Charles Patricius

[Bloodedge]

At long last, a meeting Mugen had been awaiting was on the horizon. He'd take his leave of Martha, though not without offering more than he expected in the end. In fact, he'd even be answering her question about the hot spring. "It's not so much yours as it is... you. Spirits don't live in reality because they have a reality of their own within them. That should be enough," he said, not willing to offer too much information. Martha seemed clever enough to figure things out ─ especially with her spiritual understanding filling itself in. Speaking of filling things in, Mugen had a great deal of that to do elsewhere. Yume was finally on the move. Moving onward himself, Mugen felt the distance between them closing with every step. "Having fun? One would think preparation would be more imperative now," he commented.

The rice cooker was something to worry about later. Convenient as it was, Charlemagne was sure nobody wanted rice for every meal or anything. This magical world had far too many fantastical options to default like that, though there was every chance rice could be mixed in. Charlemagne couldn't even consider other such useful technologies Sakura may wish to consider. He could, however, keep thinking about that incredible bed. "Rice cookers are great, but I'm super excited about the bed. With a bed like that, I might actually manage some sleep even during those uh... 'hard' times," he said sheepishly. If there was anything else to question, Charlemagne could think of nothing. Instead, he stood around in the kitchen, wondering if Sakura created other things without much context. "Does anything else seem weird to you?"

[Apollymi]

There were a few things which Martha hadn't expected and more information from the Sex Devil. Apparently this particular hot spring wasn't just a thing she could summon, it was instead part of her. That could mean a lot of things, but at the very least it meant that this hot spring was likely part of her now evolved spirit. He'd mentioned the term domain before and though she didn't know what that meant in the context of this world, it sounded like the sort of thing which she was going to figure out as she progressed. Speaking of progression, she'd gained quite a few levels... which she discovered only after having a look at her status. She'd remain in the water thinking things over for a while yet. At the same time, Mugen seemed to be taking multiple steps towards his apprentice who was casually walking towards him as well. "Of course I'm having fun. I am busy making all the kinds of magical girl I wanna be~" mentioned the black haired girl. She did have time, so she'd begin with a bit of a show...

The Dark Forest was supposedly a place of anger but on this day the young demoness would be found walking between rows of trees which seemed to be spreading as she moved forward. Little blue flames seemed to begin dancing along the trail leading up to herself and the girl herself in her little qipao would be seen casually just outside the barrier of the home she'd visited with her new friend. She was putting on a different sort of light show as she took a casual seat on the tree branch. "I've learned a lot of interesting things today~" she mused and it was the truth she'd been through another mentor this morning and gotten to experience some very interesting mana based interactions as such she had a lot to show her mentor and a better understanding of their interpersonal relationships.

At the same time, Charles and Sakura seemed to be exploring the space she'd made for their adventure. He claimed that rice cookers ere indeed good. That being said he seemed a great deal more concerned with their bed. "Well as long as it helps. I am happy," she said of this supposed bed, beyond that more than pleased by his sheepish response. She had no idea why it would help but figured there would be quite a few good things to come from this new bed. As for things she found weird... there were plenty... "I saw something I didn't understand in one of the rooms..." she said carefully. And with an extended hand led to a bathroom with shower stalls. There was still a deep water bath but this was confusing to her. "I don't understand why this is a thing," she said of the room with its walls curtains and cubicles.

[Bloodedge]

"Back to the Magical Girl thing? Well, you're making some quick progress on it. Three for three now, unless you've managed to hide something else," he said in a spirited manner. His apprentice was progressing by the day, unlike a certain someone who stuck herself at step one for lesson after lesson. Some students apparently thought it was acceptable to ignore entire courses while continuing to read a single course's textbook. Once again, Shinomiya Kaguya would be receiving part of the punishment for her comrade's building crime. "I wonder what Magical Girl will be taking responsibility for that earlier mishap? As I recall, a form that should have been mine to experience first, was offered to someone else," the demon mused further, casually as always. Hopefully, Yume had learned a hefty amount. During his approach, he did notice something she may have been speaking of. The forest itself was shifting in an abnormal fashion the closer he drew to Yume. One might wonder what significance these changes would have to her new form. Soon enough, Mugen would stumble upon the lass, stopping some distance from the tree branch she sat upon. "Well? What's the good news?"

A bed never before seen on Alaya was rather exciting for Charlemagne, who'd become used to sleeping on all manner of things over the centuries. If he managed even an hour of sleep, he was glad it would be on such a marvel of human innovation. Even if he didn't manage any sleep at all, it would be nice to use the bed for... well, something else. Moving on, one more thing wasn't understood by Sakura. Charlemagne was led by the hand to... strangely, a bathroom. So many thoughts crossed his mind once he realized where they were headed, but those were silenced upon arrival. What he saw was quite familiar. He wasn't sure whose subconscious she got gym showers from, but he could at least address Sakura's concerns about it. "Oh. I thought this was about to be a very different trip. This is the kind of setup you'll see at a gymnasium, or... in some places on this planet, you'll even see them in barracks. They also appear in prisons on both sides. It's for groups to shower ─ usually same genders. I'm guessing that's what you mean?"

[Apollymi]

"I am always on the Magical Girl thing, and yes... it's three... I can't count my human self~" she mused. Though she understood her human self as the start of her ideals and the holder of her bonds with others, she didn't consider that one to be a Magical Girl in the way of transformations and life freedoms the way her newer avatars existed. "Mishap? That's hardly a fitting understanding of the situation," she explained as the flickering blue flames drifted about seemingly aimlessly but that wasn't the case, she was setting up a nice bit of ambiance. "You're the kind of person people will ask for things in writing from because your interpretation of your words and your actual words aren't necessarily the same thing~" she teased gently. "But no matter, I suppose you did say what I am in these forms begins and ends with you, I didn't know you meant each one individually but fine... I'll try and control my impulses a bit better~" she explained of her current understanding without any changes to the terms and conditions. "Good news... would most depend, but my understanding of nature has gotten me some very interesting things~" she said. Those blue flames flickered and split multiple times over.

Just the same several small small vines seemed to be joining each other from various places becoming a long vine which extended upward. Those flames went brighter and brighter still, until with an exhale they exploded into dust sticking to the girl's skin tanning it. Her hair seemed to lighten to a silvery white color. Oh... and those eyes, lost a bit of blue blue, becoming something more like cyan instead of teal. Her artifact clothing had disappeared replaced by jewels and golden braided cords which decorated her tanned form. Ah... she wasn't wearing clothes. Just those bits of jewelry and her hair in well-placed bits as she reached for that vine lined pole and spun her way down it. Several small flips and upside down twirls would take place until she reached the ground and righted herself landing in a split. She gave a full view of her new person to Mugen. This elf was no tiny Japanese girl she was tall but not overly so... she'd likely be considered small for an elf, but upon reaching the ground a certain pulse would take place. Those vines would shift again, seeming to carry her. Wrapping around her person and presenting her directly to Mugen stopping her just in front of him. Everywhere she'd touched leading up to this point left nightshade in its wake... and a tinge of dark power. "What do you think? Nature isn't as outright flashy, but I some of the things I experienced today have given me some extras for variation sake~" She asked still a tease obviously.

Meanwhile, Sakura led to this odd bathroom which she didn't really understand and it surprisingly had a very real explanation. According to Charles, this kind of set up was used for military style things, prisons and gymnasiums. Bathing quarters separated by gender and used by groups of people to get clean all at once. "I now understand the purpose of the room," she said but her brows drew together. Her understanding of desire was rather open. She knew that many of the things which she'd made and adjusted were made with sexual purposes in mind, as far as she was concerned she knew that this particular room had been taken from the mind of Martha, but why this kind of space? "It's still a bit strange to think of, for people who are so keen to have privacy a room like this is very contradictory to that very forceful desire," she said, deciding that humans were confusing. "Wait... what kind of trip did you think this was going to be?" she asked directly. Well, they still had time after all.

[Bloodedge]

Mugen did have a habit of mixing words and meanings, but one Shinomiya Kaguya seemed no different. Either way, the girl could hardly call his understanding of their arrangement unfit. "Nonsense. It's exactly the understanding you and I both prefer for this situation," he retorted. Indeed, Kaguya's every form would both begin and end with Mugen, both in concept and in... exploration. Everything she was, would be tainted sufficiently. "No need to control your impulses. Just remember to direct them toward me. If you don't, I'll just have to remember for you... but that comes at a cost," the demon added. His approach continued slowly, and he reached out to touch one of those little sprites she produced. If nothing else, her shikigami specialty persisted from one form to another. This showing obviously had nothing to do with the form of Yume.

Alas, Mugen would not be inspecting that shikigami very thoroughly. There was much more value in keeping an eye on Yume herself as she became engulfed by vines, which were then incinerated by the flames to present... a dark-skinned girl with ashen hair, pointed ears, and nothing but jewelry to adorn her flesh. The first Avatar of Shinomiya Kaguya was borne of a strip tease and an affair of sorts. Now on the third, she was revealing the new form bare as a newborn babe... though not without another type of stripper-like behavior as she flipped and spun her way down a makeshift pole into a split. Mugen quickly reached a quality of excitement that almost invalidated his recent escapades; he could see himself approaching this new form of Kaguya as if he'd gone without contact for a long time. "Ara~. That's a flashy introduction, but I'm a stingy judge. 8/10 so far. There is much you could still do. I'm just wondering what you're going to do~"

Sakura understood Charlemagne's explanation more easily than he thought. "Seriously? I didn't think you would," he said, thinking to provide more insight to the statement just after. "No offense, I mean. I didn't think I could explain it well enough. I'm kind of hoping we both have that issue when explaining our 'normal' to each other." Charlemagne was beginning to realize how many times that sort of thought crossed his mind, not recently, but over the last millennium. Explaining things to Angelica, and having things explained to him by Angelica, was always more difficult than necessary before consensus was reached. It was always refreshing to have an easy understanding like this. As for the remaining confusion, he could almost clear that up as well... almost. "Camaraderie. There are certain people we let our guard down for. For example, I'd share this room with Astolfo and Yuuya right now. We're comrades, so it's fine. It just gets different when genders and interests cross, because..." He paused there. Why? Well, the answer was within another answer ─ specifically Charlemagne's response to the final question of Sakura. Embarrassing as it was to say certain things out loud, they were far past the point of not blurting things out. "Well, it's like what I thought this was. When I realized we were obviously walking toward a bathroom, I thought the whole 'I don't understand something, come with me' bit was all some setup for you to drag me into a steamy shower sex scene. Though I guess I just didn't give your curiosity enough credit this time. . ."

[Apollymi]

Mugen was nothing if not sure of himself and how he related to Kaguya. In all of her forms the girl could be accused of being purposefully vague or intentionally misleading. She couldn't rightly be upset being caught in something like that given her mentor's noted similarities to herself. "Yes a need to control my impulses, changing direction when I've decided to try something out isn't something I do naturally... I am sure you understand that much yourself~" she countered. It was quite true, after making a decision outside interference was necessary to shift her desires and change her objective. "Not that it's a problem really. Though if there are costs, I should probably know them ahead of time~" she mused knowing full well that her own understanding was likely close enough to the truth for it not to matter.

Regardless he put on quite the little introductory show for her mentor. She used magic, kept it flashy, changed forms and exposed all of her new flesh to be admired for its craftsmanship. And what did she receive? A stingy judgement of a conditional 8/10... "Eight? EIGHT?! I did all that and I'm a dark elf that should count towards a bit more generosity," she said scoffing. Between Mugen and Anais these scores today were going to give her some kind of complex. Yes, she realized it was conditional, but this wasn't just some thrown together show. She'd put a lot of thought and effort into that introduction. Human boys would have jizzed in their pants seeing something like that... of this she was certain. Just the same, the forest seemed to be shifting around them as vines moved and shifting little sprites appeared once more and even the trees seemed to be bending around them into a little alcove. She was creating quite the secluded little alcove in the forest for them. Included within it, vines seeming to grow together between multiple trees making a harness of sort that her body was being moved into. It seemed like some kind of cross between a hammock and a sex swing and it was definitely her idea for this little endeavor. She'd be gently swinging while pouting wondering if this would even be enough to push her score any higher. She'd initially figured they could have some fun with exploration no bodily stress.

Moving on from that point, Charles expressed some surprise in the understanding of Sakura. And while she understood the purpose of the room, the exact context for something coming from a group of beings who seemed overly concerned with sexual context having privacy was a bit strange to her. "No, in general I understand the things you say... I have a fairly easy time piecing things together after being given a certain amount of information and I don't find your explanations lacking," she said complimenting the lad in a rather odd way. Ah, but there was more to the explanation as well. It was apparently considered a matter of gender based bonding to be comfortably vulnerable in front of each other. He claimed that he, Astolfo and Yuuya could share this shower room at once and it not be odd, but the addition of crossed genders was the thing which made it odd. But the addition of different genders didn't make sense to a shift in camaraderie either. Oh... a bit more clarification. Apparently, Charles thought that Sakura was initially suggesting seeing this room as a pretext to engaging in sexual activity with him. Her brows furrowed as she came to understand that many of the changes she'd made were apparently for sexual contexts that she didn't have and for setting up sexual pretexts she didn't understand as well. "Do humans use pretense to set up sexual situations? Wouldn't it be much more efficient to just say you are trying to have sex in a shower than to hint at it and have it not potentially be understood?" she asked as if that didn't make sense to her. "Also why is friendship and vulnerability, separated by gender?" She asked those questions as they seemed to be the keys to understanding this strange set of social rules she didn't quite get. Her own curiosity was indeed just curious... she wouldn't confuse her desire for sex with her need to have questions answered.

[Bloodedge]

"I'm afraid it's quite the opposite," Mugen corrected. He had no issue changing direction, though it wasn't the same type of scenario Yume ─ or whatever her current identity was ─ spoke of. "Though nowadays it's more like... changing the direction of everything else. Everything is much more convenient when everything else you need to do becomes a pit stop on the way to your desire," he explained further. In terms of a cost, he had one in mind from the beginning. Even if the girl intended to keep her end of their unofficial bargain, there was a chance of Mugen taking that route. "Well, as you know, I'd rather avoid relying solely on memory. I would rather implant the condition on your inmon. You could consider it more of a controlled experiment, if anything~"

Apparently, a score of 8 was ridiculous. She thought a bit more generosity of rating was in order. Obviously, she didn't yet grasp the scenario as a whole. "Is that so? Let's see... those abilities you used while being Asakura Yume, belonged to this new identity. That's not normal. You're a dark elf with brown skin. Do you know what that means? It means you're a from the generation that avoided the curse by being born as what they are. By all accounts, it's impossible for you to be anything but grey-skinned. People that look like you don't have an understanding of their own magical abilities, and you're surpassing the standard elf in druidic method execution ─ something dark elves aren't yet capable of due to their lost connection to nature. All of these things are true." As he spoke, Mugen observed the creation of a swing, on which the girl was soon resting atop with that pouty face. It seemed she had something more exciting still to offer. "So, where have my eyes been this whole time? Tell me where my priorities should be, and then decide if starting at an eight of ten is unfair~"

Much to Charlemagne's surprise, his descriptions were not lacking proper detail for understanding. It was always so confusing in foresight, not knowing how much detail was necessary to make completely foreign concepts clear. What he hadn't made clear, was the gender barrier in group bathing rituals. Just the same, the efficiency of pretense was missing and in need of clarification. He could at least try that part. "Err, well... probably because it's flirty? Not being so direct about it is considered romantic ─ kind of like poetry or something. Anyway, the gender separation is... well, it's because homosexuality wasn't acceptable in our world until very recent history. People used to be beaten for it, or even worse. Our society came up like that, so a guy and a girl is considered the norm... but then there's all the sex crimes. Keeping those borders makes people feel safe. I'm actually not sure how people with other preferences get around that, but Astolfo is pretty open and I've never had any issues around him either."

[Apollymi]

Apparently Mugen's life was running in a course opposite of Kaguya's, oh well, at least her meaning wasn't completely lost. His further explanation was one she understood but she hadn't quite achieved that level of path creation just yet. "That does sound pretty convenient, but I can't say I'm doing anything like that~" she expressed of herself though she was well on her way. Oh and what else did Mugen have to say, he wished to place their condition in her imon? "Well, there is no reason not to, it wouldn't even be the oddest thing I'd done to my body lately~" she said in humble agreement. She had no intention of backing out of her own arrangement but if Mugen wanted to experiment it only felt fair to allow him his experiment. She'd been taking many liberties with her own lately. Ah, but what was a few liberties between friends?

As she thought things like that... it was brought to her attention that Mugen hadn't just been paying attention to her little pole dance. No, he made sure that she knew and understood the outlandishness of everything that went into the build of that particular show, including things she didn't realize. She managed to look shocked and was red in the face actively poking her long ear sheepishly from her perch in the swing. "I... named this one, Ciara," she said realizing she'd not introduced herself yet. And beyond that point could only shrug and look sheepish. It would seem Anais wasn't the only one with a random set of circumstances which could turn her completely soft. "I didn't know all of that was being considered... I suppose it's a pretty high eight," she said softly. "Also that sounds like a lot, obviously I have some magic I just like using so I made it accessible in all my forms by connecting it to the me that is the base me," she said as if it made perfect sense. "As for the generation of elf I am I assume that is directly related to making it based on Ai-nee" she said with a general understanding of her current life. It wasn't like she'd birth herself into a cursed avatar on purpose. "As for attention... I made this swing, I figured I could go for something with a different kind of feel to it~" she mused as she rocked gently in the swing. There was more than enough room for him to join her and this body was really new and didn't have any hard preferences yet so they could do a lot of things.

Sakura had managed to surprise Charles with her understanding of his words. Of course, he went on to explain this lack of straightforward conversation. Like poetry, and it was romantic... romance as an idea had popped up in a few heads. She didn't fully understand it, but it did seem to be normal. Ah but there was more to discuss, like the discouragement of homosexuality between humans in the world he was from, and beyond that why that made all potential relationships between men and women potentially sexual. "Some of that is understandable but I might have more questions..." she said giving a good bit of thought to the words he'd shared with her. "What's a sex crime?" she asked finally figuring that would help frame the rest of her thoughts better. She spent a long time walking around in Munetsuchi so she understood humans to some extent, but anything considered a crime.

[Bloodedge]

"You're closer than you think," he said flatly. Yume's growth was not a thing to underestimate when considering the facts. "When you reach the end of your cycle, you'll see how many doors are opened merely by having connections between one point of the cycle and another. Everything affects everything else. But... I didn't need to tell you that, little miss experimental~" he teased, a single forefinger rising to show a thin thread of mana between its tip, and the mark on her hand. Ciara, this version of the girl was called. "You might have considered Koukai instead, since it's flowing in full force under your skin," he joked.

A rating of eight was indeed quite high. Frankly, Mugen wasn't sure why she didn't take it as a raving review. Human values were strange in modern eras. Stranger still was how easily she managed to spread abilities across Avatars, or rather... assign them to herself as Shinomiya Kaguya instead. "Casually surpassing the Creators of this world while being their polar opposite. Worried about two points in an arbitrary rating," he commented, shifting soon enough to a curious expression. Mugen could see the person Ciara was speaking of, and she had nothing to do with dark elves ─ or even dark skin from what he saw as visible to Kaguya. Perhaps he'd just have to keep that in mind until the girl in question reached him. "I shouldn't even bother wondering how that came about. Instead, I'll wonder what you intend with this vine thing. What exactly is supposed to create a different kind of feel?"

Yet again, Charlemagne had to provide explanation for something strange. This time, he was quite surprised by the question she decided to ask. Sex crimes were as common in this world as they were in the other, if not more so. "I'm actually surprised you don't know about that one, but I guess it wouldn't be much of a thing in Munetsuchi. A sex crime is... when someone forces themselves on someone else ─ someone who didn't consent. Whether it's molestation or an outright rape, it's a crime. Some people are even worse in our world. They take advantage of people who aren't mentally or physically developed ─ people who don't understand what they're getting into. Consent is a really important thing in the society we come from."

[Apollymi]

According to Mugen, Kaguya was closer than she thought to the flexibility of making the world worked as she wished. He explained that there was a certain amount of viability which came simply with establishing connections between multiple points. And pointed out her mana tethering experiment as part of his explanation. She smirked about it, knowing that it was mostly an experiment but also a great number of other things. "Ah, well... that was just a bit fun. Though I'd be lying if I said I wasn't also just trying to keep an eye on her... she's not quite as much her as I remember and I have a strong desire to look after her and I am not sure it is all just our closeness as friends," she said of that little link between herself and the elafia. As for her blushing face and potential name change she simply waved him off... "Iia, I wanted my name to make sense for what I was... I leaned a whole language to make sure I picked one which worked for my ideas~" she said with both hands covering the flesh of her face.

Beyond that was the number eight which had been her reviewed number from Mugen. Of course, it wasn't quite that simple either. Arbitrary though the number would have been, Kaguya, or in this case Ciara was still human enough to want her scores to be as high as possible regardless of context. Whether the 'Creators' of this world were behind enough not to manage similar feats wasn't really part of her calculation, "I don't have much to say about creators, except, point out the irony of a lack of creativity~" she said still seeming to enjoy her word games. "Beyond that, I'm still a school girl after all... arbitrary though the numbers might be, if you fall short of top marks you're bound to feel a little discontent," she explained of her own nature. As for the friend she'd used for her current form she could only laugh a bit as Mugen wondered over how such a thing came about, "No clue, human fashion is really something quite outlandish to all of you... I'll leave explaining Gyaru Culture to Ai-nee," she said with a causal shrug. "Also missing out... these swings are supposed to be a lot of fun. See regardless of who is in it, or how... you can give yourself a lot of access and extra movement... I hadn't tried it yet, but it seemed like it'd be pretty easy to make with vines~" she explained of herself. All the while she was twisting about within the swing. Legs open and up wrapped in vines to be separated exposing the whole center of herself to be taken advantage of.

Meanwhile a rather clever girl was being told things that didn't make logical sense to her. That being said, Sakura had already been made privy to the lack of logic embodied by humanity. Sex crimes weren't common in Munetsuchi but she assumed other parts of the world weren't so well off or diligent. In the grand scheme of things there were a lot of nuances which would have made 'sex crimes' as they were called more or less acceptable. But when considering this information from the human perspective it was a bit different. Well, to express herself she began to ramble much like one of her father's would as she worked through her problems with the information she was told. "People in Munetsuchi from Munetsuchi likely wouldn't do it. They understand the magical connection between people and would know that to give your essence to someone is to give them power and weaken yourself. They also understand the nature of spiritual consent so that wouldn't be a problem either. Of course, I realize that humans do this sort of thing just for the physical sensation of it, but consent is an odd thing to bring up. Consent is something done on a spiritual level, having to say it or be clear about it is odd. But... humans also don't have the necessary senses to go about it that way so I suppose that makes more sense, still the fact that this is something people would do to the underdeveloped or immature is disturbing. It would lock them into developments and similarities to the person who forced themselves on them, which would taper their development which is... not something which should be done. My parents would kill someone who did something like that... I am pretty sure I would too..." she gave it a bit of thought. "It is odd, I understand the magical basis, but just for the point of sexual pleasure would give it negative intent. I also suppose if you thought you should be able to consent to something and weren't given the option it would have a terrible effect on emotional development... yeah, that's a firm no. Whoever thought of that is a terrible individual and stupid," she came to these conclusions on her own.