"Were you about to tell me the point of having a tail is... brushies? Are you eight?!"

For a moment Madeleine can't speak. She needs her air for gasping and her breath for moaning. There are fingers pressing into the most sensitive part of her back and at the same time she is being bounced on top of a firm yet warm and yielding surface and she has never been so confused in all her life as she is right now. 

And then she's hit with the sensation of [i]running[/i] and the world takes shape again. These should be her footfalls on the city pavement, her legs pushing her forward and her body absorbing and redirecting the impact, but even still it is her hair being pulled by the resistance of the air around her and even through the efforts of Vade Retro she can still feel [i]momentum.[/i] 

So everything makes sense again. Which is how she remembers she's mad. 

"I'm not even going to tell you," she huffs, "Why should I waste my time explaining tail care to an ignorant oaf like you?"

Her mind is racing right alongside Machia. Running like this she can see the pathways to the future and they all frighten her as much as they make her furious. Maybe it is just the residual effects of the cubegel speaking to her but this is an even bigger indignity than being pulled from training against her will. 

What happened last time you assumed your stupid ideas had more weight than Madeleine's expertise? hmmmMMM[i]MMM[/i], Titanomachia?!

"Stop it! Stop even thinking about what you're thinking about! And turn at that corner! Run all you like, but wE... are going shopping! A woman of your, nnnfff! Po-potential! I wonnN'TT - be more careful down there, idiot! - I won't stand for it!"

Even though she feels like she's shouting at the top of her lungs, her voice is low and breathy. Just very full of passion. If it were possible to cross her arms in defiance or take any kind of powerful stance while being held like a sack of presents she would be doing it right now. Instead she is pressed into the strongest shoulder in the world, jolting but nowhere near as much as the speeds she's traveling at tell her she ought to be. 

She's going to run out of breath for this soon. But the fire still has air.

"Don't you dare start tweaking yourself over this deluded fantasy before you even understand what proper tail care FEELS like. And you [i]will.[/i] I don't trust you with this... I'm handling it myself. Do you understand me? [i]I[/i] will be the one to wash it. Treat it, braid it. I'll teach you all about tangle treatments while I'm massaging them out with my bare hands! Brushing! Honestly! You absolute horse!! We'll see how much you want brushings... when I'm done with you."