The icy island was teeming with Snowbuns, bouncing and bounding here and there, as if the place had been overrun with the fluffy creatures. Mariette saw from her high vantage point that they seemed to cover the island from end to end. However, when she activated Absolute Direction, she was met with a straining result; hundreds upon hundreds of signals popped, each dragging her to a different location simultaneously. Before her headache could develop further, she turned it off, having decided to save it for when it was necessary. But as she looked, she noticed something peculiar; in an open field to the north, she saw a stack of Snowbuns; like a totem pole, they each sat on top of one another. And at the bottom of the stack was a different-looking Snowbun; it had shiny, copper-colored fur, and seemed to enjoy carrying the stack as it bounced, moving in a circle around the field, with the stack of Snowbuns swaying above it but not falling. Mariette was lying in a pile. She’d found the easiest way to gather the friendly animals had been to open portals for them and let them come to her. There were Snowbuns everywhere. She was petting them, patting them, they were so fluffy. They were inspecting her and she was inspecting them back. She really didn’t need more. Her happiness-receptors had exploded. This was already heaven. Yet, when she opened another portal to let more through, one of them refused. Curious about this development, Mariette peeked sideways. That one… that one was different. Hm. Mariette got up on her knees, petted a couple dozen Snowbuns, before stepping through a portal to face the different Snowbun. She walked closer, and squatted to peek at it if she got close enough. What was this one? Was this one of those Dan had…? The moment Mariette stepped into the snow field upon leaving the portal, she dropped; the powder snow was piled deceptively high over what must have been a pit, and hid the surface under it, causing Mariette to sink into it, up to her head. As a result, the snow happened to cave in around her, causing her legs and arms to become momentarily stuck. Then, Mariette heard the sound of mischievous giggling mixed with the chittering of a lagomorph, and saw as the Harebringer approached, a smug smile on its face. It bounced on top of the same snow Mariette fell through as if the copper Snowbun was as light as a feather. Then, as it came close, it jumped on top of Mariette’s head to mock her, weighing incredibly light, and then off her before she had time to dig herself out of the snow. It then continued bouncing around the field as the other Snowbuns on top of its head also giggled. [color=077ae6]‘Ah-!?’[/color] Mariette cried out in surprise as she plunged into the snow, blinking in surprise as she got herself down all the way to her neck. That, uh. That was unexpected. Then the strange hare jumped closer, and- uh, jumped on her head. Mariette wasn’t entirely sure how to process that before it jumped off through the field, somehow still balancing multiple Snowbuns on its head. Mariette was confused. Though, it wasn’t like her current situation was a predicament. Her tentacles burst forth under the surface of the snow, and Mariette pulled herself down under the surface. Using her tentacles to dig and feel ahead, she made herself into an undersnow predator, manifesting a portal over her nose to breathe and another over her eyes to navigate from above, Absolute Direction helping her keep track of herself after her target from underneath the snow, her tentacles ready to shoot out from under the snow to try to snatch the hare…! The Harebringer seemed oblivious to Mariette as she tunnelled through the snow like a many-tongued worm, using her small size and magical prowess to her advantage. The copper bun sniffed the air, wiggling it's adorable little nose just as the tentacles burst out, kicking up snow everywhere and obscuring her vision of what exactly had happened. She noticed something wriggling in the grasp of her tendrils. When the snow had settled again, she saw that she managed to catch one of the Snowbuns that had ridden on the Harebringer's head. The real one kept bouncing around, blowing a raspberry at Mariette; it now had a reduced stack of two Snowbuns instead of three. … Hm. Were those Snowbuns on its head get-out-of-jail cards, and she had to catch him three more times to actually catch him? Now he’d be more wary of attacks from below. Perhaps Mariette should have saved such an attack for later. No matter. She gently brought the Snowbun in her tentacles grip to her hands, where she gently petted it and smiled, before turning her attention to the Harebringer. It was time for some good old-fashioned tentacle hunting. Portals opened around Mariette, and portals opened around the Harebringer. Tentacles reached out to attempt to catch him again. She used her Awareness to try to predict where he’d jump to, and would attempt to open a portal there ahead of time so another tentacle would catch it there. Even if he escaped from that enclosure, a new array of portals would open in his new position. Mariette was a relentless predator when on a hunt, and getting away from her just didn’t work very well. Let’s test this little soul’s agility, endurance and perseverance. Mariette could do this for a long time…! The Harebringer, now knowing to expect tentacles to burst out in an attempt to catch it, expertly dodged the first few tentacles that lashed out from portals. However, new portals opened fast in the locations he dodged to. Eventually, the copper Snowbun was forced to eject one of the Snowbuns on its head to escape. Now reduced to only one Snowbun on its head, it was visibly angry, with cute furrowed eyebrows. Now it was no longer hopping as fast as before, bouncing around at the speed of a regular Snowbun, seemingly easily catchable by regular means. However, the trick was revealed when Mariette sent more tentacles after it; the tentacles suddenly slammed to the ground around the Harebringer, and turned slow and lethargic. The Harebringer used a spell to create a gravity well centered on itself, causing the tentacles to be burdened to the point of being too slow to catch the Harebringer, no matter how many Mariette would summon. Curiously, both the Harebringer and the Snowbun on its head were immune to the effects. Snowbuns also began to gather around the edges of the field in droves, seemingly curious about the magical hunt that was taking place. The Harebringer spotted the girl in the distance, and turned to wiggle its fluffy tail at her with a “Hmph!” Mariette stared curiously at the creature from a distance. A gravity-spell? Impressive. That would make trying to capture the hare an insurmountable challenge for most girls. The challenge was to catch, not harm, the hare, so shooting magic into the field wasn't an option. However… A large portal manifested over the hare. You know that snow deep enough to burrow through? A enormous quantity of snow suddenly fell like an avalanche down with the enhanced gravity right on top of the hare’s head. It wasn’t the only snow, though. Throughout the landscape, sinkholes in the snow formed as portals took the snow and avalaunched it at the hare from various directions, intent on using the hare’s gravity to create its own compact prison. Even if the hare managed to escape, Mariette just had to move the portals, trying to create a whirlpool of snow from varying directions to center at the elusive hare. The portal girl absently stroked the Snowbun in her arms as she watched the snowy trial of the Harebringer. The Harebringer blinked as it looked up at the portal that opened before it, and then chittered in surprise as snow dropped heavily over the creature. The Harebringer ejected his last Snowbun and managed to jump out of the way, only to be caught by snow that circled around it. Caught in a white vortex, the Harebringer fell back to the field, and ended up buried by a big pile of snow. Though Mariette no longer saw the Harebringer, she could tell with her magic that the magical Snowbun was still in the pile. With that, it was time to do something else that was in her magical arsenal that she’d never done before. She knew she had the ability to manifest weapons of light, but she’d never had any use of it, until now. Focusing her magic power, she manifested a Lasso of Light, and then let one of her tentacles grip the hilt because her own arms wouldn’t have been strong enough. The tentacle lashed out towards where Absolute Direction pointed her, sending the top of the lasso spinning, piercing through the snow with light-energy, before aiming to tie tightly around the Harebringer’s torso, so she may restrain it on a distance without the need to enter the gravity-field herself. Mariette threw the golden lasso of truth, and like Wonder Woman, successfully caught the Harebringer through the snow. However, as Mariette began to pull, she heard a loud chitter, followed by an explosion of snow, as the Harebringer unleashed it’s most powerful magic; it cast a spell of reverse gravity that quickly spread to the entire field, catching Mariette in it as well; she was now forced to hold on to the golden lasso as she now began to fly up alongside the huge quantity of snow that rested on the field, as well as a few Snowbuns who didn’t hop away fast enough. But there, Mariette saw her quarry; the Harebringer, with no hands to remove the lasso, wiggled and struggled, it’s copper fur standing on end from being agitated, doing everything it can to avoid being petted. The gravity then began to turn around the field in various directions, and Mariette began to spin with the Harebringer at the axis, the golden lasso the only thing keeping her steady as a snowstorm practically raged around her. Mariette positively vaulted as the gravity explosion took place, its power far exceeding her previous estimates. Her tentacles gripped around both her and her lasso of light, keeping her from being completely blown away. This… this was bad. Even if she opened a portal directly to the hare, she couldn't oppose the gravitational force to reach through it. She needed… some form… of push…! [hr] [@Ponn][@Shifter_Master] [color=fc6828]‘MAGICAL DREAM PRINCESSSS…!’[/color] Mayra excitedly called out at the appearance of her new friend at the snowball-fight. [color=fc6828]‘I see! You seek towards Penny, the strongest Magical Girl here, thinking it would give you safety in battle. I see, I see,’[/color] the draconic girl nodded sagely, regardless if this was the case or not. [color=fc6828]‘But, your judgment is misplaced! For I have created the ultimate weapon to breach the walls of her fort! HERE!’[/color] Mayra excitedly lifted… A positively gigantic snowball she'd taken a temporary leave from the battle to create. [color=fc6828]‘With the Mega Snowball, I will bring down the entire fort in a single swoop!’[/color] [color=fc6828]‘MEGA…’[/color] Mayra held the gigantic snowball with both hands behind her, comically undersized in comparison. [color=fc6828]‘… ULTRA…’[/color] Mayra shot a burst of fire magic through her, glowing red, smoking and grinning with a sound like revving an engine. [color=fc6828]‘… DRAGON…’[/color] Mayra started her swing, fire bursting from her elbows and legs as she started spinning like a blur with the giant snowball! [color=fc6828]‘… THROOOW…!’[/color] she finally called, letting go of her giant snowball that was sent surging with intense destructive force towards Penny's fort…! Then a portal manifested and ate the snowball before winking out of existence. [color=fc6828]‘… Whuh?’[/color] Mayra made a confused sound at the end of her throw pose. [hr] The snowball slammed into Mariette's awaiting tentacles and sent her flying at the Harebringer. With panic in her heart she used the force of the escaping snowball that came out of the portal behind her to propel her through the gravitational field, crying from the intense force on her relatively weak body, desperately holding her arms forward in order to catch the Harebringer mid-flight…! Propelled by Mayra’s Mega Ultra Dragon Throw, the snowball unleashed an explosive force as it went through the portal and struck the tentacles; like a trampoline, the tentacles in turn bounced Mariette, sending her flying just far enough for her to grab the Harebringer with her remaining strength; the creature’s eyes were wide as Mariette managed to push through the insurmountable odds, and it chittered in a fit of despair before finally succumbing to its defeat as Mariette’s hand finally landed on its head. The Harebringer...was petted. And the moment it was petted, the Harebringer turned docile; it ended the spell, and gently lowered Mariette down to the snow field, as it now rested in her embrace, clearly tired. Mariette gasped as her hand reached the head of the hare, felt as if a magic blast went through her at the impact… and then everything went calm. She gently held around the Harebringer, breathing heavily as she drifted down into the snow. The girl calmed down slowly, gently petting the hare, her eyes wide from the alarming experience she’d just gone through. But… she’d gotten her price. On staggering feet, she slowly stood up, ensuring to have her tentacles test for a stable foothold. She then opened a portal, wandering through it to the grove where she’d stacked the mountain of Snowbuns she’d collected before facing off with the Harebringer. There, surrounded by all her Snowbuns, Mariette simply sat down with her back against a tree, abscently petting the Harebringer in her lap while all her Snowbuns gathered around her to keep her warm in this frozen environment. There, at least for now, she’d relax. For just tonight, she was the Princess of Bunnies, with nary a worry in the world. There, for now, she’d rest.