Lianne's subdued on the way back. She doesn't bother trying to smile, instead just finding a bench and burying her face in a textbook. (She doesn't turn any pages. She can't focus.)

She'll do the same thing on the bus, if it doesn't look like Kaylee wants to talk.

Kaylee doesn't look like she wants to talk, no.

The bus takes them home.

Lianne bids her a quiet goodbye when it's her stop (the bus drops them off in the same order they were picked up), then walks home. 

She says hi to her sister, goes to her room, studies. Takes a break to eat dinner once her mom gets home (neither her mom nor her sister apparently notice that Lianne's life just changed entirely). Does her homework for the day. Then. Stops. And stares at the ceiling. 

She could've been killed. The witch could've gotten more people. It could've gotten Kaylee, she was only teleported out, not made invulnerable.

Lianne needs to know what she's doing. She needs to practice.

'Kyubey?' she mentally calls after focusing a bit.

'I hear you, Lianne.  Is everything all right?'

'Yeah. Just. I have more questions. About the witches, my powers. I think I need to practice some, too - does turning into a magical girl and using my sword use up magic?'

'Both of those things use up magic, yes.  If you want practice, the best thing to do is hunt down freshly-born, weak witches.  Many of them are weaker and less frightening than the one you fought today.  I can help you seek out good targets, if you want.'

'- I'd rather practice just. Swinging my sword. At first. I don't think my reaction time was optimal. Are there a lot of witches near the school or my house? Because I'm going to have trouble getting most places. I suppose I could take the city bus, but that's. Slow. Also, will ordinary practice stuff like lifting weights help make me stronger as a magical girl?'

'Lifting weights won't help.  A magical girl's strength comes from her magic, and you can only improve your magic by using magic, not with mundane exercise.  It's easier for you to travel than you think - remember, you can fly now, and it doesn't tire you out the way walking or running would tire out a human, it just uses some magic.'

'Not tonight, then. Thank you. How does flying work?'

Kyubey has an. Interesting. Pattern of not answering some questions. 

'I know your first fight was scary, but you're going to have to start hunting witches eventually, you know.  Most of them aren't as frightening as the one by the gazebo, if it helps.'

'Learning to fly is like learning to move a muscle you didn't have yesterday - it's hard to explain, but it shouldn't be much harder to figure out on your own than figuring out how to change form.  You can only fly in magical girl form, though.'

'Yeah. I know that I'll need to hunt them at some point. I just need to keep a more normal routine tonight.' 

And plan what to do with - everything. 

'From how far away does the dowsing work?'

'I understand.'

'With practice, and if you concentrate, you can potentially sense the presence and rough distance of a witch from several miles away.  At your level, while concentrating on a dowse, I suspect you could sense a witch that came within a mile of you.  By getting closer, you could determine its direction, and make an estimate of its strength.  But false positives are possible, especially at the edge of your range, because what you're really sensing is emotion, and sometimes ordinary human emotions can interfere.'

'Okay. Thanks. That's - all the questions I have for now.'

'Okay.  Get in touch with me if you do decide to go hunting - I'm here to look after you'

' - or if you just need someone to talk to whose in on the secret, for that matter.'

'Thanks. I'm going on my evening run, and I'll be practicing dowsing while I go. You can tag along if you'd like.'

'I'd like that!  If you wouldn't mind, that is.'

'Wouldn't have invited you if I did! - Oh, can most people see you? My mom and sister would freak out if they knew about you.'

She changes into running gear, heads downstairs, shouts that she's going out, and heads out the front door. She puts on something cheery and energetic and instrumental on her music player, then looks around for Kyubey.

Kyubey is nearby!

'Ordinary humans - who aren't magical girls, I mean - can't see me, no.  But they can still hear you if you talk out loud to me.'

She smiles at - it? Him? 'Quick question? What pronouns should I use when talking about you?'  - and sets out at a light jog. 

'Anything that you'd use for a person is fine with me!'

Kyubey follows, keeping pace easily.

'He it is, then.'

She'll stop every half mile or so to take a sip of water and concentrate briefly on dowsing. She doesn't expect to find any witches, but doesn't hurt to be careful with her range. Her total loop's about two and a half miles, so she isn't covering a lot of ground, but she can at least check the neighborhood pretty thoroughly.

She is correct in that expectation: no witches are found.

Kyubey will make conversation if she does, but is also just as happy to lope along beside her in companionable silence.

Yeah, she's mostly absorbed with thinking.

Lianne eventually finishes her run, bids Kyubey a good night, and then goes to look up videos on sword-fighting techniques (hey, it might help some) until bedtime.

The next morning she gets on the bus as usual and then waits anxiously for Kaylee's stop.

She's more subdued than she was on her first day, but she doesn't seem quite as wrecked as she did right after the witch attacked her either.

"Hi."