You chew on your lip for a bit, nodding and glancing at Mami, eyebrows raised. She purses her lips, dumps the rest of the spices into the roux, and frees a hand to wobble from side to side in a so-so sort of gesture.
You nod.
"
They'll be good to have, thank you, and we'll definitely invite you along!" you say. "
Though, ah... we're probably inviting one more group, too? Mami reminded me."
You give Mami a warm smile, mouthing 'thanks' to her. She beams back at you.
"
Oh?" Kazumi says brightly. "
It's always great to meet new people!"
"
Yeah, the Fukushima group," you say. You squint thoughtfully at the vegetables, plate them up to be added to the curry later, and wash your hands so you can shuffle over to hug Mami. "
We've got a kind of defense pact going with them, and, ah, they're the ones holding Airi right now?"
"
Oh," Kazumi says, and you can
feel her smile dimming a bit before brightening again. "
They must be really strong! I'd love to meet them."
"
They wouldn't have lasted as long as they did if they weren't, I think," you agree. "
As I said, we have a sort of mutual defense pact with them, which was their idea in the first place - well, their leader, Tsuruya Yuki. They apparently want to get on my good side early on."
"
Hum," Kazumi says. "
They sound cool! Just us three groups, then?"
"
That's the plan," you say.
"
OK! Now I gotta get everyone to cuddle Niko and make sure she doesn't escape, so..." Kazumi trails off meaningfully.
You laugh, exchanging a grin with Mami.
"
I wish you the very best of luck," Mami says. "
Take care, Kazumi."
"
And the same from me," you say. "
On both fronts."
"
Laaater!" Kazumi says cheerfully, and signs off.
And now!
You have a warm, happy Mami half-reclining into your arms, still stirring vigorously at the roux because
that's something that can't be abandoned for too long without burning. From the smell of it, it's almost done, though, so you take the opportunity to squeeze Mami a little tighter.
"Thanks for the reminder, Mami," you say, nuzzling against the softness of her hair. "Miss Tsuruya would have probably been miffed if we'd left her out of this."
"You're welcome, Sabrina," Mami says warmly. She leans into you, trusting you to support her, and so you simply luxuriate in her presence until she turns the stove off with a decisive click and removes the pot from the heat.
"All done?" you ask, and she nods. "Alright. So, Mami-sempai, do you think Umika's magic will be sufficient to protect us? Or do you think we should try to enchant something tonight?"
Mami purses her lips in thought.
"We might want to try enchanting our own protections," Mami says, after a moment. "I'm sure that Miss Misaki's magic protects well against her own magic, but I'm concerned that it might not be sufficiently broad spectrum."
"Yeah, I was wondering about that," you agree. "The issue is that
we don't have anything to test against, either, other than Sayaka's copy of Umika's powers, and she doesn't have Umika's experience with them."
"That's the problem," Mami agrees with a faint sigh. "To that end, we might be better served each trying to do something - our individual approaches might let us better cover a wider range of potential effects. It's not guaranteed, but unless we find someone who
is a mind-mage, we don't have much choice."
"Ah, that makes sense," you say. "Good thinking, Mami. Shall we get back to our friends?"
"Let's," Mami agrees. "Also, ah... you should probably let Miss Tsuruya know as well?"
"That's fair, but I don't want to think about what kind of mischief everyone's getting up to without us there," you say.
When you head back to the living room, everyone has a bottle of coke, even Hitomi.
And there's a small pile of rocks, smooth and river-worn, on the table.
You blink at Homura in faint perplexity. She shrugs, and gestures at Sayaka.
"Coke with
actual sugar," Sayaka says as if that explains everything. "Noticed you had the bottles."
"... it
does taste different," Madoka offers, as if admitting to a shameful secret. "A little."
"I can't say I've had enough of the... normal? kind to tell," Hitomi says. She reaches across the table and collects the few pieces of paper strewn about, neatening the stack. Their homework project, you presume.
"The rocks are for enchanting," Homura murmurs with another shrug. "I was already transformed." She waves vaguely at Sayaka.
"Fair enough. I think," you say, taking a seat and sneaking Homura a grin. She's still sitting beside Madoka, and you
definitely noticed the way she froze up when Madoka leaned over her. "Anyway. Mami-sempai!" You beam at Mami.
"Ah, yes!" Mami says. She beams right back at you and straightens, propping her hands on her hips. "We've decided that we're going to try working on anti-mind-magic enchantments today, in expectation of meeting Miss Toshimichi. Do you think you'll be up for that, Sayaka, Homura?"
"Yeah!" Sayaka says, scribbling one last note on a piece of paper before handing it to Hitomi. "Sounds good."
"Right, hrmm... Mami, do you think we should use the enchantment booster?" you ask. "It might help us get the enchantments properly, but we wouldn't get the practice in."
"Hm..." Mami purses her lips. "Just this once? We don't want to form a reliance on it!"
"OK, I'll make a set, then!" you say, reaching sideways to pull Grief from your hammerspace storage. "This will take me a few minutes, OK?" You flash Mami a warm, reassuring smile.
You've already done this before, of course. You let your eyes fall shut, the world fading away as you focus on what you want. Enchantment. Nothing but another facet of magic, another way of bringing your
will to bear upon the world. Not
that different from how you control Grief, here and now, so why
should it come harder to you than Grief control?
You demand, and it is so. Grief flows under your hands, runnels twisting together and shaping itself as if alive.
When you blink your eyes open, you have a set of bracelets cradled in your hands, four ornate twists of unidentifiable silvery metal wrought with obsidian plaits and deep blue sapphires. Which isn't anywhere near the form it took last time, but hey, it's a lot less ostentatious.
"Sabrina?" Mami murmurs.
"Hey," you say, and hug her. "Done!"
"Welcome back, Sabrina," Mami says, hugging you back. She looks at the enchantment bracelets and smiles. "They're beautiful."
You chuckle sheepishly, and pass her one, tossing another to Sayaka, and then to Homura. "I wasn't actually intending them to be," you say. "Heck, I was kind of expecting the gauntlet, but this is what happened."
Sayaka catches hers and puts it on immediately, admiring it. "Coooool. Enchantment booster, hm? And I've got Miss Misaki's power to test with."
Homura nods.
"Sayaka, you have an invisibility power, don't you?" Mami says. "From Miss Umeko? Could you try and see if the enchantment comes easier if you... channel the magic with the benefit of that power?"
"Yeah," Sayaka says, nodding and thumbing through her ring of powers. "Yeah, let's see if I can work something out with those. Uhhh, Madoka, Hitomi, could you gimme a bit of room? Thanks."
"Antimagic," Homura says with a frown.
"Ooh. Yeah, could work," Sayaka agrees, grabbing another power.
"Alrighty!" you say, squeezing Mami's hand and letting go as your friends shuffle around the room, Homura sitting at the coffee table, Sayaka transforming and then joining her, and Madoka and Hitomi moving back to the sofa. "Uhh... Mami, could you help Homura and Sayaka figure it out first? Lemme get in contact with Miss Tsuruya to get that out of the way before I forget."
"Of course," Mami says with a warm smile. She rises gracefully and moves over to Sayaka, who's already grabbing a rock from the pile on the table.
"
Miss Tsuruya?" You cast your voice once more into the aether. "
Do you have a moment?"
"
Certainly. It's always a pleasure to hear from you, Miss Sabrina," Yuki responds crisply. "
What's happening?"
"
An opportunity's come up, and I thought I'd check if you were interested," you say. You smile at Mami as she fusses over Sayaka's magic baubles, saying something about trying them one at a time before combining them. Sayaka nods eagerly, soaking up Mami's teachings. "
Specifically, I've made unofficial contact with a Tokyo group, and am intending to arrange a meeting with the Chiyoda group."
"
Ah. Miss Toshimichi? She is... mm. Interesting," Yuki says.
"
If you mean the total dearth of information about her, even from people who've met her...?" you say. "
Yeah. On that note, we're trying to prepare mental defense enchantments right now."
"
Wise," Yuki says. "
That would be my guess, too. I assume you're inviting me to join the meeting, to form a coalition of sorts?"
"
In addition to another group we're friendly with, yeah," you say. "
Asunaro. Are you interested?"
"
I am," Yuki says. "
I... doubt I will attend in person. My power is too tied down to Fukushima, but I will send..." She pauses. "
How many people will you bring?"
"
Two or three, most likely, and a maximum of four," you answer.
"
Then I will send Sasami and Shinobu," Yuki says. "
You've met them both before - is that acceptable to you?"
"
Koizumi Sasami, and Nanami Shinobu, right?" you ask. The former you'd met at Sendai - the laser mage whose Soul Gem you'd stolen, and the latter is their item conjurer, apparently. "
It... should be fine? Assuming they're
OK with that?"
"
They don't hold grudges," Yuki says. "
Excellent. When?"
"
Still sorting that bit out - I need to negotiate that with the Chiyoda group," you say. "
I don't suppose you have any especial information about them that might be helpful?"
"
I'm afraid not," Yuki says. "
Miss Toshimichi is concerningly elusive, all the more so for the fact that no-one has any conclusive information about her."
"
Oh! Right, uh... do you have mind-magic defenses? We can prepare a set for you too, if you need it," you say.
"
We have three sets of generalized protection charms," Yuki says. "
But being doubly certain wouldn't go amiss. Unfortunately, we can't offer to return the favour - we only have the three sets."
"
Eh, that's fine," you say. "
We'll whip up a few extras, then."
"
We appreciate that," Yuki says. "
Thank you."
"
You're very welcome," you say. "
Also, hey, while I have you on the line - are you in contact with the other Fukushima groups? Would you be willing to help do an interest check and-or introduction to Clear Seeds for them?"
"
Ah? I am, yes, and I would not mind," Yuki says. "
I'll bring it up with them sometime in the next day or so." She pauses thoughtfully. "
Was there any other business?"
"
Nope, that's it for now, unless anything's come up with Anri?" you say.
"
Nothing of interest," Yuki says. "
She's been well behaved and cooperative for the most part."
"
That's good," you say. "
Thank you. I'll let you know when the date is settled, then?"
"
Certainly," Yuki says. "
I'll look forward to it."
You end the call, and just in time to wrap Mami in a hug as she settles down beside you. Homura and Sayaka both have smooth river stones in their hands, the blaze and glimmer of magic flaring sporadically in your senses as they work on their enchantments.
"How'd it go?" Mami asks with a smile.
"Well, it looks like we'll be going to Tokyo as a coalition of three groups," you say with a smile.
"That's great!" Mami says. "It means we'd have more weight to our word."
"You were already well-positioned to negotiate as a peer group," Hitomi notes, looking up from the notes she's poring over with Madoka. "Just by virtue of having enormous metaphorical resources in the form of your magic. This only cements your position."
"There is no 'overkill', there is only 'open fire' and 'I need to reload'!" you say. "It doesn't hurt to be sure."
"True enough," Hitomi says, and wrinkles her nose. "Is that something from that miniatures game Sayaka likes? It
sounds like something you might say, Sayaka."
"Ehhh... I don't think so?" Sayaka says.
"Nah, it's not," you say. "Anyway. What do you have for me, Mami?"
"Well..." Mami smiles at you. "Your magic seems to revolve around control, right? You could try and focus that inwards, as it were - make an enchantment to leave people in
control of themselves?"
"Hmmm, could work," you say. "I'll try it!"
Mami smiles at you, collecting a pair of river rocks. One for you, and one for herself. You smile around at your friends - Mami, of course, nestling comfortably against your side. Madoka and Hitomi, heads bent and quietly discussing their school project on the sofa, Sayaka and Homura both sitting at the coffee table and concentrating on their own enchantments.
Sayaka seems to notice your gaze, glancing up and winking at you before returning to it. You huff, amused, and let your eyes fall shut, semi-meditative.
You'd meant to experiment with emotionally-charged magic, but Mami seems to have a solid idea for what to
do with your enchantments. It's probably a good avenue to explore, and so you'll try that first. You cup the rock in your hands, bracelet gleaming on your wrist as you try to focus your magic. Gentle,
gentle, because you have an unfortunate tendency to
break whatever your enchantment.
Do it
slowly. But slow is boring, and you can't help your mind wandering a little.
Homura. Homura, and what you term the potential bomb - the knowledge that Homura's looping irrevocably gives Madoka more
potential, making her a bigger target for Kyuubey with every loop. Oriko
warned you, that letting her know would break her. Oriko warned you that Kyuubey knows.
You've been passive about it, simply hoping that Kyuubey wouldn't let it slip. But that makes it a sword, hanging over your head, and you can't really let it
be. But terming it a
bomb is accurate. You don't know how to
defuse it, but perhaps you should try to figure it out. And the first step would be figuring out the metaphorical explosive.
Why does it hurt Homura?
Because it's undeniable proof that she's making things worse. But that... rings
hollow, somehow. Or, well, it's true, but it doesn't feel
complete. You could say it's that, in addition to her self-esteem issues, but that...
Wish rejection?
That could be just as traumatic. Because knowing that her
Wish, the hope that she traded her
Soul for, is only bringing ruin to the person she'd hoped to protect...
That feels closer to the answer. Something along those lines, perhaps.
You continue musing on the subject as you enchant, trying to
twist your magic into the shape you want. It feels like Mami's onto something with that idea. Control. It ties well into your Wish, and-
Dammit.
You sigh, setting aside shards of rock. Mami gives you a faintly amused look, leaning into your side and snuggling a little closer to you as you pick out the largest remaining piece of fragmented rock to continue enchanting with.
Wishes, hah. You worry a little about the Witchbomb, too. Because
that's been looming over everyone, too, something else for Kyuubey to hold over you.
"... ah-
hah!"
Your thoughts are promptly derailed by a loud exclamation, and you blurt the first thing on your mind. "Is the body the fursona of the soul?"
Silence.
"... excuse me?" Hitomi says.
"... I said nothing?" you say. Everyone's staring at you. Even Mami. Even
Homura.
You shift uncomfortably.
"Moving on!" Sayaka declares, thrusting her hand up in the air. "I got it! Mind... mind invisibility! Makes your mind invisible! Kind of?"
Mami applauds happily, beaming at Sayaka. "Well done, Sayaka! May I see?"
"Oh, sure!" Sayaka says, tossing the stone to Mami. It's turned a deep, translucent blue, studded with silver and gold bandings, and as you peer over Mami's shoulder, you can see what look like stars twinkling in the depths of the enchanted stone.
"Mmm," Mami says, turning it over. "The enchantment seems sound, but I can't tell you whether it
works. Why don't you try using Miss Misaki's power on me, Sayaka?"
"Yup!" Sayaka says, already holding up a power gem, and with a flick of her wrist, it dissolves into motes of light. An ephemeral copy of Umika's book appears in her hands, slightly translucent and glowing blue and also
floating between her outstretched palms. "OK, how does this work..."
She holds the book face out towards Mami, frowning. You can feel tendrils of magic unfurling from the pages, reaching through the air towards Mami. "You're... thinking about Sabrina."
"Ah," Mami says, grimacing. "It seems it doesn't work, unfortunately."
"Be nice, Sayaka," Madoka says from the sofa.
Sayaka snickers. "No, no, it
does work. I think. I'm not sure I'm using this power correctly?"
"... oh," Mami says, and blushes. You laugh, hugging her close.
"It seems to me that without a way to test the enchantments you're making, you might have a minor problem," Hitomi says.
"Could you make something to read minds with Grief, Sabrina?" Homura asks. "To test?"
"That-" You blink. "... why didn't I think of that?"
"And I'll try and figure out Miss Misaki's power, too. Anyone mind being a test dummy?" Sayaka asks. She frowns at the book, fiddling with it.
"I wouldn't mind," Hitomi says, looking interested.
"Cool," Sayaka says. "Right..."
"Actually," you say, glancing at the clock. You have some time before you need to cook dinner. "Mind if we have a bit of a discussion first?"
"Hmm?" Sayaka asks.
"It's about Oriko," you say. Mami sucks in a breath, her hand fumbling for yours under the table. "It's... news? Neither good nor bad, honestly, but since you were all... mixed up with it, you should know. You and Hitomi."
Sayaka scowls.
"What's happened with them?" she asks.
"Her powers are changing. Oriko's developing clairvoyance, in place of her precog." You lean forward on the crack-crazed glass of the coffee table, giving Sayaka and Hitomi a serious look. "She's still cooperative, and I think that it's indicative of a commitment to reform?"
"Oh," Sayaka says, blinking. "Is that all?"
"I-" You blink at Sayaka in turn. "What do you mean, is that all?"
"I mean... so what?" Sayaka says with a shrug. "Clairvoyance, precog, it doesn't matter
that much as long as she's still a prisoner, right?" She gives you a narrow-eyed look. "What, did you think I was gonna make a big fuss about it?"
"I'm afraid I don't understand," Hitomi says from the couch. The deep green of her eyes are intent and solemn with her attention, fully focused upon you. "What do you mean, Sabrina? How does her power change?"
"Ah," you say. "Well, uh... what do you understand about Wishes?"
"They're... wishes," Hitomi says. "And they give you magic powers?"
"Kind of, yeah," you say. "I mean, yeah, that's broadly correct. More fundamentally... OK, I don't fully understand the
mechanism myself. But I can describe the empirical things about them, which is this: the power you get is very much tied to both your
intent and your
need."
"So... magic powers can change if your intent changes?" Hitomi asks. "That seems awfully convenient."
"Yeah," you say. "That's the gist of it. The thing is, it has to be a
fundamental change of heart for your magic to change - it has to be something that sincerely and truly changes your worldview. It's just... it's
known to happen like that, that's how people can wind up rejecting their Wishes entirely."
"So..." Sayaka says. "You're saying she had a change of heart?"
"Yeah," you say.
"
Good," Sayaka says, scowling. "Too
fucking late, but
good."
"Sayaka!" Madoka says, cringing a little.
"What? She
burned my house down! I'm allowed to be a little angry about that!" Sayaka says. She waves her hands defensively, as if trying to encompass everything. "And I mean yeah, it's good that she probably had a change of heart, and it's nice that it's, like, provable with magic and all that, but I'm not gonna be all buddy-buddy with her."
Mami squeezes your hand gently, and you give her a warm smile. You've got this. You think. You shoot Homura a reassuring look, and she nods. Just once, tight and restrained and sharp, but she
does nod.
"Well..." you say. "I mean, I can't ask you to be friends with her, and I'm not asking you to. But I
am saying I think she's genuinely... OK, look. We're talking about Oriko, but we shouldn't neglect her girlfriend. Kirika has
antimagic. When Oriko was
rejecting her Wish, it caused her
agony. Kirika's magic helped there, and Kirika is, literally, helping to
veto Oriko's martyr complex."
"And that's... good?" Hitomi hazards.
"Yeah, it ties back into... magic and intent," you say. "The thing is,
Oriko listens to
Kirika. You'd think it's the other way round, just judging from the way they act, but honestly... Kirika is the one who calls the shots in their relationship, you know? Kirika's magic is literally the veto to
Oriko's. They're kind of
made for each other."
"I... follow, I suppose?" Hitomi says, glancing aside at Sayaka, who shrugs in turn. "I'm not seeing where this is going."
"Kirika's the one in charge, as it were," you say. "I call them the Kures, not the Mikunis, because a) they're basically married and b) Kirika is the one in charge. And also c) because Oriko doesn't actually like the Mikuni name much, with everything that's tied to it, but that's besides the point, which is this."
"
Oriko was the one who led the pair of them at first, with her martyr complex and death wish," you say, holding your palms out, face up as if balancing two things. You let your hands tip to one side. "That's what led to, yes, your house being burned down, Sayaka, and your arm being broken, Hitomi."
You tip your hands to the other, the balance shifting.
"That's not true any more. They are truly, genuinely in love with each other, and Oriko
listens to Kirika," you say. "And even Kirika's
Wish was to be what Oriko
needed - and it gave her a literal
veto to Oriko being stupid. I'm not saying we should blindly trust that, but I
am saying that this, and Oriko's change of magic, is a very good start."
"OK," Sayaka says, nodding. "So..."
"... you know what, yeah, Sayaka, I
did think you'd make a bigger deal out of it," you say, and stick your tongue out at your friend.
"I don't... forgive her or anything and I'm not gonna be buddy-buddy with her or anything but I mean... OK, new powers, cool, and she's had a change of heart," Sayaka says. "'s good, I guess. Hitomi?"
"The intricacies of magic are fascinating," Hitomi says with a faint smile. "And I'm similarly glad that Miss Mikuni... Mrs Kure? is changing for the better."
Madoka giggles, clapping her hands. "Do they
know you call them that, Sabrina?"
"Yyyyessss," you say, and grin, bright and happy and relieved. This went much better than you'd expected. "You were there, Sayaka. Remember that?"
"... ooh, with the Pleiades," Sayaka says. "Yeah, I remember. Gotta admit, they turned an
amazing red."
You snicker, and relax, letting your hands drop back to the magically repaired table. This went startlingly well, all things considered.
[x] Continue enchanting as per previously locked in votes, until...
[x] Dinner!
[] What do you do after dinner/during downtime?
- [] Check out the IRCs again
- [] Brainstorm over Tokyo with Madoka and Hitomi
-- [] Prepare that written brief for Homura to inspect first
- [] Witch Hunt (this excludes other options)
- [] Relax (this is a timeskip option!)
[] Write-in (word count limit: 150 words)
=====
So, that last vote and update got
really long.
I'm going to try and be better about putting my foot down when I think a vote gets too long in the future, but work with me here, yeah?
