Being apart Crime Sorciere was an experience. It was not every day you find yourself forced to join up with two vigilant types. Not that the girl with bubblegum pink hair and a sickeningly sweet attitude to match did not quite fit the portfolio.
Sorano had been inducted into enough cults in her lifetime to know not to judge by appearances. Jellal certainly had a reputation for it regardless of whether his puppet master was present or not.
Conviving as Milkovich was Sorano would have felt more secure. The former councilwoman would not have come out the gate feigning gouging out her own eyes; unlike some people, who just could not live without the drama of casting constellations out of the sky.
She would much rather be doing what she wanted to do. Take what was hers. After all these years, freedom to chose her own path was apparently too big an ask.
So here they were a merry band of misfits. Fugitives. Toying with the idea of being better. Most days, they just fooled around or tired too. Jellal moped perpetually. The ultimate killjoy. She supposed it was just his natural state of being. Leopards and their spots. Whereas Meredy just tried too hard. At everything. Every fight, every mundane chore, every near capture she approached with the same amount of zeal.
On one such day, they made camp in an out of the way pasture somewhere between Crocus and Malba. Camp. Her back cramped even at the thought of sleeping on the ground again what she would give for a soft feather down bed or even a cot of some sort. Meredy, on the other hand, was sprawled on in the grass; evidently, she did not mind, weaving a daisy chain of wildflowers. Flower crowns, products of her methodical work, dotted the ground. Brow furrowed uncharacteristically; Sorano had never seen her look quite so serious.
A crash sounded from across the clearing followed by a near never-ending string of expletives. Cobra still had not gotten the hang of setting up the tents. When she glanced back down, she was met by wide verdant eyes, as green as the pasture itself, staring right at her. Sorano fought the impulse to shift or break Meredy's gaze. "Do you need something?" She managed, cool despite herself.
Meredy's face broke out in a sunny grin. Bubbly as ever, she patted the patch of grass beside her with fervor. "Sit down, Sorano. I'll make you one,"-Her eyes sparkled- "the flowers will look so pretty in your hair!"
Sorano glanced down at the ground. "And risk grass stains?" She smoothed her pristine pleated white skirt with care. Lips quirked up as she replied, "I don't think so."
Meredy made quick work of her cape fumbling with the buttons in her rush. The required uniform. As to make them less conspicuous. And, yet, Jellal still claimed it was most assuredly not a cult. She finally managed to pull it off. Laying it on the spot, she looked at Sorano with a cheeky grin on her face. "Now you don't have an excuse."
"As if that has ever stopped me."
Meredy peered up at her a strange mix of innocence and arrogance. A challenge. Sorano relented, sitting on the cape. Meredy made quick work of her hair. Delicate fingers were braiding it into neat plaits that wove into what felt like an intricate design. Once her fingers ceased she opened up Sorano's compact with her sticky fingers. "Take a look."
The braids were dappled in little wildflowers and the slight beams of sunlight that broke through the canopy of leaves above. Lavender and periwinkle were interwoven bright against her ivory strands. Meredy smiled like the sun beside her as a blush rose in her cheeks. She pretended to examine her manicured hands to avoid it.