Questions and Answers

Questions and Answers
Date of Scene:	13 February 2013
Location:	Fluorgis - Shard Seekers HQ - Roof
Synopsis:	The Network tracks down Zia in order to ask some questions, and get asked some in return.
Cast of Characters:	Zia, Emi Dennou

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Zia has posed:
It's night, and the streets are mostly empty. With the danger that has come more often now to this fair town, the guards have swept people off to their homes and kept them from lingering too long. It isn't an official curfew, but most of the citizenry don't like having to answer questions from the guards who patrol up and down the streets, their torches lighting the way. A pair of them pass by the Shard Seeker's headquarters, stopping only briefly to look into the garden and double check that there is nothing out of place.

One of them starts suddenly when the light from his torch shows across a form of a crouched gargoyle. With a laugh, he shakes his head. "Just a statue. Trouble's got me jumping at shadows." He explains to his partner, but when they look back... the 'statue' is gone. It leaves both of them looking slightly frightened, "It's... a trick of the eye. Come on, let's head back." These were not men of great bravery. Perhaps they think that the adventuring group can defend themselves just fine without their help.

Zia, though, lurks from behind part of the rooftop, watching them as they go. Self-proclaimed night-guardian of the city, she steps back out, looking up at the moon as it casts only faint light down upon the rooftops below. She'd only just gotten back from the trouble with Skoll, and then the search for that 'shard' within the Pridelands. Right now, she's avoiding heading inside. After failing to dissuade Faruja, the girl feels more at home on the roof instead of down below. Luckily, there's easy access for anyone who wanted to come up, and she's easily visible for anyone who bothers looking.

Emi Dennou has posed:
Imi continues to 'spy' on the Shard Seekers as she has more or less been doing since her initial arrival as a 'networker'. Emi, on the other hand, has been hoping to meet with Zia in more personal circumstances. Therefore, after some contemplation on their understanding of gargoyles, Imi settles that Zia would probably appear on the roof. As someone who understands the importance of home security, Imi slips out onto the rooftop and laughs lightly as she spots Zia. "Ahh, it seems the gamble worked, The Network is pleased with themselves. Nice to see you again, my Sister should be here shortly, but do you mind if we talk for a bit before then?, The Network inquires out of curiousity with regards to your social inclinations."

She has a shovel slung over her shoulder--perhaps she has been helping out with the gardening, but she's all friendly smiles.

Zia has posed:
This time, it's Zia's turn to jump. Mostly, it's the sudden shadow of a shovel that passes over her, making her ears tuck down and her eyes go wide in a split second of panic. Then, she seems to realize that it's just one of those twins...triplets...quadruplets... how many of them were there? As of yet, she's not really sure. For all she knows, there could be a factory somewhere churning out one for each letter of the alphabet. All joking aside, the gargoyle takes a steadying breath, then offers a small, hesitant smile. "Gamble? Ye haven'ae been playin cards wi' the boys, have ye? Becareful, they cheat." Actually, she's just terrible at bluffing.

Tilting her head curiously, Zia regards Imi, remaining in a crouch there. "Ah dinnae mind if ye want te talk. It's nice te have some company up here. The city's too quiet." She notes, and is just about to look back out over the rooftops when she gets asked that odd question... "Social... inclinations?" Blink. Turning to face the shovel-wielding girl, the white gargoyle shakes her head, "Ah'm nae sure wha ye mean lass.

Emi Dennou has posed:
There's Ami, Emi, Imi, Umi, and Omi--and Shida but she's an exception that proves the rule--does that mean there might be a Ymi?

"It's not much of a gamble if it's against cheaters." Imi admits. "But no, the gamble was whether or not I could expect you to be on the rooftop or not. See, this one knew that gargoyles often seemed to be on rooftops. This one admits not being entirely certain as to why the roofs, it seems safer to be indoors, but well The Network often does dangerous things themselves so it isn't too strange."

Imi blinks twice, confused for a moment at Zia's response, but eventually adds, "Ahh--we were not sure how inclined to conversation you might be, you see--you seemed friendly, but we never had a proper chance to talk to you, so The Network was concerned you might be uninterested. Nevertheless, even if to remain perfectly professional, it is clear we have practical synnergy." She swings the shovel forward, leaning on it.

"This one would be happy to keep you company, of course, so perhaps we have made judgements too quickly. This one's purpose is to network after all. Would you like to trade stories, perhaps?"

Zia has posed:
"Well, it isnae so much a danger fer us te be up here. Most gargoyles have natural balance, 'n we like being up high. Ah've heard tales tha our kind usedte live up in the high mountains, long before humans or the fair-folk came te the world." Her father had told her a great many old tales. Like so many things, there's a shred of truth to most stories. Gargoyles couldn't always have lurked on rooftops and protected castles. "As fer me, Ah figure this is wha Ah can do te repay the others fer their hospitality. Stay up here 'n stand watch while they sleep." She shrugs, not as if anyone had asked her to do this job, but she does it none the less.

As understanding comes, Zia laughs softly, seeming amused. "Ah dinnae mind talkin te ye, lass. Yer more than welcome te come up 'n make yerself comfortable. Ye'll find tha once ye get used te walkin on rooftops, it's no different than bein down below." She shifts over a bit, making room on one of the flatter portions that overlooks the entrance to the headquarters and looks out on the street below. "Mostly, Ah stay up here b'cause Ah dinnae want te keep everyone else awake. When yer body clock runs opposite of everyone else, ye kinda try te make sure not te bother them too much."

Shifting from her crouch, the gargoyle settles herself after a time, sitting down with her legs drawn out in front of her. "Wha sorta stories are ye interested in? M'da usedte tell me all sortsa tales, but Ah'm guessin tha isnae wha yer lookin for."

Emi Dennou has posed:
"Interesting." Imi says. "Well the Shard Seekers have that effect on people, this one wouldn't want anything to happen to them either, especially not at night, so thank you for your dilligence." She rubs at her eyes lightly and sets the shovel aside. Any moment, she supposes, Emi will climb on up. But for now, she lets 'Interesting' stand on its own for several moments, approaching the gargoyle. "We have met other gargoyles, of course--Deidra, Percival. We had thought you might have been a Princess of the Heart as well due to the strange interest in outside forces in Fluorgis, but further evidence suggests that while we may yet not be incorrect in that supposition, it's still rather early to decide that."

Imi smiles down over to her shovel before glancing back up to Zia.

"Well, I wouldn't say we're uninterested in his tales--but our goal right now is to learn about you, so perhaps personal stories would be best. Where did you learn magic? Did you always know?, The Network supposes if you wish to ask us of anything we would be happy to answer."

Zia has posed:
With a nod of her head, Zia accepts the thanks for her work, a few strands of white hair falling into her eyes as she does so. Her tail curls around towards her ankles, resting there as she scans out over the city again. A new set of guards is moving on an adjacent street, their torches lighting the way. "Aye, Ah know of both of them, 'n can be glad te call them friends." Maybe she doesn't know Percival quite that well, but it's a leap she's willing to make for a fellow gargoyle. She'd yet to meet a gargoyle who couldn't be trusted, although perhaps in time she would find reason to be wary of her own kind.

"Ah've heard of tha rumor, but te be honest wi' ye lass, Ah dinnae think Ah'm the one yer lookin for. The wolf says Ah'm just a trouble magnet. Been attrackin tha sorta thing since Ah was little, Ah suppose. B'sides, Ah was there when Manhattan fell. There wasn'ae anything we coulda done te stop it." Once again, she doesn't share her true reason why she doesn't fit the part. Then again, the dobut had made her feel guilty a time or two, as if she had been responsible. "Ah'm just a gargoyle, tryin figure out m'place in the world. Ah'm no bastian of light." Even if that is the meaning of her name...

Quiet for a time, Zia 'hrms' as she considers the question. "Well, m'da had a bit of it in 'im, but he never trained it. Gave up on it 'cuz he met m'mum. So Ah suppose Ah've always had some knack." She shrugs, not really remembering back far enough to recall when she first felt it. "As fer learnin, tha came later. Most of wha Ah know came from m'da, or from this sorcerer who captured me when Ah was young." Having answered that question to start, she turns it around, curious, "Wha about ye and yer sisters? How many of ye are there... where do ye come from?"

Emi Dennou has posed:
"There is of course no indication that a Princess of the Heart would know they were one, naturally, and of course as we find more shards, we would encourage you to be cautious just in case. We do apologize for the burden, in any event. Perhaps by the end of all this we will know the truth, The Network admits that being uncertain may not be a bad thing as it means those who would snuff out Manhattan's light forever would also likely be uncertain." But what if they weren't? well, that's a big question too.

There's some budding electricity along the side of the building. Must be Emi crawling up on top to meet with Zia as well.

"Ahh, that's interesting, we were given this knowledge upon our creation, indeed--perhaps it was neccessary for us to be created." Imi chuckles. "Well, there are six of us now. The lowest number we've had of us would be five, but Isaac had brought one of us back from a 'deceased' state. The others are, unfortunately, no longer of this world. A shame, perhaps? When they existed, we had not seen them as people--simply extensions--but we are a bit more indulgent now, The Network confesses. We are, of course, sorry you had been taken captive by a sorceror though this one supposes you had escaped somehow."

She taps at her chin lightly. "we come from a city called Vespertine City. It has, as well, fallen into Darkness. Of course, this one must admit that for us, we benefitted, we would likely all be dead now had it not."

Zia has posed:
"Aye. The last thing Ah need right now is more trouble tryin te nip at m'heels. Those dark masters tha the Heartless serve can go bugger themselves." She hesitates, tail twitching at her side, "Ah jus wish things would quiet down here. Ah feel bad goin off tryin te help the wolf 'n leavin this place unprotected, but Ah cannae jus leave him wi'out anyone tryin te find a way te free him from the Gaudium Lords either." There's a lot on her plate just now, with Fluorgis, Manhattan, and Skoll's troubles all comming to rest on her shoulders.

The hint of electricity draws her attention, but rather than actually being surprised by it, she just turns to look in that direction, her ears still listening to Imi. "Mmm. T'was a long time ago. Way before Ah came te Manhattan." Turning back, she blinks. "Ye'll havete excuse me. Ah've never really encountered someone who talked like ye do, at least nae outside some movie or television program, anyways. All of ye seem nice enough, though. So Ah'm glad te know ye, even if it meant loosin yer world te be so." Drawing a knee up, Zia rests an arm over it, "Ah'm nae sure Ah woulda ever wandered out of m'own world if the Heartless handnae come to threaten it."

It's a hard thing to imagine what the six girls must have gone through, but it would be just as hard to try to relay her own past. "So wha brought ye all here? Ah mean, te the Detectives? They seem a nice enough sort, though Ah never got te really interact wi' them before Manhattan fell." It's an assumption that they are who these girls work for, but one based on some foreknowledge. They were the ones that had that theory about her as a Princess of Heart, afterall.

Emi Dennou has posed:
Imi spins around on a foot, "The wolf...being...Skoll?" They're always looking to understand which might be why they're functioning alright as detectives even without formal training. "We have a job from him, in fact, though The Network is at a bit of a loss on how to go about it. But we will keep at it."

She glances over her shoulder towards Zia. "We've never met someone who talked quite like you either, so I suppose this is something we have in common." She grins. "The Network does not find their way of talking odd, of course, though we suppose we understand to most it would be seen as so? The Network simply wishes to be precise with our words, but we are ultimately human, even if our minds are perhaps not quite as so. Still, this one has to wonder, we have much to be thankful for the Heartless, but nonetheless we endeavour to stop them. Is that 'correct' of us? Moral? Ethical? Well, in truth, one simply has to look to those who had not been so lucky, and feel empathy."

Emi's head pokes up over the wall and she looks to Zia. "This one can answer that one." She doesn't pull herself up, she is content to simply cling to the wall for the moment, just slightly poking up above it.

"The Network may have desired their help from the start. nevertheless, at the time it seemed to us to be a matter of curiousity in what a detective would do and be. Hello, noble gargoyle." Emi says.

Zia has posed:
"Aye, the wolf being Skoll." Zia clarifies. Even now, she isn't used to referring to most people by name, even in circumstances where it would certainly make sense to do so. Old habits are hard to break, even if she had come to respond to her own name fairly quickly after claiming it for herself. "It isnae about the collar, is it? Ah suppose Ah should let 'im know wha Ah learned about tha." She sighs to herself, feeling as if that particular venture had lead to a dead end, at least for now. There had to be other sources of information.

It seems to amuse her when Imi finds her own way of talking strange. The gargoyle smiles then, "Well, Ah come from a place called Sco'land. Nae all the folk there talk like me, since Ah'm a wee bit behind the times, but fer the most part they do sound like this." She clears her throat, and then tries to put on her best 'American' accent. Clearly, she's watched a great deal of television. "It isn't too hard to talk like everyone else, though, but it doesn't quite feel natural." There is an odd timber to it when she tries to talk like that.

Her eyes look first at Imi, and then at the arriving Emi. "Well, Ah wouldnae say ye owe the Heartless anything, then again, Ah wouldnae like te be fightin ye or yer sisters." Without thinking about it, she pushes to her feet and walks over, offering out a hand to pull the other girl up. "Hello there, yerself, lass. Come on up, join the stake out."

Emi Dennou has posed:
"Oh don't misunderstand, I don't mean that I felt you should talk normally. This one likes it." Imi says, shaking her head. "Oh no, not about the collar. It's nothing as practical as that." She grins. "Unfortunately he requested discretion, so we will remain mum on what the job was, if that's alright, The Network embarrassingly confesses."

Emi will take the hand up, not wishing to be rude. Once she's settled on the rooftop, she smooths out her clothes with her hands idly before adding, "Well," She tells Zia. "The Network does not mean we intend to assist them in the devouring of hearts and worlds. But it is still, nonetheless, a truth that we benefitted from what happened even as many others suffered. The Heartless appear to not have much will of their own. Indeed, often they are controlled. What precisely a Heartless is, we do not know beyond what we can assume about them. But nevertheless, whether they are an eternal force that must be combatted, or something that can be properly defeated, is uncertain with our current level of knowledge."

Emi looks towards Imi's shovel, frowns faintly, and then looks over Zia now that they have a moment of stillness. She checks the rooftop to see if there are any Zia rock bits up there as well.

Zia has posed:
"Well, Ah'm glad of it. Ah think it would feel a bit strange te talk like tha fer too long." Zia admits. She'd never really tried to hide her accent for very long, not longer than what it too to order a pizza or some Chinese food over the telephone. "Human and gargoyle alike, we pick up the way of talkin from the place tha we're born and raised. So ye'll hear all sorts given enough time."

She doesn't really want to pry into Skoll's personal affairs, so the gargoyle just nods her head, "It's fine. Wha'ever he asked ye te do, it's his business, nae mine. Ah jus wanted te make sure we werenae both runnin around on the same errand. If it wasnae about the collar, then yer welcome te keep her lips zipped." Certainly, she's a bit curious, but time and trust had taught her not to stick her nose where it doesn't belong.

"Ah wish Ah could fill ye lassies in on the matter, but te be honest, Ah dinnae know much more than ye do. All Ah know is tha they started te show up in Manhattan, and then there seemed to just be more 'n more of them. Maybe the only thing Ah got te see tha maybe ye haven't is a place at the heart of a world. Though Ah think Deidra or yer man Will might be able te tell ye be'ta aboot tha. Ah was pre'ty out of it a'the time." Taking some sort of virus from LEXUS and a bazooka shot from Negaduck hadn't done her any favors in the memory department regarding that night.

There aren't any shards of gargoyle 'stone skin' on this part of the rooftop, although Imi might have seen some as she came over from the hatch leading down into the headquarters. Clearly, she sleeps somewhere out of the common eye when she can help it.

Emi Dennou has posed:
Emi look over Zia until she's satisfied. She breathes out a long breath and then smiles faintly. "Gargoyles are very majestic creatures aren't they...?" This is more to herself than to Zia, perhaps. "Percival is rather hard on himself, but even with his faults--he is still a noble gargoyle, from our understanding, The Network admits that her understanding may be rather surface-level."

She rubs the back of her neck lightly. She is a bit embarrassed to mention this, naturally, because it's sort of like admitting something one could be jealous of, though she doesn't sound jealous. She does admit, in something else that would be jealous if she wasn't speaking so matter of factly, "We are not very majestic. Indeed, The Network supposes we are most often considered 'adorable'--perhaps akin to a pet, or a child." She sighs wistfully. "Though this one admits their years are not, notably, many. Do gargoyles have human lifespans?, The Network inquires."

Imi shakes her head lightly. "One can't help but be concerned--what do we know about them, really? Well, we're not so interested in that we intend to look into it, overmuch, at this point in time. The Network can barely handle doing normal detective work. Better have likely tried and failed to properly understand them. Or, worse, perhaps understood them too well. There are those that seem capable of 'using' them--this feels dangerous, to us, even though we have little experience on the subject and thus can't truly chastize someone for it."

She smiles broadly. "At the moment, The Network is helping them recover their home. That is the best we can do, though if we succeed--is that enough? The Network wonders if it is."

Zia has posed:
The look from Emi draws a slight tilt of the head from the gargoyle, who watches her with a peculiar look on her face. Perhaps she's never been examined like that before, so it comes as a bit of an odd sensation. "Some. Ah cannae say tha it applies te all of us. Ah havenae seen more than a handful of m'own kind in all m'years." Her isolation is part of the reason that she's maintained a lot of the older gargoyle customs, but it's also part of the reason she struggles sometimes with getting to know others. It is starting to change, though.

"The young squire does seem a nice enough lad, though. Although Ah dinnae know enough aboot 'im te really say much on the matter. It is nice te get te know others of m'kind, though. Ah've always been a little nervous about them, like they'd try te recruit me te their clan or..." She leaves that sentence drop, although the slight way that she catches her lower lip implies perhaps something more personal there. Shaking her head, Zia looks over the two of them. "Ye know, ye dinnae have te be 'majestic' te be worthwhile. It doesnae matter wha ye look like, it's wha's in yer heart tha counts." It sounds like something out of a fairy tale, and perhaps it is, but she's come to believe it.

With the question of lifepspans given to her, she hrms, "Aboot twice as long as a human, but we age slower, too. A young gargoyle, jus comin te adolescence might be somewhere in the twenty-six te twenty-eight range. Ah'd guess the young squire is in his fourties." She doesn't elaborate on her own age, mostly because it's a bit of a gray area. Her years and her physical age no longer line up in the traditional sense.

"Tha's kinda where Ah'm at, m'self. Even if we manage te bring Manhattan... Ah dinnae think Ah could jus' go home 'n forget how much danger there is for the rest of the worlds."

Emi Dennou has posed:
Emi smirks faintly as Zia says something that, really, probably would belong in the mouth of a Princess of the Heart, but she doesn't mention that. That ground is already well tread. But it's gone so quickly it might be mistaken for a mouth twitch more than an actual emotion. Nevertheless, Emi admits, "We've seen what's inside us many times, The Network purposefully misses the point for the purpose of humor."

"This one doesn't think you're supposed to clarify that." Imi laughs awkwardly since it's actually kind of morbid as far as humor goes.

But Emi continues nonetheless, "This one apologizes for misrepresenting themselves. We do not think we are not 'worthwhile'. However, while one's appearance might not be as important as someone's heart--a majestic heart and a majestic appearance are not mutually exclusive. Still, The Network supposes that we still have much work to do with regards to our heart--" She uses singular there. "--And should focus on that rather than be terribly concerned with how we are seen."

She bobs her head in agreement. saving Manhattan isn't really the end ... but for Legion, it is a repayment of a debt long due. And that would be a broken chain, wouldn't it? They can keep the bond of friendship rather than the bond of debt. They must be almost there after all.

"We couldn't say our own lifespan." Emi continues. "But it is not especially relevent as we've already passed our intended expiration date."

She chuckles again. Her sense of humor is pretty dark.

"So how do you know Skoll anywaY?" Imi shifts the conversation to another topic.

Zia has posed:
For all that she is really trying to pay attention to the two girls, she can't really look at them both at once, so it's easy enough for her to miss that twitch of the lips from Emi. Voices draw her eyes back, head tilting slightly. Her laugh has some humor to it, although the idea of a real 'heart' draws a slight wince. There's a few things she's seen in her time that she'd like to forget. "Well, Ah'm no great judge on human aestetics, but... Ah'm sure if ye lasses tried, ye could be just as stunning." She raises her shoulders in a shrug.

The way that these girls seem so frank about their own mortality, though, it gives her pause. Those long ears dip slightly, hiding amongst the long strands of her hair. "Is there any way te know for certain?" She asks, concern showing on her features. She may not know them well, but it comes naturally to her to worry over the well being of others. Gargoyles are clan creatures, and she has no clan, so she claims companionship wherever it crops up. "Then again, Ah suppose Ah wouldnae want te know. Be'ta te live a full life nae knowin, than te fear the end. At least tha's what m'da said sometimes. 'Course, he never thought his end would come when it did."

The morbid topic gives way to the question about a certain werewolf, and Zia shrugs, causing her wings to lift with the motion. "Ah wandered inte a portal nae long after m'world was connected te the others. Got knocked inte by some man in a dark robe. Ended up kinda... floatin for a while." It's hard to explain the feeling of 'between' - when you aren't really anywhere. "Woke up in Traverse Town, 'n the first person Ah ran into was the werewolf. We beat the crap outta a couple of drunk louts tryin te pick a fight wi' us, 'n Ah suppose we've been friends ever since."

She considers her own questions for them, though, chewing her lower lip pensively, "Do ye know wha ye were made for? Ah mean, b'fore all this."

Emi Dennou has posed:
"He has dangerous enemies," Emi says with regards to Skoll. So that situation is a matter of friendship, is it? Hmm hmmm... Well, Zia seems imminently likeable. There's the accent, of course, but she seems kind too. Accent + Kind = :D. It's pretty simple, really. She could hardly blame a werewolf for becoming friends with such a lady after his world got destroyed and he had to slave away for some Lords of Gobletty Evil.

But of course she can't forget how VALKYRI HQ almost got explodinated either.

"Oh, this one isn't so sure it is that different..." Imi smiles. Neither she nor Emi comment regarding the 'man in black' because there isn't much to go on from there. She doubts Zia knows much about him either. And asking further might be a bit proddy. She's not here to solve a mystery, but she does file that away in case she runs into any mysterious black-garbed individuals.

"It depends somewhat on whether or not we were made with an artificial expiration date." Emi continues to be rather matter-of-fact regarding their lifespan. We suspect however that while we were not made for longterm activity, we were likely not specifically rigged to perish at a certain time. It isn't efficient to do that if we were expected to die anyway and with various delays in scheduling, as were wont to occur, it would have been dangerous for the experiment for us to perish early. However, fast grown clones tend to fall apart more quickly than slow grown clones or naturals. This one is guessing around 20 to 40 years but it is just a guess and naturally assumes a certain level of taking care of ourselves. Problems with our bodies would likely crop up before that time. We are younger than we look but it should be noted that average life expectancy for humans of our world is typically in the 70s and 80s. We could ask Dr. Chambers--he was the man in charge of our 'upkeep'--for further details. We have not, yet."

Knowing or not...that is one of those questions that really has no right answer and is really dependent on whom looks into it. Knowing can be a great release, not knowing can allow one to keep their mind clear. But one thing is for certain.

"Once you know, you can't unknow." Least not that easily. "Perhaps someday. But this one is happy at this present time, The Network has met many wonderful people and experienced many wonderful things, clarifying that 'things' can be 'talking ducks' and 'gargoyles' as an example though obviously these are people not things, but The Network further admits there is a certain additional wonder when seeing such entities that we had never dreamed of existing."

Emi looks towards Imi, who nods to her, then back to Zia, then back to Imi, then to Zia again.

"This one would like to see a gargoyle wake up sometime, selfishly."

She nods a few times to herself. Imi adds, at this point, "Oh we do know what we were made for, at least in part. Would you like to know?"

Zia has posed:
"Ah know." Zia replies with a sigh. If it weren't a biogical function that she couldn't avoid, the fate of the werewolf might just keep her up. Even so, there is a weariness that the topic seems to bring with it, and she shakes her head. "Ah could honestly care less weather or not Ah bring their wrath down on m'own head, but... Ah cannae jus sit back 'n abide by them hurtin 'im like tha." She tenses one taloned hand, "He... was m'first friend. Ah cannae risk losing him." Maybe there's just a bit more there than friendship.

She just looks on with some confusion, not sure what to say about the lifespan of these strange girls. Instead, she's just quiet as she nods her head, pondering what it would be like to live with a clock ticking down, instead of an unknown span of years. She manages a small smile, though, "Aye, it's a wonder how many different kinds of people there are across these worlds. Ah can only hope tha it has a good influence on the humans of m'own world. Maybe if they can come te accept all these others, they'd come te accept us, too." It's a hope, and one that might be in vain. It takes time to changes how people see outsiders.

Zia looks a bit confused when she's suddenly asked about waking up. Blinking, "Well... come by here around sundown. Yer more than welcome te watch if ye'd like. Jus stay a good distance back." Once, she had a deep fear of sharing the secret of her stone sleep with anyone, but clearly these girls knew about it, and it is a show of trust that she offers. "But Ah am curious. Ah'd like te know."

Emi Dennou has posed:
"Whether...Weather..." Emi murmurs, no doubt vastly appreciative of the pun. Maybe it wasn't actually intentional. BUT GET IT WEATHER MAGIC YEAH? Okay. Emi glides the subject of Zia's relationship with Skoll in the 'It's complicated' section of her brain which is different from simply being complicated. When you put an 'It's' in front of 'complicated' it takes on a far grander meaning than simply something being complicated.

Imi wonders if you could like tattoo a gargoyle through the stone and other strange thoughts. Emi tells her to quit it through their mental link. Imi then starts wondering if there are like plastic gargoyles, like lawn gnome gargoyles? Pretty unlikely, because Gnomeo and Juliet is by Touchtone Pictures and not Disney precisely. Emi tells her to quit that too and instead 'be grateful'.

Imi smiles broadly.

"The Network is a hivemind which means there were certain capabilities normal individuals would not have. For instance, The Network can learn directly from defeat and apply those lessons to the rest of the Network." Emi exposits. She speaks quickly, as if she had talked about this before. "A fellow experiment Cronus was whom we were attached to. He was what some worlds would call a 'Time Mage'--and a powerful one. He could not travel through time, naturally, but he was capable of speeding up and slowing down localized time to an extreme degree. Naturally, the corporation that created us were interested in seeing how far these powers could grow. We cannot say for what purpose as we were never told, but it likely varied between members of the corporation. Perhaps some hoped he would save our world, others simply desired a weapon, and others still perhaps just wanted to see what would happen."

"Our purpose was to attack him per a certain schedule. He would then kill one of our 'nodes'. We would then take the lessons we learned from that battle and apply it to a new strategy and try again. He managed to kill 13 of us." AN ORGANIZATION OF THIRTEEN? No. "Before the Twilight Detective Agency--and some of the Shard Seekers as well--helped us escape that particular fate." This certainly explains their rather blaise attitude regarding their own mortality. Judging from what she's saying, she has in fact experienced death thirteen times before. And ressurection once. Sort of. Shida of the Network is a bit of an odder duck out of the odd ducks.

"It is thanks to our world falling that we were able to see another path of living. Right now, we would say 'we were made' to be detectives. Detectives, from what we were told, are those who help those who can get help from nobody else. Partly, we do this because we were helped..." But she smiles suddenly, and this time it lingers. "...But it's actually rather fun, too."

Zia has posed:
The pale gargoyle tilts her head at the pun, watching the strange interplay that seems to go on between the two even if nothing is being said outloud. In some ways, she can imagine it's like how deaf people might feel before they learn to read lips. When they finally start talking, though, she's all ears. There is a familiarity in the way she shifts her body to listen to the story. Far too many nights spent listening to her father's tales with that those keen, curious ears. This isn't a fairytale, though. It seems more like a nightmare.

When it's over, all Zia can do is shake her head. "Strange place ye come from." Then again, is her world any different? Where her own kind were slaughtered in their sleep by humans who hate and fear them, and the Fae run around causing random chaos in their wake. Sigh. "Ah'm glad ye managed te escape tha fate. Ah cannae even imagine wha it would be like, and Ah'd rather not know." She adds this last bit, just incase they seemed so inclined as to elaborate.

"The old stories say tha gargoyles were born te protect. Some clans protect a castle, others cities, some jus each other. Who knows when it all started." She offers a small smile, "Ah suppose tha's why Ah ended up here. Spent too long worryin about m'own sorry hide, 'n now it's time te spend some time workin te help others keep theirs intact." With a flick of her tail, she seems far more interested in them now than being a night guard, at the moment. "Ah havenae really spoken te many of yer detective lot, though. Jus ye 'n the two other gargoyles. Ah suppose the others are nice enough, too?"

Emi Dennou has posed:
"This one thinks this world is stranger, but we do not mean that in a bad way." Her own world, apparently, didn't have talking ducks. At least not they knew about. Emi has to admit to herself that there may have been talking ducks she had not known about due to her limited experience with her own world. They'd probably be secret talking ducks, however, rather than overt talking ducks otherwise she would have likely known about them.

Fairy tales were not always enamored with clean stories.

"It would be easy to say it was bad, and we will not go into too much detail, but we will say this. It wasn't, really. We were never alone. Some die without a proper chance to live. Some die utterly alone. Some day being hated. We do not consider ourselves unfortunate, that is why we do not mind sharing this story."

They're really odd, most people would say there's plenty to hate about one's 'fate' in that story, but The Network, while recognizing the horror, seem to think they've made it out alright all things considered. And haven't they? Despite their way of talking, Emi's still smiling. She's genuinely positively happy.

"They can get a bit eccentric." Emi says as a nice way of saying that Tom is a musclehead and Will kind of smells, and that Isaac can genuinely get particularly terrifying. "But they're all good people." She thinks about Zia's words regarding gargoyles, and then she nods after a moment.

"That follows from what we understand about gargoyles. They really are a noble people, The Network compliments needlessly despite a gargoyle being present."

"Are you saying that because Deidra let us ride her?" Imi asks.

"Only partially." Emi says without missing a beat.

Zia has posed:
"All the worlds are gettin a bit stranger these days. Kind of melding together." The gargoyle's eyes go distant for a moment, her mind drifting off to thoughts that have occassionally nibbled at the back of her mind like stray fish looking for tasty goodies. If they did manage to stop this, and make the worlds return to the way they were... would she be separated from everyone she's grown to care about? It's a frightening thought, and one she pushes to the side quickly enough, blinking as if waking from a dream.

"Ah guess it makes sense. Ah dinnae consider m'self unfortunate fer wha Ah've gone through, either. The fact tha we're still here te talk aboot it means we were strong enough to survive it." Before now, Zia had been just that - a survivor. That has started to change, though, as the survival of others has begun to matter more than her own.

Watching the interplay between the two, it's hard to imagine that they are one single mind. Then again, maybe one mind can have different outer personas. Curious, she's quiet for a moment before speaking again, "Ah wouldnae say tha all gargoyles are noble, but a fair number. There's bad eggs in every rookery, though. "Tha reminds me, though. Ah still owe a few people a ride. Ye haven't seen a female elf recently, have ye? Tall, dark hair, jewelry, goes by Morgan." The name seems to be added as an afterthought.

Emi Dennou has posed:
Naturally, the Dennous just assume, more or less, that Zia has really always been a nice person since, well, she's always been nice to them! They don't tend to hold grudges in the first place either, so she'd hardly fault her for being concerned with her own survival. This would be doubly so if they actually knew half of what gargoyles have had to go through. It's hard for them to manage on their own. Why harm a noble gargoyle?! They are noble gargoyles!

Returning all worlds to what they used to be? Not even Legion knows if they'd be okay with that or not. They'd rather not think about it just yet. They have no intention of going back home if they could help it.

"Really?" Emi asks, with regards to bad eggs. Despite a gargoyle telling her so, she seems a bit doubtful. Bt after some reflection she seems to realize the illogic of this and nods, "Well, you would know more than us. Still, we like gargoyles."

MEANWHILE, DEMONA EXISTS

As for an elf. Female elf? 'Morgan'? No, they haven't--but wait, what's this? Maybe she doesn't mean Morgan. Maybe she means Morrighan? The names are remarkably similar and she has a nifty accent so maybe she just says Morgan as Morrighan.

"We may have..." Imi says thoughtfully. "Does she laugh like this?"

She performs an eerily accurate Naga-laugh or, for this multiverse, a Morrighan laugh.

Zia has posed:
While Zia has never met the terror that is Demona, and her own experience with gargoyles is actually quite limited, she does have some fleeting memories of a dark skinned gargoyle arguing with her parents. "M'own aunt didnae really abide by the old ways. She hated hidin in ruins, 'n lettin the humans chase us from place te place. Ah cannae imagine wha she would have thought of this world." Shaking her head, Zia offers them a smile at least, "But Ah'm glad yer fond of our kind. We need more friends in this world."

That said, she hesitates for a moment when they make that strange laugh. "Afraid not." Hrming to herself, "If ye wouldn't mind, could ye keep an eye out for someone like Ah mentioned? Let me know if she turns up somewhere." It's another assignment! Investigate the whereabouts of the elf named Morgan. "Though Ah'm sure ye lasses have enough on yer plate."

Another question toys at the edge of her mind. "'N... if ye hear aboot any other gargoyles, could ye let me know? Ah've been meanin te speak the the lad from the Clocktower, but things have kept me busy. Other than him, and your young squire and lass, Ah dinnae know many others who made it through."

Emi Dennou has posed:
Emi thinks about the gargoyles she's met. She has likely met only ones she knows. "You know Brooklyn, The Network asks in order to update their understanding." They don't want to tell Zia they met a gargoyle she already knows, after all! She doesn't smile at Zia's gladness but that may be because her comment sort of indicated that gargoyles do have their problems with the multiverse and, really, they shouldn't smile at that even if her own reaction makes her glad.

ANOTHER JOB ^^^^^^ Yeeeeaaahh!!

"Certainly. We will try." Emi says. "Is there anything else you know about her?"

Zia has posed:
"If tha's the red-skinned one, wi'..." She makes a motion from her nose outward, trying to mime a large 'beak', "Then aye, Ah'm aware of 'im. He's from the clocktower clan from wha Ah understand. Ah saw 'im fightin down in the Labyrinth." With a twitch of her tail, the white garogyle ticks off those that she knows about, "Deidra, Percival, and Brooklyn, then. Those are the ones Ah know of." It's the first time she's heard his name, and it feels strange to name other gargoyles. Never-the-less, this is the way things are, and she might as well get used to it.

"Ah'm nae really sure wha else Ah could tell ye aboot her. She seemed a bit skittish of the Heartless." There isn't much else she can say, so Zia just shrugs. "Sorry Ah cannae be more specific. Ah havenae seen her since Ah left her outside Corneria." Normally, the gargoyle might not be so worried over someone they only met briefly, but there had been something about the Elf. The sort of kindred spirit of someone who had stepped too close to darkness. "Ah know it isnae much te go on."

Emi Dennou has posed:
Does the /river/ have a name? Yeah it's the Hudson. Well woops.

It /is/ very little to go on. Elves are uncommon, but that and the name--when the worlds are so big--are not much to go off of. She nods simply regarding Brooklyn. Looks like she knows the same gargoyles she does. Surely there will be no new gargoyles showing up either. That's a shame. The other detectives may know something about her. They get around, after all. Skittish of the Heartless, probably won't be in infested areas? Hmm.

"We will look for her," Emi dips her head, sensing the end of the conversation approaching. She smiles again and says, "Thank you for your time. It was nice finally getting to talk to you properly, The Network admits bashfully." She gives a nod to Imi who starts heading back downstairs.

Zia has posed:
"Thankee." It's a tall order, but better to ask and have the girls at least try to track her down then to wonder. Of course, now she'll have to figure out something to pay them back with. Maybe a few more of those escort missions, no one seems to want to do those. As Imi heads off, Zia shifts slightly, turning to look at the remaining member of the Network. "Any time, lass. Yer more than welcome, anytime. Feel free te come back around sunset if ye want te watch me wake up." She suggests, and then sets her eyes back out onto the city. "Take care of yerselves. It's still dangerous out there."