Nova Prospekt pt. 7
"Haaaah," Kirika says, squirming around and slithering sideways off Oriko's lap so that she's mostly lying on the sofa, head still on Oriko's lap and feet propped up on the seat cushion next to you. "This is nice."
You chuckle quietly, giving her a grin.
"I was just thinking that," you admit. "Anyway, I gotta ask. Do you guys have any idea what you want to do with the mansion when you move out?"
"I was considering selling it - and all the contents," Oriko says, stroking Kirika's hair gently. "There's precious little here to hold nostalgia for me, and this place is... tainted."
You purse your lips. "Are people still vandalising this place?"
"No," Oriko says, shaking her head. "Children have short memories."
Kirika rolls over, burying her face against Oriko's belly and hugging the taller girl, but not before you see the flash of a smug grin flickering across her face.
"That's good, at least," you say, smiling. You doubt that Oriko doesn't know whatever it is Kirika did.
"Mmm," Oriko hums lightly. "Will you be staying much longer, Sabrina? I was thinking of brewing some tea, after our excellent breakfast." She gives Kirika a fond smile.
"Ah... probably not that much longer," you say. "I wouldn't want to impose on your hospitality for too long."
"Excellent," Oriko says. "Enough time to make some tea, then. And you aren't imposing on our hospitality at all."
"... And, uh..." you trail off, before shaking your head and deciding to just go for it. "You know that I don't... actually have amnesia, right? I don't have memories of before I woke up in the alleyway, and the tea is lovely, but I don't actually have memory problems on a day to day basis."
Oriko shrugs delicately, completely unconcerned.
"You do not need a reason to enjoy good tea any more than I require one," Oriko says, gently nudging Kirika's head off her lap. "I'll be back shortly."
Kirika makes sad, whiny noises as Oriko rises smoothly to her feet and heads to the kitchen, and then curls up like a cat around the spot Oriko was. Citrine eyes peek at you from behind a curtain of black hair, and Kirika grins at you.
You raise an eyebrow at her.
"Just happy," Kirika says, and waves an arm vaguely in the air. "I mean... I'm pretty happy with life. Never really thought I'd be here today, you know?"
"I know what you mean, yeah," you agree with a soft smile. "Just... Mami."
"Oriko," Kirika agrees with a happy sigh.
You lapse into an easy silence, Kirika perking up at the clinking noises from the kitchen. And you take the moment to reach out by telepathy.
"Hey, Yuma? Are you awake?" you say.
"Nnnnnnnnoooo?" Yuma says. "Yuma is asleep!"
She sounds bright, completely awake, and up to mischief.
"Ah, well, I was wondering if I could speak to Miss Sakura's secretary to set up a breakfast meeting today," you say cheerfully. "But if Yuma's asleep, that's fine."
"Ah, no! I can take a message!" Yuma's voice shifts, trying for a more formal, businesslike tone. "When would you like to schedule that appointment?"
"About... forty five minutes from now, if possible?" you say. "Miss Sakura has indicated interest in speaking to me on important matters, and I equally have matters to speak to her about." You pause, and grin to yourself. "Does Kyouko's secretary have her own secretary now?"
Kirika raises an eyebrow at you, but is rapidly distracted as Oriko bustles out of the kitchen with a steaming teapot on a tray.
"A meeting in forty five minutes!" Yuma says brightly. "Yes, Yuma's secretary answers the phone when Yuma's asleep."
"I see," you say gravely. "Well, I'll see you soon."
"See you!" Yuma says.
You accept a cup of green tea from Oriko with a grateful smile, blowing delicately on it and inhaling the faintly savoury fragrance.
"Thank you for the tea," you say. "And, ah, I'll be out of your hair in about half an hour."
"You aren't imposing in the slightest, but if you have business to attend to, by all means," Oriko says, nodding.
"Yeah," you say, taking a sip. "Thanks."
Kirika finally deigns to sit up so that she can accept a cup of tea from Oriko, drinking with surprising decorum. She's probably been taking lessons from Oriko, at a guess, and Oriko herself seems content to sip the tea in genteel silence, eyes closed to enjoy it properly.
You take a moment to think, and to reflect, and you find your thoughts circling your past actions. Metabombing Mami, and the pain you'd caused her. You went into it knowing what could happen, but you'd... misjudged how bad it could be, and only now is Mami recovering from it. And your thoughts turn, inevitably, to Oriko's predictions. Homura.
Homura, who would break if she found out about how her looping only made Madoka's potential greater, winding the spindle of realities tighter about her. More threads to tie her to abandoned universes, more reason for Kyuubey to hound her. But-
Really?
You can't help but wonder. Homura's... Homura's stronger than that, you can't help but think. She's one of the strongest people you know. And you can't help but wonder how Oriko can be so certain, when she's admitted that you can completely defy her visions. When she knows you've defied her visions. And even if she's shaking free of the fatalism and the reliance on her visions, it's not something that's gone quite that quickly, is it?
Oriko could be mistaken.
... can you risk it?
You... don't know, and that's the real problem here. What Oriko said, what she predicted, is filtered through her worldview. But can you risk as dire an outcome when it's Homura on the line?
You don't know.
You might have to. You're not sure what Kyuubey's up to. You might have to break it to Homura just to prevent her from being broken by the Incubator. When, how, if... is not an easy decision.
You sigh quietly, the tea suddenly tasting flat.
Oriko glances your way, sea-green eyes concerned. You give her a shrug and what you hope is a reassuring smile.
"Planning for the future?" she asks.
"Mmmhm," you agree. "It's... well, tricky to juggle."
Oriko chuckles quietly, taking another sip of her tea.
"Welcome to the club," she says, raising the cup. "I see your hair has turned white from the worrying already."
You sigh, rolling your eyes. Yeah, that's probably true. The conversation lapses, and you continue thinking on it, your thoughts going around in circles. But in the end, you don't really have any particular insight into this at the moment.
Instead, you pull Aurora out of your pocket, holding the Clear Seed up to the light. Kirika peeks at it, clearly interested, but doesn't say anything, simply observing instead. You...
Well, you still don't really know what you're doing. But something happened when you channelled your hope into the Clear Seed, so you'll keep trying. But perhaps not just that.
Emotions.
A Grief Seed is drowning in despair, the last moments of a magical girl before she turned into a Witch. A Clear Seed is... empty. It soaks up hope. So... what about other things?
You stroke a finger over the transparent crystal, magic gathering under your fingertip as you try and focus on the past day. The time you'd spent with your friends, with Mami. The joy of the talking to her, of seeing her so happy, of being with her.
Something flickers within the Clear Seed in response, there and gone again before you really have time to notice it. Your eyes widen, and you try to repeat that, calling to mind this morning. Mami, again, the simple intoxicating delight of seeing her happy and confident. Talking to Homura and Sayaka and Madoka and Hitomi and Nagisa, to the time you're spending right now with Oriko and Kirika.
... nothing.
There's no reaction this time, and you purse your lips, frowning at the Clear Seed.
"Something wrong, Sabrina?" Oriko asks.
"... hrm," you say, scowling. You kind of want to tell her, maybe get her thoughts on it, but you're also leery of doing that where Kyuubey might hear. And yet you don't have enough time to form a privacy bubble. "... keep that question in mind and ask me again when we have a bit more time to talk?"
Oriko gives you a thoughtful look and nods slowly.
"Not enough time to speak properly right now," she says, half-questioning.
"Yeah," you agree. "Unfortunately."
"I understand," Oriko says, nodding again, and you're pretty sure she does. She gets the paranoia almost as much as Homura does.
Heh.
It's funny, but Oriko and Homura would probably be fast friends, had things turned out differently.
Ah, well.
You push yourself to your feet. "That said..."
"Let us see you out," Oriko says with a smile. She sets her teacup aside and rises to her feet, Kirika hopping up and taking her arm.
"Thank you for having me here today," you say, beaming at them.
They wave you off, and you're soon winging over Mitakihara, soaring westwards to Kasamino. To meet up with Kyouko, who... well, you'd jokingly set up the Yuma-as-her-secretary. She probably doesn't mind a harmless joke.
[] Breakfast with Kyouko
- [] What do you want to talk to her about?
[X] Enchant enough grief for a privacy sphere
[X] Experiment a bit, try to feed Aurora sensation: How it looks and feels to uproot a rosebush with grief, and the sights and feelings of flying over Mitakihara towards Kasamino.
[] Write-in (word count limit: 150 words)
Hmhm. Shorter update today, I'm afraid. Busy-ish week.
You chuckle quietly, giving her a grin.
"I was just thinking that," you admit. "Anyway, I gotta ask. Do you guys have any idea what you want to do with the mansion when you move out?"
"I was considering selling it - and all the contents," Oriko says, stroking Kirika's hair gently. "There's precious little here to hold nostalgia for me, and this place is... tainted."
You purse your lips. "Are people still vandalising this place?"
"No," Oriko says, shaking her head. "Children have short memories."
Kirika rolls over, burying her face against Oriko's belly and hugging the taller girl, but not before you see the flash of a smug grin flickering across her face.
"That's good, at least," you say, smiling. You doubt that Oriko doesn't know whatever it is Kirika did.
"Mmm," Oriko hums lightly. "Will you be staying much longer, Sabrina? I was thinking of brewing some tea, after our excellent breakfast." She gives Kirika a fond smile.
"Ah... probably not that much longer," you say. "I wouldn't want to impose on your hospitality for too long."
"Excellent," Oriko says. "Enough time to make some tea, then. And you aren't imposing on our hospitality at all."
"... And, uh..." you trail off, before shaking your head and deciding to just go for it. "You know that I don't... actually have amnesia, right? I don't have memories of before I woke up in the alleyway, and the tea is lovely, but I don't actually have memory problems on a day to day basis."
Oriko shrugs delicately, completely unconcerned.
"You do not need a reason to enjoy good tea any more than I require one," Oriko says, gently nudging Kirika's head off her lap. "I'll be back shortly."
Kirika makes sad, whiny noises as Oriko rises smoothly to her feet and heads to the kitchen, and then curls up like a cat around the spot Oriko was. Citrine eyes peek at you from behind a curtain of black hair, and Kirika grins at you.
You raise an eyebrow at her.
"Just happy," Kirika says, and waves an arm vaguely in the air. "I mean... I'm pretty happy with life. Never really thought I'd be here today, you know?"
"I know what you mean, yeah," you agree with a soft smile. "Just... Mami."
"Oriko," Kirika agrees with a happy sigh.
You lapse into an easy silence, Kirika perking up at the clinking noises from the kitchen. And you take the moment to reach out by telepathy.
"Hey, Yuma? Are you awake?" you say.
"Nnnnnnnnoooo?" Yuma says. "Yuma is asleep!"
She sounds bright, completely awake, and up to mischief.
"Ah, well, I was wondering if I could speak to Miss Sakura's secretary to set up a breakfast meeting today," you say cheerfully. "But if Yuma's asleep, that's fine."
"Ah, no! I can take a message!" Yuma's voice shifts, trying for a more formal, businesslike tone. "When would you like to schedule that appointment?"
"About... forty five minutes from now, if possible?" you say. "Miss Sakura has indicated interest in speaking to me on important matters, and I equally have matters to speak to her about." You pause, and grin to yourself. "Does Kyouko's secretary have her own secretary now?"
Kirika raises an eyebrow at you, but is rapidly distracted as Oriko bustles out of the kitchen with a steaming teapot on a tray.
"A meeting in forty five minutes!" Yuma says brightly. "Yes, Yuma's secretary answers the phone when Yuma's asleep."
"I see," you say gravely. "Well, I'll see you soon."
"See you!" Yuma says.
You accept a cup of green tea from Oriko with a grateful smile, blowing delicately on it and inhaling the faintly savoury fragrance.
"Thank you for the tea," you say. "And, ah, I'll be out of your hair in about half an hour."
"You aren't imposing in the slightest, but if you have business to attend to, by all means," Oriko says, nodding.
"Yeah," you say, taking a sip. "Thanks."
Kirika finally deigns to sit up so that she can accept a cup of tea from Oriko, drinking with surprising decorum. She's probably been taking lessons from Oriko, at a guess, and Oriko herself seems content to sip the tea in genteel silence, eyes closed to enjoy it properly.
You take a moment to think, and to reflect, and you find your thoughts circling your past actions. Metabombing Mami, and the pain you'd caused her. You went into it knowing what could happen, but you'd... misjudged how bad it could be, and only now is Mami recovering from it. And your thoughts turn, inevitably, to Oriko's predictions. Homura.
Homura, who would break if she found out about how her looping only made Madoka's potential greater, winding the spindle of realities tighter about her. More threads to tie her to abandoned universes, more reason for Kyuubey to hound her. But-
Really?
You can't help but wonder. Homura's... Homura's stronger than that, you can't help but think. She's one of the strongest people you know. And you can't help but wonder how Oriko can be so certain, when she's admitted that you can completely defy her visions. When she knows you've defied her visions. And even if she's shaking free of the fatalism and the reliance on her visions, it's not something that's gone quite that quickly, is it?
Oriko could be mistaken.
... can you risk it?
You... don't know, and that's the real problem here. What Oriko said, what she predicted, is filtered through her worldview. But can you risk as dire an outcome when it's Homura on the line?
You don't know.
You might have to. You're not sure what Kyuubey's up to. You might have to break it to Homura just to prevent her from being broken by the Incubator. When, how, if... is not an easy decision.
You sigh quietly, the tea suddenly tasting flat.
Oriko glances your way, sea-green eyes concerned. You give her a shrug and what you hope is a reassuring smile.
"Planning for the future?" she asks.
"Mmmhm," you agree. "It's... well, tricky to juggle."
Oriko chuckles quietly, taking another sip of her tea.
"Welcome to the club," she says, raising the cup. "I see your hair has turned white from the worrying already."
You sigh, rolling your eyes. Yeah, that's probably true. The conversation lapses, and you continue thinking on it, your thoughts going around in circles. But in the end, you don't really have any particular insight into this at the moment.
Instead, you pull Aurora out of your pocket, holding the Clear Seed up to the light. Kirika peeks at it, clearly interested, but doesn't say anything, simply observing instead. You...
Well, you still don't really know what you're doing. But something happened when you channelled your hope into the Clear Seed, so you'll keep trying. But perhaps not just that.
Emotions.
A Grief Seed is drowning in despair, the last moments of a magical girl before she turned into a Witch. A Clear Seed is... empty. It soaks up hope. So... what about other things?
You stroke a finger over the transparent crystal, magic gathering under your fingertip as you try and focus on the past day. The time you'd spent with your friends, with Mami. The joy of the talking to her, of seeing her so happy, of being with her.
Something flickers within the Clear Seed in response, there and gone again before you really have time to notice it. Your eyes widen, and you try to repeat that, calling to mind this morning. Mami, again, the simple intoxicating delight of seeing her happy and confident. Talking to Homura and Sayaka and Madoka and Hitomi and Nagisa, to the time you're spending right now with Oriko and Kirika.
... nothing.
There's no reaction this time, and you purse your lips, frowning at the Clear Seed.
"Something wrong, Sabrina?" Oriko asks.
"... hrm," you say, scowling. You kind of want to tell her, maybe get her thoughts on it, but you're also leery of doing that where Kyuubey might hear. And yet you don't have enough time to form a privacy bubble. "... keep that question in mind and ask me again when we have a bit more time to talk?"
Oriko gives you a thoughtful look and nods slowly.
"Not enough time to speak properly right now," she says, half-questioning.
"Yeah," you agree. "Unfortunately."
"I understand," Oriko says, nodding again, and you're pretty sure she does. She gets the paranoia almost as much as Homura does.
Heh.
It's funny, but Oriko and Homura would probably be fast friends, had things turned out differently.
Ah, well.
You push yourself to your feet. "That said..."
"Let us see you out," Oriko says with a smile. She sets her teacup aside and rises to her feet, Kirika hopping up and taking her arm.
"Thank you for having me here today," you say, beaming at them.
They wave you off, and you're soon winging over Mitakihara, soaring westwards to Kasamino. To meet up with Kyouko, who... well, you'd jokingly set up the Yuma-as-her-secretary. She probably doesn't mind a harmless joke.
[] Breakfast with Kyouko
- [] What do you want to talk to her about?
[X] Enchant enough grief for a privacy sphere
[X] Experiment a bit, try to feed Aurora sensation: How it looks and feels to uproot a rosebush with grief, and the sights and feelings of flying over Mitakihara towards Kasamino.
[] Write-in (word count limit: 150 words)
=====
Hmhm. Shorter update today, I'm afraid. Busy-ish week.
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