1670/Now Hiring: Magic Melody Connoiseur

Now Hiring: Magic Melody Connoiseur
Date of Scene:	17 June 2024
Location:	The Shed
Synopsis:	Coco and Rashmi spend their lunch break at the Shed and between trying out each other's lunch and addressing various subjects, they prepare a plan to give Hinoiri a job.
Cast of Characters:	Coco Kiumi, Rashmi Terios

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Coco Kiumi has posed:
Coco had a plan. One that was, in her opinion, bound to be very good, once it had been refined. And that's why she had anticipated to Rashmi she had an idea, because the other student was already making lots of progress on how to help Hinoiri.

They had to just wait a few days for their respective schedules to align, but once they did, the mermaid idol and the page mage met in the comfort (and most importantly, secrecy) of the Shed during a lunch break at school. Which is also why she has elected not to stop by the Cafeteria, but why she made her lunch with a few ingredients her attendants had brought over for her a week and a half back.

Her own lunch consists of slow-cooked shark meat with a side of poi, appropriately seasoned with salt, oil and vinegar. She hasn't unboxed it yet, waiting for the other girl to come over first.

Rashmi Terios has posed:
While living in the Dorms means that Rashmi doesn't get anymore homemade curry bentos, the selection in the cafeteria is definitely nothing to be sneezed at. Thus when Rashmi bops into the Shed, it's with a bento full of traditional, if tasty, Japanese fare; rice, miso soup, pickled mushroom salad, and a selection of crunchy fried things. In her other hand, she carries a pair of drinks; melon Ramune for herself, and a can of cold milk-coffee for Coco.

"Hi, Coco-chan~!" she chirps as she closes the door to the Shed with her foot. "I gotta say I've been wondering what you had in mind, and I brought you coffee! ...Which was okay, right? I can get something else if you'd rather?"

Coco Kiumi has posed:
"Hi, Rashmi-chan!", Coco waves in response as she sees and hears her friend come into the Shed. "How have the last few days been?", she exclaims, rising from her chair to move over to the redhead and give her a hug. It is after she has moved away again that she takes the coffee drink that is being offered to her. "Thank you, this is perfect!", she cheerfully smiles at her friend. "I just cannot handle carbonated drinks."

Taking back her seat, she waits for Rashmi to do the same and then unboxes her lunch. "Want some?" she offers, sliding it a bit closer.

"So", she prepares to get on with the presentation, taking in a deep breath. "Part of what gave me the idea is not just getting to know of Hinoiri's origins from Kirarafantasica, but also that she had previously assimilated the magic of my enemies against us. And Kirarafantasica's, my enemies' and us mermaids' magic is all based around music, just with the difference that Kirarafantasica uses it to to produce various effects, while for the most part, my music already is the effect."

Rashmi Terios has posed:
The hug is returned happily, and the offer of sharing lunch accepted with a delighted nod. "Sure, I'd love to share!" she says, separating her bento and offering the layer of crunchy fried things to pick from.

Delicately picking out a piece of shark, she pops it in her mouth, and almost immediately her eyes widen. "Uwaaah!" she exclaims once the food is down. "Coco-chan that's amazing! What *is* it?" Of course, as the daughter of fusion restauranteurs, her palate would be a good deal more adventurous than most.

As Coco explains where her idea comes from, Rashmi nods along, removing her charm with one hand, allowing Nicomachea to expand into his active mode, and setting the book on the table. "So, you'd like to see if there's like... points of overlap, kind of? If knowing about Kirakirafantastica magic'll help her learn yours, or...?"

Coco Kiumi has posed:
Taking a piece of Rashmi's lunch, she starts chewing on it and savouring the texture as well as the taste. "The school does make good lunch", she remarks once she has finished eating that piece. At least, it probably is from there, since it's a wildly different deal from her family's restaurant. "Nothing as amazing as the Korma, though", she specifies.

"This is shark meat", Coco says pointing at the white food sprinkled with oil and salt. "We routinely hunt a fixed number of the non-sapient shark species every 10 years, and heavily safeguard the rest. Those we captured are then prepared, but I have been delivered this raw before I cooked it."

Moving onto the subject of her idea regarding Hinoiri, she nods. "Basically, yes. I will take care of the stipend, and she would have to take care of studying the similarity and differences between her magic and mine. Not my enemies' though, since she would probably want to stay away from dark energy, and I am sure you and I both agree with that."

She chews a bit of her own lunch and takes a sip of the milk-coffee drink before continuing. "Mostly, I asked you to come here because I wanted to ask you if you want to help with presenting it, as well as deciding on the smaller details of the job, if you would like to."

Rashmi Terios has posed:
"...Wait non-sapient? Does that-- ... ..... ...huh! That's... kiiind of terrifying, actually!" the redhead says brightly. The idea of sharks with tactical thinking skills might be terrifying, but her smile and tone of voice are genuine, so it's a scare she doubts she's likely to have. "That's really interesting though! I can kiiiind of see what this might be like if Papi made a gumbo with it, but yeah there's no good responsible way to get shark meat up here. I'll see if he can get alligator, though..."

Shaking off her train of thought before it threatens to derail the entire conversation, she pulls back to Coco's proposal. "...I mean it honestly sounds like a great idea! We could even use Nicomachea, assuming he can convert Hinoiri-san's terms and measurements into ones he can use. ...I mean that by itself would be a pretty fun project, in all honesty. Yeah, I'd be happy to help see how the two interact!"

Her own lunch disappears in short bursts; Coco takes her eyes off Rashmi's food, and when she looks back half the rice is gone, or the soup is empty. The fried bits she's picked at least, as Coco is welcome to keep at them if she likes.

"Sign me up, Coco-chan!"

Coco Kiumi has posed:
"I wouldn't worry about them, they are a peaceful sort", helping herself to a little more of Rashmi's fried bits while she leaves her own open for the taking just in case Rashmi would like more. The yellow mermaid is keeping a slow pace to savour her food more.

"It's really the sea demons you got to watch out for, and we typically keep those at bay, and they target us first as well, because they know we would be onto them faster than they cause significant harm." She takes another sip of her drink, a bit of liquid left on her upper lip which she immediately dries with a napkin.

"But the seas were mostly free from sea demons until the last 6 years, and even if something went wrong, we could ask the help of Dr. Somegoro, the king of giant squid, to help those that need more extensive medical care." Coco clearly doesn't mind staying on and off the rails as it suits the flow of the conversation.

"What are your alligator dishes like? That's a meat I haven't actually tried. Is there a specific way your father likes to prepare it, or several?" Coco inquires on their cooking methods.

"Fantastic, thanks, I am sure this will both be useful to everyone and motivating to Hinoiri. So, here is a few things we will have to decide on. What do you think?" A list is passed to Rashmi with the following bullet points:
- what kind of music and instruments she would like to test for her own magic
- hosting a concert?
- what other kind of items she will need for the tests
- testing venue?

Rashmi Terios has posed:
"Sea demons," Rashmi whispers, eyes wide. "Seriously...?" Blinking, she shakes her head quickly, and reaches forward to sort of scoop-pinch-twirl to wrap a mouthful of poi around her chopsticks, which is savored as she considers the questions put to her.

"Um... actually Papi hasn't worked with alligator yet that I know of," she clarifies. "It's just that gumbo is an American style of curry he's been playing with since around Christmas, and I've seen at least one video of a Japanese fishery worker breaking down an alligator that was imported, so... That just might be something for him to think about, is all! I've never had it either, and after this I'm *super* curious."

Her chopsticks stay in her mouth as she looks over the list, apparently more concentrating on thinking than chewing. Once both are finished, she nods slowly. "I think... plah" ...And *now* she takes out the chopsticks. "...I think for at least the first few rounds of testing, we should find a music room that isn't gonna be used much for clubs, and *then* put up a Barrier. Just in case things get, y'know... explody? And then once we've figured out how to not explode things, we can move it someplace bigger."

Coco Kiumi has posed:
"Yes, like Gaito's Dark Lovers, or the Black Beauty Sisters. The former are his loyal servants, and the latter are mercenaries at his employ, even if he can create more. My people had stopped a bit number of them when the Panthalassa first tried to conquer the Seven Seas 300 years ago, but their last surviving member is free now", she explains somberly.

"Please let me know if that's something he ever tries, I would definitely want to try your father's new dish", Coco politely requests when Rashmi explains what she meant.

Moving her hair back a bit, Coco watches the items on the list Rashmi has decided to tackle first. "That is true, we definitely need a Barrier. And Hinoiri could use a bass for her own magic. I am not sure if her magic needs a support, on the other hand. Once we have finished testing out what qualities a room would have to house our experiments, there should be no problem in finding a place that satisfies all the points."

Rashmi Terios has posed:
"Yeah," Rashmi says, pursing her lips in thought. "We'll need to borrow stuff from the music clubs anyway, though we'll want to consult her on *how* explody it could get... I can ask Koji-kun if he can borrow something from the AV Club too. But before all of that, we should see what Hinoiri-san thinks about the idea overall. She'll know what she needs better than we do, after all..."

Looking up at Coco, the redhead grins. "Well just wait until next month! Papi's gonna roll out the Curry Gumbo he's cooked up as a summer special, it'll be great."

Coco Kiumi has posed:
Coco finishes her lunch finally, and and with a last sip of the coffee she starts tidying up. "You are right, now that we have figured out this much, we can tell her next, and then we can listen to her needs. I really think that we have here will help Hinoiri figure herself out."

Getting up from the chair, she looks towards Rashmi. "I think that too, and I can't wait. We still have a little bit before the next classes, what are you going to do next?"

Rashmi Terios has posed:
"That's gonna be the hardest part," Rashmi says, nodding slowly. "She built her *entire identity* around being the best and mostest wonderfulest student of someone who seems like she treated her -- even if by accident -- pretty awfully. Figuring out who she is if she's not that is gonna be *work.*"

Finishing off her soda, she deposits both empties into Nicomachea's crystal, to be thrown away when they pass a garbage can later. "Honestly...? I should probably get more studying in. Hannah-chan's teaching me how to repair and build Devices, and that's a *lot* of studying using math that's not native to this planet. And I'm *terrible* at normal math."

Coco Kiumi has posed:
Coco nods in agreement, walking out of the Shed once Rashmi has done the same . "I have told Hinoiri as much - that she will fail the first times - but the important thing then is she owns up to what she did and works on making things right. Hinoiri actually helped us against Obsidian in the past, so I believe she has it in her to do it."

"Oh, that sounds marvelous",Coco replies when Rashmi reveals what she next intends to do. "I don't know how I could help, but if you know of something, it seems awesome."

Rashmi Terios has posed:
"I mean, I'm still upset with her," Rashmi says with a shrug, pausing once she's cleared the Shed to let Coco pass, and closing the door after the mermaid. "But like... I'm just *gonna* be, because the mistakes she made are the kind of mistakes you have to *make right,* not just apologize for. But personally I *want* her to be the kind of person who can make it right, so... I'm gonna help her however I can. Because she *can* do better, as long as she has a chance."

At Coco's praise, she grins. "I don't know if there *is* a way to ask for help with that, except from Hannah-chan or Chrono. It's really, really weird space math. Bu-u-ut, until I've gotten that down I'm still kind of a shop apprentice, so that's neat too!"

Coco Kiumi has posed:
Coco nods at Rashmi's own opinion on Rashmi. She can't fault someone for simply being upset with her, not when she had to get over her own anger at Hinoiri for what the unicorn did, and it wasn't simple, even if she knew it's what Aqua Regina would have wanted. But it is actually important that she is willing to help her turn over a new leaf.

"I had a private talk with her, and she knows what would make her relapse, even if she is kinda shaky right now, but with a good pillar under her, I have confidence she can do it."

"Well, even if I may not help, I will cheer you on at the very least, because I am sure you can make the best out of your apprenticeship, Rashmi-chan", Coco exudes energetic convinction from her tone.

Rashmi Terios has posed:
"Yeah," Rashmi says, nodding. "It just... wouldn't feel fair if I didn't help, y'know? And I don't wanna *sabotage* her hard work, so... let's see what we can do to help!"

Rashmi is *clearly* very pleased at Coco's determination to cheer for her, and as the pair walk away from the Shed, the redhead's chatter is lively and high-spirited. Coco was, after all, one of the first of her friends who ever wanted to do anything with her, and it's just nice to talk with people who like having you around!

Privately, she hopes that their efforts do pay off, and Hinoiri feels better for having an actual *project to do, and not simply kindness she has trouble understanding.

But that is a thought for another day, and another time.