Leisurely Stroll [Nebula]

Finally she had an evening to herself.

The entire day had been so busy for Maria ranging from a morning meeting to a surprise visit from a Psyche Terrorist and to meeting up with friends. It felt like being a Cadet was a harder job than she imagined, especially when being an Agent. But now, the young woman can finally find some peaceful reprieve for once in this day for herself. The quiet night of Sunlake Palms seemed a nice change for her as she was coming out from East Eden.

She knew that it would be easy to get lost thanks to the area turning into an actual forest. But she was following an established path that led to East Eden where she just came from surveying for Father Jorge. It shouldn't take so long for her to get to the Church. Maria wondered about the wandering spirits that were rumored to haunt these woods. But thankfully there were no ghosts to exorcise yet as of late, though she knew Father Jorge and other Agents were busy last week trying to cleanse out a number of harmful ghosts.

Maria continued to watch the serene moon in the sky as she lugged her coffin with her. She drank in the sight with wonder and calm. But she knew it wouldn't last for long. "..."

After the events of her afternoon, Nebula was content to simply go back home, upload her work for the day and lie in her room until something seemed worth doing. In all honesty, simply getting out of bed in the morning was becoming harder and harder each passing day for the downtrodden artist: If it weren’t for her resolve to earn her father’s forgiveness and to find and save Zayasu from herself, perhaps Nebula wouldn’t gotten up in the morning, or woken up at all, one of these days. No matter how hard her desire to do nothing and disappear, however, she knew that there were things that had to be done, things that needed doing, and things that only she could do; she didn’t deserve to disappear: that was too happy an ending.

To Nebula’s further dismay, however, she’d brought the wrong amount of money with her: She had brought just enough money out to buy her taxi ticket all the way to the Mortimier family graveyard, but not enough for her ride back, which meant she’d simply have to foot it. This wouldn’t’ve been such an inconvenience had the districts of Endymion never had a tendency to shapeshift once the moon took over the light of the sky. At the very least, she had reassurance that Fafnir was with her, and as long as she was useful to him he’d keep her safe… assuming she didn’t screw up first and doom them both, that is. She would walk without real direction, guiding herself only by the position of the moon in the sky, which… soon became obsolete the moment it positioned itself at the top, leaving her lost and guideless. Cold, hot in the face, scared and alone, Nebula really, really felt like crying… and she would’ve done so had she not bumped into a familiar face – well, a familiar back – first.

Nebula didn’t want to disturb Maria, but at the same time, if she didn’t ask for help she’d most likely remain lost until the district changed back into its regular, non-demon infested shape. She’d approach the nun from behind, gently tapping her shoulder. “Um… e-excuse me…”

There was a kind of hypnotic effect that the moon had on Maria as she continued to look at it, as if it's serene appearance had some kind of calming effect on it. At least, until someone tapped her shoulder. Immediately and suddenly, a flurry of footwork caused her to spin away from the unknown solicitor. In the midst of that motion, a trio of Black Keys flashed between her left fingers in a claw-like formation ready to sink into flesh at the next moment as they hovered near Nebula's neck.


She quickly stepped back to give her peer some room just as the blades from the weaponized charms retracted to mere scarlet hilts. When would Maria ever learn to stop making such blunders? Maria tried to look around her for any injuries, but didn't seem to be hurt in any way from what she could tell. Despite this, she knew it was a huge mistake on her part and seriously couldn't apologize enough. "I'm so sorry! I really am! Are you alright?"

The moment Maria’s blades poised themselves before her; Nebula closed her eyes with damaging tightness as teardrops formed in their corners and her hands shot up defensively towards her neck and face, a pitiful whimper escaping her lips. What did she even do this time? There was no way someone as rational and skilled as Maria would attack her without reason, so clearly she had done something. Had she gotten to the point where she couldn’t even tell when she did something horrible? God, how much worse of a person could she get?

She waited hopelessly for the steel of the blades to puncture her and let her blood flow freely, but to her surprise nothing did cut her open. She just kinda remained in a bracing position for a few seconds before her own fear forced her to open a single eye, and lower the rest of her defenses from there. She was… apologizing? But why? Right now Nebula was too in shock and scared and confused to formulate a coherent vocal response, so she simply replied to Maria’s question with a shaky nod of the head.

"I'm sorry... I... I wasn't paying attention. I thought someone snuck up on me out of nowhere. I... I really didn't stop to think. I'm honestly the worst. I'm sorry. If there's anything I can do to make it up to you, let me know." If she wasn't talking, then chances are she really isn't despite silent reassurances. Maria really messed up here and should've known better. Yet old habits do die hard after all and after having Father Jorge helping, it still leads to something like this. The hilts dissipated upon her command before leaving her fingers free of them. There wasn't enough apologies she could give to Nebula to voice. She didn't want to face her underclassman from sheer guilt, but she knew she was in the wrong and had to be honest.

It took her a while to muster up other words. It was an awkward situation just as much as it was one where she knew she was guilty. But her lips finally moved again as the Cadet tried to prevent herself from stammering. "So... did you need me for something?"

So Maria thought someone had snuck up on her? Of course… she was a highly trained combatant, obviously her first instinct upon being touched by an unknown person late at night in the middle of the forest would be to attempt to defend herself. God, she was so stupid for not realizing that before approaching her… at least now she knew she hadn’t done anything that offended Maria. Most things were fine for Nebula then, until Maria began to speak self-depreciatively, at which point Nebula became frantic. “N-No! Don’t s-say that!” She quickly clamored. “I-It w-w-was-s m-m-my f-fa-f-f-f-fau-..” She bit down on her tongue and took a deep breath. Start over. “I-It was m-my f-fault f-f-f-f-f-for sneaking up on you...” Nebula was looking down at the dirt as she said this; she’d almost snapped back into a second breakdown right after calming herself out of another one when she said the word “for”. Pretty pathetic.

Need her? Oh, right! “…I-I… I think I’m lost” She would’ve been more descriptive than that, but after nearly tripping over her tongue twice in a row, she was too thoroughly embarrassed to talk.

Maria pursed her lips together as it turned out Nebula wasn't slow to apologize either. It made her feel even worse at this rate. But, they needed to take a step ahead from falling back into this cycle of stammering apologies. Yet, it still didn't make her feel any better about it anyhow as the Cadet sheepishly palmed and rubbed the back of her neck with the hand now free of her holy blades. Though at least they were getting somewhere now. It was obvious that Nebula was showing discomfort. Hence Maria tried to approach her in a soothing tone, "Mmn, that seems to be a common problem in these parts. It's alright, follow me. Can you tell me where you want to go?"

It's not like Maria didn't know the entirety of Sunlake Palms despite being cooped up in the Church. There were times when she had to go around this part of Endymion a lot for various errands for the community service section of the Church. She was confident that they could reach where Nebula wanted to go. Once the information is shared, both Cadets would begin to walk.


She was rather curious about her attendance. Normally Maria was present from early morning and the late evening depending on how busy she was. Or perhaps she wasn't paying attention enough either. Either way, it would be good to have some insight of when her subordinate joins in prayer during the day.

It was apparent to Nebula that Maria wanted to move on from the incident as fast as humanly possible, if her wonton dropping of the subject was any indication. She still felt horrible about it, but she wasn’t dumb; further apologizing would most likely make Maria feel worse, so for the sake of her coworker she decided to shut up about it as well and simply move on with her life, despite still feeling guilty about it. Her hand ran through the side of her hair, tidying up the small sections of it that had been made unkempt by the earlier scare and sweeping aside the bangs from her eyes (she felt she should really get a haircut one of these days, or at the very least style her hair differently, but there was no willpower to do go out to the hair salon and Nebula didn’t know any other way of tying her hair other than ponytail, which looked even worse on her). “U-Uh..” Now that Maria asked, Nebula wasn’t entirely sure what to reply. ”I-I don’t know, I was t-trying to take a shortcut home through the park, b-but it got dark b-before I noticed…” Honestly, it was rather embarrassing for the woman. Usually she had a decent sense of direction, but that didn’t tend to help much when you found yourself in an entirely unknown location. ”I’m not sure where h-home is either…”
 
Hm? Church? Nebula couldn’t help but look away slightly. Would Maria be mad if she told her that she wasn’t a follower? She preferred to keep her deistic beliefs based entirely on her own thoughts, not dictated by someone else  (mostly because if she brought herself to believe in the bible’s specific description of various things, such as the afterlife, she’d break down in mad tears at simply knowing what inescapable, horrible fate awaited her after she died). She decided she’d keep her answer vague for now. ”I-I don’t usually go to church, no… I… just felt a bit desperate this morning. I felt maybe using the confessional would make… make me feel better…”

"Hm. Wel-- Eh? Really? Huh, I see..." Maria was a little surprised that Nebula wouldn't really know where her home was. Her thumb and index finger held her chin in thought as if trying to figure out what to do here. But then again, she was lost in here at some supernatural godforsaken labyrinth of forest. Maybe they should head to the police and see what they can do here. "Mmn, if you don't know the address then we can head back to the Church or to the Police if you want. They can help us out since they're both familiar with the Path."


It's not like she was disappointed in her. Most people don't do it daily, especially Maria. So she wasn't in the spot to criticize her for it. But then again, it gave her time off the less people that attended. Her expression soon turned concerned at a random thought passing her mind. "Oh, speaking of which, did you sleep well? Did anyone... bother you?"

Maria was especially concerned about the eggheads from the Scriptures. But she was relatively confident that they wouldn't mess with her or lest they incur the Government's wrath. Yet, it didn't hurt to be sure.

It was an embarrassing thing for Nebula to admit, but out of the three months she’d spent outside of prison and in her new apartment, she’d really, quite literally only left for absolute necessities and for drawing work with the exception of the past few days, and she only walked everywhere too; having never been told what the address to her home was as she was escorted there upon her release, Nebula had never really learned her home address. “Er…” The police? Come to think of it, tomorrow she had to see her parole officer as per monthly protocol. If the police found out that she got “lost” on the very night before that, she didn’t really like the plethora of conclusions they could possibly jump to. “L-let’s not! A-As long as we can get out of the forest I c-can find my way home.” She was quick to blur that out, not wanting Maria to make up her mind on an unfortunate decision.

What? “Uh… I-I slept alright. Nobody bothered me, no…” who would there even be to bother her? It’s not like people knew where she lived, and as far as she was aware the identities of cadets weren’t usually revealed unless TV or the media had to talk about them, and even then sometimes their identities were kept a secret. Furthermore, she was almost positive that nobody so far had learned about her criminal record. Maybe Maria wasn’t referring to hecklers, but if that was the case, what was she talking about? Nebula was slightly nervous, and this could be seen in the quick shifting of her eyes and he twitching of her hands. If Maria was observant enough, she’d be able to notice.

She blinked at the sudden outburst on Nebula's part as far as mentioning the police went. Was there something on her record? Maria wasn't quite sure how to take this. In one hand, her teammate worked well in last night's mission and she seemed utterly harmless on her own despite her Persona power. It was from the field of battle that Maria could actually trust her and she'd like to keep it that way. So she gave a nod instead, acquiescing to her request.  "Ok, then I know the way."

Hopefully this time they can continue onward with steps unfettered by any other concerns. The Cadet's expression relaxed at the news. But it didn't hurt to be cautious as she never knew what was on Sylvania's mind.


She tried to remain nonchalant about it upon noticing Nebula's discomfort. There wasn't any need for her to get involved with the Church's own matters. So as long as they never bothered her, she should be fine. "Oh, that reminds me, we'll be having a training exercise the next day in Class Zero. So rest up as soon as you get home, alright?"

“A t-training exercise?” There was still more? She’d barely gotten rest today (WITH the skipping of an important meeting, mind you) after having been not only awakened but also forced into a mission last minute the previous day, but now they were going to have a training exercise the following morning? The work of a cadet truly never was over, was it? “I-I see…” It was fine in the long run; she wouldn’t have applied to be a cadet if she wasn’t determined to carry through with it regardless of whatever it entailed. But, wait a second; In the morning? Her… her report to her parole officer was also in the morning! “I uh…” Nebula pushed her index fingers together in a shy (almost cute) manner as she walked forward. “I… d-don’t think I m-might be able to make it. I… have to see someone, and I can’t not do it…” She was treading on thin ice at this point: If Maria insisted that her cadet duties came before pleasures or social life, she’d have to reveal to her that the reason she can’t not go see him is because otherwise her parole is forfeit.

Maria nodded as Nebula repeated the words albeit with apprehensively. She noticed her hesitation, which seemed to be rather common with her and it's hard to blame her for being thrust into all of this kind of work so soon after their big debut as Cadets. Though the idea about missing out another morning session in Class Zero caused her to furrow her brows together. "After missing out last morning's meeting, I think you--rather, everyone should come. We all have our weaknesses to address and strengths to cultivate. It's to ensure our viability as Cadets, Nebula. And to ensure we can survive the next time we're sent out."

Despite her constantly nervous demeanor, Maria had to admit she was very helpful in the battles they took part in. If anything, Nebula was a very important member in the team as their tactical support and as someone who's also potentially the toughest Cadet of their generation. To have someone like that miss out an opportunity to get any stronger was rather worrying.


She's fairly confident that she can convince most people that Nebula has an important job to do, especially being a higher ranked Cadet. It's only a matter of explaining, Maria would imagine. That said, she was rather curious who this "someone" is.

As much as this was an inconvenience to the blonde cadet, Maria did have a point. If Nebula kept missing out on her assignments as a cadet so soon after becoming one, her position and her one and only chance at redeeming herself would be a t grave risk. At the same time though, if the state decided she was not ready for the outside world and reinstated her sentence over not being responsible with her parole, all of it would be thrown down the trash. This truly was a treacherous dichotomy. Nebula opted to stay silent, too nervous and mentally divided to really say anything meaningful. Her lips started to tremble slightly, this situation had gone from inconvenient to scary; had she messed up already? “…I-I c-can’t…” She said, her breath shaking. “…I-If I come late a-and nobody can come with me to testify as t-to why I-I’m late… m-my…” Her blood ran cold; there really was no way to dance around it now. “…m-m-my p-parole could be rev-voked…” Nebula looked at the ground, avoiding all eye contact with Maria. This was it for them as friends, wasn't it?

Maria paused for a split second, as if surprised by this development. Nebula, of all people, had a criminal record? It was so strange hearing about this, considering she looked like she was unable to even hurt a fly. But given the world they live in, perhaps it wasn't all that uncommon. Yet still... it was rather bizarre to her. The Cadet slowly cracked a small, yet reassuring smile as she pat her underclassman on the back.


She was rather curious about what kind of crime Nebula committed in her past. But knowing her nervous state, Maria decided against it. Maybe at a later time when the blonde was more comfortable to share her past with her. Unlike Maverick or even Takeru Kagemaru, Nebula was less troublesome and had more understandable circumstances from what she can tell. "I won't ask you to tell me what you went through right now. I will give you some time to find it within yourself to tell me. At one point, I may need to know. Understood?"

No matter how kind she can be to her, Maria was still a Cadet with some power and most importantly, responsibility. And that's something she won't slack on.