Chapter 3
~10:00 AM
Lynne shuddered slightly as another cool breeze ran through the forest. She sighed and took another look around before sitting back against the rocky wall behind her. She closed her eyes for a few moments, thinking as she had been all morning about she and Yoshika's situation. Speaking of Yoshika-chan, where is she? She said 'five minutes', but I think at this point it's been almost fifteen... She heard rustling to her front, sitting up slightly. The young Fuso witch popped out of the bushes, reaching back to grab something it seemed had gotten stuck in the bushes. Lynne watched in interest as Yoshika pulled out a long metal object- My rifle! Lynne realized, getting up slowly and moving over. The other witch dropped the object and looked over to Lynne, rubbing the back of her head and smiling sheepishly. "Sorry I took so long... I hope you weren't worried. But look what I found!"
She presented the rather large 20mm rifle to Lynne. It looked quite beat up, covered in several chips and scratches and with the sights missing. "Oh, I didn't even think about where this thing might have been... I guess I dropped it," she said, staring down at the weapon. "Does it even work?" Yoshika shrugged. "I don't think we should test it, I saw a couple of neuroi while I was looking." The Brittanian looked shocked. "Y-you saw them? How close were you?!" she asked, obviously worried. "Don't worry, I just watched them from across the field." Lynne grabbed her hand. "That's still close! What if they saw you?" she asked, forcing herself not to imagine. Yoshika, obviously a little overwhelmed by Lynne's response, looked up at her. "No, it was fine! I promise I won't get close to them again!" she said. Pulling her hand out of Lynne's with a slight blush, she moved back over to their spot by the rocks. "Anyway, I thought that might come in handy if we see... You know..." She gestured in the general direction of the large open field. Lynette nodded, moving over to sit by her. "Do you remember what happened to your weapon?" The Fuso witch just shook her head. "No idea." She leaned back against the incline, Lynne following suit with a sigh.
~11:30 AM
Yoshika awoke, arching her back in a stretch against the rocky wall behind her. She looked around, not noticing any changes from the time she'd fallen asleep. She looked to her right and noticed she and Lynne had been leaning together, blushing softly as she slid away slowly, careful not to disturb the other, still sleeping witch. She stood up with another stretch, preparing to look around again when she stopped- What was that sound? She listened closely, trying her best to be completely still. The sound came again, a series of thumps. The ground shook slightly each time the noise was repeated. She looked down the path to her right, where the sound seemed to be coming from. It took her a few moments more to realize the source of the sound as a large black pillar forced its way through the brush. She rushed back over to the sleeping witch, shaking her and whispering frantically. "Lynne-chan! Lynne-chan, come on!" Lynne opened her eyes and gave Yoshika a drowsy look. "Mn-... What?" She obviously sensed the importance of Yoshika's tone, and struggled to stand up. The Fuso witch grabbed her arm and pulled her along quickly, ignorant to Lynne's cries of protest. She hurried around the same rocky incline they'd been staying near all morning, setting Lynnette and herself down behind a boulder. She made a shushing motion with her finger, sitting in silence and staring around the edge of the boulder. In the tense moments of waiting, they could both hear the large ground neuroi approaching, with the shaking getting more intense and the sound louder as it neared. Lynette pulled herself close to Yoshika, looking nervous as the sounds grew to an almost unbearable volume. After a few more moments, the neuroi was passing them by, heading down the path and knocking down loose branches and limbs as it passed.
After a while, Lynette relaxed against Yoshika, apparently unaware of how close she'd been holding the Fuso girl as Yoshika looked down at her. Lynne blushed and pulled herself off, looking down the road to make sure the neuroi had passed. Yoshika, with a sigh of relief, stood up and crept towards the gravel path. She knelt down to inspect the deep gashes in the terrain left by the creature's enormous legs. Lynne came up behind her, still looking nervous. "Maybe this place isn't as safe as we thought it was..." Yoshika nodded slowly, standing up and looking around. "Maybe on top?" she wondered, pointing up to the steep hill they'd been resting around. "Maybe..." Lynne muttered, moving over to look for a way up. Yoshika followed the Brittanian witch closely as she picked her way up the cliff between several rocks and branches jutting out. Once at the top, she struggled to pull herself up, both arms on the top but without the strength to make it all the way. Yoshika reached to push her up by the feet, cheeks flushed from the climb, and the excellent view of Lynne she had from below. The Brittanian finally managed to scramble up, reaching down to pull up Yoshika in return. They both lay on their backs at the top, breathing heavily. After a while of rest, Yoshika sat up and surveyed the area. It was mostly grassy and flat, open except for a few trees and a large boulder jutting out of the earth. She smiled and turned back to Lynette. "This place looks perfect! I think here we just have to worry about the air neuroi," she said, looking up. "But they're hardly ever a problem for people on the ground." Lynne smiled as she inspected the area as well, agreeing with Yoshika's appraisal.
Yoshika moved over to the largest of the trees, sitting against it with a sigh. Lynne followed her, smiling as she took a seat next to Yoshika. After a few moments, the Fuso witch's stomach could be heard grumbling. "Hungry?" Lynne asked, looking over. Yoshika, looking down, nodded. "M-hm..." she muttered. Lynne smiled and opened her pocket, reaching in. "This survived the fall!" she said, pulling out a wrapped chocolate bar she had been saving. "It might not fill you up, but..." She shrugged helplessly, breaking it neatly in half and handing a piece to the grinning Yoshika. The other witch gladly accepted it, taking a bite with a satisfied nod. "Thank you, Lynne-chan!" She said, biting into the bar once again. Lynne laughed as Yoshika quickly dug into her half. She smiled happily and allowed herself a little lean against Yoshika, earning a blush fom the witch. During that moment, she almost forgot they were stranded.