July 8th, 248 P.D

14:41:08

Layla's body felt like it was truly melting. Sweat poured down her face abundantly, to the point where she wondered whether it really was her skin. From all directions, the sounds of insects poured into her ears, a chaotic cacophony of nature, and with every step she took, the brown earth kicked up more and more onto her clothes.

Screw nature.

Nature, however, was uncaring towards her annoyance. Dust whipped into her eyes, only protected because of the bulky goggles now half full of sweat. She suctioned them off her face with a "pop", only for a second round of nature's wrath to barrage her. What didn't get slapped directly into her face was stopped by her navy blue hair, small rocks and dust getting caught in it, never to return to the world outside of it for a long time to come. Layla knocked away what she could of the brown dust in, praying this was the last of it.

It never was.

Quickening her pace, Layla continued to trudge up the mountain, endlessly knocking away wave after wave of dust. Around her, more insects joined in the song of death, ringing in her ears mercilessly, almost like static.

"-y, y-u t-re?"

Surprised, and a little embarrassed, she fiddled with the little headset in her ear. Slowly, the static began to dull before the other end became mostly clear.

"Sorry, didn't catch that. What channel is this? Can you repeat?"

"Don't tell me you didn't adjust your microphone before you left, despite me reminding you, like, 100 times?." The voice stated from the other line, annoyed and disappointed. Her sister's voice came in with crystal clarity. "What was it you told me again? 'I'll do it later, don't worry. Stop nagging me so much.'"

She reached her hand to change the channel and stop her nagging voice.

"Don't even think about it. If you shut me off…"

She retracted her hand, looking up and instantly feeling her eyeballs melting away from their sockets.

"So you can see me, Tanya." She asked, covering her eyes from the blinding death above her.

"Well, of course I can see you. What do you think I'm here for? Your personal entertainment?" She stated.

"The only thing entertaining about this is that you think you're being entertaining." She responded, softly laughing to herself. From the other end, she heard her sister pout.

"Well, I was going to provide you some information you might like to hear regarding your fun little hunting trip, but now I don't think I want to. Maybe if you apologize and tell me how great I am, I'll let you off this time."

Layla began walking down the mountain, making a dramatic effect of wiping the sweat off her head.

Her sister began to panic.

"Where the hell do you think you're going?"

"You want dinner? Great. You can go get it yourself, but when you come back mauled by beasts, don't come crying to me."

Her sister didn't respond.

"I have to thank you, actually. It really is tiring to walk all this way, not to mention that the temperature is at an all time high." She stated the last part with emphasis. She could almost hear her sister shudder at the thought.

Another 50 meters down the mountain

100 meters down…

150…

200...

"Alright, alright. I'm sorry. Just please don't make me go." She begged, panic flowing through her words.

"You really are spoiled, you know that?" Layla stated, slowly making her way back up the mountain. "Anyways, what is it that you wanted to tell me?"

The sound of static filled her ears while Tanya checked her internal map.

"Well, there's a pack of wolves near your position-"

"Already knew that. Saw their footsteps in the dirt."

Frustratedly, she continued.

"There's also a flock of predatory birds in the distance about-"

"I can see them from here. Is there anything else?"

She seemed to look through her mind again, searching for something that would surprise her. Layla began tapping for foot on the ground, which only succeeded in further ruining her ruined clothes. When she had finally ruined her favorite pair of hiking boots, Tanya finally got back to her.

"Wait, this is actually important. There's...something…"

"So, you wasted my time to tell me that you saw "something"? Aren't you supposed to be an expert at this stuff?"

"Shut up. It's outside my range." Tanya silently cursed herself, hoping she wouldn't hear. "In any case, it's about 1 km northeast of your current position, approaching. Recommend checking out."

"Is that everything?"

"Not quite. I think you forgot something." She joyfully stated. "Go on, say it."

Layla rolled her eyes, taking a dramatic deep breath.

"You're the best sister in the world. Thank you for helping me out." She blankly stated.

More static in her ears.

"Would have liked a little more emotion into it, but I'll take it. Enjoy your privacy later."

Her microphone returned to the ringing sounds of static. Layla looked down, now overlooking the plains of dust and earth below her. In the northern distance, a dust storm raged as a simple wall of brown and orange, mercilessly taking anyone who dared get in its path. Small grasses dotted the landscape, somehow managing to survive. Nature always did, after all.

Almost always, at least…

She dismissed her thoughts, grounding them back into reality. No use being sad about something she'd never known.

The fished through her pockets, feeling for the blue gem inside of it. She clutched it in her dusty hand, closing her eyes and letting herself transform.

The brown dust on her boots changed themselves out for a shiny, dark pair of ballroom shoes. She never quite understood it, and they felt a little boyish for her tastes, but they at least looked good.

Moving up her legs, she felt the heat brush against her legs, her pants having been changed for skintight shorts instead. A navy blue jacket quickly overtook her body, the under-section having been replaced with a dark vest. The sweat on her arms escaped free as the cloth above it was removed as well. The cloth grew a blue darkness to it before quickly being wrapped just over her eyes. How it didn't reek of her sweat, she had no idea, but these things weren't to be questioned. To top it off, a clip of bright, purple daggers descended onto her waist. 10 total.

Slowly, the free floating experience disappeared, and she found herself back onto the ground. She inspected one of the daggers, catching the birds in its reflection. 5 total, their size almost competing her appetite for them. Almost. Her mouth slowly watered at the thought of bird meat for dinner.

The threw her first knife, watching it go through the birds neck. A screech of death echoed through the cliff, the bird falling to the ground below.

That was the easy one, of course.

As if in unison, the birds scattered in panic, all probably wondering who would be next. She fished for her second knife, this time cutting off the wing of the second and sending it careening for the earth below. A third and fourth left her belt, but this one was smart, dodging them both with grace. It looked as if to laugh at her, but a fifth impaled its smug face, causing blood to rain down on it's friend below. A sixth made this one an easy kill, leaving just one bird left. Another two left her hand, and with a graceful spin, it dodged them both. A ninth barely scraped its feathers.

"You little shit"

She chucked her tenth in a fit of anger, but it was too late. The bird was too far off, and the knife simply arced towards the earth below. She could almost hear it laughing at her patheticness.

"I hope you die to the wolves, you know that?" In truth, she could have just as easily have ran after it from the ground and taken it from there. She was fast enough, and could get a decent kill from closer up. However, whether or not it was at all worth it was another question entirely, likely involving sacrificing the meat she just worked so hard to get to the other beasts.

Oh, how it was tempting, though.

Earth sprayed everywhere as she leapt from the cliffside onto the ground, picking up the bird carcasses one by one. As she slowly made her way, the weight of them piled up more and more, to the point that when she had reached the last one, her pace had been reduced to a crawl. She laid her prizes out, examining each one for the best of them, only to be greeted with a deep growl from behind. She turned her head, now eye-to-eye with a pack of wolves. Each of them examined every one of the carcasses, slowly making their way forward. She reached for one of her knives to give them a piece of her mind, but the fact that she could smell the meat on their breath from where they were standing made it clear that they were too close.

She would need to resort to plan B.

She stared down the wold pack, it's advance unstopping. Her eyes began to emit a dark blue glow, the leader of the pack quickly following it's lead.

"Listen, I've been having a really damn awful day so far, so can you tell your pack to go ahead and leave me alone? I'll leave some of it for you later, but I get the best. This is my kill. Understand?"

She released her magic and fell to the ground. The head of the pack made some unintelligible grunts to the remainder. She knew what it was saying, even if she didn't need to hear it. Within moments, the pack retracted, a couple angry at having to leave their prey behind, but they left anyways. Besides, she still had her weapons if any one of them decided to pull something funny.

Slowly heaving the largest of the carcasses, she made her way to a nearby rock, large enough that it provided a decent amount of shade. More dust pelted her face, the wall of brown in the distance growing ever closer. Her mind thought to outrun it, escape home and hide it out there, but she knew she could never do that. Better to just wait it out.

Layla began flipping through channel after channel of static, searching for something worth listening to. She caught the end of a recently popular song, the music fading out. She loved this station.

"...And we're back. Hope you enjoyed that hit from "MG's Top 100". I know I did, that's for sure. Ain't that right, Aris?"

"That's right, Minx. Fun fact for the listeners out there: That song was written by a magical girl in her despairing moments, just after she had watched her best friend turn into a witch. In order to keep her own soul gem from tainting, she was forced to write that song to keep herself upbeat. Such a sad story, but it's moments like these that inspire our most creative urges."

"Indeed they are. We'll be coming at you with more Top 100 Hits later, so make sure to stay tuned. For now, though, we'll be moving to a more serious note."

Layla felt herself shift forward, an old habit of TV culture. Aris cleared her throat.

"Revolutionary attacks have grown more and more prevalent. For those living in the southern region, you may have to endure a lack of rations for a while. Never fear, however. The delays should be no more than a week."

That's what you said last week

She clenched her fist, feeling the pain across her whole hand. Her stomach began to rumble, not knowing how much she wanted something other than bird for once. The rations were always plentiful too, containing everything from the very essentials to the sweet luxuries they never got otherwise.

"I'm sure a lot of you may be annoyed at this very unfortunate news, but remember that our soldiers are fighting on the front lines to crush the rebellion that would dare to harm us. So please, show your support for their dedication. Hail the Magical Girl Order"

"Hail the MGO" She responded in kind. Her stomach continued to rumble little by little.

Minx switched back onto the microphone.

"In other news, the Magical Girl Order succeeded in yet another major attack on The Sanctum, putting a major hit on the Revolutionaries. I wish I could say it was all perfect, but I unfortunately can't. The attack, of course, wasn't without sacrifice. Many of our own girls lost their lives in the attack, girls with families, friends, children. They gave up lives back home so that we can live in peace for another day. Let us take a mom-nt of silence for the br-ve magical girls that lost their pr-ious lives, and -e g-teful for w-at we ha-."

She glanced at the bird carcass beside her. She was right. She didn't need any fancy meat rations.

Just my blood, sweat and tears in getting this fine piece of meat.

"Ju-t m-e s-re th-t you k- s-rt- -r-" Layla looked up at the sky, the dust storm now looking like more of a dust ceiling than anything. She covered herself up, shutting off her radio and bracing for the storm ahead. In the distance, a figure approached her, emerging from the dust and death that was coming for her. Upon closer inspection, she made it out to be a woman, probably about 15 or 16 years old, just 1 or 2 years older than she was. Her strikingly white hair, like hers, was pelted with brown and orange. Her shirt was a mess too, parts of the cloth clinging to the rest of the shirt probably by sheer force of will alone.

She was a wreck.

"Do you want to die? Because if so, I'll leave you to rot here like you're already doing." She screamed against the storm.

"I'm a magical girl. I'll be fine." She yelled in response. She didn't take her answer well, rushing to her position and physically picking her up, cradling her through the storm.

"I told you, I'm perfectly fine." She stated. "I need that food you so dearfully left behind."

"And I'm sure you like rocks, sand, mud, and grass in your food. I'm not one to judge, but don't you think you might want to get somewhere with actual shelter?" By now, she could barely make out the details of her face, and both were screaming from right beside each other, their voices simply taken by the storm.

"Do you have a place?"

In response, the brown turned to black, and she felt herself get nestled up against a nearby wall. The girl pulled an old battery powered lantern, resting it on the ground. The light poured into all directions, momentarily blinding her vision. Her vision quickly corrected itself, and she quickly noticed that the cave was damn small, akin to more of a closet than a home. The girl seemed to read her thoughts.

"If you don't like the size, go find your own. I'm sure that bird will ward off your hunger well while you search for something more fitting."

"Who the hell are you?" She asked, growing real tired of her quickly.

"Just a civilian magical girl like you looking to live from the day-to-day troubles of life."

"With a bag like that? I don't buy it. "Magical girls with day-to-day troubles" don't carry bags like that around randomly. I'm sorry to ask, but can I see your eyes for a second?"

"Do what you wish."

She looked into them, her gaze unwavering. On her side, the eyes turned the same blue. The girl laid herself back against the wall, sighing heavily. The bright white of her soul gem in her relaxed hand began to annoy her.

Tch

"Alright, tell me the truth. Who are you and what are you doing out here?"

"Just call me "Stardust", and as I said before, I'm just a civilian magical girl like you looking to live from the day-to-day troubles of life. Happy?" She asked with a smug look.

"I don't believe you, "Stardust"." She stated bluntly.

"I don't care what you believe, or do you think your magic may have been flawed?"

"Shut up."

"Look, this storm isn't letting up anytime soon, so this can go one of two ways: Either you come to distrust me, and this goes by really long and annoyingly. Nobody wins, neither of us are happy, and we both leave this hating each other. Alternatively, you can just trust that I'm being honest with you and we're both happy. Which sounds better to you?"

She didn't respond directly, but rather began scooching over until she was right next to her.

"That's the spirit. I have some canned rations in there, if you'd like."

"Where'd you get your hands on those?"

"Sometimes, it's nice to hoard things like these. Never know when it comes in handy." She responded with a wink of her eye.

She slowly opened the can of meat in her hands, letting its scent fill the room. Pulling a fork out of the nearby bag, she let it slowly sink into the meat with a light squish. She lifted it out of the tim, letting the meat juices drip back in before slowly letting it fall onto her tongue, the meaty sensation coursing across her taste buds. Despite the unappetizing look, the taste was rich and succulent.

"Really is good, isn't it? I have more, if you're still hungry." Stardust's gaze locked onto her, prompting Layla to shift into a nearby corner, or the closest that could approximate one. "Sorry, didn't mean to make you uncomfortable. Just getting a good look at you."

The conversation went stale for a while. Layla continued feeding off the canned meat, savoring every bite she could. Stardust simply played with her soul gem while occasionally checking up on their lantern.

"Hey, I just noticed something, Stardust."

She turned to face Layla, who had thrown her can somewhere out into the storm.

"You never really answered my question about what you were doing out here, didn't you?" She asked.

Stardust crawled over, meeting her eyes again.

"Do you want to use your magic and force the truth out of me?"

"Nah, I'll trust you."

"Well, up until just a few days ago, I was living peacefully. The town was spectacular. Everyone was happy, everyone got along, it was perfect...but then the Revolution showed up. They destroyed everything, slaughtering everyone. I was left homeless. Broken. Nowhere to go but with me and my wits. I've been walking for days with all the rations I had, and then I stumbled upon you. I thought you were committing suicide, ending it all. What could I do but take you in and get you to shelter?"

Layla curled up closer, embracing this broken girl she didn't even know.

"It's okay. We'll take them down, even if it takes us to the last man."

"R-really?" She quietly whispered.

"Of course. I can offer you a place to stay, if you don't mind being in the middle of nowhere, that is."

"It would be my pleasure. I won't be too much of a burden." She stated. "It doesn't look like this will be letting up anytime soon, so why don't we get some sleep? Will do us both good." She slowly dragged a pair of sleeping bags, laying them out along the floor. "Sorry if it's a little cramped."

"You're already doing more than enough. This is no problem."

The warmth of the sleeping bag slowly consumed her, sending her into relaxation. A soft sound, reminiscent of a purr came out of Stardust when she entered the sleeping bag. Slowly, she saw the lights dim until both of them sat in blackness.

"Hey, Stardust?"

"Hm?"

"If it's any consolation, I want to thank you for getting me out of that storm. Knowing me, I probably would have held onto that bird until I was exhausted. Really, who knows what state I would be in if it weren't for you."

"The pleasure is mine. You seem like a nice girl, and I'm glad to have met you."

She went to say something more, but the warmth had already fogged her mind. Slowly, she felt herself drift into sleep, the soft purrs of Stardust beside her keeping her that way.

Tanya released herself, re-entering the familiar sight of her room. Various artifacts sat along the wall and stands, ranging from the heads of dangerous beasts to the odd relics of the past. She approached one of them and began fiddling with it in her hands.

It was a cube, decorated with various colored squares. Turning it seemed to change the faces, and she had come to the conclusion that she was supposed to make the colors match on each face. No matter how hard she tried, though, she could never seem to solve it.

How people could solve this, never mind find enjoyment in it, was beyond her.

It was a habit of hers to do this, and it always excited her when her sister would come back with another little thing for her to examine. She walked a little further, picking up another artifact from her collection. It was big, white and bulky. Numbers dotted the side of it, and a small rotating disc sat in the center of it. Apparently, it was supposed to be used to cook food. However, when she put a tin of meat into it and powered it on, the device immediately destroyed itself. Probably defective.

After examining the machine enough, she walked to the back where a little stuffed bear sat on a pedestal. Her sister had risked life and limb to bring this back to her when she was sick, coming home bleeding from places she didn't know could bleed, some of her limbs nowhere to be found, and looking in so much worse shape than she was. And yet, on that day, she handed her that little bear with a smile on her face, her words sticking in her memory.

"Don't worry about me. Just make sure to keep him close, and I'm sure he'll heal you."

She had been right; By the next day, she was alive enough that she couldn't believe that she was sick. Layla, on the other hand, ended up needing a lot of rest and support for a while to come. She had offered her bear to her, but she refused, saying that she deserved it more and that she would be fine.

Layla put the bear down, looking out the window and into the distant skies. It would only be a matter of time before that storm hit the town, and there was no going outside then. It was now or never.

Tanya slowly made her way out of the house, the sun casting it's glow onto the town of Rust Valley. Well, it was less a town and more a single street lined with a couple of houses and a few bare essentials. From across the street, she made her way into a small shop, lit by a single bulb with a single aisle. The owner, Ms. Dawn, lazily sat at the counter, flipping through a magazine of some kind. A green glow could be seen emanating from her hair. She looked down from her magazine, Tanya just barely reaching the top of the counter.

"Anything new?" Tanya asked, already knowing the answer to her question.

"War's been tough on us. They say they're coming for us, but I know the truth. Nobody cares for us in the backend of nowhere." She stated with a disappointed smile.

"Rations didn't come today?"

She slammed down her magazine, getting up and making her way around the store.

"That damn Revolution, ruining my business. I swear, I hope those incompetent terrorists are crushed soon. Don't you agree, Tanya?"

Tanya reluctantly nodded, not wanting to make her more mad than she already was. The owner sprouted a small flower in a little pot.

"Maybe if I could get a place by the sea, I could make a living as a botanist, or maybe a farmer. Get away from this damn war. But no, I'm out here, forced to give up my dreams, because that idiot thought we might be able to make a living here, and what does he do? He leaves me for a photographer. A PHOTOGRAPHER." She crushed the little plant in her hands, shreds of ceramic landing along her feet. Tanya backed away another three steps.

The owner took a few deep breaths, wiping up the destroyed pot and throwing it away.

"Sorry, I didn't mean for you to see that. If you'd like, we have some really old tomatoes in the back. Not sure how old they are, but they're still good. I think."

"No thanks, but have a good day."

She walked out of the store, making her way down the creaky steps and leaving behind the sounds of her muttering. On the other side and a little down the street, a large building stood proudly, even if it looked like it was on the verge of falling apart. She slowly made her way into the building, every step feeling like she would collapse it at any moment.

From the inside, everything was much bigger. Large beds lined the walls of the single large room, filling up every nook they could. In the back, a small kitchen remained hidden from sight. Tanya approached a young magical girl in pain on one of the beds, clutching a slowly blackening soul gem. Her long pink hair stretched off the bed, hanging just over the floor. Her breathing was heavy and exhausting, her head hot to the touch.

"How are you doing?" She asked the pained magical girl. The girl lifted her thumb in response, turning over to face the wall. Her breathing grew heavier.

"Is there nothing we can do?" She asked one of the nearby nurses.

"Afraid not. Until we get supplies, we don't have the medicine to cure her. She's convinced she can cure herself with magic, but I'm not sure she'll make it at this rate." Her whisper was discreet, but she was sure she could hear them.

"Don't worry. I'm sure they'll come for us."

"I hope so too…"

Most of the building was in a similar condition: Some were just finishing their rehab, integrating back into their daily lives with no problems. Others were ready to accept their fates, their beds being wheeled out into the open wasteland for them to die. Their grief seed would be collected by experienced hunters, and used to save another magical girl.

"The despair of one is the hope of another."

That was the quote inscribed on the back wall of the room, a reminder that you were either a survivor or a martyr for another.

So why does everyone have to die?

Tanya made her way into the kitchen, the smell of soup wafting through the door. A lonely chef stood in front of the pot, carefully selecting ingredients and throwing them into the pot.

"Need help with that?"

The chef fell backwards into a pile of empty crates and knocked over a atand of various jars and bags.

"How many times have I told you not to sneak up on me like that?"

"Sorry…"

She wiped a couple of spilled ingredients off her apron, returning to her work.

"If you want to help, can you help me find my stirring spoon? You're good at that kind of thing, right?"

Tanya gave her an annoyed look, but activated it anyways, searching through the drawers. She always felt weird doing this in a confined space, but work was work.

"Bottom drawer, under all your other utensils."

She reached into the drawer, pulling the spoon and stirring the pot.

"Sorry about that. Didn't want you getting in the way."

The building began to shake, forcing the two to quickly brace for cover.

"Dust storm." Tanya answered to the unasked question.

"So we're stuck in here for a while. In that case, why don't you join us all for our meal tonight?"

"No thanks. My sis is bringing back some nice meat for us to eat tonight." She responded. The chef put a hand on her shoulder.

"If she was caught in that, she's probably seeking shelter somewhere safe. Come on, I'm sure she would want you to be eating, wouldn't she?"

"I guess you're right."

"I know I'm right. Now, go out there and let the other girls know that food is almost ready."

Tanya made her way out, waking up each of the girls one by one. In another conjoined room, a long wooden table sat in the middle. Girls rushed to their preferred seats, and within moments, the room was a discussion hub.

Did you hear that we took another one of their camps?

Where's Christie? She should be here

...and then I found myself flying through the air before I woke up…

That sounds awesome

Do you wanna come over later?

...Prank her later….

I'm hungry

Are we gonna be okay?

Stop poking me. It's annoying.

Tanya took her seat, observing the room around her. This is what it was about: Being a part of this community…

Their chef came into the room, slowly pouring the soup into each of the girls bowls, and quickly leaving to care for the girls that couldn't make it to the table.

The soup had an incredible taste to it, and she was sure it was magically enhanced somehow, but she couldn't put her finger on how nor did she care about the how. Not that it mattered. Soon enough, the girls began to finish. Some stayed at the table and continued conversations, others went back into the other room, either to sleep or look after the others, and the last of them made their way to the door. When the last group didn't return, she made her way towards it, finding that the storm had long settled.

Tanya didn't wait to hear any thanks, but rushed into her house, slamming the headset onto her head and turning it on.

"Layla…"

Nothing came from the other side.

"Layla, you there?"

Nothing.

Not a moment before she was bolting for the door again, she heard her voice.

"Sorry, sorry. Had a lot to deal with on my end. Are you safe?"

"Yep. Got to have some soup for dinner. It was great." She replied, instantly regretting her choice of words. "Ah, I'm sorry. You went out of your way for me-"

"It's fine. I'm just glad you're well fed."

More silence.

"Are you coming home soon?"

"Yep. I'm on my way back now, and I should be home in no more than 2 hours."

"Did you bring me back anything for my collection?"

"No, but I will need you to get the spare bed from the closet."

Her mind slowly pieced things together until she realized what was going on.

"Tell me about these things before you do them, will you?"

"Now I have to clean the house too…" She whispered to herself.

All she heard was laughter from the other end.

"I'll tell you about what happened later. Should make for a fun story. Love you, sis."

Her face turned red as she disconnected herself, shutting off the headset and taking it off.

"Don't say such embarrassing things." She whispered to herself, slowly opening the metal frame of the spare bed.

She had a lot of work to do.