[center][h1]S [color=red][i]i l h o u e t t e[/i][/color][/h1] 
[img]https://i.imgur.com/4AhRUh4.png[/img]

[color=red]"Sam and Hilaria make the best of friends!"[/color]

[color=888888]— Samantha[/color][/center]

Lurking in Mariette's shadow some moments before they confronted Justine personally, Silhouette nearly sighed in relief. This decision would probably encourage Viridian to retract her earlier order. Sam didn't really desire to make things more complicated by letting Ronin near as it would not only obviously piss Mariette off, but there was a big chance it could cause other complications -- Justine was still out there, after all. 

Justine was the real problem here and the point about not leaving before she was dealt with was perhaps the first thing Viridian said that Samantha had ever agreed with. Not that they spoke much... or really at all. It was mostly Viridian giving orders so far and Sam acknowledging such. Su would probably kill her if she knew Sam had yet to do as she promised, but to be fair, there hadn't been enough downtime for her to follow up on it. 

[color=F65772]"~"[/color]

[color=red]"..."[/color]

[color=F65772]"~!"[/color]

[color=red]"...?"[/color]

Making Samantha feel awkward was quite the feat, considering she was often ignorant of things that would evoke this sort of emotion. Trixy was usually the only one who could do that. But here, this girl whom she didn't know, did so on her first try! What was she doing? Most people should be oblivious to her at this time. But she didn't even pretend like she was looking at Mariette. 

[i][color=red]Wait, this is the one that talks weird, I think. Wasn't she at that beach dimension?[/color][/i]

[color=F65772]"Oh, how miserable you must be to live in the shadow of another~!"[/color] the girl chatted, confirming Sil's suspicions. It wasn't just how she spoke that stood out, but how she did so despite it potentially distracting people, blowing Sil's cover if the enemy somehow had vision on them, and frankly even with context, speaking to a shadow was weird. 

A tar-like substance began to rise from Mariette's shadow until it molded into Silhouette's form. Because she intended on assisting Mariette, she only moved just far enough to not disturb the Portal Witch with what she hoped to be a short conversation with this strange woman. 

[color=red]"You seem to share the same sight as me,"[/color] she mentioned. [color=red]"What is it that you want?"[/color] her tone was laced with irritation at being disturbed. This apparently didn't faze the girl as her expression remained blissful and she continued where she left off. 

The girl produced a piece of paper that had been tucked away behind her huge shield and handed it to Sil, whose confusion was made more severe by what was written on it. In perhaps the most beautiful handwriting she had ever laid witness to, the words "Invitation to Eat" were drawn upon it. But that was all and it was blank otherwise. Addled, she looked towards the girl for an answer. [color=F65772]"If you're still alive when this is over, Hilaria wants to invite you to join a celebratory feast~!"[/color] she explained, clearly eager to hear a positive response. 

Sam looked back down to the paper. [color=red]"So... you're passing these out in the middle of this commotion?"[/color] she asked to confirm. Hilaria shook her head, surprisingly. 

[color=F65772]"Nope~ She didn't have enough paper to do that~"[/color]

[color=red]"...What? What do you mean by that? What is this, then?"[/color] she held the invitation up and received another shook head in response. 

[color=F65772]"Hilaria only made one, and it's in your hand~ She wouldn't call that 'passing those out', would you~?"[/color]

Sil pinched the bridge of her nose. [color=red]"So why did you give it to me, then?"[/color]

[color=F65772]"Hilaria thinks everyone else looked too busy and you were over here doing nothing, so that's why~"[/color] she bluntly stated. [color=F65772]"She was worried you were feeling left out since people haven't been talking to you, either~"[/color]

Sam wasn't sure if Hilaria was trying to help her or piss her off. But it was clear which of those she was succeeding at. [color=red]"Excuse you. You understand what we're doing here, right? I've been here to thwart any attempts at attacking Mariette directly. I wouldn't call that 'nothing'."[/color] she did not chide Hilaria on the talking part because, well, she wasn't exactly wrong there, but it still annoyed her. 

[color=F65772]"Rejoice~! Hilaria will relieve you of your post, then~!"[/color] she suddenly declared, placing a heavy hand on Sil's shoulder. Sam was tall for a magical girl, yet this girl's height was even above her own. She had to wonder what this girl ate to become so big. But much like she resisted the urge to slap her hand away, Sam did not ask her about that. 

[color=red]"What are you playing at?"[/color] Sam questioned. 

Hilaria took a small step back and encouraged Sam to check her out. [color=F65772]"Hilaria is afraid she won't be able to keep up with a foe that wants to run, so she should stay back and defend our cute little charge~"[/color] she went on to explain, glancing at Mariette and, if she looked back, giving her a wink. 

Samantha had to agree that if Sonia and Justine wanted to play tricky, she couldn't imagine Hilaria being able to prevent it. She wasn't away of what her spec was because she hadn't seen it in action, but Hilaria gave off the impression that her spec was supplemental rather than the focus of her strength. Still, this was her own task and she couldn't just hand it off to some girl she wasn't familiar with! How irresponsible would that be---

[color=F65772]"Oh, but Hilaria does not blame you if you would like to remain protected back here~ Hilaria knows exactly how scary fighting can be, and she won't hold it against you if you hide like a frightened child~"[/color] Still, she spoke in such a playful and nonthreatening tone it almost sounded genuine. 

[i][color=red]This bitch.[/color][/i]

[color=red]"Me, scared?"[/color] Samantha scoffed. She was technically a veteran, and she had seen more than her fair share of combat, death, and pain. Clearly, this girl was just a big fool. She had probably won a fight or two, seen one or two people die, and then thought it was enough to steel her resolve. To try to talk down to other people because of that was just absurd! [color=red]"I wouldn't allow something so petty as fear keep me from fighting,"[/color] she said as she let something so petty as obvious bait entice her into fighting. [color=red]"If you really want to take my place so badly, I expect you to use your life doing so."[/color]

Hilaria smiled much like she had before but it was now that Sam realized she had just been baited. She briefly considered a curse on Hilaria but opted instead to swear under her breath before throwing her arm out to the side and summoning a generic Schatten which would then sink into Mariette's shadow much as she had done earlier. This would be insurance in case Hilaria failed to protect Mariette, as it was instructed to sacrifice itself if Mariette was going to suffer a strong blow. It couldn't prevent particularly powerful attacks but it may soften them, and when it was destroyed it would alert Samantha immediately. 

With that, Mariette and the others would then begin their confrontation with Justine. This involved some taunting, some singing, and some shooting. As weird as it was, she didn't question it. Weirder things have happened. Samantha acknowledged that removing Sonia would make Justine far more vulnerable, so she would concentrate her efforts on doing just that. She explained her plan to the time-enhanced Portal Witch, so that she would open a portal whose location relied upon how Sonia reacted in an attempt to catch her recovering. This will, most likely, take the form of an immediate attack on Sonia if she attempts to teleport away --- after she teleports.

Hilaria on the other hand did the opposite -- she would remain by Mariette's side, on standby, being the wall she generally was and, ideally, making it difficult for someone to even land a blow on Mariette. Hopefully, this would later inspire the witch to eat with her instead of flaking like last time. Jeez.