A Red Letter Day pt. 4
You turn your head a little, a soft smile coming to your face as you look at Mami, and seeming to sense your gaze on her, Mami turns to smile at you.
You smile back, dipping your wings so that you roll smoothly to Mami's other side, never letting your gaze drop from hers. She laughs, clear and loud enough for you to hear even over the wind snatching at you as you flare your wings and swoop upwards.
"No fair!" she calls into your mind. Without proper flight, Mami can't really gain height. She could try flapping the wings, but that didn't work out that well last time.
But then, you're solving a different problem. Mami copied your wings, and with a wingspan as massive as yours or Mami's, you can only fly so close together.
On the other hand...
You pull into a loop and dive at Mami, pulling short and closing your arms around her waist from behind. "Hi!" you breathe into her ear, and you tug her upwards. There's more than enough height to glide home, but why just do that when you can have fun?
Mami laughs, squirming in your grasp and sending fine golden strands streaming in your face.
You release her and angle ahead. With your Grief wings, you have the vast advantage, but what's the point in leaving Mami in the dust? You don't want to leave her behind.
You spin midair to grin at her. She beams back, glowing and happy as she angles her wings to chase you. Haloed by the sun and freed from its usual drills, her hair streams behind her in the wind, a golden banner blowing proudly in the wind. They match rather nicely with the gold-and-cream of her ribbon wings, held out straight to catch the wind.
"You look like an angel," you blurt, and promptly wince. "Because of, um. The wings."
Mami blushes, luminescent and bright. "Um."
"W-well, you do!" you say. "You have the elegance and the style and the, the grace for it."
"T-thanks, Sabrina," Mami says, beaming at you through her blush. "I- I'm really not, but thank you."
"The hell you aren't," you say with a warm smile. "Mami, you can't tell me you don't have those qualities. And frankly, you're inspiring."
Mami shakes her head, still blushing a brilliant red. She's smiling, though.
You huff. "Come on. Race you home?"
Her only answer is a wider smile, and a sweep of her wings backwards that angles her body downwards.
You chase her across the sky. Without using your Grief manipulation to go faster - but your wings are all you need to catch up and pull into a tight, controlled loop around her as you approach the roof of the apartment. You catch her in your arms, face to face and close enough to watch her surprise dissolve into a warm smile and absolute trust.
Her wings dissolve, golden ribbons fading into nothing as she throws her arms around you and clings tight.
And you're laughing as you back air and drift to a gentle halt on the rooftop, and so is Mami, bright and happy. You remember the uncertainty and the fear she had, and you know it'll never go away so easily, but you're here now, and so is she.
You smile at her. "You're the best, even if you don't think you are."
Hell with it.
Arms still around her waist, you lean forward and brush your lips against her cheek.
Her face lights up, a bright, bright blush.
Mami's mouth works soundlessly, hand coming up to touch her cheek.
You huff, despite the blush on your own face. "Come on, Mami, let's go home," you say, and grab her hand to tug her towards the stairs. She stumbles after you, and starts to laugh, giddy and delighted, and then she leaps at you to wrap you in a tight hug. You nearly overbalance, but a shift of your posture and you pick her right up off the ground and into a piggyback carry.
You head home, Mami clinging to your back. You're both giggling, Mami's head nestled firmly on your shoulder, and she's as happy as you can ever remember her being. You can only contrast her now to lost, miserable Mami. Uncertain.
There's no way in hell you can tell yourself you don't like her.
Heh.
You spill Mami onto the sofa, still giggling and giddy as she latches onto you and you cuddle her right back. This is perfect. There's things coming on the horizon, work to do and puellae magi to wrangle, but for now, this is peaceful and perfect.
Mami heads off to brush her teeth a few minutes later, returning with minty fresh breath and a bright smile for you and a hairbrush in hand. You give her a smile, and head off to wash your face, too. That only takes a bit, and you rejoin Mami on the sofa - she'd put her hairbrush down the moment she heard the door open to look for you. She curls into your side with a happy sigh. You can spend a few moments just... relaxing.
"Mami?" you murmur.
"Hmm?" she asks without stirring, her eyes closed as she rests against your shoulder.
"So I was thinking about fixing table-chan," you say.
"Ah..." Mami says. "Go on?"
"Well, I wanted to fix it as a joint effort," you say. "So that it's something that we've done together, you know?"
She finally stirs to give you a warm smile. "Do you think we can?"
"Between the two of us?" you say, arching an eyebrow. "Of course we can. It's just a matter of how. Table-chan's frame is fine, obviously, but I'm not sure how to fix the glass. I was thinking maybe we could melt the pieces down and reforge it? Where's the bag, anyway?"
"Over there," Mami says, pointing at the bag of woven ribbons. "Though... I have an idea."
"Oh?" you say.
Mami worries at her lip, clearly thinking. "You can feel your Grief without looking at it, right?"
"Yep," you confirm. You have, as far as you can tell, a perfect sense of it.
"So if you were to apply Grief to all the pieces, do you think you could reassemble table-chan?" Mami asks.
"I..." You frown, and rub your chin. "Huh. I- Maybe? Lemme try."
You gesture with your free hand and draw Grief in, streaming down from the roof and into the room through the window.
Grief delves into the ribbon bag, a few pinches and tugs all that's necessary to undo the ties. Under your command, Grief is malleable and just about infinitely controllable, and with a little thought, you can spread it microscopically thin. Enough to coat every shard of glass with a delicate layer.
Every single fragment.
You hold your palm out, Grief-coated glass rising from the bag. You're aware of all the pieces, all the jagged little edges. And-
It's like being able to close your hands against each other and fitting the fingers perfectly even without looking. You reassemble the glass like an interlocking puzzle, weaving the pieces in a glittering cloud.
And finally, you're holding the completed glass tabletop with Grief, every piece slotted into place. There are still holes in the structure, places where the broken glass was too small to discard.
"Well done, Sabrina!" Mami says, clapping happily. "That's amazing!"
You grin at Mami. "And you are brilliant. Think we can fix this?"
"I think we can," Mami says with a blushing smile. "Mending glass shouldn't be too hard."
"Well, we have a bit of time, right?" you say, glancing at the clock. About an hour. "Do you want to do that? Or shall we work on enchanting or... anything you want?"
"Hmm... we wanted to try enchanting with Sayaka to see if she could hold more than one power, or store it or something, right?" Mami says, considering. "It wouldn't make sense to do that without her."
"True, though I do need practice myself," you point out.
Mami smiles. "Well," she says, indicating the reassembled table-chan. "I was thinking we could try mending table-chan and then meet up with Sayaka in half an hour?"
"Works for me," you say. "I'll check with Sayaka? Well actually- Do we... do we want to meet up here, or...?"
You glance meaningfully at the table. Probably better not to rub it in Sayaka's face so soon.
Mami nods, following your gaze. "Um... mmm."
"Yeah..." you say. "We can't meet up at Madoka's place, we just left there, and if we met up at the junkyard we'd spend too much time travelling around. I... eh. I want to be selfish, and just stay here with you? And we can work on table-chan?"
Mami's smile is shy and warm. "I'd like that."
"Then it's settled," you say, smiling back. You hover the reassembled tabletop closer so that the both of you can look over it without getting up from the cuddlepuddle. Mami runs her finger along one of the cracks, faint traces of magic limning her hand and soaking into the glass.
"It's not too different from healing," she says, half to herself. And then she looks up at you. "We can do this? Together?"
"That's the idea," you say, flexing your hand and reaching out, fingers splayed as you wait for Mami to show you how it's done.
And she does, the golden glow of her magic following her fingers as she traces out the cracks. The magic sinks in, binding together as you withdraw the Grief. Mami's right - it's not that different from healing. Your finger glides along another of the fissures in the glass, shaping the magic, and you're delighted to find that it works just fine.
"Hey, don't repair it all the way through," you suggest. "I think we can reinforce the surface area, but leave the cracks in place? It might make a nice pattern!"
"Good idea!" Mami agrees, and the next crack that she repairs remains visibly cracked but strong as ever. You follow in her lead.
It's slow going, though, and by the time you finish, carefully setting table-chan back on the frame, it's nearly time to go. Mami cuddles into your side with a happy sigh, looking over your work - table-chan is once more intact, but what was once a clear, triangular piece of glass is now crazed with a distinctive, jagged pattern of broken glass.
"It looks nice," Mami says. "Unique."
"Our work," you say, giving Mami a smile.
"It is!" she says, and leans against your side.
[] Write-in
The next update will carry you through linking up with everybody else and meeting Bennouna. Please vote for how you'd like to present yourself and if there's any intial quesitons you want to ask.
You smile back, dipping your wings so that you roll smoothly to Mami's other side, never letting your gaze drop from hers. She laughs, clear and loud enough for you to hear even over the wind snatching at you as you flare your wings and swoop upwards.
"No fair!" she calls into your mind. Without proper flight, Mami can't really gain height. She could try flapping the wings, but that didn't work out that well last time.
But then, you're solving a different problem. Mami copied your wings, and with a wingspan as massive as yours or Mami's, you can only fly so close together.
On the other hand...
You pull into a loop and dive at Mami, pulling short and closing your arms around her waist from behind. "Hi!" you breathe into her ear, and you tug her upwards. There's more than enough height to glide home, but why just do that when you can have fun?
Mami laughs, squirming in your grasp and sending fine golden strands streaming in your face.
You release her and angle ahead. With your Grief wings, you have the vast advantage, but what's the point in leaving Mami in the dust? You don't want to leave her behind.
You spin midair to grin at her. She beams back, glowing and happy as she angles her wings to chase you. Haloed by the sun and freed from its usual drills, her hair streams behind her in the wind, a golden banner blowing proudly in the wind. They match rather nicely with the gold-and-cream of her ribbon wings, held out straight to catch the wind.
"You look like an angel," you blurt, and promptly wince. "Because of, um. The wings."
Mami blushes, luminescent and bright. "Um."
"W-well, you do!" you say. "You have the elegance and the style and the, the grace for it."
"T-thanks, Sabrina," Mami says, beaming at you through her blush. "I- I'm really not, but thank you."
"The hell you aren't," you say with a warm smile. "Mami, you can't tell me you don't have those qualities. And frankly, you're inspiring."
Mami shakes her head, still blushing a brilliant red. She's smiling, though.
You huff. "Come on. Race you home?"
Her only answer is a wider smile, and a sweep of her wings backwards that angles her body downwards.
You chase her across the sky. Without using your Grief manipulation to go faster - but your wings are all you need to catch up and pull into a tight, controlled loop around her as you approach the roof of the apartment. You catch her in your arms, face to face and close enough to watch her surprise dissolve into a warm smile and absolute trust.
Her wings dissolve, golden ribbons fading into nothing as she throws her arms around you and clings tight.
And you're laughing as you back air and drift to a gentle halt on the rooftop, and so is Mami, bright and happy. You remember the uncertainty and the fear she had, and you know it'll never go away so easily, but you're here now, and so is she.
You smile at her. "You're the best, even if you don't think you are."
Hell with it.
Arms still around her waist, you lean forward and brush your lips against her cheek.
Her face lights up, a bright, bright blush.
Mami's mouth works soundlessly, hand coming up to touch her cheek.
You huff, despite the blush on your own face. "Come on, Mami, let's go home," you say, and grab her hand to tug her towards the stairs. She stumbles after you, and starts to laugh, giddy and delighted, and then she leaps at you to wrap you in a tight hug. You nearly overbalance, but a shift of your posture and you pick her right up off the ground and into a piggyback carry.
You head home, Mami clinging to your back. You're both giggling, Mami's head nestled firmly on your shoulder, and she's as happy as you can ever remember her being. You can only contrast her now to lost, miserable Mami. Uncertain.
There's no way in hell you can tell yourself you don't like her.
Heh.
You spill Mami onto the sofa, still giggling and giddy as she latches onto you and you cuddle her right back. This is perfect. There's things coming on the horizon, work to do and puellae magi to wrangle, but for now, this is peaceful and perfect.
Mami heads off to brush her teeth a few minutes later, returning with minty fresh breath and a bright smile for you and a hairbrush in hand. You give her a smile, and head off to wash your face, too. That only takes a bit, and you rejoin Mami on the sofa - she'd put her hairbrush down the moment she heard the door open to look for you. She curls into your side with a happy sigh. You can spend a few moments just... relaxing.
"Mami?" you murmur.
"Hmm?" she asks without stirring, her eyes closed as she rests against your shoulder.
"So I was thinking about fixing table-chan," you say.
"Ah..." Mami says. "Go on?"
"Well, I wanted to fix it as a joint effort," you say. "So that it's something that we've done together, you know?"
She finally stirs to give you a warm smile. "Do you think we can?"
"Between the two of us?" you say, arching an eyebrow. "Of course we can. It's just a matter of how. Table-chan's frame is fine, obviously, but I'm not sure how to fix the glass. I was thinking maybe we could melt the pieces down and reforge it? Where's the bag, anyway?"
"Over there," Mami says, pointing at the bag of woven ribbons. "Though... I have an idea."
"Oh?" you say.
Mami worries at her lip, clearly thinking. "You can feel your Grief without looking at it, right?"
"Yep," you confirm. You have, as far as you can tell, a perfect sense of it.
"So if you were to apply Grief to all the pieces, do you think you could reassemble table-chan?" Mami asks.
"I..." You frown, and rub your chin. "Huh. I- Maybe? Lemme try."
You gesture with your free hand and draw Grief in, streaming down from the roof and into the room through the window.
Grief delves into the ribbon bag, a few pinches and tugs all that's necessary to undo the ties. Under your command, Grief is malleable and just about infinitely controllable, and with a little thought, you can spread it microscopically thin. Enough to coat every shard of glass with a delicate layer.
Every single fragment.
You hold your palm out, Grief-coated glass rising from the bag. You're aware of all the pieces, all the jagged little edges. And-
It's like being able to close your hands against each other and fitting the fingers perfectly even without looking. You reassemble the glass like an interlocking puzzle, weaving the pieces in a glittering cloud.
And finally, you're holding the completed glass tabletop with Grief, every piece slotted into place. There are still holes in the structure, places where the broken glass was too small to discard.
"Well done, Sabrina!" Mami says, clapping happily. "That's amazing!"
You grin at Mami. "And you are brilliant. Think we can fix this?"
"I think we can," Mami says with a blushing smile. "Mending glass shouldn't be too hard."
"Well, we have a bit of time, right?" you say, glancing at the clock. About an hour. "Do you want to do that? Or shall we work on enchanting or... anything you want?"
"Hmm... we wanted to try enchanting with Sayaka to see if she could hold more than one power, or store it or something, right?" Mami says, considering. "It wouldn't make sense to do that without her."
"True, though I do need practice myself," you point out.
Mami smiles. "Well," she says, indicating the reassembled table-chan. "I was thinking we could try mending table-chan and then meet up with Sayaka in half an hour?"
"Works for me," you say. "I'll check with Sayaka? Well actually- Do we... do we want to meet up here, or...?"
You glance meaningfully at the table. Probably better not to rub it in Sayaka's face so soon.
Mami nods, following your gaze. "Um... mmm."
"Yeah..." you say. "We can't meet up at Madoka's place, we just left there, and if we met up at the junkyard we'd spend too much time travelling around. I... eh. I want to be selfish, and just stay here with you? And we can work on table-chan?"
Mami's smile is shy and warm. "I'd like that."
"Then it's settled," you say, smiling back. You hover the reassembled tabletop closer so that the both of you can look over it without getting up from the cuddlepuddle. Mami runs her finger along one of the cracks, faint traces of magic limning her hand and soaking into the glass.
"It's not too different from healing," she says, half to herself. And then she looks up at you. "We can do this? Together?"
"That's the idea," you say, flexing your hand and reaching out, fingers splayed as you wait for Mami to show you how it's done.
And she does, the golden glow of her magic following her fingers as she traces out the cracks. The magic sinks in, binding together as you withdraw the Grief. Mami's right - it's not that different from healing. Your finger glides along another of the fissures in the glass, shaping the magic, and you're delighted to find that it works just fine.
"Hey, don't repair it all the way through," you suggest. "I think we can reinforce the surface area, but leave the cracks in place? It might make a nice pattern!"
"Good idea!" Mami agrees, and the next crack that she repairs remains visibly cracked but strong as ever. You follow in her lead.
It's slow going, though, and by the time you finish, carefully setting table-chan back on the frame, it's nearly time to go. Mami cuddles into your side with a happy sigh, looking over your work - table-chan is once more intact, but what was once a clear, triangular piece of glass is now crazed with a distinctive, jagged pattern of broken glass.
"It looks nice," Mami says. "Unique."
"Our work," you say, giving Mami a smile.
"It is!" she says, and leans against your side.
[] Write-in
=====
The next update will carry you through linking up with everybody else and meeting Bennouna. Please vote for how you'd like to present yourself and if there's any intial quesitons you want to ask.
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