the lost princess

Mikoto bit her lip and stared at the ground when the last part sank in. “Well, I don’t have ‘it’ any more. No more Railgun for me.”

...Ah...

[ Rapunzel was very impressed, even envious, of Mikoto's past stature, but overwhelmingly guilty for retaining her own powers when others didn't have theirs. She remained quiet for a while, unsure of how to share her sympathy, and it was obvious in the weighted way she spoke, when she finally did. ]

I wish I could help, Mikoto. 

However, her side whispers stopped when she overheard Mikoto's last phrase and her shoulders dropped in visible disappointment. ]

Used to?

She sat forwards, watching the ethereal glow flood over the hair and up into the cut finger. It was most definitely not Esper-based - healing Abilities may use movement or chanting to focus, but this was straight out of a fairytale. No acceleration of platelet formation, no supernatural enhancement and maintenance of blood flow or pressure, not even a badly-applied time manipulation ability.

The ex-Railgun tried to hum a few notes of the song beneath her breath, but even as the glow faded, the tune faded from her brain, which was even more terrifying than any superpower by itself. It meant straight-up magic, the occult, the by-definition inexplicable. No way to understand, to sort, to limit, to even remotely relate it to any physical law known to humanity.

Mikoto was afraid, and it showed in her body language and expression, but not for the reason Rapunzel might have thought. Magic meant the impossible-to-explain. Not a single rule she knew and understood existed here - a feeling of unfamiliarity and difference far more powerful than any homesickness washed over her.

Well… yeah!

[ it hadn’t yet occured to rapunzel that powers were limited here, and she was among the few fortunate to retain hers. ] 

Ah... Don't be freaked out or anything, ok? I'm kind of a professional at this...

Flower, gleam and glow...

[ as she sings, her hair begins to glow from root to tip, until completely overwhelming all 70 feet. as the glow makes its way to her finger, a faint light peeks through the strands of her hair and upon finishing her creepy song she gently removes her hair and reveals a woundless finger to mikoto.

"A… song?", she repeated skeptically. Activation codes? Maybe the vibrations were needed to trigger a set of chemical reactions in her brian or body… "Wait, can you still use it?"

Well... yeah!

[ it hadn't yet occured to rapunzel that powers were limited here, and she was among the few fortunate to retain hers. ] 

Oh. Well, maybe not everyone was so regular.

As far as she knew, spending time in the Benu square was something she did frequently- running errands, catching up with friends, and of course, eating! There were multiple places that provided the things she liked, but stopping in a small cafe to enjoy a slice of cake along with a warm cup of tea was something she couldn’t help but indulge in on a regular basis. The taste was distant, yet comforting at the same time.. it was something she couldn’t put her finger on, even though she must have been coming here for a while now. Still, those thoughts were unsuccessful in stopping her from continuing her day; stepping out of the shop and back into the warm sun, she held a box containing a yummy strawberry treat, thinking of where she could go next.. and completely disregarding the river of gold that suddenly found itself below her.

Of course, that was before she had tripped and gotten her feet tangled in it, effectively falling over right onto her face.

" Wahh— ! “

With a loud THUD, Sayaka suddenly found herself on the ground; the bright sun blocked out by the ground underneath her nose. She groaned, but then felt heat rushing to her face; quickly scrambling back up onto her knees. How did she manage to do that?! And what had even caused her to fall.. ? She had no chance to register that, however; as she soon found that what she had spent her money on had been completely crushed because of her fall.. oh, great.

Are you alright!? Are you hurt at all?

[ she's taken aback completely, and it's visible in the way her abnormally huge eyes gloss over like a deer in headlights. has she been doing this singing-hair-glowing-magic-healing thing wrong all these years? it seemed to be doing her just fine... ]

I'm not allowed to cut it. It... 

[ she's tentative... but trusting strangers might be her only way to survive here. ] Well, it has a magical ability, but when it's cut the magic disappears.

And he thought his associate had long hair. ]

S-Sorry about that!

she looks around until finally looking back and making direct eye contact with apollo. ]

... 

I... um...

It's fine. Do you realize you have something on your head?

If I had my Skill, me and her would have to have a fight to see who has the greater lightning powers, she thought, and had to clamp her hand over her mouth to suppress the snort of laughter.

[ she drops her hair and, taking her snicker as a mutual relief, she closes any distance between them. offering her hand with a friendly and much too naive smile, she thinks, "This girl seems harmless enough." ]

Glancing back at this girl with an uninterested gaze, Mink sighed softly. A trail of smoke lingered before Mink placed the pipe to his lips once more before looking away again. He didn’t fully intend on ignoring the girl.. Rather, the pink cockatoo side stepped on the man’s shoulder so it was a bit closer to her.

『 Yes. It is. 』

Tori spoke, tilting his head to the side.

[ she takes a step back, bringing her hand to her own lips, not in aghast horror but curiousity; the kind of curiosity that doesn't drive an individual to pursue it. she may be a princess but even she's aware that the animals she talks to don't actually talk back. she oh, so, casually brushes off her dress while eyeing mink but directs her attention and a shy smile back to the bird--err, cockatoo ]