i am a cage in search of a bird

[crocodiline]

[ The figure inside the frosted glass snaps her fingers, and the glass falls away, sliding into grooves in the ground below. Inside, behind additional bulletproof glass, sits a woman, legs up on a transparent glass desk, absentmindedly petting a... whatever this thing is.

Say hello to your mastermind, everyone! ]

Hey there, everyone. Nice to talk to you in person - my name is Cipher, welcome to my city. Sorry I took so long to show up in person. No need to get up on my account - how about we talk business?

[ Let's drive. ]

Comments

[specialyellthing]

… Is this a fancy music school?

[sastruga]

No, it's just high school, but... it's important.

[specialyellthing]

… I have a friend whose a public school teacher that would whoop my ass if she heard me now—- but—-

Is it? I know plentya people that didn’t do high school, and ended up pretty great.

[inaclearing]

Especially if you're going for a creative career.

[look Brett didn't have a particularly good high school experience in any capacity]

[sastruga]

That's really not an option for me. But if I really can just go back to right when I left... it should be...

[ . . . ]

Oh god how am I going to explain my hair?

[honeyedtea]

...

Is she susceptible to threats?

[ MIELLE??????? ]

[specialyellthing]

I was thinkin a similar line of words—-

[sastruga]

You can't just threaten my mom...!

[specialyellthing]

I wasn gonna threaten her, just give her a piece of my mind—- or a few pieces.

[sastruga]

She cannot know about any of this.

[specialyellthing]

She doesn’t have to. There are lotsa ways to go about this.

You don’ have to go back to bein the way you were when you got here, Sparkles.

[sastruga]

No, she-- she can't know about any of you, either. It's fine, I can just hide it...

[honeyedtea]

Please tell me you don't intend to keep me hidden under your bed like a stray cat you've been been forbidden to keep?!

[honeyedtea]

We can and we will. If she decides to make things unpleasant for you.

[sastruga]

She isn't-- She just wants what's best for me...

[honeyedtea]

Then there's no reason to be concerned. As long as she keeps a civil tongue in her head, we shouldn't have any... disagreements.

[crocodiline]

[ As if reluctant to show this amount of emotion: ]

I could probably get her to lighten up on you, if you'd like.

[sastruga]

Do I even want to know how you'd do that...

[crocodiline]

Well, I could financially ruin her, get her put in prison...

[ She shrugs. ]

Or I could just fake you some med school transcripts.

[specialyellthing]

An early acceptance!

[sastruga]

...I guess maybe that... could work...

[honeyedtea]

On the subject of faking things, you might have to do the same for me if I'm to follow Mafuyu back to her world... I don't have a thing to my name anymore even where I come from.

[inaclearing]

For what it's worth, as...you know, me, this all sounds fairly proportional.

[Me, in this case, being "local guy who, unlike these three, isn't perpetually down for violence".]

[sastruga]

Not you, too...

[inaclearing]

Honestly, Mafuyu? It doesn't sound like she's very kind to you. She should be someone you'd go to for comfort after something like this, not someone you'd have to hide it all from. It's not right.