[i][sub]TL;DR nothing that's actually relevant to anyone, confirming they exist, heh[/sub][/i]

[color=1462ba][right][i][img]https://i.imgur.com/vCCngs7.png[/img][/i][/right][/color]

She walked down the streets, idly putting one leg in front of another. This idle action, called “walking”... she had to do it so rarely. Yet, she enjoyed it. At least, she used to.

She was in the midst of the city, a simple blonde-haired girl wearing glasses and casual clothes, eyeing the buildings and people walking by with a lonely expression. This used to be relaxing, simply walking along the streets with nothing to do. It used to be releasing, the thought that for right now, nothing could stop her from just taking a walk. It was a pause from her otherwise stressful life of hunting her patron's goals and her many sleepless nights. Now… now this didn’t help.

There was a pressure in her chest, a tension which just wouldn’t go away. Ever since Lea had delivered the news, ever since then, she’d known her existence here was fleeting. Soon enough, she would never be able to walk these streets again. Soon enough, she’d get too busy, and wouldn’t have the time to take these leisurely walks anymore. This could very well be the last time she could wander the streets like this. It was in her best interest to make the most of it.

Yet she couldn’t. It didn’t help. How… troublesome of it.

The arcade. She walked by the arcade again. There were lights inside, instruments of entertainment lighting up and playing sounds. Once upon a time, she had wanted to go in there, to experience the things like any other girl, but at the time she didn’t have money. Money was inconsequential to the goals of her patron, everything she needed was already provided. Now, she had more money than she knew what to do with… and she no longer felt like going in.

Her awareness flickered, hearing noises in the distance. She turned her eyes to the horizon, and images flickered over the insides of her glasses as she viewed what was going on from a distance. Spirits. There were spirits attacking the public. She sighed. Couldn’t they take a break for just a couple seconds? Okay, so there had in fact been a break, but it really didn’t feel like it, ESPECIALLY when it happened during HER break. She clicked her tongue.

Her phone started ringing. She had one now, because she had been forced to learn how to use one. She already knew what it was about. “Don’t get that close to danger when untransformed”... right? She already knew, but of course, that simply wasn’t enough of a comfort to warrant not calling about the danger. That… that was one of the reasons why she couldn’t relax. It wasn’t as if she was truly disconnected even when she went out like this anymore. She was always on call, even when having “free-time”...

She reached into the pocket, lifted out her phone, confirmed who it was from and then cancelled the call. With a small sigh, she turned and wandered away from the incident. She imagined the protectors of the town would be on it, soon. You know, sometimes she could imagine being a Puchuu girl must be really nice. That mental satisfaction they get for saving people… it sounded fairly appealing to her from here. All she got in return for her continued success was not dying a horrible death. Hah.

Still, she would serve Asengav to her dying breath. For so was her compulsion. Affirming this to herself, Mariette turned and walked down the streets of Penrose, in a direction away from the conflict that was occurring, soon to vanish from the streets altogether.

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[right][img]https://i.imgur.com/jDPNjFN.png[/img][/right]

Eli sat, a transformed harpy made out of slime, inside a lonely room with a whole lot of papers, several open books and using the fluid in her wing to snap a coin into the air so she could catch it again when it came down. There had been a LOT of strange artifacts mixed in with Justine’s treasures and there were several tomes which the rest had brought from the library which were her job to examine. Mariette might seem like the calm and focused girl, but book smart she was not, and as such it was up to Eli to do the actual research and get up to date with all the details while Mariette played leadership. So she worked on, not having fingers when doing academic work not actually being a problem.

While Mariette occasionally went out to relax, Eli honestly found it more relaxing to do work. There were lots of girls to keep track of, lots of items to identify, lots of plans to potentially make… and it helped take her mind off the coin which she was tossing up into the air occasionally, playing with it. Mariette and Eli had both been given a Platinum Coin from their patron for their services. Mariette had immediately put it aside to spend later in case she found need for additional power, currently she felt she didn’t require it. To Eli, however, the coin carried the potential of possibly resurrecting her older twin sister. … And that brought back all the ill feelings she thought she had gotten over with Caroline’s defeat.

Of course, Deni coming back would make her happy… but did she REALLY want to bring Deni back to [i]this[/i]? That which they were now planning? … Eli caught the coin again in her wing, the coin slowing down as it passed through her fluids and then lightly spun down on the table to lie there for a bit. Eli sat back, and felt the remorse. There was a battle within her. Bring Deni back to this battle, and nothing would have changed. Yet bringing Deni back… could lead to her just being slain again, in the events that would come in the not-too-distant future. In the end, Eli wasn’t sure that was for the best. She decided to let the coin rest for now, getting up to move to the next room in the mansion, she wasn’t getting more research done now.

Besides, she had other duties. It wasn’t like anyone else was keeping the place clean around here. As she no longer had to scout as much, she had taken up the duty to act maid and make sure the mansion which was Mariette’s interdimensional apartment continued to be welcoming for their guests…