Spellheart

Momoko winces internally, anticipating that she'd offended Amiko. She puts a smile on her face. "Well, I think it went pretty good," she says. "It started, and the people we were fighting against were like...right in front of us, in this big field. It was nothing like the big maze we had to deal with."
 
Marcy gets going right away as soon as Momoko mentions the terrain, "The arena has all sorts of different maps associated with it. You could go an entire year without ever experiencing a single duplicate. According to a write-up done on the methodologies of Spellheart's training program, the purpose of training in varied settings without any preparation makes us more useful as soldiers. Since Spellheart flies above the ground, we couldn't possibly be briefed on every single terrain that we fly over, especially in a way that carried meaningful strategic and tactical depth. So instead, they aim to make us accustomed to quickly assessing the terrain around us and learning how to exploit it by constantly placing us in life or death situations where that advantage often makes the difference. Because we've been forced to fight to the death, it is ingraining in us a sense of mortal peril when we recognize situations that we remembered experiencing a disadvantage, which keeps mortality rates down when we are deployed."

Amiko giggles after Marcy concludes her military rant, "Well, I'm glad that you both enjoyed yourselves. It is nice to see you two getting along so well. Marcy has historically had a lot of trouble making friends. And Momoko... you don't have to be so careful around me. I'm harmless, promise."

Marcy seems caught off guard, obviously unsure of the abrupt turn in the conversation. Marcy looks over Momoko as if she was looking for some sort of clue as to what Amiko meant.
 
Momoko blinks a few times after Marcy's info dump. She hadn't really taken Marcy for someone to know so much about a specific subject. She didn't really know why, though.

She's stunned at what Amiko says, but she supposes it makes sense. She had sort of been walking on eggshells. "It's...it's not that..." she mumbles, rubbing her knees with her palms. "It's just...uh..." She shakes her head. "Never mind. It's fine."
 
Last edited:
Amiko slides closer to Momoko, "You know, I won't be able to understand properly if you don't want to tell me. If you like it better that way, I don't mind playing along, but it doesn't have to be that way."

Marcy slides back into the corner uncomfortably, still puzzled as to what was happening. She almost looked like she was deciding between freezing in place or leaving the room.
 
Momoko flinches, not one hundred percent sure what to say. She glances at Marcy, hoping for guidance, but the other girl looks just as confused as she is. She sighs. "It's just...a couple hours ago you were..." she points off towards the bedroom, "and now you're..." she points at the couch. "It's just..." she looks back at Marcy. "I don't know how...well you are? I-I dunno."
 
Amiko looks down, "So, you noticed then..." Amiko looks up towards Momoko like a child apologizing for breaking a window, "I'm not really better right now. I'm just faking it. I can't really regulate myself at all right now, and often I find myself talking automatically. Plus, there is this feeling of dread that just won't go away. I sort of want to cry right now, but I didn't want to show weakness to someone..." Marcy wraps herself around Amiko's back, placing her arms past her neck, resting on top of her meager chest. The act seems to cause Amiko to silence herself immediately as she takes a moment to look back at Marcy. Somehow, that seems to help her compose herself. Amiko looks up with a smile that wants to be real, "I just mean to say, I don't want to make this weird. I want to come to know you, normally. I don't want to let the things that happened to me get in the way of that."
 
Momoko stares blankly in shock, not having expected Amiko to just say 'I'm faking it'. It wasn't something people usually said. "Can't all that wait until later?" She offered. "If you're not in the best state right now, I don't really want you to...fake it, y'know?"
 
Amiko lays against Marcy's shoulder, "I think it could, but also, it really wouldn't be unusual for me. I think the world won't slow down for you just because you had a bad day, and sometimes it will even speed up just to spite you. Maybe it is just another of my bad habits, but when you don't know what tomorrow brings, you often find yourself rushing into everything. And besides, I'm tougher than you give me credit for. If you are worried about me, your fears are misplaced."
 
Momoko nods slowly. "Alright," she backed down. "I'll...try not to worry," she says, feeling the need to say something along those lines. She pat her hands on her knees and bit her lip. "What now?" She asked slowly.
 
Amiko tries to answer the question, but Marcy interrupts, "Now, we should get something to eat while Ami is still awake. I'm thinking pizza from Shiverstone, and maybe bust out the fortune paper while we wait?"
 
Momoko's hand drifted to her stomach. "I'm not that hungry," she admitted. "So I'll skip food. You guys can order though." She didn't mention the fortune paper, though her brow furrowed in concern at the mention of it.
 
Amiko is receptive to Momoko's reaction, suggesting, "Marcy, I get that you are excited to play, since this is the first time in a while we've had more than just the two of us, but that sort of game might not be something Momoko wants to do on her first visit."

Marcy thinks over her suggestion, realizing the implication of what she suggested. Looking apologetically in Momoko's direction, "Sorry, I didn't mean to suggest something demanding. I just, thought it would be a lot of fun, and I didn't think things all the way through you know... Don't feel pressured to do things just because I suggested them. And ummm, if pizza is too much, is there some sort of snack I could get you instead?"
 
Momoko shook her head. "No, no, it's not that," she said quickly, her gaze flicking to Amiko for a few seconds then switching back to Marcy. "It's just, they're not as good with two people, are they?" Her eyes kept on flicking back to Amiko as she spoke. "And I'm fine with just skipping food. You guys can order though, go ahead."
 
Marcy gives a puzzled glance at Momoko, "They aren't, that is why I thought we'd do it with all three of us. But, ummmm, I'll just get something for Amiko if you aren't hungry. I'd hate to eat in front of you, but Amiko definitely needs to eat something. She already looks like she is one diet away from weighing in the negative numbers."

Amiko giggles, "Hey, I'm not that underweight."

Marcy rolls her eyes, "Sure, whatever you say. You are still eating the pizza." Whipping out a sheet of paper, Marcy writes, "The person who casts this feels the need to announce the color of their underwear." Marcy revels in her own immaturity, "So are we doing this or what?"
 
"But..." Momoko trails off with a just hidden sigh. She snickers, eyes drifting to bonier parts of Amiko. "She's right. You need to get some food in you," she said with a laugh, poking at the bone in Amiko's wrist.

She squinted at the words written on the paper. She let out a short laugh. "I mean, don't see why not," she said, leaning back on the couch.
 
Amiko sighs while playfully smiling, "So your plan was to gang up on the sick girl then? You are more diabolical than I anticipated."

Marcy appends mischievously, "Well when you can't win a fair fight, you take what you can get."

With all three girls connected to the fortune paper, the roulette begins. Within just a few seconds the spell bursts and Marcy declares, "Pink with butterfly prints."

Amiko can't help but stifle a snicker. Marcy shrinks her body posture inward, hoisted by her own petard. The next sheet of paper with the marking pen is passed to Momoko. Marcy cheers, "All you girl."
 
Momoko doesn't try to stifle her laugh, sniggering straight at Marcy. "That really came back and bit you in the ass, didn't it?" She says, rubbing at her watering eyes. She takes the fortune paper, takes the lid of the pen, and almost starts writing. She looks up at Marcy and Amiko, and then pauses for a few seconds. When she does right something, she writes, "The person who casts this feels the need to slap the person closest to them." She takes a moment to snicker at herself, and lifts the paper to show it. "Look good?"
 
Marcy looks tentatively at the paper, seemingly not sure what to make of it, but without making a large fuss about the contents. Amiko, on the other hand, does voice an opinion, "Seems a bit slapstick, but that is probably the appeal." Regardless, both girls link up to the paper, Marcy being particularly nervous about the results. When all is said and done, Momoko strikes Amiko across the cheek involuntarily. She might regret not adding the specifics behind penned actions. Momoko learns how lightweight Amiko was from the sensation of delivering the slap. Not only her face, but her entire body seemed to move as Momoko's hand made contact. Amiko eyes followed Momoko's hand throughout the entire event up until forcibly made to look away. After it was over, Amiko was still smiling, but her fair skin still bore the redness from the sting. Marcy becomes eerily quiet.
 
Instant regret contorts Momoko's features. "That was a bad idea," she muttered, eyes diverting to her knees. "I'm really sorry, Amiko, that was such a bad idea." She hurriedly got to her feet. "I'll get an ice pack, or something."
 
When Momoko comes back with the ice pack, she can see Marcy has no clue how to handle this situation, while Amiko herself seems far more concerned with Momoko. When Momoko inevitably comes to place the ice pack on her face, Amiko reaches out towards Momoko's face. The motion isn't quick at all, but instead slow and deliberate. When Amiko finishes, she has her hand gently on Momoko's temple. Kindness fills her voice, "You don't have to worry so much. I kinda knew it might happen this way." Not dwelling on the subject, "I'll be fine. We can still have fun if you'd like, or we can slow things down if that would feel better." Amiko removes her hand, revealing curious eyes, eyes that held not even a shred of resentment.
 
Back
Top