Do you Believe in Magic?

[Mystic Mina]

((The time now for everyone except Mandy is now 4 in the afternoon. For Mandy, it should be almost lunch time.))

Rein's sword and sheath dissipated into the ether with a puff of golden dust, but she still remained a woman.

I am a Valkyrie, foolish mortal! Only a woman can receive my blessing! Surely you knew that before you prayed to me!

---

"Oh, trust me, you'll never be ready for what I have in store for you..."

Esper started the tennis game off with a lightning fast serve, shooting the ball right over the net and straight towards Mandy! It was almost as if she was aiming to hit the other girl...

---

Paulette, Richard, and the androgynous man dressed in black heard heated shouting from the back of the store as Julius and Samuel began to argue with one another. What exactly was being said was muffled by the closed backroom door, but the bickering was still loud enough to bother the trio. Samuel Winters definitely wasn't coming out to the front any time soon...

---

The inside of Stephanie's house was just as fascinating to her as the outside was. Clean, white walls ran all the way up to a tall ceiling from which a golden chandelier hung. Simple, but classy furniture decorated the entrance room.

[Marky]

Staring around at the furniture, and especially at the chandelier, Stephanie stood there, gaping a bit. "Wow, this is just...wow..." Stammering, she slowly begins to wander deeper into the entrance room, glancing around a bit, before she begins to explore the house, a bit excited to see what all she might find.

[Harri-chan]

Mandy wasn't terrible at tennis... for a dork. She wasn't anywhere near Esper's league however, as with most things. Her breasts were too small to bounce inside her dress as she as she stepped back and swung low with the racket, but the little yellow ball bounced just infront of her, before rising up to catch her right in the stomach. Her racket clattered to the ground, and she cried out as she fell beside it, landing on her bottom with her legs spread so everyone could see her panties as she clutched at her gut, "Oww! You did that on purpose!".

[Evra]

Rein stops running as the sword dissappears as he looks down sort of nervous "err not really ..." she says looking around as she walks towards home

[Ookalf]

Paulette, Richard, and the androgynous man dressed in black heard heated shouting from the back of the store as Julius and Samuel began to argue with one another. What exactly was being said was muffled by the closed backroom door, but the bickering was still loud enough to bother the trio. Samuel Winters definitely wasn't coming out to the front any time soon...

*Richard looks past Paulette and at the door.* Er, did I come at a bad time?

[Victorious]

Whatever was going on back there...Julius actually seemed to have been doing a pretty good job, at least if the influx of customers was anything to go by. She was regretting telling him what she had though--this was awkward enough without the yelling from the backroom. But that's life.
Giving a little cough, Paulette pushes the door as shut as it will go, in hopes to further muffle the sound before responding to Richard.

"Ah--everything is fine, Julius is just...a little...busy right now..."

Trailing off, she shakes her head, trying to steel herself slightly.

"Er--well. What are you looking for...sir? There's a lot of stuff."

Motioning to the chaos that was the store, she gives a helpless shrug. Something told her that she wouldn't be so lucky as to just find price tags on most of this stuff...but there was so much of it, she could probably just guess at a price for whatever he found and call it good. Samuel...well, Mr. Winters, probably wouldn't mind too much.

Right?

Pausing to give a forced smile to Richard, Paulette shifts her focus to the second person, the smile, forced or not, withering away fairly quickly, despite the way that the fellow was looking at her. Privately, she had never seen the-the point in this style that some kids seemed to be styling nowadays. She'd never made the observation out loud, of course--when put into words, he had had the feeling that it would make her sound like a crotchety old man...but to her, this kind of thing was a failing of a younger generation, whether she would say it or not.
Of course, given her current looks, she could probably pass for this 'younger generation'...but that's a thought she was trying to keep off her mind.
Clearing her throat--and frowning slightly at the rather petite sound, she nods to him.

"...Potential?"

Shrugging, she tilts her head slightly, her words cold.

"Are you looking for something in particular...sir?"

[Stray-chan]

The young man nods to Paulette. "Yes, potential. The potential to be worth my time and money. Tell me, are you, and whoever is back there yelling," he gestured to to the back room, "practitioners? Are all your wares the real thing? I assume so, because this place makes my unseen senses tingle." Despite her cold attitude, his was still quite warm.

[Victorious]

Unseen senses?
Paulette says nothing at this, but, despite her recent experience with magic, the phrase sounds awfully silly. Maybe it's just the guy's outfit. Still, at the very least, he seemed interested in buying something, which at the very least might please Mr. Winters.
Though, she wasn't entirely sure how much he was in this for the material gain anyhow if he was so magical, but...Well, there was no use worrying about that right now.

"Practitioners...of...?"

Glancing between Richard and the other young man, she hesitates.

"...Magic?"

She can't help but feel a bit silly saying that, but there was no way around it, really.

"Well--yes. You've come to the right place, I guess."

The pale girl shrinks back behind the front desk. Who was she to be saying this? She barely believed in the stuff herself...but it was her business now, she supposed.

[Stray-chan]

The young man's look broke into a grin. "Excellent, excellent! I thought as much. Though I must say, the occlusion on this place is top notch stuff. I assume its done in order to protect the wares?" He looks around the store a bit again. "So many compelling things, so little time... So, any items of interest you recommend?"

[Mystic Mina]

There was much more in store for Stephanie as she walked into the living room of her new home. A giant flat-screen TV, one she always dreamed of having when she was a poor, out of work man, hung proudly on a nearby wall. Below it, she could see a plethora of the latest gaming systems and several stacks of anime DVDs, somewhat out of place items in an otherwise mature and modern home.

Nothing separated the living room from the kitchen, which was comparatively small, but well-stocked. If she were to check inside the refrigerator and pantry, she would find a decently sized stock of fresh food ready for her to eat, and if she wanted to cook something for herself, a wide selection of pots, pans, knives, and other cooking tools sat out in display for her to wield.

---

“It’s not my fault that you weren’t fast enough to dodge… Oh, and that’s a point for me.” Esper face twisted into a malicious grin, one that struck fear into Mandy’s quivering heart… Or maybe it gave her the strength she needed to win?

“You know, you could just forfeit right now. It’ll save you from more pain. In fact, if you decide to quit now, you and the other fish will only have to serve me for HALF the school year. What do you say?”

---

Oh, you did not? Well… This is rather awkward. Rather awkward indeed. The normally strong voice now mumbled in embarrassment as Rein made her way home. There was a heavy silence between the two for a short while, but then the voice started to speak once more, its confidence regained.

Well, fear not maiden! My blessing shall only last until the dawn of the next sun! Does that not relax you?

[Victorious]

"O...cclusion?"

Paulette gives the man a blank look. That sounded like a magic word. It was probably a magic word. Was this guy...a wizard?
Though, if place was hidden for protection, why was Julius pulling people in here, then? The journalist in Paulette picks at this slightly, but whatever the case, he was a customer. Probably.
He was still a weirdo, though.
After a moment, she nods.

"Yes, right. That's probably it."

Brushing her hair back, she looks around the shop, straightening in her seat. What would this guy even want? A pentacle? The Necronomicon? As she ponders...something catches her eye, tucked away on the shelf. A couple little things actually--they looked like trinkets, but maybe one of them would satisfy.
Hopping off her seat, she quickly walks over, frowning as she realizes that she's shorter then the man, and quickly pulls them out from among the clutter.

"Well...I don't know what you're looking for, but maybe one of these would be good?"

Looking back to him, she--feeling a bit silly--holds out a white-tipped wand, that it looks like was just picked up from a toy store...and in the other hand, she holds out a a small makeup case.

[Harri-chan]

Mandy shook her head, wincing as she climbed to her feet, and adjusted her glasses before picking up the ball and tossing it across the net to Vesper. She rubbed her stomach a little more, and then picked up her racket. "I'm no quitter... ", she muttered, taking up her position once more, waiting for the ball to come at her.

[Stray-chan]

"Hidden from prying eyes of all sorts. You're rather new to all this, aren't you?" It wasn't an accusatory question, he seemed genuinely interested. He regarded the two objects, and reached for the make-up case. "I've never been one for wands." He turns the case over in his hands, examining it. "So... what is it, exactly?"

[Mystic Mina]

The girl's persistence angered the usually cool-headed Esper, and the grin on her face became a menacing scowl as she readied herself for another serve.

"What, you think you can honestly win this? You think you can beat ME? I'm this school's tennis champion! I haven't lost a single game ever since I started playing, and I'm not about to lose...!" Again, she struck the ball with awe-inspiring power, and again the ball blasted towards Mandy at unbelievable speeds. "To some NOBODY!"

[Harri-chan]

Mandy felt her knees weaken as Esper yelled at her, and she couldn't shake images from her head of becoming the bullies servant, of being utterly humiliated at her hands. She stepped back again and swung, this time managing to hit the ball, but it was moving too fast. She got her angles all wrong, and only managed to knock it way up in the air.... watching it as it plummeted back down and landed some way off the court...