Right now, it was between missions. It was during daytime. Mariette sat, transformed, inside an abandoned apartment. The windows were opened, the front doors unlocked. There was no need to close them, nobody would be coming anyway.
Deni had located it sometime in the past. It wouldn't always be abandoned, it was for sale and therefore extremely empty of furniture, but Mariette had brought a chair from her own interdimensional apartment. Outside the open windows, she heard the busy city-life of cars driving by, as well as calming winds. She should be opening portals to bring home Deni and Eli right now, for they would be discussing what the harpies had found and make plans, but... she didn't feel like it.
No portals were open. No magic used, other than the one keeping her transformed. Both her eyes, eye-patched one and not, were closed. Her arms clutched her stuffed bunny, and she could calm herself. The endless whispers of Asengav were present, but not as much as in the interdimensional apartment or when she was consciously trying to sleep. This was just her calming herself down, becoming at peace, in a place which was neither hers nor someone else’s. Even at Joe's, she was slightly stressed by that it was in fact Joe's place.
Here, none of the stresses that came from anywhere else bothered her. She could just relax, for as long as she wanted, in absolute calm.
The calm was broken by a soft rapping at the door. Given the empty area it probably wasn't expected in the slightest. Violet and Sakura were outside the door waiting in their transformed state. They could have been in civilian form but explaining how they found her would just make things complicated. Either way they were just here to deliver the letter. If they could maybe grant a wish, if not then they would just be on their way. With any luck they wouldn't have to fight or anything. Amber made that prospect sound pretty bad.
... So many uninvited guests, lately. Mariette sighed out a little after the sound from the door. But, at the very least, this hadn't been somewhere which Mariette treasured. She could leave at any time. As such, even if those on the other side intended to attack, Mariette didn't necessarily feel in danger. She stood up, and prepared her safety-mechanism. A portal opened under her feet, yet she did not fall through. This was because the portal led to the roof of an adjacent building, on which she stood. Should this encounter become dangerous, she needed but lift the portal over herself, and she would have left the room. That done...
Small portals opened on the outside of the door, inspecting those who were visiting. They were a bit far away and made no sound, they'd normally never be noticed, but the Third Eye would be able to detect their formation. So, two transformed Magical Girls, who had attracted attention to themselves. ... Eh. May as well hear what they've come for.
Mariette opened a portal big enough for her hand from right in front of her to the handle, and she used the arm not clutching a stuffed bunny to reach through, grab and rotate the handle, and then pull backwards. As she did, she let go of the handle and pulled her hand back from the portal and let it close, so to the visitors it would seem like the door had opened from nothing. They could probably reason how it had happened, but still. Mariette stared at them from across the mostly empty room with her left eye not covered by an eyepatch, and from multiple other directions with small portals on the inside of the eyepatch.
‘…’ She did not speak a word, merely stared at them where she stood on top of her own portal, inspecting them and their first move after eye-contact had been established.
Violet gave the girl across from them a raised eyebrow as the door opened and waited a full three seconds before stating bluntly
"Well, that is up there on the creepiest invitations to enter we've had" she quickly stepped in to the apartment, tossing a quick look around as she did, noting it's barren nature before turning back to Mariette
"Would you happen to be 'Portal Queen'?" She asked as she pulled out the letter that had in effect lead the twins to this apartment to begin with.
Mariette breathed out a little heavier than normal through her nose in slight amusement, though otherwise her expression didn't change. That was a new way of referring to her. She didn't normally introduce herself, so apparently those who knew of her made their own titles for her.
‘That sounds likely to refer to me, yes.’ She responded, placing her free hand to pat the stuffed bunny clutched in the other arm.
‘Where did you hear that from?’ Always nice to keep track of whom knows of her, if they'd answer. She didn't yet think anything about the letter Violet had pulled out.
"Would you believe me if I said a little bird told me?" She asked as she held up the letter in her hand
"She wrote up a letter and everything." The violet haired sister waved the letter in Mariette's direction as she spoke
"Wanted us to deliver it too you."‘A little... bird?’ Mariette briefly commented, thinking a little.
‘... Yes. Yes, I would.’ Was then her simple answer to that question. So, the bird had sent her a letter? Specifically the bird? ...
In a gesture of someone perhaps a little spoiled with portals, Mariette made no effort to actually stretch her arm to get the letter, but instead opened a portal to the letter directly in front of her hand. If no action to prevent her was made, Mariette would quickly snatch the letter through the portal, close it, and then opened the letter to read the contents.
The envelope contained little more than a pamphlet. It had a picture of a vintage brick building, all lit up and ready for business. It was a mini brochure for "The Pit Stop," a popular family restaurant in the heart of Penrose. Each page featured pictures of people eating, laughing, and posing around everyone's favorite local eatery. There was also a menu on every page, featuring the specials of the whole week. Nestled between some of the pages was a white paper with a message written on it. The letters were big and written with a bold tipped marker.
"See you at Six, You can bring your friends if you'd like!"
Leaning forward a bit Sakura tried to see what it was, probably a little too curious for her own good. But she was still a bit aways and it appeared to be a flier or something. She couldn't really read it.
"What's it say?" the pink one asked with a smile.
The letter having been delivered, the token around Sue's leg broke to signify that they had made it to its intended destination.
‘...’ Mariette inspected the brochure and the message inside it, staring at the images and reading the message. She had... absolutely no reason to actually go along with this. She stood little to gain, and she'd be going to a diner with someone she had previously ambushed...
‘It's either a crude set-up for an ambush, or a poor attempt to make peace. Either way, it's summoning me to time and location... and the time is soon, too.’ Assuming it is at six the same day. Anything within 48 hours Mariette would have categorized as "soon". She'd deal with that when the time came. But before that...
‘Now then, odd magical messengers... Who are you? What did you gain from delivering this?’ Mariette asked, looking to the two. She could reason. She had Absolute Direction herself, after all. The bird likely didn't, so it stands to reason they were requested to deliver it because they could. But why had they done so? To find that out, Mariette had asked her questions.
"We're sisters" Violet answered the girls first question as she peeried quizzically at
"And I'll trade you the answer for your second question, if you answer my sisters" she offered, in truth Violet was also slightly curious as to what Sue wanted to deliver to someone who had ambushed her and Amber, plus she always enjoyed playing word games with people.
Mariette gave Violet a very unamused stare at the considerable waste of time which that exchange was to her, but okay. She had just started folding the letter, when she had to fold it out again to read.
‘... "See you at six, you can bring your friends if you like", along with the brochure of a restaurant.’ Mariette answered, before turning the letter so they could see the brochure, staring with a bored look at them.
‘Assuming she means six the same day, how long did it take you to deliver the letter?’ Mariette asked, sounding the opposite of hopeful.
Violet just gave a flat smile in return, obviously uncaring about how annoying she was likely being
"We gain stability from fulfilling 'requests'" She answered as she tilted her head at the fact that Sue was inviting Mariette to dinner by the look of things.
"And that bird is even more weird then I though." she added more to her sister than anyone else
"I'll trade you an answer for an answer, What is your name?" She asked
‘... I see no reason to.’ Mariette declared.
‘You've been so vague with your answers so far that I have no reason to believe your next answer will be any clearer. You answer "Who are you" with "we're sisters"? ... Really? ... Fortunately, I have other means using which I can learn what I want to know.’ She used Absolute Direction and her portal-magic in tandem, directing it out of the room. It wouldn't be immediate, it would take numerous seconds before the results showed up.
Two portals opened to Mariette's left and right, two meters into the air. Normally she'd give them warnings, and the portals wouldn't open right below them, but...
‘WII!’‘AAH!’Two dark harpies fell out of them and splattered across the floor where they hit, their fluids splashing about a bit as their liquid bodies hit the floor. Both started slowly and literally gathering themselves before standing up.
‘Now, what's with the lack of warn-’ Deni was already grinning as she rose up, one wing scratching the back of her head, before her eyes looked at these two. Then she grinned wider.
‘Oho. Visitors. How rare, yet increasingly common.’‘Alright, alright.’ Eli said with closed eyes as she also stood up, taking out her notebook and pen from somewhere inside her fluid body.
‘Let me have a good look at them...’ She opened her eyes, and froze in place, eyes widening a bit. ... She wouldn't move until spoken to or something more extreme happened.
‘... I am Mariette Pedersen, known as the Reflective Witch, user of Portal-magic and servant of Asengav, interdimensional horror. I'll ask nicely, one more time. Who... are... you?’ Mariette declared, glaring at them, her tone clearly indicating she wouldn't take another unsatisfactory answer.
Violet flat smile turned in to a smug smirk at the obvious irritation she was causing
"I am Violet, she is my sister Sakura and we are The Djinn Sisters." She began with a slight bow
"We follow the will of Cafar, and have been blessed with the power of wishes" she replied, she was clearly enjoying this.
The two appearing in front of them were both familiar, at least the presence was. Sakura had felt it before though at the time had paid it no mind. Either way the one that froze was probably the one that had been nearby for whatever reason. But other than the link with her sister Sakura made no indication that she suspected anything.
"Why do you have to make things difficult sister? You're supposed to be the social one." "I am being social"Clearing her throat a bit Sakura continued.
"Like Violet said, we grant wishes. That is our purpose. Sue wished for us to deliver the letter and that's why we're here. With that done we can go unless..." Her eyes seemed to sparkle for a second.
"Unleeeess you have a wish you'd like granted." It was clear that the two got a slight rush from the prospect of granting a wish. Especially since they haven't had a big one in a while.
‘... Wishes?’ Mariette asked, looking like she didn't entirely believe them.
‘... I see. A single wish, I assume? One per person, perhaps? Or are you limited to granting one wish per a specific amount of time? Is there a limit to the size of the wish?’ She continued, staring at the two of them.
Eli still stood frozen, a terrified expression on her face, glancing occasionally at Mariette to see her expression.
‘Wishes? Like, all-powerful wishes?’ Deni's eyes went wide and her grin grew to its ultimate spread. She gripped her wings together and started shaking/jumping in place, and then looked longingly at Mariette to see if she could get permission to ask for something. Mariette paid her absolutely no mind.
Sakura shrugged a little bit.
"Maybe not all-powerful. But we can do a lot. There are a few rules like we can't kill anyone or make people do things they wouldn't. We would tell you if it can't be done." That seemed a fair response.
"There is a limit of three for each person though. But probably wouldn't do all of them at once. We kind of have the option of what wish we grant and such. If that makes sense."‘...’ Mariette stared at them, unconvinced. Is that really a thing? That could... be extremely useful, or extremely dangerous.
‘Prove it. Deni.’‘Yes!?’ Deni looked over, expression filled with excitement.
‘Make a trivial wish.’ Mariette commanded.
‘YEEEEEEES!!’ Deni bounced in place, and it wasn't clear if her call was meant to be an affirmative to the order or a cry of joy. She quickly looked to the sisters, eyes alight.
‘I'd like a magical closet that automatically contains exactly the attires I wish to wear! If I think that I want to look a particula-’ She suddenly stopped, her smile vanishing.
‘... No, wait. I'm thinking too small. I'M THINKING TOO SMALL!’ She called out, before looking at the two again with renewed, even greater, excitement.
‘I want complete control of my appearance! If I suddenly want to appear like a fiftee- twent- TWENTY-EIGHT year old beautiful woman in exactly the clothes I want, with exactly the sizes I want where I want them, then I want to be able to look like that! I want to be able to transform my body into just the way I want it for the situation ahead! And of course, with all the bodily functions that follows~!’ Deni jumped and stared dreamingly at the djinn-sisters as she gushed out her innermost dreams, the visibly seven-year old liquid harpy having wide eyes as she looked hopefully at them.
Mariette considered that perhaps letting Deni get ahead of herself might have been a mistake, in case it was a trap. Oh, well. Let's see what happens.
Eli sighed out in slight relief. Didn't seem like any of the other two had the same thoughts as she did when she first learned what these two could do, and Deni was enjoying herself... But perhaps that was a bad thing...?
Well the wish wasn't something outside their ability, though as per usual it wasn't put into the form of a proper wish.
"Okay but you need to put that in the form of a wish. Okay?" The little girls excitement was adorable and Sakura couldn't help but smile.
Deni grinned and then took a deep breath as she thought of how to word this. Then she paused, thinking over her words of choice, grin reduced to a smile as she thought this through. Then, finally, she grinned again, before calling out.
‘I wish to be able to change my body to EXACTLY how I want it, when I want it, wearing the clothes I want it to wear!’ She grinned after it. She had added the part with the clothes on the end because she had forgotten to include it when actually making the wish. Too excited. But she was hopeful!
‘...’ From how she worded it, Mariette started considering. In the case Deni was granted the wish exactly how it was worded, would she be able to transform into a giant monster because "she wanted to look like that"? It wasn't the purpose of the wish from Deni's perspective, sure, but that's how Mariette's mind wandered.
Sakura tapped her finger against her lips a couple times as she pondered the wish. Not that she intended to make a mess of it, so far the three had been rather cooperative. There were a few things that the sisters had to work around though because of their limitations. However Deni was made of liquid so as long as she didn't change body mass it should work.
"Hmm, I like it. You're wish is granted."Being a little more flashy when granting wishes the pink haired girl snapped her fingers and the floor under Deni began to glow a bright yellow. The harpy girl would feel a brief surge of magical power as she was granted the ability to willfully transform her appearance into any human form she desired, clothing included. Though the twins did not divulge this, Deni would not be able to make herself abnormally large due to conservation of mass.
"It is done. Give it a try." Smiling lightly Sakura crossed her arms and leaned on one leg, satisfied that this would be a good example of their ability.
Deni watched Sakura expectantly as she pondered, and then grinned when she said it was granted. And, as the floor shone...
‘Oooooh, lightshow, lightshow! Hahahaha!’ Deni called out happily and then laughed as she felt the power go through her, Eli watching her sister with a worried stare while Mariette frowned a little, wary of a potential trap... but the light vanished, Deni standing there as she had, thought beaming, the dark, liquid harpy standing there with the widest grin imaginable.
‘A try. Giving it a try, eh? I'm gonna try~!’ Deni said, with an excessively excited voice, as she closed her eyes and imagined a form. And with that her body swelled. The dark liquid of her body expanded, growing in height, growing in... other places. Eli watched, wide-eyed, while Mariette's frown was replaced with raised eyebrows, and the color of Deni's skin shifted as her new form started to take shape...
‘Fu, fu, fu...’ Deni giggled, with a considerably more adult voice since she changed her vocal-cavity as well. There stood a considerably
older woman, with excessively long black hair, a chest which size reached the improbable, and a dress which looked a lot like just ripped ribbons that had been tied all over to just precisely cover all the important parts, and a green flower accessory tied to her hair. Deni placed her hands just above her chest, feeling herself.
‘I... can't WAIT for my next day off~!’ The look on Deni's face, maybe a bit more mature than previously, was one of extreme delight at her new capability. She could not stop smiling.
‘D-deni...’ Eli stammered out.
‘Isn't that a little... risqué?’ She asked, the already dark harpy somehow managing to blush. Adult Deni grinned at her, walked over to pat the suddenly considerably shorter harpy.
‘Don't worry, little sister, I'm an adult, I can handle myself! If you want to lecture me...’ Deni grinned at her, leaning down to get closer to her sister's level (while also showing off considerable
*cough*).
‘Then how about you make the same wish I did?’‘Gih.’ Eli didn't entirely look like she was enjoying being belittled. In fact, she looked considerably uncomfortable.
‘I-I'll pass, thanks...’ Deni just smirked at her, before looking over at Sakura.
‘Thank you. It's... WONDERFUL~~!’ Deni said, grinning widely with her new form.
‘...’ Mariette had inspected Deni's transformation, and saw that it had been honest... even if nothing said it was permanent or just an elaborate illusion or so. Eli did have the Third Eye which would see through illusions, and she hadn't said anything, but still. Mariette waited to see if they had anything else to say.
‘Oooooh, I'm gonna visit ALL the nightclubs, the boys will be swarming around me~<3!’ Deni spun about happily and was now daydreaming, with Eli looking worried beside her...
Violet just rolled her eyes at the entire proceedings, though one could easily see her smiling as well.
"Always so flashy sis" She murmured as she stood mirroring Sakura
"Still, I must admit I like the approach" she added as Deni made a show of her new found capability.
With a half shrug she turned her attention to Eli and Mariette
"And there you have it, the power of a Wish." she stated rather smugly, despite not really doing anything with this one
"Will either of you be wanting anything? Some desire you need fulfilled?" she asked in a low mischievous tone.
‘Ngh.’ Eli looked away, closing her eyes, her expression... pained. Some of her liquid body may have been flowing slightly erratically within her. She was also sweating a bit of her own body.
‘I-I'll be... saving mine, thanks...’‘Hm...?’ Deni turned and looked at her (smaller) sister, raising an eyebrow at this reaction of hers, not entirely sure what it meant. It was new to her. She probably would have asked, but Mariette's steady voice already filled the room.
‘I wish that, should any wish be made with me, my underlings or Asengav in mind, though Asengav only if the maker of the wish is a resident of this particular world, I will be informed of the wish and be given the authority to deny the granting of said wish should I want to.’ Mariette wished with very little hesitation, staring at the two sisters expressionlessly while clutching her stuffed bunny. This caused both (larger) Deni and Eli to look at her in realization, before looking to the sisters to see if they'd grant that.
Mariette knew there might be a block on wishes that deny others wishes. However... she needed to limit the potentially destructive effect of an enemy getting their hands on these sisters and tracking Mariette down again. That was the purpose of this wish.
And "though Asengav only if the maker of the wish is a resident of this particular world" was because, if Mariette were to be told every single wish made about Asengav in all the worlds ever, that'd probably overwhelm her. Maybe. She wasn't sure how many wishes were being made about Asengav, but assuming this was the only world with wishes would be stupid, and she'd just assume Asengav's champions in other worlds were fit to deal with it even if someone made wishes about countering him.
Giving the wish a moment of thought, Sakura had to shake her head.
"I'm sorry, but we cannot grant a wish that affects other wishes like that. it is a rule we must follow given by our Master." While she was a little curious what Mariette and her patron could possibly be planning, it wasn't her place to question such matters. Cafer didn't really care one way or another which translated over to the sisters.
"Perhaps you have another wish we could grant." She smiled but shrunk back just a bit.
Mariette's stare... turned into a glare, and she frowned at the two of them.
‘Is that... so?’ Mariette stated, in a really foreboding voice.
‘That is really unfortuna-’‘I wish that we'll never have reason to feel we need to eliminate the two of you!’ Eli suddenly shouted out, cutting Mariette's line short. Eli's face had been grabbed by panic as Mariette's wish was denied, and then the tone-change of her next words had caused her to suddenly shout that out on instinct. She then kept her eyes on them, looking half-terrified and half-determined.
‘Eli.’ Deni looked at her sister in surprise and raised eyebrows, quite surprised by this statement.
‘...’ Mariette actually looked surprised too, her eyes widened a bit, looking over at her usually quieter underling. ... Well. If they could control the future to such a degree... Mariette turned and gave the two an inquisitive stare, asking them of what their opinion on that was.
The two seemed to debate how they could grant the wish. Based on how Eli made it, it sounded like Mariette was about to do something awful to them. So it was probably in their best interest to figure this one out. It would have to be something that would effect all of them, or at least Mariette, Deni, and Eli. But they couldn't just override free will. So if it was to work they would need to be willing to accept some kind of terms that all parties would be okay with. Using the mind link they began to discuss.
'What do you think, Violet, Cafer? Is there a way? Maybe an alliance?' Sakura posed the option.
Cafer chimed in before the two could get very far.
'We do not want to be dragged into any conflict they may have with another party. An alliance is too strong a bond. You are to remain neutral. Find another way.' As per usual the Djinn served to make things more difficult. They still didn't truly understand the point to remaining in the middle ground. Perhaps it had something to do with how Djinn tended to side with their masters whether they wanted to or not. Staying neutral was about as free as they could be under the circumstances.
With that idea show down Sakura went to the next thing that popped in her mind.
'Maybe grant Mariette the ability to know when a wish is used against her or her patron. Does that really fix the problem?''Possibly, but I doubt it. With how quickly she seemed to turn on us no reason to assume she would leave us alone afterwards' Violet thought with a grimace
'Could try befriending them' Violet offered
'Though I'm not sure about the Queen, and two out of three isn't going to cut it' she added a moment later as she gave a thoughtful glance at the wish givers
'Okay.' Sakura gave it some thought.
'I guess I see what you're saying. We both would rather make friends so that wouldn't really be a problem for us. If all are on board then the wish could work.' Her more reserved nature ticked in a bit and she presented another option.
'Could make them forget us too. If they don't know what we can do then they wouldn't have a reason to attack. I think.'Those seemed to be reasonable places to start. The wish could also send them away somewhere else, but didn't quite fulfill the wish which they would probably need to get out of this mess. Clearing her throat Sakura hoped that their luck would pull through. The mental exchange only took a few seconds so it wasn't like a lot of silence had lingered yet.
"Okay, we're pretty sure that we can come to some kind of resolution where we all benefit. S-so let's not get ahead of ourselves." She chuckled lightly before it died off a bit.
Smiling and holding her hands out a bit Sakura tried to not be threatening. They usually didn't anyway but it was worth an attempt.
"We aren't about making enemies but I can understand your concern. It might be a little finagling but if everyone consents then we can be friends and then Eli's wish would take effect, binding us to our word. Then we wouldn't want to grant any wishes against you. Does that sound reasonable?" Since they can't break free will this one would have to be mutually accepted by all parties. Only then could any mental adjustments could be made.
After the suggestion was made, there was a moment of silence in the room. Adult Deni and Eli both looked over at Mariette, Deni with mild curiosity while Eli did so with scarcely bitten-down fright, worry and hope at the same time. Mariette, in the meanwhile, just stared at the two djinn-sisters with a neutral expression, considering her action. Her face did not betray any of her thoughts. Assuming nobody interrupted her thoughts... she'd eventually sigh through her nose.
‘Very well. If by being friends we can solve this problem... then let's be friends.’ She said, with a neutral voice that had lost the previous tension. Mariette didn't actually have any experience in having friends in that kind of way and didn't really know what that would involve, but at the moment there was a tactical advantage to it so... sure.
‘Aaaaaah...’ Eli sighed out deeply in relief, almost falling backwards as she stumbled a little though Deni caught her.
‘Woah, there.’ Deni made a noise as she caught Eli from falling. But, after she had made sure Eli was standing steadily enough, she grinned towards the two of them and advanced with her new, very adult body.
‘Well, looks like we're friends now! Looking forward to seeing more of ya! Now come over here and give me a hug!’ Deni was totally intending on walking up and hugging both sisters with her new adult body just because.
Violet just smiled as she hugged Deni before moving over to Eli quietly she spoke
"I don’t' know what you interrupted but thanks anyway." She hugged the smaller harpy afterwards, though lightly so she didn't get too slimed. Stepping away her eyes took on a while glow
"Your wish, my command" she intoned as a wave of magic blanketed the room. It's effects, weren't immediately apparent but everyone would begin to feel more at ease with the others in the room, as if they had know each other for years instead of only just meeting.
Violet was glad that they could take this option to conclude the wish, and hoped it would last. For if the newly forged friends fell apart, Sakura's second idea might need to be done in it's place as 'never' is a powerful word to use in a wish.
"You want a hug too?" She asked looking over at Mariette with a wide grin.
Sakura sighed with relief as the tension in the room melted away. Partly because they had found a solution, at least for the moment, but also because the wish began to take effect. Returning the hug to Deni she was dwarfed by the woman's size.
"Glad we could figure it out. And we get a few new friends as a bonus." She smiled as she was eventually let free from the hug. It was kind of nice having the social nervousness gone around a group of people.
‘Tihihihihi.’ Deni giggled happily as she got to hug them with her new body, probably holding on for longer than was really comfortable or practical, and was for the moment just overall happy when the proceedings went on.
Eli looked at Violet with a bit of fright as she was approached, and then flinched when she was hugged, not entirely expecting that. Eli's body, composed of slime, slightly gave way under the hug and Violet probably felt that her arms would go through the girl if she pressed too hard, but although she felt the liquid on her during the hug none of it stayed on her after she pulled away, Eli's body staying intact. Violet did, though, leave Eli wide-eyed and slightly blushing, however a slime harpy might blush. She hadn't been hugged in a long time. Then... the wish went through.
Eli notably calmed down, and was able to produce a smile at Violet as the effect went through them. Since Eli had the Third Eye, she could basically see what was happening. No noticeable effect on Deni, she may have made that change herself the moment Mariette agreed they'd be friends.
Mariette, however... blinked a little in surprise, looking over the people present. Because, something changed in her gaze, which usually was all about calculating risks, opportunities, advantages and worth in each individual's life for Asengav's cause, even those of her own underlings. But suddenly... they were all... precious...? Oh, she was asked if she wanted a hug. Mariette looked mildly uncomfortable, averting her gaze a little, looking unsure, before she looked back at Violet. Still... she felt oddly comfortable with the thought.
‘Um. S-sure. That's, um. That's what friends do, right...?’ Mariette asked, considerably less confident in her voice.
‘Mistress has never had friends, before~!’ Deni grinned and explained.
‘Even we two are more like minions than actual friends in her mind, tihi~!’‘Ngh...’ Mariette frowned at Deni a little, the liquid-child-harpy-pretending-to-be-adult-woman just grinning and placing her hands behind her head in a motion that looked a lot more like what a child would do than the adult who's body she currently had.
"then a hug for the occasion" Violet said happily as she walked over to Mariette and gave her a gentle hug as well.
Mariette looked unsure all the way to when Violet had actually come forth to give her a gentle hug, and in a motion of trying to be friendly but not entirely sure how to, Mariette tried to simply place her free hand around Violet to place on her back, her other still clutching the stuffed bunny. It would be without any pressure, simply placed there, while Mariette dealt with the feeling of being hugged.
Deni grinned at the odd sight while Eli was simply watching, looking relieved. Looks like they had, somehow, avoided the outcome that was Mariette eliminating them for being too high of a risk, and a wish had been made that made them friends.
Now, what to do with that invitation...
Light the Dark,
Mistress Dizzy,
Majoraa,
Izurich,
LG,
twave,
pollo