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Mizuki     Rather than inviting the group to Silent Night this time, Mizuki has instead asked them to the Palace. Not one to betray expectations, however, she has has altered the environment around the Palace such that, when approached, the world in its vicinity will shift and change; so that night will fall within a certain spherical range of the airborne landmass, and the rest of the Quiet World will fade away. Thus it likely feels as though the party are floating through space by the time they arrive. Ah, and since people seem so fond of using the Zeppellin parked by the Clock Tower as a means of getting here rather than simple levitation, some may actually be privy to a rather extraordinary visual today: that of a Zeppellin quite like the Hindenburg cutting its way through the stars as only a spacecraft should have rights to. Almost as blithe to reason as a whale swimming in the same space, isn't it? Not quite as unoriginal, though.

    Still, whether one simply decides that they were already here or goes through the motions that would land them within the palace manually, they all eventually arrive. The path from the front of the bulbous arrangement of buildings is lain out so clearly that Mizuki should have to give no instruction: after all, there is only one hall leading to one ultimate destination, and even if there was more choice those who have come here today should be more than familiar with the lay of things. They should know well enough that the Congressional, the room they have been asked to wait in, lies at the end of that tunnel. The lady will join them there soon enough to take them the rest of the way.

    And she does. She likely arrives some time after the first two of her visitors make way, bowing her head to them in a fashion of silent greeting. Following shortly behind her is a maiden dressed in ebon frills and with skin as pale and free of blemish as a doll's; she is the woman who appeared in the frame of the door in the city of Echo. It's Insidia. She smiles vibrantly to the group, greeting them as Mizuki might have some time ago: with an elegant if sprightly curtsy, then an equally melodious rhythm of nods to all who enter afterward. She looks surprisingly happy for one who is about to lay their memories bare to a group of nigh complete strangers.

    "Don't worry," She speaks in a gingerly, even musically lightened hum, "they should be with us shortly. They have my book with them." Must everyone in this universe be so hopelessly oblique? Can't she at least clarify 'they'? Alas, it seems she does not have any need to as 'they' make themselves apparent rather quickly. A pair of familiar pink-haired maidens hoist a book just as tall and twice as wide as both of them placed beside one another on to the side of the Congressional's central table before wrapping their arms neatly behind their backs, bowing to the group in unison, and speaking perfectly as one when they greet: "Hello."

    These are the girls who had posed as palace guards in Echo, aren't they? For surely they must have been posing -- otherwise they would not be here now.

    With all the characters present, though, Mizuki steps to the fore, every other of her steps accompanied with the telltale click of Aelinos' blade against the marble floor. She positions herself ahead of the gathering of elites as centrally as she can, offering them another bow before she fits her hands over the pommel of her sword, thereafter leaning on it as one might a cane.
Mizuki     "So," She says, "things tonight are going to proceed much as they did before. For those of you who were not here during the venture through Miss Chatrinelle and Miss Chatrilaine's memories, I will clarify: we will be entering a book. These books project themselves in much the same way as the real world. Though I am fairly certain one cannot die within them, you may still feel pain, and though their relationship to reality as we understand it may be hazy..." She stops on that word a moment in contemplation. Eventually, however, "... we can still be sure that they do, in fact, demonstrate past events. Our interaction with these past events can't 'alter' them in a physical sense, but we can alter how the associated Seeker -- that is Insidia in this case -- remembers them. So while it is not of dire and vital importance that we not tamper with things so, we should nevertheless try not to... cause any large-scale inconsistencies in the minds of my subordinates, yes? Yes."

    Insidia picks up for her here, clapping her hands together. "Oh~! I asked Chatrinelle a little about how this goes, too," She chimes. "That's to say, our memories of certain events come back to us as we enter a certain passage rather than after we finish with it. So I'll actually be able to narrate for you to help explain things, if you want! Would that help? Or, rather..." She clasps her hands. "May I, please? I love fairy tales, and I've reason to believe that my world was actually contained within one. It would be so lovely if I could be allowed to give you that impression!"

    She's asking the group if she can literally narrate her own life for them, basically. Her eyes are glittering, but there's nothing stopping you from saying 'no'.
Staren     Spaaaaaace Zeppeliiiiiiin~~

    Staren is one of the last to arrive, having had to handle CREEPY ALIEN LADYBUG SHENANIGANS. He looks at the book. "Wow. A book actually big enough to get inside! This way we won't be all squeezed and uncomfortable." He smirks at his little joke.

    Staren listens to Mizuki's explanation. "And memories are kind of what you and the Seekers are made of... what all people are made of, really. We're changing the past for /them/, as long as we don't make it..." he winces, "not end the same way." He looks to Insidia. "Sorry."

    Then he listens to the pale-skinned maiden. "Sounds fine to me. If anyone's got right to narrate, you have."
Ayako Hasekawa     Ayako decided to take the Zeppellin today and boy, was that a good decision! Riding a balloon boat through what appears to be space, filled with stars that twinkle in the sphere of night is wonderful! It probably doesn't hurt that she loves to stargaze, either. She almost wishes it went slower. Almost. Mostly because once she properly arrives, she takes a nice, long moment to do some stargazing outside the zeppellin.

    But there are things to do, and so Ayako (somewhat reluctantly) makes her way to the Congressional to wait. Insidia's curtsey is returned, although not quite as elegantly. Ayako's usual clothing isn't exactly suited to curtsey. "Hello!" The water spirit smiles cheerfully to Insidia and the two pink-haired maidens.

    Once Mizuki arrives, she waves hello with her usual happy energy. "Hello Mizuki!" Although she becomes quiet soon after. She doesn't want to interrupt Mizuki through her spiel. When Insidia offers to narrate her own life, Ayako's head inclines to the side gently. "Hmm... well... it is your life so... I don't see why not...?" Followed by a bright giggle.
Kimiko Shinobu     Kimiko is here, having arrived in the same manner as previously--by walking. Her greetings are subdued, though not unusually so, except in that she's a little more tired.

    Apart from saying, "That is fine," she has no words to add. She has no particular cause to object to narration. If there really is, she can just say something later, anyway, presumably. Apart from that, the civilian-dressed magical girl is keeping her hands loosely held behind her back, and splittnig her time between watching Insidia and Mizuki. One might correctly surmise curiosity, but the specific aim, if there is one, is less obvious.
Kotone Yamakawa Kotone Yamakawa finds she's gor a far better understanding than she did of what was going on then the last two times she was there. Oddly as she arrived she took the steam punk clockwork doll look again. She seems to be enjoying it even as she looks a bit out of place for the moment she will shift things to match however as needed. Still this is a sign of Kotone opening up and maybe even starting to become at ease with her nature? Who knows.

"Sorry I'm a bit on the late side. So we don't wnat to cause any parodxes in the seekers memories."

It's still strange it's so vivid it's so life like then again this a world like the net, thought is king here.

"Well I'm ready as I'm going to be, Staren? Ayaoko? You ready also hello."

She looks to the seekers and then to everyone else.

"It's funny my own memories now are just a alteratble now that I think about it..."
Riva Banari Riva totally rode the Space Zepplin. Her trip through the area has been a mix of staring around in wonder and writing something in a little red leatherbound book. From her movements, it's clear sketching might be prominent in whatever she's doing there. As she arrives in the Congressional with the others, though, Riva has since stowed the book... somewhere.

Insidia and Mizuki get smiles from Riva, naturally, and she bounces on the balls of her feet. "I'm looking forwa..." She pauses, and her expression moderates slightly. "Er, that is to say, we'll do our best!" Maybe she just remembered what happened in Chatrinelle's book. "Though isn't narrating for us kind of cheating?" Riva points out. "But I can't really complain..." Riva chuckles a little at that.
Guest Psyber     Whether this excursion intrudes on his dinner or Psyber is merely constantly hungry, the half-angel is here and eating a sandwich. Wrapped in foil, the dinner-plate sized pastrami sandwich is grasped in one hand and he's sort of just hanging out. If nothing else, the sandwich will give him something to do during the downtime when he's not playing detective and other people are playing scientist.

    "I think I got a rough idea of how this all goes down from the last time," He comments between bites of his dinner. He has a mostly relaxed stance despite the serious nature of what they're undertaking, "I'll try not to fuck it up on my end and damage Insidia. And I'll try to mitigate damage from other slip-ups," He reassures both Insidia and Mizuki as he munches.

    "But, as ever, I'm unsure what you expect me to do. I'm just a detective and a fighter."
Mizuki     Insidia gives a cant of her head to Staren. "Sorry? Why sorry?" She taps a finger to her cheek. "I mean, it's my choice to let you all see what's inside the book, right? If anything goes wrong, it's just as much my fault! I could just say no." She folds her hands at her waist, shooting Staren a small smile. "So don't worry, okay? I'm sure everything will be fine. It was last time! Or Chatrinelle didn't say otherwise, at least. No news is good news!" It seems like everyone is fine with her narrating though! To that small kindness she pays an exuberant bow forward -- easily far enough forward to throw her hat off of her head, but because she wills it to stay, it does so. Things are far too convenient here for such embarrassing slipups! "Thank you, thank you!" Like Riva, she's probably bouncing on her heels somewhat. "I won't disappoint you!"
Mizuki     Glancing to Psyber, Mizuki says, "Need I remind you that you narrowly prevented a disaster last time? ... whatever your particular talents, your awareness of your surroundings, and more importantly, your concern for what goes on here are what make you so integral to the progression of things. You are our failsafe, and someone whom I feel will earnestly take the stories of the Seekers to heart. All of them need that in their lives -- someone to protect them."
Arthur Lowell     ARTHUR LOWELL is here! And he's arrived in the same way as usual! Sipping on luxury sodas on a zeppelin. Insidia is one of the apostles that Arthur hasn't had any trouble with, even despite the Shiori issues. So he's comfortable now! At least it's not Lillian, right? Or Sutri. No, Arthur swaggers on into the area and calls out, "HAH!" To Insidia. "Long as you DO ME JUSTICE here, GO AHEAD! You wanna NARRATE, sounds GOOD TO ME."
Arthur Lowell     With a wide grin, he's immediately hassling a couple people. Staren! "YEAH, let's stick with the NARRATIVE FLOW this time, not the GUN SHOOTING stuff." And Kimiko! "HEYYYY! Heard you got in some HEAVY BIZ over the weekend, you BOUNCED BACK from it, Kim?" Then there's a wink over to Kotone. "And THAT'S the SIGN that you SHOULDN'T think about it. FOR REAL, jus' gets you PARANOID."
Guest Psyber     Psyber keeps munching on his big sandwich as he talks to Mizuki, "I try, at least, to do that much. In the most optimal sense, I guess I can hope I'm an unnecessary failsafe that got brought along today," He notes with an awkward laugh to the author as he moves alongside her, "I do care about what happens to them, even if I admit it's hard to keep track of everyone."
Arthur Lowell     "RIVAAAAA! Doin' more ART 'bout this NOW? The OLD KIND was PRETTY GREAT, but QUICK SKETCHES were always MY KINDA THING. Anyway, CHEATING only matters if SOMEONE LOSES because of it, or if it makes ya stop having FUN. Doesn't sound like EITHER's what's up NOW!" Arthur says, as he wanders over to her, before he slings a wave at Psyber. "WING IT! We usually FIGURE IT OUT as we GO! Best way of DOING STUFF like that."
Riva Banari Riva shrugs back at Arthur. "I can't help it, this place is pretty art-tastic, if you know what I mean." She winks at Arthur and thumbs over her shoulder at the ridiculously palatial building they're standing in. "Yeah, it's true." She nods to the assertion, then. "We'll take it how it comes." She crosses her hands and tilts her head slightly, watching the tableau play out with a slightly intent gaze. She doesn't seem suspicious of anything or anyone, but she's definately watching what's up closely.
Guest Psyber     Psyber lets out a laugh at Arthur, waving in return and saying, "Generally tends to be how I do it, yeah. Just kinda wing stuff and do my best to keep it all on track," He gives the Space Kid a thumbs up approvingly, "So here's hopin' I'm totally unnecessary today and get to just eat my big sandwich."
Mizuki     Shortly after the group begin to settle, however, another figure hovers around the corner -- a slim, blond-haired girl clad in a pearly white nightgown and an accompanying bedcap. Her eyes are narrowed as though she is quite bored (or quite exhausted), and no matter how light the tap her feet make against the ground when she lands, she somehow manages to communicate a sort of presence that makes her seem vastly displeased with her present company. Insidia turns to her with a smile. "Oh, hi, Lillian!" ... but that energy falters the moment she sees her face more fully. "... u-uh... are you okay?"

    Lillian does not answer her nor so much as look at her, though it is telling that Insidia can recognize her mood at all: her face is an empty masque, and her expression is mute in the way Sophia's might have been in bygone days. Still, her stoicism is nowhere near as complete, and it's easy enough to tell by the nuance of her brow -- and the curling at the base of her lips -- that she isn't happy. As if her aura itself wasn't enough indication before.

    "So I see you've returned," She says in address of no particular person. "Good. Please, taint another of us with your platitudes and virtues and pithy pseudomoralistic babble. Please, put another of us on the precipice between life and lobotomy. Clearly you are all such a flawless influence on all of us. Clearly I would never see you gone, never to return." She immediately folds her arms, taking her place beside Insidia. "No. Though I'll not convince the Great Authorial Imbecile to keep you out of the deepest fathoms of an inconceivably fragile mind, I will not allow you to venture there unattended. I will accompany the lot of you today, and that is final."

    Mizuki's own eyes narrow in response to this bombastic display of an authority Lillian simply does not possess, but still, she does little to contest it for now. "If that is the wish of Insidia," She whisps. "Is it?" Insidia nods lightly. "Y-Yeah, it would be nice to have a familiar face around. Even if..." Lillian folds her arms in kind, puckering her lips. "Even if it's -her-. Meanie." Lillian does not acknowledge her for the time being.
Staren     Staren blinks. "Just... it's awkward. You're dead, so we have to let you die. Although... last time, we saved Chatrinelle... and there turned out to be more, until we couldn't save her. But if we /do/ prevent you from dying... will your memories make up a whole extended life, until you logically die of old age?" Staren wonders.

    And then... Lillian. "Your concern is understandable. Please, accompany us."
Mizuki     Mizuki turns briefly to Staren. "Possibly," She answers. "The mind is incredibly adaptive, after all. But I suppose we shall have to see if it will be necessary."
Ayako Hasekawa     Ayako blinks her eyes slowly as she turns towards Lillian as she loudly stamps her way in. Metaphorically, anyway. Ayako's head inclines to the other side as she looks at that bored (or tired?) look in Lillian's eyes. That particular blank expression and the narrowed eyes... it reminds her of someone she knew a long time ago. A friend of a friend, if you would.

    But that was another time and another place. It's easy enough for Ayako to read Lillian's expression, anyway. She waves hello cheerfully to her. "Oh, goodie! One more!" She smiles happily. Ayako can tell Lillian cares! Although in a bit of a prickly way.
Kimiko Shinobu     Kimiko makes a noncommittal shrug toward Arthur. She does look a little worse for wear, but isn't letting too much of that show. Insidia's gratitude gets a light nod. Lillian gets an even stare, but no objection, nor argument, nor even a blink.
Arthur Lowell     "GaaaaaAAAAH HELLO AGAIN." Arthur says, kind of almost falling over when Lillian is suddenly here and also very Lillian. "Y-YO, hey, Li'l, take it easy. Look, I won't... Look, you need me to keep hands off of anything sensitive in there, that's okay. You know more about this than I do, yeah? So you do that." He puts both hands up, palms open, in an appeasing gesture. "I may be a fuckin' hooligan but I'm not gonna cause some trouble that seriously doesn't need any causing and won't be any good for anyone. Chill it back to six outta ten or somethin', I'll follow your lead."

    Talking to Lillian is always tough, because of that whole Shiori thing. Arthur is not as good at stopping himself from looking guilty as he thinks he is when he interacts with her, and the confident tone is rapidly receeding.
Staren     Staren looks between Lillian, Insidia, and Mizuki. "...Mizuki, do you only save women who wear elaborate dresses?" he asks.
Guest Psyber     Psyber immediately seems to lock up when Lillian arrives. He tries not to show it, calmly eating his sandwich and slowly watching the appeared entity, "Lillian." He says briefly as form of greeting.

    In contrast to Arthur, Psyber isn't actually all that defferential towards her. He instead looks towards the girl and says flatly, "You mind? You're rocking up here..." His hand comes up to sorta indicate above his head, "At like a 10. But I THINK if he get you a stick-out-of-your-ass-o-dectomy, we might just bring ya down to here," He lowers the hand to about chest level, "At like a 5. Make ya nice and tolerable to be around."

    "Because boy, it seems to be in there pretty deep."
Kotone Yamakawa Kotone Yamakawa gets an reply she doesn't quite expect well she knew they were trusted in helping in this fashion. She bows a little bit and replies, "Thank you I'll try not to betray that trust."

She take s astep abck and falls in she looks as Arthur arrives it was hard to recall someday he was a flat out god who had a universe to keep tabs on at times. Maybe that's the imporant part Arthur never got so full of himself to lord over others.

Lillian gets a bit of a look from Kotone as she arrives. That was unexpected.

"Hello Lilian. Also hello to you as Well Psyber."
Priscilla     Miss one day and Mizuki's already back to piling people into magical books, this time with an entirely new cast of barely familiar faces. Granted, Priscilla is mostly just glad to never have to relive the experience of either the Book of Heaven or the Book of the Future again; milling around in someone's memories seems benign enough by comparison that she can't complain too much, though the hint of Pavlovian aversion to giant tomes on grand pedestals with prepatory speeches still remains. She's actually a little more averse to Insidia herself. All of the plainly and esoterically named entities she's met so far were borne from the mind and ego of the Mizuki she knows, but these Apostles, or Seekers now apparently, are the creations of who might as well be a completely different young lady altogether. One she hadn't exactly seen eye to eye with the one and only time they'd met, and whom Arthur had effectively killed. Lilian suddenly joining in doesn't help matters.

    Priscilla doesn't look much less exhausted than Lilian herself, though her countenance bears something closer to a sense of relief rather than irritation, like a marathon runner crashing in a folding chair with a blanket and a bottle of water past the finish line while they wait for the other competitors to finish. Finally, those ghastly scars seem to have faced from her throat and face, though only to be replaced with something equally as distracting; her left eye no longer matches her left, mimicking molten steel rather than her natural emerald, though the vertical pupil makes no difference, seeing as her original eye had that characteristic already. It appears to work perfectly fine at the very least, both adequately focusing on the second Seeker and communicating her silent displeasure at her presence.

    "Very well then. Since thou were so kind as to ask with all due humble character, I shalt oblige in doing exactly as thou has requested." It's especially dispassionate even for her. "Thou hast made a wise choice in seeking help, as assembled between us is represented far more experience in this very matter than thou wilst be able to obtaineth otherwise." And then the barb.
Riva Banari Riva was just chilling out too, when Lillian shows up ang engages OPPOSITION BEAMS. You can almost see hackles raise on Riva's face before he forces them own. No way is she going to give Lillian the satisfaction of seeing her get irritated! Except she kind of already did that. Riva exhales, and gestures to the arrival. "You know, you and I are going to need to have a talk sometime." Riva says with a smile. "I admit, it's interesting to see someone take such a stance on things. I've been worried about some of the same things myself."

Okay, maybe Mizuki's world has been a big ball of worry in general but hey, everything is relative.
Mizuki     Mizuki actually gives Staren a small smile for his inquiry. "With the exception of Kowaru, it would seem." Eventually, though, she shakes her head. "... ah, but that is not necessarily a prerequisite. It's just something of an acquired taste. Many of the Seekers did not appear as they do now in their histories, you know -- these representations of their 'younger', past selves are tailored to look how they wish for them to. Most of my Seekers chose to 'remake' themselves when they came to live here, but it just so happens that, yes, many people who are drawn to this place also happen to prefer that aesthetic. It's quite funny, really."

    Somewhat quietly, she adds, "... though the past appearances and names of Seekers are things kept in the strictest confidence, in the securest vaults of Silent Night. Some of them weren't girls before, but chose to project themselves that way later. Some were not human before, but chose to appear as such. What you see... is what they wish to be. And that is, I feel, what they deserve."
Mizuki     "Though I fear we've little more time for idle conversation," Mizuki says, holding up the palm of her hand. "Please, Insidia. Have them open the book for us, would you?" Insidia smiles wide, answering with a quick thumbs-up. "Mary, Carrie, if you two would be so kind~." Again, the summons nod in unison, lifting their arms in perfect sync. Translucent gray bulbs grow to encircle their hands, and the behemoth novel begins to float. It flips open to what would appear to be its midway point, leaving half the pages open on either side before its binding claps against the marble tiling of the Palace's floor. Only once the bizarre, magical residue leaves the girls' hands, however, does a sanguine portal, the twin of its predecessors, open along the cleave between in the center.

    "In we go, I guess!" Insidia claps her hands together twice quickly and gives a small smile to Ayako before, with two swift hop-steps, her form falls inside of the portal. Lillian follows after her immediately, paying any and all who might have attempted to broach conversation with her no mind whatsoever. Mizuki is not far behind, though she takes a moment before entering to pay the group a final, meaningful stare. "The best advice I can give," She idly notes, "is to do what you did before. Act normal for the Insidia we find in the world of the book, or as normal as would befit the scene we find ourselves in. Try to immerse yourselves in whatever setting we come across, but allow your reactions to be as true to your modes of operation as you can otherwise." For lack of anything better to say, she concludes, "That is all."

    Then they reach the other side.

    The world is dark, and as if it were founded upon a playwright's mantle, only one stream of light breaks through to give their world definition. In the center of the area is a girl in a small patch of yellow flowers, her small form encompassed by mighty oaks on all sides. Their boughs rustle with a wind that those off in the surrounding void cannot feel yet, and their vines grow out such that they would appear to grasp at the girl's feet. It's a decidedly ominous scene, really, and yet the girl -- clearly a younger Insidia with her long, black hair, brilliant azure eyes -- smiles bright as day. If one were to draw closer to her, they would hear her hum after a while.

    Yet that is not the only effect that coming closer to her would have: proximity to her seems to give the world substance. More trees grow to obscure the storybook sun; truly, the canopy here is so thick that one can barely see the sky but for brief lulls in the branches and leaves. The group are deep, deep within a forest, and it is immediately evident why Insidia had said that her past might well manifest as a 'fairy tale'. Something about the air here seems to suggest as much, and the look of things: there's a certain overlay to the appearance of each and every object that litters perception that makes them seem as though they were wrought from pencil, or crayon. Still, as things begin to materialize they can be felt, heard, seen, and smelled with full reality.

    Though what one might have missed upon an initial inspection is the dank, dark cave built into the side of a region where the ground takes a sharp rise. There's a distinctly human silhouette there -- something long, slender, robed. They would eventually resolve as a decidedly unseemly phantom clad in off-white tatters that drape to conceal their face. Their arms and legs are invisible under their robe, but it is clear enough by the direction of the head where her attentions are trained: on the girl.

    On Insidia.
Guest Psyber     Lillian ignores him. Vexing. It also gives Psyber, if nothing else, something to do this scene. Namely, he's going to try to force her to interact with him explicitly, very likely via antagonizing her or explicitly attempting to annoy her in some overarching fashion to bait her into having to open up. Before doing this, however, Kotone gets a sort of casual half-wave from him from the hand not holding a giant sandwich.

    "Man," He muses to no one in particular as he looks around the forest, "All these Seeker adventures makes me think. Maybe if we're going back and editing all Shiori's work, she really did have it wrong the first time," He considers, taking another bite of his sandwich. A huge spot of mustard falls from the meal, hitting the ground. It's unclear if he did this deliberately.

    "Oh nuts. I'm spilling mustard all up in someone's backstory."
Ayako Hasekawa     Ayako returns the smile and follows after Insidia. "In we g-oh... she said that already." She cheerfully knocks on her own head lightly. Although she pauses when Mizuki gives one last note of advice. "Mmm..." A pause as she looks at everyone else here.

    Riva is always Riva. Psyber eating his pastrami sandwich. Priscilla looking a bit tired but otherwise calm. Arthur being as a COOL KID as ever. Staren being analytical. Kimiko being a bit distant, but still watchful. Kotone with her slight hesitancy. "I think... we'll be okay."

    Ayako smiles brightly as she enters the world... and it certainly looks fairy-tale like. She wanders slowly over to the Insidia, although slowly is definitely the word to use. She's quite busy looking about.
Mizuki     As the world fades into being around them, though, it is not completely without sound; Insidia appears shortly after the rest of the group. As promised, she begins her overture as her words are given lease: "Once upon a time," She begins, "there existed a girl who lived alone with her father deep, deep in a forest."

    "As the story goes," Her voice carries like the wind, "her father was a renowned craftsman with a mansion in the city. Still, he vastly preferred to remain here, in the quiet seclusion of the bowers and branches, with his daughter. Even if he had lost his wife long ago to a plague, he didn't want his daughter to want for his love. It was more important to him that her memories of him be fond ones than for her life to be entranced by the glitter of gems and gold."

    "But alas, life in the forest was fraught with peril. Ghosts of men fallen in forgotten wars fought by long-lost nations roamed the area, coaxing the unwary away from the light of life. Monsters, too, congealed here, born of the blood and lament of the same people -- people who wanted only to be remembered."

    "Of course, the girl knew nothing of this; she knew nothing of the dangers swirling around her, and this is why she disobeyed her father and chose to wander away to the flower patch. And it was here that, under the light of the waning sun, she met the envoy of the deceased."

    "It was here that she met the witch of the forest."
Mizuki     Lillian's teeth clench. Her fists ball. As she suddenly appears beside Insidia, one could almost -feel- her glaring daggers at Psyber.

    She may deserve some, small credit, though, for the fact that her expression still does not budge. Does not budge, that is, but for one, quick twitch at the corner of her eye.
Kimiko Shinobu     Kimiko appears in a fairytale. This is not, strictly, her first time in a world bearing this aesthetic, though she has better hopes for this time than some previous. The mustard stains of memory do not draw comment, though she notices Lillian's reaction in the process of looking toward Insidia. She hadn't expected the girl to be quite so into her narration, but this is not a matter for complaint. Her own gaze falls back to the younger Insidia, as she walks a few steps so as to get a better view through the forest. Kimiko's looking at both the girl in the flowers and her other, white-tattered watcher.

    If this is just a meeting, she sees no reason to do more than watch it unfold.
Kotone Yamakawa Kotone Yamakawa takes a moment as the book opens and seems to be on edge she does not know what awaits them this time. She takes a deep breath and makes ready to go through. She pause as they end up in a dark world she looks about it and there's a look of sadness on her face as she looks at the enviorment. She takes a depe breath ans they keep moving the place would almost be nice but it didnt' feel right.

"The white out of justice, Arthur?"

Then she goes quirt a the story is told she frowns this has an idea of where this is going.

She falls in a bit with Ayako at this point and has been silent since Mizuki spoke. She also thinks how most orginal versions of western fairy tails went too..
Staren     Staren tilts his head slightly at Mizuki's explanation of the Seekers' appearances. "I understand." The shapeshifter who wears a labcoat everywhere says.

    A girl, in a flowered wood. Staren's not sure of the setting, so for now, his clothes burst into a mass of threads and then reform into a hooded cloak. Generic enough clothing. Staren starts to hum along as they approach, ears and tail flicking curiously.

    Staren looks at the tattered cloaked figure. That's odd. Staren looks at Psyber. "I suppose we can't know. I'd say my theory makes more sense, but I've seen some weird stuff happen when time travel's involved."

    Staren listens to the narration. "A good choice, if memories are all you have now..." About her father's choice.

    Staren looks towards the witch. "I want to ask her why she's here... but I suppose she can't tell me anything you can't," he looks to Insidia, "and if I needed to know right now you'd tell me."

    Staren turns back to watch.
Mizuki     Insidia looks to Staren. Dropping her narrative voice for the moment, her previously placid facade... falls into a sweatdrop, and a finger scratches gently at her head. "U-Umm, actually," She sticks out her tongue a little. "I-I think that's actually all that this memory gave me. Sorry."

    Derp!
Staren     Staren blinks. "Really? So what will happen now, if there's no memory of what-- oh, I see. But I suppose if this meeting happened, we shouldn't distract her."
Mizuki     "Y-Yeah." Insidia rubs her arm a bit. "It seems like the first blurb of info I get is just... rough, contextual stuff. Stuff that establishes the scene and gives some helpful background info. The rest I guess I get as we go along." Her cheeks puff up again. "Chatty could've been more specific..."
Arthur Lowell     Arthur remembers how to enter these books, and it's not a tough way to do things. Jumping in is awkward with Lillian coming along for the ride, but he does his best to look cool and confident while he does it. He's pretty good at that. He peers quite intently at the ongoing drama as it unfolds, approaching. That figure must be the Witch. He has some history with Witches, albeit probably not to the extent of, say, Kimiko.

    He decides to get nearer to Insidia, and sweep his vision around. He's not going to interact with the girl herself, not yet, but he's going to use his proximity to get some higher resolution in his vision. Let's see, what IS around...? If he can't find anything, he's going to head for the Witch. He knows how situations like this work. This story is going to head for that dark cave, and so progress can be found towards it.
Ayako Hasekawa     Ayako pays rapt attention to the narration. And then sweatdrops when Insidia informs them that's all the memory gave her. "Ah ha ha... I see... Witch of the forest and envoy of the deceased?" She blinks her eyes quickly and then frowns lightly. She makes her way over to the younger Insidia on top of the yellow flowers and watches the figure in the tattered cloth closesly. Almost ready to step in and defend her if... something happens.
Riva Banari Riva enters the portal. You are in a storybook forest. Available directions are North, South, and Plot.

The artist seems enthralled by the illustrative effect of the environment, poking and examining things in detail as she moves back and forth, watching how things shift and change through observation and interaction. However, the narraration makes her start paying attention. Riva looks up and around, tilting her head as she listens to the narration, and frowns to herself slightly. as she looks back to the situation unfolding before them all. "Shouldn't mess with this." Riva comments, more for her own benefit than others. She's a meddler by nature.
Guest Psyber     Psyber kinda holds one arm out to the side as if to beckon Lillian with a 'If you have something to say, go ahead' gesture before he takes another bite of his huge pastrami sandwich and keeps walking. He figures it'll eat at her until she comes and gets in his face over it later. She usually seems to have some opinions about Shiori, anyway.

    Distantly, he wonders if Palora would be proud of his outright antagonism of one of the other spirits.

    Beyond that, though. For now he's mostly hanging out and eating.
Mizuki     It seems the group need not do much to 'interrupt' the scene, as it were -- regardless of how stealthy they are attempting to be, the robed figure inevitably turns to face them. The figure stares at them for some time, motionless, but it is abundantly clear that they have been noticed. Only, what does that portend? Is this a malevolent spirit of vengeance, or something more benign...?

    Suddenly, there's a rustling at the trees. A cool, crisp breeze rushes by... before Insidia's eyes shoot wide open. Lillian looks to her, her head canting as if to ask what the issue is, but before she can Insidia cries out in a shrill voice: "L-Look out! In the brush, in the trees! Look -out-!" her hands suddenly join at her chest, forming a ball-like shape to generate a steadily growing ball of fire. While she's distracted with her incantation, though, the thing - or rather, things - she was scared of show themselves: shades. Indistinct, bestial creatures similar to those that once accompanied Sophia-Apathy launch from hiding, one of them aiming directly for present-day Insidia. It pins her down. Lillian summons a holy spear in attempt to help her, but she, too, is soon set upon by one that launches from the trees -- someone else will have to help Insidia, it seems.

    More of them emerge near the patch of flowers, slowly creeping up around past-Insidia. She's too distracted to notice them at first, but after she has plucked a flower from the ground, she suddenly realizes: she's surrounded. She jumps to her feet only to freeze in place immediately afterwards. She moves her arms to hug herself.

    She looks terrified.

    At least three more emerge to supplement the modest army of these things already present: two of them leap at Priscilla, and another goes directly for Kotone. A precious few of the group are left unmatched, which is good; someone will likely need to deal with the six of them lingering around past-Insidia.
Priscilla     Well, a portal is preferable to being drawn inside one of these books by another swirling vortex or disorienting swallowing of the world. Just a couple of steps through of one's own volition; nice and simple. In the same vein, at this point a little storybook ambiance is much preferable to some of the more dramatic sights, sounds and sensations Priscilla has been greeted in past with these. Somewhat ironically, she may actually fit in here in a strange sort of way. The pencil crayon-esque overtone reminds her a little of the Artist, eliciting the unexpected urge to check up on how that particular individual is doing these days, though it is shelved quickly. More important things demand her attention.

    "Considered, it is little mine place to speaketh of responsible parenting." Priscilla remarks drily. Living in a hostile, haunted forest as opposed to a perfect good city mansion sounds like a really bad idea, especially with a young and ignorant child, but she can at least attempt to appreciate the idea of raising one away from riches for a reason, even if she doesn't fully understand it. "It is most often true that nature more swiftly reclaims all but the worst of battlefields than the slain findeth their peace however."

    Witches aren't really much of a thing to her, but Priscilla has special interest in the deceased. She has no real idea of how well she'll be read such a situation when it's only being simulated via arcane storytelling, but she tries nonetheless, trying to pin the robed figure's state between life and death and whatever characteristics of what she presumes to be their near-naked soul might stick out. Someone will manage the treasure hunt just fine. Hopefully that might have given her some context as to whether the sudden interruption of insubstantial beasts had been coincidental, and thus predestined to be thwarted by this 'witch', or correlated, in that she might have deliberately set them on the group.

    Knowing that this is a small, close, private group in a sealed world with a dubious sense of permanent personal consequence, the crossbreed lets something slip. She produces no weapon as the twin assailants lunge towards her, though she is certainly capable of doing so. As her head turns towards the surge of motion, that uncanny eye gleams with a flickering cross of light, and with a quiet, high pitched ring, both of them are arrested instantly in midair, suspended in space for a scarce handful of moments before they are beset by the conceptual shredder.
Staren     Staren looks at present-Insidia. "What, didn't this happen originally? Ah, you don't remember..." Suddenly, beast-monsters are attacking some of them. Staren considers a plan of attack. He could just draw his pistol and fire, but there are so many...

    Staren charges towards the little girl. Light washes over him and he's clad in armor. An abstractum-tech imitation of his old power armor, it isn't as tough, but it can at least prevent these beasts from quickly snapping his neck or ripping his guts out with a single claw-swipe.

    He considers fighting them, but there's too many. So he has another idea.

    Staren grabs the little girl and starts running back towards the group. "Guys, do something!" Also, Priscilla can do that now. "Holy shit, you can Kalameet things now?!"
Riva Banari Oh. That's... A thing. Riva freezes for a moment as the shades appear. She doesn't like ghosts. Never has, and experiences in her homeworld hasn't improved matters. However, she grimaces. With a quick motion, she produces a massive, anchor-shaped object: An Ajoran holy symbol, a gift from Faruja. She holds it like a big two-handed hammer, and Anima circuits running through the surface flare red-gold as she begins channeling her own power. The sight of Priscilla pulling up the shades and blowing them up with a Glare of Doom startles Riva, causing her to stare for a moment. She couldn't do that before, right!?

However, there's no time to ask as people start screaming. Riva takes a moment to assess where everyone is running, and with a quick motion, she hurls the hammer towards the shades pinning Insidia, the weapon flashing brightly as it spins. The hammer should hit one, while Riva runs in and straight up dropkicks another one, her voice rising in a scream, "THIS MIGHT STING A LITTLE!" she yells, trying to get their attention as she crashes into the group like a red freight train.
Kimiko Shinobu     Kimiko did not expect the elder Insidia to be the one to first make a hostile move, and even less did she expect her to be attacked, and Lillian with her. From her forward vantage point, however, she can see those that creep toward the younger Insidia, and this one seems yet less capable of her own defense. If hostile action is warranted against any of these beasts, then the justification she requires against any of them has been granted.

    Long, quick steps carry her forward, and her clothing disappears and is replaced in a silvery flash. The armor that suddenly covers her isn't markedly different from usual, still being that gleamingly polished plate, but there may be subtly yet more carved and hammered decoration, holding more fanciful and fairy-tale-esque aesthetic down to the gold-threaded, pure white-cloth tabard she wears over it. Her sword, likewise, is that quintessential knight's broadsword, with her left hand yet empty.

    "En garde!" isn't just a polite thing to yell at someone prior to a duel. It's also a relevant warning for anyone under any kind of attack, and that helps the normally quiet girl yell it now, as she charges to the past-seeker's side, her blade already forming a long arc to intersect one, two, or three obstacles en route. There need be nothing strange about her swordplay, as its quality was always to this style.

    And then Staren is picking the girl up, and if that does in fact work, Kimiko is keeping them both close to her back.
Kotone Yamakawa Kotone Yamakawa had intended to keep stealthy as she could dealing with this but it seen like that isn't going to be a thing she can do. She does notice there's a small army showing up as these thing and one's going right for her. Kotone react going for a weapon which is oddly out of character given her clockwork doll look but the pistol opens fire letting off a nuber of shots at the thing as she ties to keep th thing at baye. She's also starting to move to not let her seldf be an easy target. She then just odens't have words for what Priscilla does is beyond words and she'll have ot ask STaren about this later. She watches Riva move in and it gives Kotone an idea.

"Hey you want some of this or are you afraid of a little clockwork girl?!"

Yes try to taunt them this couldn't go badly could it?"
Guest Psyber     Oh no, his sandwich is under atta-

    Er... the group is under attack.

    The sandwich eating entity known as Psyber swallows his current mouthful of food and appraises the situation. There's a lot of things going on to react to. The first of which bring Priscilla, "Oh. Man. I guess you're bringing the whole Finger Eleven song, 'Paralyzer' to life, yeah?" He asks her teasingly, the most casual gesture he knows to make to show he's pretty alright with whatever new power she just displayed.

    The second of which is for his free, non-sandwich-holding hand to reach under his coat. He pulls out a pretty basic handgun, albeit one loaded with his usual brand of specialized ammunition. Sandwich in one hand and gun in the other, he elects to help out in a way that will at least tangentially annoy Lillian the most via putting her indebt to him.

    He opens fire on the monster currently attacking Lillian with a barrage of gunfire.
Arthur Lowell     SHADES.

    Finally, some violence! "GUARDIAN types! DO YOUR THING!" Arthur shouts, leaping into action! Act natural, do what you normally would do, she said. Well, what Arthur Lowell would normally do in this situation is let the tanks do their tank business. Arthur's a squishy mage. So he's got other things to do. Which is to say, murder as much as possible! His broom is in his hands, and abruptly, he's sweeping is around, emitting tremendous bursts of shining white light, trying to tear the shades to bits, and rapidly dashing between the three relevant targets, focused on just thinning the encroaching creatures as much as possible.

    "SHIT YEAH, now THIS is MY KINDA STORY! You get RIGHT TO THE ACTION, INSIDIA! I LIKE IT!" He rocket-blasts around between wide shotgun-style swipes of many bolts of light, trying to make sure he's disengaged from the foes and on to new ones by the time there's any chance for them to respond!
Mizuki     Priscilla's attack seems to be among the only methods of attack that can deal direct, mortal damage to these entities in a single blow. Much like their distant relatives from the Clock Tower, these creatures don't immediately die when struck -- rather, their ink-flesh sloughs off into pieces, continuing their assault in forms altered to suit their new proportions. Priscilla, however, freezes them, and attacks them from the inside out instead of physically. Hence, as they are held in middair, their forms shiver and bloat until at least they erupt in all directions, and the bits of them that remain splattered across the ground can do absolutely nothing any longer. It seems Priscilla's answer to their assault has been successful, leaving her free to do whatever she chooses.

    As far as Staren's endeavor is concerned, his charge likely does not go as planned. Before his arms around the girl, a monster leaps on top of her, snarling; as a result, Staren may end up tackling the monster and saving her instead, but that still leaves her on the ground, defenseless. Thankfully, he isn't alone: Staren took care of the worst offender, but there are already three more coming. All three of them launch after her, but she easily cleaves all of them in half with a single blow. Unfortunately, however, they are only momentarily incapacitated, and it seems they've elected to rejoin in a much larger, collective form. It has yet to rise, but when it does, it may well be more resilient than those Kimiko has already encountered. And this is to say nothing of the pair of leftovers already gathering behind her...

    Then, Riva. Riva draws a hammer to which none of the 'things' react -- they seem far too focused on Insidia to pay her any mind. Luckily, Riva -makes- them mind: she comes down in a hail of noticeable seismic waves that not only vault the shades away from Insidia, but that also fragments them against two distant oaks. They, like the ones with Kimiko, have begun to reform, but she has ample time to help Insidia to her feet; that is, if Insidia takes her arms away from her face long enough to realize that she's been saved.

    As for Psyber, the effect the gun has on the shade is bizzare. At first, the bullets seem only to fly through the thing, leaving small holes that are easily reformed by threads of the thing's flesh shortly after. Something in the shots, though - possibly their material, possibly one of Psyber's own hidden powers - eventually causes its body to burst just before Lillian's lance can pierce its flesh. After a few moments of pause, she gingerly lowers her lance, dusting off the skirt of her dress. She takes a deep breath before turning back to look at Psyber.

    She only sneers.

    Shortly afterward, she dashes off to join Riva and Present-Insidia, and Arthur gets into gear. His fighting style does the trick, and energy blasts seem another one of the few things that can easily break shades apart. They're either thrown back into aspects of the scenery or they outright explode wherever he happens to be to greet them. He fells one, two, then four, five... but they just keep coming. All those that he sends flying come back smaller, multiplied, but more seem to emerge from the growing darkness of the forest as well. They aren't hard to beat, there are just -so many of them-. If it were just elites here it would be fine, but...
Mizuki     At the end of it all, the robed figure creeps forward into the light, and into the bed of roses that contains Kimiko, Staren, and Past-Insidia. It holds up its sickly, yellow-tinted hand, and in an instant, all of the shades freeze. All of those coming back together cease to move, and all of those presently attempting to fight still their claws. They remain frozen as the witch's hand draws back within its robe. The figure proceeds to slowly turn to face Staren and Kimiko, bowing to them as if grateful. It is not long, though, before it extends its nearly skeletal arm outward again, gesturing to the girl.

    She's collapsed on to her side, quaking in fear.
Mizuki     Finally, Insidia's hands move away from her face... only for her to see that the battle is over. But before these things stopped moving, someone had to get the one that was on top of her, right? Soon, she realizes by virtue of proximity that that someone is Riva. She gets to her feet and dusts off the skirt of her dress in much the same manner as Lillian, then, before bowing several times and thanking the girl profusely. "Th-Thank you! So much!" Her cheeks are flushed, likely due to a mixture of nervousness and embarrassment. "I-I'm sorry, it's my story, so I should have known... b-but I didn't remember, and..." She falls quiet, eyes wandering off to one side. "Sorry."
Kimiko Shinobu     Kimiko doesn't stop moving for long. If a single strike cleaves but doesn't cause the shade to disappear, as the familiars to which she's more accustomed tend to do, the thin, basket-hilted blade that appears in her left hand will deliver a second strike, then a third, in bursts of motion too quick for an unaided eye to fully perceive. Still, this is only a delaying tactic, as it proves.

    Her blades lower, and she looks to the girl, then to the presumed Witch of the Forest. A flick of her wrists flicks imaginary dirt from either weapon, and they return to the sheathes from whence they (had not) come.

    If this meeting is to take place, she still sees no cause to interrupt it. The beasts, however, have her wariness. If they could be stopped, for what reason did they start?
Guest Psyber     Psyber seems pretty casual about the sneering girl in front of him, taking a huge bite of the sandwich, "You know," He says to Lillian through a mouthful of pastrami, rye, and mustard, "If you wanna pay me back for the save, you can be less of a tool and sit down to have a conversation with me like an adult at some point in the future," He muses aloud, chewing and swallowing the mouthful of food as he kind of casually gestures with the gun.

    To his credit, he's actually also able to reload the pistol one-handed in a flourishy and totally amazing display that everyone else was too distracted to see, but that everyone will be talking about for months, I assure you. Either way, as the slide snaps forward, he takes another bite of the sandwich.

    "Or, you know, you can just live on with the knowledge that you owe me a narrative favor. Wouldn't that just eat at you, though?"
Staren     When the creature tackles Past Insidia before Staren can reach her, he blasts it. The armor reshapes to form energy projectile cannons over his hands as needed. Probably not an instakill, but maybe knocking it away. Fortunately, the others are more prepared to fight these monsters. Staren shrugs to Insidia. "You /didn't/ know. It's okay." Staren looks back at the witch and the girl. He looks at the girl, scared witless, then to the witch. "So. What do you want?"
Riva Banari After disposing of the shades, Riva rolls over and grabs the hammer, scrambling back to her feet and looking around as she looks for more targets.

There aren't. Riva sighs, and relaxes a bit, smiling over to Insidia. "Relax. Everything will be fine. It's why we're here." She reaches out and gives her a comforting hug for a few seconds, before withdrawing and letting her and Lillian chill out together.

It's at this point that Riva turns to the developing situation before them with the past Insidia and the witch. She doesn't jump into the narrative yet, letting this play for a little longer. She is, however, giving Staren a pointed gaze between him and past-Insidia. Like she's trying to insinuate something.
Ayako Hasekawa     Ayako was standing off to the side of past-Insidia, but she was only ready for one or two things to rush at her. The sheer number of shades and the resulting smaller shades that reformed after the attacks was simply too much for her! She just freezes up, surprised!

    By the time she regains her composure, the robed figure has already apparently halted all of the shades. Although the witch was the one that seems to have stopped the shades, Ayako still watches her cautiously.
Arthur Lowell     "Well." Arthur calls out to the present-Insidia. "You don't need to. All you wanna do is narrate, right? That means all you gotta do is watch. So, watch." And then he heads on towards the group, winding down his hyperviolent rampage and dismissing his broom. He heads on over to Kimiko and Staren's sides. "You want her, right? You're supposed to meet with her?" He smiles. "I got no idea what your plan is there, Hoodie, but I hear you're an envoy of the dead and I also hear you're pretty willing to save little girls from shades. Being an envoy, I'm betting you're a bit better with words than I am, but you're not seeming like the talkative type, huh?"

    "Here. Lemme see what I can do for you, Hoodie." He'll kneel down near the collapsed girl. "Hey. Hey, are you hurt? Everything's going to be fine, all the monsters stopped and everything can be okay now. You don't need to move quick, you can stay here if you want, take your time... But there's someone here who helped you, and your dad probably wants you to say 'thank you' to people like that, right? Take your time, deep breaths, everything's gonna be OK. Here, you want some help?" Arthur will offer a hand to help her up. His voice is full of such confidence that it makes the listener feel inclined to believe in a distinct lack of threat as well. After all, who could project such confidence if they didn't know for sure that things were all going to be okay?
Mizuki     Lillian stops in her tracks when she hears Psyber's voice. She turns her head back halfway to face Psyber, but flatly refuses to turn around and look at him fully. "I owe you nothing," She asserts. "Obligations and mutual exchanges are flawed human concepts that do not pertain to me. You acted completely of your own volition, and had you not intervened, I would have been fine regardless. I would go so far as to assume, in fact," She turns her head just a smidge more, "that you intervened in my fight and not another conflict because you wanted to engineer this scenario. If that is so, then that is already in contempt of your human principle of 'truthfulness' or 'candor', making your right to assign any obligation to me even more suspect by your idiotic laws alone."

    "In short, I owe you nothing. Leave me be, and save your incessant bothering for someone who might actually stand to benefit from it." As she continues her walk toward Insidia, she mutters, "Don't pine after me when you could be forming a meaningful relationship with Insidia, or anyone else."

    At that, Mizuki makes way to join Psyber, cradling her forehead in her hand. "I'm sorry," She says. "She's unfathomably stubborn."
Priscilla     Even Priscilla herself seems somewhat surprised, but only just; the look of someone who had tried something for the first time and found the theory to work even if the experience was different than their expectations. With the conflict escalating rapidly, she can't dawdle too long on the two enemies she'd manage to neutralize, but the others have already joined battle and cut through a wide enough perimeter that by the time she gets the chance to pick out a new target and choose to engage, the witch has put an end to it already.

    "We were forewarned of the nature of this exchange by thee thineself, Lady Insidia. To rail against thee now wouldst be beyond useless, and further still beyond unbecoming." says Priscilla, the first time addressing one of Mizuki's Seekers by any label of courtesy. Her eyes then turn to Psyber. The new stare is a little difficult to get used to, though the subtle blink is familiar. "I hath no familiarity with such a song, but I shalt assumeth the humour in good taste, as it usually is." She then gestures awkwardly towards Staren. "It is not so astonishing in theory. I am mineself possessed of the Scales of Immortality, and shared in the memory of Kalameet's souls at its death. In truth, it is an aside from the knowledge I had originally intended to gain, but I shalt hardly reject this acceptance and repossession of a power that once belonged to the Everlasting. After all, even Seath was eventually able to maketh use of one of his kindred's artifacts even with his deficiency."

    She then turns to the witch, clearly the center lead at this stage of the play. "I supposeth thou art well met, envoy of the dead. Pray tell us of thine intentions for this girl, though I shalt hardly ask of thee justification for thine presence, for these art thine own woods."
Staren     Staren jumps at the No. "...Wait, what happens if she /takes/ the object we need?" But the witch /offers/ it to them. "Um... I guess that's all we're seeing of these scene, then..."

    He'll wait for someone else to activate it, though.
Mizuki     The robed figure regards Staren, Kimiko, and Riva in silence at first, though to Staren's question it only answers by pointing toward the girl again. Thankfully, it has Arthur to speak for it, so it need only nod when he makes the assumption -- though it attempts to answer Priscilla all the same. The creature faces her a moment, as if studying her, and soon there might be a faint twinge of pain in her skull to tell of some messy attempted telepathy. Some message does transmit itself to her with a bit of a delay, though, if it is allowed to: a rough mental image that only she would bear witness to. It is a portrait of the girl clutching a particular flower that she had drawn from the ground. Once the image has resolved fully, it becomes more crisp and distinct as the background the image blurs, attempting to suggest import -- distinction -- to the crossbreed. The success of this lies in how well it is interpreted.

    As Arthur approaches the girl, though, he would realize that the flower she is clutching is what they're looking for: it emits that telltale black aura, though it may indeed be that occupants of the world of the pages cannot see this for themselves. Regardless, she meekly nods when asked if she's okay, though she keeps her gaze low. The only thing that garners a substantive reply from any one or any thing in this discourse is when Arthur suggests that the girl's 'father may want to thank whomever helped them'. At this, a telepathic jolt is sent to anyone in the area who may be receptive to it; something like a low-pitched screech that lasts for but a moment. Though it renders no words, its meaning is abundantly and immediately clear:

    No.

    But in the time it takes for that message to reach everyone else, the witch has already knelt down before the girl. Though Past-Insidia seems hesitant, even fearful at first, she immediately seems to calm when the 'envoy' lays its hand against the girl's cheek. Her eyes widen, but not in fear; as a matter of fact, they begin to twinkle as though she had just seen something quite beautiful. With no words at all, the witch holds out its cupped palms to the girl, lowering on to its knees as though it were participating in holy communion. Only once it has moved into this position does the girl mutter a soft, nearly inaudible 'Okay', allowing the witch to take the flower. Then the witch rises again, closing its hand slowly around the stem of the thing. It slowly extends its arm toward Arthur in offering.

    Though none can see its eyes, all who appraise the being would garner a distinct sense of Knowing.
Kimiko Shinobu     Kimiko is carefully focusing her attention on what appear--for all that this world is a reflection of past events--to be potential threats, and for that reason she does not turn her head back toward her companions. She hears, however, and Priscilla's conversation with Psyber does not escape her notice. She was not in a poition to see the power used, but she saw Kalameet's eye taken, and can guess near enough. This observation is saved for later.

    The message of Insidia's past is made clear. It is not a surprising development, given that the girl is here--both in the immediate sense, and otherwise. Did not those other memories also contain such a thread? Kimiko tries to find a response to this rejection, but shakes her head. There is little that can be said, with so little understanding. She moves, her armor less than stealthy in motion, and kneels down to give what words she has, to this girl that she will not, in this time and place, see again.

    "At the least, value your own life."

    And then, if no one else yet will, she will rise and, pulling the gauntlet from her right hand, touch her fingers to the flower.
Ayako Hasekawa     Ayako herself is completely numb to telepathy and so the jolt would go unheard. Despite this, she relaxes once it seems the witch doesn't seem to mean any harm to Past-Insidia. Her head inclines to the side gently when the witch offers the group the flower with the black aura of storyline progression, though. She seems to have some sense of what is going on... maybe this world is even more fairy-tale like than usual for one of Mizuki's book worlds.
Riva Banari Riva looks back to the witch with a small smile and a relaxed stance. She isn't going to go hostile without reason. However, the sudden revelation that the witch speaks with telepathy causes Riva to jerk in surprise.

In retrospect, she REALLY should have expected that, considering...

Even so, by the time she realizes what's happening with Past-Insidia, Riva stretches out a hand... but the expression on the girl's face causes her to stop her first possible reaction. She nods to the pair, and sighs. "Okay. I think I see how this is going to go." Riva replies, smiling a little. "It'll be all right." She says, and reaches down to give Past-Insidia a comforting squeeze of the shoulder. Not enough room for a hug.... and no time, either, as the flower gets poked.
Priscilla     "I believeth the object is of relevance specifically because she hast, or was meant to, taketh it, Sir Staren." Priscilla looks towards the particular flower very carefully, attempting to ignore its aura so that she can scrutinize its basic form to see what makes it special, if anything. "I believeth this garden is hers. Young Lady Insidia was unwise to reap of it, but I sense little ill will in this one towards a young and unknowing child." Her commentary is sideline banter at best, more intent on puzzling out why exactly the little girl before her seems so enthralled. "We knoweth already that this is to be her first true encounter with the dead, however . . ."
Kotone Yamakawa Kotone Yamakawa attempt to draw the attention of the attaxckkers doesn't go much better than getting the one that was comming after her, strange she tends to be the weak meat of a group physically but that doesn't seem to play out here, she holsters the weapon for the moment she pulls back keeping with the group as a lot of the other people do the talking but she can't help but want to say something. Yet what can she say? toi something like this.

She moves to the past version of Indidia attempting to do what she can to act some measure of guard she looks at the Witch for a moment she look at the girl and she just does not like where this is going. The No had chilled her and has left her a bit staggerd.

"We'll do what we can to help."

She trails off for a moment until Pris speaks up.

"Your right it doesn't seem like she's too angry at the young girl for doing this she had no idea, your right..."
Mizuki     Kimiko's finger taps the flower. Quickly, too quickly, whiteness overspreads the realm of the novel; quickly, too quickly, all of the characters are torn away, their forms scattering as thousands of monochromatic threads against a growing pool of black. As light re-emerges in the center, though, something forces it to halt. One can make out a vase holding the flower on the center of a petite coffee table, but the visual begins to quiver. It may take some time before the others realize why, but all it would take it one glance toward Insidia, Present Insidia, to realize that she is the cause. "No," She mutters, echoing the voice of the witch. Then she begins to shake her head in supplement to her words. "No, no, no." Lillian cants her head at her again, here, curiously.

    Though she looks absolutely distraught, when Insidia raises her face to see the group again, she forces a smile. "I have a really bad feeling about what comes next," She says. "C-Can we... please come back later?" Mizuki affords her one quick, small nods. "It is your decision, Insidia," She says. Looking to the rest of the party, however, she still inquires, "Is that alright with the rest of you? We will reconvene here soon, but I feel that Insidia deserves her good time to prepare."