[center][h2]Matters of the Heart[/h2][/center]

If there was one thing that could be counted on, it was for the Overcity to be filled with the strange, mysterious, and unusual. Insulated from the chaos that tended to engulf Penrose, the Overcity was home to a mishmash of people and beings from all sorts of realms. Life continued on as normal there, and three magical girls did not stick out. 

Summoned for this bounty, Dina and Eliza had been met upon arriving in the Overcity by the one who had hired them. [url=https://i.imgur.com/k4QSsVk.jpg]Finn[/url], as she had introduced herself, had informed the pair that the location her friend had been deposited was far from where one could conventionally walk in normal space, if it even corresponded to a location on Earth to begin with. So they had to meet her here rather than going directly to it.

Her white cloak rippled and swayed, coming down to her shoulders while a black dress picked up and carried lower. It did not inhibit her movement of course, but it was very flowing. Her pointed ears were also notable, though those did not stand out much in a place like this. 

Winding their way through tight alleys and clustered buildings, brushing past other beings going about their day, Finn glanced back at her companions. “Thank you for doing this,” she said to them, happiness clashing with worry as her smile shifted and fought to keep from sinking. “Like I said, fighting isn’t really my thing. And everyone knows you Penrose girls are tough as nails! If anyone can do it, it’s you.” 

Dina stood tall, her arms crossed as her tail lazily rested in a down position, her eyes peeking into the contractor. "No need to thank us yet. We haven't even started." The catgirl said, eyeing her companion. She had hoped she would be trustworthy.

"I am loath to fight though, but I too, was once abandoned by a patron for an stupid reason." She said.

[color=gold]"You can leave the fighting to me then, just back me up and keep the girl safe."[/color] Eliza was trying not to appear nervous. Maura had suggested she'd take another bounty now that she was stronger, but after the last failure with the Red Nest, the witch was scared of screwing up again. She tried to reassure herself, keeping a grip on the meditation stone in her pocket. Now wasn't the time to be stressed.

[color=gold]"Is there anything we should look out for?"[/color] she asked Finn.

Humming, Finn furrowed her brow in thought as she considered what to tell Eliza. "Most of it are things that an experienced magical girl should be able to handle. As far as her patron is concerned, a normal human wouldnt be able to survive unaided." 

She looked both ways before crossing the next street, a wise decision as a steam powered caterpillar type vehicle moved past moments later. Carrying onwards, she did provide at least some information. "I know there's a plain of magical fire with nasty monsters on it, but my patron wasn't the most informative. I'm sorry I cant give you more." 

Dina eyed her companion. She also had doubts about this hunt. She did not show it externally, but internally she decided to chastise herself and get a grip. There was a girl who needed to be extracted, alone and confused. Probably fustrated.

"We'll need some scouts, then. Please allow me." Dina said as she focused, creating a summoning circle, from which a murder of crows sprang forth. With a flick of the wrist, she also reinforced said crows to stand the harsh environment. "Please report if you find a suitable person with the description." Dina indicated. She did not choose this kind of bird by mere choice. They were surprisingly low on mana... and crows did recognize people's faces easily.

The crows swept into eldritch skies, quickly adjusting to the unusual air currents that they needed to navigate. Due to the walk they had already undertaken, they quickly passed beyond the walls of the Overcity into the wilds beyond.
 
After a barren expanse with the occasional roaming monster, they would arrive at the fire plain that Finn had predicted. Withered trees burned as fiery torches, plumes of fire rose from the ground and arched over the land. Flying was made more difficult by the ash that filled the air from all of these fires. Amidst the heat monsters moved, some of them seemingly lava given humanoid form, others more bestial and wreathed in heat. With those hazards, plus the cliffs and canyons, there was no doubt it was dangerous for anyone involved.

Past that fire plain was an ominous looking mountain, where thunder crackled and rain burned the rocks themselves. It looked like there was a path inside said mountain, but it was difficult for the birds to see if their person was inside, due to the rain that they were not immune to. Nonetheless, they had provided some useful information. 

Dina sighed, as she looked at Eliza. "There might be a path inside, but it's surrounded by volcanic hazards. Also monsters. We'd best prepare a protection and move carefully." Dina said to Eliza. 

[color=gold]"Sounds fun. Don't think you got some fire resistance spell we could use?"[/color] the witch then glanced down to one of her gauntlets. [color=gold]"Maybe my dark magic can snuff the lava out. Though if that works, I might need to add some time magic depending on how long until it gets hot again."[/color] she thought outloud, and looked back to Finn with a smile. [color=gold]"No need to apologize, any information can prove valuable."[/color]

"I can manage something." Dina said, as she extended her reinforcement aura alongside the trio. "It's not fireproof, but it should be able to help. I can extend barriers on demand too."

Finn breathed a sigh of relief as she glanced between the two conversing girls. "I'm glad to hear it. We're almost at the edge of the Overcity, there should be a gate just ahead. I guess I will be waiting for your triumphant return," she finished with a grin. If there was anyone who could manage such a dangerous trek and back, it appeared to be these two. 

Eliza nodded to Finn, then turned to Dina. [color=gold]"Right, let's go then. I'll keep an eye out for any monsters."[/color]

Dina nodded, silently as she deployed her Ruler's Aura and began to apply barriers and reinforcements to Eliza, as she walked behind her. A frontline fighter, she was not..

Leaving Finn behind, the duo made their way through the city gate that the crows had flown over. There was a lot of walking and not much else at first, though one could certainly enjoy the exotic environment of the Overcity along the way if they chose. 

The first sign they were drawing close was the heat. There was little surprise in a plain of fire being hot, and they would be subjected to that rising temperature before reaching the actual location as it moved into uncomfortable ranges. Not unbearable just yet, but they would see how long that lasted as they arrived at the edge of the field the crows had spotted before. It was time to put their plan into action. 

Dina's tongue clicked, seeing upon the conditions of the plain getting hotter and hotter. "I might need to get an extra protection." She said to Eliza ."It might get a little gross though."

[color=gold]"Hm..."[/color] Eliza looked between Dina and the plains ahead. [color=gold]"Let's see if this works."[/color] she casted a hand out, testing if her dark magic could snuff out the fire.

Dina for her part, began manifesting a gross-looking but definitely effective fire salamander mucus. While it was rather slimy and disgusting, it would help to stave off the higher temperatures for at least a limited amount of time. "Do you want some?" Dina indicated, her ears downcast and chafing and looking pretty unrefined as they did so.

Eliza looked back to Dina, an eyebrow risen at the sight of the mucus. Whatever helps, she guessed. [color=gold]"Eh, screw it. Hit me with some."[/color] Once they both had the unorthodox fire resistance on, she'd buff it up with a bit of time magic to make it last longer.

Dina then applied herself to cover Eliza in slime, and that's all the detail we need because this is a hunt, not a tale of other nature. 

The application of the fire salamander mucus would be effective, sharply reducing the heat that both of them felt. They could now enter the fire plain safely, though direct contact would probably not be advised if they could avoid it. The fire didn't seem to be magical either, so Eliza's darkness magic would be effective in snuffing it out, if she chose to keep doing that. 

Seeing as her theory rung true, Eliza continued taking out the flames, providing the two an easier path to go through.

"I'm gonna need a bath after this, mew." Dina said, her cat side getting the better of her briefly. She surmised most of the things she could summon here would drop dead on the heat. So she tried to turn this on her head. She tried used her Beast specialization to call out any native animals or myth beasts they could help her in their fetch quest.

A lot of walking followed, as tended to be the case with these sorts of things. Thanks to their diffusing of the heat they would be able to enjoy their surroundings, though admittedly there was not much to enjoy. At least not right now. 

They would soon reach their next challenge. A river of molten fire cut across the landscape, its turbulent flows hissing and bubbling akin to lava. And it was a bit big for Eliza to just snuff it out with her darkness magic. At least in limited application. Would they try to walk across, or find some other method? 

Dina focused, as she tried to create a set of platforms above the river to bridge the gap and walk on top of the molten fire river, hopefully.

While she might not make a bridge across the entire expanse, she would succeed in creating several platforms to jump over the river. With that in place it would be easy enough to get across, though they'd need to dodge the fireballs launched p arcs at irregular intervals. While it might not hurt thanks to the fire salamander, it did run the risk of knocking them in.

With a bit more time magic, Eliza would give her and Dina better timing hoping across the platforms.

The use of time magic gave them greater opportunity to adjust their angle without worrying about being suddenly swatted by an incoming fireball. With careful jumps they soon made it to the other side, no worse for wear. It might be awkward doing it with a normal person, but they could always just carry her across. 

For now the trek went on. They were not close enough where the mountain was looming over the horizon, but they would soon be at that point. For now, they just had the roaming monsters to worry about. 

From there on Eliza would put her scrying on auto-pilot, her eye behind her mask glowing a vivid gold. In a flash of dark magic, her sword would appear in her hand, prepared to attack any monsters she sees approaching. Or if she could, hide both her and Dina to avoid conflict.

Dina for her most part, reacted to Eliza's increased hostile readiness by pulling out her weapon, and waringly, using her senses to scan the scorching wasteland, a step behind Eliza should they need to fall to a defensive position. 

Proceeding with caution, there was a close call as a fire lizard of sorts, its skin hardened but laced with fiery veins, drew near them. But it did not push the point once they directed their attention towards it, allowing them to push forwards.

Soon they had left the fire behind and arrived at the next part of their trek. Acidic rain fell from the sky, scouring the land and leaving it barren. This stretched from where they were to the mountain, and presented the next obstacle they had to deal with, one that would likely be a challenge on the way back as well. Whatever solution they used could not be a one time deal. 

"Acid rain. Troublesome." said Dina as she extended a barrier in the shape of a parasol above the duo, to shelter them from the acidic precipitation. 

The duo could hear the hiss of acid as it impacted the umbrella-shaped barrier. yet there didn't seem to be much risk at the moment as long as they stayed away from the edges. They moved on at a moderate pace, once more steering clear of the monsters. Those that could survive here would likely be tougher than normal.

Reaching the mountains that they had seen in their initial scouting. With the environmental factors it was likely that the person they were trying to find was not exposed on the surface, and they soon found an entrance to a cavern near a jagged rock formation. Hopefully it was what they were looking for. 

Eliza simply walked forward. Her specialization in dark magic helped her see through the darkness inside, though if Dina needed help, she'd be more than willing to create an orb of light to serve as a lantern.

Dina for her part, enchanted her eyes with even more feline augmentations. She dismissed the crows now that they were about for a cave, exchanging them for a flock of bats. Their echolocation would prove a far better alternative.

"In we go, then." She breathed deep, once more. She disliked engaging in close quarters in a cavern, but it was the only option.

Proceeding with all due caution, they moved deeper into twisting tunnels and caverns. It wasn't too hard to keep track of where they were going, with little in the way of branches and alternate paths to be concerned about. And the bats Dina summoned helped a lot with guiding their path forward too.

Dina's bats also saw the threat that was coming around the next bend before it arrived. Leaping out around a corner with a battle cry in her throat, a girl with dark brown hair and tattered clothing leapt out and swung a makeshift rock tied to a stick at Eliza. 

The witch casually caught the makeshift weapon in her gauntlet, before summoning a harmless orb of light in her free hand. [color=gold]"Yo."[/color] Eliza softly smiled at the girl. [color=gold]"Friend of yours sent us to find you. Hope we didn't keep you waiting."[/color] Especially in a place far from the Overcity. What the hell were they doing out there?

Dina would just create a barrier as a result of the attack, before taking a second look at the figure. "You look haggard. What is your name?" She would add, offering a helping hand.

Shock rippled through the girls features, as if she had not realized what she was really faced with until after she swung. The axe clattered from her grip as she stumbled back, colliding against the rock wall with a modest thump. Her eyes were wide as she looked between them. “F-Finn sent you?” she asked. After a few moments she was able to regain her balance, and stood up rather than leaning against the wall.

“I’m Erica. Thanks. I wasn’t sure anyone would come.”  

[color=gold]"Don't thank us yet, we still have to keep you safe on the way back."[/color] Eliza mentioned.

"But fear not. It's only a matter of distance. We can shift back once we're in range. Anything you can tell us? Do you require medical assistance?"

Looking her self over, Erica quickly shook her head. "I'm alright. Well, my former patron left me powerless in the Overcity to either face a slow or agonizing death because I failed him too many times, but other than that I'm alright. Bastard." 

[color=gold]"No kiddin'."[/color] Since Erica appeared unharmed, Eliza led the way out of the cave. [color=gold]"Tell you what, once we get back, I can introduce you to my patrons and see if they can take you in. One of them, atleast."[/color] She offered to the girl, making sure she stayed close to her and Dina.
 
"I also know a few people." Dina added."Well now that our target is located... we could say goodbye to being subtle and rush all our way back. What do you say, Eliza?"
 
[color=gold]"If she's fine with a bit of air travel, then might as well."[/color]

Glancing between them, Erica shrugged. "Finn also offered to let me join her patron. I guess Ive got a bit of deciding to do. Though revenge may factor in a bit, just to give you fair warning. As for air travel I'm fine with it, so long as I don't die of acid along the way."

Eliza chuckled, giving Erica a piggyback ride. Even if she lost her wings, the dress that eventually made itself a part of her new form gave her another means of flight. [color=gold]"Whatever the case is, the choice is yours. Now hold on! I'll be careful flying back to the Overcity!"[/color]

Dina pondered. "I can provide the barriers and the transport, but I will be virtually defenseless. I'll be counting on you to shoot down threats." She added.

"Alright, lets do it," Erica agreed as she let herself be carried by Eliza. They at last reached the entrance of the cavern, so it was now time to put whatever plan they had for getting back into action. 

[color=gold]"Okay, let's hope this dress works."[/color] Eliza thought outloud, backing up a few paces before taking off.

And if THAT somehow goes wrong, she could always cast a quick time spell to keep them both from falling to their death. But mainly Erica.

Dina for her part, would blink for a second. Youths and their rush to do everything huh. If it was for a few seconds ... It should be fine. Using her beast magic, she allowed herself to grow wings, after of which she applied reinforcement on herself to avoid the dangers of corrosion and took flight.

With magic enchanting them, the trio soared back along the path they had initially taken. The acid hissed as it scored against fabric and barriers, but it did not stop them from passing through that zone unscathed. They then moved through the fire region they had passed through, where they were fortunate enough to avoid the attention of larger monsters thanks to their swift movements. The only obstacle were errant balls of magma ejected into the air, which they were forced to dodge.

Soon they neared the edge of the Overcity proper, with the familiar figure of Finn waiting by the gate, just like she had said she would. Erica seemed to brighten the closer they got to civilization, heralding a no doubt satisfactory conclusion to their bounty as they began their descent. 

This...seems too easy.

Maybe it was Eliza being anxious again, but she half expected to get attacked at this point. As they began to land, her masked eye glew again, checking to see if anything would try and ambush the trio.

Dina did notice Eliza's overall easiness and also did her best to scour for any threats, after having followed the duo.

However concerned they might be, there was no sudden last second development to justify it as they came in for a landing. Sometimes, people did just get that lucky. 

Once safely on the ground, Erica was quick to hop off of Eliza's back. She swiftly moved around the girl to embrace the other girl in a warm hug. "Finn, I'm so glad to see you!" 

The embrace was returned just as heartily by Finn, who wasn't thrown off too much by the turn of events. "I'm just happy to see that you're safe Erica. Ive got a bath, a meal, and new clothes waiting for you back at my place." 

Breaking the hug, Finn and Erica turned to face Dina and Eliza. "Thank you for your help," Finn told them with a small bow. "I knew you were the right people for the job." 

Ah, so it [i]was[/i] that easy.

With a breath of relief, Eliza looked back up to the two girls with a smile. [color=gold]"It really was no problem at all."[/color]

"Be wary of deals in the magical world. Being used and abandoned is common." Dina would venture to say. "It happened to me."

Erica snorted as Dina made her astute observation. "Yeah, I think I figured that one out," she grumbled Now there was nothing left for her to do but to recover and plot her revenge. However that might come about, at least. 

Reaching into her pocket, Finn then stepped over to place gold coins into Dina and Eliza's hands. "As promised. Don't spend it all in one place."

She then returned to Erica's side, and the two began slowly walking towards the gate near them. "See you guys around," Erica called with a wave. "I may be in touch, depending on how things turn out!"