{Friday, 26th of March... 5:43 PM...}
In the great halls of the Guild, was where you can find Dinah's redheaded Guild Advisor; Henrietta. The tanned-skinned young woman was at her desk with her only client; that's worth mentioning, and she was giving her a wandering and studying gaze with a very raised brow. Her clear brown eyes met Dinah's gorgeous blue and they held each other's gaze for a few seconds, before she gave out a large *Sigh*.
"You don't disappoint, Ms. Lance. You really don't. You look better than you did last week, but by the look on your face, you must've found something significant again. But don't be afraid to correct me if I'm wrong. However, I do believe that this time... I'm right, aren't I Ms. Lance?", she asked the young blond woman whilst she folded her hands in front of her.
With a sheepish grin, Dinah nodded at her deduction before answering, "Yeah, I kind of came across a lot of monster parties and an abandoned battlefield on the 2nd floor.", when Dinah mentioned the last part, her sheepish grin morphed into a small frown.
With a sad *Sigh*, Henrietta gave Dinah a sad understanding smile. "It's not as rare as you think it is. Areas like that can be found at least twice a week. I'm guessing that there weren't any bodies left?"
Dinah only shook her head as an answer.
"Yeah, I thought so. Were there any recognizable markings on the clothes, armor, or the weapons? Any Familia insignia or brand would help identify who those items belonged to. It's a very common thing to find in those types of sites.", informed the redhead with a neutral line to her lips.
"I didn't find any. No insignias, markings, brands, nothing. I checked each individual piece carefully after I left the dungeon."
"Well, that's unfortunate." *Sigh* "Then the rules are clear. By right of 'First Adventurer's Find', all those things belong to you now.", she told the blond who slowly grew a look of slight alarm on her face. "Don't even think of selling them off. I'm not much for superstitions, but I've heard that some of the ones who sold off their findings for profit have experienced some terribly bad luck."
Henrietta's warning made Dinah's face look like she just got struck by lightning. 'I can practically see the clouds of doom hovering over her.'
Before Dinah's expression got any worse, Henrietta asked, "So, how much trouble did the dungeon give you this time?"
This question made Dinah *Sigh* while she pinched the bridge of her nose. "I had a very... troublesome time. Let's leave it at that."
'Hmmm...' Henrietta studied Dinah again for the 2nd time and noticed that her black leather jacket was zipped up all the way. Everything else about her looked alright, besides the small tears in the sides of her shorts, the tattered black fishnet leggings, the dried blood, and the smell. "I see..."
Henrietta; with a very practiced and neutral expression, went straight to business. "Can you explain to me in detail what you've experienced in the dungeon that have been yet to be mentioned in text or word of mouth? Just those details, for now. We can always return to our conversations about the other floors another day."
And so, that began Dinah's 20 minute saga of all the new things the dungeon tried to do to her as she explored. Henrietta felt like pinching the bridge of her nose, but she kept her neutral façade on as her client told her of her 2nd foray into the death trap known as the dungeon. 'I'm more worried than surprised, but it looks like she'll be fine. She's got a good head on her shoulders.'
When Dinah finished, all Henrietta could do was nod her head in confirmation, before she said, "You've got the right idea. You shouldn't venture any further down than you can handle. I completely agree with your statement. And besides, the first few months are the perfect time for any new Adventurer to acclimate themselves to the dungeon's terrain, the different monster types and how to take each of them down in the most effective way for them without wasting too much energy, and to heighten their parameters past [I] and [H] rank."
"Great minds think alike.", said Dinah with a small smile. "I'll also be implementing my usual less than 200 pieces of magic stone slivers to Valis exchanges throughout the week. This week will be a dungeon diving week for me, so I'll have plenty in stock to exchange for the next 2 weeks or even after that. I want to see how much I can gather within that timeframe by my lonesome while gathering a certain amount of monster parts."
"That sounds like a good plan. If you and your Familia keep up this kind of momentum, then I can see the Panacea Familia becoming an important and sought after Gathering Familia that would be able to complete Gathering Quests without trouble.", stated Henrietta with an approving nod.
"That's good news, right?", Dinah asked thoughtfully.
"It's very good news, Ms. Lance. But at the moment, you won't have to worry about it. Just keep up the Excelia grinding while obtaining more knowledge and experience, and you'll be just fine.", said the redhead with a small encouraging smile.
"Thank you, Henrietta. Your wisdom and advice is always enlightening." With a smile, Dinah held out her hand and the redhead grabbed it with her own and shook it. "I'll see you tomorrow. Have a great afternoon."
"You're very welcome, Ms. Lance. I'll see you tomorrow. And likewise.", replied Henrietta with a small smile, before her slightly lethargic look returned.
When Dinah walked away, Henrietta watched her go with a small fond smile. 'I can't help but keep silently thanking the Gods for bringing me a client that actually listens to my advice.' *Sigh* 'I never thought I'd see this day. However, there must be more to her than meets the eye. Throughout the Guild's hidden records, the dungeon has targeted at most 3,471 different Adventurers every year. Most of the time, after that year is up, then the dungeon sets it's sights on different targets. But... out of that 3,471... only half survived to see the next year... I have confidence that Dinah will be part of that half. But I still worry. It's the dungeon after all.' Henrietta's small frown that appeared at the way her thoughts branched off to turned into a resolute look. 'I just need to believe in her more while giving her as much knowledge as she can handle as the days go by. She'll be fine.'
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{6:36 PM}
When Dinah walked through the doors of the small manor-like home of her Familia, a small silver-haired blur tackled her midsection. With a smile, Dinah hugged the small form to herself while she watched the bunny ears above the little girl's head twitch in happiness. With a gentle laugh, Dinah lifted her up with ease and held the little one to her bosom. "Well hello there Lianne, it's great to see you too."
"Hi big sis, welcome home! I missed you.", said Lianne with a toothy grin. She then buried her head into Dinah's bosom while sighing in comfort.
Dinah gently shook her head in fondness while she walked to her room with the 4ft 4in girl in her arms. Some would expect the 5 ft 4in blond woman to struggle with a girl; that she's only a foot taller than, in her arms, but Dinah didn't mind. 'I must smell pretty terrible.'
"Baby brother Conner is with mommy Panacea at the playroom. And dinner is still being cooked.", said the hume bunny girl with a smile. "Are you going to shower?"
"Thanks for telling me that, little one. And, yes I am.", the Canary replied without pause as she climbed the stairs; heading towards the 3nd floor where her room is located.
"Oh, I've never been in your room before! It must be so cool!", she said excitedly.
"It's not that impressive.", replied Dinah with a shrug.
"Nuh uh, it's big sis Sensei's room. So it must be awesome!"
Dinah just laughed a bell-like laugh that made Lianne's smile even brighter.
When Dinah reached the door of her bedroom, she opened her door, went inside, and gently set Lianne down on the floor next to one of the dressers. "I'll be taking a shower, so just stay here and relax. Oh and...-", Dinah quickly set her traveler's backpack down near the bed, removed her satchel from inside, and took out a sandwich. "Here's a snack. I'll be done in a moment."
Dinah handed the sandwich to Lianne with a smile before she removed her black leather jacket; draped it on one of the chairs near the dresser, picked up a fresh change of her clothes and headed for her bathroom.
Before she went in, she heard, "Thanks for the snack, Sensei." And then she heard the wrapper get opened, before she closed her bathroom door.
*Sigh* 'She's so energetic. It's almost too adorable.'
Dinah gently set her change of clothes on the marble sink countertop, before she looked at the mirror. She looked herself over and gazed at what used to be a very decent looking yellow crop top t-shirt. The last few hours of her time in the dungeon turned it into such a tattered mess that there were holes in the holes. The fair skin on her midsection could be seen as well as her lacy black t-shirt brassiere. Her brassiere was the only thing protecting her modesty while the frontside of the crop top was basically in tatters. 'I have a new found hatred for Dungeon Lizards now. I didn't know that they could throw rocks by using their tongues as a sling until I was pelted by them. They were very sharp rocks too...'
"They used my own ingenuity against me...", she said to herself while she took off her crop top. "This was such a good top too..." *Sigh* "I'm going to need to talk to Isabella soon. I need clothes that won't get damaged. I need clothes that'll last when I explore the dungeon. Plus, I want to keep my good looking clothes from being damaged." She looked at it for a few more moments, before she gently set it down next to her change of clothes.
She quickly stripped out of her dirty clothes and looked at herself from every angle on the mirror. 'My cuts, scrapes, and small bruises are gone. And the scars I used to have before are long gone too. Hmm... not bad. But if the dungeon's unpredictability is any indication, then I'll be getting new scars sooner rather than later.'
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{20 or so minutes later}
With a stretch and a *Mmm*; sound of relaxation, "Now that was a relaxing shower.", she said to herself with a very pleased smile. She spent the next few seconds looking at herself closely in the mirror, before she started to brush her hair down; the hairbrush acted as both a dryer and an untangler that cost less than a hundred Valis. It was quite the steal. 'Gotta love magic.'
Dinah was now dressed in a form fitting black t-shirt, brown shorts, and a lacy green t-shirt brassiere underneath; which matched her underwear.
It took her a few minutes to dry and brush her hair down, before she left the bathroom; but not before leaving her dirty clothes in the hamper. As she left the bathroom, she saw Lianne looking out the window.
"Let's go, little one. It's almost time for dinner.", she told the silver-haired girl; which made the rabbit ears above her head twitch.
Lianne quickly turned around and joined her while she said, "Awesome, let's go! I wonder what's for dinner?"
Dinah quickly picked up her satchel and when she turned around, she saw Lianne looking at her with those wide brown eyes while she held her hand out. Without pause, she took the hand and held it gently, before they left her room. Lianne's smile was bright and she was humming to herself as they headed down to the dining room. The hume bunny girl was also skipping along playfully while she held the blond mother's hand tightly.
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{9:35 PM}
Dinner was delicious as always, and Dinah was able to talk with Kimberly and Isabella about certain concerns she had with her clothes constantly being ruined by constant battle. She also informed them of the types of troubles she's had as well as the ideas she came up with that would likely help with certain issues in the clothing department. When she told them of her ideas, Kim's eyes practically sparkled in amazement while Iz just froze as if she was struck. Iz and Kim met each other's eyes before they nodded and talked to the Canary with even more enthusiasm.
That conversation had Iz and Kim writing down idea after idea afterwards, as if they got hit by the invention fairy with a large hammer. Kim practically bolted through the dining room's doors with Iz trailing behind her; with more nonchalance, when dinner was over.
Panacea and Faith met her eyes and she mouthed out, 'I'll explain it to you later.' Some of those who noticed the commotion just shook their heads and shrugged before continuing their clean up; indicating that they've seen similar happenings in the past and grew used to it.
When everyone dispersed to prepare to go to bed for the night, Dinah; with her baby Conner held against her, met up with both Panacea, and Faith in the Half-Elf's office. However, before they met up, Dinah walked Lianne to her room and gave her a hug and they both said their "good nights" to each other.
When everyone was sitting down and relaxed, Dinah began her tale of what occurred to her in the depths of the dungeon; whilst she was rocking Conner back and forth.
The story and the important details took the young blond mother at most 35 minutes to fully convey. She never really mentioned her special abilities to Henrietta; besides -- the magical oath she took prevents her from mentioning it at all. Her Guild Advisor only knows that she's an exceptional fighter. The extra details are kept within the Familia like it should be.
Her rendition of what occurred to her had both Faith and Panacea in shock. The Half-Elf was frozen in both astonishment and slight horror. The Goddess had a slight bit of moisture building in the corners of her eyes.
When she finished, her Captain; Faith, just met her eyes before she got up off of her desk, walked to her potion making table, and she prepped a few of her beakers before she started boiling some tea using her magic stone powered bunsen burner. With no teapot in sight, she used one of the beakers as the substitute. *Sigh* "Oh, don't mind me. I'm just making a fresh pot to calm my racing heart.", said Faith; her voice sounding slightly detached.
"Make that a double for me too, dear.", said Panacea; of whom had her face in her hands; her voice sounding soft.
It took both of them a few minutes of drinking tea in silence while they listened to Dinah humming and rocking little Conner to sleep, before they eventually got back to their usual selves.
With a *Sigh* and a worried expression, Panacea said, "I don't want you to go any deeper than you've already had until you've grown stronger. I know that you've fought worse and have been in worse situations, but I want you to tell me this..."
Panacea paused for a moment, before she asked, "When you fought the monsters and demons known as Doomsday, Trigon, Darkseid; as well as his Generals and his Parademons, and other super powerful forces of nature, were you by yourself or were you with your allies?"
That question made Dinah nod in understanding; her bright mind immediately connecting the dots as to what her Goddess was trying to convey, before she answered her with a gentle smile. "When I fought them, I was part of the Justice League..."
With a nostalgic smile, Dinah continued by saying, "Those guys were extremely tough, but I've always had the League to back me up when they appear. During disasters, emergencies, invasions, and other world ending events, I've always had people to back me up. I can take care of myself, but I can't fight an army of monsters by myself without being overwhelmed. I'm not exactly invulnerable, after all."