[center][url=https://i.imgur.com/o4NLe3T.jpg][img]https://i.imgur.com/JO1abev.png[/img][/url][/center] So, the timeline of events here is a bit shaky, as Hilaria disturbing Dorothy should happen before Aurelio’s reply, but Hilaria disturbing Dorothy also activates the flinch that causes Kimble’s charge, and that sort of shorts out Aurelio’s reply, but eh! Let’s assume it all somehow happened anyway! [color=657b9e]‘EEP!’[/color] Dorothy positively flinched at Hilaria’s sudden appearance, and the rabbit did what rabbits do, jump straight across the street to get to relative safety before turning around and looking in shock at Hilaria. Now, Hilaria didn’t necessarily look particularly threatening, but to Dorothy right now, [i]EVERYONE[/i] was a potential threat…! Then, Aurelio came forth being supremely comforting. [color=657b9e]‘R-really?’[/color] Dorothy asked, sounding a bit relieved but also surprised as she looked over at him. [color=657b9e]‘Th-thank you…! In that case, could you-’[/color] And somehow she hadn’t realized Kimble was coming her way at high speed until now, nevermind that Kimble should have reached her before Dorothy had any time to do the reaction typed above. From there, Dorothy’s reaction was as expected. She threw one look at Kimble coming at her at high speed, her eyes widened, and- [color=657b9e]‘N-nooooooooooooooooo----!’[/color] Dorothy called out, as her rabbit-limbs went down on all four and she positively sprang into motion as she fled at a positively absurd speed. She did not stop when Kimble told her to. D-did she do anything wrong!? Did what the boy say still apply!? Or was it a trick so that this air-girl could take her by surprise!? [color=657b9e]‘Wh-what did I do wrong, aaaah, nooo---!’[/color] she called out to nothing in particular as she fled in panic, but still sort of steered herself towards the park where she’d told them to meet. A different park compared to the one Cardinal Ishtar went to, to note, this park had a bunch of trees and nature and places for Dorothy to hide. Because hide she wanted…! [@Ariamis][@Shifter_Master][@FamishedPants] [hr] [center][url=https://i.imgur.com/gmRTrWA.jpg][img]https://i.imgur.com/5ZqyPyV.png[/img][/url][/center] Ronin skipped along to the bar as Cindy and the random dude went over there, just to make sure that she was still guarding the woman. She didn’t actually take a seat, she just stayed around, listening in with a wide smile on her face… and then her eyes widened when Cindy referred to her by name. [color=9b83de]‘Woah, the Queen of Penrose knows of me already!? I’m touched! I’m honoured! I’ll take some normal juice if you have it!’[/color] Ronin said the last to the bartender, smiling widely and proudly. Woah, some friends she’s making, huh? And then a wild Tetrad appeared! Ronin blinked at her in surprise a bit first, but then smirked widely when Veronica was mentioned and now she got it. [color=9b83de]‘“Fun-sized”, hahaha! Yupp, this is me! I’m Ronin, as you knew, happy to meet you! You’re my friend of a friend from Veronica, I take it? Then, you’re my friend, too!’[/color] Ronin claimed so happily, while also glancing over at Cindy and dude’s conversation, too. [color=9b83de]‘I’m plenty into the theme! But, I’ve sort of never drunk before, and this is a bad time to start! I’m on bodyguard duty, bodyguards don’t get drunk!’[/color] Ronin said with a giggle. [color=9b83de]‘Besides, it actually hasn’t been 18 years since I was born, even with Magical Girl years included. How does the whole “underage drinking” thing even work with Magical Girls? I bet this tiny body gets drunk quickly, if there isn’t any special anti-drunk magic I don’t know about included! And, judging by the floor, I’d say there isn’t!’[/color] Ronin said with a bit of a laugh as she looked around the room a bit and then back to Tetrad. [color=9b83de]‘Are you on a mission here, too? Do we know of anything going on?’[/color] And then came that message from Veronica. Huh. Alright, then. People on roofs nearby. Very well. Then random dude drank battery acid by Cindy. Ronin maintained her smile but also positively flinched. WHELP, if he finds that to be a fitting way of hitting on the queen, then Ronin wasn’t going to argue…! [@Ariamis][@AtomicNut][@BrokenPromise] [hr] [center][url=https://i.imgur.com/iLfQK1p.png][img]https://i.imgur.com/2C1b19j.png[/img][/url][/center] Part of Eli’s mission here was to keep track of everyone going in and out of the party. Hence, she occasionally kept close to the entrance. Now, tiny slime-girl in a slime-dress with a white face was pretty eye-catching, too, but it didn’t matter that much if they knew Mariette had a person on the inside. Honestly, it was probably actually expected. So, with that, she could confirm individuals like Veronica, and… Huh. Alicia and two Ascendancy members, in Clark Kent disguises. Eli wasn’t about to call any attention to them, but the fact they were here was interesting. Now, most in here probably wouldn’t realize who they were, their disguises did a bunch, but Eli was an attentive stalker of the night who had a mission to identify every magical girl in Penrose, it wasn’t going to fly against her vision. Still, it might be a good idea not to be seen by them… Eli turned away and whispered into her communicator, which was inside the fluid that was her head. [sub][sub][color=57a345]‘Beacon has entered the building. Alicia confirmed. Intentions unknown, but it could get [i]real[/i] rowdy if she’s fo-’[/color][/sub][/sub] Eli froze. Her slime-manifested pupils narrowed. Sitting there, in a pretty but dark, elegant dress and just mingling with the locals was none other than Justine von Visceral. She was so casual, cracking silly jokes, just having a good time, getting approached by some boy that Eli oddly enough didn’t recognize, raising the possibility it was one of Justine’s forces she’d brought to Penrose. How… why… why was she here!? After having stared at her for far too long, Eli spun around and hurried to the other side of the rave. [sub][color=57a345]‘[i]Justine is here![/i]’[/color][/sub] she said, not entirely as carefully as when reporting Alicia. [sub][color=57a345]‘[i]I repeat, Justine von Visceral has returned to Penrose![/i]’[/color][/sub] [hr] [center][url=https://i.imgur.com/Y8OSnvr.png][img]https://i.imgur.com/OPMf9l2.png[/img][/url][/center] Mariette listened to Amaryllis and Nuncio in turn. She didn’t really take note of if Nuncio was behaving strangely or anything. Regardless, it seemed they had a plan. [color=077ae6]‘Very well. Secrecy it is? How confident are you your cat can avoid detection? If I know what’s inside, opening a portal should be no problem. I can open one without knowing what’s inside, just retrying until I find open space, but that could lead straight into the arms of our foes. Regardless, it’s time to move closer…’[/color] Mariette said, as she turned to look out over the warehouses… She paused. Her eyebrows twitched a bit, as she looked around. She opened a torso-sized portal in front of her, which Amaryllis and Nuncio may briefly be able to tell led to a bird’s eye view of the line of warehouses, above their position. Mariette gently stuck her head through the portal, her hair drifting out, as she confirmed something. She pulled her head back and closed the portal, while her hand went into another portal and retrieved the same map from before from her Hammerspace Handbag. [color=077ae6]‘… They’ve moved Sammy. She is no longer in warehouse 9. She’s in… this warehouse,’[/color] Mariette told, poking at one of the warehouses on the map. While Mariette couldn’t tell from here, the warehouse she now poked was warehouse q. Intentionally lowercase q. [color=077ae6]‘I suggest we move. Your turn, then, feline mafioso?’[/color] Mariette asked, as she opened a portal from the rooftop to an alley not too far from the warehouse in question, but still out of sight. [@BrokenPromise][@ERode] [hr] [center][url=https://i.imgur.com/N53ToUw.png][img]https://i.imgur.com/5TcL6Af.png[/img][/url][/center] Lea simply stood still as Vivian snatched the egg, Lea’s hand momentarily dispersing into butterflies as the egg was snatched so violently before said butterflies coalesced back into a hand again. [color=c1eb9b]‘I did as requested. I’ll wish you an enjoyable evening,’[/color] Lea said in a tone that didn’t at all sound like it was wishing someone an enjoyable evening, before Lea then spun around as Viva and Lea went separate ways. With that, Lea’s job at the rave was over already, and she sincerely saw no reason to stay. That was Eli’s job. Far too few patrons here for her liking, just the servants, just the Magical Girls and such. If a patron saw fit to lower themselves to this level, then they probably weren’t worth talking to, anyway. With that, unless she was stopped by anyone, Lea would make her way out of the rave and then simply lift herself into the air and fly away, as a small green fairy in the sky before long, eventually disappearing. [color=2e2c2c]I might need that Combat NPC-slot, soon.[/color] [hr] So, what to do with Nightwing? Well. Because of Amaryllis, killing her had been ruled out. However, Mariette wasn’t very keen on releasing her out into the world, either. But, keeping her locked up in Mariette’s manor invited all sorts of complications should she escape. Hence, the only place where Nightwing could be stored would be… It was a basement of a random abandoned building in Penrose. Here, Nightwing was still knocked out, because they made sure to knock her out whenever she was about to wake up. Psychic-magic is good for that. Meanwhile, this whole room was covered in barriers formed from Ronja’s Reinforcement-spells, her webs covering the walls, and in the middle of the room was Nightwing, still out of it, tied to a chair by Ronja’s reinforced webs, limbs locked in place, as well as blindfolded and with her mouth covered in the same. [center][url=https://i.imgur.com/m4rTXOi.jpg][img]https://i.imgur.com/rMgrdyA.png[/img][/url][/center] [color=fa898b]‘Hmm, think you can get yourself out of this one?’[/color] Ronja, Psychic/Reinforcement-specialized arachne, asked as she spun a little web of memories next to Nightwing. [color=fa898b]‘Possibly. Records say you’re Darkness-specialized. You might just be able to get away anyway, just by turning yourself intangible. So, just in case you do that, here’s a little special something for you…’[/color] Ronja said, as she lifted a special little piece of memory web, which she oh-so-gently inserted it into Nightwing’s mind… [i]They will kill me for getting myself captured.[/i] It was a single sentence, an idea, that hopefully would keep Nightwing from going back home anytime soon. It would be overwritten if the Mint told her differently and she believed them, potentially showing no trace that she’d been given a false memory. It had to just be believable enough that Nightwing could believe it. And, after all, the Ebon Mint is such a scary organization, who even knew if they [i]wouldn’t[/i] kill her for getting captured? [color=fa898b]‘Enjoy your stay, “Nightwing”...’[/color] Ronja said, as she went through the door and locked it behind her, reinforcing it, and then left again. Then who knows where she went. [hr] [center][url=https://i.imgur.com/NyW3sR1.jpg][img]https://i.imgur.com/PFwYZKO.png[/img][/url][/center] In an unremarkable corner of Penrose awaited an unassuming apartment, which gave way for absolutely no reason to visit it. Why would you stop here? It was where normal humans would live, and not so many of them anymore due to the state of the city, yet some lights still shone, mostly keeping magical individuals from visiting the complex as encounters could lead to awkward conversations… Yet Myria found herself stopping right here. The reason being, she had access to something nobody should. [i]Inside info.[/i] She headed inside, passing the hallway, lobby and the laundry room. So far it was nothing but regular boring apartment complex things, that would interest absolutely nobody. Even when she reached the stairs, some flimsy wooden stairs which only purpose was to lead to the second level, who would even think to look [i]behind[/i] the stairs, even if there was a place to peek in? It’s uses seemed to end at where a child might hide during hide-and-seek… Yet the spirits guided Myria, and here… here was where things got complicated. They told of a vent in the wall. There was no such vent visible to the naked eye. However, the spirits also told of machines, cogs and machinery hidden within the walls, linked to one of the steps of the stairs that was reachable from behind, too high to be reached by a curious child. It had something to do with that step, a connection between this wall and that step. Question was, did Myria want to mess with it? From information drawn from the spirits, said vent went underground, to a room connected by no doors. This thin vent only barely accessible by children was the only way in or out, albeit Myria could walk so she stood above said room inside a specific apartment. There was numerous meters down to the room, but she could stand above it. Within was the price she sought, an obsidian mirror… but it also wasn’t the only thing. Some normal furniture, a carpet, a fireplace that didn’t connect to anything, some paintings. One of these paintings had been hung right above the entrance of the room by the vent, needing to be pushed aside to enter. The mirror itself was a large, full-body mirror standing with a support, and a jewel of some kind embedded into the frame… What would Myria do here? [@ERode]