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((This takes place directly after The Usual Mischief))

It was a typical day for Gwendolyn, to be on the move from a pack of angry nuns, except this time there weren’t really any angry nuns, nor a pack of them ever really DID chase her, and this time she had an accomplice. Gwen felt bad for dragging poor Anming along and this was her way of making up for it.

“I’ll accompany you back to Meadowview,” Gwen said, looking back at the girl that she had mistaken for being younger than her. She still felt ashamed to have disrespected her like that, especially since Anming was older, and probably the wiser, of the two, but she chased away the recent memory and was determined to make a better impression this time. “And if anyone catches you late, you can blame it all on me... it –is- kind of my fault...”

All the while, Gwendolyn kept looking over her shoulders, ever vigilant for a familiar nun, or a truancy officer. Her intentions WERE true; she fully intended on accompanying Anming back to Meadowview, though she has no intention of going back to St. Mag’s immediately. ’I keep hearing how much better Meadowview is... maybe with any luck I can find a way to enroll there instead.’

Arian was running late, late enough that it was a toss-up on whether the dark-haired teen would manage to make even the Meadowview warning bell. It might have been okay if Arian’s first class hadn’t been Maths – but as it was and the teacher was strict on tardiness – the dark-haired teen was doing his best to win what was shaping up to be a losing battle.

His braid swung behind him as he ran munching on a hastily grabbed cookie as he did, the familiar weight of his long length of raven-black hair moving to and fro with his footsteps. Maybe the teacher wouldn’t get too upset if Arian managed to slide in five or so minutes late. Or, considering Maths was by far his worst subject, maybe the dark-haired teen was kidding himself.

It wasn't that she was scared, it was just that she was just a little bit concerned still about Gwen's well-being. Still, Anming couldn't help but manage a small laugh at the other girl's assurances. "Well, if you say so," she said, feeling a little better.

When Gwendolyn pointed out the other latecomer to her, Anming blinked. Well, wasn't that a familiar face....? It was nice to know, in a way, that she wasn't the only one who was late to class, however.

"You're right; I feel a little better, I think," she said, "Let's get going, before we're really late."

What was this lingering feeling of dread, though...? Maybe she was just too worried about getting in trouble with the teachers.

"It's alright, at least I was able to stop in time!" Gwen said, waving off the notion as the incident was easily avoided this time. She introduced herself to the newcomer, extending a hand in greeting and eager to learn his name. “Name’s Gwendolyn Caspian, from St. Mag’s. I’m accompanying Anming to class… I’m her scapegoat as to why she’s late.”

She was waiting for his name, when there came a crackling noise, and Gwen looked behind her, just as a fuzzy, basketball-sized creature rolled from behind the bushes and onto the sidewalk. Her immediate reaction was that it was a dog, a really, fuzzy dog, but it certainly didn’t look like any dog she had seen before.

“Hey, Anming, is that your pet? You might want to get is shaved or something…” Gwen had wanted to go pet it, but it shook and started crackling again, and right before her very eyes, the very tips of its hair strands began to crack and sparkle like a firecracker. “AH, what the bing bong is THAT?”

"Huh? No, I don't have any pets."

Glancing over at what Arian and Gwen were staring at, Anming was definitely pretty certain that wasn't a dog, even if she wasn't too familiar with dog breeds. The problem, of course, was that, well, just as Arian thought he was stuck with two civillians, Anming also had a similar thought.

That, and she wasn't exactly cut out for combat.

"I agree with Arian; we shouldn't get any closer to it, too," Anming said.

Arian managed to jump out of the way as the crackling dog-sized thing charged them. Picking himself as fast as he could the dark-haired teen looked round to see if both Anming and Gwendolyn were okay just in time see the latter whack the youma – it had to be a youma – with a thick-looking book.

“Are you okay…” The question he’d been about to ask trailed off as the youma turned back towards them and Gwendolyn yelled something about distracting the thing and Arian was barely able to manage a “Hey wait!” before the white and black-haired girl took off in one direction with the youma chasing after.

Biting his lip anxiously, he looked at Anming before saying quietly to his fellow Meadowview schoolmate “Maybe you should head to school Anming, I’ll follow your friend to make sure she’s okay.” The brown-haired girl didn’t need to know that it would be his senshi alter-ego that would follow Gwendolyn and the youma. As soon as Anming was gone, Arian would somewhere to power up into Sailor Athene and then head in the direction Gwendolyn and the youma had taken.

In the short distance, there is a convenience store, likely to have a bathroom inside of the establishment with a window leading into a back alley. In the alley, which can also be accessed from the sidewalk they're on, there are two oversized dumpsters with space in between, shielding the center from outside view. Perfect hiding places for those that don't want to be seen!

Gwen may not have been the fastest girl in the school, not was she an ace athlete with killer endurance, but she ran. She ran and ran and ran like there was a monster behind her. Except this time, there was!

The basketball sized bouncing Youma wasn't that large or even ferocious, but it made up for this with fuzzy tendrils that popped and sizzled like sparklers, and seeing how it could light itself up, Gwen didn't want to take a chance of those fuzzy tendrils touching her. She rushed past the sidewalk, screaming at the top of her lungs on the off chance that a police officer or a truancy officer from St. Mag's could hear her. "Help! Help! There's a freaky monster chasing me! Heeeeeeeeelp!"

Yet there was no one in sight. Everyone had either made it to work, or class, or had in fact seen the monster and chose to flee for themselves. She growled, as the Youma was close to catching up to her. "Of course the one time I -want- Sister Jeanne or a cop they're never there!"

Feeling the rising heat behind her and its cackle like laugh, Gwen had took a risky chance and suddenly turned, leaping onto a bench and up and over a wall, praying that this time if there WAS someone on the other side, it'd be someone that could help her. But just as luck would have it, there was no one, and Gwen was able to tuck and roll, glancing over her shoulder and appalled at the Youma that followed after her with relative ease. She dashed across the street and into a back alley, hoping that there'd be some escape from this creature. Instead, all she was greeted with was a dead end, and there was no benches, crates or anything to scale the wall with. "Great... great, just great."

A crackle and pop forced her to turn around, and she decided to meet the monster head on. Seeing that she was cornered, it had stopped bouncing and rolled towards her, unafraid of the girl that held her backpack like a mace. Gathering energy from this one would be all too easy...

"Alright, bub... bring it on!" Gwen shouted, her voice reaching out and could be heard from the convenience store just a block away.

As Arian left, Anming started to head down the path to school... though she quickly diverted at the first opportunity to duck somewhere to transform. ... In the end, she'd be late for class as well, but she couldn't just leave Gwendolyn like that... or Arian, for that matter. True, she wasn't much of a fighter, but it was her duty, right?

Minkowski just hoped that the youma wouldn't put up too much of a fight. Hurrying to retrace her steps, the petite senshi of butterflies headed back to where she had came from, following the aura she sensed once she got close enough.

... What a chaotic day this turned out to be so far.