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Encke was on edge.

He hadn't been able to get a hold of Pendour or Sadie, or find them, for that matter, and to him that always meant something bad. Where had she gone? Who had taken her? Who did he need to hunt down to find her before the worst happened? (Was it Jet? There seemed to be standing malice there on his side for everyone Order and she had wanted to help him...)

Fairies? Were a nice distraction.

Also made him wonder if something generally odd was going on...

Seeing Nectaris this happy was nice too, and despite himself there was a spring in his step. The people complimenting and whispering about her outfit were cute too; he noticed a few people murmur that he must have been wearing body paint of some sort but were his boots glowing too?

"A corrupt senshi?" That caught Encke's attention, of course, pulling it away from the wonder and the naturally charismatic wink he threw at one of their observers. "He didn't hurt you or the fairies, did he?" She looked alright, but he was always paranoid... And of course, other situations chewing at the back of his mind or the front of his mind or the side of his mind weren't helping-- be present, Encke. "Did he know you?"

In the interim, he looked between the trees and the bushes nearby-- "What did they look like? The fairies, I mean." Though did he know the corrupt senshi?

Transparent glowy not-lady. Alright. He could work with that. "Me either," Encke grinned, "maybe if they're willing to talk a bit, we can ask."

Honestly, that would be fun, though. How did the fairies live? How did they identify? Did they even have the same base for their relationship with identity? Where were they most of the year? Were the Celtic people in any way right about them or was the reality considerably different? Should he look into the legends and myths of his own heritage on his mother's side to get these answers?

Distraction was a salve, but it was hard to take a significant dose of it with other worries. As he looked, he listened and followed to a bit more privacy.

Maybe they'd be more likely to show here anyway.

"Cute? I mean, you are," said with all the teasingly affectionate notes of a friend, "but I get the impression from how you're saying it that he made it feel awkward, especially since he has a connection with the prior you. I'm glad he was nice, at least? I think?" He hoped. "What did he look like?"

He paused, his eyes widening.

"That's a brutal attack." Who else did he need to go beat up-- "Is there any obvious difference between those who are kinder and those who get stuck on the traitor thing, or is it just luck of the draw?"

He hoped Pendour hadn't run into this skin peel guy--

Encke couldn't help the bubbly snickers that came out of his lips in turn. Her acting there wasn't bad, had she ever considered-- "No, I think that's fair. Name and pronouns are pretty standard to lead off with, i-m-o. Wouldn't it be cool if they would talk to us?"

Honestly, the thought of chatting with a legit fae was almost enough to derail his thoughts entirely.

Not quite enough, though.

Even if he did want to know what parts of the myths were true--

Tall, dark, handsome, not immediately hostile, was probably Sylvite's boyfriend and therefore Nectaris' unknown ex-- huh. That would be odd. To be honest, he couldn't really -- well, from an acting perspective he could imagine it, suddenly having no memories and being told by a Basi he didn't recognize they had been married would be unsettling at best-- "Yeah, a thing you have no real recall of. It sounds like he was good to you, at least. Both before and now, I suppose, considering he didn't attack you--"

huh. That was a really good question.

"I mean, hostility helps. Usually, if they're caught either draining or taking a starseed, pretty safe bet. I've taken the angle of assuming the worst of most Negaverse--Dark Mirror a bit more neutral, but only so far--because honestly it's been the best bet nine times out of ten. Defensive first, be prepared to act, but not necessarily offense first, unless, again, they're starseeding or--. Though."

Wait,

"Have I not shown you the database yet? If Vi's got your ring upgraded, you can access it too, but it's where we track people who are a threat or who can be trusted to at least be nonhostile Chaos. Can help you know who to look out for. Here," he pulled out his phone, opened the app, and held it out to her.

"Isn't it?" Encke was admittedly quite pleased with what the Mauvians had done. Finally, a place to document his and everyone's experiences, so they were more prepared for whatever sat ahead, whether that be an agent who might give information or a certain firey general--

Oh. And her too.

In some ways, he imagined it would be fun to see entries about himself. He did have a tendency to scan through articles about his acting, and his personal life according to paparazzi, but there was probably a level of fascinating dissonance to see oneself as what they had seen her as before-- He grinned as she explored, and then exclaimed that, honestly, abstracting it from who she had been, was pretty badass.

But then--

"Having knife skills is legitimately cool. I'm always floored by the stunt knife throwers I've seen in movies, for example. And in this fight, it's a useful one to have." He pursed his lips in thought. "What you did under the influence of Chaos is just that. If you look at Raksha's entry, it shows how you even changed from doing that on the way to purification as you realized what that was."

Oh, interesting. So Sylvite had been with Albite-- yeah, the description matched what she said, and even personality-wise-- He read each one closely. "Huh, looks like someone named Nembus used to know him pretty directly if you ever want more info-- Sounds like he's someone to be wary of, but I guess if he liked you before or sees no reason to be violent he can be pretty friendly."

What an interesting set of contradictions to both embrace his former order identity and reject it. Encke noted to watch out for him.

"I try to note everyone I can in here to make sure everyone is more prepared, and others do too. He, for example, seems like a good person to have multiple observations of."

That wasn't quite what he meant, and a small frown crossed his face as his always present fidgeting increased for just a moment. Should he try to correct her or just be there to help her work out the guilt? Did the guilt apply to Albte too? Suddenly having no context for how close they were and not really being able to fully identify with how much he meant to Sylvite-- "I imagine dealing with an ex you can't really remember is--"

Her asking if she should seduce Albite derailed his thoughts just a bit.

He snorted.

"I mean, you're not supposed to do anything! And you don't need to be a seductive master or anything. I can probably give some advice if you need it, but I'd just say be there for him if you think he might purify, show him you'd be here for him if he purified, don't engage with him on a level you don't remember but that doesn't mean you can't be his fri--"

Wait.

Was that the faerie?

Encke took off after Nectaris. hearing her ask the questions before he saw the shimmery figure.

He gasped quietly.

And then promptly tripped on a rock that he swore hadn't been there before. And while he regained his balance before wiping out, he didn't miss what felt like an airy giggle. Or maybe he was just hearing things...

And just as quickly, the faerie was gone.

Damn. They couldn't even start their questions or even really say hello -- though he was curious about the person behind the ethereal glow and giggling. "well, that's because you know you're she/her, so that's the one you want. They at least leaves room for a quick correction if needed without picking something potentially bad."

It was said offhandedly, initially, but then he thought about it. He was very much fine with he and him. At the same time, though, as he got used to himself, more comfortable with himself, more comfortable with who Encke had once been -- Ignatius, First Born of the First House of Encke -- "I think I don't mind it. Fine with him, also fine with them."

Huh.

Encke decided to accept that for what it was and move on. "I'm glad you brought me. Even if they didn't answer any questions. Seeing them in itself is pretty cool. And that we got to talk about Albite. It's important to sort those things." He smiled gently. "And also that we're prepared. Like there's a place we can note that guy with the skin powers..."

He was going to give her more time to look through the database, he had already decided. Also maybe hound Viatrix to work on some ring upgrades...

Encke snickered. She was right-- unless she was particularly femme, that was an unlikely concern for anyone to have--

Oh.

They were being stared at.

He offered his own charismatic grin, but otherwise kept his attention on Nectaris, letting her gather close too. "Writing entries is kind of fun in a way, honestly. Like resurfacing the mysteries." To him, it was a relief. Cathartic, almost, but also a way he could use his thirteen years to protect others, finally--

"Let's get back home."