784/Duskpuppy Time

Duskpuppy Time
Date of Scene:	18 November 2023
Location:	Obsidian Tower - Dark Laboratory
Synopsis:	Norie Okana invites some Obsidian Employees, but mostly Takashi and friends over to pet Zarcillos. But face it, they're duskpuppys.
Cast of Characters:	Norie Okana, Takashi Agera, Hotaru Tomoe, Lana Voselle Miata, Fate Testarossa, Mami Tomoe

---

Norie Okana has posed:
Norie Okana had a rough yesterday so she's gonna bury herself in her work. So she did that today by filling the lab with baby zarcillos. Zarcillos was the name Norie gave the dog-like 'youmas' that Takashi discovered in the dusk zone. They looked like dogs with a single tendril extending from their neck aswell, which is why Norie gave them that name-- Zarcillo being Spanish for tendril.

But face, it they're duskpuppys. And the lab is full of them while their tired mom, that Norie has befriended, with a tracking collar naming her 'Minuet' sits in the corner, and Norie is weighing them individually.

She has invited folks to come play with the puppies, as she's wanting to see how sociable they are.

(They are VERY sociable.)

"So cute." she says in monotone as she weighs one that won't sit still. "Sit still for Norie-chan." she insists.

Takashi Agera has posed:
    Zarcillos are not Dusk Dogs or Dusk Puppies. But it's also hard not to refer to them as such. Habits die hard. But what also is difficult to kill is the genuine affection people have for adorable little woofs. To the point where even Takashi doesn't mind that there's at least half a dozen little woofballs roaming around the lab.

    He picks one up and the small dog barks softly, in more of surprise than meanness. "I think I like them even more than regular puppies. They're adorable." Takashi says before the Zarcillo licks his face. Maybe it's something in his mixed spirit that calls to the dogs and back, but they occasionally circle around him.

    Or maybe they're just terribly friendly and they look for attention from any of the strange people around here who aren't some sort of shadowy Dusk Zone monster, and instead (as Norie likely had) often come with treats and headscritches. Takashi scritches the one in his hands behind the ears and it leans into it. "So, most stuff in the Dusk Zone is all teeth and claws and don't-touch-me. Did you figure out if they're like, part Earth dogs yet?"

Hotaru Tomoe has posed:
Firefly had been unsure of coming. After all, some kind of dusk animal thing...

But then she found out 'Zarcillos' was 'dog' and 'young dog' meant 'puppy' and 'puppy social testing' meant 'OMG yes please can I can I please yes?'

Which was why she had henshined to avoid getting too much dark energy and had been waiting ALL DAY for the duskpuppies to come.

"PUPPY!" she yelled the moment the door opened and she apppppeared. Having run so fast and having to turn so suddenly that she was, for the moment, balanced on one foot and trying not to fall over.

BUT DOGGY! And then she dashed into the room, running and...

Tripping, face first, skidding to a stop in front of the doggies. Ow. Luckily, magic armor!

And then she was buried under doge. "Eeeee! Baby!"

Yes, it was in fact. Baby. She rolled over and hugged one. "Eeee doggy doggy doggy!"

Lana Voselle Miata has posed:
    Lana was always one to keep to herself. In part because she had a lot to be afraid of, in part because she was surrounded by backstabbers, and also in part because she had her own secrets. Yet, this wasn't good for the company. She had been given a lecture about properly integrating herself into the company's social structure more, and so she decided that this would be as good a time as any.

    Lana is here, for once, out of henshin. She's officially an Obsidian intern, so this is nothing unusual. Despite all of her secrecy, at some point she simply decided that it wasn't worth it to maintain her henshin secret when surrounded by coworkers who weren't doing the same.

    Thus it was that Lana appeared in the doorway of the laboratory. The voice of the demon in her head spoke up the moment it saw the youma.

    Cute. Must Pet.

    Lana thought such a thing was absurd. Pet the evil puppies?

    But... I want to...

    With a thin, resigned smile, Lana casually walked up to one of the puppies that Norie had already weighed and decided to scratch it behind the ears. "So... these are the zarcillos. I suppose even the dusk zone has a sense of... cuteness."

    She raises an eyebrow at the fallen form of Firefly. Oh well, she's in henshin, so no harm done, right?

Fate Testarossa has posed:
    Puppies? ... From the Dusk Zone? That's a thing?
    Apparently that is a thing. Though Fate is perhaps not one of the most social members of the Obsidian... F... Friend group(?) (Is that what they can be called?) And she's often quite busy with aiding Precia in her affairs, she at least has it in mind to visit the lab and be social today while she's handling some business in the tower.
    Fate enters the lab with Arf in tow. Literally.
    The big red wolf trots in at Fate's side on a leash and they both pause.
    "Oh no. Oh no no no no no no. Noooooo nohohoooo no. I'm waiting outside." Arf says through bared teeth.
    "Be nice, Arf. You're coming in." Fate admonishes as her Familiar's digs her feet in and Fate is forced to drag Arf in like a petulant... Well. A petulant wolf.
    "I am NOT good with puppies, though!"
    "You'll be fine. Say hello to everyone." Fate says, dipping in a curtsey to greet Norie, Taka, Firefly, and Lana on her way in.
    Arf whines. "What did I do to deserve this treatment?"

Mami Tomoe has posed:
And then there was the new girl. While this isn't her first time in the lab, it is her first time arriving at the lab on her own. Because now Mami has an access card.

So of course, it took her a while to get to the lab.

But when the door swung open, her reaction was only a little more restrained than Firefly's. "Eeeee! Oh my goodness, these puppies are adorable!!" She clapped.

She had a picnic basket slung from her elbow, and she set it down on the nearest counter before squatting down to pet the nearest zarcillo. Other people? Why socialize with them when there's puppies?

She didn't even introduce herself.

Norie Okana has posed:
The Duskpuppies are sociable as much as normal puppies are. It's strange. They want scratches and love and to be picked up and cuddle and they bark and yelp and all sorts of puppy things as they're played with and they wanna play, heavily with you.

Norie Okana looks at some of the tests she's had lab equipment do. Then the translation of what the readings mean written on the paper.

I mean yes. I can't tell you exactly how much they are 'dogs' compared to 'dark horribleness' but there's some dog in there." she says with a nod. "But we're getting better at figuring it out. That's...Minuet." she motions to the much older dog curled in the corner. "She's happy to get a break while we take care of the playful pups for a bit." she says as she nods matter of factly.

She nods and looks on as others pet, play with and handle the puppies. "Feel free to play, but be gentle. They're cute, yes?" she says.

And then Mami walks in with a basket and she looks to Takashi. "Oh." she looks over to Mami. "I didn't know Taka-senpai invited you over, Mami-onechan~" she says in her 'pleased' monotone. Which is her flat monotone.

"Oh, Fate- Art. Please be gentle around the pups. They're just tiny babies. And Arf is a big girl." yes she is! YES. SHE. IS. But Norie isn't about to ask Arf who's a good big girl is.

"Oh right." she holds out a box of common dog treats.

"Here." then she gets back to work weighing puppies.

Takashi Agera has posed:
Takashi smiles at Mami for a moment, she actually does divert his attention from the puppy. Well. Sort of. He never really stops holding it. Or scritching it. He should probably introduce Fate and Mami to each other. "Hey Mami-san." he says, grinning. "Fate-chan, this is Mami-san. She's also going to be working with m-us." he says.

    He looks around and grabs a bit of rope from somewhere. Where? Who knows, there's stuff all over the lab. (even if it is cleaner than usual.)It's not -evil- rope or anything. He drags it along the ground an the dog gets the idea quickly, and soon he's one handed playing tug of war with the pup. "I think the answer if they are sociable is 'yes'. How sociable? 'also yes'." Takashi says to Norie. "I think they're enjoying the attention as much as we are enjoying giving it to them."

Hotaru Tomoe has posed:
Firefly was definitely scewing the basis of 'us liking it more' against the dogs, but that was probably fiiiiiine. "Hiiii Arf-chan! Hi Fate-kohai!" she called out, waving a hand from beneath dog. It was doge. It was good. She sat up, hugging one of the dogs.

"Do you think we could keep one in the lab?" she asked Takashi...

Before glancing to Mami and waving! "Mami-senpai! You came!" she called out. "Oh, right! Um, it's--" Then blinked and paused, glancing to Takashi. He had told her NOT to keep revealing her identity to everyone.

... But Mami.

She then sloooooowly pulled her way out from beneath doge to wave to Lana. "Hello! I don't think we've met before, I'm Firefly! Nice to meet you."

... She was still holding a dog in her other arm. And scritching it juuuuust above the tentacle.

Fate Testarossa has posed:
    "Ah..."
    Fate is distracted by the new arrival and Takashi's introduction of said new arrival, scarlet eyes turning to Mami- the only person in the room she hasn't known, met, or worked with yet.
    Arf tries to take this moment to escape but Fate holds the leash firm.
    "It is nice to meet you." Fate says to Mami-- as Arf uses a huge paw to hold an inquisitive dusk puppy at bay.
    Fate gives the leash a tug and shoots Arf a 'be nice' look.
    "Hello, Firefly." Fate does greet back.
    "Yo~." Arf replies as well.

Lana Voselle Miata has posed:
    Lana Miata watched coldly as others trickled into the room and started playing with puppies excitedly. The Testarossa girl even brought her own, and who was this new girl? As she slowly stroked the back of her chosen doggo, Lana wondered for the first time if there was something wrong about her for not being hyped about this.

    No, Lana had always been reserved. Sometimes in henshin she was bombastic, but that was less a function of her personality and more to do with how loud her powers were.

    In contrast to her calm, the petted puppy is very excited, tail and tendril wagging happily. She chuckles softly as it tries to climb her leg, and she drops to her knees in order to hold and pet the puppy more closely.

    When offered the box of dog treats, Lana glances at Norie, and then at the box. She reaches in to grab a small handful. The dog barks as she holds one between her thumb and finger, hanging it above the pupper's head. It leaps and grabs the treat, and Lana wears a smile that is halfway between happy and dismissive. Adjusting the remaining treats in her hand, she holds the next one between her fingers.

    Good doggie.

    "They're very... eager. Exuberant, even."

    She gives a sideways glance at the others in the room, noting how they are to play with youma pups despite knowing full well their nature. A dark part of her mind wonders if this could be used to her advantage.

    Firefly interrupts her train of thought by greeting her, and Lana raises an eyebrow as she considers whether or not she's met this girl in person. Deciding no, she responds, "Lana Voselle Miata. It's a pleasure."

Mami Tomoe has posed:
Oh right! There were people here. Mami stands up with a zarcillo in cradled in her arms like a baby, getting it's belly rubbed. It is just wiggling so excitedly, with it's head lolled back and it's tentacle wrapped around her arm. It's not going anywhere.

"Hello Takashi-kun! Norie-chan!" She says brightly, lifting up her free hand to wave. "It's nice to meet you, Fate-chan," she says, looking at the girl for a moment. Then she hears the puppy playing tug of war make a noise and looks over to giggle.

Then there's Firefly. Now Mami already knows who this is. She told her. But she also sees what's going on, and she wants to encourage good operational security too. So she plays along. "Oh it's nice to meet you Firefly."

And she turns to Lana, "And you as well, Miata-san."

Introductions out of the way, she goes back to her basket and gets to the most important job she has: unpacking the pastries.

Norie Okana has posed:
Norie Okana is glad the puppies are acting as expected. Sometimes that tendril extending from their neck also wags when the excitement really gets to them and Norie Okana takes some time to place the next puppy down and play with them herself, sliding to the ground and watching Takashi play with them. "Well." she says to Firely. "I would like to raise one in captivity, but this is Takashi's lab. I'm just borrowing it from time to time." Taka knows how that is.

"There puppies will be going back home when I'm done with them." she says with a nod. "I'm glad they take to you nicely. It's a good sign." she says with a nod to Lana.

"They are exuberant." she says as she watches Arf keep a puppy at bay. This is cute to her.

Then Mami starts producing pastries. She stands up and eyes them. "Oh. What have. You made?" she asks.

Takashi Agera has posed:
    Takashi smiles. "Well, you know what I say, Norie-chan. When I succeed, we all succeed. Next time I get a bump up I'll see about either upping the space in here and dedicating some of it to you, or trying to get you a dedicated room. Whichever you're more comfortable with. I'm not trying to chase you off or hold you back." he says.

    "They're pretty chill with all of us right now, and I'm happy to see that they're not aggressive towards those of us here who don't use Dark Energy, either. It makes me much more comfortable about bringing one over long-term. I couldn't be sure if they were only so curious and, frankly adorable, because Norie and myself have Dark Energy or if they're just sociable in general."

    He continues to play tug of war with the one near him, until suddenly it uses the tentacle to reach forward over it's head and assist like a hand. "Well... that's new." he says, letting go of it which sends the small dog tumbling backwards... before it picks the length of rope up in its mouth, prances around happily, and drops it in front of Takashi so it can play again, which Takashi resumes quickly.

    "Arf-san, I'm sure they've just never met anybody like them. Can't fault them for being curious about you. Unless you found another colony of them somewhere, Norie-chan?" Takashi asks.

    Then he looks at Lana. "Yeah, the bigger ones were a lot more cautious when we found them, but the smaller ones mostly seem to want to play - at least they do today." he notes as he turns to keep an eye on Mami and whatever delicious baked goodness she's about to unveil.

Hotaru Tomoe has posed:
Firefly glanced to Fate. "Oh! Fate-kohai, guess what! Takashi-senpai upgraded my glaive!" She held out her hand and it flew to it (Cause magic was awesome). It had an energy blade, now. "So now I don't have to worry about accidentally really hurting any... one..." And some of the dogs were looking up at her expectently. She looked down. Then at her glaive.

< No >

Alas, it was too late.

"Fetch!" Firefly yelled, before just yeeting Luminous Titan. The one she was holding LEAPED out of her arms and ran off, along with another two of them, the small puppies pouncing on and arguing over the glave.

< Why? >

Eventually, though, they each grabbed a piece and started hauling it back in a big, awkward, three dog stick carrying fiasco.

Meanwhile, Firefly had turned her attention to Mami. "Ohhhhh! What'd you bring? Did you bring them for everyone... or mostly for Taaaaaakaaaaaashiiiiii?" she asked. In that playful tone that Takashi *knew* would only prove disastrous for him later... or very, very soon.

Lana Voselle Miata has posed:
    A good sign? Lana purses her lips and gives Norie a sideways glance. Well, if she says so. "Perhaps."

    The brown haired girl slowly pets the duskpup that has decided to lay down in her lap, curled up into a circle and enjoying the gentle touch of the apocalypse. Well, one apocalypse anyways. With her own friendly doggo deciding to calm down, another has decided to join its sibling and rests its head on Lana's leg.

    "Oh dear. I'm getting buried," she comments, with more dry amusement than anything resembling concern. The next pup also gets pettings, because of course it does. It's a dog. You pet it. It's natural law.

    Lana nods towards Mami as she's greeted. "Mami-san. Glad to have you with us. Oh, you brought something? Doggie treats, or human ones?"

    As Firefly tosses her device, Miata reaches up to her own pendant.

    < Please no > begs Nightmare Chain.

    <I wasn't going to. I'm just surprised.>

    She certainly hopes that no one tosses her device around like that, at least.

Fate Testarossa has posed:
    Arf is doing her best to dodge, weave, and evade puppies like a Dark Souls protagonist in no armor. That's a thing that's happening as Fate's attention turns to Firefly.
    "Oh, I'm glad." She says when she's shown the new energy-blade glaive.
    See the thing is, Fate is a gentle girl at heart, and the less people that actually get hurt during Obsidian outings, the better she can sleep at night, so that's all well and good as Firefly uses her Device to play fetch with the pups.
    Pups that have now seen through Arf's strategies and abuse of invincibility frames...
    It starts when one tackles Arf.
    "Awk!"
    And then another. And another- and soon Arf is being, literally, dogpiled by pups. She raises a paw to the sky.
    "Remember me as a I waaaaaaaaas!"
    What a drama queen.
Fate will just quietly get herself a pastry while Arf tussles with puppies.

Mami Tomoe has posed:
Mami Tomoe scritches her pup's belly for just another moment, asking it very goofily just who is a good dog. "I need to set you down," she tells it, and crouches down to carefully extricate herself from the pup's tendril and let it scamper off. It does not. Instead it turns around and starts racing around her feet making a strange discordant sort of yapping sound.

"They're for everybody," she says toward Firefly, and then looking toward Lana, appending, "and I do mean everybody."

She opens up the basket and lifts an entire tower of trays out of it. She has brought three entirely separate desserts.

The first is a tray full of mini sweet potato pies. They have a short pastry crust that goes up just half an inch, and are filled with mashed sweet potatoes and topped with brown sugar.

The second tray is filled with pumpkin pie tartlets. They're the same tiny size as the the mini pies, but with maple pecan crust and pumpkin filling and miniature marshmallows.

The third tray is filled with dog biscuits. Each one shaped like a little bone about three inches long. Clearly not store bought. They even have ground beef mixed into them. Dogs love meat, right?

She grabs a biscuit, waves it over the puppy, and then tosses it across the lab and watches the puppy race after it. She has a whole plate of them.

She's in danger.

Norie Okana has posed:
Norie Okana looks towards Takashi. "Yes, I'd like my own area! But I also have to earn that or help you earn it." she says. "Also that doesn't answer Firefly's base question of....c..can we have a puppy." she says a little monotone still.

Then Arf has died to puppies. Yes, this is good. She's taking notes on the interaction.

"Oh..! Dog treats. They can have those. They'll eat just about anything or so my dropped donuts earlier lament." she sighs.

She watches Firefly throw her device and duskpuppys drag it back.

But when the puppy thwaps Takashi's hand she 'ohs!' and takes a note. "Sorry about that. It's new behavior! They will... thwap you if you tease them too hard it seems? Please see if it does it again, unless that hurt." she says with her same monotone.

She does sneak a sweet potato pie as she nibbles at it. She closes her eyes and motions over to Lana for snacks.

Hotaru Tomoe has posed:
Firefly glanced towards Arf. No, she wasn't going to remember her as she was. She was going to remember Arf beneath a mountain of dogs. Why. Why wouldn't she do that?

But then. THEN! She picked up her device, patting all of the doggies on the head. Letting her device go for a moment.

Luminous Titan tried to escape. It fell over. It was not a very good escape plan.

But, fortunately for the glaive, Firefly was distracted by *pastry*. "Oh my gosh. Did... did you make these yourself?" she asked. She wanted a potato one! And the moment she bit into it... she gave a tiny little sigh. "Takashi-senpai, try it, try it!" she said, offering... hers... no. Bad. "You better not break up with her, Takashi-senpai. If you do I might have to date her and that'd be weird because we're like sisters now. So you can't break up with my new big sister."

< Critical hit >

Lana Voselle Miata has posed:
    Lana, who is currently being napped on by two duskdoggos, gives Norie an unsure look. She has to lean over a bit in order to get closer to the table. Wanting to help out, and being grateful that it didn't get used to play fetch, Nightmare Chain enters device mode and becomes a claw surrounding Lana's hand. An energy whip comes out and grabs one of the pumpkin pie treats, launching it into the air where it makes a parabolic arc that ends in Lana's other, non-henshined hand. She takes a nibble and looks down at the once-napping doggies, who are both lifting their heads and looking up at her expectantly.

    "Oh, alright... If you insist," she softly answers the unspoken question. The whip comes out twice again, each time launching one of Mami's homemade doggie treats through the air, where the duskpuppies leap up to catch them before scarfing them down.

    "You're quite the chef, Mami-san," compliments Lana, watching the adorable pups nom their treats. "Takashi-san ought to consider himself lucky."

    Nigthmare Chain launches a couple more treats into the air for the sake of interested pups. Very controlled, mathematically calculated arcs. Anything it can do to avoid Luminous Titan's fate.

Takashi Agera has posed:
    "If they didn't eat just about anything I would be hesitant to classify them as dogs." Takashi admits, looking at them. "Well, it wasn't a very hard thwap. It's interesting seeing them use it as something other than a tail." he notes. "As far as having one in here, I don't see why not, as long as you're willing to commit to taking care of it and all." The response which has made many guardians of children into pet owners themselves.

    "You've been helpful, this is helpful, data is data and data is good." Takashi replies. "But noted. Own area." he adds. "Also for the record it didn't really hurt, it was just a surprise. I'm not sure if it can generate enough force to hurt and chose not to, or if it's just a juvinile."

    Takashi's device doesn't have to worry about being thrown since it's on his wrist... but technically two devices in here were his. "You know, Firefly, that is an incredibly complex peice of equipment assembled partly from things impossible to replicate on this planet, and I'd prefer if you'd not use it as a stick for fetch." He chides her. And then she's talking about pastries and big sisters and Takashi is only slightly blushing. "Yes, I'll try a pastry." he says, getting up to do just that. "And I do consider myself lucky, but that was true before I tried - damn these are good - one of her pastries." he replies to Lana. Of course ask Takashi and he was lucky when he was born, but that's neither here nor there.

    Takashi, too, makes sure all of the puppies get at least one of Mami's treats. And it's an excuse to watch them some more. And not look at Hotaru or Mami either till his face is less warm.

Mami Tomoe has posed:
See, this is what Mami was missing before: teamwork. Between everybody's efforts, she manages to not get overwhelmed. Merely very whelmed as she is still swarmed with puppies. Just only enough for to handle as she grins and tosses treats for them to catch and fight over. Oh the playfighting. It doesn't take very long before the plate is empty.

Mami grabs one of the pumpkin tartlets and leans against the counter to just breathe for a moment. Those puppies are energetic.

"No, sorry," she says, looking down. "I'm all out. This is for me," she says. And then she takes a big bite out of the tartlet, while looking directly at the puppy. "Mine."

The zarcillo whines. Normal puppy whines are annoying, if cute. Zarcillo whines, though? Well, they sound like fingernails on a chalkboard. Mami looks down at the creature, seemingly unfazed by the spine-chilling sound it is making, and eats the rest of the tartlet right in front of it. It had its treats, this was hers.

But, having established her place. She turns around and grabs another tartlet just like it, and tosses it up for the pup to catch. Fingernails off chalkboard. Whew.

"Thank you, Miata-san. I, um, stress bake. So I am basically always baking," she says, and then laughs. She's always stressed! Haha!

Norie Okana has posed:
Norie Okana nods. "Did you hear that Hotaru-chan?" she asks. "If you'll help take care of one, we can have one of them. But just one. It'll be good to see how one handles being raised around humans." she says. "Let's pick one and agree on a name." she says to Hotaru.

Then Hotaru drops that and she blinks and looks to Takashi and looks to Mami and then keeps quiet as she finishes her mini pie, but she can see Takashi is embarrassed.

She has been respectful of Taka-senpais and Mami-onechan's relationship and she isn't about to start making fun now. So she doesn't, instead she also makes sure no pup is hoarding all the treats to themselves. She smiles as Mami feeds the dog a tartlet.

"Needy puppy. I'll have to note that." she says, walking back to the desk.

Hotaru Tomoe has posed:
Firefly cringed when she was chided. "O-oh. Right. Sorry. It's a stick, so I just thought..." She knelt down and picked up Luminous Titan. She then reached up and just put him in the air. Like she was putting him on a shelf. Except there was no shelf there. It just... kind of hovered there. As if on an invisible shelf.

She was about to say something else to Mami... but then that high pitched *shriek*. She froze, a cringe coming from her to shake the heavens. Oh owwww... She had to lift her hands up to cover her ears, getting a little bit of hair in her treat, but well... eventually it ended.

And then the notion of them GETTING A PUPPY hit her and any teasing of Takashi just *evaporated*. "Oh my gosh we can keep one?!" she asked, racing to Norie's side and just *barely*, at the last moment, remembered not to touch her. "Ohhhh! Do you have any favorites? Do you have names for them now? Which ones cutest? I really like the one with the lil scritchy under its tentacle!" ... What?

But she was now, sufficiently, distracted. "What should we name it?"

Lana Voselle Miata has posed:
    "Ah, well..." Lana's smile at Mami is not unlike a scorpion trying to be friendly, or at least sociable. "I think I know how that feels. Not the baking, but the stress."

    It's always a little weird trying to get along with people here. She does intend to end this world, right? Granted, most don't know that, but still... Almost everyone on the planet is probably either going to die thanks to her. Unless something kills her first.

    With the dog treat supply exhausted in a hurry, Nightmare Chain reverts to a gem that rests in Lana's spiky pendant. At some point her lap has been freed up, and so she stands on her feet and starts brushing off the upper part of her dress.

    As the puppy ownership discussion goes on, Lana quietly observes. Her device pings her, and she is reminded of the time. "Well, this has been a... rare delight, but I'm afraid I have a report to finish. Thank you so much for the hospitality." She walks towards the door, waving behind her as she leaves. Surely that was enough socialization to reassure the higher ups, right?

Takashi Agera has posed:
    "Should make sure it's one of the more friendly ones. We're not trying to raise a guard dog." He says. "And if it starts to turn into some sort of Dark Energy Youmawolf or something we may have to put it back with its pack." he warns. "I probably shouldn't let you because this is all untested, but I also don't see a better way to test it." he admits. "And it does seem to make people happy."

    He waves goodbye to Lana - one of those who doesn't know what her long-term goals are, but has noticed she did seem to have a little trouble expressing herself. Still, he's used to Norie-chan, so. "Thanks for dropping by, Miata-san. Good to meet you when we're not trying to dodge pink lasers." he notes.

    He winces when the puppy chalkboard-scratch whines. "Oof. See, things like that, we have to be careful of." he says, rubbing his ear. "There could be all sorts of edge cases we don't know about, so while I'm fine with you keeping one here for a bit, you need to understand it's not natively from here, and if it's better for it, we may have to put it back where we found it." Takashi says.

Mami Tomoe has posed:
Mami Tomoe lifts up her hand to wave as Lana leaves. "It was a pleasure, Miata-san!"

Then she snags a mini sweet potato pie, and whichever one of the pastries Takashi didn't try--because she totally was paying attention to which one he did--and walks over to where he's standing. She bumps her shoulder into his side and looks over at the girls as they get excited about keeping one of the puppies.

Then she looks up at Takashi and smiles. Oh she's got big, lovestruck eyes that girl does. Look at him be all in charge. Happysigh.

"Takashi-kun," she says sweetly, as she lifts up the pastry she brought over for him. "If you liked the first one, you're going to love this one," she says, and then holds it there for him to take a bite.

Norie Okana has posed:
Norie Okana nods. "That's right. If things start... being a little too weird, we take it back to Minuet here and it's her problem." she says , motioning to the sleepy adult Zarcillo who occasionally looks up but seems unphased at all this. Maybe it trusts them.

She sits down and starts weighing Zarcillos again. She's being careful as she listens. "I've been..." she says to Hotaru as she waves to Lana. "Bye..!" she interjects. "As I was saying. I've been using dance names. But if you don't like that we can name them something else." she says.

"Uhm. Actually." she goes walks over to one that's been hanging in the back, but seems happy to be picked up, wagging. "This one doesn't seem to like it's brothers and sisters too much. Which might be better for solitary living, but likes the attention I give it. I named her 'Tango'." she says with a nod. "She's friendly." she says to Takashi. "But I do want to make sure separation anxiety won't be an issue. This time."

"Here." she offers the waggly up to Hotaru. Who seems eager to meet Hotaru when she's held out.

She goes back to pastries when Hotaru holds the happy puppy.

"Than you for the pastries, Mami-Onechan." she says.

Hotaru Tomoe has posed:
Firefly hugged Tango, one arm around it, one hand gently rubbing its back. "Yay! I like that name, Tango. It's cute! You are reqally good at naming pets," she told the other girl with a huge grin on her face, obviously overjoyed at the chance to have such a wonderful new pet to play with. She even sat down on the ground, one arm on it, one hand scritching the back of its head as she was lost in the joy of having a puppy. "I've always wanted a doggy, you know. We just couldn't have one because we moved around too much. This one is perfect! I wonder if daddy will like it."

Welp, now she would never be able to go 'good'. She'd lose access to puppy.

Takashi Agera has posed:
    "I find it funny that you named the one that doesn't get along, Tango. Since there's an English saying, it takes two to tango. " Takashi notes, mostly with just calm amusement. And then Mami is holding out a pastry to him and she looks as happy to see him as he is to see her... and yeah, he takes a bit of it, thankfully only in front of a few of the girls that work with him now. Because it's adorable and not at all villainous seeming. "'sgood." Takashi notes.

    "I don't think Doctor Tomoe-sensei is going to be coming by our lab anytime soon. And mostly, he probably needs to stay here. It's not like you can really walk it outside without drawing attention. If you could jump into the Dusk Zone, I'd tell you to walk it there. But maybe it's best to keep it on this side for a little bit, anyways. Unless we start to see it deteroriate." He notes.

    "But in all things, I want you to do what's best for Tango, and that may not be staying here with us. Just remember that." he says. "But as long as it is, well, I'm fine with Tango being around. It's a very cute little puppy." Except he's more looking at Mami at the last line than the dog.

    He leans back towards her just a bit. "Glad to see the card works." he says. It's possibly good to not see him with only one functional leg and arm, too. Though he's still a bit careful with the ones that were previously injured, favoring the other ones.

Mami Tomoe has posed:
Mami Tomoe beams at Takashi's praise. Then she hands him the pastry. It's his, after all, and she brought one for herself. He can feed himself the rest.

"Oh you're so very welcome, Norie-chan. I started making treats for the pups. It was a new recipe. I've never made dog biscuits before," she says with a light laugh. Dog biscuits are not in your typical patisserie, after all, and that's her usual fare. "But then, since I was baking, I made the rest. I couldn't decide between the mini pies and the tartlets, so I just made both."

"I'm glad you like them," she adds, before finally taking a bite of her sweet potato pie. Mmm. Brown sugar.

She looks back up to Takashi and smiles. "Me too. I was only a little bit nervous finding my way down here," she says. But there she is. In the lab. On the team.

Norie Okana has posed:
Norie Okana nods. "Tango will have to remain here. In the lab. There's plenty of space and I can take him for walks in the dusk zone." she says with a nod. "I can handle all the dusk zone related care, and you can handle all the... the..." brainfarting hard suddenly.

"What do we call this side? Prime side? Light side? Just. Earth?" she asks.

"Earth side things. Yes." she says. "Play with him daily. Clean up after him. And watch for any changes and let me or Taka-senpai know." she says.

"It's a study after all!" she says.

She looks up at Mami. "I'm glad the card worked too. There's lots of things to learn but they're easy once you know about them. I'm sure Taka-senpai can tell you all about them." she then weighs another puppy. "You're gonna be... Disco." she says, placing the puppy down.

Hotaru Tomoe has posed:
Firefly was lost to the world, now. She was getting a doggy! "Uh huh! I'll make sure to play with it every time I come here and I come here almost every day so that'll be all the time!" she said, giddy with excitement, hands moving around and gently petting the dog.

"I think earth side works. We might find a light zone one day. Or a prime side. Or something. So, Tango, what's your favorite food?"

.... And then she just started making googy ga ga noises with the doggy. Baby names, the whole thing.

Firefly was gone, please inside candy to... and then Tango ate the rest of her potato snack, but that was okay. She didn't eat much anyway and in the face of DOGE! She didn't even notice.

Then glanced up at Norie and Takashi. "If you two are like... part dark energy, does that mean you two will get tentacles too? That's so cooooool! Do you think Luminous Titan could get a tentacle?"

< Negatory >

Takashi Agera has posed:
    "Earth side makes sense to me. Some of the more... colorful characters... in Obsidian are trying to get to and control things that might be more appropriate to consider Light Side, if the Dusk Zone is the dark side. They claim it's full of fairies and resources and such. Depends on who you ask. It's hard to say that's not possible since we walk to another world entirely, where we found these little guys." Takashi says. "But we're just here, in the middle. It seems all roads lead to Earth. Like some sort of interdimensional sinkhole or grand central station, which explains the... fun characters we have in the offices here." Takashi notes.

    "Also, the whole crossroads/grand central thing is probably why people want to control the place. Why we need to protect it, too. The value it has, the danger it poses. Everything connected her, the center of a spiderweb." he says. He turns to look at Mami. "I thought about walking you in, but I didn't want you feeling suffocated either. I know you can fend for yourself and you're more dangerous than most of the bozos who prowl these halls anyways." he says with a wink at his girl - he likes thinking of it that way and it brings a smile to his face.

    "I wasn't born with a tentacle, and these little guys seem to have been." Takashi notes. "I'm sure anything's possible but at least for right now I think all of my tentacles are strictly voluntary." he says, reaching out with a hand, and using tendrils of Dark Energy to grab a tartlet that had ended up isolated from the other, and retrive it to his hand. "Easier to fit into clothes that way." Takashi notes. "Luminous Titan is more about regulating your exposure to Dark Energy than anything else." Takashi adds. "Not its own. In fact if pretty much anything starts randomly growing tentacles you should tell me, whether I gave it to you or not. That's not a good sign, traditionally."

Mami Tomoe has posed:
"Honestly, Takashi-kun, I was just worried I wasn't going to remember how to get all the way down here from the elevators," she says, and then giggles. "I wasn't exactly paying attention to the path the last time," she adds. But she made it, so all's well.

She eats the rest of her mini pie and makes a satisfied sound. She'll never tire of delicious pastries. Not ever.

"I'm sure this will all feel as familiar as it is ever going to very soon," she says. "Since my 'internship' starts next week, so I'll be here all the time." There was still paperwork to handle for the cover job, but she was going to be replacing her usual hunting with time spent on...Obsidian things. And that was basically all of her time, really, except for classes and sleep.

Norie Okana has posed:
Norie Okana is asked about tentacles. She coughs a little. "I can generate tentacles. Tendrils. Whatever you want to call them. I try to only when I need more than one hand...or...well. When I'm attacked. If I want. I could pet every puppy in here at once but that would be freaky and a mess and I'd have to consider everyone else in the room." she says. "But maybe I'll do that when you're all gone." she plans, devilishly.

She looks to Mami and nods. "If you need help. Ask any one of us. Please. No. Worrying about bothering us." she asides. "That's what I'm...I'm hoping for." she admits. "That was the idea I had inviting you over, after all."

"I know you need. These grief seeds as a Puella Magi. I haven't encountered any more witches since though. I haven't been looking. I have reason to now though." she says with a short blush.

Hotaru Tomoe has posed:
Firefly actually puffed out her cheeks a little. "Awwww. But tentacles on my glaive would be cool. It could like, hold them when I slashed them. Like a cartoon." She was only halfway listening when Takashi talked about dimensions and stuff. Cause.... she didn't need to know that. That was nerd magic stuff and she was normal magic stuff.

"It can be a little confusing at first, but after a few weeks it'll be a lot easier to figure out. He's going to keep moving, though. Each time he gets a promotion. You know, daddy praised you last time I was talking to him. I think he liiiiiikes you." Kaolinite had some positive things to say too. But she ignored those.

Then she looked at Norie and gasped. "You can pet *all* of them? At *once?* That is the coolest thing *ever*! I wanna see! Can you show me? Please please please?" she asked. Yeah. Telling the goth teen titan girl that it would be 'gross' and 'be petting every dog at once', she HAD to know this was coming. She then glanced to Takashi. "It's so unfair that I can't use dark energy. I wanna pet all the dogs at once too and be able to make tentacles. But I am still really happy I have Luminous Titan, he's a good weapon."

< Affirmative >

Takashi Agera has posed:
    "Maybe we can encourage each other to have a better work-life balance, then." Takashi says, looking directly at Mami for a moment. "I'm also thinking that we should do a loop around the city soon with you looking for witches, and maybe I can pick some sort of difference up with my Device? If I can make something to help us hunt we could bring in more Grief Seeds which is good for everyone - good for you, for the people the witches would have grabbed, etc." Well, bad for other Puella Magi, but that's not Takashi's problem, especially not if it meant less seeds for Mami. Even if the girl had a surplus he'd never feel comfortable with her limiting her access now - to say nothing of possible opinions in the future.

    And he nods at Norie. "But there's no reason for anybody to take on a Witch alone, so if you find one, unless you have to pile in to prevent somebody else from getting the Grief Seed, give us a ring. We should work together whenever we can. It makes things easier, and makes us better together with practice. Alright everybody? No risking your lives trying to dunk a witch solo." he says, looking around. At Mami as much as the younger girls.

    "And Firefly, if we can get you sorted out, and your disorder resolved, and you can do it without harming yourself in some way - then maybe you can grow extra dog-petting hands. Till then you'll have to do what everyone except a statistically nonexistent percentage of humans does, and pet them with your regular hands." And then he pauses. "Well... the hands that are regular for you."

    "Of course Luminous Titan is great, I made him. For you!" he says. "I'm not gonna give someone who's depending on me something that isn't awesome."

Mami Tomoe has posed:
Mami Tomoe looks at Takashi with innocence all over her face. As if she didn't tell him about getting skewered by a witch she took on solo as she was stepping off the elevator to leave last time.

"That's why I'm here, Takashi-kun. I'm tired of taking them on solo," she says with a wry sort of laugh and a shake of her head. So then she looks to Norie and Firefly. "I'm going to want to do some exercises with you girls at some point to figure out just what you're capable of in a fight. That way we can start working on tactics."

She was going to get this squad into tip top fighting shape. And then hopefully she would not lose any of them inside a Labyrinth they couldn't escape! She would never do that.

With her mini pie gone, both her hands are free, and so she finds one of Takashi's and takes hold of it with one hand, while sliding the other around his arm to hug it to her chest. Hers.

She looks up, and says, "Yes, we should definitely have a better work life balance. You need to take me on another date."

Norie Okana has posed:
"A Scanner for Witches." she says bluntly. "We could mount relays on top of the businesses parent company owns. Get little dings when one is detected somewhere. Make it really easy for Mami or... other Obsidian-aligned Puella Magi-- to be dispatched. Witches serve no purpose than to cause problems for us." she says dryly. "If head office is serious about stopping the uncontrollable youma, they'll sign off on test runs and tech development, right?" she asks. "I don't mind the field work to get samples for it. I mean I brought back that.. strange gauntlet from the first one I helped take out."

Pause. "Sorry I got carried away. Hotaru-chan. I'm not... comfortable doing the tentacle thing in full but.." she does generate some black, tentacles from her back and pet then few puppies around her area. She seems pleased with this, as she shows off for Hotaru.

"We're all weird in our own little ways." she says.

Hotaru Tomoe has posed:
Firefly glanced to Mami and then mouthed 'He totally does'. Then paused. "He totally does. His work-life balance is awful. He's gotten a liiiiiittle better since I started working with him, though." Primarily because she was part of his life now, less because of the work. "And don't worry, I don't even like fighting the witches. The only time I do things solo is when you need some more energy and I borrow one of daddy's youma. I think they're getting stronger, his research seems to be going well."

Though, the mention of hands reminded her... "Actually, daddy says he's almost finished with the newest models. He's hoping the rejection issues I've been having will tone down, or at least go back to their prior levels, with it." Well, that was true. She'd been having... a lot of bad days the last couple of weeks.

"I'd love to train with you though, Mami-senpai! I use Luminous Titan and I cut things! Oh, and I can heal people when I touch them. But... some people think it's weird..." she kind of... sounded sullen when she said that.

Then... then Norie's display. Her eyes practically SPARKLED and she shuddered with delight. "Ohhhhh. That's so *weird*. I love it. You're so COOL Norie-san!" she said. "If we ever figure out how to fix my condition, I hope I can eventually do things like that. I wonder how many dogs you could pet if... A whole world of just puppies and pettings..."

Takashi Agera has posed:
    Takashi is pretty smitten, but he's not -so- smitten he buys her innocent act given her recent admittances. Instead he gives her a 'Really?' kind of look. But now she's got his arm and she's welcome to it. "Yes, yes. I know. If I didn't take you on enough dates now it wouldn't only be you I'd hear it from." he says, indicating Firefly. "Norie and Firefly both have been in labrynths before, but I'm sure our experience pales to yours."

    Takashi smiles at Norie. "Not really carried away, no. Same kind of thoughts as I was having. But we'll need a way to sort out whatever signals Witches create, from the background magic of Tokyo. If Mami's gem can sense them I can probably find a way to do it as well. Certainly, if anyone can I can." But there's always the chance nobody could, because magic is ludicrous. "And Norie-chan, you can say weird, but I say 'better than normal folks' - we just have to find a way to resolve the negative issues you and Firefly have, so you can weild Dark Energy the way I do - without any of the negatives." he says, the idea that he might be suffering any negatives alien to him.

    Takashi nodded. "I think the crystal I gave to your father is helping some how, Firefly-chan. I just wish he trusted me enough to let me help. I'm sure I could be of help if I only knew." He shakes his head. "Anyways. Positive progress, is good. That's what we should all be striving for. Progress builds to victory, after all." he says. "...and potentially multiple dog pettings for Firefly, yes."

Mami Tomoe has posed:
Mami Tomoe watches as Norie shows off her shadow tentacles. "What else can you do in a fight, Norie-chan? Can you do the dark energy blasts like Takashi-kun?" She doesn't know how any of their stuff works. So she asks questions.

"That glaive is very impressive," she says, to Firefly, and then she smiles really big. "Healing? That's amazing!" The Puella Meisters have a healer. That's who healed her! Having a healer on their team is perfect.

Still holding on dearly to Takashi's hand, Mami just leans in and looks up and listens as he speaks. He always sounds so smart. Happysigh.

Oh, but he's saying things relevant to her interests. "Oh yes, I am happy to help you figure out a way to find witches more easily. I'm pretty sure I've walked every sidwalk and alleyway in Mitakihara at least twice by now."

Norie Okana has posed:
Norie Okana looks to Takashi. "Same wavelength then." she says. "I'll take one of those... portable scanners around with me and hope I run into a witch. I can help that way." she says. "Since I don't have a device that scans for me." she says, a little jealously. That's okay.

"Oh. I. Yes. I can throw dark energy around. or I can sword fight." she says.

She looks to Takashi and asks. "Crystal? Is this about the job where you got injured so heavily?" she asks.

Hotaru Tomoe has posed:
Firefly nodded and gave a light yawn, moving so her back was against the desk and she had a puppy to gently pet. They were all talking magic nerd stuff and she... didn't understand it. Well, she understood it. But she didn't really think much about it.

"Daddy's always like that," Firefly mumbled sleepily. "He's protective of me, I guess. He doesn't trust anyone else with me than him." Meanwhile, she just kept petting the doggy. It was kind of warm and nice. Soft. Fun to hold... and she... was beginning to drift. It had been a busy day and she wasn't really the... toughest, most energetic girls to begin with.

Takashi Agera has posed:
    Takashi nodded. "All of the girls I am lucky enough to have here with me are really impressive. Fate-chan, Norie-chan, Firefly-chan, and now Mami-chan." he says. "Each of you brings something very useful to the team, and as we work together more, we'll be even more unstoppable. And..."

    He pauses, looking at Norie, and sighing. "Yeah, that's the one where people kicked me around on the way out." Or blasted him. "They were a bit cross with me actually having success. Kind of like the Witches 5, really." He says. "They're my superiors..." he begins, as way of explaining to Mami "...but in name only. Viluy's got some talent but the rest are... honestly, decent mages and scientists but they can't match me." To be fair, if you asked Takashi, neither could Professor Tomoe. "But they're also not really much of a team. There's a lot of self-sabotage up there... I deal with Kaorinite, Professor Tomoe's assistant, when possible."

    Takashi got up and patted Hotaru on the head. "It's alright, Firefly. I know you've been in a lot of testing and such lately." he says, seeing her start to fade. "Also, when it's just us, you don't have to maintain that henshin. It's about being careful around other people, but everyone in this room, we can trust." Takashi notes. "And Mami, yeah you're going to be the best to guide us around. Especially if there's any places where Witches tend to... congregate?"

Mami Tomoe has posed:
"Oh that's excellent! You and Firefly both have melee weapons. Firefly, you're our healer, so it's good your weapon has more reach," she says, and then she looks directly at the glaive. "Luminous Titan, do you have any ranged attacks?" She's not used to these devices, but they all talk. Maybe it can answer questions?

"I can engage at just about any range, and also have means to control the field and hinder our opponents," she explains. No wonder she can solo witches. She's a one woman squad. Then she glances to Takashi smiling, "And Takashi-kun is similarly flexible." His competence was certainly part of his attraction. Good ideas seventy percent of the time is way better than average.

She shakes her head to his question. "Not that I've ever noticed. They often seem drawn to locales that are relevant to them, but they just as often aren't. That witch you and I fought was a food witch, right? And it was in the alley between some restaurants. That happens all the time. But aside from Mitakihara, I can't give you more specific hotspots."

Norie Okana has posed:
Norie Okana nods. "I learn new abilities as I dream." she says quietly. "So I might grow more. It's. Complicated. A discussion for another time." she says with a nod. She ahs. "So we'll start our... scanning in Mitakihara." she says.

She looks down to the puppies and starts counting and.. "Oh. I'm done weighing!" she says. "And Hotaru-chan has had it I think." she says softly.

"-and I have to get Mom and the babies back to the Dusk Zone minus one." she says.

"But before that I need to grab a snack in the uh. Inhuman Cafeteria." she says with a little blush. "I need energy. But you all know that. And I don't wanna hunt tonight. And I earned my lazy night." she insists.

Hotaru Tomoe has posed:
Firefly nodded a little bit, cuddling her doggy. "Mmmm... hmmm... yeah... I... know... but dark energy... dogs... didn't wanna seizure... so... henshined so... I wouldn't get sick..." she mumbled, closing her eyes and resting it on the doggy. Its tentacle reached out and ruffled her hair.

Her henshin collapsed and there was a clatter, the magic suspending Luminous Titan ending.

"Can... zappy zap a bit..." Hotaru mumbled, now the little goth girl with a big sweater and sleep eyes. "Lots of... zappy..." she mumbled, giving a yawn.

... Then soft little delicate snores could be heard and she slumped, the doggy nuzzling her head.

Takashi Agera has posed:
    Takashi nods. "We should probably have at least one lazy day. That way tomorrow when we go out together we're all at top tier." he says, nodding to Norie. "And, I should probably show Mami around to the place that aren't just the front door and our lab." he says. Our lab now, it was a shared space at this point after all. "Make sure her keycard works everywhere, sometimes they screw that up." he says. "And Firefly - Hotaru-chan, now, isn't going anywhere. Pup looks tired out too." he says. "Also... I'm probably a little guilty for the fact that Hotaru-chan's so tired. She's the reason I'm not still rolling around here instead of walking, after all." he notes.

    "So we can all do these low-impact things and get that rest, and tomorrow, hit the ground with serious aplomb." He looks at Mami. "If that's good with you?"

Mami Tomoe has posed:
Mami Tomoe watches as Hotaru collapses from exhaustion while snuggling the cute little dusk zarcillo, and she smiles. It's absolutely adorable. Hotaru-chan is such a sweet girl.

She gives Norie a big smile. "Thank you for this, Norie-chan. These zarcillos are amazing creatures. I'm so grateful for the opportunity to see them and get to play with them!"

She looks up to Takashi and nods. "Yes, I would appreciate the full tour. They just gave me the card, and left me to my devices," she says. The she grins. "I think it must be your job to show me around, boss." The way she says that, it does not sound entirely serious. Like she thinks it's funny he's her boss.

But he is.

Her boss, that is. He's funny too, though. Sometimes, at least. Happysigh.