2022-11-07 - First Things Fixed

Title: First Things Fixed
Summary: Now that Raiko has accepted her destiny, her first order of business is to fix something at home. She invites Yumi and Tama along to share in the experience.
Who: Raiko Takashima, Yumi Ohzora
Where: Tama Outer City
OOC - IC Date: November 07, 2022 - Saturday, January 23, 2016
Previous: 2022-11-02 - Meetings and Beginnings *+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+* Tama Outer City +*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+* While the the 23 wards of the Yamanote and Shitamachi zones comprise the core of Tokyo, an equally populous and geographically larger section of the city lies inland, to the west. This is the Tama region, consisting of a multitude of districts that, like the wards of inner Tokyo, are considered cities in their own right, but which combine together to form the megalopolis of Tokyo. In inner Tokyo, the government has to build and protect little squares of nature, but in Tama, nature is the default, and humans build squares of civilization. Surprisingly close to the city, one can find clean rivers, open fields, and, of course, great snow-capped mountains. The Shitamachi zone may be down-to-earth, but its residents are still thoroughly cityfolk, part of the "Floating World." In Tama, the urban culture intermingles with the rural, giving a taste for what life is like in the rest of Japan, outside of the big city. Buildings are low, sidewalks are wide, and cars are much more viable means of transportation than anywhere else in the city. High up in the foothills, one can even find a few tiny villages, whose residents technically live in Tokyo, but whose lifestyle is more akin to the most rural of provinces. The majority of Tama, though, is more of a suburban area, with modestly developed downtown districts scattered throughout. Life in Tama is less frantic than in Inner Tokyo, and natural beauty abounds. The Tama river forms the southern border of the zone, and many of the nearby mountains were considered sacred, and even today they are guarded by Shinto shrines near their peaks. Inner Tokyo's dense, churning morass of emotional energy holds a certain sort of power, but a more primal magic sleeps under Tama, and because of this, it is home to the Infinity Institute, which secretly trains a new generation of sorcerers away from the bustle (and inevitable collateral damage) of the big city. <Pose Tracker> Raiko Takashima [Infinity Institute (9)] has posed. Today... had been an odd day. Between learning the real reason for her grandfather's disappearance, that she had a secret destiny she had never known about, that Shiori wasn't who she seemed, that Yumi wasn't who she seemed, not to mention the ogre and the surprise discovery that she was, in fact, a magical girl, well... It was a lot to take in. After the banishment of the ogre, and much crying and hugging, when Raiko had settled down some, there was still one matter of business to attend to. Given... everything that had occured, Raiko felt it only right to extend the invitation to Yumi... to visit her house. It was a small, two-story affair, a bit old-fashioned, and what some might call cozy, but her grandfather preferred to call 'cozy'. She led the small group of two magical girls and their familiars up the stairs until they reached the study, which... was still a mess. Raiko hadn't been able to bring herself to come back to clean it up after the Staff of Wise Levin had responded to her, but she had to do it sooner or later... especially if she was going to fix up the wards. There's definitely still a sense of the old enchantments hanging about, but they're torn to pieces and inoperable. Papers, books, and other stationary are scattered about the floor, with the requisite bookshelves and filing cabinets, and a magic circle taking up the center of the room. "So... this is my grandpa's study. This is where Grandpa and Shiori were keeping the Staff until... well... today." Shiori is holding onto the staff for the moment. Raiko continues, "I was told never to go in here, but..." Kind of a moot point, now. "Um... Yumi-chan, I hate to ask this, but... could you help me straighten up? That way I can fix the wards faster..." Without even waiting for a reply she's already starting to pick up the stuff right at her feet. <Pose Tracker> Yumi Ohzora [Infinity Institute (11)] has posed. Yumi is a lot of things! And seems like a lot of other things! ...But in this case, now Raiko knows the big secret she keeps. There was a lot o crying and hugging, and Yumi might've cried a little too, just a little. But he house is lovely! The study, which is... a mess, is still very nice. "Hmmm," Yumi says, looking around. "I can sense the power," she comments, and then looks at Shiori as she holds the staff and explains. "Yeah, you're here now, and the reason you were supposed to stay out is in your hand, so..." Then Yumi laughs. "That's fine, I'll help. Let's see... Just let me know where stuff goes," she says, and starts to work on it. She gets papers, picks up books, all that. But she also looks at things as she does, because--well, of course she does. <Pose Tracker> Raiko Takashima [Infinity Institute (9)] has posed. It's a secret Raiko is keeping now, too. And one she's also sharing now, which makes things seem... not as daunting. Raiko nods to Yumi's assessment of the situation and why she shouldn't worry about being in here anymore. "Yeah, I think not all of the old wards got ruined, so... I might be able to reuse some of the old enchantments? But I don't want to start casting spells until the mess is under control..." "Thanks, Yumi-chan. I appreciate it. Um..." When Yumi says to tell her where things go, Raiko looks around a bit helplessly, and then glances to Shiori. She's never been in the office, so she doesn't really know where anything belongs. Shiori nods and jumps carefully up onto the desk to supervise. "It's fine, dear. Let's just get everything organized into neat stacks for now, and we can worry about putting them away later. I will admit, I don't fully understand your grandfather's organization scheme myself." Raiko is also looking things over as she gathers them up. There's plenty of neat little trinkets, reference tomes of various types, and lots and lots of paperwork... though a large portion of the written and even some of the printed materials seem to be garbled. She frowns as she holds up one item, turning it over and squinting at it. "Shiori... is... this some kind of magical encryption?" "Yes, dear. Your grandfather is very insistent on protecting his research." She frowns slightly. "It's part of why I had such a difficult time locating him." Raiko looks thoughtful as she starts sorting out encrypted and nonencrypted materials into separate piles on the desk. "Well, presumably there's a way to decrypt it..." she mumbles to herself as she keeps cleaning. <Pose Tracker> Yumi Ohzora [Infinity Institute (11)] has posed. "Right. It'll be easier if you can re-use some of the old ones," Yumi agrees, though the mess. And--"Oh, right," Yumi says, "Of course." She looks to Shiori and nods, and gets to work doing that much for the moment. Tama, of course, does not help. Shiori's got supervising covered so Tama just hangs out for the moment, eyeing the study. "Right," Yumi says. "You never know with organization!" There's lots of interesting stuff in here, though Yumi notices the garbling too. "That's smart," she says. "I wonder if I shouldn't consider using some of this for stuff..." The encryptions, that is. "Probably!" Yumi says of a way to decrypt it, as she sets some more stuff into piles, and then pauses to straighten a shelf that got out of sorts. "There's obviously some more important stuff in here..." "Best not to worry about breaking the ciphers right now," Tama comments. "Getting it in order and protected again is your priority." Hotaru Tomoe walks over from Infinity Institute. <Pose Tracker> Raiko Takashima [Infinity Institute (9)] has posed. Shiori... has a bit of an eye for the organization, even if she isn't able to exactly place everything back into its original position, she's keeping an eye on what's been cleaned and still needs tidying, and making suggeestions about where to place and move things around to. She may have been forced to insist Raiko clean up a time or two when she left an in-progress project sprawled about. "I've got encryption set up on my laptop to protect some of my files," Raiko comments, as she works to align all of the pieces of paper in a stack into... well, hopefully piles with the tops and bottoms of the pages all lined up the same way, but the encrypted text makes it difficult. "I'll have to research how the magical equivalent works." The shelf definitely got out of sorts. As did the bookshelf, and even the pictures on the wall are knocked a little askew. Once Raiko finishes with her stack she's moved to the bookshelves to load it up again with books and some of the magical doodads. Raiko glances over to Tama as she comments on the cipher. "Oh, right. I was just... thinking out loud, is all..." she says with a light blush. It's hard not to chace down an interesting line of thought sometimes. <Pose Tracker> Yumi Ohzora [Infinity Institute (11)] has posed. Yumi's pretty good at organizaion too, but this isn't her office to mess with; she's happy to defer to Shiori on this one, just like Tama seems to be willing to not intervene and countermand Shiori in her house, as it were. Yumi does a lot of little bitty work; she can't grab the super heavy stuff, but papers are fine. "Oh, yeah?" Yumi asks. Encryption of files is pretty high-end stuff, she thinks. Maybe she should do more of that. "I just rely on the Staff's magic to guard my phone, and a password on the laptop..." Hmm. "I can help you with the magic a little though. We've gone over some of that in class, so I know where to start." Yumi also helps; and in short order, they'll be done! Tama repies, "It's fine. I just wanted to be sure your thoughts didn't run away with you yet." <Pose Tracker> Raiko Takashima [Infinity Institute (9)] has posed. Raiko can get the heavier stuff! She's used to slinging small appliances around, and lifting desktop computer towers, so it's not too out of line for her. "Well... there's a bunch of open-source tools to help manage it, so it's not that hard... plus, I do hae some of my important files backed up online and and I've encrypted them to keep them safer." But then she pauses, and looks over to Yumi, frowning. "Wait... why is your staff guarding your phone...? I know I'm new to this but 'cell phones' don't seem like they're in the domain of 'Ivy'..." She does perk up a bit at the mention of getting help with the magic. "Oh really? Cool! I'd really appreciate it." Someone's excited to learn something new, it seems. "Thanks, Tama-san." And with the combined efforts of Shiori, Raiko, and Yumi... the office is cleaned up! "Whew. Okay. Next, let's examine the wards." She pulls her cell phone out of her pocket, leaves it suspended in mid-air, and starts gesturing around it, causing a magic circle and runes to appear as she prepares her spell. Seems like the cell phone itself is the focus for her spell, much like how it was being used as the focus for her phone case finding spell the day before. <Pose Tracker> Yumi Ohzora [Infinity Institute (11)] has posed. "Oh, I see!" Yumi nods. 'Open source tools' are outside her gneral experience. The matter of the phone gets a laugh, though, and Yumi ys, "They aren't! I borrowed a spell from Tama." Tama sighs audibly. "The transport spell she used for the staff; you can 'imbue' the staff into an object that way. I picked my cellphone! Now it's magic, and I can bring the staff back out with an app! I keep the broom in there, too, with the same magic." She smiles at the matter of helping something new. "Okay! War!" Yumi notices the phone and the spell, the way she's using the working... Interesting, she thinks, and sts out of the way to let Raiko work. <Pose Tracker> Raiko Takashima [Infinity Institute (9)] has posed. Raiko looks extremely interested as Yumi mentions a transport spell. "There's a spell that could do that?" She hears the sigh from Tama but doesn't react to it. Shiori, on the other hand, does, glancing over to Tama, with an expression of '... is this really okay?' She hadn't heard that particular detail, before. "Then why don't we use that for Wise Levin?" "I'm afraid that won't work, Raiko," says Shiori, cutting in. "The spell is individualized to the staff, and..." She glances away a little. "I don't currently have access to the one for Wise Levin." "Oh, I see," says Raiko, frowning and biting her lip as she considers. "It might mess up the enchantment on my phone, too. But maybe we can adjust it..." Raiko finishes preparing the spell, and with a few uttered words, activates it. There's a wide beam of ethereal energy that emerges from the cell phone, and Raiko slowly turns to sweep it over the floor, ceiling, and walls of the room, highlighting the wards. "I figured out how to use my cellphone to cast sympathetic magic," she explains as she works the spell. "It's got so many sensors and components, there's loads of stuff you can do with it once you work it out... but it's like the cell phone case, it requires a lot of adjustments to avoid damaging the phone." <Pose Tracker> Yumi Ohzora [Infinity Institute (11)] has posed. "Totally!" Yumi answers, and Shiori looks to Tama who gives her the flattest look. This is a battle she has fought before. Shiori cuts in as to the expalnation and Yumi says, "Oh, no? Then yeah, adapting a new one would take a while..." The chantment? Yumi looks over Raiko as she considers her spells. "...I see" she says. "That's really cool. Then go on for it!" "Hmmmm. So if we know where they are, you can strengthen them again, right? If you need help, I'll back you up, but--" "But Yumi can't be the one to do them primarily," Tama chimes in. "There's too much chance that the servants of the Hungry Queen are familiar with her magic. Once they're settled it won't matter if they're familiar, but until then..." It's all up to Raiko it seems! <Pose Tracker> Raiko Takashima [Infinity Institute (9)] has posed. Shiori is still rather unfamiliar with the workings of modern electronics, despite having been around to see most of its development. She gets the basics but... most of the stuff Raiko is doing does not count as 'basics'. On either the technological or the magical side of things. Once Raiko has the whole room scanned, she frowns a little as she studies the highlighted runes. "Okay, there, and there, and... Hrm." She uses her telekinesis to hold the cell phone aloft as she lets it go, maintaining the spell in the meantime. In her hands suddenly appear a notebook and a pen, and she flips through to find a blank page. "This will be a little crude, but I just need to get the basic outline to work from..." She pauses a moment. "Oh, um... I enchanted my cellphone. It's just your basic subdimensional pocket spell, like you'd use on a chest or a bag, just... applies to my cell phone." Shiori is just shaking her head a little. Not in a totally disapproving way, just... in a way that makes it clear she doesn't understand it. She answers Yumi on knowing where they area. "Yeah! I'm pretty sure I can manage, but it'd be really helpful if--" Oh. Yumi can't do it. She frowns a little, biting her lip again, but then nods. "Okay, I understand. In that case..." She shows off her notebook to the gathered parties. "I think this should do it, but can you guys double check my work?" For having sketched it out freehand just now, it's remarkably detailed, including adjustments for most of the wards and a complete replacement for one particularly damaged one, all of which appear to be correct. <Pose Tracker> Yumi Ohzora [Infinity Institute (11)] has posed. Yumi uses electronics, but she's never been very focused on their inner workings. They've just been ice to have! ...So she's beyond Yumi's weight class when it comes to the technological side. "Oh neat," Yumi says of the cellphone's enchantment. "That's handy." Yumi nods along, and she does understand it; she smiles about it. But Raiko-- "Yeah, sorry Raiko-chan," Yumi says, confirming what Tama says. "Double-checking I can do, though!" "...I will trust Yumi on this one," Tama says. "It is important to let you two have a certain amount of independence." Pause. "And I'll know if it doesn't work." Just in case. Yumi peers over Raiko's shoulder, looking down at the detailed notes. "Yeah, looks good to me. And with the Staff's power behind them, these will be solid." <Pose Tracker> Raiko Takashima [Infinity Institute (9)] has posed. Raiko nods firmly in agreement on it being handy. "It's like having an extra backpack that doesn't weigh anything!" "It's okay, I understand. Guess it's a good thing nobody else would be familiar with my magic yet, then..." Or with the Staff of Wise Levin, for that matter. At least, she hopes that's the case. Shiori echos Tama's sentiment, "Between the two of you, I'm certain everything will be in order." Raiko nods, a bit relieved as Yumi gives it her seal of approval. "Okay, good. And... right. This is going to be... an interesting experience." She's used minor enchanted items before. This... is on a whole other level. She sets her notebook on the desk, and then puts her cellphone away in her pocket. She knows where the runes are, now, and she doesn't want to risk overloading it. "Shiori, may I please have the staff?" "Certainly." Shiori releases her hold on it, and the staff appears, which Raiko takes hold of. She takes a deep breath, and... "Staff of Wise Levin, hear me! In my hand discovered be!" There is a bright flash of light, and a bit of a sound of echoing thunder bouncing around the room, and Raiko appears in her vaguely Victorian-era witch's garb. With a gesture of her hand, she brings the notebook over to her telekinetically, giving it one final readover... and then sets it down again. Raiko grips the staff tightly, a magic circle appearing at her feet as she begins to channel the power. The crystal on the tip of her staff sparks to life, and as an internal glow in the yellow crystal intensifies suddenly it bursts, yellow lines of electricity arcing from the tip to each ward in the room that was just identified by her prior spell. She's muttering under her breath, guiding the casting. Those arcing lines of electricity intensify, becoming brighter and more wild... and then all the magic stops. "I think that should do it." She looks down at herself, frowning as she realizes she doesn't have her cell phone to check. "Shiori? Tama-san?" Shiori looks about the room, inspecting Raiko's handiwork. "Hmmm..." <Pose Tracker> Yumi Ohzora [Infinity Institute (11)] has posed. "Yeah!!" But Raiko gets it, and that's good enough. "Would any of them be familiar with the Staff already?" Yumi wonders, when she mentions her own magic being ufnamiliar. So Tama replies, "Probably not, at least not directly. Many of the Ogres have felt its wrath, but it was last wielded well over a century ago." A very interesting experience. Shiori hands over the staff, and Yumi watches Raiko transform. She didn't get a chance to appreciate it last time, busy as she was, so she smiles this time upon watching Raiko go. She watches, and listens, and notices it--stop-- Tama likewise looks about the room, but mostly she closes her green eyes and focuses. "...The study is warded once again." "Great work, Raiko-chan!" says Yumi. "Tama means that too, she's just not used to saying nice things to people--" "Hmph." <Pose Tracker> Raiko Takashima [Infinity Institute (9)] has posed. Shiori concurs with Tama, "Yes, I agree." She lets out a small sigh of relief. "It is good to have the study in order once again." Raiko smiles gratefully to both Tama and Shiori. "Thank you, both of you--" And she giggles a little at Yumi's comment about Tama. "Thanks, Yumi-chan." Shiori, on the other hand, is giving Yumi a little bit of a look. She doesn't say anything though, since she's not about to admonish another familiar's witch. Tama can settle that herself, if she feels the need. Raiko lets the transformation go, reappearing in her civilian garb and holding the staff. This is the one thing she does know where it goes, and she places it back up on the wall, now safely guarded once again. She spends a look moment just looking it over, and then looks to the rest of the room, silent and contemplative. "Raiko," says Shiori quietly. "Your grandfather would be proud of you. Is proud of yuou," she adds, after a moment. And not just because of the wards. Raiko sniffles a little but nods, looking pensive, but not about to break into a crying fit. She kind of worked that out of her system earlier. "Thanks..." She clears her throat and speaks up again. "I made some modifications to the wards. In addition to allowing Grandpa and Shiori, they'll also now allow myself, Yumi-chan, and Tama-san, as well." She's looking to the elder girl as she says this. "Um... since my Grandpa was researching stuff about The Hungry Queen, I figured... it was only fair to share. I don't think he'd mind."