Welcome to Gaia! ::

Adjusting to a change in surroundings was not an easy task, Dalgona was beginning to realize.

The matter of her new home was one thing, of course, but there was also this newfound... understanding of things. Now, as to whether she actually fully comprehended any of it was another matter, though as of the current moment, Dalgona was still in denial and doing her best to pretend she was still a normal housecat. Of course, this proved to be difficult when it came to her new owners, as the two children she now lived with kept giving her funny looks, and on more than one occasion, tried to converse with her, as if they knew she could talk back... but there was no way they could know that, right?

She would soon be proven wrong about this, as on a particularly rainy school night, while napping on her new (expensive) cat perch in the twins' room, she was awoken by the sound of a window opening, just in time to witness Satori climbing out the window, followed by Nemuri. Unsure of what she had just saw, Dalgona quickly followed after them, only to be met with another surprise, when the twins powered up into senshi right before her eyes. Blinking, the Ragdoll cat wondered if she was still dreaming, or if this was perhaps just... her old age catching up to her, because there was no way she was seeing what she was seeing, right?

Dalgona was about to get a crash course in the whole guardian cat experience, it seemed.

A guardian cat needing rehomed wasn't something that just occurred on an everyday basis, and Nemu had wondered if perhaps some higher power was at play, such as the kami that she was often superstitious about. Whatever the reason, it was only the right thing to do to ensure that she didn't end up in the wrong hands, and thus when they had learned from a family friend about a new cat that had arrived in their rescue with a peculiar star-shaped marking on their head, the twins had insisted that Mama and Papa allow them to adopt the cross-eyed Ragdoll cat. No other cat would do, nor did they want a younger cat to grow with them instead- they were very insistent on bringing home the cat that they learned was named Dalgona, though Sato had been quick to come up with multiple nicknames for their new feline housemate.

The strange thing was, no matter how much they tried to let Dalgona know that she could trust them, and that she didn't have to pretend to be a normal cat, the elder cat... just seemed like she didn't acknowledge them at all. It was weird, because Rune was always happy to make conversation with the twins, and had been the one to approach and awaken them, but Dalgona? If she could talk, she wasn't giving any indicator of such, which was strange, because Nemu was so sure the fluffy cat was a Mauvian- why else would she have that star marking?

One night, Sato had gotten a tip about some suspicious activity that they should investigate, and Nemu had been obliged to go after her twin, even if she would prefer to stay home where it was warm and dry. At the very least, the sooner they got things taken care of (or called up Lepus to take care of it for them, if it was too scary strong for them), the sooner they would be out of the rain? That was her thought process guiding her, anyway, as she powered up, following in her sister's footsteps. No sooner did she do so, though, did she realize that they weren't alone; Mauvians had such small auras that made it so that they weren't particularly able to be sensed until one was practically right on top of them, but there was no mistaking the telltale aura of one of the enlightened felines.

"... Dalgona??" Nemu-Hokkaido repeated, equally surprised to find that they had been followed.

--

Dalgona in the meanwhile still was attempting to process the scene that was appearing right before her eyes. Yes, these two girls were senshi- chibi senshi to be exact- and yes, these were things she was supposed to know by now, but...

"W, What exactly is the meaning of this!?" were the fluffy Mauvian's first words, followed by an awkward (and very fake), "... Meow."

It was hard to tell, but Dalgona had a feeling that Satori was poking fun at her, if at least ever so slightly, and her tail twitched in agitation. She didn’t have much experience with children, since she had met her former owner when they were already a teenager, but this kind of behavior… definitely needed to be nipped in the bud, before it got any worse. Teaching Satori manners would have to be her first order of business… right after whatever this was.

A lot of what Satori also said went over Dalgona’s head as a little beyond her comprehension at the moment. The part of her brain that was handling the Guardian Cat side of things, however, helpfully translated for her that ‘youkai’ likely meant ‘youma’, which made the Ragdoll frown deeply. The twins were already awakened as senshi, which was well out of her paws, but children, senshi or not, should not be running around at night in the rain, chasing after monsters, whether or not that ‘tip’ lead to anything or not.

“The two of you should be home and in bed, is what you should be doing,” the Mauvian chided, though another nagging feeling at the back of her mind (in the Guardian Cat half, that was) told her she was possibly forgetting something, that she should request to see their pens, “It’s a school night, and sleep is a very crucial part of your childhood development.”

Actually, she wasn’t certain about that much, but Dalgona hoped it made her sound authoritative enough. Perhaps some consulting of some books on childcare were also in order…

“S-She kind of has a point…” Nemu whispered, earning a look of approval from the fluffy Mauvian. Still, Nemu knew her sister enough to know Satori was probably going to dig her heels in and likely wouldn’t back down…

For a brief moment, it seemed as if Aomori would win Dalgona over with the power of persuasion; certainly, her words seemed to get the intelligent ball of fluff to consider if the child had a point. However, ultimately, the cat would not allow such a disobedient child to attempt to overthrow her decision-making process, no matter how convincing she sounded. Dalgona’s expression clouded as she fell deep into thought, though if Aomori thought she was winning over the Ragdoll, she was going to be proven very wrong; why weren’t these children’s parents raising them better? It seemed like it would fall upon Dalgona to set them on the right path, if she wanted them to grow up to be respectable members of society- Aomori especially.

“Absolutely not,” the fluffy Mauvian repeated, shaking her head, “Children should not be running around at night chasing after monsters, especially not in the rain. What would happen if you fell ill? Surely there are adults that can handle this ‘youkai’, assuming whoever gave you this ‘tip’ isn’t simply lying to you, yes?”

Shame on whoever told these two about a youma, especially if they influenced the twins to think they should pursue it! Clearly Dalgona was going to have to be the voice of reason here.

“Now, I’ll be confiscating your henshin pens now, before you do anything even more reckless, so do hand them over, please.”

That, Hokkaido was conflicted on, because Rune had never asked to hold onto their pens before. What should they do? Also, what would Dalgona do with them once she had them, anyway?

Was… was this the equivalent of being ‘grounded’?

Dalgona was pleased to have both of the twins heed her orders- Aomori especially- and hand over their pens. Once the fluffball had them in her paws, though, she seemed briefly lost as to what she wanted with them. Perhaps her old age was catching up to her? A brief moment of forgetfulness?

Before anyone could intervene, however, clarity seemed to return to the floofy cat, and it was almost like a lightbulb went off in her head, like she suddenly understood just why she had requested the transformation items. Placing her paw on the twin pens, Dalgona concentrated, focusing... doing magic, perhaps? As the twins watched on, the pens changed form, and Dalgona nudged them back over to their original owners, even though she had previously wanted to confiscate them.

"Now, you may have them back for the time being," Dalgona said, implying that she didn't intend on allowing them to have their pens back for very long. "Aomori, you will say 'Aomori Asteroid Power, Make Up'; Hokkaido, you will say 'Hokkaido Asteroid Power, Make Up'. You need not speak the words out loud."

Hokkaido meekly picked her pen back up when Dalgona offered it back, wondering what the cat had done to change the pens and for what reason. Did this mean Dalgona wasn't truly mad at them, or was she testing them, in a way, to see if they did the right thing (whatever that was)?

In the end, there was only one way to find out, and thus Hokkaido held up her newly changed oen, and called to mind the words as the fuzzy floofy cat had instructed.

"H-Hokkaido Asteroid Power... Make Up?"



In a flash of magic sparkles and light, Hokkaido's outfit changed, and while she couldn't be sure, it felt like... she was a little stronger, almost?

"H-Huh?"

Dalgona seemed pleased to find that the upgrades had went smoothly, even if she hadn't known what she was doing up until just mere seconds ago. A nod of approval at least meant that neither of them had done anything wrong, but before either twin could possibly start to think they were getting off scott-free (or just with a warning)...

"Excellent work. The two of you are now 'super' senshi now... or is that 'chibi super', actually?" the fluffy cat declared, "You'll find your powers to be slightly stronger in due time, but for now..."

"For now?" Hokkaido repeated, wondering what was next.

"It is time to return home and out of this rain," the cat chided, expecting the twins to obey and follow her back home (though Dalgona wasn't super sure she remembered the way). As a formerly pampered house cat, Dalgona didn't like being out in the rain much, both because she found the weather to be unpleasent in general, but also the number it did on her fur. Goodness, she'd need a good brushing after this.

And thus their celebrations, if it could be called that, were cut short, as the twins made their way back home, Dalgona right behind them as they dispelled their magic glamours and became just Nemu and Sato again. Well, it was all for the best, wasn't it? Or at least that was how Nemu reasoned it, even if their investigations had ended before they even could begin. This way, at least, they wouldn't risk getting sick and having to explain to Mama and Papa why they were out late at night playing in the rain, right...?

Though, she certainly hadn't counted on Dalgona showing up and speaking her first words, nor did she predict the cat upgrading their pens! Perhaps, on the weekend, and when it wasn't so cold and rainy, they could try out what this upgrade in their powers earned them... maybe... as long as they did it safely, of course.