A Dreaded Encounter of Two Lovers and Doggo

[Mr. Moon]

Gabriel #1

As he landed in front of Danielle, with her girlfriend in his arms, Gabriel noticed two things. First, Beast wasn't there, but that wasn't that concerning as he could easily guess her location thanks to the loud splashing sounds coming from the west and human screaming that was coming from the same direction. What was concerning however was the fact that Danielle was drenched from the top of her head to her toes almost as if the oversized goofball named Beast knocked her into the fountain. Now the Professor wouldn't suspect any malicious intent from his doggo, but he knew better than anyone how clumsy she was, especially when playing some games, so he immediately felt responsible for the predicament the young treasure huntress found herself in.
"Oh no, you are all wet!"
Overcame by his instinct to protect his puppies, Gabriel put Rosalina gently on her feet and rushed to Danielle's side quickly throwing his jacket around her shoulder, so she wouldn't have much time to protest against this gesture.
Now thinking about her clothes Gabriel suddenly realized that they were kind of lacking. Not that he would be an expert when it came to fashion and the women's heart but still, his brief experience with Rosalina was telling him that this woman would be happier if her lover arrived wearing something else than her traveling clothes.
"But don't worry, I can handle it!"
He said suddenly gracing the treasure huntress with his best reassuring smile that usually heralded that the Professor is planning to do something weird, dangerous, or both.
"Why won't you two lovebirds enjoy yourself and I'll get Danny some new clothes in a meantime?"
Knowing way too well that the woman would probably protest as she usually did against all of his attempts to help her, Gabriel didn't wait for her response and jumped high in the air again, kicking it with the Flame Clouds to quickly disappear from their sigh."

[Bobbie]

As soon as Gabriel came into sight, Danielle’s jaw dropped - why on earth was he carrying her like a princess? While she knew that, surely, there was nothing more to it than simply a faster form of transportation, it did bother her to see her Rosalina clinging to another person with such an amused smile on her face. Rosalina's sweet giggles rang through the air, her arms wrapped around Gabriel for her own safety as she was clearly having a whale of a time, until he put her down and she began to pout when his attention went elsewhere.

“It’s okay-” Danielle immediately began to protest, just as predicted, as she raised a hand to resist his kind gesture, but found that his jacket had already been thrown around her shoulders. He was so quick to do so that she didn’t have much of a chance to respond and merely let out a sigh. She had to admit that it was quite warm, his own residual body heat still clinging to the fabric that worked excellently against the cold temperature of her own soaked t-shirt. She had taken her jacket off while she waited and placed it on the concrete fountain rim in hopes of it drying. Beside it was the folded newspaper that had her picture on one of its inner pages.

“What do you mean ‘handle it’?” she asked, horrified by the smile on the Professor’s face as she decided to slip her arms into the sleeves of the jacket, even though she didn’t seem to want the jacket moments ago. Then the blonde felt her cheeks warm up as she felt Rosalina’s gaze on her, as the ginger girl was swaying, eyeing her beloved Danny looking so handsome in that jacket.

“Danny…” She started, gently making her way over and patting a dry spot before sitting down. She hugged Danielle’s now sleeved arm, “Maybe you should let him handle it.” Leaning closer to kiss Danielle’s cheek, Rosalina giggled and then rested her head on her shoulder, assuming this would mean her lover would get more flattering suits that she rarely got to see Danielle in - Danielle’s style of clothing was usually the same pair of dark trousers, plain gritty t-shirt, and her leather jacket. The only thing that changed frequently was the shades of said t-shirt from light grey to a darker grey, occasionally a light blue.

The treasure huntress now had a soft smile on her face, her heart skipping in her chest. She was so distracted by Rosalina’s behaviour, that she barely had the chance to react to Gabriel’s words. It was only after he kicked off the ground to disappear that she abruptly stood up to try and stop him. “Wait!”

Unfortunately, doing so caused Rosalina to lurch and nearly fall off the edge where she was perched, Danielle’s arm so violently yanked from her. “Danny!” She complained with a frown, but that frown soon softened when she noticed the awkward stance that Danielle had.

“Danny, what happened to your leg?” Her brow arched in genuine concern, but it didn’t last very long. Her attention was soon captured by the newspaper that was now exposed since Danielle stood up and no longer concealed it from her view. “Oh, did you hear about this? It’s crazy… all those paintings stolen at a charity event. And the chaos on Mirrorball Island, nowhere is safe anymore, is it? My father is right to worry about me.”

With a sigh, Danielle snatched up the newspaper and sat down again, content with the subject of discussion shifting away from her injury. “I need to talk to you about that…”

---

Danielle: #fffd17
Rosalina: #ffaaff

[Mr. Moon]

Gabriel #2

Truth to be told, the Professor had one more reason for leaving so fast, besides being concerned about Danielle´s potential disagreement with his plan and the reason was Beast. Because while it was nice to know where his clumsy malamute was at the moment that screaming part made him really concerned about her safety. However, when he finally arrived at the lake all he could find were two children happily playing with Beast in the shallow water, watched by their parents from the shore.

“Hmmmm, and there I got all worried.”

He muttered, startling the pair as he landed a bit further away and they were too focused on their kids to hear him coming.

“Oh, is that your dog?”

The woman, a short and slightly overweight brunette asked with a wide smile on her face.

“Yes…Beast!”

Gabriel raised his voice at her name, gaining that goofball’s attention, much to the disappointment of the tinny humans.

“Beast? What a fitting name. Is she running away a lot?”

She continued as the malamute made her way towards her master, wagging her tail so wildly that she would slap the father if he wouldn´t quickly dodge.

“Yes, but she is very friendly she wouldn´t hurt a fly. Am I right?”

Scratching that ball of love and fluff behind an ear Beast happily woofed an agreement.

“Anyway, I am very sorry she bothered you…come you. We have to get some new clothes for Danny.”

Turning away Gabriel noticed that sudden flash of guilt on Beast´s face. The best proof he could get about her involvement in that incident, but he really didn´t have the heart to reprime her for it. Instead, the Professor led her outside the park where he saw something that looked like a clothing store from the air.

[Bobbie]

Rosalina stared at Danielle, a look of confusion and concern blended into one as her lover appeared to be so serious all of a sudden. Worse than that, she seemed to be anxious about whatever news it was that had to be said.

“Rosalina… just know that it’s not what it looks like…” Danielle started, her mouth feeling awkwardly dry as she was urged to lick her lips, take a deep swallow of air, and then chew her lip for a moment. She hadn’t rehearsed this speech and wasn’t quite sure how to explain it. Rosalina could be very possessive and she knew that… if she didn’t word this just right…

“Okay, Danny, stop…” Danielle did as she was told to do, watching her sweet Rosie with a worried brow. Sh*t… she is going to break up with me…

“I understand what this is… and let me tell you, I’m not happy about it.” The ginger girl with such delicate features frowned, her large eyes fixed on Danielle’s.

“Let me explain. It’s a little complicated, and I needed the money. One thing led to another, and before I knew it-”

“Before you knew it, what?” Rosalina snapped, making Danielle flinch. “All of a sudden you found yourself signing some contract of mentorship? Promising to be some guy’s protegee for how long? Two months? Three? Is this really what you left me for?”

“Contract of what?” Danielle asked, suddenly finding herself flung into pure confusion. What the heck is she on about?

Frustrated, Rosalina sighed and shook her head. “That Professor… we talked on our way over here and he told me everything, Danny.”

“E-Everything?” Echoing her words, Danielle narrowed her eye, that creep better not have…

“Yes, Danny, everything. All about how you are his aspiring protegee, and, apparently, you’ve even had nougat cookies with him! What other desserts have you shared with this man? What other things have you done with him instead of me, hm? What is this, some kind of bromance?” Danielle stared at her, frozen in horror as she waited with complete dread for her to mention the picture in the news article… “But… back to the newspaper. It's like I already said, I’m not so happy about you hanging around with a man so dangerous.” She took the newspaper from Danielle’s hands and flipped it to the page where there was a clear photo of Danielle in her dress, being held by Gabriel. Holding it up, she pointed directly at the Professor’s figure, completely ignoring the finely dressed woman in his arms. “Do you even know anything about him, really? If you read the article, you’ll see that he’s dangerous, and I don’t like my fiancé associating with criminals!”

“But…” Danielle was faced with a very interesting challenge. On the one hand, she wanted to address this misunderstanding - the issue was not her associating with Gabriel, but it was that picture. Yet, on the other hand, perhaps it was for the best if she didn’t realise what was happening… the treasure huntress continued to process her thoughts while Rosalina’s voice droned on and on in the background, her words muffled and lost to her, until she decided that she should bring this to her attention. She figured that it would be far worse if she realised the truth later on... but perhaps, first, a little test.

“Rosalina.” Danielle interrupted the spoilt woman. “Have another look at that picture. There is a woman with him…”

“Yes, that poor woman was probably tricked by his charming smile, dashing good looks, and alluring etiquette. He really is a gentleman you know, he gave me his arm and carried me here too...”

Now it was Danielle’s turn to display jealousy as a deep frown burrowed into her brow. “Okay, maybe let’s tone down the compliments a bit, he's not perfect.”

“What? It’s all true, though. He dresses very well too… I doubt whoever that woman is ever saw all of this coming. Is she listed as an accomplice or hostage in the article? I hope she’s okay. She’s probably been kidnapped or something!”

“She’s…” Danielle couldn’t believe what she was hearing. “That woman… I’m…”

She doesn’t even recognise that it’s me in that photo… While it stung that her own faincée didn’t recognise her, Danielle tried to see the positive side of things. Of course, in Rosalina's mind, it was absolutely impossible for that woman in the picture to actually be her Danny...

“I’m sure she hasn’t been kidnapped. She’s alive and well - enough - in fact, and more or less content. The Professor is not an evil person as that article implies, nor are any other members of his crew. Most of them are very nice and they have been extremely helpful with reaching my goal to please your father.” Danielle’s tone was slightly more aggressive than she intended it to be, perhaps because she was hurt by Rosalina not recognising her, or annoyed of her insulting her friends whom she had grown to care for more deeply than she would admit. However, this had a heavier consequence than she anticipated, as she soon realised that Rosalina’s eyes had become teary.

“W-Why are you snapping at me?” She asked in a small voice as she receded behind the image of an innocent and vulnerable doll with a quivering lip. This, despite Rosalina snapping at Danielle not long ago.

With a sigh, Danielle scooted closer to her, dragging her leg uncomfortably as she moved, but that didn’t matter, Rosalina always came first. Wrapping an arm around her beloved, she held Rosalina close as her chin rested on her ginger head. “I’m sorry, my love… I didn’t mean to snap, I just wanted you to know the truth…” She internally cringed at how much that statement contradicted her most recent decision.

“About them.” She added, that being closer to the truth, while Rosalina snuggled Danielle with soft, gentle sobs.

---

Danielle: #fffd17
Rosalina: #ffaaff

[Mr. Moon]

Gabriel #3

Leading Beast across the street, Gabriel entered the small clothing shop he saw from above, still too lost in his thoughts to realize, that he should probably order the goofy furball to stay outside to avoid any unnecessary problems. He realized his mistake only when a dull thud appeared behind him, followed by confused and sad whining as the malamute lady realized that her shoulders are simply too wide to fit the narrow doorframe.

“Oh, did you grow again?”

The Professor asked, patting the visibly distressed doggo at her large head.

“Wooof!”

She howled in confusion, just as the saleswoman, an elderly and uptight-looking lady approached them.

“I am sorry, but animals are not allowed in here anyway.”

An elderly saleswoman raised her voice from the counter earning another, this time rather offended woof from Beast.

“You hear that lady, wait outside and…please don´t chase any butterflies.”

The malamute snorted and withdrew from the narrow frame, leaving Gabriel alone when he needed her emotional support the most. Because that shop had the best selection of cute dresses he saw in a very long time and after going quickly throw them he was sure that they had Danielle´s size too. The only problem was, he was more and more convinced that Rosalina was mistaking her for a man so if he bought her dress…

The Professor bit his lip, torn in half between his desire to see her cute site again and what he knew was the best for her relationship. Slowly reaching towards the dress he paused just a hair width away from it, painfully aware that if he was about to touch it there was no coming back.

“Excuse me, can I help you?”

Startled by the sudden appearance of the saleswoman just a few steps behind him, Gabriel quickly pulled his hand away and turned in her direction.

“I…yes, I mean…uh…”

He took one last look at the piece of art, before lowering his head in defeat.

“Can you please show me your selection of suits? And I will need some proper shoes too…”

A few minutes later he was returning back to Danielle and Rosalina with a proud smile on his face, in one hand holding an elegant three-piece suit and in the other pair of black office shoes, all perfectly fitting Danielle, with Beast happily jumping behind him.

“Woof…WOOOOF!”

The doggo barked, before rushing happily back to Danielle and whom she considered being their new friend Rosalina.

[Bobbie]

Rosalina continued to cry very softly, her eyes closed and her cheek pressed into her lover’s chest. Despite Danielle’s shirt being wet beneath the suit jacket, her warmth could still seep through the fabric and the redhead leeched off it quite easily. Her sobs were quickly subdued by Danielle’s comforting whispers and her caring hold, as her hand gently moved to soothe Rosalina, stroking her arm, and her lips were concealed behind the woman’s ginger nest of curls. While she whispered lovingly to Rosalina to calm her, she couldn’t help a faint redness creeping into her cheeks - Rosalina’s head was in a sensitive spot for a woman, and it made Danielle’s heart beat twice the dozen. No doubt, her beloved Rosie could hear this.

To ensure that everything was well between them, Danielle had even offered Rosalina a gift - a fancy box, no larger than a foot in width and half of that in breadth, which she had retrieved from Mr Marlowe’s office. After a quick fidget with the lock, it was very clear that the thing could not be opened, however, so the treasure huntress was less concerned with what sort of smuggled items might be hiding within it. She was sure that Rosalina did not have the skills to open such a lock on her own.

The pair appeared to be the perfect image of a loving couple sitting at the fountain and enjoying each other’s company, feeling nothing but pure and unconditional love for one another. All that was missing was a beautiful sunset behind them and the picture-perfect scene would be complete.

At this point, Gabriel returned, with Beast. The first thing that caught Danielle’s attention was Beast’s barking. She could hear it before she could actually see the large fluffy dog, prompting her to raise her gaze and look in the direction the barks came from. The calm and soothing expression on her face was quickly replaced with worry, her grip on Rosalina’s arm tightening slightly - then she spotted Gabriel approaching with what looked like a full three-piece suit held carefully in one hand and a pair of fancy shoes in another - along with Beast who was charging her way over to them. Confusion was quite clearly mixed with the horror of what she could see was about to ensue.

Danielle looked at Gabriel, her eye wide as frantically signalled for him to do something - her gestures were limited as one arm was around Rosalina and the other was keeping her upright and preventing her from falling over into the fountain with Rosalina leaning on her as she was. All she could do was shake her head and nod in a direction away from Rosalina to try and indicate that Beast had to be taken elsewhere.

However, it was too late. She was no match for the malamute’s speed, as Beast rushed over to them, and Rosalina opened her eyes.

The scream that came from the redhead’s mouth was one that could almost burst a human eardrum, its shrillness causing a passer-by’s spectacles to crack. Additionally, unbeknownst to Danielle, the lock on the chest had also snapped, though the lid remained sealed.

“DANNY!” Rosalina shrieked as she practically leapt up onto the rim as if Beast were some kind of infected rat that she wanted no encounter with - yet, there was a drastic difference in size.

“Rosalina, no-” Danielle tried her best to calm her beloved, who was now crawling over Danielle to get to the other side away from the oversized canine. “Stop, don’t-” Her pleas were clearly falling on deaf ears as the ginger life-size doll had flown into sheer panic and was pushing and pulling at Danielle to save her from this fluffy monster of nothing but love and cuddles that seemed to follow Rosalina as she desperately tried to get away. Danielle had to remove her hand from the concrete they were seated upon to try and still Rosalina, but it was to no avail.

“Rosie, calm down!” in an attempt to be heard over the girl’s ear-piercing squeals and cries, Danielle raised her voice. Blinded by her fear or disgust as the large dog seemed to follow her, Rosalina resisted and squirmed to get away from Danielle, and one jerking movement later, there was a loud splash.

Again, Danielle found herself soaked, this time almost fully submerged in water as Rosalina had accidentally pushed her back a little too far, in panic. The fountain was slightly deeper than anticipated, however, and while Danielle would usually be able get herself right out of such a predicament, quite capable of swimming in deeper waters well enough, her legs were caught on the fountain rim so that they remained out of the water from her knees down. Because of her leg, injured as it was, it was impossible for Danielle to pull herself out of the water. Instead, all the poor victim caught in Rosalina’s crossfire could do was reach for the surface as her body sank below it, splashing as much as she could in an attempt to call for help.

Meanwhile, Rosalina ran around the fountain, wailing, to get away from Beast.

---

Danielle: #fffd17
Rosalina: #ffaaff

[Mr. Moon]

Gabriel #4

The Professor´s overall good mood, caused by his incredible achievement in the clothing shop was immediately ruined when he witnessed that strange spectacle triggered by Beast´s attempt to make a new friend in Rosalina.

Simply speaking the ginger woman succumbed to something akin to a panic attack, trying to desperately claw on Danielle before pushing the poor woman into the pod as she tried to run away from the malamute who, thinking they are playing a game of tag started chasing her with happy barking and tail wagging from side to side. And the worst of it all, it seemed that Danielle struggles to get back above the water surface.

“Phantom Step”

Seeing his puppy in such danger Gabriel couldn´t but spring into action. Dropping both the suit and shoes to the ground he moved with a blinding speed to the fountain, his arm piercing through the water as he grabbed Danielle´s shirt and quickly pulled her out.

“Danielle are you, all right?”

Professor´s voice revealed the amount of distress the man felt as he let the young treasure huntress cough out all the water before embracing her tightly as his face changed from a kind and worried expression into a mask of cold rage.

“That´s enough!”

He snapped with a tone that made the poor doggo not only stop her pursuit of the terrified ginger but also sit down, pretending she is the best-behaving doggo in the world, but it didn´t take her that long to realize her master´s rage wasn´t directed on her.

“Are you insane?”

He growled, murdering Rosalina with his gaze, while getting back up on his feet, fingers on the left hand pointed into nukite, ready to deliver a swift death if needed.

“That little selfish hysterical act of yours could have killed my puppy!”
Making step forward, toward the ginger the previously harmless and goofy professor was giving off kiling intend so dense it could be nearly tangdible. 

[Bobbie]

As Rosalina ran around the pond, she continued to wail, screaming for her Danny to save her from the furry monstrosity that was chasing her while she was unaware that Danielle was not currently in a position to do that. All of her attention on her own predicament, the ginger continued to panic and try to run away from Beast, an impossible task when taking the following into account: firstly, Rosalina was not a fast runner, certainly not in her dainty little shoes; secondly, most dogs would have more leg power than the average person and would win a game of chase easily; thirdly, Beast was massive, and so she had a massive stride to enhance the two previous points in her favour.

Unable to hear anything over her own flailing and splashing in the water, other than unidentifiable murmurs, Danielle’s good leg kicked while her arms tried to grasp onto anything to pull herself up through the surface. Thankfully, Gabriel was quick enough to intervene as her shirt was grabbed and the treasure huntress could finally feel the cold air against her face.

She spluttered and coughed up quite a bit of water before she could finally gasp and inhale air. Her body trembled as she felt she had come so close to death until the Professor suddenly came to her rescue and pulled her into a tight embrace. Shivering with the cold and for no other reason that she would ever admit, she leaned into him with gratitude as she slowly nodded in response to his question. “I’m okay,” her voice shook as her teeth chattered.

Then the man’s voice suddenly cracked through the air like thunder, spoken in a tone that Danielle didn’t hear very often in her time spent with him.

His command for their shenanigans to come to an end caused all three of them to grow rigid, Beast suddenly sitting down, Danielle’s back straightening once he released her, and Rosalina freezing on the spot.

“Professor, it was j-just an accid-d-dent.” Danielle tried to diffuse the situation, tightening her jaw to try and stop herself from shivering.

Unfortunately, Rosalina was less tactful in her approach. “Me? Am I insane!?” she snapped back at Gabriel, before pointing at Beast, “Your dog charged at me like I was its dinner! If anybody here is selfish it’s you! You’re one of those dog owners who don’t keep your dogs on a leash when you clearly should!”

Danielle cringed at the interaction that was happening before her eyes as she could see no possible way for it to end well.

“Rosalina, please s-stop it.”

“Stop what, Danny? I was attacked! By this massive ball of fleas and-”

“Rosalina!” Danielle’s tone was almost a match for Gabriel’s as the ginger dared to insult her favourite doggo in the world, and the murderous look that reflected in her eye was entirely devoid of any compassion for the first time since laying eyes on her beloved.

Staring at Danielle, her brow arched into a frown as her large green eyes welled up with tears. “I can’t believe you’re taking their side…” she whimpered in a small voice as her lip quivered and her gaze lowered, her hands tightly squeezing one another as they fell onto the skirt of her dress. Successfully, the guilt reached the treasure huntress, as she visibly flinched and looked away, momentarily, but said nothing.

---

Danielle: #fffd17
Rosalina: #ffaaff

[Mr. Moon]

Gabriel #5

The Professor was beyond furious. While at the beginning he was willing to look past this incident, especially because Danielle tried to calm him down, claiming it was all just an accident, calling his lovely ball of goofiness and love a "massive ball of fleas" was a line that shouldn't be crossed by anyone. Especially not by this woman who over the past few minutes lost all the positive points she got based on his first impression.
"You…"
He growled silently, getting ready for the killing blow, before pausing. This woman, despite everything, was still Danielle's love. They risked a lot to help these two to be together and despite her seeming upset with her lover now, something was telling Gabriel, that the young treasure huntress would never forgive him if he turned the love of her life.
"have my sincere apology."
Professor Moon growled through his teeth as if every word cost him an incredible amount of willpower to say.
"Beast come here, this lady doesn't want to play with you."
The malamute obeyed without hesitation, but while she walked back toward Gabriel she ignored the Professor almost completely, eyes full of confusion and disbelief focused on Danielle. The realization hit her like a hammer. The woman she adopted as her new mum was really leaving and not because her Beast would do anything wrong, but because her mate was a cat lover and doggo hater!
It was so unfair, why did she know about it beforehand? She had to, no? So why did she let her love her? Why did they even become friends in the first place? Beast loved Danielle and trusted her enough to show her biggest secret, that she can talk and this was the result. She felt so sad that if her doggo eyes could cry she would.
"Woo…"
She howled disheartedly when Gabriel scratched her behind the ear.
"Alright…"
The Professor said, trying his best to control the anger she was feeling.
"We should get back to our ship so Danny can change into something clean and dry…"

[Bobbie]

Danielle saw the rage in the Professor’s face and heard it in his tone, the man’s words coming out through his teeth like metal shrapnel going through a cheese grater. It was painful to watch and hear, but her main focus was on ensuring that he didn’t make any sudden lunges at her beloved Rosalina, as he appeared to be on the verge of doing only moments before.

With a little huff, Rosalina’s arms were crossed over her chest and she turned her head with a sulk. “Apology accepted…” she muttered through puffed out cheeks of maximum sulk. “Now that that is all settled…” she glanced at Danielle again, only to find that her Danny’s attention was not on her, prompting her to lightly stomp her foot in frustration.

No, Danielle’s attention was all on Beast, whose eyes seemed to have somehow doubled in size and were fully focussed on her. The dog’s gaze cut right through her as she could read the animal’s emotions very well - Beast was either remarkable at expressing them, or she was at reading them. Either way, never did she imagine that a look so devastating could come from the massive malamute who held such a special place in her heart, nor that her heart would shatter into so many pieces upon receiving it. Danielle had done the worst thing possible. She hurt Beast. For that, she could never forgive herself…

The sound that came from the innocent creature as Gabriel scratched behind her ears, a gesture that she herself longed to carry out to comfort Beast and show her that she did indeed love her very much, regardless of whether Rosalina approved or not, brought the blonde to tears. She felt a lump in her throat, instinctively taking a step toward Beast, but she went no further so as not to intrude or cause any further harm. Instead, she swallowed that lump, clenched her jaw, and blinked her tears away before they had the chance to spill.

At Gabriel’s suggestion, Danielle nodded, hoping to move on from this. “Yes, I would very much appreciate that…” she replied with a sigh as her body seemed to have grown accustomed to the cold and she stopped shivering now. Turning to Rosalina, she offered the ginger lady her arm, in hopes of repairing whatever injustice the entitled brat felt was done to her, but alas, the delicate princess was not satisfied.

“Oh, now you want me by your side?” Rosalina asked in a sharp, accusatory tone. “Nice to see I come second after being rejected by your pet.”

“Rosie, you know my heart-”

Danielle’s sentence was cut off by another huff, before Rosalina walked slightly ahead of her lover to prevent Danielle from reaching her, but not enough to be close to Beast or Gabriel. She did have to rely on them to lead the way after all, since she had no idea where their ship was. “Hurry up, or are you enjoying those wet clothes?” was the most concern to come from Rosalina’s mouth, despite being the cause for them being soaked. Rosalina felt scorned, even though she wasn't, and although her comments and complete shift toward a lack of affection hurt her, Danielle was ready to make excuses for her... She truly loved the woman and had fooled herself into believing that this was what true love was supposed to be - accepting character flaws.

However, now feeling doubly rejected, Danielle couldn’t discern what felt worse - the cold treatment she got from her fiancée for not giving the demanding woman all the attention she craved, or the knowledge that Beast was hurt. Picking up the chest that had been abandoned on the fountain rim, she took a deep breath and put on a brave face, but was unable to hide a telling frown.

“Let’s get going.”

The wooden carved box under one arm, she held onto the concrete edge of the fountain to support herself as she prepared for the walk. Stubborn and feeling too ashamed to ask either Beast or Gabriel for assistance, she never wished for Namkhai’s presence more in her life than this moment.

---

Danielle: #fffd17
Rosalina: #ffaaff

[Mr. Moon]

Gabriel #6

Why he wasn't the best at understanding the emotions of people around him, pain as big as the one reflected in Danielle's face was too obvious to even for him to miss or misinterpret.

At the moment Gabriel wanted nothing more than to be at her side and comfort her, but something was telling him that the entitled redhead would cause another scene because of it. Seriously, how could someone as smart as Danielle fall in love with someone like Rosalina was simply beyond him?

Fortunately, the opportunity presented itself as Danielle still struggled with her wounded leg. So he just has to figure out how to say it without using any of these dreaded pronouns.

"Beast looks like the leg isn't healed yet."

The Professor turned to his malamute who replied with a short snort as if she was trying to say it was not her problem.

"And I bet these wet clothes are not helping either, so could you…"

His sentence was interrupted by another snort after which the oversized furball headed to Danielle standing tall to look her directly in the face.

"Woof, woo wooo wooo, woof, woof, wooo!"

She started what could be described only as an angry rant of a girlfriend who knew she was cheated on but was ready to forgive, which she proved after a whole minute of howling and barking after which she licked Danielle´s face and gently grabbed the treasure huntress for her shirt and raised her up on her back.

"Woof!"

She finished definitely into Rosalina's face as if she was trying to show her that she can do something for Danny that the redhead or her cats can't, before heading towards the ship, followed by Gabriel who had a hard time containing a won't grin from appearing in his face.

Fortunately the journey back to the ship didn´t take long and to the Professor´s pleasant surprise when they arrived, everyone was still there.

Truth to be told, Gabriel half expected that he´ll find their boats abandoned and the crew scattered across the island. But no, they were all still there. Namkhai and Niko were killing the time by sparring at the upper deck, while Hariyama was sitting at the other side of the ship fishing. So from all the people present only Sigrid noticed the approaching group and curious as ever leaned forward to take a better look on Rosalina. In her case better look meant putting her giant face right in front of the ginger.

“Ooooooooh, so you have to be that famous Rosalina! Danny is always talking about you, even from a sleep!”

[Bobbie]

Stubborn as she was, Danielle was fully focussed on making it all the way without anybody’s help - until she suddenly found a big fluffy wall in her path, Beast standing right front of her and standing tall so that they would be face to face.

Danielle didn’t say a word and simply stared at Beast as the dog continued to howl and bark at her for an entire minute. It was odd to stand there and be lectured by a canine in a language that she didn’t understand, yet, somehow, she felt like she did. Beast’s ramblings, although in no human language, were not entirely impossible to translate into some approximation of what she might have meant. However, once the lick came, Danielle’s frown was broken and a smile took its place. While it didn’t heal all wounds, it certainly healed one that was weighing heavy on her heart.

Hauled up onto the malamute’s back, the treasure huntress scratched behind Beast’s ears, adjusting herself in her seated position and holding onto tufts of fur to keep herself steady.

“Thank you, Beast… Always so beautiful in spirit and in coat, ” she uttered, softly, before her ride began their journey forward and Danielle avoided looking at Rosalina altogether. She didn’t need to look at her to know that Rosalina wasn’t happy, and at that moment, she didn’t particularly care. This notion was not missed on the red-locked girl, who was glaring daggers at the animal who had swooped in to steal her Danny’s heart.

Reaching the ship, Rosalina’s gaze wandered across the deck at its occupants, two in particular catching her eye. They were very talented at martial arts and looked good while practising too. Her eyes narrowed ever so slightly as a plot for revenge began to fester within the woman’s devious mind, until Sigrid suddenly blocked the view, the giantess’ large face acting like a screen and causing Rosalina to jump as she was startled.

“Oh my! You’re…” she began to say, but then swallowed her own words before any insulting remarks about Sigrid’s size could be blurted out and she smiled graciously. “Oh, really?” seeming to be won over by flattery, the ginger giggled and swayed on the spot, eager to hear more. “And what kinds of things does Danny say about me?”

“Only the most wonderful things, of course.” Seeing her beloved behave so charmingly seemed to do the trick of pushing the previous events out of mind as Danielle smiled, her eye fixed on Sigrid and Rosie as she sat atop her beautiful means of transportation. Once again, love and adoration reflected in her ruby eye.

Rosalina glanced at Danielle, then turned her head to peer past Sigrid. “Such as~?” she continued to sing, her voice returning back to its sweetest form just as it was when she and Gabriel had met the first time. Only now, her target to impress was somebody else. Her eyes fluttered as she shyly looked toward Namkhai and Niko.

Danielle frowned.

---

Danielle: #fffd17
Rosalina: #ffaaff

[Mr. Moon]

Gabriel #7

The Professor wasn´t in good mood. While he was happy, that Beast and Danielle reconciled he still couldn´t accept that his puppy fell in love with a such despicable woman as Rosalina. Well, to be fair she fooled him too, but that was only a temporal thing so how could it happen that Danny who should know her better than anyone else didn´t see past that charade already? This was truly beyond him.

It was Sigrid and her cheerful mood that pulled him out of his brooding back to the real world while Rosalina was asking about examples of what Danielle was saying about her, the sound of her voice making his skin crawl.

“Hmmmmm, perhaps it would be better if you changed on Sigrid´s ship.”

The Professor muttered, taking a closer look at the two fighting members of M.A.R.I to judge their progress, so he could offer advice and training tips when they´ll be done. He was probably the only one from their group who knew that what looked like an evenly matched match was actually Namkhai holding back so his friend would be able to keep up with him, but that wasn´t an excuse for him to slack on executing his techniques.

“These two seem to be really into it.”

He finished, with Beast woofing in agreement as she was carrying her precious rider to Sigrid´s boat. The chances were, that she obeyed so readily only to get her little revenge on Rosalina.

“Yes, only the most wonderful things! Like...”

Sigrid nodded, straightening back into sitting, with one hand raised almost as if she was about to start counting all the dreams she had overhead since she joined the crew, but suddenly fell silent when she noticed Gabriel´s disapproving look.

“But, I shouldn´t probably reveal any secrets like this, so maybe we can discuss it later, over coffee and cake?”

[Bobbie]

As Beast started to carry her away at Gabriel’s suggestion, Danielle was less inclined to follow such an order as readily as she did. Her frown only grew as she watched Rosalina’s eyes so steadily fixed on the pair of fighters, and she was about to protest, yet the jolt of Beast’s movement seemed to nudge her into a new perspective.

Shifting her attention back onto Beast, Danielle’s features softened once more and a smile appeared as she gently patted the floofy creature that was always so kind to her. Rather than worry about Rosalina, perhaps she would make better use of the time by appreciating this beautiful Beast instead. It wouldn’t take her very long to get changed anyway.

“Thank you, Beast.” The temptation to wrap her arms around the animal and cling to her while she was carried was incredibly strong, but having so many people around who might see such an affectionate display held her back.

Rosalina only caught a glimpse of Danielle being carried away. She had seen the frown on her precious Danny’s face, and she was quite pleased about it - though not yet satisfied.

“Oh, okay. Yes, coffee and cake sounds lovely!” She replied to Sigrid with a sweet and gentle smile, before she grabbed the edges of her dress and offered a polite curtsy. Following this came a shy giggle, before her focus resumed its previous target - the two well-built men, sparring on the deck. They were certainly eye-catching and the girl quickly found herself flustered at the thought of being in such company.

“So you must all be Danny’s friends… unfortunately, there was a little accident at the pond, so Danny’s off changing into something dry right now… will you introduce me to everyone in the meantime? Like those two gentlemen, perhaps?” She asked Sigrid, raising a delicate finger to point in the direction of the Titan and his sparring partner.

Eager to meet the pair, Rosalina was already skipping in their direction, gently nodding along and urging Sigrid to meet her request. Whether accompanied by the giantess or not, she approached with a cute bounce in her step, her hands now folded behind her back, with little care for whatever danger she might have put herself in amidst their friendly duel.

“Hello~” she sang, gently swaying once she came to a halt. "I'm Rosalina!"

On Sigrid’s ship, Danielle was just about finished with getting changed into the new suit Gabriel bought for her. She was in a hurry to get back to Rosalina, but couldn’t help pausing for a moment to admire Gabriel’s fashion sense. Rosalina might have been insulting about it, but she was right about one thing - he knew how to choose his suits, and perhaps due to their experience with dress-shopping, he got her size perfectly correct.

“This is amazing, Beast… I don’t think I’ve ever even felt fabric so silky on my skin or worn a suit that fits me better.” Tugging on a shirt cuff underneath the suit jacket, she arranged her sleeves, then unbuttoned the top few buttons of her shirt, a woman of her physique being able to do this quite liberally with no concern of being too revealing. Then she glanced at the waist coat, the final part of the three piece suit, that was left draped over a chair. She hadn’t worn it for one reason: Danielle appreciated everything the Professor has done for her, including purchasing this suit, but something that Rosalina called her stuck with her… his protegee. That waist coat was far too reminiscent of his own style, and putting it on somehow felt like a statement that confirmed a protegee status. She couldn’t bring herself to wear it.

Turning to Beast once she was finished, she smiled. “How do I look?” As a nervous chuckle came with her question, she made her way over to the bundle of love and fluff, still having to drag her leg a little bit, but it was certainly improving.

“I think I’m okay to walk, if you wouldn’t mind staying close.”

Gripping the animal’s fur gently but firmly, she would wait for Beast’s lead to head back to the main ship again and return to the others.

---

Danielle: #fffd17
Rosalina: #ffaaff

[Mr. Moon]

Gabriel #8

The giant malamute carried Danielle on Sigrid´s ship and downstairs to the only cabin it had. Small room that wasn´t used since the giantess stole her vessel as she was simply too big to fit into a place that was created with human size in mind.

“You looooooook beauuuuuuuuuuutifuuuuuuul.”

While the treasure huntress was changing into dry clothes Beast was sitting near the door in complete silence that was interrupted only by the sound of her tail sweeping the floor. However, when Danielle asked her question she jumped on her feet and howled her sincere answer, accompanied by another lick across the blonde´s face.

“I caaaan caaaaarry…”

The furball grumbled silently, obviously proud of the fact that she was big and strong enough for Danielle to ride on her, however, her bad mood quickly passed when she was offered the opportunity to help her in a different way.

“Buuuuut waaaaaalkiiiiiiing goooooood!”

She added, turning around so the suit-wearing blonde could lean against her.

---

Meanwhile, on the upper deck, the Rosalina completely ignored Gabriel´s warning and instead of waiting for the two sparring fighters to end marched on their ship to introduce herself.

“Yes we…uhhhhhhhh, I don´t think this is a good idea!”

Sigrid raised her voice in alarm but was too late as at the moment Namkhai got through Niko´s defense and send the hulking mountains of muscles flying across the deck, missing the spoiled redhead by just a few millimeters.

“And that…”

The Professor sighed, already tired of this woman´s behaviour as if it wasn´t enough he had to do everything that was in his power to prevent her from discovering Danielle´s secret.

“was the exact reason why I told you to wait till they´ll finish.”

“And this is…?”

Namkhai asked as he grabbed two nearby towels, throwing one to Niko who climbed back at his feet while using the other one to clean himself from the sweat.

Sighing, Gabriel followed Rosalina on the ship to introduce her to the rest of his crew.

“Rosalina, Danny´s fiancée.”

“Oh, sweet, that means we can finally set sail?”

Asked Niko, while Hariyama who was still preoccupied with his fishing rod only turned around and waved at her.

“Danie…”

Namkhai repeated almost using the treasure huntress´s full name, before he suddenly fell silent, his eyes focused somewhere behind Rosalina, jaw dropped.

The Professor followed his sight, noticing Beast who was leading Danny, who was wearing the suit he bought her, back to them.

“And there I thought nothing can beat Shell Island…”

The Titan of Bokh muttered as they approached them, loud enough for everyone to hear.

“But this is the most beautiful sight these eyes have ever seen.”

Surprised by such a reaction, Gabriel looked at his lieutenant, hiding any comments behind an unreadable mask, that quickly changed into the gentle smile that was so typical for him as his inner voice reminded the Professor that this was the time for kindness and he shouldn´t be breaking his own rules just because one spoiled child annoyed him.