377/Korma Call

Korma Call
Date of Scene:	06 September 2023
Location:	Korma Chameleon
Synopsis:	Nanoha Takamachi stops for a bite to eat the Korma Chameleon. She meets Rashmi and Chrono--- and finds out Yuuno is a boy. Not a ferret. o.o
Cast of Characters:	Nanoha Takamachi, Rashmi Terios, Chrono Harlaown

---

Nanoha Takamachi has posed:
Nanoha Takamachi is out doing a chore for her family, she has to get a bag of flour. So this means she has a giant sack slung over her shoulder and is moving, slowly, as she 'mrgfls' every so often. On her other shoulder, is Yuuno, a ferret, as she finally...

Grrrrrrrrlllllll....

"Huh?" goes Nanoha?

Grrrrrrrrllllllllll.

"Oh, my tummy..." she frowns as she looks around and. Korma Chameleon. She licks her lips. That sounds good right now. So she tumbles with her bag towards the shop on her feet, she carefully puts the bag by the door when she enters and 'ohs' in relief as Yuuno sniffs the air. Oh that's a good smell.

"Curry..." she says as she walks to order herself a Japanese style curry and rice.

Large.

She is hungry.

Rashmi Terios has posed:
It's not long before Nanoha's order is brought out; a large, steaming bowl of spicy, sweet beef curry. "Here you go~!" Rashmi says cheerfully, setting the plate down in front of Nanoha. "And your drink and naan will be out in just a moment..."

With Chrono well on the mend now, and still volunteering to help out at the Korma, it's been agreed upon that when Rashmi is filling in for a server, Chrono can assist as he feels he can.

Leaning a bit to one side, Rashmi blinks at the sack of flour. "Oh my, is that for a bake-- Oh! Nano-chan, hello!"

Rashmi's server cheerfulness dials up a few watts as the customer is recognized, and she sends a quick message to S2U.

<< Wow good luck, our customer's Nanoha! The Mage with the *really big* shots? >>

Chrono Harlaown has posed:
Chrono Harlaown admittedly liked helping here. It made him feel useful. Thankfully, due to the aid he acquired from Pluto and a rather generous useage of the healing magic, he was quickly getting back on his feet. In fact, some of the stitches were even gone now.

Of course, upon hearing that, he glanced out ahead of them. His eyes narrowed and S2U gave him an alert a moment later. Definitely magic. It... oh. OH!

He smiled and made a quick slight detour. No wonder such a small thing wanted such a LARGE curry. He brought out the plate of naan as well as the drink... and a small, secondary plate?

"Hello, Nano-chan, was it?" he asked with a small smile when he dropped them off. "A pleasure to meet you." There was just a moment's hesitation, during which he sent Raising Heart a message and, through it, to Nanoha.

<< A pleasure to meet you, Nanoha-san. When you have a moment, I'd like to speak with you. However, I would ask that your friend, the ferret changeling, revert back to his true form if he's going to join you for the meal. I don't believe curry is good for ferrets and it might cause concern if others see him eating it. >>

Nanoha Takamachi has posed:
Nanoha Takamachi blinks a little as a familiar face serves her. "Oh! Uhm. Was your name... Rashmi-chan?" she asks softly. Trying to remember that time that she outed her name. She did, after all. "I didn't know you worked here. Yes! That flour is for my family's bakery. Supplies got delivered too late and they broke the flour bag so it was everywhere! So I had to go get a new bag." she says with wide eyes as she eyes the beef curry. +_+.

She's about to eat when Chrono shows up as she huhs and looks to the boy. "Oh... uhm. Yes, it's. Good to meet you too!" she says as then she gets a message and Nanoha gets a message from S2U from Chrono and blinks. << Pleasure to meet you too... >> she says. << But uh what do you mean chan... >> Yuuno looks at Chrono and blinks, before frowning a tiny ferret frown. << Be back in a moment. >> he says, scurrying to the floor and scurrying out the door when it opens when another customer just leaves....

A few moments pass in an alleyway nearby when...

A boy, about Nanoha's age returns, with brown-blonde colored hair- the same color as his ferret fur, and in a white tunie, along with a cape. He looks entire out of place, but he opens the door as Yuuno sits down. "Is this better?" he says, in Yuuno's voice.

"H-huhuhuhuhuh- WHAT!?" goes Nanoha as she suddenly shuts up and just looks startled. She didn't know Yuuno was a boy.

**** NANOHA TAKAMACHI HAS BSOD'ed ****

Yuuno blinks at Nanoha's expression. "Didn't.. you see me---oh my no, no I forgot. I'm so so sorry, Nanoha-chan." says the boy suddenly, raising his hands, flailing a little. "S..sorry everyone."

"I've not always been a ferret. I am Yuuno Scrya. I'm an archeologist from the Scrya clan." he says "I've been teaching Nanoha what I know but."

"I guess the thought I was a boy in ferret form slipped my mind..."

*** NANOHA TAKAMACHI CONTINUES TO BSOD

"Buh...!"

She might need a moment.

Rashmi Terios has posed:
"Yup, this is my family's restaurant!" Rashmi chirps, making the wincing face of someone who has had to get emergency supplies a time or two herself.

But then Chrono says the ferret should change, and the redhead's smile is replaced by confusion, which only deepens when the ferret *just peaces out.*

...And then a boy comes in to sit down?

Rashmi has not... quite... shut down, but she is sort of standing there, blinking owlishly at Yuuno, for a long moment.

"...I'm gonna go tell Papi we're taking our lunch break," she finally says, faintly. "...I think we need more snacks..."

And almost visibly trailing question marks, Rashmi turns, drifting toward the kitchen, leaving Chrono to handle all that tea he just spilled.

Chrono Harlaown has posed:
Chrono Harlaown couldn't help but admire the two of them. Proudly taking on the duties of helping their families, as well as their duties as magical girls. They were good, strong souls. Of course, Yuuno's disappearance didn't concern him. "Far better," Chrono said.

Then Nanoha was... seemingly in shock? He glanced towards Rashmi, intending to ask her what was wrong. But she seemed just as confused as Nanoha. He then glanced to Yuuno, a confused look on his face... Only for Yuuno to explain. And Chrono blinked a few times before sighing and shaking his head. "I see. From the Scrya clan? Fascinating. I'll need to run through the data I have access to. If you're related to the... incident that brought the Arthra here," he said, his hand moving up to his chin.

Then glanced to Nanoha. He finally took a seat besides her, very gently hmming ... before glancing back to Yuuno out of the corner of his eye. And decides to make a joke. "If he's caused you any trouble, I could arrest him for you, Nano-chan," he offered.

It wasn't a good joke.

Nanoha Takamachi has posed:
Nanoha Takamachi continues to be in shock at this before she shakes her head and comes out of shock. "Arrest... him? Why? Yuuno-kun's been very good to me. He's helps me with my---" she looks around. "---magic training." she says as she "And comes with me to help me fight to find The Jewel Seeds... and contain them before they endanger other things..."

She looks up to Yuuno and blushes and looks back over to Chrono as she says. "...oh did you come. From The Ship crash?" she asks.

Yuuno nods. "I was the archeologist in charge of delivering the Jewel Seeds..." he says. "...but we we're attacked... and the ship was attacked close to this planet. It seems Precia Testarossa succumbed to the same energies of this area, or otherwise found a way to chase us here."

"Oh." goes Nanoha Takamachi as she nods rapidly, before digging into the curry. Because she is still very hungry, before offering a plate sheepishly to Yuuno, and then back to Chrono.

"So you're. TSAB. Yuuno told me you might come!"

AYuuno looks relieved. "I'm glad you're alright. It looks like your ship got caught up in this madness then, too?" Yuuno says, more articulate than he should be for a boy his age. "I saw the dimensional storm the other day. It was impressive. But dangerous." he says.

Rashmi Terios has posed:
Buying and waiting for food gives Rashmi a chance to recover, but before she emerges from the kitchen, Chrono receives a message.

<< ...Wait, so that boy *was* a ferret? You can *do that?!* >>

But when she returns to the table, it's with a plate of onion fritters, dipping sauces, and four samosas -- one for each, just in case the curry isn't enough for Nanoha. "Lunch break~!" she sings, setting out extra plates for Chrono. "They're for sharing, so take what you like! It's, um... nice.... to meet you... Yuuno-kun?"

Chrono Harlaown has posed:
Chrono Harlaown blinked and just stared at her. "It was a joke. To lighten the mood," Chrono said. And yes, I am. Time space administration bureau enforcer, Chrono Harlaown."

He glanced towards Yuuno. "My apologies for not contacting you sooner. I was actually unaware you had made it to this planet. Unfortunately... our planet encountered issues upon arrival. Most of the crew was forced to abandon ship and... I am still working to recover the remainder. As of the current time... I am likely the only reinforcements the TSAB has at this time. It is unlikely that any more will arrive." 'Reinforcements' in this case meant... he was alone.

He then glanced to Rashmi. He gave a small smile to Rashmi's question, responding quickly. << Yes. Transformation magic is difficult and rare, but doable. I, personally, have never done the spell. But feasible. >>

"As our forces are... currently... non-existent, I have offered Terios-san the position of TSAB Citizen collaborator."

He then glanced towards Yuuno. "I take it you can confirm Nano-chan's abilities? And... Nano-chan, would you mind if I scan you?" he asked, glancing back towards her. "And request combat logs from your device?"

At least, in this case, he could be certain they would be simple. Probably just like Rashmi's. Maybe a B, tops. But at this point, well... he... needed all the help he could get.

Nanoha Takamachi has posed:
Nanoha Takamachi smiles as she eats. She continues to eat while Yuuno speaks.

"It's quite alright. I understand. I'm sure there are others around you might not know about, that might be happy to see you here!" she says.

Nanoha eyes some of the onion fritters and steals one away as she eats it as Yuuno continues.

"I can vouch for Nanoha's potential. She's still in training. But she was able to contract properly with the ancient intelligent device I discovered, Raising Heart. I was never able to. Nor was any one else in my clan." he says.

Nanoha is asked if she can be scanned, so she has to stop eating to answer him. She swallows. "Um, sure, you can scan me! and uhm. Raising Heart, can you please allow Chorno's device to scan you for logs?" she asks.

Raising Heart lightly pings affirmatively.

"Thanks for the sharables, Rashmi-san!" she says. Yuuno nods likewise. "It's good to meet you too, Rashmi-san!" he says. "My apologies. If I am confusing to you, too."

Rashmi Terios has posed:
"It's okay," Rashmi chuckles, plucking up a bhajji and dunking it into a chili sauce. "Just... I'm still figuring out what's even *possible* with magic, and it's surprising me almost every day."

Nevermind that Chrono is suffering existential crises at about the same rate, given Earth's magic...

"And I can vouch for it too, Chrono-kun. Nano-chan's pretty amazing, and the couple of times I've gotten to fight with her, well... You can count on her to pretty definitively stop a problem."

Chrono Harlaown has posed:
Chrono Harlaown just likely chuckled, but for now he didn't touch the food. My, that little girl ate a lot. She really was a mage-in-training. Potential? Well, others in this world really were growing at an accelerated rate. And a strange, ancient device? It was--

And then the alert came back that the scan was done.

He went still and told it to try again. Obviously, that was a mistake.

"You're doing quite well, Terios-san. Especially for someone in a world that believes magic doesn't exist." Encouraging as always. It--

The second scan. Nope. Nope. NOPE. SCAN! HER! AGAIN!

"I see. Well, I am happy you have been getting some training, Nano-chan. While I would question bringing a civilian into these matters," he said, glancing to Yuuno. "I have no room to make such comments. Especially considering the... rather... strange... nat..."

And then he just stopped. He just kind of locked up. He then turned to Nanoha. And stared at her. His face calm. Just... disturbingly unmoving.

Then he looked away. He reached out and took a samosa. He brought it to his mouth. And he took a bite. He... he was going to need a moment. Or two. Or ten. Yup. Just gonna enjoy the delicious, nutritious, wonderful samosa. You know what? One of those onion fritters sounded good too. It was a lunch break, right? That sounded *wonderful.*

Nanoha Takamachi has posed:
Nanoha Takamachi is eating again happily as she looks over to Chrono. "I'd be happy to help!" she says in between bites, not talking with her mouth full. Yuuno, likely, agrees too. "That goes for me of course. I go where Nanoha goes, usually, after all." he admits, rather sheepishly.

Nanoha nods. "If he continues to be -- er. A. Ferret." she says as she eats again, nom. nom. nom. nom. Those are Nanoha eating sounds, you know.

Then Chrono goes still and she blinks a little, as Chrono finishes his third scan because he goes still.

"Um. Are you alright, Chrono-kun?" she asks, stopping her food ingesting to ask.

Rashmi Terios has posed:
Rashmi looks from Nanoha to Chrono, and back again, then leans over and waves her hand in front of the boy's face. Getting no response, she chuckles and takes her own samosa. "...Pretty sure you don't have to worry, Nano-chan. Chrono-kun's been kinda reevaluating everything he knows about magic, like, once or twice a day. Just let him decide to lock it in a box, and he'll be able to talk again."

Chrono Harlaown has posed:
Chrono Harlaown would, in fact, not move in reaction to the hand waving. Yup. He was... Ahem. He was on his second onion fritter before, finally, he rebooted. Slow, deep breath. "I'm sorry, I just had a moment of confusion. Did you say you'd be willing to help? That sounds wonderful. Once I've healed, Nano-chan, I would like an opportunity to test your capabilities. Ahem. However, as a civilian, of course, I cannot ask you to..." and then just sighs and sits a little less straight. The smile wavering.

"By the stars, what is this world?" he asked, slow, deep breath. Put a smile back on his face. "Sorry. Right. I'd like to have a private conversation with you where I can explain exactly the kinds of dangers that... are being faced. Like Precia, her daughter, and... well. All of the risks involved."

Completely unaware he had likely just said the magic word. "Rashmi, I don't suppose you know anyone *else* who shoots *very large* blasts?"

... That was her *given name.* No honorific. Nothing. What was his mental state right now?

Nanoha Takamachi has posed:
Nanoha Takamachi wears that blithe smile a little as she eats her food, as she nods at Rashmi. "Alright." she says as she looks back to Chrono and Chrono comes back to her.

"Erm is..is something wrong with me?" she asks, worrying about the scan, before she listens more to the conversation between Chrono and Rashmi and Chrono...doesn't use an honorific. The girl blushes, darkly! For reasons, but keeps them to herself as she huhs.

"Is uh. E..everything allright over all?" she asks as she head tilts.

Rashmi Terios has posed:
The lack of honorific produces a sharp double-take from Rashmi, and likewise a bit of a blush, half of a samosa just hanging out of her mouth. "Ur....." is about all the redhead can manage, at first.

"I... don't... think so, Chrono-*kun?* finally comes out, once the issue with the samosa is resolved. Heavy stress on the -kun. Poor boy seems too broken to remember formalities--

(or maybe it's that boyfeels thing again? (Shut up this is *so not the time or place*) But that's *two now!)

    --so he has to be reminded, gently. "A-anyway... I don't think anything's wrong with *you,* Nano-chan, he just... gets like this. A lot. Because almost nothing about Earth makes sense where he and Yuuno-kun come from."

Chrono Harlaown has posed:
Chrono Harlaown nodded. Perhaps a few too many times. He was a bit... "Right. Nano-chan... Ahem. Err. Right. Well... I should be clear..." Both elbows on the table, leaning forward and resting his forehead against it. "Oh how to even explain this. Ah. Right. Nano-chan? The TSAB monitors and recruits from many, many planets and civilizations across time and space. We monitor anomalies, strange magical occurances, all of that. I? Am one of their youngest recruits, but do not allow that to distort your view. I have served for years and I am, amongst combat personel, one of the strongest mages the TSAB has at their disposal. So please, understand when I say this."

"You are quite possibly the most powerful mage I have ever met in my entire life. By quite a wide margin. And your linker core is likely still growing and will only get stronger."

Deep breath.

"Were I able to access the Arthra right now, I would ask for a full medical evaluation, just to ensure that this amount of power would not have a negative impact on your health, which, admittedly, is unlikely. But one can never be quite certain." Eye twitch. Just. A bit of an eye twitch.

"And the worst part? Knowing the things I have seen since arriving in this world? I am actually more surprised by how little I am surprised by this. Because at least you make sense. I mean. Not truly. Your levels are obs-- quite sizeable and had I not scanned you three times I would assume it was a mistake. But nope. It seems you're just the equivalent of a walking mana battery." Deep, deep breath.

"... Please do not be alarmed, though. It is... strange. But there are many far more frightening and terrifying things going on within this world already. That was not a good way to phrase that, my apologies."

Nanoha Takamachi has posed:
Nanoha Takamachi listens as she eats and blinks a little. "Huh? I'm... strong?"

Yuuno nods, matter of fact, his arms crossed along his chest. "I told you, Harlaown-san. She has potential." he says. He finally steals a piece of naan from the table and eats it.

Nanoha Takamachi kind of lowers her head. "I don't think I'm that strong, but if you want to see what I can do..." she says looking up. "But."

"What does that entail. D..do we need to fight?" she asks, cautiously.

"I mean. if I have to. I will. I just don't wanna go overboard." she says, rubbing the back of her head a moment, looking back at Rashmi and Chrono.

Rashmi Terios has posed:
"By the sound of it," Rashmi says, faintly amused, "you're the strongest one out of all of us. Or, you could be... And yeah, if it stays like it's been since I started, we're probably gonna need to fight a lot. Which... I mean I don't *want* to, but..." Picking at another bhajji, she lifts a shoulder. "People's lives have already counted on me, and I don't have any reason to think it won't in the future. So... if I have to, I'll fight."

She takes special care to meet Nanoha's eyes. "But that's me. You do what *you* think is right, and that's good too. As for helping Chrono-kun, well..." Picking up her drink, she waves the bottom of it in the boy's general direction as if to say 'He can explain it better.'

Chrono Harlaown has posed:
Chrono Harlaown nodded and took another onion fritter. "To put it into perspective... Nano-chan? Let's say the average person has... a linker core capable of holding a single onion fritter. Your linker core? Can hold like... ten." Kind of like her stomach.

"There is more that goes into magic, however. The linker core is the battery. There's also gathering to magic to begin with, shaping it, so on and so forth. There are mages who have considerably lower levels of mana, yet are more efficient in drawing it from their surroundings, or more efficiently able to cast their magic through practice. It is but one step in mastering magic."

"But your familiar isn't wrong, it is a clear sign of potential. You have a rather sizeable advantage that, through hard work and training, you could put to considerable use." He then glanced towards Rashmi. "Terios-san, do not underestimate yourself. While you lack the reserves that Nano-chan has, that does not mean you're incapable. Experience, tactics, skill. There are many ways to get around differences in ones capability." He then glanced towards Nanoha.

"And yes, we should train together at least once. Not now, as I am still recovering. But soon. However... I will be entirely honest... my mana capabilities are not much higher than Terios-sans. But that is why I say there are work arounds. It's how you use what you have that will win you battles."

Then he gave a sigh and lifted a hand up to his chest. "And knowing one's enemy. Precia is... a powerful mage. Her daughter, Fate, is also far more dangerous than I initially believed. They are, currently, the most dangerous threats to your world..."

"... At least, that's what I'd like to believe. But admittedly there are probably even more dangerous things out there to beware of."

Nanoha Takamachi has posed:
Nanoha Takamachi clearly isn't letting the strong comment get to her head. She's been working, practicing heavily everytime she can, and even in school while in math class, in the sims with Raising Heart. She's been working on tactics.

"Well, alright!" she says, filled with determination as she listens. Yuuno hears the familiar comment and sweatdrops. "Now wait a minute..."

"Y--yes. Precia Testarossa? Fate-chan's... mother." she says with a softer frown as thoughts of Fate fill her head. "She was there with her mom and she wasn't even happy about it..." she says sadly.

"OH! We got. Device Parts."

Yuuno Scrya nods. "A sizeable amount. Not enough to build a device from scratch, but we have them. In the internal storage for now. We also have some replacement ship consoles." he says like this may be useful someday.

"Fate-chan and I split a repair bay of parts!" she says, as if this was a completely good thing. "Instead of fighting." she says. Yuuno frowns. "I advised against it. but.. well. Nanoha." he says, rubbing the back of his head.

Rashmi Terios has posed:
Not having seen Fate in action, or even got *close* to inside the Arthra during the battle, most of the talk goes a bit over Rashmi's head. Chrono's admonishment earns him a look. Not a Look, but definitely a lower-case version. "I don't think I'm incapable, Chrono-kun," she says, wrinkling her nose. "I just know I've a way to go. But anyway."

Then one of Nanoha's comments catches her attention, like a fish on a hook. "...Wait, consoles...? I mean... there's *probably* something to those somebody can use, though, hm..." Mental note to ask Hannah about that, once the Belkan has tired herself out from ranting about Belka stuff.

"Also, you got all that without fighting? That's *great,*" she says, obviously pleased. "That's *really* impressive, Nano-chan! Half the time it feels like nobody *ever* wants to not fight."

Chrono Harlaown has posed:
Chrono Harlaown gave a shrug. "I can't say I'm surprised. They were likely searching for the jewel seeds and, once they discovered they weren't there, decided scavenging the wreck was better than nothing."

Urk. Oh. Oh dear. Of all the words for Rashmi to focus on, did she have to focus on that one. He had a bit of a sweat drop himself there. "Err, yes. Right. Wait, what?" he asked. Then he groaned. "Ah. Yes. Just... no. Right. Thank you for this information. I have no use for them at this time, but... I'm not an engineer. My capabilities lie in combat and magic." And there it was, his gaze lowering.

"I did... know someone who'd maybe be able to use all of it for things, but... for now? I guess it'd be useful just as... parts to repair your device if it gets damaged." He gave a soft, exhausted sigh. "I don't suppose... no. Never mind. It was best you didn't fight Fate. She is incredibly dangerous. If not for Terios-san's boosting spell, she would have killed me. Half a repair bay's supplies is a fair trade to avoid adding more deaths to this event."

"... In fact, I'd recommend you avoid fighting altogether when you can. Except I'm beginning to see that's a fool's errand at this point. So instead I will just say... I'm sorry. That any of you were caught up in this." He picked up another onion fritter and sighed. Then, he said in a rather defeated tone. "Are you and Fate friends?" he asked. Because why not. You got one girl flying a planet like it's a hotrod and who knows what other problems.

Nanoha Takamachi has posed:
Nanoha Takamachi listens with eagerness as she eats and nods. "Yeah! I was happy to not fight Fate. It seemed like. She really loves her mother. But. She sounded so. Sad." she sulks a bit, before she goes to open her mouth and speak again when...

Her phone starts to ring. She answers it, and quickly gulps. "O--oh right! YES RIGHT NOW, S-S-S-ORRY!" she says as she puts her phone away and says. "I NEED TO GET BACK TO DELIVERING THE FLOUR!" she cries.

"Um, if you have anything to say later....h..here." she goes as she pings Chrono's device for a 'friend request' (Device Connect? Whatever. You can poke Nanoha later now!, Chrono!)

Before she moves to the flour and Yuuno sighs and says. "Here. I'll help until. Well, I have to turn back into a ferret." he says as both he and him move the big bag of flour and start moving out.

She pauses. "THANK YOU FOR THE MEAL. AND EXTRAS, RASHMI-CHAN!" she says before she leaves, quickly.

Folks will need to chase her and talk to her if they have anything else to say before she leaves, maybe!

Rashmi Terios has posed:
Well, *that* is a worrying phrase to hear, about Fate. Rashmi ponders this for a moment, then jumps in her chair as Nanoha's phone rings. Her eyes widen as she realizes why the younger girl is apologizing, and she simply nods her understanding. "You're welcome! And good to meet you, Yuuno!" she calls after Nanoha, then picks at the last remaining fritter, pensive.

"...So wait, why is that boy even here?"

Chrono Harlaown has posed:
Chrono Harlaown cocked an eye when the girl talked about Fate. Adding it to the notes. Oh god is he going to have to make ANOTHER report? He wanted to collapse already. This. This was too much. "Oh... right. The... flour. Yes. You should do that," he mumbled. He waved her bye bye.

And watched her go. Then, finally, he turned to Rashmi. "I... should get ready to go. I... should be moving into my new place this evening." He had a small little twitch to his eye. "And... if I had to make a guess?"

"... He's trapped on an alien world, with no way to contact anyone he knows. That girl is probably the closest thing to a beacon of comfort he has at this point. That and if she has some ancient device, he's possibly more staying close to the device than her."

Pause. Pause. Pause.

"Also, he probably likes getting pet."