696/Mandatory Pool Party

Mandatory Pool Party
Date of Scene:	10 December 2015
Location:	Mitakihara - Downtown
Synopsis:	The UMBRA team spends some time at the office pool.
Cast of Characters:	Fate T. Waldia, Takashi Agera, Ayana, Euphemia Barchetta

---

Euphemia Barchetta has posed:
    UMBRA headquarters is inside of what is known as Stacked Space, an easier term to handle than non-Euclidian Space, or Mixed Alternate Dimensions. Eclipse as a whole makes heavy use of stacked space in order to both more easily get around and have far more work area than real estate would otherwise allow, not to mention safely hide away dangerous laboratories, experiments, manufacturing spaces, and all kinds of other things the mortal authorities and magical heroes of Tokyo would not agree with, and UMBRA is no exception.

    The pool room, as it's now called is no exception. It's wide open space, nearly the size of an entire 'floor' of UMBRA HQ with a boring smooth gray concrete floor, almost the kind you'd expect to find in a warehouse. It'd almost feel sterile and boring because of this if not for the addition of a very large rectangular swimming pool set right into the center of the floor. In ground and covered in shiny white and blue tile it's beautiful and inviting, the concrete immediately around it lighter and unpolished, forming a perfect circle in the center of the room.

    Even more impressive is the makeup of the room itself. The walls are almost entirely glass and the ceiling has an enormous glass skylight as well. Of course this being a part of UMBRA's stacked space the view outside is upside down, giving the impression of hanging upside down in the middle of the sky, several thousand feet in the air, above even the tallest skyscrapers. This makes for beautiful panoramic views of the Mitakihara District, and indeed of Tokyo as a whole. In the daytime one can look 'up' through the skylight to the city streets below, gorgeous sunrises and sunsets, and a glorious view of the city lit up at night. It's absolutely spectacular; assuming one can get over the vertigo of it.

    The rest of the space has been warmed up with girlish touches, the area around the pool littered with various swim toys and floaties. The air inside also miraculously, or rather magically, never steams up and the pool is always invitingly warm, a few degrees cooler than the air outside of it, no matter the weather or season outside.

    How this space isn't renovated to be used for some executive or CEO's office is anybody's guess, and Euphemia has been tight lipped to anyone who asks. Mainly though no one asks, because they're too busy enjoying the sweet pool and the amazing view.

Takashi Agera has posed:
Takashi Agera recently had a very interesting phone conversation with Cure Gull. A conversation where some things came up - things he liked, but also things that concerned him. Like the knowledge that Ayana had been the victim of some sort of fire or fire based attack. That's not a very short list in Tokyo, but still it bothered him.

It's caused him to overcome his usual trust that Ayana can take care of anything thrown at her (she's HIS familiar, after all, which means she's the best one out there!). No matter what he might pretend or what actions he might take, the truth is that he does still worry about her.

And it's then he realizes it's been a long time since he's had any time with the girls who obstensibly work under him. The closest thing he has to a family, dysfunctional though it as at times. One does not have meetings in UMBRA. One has parties where occasionally work gets discussed. So a few phonecalls later, Takashi has a little bit of a party set up by the pool that Fate and Helix stole; there's ice cream, pizza, and various appropriate pool toys and floating things and beach balls.

Takashi announces this business function by texting all three girls with a simple message. "Pool Party! You know which pool." After a moment, he adds. "Mandatory pool party." in a second text. Looking up, Takashi can see the sun setting over the view of upside-down Mitakihara.

Ayana has posed:
Ayana's life has been something of a horrific rollercoaster, the past several weeks. From the lowest point of begging to be unmade, to the highest point of a night full of cuddles, then back to the low of being rejected, then assaulted by fire, and then ultimately feeling betrayed by the person who was responsible for the highest point!

Thus, when Takashi orders a pool party, the foxgirl is not in much of a mood for pools or parties. Nevertheless, she had been meaning to talk to him anyways. So it is that Ayana stalks into the room dressed in a teal tankini, ears flattened back sharply against her head as if she were recoiling, and her tail swishing angrily behind her. Floating just an inch over her hand, Ayana has a trio of dark gleaming gems. Retrievers, apparently.

Even the sight of so much food does little to assuage Ayana's emotions. She collects an entire box of pizza for herself, then snatches the gems out of the air and finds a place to sit with her food. The gems get placed aside, for the moment.

Fate T. Waldia has posed:
Fate Testarossa is here, in a black swim suit that... actually covers a lot more than the usual swimsuit. Like she actually has sleeves on it. No explaination as to why. Maybe she's just modest?

When she sits down in one of the pool chairs, she reaches over to grab a slice of pizza. She nibbles on it slowly while looking up at the other members of Umbra. She waves to Ayana and Takashi, and Euphemia when she comes in, but otherwise she is fairly quiet for the moment.

Euphemia Barchetta has posed:
    *** In Euphemia's Lab ***

    "...but if I steal the energy I might use up more than I take in the process of stealing it. I could use Retrievers but if I do that I really should give the energy to Takashi. I mean, he's kinda my boss."

    <Yes, Master. But repeatedly depleting your own Mana reserves leaves you tired and unavailable to respond to emergency situations.>

    "I guess we haven't quite figured out how to get the energy -back- into me, huh? Ugh, what a mess. It's too bad dark energy doesn't work very well since I've-"

    <Incoming Message, Master. Your 'kinda' requires your presence at an aquatic social function.>

    "Pool Party? Awesome! Hm... did I ever wash my swimsuit?"

    <Not since you were last swimming, Master.>

    "Hm. Guess I'll have to wear the other one!"

    <Other one, Master?>

    "Hehehehe!"

    *** In The Pool Room ***

    Down in the deep end of the pool there's a dull flare of light. The water level rises almost imperceptibly, and a few bubbles rise to the surface. There is motion underwater, moving towards the shallow end. Then, at the ladder, Euphemia's head pops above the water.

    She pulls herself out of the water in an easy, fluid motion. Far more graceful than she usually is- something is clearly up. But then when isn't it with her? She emerges from the water wearing a basalt green bikini, form fitting but not at all immodest. Bulwark is visible as a pair of green bracers on her arms, and even a simple scan will reveal the outfit to be a 'Barrier Bikini'. Also, it's thicker in a specific area... the chest.

    Yes, she's cheating.

    As she pulls herself out of the water she tosses her loose hair back with her hands before stretching one arm above her head, the other resting on her hip. She hasn't said anything yet.

Takashi Agera has posed:
Takashi is, of course, already there - sitting on the edge of the pool eating an ice cream cone, in his swim trunks, which are black with blue accents. And looking very evil bishonen. But when the girls start arriving, his face lights up. Even if Ayana looks a bit put out about being here at first. Naturally, knowing he was inviting Ayana, there is a LOT of pizza here, including 3 filled to the brim with meaty toppings.

Fate's wave is returned and also garners a smile, and Euphemia's dramatic appearance does as well.

After a moment, Takashi leans back and starts talking. "So it's been a while since I got us all together in one room, but I figured we weren't working to gain power over the world just so we could sit around and discuss things in stuffy board meetings." he adds, flashing Euphemia a grin. "But... I also wanted to talk to you, and I wanted to let all three of you know that you've been doing a really good job lately and I'm very happy. And, of course, I want you to be able to relax and have fun."

Ayana has posed:
'Good job?' Ayana has a mouthful of pizza, or she might laugh at the idea of what she's been doing being labeled a 'good job'. She chews the slice, then swalows it still mostly hole, then washes all of this down with a drink.

When Euphemia splashes in, the fox-girl looks up towards the pool, then blinks in confusion. "Barrierkini?" Such an eloquent first word out of her mouth for the evening. "That outfit looks ridiculous, Euphemia-chan."

Fate T. Waldia has posed:
Fate quietly looks at Euphemia's outfit... why is the chest area so important? Whatever, must be one of those weird grown-up things. Euphemia is three whole years older than Fate, after all.

Fate continues nibbling on her pizza without comment.

Takashi thinks she's been doing a good job? Has she really? Fate doesn't seem to think so, but she does say, "Thanks..."

Ayana complains, and Fate asks, "You really think so? I mean... I've never seen anyone use a Barrier Jacket like that before."

Fate sits up in her chair, eating the pizza. She looks up and sees Mitakihara above (below?) them. She's been here before, but today she's spending a lot of time really looking at it. "That's kinda neat... and strange... but neat."

Euphemia Barchetta has posed:
    Her glorious entrance made Euphemia flounces over to spot where all the food is, drying her hands and grabbing herself a slice of cheese pizza. She smiles to Fate and returns the wave before dropping into a lounge chair and... lounging. With pizza.

    "I think you mean to say that it is fabulous!" she responds to Ayana, flashing the foxgirl a cheeky grin. <Masters beauty can hardly be contained.> Bulwark quips. Is it possible for a Device AI to sound sarcastic? Yes, Bulwark proves, it is. This doesn't seem to bother the cyan haired girl as she enjoys her sudden meal.

    She looks over to Fate then and nods energetically, "See? It's ground-breaking! A modern marvel!" She poses again, stretching out on her chair and saying in a 'glamorous' voice, "I truly am a fashion pioneer." She might actually pull the look off if a half eaten slice of pizza wasn't in her right hand.

    She turns her gaze to Takashi and smiles brightly at the praise. Praise always seems to work on her. "You bet!" She makes a bit of a face, "I probably should relax and have a bit more fun. Not that research isn't fun, but it's certainly not relaxing!"

    Her head turns as she looks between Ayana and Fate. Neither of them seem particularly happy about their boss' compliments. Her gaze settles on Fate for a moment and she chirps, "I like your swimsuit! It looks good on you." It's not much, but maybe it'll cheer her up a bit?

    Looking back to Takashi she pipes up, "Soooo, bossman, what are you wanting to talk to us about? ...do you want an update on what I've been doing?" Her voice picks up pitch and volume as she finishes that last sentence, clearly eager to share.

    While she waits for an answer she goes over to the ice cream, gets about a quarter scoop, and slaps it right on top of her pizza. She takes a bite. "...eugh."

Takashi Agera has posed:
Takashi smiles at Euphemia. He thinks she looks a bit goofy, but he's not going to comment. He does see the look on Ayana's face and the way Fate seems to disagree. "Fate-chan?" he asks, looking across the pool at the girl. "You seem like you're down. You've been a big help. Ayana was too. We're getting energy, and that means we can do more things. Then we can help your mother find those Jewel seeds she wants so much."

"I'd like that update from you, yes." Takashi says to Euphemia as he finishes his ice cream and slips into the pool, swimming over a bit to look at Ayana. He moves up close to her before asking. "Are you okay? I heard you got burned, something about a fight. I was a little bit worried - but I knew since you were my Familiar you'd be okay in the end."

Ayana has posed:
"'burned'," Ayana replies, then sniffs. She reaches up for the retriever stones, then offers them to Takashi. "They're all full," she points out. "And you're also welcome to drain half of what I have in me, now, if you want.

The girl sighs and then finishes her bite of pizza, then kicks at shrugs a little. "Yeah, I got burned by a stupid Sailor Mars magical girl. Stupid evil girls are always annoying. I drained Gull and ate lots of stew so I mostly feel better, but then ... turns out someone I thought was my friend isn't. So whatever."

Fate T. Waldia has posed:
Fate looks a bit awkward as Euphemia compliments her swimsuit. "U-um... thanks..." Is she hiding behind her slice of pizza? It's a tiny slice, but also... it's a tiny Fate.

Fate looks on as Euphemia experiments with an unnatural infusion of pizza and ice cream. Will this be a scientific breakthrough? Will it be an unholy abomination? Will it be both? Such risky science is par-for-the-course here at UMBRA HQ.

'...eugh'

Abomination, decides Fate. Abomination and not breakthrough. Fate decides against repeating that experiment, and waits until she finishes her pizza before getting up to scoop herself out a bowl of ice cream.

Ice cream makes everything better.

Takashi is noticing that Fate seems a bit down... Fate suddenly clams up. "Ah... well I mean. I'm fine... but yeah. I do want to find those Jewel Seeds! ... though... I guess I'm not the only one who hasn't been finding them."

She listens to Ayana's story as she recounts her encounter with a horrible pyromaniac. "That's awful. Who would set you on fire? That's so mean..."

Euphemia Barchetta has posed:
    Euphemia looks curiously to Ayana as she confirms she'd been burned after getting in a fight with a magical girl. She'd tested Bulwark's ability to withstand nonmagical flame, but hasn't ever really tried it against fire from a magical girl. She makes a mental note on this.

    Fate responds to her compliment with awkwardness, and Euphy gives her a small smile without drawing too much more attention to her. Jewel Seeds. Right, that was why Fate was actually working with them, wasn't it? "I can help you look around some, but I don't really know much about them."

    A small tilt of her head, "Do you have even an approximate location of any of them? I bet we could find a way to force activate them if we had to. Lost Logia usually react to a whole ton of energy getting released near them, right?" She is seriously just guessing.

    She finishes her ice cream and pizza abomination one bite at a time until it's all gone. Then she hops up from her chair and walks a bit away from the pool. She looks intently at nothing for a moment as she has a mental conversation with Bulwark.

    Then, with no warning at all, there's a large flare of energy next to her as Bulwark Transfers in part of Euphemia's lab right there into the pool room. First there is a long bench with a large number of translucent green crystals set into holders, glowing faintly from the inside. She walks over and picks three of these up, tossing one each to Ayana, Takashi, and Fate. The energy inside is recognizable as her own if any of them check.

    "I figured out how to make these! They're energy storage crystals. Probably not as cool as your Retriever crystals, but they have one really neat feature. Check 'em out!" Etched into the surface of each of the crystals are Midchildan magical circles. The precision is impeccable and the crystal's holds them neatly, though they're fairly difficult to see.

    There's also a very large blue diamond set into some kind of containment device, which seems to be constantly emitting dark energy. She doesn't talk about that one just yet.

Takashi Agera has posed:
Takashi grins - widely - at Ayana. "See, I told you, you girls are doing a great job." There's a sort of childlike glee and greed in the way he looks at the stones, pocketing them. "I think it's a better investment in energy to have you in fighting condition, Ayana-chan." he says with a smile. "Then you're able to get more energy." He does look to her. "Did someone turn on you?" this is phrased very much like 'does somebody need an energy flavored buttkicking'.

"Takashi turns to Fate. "Well, if someone else is collecting them, we'll just have to collect the Jewel Seeds from the person in question." When Takashi says collect the second time, he punches his hand into his fist. "That was the deal, after all. Your mother gets the Jewel Seeds, no matter what. Even if I decide to research one, in the end we gotta get them all to her. Sooner is better too, I hear."

"Maybe you could help her out, Helix." Takashi adds, referring to Fate. Then Helix brings half of her lab here. He walks over nonchalantly and overlooks her work. "That's really neat." he says, reaching over to pick one up. "What's the feature?"

Ayana has posed:
"Hannah-chan," Ayana admits striaght away without preamble or fuss. "She betrayed me," Ayana tells Takashi in a whiney tone of voice. She catches the gem tossed her way, then inspects it while she explains "I went over there to get cuddles and talk about how much Saito-sensei was mean to me, buut then she wasn't there and that girl was. And then she called herself Hannah's girlfriend but I thought that couldn't be true, so I drained her until hse fell unconscious, and then waited for Hannah to get home." Cuddling the girl, she doesn't say. "And then Hannah came home and it was true!" Much betrayal. So wow! "I thought Hannah and I were ... friends. But apparently it was all just a lie."

Fate T. Waldia has posed:
Fate nods at Euphemia, saying, "Yeah... that should work... and I could do it... but.. that takes a lot of magical power, and it's not something I can just use carelessly. There's a chance that someone else will show up and then I wont have the energy to fight them off, if I use a tactic like that."

Fate takes a small bite of her ice cream before adding, "besides... I don't really have an aproximate location of them. I think those Lost Logia we started seeing a while back made it harder to detect the Jewel Seeds. The easiest way to find a Jewel Seed is when something living finds one and unintentionally unleashes its power, but that also draws a lot of attention."

Fate catches the green crystal in her hand and looks at it. It's... an interesting thing. What are these? Euphemia explains, and Fate softly says, "oh..."

The deal that Precia made with Eclipse... right. The deal to collect the Jewel Seeds. "That's right... well... there's this one girl. A Mage, really. I think she intends to get in my way. She doesn't seem mean but... she's kidding herself if she thinks a few cupcakes are going to stop me from getting my hands on the Jewel Seeds."

Fate listens to Ayana's story, and then gets more confused. "She has a girlfriend now? You drained her? ... I feel like I'm missing part of the story here."

Euphemia Barchetta has posed:
    "I'm glad you asked," Euphemia says with a sudden wide grin.

    Bulwark makes the sudden announcement of <Device Mode>, unraveling into her full twin-shield form upon another mental command. Then, again without warning, Euphemia holds her hands out towards Fate and lets out a shout of, "Root Wrapper!"

    <Root Wrapper> responds Bulwark, several roots suddenly bursting from the ground and winding themselves around the unhenshined blonde girl.

    The very moment they tighten up to restrict her movement the crystal Euphemia tossed her suddenly flares, the magic circles etched into the surface glowing brightly. Then another large Midchildan circle appears directly beneath her; it's very easily recognizable as Euphemia's own Dispel spell.

    Before the binding spell can truly immobilize her the Dispel takes effect, the roots vanishing into wispy puffs of magic that soon fade to nothingness. The crystal stops glowing, the energy it contained now gone.

    "That is the feature." She gives a smile to Fate, "Sorry if that scared you. Don't worry, you were never in any danger. I've tested it out on myself. A lot."

    Looking back to Takashi she comments, "They don't work very well with offensive spells. And they're really not that useful for you and me, since we can just cast through our Devices. The important part is anyone can activate them even if they have no magic at all. Or I can set them to activate on a trigger like you just saw."

    A small pause, "And if I overload them with dark energy they make the best fireworks!"

    With all that she joins the rest of the conversation as if she hadn't potentially just scared the crap out of multiple people. "Then the best way would be to get someone else to use the energy up for you. Maybe get some people to fight each other? They'd be too tired to contest you for it also."

    Of course when Fate mentions not actually having even approximate locations she makes a face. "Oh." She tilts her head in curiosity when she talks about a girl both intending to get in her way and also give her cupcakes. "You should kick her butt, take the Jewel Seeds, and then have more cupcakes with her!" A bright shining smile. She doesn't see how this could possibly be a bad idea.

    Her lips purse a little bit when Ayana talks about Hannah 'betraying' her under suspicious circumstances. "You're not willing to be friends with someone who has a girlfriend?" She lifts her arm to scratch at her cheek using one of Bulwark's shieldtips.

Takashi Agera has posed:
Takashi nods along with Fate on multiple counts. "Yeah, I'm not really seeing how that means she betrayed you, Ayana-chan. Though I admit I'm surprised to hear she has a girlfriend! But she can still be your friend, even if she has a girlfriend. It's not an exclusive thing like that." He'll have to call her and congratulate her. It's not like Takashi is jealous at all. He's got Madoka, right? Is that what his face is saying?

"And I think you're right, Fate. I think all of the other magical stuff going on is making the seeds harder to find. And you should be careful - I don't want anything to happen to you like that, so make sure you're not pushing your energy out and making yourself weak for a fight. I'm herre to help if you need me. If someone else gets a seed or two, we can just beat it back out of them. Because we're the strongest here. And hey, if you wanted cupcakes, you could just buy them with your salary." Or steal them.

Takashi watches Euphemia's little demonstration. "So they're like little triggers. That's still near and useful." His mind is still running through ideas. "That's very cool, Euphemia-chan." he says with another grin as he gets out of the water to sit on the edge again near Ayana.

Ayana has posed:
"Because she's supposed to be your girlfriend!" Ayana tells Takashi upsettedly. "I don't care if someone wants to have a girlfriend. Whatever. But instead of being your girlfriend like she's supposed to be, she's instead dating a girl who wanted to be your girlfriend, but who is actually just an idiot! Stupid Cure Gull does not deserve Hannah-chan," she sulks, then shoves another bite of pizza in her mouth and leans against Takashi.

Fate T. Waldia has posed:
Fate sits up with a start as roots start trying to wrap around her... but the crystal in her hand activates first. The shield goes up around her, and for the moment she's safe.

She stares at Euphemia for a moment, surprised... but she relaxes after a moment. It's true that the crystal reacted before she did. That's a pretty strong feature, actually.

"It might be useful outside of henshin, as a security measure. I mean... if you could surprise me, then so could someone else."

Fate... could just buy cupcakes? Well yeah, of course she could, but that wasn't the point. Fate actually isn't sure what the point of sharing cupcakes with Nanoha was. All she knew was, at that moment, Fate and Nanoha had nothing to fight over.

"... yeah, I know I could. Some people are just weird I guess. ... and yeah, between all of us, we could probably find a way to trigger Jewel Seeds that doesn't leave us open to attack."

Huh..? A lot of this girlfriend stuff is going over Fate's head. "Wait... so like... wait... are you jealous? Of that gull girl? Isn't that the one who tried to stop us when we took the pool?"

Euphemia Barchetta has posed:
    "Yep!" Euphemia replies with a grin. "I can have them hold just about any spell, but they're best with support spells." Which is probably no surprise considering her own specialties.

    A pause, "Oh, right. And then there's that." She waves a hand towards the large blue diamond, "I stole it. I've been collecting the negative energy it keeps making. I think it's probably some kind of weapon, or part of one, but I'm kinda stumped on what it's for. I thought you might be able to figure it out! You know more about dark energy than anyone I've ever met." Which includes her time on the Asura; it's not a small compliment.

    She makes another couple of faces at Ayana's comments. It actually makes sense to her; she's Takashi's Familiar after all, so she'd be fairly well in touch with his feelings and want the best for him always. Just... Euphemia considers Hannah an important friend. It's for Ao's sake that she began her little research project in the first place, even.

    She walks over to Fate, Bulwark once more retracting into a pair of bracers, and tries to give the girl a hug, partly to apologize for using her as a demonstration, and partly because she just wants to hug her friend! "You can keep that one, if you want. It'll work again if you recharge it. You can use your own, take it from someone else, or I can do it for you."

Takashi Agera has posed:
Takashi looks at Ayana for a moment, before starting to laugh a little bit. "Why do you think Hannah's supposed to be my girlfriend?" he asks, leaning towards her a bit. "I think my current actual girlfriend would be very shocked to hear that Hannah's supposed to be mine." he adds with a wry grin before turning to Fate. "You've got a good point. Reaction speed like that could have a lot of uses."

"Some people are strange. Just remember to focus on what's important to you."

"Where did you steal that from?" he asks, looking to Euphemia. "I've got a lot of work, but I'll take it back there with me and see if we can make it do something interesting." The way he says interesting, and specifically to Euphemia, makes it sound like he's saying 'explosive'.

Ayana has posed:
"Because she and I talked about it," Ayana says unhappily, "long before you ever met that stupid pink-haired girl. And also because that's why I trusted her as a person to go to for cuddles when you're too busy doing research. But if she's not going to be your girlfriend, then it's really dangerous for me to do that because I might say something she could use against you, and I don't want her to have an advantage over you."

Ayana huffs mightily, then shoves another slice of pizza in her mouth. She doesn't even really chew; just inhales the thing directly into her gullet. "Now I don't really have anyone left who has time to cuddle with me and pet my ears when I've been burned half to death by stupid Sailor Mars. I hate Hannah-chan. She's so selfish."

Fate T. Waldia has posed:
Fate seems shy at first when Euphemia walks up to hug her, but after the older girl touches her back she seems less worried. Fate reaches up to hug Euphy back before going back to her ice cream.

"I can probably charge it up. Or Arf could help. Thanks, though! It's really neat."

So... there are ways to gather energy that aren't necessarily dark energy? Fate considers this for a bit. She knows a lot about magic and combat, but energy and the transfer of energy specifically is a bit new to her. Maybe it wasn't something that mother considered very important.

'Just focus on what's important to you'. Fate considers those words... yeah, that's what she should do right? She hasn't been focused. She needs to be.

So Ayana doesn't want to share information while cuddling? Fate at least understands that much. "Sorry you don't have anyone to pet you, now... Are you sure it isn't just a misunderstanding?"

Euphemia Barchetta has posed:
    Euphemia beams to Takashi, "That sounds great. You can probably make better use of it than I can. I wanted to figure it out on my own, but I just ended up getting exposed to dark energy a lot instead." Then with a smaller smile she replies, "Do you remember that jewelry shop that wanted to get into the arms trade and take a bite out of WPS market? I nabbed it from their back room before Hannah torched the place." She gives Takashi her best 'innocent' face as she says that last part.

    She's happy when Fate accepts her hug. After she pulls back she tilts her head a little, misinterpreting the initial shyness. "I'm sorry. I've been so busy in the lab I haven't done much with you lately have I?" She makes a very real frown and crosses her arms. "I actually meant to do a whole lot more with you. I've neglected our friendship." Bigger frown! "If you tell me a way to make it up to you I will, Fate!" Pause. "Except helping you with your Jewel Seeds; I'm doing that anyway!" And now she's smiling again.

    She looks over to Ayana then and considers her problem. "What about Arf? Maybe she'd trade pettings with you?" She scratches her cheek a little. "I don't really know how to care for Familiars. Except to give them steak."

Takashi Agera has posed:
"Well... she didn't act on it." Takashi says with a shrug of his shoulders. "And you know, I trust Hannah. She's got a style about her... I still don't think she'd use you against me. Besides, I don't think doing that will work anymore. I'm pretty sure I fixed that little problem... but I'll try to be around more for you?" he asks as much as says.

"And I'll help you too, Fate. This project I've been working on is just about set up to completion, and that means I'll be able to spend more time out of the lab." he adds with a grin. "It should be able to help me a lot. Just one last push."

"Oh, maybe Hannah will know something about what they were working with then." he says to Euphemia, making a mental note to check with her. "You could try petting Ayana too, as long as you don't try to take her apart." Takashi says to Euphemia. This is actually said quite seriously. "And yeah, you girls should all work together. Soon we're going to get a lot more attention, I think, between myself and the Jewel Seeds."

Ayana has posed:
Ayana glowers at Takashi. That lasts for all of five seconds before the glowering soothes a little, then she sighs and lowers her head. Ears folded down to either side, she admits, "You don't have time to cuddle me. And besides, you're ..." a boy? Why does that matter? "... not the kind to be cuddly. It's okay, Taka-kun. I'm supposed to help you," which is why she just brought him three retrievers full of energy. "I'll be okay."

Fate T. Waldia has posed:
So... UMBRA might be getting more attention, soon? Fate considers this as she looks down at her hand, where Bardiche rests in stand-by mode. "Yeah... I guess we will. I doubt that one girl will be the only one going after the Jewel Seeds, once people see how powerful they are."

"... but... They're also really dangerous. I'm not going to tell you not to experiment them, because I know you aren't stupid..." Is that supposed to be a compliment? It's specifically not an insult, technically. "... but in case I haven't said it before, you should still be warned that they are difficult to control."

To Euphemia, Fate shakes her head. She says, "It's okay. Don't worry about it. My back is just a bit sore right now. We can do more stuff if you want."

Fate has to admit that she doesn't really see Takashi as the cuddling type either. He's nice enough, for an evil boss, but she hasn't seen him be terribly snuggly.

"Well, if you'll be okay..."

Euphemia Barchetta has posed:
    Euphemia smiles happily to Fate. "Awesome! Then lets do a bunch of fun things together, and I'll start looking for those Jewel Seeds too."

    She then looks between Ayana and Takashi a few times before grinning and shaking her head, "I'm smart enough to know not to mess with anything you really do care about, Takashi. I could probably keep from trying to figure her out or mess with her for a little while but if I was around her all the time I'd be too tempted."

    She then raises a finger and presses it to her chin, tilting her head up looking towards Mitakihara contemplatively. "Besides, the last time she hugged me I almost drowned." Gloom and swimming don't go together particularly well. "Almost drowning once was kinda fun! ...but Bulwark might get upset if it kept happening."

    And no one wants to see Bulwark upset.

Takashi Agera has posed:
Takashi leans on Ayana. His hand comes up behind her and scritches her ears. "Look, last time I didn't worry a little bit about you a sneaky little wolf tried to steal you from me. So I'm going to worry a little bit." then he pauses when she says he's not cuddly. He's not sure how to take that, so he just drops it.

"I'll be careful. I just noticed they have a tremendous amount of energy, and that's really on my radar. I mean worst case I'll just keep testing in between re-sealing it."

"I appreciate that, Euphemia-chan. It'd be awful if we had to get into a fight. Tokyo might not survive! And... you should probably do your best to manage to avoid drowning."

Ayana has posed:
Ayana leans into the ear-scritchings happily, eyes closing just a little as she relishes the experience. "Euphemia-chan I did not try to drown you," she mumbles unhappily. "That wasn't hugging, I was trying not to drown, myself. I do not like water very much."

Fate T. Waldia has posed:
"You almost drowned while being hugged?" asks Fate. And you thought it was fun?! Fate is actually surprised to hear that. It's not the kind of thing she ever actually expects to hear at all.

She nods at Takashi, saying, "Yeah... I mean... that's all I'm saying."

Ayana's recounting of events makes more sense. So she was trying not to drown. "You don't like water... does that mean you don't know how to swim?"

Fate considers for a moment the idea of Tokyo getting wiped out. "I hope you warn the rest of us to move out before that happens."

Euphemia Barchetta has posed:
    Euphemia nods, "I'd only want to fight you to practice or test out new powers. Any actual fighting would just weaken us. And what'd happen if some awesome Lost Logia popped up after we wore ourselves out? Lame!"

    She laughs a little when Ayana mumbles at her, "I didn't say you tried to. Just that's what happened. I mean I could have used more floaties but I wanted to see if I could do without them."

    Euphy then nods to Fate, "Hugged, clung to my back. Same thing, right?" She gives a tiny shrug.

    All this talk of almost drowning gets to her, however! "I don't want to waste a perfectly good Barrier-Bikini," she comments walking over to the pool and diving in! She splashes around for a bit before humming, "I'm going to see how long I can stay under water for! If Bulwark pings and says I passed out drag me out, okay?" With a grin she slips beneath the water.

Takashi Agera has posed:
Takashi looks over. Pizza and ice cream go fast around this group - faster than one might expect. And the shiny little gemstone Euphemia brought him really has his attention. "I don't think we'd actually fight. If we did, we'd throw up a barrier. I think." he adds. "And yeah, practice, like Euphemia said!" He remembers the last time they practiced. Bulwark is.. a little aggressive.

"Well, the mandatory part of this is over. I'm going to hang here and make sure Helix doesn't drown so Bulwark doesn't go on a rampage and try to smash up the HQ."

Ayana has posed:
"Pet my ears some more?" Ayana begs Takashi quietly, as she continues leaning into him. "I'll stay here as long as you keep doing that."

Fate T. Waldia has posed:
Fate stares at Euphemia as she disappears beneath the waves. Euphy is nice and all, but... Fate can't help but wonder why she seems so reckless sometimes.

"Uh.. yeah... we'll be here..."