[center][img]https://i.imgur.com/eiM3u0q.png[/img][/center]
[hr]
Thespian…

Hikari remembered that Seiji had said something to the effect of ‘pick a codename’. Her original idea was to use Duchess, referencing the peerage rank of her persona, Lucrezia. It seemed a simple enough idea.

Though after Seiji then mentioned in passing that one of the members had picked ‘Baron’ as a codename, Hikari reconsidered and ultimately did not end up using Duchess as her codename.

She might have decided to stop ‘willingly backing down’ to please others. But there was a line between that and potentially needlessly inviting scorn from a possible ally. After all, a Duchess would be explicitly above a Baron in the peerage. In fact, Baron was the lowest rank and Duchess the highest, just below the King or Emperor.  That was not to say that the ‘Baron’ would fly off the handle over something so petty, but she tended to invite undue jealousy and unjustified misrepresentation.

[img]https://i.imgur.com/XeVgDya.png[/img]

Hikari realised that such statements could be construed as quite arrogant, but they were validated by her own personal experience. Thus, call it trauma or prudence or being practical, however, she went with Signora instead, the common form of address for women of status during Lucrezia’s time.

[img]https://i.imgur.com/T38GVe4.png[/img]

“He is our mutual acquaintance, yes. I think we are here for the same reason. Because of the message he sent. You can call me Signora, then. Nice to meet you, Thespian.”

It was then that, almost as if waiting for a cue, a screeching sound echoed through the Metaverse. It was an unfamiliar sound to Hikari’s ears, which took her a few seconds to place the sound. The sound of a train’s whistle, though not one she had heard outside of some movies coming out of Hollywood.

Then, as the sky shattered and a steam train emerged from the hole it created, Hikari could only watch in astonishment—fortunately recognising Seiji even in his Black Regalia form—as it crashed nearby, killing the shadows latching on to it. Only a single shadow survived the fall, prompting Hikari, who had already drawn her weapon, to aim it at the shadow, only for Seiji to dispatch of it quicker than she could draw her arrows.

…Such was the difference between those who had experience and herself, she supposed.

[img]https://i.imgur.com/FEpjSLp.png[/img]

She sighed, “Well, to be fair, you didn’t designate a specific time. Only ‘afternoon’, so you’re not late, no. And even if you were, I can only imagine that whatever trouble you ran into securing this train is more than enough justification. You said ‘our ride’ but what is this thing, exactly?”

[@Aurkanthis][@Digmata]