Descendants of Arcana Base

AU Whip: .....Heh....
*AU Whip smiles. Small and vindictive, but it's a smile*
AU Whip: ....Despite my better senses... I'm drawing courage from you, so....Don't give up on her....
*With that, Whip begins running down the hall, back to the quarters where they'd been resting. He has to pause at the door, however, to build up his courage, and finally takes a deep breath and throws the door wide open*

*The room is empty*

Psyche: *eventually walks in behind Whip, and, noticing the lack of auras in the room, frowns* Bummer. I guess Clear dragged Mana out to see Blaze. They were going to talk about the Set excursion thing.

Whip: ......
*Whip's face is hidden beneath a shadow*
Whip: ......

Psyche: *grins and pats Whip's back in sympathy* Hey, no rush, right~? I mean, it's not like she's gonna be in an emotional... *his words slow as his brain catches up* ...state of mind... after she finds out her sister's alive... *pauses, and retracts his hand from Whip's back* Oooo.... Yeaaaah... I'd suggest waiting awhile before dropping the bomb.

*Without looking up, Whip trails into the room to his lost bokken. Kicking it up half-heartedly with his foot, he sheathes it away and starts leaving again*
Whip: .....Let's go....

Psyche: *laughs sheepishly* That's the spirit? *looks like he wants to comfort Whip some more, but decides the rabbit's heard enough of him talking for the moment, and begins to lead them to where Blaze and Mana are holding conference*

*Whip simply follows Psyche to the conference, his head tilted down the entire time*

*Psyche leads them to double doors and enters with the room that's deathly quiet. None of its occupants turning to look at the new arrivals, as their gazes are all glued to the pale and distant-eyed lavender feline who has supposedly just received news of all the events*

Psyche: Yikes... Looks like she's not taking it well. *looks to Whip* You might want to go sit next to her and comfort her. No one would mind.

Whip: She might.
*Whip silently and respectfully finds his way next to Mana. His hand moves to try to hold hers, but in the awkward confusion, he instead just acknowledges her with a concerned glance, not wanting to say anything in fear of interrupting the moment*

Mana: *for once, she barely seems aware of Whip's presence at all, and only continues to stare blankly at the Royal with a mixture of disbelief and horror*
Blaze: Mana...?
Mana: *blinks and looks down at the table* ...I... Give me a mo...ment... *her hands grip her seat tightly* Hana... Hana might...? *looks at Blaze with desperate eyes*
Blaze: There's a possibility... Maybe slim, however-
Mana: *shakes her head vigorously, cutting Blaze off* No... If there's even the slightest chance... If... If she's alive... or she isn't... *her eyes look up determinedly, but a hint of desperation makes its way into her look* I'm coming in the excursion.
Vita: (worriedly) Mana, are you so sure that you will take on this quest, so soon after being healed? You could truly-
Mana: I'm coming, Vita. In fact, if you guys don't leave soon, I might just take off myself from being so stir crazy. *she raises her hands, which are trembling, and she's beginning to look a bit... shaky* S-See? I'm already going stir crazy...

*Whip doesn't even try to argue with her,and instead shakes her head slightly to Vita, signalling that there's no point in trying to deter her*
Whip: I'm coming as well. Somebody has to make sure you don't waste yourself.
*He says this only half-jokingly*

Blaze: *nods and looks to her men* Then the excursion will begin as soon as Mana is done here. You may take your leave.
*most of Descendants leave the room, but Clear, Psyche, and Vita remain in the room, looking at Mana with concern*
Blaze: ...Are you sure you wish to see the Spirit Message so soon, Mana? It's a lot to take in, I'm understanding...
Mana: *by this point, her whole frame is shaking, and she's clawing at face in an attempt to calm herself* J-Just give me a s-second...

*Despite all that's happened, Whip instinctively places both of his hands comfortingly on her shoulders in an effort to calm the quaking*
Whip: Mana... please... slow down....

Mana: *jumps from Whip's touch, but slowly relaxes, but she doesn't remove her hands from her face*
Blaze: *analyzes Mana for a moment before speaking* Mana... I understand that you want to do everything in your power right now to find any pieces of your family. However, I want you to calm down for now. If you take in news that the Spirit Video holds for you in such an unstable state, I won't be able to take you to the excursion. You'll only be a nuisance if you don't have complete control over yourself.

Whip: Stop being so harsh on her!
*Whip spat the words out before he could contain himself, and he apologetically looks away from Blaze*
Whip: ....This is a lot to take in.... Please take some time to process this, Mana....

Mana: *takes a deep breath and pulls her hands from her face, a torn expression on her face as she stares at the table* (quietly) ...You're both right... *starts making her towards the exit* I'm going to that meadow place again... I need to calm down...
Blaze: *nods* Alright. Come back when you're ready.

*Mana leaves the room, and although Vita moves to follow her, Clear stops her in her tracks and shakes her head at her, causing the girl to sadly look down, understanding. Clear turns to look at Psyche, and the red panda seems to know she's looking at him, and shakes his head as well, before looking at Whip and, continuing the train of silent communication, gestures with his head to the exit, as if signalling Whip to follow her out*

*Whip seems surprised by his election, but nods his head in understanding. He follows after Mana out of the room*

*When AU Whip makes his way into the meadow area, he finds Mana staring in a daze at the flowers, picking at one as she plucks the petals off*
Mana: ...

*Whip stops himself from loudly entering the room and peeks in, watch Mana pull at the flower. He hesitates from entering with her, afraid that his steps might alert her and ruin the fragile peace she seems to be in, and just observes for a little bit. He eventually makes his presence known by stepping into the field as well, his foot steps becoming more audible than he normally allows them to be. He speaks with the softest pitch his voice can muster*
Whip: .....How are you taking this...Mana?

Mana: *continues to pick at the flower's petals, and without turning around, she addresses Whip through a question* ...Did you know... my mother had a very strong connection to Mobius? ...All the flowers used to grow around her... I think that's why they named my sister Hana. "Flower" in Japanese...

*Whip stops approaching shortly behind her, listening to her story*
Whip: Mana....

Mana: *continues to pluck at the flower* ...Supposedly, my parents named me Mana because it reflected how much energy I had... *tears fall from her cheeks and lands on the flower, and she stop taking off the petals* But I turned out useless, didn't I...? But Hana... she... She's... *her shoulders start shaking, then her whole body, and she drops the stem and covers her eyes as she starts to sob loudly and uncontrollably, not unlike a young child*

*Whip quickly turns Mana around and embraces her protectively, holding her in his arms and rubbing behind her head comfortingly*
Whip: You're not useless Mana. You parents must have named you because of your potential. It's there, and it's powerful. And... it may help you save your sister.

Mana: *is still heaving from the force of her sobs, but manages a coherent thought* B-But...! If she's not... If she's not... *weakly clutches Whip's back, not unlike the times she had nightmares before in their cave, still sobbing brokenly* If she's not alive...!

Whip: Then she's watching down on you now.
*Whip nuzzles her softly and lowers his voice further*
Whip: Proud of her sister for trying. For living. I'm sure... she wouldn't want you to blame yourself.... None of them would....