733/A How-To For Hugging

A How-To For Hugging
Date of Scene:	09 November 2023
Location:	Cafeteria Plaza
Synopsis:	Veronica seeks Mami out at lunchtime to ask her a very important question: how did she hug Norie?! From there, the conversation ranges over several topics, including but not limited to Riventon and Hematite.
Cast of Characters:	Mami Tomoe, Veronica Perenna

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Mami Tomoe has posed:
Mami Tomoe did not spend much time on campus. She lived on her own in her apartment in Mitakihara, and spent most of her free time hunting witches. So, if someone wanted to find her, the easiest time was during lunch when she was most likely to be on campus, but not in class.

She also happens to typically eat alone. Indeed, quite often she takes her food and finds somewhere out of the way to eat where she won't be bothered. But today, she has her tray full of food and she's situated at one of the smaller tables off in a corner. She has her salad and her sushi and her tea all set out on her tray in front of her.

The thing about having such amazing hair is that even when she tries to hide herself away in the corner, she stands out.

Veronica Perenna has posed:
Veronica has been asking around for Mami Tomoe after Norie had given her that name, and she actually got told what she needed to know. She is looking for a grade 9 student with curly blonde hair styled in twin drills. So far, so good. However, the girl couldn't get free from her lessons early enough to actually catch her in her classroom at each break, so at this point she pretty much only has one last chance left for the day, lunch break.

Grabbing her tray and filling with it with spring rolls and chicken breast, plus 2 water bottles (one for Mami so as to hopefully make herself seem less invasive), she start looking around for her, and thankfully enough, this time around it doesn't take much for her to be spotted. "Would you be Mami Tomoe?" she asks approaching the table. "May I sit here, please?" She had debated not dropping her name straight away in case it would alarm her, but in the end she decided for honesty as the best policy.

Mami Tomoe has posed:
Mami looks up from her salad, the tips of her chopsticks resting in the bowl and takes in Veronica. She's never seen this girl before. She looks to be of an age with her new little sisters. Maybe one of them mentioned her name.

She smiles. "Oh yes, please do. Here, let me make some room," she says, and then shifts things around on the table just a little. There was plenty of room before, but now there's just as much room it is just more organized.

"So who might you be, and why are you looking for me?"

Veronica Perenna has posed:
"Veronica Perenna, Grade 7, as well as the roommate of Norie Okana", the brunette introduces herself. "Thank you, Mami-senpai, for letting me be here, and making space for me." Not that the latter was actually needed but still, she appreciates it.

Placing down her tray on the table, she takes her seat, and begins addressing the point of her arrival. "I am here due to Norie-chan mentioning you in our conversation. She was talking about how you have been really helpful and nice to her."

Mami Tomoe has posed:
Mami's eyes widen and a little color rises in her cheeks. She smiles brightly and says, "Oh! It's so good to meet you Veronica-chan. I adore Norie-chan. She's such a sweet girl in her own way," she says.

She takes a bite of salad and considers the younger girl for a moment while she eats it. "So, what can I help you with, then? Any friend of Norie-chan's is a friend of mine."

Veronica Perenna has posed:
One spring roll later, Veronica starts considering how to best talk about the subject. It looks like Mami is just as kind as she should have expected out of Norie's words, so that motivates her to smile at the blonde girl. "She is quite reserved, but I get along well with her, at least in my opinion."

In the meantime, she gives her the water bottle she brought, now that she is actually going to address the core of the matter. "You see, Mami-senpai, you have done something really nice for her recently, and I would like to know how you did it. It's pretty troublesome for her how she is allowed no contact with people due to her condition, but Norie-chan said you were able to get around it. I would be interested in knowing how exactly."

Mami Tomoe has posed:
Mami eats the rest of her salad as she listens to Veronica. Her eyes focus on the bottle of water for a moment, as it's scooted across the table. "Oh thank you," she says with a smile.

"Yes, hearing her story broke my heart, I had to figure out something to do," Mami says, sliding her salad bowl aside, and sliding her tray of sushi front and center. "Fortunately, as you've heard, I figured out a way around it."

She leans in a little more closely and grins, her voice growing more quiet, so as not to be overheard, "With a careful use of magic, it was rather easy. She wasn't touching anything living, but she was still getting a hug."

Veronica Perenna has posed:
Veronica watches Mami switching to eating her sushi as she reflects on the matter. She is not really sure how that is a useful application in the case. It would be like gifting her a plushie. Probably better that nothing, but not much of a step up.

"Could I ask what is it you did exactly? The way you describe it seems like you did the magical equivalent of wearing a scuba suit, or her wearing gloves, and I am not really sure if that was what Norie-chan was interested in." It has to be something more important if she was relieved about it.

Mami Tomoe has posed:
Mami Tomoe considers Veronica's question as she eats another piece of sushi. Her ribbon clones aren't something she makes use of often. It's not an ability she advertises. Besides, if the girl can't see it for her own eyes, it's not as if she'd believe it.

"If you're looking for a way to hug Norie-chan, my approach is unlikely to be effective. I'm able to make magical versions of me out of ribbon," she explains. "It doesn't seem that her curse drains energy from the ribbon, since it's not actually alive."

Veronica Perenna has posed:
Veronica, of course, believes her. She has seen bears of darkness, arachnid demons, a ghost of (possibly) the vengeful variety, a girl that sets herself on fire as if she was strolling through the park, people losing manifestations of their beings, and last but not least, a whole parade of Youkai. Really, Mami being able to clone herself fits right in.

"Hmm, yes, I am not sure if that is something I can work towards, or at least, not something exactly like it. I would have to see if I can train my magic in a similar direction." She can make an illusion, maybe if she makes an illusion so good it can fool all the senses? Who knows. "But thanks a lot for being open with me about it."

Mami Tomoe has posed:
Mami Tomoe smiles and waves her empty chopsticks dismissively in the air. "Of course. Bringing more happiness and hugs into Norie-chan's life is a worthy pursuit," she says, and then picks up another piece of sushi and pops it in her mouth. Omnomnom.

She leans back in her seat and regards the other girl for a moment. "What sort of magic is it that you do right now?" Typical lunchroom chit-chat, this.

Veronica Perenna has posed:
Veronica eats some more of her spring rolls before finally setting them aside for her chicken. They were so satisfying, though, should she get a few more? No. She still has her chicken left. Better another time. Now regarding Mami's question... "I am good with both misdirecting and undoing misdirection. More specifically to this subject, I can also conjure a big illusional hat, and I would be moving in that direction first."

She bites her lips for a second as she considers how to actually start at that. "First make some small illusion of something else, then slowly get better and better until I can convince people my illusions are real? Or at least find a way to make them solid. That would work too."

There is also another subject she would like to tackle. "Norie-chan mentioned one of the people who brought her comfort is called Riventon. Would you happen to know anything about him?"

Mami Tomoe has posed:
Well that was certainly a complicated topic, considering that she did know who Riventon was because he was dating him. She couldn't say that, though, because she wasn't about to reveal his secret identity. But that doesn't mean she has to pretend she doesn't know him. Besides, if Norie used that name, it's unlikely Veronica knows the other.

"Oh yes. I shot him once," she says, with a giggle in her throat and a smirk on her lips. "He was messing with my friend, and I wasn't about to let him get away with it."

She reaches for her tea, which had been just sitting there this whole time, and picks it up for a generous sip. It's cooled after all. "He's Norie-chan's boss at Obsidian."

Veronica Perenna has posed:
"Oh, he was messing with your friend and you shot him? You must have enjoyed the payback, right?" Really, Mami must be made of iron to point a gun at someone else like that.

"Better keep my mouth shut about that. I don't want to ruin this for Norie, and I doubt she would appreciate there is bad blood between the two of you." Really, she is so much better with them, Veronica would have to be a monster for that.

"So, what about my magic? I think I can scrounge up something with my. I am really set on the idea at least." She is not lacking the drive, for one.

Mami Tomoe has posed:
Mami Tomoe shrugs. "I didn't really think of it that way at the time. I was just stopping him from hurting my friend," she says. Then she giggles. "I think he learned his lesson, though. He's been smart enough not to get downrange of me since."

It honestly doesn't seem like there's any bad blood between her and Riventon at all. All she does when she talks about him is smirk and giggle, even if the words she's saying are about a fight they had. She doesn't disagree with Veronica though.

"I'm not sure how your magic works, Veronica-chan. But if you could make something that she could hug that could hug her back, and wasn't you? It seems worth a shot."

Veronica Perenna has posed:
"You are having a lot of fun with this subject for someone who didn't enjoy the payback, Mami-senpai", Veronica points out. "You are smirking and giggling like I told you the funniest thing ever." Mami Tomoe is weird. Helpful and kind, but still weird.

"I will do my best, Mami-senpai", Veronica comments before inquiring. "Could I ask how you started, please? Maybe I will find a useful direction there. I mean, if you have magic ribbons, you can't have started making clones with them straight up on your first day with magic powers."

Mami Tomoe has posed:
Mami Tomoe smirks again. "I didn't say I didn't enjoy it. I just didn't really think of it as payback. I stopped him in the act," she explains. "But it was rather funny. His friend had to come rescue him because he couldn't handle himself." Two on one, to be fair, and against veteran Puella.

At Veronica's question, Mami frowns, and looks thoughtful. She taps her lips with her chopsticks. "Hmm, I'm not sure how how to explain," she says. So, since she needs to think, she takes a bite of sushi and turns it over in her head. "It took me a while to figure out what my powers were even good for. I can make ribbons, and I can turn them into things. At first I tried things that were more or less like ribbons like wires or cables or ropes. But then I started trying making other things like weapons. I usually make flint-lock guns. They're not too hard to get right. Eventually I started experimenting to see what else I could make, and that's how I figured it out."

Veronica Perenna has posed:
"What's his friend's name?" Veronica asks curiously. "They must have been pretty shocked when they started losing 2 against 1." Ok, that was pretty funny, Veronica giggles a bit too there. "I wonder... They probably would prefer avoiding you even to this day, no?" Maybe taking on Mami's guise wouldn't be a bad thing, she wonders tentatively.

The brunette can't help but admire the summary Mami makes her of all the things she did with her magic. "Wow, that's really inventive, you are great, Mami-senpai. No surprise you were the one at an advantage in a 2vs1. I hope I get to reach that level one day. That would be so awesome." Veronica is already starry-eyed about it.

Mami Tomoe has posed:
Mami Tomoe almost wants to just let this young girl think so highly of her. But no, she can't let the misunderstanding remain. "Oh, no, it was me and my friend against Riventon, once I showed up. Then his friend showed up to rescue him. After I shot him and she ran him through with her spear."

The way she talks about fighting is so matter-of-fact, as if it's not unusual for a fifteen year old girl to be doing those things.

She takes a sip of her tea as she considers. "He never did say his name, though. But he threw this black rose at my friend's magical spear and shattered it." She still has that rose.

Veronica Perenna has posed:
"A rose? Oh, you fought against Hematite. That guy is actually nice if a bit unpredictable, doesn't really seems all that evil, he actually helped save people. I once helped him get a cat for his sister." Veronica recounts. She keeps his everyday for herself though. She doesn't want inconvience him.

"And even if it was actually 2v2, it's still impressive. Hematite is quite strong, he did the rose thing to a huge Torii gate." She isn't any less impressed, really.

Mami Tomoe has posed:
Mami Tomoe eats the last piece of sushi on her plate and sets her chopsticks down then picks up her cup for a sip of tea. "Yes, well, I hate fighting anything but witches, but sometimes needs must," she says. Riventon was trying to steal Kyouko's soul gem. She couldn't allow that. That wasn't a waste of her magic.

She considers the younger girl for a long moment and then smiles. "Norie-chan is lucky to have such a well-connected and well-informed roommate," she says. "You clearly care so much about her. I hope you figure out how to give her a hug."

She glances up toward the clock then and says, "I should get going. Classes start here in a few minutes." If she was going to bother being here at all, she should definitely get the education she came for. She gathers her dishes up onto her tray and then grabs the bottle of water Veronica brought for her, and rises up from her seat. "Thanks for the water. I'll see you around Veronica-chan!"

Veronica Perenna has posed:
Veronica is about to ask what are witches, but apparently Mami needs to go. "Thanks a lot, Mami-senpai, see you around." And with that she too goes to answer the calls of classes.