765/Cloudy With A Chance of Crepes

Cloudy With A Chance of Crepes
Date of Scene:	15 November 2023
Location:	Mitakihara Ward
Synopsis:	Katarina and Madoka meet for crepes and mysteries.
Cast of Characters:	Katarina Bach, Madoka Kaname

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Katarina Bach has posed:
    It's a stormy day. Not cold enough for snow, but the clouds are moving fast across the sky. Scarily fast, actually. There's no rain. It's all just bound up in those clouds, and there's this heavy feeling in the air. A sort of pressure as everyone waits for the first drops to fall. A 'super cell' the officials are calling it. Mandatory evacuation.

    It's not going to be safe to be out on thr street.

    Katarina looks up into the sky, watching for something she can't see. Something that will part the clouds and bring death and destruction about this entire city... Or perhaps only this neighborhood if somehow driven off. She really wishes Teresia was here. Just the three of them doesn't seem like nearly enough.

    Lulu says something.

    Magda responds.
    Then Katarina is addressed. She shakes her head. What was she asked? She doesn't know.
    But she just keeps staring up at the sky, waiting.

    Waiting...

    ...Waiting...

    To everyone around her, however, she is an extremely pale girl with long white hair, wearing a white school uniform, and carrying a white umbrella. She's standing on the sidewalk, looking up at the gray sky that promises rain any moment. Not worth a second glance, though her just standing there is a bit odd. People pass by on their business. It's after school, and not a lot of people want to be out when the downpour starts. Already, a droplet here or there has begun to darken the pavement slightly. There's that smell in the air, a sort of electric scent.

    At least it smells that way to Katarina.

    Something about ionization.

    Her umbrella is plastic, so it won't draw lightning to it as readily, even though it does not seem as though it will be a thunderstorm. Just a heavy rain.

    Without even looking where she's going, the blind albino girl steps off the pavement and just starts walking across the street while cars blare their horns at her.

    Somehow, she makes it to the other side unharmed.

    Just in time for the rain to start falling.

    "That was rather risky, Katarina Bach." Kyubey says from beside her, as Katarina tries to close her umbrella so she can enter the crepe shop.

    "Umu..." she agrees. "But you would have warned me if I was in danger."

    Kyubey just swishes his tail and stares up at Katarina with his beady red eyes. "I can't always be there to warn you though. I suggest taking that into account."

    Katarina just turns around in front of the crepe shop window, and looks up at the sky again.

    Waiting.

Madoka Kaname has posed:
    Madoka has seen that same sky.

    In visions, in dreams. The details are different, and so are the people there. When she dreams of it, sometimes she sees herself going off to fight an unwinnable battle. Other times, she's completely unaware of magical things up until the moment a skyscraper crashes through the ceiling of the evacuation center.

    Whenever she wakes up from those nightmares, she'd swear that she could feel Gretchen nearby, but that X-Chara didn't like to show herself unnecessarily.

    None of it really made sense to her, but between what Homura told her and what Gretchen seems desperate to show her, Madoka has become acutely aware that her best might not be enough. Witnessing one's own theoretical death, over and over, has an odd effect on one's perspective.

    Madoka is considering this, the weight of her responsibility as a magical girl, and the terror that she'll one day have to face, when something grabs her attention.

    She could swear that she heard Kyubey's voice. If only there weren't so many horns and angry drivers distracting her.

    The pinkette is a rather unassuming girl. No one would think anything was all that special about her unless they were genre-savvy enough to know the association between pink hair and chuuni status. Those with magic sight might see the two tiny fairy versions of herself, her Chara, which mark her as someone with magic. Those with knowledge of the area might notice her Radiant Heart Academy uniform. There's very little that would betray even the tiniest amount of significance beyond being a kindhearted girl who just wants to make things a little bit better.

    When she finds the strangely pale girl, whom she's never seen before, it's then that she also finds the mascot. "Kyubey?" she calls out, taking a couple steps towards him. When the first droplets fall on her head, she looks up and, in a panic, rushes towards the front of the crepe shop.

    Brai and Medo, the minidoka Chara, float after her. Medo calls out, "Madoka-chan! Don't tell me you forgot your umbrella!"

    "I didn't but..." Madoka doesn't really want to explain herself right now. Fleeing the rain isn't that important. What's important is meeting this girl that Kyubey is hanging around. When she reaches Katarina, she smiles brightly and opens her mouth to speak, but then pauses. Something is off, and Madoka can't quite place it.

    Ever friendly, she pushes on anyways. "Hi, Kyubey. It's been a while hasn't it? Is this one of your contractees?" Her voice sounds pleasant, even though her opinion of Kyubey isn't very high. No reason to be rude. To Katarina, she adds, "Hi! I'm Madoka Kaname! Have... you known Kyubey for long?"

    Madoka's Chara are silent for the moment. Brai seems to be studying Katarina while hovering over Madoka's shoulder, and Medo has her head buried in Madoka's school bag.

Katarina Bach has posed:
    Kyubey's name is called out, and he turns to face Madoka, leaning forward and tilting his head in that way that he does. Like a cat trying to see what someone is up to. "How unexpected to see you here, Madoka."

    Katarina lowers her gaze from the sky, but now just seems to be looking at the ground in front of her, a meter or so away.

    "It has been, hasn't it?" he answers regarding their last meeting. "She is from the same group as Teresia Kuefer and the rest... Though Katarina's circumstances are a little bit different."

    Katarina continues not to look at Madoka, and definitely does not appear to acknowledge any fairies or charas or whatever. Visually or auditorily. "...Katarina Bach..." she introduces herself, since Kyubey already gave away her first name. "...Two years." she adds on, regarding how long she has known him.

    Kyubey seems to take the lead much more frequently with this girl than any other thus far, as he says, "We were about to head inside for crepes. Katarina wanted to try some, and I knew of this place." While he will follow people around, and will definitely enjoy the benefits of luxury from hanging around with his prospects (like warm baths, or being fed someone's lunch, or sleeping on their bed), going out of his way to help a magical girl find somewhere to waste time isn't very... In-character for him, so to speak.

    Katarina remains silent, awkwardly holding her umbrella in one hand, with both of her arms hanging at her sides.

    Kyubey finally turns to look up at Katarina. Then back to Madoka and her Charas.

    After a few more seconds, Katarina turns, still not looking where she's going, and starts to head over to the door. It's a push-door, as stated on the sign on the glass, and she is trying to pull it open, unsuccessfully.

Madoka Kaname has posed:
    Madoka's attention is mostly focused on Katarina, the girl she's curious about, rather than Kyubey. In spite of the latter carrying most of the conversation. How... strange. It's not something that Madoka would find weird in anyone else, but it's a side of him that she hasn't seen much. Maybe it was different in other timelines, where she actually contracted.

    While Madoka might not know much about Katarina's situation, she's hung around the hospital enough to recognize the issue here. One part of her is quietly angry that Kyubey would even think of contracting someone blind. Another part of her knows that the quickest way to upset a disabled person is to assume that they aren't capable of handling themselves.

    On the other hand, there's the difficulty with the door. "Ah! Um... let me help you with that," she offers, walking around Katarina to get the door for her. She gently shoves it open, trying not to startle her with the sudden movement, speaking in a soft voice that she hopes is reassuring. "This one is push only. Here, I'll hold it for you."

    With Katarina being a part of Teresia's crew, Madoka can't really dismiss the idea that she has some kind of magic sight, but such things might be restricted by rules that one could only guess at. The pinkette is still relatively new to magic.

    "Teresia-san mentioned coming here with friends. I've met most of them, but I think this is the first time I've seen you. Magda-san and I volunteer at the same hospital though, so we keep in touch," explains Madoka, mostly for Katarina's sake. Nothing about that is new to Kyubey.

    "Actually... I ran across a Witch the other day. I was holding onto the Grief Seed in case I found someone who needed it. They aren't really of use to me, but I know your friends use them."

    If Katarina goes inside, Madoka and her two Chara will follow. Brai notices that Katarina isn't really responding to her at all, and the braided minidoka has very little to say to Kyubey anyways, but in the spirit of being polite... "I'm Brai, one of Madoka's Chara. My friend who's digging through our Chara Bearer's school bag is Medo. It's a pleasure to meet you, Bach-san."

Katarina Bach has posed:
    Sensing the awkward atmosphere for once, in a rare show of social awareness, Kyubey stops talking and just pads along behind Katarina as she nods her head in thanks without looking at Madoka and heading inside. She pauses when she hears Magda's name mentioned, before resuming her journey. She uses her umbrella to poke around until she finds a booth, which she slides into. After being seated for a few seconds, she eventually says, "..You are... Magda's friends?" she asks. She didn't address the Charas specifically, but she appears to have heard them at least, and assumed they also know her team mate.

    "I..." she starts, and then stops, and doesn't say anything else, just staring at the table.

    Kyubey sits on the floor after seeing both Madoka and Katarina are indoors, and says, "Katarina, you will be fine with Madoka at your side. I hope that you enjoy your crepe." Then he turns and fades out of existence as he goes around the corner of the booth.

    Absolutely bizarre interaction (for Kyubey). Why is Katarina receiving such special treatment? It can't be that Kyubey is concerned about her... So then... What?

    "...Do you... Not use them?" she asks quietly.

Madoka Kaname has posed:
    Madoka is patient with Katarina as she tries to find her way, not trying to do too much for her but... doing subtle things to maybe make her life easier. Making sure to make a little more noise when she walks than usual just so Katarina knows where she is. Staying close enough to provide help if it's needed, but otherwise staying out of her way. Madoka's Chara float around, so they don't make the same amount of noise, but it's in their nature to stay close to their Bearer anyways.

    When Kyubey starts to leave, Madoka waves bye to him, but then focuses her attention mostly on Katarina. The strangeness of Kyubey's behavior is noted, but the pinkette doesn't yet know what to make of it. She probably isn't going to get an answer without asking some intensely personal questions, either. Questions that might not be suitable for a first meeting.

    "Oh, no, I don't need them," explains Madoka. "I'm not a Puella Magi, so I have no Soul Gem in need of cleaning. My power comes from my Chara, so the requirements on me to maintain my magic are different. It's not quite as risky or... dire." Note: not nonexistent, just different.

    After a moment, she fidgets with her hands. "Um... is it okay if I sit with you? I wouldn't mind getting to know you a bit better. After all, if you run with Teresia-san, there's a good chance we'll end up in a Labyrinth together." The idea that this girl might end up being one of Madoka's future war buddies is reason enough to be curious in her mind. "... Also, Ada-san mentioned something the other day that I kinda wanted to ask about. If you don't mind talking with me, that is."

Katarina Bach has posed:
    Katarina quietly says, "Yes... Please sit." She tilts her head a bit at the mention of 'Charas', but doesn't comment on them. Just something else new to learn about here in Japan. Like the other Puella Meisters, she seems to be able to speak Japanese just fine. Only Teresia has any accent. All thanks to Adalinda and her magic-infused laptop. Using magic to accelerate learning a language... Not something most Puella would come up with.

    Katarina certainly wouldn't have.

    She raises her head a bit, still staring past Madoka once the other girl sits down, with her bangs hanging in her milky white eyes, but the mention of Adalinda gets her attention. "...You also know Linda..." A pause of several seconds, before she nods her head. "What did you want to know...? And... Who are Charas? Brai... And Meadow?" Pause again. "Those are nice names."

Madoka Kaname has posed:
    When given permission, Madoka takes a seat across from Katarina, smiling brightly. She's used to the Meisters being able to speak Japanese pretty fluently, though she hasn't quite picked up on the why. Radiant Heart offers language classes on that, so she made the assumption that they learned from there. She'd be pretty impressed if she knew that they figured it out some magic method on their own.

    Of course, now that she's running out of pleasantries and gets down to the details, Madoka gets... a little more nervous. The subject in question is a source of... some unpleasant dreams. Dreams that she suspects may in fact be... more than that. The question of Charas are almost a welcome distraction, one more reason not to talk about the actual horrible thing that she really wants to talk about.

    "My Charas? Well... okay, so Kyubey and his contracts are one way to gain power, right? You make a wish, you get a Soul Gem, and... you know." Madoka assumes Katarina knows this, since she mentioned knowing Kyubey for 2 years. "Charas are a different. You don't make a wish or sign a contract. Instead, your dreams of what you want to be turn into what's called the Heart's Egg. From those eggs, Chara are hatched. They are fairy-like creatures, but their role is a little different than Kyubey's. Each Chara Bearer gets their own Chara, and we need them in order to use magic. I... actually am not sure entirely how it works. After speaking to other Chara Bearers... I don't think anyone really does. All I know is that I can't allow myself to give up on my dreams or my Chara will vanish."

    Brai speaks up again, "Thank you. We exist to remind Madoka of her dreams, and to push her towards them. I represent her desire to be competent. You can thank Teresia, and a couple other veteran Puella, for how I turned out." Homura and Mami are on that list as well.

    Medo finally speaks up for once, having given up on finding whatever it was she was searching for, "And I represent Madoka's desire to help and heal. There is a third of us, but our relationship with her is... strained."

    Madoka fidgets again, quietly hesitating before moving on to the next topic. It's one of particular terror when it comes to her, but all things considered she can't be the only one who has something to fear from this.

    "Well... there's a couple things." Madoka finally starts. "Ada showed Mami and I... Mami is a local veteran Puella, if you haven't met yet. Ada showed us a picture of... a particular Witch. A very... scary one. One that I understand is something of a legend among Puella Magi." Madoka remembers clearly the day she saw an image from her nightmares displayed plainly on that laptop. "I... have... concerns about that particular Witch also. There's reason to believe that it'll come here one day. If you and your friends are after it, then I'd like to help you."

Katarina Bach has posed:
    The albino girl doesn't appear to have much to say about the Charas, but there is a small incline of her head during the explanation. She is used to listening, rather than speaking, and that behavior becomes more and more prominent when she doesn't have anyone she knows nearby for support.

    She finally looks directly at Madoka when there is mention of the Witch that they are hunting. It's just a small adjustment of her head to one side. She doesn't speak for so long it seems she's not going to. Then she raises a hand from below the table, where it had sat in her lap with her umbrella so that nobody would trip over it, and delicately places a folded piece of off-pink paper on the table, and slides it forwards with her index finger as far as she can. She is extremely short, and she has the proportions to match that height, so her arms aren't exactly Stretch Armstrong over here.

    She withdraws her hand, and puts it back into her lap.

    The paper appears to be torn from a journal or diary. The kind you can buy at a stationary store, with cute rabbits around the edges of each page. On it, is written in shakey letters a single German word.

    "...I think this was meant for you... I wrote it this morning... But I didn't know... Who would need it." she explains, as she puts her head back down, and looks at the table. "I can't... See the future. Not like Miss Teresia. But I see a lot of things. Other than..." she waves a hand back and forth in front of her own face and smiles a little bit, to show she's making a blind joke.

    On the paper, the word is what might be expected.

    Walpurgisnacht.

    "...I think we would be happy to have help..." she says softly, her smile going back to a more neutral expression. "...But it's dangerous. And... Some of us have bad reactions... To hearing that name. So... Please be careful... Who you mention it to."

Madoka Kaname has posed:
    Madoka watches Katarina quietly as she waits for a response. She knows, better than most, that she's talking about something heavy. When she's passed the piece of paper, she leans forward to look at it. Madoka... can't really read German, but in this case she doesn't need to. It's not as if romanized lettering is some kind of alien script to her, and this word in particular is... well...

    Madoka smiles politely at the blind joke, only to realize that Katarina can't read her facial expressions. So she chuckles instead. "I have... something similar going on with me. I have dreams... not of the future, I don't think, but of things that... hopefully aren't going to happen."

    That's not something she can explain. In fact, she probably is already edging close on saying too much. Homura has entrusted her with many secrets, and this isn't one that she can betray.

    "I know... I know it's dangerous..." Madoka's voice is quiet. It's one thing to have the bravado when you don't know how bad it's going to be, but it's something else to know that something has killed you before. "I... guess I shouldn't be surprised to learn that others might have... trauma, related to this Witch. Eventually, we'll have to talk about plans and strategies, but... well... I'm still figuring things out about my own powers."

    Glancing off to the side, avoiding eye contact even if that doesn't make sense here, Madoka mentions, "One of my Charas, the one who isn't here, seems to understand a lot of how Witch magic works. She might be able to find a weakness, or something that gives us an advantage."

    Madoka wonders how much she can really discuss in a setting like this. Then again, the Veil probably mentally hides a lot of what she's saying anyways.

Katarina Bach has posed:
    Katarina nods her head a few times, but again takes a long time to respond. Finally, she holds up her umbrella and opens it, even though they are indoors, to show there are several more pieces of paper slotted into each of the plastic panels, along the seam where they are bound to the frame. There are even more rolled around the plastic pipes that give the umbrella its structure. She hopes Madoka can see anyway. She reaches up into the umbrella, and feels around, running her fingers along the corner of each paper while rotating the umbrella, until she finds a specific one. Each of the little papers has a corner folded in a different way.

    Kat places five more slips of paper down on the table, arrayed between her and Madoka. "Do... Any of these names mean anything to you, Brai, or Meadow?"

    Lughnasadh

    Imbolc

    Samhain

    Ostara

    Kriemhild Gretchen

    "Dreams... I see them when I sleep. The dreams of others. But... Hard to understand. Harder to interpret. I write down everything I can remember when I wake up. Sometimes it's just names or words or dates." she explains.

    She toys with the ring on her finger, the one that is her Soul Gem in disguise, as she hunches over a little bit and waits for an answer.

Madoka Kaname has posed:
    Madoka watches as Katarina opens her umbrella. Apparently this is where she keeps her notes? A clever way to hide them, she thinks. Brai floats closer to get a better look, though not for too long. There's a specific thing that Kat wants to focus on, and so Madoka's attention is pulled towards that.

    She squints at the names, shaking her head at the first four. They don't mean anything to her, and they've never shown up in her dreams at all. The fifth one, however... is special.

    Madoka blinks, and leans closer. She puts her index finger on the piece of paper, and slides it closer. Looking it over with a thoughtful frown, she says, "I don't really know what 'Kuraimuhilu' means... but this second word..."

    Brai completes the thought, "That's her name. The name of Madoka's X-Chara. Gretchen. The one who imitates Witch magic."

    Madoka blinks. She's... surprised to see that name here. Maybe she shouldn't be. This is magic, after all. Still, there's a sense of mystique here that one might feel when speaking to a fortune teller or an oracle. She pushes the piece of paper back to where Kat had placed it, and then leans back into her seat. "Yes, the name Gretchen means something to me, though I don't really understand the significance. Samhain... I feel like I read that name in a fantasy novel at some point, but I don't think there was anything magical about that. The others, I don't know anything about them. I'm sorry."

Katarina Bach has posed:
    The blind Puella Magi shakes her head. "Umu. It's fine. I never know for sure..." She takes back the pieces of paper that Madoka didn't recognize and re-inserts them into the panel slots. She closes the umbrella and puts it back in her lap. "If you find anything out... Maybe that name will help." Then, Katarina leaves that fifth piece of paper with Madoka, and raises her head a bit.

    Her posture is tense.

    "...No one has come to take our order. There is no one but else in the building. Something is wrong." She starts sliding out of her booth slowly, while moving her head around in a sort of 'sweeping' motion, from right to left and back again. Once she is sure she has everything ready, she uses her umbrella as a walking stick again, to make sure her path is clear. "I think we should go... Crepes... Can wait."

    If it's not a Familiar or a Witch, it isn't her place to intervene. And while it is neither of those, she does not know what is wrong exactly. Just that this is not a safe place to be. No employees, with the store open in the middle of the day. No customers other than the two of them. There are any number of mundane, logical explanations.

    But Kat is seeing something other than her surroundings, and what she sees is not good. Smears of blood all over the walls and floor, dark shapes like bodies collapsed all over the shop, an emergency phone hanging from the wall behind the counter. Maybe nothing will happen. Maybe.

    "Perhaps... The police should be called... An ambulance? Please let them know..." She turns at the door, facing the back of the store. Trying to make out the cause of her visions. It's not magical whatever it is. Because she can't see it. "...Someone with a weapon is on the premises." Then she tries to push the door open, having forgotten that indoors it turns into a pull door.

Madoka Kaname has posed:
    Madoka takes the offered piece of paper. Kriehmhild Gretchen. She wonders what her X-Chara would think upon seeing this name. Madoka will be sure to ask her, next time they meet.

    Madoka notices Katarina's posture almost immediately, being the kind of person who is sensitive to things like that. She starts looking around to notice that... yeah, something isn't right here. No one has gotten their order. That's... really odd. No customers, either.

    She gets up, and helps Katarina with the door when she realizes the problem again. What she says makes things a bit scary. Someone with a weapon here? Madoka frowns. It may not be Puella Magi business, but Madoka isn't a Puella in this timeline.

    As she pulls the door open to Katarina, she turns to Brai and Medo, "You two are invisible to most. Will you go and check things out for me? If you find something, tell me... but don't go too far, okay?"

    Maybe nothing will come of it, but Madoka doesn't know the limits or accuracy of Katarina's powers. If it's a mundane problem, then maybe a small Chara in the right place could make a difference. Or maybe Madoka could do something to help. Then again, the fact that the building is empty could mean... anything, really. Maybe they're closed today, but then why was the door unlocked?

    To Katarina she asks, "Will you be able to make it home okay?"

Katarina Bach has posed:
    Katarina nods her head. "Umu. Kyubey will help me if I get lost." Because apparently he is her seeing-eye Incubator?? Wasting so much time and effort on a single Puella Magi... Not the weirdest thing going on right now, obviously. But still weird. "Thank you, Madoka." she says quietly as she heads outdoors, making sure Madoka is safe as well before just walking directly across the street again, being missed by cars speeding by in the rain that has just started to fall, laying on their horns to warn the blind girl who passes in front of them without any awareness.

    Back of the store... Nothing. There's ingredients sitting out. Whipped cream, fresh fruit, other dairy... Things one does not just let sit unattended. But no people. Like everyone just disappeared and left everything they were doing where it lay. Yeah... Maybe... Maybe come back another time. With others. Because as scary as Witches are, a place like this, that should be active and inhabited and alive just being empty... Is somehow even creepier in its own way.