Downstairs, the agency's current sole employee was lounging on a saggy and faded couch, bare legs draped over one armrest. Its out of the way spot was perfect for Ryuuko's uses: good sight of the staircase if Toshiko came down, a sight of the door should some customer miraculously find the building, and in a straight line from a window. Even in her brief time here so far, the beaten-up couch had shown to be a wonderfully warm spot on a sunny day.

Entirely unlike today. The thick air spoke of rain and a grey pallor hung over everything. The heiress had turned on the lights, and resolved once again to get a better lampshade for Toshiko's seemingly endless supply of incandescent bulbs, before taking her usual spot and reading through everything she'd so far learned about the way magic worked. It wasn't very encouraging reading, at least with her affinity in mind: all the simple demonstrations seemed to involve actively doing something. From the get-go, she was disadvantaged in even doing [i]that[/i]. No lighting a candle, no breeze through the hair... not without more work.

She sighed, putting the binder aside and falling back. A sound from the stairs caught Ryuuko's attention and she sat up again, looking in Toshiko's direction, "Tea? You're earlier than normal."