You're still undecided on how to do so, however. If all she needs is for it to be night, then you could conduct the test down in the pool room. If she needs it to be dark, though, then you're stuck being cold outside. Going outside would mean getting both things right at once (night and dark), but you can't use the Substriker to test the waters. Plus, you don't like the cold. Upsides and downsides to everything, you suppose. You've told Odessa to meet you here tonight, so you could have a chance to think about it.

[ ] Step into the cold
[ ] Head to the pool
[ ] Other

>>21006300
Try the pool first.

>>21006300

[x] Head to the pool

Can't we just... y'know... turn off the lights?

>>21006322

As an addendum, take her outside if turning off the lights doesn't actually work.

File: 1349482937164.png-(56 KB, 368x408, madoka.png)

>>21006322
...Who told you to think? Thinking is dangerous. You might hurt yourself.

>>21006350

>that image.

...there's a joke here about not hurting your head.

File: 1349483164970.png-(13 KB, 216x191, madokamadoka.png)

>>21006368

>>21006300
[x] Step into the cold
Test this whole idea before getting to Substrikers.

[x] Step into the cold

File: 1349484290359.jpg-(30 KB, 356x400, 1289248642070.jpg)

[x] Head to the pool

And yeah, turn off the lights. Being nocturnal won't matter if the lights are still on.

Well, if you can get the job done without stepping outside, then all the better for you. Besides, you can turn off the lights, right? Stepping around the pool in the darkness would suck, but you could still do it. Or just not move. If that doesn't work, then you'll still have to come outside to see if the "artificial" darkness doesn't work, but you're still covering more bases...

"Coo—Chief Kuykendall!" comes a voice. It's Odessa, fresh from the stairs. Wearing loose sleepwear, she draws the attention of the cardplayers across the room. A quick stare from you helps them decide that their card game is much more interesting.

"Good evening, Seaman Rothrock," you greet, giving her a look over. Damn. Loose as that clothing is, it looks really, really warm and comfy...

"Reporting as requested," she says. "Um, this isn't an official thing, right?" You have a feeling she's suddenly very conscious of her clothing.

You shake your head. "Technically, no. We'll be taking a dip, however, so you'll be changing anyway."

>>21006633


"Oh, we're heading to the pool?"

"Yes. Wasn't sure if I wanted to get us started down there or out there," you gesture towards the hangar door, "but a quick look has helped me make my decision." At least, it would have, had you not made up your mind. Her damned pajamas—

"Chief?" Odessa's quiet voice snaps you away from your dreams of comfort.

"Oh, sorry. Just a little distracted is all," you answer. You walk past her as she gives you an inquisitive look, leading her down the stairs.

As you walk into the pool room, you're overwhelmed by a sense of silence. Usually people are milling about in or around either the pool or pool room; the lack of such activity is jarring.

"What now?" Odessa asks.

[ ] "Well, get changed, Seaman Rothrock."
[ ] "Let's start with some simple magic."
[ ] Explain

Sorry about the delay, had to help someone with some technical difficulties.

>>21006643

[x] Explain

I know letting your experimental subject know what the experiment is a cardinal sin, and you go to Science Hell for it, but it might be a good idea to at least let her know what we'll be doing.

>>21006643
>[ ] Explain

>>21006643
[x] "Let's start with some simple magic."

The glow from the magic should be just enough to see in the dark and I don't see much room for error with some simple stuff.

>>21006643
[x] "Let's start with some simple magic."

[ x] Explain

>>21006643
[x] Explain
Also a good time to ask her what kinds of familiars her family has.

I want a pic of rothrock. heheh batgirl

>Sorry, was talking with Panzer

You take a seat on the floor, gesturing for Odessa to join you. "It's simple," you say as she grabs a spot opposite you. "You're having a lot of shit luck, right?"

Odessa's lively expression dies. "Yes."

"I think I've figured it out."

Her expression returns. "Really!?"

You nod. "A few questions first. Do you know what familiars your mother and grandmother have?"

Odessa thinks for a moment. "Well...my grandma doesn't really use magic much these days; she's utterly convinced it's the source of our curse. My mom still tries, though, so I actually see hers. It's a bat like mine."

Perfect. "Have you ever had one of your incidents at night?"

She blinks. "Huh? Um, not that I can explicitly remember..."

You smile. "Well then. I guess it's time to tell you about my hypothesis. I think you might be something of a nocturnal Witch."

"What?"

"Your familiar's a bat, right? Those are nocturnal. You've never had an incident at night, and your mother might be in the same situation. It's not like we really do much at night, either, so..."

"You mean!?"

"Yeah, you should be able to work just fine right now."

[ ] "Let's start with some simple magic."
[ ] "Get changed, it's time to get wet."
[ ] Other

>>21006989

[x] Lets get started with some simple magic.

Let's work our way up to turning off the lights, putting on malfunction prone equipment, and jumping in the water, yes?

>>21006989
>[ ] "Let's start with some simple magic."
Let's not start off by accidentally drowning Odessa.

[ ] "Let's start with some simple magic."

safer this way

>>21006989
[x] "Let's start with some simple magic."

YOU CAN DO IT, GURL.

File: 1349487005712.jpg-(10 KB, 131x225, too_lewd.jpg)

>>21006989
[x] "Let's start with some simple magic."
>it's time to get wet

You're still a little wary of letting her just jump into the pool, though; if this isn't the issue, then you don't want to have to try and save a drowning Witch. It's probably better to be cautious.

"Let's start small, ok?" you suggest, pulling a small ball from your pocket.

"Alright."

"I've got this ball. We'll toss it back and forth. When I chuck it really hard, though, I want you to toss up a shield and protect yourself, alright?"

Odessa doesn't look eager. "Are...are you sure that this will work?"

You nod. "Yes."

Odessa takes a moment to collect herself, giving herself a few slaps to her face. "Alright, I'm ready."

You back up several paces, then toss the ball to her. Odessa catches it with ease, already a good sign. She returns the ball to you with a good pass....back and forth, back and forth, back and...there! You chuck it towards her chest with decent speed. In a split second, Odessa reacts: the ball rebounds and soars towards the ceiling, its trajectory changed by an impact with a magical shield.

"I...!" Odessa says excitedly. She turns up to look at the ball as it begins to return to the ground...and catches it. "I caught it!"

You grin.

[ ] Run a few more tests
[ ] Jump in and get wet
[ ] Other

[ X] Run a few more tests

lets be safe and replicate results

>>21007170
[x] Run a few more tests

>>21007170
[x] Run a few more tests

VAN TEST DOES NOT A CONCLUSION MAKE! VE MUST PERFORM MORE SCIENCE!

>>21007170
[x] Run a few more tests
>cute witches playing cute ballgames by the pool
oh god more

Still, it's only one result in one test. You're no scientist, but that sounds a bit lacking even to you. Perhaps a few more...

"Let's keep going, Odessa."

Odessa gives an enthusiastic nod.

You gesture for the ball again. "Alright, I'm going to throw this towards you, but not directly at you. Do whatever you can to catch it, then try to hit me with it, ok?" No one said you couldn't have fun at the same time!

"Alright!" she says, determined.

You toss the ball in your hand a few times, getting a feel for it...then chuck it just over Odessa's left shoulder. She shields it, bouncing it directly into an open palm. In one swift movement, she spins around and fires it back at you. You bring up your own barrier, a little sloppy, and the ball goes flying upward again.

"That was g-" you start, before the ball hits you on the head. "How in the...?" The ball didn't quite look like it was going to land anywhere near yo—

>>21007468


Odessa giggles, pointing. You follow her finger...holy crap. The ball bounced off an overhead light behind you; it's still swinging back and forth from the hit.

"...Impressive," you start, "I didn't think-" You cut yourself off, suddenly launching a strike with the ball. Odessa dodges and the ball just catches an ajar filter cover, rocketing upwards yet again. You watch it carefully this time...and are promptly surprised when you find Odessa right underneath it. You barely bring your shield up in time as she swings her arm like a baseball bat, protected by her own shield. The ball hurtles towards you, deflecting into the pool.

"...I'm half expecting it to fly out of there and hit me," you admit as you watch it carefully.

"Cookie! I think you're right!" Odessa yells with glee.

[ ] ...Cookie?
[ ] Time to go fetch that ball, I'd say
[ ] Other

>>21007479

[x] Time to go fetch that ball, I'd say

>>21007479
[x] Time to go fetch that ball, I'd say

Ignore the name and carry on. AIN'T NOTHIN' GONNA BREAK HER STRIDE.

>>21007479
...So how the hell have you gone multiple generations without realising something so simple?

[ X] Other

Looks like we're on the right track, now lets try the sub striker, in the shallow end.

>>21007502
Good Question.

>>21007493

To clarify, we can give her a hard time later~

>>21007479
[x] ...Cookie?
ONLY SOCKS CALLS ME THAT
INTO THE DRINK WITH YOU

>>21007506
That's how we were going to fetch the ball. Shit's deep, yo.

>>21007514
Is this going to be 'it was lack of confidence all along' or 'OH GOD WE WERE WRONG AND NOW EVERYONE IS DEAD FOREVER'?

>>21007522
Socks has never called you that.

>>21007535
So?

>>21007533
Good Question

>>21007533
Lack of confidence would be such a lame cliche. It also wouldn't explain how the "curse" started, only how it continued. Though, not ever using the powers in the dark for GENERATIONS is pretty fucking stupid.

>>21007479
>[ ] ...Cookie?
Eh... let it slide this time.
>[X] Time to go fetch that ball, I'd say

>>21007549

I find myself... concerned.

>>21007663
Good attitude

>>21007685
Good response.

You decide to let that slide. "It's about time to go fetch that ball, wouldn't you say?"

"Alright!"

The two of you head to the locker room close by to change into something more suited to water. As you both get dressed in dry suits, you can't help but wonder how this could possibly be so simple. Have they just never tried to do magic at night? Or just never noticed that things work out at night? Hmm...

"Are you ready?" Odessa asks, shutting a locker.

"Yeah, I suppose..." You shut your locker, grabbing a set of Substrikers on your way out. Odessa does the same.

"Alright," you begin as you put on your equipment, "remember that this is a little bit more difficult than playing with a ball. Take it slow and easy, you don't want to get caught up in another explosion or anything."

"...Right." Odessa focuses entirely on properly suiting up, giving the leg units a few good tugs.

"Now, I'm going to do a few simple maneuvers similar to what you guys were doing this morning with...Lt. Kellos. You were having trouble then. You probably won't now, but still: take it easy. Alright?"

"Alright."

>>21007775


The two of you don your helmets and jump in. The water, though somewhat cool, doesn't bother you through your dry suit. You bask in the fluidity of the liquid, letting its small currents flow over you...then you realize Odessa is waiting for you. You tap your helmet a few times in a "watch me" gesture, then move off and do a few quick movements. You dart to your right, spin as if to aim at something that was following you as it rockets past, then bolt in a direction completely orthogonal to the motion of your imaginary enemy. You then sit and wait for Odessa to do the same.

Odessa launches into the same series of moves, expertly copying you. She darts right a little more quickly, putting perhaps a tad too much spin in as she tracks an invisible enemy. Then she darts off aga-

SPLASH!

[ ] "What the devil?"
[ ] "New target, Odessa!"
[ ] Other

>>21007782
[x] "What the devil?"

This wasn't part of the plan.

[x] What the devil?
Just who the hell, do you think you are? barging in on my SCIENCE!?
[X] new target, odessa!
teach them not to interfere when SCIENCE is being done!

>>21007782
In before some random person is skinny-dipping in the pool after hours.

>>21007782
>[ ] "What the devil?"
Let's not go agro quite yet.

>>21007782
[x] dafuq?

>>21007782
[x] "New target, Odessa!"

>>21007853
In before it's Bitchy McBitchtits.

What the hell? You can't really make out what just fell into the pool just yet, what with the bubbles swirling about, but if you just wait...

"Hey! What are you doing here?" A muffled voice from the surface yells at you. You promptly surface and discover...

"Good evening, Lt. Jg. Harton," you say as you take off your helmet.

"Chief? Why are you swimming right now? And who's that?" she asks, pointing.

"Couldn't I ask you the same question, JG?"

"I guess, but I don't think I could answer right."

"I meant about swimming."

"Oh. I like swimming, Chief."

Judging by the non-standard nature of her swimsuit (are they allowed to expose that much?), you could have guessed that much yourself.

"Cookie, what's going on?" Odessa asks, finally removing her helmet.

"Cookie!? Hahahaha, what in the hell?" Harton comments. She has to grab the side of the pool to keep from going under, her laughs are so strong.

[ ] Yes, and what of it?
[ ] Seaman Rothrock, it's Kuykendall. Chief Kuykendall.
[ ] Other.

>>21008020
[x] Yes, and what of it?

This pool is for training purposes only. No fun allowed.

[ X] Other.
Perfect timing! We needed a moving target for SCIENCE!
GET IN THE POOL!

>>21008020
[x] Yes, and what of it?
That's it, we're painting a cookie on our striker.
Wait, do we even HAVE a dedicated striker at this point?

>>21008020
"Not normally, for you lot."

So, the second one, I guess.

>>21008089
This

>>21008092
I'm going to say no. There isn't dedicated support infrastructure, so you've been taking whatever is available and works out of the small number produced.

>>21008114
How about a patch on our drysuit?

"Oh, what's that, Harton?" you ask

"Pfft, what, Chief Cookie?"

"Oh, thank you so much for volunteering."

The color drains from Harton's face. "What?"

You nod to Odessa. She immediately pops her helmet back on and wedges Harton off the poolside and into the deeper water.

"Wha-ghhhghg!" Harton says, catching a little bit of water in her mouth. You get ready to help out, but she recovers. "Volunteering? I didn't volunte-gghghg!"

Odessa zooms by Harton, actually causing her to spin and fall backwards in the water. Odessa follows up with a quick orbit of Harton, brandishing an invisible weapon, before cutting back once more and tapping Harton on the side as she zooms by again.

"Good, Seaman Rothrock!" you yell, calling her off. You feel like you should give Harton a chance to recover; water's still dangerous if you're not careful.

"Ptoo, pffoo, ugh, dammit! What are you two even doing out here!?" Harton complains, spitting water out and climbing onto the side of the pool.

"What does it look like, JG?" you ask.

"I dunno, you've got Rothrock calling you some pet name for Godsake!"

[ ] Extra training
[ ] Guarding the pool
[ ] Other

>>21008301
[x] Other
"Well, you might have noticed that Rothrock was having trouble during your classes earlier.
I have determined, through countless hours of research and many brilliant flashes of inspiration, that her familiar is nocturnal and thus gets cranky during daylight hours.
Also, you almost sound jealous. Would you like to call me Cookie?"

>>21008398
All of that. We should just have this thing going where we assume everyone has a crush on us. Eventually it'll be true.

>>21008412
That's pretty arrogant

>>21008429
Everyone wants a bite of the Cookie. But only Socks gets the whole thing~

>>21008301
>[ ] Extra training
And:
"The name's all her, which I DO NOT APPROVE OF."

>>21008499
That.

>>21008301
[x] Extra training
"And my name is Chief Kuykendall. Do I look like I go good with milk?"

>>21008562
"...Maybe?"

You decide to snatch a piece of that poolside yourself. "Well, I don't know if you've noticed or not, but Seaman Rothrock here has been having a hell of a time in your normal training sessions."

Harton snorts. "That's an understatement, Chief." Odessa looks away.

"Well, JG Harton, I've been devoting a lot of effort to figuring out why."

"Isn't it obvious? She's just bad at a lot of things."

You chuckle. "Is that why she was just able to swim circles around you like it was nothing?"

"Well, um..."

"Turns out I've pretty much figured out what's going on. Her familiar's nocturnal, gets a little cranky during the day. Like yourself, actually."

"...I'm not cranky."

You tilt your head. "Oh?"

"I'm just used to more sleep is all."

"…" Isn't that just another way of saying you've been cranky? "Well, we're getting some extra practice in," you say, annoyed.

Odessa takes a spot next to you, taking her helmet off. "Co—er, Chief Kuykendall, it's ok—"

Harton breaks in. "What about that 'Cookie' junk?"

"What? You jealous? Want to call me Cookie too? I don't know if I'd be fine with you omitting rank, but if you really want to..."

"N-no! I mean, um..." Harton's thoughts grind to a halt as she grabs her head. "Nevermind..." She slips back into the pool and begins to drift lazily on her back, eyes closed. She's actually rather good at it.

"...Well then," you comment.

[ ] Well, that's enough testing tonight, Seaman Rothrock.
[ ] Practice around Harton.
[ ] Other.

>>21008631
[x] Other
Try having Odessa do some things blindfolded.
We've kept the lights on at the pool, right? So she only needs to operate at night, brightness doesn't factor into it?
Let's see what other quirks her familiar has.

>>21007550
>>21007533
>>21007502

I have a (probably silly) theory.

Her family history of doing awfully, in the file, was punctuated by periods of doing spectacularly well. So, i'm thinking, a couple of people in the family *did* figure it out, and made shit work for a while, but their offspring/descendants either discarded the Nocturnal business as either impractical or ridiculous superstition. And got their shit so fucked up by it it wasn't possible or practical to pass on the "how to make shit not fucked" secrets to their successors.

plausible?

>>21008695

Oh, that sounds fun.

Let's just be ready to bail he rout if shit goes wrong, though, 'kay?

>>21008631
>[ ] Practice around Harton.

>>21008753
Of course.
We'll start with simple stuff, like can she navigate around an object or something.

>>21008695
Odessa needs shades. All the time. Even at night.

>>21009000
Because of Dat Cookie?

Hmm. Well, you're reasonably certain Odessa doesn't need it to actually be dark to do magic right, now. Still...does that mean she can't operate in the dark? Oh no, you're getting too attracted to the idea of putting her through various experiments. You should be a kinder instructor than that.

But you're not.

"Odessa, get the mats out. And take your Substriker off."

"What?"

"Just do it."

Odessa obliges, stripping the leg units and backpack from her body. With a confident step, she grabs one of the mats used for stretching and lays it out next to the pool. It's a fairly large mat, which is perfect for your less moral purposes.

"What are we going to do on the mat?" Odessa asks.

Oh. You know exactly what she's going to do on the mat. "One second," you say, retrieving a large rag from a pile in the corner. It's late enough that the dirty ones should have been replaced with fresh ones...and they have. Perfect.

"Here," you say, "let me tie this around your head."

"...Why?"

"To blindfold you. Your familiar's a bat, right? Maybe you can do things without looking."

"...Are you sure about this?"

>>21009077


"Eh, not sure. The possibilities, though. We may as well figure them out while we can, right?"

"...Alright..." Odessa says nervously, letting you blindfold her. You make doubly sure she can't see through the makeshift blindfold. Satisfied, you guide her to the mat.

"Ok, Rothrock. I've put a pile of rags here. Try to walk around them, alright?"

Odessa nods. When you let go of her shoulders, she starts walking forward onto the large mat. You follow her on the side that's not next to the pool so she doesn't trip and fall on concrete or anything. She nervously puts one foot forward, then another, then another. Her hands are out, as if she might be able to detect the rags with them. She slowly approaches the rags....

"Whooaaaahhh!!!" she yells as her foot catches just so on the pile. Hands flailing, she lands face-first on the soft mat. "...That wasn't fun!"

"You're cruel, you know that Chief?" Harton comments from the pool.

Huh. So much for that idea.

[ ] Other ideas?
[ ] Extra Practice
[ ] Call it a night.

[ X] Other ideas?

echolocation. See sound wave bouncin..its how bats see

>>21009082
That wasn't with her familiar active, was it?
Try again with magic going, and with her hands by her sides.
You WILL give us headwings, won't you Kotters?

>>21009121
Still waiting on that other drawfag, actually.

>>21009082
[x] Other ideas?
Get her magic going active, have her familiar out. Maybe she doesn't have the fidelity for just some rags on the ground; maybe try some coat racks.

"Quiet, Harton. Odessa, were you trying to use your magic there, or were you just going literally blind?"

Odessa stays sprawled out on the mat, collapsed in a heap. "Um...." she says guiltily. "Not really..."

You sigh. "Alright, let's try this again." You pick her up, guiding her back to the start. You move the pile a little bit, just in case...and everything's good to go again. "Go!"

Odessa again tries, sticking her feet out. Her movements are slightly more confident, dodging rags just so—

"Ooof!" Again, Odessa falls onto a pile of rags, though not so quickly; she was nearly past when she made it.

"Hmm. Did you feel like you were getting it, Rothrock?" you ask.

"...Not really..."

Hmm.

"Are you going to keep having her do that?" Harton asks.

"Quiet."

You hate to admit it, but the temptation was there. She's like a plaything, something you can poke and prod to see how it reacts.

Perhaps you're being too cruel, even if you're technically getting information that could be useful.

[ ] Take it easier; break time
[ ] Keep it up
[ ] Other

>>21009608
>[x] Take it easier; break time

Sorry, got distracted. Been talking with another writer about certain writing philosophies. He's of the opinion that the audience should only ever be exposed to the final work, never to learn anything of the process behind it or the possibilities and ideas that were sought after and discarded. He feels that would ruin the experience for the audience, and asking to know them anyway is disrespectful to the writer and his work. I'm of the opposite view, so we've been going back and forth.

I apologize.

>>21009608
[x] Take it easier; break time
Odessa already had a full day's training already, she could use a break. Besides, it'll give us time to come up with more tests.
Oh! Maybe we should wake up Alice, get her to help with some of these!

>>21009608
[x] Take it easier; break time

Snack break! Need sammichs. Can we have subs?

"...Seaman Rothrock, I think it's time for a break."

Odessa eagerly gets herself up off the ground and starts putting things away.

"Wait, wait, I can help," you offer, a little guilty. The two of you put away the mat and rags rather quickly and gather up your substrikers.

"Where are you guys going?" Harton asks.

"Taking a break," you answer.

Your only response is Harton continuing to float lazily in the pool. Well, whatever. Not like it's being used right now.

The two of you drop off your substrikers in the locker room, changing back into your clothes after a good towel-off. From there, you head to the mess hall. Being a civilian facility underground, they're much more lenient about their hours. Being heavily tied to the military, they're also much more strict about what they serve.

"Aww...it's smaller every time," Odessa complains, staring at the tiny bit of chocolate on her little dessert tray.

"Hey, time of war and all that," you comment, poking some strange bread. You're not entirely sure why it's on your tray.

>>21009971


The two of you shoot the breeze for a bit, just talking about nothing as you consume what passes as a dessert. As it gets later, you consider trying to pull out your deck of cards, but playing with two people is a little boring, and you're not sure you want to put Odessa to another test with her magic apparently working right.

"So, what do you think?" you ask.

"Hmm?"

"About tonight, being able to get stuff done without that 'curse' or whatever."

Odessa's eyes lighten up. Literally; whether she knows it or not, she's channeling magic. "It's great! I haven't felt like this in ages!"

You grin. "Glad to hear it, kid."

You reach out and rustle her hair, happy knowing you've helped her figure out how to function properly. Pleased, she gives her headwings an unconscious flap.

If only you knew how to help her function during the day.

NEXT TIME ON WINGWITCHES: DAWN OF THE THIRD DAY
WEDNESDAY, 8 PM EST

>>21009979
> Pleased, she gives her headwings an unconscious flap.

D'awwwwwwww!

>You reach out and rustle her hair, happy knowing you've helped her figure out how to function properly. Pleased, she gives her headwings an unconscious flap.
hrrngh

>>21007550
>not ever using the powers in the dark for GENERATIONS is pretty fucking stupid.
Think about it, though.
These were generations that didn't have electric lighting, that basically as soon as it became night, everything stopped. We're talking 1800's and early 20th century, not the 24-hour active day of the early 21st.
Honestly, what would they have done at night?
Night combat operations only really started after the beginning of the 20th century, and even during WW2, the IJN made the most use of night combat until the Americans got their night ops together mid-war.

The main problem I see with nocturnal witches being completely horrible at everything during the day is that diurnal witches do night ops just fine.

>>21013436
Iunno, maybe batwitch is going to have some so far-unknown nighttime hax to compensate.

Up in the air at the moment.