[OPEN]

[loadme]

Who: Monika & You!
When: Daytime; After the Full Moon
Where: Around The City (TM)
What: Magic Practice and Deliveries!
Warnings: None (yet)

Monika hadn't really embraced her status as a witch since she'd arrived in town. A few displays of magic here and there, and pretty regular attendance in the classes that interested her. Yet aside from that, actually practicing her magic was more of a rarity than it was the norm. Well, she finally finally decided to change all that! The Divination and Illusion types of magic were that really interested her. Lessons were all nice and good, but the only way to really get better at something was to practice it over and over again!

[I]

She had bought decently sized mirror and propped it up against a wall. Monika wanted to try her hand at a bit of scrying, and for that, a nice reflective surface was needed. She knelt down in front of the mirror and began to close her eyes and focus. Honestly, she would consider this a success if anything even appeared. Her eyes opened a few moments later and an imagine began to appear and come into focus. It was... a blue screen, with a little frowny face and a message.

The mere sight of this was enough to cause Monika to quickly grab the mirror and throw it against the wall, causing it to loudly and audibly shatter.

By now, the mirror was broken into countless piece, but she was no less rattled. Her quick breaths and clenched fists were a dead give away.

[II]

If seeing the future was out of the question, then what about looking into someone else's past? She'd already found some success with that before, and felt more comfortable attempting it. The only thing that was needed?

A volunteer.

"Excuse me? Hi! I was wondering if you'd be willing to help me practice my magic for a little bit."

How could you possibly resist a request from this cute, upbeat teenage girl. Monika figured that getting them to stop and help her would be easy enough.

The challenge would come from having them agree to look into their past.

But hey, one step at a time, yeah?


[III]

She had been working at Precogstitchin' and helping them with their deliveries. It was easy work, kept her busy, and allowed her to walk around the city. And they paid her, so that was nice too! Whether it's inside the comfort and familiarity of the Inner City, or all the way out in the Harbor District, Monika stands outside the front door and knocks.

"Hello? I have a delivery for you. It's from the lovely employees at Precogstitchin'!"


[IV]

[Got an idea for something else not listed? Hit me up for that Wildcard option! Also I'll gladly match bracket format.]

Comments

[selfishwish]

"Oh. That's a neat trick, I guess."

Monika is right, though, to expect that out-of-the-blue proposal to be concerning. Momiji bites his lip and fidgets in place, visibly considering. Back home, there would have been no question that he'd have to make an excuse for refusing; there would simply be too much risk that something Monika saw would reveal the Curse.

On the other hand, that concern felt pretty silly here, where he waited tables with a literal dragon. Still, it was ingrained, gut-level instinct. Some things were secret. And plenty of others were at least private.

"Um, that would probably be okay? But you might just see me going to school and stuff like that, I don't know if it'd be that exciting!" He hefts a little shrug, smiling back at her. "What would I need to do?"

[loadme]

"That's okay! Honestly, just hearing you agree to this is a huge relief for me." She sounded weird, to be sure, but at least they didn't say no.

"I wouldn't really mind something ordinary like that at all. It's more about just getting some good practice in, for me."

Practice made perfect!

Or at least, made for less screw-ups.

"Right now, I think I just need for you to focus on any one specific memory. But don't tell me anything about it!"

[selfishwish]

"Oh, okay! That sounds pretty simple."

And if he got to pick out what Monika saw to start with, there was really nothing to worry about. So, with a relieved, little nod, Momiji took a step back to lean himself against the nearest wall. His brow furrowed just a hint as he tried to think of what exactly he should think about.

It might as well be something recent, right? Instead of trying to come up with something that was both really memorable and not so personal that he'd be embarrassed to have a stranger see it. So, why not the memory that had stuck most clearly in his mind, recently--the last thing he really remembered before this place had borrowed him from the world he knew: Everyone out on the beach, the sun just starting to set. There'd been sand underfoot, and the waves washing up on the shore had turned wine dark against the pink and orange of the sky. And they'd all gathered around and watched the fireworks he'd brought twisting and sputtering themselves out in the dunes, giving off smoke and sparks...

It had been a pretty perfect summer evening. Enough that he'd been able to forget everything else from their visit there, if only for a little.

"Okay, got it," the blond declared, finally. He'd closed his eyes without quite thinking about it, but now he peeped back at Monika, throwing a small shrug and a smile her way. "I think, at least. Tell me if it's working...!"

[loadme]

"I will! Thanks again for letting me do this." And now it was all on her.

While she felt pretty confident in her abilities, it wasn't like she had no reservations about what she was going to attempt. She'd been honest about her intents, but not about the possible outcomes. Seeing the wrong memory, or having it all mixed up and have him view her past were all very real possibilities.

Now that she had a Bonded, however, it was supposed to mean better control.

At least, she hoped so.

She reached out with both hands, placing them near his head as she too closed her eyes and began her spell. Slowly, she began to see.

"I see... a beach." Monika had never been to one before. "The sound of waves. And fireworks, too."

It was beautiful.

So much so that her eyes began to water.

[selfishwish]

"Oh, wow!"

One eye peeks open in surprise as Monika immediately picks out the image in his head. He hadn't expected her not to get it--it was magic, after all!--but he hadn't know how much of a production to expect it to be.

His concentration breaks, however, when he notices her beginning to tear up, blinking back at her with concern.

"You got it. I was remembering the end of summer vacation, back home. It was right before I came here, so maybe it was a strong memory--um. Are you okay, though? I didn't mean to think of anything sad...!"

[loadme]

"Oh, sorry! I didn't notice that I was, um..." The spell and the vision both end at this point, and Monika hurriedly wiped her eyes clean.

"I-It wasn't sad at all!"

The real reason, she'd never been to a beach before. Or seen waves.

Or even experienced fireworks.

"I was, uh... I was always so busy with school, that I never really had the time for much else. Seeing the beach and firworks like that... It all looked really fun!"

[selfishwish]

"Oh..."

Momiji tried, but there was no concealing the uncertainty that hit his brow and eyes at that explanation.

If Monika had said that she had never gotten to visit the beach because her hometown had been invaded by orcs or robots while she was a child, maybe he could have managed! He'd gotten used to not just blurting out his surprise at the worlds other mirrorbound came from. Some of them were just too much for him to really conceive of, and he'd gotten used to that.

But, sorry, being so busy with school that normal summer vacation things prompted that kind of reaction was weird. Even super hard schools had holidays!

"Did...you go to a really strict school, back home? Or--I guess maybe you had cram school and stuff when you were on break--"

Whatever the case, it was pretty distressing that a memory like that would make her cry! It hadn't even been a good vacation, overall, after Akito had crashed everything, however much he'd savored that last evening.

"...I still have some of the sparklers we were playing with. That was right before I woke up here, so they were all in my bag."

If Monika wanted any, was the obvious implication. Aefenglom may not have had beaches, but the harbor was pretty enough at sunset, and nobody could really complain over sparklers.

[loadme]

"I wouldn't really say it was super strict, but I did have to study a lot so I could keep my grades where I wanted them to be! I also ran my own club after school, so that took up even more of my time."

And wouldn't you know it? It was like the day was already gone between just those two.

"I really am sorry, I didn't mean to start tearing up like that."

Now she looked really weird and they were just looking to keep on asking questions.

"Sparklers? Oh!" As in... actual fireworks? She had to admit, it was really tempting.

"I wouldn't mind if you're sure!" Honestly? Monika was far more excited about it than she was letting on.