Saturday afternoon in late spring means the park is full of kids and families enjoying the great outdoors. It's warm out today with what might be one of the last cool winds of the season helping to stave off for now any thoughts of oppressive summer heat and days spent inside next to an air conditioner. It's great weather for short sleeves, shorts, and skirts and many people have taken the opportunity to wear light and airy clothing. Off in the distance kids can be heard playing a pick up game of baseball, the telltale sound an aluminum bat striking the ball ringing out every minute or so.
Not everyone has is dressed for summer, however. Walking along one of the park pathways is a girl or short woman, it's somewhat hard to tell, wearing a well tailored pink suit with matching shoes. Neatly pressed slacks and a single breasted jacket with golden buttons lead up to a crisp white shirt and a red silk tie. Pink hair tied up into a pair of high twintails held in place by matching red ribbons are easily recognizable to anyone who knows her.
Today Madoka is out for on patrol with Homura. The fact there are no witches to find means this patrol isn't much of a hunt, but hunting isn't the only reason for Puella Magi to keep alert. She walks side by side her girlfriend and partner, enjoying the scenery while also keeping an eye out for signs of Witches, just in case. Part of the reason they're in King Penguin Park is it's historical propensity for magical trouble; she figures if a Witch is going to turn up anywhere it's probably here. The other reason is that it's a great place to be on a day like today.
Her eyes scan the pink flowers growing in the grass and she makes a small frown, worrying quietly about their implications and about not being able to intervene with the current ration of Grief Seeds. She doesn't linger on that thought for too long; there's simply no helping it for now. Instead she watches some of the kids play before quietly sneaking a peek over to Homura, admiring the slightly taller girl and her suit.
She realizes she's staring after a moment or two and attempts to recover with conversation, "Everything seems quiet so far today. It's nice that things can be so peaceful." A loaded comment and they'd both know it, considering the various looming threats. "Things are very uncertain right now, but only a few people know anything about it. Sometimes I still forget that."
Sayaka has been trying to take it easy herself, which is never an easy task for the usually brash and impulsive Bluenette. On such a pleasant summer day, she is enjoying the slightly cool weather, dressed in a simple short white t-shirt that shows off her midriff, and short, faded blue cut-offs that show off her well toned legs.
She's been working out, more than ever and today she is practicing with her wooden kendo sword in the park. With the sudden scarcity of grief seeds, Sayaka has decided to fall back on methods that dont use up as much energy as magic. Besides, it's an easy way to relieve built up stress without draining herself magically at least.
Homura is also here, with a black suit and purple tie. Her hair flows loosely behind her, occasionally blown back by the wind. She either doesn't notice being admired by Madoka, or she doesn't mind it. Between the kind of distracted way she stares off in the distance, and her history with Madoka, it's probably a bit of both. It isn't until Madoka speaks up that Homura glances in Madoka's direction.
"It's always like this. We face dangers every day and normal people aren't even aware of it. Closest they get is when they mistake a witch for some kind of hurricane or earthquake, because they just don't know any better." Homura closes her eyes, and shrugs. "But hey, if there's nothing to fight then that does make things easier on us, doesn't it? We don't have to work as hard, and while it's difficult to sit by and watch while others go into danger for us, in a way that's no different than how it is for the non-magical people."
Her eyes open and slide towards Madoka. "I think I'd be happier being able to do something, but I can't really expect people to die for that."
It's around then that she notices Sayaka practices Kendo in the park. Homura tilts her head and studies the swordgirl for a moment before turning her head to Madoka. "Sayaka Miki-san is here. Should we say hello?"
Homura is asking it like it's an invitation, but mostly she just doesn't want to be the one who strikes up the conversation. She really has no idea how a conversation with Sayaka is going to go, and she never does..
"It's a little different. It's easier if you don't have to worry about things you can't affect." She considers for a moment, "I'm not sure if I'd rather not know... but it is hard to sit on the sidelines when you think you could help." Madoka has much knowledge and experience with this. "Knowing what might happen if we interfere anyway though, that makes it a lot easier to understand why we shouldn't." In a way she just attempted to refute Homura's argument, only to turn around and reinforce it. The truth is she isn't arguing at all so much as expressing her thoughts and feelings on the matter.
Madoka blinks when Homura mentions Sayaka, following her gaze and smiling when she sees her friend practicing out on the grass with her kendo sword. The reasons why aren't hard to imagine. "It looks like she's being responsible." Madoka lifts a hand to her mouth and giggles into it briefly, "I feel a little proud of her." Which might be odd, considering that Sayaka became a Puella Magi before she did- or at least she did in this timeline. Madoka's perspective is a bit skewed, with all the memories she experienced through Homura.
In any event she nods, taking a step off the pathway and walking over the grass, walking at a brisk pace while lifting her arm above her head and waving, "Sayaka-chaaaaan! Hello!" She slows down once she gets close, giving Sayaka room for her sword swings, "It's good to see you again! I... haven't seen you much at school, lately."
With all the working out she's been doing today, Sayaka's feeling pretty hot and sweaty already. As she pauses to take a break and to drink some cool refreshing water from her nearby bottle, the bluenette is briefly greeted by a refreshing cool breeze that ruffles her short blue hair.
Glancing around at the other citizens of the park, Sayaka sometimes wishes she could just be a normal girl, totally unaware of the dangerous that lurk in the shadows every night..But deep down, she knows she wouldn't have it any other way - even if things are pretty dire right now.
Heck, she's always wanted to be a hero and save people, and Sayaka could never regret the wish or the contract that she made. It doesn't take her long to spot the two lovebirds, and she grins and waves towards them as she reaches for a towel to mop up the sweat, hanging it around her neck as she walks towards the pair.
"Madoka-chan! Homura-san! It's been so long!" she cant help but reach over and tightly hug Madoka, although Homura is given a respectful nod and smile at the very least. Sayaka never really considered Homura 'friend', although from her perspective, she was actually starting to not mind Homura as much..
"How have you two been? I mean, you girls look great and all..I suppose you two have been keeping busy, eh?" there's an impish sparkle in her eyes, and it's difficult to tell if she means 'busy' with Puella business or 'busy' with each other..
Homura isn't arguing so much as expressing. She doesn't hate the fact that people aren't in danger, but that doesn't mean she likes what it means for her. If she can't talk plainly to Madoka then who can she talk to?
"I don't disagree on any particular point. I just think Kyubey's a jerk no matter what he does." Nothing particularly new on that front.
Homura looks at Sayaka from a distance, and turns to glance at Madoka when she says she's proud of Sayaka. She smirks slightly. In a way, it makes sense, regardless of any questions regarding seniority. Time shenanigans mess everything up. "She may as well. There's no telling how long this will last."
After Madoka runs off to greet Sayaka, Homura lingers behind for half of a second before following. She reaches up and waves to Sayaka after Madoka does, a bit more reserved than her girlfriend is being.
At the comment on being busy, Homura glances off to the side and says, "You could say that." Her eyes turn back to Sayaka and she says, "We've managed to get a lot done, despite circumstances. How about you?"
The two of them seem to be expressing near the same thing. Neither likes not being able to help, but finds the current risks to helping too high.
Kyubey being a jerk is a sentiment most people can get behind, "Sometimes he acts like he cares about our opinions, but most of the time he does things he knows we'll find objectionable anyway."
Madoka leans in and hugs Sayaka as the active girl comes up to her, squeezing her tightly before pulling away. At the potentially leading question she lets out a mildly embarrassed laugh, "Ehe, we have!" She takes a little step back over to Homura and leans against her shoulder for a short moment; she has no issues showing her affection for the other girl, here or anywhere else.
After a moment of taking stock of the blue-haired girl Madoka smiles, "You look good, Sayaka-chan! Are you excited for summer?" That topic isn't lingered on for very long, however. She looks over to Homura and nods at the mention of getting a lot done, "There haven't been very many witches to fight for a long time, and Kyubey admitted to us he was doing it on purpose a few weeks ago." She expects Kyouko will have filled Sayaka in on that bit by now; about him wanting the veteran Puella dead for messing up his 'system'.
She is quiet for a moment while looking over to Homura before adding, "Earlier this week we tried something new; we re-hatched a Witch to get it's Grief Seed back and see if it could be used again and... it worked." Immediately she speaks up in a slightly stronger tone, "But it was a lot more dangerous than the first time we fought it. It pushed us really hard, especially since we had to be sure we used less magic than we'd get back. I don't think it'd be possible for one Puella Magi to do it alone and come out ahead."
She's not too worried about Kyubey overhearing this conversation; she's absolutely positive he witnessed the event itself. It might be odd for Sayaka, however, since she wouldn't have felt the appearance of a Witch anywhere near Tokyo in the time this supposedly happened.
Sayaka smiles softly, happy to see Madoka again. Clearly she's missed her all this time, but finally she understands and appreciates the relationship between her best friend and her one-time enemy. "Kyubey, huh? Y'know, I've been meaning to track him down and talk to him about what's going on, but..."
But it seems she hasn't managed to track him down lately. "Thanks, Mado-chan, you're lookin' pretty sharp too! You girls out on a date, or what?" she nods again, "Yeah! I'm looking forward to joining all sorts of sports teams! It's been a while since I've had much time, y'know, adjusting to this other life and all but..." Well now, Sayaka will hopefully have more time, now that she's forced to focus less on fighting witches like it or not.
Then the subject inevitably comes back to witches and she nods and sighs, "Yeaah...Kyou-chan said she travelled out of town to check other cities in Japan..But it seems to be the same everywhere - not a witch in sight. Furthermore, it seems that her younger sister who was supposedly 'dead', has been brought back to life..And I'm pretty sure that Kyubey had something to do with it..."
Speaking of Kyubey, she frowns markedly as Madoka explains how he has a hand in why the witches aren't appearning. "Wait, what!? This is Kyubey's doing!? What...Why!?" apparently Kyouko has yet to fill her in on the details, probably been busy adjusting to her sister's reappearance in her life, or her dealings with another, alien threat..
"Geez, I feel like I've had my head buried in sand forever...All this stuff going on and I've been busy searching for witches, missing the big picture.." Sayaka sighs, rubbing her temples tiredly. "And you attempted to re-hatch a witch!?" she frowns, glaring pointedly at Homura, "Was this your idea? That's a crazy, stupid idea! You could've both been killed..." Even as she says it, Sayaka understands how very desperate the both of them are. "Please, just call me up next time before you try something crazy. we're all in this together, okay? We don't need to lose anymore of us..."
Homura smiles at the physical contact from Madoka, but she tries not to get too carried away this time, instead simply leaning back against her.
On the subject of Momo Sakura, Homura scowls. She doesn't have any negative feeling towards the girl herself, but... "Running across her was quite a trip. I never did find out if she managed to find Kyouko-san. She's a Puella Magi, too. I didn't really ask what her wish was." Homura shrugs. "She's sweet, and she certainly takes after her sister."
"Kyubey is behind this. He said as much." Homura remembers the event pretty clearly. "He intends to kill Kyouko and me, possibly the rest of us. He isn't contracting any new girls until we're gone."
At the mention of the rehatched Witch, Homura frowns slightly. That was a rough battle, even for someone like Homura. Sayaka gives her a look, and Homura blinks. Whose idea was it? It was an obvious idea, though she doesn't remember who came up with it first. "It wasn't the kind of thing I'd want to repeat. At least we can be sure that it was a former familiar and not a former Puella Magi." With a shrug, she adds, "Apparently all of that darkness it soaked up from our Soul Gems made it stronger. Who knew?"
Homura is oddly quiet at the mention of them all being in this together. She can't help but notice that there is a huge diversity of opinions on that subject.
Madoka lifts onto the toes of her pink dress shoes before dropping back onto her heels, holding her hands behind her back for a moment, "Thanks!" At the mention of a date she peeks over towards Homura before giving a soft shake of her head, "Not today. We're taking a walk together, but it's more as a part of the Contractors than anything else. We need to keep an eye on things happening in the city," she says cheerfully, quieting down a little before adding, "and right now we need to use as little magic as possible." For reasons that Sayaka immediately brings up.
On the topic of Momo Madoka gives a small nod, "Homura-chan told me she'd run into her, but I haven't had a chance to meet her myself. I'm happy for Kyouko-san, but if Kyubey is involved it makes me nervous." It's not hard to come up with all kinds of reasons why Kyubey interacting with the dead in any fashion would be a terrible, frightening thing.
When Sayaka hadn't heard about what Kyubey is specifically up to Madoka gives her a surprised look, "You didn't know? I thought Kyouko-san would have told you!" She gives a worried look to Sayaka, glancing briefly to Homura as she speaks before returning her eyes to the blue haired girl. "It's true. If he was going to stop for good it might even be a good thing since it means he's not tricking any more girls into making a mistake, but I'm sure he'd start back up again once he got what he wanted."
Then Sayaka gets upset about their method of re-using Grief Seeds... and begins immediately rounding on Homura. At the glare Madoka physically steps between her childhood friend and her girlfriend. "Sayaka-chan, that's not fai-" only to stop, stunned. Her eyes widen suddenly, the outside corners lowering slightly, and all of the good cheer from earlier drains out of her expression as the attempt is declared crazy and stupid. "It was my idea," she says quietly in a hurt tone of voice. "I thought..."
Soft pink eyes turn down to her own feet, and after a moment she turns around and begins to walk slowly back towards the trail. "You never listen to me, anymore..."
"Oh, apparently Momo-san is now staying at Kyou-chan's place...Along with her dog." Sayaka doesnt sound terribly enthusiastic about that as is evident in her unenthusiastic response. "Oh, she seems like a nice girl and all, I dunno why I get this uncertain feeling however.."
Of course, she'd be pretty selfish if she voiced her other concern, that it meant less 'alone time' for herself and Kyouko, especially as she hasn't seen her in a long time as it is. But the mere thought makes Sayaka feel terribly guilty.
"So...He IS behind this then..But why? What's his ultimate goal in destroying all Puella? I..Still don't get it, any of it. Or how that little brat plans to do that." her eyes do narrow angrily however. "One thing I am certain of however, is that I will NOT let Kyouko out of my sight again!"
Glancing over at Homura, she just nods and sighs, "Well....I guess Kyou-chan's been really busy, helping out Mamoru-san and his...Alien..Problem. Something about a crazed alien on the level of a global threat? Well, I just hope she'll have the decency to ask me this time to help her! I refuse to stand idly by while she puts herself in mortal danger again!!" she slams her hands together, clearly frustrated about a lot of things right now.
And that's when she realizes that her impulsive retort really struck a chord with Madoka. "Wha....Madoka! Wait!" she runs after her as she turns away. "I'm sorry! I didn't mean it like that! I just...." She sighs, "It was a good idea, just really risky. I REALLY don't wanna lose you..Or Kyou-chan...Or even Homura-san. So please...Let's just try and work on solutions together so we at least stand a better chance of defeating it!"
For all she knows, Kyouko probably ran off to face Fiore on her own, hoping not to get Sayaka or anyone else involved. There mere thought makes her all stressed again.
Homura can't help but notice that there are a lot of important things that Kyouko knows that Sayaka hasn't been told. She frowns at this. Well, it just means that if she wants Sayaka to know something, telling Kyouko isn't enough to ensure that. Something for Homura to keep in mind.
"We were given the impression that it was because we were breaking his rules and had become too much of a pain in his butt. Of course, considering Kyubey, who really knows if that impression is accurate?" Homura shrugs. There really is no way of knowing for sure, and Homura really has no trust for that creature.
On the subject of Fiore, Homura shrugs. "Yeah, Fiore is causing a lot of trouble. Be careful about those pink plants that have been showing up. Apparently they'll drain your energy."
Then Madoka looks upset, and Homura blinks. Oh geeze. Sayaka just insulted her. She kind of wishes she remembered that it was Madoka who brought it up. Homura is just used to everything bad being her own fault somehow.
She reaches out towards Madoka's shoulder, but stops midway. She waits for Sayaka to say her piece, but doesn't really have an immediate answer. In fact, she seems to be frowning at Sayaka, though she doesn't say why.
Eventually she settles on, "We gained a lot from that experience. It wasn't a bad move. If nothing else it gives us a clearer picture of where we stand on the Grief Seed situation."
Homura opens her mouth to say something else, but instead just tries to keep up with Madoka, if the pink-haired girl really does try to leave.
"She'll probably be much better off staying with Kyouko-san," Madoka thinks. She doesn't know where Momo was staying before that but can't imagine it was fantastic given the circumstances. Madoka also picks up pretty quickly on why Sayaka might be bothered by Kyouko having a little sister around more often. She lifts a hand to her mouth and giggles softly, "I bet Kyouko-san will be extra happy to spend time alone with you from now on. Tatsuya can be a handful sometimes, and he hasn't even started school yet! You should take her out to see a movie or go do something else fun together." Yes, she's suggesting that Sayaka take her girlfriend on a date.
"If every Puella Magi dies it means he could start over with no one there to warn them about what becoming one really means. I think it's either that or that Homura-chan, Mami-san, and Kyouko-san have become so powerful he can't account for them anymore. I think it means we're starting to get ahead of him a little bit and we've finally forced him to react." He said he never had in the past, but as Homura mentions it's hard to tell how much he says is the truth and how much is intentionally misleading while remaining factually correct.
Madoka gives a small shake of her head as Sayaka runs up to her, "You meant it like that, you just didn't mean it for me, right?" She stops walking as Sayaka persists, half turning and looking back behind herself, "We weren't in so much danger, Sayaka-chan. If it got really, really dangerous we could have left, and if it was just too dangerous to get back more magic than we spent we could have accepted the loss and used a lot of magic to destroy it."
She turns the rest of the way around, looking into Sayaka's eyes, "I know you're saying all of this because you don't want me to get hurt, and because you care about me, but you're acting like I'm weak and helpless. ...and you're still acting like Homura-chan is out to get you, even when she's never done anything but try to make sure you're safe. That hurts me... it always has." Her head tilts a little bit and she looks to Homura before saying quietly, "How can we work together when you never trust either of us?"
Sayaka bites her lip, nodding slowly to Homura. "I...Guess so..That makes some kinda sense. This timeline is different from any you have ever experienced..And we were supposed to get our happy endings..Finally.."
However, glancing over at Madoka, her response only makes her own frown deepen all the more. "No, you're wrong. Madoka-chan. I trust you both. Now more than ever. It's true, I've always been wary of Homura and her somewhat unorthodox methods..And, I'm still getting used to the fact that you're no longer weak and helpless, and can defend for yourself."
"Maybe it's just that I'm not yet used to this new you, because I haven't had a chance to watch you fight, or to fight much alongside you. But obviously you're pretty powerful if you can give the rest of us real, true hope..And maybe I'm just a little scared that if we lose you, then it's all over for the rest of us, cuz you're the only chance we Puella have at redeeming ourselves and being saved. So please! Dont talk like that!"
Hearing that actually saddens her, enough that a tear or two glisten in her eyes, even as Sayaka furiously attempts to bat them away, turning so that Madoka cant see them, as much as possible. "Right now, we just need to really stick together, cuz if we're at odd like this? It makes it all the more easier for Kyubey to pick us all off.."
Homura on the other hand has no concept of what it's like to constantly have a little sibling around. She has a cat and that's about it. All she finds herself thinking about is 'gee it'd be nice to not live alone'. Granted, as much time as she spends with Madoka, she'd hardly count herself as 'alone' anymore.
There isn't much that Homura can say about most of what goes on, so she instead focuses on the things that she can comment on.
"Madoka's very powerful, and it hasn't taken her very long to learn her way around a fight. I'd put her on the same level of myself, Kyouko and Mami. It might not be easy to guess that if you hadn't seen it, but she is capable." Homura states it matter-of-factly, though it's probably not that hard to guess that she's proud of that.
She raises an eyebrow as her unorthodox methods, but then she remembers that Sayaka knows where she gets her weapons from. Yeah, okay. Some of the stuff that Homura does is pretty dangerous, she'll admit that.
Homura stands there wincing as the fight between Sayaka and Madoka plays out. This isn't really what she expected to see, coming out here, though she's glad at least someone respects Madoka's importance to the others.
... but Sayaka mentions working together, and Madoka has some things to say about that, too. Homura frowns, and lets her hands drop to her side.
"The fact remains that we worked together mostly because we had a gun to our head forcing us to, and now that same gun is trying to force us apart." Homura turns away, saying, "Don't get me wrong. I'd rather not fight. We can't afford to waste magic on that, but trust is necessary if we're going to work together."
She shrugs, saying, "Of course, I say that, but even we agreed to that there isn't a whole lot we can do. We can share information, as we have been doing, but that's about it."
Madoka keeps looking at Sayaka with that hurt expression in her eyes, listening to her oldest friend as she explains herself. "I'm very careful about staying safe, Sayaka-chan. That's one of the reasons you see me with Homura-chan so often; I know that if I'm with her I always have someone who would do anything to protect me, especially now that Kyubey is admitting to be our enemy." She lifts her hands to her chest, "I try not to be reckless, or put myself in undue danger. I know how important I am to you, and to every other Puella Magi. I know what would happen if the worst were to happen to me." A look is given briefly to Homura, along with a slightly sad smile. She knows exactly why Madoka is so very careful about her magic use.
She starts to say more, only to notice Sayaka turning away and wiping at her face, stopping her speech just as suddenly as she had when the blue-haired girl first said the idea to reuse Grief Seeds was crazy and stupid. "I'm sorry, Sayaka-chan." She takes a couple steps closer, "I'm not trying to upset you or hurt your feelings. I don't want you to be sad. It's just... some of the things you say hurt people more than you realize."
After a moment of hesitation she moves even closer and tries to hug Sayaka around the shoulders from behind, "You're right. It is best if we work together, I've always known that was true. We're much better and stronger together than we are apart, but only if we trust and believe in each other; we all have to be able to do that, equally."
Sayaka glances back at Homura as she explains things. And as much as she denies it, Sayaka realizes that she still doesn't fully trust Homura, and yet she trusts her more than she ever did before, in any other time line. Glancing back at Madoka, she's a bit surprised when the other girl steps in and hugs her suddenly, but Sayaka doesn't hesitate to return the hug, even though she feels really sad right now. Sad and confused and frustrated about a hundred other thigns too.
"Madoka-chan..Homura-san..Thank you." she laughs, wiping away the rest of the tears. "I guess I'm just some silly, over paranoid girl..Maybe it's because, deep down, I know I'm not 'special' or as 'powerful' as any of you. Maybe it's because sometimes I feel like there's nothing I could do to save anyone but myself, but..."
She draws a deep breath. "We've come a long way from where we started, and...I'll do my best to try and trust you both, just as I must do with Kyou-chan."
"I don't think it's wrong to be paranoid," says Homura, rather plainly. "Especially in this kind of life." She doesn't feel much need to say much else, however. She doesn't really feel like she has much to add, and really sticking her nose in it seems like she could only make things worse as far as she can tell. Homura spends the next few moments carefully choosing her words.
"We have gotten farther than I've ever seen any of us get, and that's a good thing, but I think it's a bit much to think that our problems would be over. We're still Puella Magi."
So Sayaka doesn't feel she's as special as the rest of them? "I think you're being too harsh on yourself on that front."
Homura continues to watch the exchange between Madoka and Sayaka. It's not that it doesn't involve her, it does, but standing up for herself has never actually gotten her anywhere. Does she trust the others? Madoka, certainly, and without a doubt. Well, whether or not she can, she'd like to be able to.
"Well, I certainly don't mean you any harm. Or Kyouko-san or Mami-san, for that matter. If we do find something that will help our situation, we'll be sure to tell you about it. Until then, good luck."
Madoka shakes her head, "That's not true, Sayaka-chan. If it wasn't for you I'm sure Kyouko-san wouldn't be who she is today. You might not give yourself credit since it's hard to see, but you have saved her." Even if it's Kyouko herself that Sayaka is saving her from it still counts, right? Madoka certainly wouldn't want to deal with a Kyouko Sakura who hadn't ever met Sayaka.
She finally lets go of Sayaka and pulls away, stepping back and offering a conciliatory smile to her friend, "Things might not be perfect, and they're getting harder right now, but that doesn't mean we haven't made progress. I'm glad you'll try to trust us, Sayaka-chan, that really means a lot to me. I know it's hard not to worry right now, but the truth is Kyubey is being forced to react to all of us now instead of just playing us against each other. Isn't that amazing?"
Sayaka forces a smile. "Thanks, Madoka-chan..Homura-san. Your words mean a lot to me.." Glancing towards her gym bag, she lets go of Madoka, walking towards it. "Well, I suppose if I act like this, I'm doing exactly what Kyubey wants me to do so...I have to stop thinking that way. We're a team. I'm sure in some alternate timestreams we were meant to be, maybe in this one. And only together can we overcome Kyubey. Well, I have to get going, I need to check up on Kyou-chan, and I suppose I should keep an eye on Momo-chan as well."
She grins and waves at the pair as she hurries off to catch the bus. "Catch you two later! Nice running into you girls..Really!" even though she smiles, it seems that there are things she needs to think about. But at least she's trying to play nice, right?
Homura watches as Sayaka leaves, waving when she feels like it's polite to. After Sayaka starts to walk off, Homura looks at Madoka with a kind of sheepish expression. "I guess... that didn't go all that well." Nothing about this makes Homura feel all that comfortable. She glances at Sayaka in the distance, and then starts looking in a different direction.
"... thanks, though. Sorry I can't seem to get along with the others." After all, in a way, Madoka was standing up for her. Madoka was standing up for herself too, but she did say a few things that cast Homura in a nicer light. Homura leans forward to hug Madoka.
"Should we continue our patrol? I don't expect we'll find much, but... we can look anyways."
Madoka returns the wave to Sayaka until the sporty girl is off on her way to the bus. She turns to Homura and gives her a concerned expression, "It could have gone a lot better," she agrees. Then Homura thanks her and the pink-haired girl looks down again, "It isn't fair that she jumped to criticize you, especially when it wasn't your fault. That was a decision we made together, as partners. As professionals." She slips her head over Homura's shoulder when she's hugged, staying close for a little longer than Homura probably intended.
She does pull away eventually, though, "Sorry... I shouldn't have been so rash. I should have been gentler with her. I don't usually get so emotional." This week has had her more emotional than normal, and none of that is Sayaka's fault. A quick nod is given to the question, "Sure, we still need to finish what we started." She'll reach over and take Homura's hand, leading the way back to the trail while squeezing it closely for support.