[ Voice ]

[bydesign]

[ Madoka's voice comes over the journal singing!! ]

Happy birthday to me~! Happy birthday to me~!

Happy birthday [ ........ nope too shy to go on. She cuts herself off with giggles at and is almost audibly covering her face. She still sounds pretty pleased though; ] Ah, never mind, forget that! It's too embarrassing!

But, back when everyone was still at Isla Empieza, did anyone see somewhere that might have cake? Just a small one would be fine...

Comments

[bydesign]

Yep! [ you silly ]

[infinitime_loop]

[ HEY NOW she's been acting cold and detached for so long that she doesn't really know how else to act- well, okay, she CAN do awkward and dorky, but she'd rather not have to ]

[ so Homura's all up in front of Madoka's room, knocking on her door in no time flat ]

[bydesign]

[ yeah Madoka never expects Homura to take more than .2 seconds to be at her side

Madoka opens the door with one hand, shoving her lil' coin pouch into her pocket with the other. ]

Ready?

[infinitime_loop]

Ready. Let's go.

[ And Homura leads Madoka out of the ship, going across the harbor and toward the market! ]

... somehow, the isle feels emptier without everyone else here.

[bydesign]

[ Madoka's shoulders hunch a little bit... The residents don't exactly seem friendly. ]

Plus we're kind of being shunned... I think...

[infinitime_loop]

[ Homura holds her head high, falling into the brisk, no-nonsense walk she used back home without really thinking about it. It probably isn't helping matters, and some of the residents start muttering. ]

We should avoid the main roads. Use the rooftops if necessary- we can't afford any trouble.

[bydesign]

D-do you think there will be trouble? Yeah, I definitely want to avoid it...

[infinitime_loop]

Hopefully not. Even if there is, I'm sure we'll be fine.

[ Few things that aren't Witches can stand up to two magical girls, after all. ]

[bydesign]

I'm not afraid. I just don't want to have to fight.

[infinitime_loop]

... that would be for the best. It would attract the Navy's attention, after all.

[ Homura hesitates, before confiding in Madoka: ]

I wouldn't feel comfortable fighting the inhabitants of this place, either.

[ Homura's changed an awful lot, but even she would hesitate to use her powers against civilians who aren't magical girls or Witches. ]

[bydesign]

I don't think it will come to that... We're just shopping before we head out.

[infinitime_loop]

I suppose that's true.

[ She doesn't want Madoka to worry. Not on her birthday. So Homura forces herself to relax, and gives her friend a small smile. ]

It shouldn't take us very long to pick up what we need, after all.

[bydesign]

[ Madoka pats at where she's storing her journal! Probably a small purse or something, I don't know. ]

Hajime-san gave me a list of ingredients!

[infinitime_loop]

[ Homura can't judge, she's keeping her journal in THE VOID BETWEEN WORLDS (or whatever strange hammerspace the back of her shield opens up into) ]

That will be useful. Did she say how much of each ingredient we'll need?

[bydesign]

Yes! She knew all the measurements and everything.

[infinitime_loop]

That's impressive. We'll have to thank her the next time we see her.

[ That's like... three times she owes Hajime personally, at least. ]

[bydesign]

She mentioned her birthday is next month. Do you think we can buy a little extra so we have the ingredients for then, too? That way if we're close to her at the time we could make her a cake! [ Not that Madoka is sure they'd be anywhere near her at the time but who knows. ] Just in case.

[infinitime_loop]

[ Who knows, indeed. Homura nods her agreement, though. ]

We can do that. We'll stock up on flour and sugar, but we'll have to buy more milk and eggs when the time comes; they won't last that long.

[bydesign]

Oh, you're right. I didn't think of that.

Ahh... I should have asked her what kind she likes...

[infinitime_loop]

It'll be fine. I don't think she'll have a problem with either chocolate or strawberries.

[ Because seriously, who doesn't like chocolate or strawberries ]

[bydesign]

Right~?

I don't think anyone will complain if someone else makes them a cake, hehe.

[infinitime_loop]

Especially not someone like Hajime.

[ For a moment, Homura looks a bit- ruffled? Exasperated? - as her last encounter with Hajime comes to mind. ]

... do you know if she's doing alright?

[bydesign]

She seemed alright to me... But I don't know for sure, I guess.

[infinitime_loop]

That's good.

[ They enter the market area; Homura glances over at the stalls, looking for any selling fruit. ]

... the last time I spoke to her, she and her friends didn't even have a ship yet. It's worrisome.

[bydesign]

I know I've spoken to her since then, at least. She has a crew, and one of them is prone to sea-sickness - but that means they're all out on the water.