Mittens is as good a kitty as her word. And not just because she has to be! She'd made a very open ended promise, you know. Really, she'd have been well within her rights to focus on being a good kitty: sitting on this broom looking oh-so-pretty, keeping herself groomed, and purring when her... ahem, 'good friend' pet her (even though Azora is the single worst person Mittens has ever seen at handling cats). There's nothing in this magic that says she has to shield Azora from harm, no extra verse that compels her to, as a random example, lasso a light around the mouth of this super scary looking dragon head and yank it down to the ground before it can chomp Azora. She does that because she wants to!

She plays it just like she did for [i]Heist![/i] She's an acrobatic whirlwind of pure defense, never letting a single wing, claw, or snappy glass head bring harm to the Princess player. But for all her whirling and twirling with her shining red light, she never once makes a move that would make Azora feel like she's not the one executing... whatever grand plan it is she's up to. Mittens plugs up the holes, guards the openings, and then when it's time to strike back she zips back up and presents her head for pats, soulful eyes and adorably jingling collar begging for the attention. Let Azora have fun, that's fine. Let her have an apple, even, that's fine too. 

Every second weaves the trap tighter. Azora Howl made a huge mistake when she invoked promise magic without really understanding how it works. Any old princess can play clever word games and wriggle out of a poorly worded deal. As a guard against those things, a geas is barely better than an umbrella in a surging river. But a promise made in good faith and followed through on with a girl's whole heart? That binds deeply indeed. There may come a time, and soon, when she regrets letting silly little Mittens get so close. 

The Great (and by turns, Ridiculous) Glass Dragon falls before Azora's obviously perfect onslaught. Mittens sits beside her, purring her victory purr and fighting off the gross feelings telling her to stop this before it's too late. And that's when she sees the most beautiful thing she's ever laid eyes on in her entire life. 

The Illuminan Water Dance is a prayer for a bountiful rainy season. It's also one of the most technically difficult dances in all of Hyperborea. But Rita isn't missing a step. She prances across the field on the balls of her feet, swerving and swaying like her whole body's turned to liquid as she slips out of shadow bindings, bends out of the way of giant crashing wings, and sails over the sleekest and most impressive of the dragon's four heads. Mittens pulls her paws up to her mouth and gasps out loud when she sees Rita's dark and luxurious hair come trailing through the air behind her after a particularly graceful leap. The curve of her hips, that cute flash of her belly, the dancing silk scarves she weaves through the air to mimic the patterns of a river... oh, whiskers. She's falling in love all over again. 

There's no stopping her. Rita sways and spins her way right to the apples and snatches one up, daring as you please. She winks, lifts her veil just enough to tease the outline of her lips and blows a tender kiss straight at Mittens (!!!) with deadly accuracy. Oh naps on a sunny couch, she's [i]beautiful[/i]. 

"Did my dancing please you, my heart? My sun and stars, my dew-kissed morning light?"

Mittens blushes straight through her fur and buries her face in her paws. All of a sudden, there aren't enough apples to go around. She's in deep trouble. But, right this second? Her heart is so incredibly full of love that she can't bring herself to care.