2018-03-23: Jude to the Rescue

• Log: Jude To The Rescue
• Cast: Xantia, Jude Moshe
• Where: Plains of the Goddess
• Date: March 23rd, 2018
• Summary: Xantia is saved from getting hopelessly lost on her way to Vane by Jude, an encounter which was totally planned and not at all coincidental.

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=========================<* Plains of the Goddess *>==========================

The Plains of the Goddess consist of an enormous prairie that occupies the heart of the Meribus continent. It is the breadbasket of the world of Lunar; Althena's blessing lives strong in the soil, and the crops grown here are healthy, hearty, and free of disease. As a result of this bounty, the vast majority of the Plains are uncultivated; farmers have little reason to expand into the untamed wildlands when their larders and storehouses are filled to bursting.

Only a few roads cross the Plains of the Goddess, linking the major cities to each other, with the ruins of Vane at the hub of a wagon wheel. Althena's Guard patrols the highways regularly, making travel (relatively) safe. Anyone heading deeper into the fields does so at their own risk, however.

BGM: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qi_p5wdBrXw

<Pose Tracker> Xantia has posed.

Xantia didn't have the most enjoyable of times on Lunar thus far, ending up separated from everybody she knows and having to fend for herself for a while. Suspecting she wasn't in the Badlands anymore, but having no idea she wasn't even on the same planet anymore. Needless to say, this led to a few misadventures along the way, and quite a bit of uncertainty about whether or not anyone else got sent wherever she was now. But regardless, she had little choice but to keep going, to keep searching. She couldn't assume anybody would know where she was, so it's not like there was a point to just sitting and waiting. She'd never been very good at inaction, anyway.

True enough, without much in the way of clues, there was no real way anybody was going to find her. But there was one clue, if one just so happened to be in the right place at the right time to learn of it. A rumor about a monster in the form of a human girl, with flaming hair and an X emblazoned on her chest. Just more superstitious nonsense from the boonies, according to the city guards casually discussing the matter. Can't spare the manpower to look into every little claim from every little farming community. But perhaps there are some who would find that description notable enough to look into which particular farming community this rumor originated from.

In said poor excuse for a village, the locals are all too eager to share the details: this girl wandered in from the wilderness, covered in the blood and gore of others, apparently threatening to eat them all. Only the last bit was an embellishment - the poor farmers could be forgiven for mishearing Xantias pleas for food, given the state she was in. So she was still hungry after slaughtering every animal she came across, she didn't think that was weird, or that people might think the way she looked would be frightening. Of course she wouldn't.

Immediately assuming anybody asking about this to be a bounty hunter, they would next point towards Sluice Forest, cautioning that one bounty hunter already returned from there, scared out of his wits. However, by then it's too late - Xantia was there, as evidence by tracks in the damp soil matching her boots that were a few days old by then. Another set of footprints indicated that she left with someone else, footprints which strangely enough changed to become bigger and deeper, making it seem as if they instantly replaced their footwear with something akin to metal greaves at some point.

Xantia next ended up at the Carakin, which there may or may not have been a clue to point towards other than the direction the footprints were headed. But even if one were to visit there, they'd have just missed her. Xantia left having heard of Fei's presence in Vane, and Vane being located 'to the southwest'. She even made sure she knew where 'southwest' actually was in relation to her position before setting out. She figured that would be all the directions she needed.

But without anything more precise, not knowing of any landmarks along the way, and not having anything like a compass with her to reorient herself, she's found getting to where she meant to go a bit more difficult than she expected. After a few hours, she has to wonder, is she still going the right way, or is she lost again? Wandering used to so much easier, back when she didn't have an actual destination in mind. With a sigh, she hops onto a large standing rock in order to take a short breather, taking a bite out of a shiny red apple, the last of the food she brought. Looks like she might have to go hunting again before long, if she doesn't find her way soon. How much further IS this place?

Although sticking out like a sore thumb on that rock, red against the mostly green plains, she is still in the middle of nowhere, halfway between her last known location and the city of Vane. How would anyone find her here? Luck, skill, perhaps something in between...?

<Pose Tracker> Jude Moshe has posed.

Looking for people can be difficult. Especially when they are prone to wandering wherever their feet and endlessly distracted focus might carry them. To be honest, that part? Not too much of a hurdle, if you've made a life out of finding things and people that don't want to be found.

Looking for people after being thrown to the moon? Now that's a more interesting* wrinkle.

(*TRANSLATOR'S NOTE: 'interesting' means 'headache-inducing')

So how does Jude Moshe find people literally a world away? The answer is, ultimately, a simple one: he waits for a little bird to tell him.

This is more literal than one might think.

It's been some number of weeks since he arrived on Lunar only to have to make a prompt and only semi-disastrous escape from Meribia with Cassidy Cain and the others. The time spent afterwards has been mostly dedicated towards that age-old tradition of 'casing a joint'; 'a joint,' in this particular case, being 'an entire moon.' Given the scale, Jude does admirably well: it really takes him very little time to determine WHERE they are (nowhere on Filgaia is nearly as nice as all this, and he ought to know). From there, it's been setting up a temporary place to stay and gather information. Geography, currency, politics, culture -- these are things that can be quickly acclimated to when the need arises, especially when there's no language barrier in play. The rest?

The rest, has just been a matter of finding out what happened to all of Jude's associates. The Black Wolves were in the Pleasing Garden, that much he knew. And putting aside any potential problems of time displacement on top of space displacement (he's not ruling out anything, here), that means they all arrived at around the same place. He can make an educated guess that clusters of people arrived in relatively different locations. And so, Jude did the smart thing:

He had his bird do all the work for him.

Loaded with the visual data of relevant persons of interest, Jacob's spent much of his time since arriving in Meribia in flight. Returning only for maintenance or to provide visual data, the automaton's purpose has largely been scouting the region to learn the lay of the land for Jude. It isn't too terribly long before Jacob spots a few familiar faces.

And it isn't too particularly long that, perched on Jude's temporary windowsill, he brings his owner evidence of a more unexpected one.

"... Huh," murmurs Jude Moshe, staring at a picture of villagers running from a frighteningly redheaded girl.

---

Breadcrumbs, both horrifying and completely nonsensical, lead Jude on a path towards a place he was bound for to begin with. The roads to Vane are paved in a sense of order that felt so much more patchwork and unreliable in Ignas. The sun is bright, the skies clear -- what would be a relentless heat on Filgaia amidst a sea of sand has become a cool spring breeze amongst rolling greenery that is likely largely extinct on the Blue Star. A romantic or evens simply thoughtful person might stop to take it all in and wonder about what might have been, in another world.

The only breaks Jude Moshe has taken since he's set out for Vane have been smoke breaks.

He's in the middle of one now, in fact, leaned up against a tree as the smoke of his cigarette lifts lazily into the open air. Dark amber eyes staring at the clear heavens above, his thoughts begin to wander. Rumor, questions and simple tracking had painted a clear picture of someone heading to Vane. Of course, even with that, finding someone like Xantia would be like finding a needle in a haystack, assuming the needle didn't get distracted somewhere along the way and gone in a completely different direction.

If she's going there, however, Jude figures his best bet is to just make his way there, take care of his business in Vane, and just... wait... for her to...

... be sitting about fifty feet away from him on a boulder.

Jude Moshe pauses. He blinks. He squints.

Five seconds of long silence pass.

"... Huh," he echoes, yet again.

"Guess I'm luckier than I thought I was."

And so luck, skill, or perhaps something in between brings a strange pigeon made of metal and gears landing on Xantia's boulder, lensed eyes shuttering like it was blinking as the automaton cants its head. The chirp that issues from its steel beak is tinny and musical as it hops forward, and --

"I have to be honest," calls a voice from behind Xantia, perhaps distantly familiar, "I didn't really expect to find you here."

And it's even partway honest!

From behind, Jude Moshe approaches, pressing a hand through dark red hair; dressed in a tan vest, white, puffy-sleeved shirt designed like Lunarian garb and a pair of black breeches and travel boots, the man seems to already blend in effortlessly with the local decor. That perpetually lazy way he carries himself endures, however, as he lifts a hand in a little, casual half-a-wave that is completely at odds with the strangeness of their location. He seems to be adapting well, at least.

"Let me guess," ventures the redheaded journalist, with a lopsided smile.

"Decided you needed a long vacation?"

<Pose Tracker> Xantia has posed.

Xantia's efforts to find out more about where she's ended up were not nearly as extensive. Yeah okay, let's not even kid ourselves, Xantia has done absolutely nothing to specifically make herself more aware of nor adapt herself to this entirely new planet she's found herself on. It wasn't until her arrival at the Carakin that she was even aware of that much. Such a green place was unusual for Filgaia to put it mildly, but it's not like she'd been everywhere on the planet. Who'd ever assume they were suddenly on the moon? And given her poor initial experience with the locals, that made her disclined to actively try to interact with them much. The less said about the pitchfork incident, the better.

Obviously, this lack of adapting extends to her clothes, because why would she ever wear different clothes, it's not like she ever seemed to do that back on Filgaia. At least that makes her easy to recognize. On pictures, or in person. Not that the latter was ever too likely to happen, even with the trail she left. Best not to think about the odds of this sequence of events leading to actually running into her in person. Honestly, with her erratic, ill-prepared mode of travel, this might have actually been the most likely way for this to happen.

Speaking of unlikely events, Xantia just so happens to be thinking about what she's going to do for food now, when a bird lands right next to her. What luck! It's not much, but it's a start. All it takes is one quick swipe, and...!

Xantia blinks, and squints. Wait a minute, something's weird about this bird. This one's made of metal. She can't eat metal. One could be forgiven to think she can, since she eats just about everything else, but no, an iron stomach doesn't always mean being able to stomach iron. Sighing in disappointment, she voices her displeasure. "The moon is terrible, even the animals aren't always edible."

If she'd seen Jude's companion before, she might have been less surprised by the voice coming from behind her. It's familiar alright, not even distantly - for an amnesiac, her memory is ironically sharp. A vow to never forget anything ever again has a way of making one pay very close attention to everything and everyone around you. To never forget a name, a face, or a voice. To Xantia, it feels as if very little time passed since the previous time she's had a direct conversation with this person.

The astonished look she gives Jude as she turns around is thus quickly replaced by a ready smile, the girl hopping down from her perch immediately. "It's you! Jude, right?" Exceptionally happy to see someone else she recognizes, especially in a place like this, at a time like this. Only to be taken immediately off-guard by that question. "...huh? No... why would you think that? I'm not here because I want to be!" Still taking things entirely at face value. Some things never change. Despite the messes she got involved with earlier, she looks to be in good shape now, at least. She's cleaned herself up since the Incident, though discolored spots on her shorts and the white letter on her shirt indicate the faded presence of blood.

Xantia shakes her head, stepping closer. "But never mind that! I really need to find Fei... do you know where Vane is? Maybe you've seen him, or Lily?" Yes, she remembers Jude was Lily's friend, too. Of course, now that she thinks about this, she stops to wonder, "...You know this is the moon we're on, right? Lunar?" You never know. Took her long enough to figure that out.

<Pose Tracker> Jude Moshe has posed.

One quick swipe, and...!

The very much not flesh and blood bird that is Jacob just kind of stares at Xantia, as Xantia stares at Jacob.

Xantia blinks. Jacob blinks.

Xantia squints. Jacob squints.

The moon is terrible, even the animals aren't always edible.

And in response, Jacob chirps his tinny chirp. It's hard to say if he's grateful about not being eaten, or agreeing with her assessment of the moon. Or just chirping because it's in his programming.

Jacob's ways are truly mysterious.

Once released, Jacob will just flutter off into the air, flitting an easy path back to the shoulder of his owner. Landing comfortably, Jacob keeps his calm vigil as Jude Moshe lifts his hand in greeting; when Xantia instantly identifies him almost based entirely by voice, the journalist-slash-sellsword tilts his head to a curious, rightward cant, cigarette hanging loosely from his lips.

"Yep. It's me." But to his credit, he doesn't miss a single beat, hands slipping comfortably into the pockets of his breeches. Good memory, she has. But then, maybe that's not too surprising, given what he knows about her -- and given how much she remembered of even their first, brief encounter in the middle of a hellish fight.

All this to say, the smile that Jude offers Xantia is one of those easy, noncommittal ones that seems to take her appearance here on Lunar and instant recognition of him in remarkable stride, all things considered. A smile that becomes more haphazard by the other redhead's follow up, pressing a palm to his forehead as those dark, amber eyes take a long sweep around him. "You're not, huh? Guess that makes two of us, then. Too bad; this would make a pretty good vacation spot."

He doesn't really think so. Not the least of which because of their tyrannical views on important things like 'alcohol.' Still...

"Good to see you're still in one piece, beansprout."

... it's good to see that hyper-literalism of hers hasn't changed a single bit.

"Figuratively."

Constants are important in life.

Quick stock of the situation reads more or less as Jude figured. She's headed Vane-wards. Without really knowing what or where it is. Looking for...

"Huh, is that right?" wonders the redheaded reporter, casting his gaze in the direction of Vane. "Fancy that. I was actually looking for them, myself." Partly true, even. "In fact, I was just on my way to Vane when I stumbled across you. Fate has a funny way of working sometimes, huh?" That... is more true than he'd care to admit.

...You know this is the moon we're on, right?

"Put it together. You couldn't imagine the odd looks people give you if you ask them what planet this is." He didn't ask. But he can imagine. Amber eyes fall on Xantia. A brow lifts, just a little. He plucks free his cigarette, smoke pluming from his lips as he points it at the faded splotches of red on Xantia's clothes.

"Not getting in trouble with the locals, are you?"

<Pose Tracker> Xantia has posed.

Xantia doesn't comment on the metal bird's behavior one way or another, but she does take notice of it. Looks like it's Jude's pet, she concludes when it lands on his shoulder. A pet made of metal. Why not, she doesn't know how common those are. And it makes a lot more sense to her than a flesh and blood animal, because why wouldn't you just eat those? Xantia's thought patterns tend to differ a little bit from the norm.

They do tend to be straightforward, as her response on the vacation matter indicates, after the initial shrug. "I wouldn't know, I've never been on a vacation." As far she can remember. "I don't think I need one. ...Why do people take vacations?" Of course she doesn't get it. What would she be taking a vacation from? Looking for her memory? Fat chance of her wanting to do that. Even the answer to that question isn't really important to her, she just wonders about it now because it came up and now she feels like she's missing something. This still happens quite a bit.

It's immediately clear it's still important to specify colloquialisms as things not to be taken literally, the puzzled headtilt giving away that she has no idea why she's 'beansprout'. Even when that is clarified, she still doesn't get it, and doesn't look very satisfied. "That's a weird name. Can you just call me Xantia instead? Or you can shorten it if you want, that's fine." Not answering to beansprout. That's just going to make her think of food every time, she's hungry enough as it is.

Speaking of which, another bite of the apple later, the core is about the only part of it that's left. She regards the remains on the fruit sadly. And then eats them. Wouldn't make sense to waste any part of it. Nothing unusual to her, with the food gone she just moves on to focusing on the next most positive thing. "Really? Wow, that is funny!" She actually laughs, because that's what you do when things are funny. "In that case, you can help me get there, and we won't have to go there alone! That's great!"

She was starting to have some doubts everything was going to be okay, but fate does seem to have a way of making things work out. As such, it's only proper to thank her good fortune, and the one to deliver it, by suddenly reaching out to grab both of Jude's hands. It doesn't really matter if she can or not, it's just to add additional emphasis to her sincerity when she expresses, "Thank you, you've really saved me. Again." No hard feelings about the situation with the hammer - which she still carries with her now, hanging off her back in its crude but apparently solid leather bindings - or more likely, she still doesn't fully understand what happened at that time. Nothing but genuine gratitude in her eyes.

Releasing Jude's hands if she managed to take hold of them, she's reduced to looking sheepish when Jude asks his question about the locals. "Ah, well..." That look says 'guilty' all over, not even any need for foreknowledge or visual clues, which Xantia probably didn't even realize there still are. Not that it matters, it's not like she would lie about it. "I've had a little trouble. I'm not sure why the people here are so unfriendly." Because being covered in blood shouldn't be that big a deal, right? Did we mention Xantia's thought patterns tend to differ a little bit from the norm?

<Pose Tracker> Jude Moshe has posed.

Simple an straightforward. It's like Xantia has an uncanny knack to break things down to their most basic meanings and work from there/ Like someone still just beginning to learn about the world beyond the basic necessities to survive in it.

Jude, of course, takes it remarkably well in stride; whatever the implications of her behavior could be, the redheaded reporter doesn't seem to dwell on it or even spare a curious glance for it, instead patting the top of Jacob's metal head before ushering the automaton off with a simple, "Go on then, Jake." The bird takes off from his shoulder, ascending past Xantia and soaring eastwards, towards Vane

Why do people take vacations?

"Depends on the person." And so, Jude doesn't seem to mind answering that question that most would likely see as obvious; his shoulders even lift in an ambivalent shrug as he takes a slow drag from his cigarette, smoke spilling from his lips with every syllable he utters next. "Maybe they're too stressed, maybe they just need a change of pace. Maybe they've just got the itch to disconnect from everything for a while." Amber eyes slide Xantia's way.

"But at the end of the day, it's because most people don't want to be where they are."

With that settled, Jude taps ash out onto the stretch of green grass that seems to carry on further than the eye can see. A sea of green, sullied insignificantly by a fraction of gray. He casts his gaze Xantia's way as she expresses that wordless confusion. "Nickname," is all he supplies, at first, before Xantia continues on; the journalist's response is an apologetic little smile. "'Xantia' is already a pretty short name as it is, isn't it? Besides, nicknames don't really work that way, unfortunately. It has to feel right. Sometimes people are just destined for certain ones. Not much I can do about it." A helpless shrug follows. Obviously, he could just call her Xantia.

"That's just the way luck works sometimes. It's not all good."

But beansprout just feels much more fitting.

But, there she goes, moving on from the lament of her finished food to laughing within the drop of a hat. It probably says as much about him as it does about her that he takes her boundless, energetic gratitude in stride as much as she seems to give it freely and immediately; he doesn't even try to stop her as she snaps up his hands, his head tilt just a bit as she offers her thanks for saving her. Again. She still hasn't put all that together. Which, in and of itself, is remarkable.

"Hey, don't mention it," he says, simply. Easily. "It's just the kind of guy I am." Generous. To a fault.

As soon as his hands are released, they find their proper place locked behind the back of his head. He tilts his chin just slightly eastward as if in indication of the direction they ought to head, before starting a nice, leisurely walk. "So, we'll partner up, and see what we can find in Vane. Sound good?" he asks of the other redhead, glancing down at her. "Jacob'll help out too. Trust me, if they're there, we'll find them." But a sheepish guilt dominates her as she speaks next, and the journalist turns that curious amber gaze her way shortly thereafter, lifting a dark brow.

"Well, you know," he begins, slowly.

"Probably just cultural differences."

With that, the man continues on, orange embers eating away at his stick of tobacco as he starts to make his way down the road once more. "Speaking of which, though," he begins, leisurely. "You better be careful what you say and do around these people. I hear they've got a lot of taboos, and crossing even one of them might mean the difference between life and death." Maybe not that severe, but he certainly makes it sound like a morbid certainty. Pointed pause goes ----- here.

"Speaking of which, how's that whole pirate thing working out for you?"

<Pose Tracker> Xantia has posed.

Xantia watches Jacob fly off in wonder, though that wonderment doesn't last long. Living animals obeying commands is weirder to her than metal ones doing as commanded. That probably should have struck her as a bizarre thought. But it doesn't. Some things just make sense in her head. Perhaps one day this will stick out as something more notable than it does today.

Instead, Xantia brings a hand to her chin, considering the matter of vacations. Jude doesn't make it sound like a vacation results from anything positive. "Really? That's strange. It seemed like it was a happy thing." She must've encountered something related to vacations before, likely in some book or another. The final statement on it sounded particularly sad to her, as it makes her look a little sad as well. She does know that feeling.

"I don't want to be here either. I'd take a vacation back to Filgaia, if I could." Not... entirely the correct view of what a vacation is, but the sentiment is accurate.

On the matter of nicknames, Xantia doesn't entirely agree, mainly because yes, Xantia is already a pretty short name as it is. "So why are you making it longer?" She's pretty sure that's against the rules, or at least it should be. Besides, there are plenty of ways to shorten her name. "Fei often calls me Xan, that works fine." She briefly brightens up just mentioning Fei's name, looking forward to seeing him again. Only to look a little confused when she recalls, "There's even someone who calls me 'X' now. That's a little weird. But I guess it's fine." It's better than 'beansprout'. She's not gonna let that go, names are important.

At least she can be sure that Jude always means well. After all, he's helped her twice now, and he's always patiently explaining things so she can understand. It's absolutely that easy to get her to see someone as a good friend. Even the effort to sound sincere is probably wasted on her, she's just that oblivious to the possibility of being deceived. As such, she agrees to the notion of partnering up without question with a simple, cheerful, "Yeah!"

And then immediately wonders aloud when she hears the name Jacob, "...you mean your bird? I thought his name was Jake." See, this is why names are important.

Hearing about 'cultural differences' is a bit distressing. Xantia knows enough about culture to realize that it's difficult to understand, especially when a culture isn't your culture. And she doesn't even know what her culture is. Sounds like she made the right call to avoid the locals after the initial encounter went poorly. The taboos sound particularly important, so the next question is obvious. "What's a taboo?" Words! Who invents all these strange terms?

As for the pirate thing... that provokes a chuckle, and a shake of her head. "I don't think I make a very good pirate." She's not sad about that though, because she's already committed to a different aspiration, making a fist for emphasis. "So now I'm going to be a hero!"

<Pose Tracker> Jude Moshe has posed.

"You'd think, wouldn't you?"

And that, it seems, is about where Jude seems like he'll leave the matter of vacations. The silence lingers for a moment, before his shoulders roll in an ambivalent sort of motion.

"But y'know, for most, vacations are the happiest thing that could happen to them. Think of it this way -- vacations are a way to get away from the unhappiness. Don't worry -- I bet you'll get it eventually."

And at least she's trying, too! ... Even if her comparison falls a bit off the mark. Amber eyes consider her for a moment, before a hand drops down to give a sympathetic pat to her shoulder. "Yep. Me too," is all he says, as if happy to just let her consider that the correct usage undisturbed. And he even feels the same way, a little bit.

Strange as that may seem.

But as the talk of nicknames continue, Jude's hands just lift palms-upward in a helpless gesture. "Nicknames aren't really about length, kiddo," is his consolation, gaze rolling up towards the clear skies. "It's all about gut feeling. You're small, but you're tough. See? Beansprout, through and through." He does catch that brief look of happiness in Xantia's expression at the mention of Fei from the peripherals of his vision, though; ash spilling from his cigarette, he tables the implications of that for later, instead focusing on something else:

There's even someone who calls me 'X' now.

"Huh. Weird choice. Who calls you that one?"

With that, he continues on, pausing only briefly to drop and snuff out the remains of his cigarette as they carry on. Grinding it beneath his heel, he looks Xantia's way briefly. "Yep. His name's Jacob. Jake for short. Kinda like Xan." He pauses here for a moment, as if considering. "So, you've got amnesia, right? Did you remember your name, or just come up with it yourself?" Because - after all - names are important.

As are words, strange and varied as they might be. "A taboo is something that's strictly forbidden to do by a culture or religion," he explains, obligingly, his tone ever-conversational. "On threat of severe punishment. It's basically a big list of no-nos. And there's a lot of 'em here. Singing, dancing, drinking, eating anything but raw fish on a Friday, eating before making eye contact with everyone in the room, writing someone's name in red... I've heard that some places here make you put your hand in a bowl of bullet ants just to be accepted in the village." Most of those are true. Some of those. But really, who knows? He wouldn't put it past them to outlaw writing things in red ink.

"It's a pretty weird world out there."

And as he talks, as Xantia makes her bold declaration, Jude wheels around with the sharp pivot of his right foot, casually walking his way backwards as he turns his faces the smaller redhead. "Mm. I can see it. You don't have the right disposition for piracy." And then --

So now I'm going to be a hero!

His brows lift, ever-so-slowly.

"A hero, huh," he utters, almost thoughtful. Not a single note of incredulity enters that tone of his as he continues, "That's a pretty big goal there. Not that easy, either. You got a plan on how you're going to break in to the hero business?"

<Pose Tracker> Xantia has posed.

The matter of vacations is settled in a way that apparently satisfies Xantia. That bit at the end there... she might call it commiseration, though that's a pretty complicated word so it'd probably be a simpler variant of it. Whatever the case, she feels that she understands enough of it, and that Jude understands how she feels about it. That's plenty good enough for her.

The matter of nicknames, though... nothing but a blank stare. She's no stranger to gut feeling, but this? "I don't get it at all." Moreover, she stands her ground. "I think you should just call people what they want to be called, if they ask you to." Of all things Jude's been telling her, this is the one that she's just outright refusing to take his word on. When she does have opinions on a subject, she's as ready to fight for what she believes in as she always is.

The wind is knocked out of her sails when questioned about the person who calls her 'X' though. She looks nervous for some reason, though she does eventually identify, "Carina. She's... someone at the Carakin." And there's obviously something she's not telling Jude. This doesn't remain a secret however, because of another subject that's discussed not long after.

Before that, though-- "Of course I remembered it! I'm not just going to make up a name." Names are indeed important, so much so that she seems insulted by the very implication that she'd ever just give herself one without being sure of it. She doesn't know how she knows it, but that hardly matters now, does it? What matters is, "If I went around with a made-up name, nobody could recognize it. It'd be meaningless." Which is why she can't doubt that she at least has her name right.

There's enough to worry about already, like all these taboos now. Hearing about those worries Xantia greatly, immediately wondering, "Oh no, did I violate some taboo, is that why they chased me away?" A more common taboo than she realizes, because her first guess is, "Was it Friday? I eat whatever I can find or catch, why just fish, that's not easy..." Obviously that one is a far bigger concern than all those other things. She could deal with those, but if it's about narrowing her diet...

And how is she planning to become a hero? She looks positively smug about that one. Oh, she's got this one figured out really well. "In the best way possible..." Needlessly long dramatic pause, followed by a needless pose, raising her fist to the sky. "By being Metal Digger Locus's sidekick, as Mystery Hero X!"

Two seconds later, and she deflates, dropping out of her pose and hanging her head. "Awww, I know I shouldn't have said anything, now you're going to find out Carina is Metal Digger Locus because she's the one who calls me X!"

Um. Well. There's... maybe a chance that leap of logic could have been made? Xantia seems pretty sure there's no leap to make, it's all obvious now, right?