"Hahahahaha! [i]Tu te fous de moi? J'aime cela!"[/i]

Marianne covers her face with one gloved hand to smother her chuckling. It does very little good; her sharp teeth flash around her arm as though it wasn't there at all. Her shoulders roll with mirth as her fingers spread wider. In the gap that forms between them, she fixes one burning eye directly onto Celestine's two blue ones. She burns her gaze directly through the little sister's heart, watching and waiting for her to flinch. 

She doesn't. Marianne dips into a low, sweeping bow instead. She holds it for une, deux, trois... and snap, she's gone. Une, deux, trois again...

CRUNCH!

Her boot catches the Thornback in the back of the head. Marianne snaps dramatically, and several blackened chains rise up from the floor like angry vipers and lash the broken little housepet into a more pleasing shape. They wrap and bind the limbs together, winding through all of the twisting spikes and twice around the joint of each finger, and then yank painfully until it's dragged partway into the wall in the pose of a stereotypical cactus like you'd see on tv. She grins wolfishly, and turns to the students. 

"Welcome, my darling little future sycophants! Are you working hard to become the best slaves you can be? Be sure to tell your masters everything you see here tonight, don't miss a detail! This is an important night, yes! The most important night of your lives, yes yes! Tonight, Professor Marianne is here to teach you lessons your school is too lazy and too frightened to let slip. Watch and learn, my darlings! You will soon see the difference between a thief and a hero. Learn well the difference! Recapture your sparks, [i]mes chéries,[/i] both roles are needed for a revolution."

Marianne wraps herself into a corner of the room and comes crawling out of a chair near Celestine with a low purr rumbling up in her throat. She squeezes this littlest star on both her shoulders and then lifts her bodily into a princess carry so she can march the pair of them across the box to press Celestine's face against the window.

Below, the arena crawls with shadows that give this place, already neglected and spooky, the kind of aura you'd normally associate with horror stories. Every door looks bent and broken, every bit of equipment is rusted over or dripping with some unmentionable slickness, and the ground... well, it's not normally supposed to [i]move[/i] like that, is it? It's subtle, though, and where the eye watches it too long the shadows melt away to cover some other corner, crevice, or device. The faint howling of the wind, like a trapped animal, is just present enough to send shivers up the spine even all the way up here. But still, it's slight enough as to be mistakable for the stamping of feet, the fluttering of banners, the fervor of the crowd. It's only when you really look that you notice how many loose bits of chain are strewn about, literally everywhere. 

Marianne smiles, and cups her hand under Celestine's chin. 

"There, you see, little one? I have stolen the Great God's arena. Next, I shall steal his kill. Ah, ah! Not a peep, [i]chérie.[/i] Canada Taliv will die tonight, and Marianne will kill her. Nothing shall bring her back except the hope in your heart that begs for heroes. Keep her safe, yes? That is your assignment tonight! This is how I shall steal the Great God's eyes. Do you want that, little one? Would you beg to see him blinded? Would you pray to crack the walls of this perfect city?"

Marianne dumps Celestine on the ground before she can give an answer. She barks with laughter at the indignant glare getting shot at her, then harder still as Celestine's attempt at an answer turns into an awkward yelp as a chain yanks her up by the foot to dangle her upside down from the ceiling. The hurt on her face is real, isn't it Little Star? But she won't miss the pressure those chains put on her hand as they slip the piece of paper with the note you wrote for her. Worry not, Marianne loves you both, yes.