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[color=949494][sub]O A K R I D G E   I N N E R   C I T Y[/sub][/color]

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[color=949494]Every visit to the city was the same. It was not an awfully frequent endeavor, but it had happened in the past. The narrative was usually Celise nagging or outright forcing Lisa to come. Sometimes the silver girl would spend hours or days at the She-Wolf’s lair, peddling the outing with affection and arguments for its necessity. Eventually she would be successful and they would go about doing what needed to be done out in the scary world of social interaction and presence of other people. However, field missions like this one were relatively new in their education. They often required outings on a moment’s notice, so the usual rituals were difficult to go through. It was a bit of a challenge for the both of them.

A gruff escaped Celise’s lungs when the other one nearly yanked her away. They slithered through and past the thick masses of the streets. Visual and auditory stimulus attacked them from every direction. The silver girl did not mind the bright lights and holograms and movement of people, but the solitary half of the two expressed disdain. It was not to say that Celise did not enjoy quiet moments of meditation, however—her best moments and memories were spent in silence. She held her tongue in this moment as well, while being led through the crowd by the She-Wolf. Sometimes it was just better to let her vent, to expel all signs of rage and anxiety.

[color=dadfda]“Beneath me? I don’t know, I don’t mind. But I want to go there first,”[/color] Celise nodded at a digital sign on the corner of an intersection that pointed to a nearby shrine. She quickly returned her wrist to her companion so as to be subject to the other one’s whim again. [color=dadfda]“We can go to the market afterwards, and then the harbor.”[/color] The shrine of Oakridge City was the closest thing to a temple one would get in this part of the world. It had a dedicated building and address. The interior of the shrine was a beautiful space with plenty of effigies and statues of spirits. People visited this holy place on a daily basis in order to pray and light candles for whatever reason.

Celise’s gaze into Lisa’s tempered eyes was unhindered. It was not devoid of emotion, yet a distinct lack of emphasis. It spoke no words, yet transmitted endless of pages cluttered with cryptic phrases. Her motions through bone and structure was subtle, passive, although creeping back into the fluctuating air between them. Celise’s wrist was still seeking the grip of the She-Wolf, to be embraced and imprisoned once again.[/color]

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[color=949494][sub]A  W A T E R Y  G R A V E[/sub][/color]

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[color=949494]A smile crept onto Celise’s lips. The growing plants around the shrine blessed it with a breath of life, tiny spirits returning. The silver girl straightened her frame, the icy fox seeking sanctuary in her body again. She hooked arms with Jomen and gave a subtle gesture of farewell to the shrine, satisfied that it had not yet seen the last of its days. Seeing small gathering of spirits like that made the silver girl wonder what the tiny ones felt as they jumped from sanctuary to sanctuary, frightened to be consumed by the outside world. It could only be a terrible existence.

[color=dadfda]“Sometimes I wonder what’s going to happen after all of this. Will our spirits just leave us once the Stigma is gone? For every day that passes, I feel more connected to them than the day before, and I’m not sure I could handle all of them just disappearing. Do you ever feel like this?”[/color] Celise conversed with Jomen as they trod quietly and slowly.

As they arrived at the main street again, two armed men were there to greet them. They were not with the military, but rather the Mayor’s private security personnel. The men showed Celise and Jomen inside a car that would take them to the meeting with the Mayor. The silver girl squeezed herself into the back seat, leaving room for Jomen as well. Managing her sword inside the car was a bit clumsy and awkward, however. She had to balance it between her legs, tip against the rubber at her feet. The driver had to take quite a drastic detour, as some streets were completely flooded. The men did not say much other than that they would be there in a moment. The Mayor would explain the situation and Celise and Jomen some indication how to find the creature.[/color]

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