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[@PlatinumSkink][@Shifter_Master]
[h2]Trouble Among Friends[/h2][/center]
A couple days ago, before the coming of the storms.

Penrose was safe, in a way, after the last wish had been granted. It was by far the biggest wish they'd granted in a long time. And it was likely to attract attention should anyone figure out the source. It was hard to say exactly who would sort out how such a feat was achieved. Despite what one might think, however, laying low wasn't something that the twins always had to worry about; their luck tended to keep them out of harm’s way most of the time. 

Temporarily sheltering up in an empty office space, Violet and Sakura were lounging in some chairs playing a game of cards. It was a little interesting quark of theirs, but their magic didn't really allow them to play a proper game of chance with anyone except with each other. Anyone else would end up losing as fate simply favored them. 

Having located them, Mariette opened her portals directly into the room where they were playing. She let them process that something had happened for a couple of moments, standing silently on the other side wearing her usual magical dress and holding her bunny, before she slowly walked into the room. Behind her, invited specifically because of whom they were meeting, was Eli. The little slime-girl was currently letting Mariette walk in first to scuttle in after. 

[color=57a345]‘Hey! We've come to visit!’[/color] Eli called with a bit of a smile. Mariette looked at them with somewhat softer eyes than those she usually had, because of the wish in play that made them friends, currently letting them react first before the matter of why she had come would be brought up.

Third Eye was a handy power to have. The portal opening was fairly easy for Sakura to spot, though she didn't say anything to Violet as there was no need to. It had been a while since they'd seen one another, the friendship thing being a little forced of sorts. A majority of people they knew would rather use them so "friends" weren't always friends. When Eli spoke up though Sakura looked up and waved. [color=pink]"Hey, long time no see. How are you two?"[/color]

Violet would lean back in her chair till she could see their guests, somehow balancing the chair so it wouldn't fall, and a soft grin on her face as she did. [color=violet]"Hey there"[/color] She would add in greeting before looking around a bit [color=violet]"Where's Deni?"[/color] she would ask curiously somewhat expecting the slime girl to pop out of a shadow as she asked.

At Violet's question, Eli stopped short, smile faltering a bit as once again she was reminded. Mariette briefly closed her eyes as well, but replied. [color=1462ba]‘Deni fell during our struggles with Justine von Visceral.’[/color]

[color=57a345]‘My sister, she...’[/color] Eli started to fill in, taking a brief break. [color=57a345]‘She defended her mistress and me. And it...’[/color] She shook her head. [color=57a345]‘A-aside from that, we're fine. We won the day, after all...’[/color]

Mariette inspected the two closely, through a bit of her own pain. To see how much this wished friendship impacted them upon loss.

Violet was stunned, first by hearing the fact that Deni was... gone, then by the impact that came with losing her balance and crashing to the floor. She tried to say something, but eventually just let out a pained sigh. Loss wasn't an uncommon thing for the twins, but losing a friend still hurt.

Silently she moved to hug Eli, there wasn't anything that could be done now, and no words would truly help.

Opening her mouth to say something, Sakura only just managed to hold her tongue. She wanted to blurt out "Why didn't you tell us!?" But it was far too late to do anything about it now. Covering her mouth in shock for a moment she put the cards down and made her way over to Mariette. Knowing the portal girl wasn't a touchy feely type she gently put a hand on her friend's shoulder. [color=pink]"A-are you doing alright? I mean..."[/color] It was hard to piece together words to express herself.

Despite that it had been a while ago, the chance to cry again made itself far too powerful in a situation like this for Eli. Violet was hugged in turn, Eli planting her head against her and wrapping her wings around her as she cried again.

Mariette sighed out, confirming indeed that the connection went both ways. She raised her eyes to meet Sakura's, a bit of gratitude in them as she was also shown support. [color=1462ba]‘I've been kept busy. Life is never quiet for one who's contracted to a Horror. In a way, it has helped. Kept my mind off it,’[/color] Mariette stated earnestly.

[color=pink]"Mm... Well if you ever need to talk about it then feel free to come to us. Or anything really. We don't get that opportunity all the time either."[/color] She smiled reassuringly, patting her on the shoulder. Not wanting to stick to a solemn subject Sakura tried to move on. [color=pink]"I'm sure you didn't come here to talk about this though. What do we owe the pleasure?"[/color]

[color=1462ba]‘Thank you,’[/color] Mariette said and nodded gratefully at Sakura's words, a bit unfamiliar with actually letting someone have a hand on her shoulder but it was fine here. Then... that matter, which had to be brought up. [color=1462ba]‘You are unfortunately correct,’[/color] Mariette started, with a tone that indicated this to be a serious matter.

[color=1462ba]‘I have allies that have issues with a large-scale wish you recently granted. The power of said wish was mentioned as a potential threat. They would have you killed, and it was suggested that it'd be by my hand. I have no intention of hurting either of you, and I'll defend you if I have to... but those I speak of are a dangerous kind. We need to discuss this,’[/color] Mariette said, looking to the two of them as she said.

[color=violet]“Well, you could let them know that wishes like that are rare”[/color] Violet would add speaking up from her position on the ground still comforting Eli [color=violet]“You could also tell them that they can get the wish undone, though it would require them to take out the one who made it in the first place”[/color] she would add.

Sakura was slightly surprised that Violet would throw someone under the bus that had just pledged to defend them. If anything Amaryllis was an asset. [color=pink]”Ooor…  you could make a wish that would help protect us from your allies.”[/color] Even though Sakura was supposed to be the “Curse” there was still practicality to keeping some people around. They already had a fair amount of leverage on some of the bigger players in Penrose. But it seemed that their activity was beginning to draw the wrong attention. This kind of thing tended to happen when they stayed in one place too long. This town just happened to be a powder keg.

Mariette considered their words, her eyes narrowing somewhat. [color=1462ba]‘I hesitate to make a wish to protect you from my allies. It would keep you safe from them, but in turn it would endanger me. If they found that I had made such a wish, I’d be accused of not having my patron’s best interests at heart, and…’[/color] … A wave of dread flowed through her body, the very idea of opposing Asengav on any point terrifying her. [color=1462ba]‘… And I can’t do that. Partly because that’d potentially draw Asengav’s attention to you, which we do not want, and partly because I would potentially suffer the consequences.’[/color]

[color=1462ba]‘The elimination of the one who made the wish…’[/color] Mariette mentioned, looking them over. [color=1462ba]‘We can do that. However, that won’t solve their worry of future wishes being used against them,’[/color] she said, frowning a bit as she considered for potential solutions to that.

Tapping her finger against her chin for a bit Sakura tried to consider their options. There were a lot to choose from, but not all were necessarily viable for Mariette. [color=pink]”Really so long as we have a good way to escape then we should be fine. Doesn’t have to do anything with people you know. An Interdimensional Home or the like would work just fine.”[/color] There was no need to get super fancy with a solution.

[color=1462ba]‘… You wouldn’t be safe inside an Interdimensional Home,’[/color] Mariette told, dead-serious. Believe her, she has experience having her Interdimensional Home invaded. [color=1462ba]‘That is…’[/color] A thought occurred to her. [color=1462ba]‘Unless I protect it with a couple wishes, I suppose.’[/color] Mariette considered for a bit, and then raised her voice again.

[color=1462ba]‘Three wishes, correct? That’s how Djinns work, as far as I am informed?’[/color] With that, Mariette crossed her arms and focused fully formally at the two of them, and gave voice to her thinking.

[color=1462ba]‘First wish. I wish you two an Interdimensional Home that will never be found or invaded by anything.’[/color]

[color=1462ba]‘Second wish. I wish that if the two of you are ever about to be killed or captured, you are automatically transported into your Interdimensional Home, where you can remain safe until the coast is clear.’[/color]

[color=1462ba]‘Third wish. … I wish that I will never be suspected of having made these wishes. This to protect myself from the suspicion of my allies, which should tie it all up nicely. … Is this possible? Your thoughts?’[/color]

[color=1462ba]‘… No, wait, hold on. Even with those wishes, you would still be potentially susceptible to blackmail. Hm. Eli? Would you be willing to wish for them never to have anything they hold dear to themselves threatened in order to get a hold on their actions?’[/color] Mariette asked, looking over at Eli, who blinked and looked over from where she had been crying, slightly confused.

Mariette spouting off three wishes one after the other was somewhat amusing and endearing at the same time. It also showed how the girl deliberated. And while it would be fun to grant all the wishes then and there, the twin's patron saw them as largely unnecessary. Laughing a bit Sakura put her hand on her friend's shoulder to slow her down. [color=pink]”Whoa whoa, you don't have to do all that. Give us some credit, we can handle ourselves pretty well. I think the first wish is more than enough.”[/color] Being a separate little pocket of space, when Sakura snapped her fingers to grant Mariette's first wish there wasn't much to show for it. However, in a pink puff of smoke the Djinn girl vanished for a moment before popping back into the room. [color=pink]”Nice. May need a little redecorating but we can work on that.”[/color] She smiled brightly. 

[color=1462ba]‘Hmpf,’[/color] Mariette made a noise of discontent. [color=1462ba]‘You can still be ambushed. I would like you not to overestimate your chances,’[/color] she said, keeping her arms crossed looking at Sakura with an unsatisfied expression.

[color=pink]”Maybe. But now we don’t have to be wandering around and hiding in places like this.”[/color] Sakura said gesturing around them at the office space. [color=pink]”It’ll be a lot harder to catch us off guard if they can’t trail us anymore. Does that make sense?”[/color]

[color=1462ba]‘… I don’t approve. I feel you’re pushing your luck. It would make me a lot calmer if you’d accept my second wish. There are beings out there who could capture you far before you reach your Interdimensional Home. I’d know, I’m one of them,’[/color] Mariette replied, frowning as she replied.

[color=57a345]‘I-I’ll be okay, thank you,’[/color] Eli whispered now, to stand up and refocus on the current conversation and actually pay attention.

Sucking in her lower lip, Sakura seemed a little hesitant. She knew that Mariette was right. And by all accounts it would be the safer bet. However, the girls had learned the hard way that granting multiple wishes for the same person in succession was generally frowned upon by their patron. Although maybe he would let this one slide since it was for their protection. It would allow them to continue doing their job after all.

[color=violet]“Any time”[/color] Violet would reply just as softly as she too returned most of her focus to the topic at hand. She hadn’t really been out of the loop, hard to be when the Twins would share thoughts with ease.

[color=violet]“Part of the issues is our Patron”[/color] the darker haired twin would say [color=violet]“While it’s not a direct command, he tends to get really annoyed when we grant more than one wish to a person in single interaction. So while [i]we[/i] don’t have any issues granting your other wishes, he might.”[/color] She would openly say as Mariette and Eli were friends, it was fine if they knew these things, Violet felt; after all it wasn’t like they were explaining the limitations on their magic. Just a bit how their Patron thought.

[color=violet]“That being said, Eli here can wish for something and it wouldn’t bug Cafer. So if you two are really that uncomfortable about it there is that.”[/color]

[color=1462ba]‘… Hm. No other choice, then,’[/color] Mariette said, with regret in her voice. [color=1462ba]‘Eli. Would you spend your second wish?’[/color]

[color=57a345]‘Yeah, I heard,’[/color] Eli nodded. [color=57a345]‘If it’s fine, I’d like to save my third wish for myself, so we don’t spend it on our mission. That said, I’m fine making my second wish now.’[/color] So, Eli took a deep breath while Mariette looked curiously at her servant. [color=57a345]‘So, I wish that if the Djinn Sisters are about to be wounded or captured against their will they will be transported into their Interdimensional Home. … Does that work?’[/color] Eli asked, looking to Sakura and Violet.

[color=1462ba]‘Hm. That would potentially keep you safe, but it won’t stop my allies from attacking you. I’m not sure I can convince them not to do it with the materials currently available to me,’[/color] Mariette said, looking towards Sakura and Violet from here. In a “will you be alright” kind of way.

 Waving her hand a bit, Sakura didn't seem entirely concerned per se. [color=pink]”This is already way better. Our biggest risk was that we had to hide in places like this. Now we can do our thing and just vanish. Your allies would have to get lucky finding us on the occasion we aren't in our new home. It's not like this isn't the first time we've been hunted.”[/color] Raising a finger she wanted to make one last thing know. [color=pink]”We just have one person we've seen that we plan to grant a wish for and then we'll lay low for a bit. Okay?”[/color] 


Mariette breathed out a bit from her nose, not entirely convinced but it’d have to do. [color=1462ba]‘Okay. Then, one last thing. Whenever you’re outside a building in Penrose, with the sky above you, be it in an alley or a main street… Assume there’s someone that will be aware of whatever you do,’[/color] Mariette warned, her voice cautioning. [color=1462ba]‘… I didn’t tell you that,’[/color] she added after a second.



[color=violet]“We’ll keep it in mind and keep to ourselves,”[/color] Violet would say before popping away to her new house for a moment. [color=violet]“Set the wish into our new home, nothing's going to get in the way of it there.”[/color] she would explain before walking over to Mariette. [color=violet]“We will be fine, we have a few tricks up our sleeves incase things get really dire. I promise, we will be fine”[/color] she would reiterate tapping her friend on the nose lightly.

Mariette’s expression softened somewhat as Violet approached and tapped on her nose, something she surely wouldn’t let probably anyone but the Djinn Sisters do. Even Eli probably wouldn’t be let to do that. Being poked on the nose felt odd. Familiar emotions. [color=1462ba]‘I will hold you onto that promise,’[/color] Mariette told, looking between them. [color=1462ba]‘I’ll try to visit more often. Perhaps we could even hang out… normally. I’d like that,’[/color] Mariette said, able to say things she couldn’t to anyone else to these two.

Eli looked over her mistress curiously, aware of how unlike her usual mistress those words sounded. [color=57a345]‘Me too,’[/color] Eli also filled in.

Nodding in agreement, Sakura gave Mariette and then Eli a hug. [color=pink]”Definitely. We’ll get this whole thing sorted out and then we should be safe to hang out.”[/color] Leaving their friends out of further wishes on their accord would also protect against unwanted backlash due to threatening their patron’s plans. 


[color=violet]”We’ll work on getting you a set of keys to the house later. That way once this is all done, you two can just drop by whenever the mood strikes you.”[/color] Violet would add on with a smile as she stepped back towards her sister. [color=violet]“In the meantime, we will get this next wish done then stay out of sight for a while. Kay?"[/color]

Mariette nodded to the two, knowing there were some things she still wasn’t saying but she’d get to that when the time came. For now, she accepted and returned Sakura’s hug and Eli hugged in, too, while Mariette summoned some of her power to open a portal behind her as it was about time. [color=1462ba]‘Sounds good. I’ll look forward to it,’[/color] Mariette replied, hoping this could be the case.
[color=57a345]‘There’s a bunch of messes we’re currently taking care of, and lots of guests, but we’ll handle it,’[/color] Eli said, attempting to sound determined. [color=57a345]‘You take care of yourselves… and thank you,’[/color] she also said, so that she had said that as well.

With that, Mariette stepped backwards through the portal, and Eli eventually skipped back too. [color=1462ba]‘… Good luck,’[/color] Mariette wished, knowing what the future might hold. Eli did a little reassured wave, before the portal closed and they had departed the room.

[color=violet]”She’s adorable”[/color] Violet would say to her Sakura as they turned to leave as well. They had a wish to grant after all.