1519/A Familiar Experience

A Familiar Experience
Date of Scene:	27 May 2016
Location:	Somewhere in Tokyo
Synopsis:	For the second time, someone tries to turn a particular fox into a familiar. This time, it doesn't work, but perhaps it's the beginning of a friendship?
Cast of Characters:	158, Ayana

---

Nicola Esprit has posed:
Sure, Nicola may not have technically permission to create a familiar. She hasn't asked, but she estimates that if she presents it as Fait Accompli, Jessamine won't complain too much. So, right after dinner, the girl has gone to one of the parks around Tokyo, looking for a suitably cute critter to use for the purpose.

Ayana has posed:
Most of the critters in the parks are relatively mundane: squirrels, rabbits, birdies. But there's one creature here who doesn't look like most of the others. Sitting calmly at the edge of a koi pond, there is a fluffy-furred red fox, tail twitching periodically as it stares into the water. The little creature doesn't notice Nicola's searching gaze; it's too focused on the fish.

After a moment, the fix stands up suddenly and takes a step forward, bounding out onto a rock in the midst of the pond that's just barely above the surface. At the edge of the rock, it peers into the water, eyes and ears and snout darting hither and yon as it follows the motions of the fish: hunting.

Nicola Esprit has posed:
And thus, Nicola has found her suitably cute critter. At least, she thinks she does. She whispers softly, "Ruby Rose, set up and give me some privacy." The device obliges, providing the girl with both a barrier jacket and a fairly small barrier. Just large enough to cover the park, to keep any mundane eyes from seeing what the girl is up to.

Then, Nicola airdashes towards the fox, reaching out for the animal. "You'll make a lovely familiar, I'm sure." She says softly, pre-emptively trying to calm what she expects to be an animal not used to human hands picking it up.

Ayana has posed:
Barrier?! The fox knows what a barrier is. But the reaction to the suden change would probably be the same either way. The creature's head tilts upward suddenly, both ears alert, as it stares at the barrier with wide sapphire eyes. It blinks and turns just in time to spot Nicola streaking towards it.

The fox lets out a shrill cry of uncertainty as she's carried away from her fish pond towards a place where Nicola can alight. She yowls in confusion, squirming to try to get away, and it's then--perhaps--that Nicola will realise the mistake she's made, when the slender marble glimmering at her throat becomes visible.

Of course, before Nicola can process this, everything changes. The little fox isn't a fox anymore; instead, it's a girl a few years younger than Nicola, naked and held in Nicola's arms, her own arms around Nicola's neck, blue eyes confusedly focused on her. That girl has foxy ears and a thick bushy tail that's waving up against Nicola's arms.

For a moment she merely stares at Nicola before the tiny little girl asks, "What are you doing!? Put me down!"

Nicola Esprit has posed:
Nicola jumps in surprise, barely avoiding dropping the little girl. She manages to put the girl she's suddenly got in her hands down gently, and makes a hurried overly formal bow. "I'm sorry, I didn't realize you weren't a normal fox." She takes a step back, in clear surprise. "I ... I was looking for an animal to make into my familiar. I didn't expect this to happen." The accent in her Japanese is only made stronger by the surprise.

Ayana has posed:
As soon as she's on her feet, a cute black dress forms over the little girl's slender frame, although she remains barefooted, and the dress is short enough that her tail can swish freely behind her. The girl tilts her head at Nicola, foxy ears perked alert at the bigger girl.

"That's okay," she says, studying Nicola thoughtfully. "I was a familiar, once, for an evil mage using Midchildaan devices. Are you an evil mage, too? I don't think so, you look very nice."

There's a brief pause while the little girl seems to come to a decision, then she smiles and holds out her hands. "I'm Ayana," she introduces herself. "And I'm not always this little, but I didn't want to hurt you by taking my normal size. Will you be scared if I get bigger?"

Nicola Esprit has posed:
"I'm not evil, but my device is based upon Midchildan designs." Nicola's response is still a little nervous, but the initial shock is starting to wear off. She shakes her head at the latter request, "I won't be scared. You just surprised me... but I guess I surprised you too so that's fair."

The foreign sounding girl sits down against a tree, making no effort to get rid of the barrier she's put up. "I'm not sure I like the thought of evil mages. Why do people use magic to do bad things? That isn't right..."

Ayana has posed:
Suddenly, the six year old doubles in size and apparent age, although the garb remains the same black sundress just long enough for modesty. Shaking out her hair, she smiles at Nicola warmly, then takes a step closer to her.

"Some of them can't help it," she explains quietly, ears still twitching this way and that as she picks up on faint sounds throughout the park. "They've been corrupted; darkened by an evil influence that they have no power over, and struggle against. My master ... he was kindly, when he wasn't seeking to rule the world. I think, in another lifetime, were he not corrupted by dark energy, Riventon could have been a good guy."

She swallows, a little nervous and a little sad, then asks, "What will you do with a familiar?"

Nicola Esprit has posed:
Nicola scuffs her toe a little at the last question, seeming a little embarassed at her answer, but she gives it. "I don't really understand most of my classmates, and I can't really talk to them about what I'm worried about, so I thought maybe a familiar could be my friend." Perhaps, at this point, it'd be prudent to ask about the accent. "I'm Nicola Esprit, fourth grader at Seishou Elementary."

Ayana has posed:
"Oh," Ayana says, eyes widening, "you go to my school." She smiles at Nicola, then says, "That makes you my kouhai. I'm Ayana Tasogare, a first year at Seishou Middle School. My girlfriend, Ikiko Hisakata, is also your senpai; she's a sixth year at Seishou Elementary, and the head of the Animal Care Club."

Ayana dwells on this for a moment, then her eyes widen, and that big fluffy tail starts to wag back and forth, "Oh, that's an idea, Esprit-chan. Do you want to meet her? I bet Ikiko could help you find the right animal to be your familiar: an animal who needs a home, and is smart and cute and fuzzy and will care for you. And then I can help you learn how to care for a familiar--although your familiar will probably be helping to care for you, too."

Nicola Esprit has posed:
"Nice to meet you, Tasogare-senpai." Nicola bows once again, getting back into more familiar patterns. The offer being made seems to interest Nicola, but she scuffs her toe again. "I like that idea, but uh... I was kind of trying to pretend I was just doing this as an impulsive thing and hope my guardian doesn't punish me too much for it." She looks down, apparently thinking that such a formal strategy prevents that from being viable. "Someone told me it's better to ask for forgiveness than permission sometimes."

Ayana has posed:
Ayana giggles at Nicola's observation, then says, "Whoever told you that is probably right, at least within reason. Gotta make sure you aren't hurting other people, right? But anyways, the fact taht you just admitted it aloud kinda means you're well past that option. Still, you don't have to tell anyone that you're talking to Ikiko-chan about this," she notes amusedly. "And Ikiko doesn't have to know you're going to make it into a familiar. Just tell her you want a pet. I won't tell her," says the kitsune amusedly. "Then it'll just be our little secret: yours and mine."

Nicola Esprit has posed:
"O... oh!" Nicola seems to like that idea, having only one question left to ask. "Won't Hisakata-senpai be upset if you hide something like that from her?" It's a question asked with the sincere apparent hope that the answer will be some kind of 'no.' "You seem alright, Tasogare-senpai. I wonder... do you know Fate-chan and Arf-san?"

Ayana has posed:
"Hee, naw," Ayana says with a shake of her head. "Ikiko-chan knows I play little pranks, and this one's harmless, as long as you're good to your familiar," she says with a smile. "Be better to yours than Riventon-san was to me, and I think you'll be okay," she says, then reaches up to ruffle Nicola's hair gently.

Then her ears perk up, and her whole face lights up, at the mention of Fate and Arf. "Fate-chan," she says, happily, hand reaching up to grasp the collar around her throat. "Fate-chan gave me my first collar, for Christmas, last year. And Arf-chan is a good friend," she promises Nicola. "We used to work together," she explains. "I guess she's about your age, huh?"

Nicola Esprit has posed:
"I'll do my best." Nicola promises, and then her hair gets ruffled, and she huffs a little bit. She doesn't seem to be a fan. "I'd lost my device for a while, and the two of them saved my life. I owe them, but I don't know how to pay them back... I think Fate-chan is in some kind of trouble, but I don't know anything about it..."

Ayana has posed:
"She was," Ayana says, grinning just faintly at Nicola. "Her mother ... isn't a nice lady, and she was asking her to do awful things. But now she's staying somewhere safe. With a friend who cares very much about her."

Ayana considers Nicola a moment, then wiggles her fingers, and a playing card appears in her hand as if it had been up her sleeve--but Ayana's dress is sleeveless; just a pair of thin straps over her shoulders. She turns the card over, and a phone number is written on the face in big black marker. This she offers to Nicola.

"Come to Animal Care Club tomorrow after school. I'll make sure to be there, too, and I'll introduce you to Iki-chan. Okay?"

Nicola Esprit has posed:
"That's good." Nicola seems relieved to know Fate is in a better situation now, and takes the card. "I'll be there, I promise." She pauses, just a moment, "I should probably go soon, I told Jessamine I was taking a walk, but I don't want to be away for too long..." She dismisses the barrier and her barrier jacket, returning to her regular Seishou Elementary uniform

Ayana has posed:
"Okay, take care, Nicola-chan," Ayana says, waving to the girl. With the barrier released, she allows her ears and tail to vanish behind a thin illusion, concealing them from view. "Bye!" then she heads back towards the fishpond, stepping out onto the same rock, but now barefootted rather than fox-pawed, curious to watch the fish. What a weirdo.