firstmeetingstuff

[01:39] <IWBTG> "This is it." The firey-haired girl takes a deep breath as she finally arrives at the address in the Overcity, a non-descript coffee shop greeting her. Although she had hardly made friends with the other girls in her city, word of this job had still somehow spread to her. Rumors of a monster girl working from the shadows, commanding a web of minion
[01:39] <IWBTG> s to spread her chaos. Nadia herself would have never found out about it, happier just to punch the monsters as they appeared, but if the rumors were true then this job should have a huge payoff, let alone a badass boss fight.
[01:41] <IWBTG> She painted on her face, grinning. "Alright then, let's get to it." She steps forward and pushes open the door, hair and jacket violently billowing forward as she enters the establishment. Her contact should be around here somewhere. They said it would be obvious, a girl with an owl...
[01:56] <@Tangent> Cassie's sitting at one of the tables, bag in front of her. A brunette, she's slight and fine-featured with expressive hazel eyes. A long braid dangles over her shoulder. She's dressed in fairly typical garb for a vagrant magical girl- an eclectic mix of differently clothing that speaks to whatever she managed to buy, beg, or steal. A dark, battered winter coat- a few sizes too big for her- is hung over the back of her chair.
[01:56] <@Tangent>  She has a satchel open on the table in front of her, along with chalk, vials, and what look suspiciously like stakes. It seems like she's doing inventory. A large, very fluffy-looking owl is sitting on one of the other chairs...and looks like it's keeping an eye on all the entrances. From time to time, the girl quietly says a few words to the owl.
[01:56] <@Tangent>  The owl notices Nadia, and hoots once, urgently. Cassie looks up, then hastily starts to shove her things back into her bag. She pushes her chair back, half-standing.  "Hey, over here." She calls.
[02:00] <IWBTG> Ah, there. Nadia nods in their direction and casually strolls over, planting her hands in the pockets of her jeans. It seems that this young girl had been a little luckier with her wardrobe, a thoughtfully put together ensemble of a light black jacket and denim. She takes a hand from her pocket and gives a light wave as she gets to the table. "Yo.
[02:00] <IWBTG> You're Cassie, right?"
[02:01] <IWBTG> It was important to maintain the illusion that she was confident, even cocky, just as much to convince herself as it was to convince Cassie. She hoped the reputations he'd built since becoming a magical girl would help her, but it could never hurt to be sure.
[02:05] <@Tangent> "Yeah...Um...Hi..." Cassie half-raises a hand to mirror Nadia's gesture, a moment too slow for it to seem natural. She shifts nervously. "I...Um...You got the message, right?" She looks at Nadia hopefully. She's really not looking forward to trying this again with just her and Olivia...
[02:07] <IWBTG> She nods. "Yeah. There weren't a lot of details, though. Some kind of monster girl mastermind?" She invites herself to take a seat opposite of Cassie, folding her arms on the table and leaning forward. "And you need some extra muscle, right?"
[02:20] <@Tangent> "I...She's draining people's life energy, and she's not going to stop. I /tried/ to ask her to and she...well, laughed at me. So...Yeah, I guess." She takes a deep breath. "She's pretty much got spirits under her control all over this town...the whole place is a mess. I...I don't want to have to, but...I need to stop her and I...I don't think we can handle her if it's just me and Olivia. She said that she was going to make black coins."
[02:20] <@Tangent> "Do you know anything about that?" Olivia had seemed alarmed about the news, but all she'd said when Cassie'd asked her afterwards with the scrabble board was that they were "trouble"
[02:20] <@Tangent> *all over that town
[02:23] <IWBTG> The girl cocked her head and absentmindedly twirled a strand of her hair. Obviously she knew about the currency of the Overcity, the magical coins. Copper, Bronze, Silver, and Gold, but Black wasn't a version she was completely familiar with. She shakes her head. "No. I've heard the term before but nothing beyond that, other than the fact that they
[02:23] <IWBTG> 're really bad and really valuable." She smirks. "Does it matter, though? It sounds like you already tracked her down, so we can just march in and cut her in half. Problem solved."
[02:28] <@Tangent> Is it really going to be that simple? Cassie's not quite sure, but this girl's confidence is infectious even if...she can't mean it about cutting her in half, can she? Olivia doesn't have anything to say, studying Nadia silently and unblinkingly. "Okay." She smiles back, slender fingers worrying at her braid as she sits there. "So...you're coming, then? That's great, thanks! I wasn't sure what I was going to do otherwise..." She pauses. "Um...I never got your name."
[02:28] <@Tangent> She adds.
[02:32] <IWBTG> She smiles confidently. "Nadia. Don't worry, we'll take them down." She rubs a thumb on her nose in what she probably imagines is a cool pose. "So tell me about the target. What kind of monster girl are we dealing with? I'm more experienced with more 'beasty' monsters so I'm not completely familiar with all the different types, admittedly."
[02:35] <@Tangent> "Well...that's the thing." Cassie leans forward. "She...she looked normal. No fashion sense..." Not that she's in any position to complain about it. "But she wasn't a zombie or anything. Pink hair, but that was about it. Her eyes were weird too. They...went black whenever she used her power." The owl hoots again. "Oh, right...Sorry, forgot...This is Olivia!" The owl hoots again, actually flapping one wing at Nadia in a passable imitation of a wave.
[02:36] <@Tangent> "She's got lots of spirits too...Nothing too big, but lots of them."
[02:37] <IWBTG> Nadia blinks, temporarily distracted. "... Did that owl just wave?"
[02:38] <IWBTG> She shakes her head. "Nevermind, that's... I mean, I'm more interested in the spirits. Can you touch them? I don't really have any magic that can touch ghosts." If ghosts were a real thing. Nadia was willing to believe it given what had been happening recently.
[02:39] <@Tangent> "Huh? Oh, yeah, Olivia...She..." Olivia turns her head, giving Cassie a look. "Yeah...she's...kind of a magical girlthatIhitwithacar..." Cassie mumbles, suddenly finding the tabletop very interesting as her face heats up from embarassment. She seizes on the topic change. "Oh, yeah, definitely. That's kind of my whole thing, actually.'
[02:40] <IWBTG> "... Eh?" She cocks her head. "... No, actually, wait, suddenly I'm more interested in the owl again. What did you say?"
[02:44] <@Tangent> Cassie flinches. "I..." Olivia shifts from clawed foot to clawed foot impatiently, then hops onto the table and starts tugging at the satchel with her beak as Cassie stammers. "I...I accidentally ran into her...when Puuchu...you know..." She's fidgeting in her seat, clearly uneasy. "And...well, he turned me into...well, a magical girl and Olivia ended up as an owl for some reason..." A muffled, derisive hoot as Olivia tugs what looks like a scrabble board free.
[02:45] <@Tangent> *small bag
[02:45] <@Tangent> The bag spills what look like scrabble tiles onto the table.
[02:45] <@Tangent>  *tugs a small, felt bag free.
[02:46] <@Tangent> Olivia searches through the tiles with single-minded focus, nudging them with her beak.
[02:46] <@Tangent> c-a-r-h-i-t-m-e
[02:47] <@Tangent> Cassie winces. "Sorry..." From her tone, this isn't the first time they've talked about it.
[02:48] <@Tangent> Olivia flaps both wings once, and hoots again. Was that a shrug?
[02:48] <IWBTG> The girl seems taken off guard. "... You... That's a magical girl?" She leans back in her seat. "And you..." She sighs. "I see, okay, so you're another one of the 'new models' then, right?" She smiles lightly, jamming a thumb into her chest. "There's no shame in that. I'm the same way. Although..." She turns to Olivia. "I'm kind of confused... You
[02:49] <IWBTG> died?"
[02:52] <@Tangent> Cassie looks at her. There's a hopeful note to her voice. "New models? You...You mean you're like me too? Puuchu didn't just...I mean...Oh. Sorry." She's just remembered what that probably means...and that Nadia asked a question.
[02:53] <@Tangent> Meanwhile Olivia's moving scrabble keys around. Y-E-S
[02:54] <@Tangent> "Yeah she is, and...we...kind of both did." Cassie explains, trailing off towards the end with a wince.
[02:56] <IWBTG> She responds to Cassie first, apparently not used to looking out for the Scrabble letters. A nod. "Yeah. One of the Puuchuus made the offer and I took it." Of course she would never admit that she had been on the verge of killing herself at the time, but that wasn't an important detail for the newly created magical girl. The person she had been the
[02:56] <IWBTG> n was dead anyway. There was no use dwelling on it.
[02:57] <IWBTG> She pauses for a moment. "Wait, you both died? I haven't met any other 'new models' but... You know, I kind of assumed they'd be like me."
[03:00] <@Tangent> "Oh...Okay." She's not going to feel jealous of the other girl getting an offer for this rather than just being shanghai'd. She's not. Nadia's helping her.  Sure, the magical powers were cool...but being dead and a strange girl weren't. She shakes her head. "Yeah...apparently, my neck broke...Puuchu didn't even bother telling me." She's over this. She's not going to break down again.
[03:00] <@Tangent> *girl with nowhere to stay
[03:02] <IWBTG> Her face falls slightly. So this hadn't been a choice for everyone? Being robbed of a life you were happy with just to get forced into something else... Nadia sighed. "I'm really sorry to hear that. That's... That's rough..." And now she was forced to deal with a life she didn't want, just like... Just like before... Nadia grits her teeth and lower
[03:02] <IWBTG> s her gaze. "I... Are you happy?"
[03:02] <IWBTG> It's a strange question that apparently came from nowhere, but nonetheless one that Nadia seems to find very important.
[03:04] <@Tangent> "I...Thanks...And...I don't know...I mean, I guess it's a good thing if I can stop ghosts, it's not like the powers aren't cool sometimes.. and it's not like I can go back...It's like the name says. Magical Phantom Investigator Cassandra." There's something almost rote about the way she rattles it off unthinkingly. She shrugs. "Besides, I kind of owe Olivia for running her over." Another hoot from the owl. "We need to find someone who can change her back, you know?"
[03:05] <@Tangent> "Sorry, not really answering you well, am I?" She smiles, a slightly wistful look in her eyes.
[03:11] <IWBTG> She's rationalizing. She may as well have said 'No, Nadia, I hate my new life.' The girl sighs deeply. "I see... Well, that's... That's something." Her shoulders slump, the confident girl apparently overcome with empathy. "Cassie... I know we just met, but believe me when I say that I think I understand where you're coming from. Olivia, too." She l
[03:11] <IWBTG> ooks up. "Don't give up on hope. Either of you. Okay? Even if someone tells you it's impossible. Hope is the only thing..." It's the only thing that kept her alive. "It's the only thing worth holding on to."
[03:19] <@Tangent> ...Nadia's upset. For her. Them. "I...Thanks...For the advice, and for asking." Cassie says, not sure what else to say. "I'll remember." Olivia studies Nadia for a moment too, head tilted, her expression inscrutable thanks to being mostly beak, then bobs her head in a nod. Acknowledgement? Appreciation? A soft hoot.
[03:20] <IWBTG> She nods. "Right. Sorry to open up old wounds." She swallows the lump in her throat and tries to regain her lost persona. "So right, let's go back to business, huh? What were you saying about her spirits? You can interact with them?"
[03:25] <@Tangent> "Yep." Cassie nods, equally eager to move on. A small, silver bell with a handle appears from thin air in her hand. She holds it up, ringing it once quietly. A soft tinkle that hangs in the air. "I'm still not sure how to summon them...But I can make a whole bunch of them go away or move...I can see and hear them, of course..." That'd been an interesting couple of days when she'd first noticed that.
[03:26] <@Tangent> "And if there are zombies or something..." She's smiling broadly. "Lights out." She gestures with her free hand.
[03:27] <IWBTG> She loses her composure again. "W- Wait, spirits just hang around? Are there any here right now?" She seems worried. "Are they everywhere?" Oh God, if anyone had seen some of the things she'd done while alone, she would die inside. Even if they were already dead, too.
[03:30] <@Tangent> "Well, not really, it's kind of weird actually...Like, they're there sometimes, but it's more 'seeing them around sometimes' than seeing them everywhere, you know?" Cassie notices Nadia's worried. "Um...they're not actually that bad, I think. Like...most of them just stay put and do their own thing. They don't even notice us really. I think." She's not sure what it'll be like when that changes.
[03:31] <@Tangent> "Like...I haven't seen any that really hurt people yet. Not without someone making them, anyway."
[03:32] <IWBTG> She folds her hands together and puts them in front of her face. "So do we need any special defenses before we barge into her base?"
[03:34] <@Tangent> Cassie's not quite sure what set Nadia off, but she nods now that seems calmer. "Um...not really. She's just stuck these papers all over town, and the spirits'll chase you if she calls them or if you set them off, but...it's just about ripping up the paper as fast as you can. I was actually doing okay until she showed up..."
[03:39] <IWBTG> She nods. "So, what, the paper was binding them? Sorry, I'm kind of more up front with my approach." She smiles lightly. "I'm kind of out of my element with stuff like ghosts."
[03:44] <@Tangent> "I...think so. No problem. You're actually the first magical girl I've..." Olivia pecks Cassie's hand. "Ow! Okay, the first LIVING magical girl I've really talked to...I kind of forgot you might not have the same thing I do...Yeah, it's more like a teleporter..." She waves her hand. "Or a telephone I guess? You trigger it, and they get pulled over? Know that's kind of a bad description, sorry..." Cassie waves her hand. She's closer to the table than at the start
[03:44] <@Tangent> and seems much more relaxed.
[03:46] <IWBTG> The girl nods, unfolding her hands and leaning back in her seat, crossing her arms across her chest. "I see. And what do the ghosts do to people once they've been summoned by the paper? Is it something we're going to have to worry about going into it or can they be ignored by magical girls?"
[03:50] <@Tangent> "Well...They can't really do much on their own, other than making things feel cold...But they can use things around them. So, yeah...we probably don't want to let them do their own thing." She waves her bell again, demonstratively. "The good news is they go pop almost as fast." Cassie puffs up her cheeks, enunciating the pop, then rests her chin in one hand. "I don't think they really want to be there either..." She adds thoughtfully.
[03:53] <IWBTG> She nods, smirking. "So if the ghosts are her only trick we shouldn't have much trouble at all, right? Without any sort of gimmick I doubt she could beat me in an out-and-out fight." She nods twice, confidently. "Would you be able to take on any sort of spirits she summons while we're fighting her?"
[03:59] <@Tangent> "Sure. I think. Even if I can't get rid of them, I can probably keep them off your back." Nadia obviously seems to know what she's doing. "Like...she's got this spiky lantern too and was throwing around some kind of fireball, but if you can deal with that...Yeah, I think we can stop her." She nods too, looking much more cheerful than when they'd started.
[04:03] <IWBTG> She nods. "Fire, okay." She seems to think for a moment, her eyes drifting to the side. "It shouldn't be an issue..." She nods again, grinning confidently. "Yeah, no problem. Anything you wanna ask me before we finalize things?"
[04:09] <@Tangent> Cassie thinks. "Um...not really...Olivia?" The owl shakes her feathered head once. "Um...Thanks for coming, Nadia...Really. Thanks."
[04:10] <IWBTG> She smiles brightly. "Of course. I'm always on board with an exciting battle." She leans back and stretches her arms above her head. "Believe me, I live for this stuff."
[04:16] <@Tangent> Cassie blinks, then smiles back. "That makes one of us." She says, jokingly. "I'll do what I can to help, but sorry if I'm not much use..."
[04:18] <IWBTG> Her smile becomes a cocky smirk. "That's why I'm here. I'm a one-girl army." She jabs a thumb into her chest again. "I've beaten monsters teams of girls wouldn't even think about fighting. Don't sweat it. I wouldn't even know about this monster girl if you hadn't investigated it, so you've already helped, right?"