1585/Burns Yet Again

Burns Yet Again
Date of Scene:	25 May 2024
Location:	Yumegahama Ward
Synopsis:	Following Hinoiri's assault on Coco, Setsuna shows up for a timely rescue, providing the now powerless mermaid with a safe haven and important treatment for her wounds, and then informs her she will have someone to get along with for the duration of her stay.
Cast of Characters:	Coco Kiumi, Setsuna Meiou
Tinyplot:	Sunset of Sora

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Coco Kiumi has posed:
It is a good thing that Cora wasn't too far from the scene when Coco felt her magic abandon her. While the otter knew to stay away from the fights, her sense of smell could tell her that something had gone wrong this time, with flames having being responsible for a disaster all too clear to the dependable otter.

Having found the princess in terrible conditions on the dirty ground and being told she couldn't change back to a human form, the otter was quick at doing the only thing she knew she could do in that situation: memorise the alley's name and run off towards the school's nurse office, trying to get Setsuna's attention.

Assuming the nurse wouldn't have opposed the panicking and squeaking otter's attempts to write on a keyboard, she would have been told that Coco was in danger and what the alley's name was, with a pleading to get there fast.

Setsuna Meiou has posed:
Over her long life, Setsuna Meiou has seen a great many things.

Strange and wonderful things.

And while having an otter run into her infirmary and commandeer the keyboard to her computer is certainly something NEW...

It's FAR from the most ODD thing she's seen.

Thus, once Cora manages to reach her keyboard and start smacking keys in an organized manner, it was a VERY brief pause between her finishing her last word and Nurse Meiou dashes over to grab her generalized first aid kit and then snag the erudite otter in passing as she heads out the door.

As she bolts down the hallway at a deadass sprint, her three inch heels making an odd sound on the tiled hallway, she raises her watch a little and speaks towards it, "Niti-chan, shutdown the infirmary." There's a short beat as she waits for that to process, then moments after she hears, "Of course, Nurse Meiou.", she's immediately calling another order into her her watch, "Niti-chan, start the Rogue."

At which point she drops her wrist, shoulder-checks the doors open, then heads out to the black Nissan Rogue already starting itself.

A brief moment is taken to open the back hatch, and her kit is deposited inside along with Cora (who she's fairly certain will clamber over the seats while the Nurse gets to the driver's side door...but just before she grabs a magnetic sticker and slaps it on the back bumper.

Said sticker being an idicator that marks the applied vehicle as a medical transport...and which will get most police cars to ignore any minor infractions like speeding or agressive driving.

That done, she slams the back hatch shut, runs around and enters the vehicle, strapping herself in as she calls, "Niti-chan...route to..." and she finishes with the alley's name.

She looks at the otter, "Here's hoping you didn't typo, or we're going to lose valuable time."

And then she punches it and accelerates out of the parking lot at a perhaps worrying amount of speed...especially for a being that has no way to properly secure themselves within.

Her driving along the way is...well...we'll be generous and note she manages to not HIT anything.

And it's more-or-less fast.

So it's not long before her car comes to a screeching halt in front of the alley in question, at which point she's unbuckling, out the door, opening the back and grabbing her kit (and giving Cora a chance to exunt), then dashing down the alley to see what she's got to deal with, kit in hand.

Coco Kiumi has posed:
When Setsuna gets the message about Coco and speeds off, both out of the school and through the city with her car, Cora does her best to be as unintrusive as possible, only looking at Setsuna when she talks about typos, as if to say "I don't want that to happen either." Not that she is actually able share her worries with her.

When she gets onto the scene, she will find Coco in her mermaid form, laying on her back with her arms at the sides, the frontal nature of Hinoiri's attack making that the least painful position, even if it wasn't completely spared. "Nurse Meiou, hello. I got burnt again", the mermaid says, badly concealed worry and hurt in her voice, giving a smile to her aid.

"It's not a Witch's doing this time, Sunbreaker ambushed me and got my powers, I can't transform anymore", she explains between breaths as she doesn't quite dare move to worsen the sensation from the burns. At least Coco being in mermaid form means that Setsuna can see quite well all the places in which she got burnt, mostly located on her upper body, but some reaching down to her tail. Her face has been mostly spared at least.

Setsuna Meiou has posed:
As Nurse Meiou comes to a halt near Coco, one can almost SEE the moment when she comprehends the enormity of the problem.

She closes her eyes and takes a deep breath to center herself, then blows it out, "...okay, Miss Kiumi...while on the one hand, I am very glad to see that in your current condition you're capable of breathing air...as you can imagine, your inability to transform at this time leaves us with...less than ideal options."

A quick examination is given as Nurse Meiou checks for any wounds that are threatening in the short term...basically anything that's bleeding. Once she's sure that there isn't anything there, she opens her kit and grabs her small supply of burn cream and starts applying it over as much as she can before she runs out (the general use kit has a little bit of everything...but sadly, only a little bit), "...alright...given we don't know how long it's going to be before you'll be able to transform again ON TOP of the fact that I'm going to have to clean up those wounds..."

She says, "...you can stay at my house until we can get you back on feet again...but I'm going to have to get you to promise to keep any secrets you learn while you're there, okay? There are a few and some of them are EXTREMELY important."

Coco Kiumi has posed:
Coco does her best to stay still as Setsuna applies her available treatments, which is mostly a success, even thought the occasional shudder and spasm of pain happen anyway. She listens seriously as Setsuna shares the important points of her current situation. "I can understand that would be a problem, Nurse Meiou. We try to keep secret our existence from human society as a whole."

The balms and creams that Setsuna applies go a long way in making Coco breathe a bit more regularly, even if she knows and feels the treatment for them is not going to be over this soon, not to mention that Setsuna is right to point out that it may be a while before she can transform again. She can't just camp in the dorms since then, can she?

The yellow mermaid blinks with relief at Setsuna's unexpected offer before her face starts shining with relief. "Yes, please. I promise that anything I see there won't be spoken of outside of your house's walls as long as uninformed people are present."

"Uhm, Nurse Meiou, could I also ask her one more favour, please?", she asks a bit sheepishly, as she is doing nothing but getting favours. "Could you let my roommate and my boyfriend what has happened and that I am in safe hands? They are going to worry otherwise. Cho Konishi and Yuuto Shiraishi. They both know I am a mermaid, so no need to worry there."

Setsuna Meiou has posed:
Nurse Meiou nods, then twists her left hand in an odd gesture...and her phone appears there.

It's done in such a way that most would dismiss it as a mere slieight of hand trick...but given the woman is very obviously involved in the magical world...could there be more to it?

She hands her phone to the young mermaid, "Here. You can text them with my phone. I'm going to go get the car ready to move you. I'll be right back."

And with that, she heads back over to her car.

In the back there's a box that's marked 'hoopy frood kit', which is opened to reveal a stack of several towels, which the Nurse uses to cover the back seat.

She then returns to Coco and kneels down, "...Okay, I'm going to pick you up and carry you over to the car so we can get you cleaned up and those wounds properly dressed."

And with that warning, she does her best to be as gentle as she can as she lifts the young woman up off the ground and then carries her over to the hatchback car and arranges her in the rear passenger seat, "Okay, relax as best you can, it's not a terrible long drive."

She closes up, grabs her kit and sits it in the back, makes sure Cora has had a chance to get into the car, then she gets back in and starts the vehicle up, driving at a much more sedate pace now that she knows that Coco, while certainly HURT, is not in imminent danger of her life.

While she goes, she asks the young woman a few basic questions, "I recall you have problems with soda...but can you drink anything other than just water? Juice? Milk? Tea? Do you have any special dietary needs? What do you LIKE to eat? You're going to be a guest for a few days at least, so I'll want to lay in some supplies."

Coco Kiumi has posed:
"Thank you!", Coco says, as she clumsily takes hold of the offered phone, not doubting for a second that the trick is in fact magic. Doing her best to quickly write a message to both of them with her hands in the current conditions, it's not much later that Setsuna gets her phone back.

<PHONE> Coco Kiumi texts Cho Konishi: Hey, Cho, I will have to stay over at Nurse Meiou's house for a bit. I got ambushed by Sunbreaker, but I am all right. Nurse Meiou is very competent.
<PHONE> Coco Kiumi texts Cho Konishi: She can drain our powers now, Cho. I won't be able to get back at the dorm for a while, I am not able to transform into a human right now, but I will surely be back soon. Stay safe, ok? Don't risk it.

<PHONE> Coco Kiumi texts Yuuto Shiraishi: Yuuto, I will be out of the school for a while. I just got ambushed by Sunbreaker. Don't approach her, she will just steal your powers. She did that with mine.
<PHONE> Coco Kiumi texts Yuuto Shiraishi: Nurse Meiou is taking care of me, so I am all right. I am just stuck as a mermaid right now. Don't do anything reckless. Love you.

With Nurse Meiou's considerate touch the short walk to the car proceeds well, with the worst obstacle being the extremely long hair she has in mermaid form, which is quite cumbersome to gather. Eventually though, both Cora and Coco are in the car, the former sticking close to the latter.

With Setsuna trying to ascertain how to be a good host for Coco, the mermaid's tone in quite grateful as she replies. "Yes, carbonated drink in general aren't for me at all, but everything else I can drink just fine. And eat too. I mean, don't really like food with a pungent taste and prefer grilled sweet potatoes or mango, but have no other exclusion from my diet, so there is no need to worry over that. That's very nice of you, however."

Setsuna Meiou has posed:
Nurse Meiou notes the issue with Coco's hair, "Once we get you settled, I can help you put that in a loose braid until you get more back to normal again. I imagine it's easier to manage when your magic is active."

The drive isn't terribly long...but if Coco's been learning the area, she'll note that they're heading not just into Pikarigaoka Ward, but into the extra swank part of the Pikarigaoka Ward.

In fact, several of the houses that have been driven past are more properly called 'mansions'.

And after a few minutes, the nurse pulls up to one gate in particular, and as she does, she reaches up and hits a button hanging from the fold-down sunshade...which causes said gate to open.

Nurse Meiou drives in and pulls up in front of one of the aforementioned mansions, the gate closing behind her as she parks the car and gets out to move to the rear doors, "Okay, Miss Kiumi...if you'll be so kind as to help me a little by clasping your hands behind my neck, that will help tremendously to let me navigate the door."

As Coco starts shifting to move out of the back seat, she raises her wristwatch and says into it, "Niti-chan...please open the front door for me."

And as Setsuna once more carefully lifts the young mermaid, the door can be heard to unlatch itself and swing a tiny amount open.

From there, it's just a matter of carefully backing into the door to open it...holding it long enough for Cora to make it inside, then heading in and bumping the door shut with her shoulder.

The hall and decor are rather subtle...though oddly enough, there are a series of three or four arrows printed on what appears to be rather bog-standard A4 printer paper. Each one is a rather fanciful and curved arrow...all of them are a shade of yellow that, were it a hair color, would most likely be described as 'dishwater blonde', and they appear to be pointing into what appears to be the living room/entertainment room.

Nurse Meiou carries Coco through the kitchen with a large island counter in the center, then turns and heads down the hall past the stairs to what appear to be a series of downstairs bedrooms, "So the next question is, would you be more comfortable in a bed, or in a tub given your current condition and the fact that moving you from one to the other is going to be doable but a bit of a chore."

Coco Kiumi has posed:
"That will be really helpful", Coco smiles at Setsuna when she offers to help manage her hair. It does become a bit of a chore with the unfortunate combination of being on dry land and deprived of magic.

The passage into the Pikarigaoka Ward isn't missed by the yellow mermaid, and neither is the fact it is actually one of the more prestigious sectors, with several mansions one after the other. "You must have a luxurious house", the mermaid comments as she watches the mansions pass by. "I haven't lived in something that well-furnished ever since seven years ago." It's almost nostalgic, even if she got used to less fortunate conditions and now she would be able to visit her home once more.

Coco does as requested when Setsuna mentions clasping her hands behind the green-haired woman's neck, trying her best not to get in the way while Cora also hurries inside. "It is indeed a beautiful house", she confirms her previous statement. "I couldn't help but notice the arrow, are they for when you have guests over?" Though she would be surprised if it really that labyrinthic.

With the offer of a bed or bathtub, she replies "I would find myself more at home with a bathtub. While we do have beds underwater, between one or the other, water is much more essential", Coco explains. "Really, I must thank you a lot, Nurse Meiou."

Setsuna Meiou has posed:
Nurse Meiou lets out a soft chuckle as she walks down the hall. If she's much impaired by carrying Coco beyond the slight awkwardness of holding someone princess carry style, it doesn't show.

Though whether that's a factor of Coco not being terribly heavy or Nurse Meiou being rather strong is perhaps up for discussion.

She shakes her head and says, "I thank you for saying so, but, frankly, that's probably more a product of the person who built this place and perhaps one of my housemates. Personally, interior design is nowhere NEAR my strong suit."

A glance is given at the arrows, and the greenhaired woman smiles, "As for the arrows? They're something I put up to welcome one of my housemates when she first visited, and we've just never bothered to take them down since."

She shrugs a little, "...frankly, they're kind of a wierd decoration at this point."

As for the house being convoluted? Apparently not much so. The hallway from the front door isn't very long, and it opens into the kitchen, which is fairly spacious and has an island counter at the center. Off to one corner of the counter around the edge of the room is a HORRENDOUSLY expensive-looking piece of equipment that, judging by some of the things jutting out of it and some of the paraphanalia around it, is probably a coffee maker of some kind.

From the hallway entrance, there's an arch to the left side of the room that looks like it opens up into a living/dining/entertainment room of some description, but Nurse Meiou turns right, heads down a very short corridor, then down a windowed hallway that shows the large yard and wall around the compound...which apparently takes up the whole block.

She passes a stairway on the left, then steps into a perpendicular hall before walking down to the last room on the right, "Since you'll be using a bathtub, the easiest place to set you up is in one of the workrooms. They're all converted bedrooms, but I never bothered to have the attatched baths removed...so there's a full bath there that doesn't get a lot of use, so you won't have to worry about being in anyone's way."

She nods towards the first room as they pass it, "That one is Michiru's...if you're lucky, she'll practice while you're here...she's a VERY good violinist...but she may or may not have a concerto this week...I forgot to check."

Another tiny shrug, then she turns and opens the latch handle door by way of 'sitting' on it while she backs up, "...and this one is MY little recration slash hobby space..."

And as the door swings open, she nudges the lights on with her elbow...to reveal a fairly large bedroom that's been repurposed.

One side is lots and lots of bookshelves filled with mostly paperbacks books of various sizes. Judging by the fonts and colors of the titles on the spines, most of them are probably fiction books of some stripe or other.

The other half of the room is...VERY different.

In that it quite obviously belongs to a seamstress with a love of cosplay.

There are a few generic dresses and blouses...but also several things that are obviously costumes from some show or movie as well as a rather high end sewing machine in pride of place on that side of the room.

A little twisting about is done to keep from bumping into anything, but then she's finally through and stepping into the attatched bath...which, while not as obnoxiously huge as one MIGHT have expected given the size of the mansion, is still comfortably large.

Case in point, it has a seperate tub and shower stall.

And while the tub IS a corner unit to save space...it's a NICE corner unit...with several things like built-in pillows and what looks like an LED control panel of some kind.

She gently eases Coco down into the tub, then says, "Okay...stay right there. I'm going to go get my burn kit and a few supplies, then we'll get you cleaned up, dress those wounds and then get this filled up and get you as comfortable as we can."

Setsuna Meiou has posed:
And with that, she turns and walks out of the bathroom, leaving Coco with Cora unless the otter decides to follow Nurse Meiou.

Coco Kiumi has posed:
Coco can see that - if they had left the arrows up long enough to let their new housemate, it's very easy to think that they would just become part of the house eventually. And with all the precise twists and turns Setsuna is making to carry Coco to their destination, they were probably very needed.

And despite her unusual condition, it's to her relief that she discovers that none of what Setsuna is doing through the trip is enough to irritate her burns, leaving her to actually be able to peek at the places the nurse is pointing to her and the room they pass through. It is certainly a very expensive house, regardless of where the responsibility lies, even with just the impression of the kitchen.

"Fantastic, thanks", Coco smiles when she gets the reassurance that occupying a tub won't get in anyone way. "I don't think I should be in the way to the use of the workrooms either, so don't hesitate on using them due to my presence."

And one of the possible expectations is apparently someone playing the violin. And just like whenever the subject of music comes up, Coco is very delighted to hear of it. "I hope I am that lucky then, music is just so refreshing, I could never part of it."

A very short pause, before Coco realises she should probably be bringing up something. "I would like to sing sometimes, unless that causes issues. One thing I can guarantee you is I am actually very good at it, so you won't have to deal with out of tune notes or tone-deaf songs. May I?", she asks, her golden eyes watching Setsuna with the hope she would be granted that permission.

When the moment comes for Setsuna to reveal her hobby, Coco appraises the work laid out before her. She had been used to be around high-quality fabrics and clothes, and the ones she sees before her are no doubt indicative of great talent. "They are extremely beautiful, I don't think I have seen any flaw there."

With a bathbug the likes of which Setsuna is offering her, Coco has no doubt that she will be able to recover well, even just because it actually has the space to accomodate her tail, not just hold it as she has come to expect from the school's bathtubs.

A thankful smile is given as Setsuna goes away and then Coco moves slowly to try and find a good position to rest onto the pillows. At the same time Cora just lays down on the floor, paws crossed, eyes turned towards the door.

Setsuna Meiou has posed:
Coco's question about being allowed to sing gets a snort and rolled eyes from the taller woman, "Miss Kiumi, given common wisdom about mermaids, I would be INCREDIBLY surprised if you were anything less than a FANTASTIC singer. I strongly doubt that anyone in the household will have the slightest problems with hearing you sing."

Nurse Meiou is gone for about fifteen minutes...and when she comes back, she's not only acquired more than a few things to carry, but she's also changed outfits.

As her housemates would be able to tell Coco, when Setsuna is bombing around the house, she's most often to be found in some hugely oversized t-shirt with some geek logo or other on it that's big enough for her to wear it as a one-piece dress...and this is no exception, as she's wearing a black tee with the words '1N73LLiG3NC3 15 7H3 4B1L17Y 70 4D4P7 70 CH4NG3 - 573PH3N H4WK1NG (PR0B4BLY)' on it.

She places a folded up towel on the floor next to the tub and kneels down on it before delving into her various supplies.

A slice of watermelon on a plate is produced and put on the floor next to Cora whom she addresses directly, "If I recall, otters are primarily carnivores, but I've seen them eat fruit before...I've got some fish for you, but it's frozen. I've got it out to thaw, but I figure this might tide you over until that's edible."

She then turns to Coco, "Okay...this is going to probably hurt at least a little, but we need to get you cleaned up. First order of business is dressing those wounds, then you can take a more general bath. Use as much water as you need, I doubt it'll be worse than what Haruka uses some days."

That said, she gets a clean rag and starts gently cleaning the burns that Coco has.

She goes from one to the other, using the spray head on a hose on a low setting to rinse each spot in turn, inspecting it then gently wiping away what she can with the cloth.

Once she's gotten a look at all the major spotss, she sighs, then says, "Alright...MOST of these are fairly clean...but...these were burns in an alley. I'm going to have to debride a few spots...which means scraping at them with a rather rough-bristle brush to make sure the wounds are clean of foreign material."

She gives Coco a compassionate look, "...I'm afraid it's going to hurt."

After a moment, she heaves a sigh, then hands a small plastic stick to Coco, "...when I start, bite down on this...it will help."

Once she sees the younger woman is as ready as she's going to get, she starts moving from burn to burn. First rinsing each of them with alcohol...then moving to the two or so that require some mechanical intervention where needed with as little interaction ascan be gotten away with.

Finally, once she's done all that, she quickly moves from one burn to the other, slathering each in burn cream...which perhaps blissfully by this point has a fairly strong topical anesthetic.

While the pain is being numbed away, she takes a final step of putting a sheet of plastic cling wrap over each burn, then securing it to Coco with medical tape rated for use while immersed in water so that she can get comfortable while still keeping the burn cream against her wounds.

All of this done, she holds Coco's hand until the mermaid is feeling okay-ish again, then says, "Alright. That's done and passed and we shouldn't have to do it again. Now if you prefer to be immersed, go ahead and reach over to set that thermostat to whatever temperature of water you are most comfortable in, and I'll start the tub filling."

Coco Kiumi has posed:
Coco's heart is much lighter when she gets given permission to sing, and the fact that her her singing skill is acknowledged is quite as well.

Coco starts getting again a bit apprehensive as she waits, not sure how much of the small experience with her burns being treated will apply here, given that these are quite worse. Setsuna's return is regarded with a blink while she gives Cora something to feed on.

For her part the otter briefly rubs her body against Setsuna's leg before getting back to the slice of watermelon waiting for her on the floor, at which she starts nibbling rapidly through it, holding it between her paws when it gets small enough to do so.

"I understand", Coco nods with a nervous and serious expression while she lets Setsuna commence with the cleaning, that to the credit of both of them proceeds without a sound or movement from the yellow mermaid while Setsuna delicately alternates rag and hose over the sensitive flesh.

And then the truly hard part starts: accepting Setsuna's compassionate gaze and the bit of plastic to bit on, Coco's jaw is tightly closed as she closes her eyes in preparation of the treatment.

During the course of the operation, she can't actually stay as still or silent as she would like, muffled sounds occasionally escaping the closed mouth and Coco's tail every once in a while slapping against the tiles of the bathtub.

The fresh cream is actually a relief to Coco by the point Setsuna applies it on her, even more so with its anesthetic property, and the mermaid hesitatingly removes the plastic bit from her mouth.

Forcing herself to take slow and deep breaths while waiting for the pain to subside, Coco is grateful for Setsuna's hand holding her after the green-haired woman has been done with giving the medicated wounds protective layers from water.

"T-thank you", the mermaid says, not needing Setsuna to repeat herself, fresh water rapidly filling the bathtub, a smile reappearing on Coco's face as the familiar and reassuring feeling of water starts covering her body. "What will happen now?"

Setsuna Meiou has posed:
As soon as Coco starts relaxing, Setsuna points out the small digital control near the young woman's shoulder, "This is a temperature controlled tub, so if you want the water warmer or cooler, just press those buttons there. As for what's next? Well, I brought some light food, but if it's not what you're comfortable or like eating, I can eat it myself and get you something else. As far as your wounds go, we'll let you rest until tomorrow, then I'll check to see how they're healing, though I may or may not need to change the dressings before then."

She snaps her fingers in memory, then reaches over and fishes in her medical kit to retrieve a small crysal-looking candy that she hands over to Coco, "First, though, eat this. Guardian Daifuku made these up for me to give out. They're not as good as a direct healing, but they're shelf-stable and they'll help you heal some."

She then frowns, "...that being said, if you can't transform, something's interfering with your magic. Given that the Veil isn't crashing down on you is a good sign that it's likely temporary...but depending on what and how is causing it, it could be a while. If it's still a problem by the time you've healed up, we'll step back and re-evaluate, but until then, don't worry too much about it."

Setsuna then takes a moment to stretch before she looks back, "In the meantime, let's get you some food. You said you like sweet potato and mango. Unfortunately, I don't have either of those here right now, but I'll go shopping tomorrow and get some. For now, though, I've got some sushi that you might like. They're called Philly rolls. It's sushi rice, a bit of smoked salmon, some cucumber and cream cheese. All of them are fairly subtle flavors, just avoid the little ball of wasabi paste over in the corner of the container. There's also petals of pickled ginger if you like those. I've also got some citrus juice here that has mango as one of it's main components. If those aren't to your liking, just let me know and I can get you something else."

Once she finds out whether Coco is good with her choice of provided snack, Setsuna then pulls a modestly sized cube, roughly 12cm per side which she sets down on the floor and presses a button...revealing it to be a projector that beams a nicely clear picture onto the far wall. She then hands over a small remote sealed in a ziploc bag that's had most of the air sucked out, "As far as entertainment, I've got you set up with basically all of the streaming services, so there's stuff for you to watch."

Setsuna then taps her chin in thought, "...what else? Ah. I have three housemates you'll probably meet at some point. You may or may not have met them at school. One is Michiru Kaiou, whom I mentioned earlier and is a violinist of some renown. The second is Haruka Tenou."

At this point, Setsuna's face takes on a very serious expression, "...there's one last person here that I am almost surprised HASN'T shown up yet. Hotaru Tomoe also lives here with us. I imagine she's with Haruka or Michiru at the moment...and she's the main secret you MUST keep. She has health issues that react SPECTACULARLY badly to Dark Energy...but Obsidian doesnt care and wants her anyway. She ran away and we're keeping her safe and hidden here."

Here Setsuna's face takes on a slightly sad and wistful look as she says, "...shes a wonderful young woman who's had some truly horrible things happen to her...and despite it all she's come through wanting to help others...in her own, confused way. We're doing what we can to solve her problem in the long term...but until then, Obsidan CANNOT find out she's here, so I ask that you never mention her outside these walls until then."

She then smiles a bit, "...that being said, I'm quite certain that she's going to be ecstatic to meet a real mermaid...and she'll likely be the one keeping you company and checking on you while I'm at work or out getting supplies."

Coco Kiumi has posed:
The thought of her wounds being checked again as soon as tomorrow isn't a pleasant one, but it's not like there is any alternative and it also won't be as it has been just now, she reasons. The worst part now that the wounds are largely under control will likely be when she will feel like wanting to go for a swim and actually being unable to do that.

Repelling those useless thoughts, Coco takes the small candy and starts eating it, thankful for the small healing gift. "The Veil should not a problem for those like me", Coco starts saying, before hesitating because right now she doesn't even have the one basic power all merfolk have.

"I mean, even the least gifted among us can easily transform, but even if I can't right now, that doesn't mean anything, right?" A wave of panic briefly passes above the mermaid's eyes, before being kept somewhat in check that the Veil would have already claimed her if it could.

"I could feel my power slip away from me", Coco mentions, recalling the horrid sensation. "Whatever Sunbreaker did, it could be that she now has it, a-and... This is not n-normal for me, for any of us", Coco's voice starts shaking. "We seven mermaid princesses are born from the pearls with the purpose to defend our kingdom." She takes out the jewel from her shell locket, its yellow colour considerably dimmer than it should be.

"It's not supposed to be so lifeless", Coco looks at it in shock. "What if my replacement can't be born either? It happens when we princesses die, but this might be as well as the same thing to it, no? It's not preparing for it, or at least, I can't feel it doing that", she admits, not even sure she can deal with something so basic, being left to wonder if her kingdom is now defenseless forever.

The thought of a housemate that could be visiting her starts to make Coco feel better, even if it doesn't fix the issue at all, but at least, that prospect will be nice. "Your secret is safe with me", she promises, not an ounce of doubt, after taking in a few controlled breaths and releasing them. "They won't even be able to take it from me, I promise. I would love to meet her, too. Hotaru, right? I think that will be very nice."

Setsuna Meiou has posed:
Seeing Coco's reaction to thoughts of what happened to her magic, Setsuna puts a hand on hers, "Look, if there's two main things to remember here. The first is that anything DONE by magic can usually be UN-done by magic. The second is that where there's Life, there's Hope."

She then frowns a bit and taps her chin, "...actually, there's one other thing that comes to mind...and it's that while Draining is INCREDIBLY annoying to deal with, it isn't exactly what one would call a 'new' or 'unknown' strategy. In point of fact, it's actually quite an old and well-worn one...and thus there are several known ways to handle them. So I wouldn't get too worried about losing your magic just yet."

Setsuna reaches over and turns on the proector, bringing up the menu of various apps from the Roku stick plugged into it, "For now, let's get some food into you and settle you into relax. You need the rest."

Coco Kiumi has posed:
"You are right, I shouldn't have reacted like that", Coco admits in reaction to Setsuna's encouragement. "It was just... I wasn't thinking about that, and let it get the better of me", she watches her fin rise up and get under the water again, using the repeated movements to relax. At moments like these, she would be going for a swim, but...

"The food you had mentioned earlier works perfectly", she replies, recalling the option Setsuna had listed, distracting herself from the problems she can't do anything about for now. She is now going to heal from her wounds first, and the rest will follow.

"Could I have the citrus juice too, please?" Coco asks. Maybe that is just what she needs, to get something into her system. She doesn't really feel like sleeping at the moment, anyway, so might as well do that. "Right now, I don't believe I can sleep, but I can eat something and then wait for Hotaru to show up", she gives a smile to Setsuna when offering this alternative plan of action.