Puella Magi Adfligo Systema - Story only

[Firnagzen]

Second thoughts. You have them aplenty, cavorting and consorting with the ever-present doubts. But your first thoughts...

Well, no. Your first thought is just a touch of panic-tinged terror that you're not equipped to give advice to Homura. You know her story. Of course you do. But you haven't been through anything like it before, and for all you know, you're not really qualified to give advice for it.

But-

"I don't agree with that," you say, touching her shoulder gently. "I'd never agree with that, Homura."

She nearly flinches away from you, but doesn't fully retreat.

"May I hug you?" you murmur.

She nods jerkily, and you wrap your arm around her. She doesn't relax, but she doesn't pull away, either. She's tense and stiff, corded tension running like a live wire through her body.

"I can't possibly agree with that," you murmur slowly. "I... may I ask you a few more questions, Homura? I'd... I think I know how you feel, but I'd like to be sure of my thoughts, then I can explain. Do you need a moment?"

She nods, minutely. You smile at her, and wait.

Homura's willing to accept that victory is possible... No. She's always believed that victory was possible. She had to. It's the only thing that kept her moving forward, day after day, loop after loop. She had to believe it, or she would have despaired long ago.

And once upon a never, that was what did cause her to despair. The revelation that she couldn't win, that she was inextricably making things worse by increasing Madoka's potential every loop. That revelation broke her, and it's what Oriko warned you of.

The thing is, believing in victory doesn't mean believing that she could win this time. Victory had always been some far off, unattainable dream, snatched away every single time no matter how hard she sought it. But now...

Now, you think she might, just might, be willing to hope. Just a little.

But she's been hurt so much. She's caused so much pain, and even if only she remembers, she still bears the brands upon her soul.

You grimace to yourself, breathing out slowly. You look at Mami, frozen in the timestop, and even with the faint worry on her face, even with the churning dismay in your gut, you manage to calm yourself a little more. You check Homura's Soul Gem, just to be sure. Clean enough. You'll get to it in a bit, but for now, you'll give Homura the peace she needs to work through this as much as she can.

Seeming to feel your attention, Homura nods, the barest twitch of her head.

"I..." you start slowly. "Homura, I'm your friend. You know that, right?"

She nods again.

"And I'm not trying to hurt you. I wouldn't try to hurt you intentionally. But," you say, licking your lips. "I... would like to know, if you're willing to answer me."

Another tiny bob of her head, and she seems to hunch in upon herself.

"Do... do you feel that you don't deserve happiness because of your actions in the loops?" you murmur gently.

"I-" Homura jerks under your arm, eyes twitching up to stare at you. "You- you know what I've done."

"I know," you say, bowing your head and closing your eyes. "I know, Homura. But I... I had to be sure. I... trust me? I'm going somewhere with this."

Homura's mouth opens, but her voice seems to fail her. She shuts it, and slumps.

"OK," you murmur. "And... do you think what you've done in the loops has hurt Madoka?"

She doesn't even raise her head this time, curling up smaller in your hug. "Yes," she whispers.

"OK," you murmur, nodding. "I- that's the last of the... the personal questions, Homura. I'm sorry. Do you need a moment?"

She doesn't respond, but you can feel her shaking, just a bit. Gently, you draw the Grief away from her Soul Gem, letting it wick away into the frozen air. You pull Homura into a proper hug. She collapses against you, trembling and stiff.

You stroke her back in careful, rhythmic circles. You wonder, vaguely, how long it's been since Homura allowed herself human contact, until you elbowed your way into her life. Everyone's different, but... from what you remember, Homura wasn't one to deny herself the contact, the comfort. Not until she'd been forced to kill Madoka, all those loops ago.

Homura gathers herself, her trembling slowly stilling. You pull back and smile at her.

"Alright," you murmur. "Then... Homura, this is something I don't think you know, but I could be wrong. Please tell me, if I am, OK?"

You take a breath, meeting her eyes. "Madoka dreams about you at the start of each loop, before you meet," you say.

Apocalyptic visions of Walpurgisnacht, of Homura.

Homura, whose eyes go wide. "W-what?" she whispers, searching your face. "No, she- I don't want her to-"

She falls silent, squeezing her eyes shut.

[] Write-in

Spoiler: Vote in abeyance

-[X] Break to voting if any point needs more detail, or if Homura seems troubled. Don't be pushy.
-[X] Relax. Comment:
--[X] Homura's hair and higher dimensions.
--[X] Raiding Yakuza for (4D) pocket money.
[X] O&K.
-[X] Probably a 'random' apartment.
-[X] You don't know the Kure adults. Could be a bad idea.
[X] Everyone.
-[X] Explain your discomfort when dropping heavy topics. Ask if there's anything you can do to make it less stressful?
-[X] Offer to watch the spar video.
[X] Put in an order for the tracking devices.
[X] If there's time, practice enchantment:
-[X] Try using Control Magic...
--[X] On Grief.
--[X] To shape something into a Pocket Brina.

=====​

Breaking to vote as requested.

Also, folks? I see a lot of anger and worry in the thread. Look, I love that you all care about PMAS so much, but take care of yourselves. All of you. OK? If you need time, tell me so. Take that time.

And don't forget - I'm as invested in telling this story as you guys are.

 

[Firnagzen]

Homura doesn't know. She couldn't know, and that's... something you can work with.

She hates herself. Homura hates herself.

That once upon a never, where Homura Witched out. She had her Familiars, and then she had her Clara dolls. The reflections of her self, who called her Good-For-Nothing. Good for nothing, because she's made it a goal since that first loop to save Madoka. And yet, for all she's done and for all she's sacrificed, she hasn't done anything more than she did when she was a pig-tailed civilian with a heart condition.

And here you are, doing everything she Wished she could do. But leaving that aside... she hates herself for everything she's done to Madoka. And for Madoka. And everything in relation to what she's done about Madoka. If you had to guess, she blames herself for failing Madoka, for hurting Madoka, because it's her fault. If she didn't loop, Madoka wouldn't be suffering, but she is, because she's selfish, and she can't let go of Madoka.

A paradox. She wants to protect Madoka, but believes she's selfish for causing Madoka to suffer in her attempts to do so. She believes Madoka ought to be divorced from everything to do with magic, but she's protecting Madoka because Madoka asked her to.

What a mess.

You blow out the breath you didn't realise you were holding, and smile at Homura. "She dreams of you as her hero," you repeat with quiet emphasis. "She recognises you, when you show up at school... you must have noticed that. And not only that, what she picks up from those dreams, those impressions and instincts? They drive her to trust you, and get closer to you."

"She's wrong," Homura whispers. "That's- that's wrong. It- that shouldn't-"

"Hey," you say, pulling Homura into a hug again. "Homura, it's OK. It's OK."

She resists, a little, but slumps bonelessly against you a second later. You hug her close. At the end of the day, she's human, however much she tries to reject it. Human contact is comforting, and that's what she needs right now.

"She doesn't think you're a failure," you murmur. "Her dreams are... sketchy, and she doesn't get that much out of them. But from what she knows, she trusts you, Homura."

"She- how?" Homura whispers into your shoulder. Quiet and soft, nearly inaudible even in the dead silence of her timestop.

"How do I know this?" you murmur. "Well, beyond my metaknowledge... beyond the fact that she's a good person, she does trust you implicitly. She recognised you, on some level, from the very first moment you meet every loop, right? And she's asked you if you'd met before, and she's turned to you for help. It's... instinctive, for her."

Homura makes a very small noise, curling up against your hug. You can feel her shaking her head, mouthing something wordlessly against your shoulder, and you can feel your heart breaking for her. Gently, you cleanse her Soul Gem, and your own, just to be sure.

You let her recover, rubbing her back in a slow, soothing circle. Some small part of you is tempted to braid her hair, two large pigtails. It seems the thing to do, but then again, probably not. You let her have the time to regroup, as much as she needs. Here, under the aegis of her power, you have all the time she could ever need.

You look at Mami, letting the sight calm you. Even with that look of worry on her face, even with the colour-drained freeze of Homura's timestop, just looking at her still helps you to settle yourself. You've got a plan to help Homura work through this, to prop up her sense of self-worth and maybe help her hate herself a little less.

And you're banking it all on Homura's love of Madoka.

It's not romantic love, not on Homura's part. Not yet. She's scared, and traumatized, and hurting still. She's been hurting for years, and you don't think she could conceive of it. But she's been fighting for Madoka for all those years, out of love.

"It's just little bits and flashes," you murmur. "And despite that, she knows on some level you're fighting for her. You're not hurting her - you know her, right? If you were, she'd avoid you. But she thinks of you as a friend, as someone to be trusted, because you're making progress. You're making sure she doesn't get tricked again."

"She's wrong," Homura whispers, the words agonized and raw. "She- she shouldn't, I- I failed-"

"No, Homura," you say. "No, she's right to trust you. Without you, none of this would be possible. Without you, Mami, Sayaka, Mitakihara itself, Madoka... it'd all be gone for good. The only reason we have the chance to fight for a better future is because you never gave up. The only reason I exist is because you never gave up. I owe everything to you, Homura."

"I-" Homura chokes on the word, shaking her head wordlessly. "I failed. I- I only hurt Madoka."

[] Write-in (word count limit: 150 words)

Spoiler: Vote in abeyance

-[X] Relax. Comment:
--[X] Homura's hair and higher dimensions.
--[X] Raiding Yakuza for (4D) pocket money.
[X] O&K.
-[X] Probably a 'random' apartment.
-[X] You don't know the Kure adults. Could be a bad idea.
[X] Everyone.
-[X] Explain your discomfort when dropping heavy topics. Ask if there's anything you can do to make it less stressful?
-[X] Offer to watch the spar video.
[X] Put in an order for the tracking devices.
[X] If there's time, practice enchantment:
-[X] Try using Control Magic...
--[X] On Grief.
--[X] To shape something into a Pocket Brina.

=====​

Homura is, at the end of the day, a scared, traumatized girl hiding behind layers and layers of armour. You've peeked under that armour, given her someone she can confide in and somewhere she can be vulnerable. And yet, box it all up, paste her facade back on, and nobody would be able to tell.

 

[Firnagzen]

There's the self-loathing.

"You are not a failure," you say, pulling back far enough to smile at her. And here, you can speak with confidence, letting it infuse your voice as you meet her eyes. "You are not a good for nothing. And I'm not going to put up with hearing one of the most amazing people, one of my friends, put herself down like that."

"I'm-" Homura's jaw tightens. Somehow, that seems to focus her, her eyes hardening as she looks back at you. "I'm not amazing."

Focus on entirely the wrong thing, that is.

"I disagree," you say, still smiling. For all her conviction that she's done wrong, well. "Homura, listen to me. Right here, right now, Madoka is happy, safe, and protected. By you. Not me. I help you, but I'm not the one protecting her. If she hadn't met you, her life would have been worse for it."

And the both of you know what would have happened, had Homura not met Madoka. She would have been dead, there and then, facing off against the Queen of Witches. You don't say it out loud. You don't need to, you don't want to remind Homura of it so directly.

Homura looks away, jaw setting.

You brace your hand against her shoulder, smiling warmly. "Homura, look at me?"

She does, violet eyes drawn to yours.

"Madoka is happy. She's safe, and she's protected," you repeat. "Yes, I admit, there are dangers that may come. But that she's safe, that she's protected? That really is thanks to you, Homura. You were put in an unimaginable situation. Nearly impossible, and... you can't blame yourself for the circumstances. Not when you're here, today."

"You know what I did," she whispers, gaze dropping from yours again.

"I know," you say. "I couldn't have done better, in your shoes. I know what you've done, and I accept you. I believe in you, to the end. And I know Madoka would say the same."

Homura shakes her head mutely.

"If Madoka knew everything you've done for her, she wouldn't hesitate for a second to say that you were her greatest and best friend," you murmur. "I know it, Homura. She would."

And she did, that once upon a never that will never be. Not if you have anything to say about it.

"I-" Homura's breath hitches. "I don't deserve it."

"You've made her life better," you say. "You haven't made it perfect. You haven't hit your own standards of success, but you've made her life better. You're making progress. You try so hard, even for Mami and Sayaka, even though they keep falling."

You gesture at your friends, frozen in the timestop, and you give Mami a smile. She can't see it, but still. You've... you've come to rely on her. She supports you as much as you support her, and it's comforting.

"You didn't give up on them, even when it seemed impossible," you say. "You kept trying, and you kept getting closer."

Homura shakes her head, tired and slow.

"Homura, I think the world of you," you murmur. "I really do. You've been fighting for so long. Everything you've done, everything you're still doing, for Madoka, for me, for the world... thank you, for all of it. Just... fighting for a better outcome for everyone is you Madoka would have wanted from you."

She swallows hard, looking away.

You smile at her still, gently clasping her hand between both of yours. She's trembling, still. Just a little. She stills, slowly, and draws in a breath, facing you with renewed determination... before her eyes drop from yours again.

"I'm fighting for her," she whispers. "I... if we win. It doesn't matter."

Her eyes flicker back up to you again, for a split second.

"Thank you," she whispers.

[] Anything else to tell Homura?
[] Write-in

Spoiler: Vote in abeyance

-[X] Relax. Comment:
--[X] Homura's hair and higher dimensions.
--[X] Raiding Yakuza for (4D) pocket money.
[X] O&K.
-[X] Probably a 'random' apartment.
-[X] You don't know the Kure adults. Could be a bad idea.
[X] Everyone.
-[X] Explain your discomfort when dropping heavy topics. Ask if there's anything you can do to make it less stressful?
-[X] Offer to watch the spar video.
[X] Put in an order for the tracking devices.
[X] If there's time, practice enchantment:
-[X] Try using Control Magic...
--[X] On Grief.
--[X] To shape something into a Pocket Brina.

=====​

I'd like to get a move on, back to real time and back to things proceeding. Not an absolute injunction, of course, but if possible it'd be nice to wrap it up.

 

[Firnagzen]

"Homura, you're my friend," you say, and draw her into another hug. There's a little squirm of discomfort in your gut, of faint worry about Homura's simple dismissal.

'It doesn't matter.' You remember that Homura would have left Mitakihara to Kyouko, that loop that never happened. Left Mitakihara to Kyouko, in return for her help with Walpurgisnacht. A hefty ransom for Kyouko's help, and perhaps a lie, but for Homura to leave Mitakihara...

Where would Homura go? Where would she hunt? Away from Madoka?

Because she blames herself for everything she's done.

She could have been lying. Maybe it's even likely that she was lying, but this is something you're going to keep an eye on.

You pull back to look Homura in the eye, and smile at her. "It'll work out. It'll all work out. I promise, Homura. OK?"

She sighs, all but infinitesimally, and nods.

"You know that you can come to me if you ever feel like you need to talk about anything, right?" you say, and let your smile widen into a grin. "Or if you want a hug. But I'm sure you'd prefer hugs from Madoka, eh?"

"... thank you," Homura murmurs.

You relax, easing back. You shuffle around to lean against the foot of the sofa, near Mami's legs, and your grin turns amused. "So I was thinking..."

Homura's attention sharpens on you.

"So I realised I can rotate Grief into a fourth dimension, right?" you say, still smiling at Homura. "I was wondering, do you use, like... magic to make your hair do that? A little dimensional trickery for you hair flips?"

"... no," Homura says, instinctively touching a hand to her hair. "I don't use magic for that."

"Maybe not consciously?" you ask.

"... no," she repeats, and gives you a faintly perplexed look.

You can't help the giggle, letting your head loll back against the sofa. You stare up at the ceiling, with the domed light greyed out in Homura's timestop. "OK, but... on a more serious note, will you be raiding the yakuza anytime soon? I need some pocket money."

Homura frowns a little. "I was going to acquire weapons from the JSDF tomorrow. We can raid the yakuza tomorrow instead," she says.

You beam at her. "Thanks-" mom "-Homura! Though, uh, there's no reason we can't hit both."

"It works better." She shrugs, a tiny motion with one shoulder. "I need money for the house, too."

"Ah. Good point," you agree. "Safe house just for Madoka?"

"For emergencies." Homura nods slowly.

"Yeah, I can see that," you agree. "Speaking of houses... Oriko and Kirika. I'm thinking a random apartment of our choice? I don't... I don't know the Kure adults, and I guess we shouldn't risk it."

Homura nods again, eyes intent. "Yes."

"I'm not absolutely foolhardy," you say with a faint grin. "Just... hopeful, when it comes to people."

Homura shrugs.

You pull her into one last quick hug, before smiling at her. "I know, I know. But I promise things will work out. They will, Homura, I'm going to put everything I have into making sure it does," you say, and motion towards her shield. "Shall we? Unless there's anything else you're worried about?"

"No," Homura says, reaching for her shield. One hard crank, and-

-colour and noise floods into the world, loud and vibrant and alive. Mami sucks in a sharp breath, but you're already squirming up to the sofa proper to hug her properly. She relaxes, and tucks her head against your shoulder.

Sayaka blinks, rubbing her eyes. "... hi," she says, glancing at Homura, who's still sitting on the floor by the coffee table.

Homura stands, brushing her skirt down and moving to reclaim her seat on the single sofa.

"... never gonna get used to that," Sayaka mutters, shaking her head vigorously. "Everything worked out?"

"Yeah... sorry about that," you say, shaking your head. "I just... don't like letting heavy topics go."

"Yeah, yeah," Sayaka says, flapping her hand at you. "You're our weirdo."

"I resemble that remark," you say drily. "Anyway, you guys wanna watch that spar video?"

"... hm," Sayaka says thoughtfully. "Actually, I wanna get my animal spies going first. Ah... Mami? Do you have any stale bread I could have? Or something like that?"

Mami shakes her head. "I don't keep the bread if it goes stale," she says.

You beam at her.

"Dang," Sayaka mutters. She scowls, looking thoughtfully at the ceiling. "Might be good to have something to bribe 'em with."

Homura reaches behind her shield, and silently withdraws a loaf of bread, and then a packet of... what looks like nuts. Almonds. She offers them to Sayaka, who blinks in surprise.

"Oh, thanks!" Sayaka says, grinning and grabbing the bags, one in each hand. "I'll just pop outside, since you probably don't want birds and stuff in here."

"You would be correct in making that guess," Mami says gravely, before ruining the serious facade with a giggle.

"Cool," Sayaka says, hopping to her feet. "I'll be back in a bit, later!"

"Homura, you will be staying for dinner, right?" Mami says, giving her an inquisitive look. "And Sayaka, you won't?"

"Yup," Sayaka confirms, in conjunction with Homura's nod.

Mami smiles, rising to her feet. "I shall start defrosting some meat, then."

"Need help?" you ask, beaming at her. You wave at Sayaka as she heads over to the door.

"It'll be just a moment," Mami says, smiling back at you.

"OK," you say, relaxing on the sofa. You can feel Homura's stare on the side of your head, and grin at her. Her gaze flicks over to Mami's disappearing back, and then back to you.

Mami's learned to relax, just a little.

That doesn't stop Mami from hurrying back to your side, of course, and you all settle back into an easy, comfortable silence. With some encouragement, Homura moves over to the sofa near you, prompting a reshuffling of seating positions: Mami in the middle between you and Homura, who returns to practicing her shield enchantment, with Mami's help. You're on the side of the sofa instead, and practicing your own magic.

Your own enchantment... your own control enchantment, which you imbue into Grief. Simple, raw Grief.

And you spare a bit of attention to check in with Masami and Hiroko, too.

"Hey Masami, Hiroko," you say. Grief takes the enchantment surprisingly well, the magic sinking in without fuss. "You guys have a moment?"

"Hello, Sabrina," Hiroko responds. "Certainly, is something happening?"

"Yo," Masami offers.

"Nah, nah, just checking in," you say. "Also, I thought of a group name for the two of you. Maybe the three of you? I dunno, but - the Animators."

"I... don't follow?" Hiroko says.

"Er... you know, a group name," you say, starting to mould the Grief under your fingertips. "For when out of town people need to distinguish us, that kind of thing. I thought it might be a good name?"

"I kinda like it," Masami says thoughtfully. "Suits you, Hiroko."

"And you too, Masami," you offer. The enchanted Grief flows easily, without even requiring that you will it into shape, and you start forming it into a little chibi version of yourself. "That's why it's a group name, you know?"

Masami snorts, sounding amused.

"Well, it certainly works if there's a need," Hiroko says. "Ah... how are you, Sabrina?"

"Doing well," you say. "Uh, just to let you know, we've formed a mutual defense pact with Fukushima. It doesn't involve you guys directly, but since we're neighbouring, I thought I should let you know?"

"Hmm... I see," Hiroko says. There's a long pause on the other hand, and you get the impression of a hurried conversation. "Thank you for letting us know, Sabrina."

"Do... do you want to sign on to something similar?" you offer hesitantly. "I mean, it's not like we're not gonna come to your aid if there's an attack or something, but still."

"We're fine," Masami says, just a tad sharply.

"Thank you for the offer, Sabrina," Hiroko says. "We'd certainly appreciate the help if the worst should happen, but, ah... personal entanglements, you understand."

"Yeah, I get that," you say. Masami, Mami's old student. Of course. "No problem. Speaking of personal entanglements, how's Ono doing?"

"She's got those weird hangups about looking good," Masami says. "But we're getting her to the point where she can actually fight properly. She still kinda hates your guts, by the way."

"That's... good," you say. "That the training's going well. Thank you for agreeing to help with this, by the way."

"You're very welcome," Hiroko says warmly. "You helped us a lot too."

"Mm," Masami agrees.

"I'm glad," you say. "Also, er. Another question, if I may - have you had any success with the search for Kuroki?"

"Yea- well yeah and no," Masami says. "Swung by there while looking for a Witch, and we spent 'bout twenty minutes looking around."

"Ah, thank you," you say. "Did you find anything?"

"Yeah... Hiroko?" Masami says.

"Yes and no," Hiroko says. "She was definitely there for a while. You took her phone, right? Found what looked like the remaining bits of one. I'd guess she was there a few days ago, maybe a week. Stayed there for a while, but I can't find any final exit point from there. She just vanishes, it seems like."

"Huh," you say, your heart sinking a little. That's not good news. "Well, thank you for the help!"

You exchange a few more pleasantries, and smile to yourself as you end the call. Mami notices, of course, and you beam at her before returning to poking at the enchanted Grief.

It almost seems to snap into form, without your conscious will acting upon it. All you have to do is mould it approximately, and it simply focuses, gaining clarity and shape and colour. Before long, you have a tiny chibi version of yourself, palm-sized, but inanimate.

You purse your lips thoughtfully. Perfectly shaped, but inanimate and... incomplete, somehow. You can feel it with your magic, and it's missing something. Letting your eyes slide shut, you bring your will to bear, and breathe life into it.

Your eyes flutter open, just in time to see Mami reach down and pick you up, putting you on her lap. You giggle, and cuddle against her side, leaning your head against her shoulder.

"How long did that take?" you ask, blinking huge eyes up at Homura.

"No time at all," Mami says. "As far as I could tell?"

"Huh. Cool," you say, leaning back and hooking your arms over the back of the sofa.

You can still feel the pulse of Witch, Witch, Witch against your senses, but it's not quite as noticeable with a fully willed Grief-chibi. You can also feel the matrix of enchantment tying your miniature form together.

The door cracks open -you didn't lock it- and Sayaka returns. Her hair's a mess, and the bags of nuts and bread are empty, but there's a smirk on her face.

"Got half the animal population of Mitakihara checking in on 'em," she says. "Well, birds mostly. They were the easiest to call."

"Tell me you didn't tell the birds to crap all over their house," you offer, making yourself comfortable on Mami's lap.

"Nooooooo?" Sayaka says, walking over to the sofa and looking down. "Oh. Another one."

"What's that supposed to mean?" you say, planting your fists against your hips and looking up at her. You have to crane your head a long way back from this angle.

"It's a plague of Sabrinas, is what I mean," Sayaka says, snorting. "Anyway, I need to head home about now. Er, sorry, took longer than I expected to talk to all the animals."

"Ah, certainly," Mami says.

Homura gives you a long, considering look.

"Excuse me," she murmurs, and picks you up by the back of your shirt before gently placing you on a rock before tapping her finger on said rock. A lilac shield blooms around you, perfectly spherical.

"Excuse me," you say indignantly, banging a fist against the side of the shield.

"Important testing," Homura says placidly, and places you -shield and all- on the floor.

Sayaka snickers, already grabbing her bag. "I've really got to go," she says. "See you all tomorrow?"

"You will," Mami agrees, rising to her feet. You stand with her, giving Sayaka a smile. You all exchange goodbyes, and see Sayaka to the door, waving.

"We should start cooking dinner," Mami says as you shut the door behind her.

[] Oriko and Kirika
- [] Confirm the new arrangements with them
- [] Bring up selling the mansion
[] Homura
- [x] Assist Homura with testing the shield
- [] Talk to her about a specific topic
-- [] About?
[] Mami
- [x] Cooking
- [] Talk to her about a specific topic
-- [] About?
[] After dinner
- [x] Make order for tracking device
- [] More enchantment work
- [] Watch the DVD of the spar
[] Write-in (word count limit: 150 words)

=====​

If there's nothing major, the next post will bring you through the night. Also, minor OoC note: don't worry about Kyouko talking to Nakano. Kyouko will bring it up.

 

[Firnagzen]

"We should," you agree with a warm smile at Mami. You link arms with her and head to the kitchen, waving at Homura as you pass the living room. She doesn't seem to notice you, though, or maybe she's just ignoring you in favour of staring at you inside the shield.

"Well, this is my life now," you inform her gravely from inside said shield. "Hamster-balled forever."

You eye the rock above your head, floating suspended in the middle of the shield, and start walking. You trundle across the floor until you bump into Homura's feet, giving her an accusing stare.

"I was thinking we could make some dan-dan noodles," Mami tells you, motioning towards the packet of defrosting minced pork. "I know Homura loves cream stew, but she can't have it for every meal."

"Well, we are trying to fatten her up," you muse. "And it's not like we'd actually get fat-fat as magical girls."

Mami gives this a moment's consideration. "It's still not healthy," she decides.

"Probably," you agree, and laugh. "Sichuan style, right? Do we have crushed peanuts? Ah, wait, no, we have whole ones. I'll grind them up."

"Chinese style," Mami agrees with a smile. "We don't have the time to do the Japanese style ramen. I'll start on the sauce."

And at the same time, you're whizzing about the living room at a dead sprint, ricocheting off the walls like a crazed pinball. "So what testing did you have in mind, Homura? Also, we've decided you can't have cream stew for every meal, so we're making something else for dinner."

"Durability with use," Homura says drily, watching you carom off the coffee table leg. "Is the enchantment weakening?"

You pause, skidding to a halt and extending your magical senses to check. "No, it doesn't seem to be," you say, and flick your hand out. A miniature hammer flashes into existence, and you swing it overhead to slam into the shield from the inside.

There's a bright flash of light, and you're knocked on your ass. "Ow."

"Sabrina?" Mami asks, giving you a concerned look over the heating pan.

"Nah, it's fine, just messing with Homura's shield," you say, shaking your head. You give her a reassuring smile, and return to grinding up the peanuts in the mortar and pestle while giving Homura an accusing look.

Homura shrugs.

"In better news, that doesn't really seem to have weakened the shield enchantment at all," you announce, deciding to be the better person. "Also, have you considered protecting Soul Gems with this? And, y'know, giving them to our non-magical girl friends."

"Yes," Homura murmurs. "Your... chibi is controlled from your Soul Gem, correct?"

"Yeah," you say, and blink. "Yeah, that's a good point. It clearly doesn't block magic. Can you make it less obvious, though? It's protection, yeah, but it would be best not to paint a glowing target on our Soul Gems even if they're protected." You knock your fist against the side of the shield wall meaningfully, watching the ripples of light race out from the touch.

"I don't know," Homura admits. "I will need to experiment."

"We have time." You grin up at her, warm and encouraging.

You stifle a giggle as you start whisking the peanuts into a sauce. Mami gives you an inquisitive look. "I just told Homura she has time," you say, grinning.

"Oh, Sabrina," Mami says, shaking her head and bumping her hip against yours as she heads over to the fridge.

You inspect the anchor stone for the shield, tugging lightly on it. There's a certain amount of give to it, yielding under your hands, which means that it's somewhat elastic. Which means you can bounce.

By the time dinner's ready, you've managed to bounce the shield off the floor and onto Homura's lap. She seems faintly exasperated, but hasn't removed you. Homura flicks the shield with a finger when she sees Mami emerging from the kitchen with bowls of steaming noodles, picking you up by the back of your shirt and wordlessly depositing you on Mami's shoulder.

You promptly burrow yourself under Mami's hair and hug her neck, making a pleased little noise.

"How did the testing go, Homura?" Mami asks, setting the bowls out. You follow up with utensils, little saucers of seaweed salad, and bowls of soup balanced on discs of Grief.

"It went well," Homura murmurs. "It would be good to test it fully."

"Next training session," Mami says with a broad smile. "We definitely want Sayaka to help, too, since she has such a vast array of powers at her disposal. Come, eat up!"

Dinner is delicious, as is right and proper. It's Mami's cooking - of course it's delicious. Sure, you helped, but it's Mami's cooking. Savoury pork, a bit spicy and just a touch sweet with the rich creaminess from added chunks of peanuts. Judging from the way Homura vacuums down the noodles, you think she agrees about the deliciousness.

Mami offers you a single noodle, but you turn it down. You'd rather not find out what happens when you remove the enchantment after eating something.

"Oh, hey - Homura, do you have anywhere to be after dinner?" you ask. "Or rather, I was thinking we could put in the order for the trackers after dinner- ah, damn." You make a face as a thought strikes you. "I... don't have a credit card."

"I do," Homura murmurs. "I can pay for it."

"Ah, uh, if you're OK with that," you say.

Homura nods.

"I have one too," Mami volunteers, nudging you gently.

"I'll pay for it," Homura repeats patiently.

"Ah- I didn't mean to undercut you, Homura," Mami says, shaking her head. "I, um..."

You snicker, patting Mami's shoulder. "I get it. Homura, do you want me to pay a part of it? I mean, I've still got some yakuza cash and stuff."

"That won't be necessary," Homura says, and for a wonder, doesn't flip her hair. Which is just as well, because non-magically magical hair or not, flipping her hair at the dinner table would probably end up with said hair in the sauce, and that's just no good.

Mami stifles a giggle.

By unspoken consensus, you all keep the rest of dinner light, savouring the noodles. Homura helps with the dishes, and finally, the three of you crowd around Mami's computer to make the order. And you clamber onto Mami's head, flopping comfortably amidst a thatch of soft, blonde hair.

"Overnight delivery," Homura declares, pointing over Mami's shoulder.

"Are you sure?" Mami asks, eyeing the delivery costs doubtfully.

"Yes," Homura responds. She pays for it without complaint, but then again, she has more than enough paranoia to drive this particular purchase and the money to back it up. You vaguely wonder if she's ever had to actually contend with paying credit card fees, what with the time loops.

Hm.

... well, that's something to deal with in the future.

"Alright," Mami says, smiling and clicking a few times. "That's the order placed, then. It should be here... in two days from now."

"Huh, quick," you say.

Mami shrugs and smiles as she stands to fuss with the scanner beside her computer. "Overnight delivery."

She pulls a piece of paper from her bag -the defense pact with Yuki- and tucks it into the scanner. "I said I'd send her a copy," she offers by way of explanation.

"Ah, right," you say, smiling. "Good thinking, I'd completely forgotten."

Mami ducks her head, pleased, and sends off the email.

"Homura, you're welcome to stay as long as you like," you say, beaming at her. "But I'm guessing you have plans, right?"

Plans involving stalking Madoka, of course.

"Yes," Homura says, hesitating for a long moment before adding, "Thank you. You and Mami."

"You're very welcome," Mami says. She beams at Homura. "You're always welcome here, Homura."

"Definitely," you agree.

Maybe you're imagining it, but Homura looks rather touched as she nods, and looks away. Nevertheless, you all exchange farewells, seeing Homura off. As the door shuts, you turn to Mami, and hug her.

"Well, just us left," you say, smiling softly.

"You're here," Mami says simply.

"So what's to do tonight?" you ask. "You have homework, right?"

Mami nods in agreement, her hair bobbing. "I do," she says, but rather than step away from you, simply burrows into your hug instead.

You savour the warmth, but disengage a few minutes later so you can actually settle into making sure Mami doesn't fail her classes. You wind up sitting side by side at the coffee table, leaning against each other and perched comfortably on her lap as Mami does her English homework. An essay.

Of course, you've got your own homework, of sorts.

It seems like your control enchantment let you shape your chibi body without going fully into a trance, which could be extremely valuable if it means you can pre-form enchantments. Vancian casting, as it were, with prepared materials. Though speaking of your chibi-body...

You scramble onto the table, plopping down right where Mami can see you, and give her a sunny smile. It'd be interesting to confirm that you can enchant with your miniature self, though you don't anticipate any problems there, considering you can summon your hammer without any problems. Nevertheless, testing and repeatability are at the core of good science, and so you summon a small blob of Grief to your hands, and a larger one to your other set of hands.

"Hey, Kirika?" you murmur as you start channeling magic. "Got a moment?"

"Eh? 'brina?" Kirika says. "Did you want Oriko?"

"No, no - just real quick, let her know I'll swing by to share some important news with you either tonight or tomorrow," you say. "Also, I'd like to talk to you privately at that point."

"Uhhhh sure," she responds, sounding confused. "Yeah, gotcha. Was that all?"

"Yeah," you say. "Catch up later!"

Grief moulds gently under your hands, all four of them. You can feel the faint shimmer of enchantment winding through the Grief. You stare thoughtfully at the Grief, rolling it between your palms as you think.

The thing is, this is an enchantment. Which is not the same thing as your Witch constructs. You don't will this into being what you want it to do, you simply sink magic into it and shape it physically like clay. You still had to will the chibi into animate life, but it took no time at all.

You frown thoughtfully, and toss the small blob of Grief at yourself before smushing everything all together and pinching off a small chunk to lob back at yourself. So if you start with the same batch of enchanted Grief, can you shape different Witch constructs from it?

Mami giggles, and you look up to find her looking at you.

"It's cute," she says, motioning at both of your yous.

You shrug, and grin at her. She smiles back, and returns to her essay, pen skating busily across the page.

One of your anti-pain rings, and a privacy construct. You start shaping the Grief, simple touches snapping the Grief into shape, and before long, you have both a pedestal with a mounted circlet, and a ring. Neither of which actually work, but that only takes a moment of will, and-

The privacy sphere blooms into existence, the world around you hazing as the field spreads.

"Is something wrong, Sabrina?" Mami asks, blinking at you.

"No, not at all," you say. "I was just testing my enchantment. It seems like I can enchant Grief to... more easily accept being turned into a construct?"

Mami purses her lips in consideration. "Your enchantment does seem more closely bound with your power than is usual," she agrees. "But that does seem reasonable."

"And it doesn't seem like I have to decide what I want to do with the Grief before enchanting it, either," you say, fiddling with the ring. It's practically dinner-plate sized, for you. "I just need to shape it physically, which is very interesting."

"Does the shape matter?" Mami asks.

"Good question!" you say. "I'll find out."

And you proceed to do just that, dissolving the privacy pedestal down to Grief. The enchantment dissipates harmlessly, falling apart with the physical form, and you swap in a fresh blob of Grief just to be sure of starting with a clean slate. This time, you first smush it into a rough lump, and take a moment to infuse your will into it.

It doesn't take. You frown, trying to push your will at it, but you can feel the edge of the precipice right there, that would have you impress your will upon the world. That's not what you're after, not the trance method of making a Witch construct.

You turn your attention to shaping the Grief a little more, moulding it into a nice, smooth sphere. And once more, you try to will it into doing what you would.

The privacy field blossoms once more, the steady sensation of Witch a constant accompaniment as you set the sphere down.

"So shape doesn't matter," you conclude. "Not that it ever did for the constructs, of course. But I need to have put... effort into shaping it before it actually works."

"Maybe it's like dough," Mami says, setting her pen down for a moment. "You have to knead it a bit first so it can support the magic?"

"Something like that," you agree, frowning thoughtfully. "Well, it's a good technique to have, anyway. Do you mind if I keep the field up for a bit? I want to do something."

"Ah? Go ahead," Mami says. She gives you a curious look as you pull Kuroki's phone out of your bag, before making a quiet noise of understanding.

You look at the phone, scowling thoughtfully. You fixed Mami's table, using Grief. Kuroki's phone, on the other hand, was hurled with puella magi strength into a wall hard enough to dent steel. The case and screen are shattered, and the internal circuit boards aren't in good shape. You're not... really sure you can recover it, what with oxidation damage and microscopic chips that you must have left behind.

Still, you won't know if you don't try.

A thought envelops the phone in Grief, seeping into every crack and split. And...

The flash memory is cracked. The chip is simply shattered along with the board underneath it, the pins torn out by the force of the impact. And you're... just not sure how to fix this, not when there are bits simply missing.

Damn.

"Hmm?" Mami says.

"... I said that out loud, didn't I?" you ask. "No, it's just that I don't think I can repair Kuroki's phone."

"Ah," Mami says, grimacing.

"Yeah," you say with a sigh. "Damn."

With a thought, you dissolve the privacy sphere, letting the curtain fall, and you lean back, closing your eyes. You can feel Mami's worried gaze, so you peek open one eye and grin at her. "I'm fine, just annoyed," you say.

"If you're sure," Mami says with a smile.

"I am," you say.

Mami nods, and returns to her essay.

"Er... Mami? Do you mind if I call someone by telepathy?" you say. "And if you want to, you can listen in? A magical girl who Nadia mentioned before."

"Ah... go ahead, Sabrina," Mami says. "I'd love to listen in."

"Alright," you say, and lean back again. "Nadia? Do you have a moment?"

"Sabrina, Miss Tomoe, hello," Nadia's accented tones respond after a few moments. "Is there news?"

"Ah... not really," you say. "We did go to Asunaro, though." You give Nadia a quick rundown without the specifics.

"Yes, I see," Nadia says. "What did you need?"

"Could you connect me to Tsubaki Mikoto?" you ask. "You know her, right?"

"Yes, it will be no problem," Nadia says. "One moment, fimti?"

You hum, and give Mami a warm smile as you wait.

[] Tsubaki Mikoto
- [x] General introductions
- [] How do you approach conversation with her?
-- [] Specific topics?
[] Rest of the night (choose experimentation or other things)
- [] Call Hijiri
-- [] Per vote in abeyance
-- [] Something else
- [] More science
-- [] Per vote in abeyance
-- [] Something else
[] Write-in (word count limit: 150 words)

Spoiler: Vote in abeyance

[X] Call Hijiri.
-[X] Ask how she's doing.
--[X] Grief levels?
--[X] Anything she wants to talk?
-[X] Offer an update on Anri. She's safe, is detained humanely, and we did speak with her and hear what she had to say.

[X] Test enchanted Grief.
-[X] While testing, with enchantment...
--[X] Make a full-sized Brina clone.
---[X] Give Mami double hugs.
---[X] Let Mami examine clone for her own research?
-[X] Chibi Brina: Try...
--[X] Moving in four dimensions. Observe.
--[X] Mapping the 4d shape of your soul gem.
--[X] Leaving your range.

=====​

OK, so... first, breaking as requested. Seocnd, just note that Science posts tend to take a lot of words. I'm happy enough to write 'em, just note that they tend to crowd out other things happening. Like here.

Basically, what I'm saying is you have to choose between doing science and other things, in most cases. Also, granted, you can keep requesting more posts, but I would actually like to wrap up the day.

 

[Firnagzen]

"Who is this?" Mami murmurs to you.

"Older magical girl," you say. "Hope it's not a bad time to call... but if what I know is correct, she should be around twenty, maybe a bit over? She'd be good to have on our side, if nothing else as someone who can provide us with an adult perspective from within magical girl life."

"Ah," Mami says, nodding. "You... asked Miss Bennouna about her before, right? When she was here in Mitakihara. It would be good to have her on our side."

Mikoto Tsubaki. Surrogate mother to Hinata Kagari and Hinata Matsuri, neither of them magical girls, and later, Amano Suzune. Who isn't a magical girl when Tsubaki finds her, but eventually Wishes to become one. And then... Suzune winds up consuming too many Grief Seeds, and Tsubaki Witches out.

Of course, according to Nadia, Suzune isn't a magical girl yet, or hasn't encountered Tsubaki yet.

"Yeah," you say, cuddling up against Mami. She leans into the hug, setting her pen down so she can return it, too. You toss the pain-relieving enchantment aside and toddle across the table, throwing your arms as far around her arms as they'll go. Which is not very far, admittedly.

You let the anti-pain enchantment dissolve as you think.

Grief controllers aren't quite unprecedented, according to Nadia, and according to what you remember. But Grief controllers truly capable of a positive gain, removing Grief without injecting it into a Grief Seed or someone else's Soul Gem? That is unprecedented - you are unprecedented.

With Tsubaki around for as long as she has been, she must have heard of the former.

"Nadia," you murmur. "Could you stay on the line for a while after introducing us?"

Nadia acknowledges, sounding distracted, and you feel someone new connected to the telepathic conversation.

"Good evening," a new voice says, careful and guarded. "I am Mikoto Tsubaki. Who am I addressing?"

"Miss Mikoto, this is Sabrina, and Tomoe Mami," Nadia says. "Sabrina, Miss Tomoe, this is Mikoto Tsubaki."

"It's a pleasure to speak with you, Miss Mikoto," Mami says.

"Yes, pleased to meet you," you agree, smiling warmly at Mami in thanks.

"Tomoe Mami? Ah... your name seems familiar," Tsubaki says. "Still, it's good to make your acquaintance."

You blink, and then blink again. She hasn't... she hasn't heard of Mami before?

She hasn't heard of Mami before?

Mami giggles, and pushes your jaw shut.

"They are from Mitakihara," Nadia interjects. "Miss Tomoe is known for holding the city by herself for several years, though she has recently..." Nadia mutters to herself for a second. "Recently gotten a team."

"Oh!" Tsubaki seems to brighten. "It's good to meet a fellow veteran, Miss Tomoe. Did you wish to speak about something in particular?"

"It is!" Mami says. "Ah... It isn't me, but rather Sabrina."

"Ah... yes," you say, floundering a little. Mami takes your hand, squeezing gently. "You've been in this business for so long, and... well, that's amazing, right there."

You give Mami a smile, and cuddle a little closer even as you clamber up her arm to perch on her shoulder, nestled comfortably under her hair. Mami giggles, and snuggles right back.

"It's nothing, really, just one day at a time," Tsubaki says. "Ah... I can't imagine you simply called to pay me compliments?"

You pause for a split second. Honesty, then, if she's cutting to the chase.

"I... well, I wanted to introduce myself, and make your acquaintance," you say. "I am genuinely impressed with what I've heard about you, Miss Mikoto, and... I'd like to be on your good side, as it were."

"I'm... flattered, Miss Sabrina, but I'm not sure I follow," Tsubaki says. "After all, Mitakihara and Hozuki City aren't exactly neighbouring."

"Ah... well," you say, rubbing your chin. You want to get her on board, which means, perhaps, going a bit roundabout. "I... look. I'm sure you understand how hard magical girl life can get, probably better than I do. You've lived it for longer than I have, and I'd love to hear your story someday, but to get to the point, I want to help."

There's a long, long pause. "Why me?"

"You've survived in a profession that... well, kills young," you say. "And most of us aren't even adults, many of us are children. Most don't have the maturity to deal with this kind of thing easily, and we lack perspective."

"You sound like you've put a lot of thought into this," Tsubaki says. "I... agree, but I'm still not sure what this has to do with me."

"I have," you say. And now for the moment of truth. "I control Grief, Miss Mikoto."

"Is that so?" Her voice is suddenly very careful, guarded.

"I know that others exist, and they're usually bad news," you say with a mental sigh. "However, I control Grief, without simply transferring it into a Grief Seed or another Soul Gem, and so I can truly cleanse Soul Gems."

"It is true," Nadia says. "I have seen it with my own eyes, fimti? And so has Miss Tomoe."

"And several others, in Ishinomaki and Sendai and Asunaro. And Fukushima City," you add. "But... my point is, I want to help. Not just you, but I want to help magical girls everywhere."

Mami gives you a warm, proud smile.

"I'm doing well for Grief Seeds, thank you," Tsubaki says. "But the offer is appreciated. Do go on?"

"I'm not stopping with just the magical girls I've reached," you say. "I want to help magical girls everywhere, and... well, I'd love to have your help, and help you in turn. As I said, I can cleanse Soul Gems, and I can make Grief Seeds last much longer."

"Ah... I'm not exactly free to travel," Tsubaki says. "I am tentatively interested in hearing what you have to say, however?"

"That's great!" you say, brightening. "Er... I mean, thank you, Miss Mikoto. I... well, to be frank, my power puts me in a position to really help. It means that magical girls can afford to be kind, instead of being forced to fight for Grief Seeds, and I want to spread that as far as I can."

"That's a laudable goal, Miss Sabrina," Tsubaki says. "You'll definitely need plenty of help with that."

"Yeah," you agree. "I've got some allies now, but I'm always interested in getting more, and I'm distributing my Clear Seeds as far as I can."

"Clear Seeds?" Tsubaki asks.

"Oh, my bad - that's what I call a Grief Seed which I extend the life of," you explain. "I call 'em Clear Seeds because... well, they're clear. I empty out all the Grief from them, and they have vastly more capacity. We haven't been able to hit the limit on them yet."

"I see!" Tsubaki says, her voice brightening a little with interest. "I'd love to see one, someday."

And that is an invitation.

"I could drop by Hozuki some time?" you say. "I'd be happy to meet you in person, and I'd definitely provide a Clear Seed."

"You're welcome to!" Tsubaki says. Her voice darkens into something deadly serious. "But be warned that I will not tolerate violence against me or mine, Miss Sabrina. I'm sure you have the best of intentions, but I've had to deal with my share of troublemakers."

"We want to help," Mami says, voice frosty. "The warning is unnecessary, Miss Mikoto."

You cuddle a little closer to Mami, giving her a warm smile.

"Then I apologise, Miss Tomoe," Tsubaki says. "But... if you've held Mitakihara City by yourself, then surely you must understand the need for caution. I mean no offense."

You can sense Nadia stirring on the line, but she doesn't say anything.

"I want to help," you say, echoing Mami's words. "I can't make any promises on when we might be able to drop by, but I'll arrange it with you when practical?"

"Just let me know, Miss Sabrina," Tsubaki says.

"Alright, then," you say. "Have a good night, Miss Mikoto!"

You exchange farewells, and cut the connection. Not before thanking Nadia for her help, of course.

"That went well," you say.

Mami gives you a look, and smiles. "Even with Nadia's introduction... she seems to keep to herself. She was suspicious," she says gently. "But you are too good to be true, Sabrina."

You blush, and lean in to brush a gentle kiss against her cheek.

"Thank you," you murmur to her.

"Thank you, Sabrina," she whispers back, blushing red even as she nestles into your arms. You relax, resting your chin against the soft thatch of your hair.

"... say, Mami?" you ask after a moment. "Where is Hozuki City, anyway?"

"Ah... it's in Hokkaido," Mami says, and giggles.

"Oof, all the way to the north," you say. "Well, when we have the time, then. Or maybe when we get a teleporter on board."

"Oh, Sabrina," she says fondly.

"What?" you say.

She shakes her head. "Saying you'll visit her before you even know where she lives?"

You can't help the giggle.

"Yeah, that is me," you agree.

She nestles up against your side, and the both of you simply relax for a few minutes before Mami stirs.

"I think it did go well," Mami says. "Does she have... dependents, Sabrina?"

"Adopted daughters, twins," you say.

"I thought so," Mami says. "Or something like that. She mentioned 'me or mine', after all."

"Yeah," you say, not mentioning Suzune for now. No need to bring her up where there might be prying ears to listen too closely. "Neither of them are magical girls, as far as I know."

"Ah, I see," Mami says, nodding, and beams at you. "I think it went well. A call isn't the best way to introduce yourself, but... she's interested in talking again."

"You think so?" you ask.

Mami nods firmly, smiling.

You smile back at her.

Mami's smile widens, just a touch.

And then she taps you on the nose. You scrunch up your nose, going cross-eyed as you stare at her finger, and you both dissolve into giggles. You trail off into a warm, contented smile for Mami.

The evening settles into an easy silence. Mami returns to working on her essay. From your position nestled under her hair, you can watch over her shoulder, by virtue of being over her shoulder. You offer your recommendations - not that she needs much, truth be told. Her English is excellent. At the same time, you return to your Grief experiments. Which...

You eye your smaller self thoughtfully, and summon a large chunk of Grief to yourself, letting the fog coalesce before you. You could volumize the Grief with your Banach-Tarski trick, but that's perhaps something to try another time. For now, you start kneading on the Grief.

... there is a lot of it to work. Mami gives you a look as you rise forward on your hands and knees, channeling magic into the giant lump of Grief and kneading it like an exceptionally large lump of dough. Mami smiles, patting you gently on the shoulder as she moves off to grab her laptop for some research.

It takes you a good forty-five minutes before you feel like it's ready. And you've sunk enough magic into it that you feel beholden to cleanse your Soul Gem, too. Nothing anywhere dangerous, but it's definitely effort expended, enough Grief to form a good handful of marbles.

You give Mami a quick smile, and focus.

And then you sit up from the living room floor, smirking first at yourself, and then Mami.

"... Sabrina?" Mami says. Her eyes go wide, mouth opening into a perfect 'o'.

"That's me!" you say from three mouths. Your grin spreads across three faces.

Mami blinks, and you pounce. You tackle her, wrapping your arms around her from both sides. Mami laughs, letting herself go tumbling to the floor with you on both sides of her. You cling to her hair, squeaking happily as you go sailing to the floor, nearly thrown free, but you take the opportunity to cuddle closer to her, from every side.

"Hi!" you giggle brightly. "So I can make a full clone now."

"So I see!" Mami says, laughing loud and clear and happy. She pokes you in the cheek, seeming to marvel at it.

"Does it feel right?" you ask, curious. "It should."

Mami turns and pokes you in the cheek. "Yep!" she says brightly. "Seems good to me!"

"Good," you say, covering her hand with yours. Mami's ribbon gleams on your wrist, like a little bracelet. And it's the one thing that you didn't clone, that you wouldn't want to clone, anyway. It's Mami's.

You beam at her, and you stay for a few moments before disentangling yourselves. You stretch with both bodies, twisting from side to side. So, that's definitely a viable self-cloning ability. Now, what would be interesting is if the enchantment is useful at all for leaving your range.

You'll test that in a bit. First, you want to check on that odd four dimensional thing you'd discovered with your Grief. You're fairly certain it can't be a fully physical dimension. Physics should work a lot differently if it were, and so...

You take a deep breath, and shift your smallest body away from the three spatial dimensions.

It's dark. It's dark, and it's cold, and you can't see a thing and actually it's not that cold, oddly enough. Kind of warm, like being wrapped in a really, really thick blanket, thanks to the insulation of vacuum.

Mami makes a disappointed noise at the loss of your presence from your shoulder. You grin at her, resting a chin on either of her shoulders. "Hey, I'm still here~"

"I know," she says, smiling at you.

It's not quite dark in here. You can't feel anything beneath your feet, and your eyes sting against the vacuum. But none of that is really a concern to you as you swing yourself about, Grief manipulation twisting your Grief-formed body.

It's not quite dark in here, because there's your Soul Gem, a glowing, silvery crystal. The same shape as it is when you're transformed, a glittering diamond bright against the darkness of endless light.

Huh.

You look around, trying to see if you can spot Mami's Soul Gem. She's right next to you in 3-space, after all, and if you can see your Soul Gem, hers must be somewhere around. And it'd be obvious, too what with the glowing... but you don't see it.

Doubly huh.

It's just empty in here.

You put that aside to ruminate on, and pop back onto Mami's shoulder, reaching up to pat her ear gently. "I think I'm going for a walk," you tell her.

"Oh?" she asks.

You snicker, and lean your weight against her shoulder, careful not to jostle her writing hand. "More like a flight," you say. "Just with my chibi."

"Ah," Mami says, nodding. "I see!"

"Mmmhm," you agree. "Range test. Also, ah... you could consider rephrasing this last point here?" You tap on her paper. "Or maybe elaborate more before the conclusion."

Mami considers this as your chibi takes off from her shoulder. You're mildly tempted to add wings, but it's not like you need them, simply levitating with your Grief control. You zip straight out of the window in a straight line.

You have a precise feel for where the very edge of your range is, and you head straight for it, narrowly dodging a bird on the way up. Mitakihara is a glorious sight from above at night, rivers of light coursing through the streets and glowing in reflection off the buildings.

You stop at the edge of your range, staring out at the invisible boundary. Taking a breath, you thrust your arm across it.

Your arm dissolves. Not into loose, free-floating Grief, but into... enchanted Grief. Raw and uncontrollable, but still coherent. And it doesn't hurt, it just... doesn't feel like anything.

You pull your arm back. A thought, a second's worth of focus, and your arm reforms.

Huh.

Very interesting.

Still, that's what you wanted to know on that front. You nod to yourself, and dissolve that body, freeing the Grief to rejoin your fog.

Mami finishes her essay, and you settle in for the night. A bit of cleaning around the apartment, and then you take your showers.

You can't help but eye the door, thinking as you shower. You're still out there, with Mami clinging to you, but you worry about her. She's getting better. Slowly, ever so slowly, but... she's still so very scared of you leaving. She's terrified of it. Sometimes, she's still afraid of contradicting you.

You tilt your head back and let the water cascade off your face.

You're helping her, yes. And she's getting better. She laughs and smiles and lives, each more genuine than the last, but you can't help but worry about her dependency on you. You have no intention of taking advantage of her, and you try not to, but...

There are reasons a therapist needs to maintain a professional distance from their patients.

And yet there's no one else who can help.

It's a thin, thin tightrope for you to balance on.

Towelling yourself dry and changing, you step out. Mami's gaze snaps to you, and you hug her tight as you join her on the sofa.

"Hey," you say, smiling at her.

"Hi," she says, and cuddles into your double-sided hug.

You smile at her, banishing the melancholy. You're here, and you're here to help.

Mami smiles back.

"Bit of television before we sleep, or something?" you suggest.

"Good idea!" Mami agrees, waving her hand vaguely for the remote. You laugh, and fetch it for her with a bit of Grief.

The two of you settle in and relax, watching some gameshow or another until it's time to sleep. You walk to the other room and dissolve your clone, smiling at Mami. You'd considered testing the persistence overnight, but then again, you don't want to disrupt Mami's sleep.

She tucks herself against you as you crawl into the bed, wrapping her arms around you. "Goodnight, Sabrina."

"Goodnight, Mami," you murmur, and let your eyes slide shut.

[] Radio Morning Mitakihara
- [] Anything in particular to say?
[X] Prepare breakfast and lunch
[] Walk Mami to school
[] What do you do after?
- [] Go and experiment
- [] Check in on...
-- [] Kyouko
-- [] Oriko and Kirika
-- [] Rionna Mag Aiodh (with Nadia intercept)
[] Call Hijiri Too early!
[] Call Hijiri later
[] Write-in (word count limit: 150 words)

=====​

And here ends book 2, chapter 11: To the White Forest. The next post begins chapter 12: Point Insertion.

 

[Firnagzen]

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.

 

[Firnagzen]

Right then.

Contemplation done.

And really, it should have been obvious in retrospect.

"Kirika? You awake?" you reach out to your friend's mind.

"Shhhh!" Kirika hisses back.

"... shhhh?" you respond, blinking at a nearby tree. It's a rather inoffensive tree, as trees go, but it works perfectly well as a surrogate recipient for your perplexed stare.

"Oriko's sleeping," Kirika whispers.

"But we're on telepathy, and she's not on the line..." you say, scratching your head.

"Yeah but keep it down! Don't wanna wake her up," Kirika says.

"... sure," you say. "This is better, anyway, kind of. Is it OK if I come over right now?"

"Sure, as long as we don't wake Oriko!" Kirika responds.

"Cool. See you soon!" you say, already glancing about to check that the area's clear. You take a breath, and transform, Grief answering the call of your mind. It melts from the air and flows into the billowing fabric of your wings.

It's a beautiful day today, early morning sun cutting through the cool, crisp air as you take flight. It's almost a shame to mar the clear blue of the skies with the nightmare purple of your wings, but needs must. You soak in the peace, the distant rumble of the city laid out below you in dizzying towers and neat grids.

You keep a metaphorical eye on the rock you stuffed into 4-space. Interestingly, it doesn't seem to move relative to you - it just keeps station. Which suggests that it is literally anchored on your Soul Gem. Which has faintly worrying implications, if it really is a proto-Barrier for you.

You streak across the city, familiar skylines letting you find the Mikuni mansion easily, and coast in for a neat, gentle landing in their backyard. The rosebush is still there, withering slowly. Some of its roots seem to have found the ground again, though.

"Hey, Kirika? I'm here," you call.

"Stay there and be quiet," Kirika snaps. "Be there in a sec."

"... OK?" you say.

Kirika emerges a few moments later, carefully sliding the door open.

She's...

Huh.

"It's a surprise for Oriko," Kirika says, grinning and raising her eyebrows at you. "C'mon."

She turns, and heads back into the mansion.

"One sec," you say, looking around.

Yep, that bird is definitely giving you a Look. A woodpecker of some kind, you think.

You grin, and salute the bird before following Kirika.

You can smell something cooking, and you follow Kirika in to the kitchen to find it a mess. Not quite a disaster, but there's evidence of spills. A lot of spills. Flour and batter and syrup and water and soap suds everywhere, except for the clear circle around the laptop, but it does smell good. Not as good as Mami's cooking, granted, but still.

"... I'll help clean up," you say. "But can I have a moment to talk to you privately? Outside"

"Only if it doesn't take too long," Kirika says, giving you a bright, fanged grin.

You nod, and wave Kirika outside again. Really, you should have asked first, now that you think about it. Oh well.

A moment of thought forms a Grief platform, and Kirika steps up without prompting. You take the disc straight up, until you're a safe distance from the mansion, and call to you the bit of enchanted Grief. You'd wanted to keep an eye on that to test how long it lasts, but time is important here for Kirika's sake, so you'll use it. You can start a new batch later, anyway.

Some focus, and the privacy field blooms around you.

"So what's up?" Kirika says, dusting her hands. Flour sprinkles all over the floor of the flight disc, stark white against mottle, fractal purple.

"Right... so this is a bit of a heavy topic, but have you found Hisaomi's diary yet?" you ask.

"Who?" Kirika asks, blinking at you.

"Oriko's father," you say. "There's flour on your nose, by the way. Don't-"

You trail off with a sigh.

"... don't use your hands," you say. "You're... gonna want to wash your face now."

"Oh," Kirika says, pulling her hands back. "Right."

"Right," you say. "And... this is kind of important, so... do you think you could spare a few more minutes to go and find it?"

"What do I care about some lame-ass diary?" Kirika asks.

You grimace to yourself.

"You know Oriko's opinion of her father, then and now, right?" you say, and continue at Kirika's nod. "Well. Her father was... if my knowledge is right, and it may be wrong, then his diary contains all of his misdeeds. Including what he did to Oriko's mother."

Kirika freezes. Her expression goes blank, hands clenching into fists.

"Let's go," she demands.

"Of course," you say, letting the privacy device dissolve. You're already taking the platform down, landing neatly in the garden. Some of the Grief you call to you, moulding it gently in one hand. "Though, uh. I don't actually know which room is his study."

Kirika takes the lead without a word, bounding up the stairs three at a time with silent, catlike grace. You follow, pads of Grief flash-formed beneath your feet helping you move noiselessly. A part of your attention goes to the kitchen, Grief fog flooding and mapping every square centimeter and starting to scour off the spills and burns.

She stops at a door, hand resting on the doorknob for a second before shoving the door open and stepping forward.

"Oriko never comes in here," Kirika murmurs. "Doesn't even acknowledge this room exists."

"Mm," you say, absently cleaning the flour smudges off the doorknob as you follow Kirika into the extravagantly furnished study. It's almost stereotypical, rich, mahogany furnishing with pastel wallpaper, a large window behind the desk. Bookshelves dominate a wall, dust heavy on every part.

And right there on the desk...

Kirika's making a beeline for it, snatching the book up. She flips through it, jumping to the last page. Her expression slides into a rictus of rage, and she skims through it backwards, eyes flickering from side to side.

The covers start to rip under her fingers, and she freezes at the sound, the feral snarl warring almost comically with wide-eyed terror. She thrusts the journal at you.

"Take it," she snarls. "Take the damned thing. She- she can't ever see- that piece of filth- dying was too good for that thing-"

You take it wordlessly, tucking it under your arm and reaching out to rest your other hand on her shoulder. She whirls on you, fingers hooking into claws- and then she relaxes, and grins at you.

"Hey, thanks for looking out for Oriko!" she chirps brightly.

You almost flinch from the mood change. "Uh. Sure. Of course."

She grins, bright and cheerful, and bounces out of the room.

... ow, the whiplash.

You shake your head, letting Grief sweep in beside you as you walk out. You redistribute the dust carefully, making sure that your footprints are erased and the markings on the table are cleared away.

"Oh hey, you got the kitchen already! Thanks!" Kirika says.

"... uh, yeah, you're welcome," you say, carefully nudging the door shut and dusting the doorknob to ensure there are no fingermarks. "By the way, uh... you know the hammerspace trick?"

"Hmm?" Kirika says.

"There's a trick to hide items away from view," you say. "I think all magical girls can do it to some degree or another. I can show you, if you like, and you can keep the diary if you want?"

"I don't want it," Kirika hisses, voice suddenly darkening again. "Shred it, burn it, whatever. Get rid of it."

"Right," you say as you enter the kitchen. You watch Kirika flit about - you're not even sure if she's cooking a coherent meal per se. There's something in the oven, she's turning pancakes on the stove, and that smells like miso soup in the pot, and that is a nice looking salad...

"Do I have to pretend to be asleep much longer?" Oriko's voice speaks in your head.

"... I don't know what you're talking about?" you say, glancing at the freshly worked and enchanted Grief in your hand. It feels ready, and so you loft it into the air, letting it sail away through the window. You'll keep an eye on it this time.

"My dear Kirika isn't as subtle as she thinks she is," Oriko says fondly. "I woke up when she tried to sneak out of bed, and I must admit her cooking has improved by leaps and bounds. The smell has prevented me from going back to sleep. Additionally, I saw you from the window."

"... right, gotcha," you say, and eye Kirika. You're pretty sure the maid outfit is still going to be a surprise, though.

A maid outfit with the mandatory ruffles, somehow managing to remain a pristine white and black even through Kirika's haphazard cooking style. You watch as she delicately dices fruit with her claws, tossing them over her shoulder to land neatly in a bowl.

... not bad, you have to admit. But still not as stylish as Mami.

You're pretty sure the maid outfit is an alteration of her magical girl outfit, actually.

"Probably not too much longer?" you hazard.

"To what do I owe the pleasure, in any case?" Oriko asks.

[] Oriko's question
- [] Defer the topic for now
-- [] In the meantime...
--- [] Hunt a Witch for a third Clear Seed to experiment with
--- [] Something else?
- [] Ask if they can spare some time for the discussion
[] Discussing the house arrest
- [] How do you approach this?
- [] Bring up selling the mansion
[] Write-in (word count limit: 150 words)

=====​

I'll be trying to update again by my Wednesday! Also, I've edited the last post slightly, in the conversation between Sabrina and Hijiri-

"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."

Click to shrink...

 

[Firnagzen]

"An update on, ah, housing matters," you say. "I discussed it with Sayaka, Homura, and Mami last night, and... the outlook is generally positive, but the details can wait until after breakfast?"

You untuck the diary from under your arm, Grief flowing in to seal a binding around it. With a thought, you rotate it away from you, the encased book popping out of sight. And as an afterthought, you rotate your other cloud-stored items away, too, just to get them all into one place. Homura's little book of Witches, the gold and cash, the assault rifle, the katana...

"Ah, that is good," Oriko says. "I would certainly prefer it be after breakfast, yes."

"Then I'll be back later!" you say, and glance up. "Hey, Kirika?"

"Yup?" she asks, citrine eyes flickering over to you as she bustles about to load a tray with various breakfast foods.

"I'll be back in... eh, an hour? Will that be enough time for breakfast?" you say. "I do have other stuff to talk to you and Oriko about, but it can wait a bit."

"More is better," Kirika says. "But an hour's enough. Waffle?"

"Uh, sure," you say, accepting the offered pancake in a paper bag. "Thanks. I'll let you know when I'm headed back, then."

"Coolio," Kirika says, grinning at you and picking up the tray. "How do I look?"

"Straighten your back," you say, looking her up and down. "Gotta have that posture right."

"Right," Kirika says. She draws herself up and raises her chin, tray held primly in front of herself. "Good?"

"Yup. See you later, and have fun!" you say.

"Oh, we will~" Kirika says cheerfully and starts for the stairs.

You grin at her and let yourself out, waffle in hand. You take to the skies once more, nibbling absently on the waffle as you fly. Off to pay Warehouse-kun a visit.

A thought occurs to you as you soar over Mitakihara. If this 4-space you've... discovered... is a proto-Barrier, then what the hell was the actual Barrier you created with Grief? Especially the one where you found a Feather after dismissing it? Would it be the actualization of this 4-space? Some intersection of it with the conventional three dimensions of everyday life?

You're... not really sure.

Also, pigeons. You give your fellow passengers on the morning thermals a suspicious look. A handful of crows, a few darting sparrows, and, yes, a scattering of pigeons. For some reason, you feel vaguely suspicious of them now, and it's not just because you know that Sayaka's using them to spy on the Kures.

She's using other birds to spy too, of course, but you feel especially suspicious of pigeons. Might be that display this morning. They've clearly taken over Sayaka.

You glide in for a gentle landing outside Warehouse-kun, your boots scraping on the sandy yard. You stretch, using the motion to cover a discreet look around for spying pigeons.

... hm. Maybe Feathers is actually a cabal of pigeons. You could see it.

You step inside the warehouse, tossing the now-empty waffle wrapper to the side and letting your Grief whisk it away into your hammerspace.

You sit on a Grief bench, curling your legs up comfortably, and root about in your pocket to pull out your three Seeds. Hildegarde, Aurora, and Elsa Maria. You set Elsa Maria and Hildegarde down beside you, giving them a healthy amount of spacing.

Gently, reverently, you remove your Soul Gem from your lapel. You place it beside Elsa Maria, letting the smidgen of accumulated Grief drain away. You sigh, blowing out a sharp breath. The relief you feel is probably psychosomatic, with that little Grief, but still.

Aurora, Hildegard, and Elsa Maria: experiment, control, and safety precautions. Well, precaution, singular. Everything you could need for Science.

You hold Aurora up to your eye level. You can sense the speck of Grief within, the core of the Witch. There's Grief in there, more than the infinitesimally slow trickle of Grief dripping from the core. Of course, Aurora had been in use by Oriko and Kirika before you traded her for another Clear Seed.

Aurora pulses faintly in your senses. Quiescent, yes, but... a little less so than Hildegard. You can't say she's stirring, precisely, but you have the faintest impression of the abyss looking back at you.

Alright. Magic has been all about will and intent, in your experience. So, in this case, you're going to try happy thoughts.

And for you, that means Mami, and your friends.

You smile softly to yourself as you gather your thoughts and your magic, letting it pool in your palm, for lack of a better word. You bring to mind Mami's gentle, absolute faith in you, her smile, her warm presence. Your friends, Homura with her not-quite aloofness, and Sayaka with too much energy and Madoka, timid and shy but not weak, never weak, and Hitomi with her unwavering, sensible demeanour. You press your hand to Aurora.

And the magic drains away, almost yanked away by Aurora.

You blink, and absently verify that your happy thoughts are still in order. Mami, check. Your friends, check. Good.

Next, you check your Soul Gem and Elsa Maria - both clear. Well, not clear-clear, but no less clear than they were a couple moments ago. And speaking of a few moments, you pull your phone out and prop it in front of you with a bit of Grief so you can keep an eye on the time and ensure that you don't spontaneously lose a few hours.

And now for the experimental results. You take a careful look at Aurora.

The magic is... there. You can't really tell if it's happy magic, but it's there. Barely. It's spread thin throughout the Clear Seed, a thin haze you wouldn't have noticed if you hadn't been looking for it. Whisper-thin, like paint diluted in too much water.

Hmm.

You set your Clear Seeds aside, and summon Grief to you from the air. You're familiar with the process now, rolling it out across your thighs and kneading it as you let magic soak into the deep, fractal purple.

"Sabrina?" Mami's voice.

"Hey, Mami," you say warmly. "Good timing. How are you?"

"Ah... I'm alright," she says. "I just... wanted to talk?"

"I'm here," you say. Enchanting Grief doesn't take much attention at all, and so you can devote more to Mami. "How's class?"

"Ah, it's good," Mami says. You can hear her relaxing as she speaks, the faint tremor of worry ebbing away. "It's geography right now. We're learning more about the Itoigawa-Shizuoka Fault."

"Ah... that sounds familiar, but I can't quite place it?" you say.

"It's a fault line that runs across Japan," Mami says. "We're not that far from it!"

You chat with Mami as you work, and you can't help the smile on your face. You offer what insights you can - oddly, or perhaps not so oddly, the geology of Japan isn't something that springs readily to your mind. Which means you have something to learn!

"... ah... the teacher's handing out assignments now," Mami says, at length. "I... should pay attention..."

"I'm not going anywhere," you say firmly. "When you're done, let me know, ok?"

"Alright," Mami whispers, and cuts the line.

You sigh happily, still smiling. Just a bit more work for the enchanted Grief -really, it seems to soak up magic endlessly- and you think you can test it. With a twist, you pinch the blob of Grief in half, half a fistful of magic and distilled despair.

Without any ceremony, you pick up Aurora, and push them together. And there's a sound that tastes like-

-plub-

-and then Grief coats the Clear Seed. It doesn't get absorbed, just gets pulled into a shell around the Seed. If you look, you can see the magic that forms your enchantment twining into strands that sink into Aurora. And the Witch core is a little more lively, sullen twists of Grief bobbing within the Seed.

You scowl thoughtfully at Aurora, and set it aside for now.

"Sabrina?" Oriko says. "We're done now."

"Oh, whoops!" you say, jerking to your feet and glancing at your phone. Just under an hour. "Coming! Be there in, uh, five?"

"There is no need to rush," Oriko says, but you're already out of the warehouse, Soul Gem back on your lapel. Elsa Maria goes into one pocket and Hildegard into another, and Aurora you hold out in front of you as wings billow from your shoulders. A thought strips away the Grief shell, Aurora almost grumbling as you do so, but the magic-

... you can't find any purchase on the magic.

That's... you don't have any especial control over magic, and the Clear Seed seems to have taken it up nicely.

[] Aurora
- [] Leave it be, come back to it later
- [] Do something...
-- [] What? (Write-in)
[] The Kures
- [] Discuss house arrest
-- [] As in vote in abeyance
-- [] Some modification?
[] After the talk
- [] Back to Science
-- [] What? (Write-in)
- [] Something else?
-- [] Rionna
-- [] Kyouko
[] Write-in (word count limit: 150 words)

Spoiler: Vote in abeyance

[X] When Oriko wants to talk: Discuss House Arrest.
-[X] Explain yesterday's talk.
--[X] Apologize for the sudden birb invasion.
--[X] Offer your thoughts. Progress is gonna be slow, and if they agree to the changes, that would help.
--[X] Ask what they think.
---[X] Ask if they want to move out into a new apartment.
[X] Ask Oriko if she knows about the Shirome potentials.
[X] SCIENCE!:
-[X] Precaution: Leave your Soul Gem in contact with Elsa Maria.
-[X] Abort if Kures want to talk or backlash occurs.
-[X] Observe all Seeds before, during and after 'testing'.
-[X] Procedure:
--[X] In privacy field, only after you've finished speaking with the Kures: Same rules as last block.
--[X] Use enchanted grief to try to make a device for analyzing and/or talking to grief seeds.

=====​

So, I'm cutting the update here because I am falling sick. Or already have, really. Just the flu, but I'm kind of lethargic and if I don't update here I won't be updating at all today.

Also, I seem to have written 'happy thoughts' instead of 'compassionate thoughts'. I blame the fever.

 

[Firnagzen]

Well-

One quick check with Aurora first. You tap the Clear Seed to your Soul Gem - and indeed, it does seem to cleanse properly. The minuscule amount of Grief is drained away, sucked into Aurora.

You nod to yourself, the booming thunder of your wingbeats accompanying your thoughts. What about normal magic, then? You remember trying that with Hildegarde, before, and the magic simply slid right off, dissipating before it even penetrated far into the Seed.

Magic gathers in your free hand with a thought, and you press it to Aurora. And as before, the magic seems to skitter right off, and what little does penetrate seems to dissipate into nothingness.

Hm.

So there is a difference between happy magic and just plain old magic. It feels like something you have to specifically channel, too, and it makes a twisted kind of sense. Magic isn't hope. Hope is hope. Hope engenders magic, but hope isn't magic. Hope, and wonder, and belief.

If Aurora seems to like it that much, you... don't really see a reason not to feed it -her?- as much as you can, for now.

And here and now, you're soaring, the wind rushing through your hair and setting your coat flapping with Mitakihara laid out beneath you in a tapestry of noise and cars and people and lives. You wheel through the air, far above the tallest spires of the tallest buildings, and there's simple, breathtaking beauty in this.

You hold it, hold that pure moment, and let it flow through your veins, and you let the magic saturate the Clear Seed. Aurora soaks it up like a sponge, drinking it down greedily, and you let it, keeping a close eye on the Seed.

There's joy in this, a joy in experimenting, in doing and in learning and in working towards your goal. Your goal, your dream, your purpose.

All too soon, Oriko's mansion is visible before you, sitting on its hill. You coast in for a gentle landing, and almost as an afterthought - you replace the enchanted Grief. The jolt of Aurora taking control is an odd thing, thrumming through your body for a second, and the Seed once more cocoons itself in Grief.

"I'm here!" you call as your feet touch the lawn, wings dissipating behind you.

"Please, come in," Kirika says, sliding the door open. She's still dressed in the maid costume, back ramrod straight and nose practically pointing at the clear blue sky above. The effect is entirely ruined by her smug grin, and ruined even further by the way she plops herself down on Oriko's lap the moment you make it to the living room.

"Good morning," Oriko greets. She wraps an arm around Kirika's waist and gives you a grave, serious nod.

"Good morning!" you say, grinning. "How was breakfast?"

"It was good, thank you," Oriko says, cheeks tinting just the slightest pink.

"Mmmhm!" Kirika agrees.

"Shall we get to business?" Oriko says.

"If you want," you say. "It's not as happy a topic, I'm afraid."

"It's about our incarceration," Oriko says, nodding. "Is this to continue?"

"Yes," you say, grimacing, and hold up a finger. "With differences."

"Mmmmnm?" Kirika says, grinning brightly.

"First of all... Oriko, correct me if I'm wrong, but I... believe you don't actually like this house that much, do you?" you say.

A shadow crosses Oriko's face, her expression twisting into something between a grimace and an unhappy frown. Conflicted.

"It's where I grew up," she murmurs. "It's a luxurious place to live."

"No, she doesn't," Kirika answers, and hugs Oriko.

"Right," you murmur, leaning back. That's a relief, then. "So... it's an option, if you want it, that we can move you somewhere else. It won't be as luxurious as this place, but I can ensure that we get you somewhere nice to live. I mean, I wouldn't do anything less."

"Do we get to go outside?" Kirika asks.

You sigh, closing your eyes.

"There's the... tricky bit," you admit. "And I hope you're OK with this, but... with a caveat. The only thing I could think of that convinced Homura and Sayaka to allow you to roam was to increase surveillance on you."

Kirika scowls.

"In what way?" Oriko says, voice neutral.

"Twofold," you say, exhaling slowly. "Number one, I... have you noticed the birds?"

"Birds?" Oriko asks.

"I did!" Kirika says. "They keep coming and going today, see 'em in the garden and on the roof."

"Yeah... Sayaka has a power that lets her talk to animals," you say. "They're reporting to her."

"They better not be looking in through the windows!" Kirika snaps, bristling.

"Sayaka wouldn't do that," you say. "But I'll make sure, OK?"

Kirika nods, satisfied.

"Oriko?" you ask. "Are you OK with this?"

She sighs, expression even.

"I am... not entirely pleased with it," she says. "But it's more than fair. What was the other thing?"

"GPS trackers," you say. "Which will be enchanted, too."

"To record our movements," Oriko says. "And in return?"

"A new place to live," you say. "And the freedom to roam within reasonable limits."

"As in, actually outside the house?" Kirika asks, brightening.

"Yeah," you say. "Wouldn't be roaming otherwise, right? And... I'm sorry. I know that this... this isn't really an amazing situation to be in, but I really couldn't think of any other way to convince Sayaka and Homura to extend you a measure of freedom. I don't really want you cooped up like this."

"That's foolish," Oriko says. "We were your enemies. The mercy you've extended us is already more than generous."

"Yeah, and?" you say, and let yourself grin. "C'mon, Oriko, you know me. I believe the best of people, and I do the best for everyone."

"We could still be your enemies," Oriko points out.

"... we're not, right?" Kirika says. She pouts, cupping Oriko's cheeks to make the silver-haired girl look at her. "I don't wanna fight Sabrina again. Or her oujo. Or her spooky friend."

"Dear, you're undermining my point," Oriko says. There's a smile on her face, though. "But no. We're not."

You laugh, and roll your eyes.

"You two are disgustingly cute," you say. "And of course, this could be a rehearsed act, and you're still my enemies, right?"

"Yes, thank you, Sabrina," Oriko says. "And my amiable demeanour might be just to put you off guard."

"I mean, you are fond of mindgames and overly complex plans," you agree. "And it's not like you've poisoned my tea so far."

"Ack!" Kirika squeaks, bolting upright. "I didn't make tea for you!" She forces herself to straighten and speak precisely. "Apologies, Miss Sabrina, I shall rectify this error forthwit-"

"No," Oriko says, and tugs Kirika back down. "You do not make tea without me right there, dear."

Kirika pouts.

You can't help but relax, giggling at their antics.

"So you two are... OK with this arrangement?" you ask.

"It's more than I expected, truthfully," Oriko says. "Being constantly surveilled is unpleasant, but something I can cope with."

"Keep in mind Sayaka doesn't see through the animals, as far as I know," you say. "They just report back to her. And the GPS trackers are just trackers."

"I just wanna get outta here," Kirika says. "This place has a bad aura, you know?"

"... yeah. Kind of," you say. Oriko's father died in here, that much is certain. And everything that tore Oriko down... right here, in this house.

Oriko nods silently.

"I think I can make progress towards getting you guys proper freedom," you say. "But it's going to be a long term thing."

"Understandable," Oriko says, nodding. "I... appreciate it, Sabrina."

"I want to help," you say simply. "I think you're good people, in the end. Misguided by your visions, but still."

"We've gone over that before," Oriko says, with the ghost of a smile on her lips.

You relax fully, smiling at Oriko and Kirika.

"So I've got a question," you say. "Totally unrelated. Two questions, now that I think about it."

"Yes?" Oriko asks.

"Do you know about the two potential magical girls at Shirome?" you ask.

"No, I do not," Oriko admits, head tilting slightly. "What about them?"

"Huh," you say, rubbing your chin. "Well, I noticed two of them there and wondered if you knew anything about them. Really nothing at all?"

"Nothing," Oriko confirms, frowning. "I can only assume they do not readily become magical girls, not without your encouragement, which is unlikely."

"Hunh," you say. "Fair enough. Speaking of your visions... do they show you using a skill you don't already know, or taking an action because you... change as a person?"

"To the first, certainly," Oriko says. "It let me..."

She motions towards your leg. The one which had been mangled by Oriko's mine.

"Ah," you say, nodding. "Hm. I was wondering, since you couldn't see yourself succeeding with enchantments. But then, we run into a bootstrap paradox."

"If I had a vision of myself building a bomb, then whence did my vision-self gain the knowledge to build the bomb?" Oriko agrees, and shrugs. "I do not know. I suspect that... purely mechanistic things could be envisioned and broken down, but not, for example, playing a musical instrument."

"Makes sense, I guess," you agree. "How about the second part of my question? That you'd changed as a person?"

"How would I tell?" Oriko shrugs. "I would see my actions, and I would certainly feel my own emotions, but I wouldn't see myself."

"Even doing something completely out of character?" you ask.

"I would do many out of character things to fulfil my goals," Oriko says.

"So how about refusing to do something that would fulfil your goal but had a cost too high?" you ask.

"I..." Oriko frowns, and Kirika immediately raises a hand to Oriko's brow, trying to smooth it away. "I don't know. I did not try to envision such. Why would I have?"

"Involuntary visions?" you suggest, shrugging.

"I don't know," Oriko admits again. "By the by, we require more groceries."

"Oh," you say, nodding. "Right. I'll do something about that."

[] Groceries for Oriko
[] Afterwards...
- [] Science
-- [] As per vote in abeyance
-- [] Something different?
- [] Call...
-- [] Kyouko
-- [] Rionna
-- [] Kazumi
-- [] Someone else?
[] Write-in (word count limit: 150 words)

Spoiler: Vote in Abeyance

[X] Afterwards:
-[X] See how Aurora interacts with normal enchanted items.
-[X] Repeat the tests you ran on Aurora with Hildegard and Elsa Maria to compare and contrast how they interact.
-[X] Use enchanted grief to try to make a device for analyzing and/or talking to grief seeds.

=====​

Sorry for cutting this short again - if I don't post now, I won't post until tomorrow and all that.

Shopping will take approximately an hour.

Just a note - the vote didn't mention the possibility of selling off the Mikuni residence, so I left it out. Also, to be honest, it's something of a longer term goal, anyway. Who wants to buy the place?

 

[Firnagzen]

You hum thoughtfully, eyeing the ceiling. It's a nice ceiling, but besides the point right now, which is that...

Hm.

"Do you mind if I put up a privacy sphere?" you ask. "Just a couple things I wanna discuss, and then I'll go grab you some groceries?"

"By all means," Oriko says.

"Alright. Gimme a few minutes, then," you say, and summon some fresh Grief from the cloud. You take a deep breath, and focus. Privacy is a familiar pattern to you now, a familiar twist to your will as you bring it to bear against the Grief. Your determination against reality, to twist what is into what could be.

Your will be done.

You breathe out, pushing aside the malevolent press of Witch on your senses. The world beyond hazes to grey, shimmering as though behind a curtain of water.

"So what's up this time?" Kirika asks brightly.

"Well... I've been experimenting with Clear Seeds," you say. You reach into your pocket and withdraw Aurora. It -she?- doesn't seem to have reacted to the sensation of Witch radiating from your privacy field.

"Shiny," Kirika says, holding a hand out for the Seed. You pass it over, smiling as Kirika holds it up for Oriko to see, too.

"It feels different," Oriko notes.

"And it's covered with all this gunk," Kirika says.

"Yeah. I've been feeding it magic," you say. "Well... hope flavoured magic."

"Pardon me?" Oriko says, taken aback.

"You heard me," you say. You grin at her, entirely too amused by the surprise on Oriko's face. Even without her precognizance, you don't really manage to shock her all that much. "Also, the black gunk is Grief, Kirika. Enchanted Grief, specifically, Aurora seems to... I dunno, prefer to protect itself behind the Grief?"

"Awww," Kirika says, raising the Seed to eye level and tapping it. "She's hiding!"

"Seems like it," you say. "Anyway... I was wondering if you guys would be willing to help me? The process isn't too different from enchanting, except instead of trying to shape the magic, I, uh, think happy thoughts at the magic. Or hopeful thoughts."

"On what?" Oriko asks. "We only possess the one Clear Seed."

"Which you're not really willing to experiment on," you say, only half questioning.

"We do have the regular Grief Seed!" Kirika says brightly.

"Yeah, but I don't think this'll work on regular ones," you say, cupping your chin thoughtfully. "And I think Sayaka and Homura would be unhappy if I just made you another Clear Seed, and... yeah, I can't ask you to experiment on Etheldred when it's your only Clear Seed and you can't hunt for yourselves, either. Dang."

Kirika reaches out to pat you gently on the shoulder.

"I assume you believe this could lead to the return of the girl who Witched out?" Oriko asks, removing Aurora from Kirika's grasp and handing it back to you.

"I sure as hell hope so," you agree, taking the Clear Seed and tucking her away. "Heh. Hope. If it's sucking up magic and hope, then something's happening. I'm going to explore the thread as far as it'll lead me, at any rate."

Oriko nods thoughtfully, eyes distant.

"I would be happy to help, but not with our only Grief Seed," she says. "I... mean no offense, Sabrina, but while you've done so much for us, it is a... tall order to experiment with our basic sustenance while we're still using it. Even if it's more than I ever expected."

"No, I understand," you say, shaking your head. "I'll figure something out."

Kirika grins at you, relaxing on Oriko's lap.

"So... uh," you say after a moment of silence. "Touchy subject, uh... Kirika? Have you... thought about telling your parents about magic?"

"Nope!" Kirika says brightly.

"Oh," you say. "Uh."

Oriko wraps her arms around Kirika's waist from behind, smiling.

"I think Sabrina is suggesting that perhaps we should," Oriko says. "Which we would really need to be face to face for, and so we could if we had the freedom to roam, or to invite them here. But neither would be particularly doable anytime soon, and rather beg the question of why Kirika isn't able to go home."

"Hm. Right," you say, frowning. "I'd be happy to help with that, but... yeah, issues. And you haven't been in contact with them, Kirika?"

"I guess they should know..." Kirika says, drooping a little. "They're gonna be upset with me." She brightens. "Can't make me leave Oriko, though."

Oriko smiles at her warmly.

You scowl, tugging thoughtfully at a lock of your hair before realising what you're doing and tucking it behind your ear. Yeah, that discussion will be more than a little hairy.

"Right," you say. "I guess that's it, then. One more thing, and then I'll go get you guys your groceries."

"Yes?" Oriko asks.

"I want a hug," you say, grinning.

"I'm sure you get enough hugs from Tomo-"

"Group hug!" Kirika cheers, and tugs Oriko to her feet before dragging her to half-stumble, half-flop over you.

You laugh and hug them back. Kirika's eyes are bright, her grin matching yours, while Oriko seems tolerantly amused. She does return the hug, at least.

You let them go after a few moments, still grinning. "Thanks," you say.

"I could still be your enemy, you know," Oriko mutters half-heartedly.

"Oh, I can keep my eye on you and hug you at the same time," you say with a grin. You stand, rolling your shoulders. "Anything you need to talk about?"

Oriko thinks for a moment, and shakes her head.

"OK then... shopping time," you say. With a thought, you dissolve the privacy field.

Both Oriko and Kirika see you off, and a few seconds later, you're winging through the skies, headed for that big shopping center. Groceries time. Speaking of, you need groceries, too, so you might as well do it all at the same time. Just get double of everything.

You hum cheerfully as you land on the roof, touching your hand to the ribbon bracelet on your other wrist. With a little focus, you let your magic seep into Mami's ribbon.

"Sabrina?" Mami squeaks into your mind.

"Hi, Mami," you say brightly. You release the magic as you make your way down the stairs. "How are you?"

"I'm doing well!" she says, her mental voice warm and adoring. "How are you?"

"I'm good!" you say. "Doing some shopping - do we need anything in particular, or shall I just pick up some general groceries?"

"Ah?" Mami asks. "Um... I think we're low on mirin?"

"Hm... yeah, you're right," you agree. Sweetened sake for cooking. "I'll pick some up!"

"Ah... why are you shopping right now?" Mami asks.

"The Kures needed some groceries," you explain, bumping the stair lobby door open and stepping out into the bustle of the shopping center. "So I thought I could pick up groceries for ourselves, too. Do you think Sayaka would appreciate it if I bought some bags of birdseed?"

"She'd probably have a use for it," Mami agrees.

You step into the supermarket, collecting a trolley. You don't stop chatting with Mami either, letting the conversation simply wind its way about as it would as you start picking out groceries, asking her for advice and giving advice in turn about her classes. And you do get double of everything, despite the odd looks from other people over your exceedingly laden trolley.

"Also, do you think Kazumi would be awake now?" you ask as you stop at the sweets section.

"It's past ten, she must be!" Mami says.

"Excellent," you say, inspecting the rows and rows of confectionary. "Kazumi?"

"Eh? Oh, good morning Sabrina! And Mami!" Kazumi chirps.

"Good morning, Kazumi," Mami says warmly.

"What's up?" Kazumi asks.

"The sun is!" you say. Something nice for Oriko and Kirika... and chocolate for yourself and Mami too, of course. Though you have this vague mental image of feeding chocolate to a Clear Seed to encourage happy thoughts. You're not even sure how that would properly work. Maybe a chocolate fountain.

"Eeeeeh?" Kazumi says. "I suppose it is..."

Mami giggles, and you join her.

"OK, but slightly more seriously, Kazumi, I do a 'good morning Mitakihara' call every morning," you explain. "Just an early wakeup and a group chat, for everyone to catch up with. You're all friends, so... would you like to be included?"

"Sure-" Kazumi cuts herself off, voice turning suspicious as she continues. "How early is 'early'?"

"Uh... usually around seven or so?" you say.

"You mean seven in the evening, right?" Kazumi says.

"Noooo?" you say, pausing and frowning at a bar of chocolate.

"I do not acknowledge the right of any time before nine to exist," Kazumi says firmly.

"She has a point, Sabrina," Mami says, sounding like she's swallowing giggles. "Times before nine in the morning should not exist." Her mental voice drops lower, as if whispering. "Sabrina is a morning person."

"I always knew you were evil," Kazumi says firmly.

"You caught me," you say, grabbing that chocolate bar and adding it to your trolley. Why not. "Guilty as charged!"

Mami does break out into giggles this time.

"You sure you don't want in, Kazumi? It'd be great to expand the group," you say.

"Oh, I didn't say I didn't!" Kazumi says. "Maybe not every day? We do sleep in..."

"Sure," you say, considering your trolley, before nodding and doubling back. You'll pick up groceries for the Shiogama girls, too. "The more the merrier, right?"

"Yep!" Kazumi agrees brightly.

"It'll be good to have you on board, Kazumi," Mami says.

"Definitely!" you say.

"... aren't you still in school, Mami?" Kazumi asks.

"I am, but I can certainly multitask," Mami says.

"Ah!" Kazumi says.

The rest of the grocery trip you spend chatting idly with Mami and Kazumi, eventually pushing your heavily laden cart to the counter.

"I'm helping some friends to shop," you explain in response to the odd look from the cashier.

He looks even more taken aback, but wordlessly starts scanning and bagging the goods. The fact that you pay him entirely in cash doesn't help, either, but hey, what can you do?

You take a lift to the highest floor, still pushing the trolley, and step into a stairwell. There are a lot of bags, far more than you can carry by hand, but it's not like you're limited to mere hands. Grief wraps around the dozens of plastic bags, enough to insulate the contents, and you rotate them all out of coincidence.

And you're off again, after returning the trolley, soaring across Mitakihara.

"Grocery delivery!" you call cheerfully as you land in the backyard of the Mikuni mansion.

"Yo!" Kirika says, sliding the door open. She peers curiously at you, and then looks up and down. "... where?"

"Right here!" you say, and promptly dump a plastic bag on her hand. And then you pop another into existence, hovering in the air, and another, and another, and another, all suspended on Grief.

Kirika snorts, and turns to head back into the house.

You follow, grinning, and offer Oriko a wave as you pass her in the living room. She looks up from the laptop, nodding as you set all the groceries down on the counter.

"All good?" you ask. "Got you lots of chocolates and sweets, by the way, in that bag."

"Oooh, Oriko will love these," Kirika says, inspecting the bag. "Thanks, Sabrina!"

"No prob," you say. "Anyway, see you later!"

You step out of the house once more, launching yourself into the clear blue sky. You have a bit of time before lunch, perhaps around forty-five minutes. Now, what do you do...

[] For now...
- [] Science
-- [] Repeat experiment with Hildegarde and Elsa Maria
-- [] Something else?
- [] Akemi and Noriko
-- [] Check in, grocery delivery
-- [] Any particular conversational topics?
- [] Kyouko
-- [] What about?
- [] Masami and Hiroko
-- [] What about?
[] Lunch!
- [] Birdseed delivery
- [] Any particular points to hit?
[] Write-in (word count limit: 150 words)

=====​

Here we are. I may not update Sunday, it depends on how quickly a consensus forms.

 

[Firnagzen]

A bit of time. Not too much, not too little, and you really want to get to the bottom of this whole thing with Aurora.

So you'll head to school. Not directly to school, but to a nearby rooftop where you can settle down and do some Science while waiting for lunch. Not like you'd want to miss that.

You settle down amongst the humming air conditioning compressors, perched on the edge of the roof. You can see Mitakihara Middle School from here, with all its flying buttresses and spires and bizarrely ornate fenciness.

Architect gone mad. Or possibly the work of a magical girl, given what you already know. Which probably explains Shirome as well, now that you think about it. Direct competition.

Regardless, you have work to do. You withdraw Aurora from your pocket, holding her up in front of you. She's wrapped in your enchanted Grief, still. But not... draining the magic, as you'd surmised. There are tendrils of magic sunk into the Clear Seed like roots, yes, but magic isn't running out, no more than the lump of enchanted Grief you're keeping as a control. Maybe the Grief is just a protective layer, something to shield herself with?

... Perhaps nerves would be a more accurate description than roots.

You hum thoughtfully, a snatch of Mami's theme. Enchantments.

Aurora likes happy, hopeful magic, and, apparently, your enchanted Grief. What about regular enchantments? The problem is that the only enchantment you're really proficient with is the malleability enchantment, which is perhaps a bit too similar to Grief enchanted with that exact same enchantment. Still, perhaps worth a try.

You chip off a piece of roofing flagstone with Grief, and set Aurora aside so you can focus on the enchantment. Magic seeps from your fingers, flowing through your skin to wind through the rock in easy, familiar patterns, and you nod to yourself as it takes shape. The cement smooths under your fingers, turning soft and malleable.

You pick up Aurora, and tap the Clear Seed against the enchantment.

And...

Nothing.

Aurora stirs a little, but that's it. You even try parting the shield of enchanted Grief and touching the enchanted rock against the crystal of the Clear Seed directly, but there's no reaction at all, the Grief slamming shut like a curtain the moment you withdraw your control.

You nod thoughtfully to yourself, putting Aurora back into your pocket. You'll ruminate on that, and for now, you'll repeat the process with Hildegarde and Elsa Maria. You drum your fingers against your thigh, eyeing the time on your phone. You really only have the time for one, and it occurs to you you should be checking in on the formerly-Shiogama girls, too.

Hildegarde, then.

You pull the Clear Seed out of your pocket, and draw forth magic. Magic and joy and hope. Mami, your friends, even Oriko and Kirika. Hope for Oriko, and the simple reassurance of the camaraderie between you and Kirika, and the joy in your friendship. The warm comfort of being with Mami, and the easy joy of spending time with Sayaka and Madoka and Hitomi and Homura, even as frustrating as Homura might be sometimes.

Magic soaks into the Seed, saturating the crystal matrix. It's no different than Aurora, drinking up the magic eagerly and letting it spread throughout the core, and you nod, satisfied as you continue the treatment.

"Miss Watanabe, Miss Saito?" you say, reaching out for the Shiogama girls.

"Uhm... Miss Sabrina?" Akemi says. "Do you need us to do something?"

"No, no, I was wondering if you're settling in OK?" you ask. "I know it must be a big change and all."

"No... I mean, yes, we're settling in OK," Akemi says.

"I think we needed the change in scenery," Noriko offers quietly. "Again, thank you, Miss Sabrina."

"I'm glad," you say. You're still monitoring the flow of magic into Hildegarde, but you let the happiness of having helped seep in, too. "Do you feel up to a proper meeting sometime?"

"Oh, uhm, of course," Akemi says. "We'd- we owe you."

"Hey, I'm happy to help," you say. "And, uh, just one sec." You leave them on metaphorical hold. "Mami?"

"Sabrina," Mami says warmly. "A-ah, how are you?"

"I'm good!" you say. "I'm actually near the school right now, waiting for lunch! Maybe you can see me if you look?"

Mami giggles, warm and fond. "I'll try," she says. "But I'm still in class! What's happening, Sabrina?"

"Just some experimenting with magic, and I'm talking to Miss Watanabe and Miss Saito," you say. "Do you think we could invite them over for dinner tonight, if they're up for it? I kind of wanna talk to them properly."

"Definitely!" Mami says. "Ah... do find out if we should cook for three or two, for them?"

"... that is an excellent point," you agree. "I'll find out, and see you soon!"

"See you soon, Sabrina," Mami says.

You smile as you disconnect that telepathic call, and return to Akemi and Noriko. "How does meeting over dinner today sound?" you say.

"Uhm..." Akemi says.

"Dinner would be fine," Noriko says.

"Alright, then!" you say. "See you later, then! Oh, uh... Two things. I'll probably come by to pick you both up, since I'm guessing you don't really know your way around yet. And I'll be dropping off groceries for you, too? And, er, Miss Watanabe, do you eat for two bodies or just one?"

"Uhm. Thank you?" Akemi says.

"Ah... yes. Thank you?" Noriko echoes. "And just one, Miss Sabrina."

"Alright, good to know. And I'm happy to help," you say firmly. "So I'll see you later. Take care."

You end the call, returning your attention to Hildegarde. She seems perfectly happy to soak up the... hopeful magic, just like Aurora. For good measure, you try a spark of regular magic, too, and find that it just washes off, exactly as before. And finally, you set her aside so that you can enchant another blob of Grief to test.

It takes you a few minutes of kneading and channelling of magic before you feel it's ready, just a few finger's worth of enchanted Grief. You press Hildegarde to it, and-

pleb

-Hildegarde all but snatched the Grief from you to cocoon itself.

Hm. Nothing notably different from Aurora, then.

Interesting, and good to know.

You check the time on your phone again. And the time is time to go.

Hildegarde goes back into pocket, and you hop to your feet. It's not a very long jump to Mitakihara Middle School, just a couple hundred meters or so, but you'd rather not damage the roof there. They might close it off for repairs. And so you form wings and take a hop off the side of the roof, gliding gently down to the school.

You rock backwards and forwards on the balls of your feet, hands behind your back as you wait for the bell. Just as you're about to start getting antsy, it goes off, accompanied by a near explosion of noise - the synchronized scrape of hundreds of chairs, and the traditional end of lesson thanks.

You sense Mami moments later. Even if you didn't recognise her presence by familiarity, the way she speeds through the corridors and up the stairs is a dead giveaway. You have your arms open already as she emerges from the stairwell, and when she crashes into you, you sweep her off her feet into a laughing, spinning hug.

"Hi!" you say, and press a gentle kiss to the tip of her nose. Her eyes cross adorably, nose scrunching up as she blushes.

"Hi," she murmurs back, nestling gently against you.

It takes a while longer for the rest of your friends to filter up to the rooftop. Hitomi and Sayaka chatting about something, and Homura taking the rear of the group, half a step behind Madoka despite the pinkette's obvious urging. You all settle down for lunch on the sun-warmed benches, laughter and chatter ringing out as you talk about their day so far.

A crow flutters down to perch beside Sayaka, beady eyes fixed on you. Not a pigeon, even if those are black feathers, so you're good.

You relax with Mami as your side, savouring the riceballs you and Mami had made this morning.

"Oh!" you say, snapping your fingers. "Sayaka, I got you something!"

Without further ado, you dump several large packs of birdseed on the bench beside her. The crow hops to the side.

Sayaka eyes the packets for a long moment before shrugging. "You know what? Thanks," she says, and rips the top bag open, scattering a handful of seed on the floor. "So what's this about you saluting a bird this morning?"

"Seemed like the thing to do," you say, grinning at her. You watch as Sayaka tilts her head back and makes an odd, strangled noise in the back of her throat. The crow squawks, and flutters into the sky, returning a few minutes later with a small horde of birds that proceed to devour the seeds.

"Hey, why not?" Sayaka says, shrugging in response to the odd looks. "Er. Can you keep the rest for me until... I dunno, tonight?"

"Yeah, sure," you say, snickering as you make the bags disappear back into hammerspace.

"New magic power?" Hitomi asks, peering at the empty stretch of bench.

"Eh, kind of," you agree. "It's something apparently all or most magical girls can learn?"

"Ah, it's like your shield, Homura!" Madoka says.

Homura shakes her head. "Different."

"Oh?" you ask, curiosity piqued. You do sort of wonder about Homura's hammerspace.

"Different skill," Homura says. "That's a learned technique. My shield is a lot more versatile, and it preserves stored items. It's easier to store and retrieve things."

"Huh, makes sense," you say, beaming at Homura. The 'inside' of her shield is timestopped, presumably.

Sayaka snorts, as if realising something. "So that's where all the guns come from," she says, and waves her chopsticks at you. "Trade you maki for a riceball?"

"Hm? Sure," you say, and do just that. You split the sushi roll with Mami, of course, and she gives you a warm smile.

"No, no, I just put it together," Sayaka continues, indicating Homura. "Guns and her shield and your shopping trips to the yakuza."

"Didn't... I'm pretty sure we've mentioned it before?" you say. You're sure you sound a bit perplexed.

"I guess? But there's a difference between knowing Homura steals stuff from the yakuza and knowing that she stole everything from the yakuza, you know?" Sayaka says.

"Not just the yakuza," Homura says, placidly eating a bit of fish.

Sayaka gives her a look. "Riiiiight," she says. "I don't want to know."

"Speaking of not knowing and bad segues," you say. "So... Rionna Mag Aoidh is due in today, according to Oriko."

"Who?" Hitomi asks.

"Uh... magical girl specializing in Soul-related shennigans from Edinburgh," you say. "She's apparently heard about my powers and is coming to take a look."

"I haven't heard anything," Mami says thoughtfully.

"Which is what I wanted to ask," you say. "Isn't it... customary for magical girls travelling to, ah, call ahead?"

"It is," Mami says, pursing her lips thoughtfully.

"Perhaps things are done differently in Scotland?" Hitomi suggests. "They are half a world away."

"Maybe she's just rude," Sayaka offers.

"Ah..." Madoka ventures timidly. "Maybe she's just not used to it?"

"Mm?" you say.

"Um, ah, Miss Bennouna did say she didn't really... have friends, right?" Madoka says. "Maybe... maybe she just doesn't know she has to?"

"That's very possible," Mami agrees. "I suppose we'll just have to keep an eye out."

"... there's an airport in the city, isn't there?" you ask.

"Yes, Sabrina, there's an airport," Sayaka says, rolling her eyes. "As much as you fly, I'm surprised you haven't seen it."

Mami pats your hand gently.

"It is a ways to the north-west, in fairness," Hitomi says. "Well out of the way of the city center."

"I suppose I have seen planes, just never really paid attention to them," you say, shrugging. "I'll... keep an eye out in that general direction, I guess."

Sayaka snorts.

"Don't you laugh at me," you say, levelling a finger at her. "Also, you know what you should do? Send a clone or five to go Witch hunting when Mami and I do. Or maybe even when you're at school, we can go hunting or something."

"Sounds fun," Sayaka says, shrugging. "Let me know?"

[] Wrapping up lunch
- [] What else to talk about, if anything?
[] What comes after lunch?
- [] More Science
-- [] What about?
- [] Contact Rionna
-- [] What do you say to her?
- [] Check out the airport
- [] Something else?
[] Write-in (word count limit: 150 words)

=====​

Here we go. I'll be trying for another update... Thursday or so?

 

[Firnagzen]

"Yep, I'll let you know," you say, nodding at Sayaka. "It'd be good practice for you, too. Maybe this evening... we'll see."

During Sayaka's training with Kyouko, you don't say out loud. Ought to be good training for her to face Kyouko and a Witch at the same time... Well, if she can manage it. Or maybe just during school, but you're not sure you want to leave Mami out of it.

You chew thoughtfully on the riceball, letting the savoury filling roll over your tongue and thinking.

"So... I'll just put it out," you say. "What do you guys think of contacting Rionna before she contacts us? I mean... I think it'd be alright, but people are complicated and all."

"I would think it strange, if someone contacted me ahead of an unannounced arrival," Hitomi says.

"I... would be surprised!" Madoka says. "But... um... if Miss Bennouna says she doesn't have friends, then... she would want one?"

"I would too," Mami agrees. "If I were deliberately trying to conceal my arrival... ah, but she might just be lacking in knowledge of the usual graces."

"Yeaaaah," Sayaka says. "I'm gonna go with being a bit suspicious, but you've got a convenient reason for it, y'know? And the entire point of her coming here is that you are a weirdo, isn't it?"

"Sayaka!" Madoka scolds.

"It's true!" Sayaka says, shrugging. "Homura, what do you think?"

"I would be very suspicious," Homura says. "And I don't know her."

"Ah... you could ask Miss Bennouna for her opinion?" Madoka suggests.

"And that is why you get paid the big bucks," you say, grinning at Madoka. "Yeah, you raise a good point - any communication would need to go through her first, anyway."

Madoka fidgets, blushing. "It wasn't really anything special..."

"It is a good point," you say firmly. "Homura, tell her."

Conversation lapses onto easier topics after that. For your part, you sit back and let your mind wander. Mami nudges you, and you turn a smile on her. You snuggle closer, wrapping your arm around her waist. She sighs happily.

"What are you thinking about, Sabrina?" she asks curiously.

"A few things, really," you say. "Though... how do you feel about me bringing Sayaka out on a hunt during the afternoon session?"

"I..." Mami looks down, staring at the lunchbox on her lap. "I think it would be a good experience for her."

"Yeah," you agree. "But I'm asking you, Mami."

She's quiet for a moment, nestled up against your side.

"I'm afraid," she whispers. "It's stupid and irrational, but I'm afraid."

"I'm not going to leave you, Mami," you murmur, pulling her closer.

She takes a deep, deep breath, and lets it out before straightening a little. "I think it would be a good experience for Sayaka."

"Alright," you say. You reach up, brushing the hair from her face, and smile at her. "You're awesome, Mami. Don't ever forget it."

"I'm- I'm really not," she whispers. "B-but. I'm thankful, every day, every hour, every minute, every second, that you think I'm worth your time."

"You are," you say warmly. "Of course you are, Mami."

She takes another deep breath, and smiles shakily at you. "I... thank you for telling me in advance, Sabrina," she murmurs. "It helps."

"I'm glad," you say, and hug her. The rest of your friends have not-so-subtly shuffled off to the side, giving you some privacy, but Madoka catches your eye in the lull, and nudges Hitomi and Sayaka.

And the conversation rolls back in, like it never left, Sayaka poking Homura in the side and making her twitch.

"So why don't you have a proper weapon, anyway?" she asks loudly.

"It's my magic," Homura says, shrugging.

"Ahhh, don't be like that, Sayaka!" Madoka protests. "I think Homura is cool!"

Hitomi sighs theatrically. "You all say that, but I've never really seen any of you use your powers in earnest."

You beam at your friends, hugging Mami closer. She nestles into your arms, cuddling close.

"... you know," you say, pulling the DVD out of your bag with Grief - the one you got from Yuki. "I suppose it's kind of self aggrandizing, but I do actually have a recording of a fight I had with an ally from Fukushima."

"It's really not the same," Hitomi says, raising an eyebrow. "Though I'm well aware that your fights can be dangerous, especially for bystanders."

"We coooould invite Hitomi along for my evening lesson with Kyouko?" Sayaka's voice speaks in your head.

"... maybe," you agree. "Up to Hitomi, but I doubt Kyouko would really mind? I guess the bigger issue is not encouraging Madoka..."

"Hrrrrh," Sayaka says. "You and Homura both, huh. I kinda see it, but... We can show her that we're strong and getting stronger."

"That's true," you agree. "It's a good idea, but, uh, lemme think it through properly and I'll let you know?"

"Yeah sure," Sayaka says.

"It can be," Homura murmurs quietly, daintily collecting more rice from her lunchbox and eating it.

"Mmmhm," you say. "Oh, that reminds me. Speaking of Homura's weapons, so... you ever hear the tale of the Yakuza boss and the Mop?"

"... no?" Sayaka says, giving you a suspicious look.

You laugh, and lean back. You relay the story, using the katana itself as a prop, which Hitomi seems to appreciate, taking the sword and examining it with interest. Sayaka's cackling with laughter by the end of the story. Madoka seems torn between dismay and amusement, and Homura just seems faintly exasperated.

Finally, lunch winds to a close, all of you putting your lunchboxes away.

"Sayaka? Have a clone waiting?" you say. "And, uh, Homura, could I have a private word in a moment?"

"Yeah, yeah," Sayaka says, grinning. She transforms, splitting off a clone before handing the clone her chain of powers and detransforming. "Oi, I'm trusting you to keep those powers safe, mmkay?"

"... hah!" you say, pointing at Sayaka. "I just realised. You and Homura's magic are similar, only she has to gather guns, but you have to gather powers."

Homura's expression does some rather peculiar twitching before settling back into blank neutrality.

"Yeah, whatever," Sayaka says, waving. "C'mon, Madoka, Hitomi." Her clone leaps into the air, cerulean light steaking behind her as she soars for the next building.

"I'll wait," Homura murmurs, gesturing at the stairwell after the rest of your friends.

And that leaves Mami.

You hold her hands in yours, turning to face her properly with a warm, adoring smile on your face.

"I consider myself lucky every single day, you know?" you murmur. "That I get to be with Tomoe Mami. The bravest, most brilliant, toughest magical girl in all of Japan."

"I'm not any of that," Mami whispers, before cracking a tiny grin. "Maybe the last one."

"That's my girl," you say, beaming at her.

"You make me believe I could be better," Mami whispers, leaning into your hug.

"You keep me grounded. Keep me sane, keep me on the right path," you say.

You relax into the hug for a few moments, before Mami makes an effort to pull away. "I'll... see you after school?"

"You will," you affirm, smiling, and plant a kiss on her forehead. Mami blushes, forcing herself to step back.

Step by step, Mami forces herself to back away, smile on her face. You smile right back, waving as she finally disappears down the stairs, and Homura emerges, already transformed.

You clasp her offered hand in yours, bracing for the shuddering jolt-

-of transition into her timestop. The silence is all but deafening, but you're well familiar with it by this point.

"What's happening?" Homura murmurs.

"Thanks for taking the time," you say, beaming at Homura.

She looks faintly exasperated, but nods.

"Well. So... I've been working on de-Witching," you say, and pull Aurora from your pocket.

"Is that Grief?" she asks, staring at the Clear Seed.

"Yeah," you say. "I've been pouring... well, I don't know what to call it. Happiness-flavoured magic? It's possible to channel emotions into magic, it seems, and Clear Seeds seem to soak it up."

Homura frowns at the Clear Seed.

"Also, the Grief has my enchantment applied to it," you say. "I'm not sure why, but instead of just absorbing the Grief like it does with normal Grief, the Clear Seed seems to want to build a shell?"

"I... see," Homura says. She looks kind of perturbed, staring at the Clear Seed.

"Yeah," you say. "Honestly, I'm not sure what to make of it, either. It's progress, definitely, but I'm figuring out progress towards what."

Homura looks up at you, almost pinning you in place with her gaze. "Be careful."

"I..." you almost flinch from the intensity of her glare. "I will. I... I'm actually planning on trying to make contact, or build a body next?"

Homura jabs a finger at the Clear Seed. "You don't know what that is," she says. "Be careful."

"I will," you affirm. "I will. I promise, Homura. I... you're right. If I don't know what I've woken up in there... I shouldn't just willy-nilly give it a body without being sure first, yeah."

Homura nods, amethyst eyes never breaking contact with yours.

You smile at Homura. "Hey. Thanks for looking out for me," you say. "I really appreciate it, Homura."

She nods again.

"So... speaking of looking out for me," you say slowly. "There's something I want to ask your opinion on."

"Yes?" Homura asks.

"I'm wondering about reading Sayaka in on the whole Witch thing. I- wait, wait-" You hold up your hand placatingly. "Let me make my case, and if you disagree or if I've missed anything I'll listen to you?"

Homura subsides, frowning.

"So..." you look up at the sky, frowning at the greyed out clouds. "Sayaka wants to help. With her powers, I believe she can, and I think... I think that if I bring it up and frame it in the context of helping girls who have fallen, it would help her through things. And the thing is... she's actually shown sympathy for Witches, too. I think the notion of doing good for them could work to drive her and... stabilise things, I guess."

You hold your hand out, tipping it from side to side as if balancing something.

"That's the pros, as it were. The cons..." You grimace, exhaling slowly. "Or, well, the risks. I'm worried she'll be hurt by the knowledge, and be isolated by it. Granted, that would be three of us in the know, but then there's Mami, Hitomi and Madoka who aren't in the loop, and I know what you think of that."

"Don't drag Madoka into this," Homura says, her jaw tightening. "I don't-" She breaks off, and shakes her head.

"I don't..." Homura squeezes her eyes shut. "I don't understand Sayaka. Not this time."

"I..." you exhale. "She's the same person, the same as she's always been. The only thing that's different is that we've managed to give her a different impression this time. And yeah - I say we, because you played a part, too."

Homura sighs, eyes sliding off to the side. You're tempted to start explaining more about Sayaka, but you can see she has something on her mind, too, so you give her a moment to let her work it out.

"Don't drag Madoka into this," Homura says again, this time at nearly a whisper. "I- what about Mami?"

"Hm?" you ask.

"T-telling Madoka," Homura whispers. "Telling Mami. You don't want to tell her. It's the same."

It's not. It's not the same, not really. But here's Homura, trying to resolve things with an emotional appeal, an attempt to find common ground.

[] Homura
- [] How do you respond?
[] Sayaka
- [X] Bring Sayaklone out for a Witch hunt
-- [] As per vote in abeyance
-- [] Something different?
- [] Discuss bringing Hitomi along for the evening training
-- [] Write-in?
- [] Witchbomb
-- [] With what approach?
[] Rionna
- [] Contact Nadia about her
[] Write-in (word count limit: 150 words)

Spoiler: Vote in abeyance

[X] Take Sayaka out hunting.
-[X] Be a good senpai and help Sayaka improve.
-[X] Ask her to use one Sayaka solely to watch (with sight powers?). Help point out dangers and mistakes.
-[X] Muse about getting her synergetic powers, like multitasking and boosting. Remind her to ask to copy Yuma's powers.
-[X] Keep an eye on how your control range in the real world changes as you move into and through the barrier.

=====​

Ugh, updated later than I'd hoped, but here you go!

 

[Firnagzen]

You...

It's not the same. The situation with you and Mami isn't the same as Homura and Madoka, but... You understand what Homura's trying to say. And you're kind of proud of Homura for even trying to make that argument. Homura, trying to make an emotional appeal to you.

And on second thoughts, you kind of agree with her. Maybe not in the same way, but you do agree with her.

"I get it," you say. "I get where you're coming from, Homura. And I definitely wouldn't ever tell Madoka without your explicit agreement."

Homura nods jerkily.

"I won't tell Madoka," you say quietly. "But there's one thing... I don't... I don't want to lie to my friends. I don't like lying to my friends."

You take a deep breath, letting your cheeks puff out as you exhale slowly, into the dead air of the timestop.

"I told Mami that I had a big secret, one I didn't want to tell her," you say. "I told her that much, and I asked her to... I guess I asked her to let me keep it a secret. If she'd demanded to know... I don't know. But I told her that much. And-" You raise your free hand to placate Homura. "I'm not saying you have to or even should do the same. I don't really know where I'm going with this, but... yeah."

Homura's hand tightens on yours.

"I won't tell Madoka," you say, finally, and smile at her. "You're my friend, and I know what you think of that."

"And Sayaka?" she asks.

"I'm asking you," you say, and smile warmly at her. "If you think the risks are too high, then I won't. I think that she could help. She Wished to be useful, and her power lets her read souls. That's one of the few hard limitations my power has, and she can make artificial Soul Gems. I... don't think that's just a coincidence."

You tug Homura over to the bench as you talk, seating her down beside you. Somehow, the stone is still sun-warm beneath you.

"I don't know," Homura says, closing her eyes as if the admission hurt. "This is- all this- it's new."

"I get that," you say. "I know you haven't encountered something like this before, but... what do you think? I... for my part, I worry that Sayaka might not keep it to herself. She's the type who says what she thinks, though I'd definitely do my very best to impress how dangerous it could be if I told her. It's..." You bite your lip. "It's a definite risk."

"I wouldn't," Homura says. She looks away. "I wouldn't be able to convince her. She'd ruin things."

Homura falls silent, and when you open your mouth to say something, she shakes her head. Your jaw clacks shut with alacrity.

"You're not me," Homura says. "Maybe you could do it."

"I... get where you're coming from," you say. From her perspective, you probably have a bit of a track record of working miracles. Mami, Sayaka, even where you all are now with Madoka. A circle of friends and allies, all bound together by friendship and working together. "But I'm uncertain, myself."

You sigh, drumming the fingers of your free hand on the bench as you think. Miracles are your stock in trade, but it's not like you don't have your regrets. You worry so much about Mami, and you regret how you'd handled the reveal of Kyuubey and the nature of Soul Gems. You regret the times you've disappointed Homura, the stress you've caused her.

The time you slipped up with Walpurgisnacht, in front of Madoka. Homura's words still echo in your mind. Do better, Sabrina.

"I think Sayaka could handle it," you murmur. "Telling her about Witches and my goals would give her a clear goal, an objective to keep her grounded and focused. And it'd give her an enemy... a villain to oppose. Kyuubey. She does well with that kind of contextualization, right?"

Homura hesitates, before nodding.

"I don't understand her," Homura says, shaking her head. "She's loud. Annoying. She's weak, and she gets it wrong. It goes bad. It always goes bad with her. But she's not- she's not weak. Not this time."

"Yeah, I admit that's kind of weird," you say. "I've got some thoughts about why she actually has the power for all this this time round, but that's a discussion for another time, and... you don't mean her power, do you?"

You take her silence as agreement.

"But really," you say, and you can't help the smile that quirks your lips. "She's the same Miki Sayaka as you've always known,-" Transfer Student "-Homura. She just has some additional perspective on the nature of how things work in this world of ours. That's all she needed."

Homura nods once more.

"I don't know whether I'll tell her, still," you say. "I guess I'll figure it out."

She looks up, to meet your eyes. "Make sure she doesn't break," Homura whispers. "Make sure she doesn't tell Madoka. Or Mami."

"I will," you say. "I promise. I promised I'd do better, remember?"

Amethyst eyes hold yours, as if trying to weigh your words and intent, before flicking away.

"Now, may I hug you, Homura?" you ask, smiling.

She sighs, and nods. You pull her into a hug, squeezing firmly before letting go.

"Alright. I guess that's it from me, so... yeah," you say. "Ah... do you have anything you want to raise? Concerns?"

"You already know them." Homura shrugs fractionally. She swallows hard. "Thank you."

You smile at her, warm and encouraging. Not the same smile you reserve for Mami, but... this smile is for Homura. Your admiration and respect for her unyielding determination, your belief in her. You differ from her on many aspects, but her will isn't something you can dispute.

And maybe she sees something of that in your smile as she nods again, and shifts to crank her shield. It's a little awkward, since she's gripping your hand, but she manages.

Light and life and colour and sound floods back in, the joyful chatter of students reverberating through the school building beneath your feet. Homura steps back, detransforming.

"See you later, Homura," you say, waving.

"See you," she echoes quietly, and heads off back into the school.

You watch her retreating back for a moment, before turning. Sayaka had hopped off to a nearby building. It takes you just a second to form wings and take to the skies, heading in the same general direction she did and finding her perched on the edge of a roof.

You wave at her, hovering idly. She gets the idea quickly, and joins you in the air, delicate, shimmering wings setting her cape aflutter.

"Yo," she calls.

"Yo!" you say, grinning. "Come here much?"

"So what's on the menu today, Sabrina-sempai?" Sayaka says, rolling her eyes. "Technically."

"Hey, what's that supposed to mean?" you ask, reaching out to poke her in the side. She bats your hand away.

"Nothing, nothing," she says, and sticks her tongue out at you.

"To answer your question, oh impertinent kohai of mine, we're going Witch hunting," you say. "As you know, because we already agreed on it before."

"Yeah, yeah," Sayaka says. "So do we just fly around looking for one?"

"Pretty much, yeah," you say. "A spiral pattern works well. You know how to sense Witches, right?"

"Kiiinda?" Sayaka says, making a face. "Feels the same as your stuff, right?"

"... you're not wrong," you allow, and start drifting away, giving Sayaka an expectant look. She takes the hint, and follows.

"Anyway," you continue by telepathy rather than shout over the wind. "You could also use that eyesight power you got, see if you can spot a Witch? You definitely want to use it during the hunt - maybe make a clone dedicated to using it, then you can watch yourself for mistakes to correct?"

"Yeah, good idea," Sayaka says. "Watching myself... I really wonder what kinda Wish that girl had."

"Uh... you got it from Ueda Miyako in Ishinomaki, right?" you say. "I have no idea, honestly. You could ask next time we swing by, I guess?"

Sayaka makes a non-committal noise.

"Also, we need to get you synergetic powers," you say, banking on a thermal rising from the roads below. "Like power boosting - I know there must be some out there. Or some kind of multitasking, so that you don't get headaches."

"Actually, practice seems to improve the clones," Sayaka says, following as you spiral upwards. "Or at least, the main me doesn't seem to be getting much of a headache. Of course, there's just one extra me right now."

"But wouldn't you like to be able to bury your enemies in a pile of clones?" you ask, tilting your head back to grin at her.

"Do I look like an orange brat of a ninja to you?" Sayaka asks.

You snicker cheerfully. "Also, I need to get you to copy Yuma's powers," you say. "Healing is good, healing is great."

"Yeah... you know, I would've Wished for healing if you and Mami and Homura hadn't come along," Sayaka says.

"How's things going with violin-boy, anyway?" you ask.

"He's- he's getting better!" Sayaka says, and you glance back just in time to see her blush a little.

"Mmm," you hum, and let the conversation lapse rather than poke about whether he's actually noticed Sayaka. See, you can do tact. On occasion.

"Hey, Sabrina?" Sayaka asks after a few moments.

"Yep?" you ask, raising your eyes from scanning the streets far below with your senses.

"So... you and Homura have got a lot of secrets, right?" Sayaka asks.

"... you could say that, yeah," you say.

"And I get the impression they're kind of dangerous secrets," Sayaka says, sounding like she's working through some thoughts as she speaks.

"You're not wrong," you allow.

"Anything I should know?" she asks.

[] Sayaka
- [] How do you respond?
[] Witch hunt
- [] Vote in abeyance
- [] Something to change?
[] Nadia and Riona
- [] Vote in abeyance
[] Write-in (word count limit: 150 words)

Spoiler: Vote in abeyance

[X] Take Sayaka out hunting.
-[X] Be a good senpai and help Sayaka improve.
-[X] Ask her to use one Sayaka solely to watch (with sight powers?). Help point out dangers and mistakes.
-[X] Keep an eye on how your control range in the real world changes as you move into and through the barrier.
[X] Nadia.
-[X] Ask about Riona, and her not informing you all of her arrival.

=====​

Because Sayaka notices how you keep pulling Homura aside to discuss stuff, and how the both of you are frequently in accord about weird matters.

 

[Firnagzen]

"It's funny you should say that," you say, tilting your head to glance at her. "Because I was thinking about that exact subject. You sure you don't have any mind reading powers?"

"Hah!" Sayaka barks out a quiet laugh. "Not yet. But, like, I've got eyes, you know? I keep seeing you pull Homura aside to talk about something secretly or something, and I know you two are always on the same page about some stuff. Mami too, but you're always on Mami's side. Er, one moment."

You watch as a bird -a crow- riding a thermal draws a parallel course to Sayaka and chirrups at her. Sayaka makes an odd noise back, and the crow drifts lazily away.

"So Oriko and Kirika are still at their house," Sayaka says.

"Honestly, they've been good, I think," you say. "Let's land over there."

There is the top of an office building, bare but for a layer of flagstones with air-conditioning compressors protruding, and an access hatch. You coast to an easy landing, Sayaka right behind you. Her wings tuck themselves away under her cloak, dissolving into shimmering dust.

A touch of will folds Grief into two benches facing each other, one for you, and one for Sayaka. You wave her to one, and plunk yourself down.

"That serious, huh," Sayaka comments, raising her eyebrows at you.

"It is," you say, extending your Grief fog. You spread it a bit thin, but you can do enough to refract the light and fuzz out sound and check for pesky little aliens that might be lurking nearby.

Sayaka snorts, looking thoughtfully at the way the sun fractures, lensed through your Grief. "You're not even smiling."

"Yeah, well... I'd pull you into a privacy sphere for this talk, but I'm pretty sure that this you would just drop if I did that," you say, shrugging. "Clone and all, right?"

"So you're not telling me now?" Sayaka asks, making a face.

"Not now," you say. "But right now... look. You're right. There is a big secret, and it's a secret. Most puella magi don't know it, and it's an infohazard. Almost every magical girl who learns it dies shortly after. I'm willing to tell you, and you deserve to know. But it's a big secret, and... You don't need to know it to be an amazing magical girl. It's not a nice secret, it's not useful in and of itself, it's just... there."

You hold up your hands, watching as the good-natured humour drains from Sayaka's face.

"I'm not telling you this to scare you off or anything, or to try and persuade you otherwise," you say. "I'm willing to tell you. But I'm also warning you that I am putting the power of life and death in your hands with this. I'm putting Mami's life in your hands, and I want you to make an informed decision about it."

"So she doesn't know," Sayaka says, expression grave and just as serious as you imagine yours is.

"No," you say, shaking your head. "I told her... something similar to what I'm telling you now. I told her I was still keeping a secret, and it's a nasty, dangerous secret. And I asked her if she wanted to know, because I don't like lying to my friends, and... she said no." You grimace. "I honestly don't know what I'd have done if she'd said yes, but here we are."

"Who else knows?" Sayaka asks.

"Homura, Niko, Nadia... a couple others," you say, deciding not to mention Oriko. "Niko gave Kazumi the same choice I gave Mami, that I'm giving you now. She chose not to know, too. We all reacted differently to it, but I'm not exaggerating when I say that knowing this has changed us. Will change you, how you see things."

"Jeeze," Sayaka says, puffing out her cheeks. "I... I can't talk about this, either. I'd have to keep it a secret from Madoka, from Mami, from Hitomi..."

"From most magical girls," you say, shaking your head. "It's a dangerous, dangerous secret, Sayaka. You can't just... use it, even in anger, or anything. I... You'll have Homura and me, but yeah. You can't talk about this."

"Jeeze," Sayaka says, scowling. "How am I supposed to decide?"

"You don't have to decide now," you say, shaking your head. "Take your time, Sayaka. It really kind of is a life-altering decision. I... confession time? Homura and I are both scared of telling you this much. Or telling anyone this much, but I talked it over with her, and I'm making you the offer."

"Agh," Sayaka complains, actually pulling on her hair. "Argh! How am I supposed to figure this out without knowing!"

"Urashimako," you agree. "Uh... am I remembering that one right? The fisherman spirited away by Otohime and him being curious and opening the box that contains his life?"

"Just say Pandora's Box," Sayaka says, rolling her eyes. "I know the phrase. No, wait, it was a jar, wasn't it? Or... I dunno, Eve and the forbidden fruit? Of course, that means you're the serpent." She sticks her tongue out at you.

You grin at her. "Yeah, well... just think about it, alright?"

"I will," Sayaka agrees, and makes a face. "This has done the opposite to setting my mind at ease."

"I'm sorry?" you say.

"Not your fault," Sayaka says. "Well it sorta is. Why couldn't you have kept the secret better?"

"Well, I'm sorry for being comfortable enough to be somewhat free and open and honest with my friends," you say, sticking your tongue out at her.

"Damn right you should be!" Sayaka says, shaking her fist at you. She hops to her feet, expression turning serious. "I'll think about it."

"But in the meantime, we have a job to do?" you say.

"Mmmhm!" Sayaka says, grinning. "Something to take my mind off it."

"Alrighty," you say, standing. The benches dissolve, Grief flaking into nothingness. "Let's go find us a Witch!"

Sayaka bounces on the balls of her feet, wings already shimmering into existence from beneath her cloak. She hops, the motion flowing oddly as her wings flutter. "C'mon, old lady!"

"Excuse you," you say, sniffing as you form your wings. "I'm... a year older than you. Maybe two, at most. Or maybe I'm fourteen years younger than you."

Sayaka wrinkles her nose. "What, the day we found you in the alleyway?" she shrugs.

You take to the skies, the wingbeats booming. "Yeah, well, I have no idea, honestly," you say. "Also, I'm curious - does this clone-you's Soul Gem actually reflect your main one?"

"Yeah, actually," Sayaka says, settling into a flight path just behind and to your side. "The Grief is mirrored and everything."

"Huh," you say. "Remind me to find out later - can I cleanse your clone to cleanse your real self?"

"Ooh, good idea," Sayaka agrees.

After that, you settle into a companionable silence. Sayaka ranges further afield from you, the both of you looping a lazy spiral radiating out from Mitakihara Middle School. You start contemplating codeword classification for all your secrets as you search. Colour codes and all, starting from ultraviolet all the way through the spectrum to red. And appropriate modifiers, of course - if green is the level of the secrecy of magic, then you'd use perhaps Case DELTA GREEN for the ongoing preservation of the secrecy of magic. By Kyuubey, of course. Or maybe even something like Case LIME SLICE.

Mental tangent aside, it doesn't take you long to find a Witch.

"There!" Sayaka calls.

Sayaka's the first to spot it, wings tucking behind her as she dives. An apartment building, clean white and fairly modern-looking. You dart over to her, wings swept back as you follow her down into the little garden at the back.

"Remember to check for civilians!" you call. You've been a bit remiss in that yourself, but hey, a good sempai would remind her.

"We're clear!" Sayaka says, already coasting to a gentle landing. You let your wings melt away into Grief and drop right behind her, landing in an easy crouch and straightening on the soft grass. You eye the Witch Barrier, glowing in the space between the hedges.

"Alright," you say. "Make your clo-"

You cut yourself off as Sayaka steps aside, leaving another grinning Sayaka.

"Excellent," you say, smiling.

"Hey, I've got a memory too you know," the first Sayaka clone says, thumbing through her keychain of powers and tossing one at her clone. "Eyesight, to keep watch, right?"

"Yep," you say. "I'll protect this clone, so you can focus on observing?"

"Ah, yeah, that's a good idea," Sayaka -the first one- agrees. "Right, right."

"Means I get to take it easy!" Sayaka-two says, beaming. Sayaka-one smacks her upside the head.

"... how much individuality is there between you?" you say, raising an eyebrow.

Sayaka-one and -two shrug in unison. "We're all Sayaka."

"... OK, now make twenty clones and say that again when we meet new magical girls," you say. "Or maybe when we drop you off for training with Kyouko later."

"Yes, sempai," Sayaka says, rolling her eyes. All four of them.

"Right. Shall we get started?" you say, waving at the Barrier.

"Yeah," Sayaka says. She makes no move towards the entrance, suddenly hesitant.

"Hmm?" you ask. "Something on your mind?"

"Besides the obvious?" Sayaka-one snorts, and rolls her eyes. "Yeah, actually... look, you know me, I guess. Do you think I can handle it? Not, like, the Witch hunt. I'm sure I can do that, and I've got you here and I'm a clone anyway, but... you know. The big secrets and all."

[] How do you answer?
[] During the fight...
- [] Hang back, let Sayaka strut her stuff
- [] Fight equally with her
-[X] Ask her to use one Sayaka solely to watch (with sight powers?). Help point out dangers and mistakes.
-[X] Keep an eye on how your control range in the real world changes as you move into and through the barrier.
[] Afterwards...
- [X] Nadia.
-- [X] Ask about Riona, and her not informing you all of her arrival.
- [] Sayaka
-- [] Go over the fight with her
-- [] Something else?
- [] Someone else?
[] Write-in (word count limit: 150 words)

=====​

Sorry this update comes kind of late, but here we are, finally.

 

[Firnagzen]

"I know you can handle it," you say simply. You spread your hands. "Some things will make a lot more sense for you, I suspect. But I also think that it'll make the world feel much darker. I..." You trail off, working your jaw thoughtfully. "I'll say it again - it's not a nice secret. And it'll be just us three. Three is more than most people have, but you might feel like it... separates you from everyone else."

Sayaka nods, expression sober and intent. "I gotcha. But you think I can handle it?"

"Yeah," you say, and smile. "You're strong."

"Thanks, Sabrina," she says, returning the smile. "I... shall we?" She motions at the Barrier.

"Yep. After you, my cute little kohai," you say.

Both Sayakas shudder. "Never say that again."

You laugh, and shove her towards the Barrier. "Get going, you," you say cheerfully.

"Going, going!" Sayaka says, and both of her step through the tear in reality, one after another.

You take a deep, bracing breath and follow. There's a jolt, and reality shifts.

Corruption hangs heavy in the air, the skin on the back of your neck crawling at the sensation. Salt. The smell of salt, of the sea, of rotting seaweed, slaps you in the face. It's warm, too, and you crane your head to see the sun beating down on you from above, sea and sand almost sparkling.

Perfect white sand under your feet, and the crash of surf against the shore. Behind you are trees, a boundary. A nothing that leads back into the real world.

"Whoo! Beach trip!" Sayaka crows, bouncing on her toes and sending sand flying into the air. The other Sayaka grins, crouching to inspect something on the ground - a seashell.

"Apparently," you say, propping your hands on your hips and looking around. Your Grief came with you into the Barrier, all of it held tight under the control of your will, and so too did the rock you'd stuffed into hammerspace. It feels... the same, really. Your enchanted Grief's starting to run down, but that's simply time.

But now is time to be a good role model. As much as you can, anyway.

Heh.

You, a role model.

"Well?" you ask, grinning at Sayaka.

"Well what?" she says.

"Where're we going?" you ask.

"Oh! Uh..." Sayaka looks around, both of her spinning in a circle and looking around. Sayaka-two points at the forest. "That way?"

"Nope, that's the way out," you say, grinning. That much you're sure of, but what you're not sure of is where you are going. You think you know, but you're not absolutely sure.

"Then..." Sayaka slowly pans towards the sea. "We're going for a... swim?"

"Try it," you say, clasping your hands behind your back. "Keep your guard up."

Sayaka gives you a twinned, suspicious look, and one of her edges towards the sea. "So..."

She prods the crashing surf with a foot, her eyes going wide - and then she takes a step. And then another, and another, out onto the rolling waves.

You snicker, clapping the less adventurous Sayaka on the shoulder. "C'mon, then."

"I'm glad I don't get seasick," Sayaka says as she follows you out onto the open waves. "... eh, I think I'll fly. I'm supposed to watch, anyway."

"It'd be a better vantage point, but make sure you don't go so far you miss the action," you say. Standing on the sea is weird, with the way it bobs under your feet. It's almost like being on a boat out in choppy waters, but worse. "I suspect we'll be seeing things come from under the water."

"Gotcha," Sayaka says as she takes off to the skies. The other Sayaka blinks at you. "Under the water?"

"Yeah," you say with a shrug. "Just a feeling. Now, which way?"

"Uhhh," Sayaka says, looking around. "... where's the island?"

"Gone," you say cheerfully. And indeed, it is gone, even if you'd barely taken a few steps from the shore. There's nothing around you but empty, open water.

"... uhhh," Sayaka says. "Down? Underwater?"

"I don't think so," you say, shaking your head. "But keep close. Witch Barriers are imprecise things, and after a few, you get this feel for them. They're more like... dream logic than anything, you know? If we're on the surface of the water, and we are-" you stomp your foot for emphasis, watching the waves ripple out "-then we're probably here to stay unless something drags us under."

"I guess," Sayaka says, giving the deep blue sea a doubtful, suspicious look. "I mean I don't think I've had a dream about walking on water before. Diving, sure, swimming without needing to breathe..."

"Also a possibility," you say with a shrug. "Still, pick a direction."

"Right," Sayaka says, squinting up at the clone of herself, drifting lazily through the air above. "Uh... there's a big fogbank this way."

She starts off over the sea at an easy jog, bounding over the waves. You can't see anything in that direction, but you stick close, Grief fog drawn protectively all around you. Just to be sure, you dip part of it into a net sweeping through the water beneath you.

Sayaka pulls a sword from beneath her cloak as she runs, letting it drag through the water behind her. The salt water sprays, leaving a wake that trails out behind you in a wide V.

Incoming.

Below.

You bound straight to the side, Grief lending you distance and height. You wrap enough around Sayaka to shield her if she doesn't notice in time, but she's already moving as something breaches the water.

All you hear is a yell as white spray explodes into the air, a massive plume obscuring your vision for long enough for your heart to lurch, but you can still feel Sayaka there on the other side, dashing a straight line across the ocean and that thing between you is huge and white and gigantic and it stinks of rubber and it's all glistening rainbow and sharp-edged shell it's aiming for you-

Backwards. Backwards, backwards, and up. Grief becomes wings that drag you out of the way just as the thing slams back into the water with another titanic crash that sends water splashing all the way up to where you are, a clean twenty meters up in the air.

"What the hell was that?" Sayaka shrieks at you.

"Familiar," you say. "I think. Didn't feel like the Witch."

"No I got that I mean what was that?" Sayaka yells.

"... giant clam? I think?" you hazard as you drift back closer to Sayaka.

"It had teeth!" Sayaka says.

"Familiar," you repeat, shrugging. "Witch Barriers."

Sayaka shudders, reaching under her cloak and thumbing through powers. "OK. Can you stay in the air?"

"Sure," you say. "Got an idea?"

She withdraws her hand and holds it up. Fat, lazy sparks crackle over her fingers, bright enough to cast her sharp grin into shadow.

"Fair enough," you say. "Don't forget your Soul Gem capacity. I don't know whether I can cleanse you from here."

"I've got my Clear Seed ready in class," Sayaka says, nodding. "But you wanna check that later, right? So I'll use it after the fight, or in emergencies or something."

"Good thinking," you say. Sayaka beams at the praise, and without prompting, takes off jogging over the water again.

"You sure you don't wanna fly?" you call after her.

"Nah, gotta get better, right?" she says. "'sides, I've got you as a safety net, and I took the flight power up there already, anyway." She points at the other clone, flying high above you.

"Does that mean you can't share a power between clones?" you ask curiously.

"No, I can," Sayaka says. "I just gotta have the power at the time I make the clone. Original-me's got the clone power, and I made her, see? Original me has Miss Usagi's animal power, so do I, so does she. But I put away the flight power before making her, so only she has the flight power right now."

"You can fly without the power too," you feel beholden to say, even as you file that tidbit away.

"Eh, it takes more work to do that," Sayaka says with a shrug. "I-"

Another explosion of water, the thing breaching the ocean from below. Sayaka's already midleap, soaring over the gaping, chomping maw. Grief fog wraps around her, just in case it proves necessary. Electricity crackles in her wake, a blazing arc that follows the sweep of her blade.

Thunder.

It's not so much a bolt as much as a slash of lightning that meets the Familiar, slashing right into the space between the shells. It all but bursts, burning, oily muck splattering across the sea. Sayaka sails clear, and you can hear her laughing in exhilaration.

"How was that?" she calls up to you.

"Well done!" you call right back, flying closer to Sayaka. You wrinkle your nose as the smell hits you, the acrid stink of burnt rubber intermingling with crisp ozone. And now that the Familiar's dead -half blown apart- you can see that it is some kind of giant shellfish. Iridescent mother-of-pearl gleams in the sunlight, blue-streaked flesh slowly sinking beneath the waves.

"Is there just one?" Sayaka asks, frowning and looking around.

"Probably not," you say, drifting within arm's reach of Sayaka. "Never is. Keep your guard up, but well done."

"Thanks," Sayaka says, flashing you a grin - and she yelps when the sea starts to churn around the sinking corpse. She leaps, and you soar, getting distance from-

-from hundreds, thousands of swarming, scuttling things with waving feelers and transparent, blobby bodies, each one dog-sized with tentacles that flash in the sun and reach entire bodylengths. The water froths with the sheer number of them, surfacing from below and skittering across the sinking shellfish corpse. They tear and devour, tendrils freezing to flesh and shell alike as they pull it apart.

"Kill?" Sayaka calls, half-frantic, half-disgusted.

"Kill!" you call back, and sweep forward with a storm of blades. Your wings angle into something sharp and predatory as your blades drive home, each one slicing into the body of a Familiar and tearing it to pieces. You juke to the side, trusting Sayaka to see and understand and-

-and she does. Lighting roars through the air, arcing from Familiar to Familiar and popping them one after another in a beautiful, deadly display, bright enough to leave afterimages. Your blades slice into the stragglers, and you dive to the side to give Sayaka a clear shot at another host, twisting your head away. A few surface near Sayaka, and she meets them with a blur of steel and staccato thunderclaps.

It's over in seconds, leaving you cruising through the hissing, steaming wreckage of popped Familiars floating on the ocean surface.

"That was... more like it?" Sayaka says, blade still hefted.

"Yep," you say, and grin at her. "Well done. I think we got 'em all."

"Yeah, that's important," Sayaka agrees with a serious nod. "Can't let any Familiars escape, or else they eat people and grow into the Witch again, right?"

"Exactly," you say, wrinkling your nose as the smell hits you. "Which, of course, leads us to ask... where is the Witch?"

"Iunno," Sayaka says, shrugging.

"You mentioned a fogbank?" you ask.

"That way, yeah," Sayaka says, pointing.

"That way it is, then," you say. You let Sayaka take the lead, wary for more ambushes from below.

And there are ambushes, another two of those giant scallop things exploding from beneath the placid ocean in an attempt to eat you. You let Sayaka deal with them, lightning proving more than viable against them.

"... hah!" you say in the relative silence after the devastation of another swarm of the blobby things, nearer to the base of the looming fogbank. This close, you can see the black streaks in the dirty off-white, oddly geometric patterns. Rectangular, really. You grin at Sayaka, kicking one of the smaller Familiars. "Sayaka used Thundershock! It was super effective!"

"You took this long to think of it?" Sayaka says, sticking her tongue out.

"Silence!" you say, waving your arms. "Anywa-"

You cut yourself off, the hairs on the back of your neck rising. Sayaka's head twitches to the side.

"Witch?" she asks.

"Witch," you confirm.

"Below- no-"

From above. Sayaka's scream fills the air - the clone in the air, the watcher, and you're already turning, just in time to see the air saturate with slashing drops of water. Your wings snap up, crossed in front of you to shield you, but rain, simple rain hits you with enough force to drive you back in the air.

"Fucking ow," you hear Sayaka snarl - she's darting away, hunched low and dashing a zig-zag path away from water striking the ocean hard enough to send up plumes of spray.

"Incoming!" you yell, just in time for the Witch to splashdown, sending waves slopping across the surface. It towers over you, glassy-clear body a twisted cone rising into the air and filled with squirming, throbbing organs in glistening yellows and greens and deep, copper blues. Electric-blue tendrils hiss through the air, wild flailing patterns that flash toward you and leave viscous, virulent streaks of stuff flashed across your shielding wings.

You answer with a defiant shriek and blades, razor shards condensing out of the air in a deadly storm. You meet the slashing tendrils -tentacles- with blades, chopping them into stinking pieces.

"Sabrina!" Sayaka yells from above. "Catch!"

You glance up just in time to see the clone plummet. There's a gaping, bloodless wound trailing smoke from where her arm used to be and you can see light through her translucent torso. She flicks something -two somethings- iridescent and angular at you. She vanishes before she hits the ocean.

You catch, Grief stretching out. Two gems. Sayaka's power gems. The other clone Sayaka- she's fine, keeping her distance from the Witch, a blur of white and fluttering cape as she dashes across the waves. You can feel the static rising, see the lightning building, and you trust she can handle herself.

The Witch. It hasn't stopped flailing, eerily silent but for the sound of its tendrils whipping at you, a relentless and unending barrage cracking through the air, and they're fast. The Witch is fast, scudding across the ocean after you with light refracting through its crystal-clear body. You could kill it, but-

This is Sayaka's show.

The sea boils beneath you as you streak across the waves. You evade straight up, just in time for another of those giant shellfish Familiars to leap from the waves, snapping wildly at you. That is entirely too much, and you seize it with Grief before it can crash back into the waves. Bands of Grief go around it, squeezing and cracking shell before a twist of your mind hurls the shellfish bodily at the Witch.

The Familiar hits like a truck, slamming the Witch to a dead halt. A few of its organs burst inside its body, splattering the inside with unknowable fluids, and the constant, whipping strikes still for a moment.

Sayaka takes the moment to strike.

She crashes into it from behind with a yell, twin swords whirling around her in a blinding dervish that trails streaks of lightning as she carves into the beast, gouging a hole into the glassy, hollow body before leaping back. And at the apex of her jump, she raises both swords, upthrust to the sky, and swings them at the Witch. You turn away, and just in time.

The world goes white.

Somewhere in the middle of the thunder, you sense the Witch die. Sayaka howls again, barely audible, and you feel more than you hear her unleashing another bolt of lightning.

But the world's already fading, the Barrier collapsing in an inward swirl of Grief. It drains into that abyssal speck, the core of the Witch, and you find yourself everted without ceremony back into Mitakihara City. You find yourselves a ways away from the apartment building you'd entered the Barrier from.

Instead, you're under a bridge. Just by a canal that smells faintly of saltwater, a quiet ping sounding as the Grief Seed drops beside you.

"Woo!" Sayaka crows, pumping her fists in the air. "That was great!"

[] Cleansing
- [] Try to remote cleanse Sayaka
- [] Just tell her to use the Clear Seed
[] Fight feedback
- [] Ask about the clone
- [] Chide her for recklessness
- [] Praise her performance
- [] Specific points?
[] Afterwards
- [] Tell Sayaka to go back to focusing on school
- [X] Nadia.
-- [X] Ask about Riona, and her not informing you all of her arrival.
[] Write-in (word count limit: 150 words)

=====​

Scallops are freaky as hell. Yes, those are eyes, though those aren't teeth.

 

[Firnagzen]

You laugh, and clap Sayaka on the back. You flex your Grief, letting it spread out over the area and sweep for threats as you relax, the intrusive wrongness of the Barrier ebbing from your mind.

"Well done, Sayaka," you say, beaming at her. "You did great, overall. I've got feedback and stuff, but first, cleansing? I wanna try and cleanse you by cleansing your clone - but you've got your Clear Seed, right?"

"Yep, yep," Sayaka says, bouncing on her toes. She pulls her Soul Gem off and holds it out to you, irrepressible grin stretching her face as she all but vibrates with excitement and adrenaline.

You can feel the echo of her Soul Gem, not quite real, but not quite fake, either. Grief... It's there, hovering tantalizingly within your grasp.

You reach out and pull. Grief starts to drift into the air.

"Ung," Sayaka mutters, going cross-eyed. "Whoa."

You stop immediately. "You OK?"

"Uh, yeah," Sayaka says. "Just feels weird. I can feel... you, I guess, kind of... pulling?"

"Er," you say. "Right."

"... I'll just use my Clear Seed for now, if that's OK?" Sayaka says, rolling her shoulders. "I mean... did it work?"

"Yeah, it did," you say, condensing the Grief before her eyes. Just enough for a slightly smaller than average marble. "But yeah, if it feels weird, I guess we can keep it for emergencies."

"Gotcha," she says, grinning at you as she reaffixes her Soul Gem. She flops down on the bare concrete floor, tucking her cape to a side. "So?"

You sit down next to her, folding your legs primly. You can feel the Grief ebbing from her Soul Gem, draining away - Sayaka using her Clear Seed back at school, then.

"So... what do you think?" you ask, smirking at her. "And before you accuse me of cheating, it's a legitimate way of mentoring someone! You ask someone to evaluate themselves, and in turn use that to inform your own feedback as well as identify weaknesses in their own awareness."

"Yeah, yeah, we had that management seminar thing at school too," Sayaka says, rolling her eyes. She cups her elbow in her free hand, tapping her chin. "Hmm... I guess my biggest mistake was, uh, my vision clone."

"Speaking of which, here," you say, and deposit the power jewels on her lap. "But go on?"

"Ah, thanks!" Sayaka says. She pulls the keychain out, and starts replacing the jewel. "So, uh... I was supposed to watch out with that clone, but I got so engrossed in watching below I didn't notice when the Witch ambushed us from above. Well, uh, I didn't notice it before it ambushed us."

"Yeah," you agree. "I... don't have numbers to back me up, but I'm guessing that among magical girls who have even some experience, ambushes will be one of the biggest killers."

Sayaka fidgets with her ring of jewels, grimacing. "Eurgh. Right, er... I think I was being a bit wasteful?"

"No, not at all," you say, shaking your head. "It... well, if you didn't have my support -and you have a Clear Seed, regardless- it would be better to conserve magic, yes. But you Wished to help, right? So you're a part of the team, and in that context...?"

You trail off, and give her an expectant smile.

"It's a good thing to hit hard and fast?" Sayaka asks. "No matter how much magic I burn through?"

"The faster you end a fight, the fewer opportunities there are to make mistakes, yeah," you say. "And honestly, I'd honestly say you're getting to be remarkably skillful, considering how many powers you have and how little time you've had to practice with them."

"Oh, eh-heh," Sayaka turns a little red. "Thanks. I, uh... I've been giving it a lot of thought?"

You snort, and whack her gently on the head. "Pay attention in class, Sayaka, no daydreaming."

Sayaka pouts at you.

"Class is important," you say, and poke her in the side. "Before you say anything, I'm a weird corner case. You know what I mean."

"Fiiiiine," Sayaka grumps. "Uhh... I think I handled all the Familiars well. Lightning worked, even without the Pokemon jokes. I think it might be good for me to find some time to, uh, categorize my powers properly so I can decide which ones to use quickly?"

"Hmm... yeah, that's a good idea," you agree. "Just quick, rough categories, but don't lock yourself into one mode of thinking. And on the subject of powers, I... hm. I think swapping powers mid-fight will be a recurring problem. It's good to have the versatility when you're out as a clone, but if I'm not around and you can't afford the attention, it'd be too easy to lose powers."

"Ah... yeah, true," Sayaka says, the power jewels clinking in her hands. "Yeah. Definitely."

"With that in mind, it might be better to always leave them with your main self," you say. "And send out clones with a grabbag of powers instead. You have a Clear Seed, and in a pinch, I can cleanse you, so the drain shouldn't be too much of an issue as long as you can handle all the powers."

"I could send out clones with different powers," Sayaka says, brightening. "So... one clone with flight, invisibility, and eyesight, one clone with Miss Bennouna's unstoppable power and, uh, antimagic? That kind of thing?"

"Definitely a good idea," you agree. "Might be good for you to work out a slate of powers that work well in conjunction with each other."

"Yeah," Sayaka agrees. "That sounds like a lot of fun."

"Something to do, then," you say, and whack her on the head again. "No, stop thinking about them now. After class!"

"Dammit, Sabrina," Sayaka complains, rubbing her skull. "I can think with another brain!"

"... does that work?" you ask curiously.

"Kind of sort of," Sayaka says, wiggling her hand from side to side. "It's hard to describe."

You snort, leaning back and propping yourself on your hands. "I mean, when I make my chibis, I am still one mind with more than one body. I see through four sets of eyes, and have four hands and four legs that happen to not be in a single location."

"Magic is weird," Sayaka says, shrugging.

"Magic is such bullshit," you say cheerfully. "Also, speaking of chibis, you should absolutely copy them at some point. Just imagine dozens of little yous scampering all over the place."

"I'll think about it," Sayaka says, sniffing imperiously. "... I gotta ask, though... you mean copying using Kazumi's powers, right? Would I wind up making chibis of you or me?"

"You know, I have no idea, and that's why it should be tested" you say. You thrust one fist above your head. "For Science!"

Sayaka groans, and you snicker at her. The snickers turn into giggles as a pigeon drifts under the bridge, fluttering gently until it perches on her knee to coo at her.

"You know, pigeons are filthy," you say. "Birdseed?"

"Yeah, thanks," Sayaka says. "Also, clone, so nyeh."

"Anything to report?" you ask curiously as you retrieve a handful of birdseed from hammerspace and scatter it on Sayaka's legs.

"Nope," Sayaka says, giving you a pointed glare and brushing the seed off. The pigeon pecks at it, unconcerned with the antics of humans.

You laugh, and lean back on a cushioned backrest flash-formed out of Grief. "As you say, nyeh."

"Couple of fine delinquents we are, hanging out during school hours under a bridge," Sayaka says, rolling her eyes.

"Hey, you're in school, and I'm not, technically, skipping school," you say.

Sayaka rolls her eyes again, leaning back comfortably. You provide her a backrest, too, and the two of you fall comfortably silent.

You'll take the moment to contact Nadia. You've been meaning to do so for a while, anyway.

"Nadia?" you call. "Good afternoon! Do you have a moment?"

"Certainly," the traveller responds in her thickly accented tones. "What do you need?"

"So, I was wondering - I believe Riona Mag Aoidh is due in Mitakihara... if not today, then soon," you say. "But she hasn't contacted Mami. Is this... normal?"

Nadia is silent for a moment. "It is... how do you say it, courteous protocol to warn magical girls when you travel," she responds at last. "I have not heard of Riona travelling much. It does not mean she does not, but she is strong, fimti? She might not know. Do you know how she is arriving?"

"No," you admit, running a hand through your messy hair as you think. "And I'm not absolutely sure she is arriving today, but I assume it will be by plane."

"Then I would guess she will say when she touches down, fimti?" Nadia says. "It is not likely she will come to attack you. She is not the type."

"Has she done anything with other Grief controllers before?" you ask curiously.

"Not that I am aware of," Nadia says.

"Hrm. Gotcha, thanks," you say. "Safe travels!"

"Thank you," Nadia says. "Please, keep me updated. I am curious."

"Can do!" you say.

"A good day to you, then," Nadia says, and signs off.

You hum quietly to yourself, considering that. Nothing really new, and Nadia even echoed Mami's suggestion that Riona might simply be lacking in social graces. You're getting every impression of a bit of a recluse, as far as magical girls go, but then again...

If her power deals with Souls, then she knows the darkest secrets of being a puella magi. It's not that surprising that she'd keep to herself.

"Whatcha thinking?" Sayaka asks.

"Of Riona Mag Aoidh," you tell her. "And why she hasn't contacted Mami."

"I'd put some birds on watch at the airport," Sayaka says. "But they're not good enough to recognise a new human they've never met before."

"Yeah, understandable," you say. "I'd ask you to put a few clones there, but I suspect you'd be bored out of your mind."

"Mmmhm," Sayaka agrees, and stirs, sitting up. "Anyway... I should probably get going now. Er, get back to class? Or, uh. You know what I mean. Dismiss this clone and stuff and focus on class again. Unless you've got anything for me to do?"

[] Sayaka
- [] Let her get back to class
- [] Actually...
-- [] Write-in
[] What now?
- [] More science!
-- [] What?
- [] Check in with...
-- [] Hiroko and Masami
-- [] Kyouko
-- [] Nadia
-- [] Someone else?
[] Write-in (word count limit: 150 words)

Spoiler: Vote in abeyance

[X] Kyouko.
-[X] Telepathy. Check how she's doing.
[X] If there's time, check those IRCs.

=====​

Alright, somewhat back on posting schedule. Hopefully.

 

[Firnagzen]

"Oh!" you say, clapping your hands together. "I just remembered!"

"Yep?" Sayaka says. She straightens a little.

"Scallops!" you say.

"... what." Sayaka gives you a flat, suspicious look.

"Those Familiars. Those were scallops. Not clams," you say, nodding firmly. "Also, uh... more seriously." You grab the Grief Seed, and hold it up by the point. "This is yours."

"Oh!" Sayaka says, eyes widening as she reaches for it. "Wait, uh-"

"You're a clone, yeah," you say. "I'll pass it to you later, and just in case I forget to remind you later - do remember to keep it away from your Clear Seed, yeah? Bad things happen if they come into contact."

A bright grin stretches Sayaka's face as she nods vigorously. "Right, right."

You briefly consider pointing out that pigeons on airport watch might have troubles with loud noises, like planes taking off, but on second thoughts... the bigger issue would be worrying about birds getting sucked into engines. Then again, you're not sure Sayaka actually improves the birds' intelligence by much. And Sayaka said that it wasn't practical, anyway, because pigeons wouldn't recognise a new human.

"Yo?" Sayaka asks. She pokes you on the side of the head. "Anyone home?"

"I was thinking you could tell the birds to watch for Soul Gem rings, if you wanted to watch the airport, but on second thoughts, I'm not sure they could distinguish Soul Gem rings from regular rings," you say. "Also, jet engine intakes and birds."

"I could try," Sayaka says, sounding dubious. "What's she look like?"

"Blonde and green-eyed, and that's pretty much all I know," you say, and pause, frowning. Blonde and green-eyed... you're not sure whether you ever got a description of Rionna from anyone, but it feels right. "And no, I know it's not much."

"Ugh." Sayaka winces. "Do you know how much trouble I had trying to describe hair colours to birds?"

"Hm?" you say.

"Birds have better colour perception than we do," Sayaka says, shaking her head.

"Ah, right. The whole four cones versus three thing," you say, and frown.

"She's after you, isn't she?" Sayaka muses, propping an elbow on her knee and cupping her chin. "Because you're weird?"

"That's what I was told, yeah," you say.

"Which means... it doesn't really matter where or when she arrives in Mitakihara," Sayaka says. "Because we know, ultimately, that she's coming after you, for better or for worse. So we don't actually need to watch the airport, we just need to keep an eye on you."

"That's... a good point," you admit. "We don't know if she's hostile, though."

Sayaka shrugs, still hunched forward with chin resting on the palm of her hand. "Yeah, well... just in case she has some kinda instant knockout, maybe I should get a couple birds to tail you."

"Heh," you chuckle. "Birds. Tail."

Sayaka rolls her eyes.

"It's a good idea, though," you say. "Just a precaution. I think... well, I was half planning on going shopping or something, anyway. I can stick to public areas, as a just in case. Hopefully nothing happens there."

"And if something happens, I call in the cavalry," Sayaka says, and smirks. "Which means Homura and Mami come gunning for Miss... Aoidh?"

"Miss Mag Aoidh," you say, a faint smile touching your lips. "And you, don't forget. You're a pretty damned heavy hitter now."

"Yeah, yeah, but what I meant was you get your best friend and your..." Sayaka slants a sidelong smirk at you. "Your Mami coming to your rescue."

Your face flames red. "I- she's- she's not my Mami."

Sayaka gives you a flat stare.

... Yeah, you're not convincing anyone. Not even yourself.

"I'm her Sabrina," you say in lieu of the many, many things you could say in your defense.

"Then Mami riding to the rescue of her Sabrina," Sayaka says, smirk widening.

"That's more like it," you say, face still a brilliant red.

Sayaka laughs, long and loud, throwing her head back. "Revenge!"

"You realise, of course, that this means war," you say, grinning at her through your blush.

"Yeah, as if you hadn't already fired the opening shots." Sayaka sniffs haughtily. "This is just... reciprocation."

"Can't say I don't deserve it," you admit with a sigh. "Anyway, were you headed off?"

"Guess so," Sayaka says. "I'll task a couple birds to keep an eye on you first. Can I get some more seed?"

"Sure," you say, and provide the requested seed. You watch with bemusement as Sayaka tips her head back, trilling an odd note that carries and somehow summons a half dozen crows and pigeons. Soft chirrups fill the air as Sayaka does her best Disney princess impression, and the birds fly off - all but one sparrow, which remains, staring balefully at you with one beady eye.

"He's... taking the first shift, I guess?" Sayaka says, gesturing at the bird. "I don't really know how they think."

"That's fine by me," you say. You offer a finger to the sparrow, which promptly pecks you. "Hey!"

Sayaka shrugs.

"Well I was going to offer to let you ride on my shoulder, but I don't think I'm going to any more. Besides, you'll probably crap on my clothes," you tell the bird.

"I don't think he actually understands you," Sayaka says, snickering. "Anyway, you're right. I should get back to class."

"Alright," you say, pushing yourself to your feet. You open your arms, and grin at Sayaka. "C'mere."

Sayaka snorts, hopping to her feet and stepping into the hug. "You're such a dork."

"Takes one to know one," you counter, wrapping your arms around her and hugging firmly. She's a lot sturdier than you might expect, stocky, athletic muscle. "We should hang out more, it's fun."

"Dork," Sayaka says, rolling her eyes as she steps back. "But yeah. See ya!"

She punches your shoulder, and unravels in a burst of cerulean blue.

You bounce on your toes, and raise an eyebrow at the sparrow, still staring patiently at you. "Well, I'm headed off now," you tell it.

The bird ignores you, pecking at some remaining birdseed on the ground.

... Why do you even bother?

Public places, as you told Sayaka, and shopping, as you also told Sayaka. You've got this mental image in your head of a perfect look for Mami. Granted, Mami looks good whether sleep-rumpled or dressed up, but still.

And speaking of Mami...

"Hey, Mami," you say, reaching out as you head for the shopping center. On foot, since it isn't too far. The sparrow flutters after you. "How are you?"

"Sabrina!" Mami's voice is bright and warm. "I'm alright. How are you?"

"I'm doing good," you say. "The Witch hunt went well! How are classes going?"

"Ah- it- they're going well," Mami says, a little hitch in her voice. "We're having Science now."

"Is that so?" you ask, narrowing your eyes at nothing in particular. You probably look rather odd to the people passing you by.

"It is!" Mami says. "Um..."

"Are you OK, Mami?" you ask.

"I am," Mami says. "I'm alright, Sabrina. I'm just- preparing a surprise for you. I can't tell you more than that!"

"Oh," you say. "You don't- you don't have to, Mami. Not at the cost of your lessons."

"I want to," Mami says. "And, um... I'm still in class. Just working on something on the side."

"School is important, Mami," you say as you turn the corner, ducking under the shade of a building. "Being a magical girl isn't going to be everything, you know?"

"I won't let my grades slip. I promise," Mami says. "I... let me do this for you, Sabrina? Please?"

You can't say no to that.

"OK," you say. "Thank you, Mami."

"It... it's the least I could do," Mami says softly. "You've done so much for me, Sabrina."

"And you've done so much for me," you say. "We really should just call it even."

"Nuh-uh," Mami says.

You giggle.

"Well, I can't disagree with that," you say warmly. "I'm glad you're alright, Mami."

"I'm glad you're here," Mami says.

You make small talk, chatting with Mami as you stroll towards the shopping center. Though really, the more you think about it, the less you feel like going shopping for Mami without Mami being right there with you. It just doesn't feel right. You can definitely take a look around, and you can hit up the library next door for Internet access.

You could probably do CDMA-via-Grief, but there's not much point in it when there's a library right there. You'd have to figure out how to authenticate yourself to the telecoms, too, which is probably less easy. With those thoughts in mind, you continue towards the shopping center. And even if you're not in a rush, you can spend your time better than just meandering about.

With that in mind, you let Mami return to focusing on her classes. You'll see her again soon enough.

You duck into the toilet and let some Grief condense out of the air, moulding it between your palms. You get a few odd looks out in the shopping center, but really, it doesn't look like much more than playing with some unusual Play-doh or something. But it might be good to have some enchanted Grief bunkered against unforeseen circumstances.

And speaking of unforeseen circumstances...

"Hey, Kyouko? Yuma?" you call out telepathically.

"Yo," Kyouko says, wariness in her tone. "Whaddya want? Your girl still coming over for the practice session later?"

"Hello, Sabrina!" Yuma says brightly.

"Yep," you say. "I'm not absolutely sure I'll be going along, but you'll get paid. Anyway, I wanted to check - did anything come of that talk with Miss Nakano?"

"... Yuma, could you butt out a bit?" Kyouko says, voice even.

"Um... yes, big sis," Yuma says, and disconnects.

A convenient bench catches your eye, and you pause. You plonk yourself down, still kneading and enchanting Grief between your hands, watching the shoppers as they walk past you. It's not terribly populous right now, during the early afternoon, but there's enough bustle that the noise is an omnipresent hum.

"Fucking shit," Kyouko snarls at you. "The hell do I owe you?"

"Nothing at all," you say, propping your arm on the side of the bench. "I... take it Miss Nakano was able to pull some strings?"

"Fuck," Kyouko hisses. "Dammit. Dammit, I owe you. You and her, but she says you're footing her part on this."

[] Kyouko
- [] How do you respond?
[] Check IRCs (You'll only have time for one)
- [] How do you present yourself?
[x] Pick up Mami from school
[] Sayaka
- [] Send her off for training solo
- [] Go with her for training
[] What do you do after?
[] Write-in (word count limit: 150 words)

=====​

Oh, by the by - "Mag Aoidh" is pronounced almost exactly like "Maggie", and is in fact where the latter came from. Don't ask me why a surname got turned into a first name.

 

[Firnagzen]

"I..." you say, and trail off. Where did this come from? Kyouko's still prickly and proud and, well, her, but now she's insisting she owes you. After everything she's said and done.

... also, if Mika said that you're footing her part in this, does she mean that in the literal monetary sense? Because while you can raid the yakuza for more money, you're not sure you can make off with a few million to close an estate deal.

"No, actually- back it up, Kyouko," you cut her off before she says anything further. "Slow down and explain what actually happened? Because all I told Miss Nakano was that she should talk to you. I didn't tell her to do anything, and she hasn't actually informed me of what she did for you."

Kyouko makes an inarticulate noise.

"I talked to her, because you told me she was in the company that wanted to demolish my- church. I even played nice," Kyouko says, voice wavering with sharp irritation, bar that little hitch. "She made lots of noise, and said she'd call me back."

"Yeah?" you say. About what you'd expected.

"And then the next fucking day she comes back and tells me project's in 'unexpected re-evaluation mode' and nothing's gonna happen for the next three years 'til I figure out what I want?" Kyouko snarls. "What the hell am I supposed to say to that?"

"Thank you?" you hazard.

"... die," Kyouko says. "Please and thank you."

"Well," you say, trying to swallow your giggles. "See? That wasn't so hard?"

"No, really," Kyouko says. "Eat shit and die."

You laugh, leaning back on the bench. You get a couple odd looks from the passers-by, but it's fairly quiet here in the shopping center at this time of the day, anyway.

"What do I... fuck, I don't know what to do," Kyouko says. "I got time, I guess. And I owe you."

"Honestly... look, don'tstabme, but I consider us friends," you say. "I'm not gonna hold this over your head. And I... I really didn't do anything. I just put you in touch with Miss Nakano."

"Bullshit," Kyouko says. "Fine, fuck, we're friends, what the hell. Meddlesome Westerners. So what? I owe you anyway."

"I... I can't stop you, if that's how you feel," you say, squishing the Grief in your hands together with a bit more force than necessary. "But I really don't and won't hold it against you."

"Fuck," Kyouko bites out. "Fine. You're gonna talk to Nakano, right? If you're paying her back, then let me help with that."

"That..." You trail off. You were going to say that it wouldn't be necessary, but you can accept that. "OK, fine. If she does want something from me for the help, then I'll let you know."

"We're talking about it next time you're here," Kyouko snaps, and cuts the connection, metaphorically slamming the door.

... well, she's belligerently grateful. That's good, you think, and apparently Mika managed to pull off something. You should probably find out how, at some point. And what, if anything, you owe her.

You scowl thoughtfully at the enchanted Grief in your hands before refreshing it, and heading out to the library. Mika looked like she was older than you - late teens, early twenties at most. And she's powerful, powerful enough to take a Clear Seed without a second thought despite knowing the risks of being targeted.

She would seem to be something of a veteran, if you had to place her. Which means she does know how much the Clear Seed you gave her is worth.

Perhaps. Regardless, it's time to check out those IRCs Nadia mentioned.

You hand over a thousand yen note for some time at the computers, and seat yourself at one of the more out-of-the-way ones. Your hands hover over the keyboard for a moment before typing in one of the URLs Nadia mentioned. Apparently one of the ones based mostly in America, but with a couple other international members.

[14:47:01] *** Guest05591 sets mode -r on Guest05591
[14:47:01] *** Guest05591 joined #milesgloriosus
[14:47:01] <EleseCanGoDie> fucking emolga
[14:47:03] <Purranha> anyway I'm gonna go get a showe
[14:47:03] <Purranha> oho
[14:47:04] <Purranha> fresh meat!
[14:47:05] *** Guest05591 is now known as GriefBeGone
[14:47:05] <Fireblade> Fresh meat!
[14:47:06] <GriefBeGone> hello!
[14:47:06] <EleseCanGoDie> fresh meat!
[14:47:06] <Genesis> fresh meat!
[14:47:07] <TomatoPotato> fresh meat!
[14:47:08] <GriefBeGone> uhhhhh
[14:47:08] <GriefBeGone> is this
[14:47:10] <GriefBeGone> a bad time
​

Click to shrink...

You can't help but snicker at the screen. For some reason, this feels oddly comfortable.

[14:47:12] <Fireblade> No, no, not at all, come in.
[14:47:12] <Purranha> we don't bite
[14:47:13] <Purranha> maybe
[14:47:15] <GriefBeGone> when you have a name like "Purranha"...
[14:47:18] <Purranha> I said maybe
[14:47:18] <Fireblade> So!
[14:47:20] <Fireblade> Where are you from?
[14:47:24] <GriefBeGone> Mitakihara City, in Japan!
[14:47:27] <GriefBeGone> nadia bennouna gave me the channel IP
[14:47:28] <Fireblade> .
[14:47:33] <Genesis> she knows about this place?
[14:47:39] <Fireblade> I told her about it months? years? ago!
[14:47:44] <Fireblade> She never showed up.
[14:47:50] <Fireblade> I thought she forgot about it.
[14:47:51] <TomatoPotato> wait, Mitakihara?
[14:47:57] <TomatoPotato> *the* Mitakihara?
[14:48:02] <GriefBeGone> with Tomoe Mami, yes <3
[14:48:03] <TomatoPotato> what
[14:48:03] *** WhiteRabbit joined #milesgloriosus
[14:48:04] <Fireblade> what
[14:48:04] <Genesis> what
[14:48:04] <Purranha> what
[14:48:04] <EleseCanGoDie> what
[14:48:05] <EleseCanGoDie> brb
[14:48:07] <GriefBeGone> what
[14:48:10] <WhiteRabbit> what
[14:48:11] <Fireblade> WhiteRabbit <3
[14:48:12] <Genesis> fuck off
[14:48:15] <WhiteRabbit> <3
[14:48:33] <TomatoPotato> wellthe IP is correct
[14:48:36] <WhiteRabbit> what are we whating about
[14:48:38] <WhiteRabbit> oh, fresh meat!
[14:48:47] <GriefBeGone> is that some kind of codeword
[14:48:52] <Genesis> no it's just what you are
[14:48:55] <Genesis> WhiteRabbit, fresh meat is from Mitakihara
[14:48:59] <WhiteRabbit> oh
[14:49:00] <WhiteRabbit> I see
[14:49:01] <WhiteRabbit> what
​

Click to shrink...

Oh come on, it's not that unbelievable. You scowl at the screen, fingers resting on the keys without typing.

[14:49:05] <Fireblade> ANYWAY
[14:49:07] <Fireblade> MORE IMPORTANT MATTERS
[14:49:10] <Fireblade> Fresh meat
[14:49:16] <Fireblade> Opinion on mutant cabbits?
​

Click to shrink...

Ah. The important questions, indeed. You consider for a moment. You should probably answer honestly, here - it's probably something that they check for, in newcomers.

[14:49:29] <GriefBeGone> cabbits are for punting
[14:49:38] <Purranha> good answer
[14:49:40] <TomatoPotato> have you considered smores
[14:49:51] <Genesis> nadia confirms giving the IP to a girl from Mitakihara
[14:49:59] <GriefBeGone> I have, actually, but I don't *really* want to eat the things
[14:50:03] <TomatoPotato> smores or cabbits
[14:50:08] <GriefBeGone> cabbits
[14:50:11] <TomatoPotato> good, we can be friends
[14:50:12] <Fireblade> Ok.
[14:50:14] <Fireblade> Opinion on rings?
[14:50:19] <GriefBeGone> protect with life
[14:50:27] <Fireblade> Ok...
[14:50:32] <Fireblade> Normally I'd ask about emotions
[14:50:33] <Fireblade> but you've got that covered.
[14:50:36] <Fireblade> So what brings you to our neck of the internets?
[14:50:49] <EleseCanGoDie> back
[14:50:50] <EleseCanGoDie> oh cool
[14:50:52] <EleseCanGoDie> GriefBeGone, you're cool
[14:50:58] <GriefBeGone> thanks?
[14:51:00] <GriefBeGone> anyway
[14:51:07] <GriefBeGone> I asked Nadia about how I could do outreach to international groups
[14:51:11] <GriefBeGone> she gave me your IP
​

Click to shrink...

Among others, of course, but you're talking to this group right now. You hum quietly, thinking. You might as well go full in on this one, even if they're halfway across the world. Your eye flicks to the time, thoughtful - you'll need to get moving soon, too.

[14:51:14] <GriefBeGone> you can ask Nadia to confirm this: my powers let me cleanse Soul Gems
[14:51:15] <GriefBeGone> genuinely cleanse them, as opposed to moving the grief elsewhere
​

Click to shrink...

There's no response, and you check the connection, just to be sure. You wait a few minutes before reaching for the keyboard again.

[14:55:32] <GriefBeGone> er
[14:55:32] <GriefBeGone> hello?
[14:55:35] <Genesis> sorry we're all having conniptions
[14:55:38] <Genesis> also nadia confirms
[14:55:44] <Purranha> what the fuck
[14:55:45] <EleseCanGoDie> so
[14:55:51] <EleseCanGoDie> you coming to america anytime soon?
[14:55:55] <GriefBeGone> I got *extremely* lucky with my powers.
[14:56:07] <EleseCanGoDie> you did but are you coming to america anytime soon
[14:56:14] <GriefBeGone> I... don't know. I haven't planned that far ahead yet
[14:56:22] <TomatoPotato> You said you were doing outreach?
[14:56:25] <GriefBeGone> yeah
[14:56:27] <GriefBeGone> I'm trying to just get in touch with groups, see if there are crises going on, that kind of thing
[14:56:28] <GriefBeGone> speaking of
[14:56:35] <GriefBeGone> *are* you guys desperately in need?
[14:56:59] <Genesis> I'm not, but I'm not in the same group
[14:57:03] <TomatoPotato> not *really* in need
[14:57:11] <EleseCanGoDie> but how much would it cost to get you out here anyway
[14:57:13] <EleseCanGoDie> we can pay
[14:57:53] <GriefBeGone> I take it that's a "not *necessary* but highly desired"
[14:58:04] <EleseCanGoDie> pmuch
[14:58:23] <GriefBeGone> alright
[14:58:24] <GriefBeGone> I should go
[14:58:29] <GriefBeGone> unless there's anything important?
[14:58:31] <EleseCanGoDie> cya
[14:58:35] <Purranha> you gonna be back?
[14:58:35] <TomatoPotato> later
[14:58:41] <GriefBeGone> sorry to cut this so short
[14:58:42] <GriefBeGone> yeah definitely
[14:58:44] <GriefBeGone> not quite sure when though
[14:58:44] <GriefBeGone> oh
[14:58:49] <GriefBeGone> quick question
[14:58:52] <GriefBeGone> how many members does this server have? outreach you know
[14:59:17] <Purranha> 16 17?
[14:59:17] <TomatoPotato> 17
[14:59:18] <Purranha> something like that
[14:59:19] <Purranha> yeah that
[14:59:25] <GriefBeGone> ok, thanks
[14:59:25] <GriefBeGone> later!
[14:59:30] *** You have disconnected from #milesgloriosus
​

Click to shrink...

You nod to yourself as you shut the computer down, glancing at the time again. Time to head to Mitakihara Middle School - school's ending soon, which means it's time to meet Mami. And everyone else, of course.

You leave the library, smiling politely at the librarian before ducking into an alleyway and taking to the skies. You soar high above the city, smiling at the glittering towers of glass and steel as you loop past them, arrowing for the gothic arches and spires of Mitakihara Middle School.

You coast to a smooth landing in the nearby park, and walk up to the gate. The truancy officer nods at you, and motions you closer.

"It's not really my place to ask, but is she doing better?" he asks, eyebrows beetling together.

"Yeah," you say. There's no one else he could be referring to.

"Thank you for taking care of her," the man says, bowing politely. Apparently satisfied, he steps back to his post without waiting for a response from you.

Huh.

You don't have long to wait before the schoolbell rings, and the building shakes with the sounds of thousands of students standing at the same time. You bounce on your toes, a smile spreading across your face.

Mami isn't the first one out today. Of your friends, anyway, that goes to Madoka, Sayaka, Homura, and Hitomi, all emerging from the school in one big group.

"And this is where I leave you," Hitomi says with a smile. "See you tomorrow, Madoka, Sayaka, Homura. It's good to see you, Sabrina, but I really should attend my club meetings."

"Ah, see you!" you say as Hitomi turns and hurries back into school. "Hey, everyone."

"... where's Mami?" Madoka asks. Sayaka waves at you, irrepressibly cheerful.

"Coming," you say. You turn to the main door of the school, warm smile on your face - just as Mami bursts through the doors at as close to a dead sprint as she can manage with all the people milling about.

She crashes into your arms, and you sweep her into a tight, tight hug, lifting her off her feet.

"I'm- sorry I'm late," she whispers into your shoulder.

"You're not," you say, burying your nose in her hair. You hug her close, letting her regain her equilibrium.

She takes a moment, before pulling back and giving you a wobbly smile. "H-hi."

"Hi," you say, beaming at her.

She smiles back, and opens her mouth as if to say something before closing it and burrowing into your hug once more. "What are we doing today?"

"Good question," you say. "I... am honestly not sure! Lemme think about it?"

"Alright," she mumbles against you.

"Ah..." Madoka wobbles back and forth, eyes flicking towards the school. "I might go back to club as well?"

[] Sayaka
- [] Accompany her to training with Kyouko
-- [] Anything to bring up?
- [] Let her go herself
-- [] Let Kyouko know you won't be heading over today
-- [] Ask Yuma to spy for you
- [] Dump the birdseed on her
-- [] Literally
[] Mami
- [] Ask about the surprise
- [x] Hugs
[] Mami, Madoka, Homura
- [] Do you have any plans?
-- [] Rionna
--- [] Airport watch?
--- [] Ask Nadia for an introduction?
[] Write-in (word count limit: 150 words)

=====​

I gotta say, writing the IRC segment was way too fun. Also, I'm hoping to update again by my Sunday.

 

[Firnagzen]

You grin at Madoka over Mami's shoulder. "Have fun!" you say. "Hope I haven't held you up for too long. Homura..."

You pause thoughtfully as Mami shifts to face Madoka without actually leaving the circle of your arms.

"I'll go to the Gardening club as well," Homura murmurs. "If that's alright?"

"Gardening and Crafts club," Madoka corrects, and beams at Homura. "I- we'd be happy to have you!"

"I was going to ask if you'd actually joined a club, Homura," you say, and grin at her. "I guess that answers that."

Homura shrugs.

"I can't imagine you doing crafts," Sayaka observes. "Gardening, I guess, kind of sort of not really, but crafts?"

You take the moment to send a message to Kyouko, reaching out with your mind across the distance. "Kyouko? Quick question - I might not be able to make it for the training today, though Sayaka's going. How's your Seed status? Do you need a refresh?"

"When're you coming over next?" Kyouko snaps. "I can hang on to the Grief Seeds, but not too long. And we need to talk anyway."

Mami makes a little noise, tilting her head to look at you curiously. You smile at her, and she relaxes, cuddling into your hug.

"Sayaka!" Madoka says. "Homura did great in arts and craft lesson!"

"Mnnnyeh," Sayaka says, sticking her tongue out at Madoka.

"I'll be along next session, most likely," you say. "And, uh, Sayaka has a Clear Seed - I'll let her know to use that for cleansing for everyone?"

"Yeah, yeah," Kyouko grumbles. "Fine. Later."

"I am perfectly capable of... crafts," Homura says, staring at Sayaka.

"Yeah, right," Sayaka snorts, and folds her arms. "Show us what you make. Unless today's gardening, in which case... nyeh."

You roll your eyes. "Girls, girls, you're all pretty," you say. "Anyway, we'll see you... tomorrow, or maybe later? Hopefully not later, because that would mean something came up. Uhhh. Sayaka, I need to pass you the birdseed and stuff. This way?"

Mami makes a disappointed little noise when you release her from the hug. You smile at her, warm and fond. "Just a few minutes, OK?"

"Alright," Mami says.

You give her another reassuring smile before stepping away. Madoka seems perfectly content to wait, eyes flickering from you, to Homura, to Mami as you head around the corner with Sayaka in tow, into a quiet alley.

"Right, so..." you say, and promptly disgorge several bags of birdseed from your hammerspace. "Uh. Right. How do you want this?"

Sayaka stares at the packages. There's... a number of them, each suspended on Grief handles and each weighing a kilogram. And there's the one that's carefully opened, since you had to grab some seed earlier.

... You may have bought a bit too much.

She sighs, and transforms, splitting off a clone. "I'll take it," she says. "I can't even blame you for overkill, I'm gonna need a lot of the stuff. I dunno how I'm gonna store all this, though..."

"You could leave it on the roof," you say. You let Sayaka take the bags as you reach into hammerspace with your mind and start retrieving stacks of yen notes. "Or figure out hammerspace."

"Sure, but that takes time," Sayaka muses. "The roof might work."

"Yep, just make sure to cover it up so the birds don't steal all of it before payday. Here, gimme a bag?" you say. You grab one of the plastic bags, rearranging the packages of birdseed to free it up and stuff the money inside before folding it up neatly. "Here, there's Kyouko's fee."

"Right," Sayaka says. The original Sayaka takes the neatly wrapped notes and tucks it under her shoulder before grinning at you. "Thanks, Sabrina."

"Anytime," you say. "Also... uh. Just a tip? I'm... pretty sure you can swap places with the clones to teleport. I know Miss Koizumi was doing that, when we fought in Ishinomaki."

"Uh?" Sayaka says, and frowns as she detransforms. "Huh. You're right."

"Could be useful?" you say.

Sayaka scrubs her fingers through her hair. "Yeah, it could be," she says. "You... you can tell us apart, right?"

"Well, yeah, you're not in costume, and she is," you say, hooking your thumb at clone-yaka. "But in general, yeah, I can sense it."

"So I'll assume most magical girls probably can," Sayaka says, nodding. "Could be useful, but not something that I can immediately trick someone with."

"Mmm," you agree. "Anyway. I should get back now, and you should get going. Do me a favour and help me check on Kyouko's Seed status? Also, ask if you can copy Yuma's power."

"Gotcha, mom," Sayaka says, rolling her eyes.

"That's sempai to you, my cute little kouhai," you say. "... well damn. Now I regret that I'm not going."

Sayaka shakes her head, already headed out of the alleyway. Her clone stares at you, eyebrow raised.

... you feel like you're being judged. You're totally being judged.

Hmph.

You hurry out of the alleyway, and sweep Mami up into a hug. You grin at everyone, especially Madoka and Homura and Sayaka, and exchange farewells. Madoka heads back into the school with Homura trailing behind her, and Sayaka heads off down the street, waving a goodbye.

You beam at Mami. "Where would you like to go?"

"Ah... do you have any plans, Sabrina?" Mami asks.

"For once, no, not really," you say. "I'm all yours, Mami."

She blushes, bright red and utterly adorable.

"Um, well..." she says, reaching out to take your hand in hers. "Then... let's go home?"

"Alright," you say, and beam at her, squeezing her hand gently. You're... really curious about the surprise. You think you can feel it, that trace of her magic in her bag, but you want to let Mami reveal it in her own time, too.

"Did you know you're famous world-wide?" you ask instead of the question burning at the tip of your tongue.

"I am?" Mami blinks at you. She swings her hands lightly as you start down the street.

"Yup!" you say happily. "I checked out one of the IRCs Nadia passed to me earlier. They were nice, and they didn't believe me at first when I told them I was from Mitakihara, with you. Speaking of which, I should thank Nadia, she backed me up on that."

"Oh!" Mami says. "I... I'm surprised, actually. I didn't know I had that much fame."

"Mami, you're awesome," you say. "You've held a city all by yourself, for years. You've been fighting, and you've managed to be an absolute paragon all this time. Unwavering and beautiful and brave and strong. Why shouldn't you be famous?"

Mami blushes, ducking her head. "I didn't... think I would be," Mami says. "Not outside of Japan."

"You, Mami, are one in a billion," you say with a grin. "One in seven billion."

"Thank you, Sabrina," Mami says with a warm smile.

You hold her eyes for a long moment, and nod, cuddling Mami close, and the both of you just breathe as you head home.

... you still really want to know what the surprise is. That's the downside of surprises, you suppose.

"So," you say. "What do you think we should do about the Iowa group, Mami?"

"Mm? Ah," Mami says, straightening a little. "Do we know they're coming here?"

"I think it's all but guaranteed," you admit with a sigh. "They... well, they specifically have high mobility, right? They're known for wandering from place to place. And I'm a pretty big target, I think."

"This city is ours," Mami says firmly. "We'll defend it."

"Definitely," you agree. "Problem is, well..."

"We don't know anything about them," Mami says. "We should ask Miss Bennouna. Maybe ask if she knows anybody in cities raided by them?"

"Yeah," you say, frowning thoughtfully. "Should we be trying to prepare defenses against them?"

"Maybe if we knew where they were," Mami muses. "But Miss Bennouna wouldn't know."

"Or rather, she wouldn't have up-to-date information," you agree, scuffing your shoes against the ground as you walk. "Dangit."

"We should definitely ask," Mami says. "Ah... where was the IRC you mentioned? Or, um, where were the people?"

"Oh!" you say. "... oh. Oooh. Good idea, Mami."

Mami beams at you.

"America, to answer the question," you agree. "That's definitely a good idea, Mami."

You chat quietly with Mami as you walk home, swinging your joined hands back and forth. It's comfortable and pleasant, though you do spare a few moments and a sliver of attention to follow up on something.

"Hey, Nadia?" you pulse telepathically. "Thanks for authenticating me back there."

"Ahh, Sabrina, yes," Nadia responds. "It was no problem. So you are going through the list?"

"Yeah," you say, squeezing Mami's hand as you reach the apartment. She smiles up at you. "Did just the one earlier, but I'm probably going to check out the rest, too. By the way, can you confirm something for me? How does Miss Mag Aoidh look?"

"She is blonde," Nadia says. "Dirty blonde, is that correct? Dark blonde, with lighter streaks. She has green eyes."

"Yep, that's correct," you say. "Again, thanks, Nadia! Safe travels."

"It was no problem," Nadia says. "Goodbye!"

Mami glances at the mailboxes as you step into the apartment lobby, and makes a little noise, walking over.

"Hmm?" you ask, following her.

"There's mail," she says, unlocking the little compartment and retrieving what looks like a government letter. "Oh! This is yours, Sabrina."

"Huh," you say, taking it from Mami and flipping it over. Sure enough, it's addressed to you, and you can feel something like a card inside. "Oh, I was wondering when this would be done. That's... actually really, really fast. Didn't she say a week?"

"Miss Inoue must have expedited the process," Mami says, watching as you carefully peel the letter open. "They don't normally send these by mail, either."

"Yeah, makes sense," you agree thoughtfully as you pull out the little plastic card. Yep, that's definitely your face on it. Mami peeks over your shoulder, and you obligingly tilt the card so that can see it too.

"Ah... there's just the identification card," Mami says, nodding. "Maybe Miss Inoue was referring to the passport when she said it would take a week?"

"Huh, maybe," you say, slipping the card away into your pocket. You beam at Mami. "Shall we?"

Mami beams, and takes your arm as you head to the elevator. And since you're at it, you'll take a moment to thank Yuuki, too.

"Miss Inoue?" you say. You rock back and forth on the balls of your feet as you watch the floor number fall.

"Ah, yes, Miss Sabrina?" Yuuki responds. Self-satisfied, concentrated smug drips from her tone. "I trust the new passport and identification card are to your liking? There's not another magical girl in Japan who could have managed that so quickly, you know."

"... er," you say. "Not to, uh, disappoint you, but only the card has arrived. Just arrived today, in fact."

"What?!" Yuuki's volume rises sharply, and you wince. Mami catches your eye, and you grin at her, explaining what's happening in a low murmur. "Damn it! Blasted postal service."

"Still, it's very much appreciated," you say, beaming as Mami giggles at your imitation of Yuuki's outrage. "Thank you, Miss Inoue."

She makes an extremely irritated noise. "The passport should be along tomorrow or the day after," she grumbles. "I figured out how to fast-track the process without anyone noticing anything amiss, and I manage to get the credentials right so that no one would question sending it out by mail and I even manage to tweak package handling so it went through faster... anyway, you are very welcome, Miss Sabrina."

"You're doing alright with Grief Seeds and hunting?" you ask. The elevator dings open, and you step in, Mami at your side.

"We are," Yuuki affirms.

You exchange a few more pleasantries before ending the call - perfect timing, as you reach the apartment. Mami unlocks it, toeing her shoes off and stepping inside. You follow suit, making a beeline for the sofa and flopping down. Mami moves towards the door as if to shut it, but you loop your arms around her waist and pull her down with you, a bit of Grief nudging the door shut and locking it. You even put the shoes away neatly on the rack.

Mami giggles, reclining happily against your side.

"We have Miss Watanabe and Miss Saito coming for dinner tonight," Mami says thoughtfully. "What should we make?"

"Hmm," you say thoughtfully. "Something Italian, or something traditional Japanese?"

"Maybe something Japanese," Mami says thoughtfully. "Hmm... I would suggest kaiseki, but we don't really have the materials to make it properly."

"Yeah," you say, and make a face. Cooking a multicourse meal wouldn't be too much of a problem, but the fancy part of kaiseki is the presentation. "Making it look nice..."

"We could just focus on the cooking, and do what we can," Mami says. "We don't have flowers or decorations, but I could use my ribbons, and you could shape things with your Grief, and we could make the food look good."

"Ooh. That's a possibility," you agree.

Mami beams, and you spend a few minutes discussing what you could cook with the ingredients you have on hand. You really hope you don't intimidate the Shiogama girls too much - you still get the impression they're expecting the other shoe to drop soon, some demands over dinner, or harsh conditions laid down, or something.

Still, you'll take the opportunity to get to know them, and hopefully help them relax a bit.

"Sabrina?" Mami murmurs as the conversation trails off.

"Yes, Mami?" you ask, smiling at her.

"I... have a gift for you," she says. "It's not really a surprise any more, but... close your eyes?"

"OK," you say, closing your eyes obligingly. You feel Mami get up, and you pull your Grief back and just... stop sensing for a bit. It's not much of a surprise, given that you know it's coming, but still.

You feel Mami's arms go around your neck gently, and something settles on your chest.

"You can open your eyes now," Mami whispers.

You open your eyes to find yourself wearing a necklace. It glitters, a brilliant, polished pendant of clear, yellow-tinted crystal twisting through a fine matrix of silvery metal. The knuckle-sized pendant dangles from what looks like a chain at first glance - but you can feel the fire of Mami's magic in it, ribbon coiled so tightly it looks like a chain.

"It's beautiful," you whisper, and turn your smile on Mami.

Mami fidgets, blushing a little.

"I- do you remember the first time you tested Prima Luce?" she asks. "You melted the engine block and the sand?"

"Yeah," you say, and beam at her, taking her hand. "It's beautiful, Mami. Thank you."

"Oh!" Mami says. "Um, you don't have to worry about the necklace breaking, I used fishing line as the core, so if antimagic hits it it'll still be alright."

"Mami," you say gently. "I love it. I'll treasure it, Mami, but not as much as I treasure having you."

"I- oh," Mami says, the blush deepening.

You laugh, and pull her into a tight, tight hug, planting a kiss on her cheek.

"I- I actually wasn't finished with it," Mami says. "But, um, I'm glad you like it, Sabrina."

"It's beautiful," you say. "It really is."

"I spent a bit of time during chemistry lesson colouring it, and then polishing," Mami says. "It wasn't..." She trails off, and smiles helplessly at you. "I wanted to enchant it before giving it to you."

"You don't have to justify it to me," you say. "I really do love it."

"Thank you, Sabrina," Mami says.

"No, thank you," you say. You lapse into a comfortable silence, simply enjoying each other's company for a while. Eventually, though, Mami stirs.

"I should change out of my school uniform," Mami says, sitting up.

"And I've been wearing this outside the whole day," you say, looking down at yourself. "Go ahead, Mami, I'll wait here."

Mami gives you a smile, and hurries off to the bedroom.

In the meantime, you have one more thing to settle. Nakano Mika. You really hope you haven't been saddled with a sudden, massive debt.

"Miss Nakano?" you say.

"Hiya! Miss Sabrina, right?" Mika chirps in response a moment later. "What's happenin'?"

"I was going to ask you that, actually," you say. "I hear you came through for Kyouko?"

"Oh psht," Mika says. "Threw a little tantrum, then pointed out that they could do better things than build another bunch of flats there. 'sides, they hadn't even closed the deal properly yet. Easy enough to wiggle out of."

"Do I owe you anything?" you ask carefully. The important question. "I mean, I'd be happy to pay if necessary, but-"

Mika's laughter cuts you off, ringing through telepathy clear and loud.

"Nah, nah, you gave me that Clear Seed," Mika says. "I owe you, if anything. Works like a charm, by the way."

"... ah, fair enough," you say. You're not going to question a gift like that. "Well... thank you, Miss Nakano. Thank you so much. Seriously, you went well above and beyond anything I'd have expected."

"Yup!" Mika says cheerfully. "Got anything else for me?"

[] Mika
- [] Do you have anything else to say to her? Any requests etc.?
[] Before dinner...
- [] Science
-- [] Feathers psychometry - elaborate?
-- [] Vote in abeyance
- [] Something else?
[] Dinner
- [] How do you conduct yourself with the Shiogama girls?
[] Write-in (word count limit: 150 words)

Spoiler: Vote in abeyance

-[X] Science:
--[X] Can ribbons connect our hyperspaces, remove items from our hammerspace? Test phasing/faux-teleport/ fast (global) travel.
--[X] Discuss a (speckled) enchantment loadout. What are the most useful effects?
---[X] Practice enchantment generally. Prioritize artificial grief seeds.
--[X] Help Mami test her own ideas.

=====​

The pendant is technically a man-made pallasite of sorts, or at least that's what I'm basing it on. Look 'em up, they're pretty!

 

[Firnagzen]

You flick a glance at the bedroom door -still closed- and give it a bit of thought. "Yeah, actually - if you have a moment?"

"Yep," Mika says. "Probably gonna escape the meeting and go hunting before I go mad from boredom soon, so hit me."

"Right, so... Mitakihara is due to get hit by Walpurgisnacht," you say. "I assume you know what it is?"

"Mitakihara's that nice city down the coast, right?" Mika says. "Company's got some decent investments there."

... she's messing with you, right?

"I... meant Walpurgisnacht, but yes, it's a very nice city," you say. "I live here, with Mami."

"I see, I see," Mika says, her tone the very picture of polite interest.

... yeah, she's messing with you.

"So, yeah," you say. "We're intending to fight, of course, and I'm going to try to minimize damage. But... it's Walpurgisnacht. We're probably still going to need some major reconstruction afterwards. I don't suppose you know anyone who might be in the business?"

"I might know a few people," Mika says thoughtfully. "I could... drop a few words in some ears."

"Ah... yeah, that'd be great," you say, picking your words carefully. "Like, lay the groundwork for post-disaster reconstruction and such? And, well, actually, I'm kind of interested in getting some reasonable adults in the know? I don't wanna encroach on your turf, but I'd like some kind of income through, uh... legitimate, positive work?"

"Are you asking for an internship?" Mika asks, sounding faintly amused. "I can get you one -yay, nepotism!- but I dunno if it's what you're after. Pay ain't exactly great."

"No, no, I mean... with Grief manipulation, I can do some serious heavy lifting and, uh, general force application," you explain. The bedroom door cracks open, Mami emerging. You meet her halfway, sweeping her into a hug. "If there are adults actually in the know, then I'd be happy to work with them to help actually build things with magic when the time comes."

"Oooh," Mika says. "Yeah I gotcha. I mean I've run some errands for dad before, but if you wanna get into large scale work... yeah, I can ask for you."

"Errands?" you ask. So her father knows. You beam at Mami, giving her one last squeeze before releasing her and heading to the bedroom so you can change.

"Hey, gotta get that pocket money when you're a kid," Mika says. Her voice turns sheepish. "'course, that was... yeah, well. When I say 'kid' I was like fifteen, and I actually really wanted a... you know what, never mind. It's kind of silly now that I say it out loud."

"... right," you say. "But yeah, that would be appreciated."

"Dad might wanna interview you maybe?" Mika says thoughtfully.

"I wouldn't expect anything less," you say. "I mean, I'm not gonna ask him to trust it on principle."

"Mmmh!" Mika says. "Yeah, I'll ask him. And see if I can drop some hints about Mitakihara."

"Very much appreciated, Miss Nakano," you say as you pull a shirt on.

"I'll be in touch!" Mika says, and signs off.

You huff, checking yourself in the mirror before heading out. Dear Madokami, but Mika is helpful. Well connected and willing to simply toss these things in as... practically as afterthoughts.

"Hey," you call, beaming at Mami. You make a beeline straight for the sofa and throw yourself over the back of it, legs dangling in the air and face mashed into the seat.

Mami giggles, relaxing slowly. She lifts your head up and inserts a pillow before letting your head return to flopping.

"Mmmmrg," you mumble into the fabric. Mami laughs fondly, and you feel her fingers on your head, carding gently through your hair. "Mmmnm."

You butt your head against Mami's hand. As much as you can while upside down over the sofa, anyway. Eventually, though, it gets uncomfortable enough that you let yourself slither forward, off the sofa and onto the ground before you pick yourself up again.

Mami giggles as you sit down properly and cuddle closer to her.

"Thank you for the necklace, Mami," you murmur. "It's beautiful, and I'll treasure it."

"It's- it's nothing," Mami says, a little hitch in her voice. "I didn't even complete it..."

You reach up to tap her gently on the nose. "Mami, I love it. I really, really do. Please accept my appreciation?"

"I... alright," Mami says. "Thank you, Sabrina."

"Nuh-uh," you say. "I'm thanking you."

Mami huffs, but subsides. You wrap your arms around her waist, head still tucked against her shoulder. Slowly, her hand rises, toying first with your hair, then with your ears. You sigh happily, snuggling closer.

"So what enchantment did you have in mind, Mami?" you murmur.

"Is... is it alright if I keep it a secret for now?" Mami says, shifting. Her fingers still in your hair, and you imagine she's biting her lip. "I... haven't fully worked it out yet."

"Of course," you say, tightening your hug a little. "I'm sorry I ruined the surprise."

"It's alright," Mami says, her fingers pick up their motion again. It feels nice.

"Mmm," you say. "I... hey, Mami? I just realised... I don't actually know when your birthday is. I... think it's June the fifth, but I'm not sure."

"It is," Mami says. "From your... ah."

"Yeah," you say, tilting your head back to smile at Mami. From your knowledge, but it's something to be kept a secret from possible prying ears. "June fifth."

"Is... is there a reason you ask, Sabrina?" Mami asks.

"Well, I definitely have to get you something special for it," you say, settling back against Mami. "But it's also something I should know, right?"

"I..." Mami trails off. "Thank you, Sabrina."

"Always," you say, and butt your head gently against her hand. Mami obligingly goes back to running her fingers through your hair.

"Did you want to work on the enchantment?" you murmur after a few minutes of contented silence.

"I think so," Mami says. "It... doesn't feel right, leaving it incomplete."

"OK, then," you say, raising your hand to remove the necklace, only to be stopped by Mami's gentle touch.

"Not on the necklace," Mami says, shaking her head. "I'll experiment on something else before finalizing it with your necklace."

"Ah, that's good thinking," you say, beaming up at Mami. "I'm sure you'd be able to get it right quickly, though."

"I don't want to risk it," Mami says firmly. "And it's a... tricky idea, anyway, I've never tried it before."

"Alright. Let me know if I can help?" you say.

"You definitely can," Mami says. "Can you help me get the rocks out of my bag?"

"Hmm?" you say, and pout at Mami. "That's not what I meant."

Mami giggles, leaning her cheek against the top of your head. "I know, but... let me do this for you?"

"Alright," you say. "Of course, Mami. But let me try something?"

You glance at her bag, on the shelf at the opposite end of the room, and let your cloud of Grief infiltrate it. You find the rocks, smooth river rocks she must have picked up at some point, and you wrap them up in Grief. A thought pops them away, into that otherworldly storage space, and a small effort of will brings them over to you.

"Hold your hand out, Mami?" you say.

She smiles at you, cupping her hands in front of her, and you drop the rocks right into her palms - and one more, the one you've been carrying with you all day. Mami laughs, setting them down on the sofa seat beside her.

"You used the pocket trick, right?" Mami asks.

"Yeah," you say, grinning at Mami. "Figured I could."

"I know what you're thinking," Mami says, tapping your nose. "It doesn't work."

"What doesn't?" you ask, smiling innocently at her.

"Teleporting yourself by putting yourself into the pocket," Mami says.

"... dangit," you say, huffing. "You got me."

"I had the same thought too," Mami says. She takes your hand, fingers gliding gently over your knuckles and stopping on your Soul Gem ring. "This becomes an anchor. You can't bring your Soul Gem with you, and... the pocket is very unpleasant to be in. And, um, I had no way to move in the real world, with just my Soul Gem, but that's different for you."

You laugh and beam at Mami. "I should have known you'd already know better than I do about this kind of thing," you say. "At the very least, I would guess I can streamline travel by reducing the surface area exposed to air, so that's nice. And probably get into smaller areas. Do you think your ribbons can connect to my, ah, pocket?"

"No," Mami says, shaking her head. Her smile turns a little melancholy. "I've tried it - you can't connect to other people's pockets."

"Alright," you say, and cuddle a little closer to Mami. "Thank you."

"Mm," Mami says, her hand tightening in your hair. You rest your hand over hers, squeezing gently, and let her recover. She stirs, eventually, picking up one of the rocks while giving you a tentative, worried look. You smile back at her, reaching across to grab one for yourself.

Mami relaxes, her smile becoming more natural.

"What kind of enchantments do you think would be most helpful to carry around?" you ask, rolling the rock thoughtfully between your palms.

"What do you mean?" Mami asks.

"Well... I was thinking I could maybe have some kind of arsenal of enchantments I could keep with me," you say. "Stuff that would be useful all the time? I'm not very good at enchanting, but I think I can use the Grief enchantment aid I figured out a while ago."

Mami purses her lips, considering. The flow and twisting of magic between her fingers stills as she thinks it over.

"I'm... not sure," Mami admits, finally. "Your Grief can achieve essentially any effect, correct?"

"Yeah, but at the cost of feeling Witchy," you say. "Magical girls can feel it, and I've noticed that it can throw experienced magical girls like you or Homura off."

Mami shakes her head, smiling at you. "That's true, but... I'm getting used to it," she says. "I recognize your... flavour of Grief, I suppose."

You return the smile.

"And for other magical girls..." she says. "It takes a while for you to form your Grief constructs, so you have time to warn your allies. And, um, unless you make pure enchantments, they'd be noticeable anyway. The only scenarios in which having an arsenal of enchantments might be useful is in an extreme emergency, or maybe if you're trying to conceal the full extent of what you can do?"

"Hmm..." you say. "That makes sense. Or... well, one more is if I'm meeting new magical girls and want to stay absolutely innocuous."

"Sabrina, you are the furthest thing from innocuous," Mami says, giving you a fond smile.

"Touché," you say cheerfully. "So, nothing too useful, apart from maybe non-range limited effects."

Mami nods in agreement, and you return to considering the rock between your palms, the silence companionable as you work on your own projects. Really, if there's no really easy enchantment you can think of that would be helpful to carry around on a day-to-day basis, then you want to go back to trying to figure out an artificial Grief Seed.

The biggest obstacle of which is that you don't actually know how to enchant something to hold Grief. But then, you have a manipulation enchantment. There has to be something related, right?

You frown at the rock in your hand. Can you make an enchantment that controls something else?

It turns out that the answer is yes. Half an hour later, you manage to get a rock shard levitating another in a simple figure-of-eight. Mami claps, beaming at you when you show it to her.

The question then is Grief, but that's something you have to leave for another time, because it's time to cook.

"Shall we?" you ask Mami, reluctantly disentangling yourself and standing. "Did you get anywhere with the enchantment you're working on, by the way?"

"Ah... yes, somewhat," Mami says, hiding the rock behind her back. "I'll show you when it's done?"

You laugh, and offer Mami your hand. "Of course," you say as she takes your hand and lets you pull her to her feet.

It's time to cook, and then it's time for your guests!

[] Dinner
- [] How do you present yourself?
- [] What conversational goals do you want to hit?
-- [] You're not going to force them to do anything
--- [] Elaborate! They're going to want to stay busy.
-- [] Walpurgisnacht
-- [] What they can do around Mitakihara
- [] Privacy sphere talks?
[] Kyouko, Sayaka, Yuma
- [] Check in...
-- [] With who?
[] Write-in (word count limit: 150 words)

Spoiler: Vote in abeyance

[X] Dinner
-[X] Be you. Debunk any notions about you making them do anything. Unlike most meguca, you are in a position to provide basic needs -- safety, sustenance, shelter -- to people lacking them without suffering anything for it.
-[X] Inform them of Walpurgisnacht. Make it clear that you will absolutely not demand that they fight it.

=====​

Apologies for ending this here - I'd meant to actually get to the dinner, but after a bunch of delays in writing, well... If I don't end it here I wouldn't be posting tonight, so here we are.

 

[Firnagzen]

You don't let go of Mami, smiling at her instead. You regret the way some things have gone. You regret the way you'd broken the news to her, the way you broke her. You could have done better, and you should have done better. But you don't regret this.

You don't regret your decision to be her friend. You don't regret being with her.

"Sabrina?" Mami asks.

"Just thinking," you say, and pull her into a hug. "I'm lucky to know you."

"I'm luckier to know you," Mami mumbles into your shoulder, her arms warm and tight around your waist.

"I know you think so," you say, pulling back and smiling at her. "I disagree. So let's just leave it at that, and agree we're both really lucky to have each other?"

"I... Alright." She takes a breath, and smiles at you. A touch wan, but warm and adoring. "Shall we start preparing for our guests?"

"Yeah," you say. "Let's."

You hook your arm through Mami's, and head to the kitchen, splitting up at the door. Mami raids the kitchen for ingredients, and you start getting all the dishes and pots and pans ready, Grief setting a dozen different items dancing through the air. You shoot Mami a grin - if you're going to do this in time, then you're going to need the time.

Mami smiles back, and starts setting out food on the countertop. "Mackerel, we can grill that, shrimp for sushi? We have some fresh tuna we can make sashimi with."

"Chicken, hmm," you say, glancing over at the counter. "Simmer that with the tofu for one of the courses. Vegetables... Soup?"

"Vegetable soup. Miso soup, too," Mami agrees, stepping past you to grab the chopping board.

"I'll chop," you say, stopping her with a hand on her wrist. "You're better than me for the actual cooking, I'll handle the labour."

"You're just as good-" Mami protests, and smiles at you. "-but I know you'll disagree."

You huff, and grin right back. "Besides." You spread your hands demonstratively, Grief fanning out with the motion into razor sharp blades.

"Make sure it's clean!" Mami says, laughing.

You fall into an easy rhythm with Mami - she does in fact let you take the grunt work, starting the ricecooker, chopping vegetables and meat. Mami sets the soup on the two inner stoveheads and gives you a smile, and you take over with Grief. And since you don't actually have to reach over to stir, Mami mans the stove with two pans. One with a lightly seasoned mackerel sizzling away and another to brown some chicken, and both smelling absolutely heavenly.

"Hey, Yuma!" you call out telepathically as you work. "How's it going?"

"Miss Sayaka told Yuma not to say anything to you!" Yuma says. "Or else she wouldn't give Yuma candy!"

"... really?" you say. Huh. Candy.

"Big sis hit her for that, and took away the candy," Yuma says, mental voice lowering to a conspiratorial whisper. "But big sis shared the candy with Yuma and Miss Sayaka! So Yuma can tell you."

"Ah, that's good!" you say, giving the vegetables a contemplative look. Nice, even cuts, but then you wouldn't expect anything less of yourself. Not when you're using Grief. You send all of it gliding over the pot, and lower it in gently. "What news do you have for me?"

"Big sis was really surprised at how much Miss Sayaka has improved!" Yuma tells you. "She wants to know what you're feeding her. Can Yuma have some?"

"A steady stream of powers and magic," you say, giving Mami a smile as you walk past her to the cupboard. "I'm sure you're no slouch yourself, at this point."

"Yuma beat Sayaka in the spar earlier!" Yuma says. "Miss Sayaka wasn't expecting Yuma to fight so hard."

"Oof, that's got to be a blow to the ego," you say. "Well done, Yuma!"

"Thank you!" Yuma says. "Big sis and Miss Sayaka are sparring now, no powers. Big sis said, since Miss Sayaka liked the clones so much, she needs to be better with them."

"Makes sense to me," you agree. "Kyouko's a good teacher, honestly."

"Big sis is big sis!" Yuma says happily.

"Hah, well, keep me updated if anything interesting happens?" you say.

"Yuma can do that!" Yuma says. "Will you be coming next time?"

"I should be," you say. "See you later, Yuma!"

"Bye-bye!" Yuma chirps.

Mami gives you an inquisitive look as you dart past her, reaching for the cupboard.

"Checking on Sayaka," you tell Mami, fishing a package of seaweed sheets from the cupboard. "Sushi, right?"

"Mmhm!" Mami says, smiling at you. "Ah, don't forget to put the sashimi into the fridge."

"Whoops, good point," you say, tucking the seaweed under your shoulder and ferrying the sliced fish to the fridge. "Where's the wasabi- ah, found it."

"Beef hotpot for the main course," Mami decides. "Could you help me slice the beef? And prepare the mushrooms?"

"Of course," you say, beaming.

The entire apartment smells absolutely, ridiculously good by the time you're done. Yuma's shared a few more pieces of choice gossip, mostly about Sayaka being chased up and down the training area by Kyouko, and you're pleased that everything seems to be going well on that front. And Mami even took the time to create decorations out of ribbons, little ribbon flowers and ornaments while you painstakingly formed food into shapes.

You flop on the couch with Mami. "Do you... do you think we may have overdone it?" you say, toying with the pendant around your neck.

Mami giggles, nestling comfortably under your arm. "Maybe a bit."

"Ah, well," you say, reaching for the television remote. It goes to some gameshow or another, but really, it's just there to provide a bit of white noise while you wait.

"Mmmnm," Mami mumbles, cuddling closer.

It isn't too much later when you feel two presences enter your sphere of detection. "They're here."

"Oh!" Mami says, stirring. You tighten your arms around her waist.

"Not here here, they're still at the ground floor," you say. "But they'll be here soon."

"Oh," Mami says, and smiles. "Alright, then. Is everything still warm?"

"Yup," you say. You wait patiently as they take the elevator, and wait as they walk down the corridor looking for your apartment. And then-

"There we are!" Mami says, hopping to her feet at the sound of the doorbell.

You open the door together to greet the Shiogama girls. Saito Akemi, with her sharp features and eyes of dark pink, is the first to step forward. She bows, wavy brown hair hanging like a curtain around her face.

Noriko -and there's only one of her for now- bows too, a touch belatedly. Her hair's a solid mass of vivid green drawn back into a ponytail, with just a few yellow streaks peaking through.

"Thank you for inviting us, Miss Tomoe, Miss Sabrina," Akemi says, a bit too loud, a bit too nervous.

"There's no need for that," Mami says. "Please, come in."

They straighten, and let Mami usher them inside. Both of them seem to have dressed up a bit, both in neat, matching dresses. They look around the room, apparently curious.

"Welcome," you say, smiling at them. "Glad you could make it. Dinner'll be just a few minutes, OK? Go ahead and take a seat."

You bustle off to the kitchen, and back with the first few courses. A proper kaiseki has a dozen or so courses, half of them bite-sized, all of them prepared with fresh-as-in-collected-the-very-same-day-fresh, but by mutual agreement with Mami that it would take too long, you serve multiple dishes at once.

"Itadakimasu!" you all chorus. The two Shiogama girls sit opposite to you and Mami, digging in tentatively.

You watch as they take their first bites, and give Mami a proud smile at their widening eyes.

"It's good," Noriko murmurs.

You pop the shrimp appetizer into your mouth and nudge Mami, still smiling.

"Thank you, Miss Watanabe," Mami says. She's already on the sashimi. "But really, this isn't a formal dinner. Please, there's no need to stand on ceremony."

"Yeah," you say, smiling. "Really, we just want to get to know you."

"It's appreciated," Noriko says, chopsticks moving daintily. "In truth, there's not much to tell that... you don't already know."

Her expression falls, Akemi shifting a little closer.

"Well... we don't really know each other, right?" you say, smiling gently. "So, um... I'm Sabrina, as you know. Vee Sabrina, on paper, but the surname is a bit of a weird thing. My powers are Grief control, and I enjoy spending time with Mami and my other friends, and helping people."

Mami blushes, and you beam at her.

The Shiogama girls exchange a look before Noriko speaks. "T-then... I'm Watanabe Noriko," she says. "Um... my power is that I have a second body? It's very useful. Uh, well, I like Akemi, and I sculpt a bit, and, ah, I like video games. Calligraphy, too."

"And I'm Saito Akemi. And I like my girlfriend Noriko! Uh... my power is luck. It's, um, mostly passive," Akemi says, and smiles sheepishly. "I suppose it might be one of the reasons we're here? Um... yes, I like Noriko, I like experiencing new things, and... I like reading."

She elbows Noriko. "You like reading too," she says.

Noriko's smile falters a little. "I do," she says quietly. Her eyes flicker up to meet yours. "We were all in the book club... before. It's how we met."

"Do you want to talk about her?" Mami asks, her tone soft and gentle. "It's alright if you don't."

"I... we'd rather not," Akemi says. Noriko picks at her sashimi, before picking it up and cramming the entire portion into her mouth, followed by the wasabi paste.

"This is good!" Noriko says. There's just a hair of an edge warbling under her bright, cheery tone. "Is this fresh?"

"Yep!" you say, smiling. If she wants to change the topic, you're perfectly willing to go with it. "Freshly cut about... er, about an hour ago. And that's fresh wasabi, too."

"Mmmmm," Noriko says. "It's excellent! You and Miss Tomoe should open a restaurant."

"Honestly, I'm not convinced Mami's power isn't cooking," you say, giving Mami a fond look. "Magic's just something you picked up on the side, right, Mami?"

Mami nods gravely. "Alas, you've revealed my secret," she says, a hint of a smile curling her lips.

"Well, of course," you say, grinning. "How could I ever let such majesty be hidden away?"

Mami blushes, smacking your shoulder lightly. You grin at her, and take the moment to pop the last of your sushi into your mouth.

"Can't be better than my power," Akemi says after a moment.

"Excuse me?" you say, and grin at her.

"My power is the reason we're here, after all," Akemi says. She holds out one hand, fingers spread. "If it weren't for that, then we wouldn't be meeting the Tomoe Mami."

"... that's a fair point, but Mami's still better," you say, just as firmly. You stand, reaching across the table. "Anyway, everyone's done with the first few courses, so let me get your dishes..."

You grab everyone's dishes, some of them floating on Grief. When you return from the kitchen, you're bearing the main courses - a small bowl of vegetable soup as a palate cleanser, beef and mushroom and vegetable seasoned and simmered to perfection, miso and tofu soup...

"That smells amazing," Akemi says, sitting up and peering at the dishes as you set them up. This is going to be so much washing later.

"Thank you," Mami says, smiling. You take your seat beside her, and you all start digging in.

"So do you have anything in mind for what you want to do, Miss Saito, Miss Watanabe?" you ask, sipping gently from your bowl of soup.

"Not really," Akemi says, shaking her head. "Do... do you have something in mind for us?"

"We do not," you say firmly.

"We've invited you here because you need somewhere to live, not because we want something from you. But..." Mami adds, smiling gently and glancing at you. "There are things you should know."

"I promise you that we have no intention of making you fight, or make payments or anything," you say. "I swear it. But as Mami says, there are complications. I... well, I'm willing to go into it now, but the food will get cold. Would you rather hear it now, or later?"

"I..." Noriko exchanges a look with Akemi before clearing her throat and looking up. "We appreciate that, Miss Tomoe, Miss Sabrina. If it's alright, we'd rather go into the details after dinner?"

Akemi essays a weak smile. "It would be a shame to waste your efforts cooking."

"That's not a problem," you say, smiling back. Your hand finds Mami's under the table, and she squeezes gently. You switch your chopsticks to your other hand, fumbling before using Grief to stabilize them.

"Miss Saito, Miss Watanabe, you mentioned you were in the book club?" Mami breaks the silence with a smile. "Have you any good book recommendations?"

"Ah... well, we've... not been in school," Akemi says. "But we've been reading the Haruhi Suzumiya series again! A new novel is being released soon."

"Oooh," you say, and snicker. "Did you watch the anime?"

Noriko cringes, chopsticks freezing midair. "Don't talk to me about the Endless Eight."

An anime to show Homura sometime between the sun burning out and never, really, but you can definitely talk about it. Especially the decision to reanimate and revoice the exact same episode eight times in a row to show the effects of a timeloop.

"Aw, it wasn't so bad," you say, grinning. "Right, Mami?"

"I only watched it after the fact," Mami says. "It wasn't too bad."

"Noriko was watching it as it aired," Akemi says. "Made me watch it, too. Misato..." Her smile fades.

Noriko takes a deep breath. "We all watched it together," she says. "It was agonizing."

"It was probably worse for Nagato, who had to go through it, uh... fifteen thousand times," you say, grinning. "I mean it was honestly a really clever gimmick."

"Fifteen thousand, five hundred and thirty two. Clever doesn't mean good!" Akemi protests.

"I always thought it was because of a last minute studio decision to turn Disappearance into a movie," Noriko says. "Seven episodes would have been more than enough to cover it, but then the decision would have left them searching for filler."

You shrug, mouth full of beef and mushrooms. Delicious, delicious mushrooms.

"Mmmrmph," you say, swallowing. "Oh, since we're on the subject of books... or were, really, but before I forget, I've got a book recommendation. Upcoming novel, The Sky of Seven Stars. A friend of ours wrote it, so I'm obliged to plug it."

"I think I've heard about it," Akemi says, frowning. "Or... I saw an ad for it somewhere? I'll keep an eye out!"

"Let me know if you spot it in the wild," you say. "Because now that I'm telling you this, I just realised I have no idea when it's actually going to be in the bookstores."

Mami giggles faintly, bumping against you. You spend the rest of dinner with amiable, light chatter, letting the topics ramble on. You watch them relax, but it's clear enough to you that they're still grieving, the kind of deep, pervasive loss that cut deep and would probably stay with them forever.

Finally, though, dinner finishes with dessert, ice cream topped with fruit. The clinking of utensils against dishes stills, and an almost expectant silence falls.

"So," you say, stirring your spoon through the remains of your ice cream. Noriko and Akemi sit up straighter, expectant and worried. "The elephant in the room."

"Just tell them, Sabrina," Mami murmurs to you, and looks across the table. "There's no easy way to break this news, I'm afraid."

"The first, big thing is Walpurgisnacht," you say. "Do you know what she is?"

They both shake their heads.

"The Queen of Witches," you say, setting your spoon down. "A Witch big enough, powerful enough, to exist without a Barrier. It is due. Here. In Mitakihara, on the night of Walpurgis. Thirtieth of April."

You look up. Their faces are slowly draining of colour as you meet their eyes. "I do not expect you to fight. We do not want you to fight if you don't want to. You've just moved here, and you are under no obligation to defend this city."

"But Walpurgisnacht is coming to Mitakihara," Mami says. "You'll have to evacuate, and... we're going to win, but the city is most likely going to be damaged."

"Mm," you say, and smile at them. "The real issue is that the damage is probably going to be on par with a hurricane hitting. Reconstruction will probably take a while, but the good news is that we're already starting to arrange for that."

"Oh," Noriko says, sounding faint.

"We've got it handled," you say, smiling. "Or we will have, by that time. It's just going to take time."

You're leaving out Feathers, of course, but one thing at a time, one shock at a time. Akemi reaches out to Noriko for support, grabbing her hand. And you can tell they're speaking to each other by telepathy. You let them, smiling softly at Mami as you wait. They need the time to process it, and so you let them have the time. Mami smiles back, and cuddles closer.

"You..." Noriko breaks the silence. "You said Walpurgisnacht was the first thing?" She stumbles over the unfamiliar word.

"The second thing isn't nearly as earthshaking," you say with a smile. "Just that... well, with my powers, I can help a lot of magical girls, and I intend to. We're expecting quite a few more immigrants to Mitakihara City - I think I did mention that you might be getting roommates, right?"

"You did," Akemi says. "That's..." She smiles weakly. "That's a lot more manageable, as far as bad news goes."

"I'm sorry," you say. "I really don't know if there's an easy way to break the news of a giant, city-destroying Witch. Aaaaaaaanyway, I have to say - the worst case, on the topic of incoming magical girls, would be girls who specifically want to cause trouble."

"Because... of you," Noriko guesses. "I've never heard of anything like your magic existing before."

"It hasn't," you say. "And I'm expecting that people will want to have that for themselves."

"They can't have you," Mami says, fingers tightening around yours. You smile at her, squeezing back.

"I know," you say. "This is my home. Here, with you." You smile at her, and turn your attention to the Shiogama girls. "Still, that's what we can expect, in the coming weeks."

They both nod wordlessly.

"I would..." you purse your lips, and start again. "I completely understand if you don't feel up to doing much. I understand, and I want you to take as much time as you need to settle in and recover. But there are a few things I could ask for your help with, if you're willing?"

"What do you need?" Akemi says.

"We don't have as much time for Witch hunting as we used to," you say, and hurry onward as you see their expressions fall. "And I'm not asking you to fight them! But if you're willing, helping to locate and tell us about them would be enormously helpful. And... well, as I said. We're expecting refugees. If you were willing to help us manage them, it would be an amazing help."

Akemi exchanges a glance with Noriko. "I think... I think we could do that," she says quietly.

[] Akemi and Noriko
- [] What else do you want to talk to them about?
[] After dinner activities
- [] Invite them to do something?
- [] See them off
[] Write-in (word count limit: 150 words)

=====​

It's currently about seven. The next vote will take you through to about nine-ish, so vote accordingly. Targeting a Saturday/Sunday update.

 

[Firnagzen]

You blink, pulling back mentally. You can't help but replay the way the conversation went, the way their expressions just fell when you brought up Witches, and the way they've been waiting for a shoe to drop this entire evening.

... no. This is not how you should do things.

You flip both your hands up, palms out.

"I... hold on," you say, squeezing your eyes shut and pressing the fingers of your free hand against them. "Miss Watanabe, Miss Saito, I'm sorry. I don't mean to make it an obligation, and I... I realise that I was unconsciously framing things rather callously. I don't want to take advantage of an unfair situation, so..."

You blow out a hard breath. Mami squeezes your hand, under the table.

"Miss Watanabe, Miss Saito, you are under no obligation to help," you say, meeting their eyes in turn. Both of them look more than a little confused. "I just... I just want to emphasize that. I'm looking for volunteers, and I don't want a decision because I led you into it or something."

Noriko exchanges a look with Akemi before turning back to you. "Ah... Miss Sabrina, you seem to have the impression we're..." she says, trailing off. Her gaze skitters about as she searches for a word. "That we're phobic of Witches?"

"What? No!" you protest, blinking. "I mean... I assume you don't, uh... you don't particularly relish encountering them, though."

"We don't," Noriko concedes. "But we're not afraid of them. We wouldn't have survived very long... after, if we didn't hunt."

"I believe you, and I'm not trying to insinuate otherwise," you say, holding your hands up. "But, I... look, I'm making a mess of this. I don't want to make it a point of pride or anything, and I don't want to pressure you into it, and everything we've provided, and will provide, is free and will remain so, and I just want to make sure that you genuinely want to do this - you're still recovering and settling in, and the help is nice but absolutely not necessary, and-"

Mami's fingers touch your wrist, and your mouth clacks shut. You're babbling. She gives you a warm, reassuring smile, and you force yourself to relax.

Akemi's lips tug upwards into a wry smirk. "It's nice to know you're as bad as we are about dealing with this."

That startles a giggle out of Noriko. You stare at them, and then you groan, covering your eyes.

"There goes all my cred for being suave and in-control," you grumble.

Mami takes your hand, patting it with her free one. "Did you ever have any, Sabrina?"

You shoot her a betrayed look, and she giggles.

"Miss Watanabe, Miss Saito, what we're trying to say is that we truly wish you to live well," Mami says. "We want you to take all the time you need to deal with your demons."

"We... I, I..." Akemi sighs, words failing her as she tries to speak. Her shoulders slump, and she shakes her head.

"I don't think we're ever going to... leave it behind," Noriko picks up the conversation. "And we are very grateful for the opportunity you've given us, Miss Sabrina."

"You're very welcome," you say.

"I..." Noriko exchanges a look with Akemi. "If it's OK with you, I think... maybe in a few days? We'd like to settle in and get used to the city. As... as you told us before, if we run into any Witches, we'll tell you, but I don't think we want to go out looking for them, right now?"

"That's more than fine," you say, smiling. Your hand seeks Mami's, under the table, and you interlace your fingers. Mami smiles at you.

"And, um... you mentioned roommates," Akemi pipes up. "That's fine."

"OK," you say, nodding. "I'll let you know as and when it becomes necessary, and I won't force them on you either." You exhale slowly, and smile. "One last heavy thing, and then I think I'm out of serious discussion for the night?"

"Yes?" Akemi says.

"Alright, so..." you fumble in your pocket, reaching awkwardly across your body because you don't really want to let go of Mami's hand. You pull out Hildegarde's Seed. "So... this is a Clear Seed. It's what happens when I empty a Grief Seed of all its Grief, and it can last a long, long time. Would you like one? Free, of course, though, uh... I'll need a regular Grief Seed to convert."

"I-" Akemi's eyes go wide. "Yes, please-"

"Akemi!" Noriko says.

"Free," you repeat with gentle emphasis. "I'm sorry, I can't give you the ones I have, they're currently, uh, experiments. And, um, mostly no-strings-attached. The only things I demand are that you don't abuse these, and that you help magical girls you come across if it should come to that. No using unlimited magic to attack other magical girls, not that I think you would, and if someone new pops up and needs help..."

"Pay it forward," Akemi says, nodding. "I can get behind that idea." Her gaze flicks over to Noriko's, holding the other girl's gaze for a moment, before Noriko nods slowly.

"What else should we know about them?" Noriko asks.

"You have to keep regular Seeds and Clear ones physically separate," you say, putting Hildegarde away. "Otherwise the regular one will suck any Grief from the Clear Seed out, and respawn the Witch. And these have only existed for a week or so, so I'm still monitoring them for long term stability."

"Ah," Noriko says. "I... we can deal with that."

You grin faintly. "Hey, if it makes you feel better about testing what are technically prototypes, I've got the oldest Clear Seeds in existence. If there's any problems, I'll notice it first."

"No, really, we can deal with that," Noriko says. "Right, Akemi?"

"Right!" Akemi says, smirking. Just a little. "Good luck and all."

"... hey, while we're on that subject, I'm curious - Miss Saito, can you enchant, ah, good luck charms?" you ask.

"I... yes," Akemi says, expression falling. "Not good enough, but... yes."

"Oh. I'm sorry," you say. Their third teammate had one, it seems. You can't say you sense any enchanted objects on Noriko, though.

"We'll be happy to accept a Clear Seed, Miss Sabrina," Noriko says. "Um..."

"I've got it," Akemi says. She fumbles around in her pockets, and withdraws a Grief Seed. The only Grief Seed they have with them.

"I'll be just a few moments," you say, taking it gently. "In the meantime, ah... I've just realised you don't know all the magical girls in Mitakihara."

"We haven't met all of you?" Akemi asks.

"Not quite," you say, and start explaining about Oriko and Kirika and everyone, really, as you start drawing Grief forth from the Seed. Just little descriptions, quick power rundowns. You don't mention that Oriko and Kirika were once your enemies, and are still under house arrest. You almost mention the Animators, but...

Not with Mami right beside you, smiling as she offers comments. Maybe later, or maybe by telepathy. Besides, they mostly keep to themselves.

"A power copier?" Noriko asks, eyes fixed to the forming Clear Seed in your hand.

"Yeah," you say. "Actually, ah... you don't have to agree, of course, but it would be good if she could copy your powers sometime? I mean, again, you don't have to, but between you and me, I'm trying to turn her into magical girl Batman, a power for every situation."

Mami shakes her head, giving you a fond, exasperated smile.

"I... suppose?" Noriko says, exchanging a look with Akemi. "I'm not sure how much use my power would be, but I'm fine with that?"

"Um, same," Akemi says.

You beam at them as the last dregs of Grief slow to a trickle. "Alright! And here you are."

You present them with the Clear Seed. Akemi's the first to try it, snatching the Seed from your hand and tapping it to her Soul Gem. She watches with awed eyes as the Grief drains away, and immediately offers it to Noriko.

"Thank you," Akemi whispers to you. "Thank you, Miss Sabrina."

You smile, squeezing Mami's hand as you lean back and watch the disbelief and raw joy mingle on Akemi and Noriko's faces. Mami smiles at you, leaning against your side.

"Can- can we have a moment?" Noriko asks, already half-rising from the chair. "This is- this is a lot to take in."

"Of course," Mami says, squeezing your hand.

"Take all the time you need," you add, smiling. The words are barely out of your mouth when they stand, and hurry off to the living room.

You beam at Mami. "You've been quiet."

"This is your work," Mami says, smiling softly at you. You shuffle your chair over so you can hug her properly. "I didn't want to step on your toes."

"And I don't want you to feel marginalized," you say.

"I didn't," Mami says firmly. "I- I enjoy watching you speak, Sabrina. You have such conviction."

You smile, and hug her, twisted oddly on the chair to wrap your arms around her. Eventually, though, you have to let go, and by wordless agreement, you starting cleaning up the dishes.

You're side by side with Mami, and up to your elbows in soapy water -you're cheating with Grief to help, of course, but it's oddly soothing to wash some by hand- when a new voice intrudes in your head.

"Hello, is this Sabrina?" The new voice is sharp despite the rounded consonants of English spoken with a distinctly Irish accent. "Where are you? I will come to you."

... finally.

[] Rionna
- [] How do you react?
- [] What do you tell the Shiogama girls?
- [] Hook Mami into the conversation
-- [] Or Homura
-- [] Or Sayaka
-- [] Or Oriko
-- [] Or Kirika
-- [] Some combination of the above?
[] Write-in (word count limit: 150 words)

=====​

Ugh. I'm very sorry - this seems to be becoming a bit of a habit, but here we are again: Update cut off at a slightly odd point because I got distracted during the day, and I want to update today. I did genuinely intend to cover more of the enchantment stuff this update, and I'm sorry about that.

Spoiler: Cut off vote

[X] Call Nagisa. Check how she's doing, and try to set up another visit.
[X] Make a Grief Enchantment Enhancer; use it to try making Speckled Enchantments:
-[X] Perception: Sense enhancers (Grief, magical, normal), lie detector.
-[X] Defense: Against projectiles, extreme light and sound, mental and soul magics, harmful effects in general.
-[X] Utility: Toggleable privacy field, ability enhancers (combat, multitasking, control, magic).
[X] Test successful Speckled Enchantments for witchy feeling, duration, and effectiveness. Drop those with marginal value.

 

[Firnagzen]

"Sabrina?" Mami asks, pausing as she rinses a dish.

"Riona just contacted me by brainmail, somehow," you tell her, washing the suds off your hands. You smile at Mami, pressing a quick kiss to her cheek. And at the same time, you respond to Riona. "Can you help me call Homura? With an actual phone, just in case?"

"Riona Mag Aoidh, I presume? Yes, I am Sabrina," you reply in English, and connect Mami to the conversation, too. "This is Tomoe Mami."

Mami nods, flicking her hand out. Water droplets fly, but more importantly, a golden ribbon lashes out. You sense it more than you see it, and Mami's phone comes sailing in moments later as if attached by a bungee cord. She dials, and raises it to her ear, giving you a smile.

"I am," Riona says. She sounds completely unsurprised that you know her by name. A tad impatient, even. "Now, where are you? I'm after getting off a long flight."

"Hello, Homura?" Mami says, speaking rapidly into the phone. "Riona just contacted Sabrina by telepathy. She's here in Mitakihara."

"We're at home," you tell Riona. "Where are you? We can come and meet you for a pick up."

"The airport," Mami tells Homura. "She just mentioned a long flight. We're at home."

"Grand," Riona says. "I am at the airport. I will be waiting."

She drops the connection.

"Alright, take care," Mami says.

"Riona seems friendly," you mutter. And apparently, completely unimpressed with Mami, which is somewhat disconcerting in its own right. You're almost inclined to be suspicious of her on that basis alone.

... you had more questions for her, damn it. Like how she contacted you, since you haven't met before. Sure, the reason you know about her is because her power apparently has to do with souls, and that's probably related, but you'd wanted to ask.

You're not sure she's to be trusted. She's the one that kills Oriko, in some variations of the future. She has apparent cause to come into conflict with you, potentially, and for that, you can be wary of her.

"Homura says she'll head over as soon as possible, and... Miss Mag Aoidh did just have a long flight," Mami says. "How long is it from Ireland to Mitakihara?"

"Edinburgh, didn't Nadia say?" you ask, frowning. "I think it's around a fifteen to sixteen hour flight. Anyway... I suppose we need to apologise to the Shiogama girls."

"We do," Mami says, nodding. You wipe your hands off and loop your arm through hers, leaving the rest of the dishes in the sink. You'll handle them later.

"Miss Watanabe, Miss Saito?" Mami calls softly as you emerge from the kitchen. You find the two Shiogama girls on the sofa, huddled together and looking up from what must have been an intense conversation.

"Ah, yes?" Noriko says, brushing back her hair.

"Please excuse us - something's come up that we need to handle," you say. "Some, uh, international diplomacy."

"Oh, um, of course!" Akemi says, jumping to her feet and tugging Noriko up with her. "We'll get out of your way."

"No, no, it was a pleasure to have you over," you say. "Really."

"It certainly was," Mami says with an equally warm smile. "We apologise for cutting this short - we didn't plan for this interruption."

"Yeah," you say, rubbing your nose sheepishly. "Please do feel free to hit us up anytime if you need help, or just to talk, or anything? And, uh, the offer to provide introductions still stands."

"We'll take you up on that sometime!" Akemi says. "But we'll get out of your way now."

You let them out, and then hurry off to change. Button-up shirt with a nice skirt - the right mix of formal and casual, you hope. You look nice, anyway. Mami emerges a few minutes later with a light jacket over a blouse and long pants, smiling at you.

... of course, you're not sure whether Riona would even care, but even so, it doesn't hurt to be prepared.

And speaking of being prepared...

You snatch your phone from your pocket and dial for Homura as you head for the roof, two steps at a time. You already have Grief gathering ahead of you, folding into a flight platform, ready for when you make it up.

"Yes?" Homura says. You put her on speakerphone, so that Mami can hear. "I'm leaving for the airport now."

You share a look with Mami, half a step behind you. An unspoken spark of mischief flickers between the two of you despite your urgency.

"Only now?" Mami says. "That's good timing, Homura, we had to see off our guests before leaving, so we're making our way there now, too."

"Yes," Homura says.

"Where're you?" you say. "Maybe we could pick you up?"

"That won't be necessary," Homura says. "It's not on your way."

You grin at Mami as you hit the roof, offering a hand to help Mami up the platform. Both of you transform as you take flight, and just to be sure of making as good a first impression as you can, a thought coalesces your Grief cloud behind you, pulling it into dense spheres.

Just to be extra sure, you shove the Grief away into your storage space. You want to meet Riona on neutral terms, and a pervasive utility fog of vitrified despair might not be the best introduction.

"Are you sure, Homura?" Mami asks. She has to raise her voice to be heard over the rushing wind. "I'm sure it wouldn't be a bother. Right, Sabrina?"

"Absolutely," you say.

Homura sighs, and you can all but hear her rolling her eyes. "I was at Madoka's house," she says. "I am on my way to the airport."

"Aw, that's no fun," you say, grinning at Mami. She giggles, bumping her shoulder against yours. "Seriously, you want a pickup?"

"No," she says. "I'll arrive separately, and keep a look out. Tell me if you need help."

"Alright, gotcha," you say.

"Keep in mind that Miss Mag Aoidh was able to make a telepathic connection with Sabrina despite not having met her before," Mami says, giving you a questioning look. You nod, and Mami continues. "Maybe it's from her power? Still, she managed it while still at the airport, and we were at home. She might have a very large sensing area."

"We are communicating by phone for a reason," Homura says, neutral agreement. "I will be careful."

"I trust you," you say, smiling at Mami. You were going to bring that up, too. "We'll do this right."

"Noted," Homura says, and hangs up.

Mami directs you to the airport - you've never been this way before, but the airport is a fairly obvious fixture, if set apart from Mitakihara proper. Far to the west of the city, brilliant strips of light sprawl in carefully tended rows of runways. The air shivers with the roar of jet engines, planes taking off and landing in ceaseless activity, and a fat, arterial road streams with cars and trucks below you.

You briefly consider adding blinking lights to your flying platform, but you're not flying that high. And Sayaka isn't here, so you don't have to worry about capes.

"That one," Mami says, pointing at the central wing. "That's the main arrival terminal!"

"Got it!" you say, descending towards the building. You land smoothly, and smile at Mami before stepping off and detransforming. She follows suit, and you let your flight platform dissolve to join the rest of your Grief in pocket-space.

A touch of Grief disarms the rooftop door and unlocks it, and you make your way into the airport proper. Even at night, it's packed, noise echoing up the stairwell as you descend.

There's a girl -young woman, really- waiting for you when you emerge from the stairwell. Long, strawberry-blonde hair pulled into a tight braid falls past solidly built shoulders, a slightly-too-long fringe doing little to hide the glare of piercing green eyes glaring at you.

She looks older than you, by perhaps a year or two, and she's dressed in a somewhat travel-rumpled dress, a moss-green shawl with whorled patterns draped over her stocky form.

One hand is planted imperiously on her hips, opposite to a pouch on her waist. Her other hand rests on the handle of her luggage, equally as immovable as she seems, a stationary island amidst the crowds of travellers drifting past.

"Welcome to Mitak-"

Riona cuts you off.

"Finally," she snaps. "Been waiting a donkey's years for ye."

You falter, but Mami picks up the slack, stepping forward with a warm smile.

"Welcome to Mitakihara, Miss Mag Aoidh," Mami says in English. And you can't help but give her a proud smile for her fluency as you step up, before returning your attention to Riona.

"Yes, yes," Riona says, all but brushing Mami off. Her eyes remain fixed on you. "What are you?"

"I'm-" you blink. "I'm me. I'm Sabrina."

"Don't give me th' runaround," she snaps, making a jerky motion with her free hand. "I know you're not normal, I can see that."

"I'm... sorry, you're going to have to elaborate," you say. You're already kind of annoyed. "You mean my powers, right?"

"To be sure," she snaps, rolling her eyes. "I've tried, everyone's tried, everyone wants to do what you can do. I can see you're not normal, what's the story?"

[] Riona
- [] How do you respond?
-- [] Ask to discuss somewhere else
-- [] Confess you don't know
-- [] ???
[] Mami
- [] Let Mami step in
[] Homura
- [] Ask her to stay on watch
- [] Ask her to pull back
[] Write-in (word count limit: 150 words)

=====​

I'm trying my best with the Irish-ness.

Also, Riona or Rionna? Who knows! I definitely don't!

 

[Firnagzen]

... charming.

Well, Nadia did warn you she was kind of antisocial. Though from your first impression she's not so much antisocial as she is antisocial. You're not sure whether she likes people or not, but she certainly has an effect rather akin to antimatter on a conversation. Socially speaking, of course, and you have no idea where this analogy is going.

She just had a long flight. She flew across the world to ask you, personally this question. You can excuse a bit of discourtesy right now.

You don't know how to answer her question, rudeness aside. And you might as well admit that, but you don't think she'd like that answer much. You debate how to phrase it to her, but...

You have hypotheses, and just that. Somewhat substantiated, but still unconfirmed as yet. You... might as well be honest.

"I'm aware my Soul is strange," you say, meeting her eyes. "But as to why, my best guesses aren't very good. I have ideas, yes, but nothing that I've been able to confirm."

"Your Soul is strange to be sure," Riona echoes, squeezing her eyes shut and tilting her head up at the ceiling. Her accent thickens when she's excited, apparently. Or when she's irritated. One of two. "To be sure your Soul is strange, anyone with half an eye can see that. Fine, let's hear your whys."

And you were going to carefully introduce the notion of privacy and let her infer that there are things you don't want to discuss in public -or in front of Mami- but here you are.

"I... not here," you say, gesturing around at the airport. "I'm not going to talk about sensitive topics where anyone or anything might hear."

Riona sucks in her cheeks, giving you a long look. "Fine," she says. "I will check in to my hotel. Come."

She turns, squinting at the overhead signs. She strides away at a quick, impatient clip, cutting through the crowds with her luggage dragging behind her.

"She seems... nice," you mutter under your breath to Mami as you hurry after Riona. You were going to offer to help her find a place to stay, or maybe to help her find her way to wherever she was staying, but she seems to have a very definite idea in mind.

"Miss Bennouna did say she didn't make friends easily," Mami says. "This is probably why."

"Yeah..." you agree. "Ah, well."

You catch up with Riona at the taxi stand, joining the queue. She unzips her belt pouch, pulling out a metal flask and sipping.

... there's magic in that flask. Faint enough that you didn't pick up on it with a cursory look in there, and she is definitely drinking it.

Riona catches you looking. She sloshes the flask in your general direction, raising her eyebrows.

"No, but thank you," you say. Nadia warned you about the stuff. You... don't think it's harmful. You're pretty sure she would have mentioned if it were, but you're awfully suspicious of the magic in there.

She shrugs, and takes another sip.

It smells awful. Not alcoholic, or if there is, there's so little it's drowned out by something sharply acidic, almost like curdled milk. Mami wrinkles her nose, leaning against your side.

The ride to the hotel is exceedingly awkward. You step in to help translate for Riona, the taxi driver giving you and Mami a faintly baffled look, but he doesn't say anything more. He turns on the radio a minute into the drive, filling the silence with some jazzy J-pop number.

At least you get to cuddle with Mami in the back seat.

The taxi drops you off in front of one of the nicer hotels in the city, and Riona strides up to the counter, ignoring the hotel porters. She pushes her passport across the counter, folding her arms. The receptionist seems unperturbed, taking the passport. She glances from Riona, to you, to Mami as she works, before producing a key card.

"Here's your key, ma'am," she says in accented English, smile unwavering. "There is complimentary WiFi in your room-"

Riona's already walking away.

"Sorry about that," you mutter to the receptionist, in Japanese. "She's, uh, had a long flight."

She blinks, her surprise giving way to a warmer, more genuine smile. "I've seen worse," she says. "Now go, your friend's waiting for you."

And indeed, she is. Riona's holding the elevator open, looking back at you with a raised eyebrow and a tapping foot.

You bite back a faintly annoyed sigh. You want to get her on your side, and a bit of discourtesy is only a blow to your pride. Mami's hand in yours helps to calm you, her fingers warm and intertwined with yours as you walk over.

And you know what? You've dealt with worse. Kyouko is prickly and proud as hell, and you're more than happy to deal with her. Homura is just as bad at expressing herself, and she's your best friend, and Oriko... Oriko is Oriko. You can extend Riona a bit of sympathy.

Riona steps into her room without a word, dumping her luggage on the stand before flopping over on the bed with a groan.

"Mmrg," she grumbles, waving at the chairs. "Make y'self at home."

You sigh as you sit down, Mami at your side. "I'm interested in working with you," you say. "There are... projects that require manipulations outside the scope of what I can do, but you might."

"Grand," Riona drawls, eyes closed. "Now, can y' answer my question? What's the story?"

"Let me make a quick enchantment to ensure privacy," you say, inverting Grief from your otherworldly storage into your hands. Enchanted Grief, and it's a good thing you prepared this earlier. "Uh, it's going to feel kind of Witchy."

Riona cracks an eye open to stare at the dark blob in your hands. "What in th' bleeding hells is that?"

"It's enchanted Grief," you say. "Grief I cleansed from a Soul Gem and then enchanted, and... Would you like me to demonstrate my cleansing?"

She doesn't need it, precisely, but she does have Grief in her Soul Gem. If you're reading her correctly, it might be a better out than to ask if she wants you to cleanse her Soul Gems. Then again, she does have a couple of Grief Seeds with her.

Riona opens her other eye, frowning at you.

"Yes," she says, spreading her hand. Her Soul Gem shimmers into view on her palm, egg shaped and glinting emerald.

You pull, with mind and hand alike. A bit of theatricality to it just feels right. Grief streams free of her Soul Gem, dark, twisting wisps that you draw into marbles orbiting your finger before banishing it into your storage space.

Riona stares intently at the process, almost glaring at you like she can see the magic working. Perhaps she can.

"Impossible," Riona mutters to herself. "And yet, here we are. This girl here."

"Yes, I am rather impossible," you say, irritation prickling. "Now, give me a few moments, and we can speak in private."

"Get on with it," she says, reforming her Soul Gem ring and waving that hand imperiously.

You blow out a sharp breath and focus on the Grief, impressing your will upon it. Mami leans against your side, curious, but quiet, and you can feel Riona's eyes boring into you the entire time, watching intently, and it's just as well you have enchanted Grief to use. You don't really want to go into a formation-trance when you're around her. More specifically, you don't want to see her reaction in front of Mami.

"What was your Wish?" Riona asks.

"I Wished to control all Grief," you say. "Why it worked is up for debate. As I said, I have ideas, and probably related."

She grimaces, annoyed. Well, tough, lady.

Riona flinches when the construct reaches completion, the first real reaction you've gotten out of her. She sits upright, giving the construct a wary look as you set it down on the coffee table - unactivated, but ready.

"Sabrina?" Mami murmurs.

"Yes, Mami?" you ask, smiling at her.

"Is... is this a conversation I should be in?" she asks, hesitantly.

Riona's eyes snap from the construct to you.

"I..." you trail off, grimacing. The answer is yes. She should be, by all rights. But she's chosen not to know.

"It's alright," Mami says, swallowing. "I understand. I... I'll practice my enchantment, while I wait for you?"

"Alright," you echo. "If you're sure?"

"I am," Mami says, giving you a wan smile. You kiss her gently on the cheek and pull her into a hug, savouring the contact before straightening. "I won't be going anywhere, alright? Just-"

"Ahem," Riona says.

You ignore her. "Just inside the privacy field. And I'll be back."

"Alright," Mami whispers, taking a breath. "Alright."

[] Riona
- [] What answer do you have about the strangeness of your Soul?
- [] Ask her what she sees in your Soul
- [] Ask her what she's done before
- [] Show her Hildegarde
-- [] What do you say about the Clear Seed?
[] Write-in (word count limit: 150 words)

=====​

I took the liberty of extrapolating a bit. Also, really, is it Riona or Rionna?