Bingo-request by @kyuko-chan: Okay, consider this: Love at first sight AU with HSAU(ish) Blackcherry; the two meet because of an exchange programm, IE they are from different countries and then meet because one visits the other country
When Razz stepped out of the city train outside the city hall, the entire yard was already full of people. All sorts of them; she’d never seen so many different kinds of fashions and species in the same place before, and Thyragård wasn’t a monocultural city in any way. A flood of people followed her out of the train, chatting and laughing. They sounded excited. When she stepped into the city hall’s garden, however, she did so with a sigh. The many birches and maples and other trees filling it were turning red and orange and yellow, and the ivy climbing up the building itself was just as colourful as the sun danced over its leaves. It was lovely, but it didn’t change the fact that Razz was preparing herself up for scornful gazes when people realized what family she belonged to.
Once upon a time, her ancestors had been powerful and glorious, and she was proud over being a Valkyria. Some of them had also, however, been tyrants. The last Valkyria ruler, her great grandfather, had been completely horrible even to Beobyrians. But that was over a hundred years ago, long before she was born, and she was so fucking tired of people blaming her – a high school student. Yeah, she didn’t want to be here. But her parents had forced her, too concerned with their reputation to care about her protests.
Her stiletto-heeled boots clicked against the paved path as she made her way into the crowd. Into the city hall itself. Throwing her blonde braid over her shoulder, she looked around. Where did one announce one’s presence? A sign sat over the reception, telling her exactly where in Beobyrian runes as well as every language and alphabet she knew, and then some.
“Excuse me,” she muttered as she made her way through the crowd, yelping as she almost tripped over a naga’s tail. Yellow eyes glared at her, and she gave them an apology before hurrying past.
The receptionist, a green-haired Fae with bright red skin, smiled at her as she handed over her ID. Their smile widened as they glanced down at it. “Welcome! To the first Former Empire Exchange! We’re very happy to have you here, Razz Valkyria.”
Razz forced a smile as they handed her a name badge, and she signed the paper she was handed, promising to do anything she could to make her guest feel welcome. “Thank you. I am glad to be here.”
Sliding the ID back into her phone case, and then her phone into the pocket of her leather jacket, she stepped into the crowd. It was probably for the best to attempt socializing; that way she would have a chance to find someone who wouldn’t immediately judge her by her ancestors. Her eyes glazed over the people there. Everyone wore their country’s flag on their name tags, so it was easy to know who she was supposed to talk with: which people were non-Beobyrians.
She smiled pleasantly at a group of sapients she assumed were selkies, before turning around. Her heart skipped a beat from surprise. Close by stood a water tank, and on its edge, a merperson lounged. Their long hair was turquoise and purple, their scales a dark pink, and their skin desert dark, and they leaned over it to talk to a humanoid below. The Beobyrian words sounded strange on their tongue: the sea’s languages were very different from those on land.
Realizing she was staring, she tore her eyes away, and went to search for someone to talk to. At first, a satyr wearing Trima’s blue flag approached her, but once their eyes flitted down to her name tag, their face hardened and they immediately turned around. Razz ignored the pang in her chest and went the other way, toward the edge of the crowd. Outside, again. The sun immediately heated up the leather, and she sighed in pleasure. Her skirt flitted around her leggings-covered legs in the breeze.
Next to a fountain depicting the first president of Beobyra, two humanoids stood, chatting with each other. They were far away, but as Razz narrowed her eyes, she thought she could see them both wearing pale flags. They weren’t half-red, at least, and so, not Beobyrian. Clenching her fist in determination, she straightened her back and marched over to them.
As she came closer, she got a better look at them. Both had black hair and dark skin, and both were dressed in some of the most colourful clothing she’d ever seen. The taller wore black jeans and a leather jacket, but her crop top was yellow with an intricate pattern in pink and black and her sandals were pink, and the other was dressed in a turquoise t-shirt and dark red trousers. When she came even closer, she found they looked pretty similar, as well, with the same wide noses and squared jaws. They were speaking a language she didn’t understand, and apparently hadn’t noticed her approaching.
“Hello,” she greeted, and both immediately turned to her, obviously surprised. She got a look at the flags they were wearing: grey with a golden oak. Peosana. Her shoulders dropped in relief. Oh, good. Peosana and Beobyra had been on relatively good footing for centuries. Her eyes glazed over their names and pronouns. For the taller, the one with their long hair in a ringlet bun, Fell Arya, she/her, and for the shorter, sturdier one, Red Arya, he/him. She held out her hand. “I’m Razz-”
She trailed off. ‘Red’ had met her eyes, and his own were the most beautiful shade of brown she’d ever seen, gleaming like gold in the sunshine. Her heart skipped a beat, her breath catching in her throat. He had short, messy hair that framed his face, and suddenly, she felt an urge to pull her fingers through it. Razz almost lost her balance, a blush rising to her cheeks. He stared back, mouth half-open as though he’d been about to speak.
Then she blinked, shaking her head, and managed to finish. “-Valkyria. Razz Valkyria.” Her voice was shaky, and she felt her face heat up as he grasped her lower arm, and she, his, in a shake. Oh, he was handsome.
“Red,” he replied, and his voice was dark and smooth. “Red Arya.”
“And I am Fell, his twin sister,” the second of them interrupted, a grin stretched wide over her face. Amusement shone in her eyes, which were the exact same shade of lovely brown. “A pleasure to meet you.”
Forcing herself to let go of Red, she turned toward her, grasping also her arm in greeting. “Same.”
Fell’s eyes flickered between the two of them, and then she huffed, grin growing even wider. “I’ll go talk to someone else.” She hit her brother lightly over the head. “Behave, asshole.”
“Yeah, yeah, you too,” he muttered without looking at her. Then she was gone, lost in the crowd. Red smiled lopsidedly, sitting down on the fountain before gesturing for her to follow suit. Taking a deep breath, Razz did. Butterflies fluttered in her stomach, but she finally managed to get rid of the heat on her cheeks. “So. Valkyria, eh?”
“Yeah,” she replied, dragging her fingertips over the cold stone of the fountain. “You’re from Peosana?”
If he noticed the quick change of subject, he didn’t comment. Only raised a bushy eyebrow, and oh, that looked good, and grinned. “Sure am. From the land o’ sun and spices.”
She smiled back. “Tell me about it.”
