[color=FF7F50]" What's ya name, anyway? I ain't know ya. Tabitha's mine, if ya ain't caught it."[/color] 

[color=ff4500]"Ah!  Anni."[/color]

[color=FF7F50]"I'll go ahead and tell ya, I ain't gonna trust whatever reason the next spook is gonna give us for doing whatever it is we gonna do."[/color] 

That was a stunning idea.  Anni took a step back as her brain tried to process it.  The next person, the Magician, was one of the Ghost Girl's friends... probably.  So the reason he would give them for--well, like Tabitha said, for whatever--wouldn't that be the Ghost Girl's reason?

Just as Anni stepped back, the metal soldier stepped forward.  Anni stayed just long enough to hear his name--Tristan; Tabitha, Tristan, Ky-ah, later!--then felt rapidly out of place being so near the two.  Their conversation was a private one, so Anni silently slipped away as quickly as she could.

[I][color=708090]"I would have you serve as my blades, in this world."[/color][/I]

So what was her reason?  Why did she need a police officer, a pair of high school students, both of Johnny's employees, [I]that guy[/I] who was clearly not on their side, and, and... and she didn't know who the rest of these people were, actually.  But why did the Ghost Girl need all of them to "serve as her blades?"  And why wouldn't the Magician tell them that truthfully?

Anni glanced at the scary man again.  Somehow, he had something to do with that answer; Anni was certain of that.  She didn't want to be any closer to him than necessary--but as Anni hadn't yet stopped walking, she found herself drifting closer to him subconsciously.  With a small, startled yelp, Anni halted her steps--just a few strides away from Officer Kalua... from Mike and Ascot.  They were talking about what to do with their prisoner; and, even as wrapped up in her thoughts as she was, Anni had heard enough of the exchange between that man and the officer to know... well, to know something.  That it all made her really uncomfortable and she really wanted a dog to hug?

Anni stayed there quietly, unsure how she should insert herself in that conversation--or even if she should at all.  A loud growl from Ascot's stomach resolved the situation; he turned to her, pulled her into the conversation, and asked in his very direct and pragmatic fashion, "Oh, do you guys have some food?"

Anni had to confess, [color=ff4500]"I do not."[/color]  She swiveled her head this way and that.  They were in the wilderness right now, after all; surely there would be some fruits or even roots that were edible.  Anni discovered a much bigger problem quickly; she couldn't even find anything that was recognizable.  Knowing if it was edible or not simply wasn't possible.  She couldn't think of any way to test if a plant might be poisonous, either.

A warm throb came from the folds of her skirt.  Anni's hand dropped down to grasp it.  Immediately that warmth began to pulse up her arm.  What came next wasn't anything tangible--nothing like a clear thought or even something as vague as an emotion.  There seemed to appear, ex nihilo, the understanding that putting the mask on would give her the power to help.  It didn't enter as a foreign thought; it didn't feel like a thought, and it seemed never to have entered.  It was simply there, as though it had always been there.

Anni dared to take a peek at the mask, turning it out with her hand.  It smiled at her--it always smiled at her.  That impossibly large smile that split the entire face.  She dropped it back into her skirt quickly, returning her gaze to her peer and the policeman.  [color=ff4500]"I think you're right, Ascot; we do need to hurry."[/color]

For a moment, Anni looked like she was struggling with an internal conflict.  [color=ff4500]"Do you,"[/color] she began, addressing her words to both or either--she wasn't sure herself.  [color=ff4500]"Do you,"[/color] she tried again.  [color=ff4500]"Do you believe..."[/color]  Her words died out as the battle within was lost.  Her head tilted down and her eyes sought the soil.  [color=ff4500]"...that the Ghost Girl really needs our help?"[/color] she finished in a quiet voice.

She hadn't said it.  She had been scared to say it.  So she said this.  Head still down, Anni dared to turn her eyes up to look at Ascot.  Maybe if she had done more to get to know him last year, maybe then she would have asked her real question.  Maybe he would have known what she didn't say.  Maybe...

[I]'Maybe you should just keep it to yourself, hm?'[/I]

Her eyes met Ascot's.  Anni looked down again quickly.  Maybe that person was right; maybe she should.  Maybe then she wouldn't bother any of these people.

[I]'Maybe that's too many maybes.'[/I]