*
"... I'm okay. Tia." (Arin)
"? Ah.. Alright." (Lastia)
She let go of Arin, all the while feeling a little uneasy. Did she do something wrong? Yeah, she still beat up her friend over some accusations... Should she have let her win? Arin wouldn't kill her, so it would have been fine... Would it...?
Lastia's combat dress fragments into light, revealing her casual wear underneath. She felt like she was breathing manually, her thoughts were empty like squeezing blood out of a rock. A sense of dread creeps in, she was anxious, as if she would jump out if her own skin. What should... She do...?
Arin was silently brooding, staring into the ground while standing. Undoubtedly her thoughts were cluttered and if Lastia interrupted her sifting through of it, she would be further agitated. At least that was what she feared. Lastia stepped closer, wordlessly holding Arin's hand by her palm much to her surprise. Her fingers traced her palm to her fingers, before slipping them between Arin's fingers for a finger lock.
"I'm sorry. Please don't let this sour your relatioships with future Lastias, I don't have much time left anyway.
So I do hope you don't carry anything painful from today. It's okay, nothing happened, nothing will happen. The words I write are law for future Lastias, instead of hurting our present to look for some unattainable past, we should focus on preserving what we currently have. " (Lastia)
Without any more intention of speaking, she turned around, heading towards the direction of her home. Lastia had fought Arin past quite some distance, laying waste to the public pavement. Her footsteps were strangely loud, ringing in her own ears with absurd clarity. *Pit Pat*, rhythmic, precise, even if soft there was nothing else in the environment to drown out her footsteps.
Arin looks up, noticing that her dear friend had already taken many steps. She stretches out her hand, ready to call out. However her voice wouldn't come out. Was it fear? Something was there, and it squeezed at her throat, preventing any sound from coming out. She strained her cheeks and jaw, jamming her thoughts into breathless groans. Lastia was almost out of sight by the time she had finally given up...
"Go." (Sariel)
A familiar pitch, that tone was stern as always. She always put herself to a higher standard, so she might have come off as a little strict on the other 2, Sariel was their 'instructor' when it came to matters regarding magical girls. This time was no different, commanding as ever.
"What are you waiting for? I'm here, so I'll push you even if you hate it. No need to turn around. " (Sariel)
As she mentioned, Arin couldn't look her straight in the eyes. She merely glanced longingly at the direction that Lastia left in. A warm sensation presses into her back, it was a very gentle push, one that would shatter Arin's glassy heart. She wobbled forward from the meagre force, taking a single step in the powdered concrete, then another. The public pathway between houses shaped like a grid might have been ruined, but she could still feel the solid ground underneath her feet. A firm step pushed herself forward, before another took its place. Before long, she hadn't noticed that she was rushing at full speed.
Her tears seeped at the edges of her eyes. Why was she doing this? She was supposed to be more composed than this! She was plotting against the other 2! She really was guilty of whatever she did, the trust that her friends put in her instead felt like burning coal inside her chest. Why? Why? Why?
It was so simple, and all it took was a soft barely qualified push from Sariel who had begun watching since who knows when... Obviously the commotion and magic reactions firing off in the middle of an urban area would attract Sariel's attention, and maybe even the sentinel's. This... Was something she wanted to do from the start, but she was afraid of rejection as always.
A certain barrier layed between Arin and her friends, her own schemes served to impede her connections... It was her own doing and the consequences that she should bear. Even so... Even then...
She felt like she would perish from these thoughts, from the impending flood of regret. If she left things as is, she wouldn't be able to stomach the fact that this specific Lastia left this world on bad terms with her. It was unacceptable, not without being on her own terms. She would gladly accept it if this was what she wanted...
"... You're too soft to be scheming. Sooner or later you'll regret it, when Lastia finds out on her own..." (Sariel)
A soft whisper fades into the wind, never to be heard from again.
Arin's running steps were so haphazardly loud, as if she would fall at any moment. They were impossible not to notice. Lastia notices way before they closed the distance, waiting patiently in concern. Did Arin finally decide on a punishment? Just what would appease her? She truly didn't want to antagonise the close friend of every Lastia up until herself.
Arin walks up to her with laboured breaths, evidently she had long undone her transformation, leaving herself vulnerable. With her right hand, she grabbed the front part of Lastia's shirt and pulled her closer. Her tears had streamed over her cheeks, leaving her face soiled without the intervention of the rain. Lastia held her breath in suspense, awaiting judgement.
"I... I don't want this to be how it ends... Not for me... Not for you.
You're right, I might have some ties to your curse. Write this... Into that precious diary of yours.
Don't worry, I'd never read into it. You... You won, so you deserved a bit of information. That's why... That's... " (Arin)
Before she realised, she had already let go of Lastia's shirt, mumbling into her own palms. She struggled to find the right words... To name her feelings for Lastia.
"... That's... That's good enough. I won't write it. " (Lastia)
"W-wha!?" (Arin)
Lastia gives a wry smile before putting her hands into the air in a surrendering motion.
"Maybe I'm just weak to cute girls who are crying. If you cared this much to acknowledge what I said...
If you treasured us that much, then I trust you. Whatever you have in mind... I'm sure the next Lastia will be on board too." (Lastia)
" N-NO!!! I LIED TO YOU! How could you accept that!? "(Arin)
" It's both a curse and a blessing to be 'Lastia'. I am and am not the one you care so much about. Maybe that's why I can look at it as if it's someone else's problem." (Lastia)