*
Morning felt arid and dry, with common predictions that it would get sweltering hot around noon. Sariel stepped forward at a relaxing pace as the train station was brought within sight. The sun burns a brilliant gold silhouette above majestic arcs, a grandeur of polished white and gold. Few millenia of peace meant there was an abundance of not only resources but also time, government projects, infusions of expenditure into development efforts.
There will be no buildings left on earth that took shortcuts in their construction, able to withstand storms, earthquakes and the like. Residential homes remain easy to tear apart and sturdy at the same time, a feat of human ingenuity, to make space for the owner's renovations and whims. The first 18 years of education were preserved as is, an ode of peace to the ancients that came before. Only after would she be able to pick a specialty, decide the course to her future and learn in depth about the brilliance of the human mind.
"Yo. Am I the last one?" (Sariel)
She thought the meet up was at 8am. It was a little unfair to expect everyone to wake up this early on a weekend, nevertheless they needed plenty of room to enjoy the rest of the day. Their so called leader and Aura's classmate, Pepper had decided their itinerary ahead of time.
"No, we're still waiting for Dina. She's always cutting it close, that girl...
Anyway, Pepper this is Sariel, and Sariel this is Pepper. She's that senior I was always talking about!" (Aura)
Next to the short and lively junior was another more calm looking girl. Pepper was slightly taller than Aura, and just like her she had shining brown hair reminiscent of dewy honey. She wore a side tail and a rabbit hair pin to the side. Her casual attire consisted of a warm and comfortable material for the top, which extended to her wrist with long sleeves like a knit sweater. Beneath that was inner wear similar to a skin suit that regulated temperature, becoming cool underneath despite the rising morning temperature.
The inner wear was thin and black, it was no different from a shirt and pants, though it looked more like stockings underneath her long skirt and casual shoes. The alluring bouncy plumpness of her legs were skillfully hidden under the skirt, but her silhouette exposes a hint of curves that drew the eyes.
"Hello, nice to meet you." (Sariel)
Her words flow out smoothly, skillfully hiding the fearfulness of meeting a stranger. She figured she was the senior, so she needed to be thoughtful and initiate the conversation.
"I'm Pepper. Aura's classmate. I've heard some things about you. It's nice to finally see you." (Pepper)
Courteous, graceful, a distinctly calm air compared to the usual boisterous Aura.
"Likewise." (Sariel)
While she did try to be friendly, she can't say for certain that she was in the mood to make new friends. There were 2 new magical girls now, but the number of magical girls stayed the same. It would be absurd to say the two that disappeared was always on her mind, but not inaccurate. She no longer actively thought about them, but subconsciously in some way, they lingered on in her recesses. They only knew each other for about a third of a year -if they were being generous-, yet so much had happened it felt like an entire lifetime.
She'd never admit it, lest she besmirched their honour, but she was grieving. They might not even have died. The two were whisked away to some other time or space, and simply didn't return. Put another way, there wasn't even a body to bury or a wake to process her loss. She was just left to deal with it, in its entirety. Crashing head on with reality like diving into freezing cold water. No matter what she did, she would be reminded of their absence, not wanting to exacerbate her yearning she remains silent as she stared off into the distance.
"... Hey! Are you excited? I heard there's a new ride they just opened this year!" (Aura)
Her thoughts interrupted, her mind shuffles for words, her gaze locked onto Aura. As if afraid of losing focus again. Aura herself seemed intent on disturbing her, perhaps she didn't want Sariel to float in the mire of her own thoughts.
"Yeah. I saw it yesterday, it looks pretty fun. Speaking of which, are you guys okay with heights?" (Sariel)
"... I'm not very good, and neither is Dina. But don't worry, Aura here wanted someone to ride it with her, so if you're interested you'll have a partner to go on all the exhilarating places with. " (Pepper)
" Mhmm, alright. Is Dina reaching soon- " (Sariel)
" Did someone call me?! " (Dina)
Her slick black air is tied down into two adorable braids that slide down her clavicle, her big glasses and prim white button shirt gave off the atmosphere of a librarian. Below held a belt that fixed up her shirt above a long dress smooth like a robe that reached her ankles. However she was anything but meek, clinging her arm around Sariel's back before they even met.
Sariel saw her approaching a moment ago and wanted to see if she was the aforementioned Dina, asking a leading a question so they could clarify without being direct. Merrily, they waded their way through the crowd and onto the train after scanning their train passes. Identification was included in the pass, so if anyone went missing it was possible to track which zone they entered.
The cool air brushed past her hair as she entered the train carriage, there weren't anymore seats so they all stood in one corner continuing where they left off. Pushing up her glasses, Dina continued with the same fervour.
"Are you the senpai Aura has been mentioning? You seem like the pepper type!" (Dina)
"Hey!? What's that suppose to mean?" (Pepper)
She grabbed Dina's cheeks with both hands. Sariel noticed the height difference, Dina was even shorter than Aura, though not by much. Compared to Pepper, it was about half a head's difference. Pepper might be around the same height as Sariel. Aura herself seemed used to it. In her casual pale yellow frilled shirt and short jeans, she was reminiscent of a sunflower basking in the setting eve. Her usual cheery smile graced her face as she turned to Sariel, away from the wide window facing outside.
"Let's have lots of fun! Senpai!" (Aura)