Istina: Let's Go, Let's Go

Operator Record Let's Go, Let's Go	Istina
The shadow of that city is far too long. She has to hurry, be faster, or else she'll be engulfed by the past.

Unlock conditions

• Raise Istina to Elite 2 Level 1.
• Have at least 50% Trust with Istina.

Characters

Doctor Adnachiel Amiya Cardigan Catapult Ceobe Gummy Hibiscus Ifrit Istina Lava Magallan Mayer Orchid Popukar Ptilopsis Rosa Silence Spot Steward Vulcan Zima

Backgrounds

1 2 3

“

Istina is uncharacteristically focused on decorating the Ursus Student Self-Government Group's booth at the food festival. What's motivating her to go all out?

”

<Background 1>
Zima	Anna, do you know what time it is?
Istina	......
Zima	Anna!
Istina	Sonya, you can see I've been assembling my outfit. The clock's behind you. You have the power to look for yourself.
Zima	It's already twenty 'til!
Istina	Your warning is appreciated.
Zima	Yeah, I AM warning you!
Istina	I did tell you how strenuous it is to coordinate an outfit, and that it could take a very long time. If you're hungry, you can go to the canteen for lunch, and I'll head there myself once I'm done.
Zima	Do you really need to do all this just for some food festival booth? Sure, you're manning it, so you wanna dress up a little. But do you have to take this long? It's already been half an hour.
Istina	Is half an hour so long?
Zima	It's not short.
Istina	It's worth taking the time to ensure we match well with the theme of our booth.
Zima	And that theme is "Ursus Desserts". That's it. Like, we're Ursus from Ursus, even if we're wearing plain old Rhodes Island uniforms, we're gonna fit the theme. How are you still working on this?
Istina	If you're going to be so impatient, you don't have to be here.
Zima	Hmph. Fine. I'll go eat.
Istina	I know you're reading your book there because you want to keep me company. You don't want to leave me alone
Zima	!
Istina	But there's no need to force yourself, Sonya.
Zima	...... Want me to bring you something to eat?
Istina	No thank you. I'll go to the canteen myself in a moment.
<Background fades out and in>
[Not long after, Zima opens the the door and enters the room.]
Zima	I'm bac— ...... Anna... why are you still screwing around with your clothes?
Istina	I'm almost finished. I only need about ten more minutes, barring any calamities. All that's left is a hairband to settle on.
Zima	Slow down there, speedy. Don't give me whiplash.
<Background fades out and in>
Istina	Sonya.
Zima	You done?
Istina	What do you think of this hairband? It goes well with the ensemble, but isn't it too plain?
Zima	Can you just tell me what you want already?
Istina	I think we can do something to spruce it up. What if we take some lace from the old clothes in that box there and sew it on?
Zima	Don't look at me. I don't know the first thing about sewing.
Istina	Then it's up to me.
Zima	You think I don't know you've never held a needle in your life?
Istina	Ahem. While I've never actually put it into practice, I have read a few books on the subject. I have an understanding of the basic concepts. And we have plenty of lace, anyway, we can do a test run on a towel first.
Zima	And how long is that gonna take?
Istina	Maybe... one hour?
Zima	Anna! Did you forget all the baking supplies we've gotta haul this afternoon?! Yeah, me and Rosalind will bring the muscle, but you've gotta be there to tell us how much of what we're moving to where! This is a FOOD festival. Isn't the food the important part? Focus on the food first, and then if you've got time left over, screw around with your clothes and whatever. Doesn't that make sense?
Istina	You can take this if you're worried that you won't know what to move where.
Zima	Huh? What's this paper?
Istina	Recipes. I stayed up all night preparing them. They have the desserts we'll be making and the ingredients needed to make them. Good luck.
Zima	......
Istina	And while you're correct that our theming and decor is less important than the food, that doesn't mean appearances are entirely unimportant.
Zima	......
Istina	Suppose Natalya bakes some cookies that taste fine, but they come in random, unattractive shapes. Would you prefer to eat those, or Lada's?
Zima	*Sigh*... Whatever, there's no getting through to you. I give up. You win. I'm gonna go find Rosalind.
Istina	Good luck. I'll be there to help you shortly.
[Zima leaves the room and closes the door.]
<Background fades out and in>
Istina	Phew... we had a bit of a scare there, but I've got the lace nicely sewn onto the headband. (Forgive me, Lada, for breaking into your secret snack stash... I'll pay you back double tomorrow.) It's two o'clock already... I'd better go check on Sonya and Rosalind.
<Background 2>
[While running through the corridors, Anna runs into Natalya aka. Rosa.]
Istina	Natalya?
Rosa	Good afternoon, Anna—I see you're in a hurry. May I ask to where?
Istina	Good afternoon, have you seen Rosalind?
Rosa	Rosalind?
Istina	Yes, we were supposed to go with Sonya to move the flour and such this afternoon. But neither of us have been able to find her.
Rosa	I do believe she's in the training room.
Istina	You saw her?
Rosa	I can't say I laid my own eyes on her, but I did see two bottles of non-honeyed honey-flavored beverage at the door to the training room. To my knowledge, only Rosalind and Beehunter drink those.
Istina	Thank you very much, Natalya. You have a class in the afternoon, don't you?
Rosa	I still have time, no need to rush. Ah, but there is the matter of the application for the booth. You've asked that none of the surrounding booths serve beverages, and that yours should be close to the entrance, yes?
Istina	That's correct. I would also like for the booth to be as large as possible, but I understand that's beyond our control. If there are too many participants, there simply won't be room for a large booth.
Rosa	Indeed. Now then, I'll be sure to discuss the booth situation with Closure after my class.
Istina	Thank you very much.
Rosa	Think nothing of it. Although, I do believe this is the first time I've ever seen you so passionate about something besides books, Anna.
Istina	Is that a compliment?
Rosa	I would like to think so.
Istina	Then I'll thank you once more.
Rosa	Good luck, Anna.
Istina	And the same to you, Natalya.
Rosa	—Of course, to drag Rosalind out of the training room, you're going to need it. Your prospects there are far more pessimistic, I believe.
<Background 3>
Gummy	Istina! What goes in the oven next?
Istina	Cheese piroshki. They're already on the baking sheet, waiting for the last custard tart to come out.
Gummy	Thanks for your help, Istina!
Istina	Don't mention it.
Gummy	I'm so glad you're here! You've been helping set up the booth all day, and even went to fetch Leto for us, and got us fresh berries from the greenhouse with juuust the right acidity... I thought you'd be really tired by now.
Istina	Well, I can't say it's been easy.
Gummy	So I think you'd better go back to your room and read for a bit! I can handle all this by myself!
Istina	Of course, I'm sure you can do it. But two heads are certainly more efficient than a single Gummy.
Gummy	You're really awesome, Istina.
Istina	Oh?
Gummy	I used to think just baking some tasty treats for everybody to enjoy at the festival would be enough. But you taught me good food alone doesn't cut it. To really make the festival perfect, you've gotta work out your theming, get a design, make everything match... It's really awesome that you even think of this stuff, but you don't stop at the thinking, you actually come out and help us do everything. You find the time to lend Zima and little old Gummy a hand... I never knew how awesome you were, Istina!
Istina	You're making me blush, Lada— Sorry, you're more comfortable with operator codenames now, yes?
Gummy	Don't worry about it. Istina can call Gummy any name she wants!
Istina	Thank you, Gummy. (To have Lada showering me with compliments like that... I really am blushing.) (Especially considering how I just stole from her snack stash...)
Istina	Oh, Gummy, there's something I have to tell you.
Gummy	What is it, Istina?
Istina	While I was back at the room working on my outfit, I didn't have time to go to the canteen. I'm afraid I ate all the snacks you had hidden in the living room cabinet.
Gummy	Oh? I don't remember putting any snacks there.
Istina	But I found a package of cookies, they were pumpkin-flavored. I remember you were into pumpkin for a while.
Gummy	Pumpkin, huh...? Let me think... Istina...
Istina	Oh no... Gummy... why did your face turn so dour...?
Gummy	Did those cookies taste really extra bitter and bad?
Istina	I... paired them with some coffee.
Gummy	I burned those pumpkin cookies when I was baking in the canteen this morning.
Istina	!
Gummy	But it hurt my heart to think of throwing them away, so I put them in the bottom of the cabinet. I figured I could find some use for them. I mean, eating them won't do anything to you, but...
Istina	You've said enough, Gummy, I get it.
Gummy	Just go home and get some rest! Leave it all to Gummy here. When everything's baked up, I'll call everyone to taste test!
<Background 1>
Istina	With nothing to it but the traditional Ursus elements... hm... it feels a little shallow... What if we added a little something else? Something like... a puzzle game? ...... With just an outfit, a set of clothes, is there really a way to add deductive reasoning? Probably not. But if we put it into the desserts—No, that won't work. It's not like we can make a puzzle out of them. What about using the deductive elements as a sort of decoration? Still a little off... I've got it!
[Istina walks into a cabinet and look for something.]
Istina pulls a stack of books from the cabinet.
Istina	These books just might give us what we need. "The Death of Ilyich, the Suspect", we can't well use this one. Hm... let me think... with these books— The idea is coming together, this should be possible. Then we put the rest of them as padding underneath. Need a few more clues... a chessboard, maybe? Let me see...
<Background fades out and in>
Istina	Welcome back, Sonya.
Zima	What are you doing back here?
Istina	I had another idea. I need to revise the layout of our festival booth.
Zima	The layout—Oh... (Whispers) I'm getting a headache.
Istina	I heard that.
Zima	Huh? "The Death of Ilyich, the Suspect"? I borrowed this book.
Istina	I recommended it to you.
Zima	I forgot.
Istina	So, do you remember the plot of the book?
Zima	Nope.
Istina	What about the name of the killer?
Zima	Not coming to me.
Istina	So what exactly did you read?
Zima	I never remember anything after I finish a novel. Like, what's the point of remembering the plot of a book? Not like I'm gonna be a writer.
Istina	Forget it. This is my fault. I still have unrealistic expectations of you.
Zima	(Whistles)
Istina	Now then, there will be a puzzle in our booth, and it derives from these books.
Zima	"Ten Little Durins", "The Feranmut Four", "Murder in Mossmead"... I feel like I've read these, but I also feel like I haven't.
Istina	You've been through all of them, and somehow didn't retain a thing. I thought you'd be able to solve this puzzle, but now I find you can't.
Zima	As if I even wanted to.
Istina	Not worth your time?
Zima	I just couldn't care less. I'm dead tired from hauling that crap all afternoon. The last thing I need is another pain in the ass.
Istina	How about this? If you solve the puzzle on the day of the festival, I'll do your homework for you exactly once. You've been skipping Hypatia's class lately, haven't you?
Zima	Deal!
Istina	On the other hand, if you can't solve it...
Zima	Hm?
Istina	We'll need a punishment. One I've not yet thought of.
Zima	Hmph. Punishment, huh? As if that scares me. I'll be in my room.
[Zima walks away, but turns to face Istina before leaving the room.]
Istina	You'll what?
Zima	What else am I gonna do? I told you, I'm dead tired. I'm going to bed.
Istina	I thought you'd at least take a book back to review. You have to prepare for the puzzle.
Zima	I know I'll be able to solve it when the time comes. Sleep is more important for now.
Istina	Well, good luck, Sonya.
Zima	Thanks—
Zima takes a few steps toward her room before turning back to Istina.
Zima	Actually, Anna, there's something I've been meaning to ask you since this morning.
Istina	Go ahead.
Zima	I've never seen you so passionate about something like this. You're even more into it than Lada is. You're totally committed to getting it perfect.
Zima	But why?
Istina	Any guesses?
Zima	Hm... to make Lada happy?
Istina	Making Lada happy is a delightful thing, but that's not the reason.
Zima	To sell lots of sweets?
Istina	You've forgotten, Sonya, everything at the festival is free.
Zima	So what's the reason?
Istina	I just want to know what it feels like to go all in, for once.
Zima	All in? Have you lost your marbles? You're suddenly missing the old days?
Istina	This is different, Sonya. Listen to me. Back in those days... Back in those days, we went all in and put it all on the line because if we slipped up even for a second, we were dead. But this is different. Now we're going all in on a happy little thing. How long has it been since we've busied ourselves with a happy little thing? Think about it. The core of a food festival is a pleasant holiday atmosphere and the joy of eating. It doesn't get much more fun and relaxed than that.
Zima	So...?
Istina	What we did before, we did out of necessity. But now, laying it all on the line for a delightful little festival... I've never tried anything like that. And I want to. When the day of the festival comes, it'll probably be a lot of fun.
Zima shrugs.
Zima	I think you're having fun already.
Istina	Am I?
Zima	Yeah.
Istina	...hm.
Zima	Welp, I may not get what's so much fun for you... But I hope it makes you happy.
<Background 3>
[Many R.I. operators are visiting the food festival, among them include members of Op Reserve A1 and A4.]
Cardigan	Wowww! Soo many booths, and with so much food! I'm worried I can't eat it all...
Steward	Calm down, Cardigan, the festival runs all day.
Lava	Why are you following me at a time like this?!
Hibiscus	It is precisely at a time like this that our little Lava needs to watch what she eats—
Adnachiel	What a uniquely sweet smell— Tell me about this thing. It's a custard tart, right? And this one's a berry cake! I'd love to know the exact ratios at play in the recipe!
Rosa	It would be my pleasure...
<Background fades out and in>
Ceobe	Treeaaaaats! I smell treeaaats!
[Ceobe excitedly run through the food booths...]
Ceobe	Woooow! So many people! And so much food!
[...and leaps in joy upon seeing the U.S.S.G. booth...]
Ceobe	Little Cub made those snacks! They smell sooooo goooood!
[...and run towards it, with Vulcan following her...]
Vulcan	Kay, slow down, no running!
[...who rushes to catch up with her.]
<Background fades out and in>
Silence	How was the berry cake over there? Gummy only just brought out a tray and before I knew it, they'd all been snatched up.
Ptilopsis	Unusually delicious.
Silence	What do you think, Ifrit?
Ifrit	...not spicy enough... But the one with the light blue hair, she's dressed very pretty.
<Background fades out and in>
Catapult	Watch this, Popukar—
[Catapult threw a pastry upwards and ate it as it fell.]
Popukar	You threw the pastry up in the air, then caught it in your mouth on the way down—awesome!
Catapult	You wanna try? I can teach you— Gah!
Orchid	I don't want Popukar learning any stupid and dangerous tricks from you!
[fades out and in]
Mayer	I've known for a while that Maggy has a very unique palate, but I never knew it went this far... Oh, is that some kind of puzzle thing over there? I've gotta check that out.
[Meanwhile, Amiya and the Doctor watches the U.S.S.G. booth from afar.]
Amiya	What do you think of the puzzle Istina and the girls designed, Doctor?
Doctor	(Istina did a fine job.) / (It's uncomplicated, but subtle.) / (Just right for a food festival.)
Amiya	Is something wrong, Doctor? Why are you so quiet?
Doctor	(chewing)
Amiya	Show a little restraint, Doctor, you've already eaten so much.
[fades out and in]
[Spot arrives at the cafeteria just as the food festival ends.]
Spot	The food festival's over... I asked Midnight to wake me up, but the clown slipped out without a word. Guess I shouldn't have stayed up all night reading comics. What are those girls doing over there instead of packing up their booth?
[The members of the U.S.S.G. are talking something, but Spot is too far to hear what are they saying.]
Spot	I can't make out what they're saying—Huh? A shaved ice stand behind the stairs? I didn't even know it was there.
Magallan	Yep, got plenty of cans left! Here you go!
Zima	(Takes a deep breath) Graaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaagh!
Spot	Is that the legendary Ursus's Roar? It's awe-inspiring.
<Background 1>
Our booth was a big hit at the food festival. We had a steady stream of operators coming to try things. Some came to eat, some came to try the puzzle, and some came just to look at my outfit... Lada had to keep the ovens hot, and we went through all our spare supplies. Sonya and Rosalind had to keep running back and forth between our booth and the kitchen. Natalya explained all our treats to the customers. She talked her throat sore. I had the most relaxed job, spending the day watching over the puzzle.
Istina speaks directly into the "recording device for self-diagnosis and treatment of trauma using exposure therapy".
Istina	I might have had a feeling about it, but I was surprised Sonya failed to solve the puzzle. The solution was so obvious. It was Rosalind's idea, but everyone agreed on the punishment. That Sonya would have to eat an entire bowl of Magallan's signature canned shaved ice. Magallan's other flavors are plenty delicious. But her signature canned shaved ice... How should I put this...? The look on Sonya's face as she brought the ice to her mouth... Pfft... I can't even describe it. What a wonderful day. Standing in the crowd, looking at all the smiling faces around, listening to the delightful conversations that had nothing to do with me... While I normally wouldn't look to avoid such things, I also wouldn't be able to enjoy them. But after throwing myself into this festival, all the noise and excitement started to mean something, it even became a reward for all my efforts. Looking back, all that exhausting preparation was no trouble at all. Really, going all out on a happy little thing was a ton of fun. In the old days, several of the middle schools in Chernobog would hold events like this. At the time, I found them pointless in comparison to reading a good book. So I was clever, avoided all the prep work, then spent the day of the event at home reading. It wasn't a big deal, honestly. Something so typical. What's the point? Don't these kinds of things happen every year? Even after graduation, we could still attend as alumni, or the general public... why work hard for something like that? ...... I never imagined. I could never have imagined. But it's true... there will never be another one. Never, ever again. ......
Istina shakes her head vigorously.
Istina	So I spent a hundred and twenty percent of my energy on this food festival. Was that a sort of... memorialization? And the facts show that my efforts were worth it. I've never experienced an event with so many people that was so enjoyable. If there's another such festival... I dare not hope it could be as happy as this one. But I certainly want to try. Now, that's enough for today—
[Zima opens the door.]
Zima	Anna, I'm home—
<Background fades out and in>
[Istina opens the door.]
Istina	Welcome back, Sonya. Wasn't today fun?
Zima	Of course! But if we're talking about fun, I just found out there's still some food left, so I had the whole U.S.S.G. share it. And we've got a bit for you.
Istina	Didn't I see Natalya drink all the borscht? What could be left?
Zima	What else? Magallan's cans!
Istina	!!! I'm going to bed. Good night, Sonya. Sweet dreams—
Zima	You're not going anywhere. You're the only one who hasn't had any—