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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

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[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?

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[ofnobility]

[Openness is in Utena's nature. Her words were entirely innocent, but even with what she learned in Ohtori, she doesn't quite grasp yet that they would have a different meaning to Mahalia.

She is intuitive enough however, and notes Mahalia's behavior, after a moment. She worries, briefly, if she's said something wrong, but eventually decides it must be because she's still worried about the spell on her hair.] Hey, it'll wear off soon, I bet. Don't worry. [She smiles at a memory.] Weird things happened all the time where I'm from, and they wore off after a while. Once, I switched bodies with my...[She pauses. How to describe Himemiya?] my best friend, Himemiya.

This place reminds me a lot of home. [For better or for worse, she thinks, and frowns a bit, before her expression brightens again.] So I bet the magic is the same.

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[mellifluently]

That must have been very strange. [She can't really imagine what it would be like, being in someone else's body. She wonders if anything like that would happen in the Gardens, if they're so similar.] I'm not really sure I like the things that happen here, even when they're not... [Turning people into monsters, or rampaging blood thirsty plants.] dangerous.

[But Utena seems very calm, reassuring her, and she remembers when she'd seen her during the flower attacks.] You're very brave.

[Just like a prince. Oh, she was thinking of that tale again, and she ducks her head, the shifting of her hair useful perhaps, as it falls around her face. She watches the ends trail over her hands, looks up at Utena again.]

Did anything like this happen, at your home?

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[ofnobility]

Yeah, it was pretty weird. Himemiya did something strange with curry...I don't know all the details. Something odd is always happening in Ohtori. [She nods in response.] I don't like it either. [She decides then, to opt out of telling Mahalia some of the scarier things in Ohtori. The castle, and the duels. At least for now.] It's a little creepy.

[She grins, sheepish, rubs the back of her head.] Thanks! I try my best. [She's a little red in the face. As much as she wants to be a prince, she rarely gets called brave. Foolish, and naive. But never brave.]

Nothing exactly like this. [She frowns, thinking back. There had been the curry, and the odd thing with Nanami becoming a cow...and all that nonsense at the dorms during study hour. Actually, now that she had time to think about it, a lot of weird things happened to Nanami when Himemiya was around.] The stuff that happened back home was a lot weirder, and no one really knew why it happened.

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[mellifluently]

I don't think we know much here, either. I mean... [She hums a little, thinking of the words.] the direct cause, sometimes, maybe. I know that this is because I went out in the wilds, but I don't know why that is.

[She touches a section, pulling it apart from the rest and holding it between her thumb and forefinger. The hair stays to its soft shifting for a moment, then starts to curl up, winding around her fingers.]

I can't even sense anything out of the ordinary about it.

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[ofnobility]

[Utena thinks about that, glancing up to the sky.] Barriers. The wild places are far off, right? And she doesn't want people to get out, so...she does stuff like cast spells on people so they won't go any further. What I want to know is, if she's a Queen, where is her castle?

[She glances over to Mahalia, her expression open and curious.] Sense? What do you mean by that?

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[mellifluently]

That makes sense, but... I don't see why the wolves don't just stop you then. Or why this only started happening when I returned.

[It seemed like a very lax system of barriers, if it was meant to actually bar them from anything. All it had done so far was discomfort and alarm her. But considering she was already thinking she would not go out into the wilds again because of it, maybe it was an effective way of managing it.]

I don't think queens need to have castles, do they?

[Just titles, kingdoms, perhaps a crown.]

Ah, I can usually... [She looks down at the hair curled around her fingers again. It was such a strange thing, trying to describe how her abilities worked.] Feel, know, then there's magic in something. Or even if it's just... different. Nothing detailed. [She gives a small smile.] I'm not as strong as my siblings.

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[ofnobility]

I don't get it either. [She huffs, shakes her head.] There's a lot I don't understand about magic and all.

[Something occurs to her.] It's like a fairy tale, sort of. And in fairy tales, Queens and Kings always have castles, right?

[She listens to Mahalia, tilts her head.] Wow. I've never heard of anything like that. It sounds amazing. [a beat, and she suddenly remembers:] Say, is your singing magic too? Um...if that's all right to ask.

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[mellifluently]

I think there should be some rules, in some form or another. [She straightens her fingers out, not gripping her hair any more, and it winds to fall straight again.] Or maybe the whole thing about magic like this is that there aren't any rules.

[She nods, knows her fairy tales well enough to know that was true.] Maybe her castle's hidden. Maybe that's where she goes, and why we can't find her.

It can be. [She smiles.] Every song has some magic in it - the way they touch people, let you hear the singer's heart. Mine may be a little stronger, because of my abilities. [She could influence, she knew that, could calm or give strength.] But I'm still learning the birdsong. I can't weave anything as powerful as my godfather can. [She didn't dare try, really, was certain she didn't know enough yet.]

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[ofnobility]

Maybe. Rules can be good and bad, though. Especially with this magic stuff. [She frowns, plucks a blade of grass from the ground.] Rules that trap people, or keep them from doing things.

[Utena nods too, following along.] Yeah, and with the way this place is, it could be anywhere. Out in the wild places, up in the clouds... [She privately hopes there are no castles in the sky, here. The similarity to Ohtori is eerie enough without that.]

[She props a hand on her chin.] I've never heard music explained like that, but it makes a lot of sense. When you sung that day...[She pauses, trying to properly articulate what she wants to say.] It made me feel lighter. It was really beautiful. [She scratches the back of her head, dissatisfied at her explanation.] Sorry. I guess I sound silly, huh?

[She swallows, attempts to veer the conversation to something safer.] Your godfather? What's he like?

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[mellifluently]

Magic is magic, like any power. It's what's done with it that makes it bad, or good. [But she smiles gently as she says it, a little sadly, worried for the frown on Utena's face.]

A castle in the sky sounds beautiful. [She looks up for a moment as she says it.] I've never seen anything like that before.

[She shakes her head, forgetting about her hair and reaching over to touch Utena's hand.] No, you don't. My songs do have influence, even if it's only a little. And I was feeling very light, that day.

[She smiles, squeezing Utena's hand gently.]

He's one of the wardens of my world, like Paderau, if you've met her. He's the Augur, though, which means he reads the future in the movements of birds, so he's very close to them. [She hums a little, happy to be talking about Jast, even if thinking on him reminds her of how much she misses him.] He's very kind, and gentle, and he has a very open heart.