913/Bonds and Betrayal

Bonds and Betrayal
Date of Scene:	23 January 2016
Location:	Uminari City - Residential District
Synopsis:	Ikiko decides she's tired of Ayana being subjected to Riventon's evil. On the night of the full moon, the day after his birthday, she gathers her friends and allies to enact a ritual to sever Ayana's familiar bond. The results are far more colourful than expected.
Cast of Characters:	Reiko Touyama, Ikiko Hisakata, Ayana, Mikoto Nakajima, Kunzite

---

Ayana has posed:
Sneaking out in the midst of moving day was not an easy feat. "Taka-kun," Ayana called to him as their movers carried things into the new house, "I'm gonna go get some food. I'll be back tonight to see our new house!" she promised.

Then she rushed out before he could really think about it too much. Feeling guilty, Ayana made her way through the city without paying too much attention to her surroundings. So when an egg dropped on her from above, she could only squeak in surprise.

That egg was followed by dirt, then a banana peel, and tons of other gross and grimey things. Mud and muck and gross and stuff. The koi fish have been given free reign to make Ayana dirty and gross, and they're out for vengeance for their eaten camerade. And yet somehow the normally observant Foxgirl manages never to see the commando koi army that's attacking her.

So when Ayana finally arrives at Ikiko's home, she is crying, miserable, and very much not fluffy. Her favourite black sun dress is ruined, her ears are folded down on either side of her head, and her tails droop low between her legs. She whimpers unhappily as she knocks at the door.

Ikiko Hisakata has posed:
Ikiko Hisakata knew that getting Ayana messy would be an important thing for making sure the plan could be put into action, but when she opens the door she's still surprised by how severe of a mess Reiko's koi squad had made of the foxgirl.

She gives Ayana a big hug, not worrying about getting gunk onto her own clothes. "It looks like you had a bad day with a mess," Ikiko remarks, patting her girlfriend's back consolingly. "Come on in; we can get you cleaned up."

There's a brief moment of hesitation. "Of course, that does mean taking a bath," she notes apologetically.

Ayana has posed:
"It wasn't supposed to be a mess," Ayana whines to Ikiko unhappily. "Just things kept falling on me from the sky. Every house I went under had something, and then I tried to avoid the houses and it was the trees, and I don't know what happened," Ayana whines as she lets the werewolf lead her inside.

"Oh no," she whines. "And now you're going to make me take a bath!? I hate this day. It was supposed to be such a good day," she whines unhappily. Nevertheless, she doesn't argue with Ikiko dragging her towards the bathroom. "Now you're a mess, too," she mumbles. "Ugh. I hate this day."

Ikiko Hisakata has posed:
"Sounds like you could use plenty of snacks and hugging afterwards," Ikiko remarks as they walk along. "Lots and lots of hugging." And if the hugging happens to be important in rescuing Ayana from Riventon's influence... well, so much the better.

The bath went about as smoothly as could be expected, including the application of some herbal things that Ikiko explained as adding a bright scent. Of course, it'd take some knowledge of folklore to know that these herbs and the pattern in which they're being applied are useful for purification and protection from evil, but that doesn't need mentioning.

Finally, the two girls are up in Ikiko's room, wearing pajamas while their dirty clothes are in the wash. The window is open just a crack; enough to lightly cool the room without making it too cold. Ikiko has given Ayana a bag of beef jerky, and is currently lighting some incense in the corners of the room while typing a text message to her three co-conspirators:

    starting final prepwork; standby for signal

With the incense lit, Ikiko presses send, then prepares one more text as she sits on the bed. "Ayana," she says in a serious tone. "Has Riventon started listening to you as the voice of his conscience?"

Ayana has posed:
Baths only make Ayana all the more miserable. Yes she really would rather stay stinky, but baths are the worst. Still, jerky and warm pajamas after are good, and she's chewing on the former as she sulks against the wall. "Nnnn," she whimpers at the question. "I dunno," she mumbles, ears drooping again.

"I don't think he's realised what's happened," Ayana explains, "ut ... I keep making mistakes, and he's going to, soon. He's very sure I'm not going to betray him right now, so that's good, but he still doesn't ask for my help. He goes to fetch Jewel Seeds without me, and doesn't always make it home in time for dinner. And then," she trails off. "Well, I dunno. I'm pretty sure if I told him what he's doing is wrong, he'd be really mad and probably unmake me. But it'sg oing to happen soon, so ... I think I'm going to do it. Maybe this week. Miss White offered to talk to him with me. So ... maybe I'll do that."

Mikoto Nakajima has posed:
Nearby, Mikoto stands waiting in readiness, her Device active and awaiting the command. She's put in hours and hours of research over the past weeks, to refine a Barrier to sufficient strength for what Reiko wants to do. It hasn't been easy, and she hasn't been comfortable with the idea, despite what she's heard of Riventon's wrongdoing. In the end, she justifies it to herself as depriving him of the resource Ayana represents. She bites her lip, looking up at the window, and silently asks herself once again if she's doing the right thing.

Reiko Touyama has posed:
Prism Keeper Orange is sitting in a tree nearby, she's eating from a donut container and looking at her phone intently. She's mostly nervous and anxiety ridden at the moment- wether or not this is the 'right thing' isn't a concern to her. Of course it is. Riventon is an abusive jerkbag and if her parents were abusive jerkbags, well-- she'd want someone to take her away too! What's worrying her more is if they hurt Ayana in the process.

Sgt. Fins appears with the Finny Bunch, the finny bunch is koi with army helmets and face paint and they all look muddy, salute Prism Keeper Orange, suggesting that thier part is done and poof away into orange sparkles.

Then the text arrives. Prism Keeper Orange places the donut box on the branch as she stands up and gently peeks from around the trunk. She has a clear shot to the window- but it's far enough away to not be seen/smelled/sensed easily.

Ikiko Hisakata has posed:
Ikiko Hisakata nods, one hand slipping under her pillow to grab something while the other rests on a certain button of her cellphone. This will make things slightly easier on the symbolic side of the equation.

Still won't be easy, though.

"Then let it be Said that Riventon has neglected his Bond with Ayana, and that Ayana should thus be free of that Bond!" Ikiko intones solemnly as she stands up. In one hand, a braid of bright orange, made from string and strands of her hair; in the other, her thumb presses the 'send' button:

    NOW!

Kunzite has posed:
Now. And in the gathering dark of early evening, there's a flicker of odd-colored energy in the sky, and something darker replacing it. Kunzite is an unlikely guardian for the home of someone whose voice can do what Ikiko's does - even at this distance, a certain Prism Keeper's Crystal might complain about his presence, and about the subtle dark influence reaching out to keep that presence from registering to anyone whose life isn't touched by magic. But she's been warned that someone will be watching over the place for the duration, and what his nature is.

Mikoto Nakajima has posed:
Now. A moment's delay is granted, for Kunzite's shadows to conceal what is being done. Then the word is given to Carnwennan. The ancient commando-Device complies, spreading the modified Barrier, shifting everyone magically aware within it just a little further out of phase with normal reality than it ordinarily would. It should - if her calculations are right - be enough to weaken the connection between Ayana and Riventon, but she can't be sure - she hasn't dared to test it before this.

A little chain of Flicker Shots detaches from the swirling storm of them above her, nearly invisible in the dim, color-shifted light of the barrier, slipping in through the open window towards Ayana. Not to attack her, but simply to hook Still Night's collar from where she laid it, and hurl the Device out through the window to her. It will then be her responsibility to maintain the barrier, and to ensure that the Device cannot interfere with Ikiko's work...

Reiko Touyama has posed:
The Chroma Crystal in her wand is indeed complaining at the dark sensation appearing. She can ignore it because it isn't a Shade. 'General Darkness' is just a thing the Crystal doesn't like. It won't be an issue- Orange is just worried about potentially hurting anyone helping right now.

She begins flying towards the window---and when Mikoto's barrier goes up, she hurries. Koi will open the window for her if no one's pushed it by now....

She flies, directly towards Ayana and then the girl latches around her in a hug- like some sort of clingly static lint ball. She's going to try to keep Ayana down and in place the old fashioned way with Ikiko first- if that doesn't work well.

She'll move to the more dangerous stuff.

"Ayana---be calm...please..." she spouts!

Ayana has posed:
Ayana looks startled, to say the least, when Ikiko stands and starts speaking in such commanding, and ritual terms. "W..what?!" she asks, confused and obviously feeling a little betrayed. "No! No, Ikiko, no!"

The bag of jerky spills over the floor as the fast-moving Ayana tries to dash around Ikiko and run for the window, but then there's Reiko diving in, and the pair collide in mid-air. Ayana is sent sprawling into the hug from Reiko and her tears begin to flow. "No no no, he needs me, no don't do this! Still Night!" she calls out, reaching for where she left her collar. But the device isn't there.

Ikiko Hisakata has posed:
For not having an opportunity to rehearse, the convergence goes quite well. "Forgive me, Ayana," Ikiko murmurs as she steps over to the grappled foxgirl. "Let the Bond be dissolved!" she shouts, looping the orange braid around Ayana, binding the kitsune's arms to her side.

As soon as the braid encircles Ayana and both ends are grasped together in one hand, it tightens slightly. Not enough to physically hurt, but enough to form tension. It serves as a focus for the ritual, blocking the mage-familiar bond like a sudden cut, then slowly dissolving the bond away.

That part is what might be painful to the foxgirl.

"I refuse to let him unmake you, my beloved Ayana," Ikiko murmurs as she holds the braid closed with one hand and hugs onto the kitsune with the other. "But as long as that bond exists, he could unmake you at will. The only way to keep you safe... is to remove the bond."

Kunzite has posed:
Outside, shadows spread silently, barely perceptible - blanketing the area in a faint ambient chill, purposefully distorted. Off-center from the house, so that it can't be used to pinponit the ritual site. Not enough of an effect to cause any residents or passers-by any trouble. Only enough that Kunzite isn't relying only on his eyes to find any trouble that comes looking for the girls.

It's enough to let him feel the Barrier being raised, too. His position is intentionally well outside it; he won't poison the ritual by proximity.

"Good luck, little fox," he says to nothing that will hear him. "I hope they know what they're doing."

Reiko Touyama has posed:
Prism Keeper Orange latched onto Ayana, Orange is doing her best to keep her still and held. Eventually, some koi join in, appearing next to Orange and trying to push in and hold onto Ayana with all thier tiny finny orange might.

She'd already helped charge the braid much earlier- and all she can do now is---- latch on, try to keep Ayana still.

"but... Ayana... you... don't need /him!/" she says pleadinly when she says he needs her.

She's doing her best. So far, Ayana hasn't reacted super violently.

But... she has an idea to help in a moment- if things start going terrible. She won't like it- but-- this needs to succeed.

Mikoto Nakajima has posed:
Mikoto remains grimly silent. Ikiko and Reiko have said what must be said. And Ayana has no reason to trust her. Still Night is another story.

"Carnwennan. Can you shut it down? Completely, no chance of a trap program?"

(("Scanning, Meister. Warning, target is attempting to communicate. Initiating jamming..."))

A second spell-glyph forms around her, this one a ribbon of runework at about chest height, gleaming blue in the twilight.

Ayana has posed:
Ayana wasn't kidding when she said she hated this day. It's only getting worse. "I don't need him!" she agrees, "I don't need life. But he needs me," she begs. Please don't do this," she's crying now, but those bonds are enwrapping her, and Still Night isn't coming to her command.

What can she do except to realize that this betrayal is not going to stop for words alone.

She's always said Magical Girls are evil.

"I'm sorry," she whispers to Ikiko, and then takes a deep breath before she invokes, in a low and violent tone, "Gloom."

Despite the ritual and the barrier, and despite the power of the binding rope, Ayana has a little magic of her own that doesn't come from that bond. This magic may have been invested in her by Takashi, but it's hers. Fueled by desperation, terror, and betrayal, the void kitsune draws on that power, and every light in the bedroom goes dark. Indeed, the entire room goes black as Ayana pours her soul into her power.

Ikiko Hisakata has posed:
Maintaining the ritual takes a certain amount of energy, but it's nothing Ikiko can't handle. Ayana's Gloom hits harder, especially amplified as it is by the kitsune's emotions. Still, by itself it wouldn't throw Ikiko off, given how she's slowly been getting used to Ayana's various drains.

Together, though, the ritual and the Gloom are making Ikiko feel a bit dizzy. She needs to throw Ayana off-balance. She needs to speed up the dissolution of the mage-familiar bond.

And she needs to do both soon.

Still gripping the ends of the braid with one hand, Ikiko reaches to her neck and removes her locket. She kisses Ayana's forehead gently, then gives her a sad, almost apologetic smile.

"Lycan Locket!" she shouts as she presses the locket against Ayana's forehead. With the ritual breaking bonds, the memories of emotions aren't as clear and the emotional bond they once had isn't re-established, but the mutual flashbacks are still disorienting.

But Ikiko was ready for them, and Ayana has much less life-history for the werewolf to live through than vice versa. Ikiko can ride it out...

Reiko Touyama has posed:
Prism Keeper Orange holds on for as long as she can, but when that 'Gloom' spell is spouted out, she breaks off--- not wanting to be at ground zero for that, but it still eeks out at her- her koi dissapear into the blackness, maybe swallowed up! She closes her eyes and 'nrgs' to herself...

"Ikiko...I dunno if this is going to hurt her, I'm sorry." she says.

She summons her Chroma Wand and thwips it forward--- at the apex of the swing--- instead of throwing a color beam, or a flurry of koi-- or some sort of ridicolous, room destroying purification blast--- the wand sparkles off into the Chroma Crystal's true form- a prism, pulsing with orange color hovering there.

To say a Chroma Prism contains color would be a wrong way of thinking. It is the color. If her Chroma Prism cracks... or breaks or is destroyed--- the color orange fails to exist in the world. Reiko uses koi. That's her special thought. That's what she thinks of in her heart when she thinks of her favorite color. But that isn't the same for everyone. Everyone thinks something else of the same colors- and Prism contains all those!

"Collllllloooorrr Cycle!" calls out Prism Keeper Orange as she cups two hands out around the hovering Prism.

Her koi dissapears- melting away into whisps.

The crystal rotates around---- popping into existence, up, down all around is a woderful field of Tiger Lilys, they grow- and grow bright and orange as Reiko's koi. But this is not what she needs...

Whatever Orange is doing, it's stressing her obviously...

It rotates again and the Tiger Lilys dissapear to be replaced with the bright orange twilight of a Sunset, another rotation--- a frustrated pain looked. Just a little shaking. The sunset melts away into a flurry of bouncing Basketballs, what sounds like echoing bounces in a gym.

Another rotation.

A Grove of Orange Trees sprout up- bearing bright orange fruit- ripe and delicious looking in the room! The crystal rotates again...!

If you were to ask a child to draw a fox, what you would get- is a fuzzy canine, bright orange, a white tailtip. Not all foxes are like this. But in people's hearts- that's what people see. Frustration and discomfort ride on Orange's face now as she finally hones in on....

Adorable Foxes fuzzy, a little chibi, white tails. Looking, acting like Reiko's koi might in attitude. Bouncy, pouny, what one expects.

This is what she wants....

"INFUSE!" Orange calls out, Ikiko and Ayana has seen this before- when she changed the color on some plushies permenantly, the foxes turning into streams of orange energy that building up at the top of the Chroma Crystal--- before flowing off towards Ayana shortly after Ikiko applies the Lycan Locket.

She has no idea if this worked. But...Orange Fox energy... it's gotta. Right?

Mikoto Nakajima has posed:
Mikoto can feel the dark energy of the drain spell going on so close nearby. But that was anticipated. Ikiko had assured her she could handle it. If there's one thing she has to do, it's to trust her allies to know their own limitations. So she doesn't rush in to the rescue. No, she keeps the barrier running, focusing her mana on that.

The rune-circle around her, now, is duplicated around the hovering form of Still Night, sparks and flashes of light lashing out from the Device as it responds to Ayana's distress. So far, she's keeping it contained... but between that and the barrier, it is not an easy task. Sweat beads on her brow as she focuses, Carnwennan's rapier-form held in one hand, scabbard in the other.

Ayana has posed:
The Lycan Locket's power nearly cripples Ayana. She falls still, though her gloom still fills the room. If it weren't literally feeding her energy from the two magical girls in close proximity, she'd probably pass out entirely from the effects of the locket.

As is, it drops AYana to her knees, and she starts to slowly scream in pain and terror. Reaching into herself, she draws forth something she never thought she'd have to use. A blue-green gem appears on Ayana's forehead, and then cracks, as Ayana activates a last ditch hidden effort.

Orange fox-energy overwhelms the Kitsune at the same moment, and her hair flickers white, black, orange, black, white, orange. It stays that way, shorter than ever, but brilliantly hued.

The problem is, that cracking gem practically explodes with power, and the rope that's binding Ayana's arms to her sides simply breaks in half.

Ritual Ropes aren't supposed to do that, are they?

Ikiko Hisakata has posed:
Ikiko Hisakata drops the Lycan Locket; after the initial pulse, there's no added benefit. She blinks at the two pieces of rope, then grimaces. "Well, that was unexpected," she mutters.

She grabs Ayana's wrists, then takes one of the two pieces of rope and ties the foxgirl's wrists together, then does the same thing with Ayana's ankles. "Hold her still, Orange!" Ikiko calls out, glomping the foxgirl and kissing her right on the forehead, just below the cracked gem.

Reiko Touyama has posed:
Prism Keeper Orange sweeps her hand out and the Prism turns back into it's Wand Form. Orange looks a little tired. Activating other's special things is tiring. She isn't tuned to them. What she is tuned to, however, is koi and two appear. One appars to pat Orange on the shoulder and fan her off after that mess and the other one appears. This one has fox ears. It smooths them out into non-existence then looks around shifty eyed. <,< .... >,> .... <,< Well. At least her koi are back properly!

She nrgs, noooooo, nononono. This has to complete..

"Go!" she calls out.

What's she's talking to?

Oh, about like twenty-five koi that sort of zoom past her and then try to pin own her arms in a finny manner, just a bit longer she thinks.

Then she blinks.

Then she blushes.

The koi fanning Orange now begins to fan itself, oh may, it has a case of the vapors!

Mikoto Nakajima has posed:
Outside, Mikoto continues her struggle, holding the two barriers in place with increasing strain. She's certainly glad to have Carnwennan's processing power to assist in this, she's certain she could never hold so much in action at once by hand-casting.

The rune-ribbon twisting around Still Night divides into two counter-rotating strips, a series of Flicker Shots slipping into the gap between them. Her hands start to tremble as the exertion continues to drain her, and she reminds herself once again of the consequences of failure - and the goal. Focus on the endgame, Miko-chan. Focus!

And that's when a lightning-like blast from Still Night pounds against the barrier, sending energy reverberating back into her along her own spell. She lets out a half-stifled cry of pain, the sound choking out as a drop of blood falls from her nostril...

Ayana has posed:
Ayana just starts to recover from the Lycan Locket's overwhelming flood of emotions, when Ikiko wraps her wrists. "No!" she begs again, then twists to try and get away as her feet are also bound. "Gloom Bind!" she calls, and all that stored energy reaches out to try and enwrap Ikiko and Reiko, as well.

The orange-haired kitsune tries to bound for the window, but a sudden horde of koi suddenly overwhelm her. She yelps in surprise ... and then transforms.

The orange-haired girl becomes an orange-haired fox. The poor thing's paws and ankles are still bound, but now she's snapping at those koi with sharp, flashing fangs.

And with gloom bind active, the draining effect is gone. If Ikiko and Reiko can manage to get free of the bindings, they may have a shot at finishing this.

Ikiko Hisakata has posed:
Ikiko Hisakata yelps at the sudden binding, but she's close enough to their goal that she's not going to let a thing like that stop her. She wriggles until she's sitting upright, then flops on Ayana like a wrestler jumping off of the turnbuckle in smaller scale, attempting to knock the wind out of the fox.

With the small pause she gets, Ikiko brings her wrists up to Ayana's mouth, using the snapping teeth to chew away at the Gloom Bind. Once the binding is weakened, she grabs the kitsune's head. "I love you, Ayana, and I will never give up on you, even if you give up on yourself!" she all but shouts. Focusing all of her love into one action, Ikiko leans forward--

--and kisses Ayana. On the mouth. Very passionately.

The werewolf pours all of her emotion into the kiss, as if she was using Tsukiko's Soulful Howl. The sense of her love for Ayana, of how much she cares for her, of her pure and free acceptance of her: all of that, all of those enotions, she tries to distill into her kiss. <3

Reiko Touyama has posed:
The koi are magical koi. They taste like purifying magic because Ayana actually bites one for the first time ever and pops into sparkles. Nothing delicious there. She can't get them all tought and they're all pushing with all thier finny orange might! Orange is too caught up to summon some more now though, as she's trapped by the Gloom Bind. Nrg!!!!

She tries to send a pulse out from her Chroma Wand and she accomplishes this--it washes over the binds- causing them to become lightly orange--- another one... and she can begin to try to get free.

She thwips the wand down.

"M--more--help!" she calls out.

The Chroma Wand Glows. MOOOOORE Koi join in.

The fanning koi keeps on fanning itself. It now gains a dress ala-Gone with The Wind. Oh my!

Orange is still blushing but she's still helping. She can squee later.

Mikoto Nakajima has posed:
And outside, the purpose of Mikoto's double-binding on Still Night is revealed, as the inner wall drops - allowing the swarm of Flicker Shots access to the rampaging Device, still constrained by the outer wall. The little darts of light zoom into orbit around Still Night, several independantly-rotating circles, looking almost like a diagram of an atom.

Lightning lashes out from the Device, shattering several of the darts.

With blood trickling from Mikoto's nose and ears, she keeps up her containment spells, sweat glistening on her skin. If her Barrier Jacket were made of normal cloth, it would be soaked through by this point.

A half-dozen Flicker Shots arrow in from the orbiting circles, first slashing Still Night free of the choker Ayana had worn it upon, then slamming directly into the Device's main body, trying to suppress its attacks, force it to shut down... or if necessary, shatter it.

Ayana has posed:
It is a subtle thing, the destruction of a familiar's bond. The ropes around the little fox's wrists begin to flare brilliantly for a brief instant, and then they begin to smoke and die down. As Ikiko kisses the fox on the mouth, its attempts to run and flee subside.

So too, does the gloom.

Without an in tact Linker core, Still Night has no nearby energy source to draw on. The device shuts down entirely, just as Mikoto attempts to suppress it.

The gloom bindings vanish. The room becomes very still.

And Ikiko is left clutching a small red fox while standing in a pile of discarded girls' clothing. The fox lets out a little yelp of uncertainty at its present state, then squirms a little before leaning down to start gnawing at the ropes still binding its wrists.

Ikiko Hisakata has posed:
Ikiko Hisakata wobbles back upright. She blinks as she looks at Ayana-fox, then smiles gently and unties the braid-fragments. "You'll be safe now, my lovely Ayana," she murmurs in caninespeak, skritching the fox between the ears.

She starts to stand up, but collapses back onto her rear before getting very far. "I think we won," she smiles to Orange. Ikiko drags herself over to her bed, grabbing her cellphone and sending one more text:

    success. thank you

She yawns as the exhaustion of the ritual and the gloom finally starts to catch up with her. "I'll be fine," Ikiko smiles to Orange. "We'll be fine. Just need to rest..."

She takes the dropped bag of jerky and holds some out for Ayana. "You're probably hungry after all of that, aren't you?" she murmurs sleepily. "Here, I got food and pettings for you."

Reiko Touyama has posed:
Prism Keeper Orange sort of gives a little wave and she looks tired. The color cycle- the koi summoning and ughhh she feels tired and drained and her Chroma Crysal is a little dim. Not in a corrupted fashion, she just overdid it strongly. "S..sorry...about the ..orange thing..." she mutters- well. At least that seems to be the only thing wrong, right?

She begins to take off quickly before parents or otherwise come to investigate, out the window, to the air.

She makes sure Miss Blue follows along, too! Or if she needs help, she'll give it!

Kunzite has posed:
Message received. But there's something else out there, still, something moving just on the edge of the area that Kunzite's watching. It might have been drawn by the ritual; it might not. Doesn't matter. Either way, the sooner he's gone, the less likely it is that anything unfortunate will happen between him and Ayana's friends tonight.

He doesn't answer the message. He doesn't ask what became of the foxgirl. Whatever drew her to him, the odds are that the ritual broke that along with her bond; best to leave that alone. He only goes, and lets the evening lighten and warm a little in his absence.

Mikoto Nakajima has posed:
(("Notification received: Primary objective completed."))

"Thank you, Carnwennan. We should finish up here, as well." She swallows heavily, narrowing her focus, and the Flicker Shots in the spell-circle continue their assault on Still Night.

She'd considered trying to hack the Device and force it to shut down. But she has no way of knowing what traps Riventon might have implanted in it. And she's using up enough of Carnwennan's processing power as it is to maintain the Flicker Shots and containment barriers.

Instead, she's accepted the need to simply break it, and hope that there's enough pieces to learn something from analyzing them.

Flicker Shots pour into the Device, slamming at it again and again. Its counter-strikes against her barriers dim and fade as it weakens, its function disrupted by the repeated attacks.

The slim figure in blue stalks closer to the contained Device, almost stumbling once. As liquid drips onto her lips, she reaches up to wipe her face, and her hand comes away smeared with blood. "Damn," she curses, trudging forward once again.

She reaches the edge of the barrier, and lifts her blade... stabbing it right through the shield and into the rival Device's gemstone heart. The remaining Flicker Shots spiral out of their orbit to slam into the blade, channelled along it and into Still Night's core...

And the Device falls silent. The clearing is lit only by the rune-circle still swirling around its remains.

"Carnwennan... any power indications? Transmissions?"

(("None detected, Meister. The opponent has been rendered inert."))

Ayana has posed:
The little fox works its jaw as if there were some strange taste in its mouth. In confusion, the creature's ears swivel towards Ikiko, and it tilts its head faintly. "Safe?" it asks her curiously. "Hungry. Fish?"

Then it wrinkles its little nose and says, "Tastes bad. Blech." The little fox glances towards the window, then towards the jerky, then its single tail starts to wag as it bounds out of Ikiko's arms and moves to investigate. Sniff sniff goes the little noise, and then it begins gnawing on a piece of the jerky quietly, using its forepaws to try and steady the too-large hunk of meat.

Ikiko Hisakata has posed:
Ikiko Hisakata smiles gently. "No, no fish-meat here," she replies softly. Using the furniture to help support herself, she moves to the window and closes it after Reiko leaves -- no need for cool air in here!

She makes her way back over to the fox, sitting on the floor and tugging her pillow off of the bed. "Would you like me to break some of these into smaller pieces?" she offers, leaning on the pillow and idly petting the fox.

Ayana has posed:
The little fox stops gnawing on the jerky as the window snaps closed. Its ears and eyes all swivel towards the window, and for a long time it stares at the window uncertainly. Even the pettings do not seem to prevent the creature from its study.

But eventually, the little fox shakes its head and resumes gnawing on the jerky. It doesn't respond to Ikiko's question; what does 'break it into small pieces' even mean!? No, it's too busy gnawing on the jerky, which tastes much better than the soapy purefish taste it had in its mouth before.

Ikiko Hisakata has posed:
There's a gentle laugh from Ikiko as the lack of response is its own form of answer. She lightly curls up around the fox, forming a warm nook around it and loosely wrapping an arm around the furry canid.

Ayana is free from Riventon's influence, albeit no longer humanoid, and safe here at home. This makes Ikiko smile as she drowses off, although she can't help but feel like she's forgetting something...