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A stange sort of science
Chapter 5 - Truth

Chapter 5 - Truth

“For you, i would have to agree” Eve nigh on jumped out of her skin, Yggdra having manoeuvred right over her shoulder. “Jesus Yggdra!” But Yggdra’s attention had already shifted to Judy, her piercing, malachite green eyes accentuated by that odd flowing tattoo that slid up from her neckline, covering her entire face, reminiscent of tree branches, Judy thought. A large medallion of her namesake hung from her pale neck. The seemingly random and intense attention made Judy shift uneasily. The odd tension eased as Judy broke her gaze, shifting to look at Yggdra’s brazenly modded ear, the entire lobe being replaced by an odd material, giving off an anodized purple sheen. Finally, Yggdra looked away. “Sorry Evelyn, I did not intend to sneak up on you, I thought I would say hello when i saw you. It is good to see you again Judy, a shame you had to leave so quickly.” She cocked her head. “How did you get home? I was somewhat worried”.

“I- Ash drove me back” Judy replied, catching herself. She thought Yggdra frowned slightly at that, but she wasn't sure. A thought occurred to her. “But i thought Ash told you guys that?”

“She did, of course, i apologize. Either way, it is good to see that you are ok.”

Eve’s countenance had darkened in confusion during this exchange as her gaze flitted between her two friends. She imagined this is what whiplash would feel like. “Ooook, well.” Struck by a loss of words, Eve just shook her head, then returned her attention to the object that had caught her attention. The object in question was, to put it mildly, a necklace. A necklace being a loose definition, as it seemed to challenge the line between necklace, neck brace and upper chest piece. An intricate mess of ornate, interlocking wires, attached to a no less ornate collar that was probably required for it to stay around someone's neck. In short it was garish, perfect. Eve grinned at Judy.

“I'm not sure you can afford that” Judy motioned to the price tag, an ironic smirk dying as she noticed the same flicker of composure cross Yggdra’s inked face. Odd. “Oh but that makes it all the more sweeter” Eve crooned. “Trust me, its not My money going into this” a vicious note entering her voice, accompanied by her grin turning savage. “It is perfect.” She clapped excitedly. “Now come, time to pay for all this, Yggdra, you want to join us or?” Yggdra paused, as if considering, she moved to speak but cast an offhanded look to Judy, stopped and started again. “I think i will finish up here, enjoy.” She turned, disappearing behind a clothing rack, Eve just shrugged and motioned for Judy to follow. “Her speech, is it always so-” Judy paused, wobbling her hand in thought. “Exact? It's a little odd”.

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“Hah, as if your anything but.” A teasing lilt to Eve’s tone, but then she frowned. “Hmm, on the topic of odd things, you have any idea what this is?” She reached into her pocket, pulling an oddly blank card out of her pocket between two fingers. Eve twisted those fingers, flipping it to display a similarly blank face on the other side of the card. Judy squinted at it, then took it from her friend. At her touch, the card seemed to vibrate, colour bleeding in from its edges, painting the nondescript surface a deeper and deeper green, until the card was almost black. Both girls stared at it, utterly lost. A thought occurred to Judy and she passed it back to Eve, the card started to slowly bleach, gradually turning blank again. They met each other's eyes, searching for answers that weren't there. Judy took the card again, causing it to darken a second time. “It reacts to you? Why?”

“I'm not sure. Where d’you get it?”

Eve clenched her jaw. “The bitch must have lied to us”

“Whoa, what? Who?”

“Ash, I’d forgotten about it, she dropped this last night, it must react to your magic somehow.”

“Whoah, hold on, we don't know that, we don't know what it is, let's not jump to conclusions. It could be reacting to anything.”

“Think, what else is it gonna be, a seemingly magic card reacting to you, who apparently has superpowers. This was hers, she dropped it, she knows something”

“Maybe she didn't know what it was” Judy’s protests sounded weak even to her own ears, she wasn't even sure why she was defending someone she’d only just met, no matter the intentions it was clear Ash had lied about something, at the very least she knew something. She gave a heavy, weighted sigh. “Shit, alright, what do you reckon we do about it?”

“Me? I’m just here to look pretty and buy you dresses, they're your powers, but i would advise against taking the same tact with her as you did last night, scared the crap outta me and i wasn't the target of your ire.”