... charming.
Well, Nadia
did warn you she was kind of antisocial. Though from your first impression she's not so much
antisocial as she is
antisocial. You're not sure whether she likes people or not, but she certainly has an effect rather akin to antimatter on a conversation. Socially speaking, of course, and you have no idea where this analogy is going.
She just had a long flight. She
flew across the world to ask
you, personally this question. You can excuse a bit of discourtesy right now.
You don't know how to answer her question, rudeness aside. And you might as well admit that, but you don't think she'd
like that answer much. You debate how to phrase it to her, but...
You have
hypotheses, and just that. Somewhat substantiated, but still unconfirmed as yet. You... might as well be honest.
"I'm aware my Soul is strange," you say, meeting her eyes. "But as to
why, my best guesses aren't very good. I have ideas, yes, but nothing that I've been able to confirm."
"Your Soul is strange to be sure," Riona echoes, squeezing her eyes shut and tilting her head up at the ceiling. Her accent thickens when she's excited, apparently. Or when she's irritated. One of two. "To be
sure your Soul is strange, anyone with half an eye can see that. Fine, let's hear your whys."
And you were going to
carefully introduce the notion of privacy and let her infer that there are things you don't want to discuss in public -or in front of Mami- but here you are.
"I... not here," you say, gesturing around at the airport. "I'm not going to talk about sensitive topics where anyone or any
thing might hear."
Riona sucks in her cheeks, giving you a long look. "Fine," she says. "I will check in to my hotel. Come."
She turns, squinting at the overhead signs. She strides away at a quick, impatient clip, cutting through the crowds with her luggage dragging behind her.
"She seems... nice," you mutter under your breath to Mami as you hurry after Riona. You were going to offer to help her find a place to stay, or maybe to help her find her way
to wherever she was staying, but she seems to have a very definite idea in mind.
"Miss Bennouna
did say she didn't make friends easily," Mami says. "This is probably why."
"Yeah..." you agree. "Ah, well."
You catch up with Riona at the taxi stand, joining the queue. She unzips her belt pouch, pulling out a metal flask and sipping.
... there's
magic in that flask. Faint enough that you didn't pick up on it with a cursory look in there, and she is definitely
drinking it.
Riona catches you looking. She sloshes the flask in your general direction, raising her eyebrows.
"No, but thank you," you say. Nadia
warned you about the stuff. You... don't think it's harmful. You're pretty sure she would have mentioned if it were, but you're awfully suspicious of the magic in there.
She shrugs, and takes another sip.
It smells
awful. Not alcoholic, or if there is, there's so little it's drowned out by something sharply acidic, almost like curdled milk. Mami wrinkles her nose, leaning against your side.
The ride to the hotel is exceedingly awkward. You step in to help translate for Riona, the taxi driver giving you and Mami a faintly baffled look, but he doesn't say anything more. He turns on the radio a minute into the drive, filling the silence with some jazzy J-pop number.
At least you get to cuddle with Mami in the back seat.
The taxi drops you off in front of one of the nicer hotels in the city, and Riona strides up to the counter, ignoring the hotel porters. She pushes her passport across the counter, folding her arms. The receptionist seems unperturbed, taking the passport. She glances from Riona, to you, to Mami as she works, before producing a key card.
"Here's your key, ma'am," she says in accented English, smile unwavering. "There is complimentary WiFi in your room-"
Riona's already walking away.
"Sorry about that," you mutter to the receptionist, in Japanese. "She's, uh, had a long flight."
She blinks, her surprise giving way to a warmer, more genuine smile. "I've seen worse," she says. "Now go, your friend's waiting for you."
And indeed, she is. Riona's holding the elevator open, looking back at you with a raised eyebrow and a tapping foot.
You bite back a faintly annoyed sigh. You want to get her on your side, and a bit of discourtesy is only a blow to your pride. Mami's hand in yours helps to calm you, her fingers warm and intertwined with yours as you walk over.
And you know what? You've dealt with worse. Kyouko is prickly and
proud as hell, and you're more than happy to deal with her. Homura is just as bad at expressing herself, and she's your best friend, and Oriko... Oriko is Oriko. You can extend Riona a bit of sympathy.
Riona steps into her room without a word, dumping her luggage on the stand before flopping over on the bed with a groan.
"Mmrg," she grumbles, waving at the chairs. "Make y'self at home."
You sigh as you sit down, Mami at your side. "I'm interested in working with you," you say. "There are... projects that require manipulations outside the scope of what
I can do, but you might."
"Grand," Riona drawls, eyes closed. "Now, can y' answer my question? What's the story?"
"Let me make a quick enchantment to ensure privacy," you say, inverting Grief from your otherworldly storage into your hands.
Enchanted Grief, and it's a good thing you prepared this earlier. "Uh, it's going to feel kind of Witchy."
Riona cracks an eye open to stare at the dark blob in your hands. "What in th' bleeding
hells is
that?"
"It's enchanted Grief," you say. "Grief I cleansed from a Soul Gem and then enchanted, and... Would you like me to demonstrate my cleansing?"
She doesn't need it, precisely, but she
does have Grief in her Soul Gem. If you're reading her correctly, it might be a better out than to ask if she wants you to cleanse her Soul Gems. Then again, she
does have a couple of Grief Seeds with her.
Riona opens her other eye, frowning at you.
"Yes," she says, spreading her hand. Her Soul Gem shimmers into view on her palm, egg shaped and glinting emerald.
You
pull, with mind and hand alike. A bit of theatricality to it just feels
right. Grief streams free of her Soul Gem, dark, twisting wisps that you draw into marbles orbiting your finger before banishing it into your storage space.
Riona stares intently at the process, almost glaring at you like she can see the magic working. Perhaps she can.
"Impossible," Riona mutters to herself. "And yet, here we are. This
girl here."
"Yes, I
am rather impossible," you say, irritation prickling. "Now, give me a few moments, and we can speak in private."
"Get on with it," she says, reforming her Soul Gem ring and waving that hand imperiously.
You blow out a sharp breath and focus on the Grief, impressing your
will upon it. Mami leans against your side, curious, but quiet, and you can feel Riona's eyes boring into you the entire time, watching intently, and it's just as well you have enchanted Grief to use. You don't
really want to go into a formation-trance when you're around her. More specifically, you don't want to see her reaction in front of Mami.
"What was your Wish?" Riona asks.
"I Wished to control all Grief," you say. "Why it
worked is up for debate. As I said, I have ideas, and probably related."
She grimaces, annoyed. Well, tough, lady.
Riona flinches when the construct reaches completion, the first real
reaction you've gotten out of her. She sits upright, giving the construct a wary look as you set it down on the coffee table - unactivated, but
ready.
"Sabrina?" Mami murmurs.
"Yes, Mami?" you ask, smiling at her.
"Is... is this a conversation I should be in?" she asks, hesitantly.
Riona's eyes snap from the construct to you.
"I..." you trail off, grimacing. The answer is
yes. She
should be, by all rights. But she's chosen not to know.
"It's alright," Mami says, swallowing. "I understand. I... I'll practice my enchantment, while I wait for you?"
"Alright," you echo. "If you're sure?"
"I am," Mami says, giving you a wan smile. You kiss her gently on the cheek and pull her into a hug, savouring the contact before straightening. "I won't be going anywhere, alright? Just-"
"Ahem," Riona says.
You ignore her. "Just inside the privacy field. And I'll be back."
"Alright," Mami whispers, taking a breath. "Alright."
[] Riona
- [] What answer do you have about the strangeness of your Soul?
- [] Ask her what she sees in your Soul
- [] Ask her what she's done before
- [] Show her Hildegarde
-- [] What do you say about the Clear Seed?
[] Write-in (word count limit: 150 words)
=====
I took the liberty of extrapolating a bit. Also, really, is it Riona or Rionna?