Magical Girl Quest - The Fire That Burns

You are sorely tempted to tell them to just go away, you'd had quite enough everything today, the only thing stopping you was a gloved hand on your shoulder. You resist the gentle pull for a moment, closing your eyes and giving in to it with a long sigh as your partner steps forwards, taking your place as you lean back against the table. I'm fine. You can't feel angry at her presumption, her hand squeezing your shoulder before she steps past you. Just this once.

"Why don't the three of you come and stay with us for dinner? It should be done soon." Your eyebrow twitches and you peer through shuttered eyelids. Daiyu's firm face stares back at you, arms resting on her hips as she stares you down. Ugh. You let your eyes close as you hear the girls try their best, and fail, to quietly discuss the offer. Please say no. And of course you hear them sound excited before they break their huddle.

"We accept your offer." You hear cloth rustle, a quick pulse of your sense showing the Leader bowing slightly, her arm is even crossed over her chest. "It would be a pleasure to accompany such a fair maiden for the evening-" Her words falter when the sound of creaking steel sounds out, halfmindedly thinking apologies at the ship as you slowly move your hand to a smooth section of table. Your sense lets you see the hesitation Leader-girl has before she starts again, much more humbly. "Thank you." You can literally feel the waves of amusement and slight chastisement Daiyu is emanating. [Hmm]

Said person nods back, shaking her head a little as she turns back to you, taking the opportunity of being turned away from them to flash an amused smile at you. "We'll take you there when we make landfall? I'm assuming you know where to pull up to?" Leader nods, pausing when they remember that Daiyu is looking away from her, nodding again when she turns back to her while leaning against the same table as you.

You shuffle a bit over to the side to make room, but she grabs you arm and pulls you closer, blatantly sliding an arm around your waist as she impassively looks at Leader-girl. Face literally glowing slightly you try to pretend her possessive hug is normal while your heart skips. People are watching. Your eyes slowly open, heated orbs locking with yours as her hand settles on your hip, a tiny spark of magic making your entire body tingle. You can read the message in her eyes, I know, I don't care.

A throat clearing draws your attention back to the group, the elder two girls looking slightly awkward whilst the younger stares with rapt attention. "Umm, yes." Leader shakes her head, rubbing her wrist before shaking it off. "I mean, of course I do! Thar be a stop that our beautiful ship knows, aye?" The ship rumbles slightly, a warm and positive feeling tickling along your back where you are leaning against the table. "See? No need to worry!" She nods to herself, evidently over her second hand embarrassment while her other friend scratches her chin while staring at you thoughtfully.

You just close your eyes again, heart fluttering every time you feel that hand shift, but controlling your breathing. You are doing this on purpose aren't you? Biting the inside of your cheek when one of her fingers slowly starts drawing lazy circles on your ribs, you swear to find some kind of revenge. Later. It will be swift and terrible. Your entire body twitches as she prods your side with a tiny spark of magic. Suffering of levels not known by any living be- She starts leaving a trail of magic as her finger moves and you slowly turn your head towards the group, giving up on your mysterious air in favour of managing to restrain your reaction to just a shiver. Definitely. Later. If you stop.

"So." The source of your delightful agony speaks, letting the girls get comfortable against whatever before continuing, not stopping her movement. "What are your names?" You feel her transformation fade and somewhat reluctantly, you let your own armour disappear. The sudden addition of several layers of fabric between her hand and your skin makes you breath a sigh of relief, a lot happier with her just letting it rest there despite the loss of feeling. Talk to you about that, later. You shift your weight more onto one leg, leaning against her more as Leader girl takes a pose of some sort.

"I, am..." She takes a bow, crossing her arm over her chest while lifting her hat with the other hand and holding it outstretched. "The most fabulous pirate to ever pirate, Magical Girl Sunken Sparrow." You hum, only slightly surprised at her keeping her name to herself. She stands up from her bow and looks to the other older girl, expectedly staring at her for several seconds as silence settles over you.

"I'm not doing it." Sparrow leans in further, flicking her hat back onto her head and dropping a hand on the other girls shoulder. "No means no." Sparrow's lip starts quivering, but older girl just sighs, pushing her friend back with a hand on her forehead. "My... name, is Sunken Wanderer, it's nice to meet you when you aren't trying to kill us." Sparrow hisses slightly at her sentence, looking between the your two groups rapidly before ceasing her rapid bouncing when nothing happens.

Evidently taking the silence as her cue, the armoured girl makes all of her metal pieces move before they fold back into an ordinary pair of shorts and shirt, nodding to you once a little shakily, glancing back at her friends before looking at you and nodding firmly. "I-I am Magical Girl Sunken Vessel." Her voice starts a timid, and grows with strength as her sentence continues, almost sounding proud as she finishes. [Little Sister?] No... She is cute though.

A gentle nudge from Daiyu prods you into motion. "I am Ignition Knight, you may call me Cerys." You tilt your head towards Daiyu. "This is Ebony Knight, her name is Daiyu." You close your eyes, tentatively stretching your heat sense over them; doing your best to puzzle out their expressions with just that. You can tell where their heads are, where they are looking and when they breathe, the rush of warmer air is pretty distinct. Huh. They glance at each other, but they don't move to say anything, the older two of the three letting their transformations fade. Wait, is she really? You crack an eye open to be sure, nonplussed when you see that her clothes are almost identical.

You lift a hand to rub your nose when it clicks, silently despairing that almost every magical girl you'd met is more than a little odd. I'm not like that, am I? Shaking your head you idly pulse your sense to it's max. The ships engines are hot, like they are being fuelled, but there isn't anyone there. You only spare half a thought for the oddness, chalking it up to spirit shit and looking out of the front windows. The ship is on a steady course towards the turtle, unerringly sailing towards a mess of jagged rocks nestled against the edge of a mountain.

You gather your magic, reaching towards the table beneath you before stopping, the memory of the last time you'd interacted with this ship. "Belfast, show yourself." The girls look confused when the see you looking into blank space and speaking to no-one, and even you feel a little awkward when nothing happens after a few seconds. "Stop hiding, I know you can do this." The pirates look slightly concerned as they look at you, but you snort, shunting a rush of magic into the table roughly. [Knock Knock] ... [Hey!]

A familiar misty form jolts into sight for a moment, standing next to the captains wheel, it fades out of sight straight away, but you lock your eyes onto it's position. Nothing happens for a moment, but as you keep your stare, you see the outline slowly fade into view. It takes ten seconds before the woman is properly visible, another five before you can see the nervous expression she has. She twitches backwards, looking like she wants to hide behind the captain's wheel, but forcibly straightens herself out, moving to stand at a neat parade rest. "HMS Belfast, reporting for duty." Her voice is much clearer then before, a light accent mixed with the forced calm.

"Belfast, where are you going and why?" Honestly, the why was more important to you than the rest of it. What possible reason would a ship have to come here? [Big-Little Sister?] No.

She nods, the movement perfectly smooth, misty hair fluttering in a non-existent wind. "I am pulling into dock at a hidden cove, it is through the rocks ahead and around the corner." You glance behind her, the jagged spires of stone standing above the waves like daggers. That seems unwise. "For the why, I spent a while recovering and being repaired, then I set off to find you." She lifts a hand towards the pirates. "I noticed them on the way, and did not mind them tagging along."

You tilt your head, blinking when you notice the pristine interiors of the bridge. Who repaired that then? Putting the question off for later, you hum. "And why have you come to find me? We didn't exactly part on good terms." A flash of the past, old anger furrows your brow. "In fact, I was perfectly happy with never seeing you again." [Harsh] I'm being honest. [Hug]

She winces, but nods as she returns her hand behind her back. "I understand, what happened was mostly my fault, but I was not entirely to blame." You clear your throat when she falls silent. "Apologies, I was ruminating. The entity that identifies as Gaia was part of what woke me up, you were the other. What I did in my waking confusion was entirely my own fault, you are right to hate me for it." She lets the statement hang for a second before going on. "I came to find you so that I could apologise in person, offer recompense before I return to duty and pass on a message."

You blink, eyeing the wispy spirit. "Alright, I'll bite. The message first."

Clearing her throat, she nods. "A little being of some kind came out of the ground and passed this message on to me for you, claiming it could not reach you where you resided on the ocean." She looks off to the side, a draw opening itself as she looks back to you. "I can't touch anything, but it is for you."

Intrigued, you step forwards, taking note of the pirates watching with rapt attention, looking completely lost. Get used to it, it happens a lot. Reaching down into the drawer, the smell of ash catches your attention, a half burnt piece of paper standing out in the empty drawer. You lift it up, letting the charred edges of the page flake off as you notice a drawing of some sort on the middle.


You stare at the image perplexed, trying to understand the meaning of it. Someone went a really long way to get this delivered. You turn the page over, finding it blank. Someone sent me a letter showing... me? Me and my sister burning a tree and loving it, us? The smell of ash prompts your memories, a sea of fire as far as the eye can see... Is this? You gently slide the drawer closed, moving back to your partner as you stare at the paper. I think it is. You snort, a mixture of surprise and amusement. Did a fucking continent just send me a thank you letter? You giggle aloud, drawing the confused eyes of the rest of the room as you look at the page.

Daiyu leans in, looking concerned, but you wave her off. "No, I'm fine." You look back at the page. "I think this just made my day." Putting the page down, you let your giggles slowly trail off as you nod at the ship. "Alright, an apology and...?"

She decides to ignore your amusement, nodding back. "I apologise for hurting your sister, scaring you and any complications that resulted from that." Her rather blunt apology catches you off guard, but she keeps going. "That said, I would like to offer my services as a warship, so long as they do not contradict orders from my admiral."

You take a moment to process her offer, lifting a hand as your stomach rumbles. "Can I think on this over dinner?" She nods as you lean back, sighing as Daiyu slides along to your side. "Apology partly accepted." You pause, properly registering what she said. "You have an admiral? You are going back into service?"

A nod. "Yes, I am a ship of Her Majesty The Queen, I will serve our nation until I am sunk or scrapped." Her stoic facade cracks a little as she looks down. "I am unsure what use I have in modern warfare, but I will find my place, even if it is a barge." You nod slowly, the downcast look odd on her face.

"We'll have ya if they don't!" Sparrow breaks the quiet atmosphere, marching forwards and trying to throw an arm around Belfast's shoulder, stumbling when it goes straight through but recovering with a quick spin. "Yer a fine ship! It'd be a crime if such a beauty was left to rust." She puffs up her chest, resting her hands on her hips as she looks at Belfast. "What say ye?"

"I am a ship of Her Majesty's Navy, I am not a pirate vessel." Her words are sharp, but she doesn't look offended. "Kindly rescind your offer."

Sparrow shakes her head, a tiny spark of magic keeping her hat from falling when she shake her head. "Nay my dear, you are far too fine of a lady for I to give up so easily! One day you'll come around."

"I will never be a pirate vessel." [Tsun?] No... I don't think so. And stop saying that, where did you even learn it? [Symbol book with sister] God dammit Una, how the hell...

Sparrow cheers. "That's the spirit!" Skipping back to her group as she looks out the window. Spinning when she arrives, she points an arm to the window and smiles widely. "Land-Ho!" You lean forwards, looking around Daiyu and out the window, the rapidly approaching spikes making your eyes widen.

"Hey, Belfast, you can make it through there right?" She just turns to look out the window, her body distorting slightly as you hear the turbines deep in the ship roar louder and louder. "Hey!" She ignores you as her body dissipates, misty flashes of sailors appearing and disappearing until she is gone entirely. Oh fuck my life. Your transformation flashes around you and you rush to the door, quickly spinning it open, the roar of the waves spraying water over the deck.

You see a stone peak ahead, the ship sailing directly towards it. Lifting a hand, you begin building magic before you hear motors begin to whir. Looking to your left, you see the enormous turrets quickly begin moving, laying the front guns downwards. Oh. You step back, letting Daiyu take the front as you cover your ears, waiting for the boom.

And you are not disappointed, a shockwave that reverberates through your entire body sounds out, the front guns discharging and completely annihilating the obstacle. What about the part underwater? The ship slowly pulls to the side, swaying heavily to the left as you drift around the remains of the pillar. Alright, that was just showing off. You jump, floating yourself atop the back front turret and look forwards. Path is... mostly clear. You lift a hand, a jolt of magic rushing out and pulverising the other pillar blocking your route, carving a massive hole in the water as it takes it off at the seabed. [Boop]

Heavy thuds from behind you draw your eyes back, the smallest girl, Vessel, sets herself beside you with her gear fully transformed. She shrinks a little under your gaze, but keeps her eyes on the ocean, scanning the water. Good girl. You nod, turning your eyes back to the water, crossing your arms as you watch the rough sea calm, the large opening between mountains you'd been told about appearing. A gap easily large enough to fit three of these ships side by side waits for you, the roar of the engines fading somewhat as the waves from the rocks stop buffeting the ship so much.

You hear the turrets fall silent and nod, your transformation fading as the Belfast slowly coasts into the opening, Vessel glancing at you and following suit. Daiyu jumps up next to you as you turn the corner, sheer vertical walls around you contrasting into the clear blue water below you, a wooden dock and beach awaiting you at the other end. Huh. Who knew this was here. You look at the turret below you. Well, she obviously did. Transforming for a moment, you hop off of the your platform, armour fading as you land. Must have been Gaia's doing, probably. You hear a positive hum. Why? [Delivery.] You showed her the way so she could give me the letter? [Yes.]

Sighing, you look over the railing, surprised that you can see all the way to the bottom. Shaking your head, you look back towards the beach, the dock pulling closer rapidly.


You are Rute Garcia, and in the last 24 hours you'd discovered that your crazy friend maybe wasn't as crazy as sis had told you she was. Her pirate thing was cool at first, but it got old fast and you kinda got used to it after a little while. Then, just yesterday, Anita had finally managed to coerce the two of you into some clothing she'd gotten a hold of, and you were rather suddenly made of metal and oil rather than flesh and blood.

Life as a tiny ship was... different, to say the least. You had never noticed before being able to swap back and forth at will, but humans are so squishy, and slow and weak and dumb. Being a ship is way better than being a human, even if it made you eat so much food- Oh no, I need to tell Cerys, she won't have enough food and it'll all be gone and everyone will stare and- Your rigging forms around you, the weaponry fading away as you dismiss it, panicking emotions firmly held somewhere in your brig. Where you will stay.

"Cerys?" The tired looking girl looks from from the water and grunts, her partner moving closer to her at the noise. "Because of my transformation, I eat significantly more food than normal, do you have enough spare for three extra?" The two share glances, the white haired girl grumbling something to herself before nodding.

"Yeah, that'll be fine, apparently the chef knew you were coming anyway and how much you eat." She turns back to the water, watching the boat slowly drift alongside the dock, leaving the many questions that brings up in your head unanswered. But- You lift a hand, stopping yourself before you open your mouth. Don't bother her, she looks tired. The last thing you want is to make her angry at you, the image of the massive crater she'd ploughed into the floor was permanently stored in your database.

Instead, you quietly step back, moving along the side of the ship and watching with intent focus as the ropes along the side of the ship throw themselves off and land on the mooring hooks perfectly. I have no idea how she did that. You wait for the other two girls to float off of the ship towards the dock -Must learn how to do- before hopping down yourself. Anita is already waiting for you, sitting on one of the hooks while 'Rissa inspects the lines. Considering that she hasn't already pulled them off to re-do them, you say she's impressed, a quick inspection of your own just confirms that. These ropes look like they've been tied by twenty people.

Your radar pings along the hull of the ship, a friendly ping received back. And there is no-one. You move over to your sister, deliberately avoiding thinking about ghost ships and what happen to their occupants and- Nononono. You lock the thoughts away and just follow her, taking in the sight of the forest as you pass through it.

Snagging an oddly glowing leaf as you pass, you turn it over in your hand, watching the bright orange sap run off of your armour. Being waterproof is nice. Letting the leaf fall from your hand, you step up your pace falling in behind your sister as she successfully corrals Anita forwards. "There will be plenty of time to look around later An- Sparrow." Your sister sounds exasperated, and tired, it's been a long day. Thankfully, Anita realises this and stops trying to run off, taking the lead in following your guides.

Through several hundred metres of forest, over two hills and around a massive boulder they take you, before Cerys finally turns back to your group at the base of a mossy hill. "We're here." Your radar pings a building shaped object up the hill. "You will be good and enjoy the meal, then you will leave and go looking for your treasure, you are not to enter the house without permission." You nod at each of her rules, finding them entirely sensible. Anita makes a distressed sound, but quails under sister's steely gaze, nodding as well.

Cerys grunts, turning back to the hill and quickly ascending, not looking back to see if you are following. Though she still seems to know where we are. You make a note of it, deciding it's probably something like your radar.

When you near the top, the house comes into view, warm fire burning away through the window. She steps through the door without fanfare, her girlfriend? holding it open for you. "Thank you." You say with a nod, mother always did say to be polite, and you didn't want these people annoyed. She smiles back at you and you enter the house. Your first impression is cozy, your second is crowded. The Kitchen obviously wasn't made with this many people in mind, as the chairs squeezed in arm to arm attest.

A warm looking woman sits at the head of the table, an older girl next to her and a younger older girl next to her. Two girls a little younger than you are reading through a foreign book of some sort on the sofa and your guide has immediately moved over to the oven, sighing when she sees it empty. "Gaia, where is the food?"

The warm person, now identified as Gaia, smiles. "Takeout."

The happy response she was evidently expecting is absent. "I remember what happened the last time you wanted takeout."

Gaia pouts slightly. "No faith." She sighs. "It's coming here this time, rather than the other way around."

Cerys looks confused. "Who is going to deliver food here?"

Gaia smiles. "Teleporting."

Cerys crosses her arms. "Teleporting." Gaia nods and Cerys sighs again, dropping down into her seat at the table with a thud. "When?" Several boxes of pizza, three buckets of chicken and a lot of fries suddenly appear on the table, making you jump. Cerys just sighs harder. "Did you pay for this?" Gaia nods, pouting slightly. "Good." Turning to your group she waves a hand at the table. "Feel free." She looks to the sofa. "Una, dinner!" An absent mumble calls back. "Now, you can finish that later." The girl, Una and her friend, reluctantly put the book down, taking their places at the table next to Cerys.

Una looks at you curiously, giving you a wave before turning back to her food and digging in. A throat clearing brings your attention back to Cerys, who waves an arm at the empty end of the table. "Eat." You are mostly sure she didn't mean to say that as intimidatingly as she did, but you quietly take a seat flicking open a box of pizza as your sister sits next to you.

The warmth rising from the food lets you know it's fresh, the smell lets you know it's good, and the taste lets you know that you just finished an entire box and are well on your way to your second. You hear a tut, your sister brushing a bit of food off of your cheek. "Increased hunger or no, you will eat properly." Dipping your head, you try to hide behind the open boxes of pizzas as you continue eating, more carefully this time.

The meal mostly passes in silence, voices only asking for condiments from time to time. It's strange. Dinner was always noisy at home. You don't break the silence, this isn't your home, even Anita understand that. The only thing that breaks the silence is the short girl with a French accent turning to look at you. "Is she just gonna stay transformed the whole time then?" You freeze as eyes turn to you, your sister reaching out to poke your shirt, frowning when she finds it completely unyielding to her touch.

She narrows her eyes. "R- Vessel, stop that, it's rude." You reluctantly let your transformation fade, unwelcome human taking it's place. "Apologise."

Turning to the rest of the table, you duck your head even more. "I-I.. I'msorry." You manage to get the words out and quickly return to your food, ignoring the questioning eyes of the rest of the room. When you are finished, you sink into your seat as far as you can go, mentally begging your sister to hurry up already and let the three of you go.

Mercy smiles upon you when your sister notices your desire, quickly finishing the food in her hands before nudging Anita, who nods quickly. "Thank you for your hospitality, but alas, we must be going now." You make your way to your feet, quickly moving to the door and waiting, Anita doffs her hat in a bow, saying something to Gaia before moving over to you and opening the door. The fresh air has never tasted better, you feel a load of weight off of your back, your transformation clicking into place and calming your beating heart. Ahhh, so much better.

Sis, puts a hand on your shoulder, leaning down to talk. "Rute, are you alright? I know how you are with crowds but I thought this would be..." You nod, letting her stroke your hair. "I'm sorry."

Shaking your head, you hug her. "It's not your fault, I'm... not good." Her lips press together, ready to dispute you, when Anita draws your eyes, clearing her throat and pointing to the sky.

"I hate to interrupt, but the sun will go down soon, we should get back to the ship." It's rare you see her so serious, but she keeps glancing back through the window behind you, something urging her onwards.

Sis sighs and nods, rubbing your head one last time. "Alright, we'll talk about this later." You follow Anita when she sets off towards the ship, occasionally twitching when you feel something dart through the outer edges of your radar.

The journey is not easy, your rader pings constantly keeping you on edge until you reach Belfast, the sun beginning to set on the horizon.


You watch the trio leave, more than a little concerned, but quick glance from Daiyu stays your movement. "Let them go, we can deal with it tomorrow." Passing you a bag of spicy power of some sort, she nods. "Put it out of mind and try this, it's good." Reluctantly, you look away from the door, taking the spice from her and sprinkling it onto a piece of chicken.

A bite later and your eyes water when the heat kicks in, glaring at your girlfriend as you desperately drink water.

She just giggles.


The house is mostly empty now, Willow has fallen asleep with Una on the sofa, leaving a grumbling Sabina to try and sleep on an armchair. Note to self, make Gaia give her a room, it's been days. You sigh and finish your mug of tea, washing it out and leaving it to dry on the sink. You start towards the stairs, but stop, looking between the stairs and the grumpily still awake Sabina. It's my responsibility, it's it? Daiyu would understand. You suppress a yawn and scratch your stomach.

[] Sabina doesn't look like she's going to get to sleep anytime soon...
[] Go to sleep, it can wait for the morning.