"Yeah, and she'd been talking with you about maybe running away - that part's even true - and you think she might've written down some ideas in ways that look like fantasy novel notes -"

Jenny thinly smiles.  She doesn't want to just give up on Kiri's memory, after all.  Or maybe - there's still a faint hope - maybe she is still alive.  "OK, but you two do the talking.  And the driving."

(For not the first time, she wishes her grades and attendance are good enough to get a driver's license herself.)

"Sure.  We're the ones who heard you mention it and pushed you to actually go look.  Which's also true."

"Sounds like a plan.  Meet you...here, Saturday at 10?"

It's earlier than she cares to be up most Saturdays, what with witch hunting being better in the evenings.  But this's worth it.  "Sure."

"I'll need to ask my parents, but I think they'll be fine if we're back that night... so I think we should be planning to be back that night?  And have you got a car, Diana?"

"I don't - have a car, have a car - but I'm not going to be begrudged my use of family-held vehicles.  As long as I don't do anything stupid like throw them at witches without a damn good reason, I guess.  And I feel like I could leverage my wish into something if we needed that, but, like...  That would be overkill, and probably cause problems, given, y'know, The Masquerade.  Don't want to throw Kyuubeys at the DMV.  ...And yeah this is a day trip only, otherwise I wouldn't be trying to wake up that early."

"This's the sort of thing where I would be willing to stay out overnight if it needs it, parents or not."  An actual adventure.  Doing actually important meaningful things.  Maybe saving someone's life.  "But I don't think it'd need it here."

Oh good; she was wondering if Lila was too stuck-up to break the rules.

"See you... tomorrow at lunch, then?  Here's my phone if you need me."  She scribbles down a phone number on two small scraps of paper.

...What, and not Diana?

(Who would absolutely also do this but would feel kind of awful about doing it by surprise slash in a Masquerade-preserving way.)

Diana produces her own phone, and puts Jenny's number in.

"Lila, I don't believe I have yours either, come to think of it -"

"Sure."  She gives it.  "And yours... er..."

She pats down her magical-girl dress with increasing concern, but doesn't find her phone anywhere.  She does find spacious pockets hidden in the folds of her skirt, but no phone!

"Looking for your phone?  It was in your pockets before?  Then it's back in magic-space with your muggle clothes.  You'll get it back when you change.  Some magical girls can keep it through the transform -" she pokes a finger at Diana "- close as I can figure, it's something 'bout being attached to your phone and really wanting to keep it with you."

Jenny hands Lila her pencil.

(Well, that part could make sense - Lila feels phones are too modern to really fit on a proper magical adventure.)

She takes the pencil to write Diana's phone number on the same paper as Jenny's.  She'll put it in her phone later.

"I mean.  I'm in my civvies, to borrow a turn of phrase.  So don't point at me.  I haven't tried yet.  Though I'm pretty sure it'd work something like that if I did have a need!  Pockets in my pockets, or something..."

"...Both your gems should still be good, so best not to try any witch-hunting on your own tonight.  Just stay safe till tomorrow.  See you!"

"...Wait, wait.  What does a bad gem look and feel like?"

"Dimmer.  The fainter the light in it is, the worse it is.  And as it gets fainter, it makes it harder to feel happy."  She shivers.  "When it gets really faint, you need to recharge from a witch's grief seed."

"And - when it totally goes out?"

She doesn't know.  She's never seen anyone who let her gem get that faint.

"I... think you die."

Without meaning to, she shivers at saying that aloud.

"...I'm not going to let that happen."

Her own gem, pulsing steadily, flares at her declaration.

(...She, thankfully, avoids thinking of a certain idea, by virtue of being too distracted by being dramatic.  (She'll be quite glad of that later, when she comes back to the subject in her notes and has to figure out how to gently broach the possibility.  (She has to be strong for her team.  They're more breakable than she is.)))

"We can't let that happen until we've solved things.  How long do we have?"

Her gem is also shining bright.  She isn't clear even to herself what things she's thinking of solving.

"It varies... and I don't know how much; most girls don't like talking about it.  But for me... several days at least; usually a week."

Wow; she's talking up the unpleasant facts today.  Kyuubey dumped these girls on her; why won't he come help her?

"Seven days of normal usage patterns.  If we're careful, it'll last longer.  Alright.  We can work with that.  I'm planning to do...something about this whole mess anyway, witches aren't sustainable even in better-case scenarios, so.  Hopefully something will shake out before we need the use of it, on that front.

"...Does feeling like shit for non-magical reasons do anything to one's soul gem?"

"I... it tends to run it down faster."

Not that she usually feels that way herself for long, but other girls have talked about that enough.

"Well that's a double-bind.  Feel fine, or else.  And don't feel bad about this threat."