View source for 39/Riventon and Rune: Aftermath

{{Log Header
|Date of Scene=2015/06/01
|Location=Mitakihara/Uminari City - Infinity Drive
|Synopsis=Gao and Hino help the Princess home after a harrowing fight while talking about Puella Magi.
|Cast of Characters=29, 34, 45
|pretty=yes
}}
{{Poses
|Poses=:'''{{#var:45|Hinote Kagari (45)}} has posed:'''<br><span></span>The shades all evaporate, and Gao and Hino are left there standing on the rooftop in relative silence suddenly. He frowns a bit and looks left, and right. He asks who should call Runealy, and Gao suggests he does, as Gao covers the area, making sure there's no more surprises. He wonders how he's going to reach his----<br /><br />Oh, his phone is in his hands already. How'd that happen? Is it magic? Probably, he'll worry about the mechanics of summoning his phone through magical steel armor later. He goes ahead and calls. (Not text. Retcon!?) and waits for Runealy to pick up. Come on Runealy... pick up. Please be okay! When, and if, she does pick up, he'll breathe a sigh of relif.<br /><br />"That Jerk is gone. Are you okay!?" he asks in a worried tone, as he stands there, cape flapping in the breeze.<br> <br>

:'''{{#var:29|Runealy Waldia (29)}} has posed:'''<br><span></span>Rune sits in an alley several blocks away. It was as far as she could get before fatigue and injuries forced her to just wait things out. To wait with no clues as to how the fight was going. A brick wall isn't much of a cushion, but it's better than standing. She's dazed, only somewhat coherent... and the world is a blur due to the tears in her eyes.<br /> <br />Yet she's alert enough to notice her new phone is making funny noises, the ones it makes when someone wants to talk to her. Unable to see the caller ID clearly, she nonetheless hopes it's one of her friends and answers it.<br /> <br />"Y... yes? ...He is? I... I think I am? Are /you/? What about you and Gao?" Her voice is shaky, still frightened as adrenaline fades. Perhaps more so, due to that.<br> <br>

:'''{{#var:34|Gaofele Doiru (34)}} has posed:'''<br><span></span>Gao is keeping an eye on the area, bow at the ready. He doubts that there's any trouble remaining, but it's better to be safe, especially after recently dealing with previously unknown enemies.<br /><br />Given his distance from the phone, he can't quite hear Rune's words clearly, but her concerned nature makes them easy to guess. "I /think/ we're okay?" he speaks up, shrugging slightly to Hino. "A little scuffed up, but otherwise in good shape." Nothing a good night's rest can't cure, at any rate.<br> <br>

:'''{{#var:45|Hinote Kagari (45)}} has posed:'''<br><span></span>Guardian Hino seems relived and takes a deep breath. "Good! Yes. I'm okay. So's Gao. Should we come to you?" he asks as he looks around, curiously. Nothing new in the area. Nothing dangerous. The night's quiet. "Can you tell us where you are?" he asks. He looks over to Gao and smiles. "She's okay!" he says to him.<br /><br />"No more jerks left, right?" he asks over to Gao. "We should go find her. Just in case jerkface decides that's where he wanted to go, too." he says.<br /><br />Jerkface sounds like a good name for creepy mask dude.<br> <br>

:'''{{#var:29|Runealy Waldia (29)}} has posed:'''<br><span></span>Rune can't hear much of what Gao is saying, but that she's hearing his voice at all is a relief. She's still shaken, but no longer on the verge of freaking out. "I'm glad... and y... yeah, you might need to. I'm at..." She's not sure. "I'll find out."<br /> <br />It takes a few seconds to stand up, and she moves on wobbly balance. Runealy nonetheless pokes her head out of the alley and speaks: "I see a red roof, and... I think I can see that Midori-Ya place off to my right, pretty far off." Well, she sees a blur of color that matches the colors she remembers of the bakery.<br /> <br />"I'm... going back into the alley, in case he's still around." She's afraid of being seen, and scoots back into hiding accordingly.<br> <br>

:'''{{#var:34|Gaofele Doiru (34)}} has posed:'''<br><span></span>Guardian Gao nods back to Hino. "Doesn't appear to be anything over here," he confirms, his stance a bit more relaxed. The bow is still in his hands, but he's no longer on the verge of drawing it.<br /><br />He hears the sound of Rune's voice over the phone, mentioning something in response to Hino. "Got her location?" Gao checks.<br> <br>

:'''{{#var:45|Hinote Kagari (45)}} has posed:'''<br><span></span>Guardian Hino nods. "Right. Gao and I will be there soon. Stay safe where you are." he says as he looks across rooftops toward's the direction of the Midori-Ya, that can be seen off in the distance from the rooftop. He begins towards that direction by jumping from the rooftop to the other. "Come on Gao. She's near the bakery." he says to his question, as he aims to travel via the rooftops.<br /><br />It probably doesn't take the two long to get close to the bakery. They happen to land, perhaps, in the same alley Rune is hiding! Regardless, he pulls the phone out again. (Once again wondering how that works!?) and calls Rune. "We're closer to the bakery. Where are you exactly?" he asks into the phone.<br /><br />Rune can probably hear his voice proper now at least.<br> <br>

:'''{{#var:29|Runealy Waldia (29)}} has posed:'''<br><span></span>"I'll stay protected, at least." 'Safe' has additional meanings to Rune, none of which apply to huddling in a dark alley at night after... what? Nearly being killed? Or maybe that man didn't specifically want to kill her; he mentioned wanting her wand. That would have been about the same thing as dying, it just would have taken several months to truly be so when the demons back home finally broke free and she could do nothing to fight back.<br /> <br />"I'm at... wait." She goes silent, creeping toward the alley edge, poking her head out toward the sounds, and this time she speaks up: "I'm here!" She waves a hand to get their attention, then closes her phone and puts it away.<br> <br>

:'''{{#var:34|Gaofele Doiru (34)}} has posed:'''<br><span></span>The journey across the rooftops is swift, and the drop to ground level is easy enough with magic assisting. Gao whirls around when he hears Rune's voice, and a smile breaks out across his face when he sees her. "Rune! I'm glad to see you were able to get away!" he says as he bounds over. "Why did that dark-throwing jerk attack you? Are you sure you're alright? Do you need any help getting back to the store?"<br /><br />The questions rush out in a near-jumble, concern struggling against relief with neither side claiming a clear advantage. Knowing that you and your friends will have to fight is one thing, but seeing your best friend beaten so harshly by an opponent? He's still somewhat unnerved.<br> <br>

:'''{{#var:45|Hinote Kagari (45)}} has posed:'''<br><span></span>Guardian Hino huhs as he looks behind him! "Oh! There you are!" he says as he looks down to his hand , the phone is /gone/. He'll continue to be shocked by this throughout the night. He smiles and approaches Rune as he beams. "We're here!" he says.<br /><br />He let's Gao say his piece as he nods.<br /><br />"Gao let me know something was wrong. I'm glad you're okay." he says relived that they found her. "Yeah, what did jerkbag want?" he asks. "He seemed dead set on you." he frowns.<br> <br>

:'''{{#var:29|Runealy Waldia (29)}} has posed:'''<br><span></span>Rune steps out into full view, leaning against a wall as her friends approach. "The store? ...Oh. Right." They can't just go asking for help from 'the healers' - EMTs, as this world apparently labels them. Or perhaps they could now, but soon she suspects they'll be just as unwelcome as she imagines Earth's self-styled conqueror would be if he showed up asking for medical care. That store might end up being their self-run 'clinic' at this rate.<br /> <br />"I don't know why he attacked... I went chasing after one of Tokyo's demons, and once I finished it he showed up to clap and tell me I only did it because of my wand. He's... probably right. I've had every advantage handed to me, and that's all I had to show for it." <br /> <br />She gives a more straight answer after thinking on it for a moment. "He told me to give it to him. I said no, and... you saw the rest. Though... how did you find me?" She's very confused on this point.<br> <br>

:'''{{#var:34|Gaofele Doiru (34)}} has posed:'''<br><span></span>"I called Hino right after you hung up, and we both started heading over here," Gao explains. "We were nearby when the sky turned an odd color, then it was just a matter of spotting the flashes of magic from the rooftops."<br /><br />He de-henshins, walking up to Rune and giving her a hug. "The wand might help channel your powers, but your powers come from /you/, not the wand," he points out reassuringly. "I wouldn't be able to use the wand, Hino wouldn't be able to use the wand... You are the one who can use it, Rune."<br> <br>

:'''{{#var:45|Hinote Kagari (45)}} has posed:'''<br><span></span>Guardian Hino thinks. "Well, Gao let me know the area, then I saw a light, so I followed that, as it looked suspicious!" he smiles. He frowns a bit. "So he just wanted to take things from you. Yeah, I thought I knew I saw a bully when I saw one." he frowns. He watches Gao drop his form. He goes ahead and drop his own soon after, and nods.<br /><br />He goes ahead and smiles, walking next to Gao. He can't comment on Waldian magic. What he can say is: "I think I'm going to punch jerkbag in the face incredibly hard next time I see him instead." he frowns. He may be a little more upset now at this who thing.<br> <br>

:'''{{#var:29|Runealy Waldia (29)}} has posed:'''<br><span></span>"You did?" Rune blinks as she realizes how Gao was able to put all the 'clues' together. "That's pretty smart." She stops bracing against the wall, perfectly happy to lean in to his embrace instead. "Yeah, but you were the ones who... ...well," she cuts that thought off. "I'm just glad you got here in time. Thank you, and..." A sudden realization hits. "Are you two really okay?"<br /> <br />Her vision is starting to clear, and she tilts her head around to check out Gaofele and Hinote one at a time. And as the latter makes his ambitions clear, she cautions: "Be careful. He's smart. Was doing the same thing we'll probably be doing once we start being... well... bandits. Bullies. Waited for me to finish up one fight, then jumped in to go after me. And he figured it out pretty quick when I was trying to just get away from him. Stopped that really fast."<br> <br>

:'''{{#var:34|Gaofele Doiru (34)}} has posed:'''<br><span></span>Gao nods. "He certainly has a head for tactics," he agrees with a slight frown. "He responded to my attempt to keep him away from you with a maneuver that kept me from closing the gap as well."<br /><br />He does look slightly tired, and there's a few scrapes from when the massive dark blast bowled him over, but other than that Gao looks to be in decent shape; the barrier he had brought up helped reduce the worst of it.<br> <br>

:'''{{#var:45|Hinote Kagari (45)}} has posed:'''<br><span></span>Hinote Kagari thinks a little on what Runealy says. They'll have to. Do that? Well. It made sense. He'd be a bully for a bit if it meant saving a world. He can atone later, if he ever gets the chance- when things start to go down. Though he looks a little guilty as he thinks about it. He takes a deep breath. "Well, besides being filled with energy a few times, I feel pretty good, despite that." he admits. "I think I'm going to sleep for a long time tonight." he admits.<br /><br />"I think I only managed a good strike on that guy, when he landed on the ground." he sighs. "Hopefully he's nursing his wounds, too." he asides.<br> <br>

:'''{{#var:29|Runealy Waldia (29)}} has posed:'''<br><span></span>"He did?" Runealy is surprised to hear this report from Gao, even though she was right there when it happened. Being scared out of your wits and unable to see properly means she didn't really take in much about the second half of the fight; her thought process for it was basically 'run run run run run run run run run'. "Guess it makes sense. So he really is pretty sharp."<br /> <br />"Sleep, huh... you know, sleep sounds good. Let's go ho--" She catches herself, unwilling to truly think of that place as 'home.' "Back to the store. On the way, there's something I want to tell you about. I met one of this city's guards a few days ago, and she told me what to do with that thing we found. The little black thing with a spike on the bottom."<br> <br>

:'''{{#var:34|Gaofele Doiru (34)}} has posed:'''<br><span></span>"Rest would be the best recovery for this," Gao agrees, nodding to the other two. "That, and a meal." Adrenaline and magic might be good for getting a person through a fight, but it's still hard on the body and the mind.<br /><br />As the three start walking along, he headtilts at Rune. "That odd thing you found in the bizarre castle-world?" he checks. "A strange thing, from a strange place."<br> <br>

:'''{{#var:45|Hinote Kagari (45)}} has posed:'''<br><span></span>Hinote Kagari huhs. "City's protectors?" he asks. He then ohs! "Oh, you mean the thing... yeah." he sighs a bit. "I think that.. if it's alright, I'll stay with you guys tonight." he smiles. "I can call my parents and just let them know I'm staying at a friend's tonight to study." he offers.<br /><br />He then listens. "So.. what's that thing's deal. It isn't... dangerous, is it? Do we still even have it?" he asks curiously as he head tilts at Rune as he begins to walk along with the others.<br> <br>

:'''{{#var:29|Runealy Waldia (29)}} has posed:'''<br><span></span>Rune makes sure to lean close to Gao and Hinote as they walk. She doesn't want to have to be outright carried by them, but she's at least sensible enough to take this slow and have help nearby. It's going to be a long walk, after all.<br /> <br />"That's the one," she affirms to Gaofele. "I took it to the festival grounds in the evening a few days ago to see if we could use it. Nothing I did made even the tiniest difference to it. She found me experimenting, and told me about 'Puella Magi.' They protect people from demons just like we do, but... from what she told me, they need those things. 'Grief Seeds', she called them." Hinote stops her with an important question.<br /> <br />"They're /very/ dangerous. Apparently we can't use them at all, only Puella Magi can. If we keep trying, or if we ignore a Seed long enough, a Witch - their word for those kinds of monsters - will come back out! Puella Magi need them because their gems get more black as they fight. If it gets totally black..." She doesn't know the full truth. Runealy only got very specific information from Homura, and major facts were omitted.<br /> <br />The version of 'the truth' Rune has is still frightening to her, as she finishes with a shaky voice: "...they die! The Seeds 'take the black out', they /need/ them!"<br> <br>

:'''{{#var:34|Gaofele Doiru (34)}} has posed:'''<br><span></span>Gao is perfectly content to be leaned on as the trio walks along. As Rune tells of what she learned, his face goes from thoughtful to concerned, then finally to a wince. "So if we happen to defeat a Witch, we should find a Puella Magi to give its Grief Seed to?" he checks, piecing the facts together.<br /><br />While the Witches might not be of any help in terms of acquiring magic, having Grief Seeds to offer the Puella Magi could come in hand -- at the very least, it could be a gift to improve relations. Gao files that small idea away, just in case they happen to stumble across another Witch.<br> <br>

:'''{{#var:45|Hinote Kagari (45)}} has posed:'''<br><span></span>Hinote Kagari frowns. "A Witch? Yeah... I could buy that." he asides. He frowns, and helps where he's able to help Rune along. He feels kinda bad. Even though they came over and saved her, she's still injured. He feels a little like a failure.<br /><br />"So... it's a good thing you got rid of it then." he asides. "Last thing I'd want to do is face that thing again." he frowns. "I'd have nightmares all over again!" he insists.<br /><br />"How do you... find these others?" he asks. "I mean. I haven't, really met others yet." he says. "I mean these other.. protectors..." he asides.<br> <br>

:'''{{#var:29|Runealy Waldia (29)}} has posed:'''<br><span></span>"Yes! Either to them, or to me. I've made arrangements for how to deliver them," Rune affirms to Gaofele.<br /> <br />Hinote's feelings about the 'princess witch' match her own. "Y... yeah. That thing was just... a nightmare, just like you said."<br /> <br />Then his other question leads her to an important point. "She said they don't have any one thing that always gives it away. So you'll have to see if they have any gems on them, and if they do... watch to see if it becomes more black. If it does... I probably don't need to tell either of you, but just to make absolutely sure... when we make our move?"<br /> <br />Her previously shaky voice gives way to firm resolve as she continues: "Puella Magi are off-limits! Don't take any magic from them, not even a little! If you have to fight back, if they start it, fine... but let them go, or try to get away from them. Hinote, you asked if we were here to kill people. We answered you then, but I'll say it again. No! We're not! None of us are going to save our world by... by..." Now her voice wavers, but she forces out the conclusion, "...by murdering people! What we're doing is still wrong, but we're drawing that line at least!"<br /> <br />Then the 'fire' in her mood fades, as she asks more delicately with a glance to Gao and Hino in turn, "...Okay?"<br> <br>

:'''{{#var:34|Gaofele Doiru (34)}} has posed:'''<br><span></span>"Will do!" Gao smiles. "If magic is that essential to their survival, then of course we'll leave them alone." It might mean one less resource available, but it's a concept he knows well enough as a forester: there are animals that you can hunt in moderation during their season, and there are those that are off-limits no matter the month. The reasons might be somewhat different, but the effect is the same.<br /><br />This does bring up a good point, though: "We should probably be more active in meeting other magical defenders, then -- if we have the opportunity to tell if someone is a Puella Magi or not, that means one less person we have to guess about," he points out.<br> <br>

:'''{{#var:45|Hinote Kagari (45)}} has posed:'''<br><span></span>Hinote Kagari shushes Rune. "I know that." he smiles. "Just relax, and rest. Don't get worked up right now, you just got done something harrowing. Even I'm feeling rundown." he sighs a bit. "So if we encounter one of those again, keep the seed, and get it to a Puella Magi as soon as possible. Alright. I'm sure.. that could help." he asides as he thinks. "Hopefully, that, will help smooth over a few things with others then. At least one group." he asides as he takes a deep breath.<br /><br />"Oh! Right. Um. Apparently. My sword lights on fire." he asides. "Actually, this was.. my first... doing anything, like that." he blushes a bit. "I think I did okay?" he asks.<br> <br>

:'''{{#var:29|Runealy Waldia (29)}} has posed:'''<br><span></span>Runealy takes both of her friends' advice well enough. To Gao, "Yeah... we need to keep that up. You've been really on top of that already, I know! Still, you're right. We'll keep heading out, helping them, asking things... we'll figure it out."<br /> <br />Then Hinote manages to calm her down, no more outbursts. "That's right. Either find a Puella Magi to give it to, or bring it to me. One way or another, we'll get it to someone who needs it. And we're going to keep doing that even once they figure out what we're really here for. No strings attached. And..."<br /> <br />He talks about his sword catching ablaze. Rune is glad to go with the topic change, finally making a slight smile of her own; the first in this otherwise frightening evening. "That sounds about right. I just provide a little boost to get your magic to fully come out, but that's all I really do. /You/ decide the rest. That sword, and the fire... that's all you, it came from your heart, your mind. Your desire to stand up and be truly incredible! So if you got flames to appear, you did great."<br> <br>

:'''{{#var:34|Gaofele Doiru (34)}} has posed:'''<br><span></span>Gao nods to Hinote. "You did well. Practice might teach you the basic moves, and sparring might teach you the reflexes, but actual battle is where it all gets applied, and you fought with skill and courage."<br> <br>

:'''{{#var:45|Hinote Kagari (45)}} has posed:'''<br><span></span>Hinote Kagari manages to continue his smile. "Well, I managed to help protect you tonight at least. Better than the last time." he smirks. "Better than throwing rocks, any day." he says. He smiles and nods to Gao. "I need to...learn better. I think. A lot of what I was doing back there felt... like reflex. It's weird." he admits.<br /><br />His way of saying it just felt like he 'knew'.<br /><br />He smiles. "Anyways, let's get you back to the store and into bed, so you can be better tommrow." he asides to Rune.<br> <br>
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