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# Puella Magi Adfligo Systema

- Thread starter Firnagzen
- Start date May 19, 2014
- Tags
    bad decisions dating mami tomoe diabolical laughter friendship is the best ship handholding identity crises microwaving tea gets you put in the bad place names are important puella magi adfligo systema puella magi madoka magica the body is the fursona of the soul this is not the baked goods thread we don't talk about rionna what could possibly go wrong? who in the world is azure sanfrancisco?

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Threadmarks This mortal coil pt. 16
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#### Firnagzen

Operator

- Dec 2, 2015

- #67,706

For some reason, Kyouko's offhanded comment about Grief heroin puts the image of giant, woobie spiders in your mind. It's a valid enough concern -unfortunate side effects, not the giant spiders- so you have to accept it, you guess.
And hey, progress. You're not forcing her to take it for her own good.
"Alright, fair enough," you say, nodding. "That's your prerogative."
Kyouko gives you a suspicious glare, her jaw working as she chews through another mouthful of food.
Your lips quirk into a faint smile. "No, really," you say. "I get why you don't want to, I do. Maybe when these things are more tested, then?"
"Maybe," she grunts, and stands abruptly, pushing aside her emptied plate. She promptly makes a beeline back towards the buffet table.
"Alright," you say again, and return to your food, as does Kyouko. You work your way contemplatively through the rest of your salad, taking care to clean your plate thoroughly.
"I think big sis is glad to see you," Yuma confides, peeking up from demolishing a good-sized heap of corn
"... Really?" you ask, giving the green haired girl a smile.
Yuma nods vigorously, blinking huge, blue-green eyes at you. "She was worried."
"What over?" you ask, raising an eyebrow.
"Grief Seeds," Yuma says. "She says that the hunting is really bad here."
"Ah," you say, chewing on your lip and glancing at the time just as Kyouko returns with a fresh plate. That's a little worrying. But it's something you can help with.
"Got to go?" she asks.
You sigh. "Pretty much," you admit. "Kind of ran out of time today."
"Out of time for what?" Kyouko grunts, crunching through sticks of celery.
"Just talking," you say. "I... there is something important I need to talk to you about soon; tomorrow possibly if that's alright."
"Sure, make an appointment with my secretary and I'll see if I can slot you in," Kyouko drawls, rolling her eyes.
You shake your head. "Point taken."
Yuma perks up, smiling at you. She coughs, clearing her throat, and adopts a solemn, serious expression. "Would you like to make an appointment to meet Miss Sakura tomorrow? I think we could slot you in at any time during the lunch slot." Her cheerful, bright expression rather ruins the effect, though.
You laugh. "I'll have to get back to you on the exact when, Yuma," you say, pushing aside your empty plate. "But yes, quite possibly tomorrow."
"If I didn't know any better, I'd ask you what it was you wanted to talk to me about," Kyouko observes. "'course, that'd defeat the point, wouldn't it."
"It's really that I ran out of time," you say, rubbing at your forehead as you stand. "Just... tight schedule. You'll get back to me on the sparring thing?"
Kyouko glances at you, jaw busily chewing. She swallows the mouthful, and nods.
"Anyway... I'll see you around, OK?" you say.
"Mmmf," Kyouko grumbles.
"See you!" Yuma says, voice bright and cheery.
You smile at them one last time, and head out through the door - you'd already paid.
The bright afternoon light and heat of the urban sprawl smacks you in the face as you step outside, and you take a deep breath, hopping on your feet as you roll your shoulders lightly. That went well.
You exhale, smiling, and step down an alley, bounding smoothly up to the roof in a few powerful hops to join the masses of Grief already waiting for you there. You're getting better at this - you hardly ever shatter the walls or the floor now.
You glance towards the river, glittering under the sunlight, and you remember that time you once leapt all the way across it. You grin to yourself. No real time to do it now, but... well, that had been fun. You snort, wings starting to billow from your shoulders, deep, tenebrous purple swathes cut from the sky.
You leap, powerful strokes lofting you into the sky to wing back towards Mitakihara. The river fairly glows beneath you in the afternoon sun, sparkling waves.
You smile, and wing onwards, heading towards the school to meet your friends.
[] Write-in
=====​
Freeeeeeeeedom!
Last edited: Dec 2, 2015
Threadmarks This mortal coil pt. 17
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#### Firnagzen

Operator

- Dec 4, 2015

- #68,105

Your mind fills with a back and forth debate of whether you should try out something with your powers. Maybe it would work, maybe it wouldn't...
Hm.
The fact that you seem to loose track of time when you make something with your Grief powers is kiiind of a concern, though. Especially if you might plummet out of the sky while doing it.
... Nah, it's not like you loose control of the huge bunch of Grief that you now have perpetually following you now, anyway. Crashing into something might be a concern, though.
Then again... when you fail to make something, you realise it immediately. You don't lose any time - rather, you gain a headache. Which... is probably an acceptable tradeoff?
Hrrrm. In the end... you'll give it a shot, you think. Just a small test. You'll try and make a book that contains something you don't know.
You flare your wings wide, pumping hard to gain height.
Best to warn Mami, too. "Hey, Mami?" you pulse to her.
"Ah, Sabrina? School's nearly over, I'll be there soon," she responds, sounding a little surprise.
"Yup, so will I!" you say. "I'm flying over right now, actually. But anyway - I'm trying out something right now, I might go unresponsive for a bit, OK? But I'll be fine."
"Ah..." Mami says, concern creeping into her voice. "Um... be careful, Sabrina."
"Yeah," you say, nodding to yourself. "I will."
"Alright," Mami says. "I- I'll see you after school?"
"Yeah," you say firmly. "You will."
"Alright," she says again.
High enough. You lock your wings into a glide that, worse comes to worst, will land you somewhere in the industrial district. You think.
You take a deep breath, summoning a blob of Grief to your hands, and you focus on it. This shouldn't be too hard... You want to know something you don't already. You push, pouring your will into the blob of Grief, and-
You have something.
There's a paperback book, thin and new and crisp, held in your hands and there's something right in front of you-
You snap into a roll. You barely miss- your wings nearly clip the side of the steel structure.
Climb, climb, climb! And left to avoid that tower, and tuck your wing in to avoid cleaving through a steel strut, and veer left again and then up and over that concrete batching plant-
A few frantic, panicky moments later, you're flying straight and true again, the book dangling from one hand. You exhale a sigh of relief as you coast through the clear skies, angling towards Mitakihara Middle School.
It's a plain looking thing, a cheerful pastel blue, with a plain, unmarked cover. You didn't have anything in particular in mind when you made it, so... You have no idea what to expect, really.
You open it.
... Numbers, tables, terse annotations for weight and consistency and proportions of sand and cement and aggregate and pozzolans and fly ash and water aaaaand you're pretty sure that these are concrete mixing specifications.
... Huh.
You weren't really expecting that to work.
Well then.
You shake your head, incidentally brushing the hair out of your eyes with your free hand. That's a thing. You page idly through the book, though hmm... you don't have much more flight time. You should probably check in with Kirika before you land.
"Hey, Kirika," you pulse out towards the black haired girl, leafing through page after page of concrete specifications and curing times and myriad details. "How's the anons biting?"
"Eh," Kirika responds, voice listless. "S'going. Hi, Sabrina."
"Heya," you say, still speeding back towards Mitakihara Middle School. "How're you doing?"
"Eh," she says, and you get the distinct impression of a shrug.
You sigh, wincing. You wish you could do more for her, but there's just so many things demanding your attention. "Hey, Kirika. I'll be there soon, OK?"
"I know," she says."I know. Just... hurry, please?"
"I will, Kirika," you say, still paging through that book. Did you really get a book full of concrete specifications? "I'll come as soon as I can."
"OK," she says. "Today, right?"
"Yeah," you agree. "Today."
"OK," she sighs. "See you soon."
"Yeah," you say. "Soon."
You end the call, exhaling. Damn it. Too many things.
Tsk.
You fly onwards, thundering wingbeats driving you towards school. Absently, you dismiss the book.
More important... Or more immediate concerns, now. Or not even concerns, really - your friends. You smile to yourself as you coast to a landing atop a nearby building, wings folding and dissolving.
You drop neatly into a nearby alleyway and stroll out into the street, wandering over to the school. You lean against the gate, raising an eyebrow at the truant officer standing there. The severe looking woman frowns at you, but seems reluctant to accost you.
The schoolbell rings a few moments later, and chatter explodes from the halls. You can hear the scrape of chairs and the rumble of hundreds of feet in the corridors, and a bare minute later, Mami emerges from the front door, her warm golden eyes scanning around for you.
You wave, pushing off the gate and waving at her.
Mami smiles, and crosses the distance with a few swift steps.
"Hi, Mami!" you call.
"Hi, Sabrina," she says as she approaches, smiling. "How are you? Did the thing you were working on, um, work?"
"It worked, kind of," you say, returning the smile. "I tried to make a book from Grief."
"Oh?" she asks. Over her shoulder, you can see the rest of your friends emerging from the main doors.
"Yeah... I tried to make a book containing information I don't know," you say. "I uh. Well, I got a book full of concrete batching specifications."
Mami blinks. "... um."
"Yeaaaah," you say, rubbing at your nose. "It's a success, I guess."
"Hey, Sabrina!" Sayaka calls, waving energetically at you, two school bags slung over her shoulder. Hitomi walks at her side, looking exasperated, and Madoka just a step behind. Homura brings up the rear of the group.
"Hey," you call, waving back at your friends. They chorus greetings, and you smile around at everyone.
"So... how d'you guys want to do things today?" you ask, beaming at them and waving down the path. Walk and talk.
"I thought we were going to the hospital?" Sayaka asks, turning to follow.
"Hmm?" Hitomi glances at her. "I thought it was training first?" She smiles faintly. "I must admit, I'm quite curious to see what it's like."
"Eh?" Sayaka asks, blinking.
"In fairness, we haven't really decided," you offer. "But I was going to suggest that, actually. Train a bit first, and we can teach you how to heal, then you can heal Kyousuke?"
Sayaka blinks. "Oh! That sounds like a good idea," she says, brightening. "C'mon, then!" She starts down the street, ranging out ahead of you.
"Ah... where are we going?" Madoka asks.
Sayaka blinks, stopping in her tracks. "Well, uh..."
You shake your head, snickering at Sayaka. Mami, walking at your side, covers her giggles with a hand. You glance back at Madoka, smiling. "Madoka, are you coming?"
"Ah... yes?" she asks, tilting her head in confusion. Beside her, you can see a frown flicker across Homura's face.
[] Write-in
-[x]Ask them how they want to handle things. Suggest that we could do some training for a while, then Sayaka could keep healing Kyosuke for a bit after we show her how it works? We might need to skip dinner today, unfortunately...
--[x]If Madoka wants to come, ask Mami if it'd be okay for us to talk to Madoka for a while later, after we've gotten somewhere with Sayaka's training.
---[x]Ask Mami what she thinks would be best.
----[x]Telepathy Madoka. Ask her if we could talk for a while at some point during Sayaka's training.
[x]Blueberry training! Ask about clear spaces near the hospital, maybe?
-[x]Ask if Hitomi wants to come. Maybe we could meet up with her at the hospital afterwards?
=====​
... Apparently I'm an idiot and didn't count the votes correctly. I blame sleepiness. But for once, I'll exert a little GM executive power.
Last edited: Dec 4, 2015
Threadmarks This mortal coil pt. 18
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#### Firnagzen

Operator

- Dec 7, 2015

- #68,890

"Eh, no, that's fine," you say, smiling reassuringly at Madoka as you all pull into a loose circle, waiting for a decision on where to go. "I wanted to talk to you later, actually." At the same time, you glance aside, meeting Homura's amethyst eyes, and open a telepathic channel. "Homura? Are you OK with this?"
"Ah, me? What about?" Madoka asks, blinking at you in surprise.
Homura's standing beside her, and you can see her nostrils flare a tiny fraction of a centimetre. "I don't like it," the time traveller responds.
"Eh... nothing that can't wait," you say, still smiling at her. To Homura you respond, "I... I know, Homura, but cutting her out won't help."
"So you've said," she agrees.
"So where are we going?" Sayaka asks, grin firmly affixed on her face.
"Well actually... Mami? What do you think?" You give her a warm smile. "I normally go to this one abandoned warehouse in the industrial district, but it's a little bit far if we're not flying or at least roofhopping." Mentally, you plead with Homura. "I really do think this would be for the best, Homura."
"Hmm," Mami rubs her nose, returning your smile. "I usually go to the junkyard underneath an expressway when I need to practice something new. We've been there before? But it's not that nearby, either."
Homura blinks slowly, sending you a telepathic impresison of a sigh. "Fine."
Some of the tension leaches from your shoulders. "Thanks, Homura," you say to her. Simultaneously, you tilt your head in Sayaka's direction with a smirk."Well... I was thinking somewhere near the hospital would be good?"
"Oh," Mami says, an answering smirk on her face. She thinks about it for a moment and nods decisively. "The junkyard under the flyover, then. It's the nearer to the hospital than the industrial district. This way." She waves down the street.
"Alright!" Sayaka jabs a finger in the air and starts off in the indicated direction. Hitomi trails along, giving her bag, still firmly over Sayaka's shoulder, a somewhat exasperated look.
"Well actually..." you say, catching up to Sayaka. "Have you girls ever wanted to fly?" You beam around at your friends.
"... yes?" Hitomi ventures.
Madoka nods enthusiastically. "Yes! I always wanted to visit other countries. Like Paris!"
"Uh, nooo, I meant... just flying around," you say, blinking. Mami gives you a fond smile, cottoning on to what you're planning.
"Ohh, like Superman?" Sayaka asks, glancing at you. "Yes, I've always wanted to."
You chuckle. Should have guessed. "Well... it's not quite Superman flight, but..."
"Yes," Sayaka says fervently, stopping and turning to you with shining eyes.
Hitomi looks at you, seeming interested. "Oh?"
"So how about it?" you ask, looking around. Homura's expression is blank as she stares at you. Mami, on the other hand, gives you a warm smile, which you return.
"That sounds fun!" Madoka says, clapping her hands.
"Hitomi?" you ask.
She nods decisively. "I would like to try."
"Alrighty!" you say. "This way, then!" You lead them all down a secluded side road, checking around for onlookers. No one to be seen, so... you transform and hold your hand up, calling Grief to you - a fairly substantial quantity of it.
With a grand, sweeping gesture, you spread it into a wide carpet, large enough to seat everyone comfortably.
"Hop on!" you say, following suit with a smile. Without hesitation, Mami climbs on right beside you. Homura steps up too, hesitating for a moment before offering Madoka a hand. The pinkette accepts with a smile, climbing on.
Sayaka eyes the carpet for a moment before dropping the two schoolbags off with a relieved sigh. "Cool," she says, squinting at the carpet. "So this can fly?"
"Well, it already is," you point out - it's half a metre off the floor.
Sayaka laughs sheepishly, and climbs on.
Hitomi's the last to step up, giving the deep purple material a dubious look, testing the give with one foot before trusting her weight to it. You can't quite blame her, you suppose.
"Alright!" you say, grinning. "Meguca Airlines flight SA-004, taxiing for takeoff from, uh, random alleyway Mitakihara City."
"I still think it's 'Sabrina Airlines'," Mami says, shuffling a little closer to you and leaning her head against your shoulder.
"Meh," you say, raising the carpet straight up the alleyway, careful not to clip anything.
Sayaka leans over the edge to peek at the receding ground. "That is so cool," she says.
"Sayaka, be careful..." Madoka says, looking torn between restraining Sayaka or joining her.
"Meh," the bluenette says.
"All body parts inside the vehicle, please," you say, grinning back at the others. Sayaka harumphs, but complies, unable to hide her grin, while Madoka gives you a grateful smile. Hitomi looks like she's barely restraining an excited squeal. Homura, sitting beside Madoka, gives you an inscrutable look.
"And here we go," you say as you pass rooftop level. You ease the carpet forward, slowly at first, but with smooth acceleration.
Sayaka whoops with joy. "Faster!" Madoka squeals in delight.
You oblige, accelerating until the wind's whipping at your hair, Mami's ringlets bobbing and Homura's hair streaming out like a mesmerizing black banner.
You tear your eyes and your thoughts away. Hm. It occurs to you that Kirika said that Oriko's Soul Gem was still accumulating Grief - despite her being disconnected. Which is terribly odd, to say the least.You reach out telepathically for the black haired girl. "Kirika?"
"Hm?" she responds. "Hey, Sabrina."
"Hey, just confirm something for me - Oriko's still accumulating Grief?" you ask.
"Mmm," Kirika says in agreement.
Interesting. "OK. Kirika, can I ask you to start practising something?" you ask. "You know your antimagic? Try to trade range for duration, or try to make it a passive effect.
"Hmm?" she asks, a little more animation in her voice. "Do you think it will help? Oriko said it didn't."
"It's worth a shot," you urge. "I suppose I could offer advice if you want, but I think the biggest one is to go with your gut feeling. Any progress is good. Or maybe a way to cut off a meguca from her magic entirely?"
"Yeah... Guess I can try that," Kirika agrees.
"Alright. I'll be there as soon as I can, OK?" you say. By your side, Mami cuddles a little closer against you, nestling into your side.
"Yeah. See you," she says.
"See you," you respond.
The flight passes all too quickly, Mami directing you towards the junkyard, and you coast in for a smooth landing. "Ladies and gentl-" you cough. "- welcome to little junkyard under the flyover, Mitakihara city. For your safety and comfort, please remain seated with your seatbelts on- oh forget it." You snort, and hop off the front of the carpet, now hovering half a meter off the sandy floor of the junkyard.
"Well, here we are," you say, spinning to face the rest of your friends, longcoat flaring out around you.
"It's a junkyard," Hitomi says, looking around at the rusting heaps of metal with a wrinkled nose.
Mami nods, smiling as she hops off the carpet to join you. "It's where I come to practice. People can't see us here from the main road, and it's abandoned."
Sayaka steps off, shoes crunching on the sand. "How do we do this?" she asks, bouncing eagerly. Behind her, Madoka and Homura dismount from the carpet, Homura stalking off to the side and the pinkette following.
You smile. "Mami?"
"Me?" Mami blinks in surprise.
"You," you say, beaming at her. "All yours."
A smile spread across her face as understanding dawns. "Ah," she says. "If you're sure?"
"There's no one I'd trust more," you say simply, spreading your arms.
Mami nods, back straightening a little. She smiles at you, before turning to Sayaka. "Alright. Sayaka, do you know what your power is?" she asks.
"Ah, no?" she says.
"That's out first goal, then," Mami says. "Transform, please? Madoka, Hitomi, please stand back?"
Sayaka grins, forming her Soul Gem on her hand and holding it up. "Transform!" she calls.
...
Nothing happens.
Madoka giggles in the resounding silence. Hitomi's facade cracks, and she muffles a giggle behind a hand.
Sayaka pouts.
"... no, not like that," Mami says. "Just... focus, Sayaka, you should already know how to transform."
Sayaka nods vigorously, frowning in concentration. A heartbeat later, she erupts in a blaze of light, sapphire blue and clean.
When the light fades, Sayaka's in her magical girl costume. Her costume, white and blue and accented in blue, with that diagonal cut skirt and flowing white cloak. Her Soul Gem, a blue C, rides in its place on her torso, in the parting of her shirt, and a golden fortissimo shaped hairpin in her hair.
You grin. "Nice costume," you say, wandering over to the side of the junkyard and dragging a barrel over.
Madoka claps in delight, happy smile on her face, as does Hitomi.
Sayaka blinks slowly, as if dazed, before shaking her head and grinning back at you. She looks down at her self, patting her costume. "This is so cool," she breathes.
Mami smiles. "Congratulations, Sayaka!" she says. "Do you know what your power is?" she asks.
Sayaka frowns in concentration. "I... I think so," she says. "Um, Mami-senpai, can you come over here?" She holds out one gloved hand.
Mami tilts her head curiously, walking over to Sayaka and offering her hand. You fold your arms, leaning against a rusting hulk of a car as you watch.
Sayaka grabs Mami's hand, frowning in concentration. Your mind wanders as you watch - you really should get some identification for yourself, though you're not sure what you'd put down for a surname. 'Just Sabrina' is one thing, but still... You kind of want a name ending with 'V', though. Or maybe something long and massively complicated.
"OK," Sayaka says, letting out a breath and stepping back. She holds her hands out, palm down, and without any fuss, white coloured ribbons spill from her palms like an endless stream, pooling on the floor.
"Oh!" Mami says. "Power copying?"
Sayaka nods. "I think so!" she says, cutting off the flow of the ribbons. She grins around at all of you, bouncing happily on her feet. "This is so cool."
[] Write-in
[X] When you've got a moment, check up on Madoka. Ask her if there's anything wrong. Listen to her.
-[x]If she doesn't complain about anything in particular, bring up the talk you had earlier. Thank her for understanding; meguca life gets really maddening at times, so it's just...fantastic to be able to come back to a friend, or friends (Hitomi?) that'll pull you down to Earth without crashing.
--[x]Ask her how we should deal with Blueberry's debt issue.
-[X] Tell the Blueberry about clear seeds. Warn everyone know you're gonna do some spooky witch magic, and make a clear seed.
-[x]Give her the usual warnings.
-[X]When you get the chance, ask to talk to Sayaka for a bit away from the others. Call it a training break or something.
--[X]I wanted to tell you something, and ask you something. You don't need to say yes. If you don't, it really is no big deal and we just keep going.
-[X]We...never told her the full details of what we were doing, did we? Beyond just fighting Witches, as important as that is.
-[X]Because of what I told you about earlier, lot of magical girls...Their lives aren't very happy. They're fighting just to stay alive, not just against witches but against each other pointlessly, over grief seeds. Because of Kyubey and what he does. Most of them aren't really bad people, they're just...in a bad situation, desperate, or misguided and don't know better. I want to try and change that. I want to help as many girls as I can, and break this messed-up system for good. Make it so none of them die, or fight needlessly.
--[X]And I want to ask for your help with that. One magical girl to another.
---[x]But make sure it's what YOU want, yeah?[/color]
----[x] You don't owe me anything.
-----[x]Hmm. Like... remember how when you and Madoka found me? I was in pretty bad shape. I probably would have been toast if you didn't show up.
------[x]So...thank you, both of you. But... that's not why I want to help you.
-------[x]I want to help you...because you're my friend. Friends help friends, and that's that. No debts or you-owe-me's.
--------[x]I have your back, alright? If you're ever in trouble, or you wanna talk... just let me know. We're all in this together; you, me, Mami, Homura... so don't act like you need to pay us back for anything.
---[X]Either way, I'm honored to fight alongside you. I meant what I said earlier, about you making a great magical girl.
-[X] Make sure to cut training a bit before they want to go to the Hospital; you want to talk with Sayaka, she needs to learn healing, and then you're going somewhere else.
=====​
Training will continue, along with talking and stuff in the next post - this one got long.
Last edited: Dec 7, 2015
Threadmarks This mortal coil pt. 19
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#### Firnagzen

Operator

- Dec 9, 2015

- #69,829

You flash Sayaka a grin and a thumbs up. "Yeeeep," you drawl, fighting not to squeal over her powers. She lucked the hell out with them, you figure, and there's so much she'd be able to do with it.
You have to fight not to blurt out all the ideas springing to the front of your mind. It's Mami's show, you remind yourself.
... That doesn't stop you from taking a few eager steps forward to inspect the ribbons, though. In the corner of your eye, you can see Madoka looking around for somewhere to sit, as does Hitomi.
Mami smiles. "Then I think we should see what the limits of your copying is," she says. "How long do you think it will last, Sayaka?"
The bluenette frowns, considering. "I don't know," she admits.
"We'll find out," Mami says, nodding. "Can you do this?" She holds a hand out, golden ribbons wrapping into the familiar, filigreed shapes of one of her muskets.
Sayaka watches the musket form, frowning and scratching her head. "Uh..." She holds her hand out, concentrating on it, and an explosion of white ribbons erupts from it, spilling from her upturned palm to flop all over the floor. "No." She rubs sheepishly at her forehead.
"That's alright," Mami says, nodding with a smile. "I expected that. I wasn't able to make the guns at first, either. Can you do anything with the ribbons? Make them move around?"
You glance past Sayaka frowning in concentration, looking at Madoka and Homura and Hitomi. The pinkette and verdette are both rather comfortably perched on top of the hood of a car, a plastic sheet spread over it. Probably courtesy of Homura. The time traveller herself seems to sense your gaze, and violet eyes flick to you.
"Yeah!" Sayaka cheers, the puddle of white ribbons writhing like a pit full of snakes. Or... judging from the way Homura's eyes tighten, a can full of worms.
"Hey," you say to Homura. "It'll be OK."
Homura makes an annoyed sound in response. You glance anxiously at her, and you can feel a small frown crawl across your face.
"Well done, Sayaka!" Mami says, nodding. "How about this?" She gestures with her hand, and a golden ribbons lashes out from her open palm. It smashes into the barrel you'd dragged over earlier. With a resounding crash, it goes tumbling over the coarse send.
Mami curls her hand into a fist, and the ribbon pulls back, coiled around the barrel, and sets it back upright. There's a massive debt in the sheet metal, crumpled and almost torn.
You rub at your nose. That really should surprise you less than it does. It's not like Mami had the muskets from the get go; she must have had some way of fighting without them.
"Homura?" you say as you watch Sayaka concentrate on her ribbons.
Homura sighs into your mind. "This won't end well," she murmurs.
"I'll talk to Madoka later," you say, quiet urgency in your voice. "I'll do all I can to talk her out of considering contracting."
Sayaka thrusts her hand at the barrel with a cry of effort, ribbons flowing with the motion. The ribbons smash into the barrel, sending it tumbling with a crash - but it's noticeably less forceful.
Hm. Should have expected that, you muse as you clap.
"And if the worst should happen?" Homura's eyes flick over to Sayaka, who's crowing over her success.
"Not with me around," you say simply. "I'll do everything I possibly can to prevent that, too. You know I will."
Sayaka fairly bounces as she waves her hands, laughing and guiding the ribbons around the junkyard like a surging mass of seafoam.
Homura sighs again. "I know."
"Is there anything I can do, Homura?" you ask. "Anything to help, or anything to make you feel better?"
"Hey, should I try someone else's power?" Sayaka asks, voice bright and cheery. She grins at you, teeth nearly flashing in the later afternoon sun.
Mami shakes her head. "No, not yet... unless you think you can hold more than one power at a time?" she asks.
Sayaka frowns. "I think... I think I can only hold one at a time," she says. "It feels like it."
"That's probably right, then," Mami says, smiling. "Your first instinct usually is, when it comes to magic. I think we should wait for it to run out first, so that we know how long it takes? It wouldn't do to not know and have your powers run out in the middle of a Witch fight, right?"
Sayaka nods thoughtfully. "That makes sense, Mami-senpai!"
Mami beams, first at Sayaka, then you. You laugh, and pull Mami into a quick, sidelong hug. It's nice to see her happy.
"What about your weapon, by the way?" you ask, giving Sayaka a curious look, before glancing back to Homura. The black haired girl's still hovering at Madoka's shoulder, eyes darting from her, to you, to Sayaka, and back again.
"Hmmm," Sayaka says. She frowns, reaching under her cloak as if groping for something hidden there, and withdraws...
Hah. A sword. Her sword; gently curved steel with a grip long enough for two hands, a boxy hand and trigger guard wrought of golden metal. Sayaka looks down at the sword and grins. "Cool," she says, waving the sword in the air, tip tracing out a figure-of-eight loop.
You grin. "Oh that's nice," you say. "Hey, can I take a look at that?"
"Eh? Sure!" Sayaka says, handing you the sword.
Homura's been quiet for a minute. Worryingly so. You glance sidelong at her as you examine the sword closely, finding a trigger inside, well, the trigger guard. Homura watches, her expression and posture studiously neutral in sharp contrast to Madoka and Hitomi's obvious interest and glee.
"She doesn't have the right mindset," Homura says at last, her weight shifting back a little.
"Yeah... but I am going to talk to her about it," you say, while pointing out the trigger guard to Sayaka. "Any idea if this does anything?"
"I dunno," Sayaka says, taking the sword back and pointing it at a rusting car. She depresses the trigger with a click.
The hilt bucks in her hand, launching the blade towards the rusting hulk. The steel hammers into the engine hood with a clear chime of metal on metal, embedding itself nearly a handspan deep. "Whoa!" Sayaka exclaims.
"Oh, that will be useful," Mami says with a smile. "That can catch people off guard. Hmmm... Do you still have the ribbon powers?"
Sayaka nods. "Yeah!" she waves a hand, ribbons trailing in a loose semicircle with the motion.
"Alright," Mami says. "I wonder if it will wear out, if it does?"
The bleunette shrugs, bouncing on her toes.
"Hmmm..." Mami considers, tapping a finger to her lips. "Normally I'd tell you more about being a magical girl, hunting Witches and cleansing our Soul Gems with Grief Seeds, but you're already aware of that. I think that we can try to find out how accurate you are, then."
"Yup," Sayaka says, still bouncing energetically. "Sounds good!"
Mami smiles. "Let me set up some targets."
You wander across the small clearing to join Madoka, Homura, and Hitomi by that old car, giving Homura what you hope is a reassuring smile. "I'll talk to her," you murmur to the time traveller. "I'll do everything I can, OK?"
Homura sighs.
"Hey, Madoka," you say as you approach.
"Ah?" the pinkette looks up from watching Mami make some targets out of ribbons. "What's happening?"
"Nah, just wondering, how are you?" you ask, leaning against the flaking paint of the old car. Not like your coat will get permanently dirty. "Anything wrong in particular?"
"Ah... not really," she says, smiling at you. She waves at Sayaka, who's now giving a dubious look in the general direction of the targets Mami put up. "Just watching."
"Try and hit the targets, Sayaka!" Mami calls, waving from the furthest one, which is... nearly half a kilometer away, on the top of a building. "Start with the nearest one."
Sayaka's jaw firms, and she raises the sword with both hands firm around the hilt.
"Well," you say, smiling at Madoka. "Then... thank you, Madoka. For understanding."
Madoka blinks at you, looking puzzled for a moment before understanding dawned. "Oh. You're welcome?"
"No, really, Madoka," you say, shaking your head. "It's just fantastic to be able to talk to a friend, or friends-" you smile at Hitomi, who's looking curiously at you, "-that can pull us down to the earth without crashing."
Madoka nods, her smile becoming a little more confident. "You're welcome," she says.
"Anyway, I meant to ask... do you think there's anything we can do about Sayaka's, um, debt issue?" you ask.
Hitomi perks up. "Yes, I would like her to not do that," she says, glancing over. "Sayaka's my friend, and she really doesn't owe me anything."
You can feel Homura's eyes on the back of your head as your rub at your nose. "Yeah... I'm worried that she's going to push herself too hard because of it."
Madoka shakes her head. "I... I've already talked to her," she says, a little frown crossing her brow. "She feels indebted to all of you because you helped her." Madoka presses her lips together and gestures at Sayaka, who's managed to hit the closer targets, but is currently yelling at the ones that are maybe two hundred meters away.
"I think... I think she became a magical girl partly because of that," Madoka says, voice quiet as she glances from Hitomi, to you, to Homura. "So that she could protect people, and... fight with you."
[] Write-in
[X]We...never told her the full details of what we were doing, did we? Beyond just fighting Witches, as important as that is.
-[X]Because of what I told you about earlier, lot of magical girls...Their lives aren't very happy. They're fighting just to stay alive, not just against witches but against each other pointlessly, over grief seeds. Because of Kyubey and what he does. Most of them aren't really bad people, they're just...in a bad situation, desperate, or misguided and don't know better. I want to try and change that. I want to help as many girls as I can, and break this messed-up system for good. Make it so none of them die, or fight needlessly.
--[X]And I want to ask for your help with that. One magical girl to another.
---[x]But make sure it's what YOU want, yeah?[/color]
----[x] You don't owe me anything.
-----[x]Hmm. Like... remember how when you and Madoka found me? I was in pretty bad shape. I probably would have been toast if you didn't show up.
------[x]So...thank you, both of you. But... that's not why I want to help you.
-------[x]I want to help you...because you're my friend. Friends help friends, and that's that. No debts or you-owe-me's.
--------[x]I have your back, alright? If you're ever in trouble, or you wanna talk... just let me know. We're all in this together; you, me, Mami, Homura... so don't act like you need to pay us back for anything.
---[X]Either way, I'm honored to fight alongside you. I meant what I said earlier, about you making a great magical girl.
-[X] Make sure to cut training a bit before they want to go to the Hospital; you want to talk with Sayaka, she needs to learn healing, and then you're going somewhere else
=====​
The post that keeps growing!
Threadmarks This mortal coil pt. 20
- View content

#### Firnagzen

Operator

- Dec 12, 2015

- #70,475

You sigh. "I was afraid of that," you mutter, half to yourself. Not a terribly difficult conclusion to arrive at, really.
"Tch," Homura bites out, garnering looks from Madoka and Hitomi.
Madoka shakes her head. "She feels guilty," she says. "So she's being very hard on herself."
Your lips quirk into a faint smile. "Yeah. I was going to say that," you admit. Well, if there's any truth to the idea that Madoka's your mother in a wibbly, wobbly, timey way... Well, you could say 'like mother, like daughter'.
Heh.
"Honestly..." you huff as you watch the girl in question struggle with the mid ranged targets, Mami calling encouragement at her. "I'd have been happy just for her friendship. Friends don't keep score."
Hitomi nods emphatically. "I... it doesn't help that her parents think that they do owe my parents too," she adds.
Damn.
You huff another aggrieved sigh.
"I'm going to try and talk to her about that in a bit," you say, pursing your lips. "Do you have an ideas for that? Anything I could say or do that might help? Madoka, Hitomi?"
Madoka's brow wrinkles in thought, and she worries at her lower lip.
Hitomi sighs. "I've been trying," she grumbles, shifting her sling. "Do you see the way she carries my bag for me? I have a broken arm, not a broken leg."
"I think... she needs something to do," Madoka says at last. "She needs to do something to help, however small it is. I think... maybe being a magical girl will be good for her?"
Homura snorts quietly, so softly you're not even sure of you'd heard it.
You eye Sayaka. She seems to have stalled out with the midrange targets, but Homura's skepticism notwithstanding, she seems happy and uncowed, bouncing energetically on her toes even as she talks over Mami, who's come over to examine one of her swords.
Madoka's suggestion... is entirely reasonable, you guess. Give her something to hold on to. Something substantial, you suppose.
... Of course, you share some of Homura's doubt. Sayaka is, well, Sayaka, and doesn't have the best track record with being a puella magi.
That aside, though... You exhale, shaking your head with a smile. "That makes sense," you say. "Thanks, Madoka."
"Ah, no..." Madoka shakes her head. "She's my friend, too."
"Yeah, just... talking to you makes a difference for me too, you know?" you say, leaning against the car and tilting your head to look up at the sky. "Right, Homura?"
The time traveller nods, a microscopic movement of her head.
"Ah... That's good," Madoka says, blinking.
You glance over at Sayaka again. Mami's now aiming one of her own muskets at the same targets that had been troubling Sayaka, one eye squeezed shut. With a smooth pull, she depresses the trigger. The ball slams square into the bullseye of the target.
"Whoo! Nice shot, Mami!" you cheer, joined by Madoka and Hitomi.
Mami turns to beam at you, expression dazzling and bright. You smile back, and wave at her. Her expression softens into a warmer, but no less cheerful smile, and she turns back to offer corrections to Sayaka, whose face is set in a mask of concentration as she aims her sword at the target Mami just hit.
You chew on the inside of your cheek. "What about you, Madoka?"
"Eh?" Madoka glances at you in surprise.
"No, just... you don't feel useless, right?" You shake your head, giving her a depreciating smile. "I worry."
"Ah, no, I'm alright," Madoka says, blinking in confusion. Over her shoulder, you can see Hitomi giving you a raised eyebrow. And you can feel Homura hovering by your shoulder, a looming spectre of both general and directed grumpiness and worry.
You huff out a sigh, shaking your head. "I... well, to be honest," you say, glancing from Madoka to Hitomi to Homura. "I... really wish she hadn't contracted. She has a good power - and she'll do fine! Especially with Mami and Homura and I around." You give Madoka a reassuring smile.
"But...?" Hitomi asks, eyeing you.
You shrug, propping the heels of both palms against the hood of the rusting old car and leaning back to look up at the sky. "Fighting as a magical girl, the way things are? It's... rough. Homura can back me up here."
The time traveller makes a noise of vague agreement.
"It... it can isolate you," you say, choosing your words slowly. "From friends, from family, and powers are fun, but... they don't make up for it, you know?" You finally look away from the scudding clouds, smiling warmly at Madoka and Hitomi. "I want to change that for the better, but it doesn't make it better in the short term."
Madoka nods, looking faintly poleaxed.
"It's a job, isn't it?" Hitomi says, slow and thoughtful. "Like being a policeman, or a firefighter. It seems..." she waves her good hand, searching the air for a word. "It seems glamorous, and in many ways it is, but it's risky. Hard work."
You nod. "That's it," you say. With a few hidden caveats. "That's essentially it. I... I just worry that she'll regret her choice later, or blame herself for something."
"Ah... do you regret anything, Sabrina?" Madoka asks.
A fair few things, if you're honest with yourself.
"Eh," you say, shrugging. "Hard not to go through life without picking up some. But..." You smile, letting your gaze drift to include Madoka and Hitomi and Homura, and Mami and Sayaka. "I have you guys. It helps, you know, it really does, without any magic involved."
Hitomi nods, smiling faintly.
Madoka nods vigorously, twin ponytails flying. "I know!" she says.
You let the silence stretch out, watching as Mami tries to coax Sayaka into better accuracy. Not with terribly much success, though; she's still struggling with the targets about two hundred meters away.
"Homura?" you ask, speaking into the time traveller's mind. "Are you OK with this?"
Cloth rustles as she shifts slightly. "You're doing better than I have," she says, voice toneless and quiet.
You're about to respond when Mami glances over, beaming at you. "Sabrina!" she calls. "Would you like to spar with Sayaka? Just melee against melee?"
[] Write-in
[X]We...never told her the full details of what we were doing, did we? Beyond just fighting Witches, as important as that is.
-[X]Because of what I told you about earlier, lot of magical girls...Their lives aren't very happy. They're fighting just to stay alive, not just against witches but against each other pointlessly, over grief seeds. Because of Kyubey and what he does. Most of them aren't really bad people, they're just...in a bad situation, desperate, or misguided and don't know better. I want to try and change that. I want to help as many girls as I can, and break this messed-up system for good. Make it so none of them die, or fight needlessly.
--[X]And I want to ask for your help with that. One magical girl to another.
---[x]But make sure it's what YOU want, yeah?[/color]
----[x] You don't owe me anything.
-----[x]Hmm. Like... remember how when you and Madoka found me? I was in pretty bad shape. I probably would have been toast if you didn't show up.
------[x]So...thank you, both of you. But... that's not why I want to help you.
-------[x]I want to help you...because you're my friend. Friends help friends, and that's that. No debts or you-owe-me's.
--------[x]I have your back, alright? If you're ever in trouble, or you wanna talk... just let me know. We're all in this together; you, me, Mami, Homura... so don't act like you need to pay us back for anything.
---[X]Either way, I'm honored to fight alongside you. I meant what I said earlier, about you making a great magical girl.
-[X] Make sure to cut training a bit before they want to go to the Hospital; you want to talk with Sayaka, she needs to learn healing, and then you're going somewhere else
=====​
Gods that talk just keeps getting pushed back!
Last edited: Dec 12, 2015
Threadmarks This mortal coil pt. 21
- View content

#### Firnagzen

Operator

- Dec 15, 2015

- #70,789

"Sure, that sounds great!" you say, pushing off the car. You give Homura what you hope is a reassuring smile, before walking over to join Mami and Sayaka.
"We'll talk later, OK? you whisper into Homura's mind as you stride across the sandy asphalt.
"Yes," she agrees.
"Just melee, no powers?" you ask as you approach Mami and Sayaka. There's a niggling little bit of concern at the back of your mind that Very Bad Things™ might happen if you let Sayaka copy your powers, starting with possibly overloading her brain with information and going up to accidentally revealing that little tidbit about Witches.
You briefly debate adding musical backing to the fight, but that's probably not exactly the right impression.
Mami nods. "Sayaka's not too bad at ranged combat, but she has trouble hitting targets further away," she says, smiling at you. "So I thought we could see how she does in a melee spar."
"Yup, sounds good," you say.
"I still don't think it's reasonable," Sayaka grumbles, scowling. The effect is rather ruined by how Sayaka's still bouncing happily on the balls of her feet.
"Mami hit it," you point out, a smirk growing across her face.
"She doesn't count," Sayaka says, waving a finger at you. Mami, by contrast, beams happily at you, walking over to bump her shoulder against yours.
"Anyway, first things first, cleansing for everyone," you say, raising one hand.
"Good idea, Sabrina," Mami says, reaching for her Soul Gem. She presents the flower shaped Gem to you, smiling.
Sayaka fumbles at the Soul Gem on her stomach. "Um- ah," she says, managing to get the little crescent shaped Gem off and presenting it to you.
Homura barely moved, flipping her hand over so that you can see her Soul Gem.
"You know," you comment as you draw the Grief out with a careless little gesture, "I can actually cleanse the Soul Gems without seeing them?" You can't help but notice that Sayaka's up to... at a guess, somewhere around four or five percent on her Soul Gem, and it's noticeably trickling upwards even as you siphon away Grief.
Mami smiles warmly at you as she replaces her Soul Gem. "But that would be..." she waves a hand. "Ungracious. When you're doing so much for me- for us."
You huff an amused little laugh, bumping your shoulder against Mami's. "Well, how can I argue with that?" You purse your lips. "By the way, Sayaka, you're still holding Mami's powers, right?"
"Yeah, why?" she asks.
"Can you release them?" you ask.
"Hmmm? Sure?" she asks, frowning for a moment. "There, they're gone."
Her Soul Gem stops filling.
"... hm," you say. "It looks like you have a bit of an upkeep on powers held." Four or five percent with moderate usage in... maybe half an hour, or a little more. You weren't exactly watching the time. That's not too bad, you guess?
"Ah, that makes sense," Mami says, nodding.
"Bah, upkeep," Sayaka says, folding her arms. She's still bouncing irrepressibly and completely undeterred.
"Hey. It's important," you say, raising your eyebrows. "Keeping your Soul Gem clean is important."
"Sabrina's right," Mami adds, nodding in agreement.
"I know, I know," Sayaka replies, waving a hand. "Just... magic. I'm too happy to be annoyed right now. Anyway, spaaaaar?"
Mami nods, smiling. "Ten steps apart, Sabrina, Sayaka?" She backs off, clearing the immediate area.
You comply, smiling as you step back, facing Sayaka. Moving slowly, you 'draw' a warhammer from over your shoulder, the silvery steel flashing into existence under your hand. Sayaka mirrors you, drawing a sword in either hand, grin firmly affixed on her face.
"Go Sayaka! Go, Sabrina!" Madoka cheers from the sidelines.
"When you're ready!" Mami calls.
You tighten your grip on your hammer, raising it into a low guard.
Opposite you, Sayaka raises both her swords, cerulean eyes intent on you.
You breathe, centering yourself.
Sayaka's weight shifts, balancing lightly on her toes.
Your boots scrape on the concrete as you firm your own stance a little. Feet shoulder breadth apart.
A stirring of a breeze sets Sayaka's cape fluttering, your own heavier longcoat still.
...
"You're not going to attack, are you?" you ask.
"Uh," Sayaka says.
Mami giggles.
You sigh - and explode forward. Your hammer flashes, gleaming in the afternoon sun.
"Whoa!" Sayaka squeaks, leaping backwards. The shining silver arc sweeps through the spot she'd occupied not seconds ago.
She lands, and leaps again - forward. One sword swings high and the other slashes low.
You bound upwards. Upwards and over in a flip, legs scissoring into a vicious kick at Sayaka's head.
She ducks the sweep. One sword reverses direction, cleaving upwards.
Steel clashes against steel with a ringing chime-
-and you push, hammer shoving back against Sayaka and you spring away-
-and you land behind Sayaka.
Her cloak swirls around her as she spins to face you, swords snapping up. A fierce, exhilarated grin lights her face up - and she springs, blue motes of light turning her leap from a mere jump into what's nearly a long, arcing flight that's going to terminate where you are.
You sidestep sharply. Your hammer rises in a two handed swing, as if you're wielding a baseball bat and-
-Sayaka's left sword is coming right at your face-
-you release the hammer, forming a new one in the path of the sword and you catch that a moment after the ringing contact, sparks flying from the impact and why even sparks metal doesn't work that way-
-Sayaka's other sword clangs to the ground. She throws her weight against you, both hands on the hilt of her sword.
You strain against her, strength against strength.
And she slips to the side, blade scraping against the hilt of your hammer.
You snatch your fingers away just in time and whirl away, dragging your hammer by the other hand. The head hooks against Sayaka's sword, and there's enough time for her eyes to widen before you send the blade flying with a fluid twist.
Sayaka leaps back, white cape swirling around her.
Cape.
You stomp on the edge of the white cloth, trapping it against the concrete.
There's a faint tug, and Sayaka pulls free, the cloak snapping off at her shoulders. Her eyes widen, and she hops back, holding up both gloved hands. "Hey hey hey," she complains. "My cape?"
Amused giggles float from the sidelines, Sayaka shooting Madoka a betrayed look.
You shrug, grinning as you lower your hammer. "Hey, if it works... well, it didn't, but at least now we know a Witch can't grab you by the cape, right?"
"Yeah, yeah," Sayaka grumbles, her petulant mask unable to hide her bubbling grin. She pats at her shoulders, as if trying to flick away dust, and sweeps her hand straight out. Pristine white cloth swells from her shoulders, billowing out to snap into a new cloak. "Again?"
You check the time. "Sure," you agree, raising your hammer again.
Sayaka grins and forms a fresh sword in her hand, levelling it at you with one hand in what might be a fencer's salute.
... Entirely wrong kind of sword for a fencer's salute, though.
You sweep your hammer in a flourishing salute.
Sayaka grins. Her finger tightens.
You have only a moment to react before the sword booms and the blade rockets at you. You smash it aside with a gleaming sweep of your hammer.
Sayaka's right behind it, a fresh sword already swinging for you. A flurry of wild slashes rain down on you, broken and choppy.
You're not terribly mobile, you have time to think as you're driven back step by step. Not without your Grief, not like Sayaka or Kyouko.
You plant your feet and knock Sayaka's sword high - and you drive under her guard, slamming your elbow into her chest. The breath leaves her in a sharp wheeze.
She rolls backwards, springing to her feet. Blue motes of light blossom around her feet, and she springs straight up into the air. She pushes off another set of rings midair, rocketing down towards you with sword flashing.
This time, she smashes your hastily raised hammer aside. A sword tip flicks menacingly for your face.
You pivot backwards and away, lashing out at her knees with a weak, off balance blow. She flows out of the way with fluid grace, and you only manage to catch her shin. You try to pull her off balance, but she's already set and she has her sword to your neck and a bright, exuberant look in her eyes.
You huff. "I yield."
Sayaka drops the sword, crowing. "Whoohoooooo!"
Madoka and Hitomi clap enthusiastically from the sidelines, the pinkette jumping to her feet to congratulate Sayaka. Hitomi follows a touch more sedately, while Homura shadows Madoka a step behind.
Mami joins you, smiling warmly at you. "It was nice of you to go easy on her," she murmurs quietly to you.
"I wasn't really," you admit. "Apart from not using my powers. I'm not much in a melee fight."
"How well do you think I would do without my muskets?" Mami asks, shaking her head.
"Amazingly," you answer, giving her an amused smile.
Mami huffs, giving you a fond look. "Well..."
"You know you would," you say, smiling back at her.
She rocks her hand from side to side, unable to hide the smile on her face.
You laugh. "Anyway. Sayaka seems to be taking to the training well?" you offer.
"Oh yes," Mami agrees. "I think she will do well." She taps a thoughtful finger to her lips. "She can fight in close and mid range, and I think that's where she will excel. She's versatile, like her powers are."
"Makes sense," you agree. "I'm not the best at melee, but she's... maybe a bit better than me, and she's not too bad at ranged combat? With her powers, and training from you, she'll be a great magical girl, I reckon."
Mami nods, smiling. "We can train her."
"We can," you agree, an answering smile on your face even if you're not that sure how much you can contribute to that training.
"Mmm," she agrees, smiling. She lifts her arms slightly in an open little gesture.
You chuckle, and give her a quick hug. Not like that's something onerous or anything...
"Anyway, what now?" Sayaka asks.
You pull your phone from your pocket, tapping the prominently displayed time.
"Oh! Yes!" Sayaka says, beaming. "Oh man I can heal Kyousuke! Are we going to go and hunt a Witch tonight?"
"Maybe not," you say. "Something to do tonight. But if we do, we'll let you know, yeah?"
"Yeah!" Sayaka cheers. "Anyway, let's go already!"
Madoka giggles, exchanging a look with Hitomi, who shakes her head in mock disapproval. Homura scowls, nearly imperceptibly.
... Admittedly, this time yours not entirely sure she's displeased with Sayaka or because of the thought of Kyousuke.
...
Why not both?
"Let's go," Mami agrees. "Sayaka, don't forget to detransform..."
The bleunette glances down at herself. "Oh, right!" she says, and detransforms in a blaze of sapphire blue light. You and Mami both follow suit, and the five of you start strolling off towards the hospital.
Sayaka practically skips as she ranges ahead.
You pat Mami's elbow, giving her a quick smile before speeding up your footsteps to catch up with Sayaka.
"Hey, Sabrina!" she says, voice and eyes bright.
"Hey, Sayaka," you say. "Nice spar back there."
"Yeah!" she agrees, punching the air. "Ah, you weren't so bad yourself."
"I'm not a melee fighter," you say with a shrug. "Not without my Grief, anyway."
"Ah, OK," Sayaka says as she turns the corner towards the hospital.
"Anyway," you say, sobering. "It... Sayaka, I never told you the full details of what I was doing, did I? Beyond just fighting Witches, as important as that is?"
"Hmmm?" Sayaka asks, her grin fading a touch as she peers at you. "No?"
You sigh. "Well... Remember what I told you about earlier? Lots of magic girls... don't exactly have very happy lives."
"Hmm?" Sayaka asks, thinking it over, before understanding dawns. "Ah."
"Yeah," you say. "They fight to just stay alive, not just against Witches, but also each other. For Grief Seeds. Because of Kyuubey and what it does. Most of them aren't bad people, just... in a bad situation. Or they're desperate, or misguided, or don't know any better, or some combination of all that. But..." You smile. "I mean to change that. I want to help as many girls as I can, and break this messed-up system for good. Make it so none of them die, or fight needlessly."
Sayaka's eyes glitter. "I... Wow, OK," she says. "You're kind of cool, you know that? Kind of dorky, but cool, too."
...
"Excuse you?" you ask, incredulity in your voice. "You're calling me dorky?"
"... Yeah?" she says.
...
"Whatever," you grumble, waving it off.
Her grin fades. "But OK," she says. "I... suppose I'm pretty lucky, huh?"
You shrug. "Mmm..." It's probably true. "The point is, though, well... I'm asking for your help with that, one magical girl to another."
"Me?" she asks, surprised. "'Course I'm in, did you really have to ask? I want to help."
"You don't owe me anything," you say.
"I know," she says, jaw setting stubbornly. "You were 'just' doing your job. Helping people, as a Magical girl. But... I'm a magical girl now. It's my job to help people, too. And if it lets me help you and Mami, and maybe lets me repay my debt to Hitomi, then that's even better."
[] Write-in
=====​
Finally.
Also, the next vote will probably take you to the hospital.Vote accordingly.
Last edited: Dec 15, 2015
Threadmarks This mortal coil pt. 22
- View content

#### Firnagzen

Operator

- Dec 18, 2015

- #71,478

"You don't," you say, giving Sayaka a serious look. "You don't owe it to anyone to do this. Do it because it's the right thing and because you want to do it, not out of obligation."
A grin splits Sayaka's face. "Duh, I want to," she says. "Don't need to worry about that, Sabrina." She waves her hands in the air in great, sweeping motions. "It's just... I get to be a part of all this. And it's big, and I can make the world a better place by fighting evil."
You bite back a sigh. Oh how that shine is going to come off.
Damn it.
One thing at a time.
"You don't owe the world anything, you know," you say, waving your finger at her. "Hitomi doesn't think you owe her anything either. No," you hold up your hands as she opens her mouth to protest. "-just think about it, OK?"
Her mouth snaps shut and she nods, but you can see that mulish set to her jaw which means she's going to be stubborn about it.
"She didn't have to," Sayaka grumbles, hefting the two schoolbags over her shoulder. "So I owe her."
You do sigh this time, before smiling at the bluenette. "Anyway, I'm glad you want to. Welcome to the team!"
"Actually..." Sayaka frowns at you. "You don't get it. Do you?"
You shrug, which she seems to take as agreement, and she continues. "I became a magical girl because... because you helped me, because I owe Hitomi, I owe you and Mami and even Homura," she says slowly. "And it's awesome. I can run and jump and fight and I have magic just like in anime. And yeah, my s-soul, but it's worth it, because..."
"Magical girls help people. So because I'm a magical girl, I help people now," she says. "I can help people now." She clenches one fist. "I fight evil, or wrongdoing, or whatever. And I can pay it back that way. So... yeah." She grins at you, frown chased away by bright, sunny cheer. "Thanks! Good to be on the team."
You blink in surprise. "Well," you say, deciding to digest that for a bit. "Yeah. Like I said, good to have you with us. That said... If things get to you, or something's bothering you, don't worry about talking about it, OK? Talking about things helps."
Sayaka nods. "Yeah. Right back at you, if you need to?"
There's some of the wind out of your sails. "Yeah. We're all in this together, OK? Mami, Homura, Madoka, myself - we've got your back, right?"
"Yeah," she agrees. "Something prompt this?"
"Nah," you say, deflecting. "Just saying, you know? Anyway, healing! Mami'll probably explain this one better. So..." You turn to glance at Mami, who's walking beside Hitomi, Madoka and Homura just behind them in a loose group.
Mami smiles at you, warm and happy, and quickens her steps to join you. "What's happening, Sabrina?"
"Healing," you answer with a smile. "We never did teach Sayaka how to heal."
"Ah!" Mami says, nodding. "I actually hadn't brought it up yet on purpose. Healing is, ah, best taught with a demonstration to hand."
"... Hey!" Sayaka complains. "That's not nice."
Mami tilts her head in confusion. "... Oh," she says. "That's not what I meant. My apologies, Sayaka."
The bleunette shakes her head. "Eh, I was kidding," she says, smile returning to her face. "Mostly. It is kind of funny."
You snort. "Well, we're gonna go fix that up. Magic's handy that way."
Sayaka whaps you on the back of your head. "No."
"Yes," you counter. "It's my right to make terrible puns. And my left." You raise both hands to illustrate your point.
Mami bumps her shoulder against yours. "No, Sabrina," she says firmly.
"No?" you ask.
"No," Mami says. "It's not nice to make fun of the handicapped."
You bark out a startled laugh, beaming at Mami. "Nice one!"
"Traitors," Sayaka mutters. "Traitors, all of you."
"Ah..." Madoka says, peeking over from behind you. "I'm sure Homura and Mami and Sabrina are glad to lend a hand..."
"Madoka!" Sayaka complains.
The pinkette giggles, followed by Hitomi's quiet, genteel chuckles. You glance over your shoulder, winking at your friends. Homura raises an eyebrow a tiny fraction of a centimetre at you.
"Hmph. You people are all terrible," Sayaka says, sticking her nose in the air and marching away ahead of your group.
You laugh, long and loud, your friends joining in, and the serious mood transitions to something more easy going. Happy chatter fills the air as all five of you stroll towards the hospital in the waning afternoon night.
You push your senses out, paranoid for an attack, or... something unusual. Which brings to mind Mami's offhanded suggestion about your powers being a lightning rod for Witches. Or, well. Making Barriers attracting Witches. Like calls to like, as she'd put it.
Your powers are... pretty similar to a Witch's, you have to admit. Not quite, though. You don't think you've seen a Witch straight up control Grief by itself, the stuff you draw from a Soul Gem. But if it walks like a duck and quacks like a duck... It might still be a goose, to torture the metaphor and the ornithologically inclined.
...
Where were you going with that again?
"Are you OK, Sabrina?" Mami asks, turning to smile at you as you walk down the sterile corridor towards Kyousuke's room. Nothing unusual you'd noticed, not even a Witch nearby.
... which is actually a little unusual in and of itself, maybe? Witches, misery, hospitals and all. They should go together.
"Yeah," you say, smiling back at her. You've coalesced into a loose group again, Madoka, Sayaka and Homura walking in the front, Madoka trying to engage Homura in conversation about schoolmates, from the sound of it. Hitomi's on your left, and Mami to your right. "Just thinking a bit."
Mami nods. "Alright."
"Say, Sabrina?" Hitomi asks. "Did you make any progress with..." She glances at Sayaka.
"Nooooot really," you admit.
Hitomi nods. "I expected that," she says with a shake of her head.
"Sorry," you say.
"No, no," Hitomi says. "It's not your fault."
You huff a sigh. "I know, but still."
Up ahead, Sayaka raps on Kyousuke's door.
"Come in!" the boy's voice calls from inside, and Sayaka throws the door open, practically bouncing into the room.
"Hello, Sayaka," Kyousuke says, looking up from the bed. He blinks, looking faintly nonplussed at the sudden influx of high school girls trooping into the room. "Hello, Hitomi, Madoka... Hello, Sabrina, Mami... Homura." He flinches slightly at the last arrival.
Sayaka gravitates over to Kyousuke's bedside. "So, uh, Kyousuke, we're going to finish healing you today." She glances back at you for confirmation.
You nod. "Or as close as we can get, anyway?"
Kyousuke nods, looking overwhelmed. "I've been working hard on the physiotherapy?" He holds his hand up, flexing his fingers. They... well, they move a lot more fluidly than the last time you'd seen it.
"That's great!" Sayaka beams. She looks down, twiddling her fingers a little. "And, ah, I'll be helping with the healing too."
"Isn't it a magical girl thing?" Kyousuke asks, blinking at her.
You exchange a look with Mami. She raises her eyebrows at you, looking amused.
"I became a magical girl too," Sayaka says, fiddling with the ring on her finger.
Kyousuke blinks in slow, dull surprise. "Oh. Oh!" he says. "I see! So... you can help to heal my hand?"
You wince.
"Yes, I can!" Sayaka says. "Um, Mami? Sabrina?"
"Yep," you say, hooking a chair over with one leg. "Chairs, I guess?"
Mami pulls a chair over so that it's beside yours, sitting down. Sayaka stands on the opposite side of the bed, nearly hopping from one foot to the other in barely contained glee. Well. You say barely contained, really, it's not contained at all. Homura... Homura ghosts over to stand beside you without a word.
"Alright," Mami says, holding out a hand and summoning the familiar glow of magic to it. "Sayaka, you should know how to do this instinctively, it... comes with being a magical girl. Focus on what you want to do. You should feel warmth, of a sort, and you need to direct it to your hand."
Sayaka nods, frowning in concentration. "Hmm..." she says as Kyousuke stretches his arm out on the bed, slate grey eyes darting around.
"Ah!" Sayaka's hand begins to glow a faint, sapphire blue.
"That's great, Sayaka!" Madoka claps her hands together, smiling proudly. Hitomi claps, too.
"OK, what now?" Sayaka asks.
Mami motions towards Kyousuke with a smile.
Sayaka reaches out with a trembling hand, and presses it to Kyousuke's wrist. A faint blush steals across her face, but the boy doesn't seem to notice, staring rapturously at his hand as if that would speed the process.
Mami's hand joins Sayaka's a moment later. "Raise your hand, please," she says.
Kyousuke complies, giving you enough room to add your hand.
You have a... sense of what your magic's doing, slowly repairing the ligaments and muscle and nerve in the boy's wrist and fingers. You can sort of direct it, too, to speed certain areas more than others. And you can feel Mami's and Sayaka's magic, too, working away.
You glance at Homura, but she just frowns minutely at you. "No room," she says.
... To be fair, there isn't really any room left for her to help.
She backs off, and goes to stand beside Madoka instead.
The three of you work in an amiable silence, Madoka and Hitomi conversing in hushed voices in the corner. Your mind wanders, briefly touching on the adorable and yet mildly worrying notion of infinite Kirika's. And shipping. Oriko and Kirika make an adorable couple.
Then again, you do have to worry a little over... whatever it is that's eating Oriko. Which you still don't know how to solve.
Tsk.
You take a moment to consider Asunaro, which is... full of crazy. Very much full of crazy. But possibly also full of goodies, depending on when you get there. Which is the problem, isn't it? Of course, the drive by, or maybe flyby solution's always there... Caw, caw, swoop and grab and all that.
It takes nearly an hour before you finish, Kyousuke's eyes fixed on his hand the entire time.
Finally, you sit back with a satisfied sigh, Mami imitating you a moment later. "We're done."
"Are you sure?" Sayaka asks, keeping her hand right where it is, checking anxiously.
"Kyousuke?" you ask.
The boy flexes his fingers slowly, one after another. "I can feel my fingers again," he breathes. "They work. I- thank you. I- I- my violin's inside the cabinet, could someone get it for me?"
"Ah!" Sayaka scrabbles at the cabinet beside her and fumbles the instrument out. She holds it out to Kyousuke with reverent hands.
The boy snatches it from her, raising it to his chin and touching the bow to strings. With his eyes closed, he draws the bow across and promptly winces at the squawk of out-of-tune notes.
"... Ah," he says, laying down the bow and starting to fiddle with the tuning knobs.
You exchange a look with Mami. She looks rather exasperated, eyebrows high on her forehead. Madoka, by contrast, looks anxious, her gaze flicking from Sayaka, to Hitomi, to Kyousuke, and finally to you. Hitomi and Sayaka...
Hitomi and Sayaka are both watching Kyousuke avidly, their eyes following his every motion as he tunes the violin.
[] Write-in
=====​
Job's done!
Last edited: Dec 18, 2015
Threadmarks This mortal coil pt. 23
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#### Firnagzen

Operator

- Dec 22, 2015

- #72,225

You push your chair back, raising your eyebrows at Mami. She shakes her head, tilting her head at the duo around the bed - Sayaka and Hitomi, both staring as violin boy fiddles with his instrument.
"Mami?" you ask via telepathy, glancing aside at her.
"Yes, Sabrina?" she responds, turning to smile at you.
"Well..." you say as the first strains of music fill the air. Simple scales, a running series of notes. "Um, do you remember that I mentioned Oriko needs help?"
"Ah... yes." Mami's smile fades a little.
"Yeah," you say, rubbing uncomfortably at your mouth. You're... a little leery of bringing it up like this, but... Oriko and Kirika. You consider them friends, you think. And they're people, regardless - so they're worth your help.
After a short pause to let Mami mull it over, you continue. "I was thinking we could go over now? If that's OK with you? Kirika's been waiting for the whole day..."
The first strains of music, actual music, fill the air as Mami worries at her lip. "It... if you think that's best, Sabrina," she says. "What about dinner?"
"Ah... they have food, too," you say. You hadn't really thought about it, but it's that or order in, you suppose.
Mami nods. "Ah, that makes sense," she says, essaying a weak smile.
"Are you OK with this, Mami?" you ask, reaching over to lay your hand over Mami's.
She nods, smile becoming a little stronger. "Just a little disappointed," she admits. "It would have been nice to cook for everyone again."
"Hey, there's still the picnic," you say, squeezing Mami's hand in reassurance. "And many more days to come after that."
She exhales, turning her hand over so that she can grip your hand, squeezing lightly. "Alright," she says, voice soft. "Shall we go, then?"
"After he finishes, maybe?" you suggest, tilting your head at Kyousuke and his enraptured audience. He's playing Ave Maria, swaying back and forth on the bed with his eyes closed.
Madoka looks delighted, a bright smile on her face as she looks around. She catches your eye and beams happily, turning her eyes to Hitomi and Sayaka who look utterly captivated.
Homura... is Homura, standing stolidly next to Madoka with an utterly neutral mask on her face.
You sigh quietly as you listen to Kyousuke play. He's good, you have to admit. Very good, if this is what he plays like months out of practice.
He keeps his eyes closed as the piece comes to an end, silence sweeping in like a soft, velvet curtain. Slow tears glimmer at the corner of his eyes, his lips upturned into a faint smile.
You break the silence. "Hey, guys? Mami and I need to head off now," you say, keeping your voice quiet.
"Eh?" Madoka asks, blinking at you in surprise. Homura glances at you, amethyst eyes neutral.
"Yeah... something else to handle," you say, nodding slowly.
"Ah... thanks, Sabrina," Sayaka says. "For being here."
"Eh," you say, waving it off.
Kyousuke opens his eyes, looking up at you. "Ah, you're leaving?" he asks. He bows slightly at the waist. "Thank you both for... for giving me back my music. And you too, Sayaka."
The bleunette blushes slightly. "Just doing my job," she says, trying to downplay it. "Magical girls help people, you know?"
"Anyway," you say, standing. "One round of cleansing, everyone?"
Sayaka glances down at the ring on her hand. "Oh, yeah," she says. "Uh, right." Holding her hand out, her Soul Gem manifests with a shimmer of blue.
Mami presents her Soul Gem to you too, as does Homura, and you cleanse it all with a careless crook of your finger - your own, too. You spin the Grief into a few small marbles, sending them coasting out of the window to join the main mass on the rooftops.
Which is really a huge amount, honestly... The only real reason you wanted so much was for making Barriers, and with that on hold... Even MECHA GURREN ZILLA LAGANN didn't take that much Grief.
Eh. It'll wait.
"Thanks, Sabrina," Sayaka says.
"No problem," you say, waving it off. "Anyway... I guess Mami and I will be going now?"
"Bye, Sabrina, Mami!" Madoka says, waving. "See you tomorrow!"
"Yeah, see you tomorrow," Sayaka agrees.
Hitomi smiles at you, nodding slightly. "Thank you, and see you tomorrow."
Homura exhales slowly. "See you," she says. Mind to mind, she adds a quiet, "Be careful."
"Yeah," you agree. "I remember, Homura. I will."
Homura nods slightly as you and Mami leave the room.
You smile at Mami, motioning down the corridor. She lifts her arms a little, palms out. You smile, and oblige her with a hug. "I'm sorry, Mami."
She shakes her head, the golden driils of her hair brushing against you. "No," she says. "It makes sense. If Oriko is in need... Then we should take care of her."
"Yeah," you agree. And speaking of taking care of people, that reminds you of something. You open up a connection to Homura again, as you separate from the hug and start down the corridor, Mami walking at your side. "Hey. Homura?"
"Yes?" the time traveller responds.
"I forgot to bring this up earlier," you say as you wait for the lift, humming tonelessly to yourself. "But um, could you lend Sayaka a Grief Seed? I would give her the one I have myself, but uh, I think there may be problems with it."
"I can offer," Homura says, a note of... something in her voice. "She may not take it."
You exhale slowly. "I think she will. She actually kind of respects you, you know?"
Silence from Homura, as the lift arrives and you step into it.
You're reaching the first floor and about to prompt Homura when she speaks again. "She took it," Homura says, sounding faintly surprised.
"Thank you, Homura," you say, smiling a little as you step out into the waning evening light.
Silence again. Mami and you head down an alley, leaping up towards the rooftops once you're out of sight of the main road.
"Thank you," Homura says, voice quiet and uncertain.
"Hey, what're friends for?" you ask. "You're welcome, Homura." You smile at Mami, and gesture grandly with both hands. Grief gathers and spreads as if pressed flat by some vast hand moulding playdough, deep purple material flattening into a carpet patterned in twisting fractal patterns of eye-wrenching depth.
"Thank you, Sabrina," Homura says again. After a short pause, she adds, "See you later."
"See you, Homura." You plop down on your carpet, Mami sitting right beside you to nestle comfortably into your side.
Best to let Kirika you're on your way. "Hey, Kirika, we're.on our way," you say as you will the carpet upwards and onwards.
"Oh. Please hurry," she respond.
"Yeah, we're flying in," you say, exhaling a slow sigh snatched away by the wind of your passage.
A thought occurs to you. "Say, Mami," you say, raising your voice to be heard over the rushing wind. "Do you think it's possible to reverse-engineer an enchantment?"
Mami blinks. "Of course it is," she says.
"Oh," you say. "Well, OK, then. Hmm... What about adapting enchantments? Start from one, and then change it to a similar effec-"
Mami's already nodding. "It is," she says. "That's how I learned many of my own enchantments. I went from... simple durability, to the shield, to... specific shield configurations, for example."
"Oh, that's cool," you say, smiling. "You're amazing, you know that?"
"Ah..." Mami hides her expression of pleased embarrassment by nuzzling her head against your shoulder.
You chuckle. "You're good, Mami. And don't let anyone tell you otherwise, not even yourself," you say. Truth be told, you were a little worried about asking Mami about the enchantments. That seems to have been a rather thankfully misplaced fear, though.
Kirika's waiting for you when you arrive, glass door thrown open well before you land in their backyard.
You hop off the carpet to the grass, waving to Kirika. "Hey, Kirika," you say. You can sense her Soul Gem... upstairs, next to the clear Seed, and next to Oriko's Soul Gem. Which seems more or less unchanged from the last time you'd seen it - Pythia's still there, if oddly distorted, almost as if you're 'looking' through a heat haze, or trying to 'hear' underwater.
And there's something in her hand, dangling loosely at her side. It looks like a rock to your eyes, but... it's a complete void in your Grief senses.
Huh.
"Hey, Sabrina," Kirika says, biting at her lip. "You're here to help Oriko?"
"Yeah," you say, absently dissolving the carpet as Mami dismounts from it. "And so's Mami. I promised I'd be here, right? And ah... what's that in your hand?"
Kirika nods, her eyes dropping to the rock in her hand. "Oh... I tried what you asked me to. I... succeeded in making an antimagic enchantment, I guess. I didn't get anywhere with making my antimagic field a constant effect, though."
Huh.
She turns and heads into the house, bounding up the stairs. You follow.
When you get to the room, you find Oriko lying right where you'd left her, her skin grey and, well, corpse like. Mami winces, her expression falling a little as she glances away from Oriko to you. There's a laptop lying on the bedside table, the browser open to an awfully familiar website.
Kirika waits next to the bed, giving you an expectant look.

File: clear_skies.jpg (123kB 1020x680) |
| ■ Anonymous 04/07/11(Thu)14:26:35 No.51017331 ▶ >>51017542
ITT: meguca
>> | ■ Anonymous 04/07/11(Thu)14:27:43 No.51017542 ▶ >>51017667 File: da_phuk_is_a_valid_name_i_swear.jpg (123kB 1280x720)
|  | the fuck's a meguca
>> | ■ Anonymous 04/07/11(Thu)14:27:57 No.51017667 ▶ >>51017712 >>51017856 >>51017872
| >>51017542 magical girls!
>> | ■ Anonymous 04/07/11(Thu)14:28:12 No.51017712 ▶ >>51017719
| >>51017667 fuck off with your animu bullshit
>> | ■ Anonymous 04/07/11(Thu)14:28:29 No.51017712 ▶ File: umad.jpg (48kB 340x340)
|  | >>51017703 no

[] Write-in
[x] When we're there, degrief Kirika. Bring Mami up to speed.
[x] Remake the pain blocking ring. Usual warnings.
[x] Run healing magic on Oriko's body. Remove any damage brought by necrosis. Wake Oriko up.
[x] Everyone is probably hungry at this point. Suggest ordering take out?
[x] Discuss plans on how to proceed.
-[x] Ask Kirika if she made any progress. If not that's okay.
-[x] Enchantment is probably the surefire way to go.
--[x] If Mami's remarks on reverse engineering were promising, suggest making an enchanted pain blocking ring with grief assistance and letting her look at it.
--[x] If that idea doesn't pan out, while Mami attempts enchantment, try using a shell of magic to make a second grief ring sustain itself.
=====​
I, ah, substituted 4chan styling and... flavour for 2chan, because I don't know 2chan at all. Call it... localization.
Last edited: Jun 10, 2016
Threadmarks This mortal coil pt. 24
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#### Firnagzen

Operator

- Dec 24, 2015

- #72,663

"She's OK," you say. To Mami, to Kirika - to both, really. "We just need to heal her up and return her Soul Gem to her, and she'll be up again."
"I... OK," Mami says, unable to tear her eyes away from Oriko's body.
You touch Mami's elbow lightly, gently steering her aside. You throw Kirika an apologetic look, but she nods slightly. She shakes her head and motions silently towards Mami, an understanding look on her face.
"Mami," you say, pulling her into a hug. "Are you OK?"
She takes a deep, shuddering breath. "I... I suppose I am. It was just a... bit of a shock. It's like she was... dead," she says, swallowing.
"Yeah," you say, exhaling. "I'm sorry. I should have warned you."
"No, it's not your fault," Mami says, pulling back far enough to give you a weak smile. "I... I'm alright."
"OK," you say, tightening your hug around her for a moment before loosening your grip. Mami doesn't step away immediately, content to rest her head against the crook of your neck for a moment before finally stepping back, smile a little less wobbly.
"Alright," you say, turning to Kirika. "Let's get to it. First things first, I'll make a pain blocking ring, then you can wake Oriko up, and we'll heal her a bit, alright?"
Kirika nods.
"OK, so... Mami, this is going to feel a bit Witchy, alright?" you say. When she nods in acknowledgement, you summon a small blob of Grief to your hand and mould it. The Grief melts into a simple doughnut shape, and you bear down with your will and mind. Block the pain of your wearer.
You feel it give abruptly, the ring abruptly shining gold. Fiery runes burn for a moment along the edges before fading away, the ring singing with that familiar pressure of Witch.
You exhale, holding it out to Kirika.
Kirika accepts it gratefully, immediately sliding it onto Oriko's finger and interlacing her fingers with the seer's. She gives you an anxious look. "Sabrina?"
"Kirika?" you respond, gesturing at Oriko's Soul Gem with a smile. You glance at Mami and motion outside the room. "Give them some privacy," you murmur into Mami's mind.
"Ah," Mami says, glancing back.
Out of the corner of your eye, you can see Kirika give both of you a grateful nod as she reverently picks up Oriko's Soul Gem.
You step outside the room pulling the door shut, and lean against the door.
"How are you?" you ask Mami, smiling at her and pulling her into a quick hug. You can feel Kirika returning Oriko's Soul Gem to her, and the seer waking up, the glowing conflagration of magic thatis Oriko kindling from her Gem.
Mami shakes her head, smiling. "I'm... I'm alright." She meets your eyes. "I am, Sabrina. I- it really was just the shock."
"Alright," you say, exhaling in relief. "How long did that take? To make the ring?"
"Oh... maybe a minute?" Mami says. "Not too long."
"Hmm," you say, filing that away. "OK, thanks."
Mami smiles, shaking her head. "Not at all, Sabrina."
You lean against the wall, looking up and down the carpeted corridor. There are... there were pictures hung on the walls, now merely discolourations in the wallpaper from where they'd been removed. A pot of flowers sits on an ornate table at the end of the corridor - lilies, from a quick glance.
... And probably Kirika's doing, if you think about it.
You shaks your head, and smile at Mami. "Anyway... How much do you know about what's happening with Oriko?"
"Only what you told me," Mami says, smiling back at you. "She's having some difficulty with her magic, and it's causing her a lot of pain."
"Right," you say. "Crippling pain. I made a pain blocking ring that worked on her, but it would only last as long as I was around, so I had to, ah, disconnect her." You tuck you stray hair behind your ear as you think. "Hm. OK, so... I've been hoping to make that pain blocking permanent. But my skill with enchantment is, ah, lacking, so I was hoping you could help me?"
Mami smiles. "Of course, Sabrina," she says, voice warm. She glances thoughtfully at the door. "Miss Kure really loves her, doesn't she?"
You shrug. "Yeah."
She nods slowly, golden eyes fixed on the closed door. Eventually, she sighs and smiles at you, expression warm and soft. "I see," she says.
You smile back at her.
"Hey, Sabrina? You can come back in now!" There's more life to Kirika's voice than you'd heard since this morning.
And when you reenter the room, Oriko's sitting up, aided by Kirika. Sea green eyes regard you with unruffled calm despite the distinctly unhealthy pallour of her skin. And if she's moving a bit more stiffly than you remember, well. "Hello, Sabrina. Miss Tomoe."
"Hi, Oriko," you say.
"Miss Mikuni," Mami says, nodding fractionally.
"OK, first order of business," you announce. "Oriko, we're going to heal you up a bit, OK?"
She nods, voluminous silver hair shifting. "That would be welcome."
Noting the distinct dearth of chairs in the room, you perch on the edge of Oriko's bed, Mami right beside you. Kirika's on the opposite side of the bed. All three of you stretch your hands towards Oriko, the gentle glows of healing magic in three different colours mingling as you work to repair the necrosis.
It doesn't take that long, about half an hour at most - there wasn't too much damage. You exhale slowly as you withdraw your hands, absently checking all your Soul Gems - Kirika's is fine, since it's sitting right next to the clear Seed. You cleanse Mami's Soul Gem and your own with a crook of your finger, a deep purple mist of Grief pouring out of the window in eddying whorls.
"How are you feeling?" you ask.
Oriko blinks slowly, taking a deep breath. "I feel fine," she says. "Your pain blocking ring works. And my visions are..." She makes an empty handed gesture. "They are sluggish. Not the usual... rapid pace."
Kirika's hand curls around Oriko's, orange eyes seeking sea green ones for reassurance. Oriko smiles at her.
"Alright," you say. "Anyway... Kirika, I'm sure you're hungry, and so are Mami and I. Shall we order takeout for dinner, or is there something we could throw together quickly?"
Oriko considers this for a moment. "Takeout," she says. "It would take too long to cook."
"KFC!" Kirika says, perking up.
Oriko smiles at her. "KFC."
You raise an eyebrow. "... KFC?"
Kirika beams at you. "Yes! Three piece chicken meal for me," she says.
"... Mami?" you ask.
She smiles at you. "I don't mind."
"Alright," you say, nodding. "KFC it is."
Oriko orders, speaking into the phone with terse, clipped tones.
"I'll go get some chairs," you note, wandering out of the room. Mami, naturally, follows you.
You let your mind... drift as you walk down the corridors, peeking into the rooms as you search for chairs. Oriko's... soul pains. Well. You could wait for the puella magi with soul powers to come by in a week, as predicted by Oriko, but a part of you can't help but worry that that would be too late.
And then there's the can of crazy that is Asunaro. Of course, that means dealing with the crazy.
And then again, there's the Soujos, the twins in one body. And Oriko had predicted they'd be arriving in... a week now, you think. That particular brand of crazy is something special. Collecting Soul Gems because they're pretty. Honestly, you should probably just snatch away their Gems the moment you lay eyes on them.
Frankly, exploding their Gems isn't even out of the question, you have to admit to yourself. You swallow. Killing... You don't want to. But if it comes down to it...
Or you could Witch them out, in hopes of reviv-
Your gorge rises, and you gag.
You force back the sudden nausea, the disgust with yourself for even contemplating that. You-
You didn't even like the thought of doing it to Kirika-
Mami's at your side, her hands fluttering as she checks your temperature with a hand on your forehead. "Sabrina? Sabrina!"
You swallow the bile. "I- I'm OK," you say, voice wavering. The back of your throat burns with stomach acid. "I- I'm OK, Mami."
"Are you sure?" Mami asks, peering anxiously at your face. "You don't look like it."
"Yeah," you say. "I'm OK. I just had a... really upsetting thought."
"Oh," Mami says, biting her lip. "I-if you're sure, Sabrina."
"I'm sure," you say, managing a smile at Mami and pulling her into a reassuring hug.
"A-alright," she says, leaning her head against you for a moment. Eventually, she eases back a little.
You release her, and let her step out of the hug. "We still haven't found any chairs yet..." she says.
"That's true," you agree. "Onwards!"
Eventually, you do find the chairs, and return to Oriko's room to find Kirika lying on the bed, curled into the seer's side like a cat. You plunk your chair down and sit.
"By the way, Kirika," you say, by way of filling the silence as you wait for the takeout to arrive. "That antimagic enchantment you made. How does it work, do you know? I mean, does it have an area of effect, or just people who touch it, or...?"
"People who touch it," Kirika says, glancing at the rock on the bedside table. "That's it, I think. It just shuts down their magic."
"Hunh," you say. "OK. Is that the first one you made? Do you think you can make more?"
"Yeah, and yeah," Kirika nods. "It... Do you think it will help?"
"Maybe," you say, mulling it over. "I'm not entirely sure yet, still thinking it over. But... Good job, Kirika."
She grins at you.
Just as you're about to say something more, you're interrupted by the clear belltones of the door chime.
"Food's here!" Kirika cheers, bouncing to her feet. She swipes some money from inside a drawer and heads out of the room. Oriko watches her go with a fond, wistful smile on her face.
[] Write-in
[x] Discuss plans on how to proceed. Enchantment is probably the sure fire way to go.
[x] Ask Mami how she'd begin if we were to start on a pain blocking enchant.
[x] Tell Mami about your magic control booster and your mixed success with one enchant as well as how it failed. Ask if she'd think it'd help her if she looked at a 'boosted' enchant.
[x] Continue to work with Mami, Kirika and Oriko on a plan with enchantment magic.
[x] Break for food at the agreed upon time/when it arrives. During this time, telepathy Masami about Ono.
=====​
KFC is really popular in Japan. I have no idea why.
Also, cutting off the update here due to length, if you want to refine the vote a little more, go ahead.
Last edited: Dec 24, 2015
Threadmarks This mortal coil pt. 25
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#### Firnagzen

Operator

- Dec 26, 2015

- #72,826

Mami excuses herself to wash her hands, returning just as Kirika bounces up the stairs, carrying plastic bags bulging with cardboard boxes and drink cups. "Food's here~" Kirika chirps, setting the bags down on the bedside table and digging out two boxes for herself and Oriko. The savoury smell of fried chicken fills the air.
"We are not eating in the bedroom," Oriko says crossly, frowning at Kirika.
"Yes we are," Kirika says, plopping onto the bed next to the seer and producing a towel from a drawer, laying it across their laps with a quick flick. "You're not getting out of bed until you're better."
You snicker under your breath as you claim the last two boxes for yourself and Mami, earning a glare from Oriko. You'll leave the mashed potatoes and coleslaw for later.
"Here you are." You pass Mami's dinner to her. She accepts it with a warm smile, letting it rest on her lap.
After a chorused 'itadakimasu', you all start digging into the chicken. Kirika isn't shy about her enjoyment, making happy little noises as she devours the chicken and sending crumbs showering over the towel.
"So anyway," you say after taking the initial edge off.your hunger. "I'm thinking of how to proceed from here - does anyone have any suggestions?"
Oriko glances at you, somehow contriving to be absolutely tidy and refined as she peels the skin off the chicken. "You're the closest to an expert on... Soul matters we have here," she points out.
... Madokami damn it but she's right.
Hopefully that'll only last until the puella magi you've mentally dubbed the soulguca gets here.
"Ah... Sabrina, you said something about enchantment?" Mami asks, nibbling on a drumstick.
"Yeah," you say, tucking back a stray lock of hair with your as-yet-ungreasy hand. "So... OK. I'm hoping that enchantment is the key to helping you, Oriko, because it's frankly the most versatile thing we have available to us. Hypothetically, I could so something with Grief, but that'd dissipate as soon as I left."
Oriko shakes her head. "The problem is that none of us are able to make enchantments," she says.
"Excuse you," you say, smirking at her. "Mami's absolutely amazing at this."
Mami blushes slightly. "I wouldn't say that..."
"I would," you say, smiling at her. Out of the corner of your eye, you can see Kirika flash you a grin.
Mami shakes her head. "Ah... regardless, I've never made anything like this before. I don't know how well this would work..."
"I made the antimagic rock," Kirika volunteers, gesturing with a virtually polished bone towards the rock on the bedside table. "Uh... What did you have in mind with it?"
"Well, we need to see whether that actually helps Oriko as is," you say. "It might, it might not, but if it does, well, it's probably going to shut down Oriko's visions."
Kirika nods, looking thoughtful.
"If the pain is, ah, magical in nature, then it might be worth looking at?" Mami suggests. "I mean, even if it doesn't directly help, I could try and learn how it's made and adapt it?"
"It seems to me that trying to learn about the magic of an anti-magic enchantment would be futile," Oriko observes after swallowing a mouthful. "Kirika, could you pass me the coleslaw?"
"We won't know if it's possible until we try it, Miss Mikuni," Mami says, regarding Oriko with a placid smile.
"Reasonable, Miss Tomoe," Oriko responds, accepting the little plastic tub Kirika hands her.
You exchange a look with Kirika, and she makes a little 'after you' gesture, a slight raise of her eyebrows, her chin lifting a fraction of a centimetre.
"So, uh," you say. "Mami, you said you could reverse engineer enchantments, right?"
Mami's eyes leave Oriko's, and she smiles at you instead. "I did," she confirms. "Do you have something in mind?"
"Well, I made a Grief thingamabob that gave me better control and let me enchant things easily," you say. "But the enchantment was... unstable, and wouldn't hold if I left the area."
"Ah," Mami says, perking up. "I could take a look at that and reverse engineer it?"
"That's what I was thinking," you say.
"Er... Sabrina?" Kirika asks. "Is it possible for you make something that lets your Grief things persist?"
You snort. Hoo boy. "Maybe?" you say. "I've been meaning to try, but uh, timing, plus I have a hard time deciding on whether it's worth it."
"Ah... would it feel Witchy?" Mami asks.
"Yeah, that's the other thing," you sigh. "Almost certainly." And you can't help but wonder if that would entail creating what amounts to a Familiar. Which, uh, bad touch. You're... pretty sure you're not a Witch, yes.
Mami nods, mouth twisting. "That might not work the best," she says. "It's quite noticeable even from a distance away..."
"Probably not that, then," Kirika says, looking glum. "Uh... I suppose I can try to make a new antimagic enchantment, if Miss Tomoe's examining the old one?"
"Mm," you nod in agreement, snagging mashed potatoes for yourself. You take a moment to consider whether Japan is real before discarding that thought as utterly absurd. Why'd that even occur to you?
Oriko blinks slowly. "I shall try to enchant directly for pain removal," she volunteers, sound unsure.
"You do that - and like I said earlier, stop trying to use your foresight on it," you say, waving a greasy hand at her. "Enchantment is a skill you have to learn-" you glance at Mami, who nods in confirmation, "-so if you don't actually start, all you'll see is yourself failing."
"Think of it as... akin to mathematics," Mami supplies. "There is a 'right' way to do things that will work for one problem, but there are also generally applicable skills that you have to learn."
Oriko nods. "Noted."
"Alright then," you say, rolling your shoulders.
"What will you do, Sabrina?" Kirika asks, citrine eyes bright with hope.
[] Write-in
[x] In your free time, telepathy Masami about Ono.
=====​
On a mostly unrelated note, KFC Japan did th is for their 30th anniversary.
No, I don't know why, either.
Additionally, please clarify on what you want to tell Masami about Ono.
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