"..."

Shining Fist paused for a moment. Then, with a look of deep concentration, she folded her arms across her chest. For a few moments, she remained like this, as if deep in thought.

Then...

"... I have no idea!"

The girl scratched the back of her head with an awkward chuckle as she turned to face Fuyuko. For all that buildup, her actual thought processes seemed to have resulted in nothing.

"Hmmm... you said they were in the forest, right? Or they ran off there or something," she said, after a moment, "So... Maybe staring there would be good?! I dunno how to find them but some creep in a suit with a bunny mask has gotta stand out, right?"

Even if it was one of the most basic plans possible, there was at least some kind of logic. Suits and bunny masks weren't exactly some sort of high-level camouflage. But that was only the case if the strange figure was, for some reason, still lingering in the forest. It wasn't impossible, of course, but it also wasn't as if the masked figure was guaranteed to be there.

[@LuckyBlackCat]

[hr]

For a few moments, both girls were silent. Then...

"Eeeeehhh?!"

Hina stepped forward immediately.

"But... but it's the first night of the Hex Night!" she cried, waving her arms frantically in the air as she did, "Magical girls are supposed to fight during the Hex Night! That's how it works! Isn't it?"

As opposed to Hina's outburst, Chise had transitioned to giving Hanako a rather notable pout. It almost seemed as if she had thought the sudden reveal of her and Hina's nature as magical girls had been cool, and that this had ruined it.

"That's not the kind of response I wanted, onee-san," she said, her pout deepening as she spoke, "Hina-chan is right... the fairy said it was how the Hex Night worked. You get a wish and everything."

[@Raineh Daze]

[hr]

The ravens could observe a variety of things in the night. Of course, the chief ones among them were magical girls.

The first night of the Hex Night wasn't devoid of combat, but many magical girls were being more cautious and scouting out potential opponents. This was the case with many of the girls that the Ravens were able to spot.

A notable example included a magical girl with an unusual outfit, one that seemed to be split between a leotard and a frilled dress, a tophat on her head. Her hair was bright red, her outfit red and gold, and she had a heart marking on her left cheek. It seemed as if she had sparkling lights following her wherever she went, and her pace was rather leisurely as she made her way across the rooftops.

Another was a somewhat tan-skinned(likely due to spending a lot of time outdoors) girl with bright green hair, and a navy-colored outfit seeming to draw inspiration from the military, complete with gold epaulets. She seemed to be cheerfully making her way across the top of a short wall, though her eyes were always on her surroundings.

And then-a little blonde girl...?

But if the last one was investigated closer, the blonde girl would already be gone.

[@A Lowly Wretch]