Haruna had a talk with Tsukawa the other day. She asked, what her sister used to do. The answer was simple--- Patrol!. Patrol!? Haruna thought. She really didn't understand that. But she does remember that Aki liked coming in from random late night events she'd just explain as having fun with friends....
She wondered though---were there that many dangers in Tokyo? Sure... even she'd see them.... before being a Pretty Cure, or Scorn or anything!
Of course.....
** 1 Hour Later! ***
"Ah!?!" yelps Cure Gull as one of three , weird, four legged dog-like things with tentacle shoulders and porcupine like quills on the back.
"Gull Windy Punching....!" she calls out as she throws a fist forward with a hint of windy power behind it, encircled in white feathers as she punches one of these things, turning it into fine black mist.
"Aha--! I can do this..."
Corvus, a silver raven, is perched on her shoulder. Also. Possibly hanging on for dear life as Cure Gull jumps over to the next rooftop to get some sort of space.
"Why are these things attacking me!?" she calls out.
Admittedly, it /is/ a good night for a patrol, at least in Cute Wolf Tsukiko's opinion: the moon is full, there's a light scattering of clouds that doesn't block the moonlight, the air is cool, and did she mention that the moon is full? While the phases of the moon don't seem to have a significant impact on her powers, it still feels better when there's more moonlight.
As she goes bounding along the rooftops, the sounds of a fight reach her ears, as does the called-out question. Changing course to that direction, she comes within sight as Cure Gull wind-punches one of the dog-like monsters into mist. Tsukiko leaps towards the fight, her shadow possibly passing over Cure Gull before she lands on one of the monsters feet-first with her full velocity behind the landing.
"I'm not going to let a dark mockery of a dog threaten this city!" the wolfgirl growls at the remaining beast, circling around it as she slowly walks over to the other magical girl. "You okay?" she asks with a glance, still keeping most of her attention on the youma.
Cure Gull stares at the other two dog-things(?) over on the other rooftop as she ughs! She's only been in one fight, and that was against some sort of dark lizard thing. This is a lot different. She begins spinning the little wheel on her PreBrace when a shadow passes over her, and she blinks! OH! it's... some sort... of wolfgirl? She's not so silly enough to assume she's another Cure--- as silly as a 'Cure Wolfgirl' would be to her....
"Ah..! You got one!" she says with relived smile.
"I'm okay! Ah--just. New." she says as she holds her hand out towards the last create. "Gull Feather Spiral" she calls out as she splays out her palm and throws a spiraling gust of wind--- followed with damaging feathers into the creature, blowing it away---much like the others into black smoke. She blinks....
"Was that it Corvus...?" she asks her raven friend. "Yup! I can't feel anymore! We're good. I think."
"Ah--- who are you!?" she suddenly asks the Cute Wolf in a kind of sudden nervous manner. "Have.... we met before?...." she asks.
"I'm Cute Wolf Tsukiko; pleased to meet you!" the wolfgirl beams. She headtilts slightly at the question, then shakes her head. "Nope, I don't think we've met," she muses. "Or at least not like this -- you never know when you might have met someone outside of magic, after all!"
Tsukiko suddenly remembers something, and her smile becomes slightly less toothy. "Sorry! Sometimes I forget about my little fangs," she apologizes. It might not be what has the other magical girl nervous, but in her experience it's a relatively common cause among magical girls she's never met before. Friendliness doesn't always mitigate the sight of fangs, after all -- even if the fangs /are/ small.
"Say, what's your name?" the wolfgirl asks.
Cure Gull blinks blinks. Cute Wolf Tsukiko? So not a Cure.... is a Cute Wolf another type of magical girl? Like Senshi? Does... Does Cute Wolves eat Ravens!? Gulls mind races because she's REALLY way too new at this. She ohs!
"Oh! I'm... Cure Gull! The wings of hope that soar over the ocean!~" she says dramatically...
Then blinks. "I mean. Cure Gull. Or just Gull.. works. Really." she says. "This is Corvus. He's my good friend." she beams introducting the raven on her shoulder.
She then asides. "He's a raven. Notta a seagull. We get that a lot." she nods matter of factly. Corvus rolls his eyes.
"Um. Thank you. For the help. This is my first patrol! Are things always like this?..." she asks softly.
"I mean. Attacks. And stuff..." she says.
"Nice to meet you, Cure Gull! And you as well, Corvus!" Tsukiko beams. Another Cure, huh? Not the first one that she's met, and she wouldn't be surprised if she's not the last one she meets, either.
"Sometimes there's attacks, yes," the wolfgirl mentions. "They're not really common, but they're not exactly uncommon, either. Usually things are pretty quiet, with maybe a small youma or the like."
She gestures to where the three monsters had been. "An attack like this usually isn't common," she remarks. "I haven't heard of any increases in attacks, so this was probably just an unfortunate happening." Although the uniformity of the three youma /was/ rather unusual. Was this merely a small pack, or was it a squad from a larger pack?
It's something she can think about on her patrols.
"So, are you getting the hang of being a magical girl?" Tsukiko asks. "I've been doing this for a couple of months, so I'm willing to help if you'd like it."
Cure Gull listens and head tilts. "Ah.. well. Kind. Of. I mean. Things have been kind of weird for me the past two months." she admits sheepishly without elaborating--- no need to mention the Scorn situation to her. It'd just complicate things. And for all she knows, this person works for Justice.
"I've only recently became a Pretty Cure. My sister wa----is one." she says softly. "But. She was... taken away. By a group calling themselves the Phantom Empire." she says.
"I need to get stronger so...I can beat them!" she says with determination!
"But. It's only really been a few days since I was like this." she admits. "I'm getting the hang of it. Like... it's easy for me to fly and stuff now." she nods curtly.
Cute Wolf Tsukiko's eyes flicker at the mention of the Phantom Empire. She recalls a fight from about a month ago against someone by the name of Phantom, who said that he was working with/for a 'Queen Mirage'. Is he part of the Phantom Empire?
"Flight's a tricky skill, from what a friend of mine has said," the wolfgirl remarks with an approving nod. "If you've gotten the hang of it already, that's a good thing!"
She twirls around once. "I have to rely on jumping instead of flying," she admits. "It's not bad, but I can see where flight has its advantages."
A slightly worried expression crosses her face. She's not sure how much the Pretty Cures talk with each other, and she doesn't know how much Cure Gull already knows... but better a redundant warning than one needed and not given. "Have you heard of Phantom?" she asks. "From what I understand, he hunts Pretty Cures, and he's VERY vicious."
Cure Gull giggles. "Well..it's more. I turn the bow on my butt..." she says turning around a bit. "Into wings. and I use those to fly!" she says with a soft giggle. "It kinda comes naturally." she says as she looks back at the Cute Wolf. She falls silent when she mentions Phantom...
"..." she looks down a little, and doesn't really say anything. "oh...."
Corvus looks up and frowns a bit. "Phantom was the one who took her sister. I think that...maybe we sh----"
Cure Gull looks up. "No! It's.. okay! just..." she huffs. "My. Um." how do you explain to someone that you know god and they granted you powers to be a magical girl? You kinda don't. "Well my friend...!" she says. Yeah. That's right ... right...?
"Warned me about Phantom. He said that... he's dangerous.. and different." she says softly. "He wouldn't tell me. Why. He just said that if I encounter him, and I'm alone-- that I should just run away! As far as I can!" she says worriedly. "Else.. I'll just be caught. Like my sister." she says weakly.
"He warned me about all the names I should be worried about. He said that It should be easy for me to handle the usual things The Phantom Empire throws out. Like Terribads. And the Oresky Trio! He said the only two names I should be worried about... is Queen Mirage. And Phantom." she says softly.
Cute Wolf Tsukiko gives Cure Gull a hug. "I'd run away even if there was a second or a third person fighting him," she admits. "I've fought him before -- once when he tried to capture Cure Victory, and just a few days ago when he was working with a youma. The first time, it took catching him by surprise for us to keep Cure Victory out of his coffin-mirror; the other time, he seemed to be assisting the youma instead of directly attacking us."
She lets go of the hug and sighs. "The Superbad he summoned was tough, but not as bad as him fighting us directly," the wolfgirl notes. "And he was so focused on Cure Drive that the rest of us were able to deal with the youma and the Superbad. But your friend is right -- don't fight him alone."
Cure Gull ohs! "I know those names! I mean. I've never....met them." she says meekly. "And a Cure Boost, too. My friend said I should look out for them. That... they've managed to face down Phantom-- which is hopeful because!.. because he said that Cures who usually fight him! Just dissapear!" she says worriedly.
"A Superbad!? Ah---no one ever said anything about that to me!" she says with wideyes. "Just.. Kindabads..and Terribads..." she trails off.
"I'm sorry. My. Fluster. Is probably making you nervous...." she says biting her lip.
Corvus rolls his eyes. "You're doing fine, Gull." he smiles, well as much as a bird can.
Cute Wolf Tsukiko hugs Cure Gull again. "You'll be fine," she says reassuringly. "As long as you're with friends, you can face down anything!"
This time, Tsukiko is going to keep hugging until Cure Gull relaxes. "Most of the magical girls I've met are friendly and nice, so I'm sure you'll find friends that you can count on!" the wolfgirl remarks.
Sure, there might be several other threats that show up in Tokyo, but so far Tsukiko hasn't met any quite as ruthless as Phantom. Things might get dangerous or scary at times, but a bit of confidence can help get practically anyone through the worst of the trouble.
Cure Gull doesn't mind the hugs. They aren't helping her nervousness though. It's really been a long time she's she's hugged and/or been hug and it's a big deal to her. She does manage to calm down though.
"I. I guess." she says looking down. "If it wasn't- for everyone's kindness....."
She trails off. She shakes her head and smiles. "I'll be okay!" she says........"OH!....."
"Hey Corvus... um. Did. Did that battle we were in make any PreCards..?" she asks sheepishly.
Corvus blinks. "No. I don't really think those things were powerful enough for that really." he says.
"Well...what about...meeting Tsukiko then!" she asks.
Corvus blinks. "Huh......" he says. "I feel the power of a furry friend. >,>." he says, glancing off to the side.
Pop! Two translucent cards appear in the air above Corvus. He looks up and blinks.
Cure Gull squeeees! "Eeeeeee! I wonder what it is! I hope it's... it's um! Something pretty!" she insists. She steals the card and looks down at them.
"...a dog suit?.." she pouts. "Awwww. Well. It's something. I guess!" she beams.
"PreCards?" Tsukiko asks, tilting her head. She does let go once Cure Gull calms down. The translucent cards appear, which at least answers the question of what PreCards /are/. "What do they do?"
The fact that Cure Gull appeared to have gotten something for meeting her makes Tsukiko slightly happy. On the other hand, the fact that it's a dog suit is... well, she does have her pride about being part *wolf*, after all. "Maybe it's a wolf suit?" she asks, slightly sheepishly.
Cure Gull blinks. She looks at the card. It says. 'Doggy'. She looks back up at Tsukiko. She looks back down at the card. She scrambles to shove it into her PreChanMirror where it'll stay safe--- and before Tsukiko can read it.
"Ah--my mistake, it was a wolfy card." she says, giving a sidelong glance.
Cure Gull is a horribly bad liar. Corvus sort of just brings a wing to his forehead and just shakes her head.
It's pretty obvious she's just trying to be nice and not make Tsukiko feel bad.
"Ah..! PreCards, are. Um. Sometimes. Corvus can create them, for certain things I do. If I defeat a Terribad, I'll get /something/... but for some other stuff. Like making a friendship...or meeting someone important , that can make it too!" she says.
"They uh. Well." there's really no tactful way of saying it. "Well they lemme play dress up with..powers?" she explains sheepishly.
Cute Wolf Tsukiko blinks. Then she blinks a few more times. Then she headshrugs -- just more proof that magic can be odd at times. "Sounds like it can be useful at times," she admits. "Do they give you an idea of what their powers are before you use them?"
She idly wonders what kind of powers a canine card would grant. Some of the abilities of a dog, like their sense of smell? Or something like being able to understand animals, like what she can do?
The corners of her mouth quirk up in the hint of a grateful smile -- the sentiment of the white lie was appreciated, even if it was relatively obvious.
Cure Gull head tilts. "Well. Um. There's not really. A power to them?" she says. "I mean. Sometimes?" she says. "I only really have. Well I have...my transformation card. And then... I have another transformation card... called Blueberry Waltz." she says. "And that gives me. Ice powers?" she says.
"But I also have one for like a bussiness suit, my friend gave me--- because there's some friends I help and it's a professional enviroment!" she insists.
"And now, I have this dog---------Ack! I mean. Um. Wolfy Card..." she says. "I mean. i guess. I can find out what it does right now, if anything?" she asks.
"Sure!" beams Tsukiko. She pauses a moment. "Well, if you'd like to, at least," she murmurs. No need to be inadvertently rude, after all.
Still, the mention of another transformation card catches her attention. So she can use wind powers with one transformation, and ice powers with another? That's kind of neat, actually!
The wolfgirl sits on a nearby vent, an audience of one for the practice debut of Cure Gull's newest PreCard. The smile on her face is encouraging, her ears are perked forward, and even the tip of her tail is wagging slightly.
Cure Gull thinks, well crap. Now her carefully belivable lie is going to be ruined because she kind of has to call out it's name. But. She said yes. So she has to do it because she helped her earlier! And what kind of friend says no anyways to something like that. Hopefully... she won't be betrayed by /the totally ironclad lie she told/. (Really, no one's surprised it's super transparent and easy to see thought!)
"Well.. um..." she pulls out the PreCards....
The PreCards get slipped into the Prechan mirror, and she spins the Mirror.... <D-D-Doggy~ Time to Change!>
There's a flash of greenish-blue light. Cure Gull flips out of her henshin and into a blue furred fuzzy-suit getup with some sort of blue tipped tail. It gives the impression of dressing like a dog, but without ears and just a suit with a tail-- like a minimal cosplay. Also. She looks more like Haruna in a costume than Cure Gull in a costume. She blinks.
".... I smell something good." she says looking to the side. "Ah...! I can smell Midori-ya from here~ Neat!" she beams.
"...I think that's it though." she says.
"That's still pretty neat," Tsukiko says, a grin on her face. "Having an improved sense of smell can come in handy!... well, as long as you're not fighting a foul-smelling youma."
An idea comes to her mind. "I wonder if that allows you to understand dogs?" the wolfgirl asks in caninespeech. To most people, that would just sound like barks and such... but to dogs and those who understand them, the words are as clear as Japanese.
Cure Gull head tilts at Tsukiko as she barks, and blinks.
"I dunno if it lets me understand dogs...." she says softly.
That seems to mean 'she can understand dogs, just--- she heard that in english and didn't know Tsukiko was talking dog..."Uh..."
Woof! Bark! Woof? She says.
It seems hearing dog and speaking dogs are two different things.
Cute Wolf Tsukiko giggles slightly. "Apparently it does, since I asked that question in caninespeech," she points out. "Being able to listen to dogs might come in handy at times!"
Not quite as useful as being able to fully communicate, admittedly. "It doesn't seem to allow you to /speak/ caninespeech, though," she shrugs. "Still, it does mean that you can listen to them and find out things easier. Most dogs have a rough understanding of the basics of human speech, so they might be able to vaguely understand things that you ask them."
She smiles. "Might even be able to use it to send courier messages back and forth," Tsukiko adds.
Cure Gull blinks and nods. "Oh! Well..that's cool then!" she beams. Then she raises her mirror again, and shoves back in the Cure Gull card... <Pretty Cure Rollin' Mirror Change~>
She turns back into Cure Gull with a seafoam green flash. She beams.
"Aha! That is neat that you can talk to dogs though! Can you talk to birds!? I mean...you hear Corvus pretty good, right!"
Corvus blinks rapidly. "I'm....I'm speaking....English... Gull...." he says flatly.
"....oh." says Gull with a sidelong glance. "oops..."
"I've... tried talking with other animal," Tsukiko admits. "Cats have an odd syntax that's hard for me to understand, and rodents use phrasings that throw me for a loop." Listening to the animals at Animal Care club has been quite a learning experience for her. "Birds -- normal birds, that is," she says, nodding to Corvus in acknowledgement, "I can sort of communicate through rough, one-word concepts. Hard to hold a conversation like that."
The wolfgirl shrugs. "But in terms of being perfectly fluent? Just caninespeech." Not to mention that the other animal languages require more focus just to sense the meanings, which makes them harder to overhear.
Corvus sort of sideglances himself now. "We're you thinking I was speaking bird this whole time?...." he asks. "I mean. Other people have understood me! You know this!" he says.
Cure Gull acks. "I..I just..panicked! I'm nervous!" she insists. Corvus just sort facewings again.
"It's okay. Just relax." he says.
She then blinks. "Ack! I still have... an entire five blocks to do in another part of town. I need to impress Tsukawa-sensei." she says with a whine.
Two seafoam green and white feathered wings pop from her bow. "Um... are you around often? Out and about?" she asks.
Cute Wolf Tsukiko nods! "I'm usually on patrol, although I don't really have a set route," she explains. "Mostly just random wandering, although if I hear of anything odd happening from my canine friends I tend to check it out."
She stands up and gives Cure Gull another hug. "I look forward to meeting you again, Cure Gull! And you as well, Corvus!" the wolfgirl smiles. "Take care on your patrol, and may the rest of your evening be peaceful!"
Cure Gull gets another hug~ Yay! But more importantly.. she has to go. "Okay then!" she says. "Later...then!" she says with a smile. And then she pushes upward and flies away--- the wing's not flapping and more acting like a magical jetpack.
Cute Wolf Tsukiko watches Cure Gull fly away. "Huh -- that might explain how she mastered flight so easily," she murmurs to herself. Well, so much for asking if Cure Gull could give Prism Keeper Orange flying lessons.
And with that thought, she goes bounding off, resuming her own patrol.