[center][img]https://i.imgur.com/dIXIuEs.png[/img]

[img]https://i.imgur.com/nBgNtpQ.png[/img]

[color=A15EC0]“Good talk Justine! Let’s go eat some bon bons!”[/color]

[color=bc8dbf]”Not until after we kiss under the mistletoe!”[/color]

[url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=keTvNEVZ-Pg][color=A15EC0]“Hah! Smooth move, Joker!”[/color][/url]

[color=888888]— Betty “Biohazard” Barton and her good friend Justine "Joker" von Visceral[/color][/center]

Betty was beside herself. No one could tell that by looking at her face, which was devoid of any real emotion. But they could hear her feet as she power walked across the floor. Oros might have been able to block her from following Maura, but the way her feet were moving she could probably walk over anyone. There were no three magical girls present that could contain her, and she might even be able to trample a Lord of Change in her current state.

Justine was seated just so, in front of a rectangular table that ran to either side of the lodge.  The fire crackled and snapped behind her, lightly obscuring her features. At a distance she looked like a silhouette against the flames, albeit one that everyone recognized. 

Justine did not look up when she heard Betty’s thunderous footsteps nor when a wooden chair was dragged across the floor. She positioned the chair between everyone else and Justine, before sitting in it hard enough to slide backwards a few inches. And then, she did nothing. With everyone behind her, Betty just stared into Justine’s eyes. Her shoulders were a bit rigid, but if no one had seen Betty’s approach, they might have assumed nothing was really wrong.

Justine kept her eyes to the table as she heard incoming footsteps, and clutched at her plushie as Betty took her seat. She then shyly looked up, to see Betty’s fiery gaze.
She closed her eyes, and slowly nodded.

[color=bc8dbf]”...”[/color]

Justine opened her mouth, as if to speak, but then closed it. An awkward silence passed until finally, in a meek voice, she spoke.

[color=bc8dbf]”I sold you to the Mint...So I could buy their services,”[/color] she stated, having returned back to looking at the table.
[color=bc8dbf]”I gained soldiers and information which was useful in my revenge against Mariette. For that...I’m sorry.”[/color]

A tiny sigh escaped her lips. [color=A15EC0]“And of course, you don’t know what the Mint did to me. Doubt you even thought to ask.”[/color] Betty folded her arms on the table. [color=A15EC0]“That was it then? I was just traded for services? You didn’t use me for [i]anything[/i] else?”[/color]

Justine weakly shook her head. [color=bc8dbf]”That's right. I knew of your affiliation with Veronica and the Crimson Cradle, which was why I didn't even consider using you as a servant. I simply handed you off, and didn't think on it...Until now."[/color]

[color=A15EC0]“So where do we go from here?”[/color] Betty bit the corner of her lip. [color=A15EC0]“Maura hasn’t told us anything. Are you going to work with us now? Can we really trust our backs to you?”[/color] She groaned. [color=A15EC0]“Do you even trust us?”[/color]

Justine sniffled, and caressed her plushie.

[color=bc8dbf]”I trust in Mistress,"[/color] Justine finally admitted.
[color=bc8dbf]"And I trust you too. It's just...I don't know how to show it. I've never trusted someone before, not even Sonia. I honestly haven't talked much with her about my duties..."[/color] 

[color=A15EC0]“Oh please, spare me the self pity!”[/color] Betty stood up, practically launching the chair out from under herself. [color=A15EC0]“Is this really Justine von Visceral, sin of pride? You can’t even keep eye contact with one of your victims!”[/color] By this point, a few other girls had taken interest in Justine, and Betty’s side of the table was getting crowded. [color=A15EC0]“Damn it!”[/color] After surveying those approaching, she looked at Justine. [color=A15EC0]“Justine, I have no idea if anything you said was the truth, but you can believe me when I say that you most certainly shouldn’t trust your back to me. You have some [i]serious[/i] ground to cover before we consider you one of us.”[/color] She turned part way from the table, only to look back in Justine’s direction. [color=A15EC0]“My memories of the rave are a little hazy. I vaguely remember Veronica pushing you and I together…”[/color] She trailed off. After some thought, Betty crossed her brow. [color=A15EC0]“You’re never going to get that close to me again.”[/color] Betty pushed her way past everyone who had gathered around. [color=A15EC0]“Where the hell did Maura go? Is she crying too?”[/color] Betty was out the door before she even finished talking. She didn’t even react to her phone buzzing.

As Betty left, Justine could only nod, as she held back her tears.
[color=bc8dbf]”...I deserved that."[/color]