peach react to her answer to how she was 'coping' with her missing parents. Well, time to drop the bomb, she guessed.

"M-Ms. Peach...I...I never came to meet or know my parents. By the time I knew they...actually existed...they departed from this life already..."

[Mari]

Peach seemed to hesitate for a moment, her gaze falling briefly. One could tell if they were observant that the subject was distressing to Peach, but she made an effort to quickly hide those feelings from Rider. This poor little girl didn't need her to unload all those feelings onto her. She emitted a gentle sigh. "I... I'm afraid I do not know what has become of my parents. I'm still holding out hope, however." Peach replied softly, pondering her next words carefully.

"I know I shouldn't apologize so much, but... I'm sorry. ...Have you ever wished things turned out differently, Ms. Rider?" Peach asked somewhat anxiously. She was half tempted to take that little girl and spoil her on the spot, but she didn't know whether Rider would appreciate the gesture, seeing as they'd just met. She needed to get to know Rider just a little bit better, lest things move too fast and she regret something she says.

[TheSpatialWeeg]

"...I see...it's good to know you're...holding your hopes..." Rider simply replied in response to Peach's response. At this point, Rider was getting slightly uncomfortable with the whole 'missing parents' talk. She fidgeted a bit on her chair as her gaze trailed to the tea cup she was holding. It had cooled down considerably. She went for it and started to drink the tea up.

She was about halfway done until Peach asked a question she honestly never saw coming.

She put the tea cup back onto the table and began to ponder. That was a very good question. Did she ever wished that things would be different? ...Did she even dare think about it, for that matter? After a long moment of silence...she spoke.

"Ms. Peach...as much as I wonder who are my parents...I can't imagine a different life than the one I had until now. I may have lost them, but what I have now...my friends and Ms. Accord...more than makes up for it."

[Mari]

Peach seemed relieved to hear that Rider was happy with her friends here on Li. She was beginning to dread the idea that Rider might be a lot worse off for a moment. "I hope you mean that, Rider." Peach replied, her tone carrying the relief that her expression had already shown. She then beamed at the other. "Here, there's something I'd like you to have." Peach went on, shifting to reach into the folds of her ever so poofy dress, producing a cute little stuffed bear seemingly out of thin air. She then held the bear out to Rider in offering.

Rider has been given a rare gift!

Guardian Teddy Bear
This enchanted teddy bear exists to protect its owner. The bear can be squeezed to activate it's magical powers, transforming it into a fearsome guardian that protects the wielder. The bear will lunge out and attempt to maul the last character to attack the user with overwhelming menace, each claw hit doing 15% damage if they hit. After being used, the bear returns to its innocent normal form and it's owner's arms. Can only be used once per mission.

"Think of it like a new friend. It'll be there to protect you, even when you think you're alone~" Peach explained, a solitary magical pink heart shaped bubble rising from her head in a display of affection.

[TheSpatialWeeg]

Rider was kind of relieved they didn't seem to go further into the whole parent talk. It was kind of getting a little tense there, but fortunately nothing else that furthered it up happened. Then came a small surprise. Peach wanted to give something to her? Before any questions were made, Peach brought up a cutesy teddy bear for the young girl. She rather reluctantly grabbed the teddy bear and gave it a smol hug (read: not tight enough to awaken the guardian).

"U-um...thank you for the gift, Ms. Peach...!" She said. "W-why are you giving this to me, though...?"

[Mari]

((To clarify, the bear won't transform if Rider isn't being attacked.))

Peach beamed at Rider, lolling her head slightly in response to the other's question. She then moved to lean back, taking her teacup into her hands before speaking. "Have you ever met someone with a smile so lovely you can't help but smile with them?" Peach replied rather softly. If one were good at following her flowery words, they might recognize that she was, of course, implying that Rider was one of those people to her and that she'd given her the bear only to see her smile. The princess took a brief moment to sip her tea before continuing, offering Rider a pleasant smile.

"I was going to donate the bear to a charity that helps out all the children in need here in the Life Sphere, but then I met you, and... well~" Peach continued, elaborating slightly on her previous statement. She had neglected to mention that she started the charity she'd just mentioned, as it didn't feel like an important detail right now.