[h2]The Train to Omnibus - [color=C2b280]Fleo[/color], [color=red]A[/color][color=orange]r[/color][color=green]i[/color][color=cyan]e[/color][color=purple]l[/color], [color=black]Annalise[/color] and Trinity[/h2]
Seemingly oblivious to all others, Annalise persisted with her attack, vying with unadulterated fervor to injure the dusty woman who'd up til now been a supportive friend.  As such, Trinity's counterattack went completely ignored--until it collided with her ribs.  The dye-haired foreigner gasped in surprise just as much as pain, and her blade bounced harmlessly off Trinity's energy barrier.  With furious eyes Annalise rounded upon the minstrel. [color=black][b]"Fine then!  You...first!"[/b][/color]  The glassy sword arced through the air, aimed directly between Trinity's mismatched eyes. The warrior-bard raised her hand in response, to block the blade with another barrier, but she found it wasn't necessary as, at that instant, the soporific spirit magic of Ariel washed over her, and the sword stopped in its tracks.  

Annalise stumbled, almost losing her balance, and a semblance of uncertainty passed over her features.  Fleo, sufficiently recovered now from her cut, threw both her hands forward, ignoring any glass butterflies in their path.  Her bandaged palms collided with Annalise's collarbone, and the young woman bodily fell backward into the seat.  Immediately, her blade flickered, and returned to dull steel.  Around her, the swarm of butterflies regained their ebon hue, and converged to reform the scabbard.  After a moment of twitching, Annalise's eyes rolled upward into her head, and she was still.

A sudden fear took hold of Fleo for the sake of her companion, even though she'd been wounded only a moment before.  Forgetting the lightly bleeding cut on her cheek -as well as a severed strip of bandage just now drifting to the floor-, she leaned in to listen to Annalise's heartbeat.  A moment later, she breathed a sigh of relief.  [color=C2b280]"Still alive."[/color]  Fleo then cast a look at both of her conscious allies.  [color=C2b280]"Thank you both...I guess the poor girl has an 'evil' personality."[/color]  She raised an eyebrow at Trinity in particular.  [color=C2b280]"What was that magic you used?  I thought you only shot arrows."[/color]

Trinity gazed at the unconscious woman with a bit of pity. What a hassle it must be to deal with something so out of her control, and yet it almost controls [i]her[/i]. An evil personality...? That must be particularly painful to deal with. Her thoughts were torn from this, however, when Fleo came to face her, in turn. The white-haired young woman jolted slightly, stiffening. "Ah, well..."

She didn't like lying. Not that she thought she could lie her way out of this, Fleo knew what she saw. And she [i]did[/i] see it. "It's... a magic I've been hiding. I have my reasons. I learned Arrows and Archery so I wouldn't have to use it." She sighs softly, "but I let my guard down because I thought we were safe."

Somewhat desperate to change the subject, Trinity then turned her heterochromatic gaze toward their unconscious charge. "So she's rather risky to be around. Are we just going to subdue her every time her every time this evil personality of hers comes around?"

Ariel listened to the others discuss the situation. Admittedly the personality she currently had did not lend well to focusing. Taking a moment to process Ariel seemed to have an idea. "[color=powderblue]Well I guess I could keep her calm, maybe. I wasn't really sure I could do that.[/color]" Realizing she was still translucent she became solid again. This was quite an odd magic. "[color=powderblue]Maybe if we take the sword away she'll be easier to deal with.[/color]" Reaching down she attempted to pick up the sword.

The instant her fingers made contact with the scabbard, the entire sword fizzled suddenly, not just as if sparking with electricity but actually becoming blurry and losing its shape.  The next moment, the anomaly ceased.  When Ariel attempted to grab it again, the phenomenon reappeared, and this time the sheathed sword simply blinked out of existence, as if it had been turned off.  Fleo cocked her head at the strange occurrence.  [color=C2b280]"How weird!  Maybe it's bound to her?  I've never seen a magic like that before in my life.  It's like a child sat down and though, what's the coolest magical weapon I could have?  A sword that only I can use, that can become anything, with a badass scabbard that's also butterflies!  It makes no sense."[/color]  Apparently, the event had wiped from her mind Trinity's brief explanation about her magic.

The minstrel found it strange. It seemed like her diversion tactic worked, but she didn't think Fleo was really so absent-minded as to forget so easily. Maybe she understood? "Because magic is logical and makes sense all the time, right?" Well, whatever the case, it worked in her favor.

A slowing sensation heralded the train beginning to stop.  Fleo knew that the trip from Magnolia to Onibus, the nearest city, wouldn't be a long one at all by train, but she was still surprised.  [color=C2b280]"Over already?"[/color]  She glanced hesitantly at Annalise, still zonked out with eyes wide open.  [color=C2b280]"Should we wake her up?"[/color]

Trinity raised a hand to the wall to steady herself as the train slowed to a stop. "That was fast... I didn't even get to nap." She, too, gazed at their unconscious companion with a certain measure of hesitance. "Mmmn... hold on." Trinity requipped her quiver and held out her hand, conjuring one named and one incanted ice arrow. She stowed them in her quiver, nodding to her companions. "Alright. If she starts trouble again, I'll just freeze her."

A few shakes from Fleo later, and Annalise was awake.  She greeted the waking world with a smile, for her tyrannical personality had departed for the time being.  Fleo, an arm around the swordswoman's shoulder to keep her secure, led the way off the train, and into Onibus Town.

[center]To be continued![/center]