19/The Princess And The Witch

The Princess And The Witch
Date of Scene:	26 May 2015
Location:	Uminari City - Tako Cafe
Synopsis:	A walk across a bridge turns into a fight with a witch, a moment of heroism, and a fateful decision.
Thanks to:	Thanks to Mint Chip for GMing the Witch!
Cast of Characters:	Runealy Waldia, Ail, Hinote Kagari

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Hinote Kagari has posed:
Hinote Kagari is walking down the street, towards the Tako Cafe truck. It's there, and he can see it in the distance. Almossssst there. He smiles and looks over and says to Rune. "There's an awesome takoyaki place nearby. Really famous around here!" he says, beaming. "Have you ever had it before?" he asks.

Earlier when he arrived at the 'hideout', he also delivered a few books about Tokyo. A modern history book and a guidebook- the kind for tourists. Better than nothing! Not that Rune had any time to read them before they were off and down the street.

Something doesn't feel right in his gut. Not about the odd girl he met a few days ago traveling with him, but something else. whhhew. chilly. He's sure the feeling will pass, and it does, from him, relativly fast. Better to pay such things no mind afterall- not when he's going out to eat with a new friend!

"I'm almost ready for the play, too. Just gotta remember the rest of my lines, and I'll do great." he asides. "Improvastion is okay, as long as I remember the gist of what was supposed to be said.", he says making some talk about his Drama Club activities.

Runealy Waldia has posed:
"No, I don't think I have?" It sounds unfamiliar to Rune, as she paces alongside Hinote. She speaks quietly, uneasy for perhaps different reasons than he... even though she thought it through the other day, she still has doubts. Is it really okay to be spending time eating out, when she should be searching for more leads on energy to take?

That might be the 'rational' decision, but ultimately she is here because her heart insists it's wrong to just keep taking advantage of Hinote's kindness and then just... flat-out ignore him.

And so she is here, taking a genuine interest in his talk of play preparations. "You sound like you'll do fine. You were practicing when we met you, talking of practice even after that, and now you're talking about it again!" She doesn't mind; her tone is one of praise. "It's obvious you really care about it, even for parts that aren't quite the one you wanted. I can only imagine how fired up you'll be when you get the role you're really after!"

Hinote Kagari has posed:
Hinote Kagari smiles. "Oh, I'm going to knock people dead even if I don't!" he says. "Er, that's an expression that means I'm going to 'Wow' and Impress everyone, I'm not going to actually kill anymore." he smirks. He stops for a moemnt and crosses his arms as he hrmmmmmms, and taps his foot. He looks around a moment before shrugging and continuing down towards the truck. They're not quite there yet. There's a small bridge to cross! And they're starting the walk over it , the ocean running up underneath the bridge.

"I mean like I said. Villians are fine, too. For now. At least I'm doing what I love, rather than not doing it at all!" he smiles some more.

One may wonder what's exactly on the other side of that bridge!

Runealy Waldia has posed:
"R... right. I got that one, though. Phrases like that aren't too different in Berm--" Runealy catches her mistake, substituting the correct lie: "In Europe." It's hard to keep track of who she has told which location she's from!

She keeps pace with him, gaze looking aside to her end of the bridge and the water below. "Pretty..." Well, it is nice to look at. Yet she has seen water under bridges before. It's not as engaging as Hinote, so her conversation wanders back to him even though her eyes don't. "That's a good way to look at it. Just hope you get what you really, really love some day. A second place prize is neat, but with all the work you've been putting in and how nice you are, you should get what you want sooner rather than later!"

Ail has posed:
As Runealy and Hinote continue walking across the bridge, suddenly, the world around them seems to wobble, and reality itself seems to break down. There's a loud trumpet blast- though it sounds very out of tune - as Runealy and Hinote find themselves in what seems like a medieval castle, as might be familiar to Runealy, only everything is wrong... the banners seem to drip down the sides, warped like a Salvador Dali peice, the paintings have malicious faces, the empty suits of armor have helmets carved into odd smiles, and the castle itself seems like it's made out of paper mache.

Ahead are two small creatures that look like royal trumpeteers; only they have the faces of crabs, and clutch the trumpets in their crab claws. They stare at each other across the end of the hall, with dead black eyes.

The wall behind where the two unsuspecting humans 'fell into' the labrynth is sealed and solid.

Hinote Kagari has posed:
Hinote Kagari is walking along when the world...melts away into.... a castle? He knows what a castle looks like, because he's been on sets designed like them, but-- this seems all wrong. It's creepy- and wrong. "What the----" is all he can say as he stops dead in his tracks. He stops Runealy, too, grabbing her shoulder if he needs to. "What just.. happened..." he says as he turns around and--there's a dead end wall? And ugh, some sort of terrible trumpeting noise. It's grating.

He looks at some of the paintings and bites his lip. "What just...happened..." he asks. He looks around. Did someone inject him with anything? No--he feels fine. "What's going on?" he asks. Walking forward carefully again ahead. Are those... large crabs with trumpets?

"This is very real, don't you think?" he asks towards Runealy as he edges forward slowly. "Or can you not see what I'm seeing?"

Runealy Waldia has posed:
"I'm serious, you should get your chance really soon! It's only f... hnn?" Runealy is cut off as the ground feels weird, drawing a tiny and curious noise from her. Then... a trumpet. "What!?" The 'world' changes, drastically. "A castle? Are we back home? ...No, it's different." A glance back suggests they're trapped here. "What /is/ this!?" She stares at Hinote, asking with wide eyes and shock in her tone. She hopes he has an explanation for this; /her/ world doesn't go warping like this! ...As far as she knows.

The corner of her eye drifts to the crab-trumpeteers. "Sounds like you don't know either... I'm seeing the same thing you are. Some sort of impossible castle, and giant crab-things?" She sees them. She is /not/ approaching them just yet, totally unsure what to make of the situation.

Ail has posed:
The crab-troubadors turn, walking across the room and taking each others places - then they turn and, as their eyes peel out on stalks, and stare straight at the two teenagers. After a moment, they place the trumpets to what passes for their lips and blow another horrifying sound. It cuts through the air like a blade, a horrific sound that echoes off the walls and even flecks some of that paper mache off them. Then there's a creaking, an echoing, and two suits of black armor tear themselves off their stands, empty, and begin to make steps towards the two, those extreme grins still etched on their helmets.

Hinote Kagari has posed:
Hinote Kagari goes wide eyed, that's so creepy, and then he nrggggs, that sound is... he has to cover his ears and close his eyes for a moment. How are those ridiolous horns making such noise? This is a lot of work for a stage show. But this isn't even a set, it's like. It's like they're SOMEWHERE else. It feels like a bad fever dream, like the nightmares he used to have as a kid when he got sick.

Then the armor suit start moving towards them? He steps forward, "H-Hey! Just.. what are you trying to do here!?" he calls out at them. There's a little fright in his voice, but he seems determined, afterall. Are there--- even people in those things? This makes no sense.

Runealy Waldia has posed:
"Ah!?" Runealy cries out, cringing and startled as trumpets herald a call to arms. Figures of black armor approach. "Stop! We aren't here to fight!" Come on, think of the proper diplomatic way to say it...! "We... our trespass was unintended, and we...! We... we will depart your borders immediately!" She doubts this formal apology will really work, these creatures look unnatural.

So when it comes down to it, her heart is pounding as she realizes: This is a battle. Not like the one at the concert. Rune fought alongside close to a dozen people, and neither Ail nor his monstrous companion made any real effort to attack her.

Not like the time at the park. That was scary, but she had been attacked by a common person, a 'mere bandit' from her perspective. Someone with no magic and whose weapons weren't really a true threat to her once she got her bearings.

This is different. As far as Rune knows, Hinote can't fight monsters directly. In fact, as far as she could tell he was unaware of their existence based on how he talked about recent events. That seemed impossible to her; surely everyone knows demons exist, even if Japan's ruler doesn't care to protect people from them? Yet it seemed to be the case.

That means she's alone in this battle, and has to make sure both she and Hinote don't get hurt. So she tries to 'take charge' of the situation. Her shaky voice fails to project confidence, so commands turn into pleas. "St... stay as far away from them as you can!? Find somewhere to stay safe?" She's not sure ideas like 'cover' or a 'hiding spot' truly apply to this bizarre landscape, though. Perhaps if she were equal to a queen's tasks, she could just place him within a barrier to keep him safe.

Yet a princess, so inexperienced and afraid, can't do that. So she at least tries to be the most obvious target, and presents herself in full view of the armor-suits, the crabs, and Hinote by shouting: "Summoning Princess' Tiara!" The words are punctuated by tiny gasping breaths as fear rushes through her, but gold jewelry appears in her hand anyway. Her arms meet elbow to elbow, forming a 'slash' pattern in front of herself. "The Line of Succession..." One hand passes the tiara to the next, which brings it to her forehead in the same motion. "Transform!"

A flash of red light engulfs her. When it fades a few seconds later, Princess Runealy stands in full magical garb and her staff ready!

Ail has posed:
The suits of armor, though threatening in form, are clumsy at best - and unarmed. They lumber clumsily forward, though at a decent speed, reaching out their arms and grasping for Runealy. The crab-like troubadors continue blowing their horrid trumpets, only this time, they're moving closer - which means the sound is getting louder.

As all of this is going on, one of the banners to Hinote's right begins to drip down the wall like molasses, even though it looks to be made of fabric, pooling at the floor.

Hinote Kagari has posed:
Hinote Kagari makes a face. "Why would I do that! These things might attack us! I'm fighting back if that happens!" insits Hinote as he grits his teeth. He's no fighter, but he can punch something in the face really hard, and if he does, he thinks, maybe it'll go down. "Look just...stay behi---"

Then Runealy does her own thing. Really he can only watch in realtive awe as it happens. This indeed, makes him look more befuddled than ever! Princess' Tira what? He doesn't understand or can't process what's going on for a moment. In fact, he almost slips in dripping banner fluid, in the process! But manages to avoid doing so. Now's not a good time to ask silly questions!

Runealy Waldia has posed:
So he wants to stand and fight? Runealy can't help but admire that. "You really do mean all that talk about heroes!" He might mean it, but she fears what would happen if he tries to make good on that talk. "I'm sorry, but right now the hero's role is to stay alive! So..." How to phrase it? She won't get much longer to speak, as the armor approaches. A flash of advice from her mother 'replays' in her mind, and she voices it: "So whatever you do, don't stop reacting!" Don't freeze up, don't let panic make you stop even if your entire body is shaking... which hers is! Maybe the advice was for herself as much as it was for him, but she hopes Hinote stays safe.

Then they're upon her. The Princess yelps as her boot wings emit a silver-blue glow to launch her up and aside from them! Even as she descends, her staff's green orb tip detaches and hurtles down toward one of her attackers with intent to burst into emerald sparkles on impact. Regardless of the outcome, another green tip grows to replace it on her wand immediately.

Ail has posed:
The armor-suited familiar takes the full force of Runealy's attack, too unintelligent or distracted to even dodge; the creature, such as it is, is simply destroyed by the force of her attack!

Unfortunantly, this leaves the other suit of armor and the two crab-creatures. Aware enough to recognize it does not fly, the remaining armor suit-creature turns and begins to lumber quickly towards Hinote!

The crab creatures in the back meanwhile have begun to scuttle nearer, generating rocks in their pincers which they throw at Runealy - though small, they pack a magical punch! They're still holding those trumpets in their faces, albiet without any hands to help now, making angry varients of those sad horn noises.

Hinote Kagari has posed:
Hinote Kagari is still processing all this in his head when Rune speaks, but he finally snaps out of it. "Uh... right----" he says as he swallows a little hard, He does look around frantically. there's gotta be a sword... or something..lying around. It's a castle right!? He looks at the wall, there's this emblem of two swords a shield!---but it's melting too. Everything is melting and sliding slowly down or up the walls her imagines. He decides the next best thing is to just keep on his guard.

Maybe he can move FASTER than it. That's when! One of the rocks used as a projecticle have landed nearby, out of juice. He picks up the rock and hurtles it at the knight's ugly, smile ridden forehead in an attempt to knock it backwards, or on it's butt. It's really all he can do. There's not much room for hiding here--- all the tapestries and banners are MELTING afterall.

Runealy Waldia has posed:
Runealy doesn't fly either, and her trip into the air will be ending soon as she falls toward the ground. "I got one!?" No time to celebrate, as trumpet blaring continues to pound her senses. And worse, she's now being showered in rocks! Her boot-wings glow again, launching her left and right as she descends. Incredibly, she manages to dodge most of them this way even as startled cries acknowledge each attack!

Yet one connects with her leg just before her feet touch the ground, and she lands in a heap with a hurt scream! Her vision goes black and red as the pain flashes through, but this quickly clears. Picking herself up, Runealy shouts and launches another orb... this time, at one of the crabs. The orb splits apart in mid-air, turning into a spray of green energy sparkles she hopes will bombard it!

Yet she can see Hinote truly is trying to fight. He's throwing rocks. Will it be enough? "Hinote! Hang on!" Her boots light up again, letting her glide a few inches off the ground as she charges toward her friend and his attacker. She's not close enough to do anything to them yet, but it's definitely on her mind; she doesn't want to leave him to fend for himself against the unknown!

Ail has posed:
The two crabs continue to hurl those rocks at Runealy, moving in on the wounded prey - and that's when her second attack is launched, showering the creature with energy! The creature stumbles back, and then, trumpeting, begins to scuttle forward... only to slump over and fall as it tries, overwhelmed by the energy. The other one immitates his fallen companion though, charging for Runealy, claw arm out, trumpeting angrily!

Hinote's rocks, unpowered as they are, seem to be slowing down the armor's progress - but not by too much, as it continues, thunk after thunk, to make an attempt to close in on him.

Hinote Kagari has posed:
Hinote Kagari nrg, he's only slowing it down, nothings taking it out. And soon enough, he's out of rocks anyways. Just hold on? To what? The only way is backwards toward's a dead end. Right? Besides. The floor is covered back there in wall goop. He's afriad to even touch the stuff. He takes a deep breath and rushes forward, and with all the power he can muster, he attempts to ram the thing, mostly with his shoulder.

Really, it's the only thing he can think of. Run towards it and ram it, or do nothing at all and wait for this thing to descened upon him. "Doing--all I can!" he grits out during the charge.

Runealy Waldia has posed:
In a straight sprint, Runealy thinks she could probably outrun these crabs. She's not sure, but she thinks so. The problem is that she is not heading directly away from the remaining one... she is heading toward Hinote, and she can be intercepted. This ends up happening, which she discovers when the last crab flashes into her peripheral vision. "Wha!?" She glides backwards just in time to avoid being struck, but the blunt side of the claw still connects with her face and rocks her back!

Momentarily blinded by this, Rune's thoughts - instincts, at this point - lose track of Hinote. Instead, her wand emits a 'ray' of yellow energy a few feet long from its gem tip, and she begins flailing in the crab's general direction with it! This isn't anything as elegant or skillful as a blade, she is swinging it wildly as a club to beat the monster away with.

Ail has posed:
If the creatures Runealy and Hinote were encountering were the true threat, they might be in a larger point of trouble already - but instead, Runealy is able to, somewhat clumsily, club the crab trumpeteer at least into unconsciousness if not death directly, stopping its advance and buying her some much-needed breathing time.

Hinote fairs... decently, for all that's been told - his body slams into the remaining suit of armor, and both he and it go a fair few feet back. At the end of the jumbled pile, the armor creaks and groans under him as it attempts to rise to its feet, the last member of the group and trying to consider the assault on the two teenagers.

Hinote Kagari has posed:
Hinote Kagari manages to knock the thing down to it's feet. It struggles to get up. He can get up faster. But now he's made a little more room between him and it, so now he backs up a little bit. Besides, the crab trumpetters seem to be down for the count. Which is great because that horn was grating.

"What now!?" he calls out as he watches the armor trying to rise to it's feet. Which it might actually accomplish at this rate!

NO idea what's going on here, of course, just that this is really weird. and way too real to be a stage show-- this is nothing like that 'Demon' he fought off. At least that was outside.. in a crowd.

Runealy Waldia has posed:
Runealy's vision clears once more, leaving her to see something incredible: Hinote has been holding his own! What now, he wonders? "Just get away from it!" Her wand's energy-ray fades, as she takes aim at the downed armor. If she can get a decent shot, one that won't risk hitting Hinote, Rune will launch another pair of orbs at the monster!

Ail has posed:
In it's efforts to release itself from Hinote's tackle, it does provide rune with such a shot - by violently shoving Hinote off of it with all of its force! Doing that though, causes a brilliant green orb to fire from the tip of Runealy's wand, releasing sparkling green energy that causes it to fall like its allies.

The effects of the earlier fight notwithstanding, Hinote and Runealy are still locked in this room with only one clear exit - a large castle door with writing on it that seems clearly malefic in nature. The doorknob of said door is one of the only parts of the utterly strange structure to be made of something normal - metal, in this case- and it almost gleams, beckoningly, against the odd backdrop of melting banners and strangeness.

Hinote Kagari has posed:
Hinote Kagari ughs and looks around. "That's.. it?" he asks as he scratches his head. "I'm not seeing anything else. This place is...really weird.." he says flusteredly. He frowns a bit. Being alone, and being able to take a breather is good. It doesn't make it any less STRANGE however. "I guess.. we need to go through that door..." he says as he begins to walk towards it, frowing a little.

He pauses a moment. seems to think something in his head, but just shakes it. Now's not the time. He'll ask silly questions later. All that matters right now, is that, well, Rune seems to be able to fight these things, while he can barely.

"I'll open it.." he says as he grabs the large ring handle and begins to pull at it, not being able to understand the writing on the door. But he hopes it means 'Exit'.

Runealy Waldia has posed:
Runealy sags in relief as the fight comes to an end. "By the Barrier... that was... that was real... H... h..." She's breathing hard, having trouble forming sentences. Yet the words finally come as she stares at her new friend. "Hinote... you okay?" They are not elegant words, but they are coherent and concerned.

Maybe he is okay. He's moving on toward the door. And when she thinks on it, the choice is really 'stay here where the area has been melting' or 'try somewhere else.' That's really not a choice at all. "You're probably right, we do need to go through." So she heads over to join him. Part of her wants to open it, but he might have the right idea there too; if there's something immediately on the other side, she can be ready to meet it without having to let go of the door first.

Ail has posed:
What is behind the door, is a question that perhaps nobody could answer. There's definantly something here, as the door opens into a montage of other doors, each of which swing violently open, and it seems reality itself heaves Runealy and Hinote through them, ending any real chance of planning. Each door has a clear numeral on it - 5, 4, 3, 2, 1.

That's when they come upon IT. Whatever it is. It looks vaguely humanoid - like a strange mass of soft fabric, bronze crowns, and erupting out is one 'arm' that looks like a plastic scepter, like the type you might buy for a child. Around it are more of the afforementioned crabs, blowing trumpets as they though they can herald its appearance more than its own disgusting visage.

The thing - whatever it is - unleashes an unearthly howl as Rune and Hinote enter the witch's chamber.

Hinote Kagari has posed:
Hinote Kagari enters the door! 5!... 4.... 3.... 2.... 1.......

Suddenly Hinote is really wishing he hadn't opened that door. This thing is...inhuman. There's... no way this thing can exist. Can it? His mind has a hard time comprehensing this, and the trumpeting crabs don't make it any easier... he grits his teeth.

"This is....! This can't be possible!" he calls out as he takes a deep breath. This thing this thing is going to KILL them isn't it?

Well... maybe. Maybe there's something... there has to be... he looks around frantically for a moment.

Runealy Waldia has posed:
Runealy cries out as she feels as though she's 'dragged along' by existence itself, an existence that looks unreal and almost beyond understanding. She makes a hurried look to Hinote once they arrive at their destination to make sure he's okay, but what's around them quickly demands her attention after that.

Hinote's words are pretty close to her own thoughts, as the creature towers over them. It might be on the smaller end for a witch, but the princess has no way to know that and it's still much larger than her! Can she really fight something this big!? "H... hide!" She hopes he can do that. As for herself, Rune has to at least try to take it on. Heart pounding, Runealy begins to sprint sideways to clear away from Hinote and launches a pair of wand-orbs up at the witch while wondering aloud, "What are you!?"

Ail has posed:
The orbs hit the witch, and it howls in that same unearthly tone. In its rage and anger, its clothes thrust outward, lashing out like whips at both intruders - and even knocking some of the crab creatures away. The scepter-arm slams down loudly, shaking the ground all around it, kicking up a fine layer of dust as it hisses and howls, the remaning crab-attendant familiars either scuttling towards Hinote and Rune, or just trying to get out of the way of the mad flailing of their master. All around the melting tapestries somehow begin to defy gravity, the liquid sliding back UP the wall.

Hinote Kagari has posed:
Hinote Kagari manages to back off, but this doesn't stop him from being whiped to his side, with sudden force. This thing...hits like a truck. How many hits like that can he take? He manages to get off the floor, with a bruise to the right side of his face, having hit the floor so hard. But now these crab-attendant thing are scuttling towards him. He closes his eyes and takes a deep breath, now the goop and stuff is melting UP the walls? It's unsettling. Regardless, what can he do. He begins to try to run around the room's side. Maybe he can keep these things away from him. It's really all he can do right now with the whole world spinning in his head.

Runealy Waldia has posed:
Runealy stares in shock as the witch keeps going even after being hit... the other monsters didn't do that! She leaps aside from its first attempt to 'cloth whip' her, and manages to roll fairly smoothly to avoid another attempt even as she loses balance from the ground shaking. Yet Rune worries she can't keep doing this and plans to move elsewhere, leaping toward a wall in hopes of springboarding off of it...%
...And realizing that the liquid is heading up toward where she planned to be! Her boot-wings flare to reverse her momentum and avoid landing in the liquid, but this causes her to be struck by the witch's flailing!

She hits the ground in a heap, shrieking from pain and fright. Desperation takes hold, as Runealy decides to end this now. A red 'bubble' of energy springs up around her, trying to knock away any further attacks. "I can't even imagine what you're supposed to be, or how this world gets by when something like you exists, but... you can't... I can't die here! I can't let you," she looks to Hinote, "die here either! Someone cares about you, right?" She can imagine what it would be like if his parents lost him, what sort of grief would tear through them as they asked 'why?' and had no fair answer. Runealy knows this from firsthand experience all too recently, and the idea of someone else facing it is too much to bear.

Her barrier fades, wand pointed at the witch! "Wardliiiight...!" A transparent energy dome forms in front of the princess' wand. "Epilogue!" That shout sends the dome flying, and it expands to try to encase with witch within. Should it succeed, gold-white light begins to grow within it, tearing at the boundaries of the dome and eventually bursting! It's her family's anti-demon magic in the most clear form she can express, desperate to save her life and Hinote's!

Ail has posed:
Of all of the things that occur, this is perhaps the worst. The energy dome expands, covering the witch utterly, encasing her as she screeches - even muting some of that horrid noise for a moment. The dome fills with hot, white, golden light that occupies all of the space, suffusing the creature within it in the purifing magic that defines Runealy's family line. And then, as the energy grows too much to contain, the barrier shatters!

And there stands the witch. Only as damaged as it went in, but a lot angrier. Those cloth-whips flail even more angrily, more specifically targetting rune, and when it slams down the wand-arm, a burst of sharp, stylized bronze crowns erupts into the air.

Not only did it not work, it appears to have been like poking a beehive with a stick.

Hinote Kagari has posed:
Hinote Kagari stops, as Runealy does... something amazing happens, she launches some sort of brilliant orb, and for a moment, he wonders if this is it! But..apparently, all it did was upset this thing and made it worse. He begins to move again, running toward's Runealy. "Rune....!" he calls out, as she sits there, perhaps motionless for a moment, and with a hard jump and slide, attempts to pushes her out of the way with him, he's entirely out of breath but he's trying not to get whipped. How long can he keep this up. Probably not too much longer.

Humans weren't made to take this kind of punishment! This thing is like a living weapon or something. Is it alive? He doesn't know. He doesn't want to find out. "We... gotta. Do.. something...." he says though a hard breath.

Runealy Waldia has posed:
It didn't work.

Runealy has seen many unreal things, but to her this is the most impossible of them. That her magic, passed down from generation to generation tasked with protecting an entire world from demons, had virtually no effect on an awful monster whose appearance is surreal and terrifying. And now she stands in an exhausted slouch, her body and heart unable to put forth much more effort immediately after pouring all of herself into motions that amounted to nothing. "That's impossible... why!?"

Her mind is screaming 'move, react', but she can't. Runealy just can't find it in herself to do it, even as the witch's next blow approaches. Too exhausted and frightened, she can only wait for the end to come at what what reminds her of some dark, twisted mockery of herself and her family. ...Or maybe she's the mockery, Runealy chides herself; she's the one who came to an innocent world to attack it, unprovoked. She's the one who can't strike down a twisted monster with magic specifically shared with her to do just that. At least it will be over in a moment, and her consciousness can go black forever.

Instead, her senses go black for only a second or two. Hinote /plows/ her aside, utterly knocking the princess out of the attack's path. He has given her another chance. Given her world another chance. Given everyone she cares about another chance. And perhaps given himself another one, as well. Runealy is dazed as she starts to pick herself up, only able to acknowledge Hinote's heroic effort with a shocked "You...?" Those words are insufficient. If they get through this, she will have to say far, /far/ more to credit what he has done.

Yet it's about as coherent as she gets right now. Her mind is raw emotion and instinct, thinking in ideas and concepts rather than words. Yet she can hear words. She can hear Hinote's words grasping for 'something.' Do something.

Do something different. Adapt. Runealy considers what she's about to do next to be a lesser form of her magic, but it's the only thing that comes to mind as any sort of possibility to survive this. They can't run away, after all. Trying the only other option she hasn't used is all that is left.

And so she props herself on her staff, pushing back to her feet and aiming at the rampaging witch one final time. "Waldiaaa..." The wand detaches an orb that floats in front of itself. Then another, and another, and continuing until five of them are arranged in a star pattern. "Burst!" A sixth orb floats into the center of this arrangement, and all six fly forward simultaneously.

"Reign!" That shout causes the orbs to split apart in mid-air, flooding the area ahead of them with dozens... perhaps hundreds or more, of green sparkles. They shower forth, trying to batter the witch with blow after blow!

Ail has posed:
The creature has barely missed crushing Runealy thanks to the actions of Hinote, and it seems to be intelligent enough to be enraged by this, too. It tries to bring everything it has to bear on the exhausted duo - and thats why, as Runealy somehow finds the inner strength to unleash one more attack, the creature is incapable of responding.

Shot after shot hit, each one finding their mark, the creature frankly too big to be missed anyways. The green energy orbs impact, again and again, denting the wand arm, sinking into the fabric-like flesh, leaving holes. It might be a lesser form of magic, but it's having a far greater effect on this novice, new witch.

It's JUST enough to bring the thing down in one desperate attack - and when it screeches its last and hits the ground hard enough to make it feel like an earthquake, the small castle labrynth begins to fade away, returning both Rune and Hinote, strangely, to the bridge, though both of them much worse for the trip.

In front of them, falling slowly, softly from the sky, is an incredibly odd item - what a Puella Magi would know as a grief seed, but radiates an impossible amount of darkness and despair.

Hinote Kagari has posed:
Hinote Kagari watches as Runealy does----something else! She yells some words, and orbs explode out of her staff. There's terrible screaming sound, he has to close his ears, pushing his hands to his ears, but at the same time closing his eyes. This thing... can't be real. Things can't be real.

But then a cool breeze blows over him and he opens his eyes and--- they're back on the bridge. The side of his face still feels like he hit a Mack Truck. Then something else comes clattering down on the sky, looking like some sort of deranged black Christmas ornament. What's... what's that. He walks towards it..

"Was-- that all... real?" he asks, looking down a the item giving an unbeliving blink.

Runealy Waldia has posed:
Runealy falls to her knees as the witch is struck down, panting for breath atop the bridge. "Hh... hh..." Trying to talk is hard, and coherent words don't come immediately.

"Real." Propping herself up on one hand, the other removes her tiara and it disappears. Her magical dress does as well, leaving her in mundane (albeit still fancy) attire instead.

"Real. Almost killed us... th..." She looks not at the Grief Seed, but at Hinote. He's of greater immediate concern to her than the unknown item. "Thank you."

Hinote Kagari has posed:
Hinote Kagari looks back up..."I'm fine..." he says. "Nothing an ice pack won't help..." he says rubbing the side of his face. That isn't what Runealy asked, but what's he saying. He gives a coy smirk. "And--uh Welcome. I guess..." really what can you say to 'thanks for saving me from a living nightmare'. He looks at Runealy... the fancy dress is gone, she's back to wearing what she was before. He narrows his eyes a bit, but shakes his head. "Are YOU okay... how did.. you-do all that?" he asks, holding the side of his face a bit. "The.. fancy dress and.. everything..."

Runealy Waldia has posed:
He really doesn't know? ...He doesn't. This makes no sense to Rune. Where she is from, that her family is able to 'do that' is her world's basis for their government. The royal family protects people from monsters. That is how life simply is, and Hinote being surprised by this gives Runealy her first glimpse that maybe life is very different on this world. Far more different than even the 'glass candles' and 'steel carriages' with no horses suggested.

And now Hinote is asking 'how.' She doesn't have the words for it right now. She is not smirking like he is. Runealy is struggling for composure and breath, and only tiny bits of both come to her. "See us tomorrow... tell you about it then."

He's okay. Only when this sinks in does the Grief Seed really enter her train of thought. She doesn't know what it is or what it's for. But it's all that remains of what just happened in that surreal castle-world, and it is a lead. Maybe she can use it. Either directly or by getting answers on what just happened. Rune has enough presence of mind to realize this might be relevant to her quest, and staggers over to pick it up. "I'll tell you this much now... you may have saved everything."

Hinote Kagari has posed:
Hinote Kagari says... "Alright..." he says. He pauses a moment. "I'..I'll just bring over some Takoyaki tommrow then I... I think I should go home, myself. My parents are going to ask me about this bruise... I'll just say..I fell down some stairs..." he says a little bit dumbfounded. "Because if I tell them the truth, I think they'll send me to the nuthouse..." he says as he says...

"Are you sure, you can get back on your own, safe?" he asks curiously.

Runealy Waldia has posed:
So the truth makes no sense to people in Tokyo? He's going to have to lie to them about facing the unknown, and making the criticial difference at a point that almost certainly saved their lives? "...Sorry." Runealy looks down at the ground, hurt by that realization. "You got to be the role you wanted on stage, and nobody's going to give you a parade for it or sing about you or anything like that because they'd think you're crazy? That's... that's not fair."

Rune can't bear to look at Hinote, in light of that. "I'll make it. Go home, and talk to your parents. Both of them." She just keeps fiddling with the Grief Seed, turning it over and over in her hand and staring at it. "Visit an art gallery with them or share the best meal ever." Her voice lowers, tears forming as she speaks with a very hurt tone. "Hug them and tell them you love them. Do that before you come see us tomorrow. When you do, I..." Her words are rambling, possibly terrifying, and don't come from a healthy and coherent thought process. They just come out as raw feelings, unrefined and unrehearsed.

She makes a very hard decision. To trust Hinote. She swore she wouldn't tell anyone on the Unknown World anything until it was too late for them to stop her. Yet as she remembers his words - 'gotta do something' - and remembers him pushing her aside from what would have likely been a fatal blow, she can't bring herself to keep lying to him. Just him. He has earned that much and more. "...I'll tell you how history is going to hate my friends and I forever, but you've just given history a chance to still exist and be written at all. You're a hero, and people can't know about it right now. Some day they will. Until then..."

Rune turns around and begins to walk back the way they came, to head back to the abandoned store she and Gaofele live in. To the place they 'stole' from Hinote, and he has been nothing but gracious and kind about it. "Until then... I'm sorry."

Hinote Kagari has posed:
Hinote Kagari doesn't really understand Runealy is saying. It sounds more serious though, than being stranded. He stops and frowns a bit and grips her shoulder. "Hey now. Just relax. You can tell me tommrow, okay. Don't worry about me or my parents. I'll be fine. They just won't belive this whole story." he says. "I dunno what this all was about. But I'd like to find out myself." he frowns. "I thought I was hallucinating, but we both saw the same thing! Just.. relax. Please." he urges.

"Just...please. Tommrow." he says, shushing Runealy, trying to assure her everything is okay before he leaves.

"Just... go home, and make sure your friend is alright, too, right?" he asks.

Runealy Waldia has posed:
That hand on her shoulder draws a gasp from Rune, but no resistance. "'Can' tell you? No. I will tell you. You weren't hallucinating. That was real, and Gaofele and I going to do whatever we can to make sure that doesn't become /reality./"

She still can't bring herself to face Hinote, and doesn't quiet down even as he tries to calm her. "We're here so that the whole world won't become like that, with monsters everywhere and walls melting into themselves and trumpets so sick and loud you can't hear yourself think. There wouldn't be any heroes at all."

She is still pacing away, but doing so very slowly so she can still be heard. "You didn't freeze up. You did something amazing, and you're more of a hero than any role you'll ever get could even think of being. Even if nobody here knows about it, even if they wouldn't believe you, they're going to be here to disbelieve because you're a hero."

Hinote Kagari has posed:
Hinote Kagari laughs. "Dad says a lot about being a hero, but it's because he acts the part a lot. Heroes don't do things for recognition, don't worry about it..." he says. "Fine, you will tell me tommrow." he says wagging a finger. "I just.. want you to be okay, too, alright?" he asks. He takes a deep breath and finally backs off. "I really need to get home, my world is starting to spin. Think I'm going to sleep just fine tonight." he says. He begins to finally wander off. He's a little groggy, but he'll get home just fine!

Runealy Waldia has posed:
"Tomorrow," Runealy promises before she steps away. Sleep will come much later for her. Exhausted as she is, her heart is still racing to cope with everything that just happened. She will be awake for a little while yet as a million questions and doubts swirl through her mind.

Yet she won't sit completely idle. Earlier, she had made sure to write notes for her world's historians. Notes to tell them about this strange society and the troubles it faces, and notes about Hinote's generosity. Runealy imagined that he would get a paragraph or two in history books from then on, his legacy being one of a few people thinking he was interesting and played a small but unusual and heartwarming role in this chapter in Waldian history. That some scholar would be able to smugly say they know about him and be proud about that, and he might pick up a few admirers here and there with each generation.

Now, as she tries to write down what she can remember of that frightening and surreal encounter in a witch's barrier, it occurs to her that Hinote is no mere 'footnote in history.' He could walk away from this entire situation tomorrow and would still have played a vital role in what is about to unfold.

She's going to be able to wake up tomorrow because of him. That's an incredible thing to reflect on.