Intrigued, Berdly looked under his cuirass, pulling it forward to create a gap between it and his neck. He's pulled out the scroll out of there without thinking before, but now, a hypothesis was forming in his monstrous brain. One by one, pencils went inside, disappearing into the void. Not wishing to feel left out, Noelle started patting around her robes, eventually reaching into one of her loose sleeves. "H-Hey, I think I feel something..." With a quick swipe, Noelle pulled out a large, green disc out of her sleeve, "Wait, this..."
The three came together, looking this strange object over. It looked like a large, sweet pastry, with a crunchy shell that flexed slightly from its gooey contents. "It's... food? Maybe?" Noelle leaned down, giving it a quick sniff. "Where did it come from? I don't think my pajamas had any pockets."
Susie's shoulders went up as she scratched her head, looking to the side. Something about the way Noelle "investigated" the item made her feel flustered. "It's, uh— We kinda share all the items we have here. Kris usually handled that stuff when they were with us." Before she could take a bite, Susie took the pastry out of Noelle's hands and put it into her own pocket. "Don't eat it yet, though. We might need it if we enter a battle. Y'know, for healing." She waved for the two to follow her, growing annoyed with the constant delays to their adventure.
Berdly raised his feathered eyebrow, a telltale sign of his neurons firing at an accelerated rate. He's experienced this before, all the way back in the Librarby, but he could only see one side of the world then. The theatrical side, playing out scenes, generating attacks, aiding Queen in her "conquests". He had his suspicions, but all of them were quelled by the belief that it was only a dream. Berdly stretched his wing forward and summoned his halberd. The action came naturally to him, as if pressing a button on a keyboard. Just as easily, he made the weapon disappear.
He continued this action, over and over again, slowly approaching a certain conclusion, while Susie awkwardly looked at him. "Dude, stop that."
"Why?" Berdly glanced at her, making the halberd appear once more. "Jealous of my gamer-green blade?"
"What? No." Susie intensified her glare, now looking back at Noelle, who herself was busy making tiny snowflakes with her fingers. "You're, uh, draining our TP. We need that to cast spells."
Noelle relaxed her hand, letting the frosty shapes fall down as they continued. She seemed to be enjoying herself in this world as well. A little too much. Her ears perked up, interjecting: "But— When Kris taught me how to fight, they, um... Said it only applies in battles? You know, like in—"
Berdly swiftly cut her off, as if the universe itself presented him with his conclusion: "A-ha! Mana! My assumptions were correct, we are in a video game!" He looked triumphantly into the sky, waving his weapon in the air as the trio stepped onto a large, dark platform.
Susie pulled her hand up and yanked the halberd out of his wing. Something about the comment made her stomach turn. "Dude, shut up, this is not a video game."
Berdly tapped at his visor, looking her in the eyes with a self-absorbed smug grin. "Spells, battles, items — Ah, what else could it be?"
Susie looked him dead in the eyes, their height difference giving Berdly a mild panic attack. "This isn't a game, Berdly. You're in my room. You are actually, physically in my room. You're holding my pencils and talking to my diary. And if we don't find Kris' SOUL soon then—"
She stopped, her arm shaking as she tightened her fist. "Then we'll be stuck here. Forever."
