Blood sample. Jade's expression remained neutral, but Kindall's grip on his tiny aunt tightened as he smelled her apprehension and felt the subtle tension in her body. Still, he merely smiled and nodded, events of the previous moments with Kámír already forgotten.

Sure, he doubted Kámír could do anything to hurt a Hunter, but his aunt was a different story, and she was the one who would need protection, rather than him... Though the needles would be more problematic than an attack.

"That sounds reasonable. We are ready," Jade's voice lacked fear as she spoke in English, and she offered a small smile that displayed none of the uncertainty that Kinny smelled.

He really, really wished that any comment he made wouldn't be understood by his aunt, but Kinny couldn't warn them without undermining her in this instance, so instead he whispered to the tiny woman directly. "Auntie, you should warn them about how you are with needles."

"I can handle it, I am certain."

"Auntie," he pleaded, but a sharp glance silenced him, and he stood up straight with a heavy sigh, then adopted his usual smile. "Yeah, I guess we're ready," he agreed at a more audible volume.

~*~​

Those brushes that seemed to mean little to Ári affected Warwick, though he'd never admit it aloud. They served created and built a sense of comradeship in him that led him to a sense of security that banished his usual reservations and stress, and as they finished and she vocalized her challenge, he grinned at her.

"Alright," he accepted, then rolled his shoulders and bent at his knees. He gripped the bar, then closed his eyes to imagine in his mind how dead lifters in videos did it before he put his bulk into the raise.

Too much!

The weight nearly ripped out from his grip as the force of his lift tried to send it flying.

With an animalistic yelp, the rod flew out from his fingers. "Shit!" His eyes widened, and he stared up at the rod. With a wince, it clanged against the ceiling before it headed back down. He held his arms out and caught it in the crook of his elbows with a loud SNAP, but instead of howling in pain or collapsing, he just stood there, shocked as he stared at his strangely-bent arms as the rod fell to the floor. "I think I put too much muscle into that..."

For a few moments, he gawked, then sighed. "Not enough calcium in my diet or something." With a mumble, he slipped his jacket off and shook his arms a bit before he looked toward Ári. "This... is gonna look weird. You might wanna turn away. Trust me, though, I'm alright."

As if it was punctuation to his words, his arms cracked loudly, and then jerked into proper alignment.

Warwick bit his lip and hissed through his teeth, then bent his arms a few times to test them. "Ow..."
 
Unfortunately for Kinny and Jade, Ríváné did not notice their exchange and took the woman's word at face value. Therefore, the Hunter along with his charge were escorted into another room by the man in the strange, HAZMAT-suit like clothes where they were subjected to a series of tests. Fortunately, the staff was very agreeable and while everyone who attended them wore the same clothes, they informed Jade that their escort would be able to speak to them soon through the announcer system in case they wanted company. This happened quite soon as Ríváné's voice livened up the intercom and then she started to guide them along the process. First, they had to attach a couple of sensors to their bodies.

The sensors were likely incomparable to anything the two had seen during their time in the multiverse. They looked like transparent patches of flexible metal and they also felt like transparent patches of flexible metal. They stuck to skin quite snugly, but could be peeled off with very little effort so placing them in the appropriate spots was very easy. The two did not even have to remove their clothing to do it, something that very likely disappointed Kinny. After that was done, Ríváné told them that they had to stay still for a couple of moments so that a baseline could be established for all of them and the functionality of the sensors could be checked. She also told them that they should remain silent for the duration of this, then apologised because she could not keep them company either.

A couple of minutes later, she signed on again and lead them through the series of tests. Walking around at first, then exerting strength, stamina tests on various machines... The whole process lasted a long time and was likely to leave Jade at least a little exhausted due to the difference in gravity. But to her, that would have been the good part because next came the blood test as Ríváné informed them. Therefore, two men in the HAZMAT-like suits entered through the door, holding standard-sized, sterile needles along with some sort of a skin numbing agent that was used on them to make the procedure less painful. When Ríváné confirmed that everything was all right with everyone, skin was stabbed, blood was drawn, then needles were withdrawn.

All this in about a minute or less. The people here clearly knew what they were doing. There were no mishaps, though the man responsible for Jade was a little bit nervous and so took more time. Now all they had to do was wait for the results.




Everything seemed to be going so well at first. Warwick's grip was strong and sure. Ári could almost feel the strength of the man from where she stood, muscles working right before the man underestimated his own strength. Her eyes widened as he literally threw the weight, relez rod and all, against the ceiling with a loud clang.She swore that she heard the entire building croak in agony when that happened, but that was quickly overwritten by a horrifying snap when he attempted to catch the thing. What the fuck was he doing? Despite his state, the first thing that Ári did was to stab him so firmly in the chest with one of his fingers that she almost bruised his ribs. Her eyes which had been so gentle before betrayed a fury the likes of which Warwick had rarely seen in Civitatem Lucis.

"Are you rahn'fehr?" Ári's voice was quiet, but it held anger and disbelief that could reverberate through an entire city. "Your body... You are not a machine to be used! Take care of yourself and for the sake of the Four Philosophies, do not fucking dare to do that again or I will personally inform Jarasiv that he needs to call in an orbital bombardment because we have a monumental case of mental redardation!" And with that, she yanked on him, pulling him away from the weights and machines he seemed to be in love with. "You are coming with me to the medical wing. Now." Her grip left him little to no chance: Sherínárimé was strong as a bull.
 
Both Jade and Kindall cooperated eagerly, though Jade was soon found to be very weak compared to even a 'normal' human, and being top-heavy didn't aid her.

She hoped for a break, but instead, as she panted and sweated and leaned forward with hands on her knees, she looked up in time to notice the needles. One man approached Kindall, and another approached her, and Jade froze in place.

Kindall caught her scent of terror and looked toward her, then followed her gaze. "One—one moment!" he requested as he hurried to her and covered her eyes. "Hurry, please."

Jade didn't struggle, but instead relaxed in the dark of her covered eyes. She swayed, and her breathing grew slow and deep as she began to display signs of falling asleep.

⋯﴾﴿⋯

Warwick stared at her as she began to drag him, admiration in his gaze as he followed after her quietly, his arms already repaired of their damage. He simply let her lead the way before he slowed to a stop. He could feel his good eye leaking, and began to wipe at it as he forced a laugh.

"I'm fine—really." His voice caught and betrayed him.

He wasn't fine.

She was so like his trainer. His chest burned and his throat tightened as homesickness rocked through him. He'd wanted someone to act 'like a person' here, and now that someone did, he halfway wished she hadn't, just so he wouldn't miss home and his sister and brother.

"I'm fine," he tried to convince himself.
 
The request was strange, but found to be agreeable and the procedure went through without too much of a hitch in the plans sans Ríváné having to translate for the two guests. The analysis was quick, not to mention conclusive and absolutely like a bucket of ice-cold water to the face. The two foreigners were found without harmful bacteria or viruses in their blood, or at least not of any kind that Civitatem Lucis could identify. For the most part, they were highly matching humans in qualities, a fact that gave several scientists pause. Never one to dismiss facts, however, more tests were performed as both Jade and Kinny were let out of the secluded room they had been in. It was deemed that decontamination procedures were not needed for them as they did not carry on themselves foreign substances which could be dangerous to Civitatem Lucis.

When they were out of there, Ríváné was waiting for them with a reassuring smile on her face. Notably, she was alone.
"I apologise for what you had to go through," she said in perfect English, then she waited for the response.




Ári's eyes were like fire when she turned back to him to, as absurd as it may sound, stare him down. Funny how she was at least two or three heads shorter than him, however, her gaze could cut through tempered steel, drilling into Warwick. She was focused like a metaphorical laser intent on burning him.

"No. You are getting examined whether you like it or not." There was no possible way to resist her. Not with the glare she leveled at him. "I do not care about differing physiologies, augmentations or genetic engineering. You are coming with me and that is final." And she started to drag him away again. She had so much force behind her grip that he would literally end up skidding along the floor if he resisted, slowly burning away the soles of his shoe.
 
The most interesting thing they found about Kinny was his rapid healing from any pokes, and if they could detect it, he had a few remnants of a twin absorbed in the womb.

Jade, though, proved more interesting. Her bones were thin, round, and dense, and the size of her head looked large compared to the narrow rest of her body, though it was proportional to her height. Her eyes were too large and wide apart, and her lungs had chambers like a bird's. Her vocal chords were more complex than a human's as well.

Exhausted and falling asleep with Kinny's hand on her eyes, the tiny leader began to quietly snore, and when the pair were released to Ríváné, the blond man carried Jade like she was a child fallen asleep on a drive home from a late movie.

"It's fine," Kinny assured with a grin, "Auntie falls asleep in the dark, so that helped with the needle issues she doesn't like to admit she has. Makes me glad she's half Avior."

Chipper and with no filter, Kinny had nothing to stop him from blabbing that his aunt was only half human.

He paused and looked at his aunt. "She should wake up shortly, now that I'm not covering her eyes."

A quiet groan from the little bird, and then a half-hearted slap to Kinny's chest alerted him to her growing awareness of the world, and he laughed. "Come on, Auntie. Time to wake up. We're with Ríváné again, and she's still super pretty."

"You are not supposed to make me sleep, Nephew Kindall," Jade muttered as she pushed herself upright and rubbed at her eyes.

⋯﴾﴿⋯

Warwick made no attempt to resist her. He only skidded briefly before he began to walk along. "Just like my trainer, back home," the words came out absent-mindedly. He refused to look at Ári, even as she turned away from him.

This was too much like home. He saw someone else instead of Ári—a Trainer, named Victoria. Instead of being surrounded in Civitatem Lucis, he saw the stone halls of Headquarters as she dragged him to see the shaman, Alsoome, over multiple shattered bones caused during training. Just as his bones were already healed now, they'd already healed then.

He expected to see his siblings, also in training, trying to escape their own Trainers.

Hegga.

She used to try to hide behind him.

Warwick's chest hurt.

"I'm sorry, Vicky," he murmured in English.
 
What sort of ethnicity was Avior? Ríváné looked at Kinny with the slightest hint of curiousity in her eyes, but it was well-controlled and instead of asking about it, she contacted the database of English words, which came up completely empty. The closest thing they could find was 'aviation', which meant flight, so she guessed it must be some sort of human that had adapted to a high-altitude, high g-stress force lifestyle. Either way, the complete analysis of the test results would be in soon, so she did not want to ask them any questions. Instead, the songweaver drew her smile a little wider, then stepped close to both of them, brushing both of their shoulders at once with her hand in a brief gesture that was probably starting to become familiar to Jade.

"That is... everything necessary... done." She spent a little time searching for the words that she wanted to say as it was hard to substitute an idiom, but continued smoothly. "Both of you look healthy, so you have been granted access to Abevr. I have been ordered to show you around this city and there are several places to visit. The ones that I recommend are..." A little pause as a list of places popped up in front of Ríváné, looking like a holographic projection. They did not come with pictures, just short descriptions that Jade could read. "The... landing... monument of Abevr. I apologise, I do not know how to properly translate that." Her brows frowned as she reached the next item and there was a very, very long pause.

"Ádila Statue made by Stafford Eteri," she said in the end, obviously giving up on the translation. This word was unfamiliar to Jade and the description made no attempt to explain it. "I apologise, but I do not think I can explain. There are too many words missing, but it is very beautiful. Next is the Nálina Monument, which pictures one of the city's heroes. If you would like to know more about Civitatem Lucis, I think you should go to the Exhibition of Sciences and Technologies. The last item is... I think it translates to Levitation Building and it is the best place if you want to have some fun." With the list finished, Ríváné met Kinny's and Jade's eyes, her hands relaxed by her sides.




Mercilessly, Warwick had been dragged to the prison's infirmary and he once again witnessed Ári's strength as the woman almost tore the door open, which caused the man inside to jump in his seat, his eyes immediately going to Warwick and Ári. There was a brief interplay of gazes between the prison guard and the doctor, which resulted in the doctor settling down, then adopting a serious expression as he made his way towards the two of them.

"What did he do?" he asked as he examined the Hunter with his eyes. There were no external wounds on him, so it probably was not all that stupid or serious, but Warwick had just been dragged into his office by a bladedancer. That usually was not a herald of extremely good news, especially when combined with a furious expression on said bladedancer's admittedly pretty face. The thought of bad news only furthered when he noticed Ári letting go of Warwick before adopting a much calmer expression and standing beside the large man, pointing to the place where the bones had been broken.

"He broke at least one of his bones and might have damaged his mucles," summarised the petite red-head. "Please give him a thorough exam to see if he really managed to heal himself." Her tone was completely unlike when she berated Warwick, maintaining a pleasant, conversational air, but there was still a slight edge aimed towards the prison idiot. It was subtle, but the emphasis she used indicated a mixture of anger, displeasure and concern. She had not wanted to hurt him; she was only trying to talk to him in hopes of learning more about him, then finally cracking his shell, but today did not seem to be her lucky day.
 
Kinny beamed at the woman's efforts with English, able to understand the difficulty. He waited until she finished before he he spoke up, "An easier way to say that everything needed is done is to say 'that's it' or 'that's everything'. It's a bit more casual. We drop words in English sometimes."

While not certain now was the best time for a brief English lesson, Jade did like that Kinny seemed so eager to get along well with their host. She doubted the whole of that was just his heat, too—he was merely friendly.

A landing monument, a statue, another monument, what sounded like a museum, and a place that Ríváné described as fun. It seemed like a well-rounded tour of places of importance for the locals. Jade nodded silently, then twitched as she realized she should speak.

"Nephew Kindall is correct. His listed usages are simpler, and native speakers will understand the meaning with ease. In regards to the locations listed, I would love to visit them." The faint lean toward Ríváné offered a hint of the small woman's curiosity and interest. Now that she was getting over her superiority complex, she found Abevr interesting and exciting. She wanted to learn more, even despite the weariness of dealing with increased gravity.

Kinny cleared his throat. "Maybe start with what's furthest from where we're staying? Auntie will probably be tired by the time we see everything you mentioned." His grin, warm as ever, widened. Silly Aunt Jade, already tired enough to miss the obvious.

Jade's cheeks reddened, and she absently adjusted a few loose hairs by one ear. "Y... yes. That would be wise.

⋯﴾﴿⋯

Warwick blushed as he looked away. For all the world, the large man looked reduced to a shamed child. He removed his jacket, and offered his arms. "It was a clean break. They'll bruise up and maybe be sore, but..."

He sighed, and his arms droped slightly. He was pretty sure he'd managed to piss Ári off enough already without making excuses or his own diagnosis.

"Never mind."

He could smell the woman's emotions well enough. If he'd been a child, he might have cried over this, but he'd disappointed and angered enough women in his life that he simply accepted it now. The doctor—well, he'd probably hear from Ári plenty about Warwick's stupidity.

Worse than her anger at him was the calm delivery. He was so sick of the calm of this place. He wanted to break out and go to the place the portal should have been and wait until someone inevitably came for a mission, but... the people, for all their statue-like demeanors, were kind and good people. He didn't want to endanger any in his escape.

Thoughtless words escaped his lips.

"Damn it. Just hit me and be done with it."

Thankfully, they were in English. Ári pulled more English from his lips than anyone else ever had.
 
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Ríváné blinked in surprise and barely managed to stop herself from making a face that screamed 'Did the people who invented the English language bash their head into relez as many times as it took them to develop brain damage?' as she was sure that would offend her guests. Instead, she managed to put on a quizzical look as she internally debated as to how a sentence could make sense if words were dropped from it. That was not how language worked, was it? It could not be possible. Perhaps it was a locally adopted dialect of English that somehow allowed for it, but she was sure that the original language could not let itself so much to severe misunderstandings.

"I apolgise, but I am not sure if I understood the sentence which you just said." The songweaver's voice was calm and composed, but there was a clear undercurrent of confusion as she spoke. "Is it not impossible for a sentence to be understood if words drop from it? And I also do not understand why you always shorten certain words. It is difficult to understand what you are saying." It was only now she realised this was a nearly constant feature of Kinny's speech. While it was easy enough to dismiss it in the first couple of times as an occasional verbal tick of Kinny's, she had picked up on the pattern. Now her sense of structure along with the place deep inside her which demanded things to make sense would have liked an explanation.

"And if you are tired, then I think we should visit the Levitation Building. It is a good place to relax," she added, expectantly waiting for the explanation. At the same time, she gave permission for the rest of the team to filter in, so they would arrive in a minute or so at most. She just hoped that they would trust her with the translation, because she really did not wish to know what sort of catastrophes would arise when non-songweavers tried their hand at this nonsensical pronounciation.




A glare from Ári shut Warwick up just like he deserved and allowed a quick, non-invasive examination to take place. A couple of strange tests were performed on him that likely did not make sense to someone who came from twenty-first century Earth and in the end, he was declared to be in almost perfect health. How fortunate. The door closed behind them and Ári touched above her left breast before she spoke in a much more pleasant tone this time.

"I am sorry," she said as she looked up at Warwick, withdrawing her hand and then touching it to the place where Warwick had broken it. "But I was worried you injured yourself. Even if injuries seem fine, they can be serious... Especially when people take their recovery for granted." She averted her eyes as she said that and withdrew her hand, landing it above her breast again. There was clearly much more to this than she let on, perhaps a personal experience that made it sting all the more. If Warwick had learned Civitatem Lucis' body language, he would recognise the gesture as a sign of apology mixed with an indication that personal feelings had been mixed into Ári's behaviour that she would have rather not showed this openly.

A moment of silence passed between them before she perked up.

"I am happy that you are all right. Do you want to continue?" The challenge was in her voice again, but she added a condition lest she cause another indicent. "But I will also be holding onto those weights this time."
 
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Oh, he could smell the poor woman's confusion. Poor Ríváné!

"English relies on context sometimes. When you've just finished something, and someone says 'That's it,' it translates the same as 'the task is complete' or 'that's everything that needed to be done'."

"As for the shortening words..." he trailed off.

"I believe she is referring to your use of contractions."

"Oh!" He'd forgotten he used those! "Those are contractions. It's not a context thing, but an... evolved part of the language. I think it comes from people in a laboring class who needed to say things quicker to help avoid dangers or something. I don't know the full history, but it's like smooshing two words together into one. Do not becomes don't. I will becomes I'll. It is becomes it's. Not, is, will—those are the main ones that get smooshed, I think."

It was... hard to explain as an English speaker. He scratched at his cheek as his brows furrowed in thought. "It makes more sense to write it out, I think."

Jade pondered his explanation for a few moments, then nodded. "I believe he has explained it as simply as is possible without being able to write it out to show you more of how it works. There is some pattern and logic to how it is done, but it is easiest to see in written format."

"I have a question, too—what's the shoulder touch? I see you do it a lot. Is it a reassurance thing?" Kinny hopped topics far too easily, but his grin spoke of eagerness to learn.

⋯﴾﴿⋯

The Hunter watched her for several moments after her apology, then smiled at her challenge. "Maybe something to eat, instead. I prefer sparring to keep in shape, anyway—fewer heavy things threatening to bounce into pretty girls." He tried not to show it, but miscalculating his own strength left him uncertain.

"And no need to apologize for earlier. Yeah, making you mad made me feel like dung, but I am kind of... glad you showed that much emotion, if that makes sense."

He felt like a raving, sappy, madman. Almost girly. At least Ári wasn't a guy—that would have felt even more weird. He let a few seconds tick by as his expression told of wanting to say something else. He wasn't sure how to find the words, or if he should just go for it or not.

"Ári? You remind me of home. I..." he trailed off, "Thank you."

There was something else he wanted to do—or to say—but he wasn't sure if it was appropriate. He'd spent so long trying to learn about Civitatem Lucis and how it worked and trying to act like someone from there, but he lacked the emotional control. He rubbed the back of his neck in a self-soothing gesture.

He missed his family most. There were only two left among them, and hopefully neither had died in the time he was gone.
 
Before Ríváné could make any remarks about the stupidity of the English language or respond to Kinny's question, the door behind her opened and things happened very rapidly from then. In almost a blur of motion, something exploded towards the two guests. More specifically, Jade. She was so taken by surprise by this turn of events that the songweaver could not even articulate. Instead, she was forced to hear a single, horribly butchered word fill the air.

"Hééééééélóóóóóóóó! Ítt ííííz nájs tú míít júúú!" The feminine voice was pleasant enough, but much to the horror of the entire room, it was accompanied by a sweeping, almost crushing hug directed at Jade. The demi found herself in the embrace of soft flesh courtesy of someone who was much taller than her. Said person literally raised her off the ground to push the small woman to her modest chest while Ríváné watched in horror. Fortunately, the action only lasted for one split second before the tall woman moved on, blurring towards Kinny with the very same gesture she had enacted before. Unfortunately for the man in heat, Ríváné was on the top of her game this time and assumed an authoritative voice.

"Édéla, please leave our guests alone." Familiar ónic flowed from Ríváné's mouth much more fluidly than English. Despite having phrased what she wanted to say as a request, her tone made it very clear that the songweaver was giving an order. This made Édéla stop in her tracks, just a few dozen centimetres short of sweeping up Kinny in a similar hug. A long moment of silence allowed the guests of Civitatem Lucis to appreciate the newcomer, who was just as freakish as Kámír, if not more. About the only human bit on her were her blue eyes, the lines of her face and her long, brown hair. But everything else looked completely alien.

For starters, Édéla's body was asymmetric. Her left hand had been completely replaced by a skeleton-like, metal structure that was adorned with what could only be described as three-dimensional embroidery. Elaborate, lace-like structures sprung from the "bare bones" of her body, forming scenes along with pictures that changed with the direction that one looked at them from. Compared to this, the right hand that was dominated by a mixture of differently-coloured scales looked completely normal. At the same time, while the military uniform hid most of her torso, it was hard to ignore the extra musculature on her back that trailed into a thick, biomechanical tail. This appendage looked as if it had been cobbled together from scraps without any care to shield its moving parts. It was also asymmetric in its design. To top it all off, the woman's legs ended in a mis-matched pair of roller-blades instead of feet and there could be plenty of other mutations hidden underneath the military clothes.

"Hmmm?" hummed Édéla as she smiled at Ríváné, revealing perfect teeth before she rolled over to her and placed her palm on the songweaver's forehead. Her arm was outstretched and she tilted her head so her eyes met Ríváné's at an angle. "Can you not just let yourself to have a little fun? They will not be hurt by hugs!" Even despite the many barriers of understanding between Civitatem Lucis and their guest, it was clear that Édéla was having fun.

"You do not know how their culture differs from ours, Édéla. Now please restrain yourself from any unnecessary actions." Ríváné, on the other hand, was clearly not having fun. The only thing that kept her back from enacting some sort of disciplinary action was the presence of others in the room.

"The mindless puppets of Song never know how to have fun!" The smile on Édéla's face was getting wider by the second and Ríváné was about to speak to her when Aranam cleared his throat and pointed to the fourth Civitatem Lucis soldier in the room, who was also a man. He was, however, quite ordinary when compared to the colourful Ríváné, the huge Aranam and the freakish Édéla: He had tanned skin, a pair of red eyes, short, white hair and a slightly worn face that suggested a lot of hours spent without sleep. While he was not annoyed by the antics which were unfolding in front of him, his pose gave the impression that he had been waiting there for a long time.

Ríváné took a deep breath to gather her wits about her.

"I will introduce you two to our guests soon, but first, Édéla will need to apologise for her behaviour. Both of these people are very important and I do not want to upset them or make a huge mistake that will make them our enemies. If you are not on your best behaviour, you will be replaced." Though her tone was not particularly vengeful or strict, the songweaver nevertheless managed to establish a subtle atmosphere of authority around her as she spoke to the soldiers under her command. She did not intend to have a repeat of the incident with Kámír.




Ári could understand Warwick's sentiment. He had just hurt himself and even though he had regenerated from that wound, there was still some damage between them. Like she had indicated earlier, Ári's personal feelings and experiences had mixed too much into her decision-making. She had gotten carried away, but wanted to make up for it by continuing interaction with him. However, instead, the man offered to eat with her, then he thanked her for reminding him of home. When she heard those words, the crimson-haired woman could not stop from raising her hand away from her body, her fingers opening up in a sign of surprise.

"There is nothing to be thanked for." In the end, Ári decided to go with honesty in her words. She was not quite sure how to read the gesture from Warwick as it did not seem appropriate for the context they were speaking in. But she wanted to keep talking in an effort to crack his shell or even just to get to know him a little. The man had to be lonely after spending all that time alone while people better than her tried to figure him out... Though he could have made friends with other prison guards too. Whatever, she just wanted to know more about the mysterious prisoner. Hopefully, without freaking out on him this time.

"And I thank you for the invitation. I am not hungry, but I could go with you," she offered after a moment's pause. He seemed to enjoy her company so far, which she found a little odd. He seemed like much more of a recluse based on the records. Maybe she was just lucky.
 
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Stunned, the tiny woman had no time to stiffen or react aside from her eyebrows seeking her hairline as the stranger lifted her from Kinny with the sheer force of the hug, then set her down and moved on. Jade turned her head to stare after her, already-large eyes even wider.

Kinny, with faster reaction time, grinned as he realized what was happening and opened his arms, only to stop as Édéla did. Confused, he looked toward Ríváné.

Jade, able to understand to a degree, listened as the two women exchanged words, and red eyes began to curiously take in Édéla's appearance.

She looked like fun was her driving force, and managed to turn her body into a reflection of what seemed like impulsive urges. Still, it was with purpose. Her body was adapted to the alterations.

A tiny smile tugged Jade's lips. Her mother would love this woman.

Ríváné seemed scattered. Jade made no effort to interrupt, and instead watched and listened to their interactions. The red-eyed man caught her attention, though.

Where she lived, red eyes weren't exactly common, even among Hunters. Most people she knew with red eyes were from her own family, and she was the first among them to show that particular mutant genetic. She offered a tiny smile of greeting before she returned her attention to Ríváné's plans for what was to follow.

Kinny leaned toward his aunt and whispered, "What's going on?"

"Do not whisper. It is rude."

"Sorry. What's going on, Auntie?"

"Host Ríváné is concerned for diplomatic relations. There will be introductions shortly." She didn't want to assume the role of the newcomers, nor did she wish to infringe on the woman's authority. She already forgave Édéla for surprising her, but again, it might have undermined her host to say as much before an ordered apology was given.

It would have been rude in several places. The small bird saw no reason to act rudely in this place at this time.

⋯﴾﴿⋯

"You are not hungry?" That caught him by surprise. For a moment, he stared at her, then shook his head. That felt like he was shot down, though logically he knew that wasn't the case. She even offered to go with him. "I can hold off if you'd rather do something else. I just thought... Sometimes people get hungry when they're stressed."

He couldn't help but recall that she was surprised when he thanked her. Absently, he remembered he'd not brought up the topic of home to anyone before in any sort of detail, not on his own.

After a moment, he decided it would be better to explain the importance of food, or at least the importance he'd learned.

"It'd be awkward to eat if you weren't," he started. She smelled like she'd decided to be honest, so he decided that he should be forthright rather than secretive.

"It's a cultural thing where I'm from, more than just getting nutrition. There isn't always enough food to satisfy, though there's enough to keep everyone alive and healthy enough. We require a lot, and have very high... metabolism, I think is the word." His eyes stared at her, watching for her reaction. "An offer of food usually translates as an offer or statement of friendship and a question of a person's well-being all at once."

He paused, then groaned as he muttered to himself in ónic. "Ugh, that sounded sleezy and manipulative. Good job, Warwick, you stupid animal." He tapped his forehead with probably more force than was needed, the impact audible.

With a huff through his nose and a shake of his head, he addressed her again. "I'm sorry. I'm... figuring it's about time to stop being so silent. I think I've... been abandoned by home. Why bother keeping silent about somewhere that... doesn't care anymore?"

The words spilled out before he could stop them. He hadn't realized he believed that, but he was incapable of lying. He couldn't purposefully speak falsehoods.

He'd tried so hard to keep optimistic about it.
 
"Worried about puppets not dancing to your tune?" asked Édéla back with a slight edge in her voice that was not easy place. It seemed like something between a challenge and a playful jab based on the tone. She kept her hand on Ríváné's head who did not look bothered by the attention. She was very pointedly not taking it as an opportunity to flirt either if the look in her eyes was anything to go on. The English conversation in the background was ignored for the favour of a couple seconds' of tense standoff, which was interrupted by the second Civitatem Lucis man in the room. He could no longer stand this petty thing unfolding in front of him.

"If I could interrupt," his tone was measured, polite, but he clearly disapproved of the fight in the making. "If they had been insulted, they would have spoken up."

"Exactly!" The strangest woman in the room eagerly latched onto the man's words. "I am glad you see my way, Éjjel! Now, can I hug the man, please?" Much to Ríváné's credit, she did not heave an exasperated sigh. She only removed Édéla's hand from her forehead with a firm, but gentle gesture to end whatever game she had been playing. Édéla just drew her smile wider in response, especially when Ríváné let go of her hand, because it allowed her to rocket back to Kinny. Not even the songweaver's harsh shout was enough to halt her this time and just like before, Kinny ended up receiving an armful of weirdness. Perhaps sensing the Hunter's eagerness, Édéla's hug lasted about twice as long as Jade's. Plenty of opportunity for the man to explore if he wanted.

Of course, it could not escape anyone's attention that Ríváné was itching to pry Édéla off with a crowbar. Or perhaps a pair of motorised pliers if her hardened eyes were any indication.




How... odd. An offer for food that translated to an offer of friendship as well as hospitality. Ári kept quiet through the explanation that Warwick supplied to her, thinking it over. It sounded so strange to her ears that a place which was not a new colony or something similar could lack in food. Even those places would be supplied by more remote planets if needed, however. Even if the most unhospitable planet would be made livable by a healthy amount of imports if nothing else. The secondary possible meaning of manipulating another individual slid right off her, of course: she only considered the facts at face value as she constructed a chain of logic.

"It makes sense," she said after what would likely feel as a tense silence to Warwick. "If it makes you feel better, I can eat a little," she offered with a smile as she traced the man's shoulder in sympathy for those who have left him behind. "Do not be afraid to eat more than I do, though. I have seen some high-maintenance kárásal." Here, kárásal was used as a word that roughly translated to body-vessel. Warwick likely heard it on a couple of occassions, especially between prison guards as they talked about changing their body. "But small amounts of good food is just as good as large amounts for me."

A short pause as she considered what she would have to say about his home. Really, what did one tell to those who have been abandoned by the people in whom their faith was the strongest? That was a job for the soothing words of Soul, not someone like her. But still, Ári tried her best to find words of encouragement that even someone from a strange place could identify as such.

"If you want to be listened to, I have time," she ended up saying with a hint of empathy as she finally let up on the pattern she had been tracing on his skin. It had been in the shape of her pendant. "Isolation weakens. What better way to build up strength than to force the walls of your prison to bend under your will?" Again, this question was delivered with a mixture of curiousity and challenge, a little bit of a variance on the tone Ári had used with Warwick before. However, if he listened closely, then he could perhaps pick up on the implication that she was genuinely interested in the limits of his strength.
 
Kinny scratched his head at the continuing 'battle' of wills, but he couldn't tear his attention away. It was kind of hot. He'd seen other male Hunters get into something like this, though without the head-touching. It looked like a challenge for position.

Alert eyes focused purely on the pair until the new male spoke up. Kinny's gaze darted to him, nostrils and chest moving subtly as he let himself sample the air.

"Incoming," Jade warned, and Kinny turned in time to see Édéla approach.

The woman's speed was incredible, but he got his arms open in time, a wide grin on his face as he took in her intention and processed it rapidly. As her arms wrapped around him, his returned the favor with gusto, but enough care that it was clear he was accustomed to hugging people whose bones could break if he wasn't careful.

"It's like hugging Gramma Bio, but without getting suffocated!" he exclaimed with a laugh, then picked Édéla up and swung her around before he let her feet back onto the ground.

A quiet giggle escaped Jade at his comment, and she turned her attention to Ríváné.

Even Jade could read her face.

She wanted to say something, to offer some form of reassurance, but couldn't think quickly of anything to say that wouldn't add to the dominance game in some way. Regardless, to say nothing when she couldn't even offer a redirect, would be blockheaded—well, she did have an opportunity for a redirect.

"Hm. If I am to assume correctly from the context, these two individuals are—" she cut off, expression falling empty as she struggled for titles. She opened and closed her mouth a few times, brow slowly furrowing. The names wouldn't come out. Her mind shot through possibilities, but calling a person by their appearance was rude back home. Was it rude here? She couldn't call him Red-Eyed Éjjel, or call her Rollerblade Édéla! She didn't know enough! If this was English, she could call them 'Miss' and 'Mister', but she'd not thought to look that up.

Her scent caught Kinny's attention, and he blinked at her, then looked toward Ríváné, not sure how to ask her to help his aunt out. He knew what the problem was, just not how to describe it. "Ah... uh... Ríváné—?" He jerked his head toward his aunt to indicate she needed assistance.

⋯﴾﴿⋯

At her offer to eat a little, the man's expression lifted. His instincts demanded he seek to ensure she was fed—she was so slender and small compared to him.

Her offer to listen to him sobered him, but the man wasn't any less pleased—far from. He was glad. Grateful.

What he wanted to talk about was pretty serious, though. Where he was from, what brought him here, his family—those were deep topics. She was human, so she'd be safe if he told her, he assumed. He lifted his eyes from the ground again to look at her as he caught her tone and challenge, and a smile slipped free, followed by a quiet chuckle.

He made a mental note to ask what 'kárásal' meant. He'd heard it a few times, but the meaning remained unclear.

"Alright. I do not know all of the local words, so stop me if I get confusing, and I will try to explain what I mean."

He hoped he wouldn't scare her off.

"To start, my name is Warwick. When I was born, my parents misled their superiors and ran away to raise me in peace on an island where my mother was born and raised. They did the same for each of my siblings, and after my young sister was born, they stopped returning to their superiors. In order, we siblings were Faegan, Fray, Warwick, Wyatt, and Heggala."

A deep breath. "When Hegga was thirteen—I was... I think I was twenty years old. Anyway. It was late in the year. Autumn. A weird woman appeared at our house and captured me, my siblings, and our parents. I later found out she was one of their superiors—a female cat person named Elizabeth..."

He frowned. "No, 'person' is the wrong word when describing Elizabeth. Is there a word for a creature if inhuman power and appearance? One who is not human and cannot be easily understood? Where I'm from, the word is 'monster'."

He said the word in English.
 
A light-hearted giggle escaped Édéla's lips as she was swung around the man, though she could sense that he was not using his full strength. Rather than be offended, however, the woman used bled off her sudden increase in momentum in a show of rollerblade acrobatics that left Ríváné even more furious than before. The songweaver may have managed to re-establish control over her face along with the posture of her body as she was addressed by Kinny. No, this would simply not do! The Hunter could likely smell the tranquil, calculating fury that all but rolled off the colourful woman in such quantities that it would make a tanker ship ashamed of its meagre capacity in comparison. It was simply astonishing to observe.

The others also took note of this, picking up on subtle shifts within Ríváné's posture. Only Édéla was unaware and as such, the songweaver took her by complete surprise. Long, familiar vowels filled the air with an incredibly short burst of haunting beauty. An entire sentence was layered over a single word in a confusing, yet crystal clear fashion. Individual letters coud be picked out without problem if one had good ears. With better hearing, it was even possible to understand the sentence for those who knew the language of ítéra. The next second, Édéla found herself flailing mid-air as gravity seemed to cease existing around her.

"I apologise for that rude action." Having completely restored control over herself, Ríváné spoke to her guests in a calm tone and in English. "Édéla did not want to do any harm. Please let me introduce to you the two new guardians who will accompany us. This is Éjjel, one of the best local biologists who serves the army." She brushed the shoulder of the somewhat-worn mand, who uttered a polite greeting in ónic. "And the woman who just stopped flying is Édéla. Édéla, please apologise to our guests for your rude behaviour." Then she switched back to ónic. "Édéla, you have to keep in mind that others are not as open as the people of your home. If you do not consider your actions more carefully in the future, I will discipline you again."

Naturally, the heavily modified Édéla was not happy. Her former cheer gave way to a relieved, but also troubled expression as she found her footing again. It was definitely a lesson learned about her superior and her hands shifted into a gesture of apology. One of them went to her heart while the other faced Ríváné with a wide open palm. There was very little genuine remorse in it, however. Édéla was still wearing her same, somewhat cheeky smile and she seemed all but ready to blast off on her rollerblades to make more mischief.



The more Ári listened, the more concerned she became. Just what sort of a place did this man come from? It did not seem like Civitatem Lucis at all and the splinter colonies have been united hundreds of years ago. Judging by the fact that he had not aged a single day over the many years he had been captive, he was genetically modified to live an extremely long life, but still... She could not recall any place from her memory that was so cruel to their own citizens so as they had to hide their children. It almost reminded her of the rahn'fehr. Or perhaps a distant age of humanity where everything was fundamentally different. In short, she did not know what to make of it.

But in the end, she had shown her concern to him. She told him so as well, so there was little room for misunderstanding. So she listened and absorbed the information he presented to her. Information that slowly got more strange as he shared more of it, especially that last bit, because she did not have the slightest clue what sort of a being he was talking about. Maybe that thing rarely mentioned in Civitatem Lucis' history? She doubted it. And it could not be the rahn'fehr either as he did not appear to be aware of them. In the end, she had to resort to something more roundabout.

"Would the word 'abomination' describe her?" asked Ári after a brief pause as she traced a brief pattern of reassurance into Warwick's skin to let him know that she was still present. "It means something that is likely not natural and looks frightening in appearance. It may or may not be powerful, but it is something that should not exist, yet it does. Like a strange combination of animals that do not make sense." She was not sure if she did a good job of explaining the meaning of the word, given that Warwick did not use it. In the end, not even she was certain that it suited his description, because abomination was usually not used for humans. And the person Warwick described seemed like she had a human form.

It was puzzling to say the least, but she had promised to listen.
 
Kinny's jaw dropped at the discipline meted out to Édéla by a very beautiful and strange... sound. It was a word, but also more, and he couldn't understand it at all. The floating was weird and interesting, and he gaped, making no effort to imitate the ítéra—not after what happened before in the elevator.

Jade's empty expression lost its distance, and she nodded to each of the pair, thankful for Ríváné's tendency toward formality. Still, she offered introductions from her side in ónic, despite the high likelihood that the two already knew their names.

"Guardian Éjjel and Guardian Édéla. It is a pleasure to meet you. I am Jade Mortimer-Senate, and this is Nephew Kindall Shears, a Hunter under my command."

She chose to ignore Édéla's punishment, rather than dwell on it, but she did look towards Ríváné after a moment.

"We are not offended," she assured in English, "But I would have preferred forewarning in some manner from Guardian Édéla before she hugged me."

"Auntie has an... uh... emotional developmental disorder? She has a hard time with social stuff like hugs. She only learned to like hugs super recently... after the war? Yeah, after the war. So uh..." he counted back on his fingers, "Five years ago!"

Jade's eyelid twitched, and the corners of her lips drew back to form a long, thin line.

Kinny paused as he caught his aunt's scent, then blushed. "Er... sorry, I guess she didn't want me to mention the Autism—" he cut off, then facepalmed. "Sorry, Auntie."

Jade craned her head to squint up at him, then sighed and shook her head as her face fell with a quiet grunt.

⋯﴾﴿⋯

The soft tracing of her finger on his skin relaxed his shoulders and face of their building tension. The word she supplied seemed fitting, as well.

"Yeah, 'abomination' is close enough. She didn't look too unnatural, but there is more to a person than looks. She had this... commanding presence? She was terrifying, even if she looked kind of like she should have been someone's mother. If there are stories adults tell their children about things under the bed or creatures that eat them for misbehaving, she is one of those."

He felt like he was babbling. Not an enjoyable feeling. Slowly, he pushed a hand through his hair, pushing the bangs back until he had to untangle his digits from his bound hair.

"Abomination fits," he repeated.

"Where was... Oh, right. Elizabeth captured all of us. Hegga was the last one. Elizabeth said if we were good, we wouldn't die, but our parents had already gone against the Council—their superiors—so Elizabeth said they would be punished. We never saw our parents again after Elizabeth took us and made us enter training. We lost Fray when we were in training. Wyatt died once he passed training and became a Hunter. Faegan didn't do well enough at the end of training and became a Trainer. I became a Hunter, and so did Hegga. I was teaching her how to handle becoming a murderer of abominations when we came here."

"The woman was already dead. We were told to kill her so she wouldn't endanger the local population. When dead people walk around, they degrade. They lose their... person-hood? They start to get violent and hungry, and attack other people."

Warwick felt like he was somehow betraying the Council, saying so much.

"Hegga, she tried to make it easier by telling the woman she was dead. The woman attacked her, so I stepped in early and eliminated the threat. The authorities arrived, and I ordered Hegga to flee. She's... Well, if she's not been found here, she had to have made it home safely. Faegan, he'll look out for her as much as he can."

The last comment was more for his own benefit than Ári's. He missed his sister. He hoped she was safe. How much time had passed back home?

If he was lucky, home was slower than here.

"Ári, sometimes I think I should not have told her to run. I think Hegga would have liked being a prisoner here. She always liked training more than missions."

A pause, and then a quiet snicker.

"Though maybe your people would think we didn't get along. Where we're from, training is fighting, and it gets messy because we know we heal fast from anything but poison, silver, iron, and..."

He cursed in English, "Dog tits."

A switch back to ónic, "I don't know if ónic has a word for it, but in the major language where I come from, it's called 'magic'. It's pretty much an elemental or spiritual force directed by will."

... Would she be impressed if he showed her?

"I could show you an example if you want."

He finally looked toward her, brows raised. He'd spilled so much to her in just a few short minutes—more than anyone in Civitatem Lucis had heard about him in his entire time there.
 
This new piece of information made Ríváné look at Édéla before she translated Kinny's statement into ónic. In turn, this made the heavily modified woman avert her eyes while she positioned her hands behind her body and tried to make herself appear as small as possible. It seemed that even good-natured fun had its limits when it encountered certain barriers and considering that she could have caused a lot more harm made her feel bad. However, it was not long before Édéla recovered from the blow, straightening up with a smile on her face after a moment of genuine reflection. Hopefully, this would mean less transgressions committed or rather, less pushing of the envelope. Ríváné knew better than to let herself be overtaken by false hope. Followers of the Soul philosophy remained so, no matter what happened to them.

"As I was attempting to say before we got interrupted," Ríváné returned to her previous, pleasant voice as she spoke in English. "I think we should visit the Levitation Building if you want to relax." She was already thinking ahead on how to handle the smugness of Édéla if the guests did end up listening to her advice. It would be a handful, but most certainly better than the aggressive reactions of Kámír. Not to mention that as much as she loathed to admit it, Ríváné was not flawless and Édéla did cover some of her shortcomings. It was not difficult to understand why she was chosen as a replacement.

Discarding that sequence of thoughts, Ríváné relayed the situation along with introductions to Éjjel and Aranam in ónic. She of course reminded them that the guests came from such different cultures they probably had different gestures. There were to be as few groundless presumptions as possible if she remained in charge. The guests were radically different, so no offence should be taken on their part while they should be as careful as possible about the guests. Of course, she reminded, no one had to 'live in a quarantine chamber' and that she would try her best to be reasonable with everyone.

Naturally, this was met by skepticism from Édéla. Ríváné ignored her, then she turned back to Jade and Kinny.

"I think it is best if I try to teach both of you ónic." She had switched to English again. "Everyone will have many questions for you and no one can speak English. If I am not awake or can not be reached, then you will have to talk to the other guardians." The offer was left up in the air. Truth to be told, she did not mind translating like this, but it would be much smoother if everyone could talk in the same language despite the potential problems that it presented. There were no doubt many probing questions that both Éjjel and Aranam refused to ask because of the barrier.



Ári listened thoughtfully. She was equal parts astonished and confused. The concepts this man shared with her along with his life story sounded like something that came from the early days of Civitatem Lucis, when the colonies were not united. Then there were the elements she could not make sense of. Still living people already dead? Magic? Such superstitions should have died out hundreds, if not thousands of years ago. So disturbed she was by this attitude, not to mention the tirade of information she was being bombarded with that she withdrew her hands to herself. She also fell behind Warwick just a couple of centimetres, lost in her own thoughts, warring with the relevations.

Warwick opened up to her without reservation. She knew because there was nothing on the record about this. In these couple of minutes, he shared more than he ever did during all the sessions. What made him so eager to share? Perhaps that he realised he would not be rescued from here. Still, this fact was much less disturbing than the history he was describing. So the next question Ári had to ask really was natural.

"Warwick, can you be honest about your age to me?" she asked as she looked up at him. Then, she curved her mouth into a smile as she framed a challenge for herself this time. "Or rather, how can I prove that you are wrong? People who die do not live on. If your body fails, that is the end. And I do not know what 'mádtsik' is, but if I promise I will talk to the prison guards if you are allergic to that as well." She was starting to feel kind of awkward as words failed her in front of the experience he described, trying her best not to think of what it would have been like. It sounded genuinely horrifying.
 
Jade offered a simple nod of acknowledgment to Édéla at the sight of the apologetic-seeming mannerisms. What a person did not know should not be held against them if it caused no harm in the end, but the reflection boded well for future interactions.

Ríváné's suggestion of the Levitation Building came up again, followed by the woman speaking to Éjjel and Aranam to introduce them and offer warning of the cultural differences that were not yet fully understood.

"Learning ónic would be wise," Jade agreed with a glance toward her nephew. "The most difficult part was memorizing vocabulary, but it is simple to remember the grammar."

Kinny noticed Jade's comment was aimed toward him. He'd heard her speak the language since his arrival—clearly not on the same level as the others, but she could do it.

The young man nodded. "Yeah. I'd like to learn," he agreed with a grin at Ríváné, "You mentioned a Levitation Building? That sounds fun! Last time I could levitate—"

Jade frowned and turned toward him, the worry subtle in her expression.

"Ah, nevermind. It sounds fun. Let's go!

⋯﴾﴿⋯

He slowed as he detected her confusion, then paused, stunned as she asked his age. He opened his mouth to answer, then closed it. A grin, nervous, appeared on his features. She seemed willing to believe him, even if she smelled disturbed.

She wanted him to tell her how to prove him wrong, to tell him her age, and then offered to alert the guards to his magic 'allergy'.

Warwick let the grin ease away as he pondered how best to answer, eyes skyward. Unable and unwilling to lie, that wasn't an option.

"Lemmie do the math on my age..."

He folded his arms, then pulled up his hands in front of himself. He held up a few fingers on each hand, crossing them over each other as he used an old trick to do multiplication. After a few moments, his brows furrowed. "I dunno my official age by the records, but before I came here it was somewhere in the eighties—no, nineties? More than fifty, less than a hundred. Missions I've been on have taken me to faster or slower worlds, so my official and my actual age are different, since the official is taken only from one world, and the actual is supposed to be how long my body's been around. I think... actual age, maybe two hundred something?"

"And don't worry about the magic. It's not an allergy, really. It just... interferes with my body's own magic."
 
The comment about levitation was a minor cause for concern, primarily because Kinny interrupted himself. Perhaps he had a bad experience, noted Ríváné, before turning her attention to arranging transportation for her guests while pointedly ignoring Édéla's smirk, which gloved with a terralumen-rated radiance. It was annoying, but as the de-facto, not to mention de-jure leader of their impromptu group, she had much better things to worry about. For example, the way Máté has changed the way she was meant to handle her guests. Just a couple of hours prior, safety was the main priority. Apparently, that changed to keeping a relatively low profile because of some sort of observation the soundmason made. Therefore, Ríváné did not even attempt to read the in-depth explanation; perhaps a Ruler or Éjjel was capable of understanding it, but it was way beyond her. One of her shortcomings, along with 99.99% of everyone else.

Now if only Édéla stopped smirking like she just had new teeth implanted.

"We can go now," said Ríváné in English, then she switched to ónic for some brief orders. Basically, everyone was to surround the two guests in a loose protective formation so that their escort was obvious. Ríváné took the lead as always, which left her unable to talk for the moment unless someone wished to speak to her back, while Éjjel took his place at a comfortable distance beside Jade. Aranam along with Édéla seemed to relegate themselves to Kinny, so he could look at their forms as much as he wished to, though Édéla was particularly restless as they made their way out of the structure. The half-mechanical woman did not stop for a single second, literally running and spinning circles around Kinny, yet never touching the man. She came close to it, her tail flicking just millimetres away from his shin at one point. Perhaps she was trying and failing to work Aranam up: the large, muscular man did not give her a single bit of attention. He seemed to be more interested in Kinny based on his occasional glances.

The small group left a completely different way they came in. Though it was difficult for one to differentiate between the metal corridors for one not used to soundmasons, their pattern was completely foreign from the ones before. This area was more colourful despite its ever-present lack of windows, with some hues representing an abstract painting of clear skies, while others painted strange, foreign plants. Shadows played the strangest games of pretend on the colourful surfaces, as they shifted without the need for light to be cast or removed from them. The entire thing gave the illusion of being alive in some sense, perhaps trying to imitate nature so as to provide a little bit of relief for those who spent their entire lives in the city. Or maybe it was just a fanciful local tradition. Ríváné did not explain, nor did anyone else seemed to be awed at the unusual displays.

When the group finally arrived outside, they were greeted by a frankly acrophobic sight. Ríváné had lead them to a small platform on the side of the soundmason, from which everyone could see the city below them. Though they were only a couple dozen metres high and there was a remarkably well-constructed safety railing standing between everyone and certain death, but the depths below... The spider-web of walkways, roads, suspension cables, support pillars, mechanical sliding locks and other pieces of equipment scattered below them created the illusion of them being much higher than they actually were. Strange shades paired up with even more bizzare angles to make ground indistinguishable from pavement above it, thus completely muddling the lines. The nearby skyscrapers were no help either as their admittedly eye-catching designs were more condusive to enjoyment than keeping track of one's height.

Regardless of the spectacle, a vehicle was waiting for them, hovering slightly above the platform. Big, sleek, pleasant to look at and quite colourful, it bore several seamlessly integrated rotor blades that were made part of its design. There was also seemingly no way to enter inside, at least until Ríváné uttered a quiet command and the vessel's side opened up to reveal a spacious interior.

"Please take a seat," said Ríváné in English as she indicated the vehicle. "We will be there soon."




Math on his age? Ári was stunned. She knew that there were some old people, especially with the advancement of integrated technologies, but so old as to actively lose track of their birthdays? That seemed to be ridiculous to the scarlet-haired woman. Yet there it was. A grown man trying to make use of his fingers in an efort to tell her just how old he was. It was quite a sight, especially because the last time she had seen something like that, she was in elementary school. While children were still learning how to count and to say the basic numbers. Needless to say, it was an astonishing sight and the more she tried to make sense of the whole thing, the less sense it made. It was as if... the easiest hypothesis was to say that the man was from a place or time vastly different than hers. But two hundred years was honestly not a lot of time in the history of Civitatem Lucis. That was recent history and the Senate of Reason was quite strong even back then, so his stories could not have happened to him.

"This is... very confusing," confessed Ári as she tried to find some sort of ground to stand on while simultaneously trying to believe Warwick. His words were so sincere, not to mention that she was getting valuable information, but at the same time, the ideas seemed very far removed from Civitatem Lucis. And especially her world. Give her a relez rod packed to the brim with weights and she was good, or a convict that was trying to escape and she would capture them, but this? It was a little surreal. As if she was looking at a painting of Soul without knowing that it was only the artist's imagination having come to life. At least he had given him something to work on by saying that he was not allergic to 'magic', yet it somehow interfered with his body. That probably meant it was a harmful substance and as he was human in construction, likely some sort of poison.

"I really want to believe you," she said after some time as she traced Warwick's shoulder again, "But you say impossible things. It is like if you told me that you could lift a skyscraper," she joked as she tried to bring a little bit of light into the situation with a touch of humour. Of course, she was still disturbed by what Warwick told her, but the confusion did not help as she tried to explain away the disrepancies between her knowledge and Warwick's tale. Especially because he had been deemed sane many times over, sans his unreasonable fear of people with feline features.
 
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Jade was quiet as she walked, observing and taking in all she could. As they walked through the new halls and she spotted the play of colors along, she blinked once, then murmured in English, "Pretty."

Kinny glanced toward her at her utterance, but only smiled when he realized she was admiring the sights along the walls. His smile turned to a grin as Aranam and Édéla seemed to have their attention on him. Between admiring Édéla, Kinny let Aranam catch him looking at the other muscular man, and his grin widened, warm and pleased for the attention.

He liked them both, he decided. If only he could tell them as much! His first instinct was to wink or give a thumbs up, but even back home, cultural differences made those gestures have different meanings, so they couldn't be counted on.

Heck, he wasn't even sure if gesticulations would get the message across—he'd already offended one person today.

That thought finally sobered him, though only briefly before they arrived on the platform. His face lit with wonder as he rushed toward the railing and looked out for his first glimpse of more of Civitatem Lucis than the inside of the Soundmason.

"Whoa! This is so cool!" He looked around, grin wide as he tried to take in everything all at once with the excitement of youth.

Jade stood straighter and shifted herself both closer to Éjjel and further from the edge. Her shoulders and some muscles at the back of her neck quivered, and her pupils grew and shrank in turn, and when Kinny began to inspect the vehicle, she relaxed only slightly.

Kinny jumped as the side of the thing opened, then laughed at himself, only to pause and listen to Ríváné as she urged them in and to take a seat. "Alright!" he agreed as he hopped in without hesitation and found a seat that would allow the others to enter easily as well.

Jade was not quite so eager, and moved more slowly before she spoke in stilted ónic, "This will not fall?"

⋯﴾﴿⋯

From the moment she started to speak, his expression began to fall. He could smell the confusion and strain, and how she put it—that she wanted to believe him—was a clear indicator that she couldn't.

Warwick looked at her for a few moments in silence before a subtle sigh escaped through his nose, and he shoved his hands into his pockets. He turned his gaze to the floor in front of himself.

Frustration colored his features, darkened by a glare at the floor.

"My age is not a good metric to determine the truth of my words. Where I am from—"

He cursed in English, then paused as he looked back towards her, only to take her by the shoulder and turn her towards him. With his other hand, he drew a dagger and offered it to her by the handle, careful himself not to touch the silvery blue, eerily pale blade.

"Touch the part of the blade that is not sharp. Tell me if it feels hot or if it feels cold, and then touch the flat part of the blade to the back of my arm." He rolled back his sleeve and offered his arm. "Be careful, the edge is very, very sharp."

It was the same weapon used to kill the woman who, autopsied, had been dead for some time prior.

He stared at her, willing her to do as he said, drawing on his fae ancestry to urge her to do as he asked. In every world he'd been, fae could manipulate humans with ease, so long as their urgings didn't go against the person's will.

"Let me prove the truth of my words, Ári."
 
For the most part, Kinny recieved few signals that he was being noticed, other than the constant attention he seemed to be in the centre of. Even his grin was only enough to recieve eye contact from both Aranam and Édéla, the latter more pointedly than the former. It seemed that the woman was interested in him... or not? Based on Máté's lectures, she would have approached him openly if that was the case. Therefore, this no doubt confused the muscular man, leaving him at a loss for what to do. On the brighter side of things, he was treated to an interesting lesson about body language in Civitatem Lucis. Especially as Édéla slowed down with a weird expression on her face, pointedly looking at Ríváné.

In response, the songweaver let loose a knowing smile.

"He does not know, Édéla." The ónic words came as a surprise to everyone involved, especially Aranam. "I have told you. Please pay more attention to certain topics next time." And with that, the ball of embarrassment landed in Édéla's court. Rather spectacularly. The woman's cheeks were set aflame with the loveliest shade of scarlet red while Éjjel watched on with interest, already taking notes on how everyone was behaving and whatnot. Therefore, it was not a surprise that Jade's comment attracted his attention, a mote of surprise settling on his face in the form of a slightly raised eyebrow. Did the construction not seem solid enough for the woman? Regardless, this is exactly what he was here for, so he stepped closer to her.

"The last time a FAZ-11 crashed was twenty years ago," he helpfully supplied as he called on some sort of holographic display to display the vehicle's brief profile to Jade, detailing its name as well as a couple of public data points. Several pictures floated in the air as Éjjel opened his fingers, displaying them on nothing but thin air. Regardless, they were of crystal clear quality; just as the holographics had been on the frigate Jade had taken on the way here. "The number of operational vehicles in Civitatem Lucis is estimated to be... I am unsure how familiar you are with numbers, therefore, two followed by ten zeroes. The chance of this one failing is ánga." Hopefully, that would be enough to convince the small woman of the safety of the vehicle.

"What Éjjel means is," interrupted Ríváné in English, "That the chances are... mathematically... in-fi-ni-te-si-mal..." A pause. "Very small. Everyone is safe. Please enter." With that, the colourful woman waited until Jade was inside the vehicle and then when everything was said and done, she entered their destination. The 'Levitation Building' she called it, to have a little bit of a break from every serious thing that has been happening up until now. But in the meantime, it was time for impromptu language lessons. Fortunately, she was not the only one teaching this time and much to her suprise, all of her companions proved to be helpful. Even Édéla joined in with an extensive repertoire of gestures that helped to colour simple words based on their context.

She was also all too eager to explain to Kinny, in a mixture of broken English and very simple ónic, that the circling around was a sign of interest. Specifically, it was a way of playfully inviting another to ask if the one doing the circling was willing to flirt and get to know them, to which the answer was obviously yes. Ríváné allowed this to occur on two accounts: One, Máté's orders did not say anything regarding developing relationships and two, she knew that allowing a degree of freedom for Édéla would help her cause in the long run. Soul never played well with rules, after all.




Ári's response was likely not what Warwick had expected. Instead of heeding his words, bladedancer instincts kicked in as soon as the knife appeared and she practically balleted away from him. Her movements were incredibly graceful as she leaned away from the weapon, spine almost splitting into half with literally inhuman elegance. Limbs moved in ways that they really should not have been as she put distance between them, her eyes filled with wariness. Even though she heard his words and knew that she likely could not come to any harm, the danger was still there. Whether she liked it or not, he was a dangerous element... Plus there was that strange compulsion that welled up in her muscles. Almost as if they wanted to obey him. Like a songweaver directly accessing her implants.

"Warwick..." The word was measured carefully, equal amounts of caution and curiousity. She did not alert the other guards yet, trying to let him explain the situation they had landed in. "Please. I want to believe you, but the knife is not helping. I do not know where you hid it, but I do not want to hurt you or myself. Can... can you not explain in a way that I could understand? Without weapons?" she asked, muscles tense. She was honestly not sure what in the name of reason she could do with this situation. She knew that she was supposed to alert the rest of the facility as per standard protocol. However, she also did not hear any threat in Warwick's voice.

This entire situation was getting more confusing by the moment. Even worse, given the strange feeling inside her gut that compelled to act as he desired, Ári felt as if she could not trust her instincts.
 
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