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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 Interloper pt. 24
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#### Firnagzen

Operator

- Mar 22, 2015

- #41,272

You exhale slowly, quietly through your nose, closing your eyes for a moment, before reopening them and staring at the back of Hitomi's head, her green locks swaying as she walks ahead. "I agree with Madoka," you say slowly, thoughtfully as you pick your words. "This... doesn't sit well with me. Moments where she's left out, like at lunch, or even here and now. They're going to keep happening."
You look at Madoka, walking beside Homura on your right. The time traveller seems as unperturbed as she always is, giving you an impassive poker face, whereas Madoka's twisting her fingers together in a worried bundle.
Mami, on your left, looks faintly worried.
Hitomi notices the sudden silence. "Is something wrong?" she asks, glancing first at Sayaka, then back at Madoka and you.
"A-ah, no, not really!" Madoka says, essaying a weak smile.
"Not at all, Hitomi," Mami says in support, nodding. "Just thinking. Say, Sabrina, what do you think of donbuuri?"
"Hmm, I was thinking of pasta, actually," you say, smiling at her and brushing your shoulder against hers in silent thanks. She bumps back against you, returning the smile. "Do we have any wine at home?"
"Wine?" Madoka asks in surprise. You watch Hitomi out of the corner of your eye - you're not sure she really believes you, but... she faces forward again, heading towards the hospital.
"For the sauce," Mami explains. "I think we do, Sabrina."
"Righty, that works, then," you agree. "It's going to keep happening," you say again. "I don't want it to be difficult to interact normally because we're keeping magic a secret from her. It isn't... right."
"... yeah," Sayaka says. "I think we should tell her."
Homura sighs, nothing more than a slow breath huffed out between barely parted lips. Amethyst eyes give the back of Sayaka's head a brief stare, before Homura head tilts infinitesimally towards you, glancing at you.
"Hey, thoughts on pizza for the picnic?" you ask. "Was thinking that it might be nice to make one some day." You glance sidelong at Homura. "Homura?"
"I think we should, too," Madoka says. "That sounds like it would be a lot of trouble."
"Yeah, point. Keeping it safe and... not squished and warm would be tricky," you agree, turning to look squarely at Homura. "Homura? I... really think it'd be for the better."
"Fine," the time traveller replies. "We can tell Hitomi."
Relief floods through you, and you let a small smile break on your face. "Alright then! We need to figure out how best to do this."
"Just tell her?" Sayaka suggests.
"I've never made pizza before," Mami admits. "I'm not sure we should just tell her like that?"
You look at her, surprised. "Oh, then we really should, one of these days. It'll be fun!"
"I... I think Sayaka's right," Madoka says.
"It sounds messy," Hitomi says.
"Oh, it probably will be. That's part of the fun," you say, grinning. "Hmm... where and when, then?"
"Soon," Sayaka says immediately. "We should tell her soon."
"Maybe... before the hospital visit? Or after?" you suggest as the six of you wait at a traffic light - the hospital's just across the street. Or at least, the hospital grounds are; it'll take you another few minutes of walking through lush, shady greenery before you reach the hospital proper.
"I don't know," Madoka says. "Ah, the green man!"
"I... I dunno," Sayaka says, equally uncertain. "Don't think it makes a difference, but... are we going to, you know. Heal Kyousuke?"
Homura glances sidelong at you again, violet eyes dispassionate, and Mami brushes her shoulder against you. You give her a quick smile of thanks.
Hitomi, walking in front of you, stops and turns to face the four of you squarely. Sayaka stops too, glancing at the green haired friend.
"I... is there something wrong?" Hitomi asks, her eyes searching each of your faces. "I... if it's not my place to pry, then I'm sorry, but..."
Madoka wilts, pink eyes darting to you. The barest flare of her nostrils is the only sign of annoyance that crosses Homura's face, while Sayaka simply looks guilty.
[] Write-in
=====​
Oops.
Threadmarks Interloper pt. 25
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#### Firnagzen

Operator

- Mar 23, 2015

- #41,485

"Busted," you mutter under your breath, sighing and glancing around at your friends. "Yeah, sorry about that, Hitomi."
"I-I..." Madoka steps forward and grabs Hitomi's working hand in both of her own. "We're sorry, Hitomi!"
"What's wrong?" the green haired girl asks, looking at Madoka. Her eyes flick to you, then Mami, and Homura. The three new additions to her group of friends. "Is this... about that thing you wanted to tell me, when I was in the hospital? Are you in... trouble of some kind?"
You shake your head, a sharp twitch to the side. "No. Not exactly, but... There is something. Maybe we should go somewhere a bit more private for this?"
"There's a... shelter somewhere here," Sayaka offers, blinking and looking away. She glances around at the dense vegetation lining the path. "It's out of sight from the main road."
Hitomi nods, jade-green eyes resting curiously on you.
"Sounds good," you say. "Lead on?"
Sayaka nods, and starts off down the path. The rest of you fall in behind her, the happy chatter of earlier replaced with a heavy, smothering atmosphere.
"By the way, Sayaka," you murmur into the bluenette's mind. "About the healing..."
"Yeah?" she asks. "I... do you think we can do it tomorrow? I was thinking that we could tell Kyousuke and then heal him?" She turns down a side path with a quick, "Here."
"I was... well, I'm still thinking how to do the healing," you admit. Privately, some part of you really wants to cause romcom hijinks with Kyousuke and Homura, but then Homura would happen and nobody would ever find your body, in all likelihood. "But... If there's time today... I'd like to try and slip it in, if the talk with Hitomi doesn't run too long."
"Really? Oh, well, that's great!" Sayaka says, delight working into her tone, before she adds, more seriously, "Uhh... Thank you, Sabrina." Out loud, she says, "We're here."
'Here', it turns out, is a small pavilion at the side of the path, surrounded on all sides by the same neatly trimmed bushes and trees that line the main path. It's kept meticulously clean - hospital patients are probably brought here.
You squint at the main path, the people there only visible as small flashes here and there through gaps in the topiary. The masses of Grief you confiscated from Aurora you bring down to hide amongst the plants, drifting planetoids of Grief rustling through the grasses as they lurk unseen.
"Perfect," you say, as Sayaka drops the two school bags she's been carrying on the bench running along the side of the pavilion with a sigh.
"So what's all this.... cloak and dagger stuff about?" Hitomi asks, looking at Madoka and Sayaka, then you.
And no wonder, really. You're the odd one out, aren't you? The foreigner, the one always showing up at odd places, the one messing around in things. The one who brought change and unpheaval to Mami, to Homura, to Kyouko. To the Ishinomaki girls, to the Sendai girls, to the University girls.
Does that make you the interloper you've been worried about all day?
Maybe.
You exhale, holding out your left hand palm up, Soul Gem ring and Grief ring prominent on your fingers. You watch Hitomi closely, a-
"Magic is real," Madoka blurts.
Hitomi blinks. "What?"
"I-it's true!" the pinkette says. Sayaka, standing at her shoulder, nods.
"Hitomi," you say softly, catching her attention. An effort of will has your Soul Gem shimmering into its egg form, crystal wound in filigree.
Hitomi blinks, watching your hand closely. "T-that's... Can you do it again?"
...
You weren't exactly expecting that response. "Uh, OK." A twist of will, a bit of focus, turns your Soul Gem back into its ring from, and you display your hand to her. She nods, slowly, and you reform the egg shape again.
"That's..." Hitomi bites her lip, watching the Soul Gem on your hand. "That's an interesting trick."
"T-that's not all," Madoka says. "Sabrina? S-show her?"
You nod, focusing for a moment on your Soul Gem. A nova of light blazes out, and the familiar, comforting weight of your mantled coat settles around your shoulders. A second burst of light - Mami, transforming into her puella magi costume, too.
Hitomi stares, jaw agape.
"Magic is real," you repeat quietly. "This-" you tap the Soul Gem at your chest, "-is my Soul Gem."
The green-haired girl slumps into the bench behind her. Madoka sits beside her, reaching out anxiously to take the greenette's hand, and Sayaka moves to sit on her other side.
"You're magical girls, too?" Hitomi asks quietly, looking at Madoka and Sayaka. "Is this... is..."
"We're not!" Madoka says. "I-it's... it's terrible."
Sayaka nods, cerulean eyes hard and anger curling her mouth into a snarl. Not one directed at you, or Hitomi.
You glance at Homura. The time traveller's lips tighten, but her face otherwise remains impassive as she regards Hitomi.
"Terrible?" Hitomi asks, with an air of someone who knows that they won't like the answer, but is asking anyway.
"T-their souls," Madoka whispers.
Hitomi's eyes widen as she makes the connection. "Soul Gems?"
You nod gravely, stepping close to Mami. "Girls that have potential to become magical girls are approached by Kyubey. Kyubey will offer you a wish, anything you want," you say, eyeing Sayaka. Like healing, for a certain boy. Something you're going to do. Possibly in disguise, though that's going to be a hard sell.
You glance at Mami, imagining her with an enormous afro. Possibly one made out of Grief. You'd be able to pull off an Einstein, maybe. You've got the hair colour, anyway. And maybe a musician for Homura... Beethoven. Or maybe you could wear those giant head mask things.
...
The hell are you thinking?
Some days, you wonder if you really do have brain damage.
You fight off an inappropriately timed smirk with a hand to your mouth. "We make contracts," you continue, emphasizing the word. "One Wish, for a price."
Hitomi shakes her head wordlessly.
You hold off on your explanation for a moment. You can feel Mami's warmth, right beside you, and you slip an arm around her, drawing her close in a one armed hug, offering her your silent support and comfort.
"Magical girls," Hitomi says, hollow disbelief in her voice. "You have magic. And t-those are your souls."
"Yes, they are," you confirm, nodding.
"And you're..." she shakes her head. "Why me? Why Madoka, and Sayaka? Why bring us into this? W-we're not... special."
[] Write-in
=====​
Hmmm.
Last edited: Mar 24, 2015
Threadmarks Interloper pt. 26
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#### Firnagzen

Operator

- Mar 24, 2015

- #41,737

You shake your head. "Special, nothing," you glance at your friends. "Madoka and Sayaka kind of got dragged into it by accident. That's how they met Mami," you tighten your arm around her briefly. "And I met them due to... circumstances when I arrived here."
"So it's just a coincidence?" Hitomi asks, rubbing wearily at her forehead.
"More or less," you say. Quiet footsteps at your side - Homura, ghosting forward to slide onto the bench beside Madoka, folding her hands on her lap.
You shake your head. "Homura met Mami earlier," you say, motioning towards the time traveller, "and, well... a lot of things have happened since then. But the important thing is that..." You heave a sigh. "You were never really directly affected. We've been... trying to avoid dragging you into the mess that is the magical world."
Hitomi nods, green eyes thoughtful. "Just a side character," she says, the words slow and measured. "I suppose I can live with that."
"I-it's not like a show, Hitomi," Madoka says. "It's horrible, and dangerous and..." She breaks off, shaking her head. One of her hands, trembling, finds Homura's, and the other still seizing tight around Hitomi's.
You exhale slowly. She guessed better than she knew. "Yeah," you murmur - neither in response to Madoka or Hitomi. Not really. "But it's not fair to them," you say. "Not fair to you, to constantly have to..." you wave your hand aimlessly, "tiptoe around this massive secret. You're their friend, our friend, if I may call you that, and that means we don't want to hide things from you."
"I already owe you, Hitomi," Sayaka says softly. "It's... not right to keep this from you."
A flash of annoyance flickers across Homura's face, lightning fast, before it's subsumed under her neutral mask once more. You don't think anyone else noticed, the focus of everyone's attention on Hitomi.
"You don't owe me," Hitomi says absently, eyes still focused on you. She inclines her head slightly to you in acceptance, and you can see her thinking furiously. "Do you... is this like... no. Do you have to... fight?"
"Yes!" Madoka says. "A-and Witches are huge and scary and they eat people!"
Hitomi flinches slightly.
Mami speaks up, her voice gentle. "Yes, we do," she says softly. "It's... it's what we do. We fight Witches, to save people."
You nod. "Hitomi, this isn't a recruitment speech or anything. We're not trying to drag you into being a magical girl. This is just... coming clean about some of the things a friend should know about."
The green haired girl nods again. "And... thank you for that," she says, dipping her head and upper torso to you again in a kind of bow. "Is this... how you've been getting to the school rooftop, Sabrina?"
You blink. Weren't exactly expecting that as a first question. "Yes, actually," you say. "I can fly."
Another slow nod. You can see her thinking things through, turning what you've told her over and examining it. "Who's Kyuubey?"
"Ah," you say, hugging Mami close. She doesn't object, instead pressing close to you. "Kyuubey is the... being that gave us our powers."
"So he-"
Madoka shakes her head furiously, ponytails flying. "He looks cute, but he tricked us! Tricked them!"
Sayaka nods, nostrils flaring and lips pressed together in anger.
You feel the weight of Hitomi's eyes on you, awaiting a more coherent explanation. "Kyuubey is this cutesy, white cat-like creature. He gives us our powers for the Wish. He didn't tell us about..." you tap a finger to your Soul Gem again.
Jade green eyes harden. "I see," she says.
"Yeah," you say, guiding Mami to the bench opposite to theirs, and sitting down - you're tired of standing, and Mami probably is, too. The blonde sits without complaint, leaning comfortably against you.
Silence falls, everyone lost in their own thoughts. You regard your friends - Sayaka on Hitomi's left, Madoka on her right. Both of them looking worriedly at their friend. Homura, on Madoka's far side, her amethyst eyes intent on Madoka and watching her carefully.
Mami, nestled comfortably into your side. She gives you a wan smile when you look at her, and straightens resolutely.
"Madoka, Sayaka," Hitomi says. "Is this... what's been bothering you the past few days? The... meaningful looks, the... quiet stretches?"
"Y-yes," Madoka replies. "Sorry, Hitomi."
Hitomi shakes her head. "N-no. I can see why you did," she says, smiling at Madoka and Sayaka in turn. "Thank you for telling me." She looks up at you, Mami, and Homura, green eyes crinkled in a smile. "Thank you for telling me," she repeats.
"You deserve to know," you answer simply.
The silence settles back in, the breeze rustling through the trees. Finally, you straighten. "There's one last thing," you say, breaking the hush. "I'm not very good at it, but I can heal with magic. If possible, I'd like to try and heal Hitomi's arm and Kyousuke's hand before we head back home tonight."
Hitomi blinks in surprise, eyebrows rising. "You can-" her arm in a cast moves slightly in the sling.
"Yeah," you say. "All magical girls can, a bit, but some are better, faster than others. None of us are healers, so... it's slow going, but much faster than normal healing."
"Yeah!" Sayaka says, seeming to brighten a bit. "It'll be great to see Kyousuke up again."
Hitomi looks torn. "I... I don't know how I'd explain this to my parents. Maybe..." she grimaces. "Maybe you should leave my arm?"
[] Write-in
=====​
The next vote will probably take you the the hospital and Kwyjibo. Vote appropriately.
Threadmarks Interloper pt. 27
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#### Firnagzen

Operator

- Mar 26, 2015

- #42,071

"Hmm," you say. You kind of want to bring her into the telepathic loop. "Hitomi?" You reach out with your mind, pushing the message towards the green haired girl.
The girl's look of indecision remains, her mouth twisting unhappily. She's clearly tempted to be rid of the cast, but neither does she want the trouble... And she doesn't seem to have noticed the telepathic ping.
"Hitomi?" you try again, to no greater effect.
"Maybe... you could heal my arm slowly?" Hitomi says hesitantly. "If it's not too much trouble?"
Damn. Looks like it doesn't work. "Actually, I was thinking just that," you admit. "Maybe a little bit every day at lunch time? It'll be much faster, but still slow enough that nobody would question it?"
Hitomi nods slowly. "That sounds workable," she says. "... Thank you, Sabrina."
"No worries," you say. "I can help, and you're my friend, so I should help."
Hitomi nods, smiling slightly and nudging Sayaka with her elbow. The bluenette rolls her eyes. "Yes, yes, I get it, Hitomi. I still owe you. And... I owe Sabrina, too," she says, looking at you with clear, cerulean blue eyes.
You roll your eyes too, and repeat yourself, voice tart. "I can -could- help, and you're my friend, so I should help. And for goodness' sake, Sayaka, your house was on fire. What did you expect me to do? Ignore it?"
Mami straightens off your shoulder, smiling at Sayaka. "Sabrina's right. We're magical girls. It's... our duty to help people."
"Yeah, yeah..." Sayaka says, flapping a hand at you before stubbornly adding, "I still owe you. All of you."
Homura huffs out a quiet sigh.
"Sabrina, you said something about healing Kyousuke, too?" Hitomi asks, looking at you.
"I did," you say, rising to your feet and stretching, vertebra popping as you arch your back. "Shall we get moving, by the way? We can walk and talk?"
Hitomi nods, rising awkwardly. "Sayaka?"
"Yes?" The bluenette glances curiously at her friend as she stands and picks up the two bags.
"Since you think you owe me, and by the same token I owe Sabrina, can I transfer your debt to her?" Hitomi says, face perfectly straight.
Sayaka blinks. "That's not how it works."
"Um... banks buy and sell mortgages," Madoka offers, a small smile on her face as she rises, Homura right behind her.
"That's different," Sayaka says.
"No it's not," Hitomi says.
Sayaka crosses her arms - or tries to, anyway, before the weight of the bags forces her to give up on that idea. "Hmph. Answer's no," she says.
Homura sighs inaudibly.
"Anyway, Hitomi," you say as you detransform, followed by Mami. You pull your mobile phone out and check the time briefly. "Yes, I'd like to heal Kyousuke's arm, as much as possible today, which, uh, looks like it'll be maybe forty five minutes. Mami, Homura, could you help?"
"Of course," Mami says, smiling at you. You return the smile, glancing at Homura.
Violet eyes flicker over you, and she nods silently.
"Thanks," you say, giving her a smile too, and turning to Hitomi and Sayaka. "So... if there's no objections or anything...?" you ask.
Hitomi smiles. "I don't have any," she says, starting down the path to the hospital.
Sayaka shakes her head. "Nah, I think that's fine," she agrees as you all start down the path, following Hitomi. A tug with your will has the masses of Grief trailing along in your wake, lurking low in the vegetation.
"Alright," you say. "One more thing, Sayaka, Hitomi?"
"Yes?" Hitomi slows a step to walk beside you, on the other side from Mami. Sayaka glances over.
"I..." you grimace, taking a moment to phrase your words carefully. Which is an interesting thought, you find. You're pretty good at it, aren't you? Carefully crafted sentences on the spot. And now you're thinking about thinking and you should probably be getting on with what you were thinking about before you started thinking about thinking about thinking.
You shake your head, forcibly trying to eject the thoughts. "Uh. I'm less comfortable with revealing magic to Kyousuke, since, well..." you waggle your hand. "I barely know him. I've barely met him at all, so... could you take care of that? Just... tell him magic's real, and we're helping him and all?"
Sayaka brightens. "Yeah, we can do that," she says. "Right, Hitomi?"
Hitomi nods. "Yes," she agrees. "It's the least we can do."
Madoka beams happily at Sayaka, and then you.
You continue walking to the hospital, musing about, well, musing. You're really good at working things out on the fly, which is kind of nice. Useful. On the other hand, you're also pretty prone to wandering off on random tangents of thought, like, say, this one.
Eventually, you find yourself at Kyousuke's ward room, the enormous tracts of Grief that you've been dragging around nestling on the roof. Hitomi knocks and waits politely for Kyousuke to call out a soft, "Come in."
"Hello, everyone," the gray haired boy says, blinking at the sudden proliferation of girls in his wardroom.
"Hello, Kyousuke," Hitomi says, smiling gently at him.
"Heya!" Sayaka says cheerfully, walking over to the chair beside his hospital bed, before pausing and offering it to Hitomi. The green haired girl -the verdette? still doesn't really roll off the tongue- frowns, and motions towards Sayaka, who shakes her head.
"Hello, Hitomi, Sayaka," Kyousuke says, smiling at them before looking at the rest of you - Mami, Madoka, Homura, and yourself. "And... hello, Madoka, Mami, Sabrina." He looks inquiringly at Homura.
"Ah, this is Homura," Sayaka says, abandoning the chair with one last insistent gesture at Hitomi, who rolls her eyes at her friend's back. Sayaka walks over to the time traveller. "She's a transfer student."
Homura nods, amethyst eyes hard.
"I'm pleased to meet you," Kyousuke says, quailing into his bed from Homura's icy stare.
"Homura?" Sayaka says.
The time traveller grunts, and stalks off to stand beside Madoka, pointedly ignoring Kyousuke.
"Um," Hitomi says, giving Homura a puzzled look. "How are you, Kyousuke?"
The boy sighs, looking downcast. "I had physiotherapy again," he says. "The doctors are hopeful, but they don't think..." The boy holds his hands up, obviously trying to flex them. His fingers quiver spasmodically, closing into a tight fist. "It would take a miracle."
Hitomi and Sayaka exchange looks. "Well, we've got good news..." Hitomi says.
Kyousuke sighs. "I'm happy for you, whatever it is," he says, staring down at his hand.
Mami shuffles to your side, close enough that you can feel her pressing against you. You give her a warm smile, hugging her tightly against you for a moment. Out of the corner of your eyes, you can see Madoka giving Homura a pleading look. The time traveller folds, relenting and lapsing into a more neutral expression.
"We... they can fix your hand, Kyousuke," Sayaka blurts.
"They haven't succeeded so far," the boy says bitterly, staring at Sayaka.
"No, not the doctors," Sayaka says. Babbles, really. "Magic. Mami and Sabrina and Homura. Magic is real, Kyousuke."
The boy stares at Sayaka. "That isn't funny, Sayaka," he says, his hands curling into fists in his lap. "I- I'll neve-"
"Kyousuke," Hitomi says, iron in her tone as she cuts Kyousuke off. "It's true."
"What are you talking about?" Kyousuke asks.
"Magic is real," Hitomi says with careful emphasis. "And they're willing to help you."
Taking that as your cue, you transform in a blaze of light that flood the room, followed by Mami. You step forward, watching the stunned boy carefully. "We're magical girls," you state, letting a smirk curl the side of your mouth.
Kyousuke's jaw works soundlessly, and finally, he delivers a flat "What."
You shrug. "Yep," you say, drawing a single marble of Grief from your ever-present sling bag and letting it circle your hand once before rocketing over to hang in front of his face. Hitomi watches there little sphere, eyes bright with interest, while Kyousuke hesitantly pokes it with his finger, waving his hand all around it to check for strings.
"OK..." the boy says, expression looking faintly poleaxed.
"And yes, we can heal you," you say, replacing the marble of Grief in your bag with a small mental effort.
"I, I..." the boy stutters. "You can really fix me? Is there a cost? Or..."
[] Write-in
=====​
Seemed like a reasonable place to cut off for this update. Holding in abeyance:
[X]If he's awake, tell him there's just one condition for this. We're healing him largely because Sayaka and Hitomi are his friends, and him being stuck here's bringing them down, so don't just forget about what your friends did for you once you get out of the hospital, okay? Just talk to your friends. That's all we're asking.
Last edited: Mar 26, 2015
Threadmarks Interloper pt. 28
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#### Firnagzen

Operator

- Mar 27, 2015

- #42,270

"Well, just one thing," you say as you walk over to his bedside, joined by Mami. "We're healing you mostly because of Sayaka and Hitomi. Your friends care about you, you know that?" You hook the chair with your foot and pull it over, nudging Mami into the chair while you stand beside her.
Your upraised hand lights up, glimmering, silver motes of light outlining your hand. "Hold your hand out, by the way," you say. Hesitantly, Kyousuke does as instructed, holding it out to you. His hand's shaking, slate grey eyes wide and full of hope.
Without hesitation, you press your hand to his wrist. Your hand's joined by Mami's a moment later, the golden luminance of her magic mixing with yours. "Anyway, as I was saying," you continue. "Your friends care about you, so, y'know, don't forget them. I know how musicians get about your music, and I know how important your hand is, but don't neglect your friend, got it?" You fix him with a glare.
The boy nods vigorously, fringe flopping over his eyes.
"Keep your hand still," you instruct, and the boy complies with alacrity, sweeping his hair out of his eyes with his other hand. Homura, with an infinitesimal sigh, joins you on the opposite side of the bed. The amethyst glow of her magic mixes with yours, pooling and sinking into the boy's hand.
Hitomi gives you an odd look, but after a moment, she smiles, and nods at you. "Thank you, Sabrina," she says. Madoka glances at you too, beaming happily at you.
"Hey, what was that about?" Sayaka asks, her voice sounding inside your head.
"Eh. I think Kyousuke could bear to be reminded that he's getting this healing because he has two good friends, and he shouldn't ignore them," you reply telepathically, giving Hitomi a quick smile and answering nod.
Sayaka's silent for a moment. "Thanks, Sabrina."
"What're friends for?" you say.
She snorts softly. "Yeah, thanks."
Hmm. Green hair. You're still not sure what the word is. Kelp-haired girl, maybe? That sounds sort of insulting, though. Maybe something in German, or, well. You think in English, don't you? If you want to follow a theme, verdette works, you suppose - and it does come back to that. Which then leaves you with... bleunette and... rosette, maybe? If you're sticking with French? Then again, calling Madoka a rosette just makes her sound like something you stick onto formal wear.
"Hey, Kyousuke," you say. "If you don't mind my asking, how'd this even happen, anyway?"
The boy frowns, delicate grey brows drawing close on his forehead. "Car accident," he says shortly. "Is this really going to work? It feels kinda warm, but..."
"Ah. Sorry," you say hastily. "And yes, it is. It's just slow."
"Ah, I'm going to get a drink," Madoka says, looking around at everyone. "Does anyone want something?"
"Uh, get me a lemonade if they have one?" Sayaka asks.
"Nothing for me," Hitomi says, smiling.
"Eh, just water, or whatever's cheap," you say, your hand remaining steady over Kyousuke's.
"The same for me," Mami agrees, smiling up at you from her chair.
"Nothing for me," Homura says, shaking her head.
"Lemonade, two waters," Madoka mutters, then nods. "OK!" The pinkette turns and heads out the door, closing it gently behind her.
Slow chatter passes the time, Madoka returning with four lemonades and refusing repayment. Through it all, Kyousuke sits, staring hopefully at his hand, sheathed in glowing, restorative light from the three of you, responding when spoken to. You cleanse periodically, the Grief marbles bumping against the ceiling.
You exhale slowly as the time approaches four thirty. If you were roofhopping, you'd leave at ten minutes to five and still make it to meet Nagisa, but... Madoka and Sayaka aren't magical girls. You could give them a ride on the Mobile Oppression Fortress, of course. Hmm. You file that thought away for later. Still, you're maybe halfway done with Kyousuke's hand, at best. If you want to complete the healing today...
"Homura?" you murmur, stopping the healing for a moment. Taking her cue from you, Mami leans back in the chair, the golden glow dissipating from her hands. By this time, Sayaka and Madoka found some chairs for everyone from somewhere, and they're sitting, watching.
The time traveller stops, withdrawing her hand and straightening to look at you. "Yes?"
"Can you use your power?" you say, deliberately keeping it vague out of habit. "I'd like to finish this today, if we can."
Homura frowns minutely, her eyebrows drawing together. "No," she says.
"My hand," Kyousuke says, wonderment filling his tone as he flexes his hand slowly.
You blink at Homura. "Eh?"
"No," Homura repeats patiently. "I'm not willing."
"Hey..." Sayaka says softly.
[] Write-in
=====​
Tsk.
Last edited: Mar 27, 2015
Threadmarks Interloper pt. 29
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#### Firnagzen

Operator

- Mar 28, 2015

- #42,442

"Oh," you say, shrugging and glancing at Homura. "OK, then."
"I... I have control again," Kyousuke marvels, staring in fascination as he flexes his hand - his fingers still seem stiff, unresponsive, but smoother than they were earlier.
Homura steps back, something like the faintest shadow of relief flickering across her face. She retreats to stand next to Madoka, dozing in a chair.
Alerted by Homura's quiet footfalls, the pinkette blinks her eyes open. "Huh? I'm awake!" She looks around muzzily, rubbing at her eyes. "Oh... Are we done?"
"No, but I don't think we'll finish today," you say. "It's getting late, and we need to go meet Nagisa."
"Yeah, but Homura, ah, you could..." Sayaka waggles her fingers in a vaguely mystical gesture, looking at the time traveller eagerly. "Right?"
Homura shakes her head, a minute frown on her brow. "No."
"But Sabrina sai-" Sayaka protests.
"Magic is not a toy, Miki Sayaka." For all that she never raises her voice above her usual dulcet tones, Homura cuts across the bluenette, silencing her.
"Alright, alright," you say, clapping your hands together sharply. "It's probably for the best. Homura's power can be... stressful."
A loud giggle interrupts you, drawing the attention of everyone in the room. Out of the corner of your eye, you can see Kyousuke wiggling his fingers one by one and tittering to himself.
... right. That's a thing.
You glance instead at Homura, opening up with telepathy. "Homura? I don't mean to push, but... is everything alright? I'm sorry if I tried to get you to do something you're not comfortable with.
"But we could finish it today," Sayaka says, eyes still bright and eager as she turns from Kyousuke to you.
"It's fine," Homura says, tone clipped.
You shake your head, opening your mouth to speak, but Hitomi beats you to the punch.
"Sayaka," Hitomi says, voice gentle. "I think Sabrina, Homura, and Mami have already done a lot today. Right, Kyousuke?"
The grey haired boy doesn't seem to notice.
Sayaka deflates. "Yeah, I guess you guys have," she admits, looking around at you. "It's just..."
Hitomi smiles, shaking her hair out before rising, fussily smoothing her skirt down with her working hand. "I know," she says. "But they've done a lot already."
"Yeah," Sayaka says, looking around at the three of you, shoulders slumped. "Yeah, thanks, Sabrina, thanks, Mami." She pauses, and sighs. "And... I'm sorry, Homura. And thank you, too."
You incline your head, smiling. "No problem, Sayaka," you say. "Our pleasure," Mami agrees.
Homura exhales slowly, nodding curtly at Sayaka.
"Alright, then," you say. "One last cleanse before we go, everyone?"
Mami nods, smiling at you, and Homura wordlessly presents her Soul Gem ring. You return Mami's smile as a gentle effort of will and a careless wave of your hand pulls Grief billowing free from their Soul Gems, already coalescing into marbles. Mami steps forward, grabbing your left hand and bringing it up. "Your own Soul Gem too, Sabrina," she says, giving you a warm smile.
You chuckle. "I hadn't forgotten," you say, meeting the warm gold of Mami's eyes as a thought cleans your own Soul Gem. You close your hands around Mami's for a moment, squeezing lightly.
"Hey, Kyousuke?" You turn to see Sayaka waving her hand in front of the boy's face. He shakes his head, grinning dopily at the blue haired girl. "Kyousuke, we're going now, OK?"
"Ah. OK," he says. "I can feel my fingers again," he declares.
Hitomi walks over to the bed, a smile on her face. "Kyousuke, you should thank them."
"Ah? Oh," Kyousuke says, eyes refocusing as he looks at you. "Of course. Sabrina, Mami, Homura, I thank you," he says formally, bowing as far as he can in his seated position, dipping his upper body towards you. "I can never repay you for restoring my hand."
You shake your head. "We're not done yet," you warn. "Try and figure out... how well healed your hand is, but don't go and break it again or something. We'll be back in... a day or two, I guess, to finish the job."
Kyousuke nods vigorously, his fringe flopping over his eyes again. "OK. I can't thank you enough."
"Eh," you say, releasing Mami's hand so that you can flap a hand at him. "Anyway, we really should be going now."
"OK," he says, returning his gaze to his hand again.
"Bye, Kyousuke," Sayaka says. "See you tomorrow!"
"Ah... I'll be staying here a little longer," Hitomi says. "My father will be coming to pick me up from here later."
"Alright, see you, then!" you say.
After another round of goodbyes, the five of you are soon strolling down to the lobby. Madoka beams up at you, smiling brightly. "You did a good thing today," she says happily. "You too, Homura, Mami!"
You exhale, grinning. "Yeah," you agree. You can't help but fret a little, about how things could go wrong... but then again, you're always worried about that. "And Homura, Mami? Thanks for humouring me on this."
Mami beams at you, too. "Of course, Sabrina."
Homura glances sidelong at you, nodding slowly.
It's a short bus ride back to Mami's apartment, where the five of you await Nagisa's arrival. Eventually, the familiar car pulls up. A white haired form explodes out of the passenger door, tackle-hugging you around the legs with surprising force. "Big sis!" Nagisa squeals.
"Hey, Nagisa!" you say, bending down and hugging the younger girl. "How're you doing?"
"Ah... I'm OK," she says, mood dipping. Over her shoulder, you can see Shin disembarking, and mouthing 'funeral' at you. You nod quickly.
"Good," you say firmly, releasing the hug and ruffling the girl's thick white hair aggressively. She squeals in delighted protest, ducking and running to hide behind Mami's legs, peeking out at you.
"Nice to meet you again, Sabrina," Shin says, walking over to you, giving Homura a curious look. "Take care of Nagisa, OK?"
"Of course," you agree as you reach for Nagisa. You don't try too hard to catch her, letting her duck away from you in a little game of peek-a-boo around Mami, who giggles in fond amusement.
The man nods, a smile deepening the crow's feet around his eyes, and he turns to Madoka as Sayaka joins in the impromptu game, chasing Nagisa around Mami. "Ah, Miss Kaname?"
"Oh! Um, call me Madoka, please?" Madoka says, looking up at the businessman. She's forced to tip her head back quite a bit.
"Please convey my congratulations to your mother on her promotion," Shin says gravely. You catch Nagisa in a tight hug, keeping one arm around her while you mess up her hair. She squeals in delight, laughter dancing in her eyes.
"Ah? My mum wasn't promoted?" the pinkette says, looking confused.
The businessman smiles. "Please convey my congratulations to your mother on her promotion," he repeats.
Madoka blinks. "Oh! Really?"
Shin lays a conspiratorial finger to his lips, straightening.
"I, ah, I'll be sure to do that," Madoka says, a smile breaking out on her face.
The businessman nods. "Thank you, Miss Madoka."
"Thank you, Mr. Momoe!" Madoka says.
"In any case, I shall leave you girls to it," Shin says.
You feel a hand on your head, messing up your hair, and you look up to find that the hand belongs to Mami, the blonde smiling mischeviously at you. "Hey!" you protest, returning the smile.
"Shall we head up?" Mami asks.
"Yeah, we should," you agree, capturing Nagisa and picking her up in your arms. "Hup! C'mon, Nagisa."
"Big sis I can waaaaaaaalk," she whines. She doesn't actually struggle as she beams at you.
[] Write-in
=====​
Any particular points to hit over dinner?
Last edited: Mar 28, 2015
Threadmarks Interloper pt. 30
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#### Firnagzen

Operator

- Mar 29, 2015

- #42,565

You shift Nagisa's weight so that hefting her is a little less awkward, and look around at your friends. Mami beams at you, reaching out to pat Nagisa on the head one more time. In response, the younger girl squirms in laughter, and you tighten your hold to make sure you don't drop her.
Madoka's smile is bright and sunny, and while Sayaka grins at you, her smile's still tinged with an air of preoccupation.
The six of you head up to Mami's apartment, the blonde unlocking the door and waving everyone in with a smile. You're the last in, still carrying Nagisa, and you deposit the younger girl in the couch with a smile. She beams up at you, kicking her legs against the sofa - she's too short to reach the floor.
"So cuuuuuute," Madoka says. "Mami, do you still have any ribbons?"
"Oh!" Nagisa says. She pokes a hand into the pocket of her dress, and emerges with a handful of ribbons. "You gave me these last time!"
Mami smiles as she drops her bag off in its usual place at the shelf. You walk over, placing your bag beside hers, smiling at her. Your bag's cargo of Grief marbles clicks quietly against each other as you drop it there, and in the corner of your mind, you can feel the huge mass of Grief that was Aurora's sitting innocuously on the roof. "You can keep those ribbons," Mami says. "I don't know why I have them, actually," she notes, patting her blonde curls.
"Ooh!" Madoka says, smiling. "Nagisa, what do you think of two ponytails, like mine? It'll make you look more mature!"
Nagisa screws her face up, wrinkling it into a distateful ball. "I don't think it looks mature," she disagrees.
Madoka's face falls almost comically. "Oh," she says, touching a self-conscious hand to her twintails. "Well."
"I think it looks fine," Homura says in her quiet, toneless voice.
"Yeah, you look great, Madoka!" Sayaka says, rounding the sofa to tug on both of Madoka's ponytails, grinning.
"Nagisa is sorry," Nagisa says.
Madoka shakes her head, smiling. "Oh, I can't be upset," she admits. "What shall we do with you?"
"Well, I'll go and prepare dinner," Mami says, smiling around at the lively antics in her living room.
"And I'll help, of course," you offer.
Mami turns her radiant smile on you as the two of you head into the kitchen, and you return it happily. "Pasta, right?" you ask absently.
"I think so," she agrees. "We bought some portobello mushrooms, I believe...?"
"We did," you say, already rummaging through the fridge. "Butter?"
"Ah... I think so," Mami says. You can hear her bustling about, collecting pots and utensils. "Bring out the chicken wings, too? We can make a side dish from them..."
"Mmm," you agree.
Dinner is a relatively simple affair to produce, even cooking for six people. Pasta isn't exactly the most labour intensive food to cook, though the smell of the sauce simmering on the stove has your guests dropping by oh-so-casually to... observe. Homura shows up more than once, as does Nagisa.
Eventually, all of you are seated at the table, enormous basins of cooked pasta, still gently steaming, sitting on the table alongside fragrant bowls of sauce and a platter of chicken wings. You sit beside Mami, who's beaming around happily at everyone. "Eat up!" she says.
After a chorused 'itadakimasu', you dig in.
Homura focuses on the food with relentless fervour. Not exactly eating quickly, but... continuously, in a manner suggesting that she didn't intend to stop any time soon. Nagisa, sitting on your other side with her hair once more decorated with ribbons, practically inhales the pasta, sauce splattering.
"Nagisa..." you say, picking up a napkin and catching her attention. Speckled orange and yellow eyes blink curiously up at you, a trailing noodle slurping into her mouth. "Hold still," you say, gently wiping the sauce off.
"Oh," she says, smile dimming. You give her a smile of your own - it's not hard to put the pieces together. Wiping her mouth off would probably have been something her mother did for her, wouldn't it?
You pat her on her gently head when her mouth is clean. "By the way, Nagisa? We're having a picnic sometime, probably Saturday. Would you like to come along?"
Huge eyes blink up at you, a little smile peeking from Nagisa's face. "Oh! I'd like that. Nagisa would have to ask uncle Shin, though..."
You smile. "Of course," you agree.
"Is the picnic confirmed, then?" Sayaka asks, waving her fork at you.
"Maybe? Probably," you say. "Why?"
"Ah, nothing," she says.
Madoka nudges her. "Sayaka?"
The bluenette blushes. "Nothing, I said."
... you think you can guess.
Mami leans forward, nestling her head against a hand propped up against the table. "Oh?" she lilts, smiling.
Sayaka mutters something under her breath.
Madoka leans in. "What?" she asks, a teasing smile on her face. "I didn't hear that."
"IwanttoinviteKyousuke," Sayaka blurts, face reddening more.
"Ah, I see," Mami says, smiling. "I think that should be fine, don't you, Sabrina?"
Out of the corner of your eye, you can see Homura set her fork down, sighing quietly.
You shrug. "Eh... aren't his legs also, you know?" you ask.
"We can get him a wheelchair," Sayaka says, seeming to warm to the idea now that it's out in the open.
"Maybe," you say. "I'm thinking of that big park overlooking the city, though."
"Oh, are we going there?" Madoka asks, sounding delighted. "It's beautiful!"
"Well, that's what I was thinking," you say, shrugging.
"Hmmm... there's a path there, I think?" Sayaka says.
"There is," Madoka agrees. "It should be fine."
You shrug again, smiling and picking up your fork again.
"Big sis, can I have some more cheese?" Nagisa tugs at your sleeve.
"Sure, but not too much," you say, reaching out to help her. "You'll get fat! Which reminds me, any food requests for the picnic?"
"Cheese!" Nagisa says immediately, watching eagerly as you spoon some parmesean onto her plate.
You chuckle. "Well, that's one. Anyone else?"
"Ah... we could bring a roast chicken and make sandwiches with the cheese!" Madoka suggests. "And some ham, and things?"
"Ice cream!" Sayaka says eagerly. "We can put it in a cooler."
You raise an eyebrow. "Thaaaat sounds troublesome."
"Worth it," Sayaka counters. "It's gonna be hot, you know."
"Mmm," you say noncommittally. "How about you, Homura?"
Amethyst eyes glance your way for a moment, and she shrugs, continuing to devour the pasta.
Nagisa giggles. "Homura is greedy."
You ruffle her hair gently. "Nagisa, that's not nice," you say.
The younger girl pouts up at you for a moment before biting into a roasted chicken wing. Mami, sitting on your other side, giggles.
Dinner passes with happy chatter, and eventually, you're all lazing around in various states of contented fulfillment, emptied bowls and piles of bones scattered in front of you.
"Anybody feel like playing video games?" you suggest, lazily tracing your fork through the remains of the sauce in your plate.
"Ooooh," Nagisa moans as she pats her belly. "Nagisa ate too much."
You grin, remembering that exact response from a certain other adopted little sister, one with green hair.
"Don't overdo it," Mami admonishes with a gentle smile.
"Too late," Nagisa moans.
"Yep, too late," Sayaka says. "Madokaaaaa, why did you let me eat so much."
Madoka giggles.
"Video games? No?" you ask, looking around.
"Later," Sayaka says.
"Heh," you say, rising. "I'll start cleaning up, then."
Mami rises too, smiling. "Ah, I'll help."
Before long, the plates are all piled up in the washbasin, and you find yourself sitting in front of the television together with the others, waiting for the game to boot up. You grin as you watch several very familiar characters battling it out in a collosseum, and then... pan out to the title.
Super Smash Bros Melee.
Mami bustles out from the store room. "I only have two of these," she says apologetically and holding up the controllers. "And... the button's sort of sticky on this one."
"Ah, I'm sure it'll be fine," you say, reaching out to grab one of them and plugging it. "Who wants to go first?"
"Ooh, me," Sayaka says. You toss the controller at her, and she grabs it deftly, while Mami settles in beside you with the other controller and a smile.
Mami picks Fox.
"Ugh, Fox," Sayaka mutters under her breath as she picks Marth for herself.
"I like the Landmaster?" Mami offers.
"The Landmaster's not in Melee," Sayaka notes.
You chuckle. "Who's that you're playing, Sayaka? New character for Smash Melee?"
Mami blinks, and then turns to stare at you. You grin unrepentantly back at her. She chuckles fondly, and slides over on the sofa to bump against you. You giggle quietly, giving her a quick smile and a hug.
The game starts, and Sayaka... waits. Mami's joystick squeaks as she deftly guides Fox forward, dancing around Marth's attacks, before closing in.
"Fox," Sayaka mutters in annoyance, while Mami smiles. "And the button's sticky!"
The evening passes quickly, the controllers trading around, everyone taking their turns. Homura doesn't deign to play, though she watches with mild interest. Nagisa turns out to be surprisingly good with... Kirby, while Madoka seems hopeless at the game.
Eventually, you decide it's time for Nagisa to go as the games wind down - it's about eight, now.
"Nagisa?" you say, setting down your controller. A win to you, this time, Mami setting down the other controller with a smile. "I think it's time for you to go home?"
"Eh? I do-" her protest is interrupted by a yawn. "Don't want to."
"Time to go home," you say firmly.
"Aww," she says.
"C'mon, they'll be next time, right?" you say.
"Promise?" Nagisa asks.
You nod. "Promise."
"OK, then," she says.
You pull out your phone, sending a message to Shin. "By the way, Nagisa?" you ask as you click over the phone. "Do you have a phone?"
"Ah... I don't," she says.
Your phone buzzes with an incoming message. On my way. Shin was probably waiting for you. "Ah, OK then," you say.
Sayaka stands, stretching. "Ahhh, thanks for having us over. Dinner was delicious!"
Madoka nods vigorously. "Yes, thank you!"
[] Write-in
=====​
Madoka thinks the twintails make her look mature.
And thanks to @Rook for helping with the SSBM part!
Last edited: Mar 30, 2015
Threadmarks Interloper pt. 31
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#### Firnagzen

Operator

- Mar 30, 2015

- #42,761

"It was nice to have you all over," Mami says with a happy smile as she looks around, setting aside her own controller.
You rise to your feet, stretching with your arms over your head. "Yeah, it was," you agree.
"We had a good time," Sayaka agrees, hopping to her feet. "Maybe not the Melee, though..."
"Mm!" Madoka nods happily.
"I had fun!" Nagisa says cheerfully.
You reach down and ruffle her hair gently. "Good," you say.
Nagisa pouts up at you, but reluctantly gets to her feet.
Homura glances at you and Mami, exhaling slowly. "Thank you," she says in her quiet voice.
Eventually, you're all headed outside, with you locking the door behind you. Mami smiles warmly at you, walking close beside you, while Nagisa reaches up to take your hand as the six of you proceed to the elevator. A thought strikes you just then, and you reach out telepathically to Madoka and Sayaka. "By the way."
"Mmm?" Sayaka glances casually at you. Well, not as casually as she thinks she is, in any case - you somehow doubt she'll ever learn subtlety.
"I forgot to mention this earlier - we met a new magical girl earlier today," you say. "She's called Ono Megane, and she lives here, but goes to a different school. Just a heads up, since, y'know, you might see her sometime soon."
"Ah!" Madoka says. "What's she like?"
"Truth be told, I don't really know - we just met her, so..." you say. You... have some suspicions, you guess, but you're not terribly sure about them. That her Wish was something to do with appearances?
The elevator trundles down, and you head out to the street, the six of you standing in a loose circle on the pavement while waiting for Shin. Well, the five of you stand in said loose circle, Nagisa skips around happily. The swell of the crowds, sparser out here in the suburbs, parts around you, with more than a few curious gazes directed at you and your friends.
You find your mind wandering. "Moe," you say abruptly, drawing curious looks from, well, everyone.
"... and I showed you the video of Kyousuke's recitation when he wa- wait, what?" Sayaka trails off mid-sentence, switching her gaze from Madoka to you.
"Sabrina?" Mami looks curiously at you.
"Momoe is moe," you grin, tilting your head at Nagisa, who blinks up at you in confusion.
Sayaka groans, covering her face with her hands. "That's just terrible, Sabrina," she says. "And her uncle isn't very moe."
Mami shakes her head, smiling fondly at you.
"I... I'm sorry, Sabrina, I'm with Sayaka on this," Madoka says. "That was terrible."
Homura just sighs quietly.
"Hmph," you say, crossing your arms. You bet Kirika would appreciate it.
"Big sis, what's moe?" Nagisa asks, blinking her huge, speckled orange and yellow eyes up at you.
You're saved from answering by the low purring of an engine heralds Shin's car arriving just then, drawing to a halt in front of you. Shin levers himself wearily from the driver's side once the car comes to a stop. Through the window, you can see papers and a still-running laptop strewn around in the passenger side seat.
"Uncle Shin!" Nagisa calls happily, running over to hug the man.
"Hello, everyone," he says politely, bending down to accept Nagisa's enthusiastic tackle-hug. "Nagisa! Did you have a good time?"
"Nagisa did!" the white hair girl enthuses.
"Good," Shin says, straightening up and looking around at all of you, meeting your eyes in turn. "Thank you for helping to take care of my niece."
"It was our pleasure," Mami says.
"It was!" Madoka agrees, smiling.
"Ah, Mister Momoe? One thing?" you ask, looking at the businessman.
"Yes?" he asks.
"Um... I'd like to invite Nagisa to a picnic on Friday or Saturday," you say. "Is that all right?"
The man considers this, producing an organizer from a pocket and thumbing through it. "That might work out for the better, actually. I have a meeting scheduled for Saturday afternoon," he notes. "Nagisa, do you want to go?"
"Yes!" Nagisa squeals happily, spinning in a circle on the spot.
Shin chuckles to himself, tucking the organizer away. "That seems settled, then," he says. "Yes, that would be fine, Sabrina."
"Great," you say, smiling. "Then... see you, Nagisa." You bend down, and open your arms for a hug.
Nagisa hugs you back. "Do I have to go?" she asks.
You lean back, smiling at her. "Yes, Nagisa. But I'll see you again soon, OK?"
"OK," she says. You stand, and pat her on the head again.
"Bye, Nagisa!" Madoka says. Homura, hovering at Madoka's shoulder, just gives a quick nod.
"Bye, Nagisa," Mami echoes with a smile.
Sayaka comes over to ruffle Nagisa's hair, too. "See you, shorty," she says.
"Nagisa is not short!" the girl protests, glaring at Sayaka. Unfortunately, the effect's rather ruined by the white haired girl having to tilt her head all the way back to do so.
Shin chuckles to himself. "Come along, Nagisa," he says, opening the rear door of his car. Nagisa reluctantly seats herself and buckles herself in, waving at you. The businessman nods at you again as he moves back to the driver side of the car. "Goodbye, Sabrina," he says.
"Bye," you say, raising a hand in a wave, echoed by the others.
As the car pulls away, you exhale, and smile at the others. "So... I guess I'll see you all tomorrow?"
"We will!" Madoka agrees, nodding vigorously.
"Yeah, we will," Sayaka says. "Hey, uh, will you be going to heal Kyousuke tomorrow again?" She pauses for a moment, eyes flickering towards Madoka, before looking back at you again. "And, uh... thanks again for that, by the way." The bleunette rubs sheepishly at the back of her head. "I, uh, I've been a bit overbearing about that."
You wave it off. "Not a problem, Sayaka. And uh... I'll get back to you on that tomorrow?"
Sayaka nods. "OK. Then... see you tomorrow!"
"See you!" Madoka says, smiling.
Homura nods. "See you."
"Yeah," you say, smiling. "Tomorrow."
"See you!" Mami says, a gentle smile on her face.
You turn to Mami as they, head off towards the bus stop, Homura glancing at you for a moment before following. "Shall we head back up?" you ask.
She nods. "Let's."
She turns away, back towards the apartment block that has become your home, and you follow, heading back into the relative warmth of the lobby. Hmm. You should go Witch hunting tonight, shouldn't yo-
-u?
Silence, pervasive and muffling, shrouds the colour-bleached world. A tugging sensation on your wrist is Homura busily tying a string on to bring you into the timestop. Task accomplished, she steps back, amethyst eyes meeting yours.
"You wanted to talk?" she asks, tone impassive.
[] Write-in
=====​
Ohai Homs.
Threadmarks Interloper pt. 32
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#### Firnagzen

Operator

- Mar 31, 2015

- #42,893

It takes you a moment to remember that, yes, you'd asked to talk to her a couple of hours ago, and a couple more moments for you to collect your thoughts and remember what you wanted to talk to her about. Or, well, making things up on the spot. Same difference, really.
"Yeah," you say, exhaling as you glance around at the timestop. You look around - at Mami's frozen back in the timestop, the sliding numbers of the elevator floors halted between two and three, the sullen grey hues of the world, entrapped by Homura's power. "Yeah, I did, Homura."
You gesture over at the benches in the lobby. "We should sit down, though?" you suggest, suiting action to words and moving over, giving Mami's frozen form another look.
Homura nods, ghosting after you and sitting on the bench.
"OK, so..." you start, collecting your thoughts. "The first thing is..." You sigh. "I'm sorry, Homura. For, you know, what happened at the hospital. Sometimes... I don't realize how pushy I'm being." And sometimes, it feels like you push until things break. Until people break.
You sigh again, tilting your head back on the bench to look at the fluorescent lamps on the ceiling. Fossilized light. How are you even seeing, if the lights are in time stop? A moment later, you continue. "If I'm pushing you too hard or if you feel like I'm taking you or your powers for granted, please let me know."
"It's fine," Homura says, voice clipped.
"OK," you say, tilting your head back down from your contemplation of the ceiling. "But... I know some of the last few talks were rather uncomfortable, Homura. How are you holding up?"
It's Homura's turn to sigh, this time. She glances sidelong at you, amethyst eyes tired. "We're... you're making progress. It's good."
You doubt that's all of it. But... you'll leave it alone for now, you think. You've things to tell her. "Alright, then," you say. "Can I update you on what I did today?"
Homura nods silently.
"OK, so..." you pause for a moment to figure out what you want to tell her. "I scanned Mitakihara Middle School for Familiars, Witches, and magical girls. Didn't turn up anything or anyone apart from, well, us."
The time traveller nods. "Good."
"Alright, so... I've been trying to find the girls listed in your Witch journal," you say. "I..." you stop, thoughtfully tucking a stray strand of hair behind your ear. "I didn't succeed at first, but..." You pull the wirebound notebook out of your everpresent bag, removing the shield of Grief and flipping it open to the Glass Witch, showing it to Homura.
She glances over the page quickly, brow furrowed. "Ono Megane?" she asks.
"Yeah. I think so," you say, absently re-encasing the notebook in Grief and slipping it back into your bag.
"Not very strong, then," Homura says, frowning in consideration.
You frown. "She's alive," you say. "And not a Witch."
Homura looks at you, before nodding slowly. In acquiesence? You're not sure.
In any case... You've more to say. "I checked in on Kyouko and Yuma, too," you inform Homura. "Kyouko's... fine, but she's having a tough time providing Grief Seeds for the both of them, so I lent her the Grief Seed you gave me."
The time traveller tilts her head slightly. "Do you think she'll come to Mitakihara?"
You shake your head. "I don't know. Maybe," you say. "I made her the offer of cleansing."
"Her help for Walpurgisnacht would be useful," Homura notes.
"Mmm," you say, half agreeing. Really, your reasons for wanting her onboard are... somewhat different than Homura's, but well. "I... do hope her pride doesn't get the better of her, though."
"She's pragmatic," Homura says simply.
"Hm." You nod, falling silent for a moment before taking a breath and continuing. "So, yeah. That was morning. After lunch... I took Oriko and Kirika food shopping, since they were low on food." You brace yourself, anticipating objections.
Homura frowns, brow furrowing deeply, but she doesn't say anything.
Not... exactly encouraging.
But you've been meaning to be more honest, more forthright, haven't you? True, that's more to Mami than anyone, but Homura's a friend, too. "And, uh..." you say before your nerve runs out. "I talked to Oriko, and she's agreed to help me with research on, well, clear Grief Seeds and... anything that would help impro-"
"She's dangerous," Homura interrupts you. "You shouldn't be trusting her."
"Yes, but if there's any dangers to using the clear Grief Seeds or anything else, her precog would be my best shot at finding out what they are without actually tripping into it," you say, meeting Homura's eyes. She looks... not angry, per se. Perturbed, worried, and... afraid. Just a touch of it in the set of her jaw and the delicate lines around her eyes.
"She's dangerous," Homura repeats. "You... you trust her too much."
"She wants to help save the world, right?" you say. "And we're her best shot."
"She could be lying," Homura says simply.
[] Write-in
=====​
Momura disapproves!
Holding in abeyance:
-[x] And then there was the witch, but you already know about that.
[x] If not, talk about some plans in the future.
-[x] Talk about Souju. Magical Girl that hunts and collects Soul Gems. Oriko predicted her arrival here in roughly two weeks. You'd like to pre-empt that and recover the soul gems she's collected. If there's any chance to restore those girls, you'd like to try.
-[x] Roughly once a week, you agreed to cleanse gems and refresh grief seeds for the Sendai Group, the University Group and Ishinomaki. You'll need to make your rounds within the next couple of days or so. Maybe friday but no later than sunday.
-[x] You'd like to bring Mami in the loop. As much as we can reasonably tell her. About the loops. About Madoka and Sayaka 'dying' if they contract. About yourself...
Last edited: Apr 16, 2015
Threadmarks Interloper pt. 33
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#### Firnagzen

Operator

- Apr 1, 2015

- #43,030

You sigh again. It's... not an unreasonable thing for Homura to say, to think, especially given Homura's... previous experiences with the seer. You're not even sure you entirely trust her, yourself. But.
You're... not really arguing with a rational fear, are you? Not entirely. You look at Homura, her frame tired, even now. Still painfully thin - you could probably circle her wrist comfortably between your index finger and thumb. She... ate a lot, at dinner, and that's good, but...
You can read her, a little, and you can guess a little to fill in the blanks. Tension in her shoulders, despite everything, and weariness in her posture. A touch of worry, fear, settled in the delicate traceries of lines around her eyes despite her brows drawn into a foreboding frown. She's stressed.
"Homura," you begin, voice soft as you meet her eyes squarely. "There's no way I'd let her hurt Madoka again. Hurt anyone again. You know that, right?" You shake your head. "I... I admit. I want to trust her and Kirika."
"But," you continue, ignoring the flash of emotion, the tightening of Homura's fists in her lap, "I'm not going to put Madoka and everyone else in danger to do it, Homura. If I thought she had any plans to do what her... counterpart did, or anything really, she'd probably be a rock in my bag right now."
Homura's frown grows.
"I control Grief," you say. A reminder. "If I wanted to..." You make a plucking gesture with your hand.
"If you can find her. If it isn't already her plan," Homura replies, eyes hard.
"Hard to see how being a rock would be part of her plan, Homura," you say. "But... I know what you mean. No, listen." You hold up a hand to forestall her protest. "Oriko's trying to do what she thinks is the right thing. To help others." You meet Homura's eyes steadily, hoping to impress on her how serious you're being. "She feels she needs a purpose in life, and Kirika... she made a wish for the person she cared about most."
Homura's frown turns stormy. "They are not like me," she snaps.
"Homura," you say softly. "Other Orikos and other Kirikas have died against Walpurgisnacht. Other Orikos and other Kirikas saved Yuma. She can help us, Homura. Like she already has." You hold your hand palm out to the time traveller.
Her gaze dips to your outstretched hand, her jaw tight. "How? By attacking- Miki?" Her voice hitches on the name. "By attacking you?"
"No," you say. "She's helped me avert problems in Sendai, in Fukushima. If she weren't here, we probably wouldn't have known until the whole mess arrived in Mitakihara."
"And I would have dealt with them," Homura says.
"Maybe, Homura, but don't you think this worked out better," you say. "They're all alive, they're all fine. Maybe we can even bring them in to help with Walpurgisnacht."
Homura looks away, eyes dipping from your hand.
"Lying about clear seeds or Witches doesn't help her at all, Homura," you say gently. "And that's all I'm asking her for, for now. For all Oriko's faults...I don't think she wants to see girls Witch out any more than we do. She knows what it means."
Homura remains unmoving.
"I..." you look at Homura, worried. "I'll try and be more careful going forward, OK? You... yeah, maybe you're right, and Oriko's dangerous and lying. But... I think she's trying to help us, Homura."
The time traveller shakes her head slowly, eyes not lifting to meet yours. Her shoulders are hunched in a tight, tense huddle.
Hesitantly, you touch her gently on the shoulder, and she flinches slightly at the touch.
[] Proceed
[] Write-in
=====​
Not as much in hiatus as I thought? Short update, though. Dammit, Homura.
Holding in abeyance:
[x] Talk about Souju. Magical Girl that hunts and collects Soul Gems. Oriko predicted her arrival here in roughly two weeks. You'd like to pre-empt that and recover the soul gems she's collected. If there's any chance to restore those girls, you'd like to try.
-[x] Roughly once a week, you agreed to cleanse gems and refresh grief seeds for the Sendai Group, the University Group and Ishinomaki. You'll need to make your rounds within the next couple of days or so. Maybe Friday but no later than Sunday.
-[x] You'd like to bring Mami in the loop. As much as we can reasonably tell her. You don't want to possibly hurt her any more than you already have, but keeping her out forever'll just lead to more problems.
Last edited: Apr 1, 2015
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