Puella Magi Adfligo Systema

[Firnagzen]

You swoop down on Sayaka as the Barrier dissolves. Mami lands gracefully beside you a moment later.

The familiar ping of a Grief Seed forming is a welcome sound to your ears - it's something you can give Sayaka, something that's provably hers. The noise startles Sayaka, though, and she flinches, leaping back with her sword at the ready.

She lowers her sword, grinning sheepishly at you and Mami as she notices the Grief Seed. Beneath her feet, the corpse of the Witch fades, dissolving into Grief that swirls into the bottomless whirlpool that is the forming Seed.

That's the second spider Witch you've fought, isn't it? You feel vaguely guilty, memories of elsewhere and elsewhen reminding you of another Witch named Rochelle, a friendly, sapient one. That definitely wasn't Rochelle, though. Rochelle isn't a chitinous black horror.

You shake those thoughts away as the Barrier fades back into the real world. You find yourself standing atop what looks like an office building, surrounded by humming air conditioner compressors.

"Congratulations, Sayaka!" you say, offering her a high five. Sayaka returns the high five, proud grin stretching her face.

"That was a rush!" she declares, beaming.

"You too, Mami," you say, beaming at her, and switch to telepathy to add, "I saw you protecting Sayaka. You're the best."

Faint pink tinges Mami's cheeks. "Ah, well, it was just another hunt," she says, smiling back.

"Anyway, let's get going!" Sayaka says, bouncing happily on her toes. "I wanna go to the hospital and see Kyousuke!"

"Aren't you forgetting something?" you ask, taking a few steps over to the Grief Seed and scooping it up.

"Oh, right!" Sayaka says. "How are we going to split this?"

"Well," you say, catching Mami's eye and giving her a quick smile before turning back to Sayaka. "We have plenty, and... hey. This is your first hunt and kill, so!" You present the Seed to her. "Here, Sayaka. You've earned it."

"Ooooh," Sayaka says, holding both hands out with palms cupped together. You drop it into her palms, and she closes her hand tightly over it, eyes all but shining. "My first Grief Seed!"

"Go ahead and use it?" you suggest, simultaneously reaching out to Mami. "We'll need to go over her performance later, but let her have her moment?"

"Mm," Mami agrees, watching at Sayaka touches the Grief Seed to her Soul Gem. "She was far too reckless."

"Whoa," Sayaka says, wide-eyed as she watches the Grief flow away from her Soul Gem, leaving it gleaming clean. "That's really cool."

"What, and my powers aren't?" you ask. A wave of Grief follows a wave of your hand, pulling the Grief out of your own and Mami's Soul Gems. Mami takes a quick look at her Soul Gem and beams at you.

"Yeah they are," Sayaka says. She doesn't even bother looking up, though, in favour of staring at the way the Grief Seed balances on its point. "But this is something I did."

You exchange a look with Mami, who shakes her head and moves over to stand beside you, arms held a little open. You huff in amusement and pull her into a sidelong hug. "I'll have to be gentle when criticising her," Mami muses.

"If anyone can make it work, it's you," you say, giving her an encouraging squeeze. "There's something I want to do first, though, if you don't mind?"

"Of course not," she says.

"Hey, Sayaka," you call, finally getting the bleunette's attention. "Can I ask for a favour from you?"

"Eh? Yeah, of course!" Sayaka says, brightening. "What do you need?"

"Well - OK, so, I've been doing some experiments on Grief Seeds, yeah?" you say. "Among other things, I've been trying to figure out what happens to Grief Seeds when I remove the Grief from them."

You tuck a stray lock of hair behind your hair, thinking. "Well, not exactly true," you correct yourself. "Or rather, I know what happens short term. They pretty much go completely clear and you can keep on cleansing with them, but I dunno what happens long term. Can I test it on your Grief Seed, and then you can keep on using it?"

"Um," she says, thinking for a moment. "Yeah." She nods slowly to herself. Focusing on you, she nods again, this time more decisively. "I'll do it. Though, uh, you're sure it's safe?"

"Mine's been fine so far," you say, patting down your pockets. "Uh, Mami, do you mind?" She frees herself from your side, giving you room to root around the other half of your pockets and produce Hildegarde's Seed. You hold it out to Sayaka. "See?"

"Huh," Sayaka says, holding up her own, balanced on the tip of her finger. Where the Grief Seed she'd just claimed is obsidian black, Hildegarde is glassy clear. Absently, you check on Hildegarde.

Quiet, sleeping still.

Hm.

"Yeah, alright," Sayaka says, offering her Grief Seed. "Go ahead."

You smile at her, tucking away Hildegard and taking hers. "Thanks, Sayaka."

She returns the smile. "So how does it work?"

"Well," you say. "Let me work my magic." You exhale, taking a moment to center yourself - and then you delve into the Grief Seed. Its name reverberates in your mind, the knowledge sinking in.

Decima.

You start hauling the Grief out, ropy streamers filling the air. Sayaka watches in fascination as the Grief condenses into solid particles. You can only imagine what it looks like from her point of view: yourself with bent head over the Grief Seed. Surrounding you would be billowing clouds that shade from complete invisibility into a rippling disc of fractal cloud. Tiny spheres accrete out of the disc, the blobs building in size before drifting off to the side.

It takes you a good ten minutes to finish. A orbiting solar system of Grief spheres swirl around you, bumping gently against each other. You eye the Grief for a moment - combined with all the Grief you already had, you now have a lot of it. You don't exactly have trouble controlling it all, but all told, you've got what amounts to a bus-sized group of eye-rending spheres following you around.

It might be perfectly controllable, but it's also getting somewhat more difficult to move about inconspicuously.

Eh, a problem for later.

You turn back to Sayaka, grinning. "Here you are!" you say, holding the clear Seed out to her. You take the opportunity to shape instruments from Grief, and the moment Sayaka reaches for Seed, you belt out an iconic tune familiar to virtually everyone who grew up in this generation.

Sayaka jumps, before groaning and slapping her hand over her face. "Really, Sabrina?" She swipes the Seed from your hand.

"What, didn't you play Zelda?" you ask, grinning cheekily at her.

"That's not the point!" Sayaka complains.

"Sure it is," you say. "Don't you think so, Mami?"

Mami giggles, patting your elbow. "Which one was your favourite?"

"Ahhh, hard to say." You consider it for a while. Majora's mask is probably something you should never mention around Homura, if nothing else. "Shall we walk and talk, by the way? We're going to the hospital, right?" You glance at Mami for confirmation.

Mami nods, flashing you a quick smile.

"Yeah!" Sayaka says, pumping her gloved fist. "Let's go!" She bounces off the edge of the roof, utterly fearless, though she doesn't land quite... smoothly. When the three of you leave the alley, you leave behind more broken concrete.

At least it's not your fault, any more, and this time, Sayaka remembers to detransform before bouncing out onto the street. You follow more sedately, Mami at your side. You nudge her gently, tilting your head at Sayaka.

Mami catches your meaning and straightens, taking a few steps forward to catch up with Sayaka. You flank Sayaka on the other side.

"Sayaka," Mami says. "We'll discuss your performance in the fight on the way to the hospital, if that's alright with you?"

"Huh?" Sayaka says, cocking her head. "Oh, right. Gotcha."

"First of all," Mami responds, her tone light, but firm. "Well done on your first Witch fight, Sayaka! I've known girls who didn't conduct themselves as well."

"Thanks!" Sayaka beams.

"That said," Mami continues. "You were far too reckless, Sayaka."

"I..." Sayaka's face falls a little. "Go on?"

Mami shakes her head. "What do you think you did wrong?"

The three of you are silent for a while as Sayaka walks on, clearly reviewing the fight in her head. "I... rushed in?"

"Do you remember when I told you that you should copy my powers?" Mami asks gently.

Sayaka's expression twitches, chagrin washing across her face. "Ah," she says. "I... got too caught up in my powers and forgot to do that?"

"You did," Mami agrees. There's no accusation in her voice, just simple statement of fact, and the warm smile on her face takes any sting out of it. "You rushed in too much, Sayaka."

"Can you think of other ways in which you were too impulsive?" you supply, earning a smile from Mami.

"Uhh," Sayaka says. "With the Witch? Maybe?" It's pretty clear she's guessing, from the confusion in her eyes. A bit of tunnel vision.

"That's one," Mami agrees. "You didn't check whether the Witch could attack you before attacking."

"But it... didn't..." Sayaka says, trailing off in realisation. Her shoulders slump. "Oh."

Mami taps Sayaka on the forehead with one finger. "Sayaka, you did amazingly today," she says firmly. "You handled yourself very well for a new magical girl, and you shouldn't be down on yourself. We're not telling you why you're bad. We're teaching you how to improve. Right, Sabrina?"

"Yup," you agree. "It's just something to learn. Overall... Your only real sin was that you were too eager, and you focused too much on a small area. Like with the Familiars, you were only able to attack the ones directly in front of you, but others were still getting away, and could attack you from other sides."

"The same was true with the way you faced the Witch," Mami adds. "You weren't afraid, and that was good. But you didn't check whether its limbs were free to attack you."

Sayaka nods slowly. "So I should have... baited it?"

Mami nods. "That's one tactic," she acknowledges. "Or for example, if you'd copied my power, you could have tied the Witch up."

"Ah," Sayaka says. "I see..."

The rest of your walk to the hospital is similarly filled with discussions of strategy and tactics against Witches, Mami recounting and explaining possible ways to fight them.

You listen, absorbing it with a careful ear and contributing where you can. You find yourself thinking about Homura along the way - she's presumably messing around with the the meteorological agency's computer right about now. You rather hope it's going well.

Homura... Homura deserves to have good things happen to her. She needs hugs and everything. She came from a Catholic school. She's said as much, elsewhere and elsewhen, and here in Japan, that's as good as a euphemism for being from an orphanage.

Not all orphanages in Japan are Catholic run, but many are.

You sigh to yourself, earning you a concerned look from Mami. You shake your head, smiling at her. You're fine.

You also have a question for Sayaka. "Hey, Sayaka?" you inject into a lull in the conversation. "Are you inviting Kwijibo for the picnic tomorrow?"

Sayaka blinks at you, jolted from whatever train of thought she had. "... Kwijibo?"

You blink right back at her. "... uh. Slip of the tongue?" you supply weakly. "I mean Kyousuke?"

"... er," Sayaka says. Her train of thought seems to have not only stalled, but also derailed rather spectacularly.

Mami starts giggling, falling a step back to cross behind Sayaka and grab your arm in a hug.

"... um. I guess?" Sayaka says. "How do you even get 'Kwijibo' from 'Kyousuke'?"

Mami giggles harder as the three of you step into the lift up to Kwijibo- uh, Kyousuke's room. Outside, out of sight, you guide your Grief to a hiding place on a hospital roof. At this point, you're all but certain it's noticeable. An entire planetary system's worth of objects made of Grief -including the Kuiper, Trojan, and Oort cloud bodies- is not exactly inconspicuous.

Ah, well. Kyuubey's problem.

Sayaka rockets out of the elevator door the moment it opens. Not literally, but she does make a beeline for Kwijibo's room. You and Mami follow more sedately, hearing voices echo from the room.

You find Sayaka dragging a chair over to Kwijibo's bed, the other one already occupied by Hitomi. Madoka's sitting by the wall, a happy smile on her face, and to your surprise, Homura's there too. Violet eyes meet yours for a moment, and she nods slightly.

[] Write-in

=====​

Yes, the winning vote literally said Kwijibo. The next vote will take you past the hospital vote to dinner, most likely, so vote accordingly!

 

[Firnagzen]

You give Homura a quick smile. "Evening!" you call, raising your hand in a cheerful wave. "How's everyone?"

"Hello, Mami, Sabrina," Hitomi says, giving you a polite smile. Kyousuke essays a little wave with his good hand, looking faintly surprised at the influx of girls into his hospital room. Well. He'll live; it's not like it's the first time this has happened to him.

"Hi!" Madoka says, a bright, hopeful smile shining on her face. "Did... did things go well?"

"They went great!" Sayaka says, flexing one arm. "The Witch was no match for I, Dame Miki and her trusty companions!"

"Dame Miki?" Madoka asks.

"A female knight," Kwijibo says, smiling a little. "Right?"

"That's right!" Sayaka says, giving him a bright smile. She props her chin on her hands, eagerly watching Kwijibo. "How did you know?"

The grey haired boy shrugs. "I don't have much to do apart from reading," he says. "Though thanks to you... all of you... that's changed."

"What are the doctors saying?" Hitomi asks, leaning forward a little.

You shuffle along the side of the room, Mami following you. There's an amused look in her eye as she watches the byplay. She sinks into a chair, looking up at you and patting the chair beside her in clear invitation. You take a seat - it's the last seat in the room, anyway, leaving you between Homura and Mami.

"It's a miracle," Kwijibo says simply. The smile lights up his entire face, eyes distant.

"That's wonderful, Kyousuke!" Sayaka enthuses. Hitomi smiles, leaning back.

"Yeah," Kyousuke says. "It is."

You can't help but roll your eyes a little, relaxing on the chair. You let your head thump against the wall behind you. "Hey, Homura?" you ask, tilting your gaze a little to your left. "Do you need a cleanse?"

She nods, Soul Gem appearing on her palm with a shimmer of violet light. You take note of the churning Grief bubbling just beneath the surface. A twitch of your will rips free a river of Grief, mottled patterns twisting through the air. It gets a sharp look from Sayaka, who relaxes when she sees it's you.

Mami just smiles, leaning her head against your shoulder.

Homura nods. "Thank you."

"No problem," you say. "Everything went well?"

She nods again.

Excellent. You'd guessed as much from her tiny confirming nod earlier, but it's good to be sure. Your course is locked for Walpurgisnacht, then. The people living here will be safe, evacuated to shelters ahead of time. Hopefully, Madoka will go with them, safely out of the way for the big battle.

You snort softly. And maybe Kyuubey will decide it means peace and goodwill to all meguca and start giving away Grief Seeds.

"... so then I cut its legs off!" Sayaka's saying, gesticulating wildly with both hands as you shake yourself from your reverie and tune back into the conversation.

"Oh my," Hitomi says, covering her mouth with her hand. "Weren't you afraid, Sayaka?"

"Hah, no!" Sayaka declares proudly, raising her chin. "It's my duty now!"

"No, I mean I thought you were afraid of spiders," Hitomi says, a teasing smile on her face. "You were complaining about a spider in the shower this morning!"

"Eeeeeeeeh," Sayaka says, scrunching up her face. "That's behind me now! Anyway, Kyousuke, we're having a picnic tomorrow, do you think they will let you out for that?" She glances obliquely at you for confirmation, and you nod in agreement.

"Huh?" Kyousuke asks, blinking at Sayaka. "Oh, um... "Where is it? And when? Um, I can ask..."

"You could bring your violin!" Hitomi proposes.

Kwijibo sits straight up, grey eyes all but lighting up. "That's a great idea," he agrees. "I'll see what the doctors say."

"Hey, speaking of the picnic and bad segues," you pipe up. "Sorry, don't mean to interrupt, but while I remember to ask - Sayaka, what's your schedule look like tomorrow? Other than the picnic?"

"Hmm..." Sayaka says. "I've got homework to do, but not much? Why?"

"Oh, well, I was wondering if you wanted to do more training in the morning?" You turn to Mami. "We'll have time to prepare for the picnic after lunch, right?"

Mami brightens. "That sounds great!" she says. "We'll have plenty of time, yes. Um... We're going shopping today, right?"

"Yeah, I thought so. Maybe before we have dinner?" you suggest.

"We should have plenty of time!" Mami says.

"Yeah," Sayaka agrees. "I can make tomorrow morning!"

"Don't forget your homework, Sayaka," Hitomi says.

"Ah... We could do it together at my place tonight?" Madoka offers. "Homura, Hitomi, you could come too!"

Before Homura can respond, you take the opportunity to jab her in the ribs with your elbow. It doesn't go unnoticed, either, Hitomi catching your gaze. You shrug, smirking.

"I'll go," Homura acquiesces, giving you a Look you can see in the corner of your eye. You transfer your smirk to her.

"That's all settled then," you say, blithely satisfied. You turn back to Mami. "By the way, Mami, I'll want to try a few things about my own powers tomorrow, if that's OK? And... I'd like you to be my spotter, if you want to?"

"Of course, Sabrina," she says, giving you a warm smile. "Anything. Though..."

"Mmm?" you ask, tilting your head.

"No... just that we need to leave a bit early to go shopping," she says. "It's almost five."

You glance at the clock. "Ah, so it is. Bah, where's the time gone?"

"Basking in my awesomeness?" Sayaka asks, grinning at you.

"You can go bask someone else in your awesomeness," you shoot back, lurching to your feet. You smile at everyone. "I guess Mami and I shall make an early move, then. Shall we?" You offer her your hand.

She accepts it, letting you pull her to feet. "Excuse us, everyone," she says, picking up her school bag and slinging it over her shoulder.

"Oh, before you go," Hitomi says. "We never did settle it - the picnic is tomorrow evening, correct? Four-thirty, Gokai Park?"

"It is," you agree, glancing at Kwijibo. "There you go."

Violin-boy nods sharply. "I'll ask. Hopefully they'll let me out..."

"Then... see you tomorrow," Hitomi says, nodding at you. You exchange farewells with everyone else and head out. You'd meant to try and hug Madoka and or Hitomi, to fulfill your hug quota, but... eh, you'd have had to go out of the way.

Mami touches your arm, peeking up at you. You laugh and offer her your arm, which she promptly hugs.

"So where should we go, anyway?" you ask.

"Mmm?" Mami asks, humming.

"Oh, I was just wondering if we needed to get anything special?" you say.

"Hmm..." Mami says, releasing your arm to rummage in her bag. "I made a shopping list. We should be able to get everything at the supermarket!"

"Works for me," you say. "To the supermarket, then! The one near our place? Shall we take a bus?"

Mami nods. "Yes, and yes," she says, flashing you a smile as you turn towards the hospital's bus stop.

You don't have to wait too long for the bus, spending the ride with Mami dozing happily against your shoulder. There's no surprise visit from a certain silver haired seer this time, not that you were really expecting one. She had damned well better be resting at home. You get off a stop earlier, walking to the supermarket to shop for all the things you'll need.

"... Sabrina, is that niboshi? And a... laser pointer?" Mami asks, looking at you from the vegetables she's examining.

"Yep," you confirm, showing her the little package of Japanese sardines and the toy. "We still have gas cartridges for that portable stove at home, right?"

Mami nods. "Do you have something in mind?"

"Yup," you say, grinning. "But not for the picnic. Maybe Sunday?"

"Alright," Mami responds, smiling back. "Help me find a fresh carton of eggs?"

"Sure," you say, and meander off to do just that.

The rest of your shopping trip passes without incident, and you head home with both hands full of grocery bags. You're glad for your magical girl strength - you probably wouldn't be able to carry half this much without it.

"Oh, I hope this picnic will go well," Mami frets, a worried frown creasing her brow.

"I'm sure it will, Mami," you reassure her. "Hmm... We'll be baking a cake for tomorrow, yes? What else shall we make? I'm kind of thinking I want to make a curry."

"Curry?" Mami asks, turning the corner. "That's an unusual choice. Um... I was thinking some gyoza, onigiri, some mochi... Bamboo shoots, maybe? Some steamed tofu might be nice."

"Egg rolls, dango?" you suggest. "And yeah, I was thinking of trying out an Indian curry, just for comparison. We have the spices for it. Cross the street?"

"Ah!" Mami says, nodding and stopping at the traffic light. "I was wondering what you wanted the turmeric for. And yes, those sound like great ideas."

"Yup," you agree. "Japanese curry is great, but variety is the spice of life and all that, right?" The light turns green, so you pace across the road. Interestingly enough, you can't help but notice that you're not getting as many stares. Or rather, people notice the shopping bags and seem to shrug it off.

Of course, it's early, and the crowds aren't terribly thick yet. You head home, making your way up the lift and kicking your shoes off. Padding inside, you drop the bags on the kitchen counter and start tidying up the groceries, Mami joining you.

"Hm..." you say, unearthing a package of nice, fatty pork belly. "If we start marinating this tonight, we can prepare chashu tomorrow, bring some for the picnic, and keep enough for the rest of the week?"

"Good idea," Mami agrees, shuttling to the fridge with an armful of food to put away. "What shall we have for dinner... Does udon sound good to you?"

"Yeah," you agreed, hunting for the udon you'd bought. "Mirin, mirin, where's the mirin..."

"Here," Mami says, producing the bottle of Japanese cooking wine. She smiles warmly at you, and you can't help but smile back, savouring the tranquil domesticity while it lasts.

[] Write-in

=====​

Well, you know what's coming next. Vote accordingly~

 

[Firnagzen]

You hum, stomach twisting a little. You're doing it. You're going to do it. You're going to come clean to Mami.

And you're going to pray that she doesn't push you away.

She... she's become important to you.

And you're not sure she would survive if she did.

Not for a magical girl, when your very life is tied to your emotions.

"Sabrina?" Mami prompts, nudging your side. "Are you alright?"

You exhale. "Yeah," you say, voice steady. You smile at her. "Yeah, just lost in thought."

It's true enough.

And you can finish dinner without the pall of this hanging over your head.

You can manage a perfect dinner.

"Alright," Mami says, smiling back at you. "Shall we finish packing up, and then have dinner?"

"Yeah," you agree, squaring your shoulders. "Here!" You fish a mixing bowl from the cupboard, passing it to Mami with a warm smile. Turning back to the table, you start sorting out the groceries based on where they'll go. You take a few minutes to pack it all away neatly.

Mami beams at you as you start off with the last load, this time of flour and other dried items bound for the cupboard.

You can't help but beam right back, doing a little twirl past her.

Mami giggles, dipping into a bow to you before she places the pot on the stove.

It's not really an act. You're... tamping down on your unease, but it's comforting to just slip into your routine. Gentle teasing, and light humour.

It's comfortable, and it's comforting.

Mami almost dances past you, light on her feet as she opens up the packets of udon. And you smile, sliding past her in perfect synchronisation to start chopping up some chicken.

You can almost quell the squirming in your stomach, the tinge of fear that you might lose it all.

You finish chopping the chicken just in time to slip it into the pot of broth right after a dash of seasoning added by Mami. She gives you a smile, sliding aside just enough to give you a bit of space to stir, her arm brushing lightly against yours.

"Kombu stock?" you ask, peering at the colour of the broth. A nice, light kelp stock would make perfect sense, and it certainly smells like it.

"Mmmhm!" Mami agrees, taking over the stirring again. "Would you check the noodles? I think this can simmer for a few minutes and we'll be ready to eat."

"Of course," you agree. Having set that out, you check the noodles, boiling merrily away in the pot. Finding them to your satisfaction, you drain the water into the sink and portion it out. Mami adds the broth, and you rummage for some dried seaweed for garnish.

"And there we are!" you say, beaming at Mami as you snatch the bowls away from her to bring to the table.

Mami giggles, perfectly accustomed to the little game. She collects utensils for the meal and while you slice up some watermelon for dessert, setting it aside for now and sitting across the table from her. She gives you a warm, pleased smile.

You return the smile, joining in the traditional 'itadakimasu', and dig in. You don't talk much over dinner, but it's comfortable, loud slurps of noodle filling the kitchen. You finish the dinner with the watermelon, forks clinking together as the two of you jostle to let the other person have more.

Finally, you lean back in your chair, Mami mirroring you with a soft smile. "That was good," she says.

"Yeah," you agree, swallowing a little. "It was."

Mami notices, of course. A worried look flashes across her face. "Sabrina? Is something wrong?"

"I..." you start, meeting her eyes. "Mami, do you remember when I said there were things I wanted to... think through? Before telling you?"

Mami nods slowly. "I- you don't have to tell me, Sabrina, if you don't want to," she says, shrinking a little. "I- you don't have to."

There's still time to go back. Just clam up. Mami gave you an out.

Your hopes on the line.

She deserves to know.

And you don't want it hanging between you.

Slowly, ever so slowly, you shake your head. You feel like you're ringing a death knell. "No," you murmur. "You deserve to know, Mami."

Her shoulders slump. "Do... do you want to move to the sofa? It- it'd be more comfortable."

"That's fine," you agree. "I'm fine with that. I, I- can I make some privacy constructs? It- it's private and I'd rather... nobody listen in."

Mami nods jerkily, pushing the chair back. She reaches for her bowl, and you jump to your feet to help her, shuffling over to the sink. You wash the dishes with Mami, drying them and putting them in the cupboard without exchanging another word. Perhaps you take a little longer than you normally would.

Finally, you migrate over to the sofa. Mami curls into your side, anxious and fretful. You summon a blob of Grief through the window and bow your head over it, infusing your will upon the material. Interdiction. Make private my conversation with Mami, that none, not even the Incubators, may know of it.

When your vision clears, you're holding a shimmering, white band, set with a single golden jewel in the center. It's mounted on a small stand, and since that seems to be what it's for, you place it on the table, knowing that your conversation will be safe from prying ears and eyes and any other eavesdropping alike.

Mami watches, silent and curled up on your shoulder as the silence stretches out.

When you can't take it any more, you begin. "I... I'm sure you've noticed already, Mami, but... the things I know aren't normal. I know about magical girls in general, and the system, and all the languages I can speak. Amnesia doesn't work like that."

"M-maybe it's just magic or something, maybe you- I- a magical girl attacked you?" Mami says, shaking her head. "I- I don't care a-about that, Sabrina."

You exhale. "I know," you murmur. "I don't know, either. I can't tell you how I know, because I don't know." And it's true. You... don't know. "But it's more than that. I know more than that."

Mami's grip tightens on your arm. She doesn't say anything.

Neither do you look at her. Instead, you forge on. "When I woke up in that alley, I knew things." You lick your lips. "About a small number of people. Homura, Madoka, Sayaka. And other things. Other people." Mami's fingers tighten, digging into your arm. "All of whom, all of which matter and are. Worth talking about."

Why is it so hard to spit it out?

You steel yourself. "I knew about you," you whisper.

Mami makes a tiny, choked noise. Her white-knuckled grip on your arm doesn't slacken.

"I, I-" you stutter. "I knew about you, I- I didn't know you. And not everything, I, I-"

"Y-you-" Mami shakes her head, tears squeezing from the corner of her eyes. "N-no, no, n-not you too-"

"No," you whisper. "No, I-" You reach up, closing your hand around hers.

She's shivering. Her hand is icy cold, fingers biting into your forearm.

"I'm not," you whisper. "I'm not. I- I didn't know you. I didn't- I'm not like it. I had no idea about you, I had no idea you could cook everything under the sun I didn't know you were in the archery club I didn't know you liked to play video games." You're babbling at this point. You force yourself to take a shaky breath. "I didn't know we'd get along so well. I- I didn't know we could be friends."

"F-friends," Mami whispers. Tears streak down her face, her breath stuttering gasps in her throat. "I-I- S-sabrina- you- K-kyub- I-"

Her Soul Gem. You can feel it, throbbing as it fills. Grief surges, closing on the halfway mark.

Way too close for comfort.

You raise your hand, cupping it gently over Mami's. She flinches, hand shaking.

You pull your hand free, dragging a river of Grief free.

Mami makes another choked, terrified noise.

Golden light blossoms. You flinch, and something slams into your side and then you're falling-

By the time you hit the floor, you're bound securely in a cocoon of golden ribbons. Your arms are clamped to your side, and Mami-

Mami stumbles to her feet. She's transformed and swaying, eyes wide enough to show the whites all around. Manic and staring and terrified.

Her hands are empty.

She manages a step away. Toward the window. Her eyes don't leave yours.

And she stops, rocking in place. She falls.

A wailing sob. On her hands and knees, she scrabbles back to you, grabbing you roughly with shivering hands. She pulls you close, hugging you like a giant bolster.

"W-why," she whispers, shaking you roughly. "Why? W-why- y-you- why?"

[] Write-in

Spoiler: Vote in abeyance

---[x] And, well, some of what we knew about her was private. We knew the circumstances of her wish, though not the exact wording. We knew that she needed a friend... Which was why when she offered to let us live with her, we accepted.
[x] Let her react to that.
[x] If she's willing to let you keep speaking, explain why you didn't tell her earlier. At first, it was because you were still getting a grip on the situation after you woke up in an alley, and that... well, it's just so fantastical. Then there were days when there was just no time, and she was so hurt after she found out Kyubey had been lying to her that we couldn't stomach the idea of potentially making things worse. And it was easy to let it just stay untold, because in the end, when QB was out of the way and we could have made time to tell her, the real reason why you allowed hourself to put it off was because you were afraid that if you told her, she wouldn't want you to stay. And... you didn't want to leave. You wanted to stay. You want to stay.
[x] Head low, self recriminatory. You still should have told her earlier.
-[x] If it feels appropriate, inform her that we haven't stayed with her because she needs a friend, we've stayed with her because in the course of getting to really know her, we've found that she is everything we could ever want in a friend and more. And because she needs a friend, of course, that too.

=====​

Here ends Book 2, Chapter 7: Anomalous Materials. The next chapter, On a Rail, begins with the next update. Could have been worse; coulda been Resonance Cascade.

 

[Firnagzen]

"I-" you lock up for a moment, indecisive and terrified. You don't know what to say. You don't know what to do.

You just-

Mami wails, burying her face in your chest, shaking as she clings tightly to you. "S-sabrina- p-please-"

You just want everyone to be happy. You want Mami to be happy.

A thousand different responses go out the window. You vacillate on your responses, running them through your mind one after another. You come up with a hundred clever answers.

"S-sabrina-" Mami chokes out, giving you a little shake.

Nothing glib to fix this.

You swallow hard.

"I was scared," you whisper, so softly you have no idea if Mami can hear you. Louder, then. "I just- I was scared."

Mami stills, completely and utterly. Her ragged breathing drops to a slow roll.

"I wanted to help," you repeat, squeezing your eyes shut. "I didn't... I didn't know what to do, at first. But I- you needed a friend. I wanted to be that friend. I- I didn't have anything more than that in my mind at the time, just-"

You're crying, too.

You can feel the tears, slow and hot as they course down your cheeks to meet the rising pain clawing from your stomach.

You never wanted to hurt Mami. You knew this would. But it's something you had to do. She had to know. It wasn't right and you want to apologise for hurting her but you had to but it's not about you.

You choke off that train of thought, feeling Mami curl up, practically on your chest. Silent, helpless sobs shake her body.

"I was scared," you whisper. "I wasn't sure what to do and I- I just couldn't find a way to spit it out." You slump, letting your head thump back against the carpet because really, what changed?

You feel Mami's head move, a slow shake.

About right. She might not be answering you, but she might as well be. Nothing at all. Nothing changed. You didn't know how best to say it when you started this and you still don't know how to say it. You just had to do it.

"A-at first I was just trying to keep this away from Kyuubey," you say. The way Mami's arms tighten around you and her fingers dig into your back through the ribbons are enough to know she's listening, at least. "It- after it was gone, I, I- y-you were so hurt t-that I couldn't bear to put you through that again."

Mami makes a tiny, whimpering noise, shivering and curled up, making herself as small as she can.

The best you can do is to lean forward a little and try to brush your face against the top of her head. It's the closest you can get to hugging her without breaking the ribbons. Even that little gesture draws a shuddering sob from Mami.

You swallow, throat thick. Good intentions that pave the way to hell and all. "I-" You shudder. You can feel the Grief bubbling up in your Soul Gem, a rising mire to match the churning confusion in your gut.

But the floodgates are open now, metaphorically and perhaps just slightly less than literally with the tears you can feel squeezing between your eyelids. You clear your nose with a rough snort and you forge onwards.

"E-even then. Even then you meant s-so much to me," you whisper, almost choking on the words. Fresh tears well up, burning in your eyes. "I c-couldn't- bear to hurt you. I j-just-"

You shake your head. You... You need to clean your Soul Gem. It's not exactly dangerous yet, but still. You're going around in circles. A twist of your will pulls free Grief, sharp and acidic to your mind's eye as it infiltrates between the golden ribbons tying up your hand.

Golden eyes, reddened and puffy from the tears still streaking down her face, twitch open, sightless tracking the cloud drifting out the window. She makes a tiny, worried little whine, arms tightening yet more around you.

"I c-couldn't not tell you." Your voice cracks. "It- it's so much worse not telling you. I-I- can't keep something t-this important from you any longer. I care about you, I care about you so much and I want to stay at your side a-and just-"

You force yourself to look Mami in the eyes. Bound up as you are, Mami lying on your chest as she is, you have to tilt your head up in a rather uncomfortable position. But you do it. You meet her eyes squarely. "I'm sorry, Mami," you whisper. "I'm sorry. I-I had to be h-honest with you and I n-never wanted to hurt you. I'm so, so sorry, Mami."

"S-sabrina," Mami whispers, curling her arms yet tighter around you, enough that you actually feel the strain. Tears soak through the ribbons, through your blouse. "I-I- please- promise me- p-promise me- you mean it. I-I- please- I have n-nothing l-left, I- p-promise me."

"I mean it, Mami," you whisper past the lump in your throat. "I promise. I, I'm so sorry for all the p-pain. I mean it, I-"

The ribbons fall away, and Mami throws her arms around you with a sharp wail. Your arms come up instinctively, wrapping behind her back and pulling her close to you. One hand goes behind her head, cradling her gently as she sobs into your shoulder. Tears and mucus soak your shirt and skin.

Your own tears join hers.

"I'm s-sorry," you whisper brokenly. "I'm so, so s-sorry. I never meant to hurt you, I'm sorry."

[] Write-in

=====​

Here we go.

 

[Firnagzen]

Mami...

Mami bawls. Broken, heaving sobs shake her, the emotions too much, too conflicted to contain.

You hold her close. Where her shivering ends and your trembling begins you can't tell, but somehow- somehow, you knew how close you came to losing her. It's not the end of this talk, not by a long shot. But you'd passed a dark, dark place.

With Mami curled up against you, you cry ugly, inelegant tears that streak down your face to mix in your hair. Relief, despair, hope and fear. It's going to be OK, despite your mistakes. It's going to work out. You'll make it so. You have to. And you're not done.

You stroke her back in slow, rhythmic circles, one hand nestling on the nape of her neck, fingers brushing against her hair. The least you can do is offer her comfort, to remind her that you're here. You remain here.

It takes a while for Mami's sobs to die down to slow, ragged breathing. You're still lying flat on your back, with Mami flopped bonelessly on your chest. Your shoulder and shirt are soaked with tears and snot, both Mami's and your own.

"Mami," you murmur.

She stirs a little, clutching at you.

"I'm going to cleanse our Soul Gems, alright?" you ask.

She nods weakly.

"Alright," you say. You don't move your hands - you don't need to, really. It just helps, a kind of mnemonic to cue your powers. But here and now, you'd rather continue to hug Mami. And so you flex your will, pulling free the Grief in both her Soul Gem and yours.

Wispy Grief swells and billows, twisting eddies of shifting despair given form. You crush it into marbles instantly, rather than move it out of the room and then compact it as you'd normally do. It's a tradeoff between visibility and, ah, detectability.

But for now, you'd rather just get it out of the way in both senses of the word, for Mami's sake. Probably something she appreciates, from the way she sighs and relaxes against you as the Grief fades from her senses and you banish the marbles out the window.

"I just wanted you to be happy. It's..." You sigh. "I still do. That... that was true from the very beginning, and... I just want you to be happy."

"I-I-" Mami shakes her head, and presses herself against you.

"Mami?" you prompt.

"I-" she shakes her head again. "Sorry."

"No," you say gently. "You have nothing to be sorry for, Mami."

She sniffles. "A-alright. S-sor-" She stops, and swallows convulsively.

You sigh. "I... I should finish telling you everything. If that's OK?"

Mami hesitates, before nodding slowly.

"OK," you say, letting out a breath. "I... when I woke up in that alleyway, I... knew things about you and the others." You can feel the way Mami tenses up in your arms and you hate it but you need to see this through or everything will have been for naught. "It was like I'd read a story about everyone, or watched an anime, or something. Bits and pieces, at a remove."

"I didn't know anything about myself, but I knew enough about all of you that I wanted to help you." Mami makes a tiny, whimpering noise, and nestles closer to you, head tucked under your chin. You tighten your hug around her. I'm here. "I... I knew you were lonely, and I wanted to make it so you weren't lonely any more. I wanted to make you happy, but..."

You take another deep, shuddering breath. "I didn't expect you to make me so happy." A faint noise indicates that Mami's listening, at least. "And you do. I enjoy doing things with you, talking with you... you make every day brighter." Just the simple joy of getting to hug her is something you look forward to, all the time. "I don't want to lose that. I don't want to lose you."

You raise your head to look her in the eye, finding golden eyes reddened with tears - but wide and startled as she looks back at you. "I-if you're not asking me to leave, Mami, I can promise, I can swear, that I won't leave you. I- my life would be so very much darker without your presence in it."

"I-I-" Mami shakes her head, squeezing her eyes shut. "S-sabrina, I- I c-could never ask you to l-leave, I-" Fresh tears leak from the corners of her eyes. "I- y-you're right, I, I- I'm so lonely, I-"

You give her a reassuring squeeze. "Then I'm not going anywhere, Mami," you say, trying to keep your voice firm. As much as you can when your own voice isn't in the best shape. "I-" Your voice cracks. "I promise."

Mami nods weakly. You can feel fresh tears staining your shirt, though.

"A-and." You swallow, choking back fresh tears of your own. "I- I won't keep things from you any longer. I, that's why I decided to share everything with you the moment I realised how much you meant to me, it's just... just that some things hurt."

"I, I-" Mami stutters.

You swallow, stroking the back of her head slowly. "I'm here, Mami. I- I'm still here."

"I-" Mami shivers. "I k-know."

You let her have a moment to cool down. For yourself to cool down, for the tears and the coiling pit of pain in your chest to settle.

"I..." You start again, licking dry, cracked lips. "I, it. N-now that I've gotten the, the courage to tell you this... the rest of it. Not all of it is good, not all of it is happy and some of it is... personal."

You fumble for the words. "N-not mine to share, I, I'd want to ask other people to share. But. That was my secret, I, it's the one about me. I don't- the rest of it isn't about me. Isn't about you. None of it changes how I feel about you."

"Y-you don't have to," Mami whispers, shaking her head. "S-sabrina, I, I- a-as l-long as you're h-here, I, I don't care."

"I want to," you respond, quiet and firm. "I, I want to be honest and open with you, Mami. You mean too much to me for me not to."

Mami shakes her head in mute disagreement.

You hug her.

Interminable minutes pass.

You could look at the clock, but you don't want to. You don't want to take your attention off Mami right now.

You just keep holding her, stroking her back in the same slow, steady rhythm.

"Mami?" You break the silence eventually. You're... not really sure how long it's been. Half an hour? An hour?

She stirs a little.

"Do you want to clean up a bit?" you ask. "Maybe make some tea?"

She shakes her head. "N-no," she whispers. "Stay."

[] Write-in

=====​

Oh.

 

[Firnagzen]

You exhale.

It's all she wants. Something so heartbreakingly simple... Well. It is simple.

You stay.

It's nice to have a simple decision every now and then, you suppose.

Some of the tension bleeds out of Mami's shoulders when you make no move to get up. With a quiet sigh, she nestles against you, eyes drifting shut. She doesn't even seem to mind the way your hair and shirt are both crusty messes. Hers too, since she's lying on top of you, but mostly you.

Ah, well.

You wrap your arm around her a little tighter, continuing to stroke her back slowly with your other hand. Slow, rhythmic, as much to comfort her as to give yourself something to focus on.

"Mami?" you whisper. Soft and gentle. "Do you want me to get rid of the privacy construct? I... I guess we're done talking about all this stuff tonight."

"Y-yes," she murmurs, shifting a little. Her hair tickles the bottom of your chin.

"OK," you agree, and dismiss the construct. Once again, you crush the Grief into tiny marbles as fast as you can, the sensation blipping in and out of existence almost faster than is noticeable.

"Mmm." Mami sighs, and relaxes.

It's nice, you guess. You wish circumstances weren't so... dire, but you can't deny that you truly do enjoy having Mami here with you.

Are you manipulative?

You think a lot. You analyse and you plot before you act. When you act with foreknowledge... Is that being manipulative? From a lot of points of view, it is. But then, from another point of view... cajoling someone to do something based on what you know of them is pretty much everything that social interaction is.

Ah, well. Stupid question, you suppose. Next question...

Are the two of you in a relationship?

That's a stupid question, too. Of course you are.

Not necessarily in the hands-clasped-over cheeks sense. You don't know about that. But you care about Mami. She's nearly always at the forefront of your mind. How often do you choose to do something, or not do something specifically for her sake?

Which, you suppose, answers your earlier question. As you said. You want to be there for her. You like giving her hugs, you like spending time with her. You want her to make her happy, and she makes you happy. Not much of an epiphany, really, but putting it in words is nice. You care about her.

It is that simple. Not easy, but simple.

Mami stirs a little. "Sabrina?"

"Yes, Mami?" you give her a soft, warm smile.

"I-" she tries to smile back, but the expression falters. "I'd l-like t-to clean up. S-shower. But I d-don't w-want to- S-sabrina, you'll stay?"

"I'll stay," you say, smiling firmly, even though you quail a little inside. You're not sure you're entirely willing to be literally in the shower with Mami. Especially not with Mami in the state she is. "I promised."

Mami bites her lip. "S-sorry. I, I could-" She looks away. "Sorry."

"No," you say, smiling at her and tightening your arms. "You have nothing to apologise for. Is there something on your mind?"

"I..." Mami raises her hand, a twist of yellow extending between her fingers. She swallows, tremulously meeting your eyes. "I-if- t-that's alright?"

You smile, and wordlessly offer your wrist. It might be a bit of an imposition, but, well... she can impose on you. It's nothing less than she deserves.

Mami ties the ribbon around your wrist manually, looping it once, then twice, and pulling it into a simple bow. "I-is this alright?" she asks, voice tiny.

"It is, Mami," you say, as soft and gentle as you can, before you pull her into another hug. She's shaking. "Mami, I'm not going anywhere."

"A-alright," she whispers, ducking her head. "Sorry."

"You wanted to wash up, right?" you ask, giving her an encouraging smile. "I'll wait outside the bathroom, and I'll have the ribbon on."

"A-alright," she repeats, tears starting to gather at the corners of her eyes again.

Madokami on high, but it hurts to see her like this.

You hug her close for a few minutes, until the shaking subsides.

"S-sorry," she mutters, wiping at her eyes.

"None," you repeat.

She nods jerkily, slowly levering herself upright, straddling you. "I-"

You sit up, pulling her onto your lap, and then gently guide her to stand with you. "OK?"

Mami nods again, wobbling a little.

Taking that as a small sign of progress, you guide her gently to the bathroom. You don't leave her for a bit, helping her to wash her face. Just a soft cloth and careful wiping. She then insists on helping you to clean up, to which you acquiesce.

Well, maybe insist is too strong a word, but in her state of mind, anything she wants at all...

"OK," you say, giving Mami another smile. "Change of clothes?"

She nods, glancing at the folded pajamas in her hands.

"Good," you say, holding up the wrist with the ribbon tied around it, leading to Mami's wrist. It's a little cumbersome, really. "I'll be outside, OK?"

"A-alright," Mami says.

You give her one last smile, and retreat to lean against the closed door. You'll shower next, and then... probably go to sleep.

And so you do. Mami latches onto you the moment she emerges from the bathroom, having barely bothered to dry herself off. After calming her down again, you shower, and then you help Mami with her hair. And finally, you head to the bed.

"S-sorry," Mami whispers, curled up on her side. "F-for being all... this."

You hug her firmly from behind. "Mami, no," you whisper. "I understand. I really do. And I don't blame you."

She shakes her head, but doesn't say anything. Her breathing evens out eventually.

Asleep, then.

"T-thank you, Sabrina," she whispers, so quietly you almost miss it.

... or not.

"Thank you, Mami," you murmur back. "Thank you for accepting me. Goodnight."

It takes a while, but you finally drift off with arms wrapped around Mami, and her hair tickling your nose.

[] Write-in

=====​

Next morning...

 

[Firnagzen]

You wake.

It's still dark. Silvery light from a waxing moon dapples the room.

Mami's shaking in your arms. She'd turned over at some point during the night without leaving the protective circle of your embrace. An unhappy frown mars her face, faint moonlight highlighting tears squeezing through closed eyes.

"Oh, Mami," you whisper. She's asleep still, you judge, considering that she doesn't even react to that. You tighten your arms around her, pulling her snug against yourself.

She makes a tiny whimpering noise, burrowing against you - but the unhappy grimace smooths out a little as she clings to you with desperate, unconscious strength.

You smooth her hair, freed from its usual drills for sleep, and brush away her tears with a gentle thumb. That's what you can do for her. You can be there for her, and you will be. But the healing is for herself to do, her own demons to face down.

Exhaling softly, you lift your head a little to glance at the clock, little glowing hands on bright. A little past four AM.

You'll wait for Mami to wake. And you'll keep hugging her, of course, not that that is an imposition.

Her breathing eases out to an even tempo.

Your mind drifts, winding through ideas for what to do for breakfast. Remote operated maid-self to cook for both of you, maybe? Then you could do breakfast in bed. You're not getting out of bed without Mami, after all.

Hm.

You do have a superb awareness of where the Grief is relative to yourself. Proprioception, the term is, and you have... essentially absolute proprioception with regards to your Grief. It's how you guide it when you can't see it, after all - the Grief doesn't so much as crash into things as it does flow around obstacles.

Like poured sand grains, except dark purple with deeply unsettling fractal patterns. And also spheres much much larger than sand grains.

Hm. The problem is that even if you know where your Grief is, you don't know where everything else is. Which means you'd have to be able to see. You could... maybe theoretically rig up something with Grief. Arrays of ultra-sensitive photokinetic cantilevers or something, in a very crude mechanical pinhole camera.

... eh, too much trouble. And too untested.

It's too early in the morning, and more importantly, too early in Mami's morning for Science.

You smile faintly to yourself, cuddling a little closer to Mami. It's... nice, you're perfectly happy to admit. Just being here, with her. You settle in to wait.

It's an hour, maybe a bit less, before Mami starts to stir. You blink awake from your half doze. Mami's eyes flicker, soft gold staring muzzily at you.

You smile at her, and a few moments of blinking incomprehension later, she responds with a tentative, sleepy smile. She yawns hugely, and then her eyes flutter closed again.

...

Well, you know Mami's not a morning person, anyway.

It takes a good fifteen minutes for Mami to wake up properly. You smile at her again as she opens her eyes, keeping her firmly ensconced in your arms.

Emotions wash across her face. Fear, surprise, relief. "G-good morning, Sabrina," she whispers. "W-what time is it?"

"Good morning, Mami," you respond. "Um... Maybe about five thirty?"

"Oh," she says, lowering her eyes. "Sorry for wakin-"

You press a gentle finger to her lips, smiling. "No," you say.

She nods, golden eyes worried.

"Mami, I don't mind," you murmur. "I really, truly don't. I enjoy being here with you. I enjoy giving you hugs, and I enjoy spending time with you."

Mami nods again, slower, but a little more firmly.

"Good," you say, withdrawing your hand and patting her cheek. "Now, what would you like for breakfast?"

"Um..." she says, biting her lip. "I... Anything you'd like, Sabrina."

"Oh, but we can't have that!" you say, beaming at her. "You see, I want you to have what you want for breakfast!" You tap her on the nose, still beaming. "I'm not going to let you, Tomoe Mami, stand in the way of Tomoe Mami Enjoying Her Breakfast to the Utmost Extent!" You take care to pronounce the capital letters.

Mami stares at you. She blinks, and then a giggle escapes her. She looks startled for a moment, and then starts giggling helplessly.

You smile, hugging her. "If you don't tell me," you threaten. "I'll tickle the information out of you!" Your hand drops to her waist, poking experimentally.

"Noooo," Mami whines, squirming away from your questing fingers.

"But I must know~" you say, starting to tickle her in earnest. There isn't anywhere she can escape to on the tiny one person bed, and you reduce her to a flailing, breathless mess within a few minutes before letting up.

"Now, tell me!" you demand, sitting up and giving her a fond smile. "What do you want for breakfast?"

Still panting from the laughter, Mami sits up and promptly burrows into your side. She peeks up at you with a worried, hopeful look. The edge fades a little when you drape your arm around her and pull her a little closer.

"Um..." she says, nestling a little closer. "I really don't mind. Anything you'd like, Sabrina."

"Mami," you say gently. "It would really mean the world to me if I could make you happy. Just seeing you enjoy something is enough for me to enjoy it."

She meets your eyes for a long moment, soft gold against sky blue. "Then..." she says at last. "Um... Are you very hungry, Sabrina?"

"No, not really, why?" you say, giving her a pleased smile.

"Well..." Mami temporises for a moment. "Maybe we could bake something? W-we're going to bake for the picnic anyway, right, and we could have a few cookies before if you're too hungry but-"

You press your finger to her lips again and smile. "Yes," you say. "That sounds amazing, Mami."

"A-alright," she says, ducking her head. "Umm... I was thinking maybe some scones? That should be quick?"

"That would be great," you agree, shifting to swing your feet over the edge of the bed. Mami follows, shuffling along to stay beside you. "We have jam and... hm, we have cream, don't we?" You hop to your feet, stretching luxuriously with both arms over your head.

"We do," Mami agrees, standing too. "We need it for the cake."

"Perfect, then," you say, giving her a smile. Linking your arm with hers, you head for the bathroom. You wait outside with a ribbon around your wrist while Mami performs her morning ablutions, and then it's your turn.

You emerge from the bathroom to find Mami waiting with anxious eyes, enfolding her in a reassuring hug before towing her to the kitchen. You start rummaging in the cupboards. "The normal flour, right?" you ask. "Not high protein?"

"Ah, yes," Mami says, giving you a quick smile as she withdraws mixing bowls from another cupboard.

"Mmm~" you hum as you lay out the ingredients on the table. Flour, baking powder, sugar, joined by milk and butter and buttermilk freshly drawn from the fridge by Mami. You bump your hip against her, flashing her a playful smirk.

Mami ducks her head, smiling at you. You step back to let her start measuring out the flour - she'd have a better sense of what's needed, after all. She takes the invitation, twirling past you in what's almost half a dance step. You complete the almost-a-dance with a turn in the opposite direction, digging into the fridge to withdraw the carton of eggs.

Speaking of dancing... "Say, Mami?" you ask, cracking the eggs into a bowl. "How do you feel about some musical accompaniment?"

"Um... That would be nice," she agrees. "I like that song you made for me?"

You didn't really make it, but you might as well have, here and now. You remembered it. Good enough, really. Solid Grief flows in through the window - no need for Witchy Grief here, and no need to make Mami uncomfortable with it.

You strum a note, and then start the music. You go from there, the two of you falling into an easy, comfortable rhythm. You take the time to reassure her that you're there. A touch to the elbow, a bump against her hip...

Eventually, you sit down opposite from Mami. It's barely six, the kitchen filled with deliciously fragrant smiles of baking. Fresh scones sit in front of you, jam, cream, and honey off to the side. A steaming cup of tea accompanies each of your plates.

You beam at Mami. "These look amazing," you compliment.

Mami waves it off, smiling. "It's as much your work as mine, Sabrina."

You shake your head, disagreeing, but you don't say that. "Anyway, let's eat!" Mami adds a modest amount of honey and cream to a scone, before biting in with a happy noise.

"I used to do this..." Her expression falters for a moment. "For myself. I- it's much nicer, having someone to share these with."

You take a bite of your own scone and smile warmly at her. "Yeah," you agree. "Sharing fresh baked breakfast with you is wonderful."

You briefly consider waking everyone up with your usual 'Good morning Mitakihara!', but it's six on a Saturday morning. Sayaka might actually kill you for that. Still, you've got half an hour before the cake is done, and maybe another half an hour of pre-cooking preparation before you're free to head out for the day.

[] Write-in

Spoiler: Vote in abeyance

-[X] During breakfast, do your "Good Morning Mitakihara" thing.
--[X] If scheduled cooking/baking time permits, confirm morning training with Sayaka. Keep the session relatively short.
[X] After breakfast, contact Nagisa's uncle and extend her an official invitation.

=====​

In fairness, you did sleep at like eight thirty the night before.

 

[Firnagzen]

You take another bite of the scone, making a happy noise. Freshly baked scone, literally right out of the oven and still steaming. All but perfect.

You find Mami watching you with a smile. An answering smile, warm and contented, rises to your lips.

"It really is wonderful, you know," you murmur, lowering the scone a little. "Just... Your cooking, and you." You shake your head, smiling a little. "I wouldn't change it for the world."

Heh. What could have been, way back then. You might have chosen to go with Homura, and things would have been different. Would you still have become such close friends with Mami? You have no idea, and you're not absolutely sure you like the notion.

Mami blushes a little, putting the scone down and fiddling with it. "T-thank you, Sabrina."

"No need to thank me for telling the truth, Mami," you say, reaching across the table to pat her hand. "I mean it. Every word of it."

"I..." Mami looks up, meeting your eyes for a moment before glancing down at the scone again. "So do I, Sabrina. Thank you for s-staying."

"I did promise," you say, nudging her to turn her hand over so that you're palm to palm. "Now, shall we finish up? While the scones are still hot?"

"Ah... Yes," Mami says, ducking her head and smiling little.

You eat in a comfortable silence, the Grief instruments long stowed. Between the two of you, you demolish the pile of freshly baked pastries, just in time for the baking timer to let out a cheerful ding.

You hop to your feet. Mami's already headed to the oven, so you grab the breakfast utensils, moving them to the sink and hurrying after her. You get there just in time for Mami to pull open the oven door, releasing a huge cloud of fragrant steam.

Mami sighs happily as she withdraws a baking pan from the oven with gleaming golden oven mitts, bringing it over to the counter. Grief flows in the window as you follow her example with oven mitts, and you hurry after her to grab the second one. She flashes you a smile as she passes you on the way to grab the third and last one.

Hey, when you're baking for friends, why not go fancy with a nice, three layered cake?

"Ah, where's the cream?" Mami asks, looking around.

"Got it," you say, dismissing your oven mitts out of the window and grabbing the cream. "Anyway, Mami," you say as you start laying out the rest of the ingredients for the frosting. "I was thinking we could plan out the morning while we do this?"

"Umm..." Mami spreads the cake tins out on the cooling rack. "These will need fifteen minutes to cool, so..."

"Ooh, right," you say, walking to stand beside her and hug her around the waist. You're careful not to disturb her fussing with the cakes. "Anyway, so... Today, first thing is the cooking, of course. We finish the baking and cooking now, right?"

"We can make most of the preparations now," Mami notes. "But, um, we'll need two hours, uh, one hour before the picnic itself for more cooking? U-uh," she starts to worry at her lower lip with one hand, tugging anxiously at it. "M-maybe we could try and do more now, but-"

"That's fine," you say with a smile. "Mami, I didn't mean it that way." You capture her hand, bringing it away from her mouth and down to her waist. "It's fine."

"A-alright," Mami agrees.

You hug her for a little while longer, nestling your chin comfortably in the crook of her neck. She calms down slowly, the tension bleeding out of her frame as she nestles back against you.

"S-so, um." She interrupts the silence. "What else do we need to do?"

"Hm," you say thoughtfully. "Well, let's see. Training for Sayaka; I mentioned that yesterday. Training and or Experimenting time for me, with you. We should probably check in with everyone too, make sure they're coming. And Nagisa's uncle, too. Hmm... I kind of want to check in on Oriko and Kirika, too, see what Oriko's condition is like and whether they're behaving. Maybe bring them some pastries?"

"Um..." Mami says. "How long will you want to visit our... prisoners?"

"Half an hour?" you say, frowning. "Maybe?"

"W-well, we should have plenty of time?" Mami says. "We do what we can of the cooking and baking now, then we can spend an hour or two working on your powers? And then we can call everyone, and tell Sayaka to come over for a while, and then just after that, we check on Mikuni?"

Your eyes flare wide at the mention of Sayaka, alarm bells going off inside your head. Now that you think about it - you didn't tell her about the interaction between the clear Seed and normal ones. And she does have both of them and-

"Sabrina? Sabrina, what's wrong?" Mami asks.

"No, I-" you start to breathe fast and hard. A tightly wound frisson of fear trickles down your back. "I didn't warn Sayaka about clear Seeds, remember when I nearly hatched a Grief Seed on me? I, I what if it already hatched on Sayaka-"

"I-I-" Mami stutters. Your panic is infectious, her eyes widening as she stiffens in your arms. "I- she would have called us if something happened, right?"

"Except we went to sleep early, I-" you shake your head, bile surging in your throat. "But Homura was there, she would have taken care of it, Sayaka would be- I have to warn her-" You switch to telepathy. "Sayaka. Sayaka!"

She doesn't respond immediately. Your heart lurches in your chest as Mami turns to hug you tightly. "I'm sure she's fine," she mumbles. "They would have called us otherwise."

"I-" you clamp down on the initial panic and force yourself to think. Surely Sayaka would have contacted you, if not her, then Madoka or Homura. And Homura was there, of course, and she would have taken care of any Witch that so much as dared to exist near Madoka.

"What do you want." Sayaka's sleepy, grumpy voice echoes inside your head. "It's six thirty on a Saturday."

You relax, slumping forward against Mami in sheer relief. "She's OK," you mumble to her. She nods, tucking her head under your chin and tightening the hug.

"Oh, I-" you say, shaking yourself. "The clear Seed I gave you - Uh. I forgot to tell you something very important - do not put the clear Seed and a normal Grief Seed together."

"... I'm going back to sleep," Sayaka growls at you.

"I-" You need to explain to her why, but she cuts you off.

"Goodnight, Sabrina," she grunts, and cuts you off.

You sag against Mami. "W-well. She's fine," you say, voice shaky with relief.

"That's good," Mami says.

You let a shuddering breath out, and just... relax for a minute. When you start contemplating serenading Mami again with the full lyrics of Mirai, you shake yourself. Not...

Not... yet?

A thought for later.

"A-anyway," you say, clearing your throat. "Is there anything you want to do today, Mami? Our schedule is... reasonably clear, today. And, um... I've kind of messed up your studies last week. Is there anything you have to do from school?"

Mami shifts to look at you, lips parting slightly. "A-ah," she says after a moment of thought. "Um. I just want to spend time with you, so... anything is alright. Though... I do have some homework, if we have time tonight? After the picnic?"

[] Write-in

=====​

Well, you did kind of panic.

 

[Firnagzen]

"Of course, Mami," you agree, tightening your hug around her. "I'd like that - and I'm always happy to help. School matters, and there should always be room for the things that matter to you."

"Alright," she says, fingers reaching out for the cake tins. "Umm... I need to release the cakes now."

"Go ahead," you say. "Hmm... Your plan from, uh, before I panicked seems great. I don't see any issues with it, so... Let's do that."

You finally release Mami from the hug, instead shuffling around beside her and grabbing a cake tin of your own. You run a blunt knife around the edge of the tin and invert it over some waxed paper, depositing a perfectly golden-brown layer of cake - and by the time you're done, Mami's already finished the other two layers.

You both reach for the cream at the same time. You smile, and step back, letting Mami take the lead. Sadly, you only have one set of equipment for that, but on the other hand, you can start in on the rest of the pastries.

"Hmm," you hum. "Sayaka sounded... kind of upset I woke her up early. I'll have to make it up to her somehow."

"Ah... You could bake her something?" Mami suggests, whipping the icing with a brisk hand. "Though I'm sure she wasn't really upset."

"Oh, that's a good idea," you say. An idea strikes you. "Do you think something coffee flavoured would be too mean?"

Mami takes a moment to get it. She giggles when she does, clear and tinkling. "No," she says. "But we don't have any coffee. We could go and buy some?"

You consider that, heart soaring at hearing her laugh. "Nah, we don't have the time. Do we have any raspberry jam?"

"We do," Mami says. "We just bought the jar yesterday, remember?"

"Excellent," you say, rubbing your hands together. "Now, we have cream cheese and honey too, and hmm... Nah, I think I won't make something personalised for everyone. Ruins the apology if I do that, though... What if Sayaka gets an extra one?"

Mami pauses in her icing, giving you a puzzled look.

"Cupcakes!" you declare happily as you walk over to the fridge. "Cupcakes for everyone, and they're easy enough that we can bake them alongside the cooking we need to do now."

"No, not that," Mami says. "T-though that's a great idea! Just, um, raspberry jam, cream cheese, and honey? Um, sorry, I'm sure you have some idea-"

You set the jars down and poke Mami's nose, stopping her apology in its tracks. "Not all together, Mami," you say. "I was thinking we could make personalised cupcakes for everyone, in the end."

"Oh," Mami says, looking down.

You nudge her in the side. "None of that," you say, giving her a warm smile. "Now, what else do we have to prepare?"

"Well," Mami says, a slight, worried edge on her smile. You wouldn't even know it's there if you weren't looking. "We should cut and season all the meat and fish that we'll be cooking later. Um, you wanted to prepare Indian curry, right? Does that need any preparation?"

"Yeah, it would be best if we could season the meat earlier, too," you agree.

And so you do. The cake turns out perfect -how else could it be, with Mami at the helm?- and it's joined by scores of cookies and cupcakes, mostly done by your hand. At first, anyway. The kitchens fills with the delicious scents of baking confectionery as Mami finishes up with the cake and joins you. The two of you work with smooth synchronisation and utter comfort with each other's presence, movements all but choreographed. The pre-cooking preparation is squared away too, seasoned meats and prepared spices tucked away in the refrigerator.

You step away from the counter, rolling your neck and beaming at Mami. You grab a cupcake hidden away in a corner and present it to Mami - the first one you'd decorated. It's covered with smooth ripples of honey frosting, and you might have used a touch of Grief to steady your hands just so. You'd considered adding two little twists to represent her hair drills, but that's a little too... on the nose, so to speak.

"Here you are," you declare happily, beaming at Mami. "This one's for you, Mami."

"A-ah-" Mami blinks in surprise, and then beams at you, wobbly but pleased. "Thank you, Sabrina!" She takes the cupcake, cradling it between both her hands like something precious.

You smile, wiping away a bit of sweat and pulling her into a sidelong hug. "Anyway, we'll pack all of this up, and then head out to the junkyard?"

Mami nods, carefully putting her cupcake down and leaning into the hug. "Alright," she agrees, carefully inspecting the piles of baked goods arrayed over the counter. "We can cover most of these and leave them to cool outside, but the cake needs to go in the refrigerator."

You beam at Mami. "Sounds good," you say, searching for the net cover. "Hm... Do you think we should invite Homura along? We could have Sayaka try and copy her power."

Mami hums. "The more the merrier," she agrees, starting to arrange the cookies and cupcakes neatly. She sets the cupcake you made for her off to one side with reverent care.

"Mmm. Oh, here it is," you say, finally locating the cover. You leave it on the counter beside Mami, ready for use. "Hmm... So, Mami, I was thinking, one of my biggest limitations is my range, right?"

Mami hesitates before nodding. "Right?"

"I wanted to test a few things to see how various effects behave near the edge of my range, to see if I can cheat and make constructs that can go beyond that range," you explain, shuffling over to the sink and washing your hands. You take care to scrub the flour out from under your Grief ring.

"Ah, I see," Mami says, brightening at the topic. She unfurls the net cover with an elegant flourish, throwing it over the baked goods. "So... like throwing things? Or a gun?"

You swallow an amused snort. You should have expected that Mami would jump to that conclusion, given her... obvious propensities. "Well, that's one thing," you agree, gesturing towards the kitchen door. "Like, if I throw something using Grief, will it keep going? And, say, light, or sound. Or what if I made light or sound? If a glowing construct can be seen from outside my range, then I can make a laser beam, right?"

Mami nods as she follows you to the bedroom where you grab some clothes. "Magic may not always make sense," she notes, following suit. "But it's worth trying!"

You nod. "I know," you agree, offering your arm for her to ribbon. "And, say, if maybe I can't make a laser beam directly - what if I used that laser pointer with Grief batteries?"

Mami tilts her head, considering that. "We'll find out," she says, smiling a little.

You pull her into a hug. "'course," you say. "And I can't do it without you. I need a spotter, after all, so I waited until I could do it with you."

"Thank you." Mami burrows into the hug.

You hold her for a few minutes before pulling back a little. "Shall we?"

"Mmmn," she agrees, heading into the bathroom.

"Say, Mami," you call through the door, leaning against it from the outside. "I just thought of something, since you brought up guns - how did you practice the... really destructive attacks? Like Tiro Finale? I've had some idea, but the collateral damage..."

"Oh," Mami responds, accompanied by the rustling of cloth. "Sometimes, I'd head to the outskirts of the city, where there's not many people. Or else I'd fire it straight into the ground if it wasn't too destructive, or use a Witch Barrier if the Familiars weren't very aggressive."

A few minutes later, both of you have changed - once into casual wear, and once again to your puella magi costumes. You're bounding over the rooftops, headed for the customary junkyard. The morning dawns clear, the sun beginning it's trek up the sky at a bright and early seven.

Hm. Warehouse-kun's probably getting a little lonely, but the junkyard is Mami's spot.

[] Write-in

=====​

Science time!

 

[Firnagzen]

Ah, well, the junkyard it is. It is Mami's spot, after all, and you're with Mami right now.

You let Mami take half a step of lead, bounding after her with what's becoming practiced ease. You're getting much better at this - though your roof hopping still is still rather more parkour than Mami's pure, flowing élan. You roll, and you vault, and you somehow get where you're going without a single strand of hair out of place nor picking up a single speck of dirt, but there's not one trace of elegance to it.

Eh.

It works.

You arc into the junkyard, soles slewing to a halt on the sandy ground. Mami barely raises any dust at all, primly patting her skirt down.

When she looks up, seeking your presence, you give her a warm smile. "Ready to begin?" you ask.

"Mmmhm," she agrees, taking a step closer to you, close enough that her hip bumps against yours.

With a laugh, you pull her into a hug. "Alright, then," you say. "I think... well, as I said, I want to figure out ways in which I could perhaps extend my range."

Mami nods, her hairdrills bobbing against your shoulder. It tickles a little. "What do you need me to do?"

"Well," you say. "Could you move to the other side of the junkyard? You'll need to be on the edge of my control range, and keep an eye on what happens. I'll stay in contact by telepathy, alright?"

Mami nods. "Alright," she agrees. You give her another quick squeeze before releasing her from the hug, and she backs off, walking to the other end of the long, sandy yard. She has to weave around a few rusting old cars and refrigerators, but she manages to keep in line of sight.

You roll your neck, sending a handful of marbles to bob along beside Mami, hunting for the edge of your range. "There," you murmur into her mind as you stop the marbles at the very borderline. "That's my limit."

"Alright." Mami nods, stopping and turning to face you. You give her a wave, which she returns happily.

By the looks of it, she's inspecting the Grief marbles rather curiously, poking at them with a finger.

"Mami," you warn. "I'm going to make some light. Tell me if you see it?" At Mami's assent, you do just that, an exhale and a touch of mental focus bringing forth gentle illumination from one of the Grief marbles. You can see the little floating sphere light up from where you are, soft light visible even against the rising sun.

"I can see it, Mami confirms.

Your eyebrows shoot up, a smile splitting your face. If light is visible, then coherent light is - and that means lasers. Interesting.

"Sabrina?" Mami calls into your mind, worried concern in her mental voice.

... You're vibrating. All but vibrating with excitement, making a high pitched 'eeeeeeeee' that Mami can probably hear.

"Sorry," you respond. "Just excited. OK, um, next test. You need polarised safety goggles of some kind, and we need physical shields. Um, I'd make you goggles, um, full face masks would be better, but you're out of range. Damn, I didn't think about that, I didn't reall-"

"It's alright, Sabrina," Mami says. Squinting at her, you notice her reaching behind her and producing a pair of sunglasses, unfurling them with a snap and putting them on.

"... why do you have sunglasses?" you ask.

Mami shrugs. "Sunglasses are useful."

"... but sunglasses are not protection," you say. "Hm... Since I want to try and laser something, Mami, why don't you come back here? We can both hunker down behind a shield or something."

"Alright," Mami agrees, hurrying over. She immediately tucks herself against your side. "S-sorry."

You wrap your arms around her. "Nothing to apologise for," you say. "See, I'm going to try and weaponise it next, so I'd feel better if you were safe with me."

"O-oh," Mami says. She hesitates for a long moment, before finally adding, "Thank you."

You poke her on the nose. "You're important to me," you tell her. "Never forget that."

"A-alright," she says.

You take a breath. "Anyway. Let's get behind some cover, and..." you squint down 'range'. "I'll try making an infrared beam and destroy that, uh... I think that's an old engine block over there?"

Mami squints, too. Or at least you think she does. She's still wearing the sunglasses. "Alright. We need to take cover, right?"

"Yup," you agree. "Uhh... around the back here." You tow Mami behind a large pile of random scrap metal and mouldering old tires. Grief forms a small seat, just large enough for both you and Mami to sit on - out of line of sight of the target. More Grief forms matte, non-specular walls, since reflections from high intensity light can blind just as well.

Mami sits beside you, tucking her head on your shoulder.

"OK, here we go," you mutter, mostly to yourself. "Test two: high intensity infrared light, focused into a beam." You bite your lip, considering. "Collimated, coherent light, emitted from Grief marble."

An exhale. You focus. Collimated, coherent light... you can do that. In your mind's eye and that odd other sense, you can feel the light drawing across the surface of the sphere like a shutter closing, until there's only a pencil thick beam left that hazes towards the invisible spectra of infrared.

The air heats. Even from this far away, you can feel the thermal bloom slicing through the morning chill. A sharp hiss heralds an acrid, burning smell making its way through the air to you.

... Success?

You kill the beam and dissolve the bunker, poking your head up around the rusting steel. Mami stands too, peering at the...

... well...

It's not an engine block. Not any more.

Nor is the sandy ground strictly speaking ground any more.

The pile of slag that used to be an engine block is still glowing. Faint pings reach you from the cooling metal - and sparkly, glassy bits of ground.

You stare, a wide, wide grin splitting your face. "Yessssss," you hiss.

Mami beams at you. "That's amazing, Sabrina!"

You grin right back at her, all but bouncing on your feet. "Yeah, it is! I think..." You hurry over to examine the puddle of cooling metal. "It's definitely outside my range."

Mami smiles at you, though there's a little edge of worry to it.

You pull her into a hug. "Hm..."

"Sabrina?" Mami asks, looking up at you.

"No, just thinking," you say. "I can't move Grief out of my range, but... this worked?"

Mami chews on her lip for a moment. "I... This is a guess, Sabrina, but I think that, um, strictly non-magical effects can exit your range. But maybe magical ones can't?" She hesitates for a while longer, something clearly on the tip of her tongue.

"Mami?" you prompt.

"No, no, I-" she turns a hopeful gaze on you. "Would you consider giving the laser a name? If you use it?"

You laugh. "Of course," you say. "Do you have something in mind?"

"Um..." Mami says, brightening. "Um. What's Italian for 'light'? Lux?"

"'Luce', I think," you say.

Mami nods. "What about... 'Luce Finale'?" she suggests, accompanying it with a blinding, hopeful smile.

You can't help but smile back."'Final light'?" you ask. "I don't think it's that... imposing."

"Attack names need to be impressive!" Mami says with an adamant shake of her head. "And they need to be grand! They need to have gravitas and they should be imposing!" And then her sudden conviction melts away, leaving an uncertain, worried girl in its wake. "U-um. If that's alright?"

[] Write-in

Spoiler: Vote in abeyance

[x] Create your grief orchestra near the edge of your range. Ask Mami if she can hear it.
[x] Physically toss something with grief past the edge of your range. See if it behaves normally.
[x] Regroup, and ask Mami on her thoughts on how the effects behaved. See if she has any suggestions or insights - both in terms of what the underlying principles might be, and in how the observed behaviors can be made useful.

=====​

You'll get one more science/practice update before it's a reasonable time to start calling people. Like Sayaka.