444/Meetings and Misunderstandings

Meetings and Misunderstandings
Date of Scene:	12 October 2015
Location:	Mitakihara/Pikarigaoka - King Penguin Park
Synopsis:	Ikiko, Haruna, and Madoka all bump into each other in the park, clearing up some earlier confusions and talking about what they do in their free time.
Cast of Characters:	Madoka Kaname, Haruna Kurosawa, Ikiko Hisakata

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Madoka Kaname has posed:
    It's not the brightest sunny day outside but it was earlier before the overcast rolled in. In some ways this is a good thing as it will mean a reprieve tonight from chilly autumn air as the days warmth is held in. In this way even dark gray clouds obscuring the blue sky can be a good thing; this is the thought of Madoka Kaname as she finishes up tending to a small perennial shrub, a pair of trimmers in one hand and a small bucket in the other. She's not wearing most of her usual school uniform, but rather a pair of dark brown pants and a white gardeners apron over the top of her shirt, this covered in part by dirt smudges and explaining the pants.

    She gets a little hand spade out next and cleans up the dirt around the shrub, picking out any weeds she finds and turning it before patting it back down gently, careful to avoid any roots. When she's satisfied with her work she places all the pulled weeds in the bucket as well and puts drops her tools into large apron pockets, wiping her forearm against her forehead for a moment. She looks over the plant she's just tended and winterized and smiles, "There you go, you're all set to have a nice long sleep and wake up beautiful in the spring!"

Ikiko Hisakata has posed:
Autumn days are great for viewing the bright foliage of the season, and the earlier sunshine combined with the current clouds means that the air is a nice balance between warm and cool. A perfect day for a walk, as far as Ikiko Hisakata is concerned, especially with today being a slow day in her schedule. Feeding the various strays around the city is a good way to keep busy, but having time to yourself is also important!

As she walks along, she spots some distinctive pink hair, working over near one of the shrubs. "Hi, Madoka!" Ikiko calls as she walks over towards the gardening girl. "Wasn't expecting to run in to you today!" The bush looks pretty familiar; it's one that she's used before as a meeting place with the local strays.

Haruna Kurosawa has posed:
Haruna Kurosawa had two books. They didn't belong to her. She was on her way to the library, just to return them. She was still feeling really bad about that girl... and then last night with Hannah doing something stupid and something that upset her! She knew Eclipse was up to no good--- but why did Hannah let herself do that kind of thing!?

She was walking past. A little mopey, when she saw a familar face!------

and another. Erk!

She began to tip toe over quietly. Also. She had her bird on her shoulder.

She tried to come up on her right sight slowly and raise a hand! "Hi..!" she says friendly then she pleads. "Please don't run away....I wanna talk..." she says sheepishly.

Madoka Kaname has posed:
    Madoka looks over when she hears a somewhat familiar voice, she us still and quiet for a moment, no doubt remembering her embarrassment upon their meeting. The fact the younger girl is coming in her direction and without any kind of teasing look on her face allays her momentary fears. What was her name again? Oh right.

    "Ikiko-chan!" she calls with a wave and small smile, "I wasn't expecting to see you today either; how are you?" After asking that all important question she laughs a little, turning slightly to look down at the plant and her small bucket, half full with weeds and clippings, "I'm here with the rest of the Infinity Gardening Club getting the parks gardens ready for winter. The ones at the school are already done but I wanted to help some anyway, eheh." She closes her eyes a little at the shy laugh.

    This gives Haruna's sneaking mission the perfect chance, and her tiptoeing is quiet enough that the pink haired girl in her gardening outfit doesn't alert her at all. When Haruna speaks her eyes pop back open and she tenses, not so much afraid as completely startled! Her head turns slowly towards Haruna and she gives the girl an awkward, embarrassed smile, "Haruna-chan..!" She fidgets in place a little, the level of her social awkwardness rising perceptively.

    She squeezes her gloved hands together and nods, "Okay. I won't run away on you again, I promise." She takes in a deep breath, trying not to let her worry show too much. She also does her best not to look at Corvus, though her eyes peek over in his direction once or twice.

    'This is where she tells me how much trouble I've caused,' she thinks. 'It's okay, I'll be strong. I deserve this.'

Ikiko Hisakata has posed:
"I'm having a good day, thanks!" smiles Ikiko. "Just enjoying this great temperature while looking at the leaves." She looks at the work done to the bush and nods. "Yeah, it's the season to get things ready for winter, isn't it? Dealing with off-campus club projects..."

Between the conversation and taking a look at the bush, Haruna's stealth catches Ikiko by surprise as well. "Oh! Hi, Haruna!" Ikiko smiles, then looks over at Corvus and silently mouths "hi, Corvus" to the silver raven. An attempt at politeness while trying to avoid prompting him to speak, perhaps?

Haruna Kurosawa has posed:
Haruna Kurosawa closes her eyes and takes a deep breath. She's as anxious as Madoka is. "I..I'm sorry! I didn't mean to.. yell. Or flip out like that." she says looking down. "I mean...the other day." she says. "You didn't do anything wrong! I'm just. I-- people are kinda hard for me cuz I spent like... two years in my dorm not really doing much of anything and I sometimes forget you can't just kinda be excited at people like that..." she says looking kind of sad.

"Oh, um. I was. taking your books back. Because we kinda got some mixed up! But I need the books you have of mine back cuz I need em for school work." she says gently.

She pauses. "Also you kinda already know Corvus is magical so you can talk to him and stuff! He likes to talk!" she says.

"Uh-huh!" Corvus agrees.

She smiles over to Ikiko! Since she knows too, but she is also not running away and finds this normal.

Madoka Kaname has posed:
    The scolding she expects never comes. Instead what she gets is... an apology?!

    The surprise on Madoka's face is almost as clear as when she was surprised by Haruna not moments before. "You are? But... you have nothing to be sorry for, Haruna-chan! I did something awful that could have let people around us know what you are." It would be 'who' you are, but Haruna was quick enough on her feet to keep that from being made clear.

    Her pink twintails shake a along with her head and she says softly, "I didn't run away because of anything you said, or because you were excited. I did it because I was ashamed of the danger I might have put you and your friends in."

    Madoka considers for a moment, slipping off her gloves and dropping them into her apron before stepping forward and trying to take one of the other girls hands, whichever one seems least necessary for holding onto those books, in both of hers, warm and soft. "I want to apologize if you thought you hurt my feelings. You haven't done anything that's hurt me! You're a very kind person to worry about me like this." She offers up a small smile to Haruna, giving her hand a small squeeze for emphasis. Sometimes it's much easier to convey her feelings this way than it is with words.

    After a moment she closes her eyes and returns to looking slightly nervous and embarrassed, and Haruna can even feel the slight fidgeting in her fingers. "Oh, um... did I have some of yours? I already returned the ones I had..."

    It's only after all this that she finally gets around to responding to Ikiko, to whom she gives a nod and an attempt at one of her usual smiles, "It's the perfect time to trim things up before there are too many freezes, and you're right! The leaves are very beautiful this time of year."

    As Corvus speaks up again Madoka asks softly, "Are you sure it won't cause you any trouble? In that case... hello again, Corvus-chan!"

Ikiko Hisakata has posed:
Ikiko Hisakata looks from Haruna to Madoka and back again. The problems from last time seem to be sorted out, and the two of them appear to be happy with each other! Ikiko steps up and gives the two of them a big hug, a cheerful smile on her face. "Sounds like it's all working out," she beams.

After a few moments, she releases the hug. "Oh, that reminds me, Haruna; I still need to bring you and Corvus those snacks I promised. Think you'll be around town later tonight?" After all, it's easier to meet someone on patrol if they know that you're hoping to meet them while on patrol!

Haruna Kurosawa has posed:
Haruna Kurosawa smiles to Ikiko. "Sure!" she smiles. "That'd be nice." she says with a soft series of nods. Corvus waves with a wing! He speaks! "We're alone right now, so it's okay to speak to me! Just if we're in a busy place I try to be quiet. I just kinda goofed the other night."

Haruna nods matter of factly. "Oh...! No. I. I don't have many people out for me. Lots of people know who I really am... even some of the badguys." she admits. "I'm only afraid of one and he only comes out when I'm active anyways-- a jerk like that doesn't even go to school, I'm sure." she says as she crosses her arms. "If you see a red headed jerk who calls himself the Precure Hunter, he's that jerk!" she warns.

She then blinks rapidly. "Oh! Then I'll return these and just get one-a the librians to help me find the two I need." she says with a series of fast nods. She doesn't seem borthed by it.

Madoka Kaname has posed:
    There's a sound of light surprise from Madoka as Ikiko hugs her. It's quickly apparent that she doesn't mind though as she leans warmly into the hug, only failing to return it in full because she's still holding onto Haurna's hand in that moment. She turns her head to the younger but nearly as tall Ikiko and returns the cheerful smile. "I think it is. I feel much better knowing I didn't cause any trouble."

    She lets go and steps back a tiny bit to give Haruna a bit of space, giving a small wave to Corvus as he speaks to go along with her previous greeting. "I'm glad your safe then, Haruna-chan. But still, you should be careful even if there's only the one." She makes a mental note about a guy with red hair that hunts Precures, wondering briefly what a Precure is, so she knows what to avoid.

    "Still," Madoka comments in a quiet tone. "I know how dangerous it can be for girls like you. The fighting itself looks frightening enough, but there are also people who will try to hurt your friends for no other reason than to hurt you," she frets. With a little sigh she adds, "I know because it happened to me. ...and I'd only barely met the magical girl they wanted to hurt!"

    But this isn't at all the kind of mood she wants to set for what should be a happy time of smoothed over misunderstandings so she calms herself down. "I hope you'll be able to find them again quickly," she responds about asking the librarians for help. Then she remembers all those books and asks, "What is your report on, Haruna-chan? You had a lot of books on forests and trees!"

Ikiko Hisakata has posed:
Ikiko's smile brightens as Madoka smiles back. Having everything straightened out like that is a great thing!

The smile fades as Haruna describes Phantom, and she gives a faint nod of agreement. Fighting him once was bad enough, especially when he held that crowd hostage in an almost-successful attempt to force Cure Victory into a mirror-coffin. If it wasn't for Storm Knight's quick thinking and faster attacks... well, she doesn't want to think about it.

She doesn't let herself dwell on that event, and in a moment her expression is upbeat once more. Madoka's question catches her attention, and she looks towards Haruna inquisitively.

Haruna Kurosawa has posed:
Haruna Kurosawa looks down. "Well I don't have many friends..." she says. "...and the ones I do have now are kind of magical already." she says looking down. "My sister was lost during the incident that blew up Mitakahara Public. I thought she was dead. I found out she was a Pretty Cure-- and the hunter jerk took her away because she spent too much energy trying to save people from the aftermath, and wasn't able to defend herself when he came for her." she says looking down.

"I'm trying to rescue her... but- but the person who was supposed to help me is doing a lot of bad things. I don't know if I can trust her now..." she says softly.

She looks up and perks up though! "Oh. Um. Biology Report on Forest Ecology of different types." she says sheepishly. "I was thinking it'd look more professional if I could cite a buncha books instead of just the internet." she says sheepishly.

Corvus sighs. "Haruna tries to hard sometimes for silly things. The internet is really useful. Also, I can play games on the internet and that's fun." he insists.

Madoka Kaname has posed:
    The look on Madoka's face turns to that of sympathy when she hears Haruna say that she doesn't have many friends. And from the sound of it the most important family member to her has already taken away as well. She doesn't know anything about Pretty Cures, and the only thing she knows of the Precure Hunter is what Haruna told her in the last few moments. She doesn't know what to say. There's are no simple words that can take away that kind of pain.

    But she does know what to do.

    Madoka steps forward as Haruna looks down and gives her a hug. Not the bright, tight hug of joy but a gentler one of comfort. "I'm sure you will. Rescue her." She lets a few moments pass before looking up to her, "I believe in you, Haruna-chan. And I know, in my heart, that she knows how much you care for her and that she's proud of you for wanting to help."

    After the moment passes she moves back a step and smiles, "That sounds interesting, and you have enough material to work from that I bet you can write a wonderful report. Using books will probably impress your teacher too for making sure to use reliable sources and putting in the extra effort to do it the hard way."

    Momentarily serious, though not in any sad kind of way, she looks to Corvus and shakes her head, "Trying your best at school is never silly!" Then with a little smile she asks, "What kind of games do you play?" It would be quite the novelty to play an online game with a Magical Bird!

Ikiko Hisakata has posed:
Ikiko Hisakata nods at Haruna. "That sounds like a kinda neat topic," she notes. After all, wolves are a part of certain forest ecologies, right? "Looking at anything in particular about them, or just how different roles are filled in the different types of forests?"

She frowns slightly when Haruna mentions that the person who had been helping her might not be a reliable source of help anymore. "I'm sure that some of your other friends will be willing to help however they can," she nods, her voice firm with the knowledge that there *is* at least one magical girl willing to lend a paw -- er, hand -- to the best of their ability.

Haruna Kurosawa has posed:
Corvus begins naming lots of online MMORPGs, Browser Games, and Console Games. Haruna has to stop him because if this continues we'd be here for an hour. Ten to one, Madoka plays ONE of these if she plays games. She giggles. "Magical Birds don't really sleep so he stays up all night and plays games." she says with a giggle. "Well. At least Corvus doesn't." she says. Corvus matter of factly nods. "Uh. My Screen name is BadBrd786" because of course Corvus has the Screen name of like a twelve year old.

She does blush. "I know..." she says softly to the matters of her sister.

She smiles and nods to Ikiko a little matter of factly. Looking back to Madoka and head tilting. "Oh..you were doing gardening earlier, right?" she asks. "Are you part of the city beautification commite?" she asks.

Madoka Kaname has posed:
    Madoka does play one of those games! It's one of those simple browser games that she can play both at home and on her phone. Though it isn't a multiplayer game she goes ahead and memorizes the screen name anyway. "Not needing to sleep sounds like it'd be very useful! Even when you just use it to play games and relax it seems nice." She gives a small shake of her head then, "I don't know if it'd be right for me, though. I sometimes have very interesting dreams, and I like curling up in bed at night with Toreho-kun."

    A moment later she realizes they don't know who that is and adds quickly with a blush, "He's one of my stuffed animals!"

    Then the subject changes to gardening and she nods, "I was, but I don't work for the city; I'm a member of the Gardening Club at school." She goes over and picks her bucket up, holding it in front of herself with both hands so she doesn't forget it later. "Forest biology though... that sounds like a very complicated subject! I can't imagine what it must take to make sure they stay healthy. I'm only good at little things, like taking care of plants and watering them. I find it's very relaxing, though."

Ikiko Hisakata has posed:
Ikiko Hisakata memorizes the screen name as well; there's a couple of browser games on that list that she occasionally plays. Having another person on her friend-list could come in handy for supplying each other with some of the daily resources, and in a pinch it might even be a way to contact Corvus.

"Never underestimate what helping the little things can do," she smiles to Madoka. "I feed the stray dogs of Tokyo every so often, and while they don't get a meal from me often, it makes life just a bit easier for them."

The mention of stuffed animals catches her attention. "What kind of stuffed animal is Toreho-kun?" she inquires.

Haruna Kurosawa has posed:
Haruna Kurosawa blinks...Gardening...Club?

Oh....OH! Right. Clubs. Clubs are things social people do...

This is not Haruna. "Oh--I'm uh. Not a member. Of any clubs..." she silently admits. "I mean. I was. but. that was before... my sister..." she trails off. "I kinda left a lot of stuff behind because of that..." she murmurs.

"Sorry...I know that's depressing.." she admits.

She isn't into stuffed animals, also Infinity Dorms aren't super huge. At least. Not hers.

"Are any of those clubs fun?" she asks softly. If anyone ever wanted to throw a recruitment pitch! Nows the time!

Madoka Kaname has posed:
    Madoka gives a little shake of her head, "I didn't mean to. I just tried thinking of how much work it would be trying to care for a forest all by myself. It would be overwhelming!" She smiles then at the mention of feeding the stray dogs, "That sounds like a very nice thing to do, Ikiko-chan. Maybe I could help you sometime?" Then when she asks about her most treasured possession she answers, "He's a pink bunny rabbit with big floppy ears! I won him from a UFO catcher- it was really hard because he's big enough you can hug him!"

    She feels a little bad for Haruna, but having contributed enough to sad topics she lets the admission and the comment on the topic being depressing go without anything more than a sympathetic look. Instead she'll extol the virtues of clubs!

    "They're a lot of fun! They're a great way to get to know people who have the same interests as you. There's all sorts of different kinds so I'm sure there's at least one that you'd enjoy. You don't have to be a full time member, either; I attend the Gardening Club and the Crafts Club from time to time when I'm not volunteering at the hospital, but I'm not a full member of either."

    Busy as a bee, Madoka is.

Ikiko Hisakata has posed:
Ikiko Hisakata smiles warmly at Madoka's description of Toreho-kun; it's obvious that the pink-haired girl loves him very much. "Sounds like he's great for snuggling with while you sleep!" she agrees.

She gives Haruna a quick hug, then nods in agreement with Madoka's description of clubs. "I'm not sure what clubs Infinity has, but I'm a member of the Animal Care club over at Seishou," she explains. "I've also been known to lend a hand to the sports clubs when they need a stand-in, but most of the time I'm just in Animal Care club."

Ikiko gives Madoka a smile. "Sure, I'd love it if you helped me with feeding the strays sometime! With colder weather approaching, making their meals slightly more frequent would be a good thing, and having some extra help along would be great!"

Turning towards Haruna, brightens her smile a bit. "How about you, Haruna? Would you like to help out as well?"

Haruna Kurosawa has posed:
Haruna Kurosawa blinks, wow! Madoka is busy. "That's a lot Madoka! Don't you get over busy?" she asks softly. She looks towards Ikiko and blinks. "I dunno....and I have a that might help with animal club...." she says as she taps her chin. Corvus looks bored. But that's okay! Not everyday is busy and full-a wonder.

She crosses her arms. "I'll think about it, okay?" she smiles.

"I should go bring these books back before the library closes!" she suddenly reminds herself. "I--we'll talk later okay?~" she asks as she bounces on her feet.

Madoka Kaname has posed:
    Madoka nods eagerly to Ikiko and laughs girlishly, "He is! Along with my others stuffed animals he make it so much nicer to climb into bed and snuggling up for sleep." The happy streak continues as her offer, though not specific on when, to help the Seishou student feed stray animals is accepted. "That's right, it's going to be a lot harder on animals without homes when it gets very cold in winter, isn't it? They're very lucky to have someone like you to help them out, Ikiko-chan."

    Then in response to Haruna she flushes a little, lowering her head slightly and looking down before shrugging, "Sometimes it feels like I'm stretched a little thin, but I prefer it over not feeling like I have anything to do." The truth that she isn't saying is that this kind of activity started over in America, where like Haruna she used to have very few actual friends. If it were up to her she'd spend almost all her time with friends and only rarely attend the actual clubs.

    She's pulled out of her moment of reverie when Haruna excuses herself, closing her eyes and giving her a friendly wave goodbye, "Okay, I'll talk to you some more later, Haruna-chan. And... I'm really happy we were able to clear up that misunderstanding from the other day!"

Ikiko Hisakata has posed:
"See you later, Haruna! You too, Corvus!" Ikiko beams. She's sure that she'll talk with those two later upon some rooftop; Tsukiko just needs to remember to bring the promised snacks.

She checks the time and frowns slightly. "I should probably start heading towards home," she sighs. Pulling out a piece of paper, she quickly jots down her cellphone number. "Give me a call when you can, and we can work out a time when we can both feed the strays, okay?" she smiles to Madoka, handing over the paper. Of course, from Ikiko's side of things, the scheduling would probably be more for noting which part of the city she's feeding the strays in, rather than deciding if it's a day that she's feeding the strays at all.

But that doesn't need to be brought up for now.

Madoka Kaname has posed:
    After setting her bucket back down and accepting the piece of paper Madoka tells Ikiko her own to write down, finding that quicker since she doesn't have a pen or pencil handy on her. "I'll try to call you sometime in the next couple days to schedule with you," she as she puts the piece of paper away. She smiles as it's safely in her pocket; she's meeting a lot of nice new people recently!

    She moves closer and gives Ikiko a quick hug, "It was nice meeting you again, Ikiko-chan. I hope I see you again soon!" She'll give Ikiko a wave as well when she starts to leave.

    Pulling her gloves out of her apron, Madoka slips them back on carefully before looking around. She can't see where the sun is in the sky but there's probably still some daylight left- long enough for her to pull some more weeds and turn the soil around the rest of the plants that need it in her section of the garden.

    She retrieves her spade and gets back to business!