"Oh!" you say, clapping your hands together. "I just remembered!"
"Yep?" Sayaka says. She straightens a little.
"Scallops!" you say.
"... what." Sayaka gives you a flat, suspicious look.
"Those Familiars. Those were
scallops. Not clams," you say, nodding firmly. "Also, uh... more seriously." You grab the Grief Seed, and hold it up by the point. "This is yours."
"Oh!" Sayaka says, eyes widening as she reaches for it. "Wait, uh-"
"You're a clone, yeah," you say. "I'll pass it to you later, and just in case I forget to remind you later - do remember to keep it away from your Clear Seed, yeah? Bad things happen if they come into contact."
A bright grin stretches Sayaka's face as she nods vigorously. "Right, right."
You briefly consider pointing out that pigeons on airport watch might have troubles with loud noises, like planes taking off, but on second thoughts... the bigger issue would be worrying about birds getting sucked into engines. Then again, you're not sure Sayaka actually improves the birds' intelligence by much. And Sayaka said that it wasn't practical, anyway, because pigeons wouldn't
recognise a new human.
"Yo?" Sayaka asks. She pokes you on the side of the head. "Anyone home?"
"I was thinking you could tell the birds to watch for Soul Gem rings, if you wanted to watch the airport, but on second thoughts, I'm not sure they could distinguish Soul Gem rings from regular rings," you say. "Also, jet engine intakes and birds."
"I could
try," Sayaka says, sounding dubious. "What's she look like?"
"Blonde and green-eyed, and that's pretty much all I know," you say, and pause, frowning. Blonde and green-eyed... you're not sure whether you ever got a
description of Rionna from anyone, but it feels right. "And no, I know it's not much."
"Ugh." Sayaka winces. "Do you know how much trouble I had trying to describe
hair colours to birds?"
"Hm?" you say.
"Birds have better colour perception than
we do," Sayaka says, shaking her head.
"Ah, right. The whole four cones versus three thing," you say, and frown.
"She's after
you, isn't she?" Sayaka muses, propping an elbow on her knee and cupping her chin. "Because you're weird?"
"That's what I was told, yeah," you say.
"Which means... it doesn't really matter where or when she arrives in Mitakihara," Sayaka says. "Because we know, ultimately, that she's coming after
you, for better or for worse. So we don't actually need to watch the airport, we just need to keep an eye on
you."
"That's... a good point," you admit. "We don't know if she's hostile, though."
Sayaka shrugs, still hunched forward with chin resting on the palm of her hand. "Yeah, well... just in case she has some kinda instant knockout, maybe I should get a couple birds to tail you."
"Heh," you chuckle. "Birds. Tail."
Sayaka rolls her eyes.
"It's a good idea, though," you say. "Just a precaution. I think... well, I was half planning on going shopping or something, anyway. I can stick to public areas, as a just in case. Hopefully nothing happens there."
"And if something happens, I call in the cavalry," Sayaka says, and smirks. "Which means Homura and Mami come gunning for Miss... Aoidh?"
"Miss Mag Aoidh," you say, a faint smile touching your lips. "
And you, don't forget. You're a pretty damned heavy hitter now."
"Yeah, yeah, but what I
meant was you get your best friend and your..." Sayaka slants a sidelong smirk at you. "Your
Mami coming to your rescue."
Your face flames red. "I- she's- she's not
my Mami."
Sayaka gives you a flat stare.
... Yeah, you're not convincing anyone. Not even yourself.
"I'm
her Sabrina," you say in lieu of the many, many things you could say in your defense.
"Then Mami riding to the rescue of
her Sabrina," Sayaka says, smirk widening.
"That's more like it," you say, face still a brilliant red.
Sayaka laughs, long and loud, throwing her head back. "
Revenge!"
"You realise, of course, that this means war," you say, grinning at her through your blush.
"Yeah, as if you hadn't already fired the opening shots." Sayaka sniffs haughtily. "This is just... reciprocation."
"Can't say I don't deserve it," you admit with a sigh. "Anyway, were you headed off?"
"Guess so," Sayaka says. "I'll task a couple birds to keep an eye on you first. Can I get some more seed?"
"Sure," you say, and provide the requested seed. You watch with bemusement as Sayaka tips her head back, trilling an odd note that
carries and somehow summons a half dozen crows and pigeons. Soft chirrups fill the air as Sayaka does her best Disney princess impression, and the birds fly off - all but one sparrow, which remains, staring balefully at you with one beady eye.
"He's... taking the first shift, I guess?" Sayaka says, gesturing at the bird. "I don't really know how they think."
"That's fine by me," you say. You offer a finger to the sparrow, which promptly pecks you. "Hey!"
Sayaka shrugs.
"Well I was
going to offer to let you ride on my shoulder, but I don't think I'm going to any more. Besides, you'll probably crap on my clothes," you tell the bird.
"I don't think he actually understands you," Sayaka says, snickering. "Anyway, you're right. I should get back to class."
"Alright," you say, pushing yourself to your feet. You open your arms, and grin at Sayaka. "C'mere."
Sayaka snorts, hopping to her feet and stepping into the hug. "You're such a dork."
"Takes one to know one," you counter, wrapping your arms around her and hugging firmly. She's a lot sturdier than you might expect, stocky, athletic muscle. "We should hang out more, it's fun."
"
Dork," Sayaka says, rolling her eyes as she steps back. "But yeah. See ya!"
She punches your shoulder, and unravels in a burst of cerulean blue.
You bounce on your toes, and raise an eyebrow at the sparrow, still staring patiently at you. "Well, I'm headed off now," you tell it.
The bird ignores you, pecking at some remaining birdseed on the ground.
... Why do you even bother?
Public places, as you told Sayaka, and shopping, as you also told Sayaka. You've got this
mental image in your head of a
perfect look for Mami. Granted, Mami looks good whether sleep-rumpled or dressed up, but still.
And speaking of Mami...
"
Hey, Mami," you say, reaching out as you head for the shopping center. On foot, since it isn't too far. The sparrow flutters after you. "
How are you?"
"
Sabrina!" Mami's voice is bright and warm. "
I'm alright. How are you?"
"
I'm doing good," you say. "
The Witch hunt went well! How are classes going?"
"
Ah- it- they're going well," Mami says, a little hitch in her voice. "
We're having Science now."
"
Is that so?" you ask, narrowing your eyes at nothing in particular. You probably look rather odd to the people passing you by.
"
It is!" Mami says. "
Um..."
"
Are you OK, Mami?" you ask.
"
I am," Mami says. "
I'm alright, Sabrina. I'm just- preparing a surprise for you. I can't tell you more than that!"
"
Oh," you say. "
You don't- you don't have to, Mami. Not at the cost of your lessons."
"
I want to," Mami says. "
And, um... I'm still in class. Just working on something on the side."
"
School is important, Mami," you say as you turn the corner, ducking under the shade of a building. "
Being a magical girl isn't going to be everything, you know?"
"
I won't let my grades slip. I promise," Mami says. "
I... let me do this for you, Sabrina? Please?"
You can't say no to that.
"
OK," you say. "
Thank you, Mami."
"
It... it's the least I could do," Mami says softly. "
You've done so much for me, Sabrina."
"
And you've done so much for me," you say. "
We really should just call it even."
"
Nuh-uh," Mami says.
You giggle.
"
Well, I can't disagree with that," you say warmly. "
I'm glad you're alright, Mami."
"
I'm glad you're here," Mami says.
You make small talk, chatting with Mami as you stroll towards the shopping center. Though really, the more you think about it, the less you feel like going shopping
for Mami
without Mami being right there with you. It just doesn't feel right. You can definitely take a look around, and you can hit up the library next door for Internet access.
You could probably do CDMA-via-Grief, but there's not much point in it when there's a library right there. You'd have to figure out how to authenticate yourself to the telecoms, too, which is probably less easy. With those thoughts in mind, you continue towards the shopping center. And even if you're not in a rush, you can spend your time better than just meandering about.
With that in mind, you let Mami return to focusing on her classes. You'll see her again soon enough.
You duck into the toilet and let some Grief condense out of the air, moulding it between your palms. You get a few odd looks out in the shopping center, but really, it doesn't
look like much more than playing with some unusual Play-doh or something. But it might be good to have some enchanted Grief bunkered against unforeseen circumstances.
And speaking of unforeseen circumstances...
"
Hey, Kyouko? Yuma?" you call out telepathically.
"
Yo," Kyouko says, wariness in her tone. "
Whaddya want? Your girl still coming over for the practice session later?"
"
Hello, Sabrina!" Yuma says brightly.
"
Yep," you say. "
I'm not absolutely sure I'll be going along, but you'll get paid. Anyway, I wanted to check - did anything come of that talk with Miss Nakano?"
"
... Yuma, could you butt out a bit?" Kyouko says, voice even.
"
Um... yes, big sis," Yuma says, and disconnects.
A convenient bench catches your eye, and you pause. You plonk yourself down, still kneading and enchanting Grief between your hands, watching the shoppers as they walk past you. It's not terribly populous right now, during the early afternoon, but there's enough bustle that the noise is an omnipresent hum.
"
Fucking shit," Kyouko snarls at you. "
The hell do I owe you?"
"
Nothing at all," you say, propping your arm on the side of the bench. "
I... take it Miss Nakano was able to pull some strings?"
"
Fuck," Kyouko hisses. "
Dammit. Dammit, I owe you. You and her
, but she says you're
footing her part on this."
[] Kyouko
- [] How do you respond?
[] Check IRCs (You'll only have time for one)
- [] How do you present yourself?
[x] Pick up Mami from school
[] Sayaka
- [] Send her off for training solo
- [] Go with her for training
[] What do you do after?
[] Write-in (word count limit: 150 words)
=====
Oh, by the by - "Mag Aoidh" is pronounced almost exactly like "Maggie", and is in fact where the latter came from. Don't ask me why a surname got turned into a first name.
))
.
