Scene #9479: Substitute Teaching

Owner	Pose
White	Once again it's a slightly chilly day in the Demon Realm when the appointed time arrives for folks to start answering Merazophis's summons. The warpgate in the plaza is being minded by about a dozen Tenth Army soldiers, uniformed in white and blue. The soldiers draw an implicit boundary around the warpgate to keep civilians a reasonable distance back, which isn't too hard since most of them don't wander too close to begin with and save their gawking for when they're within businesses nearby. Amongst those soldiers is a woman who stands out a little from the group, both literally and figuratively. She's maybe 5'4" tall, wearing a padded white jacket under a brassy-golden chestplate, gauntlets and pauldrons, with round glasses perched on her nose and a lopsided white beret atop her sandy-blond hair, flanked by a pair of short side-braids. The reason she's (literally) stood apart is made obvious as she starts to greet each new arrival, quick and to the point. One of White's spiders is on her shoulder, and seems to be anxiously(?) drumming on her neck, which might be part of why she's feeling hurried. "Greetings, I apologize for not making your acquaintances sooner. Call me Phelmina. I'm Lady White's Vice-Commander in the Tenth Army." She seems distantly neutral on first impressions, too distracted trying to get everyone where they need to be to really settle down and play the social game of give and take on the spot; as more people trickle through the gate, she picks up the spider on her shoulder by the butt and carefully passes it to one of the other soldiers, who patiently tolerates it when the arachnid's forelegs start ineffectually punch-rushing his wrist. "... Okay, there's one more abrupt 'leap' to the village, and you'll be free to get your bearings. It isn't precisely a fully catered event, but if you require anything please let one of our men know. There is food and water on-site if you need it, of course." She turns her palm over to gesture at one of the soldiers nearby, then looks over at the moody spider pensively. "Commander? I believe this is most of them. I have men waiting to recieve any others, so please leave your kin here with them." Whatever White's doing right now, her 'agent' stops its merciless onslaught and crawls down to the ground, hops once to land with its legs braced, and dramatically lifts the front pair again as if it were screaming to the heavens and charging up a special attack. It, of course, has no voice to scream with. Phelmina tucks her arms in and closes her eyes like she's preparing to have a bag pulled over her head, and the lot of you are teleported the vast distance after about half a minute of waiting.
White	The lot of you plus Phelmina arrive in a place that is halfway between a military camp and a low-population forest settlement. Small homes shaped from living trees stand here and there, but many seem to have been burnt down, shredded as collateral damage, and in some cases punched full of small holes as if they were rained with gunfire. The more damaged buildings are those that are behind you when you arrive; a short distance in front of you is a larger building that might once have been a farmhouse, with twenty or so people scattered around out front. Crates of food and clothes sit (mostly sealed) around the grass-overgrown flower garden that patchily seems to have withstood the war, near the front steps. Most of those people are Demon soldiers in Tenth and Fourth Army uniforms, but there are exceptions too; Wrath is outside in his flame kimono, and Merazophis stands next to him directing the soldiers off and on with brief gestures as they move boxes, pack and unpack supplies, or haul materials for building repairs. There's another unfamiliar man nearby as well, a little taller than Merazophis and wearing a full suit of plate armor colored a shade darker than gunmetal-grey, arms folded and watching from across the path into the open doors of the building that seems meant to host today's gathering. It's hard to see much of his face just yet while it's shadowed by his dragon skull-shaped helmet, and he doesn't look particularly social, but it doesn't seem like he's going to run away if someone just... Walks up to him? Besides him, there's also a younger boy standing on the deck of the large building, leaning on the handrail. He has wild blonde hair that looks like it's trying to spike outward but got brushed across from one side and loosely held down with some kind of gel, has a couple of scars on his face that look like they're from either blades, or very big claws, and he doesn't look very comfortable with the white silk T-shirt or dark blue slacks he's wearing. He keeps shimmying his shoulders like he doesn't like how loose the fit is. He says something to Merazophis from over the railing, and the older man turns toward him with a small smile and responds with what might have been a joke going by the boy's almost snarky grin. "Well," Phelmina says while you're taking in the sights, nudging her glasses despite them not being askew. "We are here. I would advise you not to stray too far, but if you happen to become disoriented, shout and one of our men will find you. We are still making some repairs to some of the buildings, so please take caution if you wander." It sounds like she's had to warn someone of that recently already, moreso than that it's the kind of thing White would've told her to say. Speaking of which, White's supposed to be here today right? Maybe she's inside already.
Angela	Without Petra, Angela's not really in a position to leave her Library and since she feels Roland's 'time off' with White went well, as far as she can tell, that means Roland is being sent out once more this time to support White's project in ... dealing with kids. Again. Roland sometimes wonders if the hell being so biting is by fate or by someone's cruel joke (Perhaps D runs his world too and just wants it to be like cyberpunky?). God. Anyway, outside of that he doesn't really mind the chance to stretch his legs. The situation in the City is progressing slowly and he's not exactly fond of handling Receptions so he's happy to let other Sephirah take that off his hands. They're more responsible for this current situation than he is, anyway. Since this is a White-sponsored mission, he's holding an Angelapad though she is, expectantly, focused entirely on Harriet. She is brushing Harriet's back with a little brush even as Roland bows his head to Phelmina. ''I'm Lady White's Vice-Commander in the Tenth Army.'' Angela immediately turns her atteention off of Harriet, turning to the camera to take a long look at Phelmina. She is someone that White has decided is a viable Vice Commander, presumably, so she's inclined to think positively towards her as a result and she's getting 'Secretary' vibes and she knows that's a long-suffering position for anyone, especially those who aren't broadly immaculately designed AI. "Greetings, Phelmina." She isn't surprised that there's a spyder here. After all, this is the world that originated the world wide web. "We will do what we can to assist. It is my hope we do not exacerbate the situation but you have permission to use whatever means necessary to prevent Roland from doing so--albeit, I am certain that if he stumbles in such a manner it will be accidental so I ask you are not too forceful with him." "I'm moving up in the world." Roland says sheepishly to Phelmina. "Earlier this year she'd've said be as forceful as you'd like." BWOOP ''Guy with the dragon skull-shaped helmet.'' Roland throws a wave to him. He must be a buddy because, like, aren't dragons trying to kill White all the time? He thinks of Fae and has complicated thoughts about this but ultimately settles that this is this and that is that. He'll worry about it if it becomes relevant. "Kinda wish Petra was here huh?" Roland murmurs to Angela. "I cannot rely on her every day. We make do." Angela says. ''Nudging her glasses despite them not being askew.'' Angela feels more confident about Phelmina. That's a reliable thing to do. You need to make sure your glasses are presentable you can't tell if they are askew necessarily just by looking through them you need to adjust them periodically to make sure they are RIGHT irrespective of whether or not they are actually right. Agnela nods approvingly. "Mm... Should we wander?" Roland asks rather than rushing off to visit White, much to Angela's chagrin. "Get to know people?"
Schneider Greco	'Chilly' has never bothered Schneider before. Uncommonly, her dress is a bit more modest for the occasion- she's heard something about reincarnations, and something about a Church, and so perhaps she's decided not to scandalize- but looks little warmer. Under the black coat, she's got a #-1 INVALID ANSI DEFINITION: #eeeeee white sequin-y gown with scarlet dappling, like a red tree, or a cardinal's fluttering wings. Of course, one can't ask it to stretch as far as her knees. "It warms my heart to meet you, Vice-Commander Phelmina," she purrs right out of the gate, taking her hand for a brief squeeze if at all permitted to. "Oh, but we'll be seeing many char-ming faces to-day. I should, mmmh, pace myself." Roland is a new face. "Do be care-ful, Lady An-ge-la," she conspires aside to the tablet. "It is dangerous, you know, to be too fond of the men in suits with guns." But the wink she gives him isn't disapproving. "So serious! So glum. Ah, per-haps it's good they don't think all of us are like me..." The spider lifts its legs to the sky- "Mhmhm. Do your best, little omu."- and... . . . Post-warp, Schneider looks around- at Merazophis, Wrath, the man wearing a skull, and the blonde boy- and allows herself a teenytiny frown. It's as if none of the office party donuts are quite her favorite. "Well, I have been spoiled up-til now. There is no room now to complain, Schneider," she murmurs to herself, eyes-shut fluffing her hair. It's just, she knows how to manage guys, certainly. She knows how to steer them. How to bargain with them, or suck up to them, or be useful to them. Does she know how to socialize with them? Only one way to find out, she supposes. There's that uncomfortable-looking blonde boy in the loose t-shirt, by the railing. It's hard to pinpoint just when Schneider slipped into the building he's standing atop; but unless he's very keen of hearing, his first warning of her stalking up behind him is the purring: "My-lord, to come in only an undershirt in such chilly weather... and it does-not even suit you well? Do you wish for my jacket?" Shit, wait. That's still the lesbian-flirting routine. Schneider, no!!
White	Pre-teleport, Phelmina nods at the Angelapad when greeted, and while the combination of 'permission to bully Roland' and 'the suggestion he'd make things worse' seems to make her very slightly more anxious rather than less, she does a good job of keeping any related thoughts unspoken. Instead, she simply assures, "I am certain it will be fine. Don't overthink it too much; the Commander is only hoping for a peaceful day's conversation." It takes her a few moments to work her way around to it, but she does eventually go half-way in on the bit and add, "... In the worst case, I'll at least make sure you wake up with a pillow under your head." She smiles with one side of her mouth more than the other, then reverts back to professional neutrality, notched slightly toward positive as she nods at Schneider. "It is good to make your acquaintance so soon after your last visit." What goes unspoken is a strange mote of relief as she acknowledges the mindful increase in modesty-of-clothing; she wouldn't have commented either way, but she's heard something from the soldiers that were gate-guarding last time. After arrival when Roland tries to wave at the fully-armored man, he mostly seems to acknowledge it with a slow turn of his head and a side-long stare. He naturally seems to have at least a little bit of an aura of menace, partly owing to how hard it is to make out his features without getting closer; his face looks abnormally shadowed despite the bright daylight. He doesn't seem to feel waving back is appropriate, nor nodding, so it leaves Roland just kind of being stared at like the man is trying to make his mind up about something on the spot... Well, White is like that too, sometimes. Maybe he has something in common with her. Schneider finds that the lean blonde boy is a little more alert than he seems, but he'd been quite relaxed. She manages to get quite close to him, and realizing he's been snuck up on prompts a comical flinch, turn and backstep out of what might normally be quite useful reflexes! He seems to realize Schneider's visual threat profile is quite small partway through the motion, and the backstep turns into a half-hearted stumble that he's already trying to recover with a hand over his chest and a bashful sigh. "Oh, man, I'm sorry miss- jacket?" He pauses, takes another look to actually examine Schneider for more than 'how big is she', and double-blinks. "Oh!! You're one of the visitors, aren't you?! I haven't seen clothes like that outside of movies back when- oh, forget that. I'm good, no worries!" He manages to wrap his way around from slightly flustered to be caught lacking, toward a straight-backed and welcoming posture that looks tailor made for someone with shoulders about 40% wider than his, even if he's quite fit. "I'm used to the cold. I'm just uh, not used to wearing something this loose anymore; the Demons kinda just dropped all this off recently, and I thought it'd help the girls feel safer if I was wearing 'em too. Oh, I'm Kunihiko." He leans in to offer a handshake, gesturing with the other hand at the empty space beside himself. "And this is Asa-... ka... Right she's inside still, my bad. Probably talking with the other girls, y'know?" For what it's worth to Schneider's girl-dar, the proportion of feminine voices to masculine seems to be close to 9 against 1, if she listens through the open doors beside her and Kunihiko. Sounds like gossip!
Natsuki Nuki	Natsuki had become rather fond of White in their engagements, had spent the odd amounts of time with spider-woman to forge what the nue would call friendship (at least amongst yokai, but, she counted! Close enough!). And so, close-enough to friendship and feeling invested, when White asks for help and Natsuki is available she makes it a point to show up. Arriving through the warpgate and immediately being received by a vice-commander is exactly the sort of greeting Natsuki expects to receive, even if she didn't know exactly what sort of help was really being asked for. Entertaining? Dealing with? Dressing down and fishing with? Was this main story tone, or a side quest sort of test? Wearing black hakama pants with dark gold underskirt, and a black and white kimono with metallic golden riverflowers about the waist and bamboo reeds rising across side, with wooden block slippers that have the exact 'ktok ktok ktok' step expected across mixed ground and town streets. Wearing her 5'9" Osakan woman with obvious eyemask black pattern around eyes and tiger ears 'form', Natsuki arrives with arms crossed behind back and tail swaying broadly behind. "So you're her second? I wonder what your special skill is!" Natsuki teases with a huyu-huyu-huyu throatwarbling giggle that lingers with birdsong in the corners of her tone, threatening to develop into fullout chirps as she carries on. "I'm sure it will be sur~prising!" Led in with the other partners (and Angel's Agent), Natsuki has dropped her hands into her pockets, glancing over at Schneider interestedly but obviously needing to address the hosts first: "Merazophis! We've not spoken much, feel free to call me sometime. And please, introduce your friends? I'm sure we're heralded, but are they?" Huyu-huyu-huyu.
Angela	Roland has no problem with the fact that Schneider does a lot of murder for the sake of her job. That's just what Fixer work is, really. Well maybe not ALL Fixers do that sort of work, but that's Roland's sort of work and, actually, it was also the sort of work that his wife was engaged in. So yeah, he doesn't really have anything against it. He isn't, like, PROUD of murders but, really, isn't society to blame for putting people into positions where the only way out and through is to do murders? You bet. But. ''Do be care-ful Lady An-ge-la. It is too dangerous to be too fond of the men in suits with guns.'' Oh he's uneasy with that implication. "Uh we're just--I'm just her employee, ma'am." "It is practically important to have someone you can talk to whom you haven't spent a million years with." Angela adds. "There's uh. She doesn't have to worry--" Roland lies. r''So serious! So glum. Ah, per-haps it's good they don't think all of us are like me...'' Roland clamps his mouth shut for a moment, eyes wide for a moment and then he mumbles, "I can be goofy." But the glumness odesn't last long, he's cracking a grin shortly after. ''The lesbian-flirting routine.'' Angela writes down: ''Offer White Roland's jacket.' on a pad in front of her. She'll add this to the rest of her romance investigation notes later. Roland is relieved that he'll get a pillow under his head. That's about all he can hope for since he's almost certain he's going to fuck something up. He's not exactly got the best track record--He cocks his head at the dragon-skull guy. He ultimately just gives him a nod of acknowledgement and seems content to leave it at that. Guys like that prefer stares from across the way, right? Angela is a little relieved that Natsuki is present. She can be sociable in ways that Angela isn't entirely comfortable with. Angela hopes Phelmina doesn't have a special skill. She's building up a picture in her head and a special skill would get in the way unless it's like SPECIAL SKILL: BASIC COMPETENCE. That's all the special anybody ever needs just look at Petra who gets around solving problems largely by bothering to try. Roland ends up heading in after Schneider and Natsuki.
Schneider Greco	Poor Schneider. Parting her from the side of a foot-taller crime boss lady is like throwing a tortoise into a lake. The things she does to schmooze. She delicately walks right past the blonde boy, steps up onto the rooftop railing with one high-lifted leg, teeters, and then twists around to sit on the edge facing him. Her crossed legs rock to balance her. "Oh, you're one of the visitors, aren't--" Schneider chooses to answer this in the affirmative by languidly pulling out her gun. It's pointed away from him, of course! She's not a barbarian. Her wrist rolls it from 'left' to 'up' without ever being 'forwards', and then she holds it out for his examination- although her fingers don't release it. "Ah... if you remember 'movies', you are a 'reincarnation' too, my-lord?" Quite apart from her deferent demeanor, she offers him her left hand to shake- since her right is holding a gun, you see- which will inevitably require a bit of correction. "What a strange thing of your world. I, ah, only half-understand it... oh, but I am Schneider, Lord Kunihiko. Who are you to Lady White, that she would have me meet you? The 'Demons', they are doing charity for you?" "Right she's inside still, my bad. Probably talking with the other girls, y'know?" Oh, the universe is kind. "And you are stuck out here? My poor, suffering lord," Schneider says empathetically, because surely the only reason Kunihiko wouldn't want in on that is if he's being excluded. She slides from the railing to her feet, sequins clattering, and starts to walk towards the source of the voices with a beckon for him to follow. "... I thought it'd help the girls feel safer..." "Though, what is it you wear to make girls feel unsafe...?" She looks back, warily skeptical.
White	Phelmina seems gently puzzled by Natsuki's wondering about special skills, and is strangely stricken with thoughtful distraction for a moment as she turns it over for hidden meaning or implication. Is she mistaking her as a Reincarnation? Is she from a place where every leader is a super powerful person with A Design, like White or Ariel? Well, there's just no way of knowing, and it seems impolite to ask! So, Phelmina adjusts her glasses again like they might've slid out of place from the tumbling of her thoughts alone and somewhat noncommitally responds, "I certainly hope not to disappoint you, Lady Nue." She was briefed! Her special skill is reading or listening, perhaps. As the Partners approach from down the path, Merazophis reacts to hearing his name called with a mindful turn-to-face, his gauntleted arm held lax across his front and his other arm folded behind his back. If anyone's ever wondered if he's really a vampire, the evidence is present now in how he has his face shrouded under a deep hood, his unprotected hand sheathed in a black glove, and his collar lifted to further protect his neck from the light. He can bear the indirect sunlight shining off the ground, but he's mindful of how he turns beneath the mid-day rays. "Myself, Lady Natsuki? If it should please you, I would happily set aside the time." He's not sure why she's taken any interest in him specifically yet, but he promptly draws out a small notebook and writes something in as if to prove he means it. Kunihiko catches this from nearby, and briefly looks away from Schneider to laugh and throw a double thumbs-up at Merazophis. "As for introductions; you've briefly met Eighth Commander Wrath of course." He gestures out to his side at the Oni-boy who is now sitting on a supply crate and waves when he's spoken of. "The young man there on the deck is Tagawa Kunihiko, a Reincarnation who has found success as an A-rank Adventurer with his partner, Miss Kushitani." Kunihiko then switches from thumbs up to a brief one-arm flex; you can't see much of his bicep under the loose shirt-sleeve anyway, but he's just having fun. "And, across the way there," Merazophis says, gesturing toward the fully armored man watching from further away, "Is Commander Black of the Ninth Army." There's a lull where Merazophis seems to be wordlessly trying to pressure Black to speak for himself with a patient gaze, and Black seems to be resistantly ignoring it for a few moments before finally buckling. His feet shift to actually turn a small part of the way toward Natsuki, and there's a slight creak like he'd been there for hours beforehand. He speaks calmly in a deep voice, arguably even politely in tone, but doesn't seem particularly happy regardless. "... As the vampire says. I apologize for not meeting you on a previous occassion, visitors from other worlds." It inexplicably feels like there might have been a very calmly delivered slur there instead, if he knew one for multiversals.
White	Schneider's choice of proof seems quite effective, and also perhaps a bit startling. Kunihiko's eyes lock onto the handgun from the moment Schneider reveals it, and he seems to need to undergo a brief mental reboot to properly unfreeze his posture again. Somehow his first observation when she holds it out to examine is, "A-are those brass knuckles? Holy shit." It's the kind of statement you'd normally see on a movie prop, which somehow makes it all the more real to him in the moment. Because after all, if White snapped and just went to bring a bunch of guns back here with her, that's one thing. But why would she go as far as getting the guns styled up, if they didn't already belong to someone else, right? "... Phew, uh, yeah though. Aside from... Mister Merazophis, and the Commander in the armor there, and the soldiers running around... I think everyone else here was from our class." He pauses again, seemingly wrestling with the proper niceties longer than normal while he's still fixated on the firearm. "... Nice t'meet you too, Schneider. Startled me a little, but..." He rubs the back of his head, and straightens back up like he's trying to save face now. "Well, most of the others didn't have spare clothes of their own. They were basically held captive last year, and I guess the Demons are tryin' to keep people from being freaked out and antsy... Oh uh, normally I'm in armor. But the pieces are kind of mismatched, so I end up looking like a bandit. I keep clean, but like... It's still not really a 'look', even if it works pretty well." At that, he shrugs; he's content to look like a bit of a weirdo to get good protection when it's needed. But, then Schneider is seemingly leading him inside! He seems puzzled again by the way Schneider sympathizes with him, but he's not going to complain either way!
White	Passing through the open doors, the impression you got of the farmhouse from outside might be thrown slightly off; it now has been rearranged and cleared such that it looks more like a rather barebones common-area, or more generously a classroom without desks. There are about 30 feet of space from where you enter to the opposite wall, where a staircase leads up and out of sight to the left. The length of the room from left to right is closer to 40 feet, with a pair of doors on the left leading into what must be the kitchen and dining area for many of the soldiers stationed here, as well as the reincarnations, or to a interior hallway respectively. They're shut right now to reduce the noise, but if you lean in you can hear people moving things around and cleaning on the other side. On the far right side, there seems to be a large but thin black stone tablet mounted to the wall, with a little bucket of different colored chalk pieces sat on the floor underneath it like White had simply gone and bought a box of kids' chalk to bring back. Where you'd normally expect corners on that side of the room, the walls instead curve to meet without them, and there are windows both on the near and far walls that look recently re-paned. Of course, the room isn't empty. A number of mismatched chairs are scattered around, with many more waiting against a wall to be moved and used by whoever needs them; there are around twelve people here when you arrive, and many of them are seated in little groups and chatting while they wait for you! Most recognizable are White and Sophia, sat together-but-alone in the near-righthand corner like they've self-banished from the social function, or perhaps just become overwhelmed at some point. White in particular is sitting stock-still in a way that might only clue in a few of you to her anxiety; that's probably why Sophia's sat there with her actually. Most of the ones you don't recognize are wearing clothes similar to the boy outside, though some of the girls have opted for skirts instead of pants; White can easily make those kinds of things, and they're probably much more comfortable than what the others were wearing before. In the corner across from them, you see a broad-shouldered guy with black, slicked back hair with three white stripes through it. A solid gold teardrop earring dangles from his right ear like it's missing its match, though there are signs that both of his ears were pierced. He's the only person here at this gathering who's entirely trying to avoid group-chatter, tucked away in that corner with a natural-seeming downturn on his lips and a crease in the center of his forehead that looks like it's trying to catch up with Merazophis's. On your right, between the entrance and where White and Sophia are seated, there's a table with water-casks and what looks like a bunch of fast-food and snack items from Earth that White must have brought for the others. Two girls are there ladling water from the casks into cups and talking, though the one closer to you sounds slightly off-tone like she doesn't really know what she should be talking about with her classmate, even though said classmate keeps enthusiastically coming up with new topics as if to trap her there ("But seriously? You and him have been together since you were kids? Come ooon Asaka, I don't know what those Administrators want from us, but you should be thanking them!" "It's not like that, Aiko. We've been friends since we were kids in our other lives too. Now he's getting to live his dream, so of course I want to help him..."). The less chatty girl has a strange posture too, like she's used to carrying something and her right hand needs to hold the opposite arm to sit still.
White	In the center of the room in a loose circle are the rest of the class that's present, seven girls and two boys. One of the boys is quite pudgy, and he in particular seems to have been implicitly absorbed into the existing Girl Faction going by how he's sat amongst them... Well, it might be more severe than that, since a small-ish girl with square glasses seems to be holding him against her shoulder, and he actually appears to be completely asleep while she smiles and strokes his hair. The other boy seems to be sitting across from the other eight reincarnations with a calm look on his face as he seems to be answering questions... ("Mm. It seems like the church already knew, but-") ... Only to politely stop and turn to look at you when he realizes you aren't just another Demon soldier passing through. The others follow his cue, and within but a moment, you seem to have the attention of the entire room; some seem pensive, but most of the girls in the middle appear hesitantly optimistic, smiling and waving, beckoning you over to join the gossip circle after a moment's consideration. Only that cool-faced boy with the bowl-cut, the girl directly across from him with the naturally sharp stare, and the tiniest girl of the lot seem a little less excited. That last girl is probably only recognizable to anyone who's heard about how Potimas was defeated; she's the only one in the room who's obviously an Elf, and in fact the only person you could've seen in this entire world so far with the distinction; Okazaki-sensei. Or, to Merazophis at least, 'Mizoka'. This pale, blonde, twin-tailed girl with knife-length ears who looks like she might have only just turned 13 is currently swaddled in an extra-thick blanket while she sits amongst her students, a tired look in her eyes but a small effortful smile on her lips. She's also the first one to greet you, once you wander close enough that she doesn't need to raise her voice. "Hello... I hope I am not presuming too much, but are you the, umm... People from other worlds, that we were told about?" She starts to try and carefully shrug the blanket off to make a better impression, but the sharp-eyed girl next to her holds it up and tucks it back around her. She speaks next, not looking up at you again until her tiny teacher is properly wrapped again (half-hearted cheek-puffed pouting notwithstanding); her tone is level, but it comes across expectantly when she 'asks', "You'll understand that some of us are feeling unwell. Make yourselves as comfortable as you like, please."
Angela	Bloodfiends in Roland's world don't really have an aversion to light, they have an aversion to water, but it still has legends about the light and they certainly seem to PREFER the night. Roland is a little uneasy about vampires in general, but Sophia has been showing up at the Library periodically so he has gotten time to acclimatize. ''Commander Black.'' "Wait really? Commander Black and Commander White...?" Roland says. "Don't be embarrassing, Roland. It's clearly like our--" Angela frowns suddenly. IS it like Colors? Nobody calls White 'The White Spider' or anything like that. "--It's impolite to comment upon." She settles on instead. Neither of them realize Commander Black is being mean about multiversals. Roland doesn't care, and Angela thinks it's pretty normal to be anxious about Outsiders. Anybody would be upsetty spaghetti at a bunch of randos coming in from out of state to influence how you conduct your business. ''Hugo.'' Roland turns to look at the guy with black and white hair. His eyes immediately take note of the missing earring. He knows, of course, that saying 'hey man, you ok?' is probably not going to help matters but at the same time he does feel a kind of resonance. The idea that someone was taken so unfairly away from you and you have to continuie seeing the happy chittering of everyone around you while... Angela is observing White while Roland is looking the way towards grumpy people. White seems... Aha. "Roland." Angela says. "White must be cold as well. Provide her your jacket." Roland's head snaps back to the pad. "What?" "...Ask her if she is cold and requires a jacket. I can't provide one myself." "...You're the boss?" Roland can't help but seem quizzical about it all the same. Why did she have to be weird, he thinks, why couldn't she be a normal person that he could handle in a normal way? He approaches Sophia and White and says, "Um." like he has a gun to the back of his head. "...Angela was wondering if you were cold and needed a jacket?" Angela nods on her screen triumphantly before turning back towards MIzoka, clearing her throat so Roland knows to move the pad to face the right way. "That is correct." Angela says. "We were told you had concerns. First, I would like to indicate that my presence utilizing Roland transportation is because I am unable to leave my current location rather than as a matter of rudeness." Honestly, she feels a little annoyed at the teacher. Shouldn't she be looking after the students not the other way around? Or perhaps she has failed so completely that there's nothing to be done for it. But she reminds herself that she is someone White has positive feelings towards and she steadies herself. "I am not one to get upset over mild displays of impropriety and my understanding is that you've all been through varying levels of trauma. So long as we can remain respectful enough I will not be fussed over the details. Please feel free to state your concerns clearly."
Natsuki Nuki	'I can be goofy.' Before being escorted inside, Natsuki tilts head, dangling ponytail of platinum blonde parted by flicking tiger-ear. "Ca~n hyu?" Natsuki asks, smile curled at the corners and fanged over at the flanks with the low rumble of a h~mmm settling after the giggle. Then her tone drops, sharpens and decides. "Be goofy." She orders, extending a hand. She's sort of pointing at Roland, and sort of pointing downward, and sort of quirking a brow. She's sort of, you know, very much telling his ass to be goofy now. As Natsuki walks, and Roland falls behind their pace, she walks past and the high sway of her tail stares at Roland in passing, flicking out obsidian tongue and fixing with everglaring eyes. Then, through the door behind Schneider and Phelmina, Natsuki returns to twittering. "Don't spoil the secret, miss," Leaning in to Phelmina's ear as she's led, Natsuki adds a sultry-purring: "I'm really looking forward to it." Standing up straight to cross her arms in sleeves and observe the others for a moment, Natsuki exhales and thinks, surveilling each character as they're introduced. She returns a flex - equally hard to see in her kimono, but she certainly knows the motions at least, returning the grins and only doing a short few moments of it for looks, she slacks back into a quarter-bow from the waist in turn to the lot of them. "A pleasure to meet you all. I'm glad to know such fine friends and heroes, and both ends of the color spectrum!" Natsuki bounces a look between Black and White, and then resists another spurt of giggles with a lift of her hand to curl palm under nose and exhale nasally and hide a smile. "My Partner, Angela, pretty much covered it - We were just told you had concerns, and so came to White's assistance. Did you need... assistance?" Alerted for a moment, standing up a little straighter, she thumbs backwards outside. "Because I could get my brother and a construction contracting team in here in a week or two to start rebuilding whatever you needed, but if you just need someone's neck snapped I'm sure any one of us could do it. Roland could do it, but, he's a little goofy."
Angela	''Roland could do it, but--'' "I don't like the sound it make so I prefer weapons at least with a hammer the sound of the collision will mask it--uh..." Roland sees Angela glaring at him. "Nevermind."
Natsuki Nuki	'Nevermind.' Natsuki spreads her hands wide, taking tone and posture of someone generously apologing for their slightly stupid but beloved cousin. "He's a sensitive soul."
Schneider Greco	"A-are those brass knuckles? Holy shit." Oh no. Somehow, against the odds, Schneider is charmed. She bats her eyes in dewy surprise, and then a little giggle plays behind her lips. "... so I end up looking like a bandit." "So, my-lord might be taken for an, mmm, violent ruffian?" she asks, with a look back while waltzing down that staircase ahead of him. "Not-to-worry, Lord Kunihiko. In my time, the ruffians, they look like me." Well, in certain respects- she flips the hem of her coat to emphasize it, and the guns underneath. They don't wear dresses or pearl jewelry like her, as a rule. "So you were all once in the same class, in another world..." Hm. Schneider might have been a bit under-briefed. "And it was among the Earths of the future, yes? If you had 'movies', but I seem, ahh, a quaint thing to you..." Schneider waits until she's near the bottom of the stairwell to return the students' waves with a dutifully humble coat-curtsey (hey! Kunihiko didn't get one of those!!) and a glitteringly charming smile. On the opposite side of the crowd from Angela and Natsuki, she delays her greeting until they've already spoken, so as not to distract. "... if you just need someone's neck snapped I'm sure any one of us could do it." Schneider giggles, then looks down at her own fingers-splayed hand, as if considering its capacity for such a thing. She's sooo delicate, you see. "It is, ahhh, a plea-sure to be seeing you truly. This is a long way from the gate we came in through, right? So you have never been to see the other-world... some of them are beautiful, my-lords. For-now, that may be too much a shock?" "Come ooon Asaka..." Overhearing the conversation by the water-table as she makes her way down into the room, Schneider puts two and two together quickly: that that must be Kunihiko's friend, and therefore he must be the 'he' they're speaking of. "She has a kindly look, my-lord," she says, voice lowered, looking back at the 'bandit'. "And her hands are shaped to a weapon. For friends, you are so fortunate." "Has the thought taken you, my-lord," she says in another slight-hushed moment, "that the world of your birth might be out through our gate? Whether it could be found, I can't say, but..."
White	Roland and Angela wondering about Black's name prompts a vague look between two Commanders, and Merazophis seems to decide it's best to answer to it himself when Black seems to be hesitant. "It's a pseudonym. Granted by the Demon Lord, to implicitly excuse his appointment as a Commander under Lady White's reputation. His circumstances are somewhat unique, so please forgive him his morosity." Black has little to say in disagreement, except the faint muttering of "Morose..." like he's very slightly in disbelief. Natsuki easily draws Merazophis's attention back though, and he allows himself a pleasant chuckle as she engages with Kunihiko and goes through her pleasantries in kind; he does rather like hearing laughter over the alternatives. "Ah, I find myself grateful that you would come without even knowing the full request. Thankfully, there is no need for violence today. And while rebuilding would normally be appreciated, there is in truth very little of this village we plan to use in the near future. Instead, Lady White was hoping that you might speak with the other Reincarnations; they've become aware of our 'Unification', I believe the term is, but do not yet know what to expect or what it means for the future. If it is not to demanding, I might ask that you answer questions, talk about yourselves, tell stories... And, of course, ask them what you wish in turn." Wrath, seated nearby, shrugs a little and simplifies, "Just... Treat it like a social day, I guess. Or show and tell? Whatever you like; Wakaba just wants everyone to know she brought people who can help, that are on their side too. And..." Wrath pauses, glances back at Kunihiko as the other boy is being led inside by Schneider, and seems to decide it doesn't matter if he's overheard. "To add another reason not to go over to the Church's side of things, I guess." Both Wrath and Merazophis look at Roland when he brings up hammers, and they make a face at each other that looks slightly uncomfortable but also like they would both probably agree if they weren't Sword Enjoyers rather than Hammer Fans. Really, the proportion of people here who've heard and felt something or someone's spine crunch in their hands is probably more 'yes' than 'no'... But, then everyone's going inside! Merazophis and Wrath wave, Phelmina follows you in (and reacts to Natsuki's lean-in and purr with a spine-shivering jump, her head tilting down at an angle that conveniently obscures her eyes behind the glare of reflected light for just long enough to recover. She won't spoil it! She doesn't even know what she'd be spoiling! Commander Black seems to be hanging back too, but only a couple minutes later as everyone is settling in to the discount-party vibes, he just kind of Appears just outside of the door, leaning on the frame with his arms folded and basically just blatantly listening in from just outside.
White	When Roland looks at Hugo, Hugo eventually makes eye contact back. His frown instantly deepens almost to a scowl, but normalizes back in the other direction within moments until he's back to just being 'unhappy'. At one point, this guy was on White's list of problems to avert, as someone that might need to be captured... But he doesn't look very 'captured' right now. He's just kind of here under minimal watch (one soldier on standby partway upstairs seems to be keeping an eye on him), but it doesn't seem like he's under much restraint at all. Sophia looks a little off her game already, leaning back in her chair with her legs stuck out crossed at the shins, her arms tightly folded, and one fang poking out to brush across the top of her lip. White sits forward a little when Roland and the Angelapad approach, while Sophia stays right as she is except for tilting her head slightly more to one side. "Hello... Miss Angela, Mister Roland." "Ah, it's you then? I suppose it would be shameful if you of all people didn't come." Sophia keeps talking while White is waiting to answer the jacket-offer, unpromptedly complaining that "Just the three-... Four of you? All of those people seemed soooo excited to come and take an easy good deed, and yet, here we are..." White finally manages to squeak out "No... Thank you. I can bring... My own." to Roland, not quite managing to follow the social tracks to how he would've ended up making this offer, and thereby not attributing it to Angela at all. It'd be mean to take his jacket, unless it was because Angela was trying to be cute at her anyway! As Angela explains herself to the Girl Squad (plus the blank-faced bowl-cut boy), her affect seems to be kind of strange to most of them. They look between each other, briefly looking pensive or confused, but it simmers off before very much longer as they try to be polite back... At least with their attentiveness, even if a few of them do sneak some unsubtle whispers to each other ("Is she the one Wakaba's..?", "Woah, is she like a CEO or something?"). The whispering only ramps up for Natsuki and Schneider ("Holy crap, are all of Wakaba's friends rich?!", "Oh my gosh, she's so tiny..!", "I'm so jealous of those pearls, they look like my mom's..."), as the comparatively mundane 'genre' of Angela and Roland get some direct contrast; the other girls seem more and more excited, while the girl speaking for them to Angela as well as the other boy seem either wary or indifferent respectively.
White	The sharp-eyed girl beside the small elf teacher speaks again, nodding a little and struggling less with Angela's clear and direct phrasing than her classmates seem to. Even before she does speak, Okazaki looks up at her a little worried, like she can sense something in the way her student's hand on her back feels. "My name is Kudo Sachi. I will be direct, then." Her gaze flicks up from the Angelapad to Roland's face, then back down again, momentarily uncertain who she's supposed to speak to, but discerning it from Roland's silence. "What is it you and your 'Concord' gain from helping the Demons?" Her friends wince a little from beside her, but she doesn't break eye contact with Angela, insofar as one can have eye contact through a screen to begin with. Hugo in the corner finally sits forward a bit, elbows-on-knees like he's hoping to hear this answer too. Asaka and Aiko watch Schneider walk through with Kunihiko loosely following her until she stops, and he leans against the wall looking toward the middle of the room. Schneider's the only one of the two to be likely to notice the girls watching him; she might catch the blonde girl with the side-ponytail (Aiko) covering her mouth with one hand and turning toward the brown-haired girl (Asaka), who certainly seems to be scrutinizing Schneider a little bit harder than she is anyone else. Kunihiko seems fine to play verbal ping-pong with Schneider, though there's a tiiiiny hint that maybe he did actually notice Asaka watching him, specifically in how he seems to avoid looking at Schneider for more than a fraction of a second at a time, pretending his attention is on the conversation in the middle of the room. "Well, if you're a ruffian you've got a better style. Is that like, a misdirection thing? Get people not to take you seriously until you draw on 'em?" When Schneider talks about Asaka, he figures out who she means pretty quick too, and almost automatically starts smiling, briefly rubbing the tip of his nose with the back of his hand. "... She's great, yeah. She's stuck with me through everything. I know she's not really into 'adventuring', but... She's worked really hard so we could stick together. To learn a bunch of magic, plus all kinds of other stuff... She's always covering my back, so I've gotta lift my fair share, right?" He's still riding the high of just talking about her when he answers the other question. "... I did try to ask Wakaba about that once. She didn't say a lot, but... I guess there's a lot of 'Earths' out there, but only one of 'em where our school existed. Err, Heishin High, was the name of it. Not that anyone could just go back to classes there at this point, but... I guess I wouldn't want to leave anyway. I'm kind of in the minority on that though..."
Angela	Angela gets an answer about Black and is inclined to give Roland's arm a punch. Not a heavy punch, just a warning punch, but she can't do that because she's literally on a phone. She thinks back to when a certain someone thought she WAS in the phone. And she thinks about TTT who is like trapped on the internet or something. But she doesn't seem to have any problems with it. She isn't trapped on the internet but she does have an internet--ahh well, she doesn't want to think about this anymore. Angela isn't sure she's the best person to assauge concerns about the multiverse. She doesn't exactly feel like Miss Popular right now. She has at this point just hoping that once she is free she isn't completely fucked in the Sector. Would she bother Petra, once she's free, because she's no longer a girl who needs help? She despises these little silly anxieties. ''I suppose it would be shameful if you of all people didn't come.'' "Yes." Angela says to Sophia. "It would be. So I came." There's probably no way Angela would be interested in figuring out the politics of a classroom full of teenagers as an Outsider clearly associated with White if it wasn't for said association with White. Angela's need to be helpful is more muted these days but, well, of course she wants to help White. Not only does she want to because she cares about White, it is a societal expectation she should follow lest she be an embarrassing girlfriend and she's ready to kill so many people to avoid being that. So best nobody say anything. "I imagine there's any number of reasons why." Angela says. "It does not bother me because should numbers become necessary I will... call for aid." She seems to think she can get other Partners to lend help should it be necessary--of course, it's been harder lately but White's goals are just universally prosocial. She can't imagine it'd be hard for a group of bleeding hearts like the Concord to convince themselves to help White out. "Besides, bringing a small army to a social gathering is probably notgoing to endear ourselves to nervous people." There's a Natsuki here to be sociable and Schneider is here to be dangerous but, like, in that charming way. Angela can be an asshole. It's nice. ''I can bring my own.'' Roland glances at Angela who shakes her head. She's not inclined to press the matter and obviously has no idea that White missed the cue. Her interpretation is that White doesn't want her to appear too familiar at this meeting which makes logical sense to her. ''Woah, is she like a CEO or something?'' Diplomatically, Angela resists the urge to :humu:. Take that dad, I can totally run a business I just don't WANT to I'm interested in the arts. ''Is she the one Wakaba's...'' Wait, Angela thinks, how do they know about that? Angela wasn't exactly keeping it SECRET but these people haven't been to the multiverse. The Demon Army knew but... "Did you tell them?" Angela looks to White. She ... wouldn't have expected her to do that if so. It's also entirely possible she is misreading what those whispers are about, actually, but she's not sure what else they'd be about at all. But she is glad that people are jealous of Schneider and Natsuki. They should be!!! But Angela's approval of Kudo Sachi improves by virtue of her willingness to be direct. Angela doesn't like faffing about.
Angela	''What is it you and your 'Concord' gain from helping the Demons?'' This is a good question and one Angela is hard-pressed to answer. She could bullshit something, of course, but the truth of the matter is--she doesn't actually know what criteria are really used to pick Concord members. Don't they do coin flips sometimes? It all seems very capricious to her but she will do her best. "I will answer for myself first." Angela says. "I care deeply for White and her family and wish to help them with their goals for the simple fact that it makes me happy to do so. The multiverse seems less depressing to be around when I am with them." Angela's need to be a direct negotiator who doesn't bullshit seems to be overpowering her anxieties around being vulnerable in her relationships. Sometimes, even this is a ritual that makes life a bit more readily handled. "As for what the Concord gets out of it, a world that has destroyed itself provides no opportunities. The Demon Lord and her people have treated the Concord responsibly and with respect. The Concord holds no ill will towards the reincarnations--we have been asked to regard your people with compassion and, as you have done no harm to us, why wouldn't we? White assists many of her fellow Partners in our projects--it is good manners to help her in hers. I understand, of course, the suspicion inherent in an outside force suddenly associating with a rival force but in the multiverse, violent conflicts between different multiversal organizations is reasonably rare, in my experience. We have different philosophies, but we rarely come to blows." She worries a little she doesn't know of a particular resource the Concord seems interested in exploiting just to make this more believable but she figures she can leave details like that to Natsuki. Yes. This is delegation, not avoiding comment. ''Hugo''. Roland ends up watching Hugo periodically thorugh all of this. He doesn't seem to be ... captured. He seems unhappy. He doesn't look like he's going to start stabbing something. But Roland rubs at his neck uneasily and keeps quiet. It's not really his job to be chatty right now right? He's a professional evne if, of course, rubbing at his neck through all of this is not very professional. But compared to what he's seen, like, he still thinks he's doing pretty good. "I don't wish to speak too idealistically, of course. The fact is, the Demons have a large variety of skills that prove helpful to Concord operations elsewhere." Angela adds.
Schneider Greco	"Holy crap, are all of Wakaba's friends rich?!" "Oh my gosh, she's so tiny..!" "I'm so jealous of those pearls, they look like my mom's..." "My-lords, please, I am still a working woman," Schneider says with a second, tinier curtsey, but a slightly cheek-pinkened smile lingers after she straightens up. Being murmured-about positively is still a rare experience for her! "Is that like, a misdirection thing? Get people not to take you seriously until you draw on 'em?" "Mmmh..." Kunihiko's stumbled across a delicate question, it seems like! Schneider thinks over her words for a minute before looking back at the boy with a smile. "My-lord, to prick one's finger, and swear on the burning picture of a saint... most would say you must be a man. No-one has ever heard of a girl in the mafia. If I am the first, then whatever I wear, that is the uniform, right? No-one should ever call me 'unserious'." She clues in to the way Asaka's looking at her, and the way Kunihiko's trying not to seem like he's looking at her, a little too late. Oh. Oh, no. So it is like that between them. And Asaka thinks-- Once again, this is a situation Schneider has rarely been in before. Fortunately, it is one that can be solved via Talking To Women. She holds the back of her hand up as a signal to Kunihiko, and then sashays over to the ~~punch bowl~~ water-table with an ingratiatingly innocent smile. "Lady Aiko. Lady Asaka," she says, politely dipping her head before delicately grabbing-- what looks good? A 'twinkie'? She's never heard of that, but sure. That and a Monster Ultra Rosa. Her attempt to make a smooth approach is foiled somewhat by her failure to figure out how to open the Monster drink tab. Twisting the little metal bit just makes it go in circles. Her brow is furrowed. Fuck. Uhh. "I was, ummm, admiring the rest-less-ness of your hands for a weapon," she says of Asaka's former posture, struggling to regain her smoothness. "And your companion, he spoke so warmly of you, so I was given to wondering as I overheard- what is it that is his dream, and yours? You both seem, somehow, more driv-en than most of the others...?" Or, at least, 'scruffier'. But she won't say that. "What is it you and your 'Concord' gain from helping the Demons?" Schneider gives Angela a moment to answer, as the senior Partner present, but she tacks on a bit herself: "The Concord is, mmm, an arrangement of mutual aid, among those with ex-cep-tion-al talents. Our Lady White has been of great help to us; so, is it not nat-ur-al we should help her, too? Oh, but I am on-ly a fledgeling with them. Take my word less heavily than hers, my-lords."
White	Sachi seems to be stubborn about not relaxing yet, but Angela's answer has the benefit of the local gossip-mill having already caught some amount of wind about White being in a relationship, which is frankly a historic event among their class. So, she doesn't press that particular angle any harder. "... I see. If you have a closer friendship," she says diplomatically, "Then it explains why there are only a few of you here. I'm... Surprised, but thank you for your answer." With that, Sachi seems to stand down for now, easing back more into her seat. Hugo seems slightly less than satisfied, glancing over at White like he's not quite ready to believe she even has feelings. But, when he notices a couple of the girls taking note of his dissatisfied face he shakes it off (literally, shaking his head) and slumps backward again, looking at the ceiling like he's trying not to absorb any of the nicer chatter. Kunihiko glances over a couple more times while Schneider's thinking, but he seems to catch on that he's tripped on something a little complicated, so he juggles the conversation in the middle of the room with paying attention for Schneider to answer; when she does, he seems slightly lost about the meaning of that first sentence of context. Thankfully, the rest is quite direct and comprehension comes over him with a moment of jaw-slackness, corrected soon with a small throat-clearing behind his fist. "Mafia... Maybe you really are like from the movies... No, sorry, that's kind of dumb." He pauses, thinks for a few moments himself, and looks briefly distracted trying to fix the way his bangs are settled. "So you've gotta be recognizable, and you've gotta have impact, then. 'Cause you're fighting uphill?" he hazards, letting Schneider correct him if the impression is off. "I mean, I know a little about that too. It's not like me or Asaka can just say 'Oh, we're older than we look!'-" he says, putting on a silly voice for that part, "So it was hard to get taken seriously for a while, when you're talking about getting dibs on monster suppression work, or bounty hunts. But it sounds scarier, tryin' to do that with people. People with... With guns, too." It feels a little like he might have some Feelings he's examining about hearing she's with the Mafia in particular, but he's clearly not as put off to hear about it as some other people in this room would be; he even lowers his voice a little, aware of that fact. While Sachi is quiet, Okazaki eventually speaks up next, her voice soft and her word-choice ploddingly careful. "So... Umm. Wakaba has been working hard, then? That's good... I'm... I'm Okazaki Kaname. Or Filimos, in this world... Though nobody particularly calls me that now. Most of the kids call me Oka-sensei or Miss Oka, but whatever is comfortable is fine... Does Wakaba have more friends like you, in other worlds?" She pauses to look around, examining Schneider and Natsuki again and quietly admitting, "I wouldn't have expected her to get along with umm... Forceful people? She was always so quiet, she got into so few incidents too... But I suppose many people have had to change..."
White	Now, as Schneider has made her way over to Talk To Women, Aiko seems to react by trying to badly 'play it cool', misidentifying the approach as an impending bout of catfighting and trying not to look too excited. Asaka on the other hand has an impeccable poker-face that mostly only shows a mildly expectant calm when she turns to face Schneider. At first, she's uncertainly wary, but she glances past at Kunihiko who is obediently staying near the stairs at the other side of the room, and shrugs back at her. He knows what Girl Talk looks like! Asaka lets out a small sigh, and turns back to Schneider- And sees her fumbling with the pull-tab on the can. Blink, blink-blink. Schneider starts speaking to her, so clearly trying to play off the fumble, and all sense of threat whatsoever seems to evaporate so suddenly that Asaka's shoulders even sink slightly. She reaches out for the can, waiting for Schneider to hand it to her, and if she does then she demonstrates perfect nail-preserving form; she wedges her middle fingertip under the tab without putting pressure on the nail, turns the finger sideways, and pulls up with the knuckle to crack it open like a true 21st century teenager would. Even 16 years away from that life hasn't dulled all of her physical reflexes! The things Schneider chooses to speak about, meanwhile, are not exactly what she expected either; this little lady has her so thrown-off that it might have actually worked better than coming in perfectly smooth in the first place. "He spoke 'warmly' did he?" she starts, and Schneider can probably tell from how she starts to just barely avoid eye contact that her poker face is being put under strain, even if her voice is still level. Her hand doesn't shift back to holding her arm either, after she hands the can off; she might be self-conscious now. "Well, it isn't complicated. He used to read stories about places like this world. He would talk about it all the time too. He always wanted to go on adventures. Kunihiko's kind of stupid, so he enjoys some of the tedious stuff too. Grinned ear to ear every time he was filling out a form for the Guild." Even with her reflexive attempt to seem disaffected, Schneider can probably see a little bit of a smile sneak in, mostly at the corners of Asaka's lips and eyes. "It's hard to keep up with him sometimes, and I keep hoping he'll go easy on the really long jobs eventually, but... He's never left me behind. I don't really know what I'd be doing if I weren't following him around... Probably just wondering if he'd fallen into a hole somewhere." Aiko is deathly silent overhearing this, but her struggling, wobbling attempt not to grin while shielding her face behind a little bag of chips is as telling as could be.
Angela	''I'm... Surprised, but thank you for your answer.'' "I hear this a lot for one day." Angela says. She closes her eyes and tries to go back to her Lobotomy Corp mindset. It is against the mission to be as offended by this line of thinking than she feels. But no, she has to say ''something'' or she'll be unable to forgive herself. Diplomacy has its limits, but she will try to be polite about it. "Imagine if I looked at any of you and said 'What? You have friends? You have people who care about you? That is so crazy, you had no friends fifteen years ago, how could this be?' If you got annoyed with me for saying something so careless, you would be fully within your right to be so. It is best to not be controlled by the past so much." Angela hesitates, feeling hypocritical, but well--even if she is being hypocritical that doesn't mean she's being wrong. "You are blessed with second chances, not everyone was so fortunate. Sometimes the dead just stay dead. I'd embrace how your fellow classmates grew and have sympathy for their struggles. But ... I am speaking personally, of course, rather than as a Concord agent." She turns to Okazaki. Miss Oka. She tenses a little, but then eases off a bit-Miss Oka isn't QUITE hitting the same beat as Sachi. "I wouldn't take our small numbers today to mean a small number of allies. Sometimes people are busy. I'd feel discourteous to let you believe we are her only allies." She sounds like she's reluctantly admitting this, probably because she is. She's actually totally okay with people assuming that she's ONE OF A SPECIAL FEW, but she'd hate to sheepishly admit that, like, they just couldn't make it today to people who are so sensitive to White's situation. Angela considers that Miss Oka's question would've been much easier to answer before she angered Lilian. Now she's not really sure her position with the Foundation, with Lilian, and so on. "Silence isn't the same as weakness." Roland suggests. "She's more personable than you think." Angela hesitates and adds, "I hesitate to speak of her as if she's not in the room any more than this--you feel responsible for your students, I assume? In this, I think you can relax. So long as you can listen, being quiet shouldn't be that much a barrier."
Schneider Greco	"You are a kind one, my-lord," Schneider muses in Kunihiko's direction. "'Uphill'... this is a good way to say it. Ma-ny things must be thought through like this. 'Schneider', one could take it as a man's last name before a woman's first. And so those who do not meet me face-to-face... you see?" "That you have 'gone through it', too- 'someone like you could never do this'- it makes you rare and sparkling to me, my-lord." - - - - Schneider hands the can to Asaka with a blinking hapless innocence, widens her eyes when it's so deftly popped open, and stares down at it when it's handed back to her with a kind of puckish resentfulness. As if the can had defied her, personally. "Thank you, La-dy Asaka. You are too-kind to me," she says, swirling the drink in its can. She very elegantly lifts it up, pinkie extended- holds it above her face entirely- chugs an alarmingly large amount of it in one go- and then coughs, so delicately, while covering her mouth with a forearm after she's done. "Oh. So it's fizzy," she murmurs to herself with a small amount of bleariness. Then she mmp-mhh clears her throat, and straightens up, and smokily half-lids her eyes as if nothing at all had happened. ". . . More than warmly, my-lady," she purrs, after a little smiling-knowing wink to Aiko behind Asaka. "I had hardly said 'hello' before he began to overflow with your praises. Mmmh, to hear him, one would think he could hardly keep up with you." "Is he embarrassed, to sing such things where you can hear? To shy away from such things, mhmhm, it is a bad habit, my-lady. To think, if you both had it, you might-not even know you have feelings for each other?" Aiko had silently egged her on. One can't blame her. She takes a big 'homph' bite of her twinkie, its wrapping proving less obstinate than the can, and raises a finger to step away... "Does Wakaba have more friends like you, in other worlds?" "E-nough it some-times causes her un-en-vi-a-ble troubles," Schneider says, with solemnly lowered head and purely sympathetic tone. "I hard-ly know of those who dislike her. She is diligent; and humble; and of a graceful wit, I think." "If you have not been honored to see the warmth of her heart- which I ad-mit, I have only begun to- consider how you may," she concludes. "Fifteen years... it is a long time, right, Lady Oka?"