Description: It's a typical day at the Seijyun High All-Girls Dormitory. Until Mignon runs in with cola rings around her neck, wailing. Fortunately for Mignon, she has a little sister who knows how to operate a pair of scissors. ... Unfortunately for Mignon, she also has a little sister who's friends with Flame Sprites...
Seijyun High, Girl's Dormitory -
Seijyun: a prominent, all female, school located in Southtown, Japan for teaching traditional Japanese female virtues. It is here that many of Japan's most conservative, and often wealthy, families send their young daughters to preserve the status quo and their lofty positions in the eyes of society proper.
It's a beautiful, aesthetically pleasing, school - flawless in it's decor and maintenance - just like the young girl's the school hopes to mold. Here in the dormitory, it's rather spacious for a dormitory anywhere in Japan - perhaps rivaled only by Justice High's own - with walls painted pristine white like a winter's snow and floor carpeted with high-quality blue velvet. Lining the walls, between nearly each and every window, there is a reminder, a portrait or a picture, of Seijyun's expectations... Geisha or otherwise uncommonly beautiful women wearing traditional kimono in various scenic locations.
It's very quiet here presently, not at all like one might expect a dormitory to be. The various 'delicate flowers' present and milling about are wearing dresses of various kinds that all conform to the school's rather strict dress code. There is room for individuality, of course, but it's clear the school is quite anal-retentive when it comes to details like skirt length or showing more than a minimum of skin. The volume is also close to hushed whisper...
And that is exactly how Ninon preferred it. The girl in question, with silver hair in a shoulder-length bob, wearing plain black dress adorned with roses and ribbons fit in very well here if not for the contrast her normally dark colors had wih the other girls' more visually appealing dress. She's presently staring peacefully out a window into the Seijyun Gardens, with a pale doll of similar dress bound up in her arms...
But the silence breaks.
Loud, cacophonic weeping roars out through the dormitories. With it, comes the high-pitched squeaking that told the other students which crude individual it was. The students near Ninon instictively, politely, and quietly leave; they knew exactly what was coming. Those who were slower, or new, wouldn't miss the next clue as it whines through the halls.
"NIIIIIINOOOOOON!"
That was the cry, accentuated by the 'SQUEAK SQUEAK SQUEAK' of the shoes. Surging past the other students was the blur of pink, an unique uniform of the school. The pink outfits was barely within the confines of the student dress code, though it was more lax within the dormitory areas than during class. And there, bursting into the room where Ninon serenly resided, was Mignon Beart, face soaked with tears, standing right at the doorway. There was one thing out of place, however, of her bright and bubbly uniform.
A plastic six-pack ring stretched around her neck.
Ninon could feel it, almost even before she heard it. The palpable sense of dread that accompanied a swiftly approaching evil. The other girls nearby flee from it; as properly as one can flee within the confines of a traditional dress... especially in this school. Yet, Ninon does not... boldly turning to face the encroaching evil as its dreaded squeaking heralded - no, foreboded - its impending arrival...
And she sighs, half-lidded violet eyes slowly closing as she does so. The smoky black outline of her painted eyes becomes more pronounced, violet lips opening and closing softly as air escapes them. Enter Mignon Beart, the very bane of Ninon's existence, her older sister. Or at least, a constant source of annoyance. The pair of them contrasted like night and day: Ninon was dark, quiet, mannerly, lady-like, studious, excelling in everything she put her mind to... Mignon was conspicuous in every way, loud, unmannerly, with behavior patterns ill-befitting a Japanese woman, and almost hopelessly lost at everything she tried for.
How did Mignon get into this school, again? Not even Ninon was sure.
Yet Ninon, ever preferring subtlety in contrast to Mignon's conspicuousness, rarely blatantly stated her displeasure. It was merely hinted at, as with the aforementioned sigh and.... ".../What/ are you doing?"... with deadpan sarcasm. She stared, almost in disbelief at the larger girl's new neck adornment. The question, in this circumstance, would ordinarily be 'How did you manage this?' yet Ninon knew the answer already. She'd known it every day of her life. Why Mignon came to her, instead of the school nurse, was a mystery but... "...Fine. Come on, I need to find my scissors." ... and then she turns on her heels, heading back into the open doorway of her shared dorm room after dropping that somewhat exasperated imperative. Time to go dig in the drawers...
"NIIIIIIINON!"
The sobbing whine continues as Mignon starts crying again. Bringing her hands before her in a mock cat paw, she scrambles towards her sister. SQUEAK SQUEAK SQUEAK. Around her neck, stretched wide, was a 6-pack plastic ring. It was stretched exceptionally wide, in fact, impossibly wide. In order to have it fit around her neck, it would have had to been stretched heavily. As she stumbles towards Ninon, the question was on everyone's mind. Why -was- she in this school?
It was ordered in Grandma's will.
As she reaches Ninon, Mignon grabs her sister's dress, using it to dab her eyes. "Oh s-s-sister! It's awful! Mignon was doing something really important, and it was so good. Mignon was working on her homework! But then Mignon got thirsty, and Mignon wanted a Coolie-Oolie Sodapop! But then as Mignon went to get the last one, Mignon was curious about the ringalings, and when Mignon looked so close!"
Mignon releases the dress, clapping her hands over her head.
"POP! Mignon tripped and fell right into the ring! Mignon thought it was awful, just like a baby turtle!" The girl suddenly gasps, breathing for the first time for the entire exclaimation. "Ninon! My sweet baby sissy wissy! Did you know that turtles sometimes get their heads stuck in plastic rings! It is awful!" Mignon follows Ninon, her face starting to turn red from the blood constriction. "Sometimes Mignon thinks about those poor baby turtles, wandering around, and finding a plastic soda ring just like Mignon did, and wanted a Coolie-Oolie Soda Pop. But then the turtle tries to get it, and then it gets its head caught! And then.... OH NO! BWAAAAAAAAAAAA!"
Mignon starts bawling again.
Ninon stops mid-stride as her gothic-lolita style dress is grasped and soaked with the bitter tears of her older sister. She's almost jerked off-balance, but she quickly finds it again like the very practiced lady she was. ... And her violet eyes narrowed, locking with the wide-open door so near yet so very far away. She doesn't say anything to interrupt her older sister's prattle, instead standing there awkwardly with her skirt just barely below the legal limit due to her larger sister's pawing at her dress. Her long, black, stockings were now exposed for all to see. By this time, it was already just the two of them... everyone else having either left the dormitory or retreated to their rooms. Ninon's violet eyes are cast askance shortly after the word 'ringaling' enters her right ear, the doll in her arms smiling unblinking even as her left arm squeezes just a little tighter at its throat.
Then the dress is released, and Ninon continues on as if absolutely nothing happened with her older sister in tow. The pair of them make their way through the living area, turning left, winding through the corridor into Ninon's room - whilst a panicked roommate darts for the interior of her own - and come to a stop. The room is black in its entirety except for the white walls and blue velvet carpeting. It was a surprisingly good color match. There was a small bed, large enough for a single person, a large cedarwood dresser and desk in here as well as an end table. Most people kept TVs on their end-tables, Ninon kept various varieties of carnivorous plants and used the desk space for her books. One of the books lying face up, with a worn leather cover dyed black, was a book titled 'Witches: A History'.
Ninon finally sighs, softly, again as her sister begins to wail once more. Yes, it /was/ grandmother's will that put Mignon here. It was likely also grandmother's will that kept Ninon from showing her annoyance more plainly, or so she told herself. The truth was, she probably did have a soft spot somewhere in her self-perceived cold and black heart. But damned if she could find it right now. "...Okay, here... hold still."
The sound of a drawer opening comes, followed by quiet searching for scissors, then Ninon finds them and reaches out to grasp at the coke rings around her sister's neck.
-Snip- -Snip-
With all of the precision of a practiced surgeon, and the speed of a squirrel, Ninon removes the rings from Migon's neck. This was done extremely fast, it had to be. After all if Mignon started flailing she might end up with scissors in her neck and that would be just awful wouldn't it...? "...There, stop playing with coke rings. You're dangerous."
Mignon was blessed by her grandmother's insight, yes.
As she follows Ninon into her room, Mignon ceases her crying momentarily. "Mignon so sorry Ninon! Mignon was just thinking about all those baby turtles! It is very sad when baby things die Ninon- OOOOOOOAH!" She suddenly pipes up, as she looks around the room."Mignon never gets to come into your room, except on secret adventures when Mignon wants to get special witchy things!" She immediately runs towards a venus flytrap, jabbing a finger towards it.
%R"Also when Mignon needs extra toothpaste!"
The candy-pink haired girl goes crossed eyed and knocks knees, holding still as she recounts her memories. "Mignon likes toothpaste! It tastes like minty candy, so it gets really cold in her mouth! Except when it is cinnamon toothpaste! THen it is minty but also very hot! Mignon once accidently got the toothpaste in her ear, and then she had to go to the hos-spit-able!" The line of thought is immediately broken as she is cut free. Her eyes goes wide as she suddenly holds her throat. ANd then, she screams.
"Wowwie Wow Wow!"
Mignon suddenly breathes again, as her face suddenly becomes far less red. "That's amazing Ninon! You saved my life!" Almost on command, she begins to flail about, her limbs easily in a perfect place to accidently stab herself. Instead, she tries to scoop up Ninon in a big hug. "Mignon love you little sister! Ninon is the best little baby sister any big sister like Mignon could ever have for a little sister! So Mignon will tell you a real secret! Mignon wasn't studying for her big final exams! Mignon was actually in the common area kitchen!" The girl beams, smiling super extra wide. "
"Mignon was secretly making you a cake!"
Ninon sighs again, softly, as she discards the coke rings in the trash nearest her desk. She had, honestly, expected seizing her highly animated older sister to have more dire cosequences. What with her moving everywhere and jabbing her fingers dangerously close to her carnivorous plants open maws, it would not have surprised her any if she /did/ manage to stab her in the carotid artery. It was a wonder Mignon had managed to stay so animated all this time, even with those plastic rings cutting off blood flow and oxygen, Ninon thought to herself. ... Then again, Mignon's brain probably didn't require much oxygen for its extremely low operating capacity.
Despite Ninon managing to avoid stabbing Mignon the first time, she nearly does a second time as her sister tries to pull her into a very unwanted hug, the black-coated, handheld, scissors narrowly miss the back of Mignon's neck and end up somewhere near her hair.
-Sigh-
Toward the end of the hug, Ninon actually pushes away. It's not a violent shove, but it's not quite soft either. The scissors then are placed upon her cedarwood desk with a clatter, the silver-haired maiden staring at her clown of a blood-relative with a somewhat annoyed, half-lidded, expression as she drops herself firmly into her desk chair and brings her knees together instinctively. "...You made a cake...?" Immediately her mind is flooded with images, none of them good, including: Mignon running around her dormitory room with her hair on fire, shortly after the entire dormitory goes up in flames. Also, Mignon mixing various chemicals from around the sink accidently into an already suspicious-looking cake batter. "...Is it still cooking now...?" If so, perhaps the fire department should be called immediately.
How fortunate that Ninon didn't accidently stab Mignon again!
Being used to Ninon's playful sister pushes, Mignon falls backwards on her bottom. "owie Ow Ow!" She says, before bouncing right back up. The pink witch, now idle and bored, bounces in place as she goes over to Ninon's plants. "Wow! These are plants! It's like a garden! Mignon likes gardens. Mignon has a garden in her room too! Except it is all brown and filled with crab grass! But Mignon is good at growing crab grass! Do these things like candy! Mignon has lots of candy!" As she frisks out some of her candy from her pockets, her sister finally asks her about the cake.
Mignon suddenly bursts out giggling.
"Oh, Silly Goose!" She exclaims as she takes a big round lemon drop. Holding out to the venus flytrap, she explains. "Don't you think Mignon learned from when she accidently set her hair on fire? Or when she accidently made Meth-A-Phet-A-Mine? Mignon knows better than not to leave a cake in the oven! You must think Mignon must be really dumb to do that!" The bright and bubbly sister just rooooooooolls her eyes so hard. "Besides, Mignon was using a microwave to make cake! She isn't allowed to use the oven anymore! It is just like a regular oven too! Mignon was preheating it before she left!"
Almost on cue, there is a popping noise somewhere, as the lights begin to dim and brownout.
As the candy comes out, Ninon leaps from her seated position and rushes toward the fly trap in question. She grabs at the clay potter it is grown in, attepting to prevent Mignon from sticking lemon candy in its convex-shaped, ruby red, leaf lobes. It probably wouldn't have hurt it, but she didn't want to find out how a carnivorous plant responds to sugar intake either. There's actually a variety of carnivorous plants arrayed there, not just Dionaea muscipula but also Drosera capensis also known as the Cape Sundew as well. A plant with a single, coiling, stem and many colored tentacles growing out of it. "...Please, don't do that!", she says hurriedly, before placing the fly trap just slightly out of reach of her sister. "...Yes, you're quite good at growing hardy things which require so very little maintenance...", comes a sarcastic remark. Crabgrass was one of the hardiest flora she knew of, even Mignon would have to try to kill it.
Then, just as Ninon finishes placing her baby somewhere safe, a thought crosses her mind. It was almost feeding time again. She kept a jar of various insects she would feed to her plants inside a drawer right near where Mignon's knees had buckled to just a few moments prior. She debated opening it to feed them in her sister's presence, however, that could only be an absolute disaster. Somehow she had to get Mignon out of here again...
...But suddenly, her thoughts are interrupted by the off-handed comment that Mignon had used the microwave this time. ... And the lights blinking out as a popping sound is heard from somewhere nearby. A voice comes over the dormitory's alert system outside, alerting student's to the cause of the brownout. But Ninon didn't need to be told... "...Attention students...", an energetic female voice comes, somewhat dulled by the thickness of the walls, "...There appears to have been a temporary shutdown of the dormitory's primary power caused by a rogue microwave incident. Please be patient, and stay in your rooms, as Toxic Waste Management and Campus Power is called. Thank you."
A slapping sound of skin comes as Ninon smacks herself in the face with her hand, mumbling, "...It'll probably be documented as a potential bomb this time..."
What was wrong with candy!
Mignon looks utterly shocked as Ninon stops her from feeding the plant. "Mignon is utterly shocked that you, Ninon, have stopped Mignon from giving the planty-wanty loads of candy!" She states, eyes wide. Face puffing up, she begins to stamp her feet hard! "Mignon fed all the plants lots of candy! That's why Mignon has leftover candy! When my plants died, Mignon had all the leftover candy leftover! Now Mignon can feed your plants candy!" Before she can get properly upset, though, the announcement comes over the intercom. Mignon stares at the speaker, before finally responding.
"Wow! Someone really sounds like they are in trouble!"
Mignon laughs loudly."Mignon am just so lucky to have you as a little sister, Ninon! Mignon hasn't gotten to see you very much this week! Mignon thought it was because of all the trouble that might be happening soon! Mignon can sense danger, you know! Mignon had a demonstration! A vision of the future!" Mignon looks back over the plants, focusing on the Sundew. Eyes wide, she holds a gloved finger out towards it.
It was so shiny!
Ninon's violet eyes narrowed as her sister stomped the floor like the childish person she was. The stomp rattled the whole end table, shaking the carnivorous plants all about. One even nearly fell over, and would have had it not been for Ninon grabbing it around the base. This was one of those times where the silver-haired witch was having a hard time not doing something she'd later regret. Like zapping her sister hard enough to make her bawl again potentially. Instead, she just returns her sisters stare defiantly... saying absolutely nothing even as Mignon spelled out exactly why her plants died. It wasn't a mystery to Ninon - she didn't have to be told. Her sister had the grey matter of a stump.
"...I wonder who it could be...", Ninon groused, a subtle hint of venom tainting her tone as she replies to the comment about someone being in trouble. "Yes, lucky indeed...", an exasperated sigh comes tumbling out shortly after as Ninon goes to push her chair back under her desk before rolling her eyes toward the celing as Mignon starts in about her 'demonstrations'.
"Premonition...", Ninon corrects her imperiously as she's done many times before. If you're going to pretend to be a witch at least get the terminology right! "Also, don't touch that." She can't see what made Mignon go quiet again suddenly, but there can only be a few guesses. Ninon's eyes come to rest upon the hard cover of one of the books upon her desk, a book about Astral Projection, and she mulls over Mignon's words as her black, painted, nails tap rhythmically at the back of her chair. "...I've seen portents myself, admittedly... heralding trouble....", though there was no way she could say for certain it wasn't you!
That is an insult to stumps.
As Mignon nearly wrecks Ninon's plants, her eyes goes wide as she comes to the spellbooks. Looking over them hungerly, she places a index finger in her mouth, trying to look adorable. "Aaaggbaaaaa" She begins, before taking a finger out of her mouth. "Whoops! Mignon forgot that you can't talk like a proper lady when you have a finger in your mouth! What Mignon was trying to say was" And Mignon just SIGHS.
"No, Ninon! A Premonition is a thing you do in front of a big group of people!"
"If you are going to be a proper witch, you have to get the terminology right!" Mignon rolls her eyes. "Sometimes you can be as dumb as a stump Ninon!" Mignon sometimes just can't stand her sister! But she loved her very much, so she would let it slide! "My vision of danger was that there was going to be a lot of fighting happening soon! And Mignon is a champion of heart and justice! Mignon will fight and win. But Mignon can't do it alone!" She points at Ninon, smiling brightly.
"Mignon will need you to stay home and pray for Mignon's strength!"
A scowl creeps into Ninon's delicate features as her sister draws a little too close to her. It deepens further still, brows twitching, as what sounds like wet gagging comes from over her left shoulder. Ninon's finger drumming stops, hands visibly clenching at the back of the wooden chair. Her violet eyes narrow to thin slits as Mignon cuts her off to comment on the mannerliness of talking with a finger in her mouth and then suddenly 'corrects' her on the use of the word premonition...
You could almost hear the death wail of some of Ninon's brain cells. "...You...", there's a pause as she visibly considers her choice of words, "...You really shouldn't...", then Mignon calls her dumb as a stump and further insults her by not so subtly suggesting that Ninon would be better off staying home whilst she goes off to fight evil.
And, in her frustration, Ninon's brain formulates an absolutely awful idea. "...Have you ever heard of flame sprites... dear sister...?" The question is asked with a calmness that belies her ill intentions. She gives Mignon time to answer this question, before continuing, "...They are mischievious little fairies that like to burn people alive when they act naughty. You should be careful of insulting others, they might pay you a visit..."
...There's silence on Ninon's part for all of about ten seconds, then she turns to walk out of the room. Nothing at all seems to happen.But just as she slips past the doorway, she snaps a finger... and a sudden burst of flame ignites in the air a few feet from Mignon before quickly disappearing again. It's so fast, it doesn't even have time to generate a burning smell or set off the fire alarm. Past the doorway, Ninon's voice comes... "This room is too stuffy, I'm heading out to the gardens. ... Be good."
There would be no jury that would convict her.
Mignon finally crosses a line unwittingly. Of course, almost everything Mignon does could be devoid of wit. But where anybody else would simply crush Mignon, only her sister would take the time and patience to show restraint.
And more importantly, unleash a truly worst act of revenge.
"Flame sprites?!" Mignon repeats, tilting her head quizzically. "Is that like a fairy! Mignon likes fairies! But Mignon does not like fire! So what happens when a thing that Mignon likes meets something Mignon doesn't like!" Mignon pauses a moment, the gears in her head turning. "Mignon likes candy! But Mignon does not like creepy strangers that try to take her innocence! But when a creepy stranger tries to lure away her maidenly ways with candy...."
"OH NO!!!"
Mignon clapses her face, her eyes wide. "They will burn up people who insult other people! Thank goodness Mignon does not insult anyone. BUT WAIT! Mignon might have insulted you! Oh no! Why did Mignon call you as dumb as a stump? Now Mignon will be set on fire! Mignon is in really trouble now! Oh no! Oh no!" Mignon begins to run around in circles, flailing her arms around.
And then, the burst of flames.
"AAAAAAAAAAGH FLAME SPRITE!" Was the scream, as Mignon suddenly runs out of the room. Bolting from the room, she immediately runs into a wall. Legs kicking wildly, she eventually rights herself up. "OH NO MIGNON IS LIKE A TURTLE AND FELL DOWN! AAAAAAAH FLAME SPRITE!" She continues to flee down the hall, away and away....
And for a moment, the is silence.
ANd then, a scream.
"MY CAKE!!!!"
Log created on 17:08:11 05/31/2013 by Ninon, and last modified on 01:10:00 06/01/2013.