2013-11-17 - We Own The Night
| Title: We Own The Night | |
|---|---|
| Summary: Magical Girls Eri and Ren go out on patrol, having bonded after the Familiar fight. They share lots of things with one another along the way. | |
| Who: | |
| Where: Somewhere in Tokyo | |
| OOC - IC Date: 11/17/2013 - ??? | |
So what are magical girls supposed to do? After reading a lot of Mahou Shoujo manga and watching a lot of anime, Eri noticed the trope appeared to often be that trouble just came to them, while they were in the midst of /normal/ stuff. ....very rarely did they go on patrol or proactively find things. Eri decided she didn't like that trope, especially since her soul gem allowed her to be proactive. Also.. she needed to take her mind off /stuff/. Angsty teenage drama stuff.
....So naturally she invited Ren to go on patrol with her. Since she'd found a witch recently in the Industrial District, she decided to start there, to make sure there were no familiars that needed cleaning up. Given that two adolescent girls in the Industrial District at night would be considered unusual in civilian clothing, she decided to track overhead, where people were more likely to write them off as something else.
And so she jumped from warehouse roof, to warehouse roof, while Ren flew overhead... if there was a jump she couldn't make.. well she had magical ways of making it, but she would politely ask Ren and Heraut if they could carry her instead, to allow her to conserve magic.
Since her soul gem was on her head, it was more like she /felt/ a familiar, rather than saw the telltale blinks, functioning more as a sort of radar. At one point, she asks idly to pass the time, while Ren was close by, "So, Ren-chan... I think I'd kind of like to know more about you.. but I um... really don't know where to begin. What would you like to tell me about herself?"
Yes, Ren didn't much like that aforementioned trope either. She'd taken to doing patrols shortly after becoming a magical girl -- mostly by herself. She had a few run-ins with rogue youma, some more dangerous than others. But in the end she did more than alright, dispatching them without getting too beat up. Though it did leave her to wonder just where those youma got loose from...
Eri's suggestion they scout out a location where she tracked a witch and possible familiars was met with great enthusiasm on her own part. Having a friend who was also a magical girl did wonders for one's morale, as she was quickly finding out. Keeping an eye on the jumping Eri she flies a bit above -- enough to looks out for any potential incoming threats and to also swoop down in case of any mishaps. Souverain Heraut pulsed faintly, likely doing scans of his own. All in all, everything is seemingly covered!
"Hmmm?" She responds to Eri with a puzzled look, then smiles. "Oh I'm not that interesting but..." She shrugs, blushing a bit. "I umm... I don't know where to start..."
This caused Eri to pause in her step briefly. Even though her endurance was not really all taxed in this form by jumping from rooftop to rooftop, she still took a moment to catch her breath, considering Ren, with crossed arms, "...Well I don't consider myself all that interesting either. But I'm not interested in just the interesting bits. I'm interested in knowing about you. Even if you think it's boring, it's not to me."
Ren lands on the roof next to Eri, reaching up to rub the back of her neck with a bashful smile. "Fair enough." They were friends, right? Friends shared things about themselves with one another. Though of course since she never had a real friend before this is all foreign and new to her...
"I'm not a very good student." She says suddenly, blinking as she screws her face up to pull out more facts about herself. "I dislike romantic comedies. They're kind of dumb if you ask me." Huh. The more you know, I guess? "I want to visit France someday. It seems like a really nice place."
Eri considers that, before nodding, smiling at her in a lopsided way, ".....I am a good student, but I'm terrible in history class, because... what's the point? Very little of it is true anyhow, it was written and distorted by the victors to the point where it isn't. Then now that I know there's a.." She holds her hands up, doing a very American quotation marks, "....'magical world', it means even less of it is true."
She rubs one arm self-consciously, "....I'm kind of fond of romantic comedies in Shoujo manga.. and dating games though. They /are/ silly, but sometimes I need light-hearted silliness. And... I don't understand romance or people, all that well.. it's sort of like case study, even if it's not true to life either."
Then on the last subject, she holds up a hand, "Oh! I wouldn't mind that either. Someone from my class, Noblesse-san, she's from France, and very interesting to talk to."
Then blinking in realization, she chuckles, "Well.. friends don't have to be exactly alike I guess, because people aren't exactly alike."
She thinks on it for a while, before asking, "What about your family? Are you close to anyone? Do you have other friends that you talk to about you know.. normal, or magical stuff?"
Ren seems relieved the random tidbits about herself that she spouted off go over well with Eri. She nods along politely, noticing the differences here and there. And... well, it would be a little boring if they were exactly alike wouldn't it? Having some variety is good in a friendship. Or so she's been told...
Then talk turns to her family, and she winces a bit. But to her credit, she still manages a smile. "Ah... I guess we're not exactly close. I mean, we don't dislike one another. It's just that I don't think I quite lived up to their expectations of me." She shrugs. "My older brother has, though. And that's fine. I'd rather do my own thing." Which... was somewhat true. "As for friends... You met Nanoha-san. She's nice."
That causes Eri to frown slightly, though it's not about Ren, it's about her situation, "...Well. That's their problem. You shouldn't be expected to live up to anyone's expectations. It's your choice whether to live up to them or not. I guess my family... well, it was the same for me at first I guess. Then they realized I was... different." She looks briefly abstracted, "...My mother and sister, they've never really understood, though they try. And my father and brother they.. they're very protective of me after they figured out how I... function. There are still expectations but.. they're ones I'm choosing to live by, they're not forced upon me."
She nods again, "Yuu-sempai I looked up after you told me about him." She shrugs her shoulders, "....he's very popular, but most of the gossip that filters down to middle school is about Kiryuu-sempai."
On the last point she nods, "Nanoha-san was very nice, I should have her meet Hayate-chan. They're about the same age, and Hayate-chan could use more friends. She tends to be pretty lonely."
"You're right." Ren knows Eri is right. But it's still very hard not to think about the "what ifs" involved in the situation. "You're so lucky to have a family who is willing to do that for you, Eri-chan." The high schooler smiles brightly, remembering the dinner she spent with the younger magical girl and her loved ones. "Your father is great." The man's love for Eri was so obvious and touching...
Mention of Yuu makes Ren laugh. "Yeah, that's him alright. Though it's funny to hear he has competition. He probably doesn't even realize how popular he is. He can be oblivious like that. Oh and... yeah. I think that's a good idea." Hayate and Nanoha have met beforehand at least once -- during the tree incident to be precise. Though Ren keeps this to herself. "Hayate is a nice girl."
"Willing, certainly. Though I always get a vague sense of disappointment about them.. that I didn't turn out normal." Eri chuckles, smiling in a self-depreciating manner, and nodding to her, "....She is. And Nanoha-san seems perfect, it's a shame they go to different schools."
There's a short pause, before she asks, "By the way... have you ever heard of jewel seeds? I encountered this blonde-haired girl named Fate-san who appeared to have a companion like Heraut-san recently. She was fighting a park bench that was animated by one of these seeds... which.. well I helped her, then she attacked us.. but she sounded like she didn't want to attack us.. then some bureaucracy that polices space and time showed up and it got rather complicated."
Jewel seeds. Uh oh. Ren noticeably stills. "Yes. I've heard of them. And I've heard of that girl, too. Haven't met her but..." She shakes her head, sighing. "I fought someone else with a device like Heraut-san. And it was over one of the jewel seeds. They're a serious problem. I don't like the idea of someone with ill intentions having any of them for themselves..." And then she blinks when time and space police are brought up. "...But I haven't heard of any sort of bureaucracy like you say... That's interesting..."
Eri looked in the distance in an abstracted manner, "Well... at least one ranking member goes to your school. Though he was rather strange, he actually thought that we were having some sort of after school activity, rather than you know.. a fight for our /lives/. Then when he found out it was real, he got upset and bound Fate-san using magic. He knew a lot about the Jewel Seeds though, he called them... Lost Logia. Technology of a lost civilization that destroyed themselves. And that they can destabilize reality here. But Fate-san insisted she had to gather them for someone's happiness."
She shakes her head, "....I'm not sure what to think about her. She definitely didn't seem villainous.. just very.. very confused and misguided."
Someone who belonged to this magical time-space agency went to her school? Woah. "Do you know his name? Maybe I should introduce myself to him... if he's a mage too, after all." Meeting /good/ mages was always on the very top of her list of priorities. Especially if they could tell her more about what she's capable of with Souverain Heraut.
"Confused..." She mutters, dwelling on the sentiment for awhile. "Well, if she's in trouble with this bureau you mentioned I imagine she won't be able to operate as freely as she has been up until now."
Eri Shimanouchi hesitates, then states, "I think his name was... Chrono-san? He transferred recently. And the bureau doesn't appear to have any authority here. So he's sort of operating independently."
She shakes her head, "I don't think she'll stop... and she seems rather powerful."
Chrono. That was an easy enough name to remember. "I'll look out for him, then." Ren nods, crossing her arms and shifting to one foot. "And he's independent? Maybe he could use some help, then, since his jurisdiction isn't technically valid here like you mentioned..." The wheels are certainly turning in her head. Has Nanoha met him yet?
"Ah, well, she's heading down a bad path if she keeps this up. Though I have to wonder who she's doing this all for. Must be someone she really treasures..."
Nanoha definitely has, but she didn't reveal her name when Eri fought at her side, a shame! Eri toys with the idea, "Ah well, anything else would just be speculation right now. I mean. I don't even know how a bureaucracy would operate on the level of time and space. I certainly didn't even know there were other /worlds/ out there, even though it wasn't much of a stretch.. and I know nothing else that would tell me anything about this girl so..."
She chuckles at that, "Ah well.. what's it like going to school at the Infinity Institute? Must be pretty different than Ohtori Academy. Or Juuban. I went there until a few years ago."
"Yeah. It's certainly food for thought."
And then things turn to the more mundane. "You used to go to Juuban too? I went there until I transferred to Infinity. I miss it, really. Infinity is great and all but, you know... Sometimes I feel out of my element."
Eri tilts her head slightly at Ren, "I know the feeling.. and yeah, I went to Juuban until I earned a science scholarship three years ago. Some things I miss because well.. at Juuban I was picked on mostly because I was eccentric. At Ohtori it's because I'm eccentric and... middle class, very middle class. Which means I'm poor in their eyes. That's just the way they look at you there. But I like the education there..."
Another short pause, and she peers at her, "But why do you feel out of place? You don't have to be the best student somewhere to belong there."
Yes... people tend to shun eccentrics. Ren got lucky in that she's mostly quiet. And unnoticed. Yeah. Take that as you will. Heh. "Yeah. Ohtori... I've heard things about them that makes me dislike most of the so-called "elite" that go there." Ren makes a face. Ugh. Less said the better. "And... I dunno. I really don't think I'm the best fit for the school. I know you're right but.. I can't shake the feeling."
Eri rubs the back of her neck, smiling, "Well they're not all bad. Some of the people I've met there are phenomenally rich, but they still treat me kindly. A few I think even got the idea of 'adopting the poor girl'. We'll see how long that lasts..." She shakes her head as if she finds that amusing.
She thinks on that for a while longer, before nodding and states, "Uh, well if that's the case, why not transfer back to Juuban? I mean your parents will probably throw a fit, but won't they ultimately just understand you're not happy?"
"It would be nice to just go back to Juuban." Ren agrees, but she looks troubled. "Though I got invited to attend Infinity. And my parents... they were /so/ happy about it. I guess I've convinced myself to stick it out and give it more of a chance instead of just running away with my tail between my legs. Plus, I found Heraut-san there so... it can be all that bad, right?" She laughs.
Eri thinks about it for a time, then shakes her head, "Well... you're right on that. What do you think on all of this anyhow, Heraut-san?"
There's another short pause, "Well, is there anyone back at Juuban that 's friendly that you can still talk to? I mean surely you had some friends there. You're too special a girl not to have just me and Nanoha-san in your entourage." She states the final part in a teasing voice.
The golden gem on the scepter Ren hold lights up. (I AM GLAD HER MAJESTY FOUND ME.) Well of course he is. Heh. "Umm there were people I was friendly with but... I never hung out with them. I wasn't all that good at being social. Of couse that's changed recently."
"Well I meant, on whether you think she should go back to Juuban or not, Heraut-san. After all, she found you at Infinity so I don't know what your feelings are on the issue." Eri smiles at the... well, gem!
And then considering the matter, "You know. It kind of changed a little for me too. I guess that's one of the upsides to being a Puella Magi. Well that and the wish I received..." She looks abstracted for a time, before offering Ren a lopsided grin, ".....alright. You know, I don't much care for what we're /supposed/ to be doing or talking about at this age, but I'm curious. Soooooo..." She drawls out the word a little much, "....Ren-chan, spurner of romantic comedies, are there any boys you're interested in?"
She continues to pay attention to the blips on her radar. Good, the familiar isn't moving, wherever it was. They still had time to talk.
(I AM FINE WITH ANY DECISION HER MAJESTY MAKES. THOUGH I DO THINK SHE WILL FIND FRIENDS AT HER CURRENT INSTITUTION IS SHE TRIES HARD ENOUGH.) Ren blushes. "Oh Heraut-san..." It doesn't take much prodding to get him talking!
And then comes a question that rocks her to the core. "B-Boys?!" She looks /terrified/. "N-No! I don't have time for boys!" Not true at all. Again, she hasn't put much effort into trying to date anyone.
"So do I..." Eri smiles at her, but that smile becomes a really wide grin once she moves on to the subject, "....It's alright. Neither do I. And there aren't really any I'm interested in because..." She smiles in a self-depreciating manner, "...I guess I just don't think any can be interested in me. But... then I think one boy /does/ for a while only to find out it was him acting out of pity." She giggles at her, "So...don't worry Ren-chan, I'm kind of in the same boat. So I'll only tease you a little. I promise."
