2023-03-26 - Magic, Modern Devices, and Mysterious Goggles
| Title: Magic, Modern Devices, and Mysterious Goggles | |
|---|---|
| Summary: Raiko heads over to Yumi's dorm to ask about her recent run-in with Endo, but more importantly to finally finish her spell to safely store the Staff of Wise Levin. Upon her successful completion of the task, the Staff decides to award her efforts... | |
| Who: | |
| Where: Dormitories (Tama Outer City - Infinity Institute) | |
| OOC - IC Date: 3/26/2023 - Saturday, February 27, 2016 | |
.******************** Tama Outer City - Infinity Institute ********************.
*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+* Dormitories +*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*
The main dormitories of the Infinity Institute are, like most other school
services, within the monolithic tower itself. The accommodations are
slightly more homey than the class and club levels, though, with dorm levels
having warmer lighting and wood paneling. Built-in furnishings are fairly
ordinary: A desk and bed for each occupant, a Japanese-style table for
sitting around, and, most luxuriously, a small kitchenette. Each room houses
two or three students, with separate floors for boys and girls, with floors
arranged by grade level. Each floor also has a live-in teacher of the
appropriate gender to make sure nothing goes too terribly wrong.
The communal accommodations are fairly lavish. The baths on each level are
enormous, laid out in the fashion of large public Japanese baths and
arranged with artful stones and greenery like a resort. Exactly which kind
of resort depends on the school level. Similarly, the gymnasium has lifting
machines that can support loads of multiple dozen tons and treadmills that
at least claim to be capable of going up to sixty miles an hour.
Although accommodations can be made for talented younger children,
officially speaking the dorm only accepts students once they reach middle
school. Although attending Infinity is free due to its charter status, the
boarding costs are steep, so poorer students tend to live at home or seek
scholarships. Much to Infinitys fiscal delight, the dorms remain a popular
choice for those who can afford it; parents consider them a safe and healthy
environment, and students enjoy the relative lack of supervision.
<Pose Tracker> Raiko Takashima [Infinity Institute (9)] has posed.
It's late after school and Raiko has... thrown herself into a long-neglected project. Now that the specter of entrance exams have passed, and the threat of Conflagria seems to be... settled, at least for the moment, it's given her some time to turn her attention to something that's been long overdue. A project that she let consume her for a couple of days (with occasional breaks enforced by Shiori), but now...
She'd sent Yumi a text asking if she could come over, and then shown up promptly a few minutes later, dressed in a bright blue Aohime sweater, black skirt, navy tights, and her winter boots. She looks... well, tired, as she often does, but at this particular moment... it's at least a little bit the tiredness that comes from hard work, not just her normal melancholy tiredness. Shiori is in tow, of course, and once they arrive Raiko quickly sets up her notes, phone, and her tools.
"So..." she starts, after the exchange of pleasantries, "... I think I almost figured out this spell, and I thought... you might like to see me get it ready?" She starts reviewing an inordinate amount of scribbled notes and calculations and diagrams as she explains the reason for her visit.
<Pose Tracker> Yumi Ohzora [Infinity Institute (11)] has posed.
It's nice to go back to projects you had to set aside for a while!
Yumi, for her part, is dressed in gray and bright green today, in wintery clothes because she gets cold pretty easily even outside winter. And she is, naturally, here. She notices that tiredness...
"I'd like that," Yumi confirms. She notices the calculations, the diagrams...
Tama of course is also here, hopping up to the table where she looks over what Raiko is working on. "Yes," she says. "Let's see the results of your hard work."
Yumi claps once. "Yeah!"
<Pose Tracker> Raiko Takashima [Infinity Institute (9)] has posed.
Raiko is so very tired for... quite a number of reasons. But this is a good tired for once, at least.
But she smilkes when Yumi confirms she'd like to see it, and genuinely seems cheered by that. "I'm glad! Okay, I'm almost set up..." She slips off her sweater, revealing a blue and white striped shirt underneath. It's a little chilly, but... the sweater's too nice to roll the sleeves, and too staticky for fine work with electronics like this.
"Hi, Tama," says Raiko, "I hope you guys like it."
Shiori hops up on the table as well. She doesn't say anything, but she is watching with anticipation. She's been very involved in the process.
Raiko summons a small set of tools onto the table, along with two halves of a blank phone case. "It took me a while to figure out because I was trying to preserve the functionality of my old enchantment while layering in something that would protect the staff, but... eventually I just had to redo them both from scratch together." On the inside of the back piece for the new phone case she starts to inscribe a series of runes and circles, consulting her notes as she goes.
It's a long, slow process, though, so as she works she mentions. "Oh, Yumi-chan, that reminds me. I ran into a boy with an intelligent device the other day! It was so cool! But he said that you two have fought before? I think he said his name was Endo..."
<Pose Tracker> Yumi Ohzora [Infinity Institute (11)] has posed.
A good tired is better than the alternatve. And Yumi would like to see it! She waits with interest when Raiko starts working, as Tama instead simply inclines her head.
A long, slow process. Tama's nose wrinkles as she considers it. "It certainly isn't traditional, but..." But she doesn't have anything negative to say about the enchantment itself, which is like a compliment from the stern elder cat. Yumi is more effusive, "That makes a ton of sense--you don't want to just have any old enchantment with something this important, you really want something bespoke!"
But then Raiko mentions... Endo. At first, Yumi smiles--then she frowns. "Ah, yeah."
She remembers those fights...
"Endo-kun's a good guy," she says. "But that's true! We did. A while back... there was a big conflict, with lots of magical types. It was over something that doesn't really exist anymore... So I won't go into that. But in short, it meant that some people decided that the only way to stop people being harmed was the harm the magical girls who were letting them get hurt."
"...Unfortunately," Yumi says, "Those girls were my friends. And I didn't think that 'inaction leading to harm' was a good enough reason to kill them, too. Eventually, I abandoned both sides, because I couldn't be part of a fight like that, because in the end I think we should avert harm when we can, even if we don't like it or it's dangerous..."
"But I stand by the idea that we can't decide to kill another magical girl because she's 'insufficiently heroic'."
"It was a difficult time. Everybody had a lot of good points. But a miracle happened, and the reason they were all fighting went away... So now, it's just a memory. Not even that, to some people."
"We all agreed to never let something like that happen again."
<Pose Tracker> Raiko Takashima [Infinity Institute (9)] has posed.
"Yeah, I know..." admits Raiko. "But it'll work, promise." She spent... far too long figuring out how to get her magic to work with her electronics, and it's easy to feel defensive about her unconventional methods.
"It is," agrees Shiori. "And while I may not understand all of how the electronics work, the magical theory underpinning it appears to be sound."
Shiori watched Raiko struggle through developing it. She ought to know. Raiko flashes Shiori a grateful smile for the defense.
And to Yumi Raiko gives a grin and a nod. "Yeah! I wanted to make sure it did everything my old enchantment used to do, in just the way that I like it." Her old enchantment took a bit of custom work to get it just how she liked it, so the new one did, as well.
Raiko blinks as Yumi starts to describe the war and she actually puts down her tools for a moment to listen. "Something that doesn't really exist anymore...?" She frowns, wondering how something important enough to start a war could also not exist anymore, but then she sits up straight when killing is mentioned.
"What?! Was that... was that really a thing that happened?? How did... how did I never hear about this? I know I've only been a magical girl for a little bit, but... You'd think word of something like that would get around..." And maybe in another lifetime it did, but in this lifetime... clearly not.
She glances to Shiori, but the familiar just shakes her head. "Another time, dear. You should focus on your task."
Raiko sighs and nods, picking up her tools and continuing to inscribe. "Right..." She glances up to Yumi. "But... there's no more fighting now, right? You said Endo was a good guy? Is that... really his real name?"
<Pose Tracker> Yumi Ohzora [Infinity Institute (11)] has posed.
"So it seems," Tama says of the magical theory. And Yumi adds, "It's important to be able to work with our modern world, I think. It sure didn't hurt my Staff any!"
"Well..." Tama's tail flick a little, but then she says, "You are at least making these enchantments yourself," she allows to Raiko.
Yumi does describe the war. "Because it never happened," Yumi explains. "It's... a weird story. But somehow, it was all undone. Nobody really knows exactly what happened anymore."
But 'another time'. "Right. I can give you more details later if you need them. For now, anyway..." A pause. "Yeah, that's his name. And he is a good guy. He had strong beliefs that led him to do what he felt he had to do. ...Of course, so did I. I'm not selling myself short, here."
"The fighting's over. We're focusing on the threats to everyone... like we should be, I think. With, if not a united front, then at least without fighting amongst ourselves."
<Pose Tracker> Raiko Takashima [Infinity Institute (9)] has posed.
Raiko nods in agreement with Yumi on getting magic to workwith the modern world. "Yeah! I, well... you know."
She put a lot of time and effort, into it, at the cost of some very important things, but... she already spilled her guts to Yumi about that, so doesn't go into it again. Besides, there's more happy things to focus on, like her current project.
Not many witches get to say the've worked on a custom enchantment for a legendary artifact of power like this, after all.
Tama does get a warm and grateful smile from Raiko for that allowance, though. "Thanks."
"It never... huh?" Raiko blinks. "Like... someone used time travel to prevent the war, or something...?" She's seen that trope play out enough times in anime and manga, but not for real. To herself she mutters, "But that shouldn't be possible under normal circumstances. The mana required alone, not to mention the will required to changed causality..."
But Yumi reassures her the fighting is over, and she breathes a sigh of relief. "I'm glad... It's already scary enough to know that Conflagria might know your real identity without also having to worry about which other magical guardians might be our enemies, too..."
<Pose Tracker> Yumi Ohzora [Infinity Institute (11)] has posed.
"Yes," Yumi answers. She knows. THere's happy things to focus on right now, just like that. And Tama doesn't say anything else grumpy for the moment, so that's something of a win?
But Raiko asks more questions, and Yumi shakes her head. "'Or something'," she says. "I don't really know exactly what happened. It shouldn't have been possible at all. But it happened. It was a real miracle. Something beyond even normal magic..."
She nods, though. "Yeah. You don't have to worry about that," she says. "You can trust Endo."
"...There were a lot of us involved, on either side. We had groups, a lot of ideas... But now we're all on the same side, like we should've been all along."
"Most people won't want to talk about it. ...But you've got your spell, too. Do you want to focus on that?"
<Pose Tracker> Raiko Takashima [Infinity Institute (9)] has posed.
"A miracle, huh...?" She's heard of miracles, of course... but even though magic is pretty explicable to her, having grown up with it all her life, miracles are... at another level entirely. "If it was enough to stop a war it must've been..."
Raiko breaths a sigh of relief as Yumi says she can trust Endo. "Okay, good. Because Fallen Stern was really cool and I'd love to be able to talk to him again sometime." After a beat she adds, "And I guess talking to Endo again sometime might be nice, too."
Priorities!
"Right, sorry. I guess there's just... a lot I'm still getting used to and finding out about now that I'm an actual magical girl myself."
She picks up her tools and gets back to inscribing, though she does ask as she works. "... Does Endo know your real name, too...?"
It's delicate work, but it progresses smoothly. Raiko offers to explain the various bits of her enchantment to Yumi as she goes. She doesn't bring it up in school, but that's not because she's secretive, but because most of the other students don't really believe in it. But she doesn't mind sharing--that's the whole point of discovery and innovation, after all.
<Pose Tracker> Yumi Ohzora [Infinity Institute (11)] has posed.
"Mm-hm." Yumi nods. "It was."
She smiles at that sigh of relief. "Right?" she says. "Super cool. ...And Endo's not so bad, either!" Priorities are right. Yumi brings up a hand to brush some gray hair out of her eyes, and then smiles at Raiko, trying to be steadying.
"It's a lot. It's hard to get used to."
But that question? "Yep! He does. A lot of the community does. It happens when you work with people for long enough..." Or fight with them, for that matter.
"It's really intricate," Yumi comments, not surprised--it is magic--but seeing the way she's enchanted the individual components is impressive. "Sure, tell me all about it!"
<Pose Tracker> Raiko Takashima [Infinity Institute (9)] has posed.
Raiko does, in fact, take a lot of comfort in Yumi's efforts to be steadying. While she may express distress at the other girl's willingness to charge into danger, outside of those situations... she's an extremely reassuring presence in Raiko's life at the moment.
"It is," she sighs. "Especially with... everything else going on..."
"Huh. Lots of people... like all of your friends that helped with that mission, huh?" She does pause her work to contemplate that. "Is it... okay, that they know? I'm just... so used to the idea of keeping magic under wraps, that I guess... I just kind of assumed our secret identities should be extra protected."
Raiko does beam as she gets a chance to explain. She points out how she adapted common ideas, and how she worked out new ways of using the various components of the phone to assist with her regular magic, pointing out things like the camera, compass, various antennae, and so on.
Finally, she inscribes the last sigil and sits up for a moment, stretching her arms over her head. "Okay, that should do it for that step. Shiori, if you would?"
The familiar walks primly along the edge of the table and around the clutter to move beside Raiko. She starts to look over the enchantment--which covers most of the backplate--to compare it against Raiko's notes.
<Pose Tracker> Yumi Ohzora [Infinity Institute (11)] has posed.
Yumi does her best there, anyway.
"Mm-hm," Yumi answers. There's a lot going on, too--but Raiko has a question so Yumi has an answer, her gaze flicking rom the phone and magic on display to Raiko's face again. "It's OK," Yumi says. "I trust them. ...We need to keep magic scret from most people, sure, but..."
She waves her hand. "I don't worry too much about it anymore. I used to, but after a while it came out anyway, so..." It's not a thing for her. "But I haven't told people who you are."
But Raiko explains, and Yumi nods along, able to keep up with her explanation mostly on the magical side; she's more an electronics user than an electronics maker. But as the last sgil is inscribed...
Tama looks on in interest, her tail flicking lazily. She has not intervened in the conversation. But Yumi's pink eyes are bright. "...!"
<Pose Tracker> Raiko Takashima [Infinity Institute (9)] has posed.
"Hmm..." So Yumi doesn't worry about it too much. It's tempting to think that this is just another Yumi thing, like show she reached for that book, or how she charged into that mirror that was potentially a magical portal, but... there's an oh so discrete glance in Tama's direction, to see what Yumi's familiar thinks of that stance.
She feels like they might be somewhat in sync on the subject of Yumi being more careful, so if Tama doesn't seem to object or mind, then...
But Yumi hasn't spilled her own identity to anyone. "... Right, thanks. I appreciate it." Quietly, she muses, "I guess if it was okay to show my magic to your friends, then..."
Shiori nods and carefully takes a step back. "It matches your specifications, dear. I think you can proceed."
"Good! Thanks for double-checking, Shiori." There's an ear scritch of gratitude in Shiori's future, but not while Raiko is currently working with electronics.
Raiko reaches for her phone, powers it off, and with some of her tools carefully-but expertly and precisely--pries apart the old case. This backplate is inscribed, too, but the enchantment is much less complex than the new one--which probably makes sense, considering what it's additionally meant to hold. She takes the chance to show Yumi some of the differences between the two, and highlights a few of the electronics, like the wire wrapping around the edge of the case that serves as both an antenna and a sort of dowsing rod substitute. Then she carefully transfers the electronics into the new case and closes everything up.
<Pose Tracker> Yumi Ohzora [Infinity Institute (11)] has posed.
Tama looks to Raiko with the most longsuffering look. "It's true that it's a moot point in her case," she says. "...and it's not always necessary to hide from your allies, at least."
They are in sync, but...
She smiles back. "Good," she says. "You can do it!"
It's all enchanted, and it's all ready; Yumi looks between the differences, asks a few questions on the details, and then waits for Raiko to start it up!
Even Tama looks interested.
<Pose Tracker> Raiko Takashima [Infinity Institute (9)] has posed.
Raiko can't help but want to comfort Tama when she sees that look.
Tama also has some ear scritches in her future. And some assurances from Raiko that she'll try to help her keep Yumi safe. Later, when she's not working with electronics. And out of earshot of Yumi.
But she does look thoughtful at that. If even Tama doesn't seem so perturbed... "Okay. I'll think on that."
"Okay, first check..." Raiko picks up the phone and starts it up again. A logo flashes on the screen, and then after a few minutes the home screen appears, with all manner of icons and widgets on display. "Alright, now for the enchantment..."
She holds the phone out in one hand and places her other over it. She starts to chant softly to activate the enchantment, channeling magic into it. There is a flash of light from between her hands, and when she pulls the top hand off... she blinks.
The phone has gone from being a stock black color to a metallic blue shade.
"... Huh." She holds up the phone to inspect it, and then shows it to Shiori. "I didn't design it to do that..."
"I believe Yumi's phone did something similar, dear..." comments the familiar.
"Yeah, I guess so. Okay, next test." Raiko picks up her small toolkit in her free hand, and.. it promptly vanishes. And then reappears a moment later in her hand. "Okay, so far, so good. Shiori, if you would...?"
Shiori bows her head, "Of course," and in a moment, the Staff of Wise Levin appears in mid-air. Raiko takes it firmly in hand and takes a deep breath.
<Pose Tracker> Yumi Ohzora [Infinity Institute (11)] has posed.
Tama... may accept these scritches. Maybe. And these assurances. Later, though. Definitely later.
"Good, the phone still works," she says, because that was in question after taking it apart after all. She makes sure to stay quiet during the chanting though--doesn't want to interfere. And then, as she looks to the phone--
"Hey!" she says. "Yeah, that's like mine too. It's a consequence of harmonizing with the Staff, I think? Or maybe just with your magic."
Next test. So far, so good...
Yumi claps!
Tama sighs. "It's a very good spell so far."
<Pose Tracker> Raiko Takashima [Infinity Institute (9)] has posed.
"It's good to have the phone powered on," explains Raiko. "You want to check that the magic doesn't mess with the electronics, but you also want to check that the electronics don't mess with the magic. Easier to do that with it on."
"I'll have to study that later..." she says of the color change. "But I do kinda like it..."
"Thanks, Yumi-chan. Thanks, Tama."
"Okay, here goes." She concentrates... and the staff vanishes. "Okay, and last test..."
Raiko sets the phone down on the table, and takes several steps back. Another deep breath to steady her nerves, and then she calls... "Staff of Wise Levin!", but in a quiet shout that shouldn't carry through the walls. She holds out her hand, and...
... the staff materializes in it out of thin air.
There's a moment of tense scrutiny as she grips the staff, just to make sure it is, in fact, there... and then she grows giddy, jumping up and down a little. "It works!" She shows the Staff to the otehrs, as if they weren't watching. "Did you all see?"
<Pose Tracker> Yumi Ohzora [Infinity Institute (11)] has posed.
"Right," Yumi answers, finding the explanation reasonable. She smiles, though. "It's neat. And it's a nice, subtle way of acknowledging it. ...And you might not ever have to upgrade your phone again..."
She waits, though, for the final test. And there--
"You did it!" Yumi cheers, and moves in to give Raiko a hug of accomplishment. "Great work!"
Tama's tail flicks again. "...yes," she says. "The staff is unharmed. You did... well."
She still doesn't sound thrilled about it. But neither does she openly complain.
"Ee!" Yumi says instead.
<Pose Tracker> Raiko Takashima [Infinity Institute (9)] has posed.
"I had to dive into the spell quite a bit to adapt it for Wise Levin, but... I, er... wasn't able to break it down completely. There's a limit to how far I was able to decipher it. It's very old and very complex magic, so I guess there's something in there that caused the harmonization effect..."
Raiko beams and happily takes the hug, hugging Yumi with her free hand while the other is still holding the staff. "Thanks, Yumi-chan!"
Shiori is... not necessarily as upset as Tama is about the non-traditional nature of the spell's usage but... she's also spent far longer with Raiko being nontraditional with her magic. And the familiar actually breathes a sigh of relief as the spell appears to work.
That's a load off of her, not having to expend effort to carry it anymore.
"Excellent work, dear. I'm glad the staff is fully secured upon your person, now."
"Thanks, Shiori! And thanks, Tama!" If she notices Tama's grumpiness, she doesn't say anything about it.
Raiko steps away from Yumi to lean the staff against her chair, and picks up her phone to show Yumi. "See I made it work the same way as my old enchantment, so I can summon it as long as it's on me or within eyesight..."
And while she explains, a pair of old-fashioned goggles materialize on the staff, hanging by the strap around the setting for its crystal.
<Pose Tracker> Yumi Ohzora [Infinity Institute (11)] has posed.
"That makes sense," Yumi says of the spell, and how it makes sense. Tama seems to appreciate at least that Raiko recognizes that the spell is older and more complex than it might seem!
But Yumi gives Riko a hug, and--
"This will be good for her," Tama muses, and it's a mystery whether she means Raiko, Shiori, or both. She doesn't elaborate for now. Instead Yumi says, "I'm glad, too!"
But it works the same way... Yumi looks over the phone and then nods thoughtfully. "I see," she says.
"So what'd you do for the goggles?" she wonders immediately.
<Pose Tracker> Raiko Takashima [Infinity Institute (9)] has posed.
Raiko might be all about modernizing witchcraft--but that does require understanding it and where it came from to begin with. She just might be bad at expressing that part of her appreciation, sometimes.
Tama's comment goes uncaught by Raiko, but Shiori, on the other hand, catches it with the flick of an ear, and turns her head to look at Tama curiously. There's a soft swish of her tail.
"Yeah, it does! There's also some things that help with my sellcasting when using the phone as a focus, which is another reason it took so long..." She holds her hands apart, phone suspended in between them as a circle of magic begins to form...
But she blinks and halts her casting as Yumi brings up the goggles. "Huh? What goggles?" She follows Yumi's line of sight over to the staff...
And blinks again. "... I didn't do that. Shiori?"
The familiar stands up and approaches the staff. "Hmm. It appears the Staff has decided to award your efforts, though the exact nature of the goggles I cannot say..." Shiori glances over to Tama to see if she can shed any light on the matter--she hasn't actually had a chance to see her staff in action before, after all.
Raiko, meanwhile, picks up the goggles and looks them over. They're made of steel and leather, with crystal clear lenses, but... seem entirely unmagical. High quality craftsmanship, but no enchantment.
<Pose Tracker> Yumi Ohzora [Infinity Institute (11)] has posed.
A teenager who can't fully express herself? Now there's a thought.
Tama inclines her head to Shiori but doesn't explain what she meant; her tail continues to flick lightly, but more casually now, not angrily.
"You still did it in the end, though!" And then there are the goggles. Yumi points when Raiko asks, and there...
"Tama looks with some interest to see them. "Yes," she says. "Shiori is correct. The Staff approves of your actions, which means I suppose that it's good enough for me, as well."
"They are quite high-quality. They were crafted by the last Inheritor of the staff, I believe, and became a part of its power."
"Perhaps they will grow with you, as well, now that the Staff has bestowed them upon you. It is expected that each wielder will add to the legend and power of her Staff in time..."
Tama's tail flicks. "Though I would've expected it to wait until you were a bit older. This is a sign of accomplishment."
<Pose Tracker> Raiko Takashima [Infinity Institute (9)] has posed.
Shiori and Raiko both listen to Tama curiously, the latter looking between the familiar and the goggles in turn as she explains.
Shiori does appreciate having her supposition labelled as correct, though.
"So the staff approves, huh...?" murmurs Raiko to herself. She leaves her phone suspended in mid-air as she pulls the goggles on, getting them situated in place. Conveniently, they're a perfect fit. There's a bit of a grin as she looks between the three others. "Sooo.... how do they look?"
She's already thinking of transforming to see how they'll look with her outfit. But best not to do that in the dorms.
"They do rather suit you, dear," comments Shiori.
Raiko looks to Tama as she comments that inheritors are expected to add to the staff's power. "Whoa... really?" She picks up Wise Levin and regards it. "I can't imagine adding to something that's already so awesome and powerful, but... If you think I can do it, then I'll try."
She's actually addressing the staff, not Tama, as she says that.
<Pose Tracker> Yumi Ohzora [Infinity Institute (11)] has posed.
"Indeed," Tama confirms for Raiko, and then she hops down from the table, to look at the Staff from its base. She regards it, taking a seat, and her green eyes remain on it as the others talk.
"They look great!" Yumi says. "Very cool. I bet they'll look even cooler in your henshin."
She beams at Shiori.
But Tama finally looks back to Raiko as she picks up the Staff, speaks of what she can and can't imagine...
Gently, the elder familiar closes her eyes while looking at Raiko, in approval for those who know how to read the language of cats.
Yes, Tama thinks that this one will be suitable after all.
