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Abzu had perched himself on the top of a sculpture.

Relatively flat on the top, carvings on the below -- it didn't really matter to Abzu, ultimately, it just seemed like a good place to sit. It was a good place to sit while he continued to learn the intricacies of the so-called artifact that he had been rewarded by this place called Abzu that was apparently on Neptune -- apparently, he had only been there once, and it was basically as quick as it possibly could have been.

So-called artifact, though, because it was literally just a saxophone.

It had felt very familiar in his hands, and it acted a lot like what he was used to. It was about as good of a weapon as he would have expected, too, considering the one time he had whacked someone with it at a battle in the forest, it didn't really do much. Maybe one good hit, but there were so many buttons he was more worried about breaking it than anything else--

Wasn't really built for fighting, in the same way he was.

He hummed to himself, picking a pitch, before lifting the weapon's reed to his lips.

It was hard to say if Abzu had even noticed the approach of an aura that was supposed to feel off or wrong to him. He had lost himself in the tune of the saxophone, closing his eyes and letting himself feel the music--

Well, until she spoke.

One eye popped open, and then the other, and he pulled the reed away from his lips as he took a look down -- though only so down, he would confess he was only taller because he had perched himself on a sculpture of all things. Ah. He pulled the saxophone further away from his lips, holding it casually over his shoulder instead. "Ah, hello."

She felt like some of those people he had dealt with at that generator battle. Negaverse, was it? Hopefully, she wasn't here to attack him. He really didn't feel like it.

Honestly, he never felt like it, never saw the point, but that was beyond the point.

"Didn't see you." Obviously. "You're not here to fight me, right?"

The first thing he noticed was how terribly formal she seemed. It reminded him of one of two things: the preppy people who had gone to Azure and his fancy college that had too much smoke blown up their asses, or conversations his father had with people who weren't from America. They had always sounded so formal no matter which way he twisted it--

Comport. He had to remind himself of what that meant for a second.

"Mm, I suppose so." She wasn't wrong, necessarily. He just wasn't sure how much he cared. "I'm just trying to get more familiar with the suit. There hasn't really been any behaviour I've observed from my side other than getting attacked, honestly."

Mostly around generators. That had been his observation.

He'd mention the space thing, but he had a sense that probably wasn't something he should go around babbling about.

"And the statue's handy. Can't be reached up here by much." He tilted his head. "Not getting attacked doesn't really comport," he wiggled his fingers a bit, "with the behaviour I've seen from your side, so I guess we're both unexpected tonight, right?" Abzu's smile was devilishly charming. He threw in a wink for good measure.

Abzu frowned minutely. He supposed it would make sense that they were often attacked if they were often doing the attacking. Of course, who started it? What was the point? Was there a point? Why were they even fighting?

"Well, I'm not terribly good at sneaking up on people," he lifted his saxophone to display this.

In case that wasn't obvious.

He quirked a brow as she seemed to press into the same question he was wondering, about their duty to protect the Earth. He settled a bit on the statue, pressing his hands into it and spreading his legs out in something of a straddle. "So you're protecting the Earth?" It was a rhetorical question. "From what?" Not so rhetorical. "I mean, if it's from people like me, I essentially just woke up like this. Saxophone appeared, grabbed it," lightly tossed the saxophone from one hand to the other, "gained a suit. Don't think I'm anyone to defend the world from considering I was just a normal human before that."

He leaned forward, then, shifting again and pressing his hands down against the statue in front of him.

"So: what're you protecting the Earth from?"

He seemed legitimately curious, with no signs of threat in his tone.

Abzu winked when she snorted.

Glad they were in agreement on that. Abzu didn't really have any interest in getting good at sneaking around. It didn't feel like his style, not when his outfit and background were so ostentatious.

His brows lifted in curiosity when she stated that she, herself, was once a knight, and while he was interested in her answer before he was almost more interested now. What would drive switching sides like that? Seemed it was because she had chosen to serve Earth, instead -- so he was born in service to Neptune by that logic. He supposed that would explain why he was Abzu of Neptune, even if he still didn't know what a saxophone and his outfit had anything to do with being in service to another planet.

The senshi were doubly curious. Did they come from other worlds? He guessed that'd explain the names he heard thrown around in reference to them, but the senshi he had seen had looked just as human as he did.

He nodded in understanding, leaning back once again. "I don't feel any innate connection to Neptune," he admitted, minus the phrase he had repeated once, he supposed, "still inclined to keep choosing Earth even with the magical saxophone. But if we're born in service to other worlds -- why were we born here, then?" He had thought Neptune was an inhospitable gas planet, but apparently he was wrong about that, so clearly he could have lived there, too. "And why are senshi humans, too? They look as human as you and I do. I mean, I don't have any senshi friends, but it doesn't seem like they're invaders. Seem less like invaders than the pastel people, at least."

Abzu paused, before adding, with a quiet, warm laugh, "Not that I expect you to have any more answers than I do. This is all pretty strange."

While he was listening, he had to admit some relief that the concept that they belonged to other worlds yet were born here was providing at least some dissonance. From a personally comforting factor, too; it wouldn't exactly be great to be randomly be thrown into some random bullshit argument onto the wrong side, of all things. The least the random Neptune powers could do was put him on the correct side.

So she also knew of the pastel friends. He nodded thoughtfully, leaning in and listening to the explanation that had apparently come from her general, listening to the fact that his side killed a "general-queen" -- general-queen, general, lieutenant, seemed like they used some bastardized military rankings. it was admittedly a fairly convincing argument except for the fact that he didn't quite understand how the 'we're born on Earth but want to take it for ourselves in space' crux of it worked. Sounded like she didn't quite understand it either.

"Unmotivated?" He asked, his brows rising. "Because if it was unmotivated there's definitely a problem there, but were they just responding to something that had been done to them? Or were they just encouraged by our pastel friends? Seems like they've been involved in all of these things..."

He was definitely spitballing, though now he had some serious questions about what the pastel invader alien elves were all about. They had both invaded the Negaverse at some point apparently and assisted the Negaverse. What was their game? Seemed good at the time?

"Do we all awaken like me -- and I presume you? On Earth, living a normal life until that point?" His brows knit. "When does the change come in when we flip from everyday people to invaders? There doesn't really seem to be an organization teaching us that here." Or ... really anything, honestly. He barely knew what was going on, though that was probably his own fault. Only inclined to ask questions when people to ask questions of came to him and were willing to talk (unlike that vampire guy--)

"I don't mean any offense, by the way," probably good to clarify that. "Legitimately just curious. Like you said, I clearly don't understand." And he didn't think she was wrong in that, necessarily. Abzu would be the first to admit that he knew nothing, Jon Snow.

So she couldn't be certain the attack was unprovoked. She also seemed to lack memories -- curious, was that an element of changing sides? Like hell would he ever want to do that, then, he liked having knowledge of his life a bit too much of that -- and admitted that she probably wouldn't take things at face value. Unless she was acknowledging herself as foolish, which he doubted. Hardly seemed foolish to him.

If anything, how much she thought about his questions acknowledged the opposite.

"Huh. Maybe I'll see if I can get some context for the history of this war." His brows knit. "Might talk to more people for that."

Going to their planet and their wonders could let them know who they were before? He would think more seriously about the fact that past lives were legit and not just new age bullshit in a minute -- how did that work? Did they get memories of another life? "I guess that makes sense," he admitted, idling fingering a rhythm on his saxophone. "Perhaps the perspective of another life might be overwhelming or show information we don't have in this time. If this war has really been going on that long..."

A decade in this life. But if there was another life ... the hell did touching this little saxophone really bring him into?

He had thought it was just trouble, considering that s**t with the generators, but this felt like more than that.

"What's that saying? All's fair in love and war? I don't necessarily believe it -- there's things like the Geneva Convention for a reason, right? But there's probably terrible tales on both sides for sure." He wondered which side outnumbered. He ... had the sense that the side that stole people's memories and told things that didn't necessarily match up might outnumber, but he didn't have all the information. "I'd be interested to hear them. I think I have more research to do."

That sounded like work, which he hated, but it did also sound like important work. Too bad he didn't know anyone who could just tell him the answers--

"Thank you." And that was sincere, too. "This has been a really enlightening conversation."

As many as he could, if he wished for more understanding.

Fair and valid, but definitely sounded like work. It was honestly too bad he couldn't hire out people to gather information for him, but it was probably for the best he hear this one out himself. Something complicated something something he was human but also Neptunian and he couldn't just tell everyone something. He was fairly sure his father would roll his eyes about how blase Abzu was being--

"And I appreciate your openness to not attacking me on sight." He laughed quietly. "And, I suppose, my questions, occasionally philosophical. They're important things to figuring out what's truly happening under the surface here."

He couldn't bow particularly well on his perch, but he did nod his head in turn.

That definitely had the flavor of his father's business transactions. Interesting.

"I hope so, too."

Talking was much nicer than his first experiences in this apparent decade-long war.