A few days seemed to have passed and all Ayame could do was to search and hide.
It was clear that the tribe leader knows where the stone is, but searching near the area where the small humand lived ended up with nothing fouprisonernd.
As she was laying in her improvised tent, the giant wooden puppets patrolling the area smashed everything and caught the girl, put her in a wooden cage and took it on the back.
As she was transported, near the giants were small humans, exactly the same number as those huge monsters. <
After bringing her to the 'village', everyone was extremly happy. Looking around she could see strange expressions, like.. madness..
The cage was hanged from a tree branch and as they bought the transportory stone in front of Ayame, the old leader stepped outside of the crowd, adjusted his voice with a small cough and began: "Fellow brothers and sisters, today we are finally free from this prison! We'll see the sun and live on land again! But before we begin, let's celebrate and torture the traitor!"
Everyone started cheering loudly and a path opened inside the crowd from the right side of the old man and another cage was bought, smaller in size. Inside, there was Kiki imprisoned. They placed her in the middle of the circle, then two members came and lit in fire her cage. She started screaming in pain, fainted a few times and came back to excruciating pain until the flames put themselves out.
Ayame could not stand this and tried to break her encagement, yelled at them to stop, tried anything, but the blue wood seemed stronger than even stone.
As Kiki was barely conscious on the ground, with small flames on her back and hair, she looked towards Ayame and moved her lips without making a sound: <> while the others danced and screamed around like maniacs, enjoying her suffering.
Seeing this, the girl could feel her blood boil. She started jerking off the cage, raging and growling. The rope could not hold anymore and untangled from the branch above. After touching the ground, the cage still did not break but she rolled fast towards the poor soul and quickly put out the flames with her bare hands and took the small human in her arms.
"I told you that.. we cannot die here..." Struggled Kiki to let words out of her burned throat.
"I know.. but this is all I can do for you now."
Complained Ayame while gently stroking her with a finger. After a few seconds of silence, she shyly asked "Hey... Do you wanna be my friend?"
"Yes, ofcourse!" Smiles Kiki as she looks up towards the girl's crying face.
In that moment, Ayame's orange eyes emitted a glow, whitch also reflected into Kiki's small green eyes, turning them the same orange as hers.
Feeling surprised at first, Kiki then looked like she understood something, closed her eyes and bowed her head as she began to emit light from her whole miniature body.
*Insert Magical Girl transformation sparkly background and music*
Ayame and Kiki lifted into the air, and their bodies were shining while approaching each other. When they touched, Ayame's clothes became a one piece green dress, and Kiki disappeared. A shining round mark was imprinted on the girl's right shoulder with a leaf symbol inside.
As she woke up from her trance Ayame was surprised and confused about what just happened.. Her clothes? Kiki? The light?
"It seems you got my power somehow." Softly said a girl's voice from behind Ayame
She turned around to see a young slender female, dressed in the same long dress as her. The exact same dress she was wearing now, but the color was a soft pink. Her figure had no legs and was floating above ground.
"Kiki?" Asked Ayame fearfull of the response.
"What? I never experienced a contractor until now, it's just an assumption." Revolted the ghost-like being.
The villagers summined some wood puppets and commanded them to attack the prisoneer.
As one wooden giant smashed the cage with a big slam on the ground, no body was laying on the broken logs.
"Wooo, this is really handyyy" spoke Ayame from above the crowd. "Flying feels so natural, without help from wind magic to sustain my weight into the air, moreover, my body feels weghtless... Hmmm, i need to practice control over this.." she carefully analised her new powers while floating in different directions.
"Right? Flying is like nothing else!" Completed Kiki from behind. "Now try using magic!" Smirked with a dar look in her eyes.
"Let's see..." Said Ayame while reaching a hand in front of her, towards the insentient creatures made out of blue wood.
A pink magic circle started forming from inside her palm and grew bigger than the whole hand. From the targeted direction, branches started sprouting from the ground and entangled themselves on the puppets. Flowers bloomed from those brances and some pink petals fell over into the wind, magestically danced and one landed in the girl's hand.
"Cherry magic... Right?" Turned Ayame to Kiki with amazement in the eyes.
"Yep, exactly my power from before getting in here." Replied with a kind, nostalgic smile.
Kiki swiped her hand from left to right and more branches emerged. It caught most of the villagers in a tightly braided cage of magestic wood and full bloomed cherry flowers.
"Now let's see how you like burning!" Screamed Kiki letting out full blown madness from her eyes.
"Whaaaat? No!" Protested Ayame and the braided chage started losening up a bit. Nothing moved anymore. The villagers were too amazed to do anything, not even trying to escape.
"Eeee? But it's just fair! They were the brilliant minds who first had this ideea!" Cried in revolt floating in front of Ayame.
"Yeah... But there is no need to lower to that level just to pay back." Hezitated Ayame before answering while still collecting her thoughts. "Let's just leave, they have eternal pain just from being in here for the rest of time..."
A crazed spark flashed in Kiki's eyes for a second. "Okay! You are right!" Smiled and loosened her grip, branches retreating back to the ground.
The young girl approached the Transportory Stone on the ground, brushed a nail from the other hand in her palm and blood started dripping over the stone. The magic circle revealed its shining lines, getting brighter as it completely revealed the whole circle.
Not seeing anything happen, Ayame carefully put one foot on the stone, thinking it's broken, but she was transported as soon as she touched it.
Opening her eyes and feeling an intense pain in her lower back from falling on the ground.
<
"No!" Screamed Ayame. "We cannot go deeper into this forest!" Continued trying to make her listen, but to no avail. Kiki continued her roaming between trees.
Annoyed, Ayame kept trying to reason with her using words, but her patience was running out.
"That's enough! Stop!" Ordered Ayame loudly and full of anger.
In that instant, Kiki's control stopped. The dress began to disappear into thin sparkles. After a bright light engulfed her body, the old clothes were back to their place. Realising she was holding onto something, Ayame raised her right hand and opened the palm. A small golden pendant with a cherry engraved on it was shining in her grip.
"Kiki?" Softly wispered Ayame after realising Kiki was nowhere around her.
From inside the pendant, a sparkle lit immediately. Kiki's small body emerged from that tiny light.
"Aaaand I'm back to my old form! Feels like I'm imprisoned, but in another shape.. hmmm.. At least the sky has more colors now!" Complained Kiki while flying above and looking at the sun approaching its setting point into the sea, bleeding red into the water.
Ayame laughed at the silly reason to accept this situation.
They went on the beach and just stared at the sinking ball if light that Kiki was so fascinated about.
"It's been almost five hundred years since I last saw this. Never thought I would ever enjoy this moment ever in my life..." Softly cried Kiki with her little voice and tears dropping down the small cheeks.