Sakura opens her eyes, trying to expand her field of vision and tell the focus of the magic in hopes of undoing it.
| 1 person marked this as a favorite. |
The sound of squealing brings Iris's full attention to the Glitter Force. It seems the group had their attention now. They'd probably be more comfortable if she did the talking, considering their general attitudes to all this. Time to put on her best face. 「You bet. Anything happened yet, or are people just trying to pass time as things get set up?」
At Beauty's comment, Iris's eyes flit briefly to her wrist. She could have sworn she'd dismissed the holographic interface - it should just be the band. Just roll with it. She makes a little show of the thing. 「You like it? That's good. You have no idea how much of a pain it was to rig this up. Not something I'm going to do again in a hurry.」
There's a brief quizzical look when Happy speaks up. Just how old IS she? It's not her place to question about that, but she has to wonder if she'll be ok. She should get an answer, at least. She puffs up and twirls the pool skimmer again, bringing its end to the ground with it almost perfectly upright. 「To catch evil spirits!...and because any of my more appropriate props usually get me more hassle than it's worth.」 There's a brief flicker of a smirk on her face. 「You can't exactly just carry a sword around, even if it isn't real, can you?」
From your palms, a pair of doll’s eyes sprout, pulling themselves free on spindly needle-like legs, and climbing out onto the leash like tightrope walkers. Then, quick as a flash, the eyes skim along the length of the leash into the distance.
Your tracer oculi slide across the grass, passing multiple conjoining snake paths, until they reach the mall. They slide in through the arcade, passing a multicolored bus and multiple adults carrying large cases and trunks into one of the loading docks. Through the central hall, the oculi skim down a clean square hole in the floor on the east side. The rubble that was once there is cleared and a simple ramp has been constructed. Down below, tables are being set up along the walls, and your oculi zip up past a mostly-constructed stage and into the backstage area. Here, they can see the adults from above filing in through a staircase on the west side of the building.
Finally, the leash ends at the foot of a large bass speaker on wheels. Standing in front of the speaker is a large eastern european man with thick, curly, strawberry-blond hair that frames a wide forehead and blunt features. He wears denim pants and a black leather jacket emblazoned with a sixteen pointed sun. He has a single, massive anchor chain, wrought in black metal, leading away from him. Lifting his sunglasses with one sausage-like finger, he peers down at your oculi, then casually takes one step to the side to crush your summoned doll’s eyes. No one else seemed to have seen them.
| 1 person marked this as a favorite. |
Chrysanth lets her eyes wander from speaker to speaker, glad to have a more extroverted companion to deal with the talking. She tries her best to fade from the limelight and let Iris handle the cosplayers, but that quickly proves impossible as the youngest of the group points her out. She glances at the girl through the curtain of inky black bangs, the skull mask beneath still stained in ash and black tears of ichor, before shifting her head slightly, obscuring it with yet more hair.
All the preparation in the world along with a hasty cover story does nothing to help Naiad handle appreciative cosplayers. It's simply and plainly out of their element.
Rather than opening their mouth and potentially giving anything away, they give a polite nod and hope that portraying the 'shy' one of the trio will be 'good enough for government work'.
Seriously, you have all that power and folks who appreciate your appearance and you're not capitalizing on that? WHY NOT?! This is what you're due for all the hard work you do!
Hard work is it's own reward. We don't give commendations to folks who stand their watches and do their jobs correctly. It's not all about you.
|
| 1 person marked this as a favorite. |
Kiyomi is not quite certain how to respond to her mother; she did not expect the explanation to be so... sincere. Apologetic, even. Only a short time ago if Kiyomi had asked such a question she would have expertly dodged it, moving the conversation on in a whirlwind of words the daughter could not possibly keep up with.
The new Aratani is different... strange, unfamiliar. But warm, in a way. Kiyomi nods in understanding, allowing a small smile to develop.
Her smile is broken in a look of surprise as she's pounced upon by Suzu, but when she processes what is happening Kiyomi happily returns the embrace. She does not quite recognize as Suzu's warm words turn to chill, and fails to process the severity before her mother chases off the maid.
「Wait, Su-chan, I-」 Kiyomi wanted to seek Suzu's advice regarding tonight, but...
I suppose I'm doing this on my own. Kiyomi gives a respectful bow to her mother and Tiresias and leaves for her bedroom to get ready for the night.
| 1 person marked this as a favorite. |
Tiresias observed the exchange of words between them all, she feel like a trespasser. An outsider witnessing something not meant for them. She tried to look as desinterested as possible, a feeble attempt at giving both Kiyomi and Aratani the privacy they deserved in this situation.
As Kiyomi leaves the room Tiresias clears her throat to attract Aratani's attention.
「Rituals? You can actually perform magic with predictable results and even by non contracted people? Could you teach me a bit? I should probably ward my home too.」
Tiresias then realised that maybe Aratani would like to rest, it was late and the day was very taxing to everyone, also she could probably get the answers and directions for rituals if she researched her little book at home.
「I mean, you're probably tired. I'll contact you later don't worry. I should probably go home too.」
With that she bowed to both of them and started walking towards the place where the limo probably is.
| 1 person marked this as a favorite. |
Another hearth? Why's this here? Brigid looks the hearth hers intersects with. Someone has to have made this. But who?
Of more interest to her is the alley. Seems like the waerloga don't get on. Great. More to deal with... She'd had enough of people causing her problems.
And then, the waerloga descends. The feeling of her tattered soul is sickening. Is this what these waerloga are like? Are they so eager to throw everything away for more power? I've had enough of this. She will be dealt with later.
Brigid continues toward the node before she's noticed. She needs to take that node.
| 1 person marked this as a favorite. |
As you watch, a second card slides into place, an area effect featuring a redhead in heavy armor. Scarlet Warrioress, from Fairy Tail
The two cards seem conflicting, but aren't interacting yet.
“What’s this now? This country is so strange.” Muirgel slides into place at your side. It seems she gave the dire waerloga and the foreign hearth a wide birth and only caught up now. “Nae three blocks from a war zone, we find this little knitting circle. I- ... I dunnae think they all have foci with them either. All told, I think you could take ‘em. S’ just five stars, none of them weapons, and they’re probably not very well trained. I mean, unless yer here to parley.”
For her part, the little Cure Happy nods. 「It just looked like a odd choice, like maybe you were holding it for Shogun-chan」 She outright points at Naiad. 「Usually props make more sense than that, like how the Glitter- er... we use these makeup cases because we’re a metaphor for the transition from girl to woman.」 It’s still hard to tell if she’s an obsessed child or a small, socially oblivious woman. She says a lot of big words, but they sound parroted.
「Ji-chan, shush, it’s a net for catsching ghostses.」Cure Beauty almost falls off Cure March’s shoulder. With a grunt, March hefts Beauty upright.
The girl in orange has also been quiet, and you can see a few telling phantoms dragging down her sloped shoulders. She doesn’t want to embarrass herself, she doesn’t want to embarrass her friends; these fears you’ve seen before. What she’s most afraid of, however, is something that looks like a conical flask filled with green liquid. It bubbles and sloshes in a nauseating manner. You can see her subtly pressing her stomach. She’s the only one not carrying a drink.
At least the hunger is gone, for now. You don’t feel that spirit flame in your belly any more, but it also doesn’t feel hollow yet.
| 1 person marked this as a favorite. |
I know I didn't...this means something. Probably not something good, either. Think...this is used to put effects in play. Each card represents a magical effect. So odds are, it's magic that's in effect here, and definitely not mine. What are the cards trying to tell me?
Given the Warrioress's sudden appearance, they've just become relevant around here. Whatever it represents has a range of influence. There's more to this, but...unless it's to do with weapons and armour or something, I don't know. I think I'd notice that, with this thing. The magic is known as The Knight, so if I work off the name...protection, maybe? I have nothing to base this off.
The Gorgon's was surely here before us. Latent effect or a trap means something happens when certain conditions are met. Gorgons are most noted for their ability to petrify but...this is for Medusa Gorgon, of Soul Eater. I don't think that was one of her talents. So...snakes? That's prevalent for both. SOMETHING to do with snakes. If there's anything else you'd pick up on, it was her ability to inhabit another body, but that was generally animals, and needed some form of extra influence to make it work. I think I can only work with snakes without any other info.
I'm pretty sure both effects come from difference sources, the way they conflict. They counteract each other. But so far, they haven't come into contact yet. In any case, there's at least one other magical girl that's been here a while, and another who's either just come here, or more likely was here before and only just decided to exert herself. I'm pretty certain the Gorgon is something to watch out for, if nothing else. If the Warrioress can counteract that, I don't see how it works against us, so perhaps I should give it a hand.
Despite the elaborate thought processes going on, nothing really seems different with Iris. It was a trick she'd managed to learn. 「I guess so. But Shirakawa or not, this should be good. I'm interested in seeing what's going on right now. Feel free to come with us, but I think it might be an idea to make sure Beauty can at least stand herself, at least so March doesn't have to hold her up.」 Speaking of Beauty, even if she couldn't stand, her reaction to Happy was still amusing. 「A lot of people don't get that in depth about this, you know - which is why I can say this is a ghost-catching net and it makes just about as much sense as anything else to most.」
「Oh, yeah, reminds me. One moment!」 Iris turns to her group, huddling them together as best she can to talk privately. 「Alright guys? See the disk? There's something magical going on here. This one means something snake-y, possibly related to body invasion, and it's been here the whole time. This one just showed up - all I can guess is it has an area of influence, comes from someone other than the snake thing's caster, is probably useful to us, and counteracts the snake. I'm going to try something. Keep an eye out.」
Iris plucks out an amplifier card, and attempts to hook it in with the Warrioress, despite not knowing if she can do that so easily like with her own spells. For all she knows, she could be applying it to either card. She doesn't try to pull on the skimmer's magic, in case Kazue can pick up on it. That done, she turns back to Peace and the rest. 「Sorry about that. You coming with us, or do you have other plans for now?」
| 1 person marked this as a favorite. |
Sakura looks in horror to her own belt then towards the mall before running back the way she came, desperately searching for bus lights in the horizon.
It takes a few minutes--long enough for you to collect your thoughts and pick up the toddling Tomoyo--for the bus to arrive. When the door opens, you see that expression of recognition and concern that you see on strangers who see you often enough to think they know you.
「You leave something at the hospital, Mika-chan?」The busdriver does not look committed to a conversation, and would probably remain quiet if Sakura just stormed past. Looking at the route indicator on the driver’s dash, you can tell this is the in-bound bay route, and you’re only a few minutes away from the mall.
The only other person on the bus is sleeping. You’re getting hungry, but you have time now to eat whatever you have left in your backpack from the hospital. As you get further away, the chains of control you have on the unconscious boy begin to fade.
| 1 person marked this as a favorite. |
As May and Sora take a step through the door, everything feels right for a moment. Just the right amount of quiet - people alive nearby, doing the things alive people do, but keeping their lives tidily sequestered behind closed doors. She briefly ponders if any of them were napping nearby, then shakes her head, frowning.
She opens her eyes and begins to start forward down the hall, then stops. Her eyes dart across the pile of clothes, doublechecking that everything is still there (despite the fact that it would be utterly impossible to tell what was missing in that state, or even if all of the clothes had been dumped out.) There was something about your things being tossed around that was incredibly violating, and while burglar was the first thing that came to mind, the realization that something worse could be waiting on the other side of the door gave her pause. What help would a can of mace be against a nightmarish creature?
The hand that had been reaching for that closes around her pastels, as she runs the tip of each finger across them. She keeps her voice low - barely a whisper - as she says "Cloud Watcher Tenshi."
The transformation is immediate in the way dreams always were, the wings simply forming from the things she lost when she changed as if it had always been that way. Pale skin and dark hair simply becoming the new reality as the makeup, having been already ruined by the forcible transformation earlier simply vanishes - along with her hoodie, pants, and modesty as her wings moved to cover her and her miniskirt. But she didn't have time to feel violated in that way, as the fact that someone had entered her home and touched her things and may have taken some of them became forefront in her mind.
Suddenly, she felt as though she could tell exactly what was missing - impossible, but every piece of clothing she didn't see was added to a long list that some part of her mind was keeping. She growls low as her literal feathers ruffle, now free of their constraints, occasionally simply fluttering her annoyance to the world - like a toddler who has no idea what to do with their arms, because they're too angry.
She stomps towards the doorway in her stocking feet, which completely ruins the tempo of her own personal storm, but it doesn't dissuade her as she crosses the threshold, still staring at the clothing until she crosses through the doorway, allowing her eyes to dart around after flicking the light switch on through muscle memory and very little rational thought.
Something deep and primal urges you to take flight, to seek the vermin that took your posessions and to see them punished. Your eyes pick out subtle impressions in your scattered clothes, the impressions of those that tread through your home.
|
|
| 1 person marked this as a favorite. |
Kiyomi looks at herself in the mirror. Her magical girl form is truly gorgeous; the impossible perfection of of it would make many men declare love at first sight, falling head over heels for a beauty that they never have nor never will experience again.
But it's not a man I want. It never has been. Kiyomi had always been popular with the boys her age, of course, but... she had always found some reason to turn them down. Much to the confusion of her friends and (privately) herself, even the boys Kiyomi should like, the handsome and athletic boys who rule their school in the same way Kiyomi rules hers, could never manage to make her feel more than a faint sense of boredom.
Kiyomi knows why now, of course. She had been forced to face that fact the night before. But even as she now knows how she feels, she knows that her feelings are... abnormal. Not wrong, but unusual. After all, the prevailing theory as to Kiyomi's perpetual single life had always been that Shirakawa-senpai was simply too good for any of the men available. She would find someone worthy of her eventually, and she would be a wonderful wife to this equally wonderful man.
Kiyomi clutches her chest. 「If no one thought I might be gay, then chances are nobody else is gay, either. If nobody else is gay, then...」 Then Kiyomi does not have even the slightest chance with Yuki.
Kiyomi shakes her head. She stands tall, her eyes piercing her own visage in the mirror. 「No. I am a Shirakawa. We do NOT let the world control us; we control the world. If Yuki did not like girls yesterday, she will after tonight.」
Juno casts a glamour. Her body is covered in a white glow as she attempts to make herself more perfect than perfect, a shining knight who's visage causes all the beautiful women of the world to fall on their knees in worship.
| 1 person marked this as a favorite. |
May is more than a little scared to open her eyes to pretty much any outcome, teleporting worked and she just went further down the rabbit hole or it didn't and she needed to seek mental help before she hurt anyone else but when she finally gets the courage to open her eyes and see no one had been teleported in half and she didn't seem to be going crazy she looked relived.
Seeing all their belongings thrown about worries her but not as much as seeing Sora transform so quickly at something that could be a simple robber but follows her lead none the less. "Moon Warden Chell" She whispers.
May's transformation wasn't very flash but as the lines that would have marked locations on a standard map spread throughout her body it began to take it's ancient form, once fully changed Chell would try to use her magic to track whatever had done this.
| 1 person marked this as a favorite. |
Tenshi looks about the room, then the next, and the next. She finally discovers what had been taken - and though they didn't innately belong to her, the fact that they had been taken was enough. She stocking-stomps her way back out into the hallway, and starts to speak when she sees Chell working her magic... and so, entirely against the Shirakawa's advice, she attempts to harmonize. Chell might be able to know the where, but she didn't know what they were looking for. Truth be told, Tenshi didn't, either...
But she knew what they felt like. She remembered the silver threads that linked them to the dreamer, the shining gossamer that connected and bound them together, each of the seven... Horcruxes. Finally, she focused on the feelings that were bound to them. She remembered each well, despite the fleeting and mutable nature of the dreams - hopefully raw emotion was enough to polarize Chell's compass.
'Go down the rabbit hole and out the other side...' she quoted, singsong, remembering the dream.
| 1 person marked this as a favorite. |
Tiresias backs away just a bit as she feels somewhat jarred by the way he adressed her. Quickly she recomposes herself and smiles at him.
"Yeah, I believe you."
She takes a few deep breaths while she thinks. The man was working for the Shirakawa and did nothing really to make her distrust him but there was still another issue. Does she really want him to know where she lived? Not that she thought he would do anything wrong or harmful to her but did she really want him to know who she was?
"You can drop me at the hospital. There's a few things I need to finish there. Thank you."
Then she entered the car and sat confortably, as soon as the door was closed she opened her book on the map of Obusa City to try and keep an eye on what everyone was up to this night.
"Just, uh, Tousan wants to meet at the mall." Sakura says before paying and rushing to the back. She digs through her backpack in search of the remains of her dinner despite the earlier scene having left her stomach a bit distressed.
| 1 person marked this as a favorite. |
As soon as you put the simple amplifier on the Warrioress, you feel a pressure weigh down on you like a stiff blanket. The magical senses you have been exercising for the past hour feel stuffed with cotton. Colors dim. The sounds of the night recede. Your motions no longer carry with them a paranormal poise. With the trickle of magic you’ve got now, you could probably make your voice a bit softer or deeper, but not without a fight.
Your fingers are still on the card, your magic is not yet tied off. You can remove the card, and the effect, and take on 2 Magic as you absorb the wyrd forces you’ve summoned. Alternatively, you can change the position of the card, absorbing only 1 Magic. As it stands, the amplification card is placed on top of the Warrioress card, face up and in an upright orientation.
Zeek's disappeared.
Muirgel is gone for now, phased completely to the other side of the fractured firmament created by the sanctuary. She’ll have to get out to the perimeter to contact you. Looking out to check where that might be, you notice the sanctuary is twice the size your hearth was, and slowly growing. There would be no way for her to contact you discreetly. She’d be at shouting distance for sure. On the bright side, the gaggle of idiot witches are inside the sanctuary too, and nothing they’re carrying out-matches your glaive.
Finally, it occurs to you that, with this strange effect in place, it may not be wise to shift fully to your sidearm, if that’s even possible in this case. The pit your hearth becomes while wielding your friend’s focus is dark enough without an upstart’s meddling metamagic.
Cure Happy is left to stare Iris down. She doesn’t look satisfied with the magical girl’s response, but she also doesn’t look like she has the courage to try and correct her.
It’s good to weave magic and not have someone dying or screaming at you for once. A golden portal, corona of emerald plasma rising from its edges, passes over your glowing body and replaces your goldweave dress with diamond platemail over a lacework bodysuit. The bodysuit is notable because the diamond plate is so pure and polished that it’s translucent. The refraction of the plates accentuates just the right curves. The lace is patterned after crashing waves and curling tentacles. The diamond heels make it look like you are floating a few inches off the ground. The makeup is simple black eyeliner, eyeshadow, and lipstick. Your hair is gathered into a ponytail that’s fed through the top of the armor’s crown-like helmet.
Through your ring, the trinket, you feel a pulse of eager possibilities. Ivory scepters, diamond globes, gold wire flails, signs of station all, and each a form your ring can develop if chosen, but you’re sure you’ll only get one chance to choose and it doesn’t have to be now.
As you complete the effect, you pause. The armor could just as easily, and just as effectively, fit Kiyomi. If you change your mind at the last second and refit the glamour to your mundane form, you may take 1 Hope. If you won’t stand for anything less than perfection, take 1 Trauma, and remain Juno.
Sakura’s gemini, still in black ink, is jetting across the map as fast as your golden libra. You couldn’t have spotted her if she weren’t alone. Life in this form may not be as simple as you thought. Other than being female, you’ve only seen drawbacks to staying in magical girl form. In this case, it seems to draw a lot of attention. Maybe you’ll look into that. Although, those rituals may be good to know. A PSA about salting doorways might keep people safe. So much to research, what you want to find out may be more important than how you get the information.
Sakura’s headed toward the mall, as are a cluster of symbols in gold. Odd. You were sure that aries was the symbol for the boy from school that you just saw killed, but it’s in the cluster with Leo, which you know to be Miyako-chan, and pisces, which you know is Alex, as well as a capricorn. One unexpected symbol could be that annoying guy from the cafe, the other you’re not so sure.
The six-star-Cancer in black, that pitiable girl with terrifying power, has crawled back to the alley, likely looking for her trinkets.
Aquarius and Scorpio, the singer and her friend, you think, are back in the city, but as you watch, their symbols turn from black to gold.
You scan the rest of the map. There are scores of black symbols, and sometimes it’s hard to see the little stars. You may have to adjust this interface later, or make a new one that can show you more than active and dormant magical girls... or at least make those stars bigger.
For a second you think you spot a few stars around one of the black ophiuchus symbols out in the residential area south of the school, but it’s gone before you’re sure it was there.
You’re in front of the abandoned park and ride, which in turn is in front of the slightly less abandoned mall. There are flashing colored lights inside. The door on this side is unblocked, and a woman in a cheap costume sits at a table just inside. It even looks like someone’s gone around the building and swept up the trash and broken glass. Overall, the mall feels like it’s been taken back from the clutches of the wild.
No one has fixed the cable leading to the window on the second story.
A thin and sparkling smoke fills the room, white and black swirling together. As the glittering obstruction fades, you see Alex, astride a large stone dog, leaping from the room. The walls of the apartment slide away as you follow Alex around the bay. The images move like a movie on fast forward.
At an alley in the commercial district he stops, the spook girl and a little tanuki are squabbling with the raven. Alex does something to calm the conflict, then falls to their knees as Naiad. A tall, too-cute guy in a tailcoat and tophat runs Naiad to the back door of the neighboring establishment. The stone dog turns into a little black pomeranian.
The book girl, the rich brat, and a tiny pink princess arrive in a bright pink limo, just as a terrifying knight lands, bristling with weapons. The space fills with magic, which distorts and obscures the image. The tanuki girl is turned to ash. The tophat guy is now magical girl. The three girls from the limo leave, and Naiad returns. The three talk, then leave, heading north.
As the image reaches real-time, it slows.
Naiad, the spook, and the new girl are talking to a group of cosplayers, all heading for the mall. Then, the image burns out from the center outward with distortions like those seen during the magic fight.
You’re returned to Sora’s apartment, but just as it seems the story is done, you see Alex and the great stone dog reappear and begin moving in reverse.
Alex gets off the dog and scoops six marble eggs from his bag. The stone dog leaps backward onto the bathroom sink, then begins pacing. Alex leaves the bathroom followed by the dog, then they stand staring at eachother for a few seconds, the dog chewing on the end of a sausage.
Alex leaves, and the dog begins carefully replacing all of Sora’s things into her drawers. The un-search precedes in the bathroom, where the dog spends a few hours alternating between searching and trying to open the door. Then the dog lays down, gets small and damp, then curls up and solidifies into a seventh egg.
The rewind speeds up, focusing on the eggs, which quickly turn into an assortment of trinkets. (amulet, slipper, brush, mirror, needle, etc.) The images slow down again as Tenshi sets the items down in the black shelf where she found them. The nightmare recedes, and the trinkets are sitting on a shelf in the basement of the mall. Years whisk by, the layers of dust receding, until a Japanese WWII soldier begins returning the trinkets to one of many large cases. Each case is marked in Cyrillic, with Japanese stamped over it. The case these trinkets came from is marked 「Possible relics of Anastasia Romanov of Russia, 1910, gift for the fuhrer, do not touch.」 Other crates, cases and chests list similar historical figures. One appears to be a large gold chest, marked with a sixteen-pointed sun, labeled with tape as 「Personal Conquest Coffer of Al-Iskandar of Macedon, 320 BC, gift for the fuhrer, do not touch.」
The image fades, and the two of you are left with a sense of where the eggs are now, and, weirdly enough, a clean apartment and warm breakfast. The two of you could turn right around and walk out of another door near where the others are. You know, to warn them that they’re headed for a trove of ancient magical girl trinkets.
| 2 people marked this as a favorite. |
Naiad wants to buckle, to just take a nap and it will all be over. It'd be so easy, even, just a slight closing of the eyes for a couple of minutes, surely no one would catch--
I... I've felt this way before...
"FALL IN, RECRUITS!" Alex has been up for forty-two hours at this point, along with his fellow prospective sailors. The first day has blurred into a mishmash of clothing acquisition, drill, and lines, lots of lines, lots of waiting, lots of the infamous 'hurry up and wait'.
"Recruit! WHAT DO YOU THINK YOU ARE DOING??!" Alex is too exhausted to even register at first that the words are not directed at him, but at the recruit in front of him. "FALL OUT, RECRUIT, report to Medical!" That was the fourth recruit weeded out by this horrific process. With no ability to communicate while waiting in the formation, the mind near the death of sleep automatically equated the fate of the singled-out recruit to the most horrific of ends.
The sadistic company commander continued to walk alongside the line. "NO SLEEPING ON DUTY!" Well, if there was one bright blessing to the recruit in front of him being pulled out has woken up everyone else... for a measure of 'being woken up' in the exhausted state they are all in...
What the hell did that?
...zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz.......
Seriously?! You're snoring in my brain?! DO YOU NEED A PILLOW, RECRUIT?!
...snrrk zz..whuzzza? Jus' fi' mor' minu's, ma. fi' more minu's, okay? zzzzzzz
Naiad looks at the card-playing girl and doesn't even hesitate as they provide a slap to the back of her head. There's no damage intended, more of a 'wake the heck up, what ARE you doing, baka mood to it than malicious intent...
Sakura stops dead stll for a second, desperately trying to remember who to transform back into her alternate self.
Sakura: The funny black bird knew a lot about Exquisite Doll Sakura, and you remember well that you only have to call out her name to take her form. You also seem to recall being able to pick between outfits you've worn before, including your string harness and color-coded sundresses.
| 1 person marked this as a favorite. |
As the spectres fade from sight, Chrysanth panics slightly. Did something happen to everyone? It takes her a moment to realize it the effect of Iris' magic and not a sudden erasure of the fears themselves. While that was a somewhat comforting thought, she was still on edge. Far more than she thought she should be. Without the phantoms, she couldn't divine the hidden worries and thoughts of those around her. Suddenly she felt blind, left in the dark, without her special sight.
She tightens her grip on her trinkets and takes a few steps towards the abandoned mall. 「Then, W-We should g-get going... Yeah...?」 She turns to glance at the assembled party of cosplayers and magical girls to see if they were following behind.
|
|
| 1 person marked this as a favorite. |
As Kiyomi ponders her decision, she recalls earlier that day, seeing her mother's true form for the first time. Kiyomi had been shocked, so much so she did something horrible in her anger, and her mother had been mortified to lose her illusions.
And yet, when the dust settled, Kiyomi did not love her mother's old, tired eyes any less than the glamoured eyes of vibrant youth. She could say for certain that she would not admire her mother any less if she had always known her as she saw her today.
「There is a lesson in that, I suppose. I should take it to heart. My watch is done.」 Kiyomi chuckles softly as the visage of Juno disperses, leaving just Kiyomi in the Paladin's garb. She takes another look at herself, twirling graciously in front of the mirror and laughing cheerfully.
「Look, I'm so cute! How could she not love this?」 Kiyomi makes finishing preparations to leave, with a wide smile and a warm feeling in her chest.
At Alex's slap, Iris very nearly takes her fingers off the card as a reaction. That would have been bad. Very bad.
Now, think, how could she do this? She had to be quick. Face up and forward pretty much always meant active and behaving normally for a card in play any other place. Maybe here it defined a more aggressive effect, a sort of attack position for the card. Something active. That wasn't what she needed currently, with people slapping her.
What she could pretty clearly understand was that this was a magic dampener. Not only that, it thwarted the Gorgon, at least partially. It wasn't useful when attempting to apply magic, sure, but it would be a boon as a contingency plan in case of a flare of magic that would prove very, very bad.
With some careful work, the amp is flipped face-down and placed beneath the Warrioress, to act as a contingency or a trap card. She'd have to watch for the time to use it, and be ready for what would happen after, but it should halt the effect for now and make it possible to reactivate later. Hopefully.
She looks back to Alex. She understood, but owwww! 「That was Anti-magic, if you couldn't guess. Rather, some kind of magic suppressor. It's from the Warrior card. And that means whoever set that up is still close and attempting to prevent what's going on here, since that's the new card. Best keep an eye out, though. We don't know why.」
Happy...was giving her dirty looks. Of course. 「Can you please stop giving me dirty looks because I had to improvise an excuse for a prop I wouldn't have picked if I had the choice? We're meant to be out to enjoy ourselves with friends, not at war over the necessity of proper metaphor and symbolism in any props I may be carrying. I'm pretty sure this isn't that type of gathering, so don't worry about it - otherwise you may be in for a bad night, and I wouldn't want that to be the case.」
Seeing Miyako heading off, Iris is eager for an excuse to break away from Happy's disapproving gaze now that everyone was together. She takes up position by Miyako's side and happily gestures to everyone to follow.
---------------
As they walk, having noticed the change in everyone after the anti-magic washes over them earlier, Miyako can hear her mutter something to herself. 「Crap, did Gorgon magic the drinks? There's no way they went around casting on everyone individually, and the Cures were looking so much better after the anti-magic kicked in.」
For the benefit of those who'd like to react to Iris: The amplifying effect of Airi's magic packs itself into a little ball and buzzes quietly in Brigid's ear. All your passive skills return to normal, for now. As the group walks, the orange one starts to lag behind again, escaping the notice of the other members of the Glitter Force. Beauty begins staggering again, but March has forged ahead. Peace is scolding Happy. You get the sense from the bits of conversation you overhear that this isn't the first time Happy's spoiled a party atmosphere. All of them (other than Summer)take frequent sips from their sodas.
Sakura ducks around a corner and silently says her name, her transformation putting her into her battle gear with her twin. Walking back around the two move towards the woman manning the table.
| 1 person marked this as a favorite. |
"Damnit." Tenshi says as she watches the dog unhatch from the egg. "Mogwai..." she says shaking her head, but then as everything goes back further she frowns. "Oh. Oooooh. There isn't just one magical girl ghost in the mall. There are two." she looks over to Chell, eyes wide, before pulling her phone out of thin air. "Damnit... Spooky hasn't emailed me yet. This is very much not-good." she says as she slips a sausage into her mouth. No sense in leaving a perfectly good breakfast, even if she wasn't hungry - at least not for food. She then rapidly bounds into Google-Fu once more.
'If I didn't get my signals crossed, you were involved in the silver train incident last night. If you were, you should decide whether to include your friend in your new life, or not. Those close to us will be in danger if we follow this path, and from the sounds of it, the cat is already out of the bag.'
'I'm currently heading to Shirakawa to confront Shirakawa Aratani, to find out what she knows of all of this. From my understanding several of the girls have already headed that way. If you don't hear from me again, stay away from Shirakawa. If none of this makes sense, just assume I'm crazy'
| 1 person marked this as a favorite. |
Tiresias stared at the book for several seconds, one of her hands playing with her hair as she mulled the information over. Everyone seemed to be okay and safe for now. The symbol from the student was a surprise and she immediately got to work on enunciating a few theories for it.
Could he be alive? I mean maybe there is a way to revive a magical girl. No, that's unlikely, Aratani seemed especially distressed with the death of the previous Naiad. It's also true that we shed part of ourselves to make our trinkets. Maybe while our trinkets exist part of us still lives. Another point is the hereditary nature of our names. Maybe the symbols are hereditary as well. Still, for them to have found the replacement of my student so fast is odd, to say the least.
Tiresias pondered her theories. They would have to be tested, of course, but not right now. Right now there were more pressing matters to attend to. Kazue, also known as Kuthulun, was back at the alley. Aratani however didn't seem concerned but just letting her run around free was not sitting right with her. She looked at her hands and then back at the book.
I can't risk people's lives by letting her run around uncontrolled, but what can I do? I can't compare my power to hers and I'm not even sure she can be reasoned with if I try to go through that route. Kiyomi is busy and Aratani didn't look like she was ready to help some more tonight. I could contact Alex, maybe having Naiad there could help with reasoning with Kazue, but he is with Chrysanth and probably Junpei. They would certainly get in the way and I can't afford another confrontation.
Tiresias sat back and sighed. She raised her hand and left it hovering in front of her face. The day flashed in her mind's eye focusing mostly on her shortcomings. She saw every instance where magic backfired and how she was outed against her will. She remembered the feeling of magical drain mounting as she tried to cast her spells. She couldn't help anyone, she couldn't stop Kazue, she couldn't even walk outside, not like this at least. She dropped her hand feeling defeated.
The bird did say I was the Masterful Seer. Maybe that's all I can do. See, observe, maybe direct if anyone wants to listen.
She got out her phone and typed a message for Alex. "The Knight is back in the alley. I believe she is looking for something. Be careful." Then she stared at the driver. She could use him to get a message to Aratani. The best time to do this was after he dropped her off. Giving him a message meant he would be forced to relay it allowing her the moment she needed to slip out and get home unfollowed.
Having established an action plan she relaxed and focused on her book to pass the time. For a moment she thought a few stars went missing in one of the symbols. Could someone hide their powers from her? Well magic can do anything potentially. Who could it be? Maybe someone from the old Dawn Watch? Maybe, if Aratani gets the info on Kazue's location, she could send the old Watch after her. With this thought she smiled, her conscience placated for the time being.
Naiad gives Iris a No s*!$, Sherlock! sort of look as she explains the anti-magic. The mechanical depiction, though, goes clear over their head.
She glances at the trailing orange girl.
「If we're going together then we should all be together, your friend is kind of trailing back there, they going to be alright?」
The further description makes them squint and look around warily.
「So where'd you all get the sodas from?」
The one dressed in blue answers after finishing her can with a satisfied gasp.「’S how they prosmoted th’ show. Passed out cases uff the stuff. ‘Slike a double-shot of sake, a double suspresso, an’ a kilo of raspberriesp」 At each item she puts up some arbitrary number of fingers, then looks down at her hand. 「Where’d it go? Dai-kun, you got any more?」
The one in green tugs the front of his wig down and answers through a blush. 「N-no Michiko, that’s why we’re going up to the mall. They’ll have more there.」
None of them seem to notice any mention of the one dressed in orange.
You all reach the mall from the west. The parking lot is cordoned off with tape, and people are carrying large black cases in from a colorfully painted bus. Looking ahead, there is a small crowd gathering at the front entrance.
When you reach one of the mall’s outdoor trash cans, the girl in orange staggers toward it and grabs it with both hands. Her breathing is irregular, and there’s a sheen of sweat on her brow.
When you reach the hospital, the driver pulls into the drop off area and lets you out. “You need me to park darlin’ or you got things from here?”
After you give him your message he nods and offers you a gold leaf card with a phone number embossed on it. “If you ever need anything else from the Shirakawas, this’ll get you the receptionist, who should be able to route your call, but my extension's on the back. That’s my work number, mind you.” He gives you a teasing wink.
You’re left in the hospital reception area. Two EMT crews are parked nearby, and people are being passed off to the ER staff. One of the vehicles pulls back around and the response team loads in a fresh gurney, barely pulling the doors closed behind them as the vehicle speeds off. You can hear the siren of another EMT incoming.
An older woman with large glasses and holding a basket of flowers sits on a bench beside the entryway. She lays a bare stem in the seat beside her and draws a fresh flower from the basket, then proceeds to slowly pluck petals, one by one, and let them drop on the walkway. She’s watching the EMT work, but then it’s hard not to watch them.
The driver is back in time for you to leave. At the sight of your costume he raises an eyebrow and runs his tongue over his teeth. He opens the door for you and asks, 「Where to, little miss?」
When you’ve told him where you want to go, he gets in and drives in that direction. The cabin is unusually quiet. Your driver isn’t as talkative as Suzu, but he’s never left the air in his car this awkward.
When you approach the doors, the lady behind the table doesn’t look up from her phone. 「Not open yet. Staff entry is on the west side.」 She’s dressed in a tube dress with bones painted on it in blacklight paint. Her face is similarly painted. She does not seem to have any strong relationships in her life, most threads are leading away from her, and range from as thin as kite string to thinner, underdeveloped spidersilk.
Chell rubbed her temple as a small headache emerged from the sudden overload of information. "Mogwah, the furby things?" Chell asked with confusion. "What about the thief and the others or any of the other mess we saw?" She worked to try and make sense of everything but every new trick seemed to raise more and more questions, she found herself thinking about her old simple life back home but quickly threw out the idea at fear of accidentally moving herself to the US. "So what do we do about -this-" She gestured to the entire room.
With the mention of where the drinks are from, Iris turns her head away from their companions and furrows her brow. 「Well, this got a lot harder. Our Gorgon here is from some big group. Shirakawa would be the first guess, but that doesn't mean it's the right one. They'd have to be in some position of power at least, but not necessarily at the top. Shirakawa, but not Shirakawa. They're definitely up there, else they wouldn't be able to arrange this...crap. Did they hex the equipment too? I mean, why stop at the drinks? They could use the speakers as some sort of control mechanism or something. Maybe something else entirely.」 She has to figure this out. This is going to be bad. She's seen what magic can do, used like this. And this is even bigger than earlier.
Beauty and March form a welcome distraction. She isn't sure what's going on there, so...she's not doing anything this time. After all, it doesn't seem like there's anything seriously wrong. He just seems embarrassed for some reason that she has no cause to pry into.
Summer's invisibility is a little more concerning. It's probably the magic at work. She'll have to keep an eye out for anyone else afflicted similarly. In the meantime, she just helps her keep up.
As the mall comes into view, she wants to check out the bus, but Summer's lunge for the trash can puts her on alert. She looks like she's about to vomit, but odds were this was going to be a little different than normal. 「Something's going to happen. Watch her carefully, since we need all the clues we can get.」 Iris checks the cards to see if anything's changed.
| 1 person marked this as a favorite. |
"Yeah. Furby things. Let's hope Bubbles got the memo. Don't feed after midnight and all that." Tenshi responds, wings fluttering slightly, causing her to pause for a moment and look down. Annoyance, Anger, Worry, and Embarassment were all bubbling up inside of her. She opted to focus on the first three. "I... think I can probably use my pastels to make our house safer. Or maybe I should invest in a dreamcatcher. Maybe that'd make a good trinket." she says, pausing, but shaking her head, distractedly. "We... can't really leave the mall thing lying." she says as she starts to tack on her cellphone without looking down.
-Crow'[/i]
"There. I sent an email to Spooky. I... doubt she checks it, but it's worth a try. I'm not sure whether we should go to the mall or not... more fuel to the fire and all that." she says after a short pause. "Even if Bubbles did take our stuff... What do you think?"
The twins nod, their throats going slightly dry before moving around the side of the building looking for the entrance.
The water-themed magical girl has no idea of what to make of March, so the focus returns to the one that 'isn't feeling so well'...
Naiad makes their way over to Orange/Summer to see how they are doing, attempting to 'feel out' the balance of water in the poor cosplayer -- and making DARN SURE to not be in the 'blast radius' if they send vomit flying.
「Hey, are you going to be okay? You don't look like you're doing so good. Do you need to go to a hospital?」
Sakura: There are three proper entrances to the mall: the east side, where you are, the front, where there is a small crowd developing, and the west side, where the others are. The hole where Alex came in last night is gone, but the broken window on the second floor is still accessible by climbing the wire you used last night. It may be a little more difficult this time, since you're not a scrappy little kid at the moment, but that can be changed with a few words.
Naiad: The orange senshi isn't looking very Sunny. You really wish you had the enhanced senses the others are all ranting and raving about, but you seem to have the opposite problem that your white-haired friend had. With a title meant for desperate situations, you don't really have ready means to presage, prevent, or prepare for crises without pressing your domain by casting a spell.
Plenty of -oulda's come to mind. The anti-magic field Iris had enhanced seemed to put the girl back on her feet and on the others' radars. Aratani's domain had something to do with ani-magic. Even holding onto one of her trinkets could have opened up some options.
|
|
Kiyomi toys idly with her phone, searching for any relevant updates. Kiyomi's relationship with the driver is not hostile, but it is not notably friendly either; if Kiyomi were to forget the name of any of the family servants it would be him. If he is not in a talking mood she feels no obligation to push him into a conversation.
| 1 person marked this as a favorite. |
Tiresias took the card and placed it in one of her pockets without giving it much consideration. She smiled at the man and waved, a feeling of relief washing over her as the man decided to leave her to her own devices.
”Thank you for your help. I can take it from here! Good work and good night!”
Then she turned towards the hospital. It was then that she realized that she didn’t really have a plan going forward from there. Should she turn back and risk not being able to return? Should she walk home and risk being discovered by someone that heard about her? She pondered her options as she approached the entrance of the hospital. As the EMT crews came in and left she stared for a while. Was it normal to have so many of them in such a hurry? Did something happen? She approached the older woman and leaned on the bench trying to keep her face outside of the woman’s field of view as she spoke.
「Should we be worried? 」
It’s not like she knew the woman. Actually she was hoping that she didn’t know who she was either. This wasn’t a completely blind gambit as well, something about the woman called out to her. Maybe the fact that she was there alone, or the flowers she carried, Tiresias couldn’t really tell but she felt like she had nothing to fear from her.
Sakura moves around the west side to the staff entrance.
Once you get through the larger crowd, you can see the western parking lot, taped off with caution tape, and the colorful bus your doll’s eyes saw. From what you can tell, while the partygoers are all (or mostly) dressed as guardians of light or whatever, the staff are all in glowing phantom outfits. Skeletons, ghosts, ghouls, etc. Then, out from a cluster of partygoers loitering by the caution tape, you spot the water girl from last night. That was the man that got his throat cut out, and who moved the horrible creature out to the beach. You wonder if he has any idea what's going on here.
To brighten this reunion further, a familiar limo rolls into the space between the line to get in and the loitering group. The driver steps out to help your friend Kiyomi out of the car. She’s not transformed, but she is wearing pretty much the coolest set of crystal armor you’ve seen. It’s so clear you really only see it when she moves around. Something like that is going to attract a ton of attention, though...
Just when it seems like that might be the surprise of the night, a familiar limo rolls up the street and Kiyomi is helped out by her driver. At first glance, it looks like she's floating naked a few inches off the ground. The black lace is a quick spot, though, and the perfect crystal armor bends the light around her just enough to be visible on closer inspection. Anyone so inclined might be stunned with how the refraction of the crystal perfects her figure, or how the intricate lace promises sight of the unseen.
The costume looks great, but it’s already drawing the attention of the small crowd waiting at the front entryway.
Your driver helps you back out of the limo, and you can feel hundreds of eyes on you and your extravagant costume. A murmur overtakes the crowd.
In the distance, you see an unfamiliar tour bus, but a few familiar faces lugging instrument cases and amps into the mall. You don’t know any of them personally, but they’re the local sound tech roady types. The kind of folk who do short contract work for your mother.
The woman gives a deep sigh, tucks another bare stem under her seat and picks a rose from the basket. 「They say roses are perfect flowers. Even botanically, that’s the word they use. They mean that each bloom comes with functional stigma and anthers. Of course, many blooms will pollinate themselves, but it also means any one bloom can pollinate any other. Hemp is closely related, as close as cats and dogs, and yet it’s monoecious: each plant only produces one half of the required gametes for reproduction...」 The bespectacled woman begins removing the petals one by one. Her non sequitur about flowers hangs in the air between you.
| 1 person marked this as a favorite. |
There were new arrivals. A pair of twins that were likely magical girls, and that limo from earlier. And out from within comes -
Daaaaaamn. That is one hell of an outfit. Who made that? Who the hell made that? I want that! My god, it's perfect! I swear, I have to talk to - no, FOCUS. Odds are, that's someone from earlier. Aratani, White, Juno, I have no idea which one. One of them was the lady I gave the trinkets to, but they aren't transformed, as much as the outfit indicates otherwise, so it's not her. Her own features just don't have that perfection that magic creates. So...waaaait. She's definitely different, but is that...? Dear god, I hope that's not who I suspect it is. Miyako might go nuts. It's too soon.
Iris finds herself splitting her attention between Juno, Miyako, Summer, the twins, and her cards. Especially her cards. Regardless of who's wearing the outfit, if it's just a glamour she's going to be so incredibly disappointed.
Naiad is thankfully distracted from Kiyomi's arrival dealing with the very ill Summer. There would probably be a LOT of confusion for the already confused magical girl if they weren't so busy.
Well, you're the one in charge, do something magic and make it all better, it's what you're so good at, right? Or do you need help? Let me help you, show you the ropes, you can take a nice backseat and let me do all the hard work for you...
Naiad shakes her head and attempts to feel the water and the flow thereof within Summer, gently, carefully, trying to see where it's built up in the wrong spots, or where it is too intense and needs to flow back to where it belongs -- and then tries to make that happen.