1879/Treat Yourself

Treat Yourself
Date of Scene:	22 August 2024
Location:	Midori-Ya Cafe
Synopsis:	Rashmi and Molly decide to have some treats at the Midori-ya, and there run across Mami seeking beneficial social contact. Of course, running into Rashmi and Molly, she gets exactly what she's looking for... *and* a promise of actual friendship, despite the bumpy road it took to get there.
Cast of Characters:	Rashmi Terios, Molly Skyline, Mami Tomoe

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Rashmi Terios has posed:
The Midori-ya Cafe, home of the sort of delightful treats that bring in plenty of student traffic; picture-perfect slices of strawberry cake, creampuffs, sugar-crusted croissants... The Takamachi family offers a bounteous selection for the schoolgirl on the go, and with school still out for the next week and a bit, Rashmi decided today was to be a break day from her recent, fairly brutal studying regimen, and called Molly up with the offer of 'Let's go get ourselves something nice. We've both *definitely* earned it.'

And now, the pair occupy one of the booths along the window; in front of Rashmi is a gorgeous passionfruit-kiwi tart, and a water-beaded glass of blueberry-muddled tea. Both of which she is looking at, faintly dubiously.

"...It's almost too pretty to eat, honestly..."

Molly Skyline has posed:
"Eat it," Molly replies, almost instantly. "Trust me on this one."

In front of the purple-haired girl (wearing the intentionally damaged denim skirt with a matching jacket that's host to an increasing number of patches on her arms and shoulders) is an impressive looking chocolate mousse, topped with raspberries and whipped cream, along with a tea similar to Rashmi's (but with peach instead of blueberry). She waves her spoon about for emphasis, which she was about to dig into the mousse, but has stopped to be emphatic with it instead.

"So like, in England, there's these chocolate bars called Penguins. And they're really good and like, nobody has them here. But anyway, they were a treat at the orphanage when I was growing up, and I used to stash mine for later, which was fine." She shrugs lightly. "Until we got a heavy rain and my stash of like, twenty Penguins all got ruined and I never got to eat any of them. That," she points her spoon at the dessert, "Is gorgeous, and if you don't eat it, it'll go to waste."

The purplenette grins, and tucks her spoon generously into her mousse for a first bite.

Mami Tomoe has posed:
The door swings open and in steps Mami. She's wearing a yellow peasant midi-dress with poofy sleeves and a square neckline. She has matching yellow Mary Janes, and a little yellow purse hanging from her elbow. Such yellow. Very Mami. Wow. She marches right up to the counter, her hair drills bouncing with each step and places her order: a trio of cream puffs and a mocha latte.

She pays and then walks over to the counter to wait for everything to be prepared. She turns to look around the rest of the cafe, looking to see who all else is there. She doesn't recognize anyone. It's just as well. She's pretty sure everyone hates her now.

Her order comes up and she turns around to take it with a smile and a little bobble of her head, then spins the rest of the way around to start searching for a place to sit.

Rashmi Terios has posed:
"I mean... You're not wrong," Rashmi sighs, and sets the edge of her fork against the pastry crust. "Welp. Itadakimaaaaasu~!"

The crust does not budge, causing Rashmi to blink in surprise.

Again.... nope. Something about this pastry is *terrifyingly* strong. Scraping some of the filling aside, Rashmi's eyes widen in shock. "It... they coated the inside in *chocolate!*"

There is only one tactic to employ now... Digging the points of the fork into the tart, the redhead leans on it with all her bookworm-schoolgirl might, until--

*THUNK*

--The crust is breached. Now she just has to do it again, and possibly a third time, so there's a small emough piece to pick up with fork.

"At least it's not too pretty to eat anymore... hm?"

Her head shoots up as the bell rings, and she tries to beat the reason for her recognition out of the shadows of her brain... And it's not until Mami turns, that she remembers. Library Tea Girl!

So as Mami looks for a place to sit, she is perhaps surprised by a cheerful wave from the dark-skinned redhead by the window, in front of a shattered mess of a tart.

Molly Skyline has posed:
Molly giggles and nods her head, "Of course I'm not wrong," she replies, and bemusedly watches as Rashmi struggles to breach the outer defenses of the tart. All while eating another mouthful of mousse, of course. "...Oh wow, there's chocolate inside it. That looks *awesome*. I'm not saying I'm definitely coming back tomorrow or anything."

The Purplenette picks up her tea for a sip, and leans back a little. "So, in England, we do this thing with our friends or family where like, you all buy different desserts, and everyone shares a single bite of theirs with someone else. ...Do people do that here in Japan? Or is that weirdo behavior?"

The tea, Molly has to admit, is just as delicious as the dessert. And she doesn't need to say so, the look on her face renders it obvious. But when Rashmi tosses a wave to someone, she looks over her shoulder; and of course, she's only met Mami in battle, so she doesn't recognize her out of Henshin. But she sure is bright, more or less the opposite of Molly's preference for darker colors.

Molly smiles, and turns back to Rashmi. "Friend of yours? Want to ask her to join us?"

Mami Tomoe has posed:
Mami takes a few steps and then pauses. Because there is someone she recognizes. Or, well, that recognizes her. It's been half a year since the last time Mami saw the redhead, but she never forgets someone she has tea with. Especially not someone who makes her tea. That is good. She just hopes she can remember the girl's name by the time she has to say it.

They've got smiles on as she approaches, like they're actually pleased to see her. Like they don't hate her. That can't be true. Everybody must hate her by now. She stops just in front of the table and just looks at them for an awkward moment before finding her bright and bubbly smile. "Hello! Wow, it's been forever. Mind if I join you?"

She doesn't wait for an answer before sliding in next to Rashmi, setting her coffee and creampuffs down on the table.

Rashmi Terios has posed:
"I mean, if you don't mind," she says to Molly... and Mami slips into the booth! Decision made without having to be implemented!

Pleased, Rashmi beams in response to Mami's smile. "Hi! ...Um. It *has* been awhile, but I think we only met the once so I'm really, really sorry but I don't remember your name. So. I'm Rashmi Terios, Grade 10. This is Molly-chan, also Grade 10, and it's a pleasure to meet you again!"

Now finally, *finally* she can begin to clean up the mess on her plate, and her first bite actually produces a small, subconscious wiggle of the shoulders. "...Frankly Molly-chan I don't care if it's weird you *need* to try this. You too, if you like!"

Molly Skyline has posed:
"Rashmi-chan," Molly states with an air of great nobility, "I *am* weird, and you should know that by now. And I refuse to change that, ever, in the slightest." She pops her laden spoon into her mouth, then while she's still savoring that bit of mousse she gives her dessert a casual little shove, sliding it across the table to her friend. "And, I certainly will not refuse a bit of tart."

As she reaches over to get a smallish morsel of Rashmi's dessert, she looks Mami's way as the yellow-dressed girl slides into a seat, and just flashes a grin at her. "I don't mind," she confirms. "Try a bite of my mousse if you want! I'm Molly Skyline, by the way. Pleased to meet you."

The Purplenette winks, before settling back in her seat to pop the bit of tart in her mouth and savor it as she did the mousse.

"...Oh wow, you weren't kidding. I'm having this next time."

Mami Tomoe has posed:
The look of relief that spreads across Mami's face is quite obvious. "Oh thank goodness. I was worried I was the only one who forgot," she admits with a light laugh and a slightly embarrassed grin. "Mami Tomoe, Grade 9," she says. "It's good to see and meet you both!"

Her eyes dip down to the tart. It looks delicious. She considers her cream puffs, her latte, and the tart. A little splash of fruit on the palate would really go nicely with the chocolatey drink and sweet pastry. So as soon as her hands are free she claps them together. "Oh good! I'd love to taste. I've never made anything with these fruits before," she adds. Because of course she's made plenty of tarts herself. She wants to take notes. It's not like she wants to compete, but if theirs are better, she wants to know.

She picks up one of her creampuffs and makes as if to tear off a piece in a way that some of the filling comes with it. "If you'd like some of the creampuff, you're more than welcome."

Rashmi Terios has posed:
As soon as Molly takes her bit, Rashmi nudges the plate toward Mami with a bright smile. Picking up a spoon, she scrapes a bit of all the layers of the mousse with a deft flick of her wrist, and very nearly melts upon tasting it. "Oh wow... And don't worry, Mami-chan, six months is long enough to make it hard for *anyone* to remember a name after just the once. And you bake? That's lovely, I personally really like passionfruit. The texture doesn't work for a lot of people, since..." she gestures with her spoon, at the seed-studded mash of yellow under the sugary glaze, contrasting heavily with the bright green kiwi slices. "...That's basically just right out of the fruit, like that. It's lots easier when they're in Papi's lassi rotation, but I hear for some things it's pretty difficult to work with."

With that offer made, she tears away a bit of creampuff for herself, and just... there is nothing she has found so far in the Midori-ya's selection, that is not joy on a plate. And it clearly goes well with fruit-plus-tea.

Molly Skyline has posed:
Molly pushes her mousse in Mami's direction, once Rashmi has had a try, and grins to her newest acquaintance. "I would love to try some cream-puff, and thank you." She mirrors Rashmi's actions, and pops the little morsel in her mouth, letting it rest there for a moment.

"Yeah alright that's delicious. First time here, tried three things, going to be here every day until I've doubled my weight and I look like a beach ball with hands and feet sticking out."

She picks up her tea to just enjoy that for the moment -- might as well while it's still hot -- and goes to the trouble of holding it with her pinky-finger sticking out, just to conform for the moment to an (entirely inaccurate) stereotype about the British.

"Oh!" she adds, "Yeah, like Rashmi-chan's parents, one of my Moms owns a restaurant. Okujoo Ramen, which is on a rooftop like the name suggests. Pretty easy to get there." She pauses, and adopts a sly grin. "*Really* easy if you can fly, but for those of us who aren't birds, walking works too. You should come try it sometime! Best Ramen in Tokyo, and I swear I'm not biased."

Mami Tomoe has posed:
They both take their morsel of creampuff, and then Mami takes a big bite of what's left in her hand. This is the taste she wanted. So it's the taste she wants to start with. But then? Then she's got a complex scene to build on her tongue. "Oh thank you!" She says, taking a spoon, and actually reaching out to scoop a little bite of the mousse first. She doesn't want the chocolate from the dessert to compete with the mocha, so she wants the fruit in between.

Her eyes close so she can focus on the textures and flavors on her tongue. It's a good mousse, there's no question about it. It's rich and smooth and flavorful. With a smug little smile on her face she shimmies her shoulders a little as she reaches for her bite of the fruit tart. She knows hers is just as good. "Mmm. That is quite good. I've only had better in Paris."

The passionfruit-kiwi, though, gets the same treatment with a different outcome. She rolls it around on her tongue, tasting it and feeling the textures. But then she opens her eyes wide and shakes her head. "Wow, that is amazing. I would not have ever thought to put those together on a tart, but it really works," she says, as she mentally adds a passionfruit-kiwi tart to next week's agenda.

Finally she sits back and takes a deep breath. "So how's your summer been?"

Rashmi Terios has posed:
There's a flicker in the smile Rashmi gives Mami. Perhaps it's the word 'Paris,' perhaps she almost had to sneeze. However, it does not stop the emanation of genuine cheerfulness coming from the redhead. It's more like... a momentary shadow, in front of the sun. "It really does work, doesn't it? It's the perfect balance of sour and sweet, like Papi's cardamom lassi. And *oh boy* I can second Molly-chan's ramen recommendation, it's amazing food *and* a wonderful view."

Leaning back, she sips on her cold tea, tilting her head in honest thought at the question. "Well... I mean, end of the summer was a *lot* less frantic than July. Still busy, but, it's been... easier, y'know? I think I'm ready for school to start back up again though."

Molly Skyline has posed:
Molly throws her hands up in the air, loses her grip on her spoon which goes flying straight up, and then she oopses and jumps up to catch it -- which she manages, but knocks her chair over in the process -- so she stoops to pick up the chair and sit back down, spoon in hand, trying to look as if absolutely nothing had happened.

"I swear, I'm the only person in Tokyo who's never been to Paris," she declares. "And I grew up like... three hundred kilometers away from it?!" She sighs, and shakes her head. "Well, whatever, I'm sure I'll get there eventually. When I get to race the Le Mans if nothing else." She pauses, blushing softly.

"Uhm, so yeah, one of the big things that happened to me this summer; I fell in love with the idea of auto racing. So it's been a really good summer that way. My other Mom owns a tuner shop and she's going to start teaching me stuff, so that's fantastic."

Molly downs another bite of her own dessert, anjoying it thoroughly, as one does with chocolate mousse. "What about you, Mami-san? Did you have a good summer?"

Mami Tomoe has posed:
Setting the rest of that first creampuff back down on her plate, Mami picks up her latte, cradling the cup in both hands. The barista made a little design in the steamed milk on the top. It looked like a little flower, right up until Mami sipped from the cup and then it just looked like a mocha latte.

"Takashi-kun took me to Paris for Christmas," Mami says, as she smiles and tilts her head to one side. Her shoulders draw in a little and she makes a happy sigh. "It was so romantic too. You know there's a restaurant in the Eiffel tower? I'm honestly still waiting for him to top that date." She giggles. "If he even can." Then her eyebrows arch with an idea and she smiles. "Ooh! I should take him out for ramen. Drag him away from the office."

Which brings her to what she did all summer. "Honestly, it's been a bit of a slog. Work has been so busy and chaotic and I've been pretty tired lately." Hence the coffee, of which she takes another sip, and says, "At least I didn't have school!" Then she pops the last morsel of that first creampuff into her mouth. Delicious.

Rashmi Terios has posed:
Molly's antics cause Rashmi to suck in her lips... because, it's pretty obvious, she's trying her very, very hardest not to laugh at her best friend's goofiness. So she simply sits there, vibrating with stifled laughter, until Molly sweeps up the pieces of her dignity. "...Tell you what, Molly-chan," Rashmi says, proud of managing to keep the quiver in her voice to a minimum. "With luck the next trip to Europe we take, it won't be so... rushed. And we'll get a chance to properly *enjoy* things, and I'll *definitely* want you to come with!"

Looking to Mami as she tells the story of *her* Paris excursion, Rashmi chuckles. "Oh you have a boyfriend! That's wonderful, and wow yeah it would be *hard* to top Christmas in Paris for a date... I hear Prague is romantic, but every time I mention it to one of my friends, she says something about every time she goes there someone gets defenestrated." Shaking her head, she smiles brightly at the blond. "If he's buried in an office, then yeah it sounds like he could *really* do with some time under the actual air. Work is great and all, but shouldn't it be a means to an end? Life's gotta happen too."

Molly Skyline has posed:
"Alright, trip to Paris with my best friend is now on my bucket list," Molly declares. "And, you can laugh at me almost losing my spoon and almost tossing my chair across the room in the process, I mean, that's some prime Mr. Bean right there. If I'd really committed to the roll the table would be upside down though, so just be satisfied with a teaser and not a full performance."

The Purplenette pulls out her phone, and mutters to herself as she goes along. "Bucket-list app... add entry, 'Trip to Paris with Rashmi-chan'..." She pauses, and purses her lips. "'Show her London at the same time.'" She pauses for a moment longer. "'Also Hadrian's Wall and Stonehenge.' Because I *have* actually seen those and we are totally sneaking into the grounds of Stonehenge at night so we can get past the bloody fence and actually *see Stonehenge*."

Molly tucks into her mousse a little more, before switching to her tea, mirroring Mami's actions. "I mean it's easy to enjoy summer holiday, but I'm kinda with Rashmi-chan. I want to go back to school too." She shrugs her shoulders lightly. "What kind of classes do you like best, Mami-san? Or alternatively, which ones do you absolutely hate and can't get done with fast enough? ...For me it's Math and Literature, in that order."

Mami Tomoe has posed:
Mami goes about eating another creampuff. This one's all hers, so she just tears a bite out with her teeth, chasing it with some of her latte. It's really a delicious treat. Especially with the company. She hadn't really seen anyone outside of work in so long.

Rashmi agrees that getting her workaholic boyfriend away from work is a great idea, and then Molly asks what her most or least favorite subjects in school are. Mami just awkwardly laughs, glancing between the two. Because those two things are totally related. "Haaa, yeah, um. My favorite subject is work," Mami says. "Most of my studies come pretty easily if I actually put in a little effort, but work takes up so much of my life, and it has for years now."

She shrugs and takes another bite of creampuff. Om nom. "I like reading military histories for fun though. You can learn so much about battlefield tacitcs and fight strategies from reading about actual combat."

Rashmi Terios has posed:
"History's actually my favorite subject," Rashmi says. "Math is just... well it's not the *worst,* but it's so hard to keep it in my head. Which is *wild,* considering a lot of my out-of-school hobbies have to do with, like... STEM engineering, these days. But I mean... It's been a dream of mine for a long time, to get into politics. Actually *help* people on a scale more than what I can do with just me, y'know? But I'm also kind of a fantasy otaku. It's... nice, reading about other worlds. How they live, and how small people can have answers to bigger problems than we'll probably ever see."

Chuckling, she looks to Mami, tilting her head. "So, what *is* work, if you don't mind my asking? If it's such a big part of your life, it's probably something really interesting!"

Molly Skyline has posed:
"Hey." Molly tilts her gaze in Rashmi's direction. "Fon't forget, both Einstein and Op-err-other scientists were bad at math, and they did stuff like, y'know, basically just invent the study of Quantum Physics, without which you wouldn't have a cellphone." She shrugs her shoulders lightly. "Oh, and I'll vote for you," she adds. "Just, come watch me race. YOu're good luck. And I'll donate my winnings to stuff like charities for trans youth."

Because she will win, and there will be cash prizes, and that much is certain. At least in Molly's mind, clearly.

"Nothing wrong with having a work life," she adds, tilting her gaze back to Mami after a sip from her tea. "But yeah, I'm with Rashmi. Whatever you do must be awesome. And," she muses, pointing a finger at herself and then to Rashmi, "Both of us have families that do food, so if you happen to as well then that's a cool coincidence, and you gotta tell us where so we can come try it and give you like, uber-good ratings on Google."

Mami Tomoe has posed:
Mami polishes off the last creampuff and takes a big drink of her latte as she's listening to the other two. They both ask her where she works, and this is when she knows the jig is up. She's a terrible liar, and besides, she's proud of her job. She's just certain that they'll hate her as soon as they know. But there's only one way to play it.

"Oh, I don't have any family," Mami says, quietly. "They all died in a car crash a little over three years ago." She doesn't mention that if it weren't for Kyubey, she'd have been dead too. "No, I just bake as a hobby. I bake all the time, honestly. If you like sweets, just come by my place any time. I usually have at least some macarons already made up." She loves making macarons.

That was the easy part, now comes the hard one. She's got to be confident because bad girls aren't weak. If they're going to hate her, she won't let them know how much it kills her. "I can't really talk about it much," she says. "But you're right. It is an awesome job. I love my team. I have such sweet kohai, and my boss is pretty decent, even if he's an idiot boy." The way she says 'idiot boy' is clearly affectionate. "The work is pretty exciting too. Really tests my skills pretty often. And the paycheck definitely helps."

She drinks the rest of her latte, and then reaches into her purse to pull out a business card. It's yellow with a floral pattern that looks remarkably similar to her earlier latte art. In white lettering it reads: Mami Tomoe - Troubleshooter - 05-2345-5432 - M.Tomoe@Obsidian.com.

"I work for Obsidian."

Rashmi Terios has posed:
As Mami says her parents are dead, Rashmi pauses, brain throwing a wheel for just a moment, before regaining traction. "I'm very sorry to hear that, Mami-chan," she says quietly. But Mami still has things to say, and Rashmi has always been a good listener.

And the more Mami talks, the more that puzzle pieces fit into place in Rashmi's head.

And then, the business card.

Rashmi accepts the card, turning it over slowly in her hands as she examines it, before passing it to Molly. "...Are you magical, Mami-chan? Because we are. So if you want to talk about it straight out, you can."

There's not... *much* reaction, to the revelation that she speaks for Obsidian. A flicker of worry, a moment of sadness, but what she says is gently friendly, even still.

Molly Skyline has posed:
Molly listens to Mami's tale, and her brow knits with concern. "Hey, I'm an orphan too, remember," she murmurs. "Just, my parents didn't die, they just... didn't want me. ...But that doesn't matter. If you ever wanna talk to someone who gets it, I'll... I'll give you my number, okay?"

And then it's her turn to look at the business card, and she gives it a once over, taking the time to read both sides.

"Oh, yeah, we both are," she echoes Rashmi. "I'm a devicer," she explains, opting not to speak for Rashmi in case she doesn't want to reveal her specifics to that degree just yet. She also doesn't go any further, just in case Mami is in fact, not quite as magical as she and Rashmi have just clocked her to be.

"But yeah, hey, if you wanna talk about it? Or anything else?" She shrugs her shoulders lightly, and picks up her tea. "Rashmi-chan is the best listener I know. And I like to think I'm not bad. But," she adds, glancing sideways at Rashmi, then turning her gaze back to Mami, "If you don't wanna talk, that's fine too. No pressure."

Mami Tomoe has posed:
Mami sees the flicker in Rashmi's eyes and her heart sinks. She knew they'd hate her. But...they don't...really...sound like it. Mami blinks, focuses her attention on Molly. "I'm so sorry, Molly-chan, that's awful," she says, her amber eyes looking sad. "I'm glad you have your Moms now. I would love to talk some time. You can come over for tea." She loves hosting tea parties.

Looking between the two, Mami figures it's better to just rip the bandaid off. "Yes. I'm a Puella Magi. That car crash would have killed me too, if it weren't for Kyubey offering me that wish," she explains. "So every day since then I've worked. I hunt witches, and I'm very good at it, and ever since I joined up with Obsidian, I've had a support team and resources and I'm actually making more of a difference now than I ever could on my own. I'm saving lives."

She's talking like she's doing good and helping. Not like she's lobbing magical mortars at civilians. She likes to travel, and it seems like there's a river in Egypt calling to her.

Rashmi Terios has posed:
Rashmi nods quietly along with Mami's explanation, closing her eyes for a moment and taking in a deep breath, once all is said and done. "So... Okay," she says. "I'm sure you're expecting indignation and lecturing, but... honestly? I get it. I'm *so* not gonna talk bad at you for wanting to keep living, that would just be *rank* stupid. And like... Even if you *do* work for Obsidian, I'm not gonna worry about that either. I've got... at *least* two friends who do."

Putting on a smile, she nudges her saucer again, with at least a fifth of the tart left uneaten. "I don't mind being able to say 'at least three.' Even if we have to fight, won't it be nice to fight someone who won't take it personally?"

Molly Skyline has posed:
"Two someones who won't take it personally," Molly adds immediately. "I'm not gonna rag on someone for fighting for what they believe in. It's what I'm doing myself." She shrugs her shoulders emphatically. "But -- Hey," she humms audibly, "You wouldn't happen to have been at the docks the other day, would you? That was like. A fight. Except there was a lot more talking than I usually expect out of a fight, which was kinda refreshing honestly."

She has a bit more of her mousse, before pushing her plate towards the middle of the table and scooping up another morsel of Rashmi's tart, clearly the saucer-nudging as an invitation. Hopefully she's right and she's not being weird.

"And... thank you, Mami-chan," she murmurs. "I... I talked about it with Rashmi-chan the other day, it's..." She trails off for a moment. "It's... strange, knowing the only reason my birth parents don't have me is just because they didn't want me. ...But my Moms do, and my friends do, so that helps, a lot. It's like... having my own support team, I guess. So I'm glad you've got one too."

Mami Tomoe has posed:
Mami looks between the two of them. She's usually pretty good at masking, but she can't keep the disbelief off her face. This is just really not at all what she expected. She was so sure they were going to hate her, and they just didn't. Well. They didn't seem to actually know who she was yet. They wanted to ...be friends anyway?

Mami really needed friends. She loved Takashi and Norie and Fate and Hotaru if they could ever find her, but the girls were her kohai, and Takashi was her boyfriend. And they were all such negative people because of the dark energy. She needed other friends. These girls seemed to want to be that. Maybe she could start the new school year with a couple of people besides Takashi she could talk to about things.

Every instinct was telling her to lie about being at the docks. Because they didn't know. But that's not what friends do. And they said they wouldn't take it personally. They'd really surprised her and she did like them. So, she nodded. "I was. I'm usually pretty hard to miss," she says, and then pauses, giggling. "I mean, with your notice. It's hard to hit me. I'm rather agile." She reaches up to tug at her hair drills making them bounce. "I've got the great hair, the ribbons and the rifles." She doesn't give a name because she doesn't have one, not one that's different.

Rashmi Terios has posed:
Aaaand the pieces finally, finally fall into place, and complete the picture.

Ah. She was *that* Puella.

Rashmi is *terrible* at masking, and her reaction to the realization of who, exactly, Mami is -- and what almost happened *because of Mami* -- is pretty easy to read.

She emits Teenager Sigh #81, What Have I Gotten Myself Into, and lets her head fall onto the table.

"...Okay so, let me get this straight," she says into the tablecloth. "You're the one who tied me up during that Witch fight. And you put my boyfriend in the hospital a few days ago, because he was trying to save the mom that he *just found again* and tried to tank a super strong parting shot he was in no way prepared for."

Lifting her head to flop back against her chair, she adjusts her glasses, gives Mami a side-eye...

...And nudges the rest of her tart until it clinks against Mami's plate of creampuff.

"I'll make you a deal. You try not to do the second one *ever again,* and I won't hold it against you. Because that was *super infuriating to hear about secondhand.* ...But lonely recognizes lonely, and if I can not hold Hinoiri-chan's entire Hinoiri-ness against her, I can manage this."

Sipping at her tea, she raises her eyebrow yet further, and looks to Molly. "...Also you're the kind of person that my best friend is willing to sincerely thank. That actually makes it a lot easier."

Carefully setting her tea down, she clears her throat. "And if you'd really, really never start any trouble at either of our parents' restaurants, that would be appreciated."

Molly Skyline has posed:
"Oh that was YOU--" Molly starts off, but stops when Rashmi's head hits the table, and she just sort of sits there, blushing while Rashmi says what she has to say. She opens her mouth to speak a couple of times, but shuts it again both times. And then just sips her tea for a moment.

"...Okay but in fairness, I did try to drop a dock crane on her," She points out, very quietly. But, well, it's true, she did try to drop a dock crane on her. And missed, more or less.

"OKay, so... yeah, Rashmi-chan and I would definitely both appreciate it if our parents' businesses remain neutral sites, I think? And I think," she adds, looking sideways at Rashmi, "We'd be willing to return the favor, if there's anywhere you want off limits for battles." She gestures around herself, "Like, I dunno, here for example?" She shrugs her shoulders lightly.

"Anyway, uhm... yeah, please don't put Rashmi's Beau in the hospital again if you can avoid it?" She stops, clearly trying to contain herself, and steadily losing that battle. "Okay but also, after I dropped the crane and you were gonna return fire and the magic-screwiness made you shoot ribbons instead of like, anything else? I was super glad about that 'cause I was way out of position, and the same magic screwiness was stopping me from putting up any of my shields, so you totally had me dead to rights and I'd hve left that combat full of holes if you hadn't gotten messed up. So I'm sorry it happened but I'm also not sorry, if that's okay."

Mami Tomoe has posed:
They both shoved the rest of their desserts toward her. It would be rude for Mami not to eat more of them. Besides, they were both delicious. She'd even said so. She takes a couple of bites from the mousse while she listens to Rashmi. Her mouth is full of mousse when she flops her head down on the table.

The pieces are falling together for her too. She knows just which witch fight Rashmi's talking about, and she knows every one but two people that had been there. Page Mage and Chrono. Which...makes sense, considering. "His mother? Where was she? What was she doing there?" Mami had been so focused on getting Riventon and the rest of her team to safety that she'd not even seen Lindy arrive on the field before she'd fired off her shot. The horror at the implication of what she didn't even know she'd done sinks in. "The area was clear of civilians by then," she practically whispers. It wasn't even her biggest attack.

She blinks as she just shovels the rest of the mousse into her hungry little mouth. It's almost as good as a grief seed for processing her emotions. Really it's better because it's chocolate. Then she proceeds to eat all the rest of the tart too.

If they can be friends with Hinoiri, they can be friends with her. She's way easier to get along with, even if she shoots at them sometimes. Okay. Mami can do this. She's got it. She takes a deep breath and hangs her head, "I'm sorry I hurt Chrono." And in an unusual show of restraint, she doesn't mention how often her boyfriend gets put in the hospital.

Rashmi Terios has posed:
"...So the ship that fell?" Rashmi says gently, seeing Dire Mistake rearing up in Mami's eyes. "That was Chrono's ship. His mom... she was the Admiral that helmed it. But Chrono's basically the only crewmember of that ship that wasn't an adult, and well... You know what happens to adults if they have magic and don't work for Obsidian."

She pauses to fish smushed berries out of her tea with her spoon, considering. "...Or you might not. If not, well... they lose all memory of magic. They lose *all* their magic. They become civilians. We've been spending a good chunk of the last year just *finding* everyone from the ship, because they made it out safe... only for that to happen to all of them, immediately."

Drawing in a long breath, she looses a quiet sigh, looking up to Molly for a moment. Then, she pulls out her phone. "So that's what that was about," she says quietly. "Thank you for apologizing, but I'm serious. I'm not gonna hold it against you... And if you want to talk sometime, or just hang out? I'll give you my number too."

She looks up at Mami, and her face is serious, as if there's a direly important truth she needs to impart. "Mami-chan... The three of us? We live in two worlds. There's the magic stuff, where we're gonna fight and not agree on stuff and you support your boy and I'll support mine. But that's just one world. There's also all this... The normal one, where we can get tea and see movies and do whatever. This world *doesn't know about the magic one,* Mami-chan. There's no wars here. And I think spending more time in *this* world might help you out, a lot. It helps Molly-chan and I."

Molly Skyline has posed:
Molly watches Rashmi pull out her phone, and she repeats the motion, tapping at the screen for a moment. "Hey, I don't think you had any intention of either civillians, or Chrono's Mom, getting caught in the blast," she points out. "And like... I'm not going to ask you to tone down the firepower. Even if you do, frankly, outclass me. 'Cause I'm not ever gonna do less than my best. And if you ever put me in the hospital, then there'll be no hard feelings, alright?"

Of course, that's only no hard feelings from *her*, she can't speak for anyone else.

The purplenette taps at her phone a couple more times, before sliding it across the table to Mami so she can see Molly's contact information.

"I didn't allude to it earlier, I was too busy being a dweeb about auto racing, but I'm every bit the nerd that Rashmi-chan is," she adds cheerfully. "I grew up playing lots of Dungeons and Dragons. First character was a tiefling sorceress and I loved her." She reaches up and taps the patch that says 'Sorceress' with a picture of a devilish looking girl, sewn onto one of her jacket shoulders. "But yeah. Hang out with us, alright? Hell, show up at my Mom's tuner shop and I'll show you both the fast cars, or like... I dunno, whatever, I've got Lego if you ever want to play around with that. Y'know. This world stuff."

Mami Tomoe has posed:
Mami pulls her phone out of her purse and makes some new contacts in it, since they gave her their numbers. Then she drops it back in her purse. "I'd like that," she says, to the idea of hanging out with them more.

She looks down at her hand for a moment, at the ring on her finger, and it shimmers. She flips her hand over and her soul gem is there in her palm. "I don't exist in both worlds. Not really," she says. The gem is a bright amber just like her eyes, but there's thick ribbons of black swirling around in it. "This right here is me. This rock. Everything else about me is just magic, including my dead body actually still working. I don't take days off because I've got to keep myself in grief seeds, and I can't sit idly by when I can make a difference."

The soul gem flickers and then there's a ring around her finger again. "We should definitely get together again soon, though. I...needed this today."

She looks like she's about to say something else when her phone buzzes. She doesn't even take it out of her purse. It's got a weird vibration pattern. "Speaking of work," she says with a sigh and a smile. She slides out of the booth and lifts up her hand in a little finger-wave. "Thank you again." Then she's off.