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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 Surface Tension pt. 8
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#### Firnagzen

Operator

- Aug 26, 2014

- #6,967

"I should thank you, too," Sayaka says, startling you out of your reverie. "For saving my family and I, I mean. I... yeah." She breaks off, and looks aside. "So... thanks. Sorry for not saying it earlier, it's just-"
"I understand, and it's alright, it really is," you reply, smiling at the bluenette. "You have other things on your mind." Out loud, you add, "Oh, Madoka and Mami will be coming by later, after school."
"Yeah. Thanks again," she says. "It'll be good to see them. Madoka must be worried sick!"
"Mmm. It's my job, sort of," you reply amiably, and nod. "Yeah, she is."
"You- how the heck are you doing this?" she asks.
"Holding two conversations at once?" you say, raising an eyebrow. "I dunno. Seems to come naturally to me."
"Right..." Sayaka rolls her eyes at you.
"So anyway. Good news, as I said earlier," you say. "I talked it over with Mami, and between the three of us, uh, Mami, myself, and Homura, we should be able to get you out of hospital faster."
"Uh... We're only going to be here for a day longer for observation," Sayaka replies. "Dad's already talking about renting a new place... Going to be troublesome, though."
"Oh," you say. "Same goes for Hitomi too, though. We should be able to heal her... and Kyousuke, too. You'd like that, wouldn't you?" You turn a teasing grin on her.
"Eh- I-" Sayaka blushes. Just a little. "I... that would be nice."
"Big caveat is that we need to tell them about magic, though," you warn. "And we still need to double check whether that's OK with Kyuubey."
"Oh, yeah," Sayaka nods. "That makes sense."
"Anyway," you say out loud, getting up and stretching luxuriantly. "Is there anything I can help you with? Pick up a newspaper or something?" you direct the question at both Sayaka and her father.
Kenji's eyeing you thoughtfully, but the look quickly fades. "Could you help me ask at the counter if I can rent a computer?"
"Sure," you agree. "Nothing else?"
Both he and Sayaka shake their heads in unison. "No, thank you," Kenji replies.
"Alright, then," you say, heading out.
As you walk out of the room, you can hear Kenji clear his throat. "Sayaka?" he asks, voice tentative.
You pause, a sinking suspicion growing in your stomach, and you lean against the wall, just out of sight. Is he...
"Yes, dad?" she asks.
"I just want you to know that whatever your choices are, your mother and I will always support you, OK?"
Oh, dear. He... is.
"Huh? Wai- No! Nononono! It's not like that, dad!" Sayaka exclaims. You can attach an expression to that tone of voice, you imagine - eyes wide, hands flailing in a panic.
"No? She seems like a nice girl," Kenji says.
"Nononono! She's just a friend! I like-" she chokes herself off.
"If you say so," Kenji says skeptically.
...
Right.
You're just going to go ahead and forget that that happened, now.
You head over to the counter, quickly informing them of the request - the nurse doesn't seem surprised, and makes a quick note before informing you that they'll bring one over as soon as possible. You thank her, and head off - this time to block 23.
Before you go, though, you quickly check the area with your other senses, and detecting nothing, decide that it seems safe enough. Time to see Hitomi, then.
[] Write-in conversation with Hitomi
[] Write-in
=====​
Yes, Sayaka's dad did just pull a Hitomi, if in the opposite direction.
Last edited: Aug 27, 2014
Threadmarks Surface Tension pt. 9
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#### Firnagzen

Operator

- Aug 28, 2014

- #7,163

You walk over to Block 23 at a brisk clip, musing on recent events, and perhaps things you could explore in the future, in the interests of furthering what you can do to improve things.
It doesn't take you long to reach Hitomi's room, and you knock politely at the door. "Come in!" Hitomi calls from inside.
You push the door open, and greet Hitomi cheerfully. "Good morning!" The green haired girl, sitting in the chair beside her head, was reading a book, it looks like. She carefully marks her position in it with a bookmark before putting it aside.
"Good morning, Sabrina," she greets you in return. "To what do I owe the visit?"
You smile, irrationally pleased that she remembers you, but it quickly slides into an unhappy grimace. "Unfortunately, I'm here as the bearer of bad news, this time. Sorry."
"Oh?" Hitomi looks fully at you, as you move into the room proper.
"Yeah. Uh, well. Mami and everyone else say hi, and they'll be dropping in later to visit, but, well..." you temporize. "I suppose you don't know about Sayaka yet?"
"Something happened to Sayaka?" she asks sharply.
"Her house caught fire last night," you say, and at her growing look of panic, you wave your hands frantically. "She's OK! They all are. Nothing life-threatening, just smoke inhalation, apparently."
"Oh," Hitomi says blankly. "Her house burned down?"
You nod, letting her process that.
"W-what happened?" Hitomi asks.
You shake your head. It's not like you can tell her the truth, right now.
The green haired girl frowns distractedly. "Oh, I suppose you wouldn't know. Sayaka, she- her family, they're all safe?"
"Yeah," you nod. "I just got back from visiting them. They're being kept in for a day for observation, apparently, but they're being discharged soon."
"That's good," Hitomi nods.
The conversation lapses for a while as she thinks over it. Eventually, though, you try to strike up a conversation again. "So, um, sorry to be the bearer of bad news, Hitomi. And again, my apologies for being rude yesterday. Is there anything I could do in return? Anything you'd like me to pick up, or something?"
"Hm? No, that's quite OK," Hitomi replies, still seemingly preoccupied. "Hmm... yes. Could you pass me my phone, please? It's in the first drawer of my bedside table."
"Sure," you say, more than a bit curious about what Hitomi's doing, moving over to the indicated drawer and retrieving her phone - it's a nice looking smartphone, sleek and clean lines. You hand it over to her, and she quickly flicks through her contact list to locate a number. She doesn't call yet, though, instead raising an eyebrow at you while one thumb hovers over the screen of her phone.
You can take a hint, this time - she wants privacy to make the call, presumably. "Eh. Nothing else you need?"
"No, I'm OK, thank you for asking," she says.
"Alright... one last thing, then. Um, well, there's some other things that I want to tell you, but well... the others should be here for it as well," you say.
"Oh?" Hitomi says, curiously.
"Yeah," you say, nodding. "I'll see you later, OK?"
"See you. Thank you for visiting," she says with a smile.
You and turn to walk out of the room. With her door shut, though, you can't listen in on the call.
Ah well.
You have bigger fish to fry now, you suppose as you take the elevator down. When you step out of the hospital proper... "Kyuubey!"
"What is it, Sabrina?" the Incubator replies instantly. A minute later, its body appears, scampering out from the side of one of the hospital buildings as you stride past it. There aren't that many people around the hospital grounds at the moment, so after a surreptious look around, you bend down and grab the Incubator by the scruff of its neck, before continuing on your journey.
"What did you do to Sayaka's parents? And why?" you demand as you begin walking towards the old industrial district - your next stop is to loot Oriko's warehouse, you suppose.
"I erased their memories of being rescued by you and Tomoe Mami," the Incubator replies. "I did so to preserve the secrecy of magic."
"Secrecy of magic... why?" you snap back as you turn into an alley.
"We prefer to work in secrecy," Kyuubey says.
Feh. A non-answer, in other words. Shielded from sight of other people, you crouch, and jump powerfully, bouncing off the walls to reach the roof. "And who else have you been mind-wiping recently? Has anyone been hurt because of you keeping magic a secret?"
"People who see flagrant acts of magic, generally. Would you like a specific listing?" Kyuubey replies. "To answer your second question, no."
"Right..." you say skeptically as you launch yourself off the roof, Incubator still dangling from your hand. "And how many degrees of separation is that?"
"One. Nobody has been directly hurt in the process of magic being kept a secret," Kyuubey replies.
"If you say so," you say, still somewhat skeptical.
"I do not lie," Kyuubey replies, wiggling in your grasp.
"And I only have your word for that," you point out. "Whatever. Stop mind-wiping people my friends care about."
Kyuubey's tail lashes for a bit, smacking lightly against your side from where you're carrying it. "Very well."
"Really? That easy?" you ask, somewhat surprised.
"Yes. I do try to maintain positive relationships with magical girls," it says.
You twitch. The gall of it. "Good. Additionally, we are going to heal Hitomi and Kyousuke. This is not up for debate."
"Very well," Kyuubey repeats.
"Nothing else, then, you say, and unceremoniously drop the Incubator on a roof as you land. Much as you'd like to drop it off the roof... That will only do more harm than good. For now, anyway. One day, and sometime soon, you hope.
"Oriko," you call, changing mental gears.
It takes a minute for her to answer, as you continue on a straight line towards the industrial district. "Yes?"
"Where's that hideout you mentioned?" you ask.
"Ah." she rattles off an address, and you veer over in the general direction.
"Got it," you reply.
It takes you twenty minutes to find the right place - just a small, nondescript warehouse close to the river. The fence is newer and sturdier than the ones of the surrounding buildings, you notice, and the gate is chained shut, so you take a long hop over the fence instead.
The inside of the warehouse comes as a surprise. Oriko said that she'd prepared a hideout, but...
It's carpeted. A soft, plush carpet is spread across the floor, with a few chairs placed around, and a computer in the corner. At a guess, it likely has an Internet connection, even. There's even a small kitchen against one wall, with a stove and fridge.
Money moves mountains, you suppose, explaining how Oriko got this set up so fast.
... there's one futon mattress.
One mattress.
...
Just to be sure, you pace around the warehouse, checking carefully to see if there's another one hidden in a corner somewhere you didn't see or something.
...
Right, then.
You go through the food stocks, looking for food you could reasonably expect to ferry back to Oriko.
... there's something like nine different types of tea here. And conveniently, there's two duffel bags in the corner, one stuffed with clothes, and the other empty.
You start piling food into the empty bag, packing it neatly so that you can get more in, until it's full. You zip it up and sling the heavy bag over your shoulder, before picking up the other one in your hand. The bags throw you off balance, even if you can handle the weight effortlessly - puella magi or not, you're still carrying a considerable weight.
Ah, well, you can deal with it.
You turn to walk out of the warehouse, before promptly stopping again in surprise. There's a pair of crutches leaning beside the door.
... huh.
You squint at the crutches, and then gingerly tie the crutches to the duffel bag you're carrying in your hand.
"Mami?" you call telepathically as you take to the roofs, a little clumsier than usual with the heavy bags weighing you down and confusing your sense of balance.
"Oh, Sabrina! Is something happening?" Mami replies.
"Nah, I just felt like talking," you say. "If that's OK with you?"
"Of course," Mami chuckles. "What have you been doing, this morning?"
"Well, I took care of that Witch near the hospital," you tell Mami. "Don't worry, I was careful."
"Oh, well done!" Mami says warmly.
"Went to see Sayaka and Hitomi, too. Sayaka's fine, apparently they're just keeping her and her family in a day for observation," you add.
"Ah, that's good to know," Mami says. "I- wait a moment," she breaks off suddenly.
"Mami?" you ask.
"I was called up to answer a question," Mami replies, a minute later.
"Oh, I see," you reply. "Did you get it right?"
"Of course I did!" she says, mock indignantly. "I'm not a delinquent wandering outside school having exciting adventures!"
"Ouch, Mami. Alas, for I am slain," you say.
Mami just chuckles in response.
"Anyway. I suppose I should leave you to it," you say. "See you later."
"Bye, Sabrina," Mami says in return.
You smile, pleased. She seems to have shrugged off yesterday's events with relative equinamity, if she can crack jokes now. Though... whether it's another facade or not, you can't tell without asking more directly. And she wouldn't show it while in public, anyway.
Your roofhopping is a little clumsier, and you may or may not have broken someone's antenna, but you eventually make it to Oriko's house. You probably look more than a little odd - sling bag over one shoulder, massive duffel bag over the other, and another in hand with a pair of crutches hanging off that bag, but it's not really your problem.
Oriko's waiting for you at the door of her house, though Kirika's somewhere inside - you can sense her on the second floor. "Good morning," she greets you. "I thank you for taking the trouble to bring us supplies. May I offer you some refreshments?"
[] Accept
- [] Write-in conversational topics
[] Decline
- [] Just talk outside
[] Write-in
=====​
You should totally ask Oriko about the mattress.
Last edited: Aug 28, 2014
Threadmarks Surface Tension pt. 10
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#### Firnagzen

Operator

- Aug 29, 2014

- #7,274

"Good morning," you say, trying for an equally regal tone. "And yes, that would be acceptable."
"Do come in, then," Oriko says, stepping aside. You briefly wonder how she managed to dress herself - she's wearing a long sleeved dress, with one sleeve hanging empty.
You remove your shoes, leaving them in the shoe rack beside the door, and step in. "Pardon me, I would like to bring the crutches up to Kirika first."
Awkwardly, she hooks the crutches up with her arm, carrying them in the crook of her elbow, and walks off up the stairs. She can't quite bear their weight properly, and they drag against the floor, thumping against every step. You sigh, and drop the two duffel bags on the floor, taking a seat on the sofa.
You sense her moving towards Kirika's presence upstairs, and then both of them return, accompanied by the thudding of a pair of crutches down the stairs, as Kirika carefully makes her way down, helped by Oriko.
Kirika blinks orange eyes at you when she catches sight of you, and looks conflicted, unsure whether to smile or frown at you. Instead, she just quietly moves over to the sofa, sitting on the opposite end of the same sofa you're on. Oriko gives her a smile, and then nods at you, saying "I will be just a moment." She moves off towards the kitchen.
... this is an awfully comfortable sofa, you note as you sink into it.
You glance at Kirika, to find that she's frowning at you. When she sees you looking back at her, she breaks eye contact, glancing away, and you raise an eyebrow, before looking forward again. You can feel her staring at you when you look away, though.
You sigh, deciding to try and open a conversation. "Hi Kirika," you say, staring blankly in front of you.
No response.
"I brought you and Oriko your stuff," you continue a moment later. "At least, I think that's some of your clothes in the bag."
"You hurt Oriko," Kirika mutters.
You sigh again. "I suppose I did."
"But you're nice, and Oriko says you're trying to help too," the black haired girl continues as if you hadn't said anything.
You're nice? Well, yes, you're pretty sure you are, but to Kirika?
... well, you did talk to her that once, you guess?
You shrug. "I am trying to help," you affirm, turning to look at her, eyebrow raised. She looks away again, refusing to meet your gaze.
Oriko returns with a pot of tea, very carefully held in her hand, and then shuttles back into the kitchen, bringing back teacups.
She demurely seats herself, smoothing down her dress, and reaches for the teapot to pour. She moves with a kind of grace that's half trained, pouring daintily, though her hand shakes a little and she nearly spills a bit of the tea. Problems with fine manipulation, you guess.
She pushes a gently steaming cup in front of you, and another to Kirika, before taking one for herself. The tea is a gentle, light green in colour. "Green tea is said to aid in memory, so I hope that you will enjoy it," Oriko notes.
... it's times like this you wish that you wore glasses, you could pull them down to give people a Look. As it is, you give her a flat stare, which she returns with a placid, unruffled look, and a small gesture at the cup of tea resting on the table in front of you.
You roll your eyes, and reach for the cup, sniffing the aroma before taking a sip. The tea tastes almost savoury, to your surprise. Not unpleasant, though.
"This is gyokuro tea," Oriko observes quietly.
You shrug. "This is excellent tea, whatever it is."
Conversation, such as it is, lapses for a while, as the three of you quietly drink the tea. You know enough to gently sip at the tea instead of slurping in down, at any rate. Before long, you have to refill your cup - this tea really is quite good.
"So Oriko," you say, and she looks impassively at you. Out of the corner of your eye, you make sure Kirika's taking a sip of her tea before deploying your next question, with a perfectly straight face. "Is there anything else you need? Another mattress, maybe?"
To your great disappointment, nothing happens, from either Kirika or Oriko. The seer placidly sips at her tea, eyes closed, before glancing at Kirika, and back at you. "Nothing critical, though I do believe that there is still a certain amount of supplies left at the warehouse."
You nod, accepting that. Oriko nods at you, before her eyes go wide and she hastily sets her cup of tea down, covering it with her hand. You quirk an eyebrow at her.
Suddenly, you're inundated by fine spray of tea from Kirika. "Eeeeeeeeh? Another mattress?" The black-haired girl flails wildly, going red in the face. "I mean- we- bed, but we were tired- Oriko?"
Oriko has her eyes closed, and her hand pressed against her face. "Yes, Kirika, there was only one mattress at the warehouse for us to sleep on."
The berserker turns even redder, beginning to resemble a fire-engine in hue. "B-but-"
"Sabrina, could you step out for a moment? Please," the seer asks, still with her eyes closed and a slightly pained look on her face. "Tissues are over there," she adds, pointing at a side table.
Even dripping with tea, you smirk. Pulling a few tissues from the box on the table, you step outside the living room, and as you turn the corner, you see Oriko sitting on the sofa next to Kirika, presumably to talk to her.
You spend a few minutes drying yourself off, and straining your ears to hear the quiet murmurs from the living room to no avail.
When Oriko invites you back in to the room, she's still sitting next to Kirika, and seems disinclined to move from her position. You claim Oriko's previous seat instead, raising an eyebrow at the couple, to which the seer responds with unruffled indifference, and Kirika a reddened face.
"So anyway, Oriko," you say. "That aside, is there anything you need to tell me? Here, or... in private?"
Oriko gives that some thought, eyes going distant. "No. Nothing for the forseeable future."
You narrow your eyes at her. "What do you mean, 'forseeable future'?"
She waves that aside. "Figure of speech. Nothing major should occur within the next day."
Conversation dies again, and you return to sipping your tea. This is made mildly more awkward when Kirika lets out a dreamy giggle and burrows into Oriko's side, which Oriko allows with a fond smile, still imperturbably drinking her tea.
"Hm. There's something I want to try, Oriko, with your help," you tell her.
"Very well," the seer says, checking the teapot. "The tea is nearly finished. Shall we adjourn?"
"No time like the present," you mutter, and push yourself to your feet. "Yeah, let's."
You head out to the rose garden out back, and Oriko and Kirika follow a moment later after Kirika is helped onto her crutches. Kirika drops into the bench in the garden, watching inquisitively. Oriko stands beside said bench, watching you carefully, head tilted and brow slightly furrowed.
"Alright, then," you say, pulling Hildegarde's seed out from your pocket and holding it up. Transforming with a flash of light, you dig deep into the Grief Seed, and begin to draw the Grief out.
It comes free in thick, ropy streamers that flood into the air in an unending torrent. Grief floods the air, and you form it into your familiar wings of corruption, arcing high over the rose bushes and spreading wider and wider. Kirika looks faintly scared, but reassured by Oriko still standing there, seemingly unconcerned.
... well, if the precog isn't worried...
A lot of Grief goes into a single seed, you muse as you decide that the wings are getting ridiculous at a twenty meter wingspan - twenty meters of roiling, rippling corruption. Instead, you start coalescing the Grief into spheres - less marbles and more basketballs, accreting rapidly by the dozen.
"Excuse me, I will be back in a moment," Oriko notes, walking back into the house, leaving Kirika to divide her attention between peering back for Oriko and staring at what you're doing.
For some reason, you feel that there should be wind blowing to ruffle your hair and coat dramatically, but the weather remains obdurately uncooperative and there's not even the faintest hint of a breeze. It's even cool enough that you can't say that sweat is beading on your brow as you concentrate.
A clunking noise has you turning to look, and you find that Oriko's dragging an empty cat carrier over.
... huh.
After what feels like hours, you feel the massive river of Grief begin to dry up, slowly petering out over the next few minutes. All that's left in there is a quiescent Hildegard. And you try to remove that, too.
... it doesn't move. Your magical fingers simply slide right off a target that doesn't... quite seem to respond to your prodding. You go slightly cross-eyed - it feels like you're less trying to remove the filling from a doughnut, and more like you're trying to remove the concept of a doughnut from the doughnut. You give up on it after trying for a few more moments.
You look around. Depending from your shoulders are ten meter long swathes of the night sky of an alien world carved into reality., your wings, larger than you've ever made before. You might actually be able to fly with these. The air is thick with hundreds of basketball sized balls of Grief, drifting aimlessly about in the air and bumping into each other with dull clacks. In your hand is a Grief Seed -maybe it's just a Seed now since there isn't any Grief inside?- unlike any other you've seen, clear crystal with a single inky black spot in the exact center instead of midnight black obsidian.
"Um," you say eloquently.
Kirika lets out an impressed whistle.
"So... yeah," you say after a moment. You toss the empty Seed at Oriko, who reaches up to catch it, her sleeve sliding back for a moment to reveal a tightly bound splint.
"I suppose you can guess what I wanted to try out," you tell Oriko.
"Yes," Oriko says. "Kirika?"
"Are you sure, Oriko?" the black haired girl asks, a worried frown on her face as she fumbles in her pockets.
Oriko concentrates, and nods. Kirika smiles, and pulls out Oriko's Soul Gem, holding it up. Without hesitation, the seer touches the Seed to her Soul Gem.
Nothing dramatic happens. Oriko's Soul Gem becomes cleaner, and the emptied Seed becomes a little cloudy, almost imperceptibly so.
... huh.
Oriko eyes at the Seed, then you, and then the masses of Grief.
You shrug. "I wanted to know what would happen."
The pointed silence intensifies.
"You know what, come over here, I'll heal your arm at least," you say, trying to change the subject.
"That would be appreciated," Oriko says, moving over and first handing you the Seed before presenting you with her arm, shaking back her sleeve. She has indeed splinted her arm - Kirika did that, you assume.
"I'm going to have to take this off," you note, and pull a wisp of Grief to you to form a razor sharp blade you run over the bandages, slicing carefully through them, and they fall aside, glowing briefly purple along the cut edges. You wince as the wrappings fall to the ground - heavy, mottled bruises adorn her forearm, indicative of heavy internal bleeding. Probably from all the activity she had to put it through.
"Yeah, gonna want to sit down for this one," you mutter, and drop straight down to the manicured grass, mindful of your wings. Oriko sits too, demurely folding her legs to the side.
You begin to heal Oriko's arm in silence, noting Kirika wandering over and very gingerly lowering herself to sit beside the seer and lean against her other side. With a twist of your will, musical instruments form out of the Grief, multitudes more than you had last time, and you jerk your head at the instruments. "Any requests?"
Oriko shakes her head, so you start playing, meandering along song genres to fill up the silence.
It takes over an hour to fix Oriko's arm, and another two to patch up the internal damage and other such problems from the bullets for both her and Kirika - it's somewhere past twelve noon when you finish.
"Well. That's done," you announce, rising to your feet. Kirika remains lying facedown on the grass - you suspect that she may actually be asleep at this point, relaxing under the shade of the canopy of Grief literally blocking out the sun.
"Good afternoon, Oriko, Sabrina."
Oriko's head jerks up sharply, and she rises to her feet, gliding forward a step before swooping with her now repaired arm to snatch Kyuubey up by the scruff of its neck. Without pause, she spins, gliding back across the grass and shoves the Incubator inside the cat carrier she'd brought out earlier.
"Why are you doing this?" Kyuubey asks.
"My prescience told me to," Oriko answers blandly.
...
That's not how her prescience works.
Oriko turns and holds a finger to her lips.
... huh.
Soooooo that happened.
[] I must go. My planet needs me. (Try to fly away.)
[] Put the Grief back into the Seed
[] Feed the Grief to Kyuubey
[] Talk to...
- [] Oriko
- [] Kirika
- [] Kyuubey
-- [] Write-in topic
[] Write-in
=====​
I have mentioned how much Grief goes into a Grief Seed before.
Last edited: Aug 31, 2014
Threadmarks Surface Tension pt. 11
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#### Firnagzen

Operator

- Aug 30, 2014

- #7,400

You smirk, and move to crouch in front of the cat carrier, still carefully manuveuring your wings to avoid the other two puella magi, the house, the rose bushes, and, well, the everything. Two red eyes glow dimly behind the closed door, staring out at you.
"That look suits you," you inform it dryly.
"I don't understand," Kyuubey says, almost plaintively. Or perhaps you're ascribing emotion where there's none. Likely the latter.
"That is not my problem," you shrug, before asking sharply, "Why are you here right now?"
"I detected an unusual build up of Grief in this area," the Incubator replies. "It would appear that you are the cause."
"Guilty," you smirk, rising to your feet. You turn, raising your wings so that you don't hit Oriko and Kirika. Oriko remains standing, smiling faintly, but Kirika yelps and ducks even as the wings pass harmlessly above her head.
Feh. Precogs.
"So, moving on..." you glance at Kirika, and cleanse her Soul Gem with a careless wave of your hand. The minuscule amount of Grief is lost within the constellation of Grief spheres that's still drifting aimlessly above you to form a vaguely unsettling canopy. "Nothing else, Oriko?"
Oriko shakes her head. "I do not believe so."
You nod. "I should go," you say, in clipped tones. "My planet needs me."
Oriko arches an aristocratic eyebrow at you, but half bows to you.
You lean back, drawing the wings up, and then drag them downwards.
Your breath leaves you in a gasp as the downstroke abruptly jerks you two meters into the air. Dust and loose gravel flies. "Grk!" You pinwheel, flailing your arms wildly, and tilt drunkenly to the side, wings and all. Out of the corner of your eye, you can see Oriko, hand slung around Kirika's waist, sidestepping quickly to get out of you- ohshitground!
You flap your wings frantically, trying to gain height. One of the wings clips the ground, tearing into and uprooting a rosebush. Well, Oriko doesn't actually like those roses, you think dizzily as you manage to skim forward, avoiding actually hitting anything.
More height.
You bank and circle, desperately working to angle your wings properly to gain more height and trying to see if you can find a thermal to loft you higher up - bloody pigeons can do this, why shouldn't you. Every stroke has your breath coming harder, with the powerful, jerking flaps of your wings.
Still, you're flying, albeit not very well, skimming over the city while orbited by a swarm of hundreds of Grief spheres the size of basketballs.
"Don't worry, Kyuubey," you think back at the Incubator. "I'll come back and let you out later. Probably. If Oriko doesn't, and I don't forget."
"That would be appreciated," Kyuubey replies.
... There's probably better, and more comfortable, ways of flying. But this probably looks damned badass, you figure. If you could perfect the flight, anyway.
"Sabrina? Is that you?" Mami's voice trickles into your head.
"Uhhh, yeah, I think so?" you look down, and somewhere in the dizzying distance below you, you see what you're pretty sure is Mitakihara Middle school. There's a glint of light, here and gone again, and you try to wave at it, your arm jolting about with every flap of your wings.
"Sabrina, you're flying!" Madoka breaks in, voice full of wonder. You can just about hear the squeal of 'so cooooooool'.
"Uhhh. Yeah. New trick I figured out?" you say sheepishly as you bank into a spiral.
"Be careful," another voice - Homura, and you have the distinct sense that she opened another 'channel'. "I almost shot you."
"Oh." You can see why she might have, yeah. Another glint of light from below. "Well, no harm, no foul."
"Hm," Homura grunts.
"So I'm guessing it's lunchtime?" you ask more generally.
"It is," Mami confirms. "We're all on the rooftop."
[] Put away the Grief and join them
[] Get your own lunch
[] Do something else
[] Write-in
=====​
Ah, rooftop lunches.
Last edited: Aug 30, 2014
Threadmarks Surface Tension pt. 12
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#### Firnagzen

Operator

- Aug 31, 2014

- #7,475

"Hey, mind if I join you for lunch?" you ask.
"Of course, Sabrina," Mami says, followed quickly by a "Sure!" from Madoka. "We have about forty-five minutes left for our lunch break," Mami adds.
... it occurs to you that you don't actually have any lunch. You can fix that, though. A more tricky problem is how to land, you think as you bank in a circle, holding the wings out straight and letting yourself glide in a rapidly descending spiral.
Well.
There's a nice, flat rooftop over there that's getting rather close.
Nothing for it then. You aim at the roof, trying to judge your speed, before folding your wings and simply let yourself drop. You hit the roof at speed, and drop into a shoulder roll to bleed of spee-
The wings have other ideas, though, since they're steadfastedly depending from your shoulders. Your breath slams out of your lungs as what would be a graceful roll turns into an ungainly tumble, and you bounce off the edge of the roof, plummeting into the alleyway below.
... Not actually a problem, as you flare your wings powerfully to slow your descent, just missing an errant antenna sticking out of a window.
You land gently, wings slowing your descent enough to not shatter pavement.
... whoo.
You take a moment to catch your breath, hands on your knees - that was exciting, if nothing else! Finally, you straighten, and look at the dense dome of Grief spheres and the wings visible out of the corner of your eyes. You can't exactly walk around with those floating around, can you.
The only place for you to put the Grief to is back in Hildegard's Seed -you suppose you could make a giant Grief monolith and leave it here, but that's probably a bad idea- so you dig the Seed out of your pocket and hold it up, moving a few spheres out of the way so that the light catches the Seed.
Yep. Still a mostly clear, spherical shape with a pinprick dot of darkness in the centre. You shrug, and begin pouring the Grief back in - it goes in much more readily than it came out, the Seed vacuuming it in almost as fast as you can disincorporate your spheres.
Finally, the Grief is gone, and the Grief Seed back to looking like, well, a Grief Seed. You pocket it, and dismiss your puella magi costume in a blaze of light, fastidiously smoothing down your skirt before wandering out to the main road.
The midday sun is annoyingly hot, though the air temperature is still relatively cool, and you duck into a nearby shop to pick up some takeaway lunch - just a simple bento, and then wander around the back of the building to bounce up to the roof, taking care not to jostle your food too much as you roofhop to the building next to the school.
You squint at the school rooftop, with its absurdly ornate fencing, just barely making out the three people sitting there, bright little bobs of pink, blonde, and black hair. This will be a tricky jump - that fence was supposed to prevent people from falling off the roof, in all likelihood, but it's also a decent barrier for people jumping onto the roof.
You transform again, and back up a few steps, and then sprint forward, pushing yourself off the edge of the roof in an explosive jump, soaring over the distance.
The rushing of air past your ears, the sensation of your hair and coat billowing out behind you are old friends by now. The plastic bento tray carefully held in your hand is new, though.
You clear the fence with very little distance to spare, hooking your free hand against one of the supporting struts and spinning to a sliding halt on the ground.
You grin at the three on the roof. "Hey everyone!"
Madoka's sitting between Mami and Homura on the large bench in the middle of the roof, all three with open lunchboxes on their lap. Beside Madoka is a pair of binoculars - probably those glints of light earlier, and the pinkette is currently recovering from a flinch that sent bits of rice everywhere.
"Uh... oops. Sorry, Madoka," you say sheepishly.
"Hi, Sabrina," Madoka says, picking the sticky bits of rice off herself.
"Hello, Sabrina," Mami says with an indulgent smile as she turns to help Madoka with the rice.
Homura just nods at you in acknowledgement.
You untransform and move over, sitting down beside Mami, who beams at you. "So what have you been doing?"
"Ah, nothing much," you say airily while opening your packed lunch. "Experimenting with my powers."
"Did you discover anything special?" Mami asks, taking a bite of her lunch.
"Well, the wings," you say, starting in on your own lunch. "Unfortunately, I don't really know how to fly. I uh... may have crashed. A bit."
Madoka giggles, eating her own lunch. "They look really cool, though!"
Mami nods in agreement, "Maybe you just need more practice?"
"Probably!" you agree. "So how's things today?"
An unhappy look crosses Madoka's face. "I'm worried about Sayaka."
You smile at her, trying to reassure her. "She's alright, Madoka. They all are."
"I know, I know," Madoka mutters glumly. "But their house burned down!"
"She's still alive and healthy," Homura says quietly.
"I suppose that's true," Madoka says, turning to look at the time traveller.
"It's what counts," Mami says, equally quietly, before taking another bite of her lunch. In a transparent attempt to change the subject, she turns to you, and informs you, "The lunch you cooked is great!"
"You cooked this, Sabrina?" Madoka asks, peering over at Mami's lunchbox. "It looks good..."
[] Get Homura to offer Madoka some
[] Don't
[] Write-in
=====​
You have a hundred and four Grief marbles in your sling bag, and two Grief Seeds in your pocket.
This was going to be cute and fluffy, but Madoka didn't want to cooperate.
Threadmarks Surface Tension pt. 13
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#### Firnagzen

Operator

- Aug 31, 2014

- #7,492

You fight the urge to twitch, and instead contact Homura telepathically. "Offer her some!" You simultaneously nudge Mami with your elbow, indicating Homura with a slight tilt of your head when Mami looks at you, and out loud, you say, "Ah, it's nothing special, really. Nothing compared to Mami's cooking!"
Violet eyes meet yours, across the bench, eyebrows slightly furrowed, while Mami demurs, "Your cooking is just as good." To you, Mami asks, "Homura? What about her?"
"Nonsense," you say, keeping an eye on Homura, who's looking down at her lunch. "My cooking is just passable. Yours is amazing," you say to Mami. "I'm trying to get her to offer Madoka some of the food."
"Homura... and Madoka?" Mami asks, sounding surprised. "Oh. Ohhhh. Are you sure?" Out loud, she says, "Ah... Thank you, Sabrina, but I'm really not that good."
"Oh yes, I'm sure," you tell Mami, meeting Madoka's eyes and rolling your own good naturedly. She smiles shyly back.
You can see Mami's eyes light up with mischief.
Homura, by contrast, is still hesitating. "Come on, Homura! We talked about this!" you say to her.
The time traveller abruptly pushes her half eaten lunch over to Madoka's lap, and snatches up the binoculars. "My apologies, I've just remembered something else I have to do," she murmurs, rising to her feet.
Homura turns in a swirl of black hair, and stalks off back into the school building proper.
"H-Homura?" Madoka calls tremulously, as you blink at her retreating back. The time traveller slows, but resolutely continues forward, shoes clicking against the tile.
You exchange a look with Mami. "Did you...?"
"No... are you sure, Sabrina? About Homura?" Mami asks, mystified.
[] Stay with Mami and Madoka
[] Go after Homura
- [] Bring Mami and Madoka with you
[] Write-in
=====​
Dammit Homura!
Last edited: Aug 31, 2014
Threadmarks Surface Tension pt. 14
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#### Firnagzen

Operator

- Sep 1, 2014

- #7,563

You groan, and heave yourself to your feet, putting your half-eaten lunch aside. "Excuse me, I should go after her," you mutter. "Yeah, I'm sure. I think I... pushed her too hard," you tell Mami.
"Oh... good luck, Sabrina," Madoka says, looking down and poking her fingers together.
"Hmm," Mami replies thoughtfully.
You walk after Homura at a brisk clip, feet ringing on the tiled floor. "Homura, wait up!" you call.
To your mild surprise, she does, turning with brows furrowed.
She's only a little further down the corridor, nearly at the stairwell. "I..." you swallow. "I'm sorry. Sorry for pushing you like that, out of the blue. I should have known better."
Homura grimaces, but nods slowly.
You sigh. "How are you feeling right now?" you ask gently.
"I'm fine," she bites out.
"Homura, please let me help you," you plead. It's like pulling teeth, getting anything from the girl. "I... you can't just go on like this, pushing everyone away. This was... too far, and I'm sorry, but... please, Homura, tell me what's wrong."
She struggles with herself, expressions crossing her face lightning-quick - dismay, annoyance, fear, longing, and more you can't even begin to guess at. Finally, finally, she begins speaking, a quiet whisper. "I'm scared." Her hands are trembling, the slightest, barely visible quiver.
And maybe you can guess a little at that, from what she's said before.
[] Write-in
=====​
Dammit, Homura.
Threadmarks Surface Tension pt. 15
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#### Firnagzen

Operator

- Sep 1, 2014

- #7,591

You exhale slowly.
"C'mon, Homura," you say, looking around for somewhere to sit. There's little better than the stairs, so you gesture at them. When the black haired girl doesn't move, you gently grab her by the elbow, and she flinches a little from the unexpected contact, but doesn't pull away fully.
You guide her over to the stairs and sit her down. She doesn't resist, simply letting you lead her, and then hugging her knees to herself when she sits. You sit beside her and cast a quick eye around, looking for anyone, or anything, listening in. There's no one, so...
"Homura," you begin gently. "Talk to me, would you? I'm happy to just listen."
She just stays quiet, the distant noise of middle-schoolers on their lunch break filtering up to you via the staircase.
"Or... let's start small," you say, after fruitlessly waiting for a minute. "What did you do today? After you left?"
She's still quiet, just hugging herself tightly in a hunched, miserable pose.
"C'mon, Homura. You and Mami walked to school, I'm sure?" you coax gently.
She nods jerkily.
"Did you meet Madoka on the way?" you ask.
Another jerky nod.
"I'm sure she was happy to see you?" You make it a question, trying to get her to talk.
"She was," Homura whispers reluctantly.
"And?" you prompt.
"We... talked," she says. "About school."
"Mm. And then?"
"We reached school, and had our classes," Homura replies. "She... asked Mami and I up here for lunch."
"And nothing bad happened," you point out.
She shivers, a whole body quiver. "It's early yet," she says, voice low and choked. "I don't know what's coming. Whether she- what I've done-"
Homura makes that little gesture you've seen just once, that half aborted grasp at something just out of her reach.
[] Write-in
=====​
Poor sad Homu.
Last edited: Sep 1, 2014
Threadmarks Surface Tension pt. 16
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#### Firnagzen

Operator

- Sep 2, 2014

- #7,633

"'If someone tells me that it's wrong to hope, I'll tell them they're wrong every time,'" you quote, smiling whimsically. "Once upon a never, Madoka said that. And you know, she's right. Wise girl, that one. Wise words."
Homura shudders.
You shrug. "Once upon a never... Constantly hurtling into the unknown. But y'know, that's how most of us work. You may not know if we can win, going down this new path-" you stress that 'we', "-and you may not know if Madoka can accept everything you've done."
As you speak, Homura seems to collapse in on herself. "But you know what? If you don't at least try, then you're going to fail by default. Reach for the heavens, or you'll banish yourself to hell without even hearing the judgement."
Homura shudders, still hugging her knees.
"I mean really, Homura," you say, taking another quick look around. "You're still here. You're still trying. You believe, at least on some level, that maybe we can win this time. And perhaps I sound like a broken record by now, but I'm going to do my damnedest to make sure that we do."
The time traveller nods jerkily. "I... yes."
You smile. "I'll take it that you're agreeing with me that we'll win. And really, one more thing - I think you're selling Madoka short." You give her a friendly bump against the shoulder, making her look up at you. "Didn't you start your quest simply because she's a good person who deserves to be saved?"
A pause for emphasis, making sure Homura's listening to you. "I happen to agree. Madoka has an enormous heart, and plenty of room for understanding and forgiveness. You know this, and I know that she can and will forgive you."
"So I was pushing you too fast, earlier. And I'm sorry for that," you say. "Take it slow if you need to, but give her a chance to be that kind-hearted friend you remember again. It's what you're fighting for, isn't it?"
"Now come on, Homura," you say, pulling yourself to your feet by the railing and offering the girl your hand again, the... third? time you've done so. "There's... maybe fifteen minutes left to lunch, you barely ate, and Madoka's waiting. Give her a chance. Give yourself a chance."
She takes your hand, and you pull her to her feet. You clap her on the shoulder, and then wave back at the door to the rooftop, sunlight still shining merrily through.
She takes a hesitant step forward. "Go on," you prompt.
She goes, back straightening and moving with more confidence as she walks out into the sunlight.
There's probably something terribly symbolic and all about that, you reflect as you follow her out, blinking in the sudden brightness of the sunlight compared to the relative dimness of the corridor. The wind blows as if to punctuate this, setting both yours and Homura's hair streaming out dramatically.
"Homura!" Madoka calls, brightening up and waving at the black haired girl when she catches sight of you.
Mami smiles at you, and tilts her head questioningly. "Well?"
You shrug. "I pushed her too hard, I guess."
"Well, she came back," she replies as you meander back over, and Homura sits down beside Madoka. Out loud, the blonde says, "Welcome back, Homura."
Homura nods. Madoka beams, and passes the lunchbox back to Homura. "I'm glad you came back. You should eat up, Homura!" The black haired girl accepts the lunchbox with a quiet, "Thank you."
You smile and dig in to your lunch again. It's cold by now, but the warm glow of satisfaction is well and away better than the food, in any case. Mami nudges you, and opens her own lunch box with a snap of the hinges. "Here, I saved some salmon for you."
You blink at her in surprise, as she plucks the slice of fish up with her chopsticks and drops it into your bento. "Store bought food is never as good as homemade," she admonishes with a small smile. You return the smile, and return to your eating.
Homura eats quietly, with Madoka watching her with an anxious smile. "Homura?"
"Yes, Madoka?" Homura asks quietly.
"I didn't upset you, did I?" the pinkette asks.
"No, of course not!" Homura says, looking up in slight shock.
"Oh, that's good," Madoka says, smiling in relief, twiddling her fingers a bit. "Don't... don't run away, please?"
"I..." Homura opens her mouth, and then shuts it again. "OK."
You exchange a glance with Mami, both of you with raised eyebrows. "Hmmm?"
"Maybe," she agrees.
Madoka watches Homura eat for a moment, before glancing over at you. "Um... Sabrina?"
"Yep?" you ask, looking up from your own lunch.
"Um... How are you going to get out of school?" she asks tentatively.
You look around at the fences hemming you in. They were difficult enough to clear on your way in, and climbing, or jumping down the outside of the school is going to attract a lot of attention. You look down at yourself, rather distinctly not in school uniform.
Really, the only reason you've gotten away with the roof hopping, you suspect, is because no one looks up, and probably a little Kyuubey help.
"... I have no idea," you admit.
"Oh, Sabrina," Mami groans fondly, palming her face. Madoka giggles.
You shrug. "I'll figure something out. I might try flying out?" you offer.
It's far too soon when the bell rings, and you reluctantly stand with the others - they have school to be getting back to.
"Bye, Sabrina!" Madoka calls as she turns to go. "See you after school!"
"See you later," Mami says warmly.
Homura... Homura nods at you. "Thank you."
"No need," you reply.
You smile as the three of them return to school. You've got a few minutes to make a get away, now, before someone comes up to check, you feel.
[] Grief wings again
[] Grief hoverboard
[] Write-in
[] What next?
=====​
That went well.
Last edited: Sep 2, 2014
Threadmarks Surface Tension pt. 17
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#### Firnagzen

Operator

- Sep 3, 2014

- #7,736

You're definitely going to have to fly out, since wandering the school corridors with your very distinctively not-a-school-uniform clothes is just going to raise more questions. Still, wings or perhaps something new, considering that you did an excellent impression of a drunken moth with said wings?
After a brief debate with yourself that involved a diversion into thoughts about fixed wing flight at some point, you decide to try something new, and hopefully more stable. Under your control, the Grief marbles file out of your sling bag, pushing aside the flap. You mould them into a flat, skateboard sized platform, hovering a few centimeters above the floor.
You nudge it with your foot, simultaneously trying to keep it in place with your powers. It doesn't budge, and so you gingerly place one foot on it, pressing down hard. Again, it doesn't so much as move a millimeter. With increasing confidence, you bring both feet, your entire body weight onto the hoverboard, which remains obdurately stationary in mid air, nailed in place by your Grief manipulation.
... Magic is such bullshit.
You flick your fingers, and the board rises, under your control, with you carefully balancing on top of it. You easily clear the top of the fence, and float off. The hoverboard is nice, but balancing on it is slightly annoying - one slip and you're in for a rather long fall which might not be fatal, but would be... unfortunate.
Still, this is quite pleasant as compared to the wings of corruption - certainly a lot smoother than the flight with your wings, though you can't help but wonder if that's more because of your inexperience with them.
High above the city, in the clean, clear air, you cruise along, one hand casually slung in your pocket. What now, with the four or so hours to burn?
You decide that you could go look for the girl out by the west - Gaikotsu Masami. Might as well go sound her out a bit early, before things come to a head. Other than 'somewhere in the western end', though, you're not terribly sure where she lives.
You head back home, and look her up with Mami's computer. You're vaguely surprised that residential listings still exist... Ah, well. It's terribly convenient that they do, so you're not complaining, really.
You're soon zipping along at speed towards the west end of the city on your hoverboard, finding yourself cruising amongst some upscale apartment blocks. They look relatively new, built within the past few years, at a guess. Construction works are dotted here and there, new buildings still going up.
Masami's apartment is on the seventh floor, and you're soon standing outside the apartment door - to your surprise, there are two magical presences inside the apartment, both seemingly sitting in what you'd guess is the living room.
... they're sitting rather close together, you note with amusement.
[] Write-in
=====​
For the record, Masami is her first name.
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