magicalesbian | 4TH ☄ s h o o t i n g s t a r ☄ a c t i o n / v o i c e

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4TH ☄ s h o o t i n g s t a r ☄ a c t i o n / v o i c e

October 8th
[It's been two days since the spirit, Hoshiko, possessed Kari's body to break the spell that had been controlling her. Now it seemed that spell's presence was weakening in the village, and soon so would the spirit's hold on Kari's body. Her magic was not quite as powerful here in this village, and once it ran out Kari would regain control. It was a shame, really. Hoshiko was just starting to like this body. But there was still much Kari needed to learn, and until those abilities and powers were unlocked, it was rather useless to be wandering around like this. She didn't even have a full understanding of how her powers of time and space worked! How shameful, given how long she's been making use of those powers. Really, she deserved to be trapped in this strange world for such foolishness.]

[But so long as it still has this time, maybe it can do a little something to hurry things along. After leaving a number of notes for Kari when she regains control, it sets out about the village to enjoy its final hours of freedom. Maybe even make a little mischief while it's at it. If Kari became too complacent in this world, she might decide to never leave -- and Hoshiko just can't allow that to happen. It has no intention of rotting away in this dead-end universe forever.]

[So, for anyone who might be a friend of either Kari or Hoshikyo, expect to see "Hoshikyo" making her way over at some point. Though for those with the ability to sense such things, there will be something very different about her. Her magical power feels stronger, and there's an almost evil aura about her, brimming with malice and ill-will. Even just looking at her, there's certainly an odd look in her eyes.]

October 9th
[But come the 9th, things will be different. Kari is forced to come to terms with two painful truths rather suddenly. First, that the spirit who possessed her from before has not only gotten stronger, but is somehow completely aware of everything she does. And second, the fictional paradise that was "Luceti" in Billy's spell wasn't real. Her mother wasn't in Luceti. And as thankful as she was for that, on top of everything else, the sudden realization caused her to break down to tears.]

[She'll spend the rest of her day as herself, trying to find answers and hopefully fix anything the spirit may have ruined. She could only vaguely recall what happened while it was in control during those days. Hopefully nothing else terrible happened. It's only after another day or being out that she comes home and decides to ask something that's been on her mind since she woke up today:]

So. I've got one of those deep questions that people seem to ask on here sometimes. Maybe someone here can help me figure something out.

If you had something really terrible, and no way of getting rid of it yourself, what would you do about it? I mean, like, something that can't be taken away from you, but something that shouldn't be near other people.

[...]

It's kind of a stupid question, so if you've got a stupid answer, lay it on me.

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...Enough so that I won't accidentally get ink on it.

[Kari doesn't mind ink. She doesn't mind ink one tiny bit! And she would much rather stain an easily replaceable shirt that take hers off.]

[But then, she's not sure just how much room Rei going to need around the pendent. And it's not like Rei's never seen a bra before or something, but...]

[With a slight huff, she complies and unbuttons the rest of her shirt, pulling it off and setting it aside before laying down. But her real reason for not wanting to take it off was for more reasons than just being shy.]

[It was probably always noticeable on her arms. Various scars and battle wounds scattered clear up to her shoulder, where a rather large stab wound had been. There was another on her side that seemed far more recent, that she had received on the previous draft.]

[Well, no, Rei's certainly seen bras before, but Kari's shyness definitely does take her by surprised. She never really thought of the other girl that way, not after Valentine's...but when she turns around she can definitely see why.

Scars. Well, those are always nasty. Not something a Senshi has to worry about, thankfully. And Rei's good sense enough not to comment. That would probably just embarrass her friend further. Instead she moves over and kneels down beside Kari, mixing a bit of water with the ink and readying the brush.]

Okay. This may tickle a bit, but try and keep still. I've got to make some signs, alright?

Got it.

[Actually, now that she thinks about it, it's also a little embarrassing just laying here on the floor without a shirt, scars or no scars. Especially with Rei just leaning over her like this. Really, the only thing keeping her from being more flustered is how serious this is -- if she could really find a way to seal this spirit, it could be step in the right direction towards figuring out how the pendent works.]

[Rei nods and claps her hands twice, rolling up her sleeves, and taking up the brush. Starting with the pendant, she writes out several archaic kanji in a neat, precise hand before moving onto the skin around the object.

All the while she's chanting in a low voice, a steady cadence to her words with an almost song-like rhythm, applying her will to the words and pouring it down into the brush and the ink she's laying down...]

[Kari isn't sure what she should be feeling now, if only because she's not sure what it would feel like to have the spirit sealed. Will she even notice if it works or if it doesn't? Will she be able to tell? Would it be safe -- or even possible -- to transform with it sealed?]

[Really, the only thing she is sure of is that the spirit shouldn't be able to show it's face right now, given how low her magic is. She wouldn't even be able to test if she could transform right now with how low it is.]

[Rei keeps at it, the chant growing louder and louder until finally it reaches a crescendo, her voice just louder than speaking.

All of a sudden she opens her eyes and brings her palm down on top of the pendant, hovering a few centimeters above it. She rams will into the seal and the ink dries immediately, glows brightly for just a moment, and then it's over.

Rei sits back on her heels and smiles down at Kari, breathing heavily.]

Th-there, that should do it. Hah. Not...hah...so hard as I thought.

[Everything seems to be going well on Kari's end, up until the last moment. As the glow of the ink fades away, so does the shine on her pendent. The gold plating looks tarnished and aged, and the gems have lost their sparkle. The magic has been sealed.]

[And suddenly Kari is hit with a cold sensation in her chest, as though a bucket of ice water were thrown right through her. Was this how it was supposed to feel? She laid there for another moment or two before slowly sitting up. Something still felt off, though...]

W-Well. Something... feels different. Kinda. But I think it worked!

[Rei watches the magic fade into the pendant, and nods confidently. It had indeed worked. The changes in the metal were enough to show that something had happened.]

Yes, I think so too. You feel alright, Kari-chan?

I think so. My chest feels a little funny, but... maybe that's just because I'm used to having something magical stuck to me instead of something not-so-magical...

[And now she's just going to reach over and grab her shirt and--]

[That was a mistake.]

[Stretching her arm back to grab her shirt forces the position of the pendent in her chest to shift, causing a sharp pain that makes her gasp and falter. She catches herself, both hands now flat on the floor as she... struggles to catch her breath? Strange, she can't seem to make a very deep breath without causing pain again.]

[She's not quite alarmed yet, though. Just very confused.]

...okay. Ow.

[Rei's eyes go wide and she's immediately over by Kari's side, hands glowing with Nala's magic, and several pain reducing Charter Marks that Lirael had shown her held ready in her mind.]

What is it? Did something go wrong?

I-I don't know. It... kinda hurts to breathe, though.

[She looks down at the pendent, noticing the change in its appearance, and gently pokes at the side of it. The metal was cold to the touch. It normally felt so warm, as it should given how close it was to her body, but...]

...you know, I've been told taking the pendent out would kill me. Maybe when they said that, they didn't mean anything to do with magic.

You have a shard of metal embedded in your chest, Kari-chan. Let me see if I can do anything about that. If I can't then maybe it's best we undid the seal. If there's even a small chance of you getting hurt, I think the spirit is probably the safer option.

[She shakes her head and lays her hands around the pendant, flooding it with magic. Nala, reinforced by several of the pain-relieving Charter Marks should be enough to cure most any ailment, really.]

Safer for me, maybe, but...

[But Rei has a point. And though the magic does help to alleviate some of the pain, the bigger issue isn't just the fact that there's a metal shard in her chest. In truth it's more of a coil wrapped around her heart. Normally the magic allows it to function as though it were a part of her body, but the loss of that magic has turned it back to solid metal.]

...it doesn't hurt as much now, but I can't really tell if it's working. Think you could help me up? I mean, if I can't even stand that would be kind of a deal breaker.

No buts, if you can't stand, I'm taking the seal off. I'm tempted to do it now.

[Rei slips an arm up under Kari's and tries helping her to her feet. How bad is it? She's scanning Kari's face.]

[She's not going to get very far. Just the act of pushing off the ground to stand gets an actual cry out of her, and no less than three choice expletives that Rei may or may not recognize because of the whole generation difference between them timeline-wise.]

[And since she'll no-doubt be returned to sitting on the floor rather quickly, she'll already be looking up at Rei with a hand pressed to her chest in pain.]

Pleasetakeitoff.

R-right!

[Rei nods sharply and takes a washcloth, dips it into water, and scrubs off the sealing ink. That should break the seal. And if it doesn't then they've got some real issues on their hands.]

[Thankfully, that proves to not be the case. When the seal is wiped off, the pendent flashes brightly a few times, and Kari lets out another sharp cry as it heats up, nearly to the point of burning her.]

[It spins a bit to realign itself before cooling down and returning to how it was before. And save for a small trickle of blood coming from the base of the pendent, there doesn't seem to be any lasting damage.]

[Though it might take Kari a moment before she says anything. For now, she's just gonna sigh and fall back, staring blankly up at the ceiling.]

[At least it didn't have to stab her again this time.]

......okay. So that's clearly not an option.

[Rei pours more healing magic into Kari just to be on the safe side, but sits back on her heels after a moment more.]

Are you alright? I...didn't think it would do that. But what did you feel? Where did it hurt the most?

[For her part, Kari is still not moving. That is definitely going up there as one of the top most unpleasant pendent-related experiences she's had here so far.]

I didn't think it would either. It... felt like there was something on my chest? Like, someone pressing on it really, really hard.

Is it maybe rooted deep into your chest? The pressure could've come from the Seals but it shouldn't have...

[Almost as if testing it, she presses her hand lightly against the pendent. It doesn't feel any different when she touches it now. It just feels like it's sitting there, as usual.]

...it would make sense if it was. Considering the first time it attached, I woke up with my shirt all torn and covered in blood... but I never thought it was more than skin deep, at least.

How...did it attach, Kari-chan?

[Because that is some seriously scary stuff.]

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