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[color=00a99d]"Sure can, Rivka~ Leave it to Ms. Rosmarie!"[/color] the aforementioned tree chirped in response, dutifully hopping right back up out of the leather seat to grab hold of the largest case, its oblong shape and unusual balance practically feather-light in her grasp. Lifting it over her head and sliding it into the compartment above was no difficult task compared to the work she did day in and day out in what would become her previous life— all the difference was simply in how smoothly you needed to do it. For a bale, you could toss it around a little without worry, but something so delicate and precise as an instrument deserved all the gentle touch her towering frame could muster.

[color=00a99d]"Eaaaaasy does it... All set!"[/color] she flashed the Russian(?) a thumbs up and shut the compartment hatch, before reeeeeaching over across the aisle to the twintailed girl who introduced herself as Crystal, and plucking out a stick of the offered gum. [color=00a99d]"And [i]you[/i] make an offer I [i]can't[/i] refuse, Crystal. Good to meet you too, and thanks!" [/color]

Music was [i]precious[/i] in a world like theirs. While Selma didn't fancy herself too artistically inclined, she nevertheless knew how music made [i]her[/i] feel. It was the speech of the soul, a way for hearts to reach out and touch each other in ways that words didn't always know [i]how[/i] to. She could tap her feet to almost any tune, but if those tunes ceased to be, so too did that simple joy of hers. She couldn't let any of it be taken from the world.

A feeling that was reinforced doubly upon the arrival of Captain Wei, a clipped military woman who all but commandeered the big girl's attention as she'd seated herself once more. She was straight to the point, almost stiff in her precise explanation of their current travel itinerary. She wondered who the Captain was beneath all that stoicism, professionalism, and decorum— what music did [i]she[/i] like? Selma knew that being all business and no nonsense wasn't all there was to the dark-haired woman, nobody could live like that, but at the same time she could scarcely imagine herself managing the same demeanor. Not for long.

Would the Ars Magi that was previously supposed to shepherd them to the Academy have been the same? Would Selma, in time, after she had fought enough of that which came from those accursed walls of arcane fog? [color=00a99d][i]No way. I don't have it in me.[/i][/color]

And yet, what was it but proof that Captain Wei took her job seriously? She'd been through brownouts like what was going on outside herself, she'd heard about the aftermaths of nights like this in the news. As somebody whose home had lied upon the outskirts, she'd even once been told to relocate to a shelter deeper within Hasta for a night, just as a precaution. She couldn't ignore how important it all was to keeping Humanity safe and sound. Neither could the Captain, who may not have been able to afford being any [i]less[/i] focused. 

As she watched the tracks on the opposite side roll by, punctuated by the errant stations and trains headed away, her emerald locks brushed up against the window as she mulled it over, an errant, idle thought escaping her lips.

[color=00a99d]"I hope we can clear that stuff out one day."[/color]

Crumpling the reflective foil wrapper into a pocket, she popped the stick in her mouth and began to contemplatively chew, sweetness washing over her tongue.