[PM RP] Check-Up Time (Seth & Mena)
10/20/10 - 10/21/10
10/20/10 - 10/21/10
Quote:
Seth padded up quietly to the Cottage front door before standing off to the side and fishing his cell phone out of his pocket. He had walked today instead of driven, as he didn't want to draw any attention to himself by having his car parked out front. After all, today he was only here to visit one particular member of the household, and he didn't want the rest to grow suspicious of anything they were up to. He typed out a brief message before hitting 'send' and waited patiently. If they were lucky, everyone else would be too occupied to notice the front door opening or that they had even had a guest in the house.
Mena was dozing on top of a steel countertop, slumped over as if she'd simply laid her head down just for a moment (which she had, only that singular moment had ended up being very many moments) when her phone went off, and the cat woman scrambled to silence the unnecessary alarm quick as she could. Who would be calling her anyway? Dacj was out working on her treehouse, so she'd just come inside if she needed something, Missy had taken Phoebe out shopping... Blearily she checked her phone and realized it was a text, not a call, and she retrieved it with a little frown. Seth? And he was outside--she glanced over to the little wall of screens that monitored the Cottage from the outside and confirmed Seth's presence, swearing as she tucked her phone into her pocket and went for what passed for her bedroom down here.
She glanced at a mirror on her way through the bedroom, straightening herself out as best she could, though she still looked like she'd been up all night...which she had. She placed her hand on the nose of the Fu Lion sculpture in the corner of her quarters, closing her eyes as it transported her into the entry hall floors above. She hurried to the door, opening it for Seth with a weary smile. "Sorry for the wait," she said apologetically.
Seth didn't mind the small wait (after all, the woman did work like 13 floors below ground), and had simply kept an eye out on the street around him. When the door opened and Mena apologized, the cheetah Hyte smiled and shook his head. "No need to worry. Erm, did I come at a bad time?" The other feline Hyte looked rather as if she hadn't gotten much rest. He hoped he hadn't interrupted her in anything (who knew what sort of schedule she kept). Glancing around briefly, it didn't seem that anyone else was around. Or if they were around then they were thoroughly occupied in their own rooms.
"No, not at all," she was quick to reassure. If even Seth was willing to point it out--ah, was Missy right after all? She was letting herself go? Well, she could hardly be blamed, circumstances considering...except for the fact that no one was really supposed to be aware of those circumstances, Seth and Missy notwithstanding. But why--oh, right! How could she have forgotten?
"Here, come with me--have you ever taken my shortcut?" she asked, flashing a more cheerful grin to the younger Hyte as she went to stand by the entry hall's Fu Lion counterpart. "Just bop him straight on the nose, and he'll take you right down," she explained, before demonstrating--and disappearing.
She waited in her spartan downstairs quarters, glancing around. She hardly ever really looked at this place, it was there for practical sleeping and hygienic arrangements (there was a sink visible on the wall across from her cot-like bed) and little more. She hadn't really ever had the heart to do much decorating down here, it was a lab. She'd had one of the bedrooms upstairs a long time ago, before Melisande and Phoebe and most certainly Dacj, but she hadn't really needed one when she got married--she could and did zip over to Colton's if she needed a real bed. And now... She shook her head. Enough of that then. "So, besides restocking your supply, I figured it would be prudent to see how use of the pills has been affecting your physiology. I haven't noticed any issues with Missy, but it's always good to make sure of these things." Age had taught her caution in such matters.
A teleporter, eh? Well, that was certainly handy. Much easier than going up and down thirteen flights of stairs all the time anyway. Once the angora Hyte had disappeared downstairs, he stepped over to the statue and tapped the nose as she had, quickly following suit.
When he next blinked he was in what appeared to be very sparse sleeping quarters. He figured this was likely where Mena slept inside of her lab. When she slept that was. "That's fine. Best to be careful," he agreed, especially considering how much training they had been doing with these things. He still didn't quite know what Missy got out of them, but he'd likely find out once they began their missions. "How have you been recently?" He knew this had to be tremendously hard on the poor woman. Her husband and her son... It was a rough time.
Mena led the way from the bedroom through a storeroom of piled boxes and out into the lab proper, which Seth had certainly seen before. It looked much the same as ever, if perhaps a bit messier on one aisle of counters that seemed devoted to ongoing research. "Oh...same old, same old," Mena said, shrugging. She tried not to think too hard about it and threw herself into her work? It seemed obvious enough of an answer, given the physical evidence. "And how about you?" she asked shrewdly. "Noelani's still off with Kuu then?" It had almost become routine, this asking Seth for information about her daughter. He might not know much, but it was more than she was ever able to find out.
"Yes, and likely will be for a while yet," he replied, a touch chagrined. "It seems that their 'trip' is more than just the journey she had originally thought it to be." He proceeded to explain to Mena what Noe had last told him of Kuuro's royalty status on another planet, her restored memories, and their current overall dealings with the kingdom. "Empire issues must just run in the family," he said with a small shake of his head. "That was a little over a month ago. I haven't seen or heard anything from her since." Ruby had returned after delivering his last letter exhausted, but with no letter in return. And it seemed that Noe hadn't been able to grab a hold of anymore of those 'port-holes' either judging by her lack of any further visits. That or she was just being closely watched and couldn't come visit. Either way, the end result was the same.
"At least hers are more pleasant, even if they aren't fond of letting her leave for the time," Mena said, running a paw absently through her thick blue hair. Noe, with an affinity for magic objects, huh. God, all of this was somehow her fault, wasn't it? This was what she got for hiding the fact she was a Blossom--Noe and Eli mucking around with magic, bringing Missy into it herself, Dacj ending up in a similar situation... Not that being open about her own magic was going to help. She had no intention of swearing any Contract, nice a Ti'ama as Eltimion might be. She'd use it when it suited her, in dire circumstances mostly, because that was the pragmatic thing to do. But she wouldn't rely on it.
"I hope she's able to come home--or at least send word--very soon," she offered, with a sympathetic grimace for the cheetah. Well she knew the pain of waiting. And Noe's situation, while mildly more tolerable, wasn't so much more so--who knew when she'd be home properly? Leaving her fiance behind, with so little notice... Yes, Mena knew that kind of situation very well indeed. If it wasn't her husband, her son, it was the others of her generation--those who'd made themselves scarce. Even Tio she'd be greeting with happiness soon, just to have a glimpse of those far off days.
She moved to collect the pills she'd prepared earlier, when she'd been somewhat more well-rested, and offered the star-stickered bottle to Seth. "No problems with them?"
"Ruby said she seemed alright," he replied with a small smile, remembering the mental image the flit had shown him to prove that she had indeed delivered the letter. At the question of any problems, the cheetah Hyte shook his head. "Not that I've noticed. A lot of headaches, but I'm pretty sure that's just from the training," he said with a faint smirk. Telepathy was fairly demanding on the mind after all. "Need a blood sample?" Since she had mentioned checking his physiology earlier.
"Good, good," Mena said, nodding as she went to retrieve a blood sample kit. "And yes, that was the general intention. Quickest way is just to let the computer tell me if there's a difference across samples." She could sit down with the nitty gritty bits later just to double-check, but if it was major, he ought to know himself. The computer ought to catch anything middling for certain. She motioned for him to take a seat on one of the stools scattered across the lab, opened the kit and started to prepare it. "And your teacher--ah, Reira, wasn't it? How's she?" Mena had vaguely met her when Shimy brought her across the Phanes-capable portal, which was also stored down here in the lab. "Must be putting you through your paces if you've gotten lots of headaches out of her training."
The cheetah Hyte sat down on one of the stools, and had to chuckle a bit at Mena's remark. "You could say that," he replied with a smile. Although his training with the former merqueen left him much worse for wear than his usual practices. "She was doing quite well the last time we met. Seems to have adapted here well enough." He actually hadn't had a session with her in a small while, and probably should now that he had the power stone. It had made a huge difference in his self-training alone. Of course, that meant Reira was only more likely to put him through his paces, but he would do whatever needed to be done.
"Oh, that's good, that she's taken so well to Gaia," Mena said brightly as she tied the tourniquet on the upper part of Seth's arm. "Hopefully Shimy's paying her or something as well; I'd feel quite bad if Mother's cheapening out just because she has 'connections' with people." Mena drew a blood sample quickly and efficiently, and swished her newly acquired sample around in one hand to mix it as she placed a piece of gauze on the sample sight, indicating Seth should keep pressure to it while she removed the tourniquet. "I think I met the man working with you as well--the one with the really nice hair. Didn't get to talk to him, but I think Dacj did."
Seth kept the gauze lightly pressed to the puncture sigh as Mena removed the tourniquet. "Ah, Lord Twilight? I hadn't realized that he came around here," he replied, slightly surprised. "He helped out during our last lesson-- as well as with an additional task," he remarked. "Slightly stoic, but he's a nice guy." Come to think of it, he had no idea if Reira was receiving any 'money' for her help. She was being given a place to live at least, so that was something, but he wasn't sure what sort of currency a merqueen might find useful-- if any at all. "How have things been going on Missy's side?" He knew she had been on missions to Phanes before, but he wasn't sure if she had been going still since taking the pills or not.
"He went through the portal and back down here, as well as seemed to spend a lot of time in Shimy's library," Mena said, with a shrug, to Seth's surprise. She'd definitely gotten the stoic impression as well, but that could be that he had seemed to always sport a serious face. What she was dying to know what what precisely this Lord Twilight and Dacj had talked about--Dacj hardly ever told her anything these days, it seemed. Perhaps Mena shouldn't have been so hard on her...
"She's been borrowing my lab assistants--the Lytes--to train," Mena said, amused. Mostly for the pheromones, though she'd heard of an attempt at juggling... "The strength of course is the easy part, though she's hard some trouble with finesse. We've lost a couple doors due her wrenching them a little too hard." She placed the blood sample into a chamber that seemed to be refrigerated, and then turned to the computer beside it. "The pheromones are really not too different from Eli's empathy...as far as results go."
Super strength and pheromones? Hm, that was an interesting combination. "How focused is the usage of pheromones?" he asked, wondering if it might be better off for him to stay back if she used that particular ability. After all, that was probably an 'aoe' ability, right? Or perhaps 'aos' (area of 'scent') might be the more appropriate term. Regardless, he doubted it would be good to get caught in any cross-fire.
"She can target them to gender, basically, so you should be fine," Mena said with a smile, anticipating Seth's thoughts. "I mean, heaven forbid, but if you come up against anyone it'll probably be Contractors, and they are nearly always female. Though you may want to practice to see what her range is, just in case." That was just one thing the two would need to collaborate on, really. "She's out with Phoebe for today, but you two really should start practicing together soon, I imagine. Oh, and Meerowyn offered to tutor you both on Imperial-need-to-know." She clicked through a few screens on her computer, and then the tackety-tack of the keyboard was heard in earnest as she set up the analyzation program.
"That'll be helpful," he replied, for there was still much yet that he had to learn and remember concerning Imperial matters. "And I agreeing on the practicing bit, although I'm not sure what would be safe to practice on exactly." He cheetah Hyte didn't know the extent of what Missy's pheromones could do, but being on the receiving end of repeated mind blasts would definitely not be fun. The cheetah Hyte watched idly as Mena set up the program on the computer, thinking over the matter.
"Hmm," Mena said, pursing her lips as she too considered the matter. "Well, if none of us can think of anything, surely Mother will have yet another 'connection' suitable for the task." She had little doubt Shimy would manage to produce something almost entirely unexpected. It told Mena exactly how serious her mother was about anything to do with the Empire. Even if it didn't directly serve her purpose of dethroning Nevreso, Shimy still got that gleam in her eye when something was asked of her...
Perhaps she just liked being useful. She glanced back at the screen as it ran through the program, and then back to Seth. "Well, this could take a minute," she admitted with a rueful smile.
"That is true," Seth agreed, remembering how it was Shimy who had gotten Reira as his teacher in the first place. The woman just sort of had a way about such things...
He chuckled lightly at her last remark. "That is fine. it's impressive that you can get all of the results so quickly as it is," he remarked. Glancing down at the bulge in his pocket that was the magic pill bottle, he remembered something. "Ah, would you happen to have more of the antidote pills as well?" He was sure his neighbors would rather not see his dreams at night, and he may never rest again if he had to endure theirs in turn.
"Well, it helps when your mother apparently is more brilliant than you are and also can make your computers about fifty years ahead of anything available even in the military," Mena said cheerfully. Actually, she could probably almost Gen Hytes here in her basement. The thought was a bit frightening, actually...
Seth's query sent her back to her feet, shaking her head at how scatterbrained she was today. "Of course. Don't know why I didn't give them to you with the others..." She retrieved a stickerless bottle and handed it to Seth. "Still working on getting the dizziness out, but I don't know if that's going to be possible. I'll settle for a way around the Phage-indicators..." That was what was occupying most of her sleepless nights these days. It was definitely a conundrum.
"Ah, that's fine. The dizziness isn't too terrible," he said as he accepted the bottle from her. Ok, so maybe it was, but she didn't need to stress out about anything more than she already was right now. And getting rid of the 'Phage' reading was definitely a much higher priority, as they had recently discovered.
She chuckled. "You're either very polite or just lying to my face. Missy takes every opportunity to remind me it isn't 'seemly' for her to throw up because of the nausea and why haven't I fixed it already?" She had to remind herself that Missy had volunteered and that Mena was grateful to her and attempting to strangle the pig would probably end badly, one way or the other... "Still, for all her complaining, she's been very focused. By the sound of it, you've been so as well." The Turkish Angora woman paused, brushing bangs back out of her face, before adding, "Thank you." It was a little awkward, but she didn't think that she could really stop thanking him, or Missy, for agreeing to help her in what amounted to a very mad venture indeed.
The cheetah Hyte smiled and shook his head. "No need." Though it was by no means official yet, they were just as much of family to him as his mother and the conglomeration of creatures back at home. He wasn't about to just leave them on their own if there was something he could do to help.
"When someone does something for you, that's what you say in return you know," Mena said, affecting a teasingly lofty tone. She rather thought her mother's problem might be the fact that Shimy hardly ever thanked anyone, despite happily dragging them to and fro in whatever she'd plotted next. "It's such a pain. There are times I wish I could just go myself..."
Seth blinked thoughtfully at Mena's last remark. "Why don't you come with us?" he asked. "I'm sure the pills would work just as well for you as they do for us. You were affected by the virus too when it got loose, right? We could easily train together, and I'm sure you are far more knowledgeable on the Empire's workings than I am." She shouldn't need to feel trapped down here in her lab after all. He remembered full-well from his own experience how frustrating and painful it was for him and Eli to have to wait behind while the others retrieved Noe, and he didn't imagine Mena felt much different.
She was completely scatterbrained today. The cat woman sunk onto a nearby stool, placing a paw-hand on her temple as she wondered if lying was really any use at this point. "I was perhaps exaggerating the virus' effect on me," she began slowly, loathe to admit this most closely-held secret of hers. "In fact, it would perhaps be most accurate to say that it did not have any effect at all on me."
The cheetah Hyte blinked in surprise. "No effect? But that would mean..." Seth shook his head. "You too, huh?" He probably shouldn't be so surprised. In fact he wouldn't be at all surprised by this point if when they rescued Colton and Zane it turned out they had some magic of their own as well. Although this brought to mind something that Eltimion had mentioned in passing a couple of months back. "My other blossoms carry shielding--some from without, some from within." Well, that solved who the other Blossom was. "How long?"
Mena rolled her eyes, all too well aware of the ridiculousness of the situation. There was a reason she was hiding it from Eli. "Quite long. Eli Contracted when he was a teenager. I was...recruited not that long after. Eltimion is a perfectly lovely world dragon but I've never had the slightest intention of swearing anything. Blossom magic comes in handy sometimes though." She'd had time enough to get a handle on it, erratic as it tended to be.
"I see," he replied. "Alright, so you have your own magic then. Wouldn't that be even more useful for something like a mission?" He still wasn't entirely sure why she felt that she had to stay behind. Then again, he had no idea what sort of magic she had, so perhaps it was something too passive to be very helpful. Even so, however, magic wasn't really a necessary requirement for a rescue mission.
"Nevreso," Mena said grimly. "Since I'm just a Blossom, I could perhaps get away without being sensed, but--it's a risk even Mother says I shouldn't take. Not necessarily for my own safety, but...I'm linked to Eltimion. Through me, she could get to Eli. I can't let that happen." She sighed. "That woman will probably know the moment I, or Eli, or maybe even Dacj set foot into Neo-Sovreem..." What the mad magical empress would do with such knowledge was probably better left unsaid. "Once we enter the Empire, it has to be with the intention to end things then and there. Otherwise, we'll lose any element of surprise." Her 'we' seemed to refer to the three linked to Eltimion she'd specified; she was quite certain they were the only ones the Ti'ama was juggling at the moment.
"That... That's definitely a good reason," the cheetah Hyte replied, not having thought about the Eltimion link. She really didn't have a choice in staying behind then it seemed. "I'm sorry that you can't come." It was a difficult position for the poor angora Hyte to be in, and he couldn't help but despise the entire empire mess on their behalf. They didn't deserve all of this.
"It's all right," Mena said softly, sounding regretful still. "There's nothing I could do that you or Missy aren't capable of. Knowing that it will be you two..." She shrugged. They were family. They knew.
"You know, with all of this--I can almost understand Mother's position. I can only begin to imagine what it was like for her to lose her brother--to watch him taken from her." Unlike her son, she had been there when Shimy unlocked Ilazki--recovered her memories. "But I don't think that's her only motive. If it was as simple as vengeance, I think she'd have done it on her own," Mena said, slow and thoughtful. Regardless of the fact Shimy's only Contract was to a halfblooded Ti'ama--like a little obstacle like that would dissuade her.
Seth's ears flattened a touch at the mention of Shimy's brother. He knew of the basic story of what had happened, but for some reason he never really thought of the matter in personal terms. Perhaps Sabra wasn't quite as inhuman as she seemed. "It's a rather messy situation all the way around," he remarked grimly. "All we can really do for now is prepare and wait. Well, concerning the main Empire bit anyway." Obviously the Colton and Zane part they weren't just going to wait around on. "How are the results reading thus far?"
"Ah, let me check," Mena said, standing and maneuvering around a counter to get back to the computer. "It looks like everything is reading normally," she added, scanning the screen intently. Good to know. Not that she had expected anything to go wrong... She shook her head. Stop it, you don't need to think even more dark thoughts today, she scolded herself.
"Glad to hear it," he replied with a smile. It was good to know that there seemed to be no side-effects thus far other than the sparkles and sugar cravings when he was actually using the pill. "I should probably leave you be then. You look as if you could really use some rest." Had she even slept at all the previous night? It didn't look like it.
"Ah, before you go--" One more thing Mena had almost forgotten. She turned to the metal desk next to the computer, and rummaged around under various file folders until she drew out her hand, grasping something triumphantly. "A ha! Here, I think it's time you had this as well." She held her paw-hand out, palm-pad facing upwards--a gold colored key glinted in the lab's bright lighting. "It'll be a bit easier to sneak in if you don't always have to knock on the door, yes?"
The cheetah Hyte blinked in surprised at the offer, but had to smile at the reasoning. "That is true, yes," he replied, accepting the key. "Thank you. I will still be sure to call first though, just so as not to randomly drop in while you're working." Unless it was an emergency of course, but that much was obvious. "Ah, before I go, do you have Missy's number?" He had never exchanged contact information with the pig Hyte, but it would be good to have if they were to be working together.
"Of course--here, lemme write it down...or I suppose I could just program it in for you, whatever works," Mena said, with a smile. "I have to warn you though, once you've called her and she's gotten your number... Endless texts of clothes she finds that she thinks will look good on you."
"Thank you for the warning," he replied, faintly amused. "I'll be sure to wait on texting her then." Fortunately, he had a decent texting plan. Actually, for the time being, he could probably just contact her via his mom's phone until he actually needed to use his. That way the texts would go to her...
Once the number exchange was complete, Seth put his phone away and gave Mena a small smile. "See you later then," he remarked. "Do get some rest in the mean time."
"I will try," Mena promised. Since obviously she was so tired that she had managed to reveal to Seth her most closely-kept secret...well, she'd be better off for certain with more sleep at this point. "Take care of yourself, Seth."
Mena was dozing on top of a steel countertop, slumped over as if she'd simply laid her head down just for a moment (which she had, only that singular moment had ended up being very many moments) when her phone went off, and the cat woman scrambled to silence the unnecessary alarm quick as she could. Who would be calling her anyway? Dacj was out working on her treehouse, so she'd just come inside if she needed something, Missy had taken Phoebe out shopping... Blearily she checked her phone and realized it was a text, not a call, and she retrieved it with a little frown. Seth? And he was outside--she glanced over to the little wall of screens that monitored the Cottage from the outside and confirmed Seth's presence, swearing as she tucked her phone into her pocket and went for what passed for her bedroom down here.
She glanced at a mirror on her way through the bedroom, straightening herself out as best she could, though she still looked like she'd been up all night...which she had. She placed her hand on the nose of the Fu Lion sculpture in the corner of her quarters, closing her eyes as it transported her into the entry hall floors above. She hurried to the door, opening it for Seth with a weary smile. "Sorry for the wait," she said apologetically.
Seth didn't mind the small wait (after all, the woman did work like 13 floors below ground), and had simply kept an eye out on the street around him. When the door opened and Mena apologized, the cheetah Hyte smiled and shook his head. "No need to worry. Erm, did I come at a bad time?" The other feline Hyte looked rather as if she hadn't gotten much rest. He hoped he hadn't interrupted her in anything (who knew what sort of schedule she kept). Glancing around briefly, it didn't seem that anyone else was around. Or if they were around then they were thoroughly occupied in their own rooms.
"No, not at all," she was quick to reassure. If even Seth was willing to point it out--ah, was Missy right after all? She was letting herself go? Well, she could hardly be blamed, circumstances considering...except for the fact that no one was really supposed to be aware of those circumstances, Seth and Missy notwithstanding. But why--oh, right! How could she have forgotten?
"Here, come with me--have you ever taken my shortcut?" she asked, flashing a more cheerful grin to the younger Hyte as she went to stand by the entry hall's Fu Lion counterpart. "Just bop him straight on the nose, and he'll take you right down," she explained, before demonstrating--and disappearing.
She waited in her spartan downstairs quarters, glancing around. She hardly ever really looked at this place, it was there for practical sleeping and hygienic arrangements (there was a sink visible on the wall across from her cot-like bed) and little more. She hadn't really ever had the heart to do much decorating down here, it was a lab. She'd had one of the bedrooms upstairs a long time ago, before Melisande and Phoebe and most certainly Dacj, but she hadn't really needed one when she got married--she could and did zip over to Colton's if she needed a real bed. And now... She shook her head. Enough of that then. "So, besides restocking your supply, I figured it would be prudent to see how use of the pills has been affecting your physiology. I haven't noticed any issues with Missy, but it's always good to make sure of these things." Age had taught her caution in such matters.
A teleporter, eh? Well, that was certainly handy. Much easier than going up and down thirteen flights of stairs all the time anyway. Once the angora Hyte had disappeared downstairs, he stepped over to the statue and tapped the nose as she had, quickly following suit.
When he next blinked he was in what appeared to be very sparse sleeping quarters. He figured this was likely where Mena slept inside of her lab. When she slept that was. "That's fine. Best to be careful," he agreed, especially considering how much training they had been doing with these things. He still didn't quite know what Missy got out of them, but he'd likely find out once they began their missions. "How have you been recently?" He knew this had to be tremendously hard on the poor woman. Her husband and her son... It was a rough time.
Mena led the way from the bedroom through a storeroom of piled boxes and out into the lab proper, which Seth had certainly seen before. It looked much the same as ever, if perhaps a bit messier on one aisle of counters that seemed devoted to ongoing research. "Oh...same old, same old," Mena said, shrugging. She tried not to think too hard about it and threw herself into her work? It seemed obvious enough of an answer, given the physical evidence. "And how about you?" she asked shrewdly. "Noelani's still off with Kuu then?" It had almost become routine, this asking Seth for information about her daughter. He might not know much, but it was more than she was ever able to find out.
"Yes, and likely will be for a while yet," he replied, a touch chagrined. "It seems that their 'trip' is more than just the journey she had originally thought it to be." He proceeded to explain to Mena what Noe had last told him of Kuuro's royalty status on another planet, her restored memories, and their current overall dealings with the kingdom. "Empire issues must just run in the family," he said with a small shake of his head. "That was a little over a month ago. I haven't seen or heard anything from her since." Ruby had returned after delivering his last letter exhausted, but with no letter in return. And it seemed that Noe hadn't been able to grab a hold of anymore of those 'port-holes' either judging by her lack of any further visits. That or she was just being closely watched and couldn't come visit. Either way, the end result was the same.
"At least hers are more pleasant, even if they aren't fond of letting her leave for the time," Mena said, running a paw absently through her thick blue hair. Noe, with an affinity for magic objects, huh. God, all of this was somehow her fault, wasn't it? This was what she got for hiding the fact she was a Blossom--Noe and Eli mucking around with magic, bringing Missy into it herself, Dacj ending up in a similar situation... Not that being open about her own magic was going to help. She had no intention of swearing any Contract, nice a Ti'ama as Eltimion might be. She'd use it when it suited her, in dire circumstances mostly, because that was the pragmatic thing to do. But she wouldn't rely on it.
"I hope she's able to come home--or at least send word--very soon," she offered, with a sympathetic grimace for the cheetah. Well she knew the pain of waiting. And Noe's situation, while mildly more tolerable, wasn't so much more so--who knew when she'd be home properly? Leaving her fiance behind, with so little notice... Yes, Mena knew that kind of situation very well indeed. If it wasn't her husband, her son, it was the others of her generation--those who'd made themselves scarce. Even Tio she'd be greeting with happiness soon, just to have a glimpse of those far off days.
She moved to collect the pills she'd prepared earlier, when she'd been somewhat more well-rested, and offered the star-stickered bottle to Seth. "No problems with them?"
"Ruby said she seemed alright," he replied with a small smile, remembering the mental image the flit had shown him to prove that she had indeed delivered the letter. At the question of any problems, the cheetah Hyte shook his head. "Not that I've noticed. A lot of headaches, but I'm pretty sure that's just from the training," he said with a faint smirk. Telepathy was fairly demanding on the mind after all. "Need a blood sample?" Since she had mentioned checking his physiology earlier.
"Good, good," Mena said, nodding as she went to retrieve a blood sample kit. "And yes, that was the general intention. Quickest way is just to let the computer tell me if there's a difference across samples." She could sit down with the nitty gritty bits later just to double-check, but if it was major, he ought to know himself. The computer ought to catch anything middling for certain. She motioned for him to take a seat on one of the stools scattered across the lab, opened the kit and started to prepare it. "And your teacher--ah, Reira, wasn't it? How's she?" Mena had vaguely met her when Shimy brought her across the Phanes-capable portal, which was also stored down here in the lab. "Must be putting you through your paces if you've gotten lots of headaches out of her training."
The cheetah Hyte sat down on one of the stools, and had to chuckle a bit at Mena's remark. "You could say that," he replied with a smile. Although his training with the former merqueen left him much worse for wear than his usual practices. "She was doing quite well the last time we met. Seems to have adapted here well enough." He actually hadn't had a session with her in a small while, and probably should now that he had the power stone. It had made a huge difference in his self-training alone. Of course, that meant Reira was only more likely to put him through his paces, but he would do whatever needed to be done.
"Oh, that's good, that she's taken so well to Gaia," Mena said brightly as she tied the tourniquet on the upper part of Seth's arm. "Hopefully Shimy's paying her or something as well; I'd feel quite bad if Mother's cheapening out just because she has 'connections' with people." Mena drew a blood sample quickly and efficiently, and swished her newly acquired sample around in one hand to mix it as she placed a piece of gauze on the sample sight, indicating Seth should keep pressure to it while she removed the tourniquet. "I think I met the man working with you as well--the one with the really nice hair. Didn't get to talk to him, but I think Dacj did."
Seth kept the gauze lightly pressed to the puncture sigh as Mena removed the tourniquet. "Ah, Lord Twilight? I hadn't realized that he came around here," he replied, slightly surprised. "He helped out during our last lesson-- as well as with an additional task," he remarked. "Slightly stoic, but he's a nice guy." Come to think of it, he had no idea if Reira was receiving any 'money' for her help. She was being given a place to live at least, so that was something, but he wasn't sure what sort of currency a merqueen might find useful-- if any at all. "How have things been going on Missy's side?" He knew she had been on missions to Phanes before, but he wasn't sure if she had been going still since taking the pills or not.
"He went through the portal and back down here, as well as seemed to spend a lot of time in Shimy's library," Mena said, with a shrug, to Seth's surprise. She'd definitely gotten the stoic impression as well, but that could be that he had seemed to always sport a serious face. What she was dying to know what what precisely this Lord Twilight and Dacj had talked about--Dacj hardly ever told her anything these days, it seemed. Perhaps Mena shouldn't have been so hard on her...
"She's been borrowing my lab assistants--the Lytes--to train," Mena said, amused. Mostly for the pheromones, though she'd heard of an attempt at juggling... "The strength of course is the easy part, though she's hard some trouble with finesse. We've lost a couple doors due her wrenching them a little too hard." She placed the blood sample into a chamber that seemed to be refrigerated, and then turned to the computer beside it. "The pheromones are really not too different from Eli's empathy...as far as results go."
Super strength and pheromones? Hm, that was an interesting combination. "How focused is the usage of pheromones?" he asked, wondering if it might be better off for him to stay back if she used that particular ability. After all, that was probably an 'aoe' ability, right? Or perhaps 'aos' (area of 'scent') might be the more appropriate term. Regardless, he doubted it would be good to get caught in any cross-fire.
"She can target them to gender, basically, so you should be fine," Mena said with a smile, anticipating Seth's thoughts. "I mean, heaven forbid, but if you come up against anyone it'll probably be Contractors, and they are nearly always female. Though you may want to practice to see what her range is, just in case." That was just one thing the two would need to collaborate on, really. "She's out with Phoebe for today, but you two really should start practicing together soon, I imagine. Oh, and Meerowyn offered to tutor you both on Imperial-need-to-know." She clicked through a few screens on her computer, and then the tackety-tack of the keyboard was heard in earnest as she set up the analyzation program.
"That'll be helpful," he replied, for there was still much yet that he had to learn and remember concerning Imperial matters. "And I agreeing on the practicing bit, although I'm not sure what would be safe to practice on exactly." He cheetah Hyte didn't know the extent of what Missy's pheromones could do, but being on the receiving end of repeated mind blasts would definitely not be fun. The cheetah Hyte watched idly as Mena set up the program on the computer, thinking over the matter.
"Hmm," Mena said, pursing her lips as she too considered the matter. "Well, if none of us can think of anything, surely Mother will have yet another 'connection' suitable for the task." She had little doubt Shimy would manage to produce something almost entirely unexpected. It told Mena exactly how serious her mother was about anything to do with the Empire. Even if it didn't directly serve her purpose of dethroning Nevreso, Shimy still got that gleam in her eye when something was asked of her...
Perhaps she just liked being useful. She glanced back at the screen as it ran through the program, and then back to Seth. "Well, this could take a minute," she admitted with a rueful smile.
"That is true," Seth agreed, remembering how it was Shimy who had gotten Reira as his teacher in the first place. The woman just sort of had a way about such things...
He chuckled lightly at her last remark. "That is fine. it's impressive that you can get all of the results so quickly as it is," he remarked. Glancing down at the bulge in his pocket that was the magic pill bottle, he remembered something. "Ah, would you happen to have more of the antidote pills as well?" He was sure his neighbors would rather not see his dreams at night, and he may never rest again if he had to endure theirs in turn.
"Well, it helps when your mother apparently is more brilliant than you are and also can make your computers about fifty years ahead of anything available even in the military," Mena said cheerfully. Actually, she could probably almost Gen Hytes here in her basement. The thought was a bit frightening, actually...
Seth's query sent her back to her feet, shaking her head at how scatterbrained she was today. "Of course. Don't know why I didn't give them to you with the others..." She retrieved a stickerless bottle and handed it to Seth. "Still working on getting the dizziness out, but I don't know if that's going to be possible. I'll settle for a way around the Phage-indicators..." That was what was occupying most of her sleepless nights these days. It was definitely a conundrum.
"Ah, that's fine. The dizziness isn't too terrible," he said as he accepted the bottle from her. Ok, so maybe it was, but she didn't need to stress out about anything more than she already was right now. And getting rid of the 'Phage' reading was definitely a much higher priority, as they had recently discovered.
She chuckled. "You're either very polite or just lying to my face. Missy takes every opportunity to remind me it isn't 'seemly' for her to throw up because of the nausea and why haven't I fixed it already?" She had to remind herself that Missy had volunteered and that Mena was grateful to her and attempting to strangle the pig would probably end badly, one way or the other... "Still, for all her complaining, she's been very focused. By the sound of it, you've been so as well." The Turkish Angora woman paused, brushing bangs back out of her face, before adding, "Thank you." It was a little awkward, but she didn't think that she could really stop thanking him, or Missy, for agreeing to help her in what amounted to a very mad venture indeed.
The cheetah Hyte smiled and shook his head. "No need." Though it was by no means official yet, they were just as much of family to him as his mother and the conglomeration of creatures back at home. He wasn't about to just leave them on their own if there was something he could do to help.
"When someone does something for you, that's what you say in return you know," Mena said, affecting a teasingly lofty tone. She rather thought her mother's problem might be the fact that Shimy hardly ever thanked anyone, despite happily dragging them to and fro in whatever she'd plotted next. "It's such a pain. There are times I wish I could just go myself..."
Seth blinked thoughtfully at Mena's last remark. "Why don't you come with us?" he asked. "I'm sure the pills would work just as well for you as they do for us. You were affected by the virus too when it got loose, right? We could easily train together, and I'm sure you are far more knowledgeable on the Empire's workings than I am." She shouldn't need to feel trapped down here in her lab after all. He remembered full-well from his own experience how frustrating and painful it was for him and Eli to have to wait behind while the others retrieved Noe, and he didn't imagine Mena felt much different.
She was completely scatterbrained today. The cat woman sunk onto a nearby stool, placing a paw-hand on her temple as she wondered if lying was really any use at this point. "I was perhaps exaggerating the virus' effect on me," she began slowly, loathe to admit this most closely-held secret of hers. "In fact, it would perhaps be most accurate to say that it did not have any effect at all on me."
The cheetah Hyte blinked in surprise. "No effect? But that would mean..." Seth shook his head. "You too, huh?" He probably shouldn't be so surprised. In fact he wouldn't be at all surprised by this point if when they rescued Colton and Zane it turned out they had some magic of their own as well. Although this brought to mind something that Eltimion had mentioned in passing a couple of months back. "My other blossoms carry shielding--some from without, some from within." Well, that solved who the other Blossom was. "How long?"
Mena rolled her eyes, all too well aware of the ridiculousness of the situation. There was a reason she was hiding it from Eli. "Quite long. Eli Contracted when he was a teenager. I was...recruited not that long after. Eltimion is a perfectly lovely world dragon but I've never had the slightest intention of swearing anything. Blossom magic comes in handy sometimes though." She'd had time enough to get a handle on it, erratic as it tended to be.
"I see," he replied. "Alright, so you have your own magic then. Wouldn't that be even more useful for something like a mission?" He still wasn't entirely sure why she felt that she had to stay behind. Then again, he had no idea what sort of magic she had, so perhaps it was something too passive to be very helpful. Even so, however, magic wasn't really a necessary requirement for a rescue mission.
"Nevreso," Mena said grimly. "Since I'm just a Blossom, I could perhaps get away without being sensed, but--it's a risk even Mother says I shouldn't take. Not necessarily for my own safety, but...I'm linked to Eltimion. Through me, she could get to Eli. I can't let that happen." She sighed. "That woman will probably know the moment I, or Eli, or maybe even Dacj set foot into Neo-Sovreem..." What the mad magical empress would do with such knowledge was probably better left unsaid. "Once we enter the Empire, it has to be with the intention to end things then and there. Otherwise, we'll lose any element of surprise." Her 'we' seemed to refer to the three linked to Eltimion she'd specified; she was quite certain they were the only ones the Ti'ama was juggling at the moment.
"That... That's definitely a good reason," the cheetah Hyte replied, not having thought about the Eltimion link. She really didn't have a choice in staying behind then it seemed. "I'm sorry that you can't come." It was a difficult position for the poor angora Hyte to be in, and he couldn't help but despise the entire empire mess on their behalf. They didn't deserve all of this.
"It's all right," Mena said softly, sounding regretful still. "There's nothing I could do that you or Missy aren't capable of. Knowing that it will be you two..." She shrugged. They were family. They knew.
"You know, with all of this--I can almost understand Mother's position. I can only begin to imagine what it was like for her to lose her brother--to watch him taken from her." Unlike her son, she had been there when Shimy unlocked Ilazki--recovered her memories. "But I don't think that's her only motive. If it was as simple as vengeance, I think she'd have done it on her own," Mena said, slow and thoughtful. Regardless of the fact Shimy's only Contract was to a halfblooded Ti'ama--like a little obstacle like that would dissuade her.
Seth's ears flattened a touch at the mention of Shimy's brother. He knew of the basic story of what had happened, but for some reason he never really thought of the matter in personal terms. Perhaps Sabra wasn't quite as inhuman as she seemed. "It's a rather messy situation all the way around," he remarked grimly. "All we can really do for now is prepare and wait. Well, concerning the main Empire bit anyway." Obviously the Colton and Zane part they weren't just going to wait around on. "How are the results reading thus far?"
"Ah, let me check," Mena said, standing and maneuvering around a counter to get back to the computer. "It looks like everything is reading normally," she added, scanning the screen intently. Good to know. Not that she had expected anything to go wrong... She shook her head. Stop it, you don't need to think even more dark thoughts today, she scolded herself.
"Glad to hear it," he replied with a smile. It was good to know that there seemed to be no side-effects thus far other than the sparkles and sugar cravings when he was actually using the pill. "I should probably leave you be then. You look as if you could really use some rest." Had she even slept at all the previous night? It didn't look like it.
"Ah, before you go--" One more thing Mena had almost forgotten. She turned to the metal desk next to the computer, and rummaged around under various file folders until she drew out her hand, grasping something triumphantly. "A ha! Here, I think it's time you had this as well." She held her paw-hand out, palm-pad facing upwards--a gold colored key glinted in the lab's bright lighting. "It'll be a bit easier to sneak in if you don't always have to knock on the door, yes?"
The cheetah Hyte blinked in surprised at the offer, but had to smile at the reasoning. "That is true, yes," he replied, accepting the key. "Thank you. I will still be sure to call first though, just so as not to randomly drop in while you're working." Unless it was an emergency of course, but that much was obvious. "Ah, before I go, do you have Missy's number?" He had never exchanged contact information with the pig Hyte, but it would be good to have if they were to be working together.
"Of course--here, lemme write it down...or I suppose I could just program it in for you, whatever works," Mena said, with a smile. "I have to warn you though, once you've called her and she's gotten your number... Endless texts of clothes she finds that she thinks will look good on you."
"Thank you for the warning," he replied, faintly amused. "I'll be sure to wait on texting her then." Fortunately, he had a decent texting plan. Actually, for the time being, he could probably just contact her via his mom's phone until he actually needed to use his. That way the texts would go to her...
Once the number exchange was complete, Seth put his phone away and gave Mena a small smile. "See you later then," he remarked. "Do get some rest in the mean time."
"I will try," Mena promised. Since obviously she was so tired that she had managed to reveal to Seth her most closely-kept secret...well, she'd be better off for certain with more sleep at this point. "Take care of yourself, Seth."
