Anima Ignis

[Oh, no. Oh, no, no, no. She noticed. He’s attempting to wipe that smirk off. He’s doing it, and he’s hiding it around, as he attempts to keep up a big grin on his face.]

Eh? Smirk? What smirk?

[Thank the gods that the dead couldn’t sweat.]

Don’t see any smirks around here, detective. Do you?

And you're dead, and bad at hiding.

[The redheaded detective sighed, not sure about how to proceed. Things had gotten out of their reach from one second to the other. Jowd had escaped, according to Sissel, but Kamila... was a hostage. They had to rescue her, first things first.

In the back of her mind was worry. About Jowd, about Sissel, about Kamila, and about herself. What if she wasn't so lucky next time?

No, she couldn't think that way.

She wouldn't give up even if death tried to make her trip.

Her fists clenched and she breathed deeply, trying to keep her mind thinking of something else, but so many things had gone in a different way, she wasn't sure what to think to get her mind off. If she thought of Missile, Kamila came to mind. If she thought of Cabanela's antics, Jowd came to mind... Not that she was in the best of states to think properly at her fullest.]

[ Well that wasn’t a surprise. Everyone mentioned the clothes. But Pearl didn’t mind, of course. She liked being different. It just gave her more to talk about! As she grew up, she tried to wean herself from her mother. Particularly from all of those things she used to say about keeping to yourself and steering away from most, if not all, contact with people outside of family. Which, with the way her mother was with the rest of the family, was just her mother and Pearl herself. That was “family”. She was still weary, obviously. But she was sure she’d go crazy if she tried avoiding social interaction her whole life. Independent even from Nick and Maya, she’d like the chance to make a friend. ]

Figured out you weren't from here, but I never heard of that Kurain place...

[ Lynne had grown up in the same city she had been born, even after a certain incident, they hadn't moved out, due to her parents having the pèrfect jobs in their place, so her complaints weren't listened.

So she tried to give it a different perspective after a while as she grew away little by little from her family, focusing more and more to become a hero like the one who saved her back in the day.

She had liked detectives a lot even before meeting Jowd, but what put her mind set on it was... well, had been Jowd himself.

She also admired Cabanela's unique way to investigate, but she was sure he'd dance for hours if she said so.

Plus she was sure he knew it, anyways. ]

I guess those are clothes typical from the village, I never saw them.

[ Lynne smiled. ]

[ He’s almost smirking because of that huff and he is honest-to-the-gods not trying to show it. Thank you for that, detective. ]

Playing with fire. Must be a tough thing to do, right? Like…

… Taking the risk of saving someone, and having a giant chicken fall right onto you?

Straight onto your back, just like that?

[ He’s showing the smirk. He failed. Good gods, Sissel. ]

Was that a smirk I saw just now?

Oh- hey! It's not like I asked that thing to fall on me, you know!

...

Why are you smirking, Sissel?

[ Then came the little ‘click’ in Pearl’s mind. The pieces of evidence fitting together, in a sense. The picture Pearl had seen was back at Phoenix’s now ‘Wright Anything Agency’. He must’ve kept the picture somewhere else before then. Or maybe Pearl never noticed it. One of the two. But, anyway. Lynne Wright… what’s the relation? Phoenix hadn’t ever mentioned a sister. Even so, Pearl wasn’t that close with her sisters, to say the least. Certainly not enough to keep them close in the form of a picture on a desk. So if not a sister, then possibly… mother? ]

(But she looks way too young! Mr. Nick is so ol- err… never mind. I shouldn’t stare.)

"Say, you look really young. How old are you? You don't look like you're from around here."

So we’re at the same page, then?

[He’s noticing that glare of hers, and it’s causing him to raise an eyebrow at her. (Would she even see them (his eyebrows)? Through those… Big shades of his? We just don’t know.)] 

Can’t say you’re good with your reaction-timing, though. Those were two bullets in a night, lady.

You might be smart, but I guess with the whole being-a-ghost thing you don't realize how dangerous is to play with fire, you.

[ Lynne huffed. ]

Oh yeah! Isn’t that ironic?

(Daddy’s not gonna believe this!)

[ She pulled her Magic panties out of her hat, showing them to Lynne. ]

It sure is a coincidence. [ Lynne grinned. Whoa. Odds indeed. ]

..... Huh? Magic panties?

Why not the hat. though?

"Hello there, Miss!" Pearl greeted. "My name is Pearl Fey. A detective? I’ve met a few of those but I don’t think any of them were women…"

(Okay, careful, Pearl. Don’t ask too many questions. Be niiiice and subtle. Although… was Mr. Nick subtle as an attorney gathering information? Ah, don’t think, just say it! Just like Mr. Nick did at trials!)

"Ah, well..."

"There are more women in the force than you think. It's just a matter of growing inside the force. There are a couple more of detectives, but they aren't in the HQ right now."

I don't know where they got assigned. I got way into this case I didn't even see it.

"Nice to meet you, Ms. Fey!"

My last name? What's wrong with it?

[ The chirpy detective scratched the back of her neck. Then, something caught her attention. ]

Wait... Wright?

Well, look at that!

We have the same surname! What were the odds? 

You… you chicken people are terrible and he loves you both so much.

Observation skills are something that improve with practice, so you've said... in my world.

Heeey! What’s cookin’, baby?