Private Western Brisshal [Reaping Season] "Quick Adventure, Just in and Out, I Promise!"

[Cynna]

Somewhere in a workshop, Cynna was acting like the scum of the earth. Before her, was @Ronja Bubblyfoot a diminutive if not intimidating Magia----at least, in Cynna's opinion.

You see, Cynna had custom ordered a grappling hook for more vertical operations from Ronja who had been kind enough to accept the commission. Now, however, Cynna had arrived on the day of pickup with zero funds to her name. And the reason was...

"I'm so sorry! I thought I could double my last earnings at the centaur races! It was a sure shot! I had insider info! A hot tip! But I loooooooooooooossssttt~~~~!"

Cynna's ears and tail drooped as she began to cry real tears.

"It was a scaaaaam~"

She continued blubbering. After a few hics, she got herself under control. Her self-pity was giving way to a little bit of fear.

Ronja's pretty strong isn't she. I mean she hefts that giant wrench like it's made of feathers...

Color quickly drained from Cynna's face, but she kept talking, and fast.

"B-but! You see! I didn't come completely empty handed! Well, I did, but I got a hot tip! Do you like mysteries Ronja? I thought we could just go on a little interesting but quick adventure----easy money I assure you----and I'll give you all the reward! That should cover my little baby the grappling hook launcher plus extra! Please Ronja? You know I'm nothing without you, all the other people I deal with are so mean! So what, I can be a little unreliable, but I always make things up in the end... erm... with interest..."

Cynna sulked shamelessly.

Someone, or something, had been hiring adventurers en mass recently in the rural districts and towns in preparation for the coming season. The current quest Cynna had found involved some missing youth getting into some kind of trouble in Lubeck because of some white tree. Cynna explained this with downcast eyes.

"Now~ I'm sure they're just doing teenager things out there, but a little scolding from mama Ronja or maybe auntie Cynna just gives them a few tips on how to be less obvious if they're not doing anything TOO bad and we can call it a day? Everyone's safe and sound! See? Easy! We get to be the heroes!"

Cynna held her breath. She was sure she was going to receive a scolding that'd give Alecto a run for her money.

 

[Ronja Bubblyfoot]

Ronja couldn't believe what she was hearing... No, actually, she could believe in it, and that was the worst part of it. The idea of crafting a grappling hook was super cool, sorta like some spec ops apparatus that would certainly be a great experience to learn. And after so many trials and errors, Ronja expected some payment so she could compensate for how costly making that thing was... And yet... And yet--!!

Her fist clenched, glaring at Cynna with a disapproving look on her face, that only really softened for a moment when the woman was crying for real, getting Ronja's camera eyes to retract and click twice before dilating once again.

She crossed her arms, listening to the plea and the offer, tightening her gaze after the moment of softening she had. No, she couldn't let Cynna off the hook completely.

"You shouldn't even be betting in centaur races, they are addictive, and if you are using insider info you are cheating. That's wrong!" Ronja huffed, shaking her head and lifting a finger. "Look at you, now you are all broke and having to cry pathetically to Ronja, that's not good, Cyn. What if it was someone else? They could force you to do weird jobs, beat you up, or even worse. There are terrible people in this world!" She sighed, maybe escalating things a bit too high.

There was a bit of curiosity lingering in her mind, however. The offer wasn't that bad, and if there was trouble happening somewhere, they probably should take a look. "We will take a look at this adventure of yours, BUT--" She leaned closer to Cynna, raising a finger. "If Ronja catches you throwing money away on bets and casinos once again, she will never give you discounts on craftings ever again!"

She then leaned away, squinting. "She won't give you pastries when you visit her either."

@Cynna

 

[Cynna]

If Cynna's ears could droop any further, they'd have bored into her skull.

She knew the kind of people Ronja was talking about. She'd even shot with or shot at a few of them on the regular. She'd done a lot of those weird jobs for the good of The Guild and Astorea as well. Ronja was right, of course, totally right, and yet...

Maybe if I bring her along next time... she'll see how fun and exciting it is...?

Cynna couldn't help but think about those races. Maybe she was addicted. None the less, Cynna held up both hands, palm flat, to try and pacify Ronja as best she could.

"W-well... maybe it was a little unfair... but it was for a good cause... right? We're the heroes, so surely, we can put those funds to lots of better uses than those stingy bookies! Like my grappling hook! Just think of all the people the Lions could rescue if they all had one! I'm thinking of the bigger picture here~ See? See? So-please-don't-take-away-my-snacks," Cynna quickly added and added some more, "-Because this is where I come to eat when I'm flat broke-" and continued on her combo to finish a little shamelessly. "I will well and truly starve without you Ronja!!!"

Maybe this continued or maybe it didn't, but eventually Cynna got down to business, and led Ronja outside to where there sat a bicycle with big 'PROPERTY OF MIT' letters painted on the body.

"Now you're a very good friend Ronja, so instead of walking I pulled a few favors and borrowed this bicycle from a nice MIT faerin for a few days. I thought it might be fun, kay? So leave the peddling to me, you can just sit easy on the back there and I'll get us to the village in nyo time~"

Patting the back rack that Cynna had tied a cushion to, for Ronja to sit on, Cynna gave a thumbs up. When Ronja was on, Cynna put her hardworking legs to the petals, and they were off.

*****
​

It was neither a quick nor easy journey but eventually they arrived as Cynna was breathing just a little heavily.

They were in Lubeck, a sleepy village located in Western Brisshal of Astorea Kingdom territory. It was a watery, lakey, place with lots of shade and massive, massive trees offering plenty of shade. The roads were well used and well packed dirt. Packed enough that the village wasn't dusty, which added to its quaint getaway charm. The villagers made good use of the stream they resided by and the lake further north as there were plenty of orchards full of ripe fruit as the townsfolk hustled and bustled. It was coming on up to harvest season so to Cynna that made sense. Still, her clandestine career told her that something seemed a little off. Cynna filed it away in the back of her mind as she turned back to Ronja with a smile.

"And just like that we're here. You know~ back in above-dive (real world), I'm a taxi driver so this was actually a fun little experiment, thanks for coming along Ronjy~ hehe~"

Cynna was in higher spirits now which was in a bit of a contrast with the somewhat tense faces of the Lubeck residents.

"...But I'm beat, what do you say we find something to eat? Local haunts are the best way to start these sorts of investigations. You pick? I think that's an inn and I smell some baking going on over yonder in the other direction, even if they're not a store I'm sure they would part with a few pies or something for some coin and we could make a picnic~"

She was a humanoid cat, but were this truly an anime, Cynaa's face would be making a 'myep' noise with a classic expression: ;3

@Ronja Bubblyfoot

 

[Ronja Bubblyfoot]

Ronja rose an eyebrow while looking at Cynna, not entirely convinced about the whole 'good cause' deal. Still, it was hard to say no to someone that pleaded for food. Despite the woman being a troublemaker, Ronja didn't want her to struggle. "Ronja won't let you starve, she just won't give you dessert if you keep doing this." She corrected Cynna, following her along and looking at the bicycle, forming a small circle with her mouth.

"MIT really needs some upgrade in their budget, don't they?" She said, glancing at the felis before turning back at the bicycle and noticing the cushion tied to it. Honestly, it was rather silly, but that was enough to bring a warm smile to Ronja's lips, who soon hopped to take a seat on it "Try to not overdo." She said, adjusting herself and preparing for the trip.

---

A smile widened on Ronja's face as she felt the air of the town brushing on her face, with brand new smells to feel and new sights to see. She adjusted her hair, pushing some away from her eyes and feeling the air resistance ease as Cynna finally halted.

"Thanks for the ride." Ronja said, hopping out of the bicycle and tapping her feet on the ground before pondering at Cynna's words. "Hmm... Ronja would say it is better to go for an inn. It has more food options, and certainly more gossip options too." She nodded in agreement, casting a glance at a nearby one before gesturing for Cynna to follow.

"And yes. Ronja will pay." She said, already expecting some sort of psychological push in that direction whenever their meal started.

Windy Daisy Inn

Guiding Cynna to the nearest inn, Ronja pushed the door open, allowing the felis to enter first before moving in and looking around to quickly take a seat. For an inn, the place was rather chill. Even the rowdiest of the customers were just a group of adventurers having a fierce card match, bursting into laughter and playful banter between each other.

Having a seat not too far from everyone, but also enough for them to have their own privacy to discuss their plans, Ronja and Cynna would eventually be greeted by a human, blonde barmaid.

"Welcome to Windy Daisy." She smiled at the two, bowing her head slightly before gesturing to a menu on her arm. "May I take your order? Your faces are new in here, so if you need any recommendation, I shall have some."

@Cynna

 

[Cynna]

"Actually, yes, we'd love a recommendation, you see we're a pair of couriers passing through on our way to Hylands, and we've been traveling pretty light to make it here. Do you have any spare rooms available? My partner and I are happy to camp out, but that seems like such a waste after finally seeing Lubeck in person~ Hmmm~ the closest Guild Office should be this branch, if you haven't dealt with them before I can explain the process so I can pay through my credit line there~"

Cynna was happily chatting away. She was securing what the two needed, food and shelter, but she was also paying close attention to Daisy's expressions.

"Say Daisy, before you go, I was just wondering... you're probably the youngest the youngest person I've met today, are all the youngsters out in the fields or something? I've heard of other villagers short on hands due to the younger folk taking up work in the city instead. Sorry if that's a little nosey, but you know we adventurers~ always have our ears to the ground for the next meal~"

Cynna was being awfully roundabout about why they had come, but she wanted to hear the situation as naturally as a villager could tell it.

Daisy sighed, and Cynna could tell there was a story about to be unloaded. And so there was.

"Ah you've noticed that, have you? Well, not like we've been trying to hide it. Something strange has been going on recently, and everyone in the village can't quite seem to remember what happens at night. The only thing we can agree on, is that there's an odd light in the stiller hours... but the strangest thing about it... is that nobody seems to be hurt. To be honest, we're not sure what to do about it, but just to be safe, we've been keeping the children and our younger neighbors inside."

"Has anyone tried to investigate it?" Cynna probed.

"Well... I'm not sure... but a few of the store keepers have talked about looking into it... they're afraid travelers will stop coming... but right now, the harvest season has kept us busy, especially since we've had less help in the orchards..."

Daisy smiled a little painfully.

"I suppose if you're looking for work there may be a few people here interested. I was a little surprised that you wanted to stay. You do still want to stay right?"

Cynna then realized that the inn was empty. Cynna had thought that might be normal, small towns usually didn't have many passersbys, though inns served an essential service for those that did, and furthermore, most doubled as taverns for the locals as well. Maybe things were a little tight right now, Cynna considered. Nobody was coming through, nobody had time to relax with the stress of the strange light looming every night. It made sense to her, at least.

Extending her left leg under the table, Cynna gave Ronja a soft nudge with her shoe and a wink. As if to say, 'It's your turn now.'

Cynna was sure Ronja could console Daisy better than she could.

@Ronja Bubblyfoot

 

[Ronja Bubblyfoot]

Ronja paid attention carefully to Cynna and Daisy's words. There was a bit of an awkward smile covering Ronja's face at some of the blatant lies- The girl had a bit of trouble at the 'lying' field, but thankfully Cynna was amazing at that, or at least at the parts of exaggerating things royally.

The reveals of the mission, however, made Ronja intrigued and pensive, nearly losing herself in thoughts if it wasn't for Cynna's poke on her leg, making her blink and perk up before turning to the woman.

"Y... Yeah! Ronja thinks we should spend a night in here." Ronja said, looking at Cynna with a small smile, then at Daisy. "Ronja also would like some sauteed cabbage and carrots, and some grape juice as well. Ronja's friend can ask anything she wants too. Ronja thinks we will need to talk about a lot of things and decide what to do next." She said happily, then waiting for Cynna to order what she wanted.

The painful smile of the young woman turned a bit brighter, nodding a bit more eager than she intended. "As you wish. I will be back right away."

When the woman was gone, Ronja looked at Cynna and crossed her arms. "Hmm... Judging from what she said. Ronja thinks this is more of an unknown phenomenon than an actual threat..." She tilted her head.

"Maybe it is even some silly game a few teenagers made up. Ronja can think of a few alchemicals that can cause some memory loss."

@Cynna

 

[Cynna]

"Agreed. This doesn't seem like a crisis just yet. But it does seem like it's going to be a little tricky to get to the bottom of."

Cynna was currently munching on an entire peach pie as she gestured between bites with her fork. She seemed to be having a pretty good time, almost as though she were on vacation, almost.

"So Ronjy~ among those compounds you mentioned, are there any that can be widely applied from a distance? A gas maybe? Obviously, we should be suspicious of the white light, erm, or was it a white tree(?), that's apparently been popping up at night, but we also can't rule out that the two phenomena are unrelated... even if they do wind up sharing the same culprit. For instance, wanting to hide what the white flash is and therefore making everyone forget with something else. They're proooobably the same thing, but if it comes down to a battle, those little details can decide who walks away."

*munch munch*

"Hmmm~ Nyo Ronjy~ are you a journaling type? Ever kept a diary?"

Cynna rummaged in her pockets and pulled out some scratch paper. At a close glance, they seemed to be the losing tickets that got her in this mess. Cynna also produced a pen.

"When I'm stuck, I like to stick to the basics~ so what do you think about this: we have a good ol' fashioned stakeout with a pen, paper, and a really good clock. Then~ we just make a note of our observations every 10 minutes or so and see if our minds go blank come morning. If it's just a mental effect, the paper should be fine, right? And if not, then our culprit is very close at hand. Pretty basic, but It's all I've got. Any better ideas? Thinking makes my ears itchy..."

@Ronja Bubblyfoot

 

[Ronja Bubblyfoot]

"Hmmmm, in a wide distance? Gas would be hard since this town is in the open air. But Ronja could see an alchemical being dropped on a lake that this village uses as water source." Ronja suggested, looking at Cynna with a serious expression. "Everyone needs water, after all. So there are no easier ways to infect a whole village than poisoning a water source." She guessed, crossing her arms while pondering about the phenomena and what it could mean.

Of course, it was still a tough question, in a lot of ways.

When questioned about journaling, Ronja's eyes flickered. "Ronja... Never really had a reason to keep up a diary." She admitted. "Her life isn't interesting enough to keep one." What else she would write that wasn't 'today I stayed in bed looking my life passing in front of my eyes'.

"Granted... Now that Ronja plays this game, she supposes there are stuff to write about." She perked up slightly, then considered another suggestion.

"Well, Ronja could try to record what we investigate." Her eyes clicked twice, and she widened them to make the camera lens very visible. "Taking pictures, recording. It is how they say, a picture is worth a thousand words."

@Cynna

 

[Cynna]

"Yeah, a recorder might also be nice unless there's some kind of technical interfer.... huh."

Cynna blinked twice as she slowly made eye contact with @Ronja Bubblyfoot . Then, Cynna slowly raised her napkin to cover her face.

"Seriously?"

Cynna asked a little flabbergasted.

"Ronja, honey, I know you're not young, and even with your adorable babyface you should know by now that we ladies have a process. And I, seriously, look like shit right now."

Cynna kept speaking from behind the napkin as she unmussed her hair. Frankly, she looked fine, but camera eyes'd make anyone self-conscious.

"Okay then, first order of business, let's order you a few drinks and wipe my very tired and sweaty face from your memory just in case the mysterious strobe tree doesn't do it for us..."

Cynna began to raise her other hand to call over Daisy but slowly lowered it as her brain got to working and something inside her gave up and broke a little.

"Haaaah... on second thought, we're going to have a long night ahead of us and we need to be sharp, I'll have to take you out to celebrate later. Do you like stars? I figure when it gets a little later, we can sneak up on the roof of this inn so we have a nice view of the village. We ordered a space, so where we decide to settle on that shouldn't be a problem, but even so, keep it a secret, kay~?"

Cynna's was pointing up with a raised index finger.

"You record and I'll write, and we can see what works. Well, time to order some coffee for later, is there anything else you want? Maybe we could tour the village until it gets later, case the place, and prepare?"

 

[Ronja Bubblyfoot]

Cynna's reaction to the reveal Ronja had camera eyes made the Magia blink once, then smile before holding the sides of her head, pressing an index on her temples as if she was pressing the button of a camera while tilting her head and trying to look at Cynna's face. "Photo, photo~ That's a pretty woman Ronja is seeing here~" She giggled, letting her eyes click twice like a camera, retracting and dilating before she settled down with a laugh, waving her hand.

"Ronja isn't babyfaced, take it back," Ronja said, shaking her head and then pausing to ponder a bit more about the options she had at hand, all of them offered by Cynna.

"Stars sounds good. The ones of this world are very beautiful." She sighed in a dreamy tone, leaning in and humming.

"Ronja does think a stroll outside will gather us some interesting info though. Ronja also wonders if this memory loss extends to more than simply the night the memory was lost... Maybe that could explain us a bit more about how this memory loss occurs." She said.

@Cynna

 

[Cynna]

"Dammit Ronja!"

Cynna cowered further behind her napkin before finally balling it and playfully tossing it at her creditor across the table. Then Cynna sighed and became a little more serious as her tone lowered to a hush.

"Seriously though Ronjy~ be careful who you tell about what you can do; People have hurt other people for a lot less than perfectly accurate information. Still, you're probably going to make this a whole lot easier. So, I'm grateful."

Leaning back, Cynna smiled.

"Well let's finish up here and get ready for tonight. Do you sleep? Or do I just need to plug you in somewhere? Mago's're weird."

***
​

With that, the two finished eating and hit the town. The town didn't take very long to hit, because there wasn't very much town in the first place. It was just a lot of river and a whole lot of orchard. Maybe Cynna missed something, but asking around, all that she really heard was the same story:

At night, a white tree would appear, and that was all that anyone remember.

They'd eventually tracked down the group Daisy had mentioned who had tried to investigate, but it was the same story.

They'd woken up in the woods in the morning with zero recollection of any of it. A white tree.

That was it.

Waking up in the wilderness was dangerous, and the town wasn't being harmed, so in the end they'd left it at that for now.

***​

The two continued to walk and eventually evening fell and they returned to the inn. Eventually, night fell and Cynna would sneakily knock on Ronja's door and help her out the window and on to the roof of the inn. There, were blankets, some snacks, and a large pot of coffee. Sitting on a blanket, Cynna checked her watch and began to jot down the time and what she saw----which was a whole lot of nothing. Then, she turned to Ronja.

"Well, so far nothing, but frankly I feel antsy, there's no way to know when this 'white tree' of ours is just up and going to pop up and scare the hell out of me. Anyway, are you comfortable? Need anything?"

Cynna blinked, then turned to look out over the village once more.



@Ronja Bubblyfoot

 

[Ronja Bubblyfoot]

Cynna's advice, albeit a bit grim sounding, was taken by Ronja. She wasn't exactly very experienced in interacting with a lot of shady people in real life, but she did know the world wasn't all sweet and butterflies. "Ronja is telling this to you because she trusts you." She said with a small smile. "Ronja doesn't exactly sleep, she just needs a magic source to recharge," Ronja said, already having one or another way to deal with that.

---

Either because the whole situation was making her paranoid, or because she was just overly wary, Ronja spent her time in her room with closed eyes most of the time, playing and rewinding the whole day in fast-forward manner, trying to pick up anything that may be a memory loss could've made them miss.

However, nothing showed up, which meant the core of the problem was near the tree, rather than being a general thing, that seemed to be more of a side-effect than the source of the issue.

Her attention was caught when Cynna knocked on, and Ronja didn't have much issue to just use her feet jets to fly over the roof, especially with Cynna's help.

Getting comfortable on her seat, she peeked at Cynna and giggled. "Don't be scared. It is just a tree. And considering what everyone said, it seems mostly harmless, so we just need to be careful." Ronja said, giving a reassuring pat on her shoulder. "Ronja is very comfortable, yeah!" She hummed, taking a coffee mug and sniffing it. She couldn't taste anything yet, but at least by smelling it she could appreciate something before taking it into her mouth.

"Ronja supposes we will need to rip the band-aid quickly, going straight to the core of the problem. It doesn't seem like anyone is giving good hints or clues of what is going on." She sighed in disappointment.

@Cynna

 

[Cynna]

"----And probably not for lack of trying."

Cynna shrugged.

"It's probably like walking into a room and forgetting why you're in there, only worse, and over and over on top of it."

Scratching the back of her head, Cynna noted the time and jotted in her notebook. This was getting tedious for her, but she reminded herself that if they could solve this in one night all the effort would be worth it.

"Talk about a waking nightmare. Just think Ronjy~ we could wind up investigating this forever without ever taking a single step forward. Of course, that's not going to happen. We're professionals. We've got a reputation to uphold."

It'd been a little over two hours since the start of their vigil and nothing had happened. Cynna was just about to complain only...

"Oh?"

Cynna squinted into the darkness.

"I see some figures moving over toward the river. Heading upriver."

Cynna jotted this down and the time.

"---And they're probably not the local drunks. Tavern's been dry as we remember. Hmm... I'm bored~ Wanna take our chances and follow them?"

Cynna asked pointing over yonder.

It was a group of figures, shadows in the shadows, basically, was the best Cynna could make of it. There were five of them to start, but slowly, Cynna grew quieter as their numbers seemed to grow.

"Fifteen? Twenty? The hell? If they're hostile, I'll need time to prepare some kind of ambush..."

Cynna muttered while looking over at Ronja. Cynna then looked her over.

No. I can't get her wrapped up in something like that. Better we bail and I find a part-time job somewhere. Ugh, it's going to be fixer work again, isn't it? Friggen' great... God I hate MIT...

Squinting off into the distance once more, Cynna sighed.

"On second thought, a forest battle wasn't part of the Quest parameters. I'm not saying that's what's going to happen, but we're not being compensated enough to be taking those sorts of risks. We should cut our losses Ronja."

Cynna proposed. If she were alone, she likely wouldn't have hesitated to continue, but like she said, there were risks.

Of course, they could all just be the friendliest bunch of skulkers on this side of Terrasphere, but when has anything ever been that easy?


Little did the jaded Cynna know that things really might have been that easy. Of course, they also really might not have. The agony of not knowing enough about the situation made Cynna's ears twitch in frustration.

@Ronja

 

[Ronja Bubblyfoot]

"Ooh! Intriguing-" Ronja leaned in, rubbing her chin and nodding at the sight of the figures. "Ronja does think we should follow. It is the first real hint we have had for a while~" She said, blinking and turning to look at Cynna when there seemed to have some hesitation. Something weird coming from the beastfolk girl.

Ronja rested a hand on Cynna's shoulder, looking at her with a smile. "We are in this together!" She said, getting onto her feet and hopping to the edge of the roof, with the sole of her metal boots sparkling with mana flames before she lifted off the ground, hovering near the roof and facing Cynna.

"Ronja said we need to get to the core of the problem, right?" She offered a hand.

"We will only find out if we go for it!"

With a huff, Ronja would turn to face the figures from afar, eventually approaching them- Albeit not enough to catch their attention. Her eyes would flicker, with a tiny red dot blinking in her two eyes as a sign that she was actively recording the situation, rather than passively like a security camera.

That caused her energy to tick faster, but at least everything she was recording would have a much better quality later on.

Judging from the laughs and the exchange of words. They were all teenagers, all looking a bit silly, probably a typical group trying to go along with some weird test of courage.

@Cynna

 

[Cynna]

"That's the proooooblem----"

Cynna somewhat groaned as she followed after Ronja. She ran a quick mental check of her equipment. She was traveling light on account of the ride over, and, because she hadn't anticipated any large battles. So far, her estimation of the things had been correct, but she was still antsy. She had a handgun, a couple explosive she kept always kept around for fun and comfort, and a few smoke grenades. Cynna typically preferred excess to connivence when it came to these sorts of decisions.

I'll just have to make it work if it comes to down to it, Cynna thought, reaching into her coat to confirm her count. Checking her watch one last time as she hustled, Cynna jotted down one last note before stashing the notebook away for good. If it came down to it, she could spend the next night comfortably in at the tavern bar until the current hour, if she had to try again.

As Ronja observed, these were indeed most if not all of the village youth, the youth that were supposed to be staying indoors as Cynna remembered.

Culprits or Victims? Cynna mused as she continued to follow. Taking a black cloak, Cynna tossed it over Ronja, who was very shiny and colorful, and took the lead with a finger to her lips. Cynna wanted to move closer so she could hear what the group was talking about as they continued walking upriver but she didn't risk it. She could tell they were whispering amongst themselves.

This low-speed chase continued for about 15 minutes before finally, Cynna turned and faced Ronja saying with a whipser,

"Honestly this could be over a lot sooner if I just grab one of them, but I have a feeling the villagers probably won't like that and thus won't pay us. Right, then I'm just gonna ask~ What do you wanna do with them when we get to their destination? If they're victims we'll obviously try and help them, or whatever, but what if they're the culprits~?"

"----Because there's not always time for words." Cynna was going to add but kept mum. If it came down to that, she'd just handle it herself. She didn't want Ronja having any part of that side of things.

As they continued it happened. It finally happened. A blooming, blossoming, white light began to flood the space all around them. Cursing, Cynna reached for Ronja and attempted to pull them both behind the nearest tree to shield them.

"Son of a----"

"----Okay. Let's stay calm."

"I'm Cynna... and... well... why the hell are we in a forest?"

Cynna's ears twitched as she blinked. Then, she drew her gun.

"Ronja, did you somehow convince me to go on some weird anime test of courage thing or am I here to shoot someone. I need to know very quickly because I hear a rustling. Where the hell are we?"

They were losing ground on the group of teens, as the white glow softened and seemed to form the shape of a trunk and branches extending well above the native tree line. Cynna and Ronja had no way to know this, but ahead of them, through the thicket would soon be a very large clearing...

 

[Ronja Bubblyfoot]

After a sudden sequence of actions that were quickly forgotten, Ronja blinked seeing she was behind a tree, shaking her head and turning to look at Cynna, who was just as wary as Ronja was.

"Wait a moment, Ronja will try to..." Ronja tapped her temple, making her eyes flicker and swirl as if something was rewinding in them. The magia girl frowned, and her eyelids quivered as she squinted and tried to seek deep into her memories... Yes, they were in there to find out about a tree, they got into that tavern, they walked through the town, they were on the roof watching the stars, they saw a group of teenagers, they followed the teenagers and then they were...

They were..?

Spoiler: Memory Recover Attempt

They were...

"Nnngh-" Ronja held her head, squeezing her eyes shut. There is... That-! "Grrh" She shook her head, widening her eyes open, with both of them flickering with a crimson hue as she staggered and held her head with a groan. "I-It hurts... Why..?! Ronja can't access it..." Ronja rested on the tree they were hiding behind, struggling with a headache that pierced her skull, with the brief memory of a blurry silhouette appearing in front of them as they were dazzled by the light.

The teenagers were in the background, just as dazzled, and still, Ronja couldn't make the situation out entirely before another error snatched any clue she may have.

Her eyes opened again, flickering in their red color as she opened her UI and stared at it in shock. "V-Virus?" Ronja's expressions turned worried, gulping as she looked at Cynna. "We... We are looking for the teenagers that went out of the town..." She said, trying to get back to her feet.

"Ronja remembers someone else with them... A mysterious person, and they got near us while we were stunned... By something..." Ronja held her chest. "Ronja can't access her memories or her recordings-- Her UI is saying she is infected with a Magia Virus!" She bit her lips.

@Cynna

 

[Cynna]

"---To kill them righ----?"

Cynna blinked holding her head as she looked at Ronja. She'd almost reverted to her work mode.

"Just kidding. Wait, what...?"

Cynna flinched.

"A virus?! Isn't that like really bad?! Hold on!"

The trauma of Red Fever had never quite left the cat woman. Cynna was reaching for Ronja to try and tilt her over and hit her squarely in the back with the heel of her hand, like one was supposed to do with a choking infant.

"Safemode! Safemode dammit! Wait Cynna, calm down, you're being a dumbass."

Removing one of her smoke grenades, Cynna pulled the tab and held it over Ronja.

"I use these for cover obviously, but they have healing properties as well. If they don't get me out of a jam, then that's usually when it's time to phone the life insurance. Hold on, it won't fix anything, but it might help."

Maybe I have some brain damage too. Cynna leaned into the smoke, just to be safe, and waited, trying to gather her purged thoughts.

Maybe it was time for to get into work mode after all, she decided. Removing her energy pistol from its shoulder holster in her coat, she pulled the slide which made it light up purple with a low hum.

"Alright Ronja, listen carefully. You. Are my friend. They---" Cynna gestured in the general direction of where the figures had vanished, "---Are not. If it comes down to you or them, I'm going to choose you. Easy. If you have any objections, just remember they started this. Even if they didn't, I don't care. We don't know much, but a timer's been thrown over our heads, so let's get going. I've lost my ample, saintly, patience."

Cynna tried to steady Ronja.

"Let's go."

And the two took off after the vanishing group. Cynna was about to kick down some doors, metaphorically or no. The forest was still lit, by a cool white light, it had dimmed from its original brightness, but with a glare Cynna could see it still continue to rise over the tree line like a great oak. They were getting close to their destination. Whatever that might be.


@Ronja Bubblyfoot

 

[Ronja Bubblyfoot]

Ronja blinked at Cynna's reaction, nearly choking herself as she squeaked at the hit on her back. "S-Safemode? Ronja doesn't have it!" She said with reddened cheeks, looking at the smoke granade being offered and holding it softly with both of her hands.

"This isn't a virus like a real virus. It is a virus like... a computer. It is corrupting Ronja's camera features..." She said, with her eyes still flickering with a red tone. Still, she kept the granade, sneaking it on her belt along with the other explosives she had on her.

"Cynna..." At her friend's words, Ronja smiled warmly, linking their arms for a moment and looking at her.

"Ronja will be fine. We need to help these kids." She nodded. "They... only have one chance. Ronja has three." Ronja said, softening her gaze and following her friend toward the group.

With time, the white tree was nearing, and around it the teenagers surrounded it, all of them seeming to be unaware of what was going on. Simply watching the tree lifelessly.

In front of the tree, however, a cloaked figure stood out from the rest. This one facing the teenagers.

@Cynna

 

[Cynna]

"If you keep lowering yourself like that Ronja, then you'll get the short end of the stick forever. There's always someone worse off, and that's not your fault or really any of our business. Regardless, I see figures so let's go 'negotiate'. I got you into this mess, so I'm either going to get you out, or die first so I don't have to feel bad about it. Let's go. "

They were entering a clearing now and in it, the source of the odd light. It wasn't a tree, Cynna suspected as much from the beginning, but she couldn't really tell anything else about it either. Cynna clicked her tongue and called out to the group. She would've preferred to get the jump on them, but she needed answers, and she wasn't sure which of them would have them.

"Hey."

Cynna began.

"I'm going to get right to the point. Whatever shit you have going on here has given me and my partner a whole lot of trouble. So, tell me what's going on or I'll just have to play detective and figure it out after I make this whole damn place a crime scene. Your choice."

Cynna glared at the robed figure.

"You a magia, an alien, or some juiced up warlock. Out with it."

Cynna's voice was a low hiss, like an angry, yowling, cat.

@Ronja Bubblyfoot

 

[Ronja Bubblyfoot]

"Ronja can't get any shorter than that." She retorted to Cynna, smirking playfully and bonking her own head, then looking at her a bit more seriously when she mentioned her own death. "Ronja would rather not. So let's do it." Ronja nodded, taking firmer steps forward, hoping to reach the tree and the figures that surrounded it as soon as possible.

As they finally neared the group, Cynna was quick to speak up, and Ronja remained quiet for that moment. She haven't seen her friend angry any time before, so it was a unique sight that left Ronja speechless (and a bit flattered to see someone being so mad for her).

"Yes--" Ronja said, looking around and gesturing at the teenagers. "Why are you doing this? Why are you keeping these poor teenagers here? Why are you erasing our memories?" She frowned. "Why you corrupted Ronja's memories too?!"

As the words pierced the silence, the white tree flickered more, eventually disrupting for a moment, becoming ethereal and sparkly, while the teenagers continued in their catatonic state.

The figure, however, didn't remain quiet or still. Instead, it finally moved, turning to face the two newcomers, tilting their heads enough to make the hood slip away. The face of a kid, even younger than the teens that were there was revealed. He looked at the two girls in confusion, with his own eyes flickering as he took a step away, with the glow of the ethereal tree exposing his magia features.

"Go..." He muttered, with electricity sparkling on his hands and feet, "G-GO AWAY!" The boy thundered, exploding beams of electricity toward the two of them.

@Cynna