Keep On Running (Nanaly, Meninas)

“That sounds like a plan to me.” Meninas answered with a smile, her Scottish accent as strong as ever. “I was trained from an early age but these guys and girls know some pretty fancy stuff that I didn’t think of. That being said, I think I’d beat most of them when it came to weight lifting though. I don’t see many Sternritter who are quite as…err, well toned as me.” A chuckle escaped her lips at that point, for once giving herself a little credit. She’d have to take a look around the gym one day and see if she could find a partner to have a grapple session with.

“Yeah, he’s pretty hard to miss, the guy talks a load of nonsense and hides behind his spells.” The Sternritter said with a slight sigh. “Pretty weak jaw though. I almost knocked it off with my first successful punch on him. I guess he’s one of those magic types or something. Not what I’m best at myself but I can cast a few spells.” She wouldn’t forget him in a hurry and if Meninas saw him again then there’d be trouble.

Noticing the strain in Nanaly’s voice, she’d ask. “You OK? If you need a break, just tell me.”

The Sternritter had to laugh as Nanaly spoke about her own unique powers and Meninas could hardly argue with the idea that her own strengths mostly involved blunt force trauma. While she did wish to get better with her other powers, she’d kind of already figured out that her style was meant to be up close and personal. Why become more technical when she could just punch her opponent in the face and win a fight that way? Perhaps she’d save the tactics for Ehefra and those with more of a scientific mind.

She quipped when Nanaly mentioned her broom. “Make sure you learn a few acrobatic tricks then for when it comes to combat. I expect you to move like a fighter pilot in an aircraft.” Having experienced it herself, Meninas would be the first to admit that flying around on a broom wasn’t the Sternritters favourite mode of travel, much preferring her Steigen to get her around. That being said, she appreciated the skill that Nanaly had with her unique form of transport.

Her smile would grow when her friend mentioned her brother, remembering him from the first time that she and Nanaly had spoken. “That’s great. How’d he take the news when you told him about joining the organisation? I remember you saying that you weren’t quite sure if he’d take it well or not. Guess it went OK?”

The second she heard Nanaly fall, Meninas would come to a halt and be by her friend's side, moving far more quickly than she’d probably ever had in her life. There was always a chance that something like this could have happened but the Sternriiter had hoped that it wouldn’t come to pass. She was annoyed with herself for not having kept a closer eye on her fellow Quincy and the frustration that the warrior was already carrying grew a bit. Everything seemed to be going wrong just lately and she was always just left to awkwardly blunder through it all.

Gently, she’d take Nanaly into her arms, doing her best to support her friend, her limbs looking enormous compared to Nanaly’s fragile frame. Meninas would tenderly take one of the woman’s hands in hers and hold it, in the hopes of maybe helping Nanaly get through what was obviously a horrible experience. It was all she could do and when she spoke, there was just a touch more emotion in her normally rather stoic tone. “It’s OK. You’ll be just fine in a minute. Did you bring any medicine with you?” She felt sick to her stomach about it all and the words that Meninas was shouting at herself in her mind were ones that no one would want to hear.

Nodding her head, Meninas would easily lift Nanaly, taking the delicate woman into her arms, holding her with a gentleness that belied her great strength. It was as if the pink haired Sternritter thought that her friend would break if she held her any tighter and at the moment, Meninas couldn’t help but think that might be possible. She still fought with the growing sense of loathing that was growing within her, becoming more annoyed by her own stupidity. Why’d she even suggest this in the first place when Nanaly wasn’t ready? Urgh, she hated herself.

Channelling her powers, Meninas would quickly take to the sky, her surfboard technique well and truly being put to the test as she headed for the city, moving at a speed that she’d never been able to reach before. She had to make up for her mistake and the Scot knew that the only way she could do that was by wasting no time, before Nanaly’s condition worsened. For those watching below, it would be as if a rocket was travelling through the sky but for Meninas, she still wasn’t moving fast enough.

The hospital staff certainly got quite a shock, as Meninas was so concerned about getting Nanaly there that she actually flew through the front doors, before finally coming to a stop before the reception desk. Cradling her friend close, she would swiftly explain the situation to the nurse, her usual awkwardness seemingly evaporating when push truly came to shove. She spoke powerfully and with a no nonsense tone that gave her a rather more commanding aura. Meninas was unwilling to put up with anything when her friend's life was at stake, which was shining through rather strongly now.

In what seemed to be no time at all, a gurney would be brought out and only then did the Sternritter finally let go of Nanaly, laying her gently upon it. Even then, Meninas kept a hold of her hand for as long as possible, as if she was trying to transfer her own strength to her friend. She didn’t want to let go but sadly, she eventually relented, allowing the doctors to wheel away her friend, leaving the Sternritter behind.

For a few moments, she just stood there, as though she was little more than a statue, eyes still focused on the corridor where Nanaly had been wheeled down.

Finally, she would simply take a seat and wait, prepared to stay there for as long as she needed to, unwilling to move until she knew that her friend was alright again.