2022-11-02 - Meetings and Beginnings
| Title: Meetings and Beginnings | ||||
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| Summary: It's time for Yumi and Raiko to be properly introduced as fellow Inheritors, but their meeting is interrupted... | ||||
| Who: | ||||
| Where: Tama River | ||||
| OOC - IC Date: November 05, 2022 - Saturday, January 23, 2016 | ||||
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*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+ Tama River +*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*
At the head of this river, deep in the Tama region, a dam forms Lake
Okutama. Gazing upon its calm waters, it is difficult to imagine that
beneath the dam, a great river erupts. In days past, the Tama River ran
rampant, flooding frequently, often so intensely as to wash away towns or
permanently alter its course. Today, the dam and an expensive series of
levees have tamed this serpent of water, and its floods, while frequent,
cause no significant damage.
The new Tama River is a beloved location for leisure and recreation.
Kayaking along its rapids, rock climbing and bouldering in nearby parks,
picnicking alongside its slower sections; Tama is a long river, and has
something for everyone. A great number of sports fields have sprung up on
its banks, for children and adults alike, and it's not uncommon for the Tama
River to host school games. Neighboring areas flock to the riverside at
festival-time, erecting food stalls and fair games.
The mouth of the river empties into Tokyo Bay in the Yamanote region of the
city, right next to Haneda Airport.
<Pose Tracker> Raiko Takashima [Infinity Institute (9)] has posed.
For Shiori it has been... an interminably long day. Most days, she does not concern herself with the passage of time quite so keenly; having lived 150 years helps give one a longer view on things. But today her thoughts are for Raiko, the young witch she is responsible for who is so dearly in need of help. That she isn't with right now.
But she is trying to get some help for her, and hopefully... the other Inheritor will be able to reach her where she couldn't.
Her failure this morning also still stings.
And so she waits. Well, she paces, more often than not. She did her best to keep up her composure in front of Tama, but constant worrying and inaction have taken their toll on her. Besides, the fretting and pacing now are leaving her with enough composure to spare for later when Yumi arrives back to her dorm. She wants to make a good impression on the other witch, after all.
The fretting and pacing are also taking her mind off of the constant mental strain of magically holding onto the staff. And not thinking about holding onto the staff also helps with the physical strain... somewhat. It only gets worse when you focus on it, at any rate.
This is her first time in the dorms--she hasn't seen Raiko's yet (a fact that she curses herself for--she should have been here to support the young witch, but Kenji also needed her help.) It seems nice enough, though she wonders how they compare to Raiko's. Hopefully she'll find out soon enough.
Shiori glances at a clock as she completes another circuit of her pacing. "It shouldn't be much longer, now, should it?" she asks of the room's other occupant.
<Pose Tracker> Yumi Ohzora [Infinity Institute (11)] has posed.
For Yumi Ohzora, it's simply been a day! ...Well, to be fair, it's been a day on which she was kind of sleepy because she was out fighting an Ogre in the night. All she had to do was take a little nap during lunch, and snack during class, and...
Maybe those aren't the best habits to model. It's fine!
Tama, of course, is calm and collected as ever, almost laconic. She is simply seated on the couch, waiting, culed into something of a all.
...But because she knows why Shiori is so antsy, she doesn't admonish her for it.
Yumi's dorm is indeed very nice, a bit bigger than standard, though not because of luxury. It's so that there's room for chairs about the halls.
The door opens and Yumi starts inside, "Tamaaa I'm baaack," she starts, and then pauses, to see not one but two cats. "Ah?"
Pause. "Um, hello--"
"This is my colleague, Shiori. You have a mutual friend."
<Pose Tracker> Raiko Takashima [Infinity Institute (9)] has posed.
Shiori does hear the activity outside the door, hears the doorknob rattling, and very quickly makes herself presentable. She plants her rear down so she can sit upright, back straight, chin very slightly lifted for that dignified air, tail curled around her feet, and making every effort to appear to be exerting no effort at all to maintain the dignity and compusre befitting both a familiar and a cat.
You'd never know she was a pacing, nervous wreck some 1.34 seconds before.
"Greetings, Ohzora-san," she says, cordially. "I'm apologize for coming to you so unexpectedly. I am the guardian of the Staff of Wise Levin. I have been safeguarding it with the assistance of a man named Kenji Takashima--the grandfather of a girl named Raiko Takashima, who you're already acquainted with. We have suspected for quite a long time that she would one day inherit that staff."
"We have kept the staff in Kenji's study, which was heavily warded to both protect it and keep it from reacting to Raiko before she was ready. However..." There is just a bit of a droop to her whiskers, a slight splaying of her ears. "... Raiko cut school today. She found me after I had just returned to check on the staff. The study door was open, she entered, and the staff reacted. In the process it destroyed the wards."
"I was forced to explain everything to her, and I tried to encourage her to take up the staff, but so far she is... unwilling to do so. The staff is at risk of being discovered, and Raiko herself is also at risk. And so... I must humbly beg your assistance."
She stands at that point... so that she can lower her front end in something of an approximation of a bow. "Please talk to her. You've made quite an impression on her, and she is in dire straits at the moment. It is also my hope that you can convince her to take up the staff, but we cannot force that upon her. Regardless of whether she accepts, I beseech you, help her through this difficult time."
<Pose Tracker> Yumi Ohzora [Infinity Institute (11)] has posed.
Yumi is fooled!! ...But you don't have to work very hard to convince her a cat is dignified. They wouldn't even give her the time of day until after she met Tama... And it's only changed since then. But here and now, this cat is talking, and talking about important stuff. And a lot of things start to make sense very quickly.
"It's fine," Yumi says, "It's obviously important." Suspected... and Raiko. Yumi remembers Raiko very clearly, and she frowns at this, because--it doesn't say safe things about her at the moment. It says very dangrous things about her at the moment.
"If her grandfather was taking care of it, and he disappeared... I can see why she'd be reluctant. The girl I spoke to..." Yumi thinks back. "Well--"
Her assistance.
"Of course," Yumi answers, nodding firmly. "I'd say you didn't have to ask... but I guess you kinda did, since otherwise I wouldn't have known. The point is, I'd help Raiko anyway. I won't try to push her into the Staff if I don't think she wants it, but..."
"I'll definitely talk to her. And I'll protect her and the Staff. I promise."
Wise Levin... It's a lot to take in.
"Just take me wherever you think she is."
<Pose Tracker> Raiko Takashima [Infinity Institute (9)] has posed.
Shiori nods as Yumi makes an inerference tired to Kenji's guardianship of the staff. "Yes. Kenji's work for the magic association has long involved attempting to locate and secure artifacts of interest to The Hungry Queen. He has... not returned from his latest mission, and I have been unable to locate him. Raiko is... concerned that she may meet a similar fate."
Among other reasons.
Shiori does honestly sound relieved as Yumi says she'll help. "Thank you, Ohzora-san. It is of no small comfort to me to know that Raiko has such a caring friend looking out for her."
She returns to her upright sitting position momentarily. "Of course. I asked her to stay at home, but I suspect she will be found elsewhere. I'll lead the way."
SOME TIME LATER
Raiko sighs as she looks over the placid lake. It's not always her first choice of places to go and be moody, but... well, all of her usual haunts were kind of off limits since she was cutting school. At least out here it was bound to be relatively desolate and isolated. She was seated on a rather large rock, bundled up to ward off the cold January air.
Shiori had tried to comfort her for a while, gently persuade her to take up the staff, but mostly she had just tried to comfort and reassure her... At least, up until she had left, citing 'getting help' as her reason, while also profusely promising that she would be back before day's end. Raiko believed her but... after a while it got too painful to stay cooped up in the house by herself. If Shiori had been there, it might've been tolerable, but...
The familiar had insisted that Raiko make lunch before leaving, so that she would have one less obstacle to eating this time. The remnants of her lunch sat discarded beside her on the rock, and she was slowly nursing a bag of gummy worms she'd found in her room that she'd forgotten to take with her to the dorms.
And then... there was the sound of movement in the woods behind her. She paid it no mind, at first--but then it kept getting closer and eventually she frowned, looking behind her. "Hello? Is someone out there?"
And then she blinked. "... Ohzora-san?" The girl was rather hard to miss. "How did you... Wait, Shiori? And... Erm..." A random black cat she's never met before. "What's... what's going on?"
<Pose Tracker> Yumi Ohzora [Infinity Institute (11)] has posed.
Yumi can't blame Raiko for having that worry. All this... it's dangerous. Really, really dangerous. Why, then, does she embrace it so much? ..Not her day to be introspective.
"She seems like she needs a friend right about now. So... That's me."
Tama looks to Shiori. "It's as I told you," she says, and then to Yumi, "Then let's go."
LATER
Yumi steps across the rocky ground, still in her uniform. Her own concession to the January air is layering a little, but it's still cold. All the more reason to get Raiko back inside. So Yumi comes to a stop near her, and there--
"Hey," Yumi says. "...I heard some things had gotten even rougher," she says, and gestures to Shiori. Then she gestures to the black cat, "This is my familiar, Tama. She's the Keeper of the Staff of Lost Ivy... and I'm the Staff's wielder."
"...I thought you should know that, so you know where I stand on all this." She starts forward, and looks out over the placid lake, too. "...Don't tell Tama," she says, "But I've cut class a few times myself. Sometimes you just have to get out, you know? Well, you obviously know."
"When I said I did 'extracurriculars' for the Magic Association, that's what I meant. I wouldn't usually involve you... but it sounds like you're already involved. You don't have to be any more than that though, OK?"
"What you do with your life, even right now... It's up to you. I just think you should know..."
"...I thought everything was hopeless once, too. Sometimes part of me still does. I'm used to being that sick girl. So I know what it is to be trapped by something in your life."
"...But I said we were friends, and I meant it. So, as a friend..."
"Tell me about how you're feeling."
<Pose Tracker> Raiko Takashima [Infinity Institute (9)] has posed.
Shiori pads up to Raiko's rock, jumping up onto it. She nods a little as she sees the signs that Raiko at least ate lunch. "I told you I would come back, and I would bring assistance. I belive you're already met." Shiori nods to Yumi, but allows the other girl to introduce herself properly.
Raiko's eyes grow wide as Yumi reveals that she has a staff, too. "Whaaaat? You..." She looks to Shiori. "Why didn't you tell me?"
"It was not my place to say," says Shiori simply. She doesn't say that she's explained what happened, since... well, taht should be clear enough. But she does give Raiko a gentle nuzzle. "We had always intended to introduce you once you were ready to take up the staff--"
Raiko started to pet Shiori when she came close, but opens her mouth at that statement.
Shiori cuts her off. "--but we're not here to convince you to do so. Just take your time and talk out what you're feeling. We can worry about the staff later." And with that, Shiori hops down from the rock to go wait next to Tama.
Raiko hastily cleans up her lunch, poofing everything into her cellphone to deal with it later, and clears a spot for Yumi to sit. She looks up at Yumi, blinking as she says she's skipped class before. "... Really?" She can't help but look back at Tama over her shoulder, and then back to Yumi. There's... a very brief, momentary flicker of a smile there that's gone just as fast. "... I bet she wouldn't like that if she knew, huh?"
Raiko pulls her knees to her chest. She's not in her uniform, wearing a skirt, tights, an extra poofy dark pink jacket, and a hat to keep the cold out.
She listens as Yumi explains about the extracirriculars, about feeling hopeless... "But... you seemed so happy when you came into the nurse's office yesterday... Do... you really still feel that way sometimes?" She rests her chin on her knees, looking out over the lake.
There is a bit longer of a smile as Yumi confirms that they're friends, though it's tinged with a lot of sadness at the moment.
"... I dunno. I guess I feel scared. Grandpa's gone because his missions are dangerous, and I'm supposed to take on this Hungry Queen, when I'm not even... half the witch he is. I guess I feel like a screw-up, too... I knew skipping class was wrong, but... I couldn't help myself." She frowns as she contemplates. "It just... talking to you felt so nice, and... when we were done, and I'd told you about everything I just..."
She closes her eyes, her voice dropping to a whisper. "I felt like... a clock that was barely functioning, but once you stop it to try and fix it... then it just breaks completely."
<Pose Tracker> Yumi Ohzora [Infinity Institute (11)] has posed.
"Right," Yumi says, of not being here to convince her. Tama, for her part, pads forward and then takes a seat to watch them. Yumi moves over and takes a seat--and then laughs a little. "Yeah," Yumi says, "She'd hate it."
Tama sighs, audibly, looking into the distance. The things she puts up with. "...It is, at least, good to meet you properly, Raiko."
"Sure I was happy," Yumi says. "Going to the nurse's office was my sign I was out of the hospital--I was there to hand over the forms that said I could go back to class!" A beat, "I do still feel that way sometimes. ...Not even just when I'm not feeling great, either."
Yumi looks over Raiko, and nods. "It just makes sense to be scared. There's no shame in that. I'm scared sometimes, too, and I'm--if I don't say so myself--pretty good at this magical girl thing." She says it conspiratorially. "...And we all do things we shouldn't sometimes."
"...Hm, so. For me, it's like..." Yumi looks up to the sky.
"It's like when you've got a whole bunch of dishes that are tilted over in a cabinet. If you open the cabinet, there's gonna be some that fall and break! No way around it. ...But you can't ever use the cabinet again if you don't break a few dishes that way."
"...You're not too broken to fix. It might get harder before it gets easier. But it will get better, if you stick with it. I'm sure of it."
<Pose Tracker> Raiko Takashima [Infinity Institute (9)] has posed.
Raiko nods to Tama. "Um... It's nice to meet you too, Tama-san."
Shiori is sitting with Tama now that she's moved closer to observe, though she doesn't comment on what Yumi said.
Raiko listens as Yumi explains she was happy about being in the nurse's office, because it meant being out of the hospital. "... I guess that makes sense... I... heard you were in the hospital a lot, but... I guess it's not really nice to listen to gossip like that..."
She looks up to Yumi. "How do you deal with it when you feel like everything is hopeless? It feels like I'll never be able to fix everything."
She nods along as Yumi talks about it being okay to be scared, but then-- She blinks, frowns, and looks over to Yumi. "Wait, what? You're a magical girl and a witch, too? How did that happen? And why would you tell me? Aren't you supposed to keep those things secret?"
Someone... has apparently missed a connection or two.
Shiori, for her part, looks like she's caught between trying to figure out if Raiko's messed up here, if if she's somehow failed to explain something properly.
She listens as Yumi explains about the dishes, and frowns a little. "... I think we left some dirty dishes in the sink," she says quietly to herself. One more thing to fix.
She leans against Yumi again. "I wanna get better," she admits, finally. "I just..." she lets that thought trail off.
<Pose Tracker> Yumi Ohzora [Infinity Institute (11)] has posed.
"I have heard much about you," Tama says to Raiko, inclining her head. She doesn't say much more for the moment, though--instead, she lets Yumi handle the matter of the other girl. "So," Yumi says, "Sometimes the rumors are right! But it's important not to forget that there's people underneath them, I guess. You and me both have that problem, right?"
How do you deal with it when everything is hopeless? "...I start a little at a time," she says, thinking back, to a time when it was hopeless. "And do what I can. And remember that I don't have to do it all myself. ...But most of all--"
"Even if you can't fix everything, you can start being the person you want to be today. Everything follows from that."
But then there's the matter of magical girling, and Yumi laughs. "Yep! You're supposed to keep it secret, but you get to know, because you're involved with the Staves. Through Lost Ivy's power, I'm the Witch of Lost Ivy, an Inheritor--a magical girl."
It's fine. Yumi can explain. And she starts to say something else, too, to reassure Raiko, when Tama interrupts abrubtly, "Both of you--down!" She hisses, turning around as great footsteps rock the earth.
Yumi immediately steps out in front of Raiko, lifting her Staff and looking upon-- ll. Upon an Ogre clad all in iron, in heavy armor with a great big tetsubo ringed in metal studs on leather on metal backing. The Ogre grins toothily as he looks down at the others. "...Heh heh. Smell two familiars..."
"DELICIOUS!"
Yumi interrutps by lifting her staff and incanting, "Staff of Lost Ivy! In my hand remembered be!"
With a flash of green light she is transformed, her clothes changing from boots to gloves to dress, a great hat on her head, wide-brimmed and pointed, her hair suddenly braided back.
"I won't let you have them!"
The Ogre swings down its club, and Yumi throws up both hands to create a barrier to block it. "Raiko-chan," she says, looking to the side, as if she could see over her shoulder, "Run!"
...Her barrier holds, for now. Mikoto Minagi walks over from Tama Outer City.
<Pose Tracker> Raiko Takashima [Infinity Institute (9)] has posed.
Raiko looks at Tama curiously when she says that. She'd known that Shiori and the other grownups weren't telling her everything. But this goes far, far beyond anything she might have suspected.
But she looks back to Yumi as the elder girl keeps talking. She tenses up a bit and just nods glumly as Yumi says they're both the subject of rumors. "... I hate that that's what people think of me..." she says quietly, hugging her knees tighter to her chest. "I tried to tell myself I didn't care, that it didn't matter, but..."
'Start being the person you want to be today.' There's... something in her expression, just a brief little glimmer before her own worries bring that frown back. "That sounds really hard, Ohzora-chan," she admits. And kind of scary, but she can't bring herself to say that last part aloud.
After a long moment's consideration she looks up to Yumi. "... Um... if you were me, where would you start?"
But as Yumi explains about the staves and the magical girling, Raiko is... a big agog. "... What? But... aren't the staves like... older than recorded history or something? They had magical girls all the way back then?" She turns to Shiori, and is about to say something when Tama interrupts.
Shiori is on alert too, already up on all fours and hissing loudly. "Raiko, do as she says!"
The sound of the large footstep crashing down draws Raiko's attention, and at that point she slips off of the rock she was sitting on, hiding behind it... but peeking out. "Wha... what's going on?!"
'tasty familiars'
Her eyes go wide as she sees the ogre, cringing back behind the supposed safety of her rock. She definitely doesn't want Shiori to be eaten but... what can she do?
"It's an Ogre," explains Shiori quietly. "A servant of The Hungry Queen." She shares a glance with Tama. She knows just how dangerous it is, but isn't sure how much to say without scaring Raiko even more.
But then... Yumi transforms, and Raiko looks up in wonder, gasping as she sees the transformation up close and personal. Sees such a startling change, sees all that power up close and personal... though she still can't help but flinch as the ogre's club comes crashing down on Yumi's barrier.
"But if I run... can... can you really handle that thing all by yourself?"
Why is she even bothering to ask? It's not like she could do anything about it anyway.
<Pose Tracker> Yumi Ohzora [Infinity Institute (11)] has posed.
"It sucks," Yumi agrees about how people think of Raiko. "It hurts. Whether you want to care or not, it does."
She smiles, at it being really hard, but doesn't get a chance to go back to it before--
Tama leaps downward, behind Yumi, to advise her.
"This one... Its armor is powerful, enchanted to deflect most magic." This may be one of the worst to face without the others. But Tama won't say that aloud for now. Instead, "Be on your guard, Yumi!"
Yumi jumps to the side just before her barrier shatters, barely missed by the Ogre's greatclub Shiori's quiet explanation gets a look from Tama. "They're very dangerous. Ancient spirits, bound forever. They are always hungry."
Raiko's question gets a laugh from Yumi, though Tama and perhaps Shiori can easily tell it's forced. "I eat Ogres for breakfast!" Yumi calls.
"Lie!" the Ogre retorts. "Ogre eat YOU for breakfast!" He slams the club down again, and Yumi can't dodge completely in time, knocked back and to the side by the impact even indirectly. "Guh--"
Tama says, "Raiko! It's too dangerous here for an ordinary human!"
Yumi pushes herself back up, in the meantime. "I won't know until I try. But you need to go!"
Yumi incants another spell, weaving runes with the Staff, and lays a curse on the Ogre...
Only to find that the curse deflects, and bounces away. "Ha ha ha. Me too tough for that!"
Yumi grits her teeth, and tries another, running between spells to try to draw the Ogre away from the others. But attack number three knocks her from her feet, a sweep too broad to dodge. Her barrier shines forth, but she falls over anyway, the green magic preventing her from being crushed.
A green beam of dark light crashes forward next, but only wings the Ogre's head, causing a ROAR of anger and a redoubled offense.
She might manage this on her own. Yumi is certainly encouraging Raiko to take that chance.
Tama's tail lashes, her ears down, her frustration obvious. "There must be a weak point!" she calls. "Stay light on your feet--save your strength until you find it!" 📱 Hayato Nishi (Hayato) pages Yumi Ohzora and Raiko Takashima: Are observers still welcome? 📱 Yumi Ohzora (Yumi) pages Hayato Nishi and Raiko Takashima: Yes! You have invited Hayato Nishi to +join or +summon you. Hayato Nishi walks over from Tama Outer City.
<Pose Tracker> Raiko Takashima [Infinity Institute (9)] has posed.
Raiko does try to run. Briefly. But all it really results in is her falling backwards from her crouch behind the rock onto her butt and scooting back a few paces that way. Her heart is torn--it's too dangerous, everyone's telling her to hide or flee, Yumi is a Magical Girl and she's... she's just a witch who's obsessed with enchanting cell phones.
But the armor is enchanted... if she could help Yumi break it, Yumi could--
No, that's a stupid idea. This is above her level.
Shiori moves to Raiko's side, warily keeping one eye on the fight but giving most of her attention to her charge. "Raiko, get up," she says sternly. "We have to get going."
Raiko's eyes are fixed on the battle. "B-... but... We can't just leave her! She needs help! All her spells aren't..."
"I am aware. But we have to keep you safe while we try to get more help."
Raiko finally looks down to Shiori. "We're in the middle of nowhere, Shiori!" she snaps. "We're not gonna be able to get any help in time!"
The familiar's unblinking gaze looks right into Raiko's eyes. "Then you have to help her."
The girl finally finds her footing and manages to scramble back behind the rock to shield herself, knees huddled to her chest again. "Shiori, what am I supposed to do? I'm just a 9th year! My magical sell phone isn't going to do diddly against that thing!" Her voice is starting to crack as she takes a heaving breath.
Shiori puts a paw on Raiko's arm. "You know what you can do, Raiko."
Raiko shakes her head. "Nah uh. I can't. I'm not the right person for the job!" Quietly she adds, "I'm just a screwup. I'll mess it all up."
"Raiko," responds Shiori firmly, but quietly. "If you don't do this, Yumi may die. And if that happens, you, Tama, and I will be next. I know you're afraid of messing up, but trust me. I have watched over you your entire life. You are smart, caring, and resourceful. You have everything it takes, but you have to be willing to try."
"... But what if I still mess up?"
"Then we'll fix it. If you try, you may mess up, but you may also succeed, and live to learn how to do better the next time. But if you can't even do that... then there won't be a next time."
Raiko's cheeks are wet, her voice quiet and horse. "I'm scared."
"I know, dear. But this isn't just about you. I know you're scared of what happened to your grandfather possibly happening to you, but he risked his life every day to stop The Hungry Queen and protect everyone from her machinations. Yumi is doing her best for your sake. Neither of them would tell you they are completely fearless, but they try anyway. Because taking chances is the only way to make things better."
"... You'll help me, right?"
Shiori nodded.
After a long pause, Raiko finally got to her feet. Her hands shook, her heart was pounding, and every instinct she had was screaming at her to run away.
But the voice telling her she couldn't lose Yumi was yelling louder.
"Give me the staff," she said evenly.
<Pose Tracker> Yumi Ohzora [Infinity Institute (11)] has posed.
Yumi can't keep looking at Raiko; if she shows the Ogre that what she cares about right now is over there, then een this dumb brute might get the picture. She can't count on them being stupid. ...Especialy not after that one.
Tama watches, though. She watches Shiri make her pitch, as Yumi rolls out of the way of another smash of the club against the ground, and another, and another. Even if she's strong, the Ogre is wearing down her energy, and if she can't get any offense going against it... then the end is inevitable.
Yumi throws another beam, and another, and another, as she and the Ogre trade blows. She's gotten much stronger, Tama can tell, than she used to be... but this is an enemy strong where she is weak, and strong where she is strong.
"Yumi!" Tama calls. "Call upon your broom! Get your mobility!"
"Right!" Yumi calls, and reaches out her hand. The broom suddenly appears in it.
"You think--" Yumi huffs. "You think that's going to be enough!?"
"YEAH!" claims the ogre, and reaches out to try to snatch Yumi up all at once.
As he grabs, she drops her broom, and struggles. "Ugh! Your breath is TERRIBLE," Yumi bluffs, but she's trying to work a spell with her hands bound anyway. It doesn't look good.
<Pose Tracker> Raiko Takashima [Infinity Institute (9)] has posed.
Shiori closes her eyes, finally releases the spell she's been using to hide the staff ever since this morning, and the staff appears. It is a relief, to not need to maintain the spell any longer. There was a time when she could have held it for far, far longer, but that was quite a while ago.
The staff is a little over five feet tall, comprised of polished black wood with silver geometric inlays running through its length. At the top is a silver setting, with a blue crystal embedded within.
Raiko reached out, her hand trembling until it finally made contact with the staff. Unlike before, it was silent--Raiko could have sworn it was waiting but she pushed that thought aside. When her hand made contact with the wood she drew in a sharp gasp.
There it was again. A resonance ringing from deep within her, an electrifying energy flowing from the staff, down her arm, and into her body, filling her with with... the joy of a bird's flight, the energy to incite change and the fury of a storm. There was so much more there, this was just a taste, but the staff was waiting.
She had to give of herself too.
Raiko raised the staff up and shouted, "Staff of Wise Levin, hear me! In my hand, discovered be!" Overhead, storm clouds gathered out of nowhere, spilling out of nothingness directly overhead. "Secrets kept, knowledge shared! I come to learn the acient truths!" Overhead the clouds started to churn more quickly, tendrils of electrical energy licking out, lashing faster and faster as Raiko completed her chant.
"Let our hearts be bound as one!" And she opened herself to the staff, felt it surrender the rest of its powre to her--and accepted it all a a lightning bolt struck from the sky, engulfing her in a blinding white light--
And when the flash cleared, she was clad in a witch's hat and a cloak, leather boots and gloves--but her garmetns were more modern, vest and a button-up shirt, a ruffled, multilayer skirt, a belt with pouches and a watch embedded within, complete with a siler chain.
The Witch of Wise Levin turned to face the ogre, raising her hand. "Let... her.... go!" she snarled, as the clouds churned once more, building up for a strike... and then she brought her hand down, directing the bolt with it to strike directly at the Ogre's head.
COMBAT: Raiko Takashima transforms into Witch Levin!
<Pose Tracker> Yumi Ohzora [Infinity Institute (11)] has posed.
Tama is focused on Yumi, but she has an eye open for Raiko and Shiori, too. All she can do is offer advice, right now. She doesn't much like that. But when the Staff appears--that makes her watch. That makes her see.
Yumi, in the meantime, is in trouble; she's still working her spell, but hasn't managed to get loose yet. As she traces runes, though, Raiko is busy... and is coming to understand something very important.
"The Staves are resonating!" Tama calls. "...Quickly! You are stronger together than apart!"
The Staff's activation brings a sudden light as the Staff of Lost Ivy resonates in turn; a green light shimmers around Yumi as the lightning bolt lams into the Ogre's outstretched club and electrocutes the monster all at once. The unbidden barrier the Staff casts protects Yumi from the same, and she falls back to the ground, released by its spasming hands. It can't let go of the club, though.
"GHAARH!" the Ogre calls in anger, rearing back its arm. "Will smash two as much as one!"
But he's dazed, and he needs a moment to gather his strength. A moment in which--
"Levin!" Yumi calls. "On three, we do it together! Just like they said!"
She hefts the Staff into the air, and begins gathering power. "One... two...!"
Raiko has moments to act. Yumi herself is running mostly on adrenaline. She won't have much longer to stay on her feet, so they have to make this count fast. %rLight shines...!
<Pose Tracker> Witch of Wise Levin [Infinity Institute (9)] has posed.
Shiori si immensely relieved to see Raiko complete her transformation... and somewhat proud to see her stepping up, though it's not a time to relax just yet. She takes her place alongside Tama to watch and offer advice. "Raiko! Trust your instincts! The staff knows what to do, just let it guide you!"
"Got it!" Raiko has taken off running, moving to get to Yumi, to help her up. There's so much she wants to say, but they're still in danger. "Yu--Ivy! Are you okay?"
Yumi's on her feet--The Staff of Lost Ivy is glowing with a green light, and her own staff, Wise Levin, is glowing similarly, but in yellow, with electrical sparks starting to dance up and down its length.
"Got it!" she says, as Yumi begins her count. She turns to face the ogre--standing side by side with Yumi--and raises her staff as well. The sparking intensifies as she concentrates, lets all of the power gather and concentrates. Shiori's been so patient with her, and she finds her Staff just as as patient, letting herself by guided as she prepares her strike.
And on Yumi's count of 3, she blasts the ogre for everything she's worth. 📱 You paged Yumi Ohzora with 'Combooooo.' 📱 You paged Yumi Ohzora with 'That work?'
<Pose Tracker> Yumi Ohzora [Infinity Institute (11)] has posed.
Tama is relieved, too. She didn't like the look of this battle--didn't like a lot of things. But with two Inheritors...
Yumi--Ivy--takes Raiko's hand and gets up. They're in danger, so there's a lot that has to go unsaid for now. "I will be!" she says, "As soon as we take care of this guy!"
They both glow, columns of light becoming brigther and brighter as they lift their Staves. The patience of the Staves is legend, but there is only so much time that they will wait. Raiko blasts. Yumi blasts. It looks like this:
From the sky hurtles down a great blast of lightning, striking the Ogre and keeping him stock-still except to shake as his club is met in the air by the force of electricity. It runs all through his armor, crackles all around him, and holds him utterly in place.
Yumi, for her part, has lifed her staff, and holds on with both hands; at the same time that this lightning holds him in place, Lost Ivy brings forth a towering beam of sunlight, which in its wake heals the smashed rocks and ground--and consumes the Ogre in green flames.
Lightning and sunlight together destroy the monster. And when it's done... The light passes. And one Witch looks to another Witch.
"Aaah!" Yumi says. "You were great!"
Tama sighs in relief.
<Pose Tracker> Witch of Wise Levin [Infinity Institute (9)] has posed.
Raiko can scarely believe the pwoer at her beck and call now--but true to Shiori's word, she's not alone in managing it. Wise Levin has not been active for quite some time, but yet it doesn't miss a step as the powerful surge of lighting is brought down from the heavens.
A dazzling display of lightning and blessed light light up the area, consuming the ogre with green flames and then... suddenly the battle is over. Everything looks as it once did and the only indication there was a battle at all are the two magical girls and their familiars standing there.
Raiko is panting hard, her hands a little shakey as she lowers her staff. Even with Wise Levin's help, she's not used to managing this kind of power. She's a bit in awe of it, taking a moment to try and process everything that just happened.
But Yumi's words get through to her, and suddenly, the girl who had moments ago made a demand of an ogre much larger than herself has lost all of that brovado. She looks shy and a bit unsure as she asks, "... Really?" There is a flicker of a smile, but then...
She lets her staff go--it stays upright of its own accord--and throws her arms around Yumi, hugging her tight. "Oh my god, I'm so sorry. If I'd just accepted the staff sooner than you wouldn't have gotten hurt and I'm just so glad you're okay, and I promise I'm gonna do my best even if I'm not sure how because I almost lost you and I can't bear to lose someone who's been so nice to me!" She's crying again, but these are happy tears. Mostly. It's been a rough day.
Meanwhile, Shiori is also sighing in relief. Quietly, just to Tama, she asks, "Please tell me it won't be this troublesome to get the next witch to accept her destiny."
<Pose Tracker> Yumi Ohzora [Infinity Institute (11)] has posed.
The battle is over! Yumi--Lost Ivy--is a little shaky herself, when it all goes through. Raiko smiles, and Yumi starts to smile back--but then she blinks as she is abrubtly hugged. It's not a bad blink, just a surprise, and she lets the Staff of Lost Ivy hover too as she hugs Raiko back. "It's okay!" she says. "I can stand up to being hurt a little, you know? I'm pretty tough!"
She takes pride in it, even.
"...But thanks," she says more seriously. "It wasn't looking good there, but now we've got it, right?"
She smiles. "Awww, yeah... You were super great, though! All that lightning! And just the right moment!
As Yumi gives Raiko a well-deserved bit of priase, Tama looks over to Shiori. "...Don't ask questions you don't want to know the answer to."
But the sun shines brightly down on the lake, now.
COMBAT: Yumi Ohzora transforms into Witch Ivy!
