Signum Malum

[Mami Tomoe]

Okay. I got my roster up, I got my purchase log up, I've been accepted, so on, so on. But I have to get a post up, or I'm never going to. So here's this! Enjoy my mediocre writing, and reply if you feel like it. Okeh? Okeh.

Crunch. What a sickening sound... Though Mami didn't even flinch.

She felt... Helpless, for lack of a better word. Like she was bound, or like her whole body had gone numb. Only moments earlier, she had been fighting Charlotte, a witch in the Mitakihara area, and had been deep within its barrier - But as if it was but a memory, she could only recall teeth closing around her neck... Have I... Died? Is this what death is like?

Suddenly she was standing at a door - A doorbell had rung, and an elegant-sounding bell chimed through the white-and-gray hallway that had appeared in a split second. The door before her was a dark wood, with ornate gold designs along it, as if to signal the person beyond the door was wealthy, or incredibly important... And as she thought that, there stood her mother and father, with puzzled expressions. No shock was visible in their eyes... But there was some in Mami's. A gasp escaped Mami's lips - A gasp she never let slip, that she never let through her composure - And she darted forward... But something stopped her. Mami blinked and raised her hand to the doorway - What appeared to be an invisible wall stood between the long-parted family members. "We're sorry, darling, but it's not your time yet," a warm, motherly voice chimed, a chime tinged with despair.

Tears streamed down Mami's face and fell to the ground - The ground that looked like nothing but white - And she soon fell to her knees. She wanted to ask why she couldn't stay, why she couldn't be with her family... But she already knew why. Her wish... What a selfish wish it was. Static filled Mami's vision for a moment; The room turned black, the door disappeared, and a new figure was before her, one she couldn't quite make out, that spoke words she couldn't understand. She couldn't move, as if she had been chained in place. No matter how hard she tried... Something was holding her back. But what?

Mami's eyes flew open. A pure white sky awaited her eyes, and about a centimeter of water soaked the ground around her. She heard a trickle of water and saw a fountain behind her - A beautiful, ornate fountain... But dried, salty tears coated her cheeks still. There was no time to worry about family, about what she wanted to happen. She had to worry about survival now, and where she was. More importantly, where Madoka and Sayaka were. How had Charlotte changed her barrier so quickly... And how could a barrier be this empty?

She stood on weak legs and regained her composure. Shortly after, she curtsied, allowing two rifles to materialize on either side of her legs. She picked them up by their stocks, rested them on her shoulders and began to head east without a second thought. With her usual calm eyes and warm smile, she looked as if nothing had ever happened.