trans_9 | Meat n' Greet

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Meat n' Greet

The rest of the crew assembled on the Observation Deck to meet the latest editions to their numbers. After the revelation that their worlds are gone, many of them are even more eager to see people they knew from home.

Several people are set up near the doors to provide the new people with omnicoms and comm rings. New crew-mates might see a tall man in green armor and snake girl among their number. There are also several authoritative-looking figures ready to introduce themselves.

There's a lot to tell the new people. It's going to be a lot to take in.

[ooc: Only new characters and Command Staff can start new threads for introductions, to limit the number of threads. Everyone else, just tag in and have your guys greet the newbies.]

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And here's a familiar face, though not one that Homura wanted to see. Probably. Mami didn't rush down with the other crew members when the announcement went out, but she did make her way down there eventually. The only people she really cared about were already on the ship here with her, so there was no hopeful longing as she scanned the crowd. She was just... curious, really. This was the first time she's been on the other side of this event.

It didn't take long for her to notice Homura, and she was sure the other Puella Magi noticed her as well. She wondered where the girl had gone off to; after their arrival here, she had lost track of her, and hadn't seen her since.

Of course, like last time, she wasn't going to be the one to make the first move. Oh, she had thought about extending the olive branch, so to say, but that thought was quickly squashed. Homura had been right about that witch, she should have listened... but no. Her stubbornness had got her killed, and it was what was holding her back right now. She didn't want to admit that the other girl had been right.

Yes. Homura has seen Mami; she doesn't approach just yet, but rather watches her from the corner of her eye. Studies her. She's been here a fair while, evident by the way she looks over the others and the way she holds herself-- she isn't new, as Homura is. After a moment of this, she approaches the other girl. Looks her straight in the face, and says: "Mami Tomoe. You're also here. What is this place?"

What, no disappointed surprise at seeing her alive? No taking the chance to rub it in her face how she was right and Mami's a failure as a Puella Magi for not realizing it? Color her surprised. The only thing that gave away this surprise was a slight raise of the eyebrows, though.

"It's usually considered polite to greet a person before you start asking questions, Akemi-san." She said with that light, almost teasing tone in her voice.

"The current situation does not allow for time to be wasted," she says, quietly. For her, no one has died yet.

"You may think so, but you'll find you can't exactly rush out and hunt down our enemies," Well. Their enemies, she can. The crew's enemies are a different story, of course.

"We're on a spaceship traveling through galaxies, after all. There's no way to tell where we are right now, let alone where the enemy is currently hiding."

She watches Mami for a little while. "I will admit I know nothing of our current situation," she says, flicking her hair back. "I would appreciate it if you would bring me up to speed."

After a moment of silence, Mami sighed. It was obvious Homura wasn't going to back down from asking questions... might as well fill her in. The fact that there was no territory to fight for anymore also helped in lowering her hostility, but she wasn't exactly planning on being friendly anytime soon.

"As you may have heard, the home worlds of everyone on board have been destroyed by a race of beings called the 'Ohm', and we've been drafted to fight in the war against them. I'm afraid I can't tell you anything about them; the whole time I've been here, we have yet to run into them at all."

It... bothered her, a little. She was grateful for this second chance at life, but outside of strengthening her friendships with Madoka and Sayaka, it seemed like she was wasting it. But of course, there's that one thing...

"And they aren't the only enemy we need to keep an eye on."

"I see." She says it simply-- but meanwhile, her mind is racing. She wonders about Madoka... is she gone? Is she dead? That sets a cool hand around her heart, and her blood runs cold. But she stuffs that feeling deep inside of her. There's no way Madoka is gone; after everything she's done, there's absolutely no chance of it.

Another enemy... her thoughts jump to one thing and one thing only.

"I assume witches are also still present on board."

"Correct." Any hint of a smile quickly disappeared from Mami's face at that. "It seems the ship was kind enough to capture the witches along with us before our home was destroyed. The first one only appeared when my and Miki-san's Soul Gems started fading."

She wasn't happy about this, and the tone of her voice definitely showed it. Sure, she had long since gotten over her fear of fighting witches, and the majority of the crew members could take care of themselves... but then there were people like Madoka - non-fighters who were brought along for an unknown purpose - who are now exposed to the dangers of creatures who wouldn't be on the ship if it wasn't for them.

Sayaka is a magical girl. When did that happen...? Was she asleep for that long? She feels at fault for that, in a removed sort of way. She really ought to have paid more attention.

She supposes there being witches here is better than they themselves becoming one-- with no one left to destroy them. She doesn't say anything for a moment.

"About Madoka Kaname. Is she also here?"

"... She is." That's all she says. She doesn't know what Homura's deal with Madoka is; sure, she thought the mysterious girl saw her friend as competition... but again, that should all be thrown out the window by now.

She didn't know what this girl's motivations were, and she didn't particularly care, but maybe it was time she started prodding.

Good. Relief fills her; so long as Madoka is safe, it doesn't matter what happens. She visibly relaxes just a hair, and takes a deep breath. Yes. Madoka isn't dead. But there's another thing to mention. Kyubey is here, after all.

"Don't get her involved," Homura says, "with witches or anything else." Anything else of course being magical girl things.

Mami has to resist the urge to roll her eyes. They've had this conversation before, and she had made no promises then. Even if it was possible for the other girl to become a Puella Magi without Kyuubey's aid, she wasn't going to agree to that now either. The choice was Madoka's, and Mami would encourage her if she needed it, but won't force it if she decides against it.

"I've answered your questions, Akemi-san," She said, completely ignoring what Homura just said. "Now I'd appreciate it if you could answer just one of mine."

She narrows her eyes, and folds her arms. She's silent-- not promising anything, but allowing her to speak nonetheless.

"Why are you so interested in Madoka Kaname?" Yep, she's not going to beat around the bush now.

Homura pauses, her fists clenching. That kind of question... she's surprised. Never before has Mami asked her anything like this before. So naturally, Homura has no idea how to actually answer-- but she doesn't want to fight Mami. It's never been her intent to pick a fight.

"If I told you, you wouldn't believe me," she says, voice low.

"Try me," Between fighting witches back home, waking up here, and having been on board during a very strange event, Mami thinks it would take a lot to shock her. She can take it. ~~Probably.~~

Mami used to be her mentor, once upon a time. She can't forget that, even if she wanted to-- which she does. She wishes she could forget a lot of things.

But at the same time, clasping onto those memories is what gives her strength. The memory of Madoka's kind smile, the feeling of Madoka's hand in hers, the sound of her voice encouraging her. Eating sweets with her, brushing her hair. Sleepovers. Madoka's small fingers winding through Homura's long black hair, braiding it. And among those memories, there are memories of Mami-- before she remade herself, Mami was always there. Mami was a constant, a mentor, a girl more versed in the affairs of magical girls than her. Mami's kind smile, her guiding touch. Her advice, tales of the past. And back then, she'd ask about the nature of Homura's magic. And back then, Homura would tell her. She never had any difficulty believing her.

But that was then, and this is now: the stark contrast between the two haunts her, takes her breath away, and leaves her with a feeling she can't describe. Something hollow and lonely. Deep inside of her, underneath everything, Homura is still the shy, insecure girl she once presented as. Deep inside, she longs for companionship and kindness, never being shown much of it before in her life. She's lonely and lost, searching for a thread of hope in an inescapable maze. Madoka is the only person who truly exists for her, but to say the other girls haven't affected her is a lie.

Deep down, Homura wants to get along with Mami. She doesn't think getting along with her would get her anywhere in their home world-- she couldn't afford to rely on her. But they're here, and "here" is completely different than "there". The circumstances that made it difficult to allow herself to rely on others are gone; she will never rely on another human fully. Never. But maybe a little bit-- maybe having a comrade, in this completely foreign place, maybe that wouldn't be so bad.

Homura knows she may very well be out of her league here. The Ohm, destroyers of worlds-- yes. She believes what she's been told, considering how she woke up and the strange people she's already met. And so, she knows her ignorance very well. She's so used to the same things, the same events. She's used to knowing. And here, she doesn't know a ****ed thing. Here, she's back to square one. Here, she's reduced to the girl she was once before-- a girl with more knowledge of witches and fighting, a girl with no Walpurgisnacht to prepare for, but nonetheless someone just as ignorant and fish out of water as she was then.

After a long, dragging silence, Homura speaks. Her voice is soft.

"I'm from another time."

If Homura had told her this the first time she had been here, when they were both fresh out of the pods and had not experienced any of the strange things this ship had to offer, Mami would have questioned this immediately. But... the commotion that happened not long ago. It involved 'time' being sucked out of many of the crewmates, right? If such a thing was possible, she's not really shocked to hear that time travel is as well.

It didn't mean she wasn't surprised, oh no. She was, but at the same time, it was... fitting, in a way? Mysterious powers for a mysterious girl.

"... I see. Care to elaborate more?"

"The contract I formed with Kyubey was for her sake," she says. "She died. I rewound time. I've done it countless times already-- every time, starting the day before I transfer to my new school."

And almost every single time, she watched Madoka die. Sometimes it was by Walpurgisnacht, sometimes she became a witch. Sometimes she killed her herself. Sometimes it was by more mundane things; slipping and falling off a supply shed, dying in the hospital a few days afterwards due to the gradual swelling of her brain. Being struck by a car. Choking on a bone. She's seen Madoka die countless ways, and sometimes she didn't realize until hours after the fact.

"That's..." Horrifying. Nightmarish. A thousand other horrible things Mami could say. If Homura made her wish for Madoka's sake, that must mean they were friends on some level. And if she rewound time every time she watched her friend die...

Mami thought about what she'd do in Homura's shoes, watching the person closest to her die over and over... and suddenly, any hostile or antagonistic feelings she had towards the other girl disappeared. She's been through so much; how can she blame her for how she's acted?

"Is that why you're so determined to stop Kaname-san from becoming a Puella Magi? To make sure she doesn't die fighting?"

"Yes," she says simply. Homura can tell Mami feels some sort of pity, or sympathy for her-- to say she is unmoved would be lying. She wish she could be unmoved. She wishes she could be the cool machine she pretends to be.

But every time she does this-- every time she tells someone what she's been through, it feels as though a load has been taken off of her shoulders, at least until she has to reset the timeline again, start from scratch. It's releasing, to have someone sympathize. No one can truly understand what Homura's reality is. But they can sympathize. And because she longs for affection, for kindness, it feels good.

It feels like weakness. And that same weakness is what always leads to the next reset.

It's about now that the guilt sets in. If Madoka dies whenever she contracts... then she was so close to leading her friend to her death. How often had that happened in these alternate timelines? How many deaths had been her fault?

"I should... apologize, then. For how I've acted." Accusing her of seeing Madoka as nothing more than competition. And maybe because she didn't take Homura's advice before the fight with Charlotte; now she understands that it really was a warning. Not some attempt to get Mami to back off. Had she... genuinely wanted to help her, after seeing her die like this in some other time?

It could be just a coincidence. It probably was because Mami was leading Madoka, who was unarmed, into the lair of a powerful witch. But there was still that possibility.

"You couldn't possibly have known," she murmurs. And it's true-- she doesn't fault her for the things she's done. Not for the nasty things she'd say. It's also not Mami's fault when Madoka contracts, it's Homura's-- for not being there enough, fast enough, strong enough. It's always her fault, her own weakness. It's not as though she hasn't tried to blame someone else, but it always came down to her own faults.

And she did wish to stop Mami's death. She doesn't like to see any of them die, but they aren't important the way Madoka is; they matter, but only in how they affect her.

She thinks she feels an alliance forming-- one that does not need words to exist. Through this, she feels as though Mami will not hinder her in her attempts to keep Madoka safe. Maybe she'll even help. She breathes, nearly feeling calm.

Mami can feel it too, and it's... almost funny, really. She had come into this conversation prepared for anything except this. But she wasn't complaining at all. She's not quite ready to call the other girl a friend, but it's nice, repairing broken bridges like this.

"I did everything in my power to keep her safe in our world, and I'll continue to do it here." Fat lot of good that did, especially when Signum decided to start attacking her fellow crew members... but Madoka was okay now. Homura didn't need to know about that incident just yet. "Two is always better than one, don't you think?"

And there it was, just as Homura was hoping. As if to seal the deal, Mami held her hand out. Allies?

Meat n' Greet

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sorry for the tl;dr...

no worries bb

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