2023-03-10 - Friend (or Foe?) and Domino
| Title: Friend (Or Foe?) and Domino | |
|---|---|
| Summary: Raiko is out training with her magical girl powers, and draws the notice of Endo. The meeting goes well, but ends on a slightly awkward note. | |
| Who: | |
| Where: World Tree Plaza (Tama Outer City) | |
| OOC - IC Date: 3/10/2023 - Tuesday, February 23, 2016 | |
.****************************** Tama Outer City *******************************.
*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+* World Tree Plaza +*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+
The World Tree Plaza is both a social and mystical center in Tama Outer
City, a huge concourse with chairs and benches and shopping situated beneath
the eternally gentle shade of the titanic World Tree. The tree itself is a
100-meter behemoth that commands the local skyline, visible from many miles
away. Stairs and walking paths - first concrete, then hewn into the bark and
branches - allow climbers and hikers to clamber over a dozen meters above
the ground. Its size makes it a reliable landmark, popular both for giving
directions and for meeting friends. Although visitors find the World Tree a
stunning sight, for citizens of Tama, it's simply a beloved local landmark.
The World Tree's true identity is the sacred tree Bontou, a site of enormous
natural magical power. Every 22 years, Bontou releases a tremendous rush of
magical energy. The city around the tree has been groomed by the Magic
Association for more than a century, and so six points of power harness the
Tree's power at all times: Five in a pentacle around the tree, and one in a
cavern beneath the trunk itself. At the moment, the Infinity Institute sits
directly on top of one such control point; the Institute's Library Island is
in charge of another. Another point supposedly contains the local Magic
Association headquarters...although an unwitting visitor would find only St.
Ursula's, a small church and Catholic school with distant ties to the
Infinity Institute.
<Pose Tracker> Raiko Takashima [Infinity Institute (9)] has posed.
"But Shiori, the entrance exams are tomorrow..."
"Yes, dear, and you're clearly losing focus. You need to take a break and come back to this later."
Raiko found it hard to argue with the familiar, and a break did sound pretty good...
And so Levin found herself on one of the rooftops surrounding the World Tree Plaza. She was transformed: the hat and black cloak clearly marked her as a witch, though the frilly skirt and pocketed belt made her look a bit more Victorian-era or steampunk than the classic style. In her left hand was a staff made of black wood, with silver inlays and a blue crystal on top, leaving her right hand free to gesture and direct her magic. She was hovering gently in mid-air, wisps of winds surrounding and holding her up from below, and her cloak fluttering gently from the breeze. Around her, on the ground, was an elaborate diagram of a magic circle, though closer inspection would reveal it to be comprised of... dominoes.
There was already an intricate setup of dominoes on the roof around her, but hovering around the witch in mid-air were dozens more, each wrapped in a light-blue sheen of magic. At her direction they moved and gently settled into place, adding to the ever-growing diagram on the floor.
From a nearby air conditioning unit sat a calico tabby cat, tail swishing softly as she watched the witch do... whatever it was she was doing.
<Pose Tracker> Endo Naoki [Juuban Public School (12)] has posed.
Endo, while busy, does make time for regular patrols over Tokyo. Usually closer to home, but today has brought him out over toward Tamanear Infinity, where a good number of his friends and fellow mages attend school. So, taking to the air had a dual purpose: getting home faster, and also making sure nothing sinister was afoot in the general area.
He drifts through the sky slowly, a dim purple light hovering above the nearby buildings, easily lost amidst the wide-spanning branches of the world tree.
<ANOMALY DETECTED.>
It takes a moment for Endo's eyes to focus on the gentle glow of Raiko's work down below, but once he spots the witch at work he sinks down through the sky toward her. The boy touches down gently on the roof at a respectful distance, far enough away to hopefully not cause immediate alarm.
"Hello." He calls, "Are you going to knock those all down?" The interest in his tone indicates he might hope that she's constructing her domino maze for exactly that reason.
<Pose Tracker> Raiko Takashima [Infinity Institute (9)] has posed.
The cat's whiskers twitch almost immediately after Fallen Stern detects the 'anomaly', and she looks up as Endo starts to make his approach. She sits up, watching the mage draws closer, and it even looks like she might be saying something, though it's not clear what.
The witch herself doesn't respond right away. She's gesturing frantically, the extra dominoes moving off to the side, and the witch herself starts to lift slowly up, and drift over so carefully to the outside edge.
"I'm afraid the point is rather to avoid knocking the dominoes over, at least until the exercise is done," supplies the cat, speaking in a clear but gentle voice, as the witch tries to manage her landing.
Levin touches first one foot down, then the other, and as she releases the flight spell, a final burst of wind disperses and knocks over some of the dominoes in the outermost ring. "Aww, man... And I was doing so well..." Then she remembers they have company and turns to face Endo, staff brandished warily but not in an immediate attack position. "Um... Hi. Who're you?"
<Pose Tracker> Endo Naoki [Juuban Public School (12)] has posed.
Endo makes a short 'ah' of understanding. He only seems to realize the cat is the one that said it after the fact. Which is not strange enough at this point to give him too much pause--only a minor start of recognition before his eyes move back over toward the floating witch.
"Sorry." Endo apologies. "But, they look cool when you knock them over, right?" The knight smiles helpfully, letting out a brief laugh before remembering to introduce himself.
"I'm Endo. I saw you down here and I wanted to make sure you weren't doing anything...weird. Well, evil and weird." A somber nod follows.
"Who are you?"
<Pose Tracker> Raiko Takashima [Infinity Institute (9)] has posed.
Levin sighs, "They do, but I'm supposed to be practicing fine control over my magic, so I'm not supposed to knock any down. If I do, I have to start over..." She looks ruefully at the ones she just knocked over, and then to the cat. Almost before she can open her mouth to ask the question, the cat interrupts.
"Yes, dear, I'm afraid that still counts."
"Shoot." She looks to Endo again. And then blinks as Endo introduces himself with what sounds like a totally normal name. "Is... that your real name? Shouldn't you have an alias?"
"It's not evil, just training, that's all."
Then Endo asks for her name, and she clears her throat, standing upright and almost posing with her staff. "Oh! Right." She tries to affect a mysterious air, but it's clearly not well-practiced. "We are the Witch and Staff of Wise Levin." She gestures to the cat. "And this... is the Familiar of Wise Levin."
There's just the smallest flick of the cat's tail. "Honestly, dear," she mutters under her breath. Out loud, she says, "You may call me Shiori."
<Pose Tracker> Endo Naoki [Juuban Public School (12)] has posed.
"Why?" Asks Endo on the topic of names. "If you met me on the street, how would you know I'm this Endo, and not some other Endo?"
<I HAVE MANY ALIASES.>
"Maybe later, Stern." Endo suggests.
Endo turns back to Levin and the cat, making a polite nod of his head. "It's nice to meet you. I'm glad you aren't doing anything evil." He replies. "Wise Levin sounds like she has a lot of stuff. Is she around too, or is it just you?"
<Pose Tracker> Raiko Takashima [Infinity Institute (9)] has posed.
"But... don't you have enemies? Names have power, you know..." That's true in general--it's a fact witches are all too keenly familiar with--but she's also thinking of a recent revelation, as well.
Her eyes are drawn, inexorably, to Fallen Stern as it speaks up. "Did your sword just talk?" she asks, quietly, a bit stunned. After a moment to process that she lights up. "Oh that is so cool!" She takes a few steps closer to get a better look. "What's their name?" she asks.
She blinks as she looks up to Endo. It takes her a moment to process that statement. "Um... What? Oh! No, I'm Wise Levin. The Witch of Wise Levin is just my full title, and this is my staff and she's my familiar." She raises her staff and gestures to Shiori, respectively.
She seems to have forgotten about putting on the mysterious air from just a moment ago.
<Pose Tracker> Endo Naoki [Juuban Public School (12)] has posed.
"Well how would they know which Endo I am?" It's unclear if this is something he's thought through a lot, or not at all really.
The oversized weapon pulses briefly when Levin scoots forward a bit.
<I AM THE METEOR.> The device warbles in its reverb-laden voice.
"Oh, right, this is Fallen Stern. He's my partner." Endo supplies. "Like, your staff, maybe. Or like Shiori. Or, maybe, like if Shiori was your staff and you could hit things with her."
Realization dawns on Endo's face after Levin explains her name. "Aaah... I see. That makes more sense, actually." The boy offers a bright smile. "Nice to meet you, Wise Levin. Are you new in Tokyo?"
<Pose Tracker> Raiko Takashima [Infinity Institute (9)] has posed.
Levin looks at Endo ask he asks how they're supposed to know which Endo he is. She blinks, and then looks over to Shiori, but the familiar doesn't seem to have any answers, either. She looks a bit lost for words. "I... well... they could go around checking all the Endos in Tokyo, I guess?" She's having a hard time deciding of Endo is being serious or not.
"The Meteor..." repeats Levin, and she fishes a notepad from one of her pouches and makes a note--and then adds "Fallen Stern" right after when Endo clarifies. "So cool..." To Stern: "Are you sentient?" To Endo: "Did you enchant him? How hard was it?" To Stern again: "Do you have free will?"
The staff stayed floating in midair when Levin let it go to get the notepad out.
"Levin," says Shiori quietly, but the sigh is almost audible in her voice.
"Eh heh, sorry..." Levin takes a step back to give the pair some space.
She blinks a little at Endo's rather lengthy analogy. "I don't think Shiori would like that... Um... the Staff and I fight together, but we don't do hitting. And it doesn't talk. It's more..." She holds her hand out, palm up, and a ball of electricity springs to life. "Lightning. At range."
She does smile though, and nods, "It's nice to meet you too, Endo. And you too, Fallen Stern."
"Likewise," offers Shiori. The staff remains silent, however.
At the question of being new to Tokyo, however... She looks a little uncertain how to respond. The grand, mysterious air to her voice comes back. "The Witch of Wise Levin has defended this land since time immemorial, and--"
"Levin," interjects Shiori, somewhat sternly.
Levin deflates a little. "... but I've only taken up the title recently."
<Pose Tracker> Endo Naoki [Juuban Public School (12)] has posed.
"I guess so." Endo acknowledges to Levin's point. "That sounds hard, though."
On the topic of sentience, Fallen Stern replies: <I AM CAPABLE OF HIGH LEVEL REASONING.>
Endo's answer is a bit more lacking: "Ah, well, not me. I guess someone did. I don't...know how an Intelligence Device is made, really."
<MY WILL IS IMMENSE.>
"That's a yes." Endo supplies.
His eyes move over toward the crackle of electricity, and he nods. "Ah, that's cool. I know someone who can do lightning magic too. And a few other witches too, I guess. I don't know if they're like you, though."
He nods. "Ah. Okay. Well, I'm sure you'll do great!"
<Pose Tracker> Raiko Takashima [Infinity Institute (9)] has posed.
Levin's eyes go wide as Endo says the words 'Intelligent Device.' She looks to Fallen Stern in wonder. "You're an intelligent device?" There's an almost fangirlish squeal in her voice as she asks that question. "That is so cool! I've always wanted to see a real live Intelligent Device. I mean, meet one," she says hastily. "I have so many questions I wanna ask--"
"Perhaps another time, dear," remarks Shiori, casting a worried glance to Endo and Stern. "You do have important matters to attend to."
She's doing Endo and Stern a huge favor, honestly.
"Alright, alright..." Levin puts her notebook away.
Levin lets the lightning ball disappate. "Really? Cool! I wonder what their magic is like..." she says of the other lightning mage. "I don't know a lot of other magical girl witches yet, but there is one in my coven, The Witch of Lost Ivy. Have you met her?"
She smiles a bit shyly, but nods. "Thanks. I appreciate it."
<Pose Tracker> Endo Naoki [Juuban Public School (12)] has posed.
Endo smiles at Levin's enthusiasm, nodding his head along as she continues. He gives a deferential dip of his head toward the cat, noting: "We can talk about it later, maybe." He seems happy enough to do so.
"I do know her!" He replies. "We've worked together, once or twice. We..." His head tilts, pausing before he continues: "She's nice." He decides.
"And yeah, no problem." He adds after. A second later he realizes: "I guess I'm interrupting your training, right?" The boy laughs, scratching at his head sheepishly. "I'll let you get back to it. We can talk again later."
<Pose Tracker> Raiko Takashima [Infinity Institute (9)] has posed.
Levin nods very firmly to the idea of talking later. "Okay!" She looks to Fallen Stern. "I hope you won't mind if I ask you lots of questions about yourself sometime, okay?" She looks to Endo, "I'll ask you some questions too, if you don't mind."
She might legitimately be more interested in Fallen Stern than in Endo, at that moment, but she is trying to be polite.
"Oh yeah?" She watches curiously as Endo hesitates in his response. "You... what?" Her eyes narrow a little in suspicion. "Did something happen between you two?"
"I mean, yeah, but... I wanna know what happened between you and Ivy!"
This time the sigh is actually vocalized. "Levin, dear, we really should--"
"But Shiori, this could be important!" Probably not for the reason Levin is thinking of, but she's not taking any chances.
<Pose Tracker> Endo Naoki [Juuban Public School (12)] has posed.
"Sure, we can answer questions later." Endo agrees. He gives Fallen Stern a shake, and the weapon makes a warble of agreement.
"Ah...well, it's not really a big deal. We fought once, but we're friends now. It's pretty hard to explain, so maybe we can save it for next time." He offers a placating smile.
"Anyway, I'll see you around, probably!" Endo begins to float upward, heading slowly skyward with a wave of his hand.
<Pose Tracker> Raiko Takashima [Infinity Institute (9)] has posed.
"Okay!" Levin's looking forward to asking questions.
That enthusiasm evaporates when Endo mentions that they fought. "You... fought? With Ivy?" Without thinking abou it she reaches out for her staff, which drifts into her hand. "I'm glad you're friends now..."
She still sounds suspicious even as she says that.
"Yeah, see you," she says a bit flatly. She watches as Endo takes off, not turning back to her practice until the mage is well and truly out of sight.
