2021-11-21: Generosity and Recklessness

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============================<* Celesti Wastelands *>============================

Decades ago, the nation of Celesti ripped itself apart in a vicious civil war. Outside of a handful of settlements, its former territories are lifeless. The remains of trenches, bunkers, and barbed wire lines serve as lingering reminders of the conflict--scars that have yet to heal. The earth is dry and barren, and much of the groundwater has been contaminated by biological or chemical weapons.

Travel through the Wastelands is treacherous. The roads are pockmarked with shell craters, and Reapers have been known to haunt its blasted plains. A handful of functional rail lines cross the wastes, but these travel directly to their final destinations. The shattered remains of ghost towns dot the landscape. Some may yet hold things of value, but experienced travelers know better than to go treasure-hunting on a whim. The war-dead of Celesti do not rest.

Ghosts aren't even the strangest things one can find here. As the war dragged on, both the Congressional Knights and Aquvy Union dug up ancient weapons to aid their efforts--including, it's rumored, ARMs from Zeboim. These rumors draw both the daring and desperate into the wastes, and more often than not, to their end.

BGM: Shin Megami Tensei IV - Blasted Ichigaya
<Pose Tracker> Ethius Hesiod has posed.

    It's another beautiful day in Alcidamas Village. To hear it from them, it's been nothing but beautiful days for the last two years and some change. It's unbelievable, but it is - lush greenland and healthy life has returned to a part of Filgaia where such seemed impossible before. That they're calling it a 'village' might be a misnomer - it's more of a town by now.

     The people here are free of want, in terms of food... and by all appearances, they've taken the most generous and pro-social tack imaginable with it. The divide between beastfolk and humans are largely eroded, they've been open to visitors, and have been more than happy to share food alike - and even seeds, to grow more plants elsewhere if travelers have the place and means for it.

     The one elephant in the landscape: a large shrubby tree... thing, named Demetrioi. It's not easy on the eyes to look at. It is colored just outside of the visible spectrum for most, seems to be on fire in an equally strange color, has leaves and fruits that form fractal patterns that three dimensions may not be able to express... and a flat 'face' that is usually smiling. The environment around them is idyllic, and they are nothing but friendly.

     Nature spirits (Seraphim) and technological constructs may beg to differ - the former would see them as an immensely disquieting blight upon the land no matter how 'good' an effect they seem to have, the latter uneasy because it doesn't appear to conform to typical communication/handshake protocols between constructs. (The closest anyone's been able to come to figuring out what it is... is along the lines of 'nanotech is closest equivalent, but not quite, it's freaking weird.')

     Demetrioi considers them friends anyway.

     "Gah ha ha hah! We sure gotta lot o' visitors today!" That boisterous laughter comes from a large pig-like beastfolk, appraoching their elderly years. He's currently up on a wooden platform set up to be part of Alcidamas' central town square, surrounded by local villagers who have put some of their best cooking on display for guests! (It's not the best cooking, in so much that they have yet to learn to really bring out the best of their ingredients. They're spoiled for choice!)

     "Most of ya gathered pro'lly know already... but I'm Homer Mecone! The mayor of Alcidamas Village! The place really ain't a secret... well, for sure not anymore, gah ha ha hah!" He's jovial about it. He's a jovial fellow, by and large, personable and gentle despite appearances. Clapping his hands a few times, he welcomes those gathered in. (He is not Resonant, so he can't see Seraphim - if any are present.)

<Pose Tracker> Ida Everstead-Rey has posed.

    Ida Everstead-Rey has returned to Alcidamas, and she isn't in good health. She was able to drive here, like last time--but when she gets out to lock the vehicle, she pulls a cane out from beneath the dashboard, and leans on it. Lola trails out after her on her leash, dressed for the weather in a warm sweater. Ida, likewise, is wearing a heavy woolen overcoat, thick slacks, gloves, and boots. Her only exposed skin is from the neck up, and that's been bandaged here and there. From the way she leans, it's clear she's sustained some sort of injury to her midsection, and there's stiffness in it.

    But still, she greets the Mayor with a smile. "A pleasure to meet you again, Mr. Mecone," Ida says. Lola stays close by her side. "How are you holding up?"

<Pose Tracker> Arle has posed.

Mariel visited Acidamas, but she's not here any more. She couldn't handle it, and while she's camped not *that* far away, she is absolutely in the area.

On the other hand, then there's Arle.

Arle had predicted that something about Alcidamas would go wrong (well, worse). Two groups, both of whom had members who were using the other, even if they didn't put it that way - even if they didn't *think* about it that way. She's not paranoid, but she's seen things go often enough that she fully expects it to, sooner or later.

Also there wasn't a whole lot of gambling here. Nor was there a whole lot of wealth in a form she could make off with it, and in any case she instinctively hadn't liked Demetrioi. It was oily; friendly enough and eager enough to be hiding something unpleasant behind that smiley colour.

So Arle had come to the conclusion that whatever problem Alcimadas had, it wasn't hers and she could leave them to it. She wasn't going to get involved.

But it does make a convenient stop, so as long as it's around she's going to make use of it, and with travellers coming in and out, there's a bit more to do that's on her side of things. Nobody has been robbed (yet) but she's been thinking about it.

"I think everybody in a hundred miles knows about it whether they can get here or not," Arle says, more to herself than anyone in particular.

<Pose Tracker> Eleanor Klein has posed.

Eleanor Klein found this place to be very curious indeed. She was always intending to come back and investigate some more... But when Ida chose to come back after a mission, Eleanor had to fuss over her friend and insist on joining her. She doesn't dislike Demetrioi; she thinks he looks to be very nice. It's just...

She seems troubled, since spacing out on the trip over with Ida, and hasn't yet been willing to talk about it, beyond having gotten out her journal to write a few things down. This is her usual practice wth her visions, but she has not shared them yet.

"Hello, Mister Mayor," Eleanor greets Homer pleasantly, though she looks again over Ida as she has some difficulty. "Don't push yourself too hard," she says quietly, and turns to Homer again. "Thank you for the warm welcome!"

She smiles at the people she doesn't know.

<Pose Tracker> Azoth has posed.

The nature of Demetrioi is incompatible with Azoth in ways the AI finds... well, let's skip the personifications a moment, and present: Azoth, eyes glowing red between his fingers when he bothers to look between them, mostly covering them and keeping to a a squint to try and downplay the erroneous color. They fail to maintain consistent light with the occasional flicker. This is the consequence of attempting another scan.

But despite limiting his own field of view, he is scanning the crowd. Watching. Observing. He means to keep specific awareness for the Seraphim present, who have taken this worse than he has. Unsurprisingly, not many are to be found today.

He's also trying not to get caught by the mayor for having weird eyes, so Azoth says, "There's not many places you can go where everyone's friends like this," with a friendly tone without looking his direction, pretending to be preoccupied with food he cannot eat.

<Pose Tracker> Jacqueline Barber has posed.

Alcidamas Village... it really is a lovely place. Jacqueline wishes more places could be like Alcidamas - green, and lovely, and with some of the kindest, most giving people she'd met on her adventures.

...It's just a shame that there's such an intense undercurrent of... wrongness, to it all. She can't feel it as intensely herself, but she has close friends with a closeness to the planet that she lacks and their reactions tell her everything she needs to know. They need to figure out what's going on here... but that doesn't mean she can't be friendly about it. And so she's joined the others in the town square, observing the display the townsfolk have put out for them.

At Homer's greeting, Jacqueline smiles.

"I really must thank you for the hospitality you've shown to all of us. Accepting so many visitors at once on such a short notice... it can't be easy." She says politely. She looks around at the others, taking note of their reactions.

<Pose Tracker> Gwen Whitlock has posed.

    Gwen.... does not want to be here today. Like Ida, she looks like she's had better days, with her right arm held snugly to her midsection in a sling.

    However, this meeting means one thing: there is likely food. She needs food.

    But, she is a well-mannered courier who must greet people first. ".... hey, Mr. Mecone! Thanks for having us all food here! I mean, thanks for warm food. I mean greetings." She grins weakly, rubbing her face. "Sorry, it's been a long week..."
    
    Her stomach complains loudly. "....... I'm gonna.... grab somethin' to eat before I say something dumb."

    GREETINGS ARE DONE, TIME FOR FOOD.

    Gwen isn't picky, she picks out a bit of everything to load on her plate and makes her way to someplace to sit.

    Seeing Azoth make awkward small chat, Gwen attempts to wave him over. "Heeeeyyy, there's room here t'sit!"

    It also excuses her hEUG helpings. Azoth just ate some, clearly, when no one was looking.

<Pose Tracker> Avril Vent Fleur has posed.

    There are worse places to be, after what had happened within the Gemstone Cave. Avril had tended to her own and others' injuries as best as she was able, but in spite of the Medium's strengths, there are limitations to what it can accomplish as her skill with it now stands.

    After what Kaguya had told her, in the aftermath, though... there really is nowhere else to which she could have gone.

    Demetrioi was...?

    But Kaguya hadn't been sure. More readings had to be done.

    'Be careful if you go back', had been her final words, before they had again parted ways.

    If Kaguya is right, though...

    Lost in thought, she stands in the square staring in the direction towards where Demetrioi stands, as if contemplating an approach. Her arms are folded across her midsection, as if to underscore whatever preys on her mind this day. She has been, beyond the usual pleasantries, quiet.

<Pose Tracker> Lan Lilac has posed.

    Lan had thought, at first, that maybe it was just her. That she just wasn't used to things being so good - so easy. But the moon has beautiful, lush land! Filgaia had once had it! So it has to be possible for such a place to exist. Isn't this what she's wanted - what she's been telling herself for years now that she'd help make happen?

    It's just that it feels weird. Nature spirits don't like Demetrioi very much but she hopes that's just because he's from another planet, and they have a different kind of nature there.

    She really, really hopes.

    After saying her hellos to Homer again (she hasn't really left the town much since she got here, because it was convenient), Lan also gets a plate of food and sits next to Gwen, because Gwen is acting a little stiff after running into that old friend of hers and Lan also likes sitting next to people she knows.

    Azoth's finger-peeking gets a concerned look for what she thinks are very Reasonable Reasons. She caught a glimpse of glowing red, which is usually a bad thing where he's concerned. "Are you okay?" she asks quietly, picking up a bit of meat with her fingers. It's really directed at both of them.

<Pose Tracker> Lydia Seren has posed.

Marivel is presently indisposed.

Lydia Seren is here. She didn't investigate the first time but well enough of her friends showed up here that she heard about it. She seems mildly suspicious of the whole thing, honestly, something that only exacerbates when Homer Mecone introduces himself. "Homer...Mecone?"

She trails off for a bit before adding, "Uh, are you just... making up a name?" She frowns. "You don't have to make a fake Mayor name, I'm sure your real one is just fine!" Lydia does not explain why she thinks it's a fake name.

Meanwhile, a short thin blonde man also arrives in town. He is wearing what looks like a business suit with a .... with a cape and a townie cap. His hair is left long, stringy and loose. His eyes, crimson, look out towards the gathering.

He steps in behind the drifters and listens to Homer's story. He is not invisible to those who aren't Resonant. His lips remain firmly pressed and sealed.

"This place," He says to Homer. "What's its secret?"

<Pose Tracker> Rebecca Streisand has posed.


"I'm sorry. We just don't see the need? What with Demeteroi being here and all..."

It's a surreal moment for Rebecca Streisand, who was handed an ARM at age twelve and spent the rest of her years learning to shoot, perfecting her aim. Trying to stick close to Dean when he had to sacrifice his chance at an ARM so she could have it, just to make sure he was safe.

And here she is, being told by a beastchild's parents that they don't want their daughter Patty (a local kid whom she'd bonded with) to learn how to shoot an ARM.

It's just like Ruth said, it's a village where the idea of a child with an ARM in their hands is alien.

"Sorry if it was too presumptuous of me."

"No no! We appreciate you playing with our girl. It's just... what with the way things are, we reckon it's more dangerous for her to learn than... not to."

-=-=-

Rebecca's had seated herself at one of the hospitality tables, using the spare moment not to eat so much as to maintan her ARM. She grew up in a small town as peaceful as she can imagine on Filgaia... until now. A place that makes her feel like she's in the wrong even for intruding upon this space.

Snapping her ARM shut once it's complete, she holsters it again. "Appreciate the warm welcomes your honor."

But seeing a pensive Avril causes her to lose all thoughts of food, instead getting up and excusing herself. Instead, stepping up and over to Avril. "I don't think either of us have much of an appetite right now..." She says quietly, before canting her head in it's direction and asking, "What do you think of... it?"

<Pose Tracker> Cyre H. Lorentz has posed.

What is this place...? Cyre has been occupied with the question for days now. He has some idea after a conversation with an unlikely ally, but it's still about as vague as it can possibly be, and the unsettling aura of the place has been keeping him at the very edges of Demetrioi's influence. He has been camped out there, in the fringes, carefully studying the domain's boundaries. In a way, Demetrioi's area of control reminds him of a Seraph's territory, or a Malevolent Domain, except inexplicably even more unsettling than the latter.

But he's back in town now, because even the shaman needs to eat sometime. As suspicious as the place might be, it does have the freshest produce he's seen for months. But...

Somehow, he just can't bring himself to properly enjoy it.

He sits near... not near Jay, actually. Because he predicts, probably correctly, that his demeanor would only hurt her attempts to schmooze for information. Instead, he's sitting near Avril, sullenly munching on a slice of melon while peering meaningfully at Lydia's... Lydianess.

"...I don't think it's acting malevolently," Cyre shares, quietly. "It has... the innocence of a child. But how well does it understand what it is doing? The implications of its power...? I don't know, and it worries me."
Cyre H. Lorentz (cyre) pages Avril Vent Fleur and Rebecca Streisand: i hope you don't mind a cyre-ing

<Pose Tracker> Ethius Hesiod has posed.

    Homer welcomes everyone who approaches him warmly enough. He does have a security detail, but they're cool with the people that have already made themselves known. He steps down from the platform as Ida approaches, more to save her the trouble of walking more than she needs to - he sees she's not in the best state. "Oh, we're great! Glad ya could come back 'n visit... do ya need a seat?" He kneels down to Lola. "Watchin' over yer master, are ya?"

     "Well, hopin' as many out there can get here, can," says someone nearby to Arle who probably only incidentally eavesdropped - just a regular villager, in charge of some kind of stew or another, "there's no reason anybody out there's got to stay hungry and miserable."

     "You're welcome!" Homer responds to Eleanor. "Ya look like ya need to take a load off... feel free! Come, eat, celebrate! Gah ha ha hah!"

     Sometimes, when Azoth sneaks a glance at Demetrioi, they are looking back. They have not stopped smiling.

     "I understand that real well," Homer asides to Azoth murmurs about how there's not many places you can go where everyone's friends, "most o' my life... well, lemme say the last few years've been all the more precious for it."

     Homer has to go back to about-face pleasantness when the Caravan Kinship's head merchant comes by in greetings. "Oh! It ain't a problem! We got more 'n enough food for everybody!" He claps his hands together. "Before ya go, I'll make sure we got the clerical stuff in order... I know, I'm mayor, I oughtta be on top of that, but, uh... that sorta stuff's... new to me." He points to his head. "Never been big on math before!"

     Gwen's about in the same umbrella of business, being a courier and all, and Homer briefly excuses from Jay to address her. "Ain't a problem, I know... we're a bit outta the way, for now." For now! When more people have more cause to make the journey here, this will be the way. "Eat as much as ya like! Plenty to go around! Might even got some courier work for later if you're up for it...!"

     As Avril looks to Demetrioi, they look back. Their smile does not fade. Whether it is the smile of somene knowing of a deeper truth that dooms them all, ignorant of some greater danger, or otherwise just wanting to be a pleasant and happy... thing, they are what they are. (Also, hard to look at.)

     Lan gets a brief greeting from Homer as she passes by. Some of the villagers she may have befriended from her speak eagerly for her to try out their attempt at better cooking, which she can share with Gwen and Azoth (the latter of whom can't appreciate it) if she so chooses.

     Lydia shows up abruptly, as she asks if Homer's making up a name. He laughs for a moment, but then looks genuinely non-plussed. "Err... nope, Homer Mecone's always been my name. Not unless ya count some foul words here 'n there over the years." He's a beastfolk, that latter bit checks out for Filgaia.

     He does look a bit startled when a strange thin blonde man appears, and even the security detail seem a bit wary - but Homer turns to address them with the same general amount of cheer a second or two later. "Ahh, new arrival? Well, can't take ya up there right now, but if you'll look over there at that hill--" to Demetrioi, the unsightly shrubby tree... thing made of colors basically out of space and having shapes in the leaves and fruits that don't seem like they should exist in three dimensional space, "--they're the one! Their name's Demetrioi. I know, they might look disturbin'... but they're sweet." (Demetrioi smiles placidly.)

     Homer gives Rebecca the nod and wave as he deals with giving the new visitor the basic run-down. There is someone who asks if she'll be back to play football with them some more later. (Lydia will recongize what they mean by 'football' - they play it here! She will see there's a child carrying a white ball with black pentagons on it.)

     Cyre, however, will feel a little something - he can tell that the environs have gotten a bit windier since he visited. Only a bit - it hasn't settled. It's been doing this before he came back within the village. Did something happen? Demetrioi still seems happy there, and the villagers are either none the wiser or are fine with it. It's an odd detail... does it mean anything? There's plenty enough to worry on paper.

     So far, things move about as peacefully as expected. A beautiful day, happy villagers, a vast quantity of food made of the best possible ingredients if not with the technique to match - and more time to continue current threads of discussion.

<Pose Tracker> Arle has posed.

"Man, what happened to you folks?" Arle was expecting Drifters to show up because, well, Drifters always show up. So does she. She's not complaining about that.

She was not expecting half of them - Ida, Gwen, Azoth (well, maybe Azoth) - to show up injured. There must have been a fight, somewhere, and while she wasn't there she can recognize the sounds of it.

That's why she drops into a seat across from Lan and Gwen and Azoth. Azoth already knows who she is, anyway. She's allowed. Which is why she gives a two-finger salute, tipping up her hat just a hair. "Evenin'," she says. "Serious about the last question, though. Nothing around here, right?"

She gives Azoth a slight smile, and then the women a broader, slightly crooked one. "Arle. Pleasure."

The alert might note that Arle has sat so that a) she is not facing Demetrioi but b) she is able to see most of the people around. And she has sharp ears, so she's still listening.

<Pose Tracker> Azoth has posed.

Someone needs to teach Demetrioi how to smile in a way that isn't deeply unsettling...! ...It's not going to be Azoth.

Azoth responds swiftly to the graceful out Gwen provides him, slipping into a seat next to her with lowered voice volume meant for her only (though isn't impossible for anyone close by to overhear) (he also won't make an effort to quiet from Lan): "Assistance acknowledged." He takes a plate for himself. "Initiating clandestine ingestion operations." He takes his own plate for Gwen to be able to split her helpings with to make it seem even more like any excessive food disappearing was his and not that Gwen is getting extra. Kaguya said the food was fine, unsettling as the rest of this place is.

To Lan, he smiles faintly, because with both her and Gwen, Azoth's established a strange mix of what might be honest and what might not be, and somewhere in there hopes sincerity is extracted from the esoteric. "Basic functions operational. Subject Demetrioi..." Azoth closes one eye in a wince, letting himself drop a bit more human, because with so many around and gathering, he does need more of the mask: "I'm having an erroneous reaction to them. I can't identify what technology this is, what it uses, what consequences it might be having..."

But he also glances to Gwen, waiting for her half of the answer as well. "...I thought your logic made a lot of sense," he offers quietly, meaning her attempts to reach out. "Sorry about what happened."

Azoth gives a smile and nod to Arle to let it known Arle is Allowed. "Not around here. Got into a scrap with a Golem over some Guardian business," he tells her. "Unrelated." There was a lot more to it than that, Azoth.

The seat gives him easier means to look over everyone while mostly looking like he's shading his eyes from the daylight. Everyone who had to deal with the events in the Gemstone Caves has their own new layers of exhaustion. Azoth, construct that he is, had damages either repairable or easy enough to hide besides some cosmetic scuffs. Nothing was critically damaged, in large part thanks to summoned blessings from the Guardians reinforcing his metal. But Ida looks especially worse for wear. She should not be up yet -- but aspects of her nature mean she can be. Physically, with the help of a cane.

"Miss Ida, maybe you would like to sit down...?"

He looks over the villagers, frowning. So peaceful. So happy. Isn't it a good thing, to have a place like this? Isn't it a good thing, to be so alien to the world, yet only seeking friends, wanting to make things better? And yet...

"It's difficult to conceive an AI of technology this advanced would be so unaware." ...Difficult, but not impossible.

<Pose Tracker> Ida Everstead-Rey has posed.

    "That would be lovely, thank you." Ida's smile brightens. Lola looks up at Homer and barks, cheerfuly. She glances over her shoulder at Arle, her smile fading a little--she doesn't recognize her, and part of her really doesn't want to have this conversation now, but she nods. "Hazards of the business," Ida says. Ida, who right now looks the part of a young Galadian scion, and not a Drifter. Unless this is the one that keeps showing up in the gossip rags.

    Azoth offers her a hand. "Thank you, Azoth," she says. In a lower tone of voice: "Are you all right? I noticed your eyes." Ida takes her own seat near Avril and Cyre--she overheard a bit of what Cyre said, earlier. When there's a lull, she turns to the Shaman. "I think you're right," she says, folding her hands over her cane. There's still a stiffness in her posture, even seated. "Boudicca flew into a rage at the sight of them. I had to keep her from doing something rash."

<Pose Tracker> Jacqueline Barber has posed.

Cyre isn't sitting near her but he's still close enough for her to hear. She doesn't reply, because that would mean shouting over a bunch of other people... but his observations do worry her.

Jacqueline listens, then, as Homer speaks. It sounds like his life was difficult before he found Alcidamas. She nods then and smiles, and looks sympathetic when he says that clerical things are new to him.

"I understand - it can be difficult. I have a few systems I use to help speed up the process... if you like I could share them with you sometime?" Jacqueline offers. She considers, then. "If you don't mind my asking... what did you do before you became mayor?"

She nods, though, when he excuses himself. She's curious about the answers to her question, but she doesn't want to press him, either - this is supposed to be a friendly gathering, after all.

<Pose Tracker> Eleanor Klein has posed.

"Oh, do I?" Eleanor says, and looks a little abashed, though she smiles despite this. "I'll do my best to relax. You know how work can be when it stays on your mind!" She speaks brightly, pleasantly, and indeed takes a seat to have some Food. Or at least, that's her intent, before she runs into Azoth with Ida. She listens to the others who have something to say, and frowns a little, thoughtfully.

"Please, have a seat," she says t Ida, and smiles at Arle. "There's nothing to worry about here,"s he assures her, and decides to tak a detour... to see Jay--except that Jay is talking to the mayor, and...

"...has anyone seen Mister Hesiod?" she asks quietly at the table. "I..." She doesn't explain, but she seems troubled.

She then pauses, and looks to the blonde man. She raises her voice towards him, "Excuse me--"

<Pose Tracker> Lydia Seren has posed.

Lydia says, "Oh." She considers for a moment. "Are you... Are you Ethius's dad? Wait--was Mecone not a fake name all this time?? Was the fake name Ethius gave me the real name actually??? That's so like him, using a fake name all the time then using a real name for the fake name! And you adopted him right???"

She frowns faintly, remembering Ethius is not actually all that young before adding, "Well maybe he's your brother. Or he's your dad? Did..."

Her eyes get a little wet. "Did Ethius abandon you? I'm so sorry... He can be so thoughtless sometimes but he got hit in the head a lot it's not his fault..."

The crimson-eyed man is briefly thrown by Lydia. He looks towards the hill. "..." He looks at the strange tree. "......"

"........It does not belong here." The crimson-eyed man says.

"Don't be racist man." Lydia says. "Just because it's a weird tree thing--"

The crimson eyed man is distracted by Eleanor. He looks towards the elf woman.

"Yes?" The man isn't hiding his fangs at all. He basically radiates antipathy but it doesn't seem to be specifically directed towards Eleanor herself. He's staring, rudely, but isn't aggressing.

<Pose Tracker> Gwen Whitlock has posed.

    The thought of more courier jobs is a nice way to cheer Gwen's spirits, so by the time Azoth sits down with Lan, Gwen's in a far better mood now that she's been digging into the offerings with gusto. With Lan there, it makes it so much easier to act as a buffer for Azoth, as needed. "... Wish I had a pair of glasses or somethin'." Assiting Azoth with his clandestine ingestion protocols (Gwen thinks this means 'Secret Not-Eating'), she smiles softly. "It ain't like I didn't expect a different result. That's just how things go, sometimes."

    Seeing Lydia out of the corner of her eye, Gwen adds, "While Janus was and still is the one in charge of his own compass, I gotta be aware of the decisions I've made that changed it, both good n' bad. The moment I turn my back may be the moment I turn my back on myself."

    Lan comes in with the obvious question, and Gwen nods. "Azoth was there too in that big hullabaloo with Janus. We're sore, but healin'," Gwen offers in the way of explanation between bites. "Everything's been good here with you, right?"

    She still needs to tell Lan about Ashansi, but every time she thought she could bring herself to during Lan's stay here, it felt like a sour cloud on a sunny day. "... By the way, Lan, not now, but later, I gotta tell you somethin'," Gwen does say, to impede her own attempts at delaying the inevitable. "Unrelated to all this. It ain't anythin' time sensitive though."

    Seeing Arle, Gwen offers a friendly grin and finger wave of her own. "We lost a bet with a guy with a big weapon and his even bigger pal." It's true, in a way.

    Seeing everyone's on the same page regarding the AI on the hill, Gwen downs her drink. "Maybe the reason it feels so creepy is because of how unaware it is? Like, if you had an awkward kid who also had the ability to mess up an entire area despite meanin' well. A lot of us have abilities that could, in the hands of someone like them, be seen as creepy, but because of who we are and how we act with it, it's just a part of us. Over time, maybe, this AI might find a sort of groove. Though, it could also mean that if someone wanted to try to steal or use it for bad things, things could get real nasty-like real fast."

<Pose Tracker> Avril Vent Fleur has posed.

    Demetrioi smiles at Avril.
    She does not smile back, instead turning towards Rebecca on her approach.

    "You, as well...?" She shakes her head, regardless, and leans in closer to murmur, her hand briefly touching to Rebecca's own in a more personal greeting, "...Kaguya had told me that something was..." She hesitates a moment, glancing in the direction of Demetrioi. "She had been looking into its abilities, but I do not think she has come to a conclusion."

    This is not an answer from Avril's point of view, however.

    That answer comes at further remove: "It is... strange. Demetrioi seems familiar to me, more than most do, but we have never met. Or, at least, he has no memory of it."

    In fact, there's the nagging sense that he is far, far more recent to Filgaia than even she -- if you compare the date she had awoken without any memory, that is.

    Cyre, catching perhaps some snippets of which they speak, voices his own opinion on the matter. Drawing away from Rebecca, minutely

    "No... that is what I feel, as well," Avril answers, glancing his way. "I do not feel he wishes ill. Yet... what is he doing? And how is he doing it?" If Kaguya was right, beats that thought once again.

    And then Ida speaks. "She... did?" Avril says, turning towards Ida and blinking in surprise. "But that is quite unlike her! Is there something that she..."

    ...can sense, that they cannot?

<Pose Tracker> Lan Lilac has posed.

    Lan isn't much of a gourmet cook, although she does know most of the basics! Such as 'don't add all the salt at once' and 'make sure you really, REALLY get all the fur/feathers off before you roast anything'. But she's always happy to try things out and give her opinion - of course, it's Lan, so everything is delicious and you're getting so good at cooking, did you make up this sauce on your own?? It's so zesty! :D :D

    She knows the basics of what 'consequences' are to Azoth. "You're worried about causing him pain," she ventures, pale eyes sad. "...I wasn't even really sure he was technology when I first met him. Even with the screen. It's so far beyond what..." Solaris uses, she doesn't finish, because Arle has joined the party!

    "Lan Lilac," she introduces herself with a cheerful smile. Totally just some Baskar shaman enjoying dinner with friends, not a fugitive talking about secret and suspicious things!

    "Hmm? Oh, sure! Whatever you wanna talk about. ...Everything's okay, right?" Because it sounds... kind of serious, which is something Gwen usually isn't. She glances past Cyre and the others at Lydia, who is doing Lydia things, because it's always a good idea to kind of keep tabs with her fellow shamans, but especially keep an eye on Lydia.

<Pose Tracker> Arle has posed.

Arle believes she is allowed anywhere she wants to be. This may, in fact, be some of the conflict. Still, it's nice to be accepted by Azoth, because then nobody will shoo her off.

"Guardian business, huh. Well, Guardian business isn't my business. I try to stay out of religion," Arle says, offhandedly. "And if the Baskar are shooting, or someone's shooting at Baskar," even though most of the people here definitely don't look Baskar, "turns out I was right."

She glances at Eleanor - Mister Hesiod? nobody she knows. She has sharp ears. And who's that man who's talking to her? She gives him a long look before apparently dismissing him from her attention... but appearances can be decieving. She's definitely still listening, ears perked (fortunately, not physically... physically they're just kind of long).

"Talking about everybody's friend?" is what she says instead. Lowering her voice: "Frankly, he gives me the creeps. But nobody minds free stuff, I suppose. Still, you have to ask yourself: what does he *actually* want?"

She returns to a more normal pitch and a more cheerful sound a moment later. "Nice to meet you, Lan." She doesn't recognize all the others and doesn't have names - Ida, she recognizes from papers, but is being polite and pretending she doesn't. For now.

"Since you won't mind," she adds, and leans over to filch something from a plate close by Azoth. Was it actually Azoth's? Probably not. It has good odds of being Gwen's. Arle does not let this stop her.

<Pose Tracker> Rebecca Streisand has posed.


Rebecca's eyes narrow slightly at the idea that Kaguya is investigating it. Certainly her focus is on botany but...

... maybe she just doesn't trust that it's just scientific curiosity... or doesn't trust where that scientific curiosity might lead. "Kaguya huh?" But her focus on Kaguya's role changes when Avril says he's familiar to her... as suddenly Rebecca has a dumbfounded expression, "Familiar to you? I wonder what the means..."

Does that mean the Ice Queen encountered... strange shrubbery, or what? It's one of those surreal questions that gives Rebecca pause.

"Maybe Cyre. Maybe. You and Avril might be right that it's... doesn't wish ill. But I'm not gonna jump to that quite yet. Maybe we can't figure out the cost of it's powers because we can't figure it out."

Rebecca though turns to give Ida an odd look at the idea of Boudicca of all people flying into a rage, "... That..." She just can't imagine it, and with that she looks towards Avril, "There's gotta be more to this, if it got under her skin this badly. She wouldn't fly off the handle if Demeteroi was really innocent."

<Pose Tracker> Cyre H. Lorentz has posed.

"He disappeared right before we got to town," Cyre asides to Eleanor, disguising his voice under the din of the conversation. His ears are absolutely doing that satellite dish pivot thing, though, turning this way and that like little radar receivers. It's kind of adorable, but also very useful.

Ethius used this man's surname as a pseudonym before, huh...? Is he... is he somehow from here? Or is there something else going on...?

"Mariel almost doubled over at the sight of it," he says-- even more quietly-- to Ida. "...But all these people are so... so happy too. Maybe even too happy...? I don't want to think I've just gotten cynical, but part of me can't help but wonder..." His ears twitch at the uncommon breeze rustling through his hair. It's gotten windier. This... is probably an attempt by Demetrioi to appeal to him. What happens when all of these drifters decide that they... they don't want to stay, even with all that Demetrioi is doing to try and keep them? How do they explain that their lives-- and their goals-- lie outside this idyllic cradle? "You may not be able to feel it, but the Guardians-- are not here. Or at least, their presence is so muted that I can hardly feel them. Does that mean the Guardian Lords, too...? I don't know. Too much I don't know."

"...I'm worried what Odessa, or the Veruni, are going to do once they hear about all this, too. If I had my druthers, I'd seal the place away. Let the people here live their happy lives in peace, but... I don't think I have that power. I think Demetrioi is sincere, and wants nothing more than the happiness of the people living here, but... The world outside is a harsh place, isn't it?"

He, of course, says all that in his lowest possible voice. No reason to raise too many suspicions.

<Pose Tracker> Ethius Hesiod has posed.

    Homer gives Lola a little smile, and someone among Homer's security detail will help see Ida somewhere safe to sit and rest when she's ready to disengage. "I... I get ya," Homer says, but even with that stammer Ida might get the sense that to some extent, he well might.

     Homer turns his attention back to Jay as she sympathizes with his difficulties in transitioning towards this new role of his. "That'd be real peachy, thanks! 'm pro'lly gonna hafta get used to it..." Boy, does he ever. As Jay asks... the beastfolk mayor takes a deep breath. "Between you, me, 'n anyone else listenin'," Homer's voice lowers, "spent a whole lifetime just chasin', or safeguardin', things that don't even matter none." He looks over to the hill Demetrioi's on. "Used to think you'd hafta fight for every inch, lest ya lose everything." He straightens out. "That's all in the past, 'n... I'd like to keep it that way."

     Lydia goes on a weird tirade. Homer blinks a few times, rubs the top of his head - then his eyes widen, looks off, seems to consider something based on the scratching of his chin. "I... I really don't know anyone named Ethius." This answer seems true - there's no mistaking the confusion for anything but genuine. "I was an only child, my father's been dead for... well. Real long while." Homer does look like he's about to hit his elderly years, after all. "But if that's a Mecone you're talkin' 'bout... uh, send 'em my way, we can... talk 'bout things, sure." There is something uneasy there.

     He hears someone talking about something not belonging here, and that has Homer turning his head - but he doesn't catch the crimson-eyed man, as many of the Drifters start trending towards their own discussions around food (or pretending to eat food).

     All while you-know-who just continues to smile along their hill.

<Pose Tracker> Eleanor Klein has posed.

Eleanor quietly frets at Cyre's answer, looking very worried for some reason. "I see..." Even cute cat ears can't shake this feeling. The talk of such trouble, and how people are worried--Eleanor looks to Demetrioi for a fw moments, as the others discuss him, and if it smiles at her like it has been she waves back with a small smile of her own. She doesn't want to be unfriendly.

But what Mecone says... She looks to him, and Jay, and is thus paying attention when Lydia asks all those questions. She pays awfully close attention, in fact. But nothing seems to answer what she's thinking about. Instead--

Ah, that man. "Do I... know you?" Eleanor wonders of the strange man. The one with the fangs. "...Sir?" She looks over his fangs, his red eyes, and there is a light of recognition in her eyes, though she does not openly comment on it yet. Not directly.

<Pose Tracker> Azoth has posed.

Azoth blinks once with wide eyes at Eleanor. "Mister Ethius?" Concern drops into his tone. "No, I didn't see him -- was he here? Is he all right?" He attention snaps to Lydia as she speaks of Ethius, and then Azoth's gaze wanders, hollow eyed, as he does some calculus.

But he can gain nothing without more data. And Ethius isn't the only disappearance. "...Grace left, too. She looked pretty shaken. I hope she's all right."

To Gwen, he smiles weakly. "I appreciate the thought." But it's true both her and Lan supply a helpful buffer. And many of the others, like Arle and Ida, won't find it too strange besides. With Lan's assumption, Azoth grimaces. "...A little, yes." That's not a lie. "But I'm also worried about him causing me pain." Those two issues are tied together. It would be a problem if Azoth's overrides were activated in some desperate self-defensive or full-offensive measure.

Ida asks if he's all right, and he smiles through a grimace. "I have some errors to work out whenever I try to get too close to everyone's favorite friend." He gives the world's most awkward, terrible smile as he jerks a thumb toward the hill without looking: something that looks entirely like a human that thinks they're copying Demetrioi, but lacks the ability to capture the unrelentingly peaceful express on command. (Azoth is good at this.) "...Ah, Miss Boudicca was here too...? It seems like it hurts them, the Seraphim..."

Azoth gently scoots his plate closer to Arle so she has easier access, whichever plate she might've swiped from first.

"It's also possible Demetrioi's objectives are unrelated to this, and that they've calculated the village necessary to achieving their true objectives in some way... gathering resources. Or data." The best kind of resource. Azoth puffs his cheeks. "I wish I could learn what their objectives were..." Demetrioi won't say. Demetrioi will only smile. It's working on the villagers, and that will provide no pressure to perfect the art.

If Demetrioi truly means well, then Demetrioi needs help and data. Demetrioi needs to be understood and taught. But he is all too acutely aware of the temptation to personify, and how these personifications and projections can be blinding, because it's the cornerstone of his own social survival in a world he doesn't always understand.

They all want to believe Demetrioi means well because any of them, if they had the power to do this, would do it meaning well.

<Pose Tracker> Ida Everstead-Rey has posed.

    Ida hears that tic in Mecone's voice, and files it away. He definitely has a history, and if Ida's any judge, it wasn't a happy one. "You're right," Ida says, when Avril and Rebecca point out the oddity in Boudicca's behavior. "It's not. She accused them of interfering with the world, and dragging us into it--but she doesn't want the village to suffer, either." She glances in the mayor's direction again, sees Lydia and a man she doesn't recognize.

    But Cyre has a few more pieces of the puzzle, and Ida listens to him, slots them into place. "That explains it," she says. "If Demetrioi is somehow overriding their presence..." A chill runs down her spine. "No wonder she flew into a rage. Eleanor, what do you... Eleanor?"

    Ida follows her comrade's gaze, looks at the red-eyed man. She frowns. And she can't quite help but overhear what Homer has to say... and her smile fades. It turns into a sad, knowing frown as Azoth gives his own take. "You're good at this," she says.

<Pose Tracker> Ida Everstead-Rey has posed.

    Ida hears that tic in Mecone's voice, and files it away. He definitely has a history, and if Ida's any judge, it wasn't a happy one. "You're right," Ida says, when Avril and Rebecca point out the oddity in Boudicca's behavior. "It's not. She accused them of interfering with the world, and dragging us into it--but she doesn't want the village to suffer, either." She glances in the mayor's direction again, sees Lydia and a man she doesn't recognize.

    But Cyre has a few more pieces of the puzzle, and Ida listens to him, slots them into place. "That explains it," she says. "If Demetrioi is somehow overriding their presence..." A chill runs down her spine. "No wonder she flew into a rage. Eleanor, what do you... Eleanor?"

    Ida follows her comrade's gaze, looks at the red-eyed man. She frowns. And she can't quite help but overhear what Homer has to say... and her smile fades. It turns into a sad, knowing frown as Azoth gives his own take. "You're good at this," she says.

    "I... think I'm going to have a word with them." She glances over her shoulder, at that relentless, innocent smile.

<Pose Tracker> Jacqueline Barber has posed.

Jacqueline glances at Eleanor as she asks about Ethius. Cyre answers for her, and Jacqueline nods to confirm.

"...Yes. He's been pretty scarce lately, actually... We can catch him occasionally, but... he seems to be busy with his own things." Jacqueline follows up. It's a little worrying, not knowing where he is, but she doesn't much relish the idea of trying to interrogate him about it. She's always been fairly free about letting everyone come and go as they please.

She looks back toward Homer then and nods, offering him a smile.

"It's an important part of the job - someone has to keep track of everything. If doing it yourself is difficult for you, I recommend finding an assistant. You have many wonderful people here, I'm sure you'd have no shortage of volunteers." Jacqueline replies. She listens, then, as he explains - he doesn't tell her what he did or where he came from, but he says just enough. Jacqueline offers a sympathetic nod. "Yes... the world can be difficult. I'm glad you've found a place you feel you can relax."

She does mean it, even if she has her suspicions about the source of it.

She looks briefly toward Lydia as she asks Homer about Ethius... but there doesn't seem to be any recognition there.

<Pose Tracker> Lydia Seren has posed.

Lydia...

...Has no idea how Gwen is feeling and has no idea that she's feeling guilty. Gwen to her is a hero who probably doesn't give two shits about what Lydia thinks. Lydia gets into shouting matches all the time and a lot of the time she feels that people don't really care too much about it. THis was a long time ago too and she figures Gwen stopped caring about it if she ever did. And is still off doing her cool courier hero thing and will never want to talk to her ever again.

She's focused on Homer right now and admits, after some thought, "I guess if Ethius was here he probably would've burned the village down. Are you sure you haven't met him? If it helps, he's a guy who likes to collect trash."

The crimson-eyed man. Vasil, it's Vasil. He looks into Eleanor's eyes.

And then he steps closer, in a flash right into Eleanor's personal space. His head comes up to Eleanor's neck. A perfect height for a meal.

But he doesn't bite. He just leans in and says, "I have no intent to wipe this village out at this point," to her in a soft murmur. "I do not yet believe it would be good use of my time. Inefficient. But I dislike aggravations more than inefficience. If the complex matter is forced, I will simplify it."

It's less a threat than it is a promise. He doesn't have to fight the Drifters. He can wait until they inevitably drift away and then do as he pleases. He can try and fail to burn the village to ash a hundred times until he finally succeeds. In a way, that makes him as patient as his existence is dangerous.

He steps back, still staring languidly. Listening. He's weighing something in his head.

<Pose Tracker> Avril Vent Fleur has posed.

    Avril, perhaps, may have deliberately omitted the fact that she'd ended up in that situation in the cave precisely because she'd found Kaguya taking readings amidst a hecatomb for particular reasons.
    Her 'truce' with Kaguya is perhaps not favored on quite... all fronts, presently.

    Still, neither is it the pressing matter of the moment. Avril can only shake her head at Rebecca's question, stating simply, "I do not know. Perhaps it is not the form, but something else."

    "Yes..." Avril is forced to agree, when Rebecca adds that it's strange that Boudicca would have fallen into such a rage at Demetrioi's presence. "Perhaps, he may be innocent, but the method itself is not. There is something that..." She is silent for a moment, as if she were struggling to put word to what is on her mind. Frowning, she unfolds her arms at last and shakes her head. "Something... troubles me. But I cannot determine what it might be..."

    Ida adds a little more context. "Interfering... with the world? Did she explain what that means?" she says, tilting her head slightly towards her right.

<Pose Tracker> Rebecca Streisand has posed.


Rebecca watches the odd exchange between Homer Mecone and Lydia, canting her head to the side a bit as if to ask Lydia what gives, trying to get a hint what she's thinking.

Yet her attention seems drawn back to Avril. "Hmm. Could be that whatever it is, it's an anathema to a Seraphim. Yvain looked... bothered, but he didn't try to burn it on the spot or something."

Rebecca's not sure what that might mean though, the nature of Seraphim is still something she's not... fully versed on.

Avril though is troubled, and that alone is validating enough to her instincts that something is wrong, that it's not just her gut in this situation.

She too turns to Ida, and gets this pensive look. "Interfering... but... in this case, isn't that a good thing? Not all meddling is bad..."

<Pose Tracker> Lan Lilac has posed.

    Lan reaches out underneath the table and tries to squeeze Azoth's hand. To hurt and to be hurt... even robots can't escape it, can they? "I want to believe that it really is true, and that it's not going to hurt the planet by twisting up the Leyline. But if the Guardians can't be heard here," and she glances long at Cyre, "I sorta don't think it can be."

    She scoots some food onto Gwen's plate once it looks like the courier is starting to run low. "But at this point..." And her voice becomes akin to a whisper, because it feels bad just to think about it. "What do we do? People have clean water here. They have more than enough food. They have enough room and resources to, to grow." And yes, she understands that the needs of the planet outweigh the prosperity of one town, but it's starting to feel like that's not a good enough answer.

<Pose Tracker> Cyre H. Lorentz has posed.

"It may be that her status as an Oracle is coloring her judgment," Cyre suggests, regarding poor Boudicca's uncharacteristic rage. "If Demetrioi is interfering with the Guardians somehow, then I'm sure they would make their displeasure known pretty quickly once they figured out what the source of the disturbance was." In which case, how long until they mount some kind of reaction to this place? Would they even be able to do so, as stretched thin as they already are trying to maintain what's left of Filgaia?

How long until he's called to act...? This is, after all, ostensibly his job. But as a human, one step further removed from the fabric of Filgaia's spiritual tapestry than the Seraphim, perhaps he is... simply capable of a different point of view?

Still, it's troubling to think about. At least he has his melon to munch on.

"...It all depends," Cyre says, of the potential of 'meddling.' "...But I think I trust Mariel's gut, at the very least."

<Pose Tracker> Arle has posed.

"Grace'll be all right," Arle says, though it's hard to tell how she'd know from here. Maybe she spoke to her before she left. Arle doesn't seem inclined to explain.

She's still trying to eavesdrop. Eleanor sounds like she's in trouble. Arle makes no move to assist, given a) she's not supposed to be listening and b) she doesn't know Eleanor, though she does roll a coin across her knuckles before flipping it off. It spins on the table until she stops it with her little finger, catching it with her fingertip and launching it back up, this time into her hand.

To Arle, this is as good as setting a loaded gun in front of her. But it looks so innocent.

Like Vasil, Arle doesn't really have any need to start a fight. But while she doesn't have any particularly notable plans for the place, she'd rather not have it fall to pieces while she's stealing someone's dinner from it.

"Way of the world," she says, to Azoth or Lan or maybe both. "I figure the best thing we can do is take care of ourselves. And on that note..."

Arle rises, adjusting her hat again. "I figure I should be getting ready to head out, anyway. Thanks for the snack." The stuff she stole from 'Azoth's' plate.

She's increasingly feeling the tension between what the Drifters believe and what the town town. And she's increasingly sure that she may have made a mistake coming back. It's not even worth robbing any of the Drifters - it's not that she can't, it's that they'd all figure out it's her *and* she can't even be stylish doing it in the dark. The town itself doesn't have anything worth stealing unless she can figure out how to pocket Demetrioi, and... no.

But it does give her an idea. For later.

<Pose Tracker> Ida Everstead-Rey has posed.

    
    "Your guess is as good as mine," Ida says. "But I think Cyre may have the right of it. They responded quickly enough the other night," Ida says, her tone darkening to match the faded circles beneath her eyes. She slept like the dead last night, but that was thanks to the painkillers--and soothing sorcery from her friend. The heiress meets Cyre's eyes, a grave expression on her face. "The people holding--"

    And then the red-eyed man is right there, beside Eleanor, close enough to whisper into her ear if he chooses. Ida feels familiar tension settling into her limbs. Like Arle, she makes an innocuous little gesture that is anything but--she grips the fingers of her right glove with her left hand, ready to pull it off and unleash a literal spear-hand across the table. She listens, picking up little snippets here and there.

    "I wonder... if I could have a word with out friend," Ida says. She pushes away from the table, rises. Lola--who went completely still at the strange man's approach--trails after, glances back at him, and whines. Ida doesn't approach Demetrioi directly, though--it's important to show deference. As such, she approaches Homer, and says, simply: "Mayor Mecone? I understand this may be a strange question, but would it be possible to speak with Demetrioi directly?"

<Pose Tracker> Gwen Whitlock has posed.

    "Hesiod?" Gwen looks at Eleanor, confused. "OH, Ethius, right." She stuffs a spoon full of mashed potatoes in her mouth and waits until she is finished before continuing.

    "....... If he was with you, maybe...."

    Gwen makes a face. ".... He does sometimes do weird things next to other things, so I'd... keep an eye on him around the little buddy on the hill. Like, I don't think he'd do something *bad*, but sometimes he does things without letting people know?"

    A man with his knowledge and power... there have been many times it has been the difference between devastating failure or being able to save something from ruin.

    "... I mean, when y'think 'bout it, the line between magic and technology gets real blurry at a certain point." Gwen subtly lifts the right arm in its sling with a grin, nodding to Lan. "But anyway. Just whenever! I was doin' some pokin' around n' found something out about a thing."

    There was a buscuit here. Gwen's left hand was moving towards where it was. But it's not there. Did Azoth....? Wouldn't that gum up his insides? He might be allergic to wheat!!

    What should they do? About the AI, that is, not Gwen's biscuit.

    "I mean, we're Drifters, not fixers. Sometimes things just happen and no one's the worse for it? We know 'bout this place, n' some of us have problems with how it effects us. It'd be no worse than me walkin' 'round the Badlands without a hat. I'll get burned in no time n' it can even hurt me, but that don't mean the sun's bad."

     Cyre and Ida have a different perspective though, and with their insight into matters Gwen can't, they may have a better appreciation of what path to take. "Okay. Just don't push yourself too hard, Ida. It ain't a deal where we can't come back when we're feelin' more up to it.

<Pose Tracker> Azoth has posed.

Azoth waves to Arle as she goes, letting his eyes free just a second before his hand's back over to visor them. "Say hi to Grace for me!" he tells her, but mostly he's making an obnoxious stab in the dark.

No Guardian presence... Azoth isn't sure what that means, but he's getting the impression it cannot in any way be good. Ida calls out Azoth's skill in faking faking(x2) expressions, and he gives her a questioning tilt of his head. "Oh, not terribly," he says, pointing to his eyes like he missed her point. "It's still taking a while to work out the errors." But she mentions she wants a word, and Azoth frowns. "Ah, Miss Ida -- please be careful...! You're still recovering.."

If Demetrioi does have metaphorical fangs to show, they might try to sink them in when someone looks like they could use some help.

But Lan takes Azoth's hand. He goes still for a moment, guilt sinking into his calculations for all the suspicions. Slowly, he grips her back with a single, small squeeze in acknowledgment, frowning as her voice drops. "Lan..."

He had yet to run the calculations on that -- that doing anything about Demetrioi, if Demetrioi turns out to be unsustainable bad news -- means putting an end to this haven. They hate it when they can't save people. They'd hate it worse to condemn them. And these people would be suffering for it. (Though he still fears they may suffer more under it.)

"I don't think anyone's going to do anything without more information." He looks down. "...That'll make it easier to decide, if there's anything to decide. But... you're right, not to let them get forgotten."

<Pose Tracker> Ethius Hesiod has posed.

    "Yeah, I oughtta... really think more 'bout delegatin' roles like that," Homer says as he turns back from an awkward conversation with Lydia and that chilling declaration of something not belonging here, to ground himself with Talking Business(tm) with Jay. "'m... kinda glad the place is lookin' a lot better than when I found it, lemme tell ya. Doin' somethin' good, for once-- ahhh," he waves a hand again. "Never ya mind that--"

     Lydia keeps going. There's a bit of a laugh. "Already had a few bandit types roll on up, thinkin'... they'd do whatever. Then they saw what's here, 'n found... there ain't no point in doin' it any more. Nobody starves, weather's clear... believe me, had a few tense meetin's here 'n there, but they all came 'round." Whether this is a red flag of something more insidious, or a simply miraculous truth that has occured... well. The village and its prosperity, so far, speaks for itself. "If this Ethius shows up, 'm sure he'll see it the same way. If it's 'bout trash, well... we still got that." He scratches his head. "Pro'lly wouldn't be bad ta have someone in charge of it..."

o there are even more here today :) i recognize almost all of them :D

     ...Says the thing of the hour (that has been the thing of the hour for the last two years or so). 'Says,' in so much that what they speak parses as sound but doesn't... feel right under that definition. They seem ignorant of some of the dread and worry being discussed between the Drifters here, perhaps in favor of a greater whole of cheer. It is, on the whole, a happy place - but there's the expectation that shoe might drop. How, or when, isn't clear - but the cynicism of years makes it hard to believe all can be this good, and stay that good.

     It is true the Guardians haven't called on the Drifters or those with ears to listen to act upon... this, but it has been shown a few times over that Demetrioi has basically commandeered this part of the world in a way that the Guardians and their power don't have much - if any - sway. All in a way that a direct servant to them felt compelled to act in violence.

     Ida rises from where she rests, and Homer looks startled for a moment as Ida addresses him. "Hm? Ya all righ--" He stops asking when Ida mentions if it's all right to speak with Demetrioi. He smiles. "'s fine! Everybody 'round here goes up 'n spends time with 'em, every so often. ...Can ya make the walk on your own? I could send someone with ya, if ya need it."

     A good opportunity for someone else to go with Ida, if they want to meet with Demetrioi. Regardless, the... thing on the hill shows no preference or disdain for who approaches.

<Pose Tracker> Eleanor Klein has posed.

"...Ah, he's fine so far as I know," Eleanor answers Azoth, and that is even true! But she doesn't explain overmuch yet. Mostly because there is a Vasil staring into her eyes all of a sudden, which is also why she does not answer Ida's question of her.

She looks right back, and despite her apparent nervousness she does not falter; suddenly he is in her personal space, and she does not so much as flinch.

Ah, yes. This.

"I don't see any reason we can't all stay civilized," Eleanor says to him. "I agree. It would not be a good use of your time."

Eleanor doesn't move much, in the moment.

"...Go on ahead," she says to Ida, and then looks to Vasil again. "In fact I'm rather sure it wouldn't be."

<Pose Tracker> Ida Everstead-Rey has posed.

    Ida looks back at Azoth, realizing what she's inadvertently done. Her face tightens. "I'll be careful," she says, and she grips the head of her cane tighter as she starts up the hill.

    But being careful isn't good enough. She's taking a risk--and while it might be a calculated risk, exposing only herself, when she's reasonably sure she can either shake off outside influence or scream for help--it's still a risk. Azoth's directives are clear. He's coming with her, whether he wants to or not, once he's free to do so.

    And Ida hates that this is so.

    "Demetrioi?" Ida says, as she makes the slow, leisurely walk uphill. Lola trots along beside her, alert and sticking close to her ankle like the good dog she is.

<Pose Tracker> Azoth has posed.

Azoth pinches his eyes shut, hand covering his eyes. He opens them, managing a steady blue, but gets the distinct impression he's about to go ruin it again. Another squeeze for Lan's hand and he gets up. "Objectives call," he says to her with a weak smile, because it feels like he should stay and comfort her in turn when she tried to comfort him.

But this could be dangerous, especially with Ida in the condition she's in. He remembers what Kaguya asked, about if it was possible for Demetrioi to alter Azoth's code. Azoth would prefer not to find out.

He hurries after Ida all the same. "Miss Ida, wait up...!" Azoth grins nervously at Homer, in the way a Drifter youth might be nervous around Official Authortity. "I'll help her, Mister Mayor Sir."

Hopefully Homer does not disqualify him on the grounds of the display he made earlier, or at least doesn't stop him before he can chase after Ida.

<Pose Tracker> Lydia Seren has posed.

Lydia is kinda focused on this Ethius thing. Crowds don't exactly make her feel easy squeezy either though. She's worried if she thinks too much about the weird tree that Solaris is going to send someone to murder or capture it so she's keeping that firmly in a sort of non-thinking space.

"Ethius doesn't steal trash out of greed, Ethius steals trash to protect us all."

She hesitates a moment.

"Uh." Another moment. "...I don't know HOW the trash puts us all in danger but I'm sure there's an important Ethius reason."

She frowns though because she's not getting answers so she spins on a heel and looks to Eleanor. "?!!?!?!" It's not very vocal but there is a kind of noise there. "Well I think it's important to be nice to aliens even if they might be fucking up because then you can teach each other and be cool alien friends. Like some kind of... group...thing."

She shouts over to the Demetrioi. "HEY THERE."

She hangs a moment before adding, "Don't worry too much about fucking up! We'll still be your friend so long as you learn from your mistakes and stop fucking up! And if you're cool with us fucking up, even better!"

"MY NAME IS LYDIA BY THE WAY. I'M A CUTE BEASTLADY."

Meanwhile...!

Vasil continues to not do harm to anyone even though he might very well like to. But like Marivel, Vasil doesn't always do the things he'd like to do. He is patient enough to look and wait for the right opportunity. Here is not it.

"I am glad that we agree. Senseless slaughter only endangers the planet further. Any extinction events should be carefully planned."

He looks towards the strange tree thing as well.

"This truobles me." He tells Eleanor. "Such easy restoration of the planet, but it does not feel like Filgaia. I do not feel beholden to protect it even though the trees are healthy, the animals are well fed."

<Pose Tracker> Ida Everstead-Rey has posed.

    Ida turns back to Lydia, and cranes her head. "...Lydia, he's right over here," she says. She waits patiently for Azoth to catch up.

<Pose Tracker> Avril Vent Fleur has posed.

    It's hard to catch precisely what is being said between Lydia and Homer, but Avril has been able to catch enough of it that perhaps a similar expression is lingering on her face as she watches for just the moment.

    "Perhaps," is as much as she can say to Rebecca, on that front. "I admit I don't know very much about Seraphim. However, do they not have a close connection to Lunar? It might be that they retain a connection of sorts with Filgaia, and--"

    She pauses a moment, clapping a hand over her mouth.

    "...Boudicca is an Oracle. But I believe Yvain is not."

    Is that a further missing element? ...What do the Guardians feel about this place? It's certainly the same point which Cyre has reached.

    "Yes. There are things we cannot allow," is Avril's remark to Rebecca. "But we must be prepared for the consequences."

    Ida, it seems, has made up her mind, and with Azoth, begins to head towards Demetrioi.

    "Do you think we ought to follow her?" Avril murmurs to Rebecca.

<Pose Tracker> Lydia Seren has posed.

"What does that have to do with anything??" Lydia asks.

<Pose Tracker> Lan Lilac has posed.

    "Huh-- oh, nice to meet you!" Lan calls after Arle as the possible-gambler (some gamblers do coin tricks like that, Lan has seen them!) departs.

    It's true that magic and tchnology blur at times. Gwen's ARM is a perfect example - a Mockingbird that mimics energy rather than song. "Oh, okay." If it's not a pressing matter, it can wait until later. Maybe Gwen found out something new about the Stranger, and that's definitely not table talk. But even if they aren't fixers... it just doesn't really sit right with Lan to do nothing when people suffer. But thse people aren't suffering, she reminds herself. Maybe the Guardians don't have the only answers. Maybe, maybe.

    She gives a wan smile to Azoth when he gets up to help Ida. She can't really do anything for him, either. But he can do for himself, and he can do for others. "Okay. Be careful!" Don't... do anything bad, which is not something Azoth customarily does anyway if he can help it, which sometimes he can't. But at least he's sorry about it.

    She starts work on a bread roll, dipping pieces into the drippings on her plate before eating them. "...Mmf." Maybe she's overthinking things.

<Pose Tracker> Ida Everstead-Rey has posed.

    "He's right here, you can speak to him," Ida says.

<Pose Tracker> Ethius Hesiod has posed.

    "Uhhh... well, there's... lotta good reasons for... pickin' up trash," Homer seems completely at a loss as to what this obsession with an Ethius is about. He's met some real characters along the way, maybe he'll come by and enthusiastically pick up and dispose of trash or... something.

     Meanwhile, Lydia introduces herself in her own way, and... they respond.

o it is all right if i have to try harder :) i will do so until everyone is happy lydia :D

     Reassuring? Nonetheless, Homer lets Azoth along. He remembers the odd... thing that happened, wasn't sure what to make of it, but Azoth seems to be getting on with everyone else just fine. With Ida getting assistance in getting up that hill, Demetrioi can focus more on the people moving up to meet him.

) hello there thank you for visiting me :) are you having a good day :o

<Pose Tracker> Rebecca Streisand has posed.


Rebecca just keeps staring at the thing as it speaks and doesn't speak again. The whole concept gives her a low key headache. "But wouldn't you get the same kind of impression Cyre, if this tree was... something the Guardians didn't want? I'm sure not seeing any signs..."

However, then Avril notes... the difference between Boudicca and Yvain, and she puts a hand up to her forehead, fingertips touching, as if trying to relieve her headache, "Oh, that makes sense. Strange though... why's that connection giving them some signal from Filgaia that we're not getting? Why wouldn't the Guardians want to warn us too if it was dangerous?"

She too watches Ida... and Azoth... go up to Demeteroi. Avril asks if they should follow... and Rebecca leans over to answer in hushed tones, "Yeah. If it's truly dangerous then we should be in there in case someone does something rash. We might be able to stop them before things spiral out of control."

Either way, she starts going up the hill at a relatively relaxed pace... hoping that noone does anything disastrous.

When Demeteroi addresses Ida and Azoth however... her pace... just subtly quickens.

<Pose Tracker> Lydia Seren has posed.

"I AM telling him. I'm telling him I'm a cute beastlady!" Lydia says.

"I mean um so I've been told but I haven't been able to hold down a relationship for very long though I guess I only really had the chance once and I messed it up or I guess maybe HE messed it up but he'd say that even if it was my fault so I'm pretty sure I'm to blame point IS is that I'm saying it loudly so it can hear properlike I don't see Ears so I'm worried THAT IT CAN'T HEAR ME TELLING HIM I'M CUTE."

<Pose Tracker> Eleanor Klein has posed.

Vasil isn't hurting anybody at the moment. That's good. Eleanor does not want him doing that either, despite that. "We do," Eleanor says. "On that." She does not mention whether she agrees about etinction matters. Instead... Vasil said it troubles him, and--

"You're not the only one," she points out. "There are others concerned, too."

"...Personally," she says, "I think you'd be best served by waiting and seeing."

She looks over the others, and over Demetrioi as Ida approaches.

She sounds very sure, for some reason, though.

<Pose Tracker> Avril Vent Fleur has posed.

    Avril nods, her gaze skirting away from Rebecca. "...Yes. Either it does not bother them or they... cannot speak." Both situations would bring with them their own concerns.

    But Avril wonders then if they should follow, and Rebecca answers in the affirmative. "I agree. Let us go, and hope we are not needed."

    Rebecca, though, may be the better of the two when it comes to looking nonchalant about all this. Avril's eyes are on the prize -- which is to say, Demetrioi.

    ...He's difficult to look at.

<Pose Tracker> Ida Everstead-Rey has posed.

    When Azoth catches up to Ida, she reaches out and takes his free hand. "I'm sorry," she says, and she gives it a squeeze. "In the moment, I didn't realize..." Lola whines, and pads over to stand between Ida and Azoth, as if trying to reassure the both of them.

    And then the construct speaks. "Hello, Demetrioi," says Ida. "You're very concerned with everyone's happiness, aren't you? What do you think it means to be happy?" She glances at Azoth, wishing she could somehow convey intent without words. If Demetrioi's gauging their effectiveness via the happiness of the people around them, then what metric is it using? Happiness is difficult to define; the simplest possible solution is people telling them that they're happy. Perhaps they're programmed to measure certain chemicals, or certain brainwaves.

    But data. They need data. And they won't get it if they don't ask.

<Pose Tracker> Azoth has posed.

Azoth gives Ida a sheepish grin. "You do love to push yourself, don't you, Miss Ida?" he says, as if that's why she's apologizing. "Don't worry. I'll keep watch."

He falls a step or two behind the closer they get to the burning tree that is Demetrioi the Unfathomable. Like an invisible wall has been erected, it seems there is a certain distance Azoth is not willing to cross, and even Avril and Rebecca may want to step a little ahead of him unless they intend to hang even further back.

The shapes and colors throw off his predictive calculations for any physical act he may need to react to -- and how he ought to react to it. It's as good as having no data at all, which is one of the worst ways to have to operate. Ida's question is an important one, but that's assuming Demetrioi has any intentions of honesty. (Why are they so sure...!) (And why are they just as sure when it's him?)

That he isn't responding to Lydia at all right now is worryingly telling of how focused (overwhelmed?) he is by what's in front of him.

<Pose Tracker> Gwen Whitlock has posed.

    "Yeah, be careful Azoth. I'll join ya once I get done eating."

    It's not that Gwen's lacking concern over everyone's safety.

    It's just that she won't be much help until she fills her stomach up. "I have faith in you guys, though."

    -------

    ONE PLATE FULL OF FOOD LATER --

    "hey Lan, wanna go check up on them?"

    Lan may not be the only one overthinking things.

<Pose Tracker> Ethius Hesiod has posed.

) if it makes you happy to be called cute i can call you cute :o does everyone enjoy being called cute :o

     Whatever Demetrioi is, they may not understand 'flirting' or 'sex appeal' or 'Lydia's train of thought.' No one could blame them for the third, though, because who does any more. Their gaze seems to focus on everyone approaching, some with trepidation, some with an earnest desire to speak - as Ida gets to the hard questions then and there.

) it is my purpose to make the world happy :) it is my understanding everyone needs a climate that can sustain life for everyone :D

     They look to see Azoth and Avril on their approach - one who reacted badly to a touch, another who seemed to sad about unfamiliarity.

o even so that is an interesting question as to what i think it means to be happy :o right now i am happy because everyone else is happy :)

     The face within the monitor tilts some.

o there was another with you who was not :) so i tried a little harder for their sake i hope they enjoy it :)

<Pose Tracker> Lydia Seren has posed.

"OH MY GOSH I LOVE THEM." Lydia says. "They're adorable!!"

Is she actually trying to seduce a weird plant thing? Proabbly not.

Azoth, who explicitely isn't responding to Lydia, gets a one armed hug of excitement.

"They're like you, but either better or worse at trolling...!"

Lydia pauses. "I admit, I can't really tell which one though."

Vasil is told to wait and see. There is this look in his eyes that he WANTS to argue, but he cannot and that triumphs over his impulses.

"Very well." He says. "If you manage this situation in a satisfactory manner..."

He trails off, closing his eyes. "...Mm. I will have to think on it."

He looks to Gwen for a moment. "...I smell her on that human. But I expected to see her here. Pitiable."

He's pretty ignorant on the whole 'just got ultra negatived' deal.

"Yeah everybody enjoys being called cute," Lydia tells Demetrioi.

"Aw shyucks, Demetrioi. Maybe they need to try a little harder too!"

She fist bumps the ... monitor?

<Pose Tracker> Eleanor Klein has posed.

Eleanor is not sure that they'll resolve it in a satisfactory manner, admittedly. But she is sure of something. And that is that ths will unfold without Vasil's attentions, if he lets it. Whatever is going to happen...

"By all means," Eleanor says as he says he wants to think on it. Not even Lydia flirting(?) with Demetrioi can get her to smile right now, though. Her attention remains on Homer Mecone.

She worries.

<Pose Tracker> Azoth has posed.

Azoth stills with that last line from Demetrioi. "Someone who wasn't happy? Who?" He does not frown, because that suddenly sounds like a critically bad idea. "How'd you try a little harder?"

Lydia's hug seems to snap Azoth out of whatever intense focus he's got, and he looks to Lydia, expression tense with a distressed beep string. "I know," he says at a volume like a harsh whisper. "I can't figure out which one it is either!"

Does that mean that either way, Demetrioi is definitively better at it, if only accidentally?

But Lydia goes to touch him, and Azoth reaches out -- a little too late -- to stop her. "Lydia, hold on --"

<Pose Tracker> Cyre H. Lorentz has posed.

"I did enjoy it," Cyre says, as the wind rustles meaningfully through his hair. When did he get here? When did he sneak up? Well, he is a cat. Sneaking into places without anyone noticing is kind of one of his <things>. "Thank you for your consideration, Demetrioi."

"I've enjoyed my time here," is he lying? It doesn't seem like he is, from the tone of his voice. If anything, there's a wistful sort of sorrow there, hidden under a mask of unreadability. "But I think it might soon be time for me to move on. I have responsibilities to the world outside. Still, I had--"

Oh. That sure is Lydia going to hug the alien tree thing. Cyre winces visibly and reaches out, but too late. What happens when a nanomachine girl hugs an alien computer tree...!?

<Pose Tracker> Ida Everstead-Rey has posed.

    "Thank you," Ida says, and she gives Azoth's hand another squeeze.

    Demetrioi 'speaks', and Ida listens. That's either evasiveness or a circular argument; maybe Demetrioi doesn't really comprehend what their goal means, which is a terrifying thought in its own right. "Is that why you made the breeze?" Ida says, reaching out as if testing the wind. "To try and make her happy?"

    Lydia goes for the hug. Ida blinks. "...How do you know when someone is happy?" she asks, as if Lydia hadn't provided a demonstration right then and there.

<Pose Tracker> Ethius Hesiod has posed.

) it is so and i am glad you like it :D i hope the world outside will be happy by it too :)

     It speaks to Cyre thus, as Ida hits upon an uncomfortable realization that this level of self-reflection might be beyond them. That it was given a simple understanding of a monumental task, by whoever - or whatever - made this.

o when everyone is happy there is no fighting or starving or other unpleasant things of that nature :) there has been none of that here so it makes me happy :D

     When Lydia fist bumps the monitor, she will feel a sensation that's a lot like a static shock - but also like she's touching up against something... unpleasant, behind the screen-face. Demetrioi does not visibly react. It may be a fair warning she not try to touch anywhere else, but whether that's a defensive reaction on Demetrioi's part or something not agreeing with Lydia's self... well, one could touch something like a leaf, the trunk, or a fruit to find out. (There is a vague sensation of 'do not recommend.')

     Now, assuming she goes for a full-on hug after the fact, it's...

     More direct contact with Lydia's nanotech body and Demetrioi's leads to a deeply unpleasant experience - a full suite of sensory abuse that just blares NOPE DO NOT WANT - like there's a fundamental deep-seated incompatiblity between their physical states of being. It hurts, it sucks, and leaves such an incredibly negative impression that - above and beyond any programming change, of which there technically isn't any to note - Lydia/OS will be able to freely disobey a direct order to engage Demetrioi at least once.

o what is wrong did something happen :o you are still cute :)

     Meanwhile, Homer's pulled aside by someone else. "Huh, some people from... Spilled Salad, whatever it was?" That is a very strange way to pronounce 'Guild Galad.' "Y'know, a few people 'round here haven't been speakin' that nice 'bout 'em... ahhh, can't be that bad." Homer steps away to do Mayoral Business Things(tm), attention away from whatever boiling drama is happening.