"Is that all the news, Sabrina?" Hitomi asks, smiling.
Hah, 'all the news' she says. Like it's a minor thing, like you weren't bracing in anticipation of some huge argument and flaring tempers and all that lovely jazz. Thank Madokami for Sayaka actually being
calm about this, hah.
Then again, you're still not sure that Sayaka
isn't an angel of Madokami, so thanking her feels doubly appropriate but... really, in retrospect, it makes a kind of sense. Sayaka isn't Homura. Her anger at Oriko isn't even remotely related to her
powers. It's directed at what Oriko
did.
"Is that all the news that I thought would cause a terrible mess and arguing and all?" you say. You flop forward on the table, sprawling forward with arms akimbo. "Yeah, nah, that's all."
You tilt your head over just enough to slant a lazy grin at Sayaka. "Also, I didn't actually say it - well
done, Sayaka. You're better at this than me."
"Thanks!" Sayaka says. Her grin is bright and happy and pleased. "I had help from your enchantment doodad, and I had a good teacher, too. Thank you, Mami."
"You're very welcome, Sayaka," Mami says with a smile practically radiating joy.
"Hey, speaking of the enchantment booster," you say. "Two things - first, you should be able to copy it with Kazumi's power, right? If so, grab a copy, it'll be useful. Second, the reason the booster isn't and be-all end-all of enchanting is that the enchantments it creates are... kind of limited lifespan. It leaves bits of Grief in the enchantment."
"Which dissolves whenever they leave your range?" Sayaka guesses.
"Yep," you say, raising a thumbs up. "So the next step is that we have to transfer it to a proper enchantment, but having the template will help. Hm. Actually, Mami, maybe you could teach me how to copy an enchantment properly?"
"Of course," Mami says. "I'd be happy to!"
"Great!" you say with a smile. "And Sayaka, I don't mean to put pressure on you, but it'd be really nice to be able to verify that this works, at least against Umika's power?"
"Yeah, gotcha," Sayaka says. "I mean, no guarantee that I can figure it out in time, but I'll try. Maybe we can trade off trying to create new enchantments and learning how to copy? Also, can I get a cleanse?"
"Good idea, on both counts," you agree. You flick your free hand in Sayaka's general direction, beckoning forth a billowing cloud of Grief from her Soul Gem. "There. I
think there's something to Mami's idea, so I wanna try that."
"I would like to learn to copy the enchantment too," Homura murmurs.
"Oh!" Mami says, beaming. "Of course, Homura. Come over here?"
You all shuffle around the table, and Mami sets to with a will. Trying to shape magic isn't something that comes naturally to you, unlike Grief. There's probably a metaphor in there, but you're not terribly interested in metaphors right now. Homura is quiet and attentive, listening to Mami's instructions and complying with careful precision, and it's
nice.
"Got it!" Sayaka crows. "OK, mind reading works. Uhhh, Mami, can I have the mind-invisibility -mind-blank?- enchantment?"
"Of course," Mami says. She holds the rock out. "Ah, Hitomi, here you go?"
"Thank you," Hitomi says, smiling.
"Here we go!" Sayaka says, scribbling on the book in glowing lines and thrusting it at Hitomi. "Aaaand... nada! It works!"
"Fantastic!" you say. "Thanks, Sayaka. You've been putting in a lot of work today."
"Yeah, yeah," Sayaka says happily. "'s for all of us, right?"
"Yep," you say with an easy smile.
"Now that that's done, we should return to our homework project," Hitomi says. "After a break?"
"We have ice cream," Mami offers. "Let me get some for everyone?"
"Ice cream!" Madoka says happily.
"Ice cream before dinner?" Hitomi asks.
"Ice cream before dinner!" Madoka cheers.
You laugh, pressing a quick kiss to Mami's cheek just because. You can't help the blush on your face, but the brilliant, silly smile she gives you as she gets to her feet is reward enough.
You return to enchanting, bolstered by the presence of ice cream. It's easy to relax and get into the flow of it and trying to
twist the magic
just so. Homura gets it first, of course, making a quiet noise of triumph. The way you're concentrating on your sense of magic, you can feel the enchantment
catch, almost seeming to snap into form.
"Ah! Good job, Homura!" Mami says, beaming and looking over.
"Congratulations," you say, grinning at Homura. You're not surprised that she got it first - she's not a specialist by any means, but years more experience than
you have count for something.
"Thank you," Homura says, blinking down at the enchanted rock in her hand.
"It's pretty!" Madoka says, leaning forward on the sofa to peer at the rock.
"And it's a copy of
my work you're admiring, so send some of that praise my way, missy," Sayaka says with a haughty sniff.
"It's very pretty, Sayaka," Madoka says, giggling.
"That it is," Hitomi says. "May I?"
Homura passes Sayaka's original over to Hitomi, who holds it up to the light and inspects it carefully.
"I suspect that these would sell well if you wanted to," Hitomi notes. "They're
beautiful, and if you set them into some kind of pendant... Mm, perhaps."
"... Heh. And for those in the know about magic, and anti-mind control enchantment would be nice, I'm sure," you say.
Sayaka purses her lips. "I wonder if it works against... y'know, Kyuubey doing stuff," she says. "I mean, yeah, he agreed not to, but y'know."
"Mmmmmaybe?" you say, leaning against Mami and wrapping your arm around her in a sidelong hug. "Hard to test, though, since I kind of doubt we'd get any
cooperation from Kyuubey."
"Yeah, ugh," Sayaka says, scowling. "Hrrm."
"Something to think about, at least," you muse to yourself, checking on Mami in the corner of your eye. She catches your glance, giving you a weak smile, and so you snuggle a little closer to her. With nothing more to say on the subject, you return to enchanting, and this time, it only takes you a few more minutes for the enchantment to click.
"Oh, well done, Sabrina," Mami says, looking up. The rock blurs in your hand, physical form twisting under your hand like wax gone molten under a blowtorch, and it reforms itself into a duplicate of the one Sayaka made - a deep, translucent blue jewel, studded with bands of silver and gold.
"Heyyyy!" Sayaka cheers. "Now swap with me, I wanna learn too and I'm sick of this. I don't think the anti-mind-magic one really works, or at least I haven't had any luck with the thing so far. Pretty sure I can do general antimagic, but specifically anti-mind-magic... bleh, anyway, swap!"
"Yeah, yeah." You snort and get to your feet, pushing your hands into the small of your back to stretch. "Ahh. Right, so, self-control enchantment, right, Mami?"
"Ah?" Mami blinks at you for a second before nodding. "Ah, yes. Deflecting external control by leaving the holder
in control of themselves."
"Alrighty," you say. You make room for Sayaka, and collect a new handful of rocks, closing your eyes and humming quietly to yourself. Control, huh? You can do that.
It takes you a few tries. It takes you
more than a few tries. Mami moves over to offer you some advice before heading into the kitchen to continue cooking, and Sayaka returns to the group project with Madoka and Hitomi. Homura's settled in to attempt her own enchantment. The handful of rocks gets reduced to gravel and shards,
but-
"I did it!" you crow.
"Heck yeah!" Sayaka says, pumping her fist without looking up from the workpad she's poring over with Madoka and Hitomi.
"Congratulations, Sabrina!" Mami says, poking her head out from the kitchen. "I knew you could do it!"
You hold the rock out to Mami, your own grin stretching from ear to ear. You did it. You think. The rock isn't so much a
rock any more as it is a flat, vaguely oval badge, embossed patterns vaguely reminiscent of your Soul Gem carved deep into the dull glint of its silvery surface. Curving arcs and jagged triangles, clustered so that they look vaguely like the splash of an impact... or perhaps the flare of wings.
"It looks good, Sabrina," Mami says. She smiles at you, turning the enchantment over in her hand and inspecting it. "The magic feels strong. Sayaka?"
"Hold on, hold on, lemme finish writing this bit," Sayaka says, scribbling frantically.
You laugh, and instead, you loop your arm around Mami's waist and hug her. "While that happens, lemme just finish up something? Might need to pull Homura, ah, aside for a bit," you murmur.
"Alright," Mami says, smiling back and leaning into the hug for just a bit longer before pulling away. "I'll make sure the curry won't burn."
"I'll join you afterwards, OK?" you say.
"Alright!" Mami says.
"Hokay... Homura?" you call, getting your friend's attention. "Could I have a few moments of your time outside? Let's get that summary done up real quick so we can go over it together and give Hitomi some time to look over it before she heads off?"
"Yes," she says, rising to her feet and dusting her legs off fastidiously. "Outside?"
"Yeah?" you say, blinking at her.
"Why not type it out?" Homura asks.
"Huh. That... is a fantastic idea," you say. "Hey, Mami, we're gonna use the computer, OK?"
"Sure!" Mami calls from the kitchen.
Homura's already headed for the study, so you give your other friends a sheepish smile and hurry after her. "Back soon."
"What's all the secrecy even about?" Sayaka calls after you, rolling her eyes. "I was there too, y'know."
"I just want to save time! And you're free to come along if you want," you call back, hanging off the edge of the door. "Hitomi, you need to head off soon, don't you?"
"Not that soon," Hitomi says, glancing at the clock.
"Oh. Well..." you glance at Homura, who shrugs back at you. "I... guess I'll just type it out quickly? And I guess I won't need to impose on you for the time stop, Homura, but I'd still like your thoughts?"
Homura gives you another infinitesimal shrug as you join her in the study. She's already pulled up a chair, waiting for you, and you join her at the computer. Just type it up, huh? But you already know you can type
fast, so why limit yourself?
"I did promise I'd show you before giving this to Madoka," you murmur as you boot up the computer. "So I thought it'd be easier to go over it together as I write it out?"
"That's fine," Homura murmurs.
You crack your knuckles, giving her a grin and calling up a word processor. No reason at all to hold back. Hell, no reason not to write this word-for-word, action-for-action, either. You take a breath.
You start typing.
Your fingers fly over the keyboard, detailing the meeting from the very beginning: first contact, with Sendai introducing you, arranging the meeting, and then your arrival on the roof where The Boyfriend met you. You pay special attention to the first few minutes of the meeting - first impressions are important!
"Hm..." you say, and grimace as you hit the section about the Meiji group and their probably-Witchbomb-fuelled-anger. "Meiji's aggression. I know what my guess is, and I'm pretty sure your guess is the same as mine."
"Elide the issue," Homura says. "Note their aggression. The meeting is fine. It's not an obvious conclusion."
"Are you sure?" you ask Homura. "I... maybe we could make a note that it's a secret and they shouldn't ask?"
Homura shakes her head.
"Your focus on the memory magic today," she says. "It's just as likely they're angry about their memories being erased."
"I... if you're sure," you say.
"Yes," Homura says, before continuing in a softer voice. "... thank you."
"Like I said, we're in this together, right?" you give her a quick smile, and get back to typing. The clatter of keys fills the room once again, words blurring across the page. You keep an eye on Homura as you write, making sure that she doesn't have any objections she might refrain from voicing - but she doesn't, simply watching passively.
"And... there," you say, hitting control and s to save. "Done!" You sit back and smile at Homura. "Wanna go over it one more time?"
"That won't be nec..." Homura trails off mid-word. Her eyes narrow at you. "That won't be necessary."
You laugh in delight. "Alright, if you're sure."
"I read it as you wrote," Homura says. "It's fine."
"Hokay," you say. You start the print and beam at Homura, gently putting one hand on her shoulder. "Thanks, Homura. I appreciate you allowing it."
She nods, watching the printer silently. You give her a quick smile and spin your chair around, smile widening - because you can sense Mami approaching, purposeful tread bringing her over from the kitchen. Which, now that you're paying attention, is starting to smell absolutely
amazing.
"How's it going, Sabrina?" Mami asks.
"Just done! Here's a copy for you, in case you wanted to go over it word by word." You grab a copy off the printer, brandish it in Mami's general direction as a lure, and when she comes closer, capture her in a hug. "Gotcha!"
Mami laughs, running a hand through your hair. "I'll have a look later," she says. "I just wanted to check on you."
"Well, here I am," you say. "I'm good! Better now."
You indulge in the hug for a bit before releasing Mami and standing. "Alright! Printing's done, so I'll hand these out and I'll get to cooking?"
"Alright," Mami says. "I'll be waiting!"
You catch Homura's eye, grinning reassuringly as you snag the printouts. You'd intended to try and explain more about Madoka, but not without timestop. And honestly, you're not sure if
that particular subject is one to be so casually broached.
"The body is the fursuit of the soul," you declare as you step back into the living room, stack of paper in hand.
Sayaka stares flatly at you.
"Anyway, there you are, Homura," she says. "You're still good with presenting, right?"
You pout, and shuffle over to flop on the floor beside the coffee table.
"Yes," Homura murmurs. "I haven't contributed otherwise for the project."
"This is just one discussion session, and you have been busy today," Hitomi observes. "Furthermore, it's only due next Friday. We have time."
Homura shrugs.
"No, no, it makes perfect sense," Sayaka says. "Homura goes up, does the hair thing, and that's it, we get full marks. Right, Madoka?"
"U-uh, right!" Madoka says. "You're really cool, Homura, I'm sure you'll be a great presenter."
Homura shrugs as she takes a seat on the sofa.
"So... can I interrupt, or do you need to work on the project?" you say. "School's important, and I don't wanna distract from that."
"As I said, this is just one discussion session," Hitomi says, waving a hand airily.
"Cool. So..." you hold up the stack. "I have writeups! I said summary earlier, but these are more, uh, transcripts."
"That's even better!" Madoka says brightly. "Maybe we can give you some ideas for when you meet them?"
"That's the hope," you say as you hand them out. "Remember, I'm terrible at politics, and I need all the help I can get."
"Oh, yeah," Sayaka says, motioning towards the table. "I made a few proper copies of your control enchantment. And I copied the booster, too."
"Ah, thanks!" you say. "Seriously, thanks."
"Yeah, yeah," Sayaka says, waving it off. "'s what I'm here for."
"Ito Yuri is a rather unfortunate name," Hitomi observes, nosedown in her copy of the paper. "Given what seems to be..."
"I know, right?" you say. "Anyway, gonna go help Mami in the kitchen. Before I forget, Hitomi, your mom might be interested in going over that too? It's up to you, but you can show it to her if you think she'd want to."
"Hmm... perhaps," Hitomi says, blinking. "It might be best to raise it on Saturday instead, but I'll keep this copy."
[x] Discuss the politics of Tokyo!
- [] Do you have any specific ideas?
[x] Dinner!
[] What do you do afterwards?
- [] Check out the IRCs again
- [] Witch Hunt (this excludes other options)
- [] Relax (this is a timeskip option!)
[] Write-in (word count limit: 150 words)
=====
Apologies for this being late! Been super busy.
)
