Scene Listing

||

Scene Schedule

||

Scene Schedule RSS

Owner	Pose
Zero Kiryu	Bi, Kvaland     1 hour after the attack on the inn... It didn't take long for Janna the Dhampyr to lead Kukuru to a suitable place for brunch. It's not at a seaside restaurant however; after a quick check-in with those areas, it was determined that they probably couldn't accommodate given the current crowds. So instead they went uphill, and called everyone in from a restaurant that has made its eating area outdoors, around the remains of a few different old castle structures. Sun-bleached stone looms above, moss-and-vine-covered. A stone arch, the only party of the structure that is recognizable rather than merely being 'a chunk of something' separates two different dining areas. Both dining areas are composed of outdoor patio furniture surrounded by a well-cared for garden, ringed by trees. Circular tables and wicker chairs are joined by larger picnic tables-and-benches, all covered with large white umbrellas. The smell of numerous something-sweets growing nearby is palpable all throughout, and the occasional buzz of a honey bee is audible here and there. The restaurant's fare is an interesting combination of 'expected breakfast foods' and light seafood. It's equally normal to see people eating smoked fish or pancakes, though the two flavor extremes don't appear to be mixed generally. The pancakes are served with jam; the jam flavors include gooseberry, redcurrant, blackcurrant, and strawberry. "I'm gonna change out of Hakan's dumb tacticool gear now, just give me a second," Janna had said to Kukuru, disappearing to one side of the arch. When she emerged again it was in shorts and a white tank top, carrying a red backpack. The white baseball cap was about all that remained the same. It's cool out; a bit much for this kind of getup, though it doesn't look terribly unusual compared to anybody else. This must be warm weather for Kvaland. By the time everyone arrives, Janna is already eating pancakes with redcurrant jam. She has a glass of water and a half-drained mug of probably hot cocoa in front of her, as well. "So," she mumbles through a half-full mouth, "just what do you guys plan to DO? I mean, that stuff with Gudrun... that's really messed up. You wantin' to get back at the Professor for it? Or what? She's got a lot more supporters than Hakan and Gudrun, you know... some of them might even be okay with that sort of 'dangerous power-up' kinda deal." "... Though, I'd appreciate it if you'd check me out and make sure I haven't got one," she grimaces, evidently NOT the type to trade everything for the power to fight better for a while.
Zero Kiryu	55 minutes ago... Zero Kiryu passes through his pre-placed vines to return to his and Yuuki's room, sloughing off the previous evening's shirt and moving to place two of the outfits he ferried over at the foot of the bed. Before he even gets started changing, though... Yuuki. You just got your back split open. Come drink before brunch, he advises, and simply waits. There are clothes for getting messy with blood and there are clothes for brunch, and he's not going to bother changing until that particular business is done.     NOW Zero arrives with Gudrun and Hakan in tow, seating Gudrun -- a fresh tattoo visible on her arm, where the implant had been removed from it -- near the 'head' of the table, and Hakan one seat below her. At some point Gudrun has been provided with a large sun hat, and she's wearing sunglasses to boot. There's a certain discomfort to her expression, but it doesn't seem to be pain exactly. Hakan looks grumpy, but he's worn out enough that he's fine with getting dragged to a place like this-- not that he currently has a choice. Once those two are situated, Zero waves a hand, a series of vines outright creating a chair at the head of the table that did not previously exist; its matter is entirely plant matter-- a moss cushion, a wooden body-- and it has the stylings of a throne, after a fashion. He seats himself across from Gudrun, beside the fancy plant chair.
Zero Kiryu	Information Advantages There's not much new to learn here, that wasn't before. However, if Kukuru should check Janna out she'll discover that Janna is clean of the aforementioned nasty implants.
Raziel	Raziel arrives after getting redressed.   Not that his actual outfit changed over much, but it's better to walk around in /not/ bloodstained clothing.  Don't worry, it's not really his blood.  Probably.  Some of it /was/ blue so... He sits down with the group but only orders water.  He doesn't touch it.  Though he does seem to take in a deep breath of what the others are eating, he can at least smell with some degree of enjoyment.  Sometimes it's just nice to smell the scents that remind him of a humanity he doesn't remember.   "I am not surprised some would entertain the idea of seeking power that way.  To burn themselves out..." he frowns.  How many have done so in his time in the Multiverse?  Haguro comes to mind... "I am only passingly familiar with this world, so I suppose my suggestion would be to understand the motive.  If it was just a simple assassination... such a action seems so overly wrought."
Timespace Riders	Woz and Sougo arrive courtesy of the former, in a swirling vortex of grey fabric. As it thins out and dissipates, the two of them take a seat (the nearest that they can take, be near the conversation, and, ideally, beside one another).      "'Getting back' has its time and place," says Woz, perusing a menu that'd been left out. "In this circumstance, it would be beneath us."      "Mm," Sougo agrees with a nod. "What we want to 'do' in the short term is clean up the mess that's been made. Like I said before, there was a really important summit that needed to go smoothly, and it didn't. And because of that," he says, his voice a little softer, "Things between vampires and humans might have been set back. In the long term... well, I'll let Yuuki answer that."
Angela	Nikki and Tennant of the Lobotomy Corp Agents arrives, the latter coming with a pad that seems to be hosting Hokma today. They are dressed in their respective EGO gear which frankly also doubles as formal wear. They sit down while Tennant is kind of rubbing at Nikki's back as she sits down as if to comfort her. Nikki seems to be enduring this rather than appreciating it. The Lobotomy Corp team has assisted with the operation when they could but their aid seems to have been a bit inconsistent so far. They have had a LOT of Meltdowns and Ordeals this moneth. Even the Sephirah are exhausted. Angela is always exhausted, of course, but even she thinks it's been a rough go this month. "Ah, Woz and Sougo." Hokma says. "It seems that there have been some setbacks?" Nikki studiously doesn't talk to anybody, though she does glance up at Zero for a moment then back down at her hands.
Kukuru	Despite having fought only an hour ago, Kukuru is all too eager to follow Janna's lead to today's brunch location. Should she be more wary? Yes. Is she wary? A little! But Janna did promise to behave, so Kukuru's going to give her the benefit of the doubt here. She oohs and aahs on the way in, peering at all those picturesque spots on the way, even snapping a few pictures on her phone as a souvenir for later! "'Dumb tacticool'?  Hmm.. Okay!" She doesn't even get to figure out what that combination of words means before Janna's already back in more casual fare, and she's still deep in though even after that. Thankfully, she's gotten the gist of it by the time everyone arrives, and she's even ordered plenty of the local food to start! In Kukuru's case, those two flavor extremes of smoked fish and waffles are absolutely mixed together. Why not? They're on the same plate, so the chefs must have intended for them to be eaten together at least a little bit! It's an acquired taste, but she can be seen sprinkling bits of smoked fish into her waffles before long. "Eheh... I'm sorry about Gudry, but we had to do something fast. It sounds like the Professor's really trying to mess things up for Yuuki, so trying to be nice and slow with everyone isn't..." She explains to Janna without explaining much at all, sighing lightly and almost looking saddened for a moment before getting distracted again when Zero makes that plant throne. She giggles softly at the gesture, then turns back to Janna. '... Though, I'd appreciate it if you'd check me out and make sure I haven't got one,' "Oh, sure. Lemme see. Just a second, Ja-nna~" Chiming in brightly, Kukuru takes a quick swig of juice before leaning forward with her hands on her knees, staring right at Janna. It's an intense stare that goes all over the place that would almost look questionable if Kukuru didn't look so cheerful the entire time. It doesn't take long before she finally claps her hands together, still smiling at the dhampyr. "You're good!"
Timespace Riders	"Hi, Hokma. Setbacks... aside from the one at the summit, not really," Sougo answers Hokma with his characteristic smile. "I'd call this business with Janna and Hakan here more of a misunderstanding than anything. Right?" He says, putting down his menu to peer at Janna and Hakan      Woz's order (a lox bagel with cream cheese and capers) is given in tandem with Sougo's (a pancake with gooseberry jam).      "I would have been surprised, had Kukuru found such a device on you," Woz says, head tilted to look studiously (not condescendingly, for once) down his nose at Janna. "The intent seems to be the creation of diluted, pointedly disposable fighters roughly akin to a Chevalier in strength. Those implanted would likely feel a hunger for blood, but be physiologically unable to sate it. A useful symptom to keep in mind, for protecting your own, perhaps."
Yuuki Kuran	Yuuki knew a little secret about people. It wasn't that much of a secret: People hated being hungry. Hurt could be tolerated, temperature shivered and huddled through and fled from, or swamped out and sweat from, but hunger -- drowning was worse, but hunger was a problem Yuuki knew   a l l  about. And so, of course, her problem-solving skills were put to use to bribe their listening friend with a big meal to ease bringing Janna in from the cold. Metaphorically! It was actually a fairly warm day all told. Arriving in a sweater that's a size too big at the shoulders and turtlenecked up in terminally depressed slate grey and vertical strip-patterns (it's Zero's) with a lilac flower print in the recessed slates, over a black skirt and black leggings and flat red shoes, Yuuki arrives at the table besides Woz with a second tall order of smoked lox, though she does not go in for the cream cheese. Instead she has a whole wineglass for herself with a bottle of champagne for the table and - she brings out her own small glass jar of tapanade to carefully start spooning it out. Yuuki looks to the King's retainer if he's going to open up the bottle, and... "Woz, your magic book really is something. You read all of that off of it. But you could have explained something much more simple:" Yuuki, smiling at Janna, explains with a smile as she chomps down on olive-savory bagels and lox. "I'm a powerful woman who wants to change the awful natural order and so I'm a *very* easy target. All of these people are helping me because they believe I'm doing the right thing, because I think their goals contain an important 'right thing' - and they're here to stop the pathetic beings who shoot people at me like bullets. I'm very tired of it. I think everyone is, as soon as it's their problem and not their weapon." She takes another bite of bagel, cronch. "A very exhausting number of powerful people who never took some time to grow up and everyone who stands to benefit from it are my enemies. Would you like to be our friend?"
Zero Kiryu	Janna shrugs loosely in answer to Raziel. She doesn't even look to Gudrun for elaboration. "This world's pretty war-torn. Kvaland in particular was a convenient site for vampires to be able to slip in and out and get their unrestrained jollies without being too identifiable. So there's a lot of lingering tension. Personally..." She stuffs her mouth full of pancake and pauses, swallowing too harshly to get it down in one go. Wiping some jam from her mouth with the back of her hand, she says, "I dunno, man. It's not like I hate the idea of peace or normalizing things or whatever. I was just in on bailing Gudrun's silly ass out of the corner she got herself pushed into." She puts a bit of jam on the end of her finger and flicks it in Gudrun's direction. It lands just inside the brim of Gudrun's hat, drawing an aggravated sigh out of the unfortunate dhampyr. "The Cambion Club isn't that different from the main Hunter's Association," Gudrun mumbles, fumbling with the menu in front of her. "We put a name on a list and we go at it. The Professor's not an 'official' source, but we all know that list can be wrong." Hakan, who has thus far been silent, rolls his eyes. "You say that like you were a passive part of all of this. Did you really not know what that thing would do?" Gudrun opens the menu shakily. "I wouldn't do that to myself. I'm not Nokken." After a short while Janna is kind of side-eyeing what Kukuru is doing with her food and trying to decide whether or not that might secretly be good. "Huh? Oh. It's not that I don't think what she did was kinda messed up, it just sort of doesn't matter. Vampires got her, so we've gotta go bust her out. Just the way it is. Though, most of you aren't vampires I guess..." //You're good!// "Oh thank god," Janna breathes a heavy sigh of relief. Then, after a moment, "How're you feeling anyway, Ruru?" Gudrun grimaces, but says nothing. "'Cleaning up the mess' would have to involve putting Gudrun on the chopping block," Hakan says, coolly. He is not as cool-headed as he's conveying himself, however. He's pretty angry about that fact. //I'd call this business with Janna and Hakan here more of a misunderstanding...// Hakan shakes his head. "Nope. Who you were or why didn't matter. Retrieving Gudrun was the priority. The fact that there are extenuating circumstances doesn't change that in the slightest. If I could break free and get her loose now, I would." Janna takes another huge bite of pancakes and eyes Hakan critically. She shrugs at Woz, taking her time chewing this time. Of course, she's talked at directly by Yuuki after that. She frowns a little, once again doing a too-big swallow. Before she answers she downs half a glass of water and then, with a deep breath says, "Alright, so what you're saying is you think vampires going public would be a good thing, people keep gunning at you for it, and these non-vampires are here to help you fix that getting derailed, but you're not particularly gunning for Ruru over there because she is a bullet fired at you and not a person pointing a gun at you." "Ruru," she says, "this is dumb. You're dumb. Fix this shit." "It's not dumb," Hakan gripes, "people getting taken in by vampires happens all the time. That's why you can't just take them at face value like that." "If she wanted to 'take us in' she could just bite us and call it a day," Janna corrects Hakan, who just looks crankier about everything in response.
Zero Kiryu	Zero catches Nikki's glance towards him. He looks back. Do you need something? He doesn't speak aloud, of course. In fact, he doesn't maintain visual contact for long, ordering some redcurrant jam pancakes, a water, and a hot tea. But he's still paying attention. Seems to be leaving Hokma's inquiry to Sougo and Woz, though. He glances at Yuuki, doing some mental math. Zero doesn't remember bringing that sweater. He resolves to adjust the brought wardrobe to accommodate an impulse like that in the future, because he doubts they're leaving too soon.
Angela	"Mm." Hokma, of course, CAN eat but doesn't really HAVE to eat. He is never truly hungry. The Agents, however? Yeah they love eating. They are happy to eat bagels with lox "Woahhh!!! THIS TASTES SO GOOD!" Tennant says after one bite. "I don't believe I've ever eaten anything so delicious as these--what did you call them--bagels and lox??? Incredible...!" Nikki, despite being incredibly depressed, does take a bite and is awkwardly forced to give Yuuki a thumbsup. "Be their friend," Nikki suggests in a lackadasical manner. "I want to try the pancakes too!! They look delicious with the jam...!" Tennant keeps accumulating food. It's uncertain if they can pay for it but they're eating like a saiyan so they aren't going to be full anytime soon. "To think this is what real fish tastes like... Not even imitation fish..." Tennant murmurs in awe between bites, downing everything with wine. Hokma seems a little annoyed by the behavior of his Agent but... "Well misunderstandings can just be cleared up." He says.
Zero Kiryu	As it happens, Zero fully understands being incredibly, world-shatteringly depressed and does not press Nikki when she doesn't came back to his psychic message. His attention swings to Tennant, "Just what is it that you eat, if not something like this, exactly?"
Timespace Riders	"Indeed," says Woz, taking the initiative, standing and opening the bottle of champagne. "Perhaps I simply wished to paint the background with my words, and see the masterwork you'd paint atop it." Pop! He makes a brief circuit around the table, offering pours to anyone with an interest. "As ever, you did exactly that." His coy smile remains as he finishes and returns to his seat, his own pour given last. 'Cleaning up the mess' would have to involve putting Gudrun on the chopping block.      "I won't accept that any more than you would," says Sougo. "I hate the idea of 'spending' people to get what you want. And besides--the person who probably had the most... personal reason to be upset has already been spoken to, and isn't going to be a problem." He nods at Janna, when she echoes Yuuki's sentiment about Gudrun being a bullet fired and not the person holding the gun. Well misunderstandings can just be cleared up.      Sougo beams and nods at Hokma, in spite of Hakan's insistence that it doesn't really matter what the Concord's intentions are or were.      "I assure you, it is fortunate for you that you -cannot- break free," says Woz haughtily to Hakan. "But nevermind that. Loyalty to one's comrades is hardly a fault. The present state of affairs simultaneously makes it easier for vampires to 'get' someone, as you say, and without codified, organized reproach--so there is considerable incentive on your part to wipe that impudent scowl from your face and consider the benefits of Yuuki Kuran's friendship."
Raziel	"Ms. Kuran has put much of her time into this, if it is possible, then she can do it.  That is what I believe, and if she can do it if it is possible.  Then there is hope for any other world where Vampires and Humans coincide.  More than that, I find her and her knight pleasant company, and someone I consider allies I would trust..." Yet he didn't accept the offered blood.   "So if someone has a gun aimed at them, I will remove it... and them if necessary," he says, taking another breath despite not needing to.  "On that, your friend is right.  If we were looking for an eye, we would have stopped when we found her." He motions towards Gudrun.   "As far as what has happened here... I find it abhorrent that it was allowed to happen.  Kain might not agree with me, but I am not Kain.  Humans are not toys, playthings, or 'vacations'.  You're right in defending yourself and justified in your hate.  Though I implore you to see through that hate."   Hypocrite, he thinks to himself.  Someone who very much still wants Kain to die.
Kukuru	"There's a lot of cleaning we'll have to do, mhm." Kukuru admits after hearing Sougo, sighing wistfully and then clapping her hand against her chest lightly with a confident smile coming to her face soon afterwards. Yuuki explaining things to Janna certainly makes things easier, too, as it gives Kukuru a chance to get a bagel herself. "She's right. More friends'll make things a lot easier, so we just need you and everyone else to trust us that we'll make things even better than whatever the..." Gudrun namedrops two familiar entities. "... Club and Association might be promising you, yeah. I know it sounds kinda lofty, but doing this sort of far-reaching stuff is what the Concord's best at." After noticing that Raziel isn't drinking or eating, meanwhile, Kukuru scooches over for a moment to not-so-subtly ask him: "Are you okay, Razi? You haven't touched your... Anything. Do you have a... Special diet?" She slips out an opaque sandwich-sized container as she says that, trying to be discreet about just sort of shoving it into his lap. It's got some well seasoned, but completely raw meat inside! Nikki also gets some attention from Kukuru in the form of both back-rubbing and a homemade nausea remedy! It's packed in a thermos that she wasn't holding moments ago, it smells kind of bad, but it tastes sweet and vaguely meaty. "Are you gonna be okay, sweetie? It'll be okay. You're safe with us, you know?" She tries to reassure with a softer tone, although the chuckle that follows at Hokma's question is a little more awkward. "A few, but... It's nothing we haven't been able to handle." Eating that bagel gives her some time to listen to the captives, pursing her lips and closing her eyes in what looks like thought more often than not. It even is in some instances, although it's also just Kukuru savoring her weird food combinations at other times. Eventually, though, she breaks into a wide smile at hearing Janna, particularly... 'How're you feeling anyway, Ruru?' "Oh, I'm feeling better now! Good food, good people, and new friends makes everything better~" It's pretty easy to tell that Kukuru is most certainly not the brains of this group nor having the most discerning eye towards people. That's probably why she ends up getting confused When Janna starts complaining about who's gunning or not gunning at her, who and what is dumb, and so on. "I think... Whatever Yuuki thinks is the way to fix this sh... Stuff is the right way to do it. Not just because she's smarter, but because... We're the Concord, you know? Being united in a purpose like we are means people know that we're going to go all the way with what we say." She nods at Raziel afterwards. "Anyone that knows that and still keeps trying to stop us won't get any mercy, but... I can't be angry at someone that wants to protect their friends." She reaches over to ruffle Janna's hair fondly at that. "Won't you join us, too, Hakky? You'll have an easier time protecting your friends, we'll have an easier time fixing things, and..." She can't come up with a third thing, so she just resumes eating.
Yuuki Kuran	"Vampires becoming a public fact - in a way that is gentle, and acceptable by Human society, assisted by those intermediaries we have who are *not* thralls and who come from many places to share in the goal of a world that's *better*... I think that could work, yes." Yuuki answers Janna's talking-through-it questioning. "And who benefits from the secrecy of vampires?" Yuuki has to take smaller bites of bagel because her fangs get in the way, so she has to take more measured nibbles as she works her way around. "Certainly not humans. And who would defend themselves? Humans, again, and so the problem is really what *Humans* think about all of this." A pointed look is granted to Janna, and then across to Sougo before Yuuki accepts Woz pouring the champagne and takes a biiiig brunch sippy. "If they're to be involved. And they should be! I was one, I grew up as one because of the sacrifice of my parents, and then came back to the world of night - it was all dreadfully complicated - so..." It's hard to place Yuuki as an ageless immortal superbeing with the power to rip out people's souls through their blood and replace them with monstrous puppets, partially because of her fashion and vibe, and also because she airheadedly carries on with her stream-of-consciousness about her life in a dreamy-sleepy way. But... She's a vampire and it's pushing noontime - she's sleepy and drained on her juice, even if she's not cripsing in the light or sparkling ominously. "... so really, it's not about should Humans be told, but *how*. And so, I'm making a movement. Right now. For the kindest reveal, so I don't have to work a thousand years for worse, and I can work for ten years for much, much better. Is that so strange? Actually I'm rather thrilled closing all these violent doors and locking them up, and forcing the worst abusers in vampirekind to see a liiiiitle daylight." "Maybe grow them up a little. Cheers!" She calls, after tilting her glass for Woz to refill and taking a big foamy sip after.
Angela	Tennant gulps down enough food all at once you can practically see the food bulge travel down their throat like they're a cartoon character. Nikki does respond eventually. Maybe she needed a minute to realize how to, or her general ennui slowed her down. Both's highly likely. I failed to get my revenge and only ended up hurting those closest to me. So. I appreciate what you gave me. Would've been worse if not for it. Tennant looks to Zero and speaks to him vocally, "Oh!" They say. "Usually we get meat buns, or chicken--not fish usually! that's a Nest food really. Of course, I don't usually ask what exactly goes into the meat that we eat, probably best not to know! But I know cows...''do'' exist, haha. I've never seen one myself though! THIS IS SO GOOD though, I'm really feeling refreshed!" Nikki gets a backrub. She doesn't seem to mind this though she does startle at first. She doesn't take the nausea remedy. She isn't nauseus. Hokma clears his throat and says to Hakan, "Are you a man of deotion, Hakan? One's suffering, our own--it matters little to the overarching goal. If an ounce of our pain can build a better future, that is all an acceptable loss. Of course, that devotion need not be to a better tommorow, it can even be a devotion to a singular soul." Hokma folds his hands together. "But sometimes you have to make the best of a situation rather than aim for a perfect win."
Raziel	To Kukuru, "I am still a ghost," Raziel says bluntly. "I can not eat."
Angela	"That's a bummer!! Because this is the best food I've ever eaten." Tennant says.
Raziel	"Thanks for letting me know," Raziel says, voice tipped with sarcasm.
Angela	"You're welcome, friend!" Tennant says in a completely genuine--and touched--tone.
Zero Kiryu	//I won't accept that any more than you would// "Sometimes that's all you can do," Janna says, drearily. She gestures with a fork, "Miss Vampire Queen over here might be that magnanimous, but if you have to choose between things turning sour or Ruru, it's not so easy to just say you'd always choose Ruru. Especially since her condition is pretty..." Terminal, or at least that's how Janna is looking at it. //it is fortunate for you that you -cannot- break free// "I can," Hakan replies, leaning back half-lazily, half-actually-tiredly, "the rest of my objectives can't be completed if I move solo or just leave these idiots behind. Mm... but you're saying that vampires will be held closer to account if things are more public, huh?" "Normal people can't really do much to them," he comments. "The local sheriff knowing about vampires, that's not very useful." Gudrun eventually orders waffles and starts imitating what Kukuru was doing, evidently more adventurous than Janna. She doesn't chime in for a while after, though. Janna leans back and forth in her chair rapidly, expression thoughtful. "Hmm... but a more reliable list can be made if people know to be looking out for things..." //Though I implore you to see through that hate.// Blowing a raspberry, Janna says, "I don't hate vampires. I'm closer to being one than I am to being a normal human, even if I'm not a weirdo like him--" She jerks her head at Zero. "But good luck making Hakan listen to that. I think you've got Ruru on lock, though. She's kinda..." "Screwed, yeah," Gudrun complains. //Oh, I'm feeling better now!// Janna blinks. "Ah, sorry-- I was talking to Gudrun. Gugu just sounds like baby noises. I guess I could use drudru, but ruru comes off the tongue better. I'm uh, glad you're feeling better, though?" She seems uncertain, as if she wasn't aware Kukuru was feeling bad to begin with. She doesn't seem happy to be headruffled, though. It makes her kind of tense, not because Kukuru has been standoffish; it's just a weirdly personal gesture to her, and she has the hackles of a human-sized cat. "Uh..." Quickly thereafter her eyes flick to Yuuki. Having already worked through some of that matter -- particularly increasing the reliability of their Lists Of Criminal Vampires -- she nods along, taking an entire spoonfull of jam and simply eating it. She slides the spoon out of her mouth with an almost-comical pop.
Zero Kiryu	"I thiiiiink I'm on board," she says. "What," Hakan says, flatly. "Dude, Nokken is fucking crazy and Inaba does half her fighting with an army of drooling dudes thinking with the wrong head. I'm pretty sure they're gonna de-creepify town more than you were planning to," Janna fires back. "Did you say you used to be human? Could something like what was done for you fix me?" Gudrun asks, very clearly well past the point of being more self-interested than anything else. //Are you a man of devotion, Hakan? One's suffering, our own--it matters little to the overarching goal. If an ounce of our pain can build a better future, that is all an acceptable loss. Of course, that devotion need not be to a better tommorow, it can even be a devotion to a singular soul."// Hakan eyes Hokma suspiciously. "And just what do you think the 'best of this situation' is for me? I'm not convinced your boss here isn't going to turn us all into cattle. Having been human once doesn't mean anything."
Zero Kiryu	//As far as what has happened here... I find it abhorrent that it was allowed to happen.// "There aren't that many vampires capable of doing that, but because there are so few, it's not hard for them to slip in and out unnoticed, especially if they're thought to be in long-term sleep," Zero explains, picking up his tea cup and pouring in some cream. "Development of drugs that suppress the 'turning' of a bite is well under way. We were actually testing that while this incident was ongoing, and it went well. It just hasn't been mass-manufactured yet." Hakan looks more than passingly taken aback at this tidbit being dropped, and then deeply uncomfortable. //Club and Association might be promising you, yeah.// "The Hunter's Association is the primary governing body of Dhampyr in the world," Zero explains for Kukuru. "I am its future President, which is troublesome to many because of my involvement with Yuuki. The local Cambion Club is evidently its own distinct chapter, owing to distance. I assume that our 'Professor' is interfering by influencing them as an avenue of proxy attack." His eyes turn briefly back to Nikki, but once again he holds his outward silence. That is often how it goes. It took Yuuki and I... an awfully long time to stop hurting one another. You may keep them, if you wish. You've done nothing to make me withdraw them.
Raziel	Raziel sighs, staring at Hakan.   "No your local sheriff probably can't take on a hunter.  But what if a hunter organization was able to be on tap for local authorities?  The ability for humans to deal with the vampires that outpower them on the norm will be increased." "Things will be on as even a footing as things can be," he says, leveling his gaze at him.  "So is this really about humans, or something that's happened to you?" he says, finally closing his eyes. He smiles at Janna who seems to understand, and the situation is far more fucked than he thought.  Taking a breath, he looks towards the doomed hunter.  "You're not in the grave yet.  Try to keep it that way, so we can find a cure.  The spirits here notice you more keenly, it seems."
Angela	''And just what do you think the 'best of this situation' is for me? I'm not ocnvinced your boss here isn't going to turn us all into cattle.'' "We have vampires in our own world, did you know?" Hokma says rhetorically. "We call them Bloodfiends but they have the thirst, and power--of course--but the thirst is what's important here, isn't it? Humans cannot even avoid eating beef to save their world unless they are raised on other foods. How would a vampire avoid blood? That is your thinking, isn't it?" "But that is inherently flawed," Hokma says. "Perhaps in this world, the balance is shifted more in the favor of the bloodfiends--in my opinion that is because they are still a secret. It is that secrecy that allows them to feed with impunity, you see. Because when our world learned the truth of vampires..." Hokma's eyes narrow faintly. "Humans killed all the ones they could find and drove the rest in hiding. And this world is not a world like Mr. Raziel's--there is risk on behalf of the vampires as well, that is why the peace is being sabotaged in the first place. They are ''right'' to consider the danger ot them." He holds a hand up, wavering it from side to side. "Let us presume that Yuuki Kuran ''does'' wish to make human farms. What is the best thing for you to do here? Remain obstinate? Unhelpful? Openly refusing to have any part of it out of a hunter's pride?" Hokma dips his hand to one side before frowning. "Or would it be best to make a deal." He slowly tilts his hand back into balance. "Get into a position where you can observe, investigate, and learn. You are already captured. If you were free, ah, perhaps then you could do something else! But you have our leader's ear, here, and her entourage. And they care--for whatever reason, the cruelest you can imagine if need be--about getting you on their side. Your alternative is to sit around doing nothing and achieving nothing and looking out for nobody. That is the path you are on now. Or--" He tilts his hand back the other way. "You can help and see about using the knowledge this grants you to look after your own people. Or do you really think that people being ignorant of the night will protect them from it?" MEANWHILE Tennant quietly eats but Nikki listens, her melancholy doesn't so much as vanish but her expression focuses. ..Feel like I have. How did you get into a place where you could stop hurting each other? To look out for each other. To not be...hurt?
Kukuru	'And so, I'm making a movement. Right now. For the kindest reveal, so I don't have to work a thousand years for worse, and I can work for ten years for much, much better.' 'If an ounce of our pain can build a better future, that is all an acceptable loss.' "That's the way it should be. Working for thousands of years just sounds like way too long. So much work, so much paper..." Kukuru lets out a tired noise at the mere thought of thought, then smiles even more brightly when Yuuki calls for the cheers. Raising her glass of orange juice, she lets out a hearty "Cheers!" of her own before downing it all at once. A bit of muffled coughing later at hitting herself with so much sour at once, and then Kukuru's back to eating. Nikki's remedy goes back into a pocket without further question, although Kukuru does give her A Look. It's supposed to be a reassuring one, but she's still wincing from the juice, so it might end up looking more warning-y than intended. "If we work harder now, we can relax earlier later. Then we'll have plenty of time to just do whatever we like and enjoy ourselves. That's the future I want to create with everyone." 'I am still a ghost,' 'I can not eat.' "... Aw. Ah, I'll have to ask around back home to see if anyone has any ideas, then. Although I think most of the others still have bodies..." She murmurs, seriously considering this for some moments. Janna reveals that she was referring to Gudrun with that affectionate nickname, and Kukuru's face burns briefly as she realizes she messed up. "O-oh. That's... Aw, that's a cute name, too!" She recovers quickly enough, at least, and she even has the sense to pull her hand back when it's clear that Janna didn't like that. She also brightens up when Janna actually seems to be willing to aid them. Smiling once again like she didn't just make things awkward, Kukuru starts assembling a waffle, fish, and egg sandwich while looking over at the trio again. "Oh, you've got two more friends out there, then? That's great. We can talk some sense into them, too. Then we'll get this whole situation sorted out nicely, and-" 'The Hunter's Association is the primary governing body of Dhampyr in the world,' 'I am its future President, which is troublesome to many because of my involvement with Yuuki.' "... Oh, that would be tricky, mhm. And..." Kukuru goes quiet for several moments, letting her brain work through some things she's hearing and combining it with what she remembers seeing in the primers. "They probably wouldn't be too happy if you just told them to follow your lead, huh? Even if it really would be so much easier, there's... We've still gotta work through a lot of that pain that happened before." She pauses to eat some of her sandwich, then looks over at Hakan with a hopeful glint in her eyes. "But maybe... Yeah, what Hokma said. We could work through this a lot easier with more friends like Janna and Ruru and you. What do you think?"
Timespace Riders	Especially since her condition is pretty... Screwed, yeah.     "Stable," says Sougo confidently, with a nod of his head in Zero's direction. "I don't worry about what I can't do. The more thought I give it, the more things fall under that category where they might not have before. But... you know something, Janna? Even if I have to make that choice, someone is forcing me to make it, right?" He frowns thoughtfully as he gently cuts a wedge of pancake. "Everyone talks about 'crabs in a bucket.' How they'll pull each other down trying to get out. But no one talks about who -put- them there. How a bucket isn't a crab's natural habitat. I think we ought to." Mm... but you're saying that vampires will be held closer to account if things are more public, huh?     "Indeed," says Woz. "It is so, that one 'normal' person cannot do much to one vampire. However..." Woz takes a sip of champagne. "I am given to understand that one outnumbers the other; and that the other depends on one, to an extent. To elaborate on our esteemed Hokma's point... if every governor for miles around knew of vampires, it would be much more difficult for them to count on the safety of secrecy, would it not? A few phone calls," the retainer continues, peering for a moment at the bubbles in his glass, "And yesterday's face in the crowd is today's fugitive. Roads may be blocked off. Dragnets erected. Depictions broadcast wherever the eye or ear is present. Assets frozen. Very few would stick their necks out for such a person. And organizations like yours would not only have an easier time finding them, but would not need to maintain any secrecy of their own."
Yuuki Kuran	Everyone makes such impressive cases. Yuuki, who has to focus on her bagel to munch it down in good time between more measured sips of brunch-adjacent champagne, takes a momentary backseat. Well, she's sitting in the same spot, but were she drawn in a panel it would resemble... Kuran Yuuki sits, biting something round but not distinct and heaped with an irregular shape. There's a dark layer between circle and shape. Popping it in her mouth with a quick flip of her fingers, she chews and nods, clearly showing gentle, wavy lines in positive directions to show how happy she is that people are already signing on. Well, one or two are. "Any pureblooded vampire can do certain... kinds of blood magic that require an incredible amount of power to function. Things that you spend yourself on. It's a... dark trend among them, the habit that things that don't end otherwise get up to when the pain stacks up too much. One of those spells keeps the Hunter's Association active, and humanity able to fight back. To turn you back into a human might not be possible simply... But, well..." Yuuki laughs, bright yet weary. "I have a Kukuru. And a Demon King of Time. And a whole corporation of incredible people, in my family of incredible people. And, of course, several knights to go send and get things. Knights who've tasted strong fruits and unlocked the most devilish puzzles just to live. I have a First, who will grant any wish I want. So... If we *have* enough blood magic power, we might have a solution. And if not?" Yuuki fits to giggling. "I have a Hanabusa Aido, too, who is hard at work to make humans stronger, and purebloods kinder, through medicine. Ending needless pain is my goal. So, bullets:" She grins at the trio, fangily. "What do you think? And everyone, too, what do you think? Will we have to impose on poor Aido? He's sooooo bullied all the time. And I have everyone."
Zero Kiryu	"'Why' doesn't matter between us. I can feel what you are and what you're carrying. It's not necessary for me to understand you or for you to understand me," Hakan replies to Raziel, simply. "And I'm not interested in the bloodbath of outsourcing the policing of vampires to the general population." He's got SOMETHING personal going on here, but exactly what it is, isn't clear. It feels more concrete than whatever Gudrun was acting on, though. Comparatively, Janna is positively disinterested in expressing real prejudice.
Zero Kiryu	//Perhaps in this world, the balance is shifted more in the favor of the bloodfiends--// "It is only by the act of one of the first vampires that humans have any weapon to wield against vampires at all," Zero interjects, quite seriously. "There is no balance of power." He rises from his seat and circles around back of Hakan, taking his sword from its sheath and drawing it. The weapon cracks and pops against Zero's hand, sparks of power attempting to repel him. It can't actually do so, but it does scorch and score his flesh as he continues to hold it. "This weapon is merely the blood of that singular vampire mixed with iron. If I gave it to a human, it would do nothing. Though it repels a vampire like me..." He re-sheathes it on Hakan's back. Hakan looks cranky as HELL at this, but isn't moving to try to interrupt. "It is useless if it isn't in the hands of a Dhampyr, a human descended from one who has drunk the blood of the vampire that contributed its blood to the weapon. Humans cannot massacre vampires. It is not 'improbable', but 'impossible'." "What humans have to gain of this is greater symbiosis, but that is what this lot fears," he concludes, circling back around to re-seat himself. Hakan looks furious about this, but re-focuses his attention on Hokma. His hand twitches slightly towards the small of his back. He'd really like to shoot somebody. It might be pride, or it might be something else. He knows better than to really try, though. Maybe because most of the people here can't actually be hurt by his weapons, though. He exhales, and shuts his eyes. "These things don't change. You're not wrong... that it's better to have a say in things than it is to just shut yourself out. But I'm not the person you should be looking to for that. If you want me to be a prisoner, I'm going to be a prisoner. I'm not going to fall in like Janna." Janna slides out of her seat, dips in beside Hakan, and-- takes his gun. "Give that--" "Nope. It's mine now, until you stop being dumb," she replies, moving out of arm's reach and putting the 1911 on the table next to her plate. "Why the hell are you people so insistent on recruiting me?" Hakan gripes, picking at his plate and trying not to look at anybody.
Zero Kiryu	"Spirits? What spirits? Ghost-spirits? I don't want ghosts to be paying attention to me! That sounds like I'm really close to being dead!" Gudrun reacts to Raziel, looking genuinely shaken up by this information. She jabs a finger in Yuuki's direction, "Hey, you, really, can that thing you were talking about fix me? This is so miserable, I kinda get why vampires are so..." She makes a sort of beast-claws-and-fangs expression. This actually causes her nails to grow a little, which makes her recoil at herself and withdraw back into a quiet state. Janna sighs. "You're not close to being dead, Ruru. You got a cool new tattoo and everything, people don't do that kinda shit if you're about to be a coffin stuffer. Or an urn stuffer, I guess." She scratches her head, surveying Kukuru, "Hmmm... 'Kuku' by itself makes it sound like I'm calling you crazy... 'Ruru' is confusing... I'm gonna call you K2. So, K2, you really don't have to sell me on this more. I'm cool with the Vampire Queen doing this... whatever. Look, you wanna know the real deal?" Jabbing a finger in the direction of Hakan, she says, "THIS guy is a victim of dhampyr families always going to fucking war. We don't make it to old age all that often. Hell, everybody knows this guy's story is a lot like that--" She redirects her pointing to Zero. "So you're trying to break him of a bunch of built up mega-violent generational trauma, only he hasn't got a reason to disentangle from it." "Ruru is just dumb and listens to Hakan too much," she adds, side-eyeing Gudrun. Gudrun is in a bad enough situation that she can't even resist by way of objecting. "My family's a lot more hands-off. We're more like 'reserve forces', you know? Usually we just end up doing the necessary support work," she heaves a great sigh. "Still got all the bitey fighty instincts, though."
Zero Kiryu	//They probably wouldn't be too happy if you just told them to follow your lead, huh?// Zero reclines in his chair, hand held face-up so that its presently-slow regeneration isn't aggravated by resting on a surface. He doesn't really want to talk about this, but he brought it up. "The President... is exclusively chosen from 'those who could fight every other Dhampyr and win', so it is normal for unhappiness to be a persistent state of the rank-and-file. This chapter is disconnected enough that I would have to actually go and fight all of them to make it stick, and there IS a reasonable element of criticism if I were to force the matter on Yuuki's behalf." His attention wanders outwardly, but it's just because he's responding to Nikki. //..Feel like I have. How did you get into a place where you could stop hurting each other? To look out for each other. To not be...hurt?// ... Eventually, we stopped trying to give too much to each other without asking the other what they wanted. Eventually, 'I will never turn away from this person, no matter what.' became an unconditional mode of our existence. I couldn't tell you exactly 'when', or if there was a pain threshold that was reached that we simply couldn't endure any more. If it was simply a matter of emotional impulse, it wouldn't have taken us so long. So I think that it is a decision you have to make, and enforce in yourself, even if you don't want to. I suppose I could not possibly give you more difficult advice, though...
Zero Kiryu	//Everyone talks about 'crabs in a bucket.' How they'll pull each other down trying to get out. But no one talks about who -put- them there. How a bucket isn't a crab's natural habitat. I think we ought to.// "Yeah, see? Generational trauma," Janna agrees, redirecting her pointing to Sougo. "Generational trauma is like crabs in a bucket. And, um. Getting over it is... somebody... dumping the crab bucket out. But not the person who put the crabs in the bucket." She blinks. "I dunno where I was going with this." Hakan is fuming in his seat. His eyes drift back to Woz only because Woz calls his attention back to him. "If it was about 'easier', that path would have been chosen long ago." //"What do you think?"// "I would like to not be starving forever, please," Gudrun says, meekly. "Can I kick the Professor in the head?" asks Janna, who is transparently already aboard because she is not a shonen fight idiot like Hakan. "Just... just lock me up already, I'm tired of being preached at," Hakan grumps. He is completely serious. You're going to have to live with 2/3 bullets for the moment. A cold silence stretches out for a long moment. "You're just going to bully Hanabusa anyway," Zero observes.
Yuuki Kuran	"You got me." Yuuki's laughter follows her nose into her champagne flute to finish it. "I'm definitely going to make him help me anyway."
Timespace Riders	Just... just lock me up already, I'm tired of being preached at.     Woz purses his lips, but says nothing. He had, after all, listened to Janna's explanation. He, personally, can live with 2 out of 3. For the moment. He knows that Sougo will want Hakan on their side, and knows too what he read in the book.     "I got what you were going for, Janna," says Sougo, sincerely. "It's true, too, I think." You should never trust the hand that put you -in- the bucket to take you out of it.     He smiles impishly at Yuuki. "I think... we'll have to impose, mhm."
Kukuru	'What do you think? And everyone, too, what do you think? Will we have to impose on poor Aido? He's sooooo bullied all the time. And I have everyone.' "I think... You've got everyone you need right here." Kukuru replies to Yuuki with the utmost confidence still audible in her tone. "Although I wouldn't say no to having even more extra help to make things easier... Then we can finish faster, or take it easy even sooner. I'm sure he'll be happy to help so we can get back to bed." On cue, she yawns. She keeps one eye closed as she resumes eating for a little while longer, eventually letting her gaze drift over to Janna and Hakan while they bicker over the gun and the latter's allegiance. She doesn't answer right away, instead content to finish chewing first before cutting off a chunk and nudging of the waffle-egg-fish combo right at his mouth. "Food tastes better with more friends around. If we just smash through everyone in our way, we'd have fewer people to share peaceful times like today with. It'd be easier, but the world would be a lot lonelier and sadder like that. It'd be like... Um. The bucket thing. With..." She has to struggle a bit with the analogy. "Stepping on everyone in the bucket? I'd do it if my family said to, but I don't know if I'd like it." Sitting back down, Kukuru purses her lips at Janna's suggested nickname. She lets out a pensive noise as she murmurs K2 a few times, letting the sound mingle in her head before letting out a noncommittal noise after that. "It's not bad... Hmm. It's not great, but... Mmn. Is Kukuru too long? It's just Ku-ku-ru."
Angela	Hokma's eyes slant towards Yuuki when she claims she 'has' a corporation of incredible people. He doesn't argue, but... Ayin made this deal. Ayin made the deal before a reset. The man who signed Lobotomy Corp up with the Concord barely exists right now. He might never really exist again, actually. Benjamin? He was suspicious of the deal with the Concord even before it had been made even if Yuuki Kuran seems... The real question is--what will happen when their work is complete ajnd they no longer have anything to offer the Concord--and the Concord has little to offer them. Hokma has the feeling the Concord will not be content to let them end their days in restful slumber as was promised. Not now that he's actually met the Director. He listens to Yuuki explain the cost of blood magic. Humans stronger, purebloods kinder. Ending needless pain. "Mm...I do think you are underestimating human cruelty." Hokma says seriously. "But just because a vampire granted power does not mean it will remain so. You are thinking as a Fixer rather than a..." Hokma considers for a moment, looking back to Hakan. His expression grows tired and disappointed. The twitch of a hand speaks volumes. "I suppose there is something to be said of knowing yuor place rather than trying to rise above your qualifications." Hokma says. "But as dangerous as breakfast as a Wing Head can be, I feel it is better to try and make a change rather than content oneself with an unfortunate status quo." But his weapon is stolen by Janna. Hokma nods to her and asides to Hakan. "I just do not care to see potential wasted, that is all. In the end, we--well, I cannot make you feel what you do not wish to feel." Nikki, meanwhile, isn't basically a Wing Head like Hokma used to be and as such is more concerned with more reasonable concerns. For a weird guy whose first interaction with her was to offer her blood, Nikki is finding him honestly... pretty damn reasonable, and kind of cool actually. She wonders if that's because of what she ingested or what but she isn't...disliking it. And she isn't really in the mindset to resist things that she likes. ...Yeah, but it makes sense. I'll just have to start asking them what they want. I might not be Captain anymore but...it's worth a shot. ''Can I kick the Professor in the head?'' Tennant pipes in, finally, "Seems fair." in absolute blissful ignorance.
Raziel	"You act as if you are the only person who hasn't had to suffer 'generational trauma,'" Raziel says, calmly.  He can't eat, he can't breathe, so all he can do is look at Hakan directly.  His eyes open again, glowing orbs.  "I was once a Sarafan, a human who hunted down vampires.  I died, apparently, and then Kain... my sire raised me from the dead and bestowed his vampiric 'gift' upon my unwilling corpse.  Without the memories I had as a human, only vague awareness that I once was... I served him for a thousand years." "Do you want to know how that ended?" Given that Raziel is a ghost... "To tell this story I have to explain how Kain is seen by most of my now-dead children..." he says, hotly.   "He was deified.  The clans told tales of him, but few knew the truth.  That he was mortal once... as were we all.  I was the firstborn of his lieutenants.  I stood with him at the dawn of the empire that would eventually rule the world... as vampires at the helm." "As you can see... over time we had become less human and more... 'divine'," he says with some contempt.  "He entered the state of change first..." Raziel says, picking up a napkin and slowly folding it.  Eventually, he forms into a sort of winged but ill-defined object.   "I went after... and I had the honor of surpassing my lord."  He says the wings move on his back indicating them.  "For my transgression... I earned a new kind of reward," At this, he tears the wings off the badly created paper creation.  "Agony," he says, and looks back at Hakan.   "There was only one possible outcome: my eternal damnation.  You see, Hakan, in my world vampires are weak to water... rain is like boiling rains... but submersion in water?  Imagine taking a bath in acid." "So, I, Raziel, was to suffer the fate of traitors and weaklings.  I was to burn forever, in the bowels of the lake of the dead..." he says and drops the napkin into the glass of water.   "I want only one thing to do to Kain.  That is to kill him.  I had the chance to, recently.  Did you know that?  Do you know that I /didn't/?" he says, and points at Woz.  "Because that man there said that my 'lord's' goals were for a better world.  Killing him would be tantamount to destroying the world and forever letting it crumble into ruin." "Dooming both humans and vampires.  I still almost did not care.  I almost decided to indulge in my reckless indignation.  I cloaked it in righteousness, but Kain was right when he called me out on it that day." "I am not asking you to forgive, or forget.  I am asking you to consider what /is the right thing to do/, and not work for /what makes you feel good right now/.  Make it so that the /people who come after/ do not have to /do this again/." "I do not judge you a man who would do that.  Because you did everything you could to rescue your friend, even when things were turned against you.  You preserved their lives by killing vampires.  And you are here now, listening to us instead of trying to escape.  I wan to believe in this dream of Ms. Kuran's because it gives me some measure of hope and peace for my own world." He closes his eyes again, only to open them at Gudrun, "Good.  Hold on to that.  I want to see you survive as well.  I am curious to see your work with a spear once you can wield it again."
Zero Kiryu	A review of [Woz]'s book: Hakan is not categorically unable to be reasoned with, but he does not exist here. He cannot exist here. As Janna said, he is from a hunter family that has been active for ages. Their lives are usually short, and violent, and sad. Although there was a time, as a child, when his prejudices were not active in this way, his brother's violent death at the hands of a mysteriously powerful Noble vampire -- this is where the sword came from, and why he has two Fangs instead of one -- did a lot to galvanize both his fear and anger. This world of words is not real to him. Cannot be real to him. But he can be shown. If he sees what became of Gudrun in a more visceral way, it'll jar him badly. But what he needs to see for this to be real to him is what the one called Nokken tries to do. Flipping pages to Nokken however, he will find that that one in particular is a hopeless cause. He is old, hateful, set in his ways, and close enough to the natural end of his life that he can't be budged. He'll meet you with a sniper rifle, camouflage, a knack for moving stealthily, bombs, and an idea of acceptable collateral that is more than passingly hypocritical. Words cannot reach Nokken. Reason cannot reach Nokken. If Nokken can get rid of even one of your high-value targets he'd consider it a fair trade if he and a boat full of passengers were the cost. That's what Hakan has to see to come around. "Oh. Good," Janna says to Sougo. She actually doesn't sound concerned at her own incoherence at all anymore. To Kukuru, she adds, "Didn't say it was bad or too long. I just like nicknames, K2. Gotta figure out good ones for everybody else, too." Hakan snorts at Hokma. He can, at least, tell the vampires apart from everyone else, so he doesn't have the intrinsic hostility towards Hokma that he does towards some people present. "This lot's beaten me. You've earned some time without my interference, and I'm not going to drag these children back against their will." He shoots an aggravated look between Janna and Gudrun. "If you're planning on 'wasting' me here, I'll fight that if I have to. Not needing to account for these two changes the calculus."
Zero Kiryu	//Seems fair.// "It's totally fair," Janna enthuses with Tennant, mindlessly. Hakan listens to Raziel quietly. Woz can see, in his book, that the majority of this will not be processed today; summarized, his thoughts on Raziel, Yuuki, and to a lesser extent Zero (if only because Zero hasn't really tried), trying to convince him is, 'Vampires take the form that they do so that they can more efficiently hunt. A pleasing face and speaking well doesn't mean anything.' The reason he can identify Raziel as vampire-adjacent without being told is the same sense that Zero has. Having his messed-up state confirmed confuses Hakan a little, but doesn't really convince him. Eventually, he answers, "You're telling me this like we're friends, and you're revealing some dark secret to me. We're not friends, or even acquaintances. The weight of your history doesn't mean anything to me, the same as the weight of my history is so meaningless to you that you've tried to poke and prod your way through it like we were sitting in a debate club." "Those of you I know are enemies, or close enough. Those of you I don't are from beyond the horizon," he concludes, dully.
Zero Kiryu	//Mm...I do think you are underestimating human cruelty.// "When cruelty refuses to recede, we destroy it," Zero says to Hokma. There is an awful 'something' lingering behind those words. It's not regret, exactly, but he feels the gravity of what that means too much to just be talking nonsense. Euthanizing a world will do that to you. The ghost of that momentarily haunts Nikki's thoughts, before Zero actually answers. There is a cat, a talking cat, lamenting the death of its brother. There is a man (is it a man? At the very least it is someone's interpretation of a man) in a baseball uniform, surrounded by floating symbols; the sound of his existence is creaky and metallic, like old industrial equipment moving determinedly but unsteadily long after it had become unsafe. Beneath the creaking is the strangely clear (but obviously not Zero's) thought that, 'I'm glad I made it back in time to see them both one last time.'      .----------.      |    ON    |      |   ____   |      |  |.--.|  |      |  ||  ||  |      |  ||__||  |      |  ||\ \|  |      |  |\ \_\  |      |  |_\[_]  |      |          |      |   OFF    |      '----------' It is. It may be difficult, and run against the whole of your being. It may hurt, and even bleed. But it doesn't hurt like not figuring it out. Zero answers, the eerie thoughts -- memories? -- that bled through vanishing.
Angela	Hokma has no mystical power here to discern what Hokma needs, but he does say, "We hardly would need to!" in protest. But then he says, more gently. "So long as you keep your mind open. I am confident in time your mind will change, so long as you look and listen. That is all I'll ask of you." He seems content to leave it at that. It's not even that he particularly minds the distrust towards Bloodfiends. Even on their world, they can be quite nasty. The fact that these ones seem to be more powerful and have the weight of Wing Heads behind them, well, he can hardly blame Hakan for distrust. The sad truth is, Yuuki Kuran has enough power that balancing the scales here will not change her ultimate position. It might even give her more power. But you move with the waves even as you seek to break them, that's his philosophy. He polishes his monocle as Zero speaks of destroying the cruel. He looks at Zero, considering his words. "Mm. Some cruelty cannot be destroyed, only transmogrified." But he doesn't argue any further. It's only some, after all, plenty can be destroyed with enough overwhelming power. At least for a time. Tennant offers Janna a hi-five. They like Janna. It's a really cool name too. They'd never stab this Janna for sure. Tennant isn't exactly mindless, but they are not being paid for their mind right now. And the food really is the best food they've had in a very long time. It's Nikki who has to be quiet for a long time. What they see in their head is akin to madness at first. A cat that grieves a brother? Certainly possible, from a talking cat? Even moreso. But the batter's presence adds...strangeness to it all. Those floating symbols, that man--doesn't seem like they belong in a place with a grieving talking cat. They don't seem like they really belong in the world at all. There's this strange thought and then *flick* Nikki stands herself up and approaches Zero Kiryu, a ghost of determination lingering in that undead way across her features. From his words, from that vision--she can put two and two together and the sensation of living past a purified world. She places a hand on Zero Kiryu's shoulder, lightly. Yeah...Thank you, Zero. I think I can give it another go. But it's aloud that she says, "Sorry," She says. "I'm not...good at pretending like nothing's wrong. I'm sorry.")] This is, in a way, her own answer to Hakan but she doesn't so mnuch as look to him. And she leaves it at that.
Zero Kiryu	Hakan just sort of makes sour noises at Hokma. He's not willing to escalate meaningfully here, but he's like a wound-up cat that knows it's not going to win a fight, so he doesn't go for it. If he wasn't determined not to just bolt he'd already be a trail of fur vanishing into some bushes. Zero smiles faintly at Hokma. There's a question in his smile, but he doesn't voice it. Perhaps an intuitive person could tell that it was, 'Transmogrified into what?', but he has given few enough clues, so perhaps the smile will simply be taken as a mysterious nonsequitur. Contextually, Janna isn't all that brainless; she's drawn some good threads, but she's perfectly willing to indulge just going with the flow. Fortunately, that does not presently involve being stabbed. The approach of Nikki can't surprise Zero, because a fragment of himself lives in her, but he doesn't expect it exactly either. His gaze lifts from eye level at the table-- their conversation had been entirely in thought, after all. Only a few of the people present could even have heard it, so her approach must seem contextless. Yes, he answers simply, across the gulf of their minds. The physical contact is something that Zero Kiryu is not entirely used to, and not sure he likes. At the very least however, he seems to understand that it is well-meant, and doesn't have the instinctive tensing-cat response that the younger hunter -- Hakan -- had. "It's fine," he says, falling back into a habit of few words. There is a notion, glimmering in his mind, that he should say more, or have some further reassurance to offer. But in the end, he's done a lot of that already this morning, he hasn't slept, and verbal expression doesn't come that easily to him when it isn't like giving a presentation. But it is something, at least, that Zero Kiryu allows Nikki to withdraw on her own time and doesn't get weird about the shoulder-touch. Hakan, however, is a solid decade behind Zero in character development and looks revolted at this exchange.