199/A Fox and a Knight

A Fox and a Knight
Date of Scene:	19 July 2015
Location:	Uminari City - Central Harbor
Synopsis:	Lena's out for a stroll to think, and a certain foxy familiar spies magic! Weird friends are made.
Cast of Characters:	Lena Reiniger, Ayana

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Lena Reiniger has posed:
Well, she'd intended for it to be a short walk; something to clear her mind. The short walk, apparently, turned into heading to the next district over! Oh well, it's a calming enough spot to stroll through, especially in the wee hours of the morning when there aren't people around to clutter the place up. The sound of water crashing lightly in the bay as she walks across the boardwalks is a pleasant type of music. It really does calm the mind and allow worries to melt away.

Of course, since there's nobody around... doesn't mean she can't get in some early morning practice, right? Gotta keep those skills sharp just in case! Well, she'd rather there not be a just in case, but her father pretty much burned everything into her mind so thoroughly she just can't help herself. So Lena points out into the bay. A deep breath later and a small violet dot shoots from her finger, skipping across the water for a ways before fizzling out. Okay, maybe not training, maybe just screwing around. Her father must be rolling over in his grave right about now.

Ayana has posed:
Magical energy may not be immediately obvious to the mundane, but to a familiar it is like a beacon. Standing atop a building just across the river, Ayana Moriko is busy sniffing the air, her foxlike ears perked way up. "Weird," she says, then leans forward and peers down towards the river below. The violet dot whizzes past her vision, and she blinks in surprise then traces it back to its source. At this distance, even her animal eyes cannot pick out the source. "I wonder ..." she trails off. "Well, he did say I should try to meet magical girls."

There is a moment's pause where she glances down at herself, then clicks her tongue. Whirling her fingers, the kitsune draws an illusion about her form: a barrier jacket of blue trimmed with gold, with a steel chestplate, over a short, pleated black skirt and stockings trimmed in gold. Little black ribbons whirl their way around her hands, and her normally wild hair is pulled up with a pair of red ribbons. Transformation complete, she peers at herself, then smiles. "Man, even /I/ believe I'm a magical girl!" she says, then peers back across the river again.

With a sudden burst of energy, Ayana leaps into the air, pushing herself on a high arc that picks up speed quickly. Soon, she's falling quickly towards the earth, and she only catches herself at the very last instant with a little burst of magical energy that slows her fall to a manageable pace. She lands on all fours, bushy black tail stretched out for balance, foxlike ears perked up alert. Then she straightens and tiptoes towards the river. "Hello?" she calls out. "Is there another magical girl, here?"

Lena Reiniger has posed:
Another volley of little shots go skipping across the water, each getting a bit more intense. The last one doesn't really skip so much as just hit the water and cause a small column of water to shoot up. Okay, maybe that's going a bit too far. Lena's got the good sense to knock it off before she lets herself get completely out of hand. Two years and she still sometimes forgets that this world doesn't have wide, public knowledge of magic. So she stops messing around and leans on the railing of the boardwalk, arms acrossed so she can rest her chin on them. "Dull morning..." she whispers, staring down at the water under her.

Dull mornings don't seem to last all that long, though. Though Ascalon is usually content to just be quiet unless he feels she needs someone to talk to, or advice, or to make sure she has a voice of reason to keep from doing stupid things, she can hardly say he isn't looking out for her in the way a device should be. The bracelet on her arm pings quietly, gem lighting up some as the somewhat mechanical voice speaks up. <Magische Reaktion nachgewiesen>. Almost as if on schedule, shortly after the warning she hears the call of someone... saying something completely unexpected. Lena looks up from the water and turns in the direction of the voice. No answer comes from her, though. That'd be stupid to just announce her presence.

Ayana has posed:
"Hello?" asks Ayana curiously, as she wanders through the empty stalls and streets, slowly zeroing in on the source of the magical attacks. "Look, I saw your magic going into the water. I know you're not a bad guy because bad guys don't just throw off magic to practice; they'd be like ... beating people up. I just want to meet you, okay?" She frowns and looks around, then continues in Lena's general direction. "Hello?"

Lena Reiniger has posed:
She's... actually not sure if what she's hearing is what she's actually hearing. She's not losing her mind right? Someone's just casually strolling down a pier while talking about magic? On Earth? She knows she can't be the only magical being on this world, given that there are at least two Lost Logia around and the remains of the Asura's crew, but she's pretty sure none of them would do something like this. Lena actually looks down at Ascalon with a questioning look and the way that gem on her bracelet glows, you'd swear he was shrugging as if to say 'got no clue either.'

No sense hiding, she supposes. After all, she's not getting shot at, so whoever it is can't be all that interested in doing anything to her. So the tall redhead finally comes out from where she'd been, not too far from the curious familiar. A black sleeveless shirt and skirt her order of dress for the day, complete with a matching hat! "Hello?" Maybe she can just sort of lie about the whole magic thing. Nope, definitely didn't see any magic being tossed around! Don't know what you're talking about! That'd work, right?

Ayana has posed:
The responding voice draws Ayana's attention, and her ears perk in pleased expectation. She makes one jump into the air, then lands only a few feet from Lena. "Hah! Found you!" she says, brandishing a black baton with a fox-eared heart at the tip. "Hi!" she says, tail wagging lazily behind her. "I'm Black Fox!"

Lena Reiniger has posed:
Well, Ayana's an animal, so she can probably tell these things, how Lena's whole body tenses up, her heart beating a little bit faster, eyes dilating just a bit more, all when that baton gets pointed at her. It's really a struggle for Lena to not do what her body is demanding her natural reaction be. That's a weapon! Take this girl out! But no, she takes a deep breath once, twice, and then she's calm. She does reach out and push the baton down and away from her though. Now she can get a good look at the girl! And... fox is a good descriptor. "You... certainly are," she says, still a little bit confused about what sort of person has found her. Definitely not anyone from the Asura. "Lena. Lena Reiniger. That's... um... some really good cosplay?"

Ayana has posed:
"... /Cosplay/?!" Ayana replies, a little offended. "I'm a magical girl, just like you! I saw you shooting little balls of energy out into the water, and they were all *hiss* *fizzle* *sploosh*!" She makes little hand motions with each and every word, then smiles. "I'm not really great at projectile energy attacks like that, but it's really cool to watch! I haven't met a lot of other magical girls, so I thought I'd come introduce myself, in case we ever have to fight together against a Youma or something!"

Lena Reiniger has posed:
Well, normal life had to end at some point, right? It's not like she could keep just living and ignoring that there's not magic in the world. And really, going on two years of not having to deal with anything magical is pretty good, so it was a nice run of everyday life. That said, she's not sure how to handle someone that's talking like they just discovered magic for the first ti--oh god, did she just discover magic for the first time? "You're... a new mage?" Excuse her while she takes to leaning on the boardwalk's railing while looking Black Fox over. "You probably shouldn't just be going around announcing that. What if I was an enemy trying to lure mages out? And I doubt we'll be fighting anything together. I don't... I don't do that anymore."

Ayana has posed:
"... well I mean," Ayana starts, then looks a little hesitant. She looks away, then back to Lena, then away again. "I mean I'm not /that/ new. I've fought some bad guys!" She crosses her arms, clutching that fox-eared heart-wand to her chest. "Look, I'm still new at this, okay? But that doesn't mean I'm weak or stupid! If you were an enemy mage you'd be doing evil things to lure me out, you wouldn't be out here /practicing/. And what do you mean you don't fight? You're saying if a big fishy monster started attacking people, you'd just stand by and let it happen?"

Lena Reiniger has posed:
She really can't help but smile at the simple line of reasoning. Well, she can't say it's entirely wrong. She's ran into more 'bad guys' who do stupid things to lure their enemies out and end up getting put down for the trouble, so it isn't like there's no precedent for it. Still... she looks the other girl dead in the eyes. There's a sort of cold machine-like way she casually explains herself, "I'd do something to get your attention, and then I'd be nice to you and earn your trust so that when you least expect it, I could easily put a knife in your back, or make you do what I wanted you to because of that trust I built. Especially if I was weaker than you." She shrugs, even as the bracelet on her arm pings and lights up, speaking in its own mechanical voice, <Das Boese hat viele Waffen>. "Evil doesn't mean stupid. In fact, those that are the most evil are usually the ones you least expect," she says, pushing off the railing so she can casually stroll up to Black Fox.

She stops though, considering those words. Looking out over the bay, suddenly picturing the place full of people being attacked. Would she just let it happen? Lena bites down on her lips, fists balling up a bit, shaking very slightly. "I..." she trails off, turning fully away from the other girl. "I don't know..."

Ayana has posed:
Ayana sighs, and while Lena is busy looking out over the bay, the black fox rolls her eyes. Just a little. Stuffing that little bit of frustration away, she steps up next to Lena, then says, "I know you wouldn't. Because you're a magical girl, and we /care/ about people. You couldn't let them get hurt," she says softly, then tries again, "I'm Black Fox, and I'm a Magical Girl, too. And if people are in danger, I'd fight, no matter what, to save them. Because it's the right thing to do."

Lena Reiniger has posed:
There it is again, that completely unreasonable vision of what it means to be a mage. And why is she always saying magical girl anyway? Well, sure, they are girls, and they use magic. But there are terms for all of this! Mages, knights, all that good stuff. Magical girl is so... generic and makes her wonder if she'd call a boy a magical boy. Still, she can't help but crack a smile, it's small at first, but it grows and soon she's giggling. "You're a strange one, you know? It's like I'm meeting a heroine from some comic." Fingers drum on the railing while she thinks, finally nodding. "I'd protect them," she agrees. "It's a knight's duty to protect those that can't protect themselves."

Ayana has posed:
Ayana smiles at Lena's giggle. Her sapphire eyes sparkle with amusement at the other woman's pleasure, and her tail wags back and forth. The tip gently brushes against Lena's back--just the tiniest of contacts. "See?" she says. "I knew you were on of the good guys. And so what if I'm a little weird? I've got fox ears and a foxy tail. I don't really think how I act is the part that's weird, right?"

Lena Reiniger has posed:
Her mirth, such that it is, is quick to fade though. Looking back at Black Fox, lips dropping into a bit of a frown, she shakes her head. "I'm not as good as you'd think. Belkan Knights aren't heroes of justice or anything like that. We're weapons of war, trained to crush our enemies, violently if necessary. And..." she trails off, looking rather very displeased. Her view goes back to the water. "Let's just say I've done some horrible things in the past."

But enough depressing talk! She's quite quick to cheer up, especially with a fluffy tail batting against her. "You're pretty weird." She grins and can't really help but move over and... touch those ears. Hm... they are real. "Well, maybe it wouldn't be so bad if there's at least one magical hero of justice running around, weird or otherwise."

Ayana has posed:
The moment Lena's hands touch Ayana's ears, the girl flinches away, and her ears flick back flat against her head. "Whoa, hey, hands to yourself!" she says, eyes wide as they can go. "At least /ask/ if you can touch my ears, geeze. You don't see me going around touching your nose, do you?" then she reaches up and boops Lena, right on the nose. "Now we're even," she says. "So you're a Belkan Knight, huh? I don't really entirely know what those are, but I don't think you should be defined by your past. It's what you do now that matters. You said you'd defend people if a monster came out to attack them, so in my mind that makes you a hero. And also, just as weird as me. Even if you won't admit it."

Lena Reiniger has posed:
Now see, shes had something taken away from her that she kind of wants to play with, and she's having a hard time resisting the urge to go for those ears again, especially when her nose gets touched! Lena frowns and looms over her companion. You'd swear there was a glow to her eyes. But whatever awful things should come, they don't. Instead she is fully intent on wrapping this foxy girl up in a hug while she stealthily makes for one of those ears again. "Definitely not as weird as you. I'm not the one going around proclaiming to be a magical girl for all the world to hear," she points out. Just a little bit more. Yes, Lena. Not weird at all, yet you're trying to secretly play with a fox girl's ears.

Ayana has posed:
Ayana tries to squirm out of the unexpected hug, only to have her ears get squeezed again. "Hey, hey!" she says, unhappily. "Careful, those are really sensitive." She squeezes her eyes shut, then squirms out of Lena's grasp and backs away. Opening her eyes again, she brandishes her wand towards the other girl. "Geeze, you can't just go around touching a girl's /ears/. You are completely the weirder person, here."

Lena Reiniger has posed:
They really are real! Though her examination is cut very short, much shorter than she'd wanted. She's going to say something, and even has her hand up, finger pointed as though she's going to make some insightful comment, but... she's shut up pretty good. Her face goes a bit red and she moves to pushing her fingers together, fidgeting a bit. Hard to deny when you know it's true, huh Lena? "Not my fault you've got cute ears..." she mumbles, huffing some. "Fine... sorry." She is defeated, for now at least. After a bit of sulking, she looks over at Black Fox and grins again. "We're pretty weird, huh?"

Ayana has posed:
Ayana peers at Lena when the girl goes red, then shrugs just faintly and smiles at her. "Weird is all a matter of perspective. I turn gain foxy features when I henshin, and you can shoot magical bolts of purple at the water. But hey, at least we're not ten foot tall tentacle monsters, right?" She grins, and her teeth are just a little bit beastly, too: sharp fangs, just a little longer than a girl's should be. "So do you have a name, or do I just call you 'Weirdo' from now on?"

Lena Reiniger has posed:
Lena shrugs and nods. There is a certain bit of wisdom to those words. "I guess we can be thankful we aren't that. It'd be hell on our figures, all those tentacles," she says, laughing a bit. She does take note of the teeth, filing it away with the ears and tail. It's a weird transformation, and not really something seen too often from mages on Mid-Childa. That kind of change is just needless wasting of mana, after all. It hasn't really occured to her that there's at least one type of magical being she knows of that has a reason to look the way Black Fox does, so for now, she's just a girl that's new to magic and doesn't know that much. She's brought out of her thoughts, looking back up with a confused stare. Oh, right, interaction with other people! "Lena. Though... I guess I've made a strong case today for being called Weirdo," she admits, still a bit flush over what she did earlier.

Ayana has posed:
"It's very nice to meet you, Lena-senpai," Ayana replies with a smile. Her ears have finally returned to their upright and locked position, and her tail is wagging lazily back and forth once more. "So why are you up so early in the morning flinging magic at the water?"

Lena Reiniger has posed:
Senpai? Well that's not something she's been called outside of school before. It's got a nice sound to it, but she doesn't let that show! Instead she goes back to staring out at the water, reaching up to remove her hat so she has something to play with while she stares. "Had a lot on my mind, so I went for a walk," she says, shrugging. "Just... felt like messing around, I guess. I've never really had the freedom to do that until now."

Ayana has posed:
Ayana tilts her head curiously, one ear perked up higher than the other. "No?" she asks, then peers at Lena, almost sniffing her. "What's stopped you, before? Or did you only get your powers recently, too?"

Lena Reiniger has posed:
She catches Black Fox out of the corner of her eye, silent for a while. She's thinking about something, but as to what it could be is anyone's guess. Should she say any more to this girl? She seems nice enough, but again... careful who you trust, right? "I've known magic my whole life," she finally says, looking back down at the water and her hat as she fingers it idly. "But the life of a knight doesn't really allow time for fun or needless activities." She shrugs, laughing, more to herself than anything else. "We're servants before we're people, after all."

Ayana has posed:
The fox-girl's eyes widen at Lena's admission. "Wow," she says, honestly impressed. "I've only known it for a few days, and it seems so overwhelming." She shakes her head, then glances at the coming dawn. "I can't imagine a lifetime of knowing magica was real. It would have changed ... a lot." She hesitates a moment, then says, "I should probably get home. My parents are going to start wondering where I am if I don't get up in time for breakfast."

Lena Reiniger has posed:
The hat gets replaced and she stands up straight, arms reaching up as she stretches. "Well... I don't know, I was born in a place were magic's an every day thing, so it didn't really change anything. If anything, coming here and seeing magic be unknown is strange." She smiles, looking over at this strange new companion that's stumbled onto her. "Well then, wouldn't want you to get in trouble. Besides, I should get back and get ready for morning training," Lena waves and starts a slow pace back down the pier. "But you're definitely weirder than me," she sneaks in as she saunters by, picking up into a brisk jog as she does. Haha! The last word!

Ayana has posed:
Ayana sniffs amusedly, then rolls her eyes. "Whatever you say, Weirdo!" she calls back, then crouches down and leaps straight up into the sky.