Magical Lotus - Mahou Shoujou Byakuren - Episode 3, Part 4

[Oldmansour]

>"The clouds look rather more peculiar, if I had to offer my own opinion."

>"GREEN!" Lily cries, grinning like a kid on christmas morning as she almost unconsciously rises slowly upwards. "Green clouds in a pink sky." Lily laughs a large laugh. "What a PLACE!"

[DracoOmega]

>"I wonder which bits were your handiwork?"
>Glance around. Does the place seem mostly normal aside from the peculiar coloration?

[Oldmansour]

>"I wonder which bits were your handiwork?"
>Glance around. Does the place seem mostly normal aside from the peculiar coloration?

>Lily raises her arms up towards the sky. "Might be hard to tell. I could tell you and me were thinking a lot of same things when we made the power that made this place. Ohh, I wonder what Kiku made in this place." she says with a slight auditory shudder.
>Otherworldly hues to one side, the place looks as normal. Almost. The trees are in bloom, but there are no flowers on the ground, which is a bit odd. Apart from that, though, nothing seems out of place.

[DracoOmega]

>Can we differentiate between the flows of power that comprise this place well enough to guess something that might have come from her?

[Oldmansour]

>Can we differentiate between the flows of power that comprise this place well enough to guess something that might have come from her?

>Which her, Kiku or Lily?

[DracoOmega]

>Either of us, for that matter - though Kiku in particular, here

[Oldmansour]

>Either of us, for that matter - though Kiku in particular, here

>You and Lily's thoughts and powers and woven rather closely together, as the winged woman mentioned earlier. Separating the two will take some concentration. Kiku's will, however, stands out a bit from both of yours. You and Lily wanted Water put somewhere comfortable, and so your power is interwoven as much with the trees and the skies as it is with the walls of the Oubliette. Kiku's power, a shade of energy darker than yours and Lily's, is collected more around the edges of the jail, ensuring the captive demon remains just that - captive. She didn't seem to care as much about what the demon did in here, only that it stayed here.
>There is however, a sizable nodule of Kiku's power located in the same direction you sense Water in. Not too far from it, either.

[DracoOmega]

>"It feels like there is something of her making towards where Water presently is - which is where we ought to be heading, as well. Remember, as pleasant and fanciful as this domain may be, there is still a dangerous force residing within it, and we have business."
>Head off towards the pond
>"This way."

[Oldmansour]

>"It feels like there is something of her making towards where Water presently is - which is where we ought to be heading, as well. Remember, as pleasant and fanciful as this domain may be, there is still a dangerous force residing within it, and we have business."
>Head off towards the pond
>"This way."

>You hear Rin sniff to your left. "You're right, mistress." she says, an odd catch in her voice. "We've got a job to do here."
>"I gotta wonder, though." Lily says as you and Rin set off, her hand still in yours. "You think we could do that to the real sky? Make it all pink and pretty like..." She trails off, and a look of concern crosses her pretty young face. "Rin? You all right?"
>"Why do you ask?"
>"You're crying."

[DracoOmega]

>Look to Rin
>Frown of concern
>"What's wrong?"

[Oldmansour]

>Look to Rin
>Frown of concern
>"What's wrong?"

>A quick glance at your kasha confirms Lily's statement. Her eyes are filled with tears. "I'm not-" Rin starts, but then she blinks in surprise, sending a small tear tricking down her pale cheek. Slowly she reaches her hand up to her face, laying her fingers to the side of her eye. "I am..."

[DracoOmega]

>Hold her hand a little tighter
>Gently: "What is it?"

[Oldmansour]

>Hold her hand a little tighter
>Gently: "What is it?"

>"I don't know... I was thinking that, it was really beautiful, coming here. Flying through all those colors..." The kasha starts talking faster, as the tears start flowing down her face, despite her visible efforts. "I've never seen anything so beautiful, and then we came here, and the sky, and the cherry blossoms, and I was thinkin' how grateful I was to see it, that you gave me the chance to be here, and to help, and I never thought..." Rin's emotions finally get the better of her, and her face contorts as she weeps openly.

[DracoOmega]

>Put our arm around her and gently hold her close. Let her be with her emotions.
>"It's okay...."

[Oldmansour]

>Put our arm around her and gently hold her close. Let her be with her emotions.
>"It's okay...."

>The emotional Rin cries out her emotions as you hold her to your chest. You are grateful that these seem not to be tears of sorrow or another negative emotion, but rather those of a woman whose emotions simply run over.
>I'll give you a minute. Lily's gentle voice comes into your mind. You glance over as she starts to gain altitude, and you are not surprised to find that Lily, too, is crying, big-hearted woman that you know her to be.

[DracoOmega]

>Keep holding her gently and warmly like this until she seems ready to stop (or something else happens)

[Oldmansour]

>Keep holding her gently and warmly like this until she seems ready to stop (or something else happens)

>As you hold the weeping kasha in your arms, you ponder what might have so affected her. Her words earlier were not the most coherent she's ever been.
>Knowing her as you do, however, you know that, prior to her coming to live with her, there was little enough goodness in her life. Even enjoying a sunset wasn't something she had opportunity to partake of very often, if at all. You can imagine a normal person being almost overwhelmed by, as she herself put it, flying through a rainbow. For someone with the life Rin has had...

>After several long moments, Rin's sobs quiet, and the kasha visibly collects herself as best she can. "Forgive me, mistress." she says in a quiet, still shaky voice. "I.. couldn't help myself..." she manages as she tries to pull away from you.

[DracoOmega]

>Give her another little squeeze, but then don't keep her from detaching if she seems to wish to
>"You have nothing to ask forgiveness for. Being genuine to the wellspring of emotions within you is only healthy and right, and I am glad you felt comfortable enough in my presence to be so. When you are sad, cry. When you are happy, smile. Be true to the self that you are, and I shall never wish for anything greater."

[Oldmansour]

>Give her another little squeeze, but then don't keep her from detaching if she seems to wish to
>"You have nothing to ask forgiveness for. Being genuine to the wellspring of emotions within you is only healthy and right, and I am glad you felt comfortable enough in my presence to be so. When you are sad, cry. When you are happy, smile. Be true to the self that you are, and I shall never wish for anything greater."

>"It's just... Well, ya know my past. When I was with Konngara an' her family, my life was grounded. Ordinary, y'know? I was her slave, dat's all I was gonna be. But then today happened, an' yesterday, too, an' I guess..." The still moist-eyed kasha tries to smile. "It's too much, y'know? I couldn't've even dreamt of somethin' like this happening, and here I am. With you. An' I know we got a job to do, that we came here for... But still, I..." Your Rin runs out of words.

[DracoOmega]

>Smile gently
>"I think I understand - at least so much as I am able, having not lived your life. This has been an overwhelming experience for me, as well. It is a truly remarkable thing to step inside this world and know that you have wrought it with your own power, though the ground beneath my feet feels as solid and real as the park in our own city. Nor would I ever have dreamt that such an awesome responsibility as this would be thrust upon me. If I seem on top of things, it is only because I am trying very hard indeed to remain so; as glad as you are to be here, I am just as glad to have you by my side."

[Oldmansour]

>Smile gently
>"I think I understand - at least so much as I am able, having not lived your life. This has been an overwhelming experience for me, as well. It is a truly remarkable thing to step inside this world and know that you have wrought it with your own power, though the ground beneath my feet feels as solid and real as the park in our own city. Nor would I ever have dreamt that such an awesome responsibility as this would be thrust upon me. If I seem on top of things, it is only because I am trying very hard indeed to remain so; as glad as you are to be here, I am just as glad to have you by my side."

>Rin closes her eyes, lowering her head slightly. The redhead take a long, slow breath, before looking up again. She seems to have pulled herself together, mostly, but for some reason, she seems somehow apprehensive. "And if... my emotions get the better of me again...?"

[DracoOmega]

>"You will always have my shoulder to cry upon. Of this, never doubt."

[Oldmansour]

>"You will always have my shoulder to cry upon. Of this, never doubt."

>"Shoulder? That ain't what ya lent me before!"
>Rin holds your eyes. "I hope I can do the same for you, Byakuren, if you ever need me."

[DracoOmega]

>"Thank you, Rin. I have nothing but confidence in your heart and the strength that rests within it, and it does my own glad to know you have my back. Or my front, as the case may be."
>Smile

[Oldmansour]

>"Thank you, Rin. I have nothing but confidence in your heart and the strength that rests within it, and it does my own glad to know you have my back. Or my front, as the case may be."
>Smile

>The kasha blinks, stunned for a moment, then a broad grin cracks her face and she bursts out laughing.

[DracoOmega]

>Grin back, then give her a moment
>"Shall we carry on?"

[Oldmansour]

>Grin back, then give her a moment
>"Shall we carry on?"

>Your Rin's somewhat unexpected outburst lasts several seconds before her laughter trails off, leaving her smiling again. "Sorry 'bout that." she says, much more lightly than her last apology. She gives you a nod. "Sure, I'm good now..." she trails off, and has a look around. "Where'd Lily go?"

[DracoOmega]

>Where did Lily go? If we can't see her, surely we can sense her?

[Oldmansour]

>Where did Lily go? If we can't see her, surely we can sense her?

>You can't see her immediately, and sensing her isn't as easy as you might think, consider the magical sensation of her power is literally surrounding you. But you sort this out by concentrating a bit more, and pick out a stronger sense of Lily's presence not far from where you sense the Water Champion, and a couple dozen feet above it.
>Coincidentally, as you settle your sixth sense on her, Lily's voice broadcasts to you and Rin, I hate to interrupt, girls, but I'm looking down at the big pond here, and I'm seeing something weird.

[DracoOmega]

>Weird? Weird how?
>Head off in her direction and gesture for Rin to follow