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Einar The warp gate address provided by the Spiral Empire opens up along one of the beaches of an archipelago in the Atlantic Ocean. Those who are from Earth-based worlds or otherwise familiar with the planet can determine that Zora is an Earth practically right away, though an indeterminate number of millennium has passed since the typical modern Earth. This island would, on most contemporary iterations of Earth, be called Fernando de Noronha-- a part of Brazil, off of its northeastern coast. Those names aren't relevant to Zora, however.

The warpgate is the subject of an ongoing evacuation effort, but it isn't where that is concentrated-- it isn't big enough for movement in serious numbers. Disrupting the surf of the archipelago is Cathedral Luna, which as it turns out is a flying island that has at this particular moment settled in the water. It has angled itself so that two, large ramps from its surface have been extended onto the shore. A steady stream of people who have obviously been camping out on the shore -- some of which still are, though it looks as if this is in the final hours of the evacuation -- are ascending the ramps steadily in a series of well-organized and reasonably fast-moving lines.

A pair of bulky, knight-themed mecha with shields and swords are situated on either end of the shore. A distinctive design quirk of these mecha -- called gunmen -- is a head as well as a chest with a fully animate face. Occasionally somebody will approach them on foot, and both their mouths will move as they speak to whoever it was. Despite their relatively fearsome appearance, they seem to be something of a formality-- there don't appear to be any ongoing hostilities.

The footprint of a city lingers here on the archipelago, but...

There are signs of foundations here and there in different shapes as would be expected of any place that hosted homes and infrastructure, but the buildings are just gone-- except those that are replaced. It is the same castle-house repeated again and again in a multitude of locations, having evidently been robustly copy-pasted atop whatever had been there before.

As the visitors arrive, Cathedral Luna is gleaming with a pale light and the nearest of the copy-pasted castles is vanishing into a storm of red voxels, while a swirl of green wind dances up from the ground to chase the voxels into non-existence.

Those who are arriving rather than departing are met by an enormous beastman at the warpgate. XANT is eight feet tall, broad as a barn door, and dressed in a black-and-gold uniform. Though he looks human enough at a glance, two curling horns protrude from his head, his skin is grey and thick like that of an elephant, and his baby blue eyes are distinctly caprine.

"You're here for the extraversal reception, right? I'm Chief of Security, Xant. I've got instructions to see you on through to the Divine General..." Xant introduces himself and says, tucking a tablet underneath his arm. "The Princess and Divine General WERE going to receive you in the reception ring, but... well, it's hot. So come this way."

An escort of two dark-skinned women of average height in... overalls and sun hats? But some rank insignias that look similar enough to Xant's fall in at either side of the group. Though at-a-glance they, too, look relatively human, they're furred along their neck and shoulders, and on closer inspection have a pair of prominent rabbit ears flattened against the brims of their hats.

"These are Pyri and Puri," Xant adds, gesturing towards them as he leads everyone up one of the two ramps -- the gunmen on duty near that one glances towards them all, waves genially, and goes back to observing the surroundings -- and turns left along the wide strip of earth between Cathedral Luna's rim and its entryways. There, parked a few yards away from the edge in a scrubby sort of drought-resistant grass that characterizes the outer land portion of Cathedral Luna, is... an ice cream truck.
Einar The ice cream truck is large -- large enough that Xant could operate it comfortably -- and surrounded by refugees who are evidently being catered to at this particular moment. Which is an odd place to find a Princess and a Divine General, but judging by the completely indifferent demeanors of Pyri and Puri, this is probably close to normal around here. A colorful tent pavilion in cloud blue has been set up along with basic outdoor furniture just alongside the truck.

Notably, while nearly all the uniformed personnel are animal-human hybrids like your escort, pretty much all of the refugees are humans. There's the odd subspecies with notably different features -- there are one or two clusters of people with open-backed clothes to accommodate white-feathered wings -- but for the most part it's just humans. Clothing types are light and tropical-appropriate.

Serving from the back of the ice cream truck are a pair working parallel lines, which at the moment have shrunk to two individuals. The pair serving are equally eye-catching in their own ways; the larger of the two isn't quite as massive as Xant but is a knightly figure dressed in black-and-gold powered armor that puts him close to -- though still notably smaller than -- the Chief of Security in both height and bulk.

The woman serving beside him is harder to see only for being of ordinary height, but her cream-and-cotton-candy-blue hair reaches her ankles and has sufficient volume to exceed the width of her body-- the overall effect is fluffy in a way that resembles clouds. Her clothing consists of a white slacks with a wavy golden decorative trim that has a cloud-like quality to it, tucked into knee-high black boots that look well-kept but worn in enough to be active tromping around boots. A white button-down shirt beneath a royal purple and gold-trimmed waistcoast is ordinarily accompanied by a similarly featured long coat with a frill trim... though right now the coat is hung up in the back of the truck just over her shoulder. A closer look reveals blue eyes with pupils in the shape of pink four-leaf clovers; even among beastmen and towering knights, she is a commanding presence that is presently positioned to not draw quite so much attention.

"Banana and chocolate, as per your wishes, miss. Please enjoy, and be sure to grace our gardens with your presence once you are inside," The black knight says to the little girl, a taloned gauntlet delicately passing her an over-stuffed ice cream cone.

It's only once the girl has scurried away to those waiting for her in the pavilion that the knight turns to the cloudy-haired woman -- Princess? -- and asides, "ETA on the next pop-up castle mapping is three hours... do you want to mop the rest of them up in one batch, or continue our castle-by-castle approach?"

Xant steps forward and clears his throat. "Princess, Divine General. Our visitors--"

The knight is already passing Xant an orange ice cream cone. He takes it without comment -- this is apparently just normal -- and continues, "... Are here."

"Indeed. You may stand guard if it sets you at ease, Chief," The knight says. The direction of his gaze is almost impossible to ascertain, but he turns slightly and gestures towards the cloud-haired woman, "Salutations to you, extraversals. It is my privilege to introduce Her Highness, Princess Nia zu Teppelin, of the Spiral Empire. I am Divine General Einar, of the Spiral Frontier Defense Force."

"Would you like some ice cream?" Einar asks, gesturing around with both hands.
Ru Li Cheng      A new world, new sights, new smells, new tastes. The ocean air lingers on Ru Li Cheng's tongue like a butterfly on a flower. He soaks in the tang of the salt and the sound of the waves, watching them beat against the shore from afar. He has so rarely been to the ocean. He is, as he wheels along, content to enjoy following the paths of the waves by their sounds more than his sight. By the gentle lapping that sends waves of sound to match waves of water.

     This place is beautiful.

     He wheels to a stop in front of Xant. The thick skin of the elephant-man is a sharp contrast to the gentle lapping of the waves, an interruption in the feel of the world. Politely the Yinghuan god lowers his head. "Thank you very much."

     He resumes wheeling himself along after Xant, exploring the world with his vast sensory capacity. The brush of grass, sharp and green, smelling uncut and stumpy and alive, mingles with the sudden taste of every flavour of ice cream in the truck, the touch of rubber, the pleasant feeling of cotton-candy hair and the sternness of black-and-gold armor.

     He lowers his head when introduced, holding up one hand in a makeshift bow, since, obviously, he cannot bow normally. "Thank you, Your Highness, General. We are honoured beyond words by your presence. I am Ru Li Cheng, ninth of nine Ru Cheng gods, ninety-ninth god of the Empire of Yinghua. It is a pleasure to make your acquaintance."

     He pauses.

     "...yes," he says finally, a light golden blush crossing his cheeks, "Every flavour, if you would not mind terribly...?"
Combaticon     "I am Onslaught," The first of a handful of robots to emerge from the gate; a tall and slender machine of primarily blue and dark green, announces. At two meters, he's still shorter than Xant. He folds his arms behind his back, beneath the twin cannons mounted there, as he surveys the island evacuation and the dissipation of one of the structures, "You appear to be in the middle of an operation."

    As soon as he's arrived, the second robot ignites his thrusters and takes to the air. Hovering a few meters above everyone, Blastoff shields his optics and skims the beach and distant sea, "Wow, will you look at all these organics! Moving someplace safer?"

    The third machine in Onslaught's retinue is almost as tall as he is, with a more curved fuselage and hefty shoulder engines with hydrofoil mountings; Depthcharge sneers at the lines boarding Cathedral Luna, then closes her optics entirely, "Mercy operations are no place for--" Onslaught glances over his shoulder at her and she cuts off-- "Well. Get on with it."

    There is no further commentary between the tree Decepticons as they enter the shadow of Cathedral Luna, save Blastoff circling one of the Gunmen curiously. Led to an ice cream truck, Onslaught keeps his arms folded; his female companion rests her hands on her hips, and the flying one comes in for a gentle landing on Onslaught's other side.

    "Greetings then, Princess Teppelin, General Einar," The taller robot takes the leadership role, keeping his arms tucked in that professional at-ease position, "I am Onslaught, of the Decepticon Justice Division. Representative of planet Cybertron. Accompanying me are my technical advisor Depthcharge--" The female robot's eyes narrow slightly but she says nothing, "And my aerial specialist Blastoff."

    "Impressive operation you're running!" The jet'bot adds in cheerfully.

    Ice cream is offered, to which Onslaught finally unfolds a hand and holds it palm-out, "The gesture is appreciated but we do not consume food."
Kale Hearthward "An evacuation..."

Kale arrives via the warpgate, but looking at what's going on makes him wish he brought his ship. ... That he still had his ship. It could have provided another wide lane for the evacuation effort all on its own. Hopefully the locals have things handled well enough that it won't be missed, anyway.

Xant gets a double take. Kale (at 5'5" with his jet boots on) is used to a lot of people being taller than him, but - running right into someone at 8 whole feet (and the shoulders to match) is something else. "Er - right. Kale Hearthward, Paladins Search and Rescue... here under invitation, yes."

And then more animal people. He got a quick rundown of notable figures from his analyst before coming here - but it's still a surprise to see in person. Pyri and Puri get a nod each, Kale assumes he doesn't have to give his introduction with those ears...

... The guards being beastmen and the refugees being human give him pause. A question almost escapes his beak, but he queues it up for later.

The appearance of the ice cream truck gives him pause. That's their destination? Not the ship?

"... Ah, we're getting ice cream before we meet General Einar and the princess?" he says out loud, as the group approaches.

And then it becomes clear, as the knight makes his introduction. That *is* Divine General Einar, and the Teppelin princess. Kale is very glad he didn't say anything else. When Ru Li makes his introduction, Kale follows it up. "Kale Hearthward, Paladins Search and Rescue, and currently Chief Protector of Skyrah."

"..." Kale nods after a moment. "Yes, actually, coffee and vanilla flavor if you have them, or just vanilla if not."

Then, once ice cream is served, "Thank you. I hope you'll join me for coffee, if you happen to come visit."

Then, to the question he's been holding onto since shortly after arriving. "So... foreign intervention? Everyone you're pulling off of this island seems to be... human?"
Angela "Wow! I'd love ice cream!" Haschen, holding an Angelapad in her hand, says immediately and enthusiastically.

She is a clerk who was recently boosted to Agent status to help with the additional training demands brought in by the training department when they decided to take on some additional protocols for multiversal elites being present and even additional firearm training suggested by Petra. Petra knows her! Haschen is an upbeat personality with an optimistic outlook on life somehow. She is friendly but well less dumb than Mikey but maybe a little bit of an idiot still.

She is wearing Training Rabbit ego gear which makes her look like a walking talking crash test dummy. You can guess at what her usual duties entail.

"My first multiversal experience!" She exclaims. "Wowsers!! I will have to take SO MANY notes!" She waves to the lady with the clover eyes, just assuming she's shy.
Aidan Proudpick A wide variety of reasons brings Aidan. Trying to be involved in more worlds. Being Watch representation. Because it's new and interesting.

He's getting a lot of use out of the shirt he paid way too much money for from Gilgamart, a turquoise blue silk shirt with just a bit of trim, tailored in around the waist, and black breeches. No shields, nothing that can be a weapon besides himself. Similar to Ru Li, Aidan is moving across the beach. Not that he hasn't BEEN to a beach, but it's always a marvel to him. So much water in one place. So much sand that doesn't just blow away. Wraps around his feet keeps it out of his fur, though he is quick to squat down and rub some between his fingers. A moment to look at Ru Li, curious. Despite how hostile they've been to each other, Aidan speaks.

"It must be amazing. Having those senses, yanno. Now that I think of it, being able to see everything more than anyone else can see."

As they proceed, his eyes take in the gunmen with an awe. They look like knights, but huge! Aidan strays in that direction, tail flicking behind him, eager interest written all over his face. His eyes keep slowly moving, watching the refugees, that eager interest turning into concern as his sight continues its way down the area, looking at the footprint of the town.

Ah.

His mood dials down to a normal smile as he sees Xant. "Wow! I'm Aidan Proudpick, Watch Representative. Pleased to meet you, Xant!" A similar smile at the two rabbit eared women, "Puri, Pyri." A nod along with each.

Keeping the rest of the group between him and Kale, Aidan is immediately pushed into another broad smile as the two introduce themselves as leaders. He does his best to make a reasonable but earnest facsimile of a courtly bow for the two, "Divine General, Your Highness. I am honored to be served ice cream by you. I'm Aidan Proudpick, Watch Representative. Happy to help come here and help! Oh, do you have anything vegan, you know, no milk or eggs?"
Dysnomia     The sun is shining, the world is bright and warm. But, it's the more-or-less identical spread of stars above that betrays the terran nature of this world to Dysnomia. Invisible to most. But not to her.

    Being planetside like this was starting to feel routine to her...Though not necessarily comfortable. After she passed through the gate, she took a moment to assess her surroundings, arms crossed. The strange robots hold her attention longest, registering as a potential threat--but that threat never materializes, leaving Mia flat-footed. Dysnomia trailed at the back of the elites, hands in her pockets, assessing the territory around them with a harsh frown, ready to engage with the heads of state of an unverified new faction--

    --But what she wasn't ready, was to be offered ice cream. The casualness of Einar and his princess felt...scandalous. Absently, her eyes searched the wings for some other superior waiting to sweep in. Where was the show of force? Where was the display of military might? How did they mean to terrify potential rivals with...With...

    "...Ice cream." Mia said, incredulously, waiting for everything to make sense. It didn't. "...Vanilla. I suppose." Mia's eyes narrowed at hers, when she received it. Eventually, she began to sprinkle little shards of metallic something into hers--like they were some kind of topping--before taking a bite, taking in everything around them. "A pleasure to make your acquantince, General. Princess." She'd figure out their angle, Dysnomia told herself. "What, exactly are these civilians running from?" She asked, matter-of-fact. "What is making them evacuate?"
Kukuru One of the visitors to the world of Zora looks right at home as she comes out of the warpgate facing the ocean. Kukuru, dressed in her usual white and green/brown fare, takes a long whiff of the unfamiliar planet's air before letting out a satisfied noise, stretching her arms out over her head and looking like she's preparing to go for a run. Once she's good and limbered up, she promptly lets her arms and head sag, going right back to her usual carefree and borderline drowsy posture.

"How pretty..." She comments aloud while looking over at Cathedral Luna and the disappearing castle, humming softly to herself at the red being pushed away by the green. Her eyes dart over to Xant when he speaks, letting out another pleasant little noise while tilting her head back to actually make proper eye contact with him.

"Mhm, that's right! Xant? That's a nice and easy name... My name's Kukuru." The pause. "Ku-ku-ru. It's nice to meet you, dear." She greets him in return with a light curtsey, giggling lightly at the comment about the heat. "At least there's plenty of water around here to dip in. Oh, I've got cold drinks, too, if..."

Wait. A reception means they'd have drinks prepared already further inside. "Oh, they must've thought of everything..." Kukuru's mind continues to wander as she follows Xant, Pyri, and Puri up the ramp, mostly upon realizing she also needs a new set of summer clothes. It really is too hot to be wearing this long-sleeved blouse in this weather, after all, even if the actual reception area would probably be comfortable enough to do just that. The gunmen waving has her going a little more starry-eyed at the sight, prompting her to smile brightly and wave gently in return.

The ice cream truck setup is certainly an unexpected sight, though, but not an unpleasant one considering the heat outside. There's enough people here to see that Kukuru's just a little stunned for a moment, trying to take in all those new faces at once. She's looking a little more relieved, then, when Xant identifies the Princess and the Divine General for her, watching the latter's passing of the frozen treat closely before dipping into another relaxed curtsey like before.

"He-llo there, Princess Niaaa. General Einaaar. My name's Kukuru." Once again, the pause. "That's Ku-ku-ru. I'm a Partner of the Concord, and I'd like to welcome you all on behalf of our family." She introduces herself with a pleasant tone and has to remind herself not to hum too much. "Oh, if you have peach aaaand... Orange? That'd be lovely."

A pause, and then she looks over at all the refugees. She notices the differences in how they look compared to the personnel, then taps her chin with a curious noise afterwards. "What's happening all over here, anyway? Those castles and all these people..."
Sarracenia      Usually when visiting a new world for the first time, Sarracenia would bring the flagship of the Sundew Kingdom to aid in her grand entrance. But, this gate is not quite big enough for that. So, instead...a wooden twin-propeller VTOL quite similar to an Osprey comes flying through the warp gate. Its polished hull is stained a deep reddish-brown rather than being painted except for a cartoonish shark-face painted on the nose of the fuselage. It circles the castle slowly, its pilot just taking in the sights, then moves to land on one of those open foundations. As the engines and propellers wind down the side door lowers down to form a ramp and a fairly tall copper-haired woman emerges.

     "You see, Gregory? I am a fine pilot! I am not sure why you always act as if we will crash anytime I get behind the wheel. I have never crashed the Dyna!"

     Sarracenia has come with only her butler Gregory the piranha plant. He apparently does not handle this sort of flying well and looks a bit greener than even a plant usually does. Sarra is dressed in her usual red royal gown, which covers every bit of skin other than her face and a small area round her upper arms where the poofy shoulders end and her metallic burgundy gloves begin.

     She starts walking, but when she sees how much distance there is to cover from where she landed to where the crowds are walking she huffs softly. "That is a bit far, would you not agree?" she says to Gregory, who wilts lightly. "...yes, your highness."

     Sarra aws and pats Gregory on the head lightly. "Do not worry. I am just as good a flyer outside of the Dyna!" she says as she pulls out a feather and in a puff of white smoke is wearing a shimmering golden cape. She takes off running, then...takes off into the sky in a Superman pose! She circles back around after a moment and in a swoop picks up Gregory, then flies past the crowds to the front gate of the floating island where others have gathered.

     The princess dives quickly, and Gregory flails a bit in slight panic, but Sarra swoops up at almost the last moment and lands gracefully before letting Gregory go. He stumbles a few steps away, takes a moment to let his breathing return to normal, then pulls his butler jacket down to straighten it and tries to return to his usual stoicism.

     'You're here for the extraversal reception, right?'

     Sarra curtseys and nods, her golden crown and the dark red metal flower in her hair both glinting in the light. "Right! I am Princess Sarracenia Sundew, Crown Princess of the Sundew Kingdom. It has been a while since I was able to visit a world under pleasant circumstances, so I am pleased to meet you." she says, and follows after, her cape billowing in the breeze. She looks around at the people gathered with curiosity.

     Pyri and Puri are introduced, and Sarra curtseys to them as well. At the ice cream truck, the sight of such a large knight inside along with the princess makes Sarra giggle softly. She curtseys and introduces herself again to the knight and the princess, then when asked about ice cream responds with a happy, "Yes! One scoop on a cone, please~ I will take rainbow vanilla if you have it. And if not, a normal vanilla will suffice." she says with a smile, obviously charmed by being served by the princess of this land and her personal knight.

     'Oh, do you have anything vegan...?'

     Sarra blinks at Aidan, then giggles ever so slightly. "Vegan ice cream...though could be good, I think. If made properly."

     Gregory, when his turn comes, asks for chocolate and vanilla swirl. And reveals that piranha plants have very large tongues when he goes to enjoy it. Several others ask about the refugees, so Sarra merely waits to hear the answer the answer.
Ein Were the cross-eyed woman lounging upon the top of the vehicle she would be extremely visible on the merit of her broad and voluminous cloud-fluff of hair. Unfortunately, she would also have a much harder time holding a waffle cone or a good conversation, so, compromises were made for the sake of company and cold treats.

Offering a pale mint green and chocolate brown waffle trough cup with the soft serve rotated in counterclockwise in white parchment napkin to her last 'customer' with a white-gloved lift-and-present, and a leaning-in smile, faint on the cheeks but reaching her eyes with notes of expectationless curiosity. "Here you are. Do you like it?"

The refugee girl who is being served treats by the Spiral Princess, struck dumb momentarily by Einar's gesticulation and then snapping back to the cross-eyed-woman limned by a cloud, looks most-safely down to a swirl of sugar, takes hold of that with a childishly-reflexive squeak of 'thanks!' before dashing off to join their friends a short ways away already most of the way through their treats.

After that, Princess Teppelin has a few moments to review with Einar, shifting back to stand in her side of the window. "Once the mapping finishes, if the Ravine isn't detected in the area, take them all at once. If we let him decide the pace we'll never make progress."

Nia knuckles forward on the inside soft serve counter, and Xant steps forward to announce visitors. Thoughts cutting short, Princess Teppelin shifts her thoughtful lean to a leaning out - "Thank you, Xant!" before returning inside. "We have until the refugee onboarding completes to take it slow. Have your people prepare a plan for the sweep and have it ready by the time we can launch."

Then, Diplomacy is upon them, and Nia's leaned-out address of her security chief lingers as a crossed-armed lean out of the window as people approach. Einar spreads wide his hands, introducing her, and Princess Teppelin raises a hand indicatingly to her coated collar, and then settles back.

> 'Every flavour, if you would not mind terribly...?'

Nia does an open-handed wave in the window when Ru Li walks up, eyes glitteringly interested in the sequence of numbers, until she is called to inquire: "Do the many nines mean you are a special god, Ru Li Cheng, nine of nine of ninety-nine of Yinghua?" As before, to the very young child and ice cream conundrum, an expectationless curiousity. Blank canvas.

Then, she hears his order - blushing as it is - and squints. "Hmm. 'All of them'? That's an..." A nasal 'hmm' comes with pull of the lips, thoughtful around a word. "Interesting order."

Pulling away from the window as the Combaticons and Kale show up to introduce themselves formally, Nia is back-turned for a food service second as she portions via light-touch cranks on churning agitator machines. Turning back, to lean out, she offers a little uncertainty what is commonly known to children by some ghastly name like 'suicider' and accomplished by filling up a normal cup with Every Kind of Soda.
Ein In this case, there is all the flavors one might expect - a rather rich vanilla and chocolate, banana, strawberry, mint - and several more esoteric flavors, such as a jam-like grape jelly that is served more like cold preserves in mixes.

"Here you are. Do you not have a flavor you like already? Or is 'everything' what you... want?" The last note comes with the pause on failing to immediately intuit the next word from where she was.

That passed off, Nia stands back to share, with her Divine General, besides, a wide-armed gesture. "Welcome, everyone! We hadn't done ice cream like this in such a long time, it felt, that I apologize if it's not the reception you'd hope. With that out of the way:"

Rotating widely-swept arms down to plant hands on the inside-window shelf table before her, Princess Teppelin shifts from appreciating the praise of the Combaticon's jet officer and the approach of Sarracenia to addressing the general questions: "The Spiral Empire - and this Cathedral Luna - is in pursuit of the dangerous reality terrorist known as the Dull-Eyed Man. A... remnant of a plan that didn't work, with the power to replace reality with endless mazes and castles."

Nia's thumbs tuck under the rim of the shelf, letting her squeeze the counter gently. "The world cannot be walls and pictureframes." She speaks in odd, intense mantra. Each word is sure and practiced and steady. "Wishing on stone walls won't make things happen." A breath cycles, magenta-crosses dipping and then Nia blinks, and a smile appears on her face. "He's a terrible man. I believe we were looking for help with his pursuit before he struck this place. People cannot live in mazes, you see."
Despite coming off it with a smile, it's plainer to see emotionally or magically that Princess Teppelin is clearly reflexively ready to challenge-and-overcome some kind of mental trap that she has been subjected to often enough to just rattle it off.

> Vegan ice cream...?

"It's vegan, but, what is 'rainbow' vanilla? I've never heard of that flavor. Is it sprinkles? I certainly have sprinkles." Nia toggles from that right back to soft serve, looking to Einar on the matter of 'rainbow'.
Petra Soroka     Petra dimly wonders, while changing out of a maid dress and into jeans and her CREATURE MODE t-shirt and dabbing on concealer, whether she's fit to be one of the first multiversal contacts for a new world. Is she, in any way, an appropriate representative of the superplanet? Does she *want* to be? If she's countercultural, on purpose, then does insisting on her presence during the first contact anyways make some sort of political statement?

    When the word 'political' drifts across her mind, Petra immediately discards the thought as a whole. Instead, she just finishes getting dressed, packs up her supplies in her mirror, and sets out through the arbitrarily complicated route of taking the teleport circle back to her apartment, then commuting from her apartment to the warpgate. It bothers her a little bit that she doesn't have an explicitly defined intention besides socializing-- she rationalizes it as needing to meet new major Paladin Elites in the area because they'll be especially close to Lilian, so on the (high) chance they're shitty, she won't be behind the curve, but the thought sticks in her head a bit.

    Petra's mental priming means that, at a glance, she instantly assumes Xant is the Divine General they're supposed to meet when she exits the warpgate. He's tall-- very, though Petra is at least moderately familiar with being around people eight feet tall-- strong, well-dressed, a guy, and until Xant introduces himself and clarifies, Petra operates on that assumption. She has to change course halfway through an incorrect greeting, but it's a conveniently easy save.

    "Hey, Einnnn...'m Petra? Yes. Yeah. That's what I'm-- that's why I'm here." Dizzied by her close call with taking social damage, Petra nods numbly to his explanation, only belatedly processing the odd discrepency of the reception ring not being used for reception for such a mundane reason. Slightly embarrassed, Petra also takes longer than usual to notice the fact that Pyri and Puri are rabbitgirls, and then she finally glances around to take a visual census of the distribution of the beastfolk, though she doesn't have any conclusive thoughts about that due to a steadfast avoidance of racially charged topics within five minutes of meeting someone.

    She does have comments on *safer* topics, though. "Those mechs?" Petra points at the two she can see, tentatively curious, "What, uh, kind are they? Like, shaped like that, they're ridden by pilots rather than remote controlled, or..." She gestures back at the robot walking with them saying stuff about 'organics'.

    "Are they, um, particularly symbolic of anything? I mean, it doesn't look like you're actually expecting an attack, but I assume, like, something is being communicated to the refugees by having them present." That could be a dangerous question, but one of the gunmen waved at the group, so it's probably fine.
Petra Soroka     Petra is wary of her earlier mistake once the group is brought to the ice cream truck. Sure, that person in the power armor has an imposing stature, and the cloudy woman is strikingly pretty, so on gut instinct Petra would decide that they're important people, but they're just out here serving ice cream! She should do the exact opposite of what her assumptions would lead her to believe, because that seems like a safer bet.

    "Huh, keeping all that armor on even in the heat? Just to serve ice cream? That seems super uncomfortable, right?" Xant addresses the pair a moment later, and Petra's expression falls in distress.

    "Um, nice to meet you, General, Princess. I'm Petra." At least Kale fucked up like she did. Actually-- that *sucks*, she shouldn't fuck up like *Kale* does. Everyone else introduces themselves with factional relations, which is obviously the most sensible thing to do to give context to their presence and why they should be respected as multiversal ambassadors, but the context for Petra is somewhat more complicated. "I'm, um... not with anyone in particular?"

    "Oh, if you're offering, I'd love some vanilla ice cream, though, thanks." Petra leaves it at that for a moment before getting awkward and expressing an Ice Cream Opinion. "I feel like there's too many flavors of ice cream nowadays. Like, if you want to really compare which one's better, you should just stick with the most normal flavor because otherwise the quality's all muddled up in other things."

"My first multiversal experience!"

    Other people are already asking the obvious questions about the evacuation, so Petra gravitates over to Angela, and coincidentally, the girl holding her. "Girl, *I* was your first multiversal experience." Petra rolls her eyes a bit at Haschen, then turns her attention down to the tablet a little conspiratorially. "Hey, Ange. Have you ever thought about just straight up introducing yourself as the Concord Partner? It's a fucking power move, and it's technically *right*, too."
Einar "A pleasure to meet you as well, Ru Li Cheng. And no, we would not mind at all," Einar answers Ru Li, gesticulating faintly as he does so. The woman next to him is the one who actually starts working on his, though. He adds, evidently sensing that this is extra-unusual to the deity, "The unusual reception is a consequence of the weather, and... the buildings out there. We've looked at so many of them, and if we didn't look at something different for a while, we'd lose our minds a little. Unsavory little man that made them."

The approach of the Combaticons prompts the two gunmen -- the mecha of this world -- to approach, inspect them, realize they're non-organic life, and then back off with a friendly wave. The expressions on their faces -- both of them -- are in fact reflective of the friendliness here.

Xant, who seemed perfectly comfortable with the Combaticons, replies to Onslaught, "Yes. There was an unexpected incident with a reality hazard." The hulking elephant-man points out across the horizon. Dots moving near one of them indicates the mapping party that was being discussed a moment ago-- the buildings are bigger than they look at a glance.

"Overwrote all the buildings here with his damned creepy castles while a hovership chased him, and then just took off," he continues the explanation. "We're in the middle of moving all of these people to anywhere else."

The gunmen that Blastoff is inspecting kneels down to permit a decent look. It doesn't LOOK as mechanical as it should; simultaneously, it's clearly not an organic thing either.

"What cultural equivalent to meal-sharing does your species possess, if any, Onslaught? And it is a pleasure to meet you also, Onslaught, Depthcharge, Blastoff," Einar answers the Transformers. "This particular operation is sloppy, I'm afraid, but your positive assessment is welcome, Blastoff."

Xant reacts to Kale's observations with a nod, "Mmn. These are our citizens, and there is room for them elsewhere, but all the infrastructure was overwritten. Not many of our airships are made particularly for accommodating civilians, but Cathedral Luna is, and so we are here. It also coincides with..."

He glances towards where the red voxels and green whirls had been, "... Another duty of the Divine General's."

//Ah, we're getting ice cream before...//

Xant sighs, and offers no further explanation.

"Coffee and vanilla. Certainly. Skyrah is... the new place, yes? That was once Quicknest," Einar inquires, as he scoops the ice cream and passes it down to Kale. "I would certainly enjoy some coffee sometime. Sharing food is important, for the species to whom it is relevant. With regards to your question... despite the prevalence of beastmen on Cathedral Luna, we do have a human population in abundance. The Capital is just that way-- were it night, you might see the orbital elevator in operation. Can't say I know why they called it that, since it isn't Teppelin, but... there you are."

Haschen asks for an icecream.

"And to whom are we giving it?" Einar asks genially, glancing towards the Princess and then over his shoulder. Some sort of signal.
Einar "Pleased to meet you," Puri says to Aidan, while Pyri just nods without saying anything. The pair lean up against either end of the ice cream truck. For a brief moment Einar ducks out of sight and passes each of them a small cone. When he returns he asides to Aidan, "It is not necessary to be overly formal about being served ice cream, but thank you all the same. You do not need to concern yourself with the ingredients of this ice cream. Everything here is sourced from Puri and Pyri's gardens. Engineering food sources is quite advanced here."

Puri, now holding an ice cream cone, interjects towards Mia's confusion, "Your confusion isn't wrong. They're just like this. Normally you'd be getting fed in one of my gardens instead-- just inside." She points towards the gates, beyond which dense foliage can be seen. There is a sound of running water, as well-- though it is broadly drowned by the sea below.

"They are running from their island being ruined by an individual known as the dull-eyed man. We will re-develop this place later, but it can't sustain them right now," Einar explains, since the 'reality hazard' thing has been elaborated on a little by Xant.

Xant squints at Kukuru. He looks vaguely unsettled, but brushes it off. "And you as well, Ku-ku-ru."

The same reaction that Xant gave to Kukuru is repeated with Einar, who tilts his head slightly at Kukuru's presence. "On behalf of your family, is it? Welcome, Kukuru, and thank you. We do have those flavors, yes... the castles, though... there is an individual who makes them. They are his Token, a reflection of his soul. Out in the wastes they call him the dull-eyed man. I believe he is the subject of more than a few revenge missions."

Aerially examining Cathedral Luna on Sarracenia's part warrants clarification. It is not a fortress; or rather, it is, but it is also a city. The innermost ring has a prominent central spire looking down on a small city large enough to have its own rail lines-- which do not even connect to the exterior. The outermost wall is buffered from the second interior wall by a vast garden with its own river and stream system, which is where most of the refugees that have been processed are currently lingering. There are some odd animals in there, though it's hard to make them out from an aerial tour.

The layout of each ring to the next is definitely devised to make it so anybody relying on ground troops that can't just pass through walls has to walk a very long way from one gate to the next, and it's unclear what defensive properties the walls have. The whole thing is sitting on a spit of land that maintains its cohesion despite being craggy and ragged around the edges -- this exterior ring of grassy land is where refugees are being processed through.

There's a further interior garden that separates the interior city from the reception ring-- but at this moment the innermost city just doesn't have actual open entrances. It's solid wall with no apparent seams.

The castles that dot the landscape are... strange. They're all identical, they scale up perfectly, and it makes some of them look absolutely bizarre when next to the smaller ones.
Einar "A pleasure, Princess Sundew. Our ingredients are... not grown typically, and would be considered vegan on most worlds. It is for instance the case that many of our eggs are grown similar to coconuts," Einar explains between Sarracenia and Aidan, obviously trying not to convey it too strangely. "In fact, once everyone who wants something is satisfied, we ought to move on to the outer garden so that you may see what I mean. And... I am not altogether certain that we have 'rainbow vanilla'. What peculiarity separates it from vanilla besides color?"

Xant chortles at Petra. "Don't worry, don't worry. That happens more than you think. Less, when he was a little shorter. But still, quite a lot. We go along with it, sometimes, when it would not be too rude to do so."

The distribution of beastfolk is high. The island citizens seem to be mostly humans or humans-with-wings, and the beastfolk make up most of the personnel. The actual degree to which they are 'beastfolk' varies. Pyri and Puri are on the 'barely perceptibly beastfolk' side of things unless you look real close. They're also largely more human than beast in any case-- Xant is the strangest looking of them in sight, with his thick skin. Other cases wind down to 'especially noodly bodies' and 'weird noses' in the case of what is probably an otter beast-person.

Puri is the one to answer Petra, answering, "We're not one hundred percent certain that a problem isn't present, so we have a guard out. The kids like them too, sometimes. They're called gunmen, and they are piloted, yes."

Einar meets Petra with no sign of offense whatsoever. He raises a hand to gesture at himself broadly, talon-gauntleted fingers flexing faintly, "I do not often take my armor off, and it is quite climate controlled, though it IS rather humid... and awkward to eat ice cream in. It is a pleasure to meet you, Petra. And one vanilla, certainly..."

He leans across the counter and passes her and Haschen their ice cream, glancing towards the Angelapad as he does so.

When he leans back and straightens up, Einar replies to Nia, "Glad we're on the same page. I'm tired of looking at them." There's a distaste in his voice that is very uncharacteristic to how he's spoken so far-- something about the castles is revolting to him.
Angela Angela hasn't spoken yet because she was quietly thinking about being frustrated by ice cream. She also hasn't introduced herself as the Concord Partner because she is the second youngest Concord Partner here and is the youngest in terms of realizing she was being considered one. She knows she has some trust from The Director, but is content to just pay attention until...

Petra mentions the power move. Angela is distracted from enjoying Petra dressing down Haschen a little by the comment. "Does that work?" She murmurs, marveling at the simplicity of the gesture. Despite asking the question, she has never experienced Petra being wrong except with regards to situations that happened well before their first meeting--at least not on anything important and this seems important.

"It seems, Princess Teppelin, that you know many here already but this is our first meeting." She dips her head on the screen. "Unfortunately I am facilitybound so I cannot visit personally or partake of ice cream but I am Angela of L Corp, Concord Partner representative of our interests. My agent was waiting for my introduction and this is her first offworld visit. Her name is Haschen."

Haschen bows. "Oh!! Sorry!! Yes I'm fumbling over myself ahahahaha, I am Haschen of L Corp's training department. Nice to meet you!! It is soooo pretty here oh my goooosh!! I don't think I've ever seen anything so pretty!"

She then lowers her voice for Petra. "Sorry I keep forgetting... You feel like you're one of us so I didn't think... I meant no offense...! Youaresocooll and I loved your input for the Training Team..."
Petra Soroka ". . . known as the Dull-Eyed Man."

    Petra is compelled by a force stronger than she can resist; the dread impulse known by many names-- dunking, validharm, the ingrained reflex to insult when an opportunity is presented. With mock, quiet horror, Petra gasps under Nia's explanation.

    "Oh my god... how will we tell him apart?"

"The world cannot be walls and pictureframes."

    Petra coughs and turns away to look back over her shoulder at the voxel-based cleanup attempt. She crosses her arms in evident thought, scanning the abnormally identical buildings, the wiped-away ones that previously existed, the state of the refugees in terms of injury and wear, taking it extra seriously to make up for being an awkward little rat multiple times already.

    "The way you said that... 'remnant of a plan'? What's the, uh, philosophy here? Is he wiping out cities and replacing them with those copy-pasted houses for some sort of... fucked up population management and control type of thing? Or were those things you temporarily made to give the refugees shelter?"

"Unsavory little man that made them."

    "Oh. Okay." That makes sense to Petra. Endless lines of hollow, identical facades drained of life and joy is basically the average suburb, so Petra can immediately contextualize this as an evil action in her head. "I'm glad that's it. They suck."

"Certainly. Skyrah is... the new place, yes? That was once Quicknest,"

    Pleasantly surprised, as she has been a few times already since arriving, Petra interjects between Einar and Kale. "Oh, you guys did some research, huh? So Unification wasn't too hard on you?" She doesn't elaborate on her own position in the Quicknest event, because that might have negative consequences.
Ru Li Cheng      "I...suppose it means I am auspicious," Ru Li says after a while, his face still lightly gold, "Nine is an auspicious number in Yinghuan fortune telling, and eleven is an auspicious number, and ninety-nine is thus two auspicious numbers. But I do not think myself all that special, no more than any of the other ninety-eight. I am only a humble bureaucrat-god, nothing more. No prophecies mark my forging, no fortunes of greatness or banality lie ahead."

     Ru Li takes the cone. His face remains slightly flushed as he licks it. Then, "I do not have a favourite, I think. I can taste them individually all at once, but I cannot taste them all combined. So I...wished to see what the sum of their parts was."

     He eats, politely. "In truth I do not mind the unusual reception. There are far worse things than an unusual reception - an unwelcome one, or a dull one. This is...pleasant. Different. New. I...appreciate all of those things. And it is a lovely place. The ocean sounds are so peaceful."

     Ru Li gives Petra and Angela a polite wave as he wheels his chair out of the way for everyone else, still eating. His balance is impeccable. He's a very *slow* eater, savoring every bite, like he's exploring everything carefully as he eats (because he is). As people talk about the unsavory little Dull-Eyed Man, he listens, as he usually does, before finally asking the question on the tip of his tongue:

     "So do you require assistance? With, erm, with either the evacuation or...the Dull-Eyed Man?"
Combaticon > "What cultural equivalent to meal-sharing does your species possess, if any, Onslaught?"

    Refolding his arms, the lead robot glances aside towards Depthcharge. She locks eyes with him for an awkwardly long silence. It only ends when the taller robot gestures towards General Einar, muttering, "Go on, then."

    "Make Blastoff do it."

    "I don't have a problem with that!"

    "No." Onslaught's gesture repeats, his glower at Depthcharge unbroken.

    Closing her eyes, the ladybot lets out a synthesized sigh accompanied by a thin jet of frustrated steam. A compartment on her forearm opens and she removes a little box, not much bigger than a typical hip flask. Giving it a shake, the dispensor on the top end extrudes a little nugget of glowing bright-pink Energon. She plucks this and offers it to Einar, while shaking loose a second one to offer Nia.

    "Baa weep gra-nah weep ninibong," she says through her teeth in an effort to smile and cringe herself out of existence at the same time.

    "Our universal greeting," Onslaught explains, re-folding his arm, "And an energon chip. I'm told organics describe it as... like an 'energy drink'."

    Blastoff, to his credit, isn't paying much attention. His optics have wandered back to the Gunmen; then to another of the weird little castle houses as it disappears. His thrusters ignite again and he takes off for a better look, "So this criminal you're chasing blew away everyone's home and made these? So-- you're deleting them, or do they just fade like that on their own?"

    "I would be pleased to see all you wish to show, Divine General, Princess," Onslaught keeps himself professional and even-toned, though it's clear Depthcharge's suffering entertained him a little, "Perhaps the Concord and the DJD may be of assistance in your... criminal problem, but I feel like we can discuss that later."
Kukuru Seeing how Nia and Einar pass treats to the refugees tells Kukuru enough about the two to put a broad smile on her face. The curiosity remains, of course, and only grows more when Nia explains that this sort of thing is apparently uncommon. "Aww, don't you worry, Princess~ It's a really nice reception, and it's not so... Stuffy like ones inside a fancy room."

Kukuru starts to hum softly as she often does once explanations about what's happening start coming forth. She lets out an awed and simultaneously concerned 'ohhh' as Nia tells the group about the Spiral Empire's goal in this area and the Dull-Eyed Man's power, and she frowns slightly when she sees her squeezing the counter. It takes a lot of willpower not to go over there and just take the Princess' hands for a gentle squeeze, but Kukuru does stay by window and rests the back of her hand on the counter in case Nia does want a stranger's supporting hand to squeeze.

"So he's the one that's making all those castles...?" Kukuru gestures at one of the disappearing castles with a free hand, wiggling her fingers a bit to emphasize the disappearing nature of said castles. Xant confirms that for her, and she purses her lips lightly in thought, only reopening her mouth to taste the ice cream (first peach, then orange, then mixed together).

"If he's making them and replacing what was here before... How rude. Doesn't he know people live here?" Huffing a bit in secondhand irritation, Kukuru's mood settles down again once she tastes more of the ice cream. "That Token thingy... Is it something he's holding onto? Maybeee... We can take it away, and then he won't be a problem." She suggests, alreeady resting her free hand on her chin.

"But if he hasn't been caught by now... Mmn. That could be tricky, huh? If he's..." She pauses a while longer, both to eat ice cream and to let her thoughts process a bit more instead of just blurting out the first thing that comes to mind. Eventually, she looks between Einar and Nia, then over at the identical-ish castles in the nearish distance. "Do you know where he might be now? Oooor... What he might wanna go after next?"
Aidan Proudpick "Vegan ice cream...though could be good, I think.

A warm smile for Sarracenia. Aidan always appreciates having her around for diplomatic stuff. "You'd be surprised! There's a lot of good stuff for not eating meat.
"It's vegan."

That's not good. Aidan is immediately struck with decision paralysis. "Uh, oh, apple! Apple pie? It always reminds me of gathering around a fire with fresh fermented apple cider," he seems to find it very easy to speak to Princess Nia.

Welcome, everyone! We hadn't done ice cream like this in such a long time.

"No! This is great. Usually it's meetings where we walk around or have to sit in a big room at a big uncomfortable table." He accepts ice cream, smiling through her mantra. It shifts from a sunny 'happy to be here' to a warm 'I think I koww what you mean' look. "Sometimes it can be."

"Replace... replace reality." He looks back and forth between Einar and Nia. "Reality hazard," he repeats. He looks up to see the line of uniform castles, each without a door, each exactly the same. "That's..." Awe-some seems like the poor choice of words here, considering how everyone seems to feel about it, so Aidan shifts, "interesting." From here, Aidan can eye them up and see each one is a photocopy. "They just appear? Or do they come out of the ground? I can use wind to make something, is it anything like that?"

It is not necessary to be overly formal

"Hurricanes, thank you. I'm bad at it." He grins, "But it's important, right?" The explanation of how food is grown gets Aidan another wowed look on his face. "Y-Yea, actually. I guess that would work. It would still feel weird eating a hamburger, but... if an animal didn't die making it." Aidan considers the implications of that.

Baa weep gra-nah weep ninibong.

Slowly, very slowly, Aidan turns over towards the combaticons, tail twitching. His eyes shine with mirth and glee. "That's great! Does that work for everyone?"
Kale Hearthward > "Oh, do you have anything vegan, you know, no milk or eggs?"

"Oh, are you still on that vegan thing? Still, after all this time?" Kale isn't one to turn down the chance to throw a stone, regardless of what glass houses he may be living in.

> "Girl, *I* was your first multiversal experience."

Kale gives Petra a brief glance, then turns back to face front. Focusing on Petra for too long is unpleasant for him, anyway.

> "We're in the middle of moving all of these people to anywhere else."

"Mmm. If it happens again, I hope you know you can call on us."

Ice cream acquired.

> "Baa weep gra-nah weep ninibong,"

Kale's quiet for a moment, eyes closed, and then he blinks. "... *really*. There's not a direct translation?"

> "Certainly. Skyrah is... the new place, yes? That was once Quicknest,"

"Oh so you-" Kale starts to say.

> "Oh, you guys did some research, huh?"

Petra gets another glance. Then Kale speaks. "Yes. There's a provisional government there now, as soon as the non-provisional one forms I'm due to step down from my position."

"It's rather similar to this place, now that I think about it," he continues, not least because Petra's in this conversation now. "The land's still there, the people are still there, but the infrastructure's just gone. It's a lot of work, getting it all put back together, and a lot of people that'll be hurt if we don't handle it right."

"But that's the way things go, right? Cleaning up the messes that other people make." *That* part is directed mostly towards Aidan.

Then, back fully to Einar and Nia. "If I might give some advice, we have the Watch and the Concord here with us for this meeting. You should certainly take their help, their agents and assistance are competent (mostly), but - I'd be wary how much of it you take."

"The Concord's assistance tends to have hooks in it, ways they try to take a little bit of advantage with every deal they make... and the Watch tends to find ways to worm its way in, and once they're in they tend to be hard to get out."
Dysnomia     "They're so casual." Mia said to Puri, glad someone was acknowledging how strange all this was. "They're political heads of a city, and they act like street vendors, handing out free samples."

    We will re-develop this place later, but it can't sustain them right now...

    Dysnomia takes a moment to scrutinize the response for something to tear into, but doesn't find anything with enough meat. "Sensible." She grumbled. But it's the follow-up that intriques her enough to tear her eyes away from the divine general, looking back toward the castles. "A reflection of his soul, you said?" What a cold, empty, monotonous soul it must have been. "I see why they call him the 'dull eyed man.' You'll have to explain what, exactly, a 'Token' is, at some point..."

    A thought strays over her, pulling her expression down in a sharp grimaces. "Dysnomia." In the place where a title might have been said, there was silence. "That's my name. Just a former soldier." But 'just' a former soldier wouldn't been with this party of elites, would they?
Lilian Rook     Straight from the coup at Ostia, Lilian would be more rattled by an immediate arrival into a conflict zone barely twelve hours later, were it not for an hour and a half spent comfortingly saying very little to Father Lucius. Against more probable odds, she's scraped herself together from the fallout of being betrayed three times and spited five to the point of something better north of mere presentability, and firmly resolved to walk off the damage caused by seeing Hector holding his daughter.

    Tamamo is still mending her enrichment cloak (or going to get around to it), and so Lilian is saved the mistake of dressing far too warmly for the occasion. Her armour isn't anything close to a powered suit with environment control, so she risks more or less semicasual attire, openly carrying her sword and sidearm despite a loose fit lace-up long-sleeved blouse and split-hem wrap skirt in properly summery white and coral. She has time to be thankful for it, given when she arrives, but she's fully occupied almost the moment she lands by . . .

    "It must be incredible. To view the world from that height." She is looking right past Xant and at the two gunmen. "The people you're sworn to defend must seem so small, when you can stare eye to eye with the danger. Right? It must be so much . . ."

    Thankfully, the introduction to more faces (and, incidentally, the existence of matching twin rabbit girls) and the words 'Divine General' shake her out of the contemplation she'd stuffed down yesterday, and Lilian brings herself to the present by papping her own cheek with her palm. "A pleasure to meet you." Lilian says, catching up. "I suppose you all know who we represent, but as a matter of personal . . ."

    Her eyes stick to the pop-up castles as they go, and fall behind the destination. ". . . ah, um, Lilian Rook. Paladins Chevalier. Is . . . ice cream, really necessary? Of course I won't turn down your hospitality; I'd just hate to think that you were under pressure to go out of your way for something so small on our behalf." Bringing out her smart device, someone can probably catch her tapping out »'Divine General' rem. Workshop p w/stage crew (maybe !cruise)

    It takes her entirely too long to actually register that the ice cream truck is in fact directly relevant to meeting the delegates they're here for (if a princess can even be called one). It takes her even longer to reconcile the nature of what she's seeing. For the the third time already, Lilian stops and stares, but it's with unblinking, open-mouthed, blank mind-static at the absurdity of a half-cloud princess and a medieval space marine sith lord serving waffle cones.

    'Welcome, everyone! We hadn't done ice cream like this in such a long time, it felt, that I apologize if it's not the reception you'd hope'

    "Ah. No. Of course not. I honestly had no idea what to expect at all." Lilian says, caught in guard-broken posture. She briefly falls to examining the other figure instead of introducing herself, stuck marvelling at something private, and then hastily catching up with "Dame Commander Lilian Rook, Paladins Chevalier; it's a pleasure and an honour to meet you. Especially under such . . . familiar circumstances."

    The way she's looking at giant black and gold armour man . . . Yeah. She's definitely considering the accidental aesthetic overlap. More specifically, Lilian is struck by a dizzying alloy of difficult to describe feelings regarding how if she armoured up herself right now, she'd look like a little decorative figurine compared to him, just in the same colours and adjacent styles. She reaches around for a sense of reactionary discomfort, then an urge to assert her position. Failing to find either, Lilian makes a faintly worried-relieved noise under her breath. "I don't . . . suppose you'd happen to have red velvet?"
Einar !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! WARNING WARNING WARNING WARNING WARNING !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
The instant that Lilian Rook sets foot on this world, her clairvoyance kicks in with coarse abruptness. This universe is wounded, has been wounded for a long time. But something came close to dealing a true deathblow to it, and not so long ago. What did it is not relevant to her vision, because it isn't here anymore... or at the very least, it isn't the threat. The threat is the crumbling foundation of the world itself. This place is on the brink-- not the island, the whole universe. It is shot through with cracks that, were they wounds, would be gaping and dreadful to look upon. Left on their own they would have torn the rest of the way open and it all would've been over.

A pale light stitches it together. It takes a moment to comprehend that the light is not some working, but is in fact the substance of someONE. The stitches that hold the universe together regard Lilian curiously.

You can perceive me? It wonders aloud, with the voice of an older man. The voice is weak and wispy, in that dreadful way that only the very ill are-- and it does not raise its voice again.

       This universe is unsafe. There are only two safe places within it:      

              Cathedral Luna and a distant transdimensional space.              
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! WARNING WARNING WARNING WARNING WARNING !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Lilian Rook     'The unusual reception is a consequence of the weather, and... the buildings out there. We've looked at so many of them, and if we didn't look at something different for a while, we'd lose our minds a little. Unsavory little man that made them.'

    That finally seems to set her mind fully at ease. An adequate explanation for an ice cream truck. It isn't, but it's good enough for right now. "May I ask what precisely a 'reality terrorist' is?" Lilian says. "I'd assume that you'd be more direct if you were asking for help, so I imagine you have the matter well in hand by now.

    'Not many of our airships are made particularly for accommodating civilians, but Cathedral Luna is, and so we are here. It also coincides with...'

    "Beg pardon? You're just . . . relocating them? To somewhere else? Is there really space for that?" Lilian asks Xant, only slightly less formal in tone, and fully sincere in her dubious surprise.

    'Certainly. Skyrah is... the new place, yes? That was once Quicknest'

    "Oh, you're up to date on goings-on already. That's a relief." Lilian says, falling into a relaxed posture at knowing that at least the General has some idea of things already, and can't be either taken advantage of or crushingly disappointed by misrepresentation. "It's wonderful to meet people who do their research." she says, nodding. Then, a shock visibly runs all the way up Lilian's spine, and she stares down at her screen. 'Oh god. They already have an idea of what goes on here' is written all over her face.

    'Oh my god... how will we tell him apart?'

    "Chad should have broken your jaw." slips out of Lilian before she can say anything even worse. Processing Petra's existence in retrograde, she blinks, looks at her directly, and says, "Mechs?"

    'Nine is an auspicious number in Yinghuan fortune telling, and eleven is an auspicious number'

    Lilian, still looking hatefully at Petra and running down her bad behaviour in her mind, misfires a neural circuit and coughs.

    'It must be amazing. Having those senses, yanno. Now that I think of it, being able to see everything more than anyone else can see.'

    "Just because it's useful doesn't mean it's great. You have no idea how horrid the things you can't sense can be." That one is too automatic. Too worn down into scaldingly honest instability. Lilian can stop and recover from delitating experiences like that without ever showing that it'd happened, but just hiding her primal-nerves reaction to it in the moment doesn't undo the lingering psychological impact of having experienced something. She's had a long talk about that in particular, after Blueberry Princess.

    "I do wonder how he deals with it. That is to say, how he averts them from the things he doesn't wish to look at. Little things like 'line of effect' can bleed into your posture over time, or line of sight policing how you move your eyes; even just compartmentalizing your thoughts can bleed into your speech." Lilian says, trying to keep a diverting conversation going about it. But still, her thoughts inevitably wander back to . . .

    §That's the third time someone like you has said that to me. I'd say it's a thankfully miniscule number, given how active I am, but I don't think I'll ever get used to it.§

    §You're not well. Who are you? Where are you? Can you hear me at all?§

    §Hello?§
Petra Soroka "We're not one hundred percent certain that a problem isn't present, so we have a guard out."

    Petra nods, understanding. "Yeah, that's a good call. Elites are like that sometimes. --Oh, wait, you mean the terrorist. That makes sense." The comment about the kids liking the gunmen is accepted with an uptick in both comfort and discomfort, paradoxically. More happy, but less at-ease.

"It is for instance the case that many of our eggs are grown similar to coconuts,"

    For some reason, Petra displays a particular interest in this-- though, she's displayed interest in a solid half of every topic presented to her on this world so far, so it's an easy conclusion to draw that she's just like that. Softening into a more relaxed chatty pose, though her enthusiasm is still engaging her musculature, Petra leans forwards with her hands on one of the tables around, babbling a bit.

    "Oh, really? So it's just something culinarily held over from the past then, right? Most foods just have history in 'what's available' to the people there, so it must not *always* have been that way, but instead it's a technique you guys developed to be able to keep making those existing dishes after... something...?" Not that Petra hasn't lived on a world without eggs, but an *Earth* without eggs implies a dire past. Petra only slows down a bit, to conspicuously glance around for obvious signs of an apocalypse, before continuing.

    "So is that true for animals in general? Er-- I mean, like, livestock." It's been five minutes, so Petra can start grazing racially charged beastfolk comments. "Is there just not enough room to raise them anymore?"

". . . but I am Angela of L Corp, Concord Partner representative of our interests."

    Petra is visibly smug and exchanges some words of encouragement with Angela comparable to a fist bump, then continues bullying Haschen. On the topic of never seeing something so beautiful before, Petra takes on a mockingly hurt tone, completely breezing past the apology Haschen attempts to offer her to instead stress her out more.

    "Wow... Haschen, that's so mean. You think these awful cookie cutter castles are nicer than *my* castle? I guess that's fair, though, last time you saw it, it *was* built by fur..." Oh no! Petra almost said something derogatory about furries, in front of the beastfolk! Time to change course! "furrrrrrrrrr...reaks?" That isn't better, Petra!

    Obviously, dunks aside, Cathredral Luna and the rest of the world's vista are still here, so Petra backs off. "It *is* really pretty, though. And especially after only looking at the facility."

"Our universal greeting,"

    Grumpily, Petra doesn't even have it in her to mock Depthcharge for the nonsense syllables, and instead speaks up again to poke fun at the robots' culture. "How is that an equivalent to sharing a meal? That's the equivalent to, like, at *best*, sharing a cigarette or something. There's a ton of time and history invested into food as a, like, communal thing, so scatting at someone and then handing them a little treat doesn't really accomplish the same thing, you know?"
Petra Soroka "The land's still there, the people are still there, but the infrastructure's just gone."

    Petra huffs at Kale, though it's mostly good-natured. His efforts with Skyrah, and more importantly, Quicknest, obviously bought a lot of goodwill from her but she's still an unpleasant little rat. "And you're *welcome* for that, by the way." She also forgot that she wasn't mentioning her supervillainy yet. "I'm not some sort of fucked up gentrification terrorist like this guy is."

    "And besides. The Concord's fine if you get help from the right people. Which..." Petra won't say which of the Concord members present are ones she'd trust, because she would be forced to say that Kukuru is one of them, and potentially start beef during a diplomatic meeting by saying the Combaticons aren't. "The Watch is fucked, though."

"Chad should have broken your jaw."

    Petra whines at Lilian, but she's mostly attentively worried from the moment she shows up. "I apologized to Lucius! Again, even! Like, of course I didn't mean anything bad towards him, I--" Relitigating it is a bad idea, so Petra doesn't. "... I think he's great. So I think Chad's great too. I-I just think I'd have problems if my jaw got broken."
Aidan Proudpick "Oh, are you still on that vegan thing? Still, after all this time?"

Aidan shrugs it off, still smiling. "I don't like to know an animal was hurt. And there's really not a reason to stop."

"But that's the way things go, right? Cleaning up the messes that other people make."

A breath, but he takes it on his shoulders, trying to firmly ignore Kale's steady digs. The scorn hurts more than the implication. He mutters, "The first of winter," as his own mental mantra. A THIRD dig is setting off a 'do you have a problem? male dominance push fight' risk in the squirrel, but he's pushing it down as hard as he can. Aidan knows if he explodes here, he's going to have to sit in SE-1367 until it disappears.

"Just because it's useful doesn't mean it's great."

Grateful for the chance to keep his thoughts on a different topic, he looks over at Lilian. He stops, considering that, tapping at his chin. "Ah," he stops to consider more, trying to rotate the thought at every angle before he answers, "you can't close your eyes to anything. Smell the person near by. Taste everything. Knowing every person who is looking at your back." He nods towards Lillian Rook, a silent but geniune nod of 'thank you for enlightening me.'

"Oh, really? So it's just something culinarily held over from the past then, right?

An ear prick. Aidan turns slightly towards Petra, listening intently to her go on about food history before smiling, "I didn't know you were so good at culture stuff."
Lilian Rook     '--Oh, wait, you mean the terrorist. That makes sense.'
    'Er-- I mean, like, livestock.'
    'furrrrrrrrrr...reaks?'
    'And you're *welcome* for that, by the way.'
    'And besides. The Concord's fine if you get help from the right people.'
    'I apologized to Lucius! Again, even! Like, of course I didn't mean anything bad towards him, I--'

    Lilian shuts her eyes, and smiling with beatific patience, says, "Petra. I appreciate you being here, but so help me god I may actually choke you into unconsciousness in front of the Princess." Her right eye twitches.

    'The first of winter'

    "What do you want?" Lilian suddenly aims at Aidan, looking at him with immensely transgressed-upon annoyance. It doesn't occur to her to assume literally anything else or explain whatsoever.
Ru Li Cheng      'It must be amazing. Having those senses.'

     Ru Li shifts slightly in his wheelchair. "I...suppose. I would not know any alternative. I cannot imagine what it is like to view the world from only your eyes, to be unable to find something with only your ears, to taste with only your tongue. All I can do is rein them in, tighten the sphere. Rarely do I wish to."

     He hesitates. He actually turns his head to look at Lilian, because he wants to make eye contact with her instead of just give her the sense that he knows. He doesn't say anything, but from the expression on his face, the answer is 'not easily, and not happily.' He was never forged for the things he's seen and tasted and experienced here. Before the worst he ever had to deal with was ink and paper. Now...

     Well.

     Now he's in a wheelchair a day after a bloody battle, and the taste of corpses lingers as it ever does, as he licks the ice cream slowly, dragging his tongue carefully along it.

     "And there are little joys, too. I would not for an instant give up the taste of a thousand bloodstains if it meant also losing the comforting smells of the people I care about, like you, and Petra, and Futaba, or the warmth of skin nearby. You need touch for comfort, I think. I only need to be present. It helps."

     He makes a motion with his fingers - probably flexing them the same way a human would if recovering from an injury, to keep them limber. "I am aware of my own body down to the smallest gear, the most minute strand of muscle. I do not know how you can stand not being able to identify your own wounds and pains and aches, only guess, with trepidation, what may be wrong."
Einar "Welcome, Angela of L Corp, Agent Haschen," Einar follows up with the pair, though as they have most directly addressed Nia, he doesn't linger on her from there.

//... how will we tell him apart?//

To this, the Divine General leans forward against the counter -- not over it -- and issues a great, tinny sigh. This is something he feels compelled to answer, but doesn't want to. Slowly, Einar explains, "The castles he makes -- those are not ours -- have a variable layout. Maze-like. The actual features within the castle are otherwise completely consistent. There is a single form of deliberate decor that is included, and it is always -- in all cases we have launched expeditions into prior to destroying -- a portrait of the same woman."

Since Nia was addressed for certain details, he glosses over those for the moment to address what was aimed at him in particular. Straightening up, Einar says, "I always do research. And unification was tolerable." He's used to worse disasters than unification might be, in other words.

Back towards Ru Li. "Novelty is of great import to you in particular, then. I see. Your senses sound quite interesting. With regards to what we need help with, the evacuation we are quite well-equipped to handle. It is merely a matter of time. The Dull-Eyed Man... a novel approach with external actors might be of greater value than what we have been doing, yes."

"We shall see," he says. Putting together his research statement, Einar probably hasn't evaluated this to his comfort levels, but it's obvious enough that he's intrigued by the idea.

The exchange with Depthcharge is regarded with interest, and Einar takes the energon chip with a gratefully inclined bow of his head. "I appreciate that you have exited your comfort zone in order to engage in this... ritual, Depthcharge. Though I am not your commanding officer, I would not ask you to repeat it. We have some novel batteries that you may enjoy partaking of, if you are broadly compatible with energy intake in the sense that we are broadly compatible with eating food items."

His attention swings to Onslaught, "Energy drinks. That is more of an Innocent trend, but I know what you are speaking of. This is safe for humanoid consumption, then?" He was just considering studying it, truth be told.

"And you're quite right," Einar asides to Blastoff, "we are deleting them."

//That Token thingy... Is it something he's holding onto?//
//You'll have to explain what, exactly, a 'Token' is, at some point...//

"In this particular case a Token is an expression of the soul. For instance," Einar raises a gauntleted hand into the air and makes a faint twisting motion, as if partway turning a knob. The air shimmers beside Kukuru, a pink clover -- a shield, in fact, just in the shape of a pink clover -- coming into existence there. Under ordinary circumstances there would be no cause to make the comparison, but with Nia right there the fact that this shield is in the shape of her eye-crosses is hard to overlook.

"Princess, if you would..." Einar inclines his head in her direction. A few moments later, the clover disappears in a shimmer of red voxels.

"With regards to the dull-eyed man's whereabouts, we have an idea. Presently we have a problem with another ally pursuing him too aggressively, so he's doing... this..." Einar gestures out towards the horizon, "a great deal more often than he might otherwise. It may surprise you to learn that injecting energy into the universe rampantly is not actually good for the fabric of existence, so we actually do have to stop and delete the mess he makes every time he gets spooked."
Einar "We try to be a little more... novel... than meeting rooms, but it is at times unavoidable," Einar remarks to Aidan. "And no, they are not as gentle as 'coming out of the ground'." He doesn't elaborate on what it might be, but since he just demonstrated an act of creation himself, however limited, it's probably not necessary. But whether he thinks of formality as important OR simply correctly asserted that they did not provide a formal context and thus it isn't useful, he doesn't clarify on.

His gaze flicks rapidly -- invisibly, thanks to the grated helmet -- from Aidan, to Kale, and back again. "I am aware, yes. And I am not one who refuses back-up arbitrarily. I have simply counted my beans enough to know that I can host and evacuate without further inconvenience to my guests, besides needing to share space with the refugees a little."

There is a distinct sense that Einar was gauging people's reactions TO having to occupy space with refugees, in fact.

It is a little telling, then, that he finally weighs back in, "That IS how things go, yes. And your advice is welcome. I thought it best to greet all comers, given our relatively recent unification, and I do not presently find myself disappointed in having done so. But I am more than familiar with friends who are more work than my enemies, I'm afraid."

Puri shrugs theatrically at Mia. "He likes theater, and she's just like this. Her late sister was nothing like this, and the King is pretty withdrawn. Couldn't tell you where she gets it. One time they rode that icecream truck out to a scavenger meet-and-greet and just did this there. Five or six years ago, I guess? We're kinda over it. They're kinda crazy."

"Don't be mean," Pyri hisses from the other side of the truck.

Einar, who isn't deaf, gestures placatingly towards Pyri.

"... What, from the Chur?" Xant wonders of Lilian, when she talks of the gunmen. "It's... well, I'm used to the old Nemiza, and they're more squat than that, and they only have one face, but I suppose..." The elephant-beastfolk seems a little befuddled by the line of thinking.

"Necessary, no. We will not take offense if you are uninterested, and the er, the food we 'advertised' was from our gardens besides... in fact, let us carry on inside in just a moment," The Divine General says, and he's just about to head out the side of the truck when she doubles back on wanting something-- and so he does as well, evidently moving to check, though Nia might beat him to it. "It is a delight to meet you, Dame Commander Lilian Rook."
Einar Once the last of the ice cream requested is handed out, Einar exits the truck and gestures the group forward. Pyri and Puri take up flanking positions again, while Xant just sort of mills around the middle. They are, the group might notice, walking towards a wall-- but as they approach the wall shimmers and parts, a temporary passage molding itself into existence in the precise dimensions necessary to admit everyone comfortably. They come out on the bank of the river that could be heard outside, walking along the outer edge of the exterior garden.

It is foliage-heavy, populated by a variety of somewhat bizarre-looking animals, decently populated by refugees as well, and heavy with signs telling people not to kill the animals but to feel free to take grapes off of the grape hippos and the like. There are, in fact, hippos with gigantic grapes growing off of them just chilling in the river, and they're completely docile.

"Yes, I'm just relocating them. Technically speaking I could keep them here indefinitely, but they will not be comfortable here. They will be re-settled in another portion of the Spiral Empire, and once their region is re-developed they can return if they wish to," he explains, gesturing vaguely with his right hand as he goes. "And yes. I have paid attention, read the reports. There are fewer than I hoped there would be with recent date markings... but that is how these things are, at times."

//Can you hear me at all? Hello?//

The stitches in the universe twitch, but cannot verbalize a reply. It is potentially reasonable to assume that it was as close to a 'yes' as can be given, but it might also have been a spasm. The being that is holding everything together is stretched very, very thin.
Angela Angela rubs at her face at the frrreeaks comment. And the combo multiplier that represents on the rest of what she says but Lilian is right there and part of why she adores Petra is that she is sincere despite herself even when its politically inconvenient. Maybe experiencing these beastfolk will help her find better representatives than Kale, she thinks, though ... Well, Kale usually has his head on straight which makes it all the more frustrating when he says or does something that makes her own spin like crazy. And she better not mention it. Sometimes it feels like if she mentions having the slightest bit of respect for Kale he will immediately crash into a window just to keep her guessing.

Meanwhile Haschen is bullied. Considering she is dressed as a training dummy, it almost feels elementally correct.

"Wh...wha....B b but yeah I mean no I mean I didn't mean to hurt you ohmygosh I look up to you so much and I'm being so rude and I'm such a dumb bunny sometimes no wonder I barely got hired by L Corp I didn't mean it... I am sure when I see your castle it'll be very nice and um um Ahhh I'm supposed to be taking notes..." She fumbles with a clipboard a pen and the Angelapad noisily, her flustered state induced by Petra only making her clumsier than normal.

"You must care deeply for her." Angela says to Einar upon seeing the shield.
Sarracenia      The aerial view is impressive. It is a proper fortified castle unlike Sarra's own castle which really just has the city wall and the castle wall with the one road leading directly through both. The gardens catch Sarra's attention as well. She has a similar castle garden, after all.

     The ingredients are explained, which has Sarra somewhat wide-eyed. "I see! That is quite amazing!" Strange or not, Sarra seems to appreciate the weirdness. "That must save quite a bit of time and resources. Growing livestock is always so expensive compared to merely growing crops. And it protects all those animals as well."

     When asked about rainbow vanilla, Sarra hees. "Well, it is not merely the color. Rainbow Vanilla, at least where I come from, has tangy fruit flavors mixed in to make it more exciting and fun! Each color has its own flavor, with the colors naturally corresponding to a fruit of the same associated color. I also commission a shop near my home to carry a version with carbonated candy mixed in. The little pebbles of sugar pop delightfully when held in your mouth or chewed~"

     As she waits for ice cream to be dispensed, be it rainbow or normal, Sarra motions to the castle fortress. "I saw the castle from the air. It was quite impressive! I fear my own castle and town are a bit lackluster compared to this. You appear ready to repel a full ground assault or siege! But, I find myself wondering..." She looks toward the mecha, then back at Einar. "Would these walls stand up to such things as those armored mecha?"

     While listening to the talk of the dull-eyed man, Sarra looks out at those castle houses before back at Einar and Nia. "So many identical castles -is- rather tacky. And mazes are quite annoying. If you would like help searching, the Sundew Kingdom also maintains a modest fleet of airships. A dozen cruisers and our flagship, the Sundew Sovereign. Each is heavily armed and around 200 feet in length. We would be quite happy to aid in searching for this criminal. We could also aid in transporting the people if they need extra room to stretch. Castles are not often made to accommodate the entire population of the town surrounding them." She smiles and gestures to Gregory. "So long as they would not be too nervous around Gregory's people. Almost all of our sailors and soldiers are of his kind. They are quite kind and dutiful despite their appearance." Gregory bows when gestured at. Sarra pauses a moment there, then blinks. "Oh! And, I am also a partner of the Concord. Though admittedly I am only lightly involved with Concord affairs."

     When Depthcharge gives that greeting, Sarra ends up staring for a long moment...then burst out laughing. Hopefully it is not their real greeting! She waves a hand as if trying to apologize, and once her laughter dies down a bit she actually does. "Hahaha! I...I am sorry, but...bahahaha!"

     After her laughing fit, Sarra realizes that Kukuru is here! She offers a friendly wave at an appropriate moment. "Hello Ku~ku~ru~" she sing-songs, apparently enjoying Kukuru's introductions. Other people are also here, but most of them either don't like Sarra or she does not like them. Or both. The Decepticon team at least gets a greeting, though. They are allies and haven't really been mean to Sarra.

     'furrrrrrrrrr...reaks?'

     Petra's attempt at self-correction draws a snicker and a smirk from Sarra. She is about to say something when Lilian actually says something to Petra about it. Sarra is somewhat surprised at how serious Lilian sounds about it despite the whole shooting thing. "If you do, may I record it?" she asks.

     Sarra appreciates Aidan's appreciation, and for some reason glances at Petra after he responds. If one sees the look, it easily suggests a thought of 'there is no way...right?'.
Ein "It's so very important to remind yourself you're not 'just' one thing or another." Princess Teppelin's serene voice lifts in support of Einar's admittance - on why they served ice cream. "We're creatures under a bright sun on a perfect day and I think it's important to enjoy that too."

> Petra: Wear CREATURE MODE shirt.

"Like her clothes suggest." Nia puts that on Petra with the air of light indicative praise and carries right on to Angela and her new backpack-holding agent.

> 'It seems, Princess Teppelin,'

Nia, who had the benefit of being introduced, turns her head in mild professional concern, hoping to not have *missed* someone, especially with a new voice, but and leans close to the window once more. "I know some of the people here, yes, but not all." The leaning princess gains the smile that comes with brief laughter, a hand shading her mouth as she does. "Angela, then, and Haschen." Nia takes the fumbled introduction with an extra measure of grace by repeating while nodding. "You are certainly welcome. I'm glad you've come for training, then - we'll take good care of you." The princess agrees with a curl of her hand, holding a rather ice cream'd scoop and gesturing. "Having such a reception, from all the factions, gives me such a... tangible hope that there'll be a breakthrough."

> The Dull-Eyed Man
> 'Oh my god... how will we tell him apart?'

"All of your offers of help mean so much to me, everyone. Thank you. I'll even explain it now, as you're here and interested. It's a matter of..." A finger raises, and with it, the gentle tilt of the princess's head - though she points off in the castle-filled distance. "Our world being at a critical point, and that Ravine being devastatingly frustrating. He is..." The words do not come instantly but instead must be searched out. Petra's question pulls something true out of Princess Teppelin by its particular wording, because a certain sort of shouting man is deeply and intrinsically known to her, known to her so much that her take-a-break coping mechanism was to break out an entire expedition ice cream truck and set out to beat the heat of a terrible queue outside the gates with a little sweet treats.

"The 'Dull Eyed Man' is called that, Petra, because among all the men of the wastes, his eyes lack any shine at all."

Among the dull, he is the named jewel of their opaque bunch.

"He is certainly tricky, though. If you aren't completely ready to make a breakthrough - and fully engage with him - he can get away." Even Nia's bright blue-wrapped clovers dim a little, wearied. "The campaign to stop him in a safe way has caused more than one place like this to need evacuation."

> 'Reality Terrorist'

"He's an accelerationist, the Ravine," An interchangeable title for the Dull-Eyed Man. "Because it doesn't matter to him. He thinks he's making a world. He's just replacing world with wound."

> Princess, if you would...

Nia, seeming to know exactly where that shield is despite it being partially occluded by ice cream truck wall, gestures as if brushing away a bit of dust or dander from cloth - the deletion voxels are summoned swiftly after, putting ownership to who's deleting the castles off in the distance as well upon Nia's shoulders.

They have to stop and fix wherever they fight this 'Dull Eyed Man' after, and that is what has slowed them down for so long.
Ein > Paladins, Lilian, Concord & Watch

Nia intuits a shift, taking an ice cream scoop and serving any last requests by hand and doling out a few extra scoops of vanilla into some trays for the windowsill. That completed, she dips inside and shifts to trot and hop out the side of the truck and past Puri to continue to address everyone with talkative hands.

"Einar has briefed me on everything I need to know, Chevalier Hearthward - he is my Paladin 'liason', speaks with my voice, knows my will, and sees to my interests. But the world of Zora is large, and I'm--" Mia, scrutinizing, is now scrutinized, a twinkling fondness in the cotton candy haired woman's eyes, lingering deeply on something in-and-past the watchdragon's upper center. "I am sure you know, but 'just' a soldier can do nearly everything on a battlefield. That is what this world is, a battlefield." Nia beams out a smile at the group. "It is a beautiful battlefield, though. I'm glad you've all come, interested in helping."

Nia places a hand on Puri's shoulder, her grin momentarily becoming Evil Superior as she murmurs a 'You don't like ice cream?' into the rabbitgirl's ear, ever-so-curious, ever-so-interested.

Ru Li, in his wheelchair, enjoying his ice cream, is walked right up to after the Princess disembarks the truck, and in his slow-eating, is offered. . . the princess' ice cream scoop. With the air of answering a riddle, she suggests: "You wished for every flavor. That would be 'a spoon'." Declares the cloud-haired woman, and then places the oddly metallic spoon tip-coated in sugar and cream in his lap (or hands, if proffered).

Certainly realizing that *she* has made some small error with the repeated effected bafflement of the Dame Commander, the revealed-to-be-a-mere 5'8" Princess looks confusedly-empathizing up at Lilian and gasps:

Hands to cheeks, Nia gasps as Einar doubles back, and one of the fresh window-vanillas is handed to Lilian with an apologetic bow. "Since I have a feeling you'll be helping - here. It's the most popular flavor today." Another handstopped giggle lifts the Princess' aghast mood. "Even though I kept offering my favorite flavors first."
Combaticon     > "You're quite right. We are deleting them."

    "Hey boss-bot!" From the air, Blastoff waves downward, "I'm gonna give the surroundings a quick survey!"

    Onslaught's only reaction is to raise a hand with two fingers extended. Blastoff reponds by flipping forward in midair. His body emits a distinctive half-synthetic, half-metallic sound as his entire form reconfigures and reorganizes itself from a man-sized robot into a jet-sized jet. Without hesitation, the engines rumble to life and he soars off in a gentle, ascending arc. Just like that, it's only Depthcharge and Onslaught remaining.

    "Good, because I have no intention of repeating myself," Depthcharge responds in a corrosive tone. Mentioning batteries has her narrow her eyes again, glancing off to the side, "I suppose something that prim--" She hesitates when Onslaught's gaze shifts towards her, "--something like that will have a favorable Energon conversion rate."

    Her head inclines forward, turned just enough to glower at Sarracenia's fit of laughter.

    "While you have no need to accommodate our needs, the effort is appreciated, Divine General," Onslaught's eyes return to the armored figure, "As far as we have learned, mostly from the Autobots, Energon is safe for human consumption in small quantities such as this." A hand unfolds, gesturing, "Moderation in all things, I am told. It is very energy dense and easily absorbed."

    He lifts his optics as the wall converts itself into a door. Not an entirely surprising thing; such adjustment happens on Cybertron when the need arises and the right 'bot is controlling the infrastructure grid, after all. It is the smoothness of the action that he finds more interesting.

> "I am sure you know, but 'just' a soldier can do nearly everything on a battlefield. That is what this world is, a battlefield."

    "Then I have come to the right place," Onslaught muses with a digitized hum, "Cybertron has only recently concluded its own war. We have no shortage of soldiers looking for purpose; my team included. Some... 'good exercise' will do them good, I think."

    Depthcharge takes a position in the walk that allows her to be as far from the foliage as possible. She takes steps to ensure none of the leaves touch her, though it's only obvious a few times when things get particularly close. "Seems rather straightforward to me. If you are taking time fixing the damage this man is causing, sending an advance team to intercept his next suspected target may be the best move." Ducking an errant, vicious Leaf, she adds, "I imagine that's where we come in."
Kale Hearthward > "And you're *welcome* for that, by the way."

"... That's true, but that's like telling someone 'you're welcome' for not punching them in the face," Kale says. "It doesn't earn you any points."

Then he pauses. He's recalling the sort of people he and Petra work with. "Actually, no, I recant that entirely. You have a point."

"However, if you are feeling charitable, the control codes for the robots and machines you left behind would be very welcome," Kale mentions.

> "What do you want?"

Kale reflexively takes a step backwards. He's already well outside of the direct line of sight between Lilian and Aidan, but now he's *more* out of it.

> It may surprise you to learn that injecting energy into the universe rampantly is not actually good for the fabric of existence

"That... energy can't be created or destroyed thing, right?" Kale paraphrases the thing he overheard once. "Like how magic isn't creating or destroying anything, it's just converting magic energy into... objects or motion, or the other way around."

> "I have simply counted my beans enough to know that I can host and evacuate without further inconvenience to my guests, besides needing to share space with the refugees a little."

"The ice cream's nice, but again, if you need help I'm at your disposal," says Kale, as he finishes getting through the scoop of chocolate and starts working on the scoop of vanilla. "I'm medically trained, I've got a crew I trust that I can call in..."

> Petra's question pulls something true out of Princess Teppelin by its particular wording, because a certain sort of shouting man is deeply and intrinsically known to her...

Kale gives Nia a long, pained, empathetic look.

Then, blinking, he looks around, his gaze settling briefly on Nia, Einar, Kukuru, and then even briefly on Aidan, and then back to Nia. Why... does he feel like he has such a sense of deja-vu right now? Like this is all so terribly familiar?

He shakes his head. He's just imagining things.

In they go, into the gardens...

"..."

Kale takes it all in.

Then, Kale turns to Einar.

"Do you have any of these for sale?" he asks, gesturing at the animals.
Aidan Proudpick "What do you want?"

A twitch of the ear. A look at Lilian. A frown. Maybe it's her intended wedding date? He lifts both hands, "Nothing from you."

Losing the comforting smells of the people I care about.

Is it fuckless or romantic to think about that one too hard, Aidan ponders. "That's... yea," he considers in distracted awe. "I get why you'd put up with anything for that." He breathes out. Fuckless, he settles on.

"In this particular case a Token is an expression of the soul. For instance," Shield.

Happy to have more distractions, he nods in the direction of the shield. "That's kind of mine, too! And walls. Just, I can't make them out of nothing. Yer a defender, right? A protector!" Another firm nod, having clearly settled the two into 'the right sort of people.

"If you do, may I record it?"

A vigorous shake of the head from Aidan. No, no, that's... nope, she said it. "Princess," Aidan whispers in dull terror.

Once the party starts moving, Aidan takes his ice cream with him, lifting his hand towards Nia and Einar, "The Watch can handle a mission like this just fine," He also has no control over where Watch cells are implemented, when, and how. "Find a reality terrorist, make sure we have them trapped, make sure they can't get away. Uhh, if they can just MAKE mazes, that does seem pretty tough. But if we do the just take all right turns, it should be fine, right? It's important to stop this guy from ripping up people's homes, that's the kinda thing I gotta stop."

A portrait of the same woman.

"Something that's important to him. A castle. With a woman. So important, it's his entire soul." Aidan nods, appreciating the inherent romance in it.

Aidan is much more house trained and better looking.
Petra Soroka "I appreciate you being here, but so help me god I may actually choke you into unconsciousness in front of the Princess."

    Oh right, it's a bad day. Petra starts sweating from something other than the sun, acutely aware that she's the first person to draw Lilian's ire today, which should be the exact opposite of her role. She stops cold, then pauses to shut off all her conversational momentum and reset herself to zero before responding.

    "R-right. I'm sorry, Lilian. I'll fix it." The fact that she means it is demonstrated by her closing her eyes for her familiar little ritual, the same one she did at the village in Lycia and a dozen unexplained times before. Her centering meditation has the unfortunate side effect of briefly intensifying her aura, which is mildly unpleasant for everyone and intensely unpleasant for Kale.

"I didn't know you were so good at culture stuff."

    Petra quietly mutters "I'm being brave," before responding to the person absolutely most capable of testing her scraped-together discipline. "It's important to know. You exist in it literally every hour, every day, from before you're even born, so not studying it just means not being able to choose your relationship to it."

    That this comment, implying a lifelong interest in the environment of culture, comes from the same girl who, a year and a half ago, was the status quo's strongest soldier, is jarringly strange at first. The fact that it's true casts all her actions back then in more of a pathetically hopeless light than they already were, though it's likely that Petra is the only one reflecting on the growth in the nuances of her rhetoric right now. Faintly, she contemplates the distantly implausble career of journalism.

"If you do, may I record it?"

    She's then comboed by Sarracenia following up Aidan, but this is actually an easy prompt to effortlessly respond to. Petra just needs to be normal, and take a moment to monitor her thoughts to make sure they're normal. Without looking at Sarracenia, Petra produces a series of calm, normal words. "Please. As if I wouldn't."

"There is a single form of deliberate decor that is included, and it is always -- in all cases we have launched expeditions into prior to destroying -- a portrait of the same woman."

    "... Oh. A--" Petra cuts herself off before saying 'simp'. She shifts her posture uncomfortably, and then makes a distressed whine in the back of her throat when melted ice cream drips down onto her fingers. She flinches her hand away and clicks the morphmetal bottle on her hip open, holding the ice cream with a thin floating ring of the metamaterial as a proxy limb while she cleans her hands. Following the group into the garden, Petra does her best to carefully pick at her ice cream so that nothing else is wasted after she let it sit forgotten in the heat for too long.

> the fact that this shield is in the shape of her eye-crosses is hard to overlook.

    Petra files away Einar as someone who's probably worth listening to. Having the expression of his soul be the symbol of another woman is a good sign.

> Grape hippos

    "... Oh, wow. I wasn't expecting to, uh, get an answer that fast. About food production." Petra blinks at the hippos, unsure of how to factor 'livestock that produces fruits' into her schematics of people's relationships with food.
Petra Soroka "Wh...wha....B b but yeah I mean no I mean I didn't mean to hurt you ohmygosh I look up to you so much and I'm being so rude and I'm such a dumb bunny sometimes"

    Petra is being so brave. She slowly brings a finger up to Haschens lips, then past them, planting it right between her eyes. She applies just enough pressure to be uncomfortable, then simply says, "Shhhhh."

"The 'Dull Eyed Man' is called that, Petra, because among all the men of the wastes, his eyes lack any shine at all."

    Bereft of her silliness, the way that Nia takes Petra's comment so seriously contextualizes a ton for her, in exactly the way she meant but not the way she expected. Nia, she decides, is also probably worth listening to. Petra's expression falls, settling into something more sober, an effect somewhat dulled by licking the edge of her ice cream cone to catch melted drops before they fall off.

    "... Oh. I get it. He sounds... fucking unbearable." Lick. "I guess that means you've probably learned more tricks you need to keep in account with him, over that campaign, than's good for a casual conversation, huh."

"However, if you are feeling charitable, the control codes for the robots and machines you left behind would be very welcome,"

    Petra is about to dismissively brush Kale off, but rather than following through on the automatic instinct to speak, she takes a second or two to rotate the thought in her head so she doesn't frustrate Lilian more. Even just a moment of consideration flips her opinion on what she wants to say, almost certainly surprising Kale when she opens her mouth.

    "... You know what? Sure. Proudpick's banned, right? I'll text that stuff to you later, I've got no beef with you to make *this* part harder."
Lilian Rook     'I am aware of my own body down to the smallest gear, the most minute strand of muscle. I do not know how you can stand not being able to identify your own wounds and pains and aches, only guess, with trepidation, what may be wrong.'

    "I think I'd go mad." says Lilian, without a moment's hesitation. "We weren't so fortunate as to be blessed by an artisan's hands. None of us were made right." she says, and marks the very first time that she has directly ascribed good fortune to Ru Li being born a god. "Little ambiguities can be frightening, but we learn to live with them. Being inescapably aware of every single thing wrong with you for every moment of your life should be considered a close relation to hell. Not seeing it is a mercy. One to be envious of."

    Breathing deeply to center herself, Lilian gathers back 'round to the positive she'd nearly glossed over in the moment. She's heard plenty of offputting things about personal scents and such from prior encouters with less human entities, so it doesn't unsettle her all that much to hear, but she seems focused on something regardless. "You were built to interact with humans in the first place, I suppose." Something like a theory. "Not so closely as to form meaningful bonds, but feeling close by only seeing then, I imagine, must have some utility." Or just the words she's carefully using? "If I were the smith, it might have been a tremendous effort to resist the half-step more, 'to detect hidden weapons' or 'to discern stress and lies'."

    'It may surprise you to learn that injecting energy into the universe rampantly is not actually good for the fabric of existence, so we actually do have to stop and delete the mess he makes every time he gets spooked.'

    "Wait is that why--?"

    Lilian is pulled away from her tightrope contemplation of Ru Li and Yinghua by the sound of a passing variable that slots so neatly into the half-finished equation burned into her mind just recently. "It's so bad that a few hideous castle walls are pushing its limit? So who-- what is holding it together at this point?"

    'It is a delight to meet you, Dame Commander Lilian Rook.'

    Lilian breathes out. "As well, you, General Einar." She smiles pleasantly for Xant, and says, "Ah, you needn't worry about it. It was just an idle thought of mine, that's all. It'd be more bothersome to explain than it's worth." Her smile is a tiny bit forced, when she catches sight of the mechs in her field of view again.

    It's cured somewhat by the sight of grape hippos.

    From the instant she'd arrived here, Lilian has been unexpectedly assaulted with sight after sight that doesn't so much beggar belief as completely elude expectation. She can say "Meeting rooms are perfectly fine if they're adequately appointed. Self-professed 'salt of the earth' types are always snobby and arrogant about them because they never get invited." all she likes, but it's difficult already for Lilian to look tense and professional around a beautiful garden, and utterly impossible when she realizes, in a moment of brilliant clarity, that they've entered a world of--

    "Non-vegan grapes . . ." She claps her hand over her mouth a second later.
Einar //Elites are like that sometimes.//

"People are like that," Einar says to Petra, though his tone is not really corrective. His expectations for others are just cautious, it seems. The subject of the food and how it's changed earns a deep chuckle. "They are eggs. You would not taste a difference between those produced by farm animals of Zora's prehistory, and those that are grown on trees. Many years before I was born, the civilization of the Universal Century collapsed, and our biosphere was in freefall even before then. The Spiral King returned from an apprenticeship in deep space and replaced it. All of it."

"There are no plants or animals that are naturally poisonous on this planet, at the time of their re-seeding. Some of them have mutated or been altered since, but for the most part everything living you see is safely edible," he pauses and turns his gaze upwards. "You must venture to the colonies of the Innocent to find animals and crops that you would be completely familiar with. The scars of those times linger, but not here. South Ameria was spared a great deal of damage."

"We have ever endeavored to make certain that it is not NECESSARY to raise livestock precisely," he gestures towards the grape-hippos lazing about in the river, "But obviously some still do, especially outside of our own territories."

"I dunno, I think I build pretty cool stuff," Pyri chimes in towards Petra. She jerks her head towards the surroundings, "Wouldn't call myself that, but we get it more than you'd think. Anyway, this is my garden. Have something to eat."

She grabs hold of a rather squat palm tree and shakes it. Dates shower anybody who is walking by when she does this.

"Gentrification terrorist," Einar repeats, slowly. He's mostly been politely remaining out of the angry back-and-forth that's played out, but he can't help but comment on this one. It's not QUITE a question, but it could be.

There is a moment where a pause occurs for specifically Ru Li, where his wheelchair is switched for one that hovers if he needs it, because this place is super not ordinary-wheelchair-accessible. He gets the sense that this is fairly routine.

//You must care deeply for her//

"I was starving when I met her. I wasn't, immediately afterwards. It has a way of making a profound impact," Einar answers Angela, his voice slipping into a rather affectionate tone. He gesticulates into the air as he walks and explains, "It may be difficult to believe, but we were the same height back then, and I was rather skinnier than she was."

They come to a seating area on the far side of this outer garden, where Einar stops and gestures broadly. Everything -- as he said -- is edible. It isn't a chocolate room, of course, but it certainly is Eden-like. The babble of nearby brooks is the majority of the sound that passes here.

"Our formal diplomatic receiving area is within the wall there..." He nods towards the next wall in the way, which also appears to have no apertures at the moment, "If you stay a while, that is where we will host you, and you are welcome to remain and have a look around as Cathedral Luna relocates once we're done mopping up here."
Einar "The engineering that went into the current biosphere is rather remarkable, yes. It is what the Spiral King's name came from-- Lord Genome," The Divine General explains to Sarracenia. "It is largely self-sustaining, and has been for some time. I am afraid it is quite underappreciated. And I will take this rainbow vanilla under consideration for the future. It sounds novel."

"... And I would not judge any fortress for seeming simple compared to Cathedral Luna. Cathedral Luna is the most complex flagship of the Spiral Empire, and it has the most complex and multi-faceted duty. You ask if it would stand up to the mecha... yes, it would."

He's leaving something out. This isn't a man who is willing to air out every little secret on a first meeting, and 'how much can your floating fortress take' is a rather big secret.

Lilian knows, though. So long as the proper ingredients are in place, Cathedral Luna would outlive this universe.

"If it so happens that we should need assistance in transport, I will keep you and your people in mind, Princess Sundew. Worry not for the peculiarites of appearances. There are many kinds of folk, even on Zora," He adds.
Einar                              ANALYSIS: Combaticons                              
Should Depthcharge choose to examine the technologies in play, she would find that Cathedral Luna and the mecha it has deployed here and there are made of a polymorphic alloy that neatly emulates the properties of living tissue. It can grow, it can heal, and it has a flexibility that gives it both disproportionate durability and the ability to be used to completely reconfigure the structures that are made from it on the fly. Its power source and what allows it to be prompted, however, is elusive. There must be some sort of input function but it isn't in play at the moment. It's easy enough to see that all of the entrances can be changed, and the current ones are just what they decided on for right now.
Einar                                ANALYSIS: Dysnomia                              
Should Dysnomia choose to scan Cathedral Luna, she will find two separate technological styles interfaced with one another. Some very ancient technology was neatly strung through a new construction which is only partly technological in nature. Where the polymorphic alloy that the primary construction material is made out of is flexible in nature, there are a few conspicuous gaps in storage mediums that are best explained by somebody doing something clever like storing data within DNA strands or some other nonconventional medium that isn't easily electronically accessed. There are plenty of normal networks and hard drives strewn about, and of particular note is that every single part of the construction that isn't greenery conducts network activity without needing separate cables. The preprogrammed patterns of the place define the locations of the outward-facing gates, which can simply be 'filled back in' with polymorphic alloy reservoirs. Mia's familiarity with life support systems would inform her that this thing has a very robust one that just isn't active because it is already in livable conditions, but it's probably designed to venture into most non-exotic environments.
Kukuru "The Concord's assistance tends to have hooks in it, ways they try to take a little bit of advantage with every deal they make..."

Kukuru's head droops slowly to the other side as she blinks in curious confusion. "Um... Isn't that how deals work, Kale? Otherwise, it wouldn't be called a deal, silly~" She explains with a carefree giggle moments later. "Doing nice things for people is great, but... It's better to be kind and honest with what we want, so nobody has to feel like someone's getting on top of them."

She sounds so proud that she got that phrase 'correct'.

"The Concord's fine if you get help from the right people."

Even though Petra didn't say her name, and even though Kukuru doesn't have visible ears unless those weird drills count, there's still a shift in Kukuru's posture like she's angling the side of her head just a liiittle bit more towards Petra in case she says something else that'll give her an ego boost.

"-- a portrait of the same woman."

"How specific... Huh. I wonder if maybe this Dull-Eyed Man and that lady in the portraits are..." Kukuru trails off, not quite able to speculate much further beyond the most obvious 'any connection at all'. Could they be related? Friends? Rivals? It's something else for Kukuru to keep in mind, if/when she ever sees those portraits and anything belonging to the man in question.

"a Token is an expression of the soul."
. . . a shield, in fact, just in the shape of a pink clover . . .
. . .in the shape of her eye-crosses . . .
"You must care deeply for her."

Watching Einar closely, she lets out an audible 'aaah' at the demonstration, golf-clapping with her free hand against the opposite forearm so she doesn't disturb her ice cream too much. "Having a shield like that... Hmm." She considers what she had seen earlier even before Einar had said a single word to the group, and then breaks into another cheerful smile. "That's a perfect fit for you." She concludes, covering her mouth briefly with her ice cream for another giggle at Angela's reaction.

"They're family. It's how things should be."
Kukuru "a problem with another ally pursuing him too aggressively"
"He's an accelerationist, the Ravine"

"That must mean... Oh, then it'll be super easy to see him if we just watch out for these things coming up, but..." Kukuru taps on her chin lightly in thought. "We don't want him doing that more than he already is, and if he can get away so easy... That does sound pretty tricky, mhm. At least if we gotta break apart these things, then-"

Kukuru promptly stuffs her free hand into one of her pockets. Moments later, she draws her hand back out, but covered in one of her oversized claws with a playful clacking noise coming from her tapping the dangerously pointed tips together. "I can help dig it all up or break it up the next time that happens. Maybe if we catch him super early, I could even break the other side he might try and come out of. Does that sound okay?"

"Hello Ku~ku~ru~"
"He-llo, Sarra~" Kukuru calls out to Sarracenia in return, goes still for several moments as she recalls what she had heard less thna a day ago and several other times, then adds "-cenia" afterwards. It's a deliberate addition, too, and it would sound more stilted if she didn't sound as cheerfully drowsy as she always does.

assorted Haschen noises
Kukuru's eyes lock onto the crash test clerk, and she scooches over for a moment to approach her at (for Kukuru) rapid speeds. She holds her arms out to her sides to invite Haschen in for a hug, but leaves the choice of actually doing so to the clerk. "Aw... Don't be scared, dear. If you were hired by Angie-" Beat, then another self-correction. "Angela, then I'm sure she saw some potential in you. It'll be okay, so just trust in her and all of your friends. Mmkaaay?"

"That is what this world is, a battlefield."
"It is a beautiful battlefield,"
"... Hehe. And that's why you're working out here instead of staying at home, right?" Once again, Kukuru's mood lifts just from her initial assessment of Nia matching what she's saying now, just like with Einar earlier. "Helping your people, even aaall the way out here... It's really great of you. I'm not anywhere near as smart as..."

She just gestures vaguely everywhere at everyone. "... But I'm real good at solving problems that just strong hands can't, okay? Fixing people up, opening up the ground or the walls, and getting to all sorts of places... That should make it easier to catch this Dull-Eyed Man so he doesn't cause any more trouble.
Angela Haschen has completely forgotten her ice cream in the face of bullying. It's starting to melt!!

''I know some of the people here, but not all.''

Angela had gathered that but nods her own head at the correction anyway since it is polite to do so with princesses she doesn't have anything against. "Understood." She says. "If there is assistance we can provide, I will make sure to send a more prepared team."

Haschen, blushing fiercely, is told that she'll be taken good care of. She spoons her ice cream bashfully before saying, "Thank you Princess.. I hope we're able to find someting that can help.."

"It sounds like you wish for a peaceful solution rather than something more violent. It is not exactly our specialty but I'll look into something that may prove handy."

Nia mentions that Kale is her liason and Angela's eyes slant silently to Kale.

Nia is too sweet. Angela goes quiet defensively and glances towards Kukuru.

Meanwhile Haschen is bullied more. Petra places her finger to her lips and slowly moves them to Haschen's forehead.

Her blushing face turns entirely red and she makes incoherent noises before sinking down to her knees, smoke figuratively bleeding out her ears. "Uw.aaa...."

Angela is now at near floor height. "Petra, could you lend me a hand?" Angela asks. "...And collect a grape sample? For the facility"

Angela is an AI that can lie and definitely isn't hoping this results in some sort of grape hippo zayin abnormality.
Lilian Rook     'If you do, may I record it?'

    Lilian looks at Sarracenia with a mutedly aghast expression reserved for stumbling across particularly horrifying bugs discovered in a laundry hamper. "I'll call the cops."

    'If you aren't completely ready to make a breakthrough - and fully engage with him - he can get away.'

    "I'm sorry. Breakthrough?" Lilian says to Nia, fully expectant of a polite answer that will patiently lead her to the action point, only to emphatically shut her mouth when the princess explains more of her previous question. 'He's just replacing world with wound' deflects her gaze conveniently into the river. She is stuck with guiltily accepting an ice cream cone she's suddenly not sure she has the stomach for, through no fault of Nia's own, and saying "Oh goodness, you didn't have to-- Ah, thank you, Princess; I'm certainly resolved to do just that." as normally a she can.

    'Nothing from you.'

    "Oh. Good." says Lilian. The pause afterwards stretches on, and she seems to recognize that it isn't a satsifactory one. To break the awkward ambiguity of it, she does her bravest best to close the conversational thread, and says "Go and die." like it's 'goodbye'.

    'The Watch can handle a mission like this just fine'

    "They cannot, by the way." Lilian then says ever so helpfully to the Princess and General, like an intermediate translator. "All of their genuinely effective members at the moment are terrorists of a sort. The usual 'heroic' crop has been dry this year. Regretfully, you'll have to look elsewhere for the sort that can coordinate and punch above their weight."

    'Please. As if I wouldn't.'

    Lilian breathes out sharply.

                -----[stop]-----
    "If this unravels reality around us then at least it'll take you with it." Lilian says, as she smacks Petra across the face hard enough to leave a handprint.
                -----[start]-----

    'There are no plants or animals that are naturally poisonous on this planet, at the time of their re-seeding. Some of them have mutated or been altered since, but for the most part everything living you see is safely edible,'

    "That's . . . incredible." Lilian says it with a pronounced note of genuine awe; somehow, it seems like it might be less for the feat itself, and more for something else. "Well, if there was ever a King worth kneeling to, I suppose it would have to be one who can care that much."
Ru Li Cheng      Ru Li takes the scoop. A moment later he raises his sleeve in front of his mouth to laugh. That's something he's mentioned before - that Yinghuan court etiquette says you 'laugh into your sleeve' to be polite.

     "I see," he says, and he does, "So it is. So it is 'everything.'"

     He lowers his sleeve and smiles. "It is a pleasant taste, a reassuring order, a structured state. No, rather than order, *consistency* - a consistency and continuity of existence. It is a very interesting taste, your home. Thank you for sharing it with me. Had you not pointed it out, I am not sure I would have noticed as quickly."

     His face turns lightly silver. "The sugar is very pleasant, too."

     He finishes the cone and the sugar, turning his eyes to meet Einar's helmet (mostly so the big man knows he's talking to him). "I have lived a very long life in a very well-appointed box. New things are...precious. Experiences and memories to treasure after four hundred years."

     Lilian offers her thoughts, and Ru Li shifts slightly in his chair, uncomfortable. "...I am sorry. But I think you were all born marvelously. Each and every one of you is so unique by random chance. I think that is incredible. I suppose, in this case, we must consider each other unfortunate."

     Then, "Other gods have such talents. I simply do not. The war gods can see hidden weapons. The medicine gods can see into bodies. The First can see into lies. It was not deemed necessary for me."

     A wheelchair switch is offered, and Ru Li accepts it, because it would be rude otherwise. For a brief instant everybody is 'treated' to the sound of screaming, grinding gears, misaligned springs, and creaking bones as he stands and stumbles into the floating chair, sitting in it with an exhausted sigh. "Thank you very much," he says as they float onwards.

     "It is a beautiful battlefield. What an...odd set of words. An odd contradiction that nonetheless fits together flawlessly." He glances at Kukuru. "I certainly think I would rather be out here." He isn't looking at the Token directly, but a smile does cross his face, so presumably he picked up the same sort of thing.
Sarracenia      Sarra is not sure anyone appreciates the novelty of rainbow vanilla, so when Einar says it seems novel and he will take it under consideration Sarra beams brightly. "It is! I will have a few gallons of both styles sent out for you and the princess, as well as your soldiers and workers here."

     Einar talks of the fortress, and Sarra nods in appreciation. She is not one to even think of the implications of asking, much less putting the information into action in some way. So, she takes the response at face value. "Ooooh. Impressive! I am not sure our walls would hold up to such an assault." she says, perhaps showing that she is not even thinking in terms of future military actions.

     'Please. As if I wouldn't.'

     Sarra starts to laugh, then she wonders why Petra would film her own strangling. Then she remembers the somewhat common marks on and the collar around Petra's neck. She ends up laughing uncomfortably and just dropping the subject.

     Seeing the gardens from the air was great, but seeing them from down here...Sarra's eyes are sparkling! Like a child instead of a 28 year old princess, she walks quickly between different odd animals and plants to get a closer look. "Oh my! What unusual pokemon~ Is that a grape hippo?" She makes her way that way quickly and peers at the sign dubiously before trying to pull one of those grapes. One retrieved, she perks at hearing Angela's request. It wasn't aimed at her, but she also did not have a plan for what to do with the grape, so...she walks toward Haschen and Angela. "Here, you may take this one." she says with a smile. "I just wanted to see if it was actually harvestable~"
Einar "I-I like icecream just fine!" Puri protests towards Nia. She's not afraid, but she knows she could be bullied about now. This might be a game, and it might not be. The person whose vibe she most currently resembles is Depthcharge-- just less growly about it.

The appearance of a jet gets a glance out of the two "Chur" gunmen that are on duty. They look at Blastoff, and then at each other, and then they don't do anything else.

Only once everyone has settled into the outer garden does a battery get produced, emerging out of the wall being extended along sort of conveyor-apparatus that deposits the object nearest to Depthcharge. Although labeled as a photon battery, the battery has an odd interior mix chamber design that is INCREDIBLY hardened and has all sorts of 'do not breach when live' warnings that don't apply right now because it's not live. The energy captured from this mix chamber is already present in the structure, and if consumed has an interestingly lively 'flavor' to it.

It isn't quite like consuming magic, but it's something close-- and perfectly compatible with the sorts of morphic entities that the Transformers are, not coincidentally. The conveyor retracts into the wall, which shortly thereafter ceases to have even the suggestion of having such a delivery mechanism there.

"Accommodating needs is a considerable part of my role. Understanding how to do it is another. Accommodating you assists me in understanding HOW to accommodate you, which I must be able to do," The Divine General walks through his rationale, genially.

He might be used to dealing with people who don't want to eat his food.

Meanwhile, the energon given to him appears to have vanished into some compartment of his suit. It's unclear if he consumed it, fed it into the suit, or just set it aside to examine.

To Depthcharge, he replies, "His goals are rather derailed at the moment. A transporter by the name of Elchi Cargo has been assisting us in the pursuit, but her crew are... eccentric, and have certain personal stakes in the matter that are interfering with a resolution."

//That... energy can't be created or destroyed thing, right?//

"Indeed. The dull-eyed man, myself, and a limited number of other beings are able to introduce new energy into the universe. Those of us within the Spiral Empire have a number of mechanisms to restrain and roll back our impact on the fabric of the universe. This individual, as you could see outside, is quite unrestrained."

//The ice cream's nice, but again, if you need help I'm at your disposal,//

"Indeed. And I have long despaired that there were not two or three more of me to handle more things," the knight says. This is definitely only half-joking.

//Do you have any of these for sale?//

"We do not sell things, but Pyri and Puri can give you seeds in abundance. You could find them out there, if you wanted..." A sweeping gesture is made towards the outer walls 'at the world at large'. "I do recommend the dates, for especially demoralized populations. They are practically candy."
Einar //That's kind of mine, too! And walls. Just, I can't make them out of nothing. Yer a defender, right? A protector!//

In answer to this the Divine General folds his arms over his chest and rumbles thoughtfully, looking up above Cathedral Terra's walls. "You have understood a portion of my being. I do not make walls. That is what the ravine -- the dull-eyed man -- does. In that regard we are not alike at all. But I do make shields, a little."

Pausing for a long moment, he exhales, tinny and sharp. "Do not make walls, Aidan Proudpick. It is not a good way to be."

//Something that's important to him. A castle. With a woman. So important, it's his entire soul.//

Einar looks down at Aidan.

//Oh. A--//

"Creep," Einar finishes the thought.
Ein Nia walks along in the group at an active clip, enjoying walking alongside many new people and spending the time with several. Novelty seems delightful to her, as much as instantly finding connections--

    -- in Petra's understanding of the Dull-Eyed Man
    -- in Kale's gazing understanding of her pain
    --in Lilian's averting understanding of her metaphor

--so it is Angela expecting that the Princess Nia zu teppelin's sweet mercy that calls the jacketed and tromping-booted woman's attention fully. Hands clasping behind her back, Nia addresses the Angela upon Agent Haschen backpack. "The Dull-Eyed man has drawn too many people into his traps. He has drawn me into his small-man games, and his disgusting castle with that horrid painting." She grimaces with those words, really feeling them, breaking her serenity like sodium spat touching water and chemically reacting. Something vile about it, particularly, turns off Princess Teppelin. Even in paradisial gardens, surrounded by incredible plenty, she seems particularly offput by this particular small man.

"The Dull-Eyed Man lives, keeps living, because he's given mercies. No, Angela. I would like your measured violence. Breaking through in one point, and no more, through his impasseless maze, is a kindness to our world. And that is what we ultimate want help with."

> 'Well, if there was ever a King worth kneeling to, I suppose it would have to be one who can care that much.' It is palatte cleansing and refreshing for Nia to pivot topics again - this time to the Helix King. "My father went on a journey long, long ago because he sought to refine his abilities. After many trials, he found a legendary land said to be built out of light itself. There, he learned at the feet of a great master who had only ever been stolen from. Instead of smashing and taking, he spent his time in conversation with the master in the land of light. After a long conversation, even before he was done speaking and learning, he was called back home to save it."

Nia, finishing her story besides Einar, ends with her hands clasped over her collar, and her chin dipped. Something held preciously, a happy story of a large figure to her.

> Three more Einar...

Nia seems entirely captivated by this, rising from Somber Storyteller to touch her chin with the barest tips of her index and middle fingers, imagining. "At least three more. More would be best."
Aidan Proudpick A nod at Petra, appreciative. He leaves it at that, so as not to test her further.

"Go and die."

A blink from Aidan. It's surprise. Surprise that it doesn't go anywhere. Just, a casual goodbye. He doesn't even both questioning the Watch thing. He just returns his focus to the task at hand.

Much like Sarracenia herself, Aidan makes his way over, looking at the dates as they come down, grinning. "Are they all raw ingredients?" He bends down to pick one up and bite into it to test for the taste. "Can you make a soup tree?" A pause, "Can Wonderworld make an acorn soup tree?"

"Do not make walls, Aidan Proudpick. It is not a good way to be."

That catches Aidan offguard. He looks over at Einar once more, squatting on the ground with half a date in his hand. "What do ya mean?" He frowns, "They are like shields," he waves a hand, trying to formulate a full thought, "They- They defend people. I've defended thousands of people with my walls, from bullets and arrows. It's just another shield, one you put up. Walls defend us from the winds." He shakes his head, unable to think of it as anything BUT good. Aidan looks back at Nia, remembering her mantra. Walls and Picture Frames. Aidan frowns, "What are walls to you?"

Creep. || He has drawn me into his small-man games, and his disgusting castle with that horrid painting.

"Oh. That kind of obsession. Okay, yea, that's... yea."
Kale Hearthward > "I do recommend the dates, for especially demoralized populations. They are practically candy."

Kale makes sure to try the dates, and to source plenty of seeds.

> You know what? Sure. Proudpick's banned, right?

Exiled under pain of being put on trial for all of everything that happened if he returns, which is almost but not quite the same as being 'banned', but Kale decides to not correct her on that part. Not when she's actually saying yes? That *is* unexpected!

"Great. I'll keep a watch out for those codes. Thank you."

> "Um... Isn't that how deals work, Kale? Otherwise, it wouldn't be called a deal, silly~"

"Thank you, Kukuru," says Kale.

> 'Nothing from you.'
> "Go and die."

"I can help with that," Kale says, automatically.

He regrets it, afterwards.

But not enough to recant it out loud.

> "The Dull-Eyed Man lives, keeps living, because he's given mercies."

No, actually, Kale doesn't regret it anymore.
Ru Li Cheng      "A land of li-"

     Ru Li's eyes widen.

     "Ultraman?!"

     He almost struggles to stand before common sense takes over him. He missed Belial. He missed having someone to talk to in the dead of night, when everyone else was asleep. He missed having the light inside what must have been his soul, the first real *friend* he had made in the wide wide world. He missed the spirit of the hero within him - and even though he knew what was being made, he was not sure it could ever replace that loss. His fingers go to his chest. "So it is...possible to go there...?"

     Everything else falls away. The waves beat against the shore, unbidden, as the god stares off into the middle distance, no longer keeping track. Were the other Ultramen like Belial - kind, strong, mighty, heroic? Was the king who had journeyed there so much like them, too? In the end he knew so little about the Ultramen. He remembered Belial's anxieties, fears, and determination, but so little about the details of his home.

     Maybe it wasn't the same land of light. Maybe it was just...anxiety, longing to spend time with his friend, chatting in his mind while they ate rice and pudding and fish and coffee and soda and all the other joys of the Multiverse.

     "...do you know the way?" He asks, quietly.
Sarracenia      'I'll call the cops.'

     Sarra huffs and crosses her arms, then looks away. "I would not do it without permission." she says.

     The similarity between the shield and the princess's eyes causes Sarra's eyes to widen, and The comments about the Concord and hooks also draw Sarra's attention. Kukuru handles them well enough though, and Sarra nods in agreement but adds, "Although there are gifts and free help to be had. Asking the right ones also helps." she agrees, then realizes it was Petra who said that. She huffs softly.

     'Do not make walls, Aidan...'
'They defend people.'

     Sarra thinks about it a moment. "Walls...separate people. They can protect, but they can also harm in other ways." she says, then reaches a finger out. "Especially walls in here..." she says, and pokes Aidan in the chest lightly. She certainly has no experience with walls in the heart. Not at all. "And unlike shields, walls are much harder to lower when the threat has passed."
Kukuru When Einar indicates it's time to move, Kukuru gets ready to move! There's a wall there, sure, but she's sure there's got to be some reason for it since Pyri, Puri, and Xant are all going right along with it. The shimmering effect explains just about everything to her in an instant, and Kukuru's already starting to sway a bit in her step as she focuses less on moving efficiently and more on just enjoying what she's seeing and hearing. She pauses at the sight of the hippos, too, although she does have to temper her expectations when she sees the signs saying not to kill any of them.

It's expected, of course, but it does her ask the most natural (to her) followup: "Are any of these creatures out in the wild, too?" She asks, doing a terrible job of hiding that she's totally staring right at those grape hippos with a hungry look on her face. She might've just had ice cream, but that's still not meat. Finding regular animals she's used to is fine, but these...

This could be a breakthrough for her cooking.

Snaking her tongue around the last of her cone before shlorping it into her mouth and crunching it up,  Kukuru looks up just in time to get pelted by dates courtesy of Pyri's tree. It's surprising at first, then amusing as she opens wide to catch some of those dates and gobble them up with those shark-like teeth of hers, pits and all.

Tasting the dates, of course, means she also has to try the grape-hippo grapes to compare their flavors and texture (with the seeds, of course).

Catching Angela's glance from the corner of her eye, Kukuru looks over towards the Angelapad, and her smile brightens just a bit more. It's clear she doesn't know why Angela's looking her way, but that won't stop her from being happy about it.

She's still just as happy, too, when she sees a battery being produced for Depthcharge. Even though she has less than zero clue what she's actually looking at, knowing that something so specifically edible even to the more robotic members of her Concord family help put Kukuru at greater ease. "You've really thought a lot about all of this, Einar... You're doing a wonderful job. Seeing something like this..."

She considers the 'beautiful battlefield' again, then lets out a soft sigh. "I'm sure you and Nia and all of us can fix things up one day, too. Then... It can all just be beautiful."

Of course, her wistful daydreams can only last so long, and Nia's shift in tone when it comes to the Dull-Eyed Man brings Kukuru's head back to the present reality. Only then does her smile fade, replaced with a more somber look from recalling her own mistakes with being too nice, giving too many mercies.

"If I can see him, I can catch him." Kukuru states with a more matter-of-fact tone than she usually has, clacking her claw tips again as she holds that hand up. "I just need to see him once, and then your home'll never have to worry about his mazes again." She asserts with that same even-keeled tone in her voice, closing her eyes for a few moments before finally putting that claw away in a pocket that's much too small to possibly fit it.

"... And then maybe we could see about getting some of those grape-hippos for home. Does that sound like a fair deal, Niiia~? Eiiinar?" Kukuru chimes in, abruptly shifting right back to her pleasant tone from earlier and clearly having fun just saying their names.
Combaticon     Grumbling about organic this and that, Depthcharge busies herself with something she CAN appreciate: Technology. As the delivery mechanism extends a battery to her, she lifts a hand to the side of her head, deploying a purple visor over her optics. The telltale glowing yellow marks of an AR display dance on the inside of the glass, unintelligible to most and backwards besides.

    She accepts the offering. The device retreats. she hums in a more appreciative fashion, "Consider me impressed." The visor retracts with a faint click, "While having no concept of Cybertronian technology, your equipment is made from something *remarkably* similar to Cybermatter. Metal with organic properties. Fascinating."

    The robot lifts the battery to eye-level in one hand, "And some form of photon matrix power cell. You spoil me."

    "Finally found something you like," Onslaught states without looking at his companion.

    "Convert it to a ZIP file, Onslaught, I don't want to hear it."

    The taller of the two robots only shakes his shoulders with a faint laugh, dipping his head. His faceplate retracts into the sides of his head, revealing-- an actual face. After demonstrating that he is both relaxed and comfortable, Onslaught produces a metal rod from his wrist roughly as thick and long as one of his fingers, trapping it in his metal teeth; then igniting the end of it with a plasma jet from the end of his thumb.

    He puffs on this in a fashion remarkably similar to a cigar while hearing out Einar and then Nia, letting out little clouds of thick white smoke. The end of it even glows a cherry red, though it's superheated metal rather than burning leaves. Eventually he plucks the Cy-gar from his mouth between two fingers and gestures with it.

    "So. His pursuers keep giving him Second Chances. This is a problem... One I can assure you should not arise from any Decepticon. We will get the job done. Correctly." The implied lack of empathy for a race of warrior robots might leave mixed impressions. He pauses when Ru Li reacts so excitedly to the story of Lord Genome, his head turning towards the chair-bound god with a little 'mmm' sort of noise.

    "Ultraman?" is asked in pure curiosity. His eyes slide back to Depthcharge, who offers no answer.
Ru Li Cheng      "A friend," Ru Li says quietly by way of explanation when the Decepticon asks, "From a land of light far away. A friend and a hero."
Lilian Rook     '...I am sorry. But I think you were all born marvelously. Each and every one of you is so unique by random chance. I think that is incredible.'

    "Ru Li Cheng. I appreciate your admiration very much. Please direct that sentiment towards literally anyone else." Lilian says. She sighs in one of her usual ways, but her cone audibly cracks in her grip.

    'Other gods have such talents. I simply do not. The war gods can see hidden weapons. The medicine gods can see into bodies. The First can see into lies. It was not deemed necessary for me.'

    "That does make more sense. I recall one in the imperial court who could sense deception in some regard. It was quite a pain to stick to unalloyed truths." Smooth as butter. "I suppose it isn't necessary for you to . . . see behind someone's back, or feel the insides of their sleeves."

    'Those of us within the Spiral Empire have a number of mechanisms to restrain and roll back our impact on the fabric of the universe. This individual, as you could see outside, is quite unrestrained.'

    Somehow, this is the first time that Lilian has ever actually considered what effect her abilities must have on the universe at large. Certainly, as an extremely well-practiced adult, she's very capable of making it seem as if nothing has happened at all, but she remembers a time when that wasn't true. When it her work was sloppy, and difficult, and when people could tell without knowing; enough to feel something wrong, and enough to still keep their turn.

    She'd only cared about refining the art of cheating, at first. Getting away with it. Sneaking more and more moves past the umpire. Then it'd become a form of personal training. A goal of self-betterment unto itself. Extending her limits. Making efficient use of it. Reorganizing her life to suit it. If she had to describe it now, she thinks, while nibbling her icecream, she might think of it as a form of practiced rebellion; maybe 'defeating an obstacle', or a limit. But as for the rest of the world, she'd never dreamed to care.

    Her initial thoughts put her at ease from the angle that she couldn't possibly be violating thermodynamics in that way; transmission, but not injection. Whatever moves was put there herself; the energy obviously comes from herself, and her energy from the same things as everyone else. She feels ready to put the matter aside, until she remembers her §shadow's§ §shadow§.

    When she pushes too hard and works her hands bloody. When she screams at the universe so loudly that it turns her throat raw. Where does that heat come from?

    'We do not sell things, but Pyri and Puri can give you seeds in abundance.'

    "You don't sell things?" Lilian says, blinking over her cone. "Just, you? Or the entire Empi-- Haha, no, I beg your pardon, that was a ridiculous question."

    'My father went on a journey long, long ago because he sought to refine his abilities.'

    Instead, Lilian looks at Nia as if she'd been so distracted this entire time that it'd only just occurred to her that the princess would be the daughter of the king. The sharp kick of inwardly-directed castigation is belayed for a moment, as she compulsively asks, "That's literal, isn't it? The land of light is a real place."

    'Indeed. And I have long despaired that there were not two or three more of me to handle more things,'
    'At least three more. More would be best.'

    Lilian manages to laugh, and land it naturally. "I've never been able to trust someone who hasn't wished for that before." she says, warmly. "As far as we know, however, the Multiverse knows better in my case. It has blessedly decided to inflict only one of me upon the masses."

    'They- They defend people. I've defended thousands of people with my walls'

    "What? Like in Ohio? Huh?"
Angela ''If this unravels reality--''

Angela's eyes are looking towards Lilian and Petra after the time is unfrozen. She can only perceive, even slanting her gaze is a kind of action that can only move at normal speeds. But she doesn't comment, predictably.

She also probably considers that Einar's shield is a good sign but it isn't one she conciously recognizes witin herself--it just sort of subtly settled in her. Loyal people--people THAT loyal--are so rare to see.

Angela sees Kukuru brighten at--just seeing her looking at her. Angela doesn't smile back but does give her a nod even if she's about to find out the reason she looked at Kukuru may have been based in a misunderstanding of the situation.

Haschen is given a grape from a grape hippo. She is still kind of sitting down there dizzily and she says, "Thank youu...." Haschen says, arms now full of a singular large grape.

''horrid painting''

Angela raises an eyebrow.

''The Dull-Eyed Man lives, keeps living, because he's given mercies. No, Angela. I would like your measured violence. Breaking through one point and no more...''

Angela is surprised at being asked to actually kill someone. IT's actually kind of exciting, really, to get to handle a problem in the way that The City typically handles problems and is more the sort of the way she's she's used to being. A situation where she doesn't have to worry about diplomatic relations because she ended someone's life is ... kind of a relief. It's tools she's much more used to relying on.

"I see." Angela says. "In that case, I know the correct Agents to send. A team of our best and best ''aimed'' killers. Thank you, Princess." She bows her head.

She doesn't comment on Ultramen because she is already establishing a proper team. "Dame Commander, I will provide you a list for those of my team to express a full range of execution methods to ensure he does not slip away. Nonon is not particularly skilled at discretion but if you have any requests..."

Angela stalls for a moment before nodding to Petra to indicate an acknowledgement of her abilities without being too crass about it.
Petra Soroka "...I am sorry. But I think you were all born marvelously. Each and every one of you is so unique by random chance."

    Petra frowns faintly at Ru Li, which is jarring both in that it's the strongest she's disapproved of him and in that it's still incredibly mild compared to her usual. When refuting him, though, she doesn't actually elaborate on why, so it's less than helpful. "No. For a bunch of reasons. I think you should think about that more."

-----start-----

    Petra head snaps to the side with no apparent cause, cheek instantly reddening so severely that blotchy patches of broken blood vessels immediately start forming. She lets out a yelp of pain, strangled into a more appropriate volume halfway through automatically, and squats down in the garden with her hands tensely cupped over her cheek, feeling the heat radiating off of the impact.

    Whimpering quietly, Petra sucks in a breath between her teeth and stands back up without looking at anyone else. She glances at Lilian, murmurs a teary-eyed 'Yes ma'am,' even though there wasn't anything outwardsly requested of her, and then does her best to get right back to business as if that was a very normal thing to happen.

"The Spiral King returned from an apprenticeship in deep space and replaced it. All of it."

    "Oh, wow," Petra says to Einar, with her hand gingerly held up to her smarting cheek and one eye half-shut from tears. "So it's not that you had to restrict yourselves to smaller plots of land for a while, but that there was a total ecological collapse and the guy who fixed it decided to redesign the ecosystem without, like, any cruelty baked into the design? That's... incredible, actually."

"I dunno, I think I build pretty cool stuff,"

    Petra's comments on furries apparently don't impact her opinion of Pyri at all, because she's openly willing to adore her handiwork. It might just be because she's cute and Petra is pacified by the bioengineered environment, or maybe it's because she just got slapped so hard that she's tasting blood, so she's erring towards being polite.

    "Oh, I love the garden, yeah. Usually when an offworld garden is totally different from what I know on Earth, it's because it's all completely unrecognizable local species, but something like this, where it's, like... reclaimed and reinterpreted, is really cool." Petra plucks one of the dates with her free hand, nibbling on it while chattering.

"I was starving when I met her. I wasn't, immediately afterwards. It has a way of making a profound impact,"

    Petra nods and says, "That's good," before processing Einar's next sentence. "Oh, wait, you mean literally. That's still good."

"...And collect a grape sample? For the facility."

    Petra nods repeatedly at Angela, signaling the acceptance of the task even though she doesn't respond verbally. Her leftover small blob of morphmetal cavitates into a bowl, and after a quick check with Pyri and the princess, she gathers up not only a grape, but particularly plucks out seeds to collect those too. Implicitly, she understands the goal.
Ein > A transporter by the name of Elchi Cargo...

Doubling back a bit, because she got distracted thinking about Several Einar, Nia returns to addressing the scope of the mission:

She recites, swaying in place."Several years ago, there was a battlefield operation known as 'Birthday'. A figure within the Innocent - the controllers of habitat domes around Zora - used the orbital machines known as Original Seven to almost end the concept of life as it was known and replace it with something else. They wanted... The Clawed Man wanted something else. And people said 'No', and there was a tremendous fight about it."

"During that fight, many terrible things happened, but the Clawed Man was killed. The Dull-Eyed Man is a loose end that won't be wrapped up with any amount of understanding or mercy. He's someone who's genuinely beyond convincing - has to be, to Manifest the way he does."

"The Dull-Eyed Man, William Will Woo... The last surviving part of 'the Plan', is who I'm asking for help with. Clean up, to close a wound in our world." A sigh. "Only he could manifest that painting, and that castle. Having had to touch it, I know."

> 'Ultraman?!'

Princess Nia zu Teppelin is lost in a blink-blink-blink loop and an empty smile for a few moments.

"Father called them 'Giants of Light' or... He said he learned from 'Light'?" This calls a translation that still ultimately boils back to 'light'. "When he explained, I was younger..."

> 'That's literal, isn't it? The land of light is a real place.'

Further prompted, agreeing with a nod that the Land of Light is a real place, Nia summons up the word and not the meaning from her mind.

"My father studied under. . . 'Hikari'. Yes, it is a real place. Though, I know not the way." An apologetic sigh.

"You would have to ask my father."

> 'Our best and best ''aimed'' killers.'

"It would be very appreciated. If food is your interest, we'll *happily* trade. My father's gifts are great!" She adds, a little excited palm-press at the end.

She really means it.
Ru Li Cheng      Ru Li presses his hands together as he sits back down and tries to relax. Anxiety and concern are writ deep on his handsome face. "I-in this case, Dame Commander, I meant mortals in general." He can read between the lines. He understands. He just sort of nods at Petra.

     "Not for a bureaucrat, no. That was the First you are speaking of. A chief advisor who can pierce lies is invaluable to the Empire."

     "...if it is the same Land of Light that Belial spoke of, it must be an amazing place," he says quietly to Lilian, "A place of crystal that reaches towards a sun they made themselves, perched atop a tower that stretches to warm the whole planet in its beauty. He...missed it very much. He yearned to be in that warmth again, but his duties, his heroism, required he go into the universe and fight."

     Ru Li reaches into his sleeve and pulls out a pair of strange little capsules. He rolls them between his fingers, staring at them very hard. Then, his face turns gold and silver as he blushes very brightly.

     "I, I suppose it could be an entirely different place! I cannot say that I know this world...but the name was so similar I simply..."

     "...forgive me. I lost myself in my excitement."

     'Giants of Light.'

     Ru Li's eyes widen. It doesn't take a mind-reader to see what he's thinking. That it is the same place. That there's a way to-

     'Though I know not the way.'

     He visibly deflates.

     'You would have to ask my father.'

     "I, I would not presume to trouble your King with something so minor. It is not...it is not important to anyone other than me, and...and perhaps a friend of mine currently sealed away."

     His fingers tighten around the capsules. "...I just wish to save him. And I do not know...who else would know, but his homeland."
Einar //I wasn't expecting to, uh, get an answer that fast.//

"I concern myself heavily with food distribution and the problems therein," Einar explains, unfolding his arms and growing more light-heartedly genial again. "Partially that is because this is a flying city, but it has always been one of my primary functions within the Spiral Empire."

//Wait is that why--?//

Einar looks at Lilian, but waits for her to complete the thought. He's paying closer attention to her just because there was a 'why' involved at all, though. He inclines his head a little, "There is a limit to the number of injections that can occur before it begins to cause damage... but no, he is not what caused the present criticality. The present criticality simply necessitates that every individual running rampant with their powers be checked or eliminated, because the environment can't take much more strain."

Xant nods to Lilian's 'don't worry about it', and says, "Got it. Human thing."

//Non-vegan grapes . . .//

In answer to this, Einar makes a confused noise.

//Doing nice things for people is great, but... It's better to be kind and honest with what we want, so nobody has to feel like someone's getting on top of them.//

"I am not overly concerned with Kukuru in particular, and obviously one cannot expect 'something' for 'nothing at all'," he says, making a wrist-rolling gesture in Kukuru's general direction. "I understand the concerns at play, but there is no need to... jockey for shares, as it were."

//They're family. It's how things should be.//

Einar makes a pleased, affirmative noise.

//Maybe if we catch him super early, I could even break the other side he might try and come out of. Does that sound okay?//

"If we pursue extraversal assistance with the dull-eyed man, the surprise of outsiders should do the trick for encircling him. It may involve entering his... fortresses..." Just the way he says it, Einar obviously hates the idea.

//It sounds like you wish for a peaceful solution rather than something more violent. It is not exactly our specialty but I'll look into something that may prove handy.//

"No," Einar says, "the soft-touch approach is the SFDF's prerogative, but we are technically doing General Guame's job when it comes to this... individual." Nia fills in the details on that.

//All of their genuinely effective members at the moment are terrorists of a sort. The usual 'heroic' crop has been dry this year. Regretfully, you'll have to look elsewhere for the sort that can coordinate and punch above their weight.//

Einar seats himself on some patio furniture, surprisingly lightly for someone so huge wearing full body armor. He leans back a little, and says, "I am used to working around the rough-around-the-edges sorts, though your expertise will doubtless help me avoid some unpleasant situations."

A pause. "I will have to introduce you to Elchi Cargo."

//Well, if there was ever a King worth kneeling to, I suppose it would have to be one who can care that much.//

"He is... something, yes," Einar agrees. He sounds different, when he says it. Twenty years younger. It is not only Nia that motivated him to be like this.
Einar //I have lived a very long life in a very well-appointed box. New things are...precious. Experiences and memories to treasure after four hundred years.//
//It is a beautiful battlefield. What an...odd set of words. An odd contradiction that nonetheless fits together flawlessly.//

"Wonder is a precious resource," Einar says, "And the world is still here."

//It is! I will have a few gallons of both styles sent out for you and the princess, as well as your soldiers and workers here.//

Einar leans forward on the bench he occupies, resting his hands at either sides of his legs and regarding Sarracenia curiously. "Indeed? I am sure that it will be greatly appreciated. Perhaps you should see a little of our food culture in Little Teppelin before you go... that, of course, extends to all of you. Just... bite into it, by the way."

Nia tells a story, and he straightens up a little to listen to it. It's a good one-- he's heard it many times. The first time he heard it... how long ago was it? Eons, it feels. In a way, it lifts his spirits. In a way, it doesn't. But Nia settling near him and entertaining needing more of him draws out a snort.

"At least three times as much productivity. Things would change too quickly by far, Nia," Einar jokes.

//Are they all raw ingredients?//

"Yes, though they are nutritionally balanced so that it is not necessary to eat much variety. I do not know that we DON'T have a soup tree... it sounds like the sort of thing the lab would be working on for fun. It is certainly not a standard plant in distribution, if so... and I expect you would have to heat the liquid besides. There ARE a few candy-sap and nectar plants, any variety of honeysuckle is delightful..." He meanders, enthusiastically.

//What do ya mean?//

"I mean," says Einar, a little sadly, "that the nature of creating walls is the nature of shutting people out. It is not an expression of the soul that is healthy to have. Walls are necessary, but they are a separator. To create protection is not the same as to create a shield, or a wall, though they may look similar."

//Kale makes sure to try the dates, and to source plenty of seeds.//

They're a little more caramel-ly than might be expected. This is probably a deliberate decision, considering dates are already pretty 'like that'.

//...do you know the way?//

"Lord Genome visited the Giants of Light long ago, and a few of them were trapped here briefly five years ago, but they departed as soon as they were released. They had... dragged some unsavory characters into containment with them, and were forced to pursue them at once," Einar explains. After a moment or two, he adds, "Although we are space-capable, we have not been spacefaring since Lord Genome was young. If we know the way, it is by way of available information rather than immediately known routes."
Aidan Proudpick "Especially walls in here..."

"Sometimes you need em for a bit, Sarra," Aidan pops back up to his feet with ease. "But I getcha."

"That the nature of creating walls is the nature of shutting people out."

A nod. "It ain't about... fortress walls. It's about protection, aye. But, I've had a couple walls up between me and other places."

"What? Like in Ohio? Huh?"

"Yea, it's gonna surprise you that I do more than you notice."
Lilian Rook     'Not for a bureaucrat, no. That was the First you are speaking of. A chief advisor who can pierce lies is invaluable to the Empire.'

    Lilian appears to relax immensely, but says only "I see, I see." while going back to her ice cream. She tunes into the conversation properly from there, but pays attention to the capsules. "May I ask what those are?" she says, with slightly more than polite interest. "You're rather transparent about what they mean, you know."

    'I, I would not presume to trouble your King with something so minor.'

    "I would." says Lilian. Idly tossing her hair back, she says "I need to-- speak. To this 'Hikari', sooner or later. It's important. And so am I." What started as a 'skill issue' became something ambiguous.

    'to almost end the concept of life as it was known and replace it with something else. They wanted... The Clawed Man wanted something else. And people said 'No', and there was a tremendous fight about it.'

    "It must have been a particularly horrendous idea." Lilian says. Having just finished her cone, she stares into the empty pit, and takes a sharp-crunching bite. "It's not exactly difficult to imagine an improvement to life as we know it."

    'Got it. Human thing.'

    Little Lilio's misery is increasig.

    'The present criticality simply necessitates that every individual running rampant with their powers be checked or eliminated, because the environment can't take much more strain.'

    "If you're able to combat the effects by erasing his creations, are you not able to do the same with those that already exist?" Lilian says, with the tone of a professional inquiry. "The violations and distortions created by others in the past. Or even offsetting the damage temporarily by excising barren landmass with no particular use. Is it too difficult to hunt down the former at an expedient rate, and the latter is non-tenable? Or is the issue something else?"

    'I am used to working around the rough-around-the-edges sorts, though your expertise will doubtless help me avoid some unpleasant situations.'

    Lilian blinks three times. "Ah. I beg your pardon, General Einar, but I may have perhaps given you the wrong impression. I consider myself an excellent judge of character, but rather unskilled at making productive use of those I judge poorly. My only other talent in that regard lies in compensating for their dead weight; but in your case, you needn't even invite them." This being followed by 'I must introduce you to a woman' sets her back to hesitant silence again.

    'It is not an expression of the soul that is healthy to have.'

    "I don't disagree in the slightest. But even at the risk of potentially sounding as if I at all care to defend Proudpick's miserable character and choices . . ." Lilian's sentence hangs. "Not many people have healthy souls to express. The people who are best at pushing theirs onto the world are typically the people who can least live with it inside."

    'Yea, it's gonna surprise you that I do more than you notice.'

    "You defended thousands of people, behind the walls of . . . your suburban house . . . in Ohio." Nope. Moment gone. "I can't be surprised by something that obviously didn't happen, imbecile."
Sarracenia      At Depthcharge's withering gaze Sarra tries to hold in her laughter...and mostly succeeds. There are a few more giggle that escape, but overall she manages to control it.

     Petra's head snaps to the side, and Sarra blinks in surprise. She couldn't see what happened of course, but a head snap and a yelp and her general dislike of Lilian leads her to a conclusion. Usually she might think Petra deserves it and laugh, but today...things have happened. Sarra was shot for seemingly no reason, and Petra has been trying to be not terrible sometimes. "H-hey! Are you alright?" she asks Petra and looks at Lilian suspiciously. She starts to approach, then realizes both Lilian -and- Petra will likely not appreciate the gesture. Sarra sighs and pauses, then pulls out one of her green mushrooms before gingerly approaching. "...here." is all she says, and holds it out one-handed toward Petra, still looking at Lilian with a slight frown.

     If it is not taken, Sarra sets it down nearby then steps back. She gives Lilian the eye once more before turning her attention back to Princess Nia. "An enemy who cannot be reasoned with or convinced..." she says, then sighs. "I avoid taking lives if possible, but...if it is the only way and he is endangering the entire universe..." Sarra seems unsure if she could pull the trigger even in such a situation. She listens to the story and the universe's details, but it is hard to understand for someone with no actual extraordinary powers or senses and a rather unexpanded mind. But, she can understand enough to know that this world needs help. "I do not know how I could help in such a matter, but...if I can, please let me know." she says to Einar and Nia, curtseying to them to emphasize the gesture.

     The concept of a beautiful battlefield makes Sarra nod lightly. "I cannot say I have much experience, but the only battlefields I have seen that were not beautiful were the ones that had no purpose in the battle beyond destruction."

     'Indeed? I am sure that it will be greatly appreciated. Perhaps you should see a little of our food culture in Little Teppelin before you go... that, of course, extends to all of you. Just... bite into it, by the way.'

     Sarra smiles once more. "I love experiencing the food of a new world! From the classiest restaurants to the most humble of street vendors. I will be certain to visit this Little Teppelin~"
Ru Li Cheng      "I fear I am somewhat transparent in a lot of ways to those more experienced in the ways of people than I," Ru Li admits sheepishly to Lilian.

     Lilian says that she needs to speak with 'Hikari.' That she's important. That her cause is important. After a moment, he just kind of nods, quietly. Admiration is bright in his eyes. One day, he will be like that. One day, he will no longer feel himself merely a bureaucrat. One day, he will be able to say that he wishes to speak with the king of the world to help his friend.

     Again, his fingers tighten around the capsules.

     "You may always ask me anything," he says. The warmth in his voice is strong. "They are Kaiju Capsules. They contain the essence of kaiju that Belial and I saved. When I...when Belial was still within my soul, we could use them to transform into other forms. Now, they are mere mementos, like the Belial Riser I keep in my palace. Perhaps one day I will learn how to use it as a weapon. But it is too precious to want to risk breaking, and..."

     He looks at Lilian again. "...I suppose I am holding out hope that he can be saved. He was my very first friend. And the plan we came up with at Lobotomy Corp was not...it was not enough." His voice cracks a very little bit. "Now he is sealed in there with those horrors, for his own protection, and for everyone else. I imagine he is very lonely."

     He left his first friend in all the world in a box.

     Isn't that ironic.

     Ru Li suddenly looks very embarassed. He shifts in his chair. "My apologies. The Dull-Eyed Man is much more important than my simple troubles, right now."
Kukuru "They- They defend people. I've defended thousands of people with my walls"
"What? Like in Ohio? Huh?"

Kukuru makes a mental note to look up what an Ohio is, and otherwise she directs an utterly baffled look at both Aidan and Lilian. She's heard bits and pieces of what happened with Quicknest, but she's severely lacking in enough context to even attempt to guess what an Ohio has to do with it.

She also hears those quiet noises coming from Petra, and it takes a lot for Kukuru to ignore her first instinct to hurry over to check on her. She's covering that spot on her face, after all, and that's enough of a signal for Kukuru that she probably shouldn't draw more attention to that.

"The Dull-Eyed Man, William Will Woo... The last surviving part of 'the Plan', is who I'm asking for help with."

Good thing Nia's giving Kukuru plenty to chew on, and there's still a serious look in her eyes even though she's since shifted back to her casually friendly demeanor. "Of course. I don't like the sounds of this Dull-Eyed Man already, so this Billiam William must be just as bad to be part of this same 'the Plan'."

"If food is your interest, we'll *happily* trade. My father's gifts are great!"
Kukuru mimicks Nia's palm-press (or is it just her own) with a cheerful noise coming out of her a second later. "That sounds great, Princess. Maybe we could even share recipes, or cook together sometime. And if your father's bringing stuff from other planets..."

Kukuru turns away briefly to dab at her mouth with some leftover grape. Somehow, she's gotten hungrier than she arrived despite the ice cream and fruits.

"I understand the concerns at play, but there is no need to... jockey for shares, as it were."

Kukuru's smile lifts even further at that. "That sounds perfect, Einar. I know the Concord has a bit of a... Reputation for that, but-" She admits without drooping in the least. "-we really do want what's best for everyone, even if not everyone wants to join us and be part of our family."

"It may involve entering his... fortresses..."

Kukuru isn't so dense as to not notice Einar's discomfort with that idea, and she presses a finger to her chin again. "Then... What if we break them down on top of him instead?" She asks, flexing a moment later for emphasis. She doesn't actually look physically strong at all, especially without the claws on.

even more food plants
Kukuru is getting so hungry hearing all of this. It's not even meat, either, but at this point, everything sounds good.
Petra Soroka "...here."

    Petra glances warily up at Sarracenia, tears trickling out of her eyes. The wariness in her expression is exactly as expected, as is the tight shake of her head 'no'. "... Don't start judging things, Sundew." Oh, that's one step of familiarity higher than usual. "If you try to gang up on Lilian *with me* then I'll actually kill you. I absolutely, one million fucking percent, don't need to be *protected* from her, so stop giving her those looks. I'm alright."

"I concern myself heavily with food distribution and the problems therein,"

    Petra nods a couple times, the tenseness in the hand over her cheek gradually reducing as both the pain fades and she's drawn into the conversation again. "Cool. Cool, cool. I guess it's a little, like, beyond my, um, capacity, to think about stuff at that scale, but I *am* actually the owner of a flying island city now too. L-Corp's got its own food supplies, but being able to have a garden up there for the agents and everyone... and with a nice glass dome and everything...."

    Petra trails off, imagining it, and then perks back up excitedly to continue talking to Einar. "Maybe I should come by again later and talk a bit about that? And then I could go shopping for some gardening stuff designed for... er...." Remembering the earlier incomprehensible comment, Petra furrows her brow. "Well... if you don't sell things, I'd still like to talk and get seeds, if that's still cool. I've probably got stuff worth trading, or at least, *I'm* useful."

"I do not know that we DON'T have a soup tree... it sounds like the sort of thing the lab would be working on for fun."

    Petra's eyes widen as the scope of possibilities with the genetic modification massively expands in an instant. "Oh, wow... I guess it could be like, a coconut type thing? Where it's a hard shell to encapsulate it, and then inside there's the broth instead of coconut milk, and if it's, like *that* precise, having the interior coated with leeks and onions and stuff... that's *so* cool."

"Walls are necessary, but they are a separator."

    Petra isn't immediately sure how she feels about walls as conceptual representations of interpersonal relationships. Of course, Lilian has a point she agrees with, and Petra is, for obvious reasons, Petra is in agreement with walls being used to shield people from her soul. But saying 'walls are good as long as they're prison cells' seems like something that might get her hit again, and it doesn't ring fully true to her either.

    "I guess... they're more of a means to an end, right? Walls? As long as there's clear variation in, having walls and having gates, having areas that are annoyingly difficult to pass through and parts that are easier, then they sort of serve a function by being negative space that way. They let you dictate the terms of how people interact, which is different from just blocking them out."

    Petra brings this back around to the origin of the topic, and contemplates Castle Incel some more. "I guess that's what the dull-eyed man is doing with his castle, huh. Forcing you to go through and be exposed to specifically *his* thing in order to interact with him at all, but his thing just fucking sucks because he's a creep. But I think people need walls."
Petra Soroka "You defended thousands of people, behind the walls of . . . your suburban house . . . in Ohio."

    "He's fighting pitched battles in the fucking empty Midwest US. Every day, just out of sight, without ever mentioning it to any of us, he's actually running off to save thousands-- *thousands*. That's such a bullshit number." It's okay to get a little rude even though she's got a rapidly purpling bruise on her face, because Lilian is annoyed at him and Petra is effective support fire.
Einar Sarracenia illustrates his point further, and Einar gestures towards her in affirmation. "I do not like my walls. They are there because they need to be, but I change them to be more than walls, when I can. The outside is drawn on by our visitors, to leave their personal signature of their passage, for instance. It is ugly in aggregate, but it makes the wall more beautiful. You did not see because we opened a nonstandard passage for entry."

//... And then maybe we could see about getting some of those grape-hippos for home. Does that sound like a fair deal, Niiia~? Eiiinar?//

"More than likely, though we do not require services for a grape hippo. Those are just out there, we can decant new ones," he answers... which might go a little bit towards answering some of Lilian's incredulity about the absence of 'selling things'.

These people might not be totally post-scarcity, but they might be for some of the essentials.

//You spoil me.//

Einar gauges the direction and stands to turn towards the west. He points, dragging his index finger up 'along' the sky. "We make them up there. Can you see it? It is quite remarkable, at night..." Those with sufficiently sharp sight might be able to see the cable-based orbital elevator, golden spheres in a train-like formation gliding up or down towards a distant spot in South Ameria.

//One I can assure you should not arise from any Decepticon.//

"We are not absent second or third or even tenth chances," Einar says, re-seating himself and lowering his hand. "That is in fact my business in particular. General Guame's business is rather more merciless, and when I handle General Guame's business, it is correct to do things as he would."

//Ultraman?//

"An advanced form of life from a distant galaxy," Einar explains, briefly.

// "You don't sell things?" Lilian says, blinking over her cone. "Just, you? Or the entire Empi-- Haha, no, I beg your pardon, that was a ridiculous question."//

"We do not sell things," Einar repeats. "Trade happens, rarely, when it must. We have a number of outward-facing currencies... salt money is a popular one, locally. But no, we do not sell things."

// Lilian manages to laugh, and land it naturally. "I've never been able to trust someone who hasn't wished for that before." she says, warmly. "As far as we know, however, the Multiverse knows better in my case. It has blessedly decided to inflict only one of me upon the masses."//

"There is far too much to do," Einar says, raising both hands in a broad, world-encompassing gesture, before settling back into a relaxed state on the bench.

He glances towards Petra. It did not escape his notice that she suddenly has a slapmark.
Einar //So it's not that you had to restrict yourselves to smaller plots of land for a while, but that there was a total ecological collapse and the guy who fixed it decided to redesign the ecosystem without, like, any cruelty baked into the design? That's... incredible, actually.//

"The cruelty," Einar says, exhaustion seeping momentarily into his voice, "is that the work does not end."

Pyri grabs a blackbird abruptly out of a tree, pulls one of its feathers -- it doesn't seem to care at all, just sort of chilling on her head immediately afterwards -- and passes it to Petra proudly, "Crowcolate!"

The feather is dark chocolate. Alright, maybe some of it is processed food. What the hell.

//Oh, wait, you mean literally. That's still good.//

"Indeed it is, and a rather more entertaining tale at length, though I will trouble you with it at another time. I thought that I was going to be eaten, truth told," Einar says, allowing the thought to trail off rather than continuing to elaborate.

//I just wish to save him. And I do not know...who else would know, but his homeland.//

"Uncertainty is not the same as no. Your apologies are unnecessary, and though I will not say that your distress is, it may not be yet," Einar says, standing up.

//"I would." says Lilian. Idly tossing her hair back, she says "I need to-- speak. To this 'Hikari', sooner or later. It's important. And so am I." What started as a 'skill issue' became something ambiguous.//

This change and shared interest is notable enough that Einar stands again, straightening back up. "It is possible that he will not have the answers, either... but that may be arranged. Not at this moment, however. If you wish to remain on Cathedral Luna until such time as it is possible, you are welcome to do so."

"Regarding your more thorough questions... I have answers, and demonstrations, but they would be better said and done a little more privately. There are reasons that erasure of other transgressions are not possible-- however, it is the case that we always attempt to cultivate the tools necessary to clean up more than we presently can," he explains, gesturing between himself and Nia in particular.

"... And I understood your meaning, do not worry over-much that I am being unknowingly taken in by unwise company," he adds.

//Not many people have healthy souls to express.//

"More than you think, less than you'd hope," he half-agrees, with an exasperated sigh.

//I will be certain to visit this Little Teppelin~//

"You will need acclimating, I think," he says, gesturing towards the inner wall. "Our social conventions around eating are a little... unusual, compared to some societies."
Einar Clearing his throat, Divine General Einar gestures again to the inner wall, "Our intake is drawing to a close, as is the latest expedition into one of the castles. For that reason, it is time for the Princess and I to take our leave of you for some small while. You are welcome to enter the reception ring to be quartered, and to explore Little Teppelin after if you wish. You may also depart, if you prefer to do so for the time being, and we may speak further at another time. We will continue listening on the same frequencies we broadcast invitations on, so if you need to contact the Spiral Empire more broadly you may do so readily."

"It has," he bows, "once again, been an inestimate pleasure meeting you all. If we do not speak again this evening, I hope that you have a pleasant remainder of your day."

His gaze turns towards Nia, whom he does not beckon to join him, because he will be joining her, which is the proper order of operations here. Once she does acknowledge the situation and begin to make her way towards the interior of Cathedral Luna, however, he falls in beside her and they vanish through an instant-aperture.

Pyri, Puri, and Xant will attend to anyone staying-- Puri in particular gets excited because there's an inner garden that is hers beyond the reception ring, and she wants to show it off. It has the weirder experimental stuff in it-- and she's talking about trying to make a soup tree sometime now.

It is only a half hour or so after that Cathedral Luna's engines fire up and the entire structure lifts impossibly and without losing mass into the air; refugees fully filed within, gunmen returned to hangar, walls sealed back up with some surfaces becoming transparent and allowing a view of the exterior from certain interior locations.

The flying island strikes out over the tops of the castles that remain below, a new pale light manifesting along its central spire as the castles are wiped away into red voxels and green whorls. In the end, not even the foundations of the old buildings remain. It is as if no one ever lived on this archipelago-- and no one ever polluted it with instant castles.
Ein > 'If you're able to combat the effects by erasing his creations, are you not able to do the same with those that already exist?'

Settled besides Einar, legs crossed and leaned lightly into the solid armor plate of the enormous powersuited man, the particular cream of her jacket doesn't just match her hair, but the particular metal tone of the dark General's imposing armor.

They have advanced themeing - or that's just how the whole Spiral Empire is. The latter, with every interlocked piece and growing pyramids towards a single considered view despite all interrogation, might seem more and more true given all contexts. It is what Nia gives off, with her casual comfort moving through the spaces, the wear on her boots, and the comfortable banter with her chosen guards.

"As much as I'd like it to be, reality isn't a math problem that's solved by solving for that awful little x-variable, or a chemistry problem that needs to be balanced. If it was, Einar and I, as well as my father and his four generals, would would have easily solved it. Reality is..."

The space princess act chips and cracks, with her choice of words.

"Real life is a complete mess, but..." Wistful-happy, Nia zu Teppelin closes her eyes and leans her uncrowned head of cloud-topped hair away from Einar, to open her crossed-clover eyes and sweep them out across the garden. "It's a beautiful battlefield."

Nia does not mean that, in the fullness of her intention, to mean anything less than the beautiful mess of Zora itself - what she inherited as a duty.

Blinking, and smiling, and centering herself, she nods. Asked a real question worth answering she comes back on topic: "After suffering beatings and alteration and surgery, more is lost. The light... becomes dimmer. It's not safe to rely on do-overs. Miracles back and forth leave craters and scars."

Standing, with Einar, Nia loops an arm about the power armor'ed man's opposite, and closing-handedly waves to the group. Petra earns one last closing remark.

"That's exactly right. To defeat those kinds of people - rogue Manifesters - you have to face their whole heart. And it's hard. So, thanks again."

A brightness, put on instantly, easily and regal, lifts Nia to return one last wave to the crowd. "Feel free to stay! Bye!" She adds with instant cheer, and a square-cornered peeling-jawing of space irises horizontally around the pair, ribbons of discrete blocks translating and detranslating through space to disappear Princess and Divine General.