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[h1][b]J[/b] [i]o n a l d[/i][/h1]  
[img]https://i.imgur.com/eOQTMhs.png[/img]

[b]"Last online: 5 months ago. But at least I have a face now."[/b]

[color=888888]— Jonald[/color]
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[hider=Boring Emily stuff that happened at some point. Jonald stole her header for some reason]

Much like the body will attempt to block off abscesses or foreign substances to protect the rest of itself, a person's mind can do very much the same when subject to trauma in a process known as dissociation. It is the detachment from your thoughts and it comes in varying severities, from getting lost in a book to suffering from Dissociative Identity Disorder (Multiple Personality Disorder, formerly), depending on many variables. 

The bond that Emily shared with her sister could not be overstated. So the night she had lost her sister, Emily suffered a blow so severe that she went catatonic until an entire week had passed. For a day and a few after that, she was incapable of registering the event and denied it. But eventually, she was forced to see the truth. And since then, she had never been the same. The years that have since passed have alleviated the pain, but the wound would never truly heal. 

To her dismay, she could never properly recall those precious moments from that day forth. Any active attempts at recollection were met with failure, and the few times she was blessed by a spontaneous recall, it was hard to discern details. Yet she still cherished them, even if, in the end, the memory was fleeting, like a dream. 

It never did feel like she was being protected. She could never make new memories with her sibling, so instead, it was as if she was being denied what little solace she could have.  

Things had begun to change as of recent, however.  

At one time, she wanted nothing to do with Penrose. It was a place full of negative emotions. But right now it was very much the opposite. She could vividly recall memories from her childhood when she slept and even remembered them! And to top it off, she could now make friends! So many friends!

Sakura, Oros, Hilaria, Amaryllis, Luna, and Sam, to name a few. Admittedly, she still harbored doubts about the legitimacy of these relations... it was hard to accept anyone could like her after what she had been through while she was away from Penrose. Yet she needed to hope, and doubting people without reason was disrespectful! Everything was better now, anyways, with nobody to pick on her or call her "The Cataclysm" like she was some walking disaster waiting to happen. Penrose was great. 

For her, Penrose was now the place she could be closest to her sister. For her, Penrose was the place she might make friends. Oros may not care very much for this place, but her? There wasn't a place on Earth she would rather be right now. 

....
....
....

It had been a long time since Emily saw Jonald so active, at least publically. Jonald was the sort to keep himself from prying eyes unless he had some reason otherwise. But ever since they met with the former Mint broker, he hadn't been as elusive. He even encouraged her to come sometimes, which she found herself unable to decline, surprisingly. His partnership with this woman had produced results already, so it didn't hurt to standby and see what else would come of it. Or so she reasoned. 

[color=turquoise][i]I won't be able to rebuke Sakura for sneaking out at night anymore.[/i][/color]

Even though she thought the goal of these outings to be just, Emily couldn't help but feel like they were illicit in some way. She tried to avoid being seen by other people when she could, but what could be wrong with trying to solve a murder? Why should she hide? Murder was a terrible, no-good thing that only caused pain. A murderer should be loathed for such an irredeemable act, and they most certainly should be punished! 

...Ah, but maybe that had been it. She followed this girl and Jonald with the understanding that Laughable Laura meant to end the culprit's life, or maybe even do something worse. But despite this, Emily couldn't bring herself to try to talk her down. She saw the pain in the woman's eyes any time she even thought about her loved one, and the anger that flared when the killer was brought up was fiercer than even Emily's hottest flames. It scared her, honestly. But that was mostly because... well, they were the same kind of eyes Jonald had back when her sister died. And no matter how hard Emily tried to talk sense into him, he never listened. All he thought about was revenge. Emily was different in that regard. If she had found her sister's killer... well, she might not be happy, but she wouldn't try to kill them! 

...Would she?

No, [i]Emily[/i] would never do that.

Moving on, Jonald and Laura (she made it clear as day calling her "Selene" was a no-go) finally finished their business. They didn't bother to speak, Laura merely nodding her head to confirm that they were done with their business here. 

The two took turns helping each other. Jonald would assist Laura in finding more clues to unravel whatever plot it was that got her friend killed, and Laura would give Jonald another descriptor that would help him find his former girl's murderer. The two talked very little if there was no important information to be shared. No casual conversation between them at all. Even their thanks to each other at the end of a night seemed almost rehearsed and stiff. Try as she might, she did not get the impression there was anything other than business between them. 

Emily wasn't sure how to feel about the fact she was almost jealous of Laura right now for that fact.

But as for the information they had on their own target, they had a name and her Specialization. There were no physical attributes to work with just yet. He told Emily at an earlier point that he was attempting to locate her via her name and while a fair amount of people obviously knew about them, he couldn't get that information. He didn't say why, but she imagined it was because of his attitude. Jonald was not exactly a pleasant rodent, even to his own kind. And knowing how important that information was to him, people were probably demanding a lot for it. Part of Emily wanted to say, "Serves you right!" but another part of her simply wanted all of this to finally be over. 

 Emily silently waited for Laura to vanish from sight, before approaching Jonald. [color=turquoise]"Was there any progress? Did you find any clues?"[/color] she asked. 

Jonald looked up at her from the floor before trodding down the sidewalk in the opposite direction that Laura went. He waited about half a minute before he answered. [b]"You sure like asking dumb questions, don't you? Of course we did."[/b] Jonald shook his small head but did not look back. [b]"You should instead be asking if she gave me anything useful for my investigation. And she may have. Or she may have not."[/b]

[color=turquoise]"If you're going to tell me, tell me."[/color] Emily sighed in irritation. He always seemed to like making it a game with her. 

[b]"I am,"[/b] he answered. [b]"Hard to believe, I'm sure, but I am not screwing with you. Laura just decided now of all times to explain just how dated the information she has been giving me is."[/b] Jonald sounded upset. 

Emily was confused. [color=turquoise]"Are you concerned that they have left by now?"[/color]

[b]"No, that's unlikely."[/b] Jonald denied, hopping from a trashcan to a window's ledge and walking across it parallel to the sidewalk. It looked like something someone would do when bored. [b]"As you're aware, I am not just waiting for Laura to piecemeal this girl together. What she gives me I have taken to other sources. A lot seem to already be keen on whom I am looking for."[/b]

[color=turquoise]"Ok. So what does this have to do with them not being gone? Did they tell you they were still here?"[/color]

Jonald jumped from a moderate height back onto the sidewalk when he ran out of ledge. [b]"Not directly, no. But some of the people I have questioned have only been in Penrose for less than a whole year. And, as you can imagine, they weren't Mint. So when they react in a way that suggests they are privy to this individual, I can assume that they were still here as recent as that."[/b]

[color=turquoise]"Um,"[/color] Emily thought that sounded weird. [color=turquoise]"They could've heard about them from someone else though, right? You're okay with making an assumption like that?"[/color]

[b]"Listen here because it's the only time you'll hear me say this, I imagine. But I agree with you. It is entirely possible their understanding of our target is by word of mouth. They could certainly have left. Until Laura feeds me more information, I cannot reduce that chance to a comfortable level. But I am trying. That is why I have been investigating the big events around here. There are currently a lot of magical girls occupying Penrose, as I'm sure you've seen."[/b]

[color=turquoise]"Yeah. Probably more than anywhere else, I think."[/color]

[b]"Naturally, when an event like that takes place with so many people, it generally becomes a mess too big to properly sift through, especially when you need to avoid attention. You've been involved in a couple of them, haven't you? Anyway, it is difficult to figure out who was involved unless they made a bigger impact. So unless they now go by Penny, Mariette, are leading the Ascendency, or have a strong aversion to "love", then I believe we should be okay assuming it wasn't word of mouth. I would much rather confirm that they aren't here before entertaining the idea of searching for them elsewhere."[/b]

Emily was surprised to see Jonald being as open as he was right now. Especially since he openly admitted to a fault of his. Had he ever done such a thing before? [color=turquoise]"So you're [i]hoping[/i] they haven't left, then?"[/color]

Jonald stopped walking. [b]"...yes, I guess you could say that. But it's not entirely unfounded, at least."[/b]

It creeped her out that Jonald agreed with her. Emily asked the question ironically, as Jonald was the type to dismiss hope (among a lot of other things) as foolishness and worthless. But for him to rely on 'hope' for such nefarious purposes... it made her sick. [color=turquoise]"Well, if Laura tells us what they look like, then it should help a lot, shouldn't it? Even if she changes her name, she can't change how she looks, right?"[/color]

[b]"I see you're still as oblivious as ever. But... that might be my fault that despite your age and experience, you are less informed than you should be. Well, here it is: As a magical girl, you are not restricted to one form. If you know the right people and pay the right price, you can have your entire being changed. New powers, new look, and a new identity. The person that murdered your sister could very well be someone you've already met if they went this route."[/b] The puchuu explained, glancing back at Emily as he implied the possibility of betrayal.

Emily almost shuddered when she thought about it. Is someone close to her being the one who stole her sibling from her? And how would her sister react if she learned Emily had been playing nice with her murderer? No, that an unnecessary concern. She couldn't deny she had doubts of the legitimacy of her friendships, but even then, there was no way they were murderers! Quirky, sure, but that wasn't a crime! [color=turquoise]"W-well, that doesn't seem like a pleasant idea, but there's no way!"[/color] she dismissed the possibility outright. 

If the cat could have shrugged, he would've. [b]"We can't know for sure, but that's probably a sentiment you're getting sick of by now since it applies to our situation as a whole. I know I am. I [i]really[/i] want to be sure."[/b] Jonald confided. [b]"Well, even if they did change their body or powers, there's bound to be someone who knows about it. And I have more than enough patience to locate them. If that bastard is not in Penrose, I'll find to where they went. And if they're not the same person, I'll find who they've become. And if they're already dead, I'll make sure they'll stay that way."[/b]

The two continued their walk, eventually nearing Emily's apartment. Jonald abruptly stopped and faced Emily. Like usual, she couldn't exactly read his expression. [b]"You would do well to keep what we discussed in mind. Gullible as you are, it wouldn't surprise me if you were being used by the very person we're looking for."[/b] Jonald pawed his nose as though to scratch it. [b]"Although it might just be more efficient for me to look into them."[/b]

He received a glare from Emily in response. [color=turquoise]"No. You already agreed not to interfere with my personal business in return for coming back to Penrose. I consider snooping around like that to be in violation of our agreement and crossing the line,"[/color] she prohibited. [color=turquoise]"I've ignored enough of that sort of behavior already."[/color] Mostly because she didn't want to leave Penrose, but Jonald didn't need to know that.

The puchuu didn't like her response, scoffing and immediately scaling a nearby building and not bothering to look back down when he spoke. [b]"Fine. But that just means I won't be the one doing the investigating."[/b] He disappeared without another word, leaving Emily to sigh in a mixture of frustration and relief. 

When she entered the apartment, she beelined straight for her bedroom. She fell upon her sheets and the fatigue from yet another exhausting night began to overtake her causing her eyelids to feel like weights. [color=turquoise][i]Doubting my friends... as if![/i][/color] Emily yawned. [color=turquoise][i]I may as well stop calling myself Emily if I start getting as paranoid as him...[/i][/color]

And so, her night ended. [/hider]