2024-05-09: Division and Identity

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<Pose Tracker> Avril Vent Fleur has posed.

    In the end, the easiest way to excavate the Golem was to dig down around it and move as much salt -- and there was a lot of salt before they hit the breccia -- as they could.

    Fortunately, not only do they have shovels and the will to succeed, but they also had magic, Pokemon, and an understanding of the basic geological structure of the region and how to excavate safely and efficiently.

    The Golem stands more or less exposed now in the great pit they have carved into the Saltlands of Slayheim: tall and humanoid, reminding some perhaps of a 'demonic' form, its most striking feature is its wings. Unaltered by millennia under the sands, unattached rings encircle its wings, seemingly kept intact and in place despite its long burial by the Golem itself.

    For what they have been able to determine is that it is dormant, not dead or broken. But it has not responded yet.

    And unless they opt to bring in the heavy machines, they will need to wake it up if they want to remove it from the pit.

    "I wonder what it might be waiting for," Avril muses from her position by the great Golem's feat. Its circumstance is not terribly difficult from what her own had been: once, she had slumbered in anticipation of the future. The eyes that had greeted her on her awakening, though, had been cold ones...

    If this Golem could but be awakened, perhaps it could have a kinder return to its own future. And yet, she cannot think of how it might be accomplished.

    (She is, of course, wearing goggles. Salt blindness is a thing.) 

<Pose Tracker> Dean Stark has posed.

    When everyone uncovered enough of the Golem that they could see its form, where a full excavation is in sight, Dean was ecstatic. He's still ecstatic, but it's a bit more under control. Instead of running circles around the dig site while whooping about how cool it is, he's... still circling, still gushing in his heart, but being somewhat more restrained about it.
    
    After all, as Avril points out: it's not activating, and they don't know why. Dean, ever the endless optimist, isn't fretting about it, but it *is* making him a bit impatient. That's why he has his hands cupped over his mouth and is calling, "Hi! Hey! Good morning!!" and other such things.
    
    (How is this 'restrained'? Well, it's a comparative thing. Before, he was shouting nearly at the top of his lungs. Now he's calling at a more reasonable volume.)
    
    Fortunately, he's still wearing his shaded goggles and other protective gear, because salt blindness is a thing. 

<Pose Tracker> Kaguya has posed.

Kaguya really would rather not bring in the heavy machines. Awakening the Golem somehow is assuredly the way to go... But that's easier said than done. Kaguya's work with Golems hasn't been salvage so much as new construction, which means...

"Hmmm." Kaguya looks at the Golem, too. She's perched closer to its eyes up in the pit for the moment, having affixed some pitons and climbing gear up the wall. Much of it is unaltered, though she wonders if some of its beautiful coloration isn't a result of being so in the salt for all this time.

"So I was right; it's designed to channel sorcerous energies. You can tell by these grooves on the limbs; the runes aren't damaged by the salt."

Kauya frowns. "But its power source should be intact..."

Dean is calling out. It's...

Well, it's something.

She is also wearing shaded goggles, because salt blindness continues to be a thing. 

<Pose Tracker> Shige Kiwako has posed.

There were ghosts too! Friendly kinds at least. This isn't so bad is it? Only a littly creepy. Shige's used to it and she's probably a bad barometer for what's weird or not.
 
 Admittedly she's mostly been doing the perimeter thing and trying to keep as much salt off of her as she can.
 
 She's no longer grey-blue despite her best efforts. There's also a noticeable line around her eyes. She's only a littel frustrated.
 
 Still, with the work being by and large complete, she's made her way back to look into the pit.
 
 She admits wryly after some thought, "It's not my area, if you're sure it's asleep.." She crosses her arms and taps a foot thinking. "Could see if maybe someone less tangible would be up for poking it or something?" She pauses. "That.. might go poorly though and I'd be a bad shepherd for it."
 
 She does lean forward with some of the explanations though 

<Pose Tracker> Rebecca Streisand has posed.

Rebecca and Kaguya's dispute over a worksite accident has long been resolved and - Dean Junior has been banished to their Pokeball for a while.
 
The job is done now, and Rebecca finds herself marveling at it. "Surprised it came out of the ground rather than the sky this time." She quips, but the truth is, she's impressed.
 
Right now she's still bundled up with her hair pinned up in some headscarves, and she's still wearing goggles.
 
(Because certainly... Salt blindness is a thing.)
 
"Pretty impressive..." Rebecca notes, with a gloved hand on her hip, as she looks sidelong at Avril, "Not sure. It didn't respond to your override before, so it's probably more asleep than most of them are, right?"
 
Dean is of course being restrained, Rebecca isn't even annoyed, she knows quite well what Dean being in full 'Golem Mode' is.
 
"Hmm, well - if it's intact, what do you think's keeping it from turning on?"
 
They had covered it, despite Kaguya noting she's not a Golem expert, but still - she's more of an expert than most here.
 
Well, besides probably Avril.
 
Just that she can't remember it.

<Pose Tracker> Azoth has posed.

Azoth is not wearing goggles because his eyes are already lenses, whether or not salt blindness is a thing. (And it is.) But he does have his hood up as a plausibly deniable gesture of protecting something while making it more difficult to see his face. Every face the Azoth makes is calculated, yes, but sometimes those calculations stall.

On a day like today, seeing a massive construct excavated and asleep, there is enough data processing through him to choke his own processing power.

But Dean's excitement, subdued or not, has its own infection about it. Dean shouts good morning, so Azoth waves his hand and lets out a greeting beep-sequence before lowering it with a performance of awkward shyness.

"I think what I am and what this one is are a liiiittle too different for me to get through."

<Pose Tracker> Ida Everstead-Rey has posed.

    When Ida gets back to her ship, she's going to take a long, hot shower. Even then, she's certain she'll be finding salt in her belongings for weeks to come. Still--it's worth it. Especially now, with the Golem fully unearthed.

    "It's magnificent," Ida breathes. This is not the first time she's said something like that, but she's excited. (Not as excited as Dean, but that's a very high bar to clear.) She reaches down, and runs a gloved hand through Marigold's fur. Marigold's coat now has a distinct whitish tinge despite repeated brushing, but thankfully, there's no sign of her evolving into the very first Salteon. Yet.

    "So it's... waiting on a cue, then?" Ida says, looking at Avril. (She's wearing goggles, of course, and her work jumpsuit. Marigold is likewise wearing goggles and booties.) "Do you have any idea what it might be?"

<Pose Tracker> Hannah Curie has posed.

Whew! It too a lot of digging, and shoring up, and more digging, but Hannah's kept a cheerful demeanor throughout. Share shared in a little bit of Dean's enthusiasm upon spotting the golem, but once it became clear that the golem wouldn't activate... she went from 'I could dig all day until supper and maybe even a little bit past that' to 'problem solving mode.'

She's got a notebook open, and is sketching down diagrams of wht she can observe of outside damage to the golem. "Everythin' lookin' intact up there, Kaguya?"

She's circling the golem slowly, but... well, it's a lot taller than her. She sighs a little. "Hey, Zephyr? C'n I get your help?"

Far off under the shade of Gwen's gear, a red-tailed hawk squawks grumpily. But after some further insistence from Hannah, which includes some food bribery (how they're having a conversation at that distance is anyone's guess), Zephyr comes swooping down into the pit, taking up a perch and continuing to be indignant.

"Thanks, hun!" Hannah calls out cheerfully. "Oh, that's much better."

"Kaguya, whatcha make of that ventral power conduit on your side?"

"Could be followin' some set of orders or instructions," Hannah offers. "But a cue... could be anythin'. Password, greetin', specif csensor input..."

Hannah and Zephyr are both wearing goggles, because salt blindness still exists. 

<Pose Tracker> Gwen Whitlock has posed.

    While Gwen's endurance and enthusiasm for the project (mostly helped out because of Dean's own), she's had to take refuge in the 'tent' that was made around the Halcyone's legs, especially during the hottest and sunniest parts of the day.

    (Salt blindness is a thing, and so is reflective surfaces.)

    Working into the night was potentially an option, Gwen only had so much fuel for Halcyone. Plus, it'd make their encampment that much more obvious.

    Sliding the tent flap aside as she steps out, Gwen stifles a yawn behind one hand. ".... Still asleep?" she says, groggily, as Dean's calls of good morning indicate her answer. ".... Maybe it's not a morning person." She stretches. "Mm, gimme a moment to get ready n' I'll start breakfast. Y'all are puttin' me t'shame by being up before my sleepy ass, but at least y'all aren't gonna go hungry for it."

    A campfire and a bean stew later, Gwen starts putting away any dishes, now fully clothed to bear the assault of a new day on the salt flats. "I can make a run t'get supplies, but I'm pretty sure the second I leave is the moment our sleepin' beauty'll decide t'wake up."

    "It's too bad the sorts of people that could help with this are the sorts we don't wanna get wind of all this," Gwen says, rubbing her neck. "I could see if Auntie Frea has any books, but... I don't think she's managed to recover any of those." How much information was lost to that fire? "Besides, I don't remember seeing anything specifically about golems like these." 

<Pose Tracker> Seraph Boudicca has posed.

    Shige suggests someone 'less-tangible' poke the Golem, and Boudicca's hand is halfway to the Golem before she finishes her sentence. "Oh," she says, dropping her hand. "Yes, it could be an unwise idea, could it not?" She adjusts her aviator sunglasses (eye safety is important!) instead, as she steps back. "Though, should you require sorcerous power, I could certainly feed some through... I will follow your lead, Dean!"

    (She has already gone, "Hello, Golem, I am the Seraph Boudicca, and it is lovely to meet you," like three times already, pursuant to that lead.)

 <Pose Tracker> Avril Vent Fleur has posed.
<poem>
    "It is a shame, is it not?" she says to Gwen, her smile giving away even her misgivings. "We must succeed. I fear even if we should cover it up again, the disturbance would be plain."

    Even her override hasn't been able to so much as stir it. Perhaps it is slumbering beyond the reach of even that device's signal.

    "Yes. It can still be activated," she agrees, as Kaguya points out the runes. "They aren't obstructed. They should, no, must still function."

    It's not activating. But it's not broken, certainly not beyond repair. Avril knows this in a bone-deep sort of way: there are signs, sure enough (the status of the wings among them) but beyond those few tells she's been able to point out to the rest of them, there's no other better way to put it than that.

    She knows it can be reactivated, that it's locked in its dormancy, and that's all that she can say.

    Alas, much as Dean's greetings evoke no response, neither does Azoth's sequence of beeps. "I wonder... might they not be a language it can understand?" Avril remarks their attempts (Boudicca's introductions have similarly not evoked anything yet).

    "There must be some signal that it awaits," she says to Ida, but as to what it is, she can but shake her head. Dean has the right idea, to start: perhaps it's worth seeing what they can try to shake it gently from its long sleep. "If we could but understand its purpose, perhaps..." she muses, frowning. "Perhaps that would help us understand what that might be." But what, if anything, can be gleaned from its appearance?

    Staring at it, Avril's attention falls again on that same sign that Kaguya had indicated that it was merely slumbering. "Those runes... I have seen similar before on Veruni technology. Yet, now that I think about them, are those two here not similar to the markings of Wing and Geo?" Wind and earth, in other words. Nor are they the only ones on the Golem's exterior.

    Shige suggests that perhaps someone less tangible have a go. "Hmm. I wonder," she says, glancing over at Boudicca. "Would it be such a terrible thing? Boudicca, might you try? Perhaps, if we were to attempt to evoke a response from those runes... But 'wind' would not be the only one. Hannah, Rebecca, Shige..." She glances at the two of them in turn.

    "If you will assist me, I will join you."

    At a glance, there is light in her outstretched hands, glittering rainbow at the edges. As she turns her hands gently, there the truth of the glow can be seen: sunlight dances on minute prisms of ice. 

<Pose Tracker> Kaguya has posed.

An incorporeal type. "Yeah, that might be a problem--Golems have... personalities," she explains. "So you might wake it u angry."

She looks at Rebecca. More alseep than most... "Yeah," she says. Azoth can't get through, he says, and Kaguya nods. "Probably. The Veruni held themselves apart, so..."

A cue. But what would it be?

Kaguya then answers Hannah, "Looks entirely intact." Pause. "Yeeah, I don't think wee sould ask your aunt," Kaguya opines to Gwen. "It'd take too long, and we're already on borrowed time."

Boudicca mentions sorcerous power, and Kaguya looks at her, like there's a lightbulb flashing in her eyes. "Yeah!" she says, and looks at Avril. "They are," she says.

"Do it," Kaguya agrees with Avril. "... Ican't," she admits. "I could seal or unseal it, maybe, but it's not sealed, so..." 

<Pose Tracker> Dean Stark has posed.

    After many, many greetings, Dean finally takes a heavy breath and brings out a canteen to take a drink and wet his throat. He's not discouraged, but calling to the Golem normally hasn't been working and other folks have brought up some great points and questions, like if something's obstructing the Golem's power-on given that its power source should be intact.
    
    "Hey, what *is* its power source? You said it's a magic Golem--maybe it needs magic?" Dean suggests to Kaguya. Hannah mulls on Ida's suggestion about what cue the Golem might be waiting for, and Dean folds his arms to mull on it too. Avril's talk of what its purpose might be gives him more to chew on too. "Hmmm..."
    
    He interrpts hismelf to smile over at Gwen when she chimes in groggily. "Hehe, maybe *you* need to call to it! Night owls of a feather, right?" He lights up at the talk of breakfast though. "Oooh! Yeah!! I'm starving, actually! Thanks, Gwen!"%T
    He waves back at Azoth with a grin. That grin slips into something a little more regretful as he weighs in, though. "Aw, you think so? It couldn't hurt to give it a try, but if you're sure..."
    
    Shige makes a suggestion that makes Dean perk. "Ooh, good idea!" he says--only for her to finish her thought. Thankfully, Boudicca didn't go all the way through with it before then. "Oh... Less good idea, then." He looks at Boudicca and nods when she volunteers to pour in some magical energy. "Yeah! Even if it doesn't work, maybe we'll get an idea of what it needs instead!"
    
    Avril suggests and names a few others to help her with it. Dean gives her and the others a firm nod. "Go for it! I'll be chering you all on!" 

<Pose Tracker> Rebecca Streisand has posed.

Beeps happen!
 
Rebecca watches closely before she remarks to Azoth. "Hopefully you didn't accidentally curse at it in it's native tongue." She's probably joking.
 
Probably. As she looks to Ida, and Gwen and Boudicca (Is she just like Dean?), she considers the issue but in the end Rebecca has no real technical expertise outside of basic ARM and Gear maintenance.
 
Avril however mentions the runes, and Rebecca regards her thoughtfully, "I may have to take Earth duty primarily - the Ley here is kinda lopsided."
 
Repositioning herself near the closest point around the Golem to the Leyline, she raises her Original Medium and- begins channeling Earth Energy into it, a thin orange line with brown wisps not unlike pebbles.
 
"Guess it only makes sense that Dean'd be our designated Golem cheerleader." She asides to Avril, with a faint smile.
 

<Pose Tracker> Seraph Boudicca has posed.

    "Then let us first try to welcome it to this world with our Artes!" Boudicca declares, as she steps up to join Avril. (Is she just like Dean? Well, it's just like Boudicca always says -- What Would Dean Do?) "The workings of wind warmed by Moor Gault..."

    A green Seraphic glyph alights at her feet, as she brings the breeze about her, and feeds it into the wings of that great creature.

    "You seem quite frightening," she addresses the golem, "but a frightening visage need not belie a frightening heart." Her helm has dragon horns, which is, trust her on this, absolutely terrifying by Seraphic standards.

<Pose Tracker> Azoth has posed.

Azoth grins toward Gwen's direction. "Hey, for all we know, if we needed sleep, I'd be sleeping in even longer. So don't get too shamed."

Then he brings his hand to his chest in a mimed gasp at Rebecca, but without the sound -- he hasn't the breath for it. "I would never! Probably. Maybe." He squints down at the Golem. "I suppose there are some numbers more offensive than others, culturally..."

With the talk of purpose, Azoth closes his eyes and nods his head sagely. "A purpose... That does make sense. An 'objective' is like a 'will'... Without an instruction to act, you get well..." He gestures to the inert golem. "...A lot of not acting."

Azoth folds his arms, tapping the side of his face in thought. What, if anything, can be gleaned from its appearance? Wing and Geo...

His own tech resembles neither, and his usual 'earth spell' is unlikely to work here. (Throwing a rock isn't an earth spell, Azoth!) Thankfully, others present may have it covered, and he watches, eyes glowing with interest. 

<Pose Tracker> Shige Kiwako has posed.

Admittedly, Shige had been joking about getting one of her haunts to do it, but she does look surprised at Boudicca's actions, "I uh, admittedly kinda forgot. Sorry." It has been a while! She pauses. Then shifts from foot to foot. She's pretty sure she had been embarrasingly drunk last time to boot.
 
 Moving on! Mostly because there's concern that she's just become enured to strange. She resists the urge to ask a ghost if she's strange.
 
 She decides a distraction is needed and shakes herself out. Creating a cloud of salt. This at least feels better. Muttermutter.
 
 She holds her hand up at the idea of just wind. "Uh. I don't know if you want a touch of death on a thing you're trying to wake up, but maybe one of my friends could wave their arm through it?"
 
 Luckily there's a Seraph there to poke things that probably won't cause as many oops moments.
 
 She nods to Dean though, since he had the right idea there! Maybe.
 
 Crossing her arms she does admit, "Could do that though. Yeah."
 
 There's a brief pause as she mutters to herself, "I really should expand my bag of tricks a few ways. I've been lucky. And a bit stupid." 

<Pose Tracker> Kaguya has posed.

"Actually," Kaguya says to Shige, "You're all 'natural' death, right? A Guardianist, a shaman? Maybe that's a good idea to channel a little after all."

She pauses. ".. The Veruni are on the planet's 'no' list now, but back then, maybe... Yeah, with Boudicca here--" 

<Pose Tracker> Ida Everstead-Rey has posed.

    Elemental glyphs, hm? "It's a start," Ida says, with a nod to Avril. She trusts her intuition on this matter. As the others step forward, Ida hangs back for a moment, Marigold at her feet. The Eevee scents the air, tiny nose twitching as elemental energies flow towards the dormant Golem.

    "Anything appeal to you?" Ida asks her, half-jokingly.

    "...Evoi," says Marigold, with a little indecisive shake of her head. Ida steps closer, Marigold padding behind. Ida steps up behind Boudicca, hand arching in a channeling pose she's seen mages perform hundreds of time. "If you'll allow me?" she says.

    Ida's other hand reaches out, fingers slightlu curled, palm towards the Golem. A thin, fiery thread jumps toward her left hand, moves through the conduit of her body, and flows out of her left hand as a dozen streams of phantasmal flame.

    "...Rise and shine," Ida says.

    "...Evoi..." says Marigold, the reflection of the flames dancing in her eyes.

<Pose Tracker> Gwen Whitlock has posed.

    The courier nods her head to Kaguya. "Yeah, that's what I figured. It'd overcomplicate things, and I don't think it'd give us any leads."

    "Haha, I'd be right there with you, Azoth. Thankfully, diggin' doesn't make my ARM get drained any faster than my body itself would." Gwen grins at Dean and Azoth. "And besides, a courier *never* sleeps when she's on the job!" Pause. ".... Buuttt this is a dedicated project, not a client job, hehe."
    
    Avril raises the hypothesis of using magic to communicate to the Golem, and the pale redhead nods. "My scarf can count as fire, maybe, but I think we got some people here that can do that a lot better. Electricity, too, but it won't be sorcery. Let's use Avril's method before we go my route, in case I fry those circuits."

    Besides, with everyone here, there's room for almost every element to be used, with backup in case things go awry. This golem could very well be a grumpy one, after all.

    With Dean supplying cheerleading duty, it seems all is set into place except for the one most important element of all: food.

    Gwen plants her hands in her hips. "Alright, food duty it is! Heck, maybe the Golem'll be hungry. The menu's canned beans and tack." She really wishes she didn't have those salted pork reserves. Who needs salted anything in this place? 

<Pose Tracker> Shige Kiwako has posed.

Shige hesitates for a moment. Then scowls, "I mean yes, but no, but-" She's making excuses. Partially because this is well beyond her wheelhouse, partially because seriously, throwing death at things seems iffy.
 
 She shrugs though and reaches a hand behind her rather than to her lantern. (Her other hand's there by default, but still.)
 
 She frowns. "I've never actually done it this way. It's always been a uh, instinct thing?" Somethingsomething cats, myths and death.
 
 Still, she does try to channel some magical help towards the golem. Feeling a bit silly with her funny stance and clear winging it behavior. 

<Pose Tracker> Hannah Curie has posed.

Hannah is scribbling something in her notebook, but stops when Avril mentions two words that are very familiar to her. "Hmm?" Wing and Geo...

Well she hadn't been looking for Crest Sorcery markings, so she hadn't noticed them among trying to figure out the rest of the deisng that's unfamiliar to her. But having had that pointed out, her mind immediately shifts into gear to reanalyze the markings.

"Well ain't that somethin'..." muses Hannah. She and Zephyr start peering at the golem from different angles, and Hannah starts doing up a new diagram, trying to fit in into what she knows of Crest Sorcery.

She pauses, when Avril asks for assistance. She tenses, "... Yeah, uh... while channelin' magic in might work, I ain't exactly the best source to contribute here, sorry. Not less we're wantin' to give 'em an upset stomach or worse."

The sorceress glances away. "... I c'n provide backup in case somethin' goes wrong, however. Uh..." She looks to Boudicca and winces. "Sorry, Miss Seraph, but my magic ain't gonna be none to pleasant to you, most likely."

She's freaked out Lanval enough she doesn't want to subject Boudicca to that unprepared.

Hannah stands back a little, putting away her notebook and removing a crest graph from her pouch. It starts to glow with an icy blue light, as little fractal whisps drift off of it. "If things go south, don't go touchin' the ice 'til it stops growin'."

That's not ominous at all. 

<Pose Tracker> Avril Vent Fleur has posed.

    That's the risk, isn't it? If they wake it up improperly, they could awaken an angry, hostile Golem. But on the other hand, if they don't try, they might never wake it up at all. They would be forced to bury it again and risk another finding it and successfully reactivating it -- or stripping it for parts. Or, Avril has already considered, and not to any small amount of private alarm, they might have to destroy it.

    If she had been found by a member of the Moderates, might they have...?
    No. She already knows what they would have done, and from their own lips, no less.

    "I think... that you might be right, Dean," Avril says at last. Those runes. A magic Golem. The signs of an ancient impact all around them. The salt of a lifeless land layered on top. Of course. It needs what it has been missing, and what the Saltlands have become have deprived it of even the slightest hint of that for decades.

    "I wonder... the Veruni runic symbols, might they descend from the Crests?" There is no direct linkage between Veruni 'Ether' and Crest Sorcery, and yet-- perhaps the runes at least took inspiration from one. Where Crest Sorcery uses four elements, though...

    Avril glances sidelong at Kaguya. Veruni magic can take many forms, Kaguya and Avril's own magic excellent representatives.

    "I see," she says to Azoth, pensive. "That is what I thought. No, I knew that, didn't I...? Without the words to direct it, a Golem lacks its 'soul'..." She'd known it and hadn't known it, the sense of it popping into her mind as if it had always been there. It is no memory, any more than she 'remembers' the knowledge of the blade -- but all the same one tiny door has come open in her mind and it had never been locked in the first place.

    Kaguya can't help them in this: her magic is bound up in the power of a particular armament. This, Avril knows and she glances at Kaguya and nods as if to thereby affirm as much.

    She glances over at Gwen. "Yes, I think we shall be counting on you if this does not work. Perhaps you and Azoth might be able to work out something together?" If magic doesn't work, then perhaps an old-fashioned 'jolt' might work.
    ...Though, if she's being honest, Avril will admit she has her doubts about that.

    "...Even so, perhaps we might try," she suggests to Hannah, gesturing towards the Golem. "Our options are fewer still if we cannot awaken it."

    She shines her on the Golem itself carefully. Here there is ice: here there is light after a fashion as it glints coldly in the sun.

    Here her ice is joined by Hannah's own, the spread as cold as the Ice Queen's purview.

    Here there is Earth from the Ley, rising slowly in dusty wisps to feed directly into the Golem's engine.

    Here there is wind, rising in a gentle breeze at Boudicca's call to further empower the Golem from within.

    Here there is fire, burning bright from Ida's Seer's bond.

    Here there is the darkness of the grave, Shige's magic the fuel that feeds the life to come.

    And here there is Dean, cheering them all on. Glancing at Rebecca, Avril can't help but smile.

    The runes burn and flow and rise and glint and shine and smolder with all the power of the Ley. There is an animating force alive within the Golem and its eyes, green and shimmering, turn down on all of them. It stirs where it stands, attaining its first reawakening in millennia.

    Here Avril's heart about catches in her throat. Is she mistaking it? That gaze that turns down at them all... it seems so very cold.

    "...Welcome back," she says to the Golem, in spite of the feeling that she is treading on thin ice. 

<Pose Tracker> Kaguya has posed.

A frightening visage... Kaguya likes that thought from Boudicca, actually. She grins to Rebecca a moment later. "He's excited. Let him have this one."

The words, and the Golem's 'soul'... Kaguya looks thoughtfully to Avril. What kidn of 'soul' did she give the Althenan Golems?

Shige goes for it though. With some encouragement. As do the others...

"it's cool Hannah," Kaguya says of her magic--and then she waits. She waits, as she sees it. "Yeah," Kaguya answers, "Could be. Crest Sorcery's real old," she admits. "Real old." Old as--

Kaguya sees its eyes open--and hops back down, landing with a puff of salty dust.

"...Golem!" Kaguya calls. "I am Kaguya, of the Veruni! I call upon you to awaken, and lend us your aid!"

"What is your name?"

She smiles, though. Her words are formal, but... 

<Pose Tracker> Dean Stark has posed.

    What *would* Dean do? In this case: hover at the edges of the pit and watch excitedly, eyes lit up, as magic energy pours into the Golem. Avril thought he was right, and that's exciting too, because it means they've already figured out how to wake the Golem up. But really, whoever wakes the Golem up--Avril and her chosen crew, Azoth and Gwen, whomever--it's a good day for everyone.
    
    The runes turn on. The Golem's eyes open. Dean holds his breath in awe. It might have a scary face, but that doesn't bother him at all. Avril welcomes it back.
    
    "Hi! I'm Dean! Let's be friends!" he gushes at the Golem, in complete contrast to Kaguya's commanding tone. If the ice below them is thin, he doesn't notice at all. 

<Pose Tracker> Gwen Whitlock has posed.

    "Alright. Azoth, y'good with that?" After nodding to Avril, Gwen glances back towards Azoth. "Even if neither of us are walkin' Golems, I wonder if we can maybe reach out to it, in our own ways. You have a different perspective on things, too."

    She works on getting a small fire ready, as well as a small cauldron to hang over it on a tripod. It's the same sort of thing she's done in days past, and would have done so here, if there have been a need for cooking.

    It's more fun to cook for friends, as lot as there's no expectation of it being amazing.

    ====

    The gaze the Golem has is cold.

    ".... I wonder what their last memories were," Gwen wonders, a second or two too late. "Azoth..." She gives him a slight nod, her expression sober.

    ..... But then, she goes over, and gets a bowl ready, spooning some of the bean stew into it. Maybe she's hungry...?

    Perhaps there is something she and Azoth can do that's specific to the two of them- at least, in the general sense.

    She rolls up the sleeve of her right hand and takes off her right glove, showing a metal ARM. Taking a bowl of food, she offers it up, her eyes registering a quick glance at Dean's enthusiasm. ".... I don't know your preference, or if Golems even eat, but I hope you like beans."

    The bowl is minuscule compared to the Golem's size, but there's power in symbolic gestures.

    She'll abandon it in a second if Dean is in trouble, though. If anyone can reach a Golem's heart, it'd be him.

    And because of that, she doesn't want him to be injured by the thing he loves the most. 

<Pose Tracker> Rebecca Streisand has posed.

"Not on purpose at least." Rebecca quips towards Azoth.
Yet as they all perform their work and Kaguya tells her to let Dean have this one. "I am!" Rebecca protests to Kaguya, even as she smiles back at Avril. The burnished runes come alive, and Rebecca suddenly wonders if she should in fact, stop channeling energy, but she keeps it up for a moment.
 
Long enough to see it animated.
 
And Rebecca finally stops focusing on her Original Medium, at the enthusiasm of all of them.
 
'... Welcome back,' Avril says.
 
Kaguya asks for their name.
 
Dean asks to be friends.
 
"Heh. You're a big fellow aren't you? Have a good rest?" Rebecca says at first, as if confident, and actually getting swept up into the enthusiasm of all the others here.
 
But... as if that enthusiasm were always be weighing against her responsible side, it's not longer she asks of it one thing.
 
"Please don't go berserk and attack us."

<Pose Tracker> Shige Kiwako has posed.

Shige's not big on the military thoughts despite advisement from a lingering shade. They've pooled a bunch of magic into an unknown golem. Bigger than they are, maybe angry that they've interrupted a salt bath.
 
 She tightens her grip on the medium stashed away in her pack. It's intimidating no matter how you look at it, even if the golem turns out to be friendly.
 
 There's a whispered undertone, "I think it was a bad idea. He looks annoyed." She would be too being poked awake with the cold fingers of death.
 
 She pulls a face. When did she get so melancholy? (Always. She's just sober enough long enough to recognize it.)
 
 "Welcome back?" she tries. Maybe that seems the right answer. Somehow.
 
 She pulls another face. That's a bit grim isn't it.
 
 Incidentally she's put some space between her and the golem. She doesn't really remember doing it. There's the sound of distant laughter from one of her ghosts though.
 
 Kaguya's declaration gets a strange look, especially contrasted to Dean and her own more.. informal greeting.
 
 Hannah's strange magic is vaguely distracting, but what else isn't at this point? She's a bit frazzled.
 
 She does hold a shaky thumbs up to Avril and Boudicca at the whole waking thing up though. "Good work?" That's a question for sure. 

<Pose Tracker> Asgard has posed.

A lone figure stands upon a Salt Flat just beyond them, arms crossed. His coat thick with salt. He's wearing large, thick goggles...

(Because Salt Blindness is a thing.)

Once upon a time, many thousands of years ago, though not so long for those who are present, Dean Stark asked him a question, now he is here to answer it.

His posture doesn't shift as the Golem's eyes start to glow.

Yet his voice booms out - clarion sharp as if he were much larger.

"It is the destiny of a Golem is to make the dreams of their master come true."

Uncrossing his arms, his eyes flash from yellow to a dark crimson glow behind the goggles.

"Their strength becomes instrument of their master's will, fashioning an unbreakable bond between them. A bond that might persist even beyond time, beyond even life or death. Countless eons did I labor to possess a strength worthy of returning to his side again."

The Golem raises a single arm, with his barrier emitter aglow, but there is no hostile action. Perhaps if anything, it is defensive, Azoth is here after all, and Asgard has something that he wants.

"Once you asked why I serve the master I do, Dean Stark, implied you would find me another more worthy of me. Know this... I would sooner sever my arm, sacrifice every memory I possess, than see that bond undone."

He lowers his arm, hand at his side, with a look, to each of them, one after another.

"Understand the responsibility each of you now possess."

With one last look at them all, he turns and a moment later, in a shower of flower petals, he loses dimensions and is gone.

<Pose Tracker> Seraph Boudicca has posed.

    Boudicca does look cautiously at Hannah, when she casts that spell. "Ida," she says, under her breath, "I sense something amiss with that one..."

    But she doesn't raise the alarm, because -- the Golem wakes, and Boudicca returns that thumbs up to Shige. "We have done it!"

    The Golem, though...

    "Greetings," she says to it, again. "I am the Seraph Boudicca. Be not afraid. We mean you no harm. Dean has been so excited to meet you!" And here she indicates who Dean is, with a gesture from her gauntlet-clad hands.

    And then--!!

    Boudicca turns, and gasps, fingers veiling her lips. "Asgard!" She exclaims, surprised to see him. "Do you know this Golem...?"

    But no -- he's gone, and Boudicca turns back to the Golem, a touch unnerved.

    "Oh, dear..."

<Pose Tracker> Azoth has posed.

As Avril muses on the nature of a Golem's soul, Azoth brightens up and points a finger gun at her. "Precisely!" This excitement is not just because this implies the understood existence of his own type of soul, but it is at least a little bit that. "I've said before I am my objectives -- without them, there's no doing. Without doing, there's no living."

And this Golem is, currently, neither living nor doing. But everyone gathered here hopes to change that.

With Avril's further hopes, Azoth nods to Gwen. "Fine by me. Between the two of us, I imagine we'll get something figured out."

But it turns out this is not yet necessary. Sorcery rises up, and the Golem responds. Azoth's eyes light further, and a touch greener in reflection of the Golem's own glowing runes. He watches it rise up, looking down at them, awaken now in an unfamiliar era, surrounded by unfamiliar people.

Dean immediately asks to be friends.

And that's where Azoth tugs his hood, face stuck and stalled as it calculates how to react. What is the best lie to mask himself with? Because there is no one here that needs to see his own envy, his bittersweet relief, or nostalgic loneliness so openly. How would all of those emotions even fit on someone at once?

(An organic would probably find themselves in some manner of tears, he reflects. Which would not be quite appropriate even if he were capable.)

As Gwen calls his name, it's like he's suddenly back on from standby with a smile. For Gwen, he permits it to look a little bit forced. But that edge is gone once he's turned toward anyone else. He, too, sobers completely when he looks to the Golem. There is something different about his voice, for a moment. It's deeper, and reverberates further. There is a strange song behind it, distant enough to question hearing it at all.

"...You could not have asked for better company to wake with."

Azoth's eyes flash. Brilliant and neon and then dangerously red as he turns his attention to Asgard. He does not move, but in a dangerous stillness that suggests any further motion would come with a momentum he cannot afford to stop.

"Dreams of their master," he echoes. A Golem's 'objective'...

Once Asgard is gone, Azoth's eyes return to normal and he sinks to the ground with a slump, a red bit of electricity crawling over his body before his energy finally calms.

<Pose Tracker> Hannah Curie has posed.

Hannah catches Boudicca's wary look and sighs. "It ain't Malevolence," she says, with no small amount of wariness. She doesn't know what it is, but she knows that much, at least.

Is there a tie between Veruni Ether and Crest Sorcery? Knowing that the Veruni originated from Filgaia... "Could be," admits Hannah. "That'd make a fascinatin' thesis project, if I'm bein' honest."

If she can ever get her own magical troubles under control, that is.

Avril entreats Hannah to try, and her expression darkens as she considers. She might be making some of the same considerations Avril had been--what are their options, if this results in failure?

Not a lot of very good ones.

A slow nod. "... alright. But I'm cuttin' my magic off the instant I sense somethin' goin' wrong."

Ice, Earth, Wind, Fire, and Death.

Hannah watches, pensively, and then draws in a sharp breath as those green shimmering eyes spring to life.

She lowers her crest graph, cutting off the supply of Ley to it--but does not put it away.

"Well howdy." She notes Kaguya's formal speech but... isn't going to try and replicate it. "Name's Hannah Curie, an' we're all hopin' you feel alright after your long nap. Ain't sure what was happenin' last time you were active but... it's been a mighty long time."

Then Asgard, of all people suddenly appears, and both Hannah and Zephyr react with a start. "What in tarnation--" She still hasn't forgiven Asgard for... several things, now.

But he's gone before anything can be done about it, and she ponders his words as she looks back to the newly reactivated golem. 

<Pose Tracker> Ida Everstead-Rey has posed.

    Ida feels the creeping cold of Hannah's spreading ice. It raises the hair on the back of her neck, despite the heat. "I know," she says, to her Oracle. "It's a malady of her magic. Hannah is a good friend to me, and Eleanor."

    The runes begin to glow of their own accord. Ida's hands drop to her sides. She stoops down, picks up Marigold, and holds the Eevee to her chest as the Golem's eyes open.

    Dean, Kaguya, and Avril greet the Golem in their own ways. Ida's head jerks to face Asgard--his voice, rather, since he's out of sight. Marigold's ears twitch, and she nuzzles against her Trainer's salt-flecked face. "That's how it is," Ida says, her voice low and soft. Her eyes drift closed for a moment. But then--

    "Azoth?!" Ida drops Marigold. The Eevee bounds over to the fallen Android, nosing at his leg to try and rouse him. Ida is there a moment later, supporting his chassis as best as she can to keep him upright.

<Pose Tracker> Avril Vent Fleur has posed.

    "I wonder..." Avril muses again as Azoth reflects on his own nature. Is that only true for Golems and other constructs? "...What is anyone without their 'purpose'?"

    Nothing seems to be wrong. Nothing seems to be amiss. There is no cackling or roar of dark energies or sign of anything fell occuring. And yet, the Golem looks down at them coldly, clinically.

    'Welcome back', she says, because in this at least she and it are fellow travelers. Welcome back, said the present to the past. Welcome back, so at least one of them can have a kinder greeting to the world that is.

    A sound not unlike the cracking of stones under stress emits from the depths of the Golem -- or perhaps it is akin to the roar of waves on the shore. "ORDER. REACTIVATION. LEY. ENERGY. FOUND." it thunders, wind howling through stone. Or is it flames, burning hot through the forest?

    "ACTIVATION. CHECK. COMPLETED. DESIGNATION. IS. C4-SS1-N1."

    It is as silent as the grave as Dean asks if they can be friends.

    "'FRIEND'. TERM. UNKNOWN. DEFINITION. REQUIRED." Each word burns like the sun at high noon.

    Rebecca, meanwhile, has one request for it after she asks if it rested well, a sentiment that Boudicca shares as well. C4-SS1-N1 turns its icy green gaze between Rebecca and Boudicca in turn.

    "THREAT. LEVEL. LOW. COMBAT. ACTIONS. UNNECESSARY. ABSENT. DANGER. TO. PROTOCOL."

    That's... good?

    Glancing over at her friends, then at the others who had helped her reactivate the Golem, Avril smiles thinly. So far, so good, perhaps, but she cannot help but feel as if something is--

    Here there is Asgard. C4-SS1-N1's eyes flash as if in recognition of him.

    "Asgard? What is it that brings you to this place?"

    He answers them. It is an honest, direct answer.

    "...Yes. They are our responsibility now. More than a friend, or an ally..." She glances at Rebecca, at Kaguya, at Dean. "I, too, awoke to a world I knew not. I would see that your awakening is kinder than my own," she says to the Golem, as Asgard makes his own departure.
    (Strange... did he also wear protective eyewear? Then again, salt blindness is a thing.)

    "'KINDNESS'. UNKNOWN. TERM. DEFINITION. REQUESTED."

    Avril pauses. "Kindness is..."

    And that's the problem, isn't it? It's a difficult thing to define it, even if you know it when you see it!

    Something is amiss with Azoth, Avril realizes, once Ida hurries to his side.

    But their new friend and ally and protectorate in the Golem they have activated is not still. "FURTHER. LEY. ENERGY. REQUIRED. LOCAL. INPUTS. ABSENT," roars out the Golem. It just so happens that at this moment Gwen approaches it with her bowl of beans and places it at its feet. It's miniscule: if it ate, this wouldn't be sufficent. Yet, it slowly raises one arm until its palm hovers over the tiny (relatively) bowl of beans and a beam of light slices down towards Gwen's offering. There is a smell in the air like something got burnt--

    But the bowl is untouched. It's just that the beans that were there are no more.

    "PLANTLIFE. ENERGY. INTEGRATED. INSUFFICIENT. FURTHER. REQUIRED."

    Frowning as if preparing herself, Avril once more delves into the deep well of magical power she possesses and renders her ice unto the Golem's core. 

<Pose Tracker> Kaguya has posed.

Without doing, there's no living. Kaguya will remmber that.

Dean of course wants to be friends; Kaguya would like that, but she assumes an ancient Veruni Golem might have some security measurs to account for or something; nobody here understands Veruni culture quite like she does, so...

Gwen wonders about its last memories, and offers... "Beans," Kaguya repeats, staring at Gwen for a moment. Just. Staring.

But Rebecca says what Kaguya is thinking, and Shige gives her a strange look. Kaguya shrugs at her.

As Asgard's voic booms out--

Kaguya turns. She meets Asgard's eyes when he looks at her. "Once," she says, "I didn't know that responsibility, and I made things that may yet haunt everyone."

"...But I know, now."

Boudicca sems excited--and concerned, but Kaguya doesn't dwell on that. Instead, as she asks...

"Looks like he noticed us," Kaguya says.

Then sh looks to Azoth, and sees him sober. She considers that different voice--and the way he flashes. The way...

"Azoth," she says in worry. don't call her on it, she'll deny it. it's fine.

"Cassini," Kaguya repeats. "Well, you're up," she says to Dean of defining 'friend'.

Kaguya watches the exchanges between the others. SHe looks a Azoth again, but then she considers Cassini. The beans... "I did not see that coming," Kaguya admits. Then--"Oh! That's what those inputs were!" she says. "It absorbs Ley energy... and there isn't any here, on account of--"

Kaguya hesitates--and then pulls out some tomatoes.

"You can't have my flowers," Kaguya tells the Golem, "But you can have these." 

<Pose Tracker> Dean Stark has posed.

    'It is the destiny of a Golem is to make the dreams of their master come true.'
    
    The only thing that could distract Dean from a Golem is another Golem. It's true here and now, when Asgard appears from beyond a salt flat, eye protection firmly in place. "Huh?" Dean utters, blinking his way. "Asgard!"
    
    There's no time for hellos, though. Asgard speaks of the will of a Golem and how it is merely an extension of their master's; how he himself would rather undo himself than abandon his own master. Dean frowns, but he doesn't argue the matter with him. He still doesn't think the Prophets are good masters for Asgard, but if he really feels that strongly about it... and more importantly, if this Golem they've all just uncovered would feel that strongly about it...
    
    Then they really would all have a great responsibility.
    
    Dean watches for a moment as Asgard turns in leaves. Then he looks around at his assembled friends--and finally at the Golem, which has at last crackled fully to life and sound, introducing themself as C4-SS1-N1. There remains that definition they requested, though, but Dean barely even needs to think about it. "A friend is someone you like, and who likes you! You hang out and spend time together and talk and go on adventures and you eat fried noodles together and you have each other's backs! Though you probably don't eat, I guess, so the fried noodles are optional for you? Oh!! *Can* you eat?! That would be so cool if you could! There's so many great foods I'd love to introduce you to!"
    
    He pauses as Avril weighs in on responsibility--that she too came into this world a blank slate, far removed from the time from which she'd originally came. He gives her a smile and a firm nod, though. "That's right. We became friends too, Avril." He looks back at Cassini. "Kindness is like... being nice to people! You do things for them that'd make them happy or would help them out, just because. Sometimes people aren't kind to you because they're scared or hungry or hurt or mad, but you gotta do your best to be kind back anyway, even if you can't let them hurt other people, because sometimes a little kindness is what will help them turn themselves around for the better!"
    
    Gwen approaches to offer food to the Golem--to Cassini, as Kaguya puts it. It gets beamed up! Dean is honestly not sure if this counts as eating or not, but it's not *not* eating, so he grins. "How'd you like that, Cassini?" He reaches out to pat one of their rings. He may or may not be able to reach it, but that won't deter him. "Still hungry, huh, buddy? We can get you more!"
    
    Though then Kaguya explains what Cassini is actually after. "Oh... That makes sense. This isn't..." He looks slowly around at the salt flats. "...a good place for that." He brightens as he looks back at the Golem. "We'd better get you out of here, then. We can take you someplace that's a lot nicer and greener!"
    
    Hopefully applying more magical energy to Cassini's core--and maybe offering them some tomatoes--will let them make that trip. 

<Pose Tracker> Seraph Boudicca has posed.

    "It is wonderful to meet you," Boudicca smiles, to that awkward new Golem. "You require more energy from the Ley? Perhaps my Artes may aid you. I assure you, this is no assault." And so, she summons up another Seraphic glyph, and pours more of her breeze into the Golem's wings. That just feels like the natural place to channel her existence!

<Pose Tracker> Hannah Curie has posed.

"Azoth!" starts Hannah, and she rushes over to his side, kneeling to check up on him. "You alright, hun?"

The thunderous--or roaring--sound of the golem's voice makes Hannah flinch back for a moment. Zephyr, or their part, squawks in alarm and takes off to a further-away perch.

But Hannah makes a note of that designation. C4-SS1-N1... Well it suggests a nickname, but that's a little presumptuous to do without without asking permission first.

Friends are unknown... but combat actions aren't required. So that's a start.

Hannah frowns as insufficient energy needs are mentioned... and beans won't do the trick, it seems.

She nods to Kaguya, "Must be it." On the matter of the inputs. She frowns in thought, not trusting her magic to do the task of fully replenishing a golem just yet. "Miss Avril, hang on a sec." She looks to the golem. "C4-SS1-N1--" yes, she says the whole thing "--may I ask what your energy requirements are?"

She glances back to Avril. "I'm all for powerin' 'em up, but we oughtta make sure we ain't gonna exhaust ourselves tryin'."

Hannah... might be speaking from experience, there. 

<Pose Tracker> Gwen Whitlock has posed.

    "Hehe, exactly!" Gwen chimes in to Azoth. "Smart minds think alike."

    "Offering food to a stranger is a custom as old as the oldest civilization," Gwen says, as if sensing Kaguya's stare of disbelief at her back. "People have been smited by gods for failin' to do it."

    Still, to be in the presence of a Golem that is awakening, to understand it, is...

    Why are there shivers running down her back? And why is she tearing up? "Cassini, then. My name's, Gwen Whitlock, s...." Her voice grows too hoarse to sound out the rest. "... Just... Gwen Whitlock," she rectifies.

    She does turn her head as she hears Asgard's voice, her bowl still offered up. Is he here to interfere, or....? "... Wait, we're... Cassini's... masters...? I could see Avril and Dean, but..."

    Before she can think further on it, Gwen senses the palm of the Golem's hand hovering over her. Turning back, Gwen stays still, even as she hears Ida call Azoth's name. It's not as if she doesn't want to go out to him, but something tells her if she moves too suddenly--

    The beam of light slices down, and Gwen stifles a scream, expecting pain and regret to follow seconds later.

    There is only the smell of something burnt, in a way Gwen is familiar with: it's the smell of bean stew residue being burnt to a crisp due to lazy washing. She confirms it by lowering the bowl, as the Golem's booming voice echoes overhead.

    "Ida, what happened to Azoth? Is he okay?" Worry coats Gwen's voice, but she doesn't stray away from her post.

    The Ley lines. Of course they'd be too poor here for Cassini to stay charged.

    "Responsibility, huh..." Gwen looks at her ARM, then up at the Golem.

    ".... I can only give a small portion of my energy. If you can understand me, take my right hand. I'll try to charge you." It may be foolish, but it's a show of faith. If they are all connected to Cassini, they all need to contribute where they can. Beans aren't going to cut it. 

<Pose Tracker> Azoth has posed.

What is anyone without their purpose? "Looking for one, I suspect." There's a sadder smile at that.

The Golem speaks. C4-SS1-N1. Cassini. When it asks for a definition for friend, Azoth looks directly at Dean, genuinely curious for the boy's answer. He seems otherwise unconcerned by the Golem's words. It said combat actions unnecessary! That IS good!

What Dean provides is an elegant definition (fried noodles optional). Azoth smiles softly in silence, even if, were he in Cassini's position, he would ask the perhaps infuriating follow-up question of what the definition of 'like' is.

But then, there's Asgard, and Azoth's closer to the ground.

Azoth sets his hand down on Marigold's head gently. It's not quite a pet at first as his fingers give an odd twitch, but then finally finds the fluidity of motion. With Ida's help he stands again, waving his hand.

"It's good. I'm fine," he tells the others as they express concern. "Only a small error." Nothing looked small about it...!

He refocuses his attention to Cassini. Friend. Kindness. And insufficient energy. Avril begins to handle that last part. Dean's responsible for the first. Gwen's offering beans. That's kindness, too, even if a Golem cannot eat. Or maybe it does eat, just very violently. (Did Azoth not once attempt to 'consume' mustard in a similar way?) But how to define it in words? Azoth has his own answer.

"'Kindness' is a protocol to protect and or optimize a target's operation."

The tricky part is knowing, and learning, what that means per individual.

<Pose Tracker> Ida Everstead-Rey has posed.

    "Evoi," says Marigold. She nuzzles into Azoth's hand, opening with a friendly gesture--but once Azoth's righted, it gives way to curiosity. Who is this strange, electric-and-metal smelling person...? "...Evoi...?"

    An error, yes," Ida says. Her brow furrows with big-sisterly concern. "But..." She trails off, the Golem's voice once again grabbing her full attention. Her eyes widen as Cassini... eats, after a fashion. "Of course," Ida says. "I can offer more..." Again, Ida stretches out her hands, channeling her Seer's flame. And as Ida does so, Marigold considers something, and... bounds off to her Trainer's backpack, which rests near the ladders and scaffolding leading to the surface.

    She returns a moment later with an Oran Berry in her mouth, and drops it at Cassini's feet with an enthusiastic "Evoi!"

<Pose Tracker> Rebecca Streisand has posed.

C4-SS1-N1 gives Rebecca an almost staccato reassurance in so many terms, and Rebecca looks relieved, "Well, appreciate that." As she brings a hand up to her scarf, tugging at it, almost like she's tipping a hat.
 
Asgard shows up, and Rebecca listens - mostly she just knew him as the weird fight junky that worked for the Prophets and Odessa, but she can almost get behind some of what he says.
 
"Responsibility huh?"
 
It is upon Avril however that she focuses, as she mentions awakening in a world she knew not.
 
Her expression softens however, as she nods quietly. There's something, odd about her in these moments, like she's comprehending - she didn't see it back then.
 
She was only told later... about the tears Avril shed.
 
"Yeah... least we can do." She says quietly, though, part of her still wonders - why?
 
Dean gives his own definition of friendship to C4-SS1-N1- "Uh, not every friend likes fried noodles Dean." Rebecca tells him, "Really don't have to get so specific that they think it's just someone who eats Fried Noodles with you. They probably don't eat at all."
 
But then Gwen- Gwen feeds it beans and, "Gwen it probably..." The Beans are gone, "Well... I'll be." Rebecca says, surprised.
 
There's a moment where she's processing it and, a shrug after a moment and, "Still stand by it. Fried Noodles aren't the basis of a friendship, unless it's with Dean."

<Pose Tracker> Shige Kiwako has posed.

"A lost soul." She suggests, at the question of what is one without purpose. Any kind of purpose, selected or given really. That might be some self-reflection on herself though. She fiddles with her pack for a moment and contemplates a few things. "Does.. a golem process alcohol?" Pulling out both a cigar for herself and one of her backup bottles. She's sober, but she's still packing.
 
 "I can offer some magic too though, of course" She says that last part somewhat embarrassed. Not rounding the edges off of her day to day, constantly, is messing with her a bit.
 
 "I.. the ship I uh, acquired probably can't support that much. It barely acts as a skiff." She learned a word!
 
 She crosses her arms, walking forward to offer the bottle if it would help. Otherwise after some hesitation, just because it's still death magic and she doesn't really know how it interacts with the living or living adjacent. She sucks it up soon enough and reaches back with her free hand, once against helping to channel magic towards the golem to help.
 
 She does give Kaguya an apologetic look. "I thought I'd messed up." She admits, at the look returned.
 
 She does agree with Gwen's comment though. "It's a way to lure hauntings still. Even if I usually use vices more.." They work on her too!
 
 She does add for Hannah, "I might have a bit of extra go I can tap into." Without admitting what it is. As for souls themselves? She doesn't answer. She's contemplative. She hasn't really thought on ghosts in the machine beyond... a promise made to Zed. There's an errant thought on how silly that is and a thought on a few other things. Which gets a brief scowl and she starts to reach for her lighter. 

<Pose Tracker> Avril Vent Fleur has posed.

    Her gaze meets Rebecca's own and for a moment, Avril looks at her, as if trying to read something in her expression. What did Rebecca see in her own look, just now...?

    C4-SS1-N1. Cassini, as Kaguya dubs it. It's less of a mouthful.

    "Cassini," Avril echoes, glancing Kaguya's way. "I think... that is a strong name."

    "ADDITIONAL. IDENTIFIER. 'CASSINI'. APPENDED," comes the roar of the Golem's voice like the fracturing of an iceberg.

    But it had in turn asked questions of its own -- is it curiosity? A drive to define what is absent to what it knows? Sheer utility for understanding its 'masters'? And Dean does his best to answer.

    "DEFINITION. OF. 'FRIEND'. APPENDED. REQUESTING. ADDITIONAL. CLARITY. WHAT. IS. FRIED. NOODLES."

    ...Can they get a big enough serving of fried noodles for a Golem?

    The lights in Cassini's eyes flicker as Dean tries to explain Kindness. Is that too much for the Golem? Azoth, though, adds his own qualifiers to the definition.

    "DEFINITION. OF. 'KINDNESS'. APPENDED. TO. ORDERS." ...Wait, what does that mean?

    The rings, as Dean will find when his hand (barely) skims the surface, are warm. Not painfully so: they're warm in the way a bench might be late in the afternoon after a pleasantly sunny day.

    "ENERGY. RESERVES. LOW," thrums Cassini to Hannah as she asks the important question. "CURRENT. ENERGY. 5%. RISK. OF. ENTERING. LOW. POWER. MODE. HIGH."

    "Do not worry," Avril tells her. "I have more than enough to spare without risking harm to myself. I think we need only lend them enough power for us to leave, and then, I think, they should be able to manage the rest themselves."

    It needs Ley energy to function, and there isn't anything here because of the effects of the Angel Halo. Even Rebecca could only scrape up some earth Ley through her Medium -- probably an echo of all the salt the land has been reduced to. That's it. That's all that's left. There's not even enough here to support life.

    But some of them use magic, and others have additional things they can offer at that.

    Kaguya gives unto it her tomatoes. Moving its hand over towards her, there is again that flash of light and that... burnt smell. "ADDITIONAL. ENERGY. ACQUIRED," churns out the Golem. Marigold makes its own offering and this too vanishes in a flash of light.

    But Avril isn't the only one lending Cassini power anymore. Boudicca has joined the fight, as it were, and if Avril's wells are deep--
    Boudicca's power might be a lake. Or an ocean.

    And as if to answer Gwen's request, Cassini lowers a hand to touch Gwen's own, and further power -- from a heart that has consumed a Medium and continues to burn brighter than any fire -- begins to flow into the Golem.

    It's joined by a stream of yet more of Ida's flame and Shige's shamanic manifestation of the end that leads to new beginnings.

    "STABILIZING. 25%. POWER. ATTAINED."

    Perhaps this will let the Golem leave here on its own power--

    Something -- no, someone -- drops from the sky at speed. Brandishing a blazing bladed spear in one hand, the Veruni soldier turns the six-eyed mask of her faceplate upon them all.

    "Kaguya. You have been busy, I see," Amaterasu says to her sister.

    --TO BE CONTINUED

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