3rd Recipe - Stone Soup [Video; forward-dated to the 23rd]

[starofpleiades]

Um, has anyone else been having trouble getting food from the cafeteria? They aren't letting me in the kitchen to cook anything, or even giving me anything to eat...

[Kazumi looks more than a little worried. She's glad to be back in her own body but... this is a really pressing concern! How can people eat if they don't have food?]

...do you think they're mad at me for always cooking so much? Maybe I should have only made two pies yesterday...

Comments

[cutestprogrammer]

Sure! I'm ready. I bought a basket to put the berries in!

[starofpleiades]

Ooh, nice! I hadn't really thought about that part. Then, let's get going!

[She starts on down the stairs; luckily it's only a few floors]

So where did you live before this, Chihiro?

[cutestprogrammer]

[laughs a bit] Well, last time, my friend and I didn't have a basket and it was really inconvenient.

[he follows]

In Japan.

[starofpleiades]

Heh, well I'm glad you remembered it. I sure didn't!

[She brightens up at that]

Japan, really? Me too! I guess I could have guessed from your name though, eheh. You were a student?

[cutestprogrammer]

[he nods] Yes, I was! What about you, Kazumi-san?

[starofpleiades]

Yeah, though the main thing I was doing was being a magical girl, if you can believe that!

[It's not long before they reach floor 33 - put just looking around shows it's farm, not forest]

...maybe it's the next one?

[Luckily, it's exactly that since they're heading downwards]

[cutestprogrammer]

Eh? A... magical girl? For real? [Though after witnessing so many things that he would have considered impossible before... that really isn't too shocking] What sort of powers do you have?

... ah... I guess I must have remembered the wrong floor number.

Mnn... I think it is the next one. I remember having to pass this fram to get there.

[starofpleiades]

Yes, for real! Um, well my magic can be used all sorts of things, but my best attack is Limiti Esterni! It's a really powerful beam attack. [She smiles and then pauses to think a moment] Jyuubey said it was destructive element...

Ah, okay! [And soon they're proven correct] Oh, this looks better, is this it?

[cutestprogrammer]

I see. That must be really useful here! Jyuubey? A friend of yours?

Yes! This is the place!

[starofpleiades]

Yeah, it's handy for a lot of things, though I try to conserve power.

Yeah, sort of. Um, he's like the mascot character, you know? He's really cute, like a cat! [Also kind of responsible for 8 kinds of terrible, but no need to tell poor Chihiro that!]

Okay, cool! Let's go have a look then.

[She strides off into the forest, making sure to stick close by Chihiro so they don't get separated]

[cutestprogrammer]

Oh, does it take a lot of power to do it?

I see. Is it nice..? [Because well, he knows about cute mascot characters being evil...]

Mn! I remember there being some berry bushes over here! [and leads her over]

[starofpleiades]

Sort of! Well, it's more like I have a limited amount of power here, so I don't want to be wasteful.

Yeah, he's pretty fun. [At least now that he's been brainwashed into helping them] He helps us find Witches and deal with them, and cleans our Soul Gems.

Okay, lead the way! [She follows happily, keeping an eye out for any other edibles along the way]

[cutestprogrammer]

There's a power limit here? I didn't know that.

Is he here too? Witches? ... soul... gems?

[and he leads before pointing excitedly at a bush laden with delicious berries] Ah, it's still here!

[starofpleiades]

Ah, there isn't - at least, I don't know of one - but it's just how my magic works. If I use too much, I have to go see someone in the tower who can clean my Soul Gem, and I don't want to be bothering them a lot about it, or risk running out of magic when I really need it!

He's not. Oh, Witches are the beings made of curses that prey on humans... it's the job of Puella Magi, magical girls, to stop them! Our Soul Gems are what give us power. [She rings her earring and it transforms into the usual egg-shaped Soul Gem form, bright and sparkly] It's the source of our magic.

Ooh, great! [Walking over, Kazumi goes ahead and pops one in her mouth first] Delicious!

[cutestprogrammer]

I see... How often do you have to clean it then if you use it normally?

Oh... [and he looks over at it, amazed] It's so beautiful!

[he laughs a bit] We'd better pick as many as she can before someone else finds it!

[starofpleiades]

Hmmm... I guess every week or two? [She's not sure how much witch-fighting counts as normal]

Heheh, thanks. [She replaces it, turning it back into an earring]

Alright, let's! [She starts picking them and putting them in the basket... at least 90% actually make it there and not in her mouth.]

[cutestprogrammer]

I see... and you need someone with special powers to clean it for you...

Why is it called a Soul Gem though? Is it... is it really part of your soul?

[well, he eats a bit of them as well so they end up with around 85%]

[starofpleiades]

Yeah, so I don't want to over use it and have to bother him a lot. Or like I said, run out when I really need it. So I try to do everything as if I didn't have magic, if I can do it!

[Picking berries, coming up with ingredients... it'd be a snap if she just used her magic, but that seems like a pretty petty waste!

The question's pretty troubling though... she doesn't want to outright lie to Chihiro...]

Well... yeah, it is. Um, it basically is my soul.

[Maybe if she smiles that won't sound so bad?]

[cutestprogrammer]

Is he from your world? I see. Is it very difficult to do though... To limit your magic use...

[his eyes widen] Your-your s-soul...? Then-then wouldn't you die if it doesn't get cleansed?

[starofpleiades]

No, but apparently he has powers that work similarly that can clean Soul Gems. [She has to think about the second question for a moment] Umm, maybe a little! But I mostly only used it to fight Witches and there aren't any here, so it doesn't come up as my first response often.

[Welp, there it is...] Ah, well... yeah.

[cutestprogrammer]

I see. Well, that's good then!

... eh? Then-then you shouldn't use your magic at all, Kazumi-san! It's much to dangerous!!

[starofpleiades]

I'm trying not to, but if someone's in trouble or in need of help, or if there's a dangerous monster around, I'm not going to stand by! And like I said, Enoch is able to clean gems, so I just have to be careful with it.

[cutestprogrammer]

I-I see... [but still he's worried about you!] Mn. Please be very careful then, Kazumi-san!

[starofpleiades]

Eheh, thanks for worrying about me. I will! [Smiling, she gets back to picking berries; it shouldn't take them long to empty the bush, and there'll still be a bit of room to look for other things to put in the basket] What about you though? I mean, I can't use it much, but at least my magic can help me fight monsters here! Do you have anything like that to defend yourself with?

[cutestprogrammer]

I... well, I can't really fight and I don't have any special powers so... I just try not to leave my room when night falls.