5223/Britannica Staycation

Britannica Staycation
Date of Scene:	26 April 2017
Location:	The System <TS>
Synopsis:	Sanae and Theurgus drop by the Silver Cathoderal to chat with Lexicon's twin little sisters.
Cast of Characters:	Lexicon, 619, 1103

---

Lexicon has posed:
A FEW MINUTES AGO
    While it may be spring in most parts of the Multiverse, here in Britannica, the weather is still pleasently snowy and cool. Perhaps oweing to the local DCC's ice element, or the mountainous surroundings, or mere coincidence, the weather rarely changes in the Silver Drive and the people who live here have grown accustomed to it. Just last night, a fresh blanket of snow had fallen, and the Cathoderal where Lexicon lives has not been spared.

    "Lexicon! It snowed last night, let's go play outside!"

    "No, I'm taking a day off for some reading."

    Blue and pink-clad twins, confronted with a locked door to Lexicon's room, glance at each other. The pink-clad Codex grins. Index takes a moment to get the idea, then smiles right back. Together, they fold their hands behind their back and raise their voices in song.

    "Do you wanna build a snowman~?"

NOW
    The Cathoderal's front door slams open. Channeling frustration fit enough to clear snow from the front steps, Lexicon hurls Codex out one-handed, then rears back and lobs Index out with the other. Grabbing the doors, she shouts, "Just give me some peace and quiet for today!" and then closes the doors.

    Index pops out of a snowdrift with a "Pwah!" followed by Codex, a few feet away, doing the same. They share a glance, then start giggling.

    Yeah they probably deserved that.

Sanae Kochiya (619) has posed:
Things within the System were beginning to come to a head, or so it feels. To what end remains uncertain. The Tower, long a burden and mystery, is slowly beginning to reveal its secrets at the hands of unlikely allies. For the first time since a certain priestess had become involved in this digital realm, there is an optimism, that they might actually be able to make real progress soon on resolving the matter. Despite that, the talk of something using that thing for its own ends means that this realization is met with a bit of caution.

    With this background, Sanae is coming to visit Stylono, as well as Lexicon's twin sisters, Index and Codex, for both some long overdue promises of social calls, and more serious business. The DCC herself had told her that, though she didn't know anything, perhaps the local Oracle might know some old legends that would be of interest. For the latter two -- she had promised to play with them a bit, so they could show off their magical skills, and perhaps they could do a little bit of training together. She had another motive to that, too: Though they were obviously young, she worried that Lexicon might be protecting them a little too much. She's hoping to lobby a bit on their behalf, so they can start applying some of their hard work, even if it's simple Poochooze cleanup at first.

    With this in mind, Sanae paces with a decent speed through the snowy streets. The Cathoderal isn't exactly difficult to find, but she's in no immediate hurry, since there's no outstanding emergency. Instead, she's appreciating that slightly 'old world' feel to the surroundings, despite the resource lines' fluorescent glow trying to disrupt it. It really is otherwise like a landscape painting. It's when she finally arrives to the courtyard after her meanderings that she sees one twin fly out, and then the other. She's familiar enough with this ritual from Suwako and Kanako's fights that she isn't *too* worried, plus as chips off the silicon block, she doubts that much could seriously injure either of them. "Ah...you guys okay," she wonders, taking the last few steps up? They wouldn't be giggling if not, though, so the green-haired young woman has a smile on her face, too.

    "I hope I didn't come at a bad time!" Judging from all of this, she should probably hold off on the lobbying part of her agenda, at least for today.

Theurgus (1103) has posed:
    Another visitor is here in Britannica today, one local to the System, but very much foreign to the Drive. Heeled boots click against the ground, and blue eyes take in the sights as Theurgus gains a small, self satisfied smirk... the last time she'd seen Britannica the city, was from a distance. The first time she'd seen it up close, was still a good distance away via a picture her mentor and predecessor had given her. "Some things really don't change with time." she muses, turning a corner and subconsciously heading toward the Cathoderal, drawn by the power of the local DCC like a moth toward a flame.

    She's not here to pick a fight. Attacking a DCC in her own Drive was paramount to suicidal after all, but she did want to visit her newold friend outside of an emergency such as the Tower. Theurgus comes up not long after Sanae starts talking to the Twins, and tilts her head curiously.

Lexicon has posed:
    Two giggly twins is plenty sign that nothing 'bad' is going on, at least. Index unburies herself and brushes snow from her coat's hem, while Codex is the one who actually spots Sanae's approach. Both hands are raised out of the snow, waving, "Miss Sanae..!" It seems that in their short conversation before, the green-haired priestess has somehow earned the friendship of the more shy of the pair. Was it her ernest enthusiasm and kindness, maybe? She pulls herself from the snowbank, tucking her hands up under her chin, "We were just..teasing Big Sis a little."

    "Did you see the face she made?" Index laughs, propping her hands on her hips, "Super funny~! She totally hates that song now, it's too great." The louder of the two tries to puff herself up, though she's still shorter than Sanae while trying to look important, "What's up? Did you come to play?"

    Movement catches Codex's attention and she glances around Sanae, spying Theurgus' approach. After a moment, she shifts to hide herself more behind the shrine maiden. Lexicon might know the Mad Magician, but her little sisters have never met the Diamond DCC before.

    Codex's response is noted immediately by Index, who zeros in on Theurgus, points, and voices her twin's unspoken concern in an entirely unsubtle claim, "Stranger Danger!"

Sanae Kochiya (619) has posed:
If only Sanae knew how precious this was. She would think it'd be perfectly natural to be her friend, after all, since she's kind and honest, unlike a certain shrine maiden. Regardless, whether or not Codex actually needs it or not, the priestess seems willing to help her out of the snowbank, from her posturing. "Ah, Codex," she says, able to remember which twin is which, since their spoken personality and hair length is different (plus they're conveniently color coded). "It's a lot of fun, isn't it? I have two 'big sisters' that I also play with a lot." She doesn't quite make the leap to giving the more shy of the two a pat on the head, instead opting for a warm smile, "Just make sure to not overdo it, okay?"

    Index isn't ignored either, a light pivot of Sanae's heel bringing her to face the more rambunctious of the pair. Speaking of having not forgotten something, this one's sharp -- she knew exactly why Sanae had come here today! "You're right about that! I promised I'd let you both show me what you can do, so I came over today for that. Though, if you'd like to play in the snow for a while, that's okay, too." She'll let them, as possible DCCs of their own someday, make the call. "Ah...I also wanted to see Miss Stylono about something, a bit later, but maybe it's better to wait," she trails off, glancing to the doors the twins got cast out of.

    Theurgus' presence tingles the back of Sanae's noggin. Was it the approach of a like mind, perhaps? Or just a sense that someone that participates in danmaku attains over the years? The twins' reaction also cements her glancing back with a blink. The natural prohibition on recognition is strong within Sanae, even if this other visitor seems familiar, somehow. "Ah, hello. Have you come to visit the Cathoderal, too," she wonders? She smiles politely and re-introduces herself, "I'm Sanae Kochiya, the priestess of the Moriya Shrine." As though that place's name actually has weight here. She has no reason to distrust her, but the twins are certainly welcome to use her as a barrier if they need to!

Theurgus (1103) has posed:
    Theurgus continues to smile. It's a small, smug-seeming expression at the Twins reactions. They'll be good allies when they get stronger. Very good reaction to someone new. They won't fall to The Organization easily. "Ah, forgive me. My name is Theurgus, Drive Core Controller of Locus, the Diamond City." she offers to all three, doffing her hat and sweeping a bow with a flourish of the hat, before putting it on her head. "Some know me as The Mad Magician. And I had hoped to come visit Lexicon.. though I am assuming she is unavailable right now."

Lexicon has posed:
    "It's okay!" Index beams at Sanae, "Big Sis loves us, we tease her 'cause we love her too an' she knows it. That's the truth!" She certainly seems confident in that assessment of the relationship the trio share, nodding twice with her eyes closed. "She teases us sometimes too. It's what sisters do, you know, right?" Sanae did just say she has sisters too. Though Index has no way of knowing the truth of Moriya Shrine's inhabitants.

    Codex, meanwhile, continues to peek at Theurgus from around Sanae's side. It's only after she introduces herself that the light clicks on, "..Ah.. You're a friend of our sister.." Lexicon must have mentioned the Mad Magician to them. Possibly in a sentence including words like 'never', 'act', 'like', and 'her'. Glancing up at Sanae, then back to Theurgus, Codex steps away from the shrine maiden and folds her hands primly in front of herself while she bows, "Um... I'm Codex. Lexicon..is my big sister."

    The pink-clad girl jumps in on introductions as well. Though while Codex bows, Index puffs her chest out and thumbs at herself, "And I'm Index the Awesome!" That same hand is held out, manifesting pixellated light into a staff vaguely reminiscent of a large pen or fancy touchscreen stylus with pink feathers near the top, "And if miss Sanae wants to see my magic and play in the snow, that's cool, 'cause I'm super good with snowy magic!"

    Codex silently mimics her sister, producing her own blue-feathered staff and holding it gingerly in both hands. A little smile touches her face, looking up at Sanae, "..Miss Stylono will be bringing hot cocoa soon, so you can still..um, talk to her, too."

Sanae Kochiya (619) has posed:
Oh...'that' would be why she seems familiar. Sanae pauses for a moment, brain gears all but visibly beginning to turn and recall something. The evening was winding down, but she definitely remembers someone with this appearance being there, when those two purplish DCCs appeared. "Oh, so that was you," she speaks up, maybe a bit too openly, when all the mental puzzle pieces fall into place. "Nice to make your acquaintance, Miss Theurgus!" The 'Mad Magician', huh. She's know her share of ones that call themselves magicians, and it seems they're all at least a little eccentric, in their own ways. Her mind wanders again to imagining this woman having tea with Patchouli, Alice and Marisa -- yeah, she definitely would fit into that landscape.

    To her actual question, though, it'd probably be better left to those that live here. Such as these two younger sisters of Lexicon's, which she's still engaged in conversation with. The kind that a high school senior would have with youngsters, perhaps, but respectful instead of patronizing. She considers their big sister a friend, so of course she'd be nice to these two. "Haha, that's true," she agrees to the teasing, though she does rest her chin on her hand for a moment, "It's just when it gets into the property damage level that it's gone too far." Despite not knowing the details of the Moriya Shrine's family structure, at least that much probably sounds familiar to the Cathoderal dwellers. Her shoulders, though only slightly, visibly slump at that. Even if Suwako and Kanako are both creation-type goddesses, it's no excuse.

    That worrisome posture soon recovers, though, and she's all smiles and in good spirits. "Ah, great! You have those staff weapons and everything, huh?" The way they manifest them sort of reminds her of how it works in some of the later-gen RPGs, bridging the divide between a video game inventory and having to visibly have something appear in a character's hands. It causes the green-haired girl to lightly clap her hands together. Even this much has her excited! Stylono also will be by shortly, as Codex promises, so everthing's turning out. Smiles are given, especially to Codex, "Since Miss Theurgus is a magician, perhaps she can offer her opinion, as well." Though having noted the Mad Magician's earlier question, she glances to those doors again, and finally decides to somewhat belatedly answer, "She was yelling something about wanting to be left alone. It's kind of inconvenient, but it can't be helped." She certainly doesn't want a hammer thrown at her.

Theurgus (1103) has posed:
    "Ah, the clarion call of the bookworm." notes Theurgus with a chuckle. "My predecessor was similar in some ways, I learned early not to disturb her during her studies... it ended with mild burns or shocks on the few occasions I forgot my place." she tilts her head, and watches the Twins with a curious air. "A demonstration of magic? I would be delighted to watch, or perhaps participate of course. Magic and the arcane are what my Drive specialize in, after all. Perhaps I could teach you something, and in turn, learn something as well." The tall blue-haired woman steps in further, and comes to pause next to Sanae, arms folded but blue eyes keenly sharp.

Lexicon has posed:
    "Yeah," Codex admits to Theurgus, "Sis wants to be left alone and read by herself today." She glances down, shuffling her feet, "..She was working yesterday, so... I guess she wants to relax a little." Nevermind her comment about having a headache for several days after spending too much time around the Cadenza DCC the other day. With the promise of cocoa and more mature chat on the table for Sanae, though, the blue-dressed twin nods once, "Y-yeah.. We use these." The way the pair had drawn their weapons is the same way Lexicon draws her hammer, if Sanae can recall that. It must be a common inventory around here.

    And now the Mad Magician wants to watch, too? A real magician? Being supervised by such a person makes Codex a little nervous, but she nods once and holds her staff up, "I can do this.." A circle of white-blue lines spreads out around her feet, forming a snowflake pattern. A similar shape crystallizes in the air, resembling a shield with a snowflake embossed on it. Though it just floats there.

    "Yeah!" Index twirls her own stylus-staff, "Codex likes barriers and healing spells the most. But what about the super-cool Index?" The twirling stops and she brings her staff up. The lines that splash out around her feet are crimson-orange, creating a pattern of radiating flames as she brings her staff down, "Kaboom!" A spark ignites near the floating shield, which suddenly explodes. However, the brief flash of heat and flame dissipates quickly and the shield remains.

    Index grins as she straightens, "I like spells that blow up the bad guys!"

Sanae Kochiya (619) has posed:
If the context was Lexicon waring the twins away from learning or emulating Theurgus in any respect, Sanae has no idea about any of it. To her, this seems like a wonderful idea, and a ice confluence of circumstances. One might even call it something of a miracle! "This is wonderful," she smiles, in that honest way of hers. "Two generations of magic-users coming together to share a common interest. I almost wish the magic I used was similar, so I could help, too." A light nod is giving to Theurgus as she takes a position next to the priestess, though she'll wait a few moments to return to addressing her. It seems like the twins are ready for their demonstration.

    Perhaps instinctively noticing some hesitation from Codex, as well as knowing her personality, Sanae calls out encouragement like some kind of sports coach, "You're fine, Codex. Just do what you do!" Though that would be the kind of coach that 'just rolls the ball out' for the team, huh? The barrier that the young candidate creates is quite flashy and visibly interesting. The speed she is able to produce it at might be trouble, but the strength is already there with battle-usefulness, in the priestess' mind. "Hmm, that's good," she analyzes, openly, taking a more serious yet still gentle tone. "Being able to defend yourself and your friends is important in magic. Good work, Codex!"

    Then it's Index's turn. This is the kind of girl that isn't shy at all about her specialties and what she likes, so there's not much surprise when she selects an offensive kind of spell to demonstrate. Somewhat similar to her sister, there are a few points Sanae could (and possibly will, if they begin training togehther) bring up, about telegraphing and wind up, but the potency is in no doubt. The spell and barrier all but nullify each other, as should be expected of twin casters at a similar place in their education. "You did well too, Index! You really are Lexicon's sisters," she smiles, after they've both finished this one. "Being able to learn powerful techniques like these at your age. It's not 'perfect' yet, but..."

    She decides to get Theurgus' opinion on something that had been on her mind. Maybe running it through the filter of the Mad Magician first would be better. Or is a bad idea. But either way, her mind is made up. "Miss Theurgus. I'd been thinking, and now I'm convinced...these girls' practical education would be better if they got to do a few little side quests here and there, right?"

Theurgus (1103) has posed:
    Theurgus watches the display, and nods approvingly. "Complimentary spellworks. I am impressed. You must both be quite formidable when working together." she says in compliment, clapping mildly at the show. "With a little more polish, you could both become quite potent magicians in your own right." she adds, echoing Sanae's judgement on tht matter.

    When the priestess addresses her directly, Theurgus turns, and nods. "I believe some mild, low risk questing could do them both the world of good. Book study is very important, but nothing teaches like practical experience." she adds, touching her chin with one hand, the other arm folded into the crook of her elbow. "If Lexicon were ameniable to the idea, I could offer Locus as a place to train. Our virus problems are mild, and the Lodus Defense Force would be able to assist if things grew out of hand." She then shifts her hands out, left one reaching up as if to grasp something. A similar surge of pixels and code form into her own staff, a solid black haft of metal with a large rectangular headcap, surounding a large 'marble' that shimmers with an unstable chromatic wash of light, before it resolves into a bright green with a twirl from the Magician. "Oxyn Flux."

    Very different from the younger magic users, there's no telegraphing, just the words, and a sudden updraft of wind explodes a snow drift, creating a fresh, impromptu snow fall as the disturbed flakes once more gain loft then sink back to the ground. "With practice, you can learn now to tell your opponent your intentions, until it's far too late." she offers as explanation.

Lexicon has posed:
    Index pulls her staff up and rests it against her shoulder, eyes closed and accepting the praise. She's able to even be proud of the criticism she receives, "I know I'm pretty awesome! So there's nothing stopping me from getting even better!"

    Codex is more quiet about it, looking from Sanae, to Theurgus, to her floating ice shield. After a moment she holds her staff up and disperses it into snowflakes with a little 'hm' sound. She watches the icy flakes fall, only to wince and shield her face with one sleeve when Theurgus pulls off her own demonstration. Blue eyes wander, glancing over the dispersed snowdrift and the snowflakes joining those from her dissolved barrier.

    "Wait, wait, wait!" Index balls her hands up under her chin, staff held crossways as she leans towards both (relative) adults, "What's that you're saying about going on quests an' stuff?! Big sis never lets us go on those! It's so lame!"

    After her long moment of silence, Codex nods once and turns, balling her hands up under her chin as well. Whether she's conscious of it or not, the quieter twin exposes Theurgus and Sanae both to her most fearsome weapon: The Eyes. "...I'd really like to.. if it would help our sister..so she wouldn't have to work so hard.."

Sanae Kochiya (619) has posed:
Theurgus' style is a bit closer to what Sanae is used to. A call out, a flourish, and then Hell breaks loose. Despite that, both the twins' and Mad Magician's styles are a lot more direct than the forms of magic that the priestess usually had to deal with back in Gensokyo. Having seen what they're up against in the viruses and the Tower's more combat-ready floors, it makes sense. "As expected of the Mad Magician," she says, as though she has more familiarity than she actually does, "There was no hesitation at all!" This is spoken as her and shouders receive a light dusting from the snowbank that was the target of the spell, but she doesn't mind it at all. You can't be someone that hates snow and last long in this Drive.

    "Oh, so you caught that," the priestess wonders to the energetic Index? Though, it wasn't like she was trying to be quiet about it, so it's to be expected. Theurgus had agreed with her, too; there really is no replacement for actually getting out and trying things, even if Lexicon and Stylono maintain copies of some of the finest spell tomes in the System. Reaching a detached sleeve-shod arm up, Sanae rubs the back of her head a bit sheepishly, "It was just something I'd thought about for a while now, is all, since first meeting you. Miss Lexicon said that you might have to be ready to step up in her place at any time, and..."

    Oh geez. The twins have switched on full child-like enthusiasm mode. It's probably too late to try and talk them down from this now. "W-well, it had been my intention to try and talk to Miss Lexicon about this, and see if she would allow you to. Maybe with Miss Theurgus' added approval, it might be enough." Now she's worried more about how the twins might take a refusal, more than the resident DCC getting angry about the proposal. She adds a smile to the end, "If it were up to me, though, I think you two are ready to take on some work. Especially when the Tower is in town and a lot of the lighter jobs get ignored for a while."

Theurgus (1103) has posed:
    Grk. Oh no, that's a really powerful attack.

    Theurgus rests her staff across her shoulder and chuckles. It's a very odd laugh. "Kukukukuku... WAHAHAHAHAHA!" she throws her head back, heaving out a gaffaw that echos off the walls of the courtyard. "I'm sure if I speak to Lexicon, she'll agree. Besides, it wouldn't do to let the next generation get hurt on my watch, after all." she says, turning back and beaming a grin at the twins. "But don't get your hopes up too high, if she does say no, that's the end of it."

Lexicon has posed:
    Both twins nod to each point Sanae makes, particularly about talking to Lexicon. When the Tower comes up, Codex almost visibly deflates, looking down at her hands. Index puffs up with clear frustration, "That crummy Tower! It's super dumb and always messes things up. I wanna beat up whoever made it so bad!" Her hands clench on the shaft of her staff, though there's no way such a tiny girl could damage it. "Some day I'm gonna go right up there and find the person doing it and I'll blow them sky high for messing up Britannica!"

    Well, at least she takes after Lexicon in more than looks, though it's more of a furious kid rant than the white-hot rage the Silver DCC has shown on occasion.

    Codex finds her spirit again, squaring her shoulders. She nods once to Sanae, then to Theurgus, "...Okay. If big sis says so." She glances down at her staff with a little frown, "...Though Poochoozes are cute, I know they have to be deleted because they're...v-viruses. ..I can do that much." Her staff disperses into pixellated light and she lowers her hands, "..Even a little bit helps. Ever snowflake is really small...but it piles up a bunch when they work together."

    It's about this point that the Cathoderal's door opens again. This time, it's not a flustered DCC but a tall blue-haired woman in a red gown that emerges, carrying a tray of steaming cups, "Index! Codex! I've brought--" She pauses, glancing from Sanae to Theurgus. The first, she has met before. The second, she recognizes on instinct. "Miss Kochiya. Lady Diamond Soul. I didn't expect visitors, welcome." She casts a glance, "...Have the girls been a bother to you?"

    This would be Stylono, Oracle of the Silver Cathoderal.

Sanae Kochiya (619) has posed:
Okay kids. While it's okay to emulate Theurgus in that spell casting to build your more normal, day to day attacks...probably don't imitate the laugh. If Sanae were a bit more open about that, it's what she might say, anyway. Instead, she remains outwardly polite, even if her smile gets a slight nervous tinge at it. "I trust you, Miss Theurgus," she adds -- mainly because if she agrees to this and the twins do get hurt, it'd be her head the hammer is aiming for. "But, let's set this aside for now. Right now we can't even get close to Miss Lexicon. We'd probably just get thrown right back outside." And now the priestess is making assumptions on her behavior.

    "Index," she responds with patient understanding. "I know it's a big problem, especially when it's decided to top by your Drive again. It's not the kind of thing you can just blast away with magic, though, and a lot of the System's best and brightest minds are working on it. We're going to get it to stop!" You know, eventually. Though there's that nagging sensation in the back of her mind again, wondering if by clearing the floors they're actually progressing the goals of whatever's behind it. Ugh... Codex is, as always, the seemingly more restrained of the two, which earns her an appreciative smile from the young woman. "That's true. Like you said, it's less that your sister and the others will have to worry about, even if it's something that seems that simple."

    Of course, Sanae has only taken a really brief look at the local mission kiosks that the System has installed. Certainly there are missions for the Cathoderal and local governments, but some of the personal jobs can be of questionable value. Before she can wander to one and begin browsing it, or a snowball fight can be started, Stylono, the other that Sanae had come to see, wanders out with freshly brewed drinks. Hopefully there's enough for everyone, since it didn't seem like she was expecting the company!

    "Miss Stylono, hello," she calls over! "Oh, not at all. The girls were just showing their skills to me and Miss Theurgus, actually." She quietens her voice as she slides a bit closer, wondering, "...has Miss Lexicon calmed down? She told me that you might know some legends from the old days. Things that might be related to the Tower now." Gather around twins, it's story time!

    TO BE CONCLUDED?