On a Rail pt. 34
"Nah, there's nothing wrong," you say, fighting back the jolt of panic as you glance up at the moon. It's not that late, is it? It isn't, not really. Are you being weird? You're not, right? "I mean it!"
"Oh," Madoka says. You can practically hear the confused blinking. "Alright."
"Well, honestly, I'm just not tired yet, and time is best wasted with friends," you say. "So I was wondering if you were free, though, uh, I didn't realise it was this late. Or, well, I was thinking it wasn't too late. It's OK if you don't want to, though!"
"Oh..." Madoka says. "Um... I see?"
"And, um," you say, rubbing at your nose. You pause, fumbling for both words and thoughts as you try and sort out what needs to be done. Thoughts whirl through your head as you think. You're almost tempted to tell her about...
"Um-" I found your Homura stuck in a tree, do you want me to bring her over or can you come get her, except that's ridiculous and not something you'd say to Madoka. Not now, anyway. You have to tell her about-
About Gretchen, the world ending Witch she would become if she contracted. But Homura's there, and... so is Mami. She doesn't even know where Witches come from yet. And if you can't tell Madoka about Gretchen without telling her about the loops, which isn't your story to tell.
"Sabrina?" Madoka prompts.
Oops. You've been silent for a minute or so, haven't you?
"Ah..." you say. "There are actually a few things I wanted to talk to you about, actually, though they aren't serious? And-"
"Sabrina?" Madoka interrupts you, to your surprise. "Are you alright?"
You blink. "I... I'm not sure," you admit. "I'm..."
"I'll check with mama and papa, if they're alright with you coming over," Madoka says decisively. "You said Homura and Mami are coming over, right? Hold on."
"Uh, OK?" you say, but there's no response - you can hear rustling, and then a click as the door opens and shuts.
... What just happened?
You push your hand through your hair, combing it back a little with your fingers as you listen to the low murmur of voices from the phone, muffled by the door. And then you hear the door crack open again, more rustling footsteps.
"Sabrina?" she asks.
"Still here," you say. "Do I sound that tired?"
"Ah... not really!" Madoka says. "Papa says it's OK, so you can come over any time! Ah! You've never been over, my address is-" She rattles off the address.
"Right, OK," you say, pulling experimentally at your eyelid. And you have been to her house before, in timestop - but Madoka doesn't know that, does she. "Um... I'll see you in a bit?"
"See you!" Madoka says.
Scratching your head, you wander back to Mami and Homura, finding them chatting quietly. "Do I look very tired to you girls?"
"Of course not, Sabrina," Mami says loyally, giving you a warm smile.
Homura blinks slowly at you.
"Good," you say, walking over to Mami and linking your arm through hers. "Anyway, Madoka says it's fine, so shall we head on over?"
Homura dips her head slightly. "No movement from Mikuni."
"Wouldn't expect there to be any," you say, very carefully neither looking nor looking in the general direction of the Mikuni mansion. You don't want to know what they're up to right now. "Not at the moment."
Mami smiles at you. "Shall we go?"
"Yep!" you confirm. "Do you want to fly, or roofhop? Mami, Homura?"
"Both are fine with me," Mami says. "Though... maybe we could practice flying on our way home, later?"
"I'd be up for that," you agree. "Homura? Your choice, roofhopping or flying?"
"Flying is faster," Homura says, pressing her lips together.
"Then flying it is," you say with a cheerful grin. Grief spheres leap to your call, basketball-sized spheres rising out of the foliage where you'd concealed them. You dissolve just enough with a flick of your hand, midnight purple of the Grief nearly invisible in the night as it sweeps to do your bidding in pouring sheets.
It only takes you a moment to build a flight disc, the shape coming to you with the ease of practice. You mount up, turning to offer a hand to Mami, who steps on without hesitation. Homura hops on lightly, settling behind you and Mami as you lift into the sky.
You leave the Mikuni mansion behind, with its perpetual, faint scent of roses, and soar into the night.
As you ascend, you eye the moon. Thinking about it, should the moon actually be up? You're reasonably certain that it shouldn't, given the latitude you're at but then again, you remember the moon from your memories that are not, in any case. It's a rather dumb question, anyway, since the moon is rather demonstrably hanging in the sky.
"So Homura!" You switch to telepathy, rather than shout over the wind that's rushing past you and incidentally messing up your hair. "Homura, Mami? I was thinking - you both know about the Clear Seeds, right?"
"Mmm?" Mami asks, tucking her head against your shoulder.
"Yeah. They... seem stable," you say. "For now, maybe? I don't know, I worry that there's some hidden cost or something, but there doesn't seem to be one. Uh. The point is, though, that I'm... thinking about providing them to everyone. You guys, Sayaka... the girls over in Sendai and Ishinomaki and so on."
"You should use them as leverage," Homura murmurs. "Bring them in for Walpurgisnacht."
"Yeah, there's that," you agree. "Still, I'm worried... I mean, I'm giving out what are pretty much priceless artifacts. I'm worried that if I don't distribute them properly, it's just going to cause more fighting."
Mami sighs. "It likely will," she agrees. "Maybe if you were to take away Seeds from troublemakers... No, you can't be everywhere."
"A police force," Homura says.
"And that is gonna be an organisational nightmare," you say with a wince.
Mami giggles, laughter tinkling in your mind. "Put Sayaka in charge of it," she suggests. "I think she'd enjoy that."
"Nah, nah, I'll put you in charge of it," you say, grinning at her. "Sayaka will be the bright-eyed newbie, while Homura is the cynical veteran." You slant a grin back at Homura, who rolls her eyes.
"And what about you?" Homura asks.
"I'll be the mysterious hero who drops in every now and then to bail people out," you say, nodding.
Mami's giggles fill your mind, silvery and light.
"A police force," you muse as you skim past downtown Mitakihara, reflected in the glass of the buildings. "One step from there to Empress Sabrina?"
"You'd make a terrible Empress," Homura says, voice flat.
"Hey!" you complain. "Well fine, let's give the job to Mami or someone. Madoka, maybe."
Mami pats your shoulder, giving you a smile.
"Do either of you want a Clear Seed? Homura, Mami?" you ask.
"I would like one," Homura responds.
"Cool, I'll make you one, then," you say. "Sooner rather than later. Maybe tomorrow? Uh, hm. Mami, did Benouna say when exactly she's coming?"
"Um... probably around morning?" Mami offers. "She'll probably spend the night travelling here."
"Hm, maybe around lunchtime?" you say. "I probably need to make that cleaning trip in the afternoon."
"That would be fine," Homura says.
"Cool. How about you, Mami?" you ask.
"I don't need one," Mami says, nestling her head against your shoulder with a content hum you can feel. "You're here."
"... Ah. Right, OK," you say, blushing a little. Because what can you do in the face of that kind of absolute faith?
You fly on in both physical and mental silence for a bit, conversation having exhausted itself. Though you do need to check in on Kyouko and possibly tease her a bit. "Kyouko?"
"Knew I'd be gettin' a call from you," she drawls back after a moment. "Yeah, yeah, hope y' don't mind me intruding."
"Nah, you're fine on that count," you respond, banking around a small hill dotted with apartments. "What's up?"
"Your girl there isn't exactly stealthy, is she?" Kyouko asks. "Bright blue light and everything. Saw her from all the way cross the river, decided to take a closer look."
"Ah, yeah, her flight," you say. "So whatcha think?"
"I know why you want me to train her now," Kyouko says with a snort. "Kicked her around a bit tonight, because she looked like she needed to blow off some steam, but that's it. Payment first, 'brina, gotta look out for myself."
"Is that all that happened?" you ask, feeling faintly disappointed.
"Yep, 'sall. In and out, didn't poach your Witches or anything," Kyouko says.
You consider teasing her about being tsundere again, but that would likely result in Yuma not getting her cookies tomorrow or something. And you certainly can't have that. "Right," you say. "I'll get back to you about the payment and scheduling sometime soon, then."
"You do that," Kyouko drawls.
[] Write-in
Anything more to say to Kyouko, and what do you do upon reaching the Kaname's?
"Oh," Madoka says. You can practically hear the confused blinking. "Alright."
"Well, honestly, I'm just not tired yet, and time is best wasted with friends," you say. "So I was wondering if you were free, though, uh, I didn't realise it was this late. Or, well, I was thinking it wasn't too late. It's OK if you don't want to, though!"
"Oh..." Madoka says. "Um... I see?"
"And, um," you say, rubbing at your nose. You pause, fumbling for both words and thoughts as you try and sort out what needs to be done. Thoughts whirl through your head as you think. You're almost tempted to tell her about...
"Um-" I found your Homura stuck in a tree, do you want me to bring her over or can you come get her, except that's ridiculous and not something you'd say to Madoka. Not now, anyway. You have to tell her about-
About Gretchen, the world ending Witch she would become if she contracted. But Homura's there, and... so is Mami. She doesn't even know where Witches come from yet. And if you can't tell Madoka about Gretchen without telling her about the loops, which isn't your story to tell.
"Sabrina?" Madoka prompts.
Oops. You've been silent for a minute or so, haven't you?
"Ah..." you say. "There are actually a few things I wanted to talk to you about, actually, though they aren't serious? And-"
"Sabrina?" Madoka interrupts you, to your surprise. "Are you alright?"
You blink. "I... I'm not sure," you admit. "I'm..."
"I'll check with mama and papa, if they're alright with you coming over," Madoka says decisively. "You said Homura and Mami are coming over, right? Hold on."
"Uh, OK?" you say, but there's no response - you can hear rustling, and then a click as the door opens and shuts.
... What just happened?
You push your hand through your hair, combing it back a little with your fingers as you listen to the low murmur of voices from the phone, muffled by the door. And then you hear the door crack open again, more rustling footsteps.
"Sabrina?" she asks.
"Still here," you say. "Do I sound that tired?"
"Ah... not really!" Madoka says. "Papa says it's OK, so you can come over any time! Ah! You've never been over, my address is-" She rattles off the address.
"Right, OK," you say, pulling experimentally at your eyelid. And you have been to her house before, in timestop - but Madoka doesn't know that, does she. "Um... I'll see you in a bit?"
"See you!" Madoka says.
Scratching your head, you wander back to Mami and Homura, finding them chatting quietly. "Do I look very tired to you girls?"
"Of course not, Sabrina," Mami says loyally, giving you a warm smile.
Homura blinks slowly at you.
"Good," you say, walking over to Mami and linking your arm through hers. "Anyway, Madoka says it's fine, so shall we head on over?"
Homura dips her head slightly. "No movement from Mikuni."
"Wouldn't expect there to be any," you say, very carefully neither looking nor looking in the general direction of the Mikuni mansion. You don't want to know what they're up to right now. "Not at the moment."
Mami smiles at you. "Shall we go?"
"Yep!" you confirm. "Do you want to fly, or roofhop? Mami, Homura?"
"Both are fine with me," Mami says. "Though... maybe we could practice flying on our way home, later?"
"I'd be up for that," you agree. "Homura? Your choice, roofhopping or flying?"
"Flying is faster," Homura says, pressing her lips together.
"Then flying it is," you say with a cheerful grin. Grief spheres leap to your call, basketball-sized spheres rising out of the foliage where you'd concealed them. You dissolve just enough with a flick of your hand, midnight purple of the Grief nearly invisible in the night as it sweeps to do your bidding in pouring sheets.
It only takes you a moment to build a flight disc, the shape coming to you with the ease of practice. You mount up, turning to offer a hand to Mami, who steps on without hesitation. Homura hops on lightly, settling behind you and Mami as you lift into the sky.
You leave the Mikuni mansion behind, with its perpetual, faint scent of roses, and soar into the night.
As you ascend, you eye the moon. Thinking about it, should the moon actually be up? You're reasonably certain that it shouldn't, given the latitude you're at but then again, you remember the moon from your memories that are not, in any case. It's a rather dumb question, anyway, since the moon is rather demonstrably hanging in the sky.
"So Homura!" You switch to telepathy, rather than shout over the wind that's rushing past you and incidentally messing up your hair. "Homura, Mami? I was thinking - you both know about the Clear Seeds, right?"
"Mmm?" Mami asks, tucking her head against your shoulder.
"Yeah. They... seem stable," you say. "For now, maybe? I don't know, I worry that there's some hidden cost or something, but there doesn't seem to be one. Uh. The point is, though, that I'm... thinking about providing them to everyone. You guys, Sayaka... the girls over in Sendai and Ishinomaki and so on."
"You should use them as leverage," Homura murmurs. "Bring them in for Walpurgisnacht."
"Yeah, there's that," you agree. "Still, I'm worried... I mean, I'm giving out what are pretty much priceless artifacts. I'm worried that if I don't distribute them properly, it's just going to cause more fighting."
Mami sighs. "It likely will," she agrees. "Maybe if you were to take away Seeds from troublemakers... No, you can't be everywhere."
"A police force," Homura says.
"And that is gonna be an organisational nightmare," you say with a wince.
Mami giggles, laughter tinkling in your mind. "Put Sayaka in charge of it," she suggests. "I think she'd enjoy that."
"Nah, nah, I'll put you in charge of it," you say, grinning at her. "Sayaka will be the bright-eyed newbie, while Homura is the cynical veteran." You slant a grin back at Homura, who rolls her eyes.
"And what about you?" Homura asks.
"I'll be the mysterious hero who drops in every now and then to bail people out," you say, nodding.
Mami's giggles fill your mind, silvery and light.
"A police force," you muse as you skim past downtown Mitakihara, reflected in the glass of the buildings. "One step from there to Empress Sabrina?"
"You'd make a terrible Empress," Homura says, voice flat.
"Hey!" you complain. "Well fine, let's give the job to Mami or someone. Madoka, maybe."
Mami pats your shoulder, giving you a smile.
"Do either of you want a Clear Seed? Homura, Mami?" you ask.
"I would like one," Homura responds.
"Cool, I'll make you one, then," you say. "Sooner rather than later. Maybe tomorrow? Uh, hm. Mami, did Benouna say when exactly she's coming?"
"Um... probably around morning?" Mami offers. "She'll probably spend the night travelling here."
"Hm, maybe around lunchtime?" you say. "I probably need to make that cleaning trip in the afternoon."
"That would be fine," Homura says.
"Cool. How about you, Mami?" you ask.
"I don't need one," Mami says, nestling her head against your shoulder with a content hum you can feel. "You're here."
"... Ah. Right, OK," you say, blushing a little. Because what can you do in the face of that kind of absolute faith?
You fly on in both physical and mental silence for a bit, conversation having exhausted itself. Though you do need to check in on Kyouko and possibly tease her a bit. "Kyouko?"
"Knew I'd be gettin' a call from you," she drawls back after a moment. "Yeah, yeah, hope y' don't mind me intruding."
"Nah, you're fine on that count," you respond, banking around a small hill dotted with apartments. "What's up?"
"Your girl there isn't exactly stealthy, is she?" Kyouko asks. "Bright blue light and everything. Saw her from all the way cross the river, decided to take a closer look."
"Ah, yeah, her flight," you say. "So whatcha think?"
"I know why you want me to train her now," Kyouko says with a snort. "Kicked her around a bit tonight, because she looked like she needed to blow off some steam, but that's it. Payment first, 'brina, gotta look out for myself."
"Is that all that happened?" you ask, feeling faintly disappointed.
"Yep, 'sall. In and out, didn't poach your Witches or anything," Kyouko says.
You consider teasing her about being tsundere again, but that would likely result in Yuma not getting her cookies tomorrow or something. And you certainly can't have that. "Right," you say. "I'll get back to you about the payment and scheduling sometime soon, then."
"You do that," Kyouko drawls.
[] Write-in
=====
Anything more to say to Kyouko, and what do you do upon reaching the Kaname's?
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