[IC] Faces In The Shadows [A Fun And Child-Friendly Magical Girl RP]

[Blight Bug]

Right, so it appeared there were more rudos, and those villainous creatures ambushed Winnie for a desire to eat her flesh? And much like any stable, especially a rudo-formed stable, they fell into infighting and due to that one of the stable members landed down in front of them.

Beyond that, it appeared the situation would probably not go well for the collective. And just as that thought entered her mind, another mysterious source rang to tell her that she needed to eat the fallen rudo. It seemed ominous. It seemed like a dead give away for a trap. Clearly it was disguised as some sort of deal of eating the soul of another luchador in order to gain their power. But Camila didn't dispatch the rudo. The other rudos dispatched the rudos. It wouldn't be an honorable action to claim the fallen prizes of an opponent they didn't defeat. Most likely this was a set-up for a Heel Turn.

Of course that didn't stop the Ruskie in group to eat the flesh of a fallen rudo. Though the moral conundrum appeared to stop the Japanese girl from partaking in the sinful feast. As for Camila, thoughts were shifting to what would her favorite luchadors and novella stars do.

There were many to choose from, but in this situation there was one that Camila truly needed to imitate. And so Camila rushed to stand in front of Winnie and Shakti, placing herself as a shield that the group would need.

"¡CERO MIEDO!" Camila howled out as she gestured towards the shadows. "Always wanted to do that." She quickly muttered under her breath.

[Stern Algorithm]

"Y-yes, thank you," Shakti said to Camila, wishing she had retained enough composure to at least remember to be tactful. As Shakti ran on her own strength, she felt a weakness and wavering in her movements, a sudden coldness and a sharp pain in her side. She felt a warm trickle down her side and saw the wound for the first time, eyes opening wide. The terror and adrenaline had numbed her to the grievous injury she had sustained. She put her hands to her side and kept it there despite the pain and looked around frantically. She wondered if Winnie or Camila had noticed, and if they did, why didn't they tell her? As her blood drained, her delirium turned to paranoia and she began to distrust them.

Then, the shadows attacked Winnie in a horrifying and gruesome spectacle. Shakti was terrified, she knew she would be next. And that was when the voice prompted her to do the unthinkable. Shakti looked around to see if anyone else heard the voice, noticing the Russian obey the voice's commands. Several thoughts ran through Shakti's head, one of which was how she wished she had been the first to eat the flesh of the dead shade. It was a silly thought, but Shakti prided herself as a leader, a pioneer, and never one to take second. Camila jumped in front of her to protect her, but Shakti slinked around Camila and knelt down at the dead shade. Eating this would help her survive; and with her gaping wound, she was desperate. But not only desperate, she somehow knew that this flesh promised not only survival, but something more: power. Strange, seductive, dark thoughts swirled around in her confused mind. Where Katerina had eaten her bit reluctantly, Shakti practically gorged herself on it, taking as many large chunks as she could and desperately trying to hold down as much of it as possible without retching. She did this to keep herself alive, but more than that, right now, she was the Goddess Kali, devouring demons.

[banjoanjo]

They came out of nowhere. The worst part was that she saw them coming. She saw those shades approach from the distant hills, their horrid snarls and desperate moans breaking through the relative quietness of five girls running for their lives. She watched helplessly as they lunged at her. She stared as the closest one ripped its talons through her torso, blood and flesh flying with the trajectory of the shade’s claw. She saw the world turn sideways, the ground meeting her eye level as she collapsed.

The worst part was seeing everything like it happened in slow motion. The pain seemed to move in slow motion too. It blossomed outwards as soon as she registered the shade’s claws entering her body. It seared through her in waves, forcing pathetic tears to roll past her grit teeth and onto the dirt where she lay in a prone position. Feeble whimpers escaped her throat as she tried to bring her hands up to her torso to lessen the bleeding. Every twitch of her now blood-soaked fingers was excruciating. Any remnant of the cheerful girl from minutes before was replaced with the quivering mess on the ground.

In the distant corner of her mind that wasn’t completely blocked by the pain, she noticed that Camilla trying to shield her and Shakti with her own body. A voice had called out, ordering them to eat the shade. Winnie didn’t think herself as very religious, but in times like this it helped to have a higher power to blame for putting her in this situation. Nonetheless, she didn’t give a second thought. She slowly crawled to the corpse of the shade. Sobs wracked her broken frame as she bit into the flesh and she continued to curse at the cruel god who sent her to this place.

[TheHangedMan]

A distance away, two girls stood over the kneeling form of third. They looked away, towards where the newcomers were, The one on the ground held her hands together in a kind of prayer position. Suddenly, her eyes opened and slowly she stood up to face the same direction as her companions.

"I didn't expect for there to be so many . . ." her voice was a whisper, barely audible to the normal human ear. "I had no choice. Given their circumstance, I could only ask that they partake of the Shade's flesh."

One of her companions "tch'ed" in annoyance, before facing her. "So . . . how many bit it?"

"If you're asking how many died, mercifully, none. If you're asking how many ate, then three, probably."

The last girl sighed in relief. "That was less than expected. That's good then. Now that they're here, and've seen this world, they can't turn back, but at least, some of them we don't have to be dragged into our world. They'll be more adjusted than most."

"In any case," said the one kneeling earlier, "We should get there soon. We will need to control their Awakening."

With a nod of tacit understanding, the three of the sprinted off into the distance.

---

For the girls that partook of the Shade's flesh, the moment it touched your lips, you felt something resonate deep inside you. It was a reaction so profound that the next few bites were taken practically on reflex. You knew that you just had to devour this. It was more than just survival now. Something about the meal you held in your hands called out to you, telling you something that you were not sure you understood, but craved now, no matter what.

As it passed through your throat and entered your body, you felt your blood run. A black sensation coursed through your body until it built up into a sweltering heat. Suddenly, a sensation of pain more terrible than any you've ever felt before assaulted your senses. It was as if all the pain in the world had gathered into your body and expended inside of it, threatening to burst you from the inside. It felt as if your whole existence was being killed slowly, leaving behind something . . . else. Something raw. Powerful. The old you was dead, replaced by this thing that looked like you, but felt like so much more.

And then, you truly did burst.

From the perspective of those who did not eat the Flesh, a wave of heat so intense radiated from the bodies of the other girls. The heat burnt through their clothes, leaving them naked and bare to the world, their bodies exposed and shameless, yet more terrifying than before.

The girls who had undergone this drastic transformation felt it. The need to use their power, the need to push their new-found ability to the fullest. And in front of them were the perfect test dummies.

The shades who had so terrified them, and hunted them mere moments earlier now screamed. It was an inhuman sound, and yet, it sounded terrified. They turned and fled, moving as fast as they could. And yet, to you, it now seemed as though they were moving in slow motion. You knew, that if you wanted to, you could catch them, and make them pay dearly, even with your bare hands.

@Blight Bug-@banjoanjo-@Stern Algorithm-@Flamelord-@Tombprince

[Blight Bug]

Camila del Rosario Garcia cocked her head slightly to the right. Idly her eyes tracked the scene as she began twirling her hair around with the very hand she gestured at the creatures with. It appeared they were those type of rudos. They emitted a strange noise and began to flee away after Camila made her imitated declaration of an idolized luchador. Her mouth was slightly agape as she just stared at the creatures who revealed their weak, inner cowardly villainous nature.

Removing her hand from her hair, the girl took little time before balling it up into a fist. Her eyes glimmered as she smirked and spoke up triumphantly. "¡Guau!" Camilla clapped her hands together, before quickly placing them both upon her cheeks. "El plan funcionó." she said with a grin, before she began swaying her hips from side to side, and performed a twirl.

"Tan ese es porqué dicen los locutores ese tienen miedo de Pentagon Jr." she spoke as she began nodding to herself, to confirm her suspicions. "¡Él es tan bueno!" Camila eagerly squeed out, as she jumped in the air and kicked her feet upwards behind her. As she landed down, another thought quickly sprung into her mind.

"Aunque..." Camila del Rosario spoke as she began tapping at her left cheek. "...él es un mal hombre, un muy mal hombre, a diferencia de su hermano Fenix." She balled up her right hand and smacked it down against her open palm, as she spoke a few more thoughts. "Pentagon Jr deba aprender ser bueno y honorable de como Fenix!"

Blinking a few times Camila realized that she had the rest of the group to consider, besides those thoughts that came to mind. She turned to face the group, taking a very brief time to assess if they were still able to go. "Right, so yeah. They fled, soooo..." Camila clapped her hands together as she spoke again, "Let's get a move on yeah? We should find the group that the blue girl talked about." Camila stretched her hands upwards and placed them behind her head.

"Probably not a good idea to leave them waiting y'know? Should be around somewhere this way..." And with that, Camila slowly headed fowards as she glanced behind her to make sure the others were alright with progressing forward.

[Flamelord]

With the very first contact of that strange flesh against the palette of her tongue, a shudder of mixed sensations ran through Katerina's form. It was revolting, a strange and foreign taste that clashed with everything she knew. Yet at the same time there was also something entrancing about it, to the point where she had taken a few more bites before she even realized that she had done it. Just what was this stuff?

Yet she was eventually distracted from that, her gag reflex kicking in even as she felt something run through her body. It was a mysterious sensation that rapidly morphed into pain, a pain that consumed and burned so bright it felt worse than the worst time that she had ever been sick. She practically doubled over, lying on the ground and dry heaving with nothing to throw up.

God, was this it? Had that voice lied to her? It was growing hard to think, to make coherent sentences past the solid wall of pain settling over her mind and threatening to completely consume her. All she could do was cry and silently apologize to her sister, for all the things unsaid, for leaving her alone. And to cry for herself, the things she would never experience, and just how stupid she had been. It seemed that she was doomed either way.

Then, the fever broke. Behind the heat was....something else, a power that she hadn't felt before, sheer radiating energy and might. Slowly she rose back to her feet, stumbling and shaking her head even as she was unaware of her now nude state. "W-What is this," Katerina muttered aloud, reveling in the fact that she was not dead and confused by how good she now felt. Indeed, for how she had been scoured to the bone it nonetheless felt like she was better than she had ever been.

Fists clenched, her gaze turned, surveying the scene. There were the other girls from before, some like her, some the same as they had been. They were suicidal to face those things, and those things were what earned most of her ire. She bared her teeth, a growl of anger and rage escaping at the same time as she eyed them darkly, ready to mete out her punishment.

They seemed to understand that as well, turning and running for it. Not that it would save them as she sprang forward, fists swinging and drawing on the skills she had learned from a few fights on the streets of Nizhny. "You bastards," she spat angrily at the same time, as she charged in to begin pummeling the nearest one that she could grab. "What did you do to my sister!"

[Tombprince]

Tanizaki Kagami

I was determined to keep my eyes open as death came for me. It seemed that today I would be denied that, for three of the girls who eat that forbidden flesh, both burnt from the inside out and survived in this weird world. All them became more ferocious, the fires withing having destroyed their clothes seemed to fuel their frenzy and also armour them in its intensity.

I could only watch as they the shadows that had plagued us all this way finally fled in terror at the transformations. I decided to stay away from the russian, she seemed entire;y to violent for my tastes and was far more interested in destroying the shades she could get her hands on. Since it helped in our survival, I let her be.

I stood up and gingerly approached the spanish looking girl, as she spoke I cocked my head to one side, not understanding her. Finally she spoke in english, and her ideas made sense to follow. I bowed, "I am pleased to agree with your suggestion, I am Tanizaki Kagami and I am glad that we did not eat the flesh of evil." and as the girl started to move away, I fastened my bag and swung it over onto my shoulders and followed her.

I needed to figure out how I was going to get back home and how on earth I was going to survive in this place. it seemed best to me to follow someone that was less....berserk.

[Stern Algorithm]

Shakti convulsed as power and pain coursed through her body. Shakti tried to maintain her composure because somehow, in the back of her mind, she had expected this. Her body burst suddenly with heat, leaving her maked, but with intense clarity of mind. She stood up slowly, looking at her hand. Though her hand hadn't changed at all, it felt different. She felt reborn. Samsara. Though she had succumbed to the desire to gorge herself on the demon flesh, she managed to prevent herself from succumbing to the urge to go berserk and attack the shades. She simply stood there in her nude confidence; watching and hearing them flee in terror was enough for her right now. She also half-expected the same voice that instructed her to eat the dark flesh to now also give her a rundown of what she was now capable of. After all, it would be unbecoming to clumsily fumble with powers she knew nothing about.

Shakti turned to Camila and gave a slightly unsettling smile, "Yes, we should press forward, but first," she turned to look at Katerina's violent rampage, "we should let her finish."

[banjoanjo]

Winnie was thankful that it only took half a mouthful of that rancid meat to make her feel better. She didn’t eat much raw meat in her spare time but it probably usually didn’t taste as rotten as this. The effects were immediate. A fire blasted through her core for the briefest of moments. She felt energy-no, power- surge through her body, knitting together her wound and clearing her mind. There was no remaining evidence of her pitiful state mere seconds ago, apart from the blood spill on the ground. She had never felt more alert, more alive. Anything was possible now, including getting back at those shades. That Russian girl seemed to have the same idea.

Winnie was tempted to do the same, but right now, all she wanted to do was leave. Though her body was intact, the mental scars of the incident remained. Despite her transformation, she was just…tired. So instead of joining Katerina’s murderous frenzy, Winnie took a deep breath. She had never found a good reason for hurting others and she didn’t want to start now. She brushed herself off. She picked up her schoolbag. She picked up the figurine that the Japanese girl had dropped, which now had a gratuitous amount of Winnie’s own blood staining it, and walked towards the rest of the group.

“Sorry I got it messy, but here’s the figurine you dropped.” Winnie offered the bloody box to Tanizaki. She could not find the motivation to put her usual pep back into her speech.

@Tombprince

[Blight Bug]

Halting her steady stride, Camila del Rosario Garcia noticed that the other girls were proceeding to follow her. She stopped in her tracks as she stretched her arms upwards and took note of the chat.

A few strands of her hair shifted upon Camila's head. Her eyes focused to these misplaced follicles and began blowing on them. However, the breath was not enough to move them back into place so Camila del Rosario used her right hand to push them back into position. With a few blinks Camila redirected her attention to Kagami.

"Huh." Camila began scratching at the back of her head as the left corner of her lips twitched. "Oh yeah." She pulled her hand back in front of her and snapped her fingers. "Names! Good to know."

Camila smiled as she began scratching at the back of her head. "Uh hhrm." She stared blankly at the Asian girl for a moment before giving a half-hearted chuckle. "Which part do I er, I use?" Shaking her head, Camila placed her left hand in front of her as she suppressed a cough. "I don't say it fully all the time right? What's the first name, or is that all the first name?"

She then thumbed towards herself. "As for me, I am Camila del Rosario Garcia. By the by Camila del Rosario is the full first name for me, but I usually just use Camila." With a nod she addressed the next matter Kagami brought up.

"Oh that? Yeah that was totes a deal with the devil thingy." Camila said with a nod. Finishing that thought she turned her attention between Winnie and Shakti. "Oh yeah, when the Rudo comes for their payment on that..." With a proud smirk she curled her right hand into a fist and shot it up. "You can count on me to help stop them!"

And that is when she realized that there was another girl not properly with them. Camila tilted her head to the left, "Finished whaaaaaaAA-" She paused in aghast as she noticed in the distance the Russian engaged against the rudos that were already fleeing in fear! Camila quickly puffed out her lower lip and placed her hands on her hips.

Narrowing her eyes and scowling, Camila del Rosario Garcia leaned forward and started to yell. "THAT ISN'T HEROIC!!" Flailing her hands upwards Camila continued, "Just let them go! Wait until some others try to start something, which you know they will! PLUS WE STILL NEED TO FIND THOSE FIVE!" Bringing her arms down she crossed them under her chest and grumbled. "But yeah, I don't plan on leaving anyone behind. That isn't technico behavior either."

[Tombprince]

Tanizaki Kagami

@banjoanjo@Blight Bug@Stern Algorithm

"Camila del Rosario Garcia." I slowly pronounced the strange sounding name. "Camila, i would pleased that you call me Kagami." My English was good at best but I was sure the words were not quite right, I bowed to cover myself. "Family name begins followed by given name last." I frowned, something was wrong with that sentence, I was sure. I bowed again "Kagami" I said and was just about to ask what a Rudo was when I heard footsteps.

I bowed to the girl that walked up, more because she was naked than in greeting. "Tanizaki Kagami" and once more bowed. "Yes, we should press forward, but first, we should let her finish." I spared the briefest of glances before the blood drained from my face and I turned away.

I heard more steps and turned back. Not even five minutes had passed when her torso was ripped opened and now she was walking about without any wound. She was naked as well.

“Sorry I got it messy, but here’s the figurine you dropped.” Winnie offered the bloody box to me. My face quickly went red as I did my best to stare at the bloody case and nothing else. I had no idea what changes had happened when she ate the flesh. "Tanizaki Kagami, thank you for returning this to me." I took the box carefully from her and bowed again.

I sighed, the figurine was unharmed but the box was ruined with her blood. "Yuuki Asuna from Sword Art Online, classic red and white costume in multiple poses." I sighed again as I carefully opened the box and dropped the out casing, I continued my sales pitch while removing individual components from the backing board and slowly put the figure together on its base. "no longer in its original unopened box and handled rarely, this figure still has all its additional pieces."

A small shrine

I held the figure lovingly before placing it on the ground and weighting the base down with some loose stones. I said a silent prayer before raising and waiting for the other girl to join us. I did my best not to look at slaughter one girl was causing by herself.

[banjoanjo]

The Japanese girl, Kagami, didn’t seem pleased about her returned figurine. She refused to meet Winnie’s eyes and made a weird face, before discarding the figurine in some sort of handmade shrine. Oh, so this girl was one of those obsessive collectors that needed even the packaging in mint condition. It was a figure of that Asuna girl from that anime that Winnie’s sister despised too. Winnie probably would have trashed it voluntarily if she had known.

Annoyance and hurt flared through Winnie. She’d worked hard to secure that figurine, survived a fatal clawing and possibly discarded her humanity. And this girl just tossed her hard work away like it was a piece of trash. Honestly, Winnie didn’t like the idea of people not liking her, or getting the wrong first impression of her.

“Can’t you at least take the figurine back with you? I worked hard to retu-“

And then Winnie noticed something. It felt windier than usual. Not that there was much of a breeze in the first place in this distorted dimension, but it kinda felt like…oh no. Kagami’s weird expression made sense now. Winnie’s face went as red as Kagami’s.

“Oh my god, I am so sorr- why didn’t you guys say anything?!”

Winnie frantically went through her bag. When she first entered this world, she was wearing her sports uniform, so her usual school uniform was stowed in her backpack. She put on the one piece dress and school shoes. Shakti was completely naked too. Winnie offered the Indian girl her school jumper.

“Sorry, I don’t have any extra pants or shoes. I mean, I guess you could take my dress if you really wanted. I have a blazer as well, so if you wear that and wrap the jumper around your waist it could work out. Again to everyone, so sorry about this.”

@Tombprince @Stern Algorithm

[TheHangedMan]

The shadow fell like puppets against Katerina's new-found strength. Now it was apparent, they were truly no longer a threat to her, and the more they fell, the more desperate their escape. Their screeching cries resounded throughout the dead plains, and they spread out in panic.

As she chased down the shades, a low rumble began to sound from all around the girls. At first, it was faint, barely audible, however, it quickly grew into a resounding chorus of growls and groans. From all around them, shades of different sizes began to appear. They crawled out from under the ground, swooped in from the sky like black droplets of rain, and ran over the hills. The small army of shades were starving, and now that the girls had changed, it seemed they were even more enticing a meal than before.

They surrounded the girls, and just as the wave of darkness close in on them, a flash of silver dropped right into where they were thickest. The flash was followed by a shockwave of epic proportions, sending the shades scattering in all directions. In this one instance alone, near half of the shades died through the sheer force exhibited. Then, followed by that, a second flash of orange dropped into the remaining shades, sending a similar shockwave through the air. Those caught in its radius combusted instantly into brilliant orange flames, and they dropped to the ground, screeching in agony as they were reduced to nothing but ashes.

A third, purple, flash landed right in the middle of the girls. It was accompanied by no chorus of power, no explosion, or even so much as a light "thud" on the ground. Instead, it brought with it a girl. Her short chopped hair was ebony black, and her eyes a bright green. She stood much shorter than anyone else present, and yet she held a kind of presence that made her presence larger than life. Her body was disciplined and taut, ready to move at a seconds notice. In her arms she held a swords as longer than she was, and about half as wide. She was dressed similarly to the other girl, however this outfit was more of an armor than the last one. In comparison, this girls outfit was much bulkier, and colored purple.

The girl looked about . . . then broke into a huge grin.

"Holy shit, no ones dead! Tia, Renfred, this is great!"

Now, the dust caused by the landings had cleared, revealing two girls in their place. One held on to long silver staff, while the other brandished an axe that looked like it was made out of bone, then doused in crude oil and set on fire.

The two girls got up from their crouched stance on the ground and turned to face the one dressed in purple. Their reactions were varied.

"Holy crap you're right!"

"So I see. How fortunate."

The girl in purple stepped forward, looking at all the girls. An awkward silence descended on them as none of them could find the words to say. "So, uh, I suppose introductions are in order? I'm Cleo-"

"We don't have time for this," interrupted the girl dressed in green. She shot a glare towards the girls. "Which one of you ate the Shadows flesh?"

@banjoanjo-@Stern Algorithm-@Flamelord-@Tombprince-@Blight Bug

[Tombprince]

Tanizaki Kagami

The girl had finally put on some spare clothes she had, and passed some more to the other naked girl. It still unnerved me how she had suddenly become healthy after that wound. I couldn't speak to her and just bowed. The attention went back to the fleeing shades.

The last girl was causing a small riot all by herself, that was when other shades started to rise up all around us. Two beams fell into the greatest group of them. they pretty much destroyed all the shades and a third fell in our midst. The three newcomers seemed so much more frightening than the shades. I thought I was scared before, but these three that killed the lot with so much ease. just like the other in the blue ballgown. At least I had their names Tia and Renfred and the purple one was Cleo.

"We don't have time for this," interrupted the girl dressed in green. She shot a glare towards the girls. "Which one of you ate the Shadows flesh?"

I was just too fearful, I shook my head in a negative and backed away a step.

[Blight Bug]

Well damn. It appeared that Camila del Rosario Garcia failed to inspire the Russian down a properly heroic path. Maybe she didn't hear Camila and was blinded by ill intent to listen or react to it? But there were other matters to discuss, as Camila now knew the name of the other and that the other was apologetic for the other one.

Plus she needed to explain why it wasn't brought up earlier. Camila opened her mouth as she stared at the new black swarm coming. Like she said earlier, those rudos would start up something again. Their stable was much larger than before and it looked like they were about to strike.

And that is when the shockwave and other feats occurred. Camila del Rosario raised her left hand in front of her eyes and motioned to maintain balance.

However much like the first batch, these creatures were defeated quite quickly by a group of females armed with foreign objects. So the security stable was dispatched again, presumably for the same purpose as it was before.

As the dust settled, Camila removed her hand and glanced at these newfound females. Clearly they were the group they were sent to find. And one of them wanted to know about the ones who ate the flesh.

"Convenient." Camila mumbled out to herself as she pointed towards herself and then to Kagami. "We didn't eat it. The ones who are or were, naked did. You wouldn't have a set of spare clothes woulda? Only enough for the two and another needs them."

[Stern Algorithm]

Shakti looks at Winnie with a certain, friendly smugness. "Thank you," she said, "I will do as you suggest." She takes Winnie's blazer and puts it on while wrapping the jumper around her waist. "It reminds me of my own uniform. And don't worry about the shoes, we walk around barefoot quite a bit in India."

Then the shadows started multiplying and coming from the ground and everywhere. The streaks of light came down, decimating the shadows and revealing themselves to be girls as well. When Camila answered as to who who ate the shade's flesh, Shakti nodded in agreement. "Yes, I partook of the flesh," she said, "And I do believe it was at her suggestion," Shakti added looking at Cleo who she recognized possibly as the voice she had heard in her head. She stared at the one in green, who seemed almost unhappy that the ones who ate had done as asked. Shakti wasn't about to apologize nor take the blame for just doing what she was told. Besides, it felt so good she didn't regret it one bit.

[Flamelord]

Katerina didn't think of herself as an overly violent person. Oh sure, she knew how to defend herself, how to put bullies in their place, and she had been in a scuffle or two. But she didn't go out actively seeking fights or trying to enforce her will on others. She liked to think she was fairly live and let live, in that regard.

But this....this was just too easy. The shades had nothing on her, couldn't touch her, and it was all too simple to crush them, rip them apart, make sure they never threatened her ever again. And when one went down it was a simple task to race to the next and mete out her vengeance upon it as well. She was lost in a frenzy of anger, violence, hatred, fueled by the burning that had consumed her and enabled by the power that she now had.

With the last one gone she rose, looking around and spotting the group some distance away. She quickly determined that they weren't necessarily a threat though, and was willing to leave them alone. They seemed to all be getting along well, but it wasn't as if she had some reason to care about them. All she cared about was getting out of wherever this was, getting back to Nizhny, and figuring out what had happened to her.

Then she didn't have the chance, more shades, of all shapes and sizes, appearing before her. Yet she did not fear, not with the power coursing through her veins. Perhaps she was outmatched, but in that moment it seemed like she was invincible. "Fine, come at me then," she spat, fists clenched tight enough to let her nails dig into her palms, a twisted smile on her lips. Oh yes, she was definitely going to enjoy this.

But she had no chance to. Colored flashes of light appeared, spearing down from the heavens to strike the shades, to rend hem apart in bursts of power. Katerina came up short, looking on in confusion as the lights faded to reveal three girls, each of them gaudily dressed and each of them with a strange weapon.

At least they spoke Russian, unlike everyone else from before.

Arms folded across her chest, radiating anger left to simply simmer inside of her soul, Katerina frowned as she drew closer to the assembled group once more, acting as if she hadn't soloed that group of Shades from before. "I did," she replied matter of facly to the spoken question, looking the girls over. Was she grateful for them saving their lives? Perhaps. But there was also the suspicion that thy had had something to do with this in the first place, and distrust since they could have become involved earlier but had waited so long to do so.

Needless to say, she would be careful around the trio. "So where are we? What the hell were those things?" Now that they were here, Katerina was expecting answers.

[banjoanjo]

Winnie was happy that Shakti accepted her gifts with gratefulness, unlike a certain Japanese girl whose name started with "K" and probably ended with "an't appreciate someone else's hard work even if it kicked her in the butt". She nodded when Shakti declined the shoes (she'd have to ask about the barefoot thing in India later, it sounded interesting). Winnie didn't have enough spare clothing to give to the Russian girl when she would come back from her slaughter though. She contemplated the problem until the shades respawned. Oh boy, she was not looking forward to getting slashed up by those monsters again. She swallowed nervously and her hand unconsciously went up to her still-intact torso.

Luckily she didn't have to do anything. A bunch of superpowered girls swept through the pack like they were nothing, sending shockwaves and flames all around. Winnie was astonished. It was just like the cartoons! They were so cool, even if the green one was a bit snappy.

Camila gave them a quick recap. "We didn't eat it. The ones who are or were, naked did. You wouldn't have a set of spare clothes woulda? Only enough for the two and another needs them."

Winnie stepped forward too. "Yeah, I ate some. Only a tiny bit though. I didn't really have a choice, I was slashed up real bad by those shades. Also Camila's got a point, we could really use some spare clothes."

[TheHangedMan]

The one in purple, Cleo, blinked before abashedly scratching the back of her head. "Ahaha, right, it's been so long since I've been to an Awakening that I forgot about the naked part. Er, sorry but we didn't bring a change of clothes. You guys kinda showed up on short notice."

Tia, the girl dressed in orange, approached the group. Only now was it apparent that her hands were hidden under huge, glowing gauntlets. She looked at them, her eyes surveying each, and her mouth moved wordlessly. Nodding, she turned to the taciturn girl clad in green. "About five in total, and three of them ate. Not bad, don't you think?"

In response, Renfred nodded. "I suppose explanations are in order, however, this is not the place for it. Also, we're missing someo-"

In a strange repeat of their own entrance, an azure bolt of light crackled down into their midst. Crouching in the center of the small crater formed by her arrival, was the girl dressed in blue, the one who had rescued them earlier. In her hands once again was her spear, though she was more bruised and cut that she was when she had first appeared. Still, her face only looked mildly disgruntled.

"So, can someone care to explain to me why I was alone?" she growled. Her head shot to Cleo and she glared at the girl intensely. "Well, Cleo?"

"Uh, eh, well, you know, I was just, uh-" the other girl stammered. The azure girl glowered all the more, and Cleo grew increasingly more flustered.

Sighing, Renfred placed a hand on the girls shoulder. "Delia, we don't have time for this." Her hand thumb jerked out towards the girls, and Delia stared at them for a moment, before nodding. Cleo sighed in relief, until once again she was shot a glare, this time by Renfred. "Needless to say, Cleo, we will have a discussion about this later. Understood?"

Nodding in resignation, Cleo gave a sigh of defeat, before dragging herself to Tia's side.

"There there Cleo," consoled the other girl half-heartedly, as she withheld laughing at her friends expense.

"Since we're all here, I guess that means we can leave now, right?" said Delia. Her spear suddenly dissolved into motes of blue light, as she crossed her arms over her chest.

"Yes, though we should bring these girls with us for the time being. They'll need an explanation . . . and some time to think, I assume."

"So, who's place are crashing in?" asked Cleo.

Delia raised her hand lazily. "Mine. It's the only one with enough space for you all. Seriously, you'd think after fifty years you guys'd get better housing."

"Well excuuuseme princess, not all of us were born rich and with nice, big, opulent, completely necessary, totally extravagant, mansions-that-are-pretty-much-castles!"

Renfred snorted. "I keep to my apartment out personal choice, what's your excuse Cleo?"

"Tiaaaa they're bullying me!"

"It's okay to suck with money Cleo, not everyone can be responsible. So long as you admit you are!" replied Tia cheerfully. Cleo whined some more, and Renfred pinched the bridge of her nose.

"Girls we are wasting time," cut in Delia, rolling her eyes at Cleo's antics, she faced the other girls, and pointed fingers at Shakti, Katerina, and Winnie, "you girls, but especially you three, I trust you can behave yourselves."

It wasn't a question, it was statement, a statement that promised bad things should it be proven wrong. Without waiting for a response, Delia closed her eyes, and slammed her hand on the ground, hard. The ground shook violently, and the sound of thunder rolled through the air. Beneath Delia, the ground opened up to a black, lightless hole. The girl fell into it instantly, with Renfred and Tia following suit. Cleo stayed behind and gestured for the other girls to jump in.

Falling inside it was like swimming through black quicksand. There was no sight, no sound, and it felt like forever would come before you were out, but eventually, light returned, and you now found yourselves somewhere very different from the dying and black hellscape you were in previously.

Now, you were surrounded on all sides by lush green foliage. High stone walls were covered by long and green vines with wild grape growing on them, and a distance away, there was a stone mansion, large and demanding attention, with towers and a moat surrounding it.

"Welcome to my garden. Don't touch the roses, though go ahead and help yourselves to a grape if you want."

There stood Delia, no longer clad in her armor, and instead in a pure white dress. Her long brown hair was tied up into a ponytail. She was seated on chair, though she was the only one that was. The other girls surrounded her, except for Tia, who was sitting down on the grass, idly devouring a cluster of grapes.

"Before we begin, I believe introductions are in order."

Renfred nodded slightly. She was dressed in a red sundress, and her wavy dark hair flowed freely down her pale, smooth, shoulders. She wore thin framed glasses. Among the girls, she was perhaps the most beautiful. "Amanita Muse Renfred," she said without preamble.

"Cleo Fabiola, nice to meetcha, and since Renfred won't say it, I recommend you call her by her last name," said Cleo with a grin and a wave. The girl had a natural tan, short cut black hair and an impish face. No longer donning her armor, the girlwas dressed in a striped shirt, black jacket, and shorts.

Dressed in nothing but red harem pants, her skin was darker than Cleo's, and among the group, she looked the youngest, though her exact age was difficult to pinpoint through looks alone. "Irm Tryo Flkwer," her words practically inaudible with her mouth full, Tio swallowed before speaking again, "Ehem, Tio Falwker, and you should really try these grapes, Delia raises the best ones, I swear."

"Yes I do," replied Delia smugly, "I am Delia Juliette le Blanc de la Francoise, though I prefer Delia. I'm the host of this little tea party," she said gesturing to Tio, Renfred, and Cleo. "So, I believe it's your turn, now."

@banjoanjo-@Stern Algorithm-@Flamelord-@Tombprince-@Blight Bug

[Blight Bug]

So it appeared that the luchadora stable had finally united. Camila del Rosario Garcia crossed her hands over her chest as she began tapping her right index finger against her elbow while listening to the bickering among themselves. So far the most important pieces of the dialogues appeared to be whatever an Awakening was, and that no they didn't have any spare clothes. And that was when a giant hole appeared underneath her.

Acting in the most logical fashion, Camila del Rosario slammed her hands against her eyes as she began descending. "EEEEEEEEEEP!" Camila squealed out, as she fell into the abyss. Upon landing, Camila slowly moved her fingers away from her right eye, and began to assess where she was now. Apparently now it was some medieval styled hacienda which was owned by the one in blue. Camila removed her hands from her face, and moved them down to her side. After the dialogue of introductions were done by their hosts, who apparently had a new set of clothes, Camila placed her left hand on her hip as she spoke up.

"Camila del Rosario Garcia. Said this like, tons of times now. Uh, a few questions." Camila tilted her head as she stared at Delia. "Kaaaay sooo..." She placed her right hand on her hip as she leaned forward. "Why didn'tcha do that when those shadowy rudos were attacking?!" She huffed as she brought her hands up and crossed them on her chest. "I'd ask about, you know those things, but pretty sure you'd talk about them even if I didn't bring it up. So I'mma focus on the more important things."

The girl stared around at the foilage on the ground, searching for some item in particular. "Is there tea at all? Isn't this more a picnic, because I don't see tea." As her search appeared fruitless, she glanced at the group and spoke again. "Now can we get the matter of clothes settled?"