six; video

[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

Comments

[latomatetas]

Lia, querida? Why is your hair moving on its own?

[mellifluently]

I don't know. It just started doing it when I came back. It won't stop.

[latomatetas]

Did you remember doing anything out of the ordinary? Like, eating something that you're not supposed to...?

[mellifluently]

No, nothing like that, only going into the wilds. I haven't been there before, but everyone else I know has always come back fine.

[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?

[mellifluently]

Can you help? I don't know what to do. It'll go away? Are you sure? I don't really want to cut it, but... I haven't got anything to cut it with anyway.

[ofnobility]

I can try. Yeah! That's what I was told. Don't worry. Huh...if you don't want to cut it, maybe we can figure out another way.

[mellifluently]

[She takes a breath, very actively trying to calm down. If Utena says it will go away then it will, it's just a case of what to do in the meantime.]

I've tried tying it back, holding it, everything I can think of. It just... worms its way free.

[notvitiligo]

Have you tried cutting it?

[mellifluently]

I don't... I've never really cut it, before, just trims. [She dips her head, really hoping cutting it isn't her only option.] I don't have anything to cut it with, anyway.

[notvitiligo]

You could probably make scissors with the magic dirt.

Though since you look kind of not happy with that idea, I'd say wait a few days and see if it goes away. You might get lucky. You weren't born like that, so...

[mellifluently]

The dirt is what I went to get. I don't want to... waste it, if it isn't really safe to get more.

But what if it doesn't go away? It doesn't seem to want to hurt me, but it keeps getting in the way, and I don't know what it'll do with another person around.

video;

[willbereborn]

[ Just so you know, Birdie is watching your hair move with her mouth open and in complete awe. It's so pretty! Like magic! She giggles a little and tilts her head.

And, as one would expect it, the phoenix presses her face against the mirror as if she wants to be there with her friend. ] Can I touch it, Mahalia, can I?

video;

[mellifluently]

[She can be a fussy little thing at times, and her initial reaction to Birdie not noticing how upset or worried she is over the situation is a rather prissy one, her lips pressing thin, and her hair seems to settle in very straight and still vertical lines for a moment.

But she doesn't say anything, reminds herself that Birdie is far too innocent to mean it at all maliciously. She takes a breath, and her hair returns to that gentle shifting again.]

I don't know if it's safe.

video;

[willbereborn]

[ She's surprised by that answer, it shows. She's always transparent when it comes to show emotions. She tilts her head, almost bird-like in the way she does, and blinks. She doesn't understand why it isn't safe, but the sentence does make her think that maybe there's something wrong. Maybe it's not really magic. Magic isn't bad... Is it? ]

Does it hurt?

video;

[mellifluently]

[She shakes her head.]

No. Not me. It only really seems to do anything when I try to keep it still. But I don't know how it would act around other people. I can't control it.

[video]

[aunomdedieu]

[ Well, that's... interesting. Caprica has to try not to stare too much, a little fascinated despite herself and despite how annoying that must be for Mahalia.

She does, however, remember that she has a relevant answer for the girl's question. ]

When I first came here, some of us went to the wild places to see what was there. I had... visions, hallucinations, for a few days afterward.

[video]

[mellifluently]

You did?

[A little bright, keen, and her hair seems to move more for a moment. But it's really not something to sound hopeful over, someone going through that, and she draws back a little from her initial eagerness, quiet for a moment.]

I suppose that's... something similar. This isn't a hallucination, but... I could have sworn I was only out there for a few hours, but I think it's been much longer.

[video]

[aunomdedieu]

[ Caprica recognizes the reason she seems so eager - it's the knowledge that someone else had been through something similar - so she doesn't get offended. Just smiles a little, faint and thin. ]

The same thing happened when I went. Time seems to change... [ She pauses, shakes her head a little. This is something she does not really have the capacity to describe well. ]

If your experience is anything like mine was, it's not permanent.

[video]

[mellifluently]

[She takes a breath, some of the tension easing out of her at Caprica's words.]

That's a relief to hear. Thank you.

[Not permanent, but she's still left with moving hair that she can't control or even really predict. Who knew what hair wanted to do, with a will of its own?]

Do you... have any idea how long it might last?