Costumed Crusaders! ...Ish! (Invite)

Suri was sort of a witch, trained to use her latent magic power by her wizard/witch family. Being able to use spells was cool and all, but Suri also enjoyed the dressing up part just as much. Cosplaying as the stereotypical witch was a secret hobby of this introverted Majin, one only her father and extended family knew about, 'cause she was way too embarrassed to tell anyone else! She was afraid other people would laugh at her, too, so Suri had kept this hobby within the confines of her room... Until today. Today she was going to show up in-costume at Astrocon. Why? Because she was an adult, gosh darn it! Today she was finally going to conquer one of her (numerous) fears.

...If Suri had a heart, it would have been hammering hard enough to burst right out of her chest. She knew she'd be nervous, but she hadn't expected her legs to wobble so much that she'd have to hold her cloak closed to hide them. As Suri managed to drag herself around using her ruby-tipped staff as a third leg, she'd lift her dark purple witch's hat to look around. While the sheer number of people heading towards Astrocon did intimidate Suri, she could still appreciate all the cosplayers among them and their variety of costumes.

Alright, maybe she'd be able to manage. She just needed to stop for a sec, lean against this wall and take a few deep breaths, and-

It was then that Suri noticed the Motroid cosplayer, peeking out of an alleyway a few meters in front of her. Judging by her mannerisms and gestures, Suri had found someone in a similar situation to herself, and that fact brought her some relief. To know that she wasn't alone... But Suri when overheard the disheartened girl consider giving up, she decided to approach, and ask, "Uhm, excuse me, are you...is everything alright? What seems to be the problem, miss?"

Suri tilted her head, confused and failing to realize that she had made Phakk jump. Probably would have apologized profusely if she did, though. Instead, she added another "Eh- You okay...?" thinking the girl was sick or something based on her lurching forward.

Suri was left speechless for quite a long moment, when she got a compliment on her costume. "Oh! I, uhm... I, eheheh..." Suri chuckled as she put a hand on her face. Oh gee, her face felt all hot and stuff, was she blushing? That unexpected giddyness would come to an unexpected end, however, when the Majin got an apology(?!) from the human(?) girl. And her starting to cry(!!) probably largely contributed to that. "N-No, don't be..." There was nothing to be sorry about, Phakk hadn't done anything wrong, as far as Suri knew. "H-Here. Would this help?" Suri leaned her staff against a wall, and if allowed, she'd try to hold the costume in place so Phakk could pull her arms out. Regardless, she'd also make a pack of tissues materialize in her pocket before pulling it out and offering it to the Motroid cosplayer. Hopefully she hadn't noticed the small poof sound it made.

And Suri would even hug Phakk and pat her on the back, if she let her do so. If not, she'd probably apologize profusely for even trying to.

Even as distressed as she was, Suri was flattered by Phakk's additional compliments on her (functional) witch's outfit. "W-Well, thanks. I really appreciate your kind words. Oh, but yours looks awesome, too! This is, uh...Samoth, right? From Motroid? Haven't played it, but from what I can tell, it looks really accurate! Not to mention how long it must have took to make armor like that... Definitely more effort than mine, I'm sure." Suri decided to leave out her hardships over making and actually enchanting the outfit, as she knew it probably wouldn't help. She wanted to lift Phakk's spirits, after all! "And well... I was having trouble while being out there, too. Heheh, you should have seen how much my legs were shaking! I don't know what I would have done if I didn't have a cloak..." Suri's gaze headed down to look at her skirt-and-stockings-clad legs, confidence waning once again.

But she'd brave it! Suri looked at Phakk once more, attempting to make eye contact as she continued to speak. "Everyone has different limits, and you don't have to do anything you don't want to. If you want to, though..." She'd try to put her left hand on Phakk's shoulder, while pointing at herself with the other. "I could...come with you. We could go, uhm, together! Maybe that would give both of us the courage to brave the crowd?" Suri suggested, before adding "Only if you really, really want to, of course." Now, what to do if the girl rejected Suri's offer? Well, maybe she could give her a ride home. A taxi, or...perhaps a magic broomstick?

Suri beamed, a bright smile forming on her face in reaction to the compliment exchange the two were having. Actually hearing such words from someone else other than her family, as well as getting to know that she wasn't the only shy one here, it was...reaffirming, reassuring. "Thanks, eheheh. S-So you've noticed." Seemed like the girl also had an eye for such things, huh? "Your armor looks really intricate, yourself... How many years have you been cosplaying for?" Suri asked. She thought Phakk seemed like a veteran cosplayer, compared to herself...

And ah, good! Suri smiled as Phakk gave her a nod. It seemed like Suri had helped the girl muster up the courage to go out and show people her costume. She certainly was going to be helping Suri, simply by keeping her company out there. "...Oh, my name! Right, right, uhm. It's Suri. What's yours, miss?" She'd ask. As Phakk started her preperations, Suri also did so by picking up her staff from the wall, holding it in her left hand and letting it stand. And to Phakk's compliment, Suri began to reply with an "Aw, thanks, I-" before her eyes widened slightly at the sudden voice change. "Oh! W-Wow, that's so cool... Guess I hadn't seen everything just yet. How'd you do that?" Suri vocalized her piqued curiosity. That was probably the last question before they exit the alley, as she didn't want to overwhelm the poor Phakk with too many, before they even started!

"Well, then... Uhm." Suri turned to face the streets, then turned her head back to Phakk. "Sh-... Shall we?" Suri asked as she offered her right hand to grab if Phakk needed it. Her hand was trembling slightly, but it would probably stop if it was held, since Suri didn't want Phakk to know that. She had to be brave for the both of them, didn't she?

If given the go-ahead, Suri would take the lead. She'd peek her head out, looking left and right before walking out of the alley and into the streets once more. There'd still be a stream of people heading to the Con, and in the distance, in front of Astrocon, Suri could see a bunch of other cosplayers posing and having their pictures taken. "Oh, er." Suri pointed at them and whispered to Phakk; "Do you want to try that, or should we avoid them for now...?" Suri would leave the decision to Phakk, being half-nervous, half-excited by the idea herself.

"First time?" Suri tilted her head to the side for a moment, which almost made her witch hat fall off, a mistake she corrected by quickly grabbing onto it with her hand. Doh, she was still not used to talking to people in-costume. Suri didn't wear her outfit too often outside of her small, lonesome cosplay sessions she had in her own room, as most of her magic lessons from her family members didn't require her to wear it. It seemed like Phakk and her were in the same boat, pretty much. "Oh, it's my first time doing it too, actually. I've had an interest in wearing these kinds of outfits ever since I was a little girl..." Suri spun around once, showing off her costume in full. "...but I've only really worn them at home, up until today..." Suri nervously laughed, while taking the time to set her hat back in its proper position. "I guess today, I finally found the courage to come out here and show people my work... Er, I do have some pics, w-wanna see?" If given a positive answer, Suri would pull out her phone and proudly show Phakk, picking out a few good ones out of the dozens of selfies and mirror-pics in Suri's cosplay folder. All of said photos being of Suri standing and posing while wearing various witch outfits. If not, well, Suri didn't mind either way. Her desire to have people see and appreciate the result of her efforts, were having a fight with her embarrassment spawned from showing people that she liked to dress up as a witch! Even in front of the Samoth cosplayer, yes.

Ohh. And of course it was a voice changer, why didn't she think of that? "That's...really cool! _{Oh, oops, I-I already said that.} So you can buy stuff like that online, huh? And inside your... Hm, I'll keep that in mind if I ever decide to dress up as something other than a, uh...a witch."

Hm, it really did seem like Phakk was even more nervous compared to Suri. The Majin could feel the girl's trembling even through Phakk's fake hand. Suri thought to herself; I have to stay strong... for the both them, she'd do her best to do so, and to keep her hand still while she walked. Suri would move a bit slower than usual, making sure Phakk would be able to follow her properly while wearing that lumbering, heavy-footed armor or hers. "Mhm. Just 'member, don't have to do anything you don't have to. And we can stop if you...stop feeling up to it." Suri said, also reminding herself of that fact. Then she'd lead them both to where the photographers were, and...

And what now? Suri pondered. Was she supposed to ask them to take their photos, or something? Oh god, shehadn'tthoughtthisthrough-
Thankfully, she'd never have to cross that bridge, as a few of the photographers noticed and approached the shy duo, and asked if they could take pictures of the two. Some seemed enthusiastic, ecstatic, even, complimenting Phakk's armor more than Suri ever could. Meanwhile, Suri was receiving her fair share of compliment barrages from the other side, making Suri blush all over again... "G-Gee, uhm. Thanks." Suri would look towards Phakk for a final confimation, tapping on Phakk's arm twice to get her attention, then whispering "Do you think you can do it?"

If given an affirmative, Suri would say yes to the photographers as well, and maybe even for Phakk if she wasn't able to? If not, well, she guessed they could still walk away...

If the former were true, Suri would then step forward and pose for the camera. Oh gee, Suri thought, realizing that they'd have to be seperated while having their pictures taken, since the group that wanted to take Phakk's was different from the one that wanted Suri's!

"Aw... Thanks." Suri said, glad to know Phakk thought she looked good in her previous works as well. "I guess... It's my first time showing anyone other than family..." She mumbled to herself, before pocketing her phone.

The photoshoot was good to go, it seemed... Well, sorta. Both the sheer amount of people and the fact that they'd been seperated was having a similar effect on Suri as it did Phakk, but knowing that she was at least nearby helped ease her nerves just enough that her legs weren't quaking half the time while photos of her costumed self were being taken. Suri did her best to brave her anxiety, posing and putting on expressions she thought was appropriate. She did one where she held onto her staff and looked around like she was in a new, foreign place, reminicient of her actual situation. She did a pose where she lifted her staff, pointing it at an unseen foe, then one where she pretended to cast a spell with her free hand with her best wicked grin on her face. While Suri's faces were stiff and awkward to be sure, she still had her poses going for her. Muscle memory was a hell of a thing, it seemed. It was just like in front of a mirror...! Suri managed to covince herself.

Oh, but she'd been so focused on herself that she had forgotten to check on Phakk! Suri took a moment to glance over to where she was, and she seemed... Huh, she was doing even better than Suri was, that was the widest smile she'd seen on Phakk during the short time they'd known each other. Suri thought that it was great that Phakk was enjoying herself, and if they made eye contact, she'd give 'er a thumbs up! ...Which was mistaken as another pose by a photographer. He took the shot, much to the blushing Majin's embarrassment.

"Alright, that's a wrap, people! Thank you so much!" One of the photographers announced. Suri let out a deep breath she didn't realize she was holding, then walked over to Phakk. "You did great out there..." She'd say, with a sheepish but genuine smile nonetheless.

The lead photographer would continue, saying to the cosplay duo, "We'll be uploading these to the official homepage, so be sure to visit Astrocon dot com to see how your pictures turned out, okay?"

"Uh, what? Really?" Suri was a bit dazed at that little tidbit. With an expression that said as much, Suri would look to Phakk, raising her eyebrows to imply she was asking if Phakk was okay with that, without explicitly asking the question.

Once that was sorted out, perhaps they'd actually move on to the main event; Astrocon itself?

Well, if Phakk was okay with it... "M-Mhm." Suri said in agreement. 'I should have seen this coming, but I guess... It might not be so bad.' And she supposed, yes, this was probably the biggest and only challenge the pair would go through today...right? So of course, it'd be fun. "Yeah...!" Suri nodded to Phakk, holding her offered hand and going to stand in the line to enter the convention itself.

"Woah..." Suri couldn't help but let slip, in awe of the massive dragon costume in front of the line. "He's so big. Must have taken a lot of effort to make that. It's a good thing the door's big enough to fit him..." Suri then noticed the security personnel checking costumes and weapons. "Oh. I guess that makes sense that they're doing that..." It was her first time going to a convention, so while she hadn't expected them, Suri had the common sense to not bring any of her ritual daggers or potion bottles. "I'll just need to get my staff tagged, then we'll be good! S-Since you don't seem to have brought any weapons... Right?" While they'd be checked in pretty quick, they did still have a line to wait out. Suri, while excited to get in, hadn't the slightest clue what they'd be doing once they were in. She was originally planning on just wandering around, but did Phakk have any plans? "S-So, Phakk. Did you have any places you wanted to go, once inside...? Any booths you wanted to check out?"

"E-Eh?" Suri was a bit startled by Phakk's sudden burst of enthusiasm, and did her eyes just glow? ...Probably an alien under that suit, or something. She had the right idea about enjoying themselves, though. Suri's bewildered expression quickly subsided as she nodded... and it seemed Phakk's change of tone did so as well. "_{What was tha-...}" Suri couldn't help but say under her breath.

In regards to Phakk's suggestion about participating in competitions and games, Suri's response was "Hmm... Well, sure! We could play some. While I don't think I'm good at games... I do like them. Th-They're fun." Though Suri also shared the apprehension Phakk had about entering a cosplay convention. She'd first try to bring Phakk back up from the pits of self-deprecation. "N- Don't compare yours to mine like that.. Like I said, I think your suit's awesome! And those photographers sure seemed to think so, too." Yeah, they both had great costumes. That wasn't gonna stop Suri from being nervous, though! "Heh...Hhh... I guess I kinda feel the same way, too. I'm pretty nervous, too, the thought of everyone looking at us—an entire crowd... It's gonna make that photographing session look like easy mode."

So, what was the plan? Well... "Oh, I-I didn't actually have any plans. Figured I could think one up as I went, y'know? So... I'll follow your lead, and... I'll leave the decision up to you, whether we enter that competiton or not." Because Suri probably wouldn't have enough confidence to enter such a competition on her own. Regardless, Suri was sure Astrocon would be fun. It'd be even more fun, now that she had a friend with her! At least, she hoped that she'd be allowed to call Phakk a friend by the end of the day.

Oop, now it was their turn to get checked. Suri had to let go of Phakk's hand for a sec, and gave her an apologetic look. The Majin the handed over her staff to get checked over, while getting scanned herself. The process would probably be over pretty quickly, with no issues being present.