[open]

[queenofminiskirts]

WHO: Kaoru and you!!
WHERE: All around town
WHEN: Early August
WHAT: Brooding. And denial of brooding.
WARNINGS: None so far.



i: At the Frozen Lake

[She has a mirror that could show her Shiho but...it seemed selfish to use it. She knows what's happening back home and...maybe other people would need it. And if she uses it then no one can for a month.

But it doesn't stop her from coming to the frozen lake. If you're close by, even without looking you can probably hear this news report.

Which frustrates Kaoru but maybe not for the reason you'd expect...]

This isn't even new! What's with these re-runs!


ii: Mirror, Show Me...

[She's sitting under a tree, holding onto a pretty silver hand mirror. She's frowning at it like she's deliberating on something serious. But then you arrive and she startles, pulling the mirror against her chest with a laugh.]

Haven't you heard you shouldn't creep up on girls? That's a good way to get kicked, you know.

[Even if you weren't hiding your footsteps she was deep enough in thought to have been surprised.]


iii: About Those Trees...

[She's standing at the edge of where the trees have been encroaching. She knows she can't just destroy them (and she shouldn't. Knowing that they were home to the dryads) but...]

...maybe we can replant them somewhere else.

Comments

Closed to Pyra

[queenofminiskirts]

[With everything that happened, it was more important than ever that she does her best to be upbeat. To smile as if absolutely nothing was wrong.

And it helped to keep busy. To do things. And forest adventures with people she has a strong bond with was a good way to do it.

So she smacks her fist into an open palm, looking as energetic and gungho as ever when they reach the forest's edge.]

You ready?

[She made sure Pyra can come along with her in the air without them needing to hold hands first. But even then, it'd probably be best not to just suddenly pick her up without warning.]

[pyrafect]

[ Another month, another adventure within the forest. She has a copy of the map, the colored pencils from a quest reward, and she has a desire to help. Kaoru is certainly powerful enough to explore just about anywhere on her own, she thinks, and Pyra is rather useless in comparison. But the forest creates a need for companionship to explore its depths.

Or in their case, explore its canopy. She's ready to go for a flight, and her smile matches Kaoru's. ] I am.

[ She says with a nod. ]

[queenofminiskirts]

Then let's go!

[She flashes a thumbs up before they're both floating off the ground together. Higher and higher until the trees are below them.]

Ah, I wish I had an excuse to hold your hand...

[What a pity!]

[pyrafect]

[ Aaaand she's flying! High, with Kaoru! She laughs, but it rings hollow with the wind whipping around them. ]

Your powers are incredible, Kaoru.

[ But back to business... ]

Let's head... east, first. [ She's ready to map out the forest!! ] Since the pendant seems to be pointing west.

[queenofminiskirts]

You should see Aoi's! She's a teleporter!

[And Shiho's! But 1, that's a secret and 2, Shiho's a touchy subject right now.]

Okay! East it is!

[She takes them in that direction (and only knows which one it is because of the pendant). She doesn't go too fast though. Since they are here to map things out.]

[pyrafect]

[ And thus they begin to fly. Pyra's careful to not drop any of the colored pencils, and she's quite careful with depicting the areas from which the amulet tugs. Her plan is to make a rough sketch, a draft, while Mythra takes care of a more accurate map devised within her mind.

In the meantime, she has no issue asking after Kaoru's world and those in it, since she's done so in the past. ] Aoi....? Is she another who was raised by Minamoto?

[queenofminiskirts]

Yeah! She grew up with me and Shiho!

[And if her smile dimmed a little at the mention of her friend well. You can't prove anything.]

The three of us have been inseparable since we were five!

[pyrafect]

[ Kaoru is... usually quite liberal in volunteering information about her homeworld, especially when talking of those in it. Pyra has always known her to be enthusiastic about the topic-- as one should. She clearly loves her world and adore her friends and family within it even more.

But there's something in the way she mentions Aoi and Shiho that doesn't sound sounds as light as before. However, Pyra incorrectly guesses that the the slight difference in tone is due to the former girl, not the latter. ] I've met Shiho, But has Aoi ever appeared in Chroma?

[ Inseparable, she says. Maybe she's missing Aoi?? ]

[queenofminiskirts]

[She likes honesty! And she likes talking about her friends! (But also it conveniently makes people assume she's said everything which lets her hang onto things like information related to Black Phantom).]

No. It's only been Shiho and me. Well, now it's just me, but. [She shrugs like it's not a big deal. Really! She can deal with it!]

I never asked, but did you have any friends from home appear here before?

ii

[troubadamsel]

[She raises an eyebrow, torn between amusement and annoyance.]

I apologize for trying to check on you, I wasn't aware that was "creepy".

[queenofminiskirts]

[Ah...she'd said that without paying attention to who it was first.

So she looked surprised. Then apologetic.

Then she started to flail.]

Wait! Maribelle! I didn't know it was you! Of course nothing is creepy when you do it!

[troubadamsel]

[Amusement wins out.]

You must have been pretty deep in thought to not even notice who was approaching.

[queenofminiskirts]

[She scratched at her cheek sheepishly.]

Yeah...I was pretty lost there for a moment...

[troubadamsel]

Is it something you'd like to talk about?

[queenofminiskirts]

[Look, she wanted to just...smile and say that she was fine. But...Maribelle never seemed to buy that.]

I was trying to talk myself out of using the mirror to see how Shiho's doing.

[troubadamsel]

[A sad sigh, and she moves to sit next to her.]

Because you know exactly what it will and won't accomplish.

[queenofminiskirts]

[She nods.]

I know what's going on back home. I know that when I go back, everything will start from where I'd been. It's better to save the mirror for someone else who needs it.

[And yet...]

i

[theshowsover]

[It surprises him a bit, to find Kaoru out here, all alone. He's curious already, but the sound of the news report draws him closer still.

A bill for the supervision of Espers...

Ah. More bullshit from her home world.]

So did it go into effect?

[He stands back a few feet, hands in his pockets.]

[queenofminiskirts]

[If Akira didn't already know so much about her world she'd probably have to try to reassure him but...]

Not yet. But things are...difficult for everyone. But it's fine! As soon as we get Babel back from Black Phantom everything will go back to the way it was.

[theshowsover]

[He nods.] I know you can do it.

[He knows she can, especially with her friends and the others from Babel with her. Still, he wishes her world weren't so hostile to people like her... She shouldn't have to do this.]

Still... it sucks. [Freakin' politics man.]

[queenofminiskirts]

We've got it a little better. The ones who have it worst are the espers who can't do anything, or the ones who are under Black Phantom's control.

[Because she's...fine. More or less.]

[theshowsover]

Yeah... people with power love oppressing others.

[However they might have gained that power, legitimately or not.]

I guess we have to get out of this place first.

[queenofminiskirts]

That is true but...Black Phaontom's goal isn't really to oppress people. Their leader is just driven by hatred.

[And wants to watch the world burn.]

At least we're supposed to return to the moment we came from...

But she's still worried!]

Closed to Lan Wangji, backdated to before the event

[queenofminiskirts]

[It wasn't so much that Kaoru had forgotten about the old hag in the woods so much as she felt it wasn't very helpful for go to her for answers. After all, last time she'd been the only one in their trio that had failed to answer a riddle and receive any information (apart from grabbing that strand of hair and getting Shiho to confirm that the old woman wasn't something the forest threw at them)...and then ended up losing her vision for a week after.

But, with the story on the forum finishing up with no further clues and five of those character pages she'd found with Caramia in the forest (all of people near and dear to her), she felt she had to at least try.

At the very least, she'll bring someone smart with her so even if she fails at answer a stupid riddle again at least one of them will get something out of this.

And, really, she knew a lot of smart people and maybe when she though 'riddles' the first person who should come to mind is the Peak Lord of a literary peak but after the forest stunt her evaluation of his intelligence has gone down a little.

So, she chose the most reliable option instead.]

Just so you know. If I end up disappearing because I answered a riddle wrong I'm safe, so don't freak out, okay?

[This is personal experience!]

[alittlespicy]

Mn.

[ Wangji is by her side, quiet and watchful, while they make their way further into the Wood, towards a destination that she knows. ]

That is what happened before?