Highway 17 pt. 17
You nod, decisions made - more than one. The sun's rising, and it's definitely well into wakefulness time, so that means time to call in on people. But first...
You give Mami a smile, warm and pleased. "You know what? I think your idea works the best, for letting our friends know about the danger Anri poses," you say, and tighten your hug around her a little. "You're the best, Mami. I have no idea what I'd have done without you."
You exhale slowly, thoughts reaching out. You can lean on your inexplicable multitasking - you could definitely make a joke here about not actually thinking with your brain, because you're fairly certain a human brain doesn't handle multitasking quite like this.
Clock, knight, and traveller. Homura, Sayaka, and Nadia - and Mami, of course. "Hello, girls?"
And then to Oriko, because of course Mami's got the right idea. "Oriko, you got a moment?" you say. "I need a favour."
"Ah, good morning, Sabrina!" Nadia says cheerfully, accented tones lilting through telepathy. "We are on schedule. Due to arrive at 10."
"Yeah, uh, about that," you say awkwardly. "Mami and I most likely won't be there."
Oriko replies to you, just then. There's a touch of interest shading her voice. "Oh?"
"Mmmhmm~" you hum a note of that odd little poem you have running through your mind. "From you, help I require - of knowledge I acquired, a clue from you would surely stir much ado."
"Ah? Something has come up?" Nadia responds to you.
"To you, an explanation is quite overdue," you continue the cadence to Nadia. "It's under control, we're on a roll - we're handling trolls."
"Your meter and rhyme leave much to be desired," Oriko sniffs. "Nevertheless. What do you need me to say?"
"Anri has dangerous knowledge," you say, dropping the rhyme. "I need you to tell the Pleiades not to listen to her, and preferably let me handle her when we find her. It'll have more weight coming from you, I hope."
"Easily done," Oriko says, and smoothly switches channels to include the Saints. "Miss Kazusa, Pleiades Saints, there is something you all need to know."
"I see?" Nadia says, finally. You can hear the befuddlement in her voice - which reminds you, she isn't, after all, a native speaker.
"Sorry about that," you say, a touch sheepishly. "Just... felt like rhyming, for some reason. Nadia, Mami's friends in Asunaro needed our help in a hurry - their lab was broken into, one of theirs was attacked, and among other things, one of my Clear Seeds was stolen along with an invention of theirs. We're hunting down the perpetrators right now, but we probably won't be back before ten today. Homura, Sayaka, will you be alright to handle that, and Nadia, can you apologise on our behalf?"
"'course!" Sayaka says brightly. "Right, transf- Homura?"
"Yes. It won't be a problem," Homura says.
"Aw, hell, Homura, you can't be like that when meeting new people," Sayaka says. "Don't worry, Sabrina, Mami, we've got this."
"I will tell them," Nadia says. "It is not an issue." She hesitates for a second. "It is good, that you hunt them down. This is not something you should leave, fimti? People can not be allowed to steal your Clear Seeds."
"Yeah, I know," you admit with a sigh, listening with a sliver of your attention to Oriko explaining about Anri's dangerous information. "'s part of why I'm here and not in Mitakihara, the other part being that I've got to help my friends, y'know?"
"Mm," Nadia agrees. "I will make apologies for you. We will see you later today?"
"That's the plan!" you agree cheerfully. "Later, Nadia. Thanks. And thank you, Homura, Sayaka." You glance over in the direction Sayaka's in, but you've spread out far enough that you can't see her anymore.
Excellent. That's handled, then. You say your goodbyes for now, and then link up to Mami and Kazumi. "Kazumi, Mami and I are going to try something."
"Oh? Oh, the ribbons? Yeah, go for it!" Kazumi says.
Mami blushes as you take her hand. At the same time, you glance back at Hijiri. "Hey Hijiri, just a heads up, Mami and I are gonna try something. Also, I'm gonna shuffle you up so you can actually see properly, alright?"
Her chair's already moving, sliding smoothly across the floor of your flying fortress. You shift it forward and to your left, so she has an actual view through the window, Hijiri clinging to the armrests the entire time and fidgeting uncomfortably.
Heh. Can't go for a literal backstab if she isn't at your back.
At the same time, Mami shifts to dangle her hand over the edge of the fortress. She loops ribbon through your intertwined fingers, smiling at you and squeezing gently.
"Alright," you say, exhaling slowly and pulling the fortress to a halt. Don't want to slam into a building while distracted by transmuting your sensory device out of Grief, after all. You hold your hand out, Grief flowing out of seemingly thin air. "Keep watch for me, Mami?"
"Of course," Mami says, smiling soft and warm at you.
You exhale, and focus.
To find the vengeful wraith/with true love's embrace/and follow the flower's élan, poise, and grace.
Your eyes flicker open with a jolt. True love?
...
You haven't known Mami for long enough to say that. Maybe, maybe in the future. Maybe not even that far in the future. Certainly you feel a great deal of respect and affection and frankly adoration for Mami, but true love is a high bar to meet.
"Sabrina?" Mami asks, honey eyes warm and concerned as she peers at you.
"I'm alright," you say, shaking your head and smiling at her. "And I'm done."
You lift the little pair of binoculars sheepishly. They're silver, covered with elaborate traceries of filigree and black inlays.
Well, you definitely had someone on your mind when you created these. But these should work. You don't actually have to look through them - they're just... a representation of purpose, wrought in Grief and resonant with Witch song.
Mami squeezes your hand gently again. "I'm ready, Sabrina."
You nod, and purse your lips. "One moment," you murmur to her, and turn to Hijiri instead.
"So Hijiri," you say, raising your eyebrow at the blonde. You can't help noticing that seated, her twintails are long enough to brush the floor, which is... honestly impressive. "I realise that we've just... kind of left you there. Whatcha thinking?"
Hijiri blinks at you. "What?"
"Whatcha thinking?" you repeat patiently, grinning at her. "I mean, duh, this is kind of a graceless way to incite conversation. But I shouldn't be ignoring you, so I apologise for that."
"I'm thinking you're weird as hell," she says flatly. "What even are you doing?"
"I've got, uh, a very eclectic set of powers," you say, waving the binoculars at her again. "In this case, I'll be working with Mami to extend my range and search for Anri. This'll take a bit longer to set up, so I'm sorry about that. Though if you don't mind my making a suggestion...?"
"Go on then," she says, scowling. "Not like you can make things worse."
"Look... I'm here to help. I'm here to help everyone, and that includes you. I don't know what you want, but... at the end of all this, I'll try to find a way to make everyone happy," you say. "So, um. Yeah. Think about it?"
"What I want is simple, alright? I wanna go home. Back to my normal life, without her there," she snorts.
"Right," you say, wincing. "I'll... keep that in mind. But, um."
Hijiri sneers at you. "Yeah, didn't think so." She folds her arms and scowls.
"Hijiri," you say. You're delaying the actual searching for Anri, but it'll take a bit of focus, and you want to actually try and reach out to Hijiri right now. She'll be able to tell you're not focusing fully on her. "Look. The moment you made your Wish, your life changed. It's the nature of a Wish, you know? I don't think you can go back to your old life... but think about a way you can find happiness?"
Her scowl deepens, and she looks away.
You sigh, and turn your attention back to Mami, who's giving you a warm, fond smile. You squeeze her hand gently.
"Ready?" you murmur, and at her nod, you focus.
This isn't the same as your Grief transmutation. That is your will forcing a fragment of reality into something different, something fundamental and instinctual. This... this is you simply opening up, your magic melding with Mami's and coursing along the ribbons she laid. You can feel your awareness flooding along the network she created, a jellyfish's umbrella of trailing tendrils spreading across entire blocks.
Mami sucks in a breath, snuggling closer into your side.
"All good?" you murmur to Mami, taking in the entire area with your mind.
"Yes," she says, giving you a brilliant smile. "Definitely."
"Then let's get to it," you say, and kick your fortress forward. You drift forward, a giant doom jellyfish trailing a net of invisible ribbons dangling nearly to the ground beneath you. It's not quite the same sensory awareness, but you can feel the lack of your selected target - Anri.
And you can pick up speed now that you don't have to dip low to scan. You zip past buildings and parks, checking in quickly with Kazumi, but you've got enough speed to catch up with the dragnet of a search she's coordinating across the city.
"Sabrina?" Mami murmurs from her position, firmly tucked into your side. Her eyes are half closed, a contented smile on her lips.
"Yeah?" you say, smoothing her hair with your free hand.
"I think I could spread the ribbons across a much bigger zone," she says. "But we've got to be still. And I'd be approaching my limit, I think."
"Ah," you say, pursing your lips thoughtfully.
"So what do you suggest I do?" Hijiri snaps, out of the blue.
Voting opens
[] Mami's suggestion
- [] Set down and try the bigger zone
- [] Keep moving, with the smaller scan zone
[] How do you answer Hijiri?
[] Write-in (word count limit: 150 words)
Do answer Mami's question.
You give Mami a smile, warm and pleased. "You know what? I think your idea works the best, for letting our friends know about the danger Anri poses," you say, and tighten your hug around her a little. "You're the best, Mami. I have no idea what I'd have done without you."
You exhale slowly, thoughts reaching out. You can lean on your inexplicable multitasking - you could definitely make a joke here about not actually thinking with your brain, because you're fairly certain a human brain doesn't handle multitasking quite like this.
Clock, knight, and traveller. Homura, Sayaka, and Nadia - and Mami, of course. "Hello, girls?"
And then to Oriko, because of course Mami's got the right idea. "Oriko, you got a moment?" you say. "I need a favour."
"Ah, good morning, Sabrina!" Nadia says cheerfully, accented tones lilting through telepathy. "We are on schedule. Due to arrive at 10."
"Yeah, uh, about that," you say awkwardly. "Mami and I most likely won't be there."
Oriko replies to you, just then. There's a touch of interest shading her voice. "Oh?"
"Mmmhmm~" you hum a note of that odd little poem you have running through your mind. "From you, help I require - of knowledge I acquired, a clue from you would surely stir much ado."
"Ah? Something has come up?" Nadia responds to you.
"To you, an explanation is quite overdue," you continue the cadence to Nadia. "It's under control, we're on a roll - we're handling trolls."
"Your meter and rhyme leave much to be desired," Oriko sniffs. "Nevertheless. What do you need me to say?"
"Anri has dangerous knowledge," you say, dropping the rhyme. "I need you to tell the Pleiades not to listen to her, and preferably let me handle her when we find her. It'll have more weight coming from you, I hope."
"Easily done," Oriko says, and smoothly switches channels to include the Saints. "Miss Kazusa, Pleiades Saints, there is something you all need to know."
"I see?" Nadia says, finally. You can hear the befuddlement in her voice - which reminds you, she isn't, after all, a native speaker.
"Sorry about that," you say, a touch sheepishly. "Just... felt like rhyming, for some reason. Nadia, Mami's friends in Asunaro needed our help in a hurry - their lab was broken into, one of theirs was attacked, and among other things, one of my Clear Seeds was stolen along with an invention of theirs. We're hunting down the perpetrators right now, but we probably won't be back before ten today. Homura, Sayaka, will you be alright to handle that, and Nadia, can you apologise on our behalf?"
"'course!" Sayaka says brightly. "Right, transf- Homura?"
"Yes. It won't be a problem," Homura says.
"Aw, hell, Homura, you can't be like that when meeting new people," Sayaka says. "Don't worry, Sabrina, Mami, we've got this."
"I will tell them," Nadia says. "It is not an issue." She hesitates for a second. "It is good, that you hunt them down. This is not something you should leave, fimti? People can not be allowed to steal your Clear Seeds."
"Yeah, I know," you admit with a sigh, listening with a sliver of your attention to Oriko explaining about Anri's dangerous information. "'s part of why I'm here and not in Mitakihara, the other part being that I've got to help my friends, y'know?"
"Mm," Nadia agrees. "I will make apologies for you. We will see you later today?"
"That's the plan!" you agree cheerfully. "Later, Nadia. Thanks. And thank you, Homura, Sayaka." You glance over in the direction Sayaka's in, but you've spread out far enough that you can't see her anymore.
Excellent. That's handled, then. You say your goodbyes for now, and then link up to Mami and Kazumi. "Kazumi, Mami and I are going to try something."
"Oh? Oh, the ribbons? Yeah, go for it!" Kazumi says.
Mami blushes as you take her hand. At the same time, you glance back at Hijiri. "Hey Hijiri, just a heads up, Mami and I are gonna try something. Also, I'm gonna shuffle you up so you can actually see properly, alright?"
Her chair's already moving, sliding smoothly across the floor of your flying fortress. You shift it forward and to your left, so she has an actual view through the window, Hijiri clinging to the armrests the entire time and fidgeting uncomfortably.
Heh. Can't go for a literal backstab if she isn't at your back.
At the same time, Mami shifts to dangle her hand over the edge of the fortress. She loops ribbon through your intertwined fingers, smiling at you and squeezing gently.
"Alright," you say, exhaling slowly and pulling the fortress to a halt. Don't want to slam into a building while distracted by transmuting your sensory device out of Grief, after all. You hold your hand out, Grief flowing out of seemingly thin air. "Keep watch for me, Mami?"
"Of course," Mami says, smiling soft and warm at you.
You exhale, and focus.
To find the vengeful wraith/with true love's embrace/and follow the flower's élan, poise, and grace.
Your eyes flicker open with a jolt. True love?
...
You haven't known Mami for long enough to say that. Maybe, maybe in the future. Maybe not even that far in the future. Certainly you feel a great deal of respect and affection and frankly adoration for Mami, but true love is a high bar to meet.
"Sabrina?" Mami asks, honey eyes warm and concerned as she peers at you.
"I'm alright," you say, shaking your head and smiling at her. "And I'm done."
You lift the little pair of binoculars sheepishly. They're silver, covered with elaborate traceries of filigree and black inlays.
Well, you definitely had someone on your mind when you created these. But these should work. You don't actually have to look through them - they're just... a representation of purpose, wrought in Grief and resonant with Witch song.
Mami squeezes your hand gently again. "I'm ready, Sabrina."
You nod, and purse your lips. "One moment," you murmur to her, and turn to Hijiri instead.
"So Hijiri," you say, raising your eyebrow at the blonde. You can't help noticing that seated, her twintails are long enough to brush the floor, which is... honestly impressive. "I realise that we've just... kind of left you there. Whatcha thinking?"
Hijiri blinks at you. "What?"
"Whatcha thinking?" you repeat patiently, grinning at her. "I mean, duh, this is kind of a graceless way to incite conversation. But I shouldn't be ignoring you, so I apologise for that."
"I'm thinking you're weird as hell," she says flatly. "What even are you doing?"
"I've got, uh, a very eclectic set of powers," you say, waving the binoculars at her again. "In this case, I'll be working with Mami to extend my range and search for Anri. This'll take a bit longer to set up, so I'm sorry about that. Though if you don't mind my making a suggestion...?"
"Go on then," she says, scowling. "Not like you can make things worse."
"Look... I'm here to help. I'm here to help everyone, and that includes you. I don't know what you want, but... at the end of all this, I'll try to find a way to make everyone happy," you say. "So, um. Yeah. Think about it?"
"What I want is simple, alright? I wanna go home. Back to my normal life, without her there," she snorts.
"Right," you say, wincing. "I'll... keep that in mind. But, um."
Hijiri sneers at you. "Yeah, didn't think so." She folds her arms and scowls.
"Hijiri," you say. You're delaying the actual searching for Anri, but it'll take a bit of focus, and you want to actually try and reach out to Hijiri right now. She'll be able to tell you're not focusing fully on her. "Look. The moment you made your Wish, your life changed. It's the nature of a Wish, you know? I don't think you can go back to your old life... but think about a way you can find happiness?"
Her scowl deepens, and she looks away.
You sigh, and turn your attention back to Mami, who's giving you a warm, fond smile. You squeeze her hand gently.
"Ready?" you murmur, and at her nod, you focus.
This isn't the same as your Grief transmutation. That is your will forcing a fragment of reality into something different, something fundamental and instinctual. This... this is you simply opening up, your magic melding with Mami's and coursing along the ribbons she laid. You can feel your awareness flooding along the network she created, a jellyfish's umbrella of trailing tendrils spreading across entire blocks.
Mami sucks in a breath, snuggling closer into your side.
"All good?" you murmur to Mami, taking in the entire area with your mind.
"Yes," she says, giving you a brilliant smile. "Definitely."
"Then let's get to it," you say, and kick your fortress forward. You drift forward, a giant doom jellyfish trailing a net of invisible ribbons dangling nearly to the ground beneath you. It's not quite the same sensory awareness, but you can feel the lack of your selected target - Anri.
And you can pick up speed now that you don't have to dip low to scan. You zip past buildings and parks, checking in quickly with Kazumi, but you've got enough speed to catch up with the dragnet of a search she's coordinating across the city.
"Sabrina?" Mami murmurs from her position, firmly tucked into your side. Her eyes are half closed, a contented smile on her lips.
"Yeah?" you say, smoothing her hair with your free hand.
"I think I could spread the ribbons across a much bigger zone," she says. "But we've got to be still. And I'd be approaching my limit, I think."
"Ah," you say, pursing your lips thoughtfully.
"So what do you suggest I do?" Hijiri snaps, out of the blue.
Voting opens
[] Mami's suggestion
- [] Set down and try the bigger zone
- [] Keep moving, with the smaller scan zone
[] How do you answer Hijiri?
[] Write-in (word count limit: 150 words)
=====
Do answer Mami's question.
Last edited:
! *mad laughter ensues*