Minako Arisato | 有里 皆子 (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
xxii_thefool) wrote2015-04-29 10:27 am
xxii_thefool) wrote2015-04-29 10:27 am
Entry tags:
[musebox] clockwork maze, end unknown
"Aaaaah, stop screwing around!" The uncharacteristic shout rings through the twisting corridors; whirling around where she stands, Minako hauls off and kick the wall with enough force to halfway dislodge her shoe from her foot.
This whole excursion is really starting to seem like maybe it was doomed from the beginning. It was scraped together on the shortest of notice - Minako came clattering down the stairs of the dorm at all of a quarter after eleven to announce that they needed to go to Tartarus tonight and could not be talked out of it - and to make matters worse it's one of those nights when the maze is even more unstable than usual. Practically every other floor, it seems, has been a trick floor, as though the tower itself is throwing obstacles into their path, resisting their upward progress.
Maybe it is. Minako hasn't said anything, but there's a certain edge of impatience in the way she's torn through the Shadows they've encountered, as though the fighting is purely an inconvenience to be gotten quickly out of the way - a focus like she's looking for something, something more specific than the way up to the next level or whatever internal marker it is that she uses to decide when they've gone far enough for one night. Whatever it is, it's important, enough to keep her pressing stubbornly on even after a near-miss with the Reaper forced them to scramble madly for the stairs two floors ago.
Now Tartarus is playing its tricks again: they've come up the last set of stairs to find the maze blanketed in darkness, the team scattered. Even their contact with Fuuka has gone out, the last straw that drove Minako to kick the wall and yell at the labyrinth to stop screwing around! like she thinks it can actually understand her.
The fit of pique passes quickly; she draws in a deep breath, huffs it out again in aggravation, and takes a moment to collect herself and get her foot properly back into her shoe. Then she straightens and starts looking around, taking in the situation with calmer eyes. "...it's okay," she murmurs. "We've done this before, just gotta be careful..."
She adjusts her grip more securely on the haft of her naginata, propping her other hand against her hip, and the butt end of the weapon strikes a rhythmic little tap-tap-tap against the tiled floor as Minako peers into the darkness and considers which direction to take.
This whole excursion is really starting to seem like maybe it was doomed from the beginning. It was scraped together on the shortest of notice - Minako came clattering down the stairs of the dorm at all of a quarter after eleven to announce that they needed to go to Tartarus tonight and could not be talked out of it - and to make matters worse it's one of those nights when the maze is even more unstable than usual. Practically every other floor, it seems, has been a trick floor, as though the tower itself is throwing obstacles into their path, resisting their upward progress.
Maybe it is. Minako hasn't said anything, but there's a certain edge of impatience in the way she's torn through the Shadows they've encountered, as though the fighting is purely an inconvenience to be gotten quickly out of the way - a focus like she's looking for something, something more specific than the way up to the next level or whatever internal marker it is that she uses to decide when they've gone far enough for one night. Whatever it is, it's important, enough to keep her pressing stubbornly on even after a near-miss with the Reaper forced them to scramble madly for the stairs two floors ago.
Now Tartarus is playing its tricks again: they've come up the last set of stairs to find the maze blanketed in darkness, the team scattered. Even their contact with Fuuka has gone out, the last straw that drove Minako to kick the wall and yell at the labyrinth to stop screwing around! like she thinks it can actually understand her.
The fit of pique passes quickly; she draws in a deep breath, huffs it out again in aggravation, and takes a moment to collect herself and get her foot properly back into her shoe. Then she straightens and starts looking around, taking in the situation with calmer eyes. "...it's okay," she murmurs. "We've done this before, just gotta be careful..."
She adjusts her grip more securely on the haft of her naginata, propping her other hand against her hip, and the butt end of the weapon strikes a rhythmic little tap-tap-tap against the tiled floor as Minako peers into the darkness and considers which direction to take.
no subject
"I'm hearing something, but I can't tell if it's one of the others or if it's another Shadow," he responded, glancing around again. "The way our luck seems to be running today, I'd bet on the latter."
Just in case, he gripped his axe a little tighter. It didn't hurt to be prepared, and if it was one of the others, they were probably just as wary. It's too bad Fuuka didn't seem to be in contact with them right now. It's strange how quickly he'd grown accustomed to her backup. This team really did work well together.
no subject
Facing the intersection directly, she squared her stance and drew in a long breath. The spark of humor from a moment before left her expression in favor of a look of intent focus; visualizing the face of the Priestess card, she brought Parvati back to the surface of her mind and closed her eyes, listening intently for the hint of sound that Shinjiro had heard. Her own Priestess Arcana Personas were no substitute for Lucia's true sensory powers, but in this kind of situation you worked with what you had.
The right-hand passage, she decided, and opening her eyes she looked over her shoulder toward Shinjiro and shrugged. "There's only one way to find out, right?"
And with that, she started forward again, turning to the right and striding along the corridor with purposeful energy.