Miss White needs some R&R, and there's nothing like a bit of relaxation in the park to ease one's wounds and troubles. She's alone today in the afternoon sun, sitting on a bench with a golde cane at her side. A bag of bread sits beside her, and she occasionally tosses it to the sounds of ducks. Her face is paler than usual, weary, and every movement makes her flinch.
She looks, in short, utterly awful despite the sounds of children playing around her, and general merrymaking. Her legs are crossed as she tries to soak in the warm sun, leaning back slightly in her seat.
/DUCKS/. Well. At least they're not being kicked today. Reiko has a bucket with her. The bucket has some sort of battery operated pump blowing bubbles in the bucket- the kind people use to run thier aquariums during blackouts. She has a net. She is watching two fish in the duckpond, in the shallows nearby.
"Here fishy fishy fishy...." says Reiko as she tries to nab one with the net. AHA! She caught one! She quickly puts it into the bucket and it begins frantically swimming around the bucket before calming down. "I just need you for a moment, okies!" she says to the fish as she lifts the bucket and begins to walk towards the bench. Oh! Someone is there!-----
OH! It's... it's that woman! Who turnted into that pretty ghost in the.... Maze? She thinks it's called? Something close like that. With the Witch. Labyrinth! That was it. But Maze. Is still correct, right?
She approaches cautiously and sort of stares at her, holding her fish bucket.
"Mind if I sit down here a moment?" she asks sheepishly to her.
There's a bit of sloshing and footsteps to herald good Reiko's arrival, followed by her voice. One particularly intrepid duck has snuck their way up onto the bench, and looks keen on stealing the bag. Miss White reaches out just in time, taking the bag. There's a tossed bit of bread, and with a quack of indignation, the duck hops off to go chase it.
Miss White gives a start at Reiko's voice, giving a huff, a cough, and then several blinks as she sits up.
"Whu!?" She comes 'gracefully', before rubbing her eyes.
"...I am totally awake. Seat? Oh, umm, of course. Please, sit." She offers a smile in Reiko's general direction.
"Public park, though sometimes it seems like the animals run it more than the people!" Grin!
She reaches into a small bag, and pulls out two water bottles.
"Hot out here today, want one?" She offers, before tilting her head.
"...Maybe my hearing's off, but do you have a bucket of water?" The question looms, Hannah's face curious.
Reiko Touyama blinks she can't see?.... Oh. Well. Maybe that was obvious. Now Reiko seems even more awkward. "Um. I do! I caught a fish! And now...I'm going to draw the fish now that it can't swim away on me!" she says. She places the bucket down on the ground and sits down next to Hannah. She head tilts. "My name's.. um. Reiko! What's yours?" she asks kind of sheepishly. She opens her backpack and takes out a sketch book and a pencil.
She looks down into the bucket and begins sketching the fish as she sits.
"Yeah I know it's public but. Sometimes. Some people just like bein alone sometimes n' I don't like bothering people sometimes." she says with a series of matter of fact nods.
Miss White perks up a little now, a swig of water finally getting her to think straight after a semi-nap in the sun.
"Kasagami White, nice to meet you Reiko-san." There's a hand offered to her! Silly foreigner.
"Oh, so you are an artist then? Going to become a professional painter when you grow up? Paint entire murals, get shown off in art galleries?" She's both teasing a little, and a lot curious. Art might be her bane, but she loves passion in others.
"No keeping the fish in the bucket too long, though. Fish should be free to swim around." She adds as an after thought.
Then she's laughing a bit. "Hey, more company the better I say. So no worrying your little head about that, okay? Come out here to do art often?" Talkative, and inquisitive, this White-san!
Reiko Touyama giggles. "No, I intend to release mister fishy when he's done posing for me." she says as the name hits her. Kasagami White? Why does that----
Nrg. It couldn't be right? Not the person that Mei told her to be careful of. She was... She was fighting that witch! She turnt into a pretty ghost and destroyed it completely!
"Um." she says as she draws the fish. "I guess. I'm pretty good. Infinity University keeps trying to give me an art scholariship, but..I can't leave my friend behind like that." she says. She pauses a moment. And asks the awkward question she's been wanting to ask since she sat down. "Um. I saw you. Kill that Witch." she says a little meekly. "It was really cool! Are you a Puella Magi?" she asks. She's making assumptions. Puella fight Witches. This is what Nagsia told her. Hannah was fighting the witch. Ergo. Puella Magi(?).
The fact that she's going to release the little thing earns her a broad smile.
"Good! You should be nice to animals. I had a guide dog once. Made a world of difference. So always cherish your pets and little animal friends, okay?"
A wince. Now /that/ is a problem.
"Hmm. Well, I have a really good friend, so I know why you would want to stick by them. If they are a /real/ friend, and you decide to go? They will understand. Maybe you should encourage them to try to get in. I mean, I know it's expensive and all, but with enough study and encouragement with their best friend, it might just happen." There's a warm, encouraging smile.
One that fades into awkward silence as the girl lays down the state and question. She saw. That means she was there. A hand goes to her temple, and she visibly shivers at the memory. Using that power /hurts/.
She plays it safe. "...Who...wait, fish...were you the kid with the pack of..." She can't believe she's about to say this.
"The koi stampede." Sigh.
There's a short, bitter, almost angry laugh.
"No. No I am not. /That/ is a fate I would not wish on anybody. You tell me what you are, I tell you what I am, deal?" She's far more defensive now, tense and alert. The world is ignored in favor of REiko.
Reiko Touyama blinks. "Once..? Did something happen?" she asks softly.
She blushes! Was she that easy to figure out? She is. Kind of Mahou Shoujo Koi-Chan, afterall....
"Ah---yeah. I'm.. uh. Prism Keeper Orange." she insists. "Are you. the one who beat on my friend Red and berated her?" she asks. There's not really... malice to her tone.
She head tilts. "Ah-- yeah I guess. Using Koi. Kind of makes me stand out. But. That's just kinda what my powers are." she admits sheepishly. "I didn't choose it...outright I guess. But Koi make me really happy, so!"
She head tilts. "Well, I'm a Prism Keeper..." she says. "I protect color!" she insists.
Her head tilts, and there's an odd little smile juxtaposed to her words.
"Things change, times move on kiddo." Is her vague response about her guide dog. There's fondness in her tone. Maybe it happened a long time ago?
Or he could simply be a Familiar right now. Not that Reiko'd know that.
"/Oh/. Red-san, right?" There's a sudden smile and a bit of respect in her tone. That one certainly earned some points with Miss White.
"That was me, yeah. Gave me a real fight, too, for somebody so young. And judging from the way you fought? The pair of you must be a real terror!" There's sudden excitement in her voice, something a little feral and bloodthirsty. It's gone as soon as it creeps in.
She rubs the back of her head.
"...Not sure what all your friend said, but she had something dangerous, something I needed, that could have gotten herself and a lot of people killed. Now, given what she saw me try to do with those Witches? And, uh, my partner...I do not blame her. So, I am not going to say sorry about the whole thing. But I would really prefer not having to mug a good kid like her. Or you come to think of it. You see one of these?" She flicks out a grief seed, showing it carefully for a split second before hiding it from Reiko.
"You leave it alone, and let the rest of us idiots have a little war over it. Only a Puella Magi or someone like me who has the resources to use them should have them. Better yet, steer clear of Witch Labyrinths. You are brave to fight them, but we do not need any more brave kids getting killed in those hellholes." She shrugs.
"Unless you think you do."
A fish-based powers girl who protects color. She actively turns and /stares/ for a moment. Then she outright laughs aloud, to the point of needing to lean over to catch her breath.
"So you friend really /was/ being serious about that whole color thing! ...Riiiight, okay, sorry, sorry! Just...protecting color. You guys really do mean that, huh. People out there are really trying to steal color? Any idea why? What purpose is there to that?" Her head hangs.
"Ugh. No point in me thinking too hard on it, though, not like color means anything to me. In case it isn't abundantly clear, I am not going to do something like that. I have loftier goals."
Right, she was supposed to talk about herself. Ahem!
"I am a Mage, a magic user who partners with a magical weapon, a sort of artificial intelligence that lets me better focus my mana." She reaches into her pocket, and pulls out a gold coin with a green orb in the center of it.
"Good evening, Prism Keeper Orange." Comes the Device in a crisp, professional female accent tinged with British.
"Orange-san, meet Raging Tempest. Charmed, no doubt."
Reiko Touyama ahs! "The talking weapons! I've seen some of those!" she says with a smile. "Hi Raging Tempest!" she says cheerfully like she was greeting anybody else! but she frowns.
"A Grief Seed! Things Puella Magi need... things my friend needs so she doesn't die! I refuse! I'm doing my best to help my friend- and-- if that means fighting in a Salvador Dali painting every so often then I'm going to do it!" she insists with a huff!
She pauses. "I need to put mister fishy back. I guess I'm not gonna be finishing this drawing right now..." she says as she slips off the bench. Walks the few feet to the water and slowly pours the water out until the fish plunks back into the water. She turns off the pump and walks back with an empty bucket. She sits back down again.
"That's okay, I guess..." she says meekly. "But.. but can't you just talk to people instead of beating them up!? That's what my friend did with me!" she says.
She blinks, she blushes when White says it's silly. "I know.. that. I guess it doesn't mean anything to you..." she says softly and meekly. "But color is really important.... and we're the guardians of it." she says. "It's no different... than fighting Witches! or.. or fighting over draining the energy of people! Or trying to steal pink haired girls!" she says exaperatedly.
Raging Tempest, despite the name, gives a prim little beep of acknowledgement! Far different than her owner!
Miss White visibly flinches at that, closes her eyes, and gives a slow nod.
"Friends with a Puella Magi? ...Alright. Anyone else your age? I would smack you behind the head for being a fool. But if it's for a friend, I can accept that. But know two things. First, you risk your life every time you fight one. Those things are evil. Literal, metaphysical evil here, kiddo. Show no mercy. Fight like your life depends on it, and your friends, because it does. Second, you are going to find not all Puella Magi, or magical people in general, are going to be your friend once a Witch is dead. They will fight, hurt, maim, and sometimes even kill each other over those grief seeds. So be prepared to fight anybody if you really want to go after one for your friend." Her tone is somber and serious.
Miss White is patient, and when she's back, she's forced a smile. Most of her cheer is gone.
"I tried. With your friend. With Puella Magi. It has never worked out...well, okay, once or twice. Maybe I am bad at diplomacy. Maybe I like fighting too much. But for some reason, I make enemies more often than friends." She says honestly, frustration in her voice.
"Even something I made to be a rallying cry to like minded individuals devolved into a slugfest. Listen, I am not a good person, Reiko. I have done bad things. But I just...sometimes I just wish there could be some peace and happiness instead of death and suffering all the time." A rub of her head.
"...Sorry, a kid like you should not hear the problems of someone like me. I guess I just needed to vent. Thanks for listening."
She pauses at the blushing Prism Keeper. "May I?" If she lets her, Miss White will gently touch the girl's cheek.
"...Yeah. That face of yours is serious about this. I do not believe in coincidences. You were not given that kind of power randomly. I don't really get it, but if you are that strong and that motivated, then you have something precious to protect. Let me guess, you were brave in that Labyrinth because you fought something terrible before? You did not seem surprised like a greenhorn should be." Miss White has a good instinct for these things.
"So whatever you are fighting against, whoever is taking away color? Good luck. No power in it, so, I'm not interested for obvious reasons."
She pauses, and remembers the picture.
"Hey, sorry about interrupting your picture. How about you do a portrait of me? I will buy you a sundae if you do. You can even add koi to the picture if you want!" Encourages the woman.
Reiko Touyama huffs. "You didn't interupt me. Just. This stuff is important too!" she says with wide eyes. Her face is touched. She lets it happens. Even if it causes her to blush a little still. "I've.. I've almost died so many times already! I'm not... I'm not that new!" she insists. "Me and Red are a team! I'm the defender! and she attacks! If.. if I was there when you fought her, an attack wouldn't get through because I'd shield her with my koi! And when colors mix----they become something more!"
She stops going on about it though.
"Just...don't attack my friend again without a good reason!" she says.
Hannah asks for a picture. "I guess...I guess I could do that." she says. She flips to a new page in her book and begins sketching. Hannah can hear the strokes. They're quick. fast. someone who knows what they're doing with a pencil.
"I don't typically draw for rewards though. I just draw for people as a gift." she says.
"I'm very good at it..." she says. "For my age..." she says softly. The drawing sounds get more frantic as she begins detailing.
"Yeah, it is. Sorry you got mixed up in it all. You seem like a good kid, you and your friend. I know this is silly coming from me, and it isn't going to happen, but..." Sigh.
"Try to stay out of trouble."
God, why does she feel like a parent right now?
"Make me a promise, okay? You and your friend both. No dieing. Absolutely no dieing, got it? No one else I know of is protecting color. So do that, and keep each other safe."
A smirk. "It would have been fun. Who knows, maybe you will get the chance if we keep meeting in places like that. Though...Witches and civilians first before petty squabbles, eh?"
Miss White goes still, making an easy smile.
"Thanks. A friend of mine is really sick. So...consider it a gift for her, okay?" She waits patiently until it's done.
"Hey. No matter what happens, thanks. I had a good time talking with you. Ever need an ear? Call me." She flicks a business card, and after gently taking the sketch, she offers a wave and picks up her cane.
"Have fun time out here, okay? Only your age once! Savor it!" Then she's off, her step a little lighter, and the ache in her linker core a little less painful.