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Kayoko Kirenai     The spring air in Kagoshima is warm and muggy even while the sun sets. Humidity from an afternoon shower absorbs the day's warmth and clings to it, and clings to your skin in a sticky haze. The angle of the sun catches some buildings with light directly, while others are already completely in shadow, and lights flick on erratically in windows and streets to compensate. Downtown is lively in its mundanity, virtually no street corner isolated enough to be away from chattering voices and laughter.

    Hanging limply in the air over the harbor in the distance, pinned in place by a lightpole skewered through its chest, is a humanoid figure the size of a semitruck. Around its head is a shimmering sphere of golden light, like a miniature sun mirroring the one setting in the west. Its feet dangle low enough to nearly brush the tops of cargo containers being transported to and from the water. The world goes about its business.

    You were all given a warning: Please do not disturb the city with your arrival.

    Given the standards of the world, anything beyond the technology of an early 21st century earth could be considered a disturbance. Flight, advanced vehicles, teleportation manifestations if not carefully hidden. Flashy outfits are regarded with curiosity, assumed to be cosplay. At least the trains run consistently, as a last resort.

    Kagoshima knows that Elites exist, of course. But they exist elsewhere. For everyone's sake.

    Coordinates direct you to Our Lady The Second Eve, an all-girls Catholic high school, only a short walk from the station if you take the train. Densely packed restaurants and stores line the sidewalks, and a handful of the patrons cycling through them wear monochrome, pressed school uniforms with a cross on the left breast pocket. The main entrance to the school grounds opens up onto a corner, clumped groups of students flowing in and out, but you were given instructions to circle around the back instead.

    Walking away from the main thoroughfare to go around the chain link fence of the campus, the bustle of the street dies down almost immediately. The ambient babble is still audible in the alleyway, but muffled by the intercepting buildings, as if a wall was lowered to cut you off from the civilians. Pavement gives way to dirt, and storefront facades are replaced with smaller residential buildings, tucked away behind the main road.

    Behind the school, Kayoko is pacing in front of a gate in the chain link fence, breathlessly rambling to herself and her sister. "So, like I was saying, I talked to Sister Shinkyou, and she said that she'll accept your worksheet tomorrow if you write up a letter of apology to go with it, but I really wish you weren't falling behind so early in the year. It's not a proper first impression of course, since you're repeating the grade, but starting off strong would be a nice chance to show them that you're trying harder. And *speaking* of first impressions, our allies should be here any minute now," Kayoko stops to give Meika a firm look, and her shadow briefly disconnects from her movements to bounce excitedly on its heels, "And this meeting is a big deal. This is actually about hero stuff, so I can trust you to take it seriously, right, Mei?"
Kayoko Kirenai     When the Elites start arriving, Kayoko snaps to attention, perfectly upright, her shadow a moment behind. She moves so quickly that her white hair is still fluttering into place when she bows to greet them, long ponytail falling over her shoulder. She's wearing the same school uniform, monochrome down to her shoes except for blue eyes, blue glasses, and golden earrings.

    "Hello! Everyone! I am Kayoko Kirenai, and it's such a pleasure to meet all of you face to face. The gym is right through here. It might feel a little weird, but it's safe, and it'll go away once we're inside."

    With that vague warning, Kayoko unlocks the gate and leads the group through the fence, skirting around the edge of the fields behind the school to not draw undue attention. Then, all of a sudden, there's a building. Its presence doesn't feel abrupt, but it sits somewhere south of 'properly walked up to', as if you weren't properly paying attention while walking, and your retrospective memory can only fill in staticky fragments based on what should be. The building seems ruined, cordoned off with caution tape, its roof collapsed inwards. You get the instinctual gut feeling that it's dangerous to enter, probably damaged by a fallen branch in a storm.

    At the door, Kayoko unbuttons the cuff of her shirt sleeve, loosening it up enough for a garishly colorful humanoid creature the size of a bat to scamper out, standing bipedal on the back of her hand. Similarly to a bat, it also has webbed tissue under its arms to comprise wings, and it reaches out with both of its little hands to twist the doorknob open in Kayoko's stead. It turns around to race up Kayoko's arm to perch on her shoulder, but she immediately grabs it and roughly shoves it back inside her shirt, smiling politely as if nothing happened.

    Pushing the door open, the indistinct uncertainty in your heads fades quickly, and the inside of the building is nothing like the wreck the outside appeared to be. Neither is the outside anymore, if you pull back out to check. A small secondary gymnasium at one point, the court now has a large folding plastic table set up in the center, each seating place prepared with a folding chair and cup of tea. Pulled up behind it is a rolling whiteboard, stained with years of use. The ceiling is intact, though repaired shoddily after some damage, the lights are on, and the floor is clean, though heavily scratched.

    A severe-looking woman sits in one of the chairs, sipping her tea and reading a novella. She has black hair, tied in a high ponytail with a purple ribbon, a stiffly professional black blazer and white shirt, a second purple ribbon tied under the starched collar. On the left breast of both tops is an embroidered cross, in the same style as the school uniform.

    She stands when you enter and bows lightly, gesturing at the seats. "Please, take a seat. I am Sister Kurokawa, the girls' handler within the Holy Refulgence." Her words are clipped, but everything else about her demeanor comes across as inviting and polite.
Meika Kirenai     On this muggy vernal eve, Meika Kirenai has found herself leaning up against her school's chain-link fence, resting her weight with one knee up to plant her shoe against it, and wrapping fingers tight through the dusty wire loops out to her sides. She'd look thoroughly unremarkable next to any of the school's other girls that were passed on the way here, if not for her obvious deviations in uniform (A boy's shirt and tie, for one, though close to right and still emblazoned with the same breast pocket cross, a much longer skirt, and an open dull red jacket despite the evening's heat), and if not for her sister pacing back and forth in front of her, chiding her in the same breath she talks of heroes and impressions.

    It's only at Kayoko's last question, that Meika's eyeline moves up from the dirt her sister was pacing on, and up to her face. "Hero stuff. I get it, Kayoko. I'll toss out my evil schemes to mess it all up for you and everyone, promise." She grins, as she says it, a teasing tone on her lips, but her eyes fall back down to the dirt afterwards- and the grin fades as a tickling, breeze-blown strand of her own choppy hair warrants twisting her face to extract from her mouth.

    Over and over, her fingers slowly clench at the metal wires, making the rounded diamonds sing out their creaky-squeaky tune, and melting away her own nervousness at the upcoming meeting. Something shifts, inside the pocket of her coat, just before the first people start to arrive on-scene, and Meika adjusts her posture more upright- even going as much to put her other foot back on the ground- before deciding against anything more than her laid-back pose.

    "Are these them, sis?" She asks, as people start to arrive. It's a stupid question, really, to someone with just as little clue as she does. But as Kayoko starts her spiel, Meika doesn't interrupt beyond the addition of a curt "Meika. Nice meeting you.", as her part of the introduction, and instead just quietly nods along when the warnings are given.

    The old gym, and the way to enter it, doesn't elicit any surprise from Meika, as she walks over with the group, but one of her hands does automatically go to her coat's pocket before the door gets opened. Once inside, she stays back, a bit off from the doorway but an equal distance from the table, watching everyone else enter and be seated, and pacing back and forth all the while.
Isaac Beaufort Isaac arrives on time, despite the fact that Ishirou is in dire need of scenes to regenerate his poor poor bones.  On his way, he pulls out his smartphone to double-check directions and then continues on his way.  He's dressed in a pair of grey slacks and a well-pressed white shirt, with a letterman jacket, buttons opened.  

The phone is placed back onto its clip on his belt as he turns a corner and faced the younger woman scolding the older one.  He takes a second step back to wait for it to be over and then steps back out again as if he didn't hear anything.  "Ah, hello, I'm Isaac Beaufort.  We spoke on the radio some?" he says, friendly enough.

While they're walking, one thing that the two girls might notice is that the uncertainty of the old gym doesn't seem to bother him.  He frowns slightly at it, tilting his head to the right only slightly as if he considers it some.  In fact, Isaac seems more interested in the strange animal that pops out of Kayoko, than the rundownness of the gym.

With the introduction of Sister Kurokawa, he makes a small bow himself returning her own.  "Ah, nice to meet you ma'am, I'm Isaac Beaufort," he says and takes his own seat.  
Go Shijima      Go tends to make flashy arrivals, but he can follow instructions well enough. His means of arrival is generally consistent with "21st century Earth"--a white, feet-forward power-cruiser motorcycle with red racing stripes down the middle. His red Arizona State University t-shirt and the light white hoodie overtop match the bike's paint job pretty well, as do his sneakers.

    His helmet is stowed away in the rear compartment of the motorcycle. With hands stuffed into the pockets of his jeans, he heads around the building to the back. They're really taking a lot of care with this act, aren't they? 'For everyone's sake.'

    Running a hand along the chainlink fence as his sneakers transition from pavement to dirt path, he pauses, overhearing every third word or so from Kayoko. Sounds like a lot of pressure. I'd better lighten the mood the first chance I--ah, spotted. Damn! "Yo, Kayoko, Meika," he says casually, lifting a hand from the fence to wave at them. "It's Go." He nods, at the mention of the gym. "Lead the way."

    The sight of the gym causes visible confusion in Go. He blinks, frowns in a mixture of surprise and concern. He's always prided himself on his attention to detail, as a photographer and an investigator. How could he have missed that? I've gotta shoot it sometime. Kayoko had said the 'weird feeling' would pass, so he ignores it to purposefully (and tries to ignore the little bat creature) as he enters in after Kayoko.

    Inside, he wheels around, gawking openly at the unexpected change in scenery, until Sister Kurokawa draws him back to reality. "Oh! Hi. I'm Chevalier Go Shijima." He finds a seat quickly. No backflips--somehow, unbelievably, it seems like a bad idea.
Strawberry Princess      Strawberry Princess doesn't look Out Of Place. But she does look out of place. She knows that. Her bandaged hands can't decide if they want to be in her jacket's pockets or not. The nondescript carrying case of her wand never sits right, its strap always digging into her shoulder. Her sweat highlights her matte scar. Her slouch apologizes for her height.

     She doesn't make eye contact with anyone en route. That's how you make it through.

     A weight slides off of her when she recognizes Kayoko's voice. Like an astronaut shedding their suit in the airlock. "Hey, um-" She holds out her hand to shake at first, reconsiders for multiple reasons, and then clumsily tries to imitate the bow. "It's, good to meet you too. Ch- Kayoko. And Meika."

     Giving her own name would feel silly. Not just because it's a name that doesn't belong here, in an ordinary-ish town with ordinary-ish people, but because she's much too aware of how distinctive she is. Nobody else rasps like that.

     She waves awkwardly at the garish familiar with a mealy, uncertain smile before ducking under the doorframe. Is it a person? It'd be rude not to wave just in case, right?

     The folding chairs aren't the right size for her, but she's used to them not being the right size for her, so when she eases herself down gingerly into one, it's with a comfortable kind of discomfort. "It's... nice to meet you, too, Sister Kurokawa. Strawberry Princess." This time she has to say it. "You wanted to, um. Vet us, right? Before deciding if we could help. Is there a test, or...?"

     Tests are scary, but at least you pass or fail. Uncertainty is worse.
Ritsuka Fujimaru Somehow, some way, a twisted being gets one of those invitations to visit a new world's Japan. Did they confuse Jeanne for the original saint? If so, this would be the perfect opportunity to really sow some chaos after being asked so nicely to come by. She isn't going to make a mess right away, of course, since they did request that she not disturb the city with her arrival, but after that?

... Actually, Jeanne Alter is still behaving on her way to the high school. There's better targets than a Catholic school, after all, and getting people riled up at her presence with what she might do could still be fun. Doing so to the teachers that are most certainly the contact for this whole thing would just be icing on the cake!

Two long train rides (she missed her stop) and one longer-than-expected walk (she stopped at a convenience store) later, Jeanne arrives with one hand holding a bag that smells suspiciously of fried chicken and the other holding some kind of flavored milk tea drink. She's dressed normally, too, wearing a dark blue jacket over a short black track jacket/skirt combo with high boots.

When she sees Kayoko and Meika waiting for everyone, though, her expression goes blank for a moment as she realizes that her contact for today is, in fact, not a teacher or some manner of clergy, but a student. "You're... Younger than I thought you'd be."

They're also taller (as well as probably everyone else here), but she doesn't comment on that. She just looks kind of generally annoyed instead, but brushes it off with a short grunt. "Jeanne d'Arc, 'saint'. No evil schemes here, really." She introduces herself curtly with just a bit of shittery at the end, clearly sounding and looking distracted about something, but not saying it while following KAyoko through the fence and into the suddenly BUILDING. It's mildly jarring to see, but what really has her doing a double take is the freaky bat-thing coming out of her sleeve.

The inside being so off from what it feels like it should be from the outside just flies right by her in comparison. It's Sister Kurokawa that finally gets a more direct question from Jeanne after she takes a seat. "What's all this about the 'Holy Refulgence'? Has the Church really resorted to using children in their battles again?"
Kale Hearthward > Please do not disturb the city with your arrival.

"... What, are they all light sleepers or something?"

There's some back and forth on what, exactly, would constitute a disturbance. The East Wind is right out - aside from being a flying vehicle, it's got a mishmash of different multiversal technologies, magicks, magitechnologies, and the Windswept Continent's proprietary bio-powered magical technology. So, an arrival on foot, instead of flying in. More casual clothes, picked based on some quick research into local fashion, instead of one of Kale's fancier outfits. And...

... There's the question of being a bird man. Kale has some disposable glamour spells that make him look human instead of avian, they were one of the first things he sourced when he joined the paladin. Those have been indispensible for when he needs to blend in, and he generally hasn't minded using them, it's just that...

... Well, when he's used one, it's because he was trying to get into a place or keep a low profile, by his choice. Being *invited*... and then changing how you look to blend in, to a place you were invited to, has a bit of a different feel.

Kale goes back and forth on this. It'd still be *polite* to throw the human glamour on at least for this first trip out. He ultimately goes with it, though it's another thing for him to be grumpy about. (He has no shortage of those this week.)

<Tac-Paladins> [4] Lilian Rook says, "Then why the complaint? It doesn't really affect you."
<Tac-Paladins> [4] Kale Hearthward says, "Like I said, it's hitting a little different, being invited. Kind of 'we want you there, just not all parts of you, leave some of you at home'."
<Tac-Paladins> [4] Lilian Rook says, "First time?"
<Tac-Paladins> [4] Strawberry Princess says, "Yeah," to both.

Human!Kale makes his way in, on foot. For those who hadn't seen him like this before - he's still distinctly recognizable as Kale Hearthward, somehow. Maybe it's the nose. Yeah, it's probably the nose.

"Kale Hearthward, Paladins." he says, by way of introduction. "Nice to meet you both."

At least there's tea. Having tea helps.

Jeanne being there doesn't help, but Kale bites his tongue.

The whiteboard catches his attention, but he waits to get instructions on just what it is they're doing before he speaks up or offers anything.
Hibiki Tachibana 'It's not that personal, really. It's just the way things work.'
'... I was thinking we would have that conversation in person, so that we didn't need to imply that we don't trust the people here.'

    And no disturbances. That's more than fine. Her casual clothes aren't anything too out there, after all, and neither is the crimson pendant on her neck.

    "...It feels kind of similar...but different. A lot different."

    This is Hibiki's musing to herself, as she takes the established routes past stores and civilians to the quieter areas to reach the back of the school. The musing is, of course, /because/ their meeting location is a school. Just from what she's heard from both Kayoko and Meika over the public band, that in of itself isn't surprising. But if the Refulgence is working out of it...

    Well, she can't really help a comparison. And, upon catching sight of the two sisters talking between themselves over schoolwork, even the dour cloud that's been hanging over her for a few days eases up just enough to have a small and tired, sympathetic smile for Meika. Both from getting chewed out over slacking off, and...well, they're pretty nervous themselves, huh?

    And...they are pretty young, aren't they? Maybe that's the least surprising part of all. "Yeah, that's us," Hibiki replies to Meika as she joins the growing crowd. "It's nice to meet you two properly." She'll hold anything else for now, other than a tilt of her head at Kayoko's warning...and then odd case of the mysteriously appearing building on their way. It catches her attention enough that she almost misses the little creature escaping into view and being put back out of sight. Was that...?

    ...She'll ask later. Her sort-of hunch that that feeling was to keep people away is more or less confirmed when they enter, and Hibiki doesn't hide her mixture of surprise and awe at the sight of the expansive, used-but-damaged interior...or the woman waiting for them. No, actually, the last one gets her to feel like she unconsciously has to stand up straighter than she is, despite everything.

    And sit up straighter too, as she finds herself a seat. "...I'm guessing there's not really any choice in the matter, is there?" Hibiki echoes something she heard before - it's not really an option for us either way - in response to Jeanne, before turning her attention back up to Sister Kurokawa.

    "...But I do want to hear more myself."

    Beat. "Uh--...I mean, I /would like/ to hear more myself...?"
Angela After learning to their horror that not all magical girls secretly transform into monsters and murder scores of people, Manager X decided that it might be to the company's benefit (and more relevantly, their energy quotas) to learn more about other kinds of magical girls that might be out there. Maybe these magical girls from universes beyond their own can help with their own problems.

There is, of course, a problem. Namely, that Lobotomy Corp's employees generally fall into three categories: 1) <s> Insane </s> Eccentric 2) <s> idiotic </s> Unorthodox and 3) Professional mercenary killers. Another problem is that Lobotomy Corp's elites are not presently allowed to leave the facility. This includes Angela, who is EXTRA not allowed to leave the facility. And since DISCRETION was asked for, Lobotomy Corp insisted that rather than wear EGO equipment, the singular agent they sent only be allowed to wield an EGO weapon.

That weapon is called One Sin and Hundreds of Good Deeds. It is a large mace that ends in a cross at the 'clubbing' end of the weapon. At the base of the cross is a skull, jaw open wide as if it was eating the mace and a crown of thorns is wrapped around tis forehead.

The agent, Justin Rook (no relation), is a young man--looking around his early to mid 20s, with shaggy black hair. He is wearing a suit and an armband that has the letter M on it. He also wears a bakuran on top of his head.

He tips his hat to Kayoko.

"Nice to meet you ma'am. Name's Rook, here on behalf of Lobotomy Corporation. We heard you were looking for assistance so we're hoping to work out a deal."

He swings the mace so it rests on top of his shoulder.

Strapped to his other arm is a an ipad like device. Angela is on the screen but is saying nothing just yet.

Justin waves a hand to Kurokawa. "Thank you for the hospitality and polite greeting, ma'am." He then repeats the spiel he gave Kayoko.

Then he moves to sit down as requested. He is a professional guy. He seems relaxed, though, rather than clipped. He barely knows what's going on but that's normal for him.

He does recognize Hibiki though and gives her a tip of the hat as well, along with a grin.
Rhongomyniad     Given the invitation was to a scheduled meeting, the goddess Rhongomyniad arrived in Kagoshima earlier in the day. There-- really isn't much to do, and so she spent the majority of her time in a bookstore, only standing out in that she wears a fur-lined white cape over a blue suit.

    As the meeting time approaches, the King calmly pays for her purchases and departs the bookstore, taking the light rail to the closest stop. It's only after disembarking that she tucks the book she purchased into her coat and looks up at the facade of the academy. Reaching up, the King removes her sunglasses, used to obscure the unmistakable glow of her jewel-like green eyes.

    It isn't long before Rhongomyniad is in the alleyway, nodding curtly to the two girls who invited the group. Out of habit as she follows, she folds her arms in such a way that they nearly disappear within the waist-length cape hugging her shoulders.

    The damaged structure is appraised as they approach, eyes narrowing slightly. The interior turns out to be far different. Her eyes travel across those gathered, pausing briefly when she identifies Jeanne and fails to identify Isaac or Hibiki. They eventually rest their glowing gaze on the Sister herself.

    "I am Rhongomyniad," she speaks in a near monotone. One arm unfurls from the cape, gesturing, "The Tower that Shines at the End of the World. King of Knights and King of Camelot. Thank you, for welcoming us into your space."
Lilian Rook     §Please. I've been asked that so many times it's lost all meaning. Of course I'm not going to disturb anything. Playing by that rule gives me so much power over the people who wrote it.§

    Lilian technically comes from a 21st century Earth in the sense of saying that swords come from the dirt. This place is too mundane to be like the secret world she grew up in, too dense and sprawling to be like the pockets of civilization that she spends time in, and too outdated, archaic, inefficient, to be like what she knows about then. It just happens that she's been in the Multiverse long enough with her particular band of interests and connections for it to start to seem familiar; it looks like everywhere else.

    She can't help being visibly white in Japan, but she knows how to dress, how to walk, how to navigate city infrastructure, where to go and what to look for and how to deal with strangers, in the modern age; more importantly, Lilian is very fluent in the language by now, and doesn't need to learn on the Understanding, which brings her right onto the event horizon of ingroup by default. That being the entire point, Lilian takes the last leg by train, dressed in the upper class 'shopping casual' of someone who is certainly staying at the priciest hotel around and charging it to her business expenses, walks fast, properly exudes a 'busy, fuck off' aura that someone will remember for about five minutes, holds her bag to her with the habitual ease of a casual purse, and arrives at the school with a genuine look of uneasy disappointment at the cross.

    §Well. Whatever.§

    "Ah, we've spoken over the radio, but it's a pleasure to meet you too." Lilian says to Kayoko, bowing much less, having the habit and degree down just right. "My my, those uniforms are rather spartan, aren't they? So severe, compared to ours." Idle chitchat. Distraction from the fact that she's fingering her pendant. Her honed awareness of every current of air on her scar, like a thin, burning line in her consciousness. "Are you both in the same year?" Her eyes flick downward, suddenly preoccupied with how many centimeters shorter her own skirt is. "A pleasure to meet you as well, miss . . . do you prefer Meika alone?" Why did she wear these shoes? With the heels. Even if they're not tall ones, it's all dirt and back street. Lilian tries to recall if she even wears sneakers.


    Only once they're properly inside, does Lilian properly breathe out, and then finally interject "That thing by the harbour. Do they see it?" That's been on her mind the whole time. "Ah. Their handler. That's relieving to hear. Dame Commander Lilian Rook. We haven't met, but thank you for taking care of these girls." Severe and old-fashioned is something she can deal with. "Beg pardon, but I'm unfamiliar with that particular church. Is it safe to assume that 'sister' conveys similar meaning?"
Kayoko Kirenai     Kayoko's stern expression briefly flickers to hurt, frowning at Meika. "Mei, you know that's not what I--" The arrival of the others cuts off whatever she might've said, as she tightly whirls around on her heels to face them rather than Meika.

    As the first few greet her, Kayoko responds individually, but the number quickly grows to the point where doing so becomes ridiculous. But she started by acknowledging each person, and stopping midway might indicate favoritism, so down she goes along the entire group, her face slowly turning pinker. Isaac gets a quick, steady scan followed by a friendly smile, several others get polite recognition, several others get polite nonrecognition.

"Jeanne d'Arc, 'saint'."

    Kayoko looks blankly confused at Jeanne. "Sorry? She's dead, though." Her eyes light up a little bit, she carefully restrains her voice to not sound overly excited. "Are you related? That's actually really cool."

"We heard you were looking for assistance so we're hoping to work out a deal."

    Kayoko looks distinctly uncomfortable at Rook, her eyes flickering to his mace. Thankfully, the skull motif is egregious enough that no one in the city had bothered to give it more than a few curious stares, assuming that it was some sort of prop. "Oh, if you're wondering about payment, that's something you might be able to work out with Sister Kurokawa, Mr. Rook."

"It's, good to meet you too. Ch- Kayoko."

    Strawberry's awkward bow is matched with a very nervous smile from Kayoko, and she opens her mouth slightly as if to say something while Strawberry struggles, but doesn't manage to. "...It's really nice to meet you, Strawberry Princess. Just... just Kayoko, yeah." Kayoko tugs at the hem of her skirt, looking away.

"My my, those uniforms are rather spartan, aren't they? So severe, compared to ours."

    Lilian is what causes Kayoko's steady politeness to finally freeze up. She stammers for a moment, then twists a finger into the strap holding the Polaroid camera around her neck, visibly stabilizing as she does. "G-greetings, Miss Dame Commander." A second bow, like she forgot she did the first. "Um. Yes, the uniforms are meant to be, meant to be conservative. I-I had to get my earrings approved, actually, and the other things I requested were denied. And, sorry, yes, we're in the same year. N-not the same age, though, if that's what you meant."

    Kayoko quickly buttons up her sleeve again, sealing the creature inside, forever, never to be seen again. She looks distinctly like she's trying to not acknowledge it right now, though doing so involves clamping her hand down on the wriggling bump crawling around inside her shirt. She hesitates right outside the door, about to close it behind everyone. "Oh, um. Before I go inside too, would someone be able to open a window? I need to keep a line to the harbor, or...."
Kayoko Kirenai     With more people arriving than she expected, Sister Kurokawa backs out of her chair and strides over a side wall, shoes clacking against the wood floor. Set up out of the way is a table with an assortment of household objects, and in particular, an electric kettle, which she pours to set out enough teacups to serve everyone. Including Meika, who gets a quick Look.

"You wanted to, um. Vet us, right? Before deciding if we could help. Is there a test, or...?"

    "A pleasure, to make all of your acquaintainces. Now, as to the point of this meeting: today, in this room, is the first Multiversal contact of our Earth, as far as we are aware. Beyond commerce and media, of course." She adds the latter fragment after a moment of consideration, as if she took a moment to run through qualifiers in her mind to guarantee as much accuracy as possible. "And because of that, and the nature of the problem that we require aid with, certain precautions need to be taken."

"Has the Church really resorted to using children in their battles again?"
"...I'm guessing there's not really any choice in the matter, is there?"
    With all the tea set, Sister Kurokawa returns to her chair, but doesn't sit, instead lacing her hands politely at her waist. Intent examination of her face might spot stiffness, or microexpressions that betray her carefully masked stress, particularly when Jeanne pipes up. "Again, a problem that comes from the particular nature of our world. Believe me, having children fight our battles would not be my first choice, nor anyone else's." Another one of those small semi-humanoid creatures, this one slate-black and wispy at the boundaries of its body, as if continually dissolving into smoke, hops onto Kurokawa's shoulder and leans into her ear, paying no one else any mind.

"Is it safe to assume that 'sister' conveys similar meaning?"

    Sister Kurokawa smiles thinly, but genuinely, to Lilian, and nods. "Dame Commander Rook. I've heard some about you, from a certain someone's enthusiasm over your files." Kayoko, sitting down after helping distribute the tea, shrieks with indignance. "No! Stop talking!" Kurokawa chuckles, covering her mouth with her hand. "But, yes, 'sister' in precisely the same way. The Holy Refulgence is a branch of the Church, meant to manage situations such as these. Besides working with the girls, we are identical to any other sisters."

"That thing by the harbour. Do they see it?"

    And on to the main subject, finally. Kurokawa responds on a slight delay, as if there was latency in her hearing the words. She takes a breath, readjusts her glasses, and then straightens professionally upright. "'They', being the people outside of this room cannot, no. Even I, and other handlers, need the assistance of the girls, and our Cherubim." She strokes a finger down the creature on her shoulder's back. "Those monsters are what we refer to as Temptations. In short, they are magical, otherworldly terrors, imperceptible to the general public. Havoc that they wreak is reinterpreted in memory, which I believe you all experienced on your way in. Our magical girls, our Chevaliers," Kayoko quickly interjects, seeming excited more than anything, "That's actually what our rank is called in the Paladins, too." "Our Chevaliers are the only ones with the sight and power to stop them. We hope, that extending a request for aid to the wider Multiverse, will lessen the burden on their shoulders."
Isaac Beaufort Isaac is friendly enough and pays attention to everything that is going on, including the fact that the thing near the harbor is, in fact, something only they can see, and the rest can not.  

"Those monsters are what we refer to as Temptations."

"Why are they called Temptations, if I may ask?" he asks anyway, but it's beside the point.  "We have similar monsters in our world, though they are less...well they don't often come into the real world and are content to stay on the other side unless they are made to become a tyrant," other things that others can't see unless you have a persona OR are an elite.

"We hope, that extending a request for aid to the wider Multiverse, will lessen the burden on their shoulders."

"O-of course.  I make it my job to help as many people as I can, so lending my aid here is something I'm more than happy to do for you and them!" Isaac is earnest in this, though one might wonder /why/ he's so eager to help.  

'Wow, helping real magical girls, just like in the comics!' Isaac thinks, but also because he wants to be his own hero.  Helping others just makes sense, to him anyway.  Helping other heroes obviously means you are doing even more good work!  
Kale Hearthward > Havoc that they wreak is reinterpreted in memory, which I believe you all experienced on your way in.

Kale misunderstands this at first. "Wait, it's affecting our memory?"

"Or - wait, no, it's not affecting *our* memory, which is how we can see it-"

"- Okay." Kale's all caught back up. He thinks. "So all we need to is bring in a bunch of elites and then we-"

He pauses again. "Wait, will they forget us fighting too? Or - forget us altogether? Or will there be some narrow reinterpretation where they forget the fighting but will remember us sorta standing around before and after?"

He also dispels the glamour - he's back to looking like a bird man, now that everyone's in private. He looks a little more comfortable, too.
Rhongomyniad     Rhongomyniad's gaze shifts from the Sister to the two girls, then back to the one delivering most of the details. Taking her seat, she lifts a hand in polite declination of the tea, folding one leg over the other and lacing her fingers together. She is not directly addressed and so only listens. At last, as the Temptation is described, the King speaks.

    "Such creatures I am familiar with, in the form of Phantasmals. Beings who do not belong in the world of Man. Though I have been informed that it still lives; is it thus intended to be sent back whence it came?" A hand raises, "Surely such a being is not permitted to roam about freely, or you would not recruit Knights of your own to contend with them."

    She had a similar decision regarding a lake dragon, in the distant past. Though the King's mercy has only extended so far.

    "His Blade Defends The Helpless," her intonation takes on a faint mystical quality as she recites a portion of her Authority. A tone that disappears as she continues, "I have no objection to rendering assistance. Great beasts who have no place in the world of Man are a specialty of mine. It is the Tower's purpose to hold fast the skin of the World, and it is my duty to attend to holes in the fabric and what dares to crawl forth from them."

    Closing those glowing emerald eyes, Rhongomyniad states, "In this, I believe, we are quite alike, Sister Kurokawa and Chevaliers Kirenai."
Angela Rook notices Kayoko looking at his mace and he says, oblivious to the religious connotation, "Oh don't worry. The skull is harmless. I just got this thing from confessing my sins to the giant floating glowing skull we have locked up in our lab but as far as Abnormalities go, it's actually pretty gentle."

But he does nod at the mention of payment. "We'll work that out later." His experience as a Fixer taught him to be firm but relaxed about payment. Pushing too hard too quick is bad for negotiations. And he's already getting paid through Lobotomy Corp so as long as he gets a decent deal for them, he'll consider it a job well done.

And then after arriving...

Justin glances to Lilian when she introduces herself. He'll have to be careful to not mistake something meant for her as something meant for him but he'll use his first name if it comes to it even if he much prefers te latter. He seems confused at the reticence about a Church using children for battle but he takes it in stride. "You make do with the environment you're given, I suppose."

He reaches for one of Ya-Boy's cigarettes (he hasn't given them back yet). Better to not get too chatty. Even Angela is being patiently quiet on that screen over there. Better to be thought of a fool, as it's said, than speak up and prove yourself one.

He does smile though and say, "Well, hey, guess we're fellow newbies in the multiverse," because that is true, after all.

There's something warmly familiar about horrors being given a name like Temptations. In his own world, the 'Ordeals' tend to breach the facility at least once a day. One of the nice things about being out in the multiverse means not having to deal with them--they're not always dangerous but they're usually a drag.

Of course a big difference is 'the thing' that he cannot see--the Ordeals can be seen by anyone.

"Happy to help but unclear why we can see the Temptations if the gen pop can't." Justin grimaces. "How'd you know we'd even be able to see those things? If my guess is right... You Sisters got something like a Cognition Filter going on?" Well he's okay with proving the fool on this one because he's curious about why--he's hardly special and definitely not magical after all. But it would make sense (in his mind) to stop people from seeing creatures like that so they don't lose their shit.

But more relevantly, they asked them to be subtle (which he still thinks he was).

He taps the mace with the skull against it against his shoulder again. She said something about the monsters' havoc being reinterpreted in memory or something like that, but he's not sure he understands what that'd be like on the job.

Angela, surprisingly to Rook, speaks up.

"Are you asking us to simply help eliminate these Temptations? Lobotomy Corporation is willing to research these creatures in a controlled environment and, in turn, share the results of study."
Meika Kirenai     Overall, it's surprising how many of the Elites that showed up are- children would be the wrong word, maybe, but.. a number are young enough to be peers. Realizing this doesn't ease Meika's jittering nerves- actually, it makes them worse, and she finds herself slowly bouncing from toe-tip to heel-rocking, whenever she's standing still for too long. Matching voices to faces is an easy distraction for her, for the few of these newcomers she's heard before, at least.

    Lilian's question on names gets her to actually speak out a response, before the group heads off to the gym. "..Meikas fine. So is Chevalier Vermillion. But.. Please dont call me miss." Her comment on uniforms, however, she leaves silent. Her appearance ought to speak for itself.

<J-IC-Scene> Kayoko Kirenai says, "Oh, um. Before I go inside too, would someone be able to open a window?"
<J-IC-Scene> Kayoko Kirenai says, "I need to keep a line to the harbor, or...."
<J-IC-Scene> Meika Kirenai says, "Yeah, I got you."

    At the request, Meika doesn't hesitate, clambering over the small folding risers to one of the gyms large, dusty windows, and opening it outwards with a goosebump-sparking creak. She hopes that'll do it, for her sister's- for everyone's sake.

<J-IC-Scene> Hibiki Tachibana says, "...It must be the kind of thing they regularly deal with around here."

    At this, Meika snorts out a reply of "Aha, yeah..", off on the other side of the room. It's not quite a laugh, and it's not quite funny. Hibiki may find that she's the only one to hear Meika's response.

    Strawberry's presence in particular, both on introduction, and as she makes herself comfortable-(well, maybe that's an overestimation) in the gym's meeting area, receives awkward, fleeting glances from Meika, aside from a delayed nod in response to being acknowledged by that name. It's almost like there are things she wants to say.
    But she promised her sister to take this seriously. And seriously means no extra disturbances.

    When the shuffling in is all complete, and the tea is poured, Meika does circle close to grab hers. The Sister's Look is returned, not in kind, but by a just-plausibly-not-overloud slurp of uncomfortably hot tea, timed right to when she begins talking.


"Believe me, having children fight our battles would not be my first choice, nor anyone else's."

    Meika's expression shifts, hearing this, to something between visibly displeased and ashamed. "...We do it well enough.." is her quiet response.

    But Kayoko's embarrassed shriek pulls her mood a bit higher, and she giggles. "Sis, whats the matter? Isn't it nice to let people know you admire them? It's sweet of you. Aha." She's genuine, there, even if she's only speaking up because it will sulrely make Kayoko more of a tomato than she's already becoming. But she stops there. Letting her get distracted right now could be disastrous, and she won't let it be her sister's fault.
Ritsuka Fujimaru Jeanne knows those looks. She's seen them before, and she sees them now. Kale and Rhongomyniad both get a challenging smirk at their brief moments of eye contact, but otherwise? She's actually behaving relatively well for once.

Kayoko's confusion, too, gets a broader grin from Jeanne. "Related? Oh, no, it's more direct than that. I was dead, but I got better." She doesn't elaborate there, content to just make things even more potentially confusing and start replacing perceptions of who Jeanne is and was wholesale. If it makes the Sister or anyone else here uncomfortable, even better!

Kayoko's wriggling sleeve bump also gets Jeanne's undivided attention for several agonizingly long seconds. Thankfully, Jeanne gets bored of doing that sooner rather than later, and the shrieking has her laughing outright. Instead, she actually listens to the real meat of today's meeting while drinking both the offered tea and her own milk tea with loud slurping noises by the time she finishes the latter.

Also, she gets the window if nobody else gets to it before she does. She wants to take another look at that weird hooked thing in the harbor, anyway.

Hibiki's comment to Jeanne's question has her glowering briefly, though, as does the sister's answer about the necessity of having these girls involved. "Hmph. How noble to call on them as a last resort instead of the first." She replies dryly, barely hiding the distaste in her tone. "So. Are you calling us in just to fight these Temptations so your girls won't be doing all the work? Or does your..."

Another pause to look over at Kayoko and Meika, then back at Sister Kurokawa. "... Organization have more long term goals with all this? You weren't expecting to pay for us to come out and do this until your wallets run empty, right?"

Meika's reaction to having to fight doesn't go unnoticed, either, and Jeanne's expression shifts. It's unclear if it's softer or harder than before. "Oh, I'm sure you do. I did, too, but I wouldn't recommend it. Your sister knows what happened back then, I'm sure."
Hibiki Tachibana     Hibiki recognizes Rook (no relation), of course, and his greeting gets her to give a chest-height wave of hello back. She can only imagine that Malkuth's team must be off collecting information again, and she's somehow not surprised that the chance to do so here must be pretty high on their priority list. She's not surprised at a lot of people being here, actually - especially Strawberry Princess.

    It also helps her not have to linger overmuch on the expected presence of another Rook (relation), which she can't help but have mixed feelings about. Still, the last thing on her mind is making a scene...or saying anything much at all about it, actually.

    Before she realizes it, she's drifted back to slouching a bit in her seat, listening to Sister Kurokawa speak. The only thing that breaks her close listening is Meika's reply to her, which gets her to briefly turn her head in her direction and tilt it. The fact absolutely no one else reacted to that will hit her in a minute, just wait.

    As for Kurokawa, there's plenty to take in there, and by the time she's finished for the moment, Hibiki's head tilts down. "Monsters that only magical girls can see..." And things they do are 'reinterpreted in memory'. "I guess that's why this place is like this, yeah..."

    It's a little weird to think about. And, mulling it over, this somehow might actually be one of the only times any of the 'magical girls' she's met have enemies who are hidden away from the population, rather than being a publicly known threat. Funny.

    "Well," she starts, looking back up between Kurokawa, and then the two sisters. "If that's how it is, I get why you're being so careful. And...why you can only rely on them, even if you don't want to. ...It's not so different at all where I'm from. So I can at least say I want to do everything I can to help." Rook raises a good point, that they can see them on their own already, but she has another question in mind, one she brings up slowly.

    "These...Temptations. What exactly do they do, if magical girls don't stop them?" There's a brief pause. "Are...is anyone who gets hurt by them, do they also...?" The implication is obvious enough.

    She glances Meika-ward after, given she was the one who had that reaction before. "And that one at the harbor. What exactly is the entire deal with that one?"
Go Shijima      Go helps himself to tea. His chair creaks awkwardly when he sits back down. The explanation has him uncomfortably shifting in his seat, his brown eyes finding their way over to Strawberry.

     "I'm happy to help," he says, after a sip of tea. "Lots of us here know what it's like to have that kind of responsibility on your shoulders." He turns his attention away from Strawberry, briefly glancing at Lilian. "And more than a few of us have experience fighting things of that... scale."

     He is very quick to join in on Meika's teasing. "Hey, it's nothing to be ashamed of. We're all pretty cool. Especially me." He stands up, balances his empty cup on the back ot the chair, then climbs onto the seat. His knees spring him into the air, arms swinging upwards as his legs tuck in. He crosses the back of the chair with a handspring-turned backflip, and the cup is perfectly undisturbed.

     Kale brings up a good point... "The gym," he says to Kale, once the glamour is dispelled. Go lifts the cup from the back of his seat and pulls it around to sit straddling it, with his arms propped up on the backrest. "Do you remember that sort of... fuzzy feeling we had, when we first noticed it?" He makes a vague scrambling gesture with his right hand parallel to his temple. "And then it just sort of... made sense, after the fact. Maybe it's like that?" he says, checking with Meika, Kayoko and Sister Kurokawa.

     "That actually raises a question I was thinking of, on my way here. You said that this was your world's first formal contact with the Multiverse, aside from trade and media and things like that." His brow furrows, and after another sip, he continues. "And we were told not to make any disturbances on our way in. Led around the back of the building to get here..."

     "Are you worried that seeing Elites could somehow create... I don't know, cognitive dissonance with the involuntary rationalizing these Temptations induce?"
Strawberry Princess      For some reason, Kayoko saying "Mr. Rook" makes Strawberry wince. There's no bad history between them, is there? He seems like a perfectly fine guy.

     In fact Strawberry, with a little hesitation, leans way over and taps Justin on the shoulder. "Hey," she says quietly. She gestures with her head towards the Angela-tablet on his arm. "You've, uh. Still got your girlfriend on the line?" It's followed with a quick grimace-smile, as if to say 'don't worry, we've all done it'.

     At some point, she catches Meika's eyes in the process of glancing at her, and her smile changes. It's a smile that says I notice you too, and it's a smile that says later, okay?

     What she says out loud, though, is: "You do. You do really good. You're still here, right? But- you can want to help a friend, even if they aren't struggling. You know?"

     "We hope, that extending a request for aid to the wider Multiverse, will lessen the burden on their shoulders."
     As those words from Sister Kurokawa sink in, though, Strawberry's expression draws a little tighter. Her bandaged hands ball up at the hem of her jacket, as tightly as they can without the sunburnt(?) skin stinging. "Yeah. I hope we can lessen it, too. If we could see the big glowy thing outside, that's a good sign, right?"

     Behind that slight wince, though, she's thinking: If we don't meet the Holy Refulgence's standards, they won't let us help these girls. That's what she's really saying, isn't it? Self-consciously, she brushes her bangs to the side to partly hide her scar.

     When Kale reverts to being a bird, Strawberry gives him a look like he's taken the first slice of wedding cake.

     "Yeah," she says to Go. "I had that fuzzy feeling too. Something about how the building looked all messed up, and I couldn't really hold onto... you know." An indistinct, sheepish gesture follows. She's not able to phrase it clearly. She's a little embarrassed about not being able to phrase it clearly, too.
Kale Hearthward > When Kale reverts to being a bird, Strawberry gives him a look like he's taken the first slice of wedding cake.

Kale meets her gaze for a long moment.

Slowly, he reaches into his pocket, pulls out a fresh glamour crystal, and taps it against his forehead, returning to looking human.
Meika Kirenai     Hibiki's glance towards Meika, and preciding question, is met by an immediate sharp wince. But this is something she can speak on, at least. Better her than Kayoko, she thinks.

    "...Did you have to do that. To ask that." She knows the anwser is yes, though, and takes a breath before starting up a second time. "People who are hurt... they just.. remember other ways they could have gotten hurt like that, and so does everyone else. Unless they get- unless they die. It's different, then. We stop the Temptations, because if we don't, they kill people, and... nobody else remembers them, but us. Nobody remembers anything around the temptations but us. They forget us when we fight them, they'll forget you, probably, they forget whatever they break, whoever they...... We keep a list."

    Meika trails off, after that, and lets a breath out. The point is made. Meika shoves her hands in her pockets- one harder than the other, though- and huffs, looking around the room. She notices the smile change, on Strawberry's face- and the affirmation after, and her shoulders lower from their defensive tightness. "But not good enough." she mutters, her voice finding no one's ears.
Lilian Rook     Lilian smiles faintly at Kayoko's charitable misinterpretation of Jeanne. "Don't pay her too much mind. She's a little bit strange." she says; the Japanese language lends itself well to not saying what she might have otherwise. The smile even starts to look less catlike when Kayoko starts squirming; first for Strawberry, and then at her.

    "I suppose, but there's conservative, and then there's bland, yes? Dressed in armour is a conservative expression for a knight; utilitarian and expected; but we can hardly remember the association of knights with armour without 'shining' for a reason. An individual's handmade armour is a platform for art. A uniform should be as well. One person designs the clothing that hundreds of youths will be wearing for years of their lives. When you have that much ability to make your vision manifest, I feel as if you shouldn't phone it in."

    Lilian speaks with the airy confidence of a posh private school veteran, the prideful warmth of a senior student, the fond reminiscence of a woman talking to a girl, and the single-minded determination of someone wholly invested in keeping her mouth running so nobody can stop and look and think. "Strawberry has thankfully started warming up to my way of thinking, and it's done wonders already. I suppose you'll soon be old enough to dress yourself with the gravitas you deserve either way, though. Ah, and if mis-- if you're the elder, Meika, you should start thinking about it sooner rather than later."

    'Oh, if you're wondering about payment, that's something you might be able to work out with Sister Kurokawa, Mr. Rook.'

    Lilian's smile freeze-frames. The look of warmth on her face wavers with moment of involuntary stillness. Her gaze defocuses on Kayoko, and slides 'round to the Agent.

    §Huh? Who is this piece of shit? Who invited him? I don't remember allowing him to breathe my air. He's not Paladins; otherwise I'd know. How dare he be here. How dare he--§

    Lilian shakes her head, as if she'd just gotten lost in thought and the conversation had slipped through her fingers for a moment, and then turns to Lobotomy Corporation's Strongest Soldier, her smile having regained a sort genuity. "Mister-- Beg pardon, may I call you Justin? It seems we're all on first name basis here, and as you've no doubt noticed, it'll terribly disorienting to be inconsistent about it from here." Lilian laughs blandly. "In other words, I'll keep thinking that someone is speaking to my father, hahaha. I'm certain that if you were searching for a high-paying contract, you wouldn't come to a Christian organization. Charitable works, young minds, humility before God, and all that." Lilian's hand subtly slides behind her back and grips a ball of her skirt in her fist.

    §This shouldn't be hard. This shouldn't register. This--§

    Lilian doesn't remember sitting down, nor taking tea, nor saying "Really? The first? My, your students got here quickly.", but it clearly happened at some point, in the soupy blur and tinnitus ringing of the last sixty seconds. She blinks, as if caught up on some point, and regathers her presence around Kayoko. She sort of reminds her of someone. "I suppose that would be why you can't contact Paladins emergency outreach directly. Especially if you, as a church, aren't affiliated with the government."
Lilian Rook     Lilian feels as if she only just breathed out when Kayoko begins panicking over being narced on. A weak laugh bubbles up from somewhere in her that she lost track of, and her shoulders loosen two degrees. "Understood. On both counts. I'm happy to have the opportunity to provide the sort of role mod§What a joke. Who'd ever want to be like-§itting your instruction."

    '...We do it well enough..'

    Lilian slowly glances to Strawberry, watching her expression carefully for a few seconds, then visibly pauses to gather her thoughts. "Well, Meika, there's al§She's making fun of her. Is it because it's me? It has to be because it's me, and not anybody else. She's making fun of her, but she's really making fun of me. She-§eration is adequately prepared." She blinks. Again. She's pretty sure she said something well-reasoned and patient about children benefiting from adequate time to learn to fight before heading straight into it when they have other options, but she doesn't really remember it. It's all just autopilot tinnitus buzz. "I . . ."

    'We're all pretty cool. Especially me.'

    Lilian hunches over her tea with the posture of a mid-swallow cough-spasm when Go climbs up and does a backflip. Immense fortitude and grace see her, improbably, succeed at choking it down. "Beg pardon. I had a thought, but I think I've lost it. However, Shijima's has been on my mind as well. I understanding that you're asking, up front, for aid, with the understanding of action in this theatre as an objective social good; I'm hardly averse to the offer, if I may be allowed to persuade your church to pursue negotiations with the Paladins at the organizational level, as I cannot guarantee undivided nor indefinite assistance. But I have significant concerns about this property of the-- 'Temptations', yes?"

    Lilian sets her tea down. "Including its lack of disclosure, why you believe we should be an exception, why your girls already are, and how it extends to civilians forgetting them as well." she says, lacing her fingers. "Or so I must presume. That thing didn't skewer itself there by its own power, after all."
Hibiki Tachibana     Hibiki thinks she knows what's coming before Meika even says anything. That strong of a reaction says everything. And her wince gets a wince in turn, although hers is one that's bracing as much as is possible to hear that reply.

    "...I'm sorry." Her voice is quiet enough that it only barely carries over to Meika, glancing off to the side. "I had to...know. To know what's...at stake." The hands resting in her lap clench into the fabric of her clothes, fingers digging themselves in. The scrunching up of her expression doesn't go away at all.

    Because she can imagine what'd happen, if that was the situation she had to live with. And she can imagine how much it has to hurt to know when almost everyone else has forgotten. And...however long that list might be. No--she doesn't want to imagine that one.

    At that moment, she thinks she might understand why she's not worried about putting schoolwork first. And she remembers her own mass of it, back home.

    She wants to say something. But there's not anything that wouldn't come out sounding like it's hollow or patronizing, and so she remains entirely silent.
Kayoko Kirenai     Jeanne Alter's assertion of being The Real Jeanne D'Arc reborn, and Rook's reassurance that his profane object was simply acquired by worshipping a demonic skull both ramp up Kayoko's anxiety in surprisingly similar ways. Lilian's comments make her anxious in a different and unique way. "I-I'm sorry, it's the school code. I think the uniform has been the same design for a century? I can't really-- m-my armor is better, though, I think."

"Why are they called Temptations, if I may ask?"

    Kayoko, vibrating nervously in her chair, stands up to answer this, pacing in front of the still-blank whiteboard. "So! It's actually very hard to say. The Holy Refulgence goes back for centuries, with our oldest records dating back to the fifth century A.D. But, of course, due to the memory-altering effects of the Temptations, and because only around one in ten people within the Holy Refulgence is actually able to perceive them directly, historical information is inconsistent and spotty at best! The term has just been passed down through generations, along with the structures and rules we still follow today, but its first instance in text was discovered by--" She continues until Kurokawa gently cuts her off with a gesture.

"Wait, it's affecting our memory?"
"How'd you know we'd even be able to see those things?"
"Do you remember that sort of... fuzzy feeling we had, when we first noticed it?"

    "To be completely frank, this is uncharted territory. The assumption was that, given the familiarity that Mr. Beaufort, Miss Rhongomyniad, and Miss Tachibana had with the subject, that Otherworld warriors such as yourselves would have some kind of resistance." Seeming to relax somewhat, Kurokawa takes a sip of her tea while still standing, only to choke and mutter Excuse me... when Kale abruptly transforms back. She puts the cup back onto its dish, and resumes with her expression back to being stiff, lips pursed. "That you're able to see the Temptations is, a good sign. As far as the extent of how the memory manipulation affects your class of people, that will be something you discover alongside the Chevaliers. My... position makes it difficult for me to comment on that, you understand." It's an odd way to phrase that, and Kurokawa looks intensely frustrated for a moment, closing her eyes to recenter herself.
Kayoko Kirenai     "It's something to do with perceiving the Temptations directly, versus perceiving their effects later. Um." Kayoko takes a moment to search for her words, and the thing inside her shirt snatches the opportunity to escape, scuttling out onto her head to perch their, webbed arms spread wide. Its underarm wings are patterned with a garish and inconsistent set of diamonds, yellow, green, and purple. When it speaks, it sounds scratchy and frantic, absolutely grating to listen to. "What our Chevalier Cobalt trying to say, if she wasn't tripping over herself at the sight of you all, is that even as magical girls, destruction that happened *before* she became one, is still--"

    Kayoko turns red and snaps her hand around the Cherub's body, whips around, and throws it out the window as hard as she can. She carefully sits back down, with a neutral expression. "Sorry about that. That's Spot. My Cherub. But yeah, what Meika and I have been guessing-- not that we really have much to go off of-- is that it'll be similar for you. That you'll be able to remember now that you know, but not anything before that. And, um, Mr. Heartward, they do forget that we fought, that's right. Usually they just remember Meika and I as civilians who happened to be at the disaster, if they know we were there at all."

"Lobotomy Corporation is willing to research these creatures in a controlled environment and, in turn, share the results of study."
"Or does your ... organization have more long term goals with all this?"

    "That's certainly something to discuss at some point, though giving permission for it is beyond my authority. The higher-ups are, understandably, cautious even about this meeting, today. It will be a slow process and continual demonstration of faith to convince them of anything further, I'm sorry to say. An actual end to this would be..." A momentary bitter expression, "A fantasy, at this point. Anything is possible in this expanded universe, I suppose, for good or for ill."

    Even with Spot forcefully vacated from the premises, Kayoko is subject to a barrage of the most unbearable torture of all--lighthearted teasing. "*Mei*! I-I'm not! You should be reading up on the files too, they're--" Go showing off only feels like more teasing, and Kayoko is visibly torn between watching him and covering her face with her hands. That playful demeanor is immediately drained when Lilian's reaction reads to her as disapproving, and she immediately quiets down and shuffles in her seat, facing forwards. Hibiki's question follows, and Kayoko flinches and opens her mouth, glancing over to her sister reflexively. She's grateful not to answer, names already bubbling up in her throat.

"Though I have been informed that it still lives; is it thus intended to be sent back whence it came?"

    And so Kayoko is grateful to take on the task of explaining the monster hovering over the harbor instead. "That Temptation appeared a few days ago, Dame Rhongomyniad. We... tried to fight it once, already, but it's a bit tougher than usual. Meika got injured, and we... had to retreat. I imprisoned it, temporarily, that's why... " She gestures to the open window, and assumes that everyone will know what she means by that. "Ordinarily we'd patch up and try to take it out again, but we figured that getting outside assistance would be a good opportunity to fight alongside everyone. And to make sure that Meika stays safer."
Isaac Beaufort Isaac is listening, though it's a good thing that the Sister cuts in when she does because Isaac's eyes are starting to glaze over with the over-explanation of things, especially because a simple 'we don't know' would have been more helpful than explaining the origins.  Especially because he's got to contend with two world histories.  

He coughs, politely, "Aw.." he says looking at Spot, because he thinks it's cute, even if it's embarrassing Kayoko.  "Don't be like that, Kayoko!  I'm excited to meet two heroes too!  You two do a lot of work here and protect a lot of people, so it's always exciting to be able to help those in need!" He beams, more than happy to be upfront about things like this.  

Though he does somewhat sober up when the idea that the people that die are completely forgotten.  As if they didn't exist at all...that's...

That's beyond sad.  That's a level of death that he'd never want to be wished on anyone.  "Oh well...I didn't feel anything weird from it, like...no a feeling of forgetfulness or anything.  Is it normal to?  People said something about this place too, but I didn't feel it either."  He seems to consider, "I think it's because my Persona protects me against such things."

"Well...then I'm ready, we can go out there and destroy it before it hurts anyone else.  I'm assuming the area is evacuated at least..?"
Kale Hearthward Kale leans over towards Strawberry Princess, to talk to her, since their hosts are getting peppered with questions.

"... It feels like... this is worse than your world, somehow?"

He pauses. "I mean, yours got hit harder, but well, everyone *remembers* London, right?"

"Can you imagine what it'd be like if they *didn't*?"
Angela Rook says, "Knowing these details are an important part of the job." He won't deny the apology but... "When our buddy Ya-Boy died he was lucky that Kukuru was there to bring him back or he'd jave neen gone forever. But if he got murdered here, Kukuru wouldn't even have realized he was dead by the sound of it. If we're gonna fight 'em we should know what they can do to us."

The stakes too are important, perhaps, but Rook is more focused on how careful they need to be, what to watch out for if people get hurt in the fight...and so on.

But it seems that they may have some resilience...but the particulars will be tough to know without direct interaction and, likely, personal experience.

"Makes sense," Rook says. "Fortunately battling unknowns with limited understanding is something we specialize in. We will take note of what we learn through onteraction, suppression, and elimination."

He looks at Angela for confirmation, who nods.

Rook relaxes, but only slightly.

Angela gets her own answer as well. Does Lobotomy Corporation have ulterior motives? Maybe. Does Angela? ...

Angela appears patient. They seem willing to discuss it but wishes to be cautious. Patient. Reasonable. Lobotomy Corp is the same with the outside universe too. If they likely weren't desperate for an edge--just like they are--She doubts this meeting would even be happening.

"Nothing that should affect any world but our own." Angela says. "I cannot speak to long term goals with how little information we have on the Temptations but knowledge, you could say, is our temptation."

Angela bobs her head once. "We will assist you with the Temptations as a show of faith but we appreciate your caution. Careless behavior means inefficient results. What I can say now is that we can draw EGO weapons from sufficiently studied Abnormalities that can assist in their suppression. Or perhaps elimination, as we are unaware of the origin or production of these creatures. Anything you might be able to share on how they came to be would be helpful."

Rook smiles at the cherub before adding, "Well whatever the case, I'll get a team ready to help out. You can be like our interim team captains until we aren't half blind."
Ritsuka Fujimaru "Only a little strange? Such a flatterer, Dame Rook." Jeanne chuckles lightly at Lilian's comment, sounding fairly dignified right up until she munches on more of that crunchy chicken that's gotten a little soggy by now. Go's flip gets a brief stare, then an approving nod afterwards. "Nice flip."

As the conversation continues, Jeanne winds up getting distracted by the thing in the harbor again the more that it's spoken of. That distraction does abate a little, at least, when Kayoko explains the history of the Holy Refulgence. "I can't imagine anyone claiming to see such things nobody else did at the time would've been popular for the right reasons. Hm... No wonder I've never heard of this." She comments with another lazy shrug and taking another sip of the warmer tea.

"So our presence makes this easier for you, at least. And I assume you'd like anyone helping you with this to keep..." Jeanne gestures vaguely outside, then turns back to Kurokawa. "... Not disturbing the city while handling those Temptations?" She lets out a dramatic sigh, then crosses her arms behind her head and leans against the window frame.

"How annoying. My powers don't lend themselves to subtlety, you know. But if it's power that's needed to..." Jeanne's gaze falls on Meika and Kayoko again, her stiff expression only cracking when Kayoko just yeets Cherub out the window right past her head. After another outburst of taunting laughter, she slides just a little bit over on the window so it's easier to see past her and at the Temptation trapped over the harbor.

"That sure sounds like an opportunity to show off. Just don't get too close, or you'll be..." She pauses, then peers at the sisters again. "... What /do/ you two do, anyway? We've heard plenty of your willingness to fight, but do I need to worry about you getting too close once I start obliterating this thing?"
Rhongomyniad     The King's hands fold together once more, paying due attention between Kayoko and Kurokawa. In her stoic bearing, only the slight turn of her head and shift of her eyes hints at the shift in focus from one to the other. Her name is invoked and the goddess nods once, briefly closing her eyes in acknowledgement.

    "The Phantasmals I am familiar with exhibit many unusual qualities. Effects on the function of the human mind is not so far out of the ordinary. Although; typically it is not so clandestine as this. It would of course do to exercise the utmost caution until the interaction of these effects against Multiversal elites can be more closely examined."

    Her eyes travel towards Kale when his disguise drops. They only leave when he reapplies his camouflage. Briefly they return to Kayoko, then snap upward when the Cherub appears. Those glowing eyes narrow slightly-- then widen a touch more than before when Kayoko pitches the creature out the window.

    "Hm-hm-hm..."

    The King is amused..! The slight touch at the corner of her lips disappears quickly as the matter at hand shifts once more to the Temptations, "I see. It is a manner of stasis. This explains your concern regarding losing sight of it." Rhongomyniad nods once, "You must maintain line of sight to sustain the magecraft."

    Her eyes close again in thought, her tone low and even, "I see no issue in assisting with the permanent removal of this creature. Such beasts must be returned to the Other Side of the World whence they came." Eyes opening a touch, green light filtering through her lashes, she utters, "His Wrath Undoes The Wicked."

    With that, Rhongomyniad unfolds her legs and leans forward, rising to her feet, "Come, Frenchwoman. On this battlefield I shall be with you, not against you."

    Right. British. They've got kind of a Thing when the French are involved.
Go Shijima      Go smiles smugly at Lilian and Jeanne, following his flip. "Thanks!" It almost certainly didn't break the ice like he thought it would, but he at least did exactly what he said he was going to do. He turns and gives Strawberry a thumbs-up and a more encouraging, less smug smile. It's a very convincing exterior, but not at all aligned with what's occupying his mind. I should have known there was more going on beneath the surface. Meika was shaking like a leaf a second ago, Kayoko is nervous too, Strawberry is probably feeling deja vu, and now Hibiki... It's more than a simple flip and a few kind words can fix, but Go is determined.

     "Don't worry about me," Go reassures Sister Kurokawa. "It takes a pretty tough customer to do real damage up here," he asserts, tapping a finger to his temple.

     He can't stop himself from staring at Spot, nor from wondering if that was the reason why the window should be open. "You two need to relax," he says, as his eyes drift back towards Kayoko from the open window. Sitting up straight in his chair and removing his hands from the backrest, he lays them across either knee and cocks his head, again smiling smugly. "I know there's a lot of star power in the room, but we're not here to be put on some pedestal or steal your thunder." He pauses for effect, then, "Unless you've got a ramp and some pyrotechnics, anyway."

     "I'll help with that Temptation out there," he says in a more serious tone, with a nod towards the harbor. "And any info you guys can give us about what it does, what to look out for, that'd be a big help. But I'm with Lilian," he says, gesturing to her with a little two-finger salute. "I think this is something that'd really benefit from long-term cooperation. Sister Kurokawa, you said it's not really up to you. So let me ask you this--what can the Paladins do, starting now, to get the top brass thinking favorably of us? Obviously, results speak the loudest, but..." But there are other considerations. Organizational culture, ideology, methodology. Maybe she can't make any decisions, but it'd be a waste to give up a chance to learn about the Refulgence.

     After a pause, Go produces a little miniature bike--one could be mistaken for thinking it's a toy, but the wheels spin of their own accord, as does the horn merrily sound. "As for 'minimal disturbance,' Strawberry, Hibiki and I all transform to do what we do. I don't know about theirs, but the AI on my Driver doesn't really have a quiet function." As much as he might have wished it were so, during some of his more ignominous points of personal growth.
Strawberry Princess      "We keep a list."
     "I'm sorry," Strawberry says softly, and her voice is just a shade rougher than usual. Her smile turns weak and bittersweet. The 'war museum' in Lilian's world, the memorials in her own- "It's important to remember, isn't it? Even if it hurts. Is it... would it be okay, if I asked to see? Later. I just- I want to be someone who knows it. Who knows a little of it. The gravity. Like you do."

     Meika's murmur afterwards reaches nobody. But her mouth still moves, doesn't it? Strawberry is no lip-reader, but context alone makes her face tighten subtly in sympathetic pain. Her eyes slide off to the side.

     Absorbing Sister Kurokawa's explanation makes for a nice distraction. She can't fidget, not with her hands looking all pink and near-blistery like that, so her knee gently bounces instead. "That's really scary, isn't it? That you could... lose ground. Lose a lot. And not know it, if you lost the wrong people."

     Kale leans over to talk to her, and she looks at him with apologetic attentiveness. It was a little rude to look so mortified earlier, right? Ought to hear him out now.

     "... It feels like... this is worse than your world, somehow?"
     Strawberry's jaw tenses defensively. Her eyes widen. "Well, it's..."
     "I mean, yours got hit harder, but well, everyone *remembers* London, right?"
     She's frozen, in the creepingly sick way you freeze when the adrenaline starts to ooze.
     "Can you imagine what it'd be like if-"
     She throws a punch at his jaw, hard enough to dislocate something.
Lilian Rook     'One in ten' sticks in Lilian's mind immediately. Given the earliest convenient opportunity, she gathers enough focus to ask. "I certainly assume it isn't anywhere nearly so high as that in the civilian population. What might it be that the Refulgence is doing to cultivate such a number?" It's a modestly veiled angle shot at being told by the excitable teen, first, what qualities go into sifting the ingroup from the outgroup.§Besides a baptism and guilt.§ "And should you really be treating an . . . angel? That way? It sounds as if he might be important. Have you and Spot had a long working relationship already?"

    Then her attention settles firmly on Kurokawa. Lilian has clearly, finally, gathered herself together, because that posture is just so typical. Leg folded, hands sliding back to herself, arm under chest, elbow on palm, fingertips to cheek, and the slight tilt and incline of her head in piercing, questioning focus, where one eye ends up in partial shadow. That's her.

    "If I may ask, Sister Kurokawa, why exactly are you so certain that it can't be resolved? You'd require knowledge to the affirmative, rather than simply an absence of knowledge how, to seriously make that statement." Her fingertip taps on her cheekbone as she leaves space to breathe. "For my own part, I can guarantee administratively reviewed and certified immunity to cognitive vector class threats up to Class-- well, a very considerable one." It isn't clear when she got it, but Lilian slides her tungsten shaded card over the table for emphasis; she doesn't expect her to understand the terms, but seeing an official and expensive-looking ID covered in complex values and charts etched in fanciful quasitraditional patterns usually gives the impression that she's a big deal. "Hence why I was the first to ask, you see."

    Answered practically any possible way, Lilian allows herself to smile again just for Kayoko's sake. "Ah, there it is. I'd expected something like that, don't worry; it's a common pattern for this sort of outreach to happen once someone with their boots on the ground has to weigh a sufficiently heavy decision about people's lives with equally sufficient unease. If it's something like this, I really don't mind." She begins to push her chair back. "This is somewhat similar to what I already do, so this is basically my obligation as an upperclassman. And besides, it's nice to have those reminders, every now and again, that you're the top shelf option."

    Lilian's face freezes. Her eyes widen, and swivel to Strawberry a moment before she moves. Lilian opens her mouth; starts to move; she--

    --puts the dangerously interpositioned tea back down. Her card is gone. She leans over to right the chair, and says, with a tinge of an all-too-recently familiar tone, "What in God's name is wrong with you, Hearthward? Couldn't you at least keep it in long enough to not set a bad example for the girls? I'll need to have a word with your neurologist at this rate."
Hibiki Tachibana '--getting outside assistance would be a good opportunity to fight alongside everyone.'

    That's good. Perfect, even. If magical girls can fight them, then that means Temptations are an issue that she can solve with her fists. Unthinking - as far as she knows - monsters that don't do anything but hurt people. Monsters that she can throw herself at without needing to worry about anything other than just fighting them. Just like Noise.

    "Alright," Hibiki says, just a little bit too fast. Her complicated feelings over recent events might be stirring that some.

    Even a desire to not remain sitting around feeling awkward over her question's effect on the the Kirenai sisters. "I get that you guys are on the edge about all of this - so I'm more than up for doing what I can to make sure asking for help won't be a bad thing. And...I don't want them to...hurt anyone either, if I can do anything about it. I don't know how much help I'll actually be, but..."

    Go raises a point she didn't think about actually, which leads to Hibiki glancing down to her pendant and lifting it up slightly. "Uh, well...mine kind of involves singing, but it probably won't be an issue...? I'll be a little weaker for it, but with everyo--"

    She cuts off, at the sound of Strawberry throwing a hook at Kale gets her head to turn on the spot, mouth still open mid-sentence and jaw slack.
Go Shijima      Crap.

     Go pockets the Shift Bike and buries his face in his hands, no longer bothering to put on an affectation of gung-ho positivity. What the hell am I supposed to say to that? His fingers run through his auburn hair in a slow, anxious crawl, as a breath is sucked in through his teeth. It comes out in an explosive, aggrieved sigh. Every thing I try to hold together just breaks apart in my hands. Even little things like this.
Ritsuka Fujimaru "For once. Just don't get in the way, or I can't promise I won't set you on fire, too." Jeanne replies to Rhongomyniad with her usual challenging tone, turning when there's a sudden disturbance nearby.

She missed what Kale said, but that doesn't matter now. All Jeanne sees is the mild-mannered Strawberry Princess throwing hands, and that's enough to elicit yet another laugh from Jeanne.
Meika Kirenai You should start thinking about it sooner rather than later.

    There's a flash of emotion, loud and messy in Meika's eyes, at that. She bites the inside of her lip, even as she voices a reply. "...I don't really bet on laters, Miss. Can't this just be good enough for now?" Less of a question, and more something breathed out with slight exasperation.

    Later, as Sister Kurokawa explains her theories on the other Elite's resistance, Meika bites at the same spot on her lip- this time to keep from saying anything. It's hard not to be jealous of unconditional safety in that way. Harder still to listen to how she phrases 'your class of people'.

    But it's Spot's piping up that first generates a spark of anger, actual anger, in Meika. Her hands raise half out of their respective coatpockets, hinting to her being eager to take the type of action Kayoko is far quicker to achieve. Instead, as it's handled, Meika simply nods to her sister's followup explanation. There's so much guesswork, it feels like rushing in blind. She's used to that.

"I'm assuming the area is evacuated at least..?"

    Meika glares at Isaac- though, it's really not as harsh an expression as her red eyes might imply. "How could we evacuate it? The civilians don't know about it, because they can't. That's-" And then Strawberry speaks up.

    "...I.. I'm sorry..? You.. you wouldn't be able-" No. That's wrong. Maybe she could. Maybe any of them could, but she...

"I just- I want to be someone who knows it. Who knows a little of it. The gravity. Like you do."

    "Oh." That part matters, more than just someone else who even *could* read it. A thin smile- the kind that's anything but happy- comes over her face, and Meika reaches up to wipe her hand, covered by her sleeve's cuff, over her eye. It comes away wet. She sniffles. "O-oh. I.. it.... s-sure. Sure, We- I.. should show you it. I keep it. We have it memorized too, but... it'd.. if something happens..." She's blubbering, a bit. Not yet sure whether it's the good or bad type. She keeps talking, until the crack of a fist on a jaw-(beak?) pierces the cluttered noise, and then she goes stock-still and silent, watching, wide and teary-eyed at the sudden shift.
Kale Hearthward Putting aside everything else for a second, it's a little weird, hitting someone with an illusion spell on, right? Her fist connects before it reaches what looks like his face, and his face turns with the followthrough of the blow - the illusion does a pretty good mapping of a human face being punched in the jaw, even.

The first thing that happens, of course, is that he stops talking - partly out of shock, mostly because he'd just gotten hit square in the jaw. He reaches up, feeling at his face, processing what just happened, and as if viewing the footage backwards in his head, what had been happening in the moments before the impact.

... Oh, right, he'd been talking.

Gosh, that *was* an insensitive thing to say. He should, at minimum, apologize to Strawberry. Profusely. Immediately. Hopefully she'll accept it. He needs to learn to think before he speaks.

The phrase 'smack the sense into someone' is possibly in poor taste, but it's at least true enough here. He's forming the apology in his head (and trying to figure out if his beak still works well enough to give it) when a few other things happen.

Jeanne laughs at him. That's not unexpected, and it's not unbearable, but it doesn't help.

And then... Lilian speaks.

"Oh come off it, Rook," he says. Yep, his beak is in no condition to talk, but he's talking anyway. "Don't act like you aren't fucking giddy with excitement at the chance to tell me off whenever I make a mistake."

"What, am I your backup backup punching bag now, what with your first choice in jail and your second in the hospital? I can't imagine how pent up you are with that."

All thoughts of apologizing to Strawberry have been pushed clear out of his head.
Strawberry Princess      Strawberry stands up, in the clammy aftermath, just to stagger backwards as if she herself were struck too. Her eyes are wide with shock and already starting to brim with hot tears; they're not on Kale, not really, but on what she did to him.

     "Oh. Oh God. Um."

     Both hands cover her mouth at first, perfectly aghast. Then one slips down, crossing over her stomach as if to keep herself from throwing up. The fingers of the other, like venetian blinds, reveal in slats her open-mouthed grimace behind.

     It's not an expression of anything. Not really. It's just the end result of a half-dozen different feelings pulling at her face, a queasy compromise. If you really had to pick one out, though, 'horror' might be winning.

     "I'm-"

     Her eyes flick across the rest of the group. Hibiki and Meika's shock, Jeanne's laugh- they ice her blood even worse. Lilian's being supportive, in the way Lilian knows how to be, but...

     "Sorry?"

     It's quieter than she meant it to be. What did he even say? Why did she do that? Before throwing that punch and after feel like months apart already. The details swim. It can't have been a good enough reason.
Go Shijima      I have to do something.

     "Knock it off, Kale," says Go, standing up from his seat, eyes locked on him. He points a finger accusingly. "You're way out of line," he says, head cocked back to look sideways at him. "Lilian's not out to get you, and neither is anyone else. You've been with us long enough to know that's not how we work. We're trying to make a good impression here, aren't we?"

     His mouth twitches downwards, and he turns his face to look directly at Kale. "...So get with the program, or get lost. I think you were about to apologize to Strawberry, weren't you?"
Angela Oh come off it, Rook--

Mm?" Then Rook curses himself. He'd been so careful only to fuck it up there. He's still no relation.

But to rewind a bit as to why he'd be confused is because he also had a reaction to Kale getting slugged. Namely, he covered his mouth and his shoulders shook like he was holding in relieved laughter.

Once he is able to stabilize himself he admits that making a bigger issue of this is probably not what Strawberry Princess is wanting out of this. Even if he's a little more concerned that she IS the type of magical girl that will turn into a dragon and bite him in half now--but not as much as you might think because she only punched Kale in the face she didn't bludgeon him to half death or anything like that. That's a normal reaction but it's still better to be safe than sorry.

Still, seeing that expression on the Princess's face... He dips his bakuran over his eyes as he thinks what to say. Angela speaks first.

"Strawberry Princess," Angela says.

She doesn't say anything else. Just the name.

"Well, I mean, a guy can take a punch now and then I mean it's nothing worth--" Justin Rook begins uncharacteristically babbling.

"Silence Agent."

The screen with Angela's face looks at Strawberry Princess as she observes the shift.

The shift from someone acting out in sudden and intense--maybe even righteous--anger.

To someone turning on herself in the moment. Angela stares as she takes it in.
Ritsuka Fujimaru Things get heated up between several the Paladins, and Jeanne hasn't even done anything to push it (more). She's looking pretty pleased anyway, though, just finishing her chicken snacks and tea while watching the fireworks. It does seem to be calming down on Strawberry's end, though, and Go sounds like he's pushing it in a calmer direction as well.

Part of Jeanne really wants to stay and see where this is going to go. Listening to Meika and Hibiki, though, has her sobering up considerably. She's not the sort to offer any kind of condolences or try to ease their minds at least somewhat, though, since doing that would probably destroy the rep she hasn't tried all that hard to cultivate. Instead, she just gets up with a thoroughly irritated look on her face.

"Tch... Wait for my signal. They'll be evacuating by then." Without elaborating further, Jeanne proceeds to climb out that window, only lingering long enough to look annoyed at missing what might happen next.

There is a nonzero chance she's going to go set something on fire near the Temptation. That's usually a good reason for people to evacuate, right?
Strawberry Princess      As Strawberry holds her hand over her mouth, a single droplet of blood beads through the white bandages on her knuckles. It's hers. Sunburnt skin tears easy.

     "Strawberry Princess," Angela says. She jolts a little at the sourceless voice, before her eyes find the tablet with the white-haired woman on it. Strawberry dry-swallows.

     "Yeah?"

     She sounds like she's expecting to be punished, somehow.
Kayoko Kirenai "Don't be like that, Kayoko! I'm excited to meet two heroes too!"
"You two need to relax,"

    Kayoko has a complicated expression on her face as she processes Isaac's compliment, but she eventually settles on bittersweet acknowledgement. "... Yeah. It's a little weird to be around, heroes, after all this time. We'll do our best to measure up to you all. It's just... it'll take some time to get used to it, for us."

    On the topic of subtlety, Kurokawa makes an equivocating tilt of her head. "One thing to be grateful for, at least, is that *everything* that is incongruous with whatever narrative the Temptations spin up is removed from the public's eyes. That is, if you are affected similarly to the Chevaliers, your restraint only needs to last until actually engaging the monster, after which whatever you do will be erased as part of its own cloaking. It should go without saying, I hope, but 'not needing restraint' goes as far as the public's perception, not... anything else that may mean for you." Sister Kurokawa adds the qualification with a stiff expression, seeming to believe that it's fully possible that it doesn't go without saying for all of them.

"And should you really be treating an . . . angel? That way?"

    "Oh. Spot will be fine. They're not real angels, 'Cherub' is just our term for them because..." Kayoko frowns, searching her memory. She holds out her hand automatically, as Spot flutters back in through the window to land on it, sticking its tongue out at her. "Similar reasons to the Temptations, I think. The Cherubs guard us and guide us, but they're earthly beings, not heavenly, so they're not angels, even though they help the magical girls. And Spot and I have been together for over a year now, I-- maybe I shouldn't have thrown it, though. I'm sorry."

"What might it be that the Refulgence is doing to cultivate such a number?"

    Despite Lilian directing the question to Kayoko, who starts to answer herself, Sister Kurokawa takes over the response, purposefully talking over her or not. "Ah, Dame Rook, the comparison is the other way around. Magical girls do not make up one in ten of the Holy Refulgence, ten handlers are required for any one magical girl, as well as managing the infrastructure to support the organization. Magical girls develop naturally, in the wake of Temptation attacks, and Cherubs seek them out to connect them to us. We aren't *cultivating* anything."
Kayoko Kirenai "Is it... would it be okay, if I asked to see? Later. I just- I want to be someone who knows it. Who knows a little of it. The gravity. Like you do."

    Kayoko freezes mid-expression, grabbing a fistful of her skirt. Abruptly, she stands up out of her chair, the plastic creaking and clattering with the force of her movement, and stiffly walks over to Meika before she starts crying. She slips her hand into Meika's and squeezes, standing just a little in front of her sister. With a rigid, sick-looking mask of a face, she firmly nods at Strawberry.

"If I may ask, Sister Kurokawa, why exactly are you so certain that it can't be resolved?"

    A bitter laugh, crossed arms, drawn shoulders. Without her stiff posture, bags under her eyes are visible past the frames of her glasses. "Sunk cost." Kurokawa rubs her palm down her face, wiping away the exhaustion. "Apologies. I'm very hopeful for whatever our alliance may bring. Believe me, I'm on your side, I advocated for this to happen. That's why I've been assigned to be the Multiversal contact, of course. The Church is not known for speedy uptake of new ideas, however."

"So let me ask you this--what can the Paladins do, starting now, to get the top brass thinking favorably of us?"

    Sister Kurokawa takes a drink of tea, contemplating for a moment. Her eyes are locked on the Kirenai sisters, and Strawberry. She opens her mouth to respond, and--

She throws a punch at his jaw, hard enough to dislocate something.

    Kale is slugged, and multiple Paladins immediately start bickering with each other. The magical girls are crying, a couple Elites begin laughing, and Kurokawa's mouth hangs open wordlessly for a few seconds. Her gaze lingers on Strawberry for just long enough to be felt.

    "... The best thing to do would be to prove yourselves trustworthy and stable, I suppose."
Rhongomyniad     "I have no intention of obstructing you this time," Rhongomyniad responds evenly to Jeanne, "There is no need to repeat history, here."

    She hears a noise. Follows Jeanne's gaze. It's enough for the King to turn around fully where she stands to behold the immediate aftermath of the altercation between Strawberry and Kale. Others, in their own ways, react-- berate-- or just watch on.

    Watching is what Rhongomyniad does, though there's a tilt of her head and a shift in her bearing. While being noticeably shorter than Kale objectively, this almost makes her Seem Bigger. It's just the way of Kings. The tilt of her head, the way her bangs cast those glowing eyes in shadow, the unreadably neutral expression.

    Her gaze shifts to the clearly horrified Strawberry Princess, though the string of events is rather clear given the comments she overheard. The King's eyes close for a moment in consideration, her cape closing around her body.

    Jeanne speaks up again and a more important matter claims the King's attention. She shifts to the subject of civilian presence, "Those in danger are unable to perceive the danger. I oppose mistruths; but in this end. Speak of a gas leak, perhaps." Jeanne seems to have taken things into her own hands, though. Rhongomyniad's gaze follows the dark Saint's exit. Those eyes then close and the faintest of sighs escapes her lips. Her attention turns to the two magical girls, upset by the altercation.

    "A Knight is Sworn to Valor." That intonation again, which rapidly leaves her voice, "Find your courage. Be brave." Her head turns back towards the door.

    "I shall do my best to ensure she does not... become too enthusiastic."

    Rhongomyniad dips her head in acknowledgement of Sister Kurokawa, Kayoko, and Meika before turning to take her leave as well.
Hibiki Tachibana     This has gotten awkward.

    Really awkward.

    Strawberry is one thing - and Hibiki feels bad enough, gawking instead of being able to offer any efforts at support like Go. She can't imagine he's having an easy time of it, either, even if he's trying to turn around a bad situation. What even would she say that could help...? It's the same thing as Meika. There's not really anything /to/ say.

    If that was it, that'd be one thing. Kale immediately clapping back against Lilian is another, one that makes her spine run a little cold. It feels like there's a deafening silence waiting for Lilian's response, where the only thing she can hear in it is the reactions of the Kirenai's and Sister Kurokawa.

    Hibiki swallows, slumps backwards in her seat, and glances off towards the side. "We'll...um...we'll do our best to not let you down."

    She's entirely aware she's not able to speak on the Paladins' behalf at all. It just kind of came out like that, as a half-hearted attempt to try and lighten things just the tiniest bit.
Angela Justin Rook bites at his lips. He seems uncomfortable that Angela's attention is on Strawberry Princess. Actually, come to think of it--a lot of Lobotomy Corp agents seem weirdly uncomfortable with Angela. There hasn't been much said about it directly, but...

Angela 'looking' at someone isn't normally looking at all. Her eyes are almost always closed--a perfect representation of the ultimate calm and collected and also importantly demure AI--which even in that last exchange doesn't seem to entirely be the truth of the matter since she just told someone with one scary looking club to shut up.

Only once Strawberry Princess acknowledges her does Angela actually truly look at Strawberry Princess. Those almost always closed eyes open as strange and unnatural yellow eyes look right at her. There's something there besides the cold calculations expected of her. There's a lot conflicting in those eyes, but the loudest emotion is--

"...Those that do not remember cannot understand those that do."

Angela lets that sit for a moment before adding something stranger.

"But you are human."

She has nothing else to say. After the murder there will be more.

Angela has long given up telling things like this to her own people, but there was something about Strawberry's reaction... And her reaction to her reaction...
Kale Hearthward > "...So get with the program, or get lost. I think you were about to apologize to Strawberry, weren't you?"

Why should I apologize to her? She's the one who hit me.

The words start forming immediately, one after the other, at the back of Kale's throat and line up at the tip of his tongue, waiting for him to open his beak.

It's by nothing short of a miracle that his beak stays firmly shut, and remains shut until the moment passes, and the words on his tongue fade into nothingness.

She could probably have hit me again and you'd all still be on her side, not mine. The notion of sides didn't exist a minute ago. A minute ago they were all in here trying to work out how to deal with threats out there, and a minute later there's sides being drawn - at least inside of Kale's mind. But now it's been made clear that there were sides all along, they just weren't visible till someone threw the first punch. Notably, the first punch was thrown by someone that wasn't himself, and yet it's still his fault.

You all don't respect me. Have never respected me. You all have only ever tolerated me because it's more convenient for you to have another body to throw around.

He keeps it all in. They're words that really shouldn't be said out loud. Bells that can't be unrung. But these are words and thoughts that certainly aren't new to him, that aren't spontaneous from just this, and he's feeling like he has to say *something*-

> Her gaze lingers on Strawberry for just long enough to be felt. "... The best thing to do would be to prove yourselves trustworthy and stable, I suppose."

It's like a bucket of cold water dumped right over his head.

A bucket of cold water, and an outlet.

How dare-

We come at your invitation, subject ourselves to your restrictions, submit ourselves to your inspections and trials and judgement, and for all of that you go and be passive fucking aggressive at Strawberry Princess-

Strawberry goddamn Princess, one of the nicest people I've ever met, who absolutely doesn't deserve your bullshit-

Kale gets to his feet.

Are you the sort of person running this world? Because it occurs to me that there's another solution besides kowtowing to your restrictions and demands, and that's making it so that the people who can actually save it are the ones who are calling the shots-

He turns, and heads to the door. "I'm out."
Lilian Rook     "No, Strawberry. Not to him." Lilian sighs. "He says that at the table, and you apologize to him? That's very like you, and it's very kind, but this is a professional environment, and you're owed better besides. Please, sit back down. I'll explain it to the girls later, and work things out with the Sister." She's already pushing gently on Strawberry's back (her shoulders are a little high) to steer her back into her designated place required for the ritual of civility to exist. Everything is under control. She's not thinking about it at all, but it's under§I can keep it under control§control.

    'Oh ----- Rook. ----- you ----- fucking giddy with excitement ----- mistake. ------ am I your backup backup punching bag ------ your first choice ----- hospital? ----- pent up you are-----'
    'Some sadistic pervert, reveling in others' pain. You're just a broken degenerate, getting off on having power to hurt people to make up for whatever sick damage your family did to you.'

    Lilian's gaze swings back on Kale, and for that moment, his reflection somehow isn't anywhere in it. She inhales sharply; her hand swishes down to her side, mechanical and precise; her skirt side flutters; metal scrapes from a thigh holster; metal glints in an arc around her hand as she flourishes; her grip squeezes; her skirt settles. "Hey Kale--"

    --Go, standing up from his seat, eyes locked on him. He points a finger accusingly--

    Lilian pushes her hair behind her ear with her empty hand. "We'll be discussing your poor performance later, as well as if you're fully fit to be returning to field duty." She turns back to Kurokawa as he leaves, bowing a little more deeply this time. "My apologies, Sister. This is far from the first impression my colleagues and I would like to have made. Chevalier Hearthward is still recovering from traumatic injury in the line of duty. I'd appreciate it greatly if we could exchange contact information and discuss the particulars later."
Go Shijima      Go watches Kale as he leaves for an uncomfortably long moment, still standing there, on edge, waiting for something to happen even as he leaves.

>The best thing to do would be to prove yourselves trustworth and stable, I suppose.

     The tension leaves Go in one wave, but it isn't relief that rushes in to fill the space. It's fatigue, of a sort. "...yeah," says Go, eyes cast down to the floor as he lifts a hand to run through his hair. "Sorry. I'll be here, when you send out the call for that Temptation."

     He shoves his hands into the pockets of his hoodie, for lack of something to do with them, and leaves with his head down.
Meika Kirenai     It's hard. It's hard, to watch the ensuing fight and its arguments through teary eyes. It's- Other people are fighting. The adults are fighting. It feels like the kind of thing she shouldn't be watching, anyways- but it's always easy to hear. Especially for her. Something about London sticks in the air, and sticks in her thoughts, as she squeezes her sister's hand back. She's there, without having to say anything. No quip, no gripe that she'd break into tears so easily. It's comforting, but because it is, she feels guilty for it, too. For her, too.

    All her effort is put into steeling herself, even as her grip tightens. But steel she does, one last wipe of her eye with her jacketsleeve.

    "...So much for me not screwing it up on our first impressions, huh, Kayoko?" Meika whispers, laughing over the lump in her throat with a quiet, ingenuine chuckle. "..I'm sorry, sis..."

    Sister Kurokawa's words aren't ones she's listening much to, anymore, until the comment about the Paladin's actions. She knows it won't help, but she throws an apologetic glance at Strawberry. "...It's.. I'm sorry, about her... she's.. she's like this. It's not your fault. It's mine, for.. the topic." Her voice, magically finding its way only to the other Magical Girl, still comes through just as painfully choked up. She gazes towards the gym's wooden flooring, where painted lines used to be bright and clear, and watches the shoes of all the other people flicker around the table, footwork in their dance of yelling and blame.

    "...Thank you all for coming." She says. It's a whisper, but it's audible still. "..I mean it. You're.. you're here to help us. We-" She wants to say she doesn't need it. She won't get hurt a second time. She had it the first, really, if not for-
    "...I promise I won't hold you back, in the coming fight. S-.. see you all then, I hope." With that, she lets go of her sister's hand, giving it one last squeeze before it's back to her pocket- something like reassurance, maybe, and a 'you should follow, too', maybe- and starts off towards the gym's exit door, worn-out shoes squeaking quietly with every step.
Strawberry Princess      Strawberry is an expert at only almost crying. She's had a lifetime of practice at it. Her eyes are swimming until she can't see straight, but she blinks it back or tilts her head just so, every time. Even when it glitters on her eyelashes it doesn't quite spill over.

     If they don't spill, it doesn't count.

     So it takes her a second, through the haze, to realize Kale's going. Her hand drops from her face to reach out after him, a hopeless grasping. "Wait- I'm- your face, don't... don't go?"

     Too quiet, too late.

     Her hand, the one held across her stomach, twitches when Lilian reaches for nothing at the hem of her skirt. Like she'd try to be the safety if her friend made an awful mistake. But she doesn't mention it afterwards; doesn't even really look. Did she notice? Maybe only the same part of her that threw the punch did.

     She lets Lilian ease her back down to her seat, less with cooperation and more with a limp nonresistance. If her eyes met anyone else's she'd implode, so they stick to the table instead. The tea is nice. It helps a little. So do deep breaths, but they can't be deep enough that anyone could tell she's taking them, because that'd be almost as bad as crying.

     Strawberry's mouth still hangs slightly open in that look of queasy shock. The emotions wrestling for control of her face have faded in intensity, but there still hasn't been a decisive winner. She looks so big, knees weirdly high when she draws her legs in. She looks so small, slouched like a puppet with the strings cut.

     "...Those that do not remember cannot understand those that do."
     "Sorry. Um." It comes out even rougher than usual, rougher than she meant it to. Another swallow. "But I can't... give up, like that. I'm not strong enough to."

     "But you are human."
     "Haha. Yeah." It was probably meant as a compliment, but Strawberry sounds rueful.

     "The best thing to do would be to prove yourselves trustworthy and stable, I suppose."
     Strawberry's hand squeezes the teacup handle. A little more blood oozes through the bandage. It's tension, but not an angry sort of tension. Frustration with herself. "We'll do our best," she says, not really more than a murmur. "I promise. Please."

     "It's not your fault. It's mine, for.. the topic."
     Strawberry can't whisper back, like Meika can. But she returns the apologetic look, heartbroken, and subtly shakes her head. For a moment there's the barely-there sense that something is squeezing Meika's hand, and it might be reassuring, but nothing really is.
Angela Angela is strong enough to.

She silently looks at Strawberry Princess, expression unreadable...

And then she retreats by closing her connection. Justin Rook lets out a breath he didn't know he was holding.