1802/What Did You Guys DO
From MahouMUSH
What Did You Guys DO | |
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Date of Scene: | 05 August 2016 |
Location: | Earth Court Frat House |
Synopsis: | Cure Flora finds the ECFH roof. Shortly thereafter, so does Hannah. Apparently there's been fighting. |
Cast of Characters: | Mamoru Chiba, Haruka Haruno, Hannah Sharpe |
- Mamoru Chiba has posed:
It's a bright and sunny day, windy and clear, and the scent of the sea is on the air. Fifty stories above street level -- forty-eight floors but the first two are practically a minimall and gym center and altogether too tall -- the sounds of the city are muted, and the roses and wisteria that climb on the structures provided for them grant a further separation from the city. This is a rooftop garden, and it takes up the entire roof of the luxury condominium building.
In one section -- because there are nooks and crannies provided by the movable walls of foliage and blooms -- there's a table with a brightly-colored umbrella and a number of wrought-iron chairs by and near it; it's not too far from one of the little stairwells to the floor below. In another, there's a telescope set up trained on the sky, more chairs around it.
On the table, though, there's a pitcher of strawberry lemonade and a half-used sleeve of recyclable party cups, and seated at the table, there's a stupidly beautiful black-haired and blue-eyed boy in a deep red yukata with bright yellow fish hand-painted on it near the hem on one side and on the sleeve and shoulder of the other. Incongruously, he is playing with a smartphone.
This rooftop garden, lovely as it is, is directly in the path of least effort for magical girls and boys crossing this part of the city by superjump.
- Haruka Haruno has posed:
Cure Flora definitely is navigating Tokyo by superjump- as a small-town girl, she's not used to big cities like this, but she *is* used to exploring. She stops on the rooftop with the gardens, eyes widening. It's not her voice that announces how gorgeous it is, though. That honor belongs to Puff, who is seated fairly firmly on one of Flora's shoulders. "Pretty-pafu!" Flora nods her agreement, looking around to investigate the varieties of flowers. Aroma flits around, and it's the purple bird fairy who notices Mamoru first. He catches sight of the boy and flits back to Flora in a hurry, though the keen-eared can pick up a hissed 'there's someone here-roma!'.
"Show me where?" Flora asks the fairy. If Mamoru- or anyone- were to see her, she'd look every inch the storybook princess, offering a finger for Aroma to land on. The fact that Aroma only appears to be a bird is incidental. Still, the small hookbill points her to where Mamoru is puttering on his phone, and Flora follows his direction. "Gokigen'you. Is this your garden?" The greeting would be ridiculously out of place if she weren't a princess, but feels appropriate while transformed. "I didn't mean to intrude, I was just-- exploring the city, and, well..." She trails off awkwardly, all at once dropping the seeming of -princess-, her own rough-edged personality shining through as she flushes. "This was the nearest rooftop to where I was going."
- Hannah Sharpe has posed:
Miss White isn't one to call ahead. Then again, most of the mahou population tends not to. This particular mahou just has the habit of arriving like she owns the place. When you're a CEO in a cut-throat environment like Eclipse? Confidence, swagger, and lack of visible fear are necessities.
It's just hard to put that down, even amongst friends.
Seconds after Flora leaps in, there's a gust of wind, and the white-suited woman teleports in with a swaying of suit jacket, hair, and what look like bandages on part of her arms. There's a /big/ patch over a bruise on her forehead, too. In short, Kasagami White looks like she's just gotten out of the hospital again. Her hand's immediately stealing three cups and pouring out that strawberry lemonade. R.T's in her pocket, not in combat mode, even if she's in her barrier jacket.
"Pretty as heck, huh? Mamo-kun and the Boys should really go into landscaping." She offers to Flora, first, flashing a winning grin before turning to Mamoru. Her Device beeps in her pocket, and scans some information for the young woman.
"...Huh, going for the formal look today? I swear, you Japanese and your clothes. Pretty, but man, my dad would give you so much crap and then take you shopping for combat boots, jeans, and a muscle-shirt. Hey Mamo, how are ya? Been a while." She points to Flora.
"Making more friends?"
- Mamoru Chiba has posed:
"Yo--" calls the smartphone boy distractedly (yes, despite fairy fluttering and whispering and despite formal princess greeting) "--sec, I've almost got it-- YES."
And his phone clatters on the tabletop as he punches the air in victory. And then he opens his eyes and sees a stranger in a lot of pink with a crown and a couple of fairies, and he blinks. "Oh, hi, sorry. You're fine, this is basically Mahou Shoujo Grand Central," he says carelessly, amiably.
And then he stands up, and he's gotta be six feet tall without the geta on his feet giving him a couple inches. He offers a perfunctory bow. "Chiba Mamoru. Yes, this is my garden-- I'm not the only one who's put flowers up here, though," he says with a laugh, expression mild but bright, affectionate. Utterly unfairly, despite the informal cotton summer kimono and geta, he moves and holds himself with the casual self-possession of royalty.
Then his eyes narrow and his features shift toward concern, and he takes a couple steps forward. "Hey, your arm, let me see? I'm a healer, it's okay--" he starts, and then...
...Hannah sails in like she owns the place, while definitely owning the hell out of injuries of her own. Now Mamoru actually looks super disapproving. "What the hell did you get into? Sit down, I'll fix you after I fix her." A beat, and provided Flora's actually letting him have a look, he's presumptuously already undoing bandages as he continues grousing at Hannah.
"This isn't formal. Do I look formal? Usako got me one I didn't get to wear for Tanabata but it was so damn comfortable I started just wearing it. Now I have more. I feel like I get to be lazy af while still being socially acceptable, and your dad's just gonna have to cope. Did you tell him princes do whatever the hell they want, yet?" Then the tall boy glances back to Flora, and at her fairies, and looks mildly sheepish. "Sorry. You weren't in the same fight, were you? It was just my birthday, I've been out of town. Hold still; this won't hurt. What are you called?"
- Haruka Haruno has posed:
Flora gives Hanna a slight look. She can't help it if her transformed state is formal-- and she even likes it that way, to be honest. Luckily the more sour-tempered of the faeries speaks up before she does. "You're speaking to one of the Princess Pretty Cure-roma!" Aroma announces, all twelve ounces of offended dignity. "Show some respect-roma!" Granted, this was the same fairy who scolded -her- over being so informal about talking about Kanata, so she supposed it was a weird kind of fair from him. And then Mamoru was actually moving, and holy mercy is he ever tall.
Him being pretty didn't get her to blush, but something about his body language is familiar enough that her cheeks color more. It reminds her of Kanata- but she's not thinking about that right now. "Cure Flora." She curtseys in reply to his bow, though she's clearly favoring her right arm, and it's more lopsided than she likes. At his offer to investigate her arm, she offers it- as much as she can. The cut was deep enough that moving it is a very careful operation for her. "These two are Puff and Aroma, the Royal Faeries of the Hope Kingdom." And occasional royal pain in the butt, in Aroma's case. Still, he's being less of a crusty nare about everything, after the somewhat backhanded chiding he got from Mercury the other day.
"Um-- what? ...What? Prince? What?!" That is full-on Haruka wearing the Cure Flora disguise, the flusterable, flailing bud of Verone Academy. Even Puff and Aroma are suprised, Puff floating out to make her own (absolutely adorable) curtsey to him.
"It's a pleasure to meet you, Prince Mamoru-pafu," Puff says. Aroma says nothing, because Mamoru isn't -his- prince, damnit.
- Hannah Sharpe has posed:
Hannah grins in response to that feeling of Dissapproval. God, she missed that look. It only stays there for a moment.
"Puella Politics happened. Super Pinkball magical yard-stick contest. Long story." For all that she tries to play it off, there's something decidedly /off/ here. A hint of doubt, inner turmoil, mix with honest-to-god outrage at /something/. She's keeping what close to her chest though.
And so, she laughs, her usual outgoing, boisterous warmth just a little bit dimmed. Maybe even contemplative.
Ahem! She takes on a deep, male voice that just sounds grating with her southern lilt.
"What!? You git right back over thar an' tell that boy to chew on his scepter! Monarchy's been dead since my ancesters were fightin' the redcoats! 'Sides, girls like a big, strong, tough man! Gotta keep his girl happy!"
Then Hannah just laughs. "My Dad's an idiot, stuck in his ways, but he cares, Mamoru. Still, you look good. Yeah. Yeah, I get it. That reminds me." She reaches into her suit jacket, and pulls out a wrapped gift.
"This is from me and the family. Grats on making it this far. And don't you dare do something stupid and blow this life, Mamoru, or I'll magic up your ghost and kill you at least three times again!" She 'threatens'. It's basically all friendship and care, and a little happiness at seeing him this /good/.
Should he open it, he'll find an unmarked bottle of clear liquid, a utility knife, and a plushie bunny that's suspiciously Usagi-like.
But Flora isn't ignored, oh no. Nor is Aroma and Puff!
Hannah outright laughs as the two fairies complain, and she gets a /look/ from Flora.
"Oh, /man/! You two need to take a deep breath. Our picturesque surroundings aside, I think today is a day where formality needs to get punted riiiight off the rooftop. Frankly, I'm tired, pissed, and just got out the hospital, so until someone drags me back into work, I'm going to not care about anybody's royal blood, size of their paycheque, or how glowy the nearest Puella is." She too grumps out. Oh yeah, someone's in a bad mood.
"With all that out the way, hi. Kasagami White, a.k.a. Miss White, a.k.a. CEO of WitchHunter Professional Services, a.k.a. You Stupid Jerk. Nice to meet you, kiddo!" Suddenly, another grin, and there's a hand being shoved right towards Flora's free one for a firm shake.
Squint. "...A PreCure, huh? No kidding? And what's all this about 'Princess' PreCure? Did that punk Blue start handing out Tiaras now?" She practically spits out the god's name.
Hope Kingdom? Hannah turns to Mamoru.
"...Okay, I'm lost here. Mamoru, who is this lady and her two fairy friends? I must've /really/ missed a lot. There better not be any world-ending apocalypses you're not telling me about! Seriously, I'm already up to my neck right now in problems!"
Pause. Raging Tempest beeps, and tries to ping Mamoru's phone to see what he's doing.
"Huh? The heck, Mamoru? R.T. says you're playing pokemon go. Seriously? You too?" It's all the rage at WPS HQ!
- Mamoru Chiba has posed:
The corners of Mamoru's eyes crinkle up in suppressed laughter, but it's clear it's not laughing-at; he holds up a long-fingered scholar's hand and shakes his head. "You don't have to call me Prince, but I'm very pleased to meet you."
Then he actually starts working on Haruka's arm as he talks-- and as soon as his fingertips touch her skin, the pain stops, and there's only warmth and a sense of sunshine and peace, open meadows and hidden glens, primeval forest and unsullied skies, the singing of water and metal and molten rock through the veins of the earth, the shelter of the ancient mountains and the depth of the oceans. Safety, hearth and home; restoration and recovery. The gold glow from his hand is only the visible echo of it.
"I have too many introductions-- Chiba Mamoru is a third-year high-schooler, nothing more. Endymion is Crown Prince of Earth, but his kingdom was destroyed before the days of myth and legend began, and now he only tries to protect its heart. Tuxedo Kamen is Sailor Moon's boyfriend, and he has a conceit that he's everyone's big brother. You can call me whatever you like. Outside of henshin, I mostly answer to Mamoru, Endy, or Chiba."
Then he shuts up to listen to Hannah as he finishes up with Flora's arm-- there won't be a scar, there is no stiffness, there's nothing left there to hurt her. When his hand comes away, the feeling leaves, but the echo is there for her to hold to if she wants it.
Hannah's cranky like she hasn't been in a long time, and Mamoru looks skeptical-- but he caught that off-ness, so he's not interrupting except to pull out another chair for Flora and move one of the cups Hannah poured in front of her. Still listening! He pulls out a small rolly-drawer-set from under the table, opens the top drawer, and NO LIE takes out a delicate fairy-sized tea service and table and chairs, and quickly sets them up on the big table, and extremely carefully pours a fairy-sized pitcher of strawberry lemonade from the big pitcher.
Still listening.
The first thing he tells Hannah, placidly, with a smirk tugging at one corner of his mouth, is "Pretty sure your dad knows Japan has an emperor." But he's accepting the wrapped gift, and when he opens it, the expression blossoms into a true smile, bright and real.
And then he moves around the table further, so he can very carefully kiss the top of her head where she's not bandaged; a second later he starts seeing to her injuries. Head first, because headaches seriously make for cranky people at the best of times. The other injuries, what's easily visible, follow -- albeit more slowly. And there's a small, incredibly affectionate smile on his face. "I have absolutely no idea. I've been on vacation. Kunzite probably knows, he's been keeping track of everything while I've-- yes dammit-- been playing Pokemon Go. But this is Cure Flora! She just introduced herself. And Puff and Aroma, the Royal Fairies of the Hope Kingdom. Which sounds like a great place, if it's like it says on the tin."
That's where Flora and the fairies get an exaggerated 'play along' wink.
- Haruka Haruno has posed:
Since Mamoru-Endymion-Tuxedo Kamen is being so open about his identity, Flora considers it only appropriate to offer him the same respect. For some reason, his healing makes her think of nothing so strongly as the day she had met Prince Kanata when she was five years old, in a meadow with flowers, and the young Prince of the Hope Kingdom had given her the 'lucky charm' that had ended up being her Dress Up Key. It's not lost on her that this man is the same healer that Mercury had mentioned to her the other day.
Haruka accepts the handshake after her arm is healed, looking awkward at the Western-style greeting. They've been used around her in the past, but she's had a single-minded focus on being a princess, so between being Japanese and focusing on being a princess, where bows and curtseys are more common, handshakes are awkward for her. "W-White-san," she mumbles awkwardly, sounding definitely wooden.
She sits down at the table, covering a small smile at the fairy-sized tea set. Puff hops down, wagging her tail vigorously. "I'm a middle school second-year, Haruno Haruka," she says. Puff and Aroma curtsey and bow at Mamoru, thanking him for the lemonade.
And then Haruka asks the question. "...What's Pokemon Go?" Is it a phone game? It definitely seems to be, and Haruka pulls out her own phone, very glad that she can freely move her right arm again. Being right-handed and not having the ability to use it comfortably -sucks-. A cursory google search has Haruka exclaiming softly, showing the phone to Puff. "Isn't it cute?" Haruka knew about Pokemon, of course, but since she was more interested in fairytale books about princesses as a kid she mostly ignored the trend. Still... cute virtual monsters! "This one even has a flower on its back!"
Chiba Mamoru, what fresh hell have you unleashed on the Royal Faeries of the Hope Kingdom.
- Hannah Sharpe has posed:
Hannah gives a big shrug. "Knowing, and accepting are two different things, Mamo. I swear he tried to will away the concept of royalty with an empty beer can and a baseball bat. Be glad he's not magic. We'd all be doomed!"
Grumpy Hannah softens, then leans back in her chair and sips that delicious strawberry lemonade. A kiss to her undamaged head, and she actually gives a sigh of relief. It's long, slow, painful. She's practically deflating, the knowledge that Mamoru cares, that the Puella and Haruna and Takashi care all hits her at once.
Finally, she just smiles. "...You're too nice, you know that, Mamoru? God love you." For the first time in a while, she lets down her guard, and just relaxes.
"Got it. I'll bother him, I need a warm up anyway." As Mamoru gets to work, he'll find that the outer damage is mostly superficious: blunt magic wounds, mostly, suspiciously arrow-like in impact. No, the troubling part is massive internal injuries just barely healed: almost like a pipe bursting after too much water was shoved through it. And if he can detect it, her Linker Core is in the kind of shape one only gets after they've pushed their limits way, way too hard.
In short, typical Hannah.
That show of awkwardness only has Hannah making sure she's giving the perfect American Handshake (tm), pumping a few times, then letting go. Only to swat the poor Princess on the back!
"Great! Hah hah, don't be so awkward, Flora! And like I said, formality to the curb! If you /insist/, then call me Miss White. Here. My card! Let's do lunch some time!" She slips the woman a WPS card, complete with number and building location.
"So tell me about this Kingdom of yours. You don't sound like the same kind of Pretty Cure that Cure Gull or Cure Boost are." She asks, only to turn to Mamoru, and Fairies and PokeGo.
Arms cross, even as she's healed.
"....I don't know how to play either." Frown. She doesn't /quite/ ask, but her phone /is/ on the table by now. Braille keys, Flora might note, as well as the WPS logo. Also an attachment for a Device to interface with it. She sighs, leaning into Mamoru's healing touch, bruises and especially her innards slowly easing up.
- Mamoru Chiba has posed:
Haruka gets a quick, lopsided grin. "Haruno-san, it's a pleasure to meet you," Mamoru says with another handwave in the general direction of a bow-- as he works on Hannah. And then he grins at the fairies and gives them a huge thumbs-up. Another glance at Haruka, then. "And yeah, haha, one of the Puella's very fond of reminding me how much I like cute fuzzy animals, and was delighted to find out I play. If you want a how-to, I can show you in a little bit-- or you can fuss around on your own a bit first. When it gets time to join a team, well-- I'm team yellow. But there's also red and blue. That doesn't matter until you hit level five, though, so don't worry about it right away. The internet'll also tell you allll about it."
Then he pauses and stares down at Hannah. "Seriously, what did you do. You're supposed to put spaghetti in you, via your mouth? Not make spaghetti in you. How did you not die? Oh-- sh-- do you not have the guys' numbers anymore? Did you try and get in touch with me? Because this-- you need to-- this is..."
Yeah, Mamoru cares. His hands are shaking. He's actually managing to lose words, his sentence structure, his composure. He's trying to joke but it's not working. Flora can see how the color's just dropped from his face a lot more clearly; he's behind Hannah. "And you gutted your linker core. Can you keep your pointy teeth off my soul long enough for me to fix that?"
- Haruka Haruno has posed:
Haruka shoves her chair out and offers a hand to Mamoru- if nothing else, she is a lot physically stronger than she looks, and if need be, she can transform again. "You look like you need to sit down. Now." Despite the fact that she is on Mamoru's turf, for that moment she is every centimeter a princess telling one of her subjects to sit before he gets hurt. It's a reflection of what she will one day become, if she keeps her feet firmly on the path she is on. "You look like a sheet of paper. Is there anything that would help? A cold glass of water? Food?" Puff and Aroma can get it, and if they can't, Haruka certainly can. Puff and Aroma are both watching, worried. Apparently princes being stupidly noble isn't unusual to them, either.
"Puff, can you see if there's any mint and chamomile around?" It was something her mom had started- her parents, being chefs, had taught her how to use various plants. It was something Moe had started as an offhanded attempt to gauge her daughter's dedication to her dream of becoming a princess of flowers- having the young Haruka learn kinds of plants and their reasonable cooking uses and medical uses. It was a game of chicken Moe had lost, much to Haruka's benefit. "In case you're queasy," Haruka says, by way of explanation. "I used to make my little sister drink mint tea if she was queasy. I think it sounds like you both need it, from what Chiba-san is saying." At this, Aroma flew off after his sister. "If you don't mind, I'll go downstairs and have Puff and Aroma help me make some tea for both of you." Her tone says everything about how worried she is for their well-being. Everyone she's met so far in Tokyo has been nice, pretty much, and it might be her turn to repay the favor.
- Hannah Sharpe has posed:
Hannah practically slumps as Mamoru realizes the extent of the damage. She wants to make a joke. She can't. The pure /care/ in his voice stops even her. Somewhere, Hannah actually has this tiny core of tact. It's the size of a spitball, but it's there.
A hand runs through her hair as she lets him get to work.
"Basically, me and Madoka, Homura, and a few others ended up on the opposite sides of an operation. Madoka, me...well, between my new Puella coworker, me, Madoka...words got said, Pinkball got pissed, started throwing magic around in /that/ form, and I...uh, well, tried to match her. Then...well, if you really want the whole story, go ask Madoka. You'll probably like her version of events better. Let's just say that using seven Cartridges is pushing it, even for me." Pause. Eyes close.
"And yes, I've had Gull, Madoka, Homura by proxy, and on some level, Ta-kun display different levels of 'You're an idiot, White-chan'." Her head just slumps.
"In short, I'm a dumbass and got carried away."
That's a pretty big admission from Hannah of all people.
One finger goes up. "In my defense, that last Cartridge was to drag away my coworker before she did anything even more epically foolish than me. And people weren't exactly telling me to /stop/ either. Puella. Politics. Mamo-chan." Flora, welcome to Miss White, and Puella. Never a good combination.
Huff. "I'll have you know I am pretty difficult to kill."
She slips off her shoes, kicks her feet up, and just sighs. "Hey, I've been getting better about that! I'll be good, I'll be good!"
Her Linker Core is one part holding itself together through sheer willpower and stubborn grit, and otherwise glued by that Darkness she tossed into herself from the Super Grief Seed incident, like some kind of very evil Guerilla Glue. It might even actively hiss at Mamoru's intrusion, only to subside at a mental shove by Hannah.
Suddenly, Flora and co. In the midst of her defensiveness, her fretting and sudden demands remind her far too much of her /Mother/. Eyes go wide, she blushes, and both hands go up.
"YES MA'AM!"
Pause. That blush goes higher. AHEM!
"U...uhhh. Yeah. Yeah, sure, kiddo. That'd be great. I'd love some tea,please." The dual assault of royalty has the savage Hanners tamed. FOR NOW. When her weakness passes, she might rebel again, those filthy american she is!
"...You royalty can be kinda scary when you want to be. No wonder we fled as soon as the New World came around!" Blush blush.
- Mamoru Chiba has posed:
Pale as he is, hands shaking as they are, Mamoru shakes his head minutely, taking a deep breath. "Thanks, but I'm just upset," he tells her quietly after a second. "I'll need to sit down in a minute, though, and mint tea would be lovely, but if you're unfamiliar with the place you'll get lost. So-- just hang on a minute, and I'll tell you what to do when I'm done." Then there's even quieter irritation in his voice as he slides his hands to Hannah's temples. "Mamo-chan is Usa's nickname for me, you know that. She's very protective of it. She doesn't want Kunzite to call me it, either, and we're dating too. So don't do that."
He wasn't kidding about being okay and then about to not be okay:
After the initial shock and worry, his color started returning, sure, and there's grim determination on his stupidly regal face. The glow in his hands brightens, then grows to suffuse him and Hannah both. Like the line of crackling light that crawls over self-activating charcoal when one applies flame to a corner, his deep red yukata and geta are overwritten by dark blue leather armor with a gold design on the chest and collar, metal plate on the front and sides and boots, etched metal pauldrons; crossed leather sword-belts, a flowing black cape with dark red lining-- and the glow brightens.
Hannah may shove the hissing darkness aside, but if she thought his power was a deliciously vast thing before his time in the Dark Kingdom--? It's clearer now, more easily accessed, more easily used, and as inexorably implacable as the movement of glaciers across continents when all the earth is cold. But the power itself isn't cold: it's bright and warm and insistent, and it fills that ravaged linker core and spills out to knit and mend and strengthen, to reaffirm life, to move like a golden mass of coursing energy with the width and insistence of a flood breaking the sea walls.
And all of that majesty, all of that power...
...is frowning loudly and with oceans of Disappoint.
"You know," he murmurs, "how I feel about you and Puella politics."
The touch breaks, and so does the henshin, and it's just Mamoru who staggers back to collapse in the chair, utterly drained. He closes his eyes.
"God dammit, you pain in the ass," he whispers. "Okay. Flora-chan. Go down the stairs and yell 'Zoisite, Mamoru was stupid and needs mint tea really fast'. That is how you make tea. In my house."
- Haruka Haruno has posed:
Hannah's explanation of what happened goes right over Haruka's head. She watches Mamoru's transformation, though, and is reminded again of Kanata- vaugely. It's clear that whatever Mamoru is turning into- Prince Endymion- is far more of a fighter than Prince Kanata, and the overriding theme in Prince Endymion's clothing is dark colors to Kanata's light colors, but still. Still, the wannabe flower princess isn't paralyzed by that appearance- after all, Endymion is not Kanata, and as regal and beautiful and powerful as Endymion is, there's a certain something about Kanata, even thinking too hard about him, that steals her breath.
Haruka is too polite to do as Mamoru asks, but Aroma certainly isn't. He has a fair bundle of chamomile and mint in his claws as he flies downstairs and quite literally parrots exactly what Mamoru told Haruka to say. Instead, Haruka sits back down, pretending she didn't see Puff facepalm over her brother's bluntness. "I'm not from the Hope Kingdom, but my transformation items- and Puff and Aroma are. Apparently it was very beautiful, but got taken over by DysDark and despair in general, which is why Puff and Aroma are here." Puff pads back over to the table, nodding her agreement and floating up to gently headbutt Mamoru's hand. Self-petting dog-fairy. "I was given my Dress Up Key by Prince Kanata of the Hope Kingdom when I was very little, but apparently there are two more out there." She looks at the key, which right now looks more like a little statuette that mirrors some of the appearance of her transformed state.
- Hannah Sharpe has posed:
That golden power, made ever so vast and deep...It's tempting. Very tempting. Every part of the worst parts of her soul wants to dig in, to take, to devour and add that delicious power to her own.
But, something stops her. It might be the doubts she's feeling. She might honestly be gaining some semblence of self control. She might be /that/ tired and exhausted. The wild animal, the sucking vampire in her soul is cage even as it rails at its bonds. The foundations shake, but they hold, even if Hannah has to smack at the cage bars with her own will.
Even as his Dissappoint goes through him, it's returned with an equal sea of doubt, troubles, and that underlying thread of absolute outrage bordering one betrayed. Whatever Hannah was talking about, it's hit her harder than almost anything Mamoru has had the misfortune of emapthy'ing at her with. Some small part of her world view is shifting, or maybe, unraveling in front of her.
The small, idealist part of her that's driven her all this way might be finally seeing some small part of the light, but the rest of her is in utter internal turmoil.
When all's said and done, the beast goes to sleep, and Miss White slumps in the chair as she starts to breathe heavily.
"I...yeah, sorry, I wasn't...ugh, Mamo, it's been...a really, really, bad week, so...sorry." She almost sounds defeated for a moment, pure pride keeping her from admitting it. That would break Hannah Sharpe, after all.
"I didn't start this one." She hangs on to her pride, to her goals, despite. The unspoken sentence may as well be, 'But I'm finishing it'. Her eyes glint for a moment, gathering up every scrap of willpower to stare Mamoru right in the face. There's no hiding turmoil or anger like that, only pure determination. Whatever's gotten to Hannah, it's serious, and the hallmarks of the girl about to do something about it are all there.
Then, she softens, and offers a weak laugh.
"That's how I've always been. Thanks for putting up with me, and always being an idiot, Mamoru." If she had the strenght, she'd hug him right now.
She manages a smile, and turns to Haruka. "...Ignore all that. Tokyo has some pretty twisted stuff, and I'm kinda in the middle of it. It's a rabbit hole a good kid like you shouldn't go anywhere near."
A stolen breath. Hannah ribs the resting Mamoru. "Man, you really know how to make all the girls blush! Trying to go on record for 'most hearts broken' or something?" She teases gently. Then, she listens.
"Got it. Well, I don't know anybody like that, and I kinda have a problem with people coming into other people's planets and trying to proclaim themselves freaking Emperor or whathaveyou. As long as I get pick of the loot? Sign me up for punching their faces in!" She's not exactly a fan of the TSAB or Queen Mirage and co, after all.
Hmmm. "Well, most Pretty Cure operate in teams. So those two missing Dress Up Keys? Keep an eye out, especially for the people that 'react' to them. There's plenty of PreCure that work along, of course, but chances are you've got friends to make, Princess." Hannah, slightly genre savvy at this point.
Pause. Paaaause. Suddenly, she falls out of her seat, and turns to /STARE/ with all the power of Blind Stare at Mamoru.
"WAIT! YOU'RE DATING KUNZITE!? WH..WH...WHAT ABOUT USAGI!?!?" She's up just as quickly, her face one part shock, another horror, another pure Southern Rage. She's cracking her knuckles already. She loves Mamoru, but Usagi is her friend too, and it shows. Her suit jacket flutters behind her ominously.
"Explain. NOW!" This isn't normal Hannah. This is Hannah's Mom Fury leaking into the fiery southern gal.
- Mamoru Chiba has posed:
Mamoru, melted in his chair as he is, head tilted back against the back, feels doge-fairy head butting against his hand on the table, and scritches behind ears without looking. "What she said," he says of Hannah's estimation of her Cure-ness and potential teammates. "Except also talk to Virtue. Hotori-kun over at Seiyou will hook you up with more allies than you'll know what to do with." He's not mumbling, just speaking relatively slowly, enunciating distinctly to make up for his near-breathless quiet.
Zoisite will, of course, provide Aroma almost immediately with a power rechargey stick for Mamoru's pokego phone shenanigans, and actually-already-made mint tea, and a note telling Mamoru he's stupid in Hungarian or something-- and probably grumble a fair amount at the addition of the chamomile, but grudgingly concede and lead purple bird fairy to kitchen and mutter dire warnings about pokeballs to the small magical creature.
Meanwhile, upstairs, Mamoru cracks one blue eye open at Hannah and says irritably, "Sit the hell down. I didn't fix you so you could beat me up. I'm still with Usa. She okayed it. You can ask her. And you can also fail to spread it around, okay?"
- Haruka Haruno has posed:
Haruka nods. "Puff and Aroma mentioned that Twinkle and Mermaid's keys would be drawn to them. We just need to find them to give the two other Perfumes to them, too..." Haruka nods a little. "I've been trying to make friends, too, but... I'm from somewhere a lot smaller than here." She looks down at her phone, fidgeting and trying to hide how homesick and adrift she feels. She's probably the -newest- magical girl in Tokyo, and she doesn't have much to show for it at this time other than an injury someone else had to heal for her.
Aroma ignores the comment about pokeballs for the most part, though he's definitely ruffled about it. There's even an offended 'chi-chi-chi!' thrown in there for Zoisite's benefit. Clearly, Royal Fairy is not amused by the dire warnings.
The comments about relationships get Haruka to try hiding herself further in investigating the secrets of Pokemon Go. It's pretty obvious by the sounds, anyway.
- Hannah Sharpe has posed:
Hannah continues to shake and stare. She sounds /livid/. She rolls Mamoru's words through her head, several times. Slowly, her arms cross. Dress shoes tap the roof. Slowly, slowly, anger turns to irritation, and then she looks /tired/.
Reeeach. A light punch to the shoulder!
"Don't scare me like that! You know I love you, Usagi, Kunzite, heck, half you guys!" Pause.
"Uhh. Not like that. You're all amazing and wonderful, but I'm a One-Bird woman." Finally, she just shrugs.
"Whatever. I don't have to tell you what I'd do to you if you hurt either one of them. Jeez. At this rate I'm going to have to break out a flow chart just to track the relationships here. Be good to each other. Idiots." It's all said lovingly.
She too just melts into her chair.
Twinkle. Mermaid. She jots down half-hearted mental notes. Today has already been too much.
"Ahh, don't worry, Princess! You seem like a smart kid, you'll adjust. Take my advice, join a club! Maybe Verone's Kickboxing Club. Seriously, ya'll's team are a bunch of slackers, a PreCure aught to whip them into shape!" Oh, right. Hannah snaps her fingers.
Her barrier jacket poofs, and she's left in jeans and a Metallica t-shirt.
"You can also call me Hannah Sharpe. Infinity U, Captain and President of the Kickboxing Club!" Grin!
- Hannah Sharpe has posed:
She didn't miss all that hiding, though. A lazy hand-wave. "Oh, and don't worry too much about all the drama. That kind of stuff happens here all the time. Mahou Central Station gets crazy, because Mahou are crazy."
- Mamoru Chiba has posed:
"I did say 'also'," Mamoru points out, opening his eyes all the way just to roll them at Hannah. "You're so violent."
News at eleven: water is wet.
"Hey, Flora-- it's cool, okay? Tadase Hotori. He's really friendly. He's actually a king, not a prince. And he's in charge of that stuff, more or less. He'll get you hooked up with stuff. You're welcome to come by here whenever, you should meet Usa, she's amazing. All her girls are. This place can get rowdy but everyone knows fighting's against the rules. So if you get bummed out or lonely or something, come by, even if there's no one home you can hang out on the roof or the balconies-- all the top floor balconies. Just intro yourself as Cure Flora, don't spread your ID around unless you feel safe about it, okay?"
All this said, Mamoru reaches up to rub his eyes. "But I am beat. So-- I'm sorry I'm a terrible host. I have to go sleep off the Hannah Hangover now. And probably rescue Aroma."
He peels himself out of the chair and leaves his geta under the table, going barefoot; he definitely collects Hannah's present, then heavily messes up her hair with a hand on top of her head, and then -- in passing Haruka -- does the same to her. "You meet guys with rock names, they're mine. I'm putting your name on the list as cool. See you 'round."
Schlep schlep schlep and he vanishes into the stairwell. Aroma will, in fact, find his way out moments later.