14943/Welcome to the Arts

Welcome to the Arts
Date of Scene:	18 May 2023
Location:	Themysciran Arts Center
Synopsis:	Wonder Woman meets a couple of potential fans at the Themysciran Arts Center.
Cast of Characters:	Caleb Dykstra, Diana Prince

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Caleb Dykstra has posed:
"Look, Caleb! It's a statue of Artemis!", a young girl exclaims excitedly.

"Yes, the goddess of the hunt, if I recall correctly."

"Seems so lifelike - like she's about to shoot..." And her attention shifts to another statue, "Oh! Athena! Goddess of wisdom and warfare!"

"And handicraft, Sheila, let's not forget that."

"But...", the girl looks confused, "If Athena has a hand in war... Doesn't this have her clash with Ares?"

"War/fare/, Sheila... It's different than war itself. It's basically intelligent planning and strategy. War is... the concept itself, so basically agression and bloodshed."

The duo has entered the Themysciran Arts Center, and basically Sheila, a young girl, is taking in the culture, with his brother not far behind to help her contain the enthusiasm.

"I can't believe I'm here! Will I get to meet Wonder Woman?? Does she come here often??"

To that, Caleb just shrugs.

"I dunno, fangirl - she might be busy saving the world from a crisis."

Diana Prince has posed:
Diana is busy with a world crisis or two. But today, she just so happens to be here. What luck? Depending on one's viewpoint anyway.

The two might wander a bit more, but eventually they'd come across the large windows that look out on to the courtyard that rests at the center of the Arts Center, and at its eastern side is a massive, towering arena that is surrounded at its base by people trickling out after a event has taken place within it. The people are gathered around the presence of a contingent of riding Amazonian warriors on horseback that get quite a lot of attention from the visitors who came to see such things.

Mounted upon one of the horses is Diana herself, adorning her rather iconic armored look, and a dark blue cloak over that. She rides at the forefront of the horseback riders, performing a simple turn around one of the courtyard displays before she comes to a stop.

The two visitors would get a chance to see her speaking to various onlookers, many with their phones up and recording it all. But soon, Diana is stepping from her horse, allowing one of the stable assigned Amazons to take it by its reigns to lead it off...

Diana is tall, over six feet in her armored boots, with the blue cloak falling around her armored body. She speaks to the crowds and holds a large smile on her physical features.

It appears to be some kind of public show at its end, or a press related function there-after such an event.

Caleb Dykstra has posed:
The youngest of the duo gasps in excitement, and steps faster to get to the courtyard. And faster, and faster. And at some point, she could be trying to match Hermes for speed - okay, not really, but she's really, really, really trying in a very non-powered way. And, of course, the big brother is following, only trying to keep up.

"Wait up, Sheila. This isn't a competition!"

"Come quick or we'll miss her!"

In his mind, Caleb is alrady thinking that Sheila's youthful take of this experience and the fact they're surrounded by a crowd that this isn't going to end well. Is it because he faced entities that collected people into their hive minds in the past, and barely escaped? Or is it because an awkward moment could happen and there was a regular crowd of bystanders, possibly even V.I.PS, watching and filming?

Diana Prince has posed:
Diana was continuing to speak to the small crowd gathered by the time that the two visitors made it close enough to hear her outside. The weather outside being quite nice on this May afternoon, it was a lovely affair outside to behold. Diana was speaking about the tournament that had just taken place in the arena, speaking highly of the contestants who participated in it, before she answers a few questions in her Themysciran accented English. Caleb's young sister would get a up close and front and center place to see Diana now, the sunlight from above glinting off the metallic edges of her attire as she gave her responses.

The young onlooker even did receive a look from the Princess of Themyscira, and a smile to boot.

But by the time the interviews were over, Diana was stepping off to speak to some of her Amazonian sisters near to where the horses were taken off to the side of the gravel pathway to wait.

This is where Diana is now, her dark blue cloak around her form, her dark hair flowing gently in the wind around her form, as she speaks to her Amazonian sisters, just a handful of feet away from Sheila and Caleb now...

Caleb Dykstra has posed:
Mind. Officially. Blown!

This is the state Sheila finds herself in, with her puppy dog eyes and a small fan tear. If she's squeeing, it must be on the ultrasonic range because no sound is coming out.

Caleb finally catches up to her, and gives her a sturdy nudge to wake her up from the reverie. "Pull yourself together, Sheila. You're staring." And Caleb is blushing because, after all, this is prime material for Aedos, the goddess of shame to use.

'...Is it wrong to ask a god of another pantheon for help when not in their place of worship?', is what goes on in Caleb's mind right now, 'Because if not... Then heaven help me!'

Diana Prince has posed:
Whether the brother and sister know what precisely is happening, it's happening around them either way. Diana finishes speaking to her Amazonian sisters, all of which are armored in rather glorious looking gladiatorial attire that would match all the legends of their people. The warrior women remount their horses, and begin to ride off, one of them taking Diana's horse by its reigns to take it along with them...

And then Wonder Woman is just there, left to her own self. She's in the process of turning toward the exit from the interior of the facility when she sees Sheila and Caleb. This... causes her to turn to face them, and she starts to walk toward them. From beneath the fabric of her Eagle Cloak, her armored boot tips can be seen propelling her forward as she reaches a comfortable distance, then smiles to them both. "Hello." Diana greets them, sharing a look from the brother to the sister and back again. "Did you two get to see the tournament this afternoon?" The Princess asks, her voice husky in tone, and laced with that very foreign accent that separates her from the average person here in New York City, let alone the country itself.

Caleb Dykstra has posed:
Well, it's certainly not every day that kids stand before gods. Diana could almost be one of those statues made flesh. Perfection and excellence personified. And the sheer charisma and warmth that are almost palpable, like rays of sun tha brush against your skin and closed eyelids on a hot summer day.

Imagine this, and you now have a vague idea of how the two siblings feel.

"Uhm..." Caleb tries to speak, brain jams. "Uhm..." Caleb tries to turn the brain engine back on, to no avail. "Uhhm..." Caleb pours gas/reality in, and kickstarts the engine - with actual kicks! "Nuuuh, no..." He shakes his head from the dozing, "Uh, sorry no. We missed it." He clears his throat. "We were here for classes enrollment, pending fees. Was it a good tournament?"

Sheila the fangirl is still brain-locked, "And Sheila here had a dream fulfilled, please don't mind her staring."

Diana Prince has posed:
Truths be told, it's not reactions that Diana isn't used to, especially around here. The point of this place was to give people a chance to immerse themselves in the culture of the Amazon women of Themyscira, after all. Diana liked to be here as often as possible for these very kind of moments.

The bewildered looks, the stammered responses, all of it draws a smile from the Princess' ruby red lips. "It was quite nice. One of the more exhilerating, I would say, if it is not a bit biased coming from me." She adds a soft grin before she looks between the two. "Hopefully you can make it to the next one then." She tells them as she takes a second to remember something.

A moment there-after and the tall woman with the dark hair takes another step toward them. "The tournament may have been missed, but I do still have one of these." She says, as her right leather half-gloved hand comes out of her dark blue cloak, the golden lining within it briefly visible, as is her armored form, as she draws out a shining tiara similar in style to the one worn over her forehead. She extends it to Sheila then, assuming Caleb wouldn't really be in to such a gift.

"Here, these are for the young people who wish to join in the festivities of my people." She states, offering the replica item to the young girl, should she take it. She smiles to them both. "Generally they go to those who are brave enough to participate, but we will keep this one between us?" She says in a playfully soft tone of her voice.

Caleb Dykstra has posed:
Sheila takes that tiara, nodding slightly. You know how a signed autograph is the ultimate form of gifting your fans? Well, in this case, it went beyond that. She's all smiles, now. "Oh... Thank you." And she says, "One day, I will be in this tournament - not as a spectator, but a contestant!" A lofty goal, but such is tha spirit of inspiration Diana imparts.

Caleb chuckles, "Well, you never know..." He turns to Diana, "Sounds like anything is possible, right?" And Sheila gets an arm pat of encouragement.

Still looking to Diana, "Thank you." He mouths so his sister doesn't get cocky, now in a more playful tone, 'She's a real fighter. Your sisters may be in trouble.'

Diana Prince has posed:
The exchange that they have after the tiara is gifted to the younger one has Diana continuing to grin happily. She listens to their responses, and offers a pair of soft nods to what is said. "I truly do hope that is the case. You are welcome here, both of you, any time you would like to come by. As you indicated too, you are welcome to sign up for classes, and further your experiences here amongst our people, and our ways."

There comes a call of her name off to the south, and it draws Wonder Woman's attention... ever being pulled in so many directions, the true wonder is how she ever has enough energy.

She nods to who called out for her, and then looked back to Caleb and his sister. She reached out then to offer a hand to shake to Caleb, her leather half-glove covering her palm and the back of her hand, while her fingers are left soft and bare. She'll shake his hand, and then offer a squeeze to Sheila's shoulder.

"I have to be on my way, but I hope to see your faces around again soon?" She asks, before smiling and nodding once more. She'll step away moments there-after to go and tend to whatever business calls for her next...

Caleb Dykstra has posed:
"Oh, count on it!", Caleb says with a smile, "A healthy dose of arts and combat classes, it's going to bring us here often, schedules permitting."

"Caleb is an artisan, and a weaponsmith!" Sheila leans on him, her tone one of pride. "And a hero!"

"Now Sheila... I dunno about that last part..."

"You fought monsters... And aliens!"

"Come on, enough with the advertising. I did a couple of times what real heroes do every day."

"You're one on my book - you know that."

And a small sibling discussion begins...