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Darkest Before the Dawn: A CYOA Magical Girl Roleplay [Completed]

The Great Penrose Movie Marathon

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Since Faith insisted that it didn't matter Hilde would drop the subject. "Okay then." She would smile as her friend stepped away. She watched a bit as her friend would steal a kiss from Alex and Lily. This game seemed a little weird to her. Though a big part of that was because of what was happening elsewhere. Namely, Shane and Shoggy. The boy having managed to free himself the girl seemed extremely enthusiastic about a relationsip. Doing a double take for a moment Hilde glanced around. Nope, Ronin was standing right there.

Uncomfortable she would start scooting away from the circle. "I think I'll go to watching the movie." She would answer Oros as she left. It was what they had come to do originally anyway.

Shoggy's reaction took the boy aback. For a moment he looked a bit skeptical but with the girl hanging onto him and his magic doing its job he had a reasonable understanding that she wasn't pulling his leg. Well, not yet anyway. He would hold up his other hand flat to tell the girl to stop. "Whoa, slow down a moment." He would at least try and keep her from jumping all over him.

Shane wasn't particularly sure where the girl was coming from. Going form 0 to 100 was unusual unless they were pretending. Shoggy didn't quite seem to be though, he didn't need those glasses at the shop to see that. "It's customary to get to know one another before jumping into a relationship." He would say calmly. Either she was simply unaware of your usual human fare or something else was up. Regardless he would at least give her the chance, she seemed nice enough even if potentially a bit naive. "So, tell me about yourself." Given she'd just run through a bunch of questions he had little doubt that he would get details.

Darkest Before the Dawn: A CYOA Magical Girl Roleplay [Completed]

Shane will buy the Lightweight Boots.

Shane: 1R, 3G 21S 17B

Lightweight Boots -6B
Remaining: 1R, 3G 21S 11B

Darkest Before the Dawn: A CYOA Magical Girl Roleplay [Completed]

Their mission finishes, Janet hurried after Trixy as the two were exiting the museum. Given recent circumstances their first meeting for this whole thing was a bit tense. They managed to pull through with some amount of coordination even though most of their conflicts were separated. Still, Janet didn’t want things to be done and gone so she tried to catch Trixy before she disappeared.

”Good work in there.” She said with a smile and a raised hand for a high five. There was no guarantee she would get any return on it but she would offer the gesture anyway.

Trixy didn’t look any better than she did when Janet last saw her. She still looked perturbed, still had Isabelle’s blood trailing down the front of her face.

”Yea. We made our client happy.” Trixy raised her hand and pressed it against Janet’s. Some of Isabelle’s blood had gotten on Trixy’s hand, and now it was on Janet’s. She walked past the girl and allowed her hand to fall away.

Slightly confused, Jenet would ignore the blood on her hand. She'd noticed the attitude earlier but didn't really know what it was directed toward. With the fight over it seemed that it may be something else. "Something wrong?" She would ask calmly.

Trixy stopped in her tracks. ”What’s your opinion on the average magical girl?” She didn’t turn around.

Mm, had not expected that. An interesting question to be sure. Crossing her arms and looking down the street she wouldn't contemplate it long. "Not much different than my opinion of regular people. We're mostly a product of our environment. In the case of magical girls we've been given power so our patrons can have us fight off monsters and slap each other around for one reason or another. I would like to believe that were not for the patrons that most would have good intentions. Human nature is generally selfish though." Looking back to Trixy after a moment she would give a slight shrug. "Not saying we can't have the public good in mind, just takes looking past one's self at times."
Seemed she'd considered her stance on this before.

”I wouldn’t say people are selfish, just that they wish to be content.” Trixy turned around to face Janet. ”But you are correct. Patrons complicate things. Regardless of how good or evil someone is, their patron can mold them into whatever he or she desires. It’s made worse by the fact that few of these entities have ever been human, or even understand what being human is all about.” Trixy placed her hands on her hips. ”I can feel good about slaying a monster, but taking down other girls is something I’ll never enjoy.”

"Probably just my previous life talking. I would agree though, I don't like that part either." Holding her arms closer she shivered just a bit. Killing someone was still something she was capable of. She'd done it before all this magic stuff. But it was more a thing to avoid again than anything. Cindy didn't have the same quelms on the matter clearly. Even if she factored a way out she was more than ready to let Rica die. She was clearly bothered with the time to reflect on it.

”But we don’t really have a say in the matter, do we? Our patron tells us to jump, and we jump.” Trixy placed a hand over her face and sighed. ”I’m fortunate that my lady was a human once, and still is one for the most part.” When she moved her hand away, she had only managed to get even more blood on her face. ”I’m not even sure if we did those girls a favor letting them live. I have no idea what kind of god Set is. And even so, not every fight is going to end like that one.” Trixy stared off into the distance before looking at Janet. ”What about you?”

Tilting her head briefly she didn't seem sure herself. "That is nice.” She would admit to Trixy’s observation of Veronica. ”Depends on the patron I'd say. Mine is… well, I'm working on it. Not the simplest thing to do and people keep throwing fuel on the fire." She offered some of her own thoughts and perhaps aspirations. "I'm not really sure I can say much about the three girls. That's tough to call."

Trixy nodded. ”Yea.” She scratched the back of her head. ”In all likelihood the next time we meet it will be as enemies. Beacon and Cradle aren’t on the best of terms.” Trixy turned around to leave. ”You have a lot of determination. I doubt you’ll surrender even if you start losing.”

Rolling her eyes slightly and shaking her head Janet would mutter something under her breath as she ran her clean hand over her face. She would look at Trixy who seemed ready to leave before speaking again. "You're not the enemy. I'm fairly certain of that. If I could get people to stop trying to murder one another maybe…" She trailed off. Easier said than done and a low sigh escaped her lips. "I just want people to get along." She looked up at the morning sky.

”I know.” Trixy turned to look at Janet again. But she didn’t turn her entire body. One shoulder was pointed at Janet, the other in the direction Trixy was headed. ”But it’s not what we want. You’re part of the strongest organization in Penrose. There may be infighting, but Penrose Beacon and the Ascendancy are both part of a whole. Even if you don’t like it, your boss still employs both halves.”

Nodding slowly there didn't seem to be a whole lot else for her to talk about. There was one other thing to discuss but that was more Cindy's business than her own. Her appearance switching over the girl would straighten up. "As it appears your conversation with Ms. Howell has concluded, might you pass on a message to dear Eliza?" If it wasn't obvious before during the fight the change was like flipping a switch to someone else.

Trixy used her arm to shield her eyes from the blue light from her sudden transformation. ”A twin soul and a split personality?” She squinted her eyes. ”What did you have for her?”

Ignoring the verbalized observation she simply responded. "I made promise to protect something of hers. Please inform her that I intend to keep that commitment and it remains secure in my care." She wouldn't say outright what it was. Everything in Penrose had ears, or might as well anyway.

Trixy nodded and lifted her fingers to the side of her head. ”And who is this message from?”

"Cindy Ford." She would say rather matter of fact.

---

The Great Penrose Movie Marathon

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Hilde would smile at her friend as she greeted her. "I'm doing a lot better thanks to all of my friends. Starting to come into my own. And I think I've found a place I belong too." For now she would leave out the detail that it was at a graveyard. It was actually a pretty big step for her. Probably would make Oros happy to know as well.

The mention of "her folks" though could only mean a few people. Not as up to speed on what Janet and Jenna were doing she would lean closer to Faith and whisper. "You mean the twins?" She hoped whatever it was wasn't a bad thing.

To say he was not prepared for what Shoggy had in store would be accurate. It was strange for sure, but not the weirdest or most uncomfortable situation he'd ever found himself in. The girl was quite clingy and trying to push her back gently didn't work all that well with the viscous mass of her body. Well, he couldn't really ask her to back off either. For a bit he didn't do anything in hopes she would let him go. When it seemed more that he was going to be trapped there he would have to change tact.

Suppose it was a good thing that he was transformed when he arrived. Surrounded by a field of electricity for a moment the shock would jolt the monster girl off. It probably stung a bit, but he didn't have that many other options. "Sorry about that." He took a second to pull himself together. He would chuckle just a bit though. "I was not expecting that. Definitely one of the most unique kissing experiences I've ever had." He wasn't entirely sure if it was good or bad. He had definitely been on the receiving end of that surprise.

Darkest Before the Dawn: A CYOA Magical Girl Roleplay [Completed]

The Great Penrose... Uh... What?

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Hilde had been a bit distracted by her friends to entirely realize what was going on. Oros had popped up with some new game to play. The game sounded like it could be fun, she wasn't sure she would want to kiss anyone though. "I'll play. It could be fun to..." Connie being willing to participate pretty much assuaged Hilde on the matter. A number of them already being in a circle around the bottle they were almost automatically included. Missing Alex's oblivious answer she only looked back up to what was going one shortly after Shane started moving toward Shoggy.

"Uh, you might not..." Too late. Hilde didn't know what the girl was, but she knew enough to realize she wasn't human. More and more concerned by the second Hilde would lean away from the circle and stiffen. Whispering to her friends and turning away she looked a bit pale. If there was any question about kissing anyone before there wasn't now. "S-should we help him?"

Darkest Before the Dawn: A CYOA Magical Girl Roleplay [Completed]

The Great Penrose Movie Marathon Buffet

@BrokenPromise@Ariamis@AtomicNut@Ponn@FamishedPants@Card Captor

"Yep, that was me." Shane would confirm to Lily's comment about the brief encounter at the beach. Attention would be drawn away as there was some commotion in the kitchen. Someone ate the movies? That was a new one.

That being the case apparently they were going to be playing this game instead. Sakura looking rather dejected about loosing the movie, Shane would offer some words of encouragement. "If you let us know the edition of the movie I'm sure we can get a hold of another one eventully between the lot of us. I have a good number of contacts scattered around from my years in the magical community." May know a few hording creatures that could be convinced to make a trade.

The truth that Alex gave was almost adorable only because he was clearly oblivious to what Oros was implying. Thing is, Lily was just as likely to miss that Alex was clueless. How even... Bah, not worth the energy it took to understand the dynamic. A few moments passed and it seemed that the boy was not about to continue with his turn. "Normally at the end you're supposed to spin it again and see where it lands. For the sake of keeping things moving though I'll go ahead." Stepping over he would spin the bottle himself.

Being a minority it was pretty likely that it was going to land on a girl. He knew maybe half of them present in some form or fashion. As it slowed it wobbled and shook before coming to a rest on Shoggy. This was someone he didn't know in the slightest. He also had no idea what he was potentially in for. Though a good part of the fun of this game was seeing how people reacted when put on the spot. "Alright then." He would make his way over to the girl and lean in to give her a kiss.

Darkest Before the Dawn: A CYOA Magical Girl Roleplay [Completed]

The Great Penrose Movie Marathon

@BrokenPromise@Ariamis@AtomicNut@Ponn@FamishedPants@Card Captor

He would regard the list of rules for a moment and shake his head at the last one that was scratched out. Pretty sure Emily trying to make friends was something she'd been at for a while given their brief encounters. Hopefully his PoF wouldn't fail him again in that front. Or whoever wrote the original rule didn't punch him in the face for trying.

His attention would go back to Emily and he would nod. "I was at the beach. I was the earth girl. We didn't really get the chance to talk. I was also at the capital when Cindy first arrived just before we all headed off to the graveyard. We didn't really talk then either." He would shrug slightly. "Obviously I'm not that girl anymore so figured the name Shannon didn't quite fit. Anyway..." Magical transformations and such made keeping track of some people a pain, and he wasn't helping in that situation. He'd leave that confusing nonsense for another time. "Do we know what we're going to be watching or was that to be decided once everyone arrived?" He didn't want to derail the topic too much. He was also curious.

Arriving a little after the others, Hilde would knock and be let in. She had been bundled up so it took her a moment to get the things off of her. "Sorry guys. Turns out ghosts are chattier than you might think." She closed the door and glanced around at everyone present. Pretty quickly she gravitated over to Connie, Mia, and Faith. She would give each of them a hug before turning to everyone else. "Wow, this is a lot of people. Hi everybody. My name is Hilde." Everything was kind of moving around and things were still getting organized so she didn't expect everyone to respond.

Darkest Before the Dawn: A CYOA Magical Girl Roleplay [Completed]

Having been reanimated as a doll, Melisa abandoned her home to find people. She would be back… eventually… maybe. Seemed like a reasonably quiet place at least. Further from the hustle of the city. Not that many people though. Driven by hunger she set her eyes on the city. Had she stopped and thought about it she probably could have used her car, but her magic was entirely new to her.

To say it took a while to trek to the city would be accurate. Tiny legs going for hours the night would close in just a matter of hours. Her rest period, assuming she needed one, was during the day. Night was when her magic was strongest. The streets were empty at this hour and the likelihood of running into your average girl was almost none. Not that she was looking for any kind in particular. Her tiny metal feet clicked softly against the concrete sidewalk as she went along. She grew up in Penrose, but had moved away years ago. The place had changed a lot. Much bigger and… broken. That was weird.

At one point she had to ward off a dog that came running at her. Sending the thing packing was a simple task, but she was a walking toy so it wasn’t a surprise it tried to snap her up. One shot and the creature ran yelping away. It’d be fine.

”Aaaaaaeeeegggghhhhhh…” A maid walked around the corner of a building. ”My butt is so sore I can’t even sleep.” She whimpered. ”When will it stop hurting?” She stopped walking when she noticed Melisa walking. ”Uh, hello?” She gave the doll a sideways glance. ”Are you a nurse?”

The little doll would turn and look at Trixy. A girl! She would break into a smile and click on over. She didn’t quite understand the question though. ”Nurse? Not really no. Why?”

The toothy, eyepatch maid looked everywhere but into Melisa’s eyes. ”I’m just having difficulty sleeping because, of, um, back pains!” She laughed a bit louder than she should have. ”A-anyway! I don’t think we’ve met. My name is Trixy. You are?”

”I’m Melisa! Nice to meet you.” She would offer a hand to shake but then realized there was still a considerable distance from her to Trixy's hand. She'd have to almost be standing next to her to even reach. She pouted briefly but the smile returned almost instantly. "That's going to take some getting used to. Oh well! She touched her index fingers together. "I'm a little confused about what's going on. I was looking for people. I figured they would be scared when they saw me. You're not though which is nice."

”Hold on.” Trixy got on her hands and knees. ”Lack of sleep must be catching up to me, I thought you were off in the distance.” Trixy extended her hand over Melisa’s head. She couldn’t have been more than two feet tall. ”Well anyway, I’m not too scared of cute girls.” She placed a single finger on the doll’s head and brushed her hair on either side of her face. ”Where did you come from?”

Melisa closed her eyes and leaned into the finger as it moved around her head. Seemed she enjoyed the simple gesture. "I have a home just outside the city limits. I found this..." Opening her eyes she gestured to herself. "In the attic. Managed to cut myself on the thing and next I knew I was being pulled in and became the doll. Keep thinking I'll wake up but uh..." She placed her tiny hands against Trixy's as if in disbelief that what she was experiencing was real.

”Hmmmm, well, as someone who’s desperately trying to fall asleep themselves, I’m afraid this isn’t a dream.” Trixy squinted her eyes. ”It sounds like you were cursed. I don’t know too much about that kind of stuff.” She stood back up. ”Regardless, I’m sure there’s a cure for it!” Trixy pointed at the sky as she said this. ”Either the curse wears off in time, or we find a way to break it!”

Cursed? "Those are real?" She tapped on her own arm which made a hollow clinking sound. "Well... I guess that makes as much sense as anything else tonight." She seemed pretty calm about the whole thing. For someone that just came to the realization that she was hit by some crazy magic and was talking to Trixy, who didn't exactly look normal herself, she was taking it in stride.

Trixy looked around. ”Well, your home probably isn’t safe. The only person I know who’s capable of analyzing you is in another city.” Trixy picked up Melisa, letting her sit in the palm of her hand. ”Oh, you’re a little heavvvvvenly thing, aren’t you?” Trixy giggled to herself. ”It’ll be hard to contact anyone at this hour. Did you want to come back to my place?”

Melisa wasn’t sure why she couldn’t go home, but she didn’t really know how all this worked. She would nod after a few seconds. ”I guess so. Thank you.” The slight smile that seemed stuck to her face grew wider.

The maid pointed at the doll. ”You uh, yea, never mind. We’ll figure this out tomorrow.”

---

Trixy’s apartment was nothing special. It was basically two rooms, a kitchen and a bedroom. The kitchen was tidy, but everything inside it was well used. Not a single appliance was newer than five years, and all of the kitchenware had the chips and scratches that indicated their years of use. The marble counter tops looked new, but they were on top of some gaudy cabinets that had to have been around since the seventies, and had received little more than a few coats of paint to keep with the times.

The bedroom was little more than a bed and a night stand. There was a lot of space off to one side of the room that could have been utilized to make an office space, but it hadn’t been set up that way. There were a pile of boxes, and the far wall of the bedroom was covered in a sprawling bookshelf. Though it mostly contained magazines, with few actual books. There was a large picture of Penrose Middleschool’s mascot hanging on a wall. “Trix the bear” was standing behind a class during a graduation ceremony, and was even wearing a graduate’s hat. He was hugging one of the girls while making a peace sign. Awfully difficult considering he had such a large body and such tiny arms. The rest of the wall was covered in posters of sporting events, most featuring bikini modes in provocative poses.

As soon as they got to Trixy’s apartment, She used her wood magic to make a bed for the doll. It was little more than woody vines grown into a box shape. she put a spare pillow in the box to act as a mattress, and some of her clothes to act as bed sheets. For the pillow, Trixy stuffed a shirt pocket with leaves and placed it at the head of the bed. The box was big enough so that if Melisa’s curse wore off, she wouldn’t be crushed inside the confines of the box.

”I’m going to put a lid on it for your protection. I’ll remove it once the morning comes.”

Trixy wasn’t a complete dummy. Even if it wasn’t a magical girl, it was dangerous to keep a sentient being in your living quarters. While people being cursed into one form or another was a likely reason for Melisa to become a doll, she could also be the work of a spirit specialist or the minion of a monster. Vines grew over the top of the bed and sealed it off.

”Good night.”

Trixy climbed back into her bed and threw her face into her pillow. Maybe she could sleep on her stomach.

---

Morning came sooner than either of the girls would have liked. With a yawn, trixy rolled out of bed and ran up to Melisa’s “tomb” and beckoned the roots to go away.

”Did you sleep alright?”

The girl had lay there the entire night. If she still had flesh and bones her body would have probably ached staying so motionless. Her eyes were already open and she had been staring blankly at the canopy until Trixy opened up the space. Her eyes fluttered and she seemed to “wake up” in a way..”I’m not sure if I’d call it sleep. Resting maybe? It was very boring.” Sitting and then standing up, she effortlessly hopped up onto the edge of the box. Her arm pinwheeled for a second but she found her balance faster than expected. ”Oh…” She walked along the edge with minimal issue. Her body was tiny artificial but it was apparently much stronger and agile than her old one. She probably looked adorable holding her arms straight out as she walked the line.

”Did you want some breakfast?” Trixy’s eyes followed the puppet’s legs as she walked along the edge of the box. ”Are you even hungry?”

”Not right now. And not for food anyway.” She would respond after a short pause. Turning she would giggle a bit. ”This isn’t half bad. Weird but better… maybe?” Might be too early to make a call. Whatever had happened to her seemed to have come with a number of benefits. Although being a doll was bound to come with drawbacks. Such as, how the hell was she supposed to go about and do anything normal?

Trixy raised an eyebrow. ”Uh, did you want to go back to your house? It might be dangerous, but it’ll be a lot safer now that everyone’s awake.”

”Mmm… I don’t know if there’s anything there for me right now. This doll was in there but anyone that would know about it is long gone. I inherited the estate so it should be empty.” Probably a detail she could have mentioned last night. For whatever reason going with someone sounded much more enticing. And she had gotten a “meal” out of it. ”I probably have to go somewhere else to get help. I don’t like the idea of staying somewhere alone.”

Trixy scratched her chin. ”Alright, just wait a moment. I’m going to call a friend.” She placed her fingers on the side of her head.

"Okay!" Melisa would sit on the edge of the box and swing her legs playfully while she waited.

A few minutes later, they would hear a knock on the door. "Yoooo, anyone here?? I got your message."

Trixy flung the door open and wrapped her arms around Eliza. ”There you are!” She spun one full rotation with the witch before setting her down. ”Thanks for coming on such short notice.” Trixy pointed at Melisa. ”This is the girl I was telling you about. You’ve got every divining power known to magical girl. I was hoping you could see what happened to this girl and if we can help her out. She seems to have turned into a doll.”

"Huh. That's new." Eliza looked over to Melissa with her brows raised. She walked over to doll and sat down in front of her. "I need the practice for my scrying power anyways, soooo is it okay if I try looking back to when you got cursed?" she asked, holding a hand out for the doll to take.

The girl tilted her head cusiously. "Uhm, sure." Melisa didn't quite understand what the girls were talking about. She reached out and took hold of one of Eliza's fingers.

"Hmm..." The witch focused her magic on scrying into what happened prior to Melissa's transformation. "Huh. Kinda cliche, ain't it. 'Creepy doll in an abandoned house', right?" she asked.

She shrugged as best her ridged form would allow. "There were stories that some of the old family were a little excentric about ghosts and spirits. I thought they were just that, stories. Guess what I'm saying is I'm not as surprised. Though usually the doll kills you or somthing." She scratched her head audably as she looked down at her metal legs.

"Eh, never a good sign. Sprits can be nasty, if not unchecked." Eliza shook her head, and continued to focus. "Hm, you overheard a voice, presumably from the doll. Then- Oh. Oh, dear. That's not good..." she furrowed her brows, and looked back to the puppet.

"I think ya got dragged into a blood contract."

The dolls eyes would go wide with concern. She persumed it had to do with the pink flame. At the time she kind of lost track once it worked past her head. "A... blood contract?" She seemed confused.

"A bit of a stretch, but when you had cut your finger, some of the blood ended up on the doll, letting whatever spirit that was inhabiting the shell drag your soul into it." Eliza speculated. "You might be one of us. Or more specifically, a monster girl."

Eyes darting from Eliza, to Trixy, and back to Eliza, it was clear what was just told to her wasn't registering. One of you? W-what does that mean? I'm just me. In a doll maybe, but I'm not a monster." She certianly didn't feel like one at least.

"Ah geez, let me explain." The witch reassured Melissa. "When someone gets contracted by a patron, they become a magical girl; or boy if luck decides. When they get corrupted, they become dark magical girl. And if the chance they have a higher influx of magic than what's stable, they turn into a monster girl." she explained.

"I can only assume you encountered a patron that day. But don't worry, not all monster girls are bad. I'm friends with some, and hell, used to be one myself!"

Pondering it for a moment she seemed okay with that explanation. It was just a generic term to describe different people. Though that begged to question. "Why? What's the point of doing that to people?" Seemed kind of random to her.

”Because Patrons can be really big jerks!” Trixy placed her hands on her hips when she chimed in. ”There’s a game of interdimensional chess going on, and magical girls end up being the playing pieces. Anyway, it’s kind of difficult to go back to normal life once you’ve become a magical girl, and that goes tripple for monster girls like yourself.” She scratched her chin. ”Would you like to ally with us? Your patron doesn’t seem to care too much about you, but you’d be taken care of if you joined the cradle, I’m sure of it!”

This was a lot of information to take in. Patrons and magical girls and monsters. Geez, she really fell into a mess. Though it made a little more sense why she couldn't leave the doll back in the attic. Probably had some hex or something that made her do what she did. Either way the offer to join the two that were helping her came up. She almost said yes outright, but something stopped her. She settled for more questions. The gesture did illicit a big smile though. "I would love to have allies. But uh, what is the Cradle?" She glanced briefly at the box she lay in the night before. Surely not that thing.

”Crimson Cradle is an organization founded by our lady Vermilion Veronica!” Trixy placed a hand on her chest as she uttered her boss’s name. ”Her long term goal is to fix everything that’s wrong with this world, but for now that means putting an end to the Mint’s activity in Penrose.” She closed her eyes and sighed. ”And before you ask, the Mint are the equivalent of the magical girl mafia. I wish there was a book that explained everything, I’m not the best at it.” She leaned forward and grabbed her knees. ”Boss lady would be the person to ask about a lot of this stuff. Too bad she’s away. Oh!” Trixy looked at Eliza. ”Does Maura still recruit girls? Might be a good temp solution until we get word from Veronica how we’re handling recruitment in her absence.”

"With current circumstances, she's always looking for more recruits." Eliza said. "If you're alright with it, I can let her know and set up an arrangement."

"Er... She seemed unsure. "I guess we can talk."

Trixy patted the doll on the head. ”Trust me, you want a patron that’s not going to leave you in the world to fend for yourself. Maura may not be Veronica, but she seems like a chill person.” Trixy looked at her phone. ”But they do keep you busy.” She looked up at Eliza. ”I’ll leave her in your care then? I need to update the glimmer page.”

"Sure. I'm fine having a roommate!" Eliza nodded, looking back to Melissa. "Well, if it's okay with you. Don't wanna drag you into something you wouldn't like, eheh..."

The tiny girl tapped on her upper lip. "Mmm. Maybe not right away. I still don't really know what's going on. Thanks for the offer though!" She would smile brightly. "So, what did she mean about pieces? Are we supposed to do something as magical girls?" This was going to take a while.

"Eh, fight monsters, protect civilians, mainly do jobs your patron gives you." Eliza explained.

"Oh. Um, I guess I can do that. Is it fun?" The girl seemed to be slipping into a more child like state as they were going along. Whatever change she had undergone was still at work in her mind it seemed. Perhaps her patron simply wasn't done shaping her just yet.

"It can be fun, but also very tough on occasion, like when you're up against a difficult enemy." The witch hummed.

She thought about it for a minute. This was going to take a lot of getting used to since there was apparently no way to go back. She would look back and forth between them. "Well, you've been very kind to me. Is there anything I can help you with? I don't really have anything on me." She didn't want to end up feeling like a burden. Though she supposed being so small and artificial she wouldn't take or use up much of anything.

”Not if we don't share a patron, no.” Trixy shook her head without looking up from her phone. ”You're still new, just focus on figuring things out for now.”

"Alright then. Sooooo... Am I just going to stay here from now on or is there somewhere else I should go? I can't imagine there are that many places that would just let me walk in looking like this." She would give an exaggerated expression as she looked down at herself.

”Ehhhhh...” Trixy rubbed the side of her head. ”Maybe sanctuary?”

Before the Doll could ask anything, Trixy went ahead an explained what sanctuary was. It was clear she didn’t know everything about it, but it seemed to be a haven of sorts for girls as afflicted as herself.

”That would be my best guess. At least, if you don’t want to stick around us.”

"I don't mind staying. I just don't want to impose on my new friends." She thought about it for a bit. "Maybe I should visit the place first and then decide what to do." She nodded to herself. "That sounds like an idea."

Darkest Before the Dawn: A CYOA Magical Girl Roleplay [Completed]

The Great Penrose Movie Marathon

@Ariamis@AtomicNut@Ponn@FamishedPants@Card Captor

Ah ha, this must be the Sakura that Alex had mentioned some days ago. A rather unfortunate but common plight to be in. He was pretty sure the other Sakura he knew had been a girl prior to becoming magical. Anyway, he would wave to the two. "Nice to meet you." Hmm. come to think of it... he was pretty sure he'd met Emily before. Let's see. There was when Cindy first showed up and then again at the beach. Though they never really talked either of those times. Third introductions the charm? "Good to see you again Emily. Though you would probably recognize me more as Shannon." He didn't really mind if people knew who he was before. Sometimes it was just fun to see how people reacted. Like Lily, that was hilarious.

Darkest Before the Dawn: A CYOA Magical Girl Roleplay [Completed]

Assorted Events

Mariette’s phone would ring from an unlisted number. Given she didn’t get very many calls there were only a handful of people it could possibly be. Her contact details were pretty tightly held to her chest.

Mariette was located in Penrose, inside an abandoned apartment sitting on a couch with Eli nearby keeping the walls reinforced and darkness-blessed for stealth, looking through tiny portals to identify the current state of the forces around Penrose. It was irritating that she’d invested a fair amount of power to try to balance the strength standing against Beacon, only for their leader to get destroyed, so now Mariette was trying to assess how the survivors were faring and if they still held any form of unity, and perhaps just take her monsters back if she found them unworthy… when her phone rang. Mariette closed all portals before holding her phone up, and frowned. She was pretty sure she had the numbers of every person she’d given her number to registered. ‘Eli, be close,’ she said, and Eli skipped over to stand next to her. Mariette then created a portal underneath her, in case a quick escape was needed… then she answered.

‘Who is this?’ she asked, skipping to have any form of introduction.

The voice on the other end also skipped the idle chatter. She would likely recognize the voice from observing the caller in the past, despite it being different when she was kidnapped of course. ”This is Janet Howell. Cindy Ford provided me your number because she may have need of your assistance.”

Not someone Mariette had expected to hear calling her. Also not someone she’d have expected calling her on behalf of.

‘… I see.’ Baffling circumstances aside… ‘What did she want me to help with?’

”She may need some product moved discreetly. She or I would do it ourselves, but it is very likely that the Ascendancy is tracking our movements. I don’t think I need to explain how that could go wrong pretty quick.”

Mariette took a moment to process what she’d heard. She then gave the slightest noise of amusement, the first exhale of a would-have-been chuckle. ‘How is she doing?’ she asked gently, decently curious to hear this.

”Surprisingly well for someone that’s dead. But as they say, a mind is a terrible thing to waste.” Perhaps a not so subtle hint, depending on the portal girl’s uptake.

It told Mariette all she needed to know. Still dead, but her mind was still around, somehow maintained by one or both the Howells. Explained why Mariette hadn’t seen her on the streets, and why the Ascendancy would be tracking a member of Beacon. ‘I understand. Very well. I’m keen to hear the details.’

Good, that was straight forward enough. ”As you well know the city is in chaos and Beacon is currently taking no prisoners. Cindy has been ‘given the opportunity’ to present redemption to those she wishes to protect. Likely a ploy to have us lead them where they want to go. I do not agree with their methods and firmly believe in second chances. Obviously.” Considering who she was talking to. She was no fan, but that didn’t change her mantra.

‘Nice to hear,’ Mariette said, in maybe audible irony.

Janet would roll her eyes a bit, even though it couldn’t be seen. Or could it? Didn’t matter. ”Most of the details will have to be worked out at a later date. You won’t need to be present for the dropoff though.” Doubtedly she would want to be. Simply to be clear that Mariette did not need to put herself at undue risk.

‘Very well. Now, do I do this out of my fealty towards our fallen queen, out of the goodness of my heart, or because I might one day gain something in return?’ Mariette asked, albeit she’d already made up her mind.

A rather expected question. ”I doubt there’s much to gain if the Ascendancy ends up killing everyone or The Mint takes over the city. Doesn’t take much to guess that neither of us are fans of Justine being in town either though.”

Mariette gave another little noise of mild amusement. ‘Very true. Alright, I will deliver your goods. It’s what my powers excel at, after all. Would it be too much to tell me what they are?’

Tell the truth, lie, make up nonsense? Eh, not like she couldn’t get a hold of it afterward if she really wanted. Mariette was resourceful. ”Depends on what Cindy can make happen. You’re welcome to one if you’d like. Never know when you might need an out.”

‘…’ Mariette wasn’t very impressed with the vagueness. It meant asking further questions was meaningless. But very well. She’d take that as permission to examine the contents. ‘Alright. You have my number. Call me again with the details. Naturally, I will scrutinize them, I can’t ever entirely trust the word of a member of Beacon, as you can imagine, but I am prepared to do my part for Cindy.’

‘Just one more thing I’m wondering, however,’ Mariette continued. ‘What is Cindy’s next ambition? What does she- and you -hope to achieve with this exchange?’

Ah, this she could answer more directly. ”Penrose is being torn apart in a war. Escalation will see a lot of unnecessary pain and death of those caught in the crossfire. The goal is still the same, protect those under her charge. All that changes is the method. Many run to The Mint for fear of Beacon. Beacon seeks those out for their corruption. If Beacon has no reason to target them then we solve both problems."

That statement basically confirmed to Mariette what the package contained.

‘Did Cindy really decide that? Truly? “Because Beacon won't change, we must change to stay safe”? … Death has a way of putting things into perspective, I see,’ Mariette told, her tone completely neutral as she did. ‘Still, it is not my concern. I will deliver the package, giving them the alternative. That should suffice, should it not?’

Janet bit her tongue. If only things were so simple. ”That will, yes.”

‘Will that be all for now, then?’ Mariette asked.

”Yes.”

‘Alright. I’ll look forward to your next call.’

Janet would hang up after thanking Mariette. She looked at the phone for a moment before shocking it to death. This was not one of her favorite plans. But between Cindy, the Ascendancy breathing down their neck, and a number of other things keeping Mariette on reasonable terms was necessary. They were certainly walking a thin line.

---

Alicia making the arrangements, and Rachel allowing the meeting, Cindy walked through Beacon HQ to meet up with Hyun Long. Thus far she hadn’t done much other than allow the twins to work. It was not the most ideal prospect, but considering when the other was dormant they couldn’t tell the passage of time it was not as grating as one might expect. She’d gone on one patrol with Penny before meeting with the Inquisitor and she’d been seen leaving after. Rumor of who she could be was beginning to stir in Beacon. So far her name hadn’t been leaked. Still it was known that she was something of an outsider permitted to come and go. How closely she was watched though when on site was pretty obvious to most everyone.

Cindy stepped up to one of the interrogation rooms situated in the basement floor of the Beacon HQ; a familiar place to Janet Howell, but not one to the girl who entered. And there, sitting at the opposite end of a table was a girl whom Cindy recognized with difficulty; Hyun Long.
She lifted her head up as she saw Cindy, looking confused. "You wanted to speak with me, correct?" She seemed wary of Cindy.

Walking as she studied the girl a bit her expression was rather curious. Taking a seat she calmly placed her hands on the table where they could be seen. ”That is correct. I wanted to know how you are. As you see I also find myself in a rather unexpected position with Beacon.” She would offer a slight smile and a nod. ”I have to say, I almost did not recognize you. This is the first time seeing the results of the White Coin. I must admit I am impressed at its capabilities.” Waving a hand she dismissed the thought. She was not here to gawk at such.

A slight expression of concern crossed her as she leaned forward. ”As I said though, I am here to know of your experience. You appear well. Lovely even. I hope the transformation was not unpleasant. Have you been treated well?” She seemed genuinely concerned. Despite their past Hyun was still one of her girls. Offering her to be present at the rave was her fault and a grave mistake in hindsight.

Hyun’s eyebrow rose. “Well, I am doing fine, physically speaking. As for my feelings, I am still a bit...” Hyun turned silent. “Wait, what do you mean by an unexpected position?” She examined the girl over. “Have we met before?”

Closing her eyes for a moment Cindy would press her lips together. Perhaps they had simply told Hyun that someone wished to speak with her. ”Ah, they did not explain to you then. Had I known you were unaware I would have had Janet walk in and explain the matter. Whom were you expecting to speak with?” She watched to gauge the girl’s response.

Hyun bit her lip. “Well, I wasn’t really sure. I’ve been kept in training away from the others, so I haven’t met many of my fellows. I suppose it’s because of my past…” She averted her eyes.

”I see.” She would clear her throat. ”Well, that is interesting to hear. But as to your query, yes. We have met before. A great many things have changed in a short time. No doubt you have heard that Cindy Ford was killed. While word may be true, it does not fully reflect reality. For her mind was preserved by a Beacon girl. And along side her own consciousness they both exist. That girl sits before you now.” She spoke calmly and folded her hands together, leaning her elbows against the surface of the table.

Hyun put a hand to her mouth to stifle a gasp, taken aback by the reveal. "Unbelievable! So you're not truly Cindy, but a memory of her? I don't know what to say." She held her head, looking confused. "I've had enough to think with my own transformation, let alone yours."

The reaction was well enough, and Cindy sat back a bit. "That is indeed the case. You needn't worry about my state at this time. The Beacon girl, Janet, has been most amicable and we have come to a mutual bond. We both wish to see Penrose restored and a peace between our people. It has been an unusual learning experience for me." She would Muse. She would not stick on the subject of herself too long. "I apologize for what you have gone through. I realize now I must be more cautious with whom I align. By allowing you to be at the rave I put you and many others in undue danger." Cindy was holding herself notably more responsible for events than she ordinarily displayed. A facet of leadership often ignored by the girl. "While Janet and I have agreed to work together, I am still curious about the rest of Beacon. This White Coin of theirs is intriguing and I wish to know how you're been treated thus far." She would leave her query at that.

Hyun blinked, and looked down. “Peace...That is something I have yearned for a long time...And I had finally been granted it.” She looked at her open hand. “For so long, a terrible void gnawed at me from within. Usually, I could keep it under reins, like a flood door. But then, that happened...” She sighed, and listened to Cindy.
“It’s alright. You took me in and granted me a safe location, where I could be away from the others, away from temptation. It wasn’t your fault that it happened.”
She nodded at her statement, and then looked up at her.
“At first, when I woke up, the Inquisitor was there, and asked me many questions; who I was, and so on. It was what I expected, but then, she asked me that I could atone, that I could work to set things right. To someone like me, that was incredible. They let me train and become a Beacon magical girl, despite all the terrible things I’ve done...I can’t thank Beacon enough for their forgiveness.”

Somewhere deep inside, there was still a small part of Cindy that hoped what Hyun was saying wasn't true. It was from an old bitter girl that couldn't quite let go. Things were different now though. Had she heard this a couple weeks ago she wouldn't have believed it. Still, it meant that in some shape or form Rachel wasn’t entirely lying to her. "I am glad to hear of this. Do you suppose there are others like yourself that would accept the same offering?"

Hyun nodded. "Absolutely. While it can be very strict in Beacon, and your every move is closely followed, it also means you're with people who actually care for you. Back when I was corrupted, I ate all my friends…" She stated with a tone of remorse. "But now, I can have friends and not worry about having them as my next meal. Not to mention the family they are preparing for me." She took a picture from her wallet and showed it to Cindy. "They live out of town, but they promised I can be adopted soon." She smiled sweetly as she looked at it. "I know girls who would kill for that."

Cindy would look at the photo. She’d clashed with the twins and Alicia just a bit over the Fake Parents thing. Seeing Hyun’s joy of being adopted though took her by surprise. Was a normal family really something so coveted? The girl sat down and exhaled a bit. A lot of what she believed was being challenged in ways she never imagined. The White Coin was only the latest way that Beacon could purify corrupted girls. However, Beacon has had their ritual for ages. She wondered to herself how many she may have dissuaded from something they wished to have. ”Mm… I must consider this. Might there be any other matters I should know of?” She would lean back in her seat and cross her arms. She very clearly was thinking through everything being told to her.

Hyun lightly pushed her hair aside as she thought. "Well, I suppose that I was surprised by how I no longer felt a connection to my old Patron. The White Coin transformed that magical connection on use. So if the people want to try that, they should know all the details."

Cindy would nod. "Yes, I will be sure to detail that. Might there be anything you would like me to tell the others?"

“Uh...I don’t know,” Hyun replied. “I was never really good at talking to people. Just let them know I’m doing fine, and that I’m much happier after my purification.”

”Very well, I shall do that. It pleases me to know that you are doing well and are being cared for. It is what I truly wanted.” It felt as though things were winding down at this point. Before getting up to leave however she would give a bright smile. ”Perhaps once you’ve become more adjusted and things are restored we can meet again and talk in a more casual atmosphere. You can tell me all about your new life. There is yet more work to be done in the meantime.”

Hyun nodded. "Yeah. I will." Before Cindy left the room, Hyun went up to her and hugged the shorter girl. "Thank you for visiting. It's good to see a familiar face."

If not for Jenna and her parent's seeming need for hugs Cindy might have reacted differently. This was also someone familiar though, and one of the few she could feel truly safe around in Beacon. "Agreed. I have needed such myself." Letting go the two parted ways. Cindy came away with all the more to think about.

---

Requesting to speak with the Cardinal, the twin's had to wait a while before being granted any access. Even when they were given permission to speak with her it was only going to be for a few minutes and they were going to be watched. The last requirement was assumed given Cindy’s presence. Either way they were escorted to where Ishtar was waiting. The leader’s recovery was still clearly underway as she was confined to a wheelchair. Seating being provided Janet and Jenna would make use of the chairs.

”Cardinal.” She would address the girl respectfully, but in return, she was met with a weak, pitiful look. The Cardinal had one hand wrapped in a white cast with golden runes inscribed on it, and holding it with her other hand. She also had darkened eyebags that showed signs of her insomnia. She first attempted to say something, but nothing could be heard as she parted her lips. Then, when she tried again, the twins barely heard her utter: “...Helewisa...”

The two were rather confused. They considered trying to see what she was thinking, but that would be a bad idea. Better to just ask. ”Who is Helewisa?” Jenna would ask both the Cardinal and the other girl in the room. The assistant girl shook her head.

The Cardinal slowly reached out to Jenna with her unwrapped hand, seemingly wishing to hold hers.
“...The black monster...She is....my sister...” She answered, each word seemingly straining her.
“...She tried to...save me...And...she...needs me...”

Very gently taking the hand, Jenna would try and sort out the broken sentence. She hadn’t been there for the whole fight, but the only one she could think of that matched that description of that night was the one she teleported. ”...The...berzerker?” Her tone uncertain.

The Cardinal’s grip was weak on Jenna’s, seemingly requiring effort on her part not to lose hold of it. She slowly nodded.
“...Thank you...for saving me...” She then said, and managed what could be interpreted as a smile. “...You gave me...another chance to...see her...before she disappears...again...”

Very slowly and carefully Jenna would allow some of her healing magic to stabilize Ishtar. She didn’t want to stress her any more than needed, for now while they were in contact it should ease her pain and make speaking less of a struggle. ”It was our pleasure. But everyone else helped too.” Having to bail at one point the two weren’t going to take more credit than they thought was due.

The magic seemed to help with relaxing Ishtar’s hand and voice, even if it wasn’t a major improvement. “Yes...That is right.” She frowned. “I heard about...What happened. Terrible loss...” She lowered her head down, but managed to lift her eyes up to the twins. “Oh, I’m...sorry. Did you want to ask...something?”

Even though the moment was sad, Janet would offer an encouraging smile and words. ”It’s quite alright. It hasn’t been easy on any of us.” She would pause for a moment. ”We suppose our question is related to why you were here from the beginning. Were you seeking some kind of peaceful resolution?” There was much more she could add to that question. Throwing a bunch of things that needed answering would probably be asking too much. Best to keep them simple.

The Cardinal nodded again. “I wanted to ensure...The Ascendancy does not...go to extremes. But...I failed...” She now began to shed tears. “Now...There is blood on the streets...And if this continues...” She released Jenna’s hand, letting it droop from the side of the wheelchair.
“Please...Tell Alicia...to not give up. She can save Penrose...But only if she...has the courage to...do the right thing.”

Leaning forward further Jenna would take Ishtar’s hand to reconnect her with her magic. ”We’ve learned a lot since that night. The details we can discuss some other time. For now, know that what’s happened isn’t because of anything you didn’t do.” Breaking into a big smile she would speak confidently. ”And if we know Alicia, she’ll never give up. She’s not alone either. We’re working on it.”

Ishtar sniffled, and now reached out with her wrapped hand as well. “Thank you, Janet, Jenna...I’m glad to have met you.”

Janet wasn’t entirely sure what the Cardinal intended when reaching out, but either way she would take the wrapped hand caringly. ”Trust me, the feeling is mutual.”

Ishtar smiled, seemingly having forgotten the condition of her hand.

Suddenly, the assistant girl called out: “Visiting time is now over.” She took hold of the wheelchair, and began to slowly turn the Cardinal away from the twins. Ishtar herself still continued extending the wrapped hand, until finally she returned it to her lap.
“Goodbye for now...Janet and Jenna. I believe in you,” she said as she was being taken out of the room.

Five minutes already? ”W-wait, there’s one more thing. Please.” She would plead standing up. The caretaker would probably not stop, but Jenna would follow just a bit. ”We were given a message. The new Queen after Cindy, she’s not opposed to peace and is willing to talk to Janet and I.” She wasn’t expecting much from Ishtar herself, but perhaps something could be worked out so they could operate more freely.

Ishtar had just crossed the doorframe when she suddenly gripped the doorframe with her hand, stopping the wheelchair from moving and surprising the assistant. “Cardinal!” She yelped, and moved over to remove the hand.
The blonde girl turned her head back while the assistant was distracted, and gave an affirmative nod before she was swiftly rolled out, disappearing behind the corner.

Well, they got the message across. No telling how that would end up. Suppose they would just have to wait and see if it resulted in anything. Still, they had managed to lift the girl’s spirits which was potentially more than they expected. The two would exit without any further fare.

---

The cold wind blew across the city. Winter almost made the city feel normal as more people stayed indoors and the snow covered up some of the minor damage scattered about. There was one area that needed a significant amount of work that had mostly been fixed up by the magical community. Entirely unrelated to the recent conflict. Quiet and lonely, the silence was only broken by the whistle of the wind and the crunch of the snow underfoot.

Bundled up in a warm coat a girl trudged her way between headstones. She would occasionally stop and scrape away snow from some of the names etched into the stone and plaques. She'd gotten some information from a few people about things that had happened here. It wasn't enough though. So she decided to come and see for herself. Inevitably she would find what she was looking for, the resting place of Amber Bianchi. Standing there in silence for what felt like forever she took out a small bundle of flowers and lay it on the grave. They would be frozen before long but that didn't matter. She wanted to say something but the right words simply wouldn't come.

While no one else was around she would look up when she heard someone speak. "Poor girl. She doesn't know does she?" A translucent figure of a woman stood next to an equally ghostly man a couple plots away.

"I doubt it sweety. But that's probably for the best." The man and woman would pause briefly as Hilde turned her head and looked directly at them. It wasn't the most unusual thing to happen. Many people would claim to feel the presence of spirits.

The girl however continued to stare and after a moment she took a step in their direction. "What don't I know?" She would ask them directly.

For once the tables were turned and the two were spooked by this ordinary looking girl that could see and hear them. People would visit and talk to those they left behind all the time. No one ever directly responded. The man would hold a hand out to one side and slowly raise it over his head. The girl followed his movements curiously. "Y-you can see us?" He looked surprised and maybe a bit frightened.

Blinking several times Hilde would nod. "I can." This was not something she had expected. Her patron didn't exactly leave her a guide on how her magic worked. So far a lot of it had been trial and error. The bounty with Connie and visit to Ronin for example. "What don't I know? Please, tell me. I need to know."

The woman seemed hesitant to say for a moment but eventually would mumble. "Your sister's grave is... it's empty."

Sister? Ah, she did look an aweful liek her. She would let the assumption slide in this case. It was a rather strange thing to learn. Did magical girl disappear when they died? "Why is it empty?" She asked calmly.

"Someone took her. We don't really know who. But they eventually came back and there was a big battle. We didn't see much of it from here. Rumor was she appeared again in the catacombs." The two clung to one another as the girl took in the information.

She would look around for a moment, trying to identify where the catacombs were. The place had changed a lot and the structure that normally would have stood above it had been demolished. "Where are the catacombs?" Her eyes were wide.

The man would point off toward the center of the yard. "It's not as easy to find as before. I wouldn't advise going inside. They're still making repairs."

Looking off absently she would start moving in that direction. "Thank you."

As Hilde was walking off the woman would call after her. "Miss! The girl would look back. "If it isn't much trouble, could you perhaps come back some time? We don't get many visitors." She would say sullenly.

Hilde started at the request. She was so caught up in her own head she barely even thought of the two. And the request, as simple as it was, was tragic. "I can." She shook her head and drug out a smile. "I will, I promise." She looked around the rest of the place. She wondered how many others still lingering here had the same story. The girl might be coming here a lot.

Making her way to the leveled structure she could see the entrance to the catacombs. They'd been gated shut to prevent anyone from getting in. A quick glance around to be sure no one was watching. "Through the past we forge the future." She would say her incantation and transform. She didn't want to damage the gate, so now that she had access to her magic she would simply teleport past.

While the spaces below had been held together by magic during the conflict, in the time after the chunk of earth had settled and some portions were copletely closed off. Most of the tombs that couldn't be salvaged had been cleared out, the contents moved to another space. That didn't mean the spirits had left though. Finally coming to the room that had held the alter she looked around. This space felt creepy. "Hello?" There was nothing for a moment until another answered.

What looked like a small child stepped into the room. He looked at the girl. He then glanced at the alter for a moment before turning back to Hilde. "What are you doing back here?" He skipped on over to the Spirit girl.

Hilde would look around the space again. She wasn't getting any sensation that she'd been here before. "I'm... not sure I know what you mean." She would kneel down a bit to be eye level with the boy.

He would stare into her eyes for a moment, which was rather chilling even over the cold. Seeming to take hold of her face in between his hands he leaned left and right to look at her more closely. "Yeah. That was your body. How'd you get it back? I thought it turned into a pirate." He stepped back as Hilde stood.

Thinking there was some kind of misunderstanding she shook her head. "No, she was already a pirate. She looked a lot like me but I'm pretty sure was smaller." She corrected.

The boy was not convinced. "She didn't look like you at all. She was tall, and had red hair, and a really cool hat!" He would make gestures with his hands. "And she sailed away on a flying ghost ship." He held his hand over his head as if it were flying.

Hilde was rather confused at this point. What had happened here? Rubbing her head in frustration she looked up at the ceiling. Janet had cooped a soul and someone else the body? What kind of madness was this? She felt a tug on her cape and she looked back down.

"Can you set me free? I want to see mommy and daddy but I don't know the way." His lip trembled.

Leaning down again she would reach out and ruffle the boy's hair. "Sure. I think I can do that." While she wasn't entirely sure what the boy meant her magic told her enough. Holding her scepter she waved it around over the boy. A mist came out and as it flowed over him.

Playfully he stuck his hands in the mist and they disappeared. This didn't seem to bother him at all as he smiled brightly. "Thank you!" The mist rolled over him and he vanished leaving Hilde alone again.

Setting her weapon down she would lean on it. That felt good and she couldn't help but smile. She was beginning to see that her magic was a whole lot more than met the eye. This whole experience left her with more questions than it did answers though. There was someone else out there that might be in the same boat as her. Heh, boat. Wait! If it was a ghost ship then her magic should be able to find it. Assuming it was still around. Something to keep an eye out for. Lingering for a while longer it didn't seem that there was much else to learn here. She would make her way out and untransform. Taking one last glance around she definitely knew she would need to be back here soon.

Darkest Before the Dawn: A CYOA Magical Girl Roleplay [Completed]

It took a few days to get a hold of her own phone, but eventually Hilde would call Deni up so they could meet. Seeing as she didn’t know the area much at they opted to let Deni pick where they would meet up.

Throwing any caution to the winds, Ronin invited her home! Or, well, to the home that Ronin was currently sharing with Valkyrie, but she’s been absent for a while, so it works out!

Took a little time to get oriented on where things were in the city, but eventually Hilde located the home in question. Arriving undisguised she knocked on the door and waited.

The door flung open, as Ronin came out in full Ronin transformed state and grinning widely. ‘Welcome! You’re just in time!’

‘… Oh, darn, I shouldn’t have been transformed? Now I feel overdressed! Oh, well, come on in!’

Ronin skipped over to the kitchen in the place, because she had something in the oven here. ‘In the past, we had a guy that used to cook for me and my friends,’ that being Joe, the Interdimensional Tourist Mariette sometimes stayed with. Deni really couldn’t go to Joe anymore, as she would get found by Mariette immediately. ‘so I resolved I was gonna teach myself! Now, here! Some mince pie!’ Ronin called happily, using Reinforcement on her hands as her cooking gloves, pulling the pie out of the oven and placing it on the kitchen table. It was decently clumsily made, weight-distribution was off, seasoning was probably also pretty off, but it should still taste nicely and Ronin was grinning so widely!

‘Let’s not eat it all, I’m saving some for Valkyrie as thanks for letting me stay here, but, iiiih! First time I’m letting someone else try what I made!’ Ronin sounded out, excited.

Looking slightly confused, Hilde stepped in. ”Is it not weird to go around transformed? I don’t exactly look dressed for the streets wearing almost nothing.” She mused a bit as she followed her friend into the kitchen.

‘Eeeeh, guess I’m just used to being transformed all the time. I don’t really have a regular life next to my transformed one, hah!’ Ronin commented on that, but that aside! A pie to serve!

Despite any imperfections, Hilde would marvel at the item that Ronin had produced. She didn’t know the first thing about cooking. ”It looks great! That’s so cool that you know how to cook. I think I would have starved to death by now if my friends didn’t let me stay with them. Their parents do most of the cooking.” She poked at the pie a bit but resolved that it needed to cool a bit before trying to eat it.

‘I really just followed a recipe, but thanks!’ Ronin said with a grin. ‘But I seek to learn! When I get my sister back, I’m gonna try cooking for her all the time, and…’ Ronin sighed a bit, as she took a piece of the pie and put it on her own plate. ‘Hey, what happened to you? Su said you died, so something’s up. You do look somewhat different, and the things you say don’t entirely match up, even I can see that, buuuut…’ Ronin asked, giving Hilde an analyzing stare.

Ah hah, well that made something pretty clear. Hilde frowned slightly and leaned on a hand propped up on the table. "I get that a lot. If you're talking about Amber, she's still dead." She would comment dryly. Su at least was someone she'd been told about by her patron. The twins had done a little bit to fill her in on reality that her patron failed to detail. Namely Su was Amber's familiar turned magical girl and worked at some hotel place for magicals. Meeting her was bound to be uncomfortable. "Best I can tell you is I'm some part of her soul given new life. Any similarity is unintentional at this point. I've actually taken a different name. Hilde Bell. Complements of Faith."

‘… Aw,’ Ronin made a sad-sounding noise and looked down at her pie for a bit. ‘So you were different people. I… sort of figured, you’re acting pretty differently. But… I was looking forward to meeting… I wanted to tease her some more… that’s going to make the reveal a lot less impactful… _{I liked her, she was funny…}’ she complained a bit, feeling a bit down to know one of her exceptionally few connections was apparently gone. She’d definitely imagined that Su’d been somehow mistaken and that she’d have this talk with “Amber” here, then have a reunion and everyone would be happy… ‘Guess not, huh…’

That was a different reaction than what was expected. Her slightly irritated expression melted away and she looked away sheepishly. Very different from Oros’ for sure. Problem was Hilde wasn’t really sure she could do anything about it. Or even that she wanted to do anything. Was she supposed to be Amber but just ended up missing too many aspects so she ended up being nobody? Maybe that’s why changing her name was so easy. Damn birds, why’d they have to… whatever. ”I get it.” She was quiet for a moment before she turned and slid out of her chair.

‘… Well! Then the purpose of this visit has changed to celebrating our new friendship, then!’ Ronin pulled her head up and breathed in heavily out of a widely smiling mouth. The sadness of the most recent revelation was still there, yet her smile refused to let herself be kept from facing the future. ‘I apologize that I don’t have anything more fancy to drink,’ she then said, grabbing a can of water to pour some out into glasses that were totally there the whole time on the table, ‘but would you toast for us getting to know one another?’ Ronin asked, still smiling.

The spirit girl taking the glass absently, her gaze would slowly drift up to the smiling face. What? Hilde’s expression was blank, lost like a deer in headlights. Who was this girl? Having just suffered emotional whiplash a couple times in the span of a minute she wasn’t sure how to react. ”I…” After afew moments she would raise the glass. ”T-to new friends.” Trembling she tried to take a sip before giving up and simply grasping the cup tightly with both hands to keep from dropping the thing.

Ronin was smiling, hiding the hurt. Hilde was not so good at hiding anything. She was having an identity crisis, again. Most might find it pathetic, but she didn’t know how to deal with stress or challenges. Because of things that Oros’ told her she was trying not to rely on the twins all that much. She only just made some friends. So by and large she was putting herself out and alone.

Ronin happily-seeming drank her glass of water, making a loud noise of satisfaction after as if it had been delightful. Then…! ‘So!’ Ronin called, looking excitedly to Hilde. ‘Where did you appear from? Who are your friends? What do you do for fun? Did you inherit any memories or anything from Amber? Have you met Su yet? What do you dream for the future? Long-term, short-term? Ooh, I wanna know everything!’ Ronin called, grinning at her. ‘Ah, you mentioned Faith! Is she alright?’ she then suddenly asked with a worried expression.

Hilde’s eyebrows raised a bit at the flood of questions. Still, it was a sufficient distraction to keep the girl busy thinking a bit on other things. Her mind worked through them all sequentially regardless of which ones were potentially more important. ”I-uh... “ She took a moment to breath before launching into answering. ”I came from a couple of Beacon twins that stole Amber’s soul. They put it in a soul jar and my patron found it and created me. I guess they’re my friends. Seems like they’re really busy all the time.” Holding the glass close she absently took a drink. ”Janet and Jenna. They’re actually really nice. They make my head hurt sometimes though.” Her face scrunched up a bit.

Moving on to the next question she had to pause. What did she like to do? ”I guess I like to hang out with my new friends. I don’t know. Everything is still pretty new to me.” She would give it some more thought. ”One thing I really like is flying. I could go around for hours just taking in the sights and feeling the wind.” Ronin’s barrage of questions was what Hilde needed to dig herself out of the hole she’d fallen into. Relaxing again the girl would realize she was just standing there by the chair. Sheepishly she would slip back into the chair.

The next question was a little tricky to answer. Somewhat went with her internal conflict. Shaking her head she resumed going down the list. ”I don’t have Amber’s memories. I do get vague feelings about people and things though. And obviously I look a lot like her which is becoming more and more awkward.” She frowned a bit. ”As for Su, I haven’t met her yet. I know who she is and the twins have told me a little bit about her, but I really don’t know what to do there. I feel like I might just make things worse and remind her of Amber a little too much. They were close, I know it.” She’d set the glass on the table and fidgeted with the object while she spoke, rotating it back and forth. She would actually stop and look at Ronin for some kind of guidance. It seemed like she knew the girl so maybe she had some ideas of how to approach the matter.

‘Oooh, Janet made it out! Nice! No idea who Jenna is, though! Twins, you say? Heh, okay.’ Ronin mused, chuckling a bit. ‘Flying is pretty cool. I can't exactly fly, but I can run in mid-air! Does that count?’ she then asked with a giggle. Then, she listened to that last part, and… ‘Yeeaah, probably best I tell her beforehand. She can be pretty emotional. She might freak out if she's not ready to see you, might just hurt her,’ Ronin agreed.

Hilde nodded in agreement. ”Okay good, so I’m not completely clueless. I feel like I’m going to have to meet her eventually. If you could help prepare her for that that would be great. I don’t really know any other way to go about it.” She managed a small smile.

‘Alright!’ Ronin nodded. And now… she had to decide. She WAS going to reveal her identity to Amber, but this is Hilde, now. Could she trust Hilde? Could she be sure Hilde would not run off to tell Janet, and probably consequently all of Beacon, everything? Thoughts that have to be considered before I write anything further… … … ‘Right. Justine von Visceral has recruited me to help with her invasion of Mariette’s mansion, but I’m going to try to use this opportunity to instead save Mariette and Eli from both Justine and Asengav, because I know they’re mind-bent,’ Deni said, staring blankly at Hilde, gauging her reaction.

Hilde looked less confused than one might expect. She’d heard of most of these names. Well, all but Eli at least. Her eyes rolled a bit as she recalled conversations she’d heard. There was a pause for a moment before things fell into place and she exclaimed. ”Oh, Mariette! They were asking Cindy about her the other day. They’re friends, or allies, or something.” For the moment it seemed that she’d forgotten not to mention that name. Not that it was any surprise up to this point. Seemed the two girls present were something of gossipers that had trouble filtering what they said.

‘Indeed! And that’s what’s going on in my life right now!’ Ronin said with a smirk. ‘Hahahaha! Of course Mariette has to make friends with a random queen when she shows up. That’s how it works. Anyway. You’re taking that info pretty in-stride. If Justine found out I told you, she’d probably have my head. Hahaha!’ Ronin laughed some more. ‘… Who’re they?’

Waving her hands almost frantically Hilde shook her head. ”Nope, no way. I don’t want to get involved with that. Too deep for me.” Putting her hand up she scratched her head. ”Janet and Jenna mostly. Well, not Janet, that’s not how that works I don’t think. She didn’t remember anything though.”

‘Haha, not gonna ask you to get involved, got it,’ Ronin said like it was decided right there, then listened to the rest. Janet and Jenna, huh… … … wait. ‘Cindy had contact with people in Beacon before she died?’ Ronin asked, a bit astounded.

The spirit girl shrugged. ”I don’t know. Didn’t sound like it.”

‘Wait, uh, huh?’ Ronin tilted her head. ‘But you were just saying she’d-’ A thought crossed Ronin’s mind, making her eyes go wide. ‘Wh-what did they manage with Cindy?’ she just had to ask.

”Manage?” She thought about what they were talking about with a little more focus. Oooh. Ronin had been there with Cindy when all that went down. Well, the twins did say this was going to get out eventually. She would lower her voice a bit. ”Don’t go spreading this around, but you were her guard right?”

‘Yeah, I was her frickin’ bodyguard, tasked with guarding her life and making sure she got out alright! Suffice to say, I didn’t get paid that night,’ Ronin lamented, sighing out a bit. ‘Really wish I could have done something differently. I don’t even know what, just, anything so she would have lived… but alas…’ she shook her head. ‘Yeah! I wouldn’t spread a secret a friend told me to hide! You can count on me!’ Ronin said, a Reinforcement-user’s words apparently extra encouraging. She’s not lying, of course.

Oh good, keeping this was driving her crazy. When you’re as young as she was you didn’t exactly have a lot of secrets to confide to people. This one was a little more critical long term though. ”Okay, so.... Janet somehow nabbed Cindy’s mind and has to share… She trailed off for a moment trying to figure out how to explain the mess. ”I don’t understand the details actually, but basically Janet can become Cindy and vice versa. They share her body.” She looked a bit confused herself.

‘…’ Ronin stared with open mouth for a bit at Hilde. ‘… Hahahaha! Well. Guess that’s better than it could have been. Nicely done, Janet, I wouldn’t have expected it!’ she said with a bit of a laugh, then. ‘Could you deliver a message? Like, “This is Ronin, I am super-happy you’re still sorta around, sorry I failed to save you, do you need me for anything?”, or so? Haha,’ Ronin chuckled some more.

"Yeah, I can let her know something. We're working on how to announce that she's still around. Some of the other Beacon people aren't making it easy." She rolled her eyes. Admittedly she wasn't as in the loop, but since she wasn't actually in Beacon she had more freedom to move around and kind of be a go-between.

‘Alright! I’m happy you told me. Makes me feel a lot better about Cindy all of a sudden. Best would have been if she’d survived entirely and I’d managed to convince both sides not to fight, but this’ll do~!’ Ronin said with a smile. ‘This has been cool. Let’s continue talking like this to one another whenever we can. Alright, I think the pie has cooled down enough. Let’s eat!’ Ronin said, grinning as she took a knife and fork, because she wants a slice of her own pie, too~!

Oh, pie. The conversation would be shelved for a bit while they dug into the dish Ronin had prepared. Hilde found she enjoyed the dish, though provided just a little critique on the flavor. Not that she was a great cook or anything, but she had attention to detail that she could maybe provide. There wasn’t a whole lot said while they ate aside from light comments. Hilde could definitely go for more visits like this.

Ronin took any advice to heart and tried to consider how to take it into consideration. The pie definitely wasn’t perfect, but tasted good all the same. Now, for next time… yupp, light chatter as they ate.

After their meal, Hilde checked the time. It wasn’t late, staying at the twins house the two’s parents had something of a curfew in place. Seemed the magic had somehow rationalized that Hilde was the girl’s cousin in the adult’s minds. How that happened she didn’t know but it made sleeping over a whole lot easier. Since there wasn’t a rush Hilde would strike up some conversation again. ”You were saying earlier that you were trying to save some people? Are they friends of yours?” The girl may not be very experienced, but the whole thing sounded pretty serious. Even though she said she didn’t want to get involved she couldn’t help but be curious.

Oooh, right, she said that. ‘Well…’ Ronin considered a bit. Would be somewhat troublesome if she said she was a friend of a horror-girl, possibly. Especially if this girl was going to run back and tell Beacon. ‘Not currently. But I know they’re mind-bent, all the same. It feels wrong to have them destroyed for something that they’re not doing out of their own choice. As such, I’m going to save them. Somehow,’ Ronin said, smirking at the end again.

Hilde would connect some dots in her head. ”...I think Janet would help Mariette if she had the chance ” She mused out loud. Everything she knew about the twins and what they were working toward even right now.

‘… Would she?’ Ronin gave Hilde a curious look. ‘You ARE aware of what Mariette did to Janet, right? … Then again, now that I think about it, maybe simply BECAUSE of that. Not too dissimilar circumstances, hah!’ Ronin chuckled a bit as she thought of it. ‘Then perhaps, deliver a message to her that Mariette and her companions are mind-bent, and that mind-bending can be reversed. They'll never WANT to have their mind-bending reversed, that's what mind-bending is all about, but if the girls of Beacon find themselves victorious and find they have a choice between capture and kill…’ Ronin said with light mirth in her tone.

Sitting up straight, Hilde would give a light smile. "Yeah, I know. Janet isn't like a lot of the others in Beacon. She got a second chance and is willing to give others that too." How should… Oh yeah, Ronin was there. "You probably didn't recognize her, but the knight girl that tried to talk down Cindy before the smoke bomb went off was Janet. She used a Red Coin and she became that girl with a twin."

‘Oooh, that makes sense! I see!’ Ronin called with a grin… and then really realized she'd made it really clear she was someone from the past. Well… ‘… Can I ask you not to ask around for who I am? There's someone who absolutely can't even start to suspect it might be the case. I WAS going to tell Amber, but you're not Amber. You're a WAAAY more mature girl than Amber, but probably not as fun to tease, heh, You’re way sweeter than Amber, but maybe not as fun to tease, I predict,’ Ronin said with a chuckle. ‘I keep quiet about a thing, you keep quiet about a thing, and so.’ Ronin said with a little smirk.

Rubbing her chin a bit, Hilde would shrug slightly. ”Okay I guess. If it’s that important then… Eh? She blushed a bit. ”Tease, wait. What do you mean?”

Ronin took a pause where she lost the smile looked curiously at Hilde’s blush.

‘Awwwwww…’ Ronin said with a sudden smirk, pulling herself up on the table to crawl slightly over it and lean in closer to Hilde, her expression… a bit different. ‘You want to be teased, too? Feeling envious of your previous soul? How cute of you. Don’t worry, I can give you all the teasing you want…’ Ronin said, reaching forward to potentially stroke a little under Hilde’s chin and push to raise her head a bit… her actions and tone of voice clashing horribly with the fact she’s currently a tiny samurai loli.

Hilde had no idea what was going on and stared confusedly. She stiffened a bit from the touch which made lifting her head a bit harder. ”W-what are you doing?”

Ronin grinned. ‘Teh-heh, perhaps current me is inappropriate for this particular task. Would you close your eyes for a second?’ she suggested, and if Hilde did not, she’d place her own hand over her eyes as she skipped off the table to walk around behind her, making sure that Hilde didn’t peek. Then… Hilde found her chair turned around, and…

Hello there

A handsome young man with blonde hair and emerald eyes, slightly older than Hilde’s current age, looked down at her with an admiring gaze.

‘Why, I must have stumbled into heaven, to have encountered a lovely angel such as you,’ he said, in a suitably confident and admiring voice. ‘Your skin strikes as smoothly and intoxicatingly as the freshest of fruits, your eyes as warming and comforting as the rays of the sun, and your hair reminds me of the sweetest of chocolates, makes me want to taste it…’ he said, leaning forward a little to gently reach to caress the side of her head. ‘Tell me, fair maiden, what is your name?’

Hilde hadn’t closed her eyes so Ronin did have to put her hand out. ”Hey!” She protested but didn’t struggle to remove the hand. She was quite confused as to what her friend was doing. Allowed to see again and turned around she glanced up slightly at the boy that had seemingly come from nowhere. Who, what… Had he been in the other room or something? For a brief moment while she was being showered with compliments she would take a look around for her friend who had seemingly vanished.

Eyes snapping back to the boy her face was turning redder and redder by the second. Who was this? He was cute but still. And who talked like that? Was she dreaming? What was in that pie? Stupefied she stammered as she answered the question. ”R… H-Hilde Bell.” She had to correct herself.

‘Hilde Bell. A delightful name given by a voice as clear and lovely as the object of your last name,’ the boy said, smiling. ‘I’m Dorian Hay,’ not at all derived from Dorian Gray, ‘and I would like to get to know you much more intimately, Hilde,’ he said, gently caressing her cheek. ‘I’d like to take you out to dinner, dance with you at a ball, swim with you in the sea, eventually consider marriage with you, have a bunch of cute little children with you and live happily ever after, with you…’

As he said the final parts, he was slowly leaning forward with an admiring gaze in his gaze, like if he was going in to potentially kiss her.

She wasn’t entirely sure what Dorian meant by “intimately,” but most of the things he was saying sounded like nice and fun things to do. Or they did until the last part. Was this boy delusional? They’d just met and he was talking about kids. Could magical girls even have children? How would that work? It didn’t really matter though as the moment, whatever moment it was, was over. Not knowing if this guy was a magical boy or not she would have to pass on transforming for the moment.

Shoving a hand in the guy’s face Hilde would push him away. Her other hand searched around for a moment on the table before it found a fork. ”Okay, I don’t know what kind of weirdo you are. But you try that again and I’ll actually stick a fork in you.” The improvised weapon gripped firmly while she held it threateningly.

‘Ohckt,’ he made a noise as her hand in his face pushed him away. He listened to her threat, and then… he started to giggle into her hand. ‘Sorry, sorry~’ he said, lifting his hands to grip Hilde’s hand a bit just to be able to lift his own face off her hand. ‘But I must say…’

He then tilted himself to the right to look at Hilde from the right side of the hand… except now Hilde was greeted with the exceptionally off display of “Dorian”’s body and hair… and Ronin’s grinning face.

‘But I must say, you have a really pretty blush, Hilde~!’

“Dorian” skipped back, and as he did, his body shrunk and hair and clothes changed back over the course of a second, and then Ronin was standing there again… until she wasn’t, because she had collapsed on her knees laughing, hands over her stomach.

‘Hahahaha! Okay, I take that back, you’re also fun to tease! Different flavour than Amber, but strawberry and raspberry both taste as sweet, hahahaha!’ Ronin laughed a bit where she now was on the floor.

A very confused, yet still blushing Hilde stared for a little while. What had just happened? The boy was Ronin? It didn’t feel or look like any illusion magic she’d ever heard of. Shaking for a second she would drop the fork. ”Ronin what... “ Hilde wasn’t really sure how to react. Embarrassed, befuddled, angry, impressed, and betrayed all at the same time. She would draw her arms in as her eyes watered.

Ronin looked up at Hilde and realized that she had a situation on her hands. ‘Aaaah, sorry! I’m really sorry! I just… had to try doing that once!’ she skipped forward to get on her knees in front of Hilde and clasp her hands together in front of her. Ronin was still smiling, but she had realized she may have just hurt her friend. ‘I’m, uh, actually a shape-shifter, though I can’t use it as it’s tied to that identity I didn’t want you to ask around about. I’ve never been able to play around with it, I just… really wanted to try it when you looked so wide-eyed about me mentioning teasing. I didn’t mean to hurt you if I did! Sorry! … Still, I didn’t do too badly as a handsome boy, did I?’ Ronin asked, with a little giggle.

The girl would take a step away. Conflicted would describe Hilde pretty well at the moment. Ronin was supposed to be her friend. They'd only just met, really. Was this something Amber would have found funny? As they'd established though, the girl was not Amber. Shuddering again Hilde would finally speak. "That wasn't fair Ronin." She wiped her eyes with the back of her arm. "I need a moment."

‘… OK! Take as long as you need!’ Ronin’d say and then stand up to start carrying the plates and form that had contained the pie back to the kitchen, and then took extra time washing the things by hand in there. If she eventually got done with that she’d sit down at the table, hands together, lips bit together and passively kick a bit with her legs. Because it felt like anything she’d say probably would make it worse at this point.

In the time Ronin was away Hilde at one point she could be heard seemingly talking to someone. Of course any time the little samurai might check there was no one else to be seen. By the time she’d returned her friend seemed in a much better mood. ”Hey there, so… sorry. I just wasn’t ready for something like that. I think you went a little too far with it I mean.” She was a bit more stern than she had been up to that point. Ronin needed to know there was a line that probably shouldn’t be crossed.

Ronin looked worried, but still made herself smile, because otherwise it wouldn't be her. ‘Er, which part of that was too far? All of it? Just when I was seemingly trying to kiss you? I'll note, I was never going to kiss you, I would have stopped just before, just wanted to see how you'd react, while giving you a unique experience, hah…’ Ronin said, trying to chuckle at the end but not quite managing it.

Folding her arms around herself she frowned. Before going on she would recite her incantation. "Through the past we forge the future." A ring of ethereal energy would swirl around her starting at her feet and working its way up, transforming her into her magical girl form. ”I barely know you. You scared me and I’m not… If you can change and toy with me like that how am I supposed to know who you really are?”

‘Um,’ Ronin looked decently honestly confused, not really getting the idea of transforming. ‘I didn’t… consider that? I only did it as a slight prank I can only use once. Other than that, I’ve been genuine. This is my real transformed form. I honestly thought we’d both think it was sorta funny afterwards. I’m sorry,’ she said again, still looking a bit confused.

Ronin’s reaction seemed sufficient to relax Hilde a bit. Maybe they were both a little clueless. It was something she realized more and more about herself. Her transformation was merely a precaution. She couldn’t use her magic otherwise if needed. She scratched her face awkwardly. ”Maybe we will later.” She gave it some thought. ”I was pretty convinced you were going to kiss me. I wasn’t necessarily against that. I think it was what you said that was over the edge.”

Ronin breathed out a bit in relief at that Hilde seemed to relax a little. She listened a bit further on the subject, and then… ‘Oh, um, the things about wanting to go out and do stuff with you? I, er, didn’t get you hopeful, did I?’ Ronin said, almost smirking wider before thinking that might be a bad idea. ‘Or, um, was it the part after I turned back?’

”Children!?” Was all she would exclaim, putting her hands on her head before throwing them in the air.

‘Oh, right, um,’ Ronin had to put a hand on her mouth, because she was very close to giggling and it may have been inappropriate. Very honestly, Ronin didn’t get what was so bad about that, but that was a pretty interesting reaction to it. ‘I wanted him to say he wanted to live happily ever after with you and that is part of a true happily ever after to me?’ Ronin said with the tone-shift of a question.

”It’s not, ugh!” Hilde was clearly getting frustrated. She was going to have to explain. ”I’m like two weeks old. I’m trying to figure out who I am and why I exist. Every time I turn around people are mistaking me for someone they use to know and expect me to act like them. I’m just a stupid girl that can’t keep herself together. I’m confused and I don’t need people toying with my emotions!” During her outburst small objects started floating in the air. Spirits were responding to her and picking things up. Hilde would turn around though and yell out. ”Go away!” Everything dropped back down with some clattering and a few thumps.

‘Woa…’ Ronin made a noise of some amazement when Hilde had a little outburst. And even more so when things started getting picked up- ‘Wait, these are Valkyrie’s things…!’ Ronin commented with sudden panic in her eyes, and tried to reach out with her hands to use Reinforcement magic to the floating objects before they fell down again, hopefully without breaking, Ronin smiling but looking a bit pale there. ‘Okay, um…’ Rightou, now, how to say this.

‘First things first, you’re not stupid. You’re a bit disorientated, but given your origin, it’d be weird if you weren’t. I didn’t think my prank through, and for that, I am sorry. Give people some time, after a while they'll have learned you're not Amber, like me, from the toast onwards. All that was for you, I'd have teased Amber with a big breasts lady instead, for example. If you need help with anything from now on, I'm your girl. Because I want to be your friend, okay? Can I hug you and make it better?’ Ronin asked, looking somewhat serious but smiling regardless.

Hilde would listen silently. When the question was presented at the very end she would shake her head yes. ”I would like that.”

Ronin smiled, before bouncing off the seat and running around the table, slowing down before Hilde to hug around her more gently, subtly using her shapeshifting ability to make her legs just a bit longer for the hug. She’d hold it before speaking. ‘Everything will sort itself out eventually, alright?’ Ronin said with a little grin while still embracing her.

Returning the hug Hilde let out the air in her lungs. ”Alright.” After holding the hug for a while she would eventually let go. When Ronin backed up she would find that Hilde had been crying a bit. She wiped away the tears. ”Thank you. It’s been really hard for me.”

As Ronin backed off, she also let her legs shrink back to normal, smiling at Hilde’s still partly teary-eyed face. ‘We'll have to make sure the hardships were worth it in the end, then, won't we?’ Ronin said with a little grin.

Hilde nodded. ”Yeah. Uhm…” She looked back at the disheveled items in the room. Thankfully nothing looked broken. ”Sorry about that. I didn’t realize that could happen.”

‘Haha, don’t worry about it! Let’s just make sure the place looks great when Valkyrie comes back, okay?’ Ronin told with a grin.

They’d then go about picking things up and putting them back, making sure it looked as it did. Hilde needed some air after all the internal turmoil. She thanked Ronin for the pie, company, and support. There was a loose end she needed to put to rest for herself. Ronin waved her goodbye after a while of hanging out and cleaning, and then she was off on the streets again.