2017-08-03: Preparations

• Log: Preparations
• Cast: Citan Uzuki, Fei Fong Wong
• Where: Lacour - Adventurer's Guild Headquarters
• Date: 08-03-2017
• Summary: Citan Uzuki and Fei Fong Wong discuss where to do next, now that Fei's role in Lacour's tournament is over with.

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=================<* Lacour - Adventurer's Guild Headquarters *>=================

The Adventurer's Guild Headquarters in Lacour is the largest outpost of its kind on the continent. In theory, it reports to the central headquarters in Guild Galad, but for all intents and purposes, it controls and coordinates all Guild activities and outposts throughout Ignas more or less independently.

Located in the western half of the castle town, the Headquarters occupies a three-story building far from the chaos of the Market District. The first floor is a receiving and processing area, much like a bank, devoted entirely to the receipt, posting, and paying out of Guild contracts. The second floor is rarely seen by anyone who does not work there - the employees of the Guild responsible for sending and receiving messges from outposts across Ignas. The third floor is occupied by the Guild's local head, a woman few can name and fewer have seen.

<Pose Tracker> Fei Fong Wong has posed.

Fei Fong Wong has been holed up in Lacour for a while. It's actually been this way pretty much since Old Petra where there was a strange red flash of light and very suddenly a certain lack of a Metal Demon base. He DID participate in the tournament, but was eliminated fairly early (which he did not mind) and instead spent most of his time observing the matches and finding other ways to get in trouble. He's actually made a fair bit of money selling stuff he found from the ruins and can actually stay at an inn for some time instead of sleeping on the streets. This means consistent bathing! Things are looking up for Fei for once!

<Pose Tracker> Citan Uzuki has posed.

There comes from the main door of the inn a sharp tinkle, as of very small pieces of glass, and the sound of a pleasant voice that should be at once immediately familiar to the young man poking at a bowl of soup.

"Oh, dear me! Please excuse me, I did not see you there. Ahahah, pardon me! I will clean that up in just a moment, but it is best that I put these down first..."

It's a pleasant baritone, whose words are well-enunciated but not quite stilted. The style of speech is very slightly formal; not quite enough to be overly formal, but enough to be thought of as slightly eccentric.

Eccentricity is one of Doctor Citan Uzuki's many inexplicable talents.

Right now, the green-robed physician is carefully making his way through the dining area, balancing a series of crates laden with glass vials, and that's the sound of the glass clinking. The tiny, sharp sound of glass breaking had come from a dropped vial, whose contents are even now absorbed into the floor, tiny shards glittering in the dim light.

"Ah, please exucse me—pardon me—ah, hello, Fei!" Citan's greeting is sunny, as though he had expected to see Fei here all along; as though everything is absolutely normal. The sheer force of normalcy behind that greeting might actually be kind of impressive. Is Doc just oblivious to everything or what? "I have a few antidotes to put together later for a few of the local strains of diseases, but thankfully, the ingredients are both cheap and readily available."

The stack of crates are set on the table carefully, clattering ominously; a tidy nudge of one forefinger balances the whole affair and keeps it from teetering any further.

Citan eases down into a chair as though he'd been invited. Hadn't he been? Of course he had. He is the cat, or rather doctor, who walks alone, and he goes where he pleases. Or so it may seem. He gives a nod towards the man at the counter, who apparently knows without words whatever it is that Citan wants, and delivers a cup of tea.

"Now, then." Citan stirs the steaming concoction in front of him, with one of those bland, fatherly smiles for the martial artist. No apology for not being around, no explanation for inexplicably vanishing for days or weeks at a time. He is, after all, the Doctor Who Walks Alone. "I find Lacour to be a fine town with a most charming market square. Would you believe I was able to acquire a trinket for Yui at half its asking price?"

Well, if anyone can haggle like a champ, it's probably Doc. He just starts talking and they give him the thing just to get him to shut up.

Those brown eyes settle on Fei again, and the intensity of study in them is a little at odds with his easygoing half-smile.

"Now, then." Down to brass tacks. "How have you been faring, Fei?"

<Pose Tracker> Fei Fong Wong has posed.

Fei hears Citan approaching well before he actually arrives. This gives him time to finish his soup. He slurps the whole thing down lickety split. Being a wandering homeless man has only intensified Fei's appetite and his determination to enjoy good meals – or even adequate meals – with as much vigor as possible. Eating food is serious business.

He cringes briefly as one of Citan's vials crash to the ground. That's not...great...but Citan himself doesn't seem to mind so he doesn't say anything about it. Fei accepts Citan's sojourns into the realm of mystery without complaint. Someone seems to know what they're doing and getting in his business about it is likely to result in less things being done by people who know what they're doing. That's in short supply. People doing things that don't know what they're doing, well, they're a majority – a majority of which Fei is a part of. He knows it.

"I'd believe it. I'd be more surprised if the trinket was actually what they said it was, though." Fei quips. He doesn't seem upset with Citan. Indeed, Fei is in a strangely level mood right now. "You missed some trouble while you were out. Grahf showed up again, attacked the arena, going on about power again – the usual." He shakes his head. "Oh but nobody died, I don't think?" He grins. "So it wasn't really all that bad! Haha!"

Haha! It's a very brief joy.

"I've learned a lot hanging around Lacour," Fei admits. "I ran into Elly again. We had ice cream. It was pretty nice," Oh god is he going to talk about his date. "She seemed troubled by something, but we just ended up talking about art for the most part..." He pauses. "Oh! There was also this guy who sets himself on fire and this martial artist lady who fights with prosthetics..." He pauses before adding, "Oh but I guess the big thing is Xantia. She's pretty intent on coming along and—" He frowns. "I think she has something to do with my past. Our martial arts are really similar and she has amnesia too and—" He frowns deeper. "I was hoping we could lend her a hand."

<Pose Tracker> Citan Uzuki has posed.

At least the dropped vial doesn't seem to hold anything caustic. There's no hissing or smoke coming from the floor where it had shattered. In fact, it doesn't seem to be doing much of anything beyond being absorbed into the floor. Maybe it's just water, or something just as innocuous, for the purpose of testing or dilution?

Who knows? Judging from what little he reveals of himself, which is precious little most of the time, the good doctor is a strange, strange man.

Eccentricity is good for a lot of things.

"Oh, I have no doubt that it is not at all what it is claimed to be. That is to be expected in a marketplace such as this. Merchants will do or say anything to make the sale, but the beneficial side to that is that they are also often willing to negotiate the price." He takes a moment to rummage in a pocket at the sash serving as his belt, which seems to be no more than a clever means of folding it to form a pocket, and pulls out something small, gold, and glinting. It's a pendant in the shape of a tiny silver lily, its petals delicately wrought in gold and white gold, with accents of yellow topaz. "The metal is not nearly so pure as guaranteed, but I believe she will appreciate the craftsmanship nonetheless."

He tucks it away again once Fei's had a chance to get a look at it, long fingers wrapping around his teacup. Neither does the heat seem to bother him at all. That green robe must be a lot cooler than it looks.

To the news of the goings-on that he had missed, the doctor merely tilts his head, regarding Fei through those peculiar spectacles, as though absorbing the information. It's information that he already knows, but he is a master at feigning surprise. "Is that so? In that case, I am glad that no one was killed, then. It is a pity I was not here. My services may have been required. Well, no sense in worrying about it, ha-ha! I cannot be everywhere in the world at once, and I am certain there are other fine physicians in this city."

It must be nice to be able to be so unconcerned about... well, everything. Does anything ever really get under his skin?

Ah, so Elhaym van Houten is here. He had suspected, but not confirmed, and this neatly confirms the matter for him. "Elly? Ah, that is good." He even shows one of those affable, fatherly smiles for good measure. Elly isn't what she seems, but that's not for him to say; oh, no. Citan is a man well accustomed to playing everything close to his vest. It's for others to discover information on their own. He does not share unless he has compelling reason to do so... or a lesson for others to be learned.

The competition is listened to with some interest. A man who sets himself on fire? Curious. Some manner of Ether abilities? Sorcery? Or even some manner of carefully-controlled ARM? How does such a person do such a thing without incurring first-degree burns—

He's jarred from his scientific musings by the fact that Fei's still talking.

Xantia? Oh, that odd girl with the bottomless appetite. "I suppose there is no harm in it." From a strictly professional standpoint, he doesn't quite know all of the pieces, and not knowing details is a fairly strong motivator for a man like Citan. That bracer is a very interesting piece of technology.

Ostensibly, though, he's just a simple country doctor who wouldn't mind an extra sometimes-travelling companion, someone he knows nothing about other than the fact that Fei appears to be on friendly terms with her.

...And even through that affable smile he's thinking about how broke this decision is going to make him. He's going to have to start hiding either food or money just to be sure he has enough to eat, and he's already going over what kind of funds he can start partitioning out. Maybe he can leave some with Yui; she's the epitome of responsibility, and he trusts her to keep it safe for him—

"I certainly would not mind," he says instead, pausing to blow on the tea and take a sip of it, which by his wince is probably still piping hot. "I do not have any particular plans. In fact, I would prefer to wait here for another day or two before moving on elsewhere. I am expecting a delivery of medical supplies very soon. Nothing particularly worrisome, but materials I cannot come by easily here, which are by far cheaper to acquire from elsewhere. The courier should be here tomorrow, by my estimates."

<Pose Tracker> Fei Fong Wong has posed.

Fei talks a lot. His game is very dialogue heavy. Odd girl with a bottomless appetite is not that specific though if you think about it. He doesn't know Xantia already ran into Doc though it wouldn't really surprise him. Doc is weirdly connected for a simple country doctor. Not knowing things is becoming a stronger motivator for Fei too, more and more as time goes on. There is much more going on than he knows and in order to apply himself, he will need some degree of comprehension on what's going on.

He figures Citan knows more than he shares but probably doesn't share for good reasons. He isn't intent on being pushy today.

He leans back in his chair. He just ate so he can afford to be languid. He looks at the trinket. It is not, hopefully, a secret item that will be integral to saving the world in a later chapter but it is pretty and he hopes Yui appreciates it. Knowing the Doc's family is still alive is something of a salve for his war wounds.

"She'll love it, I'm sure of it." He says. He is more comfortable when Doc is around. It's like a piece of home that's traveling with him instead of his family for some reason. "Well there might still be some injuries. I know there's a lot of ill people about who could probably use a doc like you." Fei admits. He laughs a bit awkwardly though and admits, "But yeah nobody can expect you to be everywhere even if you're pretty capable."

Was here. Fei knows Elly is working with Gebler. He just doesn't actually care. He still likes her. What happened in that forest when Citan wasn't around?

"We'll be leaving soon enough, we shouldn't stick around too long though," Fei admits. "The longer I stay in this city, the more danger I bring t it." He pauses though and turns in his chair to focus on Citan. He swallows nervously.

"Uh....Dan..." He looks away. "He uh..." He pauses. "He was here too. I guess he got adopted." Pause. "By a gang." Pause. "He is in a gang now."

The suit looks great on him though.

<Pose Tracker> Citan Uzuki has posed.

It is indeed a comfort to know that there are survivors from that terrible day in Lahan Village. Razing the village was not enough to dispatch the good doctor's wife and child. That in and of itself probably begs the question of why they were so able to coordinate evacuation and relief efforts, but surely Yui Uzuki is even less of a suspicious personage, being the wife of a simple country doctor. Right?

"Oh, I am certain." Citan waves one hand in a gesture that is the epitome of absent-minded dismissal. "There is need for a doctor no matter where I happen to be travelling. It is a challenge, at times, to ensure that my services are not stretched so thinly that they suffer."

Yeah, golly, he sure is a warm and considerate and caring person. The very perfect picture of it. Sure, Doc.

There are also a lot of hypochondriacs in the world to necessitate the services of a simple country doctor, but Citan Uzuki is far too kind-hearted to say what Hyuga Ricdeau is almost certainly thinking.

So he smiles that disarming smile. "I think you overestimate my skills, Fei, but thank you all the same."

The smile fades, and he casts a look almost thoughtful to Fei at his estimate of danger. Yet the doctor neither agrees nor argues with it, which almost assuredly means that Citan is letting Fei come to his own conclusion of whether or not his presence is a danger to the people around him. No help from Doc, here. Some lessons must be learned for oneself!

"I surmised as much. So long as I receive my shipment before we leave, I do not have any complaints. A life of travel is not such a bad thing." Between frantic attempts to dig sand out of one's shoes, one learns valuable life lessons, such as how to effectively dig all the sand out of one's shoes! Also, the valuable lessons of how not to dehydrate in a freaking desert. Citan must have learned that one years ago, because in spite of that ridiculous robe the heat never seems to bother him very much.

His head tilts, minutely, at the news that Dan has managed to make his way to Lacour and also joined a gang. He actually frowns a little in an expression of mild disappointment more than anything else. "Has he? That is disappointing. Well, if that is what he wants to do with his life, I suppose that is not for us to judge. After all, if he does not want to stay with the refugees of Lahan Village, that is his choice."

"People cope with tragedy in many different ways." Citan drains the teacup, setting it aside. "If acting out in such a manner is what he needs to do to work his way through what happened, then that is what he must do. I do not doubt that he is very angry over what befell his family, and anger sometimes requires time to cool," he muses. "It is like a fire burning out. One must take time to let even the embers cool, lest the whole affair be stoked back into an uncontrollable conflagration."

Oh, so it's more of a psychological angle, okay. Whew, for a minute it almost sounded like Citan might not actually care what happened to the brat.

"I am sure that Yui would agree, he will always have a place among the refugees if he should choose to return. She is still watching out for them." Where, however, he doesn't say. Presumably somewhere safe, and not a totally unexpected place like Shevat. Totally. "Now, then." Citan tilts his head, studying Fei with that unsettling mixture of intensity and nonchalance, his brown eyes magnified somewhat by those peculiar glasses. "Once I have received my shipment and we are ready to leave, where exactly is it that you wish to go?"

<Pose Tracker> Fei Fong Wong has posed.

"Well," Fei says. "I think first we should head to the Guardian Temple and help fight off the Metal Demons." He says. "I uh...don't know what would happen if the demons manage to take out the temples...but I am guessing it is...bad?" He looks over to Citan in the hopes that he knows but either way he frowns, thinking about Siegfried and Riesenlied. Even Harken. What the heck is going on over there? They seem anything but unified and then there's the matter of his dream, and of his strange conflicting emotions about Siegfried that seem to come out of nowhere.

"Well," He says. "You're probably right about Dan." He clears his throat. "I don't really have any right to tell him what to do. Maybe he'll just calm down eventually." He laughs a bit. "Oh but he is getting better at manipulating his chi, haha. He got me good!"

He doesn't compliment Citan further but he wouldn't listen to the guy if he didn't trust him.

"After that, though," Fei looks up. "I think we should head into the Badlands. There isn't, uh, as much to destroy but more importantly, it might lead to a clue as to what's going on with Xantia."

Is he trying to make Xantia the main character?? Probably smart. Xenogears Is not kind to its main characters.

<Pose Tracker> Citan Uzuki has posed.

In spite of the fact that Fei looks at him much like a lost duckling would, Citan offers no answers. There will be no information forthcoming from him, so it looks like Fei had better start doing his own sleuthing on the subject if he wants any answers. Indeed, it's hard to say whether Citan even knows anything about it or not. His expression is carefully neutral in that way that suggests he's thinking very carefully about something.

Whether or not it has anything at all to do with the current topic, or even current events, that's anybody's guess. It's a roughly fifty-fifty shot, at best.

"I think it would be best to give Dan his space." Citan reaches up to pluck his glasses from his face, squinting myopically as he polishes the lenses on his robe's hem. "There is nothing you can do to change his mind, at least not as he is now, and forcing your presence on him will only aggravate the situation. Some hurts may only be healed with the passage of time, but do not look so long-faced. Even the brightest and hottest fires may simmer down in time."

There's no comment on the matter of chi, although he does spare a brief and bland look to Fei, as though to gauge whether he's joking about it or not. That's an interesting development, although it isn't worth much more than a momentary diversion of his attention.

There are other, more pressing matters to spend his mental effort on.

"The Badlands?" Citan arches a brow in an expression of clear surprise. "I do not know what manner of clue you are searching for that it would take you to such desolation, but I suppose it is your—" Pet project, "—search."

A very, very tiny and silent part of him resents being dragged even further away from his family, but Citan goes on playing the part of the fatherly doctor who has no apparent cares in the world beyond immediate concerns.

Instead, he makes a mental note to tuck the pendant somewhere safe, and deliver it to Yui at the soonest possible opportunity, because heaven only knows what kind of godforsaken wild goose chase Fei's going to drag him along for.

Citan neatly replaces his spectacles onto the bridge of his nose, one forefinger nudging them into place. "And what manner of clue do you think you will find out in the Badlands?"

Ever the pragmatist, one can always trust Doc to start gently poking holes in plans that lack clear direction.

<Pose Tracker> Fei Fong Wong has posed.

Fei just seems to be proud of a former student that just so happens to want to murder him!! He does nod his agreement to Citan's words. It sucks, but it's not wrong.

"Well, that's apparently where Xantia was found." Fei says. "I guess if we can find the people who found Xantia, we can ask them more of the situation she was in when they found her. Apparently Xantia...never asked them."

Fei knows how he came to the village. A mysterious person dropped him off without cleaning the blood off of him first.

WHICH IS KIND OF WEIRD, MYSTERIOUS PERSON.

"But I mean... there isn't exactly..any other lead. Unless you know what kind of martial art she's using but nobody seems to know it is. I've been asking during the tournament."

The possibility that they did recognize it and just lied to him hasn't occured to him. Just like how he hasn't considered the possibility that Citan is resentful of being dragged around FIlgaia. Of course, it's not as if he thinks he's making Citan do anything. He could go back to Yui and Midori whenever he wanted after all. It's not like following Fei around is his JOB or anything.

<Pose Tracker> Citan Uzuki has posed.

"Hmm." The doctor tilts his head very slightly, in the manner of one listening carefully. He isn't, but he's good at lending the impression. His mind is already mulling over a few unrelated facts, but fortunately he's good at mental multitasking. It's a survival skill. "I suppose it would make sense to return to the scene of the incident. However, I would not hold out hope that the ones who found her would have any reason to linger unnecessarily."

That Xantia never asked, however, privately strikes him as a little foolish. One should not turn down opportunities for knowledge, especially if that knowledge relates to something as important as one's own provenance. Ah, well. Not everybody is a scientist. His current company is enough proof of that. Ample proof.

Citan resists the urge to rub at the bridge of his nose, instead setting aside his empty teacup and appearing interested in what Fei has to say.

"I have not had reason to see her fight," Citan admits, which is probably more lie than truth. "Perhaps I might recognise it, but medicine is more my area of expertise than martial arts. After all, I am a doctor, ha-ha!" Oh, you. His joviality fades quickly. "In any case, if that is what you want to do, then I will be ready to leave once I have received that shipment. If that is where we are going, I especially do not want to leave without those supplies. Such items will be difficult to come by in a place like that." Nobody wants their doctor running out of supplies, because then said doctor is forced to improvise, and that's just unpleasant for everyone.

<Pose Tracker> Fei Fong Wong has posed.

Yep, not everybody is a scientist, especially not Fei ha ha ha ha. Fei laughs a bit and admits, "I wasn't expecting you to know, I'm just – you know – admitting there's not a lot of better options." That he knows of. Fei's been trying to hide from civilization for some time now. Maybe he thinks this will be the best opportunity to bury his head in the sand. Or he genuinely is doing the investigation equivalent of throwing a bottle into the sea. Either way, it seems like it's going to happen because nobody's stopping him!

He looks back to Citan. Xantia is not especially known to him as someone who makes the best decisions. This is Fei, of course, so he knows a lot about making the not best decisions. He nods to Citan pleasantly, if mildly.

"We can wait," He promises Citan. "Honestly it might be a good time for you to visit Yui too since it'll take a bit to organize." He glances back to Lily. "Just catching up with Doc."

<Pose Tracker> Citan Uzuki has posed.

Briefly, Citan calculates the odds of 'accidentally' leaving Fei out in the desert somewhere, and whether or not he would be reduced to his constituent atoms by his superior for such a gross oversight. A small and noisy part of his brain insists it would be completely worth it, and the more logical remiander insists on staying the course, no matter how exasperating it can be.

Well, he decides half a second later, as Fei exhibits why he isn't a scientist.

"It will do no harm to investigate the area," Citan concedes, "but I would not be disappointed if there were no clues to be found. It would make comparatively little sense for any group to linger in such an area; resources are scant, and in light of that, there is not much compelling reason for them to stay unless there are more attractive options."

...Like treasure. Of course, if there were treasure, everybody and their dog would beeline for the area, because news of shiny and valuable things has a way of travelling faster than wildfire.

Instead, he finds himself wondering what the other players on this stage are up to, and resolves that he had better do some sleuthing of his own. He's had to focus on his persona in the recent past, and the work of a physician has kept him somewhat busier than he might like. Intelligence-gathering is intensive work; it requires his full focus, and there has been too much going on for him to risk splitting his attention in too many different directions.

But he doesn't give any kind of hint about such cold, clinical thoughts. Instead, he smiles that absent, fatherly smile. "Perhaps you will get lucky this time, though." And then they won't have to spend most of the summer in one of the most godforsaken places he can think of to spend it.

Idly, he wonders secretly if this assignment is some kind of private joke on behalf of his superior. Well, he's not laughing, damn it.

He instead resettles his tray of vials, carefully balancing them so nothing else looks like it's close to teetering dangerously. It's good busy work to do with his hands and eyes. "Perhaps. This delivery is important, though, and I do not intend to pass it by. When you are willing to work with couriers and risk your wares arriving from distant lands, you find the best of bargains, you know. It is the price and the risk one takes for doing business across vast distances, I suppose."

"I will attempt to visit her, if I should have the opportunity," he says, almost dismissively. He must really be preoccupied by that shipment. Or he's preoccupied by something else, which is probably a safe bet. Of course, no one knows what's really on his mind... he might be thinking of that absurd crab-legged mech that had graced the roof of his house in Lahan, or he might be thinking of the chemical compounds involved in a particular antitodal remedy.

Eventually he settles for rolling his empty teacup on its axis, absently wondering if another cup is worth the price. "Do you really expect to find something out there?" One dark brown eye regards Fei from just beneath the rim of those technical-looking glasses. He looks calm, as he always does, but there is a thoughtful air to his words.

He doesn't really buy finding clues for a second, but apparently he's curious to hear what Fei has to say about it.

<Pose Tracker> Fei Fong Wong has posed.

Fei continues to look at Citan with big smiles and puppy eyes, oblivious to Citan's thoughts. Of course, He can see everything too. He's listening. And cataloguing. He can be pretty patient too. He may be a mad dog, but he can be patient. And curious.

Sorry Citan, but that's where the game's headed to next. One way or another, we're going to the shit hole middle of nowhere! It'll be fun! And sandy. Sand. Fei hates it too. It gets everywhere.

"Well alright," Fei says. "I hope they're doing okay, anyway. Wherever they are." He paid precisely one visit to the ruins of Lahan since leaving. It was awful, but it helped in a small way to pay respects to the dead.

For Fei, things just tend to work out for the worst which means that there's often a lot of clues. He says, "I do!" Pause. "Or did." Pause. "Until you said it like that."

He hangs his head. He doesn't want what happened to him to happen to Xantia. He definitely knows that it could. Instead he says, "Well we'll see what happens when your supplies arrive. "We still have to stop the Metal Demons first, too."

<Pose Tracker> Citan Uzuki has posed.

For his part, the doctor doesn't shift an eyelash from his mild countenance. It's a careful affectation that's served him well over the years. After a few seconds Citan shifts the teacup away, because he'll go on playing around with it indefinitely as long as it's within reach.

"I am quite certain that they are fine." Citan reaches up to adjust his glasses. He certainly seems confident about their status, anyway. "Yui is adept at looking after herself, and I do not doubt that she is looking after Midori, too, as well as the refugees."

He doesn't offer so much as a hint about where they are. By context, they must be in a safe place. Briefly, he considers leaving Fei to the tender mercies of the Badlands, and returning for a visit. It's been many years since his last visit, and after all the dust and heat of travel, he wouldn't mind cold air and windsong above the clouds...

"Hm." Oh, right, Fei's still talking. "In truth, I do not expect there will be much to find, but if that is what you want to do, I am only accompanying you on this venture. Where we go is ultimately your decision."

As to the Metal Demons, he doesn't say a word.

Not his circus, not his monkeys.

He has enough trouble managing one monkey.

<Pose Tracker> Fei Fong Wong has posed.

Fei is determined to stop the Metal Demons. For some reason. He doesn't explain why because he doesn't want Doc to think he's 'nuts'. He doesn't explain a lot of things about his mental state out of fear that he'll be seen as nuts. He has found an avenue to satisfy his needs in this arena.

Odds are Fei will continue to accept Citan's comings and goings as he often does – placidly and with little comment.

"Guess I'll keep checking the ruins in the meanwhile," Fei says. "Gotta make sure we have the supplies we'll need. We probably won't be able to do much planning if it gets hectic."

He stands himself up and dusts himself off.

"But it's nice seeing you, Doc. Hopefully we can help Bart soon too. He seems like a good guy."

Yeah it'll be trouble managing this monkey. After all, he is rather intent on not being anybody's.