Mami beams at Homura, then you. "We'll be glad to have you over, Homura," she says.
The time traveller gives another of those barely-there, slight nods. The smallest dip and rise of her head, her amethyst gaze returning to regard you.
You suppose you can understand some of that, you muse as the three of you head up to the rooftops above. You're the one who's brought all this
change to Homura's usual routine - if you could call it 'usual', anyway. And... you suppose she's putting her hopes in you. It's a little scary.
A measure of thought forms a Grief carpet from the drifting planetarium of Grief spheres, with plenty to spare. You're still carrying enough Grief to make a Barrier, after all, though you'd promised
not to make one any more.
You wave Homura onto the carpet with a smile, and she settles herself crosslegged on it. You sit just in front of her - you do need to see to be able to steer, after all. Mami takes up her usual position at your side, smiling at you.
"Alright, Meguca Airlines Flight SA-003, taking off for Mami's apartment..." you mutter, smirking to yourself.
"Wasn't it Sabrina Airlines?" Mami asks.
You shrug, a twist of your will lifting the carpet into the air, planetoids of Grief drifting after you as you begin climbing gently. "Probably," you admit. "I have a terrible memory, sometimes." You hear faint swish of movement coming from behind you, and turn to see Homura massaging at her forehead, a pained look on her face.
"Say, Homura," you say. "You never did tell me what your favourite food was."
She sighs, the sound all but snatched away by the onrushing wind. "Cream stew."
"Ah, gotcha!" you say, smiling encouragingly at Homura. She sighs again, violet eyes sliding away from yours to stare off into the distance. before exchanging a look with Mami. She nods slightly at you, golden eyes dancing, and you don't need telepathy to know that you're both thinking the same thing. Mami beams up at you, before tucking her head against your shoulder with a contented noise. You smile fondly, hugging her with one arm.
... cream stew, though. Something niggles at your memory - you're pretty sure you've heard
that before somewhere, though you can't
quite place it right now.
You head home, landing in the alleyway and emerging a minute later into the evening crowds, just three normal girls. Mostly normal, anyway. You still draw some attention thanks to your distinct features. You leave the bulk of your Grief on the rooftop.
"So Mami, Homura," you say as you thread through the crowds of people and into the lobby of Mami's apartment. "Meguca's
things."
The two of them stare at you.
"... what do you mean?" Mami asks, sounding confused.
"... you know, you have your teacup thing, and Homura has her hair, that kind of thing?" you explain, thumbing the elevator button.
"Oh. Um," Mami says, sounding confused. "Do you mean this?" She looks around quickly for any bystanders, before reaching behind her back and pulling a cup out, still full of gently steaming tea.
"Yes, that! Exactly!" You wave your hands excitedly. "It... look, it seems like every magical girl has their thing, right? Some fun little trick or something. Well that, or they're new and haven't figured it out yet." The elevator door opens with a chime, and you step inside.
"Um..." Mami says, a faint frown knitting her brow as she returns the cup behind her back. "Alright...?"
"So I've been thinking about figuring one out, too," you say.
"This floor," Homura mutters. You get the impression that she'd be rolling her eyes right about now were she anyone else.
"Hmm? Right," you say, following Homura out. "But what do you think, Homura?"
Homura gives you an eloquent
look, packing in exasperation, slight amusement, and... well, mostly exasperation.
"Hmph, fine," you mutter as Mami unlocks the door of her apartment. "Mami? What do you think?"
"Umm..." she temporizes as she heads in, immediately walking towards the kitchen. "I don't think that's really the case?"
You follow her in, depositing yor sling bag in its usual location. Homura closes and locks the main door, before trailing you into the kitchen. "Sure it is! Though maybe this is the kind of thing that can't be forced?"
"Well... Oh!" Mami says, stopping just a step inside the kitchen. You can see why, looking over her shoulder - tea leaves, and spilled water all over the floor.
"Oh. That's my bad," you say, starting forward. "I... couldn't see what I was doing, earlier. Lemme clean up."
"I'll help!" Mami says.
It doesn't take too long - it isn't
too much of a mess, really. Homura pitches in, too, silently wiping down the countertop with a wet rag before returning to stand sentry near the door.
Mami's in the midst of pulling open the refrigerator before noticing Homura hovering near the door. "Oh, um, Homura, make yourself at home? And Sabrina, I think your powers are your 'thing'?"
Homura shakes her head a fraction, opting to remain at the kitchen door.
You absently reach for the flour and a saucepan as Mami starts pulling ingredients out of the fridge. "Nah, nah, it doesn't work like that. It has to be some trick that's more for fun, you know?"
"Your music?" Mami suggests. "Do you have the flou- ah, yes, there we go. Um, bigger saucepan, Sabrina, we can make some more to keep?"
"Roux?" you confirm, considering the pan for exchanging it for the larger one. "Music... well, maybe it counts. Doesn't feel right, though?"
Mami shrugs, smiling as she hands you the butter.
"Though speaking of which," you say. "Any requests for music?" In the living room, marbles drift free of your sling bag, already melting and reshaping themselves into your musical instruments while you busy yourself at the stove.
Mami shakes her head, dropping some meat -pork- into a bowl of warm water to defrost it quickly. "Homura?" she asks, glancing at the girl still hovering near the door.
Homura looks uncertain, before shaking her head.
"Well then, something new," you say with a smile, focusing a touch. You
know what you want to play, and the opening cymbals begin to sound. You grin. In context, perhaps not the
best song, but certainly it's cheery and energetic.
You bob along to the beat as you step lightly past Mami, smiling at Homura. "Homura, you don't have to just stand there, you know."
Mami nods in affirmation. "You could just watch the television while you wait," she offers.
"I've probably seen it before," Homura murmurs, eyes still fixed on you as if trying to unravel your secrets. Then again, she probably is.
"Mmmm," you hum, returning to the pot with a whisk and lowering the heat. "Well, OK then."
"This is
nice, Sabrina," Mami says, beaming at you.
"Thank you!" you say, starting to sift flour into the butter. You watch Homura out of the corner of your eye - she seems content to simply stand there and watch, though you notice her take a deep sniff as the savoury scent of butter starts to permeate the kitchen.
Eventually, after some dickering over the cooking, with Mami taking over from you, dinner's ready. A nice, thick cream stew, with chunks of vegetable and meat bobbing inside it. Homura's attention has shifted now to hungry looks, directed at the pot on the table.
"Say, Homura?" you say as you ladle out the stew.
"Yes?" she glances at you.
"Um... how did things go at the hospital?" you ask, sliding her a bowl of stew.
"Madoka is safe," she replies. "Kamijou was slightly disappointed, Miki Sayaka more so."
"Ah, right," Mami says, looking downcast as you pass her a bowl, too. "We should visit tomorrow, and finish the healing. Um... speaking of which, though, weren't we going to visit Miss Ono today?"
"Yeah," you sigh, claiming a bowl for yourself and sitting down. "I told her that we couldn't make it. But well... let's eat up, first."
Homura moves with alacrity, practically snatching a spoon up and scooping up the stew. You find yourself eating rather quickly - you're quite hungry, but Homura practically hoovers her way through the bowl, finishing well before you or Mami are even halfway through your own. She glances at the pot, and you chuckle. "Help yourself, Homura," you say, looking at Mami for confirmation. She nods, with a smile.
"So anyway, returning to our earlier topic," you say, the edge taken off your hunger. "Miss Ono... Well, I was going to contact her later today about meeting up for a Witch hunt. It's... not right to put her off again, I feel. And... I'm concerned about how quickly her Soul Gem is darkening."
Homura exhales a slow breath into her stew. "Her magic," she offers. "She has it running constantly."
"Oh, did you check on her?" Mami asks with a frown. "That's not a smart thing to do. Her magic, I mean."
Homura shrugs fractionally, lapsing back into silence, spoon darting between the bowl and her mouth.
"I think we need to talk to Miss Ono," Mami says, biting her lip and looking down at her bowl. "It's... not wise."
"Yeah," you agree. "Sooner rather than later."
Mami nods, looking concerned. "It's still early tonight, so... maybe?"
"Maybe," you agree. "Let's finish dinner first."
She nods again, looking thoughtful.
Dinner finishes in silence, Homura finally leaning back contentedly in her chair, having demolished nearly half of the pot of stew all by herself. There's a faint, satisfied smile on her face.
"Alright!" Mami says brightly, getting up. "We should clear up, now."
"Yeah," you say, pushin-
-g yourself up. You stumble backwards, but a viselike grip -Homura- on your shoulder keeps you standing. Mami's back is to you, and she's frozen into the grey hues of the timestop.
"I'm going to restock my weapons now," Homura say. "Are you still coming?"
[] Write-in
=====
Thanks
@Cannongerbil for the upload of the music!
Also, here ends Book 2, Chapter 3: Our Benefactor. The next chapter begins with the next update!
Regarding timeskips: They're coming, don't worry. But there
is stuff that needs to go down first.
