Sunlight enters a room through a window and pierces through a curtain. The light shines on the face of a Grimoire Girl.
Callie wrinkles her nose and gradually awakens from her slumber. She still feels groggy, but she will have trouble falling asleep again.
Callie stretches her arms past her head and rigorously shakes her body to try to create some early morning energy.
- She whispers to herself, "Another morning comes."
Callie gazes across her room. Paintings of landscapes decorate the room, there are four sets of drawers and mirrors, and there are four beds in the room. Only two beds are in use and they are placed directly by each other as if to combine them.
She sees that one of her roommates is still asleep beside her. The girl sharing her bed has short black hair in a neatly cut bob hairstyle. She has bangs and a tuft of hair poking past her ear on each side of her head. Her hair is longer towards the front and shorter towards the end. On the other bed, there is a girl with long golden blonde hair tied in an elegant side braid. The space next to the blonde girl is empty except for the space used by a stuffed doll.
A fourth girl sits at a desk cluttered with pages of writing describing dwarves in detail, art supplies, and a grimoire. The grimoire depicts an Oriental poppy flower with three gems oriented to look like the seeds of the flower trapped within the petals.
The girl is busy sketching with pieces of pigmented chalk that scratch against a piece of paper. Her art depicts a few bearded dwarves wielding hammers and occupying themselves by doing miscellaneous tasks at an outdoor smithy. The depiction is incomplete, but the sketch is coming along nicely.
- Callie gets out of bed. She curiously approaches the girl sketching at the desk.
- Callie whispers, "Good morning, Gira. Ooh, your art looks amazing."
- Gira turns her head to face Callie.
- "Thank you, Callie, and good morning. Roman has taught me well."
Gira’s eyes are an intricate light hazel color. Gira’s hair is puffy, curly, and has wild strands of hair wandering in their own directions as they please. Her hair starts in a black color that blends into light red at the ends. Gira dresses in a white undershirt beneath an unbuttoned light green overshirt. She dons black pants that match well with her overshirt completing the outfit.
- Gira rests her chin and cheek on the palm of her hand staring at Callie.
- Gira compliments, "How cute. You look as huggable as always."
- Callie is wearing a nightgown. She does a playful twirl flaunting her body type.
- She asks, "Do you like what you see?"
- Callie’s body has numerous bruises, cuts, electrical burns, scabs, and stitching. Her skin is dry. Callie’s eyes are a benevolent dark pink color. She has light pink hair in a voluminous bob that slightly curls into multiple points: small curls are pointing out beneath her eyes, and large curls at neck length curl outwards.
- Callie nervously fiddles with her hair.
- Gira’s blank expression turns into a cheerful smile.
- "You have a charming allure. That is for sure."
Gira suggests, "Why don't you get dressed? We can start our day early and get our supplies ready for our journey to Fort Terra."
- Callie responds, "Ah, okay."
She returns to her bedside and opens a drawer. The drawer creaks as she opens a compartment that she rummages through. She enters a bathroom to change.
After dressing, Callie poses in front of a mirror fancying her outfit. Callie is wearing a white open shoulder shirt that exposes her stomach. The white shirt is complemented by a short pink skirt decorated with frills.
Callie realizes that her lips are chapped while admiring her outfit in the mirror. She reaches into the same drawer taking out a small ceramic jar closed with a lid. She looks around for something else but gives up her unsuccessful search. Callie opens the jar. She rubs one of her fingers against the green salve inside. She applies the herbal salve against her lips. Callie finishes her morning routine by pressing her lips together and making a quiet popping sound.
Gira hears the sound of a quiet pop. She turns to Callie recognizing the sound as a signal that Callie is ready to leave the room.
Gira gathers her uncompleted sketch and notes relating to the dwarves depicted. She places the pieces of paper inside of her grimoire for temporary storage and uses an already prepared linen bag to carry the grimoire behind her back.
Callie similarly prepares her grimoire. Callie’s grimoire is decorated with intricate depictions of pink Morning Glory flowers circling a depiction of the sun in the center. There are three mana cores in the shape of triangles configured by the sun to appear like beams of light shining on the Morning Glories.
- Callie calls, "I am ready to start the morning. We can wake these two up for breakfast later."
- Once the two leave the room, they raise their voices from considerate whispers.
- Gira states, "I need to go to the library. I still have to finish these sketches for Ria."
Callie asks, "Oh, are you helping the librarian again? I will go with you. I need to read about the dangers we should expect on our gira. You know, our journey."
- Callie eagerly looks at Gira waiting for her reaction to the pun.
- Gira scoffs in distaste. She has heard the pun too many times before.
"Yeah. Roman and I have been busy sketching lately. I am a bit unhappy with how the hands turned out on the sketch of the dwarves, and I want to see if I can fix them really quick."
- Callie is not disheartened in the slightest by Gira’s negative reaction.
Callie states, "I need to go to the smithy to get some more arrows before we leave. It is almost sad that the dwarves left. They were so kindhearted. I miss seeing them running around in the smithy, and their playful mockery."
- Gira agrees, "The stories the dwarves had to tell added a little bit of color to the academy."
Gira asks, "Did you know that they are the same dwarves that taught the first and second generation of Grimoire Girls ironworking over a hundred years ago?"
- Callie giggles.
She mimics a gruff voice, "After the calamity started, I decided to travel where I was born with my companions. Can you imagine my surprise when I came across a city without a proper blacksmith? With the end of times happening, before anybody noticed half of the residents of Marigold went off to explore the world in whatever time they had left. Grimoire Girls were members of the more stubborn mules refusing to leave. Stubborn mules the lot of you!"
- Gira chuckles.
She continues the story in good humor, "That’s when I met the very first generation of Grimoire Girls! Syl and Ria were nothing more than children in the eyes of a dwarf. I couldn’t just leave them without teaching them how to maintain their shabby gear. Wouldn’t sit right with my conscious. They needed to be ready for the horrors that dungeons spew to the surface!"
Gira states, "I asked the dwarves about the headmistress. They said that she used to act like a spoiled princess long before they moved into the castle. Isn't that curious?"
- Callie stops in bewilderment just before the library doors.
"Awuah? So she hasn't changed much? I can’t even begin to imagine what must have happened in that span of time."
- Gira opens the library doors while Callie is lost in space.
- Gira’s eyes seem to lose their shine for a second.
- "I can’t imagine a life that long either. How dull."
- The sight of the library reinvigorates the color in Gira's eyes.
Shelves of books are decorated with small trinkets so as not to disturb anyone browsing through books. There are carpets lining each row between the shelves that match banners hanging overhead. The banners have genres of literature written on them to separate topics such as history, geography, cultures of various races, recent records, and archived grimoires. The entire library seems to bleed with a melancholy aura stemming from the archived grimoire section.
The library is largely empty. The lack of people is a waste of the grandeur of the library. Only a few people are wandering around as they search for something to read.
- There is an open space with several desks and tables at the center of the room.
- Gira focuses on a busy librarian with long silver hair, sharp green eyes, and an emerald necklace.
- Gira opens her bag and takes out her documents of the dwarves.
- "I am going to take the sketch to Ria. I will look for you in a bit."
- Callie lifts her hand in a half-hearted wave.
- "Okay."
- Callie walks off searching through the geography section of books.
- Gira sits at a table next to the librarian's desk.
- Ria perks up as Gira approaches.
- "Hello, Gira. Are those the notes I asked for?"
- Gira places her papers on the desk.
- "Yeah, but the sketch is still a work in progress. Let me borrow some pieces of chalk."
Ria reorganizes and passes some of her supplies across the table including chalk, ink, quills, and pieces of paper. There is a grimoire sitting on the table among a pile of books.
Ria’s grimoire has a depiction of an underwater sea anemone protecting clownfish. Mana cores are embedded into the depictions of the clownfish. Ria's mana cores notably appear to be of a higher quality than the ones Gira has in her grimoire.
Ria asks, "Is your squadron ready for my introduction yet? Open relationships are quite common in this world, and equally as plentiful are promiscuous girls who refuse to be tied down by any strings."
- Gira grabs a piece of chalk. She starts to work on her sketch.
"Not yet. Callie is against including anyone in our dynamic. I don't think she is knowledgeable about some of the stuff happening in the background with the staff of the academy. I want to ease her into this kind of thing. She doesn’t really like to mingle with other grimoire girls. With a little opportunity, I can introduce her to a few people and change her mind."
"I feel like Reed can handle the revelation. I have seen how well she gets along with some of the other girls. Maybe the only thing holding her back is her loyalty to our group. She might feel a little depressed that I am seeing you behind her back, but she just needs some of my attention from time to time to heal from the heartbreak. She will understand sooner or later."
"The only person that I do not understand is Roman. She is a mystery to me. I thought that we would always be on the same page, but now I don't even know how to talk to her. I think she needs some time to resolve her personal issues."
"On the bright side, Roman’s sadism has diminished. We all dislike her mean streak, but we have to make sacrifices and compromise. Callie willingly takes the front of her unpleasant desires. I think that her mean streak is growing sated by Callie’s love."
- Ria cautiously asks, "Do you know why Roman changed so suddenly?"
- "We rewrote each other's grimoires."
- Ria raises an eyebrow in astonishment. She fears the worst-case scenario.
"You changed the section that forces you to love your squadron, didn't you? You should not have done that."
- Ria’s tone switches to a scornful one.
- "That section solely exists for your benefit. It provides someone who will always love you unconditionally."
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Gira explains in an irritable tone matching Ria’s scorn, "I wanted to know if we would still care for each other if nothing was forcing us together! I found my answer: fuck me!"
- Ria stares at Gira in disapproval.
"I can understand deciding to rewrite a grimoire out of necessity, but you two are in no dire circumstances. You have made an irresponsible decision. I don't think you understand the weight behind that section."
- Gira interrupts by chiming in a harsher tone, "Oh yeah? Do tell!"
- Ria resists the urge to backhand slap Gira for her sassy remark.
Instead of losing her temper, Ria aggressively tears out a mana core from her own grimoire’s slot. Ria does not intend to hold Gira accountable for her lack of knowledge, but Ria is determined to provide a lecture.
Ria lectures, "History is forgotten in between the pages. One of the reasons why that section exists is to prevent Grimoire Girls from abandoning one another during a crisis."
"To begin with, Grimoire Girls tend to live short lives. We need a reason to support one another, artificial or not. Our life expectancy will be cut down to size otherwise. I want you to keep this mana core now that you cannot rely on Roman."
Ria hands Gira a mana core of generous quality. Gira can feel the core’s raw amount of mana seeping through the gem.
- "What kind of behemoth did you have to fight for this?"
Ria explains, "I killed a frost-elemental dragon. I was created to counter them. I almost feel awful about the battle even. Frost-elemental dragons used to appear all the time around here. They are rare now. The dragon that I fought with kept munching on squadrons of girls passing through the nearby mountain range. They deserved it."
Gira spins the gem in her hand like a child captivated by a marble. The gem’s frigid mana captures her fascination and most of her attention.
- After a short delay, Gira’s hand begins to quiver as her mind processes the weight of the gem.
- "Thank you. I have never used a mana core like this before."
- Ria’s tension washes away into a smile when she notices Gira’s reluctance.
- Ria grabs a hold of Gira’s trembling hand to ease her worries with a reassuring touch.
- "I am glad you like it. You can consider it as my form of gratitude for keeping me company."
"You would have loved to see the uncut core. The core was bulky, rough, and shaped by the whims of nature. It was a perfect container to store a vast amount of mana."
"Unfortunately for the dragon, all of the dragon’s potential was locked away when the battle began. I used a little water-elemental magic to guide the dragon’s frost to its lungs. Without access to frost magic, the dragon lost plenty of its combat ability. From there on, the creature was barraged by squadrons of Grimoire Girls."
- Ria releases Gira’s unsteady hand at the sight of the library doors opening at a distance.
- An irregular group of guests enters the room.
- Ria’s smile brightens at the sight of the headmistress.
Gira turns to see what Ria is gawking at. Gira’s lips break out into a playful grin piecing together the scene before her.
- "I see that your advances on Syl are finally bearing fruit."
Ria looks puzzled, "I thought my efforts were falling on deaf ears. I haven't talked with her properly in months. She is always busy womanizing others."
- Before the private conversation can continue any further, the irregular group of guests walk within earshot.
Ria greets the unexpected guests, "A pleasure to see you headmistress Syl Lillie Koi! Good afternoon commander Ahnvi Lope. How pleasant to see you Division Eight archmages: Petra Arch Anne, Dansa Catalonia, and Anna Fjor Rea."
- Ria lowers her head to bow for a few seconds.
They are all names that Gira is familiar with on account of working with them but their names do not feel very important during this specific moment. Gira follows suit presenting an obligatory bow rather than one out of respect.
- Syl casually returns the greeting, "Ria Sea Arch—"
- She presses her finger against her chin.
- "and company."
- Anna chimes in, "That is a member of the staff. The Division Eight scout Gira Weave."
Syl bows insincerely as if she is completing a repetitive chore, whereas the rest of her party bows respectfully.
- Ria’s anticipation dwindles as she regains her posture. Her smile dulls.
- "I don't suppose that you are here for pleasure, silly Lillie?"
Syl answers in a stern and distant voice, "My visit is about the appearance of an unknown monster. I need your help identifying the monster’s origin at once."
- Ria grinds her teeth. She loathes Syl’s latest band of lovers.
- "Of course you need my help. Everyone always does. Why should I have expected anything else?"
Droplets of water form locked in stasis surrounding Ria. The effect is an involuntary stress mechanism written into Ria’s grimoire.
- Ria gestures aggressively toward the library doors.
- "Why don’t you leave Gira? I have a feeling that we are going to be here for a while."
- Gira adopts Ria’s stress as her own in the form of a light red haze.
- "I can stay here if you want. I don't mind spending a little of my time."
- Gira’s grip tightens on Ria’s gift. She places the mana core in her pocket.
Ria reassures, "I will admit that I am frustrated, but we are just going to chat. Nothing more. Let me save my dignity."
- Gira jolts out of her chair fueled by agitation.
Gira rushes past rows of bookshelves arriving at the geography section where she marches in a search for Callie.
- Callie is absent.
- Gira slows her pace searching carefully through row after row.
- Callie is absent.
- Gira’s heart beats in dismay. "Callie?"
- Gira marches to the next row. Her anxiety builds. "Callie?"
- She starts to run across the room passing by another section. "Callie?"
- Gira’s haze grasps at her throat like the embodiment of a ghoul. "Callie?"
- The end of the library is now within her sight. "Callie?"
- She starts running and reaches the dreaded final row. "Callie?"
- Callie stands in a hidden shrine room.
There is an entryway tucked away from sight in between bookshelves in an unusual position marked only by a banner hanging overhead. The shrine room bleeds into a second room outside of the library's original layout with the extra room's entrances sealed off.
The walls of the room are padded with unsalvageable grimoires leading out of the room almost like a trail of dominos continuing on nearby shelves. The endless amount of books and sorrowful trinkets such as amethyst and ruby necklaces, haunting banners, and other miscellaneous possessions once belonging to the deceased create an eerie atmosphere.
- The air in the shrine is parching. Gira recognizes the heat as Callie’s passive stress response.
- Gira steps forward hesitantly. Trepidation follows her with every step she takes.
Gira begins imagining unsettling thoughts, "Did she hide in the corner thinking I wouldn’t search here? She couldn’t possibly have overheard about my affair. Is there anything else that could have set her off? For the love of grimoires, please tell me she didn’t overhear."
- Gira eases her hand on Callie’s shoulder.
- "What’s wrong, Callie?"
- Callie’s head lowers. She seems utterly defeated.
- The knot in Gira’s stomach begins to untie itself. Her ghastly haze thins.
"Love, you really need to learn how to let people go. They died several decades ago, Callie. The grimoires that survived were recycled for new Grimoire Girls that you can visit anytime, remember?"
Callie grieves, "They aren’t the same. They are different in every way imaginable. The memories we share barely matter to them, and the girls that left the academy never even bother to visit."
- Gira wraps her arms over Callie’s shoulders pulling her into a hug from behind.
- "I will comfort you for as long as you need me to."
- Despite saying so, Gira silently winces as if annoyed by Callie’s distress.
- Callie staggers. She nearly loses the strength in her legs.
- "I can’t even cry to feel relief. It's strange. I don't feel sad enough."
Callie inhales a deep breath forcing her sorrows to swell in a single point. Her sorrows press against her chest. She exhales a hefty breath of dry air to help her repress her melancholy thoughts.
Her mind is a glass bottle filled with a shallow but dense liquid that bubbles. The liquid never rises past the neck of the bottle and likely never will, but the liquid never dissipates either. The liquid only compresses into dense sludge.
Gira takes into account Callie’s behavioral tendencies. Gira decides to whisper to tread around the possibility of causing agitation.
"Why don’t we forget about researching monster sightings in the area today? I doubt much has changed, and the sight of the shrine will only cloud your mind right now. Come on, let’s wake up Roman and Reed for breakfast."
- Gira ends the hug to grab a hold of Callie’s hand.
- Gira guides the way back to their room.
- Gira and Callie enter the room.
- Reed and Roman are still sleeping.
- Gira calls out, "Wake up! It’s time for breakfast."
- Reed’s eyes instantly open as if she was only dozing off.
- Reed gets out of bed mumbling, "Is it morning already? I thought I had a few more hours to sleep."
- Gira and Callie answer almost simultaneously, "Yes" , "Yeah."
- Reed opens the shared drawer on her side of the bed.
Reed rushes to dress herself and nearly falls over in the process. She wears a long, thin, and sleeveless blue dress ending at her thighs. Her eyes are an unfaltering blue color that attracts attention away from the darker blue color of her dress. The outfit is complete with black stockings to compliment the blue dress. She unbraids her side braid to let her long blonde hair flow freely. Her hair adds a splash of golden color to her appearance.
- "I’m ready."
- Roman groggily sits up on her bed.
- She mumbles, "Greaph—I mean—Graph morning."
Roman rubs her eyes. Her eyes are a labyrinth of cognac brown color accompanied by plenty of bags beneath them.
- She delays leaving her bed while she orients herself.
- Callie winks. "Were you dreaming of me?"
- Roman moves her bedsheets and completes the final stretch of stepping out of her bed.
- She closes her eyes for a second to yawn. Roman slowly opens her eyes again after a short pause.
- She explains, "Something like that. Just a short dream. Give me a moment to wake up."
She takes her time opening the drawer on her side of the bed. Roman takes out a tiny ceramic jar sealed with a cork and a wooden brush with dried plant fiber bristles.
- "You left your lip powder in my drawer for the umpteenth time, Callie."
- "Ooh! I was wondering where that was."
Roman sorts through some clothing taking an awkwardly long amount of time to dress. She wears a black shirt, black pants, and a black plain fabric choker. She holds her mono-color outfit together with a white jacket with a hood visibly padded with fake white fur. The fur provides a little breathing room in terms of color for her outfit that her black hair cut into a neat bob with bangs otherwise absorbs.
- She begins to feel sober.
- "Let's go eat."
- Roman and Reed grab their respective grimoires.
Roman’s grimoire depicts bubbles encasing black Hydrangea flowers leisurely blowing in the wind. There are a few scattered bubbles containing mana cores instead.
Reed’s grimoire depicts Angel Amber Kiss pansies in the hands of a wispy and lanky creature. The creature has a humanoid shape, but the creature appears as though it’s descended from owls instead.
Reed rushes out of the squadron’s room as lively as a cricket while humming to herself. Her lively spirit is met with the squadron lethargically tailing after her. A short walk later and the squadron arrives at a banquet hall.
Extended tables line the banquet hall one after another occupying most of the available space in the room. There are unlit candles placed at each table in metal trays accompanied by baskets of fruit for anyone feeling peckish. Stained glass windows of no particular pattern decorate the walls of one side of the room.
The other side of the room is decorated with old paintings that provide a window into the past. Some of the paintings depict nobles, a royal family portrait, and the scenery of the same valley the academy is located in from over two centuries ago. Towards the end of the hall, there are new paintings recently created by the new inhabitants of the castle. The new paintings depict the first generation of Grimoire Girls, silly mock portraits, wispy owl descended humanoids, and the scenery of the same valley overgrown with plants.
Reed strides past paintings and as many unoccupied tables as she can. She sits at a table next to other girls already in the middle of eating breakfast. The squadron follows her.
A girl maid makes her way toward the squadron. She bows and politely lifts the ends of her skirt. The gesture is directed more towards Reed than anyone else at the table.
She lists off, "Today’s breakfast menu consists of eggs, oatmeal, bread, mushroom stew, salad, apple juice, and orange juice. I advise ordering eggs before they run out. What will everyone have for breakfast today?"
The squadron orders breakfast. They receive plates of scrambled eggs, hearty whole-grain wheat bread, thick oatmeal with raisins and cinnamon sprinkled on top, bizarre otherworldy appearing chopped mushrooms, and a hundred percent orange juice.
Before the maid leaves, she asks, "Are you busy later, Reed? I was hoping that I could get to know you better."
- Callie frowns.
- Reed politely refuses, "Sorry, we are heading to Fort Terra after breakfast. I will be gone for a few days."
- "Some other time then."
- The maid leaves.
- Callie and Reed happen to finish their breakfast before Gira and Roman.
- Callie places her ceramic jar and wooden brush on the table.
- She asks, "Hey, Roman. Can I get a little bit of water?"
Roman nods without saying a word. Her mouth is too full to utter a sound. Roman extends her hand to Callie’s empty cup, and she creates a sphere of water large enough to fill the cup.
- "Thank you."
Callie dips her brush in the glass of water. Callie opens her ceramic jar revealing black lip powder. She dips her brush in the powder, and the water on the brush mixes with the powder into a vivid black liquid. Callie applies the liquid to her lips carefully. She waves her hand in front of her lips to air out the cosmetic.
- The doors to the banquet hall suddenly slam open.
Dansa—the same girl that was torn apart by the mysterious monster the night before—storms into the room and sits at a table in a distant corner. Her partner Anna sits across the table.
Dansa is surrounded by circle-shaped shadows that spiral into a purple-colored center point. Her ominous aura matches the colors of her hair and her eyes. Her hair is long enough to reach her chest, sleek, and cut as evenly as possible. There is a gap in the front of her face where the hair is cut into bangs. The color of her hair is black mixed with a faint indigo hue. Her eyes are a fierce amethyst color resembling the center point of her spiral-shaped mana.
Anna waves her arms in an unsuccessful attempt to try to clear the mana in the air. She coughs irritably. Her voluminous, wavy, earthy brown hair is visible even through Dansa’s shadows. Anna's calm and vibrant parakeet green eyes gleam like a beacon in the dark.
Callie is mesmerized by the combinations of colors the two create together. Callie’s eyes settle at the green gleam amidst a shore of discomfort.
- She almost loses sight of the fact that swirling shadows are Dansa’s reaction to stress.
Callie begins to feel uneasy. She has not properly talked with Dansa in months, but Callie would like to comfort her. They were friends once upon a time ago.
- Callie raises her finger to her mouth and bites down. Her teeth grind against her finger lightly.
- She mutters under her breath, "What do I even say to her? It’s been so long."
- Callie bites her finger increasingly harder until she draws blood.
- Callie steps out of her seat.
- A tug on Callie's arm from Reed holds her back.
- Reed asks, "Are you okay Callie?"
- Callie trivializes her problems, "Yeah, sure. I’m going to talk to Dansa. She looks upset."
- Reed presents an empty smile.
- "I’ll come with you."
- Roman looks elsewhere. She refuses to involve herself in the troublesome relations of other people.
- At the moment, Gira worries more about Ria than Dansa or Callie.
Reed begrudgingly leaves her seat. She is aware of how the scenario is about to unfold. Reed has witnessed Dansa’s temper plenty of times before.
- Callie timidly steels herself before breaching through Dansa’s shadow.
- "Hey, Dansa. I know we haven’t talked in a while, but—."
- Callie’s heart sinks and her heart rate elevates.
- "I can see that you aren’t feeling too well. Do you want to talk about your problems? It might help."
- Drops of Callie’s blood form into beads on her finger that drip down to the floor.
- In a snap, Dansa snarls at Callie, "Fuck off!"
- Dansa’s face twitches in clear agitation.
- "Leave me alone!"
- Callie is disheartened. Her jaw drops out of shock.
- "What?"
- Dansa repeats herself though she lowers her tone.
- "Leave me alone."
- Callie’s heart begins beating as frantic as a blood cell scrambling to seal a wound.
- "Wait just a minute, why are you acting like this?"
Dansa bashes her knees under the table in a frantic outburst of movement that only serves to agitate her further.
- "Go away. Fuck off!"
- Anna moves and sits beside Dansa.
- She forcibly wraps her arm around Dansa to coarsely restraining her.
- Before Dansa can utter a complaint, Anna commands, "Be quiet for a second, Dansa. I will handle this''.
- Anna greets Callie and Reed with a nod.
"Greetings, Division Eight scouts Callie Graph Freed and Reed Englast. Sorry about Dansa’s temper. We just came out of a heated argument with the head librarian."
- Callie lifts her hand facepalming in disappointment.
- "I don’t know why I bother trying anymore."
- Callie’s expression changes into a pseudo nonchalant scoff.
- "Forget it."
- Callie turns away and heads for the exit.
Reed notices that Dansa’s skin looks flawless; it is a sign of a Magical Girl replacing their previous body.
When nobody other than Dansa is looking, Reed sticks her tongue out. Reed rolls her eyes upwards and pretends to choke herself.
Reed promptly stops her charade. She sneers just as swiftly as she spins around before anyone else notices.
- Dansa’s chest swells.
- She howls, "Fuck you bitch!"
- Anna punches Dansa’s stomach knocking the wind out of her.
The combination of the punch and Dansa’s attempt to speak results with Dansa uttering the sound, "Nraa-oompphhh."
- Anna complains, "Callie is already leaving! Leave her alone already! God damn it, you really test my patience!"
Callie pauses for a second but pretends to feel unfazed by the insult.