"That looks… wet. Towel?"
There was a minor lake forming around Maya, after all. Miki wasn't quite sure how she'd managed to keep her clothing dry, but her hair looked, if anything, even dirtier than last she'd seen her—not completely caked with mud, but it had turned almost entirely brown. The melon juice was one thing; this actually managed to look worse, to the point where Miki wondered why she'd bothered.
If it wasn't for the frost clouds forming around her feet giving her a slightly otherwordly appearance, Miki's first thought—watching her blindly wringing out her waist-length hair, leaned forward so it wouldn't drip on her coat—would have been 'drowned rat'. That was no reason not to help out, though, so she held out a quickly shaped beach towel.
Then, after a moment's thought, she added a large comb.
———————
"I could have cleaned it out myself. I just needed to freeze it first."
"I'm sure you could have. This was faster, right?"
"I just want to make sure you know that." Maya glanced between her and the towel—the second towel, the first one having gone brown as well—then tried to stare a hole in the lake-side picture, which was now depicting dried-out mud with dead trees dotting the former waterline. The colors were running together; apparently it was a watercolor. "I didn't ask you for that, so I don't owe you anything."
"I—"
Eh? "It took me less than ten seconds to make. Don't worry about it."
"Just so you know." She was still staring. Fortunately, probably, the painting remained stubbornly unresponsive. If Miki had tried that she'd probably have literally stared a hole in it, or something. "So, what now?"
That isn't a good way to think, she didn't say. Miki shook her head. Maya was a mystery, wrapped in a conundrum, and just when she was starting to think she'd gotten a handle on her, something like this happened. She didn't want to confront her outright, though; if nothing else, she was still on the clock. Amu was relying on her, so she'd worry about Maya's attitude later.
"Um, right. Have you ever heard of someone called Igor?"
"No."
"Oh. Well, I guess there isn't much to say. He ought to live somewhere around here, and Amu thinks he might be able to get us out, so I'm going to search for him. You probably can't come with me all the way, though, and things are probably going to get—weirder. You don't seem quite at home here, either, so maybe—"
"I'll come along as far as I can," Maya said. Her eyebrow twitched. "How do we start?"
"By taking the elevator up to the surface." Miki smiled, seeing Maya's quizzical look, and closed her eyes for a second. She'd had a fun idea, and it was just the right sort of prank to defuse this situation; when she opened them again, there'd be an elevator behind Maya. There
always had been—and although Maya knew better, this place didn't seem to care about demons.
Nothing could possibly—
"What's an 'elevator'?" Maya asked.
———————
The 'surface' looked roughly the way she'd pictured it, which is to say, fog everywhere. There might have been a sun—she couldn't tell. There was definitely light, but as always, it was from no particular source. There was grass, and paved walking paths, and plants, all of which looked better if she didn't look particularly hard at them. It didn't look quite real, nowhere near as real as the corridors below, but that made a sort of sense since they'd basically taken the elevator straight into her own imagination. In fact, it had opened up in the middle of a sidewalk; there were shops, but they all seemed utterly generic and more than a few were simple facades.
"There will be a park up ahead. Let's just—"
"I still don't get it. Why wouldn't you just make one of the corridors lead there? What's the point of having a box like that?"
Miki fought the urge to facepalm. There was also an insatiably curious demon, who apparently had very little sense of—well, physics. Worse, she couldn't really answer. "Because Kagutsuchi wants it that way" wasn't very satisfying, when she didn't know
why.
"Later." She squinted a bit. Was that… "I think we're there. Now, remember what I told you; this is definitely going to get hard to navigate, so if you lose track of me, sit down and call me with the radio. You do remember how to use it, right?"
"Press button. Talk. Not hard." Maya grumbled a little. "I was hoping there'd be someone to fight, but this place is deserted. What's the point of having it, then?"
"
Stop asking me things I don't know!"
It took a moment before she realised she'd shouted that, then more as she flinched, looking around wildly to see if anyone—if anything—had noticed. She didn't even know why she'd done that, except that Maya's questions were distracting her from watching for enemies. She hadn't meant to shout, and now something would leap out of the fog… any moment now…
No. There's nothing in the fog. She had to believe that; it'd be true if she believed it. It'd stay true only so long as she believed it.
Black shapes danced in the corners of her eyes, but when she spun to look, there was nothing.
Maya was also looking around, her hair spread out in a fan that seemed to have a life of its own, but nothing happened except for the fog rippling and growing a little denser. Slowly, they relaxed, and Maya let her hair fall back down.
Nothing.
She laughed, a little nervously. "Sorry," she whispered. "Let's just go?"
———————
Keeping track of where they'd been was growing difficult. Keeping track of time was growing difficult. The pavement, underfoot, was growing poorly defined—it was either gravel, or a simple dirt path, but she couldn't tell which. Even Maya was sticking closer, holding on to her sleeve, after she'd disappeared behind half a centimetre of fog for a panicked half-a-minute.
The fog seemed like a physical thing. She'd found the park, but the moment she'd stepped inside it had surrounded them; dense, billowing whiteness that seemed to fill her senses. Possibly in a literal manner, as she could still see it through her limbs and clothing, and for that matter even if she closed her eyes. It was like resting in her egg, almost. She could barely feel the sensations of walking, and there was no sound, so if it hadn't been for the trees passing by—grey, twisted, but nevertheless
there—she might not have been able to tell she was walking.
She could only barely glimpse her feet.
Neither of them said anything. Speaking felt dangerous, and even if it hadn't, she felt sure—though she couldn't say why—that even if she did, there would be nothing to hear.
They walked.
She'd been meaning to tell Amu, but there was only static on the radio.
Even her emotions seemed strangely deadened. Somewhere, in the distance, she could feel her stomach churning; somewhere, her heartbeat quickened, and she could worry about what she'd find, or even if they'd find anything at all, but not here. Here, they walked.
Maya's hand was sharply defined; a riot of colours, against the omnipresent grey. Her own looked almost faded. Not changed, not really, but she was blending into the fog and Maya—who'd never touched the dream in even the slightest manner—Maya just wasn't.
There should be a—
———————
"You're just full of surprises, aren't you?"
The room swam into focus. She'd been… what had she been doing?
She couldn't remember. It was a like she'd just woken up from a dream, but that couldn't be right; she'd never fallen asleep in the first place. She'd taken the elevator with Maya, hoping they could find Igor, and then… and then what had happened…?
Her thoughts felt foggy, though. Just like waking up after sleeping in.
Oh, that's right. There was someone…
Miki blearily rubbed her eyes. She was… sitting on a blue velvet couch, in a long rectangular room… there was someone sitting across from her…
This could be Igor's limousine. There was just one problem.
"Feeling better now?" The woman asked.
She mutely nodded. Amu had described Igor as 'some sort of gnome', but this was possibly the most beautiful woman she'd ever seen—tall and and blonde, although she was dressed in a suit of the same blue color as the rest of the room; it looked like some sort of uniform. A slightly darker blue than her own shorts and hair, unfortunately, so she probably clashed horribly…
What was she thinking; this wasn't the time for that.
"Welcome to the Velvet Room. My name is Margaret, and I will be your host for today," the woman said. It sounded rehearsed. "This is only the second time I have welcomed someone to this room, but I hope you will forgive any mistakes. Now, how would you like me to address you?"
"Ah—" Miki instinctively bowed, which turned into more of a half-nod as she was in fact still sitting. "Hinamori Miki. Please take care of me?"
"I am delighted to make your acquaintance, Hinamori-san." Margaret nodded at her, a slight smile on her face. "This place exists between dream and reality, between mind and matter… but considering your method of entry, I believe you already realise this. However, this is a room that only those bound by a contract may enter."
"A contract?" She echoed. "What about Igor?"
"Igor is… unable to appear at present," Margaret sighed. "As such, I am handling his duties for now. Now tell me, Hinamori Miki, what is it that you want?"
"I…"
[ ] I want to return to reality. Me, Amu, Fumi and Maya.
[ ] I want to help. I don't want Amu to do everything on her own.
[ ] Write-in