"You said that Sendai arrived early? When, exactly, were the negotiations supposed to take place?"

"Today," Yuuki replies. "Why?"
So, negotiations were going to happen today. I guess Akiko didn't arrive thaaat early.
FAKE EDIT: Sorry, but just to be redundant, it ocurred to me that could have checked this manually.
Oriko similarly takes a sip of her tea. "They're telling the truth about going to Ishinomaki,"she says. "They'll be there in a day or two.
We could have saved the question if I had realized this earlier.

Oh, wait-" you glance at Mami and Kirika. "Anything you want to know?"

Mami shakes her head, honey blonde coils bouncing. "Nothing I can think of," she says.

"Nope," Kirika says.
I wonder how much we're hurting Mami's agency by taking the lead. It was necessary in order to get involved in this whole affair, since she didn't want to, but now she's barely contributed anything in words, and nothing in decision making.
Mumi-limpet get! *fanfare*
Yay...

You chuckle sheepishly as Kirika bounces onto the carpet behind you. "I feel silly," you say. "I'm the only one who even got tagged in that fight." Absently, you lift the carpet into the air and begin heading towards Sendai instead.

"Don't be silly," Mami scolds.
Very direct and to the point. :p

"Eeeeeh," Kirika drawls. "Hey, where're we goin', anyway?"

"Sendai," you say.

"Gotcha."
Just curious, since:
"...I just realized I don't know where Ishinomaki is," you admit.

"Oh, Sabrina,"
Do we actually know in which direction we should be flying this time?

You close your eyes, sighing. "Well. One last thing, Mami - can you try reaching Miss Kato? I mean, she's ostensibly the lynchpin of that this entire thing turns around, so..."

"Of course," Mami agrees, smiling. "Hold on... Miss Kato?"

Silence.

"Miss Kato?" Mami tries again. "This is Tomoe Mami, from Mitakihara."

The response isn't any better, and eventually, Mami shrugs helplessly at you.
Now I'm really hoping Kato is not both alive and in cahoots with Sendai, else we just tipped them off.
 
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Now I'm really hoping Kato is not both alive and in cahoots with Sendai, else we just tipped them off.

Tipped them off to stop fucking with us, amirite? I'm not sure how them knowing we're suspicious about Kato is a downside, since my plan all along was to confront Akiko about it directly the next time we see her.
 
Tipped them off to stop fucking with us, amirite? I'm not sure how them knowing we're suspicious about Kato is a downside, since my plan all along was to confront Akiko about it directly the next time we see her.
Maybe, but since we're the ones that know less about the situation, we should avoid tipping people off about anything until we can confront them in our terms.

Even if it's only half an hour I don't want to give Akiko of all people, time to prepare.

Off Topic: What happened to you avatar?
 
Here's an idea for next time we fly Meguca Airlines:

Ask Homura if she has an aircraft-rated windshield in her hammerspace, and if she does not, to acquire one. Once acquired, we simply hold the thing in place with grief, and then enclose our carpet-thingy (or at least provide an angled front). Viola, we can easily see where we're going and not have strong winds constantly blowing in our faces the entire trip!

Of course, Homura would have to accompany us to make effective use of that (to both provide and store said windshield), but still. Flying with style.
 
Here's an idea for next time we fly Meguca Airlines:

Ask Homura if she has an aircraft-rated windshield in her hammerspace, and if she does not, to acquire one. Once acquired, we simply hold the thing in place with grief, and then enclose our carpet-thingy (or at least provide an angled front). Viola, we can easily see where we're going and not have strong winds constantly blowing in our faces the entire trip!

Of course, Homura would have to accompany us to make effective use of that (to both provide and store said windshield), but still. Flying with style.

"Here you go, Homura!"

"Sabrina, how did you manage to steal this without time stop? Going unnoticed isn't exactly your thing."

"...What do you mean? Oh hey, it's one of those tear gas dealies-MY EYES."
 
Ask Homura if she has an aircraft-rated windshield in her hammerspace, and if she does not, to acquire one. Once acquired, we simply hold the thing in place with grief, and then enclose our carpet-thingy (or at least provide an angled front). Viola, we can easily see where we're going and not have strong winds constantly blowing in our faces the entire trip!
Why stop there? Throw in some reclining seats, a working air conditioner, and a flatscreen TV for in flight entertainment and we can officially declare the Sabrina airlines open for business. If we are going to be doing to often we might as well do it in comfort.
 
Why stop there? Throw in some reclining seats, a working air conditioner, and a flatscreen TV for in flight entertainment and we can officially declare the Sabrina airlines open for business. If we are going to be doing to often we might as well do it in comfort.
We can do the seats and the air conditioner, maybe.
 
"We've Got Hostiles" pt. 14
You push the carpet onwards, heading towards Sendai. The wind whips through your hair, sending it streaming out backwards. Idly, you wonder what Homura's hair would look like, ruffled by the wind, and giggle under your breath.

"Sabrina?" Mami looks curiously at you. Her hand is still glowing with magic, healing your side.

"No... I was just thinking, imagine if we'd brought Homura of this trip?" you say.

"Well, that fight would have been over much sooner," Mami agrees.

"No, I mean, her hair," you say, waving at your own, wracked by the onrushing wind.

Mami's head tilts, and she seems to consider the image, and giggles softly. "Ooh," she grins. "Though... she probably has some magic to fix that," she adds.

"Yeah, probably," you concede. "Heck, she probably carries a mirror and hairbrush in her shield."

"... probably," Mami agrees.

"Hey, hey, what's the joke?" Kirika pipes up.

You grin back at her. "You know Homura?"

"Don't like her," Kirika responds, making a face.

"Well, imagine if we'd brought her along," you say. "Wind, and hair."

"Uh? Oh. Ohhh. Oooooh," a smirk spreads across her face, and she starts making wavy gestures at her head, patting out what you imagine would be a huge, poofy cloud of hair. She promptly begins laughing, heartfelt cackles you can hear even over the wind.

You snicker, and grin at Mami, who gives you a fond smile.

"Miss Sabrina?" Yuuki's voice.

"Yep?" you ask. Idly, you pull a few marbles out from the fabric of the Grief carpet, and begin rolling them in your hand, letting them clack together.

"The University Group says they'll see you," Yuuki says. "You're going over, right?"

"Yeah, we're going," you agree. You close your fist over the marbles, and let it fall open to reveal a sandy pile of little grains. "An hour or two? Maybe a little more?"

"Hnn, you can haul ass, can't you?" Yuuki sounds faintly surprised. "]Yeah, I told 'em you're on your way. You can go kick up a ruckus or something."

"Or you could patch me through later?" you ask. The pile of grains streams out to drift in the air, shimmering in the deep, unsettling purple hues of Grief as the afternoon sunlight catches it. You drag your finger through the air, building a trail of grains that stays with you in defiance of the wind.

"Sure," she replies, an audible shrug in her voice.

"Alright, thanks. Hey, one mor-" Mami prods a finger into your side, and you jerk upright, straightening in reflex. She gives you an innocent look, laughter dancing in her eyes. "Good as new, Sabrina," she smiles.

"Thanks, Mami," you say.

"No problem!" she beams at you. She shifts, shuffling across the carpet so that she can sit directly beside you and leans her head against your shoulder. You smile down at her, and she returns it, nuzzling against you.

"Miss Sabrina?" Yuuki asks.

"Sorry, got distracted for a moment. Anyway, if you don't mind, another question - where and how did you find Miss Hamasaki, anyway?" you ask.

"Oh. Sheer luck, actually," Yuuki tells you. "Yuuna and Kimiko were headed home from their club, and saw Hamasaki walking down the street. So they called it in, and we went searching around and found her... minions two streets away."

"Ah, got it," you say, humming thoughtfully. "And you attacked immediately?"

"No, of course not," Yuuki replies. "We watched them for a while. Both Hamasaki and her... friends-" distaste drips off the word, "-went on walkabouts for a while. She was definitely scouting around, so... Yeah."

"I see," you say. You roll the Grief sand over the back of your knuckles, rippling and shimmering oddly in the light.

"Yep," Yuuki says.

"Alright. Thanks, then," you say.

"Mm," she says, and closes the connection.

Hmm. That's something, then. You contemplate the Grief sand, and focus a fraction of your attention on it while you make your next call. "Hey, Homura?" you call for the second time in... maybe half an hour?

"Yes?" she replies. Her mental voice sounds slightly strained.

You frown, hand stilling. "Hold up, is something wrong?" Mami looks up at your frown, and one hand comes up to gently smooth it away. You smile at her, and mouth 'Homura'. Mami nods in understanding.

"No..." she says.

"You're sure?" you press.

"Trying not to... talk... to Miki Sayaka," Homura admits. "She's saying that magical girls are... cool."

"Oh," you say, relaxing slightly. "Well. Hang in there."

"Yes," Homura says, tone drier than a desert. "What did you need?"

"Yeah. Do you know about one Kato Setsuko?" you ask. Hmm... back to your experimentations... Is changing the colour of Grief something you can do? Make it transparent?

"... something to do with the Sendai girls?" Homura hazards after a moment's thought.

"Yep," you confirm. You bear down on the small bit of Grief now cupped in your hand, and push. Suddenly, it turns a brilliant, shining gold, a handful of shimmering motes sifting gently about. It also lights up in your senses the same way the stuff of a Witch Barrier does. Mami jerks a little, and glances over, seeing what you're doing and frowning slightly. 'One moment,' you mouth at her.

"Dead," Homura says simply. "A while ago."

"You're sure?" you ask. Another presence makes itself felt beside you - Kirika poking her head over to see what you're doing. You mouth 'later' to her, too, and she rocks backwards on her heels, flopping over on the carpet instead with her arms splayed wide.

"No, I'm not," Homura replies. "I only know about her in passing?"

"Hm... good enough," you say. "Thanks!"

"Anything else?" Homura asks.

"Nope, that's it," you say. "See you soon."

"See you," Homura replies.

You purse your lips, considering that. Homura, at least, thinks that the mysterious Setsuko is dead. And while she could still be wrong, her knowledge is considerably more definitive than, well, anything you've heard so far about the girl.

Anyway. You look at Mami, and show her the handful of faux-gold you'd made out of Grief. "Experimenting a bit," you tell her and Kirika.

"Oh," Mami says. "It, uh, feels kinda like the stuff of a Witch Barrier."

"Is that gold?" Kirika asks, poking her head over again.

"I know," you sigh. "And yeah. Fake gold, made out of Grief. On the other hand, I guess that means I can do this."

You wave your hand in a grand sweeping gesture, and pull a wall of Grief up in front of you, which abruptly shimmers into perfect, crystal clarity, forming a windscreen. The rushing wind abruptly dies out, shielded from you, and you grin an exhilarated little grin. It pings loudly in your puella magi senses, admittedly.

Mami clears her throat. "That's amazing, Sabrina!" she says.

Kirika reaches out, and raps her finger on the windscreen. "Cool," she says simply. "Really feels like a Witch Barrier, though."

"Yeah, that's a bit of a problem," you admit. "Good for now, though."

"Hey, Miss Sabrina," Yuuki again, this time sounding faintly perturbed.

"Yep?" you respond, frowning at the tone of her voice.

"The University Group's kinda under attack right now," Yuuki says. "Like, now now. Uh. Maybe go pull their asses out of the fire?"

"Got it," you say.

[] Write-in plan

=====​

Whee! And honestly, I do wonder that no one tried for this before. Remember how you could change the acoustic properties of Grief?
 
@Firnagzen : In the index in the OP, there's a broken link to a supposed entry #13 for the current scene, but at the same time I don't see any such missing post. At best it might refer to the clarification post on page 681?
Thanks!
Sooo, I've done compiling PMAS as epub. Here's the link:

https://www.mediafire.com/?ykxdmxso33lskup

I keep QM note and options intact - I may delete them on later edition.
And thank you, too!
 
Well, time to see if we can make this ride go faster. Ooor can we stop by Mitakihara, still? May need to pick up Homura.

EDIT: Actually, let's not bother with Homura. Let's make a grief jet!
 
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@Firnagzen

If we vote to make a grief jet, do you need a lot of detail to write it, or can we just say "make a grief jet" and you'll fill in the blanks for propulsion, fuel, etc.?
 
Firn, I have a question. Does Grief-made stuff ALSO look like witch-barrier stuff rather than 'real' stuff?
 
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