[color=lightgray][img]https://i.imgur.com/qiuPNWq.png[/img]
[color=olive]Location:[/color] Hiding in the Stall For Dear Life
[color=olive]Interaction:[/color] [@Tae] Meiyu [@princess] Phia

[hr]

Talis clung to her satchel like if she held it tightly enough none of this would be real. Her knees were still drawn up against her chest but even tighter now, breath coming in shallow, shaking waves, the cold of the metal stall seat biting into her legs as the sounds outside twisted into something dark and sharp.

When Liana spoke, Talis froze. She didn’t recognize the voice, but the intention was clear. 

Then came the response. It was the sweet, strange, wonderful girl, who had smiled at her and called her lovely and promised to walk beside her, as one. And now she was out there, standing between someone dangerous and a girl she barely knew.

Talis shut her eyes tightly.

She was going to die.

Of course she was.

She had known that since the beginning, since the moment she made her choice, since the night she walked out of that lab and sealed every door behind her. She had accepted it. She had made peace with it.

So why did it hurt so much now?

[color=olive][i]Because you’re a coward,[/i][/color] she thought, lips pressed tight against her knees. [color=olive][i]Because you got scared and you started hoping maybe it wouldn’t come to this. Maybe you’d be lucky. Maybe you’d just disappear and no one would follow.[/i][/color]

The sounds outside shifted again. Someone laughed. Someone raised a voice. Someone stepped forward.

Talis gritted her teeth and clutched the satchel tighter, her heart pounding loud enough to drown it all out.

[color=olive][i]You knew the risks. You did the right thing. You did what no one else would.[/i][/color]

Her breathing hitched, and she had to bite her sleeve to stay quiet.

[color=olive][i]Even if they kill you, even if they burn you for it, you were right. You were right. You were…[/i][/color]

But even that truth could not stop the tears.

And more than anything, more than fear or regret or the thousand ways she had imagined this moment, she found herself thinking of Phia. That strange little pink-haired hurricane of a girl who had offered her kindness without hesitation.

[color=olive][i]Please don’t let her get hurt. She doesn’t deserve this. She was only trying to help.[/i][/color]

[hr]
[center][img]https://i.imgur.com/ki245Tk.png[/img][/center]

Mentions/Interactions: Phia [@princess], Meiyu [@Tae], Talis [@Oso][hr]
From the center of the room, Liana tilted her head as Phia stepped forward and leveled that staff between them. A flash of pulsing blossoms curled into the wood and the girl’s voice was steady. Bold. Firm.

[color=F97FCA]“You won’t be meeting anyone until you explain yourself. And until you do, you're not taking another step.”[/color]

Then came the warning about the beans. The line landed like a strange little stone tossed into deep water.

Liana blinked once…And then she smiled.

Not the cold smirk from before. This one was slower. Amused even, but still dangerous.

Her voice when it came was soft as velvet and smooth as blood over glass.

[color=firebrick]“You know… I truly admire conviction,”[/color] she said gently, letting her gaze fall on Phia. [color=firebrick]“So few people in this world still know what it means to stand for something. Even fewer are willing to bleed for it.”[/color]

She stepped to the side, only slightly, just enough to change the shape of the tension in the air. Her movements were precise and graceful, the kind of grace that comes from knowing exactly what one is capable of. Her blades remained in her hands but her posture never turned aggressive. Not yet.

Her gaze slid to Meiyu next, assessing and intrigued, a flicker of something like appreciation hiding in the corner of her eye.

[color=7DBC89]“You came for her. That makes her interesting. That makes her [I]mine[/I]—at least for now...And as much as I love a good bloodbath, I prefer to know why before the painting begins.”[/color]

[color=firebrick]“And you. Clever girl. You know how this ends and still choose to dance in the fire.”[/color] She exhaled with nonchalance. [color=firebrick]“Very few things impress me. You may count yourselves among them, if only for a moment longer.”[/color]

She looked between them now, the two young women standing in her way, one radiant with conviction and the other cloaked in sharp curiosity, and there was something almost reverent in her expression. [i]Almost.[/i]

[color=firebrick]“It really is a shame,”[/color] she added, her voice softening further, almost wistful, [color=firebrick]“that I might have to kill such very pretty girls.”[/color]

Then, in that moment, as though she had planned it down to the very second, the explosive blast from the cargo hold erupts. The ship rocks violently from the detonation just as Liana's knives blur into motion.

In a flash of black and silver, she threw her daggers. One towards Phia, the other in Meiyu’s direction. The air cracked as she moved, blades catching the bathroom light as her cloak snapped behind her like a shadow come alive. The space erupted into motion.

The Devil had made her choice. [/color]
[hr]

[h2][color=gold]The time for talk is over. Combat has been initiated. I will reach out to those in this scene so we can discuss and make any necessary rolls before continuing.[/color][/h2]