Scene #438: Mandatory Donuts and Pizza

Owner	Pose
Takashi Agera	Takashi's lab is not the largest space, and usually, it's a mess. Today, though, it's not only clean, but it's mostly empty. A metal lab table and chairs sits in the center of the space, and there's a lot of places where complicated lab equipment used to be. Some of it is missing entirely, some of it is pushed up against the walls. Mostly to make sure there's enough space. Because something long-overdue is being taken care of, today. The truly nefarious goal of team building... and talking. And all of the girls who he depends on, getting a serious thank you. So there are chairs - five. One for Takashi, one for each girl, one for Arf who he espected would come along with Fate. And boxes of pizza. And 2-liter bottles of cola. And none of it is Dark Energy because Fate and Hotaru are here. And none of it is from some cheap delivery place, either. Takashi had found a high quality place and carried it out, somewhere that made ''real'' pizza. Maybe the girls would notice the difference, maybe not, but Obsidian was paying anyways! He hadn't told them precisely what they were needed for, either. Just individually let them know that they needed to join him for something important, and not to worry about lunch. Because everything had been so serious - was, so serious - Fate was kicking her own butt looking for Jewel Seeds, Hotaru was despairing about her future and time remaining, and Norie was still adjusting to her new form... he thought they needed this. And if he was honest with himself, he probably did too, running around trying to get his fingers into every project. A time to relax and calm was... warranted. So he waited outside the door, collecting the girls until they were all together before walking inside. "Mandatory pizza party, teambuilding, and relaxing. Have a seat." he said, gesturing to the table with a smile as the smell of pizza hit their noses.
Hotaru Tomoe	Firefly had her glaive out and everything. She was ready to throw down. If Takashi needed them, then obviously it was very important. THIS TIME she was going to be useful and strong and not hold anyone back. Actually her last official mission had gone well. Sure, there was some lightning, and she didn't like that. But OTHER than that? Pretty well. More missions where she did that, please. And she even brought backup. Fate had Arf and Norie had her familiar... but Firefly had YOCHU! Her doll. Who she was hugging and could help carry the glaive. It was oversized for both of them so it was probably fine. Of course, when she DID arrive, of all the things she expected... a pizza party wasn't one of them. She actually paused at first. "Is... is this right?" she asked. Was she early? But then Takashi told them. And her eyes lit up. "W-we're getting a pizza party?" she asked. < Doot doot doot ding. Critical Hit > "No, Luminous Titan, too early," Firefly said with a sigh. "It's when I hit something really hard and like. Win a fight." Yes. She was teaching her device how to give proper sound effects. Because all devices should know. "Do you want some pizza too?" she asked Yochu, looking down. Because while she would let Yochu down if she wanted, she would otherwise be a good lap dolly.
Fate Testarossa	Fate has been... Well 'kicking her own butt' might be an understatement. So when Takashi sent her a message that she was needed for ~something~... It's a little bit of a much welcome relief for Arf and Bardiche, who worry endlessly for their master's sake. "Agera." Fate arrives, looking tired and haggard; having spent every waking moment not devoted to school to hunting the mysterious lost logia called the Jewel Seeds for her mother. So when the lab doors open to reveal a pristine lab, pizza, soda, and chairs, the twintailed blonde is taken aback. "This... I thought... That..." She trails off. It is Arf who ''capitalizes'' on the moment, shoving Fate into the lab briskly. "WOO! Pizza! Sweet! THANKS~." The red-haired wolf-woman says discretely flashing Takashi a big thumbs up while Fate's back is turned.
Norie Okana	Norie Okana was called and she came. She wondered if this was about the item she brought back not so long ago, so she picked up donuts. The donuts were from Kaoru's and therefore, sported the tiny hearts in the center. These we're rainbow sprinkled! She figured this may be a moment. She arrived with an 'oh' and looked around the clean, unmessy lab space and walked to the table, with the pizzas and dropped off the donuts, she opened the box and turned around. "I guess. I brought donuts." she says. "To a pizza party." she says dryly as she sat at the table and looks over to Firefly's doll. She looks back up to Firefly. She knows that doll! She thinks. Maybe. She was taller. She looks over to Fate and then to Arf and looks over to Takashi and bows. "Apologies." she says as she has a seat. "Uh. I guess. I am. The odd one out. I am. Norie Okana...?" she states in a weird stilted manner that sounds like a question. Even though it is not.
Yochu	Yochu was going to help this time! Maybe if she was at Firefly's side things would turn out better for her. Fighting was scary and she knew there were a bunch of people that would resist their plans but the part of Yochu that was now a being of dark energy, aka almost all of her, wasn't actually scared. She knew that was strange... but she also didn't care that it was strange, in the very same way she wasn't scared. If she helped Firefly that would be worth being scared over if that's how it turned out anyway, she decided. Luckily they were called for something a doll is much better suited to than combat, a party! "Yay, pizza," the little doll cheered from Firefly's arms, holding onto the glaive with one hand while the other raises in an exclamation of joy. The doll part of Yochu is a little torn and perplexed though. The doll part of her says that all parties should be '''tea''' parties. The urge to pull out tea and start offering it around is strong, but she resists. Because while she's a doll, she does remember being a young girl, and what kid doesn't know what pizza parties are all about. Even orphans raised in Obsidian orphanages know about pizza parties! "I'd like a piece," she quickly nods up to Firefly, choosing to remain seated in her lap. "I'll only need a little one though." Because even though she could make herself large enough to sit in a seat, she actually likes this placement better. Because she's Firefly's doll. She lifts a little hand and waves to Norie, remembering her chat with the girl in the park. "Hello, Norie. I'll be very happy to try your donuts." Her eyes close as she gives a precious, doll like smile. She then looks over towards Fate and raises her tiny hand to wave to her as well. "Hello," she introduces, "I'm Yochu." A few moments of pause, "I'm Firefly's doll."
Takashi Agera	Takashi smiled as he made sure the girls got seats. and plates. And he started doling out the pizza. "So, I know this whole thing probably seems a little weird at first glance." Takashi admits. "But, we all either use, or are around, Dark Energy - every day. This building is full of it. And Dark Energy is powerful, and neccessary in some cases to achieve our goals. But it's not without risks. If you let it, it can bring you to dark mindsets, and despair, and instead of giving you strength, it will take strength from you." he notes. "So, one of the ways to guard against that is to ground yourself... by doing things that are fun, too. Enjoying your work, or, spending time with your teammates. So you know who you're fighting with, what you're fighting for. So that you don't fall prety to the bad side of Dark Energy - or, listen too closely to the words of sparkleskirts who tell you that we're pure evil and all of that rot." "And also... everyone's been working really hard. Norie brought me a magical item she procured entirely on her own initative, Fate and Firefly both helped me with recovering salvage from the wreck, Firefly keeps helping me at my workbench, and I know Fate isn't just working hard for me but for her mother, too." He does look down and away when he mentions Precia, but for Fate's sake, he doesn't say anything more about her. "So, boring work stuff out of the way, also, thank all of you. For standing at my side and working to help." Arf shoots by and he flashes her a thumbs up back. "Second one from the top is a five-meat pizza. You can't have all of it but it's probably your thing, Arf-san." he notes. He puts a hand gently on Fate's back. "Go on. Relax for a little bit. It'll be good for you, and will make you more likely to suceed anyways. It's hard to win a fight when you're exhausted, and your redheaded opponent is no joke. She's probably eating a cake or something right now, getting energy. So you can consider this part of your job, or at least, my part." he tells her. "And I don't think you all have really met Okana-san, so, it's a good excuse for us all to get to know each other. Even if we're not doing the same things, at the same time, we are working as a team and it's important to remember that." And then Takashi picked up one of the donuts and took a bite. "Okay, a donuts ''and'' pizza party it is then." he says with a smile. He is about as personable as Takashi Agera gets, right now. "And you brought Yochu as well! That's awesome. Now we really can all meet everyone." Except the person he just hired yesterday but that was a surprise for later. Takashi starts asking what kind of pizza everybody wants and getting the first peice for all the girls (and doggirls, and dollgirls) before getting anything himself.
Fate Testarossa	The thought of relaxing almost seems to be utterly foreign to the girl. The hand on her back, regardless of how gentle it is, makes the blonde tense faintly; as though unsure how to react to both the contact and the camaraderie but... Arf. Thank heavens for Arf, who snatches up a slice of meatzza pizza as soon as it's pointed out and shoves another slice into Fate's hands to get her to calm down. "Ah..." The blonde eventually murmurs, seeming to relax as though on cue, though she does bite her lip gently at the mention of her mother. Now to meet those who she hasn't met previously, glancing up from the cheesy drippy slice of pizza in her hands. "I'm..." Introductions. Introductions are important, and when Norie gives her name-- as well as the doll with Firefly... "Fate Testarossa." That's her name. Don't wear it out. But. If she's not going to be hunting Jewel Seeds tonight, and can spend some time with people she likes... Well, the ghost of a smile forms on the blonde's lips.
Hotaru Tomoe	Firefly couldn't help but glance at Fate when she arrived. Awwww. Her lil kohai. And her puppy! Well. Doggy? Girl. Her friend. A dog. Ish. Girl. She was cute, like Wolfrun. But less growly. Pizza! And when Takashi had them sit, well, she sat without any issue. Lightly hugging her dolly. And her eyes LIT UP when there were DONUTS! "Pizza AND donuts?" she asked, sitting up a little straighter. "This is the best day ever!" she said happily. She then, very gently, took Luminous Titan and stood him by her chair. He stood on his own. Like a good murder glaive. And she just lightly held and pet her little Yochu. Affectionate and loving, like a good big sister. "Good job, Yochu. This is Fate, she's my kohai!" she said, the pride radiating off her voice. "One of our strongest and most dependable fighters. And that's Arf! She's..." Blink. Ummmm... "Fate-kohai's closest friend?" she offered, not entirely sure what to say in that regard. Pizza pizza pizza time. AND DONUTS! "Hiii Norie-senpai!" Firefly said happily. "I'm Firefly!" Then... she made sure the pizza was small enough for Yochu, then let her take a bite before... glancing over to Fate. And then giving a little giggle. "Hey, Fate-kohai? Would you like to feed Yochu some pizza too? She's really warm and cute. Like you," Firefly said happily. "If that's okay with you, Yochu-chan?" she asked, giving her favorite dolly another lil hug.
Norie Okana	SOMEWHEERE--> NANOHA TAKAMACHI looks up with a mouthful of her mom's cake, plate in hand. "Huh?" HERE, NOW--> Norie Okana listens to name. "I've met. Your doll, Firefly-san." she says quietly. "Hi Yochu-chan." she says quietly. She looks over to Fate and then Takashi again as she thanks quietly for the pizza, not seeming to care what's put in front of her in terms of flavor. She does look at Arf and her ears, questioningly. She then brings the pizza to her mouth and takes a big bite. "Oh. This is good pizza." she says, in a neutral manner. It's probably not the exclamation Takashi was hoping for on the pizza, at least, but Takashi is aware of her issues with 'feeling'. "Uhm, I heard. A voice earlier? It said something about a critical hit?" she asks, looking around then her eyes fall on Arf. It wasn't Arf. She may not be aware devices can talk. "I like donuts." she says, as if this was all there was to her. A pause. "I also. Like to dance." another strange, awkward pause. "S-sorry." she suddenly says, as if apologizing for nothing and just kind of hunkering down and eating her pizza. "O--Oh I go to. Radiant Heart. Academy." "Oh. I..I'm. An energy vampire." she also adds. "But pizza is good too." she adds. "Pizza tastes good." she adds. She shifts a bit.
Yochu	This whole thing is something Yochu seems to agree with in it's entirety. "Having fun together and getting to know each other better is very important. Parties are important!" But a doll would think that, wouldn't they? She seems just about as happy as a doll whose soul is made as dark energy could possibly be as introductions are made and Firefly sits down. "It's nice to meet you, Fate-chan," she replies to the name being given in very refined and polite tones. She sounds just as elegant as her clothes make her look! This contrasts to her reaction to getting petted and hugged. As soon as Firefly's glaive is set down she's free to hug onto the arm hugging her, closing her eyes and smiling when receiving pets, her white dollhair staying neat and perfectly in place. Then when she's given a bite of pizza she closes her eyes and chews, actually quite capable of eating despite very clearly being a doll. Her hands go up to her cheeks and press to them in a precious expression, and she makes sure to swallow everything before saying in a high, happy tone, "Oishii~!" Afterwards she shifts around a little in Firefly's lap, as if getting more comfortable, and then smooths out her dress so there are as few wrinkles as possible. Presentation is important to her! Especially at a party. She then twists a little so she can tilt her head back and look up at Firefly, even while in her lap, "It's fine with me. I don't mind." Getting fed might make her seem like a toy or a pet, but that's not something she minds. She is a doll, after all. "Dancing sounds nice," Yochu says in response to Norie, sounding like it's the first time she'd ever thought of it. Her head nods quickly up and down, "Pizza is very good. I like it." Especially when nice girls are feeding it to her! Her head turns towards the soda bottles and she considers for a moment, "If you have a drink, I could put a sugar cube in it for you, Norie-chan." Which would give her some dark energy at the 'cost' of making the soda even sugarier. Look, she was 11 when she was still a real girl. Sometimes kids are strange and like strange tastes.
Takashi Agera	Takashi is genuinely happy about this, seeing everybody together. Even if it's a little awkward for some people/vampires. "Sorry for the trickery, but nothing I said was really fake. This is actually important for the reasons I outlined." he notes, finally getting himself some pizza too. "And because it is important, I didn't want anyone to skip out on it because it was 'just' a party and hangout session. Cause it's important." "Every time you girls go out in the field, whether you get in a fight or not, whether you are doing something for me or for somebody else on my behalf, you're helping me out. And that's important. And being shown that is important. I don't want any of you to think I see you as disposable. And if you need something I want you to be able to come to me. And if I succeed I'm going to bring you up with me." he notes. Sure, some of this is true. But he also knows that if he fosters a team spirit, they'll go farther, fight harder, defend him, act on their own initative. So it both is good... and good for him. "And I might start sending you out to support each other sometimes, so I want you to know each other and that you're all also on one team together. Which is how I got Obsidian to pay for this, because today is a Teambuilding session."
Fate Testarossa	Arf is... Scarfing meatzza. Fate, however is slowly acclimating to being social when she had least expected it. "... It's nice to meet you too." She replies to Yochu AND Norie before taking a small nibble of her pizza. Before Firefly suggests Fate... Feed... Yochu. There's a moment. A brief pause in which Fate looks at the pizza in her hand and the little doll. "A-ah..." She can do that? Feed the doll? The faint hint of a flustered pink tone rises to the girl's cheeks at the thought because... Yochu is just adorable. For a good long moment Fate seems to have no idea how to answer. Please send help. "Ah..." But. They're not disposable, Agera says. That brings Fate back to the moment. It's actually a little heartening. ... Is this what friendship is? Fate never had time for friends before. "T-team building. Right."
Hotaru Tomoe	Firefly let out a gasp of shock, alarm and AMAZEMENT! "You're a VAMPIRE?! That's so COOL!" Firefly said, nearly squealing. "Do you hear that, Yochu-chan? Now our team has a VAMPIRE AND a WEREWOLF AND a DOLLY! Isn't that so cool!" At werewolf she motioned to Arf. There, now she had a title for it. "And the voice was my weapon. Luminous Titan! He's like an AI thing and really cool. Say hi, Titan!" <... Hello.> It had a voice that sounded like the love child of jigsaw and hannibal lecter. So the fact its wielder loved cursed dolls, vampires and were wolves wasn't likely a surprise. "I can't really dance because of-- ohhhhh. I wonder if I CAN dance when henshined now? We should test that sometime, senpai!" she said happily, grinning up at him. Before then holding out Yochu to Fate. "Here you go, kohai. Make sure to only give her small bites." And with her work distributed... she picked up her soda and took a nice, delicious drink of it, before happily going to town on her pizza. She was hungry! And having fun! Then gave Takashi a rather knowing smirk before saying in a teasing tone. "Also, that way you could get the nice, expensive pizza and expense it, right Senpai?"
Norie Okana	Norie Okana is enjoying her pizza, eyes closed. Enjoying the texture. The melted cheese. The toppings. She gets no sustenance from it but luckily it still serves a purpose of giving her something to concentrate on during an awkward time. She swallows. "You don't. Have to sell me. On helping you. Taka-senpai." she says softly. "Did... you find your friend's friend...friend?" she asks about the Naru situation. Which sounds odd probably. "O..oh. Th--they talk!? W..well. Hello." she says, to the device back. Which sounds odd, but then Firefly squeals and this makes her eyes cross and she blinks again. "Ah--" she goes. Tone neutral. So she can't be too bothered by it. She can still blush. Which she does. "But I will help. Where I am asked. I am. Also. La Crima. That is. My other name." she says softly. She looks between Firefly and Takashi as the concept of dancing is brought up and she asks. "Do you. Have something going on that prevents you from dancing?" she asks, curiously to Firefly. She took another bite of her pizza and swallowed as she looked over to Fate, who was asked if she wanted to feed the doll. She looked back to Yochu who was kind of cute being fed like that in her tiny, tiny form. "No. I..I'll be fine. For now. But. Thank you." she says.
Yochu	Yochu is nodding along to everything that Takashi says. She doesn't completely understand all of it, but it sounds true to her and teambuilding makes sense to her. It's also very easy to convince her that getting together and having yummy treats together as friends is a good idea. Whoever could have guessed? She looks towards Fate as the girl's red eyes are turned in her direction. She offers a tiny smile, but doesn't make any outward gestures to put pressure on her. After all, Yochu can understand very well the heart of a quiet, lonely young girl even if she isn't one of those herself anymore. Or even if she doesn't consciously recognize that's what Fate is. Subconsciously though, it'd be almost impossible not to. To Firefly she smiles happily, "It's very fun to meet so many interesting and different people, Firefly-neechan." It's mostly an agreement to her new big sister's excitement than to the actual situation; mostly because Norie herself doesn't seem entirely enthused with her situation. What with not seeming to be able to be enthused about anything at all, anymore. When she's raised towards Fate she blinks a little. If she could blush she would, but she can't, so she she doesn't. Because she's a doll. Instead she holds her hands in her lap in what she hopes is a polite manner, ready to open her mouth and accept a nibble of pizza if offered, but trying not to impose it on Fate otherwise She nods to Norie and no dark energy sugar cubes appear. Hearing the situation with Naru brought up she'll wait until Takashi has a chance to reply and clarify himself, just as she makes no attempts to explain about Firefly's Device or any issues regarding her possible inability to dance, before saying. "Maybe we could have a party with them as well? Takashi-senpai's friend's, and his friend's friends." After a little moment of consideration she adds, "A tea party instead of a pizza party. Since it wouldn't be for team building." She looks around to the others, trying to see if she's getting it right.
Fate Testarossa	Yochu is raised towards her and Fate freezes. Not because Yochu is a creepy living doll, in fact quite the opposite. If anything it is the fact that she is such a quiet, lonely, girl that perhaps that's why she feels so raptly drawn to the doll. "Ah... Um. Say ah..." Fate murmurs softly as she holds up the slice in her hand closer so that the doll may partake.
Takashi Agera	Takashi looked to Hotaru and shrugged. "I mean they were going to pay for it, with the tiny lab they have me crammed into, they could at least shell out a bunch for pizza once." he notes. "It's not about selling you, Norie-chan. It's about knowing what you're doing, why and for who! I mean, in a way that's different than just taking out a notepad and doing the math. Obviously we all benefit each other, but that's not the same as looking across the table over pizza and knowing -who- you benefit." Maybe he's been reading books about being an effective manager. Maybe he's just trying being nice. Maybe he feels bad for these girls in different ways. Or some combination. This is something like Friendship. It's probably the closest thing to Friendship you can find being part of Obsidian. Imperfect, flawed, but there. "I mean, you can try now, can't you, Firefly-chan?" he asks, guesturing to her. "Those aren't exactly your street clothes." Takashi and Norie are of similar opinions on dancing, so he's not exactly offering to join in. "And Norie, it's okay to enjoy things even if it's difficult. Even if all you can get is that kind of Dark Energy satisfaction, don't be afraid to chase that, either." he notes. "Ah, yes. The Uh. Sunbreaker Situation. It was resolved. I didn't play a huge part I just pointed people in a direction." Even in this extremely pro-him group, he doesn't admit to just how much help he provided. "Because the issue was getting thorny for us, too. All of that scrutiny and sparkleskirt teamups and all. Would have been bad for business, bad for us." he notes. "I've been invited to coffee and I might do that once. I'm not sure a big party would be a good idea, though. Might break into a fight. One moment it's tea, and the next moment it's them yelling about how myself or Yochu or Norie are evil for what we are, and it's downhill from there." He's quiet for a moment. "I prefer to have these kind of parties with people who get it."
Hotaru Tomoe	Firefly gave a nod to Norie. "Yeah, I uhhh... got injured really bad when I was a kid," because she was such an adult now, "So quick movements aren't a thing I can normally do. But when I'm all henshined and stuff I can do a lot more. I can even swim now! Well, I mean. Theoretically I can swim. I can't yet because I don't know how but I can like. Go in the water. That's pretty awesome. I never thought I'd swim again." She couldn't help grinning at her cute lil kohai. "Oh Fate-kohai. Here," she said before getting up and... ever so gently, placing Yochu in her lap. "Move one arm behind her like so to support her and then the other to help her eat. See? Just like that." Gently, happily guiding Fate on how to feed the doll. Because if there was one thing she understood, it was being the sad, lonely girl who didn't understand things... and she really, really was far too happy to be able to actually teach her kohai something. "If anyone tried to hurt you, Yochu-chan or Norie-senpai for living it wouldn't end well for them," she said happily. Maybe a bit too happily. Maybe she judged them as being stronger than they were. Or maybe she really valued them. "It's like we're all a big family here, anyway. So we can all enjoy the time we have left with each other. If none of them understand that, then they can go keep being sparkle skirts over there and we'll stay here doing other things to make things better."
Norie Okana	Norie Okana listens to Takashi as she nods. She has nothing to add about the Sunbreaker situation. "Oh. W..well. I mean. It does. Make me feel. Better." she admits a little sheepishly. She looks over to Firefly and thinks 'wait, aren't you still a kid?' but doesn't say that because she doesn't need feelings to know it's rude to blurt that out. Instead she merely goes. "Oh..." she says. "I'm sorry to hear that." she says her usual, neutral deadpan. She watches as Yochu is placed in Fate's lap and she doesn't smile. She's trying to, but it isn't happening. Yeah. "Thank you." she says quietly at Firefly as she mentions that it wouldn't end well for anyone trying to hurt her for living. "But so far. Everyone just wants to give me energy, once they find out why." she says quietly.
Fate Testarossa	And then... Then Fate has a doll placed in her lap. A living doll, but a doll nonetheless "... Ah..." Again the physical contact seems to make the twintailed blonde tense. It's very brief though because, well. Yochu is a doll. Fate's throat twitches gently in a soft gulp as she stares down at the tiny figure now settled on her lap, gently setting her hand to Yochu's back so she doesn't fall as instructed by Firefly. "Um." She does glance up briefly. "I..." She starts to say but trails off briefly. "I don't think anyone should be attacked just for living." She muses quietly while gearing up to offer the doll a tiny amount of pizza.
Yochu	Normally being introduced to the idea that someone might think she's evil just for being what she is would make Yochu sad. Right now, though, she doesn't really have time to be sad. Not when she's being guided into a lap! It's actually very easy to support her, since she's very capable of holding her own posture and moving on her own. But she definitely is a tiny little doll, with pretty clothes and long dollhair and the nature and air of being every young girl's friend and completely incapable of being threatening or harmful. She's a doll, so of course she's perfectly accepting of whoever's lap she's been placed in. Just like with Firefly she does shift around a little, and then smooths out her dress, resting primly against Fate's hand that's supporting her. Yochu likes the pizza and would definitely enjoy another bite but she's also very patient. She'd wait as long as Fate needs to offer her a bite of pizza, and won't even get mad if that time never comes today. She looks over to Norie once settled, considering for a moment. "That makes sense," she states as the energy vampire notes people have mostly responded by offering her energy, "I like making tea for people, and giving them cookies to eat with it." Her head turns over to Takashi, "I'm sure Takashi-senpai likes watching us eat the pizza he got for us too. Cooking for people is nice." Yes, she's saying that people offering Norie their energy is basically the exact same thing as someone offering a friend food. If it's simplistic forgive her, she's just a young doll. She tries to catch Norie's gaze, then pointedly looking towards the donuts the girl seems to like sharing with others, then looking back to her and smiling a little. Even Norie likes doing it! She feels very smart.
Takashi Agera	"Well, I didn't cook this pizza for you because I'm nice. If it was my pizza it wouldn't be nearly as good. There are skills I have and ones I do not have." he admits. Not often, but. Sometimes. Watching the interaction between Firefly and Fate makes him pretty sure this was a good idea. Though he feels a little bit like it might have been too much for Norie. It's hard to tell, though, if she's tense or just having trouble processing things in her current state. "I understand what you said to me that day about it not feeling the same though. You're a vampire, basically, so you're a hunter. Like a cat. Even if you feed a cat out of a bowl, it's still a hunter." The cat comment is not without connection to other things on his mind. "And you can't really judge the cat for being what it is. Or judge you for being what you are." he notes. And then he pauses. "Anyways, part of the reason this was a good idea was that thanks to your hard work - and the hard work of some of my friends - things are going to change for the better for us soon. More space, for one thing. It just took a little bit so I could make sure it was space that wouldn't be bad for Firefly or Fate." he notes. "And it's because of the help you girls have given me." "The energy you've collected, the parts you've brought back, it's going to start going even better for us." He looks to Hotaru, now. "Doctor Tomoe was particularly happy about some data I was able to share with him, too. Which is good for us."
Hotaru Tomoe	Firefly got to be the big, amazing sister who taught and shared her toys with other people. She was LOVING this. She had a lot of toys. It came from having a dad who had money and no actual time to spend with her. Gotta buy that love somehow! "Eh. It used to be a lot worse," she told Norie. "But I have friends now. I didn't used to. And I don't have as many seizures either since Takashi-senpai made Luminous Titan. Yochu-chan helps too, when I get sick at night she can usually help eat the dark energy so I can recover. She's kind of what I always imagined having a little sister would be like." "You're doing very well, Fate-kohai," she said happily. Absolutely thrilled to be able to be the big, strong one here. Dependable. Mighty. Amazing. She was FIREFLY! A hero to all the boys and girls. To one girl. To Fate. Maybe. She returned to her chair and took another bite of her pizza and well... "Takashi-senpai, can I have a donut now?" She'd eaten half a piece of pizza. For her, that was pretty good. She uhhh... wasn't the heaviest of eaters. But then... "Daddy said good things about us?" she asked, her face lighting UP now. Which was impressive. It had been lighting up a lot already. < Doot doot doot ding. Critical Hit >
Norie Okana	Norie Okana admits it. "Yeah. It feels. Best when I take it." she says quietly. Norie Okana is enjoying herself. She's just. Aware she's emotionally disabled. She's trying not to offend anyone too hard. "They're just keeping the shark happy in the tank with the other fish." she says quietly. "In the end." She listens to Firefly. "I lost most of my friends." she says quietly. "But that's because... I'm a mess." she says. "But you know I'm a mess. So. It's okay. Just. No hugs please. Unless I see it coming." she says quietly. "Energy drain. Don't. Want to do that." she says. "I'm still learning finer control." she then continues on. "Firefly-kohai...do you...need someone to teach you to dance..?" she asks. Then her gaze is caught by the tiny doll? "Huh? Oh. The. Donuts." she says. Standing up to get the donuts and bringing them back. She opened the box and gently pushed the box to the center of the table. Precious donuts. "I'm enjoying myself." she states. Like a Vulcan. with the same cadence. "Sorry if it appears I am not. It.. feelings. Messed up." she stutters near the end of it.
Yochu	Yochu knows she hasn't been doing as much for Takashi as the others surely have. Not in the same ways. She hasn't gone out and collected any fancy trinkets, or come up with any ways to drain a lot of energy. Most of what she's done has been little things here and there in the lab and helping Firefly. Whether that was acting as emotional support or draining unhelpful energy out of her with a gentle touch, she was happy to do what she could. But that was helping Firefly, not Takashi. It didn't actually bother her to not consider herself a part of those on the receiving end of the praise though, because she's happy enough to help in the way she is. In a way it's even more important to her. She's Firefly's doll, not Takashi's. "Firefly is like a senpai and a big sister to me," she states. "All in one." She gives another of her precious smiles, closing her eyes and shining her cute dollface towards Fate, Norie, Takashi, and then Firefly. A hero to one girl, and one doll! She can't help perking up as the donuts are mentioned either. She wanted to try one herself! And see what Firefly thought of them. She's talked with Norie about her emotional condition before so she thinks she understands. "Even if you don't feel good, it's also nice to not feel bad. I hope you can be very content and comfortable having a pizza party with us, Norie-chan." And since her change didn't include entirely cutting her off from positive emotion, she's able to give an honest smile along with the sentiment. Even if it's a tiny one.
Takashi Agera	Takashi nods. "We're all a little bit messed up. It's what makes us able to understand each other in the way those other girls with their eye-hurty color schemes and loud screechy voices." he says. Sure, Hotaru could get a little bit hyper and excited, but she was no Sailor Moon on that front. "We'll get used to the way you process things as you do, Norie-chan." he adds. He reaches for a donut and looks over and sees that Fate has fallen asleep, tilted against Arf. He smiles, but it's sort of a sad smile. Poor girl. Her mother was demanding, and he didn't know a tenth of it. "Firefly is very important. And you've been a very important help to her too, Yochu." he adds, giving the doll some belated praise. Sometimes it's easy to forget about her because she's so quiet and slight. But she's a part of the team too. He can kind of sense something has been left unsaid and then he looks over at Yochu. "When we get the bigger lab set up, it'll become a little bit more of a chore to take care of. Would you mind helping out in there a little bit? The fewer not-us people we have milling about, the better." he says, giving her something to do and also making her part of the 'us' and not the 'them' clearly. "And the donuts are very good, Norie-chan. Good idea."
Hotaru Tomoe	Firefly nodded to Norie. "I understand. Before Takashi-senpai started helping me, I didn't have any friends either. Everyone thought I was weird because... well. Because I was... hurt. And ummm... yeah. Don't... hug me like that, either. I uhhh... I kind of have a similiar... issue. Kind of? I... heal people when I touch them. Or... sometimes. But uhhh... it's... not something most people like." Mostly because everyone she'd known before thought it was weird. She was weird. "You could teach me to dance?!" she asked Norie, her eyes going wide. "Yes! I'd love to learn how to dance! That'd be so much fun! I can like, do a side to side thing and that's it but learning real dancing would be fun!" Of course, when Fate fell asleep, she had to take Yochu back and give her a little pat on the head, whispering to her. "Thank you, Yochu-chan, for taking care of my kohai," she said happily. And yeeeeees. Donut! Donut, donut, donuuuuuut. She took one and pinched off a bit to make Yochu a lil tiny mini-donut, then feeding it to her... before glancing to Norie. "Norie-senpai, do you wanna feet Yochu-chan too? She's really comfy to hold and feed. She always brings me a lot of comfort too."
Yochu	Takashi is rewarded with another smile from the doll as her efforts are acknowledged. She accepts this praise graciously, nodding in response but not overly basking in it. When an opportunity to do more to help is mentioned she perks up a bit more and quickly nods, in a quicker, more childish way, "Yes! I'd like to help, in any way I can." There are definite advantages to having a living doll around. She can drain away any energy that might go awry, dark or otherwise, she's immune to effects and conditions normal humans might find uncomfortable or unbearable, and she's clearly very eager to please. She moves carefully when scooped up from Fate's lap, settling back into Firefly's and getting comfortable there. It seems that it's safe enough for her to sit with Firefly too, despite the potential healing. Maybe because she isn't hurt, or maybe because she's a doll. She's happy to see Firefly so excited to learn to dance, showing her own excitement again as she's fed the little bite of donut, nibbling on it and making that same pleased expression. It's good! It's different than the pizza but in a good way. Sugar! Delightful, sweet sugary goodness! "These are really good," she attests as soon as she's finished eating, neatly wiping a tiny little crumb away from her face. As much as she wants to be a real girl again she has to admit being a tiny doll does have one major benefit: even a tiny bite of donut or pizza is ''huge'' to her! Life hack: Be tiny so normal sized food is pure gluttony. She then peeks up at Firefly and notes, "If you like I could learn to dance with you, too. If it's safer for you than with others." Is it safer for Firefly to touch her as Duskfly than other people? It might be worth finding out-- but probably sometime else when the answer being 'no' wouldn't ruin the mood.
Takashi Agera	Takashi, Riventon - he'll get use out of the doll's aid for sure as things grow into bigger and bigger plans. In this tiny little lab, it was one thing - since keeping things clean was pretty much impossible with all the stuff he had in here - but soon, it'll be much more valuable. "I think you should all get together and learn to dance, yeah. Share what you know, spend time together. Meet each other more than just when you're called to help. Just like you've all gone and done things with me, you should feel empowered to do them together, without me, too. Just as long as it's not like, work. Keep me in the loop for that. But time spent on your own, have at it. Get to know each other, so that when the time comes for you to answer the call for help from your friend, it's a friend and you'll be right there and fight hard." he says, kind of openly giving the game away. The girls and the scientist continue talking in such a manner, and eventually Takashi tries to send everyone back to their dorms or house with some Pizza. Anybody who doesn't take their share... finds it acquired by Arf. Once they're all gone, Takashi stands alone in his lab and smiles. It's not an evil smile, entirely. But there is something more in it than just the empathetic happiness from other's enjoyment. More like the satisfaction of work well-performed.