[h3][color=7bcdc8]Kei[/color][/h3]
The thrum of the witch was weakening even as Kei followed it, but not with the sudden silence of destruction. It was simply outpacing her. That was normal, from time to time. Everyone had a bad run once in a while and failed to corner a demon in its nest before it bolted. Given the circumstances, though, it was the last thing the strolling girl in black had expected to happen.

The implications didn't resolve themselves quickly in Kei's head. She still felt too sour, and though the need to suppress her body's complaints over the bruises was fading, thinking about more than one factor at once still felt beyond her. [i][color=7bcdc8]Okay, then. Premise A. Two Girls, chasing down a small witch, about to be joined by a third. That's Mary.[/color][/i] A witch this size shouldn't give one hunter a run for her money, especially not one as cocky as the red-coated girl Kei didn't know, let alone two. [color=7bcdc8][i]Premise Two. Bee. Whatever. The little snitch is making tracks. It's been running like hell and it's going faster and faster. Even under pressure, that's not normal witch behaviour. They're ambush predators, luring with kisses and waiting in their mazes. This thing's either a familiar or a weird little numpty. I know they exist.[/i][/color] So maybe the ladies let it go so that it could replenish the population. That was... Well, it was cruel, but it was fair.

[color=7bcdc8][i]Premise three... Well, uh. That's it. But I still haven't found Mary.[/i][/color] Predictable. God's Big Momma didn't wait for anyone. Still, she was probably starting to close in on her now. [i][color=7bcdc8]And I haven't found anyone else either. The fam's getting too distant for them to be stuck in with it. If those two aren't planning on killing it, they're probably closer, enjoying Mary's company right now.[/color][/i] 

Kei picked up her pace. Things could go downhill fast between Magical Girls. Not very many months ago, a family wedding had taken her to Japan for a week, where, she learned, the witch-hunting scene had always been... Intense. She'd kept herself out of trouble, at least after the dominant chick in Osaka found out that she wasn't there to stay. Stories had been told, superiority boasted. Mahou Shoujo had a long history in that country, and it was rough. One particularly psychotic bitch got so carried away that she ran a few cities through, carving up other Girls for a challenge. [i][color=7bcdc8]There she is,[/color][/i] skipped a thought through Kei's head as she reminisced unhappily and a block of red entered her vision again.

The ambient light flashed from brick-shaded to sunny as she passed the exits to the lauded parade streets, now jogging. Only once did the rays miss an interval, but it stopped Kei dead.

The shadow was being cast from Saint Mary's. The former bell tower was a dim silhouette against the sky, but a figure just faintly discernible as green was perched where none had been before. [color=7bcdc8][i]Fuuuck. No.[/i][/color] Realisation hit Kei heavily. [color=7bcdc8][i]We're top heavy. At least five Girls in the city now, plus Salomea, maybe more, oh, fuck, competitive exclusion principle. We're six strains of e dot coli in a petri dish and we all have the same niche.[/i][/color]

Kei's gaze skated headfirst back down the alley, then back at the tower, afraid that the figure would be gone if she stopped tracking it. Her phone flipped out of her pocket with the usual ease. Mary wouldn't have answered right now even if Kei had her number, and though she had seen others at work in Danzig, she only knew one. It was a long shot, considering how new that one was to the business, but Kei knew that at least this one would never get snappish over a panicked message.

[i][b]Kei:[/b]
Sal, it me, paint girl again. something really weird going down here at gate end of royal road. lots of mag girls in one place. not sure who knows what. please confirm you're safe, any other deets would be good. thanks
[b]Kei:[/b]
sorry[/i]

It was rushed into absurdity, but Kei was already running before the text was finished, swinging off the bag and leaving it lucklessly where it and Mary's wares would probably be stolen before sundown. Finally, she could move pretty much unimpeded, and she did.

Figures resolved themselves into a definite group as she neared, her earring glowing in readiness, but hesitating to transform. Something about the blood matted in her hair gave her an odd, illusory courage, made her feel more intimidating than bedraggled. [color=7bcdc8]Four here, not three. Oh, no. Oh no.[/color] There was Mary, yes- Unharmed but upset, demanding as always, and the immigrant with the sketchbook, as expected. Still hurried, but not combatant. [i][color=7bcdc8]Two down, good start...[/color][/i] The most striking girl present was the red-coated, muscular one, with red hair and European features that set her distinctly apart from Mary. Her stance was peculiar. She was shouting, reaching for something that the fifth girl- [color=7bcdc8][i]Oh. Oh wow.[/i][/color] Kei skidded on a heel and was lucky to be spared a second tumble. 

[color=ed1c24]"Try and make me pay for them! I deserve a touch after all I've went through today, dammit!"[/color]

The situation was too abruptly comical to be dangerous. Kei's mind raced, but struggled to make sense of anything other than the most conspicuous detail. Well, two details. She spared a glance over her own shirt, beneath which her shoes were disappointingly visible, and her thoughts came aloud. [color=7bcdc8]"Well. Shit. I don't know, man. [i]I'd[/i] pay for those." [i]Wait, no, fuck![/i][/color]

Panic and embarrassment- At her appearance, her friend, her words, everything- reasserted itself and she reflexively twirled her earring through her fingers, sweeping it across her body in a wide arc. It left a cyan trail that became a helix around her, then a curtain of light that resolved itself into a gleaming white coat as her hair flared and cleansed itself, along with her make up. Transformation was worth an hour of prep time. The soul gem finished its spiral, wrapped itself around her ankle, and she pulled an unloaded pistol bow out of the glittery miasma as it faded. Mostly for comfort reasons, at this point.

[color=7bcdc8]"Mary, please hold,"[/color] she hissed, neither loudly or sharply enough to dissuade the girl from anything, but she tried to at least run over the essential details in the moment she had, addressing mostly the girl in red, who bristled with a bossy air even caught far more out of place than either of the others. Quite a feat. [color=7bcdc8]"Kei, street artist. Mary, vendor-"[/color] She wasn't going to kill herself keeping up the lingo around strangers twice in a single hour, or a lifetime, if she could avoid it- [color=7bcdc8]"Who is really displeased about your kit, not your titty rights. How many Girls are here? Who are you? And fuck is everyone doing together on my front lawn?"[/color]

That was, all in all, a pretty suitable introduction, Kei thought. Brusque tone, more assertive than aggressive, and it had all the details in just a few words. Kei felt proud of herself almost long enough to let her gaze slip back down to the blonde with the chest, but her adrenaline persevered and kept her alert. Mostly.