Just A Normal Day

    The bar isn't to busy at this hour, most adventurers come in during the evening hours, not during the morning heading to afternoon.

One such person however likes being here no matter the hour and that is Xander, who is sitting relaxed in the back of the bar. His feet are up on the table, as he watches the door and getting a nice view of the entire room.

There on the table with him is a large fruit of some kind, a few nuts, and a glass of water.

    So this must be the place Gwen was talking about...
    The door pushes open and Amalthea enters the the bar. There's no punchline, though; just an aged adventurer standing in the doorway for a beat and scanning the room for any familiar faces. And it just so happens that she spots one.
    Raising a hand in greeting Xander's way, the silver-haired woman stops, spending a beat to speak with the bar-tender on duty before making her way over to the Salamander's table, with a mug in hand.
    "Fancy running into you here."

People have to relax sometime. Even Proteus does that, if only because the new 'Exhaustion' mechanic forces it. The Imp sweeps into the bar with the others, not looking to anyone else in particular as she sits at the bar. The drab, woodsman-clothed Imp sighs, quietly conferring with the barman and acquiring some fruit and nuts and something to drink, staring at the plate of rabbit food with visible asperity, judging from the way her tail snaps back and forth.

Nureha usually doesn't frequent bars anymore. Certainly not for the food or drink involved.

Still. One must do what the 'Exhaustion' bar commands, and sleep was something that was beyond her at this point. Nureha slips into the bar, expression brightening slightly as she recognizes some of the patrons. The staff taps against the wooden floor as she makes her way over to Proteus. "Good morning, dear." she says with an air of melacholic exhaustion, though not a hair is out of place tied and braided back, even in unremarkable clothing. "May I?" she asks, gesturing at a seat nearby.

    "Looking at it like that sadly won't will it into a burger." Xander says from over in his corner toward the Imp who is staring at their plate so asperity. "If that /could/ work, you'd probably be rich, well," He chuckles, "If you can get past the crackers part." Then takes a sip of his water.

Then he watches as Nureha walks in and takes another sip of his water, observing her from where he sits. His expression is hard one to read, though he does grin a little. However about what is even harder to say.

Though he just goes to pick up one of the nuts and pops it into his mouth, as he looks away from the two, seeming to continue to relax in his little corner. At least till Amalthea comes fully into his view. He actually missed her with the entrance of the other two and smiles gently, "Miss Amalthea!" He goes to put his feet down. "How have you been? Please, have a sit ma'am."

    And then there are two more familiar face. Proteus and Nureha entering doesn't go over Amaltheas head, and the aged adventurer dips her head in a polite nod to the two of them as she does just as bidden: she settles into the seat opposite Xander. Though she turns herself to keep faced partway towards him and partly to the other two as she sets herself down.
    "Ah, I miss burgers now, too." She mutters, before her expression warms into a slight smile.
    "I've been well. As well as I can bem considering all things, anyway. What about you?"

There is a nod from the woman as Nureha joins her. "Of course you can." She says, looking to Nureha. "Enjoy yourself. At least, as much as any of us can at the moment."

She turns around on the stool and grunts, putting her back to the bar as she looks out over the rest of the attendance. Not high. Of course, Alne is a literal ghost town, so what do you expect? It's only with Plant Duck and the others moving in that people have been repopulating lately, as far as Proteus was aware.

Still, it's nice to see Amalthea and... She pauses, quickly flicking a hand to do a quick Inspect on the unfamiliar person... Xander. She waves to the tank, smiling. "Hey there." She says to the pair of Scales. "Having fun yet?" She asks, a little smile growing on her face as she settles in.

    Xander shrugs lightly, "Helped with an Ezzo mission yesterday. Trying to get more people home, you know?" He smiled softly. An honest smile at that. "It was... Nice doing something I was trained to do. Helping people." He goes to eat another nut. "Outside of that. Not much. Just training, wishing I could find some non-white gear, and exploring the first level of the tower."

The Salamander looks over to the older woman, keeping a gentle smile on his face, "What about you? Anything exciting?"

    Under the inspection, Proteus will find nothing to great, given they are not on one another's friends list. Though she will see his full name: 'Xander Scaleharth', and depending on how long she has played-- maybe his reputation.

    When asked, Xander raises a brow and shrugs, "Oh yes! Fantastic time! Nothing like being trapped in a virtual world, where the only thing that tastes great is raw food and the drinks are like piss!" Yep, sarcasm at its finest, before he shakes his head, with his chin coming to rest in the palm of his hand. "... I honestly want a reset button before the expansion."

Xander than sighs and sits back up straight, "But what can you do, but live with it." Then goes to take a bite of the fruit.

    'Having fun yet' she asks. Amalthea's lips purse into a hard to read expression for a beat, before she takes a sip from her mug. It's water, and thankfully water should at least taste like water and not drinkable despair.
    "It's been an... Interesting two weeks to say the least." She replies diplomatically.
    "Mostly questing," she replies in regards to what she's been doing. "A lot of solo work, and the occasional group." Heck, last time she grouped up with anyone, she met Proteus and Nureha.
    It wasn't bad at all despite being an escort quest.
    "You're not the only one who wants to go back to those days." She asides to Xander.
    "When I signed up for this 'game' it was just to keep in touch with family. Now I'm actually playing it. Except the playing's a lot more serious now, isn't it, huh?"

"We must continue to tell ourselves this is only a transitory state." Nureha says as she sits down. She mulishly pushes the apples and nuts around without partaking, giving them a sultry pout. "This too shall pass." She puts the staff to one side and nods.

"..Yes." She says in Amalthea's direction. "It has been that, at least. Both serious.. AND interesting in turns." She chintaps twice but then seems.. to not having anything else to say. She brushes a lock of hair away from her face, ear twitching as she looked around at the desolate, nearly lifeless tavern.

"Mmm." Proteus hums. "To a new home, perhaps. Some of us will never really leave Ezzo. Like me, for example. I have no interest in the other Kingdoms and their petty behavior. That said, your assistance is appreciated." There is a pause, and she rubs her chin. "You were trained to help people, you say? How were you trained to do that?" She asks.

There is another hum about the gear and the Tower. "You and me both. About the wishing for better gear, that is." She sighs. "But with us stuck like this again, progress is slow. But I have no interest in the Tower at this time."

The sarcasm, however, gets a little arch of an eyebrow. "Something tells me this expansion wasn't entirely intentional. The effects, that is. Someone should have noticed by now and done a rollback if it was possible." She rubs her hands together, then gestures in the air, menus popping up. She casually pokes at them while she speaks. "But you're not just living with it, are you?" She hums. "Aren't you part of the Scale Alliance?"

She nods then to Amalthea. "It's very much more serious. A lot of people have been trapped who don't deserve to be trapped." She muses again, audible. "Or perhaps I should say that no one deserves to be trapped. But new opportunities are arising after the Black Wave. Perhaps we could use them to prosper."

Nureha mentiones a thing, and Proteus is about to say something, but visibly seems to think better of it and simply goes quiet. "Mmm. This too shall pass, hmm..."

    "Yeah. I am. Not that I have much relations with the people in it." Xander admits to Proteus, seeming to avoid answering her inquiry about the 'training' part.

The Salamander leans back, taking another bite of his fruit, chewing on it gently, swallowing before he continues, "I was in the Front before the expansion. A top-tier raider and PvPer. Right now, none of that shit matters." He says bluntly. "Because I have a theory as to what might be going on..."

Xander then shrugs, looking at the fruit, "But I rather keep it to myself until I can solve more riddles to the question." Then goes to take another bite.

Nureha seems sunk into her thoughts, her eyes dull as she looks over the tavern. She looks at each face as though looking for.. something, but whether or not she seems disappointed is up for debate. The cait-sith rubs at her face with a sleeve, digging into her arm with her nails as she folds her hands gingerly.

This doesn't keep her ears from twitching or her tail from lashing once from side to side, but it does restore her composure. "Everyone is entitled their secrets." she says with a faint smile. "AS long as they can keep them." she winks at Xander at that, chuckling as she traces a design against the bar top.

    Another sip of her water and Amalthea sets her mug down, leaning back in her seat and crossing one leg over the other. "Some people rather like this 'new world'." She notes. "Already met a kid that was wild for the way things are now. Can't say I agree with people like that, but if it makes them happy..." She says, trailing off with a shrug.
    "As for me, I'm not one for being trapped, so here's to hoping this passes and quick. That's not saying I won't put in my fair share of work to see that it does, though."

Yawning as she slips into the bar, Emiko halts at the door, holding it open as she stands there. She uses the chance to scan hrough the bar, and then, something yips between her legs. With a little smile she kneels down and picks up the fox she had caught just a little time ago, cradling it on her arm as she moves to the bar room, giving Nureha a wave and smile. "Hey foxy!" she greets, ordering herself something before looking for a free spot.

"Ah, a top-tier raider and PvPer. Wonderful." Proteus replies glibly. Her eyes flick back and forth, watching Xander intently, a searching gleam in that gaze as she looks past the flickering menus. "I wonder why you believe your experience in raiding and PvPing won't have any bearing on our current situation. Nothing to offer? No theories? Mmm." She doesn't push further. "Suit yourself, then."

Her eyes flick over to one side to Nureha, her eyes narrowing as she looks at the way that the guildmistress is looking over her environment, but she says nothing, looking away with a dimming of that bright, sharp smile.

She shrugs as Amalthea mentions other people's reactions. "There's a lot of interesting responses, a lot of interesting people. Maybe it will pass quickly. I am estimating... It likely will not. Either way, there are a number of problems that need to be resolved even so. I have chosen to apply myself to those problems. Maybe soon enough we will be enjoying proper food again."

The arrival of Emiko gets a glance from Proteus, but the Imp simply arches an eyebrow with the way she's addressing Nureha, but says nothing. All she does is lean back, tapping away at her menus some more as information scrolls past.

    Xander listens to everyone, including catching that wink. He sigh softly, before placing his index finger over to Amalthea, "One moment," Then goes to stand up.

He walks over to Nureha, going over to the side of her that no one is on and makes the gestures to call up the menu, before a bottle a type of red wine appears and he places that in front of her. "Deal be deals." Is all he says to her, as he taps his claw on the wood of the bar, before walking off; Though his claws almost drag across the wood work.

Maybe it was because of Proteus prying or something on Xander's mind he just wasn't sharing with the 'class'. Though Emiko comes in all bubbly and happy. Which causes Xander to sigh gently, "Hello Emiko. I see you found a fox at last."

He goes to make his way back over to where he was sitting in the corner of the room with Amalthea, "You still gonna want help finding another or you have something else now on your mind?"

Nureha looks up from the design she is drawing on the bar with a finger, curling her fingers into her palm and resting it on the counter. She smiles warmly at Emiko, though it doesn't quite reach all the way. She raises a hand, waving to Emiko in passing before asking the bartender for some water. She takes a sip, tilting around the glass in a small circle before putting it back on the bar.

When Xander makes the bottle appear, she takes a look at it. "Ah. Firewine. A good vintage, or at least, it used to be." she puts it back in her inventory without further comment, though she does look a little more smug after the hand-off.

The fennec cait sith nods to Xander as he notes about her pet, giving the little red fox a ruffle between the ears. "Yep! I caught him with some help, now working on training in. But I will still make you help me catching some other fox. Maybe a fire-fox or a kitsune."

Slipping over to Nureha and Xander, she nods to Proteus. "Emiko, and you?" she asks, once more petting the little fox on her arm. "This is Kogitsune."

    "Oh good," Amalthea says, "I'm pretty sure I'm not the only one who's tired of the food here. That'll at least make the quality of life a bit better, while we're here."
    Because real quality of life is when food doesn't taste like Actual Depression.
    A hand lifts in a slight wave to Emiko as she enters the bar, and the older adventurer plants her chin on her palm, resting an elbow on the table. "Can't say I thought I'd spend my retirement stuck in a videogame."

That someone owed Nureha something was no surprise to Proteus. In her experience, everyone owes Nureha eventually. And for good reason too...

But that's neither here nor there. She stares at Xander, the Salamander getting another eye from the cloaked and hooded Imp, but she leaves him be. She hums at the vintage given to Nureha, and smiles fror a moment, lookin back to the assembled. Emiko introduces herself, and Proteus inclines her head politely. "Proteus." She replies. "A pleasure to meet you. And Kogitsune."

Amalthea receives another nod. "Yes. Even if people are simply trying to escape, making life here more bearable is to everyone's benefit. Make the world a better place, help make people more comfortable, find ways to work around our limitations. Simple enough concepts. Harder in execution, but what isn't these days." She shrugs. "Retired or not, may as well find ways to enjoy yourself. Here, age is irrelevant, isn't it?"

"So. How are you and the little one getting along, Emiko?"

Nureha asks, turning in her seat towards the cheerful cait sith. She takes out a book from her inventory, flipping to a blank page. "I used to play a game.. back home. Why don't we all make a list? Things we would want to see here, other than food." she grins.

"That's a gimme. But.. other than that. People we miss, things we remember. Maybe writing it down will give it some sort of permanence, and.. instead of it being out of reach. It would.. simply be waiting for a proper time. A proper excution, like an Enchanter's Hymn. You know what it does, you just have to memorize the right words."

"Oh, he's a good one! I mean, he's cute and seems to be willing to learn." Emiko chimes back to Nureha, ruffling her fox before setting him down on the ground next to her leg.

"Other than food? Drink. Clearly we need proper tea that tastes like tea! You can't have a tea ceremony without tea tasting like tea."

    "Yeah, I might be able to help with a monster catch." Xander admits. "Maybe." Though he looks over to Amalthea, "Well, look on the bright side. At least none of us have to worry about weight gain while we are here." Though his brows furrow. "... I don't think.." Then his eyes narrow. "... is aging still a factor?" Seems Proteus answers that one; Sorta.

Xander just rests his head back. "Then there is that weird murder that happened here recently... So now we know that its possible for PKers to kill folks in towns. Or at least here anyways." His tail flicks beside him.

    "Though I do wish one of them would show up. Give me an excuse to take out some aggression on someone who might deserve it." The Salamander admits. Though he does chew on a thought, as he peers at Proteus, but his gaze doesn't stay for long.

Whatever was on his mind, he ends up just resting back in the chair, resting his hands on his lap, as he start to sing very softly, "Once I rose above the noise and confusion... Just to get a glimpse beyond the illusion... I was soaring ever higher.. but I flew too high.."

    Uta, being her usual carefree and absent-minded self, distractedly wanders into the local watering (and other liquiding) hole, happily singing without a care in the world. "o/~ SUGAAAAAAAAAAAAR.... It's the legal high that they're all talking of... o/~", modulating pitch and control with surprising skill. "Oh, dang," she exclaims, cutting off her singing. "I heard someone sing that one the other day and now I can't get it out of my head. Dang earworms..."

    As her gaze falls on the group, a smile returns to her face, and the Spriggan makes a beeline for the place where they are gathered. "Hello!", she says, generally directed to everyone.

    "If age were still a thing here, I'd be at the worst disadvantage." Amalthea says with a chuckle. "But I don't think so, I feel like I'm back in my glory days again. At least physically." She adds after a beat, lips pursing at the thought of making a list.
    "Huh. I'll start one of those up, sure why not." Mused thoughtfully as she starts kicking a foot. But then her eyes flick towards Xander at the mention of the murder. "People are still going at killing one another even now?" She asks sourly, "That just ain't right." She mutters, head dipping in a nod to the newly arrived Uta, before drumming fingers on her cheek.

    "War is war." Xander admits. "Be it for resources, personal gain, or because someone insulted your pet." He opens his eyes gently and goes to sit up straight. "Even when you take a job that keeps you from being on the front lines of combat, you are still stuck facing an invisible enemy you can't see, but they still want to harm everyone." There was a long pause, a distant look, "... even ones you love."

Thankfully Uta's chipper entrance, gives Xander a gentle smile, "Hey Uta. Good to see you. You been taking care of yourself, alright?"

Nureha gets up from the chair as Uta enters, smiling wryly as they break into song as they enter. "Well. That's one way to make an entrance." she nods to Proteus. "See you back home. I suppose I should see to a couple things." She waves to Emiko and her little one, smirking at Xander and giving him a cheerful if slightly sardonic salute before leaving the bar.

"Sure, it's possible... If you can do the deed before the guards get to you." Proteus asides, gesturing idly. "Now, the question is how and when you can get away with that... Or if it might be a question of /whom/ performed the PK." There is an arch of the brow as Xander makes his comment about people deserving aggression, and that little bladelike smile grows a bit, as if they are saying 'yes, I see what you're doing there.'

There is a little snort as Xander begins to sing, and Proteus straightens up. Nureha requests that they make a list of things they want to see other than food. "..." It's now the Imp's turn to go quiet, and she looks away, her smile vanishing for a time as she begins mulling things...

But that doesn't last long as Uta crashes into the social environment. She looks up and blinks at the Spriggan, and she shakes her head, running fingers through her hair as she tries to take in just what is going on. "Ah... Hello there." Proteus replies. "What brings you here?" She asks Uta.

She does, however, look aside to Amalthea. "Of course they are. I would be more surprised if they stopped. You're going to want to do what you can to make sure you are strong enough to make most of them leave you be." She waves to Nureha as she takes her leave.

"War, war never changes, Xander. Since the dawn of humankind, when our anchestors didcovered the killing power of rock and bone, blood has been spilled in the name of evertything from god to justice to simple psychotic rage. The romans did wage war to gather slaves and wealth, Spain built an empire from its lust for gold and territory. Hitler shaped a battered territory into an economic superpower, but War never changes." Emiko notes on his dreadful comment, shrugging just a little after. "but who am I to judge? All I can do for the moment is try to keep my spirits high."

She stretches, ruffling the little fox at her side again, chuckling a little. "Ok, now, happy thoughts! What you got in mind for not-gloomy things today?!"

    "This isn't a war, though." Amalthea points out. "It's a whole lot of people trapped in a place where some of them don't want to be and some of them do. I guess I can see the tensions that'll cause." The old adventurer says, taking one last sip from her muf before she decides to stand herself up.
    A lazy stretch and she eyes the door. "And I think I'll go see about doing some more to make myself strong enough, right about now." Muttered as she starts heading for the exit. "Anyway, until next time, you all take care of yourselved, you hear now?"

    Uta offers Nureha a wave and a goodbye as she leaves. Looking around the table for a place to sit at, she starts by replying to Proteus: "...I don't know, really. I suppose I wanted to check the place out for myself. I've been meaning to do so since the Apocalypse, and... got distracted." Noticing a waitress passing by, she stops her and mutters something that gets lost over the background buzz of the inn, and when the server leaves, she resumes her discussion, answering Xander's question about whether she's been taking care of herself. "I've been eating vegetables. And looking for hats. Last time we met people seem to have implied that, while unnecessary, they could help you achieve social status. Trying to cover my bases." She listens to the discussions about war, and goes silent for a moment. Then, quietly, without judgement or anything, merely as a philosophical statement, she comments, "You know, it just occurred to me that we've all logged into a game where you murder for fun..."

    Xander watches Nureha leaves and frowns a little, "Aww, so soon. We haven't even made the next bet!" He calls over to her, before giving her a 'proper' salute back. One of the few times he does it-- and if anyone has a keen eye, along with the knowledge for it; It was an American salute.

The dark scaled Salamander at last leans forward once more, sliding over the remaining nuts to Amalthea, if she wants any at least. Though his eyes were on the imp named Proteus, "What is your deal anyways? You're quizzical. You seem to be analyzing everything anyone and everyone says. You are either someone who likes to keep up with facts and figures in real life... or someone who has way to many PhDs."

    Sadly it seems Amalthea is leaving and once she stands, in respect, so does he. "Sadly, I wish it wasn't, Amalthea, but it could eventually become one. The more lines that get drawn in the sand. The more people start to create separation. War will eventually break out... and that is, sadly, a truth we can't avoid if things keep going the way they are." He says with seriousness, but sadness in his voice. "... Stay safe, Ma'am."

Xander then looks over to Uta, "Correct and that is why I've tried to help people learn to fight... because sadly the PKers are going to start to think stakes are not high and... we will start to see more and more of what has already happened here. If it isn't going on already.'

"Hats, huh? Well, I guess I got the best one then!" Emiko claims, picking up the little fox she had dubbed Kogitsune, planting him on her head between her ears. "There you go! Kogitsune Hat! Can only be bet by wedding weil or crown of cuteness!"

She chuckles, ruffling the confused bet on her head.

"People hardly need war to kill each other. And in a world where the dead come back in a day... Who is going to think so hard about it?" Proteus remarks from the side. Her eyes slide over to glance at Emiko and her quote... And she shrugs. "That's a lie. War changes all the time. The method. The reasons. The people. The motivations. It's easy to just look at it from the outside and say 'this is the same as the other', but in the end, that's just being lazy."

She does turn her attention back to Amalthea. "You're right though. The tensions are there. Some of them are already mounting. People want different things. And as long as two people disagree, there's eventually going to be fighting over it. That much never changed. Good luck, Amalthea." The Tank Grandma heads out, and that leaves Proteus to deal with Uta.

"There's a lot to take in." Proteus agrees. "A lot has changed. A lot hasn't. It's hard to tell what's what sometime. My notes are all gone, too. So are my maps. So you're..." She leans forward, curious. "... Looking for social status?" She asks, tilting her head with a little confusion on her face at the way Uta says it... And then there is a laugh. "You know, you're right. We are. We kill things all the time in here. Mostly for profit, at least."

She leans back, and Xander decides to call Proteus out on her questioning (and perhaps questionable) behavior. There is a little hum, and she smiles. "What IS my deal? I wonder." She muses aloud. "Everything is important, isn't it? This world..." She gestures around them. "It's just a bunch of electrical impulses in the right formation. But it's important, isn't it? What we're doing. Who we are. How we react. Is it wrong to want to know what people believe and why?"

Having said all that without actually answering the question, she simply chuckles. "I'm frankly surprised there haven't been more. But I think the PK-inclined are mostly working to poke at what their limits are."

    Uta offers a goodbye to Amalthea, Right when Xander makes mentions of PhDs, Uta suddenly stiffens, and from that moment on, her posture and movements become more self-conscious. With small steps and careful movements, looking down at the floor, she moves towards Emiko, and once Xander is done talking, she replies to him, "...the stakes keep being raised. I thought that if I stuck to town I'd have been safe, but... based on recent reports, it seems like that learning to fight is really the only option."

    Finally reaching her destination, her elbows kept close to her sides, she finally sits down and places her clasped hands on the table. "...I wouldn't really say I crave social status, no," she replies to Proteus. "I... I am just trying to learn how this world works, and someone mentioned that no matter how serious and deadly things are getting, there /still/ will be a lot of people that will place a great value on hats. So, I deduced, while survival and mutual support are of course of paramount importance, well, it also will not hurt to keep a side hustle going where you try to keep on top of your headgear game."

    Finally turning and Talking to Emiko, she smiles. "Well, in that case I fear I will not be beating you any time soon, unfortunatley. Probably never." Her posture more relaxed now, she opens her menu and starts looking around. "...but if you know where to find a crown of cuteness, please let me know. I have a friend named Jazz who, I am sure, is /born/ to wear one."

    It would seem Proteus and Xander are not to far removed when it comes to the concept of people and conflicts. Including the possible soon to be coming outcome, at least if he followed everything she said thus far.

When Proteus gets to him and his question, he walks around the table and leans against it. His tail flicks gently behind him. His arms cross over his chest, as he raises a brow at her. "So you like to do information broking and place a value on information. Thus, the more details you can get on someone, the more valuable that data becomes and the higher price you can pay."

Xander tilts his head gently to the side, "Am I ringing the right bells so far, Proteus?"

    The Salamander now doesn't even move his eyes off of Proteus, there is a dangerous look in them, but he remains where he is. "Also means if someone gets on your bad side, you could easily spread rumors and lies, making someone's life a living hell if they were to cross you." Xander's eyes then slowly narrow, "And that makes you the most dangerous type. The ones who can cut in the shadows, without raising a damn weapon."

    He did glance over to Emiko and Uta, but his attention was on Proteus. Far as he could tell, this imp was a threat and not to be taken lightly. Though when Uta speaks up and gets all classy over there, Xander slowly looks over to her. "... You okay, Uta?" He asks just flat out.

"the appearance, but not the basis." Emiko notes, ruffling her pet fox. "War is murder." That's all she give to the mater.

Turning to Uta, she chuckles, picking up the fox to pet it on her arm, then offer him to the Spriggian to do the same. "You could try to compete by getting an equally cute pet, couldn't you?"

Uta's comment gets a tilt of a head from the Imp, and she glibly remarks, "Don't worry. No matter how many steaks are raised, they will assuredly all taste of soggy rice cake at this point." She chuckles at the choke, and then there is a nod. "Everyone should have the capability to defend oneself."

But then there are the matters addressed directly to her. Proteus gestures. "You know, you have a good point. Having an excellent hat will be very important. Perhaps also the rest of your gear as well, but people always seem to notice the headgear first. First impressions are important." She hums for a moment, and then wiggles a finger in Uta's direction. "Thank you for the information. I think this will be useful."

Xander tries to peg Proteus' Deal, and there is a handwaggle. "Eeeeh. I suppose information brokering is something I could do, but that mostly would indicate I wish to share what I discover. Perhaps I would. Perhaps I won't. I don't do anything so formal at this stage. I am less interested in gathering information to sell to people and more..." She hums... "Well, that is a secret." She smirks at that.

There is another tilt of her head as Xander points out the power of rumor and slander. "Ohhhh? You think I would do such a thing? Now, why would I do that? It seems like so much trouble to maintain such a thing, doesn't it?" She rubs her chin, and smirks again. "Mmm... My interest is in truth, not lies. I... dislike lies. If I wanted to deal with someone who was troublesome, there are more direct methods, aren't there?" She gestures. "But you may think as you will. You will anyway, won't you?"

Then there's Emiko. "Is it? People call things war all the time that don't involve actual murder. Sometimes not even figurative murder." Proteus points out to Emiko's assertion. "If you wish to be an absolutist about it, perhaps."

Uta 's jaw drops slightly at Xander's statement. She finally shakes her head as to clear it. "...yes, yes, sorry. Lost in thought there for a moment. I'm fine now." Her new posture, relaxed, seems to mean that it was really some sort of easily dropped line of thought that got to her. "I'm fine now." Her eyes narrow slightly at Proteus during her speech, but seem to relax slightly at the end. A bit. Not completely.

    Emiko gets a semi-confused blink. "...I can? Like, we can actually get pets?" Her interest piqued, she leans over. "I have two questions for you. One:" She actually lifts one finger as she says this. "how do we get pets? Two," a second finger is raised, "...can I at least pet yours in the meantime?"

    

    Emiko brings up that war is murder and Xander's jaw clenches a little, but he doesn't respond to it. He nods to Uta and allows her to be, before the Salamander looks to the Imp he has questioned.

"I do think as I will, but a thought can be changed, and an opinion corrected." Xander says as he goes to stop leaning and lowers his arms. "You are just a hard one to peg and I don't trust anyone, not for now, maybe not ever."

He then goes to head for the door, "But it was a good conversation, either way... take care. All of you and stay safe." He says as he gives a wave and then makes his way out.

"Of course you can capture and tame animals... and then you need to train them." Emiko notes, nodding about the allowability to pet Kogitsune. "nownow, I can go and help you with getting one of your own. Just need to figure out what you want and where they are..."

As soon as Emiko allows it, Uta proceeds to pet the little fox. "I... I wouldn't know, really. I honestly like them all. Oh, goodness. Choices. They're so hard." She looks up from the petting. "Which one is the easiest to get? Something small and low maintenance. I... uhm... I've realized I'm already having enough on my hands by trying to find food and shelter for myself. Something easy to feed and train would be nice." She frowns. "Wait, I've realized... you probably know already that we have to shower ourselves /and/ our clothes. Do we have to wash our pets too, or..."

"It might be most easy to get something you don't have to travel for... Not sure about something low maintenance... Maybe you're looking for a small herbivore? I mean, something like a mouse or such... though super frail ones might be hard to capture too... Uhm... I need to check, but I guess you might want to clean your pet?" Emiko notes, her fox squaking as it plays with the hand that is so insistent.

Uta starts playing games with the fox. Offering hand. Retracting it at the slightest movement. Moving it behind the back of the fox. Tapping at the tail. "Not too frail then. Not to travel for works as well. What about birds? Squirrels?", she asks. "Hedgehogs?" After a little thought, she asks, "...are there animals which do not exist in the real world? Those might be interesting as well"

"I think there might be, but you'd need to find them first. I mean, can't catch something that we havn't found, yes?" Emiko notes, chuckling. "but then again... what kinda bird? You want a parrot?"

Uta whimpers, "...I want them /all/... but... yes. Yes, a parrot would be very nice, indeed! Shall we go parrot hunting then? Shall I bring a net or something?"

"ALL?" Emiko asks, chuckling a tiny bit. "You can't have the foxes, those are mine. And we might need to find a Parrot area first. Do you know any? A net would certainly not be bad. And Crackers."

Uta's head sinks in her shoulders. "Not even one fox?" She shakes her head at the request about Parrot areas. "Uhhh.... no." And she cringes at the mention of crackers. ".../everything/ tastes like crackers. Soggy ones. So... uh... will any kind of food do?"

Letting Uta sulk for some moments, Emiko pats the other girl on the head. "Comeon, of course I can't have all the foxes! But I don't think all food will work. I mean, I am not even sure Parrots like crackers...." Sighing a little, she shrugs. "But I need to get going sadly..."