2019-01-18: Seventh Seeker

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<Pose Tracker> Neriah Parringer has posed.

By now, a lot of people have heard of the famous Caravan Kinship. It's far from unheard of for customers to meander by in search of dazzling deals from Jay's baes.

And today's no exception. A small group of people stopped by recently in search of a few potions. Jay's able to make some decent sales, helping to keep the Kinship rolling and funded for another day. It's almost like there's a legitimate merchant enterprise here instead of a group of Drifters out to save Filgaia and help people!

When the potion-buyers move off, there's only one customer left, moving quietly towards the caravan. The woman's of about medium height but quite fit, and from a distance she looks younger than she does up close - the hints of crow's feet and laugh lines showing in an otherwise beautiful face framed by dark hair done up over her shoulders in naturally streaming waves. She's dressed to adventure - blouse, corset, sleeveless coat with big colour, high boots, silvery ARM belted at her hip.

Hesitating a moment, the woman inhales, then moves forward with a quiet hint of anxiety she's able to mostly keep out of her face, but not her eyes.

"I'm looking for Jacqueline Barber." 

<Pose Tracker> Ethius Hesiod has posed.

    Ethius seems to be busy reading a book about sandworms. It's kind of quaint? But then the first two times he catches people noticing he's reading a book about sandworms, he's decided to hide it underneath a copy of some ancient Metal Demon era romance novel, as though he'd prefer people are thinking he's reading that instead. It is a mystery, but it is also probably complete nonsense that makes sense only to him.
     He looks up from where he reads, looking over his shoulder at the dark-haired customer who remains among those who have come by for wares. He stares her over for a good five seconds, head to toe, then back up towards her hip. He closes up the book(s) and tucks it underneath his arms.
     He quietly moves to wherever Jay presently is in her dealings (accounting, etc) in that somewhat understated way.
     "Miss Jay, you have one more," Ethius remarks matter-of-factly. 

<Pose Tracker> Jacqueline Barber has posed.

It's another busy day for the Caravan Kinship, but that's just fine for Jacqueline. Busy days meant good sales....and besides, it was something she found comforting to do, so it was just fine to her.

The crowd's starting to thin out a little so Jacqueline turns, rearranging the potions on the shelf behind her to fill in gaps and make the various colors pop out just a little bit more. She might as well try to attract the last few customers she can for the day, after all.

It's while she's arranging these shelves that she hears Ethius's remark.

"O-oh! I'm sorry about that." Jacqueline says, turning to face the front. She studies the woman, taking a few quick mental notes. The subtle anxiety in her eyes does not go unnoticed, but she doesn't comment on it just yet. Instead, she offers the woman a kind smile.

"Yes, I'm Jacqueline Barber. Were you looking for something in particular?" She asks. 

<Pose Tracker> Lydia Seren has posed.

Lydia is done with work for today and is reading a book intently called 'LOVE AND WARMACHINES: MY DATE IS A HOLMCROSS', sitting on top of her own wagon as she does so, legs sticking out over the edge. She has a faint blush on her cheeks as she turns the page intently, not paying much attention for what's going on down below until Ethius speaks up. She glances over towards the drifter lady who showed up before looking back down to her book, biting at her lip. It's someone looking for Jay so she doesn't really need to be interjecting or anything like that just yet. 

<Pose Tracker> Neriah Parringer has posed.

The woman lowers her lashes a little across startlingly pale blue eyes as she looks back at Ethius, but doesn't comment on how thoroughly he eyes her up. The ARM at her side is clearly older and non-standard, but she's not reaching for it.

With a look towards Lydia, the woman raises her eyebrows a little, just able to see the title of the book. But it's Jay she's got the most interest in, and indeed, the alchemist makes herself known. "Just to talk. If I'm not interrupting your business," she says as she brushes back a few locks of raven hair with the edge of her fingers, the gesture seemingly more reflex than anything else.

The woman parts her lips just a bit, then exhales slightly. "The truth is, my daughter mentioned she knew you, and that you were a pretty good person. So I thought you might be able to help me figure out what's going on with her, or where I might be able to find her."

She offers a hand to the young Alchemist, nodding in introduction.

"I'm Arianny Parringer." 

<Pose Tracker> Lydia Seren has posed.

Lydia blinks a few times at what the lady says. A tumbleweed blows by the Caravan which is legit because this is Filgaia.

Then she comically facefaults off her wagon, legs sticking up at weird angles as she flops into the ground. It is that anime.

Picking her self up with a big bump on her head, Lydia says, "Ya said Parringer???" 

<Pose Tracker> Ethius Hesiod has posed.

    Ethius manages to keep a remarkable poker face as the name is spoken, but he is cheating and has that lower half of his face hidden. He could be making a super-nervous swirly mouth under there for all anyone knows, but his eyes give extremely little. If anything, he calmly steps up and walks over to Lydia as if to check on her well-being, giving her a once-over with a prolonged look which is probably a 'shh' but he's not making the finger gesture, so...
     He turns around, crosses his arms behind his back, and stands at attention as he doesn't move to interject or interrupt. 

<Pose Tracker> Jacqueline Barber has posed.

"Oh, no, not at all! I should have time to talk." Jacqueline says, shaking her head. Business had slowed down a little, so she could certainly spare some time to talk with someone who had come all this way to see her.

"Your daughter?" Jacqueline asks, curious. But what the woman says next, as she extends a hand, explains everyone. She's Arianny Parringer. That could only mean she's...

"Ah, you must be Neriah's mother, then..." Jacqueline comments. She sounds...a little sad. She accepts the handshake, nodding as she does so.

She should have known - now that she knew, she could see the similarities.

"Ah...would you like to discuss this inside?" Jacqueline asks, gesturing to the vehicle behind them. "It's, um...somewhat of a long story, and you might want to be sitting down..."

This wasn't going to be easy, but...she deserved to know. 

<Pose Tracker> Neriah Parringer has posed.

"Well. Novatia. My married name was Parringer," the dark-haired woman admits to Lydia with a flip of her hand.

The woman gives Ethius a steady look when he moves away. "I assume you're Ethius," she says quietly. There's no hostility in her tone, but neither does she follow it up.

Her hand slips into Jacqueline's; sleek, but with a firm grip. At close range, the resemblances are stark. Arianny's about her daughter's height, with her hair colour and the same blue eyes as Neriah used to have - but she doesn't go about in the heavy makeup Neriah's taken to. What she does wear is very minimal.

Somehow it makes her all the more approachable.

"That would be good," she says with a small nod, beginning to move after Jay.

"I knew something was wrong when I heard what happened at Nisan...." 

<Pose Tracker> Lydia Seren has posed.

Lydia rubs at her head, looking over to Ethius with a faint frown. She lowers her hand and by the time the camera cuts back to her the bump is gone and she's back seated in a crouch. She looks at her book and then slides a bookmark in and closes it.

"Novatia? Nice." Lydia says because it has the word 'Nova' in it.

She doesn't add much else because she really doesn't want to tell Neriah's mom that her kid is now working for a dark god and it's probably Ethius's fault. Honestly, she had just plain assumed her mother was dead.

She manages for the moment to avoid mentioning that. 

<Pose Tracker> Ethius Hesiod has posed.

    Ethius doesn't say 'yes' or 'no' or 'it's pronounced ______' or much of anything at the positive identification. If Neriah has spoken at length to her mother about them or how any of them looked, it is reasonable to assume she could piece it together.
     Once Jay leads them aside, he moves to position himself inside in front of the way out, but otherwise adds no real dialogue nor discourse. 

<Pose Tracker> Jacqueline Barber has posed.

Jacqueline nods as Arianny accepts her offer.

"I just need to put these away real quick - it'll only take a moment." She says. Indeed, she's so used to it that it only takes a few quick motions to store the potions away safely in a crate, which she picks up and, with a gesture to follow, brings inside the vehicle. She doesn't bother breaking down the stall, instead leaving a note that they're closed.

"I suppose it doesn't surprise me that word spread quickly..." Jacqueline murmurs. There had been a lot of shouting over Gear-scale speakers, and a threat against the seat of the world's majority religion would undoubtedly attract attention.

Jacqueline heads inside and takes a seat on one of the couches, offering with a gesture for her to do the same.

Let's see, where to begin..." She murmurs, thinking it over. "Has Neriah told you anything about her, um...abilities?" 

<Pose Tracker> Neriah Parringer has posed.

Gravity of topic or not, Arianny flashes Lydia a wry smile, arching one eyebrow. "I try." If she recognizes Lydia by name or by face, she's not saying anything about it. Maybe she doesn't know everyone in her kid's life.

She actually did pronounce Ethius wrong, though. When the silent man moves to block the exit, though, she dips her lashes slightly. "Don't do that, sweetie," she says wearily. "I'm not going to turn into a demon and bite your head off."

Moving to one of the couches, Arianny settles into a seat. She stretches a shapely leg out and crosses it over the opposite, then leans back a little, propping an elbow against the back of the couch. When Jay leads off, though, she closes her eyes and lets out a slow breath through her nose.

"She doesn't necessarily need to. She's had them since she was little," she admits. "We tried to find some explanation for them, but even the magic scholars we talked to couldn't tell us what kind of power had consumed my daughter." 

<Pose Tracker> Lydia Seren has posed.

Lydia follows the group in, still kind of stunned by the whole 'has a parent that's still alive' and all. "Does uh... Neriah know you're still around?" She asks. of course maybe she shouldn't just rush into trusting this lady either. One doesn't become like Neriah with a happy upbringing, right? Well it's not like she could be totally certain about that either. "I mean to be totally honest, she didn't act like she had her own peeps she could go back to. Not that I know her the best or anything."

She glances to Jay for a moment, before glancing back thoughtfully at Arianny. So far, 'secret family' has not had a great record of not pissing Lydia off so she's already somewhat suspicious here. 

<Pose Tracker> Ethius Hesiod has posed.

    "Given the subject matter being discussed and the non-zero possibility of hostile actors eavesdropping," arguably exactly like people such as Ethius!!!, the comma insists on placing itself where it does in spite of the rules of proper grammar as another grudgingly takes over its proper post, "I would prefer to stand at this present location."
     He says this with all the feel of it being a rehearsed speech, but that's normal for him, that roundabout, stilted way of talking, and now look, there's a whole lot of commas looking to get that sweet overtime pay, look what you did, you first comma, you, you should be ashamed of yourself, letting the run-on sentence in here like that.
     ...
     Ahem.
     Ethius quietly considers what is spoken. None of the magic scholars they spoke to understood what it was Neriah commanded. He seems a little more guarded about elucidating what he does know, but that her irregularities were a known quantity for as long as they were...
     He doesn't speak up against Lydia's observations. A hand goes to his forehead as if considering some other point. 

<Pose Tracker> Jacqueline Barber has posed.

Jacqueline sends Ethius a slight frown. She doesn't like the way he's blocking off the exit - Arianny had the right to leave if she wanted to, even if he had his own reasoning about it. She returns her attention to Arianny, though, nodding as she explains that they were never able to figure it out.

"I see..." She murmurs. Her eyes meet Lydia's for a moment as the latter looks toward her. She can understand why she may be concerned.

"I think...she found out. This...isn't going to be easy to hear, and this might not be something you want to hear. If you want to leave now...you have that right." Jacqueline hesitates. She waits, giving Arianny an opportunity to make her decision - and to leave if that's what she wants - before continuing. This wasn't going to be easy to say, either. ...But Arianny had the right to know. She shouldn't be kept in the dark.

"Neriah...according to her, that power originates from Valmar. It was...carried in the Parringer bloodline for seven generations, sealed by a Guardian's power, but...that seal was broken." Jacqueline explains. "She's had a difficult time, and...it seems like there are things she feels compelled to do..." 

<Pose Tracker> Neriah Parringer has posed.

"I assume so. She wrote me a letter about a year ago, so I assume she thinks I'm not dead yet," Arianny answers Lydia, then smiles a tight, slightly self-effacing smile. "Besides, 34 isn't old enough to keel over and die."

Neriah can't be younger than 19. Either Arianny was really precocious or she's been 34 for a few years now.

With a soft sigh, Arianny tilts her head to the side to give Ethius a look. "I'm not sure who here you think is hostile. Whatever happened to my daughter, I'm hardly on the side of the Devil. But if it makes you feel better...."

Jacqueline gives her the chance to leave. The older woman shakes her head a little, then gestures, urging the alchemist to explain.

The explanation doesn't knock her out of her seat, but she does frown a little, curling her fingers against her chin and looking down at herself. "I was afraid it would be something evil," she murmurs.

That is left to hang in the air for several long, heavy seconds. Then Arianny lets out a small, bitter chuckle, shaking her head. Her eyes have gone a bit distant, as if she's sunk into thought. "I wish I could blame her father. But I'm sure it came from my side. Nice of me to give her that." 

<Pose Tracker> Lydia Seren has posed.

"...Hunnhh..." Lydia says thoughtfully.

"Well, I don't see how it could be your fault. Jay said it was seven generations, that means the person whose fault it is is like from a billion years ago." Lydia looks to Jay for a moment and adds, "But really? Which Guardian? Maybe it can be resealed."

She gives Ethius a brief, deadpan look. "Didn'tcha say she was the only person around 'sides us?"

She doesn't add much else for now. 

<Pose Tracker> Ethius Hesiod has posed.

    It does seem a hole in the logic on his part, doesn't it? It's not the first time he's stood this way for anyone unfamiliar visiting the CaraKin in similar circumstances. His official job description may well be 'Make People Very Uncomfortable.'
     Eyes track to Jay as she talks about Valmar and their presence. Valmar, who should be mere legend. A Valmar, defeated by Granas in a time long past. Then again... everyone knows what happened with the thousand-year-old Metal Demon stories and claims... as soon as nearly two years ago.
     Ethius still has a hand on his forehead. Two interesting details about this meeting so far... her reassurances about something they have seen happen among Valmar's supporters at least once, and her certainty about being to blame. He lowers the hand away from his face, back behind his back. Back to back.
     "Am I to assume you practiced Crest Sorcery?" This seems a strange question to ask, doesn't it. What would THE POWER OF VALMAR have to do with Crest Sorcery? One of the common explanations for her powers - by their reckoning at the time - he recalls was 'Symbology.' 

<Pose Tracker> Jacqueline Barber has posed.

Jacqueline frowns slightly. It had to be done, but...she didn't feel good about this.

"It isn't your fault." Jacqueline says, shaking her head as she agrees with Lydia. She reaches over to rest a gentle hand on Arianny's shoulder, if she seems alright with it. "You...and Neriah, you're both victims of this. Whichever side it came from...you couldn't have known."

Lydia asks which Guardian, and Jacqueline frowns slightly.

"It was...Ge Ramtos. But...even if it could be resealed, I don't think she would allow it. The seal...she called them the Chains of Arius. They put an immense pressure on her. She said it felt like she was dying each time her powers came out." Jacqueline replies, shaking her head.

Ethius asks a question and Jacqueline frowns, just slightly. She certainly hopes he isn't making any implications about people who use Crest Sorcery... 

<Pose Tracker> Neriah Parringer has posed.

The metal star's quickness to excuse her seems to surprise Arianny a little. She blinks, then looks down again with a faint, rueful smile. "Call it a mother's wish to give her child the best in life," she murmurs. "But I had no idea this was... even a thing. I don't know much about our family...."

When Jacqueline lays a hand on her shoulder, the dark-haired woman draws a slow, shaky breath. Jay can feel her body trembling just a bit before she forces herself to let it out. "...I know it was mine. She used to have horrible dreams about me. She told me that the voices in her dreams called me NUMBER SEVEN sometimes. And like an idiot, I didn't understand it. Granas knows I don't have any magic powers--"

She blinks at the name of Arius, though, a deep frown crossing her face. "I'm pretty sure my grandfather said we had someone by that name way back in the family. Back when our family lived in Aquvy. I don't know more than that...."

Trailing off, Arianny looks up at Ethius as he asks that question. She shakes her head. "No, I was never any good with magic. I was in the Excavator's Guild and I mostly just relied on Marilyn -- my old ARM, I mean. My daughter has it now." 

<Pose Tracker> Lydia Seren has posed.

"Well I don't actually...uh...care too much about whether she'd 'allow' it. I'm not sure she's entirely in control of her own thoughts and actions anyway. Though I guess it is true that she might just resist something like that if we try. But..."

She trails off. The road she was about to head down was maybe not for Arianny's ears.

She looks back to her though and adds, "Well, sure." She sounds a little uneasy. "We should all be so lucky to have moms like that."

She gives Ethius a quick glance but he seems to ease up a little. 

<Pose Tracker> Ethius Hesiod has posed.

    No proficiency in sorcery, then... if there was a seal in place to suppress such latent ability, it might make sense that she wouldn't have any immediate familiarity or understanding of what was going on. The Symbologist among them considers quietly what a possible course of action could be for containing this.
     ...He already tried that.
     ...
     Tried that one too.
     ...Tried that one yet again.
     ...
          ...
               ...
     Hm. Is that something he should talk about? There has been a sense of unease about the nature of what transpired at the start of December, and the resulting fallout that he is doing everything in his power to deal with, to some deep-seated compulsion he cannot (or will not) explain. Nonetheless...
     ...There is one lead worth following.
     "Aquvy, then..." ...Should 'Aquvy' mean anything to him, he considers. It doesn't seem to, but... his earliest surviving memory that he can put on a solid timeline is waking up in Lacour's mountain ranges. That's a ways away from there.
     ...That could be where some answers yet wait. 

<Pose Tracker> Jacqueline Barber has posed.

Those horrible dreams...Jacqueline frowns slightly. That must have been awful. But even worse was having to bear that information, and knowing about it.

"...I'm sorry." Jacqueline replies, shaking her head. She listens as Arianny comments on the name Arius, and how their family used to live in Aquvy. Jacqueline considers this information too, but doesn't comment on it directly.

Lydia says that she doesn't care about whether or not she'd allow it, and that she's not sure that Neriah is completely in control. Jacqueline frowns slightly.

The hard part is...Jacqueline is certain she is, at least for the most part. There's most likely something influencing her, but ever since the Chains were broken...

...But Jacqueline doesn't voice that aloud.

"Maybe...I'm not sure where we'd begin. That'd be something to ask Lunata, but..." Jacqueline hesitates. What kind of price would that cost her...?

Jacqueline shakes her head, and looks back up at Arianny.

"I'll...continue trying to talk to her, and doing what I can to limit the damage she causes." She says. "I don't know if it helps, but..." 

<Pose Tracker> Neriah Parringer has posed.

As much as Arianny seems to be fairly composed, it's impossible to not look troubled when you're talking about your daughter being literally Satan.

For a long moment, the woman's silent, closing her pale blue eyes and just digesting everything she hears. There are a lot of questions she's not sure how to answer, at least in her own mind.

"I don't know much about that side," she admits with a shake of her head. "My grandfather told me that one of his distant relatives lived there, but they came here ages ago. But that's all I know."

The older woman clears her throat quietly before smiling tightly at Jacqueline. "...The last time I heard from her, it was in a letter. She said you were one of the kindest people she knew. I'm sorry she hasn't returned your kindness. If it means anything, you seem like every bit the person she describes. And...." She trails off and looks towards Ethius.

"...If it is Valmar, I can't say I blame you for recognizing what it was. She told me about that too." 

<Pose Tracker> Lydia Seren has posed.

"...Being kind to people who are kind to you..." Lydia looks down for a moment. "I mean, it sounds reasonable but from what I've seen..." She trails off for a moment, troubled, but she doesn't finish that thought, not aloud.

She thinks about what Ethius had tried to do. Perhaps he already figured Neriah was down this road, or maybe he thought it was inevitable. But maybe if he hadn't gone after her like that--well, maybe it would have just passed down to whatever came after Neriah or died out naturally with her.

Reflecting on it, it feels like using a Guardian's power to seal something like this into bloodline, well, it does sound like something they'd do. They always had difficulty with the small stuff but if creating Neriahs was their solution, then maybe Kaguya--

--No. You can't punch out the wind or the stars. Maybe they'll just have to get used to seeing the small.

"It's easy to be nice to people who are nice to you. It's a lot harder being nice to people--" Her gaze slants briefly towards Ethius. "--who aren't. Sometimes you gotta be nice to total dickwads. Neriah's gotta learn that, Valmar or not." 

<Pose Tracker> Ethius Hesiod has posed.

    Compare this to Ethius, who seems mostly unmoved emotionally, save for when a strong thought seems to occur to him - and even then, there's this cold distance between him and the mother of the person he has unambiguously made several attempts on the life of. He should say something reassuring, or at the least, something in condolence for the situation.
     There is this fundamental part of this man, somehow, who seems like he just does not recognize himself as being wholly able to be held to account. The reckless way in which he seems to be able to just go off and killdestroy someonesomething without so much as a huge rise to be read from him emotionally.
     In some ways, maybe even a bigger monster than Literally Satan.
     ...If anything, the idea that he recognized Valmar for what it is does seem to strike something into him, in so much that he has a hand to his forehead again. He is here to destroy something. Is it Valmar?
     ...
     But he did not recognize that torrent of soul-crushing power. His first encounter with the EIGHT... that was his first. He's sure of it.
     He couldn't have recognized Valmar, and yet, that seems the most agreeable explanation for all gathered. The context at the time, it made sense for him to do what he did. He knows that much.
     He doesn't correct the record. (He's not sure where the record is presently located.) He lowers the hand away from his forehead.
     "You have my assurances that I will do what is within my means." Back to the canned responses. 

<Pose Tracker> Jacqueline Barber has posed.

Jacqueline lets Arianny have her silence, not wanting to put any additional pressure on her. When she speaks again Jacqueline nods.

"I see..." She murmurs. Maybe they'd find something there, maybe they wouldn't but it was something to keep in mind. What she says next gets a smile out of her, too.

"...Thank you. I'm sorry I couldn't give you better news..." Jacqueline replies with a nod. She wished it helped more often, but...she had grown accustomed to that by now.

Jacqueline thinks for a moment as Lydia speaks, eventually nodding to agree with her.

"...Yes, I agree." She says, offering Lydia a smile. "That's a lesson more people need to learn, too..." 

<Pose Tracker> Neriah Parringer has posed.

"I'm sure you will," Arianny answers Ethius.

Does she know what he's implying? The look behind her eyes is serious and steady, with a touch of sadness behind it. She doesn't smile.

When Lydia makes her case, it brings a look of quiet self-reproof to Arianny's face. She partially conceals the bitter little smile behind clasped hands, leaning forward with her elbows on her thighs. For several beats, she doesn't say anything.

"I can't make excuses for her," she finally concedes to the Star Shaman. "I can only hope it's the magic making her this way. I'm at least glad there are still Drifters out there who are kind, like you seem to be."

Jacqueline makes her apologies. Reaching over, Arianny takes the alchemist's hand between hers, giving it a squeeze.

"You made my daughter happy while she was still lucid enough to appreciate it," she says seriously. "As a mother, I appreciate that, no matter how things go. And you've helped."

She begins to rise, letting a breath escape. "All I can do now is try to find her." 

<Pose Tracker> Lydia Seren has posed.

"I hope so too." Lydia says. "I hope that a lot, actually." She hates hearing Neriah's own mother say she understands where they are coming from. She hates it more than just about anything. It's not because it's an unreasonable statement or anything like that, it just feels strangely perverse. She thinks of her own parents, their own apologies, it is very similar in feeling even though Lydia didn't try to ressurect an evil god or anything, but perhaps Neriah can't help it. Maybe she was just made like this and she just has to do it. It's a terrifying idea, to think that someone might be--in essence--anti life, anti hope by nature.

"Thank you." She says. "I ... gotta get back to work. If n'you need me just...pop over by my wagon."

And with that she walks out without any other word.

And as she leaves, she thinks about Kalve and his desperate desire to find a 'cure' for Mother, a cure that never existed. Mother's own nature was too destructive to ever be treated by any medicine found on Earth or, for that matter, Hyades.

It's a terrifying thing, to think that one's own nature could be the enemy and that it may very well have been a fight you could never win.

As she leaves she looks down at her segmented fingers. She doesn't find it very easy at all to be nice to total dickwads. In her deepest gut she wants them to pay as much as Kaguya does. Can she be as kind as Riesenlied, or does one's nature ultimately win in the end.

And if it wins in the end, what is her nature now? 

<Pose Tracker> Jacqueline Barber has posed.

Arianny takes her hand and Jacqueline looks up. She listens quietly, and then nods.

"...I'm glad I was able to do that much, at least." She replies, with a slight smile.

She says she's going to try to find Neriah.

"I wish I could give you more definite information on that end...but, I hope it goes well." She says. "...Be careful, okay?"

Arianny stands up, and Jacqueline stands up as well.

"If you need help with anything, please, let me know. You just have to ask." She offers. She watches Lydia quietly as she steps out.

There was certainly a lot to think about...Jacqueline would consider this, too. She was sure she did the right thing by telling Arianny, but it still didn't leave her with the greatest of feelings. 

<Pose Tracker> Ethius Hesiod has posed.

    Ethius does not convey hopes or dreams for Neriah's fate. In a way, based on the resignation Arianny seems to express, there seems to be an understanding about how it all might yet come to an end. As Arianny starts to leave, Ethius steps aside to allow her to take her leave.
     He must be satisfied that there aren't any eavesdroppers, then.
     No heartfelt words or hopes, no kind gestures... if he didn't speak or move throughout, he could have been confused for being just a very, very creepy lifelike statue. Some days, he just seems to be an 'is,' in that he is just there. That seems to be his nature, where any kindness may well be just a fabricated facsimile without grasping the true nature of what it means to be anything other than... this.
     Whatever he is, wherever he's from.

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