[crow]

Another weird phenomenon, another investigative assignment, and another... dreary field location. Lyra breathed a sigh as she took in their surroundings. "Somehow, it's always some kind of shady place, huh..."

"Sorry?" Akira glanced up at her, inclining his head slightly at her words.

Lyra smiled and shook her head. "Oh, don't mind me. I'm just griping a little. I don't know how it was for you and Hazel, but a lot of the places I've investigated have been kind of..." She motioned around them.

[crow]

The place spoke for itself. Lyra wasn't exaggerating when she said 'shady'. It was clearly a bad part of town, the buildings old and run down. There were more dark, dinky little alleys than there were main streets, and between the trash littering the corners and the number of boarded up windows, it felt a far cry from the polished halls of the headquarters.

"I'm going to go out on a limb and say that the Prez never runs field missions," said Akira carefully.

[crow]

Lyra blinked at him for a moment, then broke into a grin. "You know, I thought you were one of those quiet, well behaved types, but you've actually got a mouth on you, don't you?" she said.

"Huh? Ah, no, that wasn't what I meant!" Akira held up his hands in protest, hurriedly shaking his head, but Lyra only laughed. "I just meant that she would stick out too much..."

"Yeah, you're not wrong about that. I don't think she would refuse to do it, but even if she dressed down, she just... moves like a rich person."

[crow]

Akira nodded. Those were probably not the words he would have chosen, but it had been more or less what he was getting at.

Unfortunately, it wasn't as though they fit in much better. If the Prez moved like a rich person, then Akira moved like a kid who should be making his way to a cram school right about now. As for Lyra... Lyra was the one who had actually been homeless for a while, but she had survived that stint in her life by projecting as much confidence as she could muster so that she didn't look it.

[crow]

That had been for the sake of her own safety first and foremost, but there was also that saying--- fake it til you make it. And now that she wasn't homeless anymore, she looked it even less.

All this to say: they were drawing attention by loitering here, looking as though they were trying to figure out where to go. If they stalled much longer, someone was going to try something, thinking they were easy victims. "Let's get moving," she said, linking her arm with Akira's.

[crow]

... That said, it wasn't like she knew where she was going either.

It started a few days ago. She had been paired up with Bastien that time which, if she was being perfectly honest, was something she had been angling for, just a little. Someone else might have thought he was a dour partner, and they might not necessarily be wrong... But he was reliable, and they worked well together, and maybe if it happened often enough, he would finally get a hint.

[crow]

She was pretty sure that Hazel was onto her, actually, but Hazel still wasn't talking to anyone much aside from Akira himself. Still, Lyra caught Hazel watching them sometimes from behind her oversized glasses, and on one occasion, Lyra was sure she'd seen Hazel's eyes narrow just the slightest bit.

... Well, she was the Oracle now, and wasn't she some kind of hacker whiz kid? She was probably a pro at finding out people's secrets. Love gossip probably barely even registered on her significance radar.

[crow]

But even Hazel had been stumped by what they'd encountered on that particular field mission. It was supposed to be simple reconnaissance, and maybe a little souvenir shopping on the way back, but when they'd arrived on scene... The whole place was completely sapped of color.

No one knew why. If the Prez had anything from the research department or other units, she wasn't telling them anything. Hazel had done her best, but she hadn't even been able to determine whether it was Mal activity or not.

[crow]

What she had been able to determine was that there were unusual psychic signatures involved, so it was definitely something they wouldn't be able to ignore, but... As to what they would find when they traced those signatures, no one had any idea.

That was why Lyra was here with Akira this time. They were the only two who had multiple pacts, and generally it was considered overkill to send them anywhere together, but in this case, everyone felt that it was better safe than sorry.

[crow]

But they also couldn't exactly turn out in force. The Prez had money, but no one was sure exactly how much, and she couldn't cover everything. Plus money could be traced, so it was generally better to fly under the radar in the old-fashioned, cheap way if they could.

[The protagonists have loaded in!]

Lyra straightened a little at the sound of a voice filling her head. She wasn't exactly startled, and it only took her a moment to realize who it was, but she couldn't exactly say she had gotten used to it either.

[Color Harvested]