"Well..." you shake your head, and grin. "I mean, I have
all the thoughts right now, but you know what?
Congratulations, Oriko. I'm glad you're doing better."
"Am I?" Oriko blinks, and then chuckles. "I suppose I am. But I would say it's a work in progress, rather than a singular state."
"Nuh-uh!" Kirika says, and snuggles closer. "Definitely better."
"It's one day at a time, no? And all we can do is to hope to do a little better, to
be a little better every day," you say, beaming at them.
"Philosophical today, aren't we?" Oriko asks, but she's smiling despite the sarcasm. "I suppose you're right."
"Damn
right I am," you say. "And... you know, even your Soul looks better to me."
"Oh?" Oriko says.
"Yeah," you say, expression darkening a little. You'd
hoped to get Rionna on this case, but... no. You don't want
anything to do with her. Maybe Sayaka'll one day think twice about Rionna's power, and reclaim the copied gem from you. For now, instead, the copy of her power sits in your hammerspace.
You shake yourself, chasing the dark thoughts away. "Sorry. Was thinking thoughts. Uh... so your Soul was kind of all... twisted up before this, yeah? When you... yeah."
You trail off awkwardly, hoping you aren't making Oriko uncomfortable with the reminder, but she just looks at you, eyes sharp and attentive.
"When I started to reject my magic, when I didn't realise what I wanted, what I Wished for," Oriko says.
"Exactly that," you say. You can't help but shake your head a little, rueful. "I... you know what? I'll just sidetrack a bit here. I'm... really impressed and glad that you can just
say that out loud, considering that it's, uh, just about repudiating everything you used to think."
"I had help getting here," Oriko says. "From Kirika, and from... from my friend." She turns a meaningful look on you.
And you beam at her, bright and happy.
"OK, so, two things," you say. "First of all - for what it's worth, I'm glad for the progress you've made. Second of all, can I give you a hug?"
"Group hug!" Kirika cheers, tossing the enchanted chain aside and dragging Oriko into a hug with you.
You laugh, and hug them both.
Oriko sighs, but she
does hug back. You hold it for a moment, until Kirika starts squirming, and ease back.
"You're good people," you say quietly. "Both of you."
"You have appalling judgement, Sabrina. Half correct," Oriko says. "
Kirika is."
"Nuh-uh," Kirika says. "You're perfect, Oriko."
"I mean it," you say with a smile. "And... you know what? You don't need to save the world or risk your lives to prove it."
"I certainly don't intend to be idle, if I have the opportunity," Oriko says calmly, pursing her lips. "But-"
Kirika baps Oriko on the nose.
"No self-sacrificing," Kirika says.
"That's not what I meant, dear," Oriko says, laughing. "But... Sabrina, you might have decided as such, but your friends still view me as hostile."
"I know," you agree. "I'm hoping that will change."
"With time, and certainly not without effort," Oriko says. "Still, I... appreciate it."
"Yeah, well," you say, and shrug. "My point remains. I think you two are good people."
Kirika beams happily at the both of you, and looks around. "Now where... Oh!"
She hops off Oriko's lap and wanders out of the privacy sphere to grab the chain from where it fell.
"Thank you." Oriko says as Kirika returns to settle back on her lap. She frowns, considering something for a second before her gaze flicks up to you. "What were you going to say before we got sidetracked?"
"Hm? Oh, uh, right," you say. "So... your Soul hasn't returned to the shape it was before. But it
does seem to have settled down somewhat."
"It makes sense," Oriko says quietly. "As you helped me realise, my... what I had Wished for wasn't what I truly wanted. My Soul cried out against it, rebelled against it, and when I found a new equilibrium, my Soul settled once more." She shrugs delicately.
"Yeah," you say. "I... guess it's not quite done yet? I'm not really sure."
Oriko shrugs once again, careful not to dislodge Kirika.
"Well... what kind of random snatches?" you say. "Anything significant?"
"I doubt it," Oriko says, shrugging. "If I had to hazard a guess, my..." She blinks, and chuckles. "My
clairvoyance is... calibrating, for lack of a better word."
You raise your eyebrows at her, and then snicker. "Hah! I remember you used to complain you used to see the
future, not the present."
"Indeed," Oriko agrees. "This is your fault."
"Damn right," you say, grinning. "So, what
have you seen, so far?"
"A lot of open ocean," Oriko says, pursing her lips. "Forests, plains... empty land.
Very rarely... you must understand, this only started happening within the last day or so. Very rarely have I even seen human civilization, let alone people. It seems to be truly random."
"Huh," you say. "Global range?"
"I'm... not sure," Oriko admits. "My geography is insufficient to the task, and I suppose I'll know when this... fully coalesces, I suppose."
"Hah, I suppose so," you echo. "Keep me updated, please?"
"I will," Oriko says, nodding.
"Hey, catch!" Kirika slings the chain to you, and you just about manage to catch it, steel links whipping about your fist.
"Thanks, Kirika!" you say, beaming. "Hmm..."
You can feel the buzz of Kirika's antimagic in the links, an odd greasy feeling. Not directed at you, but still faintly uncomfortable.
"Hmm?" Kirika echoes.
"No... well, just..." you say, trailing off sheepishly. "I guess I didn't really think this through properly. Yeah, I
did ask for manacles, because chain is pretty easy to snap."
"Eh, we really don't have manacles around here, you know," Kirika says. "There's no hidden dungeons or anything here, which I always thought was kiiiinda disappointing. Big mansion like this, practically a castle, but no dungeons. Oriko helped me look!"
Oriko pats Kirika's cheek fondly as the black haired girl pouts.
"Maybe you should take a look again when your new powers solidify," you tell Oriko with a grin.
"Maybe I should," Oriko agrees.
"Though before we get back to the topic at hand..." you frown. "I
was thinking I could maybe cold-forge some manacles, but thinking about it, I feel like it wouldn't be strong enough, even if I did that. Plus you already finished the enchanting on the chain."
"Why not both?" Kirika asks with a shrug. "It's not like you can only use
one thing at a time. Slap manacles on someone, wrap the chain on top. That way it's as strong as you like
and antimagic!"
You blink, and laugh.
"OK, that's a very good point," you admit sheepishly. "That'd probably work just as well. Thanks, Kirika."
"Forest for the trees... my Kirika's good at that, isn't she?" Oriko says, giving Kirika a warm, adoring look and pulling her into a gentle kiss.
"Hey, I
did think about it," you say. "Belatedly. But yeah. Thanks, both of you."
Kirika sighs happily, and snuggles closer to Oriko.
"... hey, while I've got you here," you say. "Mind if I pick your brains about something else?"
"By all means," Oriko says.
"So... about Feathers," you say. "I suppose I really
should have asked this earlier, but did you ever see any consistent patterns to its actions? Despair, tragedy, that kind of thing, and did it ever act outside of Mitakihara?"
Oriko purses her lips.
"It
would have been better to ask earlier, yes," she agrees, but frowns in thought. "I didn't see it act outside of Mitakihara, no - but you must realise that my
visions were primarily focused within the city. It could well have, and I would have failed to notice it."
"Yeah, I get it," you agree. "Damn. Annoying."
"And as to a pattern..." Oriko pauses, thinking over it. "I would say it is the
cause of tragedy. Has it been acting recently?"
"No," you say. "Or at least, not that I've noticed."
"That's... good," Oriko murmurs.
"Is it?" you ask, frowning in turn. "I mean, is it
good that it's been quiet and we don't know what it's doing?"
"We don't know any
less than we did before," Oriko says, and shrugs. "On the balance, I would consider its inactivity a net positive."
"Yeah, but when it strikes..." you frown. "Honestly, other than Sayaka, it hasn't really...
done much. Spooky voice when I was in a Barrier, a feather when I tried playing around with my own Barrier... blocking your visions. I have no idea what it
wants."
"If anything, Sayaka was the odd one out," Oriko muses. "The rest of the time, it seems to just... haunt the background ominously."
"Hah, that's kind of true," you agree. "Sayaka, though... Do you think it
wanted her to contract, or something?"
"Coupled with the fact that Feathers seems to act to kill Miki Sayaka... I'm not sure," Oriko says, frowning.
You scowl thoughtfully.
"And against you," you say. "And it acts when
I'm not around."
Oriko nods silently, Kirika curling up on her lap to hug her a little tighter.
Honestly, your best theory is that Feathers, whatever -or
whoever- it is, is trying to make the timeline match up with the
previous one. But even if that's the case, you don't know
why it might be trying to do that. Blind flailing? Malevolent intent, considering how the last timeline ended?
And you're not absolutely sure you want to bring that up with Oriko. Not of any particular suspicion of them, but
that particular hypothesis of yours feels like it should be... kept
quiet until you're sure. A foe that transcends time... well, Homura would be capital-C Concerned. It's not a thought you want to give
voice to until you're completely certain.
Ah, well.
You shake your head, and grin at Oriko. "Anyway. Any other thoughts before I get rid of the privacy field?"
"None from me," Oriko says. "Kirika?"
"Mmmmnah," Kirika says, beaming.
"Alrighty!" you say, and get rid of the privacy sphere. You let the Grief stream away, melting back into your hammerspace. "Incidentally, I'm definitely getting something nice for you when you move to the new place."
"Oh?" Oriko asks.
"Gotta admit, I'm not sure
what," you say cheerfully. "But hey, at least it'll be a surprise, right?"
"A surprise to you, too," Oriko says drily - but she's smiling. "We won't want for basic furnishings and such, by the by. We've decided we'll pick from what's available here before having it auctioned off or such."
"And we've been window shopping online!" Kirika adds happily.
"For the more modern touch," Oriko agrees.
"That's good," you say, beaming. "Oh, uh... on that note, I suppose you'll be moving out soon enough, but do you want me to fix the rosebush out back? The one I uprooted?"
"Hmm?" Oriko asks, blinking. "Ah, no. I never
did like them... in fact, if you want to, feel free to uproot the rest."
"I'll keep that in mind," you say.
"Did you want anything from around here?" Oriko asks, waving her hand vaguely. "In fact, feel free to bring it up with your friends - should they want anything that we haven't already earmarked, I'd be happy to give it away, otherwise I'd be auctioning it off."
"Huh," you say. "There's an idea - I'll bring it up with them. And, uh..." You look around. "No offense, but most of this stuff... isn't really my style?
Maybe I'll grab the study chair or something if you don't want it. It looks comfy."
"None taken," Oriko says, shrugging. "I don't have particularly strong feelings about most of these, either. If you want the chair, feel free."
"Alright," you say. "I'll keep it in mind!"
This is nice, you have to admit. To just hang about with Oriko and Kirika a bit, and it's not like you can
do much right this moment. You glance at the clock. Though... you feel like your other friends, the ones who don't have school, should be stirring about now.
[] Choose one destination:
- [] Head out to meet Yuki
-- [] Talking Anri
--- [] What about?
-- [] Therapists
--- [] How?
-- [] Share meguca contact information
- [] Head out to meet Kyouko
-- [] Meet up for an early breakfast
--- [] What do you want to talk about?
[] Write-in (word count limit: 150 words)
=====
Unrelated to the update, I came across a quote I think fits here.
"Do not be daunted by the enormity of the world's grief. Do justly, now. Love mercy, now. Walk humbly now. You are not obligated to complete the work, but neither are you free to abandon it." - Rabbi Tarfon