You eye your sparring partner, the blow you'd dealt her earlier was obviously catching up to her, the way she was wheezing a little and leaning on her sword showing how much damage you'd done.
She probably has broken ribs... You frown as you stare at her, she
should be fine in a day or two, but you might not have a day or two.
I can kind of heal can't I? You hum as you think about your idea.
It's not like it can do any harm?
"Hey, 'cmere." She looks up at you a little confused, but she saunters over as steadily as she can. You point at the toppled dummy next to you. "Sit down, I'm going to heal your ribs."
She nearly falls into the makeshift seat. "You can heal?" You hum non-committally, it was
kind of healing, that counted right? You drop down to your knee next to her and gently take her hand, ignoring the stare drilling into your head. "You can heal properly right?" You ignore her pointed question as you extend your magic, gathering it up against her skin before you shove yourself into her.
She sits bolt upright, her hair literally standing on end as you quickly smother the resistance, a floaty expression quickly spreading across her face as she looks down at you with lidded eyes. "Thaaaatsss..." Her words trail off as you start running tiny little lines of your regeneration through her body. "
Mmmmmm" You grab her with your other arm before she slides off of her seat, her head lolling against your chest with a curious hum.
You yelp when you feel her nip at your ribs, quickly pushing her back onto her seat with a grumble as you feel your face heat up at the unexpected contact.
That hurt dammit. You ignore the amused smile that slowly spreads across her face, occasionally pushing her back onto her seat as she starts leaning towards you, mouth open. "I'm not edible, stop that." She ignores your words, letting you hold her up as you finish whatever it is that your regeneration does, her breathing significantly less laboured.
When you start drawing your magic back and stop pushing hers down her eyes clear quickly. It barely takes a few seconds before she's staring at you with wide eyes, glancing between her hands and you rapidly. "What the fuck was that." She pushes you off her, blinking quickly as she shakes her arms, movements quickly smoothing back to normal. "The fuck did you do." She's staring at you with angry eyes, her hand drifting near the handle of her sword.
"I uhh, healed you." She frowns, feeling her ribs and taking a deep breath. "My method of healing is a little, strange?"
She snorts at your words, staring down at her fingers as she moves them. "You don't say." She sits back with a sigh, hand still not leaving her weapon. "Fucking warn a girl before you do that, it was..." She trains off, running her tongue over her teeth and staring at your chest with a sort of dawning horror. She lets out a low keening noise, hands rising from her sides to cover her face as a furious blush spreads across it.
"Oh my god just kill me now."
You look away and let her retain whatever dignity she has left.
Probably should have thought that through. Note to self, healing people leads to... interesting results. You step back, turning away from her with an awkward cough. "I'm just gonna go over here and practice magic, 'kay." You're off before she says anything, though you doubt that she is capable of speech right now.
Think brain, think, literally anything else right now. You ignore the slight throbbing pain in on your side as you stare at your armour.
That'll do. You sit down against the wall, keeping your eyes down as you stare at your armour, dismissing it and re-summoning it. As always, there was the slight delay and the
crumplyness of the armour itself.
(77 + 10 = 87)
Honestly, it goes about as well as you could have hoped. Seeing that you didn't exactly have a
guide on making your armour stronger, you like to think that the fact you made progress at all was a good sign. All of that considered, you feel like you made
good progress, though it feels a little more...
brittle? Your armour definitely feels stronger, heavier even, though it doesn't seem to weigh you down any more than it did before.
Now, if only I could get rid of the open chest section.
You frown at your chest, it is a little annoying how much your armour emphasises your figure. Not that you are insecure about it or anything, you know you are well above the curve for your age, but it really is a hassle sometimes.
At least it's comfortable, I can't imagine how much it would chafe if it didn't have some magical bullshit. You wince at the though, memories of your first attempts to wear a bra returning to you.
Really, really glad.
A thought dawns on you as you stare at your chest, and then your inhumanly comfortable armour.
I wonder...
You drop your transformation, then close your eyes, focusing on your normal clothing as you let yourself rest against the wall.
(94 + 10 = 104 Artificial Crit!)
You don't notice anything at first, but you eventually notice the
lack of something. Mainly, the dozen little itches and scratches your clothes have just from wearing them.
Is this? You stretch your arms forwards, holding one wrist with the other as you take a deep breath.
Oh yesssss. The familiar stabbing pain of the metal in your bra is gone, just leaving a feeling of freedom as you breath deeply, not worried about jabbing yourself for the first time in
years. Alright, this is probably the second best thing ever, right after flying. You jump to your feet, a little giggle forcing it's way out of your throat as you spin on the spot, your clothes gliding across your skin like water.
You skip over to Sabina, ignoring her horribly confused look as you haul her to her feet, your armour flashing into existence as your sword forms in your hand. You swing just slowly enough for her sword to appear in her hand, stopping your half-hearted swing with an awkward motion as she hops back. She doesn't say anything, but you can see the grin start stretching across her face, the freshly dried blood from earlier looking perfectly natural on her face.
(23 + 15 = 38)
In the end you don't actually get much
training done, because after five minutes the both of you descended into wailing on the other as hard as you could without dealing permanent damage.
But by fuck was is good stress relief.
/LINE BREAK\
You are still releasing the occasional giggle as you walk back to your room, not noticing strange looks everyone else is sending you, too absorbed in how
comfy your clothes were. Una's habitual tackle hug is caught and you spin her around with a laugh, setting her on your shoulders with a grin. You don't see it, but you can feel the wide smile on her face, her magic burbling happily against yours.
You take a deep breath, in a genuinely good mood for the first time in...
It's been a while. You ignore every one looking at your smile, dropping back onto the sofa and shifting your sister onto your lap. She immediately burrows into your clothes letting out a giggle as she rubs her face against your stomach. "Ooof." You just barely manage to restrain the laughter that tries to tear it's way out of you.
She must never know I am ticklish. You see a
dangerous grin on Morgan's face out of the corner of your eyes and feel a sense of impending doom.
She leans forwards, elbows on either side of you as she smirks down at you.
Don't you dare- "Una." She opens her mouth and you already know it's too late to stop her.
I will get you for this. "You should be careful, I think Cerys here has a ticklish stomach."
Your pain will be legendary.
You see your sister pause, gently bringing a single hand to your belly and poking it. You just barely manage to restrain yourself to quivering muscles. The exuberant smile that tears it's way across her face spells out your fate in excruciatingly happy detail.
My vengeance will be spoken of until the end of time!
Your sister begins her assault, her tiny fingers prodding and poking and
tickling as you grit your teeth, only the tiniest noises escaping you. You recognise the sparkle in her eyes, turning pleading eyes to your reliable shield. She abandons you to your fate, a tiny smile on her face.
Noooooooo-
/LINE BREAK\
Your breathless pants are interrupted by a knock on the door; you take the opportunity, gently escaping from your sister's grasp and plopping her back down in your seat. You rush to the door, throwing it open with scruffy hair and a ruffled shirt.
A very harried looking Samantha waits for you on the other side, looking like she's practically ran here straight from her office. You give her a minute to catch her breath, steadfastly ignoring the way she looks at your ruffled clothes and then further into the room.
She shakes her head, turning to look at you as she takes a deep breath. "Ignition Knight."
Oh, serious time. You straighten out as best as your abused stomach will let you. "Karen would like to inform you that you are needed for a meeting
now. Please come prepared."
You blink at her words, pressing your lips together before turning back to the room. "Daiyu, I need you." She's out of her seat in a flash, at the door and ready to go moments later. You turn back to Samantha and she takes another deep breath.
"Please follow me." She turns and sets off without seeing if you'll follow, leading you towards the garage, but turning off to the right just before. There are several rooms, the plaques of the doors labelled one to seven.
Meeting rooms? You don't say anything as you follow her towards room five, a weight settling onto your shoulders as you catch a glimpse of Karen frowning deeply at a tall man who looked like he wanted to be anywhere but here while still trying to be stoic.
"What is it?" The door closes behind you as Samantha steps out of the room, sealing shut with a small click. Your eyes move to the logo on the side of his shirt, a prominent patch of a three headed dog.
Where have I seen that before?
Karen's usual composure is gone as she just barely resists glaring at the man, who you will admit is either incredibly brave or stupid, steps forwards to hand you a small card note.
You turn it over, flicking it open and reading the short message in the middle.
To Ignition Knight,
We would like to arrange a meeting with you to discuss recent events and offer an apology for our actions.
Please leave your response with the messenger.
From, Annabelle Samuels
Counter Force Associate
There is a small symbol printed on the card, a three headed dog, just below the words 'Counter Force'. It takes a second before it clicks in your head and you slowly look up at the unassuming man, and the patch on his shoulder.
What.
You open your mouth and close it again, words failing you completely as you stare at the man, your mental track completely derailed.
"Umm, yes. The meeting, yes." You speak before you can think about the consequences. "I get to pick the time, place and who I bring." Karen makes a
noise, a thing that you can't really place beyond disgruntled.
The man just nods at you amicably, taking the note back with hands that are shaking only slightly. "Of course, please list a time and I will inform my boss."
As you open your mouth to speak, you can't help but ask yourself.
What the fuck is this?
[] {Location} A nearby Cafe in London
[] {Location} Ask Karen for a nearby Neutral location
[] {Location} Write In...
[] {Party} Write In...
(Karen is not allowed)
[] {Time} Now
[] {Time} In a few hours
[] {Time} Tomorrow
