2006/Cafeteria Chatter

Cafeteria Chatter
Date of Scene:	15 October 2024
Location:	Cafeteria Plaza
Synopsis:	Is there even such a thing as a non-working lunch for mahou? Usagi, Mamoru, Bow, Hinoiri, Naru, and Adrien share a good deal of information over one busy lunch.
Cast of Characters:	Usagi Tsukino, Mamoru Chiba, Hinoiri Kirara, Bow, Naru Osaka, Adrien Agreste

---

Usagi Tsukino has posed:
It's lunch time at Radiant Heart Academy and Usagi's snagged a table in the outer area of the lunch room. Her tray was a comforting curry-katsu, with salad on the side and apple slices on the side, and cookies, which she's shockingly not eating, having wrapped them up in a napkin and tucked them to the side instead.

She's in uniform of course, though she's got one usual new accessory - ladybug themed earrings, a red base with black spots. "Mamochan, cover your ears, okay?"

This kind warning is because as she sees friends? She's absolutely the shameless type who shouts their name and beckons them over to her table.

"BOW-KUN, NARU-CHAN, HINOIRI-CHAN, COME OVER HERE!"

What? She's got questions! They can help!

Mamoru Chiba has posed:
Mamoru's hair is extra fluffy today, like he didn't bother using any product to make it behave and he's starting to need a haircut. His glasses, at least, are clean, and his uniform shirt is tucked in and everything.

His tray of a little-of-everything lunch goes ignored very suddenly when Usagi warns him, and Mamoru claps his hands over his ears to wait until Usagi's done being a vuvuzela.

Then he pretends like it didn't happen, but he does crane his neck to see where the aforementioned people are-- and he smiles and waves. There's plenty of room, so he doesn't move.

Hinoiri Kirara has posed:
Hinoiri Kirara was in the midst of trying to pick an apple from the lot, grabbing one, about to bite and--

OH MY GOSH SHE WAS UNDER ATTACK! WHO CALLED HER NAME?! WAS SOMEONE GOING TO BUCKING TRY TO STAB HER NO--

Oh, it was Usagi. Right. Friendship. That was a thing. And sometimes it was a *mega* high pitched thing oh wow. She took a bite of her apple before walking over, plopping into the seat across from her. She gave a small nod to Mamoru and...

"I don't know what thing this is about, but I am not responsible. I haven't done anything dark energy related in..." Pause. Think. "Ages. That wouldn't count." She took another bite of her apple, giving a light nod to the others as they arrived. "Wait, is this about an upcoming apocalypse? Cause I actually do need to question you on some of those..."

Bow has posed:
Bow stands out in a school cafeteria. He's tall. He's dark.

And those abs for days are still on display. There's not a cloth in existence that can hide them, and he's good with that.

He has chosen a a hearty bowl of beef curry, adding a side of tempura vegetables and miso soup. His fingers brushed over the wooden chopsticks. "Today will be the day I conquer you." he says with a hint of determination as he hears a call out to him.

Looking up, as he spies Usagi and Mamoru, gives a wave of his free hand as he makes his way over to the table. "Clearly, someone broke protocol to put their apocalypse on top of someone elses and didn't concede the right of way. Or is it a different one? Are we stacking them now? Like a three layer cake of doom?"

Naru Osaka has posed:
Lunchtime and Naru.. has food on her tray. Like more than black coffee and a pastry. She has fried noodles! And a fruit cup! AND a coffee and pastry. Real food! Life with Usagi means that she is functionally immune to Usagi hollering across the room at her and she mostly just looks over to see where she's headed.

"Hey guys!" Naru slides into a seat at the table, setting her tray down. She reaches for her coffee first, because some things never change. "What's this week's apocalypse?"

Usagi Tsukino has posed:
Mamoru's hand is patted, once it's no longer covering his ears, Usagi shooting him a warm smile without a hint of sheepishness.

As friends start arriving - first Hinoiri, stating that she's not at fault, and then Bow, asking if they're making doom cake, she snickers. And then Naru arrives, with real food, and Usagi doesn't even try to take any, because Naru's actually been eating, real food, and it's truly a shocking development.

"No apocalypses - well, if there's an apocalypse, actually, I do want to know but I don't have one to report just yet I think? Actually, I had a question about something else entirely, though, first... Bow-kun, I'm really sorry about turning you into a toy when I was evil (again)! You were super cute but that was not very nice of me. But... uh... well, speaking of when I was evil...'

She reaches up and taps her earrings.

"I don't suppose any of you have Ladybug's phone number? Naru-chan, did Cat give it to you, by any chance?"

She's making the big pleading eyes.

Mamoru Chiba has posed:
Oh that's a warm look in return, Mamoru's eyes amused-- but his attention's also quickly on the others. "--and I'm sorry I sent you off on a paper airplane ride," he adds to Usagi's apology to Bow, and he does look sheepish. "I mean that was a much more fun evil than Hematite, but don't worry, Kazuo made me promise not to do it again."

Between eating a piece of karaage and taking a drink of his own coffee, he grins at Naru, and then looks startled at Hinoiri. "Yeah, fill us in. I mean, regardless of whether or not you have Ladybug's phone number."

Hinoiri Kirara has posed:
Hinoiri Kirara gave a small shrug. "Personally, I like to think of it as a parfait of doom, but cake works." Yes, she was being pedantic about it. She took another bite of her apple, glancing around at the group.

"Why would you need Ladybug's phone number? As far as I know, she--"

And then she choked, covering her mouth with her hand. "W-wait. You don't have her-- you can't. Do you have *any* idea how much that pompous windbag is *looking* for them? If he finds out you have them he'll tear the school apart trying to find you. Ah buck... sadly... I don't. Like... the girl runs around in her pajamas, so I don't really know where you'd find her. I like... directed her towards that Marinette girl, Adrien's friend, cause she's a designer and makes some amazing outfits. But as far as I know, she never took up the offer."

"As for apocalypses, well... there's the towers, but I think you already know about those. I'm working on getting to touch one and make sure they won't like... drag the dusk zone over to here. There's also something called Walpurghisnite, it's some kind of Omega Witch from what I can tell, Sayaka told me about it. Not sure when or even if it's coming, but it sounds bucking horrible. Then there's standard Obsidian stuff, but nothing that's really threatening. Still kind of annoyed they're using the towers I made as glorified radar dishes to find some missing kid. I doubt she can even be that big a deal, I never even saw her when I was working there." Pause. "Well, okay, I guess she is the guy's daughter and... I'm not... really sure how worried that would make a parent actually, so maybe I'm not the best judge."

Bow has posed:
Look. Look! Bow has some of that tender beef in the chopsticks. He's finally going to succeed and conquer the dread utensils and he'll be able to stop using the kiddie ones that are joined together to make it easy mode.

I'm sorry I turned you into a toy (...) but you were super cute.

The beef is launched across the cafeteria. The sticks are broke. "Oh, it's okay!" Bow says through gritted teeth, before letting out a breath. "Sorry I shot you in the head with an ice cube!" he adds quickly.

Ladybug?

"I remember her... I helped her and Cat Noir with a Nurse Youma that wanted to give way too many shots once. But no, no information exchanged. She seemed really withdrwn about sharing anything about herself." he adds with a shrug as he shifts to a fork and pokes at it. At the mention of Walpurghisnite. "...yeah, Saya mentioned that to me when she was teaching me about combating witches." And another bite of food is a great idea right now. Nomf.

Naru Osaka has posed:
"Sorry." Naru shakes her head at the question about Ladybug's number. "I would think Chat does, I can text him." She already is digging out her phone as Hinoiri chokes. There's a pause. A reading between the lines. "Her what?" She asks, turning from Hinoiri to Usagi again.

"Do.. you something of Ladybug's?" Naru asks with widening eyes, looking right at Usagi.

"I haven't really dealt with Witches." Naru comments. "The idea of a worse Witch than usual sounds.. awful."

Usagi Tsukino has posed:
"I... certainly do... have something that belongs to Ladybug," Usagi says, with a wince, and glances around the cafeteria. "And Hawkmoth definitely knows, because Mamochan and I were a little, slightly, I dunno, brainwashed by butterflies, I guess, and Luna has been eating butterflies for the last day since."

Which is normal cat behavior but also not like this.

"I would really, really like to return her important item as quickly as I can. If you can tell Chat to stop by my dorm that would be great because I would super, super, super love to not have anyone else's important belongings,,,"

She's not having a great time with it, honestly!

And she's wincing at Bow because whoops. Distraction time! That didn't look too good. She tucks a piece of katsu on a corner of his tray in apologies, before devouring three pieces of her own as Hinoiri runs through the list.

"I knew about the Towers, and the,,, kid,,, and I've talked to people about that situation, though if you can do anything about the towers, that would be great," this is blunt and honest. "I uh, didn't know about a super omega Witch though, that sounds um, yeah, Naru-chan is right, that sounds awful. I guess we should... be ready for that, because everything bad that can happen to Tokyo does happen to Tokyo and -did Saya-chan say what makes her a super witch?"

Hinoiri Kirara has posed:
Hinoiri Kirara face palms. "Oh bucking buck... you need to find her, then. And fast. Or Cat Noir. Trust me. That guy? He is *obsessed*. Sadly, I don't know much about them. Cat Noir saved me as a civilian once, so... he's cool? And Ladybug... well..."

"... I still can't believe she goes out in that outfit. Willingly. But she's still cool other than that. Really needs a belt or something." For some reason she just... couldn't... shake it. Try as she might, the red and black dots REALLY annoyed her.

"I'm working on the towers, I've got a contact. Hopefully I can make things better. Any of you know a... Scorpia, by any chance? She good? On the up and up with you lot? And no, I don't have much info on Walpurgisnight. But with a name like that, I figure I've butchered it a thousand times and it's not going to be good. Supposedly it's made up of a whole bunch of other witches or something and is incredibly deadly. Gretchen... Kamiko has the info on it. I'm reaching out to my sources about it, though. Sounds awful. Witches are *not* gentle. Even I couldn't control their power and, trust me, I tried. A lot. And had the headache to prove it."

Bow has posed:
Apology chicken is accepted, and Bow gives Usagi a quick smile. He's getting better at it. "Maybe she's really comfortable it her outfit? No shame in that." Bow offers with a shrug of his shoulders as he takes a bite of the fried bird. "Maybe she didn't have a choice in it. I've been working on redesigning some things with scrap recovered from the Arathra, and working on the whole thing with Etherian stuff showing up here and what it would take to link the two to traverse between both worlds."

"Yeah. It's believed that the only way to stop a Witch is to destroy her, but Sa... Sharpsong always believed they could be healed and returned to the way they were." He pokes at his food, moving it around. "The towers... well, I don't know if I they have updated since Mercury and I hacked into them, but I'm pretty sure they did."

Naru Osaka has posed:
"Ooooh boy." Naru whistles lowly as Usagi confirms that she has THAT of Ladybug's. "Right.. yeah. I'll ask Chat if he has her number, cause not only is she gonna want that back, but..." She gestures at Hinoiri and then ums softly, looking a touch sheepish. "Chat Noir is cool, yes."

"Hey, Ladybug's outfit looks very comfortable." Naru protests with a soft little laugh. "I'm all for comfortable outfits, good for her. Not everything has to be drafty as all get out."

Naru picks up her chopsticks to get going on her fried noodles as she listens to the various awfulness about the upcoming Mega Witch. Yep, that's gonna suck.

Usagi Tsukino has posed:
"I mean, her outfit looked pretty nice to me! A little bland, maybe, but it was nice." A pause. "I liked mine better, but that's just because it was to my taste! But maybe she'll get a new outfit, if she gets it back."

Wouldn't that be a nice thing? For her to get her Miraculous back and get a new outfit?

"Oh, you're changing your look up, Bow-kun? That's cool! All I got from the Artha is a nifty snack machine," which hit her in the face with lemons last time, totally rude!

"So... Kamiko-chan and Sayaka-chan know about the super witch. That means Madoka-chan probably does too... I guess I know who I'll be hitting up! And," she pauses, but she trusts Bow and Naru, Mamoru already knows, and Hinoiri... Hinoiri has been really trying. She should have some faith extended. "Sayaka-chan was right. There is a way to help Witches, at least some of the time, besides just killing them. I don't know if being an omega Witch of evil will make it so she can't be helped, but we can be ready to try."

A pause. A pause. And then she puts both hands on the table and looks at Bow.

"So, um, what kind of link between the worlds do you think it would take to make fiery kitties that speak in riddles appear?"

Hinoiri Kirara has posed:
Hinoiri Kirara took another bite of her apple and gave a shrug. "Eh. If she's comfy looking like that in public, I guess it's not my job to stop her. Still... even back home she'd have gotten some looks. It really needs like... a belt or something." She couldn't stop her, however, she apparently could judge the crud out of her.

Her gaze then shifted to Bow. "Really? That... sounds pretty cool. Seems like you got a good head on your shoulders. If you need any help, let me know. Finding a way so Catra could get back home would be nice. She... really has it rough here." Pause. "Oh, and like. The rest of you, too. You at least pass for human so it's not as bad. The body dysphoria of having to be human all the time, though, it's a buck in the face...."

"As for the towers... Well... I mean... they aren't easy to get into. I designed them so only I could fully access them. Unfortunately, I also made them so only people with dark energy could touch them... so even if I know how, I can't... actually do anything with them. And there's still that one up that Phantom put up. Surprised you sparkles haven't tried to take it down yet. But... they likely have been doing... some shifts to them. Considering what they're opening up and doing with them... I really don't like the idea of them upgrading them... they weren't meant to be used *after* I got what I needed from them."

What was that? Guilt? Why would she feel guilty about it? Don't be silly. That'd be silly. She was definitely not feeling guilty as she chewed her apple. Not at all.

"... Yeah, you sparkles really have a way of saving everything, don't you. Even things that you'd think would be beyond saving. Undoing what went wrong, and whatnot..."

"Flaming... cats? Talking in riddles? Did... did they have wings? Did the fiery cats have wings? And were they ACTUALLY on fire, or just like, fire colored?" Hinoiri asked, her eyes lighting up, tossing the apple core into the trash can across the room before getting up, eyes glowing, palms on the table. "Where were they? When? Why didn't you tell me immediately? How many of them? Were there anything OTHER than fiery cats?" She, unfortunately, had the entirely wrong idea.

Bow has posed:
Wait, why is he being asked about flaming cats! Bow looks confused for a moment. "I thought all things fire related went through Hino-- there you go." he says, with a hint of humor in his voice, but his lips tighten in thought, eyes narrowing. "There is one legend that the Queen - Angella, not Glimmer, told us, when it comes to flames and the like. A lot of people assume that Scorpia's runestone which is lightning, was just fire upgraded. It's not." He takes a sip of his water, and sets it aside so that he can move his food around. "Once, in the Etheria of the past, there was a Princess. She was kind and was loved by her people. Her name is lost to history, unfortunately, but it was known that she was close to another Princess and they swore they would always be together."

Glancing at his food, he takes his food and starts to pull the curry away from the rice. "As the Princess' powers grew, she became more and more dependent and... wanton for the power. The Princess grew older, she was able to do more wonderful things with her powers. She wanted to know everything about her runestone, and her power. She began to love power and obssesed over it. She gave up on her people. She stopped appearing in public. All she craved. All she wanted was the runestone."

"Years passed." Bow starts to push the food together. "Finally, one day, she was ready - eager to show the world what she could do and what she had learned. Instead... she found..." he pushes the rice closer to the chicken. "...the world had moved on without her. She had been abandoned by all she loved in return for her abandoning all that loved her."

"She tried to hide her pain and conceal it. It festered, a gaping wound that could not be treated. In her anger, her broken heart, her sadness... the runestone, which she was so deeply connected to? It erupted. For over a week, the runestone erupted with power, destroying everything and everyone about it. It forever buried itself, the fire princess and her kingdom in her ruins. They're now known as Mount Candila on Etheria. But that's the only flame story I know of."

Naru Osaka has posed:
"I had a different outfit when I used Chat's Miraculous." Naru comments thoughtfully, even if that's probably not something that all that many people at the table are wholly aware of. "In the same vein, but not quite hte same." She blushes a little, for .. er.. no reason at all. Certainly not cause her beau's alter ego wears skin tight black leather. Not at all.

Naru settles quiet as she listens about fire kitties and fire magic and towers. She has noodles to eat and nothing to currently really add to the conversation."

Usagi Tsukino has posed:
"You had Chat's Miraculous? Oh my gosh! We're like twinsies," teenage girl moments, "I really hope Chat can get me in touch with her. Mamochan's idea was skywriting."

The continued criticism from Hinoiri gets a little eyeroll, but Usagi will accept this at least. "Yeah, I mean... I didn't think of how our world could be bad for Catra, or anyone else, but if someone wants to go, they should be able to! No one should be trapped here," Usagi says sympathetically. As for the towers... yeah, this is about what she expected. No easy way - "Phantom put one up?!"

Well, that explains why this Senshi hasn't done anything about it. Didn't know it existed! That will have to be taken care of now.

"Well, that's the problem with making things for the enemy. As long as they've got a use for it, it doesn't really matter what you hoped to do with it all. It's in their hands... so we'll just have to do whatever we can to blow them up."

Hopefully, before they find Hotaru.

"We try at least," Usagi demurs, "We can't save everyone. We can't be everywhere. But I think most of us want to help as many people as we can. That's why we're heroes, instead of villains."

Then? She's leaning back, startled, staring. "Definitely on fire, no wings, just size changing! It's not about Hinoiri-chan, it's about..."

And Bow tells a story. It's similar but different from the one Glimmer shared, a few different details, but ultimately the same start, the same end. She swallows.

"They called themselves Candila. They rejected Glimmer, but they said they were looking for a leader? Who rules when the Moons are high."

Mamoru Chiba has posed:
"Skywriting's not a bad idea, it just... the message might go over her head," Mamoru says sadly, shaking his head and plowing ahead before anyone realizes they've been hit with a dad joke.

"A size-changing cat... not an on-fire bakeneko, right?" he asks before stealing a piece of Usagi's apple and putting a few fries on her tray as a trade. "But I agree about no one having to stay here if they don't want to. It's a great thing to be able to go home."

He'll be asking Madoka about Walpurgisnacht later.

Hinoiri Kirara has posed:
Hinoiri Kirara went a bit red at the comment of 'all fire went through her'. "I-I... There are lots of other fire mages, I should know. I fought a bunch of them. And I don't have fire magic anymore."

Then her head whipped around to Naru. "Wait, *you* used the cat miraculous? Why am I only hearing about this... ugh. You two do realize if Hawkmoth ever finds out that even being near you is going to be dangerous? I bucking hate being a civilian..." she grumbled, pinching the bridge of her nose.

She then sat back down, crossing her arms. "Oh... well... yeah. Definitely sounds like ummmm... something from your world. Which, if it is, might mean there's a way back there. This could be good. IF we could capture one, track down the source, possibly use it to make a portal of some kind. That couldn't be too hard. Could get Catra home, somewhere she could feel safe. That'd be nice..."

"... Also, no matter what you do, please don't skywrite about the miraculous. Seriously. You will have Hawkmoth send an entire division after you lot..."

Then. Only a few seconds later, she blinked... looked up at Mamoru... and then snickered. "Did you just...? Nice. Heh..."

Adrien Agreste has posed:
With a group like this at the table it was bound to attract the attention of many. Especially of one teen who zeroes in on a particular target as soon as he catches sight of her sitting among her friends, and Hinoiri.

Adrien comes up behind Naru and slides an arm around her shoulders in a little hug while leaning down to kiss the top of her head in greeting. "Hey Naru-Dear!" Nara Deer, Naru Deer it was his thing okay? It was silly and cute and it worked for him.

A quick glance is shot around as he smiles giving the others a nod of greeting. "How is everyone? Hope I'm not interrupting--" Wait what was that?

The arm around Naru squeezes unintentionally. Then he lets go in favor of sinking down to sit next to her if there's room. "Wait, what's this about Hawkmoth and Miraculouses? And ... skywriting?" His eyebrows draw together in a look of puzzlement while his free hand grips the strap to his messenger bag rather white-knuckled tight in concern.

Bow has posed:
"Skywriting?" Bow glances up at that. "You... you can write in the sky? Not like billboards?" Video billboards /blew/ Bow's mind. "We could put out an ad. Like on the milk cartons! Have you seen this mahou??"

There's a small pause though as he switches from topic to topic. "I mean. Glimmer is the Queen of Brightmoon and the moonstone and just..." he glances down. "...even if she's... nevermind." A blown out breath. "But there's like twelve moons. There aren't that many runestones...." A press of his lips together. "...I need to think about it." he finally admits.

Naru Osaka has posed:
"Hey there handsome." Naru leans into the very familiar hug around her shoulders, pausing in her eating of noodles. (Eating! Of Noodles! Like a whole meal of them! And sides!) She smiles a soft little smile that's wholly fond for him, puttign her bowl down to reach up and settle her hand on his arm.

"No skywriting looking for Ladybug." Naru laughs and shakes her head before leaning her head into Adrien's shoulder. "We're trying to get a hold of Ladybug, cause Usagi needs to .. uh.. give back something of hers." She gives his arm a gentle squeeze. "I'll message Chat and see if he has her number after I finish eating."

Or, y'know, Chat could be /psychic/ and just send it.

Usagi Tsukino has posed:
The dad joke has Usagi choking on her katsu curry, having unfortunately dragged a large piece through the curry and popped it into her mouth just in time to be joke-killed. She hacks behind a covered hand, which means she's just listening to the others as they run down ideas and talk about things.

When she can finally breathe again - "Hi Adrien-kun! Like Naru-chan said, we're uh, in a pickle about reaching out to Ladybug..."

And as Hinoiri again stresses the danger, Usagi grimaces, and then just - "Look, it's not that I don't buy the danger, but that's why I need to give this thing back, like now. Because he already knows who I am, and the only reason he hasn't personally come get it is - I honestly don't know, maybe he doesn't want to throw hands with a 'helpless' teenager? Luna's going to get full of butterflies eventually, and trying to keep your mood up while you know some nutty guy is after you is hard, so, skywriting! Jokes! Desperately hoping Naru-chan and Adrien-kun's very bestest kitty boyfriend has Ladybug's number!"

Adrien, Adrien, Adrien, hi, hi, don't you have that number?

Bow says he needs to think about it, and Usagi nods.

"They gave Catra a riddle, too. Something about leaders and what bends first, the will or the flame? She says she's not a princess though?"

Yeha, just gonna drop that in here.

Mamoru Chiba has posed:
Mamoru gives Hinoiri a *huge* grin, utterly pleased with himself. Yes, yes that was good. And he soothingly and unrepentantly rubs a hand on Usagi's back as she coughs up a lung.

"Maybe some runestones are lost," he suggests to Bow, reaching over to squeeze Bow's shoulder briefly when the other teen drops his gaze from the conversation. "Maybe they're here. They keep getting pulled here, you figure, right?"

Then Adrien's joining them and also worrying about skywriting, and Mamoru waves his hand in the air. "Don't worry so much you guys, I was half joking when I suggested it to Usa. And it wouldn't have mentioned anything anyway. Just like... 'Usual Ladybug pls call Sailor Moon' with no details. Or Tuxedo Mask if we want to be at least a little more careful than usual because Hawkmoth."

Then he smiiiiiles at Adrien. "You know Ladybug, too, right? Do you have her number?"

A beat, and Mamoru blinks at Usagi. "Wait, is that like how Bow says he's not a prince?"

Hinoiri Kirara has posed:
Hinoiri Kirara glanced towards Adrien. She then gave a small nod. "Mmmm. Probably best you don't know, Adrien. This is sparkle stuff and if Hawkmoth is involved, well. Trust me. The guy is absolutely obsessed. The sooner you get whatever it is out of your hands and back with one of them, the better off you'll all be. Guy is like one terrible skirt and an awkward photo op from going full Beryl." Pause. Then... "But, Adrien, you've seen Ladybug, right? Back me up. You know all about fashion and all that. The outfit, it needs work, am I wrong?"

Oh, just... so going at the wrong person for this.

"Maybe you could give it to one of the mascots that are always running about? They're all made of magic and whatnot, they might be able to track her down when we can't? Also... like... just because they say 'when the moons are high', it's a riddle. It probably is going to turn out something like... when you get Sailor Moon high off painkillers or something. Maybe we should try and find out next time she goes to the dentist," Hinoiri joked. IT was just a joke, don't take it too seriously, Usagi! "That or someone stabs Sailor Moon while she's on a tower or something."

However, Usagi's comment on the butterflies made her... nervous. She gulped... "You're... right, though. Keeping your mood up and... there's... another..." She reached up and stroked her geode, looking a little unsettled. "I could lend you my geode again, but ummmm... I... wouldn't want to do it for long. At least it would make you unable to go... dark... but..."

And she was, quite obviously, uncomfortable not having her shield against dark energy on her at all times. "If your cat is eating them before they get to you, it should be fine, right?" Trying to offer, but admittedly scared to.

Bow has posed:
"This from the two people that became Casual Friday and Sailor... Black and White? last time you had anything to do with Hawkmoth? How'd you even end up getting transformed? Don't you have to volunteer for that??" Bow suddenly realizes, flailing his arms a little. Sure, he's forgiven them for turning him into a bear and flying him off, but STILL.

Then his attention swivels to Hinoiri. "I mean, you are always talking about fire and flames and all that?" he asks her, blowing out a breath as Mamoru squeezes his shoulder and he calms down. "Yeah. That should be worrying, all these pieces of Etheria that are ending up on Earth.

To the other question, on Catra, Bow tilts his head. "She's more a Princess than I'll ever be a Prince. I'm just a soldier." he reminds. "A librarian turned soldier. When the moons are high..." A bite of his inner gum as he tries to ponder that.

Adrien Agreste has posed:
Adrien Agreste drops his hand from the messenger bag to wrap around Naru instead. She was leaning against him so he automatically supports her lean without thinking. Right now he rather wanted something to hold onto as well because the color is slowly draining from his face as the continued discussion slowly clicks things into place for him.

"She lost... You have her..." A quick deep breath is taken. With many eyes on him and the question of knowing Ladybug that leaves him very much unable to speak for a few minutes.

It's not until Hinoiri's helpful suggestion of 'staying out of sparkle stuff' that he responds cooly, "I've known about Hawkmoth and Ladybug since Paris. Ladybug's attire suits her just fine even if it is classicly simplistic." Right. Fashion. He can talk fashion. Sort of.

The hopeful question of whether HE knows Ladybug's number has him shaking his head. "I'm sorry, no. No one knows who Ladybug is. I don't... I don't have a way to reach her. If she doesn't have her Miraculous." Because the only way he, ahem, Chat Noir, could reach her was via the communication devices they used *while transformed.* The secrecy was something she'd always insisted on.

He drops his face down into his hand with a little groan and a quiet mutter. "This is not good."

Naru Osaka has posed:
"Is there anyone other than me who isn't a Princess?" Naru asks, rhetorically. "Sheesh."

Naru tsks softly. "We are not getting Sailor Moon high." She notes into the conversation, becuase THAT is the salient point here. Dont do drugs, kids.

She leans back into Adrien as he explains.. and she reads between the lines THERE too. "Oh. Oh /dear/. Okay this is awkward. Suddenly skywriting is looking like a better option. Except y'know.. for the crazy stalker dude hunting people."

Usagi Tsukino has posed:
"You don't have to volunteer - we didn't volunteer," Usagi says with a little flail of her own - not angry, but definitely sheepish.

"I mean, both times he turned me into Sailor Eclipse, I was really upset - dark place, bad thoughts, all that stuff, and then, it was like... an offer of a solution. Something to make everything that was upsetting and wrong go away, and all it would cost is one little thing. And it's... weird, because I don't know if I could have thrown it off? It was like, it was already destined to happen, because he'd already got me. And this time - well, I didn't think there was a chance I'd actually get the - thing."

But she did. And she has it. And she has even more regrets than usual.

"...The city told Mamochan he couldn't buy a home. Not for like years, and years. And we got - really upset." Clearly.

Adrien's looking pale and sick and of course he is - Ladybug is a hometown hero! He'd become here and found himself with both his hometown herores 'and the hometown villain, and now that hero is out there somewhere, vulnerable, and... "When I find her, I'm going to make sure she has a way to get in touch with more people. Keeping an identity is a good idea from the bad guys, but from your allies? ...I guess, when you have an enemy who can mind control people, it starts to make sense, but still..."

This is a bad situation.
Hinoiri's making something almost like an offer, an echo of one made the previous year, and Usagi's face softens. "No, Hinoiri-chan, you should keep it. Luna-chan's protecting me, and Mamochan and the others are sticking pretty close; it's hard to get a bad mood going with everyone around."

As for the riddle? "I was never very good at riddles.... or with dentists! And getting high is illegal, so nope, none of that for me!"

Mamoru Chiba has posed:
"Nobody stab Sailor Moon, please," says her boyfriend.

Mamoru eats another slice of Usagi's apple, and just decides that since his whole tray is right there for her to plunder at will, he doesn't have to actually put traded fries on Usagi's tray.

"It'll be fine," he agrees with Hinoiri, though-- and then the eleventh-grader shakes his head at Bow. He listens to Usagi, then agrees: "Not volunteer, but willingly make a stupid choice in the heat of the moment, yes. We're not without responsibility, but it's also Hawkmoth taking advantage of wildly upset people's moments of weakness. It's not an excuse, ... even if I'm sorry it really was kind of fun ... it's just that he's very definitely also to blame for the mess that Ladybug's Miraculous had to clean up."

Mamoru looks so sheepish. "I figured-- when I was agreeing-- that we'd be stopped fast, and because Usako hadn't ultimately hurt anyone last time, I wouldn't either."

Hinoiri Kirara has posed:
Hinoiri Kirara gave a small shrug. "I... guess. I mean, fire magic was kind of my specialty. But that was more because I was trying to impress Sora and... yeah. I... admittedly... am not the biggest fan of fire magic anymore." Being chased through a shop and tormented by fire would... do that to someone...

"So... nobody knows who she is? Does she have a like... mascot? Anything? Cause... that could be screwy. And it's not like you can just... like... run around and hope whoever it is who they belong to comes to you. If Hawkmoth knows you have them, he's bound to get some girl to come to you and claim to be the real Ladybug and get them back, by then it'd be too late. Maybe talk to Madoka? Her charas have a lot of information they shouldn't, they might be able to get it to the real girl."

She then raised a hand and glanced to Naru. "I do hope I at least count, though. Was raised by a Sovereign, though. And yeah, being surrounded by royalty can suck." She got to her feet. "I'm... going to reach out to some of my sources, okay? I'll let you know if anything comes up. I'll be keeping an eye out on Hawkmoth, too. Nothing dangerous, but... hopefully enough. Just try to get rid of that thing, quick. I'm not exagerating when I say he could be a Beryl just *waiting* to happen. I only ever did like, one project with the guy and even from a distance you could tell the guy was... out there. Let me know if you get any more info on the walpurghisnight thing, I'll keep you in the loop too. It was great talking with all of you about this," Hinoiri said before getting to her feet and started to take off. However, she did pause a few steps away, a hand moving up to rub her geode.

"... I mean it, by the way. Thanks. Ummm. For sharing with me. I'll... I'll try and return the favor when I can," she said, before taking off and pulling out her phone.

... Time to reach out to her contacts... She wondered what Fuyuko was up to... And Takashi.

Bow has posed:
"It's okay. It really is. I just hope you guys find... wait." There's a pause as Bow looks between Mamoru and Usagi. "Hawkmoth doesn't know that you and her are... I mean, you transformed and everything and and..." Immediate concern for his friends seems to be trumping everything else as his attention shifts back to Hinoiri. "Thank /you/ for helping." he offers to her. "You don't have to, but you're trying and it's appreciated." he offers to her.

"But if the Spirit Ember is here... it only took six of the runestones to cause trouble on Etheria. There's... four, maybe five here /now/?"

"It's a good thing I'm not a fit for a runestone." he says with a smirk. "Though I could finally get my fire arrows to stop burning my hand if I hold them too long!"

Adrien Agreste has posed:
Adrien Agreste lifts his head again to flash a bit of a weak smile over at Hinoiri. "Good to see you again," he assures with a little wave. A weak one. It was a weak moment. At the very least he seems to have calmed down a little. He always was good at pretending he was calm when he needed to be. His smile was still more than a little tense.

"You're right, it's better to have allies that know--Oh!" The arm around Naru gives a little squeeze as an idea strikes him. One he *can't say out loud* darnit. Instead he pauses, takes another breath, and smiles his usual model smile.

"Actually maybe someone *does* know her identity. I remember hearing Cat mention a 'guardian' once. You should talk to him soon," he suggests with a quick nod trying not to seem too relieved. Yes, that would work. That had to work.

"Secret identities are good at times, but there still should be people you trust for times like this. I think you're all lucky that you have people you can share it with. And thank you," he adds smiling, "For trusting me, too."

Naru Osaka has posed:
"See you later, Hinoiri!" Naru waves after her.. yes.. friend as she heads off. "You totally count as a princess." She points out before settling back.

"Ladybug totally needs a way to get in contact with people. Did anyone show her the Shed?" She asks with a little mmm. "Could we leave her a note there?"

Naru might have more food on her tray, but old habits do die hard and she reaches for her coffee having gotten distracted from putting calories into her body. Whoops.

"Guardian?" Naru frowns up at Adrien as she tries to sort that out in her head and mmms softly. "Here in Tokyo, or back in Paris?" She asks, as if Adrien would know. Pfft. Silly Naru.

Usagi Tsukino has posed:
"Well, uh, the mascot came with me," Usagi says sheepishly, "I think she's a package deal with the earrings. The cookies are for her, they're her favorites."

Hinoiri has to go, but she's going to check with her contacts, which is a kind thing she didn't have to do. "Thank you, Hinoiri-chan. If I get it back to her, I'll let you know!"

Once Hinoiri is gone, everyone still has thoughts and ideas, and she nods, brightening especially when Adrien mentions a guardian. She devours a quarter of Mamoru's fries as he and Naru expand on the idea a bit.

"A guardian! That sounds like a Luna! That would be great, if Chat knows someone who can get this back to her... I would love that. Even if they're in Paris, that would just take some of us being willing to -" she goes a little green - "Make a jump back to Paris, for a bit..."

Which is a city she would like to avoid but will not avoid, if it means she can get rid of this magic earring of doom.

"I didn't show it to her; this was maybe my third or fourth time seeing her? She doesn't really stick around..."

And Bow had raised a very saliant question, and Usagi answers to the best of her ability - "He didn't really ask, so I don't think he knew. Sailor Eclipse was like a sailor, sailor, you know? But the Spirit Ember... if these runestones can make trouble on Earth, we might need to figure out a way to really start protecting them. And - wait, there are how many here already?"

Mamoru Chiba has posed:
"It really was actually nice to be in a conversation with you, Hinoiri-san," Mamoru calls after the girl with a laugh as she departs. And then he almost sounds affectionate. "We'll get there."

Mamoru watches Bow derail, and leans forward a little bit with his eyebrows up. "He doesn't know we're already magic, is that what you meant?" he asks, a little concerned.

But a second later he glances at Adrien, something in his shoulders relaxing slightly as he basically the rest of Usagi's apple and Adrien explains he has an idea. And then there's that thanks, and there's definite affection in Mamoru's smile in return.

"If she's been in the Shed, she should have at the very least my phone number. I don't know if anyone's shown it to her though, no..." he says to Naru, frowning a little. Then he shakes his head. "But leaving a note there wouldn't hurt, just in case."

He looks between Bow and Usagi, then checks his watch, then carefully leaves one slice of apple before starting to actually eat his lunch properly.

Bow has posed:
"If she's been in the shed, could we leave a note? Or maybe even a lost and found note. Lost: One set of earrings, contact Usagi at whatever contact, and if she can describe what they are, set up a drop or something? I saw that in a movie once. Like... they kidnappened someone and there was a set up and a drop and they did the exchange while never seeing each other!" Bow offers optimistically, before he gets his train back on the track.

"Yeah, that. I'm still having a hard time with who I can and can't tell about things." he admits as he rubs at the back of his head in thought.

Now he circles back to the runstones. "So... She-Ra has the Stone of Protection in her sword. Glimmer has the Moonstone. Scorpia.. the one that arrived at Prom? She has one as well, the Black Garnet. That's the one that controls lightning. If the Spirit Ember is here - that's half of them. Perfuma has the Heart Blossom. Mermista has the sea pearl. Frosta, the Fractal Flake. And I have a runestone shard - unknown what it belonged to, but I've been using it to upgrade my gear since I was freed from Light Hope's control."

Adrien Agreste has posed:
Adrien Agreste is greatly relaxed now though still tense. The fact that the Miraculous was in Usagi's hands, and Luna was having to *eat* akuma moths was disturbing. Worrisome. At least their magical identities were secret still it seemed.

"I think they're here in Tokyo too?" He reasons with a small shrug only to flash a grin at Naru. "We'll get in touch with our cat friend and send him your way soon, Usagi-chan," he assures. Very soon. "There's no need for stray Miraculous to be floating around right now."

"Especially if there's other powered items also out there we should be keeping an eye out for," he adds with a nod to acknowledge Bow's situation. He didn't know it entirely, but it sounded important as well. "Sounds like things are about to get busy for you all again."

Naru Osaka has posed:
"I haven't shown her the Shed either." Naru shakes her head. "But it's totally worth doing, just in case. Someone might have, although if she doesnt have her Miraculous, then she might not be comfortable going there and ..." She trails off and sighs. "Yeah, I had Chat's mascot wiht me when I had his briefly. Thank goodness, I was kinda lost. How DID you end up with it anyhow, Usagi?"

"I just.. assume everyone knows who I am." Naru admits. "Which is inaccurate, and probably non functional, but I seriously do not know how people keep track of who knows which version of them. It boggles my mind."

Naru snaps her fingers, as Adrien thinks the guardian is here in Tokyo "No excuse for a trip back to Paris under much much better circumstances. It's such a beautiful city, I'd love to have better memories of it."

Usagi Tsukino has posed:
"Sounds to me like no one really knows Ladybug, except Cat Noir. And even he's at a distance. So, there's only one thing to do: we are befriending that girl. Here in Tokyo, there's no reason for any Mahou to feel like she has to go it alone. Having a phone number for backup and support is not optional!"

Somewhere In the distance, Marinette may feel strange sense Of warning, of danger. It won't be enough to save her. She has been targeted for friendship and she will be friended!
...oh that's a lot if Runestones - " I think Hinoiri asked about Scorpio, but I don't know her so I don't think I answered... I wonder why she needed to know about her? But I have a way, that's a lot of magic stones that we should definitely keep an eye on..."

Relief, at the news that they was not used to make another magical jump to Paris. It is a beautiful city, and it doesn't deserve the reputation it has for her now, but somehow, she thinks it'll be okay with her to have one less beautiful city to visit in the world.

"Oh well," she breathes out, too relieved to sound properly disappointed. "Another time maybe. Now we just need Cat, And there's one less problem for us to solve, at least."

relief brings her appetite back and she starts digging into her katsu curry. "Lunch is almost over, we better eat quick!"