NEXT CYCLE - The 1st Day of June; [action/voice]

[flower_of_hell]

[For those of you walking by the plaza today, there's a New Feather the midst, though you wouldn't know it by the behavior. She is neither confused nor panicked by the sudden situation, choosing instead to perch herself quietly on the edge of the fountain, journal open beside her as she listens to the voices trickle through from it. Despite the

Comments

[Voice]

[vulcanblazer]

[He hasn't yet noticed the picture in the frame... but somehow the voice sounds familiar...]

It depends on when you left, I guess. [And now he looks, curiosity getting the better of him. That red hair, those blue eyes, that face... he knew her.] ...Rena?

[Voice]

[flower_of_hell]

[She glances at his picture, and her face brightens at the sight. Someone familiar. At last. She wasn't alone.

She smiles at the feed from the journal. It's tired, exhausted, really...but it's genuine.]

...Hi, Adell-kun.

[Voice]

[vulcanblazer]

[...He finds it impossible not to return that smile, though it's not as broad as one might expect. He can see her fatigue, but has no idea what it might be from.

But she remembers. That in itself... a huge stroke of good fortune.]

Rena... it's good to see you again. Did you just arrive?

[Voice]

[flower_of_hell]

Not too long ago...I'm just at the fountain.

[Listening. Watching. Waiting for someone, though she's not sure who.]

[Delicious Action]

[occultnurse]

[Takano was only passing by on her way to the general store (after all, if she's going to be stuck here for a while, she might as well make her new apartment look presentable) when she noticed a girl sitting on the fountain's edge in new feather clothing.

After first, it didn't really process, but a second later, she stops and looks over at her again. That red hair ... still too far to be sure. She takes a step or two in the direction of the fountain -- ... yes, yes it's definitely that girl.

... My, she looks awfully serious for having just got here.]

Ryuuguu?

[Ohgod Action]

[flower_of_hell]

[For the sake of Rena not trying to kill Takano on sight, we're going to assume Hanyuu told her about her beforehand 8(

...Takano. Even though she had been told already, gotten the despair and anger out of her system so she could face this woman with a stiff upper lip, her voice still causes a rush of uncomfortable adrenaline. This was the woman who would kill her friends without a single beat of remorse, who did kill them; at least two of them, and her as well.

It was all she could do not to leap off of the fountain's edge and just throttle her right here, in front of everyone.

But she couldn't. She had to remember that. She had to play nice.

Rena has always been good at hiding her emotions. But she doesn't know how her face manages to twist into something pleasant for this woman. She does know, however, that her nails are leaving nasty, crescent-shaped marks on the flesh of her thighs.]

...Hello, Takano-san.

[Action]

[occultnurse]

[... Hmm. Something was definitely off about this girl today. Takano never was on very close terms with her, nor did she see her all that often to even be remotely close, but she had seen her enough times in the village to know that she's normally much more cheerful than this.

... Something's not right. Still, for the sake of having another familiar person around, she'd tolerate the cold greeting, giving her usual smile.]

Ah, to think another person from Hinamizawa would end up here so soon! This place gets just a bit less lonely every day, it seems ... [She lets out a small giggle after that, but it has all the signs of being of fake. After all, she could care less about Ryuuguu, Hanyuu, or that "Souji" being here -- she'd much rather it be Tomitake, Okonogi -- hell, she'd even take Irie at this point. Still, she had a reputation to upkeep, so she might as well swallow her bitterness for now.]

[Action]

[flower_of_hell]

[That giggle. Did this bitch laugh like that when she killed Keiichi and Mion? Rena could just see it.

Her skin burns with a white-hot flush of anger, but no. She can't do anything. She has to calm down.

The nails dig even deeper into her skin, but a smile manages to grace her features.]

Oh...really? Are there more people here this time, are there?

[Voice]

[so_shik]

[Oh. Oh. She recognizes that voice. She doesn't say anything right away though as she listens in on the other conversations. Also Carmen Tora and I were talking that Shiki might threadjack the Keiichi/Rena thread later if that's okay with you?]

...welcome back, Rena.

[Voice]

[flower_of_hell]

[Another familiar voice. Rena is heartened by it, strengthened by the sound of her friends. Perhaps she didn't belong here, but...for now, Luceti was a safe place. A temporary reprieve from the purgatory she had found herself in at home. A place where her friends could be safe and alive. Ffff, that's totally fine.]

...It's nice to hear from you, Shiki-chan.

[Voice]

[so_shik]

[Once Rena replies, makes it clear that she's at least okay for now, Shiki sounds less hesitant.]

It's nice to hear from you too. Are you okay? Where are you?

[Voice]

[flower_of_hell]

I'm just by the fountain.

...I think...I need to wait for someone.

[It was a desperate hope. But maybe he was still here. Just maybe.]

[isthefootsteps]

[Imagine her shock to hear a familiar voice over the journals - a voice that had been absent for some time... a voice that, shockingly enough, spoke so calmly of this strange world.

She's quiet for a long moment, processing this, the words sticking in her throat.]

... ... R-Rena!

[flower_of_hell]

[There's a long silence on her end of the conversation. This girl...she wasn't just a precious friend here. She came from her world, right?

From Hinamizawa.

She was important. Rena may not have met her in the life she had led, but she knew. This girl was an integral part of her circle of friends. And she was...]

...Hanyuu-chan, right?

[isthefootsteps]

Y... you remember.

[there's a fleeting hope that she has just come from the final world... that it's not just her memories of Luceti speaking.]

[flower_of_hell]

Of course! We're friends, aren't we? Aren't we?

[voice]

[flower_of_hell]

[...Another voice. A voice she remembered, though the memory was tinged with guilt around the edges.

Something...she did something to him, didn't she? Something terrible. Because she didn't trust him. Just as Rika said, the inability to trust their friends would drive them all to madness.

She owed this voice a lot.]

...I'm so glad to hear from you, Minato-kun.

[voice]

[flower_of_hell]

[There's a soft, weak laugh from her end.]

Thanks.

Um...do you know how long Rena was gone?