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[h3]--Questions, Answers, and Stories--[/h3]

[@Sonnambula] [@Ponn] [@Villamvihar]

Even a magical girl as senior as Lucette found it peculiar that she had two Alters assigned to her right now. Although it would be logical to deduce that as the world's population increased, so did the number of stories, which led to more grimoires and thus more magical girls, including Alters. Still, they were still quite rare in the grand scheme of things so her situation was still a notable fact, but regardless of their status, Lucy would treat them with the same respect as any other Merlin's crusaders.

The snow-haired 'teen' genially listened to her companions' questions, her lips pursed in silence as to not interrupt anyone and the attentive look in her light blue eyes clearly showed that she was all ears, not a single word was wasted on her. The first one to speak was the newest addition to Marywell, the redheaded Scot who wielded the hydrophilic power of Loch Ness. Considering the events merely two nights ago, Nessie’s question was not unexpected, that much was clear, but still a very good one nonetheless. As Sun Tzu once wrote in the Art of War, twas' utmost importance to both know oneself [i]and[/i] one's enemies; their ancient conflict with the Pageless couldn't be categorized as anything else but a war, one that seemed to last in perpetuity. 

The second student to speak was Olivia Bell, the only magical girl here whose transformed appearance contrasted greatly against her mundane self as the rest of the group possessed virtually similar hair color, iris hue, and complexion between their two halves. The ravenette curiously inquired about Lucette's own experience with their eternal enemy, although her slip of tongue was certainly worth some amount of concern. Surely even though Xolys looked monstrous, she wouldn't equate him with the Pageless, no? Xolys was a sapient being, while the Pageless were ravenous monsters driven only by instinct to devour and destroy. In fact, she felt a twang of pity for the tentacled entity, although perhaps it was rather misplaced and pointing that out to Olivia could offend her.

Finally, the second and last Alter of the group chimed in. Interestingly, she deigned to answer her comrades' questions instead of simply asking a question. A good thing in Lucette's eyes as this showed a couple of things worth noticing: first was that Wilhelmina was eager to learn, and second, she had the potential to be an excellent teacher in the future. Not all veteran magical girls made good teachers, such as Ozma, but those who do would always be honored for their important contribution, one that was no less important than fighting the Pageless; nurturing future generations to make sure humanity would always be protected from any malevolent otherworldly threats.

[color=feec96][b]"A very good question, Nessie, and an equally good answer, Wilhelmina."[/b][/color] The white-haired teacher finally spoke, addressing her juniors with their first names and without any titles so they'd feel more at ease with her. It was a valiant attempt by the old woman to connect with her younger peers, although it wasn't perfect as if one asked the students of Marywell, some of them would point out that there was a certain... gap that separated Lucette from them, one of those things difficult to explain with words but could be felt. 

[color=feec96][b]"The Pageless... our eternal enemy ever since time immemorial,"[/b][/color] Lucette began, [color=feec96][b]"Girls, I need you to watch my hand, then see what manifests below..."[/b][/color] She simply held out her right hand forward as sunlight caressed it, casting a shadow of similar shape on the grasses underneath, [color=feec96][b]"Whenever there's light, there's shadow; light and dark, inseparable as they are. Now imagine said light is humanity and its collective history - stories - throughout our existence."[/b][/color] She paused to let her words sink in, perhaps the girls could get an inkling at what she's hinting at now, regardless, she continued, [color=feec96][b]"The Pageless is a manifestation of our shadow, the darkness to our light, and like moths to flames, they're attracted to us. In their world of darkness, the bright presence of humanity is simply irresistible to them."[/b][/color]

A quiet sigh escaped her lips as she curled a forlorn smile, [color=feec96][b]"However, we do not know exactly why they express themselves through violent means. Perhaps malevolence and brutality are all they know; the concept of peaceful coexistence may simply not exist in their alien psyche. They could be envious, hungry, angry, or may simply be curious, we may or may not ever find out, however, one thing is clear, they do not respect our right to live peacefully, thus as sentient beings, it's our right to defend ourselves against violence, no matter their motivation. Unfortunately, not everyone can adequately defend themselves, and that's why every single one of you girls are humanity's heroes, there can be no nobler goal than what we’ve put on our shoulders."[/b][/color]

With the more important question addressed, Lucette figured it was time to humor Olivia's curiosity to her personal history, [color=feec96][b]"I've been a magical girl for more than eight decades now, so I suppose that's indeed a long time, but certainly nowhere close to the longest,"[/b][/color] She rested a hand against her chin, digging through her memories, [color=feec96][b]”Most interesting Pageless, hmmm..."[/b][/color] She had encountered a myriad of them over the decades;  monsters and abominations of various shapes and sizes, and while many of them were terrible in their own right, it was difficult to pinpoint which one was [i]most[/i] interesting. 

It took Luciel a couple minutes of contemplation to finally remember one particular incident, [color=feec96][b]"Well, there was this one encounter I had around ten years ago. During one of my routine night patrols, this... Pageless spawned near me, but curiously, it did not attack, at least, not right away,"[/b][/color] Lucette blinked once, genuine confusion on her face as she couldn't help but feel bewildered by the memory, even to this day, she hadn't found out why, [color=feec96][b]"Bizarrely, this particular Pageless looked like... me, myself, yet... not exactly. She - [i]It[/i] - had my eyes and build, but its hair was longer, much longer, reaching slightly past its lower back. It had a halo of black thorns, wore a quite revealing dress that left little to the imagination, and possessed Sefirot's wings, except colored black and dark blue instead. It was as if I was staring into a twisted reflection of myself, my [i]shadow[/i]."[/b][/color]

Lucette's blue eyes shifted to the ground for a moment, pondering, ruminating, before returning to look at her three students, [color=feec96][b]"At first, I tried to fight it, but it mimicked everything I did; all of our attacks clashed and nothing was achieved except constant strings of ties. However, my mana wasn't limitless and though I could feel myself tiring, this... doppelganger stayed fresh. At that moment, I realized that I was fighting a battle of attrition that I could not win. I found myself at a loss until I decided to take a leap of faith. If it was going to mimic everything I do, then I simply... released my transformation. The moment I returned to my mundane self, the shadow did the same and it vanished. I never saw it again ever since..."[/b][/color]

The short-haired girl chuckled dryly, [color=feec96][b]"In hindsight, perhaps it was an incredibly risky move as there was no guarantee it wouldn't simply take the chance to overwhelm my untransformed self, but I am relieved that things turned out as they did."[/b][/color] Thus, she concluded her little story of the "Most Interesting Pageless", she hoped it would entertain the girls, not just Olivia.

[color=feec96][b]"Now then, I think it's time that we move on with our patrol."[/b][/color] Lucy stood up, motioning for the trio to follow her again as she began walking away from the city park.