Puella Magi Adfligo Systema

You drift back into consciousness. It's warm and comfortable and there's Mami, cuddled up behind your back with her arm looped possessively around your waist and there's no one yelling in your ear.

You don't bother opening your eyes and simply luxuriate in the warmth for a few minutes. You doze for a bit before stirring, but Mami makes a discontented noise and tightens her arm when you try to get up.

... Five more minutes.

Of course, you're actually awake now. You've got things to do and people to catch up with and a daily morning wakeup call to manage. Of course, now that you've made friendly contact with Asunaro, you can and absolutely should include the Pleiades Saints, too.

You check the clock. A few minutes until the alarm goes off, so you figure you'll wait. And in the meantime...

You stretch your mind out, searching for the enchanted Grief - but you don't find it. So it dissipated overnight, which is not unexpected. You didn't put that much magic into it, and Mami did explain that the longevity of enchantments is based on just that.

Mami stirs behind you, arms tightening slightly.

"Are you awake?" you murmur.

"... no," Mami mumbles, and buries her face against the back of your neck.

You snicker, relaxing. "Alarm's due to go off in a few minutes."

"Mnnnm," Mami grumbles.

It takes quite a bit of chivvying and the alarm blaring before you manage to get Mami shambling off towards the bathroom while you head to the kitchen with a promise of not starting on breakfast without her.

Lunch, of course, is an entirely different matter. You hum quietly to yourself as you start the rice cooker. Croquettes, maybe... you have frozen salmon croquettes. Not as good as handmade ones, but preparing them fresh would take too long. You could probably rush it with some Witchy contraption, but that's also probably not a good idea.

You hear the bathroom door swing open, and you turn away from the freezer to give Mami a warm smile. "Good morning, Mami."

"Good morning, Sabrina," she says, and returns your smile, pleased and equally as warm. She walks over to you and hugs you, hands around your waist and chin tucked comfortably on your shoulder.

"Salmon croquettes?" you say, holding up the frozen package.

"Mmm," Mami agrees. "Riceballs. Stuffed with a bit of mince?"

"Sounds good. With salad," you say. "Breakfast, uh..."

"I'll think of something," Mami says, and straightens. "You haven't washed up yet, right?"

"I'll be back in a few moments," you promise, covering her hands with yours and squeezing gently. "I promise."

And indeed, you are. You give Mami a soft smile as the both of you set to preparing breakfast and lunch - Oyakodon for breakfast. Quick, simple, and no fuss at all if a bit morbid. Simmered chicken and egg on rice, parent-and-child bowl. And some miso soup, of course.

You can hear Mami humming as she slides you the bowl of fried mince. You beam at her, exchanging a carefully mixed bowl of seasonings and broth, along with sliced chicken and eggs. Mami gives you a smile, and you bump your hip lightly against her as you start making riceballs.

You debate making little Kyuubey riceballs to chomp on, but on the other hand, that's probably still too sore a spot for Mami. On the other hand, that means you can only imagine Homura's face as she watches Madoka chew on Kyuubey heads.

Breakfast is ready soon enough, and you set the riceballs aside for the moment, instead settling in to eat with light, playful conversation.

"Aren't you going to wake up the others?" Mami asks, beaming at you over the fragrant, savoury bowls of rice and meat.

"I was just about to!" you say. You grin, waving chopsticks at her. "And I'm considering adding Kazumi and the others in, too. What do you think?"

"They, ah..." Mami glances at the clock on the kitchen wall. "They might not be awake yet?"

"Which is why it'd be a wakeup call," you say, winking. "But, uh... do you think I should? It would be fun, but I'm not sure whether it'd upset them. Though... I suppose they don't have school."

"Ah... it might be better not to," Mami says. "Maybe you could talk to them later?"

"Alright, I'll catch up with them later," you say, and eat some chicken.

Mami bites her lip thoughtfully. "Maybe you could ask Niko? She seems like she might get up early."

"... or sleep late," you agree. "Good idea, Mami. Thank you."

"Hey, Niko? You awake?" you ask carefully. You're not sure whether you can make a telepathic voice soft, but you can try.

"Hm? Sabrina?" Niko asks, voice slurring a little.

"Uh. Still up or just awake?" you ask, beaming at Mami across the table as you eat. She smiles right back.

"What time is it?" Niko says.

"Still up, then," you conclude. "Go to sleep. Is Kazumi awake, by the way? And the others?"

"No," Niko grumbles. "They sleep late."

"Right, thanks," you say. "And, uh. Seriously. We don't have to sleep, but it's nice, no?"

"In a while," Niko says. "'nything else?"

"Yeah, actually, just one thing," you say, continuing to eat your breakfast. "I... wanna call Hijiri later, if you're alright with that?"

The telepathic line goes quiet for a moment.

"I'm not going to stop you," Niko says, curt and sharp.

"No, I mean - if you would rather I not, then I won't," you say. "I'll respect your opinion on it."

You feel more than hear Niko's sigh. "What I want is for us all to disappear into a rock somewhere," she mutters. "But if you think you'll get something out of talking to her, go ahead."

"If you're sure," you say, lifting your bowl to drain the last of the broth.

"Mmmhm," Niko says. "Later."

"Later," you respond.

"How is it?" Mami asks, smiling and reaching out to collect your emptied bowl.

You swat her hand away and snatch your bowl up, making a grab for her bowl. "Kazumi and the others like to sleep in, apparently. Niko hasn't slept since last night."

"Ah," Mami says, dodging with an easy, deft motion. "I see!"

"Yeaaaah..." you say, shaking your head and holding your bowl out of her reach. "Definitely the type to drown her sorrows in work."

"She gave that impression," Mami agrees.

"Anyway," you say, and smirk. "Time for our regular morning wakeup call."

Mami giggles, and twists adroitly around you such smooth, flowing grace you almost fail to notice her stealing the bowl from you on the way to the sink. You pout at her, and collect the remaining rice and mince from the kitchen table to continue making riceballs.

You take a deep breath as you sit down. "GOOOOOOOOD MORNING MITAKIHARA!" you bellow into telepathy.

"You're late!" Sayaka complains.

"Good morning, Sabrina," Hitomi says primly. "I must say, Sayaka is right."

"Well excuuuuuse me," you say. "I didn't know it was my duty to keep everyone on the straight and narrow."

"Kinda is," Sayaka says. "You're the one who's bright and cheerful and awake."

"Oh come on, that doesn't count," you say. "Homura, back me up here."

"... good morning," Homura says in lieu of actually answering.

"A-ah... good morning!" Madoka says. And from there it's all cheerful ribbing and easy conversation, Mami finishing up with the dishes and settling across the table from you to help finish up the riceballs.

It doesn't take too long, and Mami absconds to the bedroom to finish dressing up. Lunch box in your slingbag, and Mami at your side, you head out into the bustle of early morning Mitakihara.

The streets throng with people, and as you walk, you casually mould a bit of Grief in one hand, letting your magic seep into it. You make it casual, as if you're just messing around with playdough, and no one gives it a second look.

Mami, of course, has your other hand, fingers interlaced with yours.

"So I found that I seem to have an effective 4-space available to me that I can actually access," you say as you walk. "And it's how you hide your teacups, right, Mami?"

"Mmmhm!" Mami agrees.

"The thing is... I didn't see anything else in there when I stuffed my chibi in there. Just my Soul Gem," you say. "I'm kind of wondering..." You wave your hand aimlessly in the air, narrowly missing a passerby. "Does every magical girl have their own 4-space?"

Which brings to mind the notion that it might be a proto-Barrier of sorts. Ugh.

Mami purses her lips thoughtfully. "I suppose... there's nothing really preventing magic from granting infinite orthogonality?"

"I kinda want to try having you ribbon and hide one of my chibis," you say. "Just to test it."

"That's a good idea," Mami agrees. "We can definitely try that at some point."

"Also," you say with a grin. "Have you ever thought about trying to use it for armour piercing attacks?"

"I have!" Mami says brightly. "It doesn't work as well as you'd think... well, it does for bypassing, ah, mundane blockages, but Witches..." Mami shakes her head. "A Witch's defense isn't really physical, you know? Trying to come at it from a different angle still means you have to fight against its magic."

"Ah," you say, and pout. "... actually, I kind of wonder how it'd work with Miss Tsuruya's enchanted buildings."

"I think it'd be a contest between your magics," Mami says. "Maybe? I'm not sure how her powers work..."

"Could be worth finding out!" you say. "Or... what about running a ribbon through 4-space to an arbitrary exit point?" You smile, and hold up your left hand with the loop of golden ribbon gleaming on it.

Faint red dusts Mami's cheeks. "Ah... I already have that," she says. "It's how I make ribbons, ah, intangible?"

"Oooh," you say. "Brilliant. Should've expected that."

You beam at her as you turn the corner to the shaded, leafy path to Mitakihara Middle School, and give the Grief in your upheld hand a contemplative look. Certainly it's crossed the threshold where you feel like you could will it into something. You open your fingers, letting the enchanted Grief drift off into the sky like a misshapen balloon. You'll monitor it over the course of the day.

"Good morning!" Sayaka and Hitomi are ahead of you, the former carrying two school bags but nevertheless waving enthusiastically.

... there is a pigeon perched on her hair, garnering her some odd looks. It doesn't even seem discomforted by vigorous waving.

"'morning!" you call back. The bird flutters off before you get there, and Sayaka produces a comb and starts tending to her hair down with a faintly annoyed look.

"Ah, are Homura and Madoka not here yet?" Mami asks.

"They are not," Hitomi says, eyeing Sayaka. "Good morning, Mami, Sabrina. Do you know how the newcomers from Shiohama are settling in? I hope they find the accommodations to their liking."

"I haven't talked to them yet," you say. "Giving them some time to find their feet. But yeah, I think they like it. I'll keep you updated?"

Hitomi smiles, nodding.

"Ah, there they are," Sayaka says. "Hey, over here!"

She waves energetically, and you follow her eyes to see what your Grief sense already told you: Homura and Madoka approaching.

And with everyone collected, you all start heading for school, joining the flow of uniformed students. You stick out like a sore thumb, of course, but these are your friends. You're walking everyone to school.

You also have vague notions of 4-space ambushes with endless hordes of chibis as you walk, but that's probably an idea for another time.

"Here we are," Hitomi murmurs as you arrive at the school gate. Madoka beams, grabbing Sayaka and Homura by the sleeves and tugging.

"Ah... will we see you at lunch, Sabrina?" Madoka asks.

"Mmhm!" you say, grinning. "Always do, right?"

"Yeah!" she nods enthusiastically. You all exchange farewells, and in a few moments, it's just you and Mami standing at the gates. And the hordes of other students, chattering happily as they file past you and into the courtyard.

Mami fidgets, and you smile at her, taking her hands. You lean in, and kiss her gently on the cheek. "I'll see you later," you murmur. "I promise."

"I- alright," Mami whispers, swallowing.

"I promise," you say. "And I've always kept that promise, right?"

Mami nods, and visibly forces herself to take a step back.

You force yourself to stay where you are, smiling at her and watching as she heads into the school, one step at a time.

And finally, she's out of sight. You sigh, blowing out a breath and forcing yourself to smile, trading a polite nod with the truancy officer before walking away from Mitakihara Middle School.

You hum quietly, tilting your head back to look at the sky.

"Hijiri? Are you awake?" you ask, reaching out with your mind.

"Who needs sleep?" Hijiri responds, almost instantly. "What do you want."

"To check in on you, and see whether you're doing alright," you say.

"I'm fine, now go away," Hijiri snaps back.

"Well, I'm literally on the other coast of Japan right now," you say, grinning whimiscally as you walk amongst the trees. With a loop of Grief, you scoop up a nice, smooth rock from the gentle stream, twisting it into 4-space with an effort of thought. Another thing to monitor over the day.

"Good, now stay there," Hijiri says.

"Also, ah... an update on Anri, if you'd care to hear it?" you say.

Hijiri sighs heavily. "Lay it on me."

"Captured, and kept under guard," you say. "To be honest, her room's nicer than mine. I talked to her about what happened, too. I... I understand what happened, between you and her and the Pleiades."

Hijiri makes a grumbling noise. "Good for you. Now can I be left alone?"

"Yeah. You doing alright on Grief?" you ask.

"Just fine," she snaps. "Go away. I don't need a mother."

The connection slams shut.

You blink.

OK then.

Rolling your neck, you bounce on your toes. It's peaceful here, in this little forested path. You have a moment to contemplate your next course of action.

[] What do you do now?
- [] Go and experiment
- [] Check in on...
-- [] Kyouko
-- [] Oriko and Kirika
-- [] Rionna Mag Aiodh (with Nadia's help)
-[] Give a randomly selected person a salient compliment (I'll roll for this)
[] Write-in (word count limit: 150 words)


Apologies for how late this update is. Been a busy week.