[Hider=Something about Harebringers, Kidnappings and Food]

Sann smirked smugly as she flew through the not-quite-christmas-bizarro-aquaworld that was Dan's dimension. She could feel that her duplicates weren't faring so good, but that was not very concerning, her hunger was.

And what better way to sate it than to feast on a legendary creature? Yet, such a quest would not look as good if there was no one else to share the glory or just watch.

The girl she just plucked out of the scene would do. If she was not remotely useful, as bait. She smirked as she eyed Aria.

"Bait… Harebunny casserole." 

She mumbled, as she kept exerting force on her wings to stay aloft.

[color=00aeef]”I’m pretty sure we only get paid for petting the harebringer!”[/color] For someone who had just had snow dumped on them before being carried off, Aria seemed to be in high spirits. [color=00aeef]”There’s also Dan’s weird magic that permeates the place. I’m pretty sure there isn’t a single reality out there that has harebringers outside of Dan’s dimension here. I’d be a little leery about chomping into something that was made from a patron’s magic. I also don’t think I’m very appetizing to them.”[/color] She placed her hands on her hips, or whatever was presently holding her hips.

"Noisy...good attention grabbing" The girl mumbled upon seeing Aria protest. "Hunt...and consume...don't people eat animals in this joyful dates?" Sann said, shifting her hands around so Aria did not go splat from all the movement.

The butterfly girl shrugged her shoulders. She didn’t consider trapping the same as hunting, but she was willing to go along with whatever her abductor was doing. So long as she got to pet the harebringer that was all that really mattered to her.

Making their way across the island and strange environs of Dan’s prepared winter wonderland, they would soon find themselves passing over a series of winding gorges, cut deep by now frozen rivers, cliffs, and the like. It was nice for skiing if you were into that sort of thing, though this was not the kind of area you’d want to start in if you were a beginner. 

And amidst it all, they would spot a Harebringer grazing atop a plateau. It had a large and poofy tail, though this was tinted blue and oddly windswept. It was larger than the bunnies around it, and dug up the snow to locate grass to dine on. So far it had not noticed them,giving the duo the element of surprise. The only question was how they would approach their attack. 

Sann just smiled, and began to descend upon, but further away, dropping Aria in a gentle manner on a vantage spot before looking at the Harebring. It was gorgeous, a definite fine specimen. However, her admiration was not unlike someone eyes up a good-looking dish.

“Just do noise, I’ll give you half…Or let you pet it to your heart’s content… Make sure it doesn’t look up in the sky.” She whispered, before taking flight once, and climbing up as hard as she could. The wind was sweeping through her ears, and the air up was colder than it was in the ground, but she persevered, beating harder, faster. As if trying to reach an magical girl flight altitude record, her eyes still locked on the rabbit, enhancing her vision with her Reinforcement further than her Awareness did.

[color=00aeef]”Right, ‘do noise.’ gotcha.”[/color] Aria would have liked to have given her odd ally some sort of enhancement, but she seemed less interested in discussing tactics and just going for it. Reinforcement magic was useful because it let you decide what your strengths were, but those strengths where never as good as someone who dedicated themselves to them. But a distraction should be easy enough to manage. 

[color=00aeef]”Well look at you! You fluffy little man you!”[/color] Aria ran towards the harebringer with a flock of butterflies behind herself. [color=00aeef]”Wouldn’t you like a pet, hmmm? A soothing stroke across your majestic coat?”[/color] In contrast to her partner, Aria wasn’t moving especially fast. Without enhancing her might, her speed was nothing to write home about.

The stoop of an eagle was said to be quite the match for a falcon, even if the larger powerful bird was not as an agile. Harebringers they were, but they were still rabbits. Henceforth, they still had natural foes and strategies to hunt them. Sann was grinning wide as the stars and the sky became a blur, mimicking the bird of prey hunting style.

However, she was lacking the razor-sharp talons of the raptor, so she had to improvise. Flexing the muscles on her legs, she delivered a powerful diving kick on the Harebringer location. She didn’t aim at it directly, just to stun it for a follow up. It would do no good if she scattered the target half a mile away.

“Falcon Kick~” She sang, exhilarated at the chaos.

The strategy used was twofold, targeting both the ground and the sky. Aria was noticed first as planned, Snowbuns looking up from their grazing to see her and her flock of butterflies as they approached. They and the Harebringer shied away from her, though given she wasn’t moving particular fast neither were they. It seemed the plan would work.

But it was not to be. Attention already drawn by one interloper, one of the Snowbuns looked up and yelped a warning just as Sann came in. Thus in the blink of an eye the Harebringerhad moved, rapidly darting back with a speed that belied its size and any sort of building momentum one might need to go that fast to move it out of the impact zone. 

“Bun Bun,” it huffed, the Snowbuns gathering around it to mimic its general moves. It eyed Aria and Sann cautiously, preparing for what they might do next. The real hunt was on now.
“Huh, It failed.” Sann said, still nonplussed. “Aren’t you a proud little champion, Bunny. Look at you, pretending you’re a commander~”. She began concentrating. “Let’s do it this way… surrender, and the other bunnies can leave.”

[color=00aeef]”Somehow I don’t think it know english.”[/color] 

Aria snapped her fingers, and her butterflies  flow off ahead of her.. They veered off, flying on either side of the snowbuns. It seemed like she might be trying to encircle them, but they kept their distance. 

The Harebringer eyed Sann carefully, gauging her words as well as the look in her eyes. It seared, unblinking, for a solid minute or so before the tension finally broke with Aria’s move. 

“Bun Bun,” the Harebringerreplied swiftly, before it and its group of Snowbuns began hopping away. That said, it was not hopping fast enough to throw off the butterflies. Almost like it was treating Sann dismissively rather than trying to flee. 

Sann just raised an eyebrow before batting her wings once more and taking height. “Well, have it your way.” She pouted, as she began to give chase. Focusing on the group, she tried to encircle the bunny and its cohorts in a circular barrier.

Sann went to work, crafting a barrier to hold the group in place. For a moment it seemed like it might work, the. The Harebringer sped up, leaping forward with barely any build up to lead into the increase in speed. 

Even then it was a close run thing. The distance narrowed, but before it could slam shut one of the Snowbuns leapt forward, resisting the barrier with sheer might before it could fully trap the group. It collapsed, dazed, but the rest of the group began retreating at a rapid speed and with casual disregard for the danger such rapid movement so high up put them in. 

[color=00aeef]”Let’s get ‘em, Rupy!”[/color]

Aria took hold of her familiar and channeled her magic into it. The butterfly’s wings swelled and it surged forward, leaving a trail of glitter behind it. Aria hadn’t been moving too fast, but now she could just barely hold on to her familiar as it attempted to catch up with the retreating snowbuns. 

Sann just raised an eyebrow, and let herself chuckle for a bit, before trying something different. Putting a magical reinforcement on the speed of her wings, she would then target her barriers at creating all sorts of unpleasant business in the Snowbun’s way. The landscape, thus, would become peppered with detonating barriers and runes, the snow at the feet of the group of beasts exploding from beneath their feet.

Aria and Sann kicked things up a notch, and the Harebringer did too. It reacted swiftly to the various obstacles, ‘bun’-ying as it raced past explosions and jumped over runes. It seemed to be quite the skilled escape artist, defying silly concepts like momentum or acceleration. 


Of course it seemed the snowbuns were not as fast, lagging behind and offering the opportunity for a a magical girl with particularly fast reflexes to grab one. But the main prize itself looked like it would require a bit more skill and cunning to capture as the distance opened. They zipped along ridges, down valleys, and around the winding landscape. Who knew they could be so fast with those small legs? 

Aria used Rupy’s extreme agility to pet what few snowbuns she could reach [s]if only because she wanted to keep them away from that psycho she was working with.[/s] but it was clear that speed alone was not going to win the day. Regardless of what the landscape looked like, the harebringer just didn’t slow down. Which made sense, sort of. These harebringers were made to be part of some party game Dan hosted. So of course they wouldn’t be easy pickings exclusively for the quick. There had to be something else going on. 

[color=00aeef]”It says ‘bun’ every time it decides it doesn’t want to obey physics. Does that mean it’s not trying to speak, but is actually a vocal component for a spell?”[/color] She turned towards Sann. [color=00aeef]”I don’t suppose you can make a lot of noise somehow, can you? Maybe start an avalanche or make use of some magic to make the little bunny shut up? ”[/color]

Sann raised an eyebrow, seeing her partner try to communicate with her above the noise she was making with all the detonations and rune explosions. "Meh." She said, as she drew her blade to cut herself and begin to draw another rune. 

"Silence, bun." She teased, before peppering the offending rabbit with silence runes. It was worth a shot anyway… as a distraction. 

If the casserole ingredient was going to ignore physics, so would she. Reaching to the spirits of the plane, she began to manifest poltergeists to chase the offending creature down. They did not even need to dodge, as they could go through snow, and stone.

It had become quite the dramatic chase, with explosions and high speeds as they raced along. Glancing back, the harebringer caught sight of the spectres and quickly veered to the left. It crossed the gap with ease, even though it was such a distance where gravity should have kicked in. Just another physics defying feat.

That was when Sann’s spell kicked in. It was clear when the Harebringer went to speak, only to find that it was muted. The bunny was left hopping mad for all of a few seconds before it slid down the slope towards the bottom of one of the ravines. It was only disoriented for a moment, and quickly recovered as it sought to resume its flight. If a bit less elegantly than before. 

[color=00aeef]”Yes!”[/color] Aria was glad she was invested in the more science-y side of  magic. Otherwise she wouldn’t have gotten in the practice to yell over explosions like she had done just now. But they still needed to close the distance. Though there was little Aria could do to anticipate what the bunny’s next trick would be. So she gave chase to see if it was enough to catch up. 

Sann raised an eyebrow, as she saw the effectiveness of silencing the rabbit. Maybe the decoy girl was onto something here? Regardless, getting in the bottom of a ravine was going to be a little tricky. Then she remembered that she need not to outpace the bunny if it was this disoriented.

The snow could do that job. Recalling her spirits, she then instructed them to throw down as much snow as they could… to cause an avalanche. Such a high-handed method would cause a lot of ruckus.

If not because Sann was using silence runes again, sending down a silenced avalanche on the Harebringer’s tail.

Aria gave chase and Sann put her deception into action. Ducking and weaving, the Harebringer was more responding to the side avalanches rather than the ones from behind as he summoned a Snowbun to act as a surfboard of sorts, bobbing and weaving amidst falling clumps of snow.

Still, they were unprepared for the avalanche coming from behind, which swept them away. The Harebringer, though dazed, quickly recovered and was back at it again. He moved for the exit of the ravine, which led to an icy plain beyond. The Snowbun was left behind though, dazed and buried in the snow, leaving the Harebringer all alone. All it had was its wits and its weird powers now. 

The avalanche had narrowly missed Aria, but had peppered her and Rupy with snow flakes. Dan’s blessing might have kept the magical girls warm, but being mostly naked and covered in snow was still cold regardless of what enchantment you had placed on you. She just hoped what little clothing she wore didn’t get saturated too badly by the melting snow. 

Rupy continued to pursue the harebringer. She had yet to see anything else she could take advantage of, so she was again put in a possition where she had to just observe the harebringer and wait for its next trick.

Sanngridr was getting slowly but surely irritated at the reluctance of this particular creature to become part of her meals. Sure, it was a challenge, but in a less than exciting way. It just kept doing the same thing over and over again, confident that whatever trick he had, it would be good to hold against them.

“I’m getting tired.” She remarked, before launching a last volley of barriers. But unlike the first time, these barriers had something overlaid onto them. They were set to detonate like flashbangs, should they be hit. With that, Sann sent them as if she was going to trap the Harebringer with them.

The Harebringer continued its run as Sann launched her last trick. The flashbangs took it off guard again, sending it spinning and sprawling across the ice in an uncontrolled fashion. It might not be a direct explosion, but without its minions or magic tricks it was much more vulnerable. 

As it slid to a stop though the ice began to crack. Webs of lines raced across the frozen surface, and with a loud ‘crash’ the Harebringer plunged below. It struggled in the chilly lake, thrashing and trying any means to escape. What an otherwise ignoble end to such a magnificent creature. 

The profit crazy artificer slowed her advance once the harebringer got into trouble. [color=00aeef]”Uh ohhhhhhhh!”[/color] She said with the intensity of a teletuby. Even if the situation looked dire, in her mind this was all a silly game aranged by Dan. There was no way the harebriger could actually die, right? That would be kind of uncool. But Aria didn’t want to test and find out. There was money on the line 

She released Rupy and fell just outside the ice area. Now the massive butterfly could really show off his agility. He no longer had a scantily clad girl hanging off of his wings.  There was plenty of room for a floundering harebringer. 

Rupy fluttered into the darkness, his wings sparkled with magical dust. The butterfly had positioned itself to help nudge the harebringer back onto stable ground, where Aria planned on waiting for it.  

Sann looked at her own work with a smug grin before realizing that her food was in fact, risking to freeze up. It didn’t help the other girl had a big butterfly cozing it up.

“...Food...is being ruined.” The winged girl said, before swooping upon the rescue site, ready to snatch up the Harebringer and get it back into shape. Of course petting was involved, although Sann was largely ignorant at this fact, and was merely focusing on getting the creature in a shape that could be employed for ingredients.

Perhaps the Harebringer would have been able to save itself once it was finished panicking. Perhaps it could have used it's magic to save itself once Arias spell wore off. It probably couldn't breathe underwater, but it would be foolish to expect Dan to make something so fragile and let it get loose.

Regardless of what the answer was, it did not stop the magical girls from going into action. Rupy went first with a surprising burst of speed, catching the Harebringer and nudging it to the edge of the hole. The feeling of outside support caused the Harebringer to calm down, and it 'Bun'ed happily at the butterfly.

Then Sann came in, earning wide eyes from the Harebringer. Using Rupy as a springboard it sought to leap away, though that would bring it directly towards Aria. Understandably, it had no desire to be eaten.

The enchanter let out a small yelp as the harebringer practically flew into her hands. It wasn’t especially heavy, but  the force of something weighing even just a few pounds slamming into Aria’s chest was enough to make her stumble backards. The impact alone was practically enough for her to throw her hands out in front of herself.  

[color=00aeef]”Ara ara ~ <3!”[/color] Aria stroked the harebringer’s head. For a moment, Aria was able to appreciate how fluffy the speedy creature was. Her arms were practically buried in it’s fur, as was most of her exposed skin. [color=00aeef]”You’re quite warm, sir harebringer. Or are you madam harebringer? I suppose it doesn’t matter.”[/color] She nuzzled the side of her head against the creature.

Sann grunted at seeing squirming at the bait. She had perhaps been too good of a bait. She huffed, as she circled around. “...you may pet it… but then it’s food time.” She said, before eyeing the Harebringer.

“Tch.” She tilted her head, pouting. “...weak creature...not worth of food anyway.” She admitted, before doing a symbolic pet on the creature. There was some sort of reward doing so, right?

Sadly there was no spectacle, no Final Fantasy music to celebrate their victory. The Harebringer hummed happily, enjoying the soft petting it received as aria assisted in drying it off. At least someone here could appreciate what they had managed to acquire. 

That was when Sann came in, still talking about food but also going for a ceremonial pat. The Harebringer responded appropriately, turning towards Sann before sticking its tongue out at her. Then it returned to the more appreciative embrace of Aria. Of course, it would be up to her to actually give the Harebringer over to Sann. Otherwise the chase might very well be back on. 

But of course Aria let Sann pet the harebringer. Less she get abducted for a second hunt. Traveling at high speeds on Rupy for as long as she had was a good way to get frost bite. That was not something that she wanted to risk happening. The harebringer nuzzled Aria closer when Sann reached over to pet it.

[color=00aeef]”Aww…”[/color] With the fluffy beast having been pet, Aria turned it lose. Now free, the Harebringer began hopping in the general direction of the petting zoo as it made its way back home now that it had been tamed. [color=00aeef]”That whole ordeal was, well, a bit more exhausting than it had to be.”[/color] She giggled. [color=00aeef]”Anyway, ma’am?”[/color] Aria turned to Sann.  [color=00aeef]”As much fun as this was, I would appreciate it if you asked for my assistance next time. I can’t say your luck will hold up if you try to kidnap me again.”[/color]

Sann just tilted her head at the bait. Well it had been a rather useful bait at all. Her eyes were somehow unfocused, as seeing past Aria for a second. “Still hungry.” She added, before closing in towards Aria. Even though it looked as she was going to take out a bite of Aria’s face, Sann’s large majestic wings wrapped around Aria, having seen the state of the other girls clothes. “Good assist. Name’s… Sanngridr.” she added, as if suddenly remembering that there were social conventions to uphold. “Food hall next.”

[color=00aeef]”Maybe.”[/color] Was Aria’s response. All in all, this was a pretty bizarre encounter. Following her wasn’t something she was keen on doing, and after Dan announced the silly race, Aria knew she had to make that stop before she did anything else. She’d fly too high and not even get counted as a participant, but she didn’t know that yet.

Sann then just smiled weakly, before grabbing Aria once more…this time setting course for the feast hall.
[/hider]
[hr]

The feast had been a mostly okay affair. There was enough drink and treats to keep unruly magical girls pacified, so Dina rested a bit at ease as she nursed the lashout from past events. Well, it had taken a while and things were settling down... Even Beacon seemed to be...keeping scuffles at bay.

She even had received a dream orb as gift, so that was a plus. She would need to carefully think how to use it, plus her Builder mentality told her not to dismiss as just a trinket.

Well, that was thinking too much. As it stood, It was bound to happen. Rachel flared up at seeing the Black Mirror. It was an apple of discord, sure. Dan wasn't doing anything. Well maybe that was for the better... was that Odin smiling? That old god surely had queer hobbies. Still, Lily had to answer, putting herself as champion of injustice.

Dina whispered. "Sorry Highness, Alicia, and Oros." She whispered, asking for forgivenes for altogether reasons, as she stepped up where the scuffle was.

"It's not yours to give or defend, Lily." Dina said, her stare penetrating. "Responsability of a dimension's fate shall be placed upon its patron or their retainers. It is not your call to engage in sanctioned duels with the dimension at stake. Return to your seat." She commanded with a jaded voice, as her presence and poise were mimicking that of a disgruntled ruling monarch.

"With that being said." Dina walked towards Rachel. "Please forgive the youth, they tend to speak their hearts into it, while not pondering wether there's truly wisdom in their words."

Her tail quivered so slightly.

"With that being said, I do dislike Keijo."

[i]Slap[/i]

The gesture came out of nowhere, the hand striking Rachel's cheek to deliver a message, as the offending gloved that had appeared moments ago in Dina's hand fell to Rachel's feet.

"Pick it up. I shall be the champion of this dimension. The terms largely remain the same."

[hr]

Meanwhile Umukamui had been enjoying her drinks, although rather awkwardly as being caught in Dan's dimension with a god staring at your breasts was not the best place for a Puchuu. In an uncharacteristic bout of surprise, she nearly choked on her drink when Lily made her outrageous claim, and decided to show her displeasure by allowing to show outward emotion by glaring daggers at the offending magical girl.

[i]What a disaster. I don't know who is worse. Lily or Sakura.[/i]

[hr] 

Sakura for his most part, had been nursing his wounds, and had tried to shift towards Emily once more, while avoiding the busty but definitely dangerous girls in the party. One could take so many hits before deciding that lust could be their end. "Hi Em... Whatchu got? Mine's some sort... of travel buddy?" He asked, pretending than nothing had happened.

Was that the neko hag challenging Rachel? 

Nope, definitely nope, not his business.

[hr]

Sann meanwhile had decided to start a competition to out-eat Hilaria. It was proving to be challenging. Her clones had all vanished in a poof, except for someone who had been modified.

"You'll choke, Cass." William said. "But maybe that's what you deserve, for being a thot."

Sann just ignored the buzzkill. Also, wasn't Viva supposed to be around? Why would she not pick this perp? It was probably more newbie valkyrie hazing, wasn't it.

[hr]

Odin.

Odin just smiled.