Alphaleph
The Firstiest of First
We do want a replacement hoodie from Eva.
Though some of us differ on what it is given, a requirement for or a result of conciliation.
Magical Dreams (Warframe/Negima)
- Thread starter an NPC
- Start date
- Crossover
Though some of us differ on what it is given, a requirement for or a result of conciliation.
Adaptation (Part 1)
an NPC
Section 2, Combat Cyborg
[X] Guarded. This is a ceasefire, not a peace settlement. You do not have to like her. You do not have to trust her. All you need is to do is sit and smile and watch Evangeline like a hawk during these talks.
You shuffle a little in your seat, trying to make your overall dissatisfaction with the current situation quite clear.
Across the table from you, Evangeline is sitting quite primly, though not without a similar frown on her face, sour and disinterested even as she has come out in what you suspect to be a relatively formal black lace dress. Just to her side, Chachamaru, dressed in her servant uniform instead of her school uniform, is calmly pouring tea for everyone present.
The fine bone-white china seems somewhat weathered, delicate… and yet it holds a certain strength of character to it, the sleekly trimmed porcelain being neither too ostentatious or overly modest. You look into your cup, seeing your deep blue eyes peering back at yourself through the thin steam.
While your former homeroom teacher is (as always) dressed well in his suit, you thought it would be okay for you to attend this meeting dressed in your usual t-shirt and shorts. Quietly huffing as you turn away from the vampire, you raise an eyebrow at Takahata-sensei, who gives you a weak smile in apology. This was supposed to be a casual little face-to-face, but the way Evangeline is taking this makes you feel underdressed for the occasion.
She's doing this on purpose to get a rise out of you, isn't she? That little wastrel.
"Thank you for the tea Chachamaru," you say, raising your cup, "So, Evangeline. Let's get this over with."
She smirks, adding a lump of sugar to hers, "You're always in such a hurry, Ivara. Such undignified haste is unbecoming."
You jab the spoon towards her, "I am required to be civil. I don't have to listen to your pretentious mewling."
Eva scoffs, leaning back in her seat, "Pretentious mewling? That's rich coming from you. What did you say to my Chachamaru that other day? 'Prosecute my campaign of retribution' was it?"
Your cheeks flare up as you put the cup down, letting it rattle on the saucer.
"That was obviously for you, since you didn't even bother to turn up that day, you cowardly leech,"
"You know as well as I do I don't really need to be there, thieving shadow."
"Thieving shadow? Is that really the best you can do, lizard?"
"Why should I bother? Even a doll like Chachamaru has more substance than you."
"I agree. She's the only one here with any substance worth talking about, fla-"
Takahata coughs loudly, causing the two of you to turn to him.
"Ladies. Please, it'd be a shame to waste this wonderful tea that Karakuri-san has prepared for us."
After a tense half-minute of glaring at each other, both you and Evangeline slide back into your seats. Her cheek twitches a little as she sips her tea.
Despite the pleasant floral hints and smooth taste, you can't find it in yourself to really savour the drink right now, given that this bitchy little bloodsucker is giving you these dirty looks over the rim of her cup. You let Chachamaru refill your cup and lean back into your seat.
Evangeline herself doesn't move a muscle, letting those irritatingly smug eyes mock you and everything you stand for as you take a long, drawn out sip.
Oh she knows you like this tea. She knows it.
Before either of you can say anything else, Takahata-sensei pulls out a small notebook and pen from his jacket,
"Okay. How about we start laying out what we want from each other first, and then we can hash out some more details? Does that sound good?"
You both grumble out your acceptances and begin talking.
===
In the end, what you're asking for out of Evangeline seems fairly simple.
You want her to apologise for the recent events. To your face. Right now.
In return, she wants you to apologise to Chachamaru for making threats through her. Fair enough, that was pretty mean.
You want her to pay for your hoodie, preferably in the near future, and definitely before the end of the semester.
Though she grumbles about losing her own clothing in similar circumstances all the time without getting compensation, she nonetheless agrees to pay you back in this case.
Lastly, you want an ironclad declaration that she would not harm any current student, staff or other civilian within Mahora-
"Without sufficient reason," she insists, her lip curled into a slight frown, "I'm sure you understand why, Tenno."
She is correct. Irritatingly so. You are loathe to agree with her on this matter, but there is this slight worry you have about the number of potential bad and/or hostile agents who could be plotting larger and more terrible things on campus without your knowledge. While you are confident that the auxiliary security force could tackle the more mundane and petty crimes that happen on a day to day basis, you are worried that there could be more people like Evangeline whom the headmaster and his staff are not aware of, and thus are not able to handle-
She leans into the table, keeping a firm gaze on you,
"Moreover, what is to say that you won't become a threat to the campus in the future?"
You bite your lip before you can reflexively snap back at her.
She's not wrong. You could easily use the skills, resources and information you have to cause some very serious long term infrastructural damage. Cripple the entire command structure of this campus in hours. Locate extremely devastating artefacts and relics in storage and use them to cause disruption elsewhere. So on, so forth. Your hands aren't clean, not in the slightest.
A bit one sided to ask her to abide.
You steeple your fingers, "If it satisfies you, I will abide by the same agreement. We both will…"
Defer to the school administration? Confer with each other? Some combination of the two?
You don't quite trust leaving decisions to the headmaster, and the thought of having to go through the trouble of informing him or his staff of every single problem will cost time in a crisis. But at the same time, doing things first and then having to ask for forgiveness later is going to be annoying, and you really don't want to have to explain yourself all the time.
Evangeline gives you a demure smile.
"Welcome to the bane of my existence, Tenno."
"Oh shut it, McDowell."
===
In the end, the two of you grudgingly agreed to a ceasefire, and have laid out the necessity of a fast and independent response to any crisis that breaks out on campus which could require you to act independently of the school authorities to Takahata-sensei.
To his credit, you can't tell exactly what he thinks about the proposal, and his stubbornly generic response of having to bring it up with the headmaster is played extremely close to the chest. Even so, he states his intention to take your mutual agreement of terms to the headmaster as a witness and reminds the two of you to get along before finishing his drink and bidding the two of you a good day.
While he walks off towards the main campus, the two of you continue glaring at each other, uneasily waiting for someone else to make the first move.
Chachamaru leans forward a little bit,
"Mistress. You have something to attend to in twenty minutes."
Evangeline sits upright, pushing away her cup, "Yes, I recall. Thank you for reminding me, Chachamaru."
"If you have to leave, you have to leave, huh?" you grumble, finishing off your tea.
That 'something' is some kind of midday variety show on the national broadcasting service. You know this because you've observed her tuning in almost without fail over the past few weeks. Part of you is surprised she doesn't bother to set a device to automatically record it for playback at a more convenient time. Unless she uses it as a convenient excuse to avoid social niceties.
"Duty calls, Tenno. You know how it is," she smoothly lies, giving you a dismissive wave as she leaves, "You can expect your payment within the week. I'll have Chachamaru pass it to you in the morning or something. Good day."
"Enjoy your show," you mumble as you get up. You feel the corner of your mouth twitch upwards as she gives you a last, dirty look before leaving you and Chachamaru by the table, where she has already packed away the china and cutlery into a small basket.
The proxy gives you a short bow before carefully holding out a small wrapped bundle towards you, keeping her voice low.
"Thank you for being civil on this matter, Tenno-san. I hope we can still be on good terms as classmates, after this."
"What's this?"
"I was unable to locate a replacement jacket that would match your specifications. So instead, I procured some fabric and made a cloak for you. I hope this will be an adequate substitute for your needs."
You unwrap the cloak. It's a simple, functional hooded cloak made of a slightly weighty and soft midnight blue fabric. You drape it around your shoulders, fastening it together with the sturdy brooch it came with. You take a moment to examine the brooch.
It's an interesting design. Flowing ribbons in brass. Pretty enough, but not too attention-grabbing.
A simple gesture of goodwill from Chachamaru. You feel a little embarrassed that you can't give her something of similar worth in return.
"It's very well-made. Thank you Chachamaru."
She gives you one last bow before turning to catch up with her master, leaving you as the last person in the area.
You flip open your notepad one last time, scratching off today's tasks before wrapping the cloak around you more tightly and leaping into the sky.
===
Late in the evening, back at your room, you are carefully evaluating the merits of trying to fit one of the two throwing knives you borrowed from Kaede into your newly acquired luggage for the upcoming class trip to Kyoto when you hear a gentle knock on the door.
Three people. The one doing the knocking seems to be Negi-sensei, judging by the polite, firm pattern. You can only assume the second person would be Takahata-sensei, the third to be another of the teachers accompanying them.
So when you open the door to find Negi and Asuna standing outside, you are a little surprised as you look up and down the hallway for the third person.
"Sensei? Asuna? What's going on? Who else is here?"
"Can we please come in for a bit, Ivara?" Negi begins, "There's something important we have to discuss right away."
You step aside to allow the two of them in when you spy a flash of white hanging around Asuna's neck.
"Ah. Anego. F-fancy seeing you hURG-"
"Sensei. This perverted rat was rolling about in our clothes while we were bathing," you grind out, keeping a firm grip on the little miscreant by the neck, "I thought I handed you to the authorities."
"Look, nee-san. It was all just a big misunderstanding, ok? I was told that aniki was teaching this class-"
He knows Negi-sensei? You turn to your young teacher incredulously.
"You know this disgusting creature, sensei?"
He chuckles awkwardly, "It's a long story. But he's a good person at heart, I can vouch for him Ivara."
Just your luck. He's one of the 'good guys'. You sigh, gently tossing the ermine to your teacher and shutting the door.
You direct Asuna and Negi further into your room before sitting at your desk, keeping a close watch on the ermine as he sits patiently on your bed.
"So what's this about?"
Negi begins explaining that the class trip to Kyoto is not merely just a class trip, and that there are going to be special circumstances regarding it. Namely, he is acting as a special envoy from the Kanto Magic Association on the headmaster's behalf, and is delivering a message of some kind to his counterpart there in a bid to help relieve tensions between the two factions.
A slightly complicated situation by the sounds of it.
"Let me guess. The headmaster wants me to help provide protection for you while you're carrying out your duty?" you suggest, scribbling the details into memory,
"Actually, I wanted to personally get your help," he admits, nervously fidgeting with his staff, "You were the first person I could think of… it's kind of... a big… a big favour to ask."
Oh? He's taking the initiative to pick out his own assets and support independently of the headmaster. Interesting.
"I'm always willing to help out, sensei. Is there anything in particular I can help you with?"
Negi sort of squirms in place, while Asuna looks away in slight exasperation.
"Come on. You came all the way here to ask her," she groans, giving him a light shove, "What was it you said? Courage is the real magic?"
Hmm? Is he afraid to ask you for a favour? Is this something particularly embarrassing for a mage to ask for? Was he worried about being seen as incapable or incompetent? Are favours difficult things for magicians to hand out?
He swallows briefly, gathering his courage before standing up and facing you straight on. He gives you an extremely respectful bow.
"Ivara Tenno. Please… make a provisional contract with me."
[] Huh?
[] Hmm?
[] What?
You shuffle a little in your seat, trying to make your overall dissatisfaction with the current situation quite clear.
Across the table from you, Evangeline is sitting quite primly, though not without a similar frown on her face, sour and disinterested even as she has come out in what you suspect to be a relatively formal black lace dress. Just to her side, Chachamaru, dressed in her servant uniform instead of her school uniform, is calmly pouring tea for everyone present.
The fine bone-white china seems somewhat weathered, delicate… and yet it holds a certain strength of character to it, the sleekly trimmed porcelain being neither too ostentatious or overly modest. You look into your cup, seeing your deep blue eyes peering back at yourself through the thin steam.
While your former homeroom teacher is (as always) dressed well in his suit, you thought it would be okay for you to attend this meeting dressed in your usual t-shirt and shorts. Quietly huffing as you turn away from the vampire, you raise an eyebrow at Takahata-sensei, who gives you a weak smile in apology. This was supposed to be a casual little face-to-face, but the way Evangeline is taking this makes you feel underdressed for the occasion.
She's doing this on purpose to get a rise out of you, isn't she? That little wastrel.
"Thank you for the tea Chachamaru," you say, raising your cup, "So, Evangeline. Let's get this over with."
She smirks, adding a lump of sugar to hers, "You're always in such a hurry, Ivara. Such undignified haste is unbecoming."
You jab the spoon towards her, "I am required to be civil. I don't have to listen to your pretentious mewling."
Eva scoffs, leaning back in her seat, "Pretentious mewling? That's rich coming from you. What did you say to my Chachamaru that other day? 'Prosecute my campaign of retribution' was it?"
Your cheeks flare up as you put the cup down, letting it rattle on the saucer.
"That was obviously for you, since you didn't even bother to turn up that day, you cowardly leech,"
"You know as well as I do I don't really need to be there, thieving shadow."
"Thieving shadow? Is that really the best you can do, lizard?"
"Why should I bother? Even a doll like Chachamaru has more substance than you."
"I agree. She's the only one here with any substance worth talking about, fla-"
Takahata coughs loudly, causing the two of you to turn to him.
"Ladies. Please, it'd be a shame to waste this wonderful tea that Karakuri-san has prepared for us."
After a tense half-minute of glaring at each other, both you and Evangeline slide back into your seats. Her cheek twitches a little as she sips her tea.
Despite the pleasant floral hints and smooth taste, you can't find it in yourself to really savour the drink right now, given that this bitchy little bloodsucker is giving you these dirty looks over the rim of her cup. You let Chachamaru refill your cup and lean back into your seat.
Evangeline herself doesn't move a muscle, letting those irritatingly smug eyes mock you and everything you stand for as you take a long, drawn out sip.
Oh she knows you like this tea. She knows it.
Before either of you can say anything else, Takahata-sensei pulls out a small notebook and pen from his jacket,
"Okay. How about we start laying out what we want from each other first, and then we can hash out some more details? Does that sound good?"
You both grumble out your acceptances and begin talking.
===
In the end, what you're asking for out of Evangeline seems fairly simple.
You want her to apologise for the recent events. To your face. Right now.
In return, she wants you to apologise to Chachamaru for making threats through her. Fair enough, that was pretty mean.
You want her to pay for your hoodie, preferably in the near future, and definitely before the end of the semester.
Though she grumbles about losing her own clothing in similar circumstances all the time without getting compensation, she nonetheless agrees to pay you back in this case.
Lastly, you want an ironclad declaration that she would not harm any current student, staff or other civilian within Mahora-
"Without sufficient reason," she insists, her lip curled into a slight frown, "I'm sure you understand why, Tenno."
She is correct. Irritatingly so. You are loathe to agree with her on this matter, but there is this slight worry you have about the number of potential bad and/or hostile agents who could be plotting larger and more terrible things on campus without your knowledge. While you are confident that the auxiliary security force could tackle the more mundane and petty crimes that happen on a day to day basis, you are worried that there could be more people like Evangeline whom the headmaster and his staff are not aware of, and thus are not able to handle-
She leans into the table, keeping a firm gaze on you,
"Moreover, what is to say that you won't become a threat to the campus in the future?"
You bite your lip before you can reflexively snap back at her.
She's not wrong. You could easily use the skills, resources and information you have to cause some very serious long term infrastructural damage. Cripple the entire command structure of this campus in hours. Locate extremely devastating artefacts and relics in storage and use them to cause disruption elsewhere. So on, so forth. Your hands aren't clean, not in the slightest.
A bit one sided to ask her to abide.
You steeple your fingers, "If it satisfies you, I will abide by the same agreement. We both will…"
Defer to the school administration? Confer with each other? Some combination of the two?
You don't quite trust leaving decisions to the headmaster, and the thought of having to go through the trouble of informing him or his staff of every single problem will cost time in a crisis. But at the same time, doing things first and then having to ask for forgiveness later is going to be annoying, and you really don't want to have to explain yourself all the time.
Evangeline gives you a demure smile.
"Welcome to the bane of my existence, Tenno."
"Oh shut it, McDowell."
===
In the end, the two of you grudgingly agreed to a ceasefire, and have laid out the necessity of a fast and independent response to any crisis that breaks out on campus which could require you to act independently of the school authorities to Takahata-sensei.
To his credit, you can't tell exactly what he thinks about the proposal, and his stubbornly generic response of having to bring it up with the headmaster is played extremely close to the chest. Even so, he states his intention to take your mutual agreement of terms to the headmaster as a witness and reminds the two of you to get along before finishing his drink and bidding the two of you a good day.
While he walks off towards the main campus, the two of you continue glaring at each other, uneasily waiting for someone else to make the first move.
Chachamaru leans forward a little bit,
"Mistress. You have something to attend to in twenty minutes."
Evangeline sits upright, pushing away her cup, "Yes, I recall. Thank you for reminding me, Chachamaru."
"If you have to leave, you have to leave, huh?" you grumble, finishing off your tea.
That 'something' is some kind of midday variety show on the national broadcasting service. You know this because you've observed her tuning in almost without fail over the past few weeks. Part of you is surprised she doesn't bother to set a device to automatically record it for playback at a more convenient time. Unless she uses it as a convenient excuse to avoid social niceties.
"Duty calls, Tenno. You know how it is," she smoothly lies, giving you a dismissive wave as she leaves, "You can expect your payment within the week. I'll have Chachamaru pass it to you in the morning or something. Good day."
"Enjoy your show," you mumble as you get up. You feel the corner of your mouth twitch upwards as she gives you a last, dirty look before leaving you and Chachamaru by the table, where she has already packed away the china and cutlery into a small basket.
The proxy gives you a short bow before carefully holding out a small wrapped bundle towards you, keeping her voice low.
"Thank you for being civil on this matter, Tenno-san. I hope we can still be on good terms as classmates, after this."
"What's this?"
"I was unable to locate a replacement jacket that would match your specifications. So instead, I procured some fabric and made a cloak for you. I hope this will be an adequate substitute for your needs."
You unwrap the cloak. It's a simple, functional hooded cloak made of a slightly weighty and soft midnight blue fabric. You drape it around your shoulders, fastening it together with the sturdy brooch it came with. You take a moment to examine the brooch.
It's an interesting design. Flowing ribbons in brass. Pretty enough, but not too attention-grabbing.
A simple gesture of goodwill from Chachamaru. You feel a little embarrassed that you can't give her something of similar worth in return.
"It's very well-made. Thank you Chachamaru."
She gives you one last bow before turning to catch up with her master, leaving you as the last person in the area.
You flip open your notepad one last time, scratching off today's tasks before wrapping the cloak around you more tightly and leaping into the sky.
===
Late in the evening, back at your room, you are carefully evaluating the merits of trying to fit one of the two throwing knives you borrowed from Kaede into your newly acquired luggage for the upcoming class trip to Kyoto when you hear a gentle knock on the door.
Three people. The one doing the knocking seems to be Negi-sensei, judging by the polite, firm pattern. You can only assume the second person would be Takahata-sensei, the third to be another of the teachers accompanying them.
So when you open the door to find Negi and Asuna standing outside, you are a little surprised as you look up and down the hallway for the third person.
"Sensei? Asuna? What's going on? Who else is here?"
"Can we please come in for a bit, Ivara?" Negi begins, "There's something important we have to discuss right away."
You step aside to allow the two of them in when you spy a flash of white hanging around Asuna's neck.
"Ah. Anego. F-fancy seeing you hURG-"
"Sensei. This perverted rat was rolling about in our clothes while we were bathing," you grind out, keeping a firm grip on the little miscreant by the neck, "I thought I handed you to the authorities."
"Look, nee-san. It was all just a big misunderstanding, ok? I was told that aniki was teaching this class-"
He knows Negi-sensei? You turn to your young teacher incredulously.
"You know this disgusting creature, sensei?"
He chuckles awkwardly, "It's a long story. But he's a good person at heart, I can vouch for him Ivara."
Just your luck. He's one of the 'good guys'. You sigh, gently tossing the ermine to your teacher and shutting the door.
You direct Asuna and Negi further into your room before sitting at your desk, keeping a close watch on the ermine as he sits patiently on your bed.
"So what's this about?"
Negi begins explaining that the class trip to Kyoto is not merely just a class trip, and that there are going to be special circumstances regarding it. Namely, he is acting as a special envoy from the Kanto Magic Association on the headmaster's behalf, and is delivering a message of some kind to his counterpart there in a bid to help relieve tensions between the two factions.
A slightly complicated situation by the sounds of it.
"Let me guess. The headmaster wants me to help provide protection for you while you're carrying out your duty?" you suggest, scribbling the details into memory,
"Actually, I wanted to personally get your help," he admits, nervously fidgeting with his staff, "You were the first person I could think of… it's kind of... a big… a big favour to ask."
Oh? He's taking the initiative to pick out his own assets and support independently of the headmaster. Interesting.
"I'm always willing to help out, sensei. Is there anything in particular I can help you with?"
Negi sort of squirms in place, while Asuna looks away in slight exasperation.
"Come on. You came all the way here to ask her," she groans, giving him a light shove, "What was it you said? Courage is the real magic?"
Hmm? Is he afraid to ask you for a favour? Is this something particularly embarrassing for a mage to ask for? Was he worried about being seen as incapable or incompetent? Are favours difficult things for magicians to hand out?
He swallows briefly, gathering his courage before standing up and facing you straight on. He gives you an extremely respectful bow.
"Ivara Tenno. Please… make a provisional contract with me."
[] Huh?
[] Hmm?
[] What?
- Location
- United States of America
[X] What?
I mean. I would imagine Ivara's familiar with (provisional) contracts just not the type he's asking for.
Also... Are these responses all actually different or was it a good break spot?
[X] Hmm?
Also... Are these responses all actually different or was it a good break spot?
[X] Hmm?
an NPC
Section 2, Combat Cyborg
Break spot. Just for flavour. No really special meaning behind them.
- Location
- United States
[X] What?
UrsaTempest
Don't Panic!
[X] What?
I'll say no, but I don't think we even know what the heck provisional contract is.
I'll say no, but I don't think we even know what the heck provisional contract is.
Ivan the Not-so-Terrible
AH MEW CHEEKI BREEKI I V DAMKE
- Location
- Mikonyan’s USSR
[X] Who do you want dead?
- Location
- ⇙
[X] What?
MacroDaemon
Lachrymose Lapis
[X] What?
Since a straight out "no" isn't an option.
Since a straight out "no" isn't an option.
LGear
Secret Society BLANKET
[X] What?
Ivara might agree without hesitation if she got told the "free magic gear" part.
Ivara might agree without hesitation if she got told the "free magic gear" part.
- Location
- USA
[X] Hmm?
