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Himiko Yumeno’s face was the perfect picture of determination as she carefully sawed her blade through the outer shell of the pumpkin in front of her, delicately tracing along the faint lines she had already left to help guide her pattern. It was slow, steady work, and it was bizarre to see Himiko actually get so focused on something. Normally it was impossible to motivate her to do anything, even when it was something important like doing her laundry or eating a meal. Right now, though, she was as focused as she had ever been, knowing that any tiny slip up could ruin the picture she was working so hard to create. She just needed to be slow, and meticulous, and careful, and…
“TA-DA! Check it out!” Miu practically shouted, despite the fact that she was only a few feet away. Himiko winced at the volume, but she did lift her eyes from her own work to look over at what her girlfriend had carved.
It was boobs. She had given the pumpkin boobs. And, not only had Miu given the pumpkin boobs, but she had done an especially sloppy job of it. Unlike Himiko’s own focused and measured approach, Miu had rushed through her own task much more quickly (as evidenced by the fact that she was already done with it). The lines were hardly neat or precise, and the boobs she had carved looked like they had just a few more corners than they were probably supposed to.
“That’s gross,” Himiko mumbled, before turning her attention back to her own project.
“Aww, c’mon! Don’t be like that!” Miu protested. “I worked hard on that!”
“No you didn’t.”
“Well I coulda, but what’s the point! I’m not good at this kinda stuff anyway. Hey!” Miu then continued, in the tone of voice that let Himiko know she had just gotten an idea. “Maybe I could whip up some sorta device to do this for me! An automatic pumpkin carver, with a buncha knives on the end of big arms that’ll slice these bad boys up however you want ‘em!”
“That sounds dangerous…” Himiko groaned. “Why can’t you just do it the way you’re supposed to? The whole point is to do it yourself.”
“Ohhhh, is that why you’re not usin’ your magic right now?” Miu asked. The question caused Himiko to pause for a moment, staring down at her pumpkin in silence before she reached up and grabbed the corner of her hat, pulling it further down over her face.
“Uh… Yeah,” she replied. “That’d be cheating.”
“But you could do it if you tried, right?” Miu asked. “You could probably make this whole pumpkin explode like a virgin’s dick if you wanted to!”
“Grooooooss!” Himiko whined, before Miu flopped over onto the floor next to her.
“Hey, what are you carvin’ over there anyway?” she asked, trying to crane her neck around enough to see the front of Himiko’s pumpkin. “Why’s it takin’ you so long?”
“It’s a complicated design,” Himiko replied. “It’s a witch, riding on a broom.” And, between the witch’s hair, the curve of her nose, the point of her hat, the stick of the broom, her legs dangling off the sides, there were quite a few small details that needed to be carved out. Himiko really had managed to create quite a bit of work for herself.
“A witch…” Miu repeated, before nodding along. “Ohh, I see! So you’re basically carvin’ yourself into that!”
“No!” Himiko protested, her words suddenly carrying a lot more energy and conviction than they normally did. “I’m not a witch!”
“Huh? But you got the same pointy hat that witch in your design’s got!”
“Yeah, but that’s just-”
“And you use magic just like a witch does, don’t you?”
“No! It’s not the same thing!” Himiko insisted, stubbornly shaking her head. “Witches are evil magic users. I would never use my magic for dark purposes.”
“Then what does that make you?” Miu asked.
“A mage ,” Himiko replied, putting a fair bit of emphasis on the word. Miu thought over what she had just been told for a few seconds, though it was clear from the look on her face she still really didn’t understand it.
“So if I learned magic and I only used it to like, prank people,” she said, “makin’ their underwear disappear and shit-”
“That would still be evil!” Himiko insisted. “You would be a witch!”
“Makin’ people’s underwear vanish isn’t evil!” Miu protested. “It’s a little morally gray at worst!”
“It’s evil and it would make you evil! This is why I’m never teaching you magic,” Himiko grumbled, turning her attention back to her pumpkin.
“Guess that’s probably for the best…” Miu reluctantly agreed, though from the look on her face Himiko could tell she still wasn’t happy about it. She looked down at Miu as her girlfriend sprawled out on the floor next to her, staring for a few seconds before letting out a quiet sigh and saying something she would probably come to regret.
“Maybe… After I’m done with this… I can try to teach you a really simple spell.” Miu’s reaction was instantaneous, and suddenly the inventor was bolting upright and peering at Himiko through wide, excited eyes.
“Really??” she asked. “You seriously mean that??”
“ Maybe, ” Himiko emphasized. “And either way, I’ve gotta finish this first.”
“Alright! Focus up and take all the time you need!” From there Miu dragged a finger across her lips in a zipping motion, indicating that she wasn’t going to be a distraction anymore. Somehow Himiko found that difficult to believe, and she didn’t think the silence would last long. Still, she appreciated the gesture anyway.