Ocean Eyes (Mae)

Mae rushed down the streets of San Malarus for what was probably the third time that day. Her scoutings for her friend had proved fruitless over the last two days, and this time, it was pretty much the same... She had begun fearing the worst. That she had gotten killed... NO! She couldn't give up hope yet! Maria was out there somewhere, alive and well! She had to!

Her stride was firm and fast paced, dashing through alleyway after alleyway, looking inside houses, and even using her own soulbound weapon to better reach other areas, or cutting down broken pieces of asphalt and debris that was covering said doors somehow. San Malarus was a mess unlike anything she'd seen before. It was almost as if a tornado had swept by, dragging half the city with it, only to drop it carelessly on the ground a couple of seconds later. How Azores would recover from this, she had no idea, but if anyone could solve the issues after the demon invasion was over, it was Isla. She had fixed everything after the last event with the primordials, and assuming she did survive all this, she could do the same thing again... right?

Regardless, Mae, in her search for Maria, passed by a woman she once knew very well, but failed to recognize due to two factors. Her current state of mind, and the fact that Rin was pretty much un-recognizable unless Mae had taken a good look at her. The pinkette herself on the other hand was... very easy to recognize. She still had her pink hair, and not much if anything had changed appearance wise... with the exception that her hair was now tied up into two long pigtails rather than a long ponytail, so even Rin could recognize her.

Mae stopped dead in her tracks when she heard someone obviously calling out to her. Maria? No... But it was someone that looked vaguely familiar. Now that she had stopped, Mae finally realised where she had gone... In front of Calvin's studio. She hadn't been here in what seemed like ages, and... well there was only one person she knew there, aside from Calvin himself... And this woman looked... vaguely familiar.

Deciding it was best to take a closer look to confirm her suspicions, Mae approached the lady. Upon closer inspection, while difficult to believe at first, it was indeed an old friend of hers she hadn't seen in over two years. "R-Rin...?" Mae asked the woman in complete disbelief at first... "Is that you...?" If the woman did indeed confirm this, Mae would hug her so suddenly it would be difficult to stop it. Regardless, she'd answer "Rin's" Question. "Yeah... I'm looking for a Maria Russel. Have you seen her by any chance?" Mae took out a small photograph from the pocket of her jacket, and gave it to the woman.

"O-Oh... I'm sorry..." Mae replied, somewhat dissapointed. How could she have mistook this person for Rin then? Oh well. Not like pushing the matter any further would do her any good. Things were already awkward enough as is. "You just reminded me of a close friend." But her voice certainly sounded familiar, but without any concrete evidence, it's not like she could prove anything.

"Oh?!" Mae's eyes lit up at the mention of this. "Could you show me the way?" She was extactic. Finally! Maybe Maria was safe after all! That would make things much better for her... So much better. "If it's not too much trouble, that is..." Of course, she didn't wish to burden this new stranger with her problems. But if Maria was indeed there, then she had this woman to thank for that.

"Oh, Thank you! I'll see my own way there then." Mae replied with a bright smile. This woman... it was hard to shake the feeling that there was indeed something very familiar about her. But enough about that. Maria was potentially waiting for her at that studio. Before she left however, the last thing she'd ask would be a very simple thing. "What's your name?" A humble request on her part. And in case anyone asked her how she got there, it would be easier to explain who had given her the directions with a name.

Vahi...? That's a name she never heard before... And yet this voice of hers was so familiar... Was this girl actively lying to Mae? Not that she'd let that bother her right now. Maria was more important right now. Besides, this girl really didn't seem to want her around anyway. "Well... Thanks for the help." She'd give Rin one last smile before heading towards the Old Studio...