At some point when Dina was in the Overcity, doing whatever she wished, she’d suddenly have a portal open behind her first.
‘You are Dina, correct?’ Mariette asked, stepping forward out of the portal, holding a stuffed bunny between her crossed arms. A single eye inspecting Dina and the other behind an eyepatch.
‘I wish to speak to you.’Dina’s entire body seemed to jolt, and, in a split second, jumped forward and spun in midair, her body language on all fours with her tail upwards and hairs stiff showed a clear distress, her ears equally stiff and almost hissing. She had been thinking of getting some Overcity Sky Tuna sushi, but a girl appearing out of a portal was definitely not expected.
However, after seeing that Mariette had not pursued attack, the catgirl seemed to relax, ever so slightly, however her tail was still noticeable swishing and her ears downcast. Her eyes narrowed like pinpricks boring into Mariette’s skull.
“Indeed I am, and I am loath to say this is certainly surprising. Who are you?” She said, trying her best to rein her poise back in.
Mariette winced a little at Dina’s excessive reaction, mentally preparing to defend herself. Wasn’t necessary, though. That was some display of acrobatics.
‘… I am Mariette Pedersen. I spoke to Dan about him helping me defeat a vampire. Does that clarify things?’ Mariette asked, looking curiously at the cat-girl.
“Oh, that one.” Dina said, finally assuming a normal stance. “Pretty atypical for him, for as little I know him.” She began to walk forward, her face leaning towards Mariette. “And I guess this is pretty atypical for you. To cooperate with other factions, are you not?” Dina said leaning inches away from Mariette, before retracting.
“Since this is something Lord Dan agreed, I am bound to honour your wishes.” Dina said. “Therefore, you may speak what you have to say. We seem to be in a rather nondescript location, anyway.”
Mariette shied away a little when Dina leaned in towards her, looking a bit uncomfortable with the presence. Still, she held steady until Dina leaned back.
‘I was given an item to summon Dan and his girls, and I wished to brief you as to what you’ll find upon being summoned so you’d be ready when the time came. As well as to provide you your “Key”. … You are correct, this is not what I typically do, but I had to take measures to make sure I was ready for Justine’s attack.’Dina’s hand was raised to her chin, pondering the situation, as her tail stopped swishing and instead was loosely curled around her waist. “Vampyr” She said, before hissing. “Nasty creatures.” She paused for a second.
“You think of yourself as strong, but this vampyr has you worried.” Dina said casually. “You don’t trust people, yet need allies.” She closed a step forward. “You’re hardly the only one.” She paused. “Well, how much you tell me is up to you, still if you don’t trust allies, you won’t be able to fight as one.”
‘… Dan is far less likely to betray me than most,’ Mariette idly commented.
‘Because I take it you’re not considering betraying me, are you?’ Just checking.
“Anyone would say no to that question.” Dina conceded. “Betrayers won’t ever admit it. Although to assuage your fears, let me tell you a couple of details. I know how betrayal feels like, both in my past life and in the present. Being a victim of it should make me very reluctant to do it. The only time I could feasibly refuse to do something is if I have to protect Penny’s charges.”
Not exactly the most encouraging answer, but it’d do. Mariette took a bit of a deeper breath and then started talking.
‘Should I summon you, it will likely be because Justine has already arrived at my doorstep. I command a considerable faction of Magical Girls within a mansion inside my Interdimensional Home, who will be attempting to fight them off. I will use my portals to place my allies where I believe they will be of most use, but you may also opt to just do whatever you feel is the most effective. I am up for suggestions. My mansion will be filled with traps to combat the enemy force, inside and outside, but the “key” I will give you will make sure they will not trigger on you, so keep it on you at all times. If you have any questions, I’d be happy to answer them.’“Hmm. Traps, huh. I guess everything helps. I sometimes supplement my Reinforcement and magical beasts with those.” Dina said, as she drew once again closer, and then tried to lean in Mariette’s ear. “For starters,are you afraid of death? How are you holding up?”
Mariette staggered back a bit, not comfortable with Dina getting so close, her muscles tensing up a bit. Still, the message was delivered, and Mariette was left wondering why that was relevant. … And Mariette found she had only one answer.
‘… I am,’ she started, breathing out.
‘I’ve never died before. I don’t want to die. Dying means failing the mission Asengav has given me. Asengav doesn’t take kindly to failure,’ she said, finding oddly enough that it was the first time she confirmed this to herself. The fact she was afraid.
‘I’m preparing as best I can to make sure I live. I don’t yet see reason to fault my efforts,’ she responded to the other question, all while squeezing Bunny tightly between her arms.
“Chernobog instead of Byelobog, huh.” Dina said, eyeing Mariette, and then whispered once more. “Makes two of us… I’m terribly afraid of death. Even if I lived for over a hundred of years before becoming a magical girl. And that Puuchu said my reincarnation was broken too.” She paused. “I will see to it that you do not die. You seem a sweet girl, beneath past your duties and face. I can tell you how painful your yoke is, as you wince mentioning your master. And yet you don’t say a word… because you are in command of others.” She said, before retracting.
“Should this ever fail, I shall personally deal with your master. And should this mansion be ruined, I shall help you find refuge in the Sanctuary.” Dina said.
Mariette was a bit stunned. She felt like Dina had somehow uncovered a side of her that she hadn’t even realized she had. Which was… perplexing. Still, was she a sweet girl? Mariette could but wonder. One thing was clear, though. The awe she now had for what had been, at first glance, simply a quirky catgirl.
‘I am… very grateful. More than I can put into words…’ Mariette said, stumbling a bit on her words.
Dina’s mouth curled up in a cat smile. “I just state what I see with my heart, not my mind or powers.” She said, her tail upwards. “It looks like you’ve been running ragged to the point of tears and helplessness once or twice. Old habits die hard, and I’ve raised several children on my own.” Dina added. “Hey, want to see a little secret of mine?”
Mariette held quiet and nodded a bit to the first parts that Dina said, then… Secret?
‘Um. Yes, I would,’ Mariette answered, getting a bit curious as to what sort of secret Dina would show her.
Dina extended her hand, for Mariette to grab. “My potential as a magical girl… is beyond normal. I was fated to be Anastasia’s aide, and the bolsheviks drove me off. Almost a leader of a country. I lived to old age, and yet… when I contracted a Puuchu, I had so much power I turned partway into a cat.” Dina admitted. “Only a few people know this. Only Dan and a few others have seen a glimpse of it. Not even Penny. Not even the late Cindy.” She paused, as she breathed.
“Hen to pan.” She said, as her appearance shifted, and lines were seen all over her. Her hair flared gold, and her eyes turned red. Her magical power seemed to diminish, but it grew odd patterns…
And her hand was still inviting.
Mariette, currently more of a child interested in the story the adult was telling, was looking at Dina with one wide eye as she told her little story and then made herself flare like that… and the hand. One part of Mariette’s mind told her it was dangerous, this might be the moment she’d be betrayed and killed if she took the hand… but she’d felt the truth in what Dina’d said before, so she dismissed the thoughts, and reached forward to take the hand, her other arm still clutching Bunny.
“This eats magic like crazy, I’m told some Cradle can do it… Dunno how I can, I guess sometimes magic defies common sense.” Dina winced, as she held Mariette close to her.
And then time stopped for the briefest moment, in a circle around Mariette and Dina.
Lightning discharges adorned metal spikes that had grown through the ground, while a fireball and a large chunk of hail orbited around Dina’s head. All in the span of a brief time stop.
“This is what will happen should someone try to lethally wound one of my allies…”Dina said, slightly out of breath due to the sudden effort. “So let’s keep it a secret, mkay?”
Mariette held her breath as she was preparing for something to happen… and then she held still as she watched the various magical destructive energies that happened during a bit of stopped time. Yeah, that was… that was scary. Mariette swallowed a bit, and nodded.
‘I will,’ Mariette confirmed with two simple words. Because she sure didn’t want to anger her now…
“Was it too scary?” Dina said, making a conscious effort to return to her normal self. “I know it was. But Dan told me to spread joy, not fear. And I like the brilliance and smiles of people in the end.” Dina said, as she tilted her head. “Now then… I believe that’s been enough of strong feelings for now.” She clapped her hands. “And I must apologize. You probably wished to be more business oriented.”
“Perhaps a tea with extra jam and sweets is in order?My treat.”
Mariette did a slight nod to that first question. She really felt that she was the child here right now.
‘Th… It’s fine. I’ve… achieved what I came for, and more. And that… sound lovely,’ Mariette said, still a bit stunned.
“Now, let us. I know a place in this very Overcity…” She said.”Oh, and one more thing?”
“Can my key be a plush of yours? you seem to have good taste in those.” She added, trying to lead the way.
‘…’ Mariette took a long look at Bunny. Of course, Dina couldn’t have Bunny, specifically, but…
‘I’ll see what I can do.’They then went and had tea with extra jam and sweets, and it was a nice little break. Then Mariette came home and had Ronja sew together a cat-plushie that was similar to Bunny that Taihei then could make a key out of, which then could be delivered to Dina via portal. And so it was.
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