yumemigaoka | ★ blind the masses with a grin, stir up the media

[ La Pucelle's cry rings out just in time – with her focus on the other girl, Ai-Doll doesn't seem like she's fully aware that she might have been about to get set upon. But at the last moment, she takes a delicate flurry of steps just to the side, making a perfect opening and leaving the Torments vulnerable. Was she really as in trouble as it might have looked for a second, there...? ]

Just one last push and we've got this covered!

[ How light on her feet this Dreamer is. Could it be...La Pucelle has encountered someone very skilled?!

All the better. Undaunted by keeping such excellent company, she adjusts her grip on her sword. ]

Yes!

[ I'm....pretty sure holy crosses aren't meant to be formed out of light around a sword and then fired like a cannon, but try telling that to La Pucelle. ~~THE POWER OF CHRIST COMPELS THEE, TORMENTS!~~

So yeah, she's taking advantage of that opening to clear this area. ]

[ White light swallows what remains of the Torments and Ai-Doll is happy to stand back and let this girl work. She'd intervened because it'd looked like she was getting overwhelmed but given a second to catch her breath and this girl is really on top of things, isn't she?

Ai-Doll's interested.

She waits until the dust has settled, stray motes of light and shadow fading out into nothingness, before she gives La Pucelle a cheery and sincere little round of applause. Pachipachipachi. ]

You totally cleared them out – and all by yourself, too! This definitely isn't your first day, huh?

[ La Pucelle seems a bit embarrassed to receive applause. ]

I have been a Dreamer for five years. You can tell?

[ If so, and this person noticed from such a brief battle, they are definitely even more experienced than La Pucelle is.....

She's looking at Ai-Doll with curiosity but no recognition. Someone could not Name That Pop Tune if it slapped her in the face. ~~her music app is 100% sermons and hymns. what's a good word for a weeaboo for god~~ ]

Heehee, I had a feeling but I wasn't totally sure. You were facing such a big group of them by yourself but even though there was the risk of getting overwhelmed, you kept your cool and didn't panic. I just couldn't tell if that was confidence, experience or a little bit of both.

[ So this was a little test, it seems - and La Pucelle has passed with flying colours. ]

Five years is a long time to be Dreaming at your age... but you're new to the DU, aren't you?

Yes, but the Dreamer Union is where I can best protect my home. So I hope to form a Unit soon.

[ She bows. ] My name is Dreamer La Pucelle. You are...?

[ What a polite girl... Ai-Doll's becoming more and more convinced she was right to like the sound of this one all along. ]

Dreamer Ai-Doll. I've been doing this whole thing just a bit longer than you, but don't worry about being formal with me, okay?

[ She probably doesn't need a Mentor now if she's been dreaming for this long... but that cat-that's-got-the-cream smile isn't going anywhere at all. ]

In fact... this might come as a surprise, but I've been keeping an eye out for you for a little while now.

Me...?

[ Shock! Modest, humble shock! ]

That's right. [ Ai-Doll beams at her, a little relentlessly. ] You were the one who wanted to take over the whole DU. The story I heard made it sound like you got a little heated!

[ It almost seems like this is a prelude to a scolding but Ai-Doll sounds so... approving? ]

[ Oh goodness....La Pucelle cannot deny one of these things, much to her abashment. But another is completely inaccurate. She will have to set the record straight. ]

That is an exaggeration.....I do not wish to run the entire Dreamer Union.

[ Beat. ]

Merely form, and have command of, its army.

[ THERE SHE FIXED IT ]

[ Ai-Doll throws back her head and lets loose a delighted ring of laughter – she cannot believe they'd undersold this girl to her. ]

Now that's ambition! That's exactly the sort of thing I like to hear from our new Dreamers. We are supposed to dream big after all, right?

[ she should NOT be encouraging this, and yet... ]

So what is it you want to do with this army, anyway?

[ La Pucelle's brow furrows for a second because that is a silly question. She even cocks her head like a cat. ]

....rid Yumemigaoka of all Torments and Nightmares, of course. Are there other uses for an army of Dreamers?

Someone who doesn't know any better might hear that and think you're planning on taking over the world.

[ said with a wry smile. ]

Not that I'm telling you to dream any smaller. I like ambitious kids like you.

--I am not ambitious at all...

[ Says girl who just, well, you know. ]

The army is not for my own gain. Indeed, I would rather stay home with my family and friends....but leading Dreamers is how I may keep that home safe.

[ The more she thinks about this, the more confused she gets. Take over the...world...? ]

Besides, the world belongs to God! What would I even do with it....

You sound plenty ambitious from where I'm standing. [ said with a playful wink. ] That's a compliment, by the way!

[ Some of Ai-Doll's playful energy softens and she gives her a careful, considering look. ]

But... by the sounds of things, you've got your own world to keep safe. Right? That's what you really want to do as a Dreamer.

[ A crisp, firm, confident, stubborn, insert several other cute synonyms for "intense" here. ] Yes!

[ Without even missing a beat; ] Then how would you feel about me being your Mentor?

[ She lets the offer hang in the air for a second just to let it sink in before elaborating. ]

Not that you need any training, of course! I could tell right away that you knew what you were doing and you were impressed. But right now, what you need isn't power over here - you're thinking you want power over in the real world, with the DU. Right? Or at least enough of it to get them to listen to you a little more.

[ She cants her head - her expression is easy enough but something about her intense gaze is a little... ]

If you don't have your own yet, why not borrow a little bit of mine?

[ What a generous offer! La Pucelle must have made an impression, which is gratifying - proof, perhaps, that she can do what she's been assured is possible for her. ]

That would be a great help.

[ And yet, her face falls. ]

But I am pledged to another as her future squire, and will not abandon her, nor break my word.....

[ Oh, what a conundrum! Her loyalty to the person who told her she can do this is interfering with her doing it. Yet Jeannette knows that if she ever had to choose between Angel-sama and the Dreamer Union, she would not hesitate. And it would not be fair to any prospective Mentor not to make that quite clear. ]

You would not burden me with vows to follow you above her?

[ Future squire. Oh, this girl's definitely going places. Not that she's going to let any of her amusement show on her face, just in case it gives the wrong impression. ]

Of course not! I'm not interested in getting any kind of vows out of you, either. I just think you've obviously got big dreams and I want to help you out.

[ She folds her arms across her chest thoughtfully. ]

Think of it like... if you joined a new club at school and you thought they should make some changes, you'd probably have a hard time getting anybody to listen to you as a newbie, right? But if you had a senpai everybody looked up to who could vouch for you, wouldn't that make things easier?

So your support would be my letter of introduction.

[ Jeannette thinks she gets it! She brightens. ]

If that is what you offer, then I accept. Thank you so very much.

[ She offers Ai-Doll her hand to shake. It....feels like she's getting more out of this than the other Dreamer, though, and while her heart belongs to another, she does not wish to take advantage of anybody. ]

Of course, you may also count on me for Torment hunts!

[ Ai-Doll takes her hand and gives it a firm, businesslike shake – but the smile on her face is all warmth. Getting favored with a smile like that at its full brightness really makes you understand how she managed to slip in and fill Odette's role so easily. ]

You're more than welcome. Really, this is a huge bonus for me too – the trainee I used to rely on most just graduated out from under me and he's out there on his own. I'm happy to see him go, but having someone I could trust to look out for my other trainees was a big weight off my shoulders. Since you're already so experienced, could I count on you to help with that too?

[ So she can get a good look at just how this girl manages other Dreamers. ]

It is good to know I would!

[ oh, drat, that's a saying that goes around the French side of her family and doesn't make much sense to anybody else. Like all the best figures of speech, it's context- and tone-dependent; La Pucelle has heard d'Arcs use it to mean anything from "well, wouldn't you like to know" to "you betcha".

She, in this case, means the latter. ]

- er, yes. Gladly. Who are your other trainees?

[ "How many are there" might have been a good place to start, but if she is going to be bestowed a small Squadron then she must account for how each, individually, can do their best in battle. Dreamers' powers are all so customized, and she's not the sort of person who could ever just think of her army as a single unit, not a bunch of people with their own strengths, hopes, and dreams, who have entrusted her with the faith she'll make the right decisions. ]

[ Ai-Doll just grins and puts a conspiratorial finger to her lips. ]

Sorry, but that's a secret for now. I have to be careful about letting that information out – it can get a bit of a spotlight put on them if the wrong sorts of ears are listening when I talk about it.

[ And then she went and offered the spot to La Pucelle like it was nothing... well, it's not an offer she would've made if she didn't think this girl was up to handling it. ]

But once you're all signed up, I'll introduce you all to each other. How does that sound?

[ Oh my! La Pucelle's eyes might as well be dinner plates they're so wide. ]

I understand. I beg your pardon for not realizing.

[ She looks around the Dream Sphere. There don't seem to be any other Dreamers about, but...oh, this is a new wrinkle to working in public.

She goes on tiptoe to whisper to Ai-Doll. ]

Should I be on guard against eavesdroppers now, myself?

[ Ai-Doll nods. Some of that teasing tone has left her voice and been replaced by the slightly more serious, reasonably responsible tone of a Mentor looking out for her newest student. ] I'd keep an eye out for them, if nothing else. And try not to tell too many of your friends and family if you can help it. I know they won't spread it on purpose, but the more people who know a secret, the harder it is to keep.

[ If this were any other Dreamer then she might just outright suggest Telling A Lie but one look at La Pucelle has her pretty decisively concluding that is not an option. ]

Will that be okay with you?

★ blind the masses with a grin, stir up the media

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