mailbox - soulgemmed

[loveedition]

This is Ryoko Asakura. I can't answer right now, please leave a message. Thank you!

[ action ; mailbox ; phone ]

Comments

[preparade]

[ Taiga moves to sit next to her, her posture stiff but she's taking deep breaths to at least try and calm herself down. It's fine. There had to be a good reason that Ryoko was being secretive, and she trusted her. That's what friends did. They trusted each other to be honest, and to take care of each other. So... there was a good reason. That makes it alright.

It doesn't change the frustration on her face.

Just a warning? Taiga sets her jaw--how could a warning be so bad that Ryoko had to hide it? ]

So you call them on their bluff and tell them to piss the fuck off.

[loveedition]

[ Ryoko responds with a pointed look. She herself was trying not to be furious-- she was upset that this came out in the first place, and that kind of thought annoyed her more than it should have. ]

I wasn't going to do that. The last time we called anyone out on their bluff, magi died. If someone threatens us, I'm not going to ignore it or go out of my way to make them mad.

[preparade]

[ She lets out a huff, leaning back into the couch cushions and running a hand through her hair. That's right. She shouldn't be so rash. It doesn't change the fact that she's annoyed, but that wasn't the real problem.

Her expression grows distance, softening. ]

Sorry.

Why... didn't you just tell me when it happened?

[loveedition]

...

[ The answer was obvious. Ryoko hesitated, as if she were trying to process what it was. The idea that they wouldn't just come after anyone else but would target Taiga directly was too much for her, and it'd either make her madder that she didn't let her know, or would... at worst, go out and try to find them herself.

She felt terrible. Taiga did her best to protect her, and here she was trying to do her best to stop the problem before it even started. ]

...I didn't want you to do anything rash. I know you want to keep me safe, so I didn't... I didn't want you to try to lash out at anyone because someone threatened us.

[preparade]

I wouldn't have done anything stupid!

[ She blurts it out, then instantly regrets saying it. That was a lie, for sure. She knows that she'd have done something stupid, maybe gone around on the mirrors demanding to know who it was, or even gone out to try and find them herself. ]

...I...... I would have, actually. So, I guess... it's fine. [ Taiga thinks for a moment, then adds: ] I'm not mad at you.

But if they were to hurt you... how could I have helped, if I didn't even know what to worry about?

[loveedition]

[ Taiga had already been on Sinewave, ordering someone, anyone to give her details. Who'd know what would've happened if she hadn't answered and she had let this linger. Taiga would get more and more frustrated and furious until she did take to the streets, if not to find the magi, then to find Arabella to incur their wrath and draw them out.

Ryoko fixed her eyes on the stuffed animal, gripping on tightly. ]

I don't even know what we're worrying about now. I don't know who it was or how dangerous they are, but I don't want you or anyone else to get hurt. Not because I needed someone else's help just once.

[ It's what led to her doing what she was doing. She was slow in placing the stuffed animal back down, hesitant to look Taiga in her eye. ]