Flora and Eurovision 2024

Juan & Aida

After mingling with the other contestants and doing some interviews, Flora and her friends meet up with two more of Flora's friends. They meet them at Parque de Atenas.
"¡Juan! ¡Aida!"
Flora squeals and wraps her arms around both of them.
"[ES] Oh my god, Juanito, you've grown so much!"
She says and ruffles his hair. Aida laughs. Juan sticks his tongue out and gently smacks away her hand. She greets each of them more formally with a hug and cheek kisses. However Juan still looks a bit offended, like a kid.
"[ES] We saw each other like 6 months ago. When will this joke die???"
"[IT] Never. You'll always be a child in our eyes"
Aida says and places a hand on his shoulder.

The two greet the others. Riona immediately compliments Aida on her outfit, which consists of long sleeved, floral green shirt with a leaf pattern, brown pants and a dark blue hijab. Juan translates for her, since she doesn't speak English. She speaks Albanian and Italian, the latter being the language the two communicate in.
Aida thanks Riona, a gesture which doesn't need any translation.
"Juan bought the shirt for me. He said it brings out my 'berry-core'"
She then explains.
"I thought so! You're going for a blueberry-vibe, right?"
She nods.
They begin to walk, and the conversations shifts towards their destination.
"Nothing beats Spanish tapas in Spain"
Ethan says. Juan nods happily.
"Especially with what you Danes consider tapas"
"I think paella is better"
Sebastian offers.
"A lot of Spanish snacks are good too"
Riona adds.
A discussion quickly begins about the best Spanish foods, and their international counterparts, most of which Juan thinks are bastardisations.

Meanwhile Aida and Flora talk.
"[AL] I don't think I have to ask if you met any of the other contestants, so I'm going to ask; who?"
Aida says. Flora smiles wide and tells about everyone she's met so far. She also tells about Elizabeta and how, if she dug deep enough, she's basically everyone's friend of a friend.
"[AL] I also briefly talked with your representative"
Aida says.
"[AL] Here?"
"[AL] Nah, back in Albania, a little outside of Tirana. We didn't talk Eurovision, but I did wish her good luck before I left"
They get to the restaurant, where picking the tapas is a short task, and their conversation quickly continue.
As they get to the restaurant their conversation merges into a big discussion about work, life in general and what the future might hold. Juan and Flora take turns to translate for Aida.
"You know, sometimes I forget not everyone can speak more than one language."
Ethan says.
"Like, I used to be the weird kid in class for being bi-lingual but now I'm surrounded by people who all speak at least 3 languages"
"Yeah. However it can get pretty confusing. Like, your brain will just randomly jumble the words. Sometimes you'll end up only remembering a word in one language and other times you'll completely forget what it's called in any language"
Riona says.
"Except if you're Flora"
Juan remarks. They all nod in agreement. Flora just smiles and shrug.

"Will you watch Flora tomorrow?"
Sebastian asks them as they leave the restaurant. Juan shakes his head.
"No. We have to leave early tomorrow. Another one of those weird rifts* has shown up"
Flora perks her head.
"Maybe I should-"
"Don't. You're in Eurovision right now. Enjoy that"
Juan pats her on the back.

*「Note: These rifts again. I think I see a pattern. They appear in ɿ̷̛̞̲̳̟̫̄͌̈́͝ȉ̵͙̻͉̣̮͊̈́̍̈v̸̧̢̜͎̜͑̉͋͌̚ɘ̴̤̬̝̫̗̇̊̓̽͘ɿ̴̢͖͖͓̦͋̂͑̒͗ƨ̵̹̠̹̬̯́̈̔̑̕ that go beyond The End, shifting things around. It is no coincidence that Flora was able to meet Del Bosque and Sadik」**

**{Yeah, this definitely needs some explanation. Now bear with me, because this is gonna sound crazy, but Flora is from a world where magic is real. It seeps in from another dimension through rifts, and anyone who comes into contact with it gains magical powers (if they don't die from magic entering their body). A secret organisation in disguise named SERVICE has been closing these rifts every time they show up, and everyone in this chapter are a member of it in one way or another. All you need to know is that Flora, Juan and Aida are all high level members while Riona, Sebastian and Ethan are low level.

Rifts has been appearing randomly until a few years ago where Flora managed to stabilise one of them and create a portal to the magic dimension. Ever since then no other rift has shown up, until about the start of Flora's Eurovision adventure - Chaya}

"Do you have any idea what could be causing them to appear?"
Riona asks.
"No. All we know is that it's not magic, but the energy coming from them is strange"
Flora translates for Aida and she adds: "The higher ups also say that they get the rifts in the magic dimension"
"Guys, maybe I really should-"
Again she is interrupted, this time by Riona
"No! As Juan said, focus on Eurovision. Also, you've literally done so much for SERVICE. You're allowed to have a life"
"But-"
Juan grabs both her shoulders and looks her in the eyes.
"We'll call for you if things take a turn for the worst. Right now no one's in danger"
"You promise"
He nods.
"Of course"
"[AL] While things are looking strange and uneasy, don't let it stop you. Please just enjoy your journey"
Flora hugs her two friends and her other three join in. She still can't help but feel like something's off about it. Everything should be fine right? But her friends are right. She doesn't have to be the saviour of the day all the time. Even her mentor had told her to do it.

"[IT] Well, good luck you two. Hopefully we'll see each other soon"
She says. Aida nods.
"[IT] See you, Tennfjord. Hopefully next time will be as peaceful as tonight"
Juan hugs her, lifting her off the ground.
"[ES] See you again, my soul sister! Maybe next time you'll be the one to have grown"
The others say their goodbyes and then they go their separate ways.

{There might've been a lot to take in in this chapter, but don't worry, it gets worse! But each thing to their own. I'll sprinkle in some explanations if need be, and if you have more questions just ask! :D - Chaya}