The Nightmare Roc!

You started existing just a little bit ago. When you came into existence with a flash of power and will, you knew that you were the nightmares of Princess Alina Cascade. You were born of her, from her, for her. That's the whole of your world so far. And that's why, when Princess Alina Cascade starts to tell you who you are, you listen, beating your wings in a torrent to keep yourself upright as you clench your claws into the walls of this chamber. You listen.

And you decide that if she's not afraid of you, that means you get to decide what you're going to be.

You toss her up into the air, and watch as she plummets, but you don't lift a feather, because you know she'll whip out her light and catch herself. With a beat of your wings, instead, you soar upwards.

You will find the ceiling of this chamber and break through until you see the sky, and find the storms, and in them find the wind and the rain that make life worth living.

***

Adila!

The snake-wife is smashing through chamber after chamber, going down, down, downwards -- away from Dandy. The bog is spilling out all around you, dank and filthy water, but there's no way it's going to drain fast enough to save Dandy. She's all alone up there, stuck at the bottom of a slowly-draining swamp, and bad girl! Bad! You left her!

The snake-wife is ignoring you, but as she wriggles along, her throat is forcing you down deeper. It's taking all your strength just to stay where you are, running the Red Queen's Race with all your might, and bad girl! Bad! You left her!

You are the watchdog, the Hound of Devilhome! You protect! Bad girl!

***

Kathelia!

"Order! Order! We call this market court to order!"

The chaos and uproar all around subsides, if only barely. The Market Judge looks down at you over the top of his spectacles, sitting on a throne made out of law journals. You have been locked in pillories that keep your hands up by your head, which means that Kyouko's ears, sticking out of her pompoms, are the only visible parts of her face, so she can't see any glares that, say, a nerd might be giving her over the public humiliation.

"We charge the accused with attempts to break market peace, attempts to circumvent the Laws of Queen Eupheria, criminal mischief, obstruction of justice, and conspiracy! This being done, we find the accused guilty on all counts!"

Hold on, what? Aren't you supposed to get the chance to defend yourself??

"We sentence them to a fine no less than what they hold on their person, to be given trendy souvenirs with a never-lose charm so that they may advertise the market in all subsequent chambers, to be given no less than fifty spanks with a paddle to be delivered to the rear, and then to be cast out of the market! Open the door and prepare the paddle!"

He bangs his gavel on a souvenir paperweight and a gremlin scurries off to fetch the keys, even as the kettle drums begin their ominous beat and the Ceremonial Paddle of the Market is presented by Penny of Penny's Paddles and Pastries. But even now, there's a chance, if you can somehow break free from your restraints and go after that gremlin, to avoid absolute humiliation in front of a crowd!

Go ahead and roll to Get Away, if you like, or just take your lumps.

Mittens pulls herself back up onto the land bridge on a beam of deep blue light, landing lightly on her feet with the softest of squelches from her sopping wet boots. She takes a hesitant step forward, and is surprised at how easy it is to move forward now that the wind is settled to a gentle breeze. She pauses and shivers, violently shaking droplets of water out of her hair, off of her ears, away from her tail. There's a chill still creeping into her bones, and the tickling winds playing with her clothes and her skin aren't doing her any favors at all. She should really get moving, now that the way is open.

Even still, she takes the time to look up and watch the Shadow-Roc vanish into the skies above. She sees the huge black glass feathers grow more and more indistinct as the last remnant of her nightmare rises up, up, up... and disappears into the clouds. Mittens is all alone. And still, she watches, shivers in the breeze, and gives herself a moment to catch her breath.

Then a large raindrop splatters on her face, and she scrunches and squints and squeaks in surprise. Then there's another, and another, and another, until the sparse pattering becomes a drizzle, and then the drizzle becomes a new downpour. Thunder rumbles deeply overhead.

There are good storms. This is what they look like.

The winds are gentle, and the water feels soft on her clothes and even softer on her skin. And, mmmmm, stars and lights, it's warm. It soaks her all over again, warming her from the tips of her silly triangles to the bottoms of her dainty feet. There's a rumbling in her ears that's got nothing to do with thunder. If Eupheria demands she be a cat then fine, but she'll be an Illuminan one who purrs when she's stuck in a perfect summer storm. Ideal for dancing, and...

She glances down. Her white silk shirt is soaked through, clinging to her like second skin and putting her ridiculous paw-print bra on prominent display. And maybe it's relief or maybe it's just how silly an image this seems or maybe she's just lost it, but Mittens' purr chokes quickly into a giggle and then before she knows it she's laughing uproariously. The only reason she doesn't go tumbling straight back over the edge and into the bottomless swells below is the sudden appearance of a glowing purple length of fence for her to lean against, instead.

This is the rain that floods the rivers in her home. This is the storm that calls all the little children out of their houses, homework and crafts forgotten, to go stomping through every puddle on the streets of the towns. This is the water that would go twisting, swirling, and singing through the great glass aqueducts to carry the gift of the storm to Rowan and reaffirms their friendship forever. This is the warmth that fills her soul until it overflows with hope.

Yes, with hope. Because this storm is Illumina, and this labyrinth is Eupheria. And if the two can coexist, it means she still remembers. Mittens stands up straight and reaches one hand toward the endless sky above her. She waves at what she imagines to be the shadow of one enormous wing.

"Thank you..." she whispers, and steps peacefully through the rain toward her next room, and all of the people that she loves.

W.W.H.D. (What would Hornet Do): As everyone knows, Hornet is the coolest, bestest princess in all of Hyperborea. She's smart and inventive and Kathelia hopes to one day be as good as Hornet at making stuff, but she knows she'll have to do lots of homework first before she can even get close to building real-life automatons and castle rockets and stuff. But in the meantime, Kathelia has realized (as she has been dragged before a ridiculous kangaroo court) that she can at least do her best to emulate her hero in every way possible as they make their way through the bazaar. Unfortunately, she lacks a goblin contract to set this agreement into proper and effective legalese, but lacking that she knows that by silently agreeing to the Bazaar's demands despite their unfair trial, she will be able to accomplish one (1) or more of the following objectives
1) focus more precisely on considering the magic system in the dungeon without worrying about her surroundings, since she has such kind gremlins to carry her and Kyouko along
2) avoid distractions that would get in the way of her brainstorming thanks to the friendly gags provided by the market
3) Help craft inspiration through physical sensation, which the market is providing thanks to all this new clothing and gear they're giving her including an "I <3 Labyrinth Bazaar" backpack, cap, and a t-shirt that says "I fell through the Labazaar and all I got was this lousy t-shirt" as well as through the paddling, which is very focusing and helpful for staying awake and ensuring that she won't doze off later.

So, even though Kyouko, for some strange reason, is squirming and shouting into her gag (and from Kathelia's sharp gaze also using that melodramatic cover and her pompoms to work on slowly pickign at the ropes around her hands with her little claws), Kathelia is enduring this in stoic silence. Well, she may be yelping into her gag each time she gets hit, but that's a reflex and she's just using those to keep time as she tries to focus her mind. Objective accomplished: door open. Next labyrinth zone analysis soon to start. Curse analysis ongoing and "mmmmrrrrph" that one really hurt, but that's fine, even if maybe some centaurs are a little overzealous in their physical focus increasement activities.

[Kathelia will accept her clothing and spanks without running.]

Adila!

The snake-wife is smashing through chamber after chamber, going down, down, downwards -- away from Dandy. The bog is spilling out all around you, dank and filthy water, but there's no way it's going to drain fast enough to save Dandy. She's all alone up there, stuck at the bottom of a slowly-draining swamp, and bad girl! Bad! You left her!

The snake-wife is ignoring you, but as she wriggles along, her throat is forcing you down deeper. It's taking all your strength just to stay where you are, running the Red Queen's Race with all your might, and bad girl! Bad! You left her!

You are the watchdog, the Hound of Devilhome! You protect! Bad girl!

That was the last effort of will she had. The last surge of willpower and heroism. There's no way out, no way forwards, no way to escape, nothing to do but feel the terrible weight of her failure. She struggles for as long as she can but the simple reality of the moment is that she is a bad girl. This is the consequence of that. All her unkindnesses are here with her as she falls away into the black.

[Get Away with despair: 6, 1, 1 -1 = 1. Adila falls to the Curse.]

Jessamine!

You collapse into the grass, gasping. The fire protection charm boiled off you in the last stretch, and then there was nothing for it but forcing your way through. The heat stole the air from your chest, made you squeeze your eyes shut and grope blindly through the crack, and even now, heat radiates off you. You lie there, heaving in sweet breaths, listening to the groans of the princesses you led into the Bazaar.

The princesses.

You push yourself up, force your teary eyes to open, and look around. Helya is lying with her back on the grass, doing breathing exercises, staring upwards. Of course she’s recovering fast; she’s even participated in the races they do at the Gulch. Tashanna is holding Ninian close to her chest as they lie gasping in the grass. This is your warband, and you couldn’t ask for better, especially with Hornet safely outside.

You take a moment, closing your eyes to let your stomach settle, and that’s when the giant glass snake smashes through the ceiling of the glasshouse. It slams hard against the earth in a torrent of filthy dark water, narrowly missing Ninian and Tashanna with a swipe of its tail, and begins hitting its head rhythmically against the ground. That’s when the ground begins to shake ominously.

Something’s coming, and fast. If you could see through the downpour, you might stand a chance against this thing...

***

Adila I!

Princesses.

The ones in this chamber are a good example of the breed. They’re exactly clever and resourceful enough to get in well over their heads. Luckily for them, you need them. Their status as uncursed free agents means that they will be excellent distractions for Eupheria.

The plan is coming together. Now, all you need to do is save these princesses, convince them to follow your orders, and bring them to the next inane sports event Eupheria has up her sleeve.

Go ahead. Do what you do best.

***

Mittens!

On the hill, there is a tree. On the tree, there are three golden apples, hanging from a branch.

Around the tree is a giant googly-eyed glass dragon in all the colors of the rainbow, sleeping fitfully. Around the dragon is a garden full of the worst plants in Hyperborea, a nightmare of vines and princesstraps and sleeping nettles. Around the garden is a wall, smooth glass without handholds.

You’re the second one here. Halfway up the hill, you can see the bright clothes of your Momma—

And that’s when a trapdoor opens in the grass nearby and Kazelia and Kyouko get tossed out in the tackiest tourist wear, locked in pillories and gagged with “I <3 The Labazaar” scarves. Well, there’s some help.

But there’s only three apples.

Eupheria is starting to make the competition a little fiercer now.

(If you just left Kyouko behind, you and Kazelia and Momma could all win!)

Mittens is spared from having to figure out why this room looks so familiar by the loud clack of a trapdoor and the indignant squeaks of two princesses getting tossed out of it. For a second, she can't place either one of them. Who does she know who's this awkward on her feet, or who dresses like a tourist without an ounce of self control? She wrinkles her nose all the way to full kitty-face scrunch, and then...

"Kazelia!!"

Mittens crosses the distance between them in three short leaps, landing gracefully on her feet in front of the pilloried pair. Water drips down into her ear and she twitches it in irritation before she reaches up and carelessly tosses a hand through her soaking wet hair, rippling it behind her in a big, wet tangle. She's dripping from head to toe, shirt still much more sheer than she'd picked it out to be. But even so, she's... well, you know her name, Kazelia. She's as gorgeous as you can remember seeing her. She flashes a tiny smile that manages to hide maybe half the thoughts and worries from her face and with a small flourish of her wrist produces a set of glowing purple lock picks.

"Are you all right? What happened? You look, um... erm..." she arches an eyebrow.

"Rrmph!" Kyouko rrmphs angrily.

"Yeah, that. Hold on a second, I'll get you out of there."

A flick, a twist, and a click! That's all it takes, and like magic Mittens, escape artist extraordinaire has freed Kazelia from her bonds. She gently reaches down to pull the tacky scarf (ooof, this material is so cheap and coarse! the poor dear...) out of her mouth. She shakes her head again and winces while giving Kyouko a very sharp look over.

Mittens waves her wrist and morphs her lock picks into a small, warm towel that she makes a biiiig, long show of drying out her ears with, smile growing wider and wider, toothier and toothier until she looks like... honestly? This is probably the best window anybody's ever going to have into what her and Rita's kids will look like if they're ever lucky enough to have them. All fang and mischievously swishing tail and absolute mirth.

"Oh, sorry," she chirps, "I'm being rude. Here~"

She dangles the towel in front of her friend/rival/friendly rival/Jessamine-stealing-fiend turned foxy cheerleader's face. Then, right as the squeaks start turning into angry, muffled yips, Mittens snaps her fingers and zips her lights into the padlocks holding Kyouko prisoner and frees her in an instant.

She thought about it, you know. She really did. She's not proud of it. But in the end, however much four hands for three apples might complicate things, she knows she can't ever talk about love being boundless again if she puts hers ahead of Kazelia's even for a second. She'll just... have to hope things work themselves out on the way. She reaches out an arm each for the both of you to pull yourselves up on.

And then she turns, and watches her Momma on the hill. Her tail flicks behind her.

"If either of you has any idea how we can get up there, I'm all ears."

W.W.H.D.: When faced with a series of sudden developments accompanied by "friendship" Princess Hornet of course gladly accepts this friendship. Typically, in such a situation, she would choose to celebrate such an occasion by demonstrating one or more of her inventions suited to the purpose (outside the boundaries of Jedad where nobody will immediately jump out and tackle any control devices out of her hands before any buttons could be pressed).

Kathelia digs in her new Labazaar backpack with her hands free, but the closest she can find to an appropriately celebratory device is a Labazzar labeled party noisemaker that you pop and that shoots out a tiny caduceus. Since this is the best she has, she pulls it out and releases it in the area between herself, Kyouko, and Alina, to the extent that she can triangulate the position appropriately accounting for both weather conditions and current hug status.

With the appropriate celebratory act completed, she takes the opportunity to properly hug Alina. She hasn't seen her friend since the strange Labyrinth started, except in fleeting moments of the competitive games when Alina appeared either stalemated or a fleeting and untouchable dream and just it's been a while:

"Alina!" she shouts and throws herself, backpack and trinkets and all around her friend, even if her voice comes out less as a shout and more as her nerdy voice breaking sniffling sound that she's almost gotten used to (and that Kyouko blessedly hasn't complained about so far). "I'm glad you're okay!" Then because the better social niceties are beyond her, she immediately starts calculating based on Alina's final question with barely a breath. "Well, the ideal approach would be via flight, but it appears that Eupheria has carefully disabled all modes of access to airborne transportation and I don't particularly have the tools for that. One presumes that not waking the dragon is the most ideal outcome of course, since a victory using the fewest resources is most ideal, so shattering the wall would be out of the question. Some kind of suck device perhaps, combined with something to suppress sound ought to at least get us past the first obstacle..."

[I did not miss my Look Closely roll, 4+4=8. So
1. Is something hidden our out of place? If so, what looks suspicious?
2. Tell me about the sleeping dragon, how could it hurt me? How could it help me?
3. Tell me about Momma up there on the hill. What is she doing? what will she do next?
One answer will be the hard way.]

Combat was control. Just like dancing. Just like music.

As much as she systematized, structured, and ordered the world for the benefit of her subordinates she herself was not bound by her own rules. Her rules were her control, her music, her drumbeat she imposed that made all the world move according to her order. There was no other way to rule. Hearts aligned, that was their nature. And as the heart fell to beauty so did the mind learn its place and the body submit in turn. This same process worked in reverse. Such was the nature of battle.

A demonstration.

See how she controls the flow of the glass snake as the limestone controls the course of the river? Yielding, melting away, exposed raw. The crystal river thinks it triumphs over the stone by revealing its bare bones, but those bones are granite and no rage of water or shattering of crystal shall wear it down. The river may rage and flail but its actions are constrained, its body brought to heel, imprisoned within the designs of granite. As its body is forcibly bought into alignment so too follows its mind - it realizes its defeat and slumps its glittering head. As its mind accepts her control so in time will its heart follow.

She lowers her staff. The glass serpent is woven into a binding of stone. Each pillar of stone like a needle and the serpent twisted and knotted through them over the course of its many predictable lunges until it is tied back and bound by its own body, a snarl amidst her knitting that soon enough she'll pull on the end of until it resolves itself into another link of cloth.

And now, back the other way. Control hearts and the bodies will follow.

"Princesses," Adila speaks. "I am Princess Adila the First, the secret master of the Watch. Princess Alina is in danger. Princess Kazelia is in danger. My namesake, Princess Adila is in danger. A terrible and -"

Her control slips. Terrible and wicked princess, that's what she should have said. Why was it difficult? Eupheria was objectively both of those things, a dire threat to Hyperborea and you should have seen it before she fell and you did nothing -

"A terrible curse has befallen each of them," Adila said. There was no time to follow thoughts like that, thoughts that turned the earth to cloud and made it seem like she was falling too. "Only together do we stand a chance of breaking it."

Lil’ Euphie!

Everything is finally making sense. For a little while there, you were worried you’d lost it! Your sense of self, shattered on the floor, reflecting shards of yourself. But it’s okay now. It’s all so bright and shiny! All you needed to do was fix all those pieces back together, and let your Euphie-ness fill in all the cracks!

So what if there’s another Euphie? You’re clearly the best one. Once you win, you will have proved it, and then you can switch places with yourself and next time you’ll be in charge of the maze and she’ll be the one winning the competition! It’s all so wonderful!

The world around you is plastic. Everything contains the seeds of being something else hidden in its heart! You have inside you the Shortcut to Art. With a glance and a wave of your hand, what once was solid warps and twists like molten glass to fit your vision! You are Creating! This is what it must have felt like for the devil-matrons when the world was freshly-baked and theirs to shape into form!!

Tch. Princesses. They’re still jealous of you, Euphie. Jealous of your vision. Except for delightful little Mittens! You love her so, so much! You can’t wait to take her on walkies, and give her ear scritches, and keep her so, so, so safe. You’d rather crack the world in half than see her hurt. You’ll keep her safe and yours forever and ever and ever...

***

Kathelia!

You adjust the Labazaar Quartz Telescope and bring the glass dragon into focus, and proceed to confirm one of your theories! This is so exciting! Like many species of butterfly, this dragon’s oversized, impractical eyes are actually a form of ocelli, or eyespots. Ocelli are commonly used for mimicry of a more dangerous predator or to draw attention away from vulnerable body parts, though some species use them for intraspecies communication and even courtship, such as the famous ocelli on a male peacock’s feathers. Instead, the visual organs of the glass dragon are hidden at the intersections of its scales, small hard coal-like eyes with many facets. This is so exciting, and might mean Eupheria has broken the record for most eyes on one animal! Of course, you already know the top ten animals with the most eyes.

It’ll be impossible to approach the dragon without waking it up unless you use invisibility, unless its eyes have special abilities? It’s entirely possible! If you can find several different invisibility methods, you could even do tests!

Moving on, you also note that there are gardeners tending to the flowers. They have the heads of lions, wings like bats, and the bodies of jocks. You take an instant dislike to them. Notably, several seem to be tending to a thick, thorned topiary statue of Argossa with a glowing red light at its crown, one that immediately strikes you as familiar. It’s one of Alina’s lights!

Weirdly, instead of complimenting you on your cleverness and analytical skills, Alina and Kyouko seem to be freaking out.

***

Mittens!

It’s time to goooooooo.

Momma waved her toy Caduceus at you, and maybe she can actually use it, maybe Eupheria’s playing along, but chain-trees and scarf-vines are bursting out of the ground in a grim and terrible forest all around you. Kyouko’s scream could shatter glass as she hops from foot to foot, her curse making her practically useless in the face of danger. Everyone knows cheerleaders need to be saved by heroic princesses, after all!

The way up the hill is becoming a very, very dangerous obstacle course, and that’s before you get to that glass wall. Your Momma opens a door in the side, and after she walks through... she closes it seamlessly.

Eep! That manacle nearly got you! Run!!

***

Adila I!

“You’re the secret master of the Watch?” The Jedadi Princess seems dumbstruck. “I... I thought you’d be taller,” she manages to say, lamely.

“Alina’s in danger?” The Iluminan is evidently Alina’s sister. The resemblance is obvious, though she seems, if anything, more hotheaded. She’s a danger. Eliminate her from the situation as early as possible.

The Rowani seems to be coolly evaluating you— a kindred spirit? Perhaps she could be trusted more than the rest. And then the small, mousy princess squeaks. “It’s not the glass snake!”

What?

Then the earth explodes and the Snake-Husband of Jedad rears up out of the ground with a terrible bellow.

Ah.

Well.

This is inconvenient.

Especially because the glass snake has been half-freed from the prison you painstakingly made for it, and is throwing itself furiously at the Snake-Husband. While this means they might neutralize each other, their flailing and laser eyes mean that you might be crushed by two hundred tons of stone or glass, squished into paste.

And... are they both writhing like they’re about to vomit?

Best to evacuate.

Adila I!

“You’re the secret master of the Watch?” The Jedadi Princess seems dumbstruck. “I... I thought you’d be taller,” she manages to say, lamely.

Princess Adila is tall. Perceptions to the contrary are an optical illusion caused by the size of her quarterstaff and not knowing that high heels were in fashion right now. She can hardly be blamed for that. Also she doesn't have her helm. This is unfair. Besides, who did -

"Hmm," said Princess Adila.

This is inconvenient.

Especially because the glass snake has been half-freed from the prison you painstakingly made for it, and is throwing itself furiously at the Snake-Husband. While this means they might neutralize each other, their flailing and laser eyes mean that you might be crushed by two hundred tons of stone or glass, squished into paste.

Two?! Well, the Bronze had dealt with this creature handily enough the first time. While they were distracted with each other she just needed to lead away her new recruits and get them to the armoury, then subduing the paired creatures would be a simple enough task - especially without Eupheria there to direct them. Now she just needed to sidle away before...

[Get Away: 4]

Kathelia!

You are an eagle eyed, ultra-cool observer of the truth! And if you know anything right now, it's that your keen observations and even keener insights are going to be the key to getting through this whole kerfluffle of a maze. (that's a word people use, right? kerfluffle?) So don't waste any time and bust out your ultra awesome, official "I <3 The Labazaar" notebook and let the field research begin!

Observation Number One: Alina is absolutely a critical part of your fighting force right now. In fact, you'd estimate she represents somewhere between one half and fully two thirds of your combat power right now. You are, of course, the remainder, so it's really down to how confident you're feeling in a given moment. Kyouko is... wonderful, but the way she's clinging to you while trembling and squealing is a) extremely not conducive toward efficient note taking and b) displaying highly questionable battle efficiency at best. Not that you blame her: this is really scary! But it's also fascinating.

Anyway, Alina! The way she's jumping around right now, dodging the chain plants and scarf vines and Princess-Traps which are very determinedly sprouting up and snapping at her is the kind of acrobatic display you kind of have to just take a second to admire. The interesting thing about it is the way she's still moving and acting almost just the way you remember her when you dig through your pre-Curse memories. In fact, of everybody you've had the chance to observe, doesn't she seem like she's been the least affected? Maybe it's because her curse doesn't have a strong mental component to it. Or maybe Eupheria tried to fit too specific a label on her and she's spilling a lot of her essential Alina-ness out of the container, so to speak. It could even be because Eupheria and Alina are related and she's taking it easy on her great-granddaughter, subconsciously or otherwise! Or, um... well it could just be random chance maybe, but... ooh! What if it's because of Rita? Fascinating, but there's just not enough data to draw from. Perhaps if you had access to some sort of Princess Cursification Device you could run more tests and...

Observation Number Two: This is a terrible night to have a curse.

Actually, this is the very first time you've been able to watch a curse advance! The most interesting part is that even though they seem broken up into very distinct tiers of progression, the move from one tier to the next is, for all intensive porpoises, instantaneous. One second Alina is nimbly dodging whip vines and providing a very good distraction while you take notes completely untouched, the next she's distracted by the sudden appearance of a Common Pocket Snakerchief (serpentes buccalis), her concentration slips, and then all at once you see the flash of sharp feline teeth in her mouth, which is elongated and also Extremely Cat, right down to the itty bitty nose, the whiskers, and the super pettable lavender fur, and then she's just left to deal with the sudden shift in her sensory expectations. It trips her up about as much as you'd imagine.

Observation Number Three: Alina has been captured. Kidnapped. Catnapped? She's bound and trussed and dragged off squeaking into the forest almost before you can blink. You're going to need to go after her (see Observation Number One). But just as importantly, you're going to need to get that Light. Side note, why is it that Light is a capitalized word? Technically they should be referred to as Illuminan Light Crystals. And technically this isn't even one of those so much as an adapted bit of dragonfire contained in an official Illuminan Light Crystal Casing. But even so, it exhibits all the expected properties of a fully functioning Red. Get that, and get it to Alina, and she'll be strong enough to break out of whatever bindings she's being held in as easily as she could swish her kitty tail. Rescue her without it, and there's a chance she'll be immediately recaptured because...

Observation Number Four: her Increasingly Eupheria Mother (IEM for short) has eyes for exactly two things right now. The first is those apples on the hill. Those are very definitely important. But the second is Alina. She's completely ignored you and Kyouko just to be able to drag her daughter away from all the chaos. You're not exactly an expert on the motivations of parents, to say nothing of IEMs specifically, but one thing you can say with certainty is that she wants Alina. If you don't do anything to unbalance the cycle, it could continue like this forever. Or at least until it's too late.

Or! Alternative method that doesn't involve going into the scary garden and then the scary forest! You could abandon her and make a play for the apples yourself! This has Final Boss Chamber written all over it, you could totally save Alina by just destroying the Labyrinth around her instead. But you couldn't possibly leave her to her wriggling, blushing fate, all alone! ...Could you?

Snap the book shut! This will all be on the test, Kazzy. You've got one (1) beautiful princess on your arm, and your friend desperately needs you to be her hero. Now. Like, right now. What's the plan, little snowflake?

W.W.H.D.: Obviously, in this situation, princess Hornet would pull out her trusty vine de-tanglizer, or perhaps her always consistent safety cat extraction device, or...or at least her rocket boots.

Oh...oh bother, oh dear, her backpack had nothing but Labazaaar buttons and labazaar pinwheels, and some Labazaar desert spice scented bubble bath but none of these were...were any of the things that she needed. Oh no, she had to do something, Kyouko was clinging to her and screaming but she had drowned that out 2.37 seconds ago, but she couldn't tune out Alina being captured! She could make a rush for the apples and try to save them all, it was the rational play. An IEM would make a beeline for an Alina in trouble, abandoning her apple rush and leaving a wide opening for Kathelia. But...but Alina was in danger and she was missing her lights! That little light there seemed so agitated too. Looking through her trusty Labazaar brand® spyglass (price tag still hanging off of it) Kathelia thought that the little light seemed practically antsy on top of its tree-column, like it was trying to break out of there and rush to Alina, but it just couldn't.

***
Somewhere far away and long ago now, a princess landed her Pegasus in an open field where a purple-haired princess was dancing by a gentle stream. She didn't want to scare the princess away and...you've heard this story right? They met, they agreed that Oberon was the worst, they started to fight together, but no listen. That purple-haired princess, she looked so graceful. Where she danced with her little lights, it was like the flowers could bear her weight, so light and beautiful was her step. Kazelia had watched those flowers freeze in her home and she'd heard a song in her heart for the first time in such a long time. The little embers of fire in her heart had just started to glow and when she saw Alina dancing there, she had to land. She had to approach her because...because she just couldn't help it! She didn't know how to say it back then, how to say that she was seeing something special, how to tell this little Illuminan how perfectly she moved and how her love for the land and the water were bursting out of her and through her lights and warming Kazelia's heart from far away. It made Kazelia burn that Oberon had stabbed her, and that fueled those fires too.

There had been many people Kazelia had promised to protect. Even a dragon (despite her insistence she didn't need it) and the Sun, and a goddess, and her own sisters, and she'd even shed a tear for an automaton that looked like her. But Alina had been the first. The first friend. The first one that Kazelia would protect, no matter what happened.

***

She's in the air before she can really think about it, which is good because if she had thought about it, she'd have started hyperventilating. Aerial acrobatics were for Alina, or Esmeralda Thunderbolt! Not book worms like Kathelia! But, funny, she was already in the air and her Labazaar bag was sailing from her shoulders, even as Kyouko gazed up as her mouth agape. Her super awesome unicorn spear was blazing, twin arcs of flame swirling and entwining around it and sparkling with rainbow colors. It almost looked like a little miniature fire Caduceus. She didn't land elegantly, it was more like a skinned knee though her thick overalls did a pretty good job cushioning the blow and her spear was already charring vines around the crown of Argossa as she started sweeping at all the traps stretching to meet her. One of the manticore gardeners tried to fly up close and Kathelia's flames leaped at the manticore and pushed her back with singed paws. That got a lot of attention. Sure they could drag away a tied up princess anytime, but a crazy princess hacking and slashing at the statue of Argossa and scaring off the gardeners? That needed immediate attention. Unfortunately for them, Kathelia was hacking and slashing with a goal: she jammed her spear against the statue encasing that little red light, and her magic too, sending off sparkles and lights doing everything she could to crack the stone and pry that little light free. Was she imagining it, or was it pushing from the other side too?

[rolling to keep the garden traps busy 5+1+2=8. Time bought and all attention on Kathelia (and red free I hope), but there will be some kind of retaliation at the end. Alina is at an advantage.]

Jessamine!

The emergence of Princess Shazari of Jedad in her battle-armor from the throat of one of the Snake-Husband’s heads is glorious. She brings golden light with her, caught in the folds of her cloak, and her helm is burnished and glorious, wrapped round and round with images of two-headed serpents.

The Snake-Husband lowers one vast head and lets her alight on the ruined ground, stepping haughtily down.

“What have you done while I was putting our husband to rights?” She asks, loudly— but you almost miss the question, because the glass snake-wife has just projectile vomited a huge dog directly at Adila I, knocking both of them into an awful slimy tumble.

And then both serpents raise their heads and bellow so loudly that the whole labyrinth shakes.

***

Kathelia!

“SHE’S THE BEST, CAN’T BE BEAT, GOT A BUTT THAT’S SUCH A TREAT! GOOOOOO KAZELIA!!”

Kyouko is defending you too, buying you time with her pompoms and high kicks and cartwheels. Whenever a manticore gardener looks about to seize you, she’s suddenly there, waving her pompoms in their face and cheering loudly until they stumble back in confusion. That’s what buys you time to release Red, which... falls neatly out of its casing. Careful! Try to catch it!

It... falls into your bag and disappears underneath the bric-a-brac of the Labazaar. And that’s when one of the manticore-gardeners sneaks her tail around Kyouko’s frantic defense and stings you!

And of course, you know all about manticore venom. What does it do again?

***

Eupheria!

“I want an apple, Argyle!!!”

You stamp your foot and wait for your dragon to get out of the way. You’re his mistress just as much as the other Euphie is! But instead your dragon whines in confusion, shaking his silly head.

It’s so frustrating! Nobody ever listens to you!! Not even Argyle thinks you’re worth listening to, and you practically made him, bit by bit, scale by scale, palette by palette!

What does it make you want to do?

Jessamine!

The emergence of Princess Shazari of Jedad in her battle-armor from the throat of one of the Snake-Husband’s heads is glorious. She brings golden light with her, caught in the folds of her cloak, and her helm is burnished and glorious, wrapped round and round with images of two-headed serpents.

The Snake-Husband lowers one vast head and lets her alight on the ruined ground, stepping haughtily down.

“What have you done while I was putting our husband to rights?” She asks, loudly— but you almost miss the question, because the glass snake-wife has just projectile vomited a huge dog directly at Adila I, knocking both of them into an awful slimy tumble.

And then both serpents raise their heads and bellow so loudly that the whole labyrinth shakes.

Princess Jessamine demonstrates in this moment her practical experience and her innocent naivety. At once she has an enchanted amphora from her traveling bag and is using the endless stream of water that emerges from it to wash clean the princesses with an efficiency and readiness that speaks of past experience. But even if she knows enough about being swallowed to react with alacrity and sympathy to aid someone else who has just experienced it, it is similarly plain that she has never owned a dog. If she had she would have known about the spectacular shaking arc of water that resulted in her being drenched to the bone and the dog being restored to its true fluffy self.

But immediately upon settling, the dog runs all about in a panic. She seeks to herd the gathered princesses with barks, with increasingly frantic motions as she rushes all about, trying to direct them somewhere... but she doesn't know where. There is a distressed, mournful, panicked edge to everything, a hope that even a creature so naturally trusting senses is distant.

W.W.H.D.: Princess Hornet, like every other victim of manticore venom that does not have immunity (magical or otherwise) would suffer a combination of symptoms typical of the clinical case, with slight variances for personal tolerance, constitution, and mental state. The typical case of manticore venom involves two primary symptoms. Physically, the body is subjected to a slow-acting paralysis. This begins with a feeling of lethargy. After a brief period of time, typically measured in several minutes, this is followed by occasional involuntary muscle spasms, a general feeling of unresponsiveness (not dissimilar to having one's arm or leg fall asleep) and eventually a gentle paralytic sleep lasting between twenty minutes and several hours, depending in part on whether the victim is woken or allowed to sleep off the effects. Some people even take small doses of the stuff intentionally, claiming that the sleep it offers is especially deep and relaxing. This also leads us to the neurochemical effects of the toxin: mild to medium hallucinogenic effects. Depending on victim, this could be as simple as a slight alteration in depth perception and distance judgment, or it can involve more complex visions such as the victim perceiving themselves as a different person or elements in their setting as entirely different objects. The hallucinations are typically not so severe as to entirely distance the victim from reality (e.g., they will not walk into objects as if they weren't there even before the paralysis) but they may be found talking to a tree or flower without possessing plant-speaking magic.

All this is to say that Kathelia had really been hoping that once free, Red would dash off to go join Alina. If she could fish it out of the bag, she could get it into its casing and toss it to Alina. But when she looks at her bag now, she's not seeing a bag of Labazaar objects and one (1) dragonfire light. Instead, Kathelia (already quite the nerd) appears to be hallucinating something from her long ago past and is seeing a mix of old toys in her bag: carved blocks, little animals and plants, jangly and shiny bits and bobs that she'd quite like to grasp if both her hands weren't full. And really, she'd quite like to take a nap right now, but she's still busy and she needs to find...something in here and get it to Alina. She spins her spear with one hand (though with less fervor than a moment ago) and tries to dig past a little sheep and a block with letters on it and find the...the thing she's looking for, a really shiny fiery toy. It's got to be in there somewhere.

Being ignored is the worst feeling ever. There's none worser. Trust her, she's had sooooo much time to think about this! There was Addie, who was all pretty faces and smoldering looks until the bill came due and then suddenly whoops! And there was Ourania, who just went and let herself get turned to stone even though she'd asked so nicely just for the key to Addie's heart. And then... and then and then there was the whole world. And when a whole world ignores you that just... ooh!

That's why she loves Mittens soooooo much, you know? You know?? All the thoughts are still little jumbled up in her head, but she's sure she remembers plain as day widdle Mittens jumping up to her and begging for scritchies and mew mewing so cutely all for her, just for her! All of the love in that silly billy kitten's heart just for her precious Euphie. And not even the other Euphie, just for her! For her! Ah! She twirls in place thinking about it. As long as her itty bitty pretty kitty is safe and hers, everything's gonna work out fine! She'll put her in a teeny bed in the Tower of Art and then...

Argyle finally shifts, stirred by Mistress' giggling. The great glass dragon shifts its massive weight, spreads its massive prismatic wings... and blocks Lil' Euphie off from the tree entirely.

"Bad dragon! Bad! That's not what I told you at all!" she whines and stamps her foot as hard as she's ever stamped it in her life.

She feels tears welling in her eyes. She feels her heart tearing itself to shreds all over again. It's so hard to put back together, you know! She feels

OOOOH!

Moment of Clarity tiiiiiime~

"You poor, silly thing. I'm so sorry Argyle," Lil' Euphie coos sweetly, rising up on a sudden bump on the hill to give the glass dragon's great big snoot some loving pats, "This must be so confusing for you! Did Other Euphie forget to tell you there were two of us now? Oh no, she did! All your memories are wrong, you don't even remember how I built you, do you?"

She runs her fingers down the length of Argyle's face, tickling under the smooth, just slightly chilly jaw before booping that big ol' adorable nose. She flashes a smile that's somehow as terrifying as it is dazzling, all the more of both for how sincerely sweet it is.

"Mommy'll just have to fix that, won't she?"

And she thrusts her arm into the dragon's skull all the way up to her elbow and starts (gently! carefully! she doesn't want to hurt the poor thing!!) rooting around inside its brain. Theeeeeeeeerrrrre we go! Just add a little New Euphie here, take away a little old Euphie there, and ooh! OOH! Let's make the lovely dear a music lover! And with all those eyes Argyle just has to love the visual arts too, right? Now a little extra viciousness to make up for that, keep him a good guard so none of those nasty princesses go snatching up her apples afterwards, then a little more of thiiiis and a little less of thaaaat and whoopsie that's not supposed to go there, hahaha! It's actually so much--------

Once upon a time, there was a girl. Her name was Isolde. Isolde Waverly, not that you care a single jot about that. She was not a graceful girl, or a rich girl, or even an especially pretty girl. In fact, you couldn't go so far as to call her a happy girl, which in Illumina was some sort of crime. But she very definitely existed. There was a girl, and her name was Isolde Waverly.

Her family kept no permanent home. They wandered from village to village, patching what was broken when the townspeople would let them, taking what scraps people had to give, and then moving on for the next city, next town, next campsite if they had to. Wherever something wasn't right, that's where they had to be. Isolde followed, useless and miserable and ignored. Her heart was a shy and timid thing that ached with the need to be pretty, or to make something be pretty, or to make something that was pretty, so that somebody would just tell her, just once, just only once please, that she was good and worth loving.

But there was nobody to teach her how to make more than glass patches for roofs and walls. She had no natural talent or time to practice. And no one ever, even once, called her a good girl. She existed, and that was already too much.

Her family, you see, had done something very very bad before she was born. Not so recently that the people could tell her what it was, exactly, but not so long ago that they'd forgotten that it happened. Her parents told her that life was about fixing mistakes. It was about making the things that were wrong be right and not asking for thanks because the job, the only job a Waverly would ever be good for, was about setting the scales back the way they were supposed to be. Scales never needed a thank you, did they? So neither did her family. So neither did she.

Until one day, of all the places in the wide and shining kingdom of Illumina that could be broken, Isolde came to visit the glittering Castle Thessia. She came because the Princess-Promised had gotten into a fight with her best friend, and the resulting tussle had taken out a big chunk of the Solarium before they made up again. There was a great need for glassworkers from all over. Isolde was told to shape and form for seven days and seven nights. She was told to leave it raw. A master would come and finish it for her later, all she needed to worry about was the labor.

But on the seventh night, she couldn't help herself any longer. A panel, a single panel, is all she had left. Everybody was asleep, everybody but tall, willowy, plain Isolde had gone home for the night and left her all the materials and nobody to tell her no. She just... she wanted to make something be beautiful. To make something that was beautiful. To be called good and told that she was loved. So she poured all of her heart and all of her craft (borrowed second hand from stolen glances here and there growing up) and all of her art into this panel, snatching colors and stencils as the will took her.

And in the dawn, she was finished. And what she saw filled her with misery. It was misshapen, abstract, amateur, pathetic. She'd tried to make an animal scene, fish frolicking with water deer under a rainbow, because she'd seen that once and it made her heart leap with joy. She'd just wanted the royal family to feel that too. But you couldn't tell what any of it was. And she'd done what she was told not to do. When they came to take the final piece, the Knights saw her standing there, crying over her hideous masterpiece. And they grabbed her by the wrists, took her panel with her and all, and carried her into the castle to be dealt with.

Isolde had never seen anybody half so beautiful as Princess Halcyon. She watched those lavender curls with a pang like longing in her heart. She stared at those perfect lips as they pursed, dreamed of kissing those slender fingers as they turned her panel over and over and over again, got lost in those sharp green eyes as they looked quizzically at this travesty. She trembled when she thought about how all that perfection would look yelling at her and ordering her banished forever.

Princess Halcyon refused to let the panel become part of the Solarium. Because, she said, the artist's pain and the beauty of her soul had captivated her so much she couldn't bare to let it get lost in 'all that gaudy boring stuff'. She asked if she could keep it safe in her room, instead. They say the princess had her heart stolen shortly after. And Isolde, before you knew it, awkward, talentless, too-tall Isolde was King of Illumina. And as it turns out? She made three impossibly beautiful things. You've never seen their like in all the world.

But none of them were ever made of glass. Because she'd become so busy, you see. She'd never really, you know, ever properly learned to shape glass after all...

"There. We. Go!" Lil' Euphie chirped. "Now Argyle, do you know who I am?"

Argyle looked at her. And then it turned its other head to look at her again. And then its other other head. And then its other other other head. And finally its other other other other head. The silly head nodded. The angry head snarled, but it nodded to. The cool head rolled its googly eyes and snorted like yes mom whatever, but that was just as good as a nod could ever be. The shy head pulled back, then it turned briefly to look into the forest and stare at something before it hunched down by the ground and made the barest of adorable nods. The boring head glanced nervously at the other four before shaking no.

Bap! Bap! Bap! Bap! Four heads punished the boring one. It winced and whined, and nodded.

"Hooray! Now the most important test: I would like an apple please, Sweetness~"

Nod. Nod! UGH! ...nod. The boring head whimpered and pretended there were very interesting bugs on the ground and couldn't see her. Four glass lumps grew out of its crest and throbbed with painful reds and purples.

Lil' Euphie chirped, twirled her finest twirl, and skipped along to take her win, and all the respect and love she deserved but never ever got, not once, in her hands at last.

Dandy!

You try to pull yourself up again. You fail. Again. Based on the way that this vast bog is rushing past you on its way through the hole that the snake made, on the way it’s pummeling you and making serenity and peace very difficult... well, you’re running out of air faster than you were expecting.

Though that’s not the only reason you’re panicking and letting the air trickle out of you as your heart keeps jumping like an Askaian on a hot tin roof: it’s because you took a leap trusting Adila would catch you, and she’s nowhere to be seen. Spots thrown behind your closed lids. You trusted she wouldn’t lose, and... well, look where that got you. Tangled up in roots and drowning as a bunch of muddy water rushes past you too slow to do anything useful at all.

That girl! She’s got you coming and going. She thinks she’s too big to fit and she’s letting that scare her off from finding her place, and she can’t pick between you and an actual wild devil...

So what?

The thought’s surprising. You dig your fingers around the roots and try to slow your heart despite the torrent all around you.

Because you could even share her with a Devil if it meant getting to see her right now. Even if she couldn’t save you... you don’t want to go alone. You don’t want her to worry for the rest of her life, moping over whether you’d gone into the light mad at her.

And that’s a want big enough to keep the last bit of breath between your teeth, even as the roaring in your ears drowns out everything else. It’s a want you’d dig yourself out of your own grave to follow, see if you don’t.

***

Adila!

There’s... lots of water. It’s pouring! It’s making a mess. You were covered in the mess. Dandy was covered in mess too.

Dandy.

Dandelion.

You’re a guard dog, aren’t you, Adila? You’re supposed to protect. You’re supposed to be a good dog.

If you can’t help Dandelion... you need to bring someone else to help her. Someone you can trust. Pick a princess and then go swim up that deluge!

***

Kyouko!

You’re pretty sure you’re not supposed to be doing this. For one thing, a cheerleader cheers! She doesn’t do the thing worth cheering about! That’s just common sense. You’re a trophy, something to be won and shown off, something to encourage real princesses.

But Kazelia’s so innocent and silly, and if someone doesn’t take care of her, who will? She’s so smart and so dumb all at the same time, and you’d rather be kicked off the team than see her fail. Not here. She’s got to win.

So you keep fighting. You’re used to weighted sleeves and hidden darts and ambushes with silk ropes, not shoving pom-poms in faces and doing acrobatic split kicks, but that’s Konkon spirit! Never give up! Invent new rules! Score!!

Then you see the glimmer of red from Kazelia’s bag, and know that she just needs a moment longer— just a moment— and that the gardeners won’t even give her that.

So you howl the terrifying war-yelp of your people and throw yourself bodily into several of them, feeling the prick of stingers all over as you buy Kazelia the time she needs to be the hero you know she is.

And then... well, even if she doesn’t save you, that’s okay. Everybody knows that the cheerleader gets saved eventually. You’re... the, the... you’re... distress, the, um...

The world slides into blackness far too early.

***

Kathelia!

Kyouko’s scream, ending in a gargled whimper, jolts you back to your senses for a moment. There. You wrap your fingers around Red and feel a surge of clear-headedness. Of strength. Of power.

The minute you drop this— which is troublesome, given that it’s in your dominant hand— you’ll crash. Hard. But right now, you feel... you feel like a nerd given strength for the first time.

For as long as you hold Red, you can access its associated power. It recognizes you as one of Alina’s friends, and will help you get it back to her. But where is she, anyway?

***

Rita!

You race nimbly through the foliage. You can’t stop, you have to dance, you have to get to the end so you can dance for the mighty Queen of all these lands and win your heart’s desire, once you can remember what it is you wish for most, and right now your dance is a wild, vaulting Rowani Rain-stomp, and you let out a yawp far bigger than your dainty frame. Then, through the trees, as you race past, you see something very curious.

There’s a cage, and it has legs. It’s marching up towards the garden, and all this overgrown shrubbery is bending out of its way. Inside is a figure in a sheer shirt, all tangled up in vines and scarf-leaves. You catch eyes for a moment, and she surges up, pressing herself against the thorny bars and letting out a muffled, desperate cry. Then the foliage between you thickens, obscuring her from view once more.

You’re so distracted you almost pirouette into chain-vines.

She seemed so familiar...

And so beautiful...

Perhaps she is your heart’s desire, revealed for but a moment by the labyrinth. Yes! Yes, that must be it! She is your noble mistress, who you wish to be reunited with once more!

Thus fortified, you dash on nimbly, untouched by weed or thorn.

***

Mittens!

You slump. Rita’s gone again. And the curse has run deep with her. When you looked in her eyes... she seemed confused. Did she even remember you?

You are being slowly marched through this dangerous forest by a walking cage of thorns and branches. You’ve been beaten. If Rita won’t come back... if Kazelia decides she’s got the best chance at winning... well, you’ll be stuck. Here. A failure. Like always.

What’s it like, knowing you were never going to win?

It's all come true, hasn't it? Everything she was ever afraid of.

She is a guardian who could not protect the people she loved.
She is a failure, weak and insufficient beneath it all.
She is a monster and a beast with a heart that beats out of tune.

The curse blazes about her as a dark flame, a physical fog, sucking the life out of the ground around her. She knows what this is, knows it like it's a mark on a ledger changing from an asset to a liability - what happens when a princess falls. There's no coming back from this, she knows, and the only saving grace is that she has no dark and wicked powers that warrant her being thrown into a dungeon forever -

In the heart of that dark cloud a silver spark alights, pressing itself against eyes clenched shut. You have been here before, it tells her.

It's different this time, though. The aching exhaustion crushes down on her, driving her nose into the ground, twisting it like cruel discipline. She failed. She left someone she loved behind. She's weak and fragile and useless and the task is impossible and no one would ever forgive her even if she -

You have been here before and emerged stronger.

It's different! I can't -

You know that they will forgive you. They already have.

She is not used to having strength.

She is not used to being able to just pick herself up off the ground, leaving all that toxicity down there and her head so dazzlingly clear it feels like she might faint. It feels like the world is paper fragile and weights she thought were infinite can be shrugged off. She did not understand what it was to be strong until now - all those moments of vulnerability she'd shared with Kazelia and Alina had armoured those weak places within her.

She knows what it is to fight through water in a weak and fragile shape.
She knows what it is to face her limitations, and realize that she cannot defeat the world alone.
She knows what it is to disappoint a friend, and faced the reality that those friendships are not so superficial that disappointments would break it.

She's traveled so far since she was here last.

Her eyes finally open, gold haloed in silver.

She barks at Princess Helya, so resolved there is no mistaking her intent. She needs a lift to that broken hole in the roof and she shall do the rest from there.

Mittens slumps against the back of the Cage That Walks. She can tell it's the back because of... oh, what does it matter?

Rita ran right past her. Rita looked into her eyes and didn't say a word. Rita forgot her. Rita...

She's so stupid. What a stupid cat you are, Mittens. She really, she, she, she really thought that, she--

What does it matter?

Rita forgot she loved Mittens. Mittens will forget she loves Rita before long, too.

There's just

no point

no point in

no point

no point in fighting anymore.

She doesn't cry. Tears are for people with hope.

She wishes this stupid light in her eyes would just go out

Just stop shining, you little idiot

stop

please just

stop

so she can rest.

Cat's as good as crystal, right?

Could've stopped this, Mittens.

Mommy gave her Gold. Trusted her with her invincible heart. And what did she do?

She let Momma forget her love, too.

Her fault. Her fault. Had the power.

Didn't stop it. Her fault.

Mittens slumps against the bars of the Cage That Walks, not bothering to struggle against her bonds. Catch her this many times and you get to keep her.

Everyone

forgot they loved her.

She tries to squeeze her eyes shut, but she can't do that right either. And that defiant green light dances wildly inside them.

W.W.H.D.: Princess Hornet would want to fetch her cube companion from her knapsack and take a relaxing, manticore venom induced nap. She didn't have anyone counting on her though. Kathelia thought that maybe, if she did, Princess Hornet (who was objectively, the coolest princess) would have a device around to turn on some theme music so she could do something really, really cool.

Lacking both, Kathelia takes in the garden. Her vision is...oh mother void, how to even describe it? You're watching still, from the center of her heart, so maybe you have the best seat in the house for this. Her vision is a swirl as the sight of the labyrinth garden with its grasping vines and ivy walls wars with another of leafy trees and mountain needles from manticore poison and Kathelia's past. The two struggle back and forth, plants swirling and changing and interposing with each other until flames lick the edges and burn away the dross. She isn't stung during this time because Red shines in her left hand, the flames swirling outward and around the fist grasping it tight next to her heart. Its fires mix with those of the spear in her right hand and the manticores can't even get near her as she scans the garden, so intense is the heat.

Alina had been dragged down by vines and should be somewhere but...there was crushed foliage and...she peers through the flames following the trail to some kind of cage on a cart approaching the orchard. She thought she glimpsed someone else dart by wearing silks as well and moving lithe and fast. But that wasn't Alina, which meant, logically, that she was in the cage, so that was where Kathelia needed to go.

Kathelia spares one more thought for Kyouko before she leaves her perch. She steps past the manticores and fastens her spear onto her back, leaving the flames swirling around her. Keeping a tight grip on Red, she bends down to pick up up Kyouko effortlessly with her off hand, letting the flames part around just the two of them. "Thankth Kyouko" she says to the already drifting off fox, blushing slightly at the lisp even though you'd think she'd have gotten used to it by now. It didn't exactly fit the rainbow flame theme she was trying to pull off here.

Nevermind though. With Kyouko slung over one arm and Red held firmly to her chest, she leaps with a strength that she's never had. Her hypothesis had been right! The localized labyrinth conditions were unsuited to preventing aerial traversal! She had just enough time to exult before coming down with a Thunk and a rattling on the...area a few feet to the side of the cage. Listen! There's a big difference between theory and execution and she had hardly had time to calculate localized gravity with empirical precision before that jump, so it's pretty solid that she got close!

She cradles Kyouko to herself for the landing (gosh that's...that's really nice, does Adila feel this way when she picks people up all the time?) and then lays her gently on the ground on some grass. She rushes to the pallet, lets out a sigh of relief when she sees Alina there and pulls her spear out to slash the bars, which turn to ash before her. Her fires are dying down though. Once she finishes that, it's no more rainbow flames highlighting her pigtails, it's just red shining in that hand: beating steadily next to her heart. The edges of her vision are all fire now, crackling and surging to hold the manticore poison at bay a little longer.

"Alina, I brought your light! Itth right here!" She holds her hand out, wobbling only a little as she moves Red away from her body. It wants to come home Alina, but Kathelia is going to need a little help pretty soon because it's about to be nap time for her.