656/NODE: City of Spirit - Valdearg Building

NODE: City of Spirit - Valdearg Building
Date of Scene:	22 September 2014
Location:	The Homeworld
Synopsis:	Nozomi and friends are curious to see just what the Valdearg Group is, and what sort of organization they run. And they don't like what they find out.
Thanks to:	Abstractum for GMing
Cast of Characters:	2, 40, 63, 342, 347, 570
Tinyplot:	When They Return

---

Abstractum.Net (347) has posed:
    As before, opening the wrought-iron gates is easy - only Nozomi or TIGER can do it, fortunately, or perhaps unfortunately - and when she does, it simply slides open at her touch, revealing what looks like a heavily altered castle, like the interior of a modern palace. The hallway is long, looking like it's going to need to be walked along for a minute or so.

    Along the walls are several mirrors, hung at regular intervals. One's own reflection is not visible in them, but rather, an empty hallway.

    The door opens out into an exterior that really doesn't match the strange palace-like interior. It's an alleyway, albeit relatively clean. There's a dumpster here, but it's full of weird, discarded crystals alongside the usual contents of trash. If one heads out of the alleyway, they will find a relatively active city street. The ghosts of several horses, a chariot suffused in brimstone and fire, and what appears to be a carriage with a tree growing out of it are all stuck in a bit of a traffic jam with several perfectly normal, modern cars; walking alongside on the various sidewalks are mostly humans, but among them, wearing similar clothes and walking with similar purposes, can be seen a werewolf, a pair of walking skeletons, and something pale enough to be a vampire, just to name a few.

    That's not what you're here for, though, of course. Various taxies blare horns at obstructive traffic sorts as they go on by, making it clear that it'll be easy to get wherever you need to go. Despite being isolated from the multiverse, they seem to take multiversal credits! So you can get anywhere from anywhere else, probably.

Nozomi Houken (342) has posed:
    As soon as they're out on the sidewalk, Nozomi's head is lowered just a little, the girl instinctively retreating into herself a bit in public. She's not shutting down, though, as evidenced when she says, "There... the big building. Black crystal. I... w-we should investigate there, I think..." Helpfully, Taiga adds as he draws up alongside her, "That is the home of Valdearg. He is almost certainly some sort of dragon, but immensely powerful in a way he shouldn't be. It was reported last time that the building has a hold on the city's financial flow. It is called the Valdearg building; we can only assume that is the dragon's name." He looks to the rooftops. "I can carry Nozomi there quickly. But others may need to find their own way.

Eleanor Lamb (40) has posed:
    Elle is here for morale support... and moral support since she's got Utopia. No visible weapons today, but she does have that Medics Bag of Holding on her hip, so who knows what she's got. "Mmmm. I can't say I've dealt with dragons before. That seems more along the lines of something Psyber or Mr. Dresden would handle."
    A smile, and she looks at the rest of the girls, and feels a little old. Oh well. "A taxi should suffice." And in fact, Elle steps out, sticks out her hand, and whistles. Loudly. Oh right.
    She raises a 20 in the air, and whistles loudly.

Homura Akemi (2) has posed:
    Homura arrives in an arbitrary and undetermined fashion. But most likely she just kind of appears after having received her invitation, and is standing vaguely to Nozomi's side. She is wearing formal black pants, a white dress shirt, and has a black vest slung over one shoulder. Evidently she did not change clothes between now and her time at the university earlier. She pushes her glasses up her nose and glances towards the building, before nodding at Taiga's assessment.

    "Do you WANT us to fight the dragon if we run into it, or avoid it at all costs and run if we wake it?" Better to have a plan, if there might be something dangerous in the building. Especially if it might be a Pure, but they don't know that for sure yet. Nodes tend to follow a pattern though, and if a boss is popping up, it's probably a Pure.

Kotoha Isone (63) has posed:
Still in her school uniform, Kotoha stands beside Nozomi. One hand comes to the girl's shoulder, offering some reassuring weight. "Another taxi? But taxis are so boring..." Even if they are driven by like.. ogres or something here. "I think I'll take a more scenic route. Anyone want to come with me?"

And then Homura appears. Kotoha gives no warning before trying to give the girl a hug of greeting! There's not even any killing intent there. "Homura! You're looking all snazzy! And I don't think it's a bad dragon. I think it's an economic dragon."

Kimiko Shinobu (570) has posed:
    Kimiko is here, having arrived in the normal fashion. She's dressed in city wear, including a light jacket and pants, and could probably blend in just fine if there aren't any glaring phenotypal differences between her Earth and this place. You never know.

    As for why she's here--she was invited, and it is very possibly dangerous. If it is, she'll be as ready as she ever is.

    "Taxis are fine. Though they may be slow. But less slow than walking." She seems noncommital over modes of transport.

    Homura and Kotoha get a blank look, for several reasons.

Nozomi Houken (342) has posed:
    "Ah... u-um..." Nozomi frowns a little, considering Homura's question. "I-I think we should... see how things happen. We don't... we don't know how he fits in here. I'm not sure fighting him is a good idea." Taiga, having been just about to answer, is looking at her in mild surprise. It's a well-thought answer.

Homura Akemi (2) has posed:
    Homura remains motionless at the hug.
    She just kind of almost frowns. Almost.
    It'd be impolite.

    "Yes, hello. Yes, I do. And fair enough. I just wanted a plan in the event it isn't a nice economic dragon and it's more of the eat intruders variety." Better safe than sorry and all that jazz.

Eleanor Lamb (40) has posed:
    Elle is still waving the 20.
    "Well, we will see when we get there. Dragons may be subtle, but the manner in which he presents himself by his minions is likely to direct our manner of contact."

Kotoha Isone (63) has posed:
"You could at least make a grumpy face," complains Kotoha good-naturedly. At least she doesn't hang onto Homura long! "I heard some rumors that some types of dragons are really bad with music. Maybe we could sing at it." Total straight face as she looks at the Puella.

Kimiko is given a wave. "Hi! I'm Kotoha. Kotoha Isone. So...." She glances from Kimiko to Homura to Eleanor. "I can only bring one and Taiga's got Nozomi. So if any of you want alternate transport besides a boring taxi..." Reaching over, she pats Taiga on the head. "Take good care of Nozomi on the way." She knows she doesn't have to remind him, but it bears repeating!

Kimiko Shinobu (570) has posed:
    "If we don't know its capability or what result fighting it might have, we should plan for a safe retreat." That's Kimiko's opinion on what to do about business dragons, said while standing near Eleanor and keeping one eye out for a taxi that can make it through traffic.

    Oh, she's being waved to. "...hello. Kimiko Shinobu."

Abstractum.Net (347) has posed:
    The call for a taxi is answered quickly. There is a tiny fairy driving it with his own little tiny driver's seat. He pulls up and gruffly and impatiently deals with the exchange of heading to the structure and payment. It's a lot of hassle but these are just some girls, so he doesn't really care about the passengers.

    It's a quick drive, a short walk, or an even shorter rooftop leap-and-bound (there are, apparently, pathways on the roofs specifically for this purpose) until the group reaches Crystal Park, where large shards of crystal are integrated into the structures, until they eventually find the castle-like skyscraper formed out of pure black crystal. It's very attention-grabbing. It's also open, to a degree: Looks like there's relatively heavy security, but there's publicly-accessible areas one can get to just walking through the front door.

Kimiko Shinobu (570) has posed:
    Kimiko is not thrilled by taxi rides, and is too polite to stare at long at the tiny fairy driver. She still does a lot of looking out the window, because that allows for socially acceptably short staring sessions with all of the strange (by her standards) inhabitants of the city. And then, they're there.

    She coughs. "I haven't heard anything to suggest that we can't just walk in and ask questions. Is there any such thing?"

Eleanor Lamb (40) has posed:
    Elle has sucessfully exchanged cash for goods and/or sevices. Points to Gryffindor.
    The ride does get a bit of wonder out of her though. She always appreciates the look of fantasy type housing, especially building made out of rocks like that. The large skyscraper also gets an oooooooo out of her as the girls all ple out of the faerie-cab. She does in fact tip the driver.

    "Well. If we're going about this the right way, a nice calm sedate entrance might be preferable as opposed to getting out the heavy weapons and starting a siege. I'm not sure where we'd even get a trebuchet at this hour."

Nozomi Houken (342) has posed:
    The big black mechatiger just kind of accepts the petting without complaint, then vaults to the rooftops with Nozomi on his back.

    "I would like to speak to Tokyo city planners of our home world about the rooftop design," Taiga declares as they're coming down from the rooftops. Looks like /someone/ liked what this city's done with them! Of course, once they're there, Nozomi isn't going anywhere. Not until Kimiko, Homura, and especially Kotoha are there. Until then, she kind of waits quietly. To Kimiko, she shakes her head. "I don't... /think/ so...? W-we may as well." Once everyone HAS arrived, she'll (hesitantly) take the first step and head for the entrance. It occurs to her as they start walking that she doesn't actually know what they're looking for; there are racial tensions in this town, sure, but that's normal, and all they know right now is 'powerful dragon with lots of money'. What happens if they don't spot anything untoward? What if it just turns out to be a successful business? What-

    Nozomi has stopped just before the door. Taiga is staring up at her, long enough to realize he should give her a nudge to the small of the back. "Nozomi. We should at least take a look around." She blinks, then nods. "A-ah... yeah."

Homura Akemi (2) has posed:
    We leave the details of how Homura arrives at the destination to your imagination, but she definitely did not lower herself to a taxi. She can be found waiting by the public entrance to the "castle", arms crossed and reading from some time theory book until people finally show up. Then she puts that away into... well, thin air, apparently.

    "If you don't mind, I'll go take a look past the secure zones with my powers. That is up to you though, it's your Node, so I don't want to mess things up in a way that makes you uncomfortable."

Kimiko Shinobu (570) has posed:
    "What should we be looking for, or asking about?" Kimiko realizes that she probably should have been briefed on this. She doesn't yet realize that no such briefing was possible.

    When Nozomi steps up, she does as well, falling in beside. As they get closer to the building, she settles into a stance of half-relaxed awareness. She'll be able to move quickly if needed, but won't jump if there's nothing there.

    She murmurs, "Koishin?" Better overprepared than under.

Kotoha Isone (63) has posed:
There is also the option of getting carried by Kotoha.

The hanyou decides against the taxi, instead taking the rooftop route. She seems perfectly comfortable leaping over alleyways, whether or not she's burdened. "Hup!" Shoes touch the ground next to Nozomi, and Kotoha crosses her arms over her chest. "More cities should have rooftop pathways. They're super convenient! Didn't even have to scuff my shoes." She reaches up to scratch her cheek. "If he's a business dragon, maybe we should see if he has a secretary? She might show us the way."

Eleanor Lamb (40) has posed:
    Eleanor, for her part, steps towards the main entrance. "Well, I'm going to go see the lady at the front desk like Miss Isone said. There's nothing wrong with asking first. Then we can mount the Siege."
    She adjusts her jacket, and moves towards the doors, keeping an eye on security. "She may be the gatekeeper, but we should make orselves known first."

Abstractum.Net (347) has posed:
    The VALDEARG GROUP is a massive financial institution, but that doesn't mean they can't have a welcome center of sorts. In fact, since they're worth no less than a majority of the entire world's economy. And as a result, their huge welcome center is grandiose and bombards its visitors with the corporate line at great density. Huge columns covered in luminous screens show moving images illustrating every facet, alongside replica artifacts from the company's origin as a dragon's hoard and faux-museum displays.

    They show off, almost boastfully, how every bit of the transport industry, the magic industry, the media industry, the housing industry, the retail industry, even the food industry, has debt to them or is even outright owned by them. It's a heavy, intense corporate grip on the entire city, and the group's focus is INTENSELY focused on consumerism. Even the motto has a terribly capitalist bent: "FEED YOUR FIRE".

    The heavy scent of fantastical racism can be found here. Normal old humans are only ever shown in low labor positions, and everything here is focused on appealing to the Mythics who live in the city, presumably because they have the actual money.

    There's even a restaurant in here that offers a tiny meal for thirty credits. This place is pure evil. There's obviously an employee entrance elsewhere, though. This is just some part of the structure dedicated to hyper-consumerist image-mongering. There is a lady at the front desk, though: A witch, big witch-cap and all, a receptionist of some kind.

Nozomi Houken (342) has posed:
    "Um..." Nozomi considers Homura's request for a moment. "...that might be good," she finally says, nodding. Taiga speaks up, however. "I would advise caution when you go. There is no telling what kind of preparations an ancient and powerful magical entity has made." His user looks like she hadn't even considered this. It's almost an 'oh crap' look, then it turns to worry as she glances at Homura. "...be careful," she murmurs.

    In the meantime, the girl leads the way to the desk, stopping just in front of it. There's a faltering moment; she opens her mouth, nearly speaks up, stops, almost starts again, stops a second time. Thankfully, her companion takes the lead, rearing up to plant his front paws on the desk and look at the witch over it. "Hello. We are from another world. We are interested in information about the Valdearg Group." A pause. "I'm her service animal." Did... did someone tell him to say that before they left?

Kimiko Shinobu (570) has posed:
    Kimiko gives a short nod to Homura. Just an acknowledgment that the other puella will be off. She doesn't see the need for more words, there.

    Then, she remembers the last time she met someone (or something) with a similar appearance. A house made of confectionary may have been related. She frowns, and falls a step behind. Someone else can handle the talking.

    At least there are plenty of really flashy signs to look at. For actual, relevant information, she has a low opinion of how useful these infographics will be. Watching the people may be more useful.

Kotoha Isone (63) has posed:
The racism might not come as a surprise to Kotoha - after all, she was told about it last time she was here - but it does leave a bad taste in her mouth. She's not entirely sure just how variant from a human someone has to be to be considered.... not a human, here.

"Nice hat." Kotoha's words are completely without sarcasm as she steps up right alongside Nozomi. "And we'd love to meet Mr. Valdearg if he has an opening in his schedule! I know he must be a busy dragon, but I bet he'll have time for strange visitors from another world, right?"

Homura Akemi (2) has posed:
    "I'll be careful. If I sense magical wards or anything interfering with me I'll make sure not to wear out my welcome," Homura says, acknowledging the warnings. And really, it's true. This place isn't just a random military facility on a no-name Earth without magic, it's the center of a fairly incredible magical world. They probably have protection.

    Before they go in, so that they are not seen together, Homura disappears, and then heads in on her own a few moments later, in stopped time. She's going to walk right past the main hall, past security, and into the deeper levels.

    Let's find out what's behind those security checkpoints.

Eleanor Lamb (40) has posed:
    Eleanor snorts a bit as she steps inside the facility, and finds herself humming... the Fontaine Futuristics jingle. "Oh this is very rich, very rich indeed. Bloody capitalists."
    The others are poking at the witch. Eleanor sucks in a breath, and focuses quietly. A hand grips at Utopia, and she murmurs. "Uncle, give me the lowdown, what are you seeing. This place can't be as straight forward as this. This is far too... blatant." A grumble. "This is far too... open about what they're about." The Morals Are Wrong.

Abstractum.Net (347) has posed:
    Koishin, the bracer on Kimiko's arm, looks up, perky and supportive as ever. "Want me watching your back? I'll make sure I've got the Barrier Drivers ready. Heading right into the enemy's den can be a pretty rough sort of thing! I'll make sure not to let you down in here."

Abstractum.Net (347) has posed:
    The witch stares for a while at Nozimi and her robot cat-thing. Oddly, she wasn't staring until Taiga claimed to be HER service animal. She just assumed Nozomi was TIGER's assistant. She shakes her head, as if clearing it of some distraction.

    "Hello sir." She's speaking exclusively to the magical one here, not Nozomi, who's primarily ignored because she thinks TIGER was joking. "Thank you for visiting the headquarters of the Valdearg Group. Our welcome center provides a great deal of information to all visitors. If you are interested in more information about the Valdearg Group or any of its subsidiaries, please peruse our available brochures on employment, economic, administrative, or similar topics available here," She gestures to one side, showing off a case of brochures on a variety of subjects! "Or visit our website at Valdearg dot com."

Abstractum.Net (347) has posed:
    Kimiko can see some employees up on the balconies high above the welcome center in the vast, open space of the corporate structure. It's all Mythics! Not one single normal, regular human working here-- No, there's one. There's a janitor up on the third floor. Mostly ignored. Yeah, this is a den of bad integration.

    The rest of the behavior is all the traditional awful corporate hollow politeness. Nothing worth note here besides the fact that practically every mythic creature and archetype is represented besides a dragon. There's even a giant!

Abstractum.Net (347) has posed:
    Kotoha gets a pleasant nod from the witch at the hat compliment. "Thank you, ma'am. I'm sorry, but Mr. Valdearg isn't taking appointments. If you have legal, journalistic, financial, or security concerns, I can direct you to the relevant representitives to have your queries answered, though." She seems to take a moment to remember something. "Wait, from off world? Ah, I believe the Operators informed us about that. Your appointment isn't for some time, I'm sorry. You'll need to wait."

    Well that's weird.

Nozomi Houken (342) has posed:
    After a second or so, Nozomi realizes that she has been ignored. Rather than any sort of crushed reaction, she merely lowers her head a little, expression growing sullen. Being ignored is something she's entirely too used to.

    "I see," Taiga says. "Thank you." His paws slide back off the counter, although on the way down, his claws leave little gouges along the desktop. Funny, he doesn't do that when he walks.

    While he's sauntering off to one side, Nozomi is quiet... until mention of the Operators is made. "-ah? Y-you... we're... y-you're expecting us?" Her voice is perhaps a bit more soft and hesitant than usual, but she manages to actually get the words out. Taiga comes back a moment or two later... with a mouthful of brochures. He seems to have grabbed several of them at random. And is holding them out patiently for Nozomi.

Abstractum.Net (347) has posed:
    Heading deeper into the complex, Homura finds that the majority of it is made for handling all matters and aspects of finance. There is literally a built-in bank here, it's that bad.

    Besides the universal strangeness of a workforce of supernatural beings, all the servers, offices, workstations, and other similar financial faculties are hooked up by means of some form of magical metal superstructure to the crystal spire itself.

    Strange. Every line is active, humming with power that glows despite the time stop.

Kotoha Isone (63) has posed:
"Oh, that's just too bad. And here I was hoping to show him something he'd never seen before." Kotoha holds her hand out to the side and pokes her tongue out. "Shortcut: flowers!" Sparks run over her tongue, and a small bouquet in a vase appears in her hand. She sets it down on the witch receptionist's deck and gives her a winning smile. "There! A little color around here never hurt. But I suppose if he doesn't have time...." She glances toward Nozomi and leans over slightly. "Be a bit pushy. This is your world, right? I'll back you up. So will Taiga." If he doesn't claw up the desk much more.

Kimiko Shinobu (570) has posed:
    Kimiko doesn't give any kind of audible response to Koishin. Just a slight nod. It does make her feel better, to have another set of eyes--well, eye. The fact that there appears to be no overt threat makes no difference. Covert threats--more difficult. Rudeness--not something she'll be directly addressing this time, probably. Things can go very wrong when you try to solve that.

    She stays close to Nozomi, withholding her comments on her mind while still in earshot of the receptionist, and waiting on an answer to Nozomi's question.

Homura Akemi (2) has posed:
    That's the first time this happens.
    Homura snaps a few pictures of the structures and lines keeping every device operation even in the event of time magic being used. If they ever have to cause damage to this place, she can make a fair guess making these things the target will be optimal. The place itself is likely too sturdy to just bomb, so breaking the equipment instead would do.

    You know, IF they have to.
    Maybe they won't have to!
    But this is Homura we're talking about. She has to have a plan even if it never comes up or she'll feel off and uncomfortable.

    If there's nothing to see but finance stuff here, she won't bother too much longer. She'll take a look around, just in case there's more to see, but if there isn't, she'll settle for looking at a few of the still active computers, get an idea of what they're doing. And now that she knows devices are still active, she's going to be avoiding the glares of the security cameras, too.

    Aaaand...

    "Claire, you're good with magic. Can you figure out what the deal with these is? You'd need pretty powerful magic, time or otherwise, to keep this equipment like this. The source must be bright as a Christmas tree for you."

Abstractum.Net (347) has posed:
    Eleanor gets a heavy sort of sigh. "It seems familiar. Very blatant. Someone here... Wants people to know. I think they're past the point where there's any conceivable threat here. If I had to guess, this lines up with the usual myth of the way a dragon treats their valuables. Just... Amplified by corporate culture."

Eleanor Lamb (40) has posed:
    "'This Is Mine, All of This is Mine, Look At Me.' Yes, we know that one, don't we?" Eleanor growls, and stalks over towards the rest of the group, murmuring. "Well, count me in if we're going to ... meet this person, dragon, whoever. I've got bones to pick with this Type."

Abstractum.Net (347) has posed:
    "Yes, we were. Or, rather, we wil be. You've got an official appointment in a rather long while with Mr. Valdearg, courtesy of the Operators, if you are the 'offworlders' that the halfblood claims you are." First off, dang, apparently the witch can tell! Second, little bit of Diet Racism there. "You should make sure that you're prepared for the appointment when the time comes, please. Mr. Valdearg doesn't enjoy having his time wasted." She accepts the bouquet with a grateful smile. "Thank you, ma'am." Well, at least she's nice for an awful person.

Abstractum.Net (347) has posed:
    Claire makes a meek sort of noise. "I... I didn't wanna mention it being so bright, b-but... Um... Well, it's not being hidden much. There's... It's some kind of magical energy coming out of all the... The finance stuff. I don't know, it doesn't make a lot of sense. It's not being made /by/ the finance stuff, it's being made... By something else, using the finance stuff. I'm sorry if this doesn't make any sense, Miss Akemi. The ownership of the money is... Making magic out of it, I guess?"

    The little ring is a bit meek about this. Whatever more there is here, besides the latticework of magical metals and crystal structures alongside plain officespace, is either too well hidden or too high up to practically travel to.

Homura Akemi (2) has posed:
    "That's alright. Dragons 101, your hoard is your power. I can make a guess, now. I don't like it," Homura tells her ring, before she promptly walks out of the building and resumes the flow of time. She waits a bit, resuming her class study until the others come out.

    Once they do, she will explain the place checks out; it deals in finances, doesn't seem to have dirty secrets, at least on the surface. Something is providing the entire 'castle' with enough magical energy to have its equipment completely ignore time magic, but she wasn't able to find the source, only the conduits. Guess #1 is that the dragon's powering it all through ownership, but that's pure conjecture. Pictures of the equipment included, in case Nozomi might recognize it.

Nozomi Houken (342) has posed:
    Something about the word 'halfblood' puts a frown on Nozomi's face. It's faint, hard to see... but where she had been about to fold up with perhaps a mumbled 'it's fine I don't really want to see him anyway', now she's calmed a little, and in what might be something of a surprising move, she looks the witch right in the eyes - with a surprisingly firm gaze. "Hanyou." It's the steadiest her voice has been in quite some time, quiet as it might be. "...she's a hanyou." Even Taiga has gone quiet.

    "...Taiga. We're going," she adds after a moment, before giving Kotoha a look filled briefly with a variety of emotions. Indignation on the hanyou's behalf, worry, protectiveness. The one she gives Kimiko is simpler - an unspoken 'we should get going'.

    Only after they've left the building does Nozomi finally seem to relax, slowly returning to her usual withdrawn self over the course of Homura's report. At the end, she nods her head a little. "Ah... th-thanks. It's... it's good to know." She turns to look over her shoulder at the building, frowning a little. "...I don't like it in there... they were... they shouldn't treat people like that. Not anyone."

Kotoha Isone (63) has posed:
Eyetwitch.

"Halfblood?" She drops a hand down on the counter, not quite slamming it, but hard enough to make a noise. "Look here, you! I'm one hundred percent youkai! I don't know how you knew I was a hanyou, but I work differently than anything you have here! I bet I can out-youkai anyone in this building!" Who cares if it makes sense. It doesn't have to. She makes her own sense! Kotoha clenches a fist and... stares at Nozomi. She pauses and takes a deep breath. Calm. Okay. "Look. You tell the businessdragon that every -second- he puts off seeing us is a wasted opportunity." She turns on her heel and walks out after Nozomi.

Once they're outside, she turns and gives the girl a tight hug. "Thanks. And don't worry. We'll show 'em."

Kimiko Shinobu (570) has posed:
    Kimiko nods to Nozomi. It's around this point that she'd ping Homura, using the usual magical radio/telepathic means, to the tune of, "Everything okay?" She's little idea how much real-time Homura might have needed. And just in case, she isn't mentioning that would be meaningful if intercepted. Even if their communication has never been intercepted before. This place is strange, after all.

    "I'll be right behind you." She waits for Kotoha to leave as well, then taking her turn to give the receptionist a, visually at least, much more calm response.

    "You should not judge off-worlders by the standards of your own. This leads to misunderstanding, mistakes, and offense." Little additional proof should be needed, she thinks. "Good day."

    And then, she leaves.

Abstractum.Net (347) has posed:
    The witch is looking a little caught off-guard, leaning back at her desk and making a sort of lip-pursed eyebrow-raising expression. "Okay, then. I'll make sure to... Go ahead and tell him, ma'am." Lot of awkwardness she's showing here, but more like 'lady what's your deal' than 'oh shit I said a bad thing'. There's a bit of a nod to Kimiko and she says, "Mmmm. Right, thank you, ma'am, I will make sure to keep it in mind." More out of politeness than actually taking the advice, but it came from a genuine Mythic so she's a little less rude here at least.