Marlowe

Wings of Fire: Clouded Visions

The sun bore down hard on her scales. No matter how accustomed they were to the heat, it seemed like the rays of light grew closer and closer to burning holes into her with every passing moment. The delicate-looking dragon’s scales glowed pale amber in the midst of the sweltering courtyard, with the color fading into a sandy yellow as it neared her flank and tail. At first glance, one might have considered her a strange looking SandWing– possibly one that was underfed or the runt of her clutch. Yet, a scrutinizing eye could catch her ruse. For one, her stinger was far too small for a SandWing, almost as if it was deformed, and her sail was larger and more elaborate than the other SandWings’. But what gave her away the most was the strange colors that blotched over the orange and parts of the yellow; as she sat with chains tied around her muzzle and limbs and clamps around her wings, blues and purples flourished from beneath her fiery scales like spilled ink. The strange color only intensified when SandWings, armed with both swords, lances, and deadly stingers alike, sauntered across the searing sands and glared at her with disdain from beneath their helmets. Bright irises surrounded by dark sclera scorched straight through her body faster than any sunlight or heat could.

Vivid wasn’t one of them. No, she was far from it. To them, she was one of two things. At best, she was a pretty centerpiece, a slave that someone could purchase from Queen Caracal if she caught their fancy. At worst, she was a monster. A hybrid.

If she had any ounce of rancor, she would have blamed her ancestors. From what she heard, her grandmother, a RainWing, fell in love with a SeaWing, and her father was produced from their union. Then he went and got involved with a SandWing… though, she wondered how that happened, with how Pyrrhia viewed hybrids. Tainted, they were called. Huh. She always thought that was a weird thing to call someone.

The rustle of dry scales made her snap back to attention. Vivid perked up, seeing that the large, pale SandWing from before had begun to prowl the small perimeter once again. His amber eyes swept across the rest of the dragons that were lined up against the sweltering walls of the square courtyard. Each of these hybrids were restrained just like she was. Clamps around their wings so they couldn’t fly away. Chains around their muzzles so they couldn’t breathe fire, spit venom, or bite. Heavy clasps around their ankles, necks, and tails so every movement felt as if boulders were piled upon their shoulders. The heat was merely another form of torture.

The pale SandWing rounded close to her. He was twice her size, with large claws that could rend her body in half if he wanted to. His maw twisted and he flashed white fangs down at her. ”Lucky cur,” he spat before he walked past her, the tip of his stinger swinging dangerously close to her face. She bristled in fear and ducked away.

Lucky. They kept calling her lucky. Vivid didn’t really know what that meant. They kept taking other dragons away, pulling them along by their chains like beasts. Some were so drained by sun and heat, parched due to the lack of water, that they struggled to walk and the SandWing guards practically had to drag them away. Those didn’t return. The ones that came back were marred by claw and teeth marks. Their wounds bled freely out into the sand until they passed out, and it was only then that they were tended to. The half-dead ones, their scales painted with crimson burns or their limbs half frozen, were tossed onto the sand like carrion. She had seen a few fall into deep slumbers from which they never emerged. Though, only a few of those that returned were strong enough to be chained up again, their jaws gaping with agony, their eyes empty, their talons and fangs dripping with blood that wasn’t their own.

Was she going to be next? She always thought she would be, though they took almost everyone else but her.

Distant cheers sent a chill through her body. Her claws dug into the sand. She wanted to spread her wings and fly back into the rainforest, the closest thing that she could call home. Her eyes drifted towards the tops of the buildings that provided them no shadow, no respite from the sun, yet trapped them in that dusty courtyard. There was no escaping this. When she saw that the SandWings had noticed her drifting gaze, her attention snapped back to the other hybrids that kept her company. There was a MudWing-looking dragon that had webbed talons and an extra thick tail, and his brown scales, highlighted with an oceanic blue, were striped with the types of scales one might find on a SeaWing. He was leaning against a wall, his eyes half-lidded and sunken in. Then there was a NightWing with a grayish hue and a grumpy expression, though she was transfixed with the white coloring at the top of his head. Was that a NightWing-IceWing..?

”Alright you lot, listen up!” roared a dark brown SandWing from the center of the courtyard. ”The next fight’s coming up, so all of you better be prepared! The Queen wants to watch a good fight before her dinner, and if anyone messes up her day, there’ll be punishment dealt for all of you!” As if to punctuate her statement, her tail arched above her back, her black stinger glimmering in the light of the late afternoon sun.

Vivid trembled as the SandWing’s maroon eyes swept across the dozen or so hybrids that sat there. No one spoke, but she was certain that everyone knew that she was sizing them up. The orange that had once dominated her scales now dimmed to a sickly looking green, and she ducked her head to avoid the SandWing’s gaze.

Three moons… don’t let it be me this time…

Wings of Fire: Clouded Visions

Vivid
Maroon

「 Persona: Reflections 」

MENTIONS: Munehisa [@Solace], Nagi [@Psyker Landshark], Masashi [@Zombehs]

What could she say? She had to admit she expected Nagi’s reaction, but that still didn’t make her feel any better. She let Masashi explain what happened, a little surprised to see that he had even mentioned the crow that she had “adopted” out of the blue. For a moment, she wondered how the bird was doing in the middle of those bushes outside. She hoped it hadn’t flown away– it would only get more hurt if it tried. If that happened, she wouldn’t forgive herself! Now that she thought of it, maybe she could have put a box over it to prevent it from escaping… Her thoughts screeched to a halt when Munehisa mentioned that Nagi and him went to the food court at Aprile instead of meeting up with them. She narrowed a brow at Munehisa’s explanation, then pouted childishly at Nagi and jabbed her shoulder with a finger.

”Y’know, if you wanted to ditch us for your little date, the least you could have done was send us a text!” she chided them in a voice a few octaves higher than usual. ”The whole thing was crazy! I think I got blood on my uniform when I tripped over the body, too… it was so gross. But everyone told the cops the truth, since they let us go pretty quick. Chen’s dad cooks like a god, though. You two totes missed out.”

Her mind drifted back to the meal. Man, it really was a good dinner. She wondered if Chen would invite them over again, or the whole situation with the crow turned him off… ”Oh yeah! Want to see the crow? I brought it to school with me!” Asumi grabbed Nagi by the hand and started to pull her towards the entrance to the school. ”It’s in the bushes not far from the entrance. C’mon, let’s go! You guys are gonna think it’s so cute!”

Clans of the Coast

She couldn't help but tilt her head at Lionpaw's remark. Wasn't that the point of warriors? Just because someone was a leader didn't mean their word was law. If a bunch of a Clan's warriors were upset with their leader, couldn't they just rebel? She was sure that StarClan wouldn't mind. Oh well. It wasn't like a ton of cats were too ruffled up about the whole situation, so there wasn't a point in worrying about it for now. Her mind instead chose to focus on the conversation she had just entered with her mentor. That was what actually mattered at the moment.

"I wanted to know if you talked to Dawnstar about my warrior assessment yet," Frostpaw asked as she settled down in front of her. Her tail curled around her paws as she looked at her with calm, frosty blue eyes. The question might have come out as too direct for some... but Nightwater was her mentor, so she was definitely used to it by now. "I feel like I can help the Clan even more if I'm not stuck doing apprentice duties."

That much was true. It was getting pretty annoying to have warriors look at her weird when she went off to hunt by herself. She swore she saw one or two of the other apprentices from the other Clans snicker at her after they found out she was still an apprentice. She might be a little larger than most of the other apprentices in her Clan, but that didn't mean she was too much older. But StarClan, did the weird looks make her pelt prickle sometimes.

PMD: Explorers of the Unknown

She supposed that this was going to happen eventually.

At first, Lumi didn’t know what to do with the letter that had been left in their mailbox one early morning in the middle of summer. The parchment, faded and shut with a crimson seal, was distinct, foreign, and smooth beneath her paws. It carried the scent of mountain winds and grassy valleys. And the crimson seal was fashioned in the shape of a spire that pointed straight up into a circle, which could be nothing else but a sun. Sunspire. All in all, it was something different than the junk mail that they often received. They were a tiny adventurer’s guild in the midst of a small town– that didn’t mean that they were there to help Pokemon pick kites off of trees, or to help an elderly Flaafy find her glasses. They were supposed to seek out dungeons, rescue stranded Pokemon… not be handy workers and nurse maids! This feeling of stagnation had gathered in Lumi’s chest for the past ten or so years. It fermented in her diaphragm and hung heavy in her gut. To think that, after what had happened, she had come to Fishertown to start a new life for herself. But all she did was dig herself a deeper hole. Now, she didn’t know if she could pull herself out of it.

Rieka had commented on the state of her fur once. She said it had grown too long, too curly, and that she looked like a Herdier more than an Eevee. Lumi always replied that she didn’t care, but even then her words stung; she had known her ever since she got here. The Poochyena was the first one to welcome her into the beachside village of Fishertown, and together they had created the village’s first rendition of an adventurer’s team. Rieka’s energy was too much to handle at first. She was too spazzy, too energetic, and honestly a little dumb. But as time passed, they became closer. They mustered enough money to buy themselves a decently-sized shack and fix it up so it could be somewhat habitable. That little hut became their base of operations, and that was when the “jobs” came pouring in.

“Can you please help me find my lost apple?”

“My toy broke, can you fix it?”

“There’s no way this satchel costs that much! Aren’t you going to do somethin’? He’s obviously scammin’ all these poor Pokemon!”

It was almost enough to drive her insane. It was even worse when Marlow and Enya came rolling around. The Riolu and the hot-headed Fletchling, along with the overly eager Poochyena, drove Lumi to hysterics. No matter how much she begged that they turn down these requests, that they seemed like fools, Rieka and Enya pushed back. And that was how Lumi became known as caretaker of Fishertown rather than the famous adventurer that she always wanted to be. Twilight City, where her dreams of fortune lay for years and years, seemed so far away.

Now that the letter was here, such a vision was only pushed further over the horizon.

Lumi carried it tightly in her paw as she walked down the dusty path and slipped back inside their hut. The letter crumpled in her grip as she settled herself in the small space that they had designated their kitchen. It was much more cramped than it was back home, as it only had a small wooden table and some semblance of a countertop, though she had gotten used to it long ago. The breeze threaded itself between the long grass outside the window and slipped into the room, carrying with it the tinge of salty ocean air and sand. It mussed her fur, but she didn’t pay it any mind. Her orange eyes settled on the wrinkled paper for a few long moments before she adjusted it in her paws, her claws beginning to pull at opposite edges.

“Lumi!” Rieka’s voice barked in her ear and caused her to flinch. The Poochyena had taken such an opportunity to snatch the half-ruined letter from her paws.

Lumi whirled around, her paws flailing to renew their grip on the letter. “Give that back!” she snarled.

The darker-furred Poochyena smirked down at her with bared fangs. She was bigger than her, and Rieka very much knew that. The smaller Eevee growled in frustration as she shoved against the Poochyena, though she didn’t budge an inch.

“A new job?” Rieka flipped the parchment over. Her crimson eyes widened at the sigil pressed onto its back. “Wait… is this…?”

“It’s nothing!” Lumi lashed out with her paws again, but Rieka pulled away and retreated deeper into the hut.

“It’s a letter! A letter from Sunspear’s adventurer’s guild!” Rieka shouted. “It’s an actual job! We actually got somethin’ good!” Her momentary excitement was doused for only a moment and was replaced with a cock of her head and narrowed eyes. “Hey… why were you gonna rip it up? Isn’t this a good thing..?”

Lumi felt like she was going to burn up under her fur. Her teeth clenched so hard that her jaw ached. But no matter how much the fire inside of her blazed, she couldn’t bring herself to let it loose. The flutter of wings cut through the tension, and she looked up to see that a Fletchling had landed on the wooden table. The bird Pokemon’s black-and-white tail, longer than usual, settled neatly on the table behind her as her beady eyes darted between them.

“What are you two yapping about so early in the morning?” Enya’s voice was an annoyed chirp. Marlow trotted up from behind her shortly after.

Rieka lifted up the letter. “We got a letter from Sunspear’s adventurer’s guild.”

Against Lumi’s silent wishes, they tore open the letter and laid it out on the kitchen table. Her shoulders weighed heavier and heavier as they read it out loud. A partnership with Sunspear’s adventurer’s guild. A mission they would conduct together. The three Pokemon in front of her were more than elated to accept. Lumi just wanted to cry and say, for the first time in ten years, that she wanted to remain in Fishertown and find some kid’s apple or fix a rusty toy.

They packed and boarded up their hut within the hour. Marlow asked their neighbor, a Fearow that they had known for the better part of the decade, if he could keep watch over their humble abode. Even the bird-Pokemon was more than elated for them to chase even broader horizons. Everyone was so happy, so excited, so pleased for what was to come. All she felt was dread and despair. Out of all places in the known world, Sunspear was the last place she wanted to visit.

The trip to Sunspear took four days. They headed east, over craggy hills and the smaller, more desolate portion of the Gilded Mountains. Even though they didn’t run into any feral Pokemon, bandits, or highwaypokemon, Lumi’s body felt like it was weighed down by rocks by the time her calloused paws touched the smooth cobblestone of Sunspear’s streets. Her eyes widened as she took in the sights of the town. It was like nothing she remembered; the town’s stalls had transformed into single-leveled stores, complete with glass-window panes and elaborate displays. The local bakery stand had morphed into a bustling storefront that was decorated with freshly baked pastries and breads. Small apartment buildings, forged from sun-baked terracotta, had replaced the wooden huts from when she was just a pup. Everything’s changed so much… Lumi’s eyes darted back and forth, her fur prickling. The Tauros chatting with the Amaura baker. The Luxray and Luxio bickering with one another near the town’s square. Were those familiar faces? Did they recognize her? Was she just making things up in her mind?

Another flutter of wings. Enya perched herself upon her head. “Earth to Lumi!” she chirped. When she didn’t reply, the Fletchling delivered a harsh peck to the top of her skull. The blow made a sharp pain spread over her scalp.

“Ow!” Lumi grumbled, shaking off the parasitic bird from on top of her. “Can you relax?”

The Fletchling screeched, thrashing her wings dramatically before she took off and settled on Marlow’s shoulder instead. “See, I would, if I actually knew where we were going!” Enya sneered. Marlow only rolled his eyes at her outburst.

Rieka’s wide gaze took in the sights around them. “Yeah… this place is great and all, but… I have no idea where we're headin'.”

We’re near the town’s center, Lumi told herself, casting her eyes towards the open, circular area in front of them. It felt like so long ago that she was clambering on top of that Taurus to watch the adventurer’s team come back. Storm, Sable, Cane, Sora… she scrunched up her features, her ears pinning back as she tried to drown out the memories. The present. She had to focus on the present. Opening her eyes again, she glanced to the east. If we head deeper into the center, then take a…

After a minute of walking, Marlow motioned in front of them with a dainty paw. “That’s the adventurer’s guild.”

As they stepped into the shadow of the building, she had to prevent her fur from prickling. Marlow held the oaken doors open for them as they slipped inside. The scent of several types of Pokemon reached her nose. The most poignant was Cash’s, the Pyroar that had gathered all of them in the meeting hall of the guild. As Pokemon clustered around them, and when Rieka pushed a path through the crowd for them, even the Pyroar’s scent became lost in the muddle. The smells, the pelts and scales rubbing against each other, the smells of warmth and sweet-stuff and sun-baked soil… her breath caught in her throat. Her eyes widened at the sight of a familiar pelt and a round face. She felt her fur bristle as she locked eyes with Sora’s.

“Yeah, we’re from Fishertown, so we’re a pretty tiny guild…” Rieka said as she padded forward. She grinned her toothy smile, her fluffy tail swaying from side to side. “But that doesn’t mean we ain’t tough! Lumi here's as fierce as thunder! Enya's as swift as the wind, and Marlow's as smart as an Abra! And me, well, you can bet I'm tough as a rock, too, so you should put your trust in us!”

「 Persona: Reflections 」

MENTIONS: All y'all

The others weren’t that pleased with her decision to bring the bird indoors. Masashi and Chen appeared to expect the worst, with the former threatening to lock everyone in there if the bird decided to take flight. Akira and Hoshiko, on the other hand, were just as curious as she was. The crow seemed to bristle at Hoshiko’s mockery and raised its wings in order to take off, though its body shuddered and it slumped back against the sweater. Its small form trembled profusely. Asumi frowned, her chest swelling with pity as her eyes settled on its right wing. It was crumpled and laid awry against the soft fabric.

”I don’t think taking him back to Kuro’s is a good idea. I think his wing is broken.” Asumi bundled her sweater even tighter around the crow. Her crude attempt of swaddling it only made it squawk in complaint. She glanced in between Hoshiko and Akira before she gave them a small smile. ”I think some crows have reddish-colored eyes. And I don’t think I’ve seen other birds with a wrapped leg. Maybe it’s just a pet?”

She scratched the back of her head. Well, she had gone outside and grabbed the bird. She had brought the bird inside. Now she knew that the bird was injured, which meant that it would have to go to a veterinarian. Did the vet in Fujihama even take care of birds? Would she even be able to afford a vet visit? Asumi grumbled under her breath as her face screwed up in intense thought. Her gaze flitted towards the window and out at the darkening sky. It was obvious that her already frantic mind was running away with yet even more ideas.

”Hey, uh, I think I’ll bring him home! I can take care of him, and that way I can post pictures online and see if he got away from anyone,” she suggested, reaching for her school bag again. Asumi bunched the sweater underneath her arm and made to get up, a nervous giggle coming from her lips. The crow only stared into dead space with a less than amused expression.

”Anyways, it’s getting dark, so I should get going. Try not to leave so late, m’kay?”

After bidding everyone farewell, Asumi was on her way. She figured she’d have to get home quick if she wanted to get a headstart on tending to the poor bird. The last thing she wanted was for it to peck her the whole way home. Don’t worry, little guy, she thought to herself as she tenderly patted the bundled bird. I’ll take care of you with some TLC!

---

April 25th, 2025.

Fujihama High

The day passed normally. Too normally. It was almost as if Miss Okamoto had forgotten about what happened yesterday. For a moment, Asumi thought the whole thing had been a bad dream. Though, at the end of it all, she guessed that she was asking for too much. There was no amount of wishing or pleading or rituals she could muster up that could change what occurred the day prior. The very thought dampened her mood. Damn Munehisa– not only had he ruined everything for everyone, but he couldn’t even show up to a study session! And he had to go and drag Nagi along with him, too. Ugh. At least it wasn’t raining… and everything winded down rather peacefully by the time the last bell rang.

Asumi was rather quiet as she followed Munehisa, Nagi, and Masashi towards the entrance of the school. She wondered how that crow was fairing; she had brought it to school with her and hid it in the middle of the bushes outside. It still didn’t appear to have the energy to escape, and even if it did, there was no way it’d turn down the comfy nest she had made for it or the snacks that she left for it to munch on. If she were a bird with a broken wing, she’d feel like she was in heaven. Her stomach let out a little grumble at the thought of all of those snacks. Man, what she wouldn’t do for some Pocky right now…

”So, what were you two doing yesterday? Masashi and I got arrested.” Asumi asked Nagi and Munehisa, pouting. ”We found a dead body and the cops just came and whisked us away like we were criminals! Can you believe that? Us, criminals!”

「 Persona: Reflections 」

???

MENTIONS: Nagi [@Psyker Landshark], Munehisa [@Solace]

In the midst of Munehisa’s awakening, “Miss Okamoto” had become a horrified yet confused mess of a woman– if she wasn’t one already. As the bee-monsters were slain by the strange presence, two of the creatures who hadn’t been attacking had grabbed their teacher and pulled her into the air. She snarled down at the retreating figures as she retreated into the dark. “Do you really think you’ll be leaving here alive?” she growled. “My reinforcements will come for your heads soon! Try all you might, but you’ll never escape!”

As the two retreated, they found more of the same sights they had seen before; several classrooms with closed doors and paths that seemed to wind deeper into the “school” stretched out to their left and right without giving any signs to where they led. After only a couple of minutes of running in their attempt to find some semblance of an exit, they reached a dead end. Two paths stretched out to their left and right sides. On their left was a fairly well-lit corridor, its floors surprisingly clean and void of the sticky honey that might have slowed them down. On the right was another hallway lit up by fancy chandeliers that practically sweltered with blazing embers. Further down the hallway, one could hear murmurs and perhaps even groans…

“Oh, this is such bullshit.” Nagi exhaled as they ran through the halls, only slightly winded from the amount of sprinting they’d done so far. Good thing cardio was part of her workout routine. “Who’d be stupid enough to go down that way?” She waved her hand in the direction of the right path, where all the chandeliers and moaning was.

“We’re going left, right?” She glanced to Mune, giving him a once-over now that she had a brief opportunity. “Like the new drip, by the way. That come standard with the magic and your imaginary friend?”

Munehisa hadn’t even noticed his sudden change in attire, his breathing labored as he was overcome with a dizzy spell. He found it difficult to focus as he fought to stay on his feet, casting a bit of an awry look towards Nagi. “Left? Oh, right,” he muttered before falling to one knee, evidently fatigued. Her mention of his uniform gave reason for the boy to observe the difference in his clothing, astonished with his new wardrobe. “What the hell? What’s up with my clothes?”

The eerie sounds that crept from the right hallway interrupted his amazement as Munehisa struggled to rise. “I dunno what’s even real anymore,” he mustered enough strength to stand, starting towards what was presumably the exit. “Did you hear it, too? Calling itself Persona, or whatever?”

The pair decided to head to the left, and much to their delight, they seemed to be headed in the right direction. As they traveled down the hallway, light seeped in from an unknown source and glinted across what looked like the type of windows they’d see at their school– but when they turned to look at them, they were only met with the sight of the patterned walls.

Despite the fact they seemed to be nearing the exit, something seemed off; it was almost as if they were being watched. The sensation persisted as the hallway opened up into a large room. Rectangular storage units shot up from the floor, though each of the compartments were sealed shut with several layers of sticky film. Multiple sets of doors rested all of the way on the other side of the room, though they seemed unnaturally far away. Hopefully, they wouldn’t be sealed shut. Several pairs of eyes continued to sear into their skin and the air thickened with intent. Whatever was watching them appeared to be waiting for their next move.

“What? No, I didn’t hear shit.” Nagi blinked, helping Mune along as she slung his arm over her shoulder to support him as they ran. “This’s bad, though. If you’re gassed already, we might be screwed if that bitch Okamoto decides she wants another round.”

As they entered the next room, Nagi frowned as she looked around. This was…creepy. Which meant that it was probably bad.

“Ah, crap.” She groaned, still supporting Mune. “Don’t like any of this. What’s the odds we even make it across this fucking room before something bad happens? Looks like a goddamn horror movie in here.”

The sound of fluttering wings reverberated from the hallway they had just traversed. Three smaller bee-like drones emerged from the corridor, though two of them struggled under the weight of carrying the Okamoto look-alike. A smirk played on her lips as the creatures hovered in one corner of the room, drawing another puff from her pipe.

“Trying to leave, are we?” Okamoto hummed. She motioned to the doors all the way on the other side of the room. “Well, you’ve made it this far… so go ahead. The exit’s right there.”

Nagi frowned, glaring up at Okamoto defiantly. The fuck was she playing at now? This was definitely rigged in some way, but…well, they didn’t exactly have a choice. It was either move forward, or be stuck in this shithole.

She started to help Mune across, but murmured into his ear as they did so.

“How good’re you for a fight right now? She’s probably gonna jump us.”

As fatigued as he was, Munehisa felt that he had enough for the last mile, offering Nagi a tired smile. “I got this,” the boy waved a hand off, removing himself from the girl’s assistance. He stood with a slight hunch as his lingering will manifested once more, the stalwart visage of Peter Pan floating at his side and prepared for another battle. “Make a run for the exit while I distract ‘em, and I’ll follow up after.”

“Miss Okamoto” watched with a sneer as the two children carried out their plan right in front of her, with Nagi starting to head towards the entrance and Munehisa turning towards her. A laugh left her lips before she stared at Nagi’s retreating figure. “Why, are you so intrigued with me?” she asked. “I know I’m too beautiful to ignore, but you should probably concentrate on your friend over there.”

At that moment, a large figure dropped from the ceiling and landed between Nagi and the exit. Its form resembled the other wasp monsters that had been tailing them, though it had a small set of wings and multiple limbs that were long and spider-like. Its hands bore four spike-like fingers, and a long, sharp proboscis with an opening at the end. Crimson eyes glimmered above a maw of sharpened yellow teeth.

“Where do you think you’re going?!” the beast roared. One of its legs swept towards Nagi, attempting to slam her against the ground as if she were an insect herself. “Creatures like you have no right to turn your back on Lady Okamoto!”

“Not into other girls,” Nagi shot back as she carefully inched towards the exit. “Tried that in middle school, didn’t work ou-OH SHIT!” She cried out in alarm as the…superwasp dropped down on her. She raised her arms to block just in time, and the creature’s leg slammed into them, sending her skidding backwards along the floor.

“Motherfucker…” She groaned, feeling a sharp throbbing in her arms. Taking that straight to the gut would have been real bad, but even blocking it hurt like an absolute bitch. Years of getting into scraps had her assessing the situation quickly, and a slight amount of panic started to creep in. Mune was dead on his feet already, this big shithead was obviously more of a threat than the little bitch-tier wasps Okamoto was throwing at them before, and she was borderline useless in this situation.

A seething rage started to boil in Nagi’s gut at the thought of her being helpless, and she raised her brass knuckles defiantly, her eyes wild.

“Come on, asshole! I’ll fucking bury you, then Okamoto!”

▂▂▃▃▄▄▅▅!

A faint whisper echoed in Nagi’s head, but it barely registered in her mind as adrenaline coursed through her. They could go down here. They probably would go down here. But she’d make that thing hurt before she did.

“Oh no, you don’t!” Munehisa flinched at the sight of his friend being purposefully targeted with a hefty blow. He rose with a defiant step, placing himself between Nagi and the larger foe that blocked the supposed exit. If I can just divert its attention and get it to move away– better yet, I can just bring it down like the others, no problem. With his heart set on the objective, the boy steeled himself for the encounter. “Outta the way, bug!” he taunted his opponent, sending his Persona in for a direct confrontation. Peter Pan’s knife hand crossed blades with the bee’s spiked fingers, attempting to overpower the enemy enough to push it aside.

The larger bee proved strong enough to not be manhandled, breaking the clash and propelling the Persona back by a few feet. “Break its wings, Peter Pan!” Munehisa chanted in a decisive moment, channeling its powers from the mask as its flute hand rose to fire a double shot. The bullets of energy smacked into the figure of the large bee, but unlike its smaller brethren, it seemed to resist the damage, letting out a mocking chuckle in response.

Dumbfounded by its resistance, Munehisa looked on in horror as the monstrosity twirled in a circle, feeling the wind begin to coalesce around him. A gust of green energy spun around his figure before closing in on him, feeling the cut of the bladestorm far more immensely than his previous injury. It was the greatest pain that he’d ever felt in his life– his scream reverberated across the distorted walls as the boy fell to his back. He was unable to act in the following moment when the larger bee seemed to pick up its stride right after, immediately firing a large projectile from its proboscis towards him.

Too stunned to react, it struck the boy directly with such force that it flipped Munehisa onto his stomach, collapsed by Nagi’s feet. His life force had slipped away into a dangerous threshold, finding himself unable to stand back up as he reached out towards Peter Pan. The image of his Persona was weak, barely maintaining its form as it began to dissipate from the world. “S-shit,” the boy cursed with a shallow breath, his upper body propped up by his right arm. It’s way too strong!

Okamoto’s features wrinkled up in delight as she watched the scene unfold in front of her. A long, bubbling giggle blustered from her lips, and she covered her mouth with a gloved hand. “I told you that you wouldn’t be leaving here alive. Why would I let you two escape? Disgusting insects such as yourselves should be culled on the spot,” she hissed. With a lazy wave of her hand, she added, “Take care of them, dearie.”

“With pleasure,” the beast rumbled again. It reached out to grab Munehisa in its claws, squeezing the boy tight within its spiney fingers before it turned back to Nagi with a hungry growl.

“All you had to do was submit,” Okamoto chimed childishly. “It’s too late to ask for forgiveness, now.”

“Shit! Mune!” Nagi cried out in alarm as he stepped in and started to cover for her, only to be taken down. It all happened quickly enough that she hadn’t been able to maneuver around Mune and Peter Pan to help in time. And then Okamoto opened her mouth again.

“Holy shit, do you ever stop talking?!” Nagi screamed in fury up at her, her mind racing to try to figure out how to handle the situation. If Mune couldn’t take it, what chance did she have? Surrender wasn’t an option. If Nagi had thought Okamoto was sincere in her offer, she might have considered it, if only to bail Mune out. But everyone in the room knew she was just fucking with them.

“You want me to just up and quit? Get the fuck down here and make me.” She hissed defiantly. “You wouldn’t be shit without your stupid goddamn bee fetish.”

Her laughter caught in her throat after Nagi’s reply, which earned her a severely judgemental “ahem” from Okamoto. The bees brought her closer to where Nagi stood, though they remained hovering out of her reach. Okamoto peered down at her through narrowed eyes. “It amazes me that you’re still squealing, worm. Though, I fear that I may be asking too much of you when I tell you to lay down and die quietly… Nakano, wasn’t it? Can you not process such a simple request?” she asked with a lazy shrug. “Not surprising, seeing that you come from a family of filthy-blooded criminals.”

Nagi’s fists clenched reflexively at Okamoto’s insult, and a haze of red started to tinge her vision. This bitch fucking dared to go there? So help her, Nagi almost forgot about the imminent threat to her life as she started to talk back.

“Say that again. My old man rips people off, but he’s still a damn sight better of a person than you’ll ever be. At least he shed blood, sweat, and tears for his place in life. Tell me, you ace your job interview flat on your back, or beneath the principal’s desk?”

“You insolent wretch!” Okamoto’s face morphed with anger at Nagi’s response. “How dare you speak that way to me?! How dare you know anything about what I’ve been through! I have spent years of my life raising children so they can be more than just crude-minded grubs writhing beneath my feet! So that they can be model citizens worthy of good lives!”

She practically burned with rage, continuing her tirade as she bared her fangs down at Nagi. “What does a bitch like you know?! You’re slated for failure anyways. Why, I bet that in a few years from now, you'll be rotting in prison alongside your worthless father!”

「 Persona: Reflections 」

MENTIONS: Masashi [@Zombehs], Akira [@DJAtomika], Hoshiko [@Fabricant451], Akio [@Lord Orgasmo

”Don’t worry about me! I totally got this.” Asumi waved Masashi off as she furrowed her brow. What, didn’t he believe in her? She was so pumped up, she was certain she’d beat anyone that tried their hand at her.It was because of the left-over adrenaline from before. She turned to Akira, smirking. ”You should check out the arcade’s new Street Fighter game! They installed it just last week.”

She turned to Hoshiko when she gave her a suggestion on who to play. The sumo wrestler, huh? Asumi was about to reply when one of her wild movements knocked over objects on a shelf. She winced in alarm, though the moment quickly passed. In her nervousness, she couldn’t help but laugh. Though, this didn’t stop her from turning to their host. ”Sorry about that. We’re both pretty clumsy.” Asumi said with a slight frown. Hopefully Hoshiko wouldn’t make any other weird movements like that. Chen would understand a mistake, but if it happened again, it’d be even harder to cover for her. She reached forward to grab her bag and pulled it closer to them so Hoshiko could nab one of the snacks that remained inside. ”A-anyways, I’ll show you how to win at this–”

THUMP!!

Asumi flinched, her eyes glancing up at the window. A grayish smear stained the glass. ”Oh no!” she yelped. ”One of the birds must’ve hit the window… I’ll be right back!”

She pushed herself onto her feet and scrambled out of the room before anyone could react. If the poor bird was smart enough, it’d stay in one place to recuperate…

It didn’t take Asumi long to return with something bundled in the sweater that was previously tied around her waist. She stepped carefully towards them without a second thought and knelt down on the ground. Gently, she set the bundle on the ground between them all. ”I’m glad he didn’t fly away. Poor guy’s dazed outta his mind…”

Asumi pulled away one of the sleeves that she had used to keep the creature in place. A normal crow rested in the midst of the wool, though it was hardly moving. It let out a low croak and ruffled its wings, but that seemed to be all that it could do for now. Its red eyes blinked up at her. She frowned and reached out to feel one of its legs. There didn’t seem to be any broken bones in either of them. Her eyes settled on the purple band that was wrapped around its left leg. Hadn’t she seen this bird before?

”Oh!” Asumi perked up. She glanced up at the others, a blush crossing her cheeks, before she finally looked back at Chen. ”I hope you don’t mind that I brought it in… I was just so worried about it.”

「 Persona: Reflections 」

???

MENTIONS: Nagi [@Psyker Landshark], Munehisa [@Solace]

Nagi’s attack had rendered the bee-monster disoriented as it crashed to the floor in a mess of twitching antennae and thrashing wings and legs. The rest of the bees, though, became even more furious, their venomous stingers pressing closer and closer with every passing moment. They were within seconds of turning the two teenagers into swiss cheese when–

“How now, my lovelies, what seems to be the problem?”

The angry fluttering stopped; the bee-like cryptids seemed to purr with pleasure as the circle suddenly became much looser than it had been before. The impenetrable wall of rapidly fluttering wings and hairy, segmented bodies spread apart, leaving enough room for a figure to slip between their numbers.

It was a woman with blonde hair that fell past her bare shoulders and perfect, fair skin. She wore a long, brilliant black-and-yellow striped dress that was short at the front, which revealed slender legs and black high-heels, and long in the back, where the fabric trailed behind her like a cape. Her breasts seemed to be on the verge of bursting from the dress’s bodice, though this did not appear to bother her in the least. A very fluffy, black feather boa wrapped around her neck as if it were concealing something, and ivory white gloves reached her elbows. Her head was crowned with a black Victorian-style hat complete with delicate white lace and bright yellow dahlias. Her cheeks were powdered with rosy pink blush, and her lips were colored a deep crimson.

The strange woman watched the two children with a complacent expression as she stepped closer, her high heels unrestrained by the stickiness of the floor. Her right hand held a slender, long tobacco pipe, which she brought up to lips. Even the way she took a draft from it was the very definition of posh. She seemed to be the spitting image of a certain Miss Okamoto… if it weren’t for the dangerous look in her glowing, yellow eyes.

“Well, well, well… what do we have here?” A billow of white smoke followed her churlish words. Her glower cut through them as she scanned them up and down. “It seems like two little roaches have crawled into our home…”

The bee-monsters let out another hum, their wings drooping. One of them drifted closer to her, its wide head bumping against her shoulder. “Miss Okamoto” pouted and reached up to stroke its head, then one of its feelers. Her delicate fingers drifted up the coarse antennae and produced a pleasured hum from the creature. “Oh, my poor babies…” she coddled, her voice one of pity and sadness as she gazed tenderly at the monsters. “No wonder you’re all so upset.”

Then, with a fire burning in her gaze, she pulled away from the bee-creature and slowly made her way up to Nagi and Munehisa. She glanced up and down them one more time, smoke curling from the tip of her pipe as she pursed her lips. Then, when she finally finished her observations, she wrinkled her brow and tipped her chin up at them. “Who are you…?” she snarled, venom dripping from her words. “... what are you…? And what are you doing in here?!”

Honestly, Nagi hadn’t expected her punch to actually be that effective, even with the aid of brass knuckles. This was good. It didn’t matter that the other bees were closing in, she could take them-

What the actual shit? Was that Okamoto? With tits? And with absolutely no fashion sense? The striped dress and boa were tacky as all hell. Someone was watching too many foreign dramas. What was this, the bitch’s identical twin blessed with a better rack? Of course, the fact that this look-alike of her history teacher was evidently controlling the bee monsters should have made Nagi wary, but sharing Okamoto’s face meant that her caution was overtaken by a brazen desire to assert dominance over the useless bitch who was trying to make their lives more difficult.

“Look, we didn’t come in…wherever the fuck this is by choice. We were supposed to be walking out of school, then shit goes weird and now there’s bees trying to murder us. So if you could just point us in the direction of the exit, that’d be real nice of you.”

Munehisa continued to cower behind his backpack in fear of their attackers, only peering out upon a familiar voice. His guard dropped slightly as he lowered the makeshift shield to his stomach, recognizing both the voice and face as Miss Okamoto. Yet, the amber glint in her eye spelled out a threatening intent– though her excessive appearance triggered his boyish impulse and easily caught his eye, their predicament and the great exaggeration of everything inspired vigilance. First, a beehive. Second, gigantic killer bees. Third, boobs straight outta an eroge. Even I’m not impressed…

Seeing Miss Okamoto coddle one of the killer bees caused Munehisa to raise a brow, looking between Nagi and the older woman with confusion. The hell’s she embracing it for? Lovelies? The sound that it produced in response to her stroke somewhat bothered him. None of this felt right at all. “Yeah, what she said,” Munehisa nodded in accordance with what Nagi said. “We’re supposed to be studying, not playing around with these, uh… robots! Jeez, the robotics club really nailed the realism with those things, haha!”

The Miss Okamoto look-alike did not seem pleased with their responses. She glared down her nose at them as she scrunched up her face with contempt. "Exit? There is no exit here. Once you step foot here, there's no leaving. Everyone and everything stays here for good," she hissed. "That includes you filthy worms. But no worries. You'll find your place in the hive soon."

She turned back to her "lovelies", thinking for a moment, before she looked back at Nagi and Munehisa with an unamused sneer. "I suppose you do have some potential… so I'll extend you an offer. You can join my lovelies in tending to my very wish, and I'll make sure you spend the rest of your little lives in peace and prosperity. What do you say?"

She waited for their response as she took yet another draft from her pipe. The bee-monsters hovered there aimlessly, their heads obviously void of any thought.

Oh, great. That was just dandy. Hopefully, not-Okamoto was as full of shit as the real one, or they were outright fucked. But either way, well…

“Yeah, I’m gonna have to go with hell no.” Nagi drawled, putting her guard up as she slowly backed away from Okamoto and the bees, preparing to take Mune by the hand and make a run for it. “Really not into the bee fetish you’ve got going on here. Stripes’re tacky as shit, you know.”

This’d probably get her killed. But bending the knee to this bitch? No way. Nagi had some kind of class, damn it.

Munehisa let out a small sigh of confusion upon the supposed doppelganger’s offer. “Is that really Okamoto?” the boy only found himself even more lost as the exchange dragged on, scratching the side of his head. The humidity of the atmosphere, coupled with his mounting distress, caused his expression to twitch with impatient annoyance. Slinging the backpack over his right shoulder, his face hardened as he brought up a hand to wave off Miss Okamoto.

“Look, we– I’m not into this shitty roleplay you’ve got going on,” Munehisa snapped a little as he looked around for a stairwell, completely dialing out the unfamiliar environment. “Don’t even know if the principal allows all of this,” he was forced to change his footing, having felt as if his feet were sinking into the goopiness of the floor. “But I honestly don’t care. If you won’t show us the stairway, then go away. C’mon, let’s just go.”

The children’s reply only kindled Okamoto’s fury. She straightened her head, staring at them head on with a ferocious smolder. “How dare you?!” Her words escaped her in a snarl. “Don’t you know who I am?! You have no right to speak to me in such a disgusting manner!”

Her fury seemed to roll off of her in waves as she stalked even closer, her lip curling to reveal shining white teeth. Okamoto’s eyes flickered up and down them once again, this time in a much deadlier fashion than before. “If you do not wish to submit to me, then I do not have any use for you. Dears, you’ve had such a hard day today,” she turned over her shoulder and motioned for the bees to resume their assault on them. “Enjoy your dinner~”

The bees were more than happy to encroach on the two again. As if they had been especially angered by Nagi’s attack on one of their numbers, they focused mostly on her, seeking to restrain her with their many legs and grabby pincers. They also pressed closer to Munehisa, growling angrily.

“Now that I think of it, you two do seem familiar… aren’t you two from Class 2-B?” Okamoto raised her voice so it could reach past the angry flutter of wings. She sent a sidelong glance down at Nagi before she raised her eyes back up at Munehisa. When she spoke again, her voice dipped low into a brooding rumble. “Especially you. You’re that worthless student in my class, aren’t you? The one who drew that horrible picture of me.” A wicked grin spread over her lips as a giggle bubbled from her throat. “To think that a shitty, no-good artist is going to get everyone in his class expelled… and there’s nothing that he can do about it! What a waste of talent… it’s sad, really.”

Nagi snarled, her face locked in a rictus of fury as she struggled to free herself from the bees restraining her. She’d managed to smash her fist into one more bee before she was swarmed, the rest keeping her pinned in place. Still, even through the haze of rage in her mind, one fact stood out. This was Okamoto. Somehow. And she knew it was Mune already? Why fucking go to that entire show, then?

“Shut your cock hole, bitch!” Nagi spat, simultaneously straining her limbs against the bees while trying to angle her head toward one enough for a headbutt.

“Why even waste your time dicking around trying to expel us all if you already knew he did it? What, you can’t be bothered to teach even less than you already do so you decided to just ax a class entirely? Hell, while we’re here, you compensating for your flat fucking chest in real life or something? Seriously, this silicone job you got going’s goddamn pathetic.” She hissed spitefully before catching Mune’s eye.

“The fuck are you still doing here? RUN, dipshit!” Nagi roared at Mune, hoping her little tirade pissed Okamoto enough that she’d take her attention off him and onto her.

The gravity of the scenario weighed back on Munehisa as his lackadaisical moment drew the furor of Miss Okamoto, and inspired her minions to draw forward once more. He’d thought of the killer bees as nothing more than mere contraptions, and yet, his eye for the smaller details only verified their general authenticity as the creatures inched closer. Just what the hell was going on?

The boy’s face tensed as he stepped back, his brow narrowing upon her apparently recollection of their identities. “You… what? You already know?” Munehisa gasped, the sting of the words that followed evident in his expression. Despite her knowledge, Miss Okamoto was knowingly exacting punishment upon the entire class, just to spite him. “All over some stupid drawing, that you took too seriously?” he took offense to the wound inflicted from her insult. “Why drag everyone into it if you know I’m the only one responsible, then?”

“Silence!” Miss Okamoto roared in Nagi’s direction, though her rambling did little to distract her from her true prey. She narrowed her brow at Munehisa as she took a step closer to him. “Of course I knew. What do you take me for, an idiot? I even knew that you would be trouble as soon as you set foot in my classroom. What else can I expect from someone with a tarnished name?”

“Oh yes, about your mother, she embezzled all of that money to the Yakuza, didn’t she? What a worthless bitch, destroying you and your father’s lives just to line her pockets with cash. That goes to show how much she cared about you two,” Okamoto continued in a hiss. “And your father’s almost as useless as she is! What a waste of space. You know that it was because of me that he was able to get a job in my school?! If it weren’t for myself, you two would be rotting on the streets… oh, to see how things have turned out just breaks my heart…”

Munehisa’s dejected gaze casted down to the ground below Okamoto’s feet. “That’s… that’s not true at all…”

“To think that your criminal whore of a mother spawned someone who is just as vile as she is. How funny that you’re following in her footsteps– dozens of other kids are going to suffer and fail because of what YOU did!” Grinding her teeth, she practically seethed in front of them before she finally jabbed a finger in his direction, roaring out her next words. “Tell me, how does it feel to be the root cause of your friends’ downfalls? How does it feel to know that this is all of your fault?!”