Walk by the viaduct

It is not a particularly nice day for a walk. Well, not unless one finds glory in a bit of pre-storm wildness. It's not quite chilly, for all that a thick layer of clouds blot out the sun, save where a few fortunate, enterprising rays can be observed to stream downwards, scattering. The wind comes in stiff gusts, whipping hair and clothing alike.

Robert is...affected, to say the least. Usually more reserved in his manner, there's a spark of wildness in his dark-eyed gaze today. His knuckles, where he grips the distance marker, are white with pressure, and a smile plays over his lips as he surveys the clouds overhead. He probably should've thought this through a bit more when proposing a walk. But he didn't, alas.

Ayame has rain protection on her back in the form of a shield, and she whistles - poorly - as she walks. The wind tugs at her primly set back hair, tugging only a few long strands loose, as she trots along the road, fingers spread ever so slightly as she maneuvers the rough roads in her heels and fitted skirt. Nothing to whip here, nothing for the wind to catch; self-contained and possessed.

She lifts a hand on seeing Robert, glancing between his name and himself and her grin widening just a touch, before she offers "The storms agree with you, it looks like. How are you today?"

SpritesHero doesn't whistle at all. Mercifully. His attentions drawn by those familiar tones, Robert straightens and, dropping his gaze from the heavens, offers a quick nod of greeting. And a smile, after one quick survey of a glance. "There's just something about the way wind makes a fellow feel so very, very alive," he answers at length, as though it were a bit of a guilty confession. "And yet, somehow you still manage to seem quite tidy. Color me impressed."

He turns away then, gesturing towards the path in front of them. "Thank you for agreeing to come. Shall we?"

"Thank you. Besides, if I can't keep my composure with" Ayame takes in a breath, pauses "A little rain on the way, then I really don't have a place on the front lines, do I?" She asks with a grin, nodding and moving to fall in beside him

"I understand that. It's good to feel the freshness of the air. It helps blow away the little concerns. How are you, Robert?"

SpritesHero slides his hands into his pockets as he begins walking beside her, keeping an easy distance of a couple of feet. Comradely. Ish. Fine, maybe a bit too far away for that, but it's not like he's on the complete other side of the path or anything. "Do you always hold your behavior to front-line standards, then?" he teases, lightly, hazarding a quick smile over towards her. "Though I might note that, having seen you fight before, I do feel a bit sorry for anyone who crosses you."

He straightens out, then, gaze fixed on some distant point down the road. "I...think I'm doing rather well, thank you," he responds, finally. A second eye-flick of a glance. "And you? How are you? Your sister is well, I hope?"

Ayame flushes, just a touch, and nods, strolling along, the shield keeping her posture just-so as it clings to her back, her movements careful and neat as she looks between the road ahead and Robert to her side "Well, that depends. How often are we genuinely away from the front lines? There's danger everywhere in this world, after all" She notes with a little amusement.

"It's good to hear you're okay. She's well, the last time I spoke to her. We often do our own thing - different guilds, you know. Only think you're doing well? Do tell. This sounds like the start of a good story" Her thumbs slide to where her pockets would be - then she sighs, and simply continues walking

"Arguably less danger in this world than any other," Robert points out. "But your point is well-taken. Why, there just might be a squirrel-turtle lurking just behind that tree." The tree in question is slim and leafy, and does not bother to defend itself against his accusations.

"I'm...afraid the story is one you already know. And perhaps not so intersting because of it," he continues, gesturing around himself expansively. "Some might say we're all in prison, no matter how attractive that prison may be." A pause, in the flow of words but not in his footsteps. "I'd rather been under the impression that you and your sister would be going into some sort of business together? Did I misunderstand?"

"You did, I think, though that would depend on what you felt the business would be" Ayame grins, shrugging a little and looking at the tree with a marked, ridiculous suspicion. Her gloved fingers point at her eyes, then rotate to the tree. Eyes? On it. Then she looks back across.

"It's not about knowing the story. We're born, we live, we die. The details are what changes - so I'd be delighted to hear" She offers, returning her hand to her side, helping her keep her balance

"Ah." For a moment, disappointment flickers over Robert's features, though a sudden gust of wind perks him right back up quickly enough. "Regrettably, in this case the details are about at the level of 'we're born, we live, we die'" he admits, retracting his hands from his pockets just so he's able to air-quote properly. "It was more alluding to being fine in spite of...well." He grins, wryly.

"I do apologize for having taken up your time with a misunderstanding. I'd been under the impression that you and your sister would be interacting with Landers, extensively, and on a regular basis. I suppose I tend to read far too deeply, and far too incorrectly, into things."

"That's a correct assumption. I was looking into becoming an initiate at one of the shrines, but they all seem to not take people on" Ayame says with a thoughtful smile "Just the Church of Alba, and I'm not terribly interested in becoming a wandering lawgiver." She gives a small sigh, a little shrug

"But tell me about your own interest in such matters. How can I help, with what you assumed our intentions were? After all, it might spark ideas myself"

SpritesHero considers Ayame, silent, head canted to the side. "Alright," he concedes at last, reaching into his coat and pulling out a single piece of paper, which he offers to her. "I figured you'd be in a better position than I to look more deeply into these sorts of things, as part of your every-day interactions. Are you interested?"

"Now, how could I not be with such a secretive offer as that?" Ayame asks with a little flutter of amusement into her tone. She takes the paper, and unfolds it, looking it over. Then again. She frowns slightly, still walking, and stumbles slightly before catching herself and standing, then offering the paper back with a faintly concerned look "So ... the more we interact with them, the realler they become, is what you're saying? That makes sense, in truth."

"That's one possibility," Robert allows, accepting the paper and tucking it away into his clothes. A gentleman might have moved to help support her as she stumbles. Him....not so much, though this might be more out of surprise than anything else. "The other possibility is that the Landers who have a higher probability of interacting with us are generally more complex. As you can see, much more work needs to be performed to get a better sense for what's going on exactly." A pause. "The other implication, of course, is that the Landers aren't communicating with each other at a higher level. Or at least not learning from each other. Which opens up its own kettle of fish."

"It certainly raises issues" Ayame sighs, gently tugging her jacket back into place and then smiling. her step her slower, as she walks, her thoughts taking precedence now as she looks down at the road pensively "I wonder how much that is changing, though, with our presence. Or if it even is. I suppose the easiest way to check this would be to find a Lander who had these limited memories and interact with them extensively and repeatedly?"

"Bingo, as they say," Robert agrees. "That was rather where I was hoping you and your sister might have a serious advantage." His pace, too, slows. No sense in rushing this, after all. He simply wanders along beside Ayame, hands thrust in his pockets once more, letting her think. For a short while, anyhow.

There's suddenly a rush of movement, a fumbling inside his jacket once more. "It's not just memory either," he continues, handing over a second sheet of paper. "Would you like to keep the reports? I've got copies in my desk."

This time, she stops before taking it, and glancing at it "I'll definitely read it over in more detail" Ayame tucks it into her pocket after a brief assessment, her lips turning down a tthe corners "It's more than a little worrying, though. The implications, I mean." She says with a halfhearted smile "And the potential for long term survival in this world, where they - well, don't have the means to manage themselves properly." She furrows her brow

There's a metallic ping-noise, and a flashing copper arc as a coin sales through the air in Ayame's general direction. "Penny for your projected implications?" he queries, his attentions fully on Ayame now. Which means he's not looking at all where he's going. Luckily for him, the road is straight enough for now. "Put the rest of the fee on my tab."

"Well, the implication that a bunch of these people aren't at all capable of managing a world without support ..." Ayame sighs "And they die for good. And there aren't new ones. Would we even manage, long term, without them, do you think? How many of us still use merchants - would the temples we return to even be such without them?" She asks, raising an eyebrow

SpritesHero sucks in his lip, chewing on it as he continues walking backwards, hands clasped behind his back. "While they do die, my understanding is that new Landers are born," Robert concedes, after a faint grimace. "Though I've not looked into mechanisms. Or replacement rates as of yet. I do think we could probably function without them. There are, I think, sufficient Adventurers to make up for a complete loss of Landers, though there would substantial expertise and information loss. Which, as you say, brings the temples into question." A pause. "This is hypothetical, of course. To be clear, I'm not advocating for extermination."

"Better not be" Ayame says with a small laugh and a nod "And I wonder if we've looked into that much. Do children grow up? That would imply we're aging, as well. I don't feel like I have" She says with a little shrug "There's a lot this brings up, though I'm sure people are already looking into it. I know - Michio, was it? - was looking into similar things as well, so this might be something to bring to him, if you've not"

"Certainly children would be the best place to start," Robert agrees, his good fortunes sliding away with the upcoming curve in the road. And a tree that is planted just on the side of that curve. "Harder to notice age for anyone else, I suppose. Especially since I have it on good authority that, much to the chagrin of their sons, a lady is always twenty. I'll check in with Michio. I do remember hearing that someone was checking in on Lander reproduction."

Ayame rolls her eyes "Oh, he told me he was. He was going to investigate whether reproduction between adventurer and lander, lander and lander, and adventurer and adventurer was possible" Her lips quirk and she shakes her head "I said as flattering as it was, he could leave me out of such investigation" She laughs, shifting her direction slightly to steer Robert away from the tree "I'm not in the mood to start a project that would last nine months, thank you"

SpritesHero mirrors her trajectory, perfectly, but is not so focused on Ayame that he fails to notice the tree go past. A faint blush lightens his cheeks, but all he offers is a brief nod of gratitude coupled with a wry smile. He turns back around fully. There will be no more imminent collisions on his part. He does shoot Ayame a bit of an appalled look once her words fully settle in.

"He asked for you to get involved -personally-?" There's another pause, during which Robert's brain probably goes to some rather inappropriate places. But whatever those thoughts may be, they rapidly darken, judging by the furrowing of his brow and the downward turn to his lips. "And what even...I mean. If a Lander isn't fully developed. Or at least development isn't tied to physical age. And an Adventurer. And." Flail.

"Well, he implied it" Ayame grins broadly, watching his reactions in delight "I don't know if he meant to, or if that innocent little tone he uses was to excuse his joking request after the fact. I was certainly not terribly interested, though" She smiles and nods "And quite. There's a lot to consider there. This is why the first thing I want to look at is whether the level of development a Lander has can change. It matters so much to everything else, don't you think?"

SpritesHero's glance is one of mild reproach; exceedingly mild, though. More of a 'really?' than anything serious. But no matter, he can play along. "I...." No, no he can't. There's one more glance at Ayame, which sticks the nail in his proverbial coffin, and he's forced to bury his face in his hands. Right. Time for a full mental reset. A reset that doesn't quite work, and simply dissolves into a nervous, half-mad burst of uncontrolled, sobbing laughter. It wasn't -that- funny.

That makes Ayame grin, and she pats his shoulder with one gloved hand "There we go. Sometimes we just need to let it out" She cocks an eye up, as the first drops of rain begin to fall, and she sighs "And the world agrees" Another little pat, and she returns her hand, waiting for him to recover from the fit of giggles "All done with that mental image? For science!"

It takes longer than it should to recover. But when he does straighten, the tension in his back bleeding away beneath Ayame's fingertips and the momentary madness pricked away by those few raindrops, he's quite a bit more relaxed than before, the warmth in his smile softer. Not that it wasn't genuine before. It was just...well, awkardly stiff. "For science," he echoes. A pause. "Sorry." An apology, self-deprecating, and at most half-hearted. He lifts his gaze, squinting. "You'll be okay with that shield?"

"I think I can manage" Ayame grins, adjusting her gloves at the wrist and then nodding as she continues to walk "If it gets too heavy, I'll just make a bubble to keep the rain off" She explains contentedly "I don't see reason not to use magic for that, do you?" She asks brightly "And good to see you relax. Seriously, it takes that much of a mindscrew to make you break out laughing?"

SpritesHero continues the walk as well, though he makes no effort, magical or otherwise, to keep the rain off. For his part he seems quite content to become increasingly water-logged. "It. I. Uh. Well..." Eloquent, Bob. Most eloquent. With a sigh he lifts his hand to his forehead, brushing water away from his eyes. "I'm honestly not even sure why I was laughing," he confesses at last, hazarding another sidelong glance. "Though I strongly suspect it had more to do with that grin of yours than anything else. You do realize that sort of laughter is -not- -normal-, right?"

"Of course I do" Ayame nods, twirling her wand in her fingers and summoning a concave bubble that floats in the air above the two, letting the rain run off behind them as they walk. Then she slots it back to her jacket "But it sounded needed. And a little manic. I figured you'd talk in your time if you wanted to. Sometimes we just need to ... let it out" She sighs, shrugs

"I'm -not- keeping things from you," Robert responds emphatically, half-turning to address Ayame directly. Pause. "Well, I am. But." He grimaces then, hand lifting to sweep his sodden hair back, gaze lifting, lingering on the tiny splashes as raindrops scatter against Ayame's shield. "Do you...even want to go home?" he asks, finally.

"Nothing important" Ayame nods her understanding at his words. She continues to walk with that rigid carefulness, trotting along the road, and she doesn't answer immediately. When she does, it's thoughtful, quiet "It's difficult. I'd like to, I think. I know many don't - some don't really have lives to return to. Who am I to tell them they have to?" She asks with a little shrug "Somet things I'd miss. Others?" Her pointed ears lift, and she glances down at herself "Not so much"

SpritesHero almost, almost smiles. There's at least a ghost of a smile that flickers over his lips, playing there for a frail flash of a moment before disappearing and leaving his expression a fraction of a degree warmer. "Important things too, but it's more that they never came up," he clarifies at last. "But you..." Here he trails off again, glancing at Ayame curiously. "Begging your pardon, but you have this very attractive....sort of." He's really struggling now. "Impulsiveness? Not quite. Joie-de-vivre? Maybe? It's like Christmas packed into a blouse and skirt. So how do you do it, knowing that you hope to return home, but also having no idea whether the world around you conspires to keep you here?"

Ayame's smile grows brittle, just for a moment, crystalising at the edges as she listens to Robert, but it never quite fades. Her ears do droop, though. A few moments for it to soften, again, her ears lifting a touch as she trots along under the shield of water and air "Thank you" She nods, lifting a gloved hand to the back of her neck. The other adjusts her blouse a moment, then smooths over her skirt. Absently reminded, by his words, continuing to walk with neat little steps and returning her eyes to him after a few moments, more meditative than before "It's not so very different to my life before, in lots of ways. I've been caring for people for a decade or so, after all - and I suppose I never had that much of a life outside of it. Here? I can at least be a little more proactive about it, and enjoy myself with it as well. So there's a lot to love about this world. Don't you think? What would you find hard to give up?"

SpritesHero pulls his coat a little more tightly around himself as though to ward off a chill that...well, it -is- there, but it didn't seem to bother him much before. He continues onwards, his pace measured. "Too much, and nothing," he answers quietly. "If I focus on how things -feel-? Well, it's wonderful, isn't it? Magic. Castles. Dragons. Potentially eternal life. But that's just it. It -feels- wonderful, and I can't help thinking that it amounts to little more than a distraction. White and gold paint, elegantly and painstakingly covering up a rocking-horse made from spit and compressed saw-dust. I've focused on how things..." He pauses. Clamps down. Redirects. "I used to like a girl excessively much back when I was in school. I...adored her. But I don't think I ever knew her. Missed her horribly once she left."

Ayame doesn't press the issue. She keeps walking, tugging her own jacket around her - draped over her shoulders, not worn. Se listens, nodding a little, an she offers a sympathetic smile "Sometimes we don't know what we want until it's gone" She offers quietly "I keep running into the issue of - if I don't treat this as though it's real, what happenes if we do never make it out?" She asks with a little shrug "For all intents and purposes, it's real to us for now. As real as your memories of your crush at school" A little pause "What was she like? What do you remember of her?"

SpritesHero raises and lowers his shoulders in a brief shrug, though he -does- smile at that, his gaze shifting down and to the left, as though to study the road. "She was Beatrice Leonato. She was Hedda Gabler. Helen Graham. Anne Shirley. Grushenka." A second shrug, and the smile lightens. "She had blonde hair, and wore it in a pony tail." When his gaze lifts it is half-mocking, half-daring, and carries a smidge of self-deprecation. "Perhaps 'real' is not the best descriptor?"

"You had a few crushes. You're not the only one. Blonde?" Ayame asks with a little curiosity "Huh" She considers, then shrugs, trotting along and listening "I'm sure you walked behind her and watched it bounce side to side as she walked" With just a hint of teasing, before she relaxes back into her usual thoughtfulness

"No. Real is relative. I don't know ... how I can treat what I have to live in as anything other than reality. It's as real as -" And a gloved hand gestures, at her ears, at the sylph's body "Yes?"

"You tease, but you're absolutely correct," Robert admits, with a throaty chuckle. "I don't want you to think I'd walk -right- behind her. That would be irredeemably odd. I'd make sure there were a couple other fellows in front of me." He clears his throat then. "There was only one girl. But to me she'd be each and every one of those characters. At least in my thoughts. And yes, she was blonde. And yes, her pony-tail -did- bounce."

He lapses into silence, then, for a few breaths before resuming. "It doesn't really matter, I suppose. It's meant as a metaphor. Reading into things what you want to be there, rather than what is."

"Well, I suppose we should be thankful it was her hair you were watching" Ayame gives a small smile, with just a touch of a teasing edge, before a small laugh and patting his shoulder "It's fine. Thank you. Really. I know what you mean, and it's a good thing to remember. I mostly find it strange to imagine a blonde girl at school - a transfer student?" She suggests, turning the idea over in her mind

"And yes. But we all do that. Don't think badly of yourself - or others. We have to deal with things in front of us, and sometimes, just ... smiling and accepting it is the only way."

SpritesHero disagrees, clearly, judging by the faint twist of his lips. But he pushes on past it. "I'm not from Japan," he explains, presumably clearing up a good deal of confusion once he clues in on what the problem actually is. "Half the class was blonde. But not -her- blonde." His hand lifts, reaching across his body to find her own hand. He gives it a quick squeeze before releasing it, content to walk in silence for a few more moments before changing the subject. "You're correct though, I think. It's critical to determine whether interaction can forcibly drive Lander development."

"Really? I would not have guessed. Where are you from?" Ayame asks, brightening at this new topic of conversation. She takes in a content breath of the rain-damp air, and keeps up her quick little steps to stay by his side "You'll need to show me sometime. I suppose it's good to find little memories and things like that."

But as business returns, she nods more soberly "It would be good to find a way to focus on this. A particular group that it would be easy to track with, or signifiers - do they develop names, for example. Which groups would be useful for us now, that were not before? That sort of thing."

SpritesHero gives Ayame a little sidelong glance once more. "California, United States," he answers, a touch playfully. "As for the shade of blonde, you could always use your sister's hair for reference?" Amusement sparks, though his gaze flicks upwards as though half-expecting his rain-shield to disappear. But yes, back to business.

"So far, it has seemed like rural individuals have been less developed. I expect that's just due to how Adventurers interact with local population densities. So the more rural, the better. Alternatively, I do remember hearing that we occasionally come across new Lander populations in the tower, as each floor is cleared. If tower Landers aren't different from normal Landers at a fundamental level, they could serve as naive, unexposed populations. You're correct about metrics. Those aren't as easy, especially since there appears to be a gradient of development."

Ayame grins, unabashedly this time "Well, I'll tell her she reminds you of your old crush" She teases briefly, the bubble-shield wobbling but not drenching him - though it does sag a little under the weight of water.

"I think you're right. Get a good sense of the level of a number of landers, and then keep them close, work with them and interact heavily, then study them again after a time and see if it changes?"

"Coupled with a good control population," Robert agrees, thinking the matter over. "We'd have to check in with them too, but hopefully not enough to outright skew the results through interaction. It'd be important to make sure there's no general time-dependent development even in the absence of Adventurer contact." He purses his lips. Frowns. Relaxes once more. "Won't be easy to ban Adventurers. And they tend to get just about everywhere."

As the pair rounds a bend in the trail that winds under the viaduct, a road comes into view. Horse-drawn carriages clatter along, heading back to town, a mere several hundred feet away. His expression turns serious as he glances at Ayame once more. "Tease her all you like, but please make sure she does not end up with a mistaken impression," he requests.

"Don't worry about that" Ayame smiles "I think she'll be flattered. But you should tell her yourself. Perhaps bring her a ribbon or hair tie, and suggest a ponytail" It's teasing. Lighthearted. Trotting and smiling and sending the rain cascading off to the side of the road as the bubble begins to thin

"Let me know when you begin, I'll see what I can do. I can't promise much, of course" A little pause and then an assured nod

"I strongly suspect that's a horrible idea," Robert hedges, lifting a hand to flag down an incoming carriage. "Both of you have such impeccable fashion sense that any gift would only detract. Displace one note and there would be diminishment. Displace one phrase and the structure would fall." He pauses, then, pivoting to Ayame and offering her his hand. "Anything you can offer would be greatly appreciated, and thank you for your time. You're heading back to town?"

"I am. I should look for some work, I think - if you have anything in mind, I'd be delighted to join you" She slips her gloved hand to his, smiling a little as she makes an awkward way into the carriage "And at least the offer. It's rarely a horrible idea to offer something. 'I saw someone with hair your shade wear a ribbon in this color, and I thought it suited her marvellously. Please, have this'" She suggests, ruminating as she settles in the seat

"I'm afraid that Adventurers are basically gig-workers," Robert teases. He'd meant to shake her hand, but has no problems with helping Ayame into the carriage either. Old habits die hard. "So I think we basically have to make our own work. That failing, you could perhaps hire yourself out as a guard? You handle yourself well in combat."

"As for giant hair-bows, I -might- think about it," he doesn't promise, gaze tinted with the first hints of absolute and unmitigated horror at having to actually go shopping for something. He firmly closes the door behind Ayame, steps back away from the carriage, and lifts his hand in farewell. "Enjoy your afternoon, and thank you." That 'thank you' evidently operates at multiple levels, judging by the subtle and softened smile that he offers.

"It is my usual line of work" Ayame smiles, and waves lightly from inside the carriage. The bubble winks out, as well, and she settles back, to ride away