Your heart plummets even further, and you feel tears prickling at your eyes.
Woodenly, you dip your hand into your pocket, pulling out two Grief Seeds - Aurora, and Gwen, and put them in front of her, two little clinks of metal on tile.
"Mami..." you catch her attention, and she raises her head a little to peek at you over her knees. "If..." you swallow. "If your Soul Gem gets too dark, p-please, use these."
You reach out a hand to her... and wince, shoulders sagging when Mami sways back. "Mami... I'm
not going to leave you. But I'll give you some space. I'll be in the kitchen, OK?"
You push yourself to your feet, knees protesting from the time you've been kneeling on the bathroom floor.
On leaden feet, you walk out of the bathroom.
The sofa is still tilted on its back, from Mami's mad scramble earlier.
You sigh, and right it, easily hefting it back to its proper orientation, and replacing the cushions.
A tear drops to the cushions.
You lean on the sofa, head bowed and supporting yourself with both hands on the back of the sofa.
And you just breathe.
You want Mami to be alright.
You just want her to be alright and happy again.
There's a few more wet spots on the sofa.
Another sigh, and you stump into the kitchen, and put the kettle on to boil.
Mami would appreciate some tea, surely.
You lean against the counter, and then let yourself slide down to the floor, hugging your knees to yourself in a mirror of Mami's position. You can still feel her, a blaze of magic and Grief, sitting in the bathroom where you'd left her... two Grief Seeds untouched on the floor in front of her.
Well, she doesn't need them yet.
You stare blindly at the opposite wall as you wait for the kettle to boil.
You jerk upright as a thought strikes you - what if Mami tries to kill herself?
But you can watch her... you can
see her motions, written in the delicate burning traceries of magic that make up her body. And she's just... sitting, and rocking back and forth, still in the same miserable huddled position.
The kettle boils, and you lever yourself to your feet, mechanically going through the motions of making a pot of tea. You leave it to steep on the countertop.
"
Will you be going Witch hunting tonight?" Homura's voice intrudes on your solitude.
You groan and let your head thump backwards, closing your eyes. Worst timing ever.
"
... Sabrina?" A hint of concern enters Homura's voice.
"
No, probably not," you reply.
The time traveller hesitates before replying. "
Very well."
An unpleasant thought strikes you. "
You didn't ask Mami, did you?" you ask.
"
No," she replies, sounding puzzled. "
Why?"
"
Good," you say. "
And later."
... the tea's steeped enough by now, and you pour yourself a cup.
Sliding back to the floor again, you drink your tea slowly.
...
The cup's been empty for a while now.
One hand on the countertop, you drag yourself to your feet again. A hand on the side of the teapot tells you that the tea's cold now.
Very briefly, you debate on microwaving it, before grimacing in disgust and pouring it down the drain. You start the kettle again with a sigh.
When the fresh pot of tea is done, you pour out another cup, and look down at it. Maybe...
A few minutes later sees you shuffling back into the bathroom, where Mami's still hunched in a miserable ball. She's stopped crying, at least. The two Grief Seeds lie untouched in front of her.
"M-mami," you say softly, and she looks up at you, expression haunted. You gently put the cup down in front of her, away from the Grief Seeds. "H-here. I made you some tea."
Her eyelids flutter rapidly, as if she's about to cry again. You wince, closing your eyes. "I'm sorry, I shouldn't have..."
You turn to go. There's a crash, a tinkling of metal skittering across tile, and you stumble when two arms wrap around your leg, holding on with desperate strength.
"D-don't go." It's a tiny whisper. "Don't l-leave m-me."
Mami's thrown herself across the floor to latch on to you, ignoring the tea and the Grief Seeds in the way.
[] Write-in
=====
Oh come on Mami, make up your mind already.
).
