1174/In The Night, Dream Delight

In The Night, Dream Delight
Date of Scene:	10 March 2016
Location:	Mitakihara/Pikarigaoka - Botanical Gardens
Synopsis:	When dreams turn bad it is the duty of magical girls to make them right again.
Cast of Characters:	Ariel Theodore, Miku Kohinata, Tsubasa Kazanari, Suzuki Natsume, Hibiki Tachibana

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Ariel Theodore has posed:
    It's getting pretty late... The sun is down, making for a rather pleasant evening. Street lamps are kicking on, people are meandering home from long work days, or school, and winding down for the night. The gardens make for a really nice place to wait for someone-- in fact a certain girl has fallen asleep doing just that.
    But the sleeping mind tends to wander, and even little naps can have their own excitement. Though there's something of a strange phenomenon this time... Anyone with a sense of magic will find it, while awakel a strange portal in the park or... Anyone else catching some sleep might just wander in on their own, in their own dreams.
    It's bright and sunny, fluffy clouds dot the skies, shaped like animals and silly objects, rainbows arcing like bridges from one cloud to the next. Some have waterfalls falling from them in a breath taking display, and there are small platforms of floating land, covered in grass and flowers, and... The air is lighter here. It's a dream, of course. A dream... About flying.

Miku Kohinata has posed:
Waiting for Hibiki has become one of Miku Kohinata's most common pastimes. She never spends them idly: typically she will spend them reading, listening to music, or staring at the stars (or some combination of all three). Tonight she was staring at the stars through a small telescope, but eventually the exhaustion of all of Tokyo's recent troubles and her own worry for Hibiki's safety got the better of her, and Miku fell asleep on the bench she'd claimed for herself.

The transition from reality to dreams comes on subtly, and Miku hardly knows it happens at all. The sun overhead feels natural, and the arrival of Hibiki to her dream seems just as natural! "Are you ready to go flying!?" Hibiki asks, of course in her typically cheerful fashion, then scoops Miku up into her arms, and the pair go soaring into the sky.

A tiny niggling thought in the back of Miku's mind reminds her that Hibiki can't fly. Sure, some magical girls can, but so far neither Hibiki nor Tsubasa have demonstrated that ability. But Miku pushes the thought tot he back of her mind as she clings to Hibiki, cheek pressed to cheek, smiling like a sunflower in the summertime as her best friend carries her through the skies.

Tsubasa Kazanari has posed:
When Tsubasa comes across the strange portal, she hasn't even noticed Miku yet. She takes a few moments to consider what to do, but it doesn't take her long. She hides somewhere convenient, texts Section Two, and sings, "Imyeteus Ame no Habakiri Tron~" Moments later, she is in her Symphogear.

Then, thus empowered, she heads for the portal, attempting to make her way through the portal and into the world beyond. Once there, she strangely gains access to a pair of wings that are strangely similar to swords. She takes a look around, not sure what to make of it.

Suzuki Natsume has posed:
     A long day and a long night, those were things that Suzuki Natsume had been looking forward to lately. It was odd though, when she slept today, it was... different. Her dreams almost seemed more focused in a way, though it was a usual dream of wandering through the forest, the forest changed. In fact. The ground changed. She was no longer flying, but... in the sky?

     How odd. It didn't even immediately occur to her that she shouldn't be just kind of ... standing there at first. Verdrehen Sturm was floating alongside her, though she seemed more... animated than usual. Floating around cheerfully, seeming to be chattering away about some inane thing in Belkan, almost like normal schoolgirl gossip.

     On a random urge -- or whim -- Suzuki reached to take hold of Verdrehen Sturm, one hand resting on one part of her shaft while the other rested near the blade of her naginata, which continued to chatter away, even if it was used almost like a witch's broom for Suzuki to float around almost... aimlessly. She was seeing other people in her dream, and she wasn't entirely sure how to handle it.

     Her dreams never had other people in it. How weird.

Ariel Theodore has posed:
    It's probably strange! But the fact of the matter is... It's a really nice dream. The clouds are 'solid' enough to land on, though squishy and wobbly like big fluffy cushions, the rainbows are actual bridges that can be hopped from arc to arc. The grass smells freshly cut, the flowers fill the air with sweet scents...
    It was all so perfect until something high overhead slinks in front of the sun, blotting out all light in an eclipse. In seconds, it's as dark as night, without so much as a star in the sky. The clouds change from inviting and friendly shapes, to menacing and monstrous figures, rainbow bridges turn to rickety rotten wood, looking nowhere close to safe or stable in the least, as grass dies and turns brown, and flowers wilt and wither, while something from on high SCREEECHES, high pitched and bird-like.
    As soon as that monstrous shriek pierces the air gravity hits violently. There is no more flight in this dream. Wings evaporate, natural means of flight become more difficult, and there's suddenly no one holding Miku, as something huge and terribly winged streaks downward, every flap kicking up gale winds as a giant raven with ragged feathers snaps at Miku with its beak and a hungry "Squaaaaaw!"

Miku Kohinata has posed:
Miku's smile was genuine. So, too, is her terror when Hibiki simply vanishes. "H..Hibiki!?" she asks, as she starts to fall. It takes her a moment for the realization of what's happened to truly sink in.

It's long enough for the shrieking raven to draw Miku's attention, and the green-haired girl's eyes widen in fear and upset. "HIBIKI!!!!" she screams as she falls. Instinct tells her she should open her arms and slow her descent. Instinct also tells her to curl up in a ball and hide from that hideous monster.

The ball-curling instinct wins. Hibiki screams all the way down as she tries to defend herself against the snapping monstrous bird.

Tsubasa Kazanari has posed:
Tsubasa knows that voice, the name that voice screams helps remove any doubts she may have had on the topic. Since she was still standing on semi-solid ground when she came in, she isn't falling, but she is running. She tries to find the location where Miku is headed to land, holding her arms out to catch the girl.

She can deal with the bird once Miku is no longer in danger.

Suzuki Natsume has posed:
     Flying on a weird dream-Verdrehen Sturm to ... not flying anymore. Verdrehen Sturm falls back to its more quiet form, as well as ... well, normal. Also it is a naginata. Which doesn't fly. Suzuki Natsumi is now falling from the sky! ... Though as things get dangerous, she shifts, turning her naginata downwards and planting her feet on the bottom edge of the blade. She falls from the sky with a completely stoic look.

     Just riding down a naginata until it sticks in the ground with her atop of it. Tsubasa was moving to catch the girl. So she would be fine, everyone was falling and things were horrible and ... very... crow-ie. Suzuki takes a slow breath, pulling her naginata out of the ground. "...Well this is... ... different." Suzuki mumbles quietly, looking around as she begins to orient herself. Okay, let's see... monstrous bird diving towards the girl about to be caught. Suzuki moves quickly, running towards Miku to use Verdrehen Sturm, swinging it around to attempt to ward it off with the sharp tip of the blade -- it doesn't even seem to occur to her to henshin or use magic yet.

Hibiki Tachibana has posed:
    Suddenly, out of nowhere, an orange-and-white streak enters the vicinity from stage left, hurtling at unsafe speeds directly towards the diving crow even as Tsubasa moves to catch Miku.

    "LEAVE.. MIKU... ALONE!!!!" Hibiki screams at the horrible crow monster as she literally arrives at the very last second and, without slowing her momentum, bodily smashes into the crow from the side mid-dive, fist-first.

    Punches from Hibiki are nothing to sneeze at in any situation. Punches from enraged Hibiki protecting Miku doubly so. Although she can't actually fly, she's done a pretty good impression, and she manages to smash into the diving bird and drive it off-course before it can reach Miku and Tsubasa below.

    Of course such a manuver sends her off-balance after the impact as well, and she lands with a 'twump' and a puff of dust after doing so.

Ariel Theodore has posed:
    This really is a nightmare. The dream was once so sweet and welcoming but now there is no more flight to be had, only the sick stomach-lurching sensatoin of gravity rapidly ripping people from the sky. The raven is a dark beast as black as the night itself. If no one were to intervene, surely Miku would be snapped up in those clacking jaws.
    It would be a terrible, frightening thing to wake up to, and if that happened, the Nightmare would drink its fill of her fright...
    But. That doesn't happen.
    It would seem the monstrous bird hadn't taken the arrival of others into account. It had just gone for Miku- and that means it's caught completely off guard. With a "SKREEEE!?" of pain it's flung wildly off course, Hibiki's sheer force of righteous fury slugging it senseless.
    This of course means the only danger to Miku is from the fall, but with the Raven batted off course, there's nothing stopping Tsubasa.
    That's when the sky lights up. A pin-prick of light shining from on high. It's not the sun, but more begin to follow as stars begin to dot the sky... One falls.
    Trailing glitter and stardust in a contrail of rainbow light it careens from the heavens at a breakneck speed before slamming into one of the menacing looking clouds. The impact sends stardust everywhere as the cloud craters and deforms, before it pops. Two figures fall from the sky... One is an utterly -massive- dog, bright with a wash of starlight emanating from its body. The other is a tiny girl clinging to the dog's back for dear life. They land and she sprawls off her mount with a bleat and clank of silvery armor.
    "Wah!?"
    It takes her a second to catch her bearings, and the both of them look somewhat dazed, before she realizes what's going on. Spreading her hands, the star-shaped pendant on her necklace gleams, and multiple platforms of crystalline light form a straight path for Suzuki to take right towards the nightmare with her naginata!

Suzuki Natsume has posed:
     Okay, swinging around her naginata to try to ward off the crow didn't seem to have been necessary, thanks to the arrival of the punchy one! She seemed to be really angry, too. Good thing she was probably on the same side as her! Suzuki takes a slow breath as she looks around. Hmm. She could use magic probably still, right? And then... a pinprick of light, and glitter, and stardust!

     It was... a ... unicorn girl... and a really... really big dog. A part of Suzuki wanted to hug them both. But there were more important things to focus on. Like a giant monster-crow thing! She would have to tell her dog about the dog she saw in her dreams later!

     And then a path is made for her by Ariel. Suzuki gives a wave towards Ariel. "Thank you!" She calls out, before beginning to run up the platforms, leaping where necessary with that Naginata of hers. Lightning was gradually beginning to crackle around her as she ran, her naginata sparking as she moves gradually faster... and faster... and then... she leaps towards the crow, intent on somewhat following Hibiki's example to attempt to come down upon it from above with her naginata, intent on stabbing the electrified blade into its back!

     The electricity continues to crackle and grow in intensity around her as she falls, attempting to stay on on the crow's back... the electricity disperses, leaving behind Storm Knight in place of Suzuki, more of an instinctual transformation than anything.

Miku Kohinata has posed:
"Kazanari-san," Miku says, confused as Tsubasa catches her. "What are you doing here?" Some part of her has figured out that this is a dream. So why is Tsubasa Kazanari in her dreams?

As they land, Miku grimaces and curls up tight against Tsubasa, allowing the bluenette to cushion her fall. But then she's quick to jump out of her arms and look around confusedly. "What's going on?!" Miku asks as things begin falling from the sky. But one of those things is Hibiki, and she her eyes widen. "Hibiki!" she calls, and rushes towards the bright orange magical girl.

Tsubasa Kazanari has posed:
"I don't know, but I came in here through some kind of portal. Best to assume magic." Tsubasa tells Miku as she helps the girl to stand on her feet, with Hibiki arriving Tsubasa gives the other magical girl a firm nod, and then she starts singing, the phonic gain fuelling her magic.

As far as attacks go, it's one of her usual attacks. It doesn't require flight, blue energy swords forming in the sky, aimed at this crow and sent flying all at once.

Hibiki Tachibana has posed:
    Hibiki has landed in a bit of a heap, but she isn't injured, just off-balance and she's already climbing back up to her feet.. a process somewhat interrupted by Miku rushing towards her. "Miku!" She exclaims, smiling despite the confusion as she finally gets upright again and dusts herself off with her hands.

    "I was coming to the park to meet you! Sorry I was a little late, that new CD came out today so I had to stop and buy it, and when I got to the park there was this weird portal thing, so I went through it and saw that bird chasing you!"

    She then looks over to Tsubasa. "Thank you for catching her, Tsubasa-san!" She exclaims, smiling again. Then her face grows determined as she wheels around.. only to see Suzuki stabbing and electrifying the heck out of the crow, assisted by a strange girl from the sky and her huge dog, and moments later, by Tsubasa as well. "Oh, well.."

    She deflates somewhat, at least for the moment, as the threat seems, if not ended, at least capably being dealt with, so she takes that moment to turn and inspect Miku again. "You're not hurt, are you?"

Ariel Theodore has posed:
    Oh dear, Suzuki-- that is Storm Night- has decided to try and make her own mount of the nightmare raven.
    The beast is regaining its bearings. Which could be bad for anyone riding it, as it pumps its wings with an agry screech. Enraged at having its meal interrupted. Every beat of wings once again kicks up tremendous winds. It's trying to kick Hibiki, Tsubasa, and Miku off of where they landed, scarlet eyes burning with fury.
    But that girl is back on her... Dog. It's an odd sight. Silvery hair and tail, the blunt little horn sticking from her forehead. Her skin isn't quite pure white, it's more of a white and sea-green, catching light like mother of pearl.
    Holding on tight, the massive hound bounds to te trio busy being NOT on the raven, another shimmering wall of glimmering crystal light forming to buffet the winds.
    "Hi!" Chipper even in the face of danger it seems. "--Sorry this isn't the best time for an introduction- I'm Ariel! This is Lucky-" The starlight glowing dog grunts a vague 'wurf' in greeting- "-I really hate to ask this but I'm not sure I can handle this Nightmare on my own."
    This was a dream about flying. That might be why there's a look of sudden concentration on her face for a moment. It's a little strained. But it seems like with some work, everyone's wings pop back into place, and dream flight is restored.

Miku Kohinata has posed:
Miku hugs Hibiki tightly. "It's okay," she promises. "It's not your fault. Things come up, especially for Section 2. I understand." But then the thing is attacking, and Miku yelps again and pulls Hibiki aside, as if to protect her. "I think this is my dream," she tells Hibiki. "My nightmare! I don't know what that thing is, though!" She glances at the wings that pop into place on the others around her, then lets Hibiki go. "Go kill it," she encourages her roommate and friend. "I'll be okay!"

Suzuki Natsume has posed:
     Riding on a bird was not exactly what Storm Knight had planned on doing! Though it seems to be what seems to have happened, as Storm Knight desperately fights to stay on the back of the flapping crow, keeping grip of her naginata while another arm moves to wrap around the crow's neck and keep hold of it THERE so that she can stay there.

     "Hello." Storm Knight responds to Ariel, as she does the best of her ability. She takes a slow breath as she feels the wings activate again, and her Device becomes a chatterbox again, cheerful and chipper in its feminine monotone. Don't ask how. It's a dream. Also it's talking about shoes for some reason.

     Storm Knight leaps off of the back of the crow, lifting her Device to point it at the crow. "I'm going to bind it, get ready!" Storm Knight calls out, before pointing her Naginata at the crow, as lightning begins to crackle around her.

                <DONNER BINDEN.>

     A crack of thunder peals through the area, as bolts of lightning are sent flying towards the bird -- they don't electrocute it though, rather forming into several triangle-shaped magical circles which attempt to latch onto both of its legs and wings, to attempt to hold it in place with wings spread and head held straight so that it couldn't escape any attacks! "Now! I probably can't hold it for long, I'm not good at binding spells!"

Tsubasa Kazanari has posed:
While digging in her feet to prevent the winds from getting too much grip on her, Tsubasa takes a good look into the battlefield, and notices Hibiki spending so much time with Miku in the middle of her fight. Her disapproving glare can probably be felt through even a thousand mile thick wall of lead. At least it doesn't last long, as Tsubasa has better things to do.

When the Storm Knight binds the giant bird, Tsubasa throws her katana up in the air, where it grows, and grows, until it's a sword longer than some buildings are tall, and she herself jumps up behind her sword.

Then, she kicks her blade, and blue energy thrusters accompany gravity to get that blade some velocity, the symphogear user's foot guiding the massive weapon towards the very threat they're fighting.

Hibiki Tachibana has posed:
    Hibiki has to make sure Miku is okay! That's just doing what's right, middle of the fight or not! Luckily Miku seems to have misinterpreted what she said and assumed she was late because she was on Section 2, business, not the real reason which she had mentioned, stopping off to buy a new CD...

    But that's not important now! The friendly unicorn girl gave them all wings! "Hi!" Hibiki says brightly to Ariel. "Nice to meet you! I'm Hibiki- er.." She glances at Tsubasa, remembering how the girl got mad at her last time she introduced herself with her real name. "Gungnir's Wielder! Don't worry, we'll take care of it!"

    And it seems that's pretty true already, as Suzuki binds the evil crow in place with magic circles, and Tsubasa summons her big sword to kick-stab it. Hibiki glances at Miku, then dashes off to join in the attack.. one hand reaching down to grip the opposite gauntlet, pulling it back until it separates and locks back into place like a spring-loaded piston.

    "Eeeeayah!" She cries as she dashes right up under the crow and launches herself up, fist first, and when she impacts that piston snaps back into place, adding devestating force to the blow!

Ariel Theodore has posed:
    "A-ah no don't kill it--" Ariel bleats as Miku sends the others off, something of a sheepish look forming on the unicorn-girl's face. But Storm Knight is already putting the massive raven in a bind spell. Try as it might to flap its wings, the best it can do is just keep aloft now, no longer having the power to generate all that wind. This means...
    It's a sitting duck.
    Fist and giant katana fly true as Tsubasa and Hibiki race towards the beast.
    "SKREEEEEEEEEEEEEE?!"
    It shrieks-- the combined impacts are stunningly, abusively, spot on. With one final squawk, it tumbles from the air, black feathers peeling and trailing in its wake, before it comes to a crashing landing in the clouds.
    The sun comes out from behind the shadows as the stars gently wink out... The menacing figures and wilted life reform, growing anew and turning clouds back into sweet fluffy shapes and rainbows and flowers...
    "--Lucky! Go, boy!" Ariel bleats, and with a woof, the massive dog bounds over to the fallen nightmare. The girl hops off her canine steed and places both hands on the crashed raven as it twitches and caws. There's a glow from her horn...
    This is when two, massive, white wings emerge from the crater. Where there was a raven, there's now a massive dove. With a sweet coo, it blinks; confused at first, before leaning down to warble and nose warmly at Tsubasa, Miku, Storm Knight, and Hibiki with a sweet twitter.
    "Phew..." Ariel looks rather relieved, too. She even flashes a bright smile.
    "Eheh heh~."

Suzuki Natsume has posed:
     Okay. Good, it was holding for now. Storm Knight keeps her binds up as long as she can, breathing slowly to focus on it as much as she can. And then... IMPACT! The attacks hit, and the Bind breaks along with it, allowing the nightmare to fall to the ground. Storm Knight then descends back to the ground, lifting a hand to wipe sweat from her brow. That required more energy control than she was good at. Phew!

     And then Ariel begins to purify it! Storm Knight watches quietly to see what's going on, because she's not a purifier! So she keeps her naginata held carefully, but not immediately defensive or aggressive. When it turns into a dove, she tilts her head. "...I half expected it to turn into a seagull..." Storm Knight comments quietly, half to herself and half towards the others. Still, as it noses at her, Storm Knight lifts a gauntleted hand to brush over the side of the Dove's cheek. "...Anyway. Hello, it's nice to meet you. This is ... not how my dreams normally go. It's nice to see the dream getting better again, though."

Tsubasa Kazanari has posed:
Tsubasa seems entirely uncertain how to handle the whole 'enemy bird turned into friendly dove' thing, so she turns her back to it and starts to walk away, trying to find the portal she came in through. After all, everything has been settled.

Still, a niggling in the back of her mind seems to hold her back, and so she stops, not quite leaving yet, hoping someone else starts asking for an explanation so she doesn't have to.

Hibiki Tachibana has posed:
    Hibiki lands with a 'flump' again after knocking the crow flailing, along with Tsubasa and Storm Knight! Success! She grins brushing off her knuckles.. then tilts her head in curiosity as the unfamiliar girl and her magic dog.. turn it into a big dove! She blinks up at the huge thing, then giggles as it coos at her. "Oh! Cute."

    She glances over to make sure Miku is still okay.. then frowns slightly as Tsubasa starts to walk away, but rather than join her, she walks over to where Storm Knight is talking to Ariel. "Yeah, eheh, that was pretty.. unusual." She says ,raising a gauntleted hand to the back of her head. "But um.. well, thanks, I guess! Miku seems okay, and everything is okay now.." She glances at the dove. "Right?"

Ariel Theodore has posed:
    It's over. The nightmare is no more. Once again the dream is about taking wings. A fact made evident as the dove stretches its wings out. Every flap stirs a warm and gentle breeze.
    Ariel breathes a relieved sigh, before putting her arms around her dog's neck for a bit of support. She looks haggard.
    "Mm! It's nice to meet all of you! Ah, that wasn't a usual dream. It was a Nightmare. ... That's what happens when dreams turn bad." Well that's... Something of common knowledge isn't it?
    "--Doing this kind of thing used to be my mom's job but um. ... Things are a little complicate right now. But yes, everything is okay! Ah... But she should be waking up shortly." She being Miku. "-And you too." To Storm Knight. "--Um it's kind of a lot to ask, but do you think maybe once we're all out you could make sure to set me somewhere quiet and out of the way?"
    Whatever she could mean by that, gets no explanation, because everything becomes hazy and indistinct. The dream is coming to an end.
    When it does, back at the park, it looks like there was something of an incident in the waking world. A star fell. In the crater where it landed...
    Is a huge shaggy dog, and a small silver-haired girl, completely out cold.