World Tree MUSH

    For once, it's relatively early. The height of summer means that Yumi has no school (not that she hasn't done her share of skipping), and also that the snow around Snowpeak is mostly gone, making it much easier to get up the mountain well before noon. And while she has a spare moment of time off from her current job in Natsuto, she's absolutely taking it.

    The door to the fortress opens with a soft creak, letting in a little rush of midmorning mountain air; the redhead leans in the door and peeks around, calling out a simple, "Hello~? It's me, I came to visit," before stepping inside and slinging her bag off her shoulder.

    Snowpeak is a rather large garrison. So it takes a good moment or so before Yumi's voice carries far enough into the fortress for someone to come and answer her.
    "Ah, Yumi."
    And that someone would be Rydia of Mist; the last of the Summoner clan. First she's just a head of wild green hair peeking over the banister from the second floor, but a moment later she's making her way down the stairs with some small degree of haste.
    "You're back, how have your studies been going?" She asks in a mild tone as she makes it to the bottom of the stairway.

    "As well as can be expected," Yumi replies, digging around in her bag for a smaller sack of her traditional haul of snack foods. "We're on summer break, so no class, but they do give us homework to do over the break. I've got mine almost all done." That's pretty like her - get it all out of the way, so it's not hanging over her head. "Mostly I just wanted to get away from Natsuto for a bit. Vulpes has had me busy, and I'm... a little sour at him right now," she admits.

    Then she holds out the bag, ambling over Rydia's way. "Brought snacks. The usual, plus some new potato chip flavors they're running."

    Poor Yumi, having to deal with things like schooling and homework.
    Rydia didn't go to school an she turned out fine.
    Mostly.
    Okay, so maybe the Summoner is a little feral after ten years with inhuman Eidolons, but still.
    Okay so she was feral before that too.
    Nevertheless, no sooner than Yumi mentions snack foods, the green-haired girl is already scooting ever closer, nearly looming over Yumi until she gets those matcha pocky that she seems to love so much. When the bag is held her way, the Summoner starts rummaging through it with hunger in her eyes.
    This is paused only for a beat.
    "That clockwork fox guardian you mentioned?" She asks. "What's it got you doing that has you surly at him, hm?"

    Oh hey here comes the hungry summoner. Yumi can't help a little chuckle. "It's still so weird having you able to look me in the eye now." There's a couple different kinds of Pocky, some meat-based snacks, and the potato chip flavors are oddball varieties of the 'limited time unless it turns out popular then maybe we'll keep it' type. The topic of Vulpes, though, draws a bit of grump to the senshi's face.

    "It's less the 'what' than the 'why', to be honest. Turns out he's still been keeping things from me. Between that and, uh..." Embarrassment touches her features. "...and Damacyn, I guess my irritation with him's kinda on the front of my mind." She inclines her head in the direction of the library. "Mind if we sit?"

    Hungry Hungry Summoners sadly won't make it as the next popular game from Milton Bradley. But she does find the pocky she seeks and tears open a box and the wrapper inside while she listens.
    "Mmmmm..." She murmurs at first amid nibbling on a candy-coated biscuit stick.
    "Any idea what it is he's keeping from you, or are you completely in the dark?" She asks bluntly, trying to focus on Vulpes rather than on the grim situation that was Damcyan.
    That was a terrible event for anyone to witness. But she nods, turning for the direction of the library when Yumi indicates it.

    "I know exactly what it was," Yumi replies, "Because he had to tell me to explain what he needed me to do." She steps ahead and gets the door, waiting for Rydia to step in, before following behind. "I'm on guard duty, me and Elizabeth both. We're working in shifts. Because there's a potential new senshi in Natsuto, and..." She turns and leans back against the door, folding her arms over her chest. "Well. It turns out there's a faction of insane and powerful magical girls called 'Executioners' who would love nothing more than to kill her before she ever gets a chance to make a decision. Who knew?"

    Into the library and with Yumi getting the door for her, Rydia steps on in. Grabbing the nearest two chairs, the last Summoner skids one Yumi's way before she plops down with her pocky to listen.
    "Guard duty?" She repeats, one brow arching while the senshi elucidates.
    "Oh."
    Yes. Oh.
    "Oh..."
    Executioners don't sound all that... Personable. Not in the least.
    "Since when have they been a thing?" The Summoner asks. "I remember youma being a problem on your world, but now evil magicl girls?"
    This is the point where, if Rydia watched anime, she would say 'this sounds like something out of an anime'.
    Rydia of Mist does not watch anime, though.
    "... Did you need help watching her?" She does ask after that. "I'm not exactly doing much while we figure out what to do since Damcyan."

    Yumi steps over and flops right down into the chair, sinking down a bit. "The impression I got was, they've been a thing for a while. He wouldn't give me any more info than I needed to get the job done, though. 'Even the weakest one is stronger than you are, they're all fanatics, and they can't be reasoned with.' Enough to answer my question without actually answering my question."

    She laces her fingers together, glancing over at Rydia. "I might. Maybe not the watching itself, but if one of them turns up, I'll probably want as much help as I can get. He said they were pretty small in number, but with the amount of detail he didn't give..." Yumi shakes her head. "...no telling. And hopefully I won't flip out mid-fight again."

    Rydia plucks another stick of pocky from the box before she passes it over in offering to Yumi, in case the other girl wants. But then the Summoner is frowning.
    "They sound like a likeable lot." She mutters sourly. "I can see why you'd be reasonably displeased with Vulpes."
    "Well..." She does muse for a beat. "If you need me, Whyt and I can be in Natsuto as soon as tonight. And if you do... Flip out again. Well that's a bridge to cross when we get there."
    And speaking of Whyt, the thin mist that surrounds Rydia and clings to the floors and walls of the entirety of the castle begin to swirl and coalesce... Until the figure of the mist dragon's head and neck seems to emerge from the floor-- to rest head on Yumi's lap with a soft keening noise.
    "Attention whore." Rydia shoots at her dragon- which ignores her with a puff of mist from his nostrils.

    Yumi takes exactly two sticks from the box of pocky, then passes it back. She works on them one at a time, snapping her first bite off while she listens. "...mm." It's a contemplative, noncommittal noise. She looks like there's more she'd like to say, but a certain misty dragon chooses that moment to make an appearance. She laughs, reaching down to gently rest a hand on the dragon's head and stroke the scales there. "Hello, Whyt. Haven't seen you in a little while, huh?" Pet, pet.

    "...I'm sorry about that," she finally says after a minute or so. "The... what happened at Damacyn. I know it wasn't really in my control, but it still... I had a half-second thought that you were going into danger if you headed further in, and suddenly that was just the only thing in my head, at all." The soft embarrassment seeps back into her voice.

    Yes, yes good, give Whyt that petting. It is what the dragon wants.
    Though Rydia does roll her eyes at her dragon's antics, she pops another stick of pocky in her mouth, munching slowly while the dragon coos gets his pets in.
    "It's fine." She says in regards to what happened at Damcyan as she slows her snacking, clearing her throat as the memories come back and she fights back a small fluster.
    "It was a little sudden... And it caught me by surprise." She admits. "But like you said, it wasn't in your control. And if anything it just shows how you care about your friends, so..."

    Yumi is at least talented enough at multitasking to pet Whyt while snapping through her pocky, and she does so as she listens. "Yeah... yeah, I guess." The senshi muses on that, looking thoughtful. "...makes me wonder how much I knew about it when I accepted the whole deal. I mean, even knowing what I know now, I can definitely say I'd still take it, but..." Her eyes turn upward. "...How much did they tell me? Did I get duped into it?"

    There's a soft sigh, then she adds, "I wanna make sure Misaki goes in knowing what she's getting into. -ah, that's the new girl, by the way, Misaki. If she makes the choice, I want her to know what it is she's picked."

    The pocky is just about done, so Rydia dips her hand back into the bag to pull out a bag of chips to try.
    The poor bag is ripped into.
    Though she does offer some chips Yumi's way first before digging right on in this time.
    "Well. You're a sharp girl, Yumi. As sharp as my dagger- you know. The one I keep sharpened for the day I find the witch that burned my village down. That one. I don't think tricking you into the job would have been easy."
    "Well. That's on you, then, to ensure she doesn't go in blind. ... I'd offer to help but. I don't know very much about this senshi business. I'm a girl. And I know magic. But I'm hardly a magical girl. I don't know why there's a distinction." And she won't bother watching the anime to understand it.

    That poor, poor bag of chips.

    Yumi grabs a small handful of chips, then starts munching through them one by one; save for a single chip, which she 'accidentally' drops right into her lap at a very convenient angle for a dragon. "I dunno, that dagger is pretty sharp," she replies to Rydia, a little smile finding its way onto her face. She's content to just sit and listen again, munching her chips... save for that last part, of course. "I want to say it's a fiction thing, but... well, I'm living it. So I dunno."

    That chip doesn't stand a chance.
    Whyt snaps it right up.
    "I know it's sharp. I keep it that way for a reason." The Summoner says, voice dripping with murderous intent. She's really got it out for that woman. Nevertheless... She takes a slow sigh and shakes her head.
    "Sure doesn't sound like fiction to me."