2021-11-18: Xenia's Aims

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<Pose Tracker> Citan Uzuki has posed.

    When the dust had settled, there had been questions. After all, of all the things that Xenia had said... many of them had implicated that Citan had some special knowledge of what was afoot with Xantia.

    It was an accusation he hadn't denied. He would explain, he'd said, but first they should resolve what had happened down there, in the mines. And besides, the Captain would want to hear what he had to say.

    The best place, as it had turned out, had been somewhere neither aboard the Karlsefni or in the secluded recesses of the floating city Shevat. These were not arbitrarily-made decisions. For one thing, Xantia -- as Citan had been unusually direct regarding -- could not hear what he was about to tell them. And for the other...

    That part, he would explain in time.

    There are teahouses scattered through the various neighborhoods that make up the outskirts of Meria City, and it's in the backroom of one of the particularly non-descript among them -- indeed, it almost seems to be a function of teahouses -- that the Wolves and other allies have decamped.

    One gets the feeling that this might not be the first time somewhat shady business has been discussed back in here, in fact.

    The tea is passable, if matters. Likely everyone gathered here has had better somewhere else, but neither is it terrible. There are a pair of tables wedged against the wall and someone has endeavored to gather a selection of chairs. There aren't any windows and there is but one door.

    To one end of the table, the doctor sits, his arms crossed over his chest and his head bowed as if he were in thought. "Is that everyone...?" he asks after a moment more, as if to confirm that they have all made it here.

<Pose Tracker> Leon Albus has posed.

Leon is curious, of course. Even if he missed the battle with Xenia, heard that Citan may have knowledge of Xantia. This is important; the experiences with Xantia in the past are something the Wolves must work with, and it's to protect them and protect her both.

He isn't surprised that it will not be aboard the Karlsefni. A more neutral location makes sense; a teahouse in Meria City is plenty anonymous.

He sips is passable tea. He looks at Citan, considers for a moment, and then nods. "I believe it is, Doctor Uzuki."

<Pose Tracker> Lily Keil has posed.

Lily Keil is very interested in what Citan knows about Xantia. She knows a good bit herself... and cares a lot for her friend. She is concerned, to be sure.

She's also been in a very nasty fight lately. She is wearing a surplus Celesti-make flak jacket over her clothes, and over quite a lot of bandages. She's also wearing sunglasses, to conceal her black-and-prismatic eyes. The power of Ether continues to surge around her almost palpably... But she isn't doing anything with it, at the moment. It's just there. Too much to bleed off all at once.

She also sips passable tea. Tea is tea, it's fine.

"I'm here," she says, from a chair next to Leon's.

<Pose Tracker> Emeralda Kasim has posed.

Emeralda knew she wanted to listen, but she wasn't sure why Citan was being so secretive about it. Why couldn't Xantia come? She's the one who wanted to know about herself the most, and Emeralda - being Emeralda - isn't certain if she feels right about hiding it from her.

But she can do it long enough to listen, at least. If there's no reason not to tell her after *that*, she can think about it then. And that's why Emeralda came here to join the chat.

Emeralda is sitting on a chair in exactly the way you are not supposed to sit on a chair. She is sitting in it sideways, with her left arm draped over the back of the chair in a way that would probably leave it numb if she ever worried about that, judging by how it digs into her armpit, and she's kind of slouching otherwise with her legs stretched out.

When it seems that Citan might be about to talk, though, she straightens up, spinning her chair the right way around. "I'm here!" she promises.

She has looked a little worried at Lily at least twice. That is too many bandages! Also, she can feel the Ether.

<Pose Tracker> Elhaym van Houten has posed.

Elly did not miss the battle with Xenia, though she may wish she did. She has recovered for the most part, and is seated, likely adjacent to Fei, and enjoying her tea. (Elly, secretly, can't really tell a lot between types of tea, even now. As long as it didn't get brewed into reactor drainage, she just recognizes tea.)

"... are you alright?" Elly asks Lily, with clear concern, even after she volunteers her presence.

<Pose Tracker> Ida Everstead-Rey has posed.

    Compared to most of the others present, Ida doesn't know Xantia that well. To her, Xantia is a casual Drifter acquaintance who can handle herself in a fight, notable for an enigmatic history and a troubling incident where she seemingly lost control of herself and attacked her comrades. But she does have an interest in Xenia, Xantia's sister, and when Citan extended an invitation, she made sure to take him up on it. He knows things.

    Ida sits next to Lily, cradling a cup of aggressively mediocre tea in her right hand. She's wearing clean, casual clothes, and a long leash has been tied around part of her chair. A small black-and-white papilon sits curled up atop her feet.

    Elly asks if Lily's all right. "Present," Ida says, and then she looks at the redhead, concern of her own in her eyes. That's something else that needs to be addressed, another crisis on top of all the other crises.

<Pose Tracker> Ida Everstead-Rey has posed.

    Lola whines softly and sets a paw on Ida's ankle.

<Pose Tracker> Billy Lee Black has posed.

Other members of the Etones are more used to clandestine meetings. Other members of the Black family, too. Billy's idea of undercover is that he is wearing a smaller sea-green bow.

Not no bow, just smaller.

Still, he manages to get in without triggering a worldwide broadcast, settling in quietly among his new peers within the Wolves. He is not as beat up as the others, because he hasn't been fighting Satans recently, but he looks, perhaps, like he isn't sleeping well.

This is not a great surprise to anybody.

"It seems things went poorly," he says, eyes tracking across the room.

<Pose Tracker> Fei Fong Wong has posed.

Fei isn't so sure why the famously 'open book' Citan Uzuki is being secretive about it either. For Fei, this feels out of character of the good doctor but well--sometimes the man can be cautious, so maybe it's a caution thing.

But he has come along, a little antsy because Xantia isn't here to hear things about Xantia--but maybe Citan knows something that even the other guy doesn't know.

Fei is weairng what he usually wears. Nobody told him he HAD to dress up so he didn't. He probably thinks this is already pretty clandestine.

"Well, I guess we can catch up anyone who's late."

He's honestly surprised Xantia agreed to this coming out without her being around, whatever it is. Maybe she figures she can pry it out of--

--ugh, he thinks, that's probably what she's thinking. He better not get him in trouble.

He gives Emeralda a one armed hug before easing back in his chair.

<Pose Tracker> Citan Uzuki has posed.

    "Lily, are you quite alright?"

    He had given her some scrutiny on arrival -- not only had her appearance suggested that something was somewhat amiss, but the feeling about her had been off. The Ether flowing from her is nearly palpable.

    She isn't the only one who draws particular attention from Citan. The others are, of course, Fei--

    And Billy. He regards him a moment -- is that fleeting twitch at the corner of his mouth a frown? -- and then to his question, answers, "I would not say that it has gone poorly as much as it has been... unexpected."

    He glances back towards Fei. "I suppose that will be everyone. Yes, Fei is correct -- we will be able to fill in anyone who arrives late on what we discuss." He fidgets a moment with his spectacles, almost as if vaguely agitated. "I must apologize. I had meant to approach Leon and Lily regarding what I have learned sooner than this, but I had wanted to confirm some of what I had learned. Doing so has been... difficult, I must admit. Those involved have taken pains to cover what has occured."

    Citan straightens in his seat, unfolding his arms at last. "Well then."

    "...I suppose I must start by saying that what Xenia intimated is true. I had the opportunity to speak with her regarding Xantia, or rather, I should say, she approached me on the matter. Perhaps due to my... past, she felt I might have been able to intervene." He exhales slowly and regards as many of them as he can lock eyes with in turn. "For that is what she asked me to do. What Xenia requested my assistance in... was preventing Xantia from regaining her memories."

    He turns to Lily then.

    "Lily... there is something I would like to confirm with you. Do you have any recollection of the battle at the Photosphere? I recall hearing that Xantia had fought alongside you then. ...Tell me, how did she act towards the Hyadeans?"

    It may be a good thing that their Hyadean compatriots are not here to listen to this, if what Xenia told him was true.

<Pose Tracker> Leon Albus has posed.

Leon gives Lily a glance. The injuries are a worry -- even if he knows a bit of why -- but he doesn't volunteer an explanation. Later, perhaps.

He looks over the others as they arrive -- with a nod and a wave. Then, he looks back at Citan. "I understand. We've been juggling a lot of balls, lately," Leon says. His eyes narrow, though.

"She did? And... this is her goal?"

Then, he looks at Lily -- curious to the answer to this question.

<Pose Tracker> Lily Keil has posed.

"I had a nasty run-in with some servants of Valmar," Lily answers Elly--and Emeralda, too. "It's a long story. They're probably dead, and I just need some time to heal." It is a simple explanation, light on details, but she says it both seriously and without a lot of alarm. "...Long story." This is what she offers to Citan as well; the Ether is palpable, but that she explains, "...When I use that much magic it... lingers, for a while. I'll bleed it off when I'm a little healthier."

She does not have a bow on. But his is fine. But Citan apologizes, and...

"Yes," Lily agrees about 'those involved' covering up what has occured. But then Citan starts to explain...

She nods to Citan, unbetrayed by his revelation. "I see. I suppose you'd also seem more amenable to talking than some of us."

Lily included.

But what he wants to confirm... Lily looks seriously at him, and takes off her sunglasses, looking down for a moment before she meets his eyes again. "...She went into a berserk, killing state. I was able to draw her out of it, but I wasn't there when it started. She didn't remember attacking them." She pauses. She considers saying more. She looks to Leon, and then says, "...In her berserk state she didn't seem to distinguish combatants from noncombatants."

<Pose Tracker> Emeralda Kasim has posed.

Emeralda accepts even a one-handed hug. She's had a pretty good week. She made a pen pal. (She hasn't really told Fei or Elly any more than that.)

She also gives Lily a frown. "Oh," she says, a little uncertainly, then: "Well, I'm glad you're okay! Are you sure they were servants of Valmar? How do you tell? Do they have evil runes or something?"

But when Citan speaks, Emeralda listens - and then leans forward, elbows on the table. "What? Why would she want that?" she says, confused. "Here she is wanting to be understood and she tells the person who wants to understand things to stop??"

Went berserk... Emeralda shuts up at that, dropping back into her seat with a faint thump.

<Pose Tracker> Elhaym van Houten has posed.

"I don't know, we did learn some things," Elly answers Billy, but it's parenthetical. She also picks up the tea pot and fills up and/or tops off both Emeralda's and Fei's, and probably Billy's too if he isn't careful. That's about as far as Elly can reach. This seems to relax her slightly.

After this comes more disturbing information.

"... something must have triggered that behavior... that's completely unlike the Xantia we know," Elly continues. "Do you think Xenia is trying to protect Xantia from that? Something along the lines of... if she doesn't know about that, she won't be activated, that way?"

<Pose Tracker> Fei Fong Wong has posed.

"Oh, yeah," Fei says. "Xenia approached Id too. He uh. Took over when I was trying to find out Xantia's birthday and she was just going to run away agian."

He awkwardly rubs at his arm. "Uh."

Another awkward moment. "She tried to get him to get her to quit too but we knew it wasn't gonna work. There's not much Xantia wants more than to know her past."

He totally forgot to mention this because he didn't think it was new information though he also is kind of embarrassed to admit times that Id comes out to, like, be tsundere brother at Xantia.

He doesn't want to think about what that says about Fei Fong Wong here okay.

His cheeks turn bright red as he realizes how embarrassing this is to say out loud and in front of his family and everything.

<Pose Tracker> Azoth has posed.

While Azoth has established connections with Xantia herself, he hasn't one with the Wolves as a whole. But each he's seen around, and some, he'd like to think, he's interacted enough to be considered friendly. If not friends. Lily gets a soft smile, and Emeralda gets an ever bigger one, both waves, and friendly nods for the others. There's a demur quality to it -- a quiet politeness and not trying to take up too much space, which continues into him finding his own slightly more distanced from the others place to stand. Alas, he cannot drink tea, and does not attempt to partake.

There are more than a few people who might question his presence if they knew his deal, which Emeralda could drop at anytime. But the calculations have determined he'd still make it out alive. (Unfortunate, depending on who you ask.) So he risks it, because all the overrides can do is offer pressing reminders if they cannot determine failure a hard guarantee.

But all the same, his typical bright displays subdue with the talk of Xenia and of Xantia. Of Xantia going berserk. Of how difficult it is to get information on her. Of how Xenia wants to keep Xantia from her memories. It's nothing Azoth hasn't learned from the two of them himself, but it's not a recap that inspires cheer.

When they discuss Xenia's approaches, he decides to speak up.

"Xenia came looking for me," he says quietly. "She wanted me to convince Xantia to stop looking for the past. To remind her how awful that might be as." He smiles nervously. "But I, ah, may have said and done some things she didn't like instead."

<Pose Tracker> Emeralda Kasim has posed.

"Good," Emeralda says, because she's still slightly annoyed at Xenia.

She does give Azoth a really big smile, though. If she's told everyone, it doesn't show.

<Pose Tracker> Ida Everstead-Rey has posed.

    "I found Lily outside the Live Reflector in Sylvaland," Ida says, "and helped provide first aid. Those same men attacked Boudicca and I not a week before her, in the same region--it's likely they were prowling the roads in northern Meribus, looking for victims. They just happened to choose very poorly." Her lips twist as Emeralda asks her question--Ida still thinks of her has a child, even though her self-presentation and demeanor have changed dramatically. "Valmar's corruption feels a certain way," she says. "I was there when another piece of him broke free, and what I felt on the road was almost identical. I... hope they're not going to hurt anyone."

    And there, Emeralda can probably tell, is a little evasiveness. Guilt tugs at her as she sips her tea. It's still bland.

    And then Citan tells her what Xantia did and it's like a dam breaks and the forthrightness comes flooding out. "You're saying she killed people without realizing it--without being conscious of what she was doing." The Photosphere. Ida's face twists, and she bares teeth in something that's pained, tense, and definitely not a smile. She clenches her right hand, silvery-blue sticking out among the veins and arteries beneath her skin. "Would she have done the same," Ida asks, her voice tight as a bowstring, "in a human settlement, under the right circumstances?"

<Pose Tracker> Ida Everstead-Rey has posed.

    Someone whines from under the table. Lola is now pawing at Ida's pants-leg, meeting her eyes with what can only be described as canine concern.

<Pose Tracker> Billy Lee Black has posed.

"Servants of Valmar?" Billy asks, with immediate interest. His eyes narrow, his knuckle coming to his chin in thought.

"They will," Billy says, flatly, to Ida. "It isn't their purpose, but it is their god's. I should investigate."

He does not, however, immediately stand up and leave, instead listening to the saga of Xantia. Fei confirms that what Citan is asking for is a rather tall order, and Billy finds himself chewing on his lip. "A berserk rage...like, a spell, or a hypnotic suggestion?"

Wels are spooky. You gotta be ready for the weird shit.

<Pose Tracker> Citan Uzuki has posed.

    Lily explains, in a manner of speaking. "'Servants of Valmar'? ...I see. It is a good thing," and he glances briefly in Billy's direction, "that the matter is now settled. Nevertheless..." He trails off, though, almost as if there were something about Lily's 'lingering Ether' that was giving him some pause. But it is not that which he has come here to discuss, today.

    Perhaps the previous statement should be amended ever so slightly: Azoth, fleetingly, draws Citan's attention, just a fraction of a second too long to be 'merely' a passing glance.

    "Yes. I suspect it had seemed that way. ...This is also the reason she was furious with me, I am afraid," he adds, smiling such that it's almost more grimace than true amusement. "I had attempted to ah... obtain as much information as possible from her, but she eventually become frustrated with me, I suppose you might say..."

    But he's not the only one that Xenia approached. There was Azoth, who had similarly responded in a way that Xenia hadn't quite taken to, and then there had been...

    "..."

    Citan goes carefully quite still for a moment, his attention zeroed in on Fei alone.

    "I see," he tells him, his response carefully, almost blandly neutral. "So they spoke as well."

    More than that, perhaps, he knows better than to press Fei on regarding. It wouldn't be as if he would know.

    "To answer your question, Emeralda... Xenia fears what Xantia may again become." He nods, once. "Yes, you are exactly correct, Elly. This is her sole aim in this endeavor: to keep Xantia permanently in the dark, in the hopes she will remain as she is now."

    He's silent as Lily speaks, his attention on her alone.

    "...I see. That is what Xenia told me as well. To tell all of you the truth, I have no reason to believe that anything she had told me was a lie."

    But it has more weight if someone other than him can speak here and now to confirm what Xenia -- an enemy to all of them now -- had said to him in private.

    "To hear Xenia tell it, should she regain her memories, Xantia would target anyone and anything considered a 'threat' to Filgaia. Thus... the Hyadeans, even the ones who would otherwise live peacefully among us. But it is more than that. She also thought it would be likely Xantia would target... other perceived threats," he says, as if in indirect answer to Ida's question. "Under the appropriate circumstances."

    He's silent for a moment more, clasping his hands before him atop the table, looking between Fei and Elly in particular.

    "...You have seen it yourselves. It was not only that time at the Photosphere that Xantia has acted as if she were under command of another. Xenia confirmed this as well, if in a roundabout way, though I had been suspecting something such as that for some time. That collar that she and Xenia both wear may be a component," he says, answering Billy's question. "There may be other aspects. ...I inspected the collar on Xantia myself, and not only can it not be removed, but to even minutely damage it causes Xantia pain... and it will 'reconstitute' itself afterwards."

<Pose Tracker> Lily Keil has posed.

Dog is also here, for the record. Dog is at Lily's side, somewhat protective, though she looks happily at each person in turn. Even Azoth! Yes, even Azoth. But Lily notes that he, too, spoke with Xenia. She considers again that she is not exactly approachable...

But she has her own role to play.

She nods to Ida. "They also openly claimed to be affiliated with Valmar, though not to like him," she supplies for the benefit of those asking. But with what she says about Xantia--well. She is prepared for Ida's reaction.

"She probably wouldn't have... unless those humans were Solarian." Lily remembers that, too. "I remember the difficulty she had when Solaris attacked Shevat."

"...I see. So Xantia is on a course that Xenia is certain will make that berserk state permanent... and the collar can't be removed." She considers this. "But do we have a way of drawing her out of that state? Would it be possible? ...We can't gamble on it."

"But yes, though it wasn't magical as far as I could tell, Billy. It might be artificial, though."

<Pose Tracker> Leon Albus has posed.

"Someone else we'll need to shoot," Leon offers, "helpfully," after Lily explains about the servants of Valmar and Ida says more. He glances at Billy. "I'll consider a way to neutralize them. I know some tricks from when I was in the Kislevi army."

He glances sideways at Lily -- and he grimaces, his eyes narrowing when she explains more. "That's a concern," he says, with an understatement. He looks at Azoth, then -- he doesn't really know him -- and he blinks his eyes.

"I can scarcely blame you," he says. He hesitates. "The past is... better to know it."

He has grappled with that, recently.

He doesn't have an answer to Ida's question.

"I can see why Xenia would be concerned. But... Xantia is one of ours," Leon says. "Maybe she would take dangerous actions -- and we'll handle her, if this is the case. We owe it to her. But I think denying her the past she seeks could have its own problems."

Leon is quiet for a moment. He looks at Citan. "Do you think the collar is part of what could... cause such difficulties for her?"

<Pose Tracker> Fei Fong Wong has posed.

Fei is pretty excited about Emeralda's penpal but isn't commenting on it here obviously.

Fei is hit hard by Citan going completely still. "They have a thing going on with one another. I think he's worried about her. I don't want to get in the way of that because uh. Maybe it means he'll do less murders?"

He laughs awkwardly like he's caught with his hand in the cookie jar.

Ugh, he thinks as Citan explains the situation. It seems like Xantia's got her own kind of deal going on. He's seen it before, but he was sort of hoping it was a one time thing.

"...I wonder...how that works. I mean. If it's really just a collar..."

He frowns. "Even if you couldn't cut it off, maybe a low yield electric pulse... But I guess if that'd work it would kinda defeat the purpose of having it."

He sighs deeply. "If she merely went after threats to Filgaia, she could maybe be negotiated with in a state like that--but if it's just POTENTIAL threats, well..."

Fei shrugs. "That's everybody, really, if you think about it logically. So uh."

He shrugs haplessly.

"But even if Xantia stopped looking, whomever made those collars, whomever is running Xenia--they'd still make sure she'd end up under their thumb eventually and..."

He punches his fist into his palm.

"We can't leave Xenia in her current situation either! She... They don't even tell them when their birthdays are! Whomever is in charge of this operation... Maybe they think they're doing this For Filgaia, but all they're doing is turning people into tools, into slaves and tormenting them. Some things... Some things everybody should get to experience and a birthday is one of those things."

"...Even if they didn't know the exact day, they could've lied. But they didn't even do that. They don't care about Xenia and Xantia at all!"

<Pose Tracker> Emeralda Kasim has posed.

Emeralda can detect evasiveness at a hundred feet.

She doesn't like it. It feels like not being taken seriously, a little bit - but the followers of Valmar are also not what she came here to talk about, so she'll accept it simply to move on.

Also, she's mad at what Citan says. Not at him, necessarily, but in general.

"That's stupid!" Emeralda blurts it out, then explains herself: "Just because she wants to know doesn't mean she has to act like that. If it's the collar that makes her act like that, then it's there whether or not she remembers. And if it's the collar that stops her..."

Emeralda lowers herself back into her seat. "I'm sure she wouldn't, if she thought about it, if everyone was here. Right? I don't... she's the one that told me it was okay to look, first, and now she's not allowed to? It's not fair! Fei is right, anyway. They're not good to HER either. Whoever they are. People aren't tools..."

Emeralda trails off again. She doesn't look at Azoth, very deliberately. She doesn't look at anyone for a few moments. Emeralda has a really awful poker face. "Who put the collar there, anyway? Nobody should have one of those. We should take them all off." That time she does glance toward Azoth, just for a moment. "But it would be easier if we knew who did..."

<Pose Tracker> Elhaym van Houten has posed.

They both had so many secret meetings, Elly thinks. No wonder Dr. Uzuki wanted us all to get this straight. She folds her hands on the table, looking momentarily to Azoth. In a moment, she realizes: This is the first time I've seen him peaceully, isn't it?

I wonder if he wants tea.

I shouldn't push it on him, Elly thinks further. He'll help himself. It'd be forward of me to do that.

The prospect of Id and Xantia speaking is its own quiet disturbance. She had thought of Id as something within Fei, another face, or perhaps some sort of possessor. But he's not, is he?

Elly sips her aggressively OK tea. "If it repairs itself after being damaged, that almost sounds like... nanotechnology; that, or something magical, I suppose, which is only appearing like a collar. Symbology or something like that."

Everyone could be a threat. At this point, Elly gazes down at her teacup. "... We don't even know who it is... I suppose we know now, at least, that she's not an agent of Shevat, but... what else, who else could be out there? It's terrifying. It's like one of those dolls with smaller dolls inside..."

<Pose Tracker> Ida Everstead-Rey has posed.

    Ida hoists Lola off the floor--which is thankfully clean, even for the shady backroom of a mediocre teahouse--and settles her in her lap. She was calm and content in Dog's company, but right now her person needs comfort as well. Lola licks the back of Ida's free hand, and curls up, cat-like. Ida runs that hand through soft, silky fur, and then settles it on Lola's back.

    "Tricks, hm?" Ida says, looking at Leon. "Brother Black and I were instructed in the methods used to seal the Parts, but neither of us have been put to the test. If they've survived, they'll be looking for new victims--and if not, Valmar's power will have possessed someone else in their stead. Either way, be cautious." Ida's voice hitches as she thinks how close Lily might've come to being that 'someone else'. "Once Valmar takes hold, there is no going back."

    "Threats to Filgaia," Ida says, bitterness in her voice. "The Guardians themselves deigned to tolerate them. I was there." And then something falls into place. "She looked at me, once," Ida says. "Xantia. It was... like she didn't even see me--I'd chalked it up to combat stress, since we were both fighting, but..."

    Ida looks down at her hand. She twists her fingers, and pinkish-silver tissue wells up from her pores, forming lines like a bas-relief of the veins and tendons beneath. She clenches that hand into a fist, and looks at Fei.

    Emeralda blurts out everything that's on her mind, or most of it. Ida waits until she's finished. "We find whomever did this to them," she says, "and we make them stop. We get justice for Xantia, and Xenia, and whomever else they've enslaved. But where do we even start?"

<Pose Tracker> Azoth has posed.

Avoid Valmar and his servants, Lily had said. His eyes widen as he looks to Ida, hearing she also encountered something similar. Two men. Attacked Boudicca, too. But they encountered Lily, and are probably dead now. ...He'd believe her on that. Azoth has been on the wrong end of what Lily can do. Difference is, Azoth can be repaired.

Lola and Dog are also here! But they have important tasks in guarding and comforting their companions. He will not distract them. Dog does get a happy look back, though.

When Citan looks to Azoth a little too long, he waves too, his expression hesitant and shy rather than looking like he suspects anything. Does he? Azoth doesn't know Citan well. What reason would he have to think Citan managed to clue in on his true nature? No, not that one. The other one.

Azoth listens, frown small and eyes on the ground. There's no shock for this either, not externally, not internally. Xantia tried to warn him of her violence and who it might target. But the way Citan words it makes it sound painfully similar...

Fei mentions that logically anyone is a potential threat and Azoth's eyes light up because Fei gets a Thing that is Very True, thank you, Fei. Emeralda gets a reassuring smile for her second glance.

"So not 'berserk'. Not rage," Azoth says. "Just following a command to its completion." He grins sheepishly. "Xenia didn't hide her animosity toward me very well. It wouldn't surprise me if there was a liiiittle bit of projection." He does not sigh, but the low toned string of beeps he gives could be a digital impression of one. "...A frustration with 'programming'. Forcibly executed behaviors 'no amount of positive thinking' can stop."

"...It would be convenient if removing a collar is what it took to prevent that."

Azoth puffs his cheeks. "But without knowing who would have designed this for them and what they wanted, how they defined a 'threat'... it's difficult to make sense of any of it."

<Pose Tracker> Billy Lee Black has posed.

"I should like to assist," Billy says to Leon. "The servants of Valmar are a problem for an Etone."

"Solaris uses such extremities, from time to time, I'm told. The ability to implant in someone a task that they are forced to complete. Father's mentioned it, but...I never asked about the restrictions." He grimaces. "And I guess it doesn't sound that similar, actually." He sighs a bit, lets his nose sink into the aroma of mediocre tea in an attempt to clear his thoughts.

The tea does not have a good enough Focus bonus to do so.

"I wonder if the collar is even relevant, then. If that's a state she would enter on recovering her memories, is that...simply what the person created by those memories would be?" He scratches his head. "But...no, if she's had episodes before and can't remember them, that's..."

He pinches his nose, visibly struggling to wrap his head fully around this problem.

Then Fei reminds him they're dealing with a person, not a beast. And, more than that, a teammate.

"You're right, of course," he says, though he remains hunched over, elbows on the table. "If the concern is that she might go berserk if allowed too close to the truth, perhaps the goal should simply be to get there before her so we can..." His eyes harden. "Clean up a bit."

<Pose Tracker> Citan Uzuki has posed.

    Citan, suffice to say, doesn't wave back. Does some line twitch by the corner of his mouth instead, when Azoth fleetingly directs his attention his way? Not a smile, not a frown, more like--

    He shakes his head when Emeralda blurts out that it's 'stupid'. "Be as it may, she has her own reasons, I am certain. Unfortunately, it makes our task that much more difficult."

    "I suspect even Xenia, though she has a long 'leash' as it were, cannot say all that she might otherwise say. I do not doubt that her masters will hesitate to 'reel her in' should she prove to be working against their interests. Xantia remaining out of their control is very much not. Indeed, Xenia conveyed that even now, they seek to reclaim her as she once had been.

    Something -- realization? muted shock? -- flickers in Citan's gaze when Lily remarks that Xantia had 'difficulty' when facing the Solarians in the battle in Shevat. "So already... Yes. I had not wanted to say so directly, but Xenia had said that she would treat those of Solaris much as she treated the Hyadeans." Meaning, she could end up targetting Elly, or even himself. Even Billy, Jessie, and Primera would not be exempted -- anymore than Xantia reverted to such a state would spare Riesenlied, Noeline, or any of the others.

    "Perhaps so, though it may not be the only factor," and here he looks at Azoth again, then silently nods. "...But even if it were, I cannot see a way to remove it." Not without causing her agony. Not in a way that would even necessarily be permanent. "Perhaps there may be some means of temporarily interrupting its function, but I would need better understanding of its functions to even start. It would also run the risk of drawing their attention -- that is, more than we already have."

    At least it was not Shevat, Elly says. Others wonder who is even behind all of this.

    Citan pauses. "As a matter of fact... I believe I have some partial insight into this." He fidgets with his glasses a moment. "It had been Xantia, in fact, who provided me with a particular clue. Once, about twenty or so years ago, Shevat had rescued a woman from the surface named 'Xenia'. According to Xantia, the Queen herself had said that her resemblance to Xenia is remarkable. However... it appears that Xenia suffered from an Ether abnormality. Shevat sought to remediate her condition, but it was in vain: eventually she passed."

    He's silent, as if thinking over how to present the rest of the information he'd received. "One of the researchers in Shevat had fallen for her before this point. ...You are aware that the Queen and the Elders had once received life-extension treatment? It seems it was the same that this researcher pursued for this other Xenia, but he was refused at every turn. And then, it appears... he ran out of time."

    Citan shakes his head.

    "This researcher, Herod, disappeared from Shevat after this. He was not alone. And I am afraid, that is as much as I have been able to learn. ...Confirming even this much has been difficult, and has taken much time. It seems he stole many records, including those relating to Xenia, before his disappearance."

    There is one more thing, though, that he needs to say, before all of this draws to close however. He closes his eyes for a moment, as if to prepare himself. "I think it is highly likely that Shevat renegades are behind this, though I cannot confirm the link between the Xantia and Xenia we know, this group that vanished from Shevat, and the mystery of the deceased Xenia. But, given Xantia's ring, and what she has herself recalled... I can think of no other 'better answer'." He pauses. "Xantia herself believes that Herod... is her father."

    And it's at long last that he answers Fei.

    "I agree. She and Xenia are merely tools to an end. Moreover, what Xenia asked of me... even if we were able to convince Xantia to forego her own past, there would always be the possibility that she would remember. Either Herod's group could cause her to remember, or it could even happen spontaneously. It would only be a temporary solution."

    There are times when he marvels, perhaps, at the difference between father and son, when it comes to Billy Lee Black.
    And then there are times when there is no question that Billy is Jessiah's son.

    "Yes," he answers, after Billy offers up his own answer on the matter. "The only real way to resolve this is to find the 'renegades' first." He doesn't make any even veiled references to violence, but perhaps the appropriate course of action at that point can be inferred.

    "Unfortunately, I do not know where they could be found. But perhaps Xenia might."

<Pose Tracker> Leon Albus has posed.

"I imagine Lily killed them," Leon says to Ida. "She is very skilled at killing people. But if not, I've a few ideas." If it's necessary, I'll be in touch with you both.

He doesn't explain much more. It's not a planning session for that, after all.

"I don't know," Leon says to Fei. "If it'd hurt Xantia, I'm hesitant to look." He has a sip of tea. Then, he nods his head, and his eyes are down on the ground. "I don't like that they're using Xenia. We should put a stop to it. But, we need to approach it carefully. And thoughtfully. Because we don't know the answers to Emeralda's questions, yet."

He nods his head to Azoth. "We would do well to learn that," Leon says. He looks back at Citan and he nods, after a moment's thought. "Agreed. Let's not cause any risk to Xantia -- or of their attention."

He listens, as Citan explains. Then, he frowns. "Shevat renegades... I see. That could well be. Do you think that this group of Herod's may have answers about Xantia, then? And about Xenia, for that matter?"

<Pose Tracker> Lily Keil has posed.

"Billy, let's get together later and discuss them. I can give you the details on what I saw." She was looking for an excuse to check in on him; a work-related reason is all the better. "Maybe Ida should join us."

Not 'berserk'. Lily looks thoughtful, turning to Azoth for a moment. "...You're right. I was thinking of it in human terms, but this could be a mechanical problem, given the collar. Programming..." She looks to Emeralda for a moment too. She nods, and then looks to each of the others in thought. To Elly, talking of, "She can definitely interface with nanotechnology, at the least; remember that when I was injured, once, she was able to repair my mechanical components."

But Citan recognizes what she says, all right. "So, Xenia knows that, too."

"Right. We find them." To Ida, she nods, and considers Citan's explanation. "Shevat renegades..."

"I think Citan's right; we'd have to experiment to figure out how to remove or disable the collar, and that would draw attention."

"Getting information out of Xenia won't be easy. We need to find a way to neutralize her speed advantage. Maybe... cold magic might be a start. I'll experiment."

"I think we should consider Xenia under duress, as well. If possible, we help her too. I don't know if she'd allow it, admittedly, but she does seem to be hel under duress." She nods to Leon, then. "I take it Shevat doesn't have more information on this 'Herod', or you'd have found it by now. A father..."

Her expression turns grimmer. Dog looks up at her in worry. "...We have a starting point, regardless."

<Pose Tracker> Fei Fong Wong has posed.

Fei frowns. "I just wish I understood why."

desperation

"It doesn't make any sense to me." Fei murmurs. His fingers curl into fists. He's furious. In this moment he's wholly willing to feel it, but it's within, you know, levels that aren't going to weaken any sort of mysterious psychic barrier within him. He's just reasonably angered at knowing how his sister is being treated.

He feels so helpless.

But Billy speaks up. Fei startles a bit. Billy is so softspoken that the words he's saying jar him out of his mental loop.

"...Yeah, that's some good thinking. If only we could catch them, maybe we could force 'em to release Xenia and Xantia from their leashes. Maybe we could even convince 'em to undo that programming. Or... at least adapt it to something reasonable. Worst case, at least we can prevent 'em from forcing the matter."

But Xenia might know where they are...

"...But we can't just ask her to lead us to them because she's probably not allowed to do that." Fei says. "We'll have to do it in some kind of way that she doesn't know we're following..."

He sweats a little. "And ... And I'm not subtle!!"

The Dragon Slaying Slacker just doesn't have the right amount of sewer sneaking experience!

He nods to Leon. He doesn't want them to hurt either!!

<Pose Tracker> Elhaym van Houten has posed.

Shadowy people. They're hurting Xantia. They're hurting *Xenia* for that matter. Everyone else. Elly can feel networks of pain, discomfort, fear, terror in here. It is not some Ether sense; it is just perception in the little words, the tense blurts from Emeralda, the little looks on Ida's face. Even Azoth's expression of strain - those little cheek puffs - speak of this.

Elly takes a deep breath and lets it out.

Then she says, "Well," before lacing her fingers together, "we don't need to ask her, exactly, Fei, because we know how she's going to behave."

Elly's hair is slightly in her eyes as she speaks. "I've spoken with her a number of times. I don't have the template with me so I can't do a full schematic assessment of her personality index but she's an arrogance factor near maximum along with mid to high anxiety which she partially conceals. We can take advantage of that. We can guess to a very real extent how she's going to behave - I don't just mean being rude, mocking and cruel, but I mean that if we act in a certain way, she'll probably react a certain way in response. It would be risky, because she's powerful, but it would allow us to take advantage of her responses."

She takes a deep breath. "And," Elly continues, "I've noticed that she has one really great advantage that's let her escape repeatedly, which is that she has some kind of Ether related ability to accelerate herself... like the Elru strength factor, I suppose, but I assume it's artificially induced."

"If we can disrupt her when she's trying to develop that, with some kind of Ether counterforce or a mechanical means, she'd be able to flee, sure, but much more slowly."

"I don't think capturing her would do much good," Elly continues, "but I do think we'd be able to pursue her with greater alacrity by interfering with her... we'd get a direction of approach. The real question, I think, would be how to make her show up in order to let us engage her and then either draw out more information from her, or retreat towards her allies. But we know what she's trying to stop, too, don't we?"

"So from a certain perspective,' Elly says, lifting her head, "We have a lot of influence over her. That's the trap of arrogance, I suppose."

Elly smiles a little sheepishly, sort of in the direction of Citan and Lily. "You start to believe it's really true after a while, and you overlook the little people..."

<Pose Tracker> Azoth has posed.

Azoth doesn't expect a wave back, but he doesn't know what to make, exactly, of that twitch in Citan's face. Some people are harder to read than others, and this is a Very Serious Conversation, where everything is harder to read on everybody. And it's getting into information Azoth didn't have himself yet: Xantia's discoveries of a different Xenia, one who lived and died in Shevat, and a man called Herod...

"People who look identical to the woman he loved and lost, one of them sharing her name." Azoth makes a low beep-whirr of worry. There's certainly a few things to unpack there.

The information provides potential plans of action. That's the important thing. Xenia herself, and Shevat renegades tied to this Herod. Xantia's possible 'father'... Leads to look out for.

"Xenia believes the only viable option is to convince Xantia to stop her pursuit of the past." Azoth taps his toes against the floor idly, as if considering something. "Trying to appeal to logic got under her skin... But she's got to be operating on her own logic, right? Preservation for herself, at the very least. To get her to cooperate, she'd have to be convinced our intervention is the better option. And if it is a mechanical problem... the information she's permitted to provide may be limited regardless. That doesn't mean it's not worth a shot."

His grin is lopsided. "I probably shouldn't be the one to try it, though. Not that I'm not willing, but..." Xenia ignored Azoth for about as long as she could in that last battle until he annoyed a response out of her.

He perks up, looking to Fei and Elly. "Oh, but something sneaky sounds even better. I can be a little sneaky! Sometimes!"

Azoth's face falls into a frown as he looks back at Citan. "...But what about Xantia's thoughts on this? Why isn't she here?"

<Pose Tracker> Ida Everstead-Rey has posed.

    "I'd be more than willing," Ida says, to Lily and Leon both.

    Citan speaks, and Ida listens. She calmly strokes Lola's back with her left hand, while her altered right hand rests on the table, in full view. Most of the information is new, but some of it gives vital context to things Ida suspected, or knew. How Queen Zephyr spoke of the war, and its fallout. How Xenia reacted when Fei brought up the matter of Shevat.

    For a moment, Ida feels like she's gotten another glimpse into the heart of the world, and there's nothing there but pain and cruelty and pettiness. Her hand tenses, the biometal 'veins' contracting. She looks back at Azoth as he beeps, worried...

    And then Elly speaks, and Ida feels hope again. "You're right," she says, turning to her. "We'd just have to develop the countermeasures, and we have an expert in anomalous Etheric phenomena and someone with considerable mechanical knowledge." She glances at Lily and Citan in turn. "I know she doesn't like me very much, and if it would help wrong-foot her, I'd be willing to bait the trap, as it were. If she's been programmed to destroy threats to Filgaia, I can certainly look the part."

    But Azoth won't let her do it. Not alone. Would he?

<Pose Tracker> Billy Lee Black has posed.

Billy nods to Lily and Leon. "Certainly," he says, and leaves it at that. He's not...RAVENOUS for the prospect of hunting cultists, of course. It just. Might be a nice return to what he used to do...and this time it wouldn't even be an elaborate plot...right...

Azoth's point Billy can only just about follow, but still he rubs his lips in thought. "Like a Reaverbot. Very simple creatures, in their way."

He nods as Fei compliments him, brightening up a few shades. "Precisely. If the danger is that her knowing could subject her to outside control, then there are two points of attack. Xenia is telling us to aim at the 'knowing', but the 'outside control' should also be assailable. Uhm, somehow." He scratches the back of his head.

Elly lays out the mind of a Solarian agent, and Billy finds some degree of alarm in just how much it conforms with his own training. All he'd need is to think he was dealing with Wels, and...

Stone... His jaw sets. Then he sips his tea with a strange expression.

<Pose Tracker> Azoth has posed.

Azoth frowns. "Miss Ida. I wouldn't advise trying to trigger anyone's Filgaian defense protocol, even Xenia's. Especially Xenia's. We may not be able to reach her after that. That's bad for her as much as it is us."

He tilts his head, glancing to the side. "...But if we're just looking to make her very, very upset with us... I may have an idea or two." The tiniest smile of mischief crosses his face.

<Pose Tracker> Ida Everstead-Rey has posed.

    Ida gives Azoth a gentle, almost sisterly smile, and tries not to think about how Ragnell called her out on a stupid idea she'd made off-the-cuff for his sake. Lola stands, stretches, rubs against her arm. "You're right," Ida says. "I think you know may know her best of all."

    Ida's smile widens, shows teeth. "Whenever you finish your calculations, I'm all ears."

<Pose Tracker> Citan Uzuki has posed.

    "Yes," Citan agrees on the collar. "And I do not even have the confirmation that it would be 'enough'. Best that we leave it be. If we can obtain more information regarding the 'renegades', then perhaps we may have room to maneuver. I may see if there is anything more I can learn within Shevat." After all, he has some unique opportunities when it comes to that. "Twenty years ago is still well within living memory, but I will need to take care. I would not want to draw too much attention to what we are investigating or risk Shevat seeing our presence as any liability. This is even presuming the renegades have no partisans remaining in Shevat. Thus, some avenues may be off-limits to me." The Queen would be, for example, an excellent source, but if he were to ask her himself...

    Though he does raise an eyebrow when Lily suggests she might try to get some information from Xenia herself.

    "Do use caution, Lily. I would not wish... ah, but I suppose even if you were to be circumspect, she would still suspect me," he finishes, sighing and shrugging. "Perhaps it is just as well."

    "Fei is correct, however. I do not think it will be quite as simple as asking her, even under duress..."

    It's Elly who provides some insight into Xenia's character.

    "Yes, I agree. Xenia demonstrates certain, ah, curious eccentricities. She is perhaps... not as charming as Xantia may be, but I would also add that the two of them share certain facets of their personalities in common. To wit, they both demonstrate an exceedingly strong stubborn streak. Once they are convinced of something or have made up their minds regarding a particular course, there is no dissuading them." He smiles a touch abashedly. "...I am aware of what I had said to Xenia during our earlier encounter, but I assure you that it was designed to 'agitate' her. Both she and Xantia are easily frustrated, but Xenia in particular is easy to ah... 'bait', I suppose one might say?"

    Ida offers to bait the trap, so to speak. Citan shakes his head. "No... I cannot advise that. Not only would that put you at grave risk, Miss Everstead-Rey, but it also may--" He turns his head and regards Azoth for the moment. "As he has said, we should avoid forcing her into such an extreme state. However..." He just barely manages to keep a straight face when Azoth offer up that 'alternative' option. "...I agree. We have other 'tools' at our disposal in that regard!"

    Still, he nods. "Nevertheless, perhaps there is something I can do to help counteract her Ether. However, we will need to confirm that her ability is without question arising from Ether and not some other source." Though he will need the parts to even set down that path. And time. And likely assistance, should it even prove to be a likely course.

    But Azoth raises a particular question: where is Xantia?

    Citan fidgets with his glasses. "About that... I did not tell her we were meeting. She knows only what she has been able to learn from the Queen and her own fragments of memory," Citan says simply. "To put it plainly, I do not think this should be relayed to Xantia. Not yet, in any case," he says, glancing sidelong as if feeling misgivings regarding. "Even with this much, we run the risk of triggering the return of her memories. While I do not agree with Xenia's plan, I fear triggering the outcome she wishes to prevent. And... already... what we have spoken of..." He sighs, shaking his head. "Xantia is... prone to black and white thinking. If she finds that some of this information has come from Xenia, she may view us as siding with Xenia. We will want to speak to her about this carefully, when the time comes..."

    Assuming they even have the luxury of presenting it to her themselves, that is. But there are some things of which it is best not to speculate immediately.

<Pose Tracker> Leon Albus has posed.

"She is dangerous. But... trying to slow her down would be a good start. I am inclined to agree -- if she is an unwilling combatant, we should avoid endangering her more than we absolutely must," Leon says. Then, he looks at Fei. He considers for a second.

"We could try to follow her," he suggests. "It may be hard, with her speed. But that could let her lead them to us without... ah, the impossibilities. And perhaps without the risk of reprisal."

He nods to Elly -- because he agrees -- and then he looks at Azoth. His brow furrows, as he considers it.

"Well... if you have an idea, I'm all for it. I've been running in the red on pissing off people lately," he says, with a lopsided smile. He looks back to Citan -- and tilts his head to the side. "Hmm. Both stubborn... yes, I'm inclined to agree."

He looks at Citan -- considers his reasoning, for why Xantia isn't here -- and then nods. He is inclined to agree, it would seem.

<Pose Tracker> Lily Keil has posed.

"...Predicting her or following her is probably a better course," Lily admits. "But I'll still experiment to see if I can do something about her advantages--we may not get the luxury of responding how we would like."

It's grim, but Lily feels someone has to say it, and if she has to prioritize between Xantia and Xenia...

"But that's a good point, Elly. And.." She cnsiders. "I guess I can see that, Citan. If you can find something to help, though, all the better. And..."

"Xantia might not appreciate that we're keeping this secret from her," Lily also points out. "...But I don't see a better option."

<Pose Tracker> Emeralda Kasim has posed.

"I can be sneaky too," Emeralda says, because she just feels like she has to get involved.

She very clearly does not like what Citan says about not telling Xantia. Emeralda has, as mentioned, not a very good poker face. But she at least doesn't seem like she's about to run out and tell her, either.

Instead... "I want to help," she says, looking at Azoth again. She doesn't smile but there's an edge of that. "Because... I don't think it's right if we don't do something."

She means that for more than Xenia. And Xantia.

"Plus, I'm really good at annoying people. AND hiding. I'm still the best hider around here! Nobody can find me when I don't want to be found. ...wait, but if we're trying to upset her, we want to be noticed. I'll do that instead."

<Pose Tracker> Azoth has posed.

Citan provides his answer: that they shouldn't relay this to Xantia, and Azoth's expression is carefully neutral. He leans back against the wall, arms folded. But being so cheerful and turning it off is, itself, a sign of being... upset.

"It seems like anything Xantia knows, Xenia knows. Or at least... she's watching very closely. I think I could agree with a reason like that." His smile's back on briefly. "After all, it's what I say to Xantia that stands to make Xenia angry, if it comes down to needing that plan."

Then there's something cold about him again.

"...But going behind her back. Deciding what's best on our own. You might run straight into that black and white thinking you're worried about if she finds out the wrong way. Xantia's always the one going on about conviction. Believing in herself, and believing in us. She won't believe we sided with Xenia if we keep doing right by her."

And Azoth's not entirely sure this is it, if not for that aforementioned unfortunate detail. But having that to say instead of admitting fear of telling her might be an improvement.

"Well, that's just what I think, anyway."

He catches Emeralda's look and does smile at her. "Whatever happens... We'll help them."

<Pose Tracker> Fei Fong Wong has posed.

"Oh uh, we're trying to figure out what our thoughts are first, I think." Fei tells Azoth. "I doubt we're gonna do anything without her. Or without her sayso."

He kind of marvels at Elly's planning here. WAIT DID CITAN SAY THEY WEREN'T TELLIN XANTIA EVEN AFTER THE CHAT??

"... Aw geeze." Fei says.

He knows that Citan sometimes just knows stuff and holds off on sharing it immediately because he just wants what's best for everyone and sometimes too much open honesty can cause trouble but...!!

"Oof," Fei says. "I do not like keeping secrets. Wow, Doc, I'm impressed you're able to do that."

Fei smiles. "Cause I know you don't like keeping secrets either. But I guess when you put it like that... gnghhnngn... I don't know. I think she'd be mad. But..."

He rubs at his forehead but when you can't make a decision like this, you are in other words deferring to those who can.

"...Yeah, she probably would think we're siding with her. But I think she'd be okay with caution if we explained it. Even if we don't get in specifics, maybe we can say like 'hey we're going to try something but we can't tell you about it yet--Gahh..."

This is like torture for the poor man.