Guilty x Creatures Ch. 52

Mica had a nervous looking grimace on her face as Kianna tentatively repositioned her back in front of the vanity.

In an effort to shift things to a new subject, Kianna turned her attention back to Mica's hair.

"You know, it's really nice having someone with long hair around again." she said as she again began to gently run the brush down through the hair's length "I really missed combing hair like this..."

"Hm, did you used to have long hair, Fiona?" asked Anton as he watched the swirling vortex begin to slow its movements.

"Yeah. A long time ago." answered Fiona.

"We both did..." said Kianna as a small, almost remorseful smile spread across her face "I really loved having long hair... I miss it..."

"Why did you decide to cut it?" asked Anton.

Kianna went quiet for a moment as Fiona's face darkened in anger.

"I didn't, really decide to. I kinda had to cut it..." admitted Kianna as Fiona pointed her ears straight back "Because Sierra mashed up a bunch of gum in it..."

"...Oh. I see....I'm sorry to hear that." said Anton as his eyes tightened "That's unfortunate."

"Yeah, it sucked..." said Kianna as she portioned out lengths of Mica's hair and began to braid it together "Shorter hair is easier to deal with, so I never grew it back out... And neither did Fiona..."

"Right..." nodded Anton as he glanced over to Fiona "So I'm guessing Sierra did the same to you?"

"Nah, I cut my own hair." answered Fiona.

"...Why?" asked Anton.

"...Because." sighed Fiona "We weren't the same anymore. And Kianna was crying about that... So I cut it, like her's..."

"And that was really sweet of you!" cooed Kianna as a bright smile spread across her face.

"Yes... It was." nodded Anton as his expression became thoughtful "Very sweet..."

"Yeah, yeah. Whatsoever..." mumbled Fiona as she crossed her arms and sulked.

Relieved that her most current worries were not actually going to be an issue for her, Mica focused on the pleasant feeling of having her hair played with while ignoring the conversation taking place around her. She sighed softly as she gave in to her exhaustion a bit and began to lightly doze right where she stood. She was brought back to full consciousness when Anton began to move about at her side.

"Okay, this should be ready." said Anton as he took the silver disc from the bowl and turned to Mica.

Seeing the nervous look on her face, he paused for a second and held the coin out for her to see.

"There are 2 different charms that have been mounted to this." he explained as he turned the disc back and forth to showcase the sets of etchings on either of its two sides "The first charm is designed to mask your presence by forming a kind of overlay around your being that is made up of my essence. This means that while this charm is in place, most mundane locator spells won't be able to detect you because to them you will appear as me. This isn't perfect or foolproof though, as highly specialized spells will still be able to see past this charm. A powerful clairvoyant will also be able to detect you around this charm as well, though they will have to work their way past it. The essence this charm is utilizing will also have to be replaced as it's used up, but the link to me through your collar should work to keep it charged."

Mica nodded softly as she kept her eyes on the silver disc.

"The second charm is there in case the first one does fail, or is bypassed. It essentially functions as an alarm system. It'll let us both know that not only have you been detected by someone, but it will also trace the spell back to its caster and, hopefully, show us who it is that's now tracking you." continued Anton "Now, these charms are by no means the best examples of what they are. They are the best that I could put together myself in such a short amount of time and with what I have here though. They will work for now, but we'll still upgrade them as soon as we can find better versions. In the meantime though, let's go ahead and get them installed."

Mica couldn't help but to grimace as Anton took Kianna's place behind her. Bowing her head a bit, she shivered involuntarily as she felt him once again activate her collar's control panel.

The two dark elves watched in silence as Anton cycled to a specific ring that appeared to be blank until he placed the silver disc in its center. Once the disc was in place, a series of interconnected sigils winked into existence across its surface. For a moment, both the ring and the etchings on either side of the disc began to glow brightly before the disc was sucked down to the collar itself, where it then instantly melted into the silver plate and disappeared.

"And there we go." said Anton as he deactivated the collar and stepped back.

Mica shivered again, before squaring her shoulders and glancing up at the mirror to find that everyone was now staring at her.

"...W-what?" she stammered as she looked back down "Why are you all looking at me!?"

"Do you feel the new charms?" asked Kianna.

"No. I don't think so?" answered Mica.

"That's fine. They're not something that you should notice." said Anton as he moved to collect his crafting supplies "At least not until they're actually functioning."

Mica nodded softly before letting loose a long yawn.

"C'mon, let's go get you a sandwich or something." said Kianna as she took the compliant kiochi by the shoulders and turned her towards the door "Then it's off to bed for you!"

Mica merely nodded and said nothing as she was led out of the room.

Fiona stretched her arms up over her head and went to follow them out but stopped short when Anton suddenly spoke.

"Fiona." he called softly as he kept his eyes on the mana vortex generator "Could you wait just a moment, please. I'd like to ask you something."

"Uh, sure. What's up?" said the dark elf as she twisted at the waist to face him.

Anton had a calm expression on his face as he glanced back at the open doorway to make sure that they were alone.

"...Do you happen to remember Sierra's last name?" he asked as he turned back to the counter-top and gathered up his items in his hands.

Fiona blinked in surprise and scrunched up her brow as her mind went back to her school days.

"Yeah, I think it was Winscott?" she said after a moment of thought "Pretty sure that was it. Why though? Why do you want to know?"

"Winscott..." repeated Anton with a nod "I see... Thank you."

Fiona was still for a moment before a devilish smile spread across her face.

"...It makes you mad, doesn't it?" she teased as her smile grew wider "That bitch was so mean to your poor, precious little dark elf. She even made her cry, a lot. And that just makes you so very, very mad... Doesn't it!?"

Anton's expression showed nothing of his thoughts as he turned and gave her a pointed look. Without a word, he calmly made his way to the door.

Fiona began to laugh wickedly as she watched him leave the room.

"Oh, yes! Oh, Sierra you stupid bitch! You're so fucked now!" she said to herself as her irises began to glow in excitement "You have no idea what's coming for you!"

Still laughing to herself, Fiona had a twirling quality to her motions as she gleefully danced her way out of the room.