New Year's Eve meant a general low amount of activity for shops and other outlets. That included Aegis' cafe as the last hours of sunlight trickled away in Miso City. Customers came and went but overall the place was relatively empty. Even now there was only one other patron in the main room. Sitting at at barstool, idly flicking her finger on the glass, Miss Tamashi waited patiently where she sat. Aegis would approach eventually; if only to refill her order.
"Hmm... I didn't think that a day like this would be this dull. Humans are really boring creatures. I don't even know why she bothered to come here," Aegis said to herself as she cleaned one of the table that had just been left by the last couple to come to the cafe and was making her way bar to the kitchen. Somewhere in the middle of the way she noticed a lone soul sitting on the bar in a seemingly dejected way.
"Well, I guess this is really the last one for tonight," she thought as she changed course, approaching the lonesome woman from behind. For some reason Aegis felt that she was familiar somehow, but nothing clicked, at least until the
blonde angel in a maid's dress, was close enough to ask,
"May I help you, miss?""Mhm, you could. Your help would definitely be appreciated," said Miss Tamashi with an airy sigh. She turned her head and looked straight at Aegis with a smile on her lips.
"But something tells me you won't want to, dear. How old are you now? Why, you look nearly identical to your mother. And much more polite than that sister of yours too...""Thank you, miss. Also, don't worry, I'm just a bit tired. Now, if you allow me to-- My what?" Aegis said as she took out her notepad to fulfill the same dull task as ever. However, her train of thought came to a screeching halt when the other woman mentioned her family, especially her mother.
"Do I... know you from some place?" she added in an apprehensive way.
"No. No, I imagine you wouldn't. But the fact that you don't tells me you haven't been keeping up with your history lessons, dear~" Miss Tamashi idly played with the straw of her drink using the tip of her finger nail.
"How is it your much ruder sister knows of me, but you don't? Well, I guess you got your mother's looks and she got her tact, hmm? You can consider me a...friend of the family, so to speak~"Aegis eyes narrowed as she heard the woman speak. The things she said, coupled with the fact that not even the cafe's staff could be seen around, made this whole situation highly suspicious. It wasn't until Aegis took the time to have a good look at the woman that she noticed it.
"You are-- but how?" Aegis said. There were few beings that could say anything of her in this world, but this woman could only be related to one of them. Still, there was something wrong about her. Almost as if she were missing something.
"So, you must be the source of this strange feeling I've been having, huh? Do you care if I ask your name, since you already seem to know so much about me?""Eh? Don't you know me?" The school teacher batted her eyes with an expression of exasperation.
"Why, I'm Miss Tamashi! Surely you've seen me around the school?" She pretended to give it more thought before nodding.
"Ah, you meant my true self? Surely someone as potent and important as you can see it just by looking at my face, right? Or, am I just a phantom in plain sight for you dear?"Miss Tamashi swiveled in her bar stool to gain a better angle at the Angel.
"Oh my, have you been having strange feelings since you arrived? This city has a knack for mysterious occurrences and attracting things that don't belong. One could say you're just another victim drawn in by this place's natural charm~""You mean its weirdness," Aegis replied in a witty manner, crossing her arms under her bust and looking straight at the woman.
"Also, I'm sorry but I'm too old for high school. But I think I've seen someone like you around the last time I was there while chasing a stray pet," she added in a proud voice almost as if she were flaunting her "maturity" or perhaps, her assets.
"Anyway, miss Tamashii Phantom, right? You must have a reason to come after me. Or should I believe this is just another of Miso City's 'coincidences'?""Who knows? Clearly not you if you can't see a poor woman in her old distress," Miss Tamashi said with whimisical flair. She rested a hand on her head and arched back.
"Woe is me! Trapped in this foresaken city...and for what? For simply bringing my gifts to the mortal plains? Magic is meant to be shared, but your mother, cruel as she is and prideful as sin, thought otherwise. Can you not see the wrongs she has done to me, child? Only a glance upon my state can tell you as much...""Well, I wasn't going to mention it, but you really look kinda... sad, I guess?" Aegis said, trying to measure her words just enough to avoid hurting the other woman too much.
"Also, you say it's Mother's fault that you are in this state. If that's true how can I trust in anything that you say? For all I know you might be trying to distract me before you kidnap me and do whatever is it you have in mind," she added, going in a wild tangent.
"Ah, so you doubt me. Yes, yes, that's to be expected." Miss Tamashi sniffled, even dabbing at her eyes to wipe away the fat bulbs of tears forming from her sight.
"To think such a pure child of holy light would doubt me, this poor soul....it can't be helped then. I only need to show you my suffering upfront, oh woe is me!"Aegis' arms remained where they were, settled under her bust. That was because thick and invisible chains held them there, sprouted from all corners of the air itself. Miss Tamashi leaned in close, even standing up to rise to her full height.
"Don't you see this? You know it quite well child because this is your mother's work." Her words were hushed out in a venomous hiss and Miss Tamashi's pupils shifted.
There was a feral, almost beast-like quality to them as she stared down the younger girl. All the same, her smile never faltered as she continued to lean in, until her breath-one that rotted of blood and crushed marrow-stewed in front of Aegis' face.
"Can't you see the injustice, child? The petty, unconditioned injustice if your mother's work? You know very well you can't escape those chains because they're your mother's." Miss Tamashi's grin somehow spread wider, like a serpent's lips plastered to a human face.
"Ñ̵̬̪̠͊͘ǫ̴̣͍͓̍̾̕w̷̢̖̲̐͊̾̋͋ ̸̬͔̼̟̐ͅì̶̮͎̹̞̟̒m̷̢̪͇͈̽̒̋͒̉ǎ̸̘̮̰̲̋͗̕ģ̶͍͕̯̿i̸̱͛̓̋͝n̸̗͒̏ͅẻ̴̘͎͌̏̀͝ ̸͈̳̌̑̊h̵̺͑̕͠o̷͚̦͉͑͑̈́̚͠w̷̻͎͇̅̏̒́͒ ̷͓̜̫̞̆̍̾̔I̷͚͗̀͠ ̵͙̤̮̙́̄̈̏̃͜m̸̟̥͍̬̃̓͋͑̂ũ̸̺̩̩̒s̵̙͑t̷̳̪̎ ̴͚̩̮̲͒́̿̽ͅf̸͎͈̜̑̏̀ȩ̴͓̗̫̱̒̿͒e̵̐͝ͅľ̷̡͇̠̟̋̿͜!̵͔̳͈̑̔́͝?̷̱̞̪̈̏̔ͅ!̴͎͛"
Aegis was startled by the sudden shift in the atmosphere, dropping her pen and notepad as she was suddenly constricted by something that couldn't be anything other than her mother's work, indeed. The thing that she admired so much used against her in such a way, this couldn't be.
Worse than that was the fact that she had been tricked into becoming defenseless by whatever this thing.
"Do-- don't get near me! If you know my mother, you also should be aware that I'm not someone to be taken lightly.""If you try anything I swear that I'll make sure it's the last thing you do!" Aegis said as she took a moment to calm herself, knowing that among her sisters she was the one that knew this aspect of their mother the best. It wasn't impossible for her to escape these chains if she really wanted to.
"Oh relax dear! I wouldn't hurt a hair on you."The next time Aegis blinked she would find reality had returned back to normal. There were no chains pinning her arms down, no maelstorm of chaos and negativity. There was only Miss Tamashi, still standing and still smiling. She bent down to collect Aegis' pen and notepad; as she did so, the rattle of invisible chains around her limbs could be heard and then seen by the Angel.
"Not unless I want to earn your mother's wrath of course. I've only shown you what lies within, that's all. Hmm, think of it as me showing you a piece of my soul~ It wasn't nice what your mother did to me, trapping me down here in this pestilent place..." She offered up Aegis' dropped materials and patted the top of her pretty blonde head.
"But I like to think we see eye to eye now, hmm?""I, erm... knew that all along, of course," Aegis said after flipping her hair in a dramatic way. By the way her voice shook it wasn't certain if she was trying to reassure herself or impress Miss Tamashi, or maybe both.
"Anyway, I still don't know what you want of me. If it's to release you, I'm sorry but I can't do that. Not alone at least," Aegis said as she looked the other woman in the eyes, trying to discern her intentions, now.
"Mother's nature is that of Twlight, Light and Darkness in equal measures, but mine is just of Light, so my powers alone aren't enough to undo her work. Also... I don't know if I should? She must have been ordred to do this by someone, I don't think I can just decide what to do on my own.""Well, you said it, not me~" Miss Tamashi put in one more head pat before moving her hand away.
"Oh, you will release me dear. You just don't know it yet. And when you do, why, I can picture the scolding your mother will give you. Just the look on her face will make a little more waiting worth it." Winking at the Angel, Miss Tamashi strode away from the bar and left behind her finished cup.
"Just put it on my tab for me Miss Aegis. I hope to be a regular customer for you~"Walking out the door, she looked up and noted the air was getting colder. Figures it would for New Year's...now she had other tasks to place her attention to.
"Hm, Hm~" Bag in hand, she sifted through the icy and snow and headed in a seemingly random direction.
"What do you mean?" Aegis meant to ask but before she could say anything Miss Tamashi strode out leaving just a cryptic comment and an empty glass behind her.
"At least leave a tip the next time you come by," the blonde mumbled as she picked up the glass and cleaned the bar. Before finally going to the back of the cafe.
"Well, I guess that now this is really it for today..." she thought out loud, trying to ignore her recent encounter as she went back to her normal routine.
Xaltwind,
Lonewolf685,
Lewascan2,
Neziul,
Ariamis,
Villamvihar,
mickilennial,
Scrawl Banditta,
ItsOkaii,
Savo
