!! spoilers in post and comments !!

[candlemas]

Ah, it's so nice to have company again! Thank you, little sir. There's even tea and cake laid out for me, your honored guest. My, my.... Your manners are truly admirable, you know?

[A laugh, high and sweet and innocent, and then the sound trails off into a contemplative silence. Something tightens in the young, pretty face beneath the bright yellow bonnet. Just for a moment, a lingering instant that's easily forgotten when the Witch smiles.] But to be honest, it feels a little strange to be invited for once. That's never happened before. It would just be me, waiting alone for someone to stop by. And the times when nobody would show up, why, they felt like an eternity!

[She adds more sugar to her tea, swirling it in with her spoon. The motion is dainty, refined. She chuckles quietly under her breath. Secretive, almost, as if over a private joke.]

But really, I don't like thinking about that sort of thing. It's better to concentrate on happy thoughts, isn't it?

Comments

[fatedmagica]

[ Mami-san.

Madoka hates seeing you like this... ]

... Mami-san, um. [ Have a bow. ] I know I wasn't invited to this, um, party with your Mundane-san but um... I'm sorry... for being so late...

[candlemas]

[The familiar gold eyes are glassy, empty in an alien and horrible way, yet at the sight of Madoka they seem to fill with a warmth that's very nearly genuine. And beneath it, a recognition that's greedy and desperate and selfishly delighted.]

Oh, Kaname-san! It's no trouble at all - I'm sure he won't mind. You're always a welcome guest.

[There's an faint undercurrent of menace there, imperceptible to the human ear. He better not mind.]

Please, make yourself at home. And don't worry about being late....now that we're together, nothing else matters. [She fills another cup and offers it to Madoka. Steam rises from the liquid inside.] Tea? It's fresh, I promise.

[meinegottin]

Happy thoughts.

Always...happythoughts....

It is good to see you again, ehehehe.

[candlemas]

[A kind smile. Candeloro gets to her feet and curtsies in greeting, a gentle elegance in every line of her body. She gestures to the table.]

And you as well, of course. Would you like some cake?

[Any visitor was a welcome one, up until the point they forgot their manners.]

[meinegottin]

[Gretchen gives a bow of her own, the tendrils of her skirts lazing around, almost thoughtfully, instead of their usual thrashing and destruction.]

As always you are a wonderful host. I wouldbe delighted, Miss Candeloro.

[candlemas]

[This seems to please her, touches the buried and distorted core of this existence that ought not to be. It was nice to be complimented, to have her kindness not just acknowledged but appreciated. In another life, it was taken for granted. At another time, it was treated with the same light-fingered contempt as her feelings had been. Candeloro smiles again and gives a modest shrug.]

Oh, you're too kind. I simply want to make sure that all my guests can smile easily. That should be the natural way of things, don't you think?

[She cuts a generous slice and eases it skillfully onto a plate (china, of course, with a flower pattern around the edges) before holding it out to Gretchen.]

I hope the taste doesn't disappoint.

[meinegottin]

Surely it will not.

[She takes it graciously, and tries a bite. Her disjointed and screechy speaking pattern seems to carry over to her humming as she thinks.]

It is wonderful.

[It had been too long since she'd seen "her." Even if this wasn't "Mami-san" and she wasn't really "Madoka Kaname", it dragged up every memory of her "kind and wonderful friend, Mami-san" from her waterlogged heart.]

[shadowmagica]

[Etsuko, on the other hand, is standing not too far off with a murderous expression on her face. Witches. Blech.]

..."Happy thoughts." That's rich, coming from one of you witches.

[candlemas]

[She raises an eyebrow, but maintains her pleasant smile. A sip from the teacup before answering in calm, measured tones.]

Now, now, there's no reason to be rude. Anyone can dream of ideal things.

[shadowmagica]

Hmph! Bet you your dreams aren't pleasant like a human being's. [She makes a sour face and folds her arms haughtily over her chest.] What would a Witch like you dream of? Eating people?

[That tea smells really good from over here, though.]

[candlemas]

[There's a sigh, soft and exasperated - like that of someone dealing with a child being troublesome on a whim - and Candeloro takes another sip of tea. More as an exercise in control than to quench her thirst, if she was being truthful; yet in another life her patience had run long and deep, and a ghost of the same lingers on even now.]

My, what an unkind thing to assume of someone! I dream about having friends and being happy. That's something every human being thinks about, now isn't it? There's nothing pleasant or ideal about being alone.

[shadowmagica]

[But she's always been a strong-willed girl. So sure that she knows what true righteousness is. And so very wrong. Etsuko uncrosses her arms. Takes a step closer.]

Everyone dreams of being happy. Some of us dream about others being happy. ["I wish you, although not seen from me, to be happy."] ...Is that black tea?