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Rubi-Kan Vagrants Planet Rubi-ka
Clan Territory
Longest Road
Mysterious Ruins

    The walled city of Bliss exists along the longest road on the planet, a stretch of beaten path yawning across the vastness of the planet's terraformed regions. Miles from here, the wreckage of an Omni-Tek black ops site lies buried under tons of sandstone, concrete and steel. Bliss sits at the edge of a sea of green, otherwise surrounded by a sandy, barren expanse.

    At the far western edge of the Road, nestled upon an overgrown hill surrounded with engineered flora, the bones of some long-forgotten place keep a silent vigil. Rubi-ka has known human contact for some eight hundred years, and these ruins are the subject of much debate. No one has yet gotten word that the mutants who once roamed these wizened, vine-wreathed structures have vacated.

    Are they the leavings of some failed settlement, forgotten in the planet's long history of conflict? Or do they predate human influence?

    Whatever their origin, they are beautiful in the early evening. The planet's blue sun is down, leaving only the yellow--and with it gently touching upon the horizon, the faded-ivory color of the gently sloping, domed buildings and the vines tenaciously clinging to them are all bathed in a soft orange light.

    Bercilak has staked out the remains of an ampitheater to enjoy the view, with what he imagines to be his sole company for the evening. Stone benches remain sturdy enough to support an audience after so much time has passed. The Green Knight is dressed...


Nicely? No crude slogan tee, no 'obscenity' like Liza had noted upon the beach trip. A lime-colored pressed button-up, sleeves rolled up, with slacks in a matching, darker shade. It raises a few questions, such as 'what tailor would put up with him.'
Karlan Nobles If there's lessons to be learned from the past, there's sure to be plenty to be learned from the future as well. Rubi-ka's strange mix of the arcane, complex future-tech, and everything in between might not be anywhere near what SilverAsh is used to seeing, but getting a better idea of how it all works can only work well.

Plus, it might make it easier to understand Bercilak's manner of speech if he spends more time around him during casual conversations.

Instead of getting driven out here by someone, the clan head has actually opted to just walk for once. It's a good chance to see things away from prying eyes, but he probably also sticks out like a sore thumb between the coat and scarf combo that's longer than many people are tall along with the umbrella in hand that's definitely not being brought along in case he needs to stab someone with something that isn't hidden inside it.

Also, he's brought what looks like a bucket. A really fancy bucket, too, with a twist-off lid and a symbol on it that's easily recognizable as SilverAsh's personal logo because of course his company makes fancy buckets like this.

As he approaches, SilverAsh raises a hand in a polite greeting towards the green knight. "I hope I haven't kept you long, Sir Bercilak. It does seem we've arrived the earliest, though, for today's viewing session. I look forward to seeing what this world has to offer for entertainment."
Liza Grier     Wow, that was so nice of Phreak. Thinking of his good friend Bercilak like that. A group watch? That sounds fun. So that means to bring a plus one, right? Yeah, Liza's pretty sure that means to bring her own plus one. That's how awkward chain invitations to movies from people who like you a little too much *go* right? That's just how men interact. Liza is very good at reading signals like that.

    In the sense of being a creature wholly adapted to such a specific niche that it has largely lost its ability to function in its original environment, at least.

    This is one of those ultra rare occasions that Liza shows up without her hardsuit, *and* hasn't been coincidentally foisted into the position of being on a beach (at which she still wore her hardsuit for half of it, one time). It's still Rubi-Ka though, so she knows better than to try too hard. She dressed up with vaguely coordinated red-amber-grey-white as if to get into one of those actually nice clubs that keep the scene kids out and the gender ratio positive, put on a decent zip-up jacket (unzipped) for 'god only knows the weather), brushed her fucking hair properly for a change and--

    Ended up carrying Rita here way off the road past the ass-end of civilization that is already at the ass-end of the galaxy here. When she first lays eyes on the stone amphitheatre, her first words after "Hi." are "I never know what you're going to pick, I'll give you that much. It's a surprise every time here." Only after scanning around, checking corners and pillars as a matter of habit, does Liza actually look at Bercilak himself. A too-red stare looks up and down his button-up and slacks.

    A tiny 'ohhhh' is formed with her lips.
Rita Ma      EARLIER: Rita attempts to make some nice sashimi for the Movie Night. Rita eats the raw fish before it's done. Rita attempts it again. Rita eats it again. Eventually, she decides to just make something vegetarian.

     A thought bounces around inside Rita's skull like a DVD screensaver icon as she chops up some jalapenos, registering only dimly. Mr. Bercilak and Mr. SilverAsh were acting really friendly at the beach. We won't be intruding, will we? Do they... like each other?

     No, don't be silly, Rita. Ms. Grier says that girls can like other girls, but why would boys like other boys? That would just be weird, right? Haha.

     That thought is very firmly pushed out of her mind. She focuses with excessive determination on stuffing the peppers with cheese.

     NOW: Rita's dressed more simply, but somewhat less practically, than her usual: a nice flower-patterned sundress, sandals, and a cute woven sun-hat. It's not too far off from how she looked at the beach, actually, but it's a good "I'm here to have fun" look in general.

     From her perch in Liza's arms, she waves enthusiastically at the Green Knight with the hand that isn't holding a little hot dish, eyes all lit up in innocent marveling wonder. "Mr. Bercilak!! You look great today!" She is totally self-assured that she's definitely not breaking up up a private date, and so innocently cheerful that it'd be heartbreakingly difficult to tell her. "You too, Mr. SilverAsh! I brought some stuffed peppers for us. It's my first time making them, so be kind, okay?"

     Liza's momentary silence cues her to look up at her friend as she squirms out of her arms. "Ms. Grier? Is everything alright? ... You didn't forget your sunscreen, did you?"
Rubi-Kan Vagrants      "Ei," says Bercilak, rising from a bleacher to greet SilverAsh with a smile. "Modful am I of the cogitacioun to journei here," he adds with a nod of agreement. "Sonne-goinge-doun in this place is most beauteous."

     The bucket is one thing that draws his attention--but his expression shifts into one of more-than-mild confusion when his guest makes use of the word 'earliest.' "The most erli...?" A large green finger scratches the shorn side of his undercut mohawk. The confusion doesn't last long--only until Liza shows up with Rita in tow.

     Meeting Liza's gaze compresses a too-large portion of Understanding into a few uncomfortable seconds. "'Tis wel afin," he says awkwardly, to Rita as much as Liza (when the former asks if everything is alright).

     He holds up a 'one moment' finger and then turns his back, finger to his ear. He is very bad at being quiet during what must be a phone call.

"What the fuck didst thou do?"

...

"Nay! Nay! Him al-on!" ...

"Yes, she is." Bercilak looks over his shoulder at Liza--then at Rita. Despite the awkwardness, something about the two of them being here amuses him. "Wert I thee," he says, turning back to look away, "I wouldst vex mineself not. She hath companage al-redi."

... "Fin, but muster not thy hopinge overmuch. And if thou shalt journei hither, so als shalt thou ifinde sportaunce for us." ... "Wherefore art thou redi so quikli? Phreak? Helwe?" He scoffs, shaking his head.

     Having had this conversation with (what he wrongly imagines) subtlety, he turns around and is all smiles. "God news! Phreak is cominge with sportaunce mo hemeli for revelrie." He attempts to discreetly put away a small, rectangular case with cover art depicting two armored men holding hands before a sunset.
Rubi-Kan Vagrants      Phreak arrives not long after. He did not dress well--looking more like he just got off the set of a 90s hacker flick, with an orange crop top (bearing the logo of 'Gridstream Productions' in black) and baggy pants that'd be more at home in a rave than the wilderness.

     "Got it," he says one hand extended, holding out a different rectangular case. "HD camrip. Garshasp's Fist. Subbed." It looks to be a low-budget martial arts movie, by the box art. "Super ahead of its time." He tosses it towards Bercilak, then turns to greet Liza.

     "Hey! Haven't seen you since..." His golden eyes land upon Rita. "Saint Patrick's Day," he says, glancing between the two of them. "Who's your friend?" 'Friend' is so hopeful that Bercilak chuckles and claps Phreak in the back of the head with a palm.

     "'Tis Rita, ywis."

     "Hi, Rita," says Phreak meekly. "You can call me Phreak."
Karlan Nobles "You're not wrong, Lady Grier. I've seen and heard quite a bit about Sir Bercilak's choice of clothes, and they've never failed to be entertaining."  SilverAsh replies to Liza as he offers her and Rita a similar greeting to what Bercilak got: Hand up, brief nod, and overly practiced smile like he's trying not to look like someone that's done his share of war crimes and back room murders.

He's getting better at making it look natural.

"You're both looking well as... Well, Grier. La-Mmh. Rita." He's getting better at not being too formal around her, too. "I'm sure what you brought will be more than sufficient. I am afraid to say I've been out of practice when it comes to cooking myself, but after hearing that we would be watching some sort of movies tonight..."

He raises the fancy bucket. It's actually pretty big on closer inspection, and there's several handles on the sides. "The first batch is already inside. The rest of the popcorn can be prepared as we need it."

Bercilak's confusion, of course, doesn't go unnoticed by SilverAsh. That request for a moment is noted with a polite nod, but even he's not so polite as to not try and listen in a bit on what he can pick up from the phone call on Bercilak's side.

At the very least, it's another opportunity to try and understand what he's actually saying. It gets more confusing near the end of that call, but the confirmation that someone else is coming doesn't put Silverash off in the slightest. "Ah, wonderful. Once everyone's gathered, then we'll have the ideal opportunity to dine and learn."

He notices the movement to hide something, but he doesn't say anything about that. Probably has something to do with the phone call.

When Phreak does arrive, SilverAsh greets him with a similar hand-up as well. "Greetings, Sir Phreak. It's good of you to join us. When you say 'subbed', do you mean..." He trails off, contemplating that for a few moments before nodding in approval. "Yes, that should do nicely. Hearing the work in its native language is certainly the best way to learn it."
Rita Ma      Rita remains tensely silent throughout Bercilak's phone call, trading glances with Liza and SilverAsh where she can. The feeling of having intruded, being an inconvenience, being a burden creeps over her like a slow frost.

     It thaws back into that sunny, summery smile with a little sigh of relief when Bercilak turns around and reassures them. "Okay, Mr. Bercilak! I promise not to vex myself at all." Finally, she remembers that she's holding a rather big oven pot and thinks to put it down on a bench nearby; when she removes the lid, a delicious smell of cheesy spicy oven-roasted goodness fills the air. There's definitely more than enough for four people- was she expecting it to be a bigger party?

     SilverAsh's pot of popcorn naturally enthralls her curiosity too; she wanders over before Bercilak's even gotten off the phone. Her eyes shut in a little giggle at his cut-off address of 'Lady'. "'Popcorn'? What's that, Mr. SilverAsh? Is it- ..." The first whiff of it hits her nose, and her face shifts to a look of both salivating desire and soft disappointment. "Ah, sorry. It smells really nice, but I'll leave it for you and the others, okay?" As an afterthought, while she returns to her seat and pats the spot next to her for Liza: "If you ever want me to help you with cooking stuff, please ask, okay? It really does make me happy to help!"

     Phreak gets the same overenthusiastic wave and greeting that everyone else did. "Garshasp's Fist," she murmurs in soft awe, like it's some kind of special relic instead of a cheesy bootleg. He startles her out of her preoccupation with it with his greeting: "It's nice to meet you, Mr. Phreak! Like Mr. Bercilak said, I'm Rita Ma." She does a cute little head-only casual bow, then catches her hat with a soft 'oh!!' to keep it from sliding off her head, looking sheepish afterwards.

     "Ms. Grier and I are Very Good Friends," she says with a smile and audible capitalization. After a short pause, she adds: "And roommates." She chooses that exact moment to take Liza's arm and drape it around her shoulders in entirely innocent pride. "How do you know her? It's always really nice to get to know her other friends!"
Liza Grier     "Yeah. No, I'm fine. Don't worry about it Rita." Liza replies. Shifting her weight with the professional ease of someone used to altering their posture in reaction to bullets, she subtly bodyblocks the view of the romantic video, and nods silently at Bercilak. It's hard to tell what kind of nod it is. It might be 'I won't say anything', it might be 'My old nemesis, here at last', or more likely it's probably 'I know who's to blame'.

    Not that she doesn't have to cover her mouth and turn to the side to hide her snickering at that phone call. Oh god. She's probably not making herself look more 'alright' for Rita's sake with all that mouth-clutching and shoulder-shaking.

    Beep blip blip beep. Kh-chak. Wrist teleporter goes brr and pulls down a plastic cooler with insulated compartments and a heater. Mostly Liza wants to get at the bowls and plates inside for people to use (especially if popcorn is involved) and the handful of condiments that happen to be in there anyways. Otherwise though, she pulls out a hermetically sealed resin 'lunchbox' from the heated compartment, handing it off to Rita like a bento. Seared and stuffed boneboo snacks on a bed of salted and spiced long-grain brain bran. Because it's not fair otherwise, even if it is pretty simple compared to Rita's efforts.

    That and an opposite cooler square filled with canned colas, teas, and beers, with utterly unreadable labels. Half the box is really just 'the bare basics' from Liza's minibar routine too.


    "Nice to see you, Phreak." Liza greets the familiar new arrival. She catches herself touching her hair, self-conscious about it actually being in order for once instead of messily freshly removed from a helmet, then realizes what that probably looks like; and then does it anyways because it'll be funny. Then, "Subbed huh?" in an inscrutable neutral just to make him sweat. "You're right. It has been a while. You must've been keeping pretty busy." She looks around, totally unnecessarily, for effect. "Oh, you came alone? Sorry, we must have really interrupted you. If you need to hurry back, to not keep someone waiting, we'll understand."

    
    When Rita goes and puts her arm around her, Liza just goes ahead and gives her a good little squeeze in her bicep. "Yeah. You could basically say we're gal pals." Liza adds, trying her best not to smirk or snort. "Well Rita, Phreak is one of Bercilak's friends I met here while I was first getting my legs in the Multiverse. We had some pretty good times back then. He's been a big help. I was wondering what it is he does these days." She's really leaning into it.
Rubi-Kan Vagrants      "Thou loke most bicoming so als," Bercilak does manage to compliment SilverAsh. "Sothli, I had awondren of the boket, but anau I perpend. Phreak made a god chesing, I trow--Garshasp's Fist is... most craftuous in its dighting. Per happes som-other-quar, thou might sheu me som-thing of thy favorhed."

     To ask everyone to leave after coming all this way would be a violation of Bro Code Law, and so Bercilak takes to setting up some sort of projector that he clearly got from one of Phreak's friends. It's cobbled together from the parts of three or more separate machines.

     Like an old friend, Bercilak's axe appears in his free hand, and the haft is planted into the ground. The ring of dirt serving as a stage for the ampitheater splits open along a clean horizontal line. A line of little sprouts becomes a long, thin trunk. It stretches from the earth, slowly rising, long, flat and square.

     A wooden 'screen' has been grown to serve as the projector, as alive as any of the trees in the forest. Willowy 'curtains' flex like hydraulic cables, leafy branches being brought higher up the surface to more easily catch the fading sunlight. Satisfied, Bercilak smiles in spite of the situation, quietly surveying his work for a moment before beginning to fiddle with the projector. Boot up screens from three different manufacturers all try and vie for space on the screen, each forcing out the others, until a smiley face with X-es-for eyes and some Grid microcommunity's name pops up.

oMs. Grier and I are Very Good Friends. And roommates.

A cold evening wind blows, and alien leaves dance past the fixer as Rita takes Liza's arm. "Haha. Yeah," he says distantly, until-- "No, I'm not keeping... Wait, what?" He looks like a deer caught in headlights when Liza deniably grills him. "No, I-- Gal pals?"

"I warned thee, sib," calls Bercilak from the projector, fiddling with a few settings before setting up a stereo system with enough nicks, scratches and discoloration to suggest years of use. The poppy, pastel stickers on it suggest that this, too, has been borrowed. He looks up for a vibe check just in time to see a dark grey blush forming on Phreak's face.

"B-MAN," calls Phreak with exaggerated swagger, "YOU NEED ANY HELP OVER THERE?"

"Nay, I am god."

Phreak fills the immediate silence with a clap of both hands. "Okay! Cool, he's good. Well, Rita, uh, we first met on an op, actually," he animatedly explains, with a kind of put-upon animation. If Liza wanted to sweat him, it's working. "Subway beneath old Athen. Then, uh... 'nother one, OT black site not far from here. Gal pals... wow, though. I guess it makes sense. Most girls love my backflip."

"Thei do not," clarifies Bercilak with an upheld index finger, navigating through menus with the projector now that the sound's set up.
Karlan Nobles It takes a bit longer for SilverAsh to grasp what Bercilak is saying, and it's responded to with a confident one-note chuckle. "That's the least I would have to do considering your invitation. Even if this is the Watch, I have an obligation to put my best food forward at all times. This goes doubly so when we've gathered to watch something educational."

And that's where his mind is going with all that. SilverAsh even looks focused when Bercilak starts getting the theatre set up for the crew, studying those logos and the makeup of those screens regardless of how impossible it would be for him to do such a thing himself.

"Popcorn? Ah, yes. It's a snack from... I'm not sure where it hails from, but I've been told people often eat it while watching movies." SilverAsh explains to Rita helpfully, nodding after a moment as though he understand her reservations about eating it entirely. "If you're sure. There will be plenty if you ever change your mind, but I understand."

He doesn't.

Rita and Liza both explain themselves as being 'Very Good Friends', 'roommates', and even 'gal pals' . That, too, goes right over his head. "How fortunate for you both. The importance of having people you can depend on can't be understated enough, especially considering the nature of our faction."

Definitely not getting it at all, but at least he sounds pleased.

Phreak goes into detail on how he and Liza first met, and Bercilak shits on his backflip. SilverAsh strokes his chin slowly as he stares right at Phreak, then at Liza and Rita, then back at Phreak. "Would you care to show us your technique?" It may be helpful to learn from a master, if it ever becomes relevant during an operation."

He doesn't sound like he's joking.
Rita Ma      Rita emits a soft, relaxed sigh, which shifts into a little giggle when Liza squeezes her bicep. It's not any firmer than it looks. "'Gal pals'," she repeats, like it's a term-of-art she's never heard before, and then nods in satisfaction at its mouthfeel.

     She has to look back, and up, to make eye contact with her certified bestie. "When you were first getting your legs... it hasn't been that long then, has it? I guess I just assumed you'd been in the Watch forever, Ms. Grier. When did you decide to 'branch out' from home?"

     SilverAsh's comment meets with tentative agreement. "I really try... not to rely on other people too much. I try to make sure I'm doing more for others than I'm taking from them. You know? But... sometimes, I know, it's better to lean on your friends than try to do it all yourself. And when you do, having that trust is really important."

     Bercilak raising the screen takes her breath away. She gasps audibly, hand covering her mouth; her eyes are open wide, and Liza can feel her skin-that-isn't-skin squirm ever-so-slightly. "Mr. Bercilak... did you do that?! How??" A little pause. "Or do land plants just do that...?" Followed by a third thought: "Can you teach me??"

     After Bercilak explains, her attention shifts to Phreak. Just as SilverAsh makes his request, she nods firmly to concur, and politely demands: "Show us. You gotta."
Liza Grier     No, I-- Gal pals?"

    "Yeah. Did you not catch that?" replies Liza, mercilessly. "I thought I was pretty clear. Should I try rephrasing it?" Phreak tries to escape to Bercilak's big strong green arms and is soundly rebuffed, which makes Liza cough-laugh just a little. However, delivering the deathblow is forestalled by Rita's genuine, innocent wonder at the 'projector' setup.

    "Huh? No they-- No. He did that. I'm pretty sure he has plant powers. Like, you've seen his armour right? The cape?" She thinks about this for a moment. "He's green. That's not normal right? Plant powers. Like I'm red and you're blue." Liza has decided this is easier.

    Liza Grier replies to Phreak then in a way that is both dry and vaguely ameliorating "The backflip game was on point. Sad that it was rigged from the start." A beat. "Was kind of wondering how long it'd take you to figure it out though." Acquiring a bowl of popcorn, a plate of Rita's stuffers, and handing off her gal pal's lunch, Liza takes a seat and pants next to her for Rita. "Yeah, now you have to show them too. You showed me right. Only fair. Or am I your special favourite or something?" The slightly demented grin is just daring him. "Haha, but if it's such a good backflip you steal Rita, I'll have to kill you. Just kidding."
Rubi-Kan Vagrants     Bercilak answers: "Verily," when Rita asks if he made the screen. ""Twas I which dight thither screne. Plants mai do mani things. Thire art even plants which move, bi imenes of the movinge of watere in thurgh theim," he says, gesturing with a finger up and down his arm. "Glathe wouldst I be to ilern thee, if so thou shalt aloue me to espy thy laborage therewith." He extends his hand to her.

     "AM I THE GRENE RANGERE, BICCHE?! FUCK YEA!" Bercilak comes in for a chest bump with Liza. "N-no! I would -not- care to show you my 'technique!'" cries Phreak, who immediately brings up a holographic keyboard layered in shimmering orange the moment Liza asks if she's his -special favorite.-

     "BAHAHAHA! LITI BICCHE ANAU HIS 'ARMER!'" Bercilak point-belly-laughs at Phreak, as the movie's improv-menu appears on the screen.

     "Shut...!" He starts typing faster the moment he hears just kidding. Phreak is forced by the flight of Bercilak's axe. The keyboard shatters with his concentration as it shifts elswhere. He darts backwards and pivots with ease, turning to face a tree right behind him and running up the length of its trunk. He springs off the lip of a gnotted whorl, twisting in time with a graceful backwards arc. He touches down nimbly, sweating lightly with a dark grey blush that seems to spread to his pointed ears. "God damn you," he adorably protests.

     The tree, for its part, slowly repulses the axe, as it grows back in full by the influence of the same. The weapon clatters to the ground.

     "Movinge's agredy, bicche," responds Bercilak. Garshasp's Fist is a dramatic retelling of a minor battle between corporate and clan martial arts schools, some three hundred years ago. low budget in the unusual sense that a small studio seems to have gone to the effort of imitating, through computer design, the visual identity of late 80s wuxia from Earth. Of particular note is the titular martial artist Garshasp, who has a giant energy fist that is totally sick, by Bercilak's appraisal.
Karlan Nobles Karlan Nobles says, "An admirable way of living. Do be careful with that, though, as there's far too many people that would do just the opposite and take advantage of your kindness." SilverAsh semi-warns and semi-praises, although his tone just barely suggests he's leaning more on the latter. "From what I've seen, though, I'd say you're in good company here. I can only hope I can return that trust sometime."

Her excitement over Bercilak's plant shenanigans, meanwhile, draws a curious look from SilverAsh towards Bercilak as well. "I do have to admit, I haven't seen plants utilized for entertainment before. Medical purposes, certainly, and even combat, but never like this."

Liza helps clarify the failure point in Phreak's backflip game, and thatonly serves to make SilverAsh more curious about it in general. "Is a backflip truly enough to win over someone? I've yet to see it happen, but I suppose there is a first time for anything. Although if it really is that good..."

He chuckles again at Liza's last comment. "I suppose I could arrange for a cleaning crew afterwards." It's not clear if he's kidding.

The chain-yanking back and forth between Bercilak and Phreak has him chuckling as well, and it might even seem for a few moments that it's not entirely in that pretend-polite sort of way. That stops abruptly, however, as the technique is demonstrated, and he watches Phreak with unblinking attention to try and grasp what he can from that graceful maneuver.

"Impressive... Not many could execute such a technique and land properly afterwards. How long did it take you to practice such a thing?"

Once the movie begins, meanwhile, SilverAsh provides what he promised: FRESH POPCORN with actual butter and fancy mountain salt. It stays perfectly heated within that pot of his, too, and there's even random pieces with Karlan Trade Co's logo seared into them just in case anyone forgot that the pot was also from the same company.

He's also focusing just as intently on the movie as he would anything else. Why wouldn't he? There's strange techniques on display that he couldn't hope to learn without seeing something like this first, and the language is nothing like what he's heard before. It's a good opportunity to try and learn as much as he can, and it certainly doesn't hurt that there's a big dumb energy fist in the movie.

Everyone else in the group might notice SilverAsh focusing a little too intently whenever the energy fist appears."
Rubi-Kan Vagrants      Having, for the second time in a row, been complimented on his backflip by another man, Phreak huffs, crosses his arms, and answers SilverAsh. "...about three or four years. Chrome can give you an edge, 'ware, too," he says. "But... not as much an edge as somebody that's got all of those things plus experience. If you're gonna be a fixer, you gotta be ready to run at a moment's notice."

     "Thei art most sportful to pursue," notes Bercilak, pointedly glancing towards Phreak as he says it, smiling smugly.

     Phreak grumbles, painfully aware of how protesting overmuch would look--and would certainly be pointed out by at least one person here.

     "'Tis fucking ille, is hit not?" asks Bercilak of SilverAsh, hand-on shoulder, pointing with the other hand towards the energy fist. He helps himself to some popcorn, and 'subtly,' his hand shifts so that it's around SilverAsh's shoulder. By the film's climax, the battle between Garshasp and Sub-Attendant Li atop the burning duplex towers of the Scorpiod Palm School, night has fallen, the sky full of alien stars and an unfamiliar moon.

     "You know... it's actually thanks to you guys that we can even hang out here. The Watch, I mean," clarifies Phreak. "That old man you guys found, his little rhinoman village friends took 'em all in. Valley's got plenty of room for 'em, and it's hidden on the aerial scan. Perfect place for a peaceful life. Subway situation ended really well, too--free passage both ways, autonomy for the subway..." Clearing his throat, "You guys do good work, is all I'm saying."
Karlan Nobles "That long? Hm.. Yes, I can see it. The discipline needed to practice such a maneuver to perfect it, the willpower necessary to do so even when you haven't come close and would have landed on your face just as often as your feet... Practicality aside, it certainly shows a degree of commitment that some may find appealing."

Silverash nods in agreement with Bercilak, having quite a bit to chew on between realizing how much work goes into learning sick flips and also ENERGY FISTS. His focus on the latter is so strong, even, that he doesn't even flinch when Bercilak does that hand-around-shoulder thing. It's not clear at first if he even notices it, but he does glance at it at least once or twice without shaking it off. Is he into it? Or...

It could also be that he's too polite to say anything about it. Either way, he's really good at not signaling which one it is.

"Indeed, the Watch certainly has a way of making things work out beyond expectations." SilverAsh actually pauses for a while, almost as if he's weighing whether to say something or not before continuing. "Speaking frankly, the Watch was not my first choice. I would have joined the Concord were it not for Pramanix choosing to join your ranks first. Considering how she's adjusted to your..." SilverAsh pauses, then just waves a hand dismissively.

"It could have turned out far worse, and the work you all do is remarkable. For that, you all have my thanks."