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[mellifluently]

[Mahalia looks worried as the message starts, and she's holding herself rather strangely, both hands locked down tight around her neck.]

Do strange things happen, if you go to the wild places? I thought, so many people have been there, it should be alright. I was only there a little while, but it seems like many days have passed, and...

[The

Comments

[ofnobility]

Oh no...

Are you okay? D'you need any help? Huh, I guess you do... I heard weird things happen if you go too far out, but it usually goes away after a while. Have you tried to cut it?

[mellifluently]

Can you help? I don't know what to do. It'll go away? Are you sure? I don't really want to cut it, but... I haven't got anything to cut it with anyway.

[ofnobility]

I can try. Yeah! That's what I was told. Don't worry. Huh...if you don't want to cut it, maybe we can figure out another way.

[mellifluently]

[She takes a breath, very actively trying to calm down. If Utena says it will go away then it will, it's just a case of what to do in the meantime.]

I've tried tying it back, holding it, everything I can think of. It just... worms its way free.

[ofnobility]

[Utena frowns, concerned.]

Say, where are you? It'd help if someone was with you at least, right?

[mellifluently]

I don't know if it would help. It doesn't seem to want to hurt me, but I haven't seen anyone since this started happening. I don't know how it would act, with other people.

[ofnobility]

But you seem pretty worried...there has to be something I can do. I don't want you to be scared.

[mellifluently]

[She is pretty worried, and scared, and no telling herself she shouldn't be is really sticking.]

I'm just... Nothing like this has ever happened to me before. But I don't want to hurt anyone.

[ofnobility]

Then I'll stay with you until it goes away. [she nods, as if confirming this.] I'll keep my distance, if you're really worried about it hurting me, but I don't think it will.

[mellifluently]

I don't... [But she hates being on her own at the best of times, and she knows Utena can look after herself, has already said she'll keep her distance. She presses her lips together and nods.] Okay. If you're sure. I'm in the orchard, near my sister's house.

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[ofnobility]

Okay! I'll be there soon.

[And she's off! After the attack from the roses, Utena had decided to make a sword, which had, oddly enough, come with her duelist's uniform. The sword resembled Juri's weapon, and did not have the comforting weight of the Sword of Dios, but it would do just in case Mahalia's hair really was dangerous.

She moves quickly, and it doesn't take her much time to reach the orchard. When she sees Mahalia, her first instinct is to move closer, but she stops at a safe distance, as she said she would.] Are you all right? I tried to get here as fast as I could.

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[mellifluently]

You were very fast.

[She is relieved to have Utena there, smiles a little even though she and Utena are both keeping their distance.]

I'm alright. It hasn't really done anything since it got rid of the headscarf.

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[ofnobility]

[Utena smiles brightly, and sits down, still at a distance. She'd like to see what the hair does, but she doesn't press her luck. She crosses her legs, props her chin on one of her hands. After a while of sitting though, she begins to fidget, and starts to talk.]

Good. Huh...it grew pretty fast. This place sure is unpredictable. It's not so bad, compared to the other stuff I've seen happen. [She says this in part to set Mahalia at ease, but she's sincere.] It's kind of like that fairy tale, right? [Utena knows all the fairy tales, as long as they involve princes.] Rapunzel.

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[mellifluently]

[Mahalia shifts to face her better, smiling at the mention of the fairytale. She loves fairytales, has books and books of them, various different versions, all very well loved.]

Well, it's not quite that long. And you didn't need to climb up a tower to rescue me.

[It takes her a moment to realise what she's said, the implications of it, and she dips her head slightly, her hair shifting around her face a little more noticeably.]

Ah, not that... [She trails off, unsure of where she'd been taking that. That she hadn't needed rescuing, or that Utena wasn't a prince, or any of the other parts of the Rapunzel tale.]

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[ofnobility]

[Mahalia's shift in mood completely flies over Utena's head.] I guess not. But I would've rescued you from a tower if you needed it. [She hums, thoughtfully, considering the logistics of climbing a tower using someone's hair, and then something else comes to mind.] It doesn't hurt, does it? Your hair.

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[mellifluently]

[Caught between her own attempt to fix anything she might have implied and Utena so openly laying more on the same tale, she doesn't think of any response before Utena is asking about her hair. She wonders if it's a little cowardly, to take the chance to let it pass, but if she can't find the words then they could sit in silence for hours while she searches for them.]

No. [Quiet, almost too quiet, and she straightens herself up a little, takes a breath.] No, it doesn't. It just doesn't seem to like it when I try to hold it still.